This multi-group path analysis study investigated the effects of verbal abuse (suspicion of infection and disrespect) on difficulties in work performance according to the workplace quarantine ...measures of visiting nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 262 visiting nurses in Korea completed the online questionnaire between 10 October and 30 November 2020, and their data were included in the final analysis. The study found that experiences of verbal abuse mediated fear and anxiety to affect difficulties in work performance. In the path model of the group with a high level of workplace quarantine measures, experiences of verbal abuse (suspicion of infection and disrespect) did not directly affect fear. The opposite was true for the group with low levels of workplace quarantine measures. The implications for the field are that the following is required: heightened awareness of verbal abuse; workplace quarantine policies; and mental health management systems and intervention programs to detect the early fear and anxiety of visiting nurses.
Ionic liquids have gained increasing attention in the chemical industry as potential green substitutes for traditional solvents. However, little is known about toxicity of ionic liquids on the skin, ...a major exposure portal to toxic substances. Here, we evaluated dermal toxicity of ionic liquids using human keratinocyte and fibroblast cell line, 3D reconstructed human epidermis, and full-thickness model to investigate underlying mechanisms. Cytotoxicity of ionic liquids was evaluated for representative anions, TFSI, PF6, BF4, and DCA, as well as for cations, EMIM, BMPY, TBA and Zn, in human keratinocyte cell line, HaCaT, and human dermal fibroblasts. In our results, significant cytotoxicity was induced by ionic liquids with TFSI in both cell lines. Notably, cytotoxicity of TFSI containing ionic liquids was comparable to xylene, a toxic conventional organic solvent. Fluorescent and flow cytometric analysis revealed that TFSI-exposed cells underwent necrotic cell death. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) was increased while the amount of glutathione was decreased by TFSI in dose-dependent manner, which was reversed by antioxidant, N-acetylcysteine. In 3D reconstructed human epidermis and full-thickness model, a single application of TFSI induced toxicity although it was minimal and largely limited to epidermal layer. Collectively, these results demonstrated potential dermal toxicity of ionic liquids.
•Here, we demonstrate the dermal toxicity of ionic liquids against skin cells and 3D skin model.•Of tested ionic liquids, those containing TFSI anion exhibited strongest toxicity.•TFSI induced ROS generation and GSH depletion which led to necrotic cell deaths.
Radiation proctitis is the collateral damage that occurs to healthy cells during radiation treatment of pelvic malignancies. Conservative treatment of radiation proctitis can mitigate inflammatory ...symptoms, but, to date, no therapeutic options are available for direct recovery of the damaged colonic epithelium.
The present study assessed the ability of colon organoid-based regeneration to treat radiation proctitis. Radiation proctitis was induced in mice by irradiating their recta, followed by enema-based transplantation of mouse colon organoids.
The transplanted colon organoids were found to successfully engraft onto the damaged rectal mucosa of the irradiated mice, reconstituting epithelial structure and integrity. Lgr5+ stem cells were shown to be pivotal to colon organoid mediated regeneration. Endoscopic examination showed the efficacy of localized transplantation of colon organoids with fibrin glue to irradiated sites.
These findings provide useful insights into the use of colon organoid-based regenerative therapy for the treatment of radiation proctitis.
This study is a multigroup path analysis aiming to create a theoretical model of presenteeism among female workers in the health and social work sectors, assess the mediating effects of mental health ...problems (sleeping trouble and psychological wellbeing), and physical health problems (fatigue and muscle aches) on the relationship between work characteristics (demands at work and social community at work) and presenteeism, and identify the differences between the effects of variables on those who reported low work–life imbalance and high work–life imbalance. Raw data from the fifth Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS) were analyzed. From the total sample of 50,205 people, 2209 women in health and social work were included in the study sample. The results were as follows: the demands at work had a significant and positive indirect effect on presenteeism (B = 0.0023, p < 0.001), mediated by trouble sleeping, fatigue, and muscle aches, in that order. Demands at work were also found to have a significant and negative indirect effect on presenteeism (B = −0.0017, p < 0.001), mediated by psychological wellbeing, fatigue, and muscle aches, in descending order. Social community at work had a significant and negative indirect effect on presenteeism (B = −0.0022, p < 0.001), mediated by trouble sleeping, fatigue, and muscle aches, in that order. Social community at work also had a significant and negative effect on presenteeism, mediated by psychological wellbeing, fatigue, and muscle aches, in descending order (B = −0.0097, p < 0.001). Demands at work did not have a significant effect on psychological wellbeing in the low work–life imbalance group, whereas its effect was significant and positive (β = 0.198, p < 0.001) in the high work–life imbalance group. In conclusion, in the path model of the low work–life imbalance group, demands at work did not influence psychological wellbeing. Therefore, strategies to ameliorate work–life imbalance may be helpful components of interventions to reduce presenteeism.
