Trace metals in air samples collected from the cities of Kuwait and Riyadh after the Gulf war

In an effort to assess the environmental impact of the burning oil wells in Kuwait, we measured metals such as lead (pb), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), manganese (Mn), chromium (Cr), vanadium (V), and beryllium (Be) in the air samples collected from the cities of Kuwait and Riyadh, by flame‐less atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The data did not show an alarming increase in airborne metals during the months of May, when 530 oil wells were burning compared to November and October when all but 29 wells were already capped. Although the cumulative effects of prolonged exposure to certain metals that entered the food chain and water sources cannot be ruled out, the airborne metals, as measured, were surprisingly low.     

Small airways disease in an Operation Desert Storm Deployer: Case report and review of the literature on respiratory health and inhalational exposures from Gulf War I

Constrictive Bronchiolitis (CB) has been reported in US Operation Iraqi Freedom/Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) deployers but not in those from prior US conflicts. A 62‐year old presented with progressive dyspnea 13 years after deployment to the Persian Gulf in 1991‐1992, where he was exposed to burning oil well fire emissions, dust storms, and other potential airborne hazards. In 2014, after a chest computed tomography (CT) scan demonstrated diffuse mosaic attenuation, he underwent surgical lung biopsy, which revealed CB. Deployers from both GWI and OIF/OEF share many exposures. As respiratory symptoms are a feature associated with Gulf War medically unexplained illness, there may be a role for renewed interest in evaluating GWI Veterans with unexplained respiratory symptoms for conditions such as CB, which may result from exposures relevant to deployers from both conflicts.

     

新型农村合作医疗实施前后卫生服务利用公平性的比较研究

目的：通过基线与追踪调查的比较，研究婺源县新型农村合作医疗实施前后农民卫生服务利用公平性的变化，为完善合作医疗实施方案提供科学依据.方法：进行纵向对比研究，采用多阶段分层整群随机抽样抽取研究对象，运用集中指数（CI）、不平等斜率指数（SII）及利用/需要比进行公平性评价.结果：与基线调查相比，追踪调查两周就诊率由97.35‰降为56.70‰（P=0.000），CI由-0.10变为-0.03，SII由-11.89变为-2.04;因经济困难未就诊比例的CI由0.01变为-0.14，SII由1.25变为-6.11.需住院未住院率由39.60%降为11.02%（P=0.000）;因经济困难未住院比例的CI由-0.02变为-0.06，SII由-2.82变为-10.00.利用/需要比由1074.77增至3011.01（P=0.018），Spearman相关分析与经济状况无显著相关.结论：新型农村合作医疗制度对农民卫生服务利用公平性的影响不大，但提示经济状况较差农民的卫生服务利用水平偏低的状况可能略有改善.建议增设慢性病补偿、降低起付线、启动医疗救助或提供住院贷款、加强基层医疗卫生机构服务能力建设.     

Long-term mortality study of oil refinery workers: V. Comparison of workers hired before, during, and after World War II (1940-1945) with a discussion of the impact of study designs on cohort results

