To compare the effects of technological treatments of milk on the gastric emptying of proteins and peptides, three diets were studied: raw milk, pasteurized milk, and yoghurt. In the preruminant calf, all effluents leaving the stomach during 12 h were collected and analyzed for N emptying, NPN level, amino acid composition, and characterization of proteins and peptides by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. With raw milk, casein coagulation is almost immediate in the stomach and casein is evacuated in the form of peptides. With pasteurized milk, casein coagulation is slower. Casein is also evacuated in the form of peptides. With yoghurt diet in which casein was gelified by acidification to pH 4 before ingestion, there is no coagulation in the stomach. Casein is evacuated during the whole digestion process in intact and degraded form. For the three diets, a-lactalbumin was degraded when the pH value was under 3.5. /3-Lactoglobulin did not seem to be proteolyzed. Amino acid compositions of the effluents are not so variable in the process of digestion with pasteurized milk as in digestion with raw milk. With yoghurt, amino acid compositions of the effluents are almost identical during the whole digestion process.
This study was carried out to update data concerning both the nature and the frequency of X-ray diagnostic procedures and to reassess the associated per caput effective dose in France, given that the only nationwide survey was carried out over 15 years ago. Relevant data concerning examinations in conventional radiology, computed tomography, interventional radiology and nuclear medicine were obtained for the year 2002 from two main sources: the main health insurance records for private practices and the statistics of healthcare establishments on hospital activity. Doses associated with different types of examination were obtained from the diagnostic reference levels (DRL) campaign, together with data from the European Commission and from the Health Protection Agency in the UK. The results show that between 55.4 and 65.9 million procedures were performed in 2002 in conventional radiology (one-third for dental) and between 4.2 and 6 million in computed tomography. There were 850,000 and 900,000 procedures in nuclear medicine and interventional radiology respectively. Conventional radiology accounts for 90% of the total number of procedures but only 37% of the collective dose, whereas examinations in computed tomography account for 8% of total examinations but 39% of the collective dose. Examinations in nuclear medicine and interventional radiology account for 2% of procedures but 7% and 17% of the collective dose respectively. Finally, the per caput effective dose in 2002 was between 0.66 and 0.83 mSv.
BackgroundThe eye is well known to be sensitive to clearly high doses (>2 Gy) of ionizing radiation. In recent years, however, cataracts have been observed in populations exposed to lower doses. Interventional cardiologists are repeatedly and acutely exposed to scattered ionizing radiation (X-rays) during the diagnostic and therapeutic procedures they perform. These "low" exposures may cause damage to the lens of the eye and induce early cataracts, known as radiation-induced cataracts. The O'CLOC study (Occupational Cataracts and Lens Opacities in interventional Cardiology) was designed to test the hypothesis that interventional cardiologists, compared with an unexposed reference group of non-interventional cardiologists, have an increased risk of cataracts.Method/DesignThe O'CLOC study is a cross-sectional study that will include a total of 300 cardiologists aged at least 40 years: one group of exposed interventional cardiologists and another of non-interventional cardiologists. The groups will be matched for age and sex. Individual information, including risk factors for cataracts (age, diabetes, myopia, etc.), will be collected during a telephone interview. A specific section of the questionnaire for the exposed group focuses on occupational history, including a description of the procedures (type, frequency, radiation protection tool) used. These data will be used to classify subjects into "exposure level" groups according to cumulative dose estimates. Eye examinations for all participants will be performed to detect cataracts, even in the early stages (lens opacities, according to LOCS III, the international standard classification). The analysis will provide an estimation of the cataract risk in interventional cardiology compared with the unexposed reference group, while taking other risk factors into account. An analysis comparing the risks according to level of exposure is also planned.DiscussionThis epidemiological study will provide further evidence about the potential risk of radiation-induced cataracts at low doses and contribute to cardiologists' awareness of the importance of radiation protection.Trial RegistrationNCT01061463
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