Environment and Workplace Prevention Techniques

1. Fundamentals of Clinical Biochemistry for Occupational Medicine 1.1 Homeostasis and Perturbations: Overview of fundamental biochemical processes and organismal responses to environmental stressors. 1.2 Metabolism and Toxicity: Survey of major metabolic pathways and detoxification mechanisms. 2. Introduction to Biomarkers in Occupational Medicine 2.1 Definition and Classification: What biomarkers are (exposure, effect, susceptibility). 2.2 Characteristics of an Ideal Biomarker: Sensitivity, specificity, predictivity, reversibility. 2.3 Advantages and Limitations of Biomarker Use. 3. Biomarkers of Exposure to Chemical Agents 3.1 Biological Monitoring: Objectives and principles. 3.2 Practical Examples: Carboxyhemoglobin for carbon monoxide; hippuric acid for toluene; mandelic acid for styrene; blood lead. 3.3 Biological Matrices: Blood, urine, exhaled air. 4. Biomarkers of Effect and Organ Damage 4.1 Indicators of Renal Injury: Microalbuminuria; β₂-microglobulin. 4.2 Indicators of Hepatic Injury: Transaminases (ALT, AST); γ-GT; bilirubin. 4.3 Indicators of Respiratory Injury: Pulmonary enzymes; inflammatory markers. 5. Biomarkers of Individual Susceptibility 5.1 Genetic Polymorphisms: Xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes (e.g., GST, CYP450). 5.2 Clinical Significance: How genetic variation influences response to toxic agents. 6. Evaluation and Interpretation of Biomarker Panels 6.1 Integrated Approach: Combining exposure data, clinical findings, and biomarker results. 6.2 Reference Values and Biological Exposure Indices (BEI). 6.3 Criteria for Selecting a Specific Panel: Based on occupational risk profile. 7.Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Clinical Biochemistry 7.1 Introduction to AI and Machine Learning: Core concepts and medical relevance. 7.2 Big Data Analysis in the Laboratory: AI-driven processing of large biomarker datasets. 7.3 Diagnostic and Predictive Support: Predictive algorithms for early detection of occupational diseases and risk assessment. 8. Practical Applications and Case Studies 8.1 Health Surveillance in Specific Industries: Chemical, metalworking, agriculture. 8.2 Illustrative Occupational Diseases: Poisonings; work-related pathologies. 8.3 Role of Biomarkers in Early Diagnosis and Secondary Prevention. 9. Regulations and Guidelines 9.1 National and EU Legislation: Occupational health and safety framework (Legislative Decree 81/08). 9.2 Importance of Biological Monitoring Protocols. 9.3 Ethical and Privacy Considerations in Biomarker and AI Data Use. 10. New Frontiers and Future Perspectives 10.1 Innovative Biomarkers: Omics technologies (genomics, proteomics, metabolomics) and their potential. 10.2 Nanotechnologies and Nanotoxicology. 10.3 The Future of Prevention in Occupational Medicine and the Expanding Role of AI.