Volume 102, Nº 8 (2023)

Introduction. The work is dedicated to the parameterization of the COVID-19 epidemic process, taking into account the specifics of the Russian Federation regions.

Purpose of study is the analysis of the spatio-temporal distribution of heterogeneous indicators of the spread of COVID-19 based on the formalization and parametrization of waves of the epidemic process, bearing in mind regional specifics.

Materials and methods. SIR (+L) model as a modification of the classic SIR model, reflecting the trend in the transition of the susceptible to the action of the virus (S – susceptible) population to the group of infected (I – infected), recovered (R – recovered) and the dead (L – letal) was used as a basic model of the epidemic process.

Results. Time ranges of activation of the epidemic process in the regions of the Russian Federation, corresponding to waves of domination of certain strains of the virus, have been allocated on the basis of the analysis of time series COVID-19 morbidity with a week period of averaging. In total, starting from September 6, 2020 and ending on February 25, 2023, four epidemic waves have been allocated for each region. Analysis of SIR (+L) model parameters for each wave by regions of the Russian Federation made it possible to establish a number of characteristic trends and obtain interpretable directions of influence on the epidemic process individual stages, with the subsequent development of systemic strategic decisions on the preservation of population health and its level of safety at the regional and country-wide scale.

Limitations. The presented modification of the SIR model (SIR (+L) model) is a significant simplification of the real epidemic process and does not allow describing a number of observed effects.

Conclusion. Based on the results of the parametrization of the epidemic process, the main features and patterns of the spread of the COVID-19, the intensity of recovery and mortality were established. A further direction of research may be the complication of the epidemic process model, the addition of new parameters to it, taking into account the division of the population into gender and age groups, diseases by severity, grouping according to the territorial and social principle, and the identification of the latent morbidity.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study does not require the conclusion of a biomedical ethics committee of other documents (the study was performed on publicly available official statistics).

Contribution of the authors:
Popova A.Yu., Zaitseva N.V., Alekseev V.B., Letyushev A.N. — research concept and design, editing, approval of the final version of the article;
Kiryanov D.A., Kleyn S.V. — editing, writing the text, approval of the final version of the article;
Kamaltdinov M.R., Glukhikh M.V. — statistical data processing, collection and processing material, writing the text.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgement. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: July 28, 2023 / Accepted: August 15, 2023 / Published: October 9, 2023

Introduction. The problem of neutralization/decontamination of medical waste generated in medical institutions occupies a significant place among the existing epidemiological and environmental problems. Domestic and foreign colleagues consider the use of thermal methods for the disposal of medical waste to be a priority. Despite technological advances in the system of purification of «exhaust» gases, the work of enterprises for the disposal of medical waste is still of concern to the population of the territories in which they operate.

The objective of the study. The assessment of the impact of low-temperature and high-temperature thermal treatment of medical waste on the atmospheric air and public health in the zone of their influence to substantiate the laboratory control program using these technologies.

Materials and methods. The work used sanitary-chemical methods for studying emissions from installations for the thermal treatment of medical waste, modelling the dispersion of emissions with the calculation of ground-level concentrations, and the methodology for assessing the risk to public health based on «Guidelines for assessing the risk to public health from exposure to chemicals polluting the environment».

Results. The results of the calculation of the carcinogenic risk to public health from high-temperature neutralization technologies are assessed as the maximum allowable and acceptable, from the low-temperature method as acceptable.

Limitations. Emissions from the main technologies for the disposal of medical waste included substances with a carcinogenic effect, but the carcinogenic risk was calculated only for those substances that had a carcinogenic potential factor.

Conclusion. Based on the results of the study, when managing production laboratory control programs and monitoring atmospheric air in the impact zone of medical waste incineration enterprises, it is necessary to include the such components in the mandatory list of monitored indicators as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, suspended solids, cadmium oxide, nitrogen oxide, dioxins, and benz/a/pyrene; in the operating area of installations for low-temperature thermal treatment of medical waste (autoclaving), it is necessary to control chemical components as follows: benzene, dimethylbenzene, methylbenzene, ethylbenzene, 2-butoxyethanol, butan-1-ol, propan-1-ol.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study does not require the submission of the opinion of the biomedical ethics committee.

