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Biomedical subjects

R Whitmore

Publications and source records attributed to R Whitmore.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

Compatibility of cyclosporine with fat emulsion.

The compatibility of cyclosporine with fat emulsion was studied. Admixtures consisted of cyclosporine injection at final drug concentrations of 0.5 and 2.0 mg/mL in 10% and 20% fat emulsion. Fat emulsion stability was determined by visual inspection, pH testing, and particle-size measurements at 0, 24, and 48 hours. Cyclosporine stability was measured with high-performance liquid chromatography at the same intervals. The admixtures were stored in glass containers at 23-25 degrees C under fluorescent light. Mean particle diameters remained relatively constant in all the admixtures throughout the study period. No particles larger than 6 microns were observed. Cyclosporine retained more than 96% of its initial concentration in all the admixtures. There were no changes in color or consistency, and pH did not vary by more than 0.11 pH unit. Cyclosporine 0.5 or 2 mg/mL was compatible with 10% or 20% fat emulsion at room temperature in glass containers for up to 48 hours.

Cyclosporine↗

A cross-cultural program for environmental management.

For those who have responsibility for safety programs in health facilities the primary objective is to effectively orient, train and retrain environmental service and housekeeping personnel, regardless of their individual background, so that each employee has the knowledge, skills and work habits to safely and effectively meet performance expectations. With an increasingly diverse multicultural workforce, however, we need to reexamine many of our assumptions of what constitutes adequate safety training for all employees. This paper examines some of the basic issues that arise when addressing a multicultural workforce. Two questions are at the heart of the discussion: (1) how do you effectively communicate with a multicultural base group, and (2) how do you know if your communication has been effective to ensure the health and safety of your employees?

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

The Los Angeles TEAM Study: personal exposures, indoor-outdoor air concentrations, and breath concentrations of 25 volatile organic compounds.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board studied the exposures of 51 residents of Los Angeles, California, to 25 volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) in air and drinking water in 1987. A major goal of the study was to measure personal, indoor, and outdoor air concentrations, and breath concentrations of VOCs in persons living in households that had previously been measured in 1984. Other goals were to confirm the marked day-night and seasonal differences observed in 1984; to determine room-to-room variability within homes; to determine source emission rates by measuring air exchange rates in each home; and to extend the coverage of chemicals by employing additional sampling and analysis methods. A total of 51 homes were visited in February of 1987, and 43 of these were revisited in July of 1987. The results confirmed previous TEAM Study findings of higher personal and indoor air concentrations than outdoor concentrations of all prevalent chemicals (except carbon tetrachloride); higher personal, indoor, and outdoor air concentrations in winter than in summer; and (in winter only) higher outdoor concentrations at night than in the daytime. New findings included the following: (1) room-to-room variability of 12-hour average concentrations was very small, indicating that a single monitor may be adequate for estimating indoor concentrations over this time span; (2) "whole-house" source emission rates were relatively constant during both seasons, with higher rates for odorous chemicals such as p-dichlorobenzene and limonene (often used in room air fresheners) than for other classes of chemicals; (3) breath concentrations measured during morning and evening were similar for most participants, suggesting the suitability of breath measurements for estimating exposure in the home; (4) limited data obtained on two additional chemicals-toluene and methylene chloride-indicated that both were prevalent at fairly high concentrations and that indoor air concentrations exceeded outdoor concentrations by a factor of about three.

Adolescent↗

The TEAM (Total Exposure Assessment Methodology) Study: personal exposures to toxic substances in air, drinking water, and breath of 400 residents of New Jersey, North Carolina, and North Dakota.

EPA's TEAM Study has measured exposures to 20 volatile organic compounds in personal air, outdoor air, drinking water, and breath of approximately 400 residents of New Jersey, North Carolina, and North Dakota. All residents were selected by a probability sampling scheme to represent 128,000 inhabitants of Elizabeth and Bayonne, New Jersey, 131,000 residents of Greensboro, North Carolina, and 7000 residents of Devils Lake, North Dakota. Participants carried a personal monitor to collect two 12-hr air samples and gave a breath sample at the end of the day. Two consecutive 12-hr outdoor air samples were also collected on identical Tenax cartridges in the backyards of some of the participants. About 5000 samples were collected, of which 1500 were quality control samples. Ten compounds were often present in personal air and breath samples at all locations. Personal exposures were consistently higher than outdoor concentrations for these chemicals and were sometimes 10 times the outdoor concentrations. Indoor sources appeared to be responsible for much of the difference. Breath concentrations also often exceeded outdoor concentrations and correlated more strongly with personal exposures than with outdoor concentrations. Some activities (smoking, visiting dry cleaners or service stations) and occupations (chemical, paint, and plastics plants) were associated with significantly elevated exposures and breath levels for certain toxic chemicals. Homes with smokers had significantly increased benzene and styrene levels in indoor air. Residence near major point sources did not affect exposure.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗

Concentrations of 20 volatile organic compounds in the air and drinking water of 350 residents of New Jersey compared with concentrations in their exhaled breath.

