Edited with introd. and commentary by Maurice P. Crosland. With extracts from other contemporary works. / Translation of Reise til Paris i aarene 1798 og 1799, first published in Copenhagen, 1799-1800. / Bibliography: p. [215]-223.

Ce travail a été réalisé dans le cadre d’une étude lancée par la compagnie HUTA sur ses installations de dessalement d’eau de mer. Le procédé de dessalement des eaux de mer le plus utilisé pour la production d’eau douce est l’osmose inverse (SWRO). Une station type, installée dans d’une zone industrielle, a été choisie pour mener cette étude d’optimisation du fonctionnement pour réduire les coûts d’exploitation. L’impact des rejets des rejets sur le milieu naturel a été également étudié. La station de dessalement sélectionnée pour les travaux de recherches est située dans la région Ouest de l’Arabie Saoudite à 160 km au nord de Djeddah, dans une zone industrielle pétrochimique (Raffinerie PETRO RABIGH), site ultra sécurisée, les captages des eaux de mer se font dans la zone côtière proche du site en Mer Rouge.L’étude se concentre principalement sur 3 parties : La première concerne la prise d’eau "INTAKE", différent mode captage ont été testé avec l’installation d’un ouvrage développé spécifiquement pour la station de Rabigh en s’adaptant aux règles imposées par les autorités Saoudienne. La deuxième est réservée aux procédés membranaires et l’importance des prétraitements dans la filière de désalinisation. La dernière partie concerne l’étude d’impact environnemental des rejets industriels "OUTLET" sur le milieu récepteur. / This study was carried in some seawater desalination plants of HUTA Company. The most used seawater desalination process for freshwater production is Reverse Osmosis (SWRO). A typical station, installed in an industrial zone, was selected to conduct this optimization study in order to reduce operating costs. The desalination station selected for this research work is located in the western region of Kingdom Saudi Arabia (KSA), at 160 km north of Jeddah city, in a petrochemical industrial zone (PETRO RABIGH Refinery), an ultra security site, seawater catchments occur in the coastal zone close to the site in the Red Sea.The study focuses mainly on 3 parts, the first one concerns the water intake "INTAKE", different intake mode were tested with the installation of a prototype structure developed specifically for Rabigh station in order to respect the Saudi authorities regulation. The second part is reserved to the membrane processes and the importance of pretreatments in desalination process. The last part focuses on the environmental impact of industrial waste "OUTLET" on the aquatic system. Finally the best decision and the best operation conditions have been concluded.

