Cluster of three cases of invasive meningococcal disease in a preschool facility in West Bohemia, the Czech Republic.

From 1993 to 2009, there was only one cluster of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) reported in a community of children in the Czech Republic. This exceptional cluster that occurred in a preschool facility is the focus of this report. In response to the announcement of the disease, anti-epidemic precautions were put in place.

[Imported viral hepatitis in the Czech Republic].

Objective: Through the analysis of notified viral hepatitis, trends in the occurrence of imported cases in the Czech Republic have been specified, the aim of which was to draw attention to the epidemiologically important aspects of travelling abroad.

Material And Methods: In the software environment of Epi Info version 6.04d, nationwide databases of communicable diseases over the period of 1993-2005 were analysed.

Risks of different self-approach to health in an industrial city population.

Introduction: The results of a number of epidemiological studies found relationship between low socio-economic status (SES) and worse health status.

Objectives: The goal of the study is the evaluation of the health status in inhabitants of an industrial city, their different approach to health and preventive measures in relation with lifestyle factors and socio-economic status (SES).

Methods: A structured questionnaire was elaborated, distributed to a random sample of some 3,000 aged 25-70 and collected by postal delivery.

The inversely proportional relation between nitric oxide and lipid peroxidation in atherosclerotic plaque formation in human.

It is known that in the presence of oxygen radicals, anti-atherogenic nitric oxide is converted into pro-atherogenic products, which increase lipid peroxidation. In this study, plaque-free atherosclerotic tissues (n=26), atherosclerotic plaques (n=26) and fetal tissues (n=2; as control) were evaluated. High nitrite, but low malondialdehyde, levels in non-atherosclerotic tissues may show the protective role of nitric oxide from atherosclerosis.

Perceptual differences regarding health and environmental problems and their remedies in two states of the former Czechoslovakia.

In the framework of the Central European Study on Air pollution and Respiratory Health (CESAR), a risk perception and risk communication study was carried out in a total of 25 areas in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and the Slovak Republic. This paper is focused on the differences of perception between the Czech (CR) and the Slovak Republic (SR), and the other involved countries. The analysis is based on the data of a structured risk perception questionnaire survey of a random population sample.

Biological activities of organic compounds adsorbed onto ambient air particles: comparison between the cities of Teplice and Prague during the summer and winter seasons 2000-2001.

The capital of the Czech Republic, Prague, appears today to be one of the most polluted residential areas in the country, whereas air pollution in the Northern Bohemia region (the former "Black Triangle Region") has substantially decreased during the last decade, especially with respect to the gaseous pollutant SO(2). This study evaluated the biological activities of complex mixtures of organic compounds adsorbed onto ambient air particles (PM10) collected during the summer and winter seasons of 2000-2001 at three monitoring sites--Teplice (TP), Prague-Smíchov (PRG-SM) (city centre) and Prague-Libus (PRG-LB) (suburban area). The following short-term in vitro assays with strikingly different endpoints were used: a bacterial mutagenicity test using the Salmonella typhimurium tester strain TA98 and YG1041, an acellular assay (CT DNA) combined with 32P-postlabelling to evaluate DNA adduct-forming potency and the chick embryotoxicity screening test (CHEST).

The influence of occupational exposure to PAHs on the blood plasma levels of p53 and p21WAF1 proteins.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are the main source of carcinogenic risk among coke-oven workers. p53 is a tumor suppressor protein that is induced after DNA damage. It regulates the transcription of genes responsible for cell cycle arrest and apoptosis.

Isolation of Carnobacterium piscicola from human pus--case report.

Carnobacterium piscicola was first described in 1984. These bacteria are often isolated from fish afflicted with bacterial infections. To date, there has been no reported isolation of this bacterium from human specimens.

The exposure of nonsmoking and smoking mothers to environmental tobacco smoke during different gestational phases and fetal growth.

We studied the impact of maternal exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) on birth weight (BW), low birth weight (LBW), and intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) according to self-reported maternal smoking habits in a sample of 6,866 singleton births. We obtained data about parental characteristics and maternal active smoking (AS) and passive smoking at delivery via maternal questionnaires and medical records. We used three categories of smoking habits (nonsmokers and those who smoked 1-10 or >10 cigarettes per day) and defined ETS exposure as greater than or equal to 5 cigarettes per day smoked by others in the mother's presence.

Acrylonitrile exposure: the effect on p53 and p21(WAF1) protein levels in the blood plasma of occupationally exposed workers and in vitro in human diploid lung fibroblasts.

