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Biomedical subjects

G Gori

Publications and source records attributed to G Gori.

67 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Role of clotting factor(s) in the etiology of lung disease related to ciliostasis.

Mucociliary experiments conducted in vitro using avian tracheal rings show that serum from both normal and cystic fibrosis patients will cause ciliostasis in airways. The evidence suggests that endogenous mucus is not inhibitory to cilia and that inhibition observed with serum is due to blood clotting factors (probably fibrin), since a variety of anticoagulants and fibrin-destroying substances will either prevent or reverse the inhibitory effects of serum. Because fibrin and serum are normally found in the lung, we propose that an early event in the pathogenesis of many lung diseases (e.g., asthma, some forms of emphysema, cystic fibrosis), is an increase in the level of clotting factors in the respiratory tract. Based on these results, we provide a rationale for investigating the usefulness of a number of pharmacologic agents in the treatment of diseases related to mucostasis.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Exposure to glues containing technical heptane: a clinical and electrophysiological study].

Polyneuropathy caused by n-hexane contained in glues was, until recently, the typical occupational disease of shoemakers. Glues no longer contain large concentrations of this solvent, and in some cases, it as been completely replaced by other hydrocarbons. The authors investigated the health status in a group of shoemakers using glues containing 35% technical heptane. The same glue, not containing n-hexane, was used by a shoemaker who worked at home; she developed an otherwise unexplainable peripheral polyneuropathy. For each of the 16 subjects, the following procedures were carried out: environmental sampling, biological monitoring for Mek and heptane metabolites, a neurological and electromyographic examination. No neurological abnormalities were found in the workers that could be attributable to occupational exposure, probably due to the low level environmental contamination (< 100 mg/m3 n-heptane) found in the 7 factories and workshops studied where acceptable hygiene conditions existed. The time course and ratio of urinary metabolites of heptane were also studied, the latter showing a predominance of 2- and 3- heptanol in the initial phase and 2-5 heptandione at the end of the work week; probably, the presence of other solvents, such as Mek, can modify the ratio of metabolites and consequently the formation of neurotoxic compounds could result.

Adhesives↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Urban air pollutant exposure among traffic policemen].

Exposure to dusts and benzene was studied in 65 traffic policemen. Samples of total dusts showed that mean personal exposure was 0.44 (SD = 0.30) mg/m3, with peaks of about 2 mg/m3. Exposure to 1-nitropyrene (1-NP), the main compound occurring in emissions from diesel engines, which was estimated from concentrations in dusts collected with high-flow samplers, was 0.28 (SD = 0.19) ng/m3 (range: 0.06-1.24 ng/m3). The mean concentration of benzene in the breathing zone was 41 (SD = 20) micrograms/m3, although a level of 100 micrograms/m3 was slightly exceeded in one subject. In urine samples collected before and after workshifts, two biological indicators of exposure to benzene were measured, urinary benzene and urinary trans, trans-muconic acid (MA). The mean values of urinary benzene before and after workshift were similar (98, SD = 81 and 83, SD = 55 ng/l; n = 63; Wilcoxon's T-test = not significant), while a moderate increase in the metabolite was observed (MA = 0.08, SD = 0.11; 0.11, SD = 0.09 mg/g creatinine, in pre- and post-shift samples respectively; Wilcoxon's T-test, z = 3.00; p < 0.01). The levels of exposure to dusts and 1-NP deriving from diesel engine emissions were comparable to those of other occupational groups with this type of risk (garage mechanics, workers operating diesel engine machinery, etc.). Traffic police exposure to benzene was similar to that of the whole population of Padova (40 micrograms/m3, mean annual 24-hour value). However, the values of urinary MA, like those reported by other authors for non-smoker controls, increased after the workshift, indicating low occupational exposure to this pollutant. It should be noted that traffic police exposure to benzene is much lower than that of other occupational categories, e.g., fuel pump distributors.

Air Pollutants↗