Hemolysis in runners as evidenced by low serum haptoglobin: Implications for preflight monitoring of astronauts

Hematological parameters and serum haptoglobin were examined in 21 male employees of the Kennedy Space Center who were at 3 levels of physical activity: 7 subjects regularly ran more than 40 km (25 miles) per week (Group I); 7 ran 13 to 24 km (8 to 15 miles) per week (II), and 7 were sedentary (III). Blood was drawn on a different day of the week for five weeks. Differences between day of the week, visit number, and activity level were examined. No differences were observed for day of week or visit number; thus mean values for each variable were calculated for each subject. Variables did not differ among groups. However, trends with level of training were observed in some critical variables. Hemoglobin (Hb) and hematocrit (Hct) conformed to a staircase effect with Group I (14.5 gm/dl and 41.3 percent) lower than Group III (15.1 gm/dl and 42.9 percent). Reticulocyte count was higher and haptoglobin levels lower in Group I (1.35% and 75.7 gm/dl) than Group III (.99 percent and 132.9 gm/dl), with haptoglobin for the high mileage Group I in the clinically abnormal range. Since haptoglobin binds free Hb following RBC destruction, these results suggest that intravascular hemolysis occurs in trained male runners. These results may have special meaning for astronauts training before long-duration spaceflights, since the further reduction in red blood cells which is reported to occur during spaceflight could become detrimental to their health and performance

Development of a Guide to Recommended Print Materials for Diabetes Patient Education

There are hundreds of current booklets, pamphlets, and manuals available for diabetes patient educa tion. Everyone, it seems, is writing them from large pharmaceutical com panies and publishing houses to small rural hospitals. A national review of those materials has led to the development of an an notated resource booklet entitled "Recommended Print Materials for Diabetes Patient Education, 1984. " This article discusses the overall results of the review and the methodology used in its formation.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68926/2/10.1177_014572178401000311.pd

USSR space life sciences digest, issue 27

This is the twenty-fifth issue of NASA's Space Life Sciences Digest. It contains abstracts of 30 journal papers or book chapters published in Russian and of 2 Soviet monographs. Selected abstracts are illustrated with figures and tables from the original. The abstracts in this issue have been identified as relevant to 18 areas of space biology and medicine. These areas include: adaptation, aviation medicine, biological rhythms, biospherics, botany, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, endocrinology, enzymology, exobiology, habitability and environmental effects, hematology, immunology, metabolism, musculoskeletal system, neurophysiology, radiobiology, and space medicine. A Soviet book review of a British handbook of aviation medicine and a description of the work of the division on aviation and space medicine of the Moscow Physiological Society are also included

Face Immersion Bradycardia: Comparison of Swimmer and Nonswimmers

Author Institution: Department of Physiology, Wright State University ; Department of Physiology, George Washington UniversityA profound bradycardia may be exhibited by waterfowl and aquatic mammals when they dive underwater in search of food. A similar response occurs in humans diving underwater or simply wetting the face while breathholding. This bradycardia is mediated by the parasympathetic nervous system (vagus). We investigated whether the extent of this apneic face immersion bradycardia, or bradycardia during dry apnea, is greater in actively training competitive swimmers than in nonswimmers. Eight competitive swimmers and eight age/sex matched nonswimmers each performed apneic face immersion and dry apneic maneuvers while prone. Resting cardiac cycle (interval) duration was not significantly different between these groups, but the swimmers had a significantly longer interval duration (lower heart rate), P<0.05, and a greater percentage decrease of interval duration during both apneic face immersion and dry apnea. Swimmers—but not nonswimmers—demonstrated cardiac arrhythmias considered to be vagally mediated during face immersion. These results indicated that competitive swimmers in active training may have a greater range of parasympathetic nervous system (vagal) control of the heart as well as the well-accepted greater resting level of vagal tone

Seeing is Engaging: Vlogs as a Tool for Patient Engagement

Video blogs (‘vlogs’ – pronounced as one syllable) are a popular platform for conveying know-how online and can be used as a tool for patient engagement. It can be challenging to engage patients in their own care, and the unique attributes of vlogs overcome some of the barriers to engagement such as high treatment burden and a lack of the sense of community. While some clinicians may distrust social media and question its place in patient care, we present The Frey Life, one example of a patient vlog, to show how the platform models and fosters engagement, and provides the patient perspective. We discuss potential concerns regarding health vlogs, and suggest implications for physicians, researchers, and medical institutions regarding how to use patient vlogs as a resource