Acrylonitrile (ACN) is a compound widely used in the synthesis of a variety of organic products. It has been found that ACN is carcinogenic in rats, and some epidemiological studies also suggest a possible carcinogenic effect of ACN in humans. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of ACN exposure on the expression of p53 and p21(WAF1) proteins in vitro as well as in vivo.

DNA-adducts and atherosclerosis: a study of accidental and sudden death males in the Czech Republic.

Atherosclerosis and carcinogenesis may share some common mechanisms of the genotoxic action of exogenous compounds, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The main objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that "bulky" aromatic DNA-adducts in smooth muscle cells (SMCs) of thoracic aortas taken at autopsy from sudden and accidental death male subjects, aged between 30 and 60 years (N=133), are associated with the stage of atherosclerosis. The subjects with severe atherosclerotic damage were treated as "Cases" (N=66).

DNA adducts and human atherosclerotic lesions.

It has been hypothesized that mutational events may be involved in the atherogenetic process and that at least a portion of atherosclerotic plaques may be the results of monoclonal proliferation of a single mutated smooth muscle cell (SMC). Therefore, atherosclerosis may be similar to carcinogenesis and may have an environmental etiology. We have analyzed bulky-aromatic DNA adducts in human thoracic aortas from male subjects, aged between 30-60 years, who died suddenly or accidentally, and who had been examined by autopsy within 24 h after death.

The distribution of major lymphocyte subsets in cord blood is associated with its pH.

Objectives: To assess in venous cord blood the distribution of major lymphocyte subsets according to pH and medications used during labor.

Design And Methods: Venous cord blood was sampled immediately after labor from 70 newborns (35 males and 35 females) delivered vaginally. Lymphocytes were immunophenotyped by flow cytometry and pH was measured using the AVL 900 automated blood gas analysis system.

The impact of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and fine particles on pregnancy outcome.

The relationship between intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) and exposure to particulate matter [less than/equal to] 10 microm (PM(10)) and particulate matter [less than and equal to] 2.5 microm (PM(2.5))( )in early pregnancy was recently studied in the highly polluted district of Teplice (Northern Bohemia).

The effect of dibenzo[a,1]pyrene and benzo[a]pyrene on human diploid lung fibroblasts: the induction of DNA adducts, expression of p53 and p21(WAF1) proteins and cell cycle distribution.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in ambient air are considered as potential human carcinogens, but the detailed mechanism of action is still unknown. Our aim was to study the in vitro effect of exposure to dibenzo[a,l]pyrene (DB[a,l]P), the most potent carcinogenic PAH ever tested, and benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) in a normal human diploid lung fibroblast cells (HEL) using multiple endpoints. DNA adduct levels were measured by 32P-postlabelling, the expression of p53 and p21(WAF1) proteins by western blotting and the cell cycle distribution by flow cytometry.

Genotoxicity of urban air pollutants in the Czech Republic. Part II. DNA adduct formation in mammalian cells by extractable organic matter.

The study was aimed at determining the genotoxic potential of extractable organic matter (EOM) from ambient air particles PM10 (<10 micrometer) using mammalian cells in culture as test system. Air samples were collected in the course of summer and winter periods in two regions of the Czech Republic representing low and high levels of air pollution, the districts of industrial Teplice and rural Prachatice, respectively. EOM was fractionated by acid-base partitioning and silica gel column chromatography.

Fecundability and parental exposure to ambient sulfur dioxide.

Recently it has been observed that birth rates in Teplice, a highly polluted district in Northern Bohemia, have been reduced during periods when sulfur dioxide levels were high. This study, which is based on data from 2,585 parental pairs in the same region, describes an analysis of the impact of SO(2) on fecundability in the first unprotected menstrual cycle (FUMC). We obtained detailed personal data, including time-to-pregnancy information, via maternal questionnaires at delivery.

Molecular epidemiology studies on occupational and environmental exposure to mutagens and carcinogens, 1997-1999.

Molecular epidemiology is a new and evolving area of research, combining laboratory measurement of internal dose, biologically effective dose, biologic effects, and influence of individual susceptibility with epidemiologic methodologies. Biomarkers evaluated were selected according to basic scheme: biomarkers of exposure--metabolites in urine, DNA adducts, protein adducts, and Comet assay parameters; biomarkers of effect--chromosomal aberrations, sister chromatid exchanges, micronuclei, mutations in the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase gene, and the activation of oncogenes coding for p53 or p21 proteins as measured on protein levels; biomarkers of susceptibility--genetic polymorphisms of genes CYP1A1, GSTM1, GSTT1, NAT2. DNA adducts measured by 32P-postlabeling are the biomarker of choice for the evaluation of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Bioassay-directed chemical analysis and detection of mutagenicity in ambient air of the coke oven.

