Perceived occupational stress,affective, and physical well-being among telecommunication employees in Greece

The present study examined four potential roles of work-related negative affectivity on the associations between self-reported occupational stress and physical well-being among telecommunication employees in Greece. Participants (764, predominantly male) completed a battery of self-report measures on perceived occupational stress, negative affectivity, and illness symptoms. In line with previous research, negative affectivity exerted a nuisance effect, by inflating the association between reported stressors and illness symptoms, and significantly predicted illness symptoms, over and above the effects of stressors. In addition, negative affectivity influenced reported illness symptom indirectly, through the effects of stressors, and moderated the relationship between interpersonal conflict at work and illness symptoms. The findings suggest that negative affectivity can largely explain and influence in different ways the associations between self-reported stress and physical strain. It is recommended that future studies of occupational stress should control for the effects of negative affectivity, and that health professionals should be cautious of its effects when interpreting relationships between self-reported occupational stress and physical well-being.     

DNA adduct formation in Salmonella typhimurium, cultured liver cells and in Fischer 344 rats treated with o-tolyl phosphates and their metabolites

2-Phenoxy-4H-1,3,2-benzodioxaphosphorin 2-oxide is an electrophilicand a neurotoxic metabolite of o-tolyl phosphates. In a previouspaper we reported that 2-phenoxy-4H-1,3,2-benzodioxaphosphorin2-oxide is mutagenic in Salmonella typhimurium TA100 and formsDNA adducts in incubations with nucleotides, nucleosides andisolated DNA. In the present study we compare DNA adduct formationusing ³²P-post-labelling assays in 2-phenoxy-4H-1,3,2-benzodioxaphosphorin2-oxide-treated bacteria (S.typhimurium TA100) and hepatomacells with DNA adducts formed in liver, kidney, lung and heartof tri-o-tolyl phosphate-exposed Fischer 344 male rats. In bothbacteria and hepatoma cells two DNA adducts could be detectedafter treatment with 2-phenoxy-4H-1,3,2-benzodioxaphosphorin2-oxide. The minor adduct co-chromatographed with syntheticN³-(o-hydroxy-benzyl)deoxyuridine 3' monophosphate after postlabelling.The major DNA adduct was a cytidine adduct, most likely N³-(o-hydroxybenzyl)deoxycytidine3' monophosphate. Male Fischer 344 rats were treated orallyfor 10 days with tri-o-tolyl phosphate (50 mg/kg/day) and DNAwas isolated from liver, kidney, lung, heart, brain and testes1,4,7 and 28 days after giving the last dose. Analysis by ³²P-postlabellingrevealed that two adducts were present in the DNA isolated fromliver, kidney, lung and heart on the first day after givingthe last dose; DNA adducts were not detected in the brain andtestes. The adduct pattern after in vivo treatment with tri-o-tolylphosphate was identical with that found in bacteria and hepatomacells treated with 2-phenoxy-4H-1,3,2-benzo-dioxaphosphorin2-oxide, the major adduct being N³-(o-hydroxybenzyl)deoxycytidine3' monophosphate and the minor N³-(o-hydroxybenzyl)deoxyuridine3' monophosphate. Both DNA adducts persisted in the lungs forthe entire observation period, whereas in the kidney only thecytidine adduct could be detected 28 days after the last doseof tri-o-tolyl phosphate. In liver and heart the adducts weredetectable only on the first day after completion of the treatment.The results indicate that in addition to the well establishedneurotoxicity, some o-tolyl phosphates may have a carcinogenicpotential.     

Circulating HER2 mRNA-positive cells in the peripheral blood of patients with stage I and II breast cancer after the administration of adjuvant chemotherapy: evaluation of their clinical relevance.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) expressing HER2 messenger RNA (mRNA) after the administration of adjuvant chemotherapy in women with operable breast cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: HER2 mRNA-positive CTCs were detected by nested RT-PCR in the peripheral blood of 214 patients with stage I and II breast cancer after the completion of adjuvant chemotherapy. RESULTS: HER2 mRNA-positive CTCs were detected in 45 (21%) patients. Adjuvant chemotherapy could eliminate HER2 mRNA-positive CTCs in 16 (30.2%) prechemotherapy-positive patients. Moreover, HER2 mRNA-positive CTCs were detected in eight (5%) of 161 prechemotherapy-negative patients. The detection of HER2 mRNA-positive CTCs after chemotherapy was associated with reduced disease-free interval (DFI) (P = 0.006) but not with overall survival (P = 0.2); this effect was mainly observed in node-negative patients (P = 0.04) and to a lesser extent in node-positive (P = 0.06). Multivariate analysis revealed that the detection of HER2 mRNA-positive CTCs was an independent predictive factor for DFI (hazard ratio 3.238, P < 0.0005). CONCLUSIONS: The detection of HER2 mRNA-positive CTCs after the completion of adjuvant chemotherapy may provide clinically useful information concerning the efficacy of treatment and the prognosis of patients with operable breast cancer.