Biomonitoring of firefighting forces: a review on biomarkers of exposure to health-relevant pollutants released from fires

Occupational exposure as a firefighter has recently been classified as a carcinogen to humans by International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Biomonitoring has been increasingly used to characterize exposure of firefighting forces to contaminants. However, available data are dispersed and information on the most relevant and promising biomarkers in this context of firefighting is missing. This review presents a comprehensive summary and critical appraisal of existing biomar-kers of exposure including volatile organic compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, several other persistent other organic pollutants as well as heavy metals and metalloids detected in biological fluids of firefighters attending different fire scenarios. Urine was the most characterized matrix, followed by blood. Firefighters exhaled breath and saliva were poorly evaluated. Overall, biological levels of compounds were predominantly increased in firefighters after participation in firefighting activities. Biomonitoring studies combining different biomarkers of exposure and of effect are currently limited but exploratory findings are of high interest. However, biomonitoring still has some unresolved major limitations since reference or recommended values are not yet established for most biomarkers. In addition, half-lives values for most of the biomarkers have thus far not been defined, which significantly hampers the design of studies. These limitations need to be tackled urgently to improve risk assessment and support implementation of better more effective preventive strategies.This work received support by UIDB/50006/2020, UIDP/ 50006/2020, LA/P/0008/2020, and through the project PCIF/ SSO/0090/2019 by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior (MCTES) through national funds. The authors would also like to thank to FCT and European Union through Fundo Social Europeu (FSE) which supported the scientific contract CEEC- Individual 2017 Program Contract CEECIND/03666/2017 and the PhD grant 2020.07394.BD, respectively.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A communication study of young adults and online dependency during the COVID-19 pandemic

People use digital media and the Internet daily. The time that young people spend connected to digital devices will increase as technology advances, which could have severe health risks and behavioral dependence implications. In the context of the current pandemic, in which socializing, studying, and working is changing, this question has become particularly relevant. Therefore, we propose to investigate the perceptions of young university adults-understood as generation Z-regarding their digital media practices, particularly during the pandemic, and to study the consequences of a permanent connection to these formats on the development of an addiction to the Internet. Our quantitative method approach applied questionnaires to a sample of 407 young university adults studying in Portugal. Through this survey, we could target a specific user group, quantify their consumption, and measure their online experiences. The results point to an increase in dependence on the Internet during confinement. While it is true that carrying out academic work is one of the reasons for this growth, it is noteworthy that the respondents sought the online world in a significan way to pass the time and escape their routine. In addition, they confess to experiencing some consequences of excessive use, such as sleep disturbances and adverse emotional reactions-such as instabilities, depression, and nervousness-when not online. We conclude that the pandemic has intensified online dependence. However, above all that, it is necessary to look at the mental and general health consequences that this excessive use has brought, which may not be visible or manifested by the youth in the short term, and may come to have consequences in the long term.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Unveiling Urinary Mutagenicity by the Ames Test for Occupational Risk Assessment: A Systematic Review

Occupational exposure may involve a variety of toxic compounds. A mutagenicity analysis using the Ames test can provide valuable information regarding the toxicity of absorbed xenobiotics. Through a search of relevant databases, this systematic review gathers and critically discusses the published papers (excluding other types of publications) from 2001–2021 that have assessed urinary mutagenicity (Ames test with Salmonella typhimurium) in an occupational exposure context. Due to the heterogeneity of the study methods, a meta-analysis could not be conducted. The characterized occupations were firefighters, traffic policemen, bus drivers, mail carriers, coke oven and charcoal workers, chemical laboratory staff, farmers, pharmacy workers, and professionals from several other industrial sectors. The genetically modified bacterial strains (histidine dependent) TA98, TA100, YG1041, YG1021, YG1024 and YG1042 have been used for the health risk assessment of individual (e.g., polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) and mixtures of compounds (e.g., diesel engine exhaust, fire smoke, industrial fumes/dyes) in different contexts. Although comparison of the data between studies is challenging, urinary mutagenicity can be very informative of possible associations between work-related exposure and the respective mutagenic potential. Careful interpretation of results and their direct use for occupational health risk assessment are crucial and yet complex; the use of several strains is highly recommended since individual and/or synergistic effects of complex exposure to xenobiotics can be overlooked. Future studies should improve the methods used to reach a standardized protocol for specific occupational environments to strengthen the applicability of the urinary mutagenicity assay and reduce inter- and intra-individual variability and exposure source confoundersThis work received financial support from the projects PCIF/SSO/0017/2018 and PCIF/SSO/0090/2019 of the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior (MCTES) through national funds. This work received support from UIDB/50006/2020, UIDP/50006/2020 and LA/P/0008/2020. M. Oliveira and B. Barros were supported by the scientific contract CEEC Individual 2017 Program Contract CEECIND/03666/2017 and the Ph.D. grant 2020.07394.BD, respectively. These were supported by the FCT and the European Union through the Fundo Social Europeu (FSE) and Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior, respectively.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Nanomaterials towards Biosensing of Alzheimer’s Disease Biomarkers