The mortality experience of a large refinery cohort (1937-1978) was examined by dividing it into three subcohorts according to hire dates: those hired before 1940, those hired during the period 1940-1945, and those hired after 1945. These three periods are approximately equivalent to before, during, and after World War II and span a total hiring period of more than 75 years. The results showed that a substantial portion of the cohort (3,330 or 27%) had been recruited during 1940-1945, and they contributed 980 or 28% of the total deaths. However, their mortality experience was quite different from the rest. A series of significant increases were seen among the external causes for accidents, suicide, and homicide. In terms of overall mortality and in contrast to the rest of the cohort, no "healthy worker effect" was seen (SMR = 1.00). They also showed increases in several types of cancer including cancers of the pancreas and prostate and leukemia. These unusual experiences cannot be explained either on the basis of their war-related deaths or on their period of employment (one-half were terminated within 1 year from date of hire), and data is insufficient to separate the role of hiring practices or their socioeconomic status. However, their life-styles were probably quite different judged from the fact that alcoholism-related deaths were increased as much as fivefold. Almost two-thirds of the total deaths occurred among 4,080 workers in the before 1940 subcohort. Further, the 5,117 workers of the after-1945 subcohort contributed only 5% of the total deaths. Thus, the results of the original refinery cohort (1937-1978) primarily reflect the experience of those employees hired before 1940. Given the same cohort method (historical prospective), cohort results vary widely according to different study designs, and this has implications for "generalizable" risk assessment or risk projections. A prospective study of new hires with 30 years of follow-up is rather inefficient because it would yield only a small number of deaths, with a strong healthy worker effect. The same is true for studies based on active workers with a short period of follow-up. Studies based on time of hire, however, provide a means for controlling time-related occupational exposures.     

Toxicity of the micropollutants Bisphenol A,Ciprofloxacin, Metoprolol and Sulfamethoxazole in water samples before and after the oxidative treatment

The amount of organic micropollutants detected in surface waters increases steadily. Common waste water treatment plants are not built to remove these substances. Thus there is a need for new technologies. A promising technology is the use of advanced oxidation processes through which organic micropollutants can be removed from waste water. However, the formation of oxidation by-products is likely and needs to be investigated since the by-products not only differ from their parent compounds in regard to their chemical and physical properties but they can also differ in toxicity. Therefore this study was designed to combine chemical and toxicological analyses of the advanced oxidation (O₃ [5 mg/L] or UV/H₂O₂ [Hg-LP lamp; 15 W; 1 g/L H₂O₂]) of waste water treatment plant effluents and pure water. Effluent samples from conventional activated sludge waste water treatment (mechanical treatment, activated sludge basin, and primary as well as secondary treatment steps) and high-purity deionized water (pure water) were spiked with Bisphenol A, Ciprofloxacin, Metoprolol or Sulfamethoxazole and treated with O₃ or UV/H₂O₂. For the toxicological analyses mammalian cells (CHO-9, T47D) were exposed to the water samples for 24 h and were tested for cytotoxicity (MTT Test), genotoxicity (Alkaline Comet Assay) and estrogenicity (ER Calux^®). The results indicate that the oxidative treatment (O₃ or UV/H₂O₂) of Bisphenol A, Metoprolol, Sulfamethoxazole or Ciprofloxacin in waste water did not result in toxic oxidation by-products, whereas the UV/H₂O₂ treatment of Bisphenol A and Ciprofloxacin in pure water resulted in by-products with cytotoxic but no estrogenic effects after 60 min.     

全面两孩政策后北京市丰台区一孩和二孩母婴结局比较

目的探讨全面两孩政策后,北京市丰台区2017年一孩和二孩新生儿出生身长、体质量、产妇分娩情况的差异,并分析其中相关性。方法选取"北京市妇幼保健网络信息系统二期系统"中2017年1月1日-2017年12月31日在北京市丰台区建档的一孩和二孩新生儿信息21622条,回顾性分析一孩组(n=13505)及二孩组(n=8117)的出生身长、体质量、低体质量率、巨大儿率、产妇分娩情况的差异。结果2017年北京市丰台区二孩男婴出生身长高于一孩(P=0.017);二孩出生体质量高于一孩(P<0.001);二孩在巨大儿率、母亲分娩年龄、高龄产妇率、剖宫产率方面均高于一孩,但产妇孕周小于一孩,差异均有统计学意义(均P<0.05)。分层分析显示,25~35岁产妇人数比例最高,且25岁以上产妇分娩的二孩平均体质量高于一孩,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论全面两孩政策后,北京市丰台区2017年二孩出生体质量显著高于一孩,一孩和二孩新生儿出生体质量差异可能与分娩年龄、孕周、生产方式之间存在相关性。