71 research outputs found
Dietary acrylamide-linked burden of cancers in four sub-sahara African countries:A review and data synthesis
Acrylamide (AA) is a food processing byproduct that forms at high temperatures and is classified as a probable human carcinogen. Previous studies have linked AA to kidney, uterus, and ovary cancer burdens, but its study in African countries remains underexplored. This study systematically used six recent articles on dietary AA concentration data from scholarly databases using specific search terms. We also collected health metrics secondary data from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation and other sources for the period 2015-2019. We used a Monte-Carlo simulation to integrate the dietary AA exposure, risks, and health metrics to estimate the cancer burdens. The results showed that the modal healthy life years lost ranged from 0.00488 (Ghana) to 0.218 (Ethiopia) per 100,000 population. The median statistic indicated 1.2 and 26.10 healthy life years lost for Ghana and Ethiopia, respectively, due to the three cancer types. The four-country study areas' total disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) were 63.7 healthy life-year losses. Despite the limitations of the non-standardized age-related food consumption data and the few inclusive articles, the probabilistic approach may account for the uncertainties and provide valid conclusions
Dietary acrylamide-linked burden of cancers in four sub-sahara African countries:A review and data synthesis
Acrylamide (AA) is a food processing byproduct that forms at high temperatures and is classified as a probable human carcinogen. Previous studies have linked AA to kidney, uterus, and ovary cancer burdens, but its study in African countries remains underexplored. This study systematically used six recent articles on dietary AA concentration data from scholarly databases using specific search terms. We also collected health metrics secondary data from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation and other sources for the period 2015-2019. We used a Monte-Carlo simulation to integrate the dietary AA exposure, risks, and health metrics to estimate the cancer burdens. The results showed that the modal healthy life years lost ranged from 0.00488 (Ghana) to 0.218 (Ethiopia) per 100,000 population. The median statistic indicated 1.2 and 26.10 healthy life years lost for Ghana and Ethiopia, respectively, due to the three cancer types. The four-country study areas' total disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) were 63.7 healthy life-year losses. Despite the limitations of the non-standardized age-related food consumption data and the few inclusive articles, the probabilistic approach may account for the uncertainties and provide valid conclusions
Climate change impact on the Portuguese exposure to aflatoxins
As alterações climáticas têm sido identificadas como um fator determinante
para a segurança dos alimentos consumidos em todo o mundo. As micotoxinas,
contaminantes alimentares produzidos por fungos, são habitualmente
identificadas como um dos principais perigos neste contexto. As aflatoxinas
assumem particular relevo, face à sua toxicidade aguda e crónica. A região
do Mediterrâneo, incluindo Portugal, tem sido considerada uma região
particularmente vulnerável às consequências das alterações climáticas.
O presente estudo pretende estimar o impacto na saúde da exposição
a aflatoxinas em Portugal e discutir a potencial influência das alterações
climáticas no risco para a saúde associado a esta exposição. Para estimar
o número de casos de carcinoma hepatocelular associados à exposição a
aflatoxinas, foi determinada a fração atribuível da população. Para estimar o
impacto da exposição a aflatoxinas na saúde dos Portugueses, a carga de
doença foi determinada aplicando-se o conceito de anos de vida ajustados
por incapacidade (DALY). É expectável que no futuro, em consequência das
alterações climáticas, o número de DALYs bem como do número de casos
de carcinoma hepatocelular aumente. A quantificação do impacto na saúde
da exposição a aflatoxinas em cenário de alterações climáticas reveste-se
de particular importância, em especial para o desenvolvimento de políticas
e medidas preventivas que possam proteger a população.Climate change has been indicated as a driver for food safety issues worldwide,
mainly due to the impact on the occurrence of food safety hazards at
various stages of food chain. Mycotoxins, natural contaminants produced by
fungi, are among the most important of such hazards. Aflatoxins, which have
the highest acute and chronic toxicity of all mycotoxins, assume particular
importance. Mediterranean region, including Portugal, was considered a climate
