This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 Unported License, permitting all non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Introduction: Specifics of activities of medical personnel in different types of laboratories can potentially create working conditions that violate occupational safety and health regulations. Objective: The study aimed to assess health risks of thermal balance disruption in PCR laboratory staff wearing personal protective equipment for biohazards in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods: The study was conducted in winter 2020–2021 in PCR laboratories of the Volgograd Region. It included measurements of laboratory microclimate parameters, such as relative humidity, air temperature and velocity, used to estimate the heat load index. An observation cohort of 31 female medical laboratory workers aged 32.48 ± 1.45 years with a three to nine months experience of work in the PCR laboratory was formed to monitor the thermal state at the start and end of the work shift by measuring skin temperature at five points, sublingual temperature, and heat sensation. The results of measurements were used to estimate the mean skin temperature and heart rate while the dynamics of work ability was assessed by the results of contact tremorometry. Results: We established a significant increase in all measured values. The mean skin temperature at the end of the shift reached 33.85 ± 0.24 °C, thus exceeding the upper limit of the permissible value. The heart rate and heat sensation parameters approached the upper values of the maximum permissible thermal state of a person. Contact tremorometry results indicated a decrease in the performance by the end of the work shift. The findings gave evidence of tension of thermoregulatory reactions and the risk of thermal balance disruption posed by the use of a specific type of personal protective equipment in the PCR laboratory. Conclusion: The research results provide strong support for the conclusion that the use of PPE for biohazards poses a risk of thermal balance disruption in medical laboratory personnel. The severity of stress of thermoregulatory reactions depends on technical and design characteristics of the PPE used. The necessity of a physiological and hygienic substantiation of acceptable duration of work of medical workers wearing various types of PPE for biohazards in PCR laboratories justifies the importance of further studies.
Based on three investigations (1976, 2000, 2016), conducted using the uniform procedures, we compared physical development characteristics of school-age children (aged of 7-17) in the city of Volgograd between 1976 and 2016. Between 1976 and 2000 we found the physical rate of growth in younger school children to stabilize. We also observed the gain in the body length in older age groups as well as higher weight and height growth rates. Between 2000 and 2016 we recorded a decrease in the body length and weight gain in most children and adolescents which was more male-specific. In general, between 1976 and 2016 there was a decrease in body length in both girls and boys of the primary school age, an increase in the body length in boys aged 12-17 and in girls of 13 years as well as a weight gain in children of the school age. The dynamics of physical development characteristics should be considered when developing preventive and health-promoting measures.
Introduction. The profession of “machine operator in metalworking”, one of the most common professions in various industries, characterized by a large volume of abrasive operations, accompanied by dust formation, which creates a potential for the occurrence of diseases of the visual organ.The aim of the study is to provide a hygienic assessment of working conditions and occupational risk of visual organ pathology in metalworking machine operators.Materials and methods. Observation groups — machine operators for metalworking of two training groups (experience up to 5 years, experience of 6–20 years). Two comparison groups (administrative and technical personnel of the enterprise) are formed according to the same age-experience principle.Results. The working conditions of machine operators were classified as class 3.2. taking into account the severity and intensity of the work process and the noise level (80 dBA) in the workplace. Nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, and manganese were registered in the air of the working area in concentrations below the permissible concentration (PC), and the aerosol dihydroxide was registered above the PC in 25.8% of cases. In the main working groups, diseases of the anterior segment of the eye were more often registered, among which dry eye syndrome (DYS) prevailed (94.1%), chronic blepharoconjunctivitis (79.9%), persistent corneal opacification (21.7%). There was an increase in the prevalence of detected diseases with an increase in work experience (p≤0.05). In machine operators, the frequency of inhibition of lacrimal formation and decreased stability of the tear film was recorded significantly more often, with increasing work experience, the degree of violation of lacrimal formation and stability of the tear film increased. The chances of detecting pathology of the anterior segment of the eye in machine operators are 5.9 and 3.5 times higher than in the comparison group. There are different forces of connection, increasing with the increase of work experience in the profession, between the working conditions of machine operators and the occurrence of SHG (relatively strong), with chronic blepharoconjunctivitis and persistent corneal opacity (medium strength), which suggests the professional conditionality of this pathology.Conclusions. The results obtained suggest that the pathology of the anterior segment of the eye is professionally conditioned in metalworking machine operators and necessitate the introduction of preventive measures aimed at protecting the visual organ.
The article presents the results of a cross-sectional study of the lifestyle of students of an agricultural university. A quantitative assessment (in points) of the components of the way of life is given. In total, 5 blocks were identified that are significant in the formation of students’ health: healthy nutrition, the value of daily physical activity, daily routine, adherence to the rules of personal hygiene and the absence of bad habits. The data obtained indicate that of the total number of factors that have a significant impact on the formation of a healthy lifestyle of students, are nutrition, physical activity, and daily routine. First-year students were found to have: violation of the frequency and regularity of meals, rare use of hot food at the university, deficit of motor activity, insufficient duration of night sleep, especially severe violations in the group of girls. The study made it possible to identify risk groups among students as a whole in terms of lifestyle, as well as in its individual components that require correction. It was found that the number of students leading a healthy lifestyle (option I) is higher among 5th year boys and 3th year girls. A lifestyle with a risk to health (option III) is more typical for 1st year girls. The performed correlation analysis showed the presence of connections between the factors «nutrition», «daily physical activity», «daily routine», as well as their individual components, more pronounced in the group of 3 and 5 year students. The obtained data are presented to the administration of the university for the joint development of a complex of preventive and health-improving measures, taking into account the priority behavioral risks characteristic of students of different age and sex groups.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.