Occupational Habits Research Articles

Blood lead levels and nutrition in an urban community in Venezuela

Previous lead (Pb) exposure studies identified the Michelena sector in Valencia as a ‘critical’ area for Pb contamination. An analytical-ecological study was designed to evaluate the association of environmental and nutritional variables with blood lead (BPb) in children attending two schools located in this sector. A questionnaire was administered and the findings were correlated with BPb and serum-calcium (S-Ca) levels. The total population examined included 60 children (4–9 years old). The mean BPb values was 10.5 ± 3 ug/dL (61.7% ≥ 10 ug/dL) and the mean S-Ca was 8.9 ± 0.7 mg/dL. A significant difference (p = 0.042) was found between BPbs in males (11.1 ± 3.1 ug/dL) when compared with females (9.6 ± 2.8 ug/dL). Child age, school, schedule at school, parents' occupational exposure, habits, and socioeconomic status had no significant association with BPbs. The relationship between BPb levels (dependent variable) and the S-Ca and daily Ca intake levels (independent variables) was analysed through multiple regression analysis. The results show an inverse relationship between BPb and both variables (β = −0.073, and β = −0.001) respectively, with the daily Ca intake being the only significant variable in the model (p = 0.04). Although average BPbs was not very high, the percentage of children with BPbs higher than the US-CDC intervention level was greater than those found in other studies. Since detailed information is generally unavailable for these children in Venezuela, this study provides insights for future research.

Femoral Intercondylar Notch (ICN) width in Nigerians: its relationship to femur length.

We have investigated and measured the Femoral Intercondylar Notch (ICN) width in Nigerians and found the mean to be 2.24cm (22.4mm). The Intercondylar Notch (ICN) width ranged from 1.18cm (18.1mm) to 2.80cm (28.0mm). The mean value for the left femur was found to be 2.21cm and 2.27cm for the right femur. It is suggested that the difference could be the result of dominant use of one foot over the other or to occupational habit. This needs further investigation. The Femoral Intercondylar Notch (ICN) width is not related to Femur length as no relationship was found to exist between the two (p > 0.05). We conclude that since stenosed notch individuals are at high risk of Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries, the normal values of Intercondylar Notch (ICN) width that we have established may be utilized for practical and accurate screening of individuals who are predisposed to Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) ruptures and injuries.

Leptospirosis in India and the rest of the world.

Leptospirosis is an acute anthropo-zoonotic infection of worldwide significance caused by spirochaete Leptospira interrogans which has 23 serogroups and >200 serovars. Various factors influencing the animal activity, suitability of the environment for the survival of the organism and behavorial and occupational habits of human beings can be the determinants of incidence and prevalence of the disease. The disease was considered inconsequential till recently, but it is emerging as an important public health problem during the last decade or so due to sudden upsurge in the number of reported cases and outbreaks. Since isolation rate of the microorganism from clinical specimens is low due to prior indiscriminate use of antibiotics, serological techniques remain the cornerstone of diagnosis.

Perceived Experiences of Well Senior Women Engaged in Occupational Life Style Redesign

The qualitative study summarized in this article explored the perceived experiences of six well older women engaged in occupational lifestyle redesign. Demographic trends warrant continued exploration of interventions intended to maximize the well-being of older adults. The results of the study help explain how occupational lifestyle redesign enabled participants to explore their occupational habits, experience occupational options, and establish a plan to influence their physical, mental, and social well-being through occupation.

Mutagenic drinking water and risk of male esophageal cancer: a population-based case-control study.

Drinking mutagenic downstream water from the Huangpu River was hypothesized to have increased the risk for male esophageal cancer in Shanghai, China. The authors conducted a population-based case-control study of a total of 71 esophageal cancer deaths and 1,122 controls collected during a 5-year follow-up period, 1984-1988, from four male cohorts born before January 1, 1944, living in four communities consuming water with different mutagenicities in the Shanghai area. The controls represented a 1% random sample of the defined living cohorts selected at the end of each of the 5 years of follow-up. Logistic regression showed an odds ratio of 2.77 (95% confidence interval: 1.52, 5.03) for drinking mutagenic downstream water from the river versus drinking nonmutagenic upstream water after controlling for possible confounders including age, disease history (hepatitis, cirrhosis, schistosomiasis, digestive tract ulcer), hazardous occupational history, pesticide exposure, lifestyle factors (cigarette smoking, tea intake, and alcohol intake), dietary habits (intake of pickled vegetables, maize, peanuts, and cured meat), education, poverty, urban environment, and water chlorination.

