Anthropometry of craniosynostosis

Background Anthropometry is becoming a popular method for diagnostics of various diseases in pediatric clinical practice. The aim of this study was to assess the growth changes in craniofacial parameters in patients with craniosynostosis and positional plagiocephaly. Methods Inclusion criteria for the study were presence of craniostenosis or positional plagiocephaly in a patient with at least three anthropometric evaluations at our department. Studied patients were aged from 1.0 month to 2.5 years with median age at the first and last anthropometric evaluation as 1.83 and 25.27 months, respectively. Further anthropometric results in patients older than 2.5 years were excluded from the study. Statistical significance was tested by the Mann–Whitney test. Results The studied group consisted of 70.5% male patients. The type of craniosynostosis was represented by scaphocephaly in 44.1%, by trigonocephaly in 45.6% and by coronal craniosynostosis in 10.3% of the cases. Cranial index was proven as a suitable parameter for evaluating differences in the trend of growth in craniosynostosis (p<0.001) and also for evaluating post-operative results. Significance was found in width of the head (p=0.038) for scaphocephaly and in length of the head for trigonocephaly (p=0.001) in surgically treated patients. Trend of cranial growth in operated patients copied the curve of the norm but in higher or lower values which depends on the type of prematurely closed suture. Conclusion Longitudinal anthropometric follow-up is an objective and measurable method that can accurately non-invasively and non-expensively assess skull growth in pediatric patients with cranial deformity

Impact of Polychlorinated Biphenyls Contamination on Estrogenic Activity in Human Male Serum

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are thought to cause numerous adverse health effects, but their impact on estrogen signaling is still not fully understood. In the present study, we used the ER-CALUX bioassay to determine estrogenic/antiestrogenic activities of the prevalent PCB congeners and PCB mixtures isolated from human male serum. The samples were collected from residents of an area with an extensive environmental contamination from a former PCB production site as well as from a neighboring background region in eastern Slovakia. We found that the lower-chlorinated PCBs were estrogenic, whereas the prevalent higher-chlorinated PCB congeners 138, 153, 170, 180, 187, 194, 199, and 203, as well as major PCB metabolites, behaved as anti-estrogens. Coplanar PCBs had no direct effect on estrogen receptor (ER) activation in this in vitro model. In human male serum samples, high levels of PCBs were associated with a decreased ER-mediated activity and an increased dioxin-like activity, as determined by the DR-CALUX assay. 17β-Estradiol (E(2)) was responsible for a major part of estrogenic activity identified in total serum extracts. Significant negative correlations were found between dioxin-like activity, as well as mRNA levels of cytochromes P450 1A1 and 1B1 in lymphocytes, and total estrogenic activity. For sample fractions containing only persistent organic pollutants (POPs), the increased frequency of anti-estrogenic samples was associated with a higher sum of PCBs. This suggests that the prevalent non-dioxin-like PCBs were responsible for the weak antiestrogenic activity of some POPs fractions. Our data also suggest that it might be important to pay attention to direct effects of PCBs on steroid hormone levels in heavily exposed subjects

Sintaksonomija in nomenklatura zvez Astero alpini-Seslerion calcariae in Seslerion tatrae na Slovaškem

