Hasil untuk "Industrial hygiene. Industrial welfare"

Julia Kalinowski, Nada Nasr, Angelina Colamarino et al.

The human microbiome has emerged as a critical factor influencing surgical outcomes across a broad number of specialties. This paper explores the evolving interactions between the body’s microbiome and surgical practice, especially focusing on wound healing, post-operative recovery, and infection risk. We analyze current evidence from multiple surgical disciplines, including transplantation, reconstructive, bariatric, orthopedic, cardiothoracic, and oral surgery. Recognizing different microbial communities and their influence on surgical success opens doors to personalized medicine and targeted preventions. The studies discussed in this review provide valuable interdisciplinary insights that could ultimately uncover the microbiome’s fullest potential in optimizing future surgical protocols.

Aleida Fernández Moreno, Mónica Díaz Leiva, Andrés Camilo Restrepo Mora et al.

Los semilleros de investigación en Colombia surgieron en la década de 1990 como una estrategia universitaria para promover la cultura investigativa y crear comunidades de aprendizaje. Este artículo presenta los hallazgos de la primera etapa de un estudio descriptivo-exploratorio denominado “Investigación formativa en Terapia Ocupacional: mapeo de semilleros e iniciativas de investigación, posibilidades y alcances en Colombia y Chile”. Tal etapa utilizó un cuestionario enviado a coordinadores de semilleros de investigación de Terapia Ocupacional de Colombia, con el objetivo de caracterizarlos en términos de su contexto de producción, actividades, logros y desafíos. Se identificaron 19 semilleros de investigación en Terapia Ocupacional en Colombia, la mayoría creados por docentes y siguen lineamientos del Consejo Nacional de Acreditación para fortalecer la formación y desarrollar competencias investigativas, investigar desde la profesión y participar en proyectos con impacto social. Entre sus desafíos están los cambios de paradigmas, la gestión del tiempo y la motivación de estudiantes, la participación en eventos, la publicación y el reconocimiento. Mediante los semilleros se han construido prácticas de investigación inicial que enfrentan desafíos y desarrollan estrategias que favorecen la formación de estudiantes y el progreso de una cultura investigativa en la profesión.

Séverine A. Degrelle, Gaëlle Deval, Arnaud Tête et al.

Abstract A growing body of epidemiological evidence links maternal exposure to air pollution with an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as preterm birth and low birth weight. Cerium dioxide nanoparticles (CeO2 NPs or nanoceria) are emerging pollutants, used as additives in diesel fuels and cigarettes for their catalytic properties, and released into the environment. Due to their high surface-to-volume ratio and reactivity, CeO2 NPs develop a surface coating during combustion, which may incorporate other released fuel-borne chemicals, such as benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), a known carcinogen, mutagen and reprotoxicant, raising concerns about their combined impacts on human health. To better reflect environmental reality, we produced BaP-coated CeO2 NPs and exposed primary human trophoblasts and chorionic villi. Our findings show that BaP-coated CeO2 NPs activate the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) pathway, enhancing trophoblast differentiation and syncytium formation, with effects distinct from those of BaP or CeO₂ NPs alone, or their unbound mixture. Additionally, exposure to CeO2 NPs alone altered homeostasis of mitochondria, affecting their phenotype and function. While individual exposures or BaP-coated CeO2 NPs had no detectable impact, parallel co-exposure resulted in a slight but significant reduction in basal respiration. Finally, uncoated CeO2 NPs altered placental steroidogenesis, increasing estrone level while decreasing dehydroepiandrosterone level, with sex-specific effects. These findings suggest that CeO2 NPs can influence the biological effects of BaP in the human placenta, including modulating trophoblast differentiation, as well as disrupting mitochondria homeostasis and steroid production, with potential implications for pregnancy outcomes in polluted environments.

Emily C. Montgomery, Madelyn C. Wicker, Tibirni Yusuf et al.

Infections are a common post-operative ailment for patients who have received a dental implant or device and can be attributed to biofilm formation in tissue or on the implant. Many current solutions for oral hygiene have side effects and affect the natural oral microbiome. 2-heptylcyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (2CP) is a medium-chain fatty acid and synthetic diffusible signaling factor that can prevent and disperse biofilm. The purpose of this work was to evaluate an immersion strategy for coating hydroxyapatite (HAp) with 2CP to prevent biofilm attachment on and around natural teeth and dental implants. The release profile of 2CP-loaded and 2CP+oral rinse-loaded HAp coupons (<i>n</i> = 6) was assessed by a 3-day exposure to phosphate buffered saline (PBS). Antimicrobial properties against <i>Porphyromonas gingivalis</i> and cytocompatibility of 2CP-loaded HAp coupons (<i>n</i> = 4) were also assessed alone and in combination with 0.12% chlorhexidine gluconate oral rinse. The majority of 2CP is released by 12 h. 2CP, oral rinse, and 2CP+oral rinse significantly reduced <i>P. gingivalis</i> viability, though direct contact assay demonstrates a significant reduction in Saos-2 viability for oral rinse and 2CP+oral rinse coupons. Immersion or rinsing hydroxyapatite with 2CP could inhibit biofilm-associated dental infections and prevent further complications including caries, gingivitis, and peri-implantitis.

