Safety of tattoos and permanent make-up State of play and trends in tattoo practices

The European Commission launched the 18-month project "Tattoos and Permanent Make-up" with the aim of collecting data about the use, the ingredients, the EU market and possible health problems associated to tattoo and permanent make-up (PMU) inks. The report on work package 1 (2015, Piccinini P. et al.) is available at http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/safety-of-tattoos-and-permanent-make-up-compilation-of-information-on-legislative-framework-and-analytical-methods-pbLBNA27394/ The present report is the outcome of the work package 2 which aims to describe the status of tattoo and PMU practices like tattoo prevalence in the population, including the removal processes, details on service providers and ink manufacturers, tattoo and PMU market, inks' chemical composition, RAPEX notifications and national market surveillance. The information was gathered through questionnaires sent to 32 national authorities (all EU MS and EFTA countries), plus OECD Secretariat, 38 ink manufacturers/distributors/private labels and 23 tattooists/PMU professionals' associations. Replies were collected from 24 EU/EFTA national authorities, 4 non-EU/EFTA countries, 7 ink manufacturers/ distributors/private labels and 10 associations. In addition, we reviewed thoroughly data available from other sources like scientific literature, RAPEX (Rapid Alert System for dangerous non-food products) notifications and national surveillance reports, as of May 2015. The main findings show that: Tattoo and PMU inks are complex chemical mixtures containing several ingredients. The main ingredients are the colorants, pigments in particular; more than 100 of them have been identified in tattoo and PMU inks. These pigments are not produced specifically for such application and a risk assessment taking into account their injection and permanence into the human body is not carried out. An additional identified risk is the presence of impurities; in fact tattoo and PMU inks' purity is on average around 70-90 %. Azo pigments, group to which most of the organic colorants in use belong, are proved to release potentially carcinogenic aromatic amines when exposed to solar, UV or laser irradiation. It is estimated that around 12 % of the whole European population, all ages comprised, are tattooed (estimation based on available data from 14 Member States) and more than 20 % in the United States. Higher tattoo prevalence was reported in young population, including adolescents. While traditionally men were more tattooed than women, figures show that this trend in Europe, Australia and North America is changing. Nowadays in a number of cases the tattoo prevalence in women is higher than in men, particularly in young generations. Most of the tattoo inks used in Europe are imported from the United States, while PMU inks are mostly produced in Europe. The European manufacturers are mainly based in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Spain. With regards to the tattoo artists performing the tattoos, the number of "non-professional tattooists" might represent up to 10 times the number of "registered/professionals" ones. Around 95 % of the 126 RAPEX alerts notified for tattoo/PMU during the last decade related to chemical risks: hazardous chemicals and/or impurities (such as carcinogenic aromatic amines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, sensitizers, preservatives and heavy metals). The remaining 5% concerned microbiological risks, which are mainly due to the lack of sterility of the inks before opening and from the use of tap water for their dilution. Two thirds of the RAPEX notifications pertain to products imported, with the highest percentages from the United States.JRC.I.1-Chemical Assessment and Testin

Phosphorylation des protéines dans la cellule thyroïdienne en réponse à divers agents mitogènes

Doctorat en Sciencesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublishe

EURRECA: Richtlijnen voor het vastleggen van referentiewaarden voor micronutriënten

status: publishe

Use of electroblotting to detect and analyze phosphotyrosine containing peptides separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis

A technique to detect and analyze phosphotyrosine containing peptides after separation of total cellular proteins by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis is described. This is achieved by electroblotting of proteins on nylon membranes followed by alkali treatment. In comparison with direct alkalin treatment of the polyacrylamide gel, this procedure (i) is easier to perform; (ii) avoids the diffusion of proteins out of the gel during alkali treatment; (iii) allows a more precise localization of phosphotyrosine containing peptides on the untreated membrane; and (iv) is less time consuming with respect to extraction of proteins for phosphoamino acid analysis.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Carbamylcholine and thyrotropin activate distinctive pathways of protein phosphorylation in dog thyroid

