In the first months of 2020, the SARS-CoV-2 virus spread all over the world and numerous measures were adopted that had a strong impact on both personal and public life. This contribution explores ...changes in alcohol and tobacco use during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Slovenia.
Self-reported changes in alcohol and tobacco use during the first few months of the Covid-19 pandemic were recorded in 495 Slovenian adults, as part of the European Alcohol Use and COVID-19 survey.
About half of the Slovenian sample indicated that the frequency of drinking occasions did not change in the months after the pandemic's outbreak, while the remainder stated either a decrease (26.0%) or an increase (24.2%). 23.1% reported a decrease and 17.3% an increase in the quantity of alcohol consumed per occasion. Respondents who reported that their overall alcohol consumption decreased were more likely to be male than female and more likely to be younger than middle-aged. Those who reported experiencing at least a substantial level of distress due to financial loss were at a four-times increased risk of reporting an increase in their alcohol consumption compared to individuals who reported no or only some financial distress. Of the 120 people reporting the use of tobacco, almost half indicated an increase in tobacco consumption within the previous month, and about 20% reported a decrease in use. The differences in the results between Slovenia and other European countries are small and the overall pattern suggests that the situation in Slovenia was comparable to other European countries.
As this pandemic continues to evolve, further monitoring is needed to identify the long-term effects of alcohol and tobacco use on public health in relation to the management of COVID-19.
A frequently encountered exposure profile for hand-arm vibration in contemporary occupational setting comprises workers with a long history of intermittent exposure but without detectable signs of ...hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS). Yet, most of the published studies deal with developed HAVS cases, rarely discussing the biological processes that may be involved in degradation of manual dexterity and grip strength when it can be most beneficial - during the asymptomatic stage. In the present paper, a group of 31 male asymptomatic vibration-exposed workers (according to the Stockholm Workshop Scale) were compared against 30 male controls. They were tested using dynamometry and dexterimetry (modelling coarse and fine manual performance respectively) and cold provocation was done to detect possible differences in manual performance drop on these tests. The results showed reduced manual dexterity but no significant degradation in hand grip strength in the exposed subjects. This suggests that intermittent exposure profile and small cumulative vibration dose could only lead to a measurable deficit in manual dexterity but not hand grip strength even at non-negligible A(8) levels and long term exposures.
U suvremenim uvjetima profesionalne izloženosti vibracijama koje se prenose preko ruke i šake, često se mogu vidjeti radnici koji su, i pored dugotrajne povremene izloženosti, i dalje bez uočljivih simptoma vibracijske bolesti. U većini dosadašnjih istraživanja analizirani su ispitanici s razvijenom kliničkom slikom vibracijske bolesti, uz rijetka razmatranja bioloških procesa koji mogu biti uključeni u degradaciju ručne spretnosti i snage stiska šake, osobito u asimptomatskoj fazi, kada bi to bilo od najveće koristi. U ovom su istraživanju uspoređene dvije skupine ispitanika: izložena skupina - 31 radnik izložen lokalnim vibracijama koji prema Stockholmskoj klasifikaciji nema simptome vibracijske bolesti, i kontrolna skupina - 30 radnika koji nisu izloženi lokalnim vibracijama. Svaki je ispitanik bio podvrgnut dinamometrijskom i deksterimetrijskom testiranju (model za grubu i finu motoričku funkciju šake) te testu provokacije hladnoćom radi usporedbe pada motoričkih funkcija šake. U izloženoj skupini zabilježen je pad fine motoričke funkcije, ali ne i snage stiska šake. Rezultati upozoravaju na mjerljiv deficit grube ali ne i fine motoričke funkcije šake kod povremene izloženosti s malim kumulativnim dozama, čak i kada se radi o dugotrajnoj izloženosti nezanemarivim razinama A(8). Vibracijama inducirane lezije živčanih vlakana i/ ili mehanoreceptora, koji osiguravaju senzornu povratnu vezu za signale pokreta - čime kontroliraju zadatke koji iziskuju precizno kretanje prstiju - mogle bi biti odgovorne za uočeno smanjenje ručne spretnosti. Taj mehanizam, međutim, nije potreban za kontrolu grube sile stiska.
