Nanoparticle exposure assessment presents a unique challenge in the field of occupational and environmental health. With the commercialization of nanotechnology, exposure usually starts from the workplace and then spreads to environment and consumer exposure. This report discusses the current trends of nanoparticle exposure assessment, including the definition of nanotechnology relevant terms, ...

Shihua Chen,1,* Fabio Baronio,2 J. M. Soto-Crespo,3 Philippe Grelu,4,† Matteo Conforti,5 and Stefan Wabnitz2 1Department of Physics, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China 2Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell’Informazione, Università di Brescia, Via Branze 38, 25123 Brescia, Italy 3Instituto de Óptica, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientı́ficas (CSIC), Serrano 121, Madrid 28006, Spain 4La...

Vector control remains the most effective measure to prevent the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases. However, the classical entomo-parasitological methods used to evaluate the human exposure to mosquito bites and the effectiveness of control strategies are indirect, labor intensive, and lack sensitivity in low exposure/transmission areas. Therefore, they are limited in their accuracy and w...

Patients with malignant hyperthermia experience an exaggerated metabolic response when exposed to volatile anesthetic gases and succinylcholine. The minimum concentration of anesthetic gas needed to trigger a malignant hyperthermia crisis in humans is unknown and may remain so because of the inherent risks associated with studying the complex nature of this rare and lethal genetic disorder. The...

Dear Editor, We would like to discuss on the report on “Zosteriform cutaneous leishmaniasis” [1] Ramot et al. reported that “dermoscopy has proven to be an accessible and easy tool to diagnose such atypical presentation of cutaneous leishmaniasis, and dermatologists in endemic areas should be familiar with its typical dermoscopic features” [1]. In fact, cutaneous leishmaniasis is an important t...

BACKGROUND Whooping cough is a communicable disease whose incidence has increased in recent years in some countries with vaccination. Since 1981, in Catalonia (Spain), cases must be reported to the Public Health Department. In 1997, surveillance changed from aggregated counts to individual report and the surveillance system was improved after 2002. Catalan public health is universal with equal ...

Antibodies against influenza viruses were detected in 115 serum samples from indigenous Mayan persons from Kochol, Yucatan. Seropositivity rates were 26.9% to A/Bayern/7/95, 40.8% to A/Sydney/5/97, 1.7% to A/Swine/Wisconsin/238/97, and 79.1% to A/Swine/Minnesota/593/99. This report is the first in Mexico of the prevalence of antibodies to swine influenza virus in humans.

BACKGROUND To ensure the safety of plasma derivatives, some countries have been screening for the human parvovirus B19 (B19V) antigen or DNA in blood donors. We investigated the prevalence of B19V DNA and anti-B19V antibodies in Korean plasmapheresis donors to evaluate the necessity of B19V DNA screening test. METHODS Plasma samples were collected between March and July 2008 from 10,032 plasm...

To complement our reviews of health plan organization in the civilian managed-care sector and readiness issues in the military sector, we reviewed past reports on the MHS and interviewed senior DoD officials and others who are knowledgeable about military health issues. The past studies revealed a debate on military health system organization that has continued intermittently for five decades. ...

Manual lifting is one of the common practices used in the industries to transport or move objects to a desired place. Nowadays, even though mechanized equipment is widely available, manual lifting is still considered as an essential way to perform material handling task. Improper lifting strategies may contribute to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), where overexertion contributes as the highest...