A field study on thermal comfort in an Italian hospital considering differences in gender and age.

The hospital is a thermal environment where comfort must be calibrated by taking into account two different groups of people, that is, patients and medical staff. The study involves 30 patients and 19 medical staff with a view to verifying if Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) index can accurately predict thermal sensations of both groups also taking into account any potential effects of age and gender. The methodology adopted is based on the comparison between PMV values (calculated according to ISO 7730 after having collected environmental data and estimated personal parameters) and perceptual judgments (Actual Mean Vote, AMV), expressed by the subjects interviewed. Different statistical analyses show that PMV model finds his best correlation with AMV values in a sample of male medical staff under 65 years of age. It has been observed that gender and age are factors that must be taken into account in the assessment of thermal comfort in the hospital due to very weak correlation between AMV and PMV values.

[Evaluation of metabolic rate for a correct risk assessment of thermal environments]. / Lo studio dell'attività metabolica per una corretta valutazione del rischio da esposizione ad ambienti termici.

BACKGROUND: The new law n.81/2008 recognises microclimate as one of physical agents for which risk assessment becomes obligatory. To achieve this it is necessary to evaluate suitable indices, based on heat balance equation, which depend on six parameters: the first four are related to thermal environment and the last two are related to the worker (metabolic rate and thermal insulation). The first four parameters are directly measurable in situ by using a multiple data acquisition unit provided with suitable sensors. Parameters related to the worker are not directly measurable. This aspect represents one of the problems which can lead to an inaccurate risk assessment. OBJECTIVES: Aim of the paper was to identify a method which leads to a correct evaluation of the metabolic rate related to the worker under study. METHODS: It was decided to follow the procedures described by the standard UNI EN ISO 8996:2005 which presents four different levels to evaluate metabolic rate, each one with an increasing degree of accuracy. Seven workers were selected: three performed light tasks and the other four did heavy work. RESULTS: The study showed that the results appear to be in acceptable agreement in the case of light work while there were detectable differences in value for heavy tasks. CONCLUSIONS: The Authors believe it is necessary to stress the importance of a suitable estimation of the metabolic rate in order to carry out a correct risk assessment which quantifies the risk exactly.

[A particular anthropometric method for the study of accessibility of a workstation]. / Un particolare approccio antropometrico per lo studio della raggiungibilità di una postazione cassa.

One of the main factors which can involve musculo-skeletal disorders is the assumption of awkward postures. These lasts can be caused, in some cases, by a no-suitable collocation of some devices which are indispensable for the work. It is possible to evaluate if the chosen collocation is adequate or not by studying the accessibility of the workstation with a special regard for the accessibility of the devices placed inside the workstation. EN ISO 14738:2002 is a specific standard which has been adopted in Italy as UNI EN ISO 14738:2004. This standard gives some useful requirements, in terms of accessibility, to design a workstation at no-mobile machinery. In this study, the authors have analyzed a check out workstation by following the requirements described in UNI EN ISO 14738:2004. Critical aspects, related to the organization both of the work activities either of the workstation, have been highlighted taking into account standard criteria. Finally the authors make a new design of the check out workstation trying to optimize device collocation in order to reduce awkward postures. The new configuration has been investigated by applying the criteria mentioned in the standard.

[Function analysis of employees at cash desks in the retailing sector by means of the study of the movements of the upper limbs]. / Analisi della mansione dell'addetto alle casse nella grande distribuzione mediante lo studio del movimento degli arti superiori.

Supermarket checkouts are different in term of dimensions and arrangement of the essential devices for cashier's work. It means that a different layout can involve different tasks, so it is necessary to evaluate every single system in order to define the entity of required commitment for the worker. A supermarket checkout was considered in order to evaluate its workstation and to analyze the different tasks of two cashiers with similar anthropometric measurements. In particular one of them is affected by a widespread osteoarthritis, verified by instrumental tests and clinical examination. Several geometrical measures of the workstation were carried out while the cashiers were observed and filmed by videotapes during their activities. The study has been carried out by drawing the "preferred" and "maximal" working areas, as UNI EN ISO 14738:2004 suggests. Some tasks seem to be particularly critical especially for the cashier affected by osteoarthritis, who adopts compensatory postural mechanisms in order to use some devices which are not easy to reach inside the workstation, and which can induce pain to her. Finally the authors make some considerations about the opportunity of making a new layout of the workstation in order to find a more suitable arrangement of the devices.

