Volume 99, Nº 7 (2020)

Introduction. The article is devoted to the current problem of regional development - to the address with the waste of medical origin and the creation of a control system of medical waste as an element of internal quality control and safety of the medical activity. Functioning of a control system of medical waste and ensuring introduction in the medical organizations of progressive, cost-effective methods of hardware disinfecting of dangerous medical waste in the epidemiological relation are the priority factors forming the level of population health of the population of Russia. Safe utilization - the key direction of functioning of a system of the address of medical waste - at the same time the potential epidemiological and ecological danger determines the need of legal and financial and economic support of a control system of medical waste, both on federal, and at the regional level. Creation of environmentally friendly ways of the address with medical waste, effective management of these processes, their legal support belongs to the system of ensuring national security.

Material and methods. Authors carried out the analysis of current state of the address with medical waste in a number of regions of the Russian Federation, application of an integrated approach to utilization and neutralizations of waste of this type within regional environmental policy is reasoned. Gaps of legal regulation of a control system of medical waste on the basis of the analysis of law-enforcement practice are revealed. A methodical approach is proposed, the peculiarity of which is the legal and financial justification of the territorial schemes used in the regions for the treatment of medical waste. The methodological tools of the study include statistical methods of processing data on the disposal and disposal of medical waste. Approbation of methodical tools is carried out on the example of the Moscow region.

Results. The Moscow region pays close attention to the methods of medical waste management, the desire to ensure environmental safety, preventing the violation of the law in matters of disposal of medical waste. On the other hand, low satisfaction of the authorities with the pace of solving the problem of recycling, not included in the process of medical activity of health care institutions, the consequences of which may be medical waste requiring disinfection and treatment. The result of the study are recommendations of the need for interregional interaction in the field of placement and construction of complexes on processing, utilization, and neutralization of medical waste of different hazard classes.

Conclusion. Authors consider the perspective direction of scientific and technological development creation of the hi-tech equipment for utilization of different types of medical waste with receiving secondary raw materials and also neutralization of extremely hazardous and highly hazardous medical waste.

The use of effective plant test-objects in hygienic monitoring allows obtaining an integrated assessment of the anthropogenic and technogenic impact on the initial chain of the trophic level, which contributes to the adoption of measures to reduce risks to human health.

The aim of the study is the scientific substantiation of the effectiveness of using evergreen plants as test systems for assessing the safety of the environment from priority pollutants-heavy metals.

Material and methods. The research was conducted in Vladikavkaz city, where “Elektrotsink” (Pb - Zn - Cd production), “Pobedit” (W - Mo - Re - Co-production), “Gazoapparat” (electroplating), “Kristall” (production of copper-nickel alloys) and others plants are located. The objects of research were the three most represented types of evergreen plants: Picea abies, Picea pungens, and Thuja occidentalis, widely used in urban gardening. Young and old needles were taken from the trees. The collection districts corresponded to relatively clean areas and areas with increased anthropogenic pollution. The concentration of heavy metals was determined by using a flame atomic absorption spectrometer “Kvant-2A”. We calculated the average value and the standard error of the average, the Pearson correlation coefficient.

Results. Heavy metals were detected in all plant species (regardless of districts for sample collection) in concentrations: Cd: 0.035-2.0; Pb: 0.34-19.7; Cu: 0.006-4.48; Zn: 0.014-449.1 mg/kg. It was proved that the species have a similar tropism to the same elements (correlation coefficients from 0.78 to 0.91); the accumulation of metals in old needles relative to young ones is characterized by a direct relationship for Zn>Pb>Cd (k_Zn - 1.71, k_Pb - 1.58 k_Cd - 1.27) and the reverse for copper (k_Cu - 0.96).

Conclusion. Patterns of bioaccumulation of heavy metals in the tissues of evergreen plants identify the degree of anthropogenic impact on the environment and determine the prospects for using Picea abies, Picea pungens, and Thuja occidentalis as a sensitive indicator for assessing the safety of plant species.

Introduction. The high incidence of diphyllobotriosis in the coastal areas of Lake Baikal is an objective reflection of the socio-hygienic problems of the population of the Republic of Buryatia. In ensuring sanitary and epidemiological well-being in the Republic of Buryatia, there are many topical and territory-specific hygienic problems related to food safety issues. One of the main tasks is to prevent cases of diphyllobotriosis associated with the consumption of aquatic bioresources caught in the reservoirs of Transbaikalia, including the Baikal omul, in connection with the preservation of the risk of its development from the impact of a complex of socioeconomic, biological and environmental factors of the environment.

The purpose of our study was to investigate the regional features of diphyllobothriosis with an analysis of the current situation on infection of fish (the second intermediate hosts of the genus diphyllobothrium) with diphyllobothrium plerocercoids.

