Lepidium oblongum (Brassicaceae) appeared on Hungarian railways

Lepidium oblongum, of American origin is a new member of the European adventive flora, only detected in Romania so far. The first Hungarian stand was discovered in 2018, and others in 2020. Based on our studies, we detail its morphological characteristics in comparison with other Lepidium species. We present a new drawing and a table to help identify the species. Lepidium oblongum is easily identifiable by its divided (lobed or lobed-dentated) upper stem leaves. By analyzing selected climatic parameters we show that the new European habitats are found in the drier and cooler summer subtype of the humid continental climate belt. In Hungary, it spreads directly along the railways. The establishment of individual populations can be influenced by the location of cargo unloading and the movement of railway workers. Lepidium oblongum occupies gravelly, sun-exposed habitats along Hungarian railway tracks such as loading platforms, guardhouses and goods stations. Based on its high stress and climatic tolerance and initial spread-rate, it is consider to be a naturalized member of the European adventive flora, that could be potentially invasive along the European railways

Pozycja prawna pracowników kolejowych w okresie militaryzacji PKP w drugiej połowie lat czterdziestych XX wieku

The article is an attempt to present the changes in legal status of railway workers as a result of the militarization of railways in Poland in the second half of the 1940s, including the context and consequences of the militarization process. Literature research as well as query and analysis of legal acts led us to the conclusion that as a result of recognizing PKP employees as called up for military service, their subordination for committed crimes, the jurisdiction of the Military Prosecutor’s Office of the Polish State Railways, and the Military Court of PKP were established. In the article I also describe the main factors of the transformation the special justice system underwent in the analyzed period, proving that it was not the first militarization of the railways in Poland, as well as that the legal acts introducing the militarization in 1944 referred to — at least partially — the tradition of the previous double militarization of railways in the Second Polish Republic.

Association of railway industry occupations with hypertension

The review considers the issues of the association of railway industry occupations with the hypertension (HTN) risk. There is a number of reviews have been published earlier, where the high prevalence of HTN in railway workers was mentioned. Scientific literature was studied using the following keywords: “railway” and “hypertension” both in Russian and in English. A large spread in HTN prevalence among footplate staff was revealed according to different sources — from 7 to 60%. When recalculating the literature data on HTN prevalence among footplate staff in the CIS unites, it turned out to be no higher than that obtained for working-age men according to the Epidemiology of Cardiovascular Diseases and their Risk Factors in Regions of Russian Federation (ESSE-RF). A number of studies indicate that HTN is developing faster for locomotive drivers than for people not working in the railway industry. In our opinion, scientific work on the high frequency of HTN among railway workers can only be considered preliminary. Probably, the development of HTN could be influenced not only by occupational, but also by the major risk factors, such as metabolic ones, obesity, etc.

OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA / HYPOPNEA SYNDROME IN RAILWAY WORKERS WITH RISK FACTORS FOR CORONARY HEART DISEASE

Obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSA) is a common condition that may lead to excessive daytime sleepiness, cognitive disturbance, and a decreased concentration that are associated with the risk of workplace accidents and injuries. It is difficult to diagnose OSA due to low severity and specificity of its symptoms and special requirements in respect of medical resources. We assumed that it would be more effective and cost-efficient to diagnose OSA in railway workers with such risk factors f coronary heart disease as arterial hypertension and metabolic disorders since this group receives comprehensive medical attention. However, no studies on the prevalence of OSA in railway workers specifically considered the risk factors for coronary artery disease. The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of OSA in railway workers with confirmed cardiovascular and metabolic disorders that did not disqualify them from their job. Material and methods. The study included 967 railway workers (locomotive drivers and their assistants). On Stage 1, a group of participants suspected OSA was selected; and on Stage 2, a group of participants with confirmed OSA was formed. Polysomnography or cardiorespiratory monitoring were used to diagnose OSA. Results. We developed a two-step algorithm of OSA diagnosis that included a preliminary assessment of the probability of OSA. 236 (24.4%) participants with a probability of OSA were selected among the initial 967 persons with risk factors for coronary artery disease. Further assessment confirmed OSA in 141 (60%) participants in this group. The analysis of distribution of risk factors for coronary artery disease and OSA showed that 125 (53.0%) of patients with BMI ≥ 30 kg/m², 115 (48.7%) of patients with AH, and 26 (11.0%) of patients with type 2 diabetes had OSA; most of them had some combination of these risk factors. Conclusions: OSA is prevalent in the group of professionally active locomotive drivers and their assistants with risk factors for coronary heart disease; every second worker in a target group with BMI ≥ 30 kg/m², AH or with both risk factors was diagnosed with OSA. The proposed two-step algorithm with a pre-test assessment of OSA probability and subsequent instrumental examination (cardiorespiratory monitoring, polysomnography) allows to accurately diagnosis OSA and allocate medical resources in a cost-effective manner.