Contribution:
Khurtsilava O.G. — hygienic technology assessment, editing;
Mironenko O.V. — scientific leadership, concept and design of the study, editing, approval of the final version of the article, responsibility for the integrity of all parts of the article;
Noskov S.N. — calculation of gross emissions, maximum single surface concentrations, editing;
Magomedov Kh.K. — research concept and design of the study, proofreading and editing;
Pankin A.V. — statistical processing, calculation of carcinogenic risk;
Fedorova E.A. — collection and statistical processing of material, writing the text;
Obukhov D.A. — statistical processing;
Suvorova O.K. — research concept and design of the study.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgement. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: June 05, 2023 / Accepted: August 15, 2023 / Published: October 9, 2023

Introduction. The strategy for the development of transport infrastructure in Russia involves the construction of railway tracks, including for high-speed traffic. The noise created by rail transport creates uncomfortable living conditions for citizens. One of the most common methods of noise reduction in the way of its propagation is the installation of acoustic screens.

The purpose of the work. To evaluate the effectiveness of acoustic screens used to reduce noise from linear objects of railway transport.

Materials and methods. To evaluate the effectiveness of acoustic screens in the reverberation chamber, a study of six types of materials most commonly used for their construction was conducted. Experimental studies calculations were carried out in accordance with the requirements of current regulatory and technical documentation.

Results. Experimental studies have shown air noise isolation levels to vary from 27 dBA to 44 dBA. In real conditions, the long-wave part of the noise spectrum of railway transport bends around the screen, forming an acoustic shadow. The calculated acoustic shadow from the AE for non-electrified tracks is 45.95 m from the screen, for electrified tracks – 40.56 m. The efficiency of acoustic screens was shown to decrease with increasing train speed.

Limitations. The limitations are determined by the value of the calculated uncertainty indicator obtained by analyzing the results of acoustic measurements.

Conclusion. The use of acoustic screens as the main noise protection measure has little prospect in newly built-up areas with high-rise residential and public buildings, and in the conditions of the prospect of intensive development of high-speed rail traffic. The procedure for establishing the estimated size of the distance from the railway tracks, ensuring compliance with the requirements of sanitary and epidemiological well-being, needs a clear regulation of the list and quality of the initial data, taking into account the peculiarities of the structure of the track and the management of railway traffic.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study does not require the submission of the conclusion of the Biomedical ethics committee or other documents.

Contribubtion:
Kopytenkova O.I. — research concept and design, collection and processing of material; content analysis of documents, writing of text;
Afanasyeva T.A. — research concept and design, collection and processing of material; content analysis of documents, writing of text.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgement. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: April 28, 2023 / Accepted: June 7, 2023 / Published: October 9, 2023

Introduction. The causal association of infertility risk, complicated course and outcomes of pregnancy, as well as maternal, perinatal and neonatal mortality, with the lag-effects of cooling meteorological factors, is the least studied problem in occupational health. The national legal acts regulating occupational health issues do not classify the performance of labour operations in a low-temperature environment as work hazardous to reproductive health.

The purpose of the study. Based on an assessment of the likelihood of pregnancy complications in women engaged in labour operations in open areas or in unheated workrooms in cold climate regions, to develop recommendations for improving state regulation measures aimed at maintaining reproductive health and reducing reproductive losses in female workers employed in these regions.

Materials and methods. A questionnaire survey was conducted among two hundred forty six female workers of childbearing age performing labour operations in an open area or in unheated workrooms. As methods of statistical processing, conventional statistical methods were used using a personal computer with installed Microsoft software products (Microsoft Excel 2013) and application software (Statistica v.12).

Results. Performing labour operations in a cold environment is associated with a statistically significant higher prevalence of pregnancy complications in female workers engaged in cold season labour operations in open areas or unheated workrooms as long as from 1 to 3 hours, and especially more than 3 hours per work shift. Among the population living in the region of the Pechora coal basin, the risks of crisis phenomena in demographic development remain, which are mainly due to an increase in the frequency of pregnancy complications and, above all, due to high level of fetal and infant losses.