Kenneth Vanbrabant, Leen Rasking, Maartje Vangeneugden et al.

Abstract The effects of ultrafine particle (UFP) inhalation on neurodevelopment, especially during critical windows of early life, remain largely unexplored. The specific time windows during which exposure to UFP might be the most detrimental remain poorly understood. Here, we studied early-life exposure to clean ultrafine carbonaceous particles (UFPC) and neurodevelopment and central nervous system function in offspring. Pregnant wild-type C57BL/6J mice were either sham-exposed (HEPA-filtered air) or exposed to clean ultrafine carbonaceous particles at a concentration of 438 ± 72 μg/m³ (mean ± SD) and a count median diameter of 49 ± 2 nm (CMD ± GSD) via whole-body exposure for four hours per day. For prenatal exposure, mice were exposed for two consecutive days in two exposure periods, while the postnatal exposure was conducted for four consecutive days in two exposure periods. The mice were divided into four groups: (i) sham, (ii) only prenatal exposure, (iii) only postnatal exposure, and (iv) both prenatal and postnatal exposure. Neurodevelopmental behaviour was assessed throughout the life of the offspring using a functional observation battery. Early-life UFPC-exposed offspring exhibited altered anxiety-related behaviour in the open field test, with exclusively postnatally exposed offspring (567 ± 120 s) spending significantly more time within the border zone of the arena compared to the sham group (402 ± 73 s), corresponding to an increase of approximately 41% (p < 0.05). The behavioural alterations remained unaffected by olfactory function or maternal behaviour. Mice with both prenatal and postnatal exposure did not show this effect. No discernible impact on developmental behavioural reflexes was evident. Early life exposure to UFPC, particularly during the early postnatal period, may lead to developmental neurotoxicity, potentially resulting in complications for the central nervous system later in life. The current data will support future studies investigating the possible effects and characteristics of nanoparticle-based toxicity.

Daimarelis Guerra del Valle , Yanet Ortega Dugrot, Susana Solís Solís

Introducción: En la actualidad, el riesgo biológico ha pasado de ser un escenario desconocido a formar parte de la cotidianidad. Se considera un aspecto básico y necesario la superación continua de los trabajadores expuestos a riesgos biológicos, para la prevención de enfermedades ocupacionales en el ambiente laboral. Objetivo: Fundamentar la importancia de la capacitación para la prevención de enfermedades ocupacionales por exposición a riesgos biológicos. Métodos: Se realizó una revisión sistemática de investigaciones situadas en bases de datos y revistas científicas indexadas. Se abordó como temática principal la capacitación para la prevención de enfermedades ocupacionales por exposición a riesgos biológicos. Antes de la búsqueda de información, se revisaron las palabras claves según el tesauro DeCS/MeSH y el uso de operadores booleanos "AND" y "OR".Se realizaron la selección de artículos mediante la lectura de títulos y resúmenes. Fueron elegidos 27 artículos. El 92,3 % de los últimos cinco años. Desarrollo: Se evidenció que la capacitación laboral en el área de salud y seguridad del trabajo, tiene como objetivo transmitir conocimientos a los trabajadores que le permitan el cumplimiento de normas y leyes de bioseguridad. Identificar las necesidades de aprendizaje para trazar estrategias de capacitación garantizará prácticas seguras encaminadas a la protección de los trabajadores, medio ambiente y brindar una atención médica de calidad. Conclusiones La capacitación es un elemento clave para dotar al personal expuesto a riesgos biológicos de conocimientos imprescindibles para el cumplimiento de normas y procedimientos con el fin de prevenir accidentes y enfermedades ocupacionales en el entorno laboral Introduction: Nowadays, biological risk has gone from being an unknown scenario to being part of everyday life. The continuous improvement of workers exposed to biological risks is considered a basic and necessary aspect, for the prevention of occupational diseases in the work environment. Objective: To substantiate the importance of training for the prevention of occupational diseases due to exposure to biological risks. Methods: A systematic review of research located in databases and indexed scientific journals were carried out. Training for the prevention of occupational diseases due to exposure to biological risks was addressed as the main topic. Before searching for information, the keywords were reviewed according to the DeCS/MeSH thesaurus and the use of Boolean operators "AND" and "OR". Articles were selected by reading titles and summaries. 27 articles were chosen. 92.3% of the last five years. Development: It is evident that job training in the area of occupational health and safety aims to transmit knowledge to workers that allows them to comply with biosafety standards and laws. Identifying learning needs to draw up training strategies will guarantee safe practices aimed at protecting workers, the environment, and providing quality medical care. Conclusions: Training is a key element to provide personnel exposed to biological risks with essential knowledge for compliance with standards and procedures in order to prevent accidents and occupational diseases in the work environment