SAN DIEGO, Nov. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The Corporate Directors Forum will present an in-depth look the "Best Practices in the Board Room" during its November 18th meeting at the La Jolla Marriott. The ...panelists are attorneys who have collectively served on hundreds of boards of directors and provided advice to boards on numerous corporate practices. "These gentleman have a range of experience in what makes an effective board and will offer guidelines on how best to contribute to the meetings and enhance productivity among board members. They also will illustrate how attorneys provide effective counsel in this effort," said Larry Stambaugh, Corporate Directors Forum chairman of the board. "Some of the key issues for discussion include board structure, committee activities, board/management interactions, compliance with SEC rules, examining what is 'material' as it relates to disclosure, as well as contract and employment agreements."
U suvremenim uvjetima profesionalne izloženosti vibracijama koje se prenose preko ruke i šake, često se mogu vidjeti radnici koji su, i pored dugotrajne povremene izloženosti, i dalje bez uočljivih ...simptoma vibracijske bolesti. U većini dosadašnjih istraživanja analizirani su ispitanici s razvijenom kliničkom slikom vibracijske bolesti, uz rijetka razmatranja bioloških procesa koji mogu biti uključeni u degradaciju ručne spretnosti i snage stiska šake, osobito u asimptomatskoj fazi, kada bi to bilo od najveće koristi. U ovom su istraživanju uspoređene dvije skupine ispitanika: izložena skupina – 31 radnik izložen lokalnim vibracijama koji prema Stockholmskoj klasifikaciji nema simptome vibracijske bolesti, i kontrolna skupina – 30 radnika koji nisu izloženi lokalnim vibracijama. Svaki je ispitanik bio podvrgnut dinamometrijskom i deksterimetrijskom testiranju (model za grubu i finu motoričku funkciju šake) te testu provokacije hladnoćom radi usporedbe pada motoričkih funkcija šake. U izloženoj skupini zabilježen je pad fine motoričke funkcije, ali ne i snage stiska šake. Rezultati upozoravaju na mjerljiv deficit grube ali ne i fine motoričke funkcije šake kod povremene izloženosti s malim kumulativnim dozama, čak i kada se radi o dugotrajnoj izloženosti nezanemarivim razinama A(8). Vibracijama inducirane lezije živčanih vlakana i/ili mehanoreceptora, koji osiguravaju senzornu povratnu vezu za signale pokreta – čime kontroliraju zadatke koji iziskuju precizno kretanje prstiju – mogle bi biti odgovorne za uočeno smanjenje ručne spretnosti. Taj mehanizam, međutim, nije potreban za kontrolu grube sile stiska.
Eric P. Wenaas, Ph.D., Ph.D. originally announced his intention to retire from the position of Chairman of the Board in April 2002, with Director John C. Stiska as his successor. At the request of ...the JNI Board, Dr. Wenaas agreed to continue as Chairman while Director John Stiska assumed the role of Interim CEO following Neal Waddington's departure in May. With the successful conclusion of the Company's CEO search, Dr. Wenaas' resignation from the Board is effective today, September 9, 2002. Upon the appointment of President and CEO Russell Stern, Stiska assumes the role of Chairman of the Board of Directors, effective immediately. Stiska has served as a Director of JNI since May 2000. He is Chairman of Commercial Bridge Capital, LLC, a secured bridge loan fund, and served as counsel to the law firm of Latham & Watkins from 1998 to 2000. Previously, Stiska served as corporate Senior Vice President of QUALCOMM Incorporated, and as General Manager of QUALCOMM's Technology Applications Group. JNI Corporation is one of the leading manufacturers of connectivity products for the enterprise data center. The Company offers a broad line of products from its Fibre Channel, IO ASICs and IO Solutions business units, including Fibre Channel HBAs and ASICs, high availability storage networking software, as well as InfiniBand HCA Modules and related products for clustered server environments. JNI products run on a variety of operating systems, including Solaris, Windows 2000, Windows NT, Linux, HP-UX, AIX, Novell, and Mac OS systems. JNI customers, distributors and strategic partners include Acal FCS, Bell Microproducts, Brocade, Chaparral, Cisco Systems, Consan, EMC, Hewlett-Packard, Hitachi Data Systems, IBM, InfiniSwitch, Info X, LSI Logic, McDATA, Mellanox Technologies, Nishan Systems, StorageTek, Sun Microsystems, TidalWire and Veritas. Company headquarters is in San Diego, with offices throughout the world. www.JNI.com.
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