Is physical activity associated with low-risk health behaviours among 15-year-old adolescents in Finland?

AIMS: To investigate the associations between physical activity and the pattern of risk health behaviour consisting of smoking, alcohol consumption, snuff (snus), cannabis, and condom use among 15-year-old adolescents, taking their educational aspirations and family affluence into account. METHODS: The data were collected in the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study in Finland in 2006. Standardised questionnaires were issued at schools to a 15-year-old nationally representative sample, of which 84.5% (1710 pupils) participated. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the associations between physical activity, pattern of risk health behaviour, family affluence, and educational aspirations. Separate models for daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) were tested. Multi-level analysis was performed in order to control the nested characteristics of the data. RESULTS: Boys were significantly more physically active and used alcohol, cannabis, and snuff more often than girls. Girls had used a condom in their last intercourse less often than boys. The educational aspirations for higher education had the strongest association with the low-risk health behaviour, with the odds ratios in the MVPA model 3.30 (95% CI 2.41-4.55) for the boys and 3.46 (95% CI 2.56-4.67) for the girls. In the LTPA model, the corresponding odds ratios were 3.31 (95% CI 2.40-4.56) for the boys and 3.52 (95% CI 2.60-4.56) for the girls. CONCLUSIONS: Physical activity was not significantly associated with the low-risk health behaviour, whereas educational aspirations for higher education showed the strongest association. The results support the earlier studies indicating a social gradient in health-related behaviour already in adolescence.

Effects of transitory lingual nerve impairment on speech: an acoustic study of sibilant sound /s/.

By measuring spectral characteristics of the sibilant /s/ this study investigated whether the reduced orosensory feedback caused by lingual nerve impairment affects the acoustics and articulation of sibilants. A further goal was to examine speakers' capability to compensate for the deviant control of the delicate movements required for the proper production of /s/ by experimentally modifying the function of the tongue in a way that reduces the necessary somatosensory information in articulation. Five healthy men with no speech, language or hearing abnormalities were enrolled. They produced the sibilant /s/ in a variety of phonetic contexts in two sessions: first in normal conditions and then with local anaesthesia of the right lingual nerve. From the speech samples, the spectral characteristics of the sibilant sound (i.e. the centre of gravity, standard deviation, skewness and kurtosis) were analysed acoustically. The results showed that the reduced tactile sensation has effects on the tongue function resulting in individual and variable spectral alterations. The variation between different speakers indicates individual ability to compensate for the effects caused by the sensory dysfunction of the tongue. It seems, therefore, that the compensatory mechanisms for speech production are highly speaker-dependent.

Testing VOC emission measurement techniques in wood-coating industrial processes and developing a cost-effective measurement methodology.

Availability of reliable emission measurements of concentrated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) bear great significance in facilitating the selection of a feasible emission abatement technique. There are numerous methods, which can be used to measure VOC emissions, however, there is no single method that would allow sampling of the whole range of volatile organics. In addition, research efforts are usually directed to the development of measuring VOCs in diluted concentrations. Therefore, there is a need for a novel measurement method, which can give reliable results while entailing simple operations and low costs. This paper represents a development effort of finding a reliable measurement procedure. A methodology is proposed and used to measure solvent emissions from coating processes.

No MSH6 germline mutations in breast cancer families with colorectal and/or endometrial cancer.

BACKGROUND: The genetic background in breast cancer families with colorectal and/or endometrial cancer is mostly unknown. The functional connection between MSH6 and the known breast cancer predisposition gene product BRCA1 suggests that the MSH6 gene may also play a role in breast cancer predisposition. METHODS: We analysed 38 breast cancer families with colorectal and/or endometrial cancer for germline mutations in MSH6. RESULTS: No disease associated mutations were detected among the breast cancer families. However, mutation analysis revealed a Glu995STOP mutation in an atypical HNPCC family. The same mutation was found in a patient with both breast and colorectal carcinoma in our previous study, and haplotype analysis confirmed a common ancestral origin. The Glu995STOP mutation was further examined in an extensive series of 245 colorectal and 142 breast carcinoma patients with a family history of breast, colorectal, and/or endometrial carcinoma, and in 268 healthy population controls, but none was found to carry the mutation. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that MSH6 may not be the underlying gene in breast cancer families with a history of colorectal and/or endometrial cancer. The Glu995STOP founder mutation is not a familial breast cancer predisposition allele and makes only a limited contribution to colorectal cancer burden in Finland.

In vivo evaluation of matrix granules containing microcrystalline chitosan as a gel-forming excipient.

