Neurological and neurobehavioral effects of welders in Egypt exposed to manganese containing welding fumes.

PURPOSE: Welders are more likely to develop neurobehavioral disorders because of their exposure to neurotoxic metals such as manganese. This study aimed to measure the neurobehavioral performance of welders occupationally exposed to manganese at welding enterprises and its relationship with the workplace environment. METHODS: It is a comparative cross-sectional study carried out on 130 welders working at 50 welding enterprises in Menoufia governorate, Egypt, compared to 130 non-occupationally exposed controls. RESULTS: It was found that the environments of the studied welding enterprises had levels of respirable dust, manganese, and total welding fumes that exceeded internationally permissible limits. In addition, the mean blood manganese levels were significantly higher among welders (4.16 ± 0.61) than the controls (1.72 ± 0.41). Welders had a significantly higher prevalence of neurological manifestations and lower performance of neurobehavioral tests. Lower neurobehavioral performance among welders was significantly correlated with increased work duration and blood levels in some tests. CONCLUSION: To lessen the fumes in the breathing zone of workers, it is therefore strongly recommended to regularly wear high-quality personal protective equipment, especially masks, and to ensure proper ventilation.

Workaholism, sleep disorders, and potential e-learning impacts among Menoufia university staff during COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Workaholism is described as a constant, internal drive to work and behavioral addiction to work. Studies have shown the negative associations between workaholism, job performance, and health results as disrupted sleep. The purpose of this research was to compare the prevalence of workaholics among the academic staff of practical and theoretical Faculties in Egyptian universities using the Dutch Workaholism Scale (DUWAS) and to determine associated sleep problems. Also, it studied the added impact of E-learning on the prevalence of workaholism frequency during the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 336 participants. Work addiction was assessed using DUWAS (17 items) as well as questionnaires on personal, occupational characteristics, and sleep problems. DUWAS scale was repeated after six months during COVID 19 pandemic to investigate the impact of E-learning on the workaholic behavior of the studied groups. RESULTS: Our study revealed that the prevalence of workaholism was 33 percent. 32.8% and 33.7% were listed for the faculties of Medicine and Arts, respectively. After the COVID-19 pandemic, workaholic frequency was significantly increased to be 46.4%. Adjusted logistic regression analysis showed that workaholism had negatively impacted sleep in terms of difficulty initiating sleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, and insufficient sleep. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of workaholism appears to be high among university staff members especially after COVID-19 crisis. Sleep problems were linked to workaholics more than other workers. We recommend encouraging employees to work to their contracted hours, as excess work over extended periods may have adverse effects not only on organizational productivity but also on their health.

Work schedule and substance abuse in vocational students.

BACKGROUND: Drug abuse is one of the world's most serious and rapidly rising problems, causing a wide variety of health issues with significant morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to explore the association between part-time work and substance abuse among vocational students. DESIGN AND METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional analytical study that included all part-time working male students from five vocational male schools, and we used a standardized pretested questionnaire after obtaining written informed consent.  A One-Step Multi-Drug Screen Test was used to assess the substances that were abused. RESULTS: A total of 316 out of the 400 invited students participated in our study. Of the total screened subjects, 26.6 % were abusing substances. Twenty-five (36.2%) day working adolescents, nine (14.0%) night working adolescents, and forty (36.0%) day and night working adolescents were abusers.Tobacco was the most widely abused drug (68%) in the form of smoking, followed by cannabis (24%), marijuana (16.4%), alcohol (10%), and opioid (6.3%). Night workers had significantly lower rates of smoking, cannabis, Marijuana, alcohol, or opioids abuse, and Logistic regression was performed to ascertain the effects of the work schedule on the likelihood that participants have substance abuse; Night workers were 7.14 times less likely to have substance abuse than day workers, while day and night work did not differ from day work. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of drug abuse in vocational students is considered high and a serious problem that damages the youth and the community.

Effects of remote virtual work environment during COVID-19 pandemic on technostress among Menoufia University Staff, Egypt: a cross-sectional study.

