C O N T E
N T S
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JOURNAL OF PREVENTIVE MEDICINE
ISSN:
1582-5388
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Public health Marieta Vasilov, Oana Drug, Maria Tetraru, I. Iorga, Doina Dobrescu,
L. Stafie Abstract. An irritant pollution generated by different
sources even at moderate level justifies the investigation of early effects
both on health and life quality of the resident population. The authors
present the results of two epidemiological studies carried out during
1999-2000; the first one about the health effects of pollution around a
representative antibiotics factory and the second one of pollution generated
by a controlled waste landfill. Morbidity data collected by our usual
information system have been used. The relationship between the health status
and exposure have been investigated on samples of 86 schoolchildren from the
antibiotics factory surrounding area and 135 from the municipal waste
landfill neighborhood area versus
88 and respectively, 473 unexposed subjects. Although, the results doesn’t
reveal the presence of early symptoms or of a specific pathology, the quality
of life seems deeply damaged; though there are different sources of pollution
in this areas, all investigated persons specified antibiotics factory and
waste landfill as the cause of discomfort. Therefore, an investigation on the
discomfort was carried out on these children and a representative sample of
adults subjects (262) living in surrounding area of waste landfill. Key
words: irritant air pollution,
respiratory diseases and symptoms, epidemiological studies, opinion
questionnaire Ü FULL
TEXT.PDF Pathology of dermatoglyphics
in infantile autism Ana Ţarcă, C. Barabolski Abstract. The authors present the results of a study
on digitopalmary dermatoglyphies of patients diagnosed with infantile autism.
137 subjects (67 boys and 70 girls) with 274 finger and palmar prints,
residents in country’s eastern territory have been investigated. The
dermatoglyphic digito-palmary picture revealed a broad range of anomalies or
distortions (associated with severe clinical features) both as the frequency
of some of the digital or palmary characteristics and their distribution by
sex, laterality and fingers, which differentiate significantly these people
from the normal population. Occurring both in boys and girls, on both hands
but with priority on the left ones, these distortions contribute to a more
complete knowledge of the dermatoglyphic nomogram on the basis of which
infantile autism could be diagnosed early. The present study is the first one
– at national level – devoted to such aspects. Key
words: dermatoglyphics, infantile autism, anomalies or distortions Ü FULL
TEXT.PDF Occupational
medicine Elena Botezatu, Olga Iacob
Abstract. The aim of this study was to assess the
exposure of workers in two industries due to work activities involving
naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORMs). Our research was intended
to provide a better knowledge of working practices and to provide sufficient
meaningful information regarding the estimated exposures to workers in these
industries due to NORM, focusing in particular on the regulatory aspects
relating to naturally occurring radioactive materials. The workers involved
in the production of energy in Coal Fired Power Plants (CFPPs) and in
fertilizers production in phosphate fertilizer plant (PFP) are subject to
radiation exposure through internal and external pathways. In CFPPs, the
inhalation of dusts containing naturally occurring radionuclides was found to
be the most significant exposure pathway. The highest risk was associated
with the intake via inhalation of thorium-232, which contributes up to 41 %
to the annual effective dose. Exposures to individuals resulting from
inhalation of radon and thoron progeny represent only 5%, respectively 1.5%
from the whole dose. In PFP, the terrestrial gamma external radiation
delivers the highest contribution to overall exposure of workers from natural
sources (42%), followed by radon along with its decay products (36%).