Interest in drug delivery to the gastrointestinal tract by means of chitosan has been increasing. In the study reported, the biopharmaceutical properties of granules containing microcrystalline chitosan (MCCh; molecular weight 150 kDa, degree of deacetylation 75%) were evaluated via bioavailability tests in human volunteers. Ibuprofen and furosemide were used as model drugs. With ibuprofen, granules containing 40% of MCCh behaved as a slow-release formulation (t(max) 2.9 h). With furosemide, the most marked difference between a conventional dosage form and granules containing 40% MCCh was a marked lag time (0.5 h) before absorption from the latter. This difference was reflected in t(max) values for furosemide. Despite the lag time, AUC values for furosemide were high, indicating that the granules containing MCCh had remained in the stomach and that drug release had taken place in the stomach rather than in the intestine. The results of the bioavailability studies indicate that MCCh matrix granules allow a simple preparation of slow-release and perhaps stomach-specific dosage forms. Use of model drugs differing in relation to sites of absorption in the gastrointestinal tract aided identification of sites of absorption of drugs from the granules. Further studies, including gamma-scintigraphic evaluations, will be performed on how the granules behave in the stomach.

Population-based molecular detection of hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer.

PURPOSE: Cancer morbidity and mortality can be dramatically reduced by colonoscopic screening of individuals with the hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) syndrome, creating a need to identify HNPCC. We studied how HNPCC identification should be carried out on a large scale in a sensitive and efficient manner. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Colorectal cancer specimens from consecutive newly diagnosed patients were studied for microsatellite instability (MSI). Germline mutations in the MLH1 and MSH2 genes were searched for in MSI(+) individuals. RESULTS: Among 535 colorectal cancer patients, 66 (12%) were MSI(+). Among these, 18 (3.4% of the total) had disease-causing germline mutations in MLH1 or MSH2. Among these 18 patients, five were less than 50 years old, seven had a previous or synchronous colorectal or endometrial cancer, and 15 had at least one first-degree relative with colorectal or endometrial cancer. Notably, 17 (94%) of 18 patients had at least one of these three features, which were present in 22% of all 535 patients. Combining these data with a previous study of 509 patients, mutation-positive HNPCC accounts for 28 (2.7%) of 1,044 cases of colorectal cancer, predicting a greater than one in 740 incidence of mutation-positive individuals in this population. CONCLUSION: Large-scale molecular screening for HNPCC can be done by the described two-stage procedure of MSI determination followed by mutation analysis. Efficiency can be greatly improved by using three high-risk features to select 22% of all patients for MSI analysis, whereby only 6% need to have mutation analysis. Sensitivity is only slightly impaired by this procedure.

Microsatellite instability in adenomas as a marker for hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer.

Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) is the most common of the well-defined colorectal cancer syndromes, accounting for at least 2% of the total colorectal cancer burden and carrying a greater than 80% lifetime risk of cancer. Significant reduction in cancer morbidity and mortality can be accomplished by appropriate clinical cancer screening of HNPCC patients with mutations in mismatch repair (MMR) genes. Thus, it is desirable to identify individuals who are mutation-positive. In individuals with cancer, mutation detection can be accomplished relatively efficiently by germline mutation analysis of individuals whose cancers show microsatellite instability (MSI). This study was designed to assess the feasibility of screening colorectal adenoma patients for HNPCC in the same manner. Among 378 adenoma patients, six (1.6%) had at least one MSI adenoma. Five out of the six patients (83%) had a germline MMR gene mutation. We conclude that MSI analysis is a useful method of prescreening colorectal adenoma patients for HNPCC.

Effect of soybean phytoestrogen intake on low density lipoprotein oxidation resistance.

The oxidation of low density lipoproteins (LDLs) is thought to take place in the arterial intima when the particles have become isolated from circulating water-soluble antioxidants. We hypothesized that isoflavonoid antioxidants derived from soy could be incorporated into lipoproteins and possibly could protect them against oxidation, which is regarded as atherogenic. Six healthy volunteers received 3 soy bars [containing the isoflavonoid antioxidants genistein (12 mg) and daidzein (7 mg)] daily for 2 weeks. LDLs were isolated from blood drawn at the the end of a 2-week dietary baseline period, after 2 weeks on soy, and after discontinuation of soy. Large increases in plasma isoflavonoid levels occurred during soy feeding, but only minute amounts were stably associated with lipoproteins (less than 1% of plasma isoflavonoids in the LDL fraction). The LDLs were subjected to copper-mediated oxidation in vitro. Compared with off soy values, lag phases of LDL oxidation curves were prolonged by a mean of 20 min (P < 0.02) during soy intake, indicating a reduced susceptibility to oxidation. The results suggest that intake of soy-derived antioxidants, such as genistein and daidzein, may provide protection against oxidative modification of LDL. As only very small amounts of these substances were detected in purified LDL, modified LDL particles may have been produced in vivo by circulating isoflavonoids promoting resistance to oxidation ex vivo.

