Lifestyle and Diet
Chuong Pham-Huy, Bruno Pham Huy in Food and Lifestyle in Health and Disease, 2022
Plastics are synthetic organic polymers. They are composed of hydrocarbons that are prepared from fossil fuel (petroleum) or other products under the action of heat (214). Plastics liberate their toxic monomers, bisphenol-A (BPA) and di-(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate (DEHP), during decomposition into the environment or during contact with foods or human tissues. BPA and DEHP are well-known strong endocrine disruptors which can interfere with human hormone systems, and consequently, can engender a number of diseases such as infertility, sex deformation, retardation of brain development in children, and cancers of prostate, breast, thyroid (213). At present, BPA has been one of the first plastic materials to be recognized for its potential harm by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (213). In response to such concerns, BPA also recently has been banned in the United States as well as in Canada and the European Union from use in infant bottles and spill-proof cups for toddlers. Do not heat or boil food in plastic containers by microwave. Replace plastic items with porcelain or glass objects. Detectable levels of bisphenol A have been found in the urine of 95% of the adult population of the United States (213).
Petrolatum: Conditioning Through Occlusion
Randy Schueller, Perry Romanowski in Conditioning Agents for Hair and Skin, 2020
The name Chesebrough chose for the petrolatum which he manufactured [Vaseline (13)] apparently was derived from the German word for water (Wasser) and the Greek word for oil (14). The basis for this name was a theory mentioned by Chesebrough in an earlier U.S. patent. He believed that Vaseline (i.e., petrolatum), consisting of carbon and hydrogen, was formed by the combination of hydrogen (from the decomposition of water) and carbon (from certain minerals in the earth). Today, it has been well established that petrolatum, and all the thousands, if not millions, of molecular components of crude petroleum, have their origins not from water, but from organic materials which have decomposed naturally under the surface of the earth's crust. A significant body of scientific evidence points to petroleum as having been derived from once-living organisms (plant and animal life), thus indicating that crude petroleum and its components are truly natural materials.
First-world finance: third-world poverty
Théodore H MacDonald in Health, Trade and Human Rights, 2018
Oil (which is priced in dollars) dropped in value and, in 1973, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) increased oil prices. This caused OPEC members to accumulate dollars, which they then deposited in first-world banks, principally in the USA. Of course, these US banks were having to pay interest on such deposits, and they found themselves with an immense amount of money that had to be lent out quickly and in volume so that – through collecting the interest on such loans – the US banks could afford to pay the interest on the OPEC members’ deposits. Impoverished third-world countries represented an ideal source of borrowers, and the banks were not too fussy about to whom they lent the money, or for what purpose. We are talking about routine business transactions here, not attempts to referee human dignity and rights. The debtor nation borrowers were generally keen to get their hands on easy loans. In the main this borrowing was to pay increased oil prices but, in addition, many of the debtor nations were recently independent countries and were anxious to build up public infrastructures in areas such as healthcare and education. However, as can easily be imagined, some were nations run by relatively corrupt administrations and/or sought an infusion of money to purchase arms, for instance, or even to reinforce the power of the ruling élite against their own people. The lenders, as already indicated, were not overly concerned about this.
A cross-sectional study on substandard and falsified medicines (fake or counterfeit drugs) in UK pharmacies during the COVID-19 pandemic
Published in Expert Opinion on Drug Safety, 2023
Ravina Barrett
Legislation: what is clear is that the Directive (FMD 2011/62/EC) [1] does not apply to unregulated medicines that are increasingly proliferating over the internet and through social media as well as the dark web. There is a strong sense of public outcry at the harms created by these substances and a need to consider interventions. While overwhelmingly there is evidence in low- to middle-income countries of falsification, there is a lack of acknowledgment of the growing illicit use or the use of licensed medication through illicit pathways in the UK and Europe. There is a lack of action to combat this phenomenon in a coordinated fashion, other than through this directive, which the UK no longer acts upon. Given Brexit, the UK has experienced some turbulence in drug sourcing and the Ukrainian crisis via oil prices, which will add to the baseline cost of medicines as a petroleum derivative. Given the geopolitical risks, at different price points, they may become indistinguishable from legitimate medication at face value/presentation.
Facilitating mindful safety practices among first-line workers in the Chinese petroleum industry through safety management practices and safety motivation
Published in International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics, 2022
Hu Shi, Siti Rohaida Mohamed Zainal
China has the largest population in the world at nearly 1400 million people. Moreover, China has 34 provincial administrative regions and, among them, there are 23 provinces, five autonomous regions, four municipalities and two special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Ma Cao) with a territory area of 96,000,000 km2. The petroleum resources are mainly concentrated in eight basins, which cover north, south, east and west Chinese territory. Therefore, it is impossible to cover all of the Chinese petroleum companies. Even one Chinese petroleum company has a large scale of oil production and employment. Due to this reality, several petroleum companies were contacted but only one Chinese petroleum company permitted the researchers to conduct the survey at its workplace. The targeted population in this study are first-line workers in the Chinese petroleum industry as they directly deal with oil extraction and production. The reason why only first-line workers are selected is because they are more likely to face potential hazards in the workplace and their safety behavior is closely related to the injury rate and safety records of the organization.
Recovery of Biosurfactant Using Different Extraction Solvent by Rhizospheric Bacteria Isolated from Rice-husk and Poultry Waste Biochar Amended Soil
Published in Egyptian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 2020
S. O. Adebajo, P. O. Akintokun, A. E. Ojo, A.K. Akintokun, O.A. Badmos
The hydrophobic nature of petroleum hydrocarbons hinder the potential of microbes to attack and degrade them because microbes generally exist and are active in aqueous phase. Bacteria and fungi are primary mediators in hydrocarbon degradation, and it is interesting that some of these hydrocarbon-degraders also appear to be closely related phylogenetically [10,11]. Fungal hyphal structures, increased surface area, extracellular enzymes and hydrophobic nature allow for better penetration and contact with hydrocarbons [12,13]. Hydrocarbon degradation capabilities that exist in bacteria include possession of degradative plasmids and other mobile genetic elements [14], surfactant production that facilitate emulsification of the hydrocarbons [15,16] and possession of specific catabolic enzymes like oxygenases and hydoxylases [17].
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