1,721,061 research outputs found
Liver function assessment in workers exposed to vinyl chloride
No full textObjective: To investigate liver function in vinyl chloride workers and assess its relation with current/past occupational exposure to vinyl chloride monomer (VCM). Methods: A medical examination including the execution of liver function tests (LFTs) and liver ultrasonography was executed in a group of 757 workers with a long-standing service in the production of VCM/ polyvinylchloride (PVC). Cumulative and maximum VCM exposures were calculated. History of viral hepatitis and alcohol intake were carefully investigated. Regression analysis explored the association between abnormal LFTs and a group of possible determinants (VCM cumulative and maximum exposure, BMI, age, history of viral hepatitis, alcohol and triglyceride levels). Also, synergistic effect between VCM and a history of hepatitis was analysed, as well as the possible association between VCM exposure and aspartate aminotransferase/alanine amino transferase (AST/ALT) ratio >1. Distribution of abnormal LFTs was also assessed in relation to the results provided by liver ultrasonography. Results: The most frequently abnormal serum parameters were, in decreasing order: total cholesterol (27.3%), triglycerides (12.2%), total bilirubin (9.1%), gamma glutamil transpeptidase (GGT; 9.0%) and ALT (8.2%). The AST/ALT ratio >1 was present in 28.1% of workers. Abnormal LFTs were not found to be associated with current or past VCM exposure. High ALT resulted positively associated with BMI, AST with alcohol intake, GGT with alcohol intake and triglycerides. No synergistic effect on LFTs of exposure to VCM and a history of hepatitis was observed. The AST/ALT ratio >1 was not found to be associated with VCM exposure. The prevalence of abnormal LFTs was higher in case of liver steatosis (ALT) or periportal fibrosis (GGT), but not in case of pure hepatomegaly, as documented by ultrasonography. Conclusions: Liver function assessment only including LFTs is not able to detect VCM-induced liver damage, but reveals alterations due to non-occupational factors, such as dietary and/or metabolic disfunctions. The LFTs are however of importance to detect conditions that could recommend avoidance of exposure to VCM and are useful for medical counselling and health promotion purposes
Re: Mortality among workers in the geothermal power plants at Larderello, Italy Am. J. Ind. Med. 35:536-539, 2000
No full textRisk assessment and management of occupational exposure to pesticides in agriculture
No full textNearly 50% of the world labour force is employed in agriculture. Over the last 50 years, agriculture has deeply
changed with a massive utilisation of pesticides and fertilisers to enhance crop protection and production, food quality
and food preservation. Pesticides are also increasingly employed for public health purposes and for domestic use.
Pesticide are unique chemicals as they are intrinsically toxic for several biological targets, are deliberately spread into
the environment, and their toxicity has a limited species selectivity. Pesticide toxicity depends on the compound
family and is generally greater for the older compounds; in humans, they are responsible for acute poisonings as well
as for long term health effects, including cancer and adverse effects on reproduction. Due to their intrinsic toxicity,
in most countries a specific and complex legislation prescribes a thorough risk assessment process for pesticides prior to
their entrance to the market (pre-marketing risk assessment). The post-marketing risk assessment takes place during
the use of pesticides and aims at assessing the risk for exposed operators. The results of the risk assessment are the base
for the health surveillance of exposed workers. Occupational exposure to pesticides in agriculture concerns product
distributors, mixers and loaders, applicators, bystanders, and rural workers re-entering the fields shortly after treatment.