Material and methods. The database of the Republican information Fund for social and hygienic monitoring of the Department of Federal Service for Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare for the Republic of Buryatia and the Center for hygiene and epidemiology in the Republic of Buryatia was used as sources of information. The study was conducted using statistical, analytical, mathematical methods, as well as comparative analysis.

Results. According to our research, the course of the epidemic process was found to be influenced by a complex of environmental factors. This high anthropogenic load of the Selenga river and lake Quill, where the main causes are the failure modes of nature-protection and sanitary-protective zones of the lake, the unauthorized disposal of waste production and consumption, inadequate operation of water purification facilities, deterioration of the sanitary-technical condition of water supply and sewage networks.

Conclusion. The high incidence of diphyllobotriosis in the coastal areas of lake Baikal is an objective reflection of the socio-hygienic problems of the population of the Republic of Buryatia.

Introduction. One of the most common forms of occupational diseases of the peripheral nervous system is autonomic-sensory polyneuropathy. For Kuzbass, which is one of the leaders in coal mining, the problem of early diagnosis and prevention of polyneuropathies is the most urgent.

The purpose of this study was to determine autonomic disorders and their role in the development of occupational polyneuropathy in workers of coal enterprises in Kuzbass.

Material and methods. 72 male miners aged from 40 to 64 years with working experience from 15 to 36 years were examined. The control group consisted of 18 subjects of the same age, engaged in light physical or mental work that had no occupational risk factors. To assess the degree of peripheral nerve damage electroneuromyography was performed in all cases; indices of spectral and nonlinear heart rate variability were used to determine the state of autonomic regulation.

Results. No signs of polyneuropathy were detected in 20 subjects of the examined workers of coal enterprises according to electroneuromyography data. The miners with diagnosed polyneuropathy were divided into 3 groups according to the severity of the lesion of the impulse conduction along the peripheral nerves. In the miners with no signs of polyneuropathy, who exposed to harmful production factors, a statistically significant decrease in the power of high-frequency oscillations of the heart rate variability spectrum was determined. The subjects with initial disorders of the impulse conduction showed a progressive decrease in high-frequency oscillations, with moderate signs of polyneuropathy, there were a sympathetic predominance and increased influence of suprasegmental autonomic centers. In the development of severe disorders of the impulse conduction along the peripheral nerves, depression of oscillations in all frequency ranges and rigidity of the heart rate are characteristic.

Conclusion. The obtained data confirm the influence of autonomic dysfunction on the development of occupational polyneuropathy. The analysis of heart rate variability is an important tool for evaluating autonomic regulation and can be used in mass medical examinations. A decrease in spectral and nonlinear parameters in coal-mining workers is an early sign of the disorder of autonomic regulation, which allows predicting the occurrence and development of peripheral nerve damage.

Introduction. The relevance of the study is dictated by the difficulties of differential diagnosis of neural lesions of the upper extremities in vibration disease induced by local vibration. The most frequent involvement of the distal nerves of the upper extremities can be due to both a polyneuropathic diffuse disturbance without compression and a compression tunnel lesion. Taken into account the different approaches to the treatment of these conditions, there is a need to study the features of distal nerve damage in the case of vibration damage.

Aim of the study was to investigate the macrostructural and functional features of distal lesions of the peripheral nerves of the upper extremities in vibration disease patients.

Material and methods. 57 men aged 40-60 years were examined at the clinic of the Research Institute for Complex Problems of Hygiene and Occupational Diseases in Novokuznetsk, 30 patients with a proven diagnosis of vibration disease were included in the main group, 27 cases who had never worked in contact with industrial vibration were included in the control group. An electroneuromyographic and ultrasound study of the median and ulnar nerve were performed in all cases.

Results. A significant increase in the distal latency of the median nerves and a decrease in the speed of sensory conduction along the nerves of the upper extremities in the main group were revealed. According to the ultrasound examination of the nerves, there was no statistical difference in the nerve cross-sectional area at the level of the wrist in the main and control groups. The frequency of compression lesions of the median nerve in the carpal canal in the main group accounted for 16%.

Conclusions. With prolonged exposure to local vibration, a distal polyneuropathic diffuse lesion of the nerves of the upper extremities often develops. A combination of vibration disease due to local vibration and carpal tunnel syndrome occurs in 16% of cases.

The aim of the study was to perform a comparative analysis of hair content of toxic metal in foreign students originating from different regions.

