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Abstract
Abstract
The estimated amounts of alcohol consumed regularly are data recorded on the basis of patients’ self-report at history-taking. In many instances, however, patients do not genuinely inform their physician on the extent of their alcohol consumption, and in some cases they simply conceal it. In such cases determination of the amount of carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) can be helpful.
Objective
To determine the levels of carbohydrate-deficient transferrin in a healthy population.
Methods
The authors performed examinations among inhabitants of a small Hungarian town (Enese). Data of 409 individuals (average age: 49.7 years) have been processed. They included 204 men (average age: 49.3 years) and 205 women (average age: 50.3 years). Subjects were divided into two groups: 1) those who consumed no alcohol or only small quantities (< 40 g/day) and 2) the so-called social drinkers who consumed an amount corresponding to 40 to 60 g alcohol/day. Levels of carbohydrate-deficient transferrin were measured by immune turbidimetry with an automated instrument Hitachi 912 (Roche USA).
Results
In persons consuming no or only small quantities of alcohol, the levels of CDT rise gradually with the increasing age. In the age group between 45 and 65 years the values are significantly higher than in people under 25 years of age. In the younger age group under 45 years, women were found to have significantly higher levels than men. In the social drinkers (beverage consumption corresponding to 40 to 60 g alcohol/day) the values were higher in all cases as compared to those in the non-consuming group, and in the age group between 45 and 65 years the levels were significantly higher than in the younger age group. Of them, men had significantly higher values as compared to women.
Conclusion
CDT levels show a moderate rise with the age, and social drinking increases the values as well.
There are two main theories explaining offspring sex biases in polygynous mammals. Trivers and Willard (1973) argue that mothers with greater reproductive resources should invest in the sex with the greater variance in reproductive success, usually sons. In contrast, because daughters in many polygynous mammals stay with their mother and compete with her for food, Local Resource Competition theory (e.g. Clark, 1978; Silk, 1983) predicts that the mothers with the greatest reproductive resources should invest in daughters. We investigated the strategy of sex allocation of a captive, outdoor population of 139 mouflon mothers, Ovis musimon, kept in a game state. A complex picture emerged in which, despite weight and body condition being correlated with age in female mouflons, mothers lambed more daughters with increasing age but also, within a given age, gave birth to more sons with increasing weight. Results may be useful in game management aimed at increasing the recruitment or quality o f males in managed populations.
The aim of the paper is to give an overview of the knowledge on asthma through the history of mankind. The text begins with ancient China and it is finished with the medicine of Middle Age. During this time, a lot of theories came and this appeared about the etiology and therapy of the disease. The paper is giving a short description of the changing medical views during this very long period including China, Egypt Greco-roman period, Mesopotamia, the Hebrews, the physicians of India, the pre-Columbian medicine in the America and the Arabic world, and partly the European medicine of the Middle Ages.
Regular assessment of psycho-physiological parameters in aged subjects helps to clarify physical and mental conditions which are important in the prevention of health-endangering events to assure a healthy aging. Thirty older care female residents consented voluntarily to participate in the study. The somatic and psycho-physiological parameters recorded were handgrip force, disjunctive reaction time, balance control and whole body movement coordination, the electrocardiogram and heart rate variability. Significant correlations were found between (a) reaction time and balance control efficiency (r = −0.567, p < 0.009), (b) reaction time and movement coordination accuracy (r = −0.453, p < 0.045), (c) cardiac state and movement coordination accuracy (r = 0.545, p < 0.016), (d) cardiac stress and cardiac state (r = −0.495, p < 0.031), and (e) cardiac stress and force (r = −0.822, p < 0.045). In conclusion, for the aim of establishing basic battery tests for assessing psycho-physiological condition of physical fitness our results emphasize the importance of systematic physical activity, endurance and strength training supporting muscle force, balance control and whole-body movement coordination, in addition to improving the cardiac stress index level. The strong interrelation among these parameters allows the drawing of a more complete view regarding the health condition of aged individuals.
To investigate the association of pathogenic Escherichia coli fimbrial adhesins with the development of diarrhoea in piglets of different age groups and to test their relative competitiveness, piglets were orally inoculated with a mixture of E. coli strains harbouring F4, F5, F6, F18 and F41 fimbrial genes. A total of 537 E. coli strains with haemolytic activity were isolated from 36 diarrhoeic piglets. The F4 fimbrial gene was observed in 98.5%, 97.6% and 80.6% strains carrying fimbrial genes isolated from diarrhoeic piglets that were infected at 1, 3 and 5 weeks of age, respectively. These data demonstrate that F4 fimbriae are highly associated with diarrhoea in piglets of all age groups. Interestingly, the F18 fimbrial gene was observed in 2.4% and 25.4% strains carrying fimbrial genes isolated from the 3- and 5-week-old groups, respectively, which confirms that F18 fimbriae are associated with diarrhoea in piglets from late stages of suckling to post-weaning, and are more related to diarrhoea in weaned than in unweaned piglets.
