REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) is a European Union regulation that aims to protect human health and the environment from the risks posed by chemicals. ...Article 25 clearly states that: “in order to avoid animal testing, testing on vertebrate animals for the purposes of this Regulation shall be undertaken only as a last resort.” In practice, however, the standard information requirements under REACH are still primarily filled using animal studies.
This paper presents examples illustrating that animal testing is not always undertaken only as a last resort. Six over-arching issues have been identified which contribute to this: (1) non-acceptance of existing animal or non-animal data, (2) non-acceptance of read-across, (3) inflexible administrative processes, (4) redundancy of testing, (5) testing despite animal welfare concerns and (6) testing for cosmetic-only ingredients.
We, members of the Animal-Free Safety Assessment (AFSA) Collaboration, who work together to accelerate the global adoption of non-animal approaches for chemical safety assessment, herein propose several recommendations intended to aid the European Commission, the European Chemicals Agency and registrants to protect human health and the environment while avoiding unnecessary animal tests - truly upholding the last resort requirement in REACH.
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•Animal testing as a last resort is a key pillar of the REACH regulation.•The acceptance of non-animal approaches under REACH is low.•The last resort requirement should be the primary consideration under REACH.•Case examples where animal testing was not used as a last resort are described.•Recommendations for governance and enforcement are provided to all stakeholders.
Nanomachines of the future will require molecular-scale motors that can perform work and collectively induce controlled motion of much larger objects. We have designed a synthetic, light-driven ...molecular motor that is embedded in a liquid-crystal film and can rotate objects placed on the film that exceed the size of the motor molecule by a factor of 10,000. The changes in shape of the motor during the rotary steps cause a remarkable rotational reorganization of the liquid-crystal film and its surface relief, which ultimately causes the rotation of submillimetre-sized particles on the film.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Gut dysbiosis has been associated with colorectal cancer (CRC), the third most prevalent cancer in the world. This study compares microbiota taxonomic and abundance results obtained by 16S rRNA gene ...sequencing (16S) and whole shotgun metagenomic sequencing to investigate their reliability for bacteria profiling. The experimental design included 156 human stool samples from healthy controls, advanced (high-risk) colorectal lesion patients (HRL), and CRC cases, with each sample sequenced using both 16S and shotgun methods. We thoroughly compared both sequencing technologies at the species, genus, and family annotation levels, the abundance differences in these taxa, sparsity, alpha and beta diversities, ability to train prediction models, and the similarity of the microbial signature derived from these models. As expected, the results showed that 16S detects only part of the gut microbiota community revealed by shotgun, although some genera were only profiled by 16S. The 16S abundance data was sparser and exhibited lower alpha diversity. In lower taxonomic ranks, shotgun and 16S highly differed, partially due to a disagreement in reference databases. When considering only shared taxa, the abundance was positively correlated between the two strategies. We also found a moderate correlation between the shotgun and 16S alpha-diversity measures, as well as their PCoAs. Regarding the machine learning models, only some of the shotgun models showed some degree of predictive power in an independent test set, but we could not demonstrate a clear superiority of one technology over the other. Microbial signatures from both sequencing techniques revealed taxa previously associated with CRC development, e.g., Parvimonas micra. Shotgun and 16S sequencing provide two different lenses to examine microbial communities. While we have demonstrated that they can unravel common patterns (including microbial signatures), shotgun often gives a more detailed snapshot than 16S, both in depth and breadth. Instead, 16S will tend to show only part of the picture, giving greater weight to dominant bacteria in a sample. Therefore, we recommend choosing one or another sequencing technique before launching a study. Specifically, shotgun sequencing is preferred for stool microbiome samples and in-depth analyses, while 16S is more suitable for tissue samples and studies with targeted aims.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Background To our knowledge, there are no large multicenter studies concerning frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA) that could give clues about its pathogenesis and best treatment. Objective We sought to ...describe the epidemiology, comorbidities, clinical presentation, diagnostic findings, and therapeutic choices in a large series of patients with FFA. Methods This retrospective multicenter study included patients given the diagnosis of FFA. Clinical severity was classified based on the recession of the frontotemporal hairline. Results In all, 355 patients (343 women 49 premenopausal and 12 men) with a mean age of 61 years (range 23-86) were included. Early menopause was detected in 49 patients (14%), whereas 46 (13%) had undergone hysterectomy. Severe FFA was observed in 131 patients (37%). Independent factors associated with severe FFA after multivariate analysis were: eyelash loss, facial papules, and body hair involvement. Eyebrow loss as the initial clinical presentation was associated with mild forms. Antiandrogens such as finasteride and dutasteride were used in 111 patients (31%), with improvement in 52 (47%) and stabilization in 59 (53%). Limitations The retrospective design is a limitation. Conclusions Eyelash loss, facial papules, and body hair involvement were associated with severe FFA. Antiandrogens were the most useful treatment.
