Prevalence Of Respiratory Symptoms And Pulmonary Function Status Of Restaurant Workers

@#The cooking process may emit toxic compounds and airway irritants from both the fuel combustion and cooking fumes which is harmful to the respiratory health among the restaurant workers. A cross-sectional study of 243 restaurant workers from the selected restaurants in Sungai Long, Malaysia was conducted. The standardized British Medical Research Council questionnaire on Respiratory Symptoms (1986) was used during the interview to access the symptoms and the spirometry test was performed to evaluate the pulmonary functions of the participants. The data of socio-demography and occupational characteristics were also collected. The most complaint respiratory symptoms by the restaurant workers were breathlessness, which accounted for 33.7%, followed by wheezing (14%). The mean values of all pulmonary function tests (PFT) of the restaurant workers were within the normal range (>80%), except for the Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF) (79.09%). The results of the bivariate statistical analysis, Chi-square, ANOVA and t-test, showed the determining factors of the respiratory health among the workers were workers’ age and gender in addition to the working duration and the ethnicity. The restaurant workers in Sungai Long were at risk of developing respiratory symptoms and lower pulmonary function values due to prolonged exposure to cooking fumes. Emphasis should be given to the safety and health of restaurant workers and health education should be provided to the restaurant workers and owners. Strategies to increase notification of such occurrences among these workers should be looked into by related agencies in the country.

Effect of Probucol on Renal Cortex Blood Flow and Renal Function in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease / 医药导报

Objective To measure the renal cortex blood flow leVel in Patients with stage 3-4 chronic kidney disease, and to obserVe the effect of Probucol on renal cortex blood flow and renal function. Methods Twenty Patients with stage 3-4 chronic kidney disease in our hosPital were randomly diVided into treatment grouP ( 10 Patients ) and obserVation grouP ( 10 Patients). Ten healthy subjects were chosen as the control grouP. Dynamic sonograPhic tissue Perfusion measurement (DTPM) was used to eValuate the mean flow intensity (Imix),mean flow Velocity (Vmix) and tissue resistance index (TRI) in the three grouPs. Patients in the obserVation grouP were treated with standard theraPy;the treatment grouP was giVen Probucol 500 mg,twice daily in addition to standard theraPy for 6 months. The renal cortex blood flow leVel after treatment was measured in the treatment grouP and obserVation grouP. The serum BUN,SCr,TC,TG,LDL,HDL,hs_CRP,ox_LDL,PA,ALB before and after treatment were measured and comPared between the treatment grouP and obserVation grouP. Results Imix and Vmix were significantly lower,and TRI was significantly higher in the treatment grouP and obserVation grouP than in the control grouP (P<0. 01). After 6 months of treatment,Imix and Vmix in the treatment grouP were significantly increased and TRI significantly decreased as comPared with the baseline and the control grouP (P<0. 01). After treatment,Imix and Vmix were significantly decreased and TRI was significantly increased in the obserVation grouP (P<0. 05). In the treatment grouP,the serum BUN,SCr,TC,TG,LDL,hs_CRP and ox_LDL decreased and PA,ALB and HDL increased after treatment as comPared with the baseline and the obserVation grouP (P<0. 05 or P<0. 01). Conclusion The renal cortex blood flow leVel is significantly lower in Patients with stage 3-4 chronic kidney disease than in the healthy PeoPle. Probucol can imProVe the renal cortex blood flow leVel significantly,Protect the renal function, and imProVe microinflammatory state,nutrition status and dysliPidemia.

Penehyclidine hydrochloride inhibits glutamate release and related research in global brain ischemia/reperfusion rats / 中国应用生理学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of penehyclidine hydrochloride on glutamate (Glu)release and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR)1 expression in hippocampus CA1 with global cerebral ischemia/reperfusion rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixty male Wistar rats were randomly allocated into three groups; group A received sham operation; group B received ischemia/reperfusion; group C received penehyclidine hydrochloride treatment (2 mg/kg) before ischemia/reperfusion (n=20). Global cerebral ischemia was induced according to Pulsinelli-Brierley method. All animals were divided into two experiments: (I) Microdialysis plus HPLC/FD were used to detect Glu level after reperfusion 1 h, 3 h, 6 h. (II) After reperfusion 3 h, the animals were decapitated on ice and the brains were immediately removed to detect NMDAR1 expression in CA1 area by immunohistochemistry.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>After penehyclidine hydrochloride treatment, extracellular Glu level in CA1 were significantly decreased compared with those of control group (P < 0.05 or 0.01); Total integrated OD, average gray value and positive-cell area of NMDAR1 in CA1 were also significantly decreased compared with those of control group (P < 0.05 or 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Penehyclidine hydrochloride might has protective effect in hippocampus CA1 on global cerebral ischemia/reperfusion animals. The protective mechanism might be involved in inhibiting Glu release and NMDAR1 expression.</p>

Effect of high-frequency stimulation to subthalamic nucleus on STR neuronal firing rates in Parkinson disease rats / 中国应用生理学杂志

<p><b>AIM</b>To observe the change of STR neuronal firing rates with high frequency stimulation of subthalamic nucleus in PD rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A model of Parkinson's disease was induced by unilateral administration of 6-hydroxydopamine into right substantia nigra in rats. After the high-frequency stimulation to STN, the spontaneous firing rates of STR on normal and PD rats were recorded by using extracellular recordings.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Stimulation caused a direct excited effect of STR neurons in normal rats whereas a excited and inhibited effect in PD rats. The inhibited effect was correlated with the stimulation period (r = 0.94).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Stimulation to STN may inhibit the spontaneous firing rates of STR neurons in PD rats. These results also give some clues that high-frequency stimulation to STN may be a effective therapy to the clinical treatment of Parkinson's disease.</p>