Conclusion. To solve one of the main tasks of national security to prevent further depopulation of the Arctic regions, in addition to socio-economic measures to preserve the population and increase the total fertility rate, it is necessary to improve the regulatory legal acts focused on the protection of the reproductive health of women working in a cold environment.

Limitations. The period of the study is from 2015 to 2019. The number of respondents was 246 women experienced one or more pregnancies when worked in the cold workplaces.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study was approved by the Local Ethics Committee of the North-Western State Medical University named after I.I. Mechnikov (protocol No. 10 dated November 7, 2018). Before the study, from each subject there was received written informed consent to participate in the study in 2 copies, one of which remained with the subject.

Contribution:
Borisova D.S. — concept and design of the study, collection and processing of materials, data analysis, writing the text of the article, editing;
Petrukhin N.N., Kovshov A.A. — processing of materials, data analysis;
Chashchin V.P., Nikanov A.A. — conceptualization, verification.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the article and approval of the article final version.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgement. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: April 28, 2023 / Accepted: June 7, 2023 / Published: October 9, 2023

Introduction. Currently, there are no clear definitions of unacceptable worker health risk criteria, which are related to incidence indicators of further development of already formed occupational diseases. It refers to cases when a worker with a diagnosed occupational disease continues to work under harmful occupational factor exposure which has caused occupational pathology development.

Materials and methods. According to the archive materials of occupational pathology clinics, risk assessment of further development of occupational disease caused by physical overload, in a group of patients with diagnosed occupational disease, being under follow-up and proceeding their working activity, was carried out

Results. Regulatory documents in the field of occupational fitness expertise, currently effective in Russian Federation, provide the possibility of continuing work under the same conditions for patients with diagnosed occupational disease. However, such policy results in the loss of right to get payment for medical rehabilitation among occupational disease patients. Based on epidemiological survey findings, procedural approaches to assessing the risk of occupational disease deterioration, in case a patient proceeding to work under the same conditions of exposure to adverse occupational factors, as unacceptable, are considered.

Limitations. In patients with occupational pathology of a different profile, working in other conditions, other results may be obtained on the risk of disease progression with continued work.

Conclusions. It is necessary to create and implement an official uniform system for qualifying risk for the development of occupational pathology in patients going on to work in adverse conditions. At the first stage an assessment of risk for the development of these health disturbances, based on the value of occupational morbidity rate index, which takes into account both, the incidence of negative effect on worker’s health, and the severity of health disturbances, can be used.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study does not require submission of the opinion of the biomedical ethics committee and other documents.

Contribution:
Khurtsilava O.G. — concept, editing and approval of the final version of the article;
Boyko I.V. — the concept and design of the study, editing;
Grebenkov S.V. — the concept and design of the study, editing;
Nikanov A.N. — literary review, editing of the article;
Loginova N.N. — concept and design of research, collection and processing of material, statistical analysis, text writing.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgement. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: April 28, 2023 / Accepted: August 15, 2023 / Published: October 9, 2023

Introduction. Currently, there are a large arsenal of technical means designed to protect information processed by electronic computing equipment from unauthorized access and additional sources of electromagnetic fields of the radio frequency range (RF EMF) in the workplace. However, in the available literature there is practically no data on the hygienic assessment of the electromagnetic environment when using active means of information protection.

The purpose of the research is to conduct research and hygienic assessment of the electromagnetic environment in the workplace when using technical means of active information protection.

Materials and methods. Regulatory documents, systems, and principles of information protection of computer equipment objects, technical characteristics and operating modes of devices were studied. EMF levels were measured in rooms and workplaces with personal computers (PCs) when using information security tools, EMF exposure parameters were determined. A hygienic assessment of the electromagnetic environment was carried out.

Results. The intensity of RF EMF generated by electromagnetic noise generators in the workplace has been established to depend on such many factors as the type of device, the antenna used, its location, distance from the antenna, and others.

Limitations. There are no limitations of the study.

