Are cutout handles used when available in real occupational settings? Description of grips and upper extremities movements during industrial box handling

In order to achieve better postures and decrease musculoskeletal risks adequate design of hand/box couplings for manual materials handling (MMH) are still needed. No studies evaluating upper limb movement thorough direct measurements during box handling in workplace were identified in the literature. In this study we describe the types of grip and movements adopted by ten workers when handling redesigned boxes with cutout handles between different heights on industrial pallets. The new handles were used by 90% of the workers through different types of grip. Electrogoniometric measurements showed relatively safe forearm and wrist movements, although elbow inadequate range of movement was recorded. Despite the good acceptance of the cutout by workers, the new design requires extra internal space in the boxes reducing applications for this alternative of box.

Doenças sem doentes: Ocorrência de Distúrbios Osteomusculares Relacionados ao Trabalho DORT nos operadores de caixa de um banco

The changes incurred in the financial system with the introduction of new technologies and new forms of administration of banks has caused impact on the health of workers. These changes, which passed in the process of work, generate a combined share of the risk factors that result in numerous injuries and illnesses among banks, notably between the operators of banks tellers. The Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disordes - WRMD represent a group of occupational diseases always present among these workers. Because of its high incidence and the amount of financial resour envolved to manage the problem has been the object of constant study. This paper aims to analyze the bank teller activity; search the occurrence of WRMD in the activity, identifying the factors determining the occurrence of WRMD in the activity and determine the real number of touchs on a keyboard made by the operator and propose solutions that influence the reduction of illness in the workplace of the bank teller. Methodological tools of ergonomics are used to provide a broad knowledge of aspects of work that have been studied and influential in the generation of occupational diseases studied. It was found that activity put workers to serious risk of occupational diseases. As the main contributory factors and determinants for this illness: the requirements and control the numbers daily endorsements; evaluation system based on performance targets for productivity; management system at time of service to customers; work with stressful factors (broken box); excess of time worked; furniture of workstations with ergonomic inadequacies and policy for the prevention of occupational diseases inefficient. They have also noted cases of illness for DORT workers without fulfilling the legal requirement of the issuance of the communication of labour accident and without the removal of the employee of the workplace

Stretch Injuries of Skeletal Muscles: Experimental Study in Rats' Soleus Muscle

The study aimed to verify the physiological injury behavior by stretching the soleus muscle of rats, using a noninvasive experimental model. Twenty-four rats were used and divided into three groups of eight animals: control group (A), group that performed tetanus followed by electrical stimulation and a sudden dorsiflexion of the left paw performed by a device equipped with a mechanism of muscle soleus rapid stretching (B); and a group that only received the tetanus (C). Three days later, the animals were killed, and the soleus muscle was resected and divided into three segments. Morphological changes indicative of muscle damage appeared in all three segments of group B. In a lesser degree, similar changes were also detected in muscles subjected to only tetanus. This model was effective; reproducing an injury similar to what occurs in human sports injuries.

Occupational exposure of physical therapists to electric and magnetic fields and the efficacy of Faraday cages

Objective. Measure physical therapists' exposure to the electric and magnetic fields produced by 17 shortwave diathermy devices in physical therapy clinics in the city of Presidente Prudente, São Paulo State, Brazil. Compare the observed values with the exposure levels recommended by the International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). Observe the efficacy of Faraday cages as a means of protecting physical therapists from exposure to oscillating electric and magnetic fields.Methods. Electric and magnetic field measurements were taken at four points during actual physical therapy sessions: in proximity to the operator's pelvis and head, the devices' electrical cables, and the electrodes. The measuring equipment was a Wandel & Goltermann EMR-200.Results. The values obtained in proximity to the electrodes and cables were 10 to 30 times higher than ICNIRP's recommended occupational reference levels. In the shortwave diathermy treatment rooms with Faraday cages, the fields were even higher than in treatment rooms not so equipped-principally the magnetic field, where the values were more than 100 times higher than the ICNIRP exposure limit.Conclusions. The electric and magnetic field intensities obtained in this study are generally above the exposure levels recommend in ICNIRP standards. It was also observed that the Faraday cage offers physical therapists no protection, and instead, increases their level of exposure.

