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Biomedical subjects

B Bach

Publications and source records attributed to B Bach.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Experiences in developing legislation protecting reproductive health.

The law regarding special maternity leave for pregnant women in hazardous work situations has been in effect since 1981 in Denmark. In Finland, legislation regarding the protection of the reproductive health of working men and women and of pregnant women has been in effect since 1991. According to the special maternity leave law, women who are exposed to certain chemical, physical, or biological agents that are considered to be harmful to the fetus may be entitled to special maternity leave and benefits. In Denmark and in Finland, approximately 1% and 0.1%, respectively, of pregnant women have used the special maternity leave due to a risky work situation. In Finland, the yearly costs of the leave have been US $200,000 to $250,000. Trained occupational physicians can facilitate changes at the workplace that will decrease the need for special maternity leave.

Denmark

Injuries to the acromioclavicular joint. Diagnosis and management.

Injuries to the acromioclavicular (AC) joint are common in athletes. Diagnosis can often be made clinically, but radiographs are needed to classify the severity of injury. Treatment is often conservative, consisting of immobilization or symptomatic modalities. Surgery is generally performed on patients with the more severe injuries. Controversy surrounds the treatment of type III injuries. The current trend is toward nonsurgical options, consisting of either symptomatic treatment or immobilization. If surgery is necessary, coracoclavicular (CC) fixation is currently the treatment of choice.

Acromioclavicular Joint

[A study of 11 ventilators for anesthesia: laboratory testing].

Eleven anaesthesia ventilators were instrumentally tested under various conditions. They included: Excel and Modulus II Plus (Ohmeda); 710 and Servo anaesthesia circle 985 (Siemens); Jollytronic (Soxil) and Elsa (Engström); SA2 and Cicero (Dräger); ABT 4,300 (Kontron); Monnal A and the prototype Alys (Taema). The test circuit comprised a two compartment model lung, a pneumotachograph, a pressure gauge in the "airway". The volume was calculated as the integral of flow rate. Each machine was calibrated by the firms' technicians. Before each test, the pneumotachograph was calibrated using a 11 air syringe and the pressure gauge with a 5 cm water column. Each machine ventilated the model lung for 30 min before starting the tests. There were five tests: 1) reliability of the machine's spirometer, 2) reliability of the ventilation rate, 3) reliability of pressure measurements, 4) effect of increasing fresh gas flow on spirometry, 5) effect of increasing downstream resistances. In usual simulated ventilatory conditions, all the machines accurately delivered the setted ventilation and spirometric measurements were with minimal error only. Several ventilators (SA2, Excel, 710, Elsa, ABT 4,300) did not succeed in maintaining their performances when compliance was strongly decreased or resistance of the test lung notably increased. Resistance in the circuit during simulated spontaneous ventilation was < 3.6 cmH2O.l-1.s-1. Increasing fresh gas flow raised the minute volume delivered in six ventilators. It is concluded that, during extreme ventilatory conditions, the inspired volume must be adjusted so as to maintain the inspired tidal volume. However, ventilators which increase inspiratory time in response to an increased mechanical load cannot be adjusted by this way.

Anesthesia, Closed-Circuit

[Accumulation of respiratory diseases among employees at a recently established refuse sorting plant].

An increasing number of plants for re-use of refuse have been constructed in Denmark in recent years. The Kaastrup Plant near Skive was opened in spring 1986. The plant accepts household rubbish and industrial refuse separately. The refuse is sorted by machine (industrial refuse is sorted partially manually) and in a large partially open machine plant, refuse is converted into fuel pellets. During a period of eight months, eight out of 15 employees developed respiratory symptoms. In seven, bronchial asthma was diagnosed and chronic bronchitis in one person. Four had initial symptoms of the organic dust toxic syndrome. After further six months, another case of occupationally-conditioned asthma occurred in the plant. Only two out of nine had previously had asthma or atopic disease. The investigation did not reveal any evidence of type-I allergy. Six out of nine had specific precipitating antibodies to refuse while all had negative RAST tests to this. In spring 1989, from six to eighteen months after the onset of the symptoms, six had still dyspnoea on exertion and three had positive histamine-provocation tests and seven out of nine had left the plant. Occupational medical measurements revealed dust concentrations of 8.1 mg/cubic millimeter in September 1986 and total germs of up to 3 x 10(9) cfu/cubic meter. Construction of the plant involved considerable contact with the refuse on account of the cleansing processes and open systems and it was reconstructed in the course of 1987/1988 so that the hygienic conditions are now acceptable.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult

Survival of Saccharomyces cerevisiae after treatment with the restriction endonuclease Alu I.

