Dietary factors and the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer.

Dietary factors in the etiology of ovarian cancer were investigated with the use of data from a case-control study conducted in Northern Italy on 455 histologically confirmed epithelial carcinomas and 1,385 control subjects in the hospital for acute conditions unrelated to any of the known or potential risk factors for cancer of the ovary. Women with ovarian cancer reported significantly elevated frequency of consumption of meat [relative risk (RR) = 1.6 for greater than or equal to 7 vs. less than 4 portions/wk], ham (RR = 1.9 for greater than or equal to 4 vs. less than 2 portions/wk), and higher subjective scores of fat intake (RR = 2.1 for highest vs. lowest scores), particularly butter. In contrast, consumptions of fish, green vegetables, carrots, and wholemeal bread or pasta were less frequent in cases; the corresponding risk estimates for highest versus lowest frequencies ranged between 0.6 and 0.8. These results were not materially modified by adjustment for indicators of socioeconomic status, parity, and other identified determinants of ovarian cancer. No relation emerged between alcohol consumption and ovarian cancer risk. The present study provides interesting indications that help to explain the considerable variations in ovarian cancer rates in different populations and, if confirmed, could, in principle, have important public health implications. Due caution, however, is required in interpreting the present results because of the limitations of available information and of the uncertainties of other published material concerning diet and ovarian cancer.

Interaction of (+)-amphetamine with cerebral dopaminergic neurones in two strains of mice, that show different temperature responses to this drug.

1. (+)-Amphetamine sulphate elicits a dose-dependent hyperthermia in NMRI mice but it does not significantly increase the body temperature of C(3)H mice.2. When low doses of (+)-amphetamine are given, the body temperature of C(3)H mice decreases.3. (+)-Amphetamine decreases the noradrenaline concentration in the brain-stem and increases the homovanillic acid concentration (HVA) in the striatum of NMRI mice, but only slightly reduces the noradrenaline concentration and does not change the HVA concentration in the brains of C(3)H mice.4. The two strains appear to show a difference in the metabolism of dopamine in the striatum. The rates at which dopamine disappears from the tissue after blocking catecholamine synthesis with alpha-methyltyrosine and the rates at which HVA accumulates after blocking the active transport of this metabolite out of the brain with probenecid suggest that the turnover of dopamine is lower in C(3)H mice than in NMRI mice.

Risk factors for endometrioid, mucinous and serous benign ovarian cysts.

To evaluate the risk factors for serous, mucinous and endometrioid ovarian cysts, data were collected in a case-control study conducted in the greater Milan area based on 202 women with benign cysts (114 endometrioid and 88 serous or mucinous) of the ovary and 1127 controls. Questions were asked about menstrual and reproductive characteristics, marital status, education, history of various diseases, and lifetime use of oral contraceptives and other hormonal treatments. Higher social class, earlier menarche and longer interval between age at first marriage and first birth, a likely indicator of subfertility, were associated with an increased risk of serous, mucinous and endometrioid cysts. Women with endometrioid cyst were characterized by low parity, less frequent irregular or long menses, more frequent oral contraceptive use and low body mass index, while the most relevant risk factor associated with serous and mucinous cysts was greater age at first birth. The present data point out the epidemiological differences between endometrioid and serous or mucinous cysts. Further, they suggest that analyses of risk factors for epithelial ovarian cancer subdivided by various histotypes may be of interest in order to confirm possible heterogeneities in the aetiology of ovarian epithelial neoplasms.

General epidemiology of breast cancer in northern Italy.

