202 research outputs found
Actitudes de los trabajadores frente a los programas de promoción de la salud para la prevención del cáncer en el lugar del trabajo
SummaryObjetiveWe describe a method for feasibility assessment of workplace health promotion (WHP) programs as a necessary prerequisite of any WHP program.MethodsA total of 167 employees from five workplace communities participated in the study. A questionnaire on the basic components of feasibility (risk factors, attitudes to workplace health promotion interventions, and social-occupational context) was administered.ResultsRisk behaviours were common among the employees interviewed. Health promotion in the workplace was favorably viewed by 79% of subjects but reported participation would be lower. Interventions on diet and physical activity received the highest acceptance. Participation would be greatest among local administration employees.ConclusionsThe method demonstrated its utility in obtaining useful data for designing workplace health promotion interventions
Short-term oral administration of non-porous and mesoporous silica did not induce local or systemic toxicity in mice
In this study, two sets of methyl-coated non-porous and mesoporous amorphous silica materials of two target sizes (100 and 300 nm; 10–844 m2/g) were used to investigate the potential role of specific surface area (SSA) and porosity on the oral toxicity in mice. Female Swiss mice were administered by oral gavage for 5 consecutive days. Two silica dose levels (100 and 1000 mg/kg b.w.) were tested for all four materials. All dispersions were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA). Batch dispersions of porous silica were rather unstable due to agglomeration. Animals were sacrificed one day after the last administration or after a three-week recovery period. No relevant toxicological effects were induced by any of the silica materials tested, as evaluated by body weight, gross pathology, relative organ weights (liver, spleen, kidneys), hematology, blood biochemistry, genotoxicity (Comet assay in jejunum cells and micronucleus test in peripheral blood erythrocytes), liver and small intestine histopathology, and intestinal inflammation. The presence of silica particles in the intestine was evaluated by a hyperspectral imaging microscopy system (CytoViva) using histological samples of jejunum tissue. Silica spectral signatures were found in jejunum samples with all the treatments, but only statistically significant in one of the treatment groups
FarmacologĂa y toxicologĂa en I+D+i: adquisiciĂłn de competencias a travĂ©s de un ejemplo de desarrollo de un fármaco
The implementation of the subject Pharmacology and Toxicology in R+D+i in the Pharmacy Degree, has led to the launch of a new methodological approach and teaching performance with the aim of developing the generic skills of the University of Barcelona (e.g., self-learning, team-working). An additional objective was students' integration of knowledge from different subjects in the degree which form the basis of the preclinical and clinical development of a drug. For this purpose, the teaching strategy used in the development of the subject was based on: 1) re-developing the content that students had been taught previously or were being taught in the same semester as a part of other subjects, and framing them in the environment of the pharmaceutical industry, 2) introducing new and previously unseen contents to do with drug development and toxicology, 3) developing a battery of activities to be undertaken by teams of students relating to the R+D+i of a particular drug. During the development of these activities, students have to acquire generic skills in addition to the subject-specific skills. The results obtained from the student survey give us grounds for satisfaction and allow us to consider that we have reached the goal of improving students' learning in Pharmacology and Toxicology applied to drug development in the pharmaceutical world today
Polymorphisms in Toll-like receptor 4 ( TLR4 ) are associated with protection against leprosy
Accumulating evidence suggests that polymorphisms in Toll-like receptors (TLRs) influence the pathogenesis of mycobacterial infections, including leprosy, a disease whose manifestations depend on host immune responses. Polymorphisms in TLR2 are associated with an increased risk of reversal reaction, but not susceptibility to leprosy itself. We examined whether polymorphisms in TLR4 are associated with susceptibility to leprosy in a cohort of 441 Ethiopian leprosy patients and 197 healthy controls. We found that two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in TLR4 (896G>A [D299G] and 1196C>T [T399I]) were associated with a protective effect against the disease. The 896GG, GA and AA genotypes were found in 91.7, 7.8 and 0.5% of leprosy cases versus 79.9, 19.1 and 1.0% of controls, respectively (odds ratio [OR] = 0.34, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.20-0.57, P < 0.001, additive model). Similarly, the 1196CC, CT and TT genotypes were found in 98.1, 1.9 and 0% of leprosy cases versus 91.8, 7.7 and 0.5% of controls, respectively (OR = 0.16, 95% CI 0.06--.40, P < 0.001, dominant model). We found that Mycobacterium leprae stimulation of monocytes partially inhibited their subsequent response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation. Our data suggest that TLR4 polymorphisms are associated with susceptibility to leprosy and that this effect may be mediated at the cellular level by the modulation of TLR4 signalling by M. lepra
In vivo genotoxicity and inflammatory effects of uncoated and coated CeO2 NPs in mice
P17-045
Ceria nanoparticles (CeO2 NPs) have several industrial applications and pharmacological potential due to their antioxidant properties. However, toxicity data on CeO2 NPs are scarce and show contradictory results. In the present study, uncoated, polyethylene glycol- and citrate-coated CeO2 NPs (4-8 nm) were administrated to C57Bl/6 mice by repeated dose (3×) pharyngeal aspiration using four different doses of each type of NPs (corresponding to 4.4, 8.8, 17.6 and 35.2 µg Ce2+/mouse/aspiration), and sampled 1 and 28 days after the last administration. DNA damage was assessed by the comet assay locally in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and lung cells, and systemically in liver cells. Micronuclei, a biomarker of chromosome damage, were analysed in bone marrow and peripheral blood erythrocytes. Immunotoxicity was evaluated by BAL cell counting. Furthermore, histopathological effects on the lungs and biodistribution of the NPs (analysis of Ce2+ in several organs) were assessed. At 24-h, a significant increase in DNA damage was induced at the highest doses by uncoated and citrate-coated NPs in BAL cells. For these NPs a significant, but non-dose-dependent, effect was observed in lung and liver cells at 28-d. No systemic genotoxic effects were observed with any of the NPs. A dose-dependent accumulation of macrophages and activated lymphocytes was seen in the lungs for all the NPs, although a milder reaction was elicited by the coated NPs. Our findings show that short-term exposure of mice to CeO2 NPs induces pulmonary inflammation, and non-dose-dependent DNA damage, but no systemic genotoxicity. (Funded by the EU FP-7 GUIDEnano, Grant Agreement No.604387)
L'avaluació continuada i la millora en el rendiment acadèmic: el cas de de la Farmacologia i Toxicologia en R+D+i del Grau de Farmà cia
Podeu consultar la Vuitena trobada de professorat de Ciències de la Salut completa a: http://hdl.handle.net/2445/66524Des de la implantació de Espai Europeu d’Educació Superior i l’adopció per part de les universitats de l’avaluació continuada (AC) com a sistema d’acreditació del aprenentatges, existeix la preocupació tant per part dels estudiants com dels professors, que l’AC, entesa com la suma de proves i/o evidències parcials d’avaluació, ens porta a una disminució de notes en la franja alta de qualificació..