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an incurable and highly debilitating condition characterized by the progressive degeneration and/or death of nerve cells, which leads to manifestation of disabilities in cognitive functioning. In recent years, the development of biosensors for determination of AD's main biomarkers has made remarkable progress, particularly based on the tremendous advances in nanoscience and nanotechnology. The unique and outstanding properties of nanomaterials (such as graphene, carbon nanotubes, gold, silver and magnetic nanoparticles, polymers and quantum dots) have been contributing to enhance the electrochemical and optical behavior of transducers while offering a suitable matrix for the immobilization of biological recognition elements. Therefore, optical and electrochemical immuno- and DNA-biosensors with higher sensitivity, selectivity and longer stability have been reported. Nevertheless, strategies based on the detection of multiple analytes still need to be improved, as they will play a crucial role in minimizing misdiagnosis. This review aims to provide insights into the conjugation of nanomaterials with different transducers highlighting their crucial role in the construction of biosensors for detection of AD main biomarkers.This work was financially supported by: project UID/EQU/00511/2019—Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy—LEPABE and project UID/QUI/50006/2019—REQUIMTE, both funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC); Project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006939, funded by FEDER funds through COMPETE2020—Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) and by national funds (PIDDAC) through FCT/MCTES; Project UID/EQU/00511/2019—Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy—LEPABE funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC). The PhD grant of Pedro Carneiro (SFRH/BD/131755/2017) is financially supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Trace metals in size-fractionated particulate matter in a Portuguese hospital: exposure risks assessment and comparisons with other countries

Hospitals are considered as a special and important type of indoor public place where air quality has significant impacts on potential health outcomes. Information on indoor air quality of these environments, concerning exposures to particulate matter (PM) and related toxicity, is limited though. This work aims to evaluate risks associated with inhalation exposure to ten toxic metals and chlorine (As, Ni, Cr, Cd, Pb, Mn, Se, Ba, Al, Si, and Cl) in coarse (PM2.5–10) and fine (PM2.5) particles in a Portuguese hospital in comparison with studies representative of other countries. Samples were collected during 1 month in one urban hospital; elemental PM characterization was determined by proton-induced X-ray emission. Noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic risks were assessed according to the methodology provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA; Region III Risk-Based Concentration Table) for three different age categories of hospital personnel (adults, >20, and 65 years). The estimated noncarcinogenic risks due to occupational inhalation exposure to PM2.5-bound metals ranged from 5.88×10−6 for Se (adults, 55–64 years) to 9.35×10−1 for As (adults, 20–24 years) with total noncarcinogenic risks (sum of all metals) above the safe level for all three age categories. As and Cl (the latter due to its high abundances) were the most important contributors (approximately 90 %) to noncarcinogenic risks. For PM2.5–10, noncarcinogenic risks of all metals were acceptable to all age groups. Concerning carcinogenic risks, for Ni and Pb, they were negligible (<1×10−6) in both PM fractions for all age groups of hospital personnel; potential risks were observed for As and Cr with values in PM2.5 exceeding (up to 62 and 5 times, respectively) USEPA guideline across all age groups; for PM2.5–10, increased excess risks of As and Cr were observed particularly for long-term exposures (adults, 55–64 years). Total carcinogenic risks highly (up to 67 times) exceeded the recommended level for all age groups, thus clearly showing that occupational exposure to metals in fine particles pose significant risks. If the extensive working hours of hospital medical staff were considered, the respective noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic risks were increased, the latter for PM2.5 exceeding the USEPA cumulative guideline of 10−4. For adult patients, the estimated noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic risks were approximately three times higher than for personnel, with particular concerns observed for children and adolescents

