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The paper carries information on the requirement in calorific supply, basic nutritional and biologically active substances of some occupational groups of workers engaged in the construction of the railroad. Substantiation is given to the choice of average daily assortments of food products and an analysis of the actual nutritional pattern is presented.
The article represents main occupational hazards and work conditions of such railway occupation as electromechanic and electromounter of shunting yards of railway stations. Complete hygienic evaluation of the occupational activities is given for individuals working at Moskovskaya, Oktjabrskaya and Sevemaya railroads. Health state of the workers was studied according to transitory disablement materials, the morbidity and its structure were analyzed. The authors outline some suggestions to improve the work conditions and decrease the morbidity.
As part of a longitudinal study dealing with the effects of the noise from the Tohoku Shinkansen on the living environment of school children, social surveys were conducted on children in an elementary school near the Tohoku Shinkansen line in Saitama prefecture, by means of a questionnaire from July 1984 through February 1986. Between October and November in 1986, noise levels were also measured adjacent to the houses of subjects who lived within one hundred meters of the railroad track. The present paper is devoted to the examination by multiple regression analysis of factors related to the degree of annoyance at home resulting from the Tohoku Shinkansen noise expressed by subjects. The main results were as follows: 1. Multiple correlation coefficients between the degree of annoyance of the Tohoku Shinkansen noise at home and noise levels were less than 0.3. 2. When annoyance at school from the noise and the self-rated quality of sleep were incorporated in multiple correlations, the values of multiple correlation coefficients exceeded 0.5. These results suggest that so far as individual responses are considered, non-physical factors such as sensitivity to noise and quality of sleep account for a considerable part of the total variance of individual responses.
Although the cause of death is rarely in doubt in train-pedestrian fatalities, the manner of death is often unclear. The distinction between accident and suicide can only be made after careful evaluation of the history, scene investigation, autopsy findings, and toxicologic data. A retrospective analysis of 25 consecutive train-pedestrian fatalities investigated by our office between 1982 and 1992 is reported. The victims were predominantly healthy, young males. All but one person died at the scene. The cause of death was massive blunt trauma in 88% of the cases. In one case, the sole injury was decapitation. A tissue or blood ethanol level greater than 99 mg/dL was detected in 80% of the cases. A total of 60% of the cases involved persons likely to have been sitting or lying across the railroad tracks; all but one of these victims were intoxicated. The manner of death was determined to be accidental in 92% of our cases. Decapitation by a moving train is an injury highly suggestive of suicide. Massive blunt trauma, especially in the setting of ethanol intoxication, was highly associated with accidental death. Toxicologic analysis is essential in discriminating willful suicide from alcohol-induced incapacitation resulting in accidental death. Homicide, disguised as an accident or suicide, must be ruled out in all cases. Accurate determination of the manner of death is an important issue regarding civil litigation and dispersal of insurance benefits.
While some of the gaseous and particulate components of diesel exhaust can cause pulmonary irritation and bronchial hyperreactivity, diesel exhaust exposure has not been shown to cause asthma. Three railroad workers developed asthma following excessive exposure to locomotive emissions while riding immediately behind the lead engines of caboose-less trains. Asthma diagnosis was based on symptoms, pulmonary function tests, and measurement of airways hyperreactivity to methacholine or exercise. One individual's peak expiratory flow rates fell in a work-related pattern when riding immediately behind the lead diesel engine. None had a previous history of asthma or other respiratory disease and none were current smokers. All three developed persistent asthma. In two cases, physiologic abnormalities suggesting reversible restriction were observed. This is the first report implicating diesel exhaust as a cause of reactive airways disease.