Introduzione. La morte cardiaca improvvisa (MCI) è una delle principali cause di morte in servizio tra i lavoratori dei servizi di emergenza statunitensi. Il nostro progetto di ricerca mirava a : 1) valutare l’incidenza della MCI; 2) identificare i trigger occupazionali di MCI; 3) descrivere la prevalenza dei fattori di rischio cardiovascolari personali tra i lavoratori dei servizi di emergenza statunitensi. Metodi. Sono stati condotti studi indipendenti tra i vigili del fuoco e gli agenti di polizia. Abbiamo consultato delle banche dati gestite da agenzie federali statunitensi e condotto ad hoc sondaggi nazionali (USA). Risultati principali. Tra il 1998 ed il 2012, il tasso di incidenza di MCI tra i vigili del fuoco in carriera è stato pari a 18.1 eventi per 100.000 anni-persona. La causa sottostante di morte più comune è stata la malattia coronarica. Tra i giovani vigili del fuoco (≤ 45 anni), il 63% delle MCI è stato osservato tra soggetti obesi. Questo dato è in linea con lo studio della dieta dei vigili del fuoco, che ha rivelato la necessità di condurre interventi per migliorare le abitudini alimentari in questa popolazione per diminuire la prevalenza dei comuni fattori di rischio cardiovascolare. Due studi hanno dimostrato che l’esecuzione di compiti fisicamente ed emotivamente intensi (ad esempio, lo spegnimento di incendi e le colluttazioni con sospetti) sono trigger importanti (rischi relativi superiori a 30) di MCI tra i vigili del fuoco e gli agenti di polizia. Conclusioni. La riduzione dell’incidenza di MCI tra i lavoratori dei servizi di emergenza rappresenta una priorità assoluta. L’alto carico di malattia è imputabile alla prevalenza dei fattori di rischio cardiovascolare tradizionali superiore a quanto comunemente pensato e all’esposizione a fattori di rischio professionali. Sono necessarie strategie di prevenzione primaria (es. variazioni delle abitudini alimentari) e secondarie (valutazione dell’idoneità alla mansione). / Background. Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is a major cause of on-duty death among US emergency workers. We conducted a research project aimed to: 1) assessing the incidence of cardiovascular diseases; 2) identifying occupational triggers of SCD; 3) describing the prevalence of personal cardiovascular risk factors among US emergency workers. Methods. We performed separate investigations among firefighters and law enforcement officers. We obtained data on cardiovascular deaths from national databases maintained by federal agencies and we conducted a series of nationwide surveys. Main results. Between 1998 and 2012, the incidence rate of SCD among US career firefighters was 18.1 per 100,000 person-years. Coronary heart disease was the leading underlying cause of death. Among young firefighters (≤ 45 years), 63% of deaths were observed among obese subjects. This observation is in line with our study on firefighters’ diet, which highlighted the need for dietary intervention in order to decrease the extremely high prevalence of traditional cardiovascular risk factors in a cohort of active firefighters. Two independent studies showed that stressful duties (e.g. fire suppression or restraints and physical altercation) are important trigger of SCD (relative risks>30) among firefighters and law enforcement officers. Conclusions. The burden of sudden cardiac death among emergency workers is a major concern. On the one hand, emergency workers showed an unacceptably high prevalence of traditional risk factors, which were the main contributors of the observed incidence of coronary artery disease. On the other hand, law enforcement and firefighting involve extremely strenuous duties with may trigger cardiovascular events among susceptible individuals. The primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases in these populations must be considered a priority. In particular, dietary intervention might be particularly effective in decreasing the burden of SCD among emergency workers. As a secondary prevention strategy, emergency workers should receive sufficient evaluation to exclude underlying heart disease.

Climate policy regarding perfluorocarbons (PFCs) may have a significant influence on investment decisions in the production of primary aluminum. This work demonstrates an integrated analysis of the effectiveness and likely economic consequences of different climate policy options. In our study we first compare atmospheric observations to the available estimates of PFC emissions for the baseline years 1990 and 1995. We then present projections for regional emissions of PFCs from the aluminum industry using the MIT Emissions Projection and Policy Analysis model under different policy scenarios. Abatement costs for emissions of PFCs and CO2 are compared in the context of the Kyoto Protocol. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 17-18). / Abstract in HTML and technical report in HTML and PDF available on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change website (http://mit.edu/globalchange/www/)

Human biomonitoring (HBM) is an ideal tool for evaluating toxicant exposure in health risk assessment. Chemical substances or their metabolites related to environmental pollutants can be detected as biomarkers of exposure using a wide variety of biological fluids. Individual exposure to aromatic hydrocarbon compounds (benzene, toluene, and o-xylene –“BTX”) were analysed with a liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionisation-mass spectrometry (μHPLC-ESI-MS/MS) method for the simultaneous quantitative detection of the BTX exposure biomarker SPMA, SBMA and o-MBMA in human urine. Urinary S-phenylmercapturic acid (SPMA) is a biomarker proposed by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) for assessing occupational exposure to benzene (Biological Exposure Index of 25 microg/g creatinine). Urinary S-benzylmercapturic (SBMA) and o-methyl S-benzyl mercapturic acid (o-MBMA) are specific toluene and o-xylene metabolites of glutathione detoxicant pathways, proposed as reliable biomarkers of exposure. To this aim a pre-treatment of the urine with solid phase extraction (SPE) and an evaporation step were necessary to concentrate the mercapturic acids before instrumental analysis. A liquid chromatography separation was carried out with a reversed phase capillary column (Synergi 4u Max-RP) using a binary gradient composed of an acquous solution of formic acid 0.07% v/v and methanol. The mercapturic acids were determinated by negative-ion-mass spectrometry and the data were corrected using isotope-labelled analogs as internal standards. The analytical method follows U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidance and was applied to assess exposure to BTX in a group of 396 traffic wardens. The association between biomarker results and individual factors, such as age, sex and tobacco smoke were also investigated. The present work also included improvements in the methods used by modifying various chromatographic parameters and experimental procedures. A partial validation was conducted to evaluate LOD, precision, accuracy, recovery as well as matrix effects. Higher sensitivity will be possible in future biological monitoring programmes, allowing evaluation of very low level of BTX human exposure. Keywords: Human biomonitoring, aromatic hydrocarbons, biomarker of exposure, HPLC-MS/MS.