Conclusion. Active information protection devices are increasingly being used and there is an obvious need for monitoring and carrying out measures to protect personnel from the adverse effects of RF EMF, including clarifying hygiene standards, developing technical solutions, and creating domestic selective EMF measuring instruments.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study does not require a conclusion on biomedical ethics, since it is the result of generalization of many years of work of scientists in this direction.

Contribution:
Nikitina V.N. — the concept and design of the study, collection and processing of material, writing a text;
Kalinina N.I. — collection of literature data, collection and processing of material, writing a text, editing;
Dubrovskaya E.N. — collection of literature data, collection and processing of material, editing;
Plekhanov V.P. — collection of literature data, collection and processing of material.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgement. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: April 28, 2023 / Accepted: August 15, 2023 / Published: October 9, 2023

Introduction. During navigation, ship specialists are affected by a number of unavoidable factors including noise, vibration, climatic conditions, ship rolling, monotony of the working process during watch keeping, psycho-emotional, and physical stress.

The aim of the study was to assess the psychophysiological state of boatmasters during navigation.

Materials and methods. A study of sixty four boatmasters was conducted before, in the middle and at the end of navigation. To achieve the purpose of the study, qualitative and quantitative indicators of psychophysiological status (Choice response, Mobility of nervous processes using a dynamometer) and the functioning of the cardiovascular system under physical exertion (Harvard step test) were studied. The research was carried out using a computer complex for psychophysiological testing “NS-Psychotest”. The results were processed using the Statistica  v. 10 software package. The studied indicators are presented qualitatively, by frequency distribution in accordance with their severity in different periods of observation. The point estimate is supplemented with a 95% confidence interval, which was calculated by the Wilson method. In the comparative analysis, a nonparametric criterion was used for McNemar’s dependent variables χ². To calculate the dose load by vibroacoustic factors, the approaches described in the Methodological Recommendations on the Dose Assessment of Industrial Noise No. 2908-82 were used.

Results. The results obtained during the study revealed significant differences in the indicators of functional and psycho-emotional state during the navigation period.

Limitations. Limited access to the subjects under study during navigation.

Conclusion. Currently, the boatmasters of modern automated passenger ships are affected by factors that can be attributed to the unavoidable. To reduce the negative impact of harmful factors on the functional and psychophysiological state of boatmasters, when developing shift work modes, the determination of the dose load should be applied, taking into account the round-the-clock impact of vibroacoustic factors during navigation. To preserve and strengthen the health of skippers, it is necessary to conduct an in-depth examination and monitoring of the functional state of the cardiovascular system for timely detection of initial signs of pathology in crew members.

Compliance with ethical standards. In order to reduce the negative impact of harmful factors on the functional and psychophysiological state of boatmasters, when developing shift work modes, the determination of the dose load should be applied, taking into account the round-the-clock impact of vibroacoustic factors during navigation. In order to preserve and strengthen the health of skippers, it is necessary to conduct an in-depth examination and monitoring of the functional state of the cardiovascular system for timely detection of initial signs of pathology in crew members.

Contribution:
Dubrovskaya E.N. — the concept and design of the study, collection and processing of material, statistical processing, collection of literature data, writing a text, editing;
Kopytenkova O.I. — collection and processing of material, collection of literature data, writing a text; editing.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgement. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: April 28, 2023 / Accepted: June 7, 2023 / Published: October 9, 2023

Introduction. In modern conditions humans are exposed to the high level of stress that causes the gain in psychosomatic disorders. The problem of tolerance to increasing stress is becoming more and more urgent. The study of the possibilities of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex stimulation, which affects the mechanisms of autonomic regulation, is of clinical interest.

The aim of the study is to research the mechanisms of the resistance to increasing stress after transcranial magnetic stimulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of the right hemisphere in young males engaged in mental work.

Materials and methods. Thirty four healthy male 20 to 22 years students were observed. Transcranial magnetic stimulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex projection at the F4 point in the electrode system marked “10–20” was carried out with an individually determined stimulus intensity in the amount of 300 stimuli with a frequency of 1 Hz. Autonomic effects were evaluated using spectral analysis of heart rate variability before and after stimulation. Seven-test was used as a stress test.

