Characterization of occupational exposures to cleaning products used for common cleaning tasks-a pilot study of hospital cleaners

Background: In recent years, cleaning has been identified as an occupational risk because of an increased incidence of reported respiratory effects, such as asthma and asthma-like symptoms among cleaning workers. Due to the lack of systematic occupational hygiene analyses and workplace exposure data, it is not clear which cleaning-related exposures induce or aggravate asthma and other respiratory effects. Currently, there is a need for systematic evaluation of cleaning products ingredients and their exposures in the workplace. The objectives of this work were to: a) identify cleaning products' ingredients of concern with respect to respiratory and skin irritation and sensitization; and b) assess the potential for inhalation and dermal exposures to these ingredients during common cleaning tasks. Methods: We prioritized ingredients of concern in cleaning products commonly used in several hospitals in Massachusetts. Methods included workplace interviews, reviews of product Materials Safety Data Sheets and the scientific literature on adverse health effects to humans, reviews of physico-chemical properties of cleaning ingredients, and occupational hygiene observational analyses. Furthermore, the potential for exposure in the workplace was assessed by conducting qualitative assessment of airborne exposures and semi-quantitative assessment of dermal exposures. Results: Cleaning products used for common cleaning tasks were mixtures of many chemicals, including respiratory and dermal irritants and sensitizers. Examples of ingredients of concern include quaternary ammonium compounds, 2-butoxyethanol, and ethanolamines. Cleaning workers are at risk of acute and chronic inhalation exposures to volatile organic compounds (VOC) vapors and aerosols generated from product spraying, and dermal exposures mostly through hands. Conclusion: Cleaning products are mixtures of many chemical ingredients that may impact workers' health through air and dermal exposures. Because cleaning exposures are a function of product formulations and product application procedures, a combination of product evaluation with workplace exposure assessment is critical in developing strategies for protecting workers from cleaning hazards. Our task based assessment methods allowed classification of tasks in different exposure categories, a strategy that can be employed by epidemiological investigations related to cleaning. The methods presented here can be used by occupational and environmental health practitioners to identify intervention strategies

Structure and species composition of diatom community during the wet season in three floodplain lakes of Brazilian Pantanal.

In order to access environmental conditions, the use of bioindicators that have a close relationship with environmental stressors is a largely common practice, but when evaluating environmental inferences, the individual dominant taxa need to be interpreted. Humid regions such as the marshlands are fragile ecosystems and sustain communities of microalgae, often used as bioindicators, of which diatoms are a good example. Although they provide an excellent response to chemical and physical changes in water, diatom studies in surface sediments in wetlands are scarce worldwide. To determine whether diatom species have the potential to provide unambiguous inferences in the influence of environmental factors, we have evaluated diatom abundance in surface sediment, from three Pantanal lakes, against a set of environmental gradients: pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, conductivity, total dissolved solids, water temperature, index of trophic water status, total phosphorus and total nitrogen. The Ferradura lake presented an oligotrophic state and both Burro and Caracará lakes presented mesotrophic state. Diatoms were more abundant in the a mesotrophic conditions, but with higher species richness in the oligotrophic conditions. Depending on the N:P ratio, the nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus can also play the role of pollutants and may have negative and unpredictable effects in the environment, such as biotic homogenization. Despite the spatial variation in species, there was a greater richness of Eunotia Ehrenberg species, with the highest relative density of Eunotia formica Ehrenberg and E. pantropica Glushchenko, Kulikovskiy & Kociolek, due to the environmental acidic conditions, a determining characteristic of this genus. It was also observed that a small increase in the level of phosphorus generated an increase in the abundance of Aulacoseira Thwaites with the highest relative density of A. pusilla (Meister) Tuji & Houki and A. veraluciae Tremarin, Torgan & T.Ludwig. However, A. italica dominated in the moderately acidic environment. The results can help with decisions in impacted areas to solve socioeconomic problems, environmental management and biodiversity

