[Hypertension in working age population: influence of gender and education].

Introduction Hypertension is the most common cardiovascular disease (CVD) and a major cause of premature death. Study of age/gender-related and social aspects of the disease, and the assessment of the efficacy of antihypertensive treatment are essential elements of the epidemiological monitoring of hypertension and support a reasonable approach to planning further therapeutic and preventive interventions.Objective Assess the prevalence of hypertension in the working-age population, examine the relationship between hypertension patterns and level of education of respondents taking into account age, gender, and the main aspects of lifestyle.

Developing nursing practice as part of the collaborative TB control programme, Tomsk, Siberia.

Setting: Review of nursing practice, identification of training needs and implementation of training for nurses working in the Tomsk Oblast' Tuberculosis Services (TOTBS), Russia.

Objective: Preparation of TOTBS nurses for the implementation of a WHO-style TB control programme in January 1997.

Methods: Nursing services and training needs were assessed through observation visits to a number of institutions providing care for TB patients, semi-structured interviews, and discussions at staff meetings.

[Comparative analysis of the HBsAg level in human blood preparations].

A total of 218 batches of blood preparations produced from different raw materials have been studied by means of enzyme immunoassay kits (Abbott Laboratories, USA). The assays have revealed that the preparations under study are nonstandard with respect to the content and isolation rate of HBsAg, the marker of hepatitis B virus. These data necessitate search for the ways of improving the quality of blood preparations.