Nonlinear changes in brain electrical activity due to cell phone radiation

We studied the effect of an electromagnetic field from a cellular telephone on brain electrical activity, using a novel analytical method based on a nonlinear model. The electroencephalogram (EEG) from rabbits was embedded in phase space and local recurrence plots were calculated and quantified using recurrence quantitation analysis to permit statistical comparisons between filtered segments of exposed and control epochs from individual rabbits. When the rabbits were exposed to the radiation from a standard cellular telephone (800 MHz band, 600 mW maximum radiated power) under conditions that simulated normal human use, the EEG was significantly affected in nine of ten animals studied. The effect occurred beginning about 100 ms after initiation of application of the field and lasted approximately 300 ms. In each case, the fields increased the randomness in the EEG. A control procedure ruled out the possibility that the observations were a product of the method of analysis. No differences were found between exposed and control epochs in any animal when the experiment was repeated after the rabbits had been sacrificed, indicating that absorption of radiation by the EEG electrodes could not account for the observed effect. No effect was seen when deposition of energy in the brain was minimized by repositioning the radiating antenna from the head to the chest, showing that the type of tissue that absorbed the energy determined the observed changes in the EEG. We conclude that, in normal use, the fields from a standard cellular telephone can alter brain function as a consequence of absorption of energy by the brain.     

Increase in phi X174 DNA radiation sensitivity due to electric fields

The application of an external electric field simultaneously with gamma irradiation to an aqueous suspension of phi X174 DNA (in the RFI form) is shown to increase significantly the number of strand breaks. Tritiated DNA allowed the number of single-strand breaks to be estimated from changes in the scintillation of electrophoretic gel band associated with the fastest mobility moiety. At 400 V (approximately 2400 V cm-1) the corrected increase (corrected for phoresis of DNA on the stainless-steel plates) in the G-value yield is 38%. The increase in damage with field strength appears to follow the increase in reduced dichroism. Dichroism results correspond at 400 V to approximately 10% of the maximum orientation. Our results support the conjecture that this significant increase in DNA-radiation interaction with an electric field is due to field-induced conformation changes in the molecule.     

Hair transplantation for men with advanced degrees of hair loss

In the field of surgical hair restoration, there is probably no greater challenge than treating the individual with advanced male pattern hair loss. Recent developments in follicular unit grafting and recognition of the natural appearance of the transplanted frontal forelock have now made it possible to obtain excellent, undetectable results in these patients. Over a 22-month period, the onset correlating with the time when the author began to use the technique of follicular unit grafting, 61 of 322 hair transplant procedures (approximately 20 percent) performed for male pattern hair loss were on men with, or at high risk of developing, advanced male pattern hair loss. Uniformly, the creation of some type of frontal forelock provided excellent results and high patient satisfaction. The concept of the frontal forelock is not new. Developments in aesthetic principles, enhanced understanding of its applicability, and the applied advantages of follicular unit grafting allow for the first time, truly undetectable results.     

Urothelial cell changes due to busulfan and cyclophosphamide treatment in bone marrow transplantation

Since the administration of cyclophosphamide and busulfan can cause hemorrhagic cystitis and changes in urothelial cells, an investigation was carried out to see whether patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation (BMT) who were treated with these drugs showed such urothelial changes and whether exfoliative urinary cytology can contribute to the early diagnosis and monitoring of such changes. Morphologic and morphometric analyses were performed on cytocentrifuged, Papanicolaou-stained preparations of 700 samples from 107 patients. Various degrees of urothelial cell changes were found in 30.8% of the cases. These changes consisted mainly of a considerable increase in the size of the nucleus and of a cytoplasm that was often bizarrely shaped. Even the structures of the nucleus and the cytoplasm changed. The results of this study showed that exfoliative urinary cytology permits an early diagnosis and monitoring of urothelial cell changes related to the administration of busulfan and cyclophosphamide in connection with BMT.     

Individual radiation exposure dose due to support activities at safe shelters in Fukushima Prefecture

Immediately after the accidents in the nuclear power stations in Fukushima on March 11, the Japanese Government ordered the evacuation of the residents within a 20-km radius from the station on March 12, and asked various institutions to monitor the contamination levels of the residents. Hirosaki University, which is located 355 km north of Fukushima City, decided to send support staff to Fukushima. This report summarizes the results of the exposure of 13 individual teams from March 15 to June 20. The support teams surveyed more than 5,000 people during this period. Almost all subjects had external contamination levels of less than 13 kcpm on Geiger-Müller (GM) survey meter, which is categorized as "no contamination level." The 1(st) team showed the highest external exposure dose, but the 4(th) team onward showed no significant change. Subsequently, the internal radiation exposure was measured using a whole body counter that indicated undetectable levels in all staff members. Although the measured external radiation exposure dose cannot have serious biological effects on the health of an individual, a follow-up study of the residents in Fukushima and other regions where the radioactive material has spread will be required for a long time.     

Hair to document exposure to glibenclamide

Among the drugs that are used to incapacitate victims such as kids or elderly for sedation or for criminal gain such as sexual offences or robberies, glibenclamide, an antidiabetic was never mentioned. To document the interest of hair testing in such forensic situations, we have developed an original method to test for glibenclamide. A 30-year-old man was admitted to the Emergency Unit for coma and seizures after a party with some members of his family. Blood glucose was 0.40 g/l. A hair specimen was collected several weeks after the event and divided into two segments of 2 cm. Twenty milligrams of each segment cut into small pieces were incubated overnight in a phosphate buffer (pH 5.5), in presence of gliclazide used as internal standard (IS). A liquid/liquid extraction was realized with a mixture of diethyl ether/methylene chloride, and hair extract was separated on a XTerra MS C18 column using a gradient of acetonitrile and formate buffer. Detection of glibenclamide was achieved using two transitions: m/z 493.9 to 168.9 and 493.9 to 368.8. Linearity was observed from 5 to 1000 pg/mg (r2 = 0.956) with a limit of quantification at 5 pg/mg and a clean-up recovery of about 61%. Within-batch precision and bias were 9.0 and 9.5%, respectively. Ion suppression tested on drug-free hair was about 50%. Glibenclamide tested positive in the two consecutive segments (root to 2 cm: 23 pg/mg and 2-4 cm: 31 pg/mg). These findings were in accordance with a repetitive exposure to the drug. The concentrations were compared with those obtained after a single and a daily dose administration. In the hair of a subject receiving a single 5mg dose and collected 4 weeks later, glibenclamide was detected in the proximal segment at 5 pg/mg. After a 20 mg/day dose, the hair concentration of a subject under glibenclamide therapy was 650 pg/mg.     

Suppression of delayed hypersensitivity to microbial and transplantation antigens with ultraviolet radiation

The influence of ultraviolet (UV) radiation on delayed hypersensitivity to antigens of different nature has been studied. UV radiation in different doses has been shown to induce the suppression of delayed hypersensitivity to staphylococcal cell-wall antigens and transplantation alloantigens.