Rapid determination of desorption efficiency, and analysis of solvent mixtures for occupational exposure studies

An analytical procedure has been developed for simultaneous determination of solvent mixture vapors to enable evaluation of occupational exposure. To determine the desorption efficiency the volatile components of the solvent mixtures were generated from a glass tube filled with glass wool. This device is easy to prepare and use. These vapors were then collected in activated charcoal tubes and analyzed by capillary gas chromatography. The method was tested with a mixture of 22 solvents, including aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, alcohols, ethers, esters, and ketones, oil at low concentrations. All the components were defected. When a 99: 1 mixture of carbon disulfide-dimethylformamide was used for desorption the efficiency was > 75% for most of the solvents.

In vivo CYP2E1 phenotyping as a new potential biomarker of occupational and experimental exposure to benzene

Assessing CYP2E1 phenotype in vivo may be important to predict individual susceptibility to those chemicals, including benzene, which are metabolically activated by this isoenzyme. Chlorzoxazone (CHZ), a specific CYP2E1 substrate, is readily hydroxylated to 6-OH-chlorzoxazone (6-OH-CHZ) by liver CYP2E1 and the metabolic ratio 6-OH-CHZ/CHZ in serum (MR) is a specific and sensitive biomarker of CYP2E1 activity in vivo in humans. We used this MR as a potential biomarker of effect in benzene-treated rats and, also, in humans occupationally exposed to low levels of benzene. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (375-400 g b.w.) were treated i.p. for 3 days with either a 0.5 ml solution of benzene (5 mmol/kg b.w.) in corn oil, or 0.5 ml corn oil alone. Twenty-four hours after the last injection, a polyethylene glycol (PEG) solution of CHZ (20 mg/kg b.w.) was injected i.p. in both treated and control animals. After 2, 5.10,15, 20,30,45, 60, 90, 120, 180, and 240 min from injection, 0.2 ml blood was taken from the tip tail and stored at -20 degrees C until analysis. A modified reverse phase HPLC method using a 5 mu m Ultrasphere C18 column equipped with a direct-connection ODS guard column, was used to measure CHZ and its metabolite 6-OH-CHZ in serum. No statistically significant difference in the MR was observed, at any sampling time, between benzene-treated and control rats. The concentration-versus-time area under the curve (AUC), however, was lower (p < 0.05, Mann-Whitney test), whereas the systemic clearance was higher (p < 0.05) in treated than in control rats. Eleven petrochemical workers occupationally exposed to low levels of airborne benzene (mean +/- SD, 25.0 +/- 24.4 mu g/m(3)) and 13 non-exposed controls from the same factory (mean +/- SD, 6.7 +/- 4.0 mu g/m(3)) signed an informed consent form and were administered 500 mg CHZ p.o. Two hours later a venous blood sample was taken for CHZ and 6-OH-CHZ measurements. Despite exposed subjects showed significantly higher levels of t,t-MA and S-PMA, two biomarkers of exposure to benzene, than non-exposed workers, no difference in the MR mean values +/- SD was found between exposed (0.59 +/- 0.29) and non-exposed (0.57 +/- 0.23) subjects. So, benzene was found to modify CHZ disposition, but not CYP2E1 phenotype in benzene-treated rats, nor in workers exposed to benzene, probably due to the levels of exposure being too low. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Adventure race's injuries

Objective. - To describe the distribution of frequency of the injuries during adventure competition.Material and methods. - Fifty-five participants who underwent to the second stage of the Caloi Adventure Camp competition answered to a questionnaire about their personal characteristics, training status and injuries.Results. - The age of the athletes was 32 +/- 10 years old and the body mass index (BMI) 23.3 +/- 2.2 kg/m(2). The most frequent injuries occurred during trekking (61%), followed by mountain bike (24%). Abrasions (36.7%) and cuts (24.5%) were the most frequent injuries mentioned. Tissue level lesions occurred in 61.2% of the episodes. The most frequent injuries were contusions (16.3%) at muscular level, and sprain (6.1%) and fracture (6.1%) at osteoarticular system. Related to the body structure, the lower limb was the most affected (49%), mainly ankle (14.3%) and knee (12.2%). In the upper limb (30.6%), arm and forearm were more affected with cuts and abrasions. Neck and trunk were responsible for 20.4% of the injuries. Cramps (31%) and tendinitis (11%) were also mentioned.Conclusion. - The data suggest that it is necessary to create one training approach including prevention and logistics for participants rescue and rapid attendance during the tournament. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