Loubna Tahri, Kamal Wifaq, A. El kholti

Morocco is evolving at a rapid pace, akin to the Bouraq (the Moroccan high speed train)! It is heading towards a future that is certainly more promising. Social, economic, industrial, sporting, and cultural dynamics are fueling this race towards a better Morocco! This is the current sentiment among Moroccans and foreign observers witnessing Morocco's industrial and economic development. Several mega projects are underway, notably since the announcement that Morocco will co-host the 2030 Football World Cup in partnership with Spain and Portugal, and the King of Morocco's speech at the celebration of the Green March on November 6, 2023. This development momentum corroborates the work begun several years ago, as Morocco has embraced the global economy through free trade zones (in several regions of Morocco), industrial progress, and the development of the automotive and aeronautical sectors. The social project aims for optimum medical care for all Moroccans through the generalization of Compulsory Health Insurance (AMO) to all social strata in Morocco. But what about occupational health and safety (OSH) to accompany this progress? Do we have the necessary tools to ensure Moroccan workers can flourish and participate in this development? What are the OHS challenges for improving national indicators in this area? Does the Moroccan OHS management system (policy, strategy, etc.) have a clear vision for achieving OHS promotion objectives? All these questions, and many others, will shed light on the current state of affairs, the challenges ahead, and the recommendations that will enable us to pool the efforts of all public authorities and stakeholders to achieve the desired level of OHS. The plenary conference aims to highlight various aspects of OHS in Morocco, starting with the royal vision. It seeks inspiration from the highest level of the kingdom through speeches and orientations guiding Morocco's socio-economic aspect. The kingdom's constitution emphasizes the right of trade unions and professional representations to defend and promote the socio-economic interests of the categories they represent. It guarantees the right to security for every person and respects physical or moral integrity, which must not be compromised under any circumstances. The study of various reports and opinions issued by the kingdom's advisory bodies also serves as a foundation for our conference. Our presentation will focus on the analysis of the national profile drawn up in 2017, which includes a number of indicators but, in our opinion, does not reflect the reality of OHS in Morocco. Having ratified the C187 since 2019, Morocco is now obliged to put in place a national OHS policy. What are its orientations? What are the limits of its implementation? What national programs result from it? We will also study the various OHS bodies in Morocco and their involvement in promoting OHS. We will question the effectiveness of these bodies, the degree of their involvement, and the follow-up to actions carried out previously, particularly the occupational medicine and occupational risk prevention council, safety and health committees, etc. A SWOT analysis of the model proposed in the 2017 national OHS profile also enables us to take a critical look at its content and to see how the various topics have evolved over the last six years. This analysis forms the basis of the discussion that follows. A detailed study of different OHS systems in countries similar to Morocco, in demographic, economic, and locoregional terms, enables us to compare results across different OHS indicators. This allows Morocco to build on best practices and previous experiences. Eight percent of low-income countries have a national OHS program, and 26% have an OHS policy, compared with high-income countries where 58% have a national policy, and over 50% have an updated national program. It is through this benchmark and the results obtained from our SWOT analysis that we propose various recommendations and a vision of OHS adapted to the current socio-economic context in our country. As mentioned above, health coverage is becoming more widespread, but the rate of OHS coverage is barely keeping pace with this trend. Morocco's national profile estimates occupational health service coverage at 20%, while small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for over 95% of the economic fabric. We know empirically that it is the large and very large companies that implement effective OHS systems for their employees and annexes, while SMEs face a number of economic challenges, neglecting the basics of OHS coverage for their employees. Starting from the elements of the profile represented as a threat, such as the absence of reliable statistics on occupational accidents and diseases, we note that six years later, there is still no organization dedicated to gathering data relating to OHS statistics and capable of consolidating them to propose effective prevention strategies. Apart from the Supervisory Authority of Insurance and Social Welfare (Autorité de Contrôle des Assurances et de la Prévoyance Sociale – ACAPS), which has published some statistics, the use of which is rather timid. According to the ACAPS, 29% of VSEs claim to be covered by workplace accident insurance. Non-affiliated companies deplore the fact that they do not have sufficient income at the company level or a lack of information on the products in question. Workers' compensation insurance is compulsory for companies with more than 10 employees. Efforts should be made to ensure that all employees are covered for occupational accidents and diseases. In terms of insurance premiums, ACAPS states in its 2022 report on the insurance and reinsurance sector that occupational injury insurance has risen by 7.6% to MAD 2.5 billion. This rise could be due to an increase in the number of declarations or to a rise in the severity of injuries, necessitating an extension of the statistics to include a study of the profiles of occupational injuries. As for the number of work-related accidents reported each year, we have no usable figures apart from one for work-related accidents, which estimates them at 40,000 per year, with around 2,000 deaths reported annually. The cost would be around 20,000 MAD (€2,000) per work-related accident in direct costs! Occupational illnesses are largely ignored and rarely reported in Morocco, partly because of the cumbersome procedures that require a court hearing, and partly because the employees concerned are unfamiliar with the reporting system. As a result, statistics on this subject are virtually non-existent. Drawing on the ILO's new strategy for its members, three pillars are needed to nurture OHS in Morocco: 1st pillar: strengthen the OHS system based on effective governance, reliable data collection, and evidence-based research, and skills development in OHS services. 2nd pillar: strengthen coordination between the various partners, improve investment in OHS and integrate OHS into policies at the national and global levels. 3rd pillar: promote the principles and values set out in the guidelines on occupational safety and health management systems, while adapting them to the Moroccan socio-economic context. We will also propose a new SWOT analysis based on the progress made in several OSH fields, as well as the transformations and threats to the economic and social fabric that Morocco faces now and in the future. We also need to seize the opportunity offered by Morocco's social and health dynamics to improve the organization of occupational medicine services on a more equitable geographical basis, according to the distribution of economic or industrial agglomerations, by offering and promoting the possibility of creating multidisciplinary occupational health centers with mutualized membership for companies. This would reduce costs for the company and provide more comprehensive care for workers' health. Also, the development of multi-party participation in all existing bodies such as the Safety and Hygiene Committee at company level, or the Occupational Medicine and Risk Prevention Council at the national level, is strongly recommended as a guarantee of continuous improvement for occupational health programs deployed across the country. Morocco has marked a milestone on the societal level by adopting several measures to improve health coverage and generalize it to all social categories in Morocco. It is time to accompany this change and seize the opportunity to lay the foundations for a transformation in OHS in order to preserve the human capital of Moroccan workers.

