National machine guarding program: Part 2. Safety management in small metal fabrication enterprises

Background

Small manufacturing businesses often lack important safety programs. Many reasons have been set forth on why this has remained a persistent problem.

Methods

The National Machine Guarding Program (NMGP) was a nationwide intervention conducted in partnership with two workers' compensation insurers. Insurance safety consultants collected baseline data in 221 business using a 33‐question safety management audit. Audits were completed during an interview with the business owner or manager.

Results

Most measures of safety management improved with an increasing number of employees. This trend was particularly strong for lockout/tagout. However, size was only significant for businesses without a safety committee. Establishments with a safety committee scored higher (55% vs. 36%) on the safety management audit compared with those lacking a committee (P < 0.0001).

Conclusions

Critical safety management programs were frequently absent. A safety committee appears to be a more important factor than business size in accounting for differences in outcome measures. Am. J. Ind. Med. 58:1184–1193, 2015. © 2015 The Authors. American Journal of Industrial Medicine Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Male circumcision and anatomic sites of penile high-risk human papillomavirus in Rakai, Uganda

Male circumcision (MC) reduces penile high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) on the coronal sulcus and urethra. HR-HPV varies by anatomic site, and it is unknown whether MC decreases HR-HPV on the penile shaft. We assessed the efficacy of MC to reduce HR-HPV on the penile shaft and compared it to known efficacy of MC to reduce HR-HPV on the coronal sulcus. HIV-negative men randomized to receive immediate circumcision (intervention) or circumcision delayed for 24 months (control) were evaluated for HR-HPV at 12 months postenrollment using the Roche HPV Linear Array assay. Among swabs with detectable β-globin or HPV, year 1 HR-HPV prevalence on the coronal sulcus was 21.5% in the intervention arm and 36.3% in the control arm men [adjusted prevalence risk ratios (PRRs) = 0.57, 95% CI 0.39-0.84, p = 0.005]. On the shaft, year 1 HR-HPV prevalence was 15.5% in the intervention and 23.8% in the control arm (adjusted PRR = 0.66, 95% CI 0.39-1.12, p = 0.12). Efficacy of MC to reduce HR-HPV on the shaft was similar to efficacy on the coronal sulcus (p = 0.52). In a sensitivity analysis in which swabs without detectable β-globin or HPV were included as HPV negative, prevalence of HR-HPV on the shaft was lower in the intervention arm (7.8%) than control arm (13.6%; PRR 0.57, 95% CI 0.33-0.99, p < 0.05). HR-HPV was more frequently detected on the coronal sulcus than penile shaft among uncircumcised men (36.3% vs. 23.8%, respectively, p = 0.02) and circumcised men (21.5% vs. 15.5%, respectively, p = 0.24). MC reduced HR-HPV prevalence on both the coronal sulcus and shaft.     

Nitrite directly vasodilates hypoxic vasculature via nitric oxide-dependent and -independent pathways

Background and purpose:

It is postulated that nitrite requires reduction to nitric oxide in order to exert its relaxant effect upon isolated hypoxic vessels. Herein, we evaluate the relative contribution of nitric oxide and characterize the downstream mechanisms of nitrite-induced vasorelaxation.

Experimental approach:

Aortic rings were treated with pharmacological agents and exposed to hypoxia (<1% O₂). Following pre-constriction, nitrite (10 µM final) was added to appropriate baths; isometric tension was recorded throughout.

Key results:

Nitrite (under hypoxic conditions at physiological pH) is capable of exerting physiological effects that cannot be completely inhibited by the inhibitor of soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC), 1H [1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one or a nitric oxide scavenger (carboxy-2-phenyl-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-imidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide). Simultaneous blockade of both sGC and cyclooxygenase (COX) completely inhibited the response to nitrite. With regard to the nitric oxide-dependent component, we confirm that aldehyde oxidase, but not xanthine oxidase or endothelial nitric oxide synthase, was important for the actions of nitrite in our model.

Conclusions and implications:

Nitric oxide generated from nitrite is not exclusively responsible for the physiological actions observed in isolated hypoxic vessels. Nitrite operates via different pathways dependent on the presence or absence of endothelium to produce vasorelaxation. In intact vessels, both sGC and COX enzymes appear to be important. Irrespective of this difference in relaxation mechanism, nitrite is capable of producing the same maximum relaxation, regardless of the presence of endothelium. Having investigated possible nitrite reduction sites, we confirm that aldehyde oxidase is important for the actions of nitrite.     

Evaluation of a new DNA test for detection of carcinogenic human papillomavirus

Using archived specimens, we evaluated a new automated real-time PCR assay (BD Diagnostics) that detects all carcinogenic human papillomaviruses (HPV) and provides HPV genotyping for seven of them, including HPV16 and HPV18, the two most carcinogenic HPV genotypes. We found comparable results with Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2) for detection of carcinogenic HPV (n = 473) and with Linear Array and Line Blot Assay (n = 371) for detection of individual HPV genotypes.