Prevalência e fatores associados a lesões labiais e periorais decorrentes da exposição solar em trabalhadores de praia

This study aimed to verify the prevalence of lip and perioral lesions in worker who were under sunshine on the beaches of Natal/RN and to investigate possible associations of these with sociodemographic, occupational and general health variables. For this, 362 individuals who had one of the urban beaches (Ponta Negra / Environment / Redinha) in the city of Natal/RN as a working environment in the study. We excluded people under 18 years old. Data collection was done through epidemiological analysis and extra-oral validated questionnaire with questions that characterize socioeconomic and demographic factors, occupational exposure and general health. The male subjects (72.6%) were the majority in the sample. The people who worked directly exposed to high peaks of ultraviolet radiation, as well as informal workers predominated. Considering the total sample of individuals, ephelides in the perioral region (33.7%) and labial region (24.0%), solar lentigo perioral (15.2%) and actinic cheilitis (13.8%) stood out as the most prevalent lesions. Indoor workers and those who had a habit occurrence of injuries by 19% and 21% respectively higher when compared to outdoor workers and people without habits. The variable use of cap / hat was associated with the presence of cold sores (Qui2 = 1,328, p = 0,058). On the threshold of significance, the type of work was also associated with lesions in lip occurrence (p = 0,042). Men showed a lower incidence of perioral lesions when compared to female workers (PR=0,716, p valor = 0,002). The present study showed high prevalence of lip and perioral lesions. The premalignant lesions were the most identified, both as in lip skin. It is important therefore to be encouraged to adopt protective measures against excessive sun exposure, fairly and consistently

Os acidentes humanos e suas implicações fonoaudiológicas: opiniões de docentes e discentes sobre a formação superior

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Acoustic and psychoacoustic analysis of the noise produced by the police force firearms

Police officers are exposed to impact noise coming from firearms, which may cause irreversible injuries to the hearing system.Aim: To evaluate the noise exposure in shooting stands during gunfire exercises, to analyze the acoustic impact of the noise produced by the firearms and to associate it with tonal audiometry results.Study design: Cross-sectional.Materials and methods: To measure noise intensity we used a digital sound level meter, and the acoustic analysis was carried out by means of the oscillations and cochlear response curves provided by the Praat software. 30 police officers were selected (27 males and 3 females).Results: The peak level measured was 113.1 dB(C) from a .40 pistol and 116.8 dB(C) for a .38 revolver. The values obtained for oscillation and Praat was 17.9 +/- 0.3 Barks, corresponding to the rate of 4,120 and 4,580 Hz. Audiometry indicated greater hearing loss at 4,000Hz in 86.7% of the cases.Conclusion: With the acoustic analysis it was possible to show cause and effect between the main areas of energy excitation of the cochlea (Praat cochlear response curve) and the frequencies of low hearing acuity.

Trimetazidine and N-acetylcysteine in attenuating hind-limb ischemia and reperfusion injuries: experimental study in rats

