In-vitro study of the effect of adrenaline on the functional capacity of human neutrophils: role during exercise.

We studied the effect of adrenaline on the capacity of human neutrophils to attach, ingest and destroy Candida albicans. The neutrophils were incubated in vitro in the presence of an adrenaline concentration taken as basal (10-10 m), and another that is referred to as being reached following physical exercise (10-9 m). Two higher concentrations (10-7 m and 10-5 m), which are seldom attained in blood but which can occur at specific locations in the organism, were tested as having a possible pharmacological application.

Effect of intra-aortic occlusion balloon in external thoracic compressions during CPR in pigs.

This study was performed to compare the effectiveness of external thoracic compressions with and without intra-aortic occlusion balloon with capnography and coronary and cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) in the normothermic and traumatic-less cardiopulmonary arrest provoked by a ventricular fibrillation in pigs. This was an experimental study (cross-over study) in 14 pigs with similar characteristics (23 +/- 2 kg, 10-12 weeks of age). After an 8-minute nonintervention period, the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) consists of 4 periods of 5 minutes alternating CPR with and without intra-aortic occlusion balloon.

Use of poisson regression and box-jenkins models to evaluate the short-term effects of environmental noise levels on daily emergency admissions in Madrid, Spain.

The relationship between environmental factors and hospital admissions has usually been analysed without taking into account the influence of a factor closely related to traffic in big cities, that is, environmental noise levels. We analysed the relationship between environmental noise and emergency admissions, for all causes and specific causes in Madrid (Spain), for the study period 1995-1997, using two statistical methods for the analysis of epidemiological time series data: Poisson autoregressive models and Box Jenkins (ARIMA) methodology. Both methods produce a clear association between emergency admissions for all and specific causes and environmental noise levels.

Citrobacter koseri in scalp folliculitis.

Gram-negative folliculitis, an uncommon condition, is most often seen in older patients who have acne and who either have received prolonged courses of antibiotic therapy or have used antibacterial cleansers that selectively inhibit gram-positive organisms. Citrobacter infections are uncommon, and dermatologists seldom encounter them. In the past, these infections occurred in hospitals, particularly in neonatal intensive care units.

Occurrence and distribution of linear alkylbenzene sulfonates and sulfophenylcarboxylic acids in several Iberian littoral ecosystems.

The distribution of linear alkylbenzene sulfonates (LAS) and sulfophenylcarboxylic acids (SPC) has been characterized in water and sediment of five Iberian estuaries and a saltmarsh channel. The highest concentrations of LAS and SPC were detected in shallow zones close to discharge points of untreated urban effluent, and decreased sharply with increasing distance from these. SPC homologues of between 3 and 12 carbon atoms were detected, although their concentrations were several orders of magnitude lower than the corresponding LAS.

The EMECAM project: a multicentre study on air pollution and mortality in Spain: combined results for particulates and for sulfur dioxide.

Objective: The EMECAM study is a collaborative effort to evaluate the impact of air pollution on mortality in Spain. In this paper the combined results are presented for the short term effects of particulates and sulfur dioxide on both daily mortality for all and for specific causes.

Methods: The relation between daily mortality for all causes, cardiovascular diseases, and respiratory diseases, and air pollution for particulates (daily concentrations) and SO(2) (24 and 1 hour concentrations) was assessed in 13 Spanish cities for the period 1990-6.

A combined analysis of the short-term effects of photochemical air pollutants on mortality within the EMECAM project.

In recent years, some epidemiologic studies have attributed adverse effects of air pollutants on health not only to particles and sulfur dioxide but also to photochemical air pollutants (nitrogen dioxide and ozone). The effects are usually small, leading to some inconsistencies in the results of the studies. Furthermore, the different methodologic approaches of the studies used has made it difficult to derive generic conclusions.

Modulation of superoxide anion levels of macrophages from young-adult and old mice by the norepinephrine metabolite, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl-glycol.

It is well known that a bidirectional relation exists between the immune and the classic animal regulation systems, the nervous and endocrine systems. It has also been reported that ageing has a negative effect on neuro-immuno-endocrine integration. Since it has been shown that norepinephrine (NE) differently modulates the phagocytic process of macrophages from young or old mice, and considering that NE has a short lifetime, the aim of this study is to evaluate the possible immunomodulatory role of the NE end-metabolite, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl-glycol (HMP-glycol), on the superoxide anion levels of peritoneal macrophages from young-adult (22+/-2 weeks) and old (72+/-2 weeks) BALB/c mice.