Twenty volatile organic compounds were measured in the personal air and drinking water of 350 New Jersey residents in the fall of 1981. Two consecutive 12-hour integrated personal air samples and two tap water samples were collected from each participant. At the end of the 24-hour monitoring period, each participant supplied a sample of exhaled breath. Simultaneous outdoor samples were collected in 100 residential locations in two cities. Eleven compounds were present much of the time in air, but only four (the trihalomethanes) in water; wide ranges of exposures (three to four orders of magnitude) were noted for most compounds. Ten of 11 compounds displayed significant correlations between air exposures and breath concentrations; the 11th (chloroform) was correlated with drinking water exposures. It was concluded that breath measurements are a feasible, cost-effective, and highly sensitive way to determine environmental and occupational exposures to volatile organic compounds.

Air Pollutants↗

Trace metals in some fish species of South Carolina.

Samples of fish from freshwater and saltwater sources of ocean, rivers, and lakes over the state of South Carolina were collected. The fish collected were Shrimp, Silver Snapper, White Bass, Catfish, Mudfish and Trout. The sample flasks were incubated in a constant temperature stirring water bath at 58 degrees C until clear solution in reagent-grade nitric acid. Triplicate samples of fish muscle tissue were analyzed by wet digestion and dry digestion methods. Trace metal levels were determined by flame atomic absorption using a Perkin-Elmer Model 306 spectrophotometer. Mercury determination was made by Coleman MAS-50 mercury analyzer. A significant finding of this report is that saltwater fish have more trace metal levels than freshwater fish, and larger fish have higher trace metals than smaller fish. Iron and zinc levels were much higher in Shrimp than any other species analyzed.

Animals↗

Population-based exposure measurements in EPA region 5: a phase I field study in support of the National Human Exposure Assessment Survey.

The National Human Exposure Assessment Survey (NHEXAS) Phase I study is designed to be part of the total NHEXAS framework developed from a series of scientific discussions and workshops conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during 1992 and 1993. NHEXAS examines total human exposure and is structured to include: Phase I, scoping studies; Phase II, a full national exposure survey; and Phase III, a series of highly focused characterization modules. Our research program examines the scientific issues important to Phase II, including statistical sampling, methods evaluation, media concentration measurements, formulating quality assurance goals, and identification of important pathways leading to exposure. To determine the feasibility of NHEXAS in characterizing human exposure for a representative population, a hypothesis-driven design is used to answer important questions about human exposure to specific environmental contaminants. This paper describes: (1) hypotheses to be tested; (2) contaminants selected for study; (3) strategies for measuring exposure; (4) study area and population; (5) population sampling design; (6) media sampling and analysis procedures; and (7) data analysis. The contaminants of concern in this Phase I study include selected metals and volatile organic compounds. From these classes the first-tier contaminants to be measured are lead, arsenic, benzene, chloroform, perchloroethylene, and trichloroethylene. Contaminants selected for examination may potentially be found in many media (personal-nonoccupational, personal-occupational, indoor, and outdoor residential air; dust; potable water; food/beverages; soil; blood; hair; and urine) and exposures may occur by multiple routes (inhalation, ingestion, dermal). The central hypothesis of our field study is to discover whether individual and population exposures determined by modeled or extant data are/are not significantly different from those determined directly from multipathway and multimedia measurements. In addition, there are a series of subhypotheses ranging from pollutant-specific exposure measurement and body burden hypotheses to the optimization of exposure models. In keeping with the NHEXAS framework, a probability-based population sample for total exposure and the field study will be conducted in counties located throughout EPA Region 5 (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan). Sampling units will be households and an individual residing within each household. Environmental, exposure, and biological media sample collection will be performed by this consortium. Analyses of the external media and biological media samples will be completed by this consortium or Federal laboratories of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), or EPA. The protocols and analytical techniques selected for use represent the best available for total exposure assessment at this time.

Data Interpretation, Statistical↗