Technostress during the COVID-19 pandemic has become more prevalent as a result of the global preventive measures applied to limit the spread of infection. These measures included remote working from home in both public and private organizations. The objective of this study is to study technostress and challenges of remote virtual work environment among university staff members at Menoufia University, Egypt. A cross-sectional study was conducted over Menoufia University academic staff members in Egypt. The participants were chosen from both practical and theoretical colleges in Menoufia University using a multistage random sample. Tarfadar technostress questionnaire was used. Cortisol blood level was measured for all participants. This study included 142 participants. The mean age of the group was 36.32±6.41 years. 52.1 percent worked in practical colleges, and 60.6% were lecturers or higher. Their mean cortisol level was 15.61±7.07mcg/dl. Participants who were females, reside in rural areas, held a lecturer or higher position, had poor work-environment WiFi, and lacked technical training had significantly higher levels of technostress subscales. Most of the technostress subscales were significantly correlated with age and blood cortisol levels. The predictors of work overload in multivariate regression were female gender and a work environment with poor WiFi. Female gender, theoretical colleges, being lecturer or higher, and poor WiFi were the predictors for invasion. Among university staff members, technostress was found to be evident. High levels of technostress were significantly influenced by age, higher professions, female gender, and a bad workplace environment.

Genotoxicity linked to occupational exposure in uranium mine workers: Granzyme B and apoptotic changes.

BACKGROUND: Uranium mining and processing are an ancient occupation, recognized as being grueling and accountable for injury and disease. Uranium (U) is a radioactive heavy metal used in many industrial applications. It increases the micronuclei frequencies as well as chromosomal aberration and sister chromatid exchange in peripheral blood lymphocytes. Granzyme B and perforin are stored inside the leukocytes in secretory granules. These proteins are released outside the cells by a cell-to-cell contact under specific conditions for inducing apoptosis. So, this study investigated the potential health hazards with prominence on the biological effects of radiation exposure. METHODS: A cross-sectional analytic research was conducted on Egyptian male mining field workers. Leucocytes' genotoxicity was evaluated using DNA fragmentation assay and comet assay. Furthermore, flow cytometric analysis of Granzyme B protein was done. RESULTS: A significant increase in dead cells after dual acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EB) fluorescent staining in radiation-exposed groups was noticed compared to control groups. Moreover, a significant increase in the fragmented DNA was evident in exposed groups relative to the control one. Granzyme B protein levels showed a significant increase concerning control. CONCLUSION: A wide variety of adverse human health risks are considered a potential risk to Egyptian uranium miners. For employers working in both mining and processing fields, the most common molecular shift highlighted was the leucocyte damage in blood samples. To preserve the health of all employees, health education and administration of effective hazard management procedures are necessary.

Secondhand tobacco smoke, does it have an impact on the neurobehavioral performance of the exposed children?

Secondhand tobacco smoke (SHS) is a significant public health problem for all ages worldwide. Children are more vulnerable to the health effects of SHS because of the inhalation of more air per body volume compared to adults. The study aimed to assess neurobehavioral performance among SHS exposed Egyptian basic school children (10-12 years) and its relationship with urinary cotinine levels. Multistage cluster sampling was carried out, where 181 children (80 exposed and 101 non-exposed children) were recruited. A questionnaire on SHS exposure was sent to students' parents/caregivers. Urine samples were taken for assessment of cotinine levels by enzyme immunoassay. A Neurobehavioral test battery was measured. The exposed children had significantly lower performance in tests of attention (PASAT) [5.22 ± 5.10 vs. 6.98 ± 5.87, p = 0.035], visuomotor speed (Digit Symbol and Trail making A) [41.40 ± 18.01 vs. 46.53 ± 15.89 and 107.92 ± 44.34 vs. 92.44 ± 37.09; respectively] than non-exposed subjects. The neurobehavioral effects were correlated with urinary cotinine levels among children exposed to SHS compared to unexposed children. The study revealed poor performance in neurobehavioral domains of attention and visuomotor skills among children exposed to SHS. This necessitates the implementation of antismoking media awareness programs on the harmful effects of SHS and how to protect children from it.

PARP1-DNMT1-CTCF complex and the apoptotic-induced factor mRNA expressions in workers occupationally exposed to benzene.

