Contact allergy to textile dyes. Clinical and experimental studies on disperse azo dyes

Disperse dyes are the most common allergens among textile dyes. It is not known whether the purified dyes, impurities in the commercial dyes, or metabolites are the actual sensitisers. Moreover, it is not known whether those disperse dyes that are now present in test series are actually used in textile dyeing today. The aim of this thesis was A) to evaluate the significance of the impurities found in the commercial dyes Disperse Orange 1 and Disperse Yellow 3 and their potential metabolites from azo reduction regarding contact allergy; B) to investigate the sensitising capacity of Disperse Orange 1 and its metabolites and their cross-reactivity to Disperse Yellow 3, its metabolites, and PPD; and C) to determine whether eight disperse dyes, hitherto the most widely quoted as allergenic, are still used in textiles sold in various countries all over the world. Evaluation of the many published studies on contact allergy to disperse dyes used for dyeing textiles was also performed. It was shown that the commercial dyes Disperse Orange 1 and Disperse Yellow 3 each contain at least one impurity acting as a sensitiser. Positive patch test reactions to Disperse Orange 1 and Disperse Yellow 3 were linked to positive reactions to some of their metabolites: p-aminodiphenylamine and 2 –amino-p-cresol, respectively. It was found that Disperse Orange 1 and p-aminodiphenylamine are strong sensitisers and cross-react with each other in the guinea pig maximisation test. PPD, 4-nitroaniline, 4-aminoacetanilide, 2-amino-p-cresol, or Disperse Yellow 3 did not show any cross-reactivity to them. Our observations did not directly support the metabolite theory, and the results regarding elicitation thresholds spoke against this theory. Available data in the medical literature indicated that positive patch test reaction prevalence rates to Disperse Blue 106 and 124, and Disperse Orange 3 were over 1% when screening dermatitis patients. From 121 analyzed items, Disperse Yellow 3, Disperse Blue 124 and 106 and Disperse Orange 1 were detected in three garments made in the European Union and India

A Meta-Analysis of Psychological Interventions for Internet/Smartphone Addiction Among Adolescents

Background and aims: Although the peculiarities of problematic Internet use and Internet addiction have been analyzed previously by researchers, there is still no general agreement in the literature as to the effectiveness of psychological interventions for Internet addiction deployed among adolescents. This study sought to investigate the effects of intervention programs for Internet/smartphone addiction among adolescents through a meta-analysis. Methods: We searched MEDLINE (PubMed), EbscoHost Academic Search Complete, ProQuest, and PsycARTICLES using a combination of “Internet addiction or phone addiction” AND “intervention or treatment” OR “therapy” OR “program” AND “adolescents,” and a combination of the following search terms: “patholog_,” “problem_,” “addict_,” “compulsive,” “dependen_,” “video,” “computer,” “Internet,” “online,” “intervention,” “treat_,” and “therap_.” The studies identified during the search were reviewed according to the criteria and a meta-analysis was conducted on the six selected papers published from 2000 to 2019. Only studies with a control/comparison group that performed preintervention and postintervention assessments were included. Results: Included studies showed a trend toward a beneficial effect of intervention on the severity of Internet addictions. The meta-analysis suggested significant effects of all included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and their educational programs. Conclusions Psychological interventions may help to reduce addiction severity, but further RCTs are needed to identify the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy. This study provides a basis for developing future programs addressing addiction problems among adolescents

Typen und Funktionen des Code-Switchings in einer multilingualen deutsch-litauischen Geschäftsverhandlung

In dem Artikel wird eine multilinguale interkulturelle Geschäftsverhandlung zwischen den deutschen und litauischen Geschäftspartnern analysiert, wobei ins Zentrum des Interesses die Fragen nach den Funktionen und Gründen des Codes-Switchings rücken. Bei der Auswertung des Audiomaterials und der Bestimmung des Gesprächstyps „Geschäftsverhandlung“ wurde von der Auffassung ausgegangen, dass es sich dabei um eine Kommunikationssituation handelt, in der die Beteiligten von verschiedenen Zielvorstellungen ausgehend eine Vereinbarung treffen wollen. Im ersten Analyseschritt wird die Grobstruktur des ausgewählten Gesprächs ermittelt, um feststellen zu können, ob ein Ziel / Teilziel des Gesprächs erreicht wird. Dabei handelt es sich auch um die Ermittlung der Mehrsprachigkeitsstruktur des Gesprächs, so etwa die Zahl der Sprachenwechsel. An der Abfolge des Code-Switchings wird dann mikroanalytisch untersucht, wer gesprächslokal auf welche Weise und wozu die Sprache wechselt, welchem besonderen Zweck der jeweilige lokale Sprachenwechsel vor dem Hintergrund des allgemeinen Gesprächsziels dient und welche institutionellen beziehungsweise interkulturellen Kontextualisierungshinweise dabei realisiert werden. Die exemplarische Analyse bezieht sich auf die theoretisch-methodologischen Ansätze von Blom, Gumperz, Auer, Günthner, Heritage, etc., wobei eine besondere Bedeutung den Studien zukommt, die sich mit dem Code-Switching in der institutionellen Interaktion, speziell aus der Sicht der Gesprächsanalyse beschäftigen (David, Apfelbaum, Meyer, etc.)

