A clinic-based, case-control comparison of green tobacco sickness among minority farmworkers: clues for prevention.

BACKGROUND: Green tobacco sickness (GTS) is a highly prevalent occupational illness among tobacco workers. Working in wet tobacco is a major risk factor for GTS. Little is known about preventing GTS. This analysis examines possible GTS preventive measures. METHODS: Data were collected from 36 patients with GTS and 40 controls who presented at clinics in eastern North Carolina in 1999 and 2000. Each participant completed an interview that included questions about their personal characteristics, work characteristics, and GTS risk factors. RESULTS: Participants were Mexican men. Those with GTS were much less likely to have worn rain suits while working in wet tobacco and more likely to be in the United States on a work contract. CONCLUSIONS: Wearing a rain suit while working in wet tobacco can significantly reduce the risk of GTS among tobacco workers. Care must be taken that farmworkers do not have heat stress from wearing rain suits.

Weight and weight uniformity of hard gelatin capsules filled with microcrystalline cellulose and silicified microcrystalline cellulose.

The objective of this study was to investigate the weight and weight uniformity of hard gelatin capsules filled with microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and silicified microcrystalline cellulose (SMCC) powdered formulations. A tamping-type encapsulation apparatus was used to fill the capsules. The four formulations that were tested included MCC alone, MCC blended with fumed silica, SMCC, and high-density SMCC (SMCC-HD). The mean capsule weight and the average variation in mean capsule weight of each formulation were determined. Both SMCC products exhibited better flow than the MCC alone, with SMCC-HD being the freest flowing of the powders investigated. Capsules filled with the SMCC products had higher fill weights than those containing the MCC powders. The SMCC-containing capsules exhibited the lowest variation in weight, although these findings were not significantly different from either of the MCC-containing capsules. Significantly higher weight variations were found in capsules filled with SMCC-HD. A relationship between Carr's compressibility index and capsule weight variation was found, with more compressible materials producing more uniformly filled capsules. No relationship could be established between powder flow and capsule weight uniformity. These findings suggest that powder flow may not be a critical parameter in ensuring capsule weight uniformity when the encapsulation equipment utilizes a tamping-type filling system.