Follow-up study of a pregnant woman 16 years after exposure in the Xinzhou radiation accident.

To investigate the late effects of radiation on child-bearing women, a follow-up study was performed on a 39-year-old survivor 16 years after a (60)Co radiation accident. The woman, Fang, was 19 weeks pregnant at the time of exposure. Physical examinations, a full range of clinical laboratory and imaging tests, as well as cytogenetic analyses were conducted to evaluate Fang's current health conditions. Fang shows the appearance of premature ageing and has a decreased menstrual period. Laboratory studies and imaging tests suggest nodular goitre disease and osteoporosis. Otherwise, no apparent abnormalities were found in the major organs. No malignant tumours were detected by either tumour markers or imaging tests. However, the existence of chromosome aberrations warrants long-term follow-up for tumour incidence in the future. Fang became pregnant 8 years after the accident, but suffered a miscarriage due to the death of the foetus at 6 months into the pregnancy. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the intrauterine death of the foetus might be associated with the previous exposure. There is no evidence of malignant tumours as of the date of the follow-up study. Non-cancerous diseases, i.e. thyroid disease and osteoporosis, which may be related to radiation exposure, are the major manifestations of the long-term effects of the accident.

Clinical observation of a 16-year-old female exposed to radiation in utero: follow-up after the Shanxi Xinzhou radiation accident.

A follow-up study of the late effects of intrauterine exposure to irradiation has been made on a 16-year-old girl whose mother was exposed to external (60)Co irradiation during the Xinzhou radiation accident 16 years previously. The outcomes of the general medical examinations, conventional chromosome aberration analyses and fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) are presented and the China-revised Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (C_WISC) was used to identify her IQ level, which was well below normal for her age. The biological dose of the radiation to which she was exposed when she was in her mother's uterus was inferred to be 1.85 Gy. Although there is no evidence of any other developmental changes or tumour induction at this stage in her life, the child's total intelligence level does appear to have been affected.

Spectroscopic studies on the interaction between human hemoglobin and CdS quantum dots.

The interaction between human adult hemoglobin (Hb) and bare CdS quantum dots (QDs) was investigated by fluorescence, synchronous fluorescence, circular dichroism (CD), and Raman spectroscopic techniques under physiological pH 7.43. The intrinsic fluorescence of Hb is statically quenched by CdS QDs. The quenching obeys the Stern-Volmer equation, with an order of magnitude of binding constant (K) of 10(7). The electrostatic adsorption of Hb on the cationic CdS QDs surface is energetically favorable (DeltaS(0)=70.22 Jmol(-1)K(-1), DeltaH(0)=-23.11 kJmol(-1)). The red shift of synchronous fluorescence spectra revealed that the microenvironments of tryptophan and tyrosine residues at the alpha(1)beta(2) interface of Hb are disturbed by CdS QDs, which are induced from hydrophobic cavities to a more exposed or hydrophilic surrounding. The secondary structure of the adsorbed Hb has a loose or extended conformation for which the content of alpha-helix has decreased from 72.5 to 60.8%. Moreover, Raman spectra results indicated that the sulfur atoms of the cysteine residues form direct chemical bonds on the surface of the CdS QDs. The binding does not significantly affect the spin state of the heme iron, and deoxidation is not expected to take place on the coated oxyhemoglobin. The change of orientation of heme vinyl groups was also detected.

[Influence of menstrual and reproductive factors on the risk of lung cancer].

OBJECTIVE: Hypothesis showed that women have higher risks of lung cancer than men when given similar levels of tobacco exposure, implying that sex-related hormones might have a role to play. The study is to identify the influence of female hormones on risk of lung cancer. METHODS: We evaluated the association between lung cancer risk and menstrual/reproductive factors on a subset of self-responding females in a population based case-control study in Eastern Gansu, 1994 - 1998. The analysis included 109 lung cancer cases and 435 controls selected from the census list and matched to cases on age and prefecture. RESULTS: Odds ratios were lower for later ages at menarche (trend, P = 0.015) and later ages at menopause (trend, P = 0.074). CONCLUSION: Despite limitations, these findings suggested a possible role related to hormones in the etiology of lung cancer in females.

Risk of lung cancer and residential radon in China: pooled results of two studies.

Studies of radon-exposed underground miners predict that residential radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer mortality; however, case-control studies of residential radon have not provided unambiguous evidence of an association. Owing to small expected risks from residential radon and uncertainties in dosimetry, large studies or pooling of multiple studies are needed to fully evaluate effects. We pooled data from 2 case-control studies of residential radon representing 2 large radon studies conducted in China. The studies included 1050 lung cancer cases and 1996 controls. In the pooled data, odds ratios (OR) increased significantly with greater radon concentration. Based on a linear model, the OR with 95% confidence intervals (CI) at 100 Becquerel/cubic-meter (Bq/m(3)) was 1.33 (1.01,1.36). For subjects resident in the current home for 30 years or more, the OR at 100 Bq/m(3) was 1.32 (1.07,1.91). Results across studies were consistent with homogeneity. Estimates of ORs were similar to extrapolations from miner data and consistent with published residential radon studies in North American and Europe, suggesting long-term radon exposure at concentrations found in many homes increases lung cancer risk.