Water safety plans and climate change mitigation

[Excerpt] Definition Quality water at affordable prices for all is a key condition for the promotion of public health, environmental sustainability, and quality and safety of life. In a context of growing external uncertainties arising from changes in the climate and the environment, ensuring these conditions is an upward concern and is of utmost relevance to increase scientific research on the impacts of climate change on water quality modification and in minimization/mitigation strategies

Characterisation of CART-containing neurons and cells in the porcine pancreas, gastro-intestinal tract, adrenal and thyroid glands

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The peptide CART is widely expressed in central and peripheral neurons, as well as in endocrine cells. Known peripheral sites of expression include the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, the pancreas, and the adrenal glands. In rodent pancreas CART is expressed both in islet endocrine cells and in nerve fibers, some of which innervate the islets. Recent data show that CART is a regulator of islet hormone secretion, and that CART null mutant mice have islet dysfunction. CART also effects GI motility, mainly via central routes. In addition, CART participates in the regulation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal-axis. We investigated CART expression in porcine pancreas, GI-tract, adrenal glands, and thyroid gland using immunocytochemistry.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>CART immunoreactive (IR) nerve cell bodies and fibers were numerous in pancreatic and enteric ganglia. The majority of these were also VIP IR. The finding of intrinsic CART containing neurons indicates that pancreatic and GI CART IR nerve fibers have an intrinsic origin. No CART IR endocrine cells were detected in the pancreas or in the GI tract. The adrenal medulla harboured numerous CART IR endocrine cells, most of which were adrenaline producing. In addition CART IR fibers were frequently seen in the adrenal cortex and capsule. The capsule also contained CART IR nerve cell bodies. The majority of the adrenal CART IR neuronal elements were also VIP IR. CART IR was also seen in a substantial proportion of the C-cells in the thyroid gland. The majority of these cells were also somatostatin IR, and/or 5-HT IR, and/or VIP IR.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>CART is a major neuropeptide in intrinsic neurons of the porcine GI-tract and pancreas, a major constituent of adrenaline producing adrenomedullary cells, and a novel peptide of the thyroid C-cells. CART is suggested to be a regulatory peptide in the porcine pancreas, GI-tract, adrenal gland and thyroid.</p

Role of Novelty Seeking Personality Traits as Mediator of the Association between COMT and Onset Age of Drug Use in Chinese Heroin Dependent Patients

Personality traits such as novelty seeking (NS) are associated with substance dependence but the mechanism underlying this association remains uncertain. Previous studies have focused on the role of the dopamine pathway.Examine the relationships between allelic variants of the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene, NS personality traits, and age of onset of drug use in heroin-dependent subjects in China.The 478 heroin dependent subjects from four drug rehabilitation centers in Shanghai who were genotyped for eight tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) on the COMT gene completed the NS subscale from the Temperament and Character Inventory. Multivariate analyses were used to assess the potential mediating role of NS personality traits in the association between COMT gene variants and the age of onset of heroin use.In the univariate analysis the COMT rs737866 gene variants were independently associated with both NS and age of onset of drug use: those with the TT genotype had higher NS subscale scores and an earlier onset age of heroin use than individuals with CT or CC genotypes. In the multivariate analysis the inclusion of the NS subscore variable weakened the relationship between the COMT rs737866 TT genotype and an earlier age of onset of drug use. Our findings that COMT is associated with both NS personality traits and with the age of onset of heroin use helps to clarify the complex relationship between genetic and psychological factors in the development of substance abuse

Time spent on work-related activities, social activities and time pressure as intermediary determinants of health disparities among elderly women and men in 5 European countries: a structural equation model

Background Psychosocial factors shape the health of older adults through complex inter-relating pathways. Besides socioeconomic factors, time use activities may explain gender inequality in self-reported health. This study investigated the role of work-related and social time use activities as determinants of health in old age. Specifically, we analysed whether the impact of stress in terms of time pressure on health mediated the relationship between work-related time use activities (i.e. housework and paid work) on self-reported health. Methods We applied structural equation models and a maximum-likelihood function to estimate the direct and indirect effects of psychosocial factors on health using pooled data from the Multinational Time Use Study on 11,168 men and 14,295 women aged 65+ from Italy, Spain, UK, France and the Netherlands. Results The fit indices for the conceptual model indicated an acceptable fit for both men and women. The results showed that socioeconomic status (SES), demographic factors, stress and work-related time use activities after retirement had a significant direct influence on self-reported health among the elderly, but the magnitude of the effects varied by gender. Social activities had a positive impact on self-reported health but had no significant impact on stress among older men and women. The indirect standardized effects of work-related activities on self-reported health was statistically significant for housework (β = − 0.006; P  0.05 among women), which implied that the paths from paid work and housework on self-reported health via stress (mediator) was very weak because their indirect effects were close to zero. Conclusions Our findings suggest that although stress in terms of time pressure has a direct negative effect on health, it does not indirectly influence the positive effects of work-related time use activities on self-reported health among elderly men and women. The results support the time availability hypothesis that the elderly may not have the same time pressure as younger adults after retirement