Inhalation of dusts containing naturally occurring radionuclides was found to
be an important exposure pathway (22%). For workers employed in the CFPPs,
the higher risk is associated with the intake (via inhalation) of
thorium-232, while in PFP the higher risk is associated with the intake (via
inhalation) of radium-226 and uranium-238. The results show that occupational radiation
doses for some workers reach relevant levels compared to protection limits in
the nuclear industry. These individual dose levels therefore should be
carefully measured, controlled and registered. We consider that in PFP there
are work activities that must be subject to control. Optimization techniques
to reduce individual and collective doses in the phosphate production should
be established. Key
words: non-nuclear industries,
naturally occurring radioactive materials, workplaces, radiation
exposure Ü FULL
TEXT.PDF Epidemiology: communicable diseases Antibacterial antibodies in
sera of patients with reactive arthritis and other rheumatoid diseases Sofia Constantiniu, Angela Romaniuc, Cecilia Durnea, Rodica Chiriac,
Elena Rezus, Mariana Mutica, Oana Constantiniu Abstract. The presence of the specific antibodies for
some enterobacteria - Yersinia,
Salmonella and Shigella and Chlamydia, was investigated in
patients with reactive arthritis and other rheumatoid diseases. The
antibacterial antibodies in the diagnosis titers were found in 71 out of 489
patients: 54 of them were positive for enterobacteria and 17 for Chlamydia. From all positive patients
46 (64.7%) had clinical diagnosis of reactive arthritis, 20 (28.1%) of
ankylosing spondilytis, each 2 (2.8%) of sacroilitis and Reiter’s syndrome
and 1 (1.3%) with other disease. The most serology positive cases were of
middle-age (31-50 years). There were no significant differences between sexes
among serology positive cases. Key words:
antibacterial, antibody, Yersinia,
Salmonella, Shigella, Chlamydia,
rheumatoid disease Ü FULL
TEXT.PDF Influence
of clotrimazole pharmaceutics on antifungal activity Olivia Dorneanu, Iuliana Popovici, Lucian
Boiculese, Irina Popovici, Daniela Bosnea Abstract. Superficial Candida infections are very
common throughout the world. Clotrimazole may be administered topically in
the treatment of superficial candidiasis. We have tested the anti-fungal
activity of eight 1% clotrimazole pharmaceutics (solutions, suspensions,
ointments), against 3 Candida
strains (C. albicans, C. tropicalis, Candida spp.), using the diffusion method of susceptibility
testing to anti-microbial drugs. In order to compare the anti‑fungal
activity of the 3 groups of pharmaceutics (solutions/ suspensions/ ointments)
the ANOVA statistical test was performed. The activity of clotrimazole
significantly decreased from solutions to suspensions and ointments. There
were no significant differences in anti-Candida
activity among the same type of pharmaceutical form; excepting the activity
of ointments against C. albicans.
Anti-fungal activity of clotrimazole is better expressed in solutions,
comparing with suspensions and ointments. Key
words: Clotrimazole, Candida, Pharmaceutics
Ü FULL
TEXT.PDF Experimental
Research Mycobacterium
classification using multivalued logic Lucian Vasile Boiculese, Olivia Simona Dorneanu Abstract. Usually people think and learn creating
similarities between facts, processes and events. The multiple value (fuzzy)
logic expresses how we reason with vague rules. A fuzzy system is made up of rules that
maps inputs to the outputs. Multivalued logic systems cope with the lack of
information related to the belonging to a multitude. This type of incertitude
is present in biological processes. Fuzzy systems are suited in
classifications, modeling and controlling tasks with applications in
microbiology. This paper describes classification of mycobacteria by two
methods: fuzzy logic and classical selection (using a metric distance). Key-words: Classification,
mycobacteria, fuzzy logic, metric distance Ü FULL
TEXT.PDF Metabolic
aspects in rats exposed individually and simultaneously to organic solvents Brigitte Scutaru, Mirela Ghiţescu, Doina Hăvârneanu, A. Maftei,
Mihaela Romanic Abstract. The present study describes the influence of combined
exposure to organic solvents on their urinary excretion. Wistar male rats
were repeatedly exposed to toluene (TO), xylene (XY) or acetone (AC),
individually and simultaneously, or to a mixture of TO and benzene (BE), by
intraperitoneal injection (1 injection/week for 12 weeks). Each solvent and
mixture was administered in two doses: the high (H) dose was equally to the
current occupational exposure limit, the low (L) one was half of the high
dose. The rats were divided into 12 groups as follows: (1) 850 (TOH)
and (2) 425 (TOL) mg/kg toluene; (3) 1500 (XYH) and (4)
750 (XYL) mg/kg xylene; (5) 1500 (ACH) and (6) 750 (ACL)
mg/kg acetone; (7) 1200 (MIH) and (8) 600 (MIL) mg/kg
mixture (M) I (30 % TO, 30% XY, 40 % AC); (9) 500 (MIIH) and (10)
250 (MIIL) mg/kg mixture II (85 % TO, 15 % BE); (11) control oil
(CO) (0.5 ml oil/100 g body weight) and (12) unexposed control (C). Urine
samples were collected for 24 h after the last administration. Major
metabolites of TO and XY (hippuric acid and methylhippuric acid,
respectively) and urinary AC were measured by spectrophotometric methods. The
relationship exposure–excretion was examined by simple regression analysis.
