Magister Scientiae (Physiotherapy) - MSc(Physio) / Background: Health risk behaviours can directly affect health outcomes. Healthy behaviours such as exercising and eating sensibly can lower the risk of conditions like heart disease and diabetes, while unhealthy behaviours such as smoking and excessive drinking raise the risk of conditions like lung cancer and liver disease. In a study using two large national data sets, the Youth Risk Behaviour Survey (YRBS) and Add Health, the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) found that teenagers who consume alcohol or take illicit drugs are more likely to engage in sex, to do so at a younger age, and to have several partners. For adolescents who are 14 years old and younger, consuming alcohol or using drugs doubles and quadruples, respectively, the likelihood that sexual intercourse has ever been experienced compared to adolescents who have never used these substances. A study reported that early onset of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, school problems, delinquency, and physical aggression are significantly associated with early onset of sexual behaviour. Alcohol use in adolescence has also been found to be related to more frequent sexual activity and less frequent use of condoms. Aim: To investigate and explore the effect of a youth development programme (YDP) of combatting health risk behaviours amongst 250 Grade 8 learners in a selected high school in the Paarl area.

This study determined the concentrations of lead and cadmium in edible parts of Colocasia esculenta, Amaranthus spp.and Ipomoea batata cultivated on farms in industrially polluted sections of Nyabugogo Marsh in Kigali, Rwanda. The concentrations in all three crops exceeded European Union (EU) standards for metal concentration in food crops. C. esculenta roots (Taro) contained the highest concentration of lead (1.02 mg kg-1) and cadmium (0.56 mg kg-1), approximately ten and six times over the EU limits, respectively. Even though I. batata (sweet potato) contained the lowest concentrations of lead (0.75 mg kg-1), this is almost eight times the upper limit. The highest bioaccumulation factors (the ratio of plant metal concentration to that of the soil in which it is found growing) for both metals were observed in amaranth plants. The concentrations of lead and cadmium in the farm soils were all acceptable based on EU standards (300mg kg-1 for lead and 3mg kg-1 respectively. The average daily consumption by an adult in the community living around the Marsh and where some of the produce is sold is 50g of amaranth, 120g of taro and 180g of sweet potato. Based on the metal concentration and these rates of consumption, the daily dietary intake of lead by an adult in the community from amaranth, taro and sweet potato is 1 x 10-4, 3 x 10-4 and 4 x 10-4 mg kg-1 respectively. The daily intake of cadmium is 4 x 10-4, 1.7 x 10-4 and 1.2 x 10-4 mg kg-1 for amaranth, taro and sweet potato respectively. These metal intakes are well within the recommendations set forth by the World Health Organisation. The community also has access to multiple sources of dietary and non dietary zinc such as beans, milk and rain water collected from zinc coated roofing sheets, which serves to ameliorate the effects of cadmium. It is however worth noting that survey data may have yielded overestimates of these zinc sources, due to the conditions under which the surveys were conducted i.e. in the hearing of neighbors due to the cramped nature of housing, which may have prompted respondents to inflate consumption quantities of expensive food items. The calculated maximum recommended quantities for daily intake of the crops are very large and are unlikely to be consumed by the population i.e. >2kg of amaranth, >2 kg of taro and 3 kg of sweet potato per day for an adult. Additionally, because this is a poor community, access to such quantities of food on a daily basis is not likely. The community is therefore not exposed to health risks from consuming metal contaminated crops, largely because of the small quantities consumed. The local population is therefore at no immediate risk to exceeding metal consumption limits by consuming vegetables grown in the Nyabugogo Marsh, but the threats will likely increase if the pollution of the Marsh is not addressed.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare relationships between dietary and physical activity (PA) behaviors and body composition and body fat distribution, as measured by percent body fat (BF%), waist-to-height ratio (WHt), waistto- hip ratio (WHp) and body mass index (BMI) in post-menopausal women (Post), with the same relationships in pre-menopausal women (Pre). METHODS: Ninety-two subjects (n = 48 Post; n = 44 Pre) were measured for height, weight, waist and hip circumferences and skinfold thicknesses. Dietary content was obtained from a Diet History Questionnaire (DHQ II); PA was estimated from responses to the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). RESULTS: Multiple regression identified no modifiable predictor variables for Pre. Models for Post identified saturated fat grams (SFGs), PA, years postmenopause (YrsPost), and Alcohol (Alc) as predictors of WHt, WHp, BMI and BF%. CONCLUSIONS: PA, SFG and Alc are modifiable variables related to postmenopausal body composition and fat distribution. