Níveis de monóxido de carbono exalado em trabalhadores de churrascarias em uma cidade da Amazônia Legal Brasileira

Occupational exposure to smoke from commercial kitchens such as steakhouses may be associated with an increase in the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and an acute reversible decrease in pulmonary functional capacity, and exposure to coal smoke is a risk factor for the development of respiratory diseases. The objetive of study was evaluate the levels of exhaled carbon monoxide (COex) and carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) in steakhouse workers. This is an observational, longitudinal and prospective study in the city of Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil. The total of 29 professionals working in steakhouses participated in the study. Data on socio-demographic characteristics, work environment characteristics, life habits and respiratory symptoms were extracted from questionnaires. COex and COHb levels were measured before exposure and every hour up to a 4 hour exposure period. Twenty-nine workers participated, with a predominance of females (55.2%), with a mean age of 36.40±11.49 years. It was observed that 18 (62%) of the workers had respiratory symptoms. COex and COHb levels were elevated after 4 hour exposure (p<0.05), but within acceptable parameters.  COex and COHb levels are elevated in a short period of time to occupational exposure to steakhouse activities.A exposição ocupacional à fumaça de cozinhas comerciais, como churrascarias, pode estar associada a um aumento na prevalência de sintomas respiratórios e uma diminuição reversível aguda capacidade funcional, sendo a exposição à fumaça do carvão um fator de risco para o desenvolvimento de doenças respiratórias. O objetivo do estudo foi avaliar os níveis de monóxido de carbono exalado (COex) e carboxihemoglobina (COHb) em trabalhadores de churrascaria. Trata-se de um estudo observacional, longitudinal e prospectivo realizado na cidade de Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brasil. Um total de 29 profissionais que trabalham em churrascarias participaram do estudo. Foram aplicados questionários com questões referentes a características sócio demográficas, características do ambiente de trabalho, hábitos de vida e sintomas respiratórios. Os níveis de COex e COHb foram medidos antes da exposição e a cada hora até um período de exposição de 4 horas. Dos vinte e nove trabalhadores que participaram, a predominância foi do sexo feminino (55,2%), com média de idade de 36,40±11,49 anos. Foi observado que 18 (62%) dos trabalhadores apresentavam sintomas respiratórios. Os níveis de COex e COHb estavam elevados após 4 horas de exposição (p<0,05), mas dentro dos parâmetros aceitáveis. Os níveis de COex e COHb são elevados em curto período de tempo de exposição ocupacional em atividades laborais de churrascaria

Towards the Human Colorectal Cancer Microbiome

Multiple factors drive the progression from healthy mucosa towards sporadic colorectal carcinomas and accumulating evidence associates intestinal bacteria with disease initiation and progression. Therefore, the aim of this study was to provide a first high-resolution map of colonic dysbiosis that is associated with human colorectal cancer (CRC). To this purpose, the microbiomes colonizing colon tumor tissue and adjacent non-malignant mucosa were compared by deep rRNA sequencing. The results revealed striking differences in microbial colonization patterns between these two sites. Although inter-individual colonization in CRC patients was variable, tumors consistently formed a niche for Coriobacteria and other proposed probiotic bacterial species, while potentially pathogenic Enterobacteria were underrepresented in tumor tissue. As the intestinal microbiota is generally stable during adult life, these findings suggest that CRC-associated physiological and metabolic changes recruit tumor-foraging commensal-like bacteria. These microbes thus have an apparent competitive advantage in the tumor microenvironment and thereby seem to replace pathogenic bacteria that may be implicated in CRC etiology. This first glimpse of the CRC microbiome provides an important step towards full understanding of the dynamic interplay between intestinal microbial ecology and sporadic CRC, which may provide important leads towards novel microbiome-related diagnostic tools and therapeutic interventions

Ex-post Performance Implications of Divergence of Managers’ Perceptions of ‘Distance’ From ‘Reality’ in International Business

Despite much research on “distance”, little attention has been paid to the effect of divergence of managers’ perceptions of distance from reality (i.e. distance divergence) and its implications for firm performance. This knowledge is highly important since managerial perceptions of the firm’s environment do not always coincide with the actual environmental characteristics. Consequently, strategies based on inaccurate data may result in erroneous forecasts, missed opportunities and business failure. Using survey data from senior managers of Swedish exporters and corresponding objective data, this study is a first attempt to explore the ex-post performance implications of “distance divergence” when expanding into foreign markets. Our results demonstrate that the larger the divergence between managers’ perceptions of cultural distance and corresponding “objective” distance, the lower the performance expressed in companies’ sales. However, over/underestimation of cultural distance does not have differential effects on firm performance.“Stiftelsen Olle Hakelius Stipendiefond”, Grant no: 1165001

Ex-post Performance Implications of Divergence of Managers’ Perceptions of ‘Distance’ From ‘Reality’ in International Business

Despite much research on ‘distance’, little attention has been paid to the effect of divergence of managers’ perceptions of distance from reality (i.e. distance divergence) and its implications for firm performance. This knowledge is highly important since managerial perceptions of the firm’s environment do not always coincide with the actual environmental characteristics. Consequently, strategies based on inaccurate data may result in erroneous forecasts, missed opportunities and business failure. Using survey data from senior managers of Swedish exporters and corresponding objective data, this study is one of the first attempts to explore the ex-post performance implications of ‘distance divergence’ when expanding into foreign markets. Our results demonstrate that the larger the divergence between managers’ perceptions of cultural distance and corresponding ‘objective’ distance, the lower the performance expressed in companies’ sales. However, over/underestimation of cultural distance does not have differential effects on firm performance

Ex-post Performance Implications of Divergence of Managers’ Perceptions of ‘Distance’ From ‘Reality’ in International Business

Despite much research on ‘distance’, little attention has been paid to the effect of divergence of managers’ perceptions of distance from reality (i.e. distance divergence) and its implications for firm performance. This knowledge is highly important since managerial perceptions of the firm’s environment do not always coincide with the actual environmental characteristics. Consequently, strategies based on inaccurate data may result in erroneous forecasts, missed opportunities and business failure. Using survey data from senior managers of Swedish exporters and corresponding objective data, this study is one of the first attempts to explore the ex-post performance implications of ‘distance divergence’ when expanding into foreign markets. Our results demonstrate that the larger the divergence between managers’ perceptions of cultural distance and corresponding ‘objective’ distance, the lower the performance expressed in companies’ sales. However, over/underestimation of cultural distance does not have differential effects on firm performance