Current objectives for the improvement of work conditions and prevention of occupational diseases among miners

Workers engaged into deep mining are subjected to occupational factors intensity of which is significantly higher than the allowable. Changing the mining enterprises involves deterioration of the working environment, increase in occupational morbidity. Features of the working environment, parameters of main occupational entities, recent social instability at mining enterprises necessitate further investigations on the problem.     

The development of work regimens for miners in high-temperature coal mine faces for the prevention of heat-related lesions

In an in-plant setting, the level of functional tension of an organism is almost half determined with a high degree of reliability by a character of ergothermal loading. With the work performed becoming harder and more strenuous by one unit of measuring, the air temperature changing by 1 degree C relative to the maximum allowable level (MAL), and labour time coefficient by 0.1, changes in heart rate amount to 9.7, 2.5 and 2.1 beats/min respectively. Maintenance of the functional state of an organism at an adequate level is achieved through cutting the work shift time by 30 min or increasing the normative time for having a rest ca twice as much relative to the basic level per each degree of the temperature increments above the MAL.     

The epidemiology of genitourinary fistulae in Kumasi, Ghana, 1977-1992

The aim of the study was to determine the clinical epidemiology of genitourinary fistulae as seen at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana. A retrospective study was carried out from the hospital records and operative reports of all patients with genitourinary fistulae seen at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital between January 1977 and December 1992. Patient age, parity, type of fistula and cause of fistula were abstracted from the medical records. There were 164 cases of genitourinary fistula managed during the study period. There were 150 fistulae due to obstetric causes (91, 5%), the vast majority of which were due to prolonged obstructed labor (121 cases, 73.8% of all fistulae), with a minority related to complications of lower-segment cesarean section (14 cases, 8.5% of all fistulae). In 5 cases (3.1%) patients developed a rectovaginal fistula owing to perineal tears and prolonged obstructed labor. During this time period there were 157,449 deliveries, giving an obstetric fistula rate of 1 fistula per 1000 deliveries. Obstetric fistulae were most common at the extremes of reproductive age and parity Fourteen additional fistulae (8.5% of all cases) were due to gynecologic causes, most commonly from surgical injury occurring at the time of abdominal hysterectomy for leiomyomata uteri (12 cases, 7.3% of all fistulae). It was concluded that in Kumasi, Ghana, obstetric trauma from prolonged obstructed labor is the most common cause of genitourinary fistula formation. Such fistulae occur in older multiparous women as well in young primigravidae. Obstructed labour can, and does, occur in women who have previously undergone uneventful vaginal delivery. Birth attendants should be aware of that fact. Prompt referral for obstetric intervention should be made in obstructed labor, irrespective of the age and parity of the patient.     

Overgeneral autobiographical memory in depressed adolescents with, versus without, a reported history of trauma.

Autobiographical memory retrieval is fundamental to the developing self-concept in adolescence, to emotion regulation, and to social problem solving and has been shown to be compromised in adolescents diagnosed with depression (R. J. Park, I. M. Goodyer, & J. D. Teasdale, 2002). The authors of the present study assessed autobiographical memory overgenerality in a sample of depressed adolescent participants with, versus without, a reported history of trauma and never-depressed control participants by using an emotion word-cueing paradigm. The authors' analyses showed for the first time that adolescents with major depression and with no reported history of trauma exhibited an overgeneral memory bias. They also revealed that depressed adolescents who reported a history of trauma retrieved fewer overgeneral memories than did depressed adolescents who reported no history of trauma. Among depressed adolescents who reported a history of trauma, more severe posttraumatic stress symptoms were associated with less overgenerality. Possible accounts of these findings are suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Supplementary history and occupational dermatologic evaluation of medical bath workers, masseurs, and physical therapists

The various noxious agents to which these occupational groups can be exposed are described in detail. We have constructed a supplementary questionnaire to aid the occupational dermatologist in evaluating such individuals. We describe measures for skin protection, and methods for reduce exposure of harmful agents.     

