Health Dangers Research Articles

Oregon Psychiatrist Warns of Health Dangers from Impact of Climate Change

Oregon Psychiatrist Warns of Health Dangers from Impact of Climate Change

THE USE OF PICTORIAL DISCOURSE FOR HEALTH WARNINGS ON THE DANGERS OF TOBACCO PACKAGES (PENGGUNAAN WACANA GAMBAR SEBAGAI PERINGATAN KESEHATAN TENTANG BAHAYA MEROKOK)

The Indonesian government promotes discourse on the health dangers of smoking by pasting pictures on cigarette packages to reduce the number of smokers in Indonesia. Therefore, this research uses pictorial discourse on cigarette packaging to provide health warning messages to smokers of kretek packaged cigarettes. This is portrait research with data obtained through observations at the Kretek Museum, Kudus, Central Java, and the Ministry of Health followingRegulation Number 56 of 2017 and analyzed using the BREAK theory. Based on the data and analysis, the primary and secondary discourses use scary images as well as pictures of fruits and plants, respectively. The general type of movement of primary and secondary discourse is DIKO (essence divergent and spiritually convergent)

Microbial pollution of indoor air in Riyadh city government schools

The presence of microorganisms in indoor air represents a dangerous issue with a major impact in the field of health protection and environmental engineering. Low indoor air quality is a major trouble in government schools because of the massive density of students per classroom, inadequate supply of air from outside, as well as weak construction and poor maintenance of school buildings. Evaluation of microbial contamination within the indoor air is important to assess health dangers and establish requirements for tracking indoor air quality. Evaluation of microbial contamination is of notable significance in intensively populated centers as government schools. A study was carried out among a hundred and twenty randomly classrooms of twenty government primary schools of Riyadh city in the academic year 2018/2019. For the determination of microbial pollution, passive air sampling settle plate technique was utilized by exposing a Petri dish of appropriate agar media for one hour. Results showed that the counts of bacteria and fungi were higher in government schools in low socioeconomic districts as compared to those of high socioeconomic districts. The indoor analyses reveal that the concentration of bacteria was higher than counts of fungi. In general, Gram positive microorganisms were the dominant organisms. Gram positive bacteria, Bacillus, Micrococci and Staphylococci were the predominant bacterial strains in the schools under study. Attention has to be paid for controlling the physical factors that assist the growth and reproduction of microbes in indoor air of classrooms to keep the students and teachers healthy.

Molecular Detection Mapping and Analysis Platform for R (MDMAPR) facilitating the standardization, analysis, visualization, and sharing of qPCR data and metadata.

Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) has been used as a standard molecular detection tool in many scientific fields. Unfortunately, there is no standard method for managing published qPCR data, and those currently used generally focus on only managing raw fluorescence data. However, associated with qPCR experiments are extensive sample and assay metadata, often under-examined and under-reported. Here, we present the Molecular Detection Mapping and Analysis Platform for R (MDMAPR), an open-source and fully scalable informatics tool for researchers to merge raw qPCR fluorescence data with associated metadata into a standard format, while geospatially visualizing the distribution of the data and relative intensity of the qPCR results. The advance of this approach is in the ability to use MDMAPR to store varied qPCR data. This includes pathogen and environmental qPCR species detection studies ideally suited to geographical visualization. However, it also goes beyond these and can be utilized with other qPCR data including gene expression studies, quantification studies used in identifying health dangers associated with food and water bacteria, and the identification of unknown samples. In addition, MDMAPR’s novel centralized management and geospatial visualization of qPCR data can further enable cross-discipline large-scale qPCR data standardization and accessibility to support research spanning multiple fields of science and qPCR applications.