This study investigated the effects of ovariohysterectomy performed at 10 weeks of age on body weight, behaviour, bone length, serum calcium and phosphorus concentrations and gonadal hormone (progesterone and oestradiol) levels until 24 weeks of age in 31 clinically healthy mixed-breed female puppies. The littermates were randomly assigned to three groups. Group I (n = 11) was completely ovariohysterectomised, Group II (n = 10) was incompletely ovariohysterectomised with one ovary left intact, and Group III (n = 10) was sham operated. No significant differences were found between the groups for any of the parameters evaluated. It was determined that, except for two measurements of two animals in Group II at 20 and 24 weeks of age, all animals had undetectable concentrations of oestradiol 17-β. These findings suggest that an ovariohysterectomy performed on a mixed-breed dog at 10 weeks of age does not affect her skeletal, behavioural or physical development in the period studied, i.e. until 24 weeks of age.
For lack of relevant data of the literature, the tetanus immunisation results obtained in the two sexes were compared in an animal model. Complete immunisation series of weaned, adult and aged guinea-pigs (20–25 animals/group) were performed with aluminium phosphate (AlPO4) adsorbed purified tetanus toxoid (PTAP) as well as with typhoid-tetanus vaccine (TY-TE) containing lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Both vaccines contained 5.0 Lf (limes flocculans, Ramon) per single dose of tetanus toxoid, purity degree: 1500 Lf/mg protein nitrogen (PN). Tetanus antitoxin titres (TAT) were measured after the first shot, and subsequently before and after booster. Compared to TAT of male animals, significantly lower titres were found in female animals after basic immunisation with PTAP in all the three age groups: 1.03 vs. 0.57, 8.75 vs. 5.64, and 0.27 vs. 0.15 IU (international units, related to the Copenhagen International Standard) per ml (sex-chromosome-dependent differences?), as well as in adult animals immunised with TY-TE, before booster: 0.07 vs. 0.02 IU/ml (hormone-dependent differences?). In the latter case the TAT results after booster were 14.49 vs. 12.89 IU/ml. Thus, the lower female prebooster titres were counterbalanced by a quick and effective increase of titres following booster. These results are in accordance with our previous observations in humans (Réthy and Réthy, 1986). From our observations with tetanus immunisation series on guinea-pigs it can be concluded that TAT may be influenced by the effects of sex chromosomes as well as of sexual hormones. During active anti-tetanus immunisation with LPS-containing vaccine (TY-TE) the lower adult female prebooster titres are presumably counterbalanced by the better functionality of the female immune memory.
Haematological and biochemical analyses of blood were performed in carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) kept in small ponds. Caught and anaesthetised carp were clinically examined and blood samples were taken at regular intervals during the three years. In the first year of examinations, the haemoglobin and haematocrit values of carp fry significantly increased (P<0.01) from June to September. The intensive growth of carp in the summer period in the second year was accompanied by adequate erythropoiesis. During hibernation haematocrit and haemoglobin significantly decreased (P<0.05) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) increased (P<0.01) in both scaly and mirror carp. MCHC increased also with the age and increasing body weight of the fish. Mirror carp had lower haematocrit and haemoglobin values than scaly carp (P<0.01). Comparative haematological analyses between carp of normal and poor body condition showed that moderate anaemia appeared in those with poor body condition. The results indicate that there is marked seasonal and age-dependent variation in the values of haematocrit and haemoglobin. Pond water quality investigations indicated good environmental conditions. A 50% increase (P<0.05) of glucose concentration was found from June to September in the blood plasma of carp in the third year, accompanied by an even more increased (80%; P<0.01) concentration of total lipids. At the same time, considerable changes of cholesterol and total protein concentrations were not observed. The results suggest that the investigated haematological and biochemical variables could be successfully utilised in monitoring the metabolic balance and health status of fish in intensive culture.
