[Operative guidelines for the shoe industry: health surveillance].

Medical surveillance of workers exposed to occupational risk factors means secondary prevention and entails medical activities which are related to the assessed risk. In particular, the chief risk factors evaluated in the footwear industry frequently imply medical surveillance of exposed workers. These risk factors include organic solvents and chemicals, leather dust, noise, repetitive movements and upper limb overload, vibrations, manual lifting action and video display terminal operation.

["Wachstum" oder "Revolution"? Ernst Cassirer und die Wissenschaftsgeschichte].

"Growth" or "Revolution"? Ernst Cassirer and History of Science. Ernst Cassirer's contributions to history of science have been long time neglected. The aim of this paper is to show the historical and philosophical framework of Cassirer's engagement in this field, starting from his seminal work about the problem of knowledge in science and philosophy of the modern age.

Perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid in surgical thyroid specimens of patients with thyroid diseases.

Background: Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) are ubiquitous compounds that may act as endocrine disruptors, neurotoxic agents, and fetal development perturbing substances and may also be carcinogenic, as recently demonstrated in experimental animal models. There is little information on the potential for these compounds to affect the thyroid. Therefore, this study was performed to measure the intrathyroidal levels of PFOA and PFOS in surgical specimens of thyroid glands and to determine if there was a relationship between the concentrations of these substances and the clinical, biochemical, and histologic phenotype of the patients from whom the thyroids were obtained.

Evaluation of urinary biomarkers of exposure to benzene: correlation with blood benzene and influence of confounding factors.

Purpose: trans,trans-Muconic acid (t,t-MA) is generally considered as a useful biomarker of exposure to benzene. However, because of its lack of specificity, concerns about its value at low level of exposure have recently been raised. The aim of this study was (a) to compare t,t-MA, S-phenylmercapturic acid (SPMA) and benzene (B-U) as urinary biomarkers of exposure to low levels of benzene in petrochemical workers and, (b) to evaluate the influence of sorbic acid (SA) and genetic polymorphisms of biotransformation enzymes on the excretion of these biomarkers.

Determination of perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctanesulfonate in human tissues by liquid chromatography/single quadrupole mass spectrometry.

A method is described that permits the measurement of the levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in human liver, kidney, adipose tissue, brain, basal ganglia, hypophysis, thyroid, gonads, pancreas, lung, skeletal muscle and blood, even in subjects not occupationally exposed to these compounds. The purification of samples involved the use of trifunctional (tC18) and strong anion-exchange (SAX) solid-phase extraction cartridges, and the analysis utilized a high-performance liquid chromatograph coupled to a single quadrupole mass spectrometer (LC/MS). The analyses were conducted on a mixed-bed reversed-phase column by gradient runs using 3 mM ammonium acetate/methanol mixtures at different proportions as the mobile phase.

Irritant vocal cord dysfunction at first misdiagnosed as reactive airway dysfunction syndrome.

Objectives: This report describes a case of vocal cord dysfunction at first misdiagnosed as reactive airway dysfunction syndrome (RADS).

Methods: A woman developed recurrent episodes of cough, dyspnea, and wheezing unresponsive to asthma therapy after irritant exposure to glutaraldehyde. Direct laryngoscopy was performed immediately after the induction of symptoms.

Determination of urinary S-phenylmercapturic acid, a specific metabolite of benzene, by liquid chromatography/single quadrupole mass spectrometry.

A high-performance liquid chromatography/single quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC/MS) method is described for the determination of urinary S-phenylmercapturic acid (S-PMA), a specific metabolite of benzene. Urine samples were spiked with [13C6]S-PMA (used as the internal standard) and acidified; then they were purified by solid-phase extraction (SPE) on C18 cartridges. Analyses were conducted on a reversed-phase column by gradient runs with 1% aqueous acetic acid/methanol mixtures at different proportions as the mobile phase.

Occupational asthma (OA) with sensitization to diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) presenting at the onset like a reactive airways dysfunction syndrome (RADS).

Background: Two types of OA are distinguished: immunological (OA with sensitization) and non-immunological, i.e., irritant induced asthma or reactive airways dysfunction syndrome (RADS).