Exposure to benzene is a common occupational hazard as well as a hematopoietic system intoxicant, but the entire picture of its molecular pathogenesis is still hazy. Its leukemogenic effect could be attributed to DNA damage, decreased repair capacity, altered methylation patterns, and defective apoptosis. Poly ADP-ribose polymerase1, DNA methyltransferase1, and CCCTC-binding factor (PARP1-DNMT1-CTCF) complex play an essential role in methylation maintenance and DNA damage repair response. This study aimed to assess the expression of PARP1, PAR glycohydrolases (PARG), DNMT1, CTCF, and apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) in subjects occupationally exposed to benzene. A total of 200 subjects were enrolled in this study: 100 workers occupationally exposed to benzene (painters and decorators) and 100 unexposed office workers. Occupational exposure data were obtained. The biochemical and hematological evaluations were done. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to assess mRNA expression of PARP1, PARG, DNMT1, CTCF, and AIF. Both biochemical and hematological parameters were within normal limits; workplace benzene air concentration was significantly higher in exposed workers than the levels among controls (P < 0.001). Significant decrease in mRNA levels of PARP1, DNMT1, CTCF, and AIF was noticed among the exposed group (P = 0.01, P < 0.001, P = 0.004, P < 0.001, respectively) in comparison with the control group, while PARG showed non-significant difference (P = 0.16). There was a significant negative correlation between workplace benzene air concentration and expression levels of PARP1, DNMT1, and AIF. The reduced expression of PARP1, DNMT1, CTCF, and AIF observed in exposed workers may represent one of the first benzene-induced changes that might threaten erythropoiesis.

Moderate ischemic mitral incompetence: does it worth more ischemic time?

OBJECTIVES: Ischemic mitral regurgitation (IMR) is a common finding following myocardial infarction or ischemia. Management of moderate IMR is still a hot topic. Adding mitral valve repair (MVr) to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is questionable. The goal of this study was to assess and compare short-term clinical and echocardiographic results of moderate IMR treated by CABG alone versus another group of patients treated by CABG plus MVr. METHODS: Eighty consecutive patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD) and moderate IMR were divided randomly into two equal groups: group I (40) had only CABG and group II (40) had CABG plus MVr. Patients were evaluated at 1-week, 3-months and 1-year intervals postoperatively. RESULTS: After 1-year follow-up, our study revealed statistically significant improvement in the grade of mitral regurgitation (MR) in group II than group I. The mean value for effective regurgitant orifice area (EROA) was 0.22 ± 0.13 for group I versus 0.03 ± 0.03 for group II (P = 0.001) and for vena contracta (VC), it was 3.8 ± 2.24 for group I versus 0.4 ± 0.49 for group II (P = 0.000). There was also a significant reduction in the New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: MVr can be performed safely and concomitantly with CABG in patients having moderate IMR, and its addition to CABG have significant short-term impact on clinical or echocardiographic outcome of patients.

The neuro-ophthalmological effects related to long-term occupational exposure to organic solvents in painters.

PURPOSE: Organic solvents are widely used in many industries, and usually, exposure occurs with mixtures of solvents. Organic solvent mixtures are known for their ability to affect tissues of high lipid content including the myelin sheath in the nervous system. The purpose of this work was to study the evidence that long-term (more than 10 years) exposure to organic solvent mixtures among painters can induce neuro-ophthalmological effects on the function of retinal ganglion cells and the optic tract. METHODS: Twenty workers with long-term occupational exposure to mixed organic solvents were compared to 40 control subjects. The controls were matched for age, gender, and demographic characteristics but were not occupationally exposed to any known organic solvents, using the following comparators: visual evoked potential (VEP), electroretinogram (ERG), color vision (CV), and contrast sensitivity (CS) testing. Environmental monitoring was done in the work environment with consideration to the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists Threshold Limit Values (ACGIH-TLVs). RESULTS: The exposed group had significantly longer latency and higher amplitude of VEP waves especially P100, higher Color Confusion Index (CCI), especially affecting the blue-yellow spectrum, and lower Log CS. There was no significant difference between exposed and nonexposed groups in full-field flash ERG response; however, in the pattern ERG, the exposed group had significantly longer latency of P50, which reflects changes in the retinal ganglion cell. CONCLUSION: Long-term occupational exposure to mixed organic solvents appeared to affect the optic tract functions in the form of increasing latency of VEP response, affecting the quality of CV and decreasing CS. It also affects the retinal ganglion cell layer with increased latency of P50 of the pattern ERG response.