Tania Pérez Bueno, Arelis Jaime Novas, Lucía Fariñas Rodríguez et al.

Introducción: El plomo no tiene función fisiológica, por lo que cualquier nivel encontrado en el organismo es potencialmente peligroso. Por las importantes consecuencias adversas que ejerce sobre el hombre que pueden ser provocadas por su exposición ocupacional, se hace énfasis en sus efectos sobre la salud reproductiva masculina. Objetivo: Informar sobre aspectos generales relacionados con los efectos tóxicos del plomo en el hombre, su diagnóstico, fuentes de contaminación ocupacional y su relación con la fertilidad masculina. Método: Búsqueda en la literatura publicada en diversas bases de datos y portales bibliográficos. Del total de artículos encontrados, 64 fueron elegidos por su relevancia para ser incluidos en esta revisión, siendo el 65 % de estas publicaciones de la última década. Desarrollo: Múltiples estudios se refieren a los efectos adversos del plomo, incluso a niveles menores de 5 μg/dL. Su toxicidad reproductiva se evidencia en la disminución de la calidad del semen, daño a la estructura de los espermatozoides y en la integridad de la membrana espermática. Estudios publicados muestran que la medición de la cantidad de plomo en el tracto reproductivo puede ser un buen indicador para evaluar sus efectos sobre la fertilidad masculina. En Cuba la minería, la fundición secundaria, la fabricación, reacondicionamiento y reciclado de baterías Pb-ácido son sectores de alta exposición ocupacional, por lo que se debe reforzar la vigilancia de salud, promover la salud reproductiva y fomentar cambios de estilo de vida, para contribuir a la reducción de la exposición de estos trabajadores. Conclusiones: Existen evidencias de que la exposición ocupacional crónica al plomo, afecta negativamente la salud, la calidad espermática y el índice de fragmentación espermático. No existen en Cuba estudios que evalúen la calidad seminal y la fragmentación del ADN espermático en trabajadores expuestos ocupacionalmente a plomo Introduction: Lead has no physiological function; therefore, any level of it found in the body is potentially dangerous. Due to the significant adverse consequences that it can cause to any man subjected to occupational exposure to this metal, its effects on male reproductive health are emphasized. Objective: To inform about general aspects related to the toxic effects of lead in men, its diagnosis, sources of occupational contamination, and its relationship with male fertility. Method: A search was carried out in the literature published in various databases and bibliographic portals. Of the total number of found articles, 64 were selected for their relevance to be included in this review. 65% of the texts were published in the recent decade. Development: Multiple studies refer to the adverse effects of lead, even at levels under 5 μg/dL. Its reproductive toxicity is evidenced by decreased semen quality, as well as by damage to the spermatozoa structure and the integrity of the spermatic membrane. Published studies show that measurement of the amount of lead in the reproductive tract can be a good indicator to assess its effects on male fertility. In Cuba, mining, secondary smelting, manufacturing, reconditioning, and recycling of Pb-acid batteries are sectors with high occupational exposure to lead, a reason why health surveillance must be strengthened, reproductive health must be promoted, and changes in lifestyle must be encouraged, in order to contribute to reducing the exposure of these workers. Conclusions: There is evidence that chronic occupational exposure to lead affects health, sperm quality and sperm fragmentation index negatively. There are no studies in Cuba that evaluate seminal quality and sperm DNA fragmentation in workers occupationally exposed to lead