A soy protein isolate rich in genistein and daidzein and its effects on plasma isoflavone concentrations, platelet aggregation, blood lipids and fatty acid composition of plasma phospholipid in normal men.

The effects of consuming a soy protein isolate beverage powder (60 g/d for 28 d) vs. a casein supplement was evaluated in 20 male subjects who were randomly allocated into the two groups. A dramatic rise in plasma isoflavone concentrations was observed after supplementation in the soy protein group, the levels reaching 907 +/- 245 nmol/L for genistein (a 110-fold increase) and 498 +/- 102 nmol/L for daidzein (a 150-fold increase) as measured by isotope dilution gas chromatography - mass spectrometry. These concentrations are higher than previously reported for the plasma of Japanese subjects consuming a traditional diet (276 nmol/L and 107 nmol/L, respectively). No significant differences in collagen- or 9,11-dideoxy-11alpha, 9alpha-epoxymethanoprostaglandin F2alpha (U46619)-induced platelet aggregation were observed in platelet-rich plasma from the two groups; the increase in plasma isoflavonoids from soy protein supplementation is not sufficient to significantly inhibit platelet aggregation ex vivo. Similarly, plasma total and HDL-cholesterol were not affected by protein supplementation, possibly because the men were normocholesterolemic at entry. Analysis of plasma phospholipid polyunsaturated fatty acid composition showed no differences between soy protein and casein supplementation. Previous investigations reported a significant alteration in fatty acid status in animals fed soy protein relative to those fed casein. The present studies indicate that although soy protein supplementation to a typical Western diet can increase plasma concentrations of isoflavones, this may not necessarily be sufficient to counter heart disease risk factors such as high plasma cholesterol and platelet aggregation.

Isotope dilution gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric method for the determination of isoflavonoids, coumestrol, and lignans in food samples.

We present a method for the quantitative determination of the phytoestrogens formononetin, biochanin A, daidzein, genistein, and coumestrol and simultaneously the lignans secoisolariciresinol (SECO) and matairesinol in plant-derived foods. These compounds are measured by isotope dilution gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in the selected ion monitoring mode (ID/GC/MS/SIM) using synthesized deuterated internal standards for the correction of losses during the procedure. A three-step hydrolysis--a rehydration with distilled H2O, followed by enzymatic and acid hydrolysis--has been applied in order to convert the diphenolic glycosides into their respective aglycones. Purification and separation are carried out in two ion-exchange chromatographic steps followed by derivatization and GC-MS. The within-assay imprecision values vary 3.1-9.6% and the between-assay imprecision 7.0-21.2%. The mean recovery of authentic standards processed through the whole procedure varied from 95.5 to 105.5%. Values for some different food samples are presented. The simultaneous determination of the biologically most interesting phytoestrogens and lignans in foods has not been carried out previously and the method will be useful for screening of important foods in populations with different risk of cancer and coronary heart disease, and for metabolic studies.

Circadian rhythms of frequency domain measures of heart rate variability in healthy subjects and patients with coronary artery disease. Effects of arousal and upright posture.

BACKGROUND: Altered neural regulation of the cardiovascular system may be an important factor for various manifestations of ischemic heart disease. This research was designed to compare the circadian rhythm of cardiac neural regulation and autonomic responses to arousal and upright posture between patients with uncomplicated coronary artery disease (CAD) and age-matched subjects with no evidence of heart disease. METHODS AND RESULTS: Twenty-four-hour heart rate variability (HRV) in the frequency domain was analyzed in 20 male patients (mean age, 52 +/- 7 years) with angiographic evidence of CAD without prior myocardial infarction and in 20 healthy men (mean age, 51 +/- 8 years) with no clinical, echocardiographic, or exercise ECG evidence of heart disease. None of the 24-hour average frequency-domain components of HRV differed significantly between the two groups. Healthy subjects had a significant circadian rhythm of normalized units of high-frequency (HF) power of HRV with higher values during sleep. Normalized units of low-frequency (LF) power and the LF/HF ratio also showed a significant circadian rhythm in healthy subjects, with higher values during the daytime. No significant circadian rhythms in any of the normalized spectral components of HRV were observed in patients with CAD, and the night-day difference in LF/HF ratio was smaller in the patients with CAD than in the healthy subjects (0.5 +/- 1.4 versus 1.8 +/- 0.7, P < .001). Awakening when in the supine position resulted in a significant increase in the LF/HF ratio (P < .01) in the healthy subjects, but no significant changes in HRV were observed after awakening in patients with CAD. Assumption of upright position resulted in a comparable decrease in the components of HRV between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: The circadian rhythm of cardiac neural regulation is altered in patients with uncomplicated CAD. Reduced autonomic responses to sleep-wake rhythm suggest that the modulation of cardiac autonomic function by stimuli from the central nervous system is impaired in CAD.