change hotspot. The present study aims to estimate the health impact
of aflatoxins exposure in Portugal and to discuss the potential influence of
climate change on the health risk associated to this exposure. A population
attributable fraction was determined to estimate the number of extra cases
of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) associated to the Portuguese aflatoxin
exposure, and the Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) were derived to
estimate the associated burden of disease. It is expected that in the future
the number of DALYs and the associated cases of HCC due to aflatoxins exposure
will increase due to climate change. The quantification of the health
impact associated with exposure to aflatoxins in climate change scenarios
presents particular importance, especially for the development of politics
and preventive measures to protect human population.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Burden of infectious disease studies in Europe and the United Kingdom: a review of methodological design choices
This systematic literature review aimed to provide an overview of the characteristics and methods used in studies applying the Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALY) concept for infectious diseases within European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA)/European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries and the United Kingdom. Electronic databases and grey literature were searched for articles reporting the assessment of DALY and its components. We considered studies in which researchers performed DALY calculations using primary epidemiological data input sources. We screened 3,053 studies of which 2,948 were excluded and 105 studies met our inclusion criteria. Of these studies, 22 were multi-country and 83 were single-country studies, of which 46 were from the Netherlands. Food- and water-borne diseases were the most frequently studied infectious diseases. Between 2015 and 2022, the number of burden of infectious disease studies was 1.6 times higher compared to that published between 2000 and 2014. Almost all studies (97%) estimated DALYs based on the incidence- and pathogen-based approach and without social weighting functions; however, there was less methodological consensus with regards to the disability weights and life tables that were applied. The number of burden of infectious disease studies undertaken across Europe has increased over time. Development and use of guidelines will promote performing burden of infectious disease studies and facilitate comparability of the results.Incluye referencias bibliográfica
RiskBenefit4EU project – a strategy for risk-benefit assessment of foods in Portugal
O balanço entre os riscos e benefícios para a saúde resultante do consumo
de alimentos é um importante contributo para apoiar a definição de
políticas de saúde e a promoção da literacia dos consumidores. No âmbito
do projeto RiskBenefit4EU, financiado pela European Food Safety Authority
e coordenado pelo Departamento de Alimentação e Nutrição do Instituto
Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge, o presente trabalho pretende
descrever a estratégia implementada para a capacitação das equipas portuguesas
em avaliação de risco-benefício de alimentos (RBA). Concretizada
pelos parceiros do Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique e da
Technical University of Denmark, a capacitação consiste em três atividades
principais: 1) Formação teórica, focando os conceitos-chave para a
avaliação de RBA; 2) Formação prática, aplicando os conceitos adquiridos
e as metodologias transmitidas a um estudo de caso; e 3) Missões científicas,
de curta duração, para formação avançada em domínios específicos
da avaliação de RBA. No que diz respeito à formação prática, e com o objetivo
de consolidar os conhecimentos adquiridos em avaliação de RBA,
está previsto o desenvolvimento de um estudo de caso português sobre
alimentos à base de cereais habitualmente consumidos por crianças. A
estratégia de capacitação seguida neste projeto servirá de modelo para
outras equipas e países, contribuindo para a disseminação de uma cultura
de avaliação de RBA nas vertentes toxicológica, microbiológica e nutricional
a nível internacional.The balance of risks and health benefits from food consumption constitutes
a crucial topic to consumer literacy and health policy-makers. Through the
RiskBenefit4EU project, funded by the European Food Safety Authority,
and coordinated by the Food and Nutrition Department of Portuguese
National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge, the present work intends to
identify the applied strategy to capacitate the Portuguese teams for the development
and implementation of risk-benefit assessment (RBA) in food.