Case-referent study on occupational risk factors for bladder cancer in southern Israel

To evaluate the possible association between occupational exposures (risk factors) and male bladder cancer in the Negev region (southern Israel) to enable preventive strategies to be applied. A total of 92 male bladder cancer patients, diagnosed at a regional medical center between 1989 and 1993, were studied by interview and compared with 92 males without oncological disease after matching by age and country of origin. A special questionnaire was developed to gather information on demography, life-time occupational history, smoking habits, coffee consumption, and health status. Statistical analysis of the case-referent data was done using the SPSS-5 package for performance of the chi-square test, conditional logistic regression, and multiple classification analysis. Significant associations were found between bladder cancer occurrence and (1) three different groups of occupational exposures [a - solvents (P = 0.002, OR not computed due to the lack of exposed persons among referents), b - dusts (P = 0. 02; OR = 4.67), and c - exposure to multiple chemicals (P < 0.001, OR = 6.25); (2) nephrolithiasis (P = 0.02, OR = 11.00); and (3) cigarette smoking (P = 0.01, OR = 1.87). Certain types of occupational exposure, different from that to aromatic amines and dyes, may be considered as contributing factors in the epidemiology of bladder cancer. Better identification of these chemicals and the work processes where they are used may help in abating such exposures, thus leading to a reduction in the risk for this relatively common cancer.

Quantitative study on characteristic parameters of acoustic behavior habits in budgerigars (Melopsittacus undula fus)

On the bases of the studies of acoustic behavior and pattern recognition of budgerigar calls, the quantitative study on characteristic parameters of acoustic behavior habits in budgerigars is further given in this paper. These results open up a new knowledge for comprehensive analyses of abnormalities of acoustic behavior habits in budgerigars prior to earthquakes. Under indoor lighting, the song calls in budgerigars are possessed of the beginning and ending singing time with the natural characteristics, and of the rhythmic habit of daylight singings and night rests. In daily daylight and night calls, single calls, vari-toned calls, mono-syllabic and multi-syllabic protest calls are respectively possessed of the occupation habit corresponding to behavior activities, and have close acrophases and regular following properties corresponding to half-value phases, and the acrophases delay half-value phases by about half an hour on an average. After reversing lighting, the acrophases of budgerigar calls delay those of the normal lighting by about 12 hours on an average, and the following properties corresponding to half-value phases are irregular.

Les Maisons de Rouen, XIIe-XVIIIe siècles

Such as we can larn from surviving buildings, archaeological information, and written sources, Rouen houses have evolved considerably through time. Stone houses, livel in by the upper classes, are numerous in the 12th and 13th centuries. Perhaps due to pressure from the communes they then tend to disappear, making way for a stone based type of construction (the cellar), with a wooden erection. In the 14th century, houses with roadfacing gables are replaced by a layout consisting of two rows of buildings parallel to the road, joined by a gallery with stairs. Between the 15th and the middle of the 18th century, the main dwelling types remain remarkably stable, then blocks of flats appear, characterized by a larger massive building structure and by the regrouping of the volume facing the road. By studying the formal characteristics we note a slow evolution towards higher constructions, larger houses, and a decline of building projects including several houses. Period by period, the houses are described according to the types statistically defined, and according to the distribution of these characteristics in the town. The second part considers means of defining the layout of both individual houses or those grouped on an «estate », from legal and architectural plans. We then look at administrative control, from road plans — particularly the granting of building lines that are to act as a limit between public and private areas, and are to give a regular aspect to the street — and on the houses' layouts. This control is probably very old. A more consequent development of argument is devoted to the importance of the building trade activity, considering the amount of new houses built and large scale repairs, and the «lifespan » of a house, which varies in time. The relationship with planning blocks, and the importance of the types of buildings that constitute them are considered in the perspective of their evolution in the economic and socio-culturel context. Finally, the building is analysed from a social angle, particularly the maintainance, renewal and occupational habits (of the owners and tenants, in a mainly monofamilly unit). The state of the houses relative to their situation in the town is socially very significant. The 2 000 edifices studied at Rouen, representing more than 2 500 houses, that is a third of the private street buildings intra-muros at the end of the 18th century, thus appear as a major source of information about the town between the 12th and the 18th century.