Oxidative DNA damages determine the activation of cell repair processes. These processes originate repair products, including the most studied one, 8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG). Several analytical techniques have been applied to measure urinary 8-OH-dG, but a discrepancy in basal urinary 8-OH-dG levels has been noted when comparing chromatographic techniques with immunoenzymatic assays (ELISA). Our laboratory has developed a fully validated, liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method presenting high sensitivity and specificity, which has participated in an inter-laboratory validation of assays for the measurement of urinary 8-OH-dG (ESCULA project). Mass Spectrometric techniques showed more accuracy and specificity than immunoenzymatic methods. Human spot urine samples were analyzed in order to investigate the possibility to correct urinary lesion measurements for creatinine and to evaluate the intra- and inter-day variability of 8-OH-dG excretion in urine. Our results confirm the opportunity to delve into these issues. Finally, we measured urinary 8-OH-dG in workers exposed to antineoplastic drugs and in a group of unexposed subjects to evaluate the relationship between occupational exposure and oxidative damage related to the internal dose. We found higher levels of 8-OH-dG in exposed nurses, but, as compared to the non-exposed subjects, the difference was not statistically significant, probably do to the very low level of exposure. The scientific literature is rapidly developing on the topic of DNA damage and related repair capacity. Nevertheless, further studies are needed to achieve a better understanding of the sources of DNA lesions in urine and their significance, both in clinical and occupational medicine.

No description available.

Obiettivo Valutare l’ipotesi secondo cui la movimentazione manuale di carichi possa essere un fattore di rischio per il di distacco di retina. Metodi Si è condotto uno studio caso-controllo ospedaliero multicentrico, a Bologna, (reparto di Oculistica del policlinico S. Orsola Malpighi, Prof. Campos), e a Brescia (reparto di oculistica “Spedali Civili” Prof. Semeraro). I casi sono 104 pazienti operati per distacco di retina. I controlli sono 173 pazienti reclutati tra l’utenza degli ambulatori del medesimo reparto di provenienza dei casi. Sia i casi che i controlli (all’oscuro dall’ipotesi in studio) sono stati sottoposti ad un’intervista, attraverso un questionario strutturato concernente caratteristiche individuali, patologie pregresse e fattori di rischio professionali (e non) relativi al distacco di retina. I dati relativi alla movimentazione manuale di carichi sono stati utilizzati per creare un “indice di sollevamento cumulativo―ICS” (peso del carico sollevato x numero di sollevamenti/ora x numero di anni di sollevamento). Sono stati calcolati mediante un modello di regressione logistica unconditional (aggiustato per età e sesso) gli Odds Ratio (OR) relativi all’associazione tra distacco di retina e vari fattori di rischio, tra cui la movimentazione manuale di carichi. Risultati Oltre alla chirurgia oculare e alla miopia (fattori di rischio noti), si evidenzia un trend positivo tra l’aumento dell’ICS e il rischio di distacco della retina. Il rischio maggiore si osserva per la categoria di sollevamento severo (OR 3.6, IC 95%, 1.5–9.0). Conclusione I risultati, mostrano un maggiore rischio di sviluppare distacco di retina per coloro che svolgono attività lavorative che comportino la movimentazione manuale di carichi e, a conferma di quanto riportato in letteratura, anche per i soggetti miopi e per coloro che sono stati sottoposti ad intervento di cataratta. Si rende quindi evidente l’importanza degli interventi di prevenzione in soggetti addetti alla movimentazione manuale di carichi, in particolare se miopi. / Background/Objectives To investigate the hypothesis that repeated lifting tasks could be a risk factor for retinal detachment. Methods Case-control study (case definition: surgically treated retinal detachment. Cases were identified among patients operated for retinal detachment in two large urban hospital in Bologna and Brescia. Controls were drawn from outpatients attending an eye clinic in the same catchment area. 104 cases and 173 controls (blind to the study hypothesis) responded to a structured questionnaire regarding individual, pathological and work-related factors possibly related to retinal detachment, including past/present occupational lifting tasks. Three lifting categories were defined based on the median “cumulative lifting index” (product of load, manoeuvres/hour and lifting-years) among manual workers: no lifting (reference category); light lifting; heavy lifting. Odds ratios for retinal detachment associated with “heavy”, “moderate” or “light” occupational lifting in an unconditional logistic regression model (adjusted for age and sex) were obtained. Results In addition to ocular surgery and myopia (known risk factors), an independent associations were recorded for heavy lifting (odds ratio 3.6, 95% confidence interval, 1.5 to 9.0). Likelihood ratio tests did not reveal interactions between heavy lifting, ocular/cataract surgery and myopia. Conclusions The results support the plausible hypothesis that heavy occupational lifting (involving Valsalva’s manoeuvre) may be a relevant risk factor for retinal detachment. Moreover these preliminary results confirmed, as reported in literature, an increased risk of retinal detachment for myopic subjects and for those who have undergone cataract surgery. Our observations emphasize the importance of prevention especially in subjects involved in the manual handling of loads, particularly if short-sighted.