Current knowledge of the etiology of prostate cancer is limited. Numerous studies have suggested that certain occupations and industries may be associated with the occurrence of prostate cancer. Information on occupation and industry on death certificates from 24 states gathered from 1984 to 1993 was used in case control study on prostate cancer. A total of 60,878 men with prostate cancer as underlying cause of death was selected and matched with controls who died of all other causes except cancer. Similar to the findings of our parallel large case control study of prostate cancer, we observed excess risks in some white-collar occupations, such as administrators, managers, teachers, engineers, and sales occupations. However, some blue-collar occupations, such as power plant operators and stationary engineers, brickmasons, machinery maintenance workers, airplane pilots, longshoreman, railroad industry workers, and other occupations with potential exposure to PAH also showed risk of excess prostate cancer. Risk was significantly decreased for blue-collar occupations, including farm workers, commercial fishermen, mechanics and repairers, structural metal workers, mining, printing, winding, dry cleaning, textile machine operators, cooks, bakers, and bartenders. Although we observed excess risks of prostate cancer among some low socioeconomic status (SES) occupations, the overall results suggest that the effects of higher SES cannot be ruled out in associations between occupational factors and the risk of prostate cancer.
Although prostate cancer is a major disease, causal factors are only partially understood. We examined occupational risk factors for this disease in a large case control study among U.S. blacks and whites. The study included 981 new pathologically confirmed prostate cancer cases (479 blacks and 502 whites) diagnosed between 1986 and 1989, and 1,315 population controls (594 blacks and 721 whites) who resided in Atlanta, Detroit, and 10 countries in New Jersey, covered by population-based cancer registries. Information on occupation, including a lifetime work history, was collected by in-person interview. No clear patterns of risk were found for U.S. whites versus blacks, nor for white-collar versus blue-collar jobs. Farming was related to prostate cancer (OR = 2.17; 95% CI = 1.18-3.98). Risk was restricted, however, to short-term workers and workers in crop production. Risk was not limited to those farming after 1950, when widespread use of pesticides started. Risks increased with increasing years of employment in firefighting (chi 2trend, p = 0.02) and power plant operations (chi 2trend, p = 0.03), and were elevated among long-term railroad line-haulers (OR = 5.85; 95% CI = 1.25-27.4); jobs with potential polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposures. Risk was elevated among athletes (OR = 5.38; 95% CI = 1.48-19.6). However, most of the cases were athletes before 1960, so the potential use of anabolic steroids was excluded. Although some clues about potential occupational associations were found, the overall results show that occupation is not a major determinant of prostate cancer risk.
BACKGROUND: Occupational exposures and physical activity have been considered as risk factors for the development of colorectal cancer. METHODS: A case-control study on working conditions and the risk of colon and rectal cancer was performed in southeastern Sweden during 1984-86. Involved were 177 patients, 98 with colon cancer and 79 with rectal cancer, and two groups of control subjects, 371 hospital control subjects and 430 population control subjects. RESULTS: A significantly decreased risk of left-sided colon cancer was observed in persons involved in more than 20 years of physically active work and a significantly decreased risk of rectal cancer in persons involved in more than 20 years of sedentary work. A tendency toward increased risk was seen for colon cancer in male railroad workers and in male gas station workers. A reduced risk of rectal cancer was found for drivers, textile workers, and administration workers, whereas an increased risk of rectal cancer appeared among paper workers and assistant nurses. A low risk of both colon and rectal cancer was found among construction workers and forestry workers. Exposure to asbestos carried a slightly increased risk of colon cancer, whereas exposure to solvents slightly decreased the risk of rectal cancer. CONCLUSION: This study confirms earlier findings that physical activity decreases the risk for left-sided colon cancer, but also suggests that occupational factors influence the risk of colon and rectal cancer in different ways.
The biological transformation of chemical to photic energy involves an enzyme-mediated chemiluminescent reaction, in which one of the products exists in an electronically excited state, emitting a photon as it returns to the ground state. The colour of bioluminescence differs in different organisms, ranging from the deep blue (460 nm) of certain crustacea, through the bluish green (490 nm) of some bacteria, the green (530 nm) of mushrooms to the red (about 600 nm) of the railroad worm. In one case, energy transfer has been demonstrated from the enzyme system to material that emits light with a longer wavelength. The energies involved range from about 165 to 250 kJ/einstein (40 to 60 kcal/einstein). Boyle first showed that air was involved in bioluminescence in 1668 in his experiments with an air pump. Over the past 100 years, it has become clear that most if not all bioluminescent systems require molecular oxygen. The recent isolation and characterization of an oxygen-containing (peroxide) enzyme intermediate from the bacterial system is described and a reaction mechanism is postulated. This scheme is compared with other hypothetical mechanisms, in particular those involving a four-membered ring intermediate, a dioxetane, in which the simultaneous cleavage of two bonds leaves one product in an excited state. I shall discuss the special role of luciferases in bioluminescence, especially in flashing mechanisms involving 'precharged' intermediates.