Workplace bullying and mental health among teachers in relation to psychosocial job characteristics and burnout

Objectives: The objective of the study has been to assess the associations between psychological distress and exposure to workplace bullying, taking into account possible influence of adverse psychosocial job characteristics and occupational burnout in a sample of Kaunas (Lithuania) teachers. Material and Methods: The study sample included 517 teachers from 13 secondary schools and was conducted in 2014. The participants filled in the anonymous questionnaire (response rate 71.3%). Twenty-two-item Negative Acts Questionnaire (H. Hoel and S. Einarsen) was used for measuring the exposure to workplace bullying, Goldberg 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) – psychological distress, Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) – occupational burnout, Karasek Demand-Control questionnaire – psychosocial job stressors. The IBM SPSS Statistics version 20.0 was used for performing the statistical analysis. Associations between psychological distress, exposure to workplace bullying, psychosocial job characteristics and occupational burnout were analyzed in the logistic regression and expressed in terms of odds ratios (OR). Statistical significance was determined using the 95% confidence interval (CI) level. Results: Workplace bullying was prevalent among Kaunas teachers (occasional – 8.3%, severe – 2.9%). Twenty-five percent of teachers suffered from psychological distress. High emotional exhaustion was found in 25.6% of them, high depersonalization in 10.6% and low personal achievement in 33.7% of cases. Almost a half of respondents (47.4%) reported job strain and 59.6% – low social support at work. Occasional and severe bullying was associated with psychological distress after adjusting to job strain, social support and emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, personal accomplishment (adjusted OR was 3.27, 95% CI: 1.56–6.84 for occasional and 4.98, 95% CI: 1.27–19.62 for severe bullying). Conclusions: Occasional and severe bullying were strong predictors for psychological distress. Burnout did not mediate those associations. The effect of job strain and low social support decreased to the insignificant level in the final model. Preventive measures are necessary to improve psychosocial working conditions in secondary education institutions. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2017;30(4):629–64

Lifetime Traumatic Experiences and Disordered Eating among University Students: The Role of Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms

The associations between lifetime traumatic events (TEs), posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms, and disordered eating (DE) were studied in a sample of 614 university students (mean age 20 years). An anonymous questionnaire included 32 lifetime TEs, IES-revised measured PTS symptoms, and EAT-26 evaluated DE symptoms. Statistical analyses included Pearson correlations and structural equation models (SEM) with bootstrapping method. Findings reveal the prevalence of DE in 8.1% of participants, while 73.9% of students experienced at least one lifetime TE. 52.0% of students with DE had PTS symptoms (p<0.0001) and 30.8% of students with lifetime TEs had PTS symptoms (p<0.001). In SEM, direct paths from lifetime TEs to PTS symptoms (0.38, p<0.0001) and from PTS symptoms to DE (0.40, p<0.0001) were observed. The final SEM confirmed the mediating role of PTS symptoms in the path between some TEs (traffic accident and seriously injured) and DE among the university students. If PTS symptoms are associated with DE, then addressing PTS symptoms in the context of DE treatment may improve treatment efficacy

Investigation of biphenyl enamines for applications as p-type semiconductors

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Differential diagnosis of contact dermatitis: A practical-approach review by the EADV Task Force on contact dermatitis.

The diagnosis of eczema ('dermatitis') is mostly clinical and depends on the clinical history and exploratory objective findings (primary lesions, patterns). Contact dermatitis remains as an important condition in the group of eczematous disorders, with important socioeconomic and occupational relevance. Although irritant and allergic contact dermatitis have a different pathogenesis, both are characterized by a rather typical morphology, are triggered by external factors and tend to occur primarily in the area of contact with the exogenous agent. In addition, allergic and irritant dermatitis may also co-exist. The importance of diagnosing contact dermatitis, especially when allergic in nature, is both due to the possibility of avoiding the trigger, and due to its role in aggravating other skin conditions. Nevertheless, the heterogeneity of clinical presentations in daily practice may pose an important challenge for the suspicion and correct diagnosis of contact dermatitis. Furthermore, other conditions, with different pathogenesis and treatment, may clinically simulate contact dermatitis. The Task Force aims to conduct a review of the unifying clinical features of contact dermatitis and characterize its main clinical phenotypes, and its simulators, in order to contribute to an early suspicion or recognition of contact dermatitis and enable a correct differential diagnosis

New PEO-IAA-Inspired Anti-Auxins: Synthesis, Biological Activity, and Possible Application in Hemp (Cannabis Sativa L.) Micropropagation

Auxins play an important role in plant physiology and are involved in numerous aspects of plant development, such as cell division, elongation and differentiation, fruit development, and phototropic response. In addition, through their antagonistic interaction with cytokinins, auxins play a key role in the regulation of root growth and apical dominance. Thanks to this capacity to determine plant architecture, natural and synthetic auxins have been successfully employed to obtain more economically advantageous plants. The crosstalk between auxins and cytokinins determines plant development and thus is of particular importance in the field of plant micropropagation, where the ratios between these two phytohormones need to be tightly controlled to achieve proper rooting and shoot generation. Previously reported anti-auxin PEO-IAA, which blocks auxin signalling through binding to TIR1 receptor and inhibiting the expression of auxin-responsive genes, has been successfully used to facilitate hemp micropropagation. Herein, we report a set of new PEO-IAA-inspired anti-auxins capable of antagonizing auxin responses in vivo. The capacity of these compounds to bind to the TIR1 receptor was confirmed in vitro by SPR analysis. Using DESI-MSI analysis, we evaluated the uptake and distribution of the compounds at the whole plant level. Finally, we characterized the effect of the compounds on the organogenesis of hemp explants, where they showed to be able to improve beneficial morphological traits, such as the balanced growth of all the produced shoots and enhanced bud proliferation