Sensitisation to enzymes in the animal feed industry

OBJECTIVES—To assess the prevalence of enzyme sensitisation in the animal feed industry.
METHODS—A cross sectional study was conducted in four animal feed factories, where several enzymes had been used in powder form for 7-9 years. Before this study, enzymes in liquid form had started to be used. Sensitisation to enzymes was examined by skin prick and radioallergosorbent (RAST) tests. Altogether 218 workers were tested; 140 people in various tasks in manufacturing, where exposure to various organic dusts and to enzymes was possible, and 78 non-exposed office workers. The workers were interviewed for work related respiratory and skin symptoms. Total dust concentrations were measured by a gravimetric method. The concentrations of protease and α-amylase were measured with catalytic methods and that of xylanase with an immunological method.
RESULTS—Ten workers (7%) were sensitised to enzymes in the exposed group of 140, whereas none were sensitised in the non-exposed group. Six of the sensitised people had respiratory symptoms at work: two of them especially in connection with exposure to enzymes. Enzyme concentrations in the air varied greatly: xylanase from less than 0.8 ng/m(3) up to 16 ng/m(3), α-amylase from less than 20 ng/m(3) up to 200 ng/m(3), and protease from less than 0.4 ng/m(3)up to 2900 ng/m(3). On average, highest xylanase and α-amylase concentrations were found in the various manufacturing sites, whereas the highest protease concentrations were found in areas of high total dust.
CONCLUSIONS—Industrial enzymes may cause allergies in the animal feed industry. There is a need to assess exposure to enzymes at various phases of production, and to minimise exposures.


Keywords: animal feed; enzyme allergy; occupational exposur

Beliefs and attitudes towards participating in genetic research – a population based cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Biobanks have the potential to offer a venue for chronic disease biomarker discovery, which would allow for disease early detection and for identification of carriers of a certain predictor biomarker. To assess the general attitudes towards genetic research and participation in biobanks in the Long Island/Queens area of New York, and what factors would predict a positive view of such research, participants from the NSLIJ hospital system were surveyed.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Participants were recruited at six hospital centers in the NSLIJ system during the summers of 2009 and again in 2011 (n = 1,041). Those who opted to participate were given a questionnaire containing 22 questions assessing demographics, lifestyle and attitudes towards genetic research. These questions addressed individual participant’s beliefs about the importance of genetic research, willingness to participate in genetic research themselves, and their views on informed consent issues.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Respondents took a generally positive view of genetic research in general, as well as their own participation in such research. Those with reservations were most likely to cite concerns over the privacy of their medical and genetic information. Those who were married tended to view genetic research as important, while those in the younger age group viewed it as less important. Prior blood donation of respondents was found to be a predictor of their approval for genetic research. Demographic factors were not found to be predictive of personal willingness to participate in genetic research, or of approval for the opt-out approach to consent.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>While respondents were generally inclined to approve of genetic research, and those who disapproved did not do so based on an underlying moral objection to such research, there is a disconnect between the belief in the importance of genetic research and the willingness of individuals to participate themselves. This indicates a continued concern for the ways in which genetic materials are safeguarded once they are collected. Also indicated was a general lack of understanding about the various consent processes that go along with genetic research, which should be addressed further to ensure the successful continuation of biobanks.</p

Biobank governance: heterogeneous modes of ordering and democratization

The great interest in biobanks, the related, substantial investments, and the expectations connected with them raises the question of how to explain the relative successes and failures of contemporary biobank projects. In this article we will present and discuss areas that need ongoing attention by many stakeholders in order stabilize and utilize biobanks and biobank networks in the future. Our aim is to present and utilize an analytical model for comparing structures of biobank governance. The governance model we deduce from empirical case studies is not a well-ordered, almost bureaucratic type of government. The patchwork character and the interrelatedness of heterogeneous activities that constitute biobank governance in its multiple dimensions will be highlighted. Biobank governance should therefore be understood as strategy for patterning a network of interaction that unfolds within and across a number of different fields including a variety of activities that go beyond regulatory activities: the scientific/technological field, the medical/health field, the industrial–economic field, the legal–ethical, and the sociopolitical field. Our account emphasizes that biobanks are not technical visions that operate vis-à-vis an external society. The article discusses attempts to develop participatory governance structures. It concludes that facilitating and managing the integration of a network of more or less interrelated actors, in many nonhierarchic ways, should not be equated with democratization per se, but can nevertheless be regarded as an important step towards a more pluralistic and inclusive style of policy making

Antiseptics and Disinfectants

Antiseptics and disinfectants (see definitions) share common skin side effects, i.e., irritation, allergic contact dermatitis, and eventually immunological contact urticaria. Some antiseptics fall into disuse, due to their lack of efficacy (dyes) or their strong allergic properties (mercurials), except thiomersal, the indications of which remain important. Current antiseptics (i.e., povidone-iodine or chlorhexidine) are of great importance, due to the emergence of MRSA and CA-MRSA, leading to a decrease in the use of topical antibiotics to which Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria are more and more resistant. Silver-based wound and burn dressings may lead to new cases of allergic contact dermatitis, mainly related to the incorporation of new antiseptics, such as octenidine or PHMB. Disinfectants are a common source of occupational irritant and/or allergic contact dermatitis. Aldehydes are widely used as disinfectants. Formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, and glyoxal are responsible for many cases of allergic contact dermatitis. Quaternary ammonium compounds, and particularly benzalkonium chloride, are disinfectants provoking irritant and/or allergic contact dermatitis. The interpretation of patch tests is difficult, and the use of ROATs is advised

From people with dementia to people with data: Participation and value in Alzheimer’s disease research

This paper examines the dynamic relationship between data, participation and value through an analysis of developments in Alzheimer’s disease research. Alzheimer’s disease has risen rapidly up national and international policy agendas, particularly in Europe and North America. Research funding and initiatives have proliferated, many of which emphasise the potential value associated with existing data sources. The paper argues that the potential of these initiatives lies not only in realising the value of data through circulation, exchange and recombination, but in restructuring of the relations of data production and use, notably through the extension and intensification of research participation. As Alzheimer’s research focuses away from clinical settings and symptomatic “people with dementia”, participants in existing research studies are re-imagined as potential participants in future research studies, as “people with data”. Building on analyses of the role of clinical labour in the production of biovalue, the paper argues that reworked relations of data re-use and re-production suggest the ongoing and repeated attachments between data and bodies involved in the production of value. It concludes that this raises questions related to the study of research participation, and requires revisiting discussions about the appropriate representation of research participant interests