Aim. Lower-limb traumatic injury associated with ischemia and followed by reperfusion (I/R) is a common severe situation in muscle lesions due to trauma and hypoxia followed by local and systemic injuries induced by oxygen-derived free radical release during reperfusion. The aim of this study was to evaluate the attenuating effects of trimetazidine (TMZ) and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in such situation.Methods. The muscles at the root of the right hind limb of Wistar rats were cross-sectioned, preserving femoral vessels and nerves and clamping the femoral artery for four hours. The clamp was then released and the femoral artery has been reperfused for 2 hours. Rats were randomly divided in groups of ten as follows: Group 1: sham I/R, treated with saline; Group 2: I/R, treated with saline; Group 3: sham I/R, treated with TMZ (7.5 mg/kg/dose); Group 4: sham I/R, treated with NAC (375 mg/kg/dose); Group 5: I/R treated with TMZ (7.5 mg/kg/dose); Group 6: I/R treated with NAC (375 mg/kg/dose). All rats received two intravenous bolus injections of the drugs, one before ischemia and one before reperfusion. Oxidative stress in plasma (MDA, total, oxidized and reduced glutathione), creatinephosphokinase (CPK), optical and electron microscopy and pelvic extremity circumference and volume were studied.Results. No statistical differences were found between the groups for MDA or total and reduced glutathione. Oxidized glutathione increased significantly in groups 5 and 2. Limb circumference as well as limb volume increased in all groups over time, mainly in groups 5, 2 and 1. CPK increased in all groups, being highest in groups 5, 6 and 2. Histological lesions were present in all but sham groups, being less severe in group 6. Soleus muscle analyses at electron microscopy exhibit some degree of alteration in all groups.Conclusion. This experimental model simulated severe limb trauma associated with ischemia and reperfusion, and, as such, it was aggressive, causing severe injury and local inflammatory reaction. The model did not show antioxidant action from NAC, and possible antioxidant action from TMZ was insufficient to attenuate tissue injuries. [Int Angiol 2009;28:412-7]

Effects of pentoxifylline and n-acetylcysteine on injuries caused by ischemia and reperfusion splanchnic organs in rats

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Doenças respiratórias associadas à atividade de mineração no município de Parelhas, região do seridó norte-riograndense

This work aims to characterize the workers in mineral activities exposed to lung injuries in Parelhas Municipality, Rio Grande do Norte State, seeking to relate respiratory diseases to the mining activity. The studied area (Parelhas City), with about 19,700 inhabitants, is located in the Serido region, approximately 232 km far from Natal City. The number of people involved in informal mining activity (garimpo) in the Seridó region reaches about 5,000. These workers generally do not use any kind of individual protection equipments and develop, at early ages of greater productivity, severe forms of diseases, which end up disabling them to professional activities, family and social life. Deceases by respiratory problems (e.g. silicosis) have been reported in very young adults. A descriptive observational study was conducted based on information from the records found in Dr. José Augusto Dantas Hospital, between the years 1996- 2006. The occupational and socio-economic features of the population, which was selected by using the hospital records, were achieved through individually answered forms. The purpose was to link the occupational activities with the respiratory diseases. The next stage of the research was an observational case-control study, in the 1:1 proportion. The achieved data allowed confirming the central hypothesis of the research, which states that the pneumoconiosis cases are due to the mineral-based activities in the studied area. The final step of the investigation tried to assess the knowledge of relatives of students in public and private elementary and high schools from Parelhas City, regarding silicosis. About 15.4% of urban schools were analyzed through application of a structured questionnaire. The results show distinct socio-economic levels and a difference in the perception of the relatives of students in public and private schools, concerning silicosis. It was possible to identify the characteristics of the population economically involved with mineral-based activities and to define the group that deserves preferential attention in preventive actions. The work indicates some environmental problems caused by inadequate mining operations in the region

Injuries caused by scorpionfishes and (Scorpaena plumieri Bloch, 1789 Scorpaena brasiliensis Cuvier 1829) in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean (Brazilian coast): epidemiologic, clinic and therapeutic aspects of 23 stings in humans

Fishes of the family Scorpaenidae are responsible for severe injuries and occasionally deaths in humans around the world. The more venomous fishes on the Brazilian coast and in the Southwestern Atlantic region are classified in the genus Scorpaena (family Scorpaenidae). However, there are few studies on the venomous apparatus, the effects of the venom, or clinical aspects of human envenoming provoked by Atlantic scorpionfishes.In this communication, the authors present 23 accidents caused by scorpionfishes of the genus Scorpaena among fishermen, and report the species that provoked the injuries, the circumstances of contacts, the clinical aspects observed and the therapeutic measures utilized for control of the symptoms of the victims. The intense pain and the systemic findings observed in the patients were very frequent and we think that the injuries provoked by scorpionfishes should be considered the most important manifestations caused by venomous fishes of the East Atlantic Ocean. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hand injuries in a human caused by a South American porcupine (ourico-cacheiro)

Human injuries caused by South American porcupines (in Portuguese, ourico-cacheiro) are rare. This study reports severe hand injuries provoked by the body spines of the animal in a human and discusses the circumstances involved in the accident, with emphasis on environmental factors.