The correlation of the solvent exposure doses with the concentrations of the
corresponding metabolites was close for TO (r = 0.97; p < 0.001) and XY (r
= 0.95; p < 0.05) both in single and in combined administration. Compared
with single treatment, simultaneous exposure resulted in higher amounts of
excreted hippuric acid (195 %) and methylhippuric acid (200 %) in urine in
the immediate post–exposure period. The excretion of hippuric acid in urine
from rats co-injected with mixture II was not modified at both doses. These results
suggest metabolic interactions between TO, XY and AC that alter initially the
excretion of both metabolites and ultimately the biological monitoring of an
exposure to a combination of solvents. No apparent interactive effects
between TO and BE have been noted.
Key words: organic solvents mixtures, metabolic
aspects, experimental study Ü FULL TEXT.PDF
Assessment
of apoptosis in rats chronically exposed to organic solvents Daniela Constantinescu, Carmen Cozmei, Mirela
Ghitescu, Doina Havarneanu, Eugen Carasevici Abstract.
Measuring the effect of various chemical substances on murine spleen and
thymus is an usual method used in immunotoxicology. Apoptosis is a form of
cellular death which can be triggered by toxic insults. The characteristic
morphological alterations of apoptotic cells were assessed using acridine
orange, a DNA-intercalating dye. We compared thymus and spleen apoptotic
index (percentage of apoptotic cells) in rats chronically exposed to various
organic solvents: toluene, xylene, acetone, a mixture containing 30% toluene,
30% xylene and 40% acetone and a mixture containing 15% benzene and 85%
toluene. All the solvents used in the experiment induced apoptosis in splenic
and thymic cellular suspensions. Acetone, either alone or in mixture, was the
most powerful apoptosis inducer.
Key words: apoptosis, acridine
orange, organic solvents
Ü FULL
TEXT.PDF Liliana Padureanu, Carmen Cozmei , Adriana Sorete–Arbore,
Doina Gramada, Silvia Arama, Traian Mihaescu, Eugen Carasevici Abstract.
In the present study we evaluated the in
vitro lymphocyte specific blastogenesis in response to stimulation with
PPD (purified-proteine-derivate) in tuberculosis patients using the
flow-cytometry method based on carbofluorescein diacetate succinimydil ester
(CFSE) dye dilution technique. 14 individuals (7 PPD+ healthy donors and 7
tuberculosis patients) were studied. Mononuclear cells from peripheral blood
or pleural fluid were initially stained with 1.25 μM CFSE, then they
were cultivated with or without 20 μg/ml PPD for up to 7 days. At
indicated time points the cells were collected, stained with anti-CD3 Cy
Chrome and analyzed on a FACSCalibur flow cytometer. The results showed a
poor reactivity of peripheral lymphocytes from tuberculosis patients as
compared to that recorded in healthy, PPD-reactive persons, and to the values
observed in the proliferative response of cells from pleural effusion.
Key words: CFSE; tuberculosis;
lymphocyte proliferation Ü FULL
TEXT.PDF Abstracts „The first romanian-german symposium on
occupational medicine” |
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