The behaviour of parents in ensuring car passenger safety for their children is associated with socio-economic (SE) status of the family; however, the influence of parental education has rarely been ...researched and the findings are contradictory. The aim of the study was to clarify whether parental education influences the use of a child car seat during short rides.
A cross-sectional survey was carried out in outpatient clinics for children's healthcare across Slovenia. 904 parents of 3-year-old children participated in the study; the response rate was 95.9%. A self-administered questionnaire was used. A binary multiple logistic regression was applied to assess the association between parental unsafe behaviour as dependent variable, and education and other SE factors as independent variables.
14.6% of parents did not use a child car seat during short rides. Families where mother had low or college education had higher odds of the non-use of a child car seat than families where mother had a university education. Single-parent families and those who lived in areas with low or medium SE status also had higher odds of the non-use of a child car seat.
Low educational attainment influences parents' behaviour regarding the non-use of a child car seat. Low parental education is not the only risk factor since some highly educated parents also have high odds of unsafe behaviour. All parents should therefore be included in individually tailored safety counselling programmes. SE inequalities could be further reduced with provision of free child car seats for eligible families.
We aimed to investigate the short-term correlation between blood lead levels and oxidative stress generation in coal miners. The study involved 94 male coal miners from the Velenje Coal mine, ...arranged into four groups： three groups according to the number of consecutive working days, and a fourth control group. Miners who worked for three consecutive days had higher blood levels of lead and 8-isoprostane than the control group（P 〈 0.001）. Correlation between lead and 8-isoprostane was of medium strength（r = 0.512, P 〈 0.001）. Short-term lead environmental exposure can potentially harmful and should be considered when formulating improvements in working processes.
We aimed to investigate the polluted working environment triggers oxidative stress and alter enzymatic antioxidant activity by a short-term interval.
The experimental study, performed in 2014, ...involved 94 workers from the Velenje Coalmine in Slovenia, arranged into three groups according to a number of consecutive working days in a mineshaft, supported by a control group. Levels of the antioxidant enzymes (GPx, CAT, SOD) together with TAC (the combined effect of all antioxidants) and 8-isoprostane (a biological marker of oxidative stress/damage) were measured in human plasma.
Workers occupationally exposed for three consecutive working days had significantly increased 8-isoprostane biomarker, a parameter of oxidative stress (
<0.001). The antioxidant levels of TAC (
<0.001), CAT (
<0.001) and SOD (
<0.001) were all significantly decreased compared to a control group.
Workers in polluted working environment had significantly increased oxidative stress and altered antioxidant activity already on a third consecutive working day.
This study was to investigate whether working in conditions of elevated concentrations of mine gases （CO2, CO, CH4, DMS） and dust may result in oxidative stress. Coal miners （n=94） from the Velenje ...Coal mine who were arranged into control group and three groups according to a number of consecutive working days. 8-isoprostane as a biological marker of oxidative stress was measured in exhaled breath condensate （EBC）.
Staphylococcus aureus is among the most important human pathogens. It is associated with different infections and is a major cause of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs). The aim of our study was ...to compare S. aureus isolates associated with SSTIs with isolates obtained from healthy carriers in the Central Slovenia region in terms of antimicrobial susceptibility, genetic diversity by clonal complex (CC)/sequence type, spa type, and by toxin gene profiling. In total, 274 S. aureus isolates were collected prospectively by culturing wound samples from 461 SSTI patients and nasal samples from 451 healthy carriers. We have demonstrated high heterogeneity in terms of CCs and spa type in both groups of isolates. The main clone among SSTI strains was Panton–Valentine leukocidin gene (pvl) positive CC121, whereas the main clone among carrier strains was CC45 carrying a large range of toxin genes. The main spa type in both groups was t091. Pvl was more frequently present in SSTI strains (31.2% SSTI vs 3.6% carrier strains) and staphylococcal enterotoxin C was more frequently present in carrier strains (1.6% SSTI vs 17.0% carrier strains). We have also demonstrated that methicillin‐resistant S. aureus was a rare cause (2.8%) of SSTIs in our region.
A nationwide study was conducted to explore the short term association between daily individual meteorological parameters and the incidence of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) treated with coronary ...emergency catheter interventions in the Republic of Slovenia, a south-central European country.
We linked meteorological data with daily ACS incidence for the entire population of Slovenia, for the population over 65 years of age and for the population under 65 years of age. Data were collected daily for a period of 4 years from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2011. In line with existing studies, we used a main effect generalized linear model with a log-link-function and a Poisson distribution of ACS.
Three of the studied meteorological factors (daily average temperature, atmospheric pressure and relative humidity) all have relevant and significant influences on ACS incidences for the entire population. However, the ACS incidence for the population over 65 is only affected by daily average temperature, while the ACS incidence for the population under 65 is affected by daily average pressure and humidity. In terms of ambient temperature, the overall findings of our study are in line with the findings of the majority of contemporary European studies, which also note a negative correlation. The results regarding atmospheric pressure and humidity are less in line, due to considerable variations in results. Additionally, the number of available European studies on atmospheric pressure and humidity is relatively low. The fourth studied variable-season-does not influence ACS incidence in a statistically significant way.
Lead is known to cause harmful effects in the haematopoietic, nervous, digestive, renal, and other organ systems, inhibiting a number of enzymes in the biosynthesis of haem, as well as other enzymes ...with haematological significance. Our study involved 151 employees involved with the cutting of crystal, i.e. leaded glass, who had been found using eco-monitoring to have been exposed to above normal levels of lead. Our bio-monitoring process followed the values of lead, delta-ALAD and EPP.The highest level of lead detected was 276 µg/L, the lowest level of delta-ALAD was 99 nkat/L), and the highest level of EPP was 14.2 nmol/gHb). We had found that contrary to expectations, lead levels were not correlated to haemoglobin levels, or to gender or age, but were instead based only on the post of the employee and their time spent working at the glassworks. The levels of haematopoiesis were directly proportional to the levels of lead, however, the correlation was not statistically significant or had perhaps been masked by the exposure due to the employee's post and gender. We had also found a significant correlation of lead levels to the levels of renal function. The study had indicated some health impacts of lead on the exposed glass workers, but also at least partly diverged from the results of previous studies, prompting us to continue our research.
Hospitals present complex indoor environment with various users, health hazards and specific activities. This paper classifies health hazards specific to the hospital environment (HE), defines their ...interactions and possible impacts on human health and summarizes recommendations for biological and chemical hazards. A detailed literature review clearly shows that there is no developed system or method for integral control of health hazards in HE. There is no appropriate technology available that would allow development of optimal thermal comfort conditions for individual users in HE. For integral control of physical hazards, an innovative low exergy (LowEx) system was designed and tested. The system enables individual control of thermal comfort parameters to meet the needs of various users in the same room. It enables the design of optional conditions for healthcare and treatment considering the different requirements of individual patients and thermally neutral zones for other users. The system application is presented in a model room for burns patient. The measured energy use was lower by 11–27% for space heating and by 32–73% for cooling, when using LowEx system as compared to the conventional system. Owning to its flexibility, the system can also be used for other potential users.
PDF
