Cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with sickness absence and work ability.

BACKGROUND: Physical activity may sustain the physical aspect of work ability despite health problems such as musculoskeletal disorders and anxiety, which are the most prevalent work-related health problem in Europe. AIMS: To evaluate the association of Finnish municipal workers' accelerometer-measured physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness with their sickness absence levels, perceived work ability and health-related quality of life. METHODS: In connection with a randomized controlled trial recruiting 185 municipal workers, the authors performed baseline data analysis utilizing quantile regression to examine relationships between the outcome variables (all-cause sickness absence for 6 months, perceived work ability and health-related quality of life) and cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular fitness, and physical activity, and sedentary behaviour. All results were adjusted for age, sex and education level. RESULTS: The median duration of all-cause sickness absence over the preceding 6 months was lowest among participants with high cardiorespiratory fitness relative to the lowest tertile (2.0 versus 6.0 days; P < 0.05), and the highest perceived work ability was found among those with high or moderate cardiorespiratory fitness as compared to the lowest tertile (8.0 versus 7.0; P < 0.001). Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity correlated positively with the physical component of health-related quality of life (P < 0.01) and with a high cardiorespiratory-fitness level (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: High cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with decreased all-cause sickness absence days and improved work ability among municipal workers.

Stability of Candida albicans allergens during storage.

Stability of Candida albicans allergens was studied under various storage conditions. Lyophilized extract was reconstituted with human serum albumin (NSA) diluent, glycerol-free and in the presence of 10% or 50% glycerol and stored at various temperatures for different time periods. All extracts were tested at the same time with immunoblotting using C. albicans allergic patient sera and galactosidase-labelled anti-IgE. The highest number of detected allergens in the immunoblotting pattern was found in the presence of 50% glycerol at +6 degrees C. The most important allergen of C. albicans, the 46 kD protein allergen was stable up to 10 weeks at +6 degrees C in the presence of 50% glycerol but thereafter began to lose its IgE-binding capacity. After 30 weeks more than 50% of the IgE binding had disappeared. The 27 kD protein, another important allergen, was also labile but retained the allergenicity better than the 46 kD one. The 29 kD protein allergen was stable at all storage conditions, except +37 degrees C tested even after one year. More than 6 months storage at +6 degrees C or higher temperature is, however, unacceptable even in the presence of the 50% glycerol. These findings have particular importance in the diagnosis and treatment of allergic diseases.

IgE, IgA and IgG antibodies and delayed skin response towards Candida albicans antigens in atopics with and without saprophytic growth.

Immunoblotting and RAST were used to analyse IgE, IgA and IgG responses to antigens of Candida albicans. These were compared with the delayed skin response and C. albicans carriage in 40 atopic subjects. The majority of the atopic patients showed a strong IgG and IgA antibody response towards mannan, a carbohydrate, but only occasionally to proteins. Altogether 22 of the 40 patients showed specific IgE towards C. albicans by immunoblotting. The IgE response was mainly towards proteins, particularly to ones with molecular weights of 29 kD and 46 kD, and only in eight out of 22 IgE-positive subjects towards mannan. The IgG and IgA responses to mannan and the total IgE response towards C. albicans assessed by RAST showed an association with C. albicans carriage, whereas the delayed skin response showed an inverse relationship. The immunological parameters characteristic of C. albicans carriage were found to be C. albicans-specific depressed delayed skin response and elevated IgE, IgA and IgG responses. This situation in the atopics presenting such parameters may favour simultaneous sensitization and exposure by colonization. The degree of sensitization may be sufficiently high to produce symptomatic allergy, such as asthma, in some individuals during occasional overgrowth of C. albicans, e.g. due to antibiotic therapy.

Actinomycosis simulating pulmonary neoplasm in a previously healthy man. Case report.

In a 41-year-old, previously healthy man, a pulmonary opacity presented diagnostic difficulties. Thoracotomy with resection of lung and ribs revealed actinomycosis. Postoperatively the patient responded well to long-term penicillin therapy.

Allergenic cross-reactivity of yeasts.

Yeast allergen extracts of Candida albicans, C. pseudotropicalis, C. krusei, C. parapsilosis, C. tropicalis, C. guilliermondi, C. humicola, C. norwegica, C. utilis, Cryptococcus albidus, Geotrichum candidum, Pityrosporon pachydermatis, P. ovale, Rhodotorula minuta, R. rubra, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Torulopsis glabrata and Trichosporon cutaneum were investigated regarding their common allergenic properties. The enzyme immunoassay (EIA) using rabbit anti-Candida albicans antiserum showed remarkable immunological cross-reactivity only between the Candida species. However, there was a significant multiple sensitivity to the extracts of C. albicans, C. utilis, Cr. albidus, R. rubra and S. cerevisiae in skin prick testing in atopic patients, suggesting the possible presence of one or more common skin reactive allergens.

