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Recent Trends in Bio-Medical Waste, Challenges and Opportunities
Published in K. Gayathri Devi, Kishore Balasubramanian, Le Anh Ngoc, Machine Learning and Deep Learning Techniques for Medical Science, 2022
Biomedical waste includes solids, liquids, sharps, and laboratory waste, which are all generated as a result of human and animal healthcare activities. It is dangerous because it has a high potential for damage, not only to people but also to the environment if it is not properly managed. As a consequence, sanitation of medical waste is an important step in minimising the risks of handling and transportation. This major advancement also provides assurance to hospital administrations in charge of hazardous waste for as long as it presents a threat. The four main kinds of biomedical waste are clinical garbage, laboratory rubbish, nonclinical trash, and kitchen trash. Despite the fact that infectious or hazardous hospital trash makes only a small proportion of total medical waste, it is a hot topic among the public owing to ethical issues and potential health risks. The bulk of hazardous and toxic waste is generated in hospitals and clinics. Domestic and industrial sources make up a small percentage of the total. At the very least, the first two categories should be a significant cause of concern for everyone engaged in healthcare operations. As a consequence, all medical institutions should have sufficient medical waste disposal equipment. If not, a variety of accidents may occur, and healthy people could get ill simply as a result of not being careful enough while handling medical waste.
Environmental Exposures and Reproduction *
Published in Michele Kiely, Reproductive and Perinatal Epidemiology, 2019
A few environmental toxicants, the most notable being lead, have long been recognized as reproductive hazards.1-3 However, the study of toxicants found in the environment and their effects on development and reproduction, in general, is a relatively new field of interest. Clear-cut understanding of types, levels and sources of environmental exposures, and studies of their effects, have been rare. More recent environmental concerns of toxic waste sites and contaminated drinking water have resulted in a number of such studies, and there will undoubtedly be many more in the coming years.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Practical and Theoretical Considerations
Published in Brian J. Lukey, James A. Romano, Salem Harry, Chemical Warfare Agents, 2019
It should be noted that an older type of AC, ASC carbon, also impregnated with the salts of metals, had been used for approximately 50 years in military chemical warfare filters. The inorganic metallic salts impregnated within this carbon were copper, silver, and chromium (in its hexavalent form; i.e., chromium 6). Chromium 6 is regarded as a carcinogen, possibly exposing the warfighter’s eyes, respiratory system, and GI tract to a carcinogen should any of the carbon become dislodged. Consequently, it was considered a hazardous material, necessitating the use of an expensive toxic waste disposal protocol, and subsequently, its usage has been abandoned. Test results show that the protection provided by ASZM-TEDA carbon and ASC carbon is almost the same (Morrison, 2002). The older ASC carbon can be found in the C2 military filter (canister colored black), filters for the M17 series of field-protective masks, and many earlier chemical warfare filters.
Development a high-throughput zebrafish embryo acute toxicity testing method based on OECD TG 236
Published in Toxicology Mechanisms and Methods, 2023
Shisan Xu, Fengyan Chen, Huan Zhang, Zhen-lie Huang, Jianjun Li, Desheng Wu, Xueping Chen
As an embryo acute toxicity testing model, zebrafish have several advantages, including the observation of numerous endpoints. Compared with the OECD 236 guidelines, we did not use the lack of somite as a mortality endpoint. This is underscored by the fact that we never observed zebrafish embryo die with the only symptom being lack of somite. This symptom was always included together with no heartbeat or tailbud non-detachment symptoms. In the present study, a 96-well microtiter plate was used (instead of 24-well plate) to perform the exposure assay. This modification can reduce the chemical used for the test and reduce toxic waste disposal. It was reported that smaller exposure volume may result to reduced chemical absorption and increased LC50 (Cassar et al. 2019). However, our experiments indicate that using a 96-well plate instead of a 24-well plate did not significantly affect testing results (Figure 2(C and B)). In our modified method, conserving the volume of the toxicity testing chemical and increasing the number of samples leads to a higher throughput assay.
The relationship between UGT1A1 gene & various diseases and prevention strategies
Published in Drug Metabolism Reviews, 2022
Dan Liu, Qi Yu, Qing Ning, Zhongqiu Liu, Jie Song
UGT1A1 may play an important role in preventing the development of coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease. Due to the neurotoxicity and hepatotoxicity of bilirubin, it is only considered a metabolic toxic waste in the body. However, recent studies have shown that low levels of bilirubin are significantly associated with cardiovascular disease, which may be due to the strong antioxidant properties of bilirubin (Franchini et al. 2010). A prospective study found that (TA)7/(TA)7 genotypes had significantly higher levels of bilirubin and a lower risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease than those in the wild-type (TA)6 allele. Data developed in the past convincingly demonstrate the protective effect of a slightly elevated serum bilirubin concentration (Sung et al. 2013). But what is this slightly elevated standard? Without comprehensive investigation of other factors including smoking and drinking, it is difficult to have an accurate description. It is strongly recommended to design large-scale epidemiological studies properly. Based on these data, a clear decision limit for the lower concentration value of serum bilirubin is highly warranted. Finally, we summarized UGT1A1 related hepatobiliary diseases and prevention strategies, as shown in Table 1.
The Four Pandemics
Published in Smith College Studies in Social Work, 2020
The following factors identified by Wezereck (2020) shorten life expectancy for Black people: Continued residential segregation that creates conditions that contribute to poor health outcomes such as overcrowding. I would add less access to green spaces and healthy food sources.Working in high-risk occupations where it is more difficult to quarantine.Living in areas of high environmental risk. As Gilio-Whitaker (2019, pp. 19) points out, 3/5 of African Americans ½ of Native Americans live in areas with high levels of toxic waste.Less access to health care – both due to less insurance coverage and less access to quality services.Racism that comes from a largely white medical establishment, which includes misdiagnosis, under treatment, less management of pain, less attention to counseling about life-style factors, stereotypes and racial microaggressions.