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Biomedical subjects

M Corn

Publications and source records attributed to M Corn.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Lymphedema management training for physical therapy students in the United States.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to determine to what extent accredited physical therapy programs in the United States were presenting the principles of lymphedema management and whether regional differences existed. METHODS: States were grouped into four geographic regions: Northeast, South, Midwest, and West. From mid-June to mid-July, 1997, 63 of 148 (42.6%) accredited physical therapy (PT) programs in the United States completed and returned the questionnaires. Participants received a cover letter, consent form, and lymphedema survey by e-mail, facsimile, or regular post. The lymphedema survey covered a wide variety of issues relating to five areas: 1) general and 2) specific anatomy and physiology of the lymphatic system, 3) pathogenesis of lymphedema, 4) traditional (compression pumps/garments), and 5) innovative (European/Australian) treatment techniques for lymphedema. "Yes" responses indicated that specific information was included in the curriculum. Frequency of yes responses for each of the five areas were counted and converted into percentages. Regional responses were compared with the total combined responses with a modified binomial technique. RESULTS: PT programs in the United States were providing 89% of our designated content in the general anatomy and physiology of the lymphatic system, 73% in the pathogenesis of lymphedema, 65% in traditional treatment techniques, 48% in innovative treatment techniques, and 42% in the specific anatomy and physiology of the lymphatic system. No individual region differed significantly (P > 0.05) from the combined results. CONCLUSIONS: The participating PT programs appeared to be providing instruction in general anatomy and physiology of the lymphatic system, pathogenesis of lymphedema, and traditional treatment techniques. However, far less instruction on the specific anatomy and physiology of the lymphatic system and innovative treatment techniques is offered. We believe that PT students would benefit with more curricular content in these latter two categories in order to acquire the knowledge and skills to combat the devastating effects of lymphedema.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1998

Managing information technology in academic medical centers: a "multicultural" experience.

Based on a session at the 1997 conference on Information Resources and Academic Medicine sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges, this article illustrates how the beliefs and concerns of academic medicine's diverse professional cultures affect the management of information technology. Two scenarios--one dealing with the standardization of desktop PCs, the other with publication of syllabi on an institutional intranet--form the basis of this exercise. Four prototypical members of a hypothetical medical center community--the chairman of surgery, a senior basic scientist, the chief information officer of an affiliated hospital, and the chief administrative officer--offer their perspectives on each scenario. Their statements illustrate many of the challenges of planning, deploying, and maintaining effective information technology in the "multicultural" environment of academic medical centers.

Academic Medical Centers↗
PubMed1996

Ethylene glycol ethers and risks of spontaneous abortion and subfertility.

Potential reproductive effects from occupational exposures to ethylene glycol ethers (EGE) are of concern since these organic solvents have been used widely in industry, and their reproductive toxicity has been well documented in animal studies. For determination of whether occupational exposure to EGE was associated with increased risks of spontaneous abortion and subfertility (i.e., taking more than 1 year of unprotected intercourse to conceive), a retrospective cohort study was conducted among workers at two semiconductor manufacturing plants in the eastern United States in 1980-1989 as part of a larger evaluation of reproductive health. Reproductive and occupational histories were obtained from interviews of semiconductor manufacturing workers and spouses. Assessment of potential exposure to mixtures containing EGE (none, low, medium, and high) was based on reported processes and company records. There were 1,150 pregnancies to semiconductor manufacturers, 561 to female employees and 589 to wives of male employees. Among female manufacturers, potential exposure to mixtures containing EGE was associated with increased risks of spontaneous abortion (relative risk in the high exposure group = 2.8; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.4-5.6) and subfertility (odds ratio in the high exposure group = 4.6; 95% CI 1.6-13.3). Both of these risks exhibited a dose-response relation with potential EGE exposure (p for trend = 0.02). Among spouses of male manufacturers potentially exposed to mixtures containing EGE, there was no increased risk of spontaneous abortion, but there was a nonsignificant increased risk of subfertility (odds ratio in the high exposure group = 1.7; 95% CI 0.7-4.3).

Abortion, Spontaneous↗
PubMed1996

Asbestos exposure of building maintenance personnel.

The exposures of building maintenance personnel and occupants to airborne asbestos fibers, and the effects of operations and maintenance programs on those exposures, continue to be an important public health issue. The subject of this investigation was a large metropolitan county with numerous public buildings which routinely conducted air sampling for asbestos. A total of 302 personal air samples in nine task categories collected during maintenance worker activities in proximity to asbestos-containing materials were analyzed; 102 environmental air samples in four task categories were also analyzed. The arithmetic means of the 8-hr time weighted average exposures for personal sampling for each task category were all below the Occupational Safety and Health Administration permissible exposure level of 0.1 fibers (f)/cc > 5 microm. The highest mean 8-hr time weighted average exposure was 0.030 f/cc > 5 microm for ceiling tile replacement. The maximum asbestos concentration during sample collection for environmental samples was 0.027 f/cc > 5 microm. All asbestos-related maintenance work was done within the framework of an Operations and Maintenance Program (OMP) which utilized both personal protective equipment and controls against fiber release/dispersion. Results are presented in association with specific OMP procedures or controls. These results support the effectiveness of using Operations and Maintenance Programs to manage asbestos in buildings without incurring unacceptable risk to maintenance workers performing maintenance tasks.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed1995

Hazard prevention and control in the work environment. Report of a WHO meeting.

On the 19-21 September 1994 an international meeting of experts was convened at the World Health Organization office in Geneva. The result of this meeting was the formation of the PACE working group. PACE stands for 'Prevention And Control Exchange'. It is a programme designed to stimulate the sharing of solutions and control measures in order to reduce occupational hazards. Internationally there is wide agreement on the need for sharing of knowledge and a realisation that a collaborate effort is required.

