The widespread industrial application of nanotechnology has increased the number of workers exposed to engineered nanomaterials (ENMs), but it is not clear to what extent prevention guidance is practiced. Our aim was to explore the extent that companies manufacturing and/or using ENMs apply risk assessment and management measures. Thirty-four companies were surveyed with an international 35-item questionnaire investigating company and workforce features, types of ENM handled, and risk evaluation and preventive measures adopted. Among participating companies, 62% had a maximum of 10 employees. Metal-based nanomaterials were most frequently identified (73%). Environmental monitoring was performed by 41% of the companies, while engineering exposure controls were approximately reported by 50%. Information and training programs were indicated by 85% of the sample, only 9% performed specific health surveillance for ENM workers. Personal protective equipment primarily included gloves (100%) and eye/face protection (94%). This small-scale assessment can contribute to the limited amount of published literature on the topic. Future investigations should include a greater number of companies to better represent ENM workplaces and a direct access to industrial settings to collect information on site. Finally, deeper attention should be paid to define standardized frameworks for ENM risk assessment that may guide nano-specific preventive actions.
Introduction:An impairment of real-life social functioning has widely been reported in patients with schizophrenia, even when clinical remission has been achieved. Negative symptoms, cognitive deficits and impairment of social cognition are the disease-related variables mainly associated to poor functional out come.Aims:In the present study the above-mentioned disease-related variables were evaluated in a group of patients with schizophrenia and one of healthy controls (HC) in order to investigate their relative weight in affecting functional outcome.Methods:To both patients and HC the Quality of Life Scale and the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia Consensus Cognitive Battery (MATRICS-MCCB) were administered; the factor ’real-life motivation’ was extracted by the Quality of Life Scale.Results:Patients showed, with respect to HC, a deficit of learning abilities and speed of processing, as well as an impairment of the index of social cognition ’Managing emotions’. Multiple regression analysis showed that speed of processing and avolition explained 40% and 9%, respectively, of the variance for ’Common objects and activities’, as well as 27% and 8%, respectively, of that of ’Interpersonal relationships’.Conclusions:Our findings indicate that functional outcome in patients with schizophrenia is influenced by cognitive deficit and by avolition but it is not affected by the impairment of social cognition. However, the complexity of this construct suggest to consider further indices of social cognition before to draw definitive conclusions.Authors thank Compagnia di San Paolo-Neuroscience Call that funded the project Reward system and primary negative symptoms in schizophrenia'.
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