Treatment of yeast cells proficient in the repair of radiation damage (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) with the restriction endonuclease Alu I leads to a positive dose-effect relationship between inactivation level and enzyme concentration. The data suggest an uptake of the active restriction enzyme into the cells and a relationship between induction of DNA double-strand breaks and cell killing.

Chromosome Aberrations

Tear fluid electrolytes and albumin in persons under environmental stress.

Sixty-two subjects selected among 287 persons with indoor air complaints were exposed to a standard mixture of 22 different organic gases and vapors normally found in Danish houses. Persons were randomly assigned to one of four exposure groups, and each subject stayed during the test day from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM under standardized conditions in a climate chamber. During exposure the blink frequency was recorded, and after exposure the tear fluid contents of serum albumin, potassium, and sodium were measured. It was found that the persons had an increased concentration of serum albumin in the tear fluid, and that exposure to high concentrations of organic gases and vapors induced a tear reflex-mediated dilution of the tears.

Adult

Exogenous glutathione induces sister chromatid exchanges, clastogenicity and endoreduplication in V79-E Chinese hamster cells.

Glutathione (GSH) dissolved in Eagle's MEM and added to cultures of V79-E cells in concentrations between 2.5 X 10(-4) and 10(-3) moles/l for 1 h induces a dose-dependent cell cycle delay, sister chromatid exchanges and clastogenic damage. 7-8% of the metaphases showed endoreduplication at a recovery phase of 25 and 30 h after treatment with 10(-3) moles/l GSH. Higher concentrations were lethal. The highest tolerated dose corresponds to the intracellular GSH level in V79-E cells. In the same range of concentrations, glutathione disulfide was inactive. Endoreduplication induction by GSH is G2-phase specific and endoreduplication metaphases show a reduced occurrence of single SCEs when extrapolated to the diploid complement. The adverse effects of GSH are independent of the presence of serum in the culture fluid but completely abolished when the treatment is performed in Hank's solution instead of MEM. The mechanism of genotoxicity of exogenous GSH is discussed but, at present, no pertinent explanation can be given.

Animals

Detection of a deuterium isotope effect in di- and trisubstituted alkylphenylnitrosoureas. An SCE study in Chinese hamster V79-E cells.

The genotoxicity of 1-methyl-3-phenyl-1-nitrosourea (MPNU), 1-methyl-3-(p-chlorophenyl)-1-nitrosourea (C1-MPNU), 1-ethyl-3-phenyl-1-nitrosourea (EPNU), 1,3-dimethyl-3-phenyl-1-nitrosourea (DMPNU) and their derivatives substituted by deuterium in different positions was studied using sister chromatid exchange (SCE) induction in Chinese hamster V79-E cells. Deuterium substitution in the 1-methyl group of MPNU (MPNU-d3) and C1-MPNU (C1-MPNU-d3) diminished the SCE-inducing capacity by 20-30% and by 30-40% in DMPNU (DMPNU-d3B). There was no altered SCE activity detected when the phenyl group of MPNU (MPNU-d5) or the 3-methyl group of DMPNU (DMPNU-d3A) was deuterium labeled. No isotope effect was detected in deuterated EPNU derivatives, presumably due to the instability of these compounds. It is surmised that the easier delocalization of the positive charge in the deuterated alkyl diazonium ion causes a diminished reactivity and therefore influences the type and amount of DNA alkylation. Furthermore, the experiments with DMPNU and its derivatives revealed that, in contrast to mono- and disubstituted nitrosoureas, the biological activities of these very stable trisubstituted nitrosoureas are strongly influenced by a serum factor in the culture fluid.

Animals

Serum antibodies and immunoglobulins in smokers and nonsmokers.

Antibodies to antigens in humidifier water were detected by double immunodiffusion in 30 of 63 (47.6%) persons who were exposed to aerosols from a water humidification unit in a cigar plant, whereas no antibodies could be detected in 49 unexposed blood donors (P less than 0.001). The presence of antibodies could not be related to fever or pulmonary symptoms (cough, expectoration, dyspnoe). Antibodies were found in 14 (93.3%) of 15 nonsmokers and in only 13 (31.7%) of 41 smokers (P less than 0.001), and the titres were highest in nonsmokers. Serum IgG and IgA levels were higher in nonsmokers than in smokers, and the variances within the groups were significantly different (F less than 0.05 and F less than 0.05, respectively). The mean serum IgM values were not significantly different in the two groups. Antibodies to Candida albicans and Escherichia coli 04 and 075 were detected with equal prevalences and titres in smokers and nonsmokers. These findings suggest that tobacco smoking may suppress the humoral immune response to inhaled antigens but not to antigens which are supposed to be absorbed through membranes other than those of the bronchopulmonary system. They may partly explain the reported increased incidence of allergic alveolitis in nonsmokers.

Adolescent