The article brings the most important results of the syntaxonomical revision of the communities of the alliances Astero-Seslerion calcariae and Seslerion tatrae from the territory of Slovakia: descriptions of the new suballiances (Astero-Seslerienion calcariae, Pulsatillo slavicae-Caricenion humilis), associations (Gentiano clusii-Festucetum versicoloris, Diantho nitidi-Seslerietum tatrae) and subassociations (Minuartio langii-Festucetum pallentis campanuletosum carpaticae and campanuletosum xylocarpae, Seslerietum tatrae luzuletosum rubellae and biscutelletosum laevigatae, Seslerio tatrae-Festucetum versicoloris ranunculetosum pseudomontani and inops). The authors validate the name Minuartio langii-Festucetum pallentis (Sillinger 1933) Mucina in Mucina et Maglocký 1985 nom. nud. They propose the new name for the association Arctostaphyletum fatrense Sillinger 1933 (Seslerio albicantis-Arctostaphyletum uvae-ursi).V članku so obravnavani najpomembnejši rezultati sintaksonomske revizije zvez Astero-Seslerion calcariae in Seslerion tatrae na Slovaškem. Opisane so: nove podzveze (Astero-Seslerienion calcariae, Pulsatillo slavicae-Caricenion humilis), asociacije (Gentiano clusii-Festucetum versicoloris, Diantho nitidi-Seslerietum tatrae) in subasociacije (Minuartio langii-Festucetum pallentis campanuletosum carpaticae in campanuletosum xylocarpae, Seslerietum tatrae luzuletosum rubellae in biscutelletosum laevigatae, Seslerio tatrae-Festucetum versicoloris ranunculetosum pseudomontani in inops). Avtorji so pravilno opisali asociacijo Minuartio langii-Festucetum pallentis (Sillinger 1933) Mucina in Mucina et Maglocký 1985 nom. nud. Predlagajo novo ime za asociacijo Arctostaphyletum fatrense Sillinger 1933 (Seslerio albicantis-Arctostaphyletum uvae-ursi)

Metodika stanovení polychlorovaných dibenzo-p-dioxinů a dibenzofuranů (PCDDs/Fs) ve volném ovzduší:Analýza PCDD a PCDF

Studie popisuje metody čištění extraktů s cílem izolovat PCDD a PCDF, kvalitativní a kvantitativní analýzu pomocí plynové chromatografie s hmotnostní spektrometrickou detekcí

Metodika stanovení polychlorovaných dibenzo-p-dioxinů a dibenzofuranů (PCDDs/Fs) ve volném ovzduší:Odběr a zpracování vzorků

Studie předkládá charakteristiku sledovaných látek a způsobu odběru vzorků a jejich extrakce

Impact of polychlorinated biphenyls contamination on estrogenic activity in human male serum.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are thought to cause numerous adverse health effects, but their impact on estrogen signaling is still not fully understood. In the present study, we used the ER-CALUX bioassay to determine estrogenic/antiestrogenic activities of the prevalent PCB congeners and PCB mixtures isolated from human male serum. The samples were collected from residents of an area with an extensive environmental contamination from a former PCB production site as well as from a neighboring background region in eastern Slovakia. We found that the lower-chlorinated PCBs were estrogenic, whereas the prevalent higher-chlorinated PCB congeners 138, 153, 170, 180, 187, 194, 199, and 203, as well as major PCB metabolites, behaved as antiestrogens. Coplanar PCBs had no direct effect on estrogen receptor (ER) activation in this in vitro model. In human male serum samples, high levels of PCBs were associated with a decreased ER-mediated activity and an increased dioxin-like activity, as determined by the DR-CALUX assay. 17beta-Estradiol (E2) was responsible for a major part of estrogenic activity identified in total serum extracts. Significant negative correlations were found between dioxin-like activity, as well as mRNA levels of cytochromes P450 1A1 and 1B1 in lymphocytes, and total estrogenic activity. For sample fractions containing only persistent organic pollutants (POPs), the increased frequency of antiestrogenic samples was associated with a higher sum of PCBs. This suggests that the prevalent non-dioxin-like PCBs were responsible for the weak antiestrogenic activity of some POPs fractions. Our data also suggest that it might be important to pay attention to direct effects of PCBs on steroid hormone levels in heavily exposed subjects

