Environmental and health monitoring study in dry cleaning departments

The aim of the present work is to evaluate the potential exposures to perchloroethylene in the dry cleaning departments in a group of seven first‐class Egyptian hotels; conditions which contribute to excessive levels and possible health effects in the exposed workers. Environmental monitoring of the workplaces was done through air samples, being collected from the breathing zones in the dry cleaning departments, carried out in different stages during washing process: close to press machine, flat iron, mannequin, spotting table and while charging the cleaning machine with the solvent. Atmospheric samples were analyzed by gas chromatography technique. The environmental study showed that the PCE levels were much exceeded in many workplaces, compared to the recommended TLV‐TWA. A group of 53 dry cleaners are included in the present work, in addition to 30 unexposed office workers, served as a control group. Both groups were thoroughly interviewed and examined clinically stressing on the condition of their CNS and PNS. Blood samples were collected and analyzed (spectrophotometrically) for the measurement of liver and renal function tests. Urine samples were collected and analyzed for the determination of the urinary trichloroacetic acid. Headache, nervousness, dizziness and vertigo were the most prevalent symptoms elicited in the exposed workers, followed by symptoms of respiratory and gastrointestinal irritation and skin and mucous membranes’ reactions. Gloves and stokings’ hypoaesthesia affected about l/4th of the exposed workers, followed by tremors (22.64%), first cranial nerve affection (11.32%), and disturbed reflexes (5.66%). Other signs elicited in the exposed workers were in the form of skin manifestations (16.98%), pallor (7.55%), and jaundice (2 cases). Insignificant systolic and diastolic high blood pressures were elicited in the exposed workers compared to the controls. Higher values of blood urea, serum creatinine, SGOT, total proteins, and urinary trichloroacetic acid were elicited in the exposed workers compared to the controls, whereas, lower figures of albumin were elicited in the exposed workers than in the controls. However, in spite of such differences, there was no statistical significance for those differences except for the urinary trichloroacetic acid (t = 3.6, ρ < 0.05). Duration of exposure proved to have no significant effect on most of the bioindicators, being examined in the present study. The study recommended a pre employment medical examination for the subjects recommended to work in dry cleaning, as well as a periodic medical examination to elicit the early manifestations due exposure to PCE. Various engineering control measures must be taken into consideration, when we try to improve the workplaces being studied. Personal protective measures could be considered the last effective line of defense against the various health hazards being faced by the working population in such an important economic activity.     

The interaction between polymerization initiators and inhibitors in solution, 7. The reaction of diazoaminobenzene with 1,4-benzoquinone, 2,5-dichloro-1,4-benzoquinone,and chloranil in chlorobenzene and acetonitrile

The reactions of 1,3-diphenyltriazene ( 1 ) (diazoaminobenzene) with 1,4-benzoquinone, 2,5-dichloro-1,4-benzoquinone, and tetrachloro-1,4-benzoquinone (chloranil) are studied in chlorobenzene and acetonitrile. The great preponderance of the anilinoquinones relative to the corresponding phenyl derivatives among the reaction products indicates that the electron donating power of free radical determines its reactivity towards quinones. A mechanism based on electron-transfer from the free radical to the quinone molecule is suggested and the bearing of the obtained results on the mechanism of inhibition of polymerization reactions by quinones is discussed.     

Dramatic improvement of penile venous leakage upon testosterone administration. A case report and review of literature

The main effect of testosterone was long-time assumed to be on sexual interest and, indirectly, on erectile function. Newer insights demonstrate that testosterone deficiency impairs the anatomical, ultrastructural, biological and physiological/functional substrate of penile erection, which can be, at least in part, restored by normalization of plasma testosterone levels. This is a report on a 56-year-old man suffering from diabetes mellitus type II and metabolic syndrome, who had complaints of a severe erectile dysfunction because of venous leakage, confirmed by pharmaco-cavernosography. He was also testosterone deficient (1.8 ng ml(-1)). Upon testosterone administration his erectile function improved dramatically. Repeated cavernosography no longer showed venous leakage.     

Changes in zinc and serum proteins due to carbon disulphide exposure

El-Gazzar, R., El-Sadik, Y. M., and Hussein, M. (1973).British Journal of Industrial Medicine,30, 284-288. Changes in zinc and serum proteins due to carbon disulphide exposure. Serum zinc and proteins have been studied in 82 workers in the Egyptian rayon industry, of whom 40 were at the time exposed to carbon disulphide (CS₂) and nine had been exposed in the past for a year or more. Thirty-three workers without exposure were used as controls. Carbon disulphide caused depletion of serum zinc by an increase in the rate of zinc excretion and an increase in all serum protein fractions. All these effects are temporary and improve on cessation of exposure.     

Leukotriene B4 mobilizes calcium without the breakdown of polyphosphoinositides and the production of phosphatidic acid in rabbit neutrophils.

The addition of fMet-Leu-Phe, leukotriene B4, or arachidonic acid to rabbit neutrophils causes a rise in the level of intracellular free calcium as measured by the fluorescent dye quin-2. The calcium response is rapid and dose-dependent with an ED50 of 0.12 +/- 0.05 nM for leukotriene B4, 0.20 +/- 0.02 nM for fMet-Leu-Phe, and 320 +/- 30 nM for arachidonic acid. However, unlike fMet-Leu-Phe, leukotriene B4 at concentrations up to 70 nM does not cause a significant breakdown of any of the phosphoinositides or the generation of phosphatidic acid, arachidonic acid, or 1,2-diacylglycerol. The addition of arachidonic acid causes little (less than 20%) production of phosphatidic acid. Furthermore, the dose-response curve of the generation of phosphatidic acid by fMet-Leu-Phe is shifted to the right when compared with that for calcium mobilization. The results reported here indicate that, although similar in many respects, there are important qualitative differences between the mechanisms of action of these two chemotactic factors. They also show that calcium mobilization by leukotriene B4 is not mediated by the breakdown of any of the phosphoinositides, and calcium mobilization by leukotriene B4, arachidonic acid, and possibly fMet-Leu-Phe is not mediated by the generation of phosphatidic acid.