Contact sensitization and self-reported eczema in Swedish painters with occupational exposure to isothiazolinones.

BACKGROUND: Due to an increasing occupational usage of isothiazolinone (IT)-containing preservatives, and their potential to cause skin sensitization and allergic contact dermatitis, that is, chronic disease, there is a need for more knowledge on how highly exposed workers are affected. OBJECTIVES: The overall objective was to explore dermatological symptoms of potentially long-lasting or chronic character in Swedish painters. METHODS: Building painters from western and southern Sweden were initially invited to perform a questionnaire on occurrence of skin symptoms. Participants with affirmative responses, and the right inclusion criteria, were further invited to patch testing with four different ITs: benzisothiazolinone (BIT), methylisothiazolinone, methylchloroisothiazolinone and octylisothiazolinone. RESULTS: There was a tendency towards higher occurrence of positive patch test reactions among the painters compared with occupationally unexposed registry patients; however, not statistically significant differences. BIT was the substance most frequently causing positive test results in both groups. The occurrence of adult-onset eczema was higher in painters than in the control group of electricians, and just shy of statistical significance concerning any of several skin locations (face/legs/arms/hands). CONCLUSION: Building painters present with positive patch test reactions to common paint preservatives (ITs), and they report adult-onset eczema more often than do less occupationally exposed groups.

Quantitatively measured tremor in hand-arm vibration-exposed workers.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to investigate the possible increase in hand tremor in relation to hand-arm vibration (HAV) exposure in a cohort of exposed and unexposed workers. METHODS: Participants were 178 male workers with or without exposure to HAV. The study is cross-sectional regarding the outcome of tremor and has a longitudinal design with respect to exposure. The dose of HAV exposure was collected via questionnaires and measurements at several follow-ups. The CATSYS Tremor Pen(®) was used for measuring postural tremor. Multiple linear regression methods were used to analyze associations between different tremor variables and HAV exposure, along with predictor variables with biological relevance. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant associations between the different tremor variables and cumulative HAV or current exposure. Age was a statistically significant predictor of variation in tremor outcomes for three of the four tremor variables, whereas nicotine use was a statistically significant predictor of either left or right hand or both hands for all four tremor variables. CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, there was no evidence of an exposure-response association between HAV exposure and measured postural tremor. Increase in age and nicotine use appeared to be the strongest predictors of tremor.

Ever Smoking is Not Associated with Performed Spirometry while Occupational Exposure and Respiratory Symptoms are.

Objective: Despite recommendations, assessment using spirometry or peak expiratory flow is insufficient in the clinical evaluation of suspected obstructive pulmonary disease. The aim was to investigate factors associated with performing spirometry or peak flow expiratory flow assessment. Methods: Randomly selected subjects from the general population aged 50-65 completed a respiratory questionnaire with items about the history of previously performed spirometry or peak expiratory flow. The association between ever having had spirometry or peak expiratory flow performed was analyzed for smoking, age, sex, occupational exposures, dyspnea, wheeze, self-reported physician diagnosed asthma and COPD using multivariable logistic regression models. The results are presented as odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Results: Of the 1105 participants, 43.4% (n=479) had a history of previously performed spirometry or peak expiratory flow. Occupational exposure (OR 1.72, [95% CI] 1.30-2.27), wheeze (OR 2.29, 1.41-3.70), and dyspnea (OR 1.70, 1.11-2.60) were associated with previously performed spirometry. Compared to men, women had spirometry or peak expiratory flow performed less often (OR 0.67, 0.51-0.86). Neither current smoking (OR 0.83, 0.57-1.20) or former smoking (OR 1.27, 0.96-1.67) were associated with performed spirometry or peak expiratory flow. Conclusion: We found no relation between smoking status and a history of previously performed spirometry or peak expiratory flow in a population-based sample of middle-aged people. This is surprising regarding the strong guidelines which highlight the importance for spirometry surveillance on current smokers due to their increased risk of lung disease. Male sex, respiratory symptoms and occupational exposures to air pollution were associated with previously performed spirometry or peak expiratory flow. The association with occupational exposure may be an effect of pre-employment screening and workplace surveillance, and the findings indicate that females do not receive the same attention regarding spirometry or peak expiratory flow.