STUDY OF THE ATTITUDE TO HEALTH AND HEALTHY LIFESTYLE OF RAILWAY WORKERS

The aim of the study is to identify risk factors that increase the likelihood of chronic non-communicable diseases in railway workers, as well as the state of conditions for employees to lead a healthy lifestyle. Materials and methods: The research was carried out by the method of online questionnaire of employees. A quota sample was used to select respondents. The total volume of online survey is 13,595 people or 1.5% of the staff of Russian Railways. Also interviewed were 1,531 employees of FPK JSC or 2.8% of the staff number of employees. The questionnaire contained a general part, passport part and questions on the main components of a healthy lifestyle, compiled on the basis of the STEPS toolkit. The results of the study: 29% to 71% of respondents adhere to the principles of rational nutrition. The absence of hypodynamy depending on the profession was revealed in no more than half of the respondents. Never smoked from 25% to 65% of workers. An excellent level of commitment to healthy lifestyle was noted in 25%...52% respondents. The largest number of employees who comply with the principles of healthy life is shown among electromechanics, economists, technologists and train crew workers.

Specifics of corporate health programs for railway workers

Preventive workplace programs are one of the optimal organizational models for the prevention of noncommunicable diseases in the workingage population. Corporate health programs allow to effectively influence the lifestyle of employees, which makes it possible to reduce human resource risks due to morbidity and increase labor efficiency. First, programs for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases are being implemented. A number of researchers report that implementing prevention programs in the workplace can reduce the number of people with bad habits. The effectiveness of preventive workplace programs largely depends on the mechanisms of their implementation. A feature of railway companies is the presence of a large staff of employees of various specialties. Many factors affecting health are, in one way or another, related to the workflow, since most railway companies operate continuously. Low health literacy of railway workers on health protection and disease prevention was noted. Measures such as financial incentives, preventive counseling, the creation of personalized health profiles and the availability of healthy food in the workplace have been shown to be effective. The review also discusses Russian corporate preventive workplace programs.

Workers of the Victory Bridge

Chapter 6 focuses on the objects of technocrats’ reform: railway workers. In the postwar period, the IRO implemented various measures to cultivate a sense of corporate loyalty among Iranian railway workers, including redirecting workers’ everyday mobility around company housing and socialization spaces. Simultaneously, however, workers themselves began to assert their rights as national citizens. This chapter highlights ways in which railway workers valorized national-scale migration to lay claim to the status of the most self-sacrificial citizens of the nation—all the while discrediting other scales of migration by other workers. These movements led to the production of a workforce differentiated by rank, provincial background, and nationality.

Iran in Motion

Completed in 1938, the Trans-Iranian Railway connected Tehran to Iran's two major bodies of water: the Caspian Sea in the north and the Persian Gulf in the south. Iran's first national railway, it produced and disrupted various kinds of movement—voluntary and forced, intended and unintended, on different scales and in different directions—among Iranian diplomats, tribesmen, migrant laborers, technocrats, railway workers, tourists and pilgrims, as well as European imperial officials alike. Iran in Motion tells the hitherto unexplored stories of these individuals as they experienced new levels of mobility. Drawing on newspapers, industry publications, travelogues, and memoirs, as well as American, British, Danish, and Iranian archival materials, Mikiya Koyagi traces contested imaginations and practices of mobility from the conception of a trans-Iranian railway project during the nineteenth-century global transport revolution to its early years of operation on the eve of Iran's oil nationalization movement in the 1950s. Weaving together various individual experiences, this book considers how the infrastructural megaproject reoriented the flows of people and goods. In so doing, the railway project simultaneously brought the provinces closer to Tehran and pulled them away from it, thereby constantly reshaping local, national, and transnational experiences of space among mobile individuals.