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Biomedical subjects

J D Wang

Publications and source records attributed to J D Wang.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

The infrahyoid myocutaneous flap for reconstruction after resection of head and neck cancer.

From May 1979 to August 1984, 112 infrahyoid myocutaneous flaps (IHMCFs) were used for reconstruction of the tongue after resection of lingual carcinoma (67 flaps in 63 consecutive cases) and for repair of defects after resection of carcinomas of buccal mucosa (23 cases), floor of mouth (8 cases), parotid gland (7 cases), and other malignancies (7 cases). Ten IHMCFs were extended to Ludwig's angle for repairing the open defect of the cheek or combined defect in the buccal mucosa and hard palate. The donor sites of 76 IHMCFs could be sutured primarily. The flap was successful in 90% of the cases (101 of 112 cases). Postoperatively, 94% of the cases (60 of 64 cases) of reconstructed tongue had good deglutition and 78% of the cases (50 of 64 cases) gave satisfactory enunciation. IHMCF is a new, versatile, reliable, and convenient flap suitable for repairing the defects in and around the oral cavity, particularly in the tongue, even in aged and weak patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

An outbreak of N-hexane induced polyneuropathy among press proofing workers in Taipei.

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and the etiology of polyneuropathy observed among press proofing workers in Taipei. Neurological examinations of 59 workers, from 16 press proofing factories, were conducted. Fifty-four of those workers subsequently underwent studies of nerve conduction velocities. Samples of bulk solvent from the involved factories were analyzed for their contents using gas chromatography. Fifteen (25%) of the study group were found to have polyneuropathy. All 15 patients with polyneuropathy were from factories in which solvents containing n-hexane were regularly used, and there was a significant association between n-hexane concentration in the bulk samples and prevalence of polyneuropathy. The air concentration of n-hexane in one factory in which all six employees developed polyneuropathy was 190 ppm. Workers who were exposed to n-hexane at air levels of less than 100 ppm but who frequently worked overtime showed a significant slowing of motor nerve conduction velocities on median, ulnar, and peroneal nerves. Of 13 workers who regularly slept in the factory, 12 (92%) had polyneuropathy compared to three (7%) of 46 workers who did not sleep in the factory. The outbreak of polyneuropathy was attributed to a combination of the use of solvents with high contents of n-hexane, poor ventilation, and the practice of sleeping in the factories between shifts.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Prevalence of probable kerosene dermatoses among ball-bearing factory workers.

The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence rate of dermatoses among workers in a ball-bearing factory and its possible association with their exposure to kerosene. Two groups of female workers participated in the study. The first group included 79 persons with major kerosene exposure during work, while the second, a reference group, was composed of 263 zipper-manufacturing workers with a similar age distribution, educational background, and income. Dermatologic examinations were used to determine the prevalence rate of hand dermatoses (erythema, scaling, and eczema). In the exposed group 51 persons (65%) had erythema with or without desquamation over the interdigital spaces, 12 persons (15%) had eczematous lesions, 3 persons (4%) had defatting dermatitis, and only 13 persons (16%) were apparently asymptomatic. In the reference group only one person had hand eczema (less than 1%). The difference in the occurrence of dermatoses between the two groups was significant according to the Mantel-Haenszel summary chi-square test. Patch tests on five workers with eczematous lesions revealed one to be sensitive to mercury. The findings indicate that kerosene is a skin irritant. Antirust oil used on the ball-bearings may also contribute to the irritant effect.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Changes in health conditions in the Huainan coal mine in the past three decades.

Health conditions in the Huainan Coal Mine have improved greatly since 1950. In particular, the work and living environments, the underground dust concentration, the water supply and waste disposal systems, and the nutritional value of miners' food have become much better. Thus the rates of occupational, infectious, and parasitic diseases and nutritional deficiency diseases have decreased considerably among miners. The decreases in the prevalence of anthracosilicosis and hookworm have been especially striking.

Anthracosilicosis↗
PubMed1984

The mortality odds ratio (MOR) in occupational mortality studies--selection of reference occupation(s) and reference cause(s) of death.

In occupational mortality studies, the information on the population at risk is frequently not available. In these circumstances, the rate ratio of interest can be assessed through the mortality odds ratio (MOR), given appropriate selections of reference occupation(s) and reference disease(s). The reference occupation should be chosen with a view to three aspects of validity: (1) comparability of effects, i.e., identity of mortality effects between the index and the reference occupation apart from the effect of the exposure under study; (2) comparability of contrasted populations, i.e., same job entry and exit factors and similar health promotion programmes when related to the mortality under study; and (3) comparability of mortality information, i.e., same diagnostic and certification practices for the cause of death of interest between the contrasted populations. The reference causes of death must also satisfy these requirements with the additions that the exposure under study have no effect on the risk of reference causes of death, and that the accuracy of information about the compared occupations be the same as in the context of the index cause of death. Throughout the discussion, an example of exploring cancer risks among lens manufacturing workers is used.

Epidemiologic Methods↗
PubMed1983

Interactive electronic computing of the mortality odds ratio.

