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Objectives: The study has aimed at investigating the subjective assessment of an individual's health status and comparing the prevalence of selected work-related symptoms among nail technicians occupationally exposed to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to the one among control subjects. Associations between occupational exposure to VOCs and the incidence of adverse health effects were also analyzed.Material and Methods: The study involved 145 female nail technicians and 152 control subjects. Data on the prevalence of adverse health effects was collected using the researcher- made questionnaire and then analyzed by means of survival analysis methods.Results: Only 22% of nail technicians as compared to 45% of control subjects described their current health status as "excellent" or "very good" (odds ratio (OR) = 0.4, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.2-0.6, p < 0.00005). In general, 61% of nail technicians confirmed to have experienced any out of all symptoms considered in the study since the commencement of the job, which was significantly higher as compared to 17% of control subjects (adjusted OR = 2.8, 95% CI: 2.1-3.7, p < 0.0001). Estimated median length of the employment period free of investigated symptoms was significantly shorter among nail technicians as compared to controls (12 years vs. 33 years, p < 0.0001), consistent with almost 4-times increased hazard of the occurrence of such symptoms among the technicians (hazard ratio (HR) = 3.9, 95% CI: 2.7-5.7, p < 0.0001). Cox proportional hazard regression modeling revealed almost 5-times increased hazard of the occurrence of any symptoms among nail technicians exposed to higher levels of the mixture of VOCs as compared to those exposed to lower levels (HR = 4.9, 95% CI: 1-24.1, p = 0.05).Conclusions: All outcomes combined together indicate that nail technicians are subject to faster health deterioration, which may be assumed to be caused by occupational exposure to low levels of VOCs. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2017;30(3):469-483. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of the study has been to explore hemimellitene distribution in blood, liver, lung and kidney as well as toxicokinetics of its elimination from blood of rats after single and repeated inhalation exposure to this compound. Tissue distribution and excretion with urine of 2-dimethylbenzoic acids (2,3-DMBA and 2,6-DMBA) were also evaluated. Material and Methods: Male outbred IMP:WIST rats were used in the experiment. The animals were exposed to hemimellitene vapors at the nominal concentration of 25 ppm, 100 ppm, and 250 ppm in the dynamic inhalation chambers for 6 h for single exposure purpose and for 4 weeks (6 h/day for 5 day/week) for repeated exposure purposes. Results: Significantly lower concentrations of hemimellitene were detected in the blood and tissues of animals after repeated inhalation exposure of animals to hemimellitene vapors, which points to reduced retention of the chemical in the lungs of the experimental rats. The trend of hemimellitene elimination from the blood depended solely on exposure intensity, irrespective of exposure time, both after single and repeated exposure. As regards the 2 determined hemimellitene metabolites, the major trend of the metabolic transformation involved formation of 2,3-DMBA. Conclusions: The significantly higher urinary 2,3-DMBA concentration after repeated exposure shows that hemimellitene induces enzymatic processes in the rat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Textiles are characterized by a diversified and relatively high susceptibility to sorption of volatile substances and may influence indoor air quality. The aim of this study was investigation the susceptibility of fibers to sorption of two environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) markers: nicotine and 3-ethenylpyridine (3-EP) and changes in concentrations of these substances in fibers under light exposure. For this purpose, we used non-colored, natural and synthetic fibers, which had not been subjected to any modification. It was observed that nicotine as pure or as one of the ingredients of ETS was adsorbed on the surface of all of the used fibers, and cotton and polypropylene fibers adsorbed it more than other fibers. 3-EP (in ETS) was adsorbed by synthetic fibers and when we used high concentrations of 3-EP in the air it was adsorbed on the surface of cotton fibers in the presence of synthetic fibers.The greatest susceptibility for simultaneous sorption of nicotine and 3-EP (in ETS) was observed for polypropylene fibers. Results show that nicotine is a better marker for ETS contamination of textile materials than 3-EP. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Highly reactive, low-molecular-weight diisocyanates (DIC) are the most commonly identified cause of occupational asthma (OA). Animal/clinical studies of DIC asthma have been more limited compared with atopic asthma, and an understanding of DIC pathogenesis is less clear. The aim of this study was to investigate in a mouse model, toluene diisocyanate (TDI, as 2,4-TDI isomer)-induced inflammatory reactions/cytokine profile changes in the lungs and accompanying changes in lymph node lymphocyte sub-populations. The study used female BALB/cJ/Han/IMP mice that were exposed first intra-nasally and then in an inhalation chamber to TDI or air. After the final exposure, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was collected and changes induced in inflammatory cell composition, levels of key cytokines (i.e. IL-4, TNF α, IFN γ), and lymphocyte sub-population profiles within auricular lymph nodes, were evaluated. Total number of cells in the BALF of treated mice was significantly higher than in control mice BALF. There was also a significant increase in BALF neutrophil and eosinophil levels with TDI mice compared to in controls; lymphocyte and macrophage numbers did not significantly differ. A significant increase in BALF levels of TNF α and IFN γ was also noted in mice exposed to TDI relative to levels in controls. BALF IL-4 levels were also increased, but the change from control was not significant. Lastly, the levels/percentages of CD3+CD4+ (T-helper [TH]) lymphocytes significantly increased in the lymph nodes of TDI-exposed groups while those of the CD3+CD8+ cells decreased as compared to in control mice. These studies, the first to assess TDI-induced changes in levels of three key cytokines in BALF in conjunction with changes in local lymph nodes following first an intra-nasal and then a general inhalation exposure to a low-level of TDI, confirm that TDI inhalation induces a pathology manifested by airway inflammation, TH cell-derived cytokine production, and shifts in lymph node lymphocytes sub-populations toward increases in TH cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A single i.p administration of 1.0 mg/kg of chlorphenvinphos (CVP), an organophosphorus pesticide, results in an acute stress response, evidenced by a marked (6-7 fold) rise in plasma corticosterone (CURT) concentration, and a diminished behavioural sensitivity to amphetamine (AMPH) three weeks postexposure. Surprisingly, in rats subjected to a single series of inescapable electric footshocks (60 10 msec triplets of 3.0 mA, 2 msec, square pulses during 20 mm - IF) two weeks prior to the CVP exposure, these effects are not observed. It has been assumed that the reduced effectiveness ofCVP might be related to some persisting alterations in the functional state of the cholinergic system. The aim of the present work was to discover whether and in what way the IF pretreatment affects i) the cholinesterase activity in blood, and ii) the dynamics of the alterations in thc cholinesterase (ChE) activity following the CVP exposure. The experiments were performed on 3 mo. old, male Wistar rats. In the first experiment, the blood samples were taken from the tail vein 15, 60 and 180 mm after the IF. In the second experiment, the rats were prclrcatcd with IF and 14 days later given 1.0 mg/kg of CYP i.p. Blood samples were taken 15 min, 60 min, 180 min, 24 h, 7 days, and 14 days after the CVP exposure. In the first experiment no differences in the ChE activity in plasma (pChE) and erythrocytes (rbcChE) were found between the shocked and control rats. In the second experiment, however, in rats pretreated with IF the rbcChE activity of was reduced by CVP less and pChE activity returned to normal faster than in rats not pretreated with IF. The results confirm that exposure to IF, a nonchemical stressor, induces some long-lasting adaptive changes which render the cholinergic system less susceptible to the harmful action of ChE inhibitors. It has been hypothesized that the changes consist in an increase of the antioxidant potential in blood and possibly other tissues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]