Patient satisfaction, needs, and preferences concerning information dispensation at the emergency department: a cross-sectional observational study.

Background: Patient satisfaction is an important indicator of emergency care quality and has been associated with information dispensation at the emergency department (ED). Optimal information dispensation could improve patient experience and expectations. Knowing what kind of information patients want to receive and the preferred way of information dispensation are essential to optimize information delivery at the ED.

Effect of eicosapentaenoic acid, an omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid, on UVR-related cancer risk in humans. An assessment of early genotoxic markers.

Dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 PUFAs) protect against photocarcinogenesis in animals, but prospective human studies are scarce. The mechanism(s) underlying the photoprotection are uncertain, although omega-3 PUFAs may influence oxidative stress. We examined the effect of supplementation on a range of indicators of ultraviolet radiation (UVR)-induced DNA damage in humans, and assessed effect on basal and post-UVR oxidative status.

Melanin offers protection against induction of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers and 6-4 photoproducts by UVB in cultured human melanocytes.

The goal of this investigation was to correlate the melanin content in human pigmentary cells with the generation of UVB-induced photoproducts and to examine the relationship between the melanin content and the removal of the photoproducts. Cultured melanocytes from light-skinned individuals synthesized less melanin and produced more cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers and 6-4 photoproducts upon UVB exposure than did melanocytes from black skin. Tyrosine-stimulated melanogenesis provided protection against DNA damage in both cell types.

Biological monitoring the exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons of coke oven workers in relation to smoking and genetic polymorphisms for GSTM1 and GSTT1.

Unlabelled: Occupational exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) increases the risk of developing lung cancer. Human exposure is often demonstrated by increased internal levels of PAH metabolites and of markers for early biological effects, like DNA adducts and cytogenetic aberrations.

Objective: This study aimed to assess whether the current exposure to PAH of coke oven workers in a Dutch plant induced biological effects, and to determine if these effects are influenced by tobacco smoking and by genetic polymorphisms for the glutathione S-transferase genes GSTM1 and GSTT1.

Induction of somatic mutations but not methylated DNA adducts in lambdalacZ transgenic mice by dichlorvos.

In order to examine the in vivo genotoxic activity of dichlorvos, lambdalacZ transgenic mice (Muta Mouse) were treated i.p. with single (4.

Methyl bromide causes DNA methylation in rats and mice but fails to induce somatic mutations in lambda lacZ transgenic mice.

Following single or multiple oral treatments of rats or lambda lacZ transgenic mice with methyl bromide, methylated DNA adducts (N7- and/or O6-methylguanine) were found at comparable levels in various tissues, including among others the glandular stomach, the forestomach and the liver. Multiple rat treatment resulted in substantial decreases in the repair enzyme O6-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase which were probably due in part to direct interaction of the enzyme with methyl bromide. However, no induction of mutagenesis in the lacZ transgene could be detected in any tissue 14 days after single treatments of up to 50 mg/kg or after multiple treatments of as many as 10 daily treatments of 25 mg/kg MeBr.

DNA adducts, mutant frequencies and mutation spectra in lambda lacZ transgenic mice treated with N-nitrosodimethylamine.

Groups of lambda lacZ transgenic mice were treated i.p. with N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) as single doses of 5 mg/kg or 10 mg/kg or as 10 daily doses of 1 mg/kg and changes in DNA N7- or O6-methylguanine or the repair enzyme O6-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase (AGT) were followed for up to 14 days in various tissues.

Monitoring of occupational exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in a carbon-electrode manufacturing plant.

An investigation is presented of occupational exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in a carbon-electrode manufacturing plant, as assessed by three monitoring methods, viz. environmental monitoring of the external dose by analysis of personal air samples, biological monitoring of the internal dose by analysis of urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHpyrene), and biological effect monitoring by dosimetry of PAH-DNA adducts in blood lymphocytes. On the basis of job conditions, workers at the plant were divided into three groups with presumed low, intermediate and high exposure to air-borne PAH, respectively.

DNA damage and mutagenesis induced by procarbazine in lambda lacZ transgenic mice: evidence that bone marrow mutations do not arise primarily through miscoding by O6-methylguanine.

The DNA damaging and mutagenic activities of procarbazine, a methylating drug employed in cancer chemotherapy and suspected of causing therapy-related leukaemia, were investigated in the liver and bone marrow of lambda lacZ transgenic mice (MutaMouse). The drug was administered using two different protocols, a 'high-dose' one involving 5 daily doses of 200 mg/kg, expected to cause depletion of the repair enzyme O6-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase (AGT) and thus favour the selective accumulation of the premutagenic lesion O6-methylguanine (O6-meG) relative to other adducts, and a 'low-dose' one involving 10 daily doses of 20 mg/kg procarbazine. Substantial accumulation of O6-meG was observed in both tissues examined 6 h after the end of the 'high-dose' treatment, with the liver accumulating somewhat higher levels than the bone marrow (28.

The use of benzo[a]pyrene diolepoxide-modified DNA standards for adduct quantification in 32P-postlabelling to assess exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: application in a biomonitoring study.

The 32P-postlabelling assay is one of the most sensitive methods for detection of DNA adducts induced by exposure to genotoxic chemicals. Under optimal conditions, detection limits of one adduct per 10(9)-10(10) nucleotides have been reported. This sensitivity now allows monitoring of occupational and even environmental exposure of humans to certain classes of chemicals, mainly polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH).

UVB-induced mutagenesis in hairless lambda lacZ-transgenic mice.

