PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

S Provencher

Publications and source records attributed to S Provencher.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

Physician based surveillance system for occupational respiratory diseases: the experience of PROPULSE, Québec, Canada.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility of implementing a physician based surveillance system of occupational respiratory diseases (PROPULSE) in Québec with regard to physician participation rate, characteristics of reported cases, and comparison with official statistics from the Workers' Compensation Board (WCB). METHODS: All chest physicians and allergists in Québec were asked to report suspected new cases of occupational respiratory diseases, on a monthly basis, between October 1992 and September 1993. For each case, personal information was collected and the physician's opinion on whether the condition was related to work was categorised as highly likely, likely, and unlikely. RESULTS: Of the 161 physicians initially approached, 68% participated. Physicians rated 48% of suspected cases as highly likely, 29% as likely, and 20% as unlikely. The most often reported diagnosis was asthma (63%), followed by diseases related to asbestos (16%). Silicosis was less frequent (5%) but it was reported for six workers under 40 of whom five were involved in sandblasting activities. The high proportion of cases of asthma probably reflects the increasing importance of this disease but may also reflect the different patterns of reporting among physicians with different expertise. The distribution of cases by diagnostic category is quite different between the PROPULSE system and that of the WCB (annual mean number of compensated cases during a four year period). Asthma and allergic alveolitis are more frequent in PROPULSE, reactive airways dysfunction syndrome are about the same in both systems, and other diseases are more frequent among compensated cases. The most frequent sensitising agents reported for asthma were the same in both systems (isocyanates, flour, and wood dust). 15% of the PROPULSE cases were not covered by the WCB, and therefore would not be found in the board's official statistics. CONCLUSIONS: A physician based reporting procedure can be implemented as part of a surveillance system to supplement data from other sources and thus provide a better understanding of the occurrence of occupational respiratory diseases.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Oxidation of ethanol at rest and during prolonged exercise in men.

The purpose of this study was to measure the oxidation of ethanol at rest and during prolonged moderate exercise with use of 13C labeling. Five healthy young males (22.4 +/- 2.7 yr; maximal O2 uptake = 56 +/- 6.6 ml.kg-1.min-1) performed three exercises (68.4 +/- 6.7% maximal O2 uptake; 90 min) on a cycle ergometer with ingestion of 0.4 (trial A) and 0.8 (trial B) g/kg body wt of [13C]ethanol (diluted in 770 +/- 72 ml of water) or water only (trial C). The subjects were also studied during a 90-min rest period after the ingestion of 0.8 g/kg body wt of [13C]ethanol (trial D). At rest, over the 90-min observation period, only 2.1 +/- 0.3 g of the 61.6 +/- 5.7 g of ethanol ingested were oxidized, providing 11.1 +/- 1.9% of the total energy expenditure. Over the 90 min of exercise, the amounts of ethanol oxidized were similar in trials A (9.5 +/- 2.0 g) and B (8.5 +/- 2.5 g). The contribution of ethanol represented 5.2 +/- 1.0% of the total energy expenditure, which is much lower than that previously reported for exogenous carbohydrates (8-18%) or medium-chain free fatty acids (7-14%). The small contribution of ethanol to energy metabolism did not significantly modify endogenous substrate oxidation.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Partial characterization of galactosyltransferase in human seminal plasma and its distribution in the human epididymis.

Galactosyltransferase activity has been partially characterized in human seminal plasma. Km values of 130 mumol l-1 for UDP-galactose and 2.25 mmol l-1 for N-acetylglucosamine were calculated and the enzyme was found to be dependent on temperature and manganese and present as a highly active component of human seminal plasma. Galactosyltransferase was inhibited by nucleotides, glycosylated nucleotides, bovine and human alpha-lactalbumin but not by monosaccharides. Radiation inactivation studies revealed that the biologically active unit of seminal plasma galactosyltransferase has a molecular mass of 45 kDa. Although the majority of galactosyltransferase activity found in seminal plasma is probably of prostatic origin, we report for the first time that it is also present in human epididymal intraluminal fluid. Low activity was detected in the proximal caput region but activity increased to maximum values in the adjacent downstream segment, the intermediate caput region. Specific activity was relatively constant albeit at a lower value in the following epididymal segments and vas deferens. The significance of the epididymal and seminal plasma galactosyltransferase activities is unknown, but the enzyme could be implicated in glycosylation events that are known to be important in gamete interaction.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Malignant melanoma of the skin among workers in a telecommunications industry: mortality study 1976-83.

An incidence study of malignant melanoma of the skin (MMS), conducted previously among the workers of four plants of a large telecommunications industry located in Montreal, Canada, showed a standardised incidence ratio of 2.7 (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.3-5.02) for the years 1976 to 1983. To describe more precisely the magnitude of the problem a mortality study was started among the same population (n = 9590) for the same period (1976-83). At the end of 1983, 9180 workers were alive, 261 were dead, and 149 (1.5%) were not traced. Standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) for all causes of death were surprisingly low for men (SMR = 0.57; 95% CI 0.50-0.64) and women (SMR = 0.56; 95% CI 0.37-0.82). The SMRs for major causes of death were also less than expected. These results may be explained by a pronounced selection bias (healthy worker effect) and by the short duration of follow up (eight years). For MMS, two deaths occurred among men (SMR = 2.00; 95% CI 0.24-7.22) and one among women (SMR = 4.81; 95% CI 0.12-26.78). A third man who died of MMS was miscoded as having a primary pulmonary melanoma. Including this case increased the SMR for MMS to 3.00 (95% CI 0.62-8.77; p = 0.08). Polyvinyl chloride and polychlorinated biphenyls were used in the plants and some of the workers did soldering. A planned case-control study will investigate other possible exposures at work.