Jesús Salvador Hernández Romero

C. Saitto

Between the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century the growth of scientific knowledge made it possible a wider understanding of disease mechanisms and promoted multiple government actions in several countries to improve urban hygiene, to ameliorate living conditions, and to enrich daily nutrition in order to better population health. However, during a few following decades, research progress and industrial development induced radical changes in medicine as new diagnostic tools and effective treatment capabilities became available to be administered to single patients for specific ailments. The individualized nature of these novel interventions rapidly took their control away from the public sphere into the domain of multiple bilateral relationships between patient and physician. A space was then created in which the contention between public health and clinical medicine took finally shape and the split between public health professionals - not always medical doctors - and physicians, became increasingly blatant: on one side those who cared for collective welfare on the other those who cared for individual patients. Here we still stand even if it is really difficult and poorly effective to imagine a divided health since each single patient and each health professional must constantly confront the constraints of public health policies, while public health measures are always kept at bay by individual compliance and their efficacy need to be constantly verified at an individual level. On the contrary a full integration between clinical medicine and population health is an actual priority of health planning, health policies implementation and health research as well as of practicing clinicians. Differences in issues, methods and approach cannot obviously be denied but these differences just represent the warp and weft threads of the same fabric, of a medicine which does not exist without their weaving and which grows with their development. A clinical population medicine is needed which enables professionals to operate within and outside the boundaries of their specialties to build a project of common health. A clinical population medicine in which persons and communities could found a way to socialize their health problems and to require individual as well as collective answers to their risks, their diseases and their worries. In such a way a different sense and a different meaning of its responsibility could possibly be restituted to a health system which needs to reestablish stronger ties with its constituency, a health system whose crisis depends on bureaucratization and inadequate resources as much as on its lack of sound and long-ranging perspectives.

M. Fernández

It is commonplace to consider the time of the Industrial Revolution as the time of the beginning of the first measures concerning the current concept of Public Health, understood both from the point of view of hygiene measures in the cities to which large quantities of workers from the agricultural world, as well as from the adoption of measures for the prevention, diagnosis and cure of diseases. Before that time, there remains the testimony of authors such as Michel Foucault, who in his study of the History of Madness in the Classical Era described the spaces of exclusion outside the walls of towns or cities, whether leprosy or madness to mention just a few examples, true incarnations of evil, who were feared and isolated outside the community. Our aforementioned author remembers how until the end of the Middle Ages, when Hansen’s disease or Leprosy was eradicated in Europe, there were thousands of leper colonies throughout Christendom. In this article we will therefore go back to the times of the last decades of the 17th century in which a new relationship began to be articulated between the concepts of life and power, through the emergence of a new rationality anchored in the Reason of State, and mercantilism. As a dominant doctrine in different European countries understood as a zero-sum economic game, giving rise to the birth of what is called Biopolitics.1 In this way, life, which becomes the criterion and end of the exercise of power, is the object of a political value judgment, a process that will last until the 20th century with the establishment of the Welfare State, and the measures that were adopted in 1942 according to the guidelines given by Lord Beveridge.