The evidence from animal studies indicates that organic extracts of diesel particulate are mutagenic and carcinogenic. Of four animal inhalation studies, two have been positive and two have been largely negative. The most recent data indicate that inhalation studies may be positive only with high doses of exhaust. Human studies of diesel-exposed occupations have been inconclusive. These studies have focused on truck drivers, bus drivers and garage workers, railroad workers, and heavy equipment operators. Most human studies have not been able to estimate exposure to diesel exhaust. Negative studies have frequently suffered from insufficient potential latency. Positive studies have often failed to control for smoking, and have sometimes involved confounding occupational exposures. In general, the occupational epidemiology of diesel-exposed workers is made difficult by the fact that many of the suspected toxic components of diesel-exhaust are also present in cigarette smoke and in ambient air. There are two ongoing epidemiologic studies in the United States, focusing on railway workers and truck drivers, which attempt to overcome prior difficulties. Preliminary data from the study of truck drivers indicates an excess of lung cancer among workers in the trucking industry compared to the U.S. population, but these data need to be controlled for smoking and analyzed according to diesel exposure.
In 1982, the American Cancer Society enrolled over 1.2 million American men and women in a prospective mortality study of cancer and other causes in relation to different risk factors. The 2-year mortality of 461,981 males aged 40-79 years with known smoking habit has been analyzed in relation to exposure to diesel exhaust (DE) and to employment in selected occupations related to DE exposure. The relative risk (RR) for all causes of death for those exposed was 1.05 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.97-1.13). For lung cancer, the RR was 1.18 (95% CI: 0.97-1.44). A dose-response effect was present. Railroad workers, heavy equipment operators, miners, and truck drivers had a higher mortality both for all causes and for lung cancer when compared with subjects with other occupations and no exposure to DE. Truck drivers exposed to DE were not at excess risk of lung cancer if compared with truck drivers unexposed to DE, but a trend of increasing risk with duration of exposure was suggested. DE exposure was also associated with increase in mortality for accidents, cerebrovascular disease, arteriosclerosis, and cirrhosis of the liver. An association based on small numbers was also present for Hodgkin's disease and lymphoid leukemia. No association with chronic non-neoplastic pulmonary diseases or with bladder cancer was found.
In August, 1990, a regional transit authority began removing paint on two overhead bridges on a commuter railroad line running through a residential neighborhood of Lynn, Massachusetts, an industrial city north of Boston. The contracted work involved the sandblasting of existing bridge paint to prepare the surface for repainting. The sandblasting was conducted without shrouding or adequate worker protection. The bridge paint was not tested for lead content, nor were neighborhood residents informed of the operations prior to the commencement of the work. Following complaints by residents to the local and state health departments, a cease-work order was issued. Laboratory tests of paint samples revealed a lead content ranging from 5% to 15%. Sandblasting debris was evident throughout the adjacent neighborhood. What followed was a 3-month effort by state and local government officials and the transit authority and its contractors to assess, communicate, and remedy the damage done by the operations. Soil, dust, and blood samples were collected to assess environmental contamination and health effects. Notices were sent, meetings held, and informational sites established to inform community residents of the impact of the operations and remediation efforts. The local and Boston media provided extensive coverage of the incident and its aftermath. Remediation efforts involved the relocation of occupants from residences in proximity of the site and extensive clean-up of the interiors of affected homes by licensed lead abatement contractors. The cost of the cleanup was well over $1 million.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The adverse effects of alcohol on the developing human comprise a spectrum of structural anomalies and behavioral and neurocognitive disabilities, most accurately termed fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). We previously have proposed revisions to the 1996 Institute of Medicine Diagnostic Criteria for diagnoses in the FASD continuum [fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), partial fetal alcohol syndrome (PFAS), alcohol related birth defects (ARBD), and alcohol related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND)], allowing for more reproducible and accurate FASD diagnosis in a clinical setting [Hoyme et al., 2005]. The NIAAA recently has coordinated and funded an