Photoinitiators are highly photoactive compounds included in the formulations of UV curing printing inks and varnishes. Twenty five of those photoinitiators can be found in the bibliography regarding food packaging migration and analytical methods with an increasing interest in the last 9 years because of the foodstuffs contamination with 2-isopropylthioxanthone detected in 2005. An overview about migration of photoinitiators in food packaging is firstly given in terms of Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed notifications, mechanisms of migration, and specific migration limits. Besides set off, a migration model based on diffusion and partition coefficients is considered to analyse the factors affecting migration: physicochemical properties of the photoinitiator, characteristics of the foodstuffs and food simulants, temperature and packaging. Molecular weight, volatility, polarity and lipophilicity are considered as the main physicochemical properties of the photoinitiators playing a role in migration. In relation with the food packaging, information from published works is reviewed, taking into account the special migration behaviour of paper and cartonboard as well as the efficiency of different plastic films as barriers to avoid or reduce migration. Results of the application of the migration model are compared with reported data from the bibliography. Finally, the use of polymeric multifunctional photoinitiators is concluded as the best option for ultraviolet curing inks and varnishes to print food packaging. They have higher molecular weight together with fewer and lower volatility photodecomposition byproducts and a higher probability than conventional photoinitiators of being bound into the cured polymer matrix.

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Abstract:Since the 1970s, interest in caring for the environment has gained traction and the environmental education movement has gained momentum. The Talloires Declaration was the first document to incorporate sustainable development into higher education. After that, higher education institutions assumed the social responsibility of training human resources with a sustainable vision. This study aimed to contribute to the design of indicators that could be used to evaluate the efficacy of the sustainability taught at the Universidad Autónoma de Guerrero (Autonomous University of Guerrero) in Mexico. We administered a survey to 63 teachers and 511 students from four academic units in high schools, and undergraduate and postgraduate programs. The answers were analyzed using the F-test and the variable descriptions. For the environmental, social and economic indicators, the satisfaction levels of teachers and students were more positive in graduate and undergraduate programs than in the high school. To determine the efficacy of the teaching function in terms of sustainable education, as well as to fulfill the commitments acquired to achieve sustainability, institutional processes need to be strengthened.

Mouse hepatitis virus A59 (MHV A59) induces autoantibodies (autoAb) to fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase (FAH), a soluble cytosolic enzyme present in the liver and kidneys, in various mouse strains. The aim of this work was to amplify and diversify the autoimmune response restricted to FAH through the use of the exogenous adjuvant called PADRE. Accordingly, C57BL/6 mice were chosen, because these animals respond to PADRE better than other mouse strains. Results presented herein indicate that, surprisingly, C57BL/6 mice developed signs of autoimmune hepatitis-like disease (AIH), including transient hypergammaglobulinemia, elevated transaminases, autoAb directed against different liver proteins and hepatic cellular infiltrates, indicating that a new model of experimental AIH could be generated by a viral inoculation. Furthermore, PADRE administration amplified the MHV effect, extending the duration of hypergammaglobulinemia and increasing the binding of autoAb as well as the degree of hepatic infiltrates. However, the adjuvant did not expand the time of the symptoms. Additionally, since plasmatic uric acid and high-mobility group box protein 1 (HGMB1) concentrations augmented in MHV- and/or PADRE-treated mice, it is suggested that both alarmins were probably involved in the spreading of the immune response induced by the viral infection and the adjuvant administration.