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Estudos de coeficiente de partição mostram que o valor de Kp do metal pode variar ordens de grandeza conforme as características físico-químicas do solo. Portanto, o Kp é um parâmetro sensível no modelo de avaliação de risco à saúde humana, e normalmente é um valor nominal adotado por agências ambientais que pode não representar adequadamente o solo em estudo e implicar erros no cálculo do risco. Este trabalho tem como objetivos: avaliar a contaminação do solo adjacente à usina termoelétrica de Figueira por metais tóxicos; determinar o Kp dos metais As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mo, Ni, Pb e Zn no solo pela razão entre a concentração do metal obtida por digestão com HNO3 concentrado e a concentração do metal obtida por extração com EDTA 0,05 mol L-1 (KpEDTA) ou Ca(NO3)2 0,1 mol L-1 (KpCa(NO3)2); e avaliar a influência do uso dos diferentes valores de Kp no modelo de avaliação de risco à saúde humana C-Soil no cálculo do risco. As principais conclusões foram: os metais contaminantes do solo de Figueira foram As, Cd, Mo, Pb e Zn, e o As foi o elemento mais crítico; tanto o valor de KpCa(NO3)2 quanto o de KpEDTA poderiam ser utilizados no cálculo do risco à saúde humana, no caso de Figueira, exceto para o Pb, mas o KpEDTA seria mais recomendado, por apresentar valores com menor dispersão; os valores nominais de KpCSoil dos metais poderiam ser utilizados para o cálculo de risco à saúde humana no caso de Figueira, ou seja, não teria necessidade de se determinar valores de Kp locais (KpEDTA e KpCa(NO3)2), exceto para o Pb. / Studies of partition coefficient show that Kp values of metals can vary orders of magnitude according to the soil physical-chemistry characteristics. Therefore, the Kp is a sensible parameter in human health risk assessment model. In general, a default value is adopted by environmental agencies and often it is not represent suitably the soil studied and can cause errors in the risk calculation. The objectives of this work are: evaluate the heavy metals soil contamination around the Figueira coal-fired power plant; determine the metal Kp of As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mo, Ni, Pb and Zn in soil by the ratio between the metal concentration obtained by concentrate HNO3 digestion and the metal concentration obtained by extraction with EDTA 0,05 mol L-1 (KpEDTA) or Ca(NO3)2 0,1 mol L-1 (KpCa(NO3)2); and evaluate the influence of the application of different Kp values in human health risk assessment C-Soil model in risk calculation. The main conclusions of the present study were: As, Cd, Mo, Pb e Zn were the Figueira soil metal contaminants, being As the pollunt of major human health concern; either KpCa(NO3)2 or KpEDTA values could be used for human health risk calculation, in Figueira case, except for Pb, and the KpEDTA values were preferably recommended due to the less dispersion of their values; the KpCSoil metals default values could be applied for the human health risk calculation in Figueira case, in other words, it would not have necessity to determine Kp values of region (KpEDTA and KpCa(NO3)2), except to Pb.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether an educational tobacco intervention impacted college students' perceptions relative to tobacco, self-efficacy, and perceived stress levels. The Health Belief Model (HBM) provided a theoretical framework to distinguish differences relative to tobacco between groups. Both the control (N=155) and intervention (N=184) group consisted of a convenience sample of students from a 2000-level health course. A pre- and post-test questionnaire was administered to both groups which included questions regarding demographics, tobacco use, HBM, self-efficacy, and perceived stress. Data analysis included frequency counts, confirmatory factor analysis, Cronbach's alpha, and two-way ANOVA. Two-way ANOVA results indicated statistically significant differences for the Health Belief Model questions (p=0.002) and self-efficacy items (p=0.03). No statistical significance was found regarding perceived stress. These findings provide evidence an educational tobacco intervention administered at the college level can have a significant impact on students. / by Kelley E. Rhoads. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2012. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Thesis (MTech(Environmental Health)--Cape Technikon, Cape Town,1997 / The study project researched the quality of the investigations and the institutional transfer of data regarding notifiable food poisoning outbreaks reflected in "the study region", that is to say North-, East- and Western Cape Provinces. In comparing the data of the central-, provincial- and local governments' total notifiable food poisoning outbreaks notifications for specific local areas, problems relating to incomplete and poor data, poorly completed reports and ignorance of health workers re notifiable medical conditions were identified. Various conclusions and recommendations were made for "the purpose of future improvements.

