objective neuromuscular disorders (diseases of the motor unit), can cause respiratory problems such as impaired cough reflex, chest deformity, recurrent pneumonia and acute respiratory failure; these are the worst most common complications of these diseases and the leading cause of death in such patients (1, 2). their management hence, very often, entails admission to the pediatric intensive ca...

background: every year more than 2 million people depart from iran to saudi arabia for hajj ritual which can be faced with some different diseases. there are not much information about frequencies and trend of diseases in hajj. the main objective of this study was to determine the trend of prevalent diseases during five consecutive hajj rituals among iranian pilgrims. methods: we established a ...

background: agate is a hard silica stone with bands of various colors, which is used in jewelry. the agate grinding workers are exposed to silica dust. objective: to determine the prevalence of respiratory diseases in agate grinding workers and the associated factors. methods: in this cross-sectional study, 170 agate grinding workers from mashhad, northeastern iran, were examined. medical and o...

background: workers in wastewater treatment plants are exposed to a wide range of chemicals as well as biological contaminants. objective: to ascertain whether exposure to bio-aerosols under the normal working conditions in wastewater treatment plants is associated with any significant changes in the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and lung function capacities. methods: 198 employees of wast...

background: cotton is the main agricultural export product in benin. cotton dust is thus present in the air during the handling and processing of cotton. this dust contains a mixture of substances including ground up plant matter, fibres, bacteria, fungi, soil, pesticides, noncotton matter, and other contaminants. while cotton processing is decreasing in industrialized countries, it is increasi...