Results. The predominance of oscillations in the low frequency of heart rate variability, indicating sympathetic activation, was determined in the examined young men, engaged in mental labour. After stimulation of the prefrontal cortex, there was an increase in heart rate variability, to a greater extent very low frequency oscillations associated with the central mechanisms of parasympathetic activity. During the stress test, the increase in adaptive capabilities was manifested by a less pronounced decrease in heart rate variability in comparison to the reaction before stimulation. A model of the effect of stimulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex on heart rate variability was proposed.

Limitations. The study is limited to the evaluation of spectral parameters of heart rate variability in 34 young healthy students before and after transcranial magnetic stimulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

Conclusion. Stimulation of the prefrontal cortex increased the adaptive capabilities of the body and can be used to increase stress resistance in people with intellectual work.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study was performed by non-invasive methods and complied with the ethical standards of the Biomedical Ethics Committee of the Research Institute for Complex Problems of Hygiene and Occupational Diseases, developed in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration of the World Association «Ethical Principles of Scientific Medical Research with Human Participation» as amended in 2013 and «The Rules of Good Clinical Practice» approved by Order of the Ministry of Health in the Russian Federation dated 01.04.2016, No. 200n. Protocol of the Ethics Committee conclusion No. 3, §1 from April 8, 2021.

Contribution:
Fleishman A.N. — the concept and design of the study, collection and processing of material, collection of literature data, writing the text;
Yamshchikova A.V. — data collection and processing, editing;
Martynov I.D. — editing;
Petrovskiy S.A. — data collection and processing;
Korablina T.V. — statistical data processing.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgement. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: June 23, 2023 / Accepted: August 15, 2023 / Published: October 9, 2023

Introduction. Increasing and expanding the volume of aircraft production causes an additional burden on the health of employees involved in the production process and, accordingly, the risks of occurrence of both occupational and production-related diseases increase.

Aim of the study is to assess the occupational health risks for employees in main occupations of the aircraft building enterprise in terms of the incidence of temporary disability.

Materials and methods. The incidence with temporary disability (ITD) of employees of the main occupations of the aircraft building enterprise (ABE) for the period 2017–2021 were studied using methods of descriptive statistics. Significance level determined at p < 0.05.

Results. During the analyzed period there was the gain in ITD among working ABE was shown to be in all study groups. Average indicators for the number of cases, days of disability in working ABE in the main groups are higher of similar indicators in the control groups. During the qualitative assessment of ITD, average indicators for employees of noise and vibration-hazardous occupations in terms of the number of cases and days of disability were found to be very high, for those working in contact with chemicals – high.

Limitations. The results of this study are due to the general morbidity, excluding occupational, which requires further research.

Conclusion. In the current conditions of industrial development of the AВE, it is necessary to constantly improve preventive measures for labour protection aimed at reducing occupational risks.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study was conducted in compliance with the ethical principles set forth in the Helsinki Declaration of the World Medical Association of the last revision, with the informed voluntary consent of respondents and the approval of the Local Ethical Committee of the East-Siberian Institute of Medical and Ecological Research (conclusion No. 1 of January 14, 2021).

Contribution:
Molchanova O.A. — material collection and data processing, statistical processing, text writing;
Bogdanova O.G. — study concept and design, statistical processing, writing, editing;
Pankov V.A. — study concept and design, writing, editing;
Itygilov M.Yu. — material collection and data processing.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgement. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: July 18, 2023 / Accepted: August 15, 2023 / Published: October 9, 2023

