Disorders of serum proteomic profile in residents of area influenced by metallurgic industrial releases.

Proteomic analysis technology helped to study and assess protein profile of blood serum in residents of area influenced bymetallurgic industrial releases. Findings are that poor quality of ambient air in populated area concerning concentrations of vanadium, nickel, manganese (up to 24-44 RfCchr) and stable presence of these elements in drinkable water (up to 0,006 RfD) cause mainly aerogenous chronic exposure at 0,00025-0,0022 mg/(kg-day). The exposed individuals demonstrate higher (3,5-3,8 times vs. unexposed ones and reference level) serum level of vanadium (0,0023 to 0,003 mg/dma), nickel (0,06-0,11 mg/dm) and manganese (0,036-0,048. mg/dm³). The authors demonstrated changes in serum proteomic profile associated with serum levels of vanadium and nickel (share contribution of vanadium and nickel equalled 15-20%) and manifested as increase of relative volume of transtyretine, apolipoprotein A-I, lower relative volume of haptoglobin. Increased serum level of vanadium disorders transport of apoproteins incorporated into lipoproteins; increased serum level of nickel activates hemolysis of RBC, disorders speed of hemoglobin-haptoglobin complex formation and its subsequent utilization by hepatocytes. Revealed molecular and cellular disorders enable to forecast thyroid disorders, hematologic diseases, cholesterol metabolism disorders.

[Morbidity and content of microelements in the blood of school children residing near chromium enterprises].

For the first time there was investigated the content of certain microelements in the blood of children of school age residing in the city of Aktobe (Kazakhstan), where the global giants, mining andprocessing chrome ore productions are located. There were determined blood levels of chromium, nickel, lead in children. There was shown the difference in the blood content of microelements in children, depending on region of residence and their correlation with the core indices of health and disease.

[Hygienic assessment of living conditions and morbidity of the population in the port cities of the Sakhalin region].

The aim of this study was to perform a comprehensive hygienic assessment of environmental conditions in the port cities of the Sakhalin region to identify priority risk factors affecting on population health and management decisions for the optimization of living conditions. As a result of the assessment of risk and damages for public health from the effects of air pollution on the dose-response, effects were found to excess of impact on the target organs by 10 times. The main ecotoxicant was determined to be manganese oxide, which is associated with a priority manganese content in soil samples ofport cities. The positive dynamics of the gain in the accumulation of soil heavy metals according to the total index indicates to the existence of problems for soil contamination. Analysis of demographic variables shows that the population of the Sakhalin region in general and the port cities in particular relates to a regressive type. The main causes of the population decline are mortality and migration outflow of able-bodied population in other regions of Russia. However, in the port cities there is an increase in the number of work places, contributing to an increase in the labor force. The primary and general morbidity of the population ofport cities is characterized by higher levels compared with the average for the Sakhalin Region and the Far Eastern Federal District. Among all the classes of diseases as priority ones there are marked "neoplasm", "diseases of the nervous system", "respiratory diseases", "diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue". Port cities occupy the top ranking places on the incidence of malignant tumors among the cities of the Sakhalin region.

[Epidemiological and hygiene assessment of the health status of population in the area of the construction site of low-head water power development].

Hydrotechnical facilities have significant environmental and health imyacts. Results of a hygienic assessment of the condition of environmental objects in the area of the yrojected Nizhny Novgorod low-head water ylant develoyment showed that the both air and water pollution level in decentralized water supply sources in Balakhna and Gorodets are lower than in the city of Nizhny Novgorod, and those of the water in the water supply network are higher than in the reference area. A cross-sectional study has revealed in the main grouf (Gorodets, Zavolzhye and Balakhna) the rate of morbidity of nervous system and cardiovascular diseases to be higher than in the reference group (Nizhny Novgorod), with cardiovascular diseases being the largest contributor to the overall grevalence rate in the groug under analysis; and digestive system diseases, in the reference group. The study has no revealed direct correlation between morbidity rate in children and adults and the studied factors. However, a direct relationship has been found between the prevalence rate of endocrine diseases in children and the quality of water in the water supply network in Balakhna District (p<0.007); also, there's a correlation between the morbidity rate of digestive diseases and air pollution and water quality in the water supply network (p<0.009). In the Gorodets District, the same situation has been revealed: the morbidity rate of endocrine diseases in children depends on quality of water from the water supply network (p<0.049); the prevalence rate of digestive diseases, on air pollution and water quality in the water supply network (p<0.048). In the same region in adults the prevalence rate of the nervous system diseases, digestive diseases and diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue depends on air pollution and pollution of water in the water supply network (p<0.011, p<0.01 and p<0.02, respectively).