international consortium of projects aimed at more complete characterization of the teratogenic spectrum of alcohol. One of the projects sites is in Finland. The aims of this project are: (1) to completely clinically characterize the structural and learning/behavioral phenotypes of a large cohort of older children and adolescents with moderate to severe disability within the FASD continuum; (2) to correlate FASD dysmorphology and behavioral phenotypes with CNS structure and function (i.e., MRS, MRI correlations); (3) to compare the phenotype of a genetically homogeneous population of Finnish children with FASD to that observed in other populations. We have recently completed dysmorphology examination and parent/guardian interviews of the 77 children in the Finnish cohort. The purpose of this report is to present historical and morphometric data on these patients, thereby more completely delineating the clinical spectrum of FASD in older children and adolescents, contrasting the phenotype with that described in other populations and examining whether a weighted dysmorphology score could be used as a clinical and research adjunct when fetal alcohol exposure is being suspected. All children were previously diagnosed with FASD by an experienced pediatric specialist in Finland, and all were exposed to significant maternal alcohol abuse prenatally. The sex ratio of the cohort was 0.38 (male: female) and ages ranged from 8 to 20 years, with a mean of 13 years. After application of the Revised IOM Diagnostic Criteria, 53% of the subjects were diagnosed as having FAS, 30% PFAS, 12% ARND, and 5% other diagnoses. Of note, although a family history of mental retardation or birth defects was rare, 43% of the children had one or more sibling who also carried a diagnosis of FAS. Eighty-nine percent of the mothers smoked cigarettes during gestation; other teratogenic exposures were rare. Almost none had undergone genetics evaluation in the past. Almost all of the subjects had resided in multiple foster placements since early childhood and had been followed regularly by pediatric specialists. Although 11% were born prematurely, 70% demonstrated prenatal growth deficiency, and 45% were microcephalic. Other than growth deficits and the cardinal facial features, the most common major and minor anomalies noted were: camptodactyly (55%), "hockey stick" or other altered palmar creases (51%), refractive errors (40%), strabismus (38%), dental crowding (43%), nail hypoplasia (38%), GU anomalies (22%), and congenital heart defects (18%), "Railroad track" ears were not observed in this population.
The magnetic fields from overhead power lines and other electromagnetic sources were determined at the birth and diagnosis dwellings of all tumor cases reported in the county of Stockholm during the years 1958-73 for individuals 0-18 years of age. The study was limited to 716 cases having a permanent address in the county both at time of birth and diagnosis. An equivalent number of controls was matched to the cases according to church district of birth, age, and sex. Outside each dwelling, the occurrence of visible electrical constructions (6-200-kV high-voltage wires, substations, transformers, electric railroads, and subways) within 150 m of the dwelling was noted. Also, the 50-Hz magnetic field was measured outside the main entrance of the dwelling. Visible 200-kv wires were noted at 45 of 2,098 dwellings and were found twice as frequently among cases as among controls (P less than .05). The magnetic field measured at the dwelling varied between 0.0004 to 1.9 microT (mean value 0.069 microT). The magnetic field was higher (0.22 microT) at dwellings with visible 200-kV wires than at those without such wires. Magnetic fields of 0.3 microT or more were measured at 48 dwellings, and were found twice as frequently among cases as among controls (P less than .05). The difference was most pronounced for dwellings of nervous system tumors and was less for leukemias.
Among the subjects enrolled in the American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention Study II, a large nation-wide prospective study, 282 died from multiple myeloma (MM) during the first 4 years of follow-up. These were divided into incident cases who were initially free from disease and prevalent cases who reported MM or related symptoms at the time of enrollment. For each case, 4 controls matched for age, sex, ethnic group and residence were randomly selected. Previous history of diabetes [odds ratio (OR) = 2.0] and employment as farmer (OR = 2.7) were the risk factors consistently suggested by the results of the analysis. The risk associated with farming showed a linear trend with duration of exposure. Pesticide or herbicide exposure was not a risk factor per se but, when combined with farming, it increased the OR to 4.3. Low education, occupational exposure to dyes, and employment in a bank, on the railroad or as a maid were also suggested risk factors, but either they were not statistically significant or they were based on small numbers of exposed subjects. No association between MM and asbestos exposure was observed.
