Occupational diseases arising in the area of the Ministry of Defence in the Czech Republic and their relationship to work categorization

OBJECTIVE

The article deals with occupational health protection and identification of health risks in the work environment of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of the Czech Republic (CR). It focuses on the assessment of the incidence of occupational diseases (OD) in high-risk and risk-free occupational categories in the years 2010-2019 and compares them with data from the civilian sector. It identifies the differences between military staff and civilian employees of the MoD.

METHODS

From the records of OD at the Department of Occupational Diseases of the Central Military Hospital in Prague, the data on acknowledged OD from the years 2010 to 2019 were obtained and then a retrospective analysis focusing on the classification of work at risk was performed. The obtained data were compared with the data from the Czech National Registry of Occupational Diseases (NROD), which are published annually by the National Institute of Public Health.

RESULTS

In the years under review, 191 OD were confirmed at the area of MoD, 26% of all OD occurred in employees classified in the occupational risk category. Compared with the data in the NROD, where 50% of OD were found to have been caused by high-risk work, the incidence of OD caused by high-risk work in professional soldiers is lower. Only 1.6% of all OD occurred in professional soldiers whose work was classified as high-risk one. In civilian employees of MoD 24.6% of all OD were connected with high-risk work. On the contrary, the proportion of OD occurring in professional soldiers working in risk-free categories was 57.6%, in civilian employees of MoD was the ratio much lower - 16.2%.

CONCLUSION

Work at the Ministry of Defence was not adequately categorized, therefore, in 2020 a new categorization of work was introduced, which together with preventive measures could contribute to reducing the incidence of OD at the Ministry of Defence.

Comparison of selected risk factors in cardiovascular diseases in two different populations of the Czech Republic

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this work is to compare the current prevalence of selected risk factors in cardiovascular diseases in the Czech general population in a particular region with a selected population of Czech soldiers in a particular military unit.

METHODS

Within medical preventive examinations, data from 684 civilians aged between 30-60 years were obtained (405 men and 279 women). Within compulsory medical preventive examinations, data from 659 soldiers from a particular military unit aged between 30-60 years were obtained (576 men and 83 women). Anthropometric parameters such as height and body weight were monitored and then used to calculate the values of Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist circumference. From biochemical parameters the following values were monitored: glycaemia, uric acid, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, ALT, and GGT. As for the demographic data, age and gender were processed. In the cohort of male soldiers a questionnaire was used to find the extent of cigarette smoking, frequency of using alcoholic drinks and performance of regular physical activities such as aerobic exercises.

RESULTS

As for cardiovascular risk, assessed anthropometric parameters in monitored female age categories are statistically significantly lower (p < 0.05) in women in the Army of the Czech Republic (ACR) compared to the female civilian population. Most of the biochemical parameters also display values that indicate the female military population is healthier than the civilian in these parameters. On the other hand, assessed anthropometric parameters in monitored male age categories are statistically significantly lower (p < 0.001) in civilian men compared to the male military population. Most of the assessed biochemical parameters show statistically significant health-indicative values in the male civilian population as well.

CONCLUSION

This work revealed differences in anthropometric and biochemical parameters between the examined civilian and military populations. As for cardiovascular risk, the main findings are significantly worse anthropometric and biochemical parameters in the selected male military cohort compared to the male civilian cohort.

Recommended fluid intake and evidence-based medicine

Abundant drinking of fluids at any occasion became popular in wealthy society in last decades. It is referred to asserted beneficial health effects, but rationale of these recommendations is disputed in expert environment as hardly traceable and tenable. Authors of the article analyse theoretical issues as well as empiric literary evidence for the current popular recommendation. They find them unfounded and difficult to be defended and the risks of transitive hypo-hydration overestimated. Moreover, they alert true risks of water poisoning we meet not quite rarely in common practice.

