EMG-activity and muscular performance of lower leg during stretch-shortening cycle after cooling.

To test the effect of cooling on EMG-activity of muscles working as an agonist and antagonist in the lower leg, 12 men dressed in shorts and jogging shoes performed a drop-jump exercise after 60 min exposures to 27 degrees C and 10 degrees C. Cooling decreased mean skin temperature 5.6 +/- 0.

Assessment of Health Risks in Canteen Kitchens.

The ergonomic, occupational hygiene, and safety factors in canteen kitchen work were examined using worksite surveys and a questionnaire. Pain in the shoulders was found to be associated with the raised position of the upper limbs caused by excessively high working surfaces. Temperature, ventilation, and especially drafts caused the greatest disturbance at the workplace.

Effects of leg covering in humans on muscle activity and thermal responses in a cool environment.

Thermal responses and muscle performance in humans were studied during rest and exercise in a cool environment with different clothing distributions over the legs. Nine female subjects were exposed to 5 degrees C wearing shorts (SS), trousers with long legs (LL) or trousers with one long leg and one short leg (LS: LSc covered leg, LSu uncovered leg). The subjects also wore T-shirts and long-sleeved shirts.

Cardiorespiratory strain of a five day jogging relay.

The heart rates of 14 voluntary subjects (seven male and seven females) participating in a 5 d jogging relay were recorded. The jogging speed was controlled at 3.0 m.

Assessment of exposure to inorganic arsenic by determining the arsenic species excreted in urine.

Urinary concentrations of inorganic arsenic metabolites (AsIII, AsV, monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA)) and occupational exposure to arsenic were measured in 24 copper smelter and arsenic trioxide refinery workers during a study period consisting of 2 pairs of work days and the 6 (partly 4) days off between them. The correlations between the time-weighted average (TWA) concentrations of arsenic in air (0.8-45 micrograms/m3) and the concentrations of arsenic species in urine 0, 0-8, 8-16 and 16-20 h after the exposure were calculated.

Detection of airborne natural rubber latex by immunoelectrophoresis, RAST inhibition, and immunospot method.

Occupational dermal and respiratory allergies caused by natural rubber latex (NRL) have been encountered with increasing frequency in health care workers. In order to measure the amount of airborne NRL, area and personal air sampling was performed in three hospital laboratories where workers used latex gloves. The total dust levels in laboratory air samples were lower than 0.

Cutaneous heat loss in children during anaesthesia.

We have measured non-evaporative, cutaneous heat loss using heat flux transducers at eight skin sites in five children during anaesthesia and compared the data with basal metabolic heat production. The effect of disposable surgical covering and a radiant heater on heat flux was examined. The mean total heat flow rate before draping was 3-9 W higher than the basal metabolic rate after induction of anaesthesia with a simultaneous decrease in rectal temperature.

Hand-arm vibration and terrain vehicles.

Hand-arm vibration was measured on the handlebars of terrain vehicles (N = 36) and a postal inquiry was made among N = 2705 reindeer herders (snowmobile drivers). Since many subjects had also used other vibrating tools the snowmobile group proper (N = 334) was established. In the whole group 19% of the subjects reported having experienced white finger attacks and 48% numbness of the hands.

Prevention of the adverse health effects of cold by using infrared heaters.

The aim of the work has been to develop a planning guide for local infrared heating systems and to compare the results to the heaters in the work place. The planning process for radiators is started by defining the goal ambient temperature and then the electric power needed for the radiators. The planning result should always be compared to the recommendations for infrared radiation.

Water balance and physical performance in cold.

Although a lot of attention is focused on problems of energy balance and nutrition in cold environment, water balance has received less attention. In a cold environment the water balance might be disturbed because the need of water could be increased, the use of water could be decreased and the redistribution of blood could change water volume in circulation. In dehydrated subjects, exercising at -15 degrees C at submaximal work level, both oxygen uptake and heart rate were significantly higher during water deprivation while the anaerobic threshold was lower.

Dynamic work in cold.

The capability of the human organism to work or exercise comprises of several components of physical performance capacity: endurance, power, force production, velocity, flexibility and co-ordination. Working in cold environments where it is possible that the temperature of the body, either superficial or core, decrease, the above mentioned components may be altered. In general, cooling decreases the ability of these components to function.

High serum alpha-tocopherol, albumin, selenium and cholesterol, and low mortality from coronary heart disease in northern Finland.

Objectives: The mortality from coronary heart disease (CHD) is exceptionally low in northernmost Finland, the Sámi (formerly known as Lapp) area. To clarify the reasons for this, the levels of serum cholesterol, other classic risk factors, and major antioxidants, alpha-tocopherol, retinol, albumin and selenium were determined in males living in the low-mortality area and in a reference area.

Design: A health survey amongst reindeer herdsmen living in the three northernmost communes of Finland (the Sámi area) and in the six neighbouring communities to the south (the reference area).

Cold-induced responses in the upper respiratory tract.