workingsci1

We thank all collaborators involved in the PCBRisk project for their enormous effort in collection of samples and for fruitful discussion and support, especially Å. Bergman and L. Hovander (Stockholm University, Sweden), M.B.M. van Duursen (IRAS, University of Utrecht, the Netherlands), and S. Jursa (Slovak Medical University, Bratislava, Slovakia). We thank M. Gájová for her assistance with extraction and fractionation of male blood samples. This work was supported by the European Union (project no. QLK4- CT-2000-00488) and by the Czech Ministry of Agriculture (MZE 0002716201). This work was presented in part at the PCB Workshop, 13-15 June 2004, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA, and at the Dioxin2004 Symposium, 6-10 September 2004, Berlin, Germany. The authors declare they have no competing financial interests. Received Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are thought to cause numerous adverse health effects, but their impact on estrogen signaling is still not fully understood. In the present study, we used the ER-CALUX bioassay to determine estrogenic/antiestrogenic activities of the prevalent PCB congeners and PCB mixtures isolated from human male serum. The samples were collected from residents of an area with an extensive environmental contamination from a former PCB production site as well as from a neighboring background region in eastern Slovakia. We found that the lowerchlorinated PCBs were estrogenic, whereas the prevalent higher-chlorinated PCB congeners 138, 153, 170, 180, 187, 194, 199, and 203, as well as major PCB metabolites, behaved as antiestrogens. Coplanar PCBs had no direct effect on estrogen receptor (ER) activation in this in vitro model. In human male serum samples, high levels of PCBs were associated with a decreased ER-mediated activity and an increased dioxin-like activity, as determined by the DR-CALUX assay. 17β-Estradiol (E 2 ) was responsible for a major part of estrogenic activity identified in total serum extracts. Significant negative correlations were found between dioxin-like activity, as well as mRNA levels of cytochromes P450 1A1 and 1B1 in lymphocytes, and total estrogenic activity. For sample fractions containing only persistent organic pollutants (POPs), the increased frequency of antiestrogenic samples was associated with a higher sum of PCBs. This suggests that the prevalent nondioxin-like PCBs were responsible for the weak antiestrogenic activity of some POPs fractions. Our data also suggest that it might be important to pay attention to direct effects of PCBs on steroid hormone levels in heavily exposed subjects. Since 1959, several thousand tons of residues from the Chemko Strážske chemical plant in the Michalovce district, Slovakia, have been deposited in the nearby river and water reservoir sediments. This has resulted in widespread contamination of the environment, leading to high human exposure. Serum PCB concentrations in subjects from six different districts of Slovakia suggest that levels are three to six times higher in subjects from the Michalovce district As a part of a large epidemiologic study, the PCBRisk project Materials and Methods Chemicals. The PCB nomenclature used here is from the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). PCBs 74, 156, 170, 187, 199, and 203 were purchased from Ehrenstorfer (Augsburg, Germany); PCBs 28, 52, 66, 99, 101, 105, 118, 126, 138, 153, 180, and 194 were supplied by Promochem (Wesel, Germany). Purity of all compounds was > 99%. The chemical structure and nomenclature of the PCB congeners we studied is presented in Blood sampling, extraction, and clean up. We collected 150 individual male blood samples from residents of two areas of eastern Slovakia, which are differently contaminated with PCBs: the Michalovce district, where commercial PCB mixtures were produced fo

Impact of Polychlorinated Biphenyls Contamination on Estrogenic Activity in Human Male Serum-4

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Impact of Polychlorinated Biphenyls Contamination on Estrogenic Activity in Human Male Serum"</p><p>Environmental Health Perspectives 2005;113(10):1277-1284.</p><p>Published online 26 May 2005</p><p>PMCID:PMC1281266.</p><p>This is an Open Access article: verbatim copying and redistribution of this article are permitted in all media for any purpose, provided this notice is preserved along with the article's original DOI.</p

Impact of Polychlorinated Biphenyls Contamination on Estrogenic Activity in Human Male Serum-3

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Impact of Polychlorinated Biphenyls Contamination on Estrogenic Activity in Human Male Serum"</p><p>Environmental Health Perspectives 2005;113(10):1277-1284.</p><p>Published online 26 May 2005</p><p>PMCID:PMC1281266.</p><p>This is an Open Access article: verbatim copying and redistribution of this article are permitted in all media for any purpose, provided this notice is preserved along with the article's original DOI.</p

Impact of Polychlorinated Biphenyls Contamination on Estrogenic Activity in Human Male Serum-1

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Impact of Polychlorinated Biphenyls Contamination on Estrogenic Activity in Human Male Serum"</p><p>Environmental Health Perspectives 2005;113(10):1277-1284.</p><p>Published online 26 May 2005</p><p>PMCID:PMC1281266.</p><p>This is an Open Access article: verbatim copying and redistribution of this article are permitted in all media for any purpose, provided this notice is preserved along with the article's original DOI.</p