A significant gain in the volume of sales of vended water, both throughout the world and in our country, makes it relevant to analyze the problems of ensuring the quality and safety of vended water. The original articles on the problems of using vended water, presented in the bibliographic and abstract databases and information systems PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, eLIBRARY.RU, CyberLeninka, The Cochrane Library, met the criteria for compliance with the stated purpose and quality of research results, are analyzed. A total of ninty three full-text reports were identified by targeted search, of which 54 fully met these inclusion criteria. Vended water is one of the economically attractive ways to provide affordable drinking water with high organoleptic properties. National laws regulate the quality and safety of vended water differently: in some countries (Malaysia) vended water is regulated in one legal act together with packaged water and is considered as a food product, in others (USA) it is considered as non-communal public water supply, to which US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) requirements are applied. The Russian regulatory and legal framework in relation to vended water is in the process of formation, so far it has a recommendation character. The problem of microbiological safety of vended water is global. In the studies conducted, the safety of vended water was associated not only with the quality of water from the source of water supply and the method (or lack) of water treatment, but also with the location and design of water dispensers, the health status and hygiene skills of sellers/manufectures, and the hygiene skills of consumers, including cleanliness of hands and condition of containers (often reusable). The studies noted the importance of the quality of maintenance, disinfection of aquamats and quality control of vending water to ensure water quality and safety. When using reverse osmosis technologies in aquamats, the problem of reducing the mineralization of vended water also requires control of the total mineralization, calcium, and magnesium cations.

Contribution:
Yeremin G.B. — concept and design of the study, editing;
Mozzhukhina N.A., Borisova D.S. — the concept and design of the study, the collection and processing of material, writing the text, editing.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgement. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: April 28, 2023 / Accepted: August 15, 2023 / Published: October 9, 2023

Introduction. Missed pregnancy, as a rule, is caused by a combination of several factors. Exogenous factors can have a teratogenic effect, leading to the occurrence of mutations of varying severity. In such case at the early stages of embryogenesis, serious disturbances occur, leading to a halt in the pregnancy development. The system of their biotransformation is responsible for the elimination of xenobiotics from the body, the inadequate functioning of which increases the activity of mutagenesis, which may raise the risk of breast cancer.

Materials and methods. One hundred thirty four women were examined. The first group included 63 women, 28 of them were diagnosed with fetal egg death in primigravida young women, in 35 women the first pregnancy ended with physiological childbirth. The second group included 71 woman, 33 of them were diagnosed with a malignant breast neoplasm, 38 had no suspicion of breast cancer (BC) according to the results of mammography. Polymorphisms of the CYP1A2*1F gene of the xenobiotic biotransformation system in these groups were determined by polymerase chain reaction.

Results. In the group of women with a missed first pregnancy, a statistically reliable association of a high risk of the fetal egg death with the A/A CYP1A2*1F genotype and resistance to this pathology in the case of the C/A CYP1A2*1F polymorphism was revealed. In the group of BC women, the association of a high risk of developing a malignant neoplasm with the A/A CYP1A2*1F genotype and resistance to the development of the disease in the presence of C/A CYP1A2*1F polymorphism was shown.

Limitations. The study was limited by the number of samples, there is no data on polymorphisms of the BRCA-1, BRCA-2 genes.

Conclusion. The results obtained will allow not only adjusting the tactics of pregnancy management in women with a high risk of the fetal egg death or the selection of pharmacological drugs in the treatment of BC under the conditions of serious environmental stress, but also developing preventive measures to reduce the risk of these pathologies.

Compliance with ethical standards. The examination of patients corresponded to the ethical standards of the Bioethical Committee of the Research Institute for Complex Problems of Hygiene and Occupational Diseases, elaborated in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration of the World Medical Association “Ethical Principles for Conducting Scientific Medical Research Involving Humans” as amended in 2013 and the “Rules of Clinical Practice in the Russian Federation”, approved by Order of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation No. 266 dated 06/19/2003. Each participant of the study gave informed voluntary written consent to participate in the study and publish personal medical information in anonymized form in the Hygiene and Sanitation, Russian journal.

Contribution:
Gulyaeva O.N. — the concept and design of the study, collection and processing of material, statistical processing, editing;
Kazitskaya A.S. — collection and processing of material;
Ulanova E.V. — collection and processing of material, editing;
Matoshin S.V. — collection and processing of material;
Chifranova M.V. — collection and processing of material;
Renge L.V. — the concept and design of the study;
Shramko S.V. — the concept and design of the study.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgement. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: April 24, 2023 / Accepted: June 7, 2023 / Published: October 9, 2023

Introduction. A significant variety of exposure to harmful production factors of the welding process makes it difficult to assess the risk to the health of workers. Health risk assessment is an urgent task for the prevention of occupational and work-related diseases in welders.

