CDC is investigating reports of potential occupational exposure to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and Mycobacterium tuberculosis among workers performing preparation and dissection procedures on human nontransplant anatomical materials at a nontransplant anatomical donation center in Arizona. CDC is working with Arizona public health officials to inform persons exposed to these potentially infected materials. Nontransplant anatomical centers around the United States process thousands of donated cadavers annually.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDisasters often set the stage for scientific inquiry within the field of occupational safety and health. This is especially true when the long-term consequences of exposures associated with a particular disaster are unclear. However, a responder research study can be costly and difficult to design, and researchers must consider whether the proposed study will produce useful, reliable results and is a prudent public health investment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe disaster environment frequently presents rapidly evolving and unpredictable hazardous exposures to emergency responders. Improved estimates of exposure and effect from biomonitoring can be used to assess exposure-response relationships, potential health consequences, and effectiveness of control measures. Disaster settings, however, pose significant challenges for biomonitoring.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: This study quantified casino dealers' occupational exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS).
Methods: We measured casino dealers' exposure to ETS components by analyzing full-shift air and preshift and postshift urine samples.
Results: Casino dealers were exposed to nicotine, 4-vinyl pyridine, benzene, toluene, naphthalene, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, solanesol, and respirable suspended particulates.
To further evaluate the safety of dihydrocapsiate (4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzyl 8-methylnonanoate, CAS No. 205687-03-2), a 26-week gavage toxicity study was conducted in Sprague-Dawley rats (20/sex/group). Test animals received either dihydrocapsiate, 100, 300, or 1000 mg/kg/day, or vehicle (medium-chain triglyceride) by gavage and were observed for antemortem and postmortem signs of toxicity including changes in clinical signs, body weights, food consumption, water intake, ophthalmology, clinical pathology (clinical chemistry, hematology, urinalysis), tissue findings (macroscopic and microscopic examination), as well as organ weights.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study evaluated potential effects of a number of capsinoids (ie, capsiate, dihydrocapsiate, nordihydrocapsiate) and a single capsaicinoid (ie, capsaicin) on liver microsomal cytochrome P450 3A4-mediated midazolam 1'-hydroxylase activity. Where possible, an inhibition curve was prepared; the concentration at which enzyme activity dropped to 50% was calculated. Capsaicin clearly inhibited cytochrome P450 3A4 activity, losing 50% of the activity at 21.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPharmacokinetics of the main capsinoid components of CH-19 Sweet extract (capsiate, dihydrocapsiate, and nordihydrocapsiate) were investigated in rats receiving a single gavage dose of extract containing 10 or 100 mg of capsinoids per kilogram in medium-chain triglyceride. Resultant blood levels of these capsinoids and a capsinoid metabolite, vanillyl alcohol, were measured in portal vein and systemic blood. Capsinoids were never detected.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPharmacokinetics of a single gavage dose of (14)C-labeled dihydrocapsiate (10 mg/kg) were investigated in male rats. Maximal plasma concentration was achieved in 40 minutes and exhibited an apparent half-life of 2.4 hours.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe safety and pharmacokinetics of capsinoids, physiologically active ingredients of CH-19 Sweet extract, were investigated in 16 healthy male volunteers following a single oral ingestion of CH-19 Sweet extract. The study subjects consumed soft gel capsules containing either capsinoids (15 or 30 mg/person) or placebo. Capsinoids were well tolerated, and no clinically significant changes in physical examinations, blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, electrocardiogram, hematology, blood chemistry, and urinalysis were observed at either the 15 or 30 mg dose.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn order to determine the safety of dihydrocapsiate (4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzyl 8-methylnonanoate; CAS no. 205687-03-2), teratology studies were conducted in pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats (18 to 20 animals per group) and pregnant New Zealand white rabbits (20 to 21 animals per group). The test substance was administered by gavage for 11 days, from days 7 to 17 of gestation in rats, and for 13 days from days 6 to 18 of gestation in rabbits, at dose levels of 0 (vehicle), 100, 300, or 1000 mg/kg/day.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDihydrocapsiate, (4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzyl 8-methylnona- noate; CAS No. 205687-03-2) is a naturally occurring capsinoid compound found in nonpungent chili peppers. Although the safety of synthetically produced dihydrocapsiate has been previously evaluated, the purpose of this 13-week gavage toxicity study is to evaluate dihydrocapsiate produced with a slightly modified manufacturing process.