An interactive computer program which computes the standardized mortality odds ratio and the standardized proportional mortality ratio has been developed for use in the analysis of occupational mortality studies. The program provides flexibility in the selection of the comparison (unexposed) population, permitting both internal and external comparison, including comparison with the United States general population. Considerable control for potential confounding factors and for differences in information collection procedures can be exercised through careful choice of the comparison population. The user must select the reference cause(s) of death among 55 categories (59 for women). The condition for equivalence of the standardized mortality odds ratio and the standardized mortality ratio will be met when the selected reference cause(s) is unrelated to the exposure. The program reduces the loss of information due to sparse data during stratification by allowing the user to define the length of the age and time intervals. The program is written in Fortran IV and is designed to produce rapid, cost-efficient interactive results on any mainframe computer system.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Cancer risks in the optical manufacturing industry.

A mortality odds ratio (MOR) study has been conducted to explore the cancer risks of exposures experienced in the production of optical lenses and metal spectacle frames. Male death certificates were obtained from a Massachusetts town where a large optical industry is located. Craftsmen, foremen, and operatives of non-optical industries, such as woollen textile workers and workers in the optical company with short-term or no exposure, were chosen as reference workers their incomes were similar to those of the exposed workers. Cardiovascular disease (total 714) is chosen as the reference disease to explore cancers (total 232). An excess risk of total cancers observed = 70, expected = 48) has formed among lens workers. The excess may be accounted for mainly by the excess risk of gastrointestinal cancers; the standardised MORs (sMOR) for medium and long-term exposure were 2.2 and 2.5. The excess was especially evident for colorectal cancers; the sMORs for medium and long-term exposures were 3.2 and 2.6. Excess risks of gastrointestinal cancers (sMOR = 2.9) and colorectal cancers (sMOR = 3.4) were found among metal frame workers with long-term (employed for more than 29 years) exposure, but the number of exposed cases was small (9 and 6 respectively). These results suggest that exposure to abrasives or cutting oil mists or both, possibly by ingestion, might increase the risk of gastrointestinal (especially colorectal) cancers among lens and metal spectacle frame manufacturers.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Occupational mortality studies. Principles of validity.

Two common practices of occupational mortality studies have no model in experimentation: (a) the use of the "general population" as a reference population and (b) the use of the total number of deaths as a surrogate for the population-time of follow-up. The former tends not to secure validity in terms of (i) comparability of effects, ie, identity of the extraneous effects of the compared experiences; (ii) comparability of populations, ie, absence of intractable confounding; and (iii) comparability of information, ie, identity of the certification of deaths from the illness of interest for the contrasted populations. The use of a carefully selected, occupational reference population is necessary for all three types of comparability. When deaths from other (auxiliary) diseases are used to estimate the relative magnitudes of the compared populations, careful selectivity is again called for. With respect to auxiliary causes of death, also, the compared occupational populations must satisfy all three aspects of comparability, with the added requirement that the exposure under study have no effect. The "healthy worker effect" is the result of failure to use comparable reference populations in occupational mortality studies.

Epidemiologic Methods↗
PubMed1981

An alternative to the proportionate mortality ratio.

The conditions that are generally considered to justify the use of the proportionate mortality ratio (PMR) to compare exposed and nonexposed populations also permit the computation of the ratio of mortality odds between the cause (of death) of interest and the "other" causes considered. This mortality odds ratio (MOR) comparing the exposed with the nonexposed equals the exposure odds ratio comparing deaths from the cause of interest with those from the auxiliary ("other") causes, and, in contrast to the PMR, it can be interpreted as the observed-to-expected ratio or the standardized mortality ratio on the assumption that the mortality rate for the auxiliary causes is unrelated to the exposure. Related to this, the MOR is free of the arbitrary element in the PMR, which is dependent on the size of the auxiliary-causes domain. These properties make the proposed measure superior to the PMR statistic. Consideration of the proposed statistic for "PMR data" also underscores the need to view "PMR studies" as case-referent studies, and this has important implications for the choice of the auxiliary causes (reference series).

Coronary Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Establishment of a work-related diseases surveillance system in Taiwan, Republic of China.

BACKGROUND: The occurrence of occupational illness and injury has been seriously underestimated in Taiwan, which subsequently contributes to difficulties in performing effective control of occupational hazards and implementing intervention programs for protecting workers. METHODS: Based on the successful experience of the nationwide blood lead level surveillance program, the Department of Health, the Executive Yuan, Taiwan, Republic of China, has established a work-related diseases surveillance system. This government-administered system requests practicing physicians to report the suspected cases suffering from six categories of work-related disorders. RESULTS: An occupational illness and injury surveillance program in Taiwan has been in operation since June of 1995. CONCLUSION: Background information of work-related diseases obtained from this surveillance system will be useful for providing better management of available resources for occupational medicine, for preventing hazards, and for enforcing occupational diseases prevention programs. Our experience in establishing this surveillance system will be used in other countries and settings.

Disease Notification↗