Az „őszülő társadalmakban”, így Magyarországon is a lakosság öregedésével párhuzamosan egyre nagyobb kihívást jelent az idős korú emberek jólétének biztosítása, szomatikus, pszichés és szociális szempontból egyaránt. Az időskor az elmúlás és a bejárt életúttal való szembenézés, „az elszámolás” időszaka. Ezekre az évekre esik az erikson-i értelemben vett utolsó pszichoszociális stádium, melynek központi feladata személyes életutunk saját vállainkon nyugvó „értelmének” fellelése. Ennek a folyamatnak Erik H. Erikson szerint kétféle kimenetele lehet: egyrészt a személyes felelősség és a halandóság elfogadását tükröző, az élettel való megelégedettségben gyökerező én-integritás, másrészt pedig ennek a felhalmozott én-teljességnek a hiányáról illetve elvesztéséről tanúskodó kétségbeesés. Az élet végességének elfogadásában a teljes életutunkat átívelően biztonságot nyújtó kötődéseink tükröződnek. Öregedésünk – és a modern, nyugati társadalmakban ezzel szinte kötelezően együtt járó szerepvesztés/váltás elfogadása – nagyrészt az életnek jelentést és tartalmat adó értelemteljes cél fellelésének, a mindennapi szociális környezetben betöltött szerep szubjektív megélésének, továbbá az egyéni életúttal, a személyes múlt meghatározó eseményeivel kapcsolatos érzéseink függvénye. Vizsgálatunkban gerontológiai korú (65 éven felüli) személyek három csoportját vizsgáltuk: belgyógyászati osztályon kezelt idős embereket, szociális intézményben, Idősek Házában élő időseket, illetve otthonukban – egyedül vagy családtagjaival – élő, szociálisan aktív, Idősek Klubját rendszeresen látogató embereket (összesen 75 idős embert). Vizsgálati módszerek: az Élet-értelmébe vetett hit skála, ennek kiegészítéseként a mindennapi szociális környezetben betöltött szerep szubjektív megélését vizsgáló kérdés, és egy általunk összeállított kérdéssor (vizsgálat helyszíne, demográfiai adatok: nem, kor, családi kapcsolatok, személyes élethelyzet szubjektív megítélése, társas aktivitás, szociális veszteségek és az egészségi állapot szubjektív megítélése). A kérdéssorban központi helyet kapott egy, az egyéni életúttal és a múlttal kapcsolatos megbánás meglétét illetve hiányát felmérő félig strukturált interjú. Eredményeink, várakozásainknak megfelelően azt mutatják, hogy a meglévő és „működő” családi, szociális kapcsolat(ok) a legjelentősebb protektív faktor az időskori kétségbeesés megjelenésével szemben. Bár az eltérések nem szignifikánsak, elmondható, hogy a pillanatnyi élethelyzet szubjektív megítélése jelentős, azonos tendenciájú hatást gyakorolt az élet értelmességének megítélésére. A közösségi tevékenységekben, társas összejöveteleken való részvétel és az egészségi állapot pozitív megítélése szignifikánsan emelte az „Élet-értelmébe vetett hit” változó értékeit. Azon személyeknél, akik életútjukra visszatekintve megbánással kapcsolatos érzésekről számoltak be drasztikusan lecsökkent élet értelmébe vetett hit. A vizsgálat helyszíne és a mindennapi szociális környezetben betöltött szerep ugyancsak szignifikáns hatást gyakorolt vizsgált változónkra. Ahogy emelkedik az egyéni fontosság, a „szükség van rám” érzés szintje, úgy növekszik az élet-értelmébe vetett hit is, következésképpen a ritkább szövésű szociális hálóval rendelkező, kedvezőtlenebb életkörülmények között, Idősek Házában élő emberek a legveszélyeztetettebbek.
Six pieces of grafts, 6.5 mm in diameter, 20 mm in length, were taken from each of 170 cadaver hindlimbs, using the cranial surface of the medial femoral trochlea for harvesting. The age of the horses varied between 4 months and 23 years. 30 limbs under the age of 12 years were selected for transplantation. Three of six grafts were transplanted into the medial femoral condyle using different combinations of tunnel depth and dilation. With ageing, a significant decline in transplantability was detected. In general, mosaicplasty cannot be recommended in horses above 11 years. Based on a previous clinical case (Bodo et al., 2000), a good surface alignment was indeed achieved with a combination of graft length drilling and dilation in most cases. However, the occasional entrapment of cartilage debris under the graft prevented perfect alignment in the present cadaver study in 27% of the grafts transplanted in this manner. Since the protrusion of grafts never exceeded 1.5 mm, we conclude that drilling 3–5 mm deeper than graft length with graft length deep dilation can avoid disadvantageous protrusion of the transplanted hyaline cartilage caps, achieving bone decompression at the same time.