Relationship of immediate and delayed hypersensitivity to nasopharyngeal and intestinal growth of Candida albicans in allergic subjects.

The growth of C. albicans yeast in the nasopharynx and in the anus as well as allergy symptoms were followed up for 8 months in 67 patients with bronchial asthma, allergic rhinitis and/or atopic eczema. 38 of the patients were skin prick test positive and 29 negative to C. albicans allergen extract. 32 of the patients had positive and 19 negative delayed skin reactions. The nasal, bronchial and skin symptoms of the yeast-sensitive allergic patients were not associated with the nasopharyngeal nor anal occurrence of C. albicans or other yeasts. The use of nasal or inhaled steroids had no effect on the occurrence of Candida in the nasopharynx. It was observed that immediate skin sensitivity had a positive correlation and the delayed sensitivity a negative correlation with the occurrence of C. albicans growth in nasopharynx and anus. These findings are in agreement with the concept that impaired cell-mediated immunity to C. albicans may lead to increased IgE response. This may explain the increased liability towards C. albicans nasopharyngeal and gastrointestinal "saprophytic" growth.

A sandwich enzyme immunoassay for the detection of human IgG antibodies to dog allergens.

A double-sandwich enzyme immunoassay (DSEIA) was developed for the detection of human IgG antibodies to dog dander and hair (DH) allergens. Since DH allergens are immunogenic in rabbits, the gamma-globulin fraction of rabbit antiserum to DH (RGG-a-DH; 10 micrograms/ml) was used for coating of polystyrene microtiter plates. Dog allergens (1 microgram/ml of DH extract) were bound to RGG-a-DH. Binding of human IgG Ab to nonimmune RGG (10 micrograms/ml)--used as a background control--was substracted from the DH specific one and nonspecific binding was further eliminated by using 0.5% of normal rabbit serum in the dilution buffer. Sera were diluted 1:10 in this buffer. Specificity of the assay was shown by absorption experiments: protein A, anti-IgE discs (Phadebas PRIST) and dog or birch (e5, t3; Phadebas RAST) allergen discs were used to remove total and allergen specific IgG and IgE, respectively. The results were expressed as net absorbances or as a percentage of a reference serum. A significant correlation (r = 0.65, p less than 0.001) between IgG (DSEIA) and IgE (RAST) antibodies to dog allergens was observed in 40 untreated dog allergic subjects. The DSEIA was found to be more sensitive than conventional ELISA in detecting IgG Ab in 15 asthmatic children during hyposensitization: a significant rise was observed in 14 compared to 12 with ELISA, while no significant increases were observed in the placebo-treated group.

An improved technique for immunofixation of electrophoretograms.

Immunofixation coupled with electrophoresis is winning favor as an easy, sensitive, and versatile method for detecting specific protein fractions. Here, we discuss problems which appear when antisera are applied onto the electrophoretic medium (Cellogel or cellulose acetate). Longitudinal slits can be made in the electrophoretic medium without worsening resolution. Such longitudinally slitted electrophoretic membranes can be used in electrophoresis and specific antisera applied simply by pipetting them onto the electrophoretograms. The method has been used successfully in typing immunoglobulins.

Occurrence of ungulic acid in some epidermal tissues.

The lipids isolated from different animal tissues have been studied qualitatively, by TLC, for the occurrence of the ungulic acid fraction. This fraction was found in considerable amounts only in epidermal tissues and its keratinized derivatives. In the present study it was isolated from human keratinous epidermis, hair, and nails, pig bristles, wool, and feathers. The analytical results indicated that a lipid fraction from all of these sources contained ceramide, galactose, galactosamine, sulfate, and sialic acid in equimolar amounts, and that the fractions were similar to the ungulic acid isolated earlier from a horse's hoof.

New sialic acid-containing sulfolipid: "ungulic acid".

Human epidermis, hair, nails, and kidney as well as bovine and horses' hooves were found to contain a lipid fraction, which on thin-layer chromatography migrated slightly ahead of the cerebroside sulfate esters and gave the color reaction specific for sialic acid. This fraction was isolated from horse hoof, in which it constituted nearly half of the total lipids. The purified fraction contained sulfur, but no phosphorus. The IR spectrum revealed the presence of a sulfate group, which was also determined by the benzidine method. Thin-layer and gas-liquid chromatography of the products of acid hydrolysis revealed the presence of sphingosine, galactose, galactosamine, and sialic acid. Fatty acid analysis showed that stearic acid was the major component, with minor amounts of palmitic and arachidic acids. The fraction isolated contained ceramide, sialic acid, galactose, galactosamine, and sulfate in equimolar amounts. We conclude that the new lipid is a ganglioside sulfate, which we have called "ungulic acid" because it was first separated and identified from a horse's hoof (Latin, ungula).