Search results for "Exposure"
showing 10 items of 1125 documents
Heavy Metals and Human Health: Possible Exposure Pathways and the Competition for Protein Binding Sites
2021
Heavy metals enter the human body through the gastrointestinal tract, skin, or via inhalation. Toxic metals have proven to be a major threat to human health, mostly because of their ability to cause membrane and DNA damage, and to perturb protein function and enzyme activity. These metals disturb native proteins’ functions by binding to free thiols or other functional groups, catalyzing the oxidation of amino acid side chains, perturbing protein folding, and/or displacing essential metal ions in enzymes. The review shows the physiological and biochemical effects of selected toxic metals interactions with proteins and enzymes. As environmental contamination by heavy metals is one of the most…
Treatment of flying phobia using virtual reality exposure with or without cognitive restructuring: Participant's preferences
2015
This study analyses participants’ preferences regarding two exposure treatment modali- ties for Fear of Flying (FF): virtual reality exposure treatment (VRET) by itself or VRET plus cognitive restructuring (VRET+CR). An alternating treatment conditions design was established and a non-concurrent multiple baseline design across individuals (four participants) was used. Both conditions were equally effective and after the treatment all the participants took a flight. At the end of each session the participants were asked for their opinion on the condition they received. High mean scores were obtained in both conditions; non-significant differences between the two condi- tions were found. When…
Pure-Tone Thresholds, Speech Understanding, and Their Correlates in Samples of Men of Different Ages1
1986
Pure-tone thresholds and speech understanding were studied in three samples of men of different ages (31-35, 51-55 and 71-75 years). The air-conducted pure-tone thresholds were measured at 125-8,000 Hz and speech understanding by the help of interrupted and masked speech tests. The audiological measures were related to measures of other sensory functions, psychomotor speed, cognitive functions, psychic well-being, occupational and educational background and health. The results indicated a clear decrement in all audiological measures when proceeding from younger to older age groups. The results of the speech-understanding tests correlated significantly with the pure-tone thresholds both at 4…
Acceptability of virtual reality interoceptive exposure for the treatment of panic disorder with agoraphobia
2013
Interoceptive exposure (IE) is a standard component of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) for panic disorder and agoraphobia. The virtual reality (VR) program ‘Panic-Agoraphobia’ has several virtual scenarios designed for applying exposure to agoraphobic situations; it can also simulate physical sensations. This work examines patients' acceptability of the IE component as applied in two different ways: using VR versus traditional IE. Additionally, it explores the relationship between users' treatment expectations and satisfaction and clinically significant change. Results showed that VR and traditional IE were well accepted by all participants. Furthermore, treatment expectations predicted…
Integrating Virtual Realities and Psychotherapy: SWOT Analysis on VR and MR Based Treatments of Anxiety and Stress-related Disorders
2021
© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.The use of virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) technology in clinical psychology is growing. Efficacious VR-based treatments for a variety of disorders have been developed. However, the field of technology-assisted psychotherapy is constantly changing with the advancement in technology. Factors such as interdisciplinary collaboration, consumer familiarity and adoption of VR products, and progress in clinical science all need to be taken into consideration when integrating virtual technologies into psychotherapies. We aim to present an overview of current expert opinions on the use of virtual…
Maternal adiposity in pregnancy and offspring asthma in adulthood.
2018
High maternal body mass index in pregnancy was associated with an increased prevalence of offspring asthma in men in adult life
Prenatal tobacco smoke exposure increases hospitalizations for bronchiolitis in infants
2015
Background Tobacco smoke exposure (TSE) is a worldwide health problem and it is considered a risk factor for pregnant women’s and children’s health, particularly for respiratory morbidity during the first year of life. Few significant birth cohort studies on the effect of prenatal TSE via passive and active maternal smoking on the development of severe bronchiolitis in early childhood have been carried out worldwide. Methods From November 2009 to December 2012, newborns born at ≥33 weeks of gestational age (wGA) were recruited in a longitudinal multi-center cohort study in Italy to investigate the effects of prenatal and postnatal TSE, among other risk factors, on bronchiolitis hospitalizat…
Cigarette smoke exposure inhibits extracellular MMP-2 (gelatinase A) activity in human lung fibroblasts
2007
Abstract Background Exposure to cigarette smoke is considered a major risk factor for the development of lung diseases, since its causative role has been assessed in the induction and maintenance of an inflamed state in the airways. Lung fibroblasts can contribute to these processes, due to their ability to produce proinflammatory chemotactic molecules and extracellular matrix remodelling proteinases. Among proteolytic enzymes, gelatinases A and B have been studied for their role in tissue breakdown and mobilisation of matrix-derived signalling molecules. Multiple reports linked gelatinase deregulation and overexpression to the development of inflammatory chronic lung diseases such as COPD.…
Chronic burden of near-roadway traffic pollution in 10 European cities (APHEKOM network).
2013
AD; International audience; Recent epidemiological research suggests that near road traffic-related pollution may cause chronic disease, as well as exacerbate related pathologies, implying that the entire “chronic disease progression” should be attributed to air pollution, no matter what the proximate cause was. We estimated the burden of childhood asthma attributable to air pollution in 10 European cities by calculating the number of cases of 1) asthma caused by near road traffic-related pollution, and 2) acute asthma events related to urban air pollution levels. We then expanded our approach to include coronary heart diseases in adults.Derivation of attributable cases required combining c…
Sleep under exposure to high-frequency electromagnetic fields.
2004
The controversy about potential health hazards associated with the exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) has been recently stimulated by the increasing use of mobile telecommunication devices. Attention has focused here on non-thermal effects of low-level high-frequency radiation, which does not lead to a heating of tissue. Scientific literature on the effects of high-frequency EMFs on sleep is reviewed. The epidemiological studies provide no evidence that sleep disturbances are a relevant complaint under exposure to such fields. Recent sleep laboratory studies have revealed a number of slight effects. Despite their heterogeneity, there seems to be some consistency regarding a slight sle…