Recent investigations have shown that the prevalence of bronchial asthma is higher among skiers exposed to cold and dry air than among nonskiers. The upper airway passages are responsible for warming and humidifying the inhaled air. During exercise in cold and dry air, warming and humidifying of the inhaled air continues in the bronchial tree.

Cooling-induced changes in muscular performance and EMG activity of agonist and antagonist muscles.

The effect of whole body cooling on the muscular performance and electromyographic (EMG) activity of agonist and antagonist muscles during dynamic exercise was studied. Eleven slightly clothed male subjects were exposed to ambient temperatures of 27 degrees C and 10 degrees C for 60 min. After the exposures the subjects performed an overhead ball throwing test.

Sauna builder's asthma caused by obeche (Triplochiton scleroxylon) dust.

Two carpenters developed rhinitis, conjunctivitis, bronchial wheezing, and dyspnoea while using obeche (Triplochiton scleroxylon, African maple) at their work while they built saunas. Skin prick tests showed an immediate reaction, specific IgE to obeche was detected in their serum, and bronchial provocation test with obeche gave an immediate reaction with decrease of FEV1 and PEF values. The symptoms disappeared after avoiding the use of obeche.

Assessment of cold stress in outdoor work.

The evaluation of cold stress in working life was done in 13, mainly outdoor, occupations and 143 workers using local temperatures, body cooling and thermal sensations. The subjects in the study were young, healthy men and they wore the type of winter clothing generally used in those ambient temperatures (+6..

Developing the snowmobile helmet.

With the annually increasing use of snowmobiles in the Nordic countries the amount of accidents is also increasing. The head is the location of some of the most serious injuries with head injuries comprising 12% of all injuries. At the time being there is no special standard for the snowmobile helmet and there are mainly two kinds of helmet models on the market: full face and open face helmets.

Service of snowmobiles in the wilderness and villages.

The maintenance of terrain vehicles like snowmobiles has been developed for arctic wilderness use by paying attention to occupational health, safety and quality and efficiency of work. A small tent carried on a snowmobile sledge supplied with heating and lighting equipment was planned, built and tested. It was sized based on an ergonomic survey for the servicing of snowmobiles.

Noise and hearing loss in reindeer herders.

Air conduction hearing thresholds were examined in 512 reindeer herders (aged 18-65 years, clinically normal ears) to evaluate the prevalence of noise-induced hearing loss. The hearing thresholds at 6 kHz showed significant noise-type impairment of hearing compared with those in the ISO 7029 standard or a Finnish reference population. The subjects were exposed to noise mainly in the use of snowmobiles and chain saws: daily noise exposure ranged from 93 to 104 dB(A).

Whole body vibration and the snowmobile.

The whole body vibration from the seat and foot board was measured during ten years from 11 different snowmobiles to evaluate the exposure and the need for technical improvements. In a questionnaire more than half of the drivers had back pains but only a few of them considered the whole body vibration as a health hazard. However in the literature there is often comments on spinal injuries related to shock vibration.

Hand-arm vibration in snowmobile drivers.

Hand-arm vibration was measured on the handlebars of snowmobiles (N = 29) and a postal inquiry was made among reindeer herders, N = 2,705. Since many subjects had used also other vibrating tools a snowmobile group proper (N = 334) was established, and in this group 18% of the subjects reported that they had experienced white finger attacks and 48% numbness of the hands. The age-adjusted prevalence of the white finger syndrome was more than three times higher in the snowmobile group than in the controls.

Physical characteristics and decrement in muscular performance after whole body cooling.

The dependence of cooling-induced decrement in muscular performance on several physical characteristics was studied. The characteristics were: the amount of subcutaneous fat, body weight, height and surface area, maximal aerobic capacity and maximal voluntary isometric contraction of the trunk flexors. Ten male subjects wearing shorts and jogging shoes were exposed to 27 degrees C and 10 degrees C for 60 min.

Two bacteria causing farmer's lung: fine structure of Thermoactinomyces vulgaris and Saccharopolyspora rectivirgula.

The fine structure of Thermoactinomyces vulgaris and Saccharopolyspora rectivirgula is described by transmission electron microscopy. These two bacteria are the most common microbes causing farmer's lung. The fine structure of hyphae, germination of endospores and the details of conidial wall layers of T.

Gross efficiency of muscular work during step exercise at -15 degrees C and 21 degrees C.

In an effort to assess the effect of ambient temperature on the gross efficiency (Effg) of step exercise 12 subjects performed a modified step test either at -15 degrees C or 21 degrees C ascending to three different heights (corresponding to light, moderate and heavy work), for 20 min each with a frequency of 18 steps min-1. Heart rate (HR), rectal temperature, skin temperatures and heat flux from skin were continuously measured. Oxygen consumption was measured during the last 5 min of each step height and perceptions of thermal sensation were recorded.

Responses to whole body and finger cooling before and after an Antarctic expedition.

Eight subjects, who were indoor workers and not habitually exposed to cold, spent 53 days in Antarctica. They did mainly geological field work often requiring the use of bare hands. The effects of the expedition on responses to a whole body cold exposure test, a finger blood flow test and a cold pressor test were studied.