Bioconcentration of linear alkylbenzene sulfonates and their degradation intermediates in marine algae.

Sorption experiments using different homologues of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) and sulfophenylcarboxylic acid (SPC) on several marine microalgae have been carried out. The steady state seems to be reached in the first 4 hours. Longer exposure times lead to biodegradation of the compound and, therefore, to an overestimation of the bioconcentration factor.

3p21, 5q21, and 9p21 allelic deletions are frequently found in normal bronchial cells adjacent to non-small-cell lung cancer, while they are unusual in patients with no evidence of malignancy.

Molecular cytogenetic and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) analyses of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have shown frequent allelic deletions in a variety of chromosomes, such as 1p, 3p, 5q, 8p, 9p, 11p, 11q, and 17p. Allelic loss at 3p21, 9p21, and 5q21 has also been reported in premalignant epithelial lesions of the bronchus and in normal bronchial cells. These findings suggest that a tissue field of somatic genetic alterations precedes the histopathological phenotypic changes of carcinoma.

[Body mass index (BMI) and percent fat mass. A BMI > 27.5 kg/m2 could be indicative of obesity in the Spanish population].

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) defines obesity as a condition of excessive fat accumulation to the extent that health and well-being are affected. For population studies, the measurement of weight, corrected for height, is still the method of choice (BMI). In Caucasian populations, the BMI cut-off point for obesity (30 kg/m2) corresponds with a percent body fat (PFM) of over 25% in young adult males and 35% in young adult females.

The concentration-response relation between air pollution and daily deaths.

Studies on three continents have reported associations between various measures of airborne particles and daily deaths. Sulfur dioxide has also been associated with daily deaths, particularly in Europe. Questions remain about the shape of those associations, particularly whether there are thresholds at low levels.

[The problem of repeated measurements. Longitudinal analysis in epidemiology].

In longitudinal analyses subjects are repeatedly measured along time. They are mixed designs, characterised for their simultaneous consideration of two or more dimensions of analysis, in which time is one of the dimensions.Longitudinal analyses have important advantages with respect other designs.

Restoration of a fractured primary incisor.

Esthetic restoration on primary teeth has been a special challenge to pediatric dentists. Composite restorations are the most often used treatment for decay and fractures of primary teeth, however, there are other possible alternatives. We present a case in which we have used an acrylic crown to treat a fractured primary incisor in a 1.

[Estimate of daily cases of influenza from the cases notified to the Reportable Disease System: usefulness in time series studies].

In time series analyses assessing the relationship between risk factors and respiratory diseases or mortality, influenza incidence is a potential cofounder and, therefore, must be controlled. Available influenza data come from weekly compulsory notifiable disease (EDO system). Furthermore, its graphical distribution, suggests that information may be underestimated in holiday periods.

Comparing meta-analysis and ecological-longitudinal analysis in time-series studies. A case study of the effects of air pollution on mortality in three Spanish cities.

Study Objective: The objective of this paper is to introduce a different approach, called the ecological-longitudinal, to carrying out pooled analysis in time series ecological studies. Because it gives a larger number of data points and, hence, increases the statistical power of the analysis, this approach, unlike conventional ones, allows the complementation of aspects such as accommodation of random effect models, of lags, of interaction between pollutants and between pollutants and meteorological variables, that are hardly implemented in conventional approaches.

Design: The approach is illustrated by providing quantitative estimates of the short-term effects of air pollution on mortality in three Spanish cities, Barcelona, Valencia and Vigo, for the period 1992-1994.

[Prevalence of obesity in the population assisted at primary health care services in Girona, 1995-1999].

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of obesity and overweight in the population of Girona (Spain) between 1995 and 1999 and to divide the prevalences in geographical areas according to age and sex.

Methods: Height and weight were directly measures in 24,554 health care consumers older than 14 years (10,595 men and 13,959 women) treated in four primary health care areas: Girona 1, Girona 4, Salt and Camprodon and in one primary health care center in the province of Girona. Body mas index (BMI) was calcuted by dividing weight in kilograms bye height in meters squared.

Material deprivation and leading causes of death by gender: evidence from a nationwide small area study.

Study Objective: To investigate the association between material deprivation and 10 leading causes of death by gender.

Design: Small area cross sectional ecological study using two dimensions of material deprivation (Index 1 and Index 2) drawn from 1991 census and cause specific mortality data aggregated for 1987-1995.

Setting: 2218 small areas in Spain.