Occurrence, sources and ecological and human health risks of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soils from some functional areas of the Nigerian megacity, Lagos.

The study investigated the levels of the USEPA 16 PAHs in soils collected from selected functional areas (cemetery, commercial, industrial and residential areas) of the Nigerian megacity, Lagos. The soil samples were subjected to ultrasonic-assisted extraction in a 1:1 (v/v) mixture of dichloromethane/hexane, and the PAHs in the resulting extracts were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The Σ16 PAHs in soils of these functional areas varied between 890-4675, 485-4513, 111-15,577 and 509-2047 µg kg-1 for cemetery, industrial, commercial and residential areas, respectively. The benzo(a)pyrene carcinogenic (BaPTEQ) and mutagenic equivalency (BaPMEQ) values of PAHs in these soils spanned from 523 to 1046 and 446 to 1129 µg kg-1, respectively. The hazard index values suggested that there are adverse (non-carcinogenic) health effects for a child's exposure to PAHs in soils of commercial areas. The cancer risk values resulting from an adult's and a child's exposure to PAHs in these urban soils via dermal contact and oral ingestion surpassed the target value of 10-6 which suggested that there is a considerable cancer risk relating to human exposure to PAHs in these urban soils. An ecological risk assessment making use of soil quality guidelines and risk quotients suggested a low ecological risk to organisms in soils of these functional areas except for those from commercial areas. PAH isomeric ratios and principal component analysis indicated that PAHs in these soils arise from petrogenic inputs, such as occasional spills of liquid petroleum fuels and discharges from automobile workshops and generator houses, as well as pyrogenic processes including traffic emissions and combustion of fossil fuels and biomass.

Dream process in asthmatic subjects with nocturnal attacks.

Polygraphic sleep recordings were made and dream reports collected over 3 consecutive nights for 12 asthmatic subjects with nocturnal attacks and 12 matched normal control subjects. The asthmatic group 1) had more episodes of a vivid impression of dreaming without recollection of dream content ("white dreams") after awakening spontaneously in the morning (nights 1 and 2) and after awakening immediately following REM sleep (night 3), 2) used shorter sentences in dream narrations, and 3) had no dream recall when awakened during nocturnal asthma attacks. The authors suggest that conflictual material emerging during REM or other sleep stages may contribute to the occurrence of nocturnal attacks but is repressed on awakening.

[Chronic respiratory insufficiency. Psychosomatic considerations]. / L'insuffisance respiratoire chronique. Considérations psychosomatiques.

Chronic respiratory failure defined in terms of limitation of activity rather than airflow obstruction is classified under five subgroups which take account of this consideration. Those aspects which are more specifically psychological and social such as: anxiety, withdrawal from society, the lack of emotions and depression are touched upon (and literature is reviewed on this subject). These are briefly discussed with the aim of both understanding and being aware of the difficulties to achieve the most complete approach possible towards the patient and his problems. One compares whether inhalation therapy is more efficient than psychotherapy and touches on anxiolytic therapy, hypnosis, antidepressants and neuroleptics (with a diminution in drug therapy of the order of 50 to 80% compared to the usual dosage). The relation of the therapist and his teaching role for the patient and his close family are presented as being extremely useful.

[Chronic hyperventilation syndrome. The role of respiratory re-training]. / Le syndrome d'hyperventilation chronique. Rôle de la rééducation respiratoire.

This study compares three non-pharmacological approaches to the chronic hyperventilation syndrome (CHS). Eighteen subjects were evaluated at the start of the study then one and 6 months after having received in a random fashion one of the following treatments: group I (teaching approach of one hour on the respiratory physiology of the CHS and on breathing techniques; n = 5); group II (same approach as in group I with breathing retraining of 8 sessions; n = 8); group III (same as group II with the addition of a modified Jacobson's progressive relaxation; n = 5). Whereas all three groups had a similar symptomatic score at the beginning of the study (although subjects of group III had in general higher scores and were symptomatic for a longer period), our results show that all subjects improved after 4 weeks, those in group II showing the greatest improvement (p < 0.05). This confirms the relevance of applied and repeated pedagogy in approaching subjects with the CHS.

Tensile strength comparison of presoldered and postsoldered joints.

Twenty half-dumbbell shaped rods were cast in a silverless gold-palladium alloy that contained a minimum of 42% fresh alloy and the rest once-melted alloy. Each pair of half-dumbbells was assembled and either presoldered or postsoldered using a vacuum-oven and a torch-soldering technique. There was no significant difference in the ultimate tensile strength values between the presoldered and postsoldered joints within the same technique group, but the torch-soldered joints for the same solder were significantly stronger (p less than .01). It was believed that slow heating and cooling has deleterious effects on the ultimate tensile strength joints (UTS) possibly because of the microstructural changes and the highly oxidizable content of the postsolder used. Another 15 samples cast using once, twice, and three-times remelted parent alloy were presoldered and postsoldered with the torch only. In each of these groups, specimens joined by presolder showed significantly higher strength than those joined by postsolder (p less than .02). Remelting the parent alloy affected the strength differences between the presoldered and postsoldered joints. It was assumed that on remelting, the nature of the parent alloy is changed because some original elements are volatilized and newly formed oxides dissolved into it. Because it contains copper, the postsolder is more affected by this contamination than presolder. The UTS of the parent alloy, as well as that of the presolder and postsolder, were also determined. As expected, the parent alloy possessed the highest strength and the postsolder, the lowest.

[The physician and disability certificates: preconceived attitudes and behaviors]. / Le médecin face aux certificats d'invalidité: attitudes et comportements préconisés.

Five attitudes and predicted behaviors characterize the physicians' responses (strategies) to invalidity certificates. These are: 1- scientific objectivation; 2- complicity (meaning: always completing the certificates without objective preoccupations of any kind); 3- socio political (meaning: influenced by the physician's ideas concerning ways the society should consider the non-working people: permissive or repressive); 4- negotiation (implicating a psychobiosocial approach to the patient and the problem); 5- indifference (never completing certificates, referring this role to someone else). Our recent survey (September 1986) including 92 physicians of a General Hospital (Cité de la Santé) in Laval demonstrates a preponderant attitude, the "socio political" one (A3). But, it has no relation to the preponderant predicted behavior which is the negotiation (C4), characterizing a psychobiosocial approach to the patient and the problem. This behavior has been chosen in a statistically significant way. Nevertheless, there is a relation between the attitude A1: scientific objectivation and the corresponding predicted behavior C1: scientific objectivation. Notions of rationability, professionalism and sociable desirability are evoked as explanations of these results.