COVID-19: Probable involvement of insects in the mechanical transmission of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)

Currently, the world is faced with a novel human coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic caused by a zoonotic, enveloped, single-stranded RNA novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) causing severe human respiratory tract infections. Although severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and other related coronaviruses had been reported to be mechanically transmitted by insects, no report has so far linked the human transmission of 2019-nCoV with insects. However, the survivability of 2019-nCoV on surfaces and faeces for elongated periods would undoubtedly incriminate insects as culprits in its transmission.Once the faecal-oral transmission of 2019-nCoV is scientifically proven and established, the fate of insects as mechanical vectors in the transmission of this novel coronavirus would most likely constitute significant public health danger. The urgency for the prevention of the rapid and increasing global transmission of 2019-nCoV requires a holistic and multifaceted universal approach aimed at improving infection prevention and control, hygienic and sanitary measures hence, mitigating the likely culpability of insects in transmitting the novel coronavirus.

Assessment of bacterial diversity and their antibiotic resistance profiles in wastewater treatment plants and their receiving Ganges River in Prayagraj (Allahabad), India

The wastewater treatment plant is the silent reservoir of the broad spectrum of microbial populations, including pathogenic ones, which have the potential to cause contamination and pose risks to public and environmental health. In this work, we estimated the actual bacterial load present in the pre and post-treated wastewater samples from WWTPs of Prayagraj region of India. Furthermore, we also studied the distribution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) from WWTPs to Ganges river samples. Data indicated that the majority of the isolates were identified as Bacillus spp. (42.4%) followed by Gammaproteobacteria (27%) which included members of the genera Aeromonas, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas and Enterobacter. Most bacterial isolates regardless of the site of sampling resulted resistance to cefotaxime and ampicillin (50% and 41.6%) respectively. This study concluded that the municipal wastewater offers an atmosphere conducive to bacteria with antibiotic resistance that can harbor resistant bacteria and their resistant genes to receiving water sections with potential public health danger.

Lung Function and Respiratory Health of Populations Living Close to Quarry Sites in Palestine: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Environmental exposure to dust from quarrying activities could pose health dangers to the population living nearby. This study aimed to investigate the health effects of dust exposure on people living close to quarry sites and compared them with those who live far from the quarry sites. A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted among 79 exposed participants, who lived less than 500 m away from the quarry sites, and 79 control participants who lived more than 500 m away. All participants answered a questionnaire on dust exposure at home and health effects, as well as performed a lung function test in which both reported and measured health effects were investigated. People who live in close proximity to the quarry sites reported exposure to dust at home (98%), land destruction (85%), plant leaves covered with dust (97%), and an inability to grow crops (92%). The exposed group reported significantly higher eye and nasal allergy (22% vs. 3%), eye soreness (18% vs. 1%), and dryness (17% vs. 3%), chest tightness (9% vs. 1%), and chronic cough (11% vs. 0%) compared to the control group. Lung function parameters were significantly lower among the exposed group compared to the control group; mean forced vital capacity (FVC) was 3.35 L vs. 3.71 L (p = 0.001), mean forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) was 2.78 L vs. 3.17 L (p = 0.001). Higher levels of airway restriction were found among the exposed group. Among the exposed group, lung function parameters worsened with the increasing closeness of home to the quarry site. This study demonstrates the negative health effects of environmental dust exposure among two communities living near quarry sites in Palestine. The results highlight the importance of developing and strictly enforcing rules and regulations in Palestine to protect population health.

Environmental Characteristics of Modern Systems of Domestic Use of Fuel. Part 1

The analysis of the environmental component of the processes of natural gas burning in atmospheric burners of domestic gas stoves has been carried out. The computational and experimental studies of the harmful substances formation by combustion of natural gas have been performed. The chemical equilibrium of the NO–O2–NO2 system was considered. The thermodynamic analysis of transformation of the system during a process of natural gas (methane-air mixture) combustion has been tested. Despite an essential (sometimes – by the order(s)) difference between the thermodynamically equilibrium concentration of the nitrogen oxides [NOx]eq and the local, actually measured values [NOx] = [NO] + [NO2], the [NO]eq values could be served as the qualitative indicators of actual values of [NOx] concentrations. In the combustion processes natural gas and other fuels combustion at high temperatures [NO] >> [NO2] for both equilibrium and measured concentrations. By moderate and low local temperatures up to 600 K the equilibrium concentration [NO2]eq → [NO]eq in order of magnitude. Under some compositions of burning mixture the correlation could be set as [NO2] >> [NO], resulting in great danger for the human health. With regard to the formation of particularly toxic NO2 effluents observed in some cases, an influence of the reaction temperature and the composition of the combustible mixture on the possibility of nitrogen dioxide formation in the combustion products have been analyzed. A methodology for the experimental study of the harmful emissions formation has been proposed while the computerized firing rig has been developed for studying the combustion of hydrocarbon gases in burners of household stoves. An influence of the coefficient of primary air excess on the СО, NO, NO2 formation has been revealed and the possibility of appearance the emissions of a high concentration of nitrogen dioxide has been demonstrated.

Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria and Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus-Does Quality of Life Impairment Always Reflect Health Danger?

Background and aims: Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) and diabetes mellitus type 1 (T1DM) may compromise the quality of life (QoL). We decided to compare the QoL of T1DM patients to those suffering from CSU. Materials and methods: Sixty-six patients with well-controlled T1DM (male 52%) in the mean age of (SD) 36.3 (11.09) years and 51 patients with CSU (male 33%) in the mean age of (SD) 35.8 (8.53) years were enrolled in this observational study. All the participants completed a Short-Form 36 (SF-36) QoL. Results: The QoL related to social functioning was significantly worse among CSU patients. There were differences related to gender found in the group of patients with T1DM—where men tended to declare a better quality of life than women (p = 0.015)—especially in the area of energy/fatigue and pain. It appeared that due to physical and emotional problems occurring in married patients, the QoL is lower in T1DM group in comparison to the CSU one. Conclusions: The patients with CSU presented significantly worse social functioning compared to the ones with T1DM. This fact proves the QoL impairment level is not always related to the level of health danger. The differences in the QoL related to gender and marital status found among T1DM patients point to the necessity for further exploration in a larger group of patients. Due to the fact that optimal disease management should ensure patient’s good emotional well-being, there is a need for additional psychological and social care for patients from those two groups.

Fabrication of renewable gutta percha/silylated nanofibers membrane for highly effective oil-water emulsions separation

Oil contaminant in water has become serious environmental pollution that causes danger for human health. Membrane separation technology is considered as one of the most efficient treatment for oily wastewater. Here, we report that the renewable hydrophobic membranes for oil-water emulsions separation were fabricated by incorporating gutta percha (GP) into silylated nanofibers (SNF) from herbal residues. The obtained membranes were characterized by Raman spectra, XPS, XRD, SEM, AFM, TGA, and DSC. Subsequently, the effects of gutta percha loading levels on membrane hydrophobicity, mechanical property, water vapor permeability, and efficacy of oil-water emulsions separation were investigated. Incorporation of GP into SNF is benefit for enhancing hydrophobicity, thermal stability, and mechanical performance. More importantly, these GP/SNF membranes exhibited high-efficiency separation ability for oil-water emulsions. Especially, GP/SNF-20 membrane presented the highest permeation fluxes of 3624, 3308, 3186 and 2866 L m−2 h−1 W−1 for separation of petroleum ether, dichloromethane, toluene, and cyclohexane-in-water emulsions, respectively.

PROXIMATE AND ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS OF BANANA FRUITS (Musa spp) RIPENED WITH VARIOUS CONCENTRATIONS OF CALCIUM CARBIDE.