Contact dermatitis in hairdressers: the Italian experience. Gruppo Italiano Ricerca Dermatiti da Contatto e Ambientali.

A multicenter study was performed in 9 Italian centers by members of the GIRDCA, to evaluate the frequency and source of contact sensitization in a group of 302 hairdressers with dermatitis. Occupational habits and use of preventive measures were specifically investigated both in these 302 hairdressers and in a further group of 240 hairdressers who answered a questionnaire. The results showed the presence of an occupationally relevant sensitization in 60.9% of the 302 hairdressers. This proportion included 52 hairdressers who had negative patch tests to the hairdressers' series but showed positive reactions to other allergens, such as nickel, rubber additives, preservatives and fragrances, which were judged relevant to their occupation. Among hair dyes, PPD caused 73 reactions (24.2%), PAP 32 reactions (10.6%), ONPPD 24 reactions (7.9%), and PTD 40 reactions (13.2%). A low incidence of sensitization was detected in our hairdressers to resorcinol and pyrogallol (1.3% for each substance). Among permanent wave allergens, positive reactions to GMTG were found in 11.3% of patients, while ATG gave a lower rate of positive reactions (5.0%). Allergic contact dermatitis due to APS was also relatively common (11.3%). 4 hairdressers in this study gave a positive reaction 30 min after a provocative test with latex gloves, patch testing to the rubber series being negative. Enquiry regarding preventive measures revealed that the majority of hairdressers use gloves when doing hair dyeing, but rarely use them for washing dyed hair or for doing permanent waving. The infrequent use of preventive measures by Italian hairdressers was confirmed by the results of the questionnaire, and possibly explains the high frequency of skin problems (12.5%) in the hairdressing population that was specifically interviewed.

Short-term respiratory changes in polyurethane foam workers exposed to low MDI concentration

Our study included 27 polyurethane foam workers exposed to MDI only at low concentrations (ranging from 0.0005 to 0.001 ppm) and 27 clerks from the same factory matched by age. Respiratory function tests were performed on a Monday and Friday of the same week at shift onset, 4 h later and at shift end. The subjects under study were asymptomatic for asthma. The two groups had quite similar spirometric values with minimal functional impairment. A statistical analysis was carried out by Student's t-test for matched pairs and two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), in order to take into account both occupational exposure and smoking habits. No significant differences between the two groups were observed with paired t-tests in the respiratory parameter trend during both the Monday and Friday work shift. Nor were differences observed within the two groups when Friday's and Monday's results were compared. No significant differences between the two groups were found in paired comparisons between Friday and Monday for respiratory parameters. ANOVA demonstrated that the FEV1 and FEF25-75 reduction present on Friday, when compared to Monday, was related to smoking and not to occupational exposure. In conclusion our findings showed no short-term respiratory changes in subjects exposed to low MDI concentration.

Serum antibodies toAspergillus fumigatusin Danish farmers

182 Danish farmers and 105 city-dwelling control subjects were investigated for serum IgG antibodies to three purified Aspergillus fumigatus antigen fractions and unfractionated culture filtrate by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Farmers had higher levels of antibodies to all four ELISA antigens than non-farming controls. In farmers and controls high antibody activity was recorded with an antigen fraction of approximate molecular weight 470 000 daltons. Antibody levels to this fraction were higher in non-smokers than smokers in both study groups. Cattle farmers had higher antibody levels to the 470 000 daltons fraction than farmers with no animals on the farm. Farmers with higher antibody activity to any of the three fractionated ELISA antigens tended to have fewer respiratory symptoms than farmers with lower antibody activity. It was concluded that occupational exposure and smoking habits are the main determinants of the immune response to A. fumigatus in man.