Madurez de las vellosidades coriales y su relación con desordenes hipertensivos en casos de desprendimiento prematuro grave de placenta normoinserta / Maturity of chorionic villi and its relationship with hypertensive disorders in cases of severe premature placental detachment of normal insert placenta

Evaluar la madurez de las vellosidades placentarias indicada por la presencia de vellosidades intermedias, inmaduras o maduras y de membranas vásculosincitiales en el estroma de vellosidades cercanas a la superficie de separación de la placa basal en cosas de desprendimiento prematuro grave de placenta normo inserta. Se tomaron diez placentas, siete de pacientes con desórdenes hipertensivos y tres sin hipertensión. Se recolectaron las características microscópicas referidas a la madurez de las vellosidades y a la presencia de membranas vásculosincitiales con técnicas de microscopia de luz. Laboratorio de microscopia electrónica del CIADANA y Dpto. Ginecología y Obstetricia del Hospital Central de Maracay, Área de Estudios de Post-Grado. En el grupo de las pacientes hipertensas se encontró un mayor número de placentas con vellosidades maduras, mientras que en el grupo de normotensas se encontró un mayor número de placentas con vellosidades inmaduras. El mayor número de placentas con membranas vásculosincitiales periféricas se observó en el grupo de las pacientes hipertensas y con membranas vásculosincitiales centrales en el grupo de normotensas. Un escenario mixto de madurez e inmadurez de las vellosidades está asociado al desprendimiento prematuro de placenta, que podría ser indicativo de que la hipertensión está provocando una acelerada maduración que favorecería un rápido envejecimiento de la vellosidad, facilitándose el desprendimiento

[Guidelines for the health protection and safety of workers exposed to antineoplastic drugs]. / Linee guida per la tutela della salute e per la sicurezza dei lavoratori esposti a chemioterapici antiblastici.

The guidelines must guarantee that occupational exposure to antineoplastic chemotherapeutic drugs is kept at the lowest level possible. Occupational exposure to these drugs can involve different categories of workers and different job tasks, such as stocking, preparation, administration, disposal, maintenance of safety cabinets and room cleaning where these activities are performed. Preventive measures should include the institution of "Centralized Units for handling antineoplastic chemotherapeutic drugs", where only specifically trained personnel are employed. Cleaning and decontamination procedures must be easily feasible and specific safety cabinets should be used in the rooms. Personnel must use adequate protective equipment and follow standardized working procedures. Information programs for the personnel should be carried out covering occupational risks, safe preventive measures and the explanation of environmental and biological monitoring.

Serologic evidence of Campylobacter jejuni/coli enteritis in patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome.

We performed serologic testing for Campylobacter jejuni in 17 consecutive patients with acute Guillain-Barré syndrome from the Boston, Mass area to compare the frequency of this preceding infection with the high rates reported from other areas of the world. The rate of seropositivity, 18%, was considerable, but it was lower than that reported in Australia. Moreover, all of our patients with definite serologic evidence of infection had severe enteritis before Guillain-Barré syndrome, usually with the organism cultured from stool samples. Campylobacter enteritis is an important antecedent illness for Guillain-Barré syndrome but did not precipitate the disease without enteritis.

Pain after barium enema: effect of CO2 and air on double-contrast study.

One hundred fifty-one consecutive patients scheduled for double-contrast barium enema studies were assigned randomly to insufflation with either air or carbon dioxide (CO2) in a double-blind, prospective trial. Within 24 hours after the enema study, the patients were contacted by telephone by an interviewer, who completed a standard questionnaire. Radiographs from the enema studies were assessed for quality by two radiologists. Pain experienced after the procedure was graded from 0 (none) to 4 (severe). Clinically relevant (grades 2-4) pain was experienced by 30% of patients after insufflation with room air, compared with 11% of patients in whom CO2 was used for insufflation (P = .005). The mean pain score for CO2 was 0.4, and for room air, 1.2 (P less than .005). Although five patients experienced grade 4 pain after insufflation with air, no patient reported severe pain after CO2 insufflation. Post-evacuation films confirmed there was significantly less residual gas in the CO2 group. The quality of radiographs was equal in the two groups. CO2 has advantages for use in the double-contrast barium enema examination.