Diagnosis of Bloom's syndrome by sister chromatid exchange evaluation in chorionic villus cultures

Cultures of a chorion biopsy taken from a pregnancy at risk of Bloom's syndrome revealed the high sister chromatid exchange frequency diagnostic of this rare disorder. To obtain the result, cultures were grown under standard conditions, with the addition of 10μM 5′;-bromodeoxyuridine for the final 48 h of incubation. This result demonstrates the feasibility of early prenatal diagnosis of Bloom's syndrome.     

Grief and mid-trimester fetal loss

Fetal loss through miscarriage or termination of pregnancy for genetic reasons often provokes the grief of bereavement. This is not fully understood, and the extent of the distress is often underestimated by professionals and family alike. We have examined elements of the normal bereavement process and have found that they may occur in specific and accentuated forms in mid-trimester fetal loss. We discuss our findings in the light of the attachment theory—a psychodynamic model for understanding grief reactions.     

Dorsal shaving affects concentrations of faecal cortisol metabolites in lactating golden hamsters

Breeding of golden hamsters is classically performed at thermal conditions ranging from 20 to 24 °C. However, growing evidence suggests that lactating females suffer from heat stress. We hypothesised that shaving females dorsally to maximise heat dissipation may reduce stress during reproduction. We thus compared faecal cortisol metabolites (FCM) from shaved golden hamster mothers with those from unshaved controls. We observed significantly lower FCM levels in the shaved mothers (F_1,22?=?8.69, p?=?0.0075) pointing to lower stress due to ameliorated heat dissipation over the body surface. In addition, we observed 0.4 °C lower mean subcutaneous body temperatures in the shaved females, although this effect did not reach significance (F_1,22?=?1.86, p?=?0.18). Our results suggest that golden hamsters having body masses being more than four times that of laboratory mice provide a very interesting model to study aspects of lactation and heat production at the same time.     

Self‐leadership in the context of part‐time teleworking

Employees who work periodically in both a traditional office and home office (part‐time teleworkers) face opportunities and risks related to both working locations. As self‐leadership might play a crucial role in this context, we examined within‐person variations in self‐leadership (self‐reward, self‐punishment, self‐cueing, self‐goal setting, imagining successful performance, and evaluation of beliefs and assumptions) on home days and office days. In a typical workweek, 195 part‐time teleworkers filled out daily surveys (729 days), and we examined the relationship between working location (office and home) and self‐leading behavior as well as the mediating role of autonomy. Finally, we investigated whether self‐leading behavior relates to ego depletion and work satisfaction at the end of the working day. Multilevel analyses revealed that part‐time teleworkers reported higher use of self‐reward, self‐goal setting, and visualization of successful performance on home days than on office days. The association between working location and self‐reward, self‐goal setting, visualization of successful performance, and evaluation of beliefs and assumptions was mediated by autonomy. There were no indirect effects of working location on ego depletion through self‐leadership. However, we found that on home days, part‐time teleworkers were more satisfied with their job at the end of the workday through self‐goal setting.     

Relationship between road traffic noisescape and urban form in Hong Kong

This paper reports on a study which explored the possible relationship between road traffic noisescape and urban form in Hong Kong. A total of 212 residential complexes from 11 contrasting urban forms were sampled, and their noise levels assessed both at dwelling and neighbourhood scales by noise mapping. Its findings indicate that residential complexes with different urban forms have significantly different noisescape attributes. There is a strong correlation between the noise characteristics and morphological indicators at the dwelling scale. A less obstreperous noisescape is associated with urban forms with lower road and building densities, and with building arrangements which provide self-noise screening. These findings suggest that urban form is an influential determinant of the noisescape in the urban environment, and they point to the need to rethink the conventional approach to managing the urban acoustic environment.     

Photobiology of corals from Brazil’s near-shore marginal reefs of Abrolhos

Coral communities were examined from highly turbid near-shore marginal reefs of Abrolhos (Brazil) to test a paradigm previously developed from observations in clear water reefs; specifically, that coral photobiological properties follow a highly conserved linear relationship with optical depth (ζ) via preferential ‘non-photochemical’ over ‘photochemical’ dissipation of absorbed light energy. PAM flourometry in situ was used to examine the photobiology of the most dominant coral species throughout the platform surfaces and bases of Abrolhos’ characteristic ‘chapeir?es’ reef framework; however, none of the species consistently adhered to the ‘clear water paradigm’. PAM measurements further demonstrated that species conformed to two different strategies of non-photochemical energy dissipation: transient but relatively rapid for the two closely related endemic species (Mussismilia braziliensis and Mussismilia harttii) as opposed to more persistent for Montastrea cavernosa, Porites astreoides and Siderastrea stellata. Further experiments demonstrated that tolerance to anomalous stress amongst species did not correspond with the non-photochemical energy dissipation strategy present but was consistent with the relative dominance of species within the chapeir?es coral communities.     

The influence of axle position and the use of accessories on the activity of upper limb muscles during manual wheelchair propulsion

Introduction. Wheelchair configuration is an important factor influencing the ergonomics of the user–device interface and, from a biomechanical point of view, small changes in chair setup may have a positive influence on the demand on the upper limbs during manual propulsion. This study aimed to investigate the influence of the position of the rear wheels’ axle and the use of accessories on the activity of upper limb muscles during manual wheelchair propulsion. Methods. Electromyography signals of the biceps, triceps, anterior deltoids and pectoralis major were collected for 11 able-bodied subjects in a wheelchair propulsion protocol with four different wheelchair configurations (differing in axle position and the use of accessories) on a straightforward sprint and a slalom course. Results. With accessories, moving the axle forward led to a decrease in the activity of all muscles in both the straightforward sprint (significant differences in triceps, anterior deltoids and biceps) and the slalom course (significant difference in anterior deltoids and biceps). However, when propelling the chair without accessories, no difference was found related to axle position. Conclusion. Changes in wheelchair configuration can influence the ergonomics of manual wheelchair propulsion. Reducing the biomechanical loads may benefit users’ mobility, independence and social participation.     

Composition analysis of dental solid waste in Brazil

When developing proper waste management strategies, it is essential to characterize the volume and composition of solid waste. The aim of this work was to evaluate the composition of dental waste produced by three dental health services in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Two universities, one public and one private, and one public dental health service were selected. Waste collection took place from March to November 2007. During this period, three samples were collected from each dental health service. The total amount of dental waste produced in one day of dental work was manually separated into three categories: infectious and potentially infectious waste, accounting for 24.3% of the total waste; non-infectious waste, accounting for 48.1%; and domestic-type waste, accounting for 27.6% (percentages are for mean weights of solid waste). Our results showed that most of the waste considered as biomedical may be misclassified, consequently making the infectious waste amount appear much larger. In addition, our results suggest that the best waste minimization method is recycling, and they help to define an appropriate waste management system in all three of the dental health services involved in this study.