Fruit ripening is a natural process in which fruits go through various physical and chemical changes and gradually become sweet, coloured, soft and palatable. However, in recent years, the use of chemical agents as artificial fruit ripening agents has become prevalent mostly due to the commercial purposes without recourse to their health effects. Calcium carbide is one of such chemicals that is used in ripening fruits because of its cheapness and availability but at the same time it poses lots of potential health problems to health. The aim therefore was to determine the effect of the compound on the nutritional quality and hence otherwise any health effects of consuming such fruits. In this study, Banana fruits of Musa spp were purchased from vendors at station market Kaduna and were subjected to artificial ripening using various concentrations of calcium carbide(0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 M. and adopting similar techniques used by the vendors The result of the proximate analysis revealed that moisture content ranged between(71.52% -74.54%), ash content (0.815% -1.185%), fats content (0.47% - 3.21%), crude protein content (3.33%-2.63%) as well as carbohydrates content (23.67% - 18.44%). The effect of the calcium carbide is the exposure of the fruit to higher moisture content which leads to spoilage and degradation on the nutritional quality of the Banana fruits. However, at lower concentration of the calcium carbide same period of ripening was achieved without much effects on the fruits. The results of the elemental analysis revealed the concentration of Arsenic as (0.010mg/kg-0.071mg/kg) and Phosphorous as (194.50mg/kg- 231.00mg/kg).The values for Arsenic were found to be within the tolerable limit of FAO standard but for Phosphorous the values were higher than the standard and this could be from the fertilisers used for cultivation. The findings indicates that ripening of Banana fruits ( Musa spp) with higher concentration of Calcium carbide pose a great potential health dangers to consumers especially to the nervous system and must therefore be legislated.

Cocaine added to heroin fails to affect heroin-induced brain hypoxia

Heroin and cocaine are both highly addictive drugs that cause unique physiological and behavioral effects. These drugs are often co-administered and cocaine has been found in ~20% of cases of opioid overdose death. Respiratory depression followed by brain hypoxia is the most dangerous effect of high-dose opioids that could result in coma and even death. Conversely, cocaine at optimal self-administering doses increases brain oxygen levels. Considering these differences, it is unclear what pattern of oxygen changes will occur when these drugs are co-administered. Here, we used high-speed amperometry with oxygen sensors to examine changes in oxygen concentrations in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) induced by intravenous (iv) cocaine, heroin, and their mixtures in freely-moving rats. Cocaine delivered at a range of doses, both below (0.25 mg/kg) and within the optimal range of self-administration (0.5 and 1.0 mg/kg) modestly increased NAc oxygen levels. In contrast, heroin increased oxygen levels at a low reinforcing dose (0.05 mg/kg), but induced a biphasic down-up change at higher reinforcing doses (0.1 and 0.2 mg/kg), and caused a strong monophasic oxygen decrease during overdose (0.6 mg/kg). When combined at moderate doses, cocaine (0.25, 0.5 mg/kg) slightly increased and prolonged oxygen increases induced by heroin alone (0.5 and 0.1 mg/kg), but oxygen decreases were identical when cocaine (1 mg/kg) was combined with heroin at large doses (0.2 and 0.6 mg/kg). Therefore, health dangers of speedball may result from de-compensation of vital functions due to diminished intra-brain oxygen inflow induced by high-dose heroin coupled with enhanced oxygen use induced by cocaine.

Determination of Heavy Metals and Pesticides in Different Types of Fish Samples Collected from Four Different Locations of Aegean and Marmara Sea

Heavy metals and pollutants cause serious damage to the ecological environment and accumulate in marine species in the seas. These pollutants and heavy metals accumulating in living species are a serious source of danger for human health. For this purpose, in this study, heavy metal (lead, mercury, copper, zinc, arsenic, cadmium, silver, manganese, and nickel) and pesticide (p-p′-DDE, α-BHC, endosulfan, endosulfan sulfate, endrin, aldrin, heptachlor, heptachlor epoxide, methoxychlor, p-p′-DDD, p-p′-DDT, β-BHC, cypermethrin, and dieldrin) analyses of four different fish species (Pomatomus saltatrix, Dicentrarchus labrax, Mugil cephalus, and Sparus aurata) collected from the Aegean and Marmara seas were carried out by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy and using an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer. We observed serious and remarkable arsenic, lead, and cadmium concentrations in the muscle meat of fish sample. p-p′-DDE and endosulfan were determined in every fish sample of each region. Heptachlor concentration was determined as 0.0598 μg/g in Dicentrarchus labrax sample from Marmara Sea, which is nearly nine thousand times more than the maximum allowable concentration of environmental quality standards biota of heptachlor listed in 2013/39/EU. The results show an indication of the significant health risks associated with the consumption of these contaminated fish in the Aegean and Marmara seas. In the Turkish food codex and in the 2013/39/EU directive, some heavy metals that do not have the maximum allowable concentration limits should be urgently indicated.