J. Rubery, D. Grimshaw, P. Méhaut et al.

By comparing protections for part-time work in France, Germany and the UK, this article contributes to the comparative debate over whether industrial relations actors are mitigating or creating labour market dualisation. Significant variations in incidence and form of part-time work (a ‘spectrum of precariousness’), between and within the three countries, are explained through a theoretical frame that layers the actions of industrial relations actors against a backdrop of welfare and labour market rules and gender relations. This reveals important path dependent differences in part-time work patterns, including in the lines by which part-time work is segmented. The findings call for a more nuanced approach to dualisation that recognises that trade union responses to precarious work, albeit conditioned by their own path dependencies, have involved active efforts to extend protections to part-timers through twin strategies of support for legislative instruments and new forms of organising, albeit with only partial success.

M. Sheehan, Donna J. H. Vosburgh, P. O’Shaughnessy et al.

Abstract Direct reading instruments (DRIs) for aerosols have been used in industrial hygiene practice for many years, but their potential has not been fully realized by many occupational health and safety professionals. Although some DRIs quantify other metrics, this article will primarily focus on DRIs that measure aerosol number, size, or mass. This review addresses three applications of aerosol DRIs that occupational health and safety professionals can use to discern, characterize, and document exposure conditions and resolve aerosol-related problems in the workplace. The most common application of aerosol DRIs is the evaluation of engineering controls. Examples are provided for many types of workplaces and situations including construction, agriculture, mining, conventional manufacturing, advanced manufacturing (nanoparticle technology and additive manufacturing), and non-industrial sites. Aerosol DRIs can help identify the effectiveness of existing controls and, as needed, develop new strategies to reduce potential aerosol exposures. Aerosol concentration mapping (ACM) using DRI data can focus attention on emission sources in the workplace spatially illustrate the effectiveness of controls and constructively convey concerns to management and workers. Examples and good practices of ACM are included. Video Exposure Monitoring (VEM) is another useful technique in which video photography is synced with the concentration output of an aerosol DRI. This combination allows the occupational health and safety professional to see what tasks, environmental situations, and/or worker actions contribute to aerosol concentration and potential exposure. VEM can help identify factors responsible for temporal variations in concentration. VEM can assist with training, engage workers, convince managers about necessary remedial actions, and provide for continuous improvement of the workplace environment. Although using DRIs for control evaluation, ACM and VEM can be time-consuming, the resulting information can provide useful data to prompt needed action by employers and employees. Other barriers to adoption include privacy and security issues in some worksites. This review seeks to provide information so occupational health and safety professionals can better understand and effectively use these powerful applications of aerosol DRIs.

M. Tejamaya, Wantanee Phanprsit, Jiwon Kim et al.

The types of workplaces and occupations with coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) clusters vary between countries and periods. We aimed to characterize major occupational groups with mass outbreaks of COVID-19 infections in several Asia-Pacific countries. Data on the major occupations or workplaces reporting COVID-19 cases in workplaces from January 2020 to July 2021 was collected from industrial hygiene professionals in nine countries. The proportion of workers accounted for 39.1 to 56.6% of the population in each country. The number of workers covered in the national statistics varies among nations based on their definition of a worker. None of the countries examined here have systematically collected occupational data on COVID-19 illnesses and deaths classified by type of industry, occupation, or job. Most countries experienced COVID-19 clusters among health and social care workers (HSCW) in hospitals or long-term care facilities. The types of occupations or workplaces with virus clusters in some participating countries included prisons, call centers, workplaces employing immigrants, garment facilities, grocery stores, and the military, which differed among countries, except for a few common occupations such as HSCW and those populated by immigrants. Further study is necessary in order to seek ways to control infection risks, including revisions to industrial-health-related laws.

R. West, Lisa Euskirchen, Astrid Neuhahn et al.

Polymeric polyisocyanate prepolymer substances are reactive intermediates used in the manufacture of various polyurethane products. Knowledge of their occupational and environmental hazard properties is essential for product stewardship and industrial hygiene purposes. This work reports on the systematic design of a program to explore how structural features (i.e., types of polymeric polyol and diisocyanate reactants, functionality) and physical–chemical properties (i.e., octanol–water partition coefficient [log Kow], viscosity, molecular weight) of a group of 10 toluene diisocyanate (TDI)- and methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI)-based monomer-depleted prepolymer substances can be related to their exposure and hazard potentials. The revelation of trends or thresholds in such relationships could form a basis for regulatory screening of existing or new prepolymer substances, while also informing the design of substances having reduced exposure and/or hazard profiles. As a first step, the aquatic exposure and hazard potentials of these 10 substances were investigated. The results of this investigation showed that yields of dissolved reaction products (derived from non-purgeable organic carbon measurements and carbon contents of the parent prepolymers) were inversely correlated with the calculated log Kow of the substances. For prepolymer loading rates of both 100 and 1000 mg/L in water, the average dissolved reaction product yields ranged from ≤1% to 32% and from ≤0.1% to 25%, respectively, over calculated log Kow values ranging from −4.8 to 45. For both loading rates, dissolved reaction products were not quantifiable where the calculated log Kow value was >10. Yet, none of the 10 prepolymers and tested loading rates exhibited acute adverse effects on the aquatic invertebrate, Daphnia magna, in the 48-h acute immobilization test. From a product stewardship perspective, polymeric prepolymers of TDI and MDI within the investigated domain and concentration range are not expected to be hazardous in the aquatic environment.

