Prevalence of possible occupational asthma in hairdressers working in hair salons for women.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of possible occupational asthma (OA) in hairdressers. METHODS: A telephone questionnaire (Q1) was administered to 1,334 individuals from a total of 1,875 hairdressers working in hair salons for women in Barcelona (response rate 71%) to identify those with respiratory symptoms. Multiple correspondence analysis showed 5 specific questions for assessing symptoms of asthma. Individuals who gave a positive response to 1 of these questions (n = 251) were given a second validated questionnaire (Q2) to identify those with suspected OA. OA was defined according to a classification tree based on the response to queries on nasal itching, daily symptoms throughout the week at work, nasal secretions, voice loss, wheezing, and sputum production as reported previously. Moreover, we calculated the prevalence of OA according to the conventional criteria of improvement and/or worsening of symptoms in relation to exposure at work and during off-work time on weekends and during vacations. RESULTS: Asthma was present in 9.5% of hairdressers. From Q2 data, 72 were classified as having possible OA, yielding a prevalence of OA from 5.4 (72/1,334) to 7.8% according to the classification tree previously described. A prevalence from 4.6 (62/1,334) to 6.7% was obtained using conventional criteria. Rhinitis or dermatitis (OR 7.80), as well as exacerbation of symptoms at work and persistence of symptoms on weekends (OR 2.99) were associated with the development of OA. CONCLUSIONS: Hairdressing employment can induce asthma. Episodes of rhinitis or dermatitis seem to be risk factors for the development of OA in this population.

Synthesis, structure, luminescence, and theoretical studies of tetranuclear gold clusters with phosphinocarborane ligands.

Treatment of the tetranuclear gold cluster [Au4((PPh2)2C2B9H10)2(AsPh3)2] (1), which contains the nido-carborane-diphosphine [7,8-(PPh2)2C2B9H10]-, with various tertiary phosphines leads to derivatives [Au4((PPh2)2C2B9H10)2-(PR3)2] (PR3 = PPh3 (2), P(4-MeC6H4)3 (3), P(4-OMeC6H4)3 (4)). The X-ray crystal structure of complex 4 shows a tetrahedral framework of gold atoms, two of which are chelated by the diphosphine, and two are coordinated to one monophosphine ligand each. These compounds are very stable and are obtained in high yield. MP2 calculations suggest that the two types of chemically nonequivalent gold atoms can be formally assigned as Au(I) (those attached to the arsines or phosphines) and Au(0) (those bonded to the anionic diphosphine) and emphasize the role of correlation in the gold-gold interactions. The compounds are luminescent. The emission is assigned to a gold-centered spin-forbidden transition; the assignment of the oxidation state of the gold centers on this basis leads to results coincident with those obtained by theoretical calculations.

[Cardiopulmonary resuscitation in pregnant women: peculiarities]. / Reanimación cardiopulmonar en la gestante: peculiaridades.

This review main purpose is to show nursing the present knowledge about cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in pregnant women because of the scarce information published by Spanish Nursing Publications. The bibliographical research was made using both the Medline (from January 1982 to March 1998) and Index de Enfermería databases. There, we can find 32 references from which only 23 were selected (all of them belong to the Medline database) in spite of 3 chapters that had already been selected from other different books. Although maternal cardiac arrest rarely happens during pregnancy, it is very important for sanitary staff to be familiarized with the specifics thecnics and equipment (ultrasound and cardiotocograph monitoring). This review describes the physiological changes that take place during pregnancy and have an incidence into CPR. The article also includes the conclusions about the checked papers and the peculiarities that have to be taken into account in each CPR, such as the fetal viability evaluation, right CPR position, airway and breathing, desfibrillation, external cardiac compression and use of pharmacologic therapy and intravenous fluids. Moreover, there is a special mention of the perimortem cesarean delivery features: antecedents, foetus-maternals consequences and managements, due to the fact that this surgical operation should be included inside the CPR protocols of the pregnant.