IoT Mining Tracking &Worker Safety Emergency Alert

Mining is indispensable to the creation of goods, infrastructure and services which enhance the quality of their lives. Demand of coal as energy resources is always important and significant. But thousands of people have lost their lives in mining accidents, all over the world working in the earth presents many different security and health dangers. So here we propose a mining tracking as well as safety system for the mining industry using microcontroller based circuit on the worker safety. We use RF based circuitry to detect workers moving through the entire mining site. We used ARDUINO UNO as main micro controller. The system makes use of ATMEGA Microcontroller based RF tracker circuitry used to transmit and receive data by using EM-18 RFID reader module with RFID cards. This helps to track the current location of workers through the entire mining site. Moreover each RFID card circuit is integrated with a panic/emergency button. When this button is pressed it shows an emergency alert over the IOT webpage. This can be used for any emergencies like – toxic gas inhalation, physical injury etc. Thus the system ensures mining worker Safety using IOT.

Nuclear war, climate change, and medical activism

Nuclear war, climate change, and medical activism

Knowledge of secondhand smoke and behaviour towards its exposure among teachers in Mauritius.

INTRODUCTIONA literature review has revealed an absence of studies investigating the knowledge and behaviour of teachers towards secondhand smoke (SHS). This study was thus designed with the following objectives: 1) Assess the knowledge of SHS among primary school teachers, 2) Determine their behaviour towards SHS, and 3) Identify any relationship between knowledge and behaviour of participants.METHODSA national cross-sectional study was conducted among a representative sample from 28 primary schools in all four educational zones of Mauritius in 2017. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from primary school teachers. Data analysis was performed on 389 questionnaires.RESULTSThe mean knowledge score was found to be 28.9 (SD=4.8), which is just above the threshold score (>27) for good knowledge. Less than two-thirds of the participants (63.2%) were in the ‘good knowledge’ category. The mean behaviour score was found to be 26.6 (SD=6.8), which is situated in the range for ‘satisfactory behaviour’ in terms of avoiding SHS. Pearson correlation testing revealed a significant association between knowledge of SHS and behaviour towards exposure to SHS.CONCLUSIONSThis study showed that nearly two-thirds of teachers had good knowledge of the health dangers of SHS and applied this knowledge in their behaviour by keeping away from cigarette smoke.

A review of microalgae and other treatment methods of distillery wastewater

AbstractMany industries including distilleries continue to contribute to environmental pollution due to significant release of organic and inorganic pollutants as wastewater. This wastewater contains heavy metals and other toxic chemicals that lead to health‐related problems. Despite the advancement in treatment technologies, major treatment methods such as conventional treatment methods are still battering with the many challenges including high treatment and operational cost, and extensive use of chemicals that may lead to ecological imbalance. In this study, various treatment methods and pollutants removal capabilities were comprehensively discussed. This article also takes a comprehensive look at the alcohol production process and its wastewater generation, chemical characteristics and the health dangers posed by the distillery wastewater (DW). The article also looked at the various available treatment methods, emerging treatment methods, microalgae treatment method as well as challenges associated with microalgae wastewater treatment.

Tobacco use and harm perceptions among Appalachian youth.

Appalachian youth tobacco use rates exceed the national average. Additional inquiry is needed to better understand youth product perceptions and use patterns. This study examined tobacco harm perceptions and their relationship with tobacco use among Appalachian youth. From 2014 to 2016, a survey of Appalachian middle and high school students (N=1,136) was conducted. Tobacco harm perceptions were assessed by tobacco use status, categorized as never user, cigarette only user, smokeless only user, e-cigarette only user, or polytobacco user. Descriptive characteristics were compared by tobacco use status and harm perceptions. Adjusted multivariable logistic regression models assessed the relationship between tobacco use status and harm perceptions. Over one-third of participants were tobacco users (34.6%; 4.7% cigarette only users, 3.3% smokeless only users, 5.6% e-cigarette only users, and 21.0% polytobacco users). Approximately half agreed that e-cigarettes cause health problems (54.4%), and 64.7% agreed that e-cigarettes are addictive. Most participants (83.4-92.3%) agreed that smoking and smokeless tobacco cause health problems and are addictive. Tobacco users more often disagreed that tobacco products cause health problems than did never users. Compared to never users, e-cigarette only users were more likely to disagree that smoking (AOR: 2.99, 95% CI: 1.30-6.90) and e-cigarettes cause health problems (AOR: 2.79, 95% CI: 1.64-4.75) and that e-cigarettes cause addiction (AOR: 2.48, 95% CI: 1.48-4.16). Most youth were aware of health dangers associated with smoking, but perceptions were split on whether e-cigarettes were associated with health problems or addiction. The findings indicate the need for additional youth tobacco use prevention efforts.