Impact of cabin ozone concentrations on passenger reported symptoms in commercial aircraft.

Due to elevated ozone concentrations at high altitudes, the adverse effect of ozone on air quality, human perception and health may be more pronounced in aircraft cabins. The association between ozone and passenger-reported symptoms has not been investigated under real conditions since smoking was banned on aircraft and ozone converters became more common. Indoor environmental parameters were measured at cruising altitude on 83 US domestic and international flights. Passengers completed a questionnaire about symptoms and satisfaction with the indoor air quality. Average ozone concentrations were relatively low (median: 9.5 ppb). On thirteen flights (16%) ozone levels exceeded 60 ppb, while the highest peak level reached 256 ppb for a single flight. The most commonly reported symptoms were dry mouth or lips (26%), dry eyes (22.1%) and nasal stuffiness (18.9%). 46% of passengers reported at least one symptom related to the eyes or mouth. A third of the passengers reported at least one upper respiratory symptom. Using multivariate logistic (individual symptoms) and linear (aggregated continuous symptom variables) regression, ozone was consistently associated with symptoms related to the eyes and certain upper respiratory endpoints. A concentration-response relationship was observed for nasal stuffiness and eye and upper respiratory symptom indicators. Average ozone levels, as opposed to peak concentrations, exhibited slightly weaker associations. Medium and long duration flights were significantly associated with more symptoms compared to short flights. The relationship between ultrafine particles and ozone on flights without meal service was indicative of ozone-initiated chemistry.

[Influence of ecologic environmental factors on diseases formation in population (review of literature)].

The paper presents the analytical review concerning influence of environmental ecological factors on development of ecologically dependent diseases in adults and children. The authors necessitate to improve monitoring system of environment and public health.

[Comparative evaluation of the health status of descendants of people residing in environmentally unfriendly regions by means of mathematical modeling].

The aim of the study was to evaluate reproductive health of descendants of people who experienced effects of adverse environmental factors, such as radiation and chemical contamination (the descendants themselves were unaffected by these factors). Reproductive health of women was assessed by mathematical modeling. Factors of greatest importance for the health status of the descendants were distinguished among the 76 ones studied. It was shown that reproductive health of the subjects descending from the people exposed to radiation deteriorated more significantly than of those whose ancestors were affected by chemical factors.

[Identification of the main risk factors for non infectious diseases: method of classification trees].

There is presented ideology of the application of one of the methods for assessment of the influence of multi-factor influence of risk factors on population health--the method of classification trees. The method of classification trees is a hierarchical procedure for constructing a decision rule that allows to divide the population into groups with higher and lower morbidity "in the coordinates of" risk factors. The main advantage of the method--the possibility of finding the complex of risk factors having the greatest impact on the health of the population (in contrast to common methods, analyzing only the single-factor effects). In the paper there are presented two possible variants of application of classification trees: 1) the finding of the complex of environmental risk factors (RF), which provides the maximum impact on the prevalence of non infectious diseases in preschool children) in Yekaterinburg (environmental risk factors--the pollution of air drinking water, in the presence of a gas stove in the child's flat, etc.). It is shown that, together with socio-economic risk factors environmental risk factors increase the prevalence of respiratory diseases in preschool children in Ekaterinburg in 2.5-4 times (depending on the list and the number of environmental RF), 2) finding the complex of non-environmental factors that most effectively compensating the negative effect of environmental pollution on human health. This posing of the problem is associated with the fact that pollution environmental factors are (usually) unmodified, while family, behavioral or social factors can be partially or completely eliminated Implementation of the recommendations presented in the paper can reduce the incidence of circulatory diseases in preschool children in Yekaterinburg more than 2 times.

[Determinants of morbidity in the areas situated along the Techa and Iset Rivers].

Due to the massive pollution of the Techa-Iset river system with the radioactive sewage of the Mayak industrial association in the 1950s, the factors responsible for the incidence of diseases were studied in 5 districts of the Kurgan Region along the territory of which rivers flow. There is a direct relationship of children's morbidity to ambient air pollution. The determinants of adult morbidity are air pollution and water quality. There is an inverse correlation of morbidity with the provision with therapists and with the economic indices of districts. The prevalence of some types of diseases, such as those of the endocrine and respiratory systems, ulcer disease correlates with the ranking position of a district in the level of pollution in the Techa and Iset Rivers.