Given that there is only a limited body of evidence available concerning the dietary habits of Spanish university students, the present study assesses the quality of this group’s diet, their ...adherence to the National Food-Based Dietary Guidelines, and the predictive factors of their diet quality. To do so, a cross-sectional study was performed on a sample of 1055 students. The quality of the participants’ diets was then analysed by using the Spanish Healthy Eating Index, and then their level of compliance was assessed in light of the dietary recommendations put forth by the Spanish Society for Community Nutrition. According to these standards, only 17.4% of the participants had a healthy diet. The level of compliance with the recommendations was poor, highlighting especially the low levels of “fruit” and “vegetables” that they consumed as well as high levels of “cold meats and cuts” and “sweets”. The factors that predicted a worse diet are being male, living alone, low levels of physical activity, smoking, high alcohol intake, leading a sedentary lifestyle, psychological distress, and insomnia (p < 0.005). Furthermore, participants with low or high body weights showed signs of a higher quality diet (p < 0.001). The present findings suggest that a significant proportion of university students ought to change their dietary habits; these also attest to the importance of developing strategies that are directly targeted at university students in order to promote a healthy diet.
While it has long been recognized that diet is a leading behavioral risk factor for human health, recent scientific findings have also suggested that diet and sleep quality may be connected. The ...purpose of the present study is to evaluate the association between diet and sleep quality among a group of Spanish university students. To do so, a cross-sectional study of 868 students was carried out. Sleep quality was assessed using the Spanish version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), while diet was assessed using the Spanish Healthy Eating Index (SHEI). The study revealed a noteworthy rate of bad sleepers (51.6%) and students whose diet needed modifications (82.2%). Unhealthy eaters were more likely to have poor sleep quality (aOR = 4.20; CI 95%: 2.07–8.52). The unbalanced intake of vegetables (aOR = 1.63; CI 95%: 1.14–2.34), fruits (aOR = 4.08; CI 95%: 2.90–5.74), dairy products (aOR = 1.96; CI 95%: 1.41–2.72), lean meats (aOR = 1.82; CI 95%: 1.19–2.78), legumes (aOR = 1.43; CI 95%: 1.00–2.02), sweets (aOR = 1.60; CI 95%: 1.13–2.25) and sugary soft drinks (aOR = 1.46; CI 95%: 1.07–1.99) was associated with lower sleep quality.
(1) Background: To examine the prevalence, and associated factors of, problematic Internet use in a sample of Spanish university students. (2) Methods: Cross-sectional descriptive study of a ...convenience sample of 698 university students. Self-esteem, alcohol consumption, perceived social support, depression, anxiety, stress and problematic Internet use were evaluated using the Rosenberg, CAGE, DUKE-UNC-11, DASS-21 and Young’s Internet Addiction Test, respectively. (3) Results: Problematic internet use was reported by 21% of respondents. Risk of problematic Internet use was independently associated with the preferred use of the smartphone, time of exposure to the Internet, less perceived social support, problematic alcohol consumption and symptoms of stress and anxiety. We found significant association between problematic internet use and time of exposure to the Internet, residential status, alcohol consumption, self-esteem, perceived social support and psychological distress, after bivariate analysis. (4) Conclusions: A considerable prevalence of problematic Internet use was found; in our sample problematic Internet use was associated with stress, alcohol consumption, anxiety and perceived social support. Strategies aimed at the early identification of problematic Internet use may lead to an improvement in the psychosocial health of the university student population.
Quality of life (QOL) is a complex and multifaceted concept that has been used to study different aspects of people's lives, including physical and psychological wellbeing, financial independence, ...social relationships, personal beliefs and living situation. In this study, we aimed to assess the QOL of a group of Spanish university students and identify associated factors.
We completed a cross-sectional study of the QOL of 868 university students using the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. In addition, data regarding sociodemographic information and self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale), physical activity (International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short version), diet (Spanish Index of Healthy Eating), alcohol consumption (CAGE questionnaire) and sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) were collected.
A total of 66.2% of participants assessed their QOL positively, while 58.8% favorably evaluated their overall health. Students reported the highest scores for the physical health domain of QOL, whereas they gave the lowest scores for the psychological health domain. Age was inversely associated with QOL. Higher self-esteem and satisfaction with academic performance, as well as sleep and diet quality, were directly associated with higher QOL. The physical health domain of QOL was scored more highly by participants who had a healthy body weight or those who reported moderate levels of physical activity. Higher scores in the social relationships domain of QOL were directly linked to alcohol intake, smoking and low body weight in addition to being inversely associated with screen time. The psychological domain of QOL was lower for those who were overweight or lived alone.
Many sociodemographic, academic and behavioral variables are associated with university students' QOL. The present findings underscore the need to direct further initiatives toward identifying and overcoming barriers to increased QOL for university students.
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