In the present study, we summarize the results of studies on the mutagenic potential of the main fractions and subfractions of extractable organic material (EOM) in the ambient air at the workplaces of the coke oven. The objective of our experiments was to apply the Bioassay-Directed Chemical Analysis (with the use of the Ames test) for the identification of the differences in the mutagenicity of these fractions, in relationship to the complex mixture of EOM in occupational air. From the evaluation of results, it is possible to deduce the following conclusions: (1) The comparison of the mutagenicity in the main fractions (basic, acidic, neutral) demonstrates the existence of differences in mutagenic potential.

Adverse reproductive outcomes from exposure to environmental mutagens.

The effect of environmental pollution on reproductive outcomes has been studied in the research project 'Teplice Program' analyzing the impact of air pollution on human health. Genotoxicity of urban air particles <10 microm (PM10) in in vitro system was determined by the analysis of DNA adducts. The highest DNA binding activity was observed in aromatic fraction, identifying DNA adducts of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) presumably diolepoxide-derived from: 9-hydroxybenzo[a]pyrene (9-OH-B[a]P), benzo[a]pyrene-r-7,-dihydrodiol-t-9,10-epoxide[+] (anti-BPDE), benzo[b]fluoranthene (B[b]F), chrysene (CHRY), benz[a]antracene (B[a]A), indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene (I[cd]P).

Fetal growth and maternal exposure to particulate matter during pregnancy.

Prior studies reported an association between ambient air concentrations of total suspended particles and SO2 during pregnancy and adverse pregnancy outcomes. We examined the possible impact of particulate matter up to 10 microm (PM10) and up to 2.5 microm (PM2.

Genotoxicity and embryotoxicity of urban air particulate matter collected during winter and summer period in two different districts of the Czech Republic.

This study is the in vitro part of a long-term program to investigate the impact of air pollution on the health of a population in a polluted region of Northern Bohemia. In order to assess the possible health risks associated with a complex mixture of hundreds of organic compounds adsorbed to air particles, we used a biomarker-directed fractionation procedure to evaluate biological activities of different chemical compound classes. The extractable organic compounds from the air particles collected in both the polluted and the control districts during the summers and winters of 1993-1994 were investigated.

Chromosomal aberrations, sister-chromatid exchanges, cells with high frequency of SCE, micronuclei and comet assay parameters in 1, 3-butadiene-exposed workers.

The association of occupational exposure to 1,3-butadiene (BD) and induction of cytogenetic damage in peripheral lymphocytes was studied in 19 male workers from a monomer production unit and 19 control subjects from a heat production unit. The exposure to BD was measured by passive personal monitors. The following biomarkers were used: chromosomal aberrations (CA), sister chromatid exchanges (SCE), cells with a high frequency of SCE (HFC), micronuclei, comet assay parameters like tail length (TL) and percentage of DNA in tail [T (%)] and polymorphisms of GSTM1 and GSTT1 genotypes.

DNA adduct formation in mammalian cell cultures by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and nitro-PAH in coke oven emission extract.

Mammalian cells in culture were used to study the genotoxic potential of coke oven emissions constituting a complex mixture of chemicals. For this purpose, particle extracts and some polycyclic aromatic and nitroaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH and nitro-PAH) occurring in these mixtures were assayed for DNA adduct formation using the -postlabeling technique. In primary cultures of rat hepatocytes, benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), benz[a]anthracene (B[a]A) and benzo[b]fluoranthene (B[k]F) caused DNA adduct levels in the range of 1 adduct/108 nucleotides.

Genotoxicity of coke-oven and urban air particulate matter in in vitro acellular assays coupled with 32P-postlabeling and HPLC analysis of DNA adducts.

This study is an in vitro part of the ongoing biomarker studies with population from a polluted region of Northern Bohemia and coke-oven workers from Czech and Slovak Republics. The aim of this study is to compare DNA adduct forming ability of chemical compound classes from both the urban and coke-oven extractable organic mass (EOM) of airborne particles. The crude extracts were fractionated into seven fractions by acid-base partitioning and silica gel column chromatography.