scholarly journals Health impacts of anthropogenic biomass burning in the developed world

2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 1577-1588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torben Sigsgaard ◽  
Bertil Forsberg ◽  
Isabella Annesi-Maesano ◽  
Anders Blomberg ◽  
Anette Bølling ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Effects ◽  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Cardiovascular Health ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Combustion Products ◽  
Biomass Combustion ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Adverse Health Effects ◽  
Adverse Health ◽  
Developed World

Climate change policies have stimulated a shift towards renewable energy sources such as biomass. The economic crisis of 2008 has also increased the practice of household biomass burning as it is often cheaper than using oil, gas or electricity for heating. As a result, household biomass combustion is becoming an important source of air pollutants in the European Union.This position paper discusses the contribution of biomass combustion to pollution levels in Europe, and the emerging evidence on the adverse health effects of biomass combustion products.Epidemiological studies in the developed world have documented associations between indoor and outdoor exposure to biomass combustion products and a range of adverse health effects. A conservative estimate of the current contribution of biomass smoke to premature mortality in Europe amounts to at least 40 000 deaths per year.We conclude that emissions from current biomass combustion products negatively affect respiratory and, possibly, cardiovascular health in Europe. Biomass combustion emissions, in contrast to emissions from most other sources of air pollution, are increasing. More needs to be done to further document the health effects of biomass combustion in Europe, and to reduce emissions of harmful biomass combustion products to protect public health.

scholarly journals Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial examining the effect of blood and plasma donation on serum perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) levels in firefighters

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. e044833
Author(s):  
Gabriel Silver ◽  
Yordanka Krastev ◽  
Miriam K Forbes ◽  
Brenton Hamdorf ◽  
Barry Lewis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Randomised Controlled Trial ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Whole Blood ◽  
Sulfonic Acid ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Adverse Health Effects ◽  
Plasma Donation ◽  
Adverse Health ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Randomised Controlled

IntroductionPerfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a diverse group of compounds that have been used in hundreds of industrial applications and consumer products including aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) for many years. Multiple national and international health and environmental agencies have accepted that PFAS exposures are associated with numerous adverse health effects. Australian firefighters have been shown to have elevated levels of PFAS in their blood, specifically perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), due to the historical use of AFFF. While PFAS concentrations decline over time once the source of exposure has been removed, their potential adverse health effects are such that it would be prudent to develop an intervention to lower levels at a faster rate than occurs via natural elimination rates.Methods and analysisThis is a randomised controlled trial of current and former Australian firefighters in the Metropolitan Fire Brigade/Fire Rescue Victoria, and contractors, with previous occupational exposure to PFAS and baseline elevated PFOS levels. The study is investigating whether whole blood donation every 12 weeks or plasma donation every 6 weeks will significantly reduce PFAS levels, compared with a control group. We have used covariate-adaptive randomisation to balance participants’ sex and blood PFAS levels between the three groups and would consider a 25% reduction in serum PFOS and PFHxS levels to be potentially clinically significant after 12 months of whole blood or plasma donation. A secondary analysis of health biomarkers is being made of changes between screening and week 52 in all three groups.Ethics and disseminationThis trial has been approved by Macquarie University Human Research Ethics Committee (reference number: 3855), final protocol V.2 dated 12 June 2019. Study results will be disseminated via peer-reviewed publications and presentations at conferences.Trial registration numberAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12619000204145).

Disrupting the Flow of Perception-Action through Design

2021 ◽  
pp. 105971232198909
Author(s):  
Harry Heft
Keyword(s):  
Cultural History ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Sense Of Place ◽  
Attentional Focus ◽  
Good Design ◽  
Adverse Health Effects ◽  
Adverse Health ◽  
Directed Action ◽  
Perception Action

It is usually a mark of good design when technologies and tools that mediate goal-directed action are such that the user’s attentional focus is maintained on the intended ends of action rather than on the technologies and tools themselves. When the mediators become the focus, the continuity of goal-directed action is disrupted, and the flow of action can be re-directed. What then is the purpose of the projects designed by the RAAAF studio, as described by Rietveld, which seem to be intended to do both? Disruption of the continuity of goal-directed perception-action may prompt reflection about the circumstances at work, and in so doing provoke a transformation in habitual patterns of action and of thought. The project “The End of Sitting” is intended to remediate the adverse health effects of standard chair-dominated offices through an unconventional office landscape that prompts intermittent postural readjustments, boosting the levels of activity common in such settings. The project “Bunker 599” demonstrates that seemingly unremarkable features of the landscape can sometimes conceal aspects of culture’s history, and that design can function to draw attention to a hidden and even vanishing history. Design can enrich an individual’s sense of place in a stream of cultural history.

scholarly journals Impact of Carcinogenic Chromium on the Cellular Response to Proteotoxic Stress

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (19) ◽  
pp. 4901 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonardo M. R. Ferreira ◽  
Teresa Cunha-Oliveira ◽  
Margarida C. Sobral ◽  
Patrícia L. Abreu ◽  
Maria Carmen Alpoim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stress Response ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Cellular Response ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Adverse Health Effects ◽  
Proteotoxic Stress ◽  
Adverse Health ◽  
The Impact

Worldwide, several million workers are employed in the various chromium (Cr) industries. These workers may suffer from a variety of adverse health effects produced by dusts, mists and fumes containing Cr in the hexavalent oxidation state, Cr(VI). Of major importance, occupational exposure to Cr(VI) compounds has been firmly associated with the development of lung cancer. Counterintuitively, Cr(VI) is mostly unreactive towards most biomolecules, including nucleic acids. However, its intracellular reduction produces several species that react extensively with biomolecules. The diversity and chemical versatility of these species add great complexity to the study of the molecular mechanisms underlying Cr(VI) toxicity and carcinogenicity. As a consequence, these mechanisms are still poorly understood, in spite of intensive research efforts. Here, we discuss the impact of Cr(VI) on the stress response—an intricate cellular system against proteotoxic stress which is increasingly viewed as playing a critical role in carcinogenesis. This discussion is preceded by information regarding applications, chemical properties and adverse health effects of Cr(VI). A summary of our current understanding of cancer initiation, promotion and progression is also provided, followed by a brief description of the stress response and its links to cancer and by an overview of potential molecular mechanisms of Cr(VI) carcinogenicity.

Adverse Health Effects at a Tennessee Hazardous Waste Disposal Site

1984 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROBERT H. HARRIS ◽  
JOSEPH H. HIGHLAND ◽  
JOSEPH V. RODRICKS ◽  
STAVROS S. PAPADOPULOS
Keyword(s):  
Health Effects ◽  
Hazardous Waste ◽  
Waste Disposal ◽  
Disposal Site ◽  
Waste Disposal Site ◽  
Adverse Health Effects ◽  
Hazardous Waste Disposal ◽  
Adverse Health

The adverse health effects associated with drought in Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 148500
Author(s):  
Taherah Asmall ◽  
Amber Abrams ◽  
Martin Röösli ◽  
Guéladio Cissé ◽  
Kirsty Carden ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Effects ◽  
Adverse Health Effects ◽  
Adverse Health
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