[Analysis of respiratory parameters before and after working in manual laborers at a tobacco factory]. / Analiza wartosci wskazników wentylacyjnych przed praca oraz po jej zakonczeniu u pracowników fizycznych przemyslu tytoniowego.

From the group of 102 workers of local cigarette factory 51 persons had a contact with tobacco leaves before fermentation and other 51 workers with after process of fermentation. Values of spirometric parameters before and after 8 hour lung occupational exposition to tobacco leaves were evaluated in both groups. Increase of obturation of both large and small airways was found after workshift. 31 of examined persons had more than 20% inferior values of FEV1, Raw and FEF 25/75. That hyperspasmatic reaction of bronchi was found both in subjects with signs of obturation and in persons with normal results in examination before workshift. This finding concerned mostly workers who inhaled dust of tobacco leaves prior to fermentation.

Comparison of airway resistance of inhabitants of two distinctly different polluted areas.

To assess the influence of noxious ecological factors caused by air, water and soil pollution, multidisciplinary medical examination of inhabitants of villages situated in the Protective Zone of the Nowa Huta Steel Mill Plant was conducted. Tokarnia, a village about 40 km south-west of Cracow, commonly believed to have favorable environmental conditions, provided a background for the comparison. The aim of this study was to compare respiratory resistance of people living in these two areas. Mean values of Raw were higher in all groups of inhabitants of the Zone. The differences between arithmetic means of this parameter in groups of boys, girls, women and men were statistically significant.

Activity of N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase in lymphocytes of rats exposed to mixture of nitrogen oxides and chlorine.

Activity of N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase (GS) has been cytochemically studied in peripheral blood lymphocytes of rats exposed to the mixture of nitrogen oxides (1.22 mg/m3) and chlorine (1.02 mg/m3) during a period of 12 weeks. The decrease of the total lymphocyte count and in increase of the count of GS-positive lymphocytes with cytoplasmatic but not exclusively lysosomal localization have been noted after exposure. The increase of the count of lymphocytes containing the enzyme within both lysosomal granules and cytoplasm has been correlated with the exposure time and accompanied by diminishing the count of lymphocytes containing the enzyme within the lysosomal granules exclusively. The authors believe the changes noted above may result from toxic damage of lysosomes or the immune response of lymphocytes against antigens released from the damaged tissues.