Traffic-Related Air Pollution: Legislation Versus Health and Environmental Effects

Ambient air quality is a very topical issue as it has an important influence on human health.Exposure to atmospheric pollutants may result in various adverse health effects. Theimpacts of air pollution are not confined only to human health but also to the environmentas a whole. In that regard, vehicular traffic emissions are especially important, because itsvolume is increasing every year. Consequently pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides (NOx),carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs) are emitted into the atmosphere causing a significant decline of air quality acrossEurope, which results in hundreds of thousands of premature deaths every year. In order toimprove the situation, the European Union has been defining legislation on ambient airquality with limits of the respective pollutants and aiming to increase the levels of publichealth protection. Despite reductions in emissions, concentrations of these pollutants remainhigh often above existing targets exposing populations to levels that reduce lifeexpectancy, cause premature death and widespread aggravation to health.In this chapter, various aspects of air pollution are discussed with specific emphasis onvehicular road traffic. An overview of the current legislation related to air quality is given.The work then focuses on the health impacts of important traffic related pollutants, withparticular focus on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The general description ofPAHs is presented with further discussion on their health and environmental impacts

Determination of ametryn in soils via microwave-assisted solvent extraction coupled to anodic stripping voltammetry with a gold ultramicroelectrode

An extraction-anodic adsorptive stripping voltammetric procedure using microwave-assisted solvent extraction and a gold ultramicroelectrode was developed for determining the pesticide ametryn in soil samples. The method is based on the use of acetonitrile as extraction solvent and on controlled adsorptive accumulation of the herbicide at the potential of 0.50 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) in the presence of Britton-Robinson buffer (pH 3.3). Soil sample extracts were analysed directly after drying and redissolution with the supporting electrolyte but without other pre-treatment. The limit of detection obtained for a 10 s collection time was 0.021 µg g-1. Recovery experiments for the global procedure, at the 0.500 µg g-1 level, gave satisfactory mean and standard deviation results which were comparable to those obtained by HPLC with UV detection

Elaboração de um plano de intervenção para sistematizar as atividades coletivas voltadas á promoção de saúde dos portadores de hipertensão arterial sistêmica, equipe verde, centro de saúde Cafezal, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais

O atual contexto epidemiológico e sanitário encontrado no Brasil é caracterizado pela presença de doenças infecciosas, que aparecem juntamente ao aumento das condições crônicas. A Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS) define como doenças crônicas, as doenças cardiovasculares (cerebrovasculares e isquêmicas), as neoplasias, as doenças respiratórias crônicas e o diabetes mellitus. A hipertensão arterial é a mais prevalente de todas as doenças cardiovasculares afetando mais de 36 milhões de brasileiros adultos, sendo o fator de risco para lesões cardíacas e cerebrovasculares e a terceira causa de invalidez. O Diagnóstico Situacional realizado na área de abrangência do Centro de Saúde Cafezal apontou a Hipertensão Arterial como um dos problemas mais prevalentes na comunidade. O presente trabalho teve por objetivo elaborar um Plano de intervenção voltado para o acompanhamento sistemático dos hipertensos da área de abrangência da equipe Verde do Centro de Saúde Cafezal. O plano propõe a realização de atividades coletivas com os pacientes hipertensos e envolvimento familiar para melhorar o acompanhamento e controle dos usuários hipertensos. A associação de atividades individuais e coletivas com participação de profissionais de diferentes formações na área da saúde visa atender de maneira holística as principais necessidades dos pacientes hipertenso