The role of the major identified risk factors for breast cancer was assessed using data from a hospital-based case-control study conducted in Northern Italy on 1108 women with histologically confirmed breast cancer and 1281 control subjects with a spectrum of acute conditions unrelated to any of the established or potential risk factors for breast disease. With reference to nulliparous women, the risk of breast cancer was below unity for those who first gave birth below age 25, and above unity for those with later first full-term pregnancy. However, in each stratum of age at first birth, the point estimate was below unity for women with five or more births. The relative risk for greater than or equal to 5 births compared with 1 or 2 was 0.6 (95% confidence interval = 0.4-0.9) when allowance was made for age at first birth. Likewise, there was a significant and independent effect of age at last birth which was evident in various strata of parity and age at first birth. The overall relative risk for last birth at 30 years or over compared with under 30 was 1.4 (95% confidence interval = 1.1-1.8). There was little relation of breast cancer risk with abortions or miscarriages. Breast cancer cases reported earlier menarche and later menopause; further, lifelong irregularities in menstrual pattern were less common among the cases (relative risk = 0.6, 95% confidence interval = 0.5-0.8). The risk estimates were elevated in women with positive history of benign breast disease, family history of breast cancer and greater body mass index.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Epidemiologic characteristics of women with uterine fibroids: a case-control study.

Risk factors for uterine fibroids were analyzed in a hospital-based case-control study conducted in the greater Milan area, based on 275 women with histologically confirmed fibroids and 722 controls with acute nongynecologic or hormone-related conditions. Questions were asked about menstrual and reproductive characteristics, education, history of various diseases, and lifetime use of oral contraceptives and other hormonal treatments. The risk of uterine fibroids was reduced in parous women relative to nulliparous ones (relative risk 0.6) and in those who were postmenopausal (relative risk 0.1 compared with premenopausal women of the same age). Women with fibroids tended to have an earlier age at menarche and at the last birth, to be more educated, and to use intrauterine devices and oral contraceptives more frequently, although these findings were not statistically significant. Current smoking (but not past smoking) lowered the fibroid risk by about 40%. No associations were found with body mass index, history of spontaneous or induced abortions, and age at first birth.

Post-coital contraception: an overview of published studies.

Information from published studies testing the effect of hormonal and mechanical interceptive methods in post-coital contraception was pooled with the aim of assessing the efficacy of various regimens. The pooled failure rates were 0.6% (19/3168 based on four studies) for high-dosage ethinylestradiol, 1.1% (11/975, based on two studies) for other high-dose estrogens, 1.8% (69/3802 based on 11 studies) for combined estro-progestin preparations, 2.0% (20/998 based on three studies) for danazol and 0.1% (1/879 based on nine studies) for intra-uterine devices (IUD). Although this overview has several limitations in terms of over-representation of optimistic results in the literature or absence of direct comparison between treatments in several studies, it suggests that IUD and high-dose ethinylestradiol are more efficacious forms of post-coital contraception than danazol or combined contraceptives.

Trends in ectopic pregnancies and use of intrauterine devices in Lombardy, Italy 1979-1983.

The frequency of ectopic pregnancies in Lombardy (a region in Northern Italy with a population of about 9 million inhabitants) over the period 1979-1983 was estimated using the Regional Hospital Discharge Registration System, where information is collected on all discharges from public and private hospitals. The ratio of ectopic pregnancies rose from 4.43/1000 pregnancies in 1979 to 4.93/1000 pregnancies in 1982 and flattened off in 1983 (4.78/1000 pregnancies). The frequency of ectopic pregnancies increased with maternal age from 2.30/1000 pregnancies in teenagers to 6.01/1000 pregnancies in women 30-39 years old, but remained constant thereafter (5.84/1000 pregnancies in women aged 40 or older). These trends were consistent with available information on intrauterine device (IUD) sales over the same calendar period. On the basis of a random subsample of the same dataset, we evaluated by means of a case-control approach, the relative risk of ectopic pregnancy in relation to IUD use. Current IUD users had an estimated age-adjusted relative risk of ectopic pregnancy of 3.6 (95% confidence interval = 1.4-8.0) in comparison with an hospital-based control group of non-pregnant women. In etio-pathological terms, the interpretation of this finding is not obvious since it is possible that IUD users are simply less protected than pill, barrier or other traditional method users against ectopic pregnancy. Nonetheless, on a public health scale, the impact of IUD on the incidence of ectopic pregnancy should be evaluated in relative terms of comparison with other methods and their utilisation in different populations.