Canada↗
PubMed1988

Increased incidence of malignant melanoma of the skin in workers in a telecommunications industry.

In 1982 physicians at a hospital melanoma clinic in Montreal noticed that among their patients there had been seven men working in a single telecommunications company. This raised suspicions that working in that industry might be associated with development of malignant melanoma of the skin (MMS). A preliminary gross comparison with general population rates indicated that there was an increased risk in this working group. To estimate the risk of MMS more accurately, a standardised incidence ratio (SIR) was calculated based on the rates of MMS in the local population of the Greater Metropolitan Montreal Area for the years 1976-83. During that period, among workers in all plants for the company, 10 male cases of MMS were observed for an expected number of 3.7 (SIR = 2.7; 95% CI = 1.31-5.02). No cases were observed among female workers (expected = 1.3). The excess was significant among cases with a short latency (less than 20 years since beginning of employment). There was no apparent pattern of exposure based on job titles or departments.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Mortality study of oil refinery workers: five-year follow-up.

A 5-year follow-up of a previous mortality study of 1,207 men employed in a Canadian oil refinery in East Montreal was conducted in an attempt to account for an excess of brain cancer. There were 175 deaths in total. Expected numbers of deaths were estimated based upon age and cause-specific death rates for the province of Quebec applied to person-years of observation. As in the previous study, oil refinery workers showed a standardized mortality ratio (SMR) lower than expected for all causes (SMR = 85.79). The SMRs for cancer indicated an excess of brain cancers in men who died within 20 years of first exposure (SMR = 519.5) and an overall deficit of lung cancers (observed 7 v expected 15.8). A thorough investigation of the several exposures of the brain cancer cases could not relate what seems to be a "cluster" to any hazard encountered at the workplace.

Follow-Up Studies↗
PubMed1984

Circular-dichroic properties and secondary structure of Pseudomonas aeruginosa soluble cytochrome c oxidase.

The c.d. spectra of Pseudomonas aeruginosa cytochrome c oxidase in the oxidized state and the reduced state are reported in the visible- and u.v. absorption regions. In the visible region the comparison between the spectra of reduced cytochrome c oxidase and ferrocytochrome c-551 allows the identification of the c.d. bands mainly due to the d1 haem chromophore in cytochrome c oxidase. In the near-u.v. region the assignment of some of the observed peaks to the haem groups and to the aromatic amino acid residues is proposed. A careful analysis of the data in the far-u.v. region leads to the determination of the relative amounts of alpha-helix and beta-sheet in the enzyme, giving for the first time a picture of its secondary structure. A significant difference in this respect between the reduced and the oxidized species is observed and discussed in the light of similar conclusions reported by other workers.

Circular Dichroism↗
PubMed1984

Telangiectasia in aluminium workers: a follow up.

A five step investigation was carried out to gain a better understanding of the morbidity that accompanied the development of telangiectasia on aluminium workers and to find its cause. Fifty workers with multiple telangiectasia when matched with normal controls showed the same amount of illness except that evidence of ischaemia on the ECG was found in nine cases and one control. The cases did not show an excess of abnormal biochemical tests. The basic histopathological lesion affected the surrounding tissue rather than the vessels themselves. Working in the current environment and wearing masks seems to protect young workers from developing the lesions. The Soderberg and not the prebake process was associated with the lesions; the causative agent is probably a gas that contains both hydrocarbons and fluoride components emitted from the electrolytic reactors.

Aluminum↗
PubMed1984

Radiographic changes in a group of chrysotile miners and millers exposed to low asbestos dust concentrations.

Radiographic changes in 342 Quebec asbestos miners exposed to low levels of asbestos dust for an average period of 20 years were studied. Their estimated cumulative exposure ranged from 7 fibres per cubic centimeter X years (f-y/cc) to 300 f-y/cc. Of these workers, 2.1% showed a small opacity score of 1/0 or more and 2.7% showed pleural changes. No linear relationship could be established between small opacity score and any index of exposure to asbestos. Pleural changes were related to age. A referent group of office workers within the same mining industry showed a prevalence of 2.1% (1/48) for small irregular opacities 1/0 or more, and for pleural changes.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Study of a cancer aggregate in a metallurgy plant: practical implications for public health].

We present the strategy used to determine whether there was an excess of laryngeal cancer at a primary metal factory in Montreal. The study period extended from 1968 to 1987. Standardized mortality ratios (SMR) and standardized incidence ratios (SIR) were computed for different cancer sites. The number of person-years at risk was estimated (N = 10,860 person-years). This method permitted a summary evaluation of the situation. Statistically significant excesses were not observed for laryngeal cancer or any other site of cancer: SMRs and SIRs were elevated for certain cancers, particularly cancers of the larynx and cancers of the central nervous system (CNS). No association was observed with potential carcinogens in the workplace. However, all three CNS cancer cases were crane operators. Following this investigation, we recommended an industrial hygiene evaluation of the workplace.

Adult↗