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Pesticides and Chronic Diseases
Published in William J. Rea, Kalpana D. Patel, Reversibility of Chronic Disease and Hypersensitivity, Volume 4, 2017
William J. Rea, Kalpana D. Patel
Starks et al.370 investigated associations between OP pesticide use and PNS function. Starks et al.370 administered Peripheral nerve studies (PNS) tests to 701 male pesticide applicators in the Agricultural Health Study (AHS). The participants completed an NPx, electrophysiological tests, and tests of hand strength, sway speed, and vibrotactile threshold. Self-reported information on lifetime use of 16 OP (Table 7.22) #8 pesticides were received from AHS interviews and a study questionnaire. Associations between pesticide use and measures of PNS function were estimated with linear and logistic regression controlling for age and outcome-specific covariates. Significantly increased ORs were observed for associations between ever use of 10 of the 16 OP pesticides and one or more of the six NPx outcomes. Most notably, abnormal proprioception was significantly associated with every use of six OP pesticides with ORs ranging from 2.03 to 3.06; monotonic increases in strength of association with increasing use was observed for three of the six pesticides Mostly null associations were observed between OP pesticide use and electrophysiological tests, hand strength, sway speed, and vibrotactile threshold. This study provides some evidence that long-term exposure to OP pesticides is associated with signs of impaired peripheral nerve function among pesticide applicators.
Working in Hot and Cold Climates
Published in R. S. Bridger, Introduction to Human Factors and Ergonomics, 2017
The temperature of the skin can vary over a much wider range than that of the deep tissues of the body. Burning takes place at temperatures over 45°C. At lower temperatures, sweating may impair functional hand strength by reducing friction at the hand–handle interface. Conduction of heat to and from the skin by a solid object depends on the thermal properties of both skin and object—a metal surface at 100°C would feel much hotter than a cork surface. The threshold at which burning would take place can be estimated for different materials assuming a momentary contact time of a quarter of a second (the reaction time to remove the part of the body touching the object). The threshold temperature for wood, for example, is estimated as 187°C compared with 136°C for brick and 90°C for metal. Similar thinking has led to the drafting of specifications for the maximum surface temperatures of domestic appliances to minimize the risk of burns (Parsons, 1991).
Upper Extremity Interaction Modeling for Persons with Advanced Osteoarthritis
Published in Marcelo M. Soares, Franscisco Rebelo, Advances in Usability Evaulation, 2013
Stage 2: Functional Modeling: Traditional measures of hand strength and dexterity are measured and 3D scans are taken during this data collection. This combination allows the researchers to understand normative strength and dexterity tests to be compared to adaptive techniques with an associated quantitative outcome. For example, a power grip dynamometer measurement is taken in a standard manner (Crosby and Wehbe, 1994) within the 3D scanner. Studies with individuals that have HOA report muscle weakness and lower grip strength values than that of non-HOA subjects (Dhara et al., 2009; O’Reilly et al., 1997; Dominick et al., 2005). Alternative methods of generating power grip force, such as pronating or supinating the forearm at the wrist may increase this grip force for some individuals, and compensate for limitations in functional range of motion in the hand (Hume et al., 1990). These alternative or adaptive strategies are collected, scanned, and analyzed as per a specific research protocol.
Experimental evaluation of impact-resistant gloves using surrogate hands
Published in International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics, 2023
Faisal M. Alessa, Eduardo M. Sosa
Three types of commercially available gloves were used for impact tests. These gloves were identified as Glove-1, Glove-2 and Glove-3, as illustrated in Figure 4, and often utilized in heavy-duty industries. Glove-1 and Glove-2 were also used during the tests reported by Sosa and Alessa [12], and were selected to facilitate comparison with cadaveric hand data. Also, the selected three gloves are the same as the gloves evaluated in the dexterity and hand strength studies [4,49,50]. The glove sizes were chosen to obtain a snug fit in the surrogate hands and reduce the possibility of material looseness during the impact tests that could distort the force measurements. These conditions resulted in selecting an XL size for Glove-1, and L sizes for Glove-2 and Glove-3, as presented in Table 3. Upon further measurement of the hands wearing the gloves, it was found that despite the manufacturer’s nominal sizes, the glove dimensions for the selected gloves were nearly identical (palm width ∼102 mm or 4 in.). Note that these three types of gloves are manufactured with different designs, material types, thicknesses, and placements and quantities of the TPR protections. Hence, these gloves were expected to deliver different levels of protection. Detailed information on the material type of the selected gloves is presented in Table 4. Also, each glove type was cut into two parts (i.e., dorsal and palmar) to measure the average thicknesses of different regions. Table 5 presents the thickness measurements.
Hand functionality in dentists: the effect of anthropometric dimensions and specialty
Published in International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics, 2022
Mahnaz Saremi, Sajjad Rostamzadeh, Mahmoud Nasr Esfahani
In line with previous studies, a gender effect was clearly confirmed on hand strength outcomes; male dentists always being stronger than females [18]. The behavior of surface electromyography (EMG) power spectra was previously found to be significantly different between male and female for the triceps brachii, anconeus and biceps brachii muscles across force levels of 10–80% of the maximal voluntary contraction. Skinfold thickness and fiber-type properties, particularly in terms of fiber size, were stated as reasons for this gender effect [39]. In agreement with the literature, measured hand anthropometric dimensions were larger in males than in females [18,40,41]. Work experience is another factor modulating dentists’ hand functionality. We observed that longer clinical experience is associated with lower hand strength outcomes. Several reasons could account for this finding. The increase in work experience is nearly linear with aging, which is negatively related with physical strength. In addition, the longer the years of clinical work, the longer the exposure time to various biomechanical risk factors of MSDs and the greater the risk of the WMSDs becoming persistent [3,8,11].
The effect of a wearable soft-robotic glove on motor function and functional performance of older adults
Published in Assistive Technology, 2020
Bob Radder, Gerdienke B. Prange-Lasonder, Anke I.R. Kottink, Johnny Holmberg, Kristin Sletta, Manon Van Dijk, Thomas Meyer, Jaap H. Buurke, Johan S. Rietman
Several limitations of this study may have affected the interpretation of the present study results. First, this study focused on timed performance tasks and not on quality of movement. Improvement in performance with the ironHand glove might have been measured if participants’ experiences with the ironHand glove (such as pain and performance of grasping) were also measured. Second, the hand dynamometer turned out unsuitable to assess handgrip strength with the glove as direct assistive effect, due to the force sensors at the glove’s fingertips misaligning with the dynamometer. Therefore, only pinch strength could be used to assess the direct effect on hand strength in the current study. In the near future, a custom-designed force sensor (e.g., a cylinder) should be considered to also evaluate the glove’s effect on hand grip strength. Fourth, participants of this study had no severe hand function limitation, because an active performance of grasping is needed to use the ironHand glove. Third, participants had no experience with the ironHand glove. They used the ironHand glove only once during this cross-sectional study. Further research is needed to investigate if performance with the ironHand glove improved after prolonged use.