A review of induced abortion rates in England and Wales, 1969-1994

This study examines trends in induced abortion rates in England and Wales, from 1969 to 1994. A comparison of the trends between the different age groups shows contrasting changes and interesting features. The only age group to show a continuous increase since 1969 has been females aged 11 to 14 years. This may be due to birth cohort effect, as younger women begin sexual activity in a social environment of higher risk than previous cohorts. These considerations have important implications for the organisation of preventive services particularly health education. In spite of the availability of improved and better contraceptive services and sex education, the cohort analysis suggests that induced abortion rates in each successive cohort was higher than the preceding cohort.     

Effects of gender, construct type, occupational information, and career relevance on vocational differentiation.

A study was designed to replicate and extend previous research on 1 aspect of vocational structure, vocational differentiation (VOD). Results of a 2 (gender)?×?2 (occupational information)?×?2 (construct type)?×?3 (career relevance) between-Ss study revealed 2 sets of noteworthy findings. First, results replicated previous findings concerning the impact of each of these factors on levels of VOD. Higher levels of VOD were found in men than were found in women and were related to the use of personal constructs when Ss judged highly irrelevant career alternatives. Second, these effects were qualified by interaction between construct type (personal and provided) and career relevance (high, mixed, and low). Personally elicited constructs were used with greater differentiation than were standard provided ones only when participants evaluated highly relevant career alternatives. This effect challenges long-standing assumptions regarding differences between personal and provided vocational constructs, and the implications of this are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Epidemiologic observations of influenza B virus infections in Houston, Texas, 1976-1977

Influenza B virus infections were documented in Houston, Texas, in 726 patients with febrile respiratory illnesses who presented to representative primary care facilities during the 1976-1977 respiratory disease season. This epidemic followed a "herald wave" of illness associated with influenza B during the preceding spring. Over one-half the virus isolates were from children aged 5-19 years, and school absenteeism rates indicated that about 40 per cent of the students in the Houston area were ill enough to miss school during the epidemic. The rapid rise in the number of cases among students after the school holiday recess demonstrated the importance of school attendance for the rapid dissemination of influenza viruses. During the later phase of the epidemic, most of the cases were preschool children and adults. In addition to disease of the respiratory tract, the epidemic was accompanied by cases of Reye's syndrome at a rate expected for an urban area.     

Strategies for collection and processing of occupational information in making career decisions.

The dialogs of 384 users of a computerized occupational information and guidance system were monitored and utilized to examine the strategies used in the exploration of occupational information. The analysis was based on the pattern of the use of the major components of the system and on the content of the requested occupational information. An analysis of the users' dialogs with the system revealed the various patterns of exploring occupational information. These patterns were interpreted as reflecting different strategies-search within alternatives across attributes, or search within attributes across alternatives. Different possible strategies, including the sequential elimination approach for career decision making, are reviewed. The implications for career counseling and computerized career decision making systems are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of US medical school finances, 1995-1996

We discussed the rational extent of the lymph node dissection for carcinoma of the lower third of the esophagus of T2 or T3 stage with abdominal lymph node metastasis. Lymph node metastasis developed in 89.5% of patients. Cervical lymph node metastasis was seen in 35.8%. In the cases with positive abdominal lymph node, 40.9% of the patients had cervical node metastasis. The most frequent site of the positive node in the neck is the area along the right recurrent laryngeal nerve. On the stand point of removal of metastatic lymph node, neck dissection should be required. Three-field dissection yielded better survival rate than two-field dissection but statistical significance was not obtained. When the patients have cervical lymph node metastasis, they have greater possibility of developing blood borne metastasis. However, this observation does not deny the validity of the three-field dissection. Because this dissection may help reducing nodal spread and nodal recurrence. We have to wait for accumulation of the patients to analyze the definite extent of node dissection for T2 or T3 stage of carcinoma of the lower third of the esophagus with positive abdominal lymph node.     

