Continuous monitoring of body temperature for objective detection of health and safety risks in construction sites: An analysis of the accuracy and comfort of off-the-shelf wearable sensors.

Recent studies have shown the potential of wearable sensors for objective detection of health and safety risks in construction workers through their collected physiological data. Body temperature, as the focus of the current study, is one of the most important physiological parameters that can help to detect various health and safety risks such as heat stress, physical fatigue, and infectious diseases. This study aims to assess the applicability and performance of off-the-shelf wearable sensor devices to monitor workers' body temperature in construction sites by evaluating the accuracy of temperature measurements as well as the comfort of the devices. A total of nine off-the-shelf wearable sensor devices available on the market were initially trialed in the laboratory, and three devices were shortlisted considering a set of selection criteria for further assessment. Over three weeks, the shortlisted wearable sensors were tested on 26 workers in two large construction sites in Australia. The reliability/validity of the selected wearable sensors in measuring body temperature was investigated using Bland-Altman analysis. Human factors were also investigated in terms of the comfort of the devices, their impact on workers' performance, and the acceptability of being worn for an extended period (i.e., 8 h or more). It was found that all selected devices measured body temperature with a bias of less than one indicating a slight difference in measurements compared to the reference hospital-grade thermometers. Two devices out of the three were also comfortable. The achieved results indicate that it is feasible to develop a continuous temperature monitoring platform using off-the-shelf wearable sensors to detect a range of significant health and safety risks in construction sites objectively. Considering the rapid advancements in manufacturing wearable sensors, future research can adopt a similar approach to include the newly introduced off-the-shelf temperature sensors and select the most appropriate device.

Assessment of genetic polymorphisms associated with malaria antifolate resistance among the population of Libreville, Gabon.

BACKGROUND: Gabon is a malaria-threatened country with a stable and hyperendemic transmission of Plasmodium falciparum monoinfection. Malaria drug resistance is widely spread in many endemic countries around the world, including Gabon. The molecular surveillance of drug resistance to antifolates and artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) is one of the strategies for combating malaria. As Plasmodium parasites continue to develop resistance to currently available anti-malarial drugs, this study evaluated the frequency of the polymorphisms and genetic diversity associated with this phenomenon among the parasites isolates in Gabon. METHODS: To assess the spread of resistant haplotypes among the malaria-infected population of Libreville, single nucleotide polymorphisms linked to sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) and artemisinin drugs resistance were screened for P. falciparum dihydrofolate reductase (Pfdhfr), P. falciparum dihydropteroate synthase (Pfdhps), and P. falciparum kelch 13-propeller domain (Pfk13) point mutations. RESULTS: The analysis of 70 malaria-positive patient samples screened for polymorphism showed 92.65% (n = 63) mutants vs. 7.35% (n = 5) wild parasite population in Pfdhfr, with high prevalence mutations at S108N(88.24%, n = 60), N51I(85.29%, n = 58), C59R(79.41%, n = 54); however, I164L(2.94%, n = 2) showed low frequency mutation. No wild haplotype existed for Pfdhps, and there were no mutations at the K540E, A581G, and A613T/S positions. However, the mutation rate at A437G(93.38%, n = 62) was the highest, followed by S436A/F(15.38%, n = 10). A higher frequency of quadruple IRNI-SGKAA (69.84%) than quintuple IRNI-(A/F)GKAA (7.94%) mutations was observed in the Pfdhfr-Pfdhps combination. Furthermore, none of the mutations associated with ACT resistance, especially those commonly found in Africa, were observed in Pfk13. CONCLUSIONS: High polymorphism frequencies of Pfdhfr and Pfdhps genes were observed, with alternative alanine/phenylalanine mutation at S436A/F (7.69%, n = 5) for the first time. Similar to that of other areas of the country, the patterns of multiple polymorphisms were consistent with selection owing to drug pressure. Although there was no evidence of a medication failure haplotype in the studied population, ACT drug efficacy should be regularly monitored in Libreville, Gabon.

In vitro assessment of the anti-inflammatory and skin-moisturizing effects of Filipendula palmata (Pall.) Maxim. On human keratinocytes and identification of its bioactive phytochemicals.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The meadowsweet family (genus Filipendula) includes about 30 species, which have been traditionally used in folk medicine to treat various inflammatory diseases. Particularily, F. palmata (Pall.) Maxim. (Siberian meadowsweet) were traditionally and widely used as an ethnic herb in the Oroqen application. AIM OF THE STUDY: Limited studies have been documented on most species, except for two main species, F. ulmaria (L.) Maxim. and F. vulgaris Moench. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory and skin-moisturizing effects of 70% ethanolic extract (FPE) of F. palmata on human epidermal keratinocytes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: HaCaT keratinocytes were treated with FPE under different conditions. Quantitative real time-PCR, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, western blotting methods were used to evaluate the effect and molecular mechanism of the cells treated with FPE. The bioactive compounds in FPE, which are responsible for biological activities, was explored using mass spectrometric analysis. RESULTS: FPE did not show a cytotoxic effect on the cells at concentrations below 200 µg/mL. FPE significantly suppressed the intracellular reactive oxygen species and mitochondrial superoxide of inflamed HaCaT cells induced by tumor necrosis factor-α and interferon-γ (T + I) and inflammatory chemokine genes and proteins, such as CC chemokine ligands (CCL5, CCL17, and CCL27) and CXC chemokine ligand (CXCL8). These anti-inflammatory activities of FPE were mediated by the downregulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) signaling pathways. In normal HaCaT cells, FPE significantly promoted the production of hyaluronic acid (HA) via the downregulation of hyaluronidase (HYAL1 and HYAL2) and upregulation of hyaluronic acid synthase (HAS1, HAS2, and HAS3) genes, and these effects seemed to be associated with the PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling. Ultraperformance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry indicated that FPE contains four flavonoids, including (+)-catechin, miquelianin, scutellarin, and quercitrin, as its major phytochemicals. Finally, we demonstrated that miquelianin and quercitrin contribute partially to the anti-inflammatory and HA-producing activity of FPE without cytotoxic effects on HaCaT cells. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that topical applications of FPE can be utilized as an alternative therapy for treating skin inflammation. Additionally, our findings serve as a reference in applying FPE as a functional ingredient to treat inflammatory skin diseases and promote skin health.

Pesticide residue monitoring and risk assessment in the herbal fruits Schisandra chinensis, Lycium chinense, and Cornus officinalis in Korea.

Schisandra chinensis, Lycium chinense, and Cornus officinalis are cultivated in South Korea, China and Japan. Because of their beneficial biological effectiveness, the consumption of these herbs is increasing. The objective of this study was to analyze the pesticide residue levels on these herbal fruits produced in Korea. A short- and long-term risk assessment of the pesticides in herbal fruits was conducted. Pesticides were detected in most samples, and all samples with multiple residues were also noted. The average numbers of pesticides detected in the S. chinensis, L. chinense, and C. officinalis samples were 1.84, 10.28, and 5.87, respectively. The short-term and highest long-term risks, and the cumulative risk (cHI) were 0.633%, 1.14%, and 7.56% (S. chinensis), 1.0 × 10-1%, 1.1 × 10-5%, and 4.0 × 10-5% (L. chinense), and 2.2 × 10-5%, 1.6 × 10-5%, and 8.9 × 10-5% (C. officinalis). No significant health risk for consumers via herbal fruit consumption was detected.