[Alcohol intake, complex ability and responsibility towards others: experience on a cohort of personnel employed to public transport services].

Background: The excessive intake or the abuse of alcoholic substances represent an important hazard's source for the individual health and for the carrying out of any complex working activities, above all if characterized by elevated responsibility toward other people. In this context the recent Provision of 16 March 2006 of the Permanent Lecture for the Relationships among the State the Regions and the Autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano, has individualized bus driver among the activities or tasks of which is forbidden the assumption of alcoholic drinks at work and can performed alcoholic controls by the competent physician (art. 15 of the Law March 30 th 2001, n.

Menstrual cycle-related sialidase activity of the female cervical mucus is associated with exosome-like vesicles.

Objective: To study endogenous sialidase activity in genital tract secretions of pregnant and nonpregnant women.

Design: Laboratory study.

Setting: Department of Evolutionary Biology and Department of Obstetrics and Reproductive Medicine, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.

[Criteria for classification of upper limb work-related musculo-skeletal disorders due to biomechanical overload in occupational health. Consensus document by an Italian Working Group].

Background And Objective: In a preliminary consensus document the authors proposed criteria and methods to identify upper limb work-related MSDs due to biomechanical overload. With this document they intend to define severity according to shared models and procedures so as to fit behaviours to diagnostic procedures and their medical-legal assessment. This becomes especially important in view of Ministerial Decree of April 27 2004 fixing the new lists of diseases having a possible work-related origin that must be reported by law in accordance with art.

[Musculoskeletal conditions of the upper and lower limbs as an occupational disease: what kind and under what conditions. Consensus document of a national working-group. ISPESL].

Background And Objectives: In via of the progressive emergence in Italy of work-related musculoskeletal disorders, the EPM Research Unit decided to set up a national working group with the aim of producing a Consensus Document including methods and criteria as an initial attempt towards managing such diseases as true "listed" work-related diseases as is already done in the other European Union countries. The working group includes experts from INAIL, ISPESL, welfare assistance institutions, local prevention and health protection services: The group's research activity was included in ISPESL's funded research plan.

Contents: The Consensus Document includes a review of epidemiologic issues reported in the international literature, comments on the application of current legislation, observations on the guilt profiles of employers and occupational physicians, as well as medical-legal issues.