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Dust at Various Workplaces-Microbiological and Toxicological Threats.

ABSTRACT: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relation between the chemical (analysis of elements and pH) and microbiological composition (culture and metagenomics analysis) of the dust at various workplaces (cement plant, composting plant, poultry farm, and cultivated area) and the cytotoxicity effect on the human adenocarcinoma lung epithelial adherent cell line A-549 (MTT assay test). Analysis of the Particulate Matter (PM) fraction showed that the dust concentration in cultivated areas exceeded the OELs. For the remaining workplaces examined, the dust concentration was lower than OELs limits. The number of microorganisms in the dust samples was 3.8 × 10²⁻1.6 × 10⁸ CFU/g bacteria and 1.5 × 10²⁻6.5 × 10⁶ CFU/g fungi. The highest number of microorganisms was noted for dust from cultivated areas (total number of bacteria, actinomycetes, P. fluorescens) and composting plants (xerophilic fungi and staphylococci), while the least number of microorganisms was observed for dust from cement plants. Many types of potentially pathogenic microorganisms have been identified, including bacteria, such as Bacillus, Actinomyces, Corynebacterium, Prevotella, Clostridium, and Rickettsia, and fungi, such as Alternaria, Cladosporium, Penicillium, and Aspergillus. The most cytotoxic to the human lung cell line A-549 was dust from cultivated areas (IC₅₀ = 3.8 mg/mL after 72 h). The cytotoxicity of the tested dust samples depends on the PM concentration, the number of microorganisms, including potentially pathogenic genera, and the exposure time.

SUBMITTER: Gutarowska B

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5981916 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:The aim of this study was to analyse the quality of indoor air in sport facilities in one of the sport centres in Poland with respect to microclimatic parameters (temperature, humidity, and air flow velocity), particulate matter concentrations (PM10, PM4, PM2.5, and PM1), gas concentrations (oxygen, ozone, hydrogen sulphide, sulphur dioxide, volatile organic compounds, and benzopyrene), and microbial contamination (the total number of bacteria, specifically staphylococci, including Staphylococcus aureus, haemolytic bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas fluorescens, actinomycetes, and the total number of fungi and xerophilic fungi). Measurements were made three times in May 2022 at 28 sampling points in 5 different sporting areas (the climbing wall, swimming pool, swimming pool changing room, and basketball and badminton courts) depending on the time of day (morning or afternoon) and on the outside building. The obtained results were compared with the standards for air quality in sports facilities. The air temperature (21-31 °C) was at the upper limit of thermal comfort, while the air humidity (RH < 40%) in the sports halls in most of the locations was below demanded values. The values for dust pollution in all rooms, except the swimming pool, exceeded the permissible limits, especially in the afternoons. Climatic conditions correlated with a high concentration of dust in the indoor air. Particulate matter concentrations of all fractions exceeded the WHO guidelines in all researched premises; the largest exceedances of standards occurred for PM2.5 (five-fold) and for PM10 (two-fold). There were no exceedances of gaseous pollutant concentrations in the air, except for benzopyrene, which resulted from the influence of the outside air. The total number of bacteria (5.1 × 101-2.0 × 104 CFU m-3) and fungi (3.0 × 101-3.75 × 102 CFU m-3) was exceeded in the changing room and the climbing wall hall. An increased number of staphylococci in the afternoon was associated with a large number of people training. The increased concentration of xerophilic fungi in the air correlated with the high dust content and low air humidity. Along with the increase in the number of users in the afternoon and their activities, the concentration of dust (several times) and microorganisms (1-2 log) in the air increased by several times and 1-2 log, respectively. The present study indicates which air quality parameters should be monitored and provides guidelines on how to increase the comfort of those who practice sports and work in sports facilities.

Project description:Investigating the impact of diet on public health using risk-benefit assessment (RBA) methods that simultaneously consider both beneficial and adverse health outcomes could be useful for shaping dietary policies and guidelines. In the field of food safety and nutrition, RBA is a relatively new approach facing methodological challenges and being subject to further developments. One of the methodological aspects calling for improvement is the selection of components to be considered in the assessment, currently based mainly on non-harmonized unstandardized experts' judgment. Our aim was to develop a harmonized, transparent, and documented methodological framework for selecting nutritional, microbiological, and toxicological RBA components. The approach was developed under the Novel foods as red meat replacers-an insight using Risk-Benefit Assessment methods (NovRBA) case study, which attempted to estimate the overall health impact of replacing red meat with an edible insect species, Acheta domesticus. Starting from the compositional profiles of both food items, we created a "long list" of food components. By subsequently applying a series of predefined criteria, we proceeded from the "long" to the "short list." These criteria were established based on the occurrence and severity of health outcomes related to these components. For nutrition and microbiology, the occurrence of health outcomes was evaluated considering the presence of a component in the raw material, as well as the effect of processing on the respective component. Regarding toxicology, the presence and exposure relative to reference doses and the contribution to total exposure were considered. Severity was graded with the potential contribution to the background diet alongside bioavailability aspects (nutrition), the disability-adjusted life years per case of illness of each hazard (microbiology), and disease incidence in the population, potential fatality, and lifelong disability (toxicology). To develop the "final list" of components, the "short list" was refined by considering the availability and quality of data for a feasible inclusion in the RBA model. The methodology developed can be broadly used in food RBA, to guide and reinforce a harmonized selection of nutritional, microbiological, and toxicological components and will contribute to facilitating RBA implementation, enabling the generation of transparent, robust, and comparable outcomes.

Project description:Documenting trophic niche partitioning and resource use within a community is critical to evaluate underlying mechanisms of coexistence, competition, or predation. Detailed knowledge about foraging is essential as it may influence the vital rates, which, in turn, can affect trophic relationships between species, and population dynamics. The aims of this study were to evaluate resource and trophic niche partitioning in summer/autumn between the endangered Atlantic-Gaspésie caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) population, moose (Alces americanus) and their incidental predators, the black bear (Ursus americanus) and coyote (Canis latrans), and to quantify the extent to which these predators consumed caribou. Bayesian isotopic analysis showed a small overlap in trophic niche for the two sympatric ungulates suggesting a low potential for resource competition. Our results also revealed that caribou occupied a larger isotopic niche area than moose, suggesting a greater diversity of resources used by caribou. Not surprisingly, coyotes consumed mainly deer (Odocoileus virginianus), moose, snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus), and occasionally caribou, while bears consumed mainly vegetation and, to a lesser extent, moose and caribou. As coyotes and bears also feed on plant species, we documented trophic niche overlap between caribou and their predators, as searching for similar resources can force them to use the same habitats and thus increase the encounter rate and, ultimately, mortality risk for caribou. Although the decline in the Gaspésie caribou population is mostly driven by habitat-mediated predation, we found evidence that the low level of resource competition with moose, added to the shared resources with incidental predators, mainly bears, may contribute to jeopardize the recovery of this endangered caribou population. Highlighting the trophic interaction between species is needed to establish efficient conservation and management strategies to insure the persistence of endangered populations. The comparison of trophic niches of species sharing the same habitat or resources is fundamental to evaluate the mechanisms of coexistence or competition and eventually predict the consequences of ecosystem changes in the community.

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Dust at Various Workplaces-Microbiological and Toxicological Threats.

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