Variation of diatoms at different scales in the brazilian Pantanal basin

(1) Background: We analyzed the diatom community structure of the surface sediments, in three permanent ponds in the Pantanal of Mato Grosso, Brazil, to better understand how biota in these aquatic environments depend on structural connectivity and functional connectivity: (2) Methods: Ten samples sites were established in each pond, water and the sediment were taken during the flood period. Abiotic–biotic variables were determined and standardized; (3) Results: The three ponds presented acidic water and high concentration of nitrogen, with the highest acidity for Ferradura Pond (P1) and the highest trophic status index for Burro Pond (P2), but the greatest environmental variations occurred in Caracará Pond (P3). The variation in diversity between sites in the same pond is what contributes the most to gamma diversity. The most abundant species was Aulacoseira italica (Ehrenberg) Simonsen and the genus Eunotia Ehrenberg was the most representative in species. Ferradura Pond, there was a relationship between compositional and environmental dissimilarities with geographic distance, but there was no independent. Burro Pond, the relationship the compositional variation with environmental variables was not significant. Caracará Pond, there was a relationship of compositional dissimilarity both with geographical distance and with environmental; (4) Conclusions: The set of results suggests that the mechanisms that determine the metacommunity of each pond are different and that the environmental conditions and dispersion influenced the structure and composition. Since, diatom species were different between ponds, and ponds more eutrophic showed less diversity. The pH and oligotrophy were the main factors to maintain the greatest diversity of species of the genus Eunotia and the greatest abundance of Aulacoseira italica. Knowing the dynamics and structure of diatoms, which are at the beginning of the food chain, is essential for conserving, maintaining, or rehabilitating wetland ecosystems, such as the Pantanal, which is part La Plata river basin, which represents the second largest surface for water resources in South America and the Guarani Aquifer System, the biggest unified groundwater aquifer in the worldinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Emphysema Progression and Lung Function Decline Among Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors and Angiotensin-Receptor Blockade Users in the COPDGene Cohort

BackgroundAttenuation of transforming growth factor β by blocking angiotensin II has been shown to reduce emphysema in a murine model. General population studies have demonstrated that the use of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEis) and angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARBs) is associated with reduction of emphysema progression in former smokers and that the use of ACEis is associated with reduction of FEV1 progression in current smokers.Research questionIs use of ACEi and ARB associated with less progression of emphysema and FEV1 decline among individuals with COPD or baseline emphysema?MethodsFormer and current smokers from the Genetic Epidemiology of COPD Study who attended baseline and 5-year follow-up visits, did not change smoking status, and underwent chest CT imaging were included. Adjusted linear mixed models were used to evaluate progression of adjusted lung density (ALD), percent emphysema (%total lung volume <-950 Hounsfield units [HU]), 15th percentile of the attenuation histogram (attenuation [in HU] below which 15% of voxels are situated plus 1,000 HU), and lung function decline over 5 years between ACEi and ARB users and nonusers in those with spirometry-confirmed COPD, as well as all participants and those with baseline emphysema. Effect modification by smoking status also was investigated.ResultsOver 5 years of follow-up, compared with nonusers, ACEi and ARB users with COPD showed slower ALD progression (adjusted mean difference [aMD], 1.6; 95% CI, 0.34-2.9). Slowed lung function decline was not observed based on phase 1 medication (aMD of FEV1 % predicted, 0.83; 95% CI, -0.62 to 2.3), but was when analysis was limited to consistent ACEi and ARB users (aMD of FEV1 % predicted, 1.9; 95% CI, 0.14-3.6). No effect modification by smoking status was found for radiographic outcomes, and the lung function effect was more pronounced in former smokers. Results were similar among participants with baseline emphysema.InterpretationAmong participants with spirometry-confirmed COPD or baseline emphysema, ACEi and ARB use was associated with slower progression of emphysema and lung function decline.Trial registryClinicalTrials.gov; No.: NCT00608764; URL: www.clinicaltrials.gov

Machine Learning Characterization of COPD Subtypes Insights From the COPDGene Study

COPD is a heterogeneous syndrome. Many COPD subtypes have been proposed, but there is not yet consensus on how many COPD subtypes there are and how they should be defined. The COPD Genetic Epidemiology Study (COPDGene), which has generated 10-year longitudinal chest imaging, spirometry, and molecular data, is a rich resource for relating COPD phenotypes to underlying genetic and molecular mechanisms. In this article, we place COPDGene clustering studies in context with other highly cited COPD clustering studies, and summarize the main COPD subtype findings from COPDGene. First, most manifestations of COPD occur along a continuum, which explains why continuous aspects of COPD or disease axes may be more accurate and reproducible than subtypes identified through clustering methods. Second, continuous COPD-related measures can be used to create subgroups through the use of predictive models to define cut-points, and we review COPDGene research on blood eosinophil count thresholds as a specific example. Third, COPD phenotypes identified or prioritized through machine learning methods have led to novel biological discoveries, including novel emphysema genetic risk variants and systemic inflammatory subtypes of COPD. Fourth, trajectory-based COPD subtyping captures differences in the longitudinal evolution of COPD, addressing a major limitation of clustering analyses that are confounded by disease severity. Ongoing longitudinal characterization of subjects in COPDGene will provide useful insights about the relationship between lung imaging parameters, molecular markers, and COPD progression that will enable the identification of subtypes based on underlying disease processes and distinct patterns of disease progression, with the potential to improve the clinical relevance and reproducibility of COPD subtypes