Trie Islamy Pangestu Astid Putera, Tri Martiana

Introduction: TIn the 3rd SDGs target is “Ensure Healthy and Promote Wellbeing for all ages", it is hoped that the workforce is not only free from illness but also free from psychological disorders, one of which is job stress. Job stress is a negative impact of a job, especially in dealing with situation and demand that exceed the worker’s ability to cope. Job stress arises because knowledge of workers problem solving not fit with job demand at organization or company. Job stress can degrade workers ability to solve problem. The worker's ability to cope with job stress is not same. Job stress may occur in construction workers whose jobs are monotonous. This study aims to analyze the factors that affect job stress in construction workers. Internal factors include exercise habit and social support. External factors include job demand, work period, and non-work activities. Method: This was observational study which approach by cross-sectional in a construction company. The sample of this study was 55 workers. This study used National Institute Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Generic Job Stress Questionnaire instrument. The variables in this study were internal factors: exercise habit and social support. External factors: job demand, work period and non-work activities. The data were analyzed statistically with the Ordinal Regression Test. Results: Internal factor that have a significant effect was exercise habit variable (p=0.014). External factor that have a significant effect was job demand (p=0.045). Conclusion: Exercise habit can affect the ability of workers to deal job stress. The job demand factor can affect the job stress. Keywords: construction workers, job stress, the SDGs 3rd

A. Tustin, Sylvia Kundu-Orwa, J. Lodwick et al.

BACKGROUND Outbreaks of severe silicosis have affected workers who fabricate artificial stone countertops. Work-related asthma (WRA) has not been a prominent feature of those prior outbreaks. METHODS This report describes an outbreak of WRA and silicosis at a facility that manufactures and fabricates chemical-resistant countertops comprised of sand, epoxy resin, and phthalic anhydride (PA), a known respiratory sensitizer. The multi-disciplinary investigation included clinical examinations of workers, an industrial hygiene survey with qualitative and quantitative exposure assessments, and a cross-sectional questionnaire. RESULTS Engineering controls and personal protective equipment were inadequate. Some workers were exposed to PA or silica above permissible exposure limits established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Clinical and epidemiologic investigations identified 16 workers with confirmed or suspected WRA. Two years later, after OSHA began to enforce its new silica standards, 12 workers received medical surveillance for silicosis. Of these 12 workers, four (33.3%) were diagnosed with silicosis based on abnormal chest computed tomography examinations. CONCLUSIONS Artificial stone countertop workers can develop asthma or silicosis. Risk of asthma may be highest in workers exposed to asthmagens such as PA and epoxy resins while manufacturing the artificial stone material.

María Matilde Serrano Cisneros

Introducción: El éxodo del personal médico a partir del triunfo de la Revolución cubana en 1959 estableció las premisas para un acelerado programa de formación de recursos humanos en salud. Se implementa el Sistema Nacional de Salud con el surgimiento y ampliación de facultades de medicina en las provincias. Paralelamente se produce en 1960 la primera ayuda médica internacional en Chile, denominándose oficialmente como Colaboración Médica Internacional el 23 de mayo de 1963. Desarrollo: Se describen, por etapas, las particularidades del desarrollo de la colaboración médica internacional cubana en el período desde los años 60 hasta la década de los 90, caracterizadas por su comportamiento creciente en dependencia de las transformaciones en el orden político, económico y social, diversificadas en diferentes modalidades y ampliadas en concordancia con las potencialidades del sistema de salud cubano y la ampliación de las relaciones bilaterales y solidarias con los organismos internacionales y con los países del llamado Tercer Mundo. Conclusiones: La Colaboración Médica Internacional cubana es una expresión de la solidaridad vigente en la política exterior del gobierno revolucionario cubano; su propio desarrollo favoreció la aparición de las diferentes modalidades de colaboración y su diversificación en relación con la atención a las necesidades de los pueblos en todo el mundo. Es un resumen de los más puros sentimientos del internacionalismo y una vía para potenciar la práctica médica, la prestación de servicios y el fortalecimiento indiscutible de la formación de los recursos humanos en salud. Introduction: The exodus of medical personnel since the triumph of Cuban Revolution in 1959 established the premises for an accelerated training program for human resources in health. The National Health System is implemented with the emergence and expansion of medical universities in the provinces. At the same time, the first international medical aid was produced in Chile in 1960, officially being called International Medical Collaboration on May 23, 1963. Development: The particularities of the development of Cuban international medical collaboration in the period from the 60s to the 90s are described, by stages, characterized by their growing behavior depending on the transformations in the political, economic, and social order, diversified in different modalities and expanded in accordance with the potentialities of the Cuban health system and the expansion of bilateral and solidarity relations with international organizations and with the countries of the so-called Third World. Conclusions: The Cuban International Medical Collaboration is an expression of the solidarity in force in the foreign policy of the Cuban revolutionary government; its own development favored the appearance of different collaboration modalities and their diversification in relation to the attention to the needs of the peoples throughout the world. It is a summary of the purest feelings of internationalism and a way to promote medical practice, the provision of services, and the indisputable strengthening of the training of human resources in health.