Quality of Life in Adult Patients Treated with Peripheral Blood Progenitor Cell Transplantation: the Effect of Selected Psychosocial, Demographics and Health Aspects on Quality of Life: a Retrospective Analysis

Aim: this retrospective study analyses the effect of selected psychosocial, demographics and health aspects on quality of life (QoL) in adult patients treated with peripheral blood progenitor cell transplantation (PBPCT). Patients and Methods: The total number of respondents treated with PBPCT between the years 2001–2003 was 95. The return rate of QoL questionnaires was 72.1 % (71 respondents). There were 100 % ratable QoL questionnaire. The average age of all respondents was 55.5 years old. The Czech version of an international generic European Quality of Life Questionnaire – Version EQ-5D was used. The effect of selected aspects on QoL of patients was determined by analysis of variance. The QoL questionnaires were evaluated with descriptive analysis. Results: The above-mentioned aspects proved statistically significant dependence of QoL (EQ-5D score – QoL dimensions, EQ-5D VAS – subjective health condition) on age, increasing number of associated diseases, religion and type of disease. The effect of other aspects on QoL was not proven statistically significant. The QoL in adult patients treated with PBPCT declines with increasing age and with the increasing number of associated diseases. People of faith have a higher level of QoL than non-believers. Patients with multiple myeloma treated with PBPCT have the most low QoL. Conclusion: The global QoL in an adult patients treated with PBPCT is on a good level.

Corrosion behavior of Incoloy 800H/HT in the fluoride molten salt FLiNaK + MFx (MFx = CrF3, FeF2, FeF3 and NiF2)

The corrosion resistance of Incoloy 800H/HT in FliNaK_(eut) decreases upon addition of fluorides in the following order: CrF₃ > FeF₂ > FeF₃ > NiF₂.

Multiple-timescale relaxation dynamics in CsGd(MoO4)2--a dipolar magnet with a highly anisotropic layered crystal structure

The dynamic properties of the dipolar magnet CsGd(MoO4)2 have been studied. The frequency and temperature dependence of the AC susceptibility investigated in the paramagnetic region above 2 K revealed the co-existence of magnetic field induced slow and fast relaxation channels with a timescale differing by three orders of magnitude. The slow relaxation is determined by the properties of the first coordination sphere of the Gd(3+) ion and has the character of a two-phonon Orbach process. The fast relaxation is potentially attributed to a two-phonon Raman process realized via a localized phonon mode associated with the layered crystal structure. The temperature dependence of the phonon mean free path in zero magnetic field indicates significant phonon scattering below 1 K resulting from the combined effect of magnetic correlations and the scattering of dominant phonons with energies corresponding to the crystal-field levels.

Slow spin relaxation induced by magnetic field in [NdCo(bpdo)(H2O)4(CN)6]⋅3H2O

We report on a comprehensive investigation of the magnetic properties of [NdCo(bpdo)(H2O)4(CN)6]⋅3H2O (bpdo=4, 4'-bipyridine-N,N'-dioxide) by use of electron paramagnetic resonance, magnetization, specific heat and susceptibility measurements. The studied material was identified as a magnet with an effective spin S = 1/2 and a weak exchange interaction J/kB = 25 mK. The ac susceptibility studies conducted at audio frequencies and at temperatures from 1.8 to 9 K revealed that the application of a static magnetic field induces a slow spin relaxation. It is suggested that the relaxation in the magnetic field appears due to an Orbach-like process between the two lowest doublet energy states of the magnetic Nd(3+) ion. The appearance of the slow relaxation in a magnetic field cannot be associated with a resonant phonon trapping. The obtained results suggest that the relaxation is influenced by nuclear spin driven quantum tunnelling which is suppressed by external magnetic field.

Eleventh International Congress on Obesity: news and prospects

This article describes the 11th International Congress on Obesity which took place in Stockholm in July 2010. The delegates discussed recommended diagnostics and treatments in obesitology. A large number of presentations focused on nutrition and dietary management. The 11th International Congress on Obesity had a high professional standard. Active participants as well as almost 50 producers who exhibited drugs and medical equipment from the areas of nutrition, obesity, metabolism, and metabolic surgery contributed to this.

Quality of life in adult patients treated with peripheral blood progenitor cell transplantation: the effect of selected psychosocial, demographics and health aspects on quality of life: a retrospective analysis

AIM

this retrospective study analyses the effect of selected psychosocial, demographics and health aspects on quality of life (QoL) in adult patients treated with peripheral blood progenitor cell transplantation (PBPCT).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The total number of respondents treated with PBPCT between the years 2001-2003 was 95. The return rate of QoL questionnaires was 72.1 % (71 respondents). There were 100 % ratable QoL questionnaire. The average age of all respondents was 55.5 years old. The Czech version of an international generic European Quality of Life Questionnaire - Version EQ-5D was used. The effect of selected aspects on QoL of patients was determined by analysis of variance. The QoL questionnaires were evaluated with descriptive analysis.