Gliomas and occupational exposure to carcinogens: case-control study.

Patients with gliomas of the central nervous system hospitalized during the period January 1979--March 1980 at the Neurological Institute C. Besta of Milan were compared with controls admitted to the Institute in the same period for nonneoplastic neurologic diseases or benign tumors. The comparison was based on occupational history, smoking habits, and alcohol consumption. Two analyses were carried out: the first by case-control pairs matched for age, sex, and residence; the second by age, sex, and residence stratification. Patients with glioma were more likely than controls to have worked in agricultural activities and showed a relative risk of 5.0 (p = 0.043) in the matched analysis and 1.9 (p = 0.113) in the analysis by stratification. This high risk was confined to those who performed agricultural work after 1960, suggesting a possible etiologic role of exposure to organic pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides, which have only recently been commonly used in Italy. No significant difference was observed between cases and controls in regard to other analyzed occupations and habits.

The self-management of an occupational habit spasm

The self-management of a case of disabling hand cramp in a musician is described using brief relaxation and a graduated approach to retraining. Complete remission was sustained at 11 month follow-up.

Pathology of bladder cancer related to occupational history, smoking habits and tryptophan metabolite excretion

This study was designed to investigate any possible relationship between the histology of bladder carcinoma and the three variables cited in the title. Histological sections were reviewed without knowledge of previous diagnosis or any relevant clinical data. Tumours were graded and classified according to their constitutional cell type only (transitional, squamous, mixed). Tissue sections were available from 49 patients with bladder tumour who had had assays or urinary tryptophan metabolites, 10 of which were abnormal. Similarly, 124 patients (98 male, 26 female) who had had bladder cancer were questioned closely concerning smoking and occupational history. This material formed the basis for this study. Results showed no statistical difference in distribution of histologic types between patients withnormal, as against abnormal tryptophan metabolite patterns. In the 6 males with possible industrial exposure, squarnous elements were prominent in 3, compared to a frequency of only 8 in the 92 males without exposure. Whilst there was no statistical difference in histology between smoking and non-smoking groups, tumours with squamous elements were more prominent in the former group. Of the 14 carcinomas with squamous areas, 12 patients (86%) were smokers as against a frequency of smokers of 66% (73 patients) in the remaining 110 tumours. The documentation of histological differences in bladder tumours related to occupational exposure and smoking history is important in any aetiological understanding of bladder neoplasma. More studies are needed in this area with emphasis placed on careful patient interview and relevant data collection and analysis.

The Shepherd-Ruler Concept in the OT and its Application in the NT

It was inevitable, amongst a pastoral community such as the Hebrews, that the vocabulary and occupational habits of the shepherd should colour their language and help to formulate their way of looking at life. This was particularly true in the sphere of religion. The rich imagery of the pastoral life of Palestine has been one of the creative elements in the language and religious thought—forms of the OT, especially where Israel's relationships with Jahweh were concerned. Undoubtedly the OT conception of God, of divine providence, and of man's relations with God owe much of their profound insight and simple dignity to the metaphors current among the shepherds who lived among the Judaean hills and on the plains of Samaria.

Archivos de la Asociacion para evitar la Ceguera en Mexico (Archives of the Association of Prevention of Blindness in Mexico).

The book brings a report of the work done in the hospital of the association in Mexico, D.F., during 1946 and a description of the activities in the various departments. A variety of pictures represent the tragedy of blindness as conceived by various Mexican artists who participated in a contest held by the association on "Art and Ophthalmology." There are, in addition, thirty-five interesting articles on ophthalmic subjects by local and American authors, of which the following two are summarized: Ophthalmologic Investigation in the Zone of Onchocerciasis in Chiapas, Mexico. Drs. M. Puig Solanes, Anselmo Fonte and José Antonio Quiroz. The diagnosis of onchocerciasis was based on the presence of nodules, on the observation of parasites and on biopsies of the skin. Men are more often affected, owing to occupational habits, and the patients are mostly under 40 years of age. Ocular involvement occurs in 75 per cent of cases.