The Role of Gut Dysfunction and Nutritional Factors in Liver Cirrhosis

Malnutrition is a common finding in patients with liver cirrhosis. Malnutrition has been shown to be associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Its pathogenesis remains unclear but both poor dietary intake and increased energy expenditure have been reported. Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis is an important clinical problem in cirrhotics. It may occur as a consequence of repeated access of bacteria from the intestinal lumen (translocation) to the mesenteric lymph nodes. One of the mechanisms proposed to explain bacterial translocation in cirrhosis includes increased intestinal permeability. The aims of the present study were to evaluate GI symptoms in cirrhotic patients and their possible relation to nutritional status, to assess whether gastric sensorimotor dysfunction or metabolic disturbances are associated with reduced food intake, and to investigate the role of ascites in intestinal permeability in patients with liver cirrhosis. Gastrointestinal symptoms and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) were assessed with the aid of two questionnaires. Gastric sensorimotor function was measured by means of an electronic barostat. Food intake, as assessed with a food diary, was related to fasting and postprandial glucose, insulin, leptin, and ghrelin concentrations. Intestinal permeability was evaluated by a 51Cr-EDTA permeability test. Cirrhotics were found to have increased severity of GI symptoms compared with reference values from the general population. A relationship between GI symptoms and compromised HRQOL as well as weight loss was observed. Proximal stomach relaxation to a meal was increased in patients with liver cirrhosis as compared with healthy controls but the relation between gastric accommodation and energy intake was found to be disturbed in these patients. Gastric sensitivity to distension was shown to be related to GI symptom severity and to liver cirrhosis severity scores. Patients with liver cirrhosis exhibited higher postprandial insulin and glucose concentrations compared to controls. Cirrhotics had higher fasting leptin that fell significantly postmeal and they showed an attenuated increase of ghrelin before the next expected meal. Altered glucose and hormonal levels in patients with cirrhosis were associated with poor food intake. Only a few patients with cirrhosis had increased intestinal permeability, as assessed by a 51Cr-EDTA test, which was not influenced to a major extent by ascites. Conclusions: In patients with liver cirrhosis GI symptom severity is high and it is associated with impaired HRQOL and weight loss. Gastric accommodation is not involved in the poor food intake observed in cirrhotics and gastric sensitivity seems to be a relevant factor for GI symptom generation in these patients. Altered postprandial glucose, leptin, and ghrelin levels are correlated to reduced energy intake in this patient group. Increased intestinal permeability is probably of limited importance in the pathophysiology of bacterial infections in patients with liver cirrhosis and ascites

Status of risk-based approach and national framework for safe drinking water in small water supplies of the Nordic water sector

Reliable safe water supply is a pillar of society and a key to public health. The Nordic countries have an abundance of clean fresh water as a source for drinking water supplies. They have followed developments in safeguarding water, both the recommendations of the World Health Organization framework for safe drinking water and European legislation. Worldwide, including the Nordic countries, small water supplies are less compliant with water safety regulation. The forthcoming EU directive on drinking water require risk-based approaches and improved transparency on water quality. This research looks at the Nordic frameworks for safe water supply, with emphasis on risk-based approaches and smaller systems. We analyzed the legal frameworks for safe water, the structure of the water sector across the Nordic countries and explored how prepared these countries are to meet these requirements. Our findings show that, while legal requirements are mostly in place, delivery of information to the public needs to be improved. Most Nordic countries are in the process of implementing risk-based management in large and medium size water supplies, whereas small supplies are lagging. We conclude that a key to success is increased training and support for small supplies. We suggest wider adoption of the Nordic model of cooperation with benchmarking of safe water for all to transfer knowledge between the countries. This work provides insights into challenges and opportunities for the Nordic countries and provides insights relevant to countries worldwide in their effort towards realization of SDG Target 6.1