Assessing and managing the occupational health risks posed by the use of pesticides in agriculture is a complex
but essential task for occupational health specialists and toxicologists. In spite of the economic and social importance
of agriculture, the health protection of agricultural workforce has been overlooked for too many years, causing an
heavy tribute paid in terms of avoidable diseases, human sufferance, and economic losses. Particularly in the developing
countries, where agricultural work is one of the predominant job, a sustainable model of development calls for
more attention to occupational risks in agriculture. The experience of many countries has shown that prevention of
health risk caused by pesticides is technically feasible and economically rewarding for the individuals and the whole
community. A proper risk assessment and management of pesticide use is an essential component of this preventative
strategy
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Dall’igiene e tossicologia industriale all’igiene e tossicologia ambientale: problemi e prospettive
No full textBackground: Low-dose exposures to mixtures of substances have received increasing interest and they involve many different occupational and environmental situations. The presence in the population (working and general) of groups of susceptible individuals is an important public health issue that poses new challenges to science and society. Objectives: To discuss the evolution from traditional occupational hygiene and toxicology to the new environmental (general and occupational) hygiene and toxicology. Results: Environmental hygiene and toxicology have remarkably improved analytical tools available to solve most of the analytical issues posed by the present exposure scenario. Biomarkers of low-dose exposure, early effects and individual susceptibility are being intensively investigated. Conclusions: The challenge in this field for the coming years appears be not the analytical but the medical and ethical implications
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Low level exposure to chemicals and immune system
No full textIndustrialized countries are facing an increase of diseases attributable to an alteration of the immune system function, and concern is growing that this trend could be at least partially attributable to new and modified patterns of exposure to chemicals. Among chemicals matter of concern, pesticides can be included. The Authors have reviewed the existing evidence of pesticide immunotoxicity in humans, showing that existing data are inadequate to raise conclusions on the immunotoxic risk related to these compounds. The limits of existing studies are: poor knowledge on exposure levels, heterogeneity of the approach, and difficulty in giving a prognostic significance to the slight changes often observed. To overcome these limits, the Authors have proposed a tier approach, based on three steps: the first, addressed at pointing out a possible immunomodulation; the second, at refining the results and the third one, when needed, to finalize the study and to point out concordance with previous results. Studies should preferably be carried out through comparison of pre- and post-exposure findings in the same groups of subjects to be examined immediately after the end of the exposure. A simplification of the first step approach can be used by the occupational health physician and the occupational toxicologist. Conclusions on the prognostic significance of the slight changes often observed will be reached only by validating the hypothesis generated by field studies with an epidemiological approach. In this field, the most useful option is represented by longitudinal perspective studies. (copyright) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved
Development of a project for international harmonization of occupational disease identification and recognition
No full textPentaclorofenolo: stato attuale delle conoscenze
No full textLargely produced and used as a 'universal biocide', pentachlorophenol (PCP) is under investigation as possible carcinogenic agent for man, after Scandinavian studies have shown that human exposure to chlorophenols might be associated with cancer and leukaemia. PCP is used mainly in the wood and tanning industries. Technical grade PCP may be contaminated by variable amounts of impurities, including chlorinated dioxins and furans. This makes it uncertain whether the acute and chronic effects observed in experimental animals can be ascribed to PCP itself or to its contaminants. The acute toxic effects of PCP are due to uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation. The porphyrogenic and acnigenic activity shown by the commercial products appears to be related to the presence of contaminants. Both pure and technical grade PCP induce toxic damage to the liver and changes in the immunological system. Analytical grade PCP has been found to be teratogenic in animals. Analogous effects have also been caused by hexachlorodibenzodioxin, one of the main contaminants of PCP. So far, the carcinogenic activity of PCP has not been sufficiently studied. Experimental investigations in animals are few and of questionable value. Human epidemiological data address multiple exposure situations, where the significance of PCP exposure cannot be easily singled out. Therefore the question is still open and further research is needed. Absorption of PCP in humans may occur through inhalation, skin penetration and via the digestive system. PCP is metabolized in the organism only to a limited extent and is mostly excreted unchanged with the urine. Human exposure is not confined to work settings. Although environmental persistence of PCP is rather short, minimal amounts of PCP can be traced almost everywhere in the environment and in human tissues. PCP may dissipate in the environment from waste disposal, treated wood or other sources. Release of PCP from treated wood may be of importance as a source of human exposure for countries where log homes are popular. PCP can be detected in environmental samples using sensitive and specific analytical methods; these methods can also be adapted for use in human biological monitoring by measuring the PCP concentration in blood and urine. The relationship between environmental exposure and PCP levels in body fluids is rather uncertain. Urinary PCP concentrations can be used for biological monitoring of exposed subjects. Health surveillance of workers exposed to PCP should be addressed mainly to the evaluation of skin disorders, liver function changes and nervous system alterations
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