Introduzione. Il rapido e globale incremento dell’utilizzo dei telefoni cellulari da parte degli adolescenti e dei bambini ha generato un considerevole interesse circa i possibili effetti sulla salute dell’esposizione a campi elettromagnetici a radiofrequenza. Perciò è stato avviato lo studio internazionale caso-controllo Mobi-kids, all’interno del quale si colloca quello italiano condotto in 4 Regioni (Piemonte, Lombardia, Toscana, Emilia-Romagna). Obiettivi. Lo studio ha come obiettivo quello di valutare la stima del rischio degli effetti potenzialmente avversi di queste esposizioni sul sistema nervoso centrale nei bambini e negli adolescenti. Materiali e Metodi. La popolazione include tutte le persone di età compresa tra 10 e 24 anni residenti nelle 4 Regioni, con una diagnosi confermata di neoplasia cerebrale primitiva, diagnosticata durante il periodo di studio (3 anni). Sono stati selezionati due controlli - ospedalizzati per appendicite acuta - per ciascun caso. I controlli sono stati appaiati individualmente a ciascun caso per età, sesso e residenza del caso. Risultati. In Italia sono stati intervistati a Giugno 2014, 106 casi e 191 controlli. In Emilia-Romagna i casi reclutati sono stati fino ad ora 21 e i controlli 20, con una rispondenza del’81% e dell’65% rispettivamente. Dei 41 soggetti totali, il 61% era di sesso maschile con un’età media generale pari a 16,5 (±4,5) anni. Inoltre il 44% degli intervistati proveniva dalla classe di età più giovane (10-14). In merito allo stato di appaiamento, nella nostra Regione sono state effettuate 7 triplette (33%) - 1 caso e 2 controlli - e 6 doppiette (29%) - 1 caso ed 1 controllo. Conclusioni. Nonostante le varie difficoltà affrontate data la natura del progetto, l’esperienza maturata fin ad ora ha comunque portato alla fattibilità dello studio e porterà probabilmente a risultati che contribuiranno alla comprensione dei potenziali rischi di neoplasie cerebrali associati all'uso di telefoni cellulari tra i giovani. / Introduction. The rapid increase in mobile phone use in young people as generated concern about possible health effects of exposure to radiofrequency and extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (EMF). Objectives. Mobi-Kids, a multinational case–control study, investigates the potential effects of childhood and adolescent exposure to EMF from mobile communications technologies on brain tumor risk in 14countries, within which lies the one conducted in 4 Italian Regions (Piedmont, Lombardy, Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna).Materials and methods. The target study population consists of all males and females aged 10–24 years residing in the study region with a confirmed diagnosis of an eligible first primary brain tumor diagnosed during the study period (3 years). Two hospital-based control s(who underwent an appendectomy for suspected diagnosis of appendicitis) are selected for each case, and matched on: sex, age and geographic area of residence. Results. As of June 2014, in Italy were interviewed, 106 cases and 191 controls; in Emilia-Romagna were recruited 21 cases and 20 controls. Participation rates were 81% and 65% among cases and controls, respectively. The study population in Emilia-Romagna (41 total subjects), has slightly more males (61%) than females, and more participants (44%) in the youngest age range (10-14). Of the 21 cases who have been interviewed, 7 (33%) have two interviewed controls and 6 (29%) have at least one identified control. Conclusions. The advantages of Mobi-Kids include its large sample size – it will be the largest study to date on this topic in young people. Despite the various challenges faced by the study team, our experience thus far in developing and implementing the study protocol indicates that Mobi-Kids is feasible and will generate results contributing to the understanding of potential brain tumor risks associated with use of mobile phones and other wireless communication technologies among young people.

