Assessment of potential effects of the electromagnetic fields of mobile phones on hearing

BACKGROUND: Mobile phones have become indispensable as communication tools; however, to date there is only a limited knowledge about interaction between electromagnetic fields (EMF) emitted by mobile phones and auditory function. The aim of the study was to assess potential changes in hearing function as a consequence of exposure to low-intensity EMF's produced by mobile phones at frequencies of 900 and 1800 MHz. METHODS: The within-subject study was performed on thirty volunteers (age 18–30 years) with normal hearing to assess possible acute effect of EMF. Participants attended two sessions: genuine and sham exposure of EMF. Hearing threshold levels (HTL) on pure tone audiometry (PTA) and transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE's) were recorded before and immediately after 10 min of genuine and/or sham exposure of mobile phone EMF. The administration of genuine or sham exposure was double blind and counterbalanced in order. RESULTS: Statistical analysis revealed no significant differences in the mean HTLs of PTA and mean shifts of TEOAE's before and after genuine and/or sham mobile phone EMF 10 min exposure. The data collected showed that average TEOAE levels (averaged across a frequency range) changed less than 2.5 dB between pre- and post-, genuine and sham exposure. The greatest individual change was 10 dB, with a decrease in level from pre- to post- real exposure. CONCLUSION: It could be concluded that a 10-min close exposure of EMFs emitted from a mobile phone had no immediate after-effect on measurements of HTL of PTA and TEOAEs in young human subjects and no measurable hearing deterioration was detected in our study

Neonatal outcomes of very preterm infants admitted to a tertiary center in Lithuania between the years 2003 and 2005

The objectives of the study are to investigate gestational age-specific mortality and neonatal outcomes in preterm infants admitted to a tertiary center in Lithuania, and to make comparison with tertiary centers in western countries. Three hundred thirty-eight newborns born at ?32 weeks of gestation and with birth weight ?1,500 g between 1 January 2003 and 31 December 2005, admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit at Kaunas Medical University Hospital, were prospectively investigated. Mortality and associations between maternal, perinatal, and neonatal variables and short-term outcomes were examined for two gestational age (GA) groups (group I, extremely preterm, 22-27 weeks GA; group II, very preterm, 28-32 weeks GA). Mortality in group I was 53.5% and 2.9% in group II. GA <28 weeks, Apgar score <5 at 5 min, and birth weight <1,000 g posed the highest risk for death. Overall, 78.2% of the surviving infants were discharged from hospital without adverse short-term outcomes. The incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) was 6.3%, of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) requiring treatment 4.2%, of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) III-IV 10.9%, and for cystic periventricular leukomalacia (cPVL) 8.0%. In conclusion, a decade after introduction of perinatal programs, mortality in the very preterm group is similar to those reported from cohorts in western countries. In the extremely preterm group, however, mortality is still higher. Neonatal outcomes such as ROP are now similar, and BPD is lower to those in other cohorts, whereas the incidence of brain lesions is still higher. We speculate that differences in outcomes between studies may be explained by differences in resources, definitions, and treatment routine

Methods for monitoring and prognosis of clinical status of patients in acute phase of myocardial infarction for computer network based clinical decision support system

a b s t r a c t The methods for evaluation of crucial factors describing status of cardiologic patients in intensive care units based on advanced signal processing methods were incorporated into prototype network based clinical decision support system. The methods realize: (a) evaluation of heart rate variability in aim to predict clinical outcome; (b) evaluation of central hemodynamics in non-invasive way by means of chest impedance signal analysis; (c) automatic detection and evaluation of ECG T-wave alternans -predictor of sudden cardiac death. Modern standard monitoring equipment has connection to the computer network and possibility to transfer registered signals and clinical data what could be processed and evaluated with such clinical decision system. The remotely accessed methods of the system can significantly improve the quality of monitoring of patient status using standard equipment

<it>MGMT</it>, <it>GATA6</it>, <it>CD81</it>, <it>DR4</it>, and <it>CASP8</it> gene promoter methylation in glioblastoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Methylation of promoter region is the major mechanism affecting gene expression in tumors. Recent methylome studies of brain tumors revealed a list of new epigenetically modified genes. Our aim was to study promoter methylation of newly identified epigenetically silenced genes together with already known epigenetic markers and evaluate its separate and concomitant role in glioblastoma genesis and patient outcome.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The methylation status of <it>MGMT</it>, <it>CD81</it>, <it>GATA6</it>, <it>DR4</it>, and <it>CASP8</it> in 76 patients with primary glioblastomas was investigated. Methylation-specific PCR reaction was performed using bisulfite treated DNA. Evaluating glioblastoma patient survival time after operation, patient data and gene methylation effect on survival was estimated using survival analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The overwhelming majority (97.3%) of tumors were methylated in at least one of five genes tested. In glioblastoma specimens gene methylation was observed as follows: <it>MGMT</it> in 51.3%, <it>GATA6</it> in 68.4%, <it>CD81</it> in 46.1%, <it>DR4</it> in 41.3% and <it>CASP8</it> in 56.8% of tumors. Methylation of <it>MGMT</it> was associated with younger patient age (p < 0.05), while <it>CASP8</it> with older (p < 0.01). <it>MGMT</it> methylation was significantly more frequent event in patient group who survived longer than 36 months after operation (p < 0.05), while methylation of <it>CASP8</it> was more frequent in patients who survived shorter than 36 months (p < 0.05). Cox regression analysis showed patient age, treatment, <it>MGMT</it>, <it>GATA6</it> and <it>CASP8</it> as independent predictors for glioblastoma patient outcome (p < 0.05). <it>MGMT</it> and <it>GATA6</it> were independent predictors for patient survival in younger patients’ group, while there were no significant associations observed in older patients’ group when adjusted for therapy.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>High methylation frequency of tested genes shows heterogeneity of glioblastoma epigenome and the importance of <it>MGMT</it>, <it>GATA6</it> and <it>CASP8</it> genes methylation in glioblastoma patient outcome.</p