Traçando mapas: a teoria histórico-cultural e as contribuições para a pesquisa com crianças e suas espacialidades
Este texto busca fazer uma reflexĂŁo sobre as pesquisas sistematizadas no campo da infância, tendo como enfoque principal as estratĂ©gias de pesquisas “com crianças”. O recorte ao qual nos dedicamos sĂŁo as relações que as crianças estabelecem com o meio, tendo como foco principal as suas espacialidades. A partir das contribuições de pesquisas que se aportam em estratĂ©gias de natureza qualitativas e fundamentadas nos aportes da teoria histĂłricas cultural, elege-se o conceito de vivĂŞncia (perejivanie) como mote em torno do qual nossos trabalhos sĂŁo desenvolvidos. Para isso, traça-se, inicialmente, a origem da pesquisa com base em paradigmas positivistas e evidenciam-se alguns caminhos que buscaram romper com essa perspectiva: os postulados etnográficos de Malinovky e Boas; o Interacionismo simbĂłlico, cujo precursor Ă© George Herbert Mead; a Etnometodologia de Harold Garfinkel; as contribuições de Marx e os princĂpios estabelecidos por Vigotski e seus colaboradores.</p
Towards a nanospecific approach for risk assessment.
In the current paper, a new strategy for risk assessment of nanomaterials is described, which builds upon
previous project outcomes and is developed within the FP7 NANoREG project. NANoREG has the aim to
develop, for the long term, new testing strategies adapted to a high number of nanomaterials where
many factors can affect their environmental and health impact. In the proposed risk assessment strategy,
approaches for (Quantitative) Structure Activity Relationships ((Q)SARs), grouping and read-across are
integrated and expanded to guide the user how to prioritise those nanomaterial applications that may
lead to high risks for human health. Furthermore, those aspects of exposure, kinetics and hazard
assessment that are most likely to be influenced by the nanospecific properties of the material under
assessment are identified. These aspects are summarised in six elements, which play a key role in the
strategy: exposure potential, dissolution, nanomaterial transformation, accumulation, genotoxicity and
immunotoxicity.
With the current approach it is possible to identify those situations where the use of nanospecific
grouping, read-across and (Q)SAR tools is likely to become feasible in the future, and to point towards the
generation of the type of data that is needed for scientific justification, which may lead to regulatory
acceptance of nanospecific applications of these tools.The research leading to these results has been partially funded
by the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/
2007e2013) under the project NANoREG (A common European
approach to the regulatory testing of nanomaterials), grant agreement
310584.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Anthropogenic climate and land-use change drive short- and long-term biodiversity shifts across taxa
Climate change and habitat loss present serious threats to nature. Yet, due to a lack of historical land-use data, the potential for land-use change and baseline land-use conditions to interact with a changing climate to affect biodiversity remains largely unknown. Here, we use historical land use, climate data and species observation data to investigate the patterns and causes of biodiversity change in Great Britain. We show that anthropogenic climate change and land conversion have broadly led to increased richness, biotic homogenization and warmer-adapted communities of British birds, butterflies and plants over the long term (50+ years) and short term (20 years). Biodiversity change was found to be largely determined by baseline environmental conditions of land use and climate, especially over shorter timescales, suggesting that biodiversity change in recent periods could reflect an inertia derived from past environmental changes. Climate–land-use interactions were mostly related to long-term change in species richness and beta diversity across taxa. Semi-natural grasslands (in a broad sense, including meadows, pastures, lowland and upland heathlands and open wetlands) were associated with lower rates of biodiversity change, while their contribution to national-level biodiversity doubled over the long term. Our findings highlight the need to protect and restore natural and semi-natural habitats, alongside a fuller consideration of individual species’ requirements beyond simple measures of species richness in biodiversity management and policy
Comparison of three larval bioassays to evaluate susceptibility of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus to amitraz
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