The role of protein phosphorylation in the regulation of thyroid function by carbamylcholine was was investigated using dog thyroid slices incubated in the presence of [32P]phosphate and two-dimensional electrophoresis. In these intact cells, carbachol increased the phosphorylation of three polypeptides with M(r) values of 21500, 24000 and 29000. Maximal [32P]phosphate incorporation occurred within 5 min of addition of carbamylcholine and was still observed after 10 min of action of this agent. Incubation of dog thyroid slices with thyrotropin for 10 min increased the phosphorylation of 11 polypeptides which were identical to those observed previously after 2 h of hormone action (Lecocq, R. Lamy, F. and Dumont, J.E. (1979) Eur. J. Biochem. 102, 147-152). All three polypeptides whose phosphorylation is increased by carbamylcholine were different from those whose phosphorylation is increased by thyrotropin. Under our experimental conditions, the calcium ionophore A23187 did not stimulate significantly [32P]phosphate incorporation in these three polypeptides. In conclusion, our results show that carbamylcholine and thyrotropin, which have some antagonist and some similar effects on dog thyroid, do not act through the phosphorylation of the same proteins. Although we have, in our previous paper, established that a rise in intracellular cyclic AM could account for the effect of thyrotropin on protein phosphorylation, the nature of the intracellular mediator of carbamylcholine action on this parameter is still uncertain.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

EURRECA-Framework for Aligning Micronutrient Recommendations

There is currently no standard approach for deriving micronutrient recommendations, and large variations exist across Europe, causing confusion among consumers, food producers, and policy makers. More aligned information could influence dietary behaviors and potentially lead to a healthier population. Funded by the European Commission, EURRECA (EURopean micronutrient RECommendations Aligned) has developed methods and applications to guide Nutrient Recommendation Setting Bodies through the process of setting micronutrient reference values. The EURRECA approach is crystallized into its framework that outlines a standard process for deriving and using dietary reference values for micronutrients in a transparent, systematic, and scientific way. The 9 activities of the framework can be clustered into four stages (i) defining the problem, (ii) monitoring and evaluating, (iii) deriving dietary reference values, and (iv) using dietary reference values in policy making. The EURRECA framework should not be interpreted as a prescriptive description of a linear process, but as a structured guide for checking that all issues essential for deriving requirements have at least been considered.status: publishe

EURRECA-Principles and Future for Deriving Micronutrient Recommendations

The EURopean micronutrient RECommendations Aligned (EURRECA) Network of Excellence (NoE) explored an approach for setting micronutrient recommendations, which would address the variation in recommendations across Europe. Therefore, a framework for deriving and using micronutrient Dietary Reference Values (DRVs) has been developed. This framework comprises four stages (defining the problemmonitoring and evaluatingderiving dietary reference valuesusing dietary reference values in policy making). The aim of the present paper is to use this framework to identify specific research gaps and needs related to (1) knowledge available on specific micronutrients (folate, iodine, iron, selenium, vitamin B12, vitamin D, and zinc) and (2) the methodology presented in the framework. Furthermore, the paper describes the different outputs that support the process like protocols, guidelines, systematic review databases, and peer-reviewed publications, as well as the principal routes of dissemination of these outputs to ensure their optimal uptake in policy, practice, and research collaborations. The importance of ensuring transparency in risk assessment and risk management, systematic searching the literature, and taking into account policy options is highlighted. [Supplementary materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition for the following free supplemental files: Additional tables.]Peer-reviewed manuscript: [http://rimi.imi.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/1126

EURRECA's approach for estimating micronutrient requirements

In Europe, micronutrient dietary reference values have been established by (inter)national committees of experts and are used by public health policy decision-makers to monitor and assess the adequacy of diets within population groups. The approaches used to derive dietary reference values (including average requirements) vary considerably across countries, and so far no evidence-based reason has been identified for this variation. Nutrient requirements are traditionally based on the minimum amount of a nutrient needed by an individual to avoid deficiency, and is defined by the body's physiological needs. Alternatively the requirement can be defined as the intake at which health is optimal, including the prevention of chronic diet-related diseases. Both approaches are confronted with many challenges (e. g., bioavailability, inter and intra-individual variability). EURRECA has derived a transparent approach for the quantitative integration of evidence on Intake-Status-Health associations and/or Factorial approach (including bioavailability) estimates. To facilitate the derivation of dietary reference values, EURopean micronutrient RECommendations Aligned (EURRECA) is developing a process flow chart to guide nutrient requirement-setting bodies through the process of setting dietary reference values, which aims to facilitate the scientific alignment of deriving these values