Biological monitoring: lichens as bioindicators of air pollution assessment--a review.

Often as part of environmental impact studies and, above all, to obtain authorisations in accordance with prescriptions from the Ministry for the Environment (Italy), surveys and controls that use biological indicators are required. This is because such indicators are valid instruments for evaluating the quality of the air ensuing from the subject (often an industrial plant) of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). In this context, this paper aims to analyse some of the theoretical aspects of biological monitoring and to provide a progress report on the use of lichens as bioindicators of air quality, with a particular eye to the situation in Italy. The object of this paper is that of pointing out the most important lines in the current state of knowledge in this field, evaluating the methodological applications and their advantages/disadvantages with respect to traditional surveying methods.

Rhabdomyosarcoma presenting as acute hematologic malignancy: case report and review of the literature.

The authors describe a case of undifferentiated rhabdomyosarcoma from unknown primary site, presenting as an acute hematologic malignancy with generalized lymphadenopathy, extensive bone marrow involvement and clinical and laboratory features of disseminated intravascular coagulation. Such a peculiar behaviour is known for rhabdomyosarcoma but is rare and can be a serious diagnostic problem for the clinician and the pathologist. The importance of a large spectrum immunohistochemistry as first diagnostic approach to any undifferentiated small-cell malignant tumor is stressed, together with the knowledge of the different immunoreactivity patterns. Desmin, MS-actin and myoglobin are the most reliable markers of this type of myogenic sarcoma.

[Hemorrhage caused by anticoagulants as a manifestation of occult diseases]. / Emorragia da anticoagulanti rivelatrice di malattie occulte.

Of 950 patients submitted to anticoagulant treatment for various reasons, 38 presented a major haemorrhage. In 21, bleeding was due to at times serious diseased, including 7 previously undetected malignant tumours. Haemorrhage was certainly fostered by the treatment but the accident permitted recognition of the occult disease in advance, thus increasing cure chances. When non-traumatic haemorrhage occurs during anticoagulant treatment, depth research should always be carried out with a view to detecting occult disease.

[Increase in blood potassium and subsequent normalization: effects on the electrocardiogram. Case report]. / Aumento della potassiemia e successiva normalizzazione: effetti sull'elettrocardiogramma. Descrizione di un caso.

Significant variations in the ECG have been observed in a female aged 77 with heart failure and chronic atrial fibrillation during an occasional increase in blood potassium followed by normalization. The major phenomena observed during hyperkalemia, due to a severe dehydration, were a transient sinus rhythm with atrio-ventricular block followed by atrial activity disappearance and advent of interventricular and fascicular block. Therapeutic normalization of blood potassium leads to a progressive disappearance of intraventricular and fascicular block, a temporary sinus rhythm and finally the return to atrial fibrillation which was the steady state of the patient before the blood potassium imbalance.

[Determination of weight concentration of dusts using automatic sample-collecting devices based on beta absorption and on the Tyndall effect]. / La determinazione della concentrazione ponderale delle polveri con campionatori automatici ad assorbimento beta e ad effetto Tyndall.

Some automatic sample-collecting sets for measuring the ponderal concentration of dust have been tested. Such apparatuses are based on two different principles: beta ray absorption, and Tyndall effect. It is shown how, through the beta absorption apparatus, it is also possible to carry out absolute measurements, after evaluating obviously the possible matrix effects. Furthermore it is shown how the sample-collecting sets, based on Tyndall effect, open new prospects in their employement on machinery drainage processes, or in following the behaviour of dust phenomena. The two types of apparatus thus tested integrate each other, where an automatic control, particularly in working environments, is needed.

[Noise in a foundry: measurement and evaluation]. / Il rumore in fonderia: misura e valutazione.