Material and methods. An examination of first-year students of the RUDN University originating from Russia, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America was performed in the study. Assessment of hair aluminum (Al), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb) and tin (Sn) content was undertaken using inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

Results. The obtained data demonstrate that the highest levels of Al, Cd, and Pb were observed in students originating from Africa and Latin America. The most prominent mercury accumulation was detected in subjects from Latin America. In turn, hair As content in foreign students from all regions exceeded the respective Russian values by a factor of more than two. No significant group difference in hair tin content was observed. In regression models, prior habitation in Asia, Africa, and Latin America is considered as a significant predictor of elevated hair Hg content. African origin was also associated with higher Pb levels in hair. In the case of cadmium, a direct relationship between prior habitation in Latin America tended to be significant.

Conclusion. The obtained data revealed increased accumulation of toxic metals, especially, Hg, Pb, and Cd in the hair of foreign first-year students originating from Africa and Latin America, that may have a significant adverse effect on health and educational performance. At the same time, further studies aimed at investigating the particular contribution of toxic metal overload to health effects in RUDN University students are required.

Background. Scientific research has demonstrated that microbial pathogens could develop resistance to multiple antibacterial agents. Food additives, in particular preservatives, have also been shown to increase antimicrobial resistance of food-contaminating microorganisms. In this work the lantibiotic nisin was shown to exhibit: it contributes to the development of the antibiotic resistance of pathogenic and opportunistic microorganisms, reduces the immune status, the development of an imbalance of intestinal microbiocenosis, affects the body’s metabolism through the regulation of DNA transcription.

Purpose. To assess the risks of nisin (E234) use taking into account its impact on the biological properties of microorganisms-food contaminants.

Material and methods. Calculation of nisin consumption with food under conditions of scenarios 1 and 2 was carried out taking into account the bodyweight of consumers of different age groups in the Russian population in the software Exel. The analysis of scientific data on the biological properties of nisin, including the ability to form to the resistance of microorganisms was provided.

Results and conclusion. For the first time, the calculated amounts of the food additive-preservative nisin (E234) in the intestinal contents were shown to exceed the minimum inhibitory concentrations of nisin for representatives of the normal flora of the human gastrointestinal tract in consumers of all ages by from 40 to 27064 times, depending on the consumption scenario (with minimum and maximum exposure levels). It has been argued that the safety of nisin used as a food additive needs to be re-assessed taking into account its considerable contribution to the antimicrobial resistance of food pathogens.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the nutritional status of school-age children living in monotown.

Material and methods. A computer test was used to assess nutrition, namely, the program of the analysis of the frequency of food consumption «Human nutrition analysis» differentiated by classes of education for schoolchildren aged 7-10 years (junior classes), 11-13 years (middle link of education) and 15-16 years (high school). The total sample size amounted to 612 schoolchildren. The comparative analysis of qualitative and quantitative indices of the composition of the diet was carried out based on existing regulations.

Results. In all age groups of schoolchildren, an imbalance in the intake of macro- and micronutrients with diets was revealed, which was due to the imbalance of the food set. In the daily diet of children of 7-16 years, there was a fairly adequate caloric value, however, they were deficient in total protein (89.0-96.4%) and excessive in fat (100.4-124.3%) and carbohydrates (105.3-118.5% of physiological norms). The protein content of animal origin in the daily diets of all schoolchildren was below the norms of physiological needs and accounted for 88.0%, 85.4%, 90.7%, respectively. Diets were scarce in their content of meat and meat products (68.1-73.2% from the recommended level of consumption), fish and seafood (32.9-47.5%), eggs (62.3-82.4%), milk and dairy products (48.5%-72.1% per day), bakery products (79.4-93.6%), potatoes (62.9-71.0%). Actual food consumption and the intake of nutrients are influenced by the age of the schoolchild (the determination coefficient of 0.53).

Conclusion. The development of programs to optimize the nutrition of schoolchildren should be carried out in the light of previously identified violations corresponding to the regional nature.

Introduction. Drinking water intended for South Armenia’s towns and rural communities is abstracted from minor mountain rivers belonging to the basins of the Voghchi and Meghri, the water of which is treated at five water treatment plants. The river basins are home to the major copper molybdenum and gold ore mining centers of the republic.
The purpose of this research was to study heavy metals Ag, Al, As, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sn, Sb, Se, Zn, Hg, Te in centralized drinking water supply systems and assess drinking water-caused health risks to the population.
Material and methods. In 2016-2017 from 43 sampling sites a total of 53 basic water samples were taken, including 14- from surface water supply sources, 16 - from water treatment plants, 33- from water supply networks. Heavy metals were determined by the atomic absorption method. To assess the quality of water on water abstraction sites relevant ecological (regional) norms and national and international standards were used. The risk of development of noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic effects was assessed in the case of oral intake of and dermal exposure to tap water.
Results. On water abstraction sites, background regional levels of surface waters exceeded the concentration of aluminum, iron, molybdenum, tin, antimony (by as 13.3-1.1 times). Water treatment efficiency at water treatment plants is estimated at 12% - 69% depending on different metals. Concentrations of heavy metals in drinking water do not exceed the norms. The risk of development of noncarcinogenic effects in the population at chronic exposure to drinking water is insignificant (HI<1), whereas a total carcinogenic risk exceeds a safety limit for arsenic (CR=9.59×10^–5).
Conclusion. The acceptable quality of drinking water supplied to consumers is not yet an index of sustainable and safe water supply in the studied region because of a water pollution level on intake sites, obsolete water treatment technologies, poor sanitation and technical condition of plants and water networks.