Officers, boards, committees, and representatives of the American Psychological Association: 1969-70.

Lists the officers, Board of Directors, committees, and representatives of the American Psychological Association for 1969-70. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Surveillance of antibiotic resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae in The Netherlands, 1977-95

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence and epidemiology of penicillinase producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae (PPNG) and tetracycline resistant N gonorrhoeae (TRNG) in the period 1977-95 in the Netherlands. To compare auxotypes, serovars, and antibiograms of PPNG, non-PPNG, and TRNG. To identify determinants in patient characteristics for the epidemic spread of TRNG/PPNG. METHODS: With respect to the national gonococcal surveillance all PPNG isolates from 30 laboratories over the country in 1977-90 and all gonococcal isolates from five sentinel laboratories (during 1 month per quarter) in 1991-5 were collected. Isolates were auxotyped and serotyped, the susceptibility for various antibiotics was tested and plasmid contents were evaluated. Additional data on PPNG infected individuals were collected retrospectively during a microepidemic of TRNG/PPNG. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify risk factors for TRNG/PPNG infections. RESULTS: In 1995 an overall high prevalence of PPNG infection (27%) and TRNG among PPNG infection (24%) was found in the Netherlands. Importantly, PPNG were found to have higher MICs for ceftriaxone and ciprofloxacin than non-PPNG; clinically relevant resistance to these antibiotics (or related agents) may emerge first among these strains. The observed diversity of strains (123 auxo/serovar classes since 1988) indicates a continuous introduction of new strains into the community. The epidemic increase of TRNG/PPNG was mainly caused by A/S classes NR/1B-6, PRO/1A-3, and PRO/1A-6, suggesting a clonal spread of a few strains; the rapid spread was associated with transmission in high risk individuals (that is, prostitutes and their clients). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of PPNG in the Netherlands remains high and reduced sensitivity to other antimicrobials was detected among the PPNG strains. This underlines the necessity for a continuous national surveillance of resistance in gonococci including limited epidemiological information.     

Knowledge of medical history information among proxy respondents for deceased study subjects

Proxy respondents were interviewed for 96 decedents in an occupational cohort. A second respondent was interviewed for 59 decedents. Medical records were reviewed to validate questionnaire information. The percentage of respondents who answered "don't know" (non-response) to questions about medical condition ranged from 5% (cancer and heart disease) to 17% (ulcers). Non-response rates were lowest among spouses, intermediate among children, parents, and siblings, and highest among other relatives and friends. Among 41-55 pairs, depending on the condition, agreement between paired respondents was excellent (kappa > 0.75) for ulcers, cancer, diabetes, and lung disease. A higher percentage of medical records was obtained for decedents with spouse respondents and for decedents with more recent dates of death. Sixty percent or more of the medical records were obtained for patients with cancer (n = 30), heart disease (n = 26), stroke (n = 9), and liver disease (n = 10). The positive predictive value of the proxy respondent information for these conditions was 93, 81, 78, and 60%, respectively.     

The politics of reproductive hazards in the workplace: class, gender, and the history of occupational lead exposure

Over the past two decades, several U.S. companies have sought to bar women from jobs that expose them to potential reproductive hazards, justifying these exclusionary policies by their professed concerns for the well-being of unborn children and potential liability. Although recent court cases have stimulated academic interest in this issue, a historical review of the public health and medical literature reveals that this debate is not new. To understand the logic behind the emergence of "fetal protection" policies, one must examine the scientific history of occupational teratogens and the socio-political and economic forces that have driven scientific research in this field. Using lead as an example, the author argues that research on the reproductive hazards of employment has historically emphasized the risks to women and downplayed the risks to men. This results in environmental health policies that do not uphold the ultimate goal of occupational safety for all workers, but rather reinforce the systemic segregation of men and women in the workplace. Although the political struggle over exclusionary policies has a feminist orientation, it also has important class dimensions and ultimately must be viewed within the broader context of American capitalist production.