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo evaluate the safety of dihydrocapsiate (4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzyl 8-methylnonanoate; CAS No. 205687-03-2), a 13-week gavage toxicity study was conducted in Sprague-Dawley rats (10/sex/group). Test subjects received either dihydrocapsiate, 100, 300, or 1000 mg/kg/day, or vehicle by gavage and were observed for antemortem and postmortem signs of toxicity, which included changes in clinical signs, body weights, food consumption, water intake, ophthalmology, clinical pathology (clinical chemistry, hematology, urinalysis), tissue findings (macroscopic and microscopic examination), as well as organ weights.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA single-dose oral toxicity study was conducted to examine the qualitative and quantitative toxicity of a commercial-grade batch of dihydrocapsiate (4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzyl 8-methylnonanoate; CAS No. 205687-03-2). Dihydrocapsiate was administered once by gavage to ICR mice at dose levels of 0 (vehicle) or 5000 mg/kg/day.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA series of studies was performed to evaluate the safety of dihydrocapsiate (4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzyl 8-methylnonanoate; CAS no. 205687-03-2). This study evaluated the potential genotoxicity of this compound using a variety of in vitro and in vivo test systems, including bacterial reverse mutation test, chromosomal aberration test, micronucleus test, gene mutation assay with transgenic rats, and single-cell gel (SCG) assay (Comet assay).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn order to evaluate the safety of CH-19 Sweet extract that contains capsinoids, teratology studies were conducted in pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats (20 rats per group) and pregnant New Zealand white rabbits (17 to 22 animals per group). The test substance was administered to rats by gavage for 11 days on gestation days 7 to 17 at doses of 0 (vehicle), 1.25, 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCH-19 Sweet extract, containing 66.5 to 75.05 mg/ml capsinoids, was administered once daily by gavage, to two generations of male and female Sprague-Dawley rats, at dose levels of 0 (vehicle), 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 26-week oral toxicity study of capsinoids-containing CH-19 Sweet extract was conducted in Sprague-Dawley rats (20 males and 20 females per group) at 6 weeks of age. The test substance was administered by gavage for 26 weeks at dose levels of 0 (vehicle), 1.25, 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA single-dose oral toxicity lethal-dose study was conducted to examine the toxicity of capsinoids contained in CH-19 Sweet extract. CH-19 Sweet extract was administered once by gavage to SPF (Crl:CD(SD)) Sprague-Dawley male and female rats at dose levels of 0 (vehicle), 5, 10, or 20 ml/kg of body weight (BW). The concentration of capsinoids in the CH-19 Sweet extract was 71.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: We examined symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) personnel who provided law enforcement and relief services to affected communities following Hurricane Katrina.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of mental health outcomes related to personal and work-related exposures of police personnel 8 weeks after the Hurricane.
Results: Of the 912 police personnel who completed the questionnaire, 227 (26%) reported symptoms consistent with depression and 170 (19%) reported symptoms consistent with PTSD.
Background: Concerns over increased reports of physical health symptoms thought to be related to floodwater exposure among New Orleans firefighters prompted a health hazard evaluation of firefighters following Hurricane Katrina.
Methods: A questionnaire assessing health symptoms possibly related to the response to Hurricane Katrina was administered to all New Orleans Fire Department (NOFD) personnel within 3 months of the disaster. Descriptive statistics were compiled and prevalence ratios (PR) were estimated for covariates using generalized linear models with Log link and Poisson distribution.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health conducted an evaluation regarding physical and psychological health symptoms among New Orleans firefighters 13 weeks after Hurricane Katrina struck the U.S. Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Adult film production is a legal, multibillion dollar industry in California. In response to reports of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission by an adult film worker, we sought to determine the extent of HIV infection among exposed workers and to identify means of improving worker safety.
Methods: The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services initiated an outbreak investigation that included interviews of infected workers to elicit information about recent sex partners, review of the testing agency's medical records and laboratory results, molecular analysis of HIV isolates from the 4 infected workers, and a risk assessment of HIV transmission in the adult film industry.
The objective of this study was to assess the mutagenic potential of a synthesized tripeptide, L-valyl-L-prolyl-L-proline (VPP), to induce mutational changes in Salmonella typhimurium LT2 strains TA1535, TA1537, TA98, and TA100, and Escherichia coli strain WP2uvrA in the classical Ames test protocol. Bacteria were exposed to plate concentrations of VPP of 0, 156.2, 312.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe objective of this chromosomal aberration test was to assess the mutagenic potential of tripeptides by determining their ability to induce chromosomal aberrations in cultured Chinese hamster lung (CHL) cells. The test agents used in these experiments were (1) powdered casein hydrolysate (CH) and (2) powdered Lactobacillus helveticus-fermented milk (FM). Both test agents contain two tripeptides, L-valyl-L-prolyl-L-proline (VPP) and L-isoleucyl-L-prolyl-L-proline (IPP).
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