Introduction. A significant medical and social challenge in occupational health poses a risk of chemical intoxication in the industrial synthesis of new drug compounds.

The aim of the work was a pre-clinical study of metabolic and morphological changes in acute and subchronic exposure of 4-chlorobenzhydryl piperazine on the body, which will allow early diagnosis of health problems in workers in workshops where the reaction synthesis of piperazine compounds are used and carried out.

Material and methods. A complex of toxic-hygienic and biochemical studies was carried out. The object of the research was 4-chlorobenzhydryl piperazine. Toxic properties were studied in experiments on white outbred rats. Single inhalation and subacute intragastric modes and methods of exposure were reproduced. Blood serum indices were analyzed: the activity of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, catalase, the concentration of total protein, ceruloplasmin, urea, cholesterol, and glucose. The content of protein and chlorine ions was determined in the urine. Morphological studies were performed on the brain, heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, spleen, stomach, pancreas, and thyroid glands.

Results. The changes in the biochemical indices of blood and urine in different ways of substance intake into the body were similar. An increase in the concentration of ceruloplasmin, which has a pronounced oxidase activity, was revealed. A decrease in catalase activity demonstrated the lack of antioxidant protection in the conditions of intoxication. A marker of dysfunctional liver disorders was an increase in the activity of aminotransferases. In rats, in the priming process, no changes in indices characterizing the functional state of the kidneys were revealed. 4-chlorobenzhydryl piperazine has the most pronounced toxic effect on the hepatobiliary system. Histological findings confirmed the development of mild toxic steatohepatosis in animals exposed to poisoning.

Conclusion. When 4-chlorobenzhydryl piperazine is ingested, there is a risk of pathology, especially of the hepatobiliary system. The information content of biochemical indices that can become correct signs of health disorders in workers who are in contact with 4-chlorobenzhydryl piperazine is considered. The indices possessing not only high sensitivity but the activity of aminotransferases, the concentration of urea, and ceruloplasmin in blood serum also can provide diagnostically significant specificity.

Introduction. Benzoic acid and its numerous derivatives are widely used in all areas of chemical production. However, there is no information about the toxic properties of a large number of benzoic acid derivatives. The purpose of the study was to study the toxic properties of several derivatives of benzoic acids in intragastric intake in an experiment.

Material and methods. The following derivatives of benzoic acid were studied: 4-chlorobenzoic, 4-methoxybenzoic, p-acetoxybenzoic and 2-methoxy-5-sulfamoylbenzoic acids. The studies were performed on white laboratory rats; toxicity was studied in repeated experiments with the oral administration of substances. The condition of the animals was assessed by integrated parameters, indices of biochemical analyzes of blood serum, morphological data from a study of the liver, kidneys, heart, stomach, pancreas and thyroid glands.\

Results. According to toxicometric data, 4-chlorobenzoic acid is classified as moderately hazardous, hazard class III, 4-methoxybenzoic, p-acetoxybenzoic and 2-methoxy-5-sulfamoylbenzoic acids belong to hazard class IV (low hazard). Under the subchronic administration of all the studied compounds, there was a significant increase in urea concentration, aminotransferase activity, and a decrease in catalase activity, most pronounced in poisoning with 4-chlorobenzoic and 4-methoxybenzoic acids. Morphohistological studies confirmed the predominant effect of benzoic acid derivatives on the functioning of the hepatorenal system in the animals exposed to poisoning. Microscopically fatty liver dystrophy was observed, there was a diffuse proliferation of Kupffer cells. In the kidneys, the glomeruli were enlarged in size; the lumen of the Shumlyansky-Bowman’s capsule was narrowed as a result of swelling of the capillary endothelium.

Conclusion. Subchronic oral intake of 4-chlorobenzoic, 4-methoxybenzoic, p-acetoxybenzoic, and 2-methoxy-5-sulfamoylbenzoic acids leads to many disorders in the body, which are mainly of a common toxic nature with a predominant effect on the state of the hepatorenal system. The most pronounced organotoxic effect is manifested in the chlorine-containing derivative of benzoic acid - 4-chlorobenzoic acid. Due to the low toxicity of benzoic acids, chronic poisoning in the workplace is unlikely; it is possible only if the technological processes are disrupted.