UVB-induced mutagenesis was studied in hairless 40.6 transgenic mice (MutaMouse), which contain the lambda gt10lacZ shuttle vector as a target for mutagenesis. Mice were exposed at the dorsal side to either single doses of 200, 500, 800, or 1000 J/m2 UVB or to two successive irradiations of either 200 and 800 J/m2 UVB, with intervals of 1, 3, or 5 days, or to 800 and 200 J/m2 UVB with a 5-day interval.

Determination of N7- and O6-methylguanine in rat liver DNA after oral exposure to hydrazine by use of immunochemical and electrochemical detection methods.

Hydrazine belongs to a group of compounds for which there is evidence that the in vivo genotoxic effects become manifest only upon exposure to toxic dose levels. The present study was performed to investigate whether this phenomenon is also reflected in the pattern of DNA methylation. The induction of N7- and O6-methylguanine (MeGua) was studied in liver DNA of rats, 16 hr after treatment with various doses of hydrazine.

Effect of eugenol on the mutagenicity of benzo[a]pyrene and the formation of benzo[a]pyrene-DNA adducts in the lambda-lacZ-transgenic mouse.

To study the possible reduction by eugenol of the mutagenicity and genotoxicity of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) in vivo, the lambda-lacZ-transgenic mouse strain 40.6 (Muta Mouse) was used. Male mice were fed a diet containing 0.

Biomonitoring human exposure to environmental carcinogenic chemicals.

A coordinated study was carried out on the development, evaluation and application of biomonitoring procedures for populations exposed to environmental genotoxic pollutants. The procedures used involved both direct measurement of DNA or protein damage (adducts) and assessment of second biological effects (mutation and cytogenetic damage). Adduct detection at the level of DNA or protein (haemoglobin) was carried out by 32P-postlabelling, immunochemical, HPLC or mass spectrometric methods.

Comparison of the X-gal- and P-gal-based systems for screening of mutant lambda lacZ phages originating from the transgenic mouse strain 40.6.

The recent introduction of the phenyl-beta-D-galactopyranoside (P-gal)-based positive-selection system for screening of lambda lacZ phages originating from the lambda lacZ transgenic mouse (Muta Mouse) has made the determination of mutant frequencies (MF) a much simpler task. Previously, MF data from these mice have been collected by means of the 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-beta-D-galactopyranoside (X-gal) colour-screening procedure. To determine whether data obtained with the two systems are comparable, the MF in lambda phages recovered from liver and brain of transgenic mice treated with N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) and liver of benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P)-treated mice was determined with both procedures.

Molecular dosimetry of DNA damage induced by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; relevance for exposure monitoring and risk assessment.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) form a large group of organic chemicals that are widely distributed in our environment as pollutants of air, water and soil. Several PAH are carcinogenic in rodents, while exposure to these compounds has been associated with various types of human cancer. Upon entering the body, PAH may be converted into reactive electrophilic species, which can give rise to the formation of DNA adducts.

Role of the intestinal microflora in the formation of DNA and haemoglobin adducts in rats treated with 2-nitrofluorene and 2-aminofluorene by gavage.

The role of the intestinal microflora in the metabolic activation of nitroarenes and arylamines was studied in female Wistar rats that received a dose of 1 mmol/kg 2-aminofluorene (2-AF) in sunflower oil by gavage. Another group received the same dose of 2-nitrofluorene (2-NF). A third group of animals was used as controls.

Formation and repair of benzo[a]pyrene-DNA adducts in cultured hamster tracheal epithelium determined by 32P-postlabeling analysis and unscheduled DNA synthesis.

Hamster tracheal organ cultures were used to investigate the relationship between DNA adduct formation measured directly by the 32P-postlabeling assay, and the DNA damage measured indirectly by the unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) assay. Hamster tracheas were treated with three concentrations of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) for 2 days. Postlabeling and UDS assays were also carried out a few days after removal of the B[a]P.

Improvements in the 32P-postlabelling procedure to quantify bulky aromatic DNA adducts.

This contribution describes methodological modifications and improvements that may contribute to inter-assay reproducibility and more accurate adduct quantification for 32P-postlabelling. Firstly, an anion-exchange chromatography procedure was developed to determine the amount of DNA used per assay and to check its purity, in particular to verify the absence of contaminating RNA. Secondly, calibration standards were prepared, in order to correct for differences in recovery.

Detection of benzo[a]pyrene-DNA adducts in cultured cells treated with benzo[a]pyrene diol-epoxide by quantitative immunofluorescence microscopy and 32P-postlabelling; immunofluorescence analysis of benzo[a]pyrene-DNA adducts in bronchial cells from smoking individuals.

Monoclonal antibodies were raised against the reaction product of benzo[a]pyrene diol-epoxide (BPDE) and deoxyguanosine-5'-monophosphate. The antibodies were used for detection of DNA adducts in situ in BPDE-treated cultured human fibroblasts by immunofluorescence microscopy. Analogue-digital conversion of the fluorescence signal and further image processing allowed measurement of the immunospecific fluorescence in the nuclei of these cells.

The binding efficiency of polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies to DNA modified with benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide is dependent on the level of modification. Implications for quantitation of benzo[a]pyrene-DNA adducts in vivo.

A number of polyclonal antibodies specific for DNA modified with (+/-)trans-7,8-dihydroxy-anti-9,10-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyre ne (BPDE) were obtained from the sera of New Zealand white rabbits immunized with BPDE-DNA, complexed with methylated bovine serum albumin (mBSA). Monoclonal antibodies were developed by fusion of mouse myeloma cells with spleen cells isolated from BALB/c mice immunized with the same complex of BPDE-DNA and mBSA. These antibodies have been characterized for specificity in a highly sensitive, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).