Hazardous Substances↗
PubMed1995

Changing approaches to assessment of environmental inhalation risk: a case study.

Approaches to assessing environmental inhalation risk from asbestos have undergone profound change. In addition to social and political changes, a number of factors have come into play: 1. new technologies 2. new measuring instruments 3. new biological data 4. increased utilization of asbestos 5. regulatory imperatives 6. a redefinition of health risks associated with asbestos. This has occurred over a period of little more than 60 years. Early air-sampling instruments were developed to measure particles and fibers in air. Because asbestosis was a fibrotic disease, all measurements quantitated fibrotic disease risk in the environment by focusing on fibers and particles. Subsequently, the understanding that asbestos forms only fibers in air refocused measurement on fibers, not fibers and particles. As research clarified which fibers reached the lungs, new ways to sample and evaluate air were required. At the same time, changes in understanding of the disease process created the need for a better way to measure risk. In the 1960s, acceptance of the knowledge that asbestos causes both cancer (based on the no threshold assumption for carcinogens) and fibrosis raised the question of which fiber sizes should be measured and what the standard should be. The scientific assumption, prevailing both in 1985-86 and today, of a linear nonthreshold dose-response curve for carcinogens was applied to estimates of risk for asbestos exposure in the workplace, which led OSHA to lower the U.S. standard. In summary, we have attempted to illustrate the close link between state-of-the-art scientific and technical knowledge and policy decisions to control a toxic substance in industrial society. In the best of all possible worlds the science should permit valid estimates of risk and construct measurement techniques that lead to the desired control. If awareness comes early, then the process of policy making should be an iterative one, with incrementally more restrictive control as knowledge of the toxicant improves. The imperative for control of asbestos, as with many other toxic materials, was regulation, not science. That, however, is another story. Regulation of the workplace environment activated use of the science that permits valid estimates of risk and the techniques for measurement and control. The evolving science became part of the debates on control and constantly refocused them. Setting acceptable workplace exposure levels to control inhalation risk from asbestos did not occur on a wide scale until after 1970.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
PubMed1995

[Prevention of risk and its control in the work environment. Report from the World Health Organization, 19 October 1994].

On the 19-21 September 1994 an international meeting of experts was convened at the World Health Organization office in Geneva. The result of this meeting was the formation of the PACE working group. PACE stands for "Prevention And Control Exchange". It is programme designed to stimulate the sharing of solutions and control measures in order to reduce occupational hazards. Internationally there is wide agreement on the need for sharing of knowledge and a realisation that a collaborate effort is required.

Brazil↗
PubMed1994

Airborne concentrations of asbestos in non-occupational environments.

Concentrations of asbestos in air were determined from analysis of samples collected in over 300 buildings involved in litigation. Samples were collected by certified industrial hygienists and analysed in certified laboratories by transmission electron microscopy. Building group mean concentrations of asbestos in building air inhaled by occupants were generally less than 0.0005 f ml-5 > 5 microns (90th percentile). At these concentrations the risk from asbestos exposure would be very low for building occupants. Another data set was obtained from the maintenance logs kept by owners of buildings containing asbestos fireproofing and subject to Operations and Maintenance Programmes to evaluate asbestos inhalation risk to maintenance workers. The logs were kept to document protective measures and maintenance personnel exposures during 1991-1992. Data are presented for one commercial building, which is typical of data for three additional commercial buildings and a medical centre. All samples were evaluated by the NIOSH 1400 protocol for sampling and analysis by phase contrast microscopy. Operations and maintenance precautions to reduce dust emission were modest; they included spraying of ceiling tiles with amended water, HEPA vacuuming tile edges before entry and after tile replacement, respirator usage and careful work. Negative pressure containment was not used. In this building personal exposures in electrical/plumbing work ranged from 0.000 to 0.035 f ml-1 > 5 microns in length (average work time of one job was 118 min); the 8-h TWA was 0.0149 f ml-1 > 5 microns.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed1994

Connecting the health sciences community to the Internet: the NLM/NSF grant program.

In 1992, as part of its high-performance computing and communications initiative, the National Library of Medicine decided to provide health sciences institutions with Internet connection grants similar to those offered to universities by the National Science Foundation. Although library involvement is not required, librarian and library uses have been the most common category in the applications received.

Computer Communication Networks↗
PubMed1993

Reduced mortality among workers at a rubber plant.

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of mortality among current and former male employees of a modern tire manufacturing plant in Texas. Vital status was ascertained for more than 99% of the cohort of 2306 workers. Standardized mortality ratio analyses were completed based on 102 deaths. No significant excess for any disease-specific cause of death was identified, and significant deficits in all-cause mortality and deficits in cancer mortality were observed for both white and nonwhite men. The analyses were consistent in indicating that this work force has experienced no excessive disease-specific mortality.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Real-time measurement of sub-PPM concentrations of airborne chemicals in semiconductor manufacturing.

Real-time mass spectroscopy (ICAMS) can provide hourly or daily estimates of employee exposure. Field calibration of the unit indicated essentially linear response from 0.01 (Cellosolve Acetate) and 0.03 ppm (Diglyme) to 1 ppm in semiconductor cleanrooms. The instrument can be programmed for 4 minute readings on a single compound, or for rotation among several chemicals, each requiring 4 minute dwell times for analysis. In contrast to full shift personal sampling methods to measure exposure, ICAMS offers insights into the occurrence of peak exposures. In addition, in the occupational environment ICAMS results can be integrated to estimate full-shift within a zone exposures. Thus, the ICAMS extends measurement sensitivities below those currently available and offers a viable alternative to personal sampling in the semiconductor industry.

Air Movements↗