Experience of the Globally Harmonized System’s Implementation at an Anatomy Laboratory

Anatomy laboratories and amphitheaters general practice requires constant chemical substances usage. Previous classification systems used in laboratories around the globe exposed wide margins of confusion, no symbology consensus and were open to interpretation, associated with occupational injuries, workplace related diseases and a lack of students and workers protection. For this reason, it was necessary to establish a universal, homogenized, technical and internationally recognized by scientific community system: the Globally Harmonized System of classification and labeling of chemical products (GHS).The GHS was proposed with the purpose of harmonizing the characteristics and data sheets of different substances, reagents and components. When projected by the UN, this system was standardized according to international protocols. Even the Intergovernmental Forum for Chemical Safety recommends that all countries implement the GHS as soon as possible, being one of the main reasons the fact that student’s misunderstanding of labeling of chemical substances can result in unsafe behavior that may cause accidents or disasters.Our aim is to describe and evaluate the main differences between the implementation of the GHS compared to previouslly used classification systems. A documentary analysis of United Nations purple book on the updated official report of the globally harmonized system was carried out, together with documents from previous organization systems.As a main finding, nine danger pictograms are set (previously eight), that harmonize criteria to avoid physical, health and/or environmental danger situations. For each sheet the use of specific danger pictograms, warning words, hazard instructions and precautionary statements is stablished. These sheets must be accompanied by a hazard communication paper that includes detailed information about identification, manufacturer, importer and/or supplier, classification, hazards, precautionary measures and emergency procedures, among others.The implementation of the GHS in an anatomy laboratory consists in four principles: checklist of hazardous materials in stock, labeling of hazardous materials, preparation of material safety datasheets with the format and the requirement of at least a 3‐h training course for eligible students and workers.The GHS implementation together with an easy divulgation of hazards and the Occupational Health and Safety requirement (BS OHSAS 18001) which is a framework that contains necessary policies, procedures and controls that helps workspaces achieve the best possible working conditions, aligned with internationally recognized best practices, leads to optimized human and environmental protection, besides constituting a guide system for those countries that lacked one, reducing the need to test chemical products and facilitating the trade of dangerous substances.Support or Funding InformationAnatomy Laboratory, Universidad de los Andes, School of Medicine.

Pendampingan Teman Sebaya dan Peran Orangtua dalam Mewujudkan Remaja Bebas Narkoba dan Sehat Reproduksi di Wilayah Pesisir

The frequent occurrence of drug abuse and premarital sex which is indicated from the frequent occurrence of raids on drug cases in Langkat District, the high number of early childhood marriages that still occur. This is compounded by the inactivity of religiously oriented adolescent activities, where previously youth groups tended to be active in empowering adolescents. School is one of the places for adolescent interaction and in one day many teenagers spend their time in school. The form of community facilitation activities with counseling activities, peer education training and mentoring through whatup media groups and also conducting counseling to parents aimed at increasing the knowledge and role of parents as agents of socialization to adolescents, peer education training aimed at increasing the role of adolescents as peer educators and assistance aimed at assisting adolescent peer educators in planning for, and dealing with problems related to the dangers of drugs, HIV/AIDS and reproductive health. An increase in students' knowledge after getting counseling and training about the dangers of drugs, HIV/AIDS and adolescent reproductive health. Suggestions for further activities are the need for traning of trainers for adolescent doctors and assistance in making adolescent health programs.