RESULTS

The above-mentioned aspects proved statistically significant dependence of QoL (EQ-5D score - QoL dimensions, EQ-5D VAS - subjective health condition) on age, increasing number of associated diseases, religion and type of disease. The effect of other aspects on QoL was not proven statistically significant. The QoL in adult patients treated with PBPCT declines with increasing age and with the increasing number of associated diseases. People of faith have a higher level of QoL than non-believers. Patients with multiple myeloma treated with PBPCT have the most low QoL.

CONCLUSION

The global QoL in an adult patients treated with PBPCT is on a good level.

Kainic acid increases activity only of some cortical neurons in the rat

The influence of a subconvulsant dose of kainic acid (KA) on the activity of neurons was studied in the sensorimotor cortical area of urethane-anesthetized rats. A total of 41 neurons was recorded, 38 of these in layer V (probably pyramidal cells). The activity of 18 neurons was recorded before as well as more than 30 min after KA administration (6 mg/kg i.p.). Nine out of these 18 neurons increased their firing rate significantly even 20 min after KA injection, whereas the remaining neurons did not change their activity. Altogether, the increase in the firing rate was significant. KA was found to enhance markedly the firing rate of a part of cortical neurons at very early stages of its action.

[Changes in circulation of the blood in cerebral arteries in relation to age]

The authors examined 12 people under 40 years and 12 above 40 years, mostly healthy volunteers. They investigated the rate of blood flow in the median cerebral artery after compression of the homolateral and contralateral internal carotid. They found that in more advanced age the rate of flow in the mentioned arteries is significantly reduced. During compression tests in more advanced age the decline in the flow rate is more marked in the median cerebral artery on the side of compression. In the other arteries the flow is promoted but the age dependence is not marked. The authors conclude from these findings that with advancing age the possibilities of autoregulation deteriorate more than those of the collateral circulation via Willis' circle.

[Cerebral circulation using transcranial and extracranial doppler ultrasonography in a patient with vertigo and ischemia in the area of the brain stem]

The authors examined 32 patients with vertigo, 17 patients with focal ischaemia of the brain stem and 24 patients without signs of affections of the central nervous system by transcranial and extracranial Doppler ultrasonography. They measured the flow velocity in the basilar artery (BA), in the intracranial portion of the vertebral artery (VA) and in the extracranial portion of the internal carotid artery (ICA). In patients with vertigo they investigated functional and organic changes in the area of the cervical spine. They found significant differences in the flow velocities between groups as well as in different indices calculated from the assessed values. The lowest flow velocities were recorded in patients with focal ischaemia of the brain stem. The authors evaluate the influence of haemodynamics and disease of the cervical spine on the development of vertigo.

Ketamine blockade of cortical spreading depression in rats

The failure to elicit cortical spreading depression (SD) under ketamine anesthesia has been examined in 25 rats. SD was elicited by microinjection of K+ acetate (1 microliter, 0.15 mol/l) into the cerebral cortex and monitored by recording the accompanying slow-potential waves. I.p. injection of ketamine HCl (50 mg/kg) elicited after 5-10 min blockade of SD propagation lasting 30-40 min. SD penetration into a cortical area superfused with 10(-4) and 10(-3) mol/l ketamine was partly or completely blocked, respectively. Systemic ketamine doses eliciting SD blockade only slightly reduced spontaneous activity of cortical units recorded with carbon fiber microelectrodes and did not increase but rather decreased the rate of K+ removal from a KCl pool (30 microliters, 40 mmol/l) contacting a 12.5 mm2 area of exposed cortical surface. The results indicate that the ketamine-induced SD blockade is due neither to epileptic activity nor to enhanced active transport of ions but rather to interference with chemically gated ionic channels and/or to stabilization of postsynaptic membranes.

Slow potential changes in experimental neocortical propagated foci

During and following interhemispheric stimulation (HS), characteristic negative slow potential changes (NSPCs) appeared which coincided with defined patterns of epileptic phasic field potentials (PFPs). Stimulus time-locked, high-amplitude, interhemispheric responses (IHRs), interictal and ictal patterns were accompanied by typical moderate NSPCs. In the wake of the latter, giant NSPCs occurred, concurrent with Van Harrevelds convulsions and/or either total or partial spreading, or local depressions. Partial depression of the PFPs and spreading of the moderate NSPCs were also present in the IHR stage. It is suggested that the moderate and giant NSPCs characterize two distinct types of experimental epileptogenesis which differ in the extent of alteration of the extracellular ion activities.