Human eyes and skin are frequently exposed to chemicals accidentally or on purpose due to their external location. Therefore, chemicals are required to undergo the evaluation of the ocular and dermal ...irritancy for their safe handling and use before release into the market. Draize rabbit eye and skin irritation test developed in 1944, has been a gold standard test which was enlisted as OECD TG 404 and OECD TG 405 but it has been criticized with respect to animal welfare due to invasive and cruel procedure. To replace it, diverse alternatives have been developed: (i) For Draize eye irritation test, organotypic assay,
in vitro
cytotoxicity-based method,
in chemico
tests,
in silico
prediction model, and 3D reconstructed human cornealike epithelium (RhCE); (ii) For Draize skin irritation test,
in vitro
cytotoxicity-based cell model, and 3D reconstructed human epidermis models (RhE). Of these, RhCE and RhE models are getting spotlight as a promising alternative with a wide applicability domain covering cosmetics and personal care products. In this review, we overviewed the current alternatives to Draize test with a focus on 3D human epithelium models to provide an insight into advancing and widening their utility.
A red fluorescent material, 1,3,7,9-tetrakis(4-(tert-butyl)phenyl)-5,5-difluoro-10-(2-methoxyphenyl)-5H-4l4,5l4-dipyrrolo1,2-c:2′,1′-f1,3,2diazaborinine (4tBuMB), as an emitting dopant in a ...thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) sensitized hyperfluorescence organic light-emitting diode (HFOLED) is reported. The 4tBuMB shows a high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of 99% with an emission maximum at 620 nm and a full width at half-maximum (fwhm) of 31 nm in solution. Further, it shows a deep lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of 3.83 eV. Thus, two TADF materials, 4CzIPN and 4CzTPN, as sensitizing hosts, are selected on the basis of a suitable LUMO level and spectrum overlap with 4tBuMB. The fabricated HFOLED device with 4CzTPN as a sensitizing host and 4tBuMB as an emitting dopant shows a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE), an emission maximum, an fwhm, and CIE coordinates of 19.4%, 617 nm, 44 nm, and (0.64, 0.36), respectively. The electroluminance performances of the 4CzTPN sensitized device are higher than those of the 4CzIPN-based device, which is attributed to a higher Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) rate and reduced intersystem crossing/reverse intersystem crossing (ISC/RISC) cycles of the former. Also, the 4CzTPN-based HF device shows a longer device lifetime (LT90) of 954 h than the 4CzIPN-baed device (LT90 of 57 h) at 3000 cd m–2. The higher device stability is due to the higher bond dissociation energies (BDEs) of 4CzTPN and 4tBuMB than that of 4CzIPN.
Since the European Union (EU) announced their animal testing ban in 2013, all animal experiments related to cosmetics have been prohibited, creating a demand for alternatives to animal experiments ...for skin studies. Here, we investigated whether an ex vivo live porcine skin model can be employed to study the safety and skin barrier-improving effects of hydroxyacids widely used in cosmetics for keratolytic peels. Glycolic acid (1-10%), salicylic acid (0.2-2%), and lactobionic acid (1.2-12%) were used as representative substances for α-hydroxyacid (AHA), β-hydroxyacid (BHA), and polyhydroxyacid (PHA), respectively. When hydroxyacids were applied at high concentrations on the porcine skin every other day for 6 days, tissue viability was reduced to 50-80%, suggesting that the toxicity of cosmetic ingredients can be evaluated with this model. Based on tissue viability, the treatment scheme was changed to a single exposure for 20 min. The protective effects of a single exposure of hydroxyacids on skin barrier function were evaluated by examining rhodamine permeability and epidermal structural components of barrier function using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and immunofluorescence (IF) staining. Lactobionic acid (PHAs) improved skin barrier function most compared to other AHAs and BHAs. Most importantly, trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL), an important functional marker of skin barrier function, could be measured with this model, which confirmed the significant skin barrier-protective effects of PHAs. Collectively, we demonstrated that the ex vivo live full-thickness porcine skin model can be an excellent alternative to animal experiments for skin studies on the safety and efficacy of cosmetic ingredients.
