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BACKGROUND: Advances in the treatment of brain tumours have increased the number of long-term survivors, but at the cost of side effects following cranial radiotherapy ranging from neurocognitive deficits to outright tissue necrosis. At present, there are no tools reflecting the molecular mechanisms underlying such side effects, and thus no means to evaluate interventional effects after cranial radiotherapy. Therefore, fluid biomarkers are of great clinical interest. OBJECTIVE: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of proteins involved in inflammatory signalling, synaptic plasticity and extracellular matrix (ECM) integrity were investigated following radiotherapy to the brain. METHODS: Patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) eligible for prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) were asked to participate in the study. PCI was prescribed either as 2 Gy/fraction to a total dose of 30 Gy (limited disease) or 4 Gy/fraction to 20 Gy (extensive disease). CSF was collected by lumbar puncture at baseline, 3 months and 1 year following PCI. Protein concentrations were measured using immunobased assays or mass spectrometry. RESULTS: The inflammatory markers IL-15, IL-16 and MCP-1/CCL2 were elevated in CSF 3 months following PCI compared to baseline. The plasticity marker GAP-43 was elevated 3 months following PCI, and the same trend was seen for SNAP-25, but not for SYT1. The investigated ECM proteins, brevican and neurocan, showed a decline following PCI. There was a strong correlation between the progressive decline of soluble APPα and brevican levels. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first time ECM-related proteins have been shown to be affected by cranial radiotherapy in patients with cancer. These findings may help us to get a better understanding of the mechanisms behind side effects following radiotherapy.

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The aim of the study was to analyse the psychosocial and physical effects of a reorganisation of data entry work at a data processing unit with 153 employees. The reorganisation was planned to redistribute the repetitive work and improve health and satisfaction as well as efficiency. Methods used were questionnaires and, for a sub-group of 22 participants, interviews, diaries and video recordings. During the one-and-a-half-year study period the data processing unit was closed down and the employees transferred to units with more varied tasks. The reorganisation gave opportunities to improve working conditions. The results of this study show that important improvements were achieved. The majority of the 22 participants got less data entry work and the changes permitted a better work-load distribution. However, the work content after the reorganisation still did not provide satisfactory mental variation for most of the subjects, and the changes did not seem to affect health complaints.

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The aim of the study was to evaluate four different modes of human-computer interaction. The modes were: use of the keyboard alone as input device, use of keyboard and mouse, use of keyboard and mouse with a three-dimensional arm support, and use of a keyboard with a Trackpoint device in its centre. Ten women and 10 men volunteered to participate. Questions asked were whether working in the different modes influenced shoulder and forearm muscular load differently during word processing, and how much strain on the neck, shoulder and arms subjects perceived in the different modes. Muscular load was studied with electromyography in three shoulder muscles and three forearm muscles. The subjects also rated the different modes in one questionnaire concerning perceived strain and in one concerning preference for any of the modes tested. Intra-individual analysis for each muscle and mode showed two possible ways of decreasing the strain from computer mouse work on the shoulder muscles--either to use Trackpoint or to use the mouse combined with the movable arm support. However, both of these computer-interaction modes increased the muscular load in the hand and forearm.

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The present aim was to measure and quantify upper-arm elevation and to find how changed work organization and work tasks influence arm movement during a working day. Sixteen female office workers participated in the study. Their main work was statistical data entry. Upper-arm elevation was measured on two occasions separated by 18 months, i.e., before and after a change of work organization. The measurements were performed during the whole of one ordinary working day. The differences between the two measurements were mostly non-significant. Arm elevation remained essentially below 30 degrees during the main time of the working day, and the subjects worked with limited arm movements. Despite new alternative office tasks, they did not achieve a change in their habitual arm postures, or in their neck-and-shoulder disorders.

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This study investigated how ergonomic design influences neck-and-shoulder muscle strain, through keyboard assessment. Muscular activity was measured electromyographically (EMG) from six muscles in the forearm and shoulders of eight experienced typists using each of five different types of keyboard: one mechanical, one electromechanical, and one electronic typewriter; one personal computer/word processor (PC-XT) keyboard; and one angled at 20 degrees in the horizontal plane. The impact on muscular activity of using a palmrest was also studied. The mechanical typewriter induced a higher strain in the forearm and finger muscles than did the modern typewriters and keyboards. These induced no different strain on the neck-and-shoulder muscles, except for the right shoulder muscle, which was more active with the electronic typewriter than with the other machines. Using a palmrest did not decrease the strain on the muscles investigated. Use of the 'angled' PC-XT keyboard did not influence the measured muscular load on the forearm and finger muscles compared to typing on an ordinary PC-XT keyboard, but decreased the extensor muscular strain compared to the electronic typewriter.

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The Breeding Information System (BIS) facilitates management control of the breeding colony operation at the National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR). Although this automated data handling system was initially intended to support Animal Husbandry the system's basic design, flexibility or reporting, data manipulation capabilities, and integration with other NCTR data collection systems provides BIS with capabilities that have application to other groups including the Plans and Programs and most scientific areas. This description of the System is in terms of its potential value to these diverse user groups.

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The Experiment Information System (EIS) is a computerized data collection, maintenance, and reporting system for specified information values collected during the lifespan of animals assigned to toxicologic investigations at NCTR. The system records and/or controls experimental variables, which might ultimately affect the results, through the operation and integration of the Diet Preparation Subsystem (DPS), the Environmental Monitoring Subsystem (EMS), the Microbiology Subsystem (MBS), and the Chemistry Data Subsystem (CDS). The fifth component of the EIS, the Experimental Data Collection Subsystem (EDCS), is responsible for handling all data generated by, or attributed to, the animals from assignment until death or removal. Through integration of these five subsystems, the history of an animal while on study is recorded and stored for later recall. In addition, "routine" and "special" reports are made available through the system software which enables stringent control of the experiment by the Principal Investigator, Animal Husbandry, and NCTR Management.

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