Molecular level insights into the direct health impacts of some organic aerosol components

Organic aerosols (OAs) comprise 20-90 w% of atmospheric aerosols. While they have some positive impacts (e.g. acting as precipitation nuclei), they can pose some negative impacts on human health. The health impacts range from pulmonary inflammation to suppression of defense mechanisms, cancer and death. To understand how OA components can affect human body, this study employed a combination of in silico techniques: molecular docking, quantum chemical analysis of interactions, thermodynamics and kinetics of the reaction of OA components with DNA and oxidative stress mechanism, in addition to theoretical evaluation of their absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME) properties. As OAs contain many components, this study just focused on benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide (BPDE), the cyclopentanoperhydrophenanthrene (CPPP) sterane, 2,6-dimethyl-1,4-benzoquinone (DMBQ), hopane (HOP), 9,10-phenanthrenequinone (PQ), and an OA model (fulvic acid; FA), which are all known for their negative health impacts. According to the ADME predictions, the low bioavailability of FA would limit its negative impacts. However, the ADME estimations and docking simulations suggested that BPDE, DMBQ and PQ have significant impact in affecting human health negatively: they can be feasibly distributed throughout human body by human serum albumin, they can likely permeate cell membranes, the blood-brain barrier and the gastrointestinal tract, and they show higher DNA binding efficiencies compared to the other OA components. Based on the quantum chemical calculations, BPDE, DMBQ and PQ can interact with the adenosine nucleobases of DNA, but they cannot directly form DNA adducts because of the nonspontaneous and kinetically infeasible nature of the corresponding reaction routes. Similarly, they cannot directly cause oxidative stress. However, in reference to the experimental evidence offered by earlier studies, their metabolites can result in both oxidative stress and carcinogenicity.Peer reviewe

Personality and Credibility Evaluation: Online Health Information from the Viewpoint of Expert Users

Regarding the high importance of credibility evaluation of health information online in every day and career life, the current research aimed to explore how expert users including students and faculty members evaluate health information on the web especially with regard to their personality trait of conscientiousness. By considering the extensive body of literature and research methodologies, a random sample including 148 students and faculty members located at the two faculties of Medicine Sciences and Nursing and Midwife at the Tehran University of Medical Sciences was the population of the study. Two validated questionnaires related to credibility and conscientiousness was distributed among the participants. Gathered data were then analyzed by SPSS software. Data analysis showed that there existed some problems in evaluating the credibility of online health information and quick retrieval. About half of the participants evaluate web health information as credible often and very often. Most important quality assessment criteria were objectivity, currency, and authority. There was a significant correlation between conscientiousness and credibility assessment of the students and faculty members. There appears a change in trust to information found accord with the change in conscientiousness levels. There was no significant correlation between conscientiousness and trust to information among ill people. Quality and credibility were identified as most important problems in assessing health information on the web. There is a significant and meaningful correlation between conscientiousness and trust or mistrust to health information available via the Web

Behavioral Considerations in Developing Web Information Systems: User-centered Design Agenda

The current paper explores designing a web information retrieval system regarding the searching behavior of users in real and everyday life. Designing an information system that is closely linked to human behavior is equally important for providers and the end users. From an Information Science point of view, four approaches in designing information retrieval systems were identified as system-centered; user-centered; interactive and cognitive designs. However, there is a lack of research related to possible relationships between information behavior and information systems design to date. Traditionally, designers used human factors but not necessarily human behaviors while designing information systems. Therefore, there are few systems designed by information scientist aiming to regard or support the human information behavior. There are now new techniques and methodologies such as Contextual Design and Participatory Design to fill the gap. Implementing a behavioral approach to designing information systems are of interest and importance in terms of modern information technologies like social software, web 2.0, mobile phones and internet websites. New methodologies and research frameworks are proposed that place user location, attention and behavior as their main issues

Personality and Credibility Evaluation: Online Health Information from the Viewpoint of Expert Users

Regarding the high importance of credibility evaluation of health information online in every day and career life, the current research aimed to explore how expert users including students and faculty members evaluate health information on the web especially with regard to their personality trait of conscientiousness. By considering the extensive body of literature and research methodologies, a random sample including 148 students and faculty members located at the two faculties of Medicine Sciences and Nursing and Midwife at the Tehran University of Medical Sciences was the population of the study. Two validated questionnaires related to credibility and conscientiousness was distributed among the participants. Gathered data were then analyzed by SPSS software. Data analysis showed that there existed some problems in evaluating the credibility of online health information and quick retrieval. About half of the participants evaluate web health information as credible often and very often. Most important quality assessment criteria were objectivity, currency, and authority. There was a significant correlation between conscientiousness and credibility assessment of the students and faculty members. There appears a change in trust to information found accord with the change in conscientiousness levels. There was no significant correlation between conscientiousness and trust to information among ill people. Quality and credibility were identified as most important problems in assessing health information on the web. There is a significant and meaningful correlation between conscientiousness and trust or mistrust to health information available via the Web

Behavioral Considerations in Developing Web Information Systems: User-centered Design Agenda

The current paper explores designing a web information retrieval system regarding the searching behavior of users in real and everyday life. Designing an information system that is closely linked to human behavior is equally important for providers and the end users. From an Information Science point of view, four approaches in designing information retrieval systems were identified as system-centered; user-centered; interactive and cognitive designs. However, there is a lack of research related to possible relationships between information behavior and information systems design to date. Traditionally, designers used human factors but not necessarily human behaviors while designing information systems. Therefore, there are few systems designed by information scientist aiming to regard or support the human information behavior. There are now new techniques and methodologies such as Contextual Design and Participatory Design to fill the gap. Implementing a behavioral approach to designing information systems are of interest and importance in terms of modern information technologies like social software, web 2.0, mobile phones and internet websites. New methodologies and research frameworks are proposed that place user location, attention and behavior as their main issues