The Rvachev-Baroyan-Longini model is a space-time predictive model of the spread of influenza epidemics. It has been applied to 128 cities of the USSR, and more recently, to forecasting the spread of the pandemic of 1968-1969 throughout 52 large cities. It is a deterministic, mass-action, space and time continuous model. The model has been applied to the simulation of the influenza epidemic of 1984-1985 in the 22 French Metropolitan districts and results are presented. Estimates of the parameters of the model were made using the French Communicable Diseases Network data. These parameters are the contact rate, a, (estimate = 0.55) which is the number of people with whom an infectious individual will make contact daily sufficient to pass infection and the infectious period, 1/b, estimated as 2.49 days. The mean annual railroad passenger traffic from district i to district j varies from 0 to 1,991,000 persons depending on the districts. The computer spread of the epidemic is presented on weekly maps. Results are also presented on district charts, giving the size of district epidemics and the time of peak of the epidemic. The precision of the computer fittings was judged satisfactory by the calculated size of peak differing from the real one by less than 100 per cent, in 17 out of 18 districts, and by the calculated time of peak differing from the observed by less than two weeks in 14 out of 18 districts. Although precision could be improved with more detailed information about passenger traffic, the French use of the model has been satisfactory.
The comparison of click beetle and railroadworm luciferases (pH-insensitive) with firefly luciferases (pH-sensitive) showed a set of conserved residues differing between the two groups which could be involved with the bioluminescence spectra pH sensitivity. The substitution C258V in Pyrocoelia miyako (Pml) firefly luciferase and V255C in Ragophthalmus ohbai railroad worm luciferase (Rol) had no effect on the bioluminescence spectra. Substitution of Thr226 in the green-light-emitting luciferases of Rol and Pyrearinus termitilluminans (Pyt) click beetle luciferases resulted in red-shifts (12 to 35 nm), whereas the substitution T226N in the red-light-emitting luciferase of Phrixothrix hirtus (PhRE) railroadworm resulted in a 10 nm blue-shift. In PmL the substitution N230S resulted in a typical red mutant (lambda(max) = 611 nm). The bioluminescence spectrum of all these luciferase mutants did not show altered pH-sensitivity nor considerably changed half-bandwidth in relation to the wild-type luciferases. Altogether present data suggest that Thr226 is an important residue for keeping active-site core in both groups of beetle luciferases. The mechanism for bioluminescence color determination between pH-sensitive and pH-insensitive luciferases could be different.
Devils Lake, located in a closed basin in northeastern North Dakota has over a century-long history of highly fluctuating water levels. The lake has risen nearly 25 feet (7.7 m) since 1993, more than doubling its surface area. Rising water levels have affected rural lands, transportation routes, and communities near the lake. In response to rising lake levels, Federal, state and local agencies have adopted a three-part approach to flood damage reduction, consisting of (1) upper basin water management to reduce the amount of water reaching the lake, (2) protection for structures and infrastructure if the lake continues to rise, and (3) developing an emergency outlet to release some lake water. The purpose of this study was to provide information about the net regional economic effects of a proposed emergency outlet for Devils Lake. An input-output model was used to estimate the regional economic effects of the outlet, under two scenarios: (1) the most likely future situation (MLS) and (2) a best case situation (BCS) (i.e., where the benefits from the outlet would be greatest), albeit an unlikely one. Regional economic effects of the outlet include effects on transportation (road and railroad construction), agriculture (land kept in production, returned to production sooner, or kept in production longer), residential relocations, and outlet construction expenditures. Effects are measured as changes in gross business volume (gross receipts) for various sectors, secondary employment, and local tax collections. The net regional economic effects of the proposed outlet would be relatively small, and consideration of these economic impacts would not strengthen the case for an outlet.