The results of the noise measurements obtained in three foundries, two of cast-iron and one of aluminium, are reported. Because of noise level variations, a level recorder and a statistical distribution analyzer have been used in addition to a sound level meter, and thus equivalent continuous sound levels (Leq) both with factor q = 3 (European Code) and with factor q = 5 (OSHA) have been calculated. The results obtained with these two different criteria of evaluation are discussed.

[Determination of urinary lead through optic emission spectrography using the double-arch method]. / Determinazione della piomburia per spettrografia di emissione ottica con la tecnica del doppio arco.

A new method for the determination of urinary lead by means of the emission spectroscopy is described. The sample is concentrated by lyophilization and the homogeneous dust obtained is analysed using the "double arc" method. The matrix effects and the source unstability are compensated by the use of the internal standard. The influence of the volatilization of the elements of the analytical pairs are studied and the pair thallium-lead is selected. The method is reproducible and the detection limit is 5 microgram/l of urinary lead.

[Atmospheric concentration of mercury in chlorinated sodium carbonate plants and their vicinity]. / La concentrazione atmosferica di mercurio negli impianti cloro-soda e loro dintorni.

The mercury control in the chloroalkali plants is a "routine method". The air is above all sampled in the chloroalkali electrolysis rooms and in the rooms under them. Already in a previous paper we had pointed out a method for the sampling and determination of the metallic mercury in these work rooms. Atmospheric samples are passed through a small glass tube containing fine spongy particles of metallic gold. As far as particle mercury sampling and analysis are concerned, environmental air is filtered by micropore filters placed on the top of the small tube filled with the gold sponge (on the same sampling line). The present work has been made with the purpose of verifying the percentage of metallic and particle mercury of the chloroalkali plants and nearby the industrial perimeter of these plants. The results have been obtained from data of two plants with different capacity, different topographic location and different microclimatic conditions. It has been noticed that the air concentration of mercury in the surrounds of the plants is higher than the basal values in incontaminated areas and the ratio between metallic mercury and particle mercury in the surroundings of chloroalkali plants is casual. The obtained data have been explained at the light of the microclimatic observations and exactly: speed and direction of winds, temperature, humidity and rainy precipitations.

[Improvement of pollution produced by chemical agents in the mechanical industry]. / Bonifiche da agenti chimici nell'industria meccanica.

In outdoor factory environments many defiling substances are produced by different working processes. Reclamation operations must, therefore, be directed to the single types of pollution involved. A series of corrective operations, aiming at the elimination of fumes, frinding powders, solvent vapours, paint pigments and hydrocarbon vapours, are described.

[Urinary kallikrein in cadmium-exposed workers]. / La callicreina urinaria nell'esposizione professionale al cadmio.

The urinary kallikrein activity was determined in a group of 20 young workers exposed to cadmium and to lower concentrations of lead and other toxic agents. Two of them were suffering from labile hypertension. The urinary kallikrein activity of exposed workers was found to be reduced by more than 80% in comparison with a control group.

[Determination of free crystalline silica in atmospheric dust]. / La determinazione della silice libera cristallina nel particolato atmosferico.

The method for the determination of free crystalline silica (quarts), as previously described by two of the authors, has been employed on atmosphere dust of unconfined spaces. The matrix effect of atmospheric dust has been investigated in winter and in summer. The limits in the use of this method have been studied considering also what stated by law code n. 615. The results obtained on the outdoor atmospheric dust, samples from industrial as well as suburban areas, are reported. The results are evaluated in relation to the metereological records.

[Cadmium as an air pollutant]. / Cadmio come inquinante dell'aria.

Daily concentrations of airborne cadmium has been determined for a year in three italian urban areas presenting different characteristics. Results obtained are in the following ranges: Rome, 0,0017--0,0194 micrograms/m3; Venice, 0,0012--0,2234 micrograms/m3 and Marghera, 0,0037--0,704 micrograms/m3. Some data for urban inciniretors emissions are also presented. Origin, effects and legislation concerning airborne cadmium are briefly discussed.