Objective. The objective of the work is to assess the health risk based on data on the incidence in welders at a modern industrial enterprise with varying intensity of exposure to factors of the working environment and the labour process.

Materials and methods. Hygienic studies of the factors of the working environment and health risk assessment were carried out on the basis of 4 workshops of a large enterprise in 2007–2016.

Results. Priority classes of diseases according to ICD-10 in welders and locksmiths at a large industrial enterprise have been established. The calculation and assessment of the relative health risk were carried out according to the data of the medical and sanitary part of the enterprise on the temporary disability of employees, depending on age and work experience.

Limitations. The study is limited to a retrospective risk assessment based on data from the electronic database of the enterprise for a 10-year period, taking into account cases of the disease according to ICD-10 in workers of two occupational groups exposed to welding aerosol to varying degrees.

Conclusions. Health risk assessment for several forms of diseases can be a sensitive and informative indicator under conditions of varying intensity of exposure to production factors.

Compliance with ethical standards. This study does not require the conclusion of a biomedical ethics committee or other documents.

Contribution:
Plekhanov V.P. — the concept and design of the study, statistical processing, writing the text;
Kir’yanova M.N., Markova O.L. — collection and processing of material, writing the text, editing.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgement. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: April 28, 2023 / Accepted: June 7, 2023 / Published: September 9, 2023

Introduction. Due to the widespread use of captan-based fungicides, the substance is among the top of 100 pesticides most frequently detected in food products worldwide. Captan is hydrolytically unstable and rapidly degrades to the metabolite 1,2,3,6-tetrahydrophthalimide (THPI). The substance tends to degrade at various stages of analysis, which justified the need for special experiments.

Purpose of the work. Conducting experimental studies to assess the potential risks of obtaining incorrect analytical results on the actual content of captan and THPI in food products when assessing its safety to substantiate optimal approaches to the analysis procedure and develop a methodology for controlling the content of captan and its metabolite tetrahydrophthalimide in fruit, vegetable, and juice products.

Materials and methods. For the identification and quantitative determination of substances, the method of high performance liquid chromatography with a triple quadrupole mass detector (HPLC-MS/MS) was used. To extract analytes from a homogenized sample, acetonitrile containing 0.1% formic acid was used. An aliquot of the extract was purified by freezing at minus 18 °C.

Results. In the studied samples of citrus, the analytes showed stability. Thirty months after storage of samples in deep freezing conditions (temperature not higher than –20 °C), the identified levels of active ingredients of the pesticides imazalil, pyrimethanil, and prochloraz did not change by more than 20% compared to the previously detected concentrations. Insignificant amounts of imidacloprid, thiabendazole and pyriproxyfen, traces of azoxystrobin and trifloxystrobin, detected in the study of samples, were also found in samples after long-term storage.

Limitation. The study did not look at food products with a low water content.

Conclusion. For a correct assessment of food safety, it t has been shown to be necessary to quantify captan together with its metabolite THPI. It has been experimentally substantiated that lowering the pH and temperature during the preparation and storage of samples and extracts makes it possible to retain captan in the sample. A procedure has been developed for determining the residual amounts of captan and its metabolite tetrahydrophthalimide in fruit, vegetable, and juice products by HPLC-MS/MS in the range of 0.01–50 mg/kg.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study does not require a biomedical ethics committee opinion.

Contribution:
Kuz’min S.V. — the concept and design of the study;
Fedorova N.E. — the concept and design of the study, writing the text, editing;
Dobrev S.D. — the concept and design of the study, collection and processing of the material, statistical analysis;
Ivchenkova А.А. — collection and processing of the material, statistical analysis, writing the text, editing.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgement. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: July 28, 2023 / Accepted: August 15, 2023 / Published: October 9, 2023

31 августа 2023 г. в возрасте 95 лет ушёл из жизни доктор медицинских наук, профессор, заслуженный деятель науки Российской Федерации, блестящий учёный, специалист мирового уровня в области токсикологии атмосферных загрязнений и санитарной охраны атмосферного воздуха Пинигин Мигмар Александрович.