The training of the Portuguese team is being accomplished by the French
National Institute for Agricultural Research and the Technical University
of Denmark members, through three main capacity building activities: 1)
Theoretical training, focusing on the key concepts for RBA; 2) Practical
training, applying the concepts acquired and the methodologies transmitted
to a concrete case study; and 3) Short-term scientific missions for advanced
training in specific areas of RBA. In order to complete the training
of the Portuguese teams and consolidate the knowledge acquired in RBA,
a Portuguese case study on cereal-based foods usually consumed by children
is planned. The training strategy followed in this project will contribute
as a model of capacity building for disseminating a culture of risk-benefit
assessment in the toxicological, microbiological and nutritional aspects at
the international level.Trabalho desenvolvido no âmbito do projeto “RiskBenefit4EU – Partnering
to strengthen the risk-benefit assessment within EU using
a holistic approach” financiado pela EFSA Partnering Grants (Grant
Agreement Number A/EFSA/AFSCO/2017/01 – GA02).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Risk-Benefit Assessment of Cereal-Based Foods Consumed by Portuguese Children Aged 6 to 36 Months-A Case Study under the RiskBenefit4EU Project
This article belongs to the Section Pediatric Nutrition.Cereal-based foods, including breakfast (BC) and infant cereals (IC), are among the first
solid foods introduced to infants. BC and IC are sources of macro and micronutrients that have bene ficial effects on health, but can also be sources of harmful chemical and microbiological contaminants
and nutrients that may lead to adverse health effects at high consumption levels. This study was
performed under the RiskBenefit4EU project with the aim of assessing the health impact associated
with consumption of BC and IC by Portuguese children under 35 months. Adverse effects associated
with the presence of aflatoxins, Bacillus cereus, sodium and free sugars were assessed against the
benefits of fiber intake. We applied a risk–benefit assessment approach, and quantified the health
impact of changes in consumption of BC and IC from current to various alternative consumption
scenarios. Health impact was assessed in terms of disability-adjusted life years. Results showed that
moving from the current consumption scenario to considered alternative scenarios results in a gain
of healthy life years. Portuguese children can benefit from exchanging intake of IC to BC, if the BC
consumed has an adequate nutritional profile in terms of fiber, sodium and free sugars, with levels of
aflatoxins reduced as much as possible.This research was funded by European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) (Grant Agreement
Number–GA/EFSA/AFSCO/2017/01–GA02) (The authors declare that this manuscript reflects only
the authors’ view and EFSA is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information
it contains.). R.A., P.A. and C.M. also thanks FCT/MCTES for the financial support to CESAM
(UIDP/50017/2020 + UIDB/50017/2020), through national funds. R.A. was supported by FCT
Individual CEEC 2018 Assistant Researcher Grant CEECIND/01570/2018.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
CEP128 Localizes to the Subdistal Appendages of the Mother Centriole and Regulates TGF-β/BMP Signaling at the Primary Cilium
Summary: The centrosome is the main microtubule-organizing center in animal cells and comprises a mother and daughter centriole surrounded by pericentriolar material. During formation of primary cilia, the mother centriole transforms into a basal body that templates the ciliary axoneme. Ciliogenesis depends on mother centriole-specific distal appendages, whereas the role of subdistal appendages in ciliary function is unclear. Here, we identify CEP128 as a centriole subdistal appendage protein required for regulating ciliary signaling. Loss of CEP128 did not grossly affect centrosomal or ciliary structure but caused impaired transforming growth factor-β/bone morphogenetic protein (TGF-β/BMP) signaling in zebrafish and at the primary cilium in cultured mammalian cells. This phenotype is likely the result of defective vesicle trafficking at the cilium as ciliary localization of RAB11 was impaired upon loss of CEP128, and quantitative phosphoproteomics revealed that CEP128 loss affects TGF-β1-induced phosphorylation of multiple proteins that regulate cilium-associated vesicle trafficking. : Mönnich et al. show that CEP128 localizes to the subdistal appendages of the mother centriole and basal body of the primary cilium. CEP128 regulates vesicular trafficking and targeting of RAB11 to the primary cilium. CEP128 loss leads to impaired TGF-β/BMP signaling, which, in zebrafish, is associated with defective organ development. Keywords: primary cilium, basal body, centriole, subdistal appendage, centrosome, transforming growth factor β, TGF-β, bone morphogenetic protein, BMP, zebrafish, phosphoproteomics, CEP12
Bayesian inversion of synthetic AVO data to assess fluid and shale content in sand-shale media
Reservoir characterization of sand-shale sequences has always challenged geoscientists due to the presence of anisotropy in the form of shale lenses or shale layers. Water saturation and volume of shale are among the fundamental reservoir properties of interest for sand-shale intervals, and relate to the amount of fluid content and accumulating potentials of such media. This paper suggests an integrated workflow using synthetic data for the characterization of shaley-sand media based on anisotropic rock physics (T-matrix approximation) and seismic reflectivity modelling. A Bayesian inversion scheme for estimating reservoir parameters from amplitude vs. offset (AVO) data was used to obtain the information about uncertainties as well as their most likely values. The results from our workflow give reliable estimates of water saturation from AVO data at small uncertainties, provided background sand porosity values and isotropic overburden properties are known. For volume of shale, the proposed workflow provides reasonable estimates even when larger uncertainties are present in AVO data
Consumption of cereal-based foods by Portuguese children: a risk-benefit assessment
De uma forma geral, o consumo de alimentos pode apresentar potenciais
riscos e benefícios para os consumidores. Os alimentos à base de
cereais, incluindo os cereais de pequeno-almoço e os cereais infantis,
representam componentes importantes da dieta humana e estão entre os
primeiros alimentos sólidos que são introduzidos na dieta. Estes alimentos
constituem uma fonte importante de vários nutrientes, incluindo o
sódio, fibras e açúcares livres, que podem estar associados a efeitos benéficos
e adversos para a saúde. Simultaneamente, os alimentos à base
de cereais podem também ser veículo de contaminantes químicos (por
exemplo, micotoxinas) e microbiológicos (por exemplo, Bacillus cereus).