[Classification of hazards of industrial enterprises on a new methodological basis].

Based on the analysis of data on the volume of emission from 163 enterprises, a classification of industrial projects that are the sources of ambient air pollution has been developed, which includes: an estimate of the degree of hazard (5 classes) from enterprises by the total volume of emission irrespective industrial affiliation and the kind of activities; the relative index (RI) of hazard from an enterprise, which considers the volume of emission and the degree of toxicity of each pollutant (the RI specifies the class of an enterprise); the possible sizes of sanitary-hygiene zones in relation to the total volume of emission (tons per year). Testing the developed classification, by using 64 enterprises and various projects as an example has shown the expedisanitary-hygiene zones of an enterprise and projects of any branches of industry or the kind of activities, which are ambient air pollution sources.

Injuries and illnesses treated at the World Trade Center, 14 September-20 November 2001.

INTRODUCTION: In response to the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC), the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) deployed Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMATs) and the Commissioned Corps to provide on-site, primary medical care to anyone who presented. Patients included rescue and recovery workers, other responders, and some members of the general public. OBJECTIVE: A descriptive analysis of WTC-USPHS patient records was conducted in order to better understand the short-term impact of the WTC site on the safety and health of individuals who were at or near the site from 14 September-20 November 2001. METHODS: The Patient Treatment Record forms that were completed for each patient visit to these USPHS stations over the 10-week deployment period were reviewed. RESULTS: Patient visits numbered 9,349, with visits peaking during Week 2 (21-27 September). More than one-quarter of the visits were due to traumatic injuries not including eye injuries (n = 2,716; 29%). Respiratory problems comprised more than one-fifth of the complaints (n = 2,011; 22%). Eye problems were the third most frequent complaint (n = 1,120; 12%). With respect to the triage class, the majority of visits fell into the lowest category of severity (n = 6,237; 67%). CONCLUSION: USPHS visits probably were skewed to milder complaints when compared to analyses of employer medical department reports or hospital cases; however, given the close proximity of the USPHS stations to the damage, analysis of the USPHS forms provides a more complete picture of the safety and health impact on those who were at or near the WTC site.

Allergy, skin and environment.

The skin is very often the target organ of allergic reactions. This may be explained by many immunological competent cells in this organ such as the Langerhans cell, mast cells, lymphocytes, neutrophils and eosinophils. This is especially true for the antigen-presenting Langerhans cell. Therefore in many cases, the skin is a signalling organ for allergic reactions. Examples include food allergy which precipitates with signs and symptoms of skin diseases in about 45% and drug allergy to beta-lactam-antibiotics in about 90%. Also the skin serves as a test organ in allergic diseases of other organs such as rhinitis allergica or asthma. Examples include Reibtest, prick-, intracutaneous-, scratch- and patch test. Therefore it is no surprise, that allergic diseases of the skin are the most often diagnosed skin diseases such as urticaria, angioedema, vasculitis, contact dermatitis and atopic dermatitis. At these diseases, their diagnose and therapy and especially the promising progress in research with regard to these diseases which has been obtained during the last years will be focussed in this review.

[The non-specific environmental syndromes MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivity), IEI (Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance) and SBS (Sick Building Syndrome)]. / Die unspezifischen Umweltsyndrome MCS, IEI und SBS. Klinische Bilder und Therapieansätze.

This review starts with a clinical description of the most common unspecific environmental diseases, such as Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS), Idiopathic Environmental Intolerances (IEI) and Sick Building Syndrome (SBS). These syndromes are very controversial discussed between scientific medicine and "clinical ecology". In addition, they have fundamental similarities to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Fibromyalgia. Finally the spectrum of therapeutic approaches is discussed.

[Environmental-medical diagnosis and therapy. Hasty diagnosis of unspecified environmental syndromes should be avoided]. / Umweltmedizinische Diagnostik und Therapie. Vorschnelle Diagnose unspezifischer umweltmedizinischer Syndrome vermeiden.

In the past ten years environmental medicine has virtually exploded. Major instruments for the interdisciplinary environmental-medical diagnosis are history, on-site inspection, biomonitoring and ambient monitoring. Since the definitive diagnosis of an environment-related disease usually requires a joint evaluation of toxicological, somatic and psychosomatic findings, it is recommended that cooperation with an experienced center for environment medicine should be established early on. By doing so, an inappropriate diagnosis of unspecific environment-medical symptom complexes such as, e.g., multiple chemical sensitivity may be avoided. Such "diagnoses" may result in drastic, and for the patient and his family, often stressful, consequences.