Biocides are widely used in household products. Humans are exposed to biocides through dermal, inhalational, and oral routes. However, information on the dermal and inhalational toxicity of biocides ...is limited. We evaluated the effects of biocides on the skin and airways using the reconstructed human epidermis model KeraSkin™ and the airway model SoluAirway™. We determined the irritancy of 11 commonly used biocides (1,2-benzisothiazol-3(2H)-one BIT, 2-phenoxyethanol PE, zinc pyrithione, 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol, 3-iodoprop-2-ynyl N-butylcarbamate IPBC, 2-octyl-1,2-thiazol-3-one, 2,2-dibromo-2-cyanoacetamide, 4-chloro-3-methylphenol CC, 2-phenylphenol, deltamethrin, and 4,5-dichloro-2-octyl-1,2-thiazol-3-one) in the KeraSkin™ and SoluAirway™ by viability and histological examinations. BIT and CC were found to cause skin irritation at the approved concentrations or at the concentration close to approved limit while the others were non-irritants within the approved concentration. These results were confirmed via histology, wherein skin irritants induced erosion, vacuolation, and necrosis of the tissue. In the SoluAirway™, most of the biocides decreased cell viability even within the approved limits, except for PE, IPBC, and deltamethrin, suggesting that the airway may be more vulnerable to biocides than the skin. Taken together, our result indicates that some biocides can induce toxicity in skin and airway. Further studies on the dermal and inhalational toxicity of biocides are warranted.
•11 biocides were evaluated for skin and airway irritation using reconstructed human tissue model.•Tissue viability and histology were examined to evaluate the tissue damages.•Biocides exhibited distinct profiles of irritation potential against skin and airway.
•BPA showed the highest acute toxicity and then BPF and BPS.•BPA, BPF, and BPS were found to cause adverse effect in life parameters.•Both intracellular ROS level and GST activity were significantly ...increased upon bisphenol analogs exposure.•Expression of defensomes showed inverse relationship between the lipophilicity of bisphenol analogs in response to bisphenol analogs.•BPA and BPF were found to have significant modulation in the expression of CYP and GST genes.
To understand the adverse outcome in response to bisphenol A and its analogs bisphenol F and S (BPA, BPF, and BPS), we examined acute toxicity, life parameter, and defensome in the marine rotifer Brachionus koreanus. Among the bisphenol analogs, BPA showed the highest acute toxicity and then BPF and BPS, accordingly in the view of descending magnitude of toxicity. In life parameters including life span and reproduction, BPA, BPF, and BPS were found to cause adverse effect. Both intracellular ROS level and GST activity were significantly increased (P < 0.05) in response to each dosage of bisphenol analogs exposures. In response to bisphenol analogs, defensomes of phase I, II, and III detoxification mechanism demonstrated inverse relationship between the lipophilicity of bisphenol analogs and the expression patterns of defensomes. BPA and BPF were found to have significant modulation (P < 0.05) in the expression of cytochrome P450 (CYP) and GST genes. In phase III, BPS with comparatively lower lipophilicity demonstrated highly diversified expressional pattern, suggesting that BPS is likely caused less toxicity compared to BPA and BPF. In this study, via phase I, II, and III detoxification mechanism, bisphenol A and its analogs F and S demonstrated specific detoxification mechanism in rotifer.
Compensatory elevation in NREM sleep EEG delta power has been typically observed following prolonged wakefulness and widely used as a sleep homeostasis indicator. However, recent evidence in human ...and rodent chronic sleep restriction (CSR) studies suggests that NREM delta power is not progressively increased despite of accumulated sleep loss over days. In addition, there has been little progress in understanding how sleep EEG in different brain regions responds to CSR. Using novel high-density EEG electrode arrays in the mouse model of CSR where mice underwent 18-h sleep deprivation per day for 5 consecutive days, we performed an extensive analysis of topographical NREM sleep EEG responses to the CSR condition, including period-amplitude analysis of individual slow waves. As previously reported in our analysis of REM sleep responses, we found different patterns of changes: (i) progressive decrease in NREM sleep duration and consolidation, (ii) persistent enhancement in NREM delta power especially in the frontal and parietal regions, and (iii) progressive increases in individual slow wave slope and frontal fast oscillation power. These results suggest that multiple sleep-wake regulatory systems exist in a brain region-specific manner, which can be modulated independently, especially in the CSR condition.
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