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Air pollution in the workplace is a major health issue in developing countries. Cement manufacturing is a complex process that extracted the raw materials to the grinding of the end product in the cement factories (CF). Workers in CF are exposed to many harmful factors, such as dust and respirable particles of cement. This study is aimed to compare the respiratory symptoms, pulmonary function tests (PFT), total and differential white blood cells (WBC), serum level of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and serum or urine heavy metal levels were between CF workers with control subjects. The case-control study with convenience sampling was undertaken. A total of 40 nonsmoking male cement workers with 40 healthy volunteers were recruited in the study. Respiratory symptoms, pulmonary function tests (PFT), total and differential white blood cells (WBC), serum level of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and serum or urine heavy metal levels were compared between the two groups. The frequency of respiratory symptoms including wheezing, dyspnoea, cough, and sputum, haematological parameters, serum level of hs-CRP level, as well as serum or urine heavy metal levels were significantly higher in cement workers. All PFT values except forced vital capacity (FVC) were lower in workers of the CF workers compared to control subjects. Respiratory insult, systemic inflammation and heavy metal changes were shown in CF workers. Increased serum and urine heavy metals may induce inflammatory processes leading to lung disorders. These results emphasize that the continuous monitoring of workers' workplace safety and occupational status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Increasing the knowledge of PharmD students in the skills of reading prescriptions, getting familiar with drug names, scientific evaluation of prescriptions, and providing drug recommendations are the goals of the pharmacy internship. The use of E-learning can be effective in increasing the skills of PharmD during the internship period. Objective: Development of a web-based e-learning app for PharmD students' internship course. Material and Methods: The study was conducted in three stages. First, the system was designed based on the pharmacy faculty members and medical informatics perspectives. Second, a drug database was formed and the information on 2000 prescriptions was entered into the system. Third, the user management dashboard was implemented. Finally, the effectiveness of the application was evaluated using the final exam. The programming language of c#, Jquery, and HTML5 was used to develop this app. Programming was done in Visual Studio 2022 environment. The database was managed by Microsoft SQL Server 2018 software. Results: The outcome of this study is an E-learning app for PharmD students. The usability features such as the interactive user interface and informative feedback to the student were kept into account. Students' activities are recorded for learning analytics purposes. Using the Bootstrap framework made it possible to have a responsive and mobile-first app. This app is web-based, so users with different operating systems (Windows, Android, and Mac) can use it. The evaluation resulted that academic performance was significantly improved. Conclusion: Using this app can be effective as a blended learning tool in enhancing PharmD skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]