The use of information technology among young adults--experience, attitudes and health beliefs.

The aim of this study was to explore attitudes, coherence and health beliefs among young adults, related to their use and experience of information technology (IT). A qualitative approach was used and the data were collected through individual thematised interviews with 25 young IT users, aged 18-24. The interviews were analysed in line with the grounded theory method with a constructivist approach. The main findings were the young adults' experience of the two sides of being social, efficient and independent here and now. They described almost unlimited opportunities in connection with IT, but they also had misgivings, and perceived risks regarding IT use. Feelings of freedom and being efficient were countered by feelings of restrictions on living space and of intangibility. Knowledge concerning these attitudes, coherence and health beliefs can be considered when designing epidemiological and ergonomic studies aimed at risk identification.

A prospective cohort study investigating an exposure-response relationship among vibration-exposed male workers with numbness of the hands.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the exposure-response relationship of hand-arm vibration exposure to neurological symptoms (numbness) of the hand in a cohort of vibration-exposed workers. METHODS: The baseline cohort comprised 241 office and manual workers with and without exposure to hand-arm vibration. Numbness (the symptom or event) in the hand was assessed for all subjects at baseline and follow-ups after 5, 10, and 16 years. The workers were stratified into quartiles with no exposure in the first quartile and increasing intensity of exposure in quartiles 2-4 (groups 1-3). Data analysis was performed using survival analysis (time to event). Information on cumulative exposure and years of exposure to event was collected via questionnaires. Measurements were performed in accordance with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 5349-1. RESULTS: The hazard ratio (HR) of risk of event (numbness) differed statistically significantly between the non-exposed group (group 0) and the two higher exposure groups (groups 2 and 3). There was also a significant ratio difference between the lowest exposure group (group 1) and the two higher groups. The ratio for group 1 was 1.77 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.96-3.26] compared with 3.78 (95% CI 2.15-6.62) and 5.31 (95% CI 3.06-9.20) for groups 2 and 3, respectively. CONCLUSION: The results suggest a dose-response relationship between vibration exposure and numbness of the hands. This underlines the importance of keeping vibration levels low to prevent neurological injury to the hands.

Physical capacity and psychological mood in association with self-reported work ability in vibration-exposed patients with hand symptoms.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate whether self-reports of work ability correlated to the results of quantitative tests measuring physical capacity and a questionnaire assessing psychological mood in vibration-exposed patients with hand symptoms. METHODS: The participants comprised 47 patients (36 men and eleven women) with exposure to hand vibration and vascular and/or neurological symptoms in the hands. They performed several quantitative tests (manual dexterity, hand grip strength, finger strength) and completed the Work Ability Index (WAI) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) questionnaires. RESULTS: Correlation analysis revealed statistically significant associations between the WAI results, the HADS indices, hand grip and finger strength, and manual dexterity measured using the Purdue Pegboard®. Multiple regression analysis revealed age and HADS indices as the strongest predictors of work ability. CONCLUSIONS: The patient's age and psychological mood may be stronger predictors of work ability compared with results from tests measuring physical capacity of the hands in vibration-exposed patients with hand symptoms. When using the WAI as an instrument for assessing work ability in these patients, health care providers need to be more aware of the impact of the psychological mood.

New improvements for lignocellulosic ethanol.

The use of lignocellulosic biomass for the production of biofuels will be unavoidable if liquid fossil fuels are to be replaced by renewable and sustainable alternatives. Ethanol accounts for the majority of biofuel use worldwide, and the prospect of its biological production from abundant lignocellulosic feedstocks is attractive. The recalcitrance of these raw materials still renders proposed processes complex and costly, but there are grounds for optimism. The application of new, engineered enzyme systems for cellulose hydrolysis, the construction of inhibitor-tolerant pentose-fermenting industrial yeast strains, combined with optimized process integration promise significant improvements. The opportunity to test these advances in pilot plants paves the way for large-scale units. This review summarizes recent progress in this field, including the validation at pilot scale, and the economic and environmental impacts of this production pathway.