W Indian Med J
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Effects of ionizing radiation on respiratory function tests and blood parameters in radiology staff.
To evaluate pulmonary function tests and blood parameters and their relationship with sociodemographic data for radiology staff continuously exposed to ionizing radiation. ⋯ Although respiratory functions of radiology staff are affected by many factors, continuous exposure to ionizing radiation is one of the important parameters. Radiology staff should be informed about factors that negatively affect the respiratory functions.
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Vitamin A toxicity is a well-described medical condition with a multitude of potential presenting signs and symptoms. It can be divided into acute and chronic toxicity. Serum vitamin A concentrations are raised in chronic renal failure even with ingestion of less than the usual toxic doses. ⋯ Her vitamin A level was elevated with a daily intake of 7000 IU. The vitamin A supplement was stopped. A few months later, vitamin A level diminished substantially and serum calcium levels returned to normal.
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The implementation of yogic practices has proven benefits in both organic and psychological diseases. Forty-five women with anxiety selected by a random sampling method were divided into three groups. Experimental group I was subjected to asanas, relaxation and pranayama while Experimental group II was subjected to an integrated yoga module. ⋯ All data were spread in an Excel sheet to be analysed with SPSS 16 software using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Selected yoga and asanas decreased anxiety and frustration scores but treatment with an integrated yoga module resulted in significant reduction of anxiety and frustration. To conclude, the practice of asanas and yoga decreased anxiety in women, and yoga as an integrated module significantly improved anxiety scores in young women with proven anxiety without any ill effects.
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Samples of Jamaican plants used as bush teas were collected from households in high soil-cadmium (Cd) areas of central Jamaica and analysed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry for total cadmium and for cadmium extractable with a hot water brew as prepared for human consumption to determine their contribution to dietary cadmium exposure. The concentrations ranged from < 0.03 to 6.85 µg/g for total Cd, between 1 and 15% of which was extracted with a hot water brew. ⋯ This is significantly below the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) of 7 µg Cd/kg body weight established by the World Health Organization (WHO). While this suggests that bush tea consumption does not contribute significantly to the PTWI, some of the teas examined exceed the WHO recommendation of less than 0.3 mg/kg Cd for medicinal plants.
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To re-investigate the composition of ackee oil and unequivocally determine its principal fatty acid components. ⋯ The ackee samples analysed were rich in the monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) oleic acid. Consideration should be given to potential protective health effects of diets which include ackee.