As aflatoxinas, um grupo de micotoxinas que apresenta maior potencial
tóxico, são frequentemente detetadas em cereais. No âmbito do projeto
RiskBenefit4EU, o presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar os riscos
e os benefícios associados ao consumo de alimentos à base de cereais
pelas crianças portuguesas. Os riscos (teores de aflatoxinas e B. cereus,
sódio e açúcares livres) e os benefícios (teor de fibra) associados ao
consumo de cereais de pequeno-almoço (CPA) foram comparados com
aqueles associados ao consumo de cereais infantis (CI). Os resultados
obtidos revelaram que a mudança do consumo atual para os cenários
alternativos considerados (em especial para o consumo de cereais de
pequeno-almoço com características semelhantes ao “Melhor CPA”)
poderia resultar num ganho de anos de vida saudável.Foodstuffs, as cereal-based products, may present both potential risks
and benefits to consumers. Cereal-based foods including breakfast and
infant cereals represent important components of human diets and are
among the first solid foods that young children usually eat. Cereal-based
products constitute a source of several nutrients, including sodium, fibre
and free sugars, which could be associated to beneficial and hazardous
effects. Simultaneously, cereal-based foods could also present chemical (e.g. mycotoxins) and microbiological (e.g. Bacillus cereus) contaminants.
Aflatoxins, a frequent mycotoxin found in cereals, are undoubtedly the
most toxic. Developed under RiskBenefit4EU project, the present study
aimed to assess risks and benefits associated with the consumption
of cereal-based products by the Portuguese young children. The risks
posed by the consumption of breakfast cereals (BC) versus infant cereals
(IC), due to aflatoxins, B. cereus, sodium and free sugars, were evaluated
against the benefits of the intake of fibre. Obtained results showed that
moving from the current consumption to the considered alternative scenarios
(especially if considered the consumption of breakfast cereals similar
to “Best BC”) could result in a gain of healthy-life years.Este trabalho foi desenvolvido no âmbito do projeto RiskBenefit4EU
– Partnering to strengthen the risk-benefit assessment within EU
using a holistic approach financiado pelas EFSA Partnering Grants
(Grant Agreement Number – GA/EFSA/AFSCO/2017/01 – GA02) 1.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Burden of infectious disease studies in Europe and the United Kingdom: a review of methodological design choices
This systematic literature review aimed to provide an overview of the characteristics and methods used in studies applying the disability-adjusted life years (DALY) concept for infectious diseases within European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA)/European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries and the United Kingdom. Electronic databases and grey literature were searched for articles reporting the assessment of DALY and its components. We considered studies in which researchers performed DALY calculations using primary epidemiological data input sources. We screened 3053 studies of which 2948 were excluded and 105 studies met our inclusion criteria. Of these studies, 22 were multi-country and 83 were single-country studies, of which 46 were from the Netherlands. Food- and water-borne diseases were the most frequently studied infectious diseases. Between 2015 and 2022, the number of burden of infectious disease studies was 1.6 times higher compared to that published between 2000 and 2014. Almost all studies (97%) estimated DALYs based on the incidence- and pathogen-based approach and without social weighting functions; however, there was less methodological consensus with regards to the disability weights and life tables that were applied. The number of burden of infectious disease studies undertaken across Europe has increased over time. Development and use of guidelines will promote performing burden of infectious disease studies and facilitate comparability of the results
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