OBIETTIVI: Per esplorare il contributo dei fattori di rischio biomeccanico, ripetitività (hand activity level – HAL) e forza manuale (peak force - PF), nell’insorgenza della sindrome del tunnel carpale (STC), abbiamo studiato un’ampia coorte di lavoratori dell’industria, utilizzando come riferimento il valore limite di soglia (TLV©) dell’American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). METODI: La coorte è stata osservata dal 2000 al 2011. Abbiamo classificato l’esposizione professionale rispetto al limite di azione (AL) e al TLV dell’ACGIH in: “accettabile” (sotto AL), “intermedia” (tra AL e TLV) e “inaccettabile” (sopra TLV). Abbiamo considerato due definizioni di caso: 1) sintomi di STC; 2) sintomi e positività allo studio di conduzione nervosa (SCN). Abbiamo applicato modelli di regressione di Poisson aggiustati per sesso, età, indice di massa corporea e presenza di patologie predisponenti la malattia. RISULTATI: Nell’intera coorte (1710 lavoratori) abbiamo trovato un tasso di incidenza (IR) di sintomi di STC di 4.1 per 100 anni-persona; un IR di STC confermata dallo SCN di 1.3 per 100 anni-persona. Gli esposti “sopra TLV” presentano un rischio di sviluppare sintomi di STC di 1.76 rispetto agli esposti “sotto AL”. Un andamento simile è emerso per la seconda definizione di caso [incidence rate ratios (IRR) “sopra TLV”, 1.37 (intervallo di confidenza al 95% (IC95%) 0.84–2.23)]. Gli esposti a “carico intermedio” risultano a maggior rischio per la STC [IRR per i sintomi, 3.31 (IC95% 2.39–4.59); IRR per sintomi e SCN positivo, 2.56 (IC95% 1.47–4.43)]. Abbiamo osservato una maggior forza di associazione tra HAL e la STC. CONCLUSIONI: Abbiamo trovato un aumento di rischio di sviluppare la STC all’aumentare del carico biomeccanico: l’aumento di rischio osservato già per gli esposti a “carico intermedio” suggerisce che gli attuali valori limite potrebbero non essere sufficientemente protettivi per alcuni lavoratori. Interventi di prevenzione vanno orientati verso attività manuali ripetitive. / OBJECTIVES: To explore the role of workplace physical factors, particularly repetition (hand activity level – HAL) and manual force (normalized peak force – PF), in the development of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), we studied a large cohort of industrial workers with reference to a threshold limit value (TLV©) proposed by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). METHODS: Industrial workers were followed from 2000-2011. We classified subjects with respect to action limit (AL) and TLV. Case definitions were: (i) self-reported symptoms; and (ii) a combination of symptoms and positive nerve conduction studies (NCS). Poisson regression models including age, gender, body mass index, and presence of predisposing pathologies were conducted to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRR) of CTS. RESULTS: There were 1710 subjects with complete information at baseline and with at least one follow-up. We found an incidence rate (IR) of 4.1 per 100 person-years for CTS symptoms, and an IR of 1.3 per 100 person-years for CTS confirmed by NCS. “Unacceptable overload” (above TLV) was associated with a 1.76-fold risk of CTS symptoms, as compared with “acceptable load” (below the AL). A similar trend also emerged for CTS confirmed by NCS, but was not significant [IRR above TLV, 1.37 (95% confidence interval ( 95% CI) 0.84–2.23)]. Workers exposed between AL and TLV appeared at higher risk for CTS [IRR for symptoms, 3.31 (95% CI 2.39–4.59); IRR for symptoms and positive NCS, 2.56 (95% CI 1.47–4.43)]. HAL was a strong predictor of the outcome variables. CONCLUSIONS: Workplace risk factors contribute to the risk for CTS. Our study shows an increased risk for workers exposed between AL and TLV, suggesting that the current limits might not be sufficiently protective for some workers. Preventive efforts should target repetitive movements.