Search results for " Protective"
showing 10 items of 88 documents
Anhydrobiosis: Inside yeast cells
2018
International audience; Under natural conditions yeast cells as well as other microorganisms are regularly subjected to the influence of severe drought, which leads to their serious dehydration. The dry seasons are then changed by rains and there is a restoration of normal water potential inside the cells. To survive such seasonal changes a lot of vegetative microbial cells, which belong to various genera and species, may be able to enter into a state of anhydrobiosis, in which their metabolism is temporarily and reversibly suspended or delayed. This evolutionarily developed adaptation to extreme conditions of the environment is widely used for practical goals - for conservation of microorg…
Enhancing Disaster Response for Hazardous Materials Using Emerging Technologies: The Role of AI and a Research Agenda
2019
Despite all efforts like the introduction of new training methods and personal protective equipment, the need to reduce the number of First Responders (FRs) fatalities and injuries remains. Reports show that advances in technology have not yet resulted in protecting FRs from injuries, health impacts, and odorless toxic gases effectively. Currently, there are emerging technologies that can be exploited and applied in emergency management settings to improve FRs protection. The aim of this paper is threefold: First, to conduct scenario analysis and situations that currently threat the first responders. Second, to conduct gap analysis concerning the new technology needs in relations to the pro…
Secure attachment and individual protective factors against internalized homophobia
2019
This article explores the relationship between internalized homophobia and three main variables: attachment to mother, father, and peers; ego resiliency; and self-esteem. We recruited 51 Italian gay men and 54 lesbian women aged between 18 and 30, and asked them to complete self-report measures. The results showed that internalized homophobia negatively correlated with the security of attachment to father and self-esteem. On the other hand, no significant association was found between ego resiliency and internalized homophobia. The implications of these findings are considered in the discussion, along with the potential role of preventive programs targeting attachment relationships and self…
Effectiveness of child protection practice models : a systematic review
2020
Background Attempts to improve child protection outcomes by implementing social work practice models embedded in a particular theory and practice approach, have increased internationally over the past decade. Objective To assess the evidence of the effectiveness of child protection practice models in improving outcomes for children and families. Participants and setting Children < 18 years and their families involved in child protection services. Methods A systematic review was conducted to synthesize evidence regarding the effectiveness of child protection practice models. Systematic searches across 10 electronic databases and grey literature were conducted to identify quasi-experimental s…
Face masks considerably reduce COVID-19 cases in Germany
2020
Significance Mitigating the spread of COVID-19 is the objective of most governments. It is of utmost importance to understand how effective various public health measures are. We study the effectiveness of face masks. We employ public regional data about reported severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infections for Germany. As face masks became mandatory at different points in time across German regions, we can compare the rise in infections in regions with masks and regions without masks. Weighing various estimates, we conclude that 20 d after becoming mandatory face masks have reduced the number of new infections by around 45%. As economic costs are close to zero compared to oth…
Are there positive lessons for Italy's NHS resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic?
2020
The authors evaluate the importance of prevention measures and health care from their own experience and briefly analyse the factors that may have contributed to the rapid spread of Covid-19 in Italy, and hope this will feed into appropriate and new and improved health policies.
Gender and age distribution of motorcycle crashes in Spain.
2018
This study analysed motorcycle crashes in Spain. Ninety-nine thousand three hundred and four motorcycle crash reports filed in the years 2006-2011 were extracted from the Directorate General of Traffic database of crashes with victims. These data were analysed in terms of gender, age groups, trip purpose, type of crash, speed violation, day of the week, harm caused, use of helmet and psychophysical conditions of the driver to study the characteristics of motorcycle crashes in Spain and to assess the differences between male and female motorcycle drivers in these crashes. Significant differences were found in all the variables considered in the study, which implies gender differences in the …
Biological Monitoring of Exposure to Benzene in Port Workers
2020
Port workers are exposed to a wide range of occupational hazards that can cause injuries and occupational diseases. Among these, exposure to benzene is one of the most important but least studied. The highest occupational exposures for port workers occur during the filling and loading of gasoline, and cleaning of tanks and receptacles. The aim of the study was to evaluate occupational exposure to low levels of benzene by measuring trans,trans-muconic acid (t,t-MA) in urine samples from workers operating at fuelling stations in a tourist port of Southern Italy. The overall sample was composed of 43 port workers of a tourist port in Southern Italy. In 2018, each participant provided two (morn…
Genome-based in silico identification of new Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens activating polyfunctional CD8+ T cells in human tuberculosis.
2011
Although CD8(+) T cells help control Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, their M. tuberculosis Ag repertoire, in vivo frequency, and functionality in human tuberculosis (TB) remains largely undefined. We have performed genome-based bioinformatics searches to identify new M. tuberculosis epitopes presented by major HLA class I supertypes A2, A3, and B7 (covering 80% of the human population). A total of 432 M. tuberculosis peptides predicted to bind to HLA-A*0201, HLA-A*0301, and HLA-B*0702 (representing the above supertypes) were synthesized and HLA-binding affinities determined. Peptide-specific CD8(+) T cell proliferation assays (CFSE dilution) in 41 M. tuberculosis-responsive donors ide…
Internal exposure of firefighting instructors to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) during live fire training
2019
Firefighting instructors in live fire training are inevitably exposed to emissions containing, carcinogenic PAH. The study investigated PAH uptake in a group of firefighting instructors during short-term exposure in live fire training by urinary biomonitoring. Six firefighting instructors (non-smokers) completed five 2 h-training sessions each in a carbonaceous-fired simulation unit using self-containing breathing apparatuses (SCBA). Complying with a minimum time interval of six days between the individual training sessions, the participants provided urine samples before and immediately after, as well as 1, 3, 6, 9, 11, and 18 h after each training session. Samples were analyzed for 10 mono…