Evaluation of the Control Banding Method-Comparison with Measurement-based
This Document, "Guidelines for personal exposure monitoring of chemicals" ("this Guideline"), has been prepared by "The Committee for Personal Exposure Monitoring" ("the Committee") of the Expert Division of Occupational Hygiene & Ergonomics, Japan Society for Occupational Health. Considering the background of the growing importance of personal exposure monitoring in risk assessment and the need to prepare for the introduction of monitoring using personal samplers from an administrative perspective in recent years, the Committee was organized in November 2012. The Committee has prepared this Guideline as a "practical guideline" for personal exposure monitoring, so as to offer proposals and recommendations to the members of the Japan Society for Occupational Health and to society in general. The scope of this Guideline covers all chemical substances and all related workplaces regarded as targets for general assessment and the management of risk. It thus is not to be considered to comment on legal regulations and methodology. The main text provides the basic methods and concepts of personal exposure monitoring, while 31 "Appendices" are provided in this Guideline throughout the series; technical descriptions, statistical bases, and actual workplace examples are provided in these appendices, to assist better understanding. The personal exposure monitoring described as per this Guideline is equivalent to an "expert-centered basic method to reasonably proceed with the assessment and management of risk at workplaces." It is considered that practicing and expanding on this method will significantly contribute in reforming the overall framework of occupational hygiene management in Japan.
The types of workplaces and occupations with coronavirus 2019 clusters vary between countries and periods. We aimed to characterize major occupational groups with mass outbreaks of COVID-19 infections in several Asia-Pacific countries. Data on the major occupations or workplaces reporting COVID-19 cases in workplaces from January 2020 to July 2021 was collected from industrial hygiene professionals in nine countries. The proportion of workers accounted for 39.1 to 56.6% of the population in each country. The number of workers covered in the national statistics varies among nations based on their definition of a worker. None of the countries examined here have systematically collected occupational data on COVID-19 illnesses and deaths classified by type of industry, occupation, or job. Most countries experienced COVID-19 clusters among health and social care workers (HSCW) in hospitals or long-term care facilities. The types of occupations or workplaces with virus clusters in some participating countries included prisons, call centers, workplaces employing immigrants, garment facilities, grocery stores, and the military, which differed among countries, except for a few common occupations such as HSCW and those populated by immigrants. Further study is necessary in order to seek ways to control infection risks, including revisions to industrial-health-related laws.
Objectives Peanut is invaded before harvest mainly by Aspergillus flavus and A. parasitics, which are potential aflatoxin producers. However, no research efforts have been directed to develop suitable management options against aflatoxigenic fungi in Northern Ethiopia. Therefore, this study was undertaken to determine the effect of soil solarization on A. flavus inocculum in the soil and to evaluate the effect of soil solarization and planting time on peanut seed invasion by Aspergillus spp. and yield of peanut varieties. Methods Soil samples were taken from 5 and 10 cm soil depths in three rounds and analyzed for aflatoxigenic population. Soil solarization reduced fungal inoculum and increased groundnut yields. Individual and total cfu g À1 of soil was determined before, after solarization and at harvest. Four Aspergillus species namely, A. flavus, A. parasiticus, A. niger and A. terreus were plated on Rose Bengal Agar media (selective medium for Aspergillus spp.) and morphologically identified. To determine the natural seed infection by Aspergillus spp. and other fungi, undamaged pods from the middle two rows were carefully handshelled and 100-seed of each plot were surface sterilized by soaking in 5% aqueous solution of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) for 3 minutes and immediately rinsed with sterile distilled water, and plated on Czapek-Dox agar medium and incubated at room temperature. After 7 days the growing colonies of fungi were visually recorded. Finally, fungi identification was carried out based on macro-morphological (reverse and surface coloration of colonies, presence of pigment, and colony texture) and micro-morphological characteristics (conidia size, conidial head, shape of vesicle). Standard text (Klich, 2002) was used in the identification process. Results Their densities were significantly (P < 0.05) reduced at after solarization. In the solarized plots, A. flavus and A. parasiticus were found reduced by 53.8 and 45% cfu g À1 at Ramma and 36.4 and 44% cfu g À1 at 5 and 10 cm soil depths at Mayweyni, respectively, after soil solarization in the solarized plots than the nonsolarized plots. At harvest, Fusarium spp., A. flavus and A. terreus were detected. Pod yields were found increased by 265.6 and 182.22 kg ha À1 on solarized plots at Mayweyni and Ramma, respectively. Increase in yield related parameters (14.8% increase in number of seed per plant and 7.4% increase in number of pods per plant) were found from early planting dates as compared to later planting time at Mayweyni. Conclusions Generally, yields varied across locations; mean pod yield in Mayweyni was 360.9 kg ha À1 higher than the yield in Ramma. Three Aspergillus species namely, A. flavus, A. niger, and A. parasiticus were isolated from seed samples plated on Czapek-Dox Agar medium. Early planting of the varieties showed the lowest level of seed infection by A. flavus (22.8%). Four Aspergillus species namely, A. flavus, A. parasiticus, A. niger and A. terreus were isolated before soil solarization and after solarization. Both the tota...
A pilot study was conducted primarily to examine the effect of rehabilitation using the Screw Block ® kit on the upper limb function of hemiplegic stroke patients. Methods: In this pilot, single-center, quasi-randomized, controlled trial, 30 stroke patients were randomly allocated to either the experimental group or the control group. They received training with either Screw Block ® for 20 min in addition to conventional occupational therapy (20-40 min) or conventional occupational therapy, which included upper limb functional training for 40-60 min. In both groups, training was conducted 5 days a week for 3 weeks (15 sessions in total). Upper extremity function on the paralyzed side, which was the primary outcome, was evaluated using the Simple Test for Evaluating Hand Function (STEF) before and after the interventions. Results:The study sample included 28 men and 2 women (mean age, 62.5 years). The experimental group showed a significant improvement in mean STEF score compared with the control group (T=2.252, P=0.032, Cohen's d=0.82). Conclusion: Occupational therapy using Screw Block ® was more effective than conventional occupational therapy alone in improving the upper limb function in stroke patients.
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