ABSTRACT
In otorhinolaryngologist's experience the nasal out-breath of people affected by chronic nasal or paranasal infections may be characterized by peculiar odours. In a previous study we showed that an electronic nose (EN), examining nasal out breath was able to distinguish subjects affected by chronic rhinosinusitis from healthy subjects. The present study is aimed at analysing the intensity and the quality of the odorous components present in the air expired by patients affected by rhinosinusitis, using a new EN based on gas-chromatography and surface acoustic wave analysis. In the gas-chromatographic tracings of the pathologic subjects there were six peaks, which were not present in control group cases. These peaks correspond to odorous components, whose chemical composition ranges from C6 to C14. Peaks obtained were compared with other tracings revealed from specific bacterial and fungal cultures analyses and we appreciated some analogies.
Subject(s)
Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted/methods , Rhinitis/diagnosis , Sinusitis/diagnosis , Adult , Chromatography, Gas/methods , Diagnosis, Differential , Humans , Medical History Taking/methods , Odorants/analysis , Reproducibility of Results , Rhinitis/complications , Sinusitis/complications , Smell/physiologyABSTRACT
The endocellular incorporation of asbestos fibres seems to be capable to induce on Chinese hamster cell cultures numerical and structural chromosome aberrations. In the present study asbestos fibres have been added at different concentrations to human cultured lymphocytes which have been harvested at 48 and 72 h, respectively. The results do not show significant difference in the distribution of chromatid and chromosome-type aberrations between the control cultures and the cultures treated with asbestos.
