Development of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration''s Proposed Standard to Protect Workers from Contracting Bloodborne Diseases in the Workplace

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is in the process of developing a health standard to protect workers by reducing occupational exposure to hepatitis B virus, human immunodeficiency virus, and other bloodborne pathogens. This article reviews the history of the standard, the steps involved in OSHA standard development, and--most specifically--how the dental professional can participate in this process.     

Bedwetting and behavioural and/or emotional problems

Objective: To assess the link between enuresis nocturna and the severity of behavioural and/or emotional problems in Dutch children and the course of these problems. Setting: West-Mine Region in the Netherlands. Subjects and methods: Prospective cohort study involving 66 of the 80 bedwetting children from all 1652 children born in 1983 in this region. After 1 y, contact was still possible with 64 of the enuretics. We used the Dutch version of the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) and a questionnaire about bedwetting. Results: The mean T-score for Total Problems (CBCL score) in 1992 (M1; mean age 8. 6) was 52. 1, and 1 y later was 49. 2 (M2). There was no significant difference in the CBCL scores for Ml, M2 and a matching group from the Dutch CBCL norm population, either in the group who remained wet or in the group who became dry. There were no differences between the sexes. There was no link between the severity of behavioural and emotional problems and the frequency of bedwetting. However, more children with bedwetting than expected were in the clinical range. Conclusion: There was no difference in behavioural and/or emotional problems between the first and the second measurement and the matching group from the CBCL norm group. There were no differences in behavioural and/or emotional problems between primary and secondary bedwetters, nor were there any consequences related to the frequency of bedwetting.     

Relationship between visual field loss and contrast threshold elevation in glaucoma

Background  

There is a considerable body of literature which indicates that contrast thresholds for the detection of sinusoidal grating patterns are abnormally high in glaucoma, though just how these elevations are related to the location of visual field loss remains unknown. Our aim, therefore, has been to determine the relationship between contrast threshold elevation and visual field loss in corresponding regions of the peripheral visual field in glaucoma patients.