Diabetes Patient Education in The Office Setting

The diabetes patient education provided in ran domly chosen primary care physician offices in small and large com munities was compared with hospital-based patient education programs in those same communities. The office programs were usually physician-de livered, informal, and in terwoven with the clinical care offered. They usually did not include a sys tematic needs assessment, were not recorded, used educational materials sparsely, and often lacked evaluation. The time spent on education is approx imately 48 minutes per year per patient in the of fice setting. The study suggested several develop mental activities that might improve patient education in physician of fices where the majority of patients with diabetes receive most of their care.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/69027/2/10.1177_014572178601200307.pd

The Biggest Problem in Diabetes

An assessment of the big gest problem in diabetes care from the viewpoint of 115 health care profes sionals and 428 diabetic patients was obtained. There was substantial agreement by health pro fessionals and patients alike that diet and diet- related issues constituted the most difficult problem faced by persons with diabetes and by health professionals caring for those persons. These find ings may be important in organizing diabetes patient education and in the selection of research efforts within the overall field of diabetes.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68782/2/10.1177_014572178601200107.pd

Academic Specialties in U.S. Are Shifting; Hiring of Women Geoscientists Is Stagnating

Women have been receiving a greater proportion of the bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the geosciences over the last 10 years, reaching near 40% in 2000 (latest data available), while receiving only 28% of the Ph.D.s that year. Women are now only 20% of assistant professors at Ph.D.-granting institutions, a proportion that has not changed in the last four years. As part of a larger study to find what key barriers continue to prevent larger numbers of women geoscientists from becoming academics, data have been compiled from the National Science Board [NSB, 2002], and the American Geological Instititute\u27s (AGI) Directory of Geoscience Departments [Claudy, 2001] on geoscience specialty by gender

Data Mining for Gene Networks Relevant to Poor Prognosis in Lung Cancer Via Backward-Chaining Rule Induction

We use Backward Chaining Rule Induction (BCRI), a novel data mining method for hypothesizing causative mechanisms, to mine lung cancer gene expression array data for mechanisms that could impact survival. Initially, a supervised learning system is used to generate a prediction model in the form of “IF <conditions> THEN <outcome>” style rules. Next, each antecedent (i.e. an IF condition) of a previously discovered rule becomes the outcome class for subsequent application of supervised rule induction. This step is repeated until a termination condition is satisfied. “Chains” of rules are created by working backward from an initial condition (e.g. survival status). Through this iterative process of “backward chaining,” BCRI searches for rules that describe plausible gene interactions for subsequent validation. Thus, BCRI is a semi-supervised approach that constrains the search through the vast space of plausible causal mechanisms by using a top-level outcome to kick-start the process. We demonstrate the general BCRI task sequence, how to implement it, the validation process, and how BCRI-rules discovered from lung cancer microarray data can be combined with prior knowledge to generate hypotheses about functional genomics

Relationships between coronary heart disease risk factors and serum ionized calcium in Kennedy Space Center Cohort

Kennedy Space Center (KSC) employees are reported to be at high risk for coronary heart disease (CHD). Risk factors for CHD include high serum total cholesterol levels, low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC), elevated triglyceride, smoking, inactivity, high blood pressure, being male, and being older. Higher dietary and/or serum calcium Ca(++) may be related to a lower risk for CHD. Fifty men and 37 women participated. Subjects were tested in the morning after fasting 12 hours. Information relative to smoking and exercise habits was obtained; seated blood pressures were measured; and blood drawn. KCS men had higher risk values than KCS women as related to HDLC, triglycerides, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure. Smoking and nonsmoking groups did not differ for other risk factors or for serum Ca(++) levels. Exercise and sedentary groups differed in total cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Serum Ca(++) levels were related to age, increasing with age in the sedentary group and decreasing in the exercisers, equally for men and women. It is concluded that these relationships may be significant to the risk of CHD and/or the risk of bone demineralization in an aging population