Dina Mourad Saleh, William T. Alexander, Takamasa Numano et al.

Abstract Background Multi-walled carbon nanotubes can be divided into two general subtypes: tangled and straight. MWCNT-N (60 nm in diameter) and MWCNT-7 (80–90 nm in diameter) are straight-type MWCNTs, and similarly to asbestos, both are carcinogenic to the lung and pleura when administered to rats via the airway. Injection of straight-type MWCNTs into the peritoneal cavity also induces the development of mesothelioma, however, injection of tangled-type MWCNTs into the peritoneal cavity does not induce carcinogenesis. To investigate these effects in the lung we conducted a 2-year comparative study of the potential carcinogenicities of a straight-type MWCNT, MWCNT-A (approximately 150 nm in diameter), and a tangled-type MWCNT, MWCNT-B (7.4 nm in diameter) after administration into the rat lung. Crocidolite asbestos was used as the reference material, and rats administered vehicle were used as the controls. Test materials were administered by intra-Tracheal Intra-Pulmonary Spraying (TIPS) once a week over a 7 week period (8 administrations from day 1 to day 50), followed by a 2-year observation period without further treatment. Rats were administered total doses of 0.5 or 1.0 mg MWCNT-A and MWCNT-B or 1.0 mg asbestos. Results There was no difference in survival between any of the groups. The rats administered MWCNT-A or asbestos did not have a significant increase in bronchiolo-alveolar hyperplasia or tumors in the lung. However, the rats administered MWCNT-B did have significantly elevated incidences of bronchiolo-alveolar hyperplasia and tumors in the lung: the incidence of bronchiolo-alveolar hyperplasia was 0/20, 6/20, and 9/20 in the vehicle, 0.5 mg MWCNT-B, and 1.0 mg MWCNT-B groups, respectively, and the incidence of adenoma and adenocarcinoma combined was 1/19, 5/20, and 7/20 in the vehicle, 0.5 mg MWCNT-B, and 1.0 mg MWCNT-B groups, respectively. Malignant pleural mesothelioma was not induced in any of the groups. Conclusions The results of this initial study indicate that tangled-type MWCNT-B is carcinogenic to the rat lung when administered via the airway, and that straight-type MWCNT-A did not have higher carcinogenic potential in the rat lung than tangled-type MWCNT-B.

María Arredondo Rodríguez, Silvio Juan Viña Brito, Arlene Oramas Viera

Los resultados de inspecciones realizadas en un centro de telecomunicaciones que se dedica a la impresión de facturas telefónicas, evidenciaron situaciones determinadas con la insatisfacción en el trabajo en los puestos de ejecutivos de facturación, archiveros fundamentalmente, y se decide hacer un estudio con el objetivo de determinar riesgos psicosociales laborales que respondan a esa problemática. La muestra utilizada son 34 personas por las áreas vinculadas al trabajo del centro. El análisis de la bibliografía contribuyó a seleccionar el instrumento CoPsoQ Istas 21 para realizar el estudio, al cumplir con las características adecuadas. Los resultados presentados en las dimensiones evaluadas comprobaron la existencia potencial de factores de riesgos psicosociales en las actuales condiciones y organización del trabajo, con predominio de la doble presencia, sentido de trabajo y posibilidad de desarrollo. Finalmente, se establece una estrategia metodológica para el mejoramiento de la satisfacción de los trabajadores al incrementarse la organización del trabajo.