[Mercury fixation in different subfractions of human serum albumin separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis]. / Etude de la fixation du mercure sur les différentes sous-fractions de la sérumalbumine humaine, séparées par électrophorése en gel de polyacrylamide

Electrophoresis of mercurial serumalbumin allows isolation of 5 proteic sub-fractions, whose respective importance is appraised by densitometry. In a parallel direction mercury dosages are performed on each sub-fraction. They disclose that there is a relation between mercury fixation and the sub-fractions migration speeds: the 2 sub-fractions with the lowest migration speeds had fixated more mercury than the others.

Respiratory function and bronchial reactivity in mill workers.

Professional exposure to vegetable dusts affect the respiratory function of the exposed subjects. A previous survey conducted in an industrial flour-mill demonstrated a higher frequency of respiratory symptoms in workers compared to a control group. Ten subjects employed in a work site particularly exposed to dust were studied. Each subject answered a questionnaire and performed on Mondays and Fridays, at the beginning and end of his work shift, a flow volume curve and an isocapnic hyperventilation test. The aerobiology of the professional environment was also measured. We noted: 1) in the flow volume curves: a drop in the FEV1 during the Monday morning shift, a significant difference between the FEV1 (p less than 0.05) and the MMEFR 25-75 (p less than 0.05) measured at 6 am on Monday and Friday, and between the MMEFR 25-75 values obtained at 12 noon on Monday and Friday (p less than 0.05). 2) after isocapnic hyperventilation, a significant drop in the MMEFR 25-75 at 6 am on Monday (p less than 0.01) and in the FEV1 and MMEFR 25-75 at 12 noon on Mondays (p less than 0.05), a significant drop in the FEV1 at 1 pm on Monday (p less than 0.01).

Respiratory function in flour-mill workers.

The frequency of bronchial symptoms and the alteration of respiratory function parameters were studied in a group of 63 workers of an industrial flour-mill, and in a control group matched according to age, social class, and tobacco intake. In the exposed group the answers to a questionnaire indicated a greater incidence of cough (p less than 0.01) and chronic expectoration (p less than 0.01) as well as clinical airway hyperreactivity (p less than 0.01). No differences were noted for either asthma or allergy. The respiratory function parameters did not differ between the two groups studied. These results suggest that workers exposed to the vegetable dust found in fluor-mills are subject to develop chronic bronchial irritation.