Increasing the independence of students with disabilities involves an in-depth assessment of their inclusion in driver’s education. This study addresses (a) the plight of disabled students within the state of New Jersey who are unable to access driver’s education, despite the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act; (b) the need to evaluate the potential role of health educators in conducting individualized health assessments to determine the readiness, motivation, and self-efficacy of students with disabilities to participate in driver’s education; (c) the perceived benefits and barriers to the participation of students with disabilities in driver’s education including the need for individually tailored accommodations; and (d) whether the goal of driving is appropriate and accessible for students with disabilities. A case-study approach was used in this research to evaluate the innovative practice of school health educators conducting individualized health assessments of current students and some graduates of the study-site university. The school implemented the described innovation during the academic years of 2007-08 and 2008-09. This research was also designed with a mixed-method approach including quantitative data limited to frequencies and percentages and qualitative data collected from student interviews. The findings indicate that the ability of students with disabilities to drive is beneficial to their quality of life. Driving significantly impacts the self-esteem, independence, and personal freedom of this population, as well as their overall freedom to travel.

ContexteDe nombreux facteurs influencent l’exposition des agriculteurs aux produits phytopharmaceutiques (PP) : facteurs techniques (matériel de pulvérisation, forme et type des PP employés), agronomiques (pression parasitaire, doses employées, type de culture) et humains. La perception d'un risque est un facteur déterminant du comportement humain face à celui-ci. La perception du risque phytosanitaire chez les agriculteurs et ses conséquences sur l'exposition aux substances actives des utilisateurs sont peu étudiées.ObjectifL’objectif de ce travail est d’évaluer comment la perception du risque influe sur les pratiques des agriculteurs. Il vise aussi à décrire et évaluer les déterminants de cette perception, et leurs impacts sur le risque sanitaire des utilisateurs de PP. Méthode.Des entretiens individuels sont menés pour évaluer la perception du risque auprès d’utilisateurs de PP. Des mesures et modélisations d’exposition complètent ces observations. Les mesures se focalisent sur les paramètres influencés par la perception du risque décrits lors des entretiens. Les résultats des mesures d’exposition sont comparés aux pratiques observées et servent à qualifier et quantifier l’impact de la perception sur le risque sanitaire.RésultatsCe travail montre que la perception des agriculteurs du risque liés aux PP est empirique et se base sur des critères tels que l'odeur, le type, la forme ou l'efficacité des produits pour estimer le risque. Les comportements des agriculteurs pour réduire leur exposition sont corrélés à leur perception des produits employés. L'utilisation des équipements de protection individuelle (EPI) est le marqueur le plus fort de la perception. Plus le risque est perçu comme important, plus l'utilisation d'EPI est élevée. Mais les pratiques de réduction du risque ne sont pas toujours efficaces pour réduire l'exposition. En effet, les mesures d'exposition réalisées montrent que les opérateurs, même utilisateurs d'EPI, n'ont pas conscience des phénomènes de contaminations indirectes (cabine des tracteurs, environnement de travail). Combinés à un mauvais usage fréquent des EPI (réutilisation d'EPI à usage unique, utilisation partielle ou inadaptée), ces défauts de perception jouent sur l'exposition aux PP.Les modélisations et mesure d’exposition en fonction des pratiques observées ont permis de quantifier les conséquences sanitaires de ces comportements. Il ressort que le risque sanitaire lors de l'utilisation des PP dans le cadre des bonnes pratiques est acceptable. Cependant ces bonnes pratique sont théoriques et les observations montrent que les opérateurs ont des comportements qui s'éloignent des bonnes pratiques et les exposent aux PP, mais ces comportements ne sont pas perçus comme tels. Le risque sanitaire associé aux pratiques est très individuel et difficilement généralisable. Cependant, ce travail exploratoire a permis de mettre à jour des profils de risque et de décrire les déterminants forts de la perception. La sensation de maîtrise du risque est le déterminant clef dans l'acceptation du risque par les agriculteurs. ConclusionCe travail montre que la perception du risque joue un rôle décisif dans l'exposition totale des agriculteurs aux PP. Le risque sanitaire est sensiblement dépendant de la perception du risque. Les politiques de prévention des risques doivent s'appuyer sur cet aspect afin d'adapter les messages et d'éduquer les opérateurs aux pratiques exposantes telles que la contamination indirecte ou le mauvais usage des EPI, aujourd'hui peu pris en compte par les utilisateurs de pesticides. / IntroductionMany factors influence the exposure of farmers to pesticides. Technical (spraying equipment, type of pesticides used), agronomic (type of crop, doses used, frequency) and human factors. The perception of risk is a determinant key of human behavior and how human faces to risk. Pest risk perception among farmers and the consequences of exposure to active substances of farmers have not been clearly studied.AimsThe objective of this study is to evaluate how risk perception affects farmers' practices. It also aims to describe and assess the determinants of this perception, and their impact on the health risk of pesticides users.Individual interviews are conducted to describe the perception of risk of pesticides' users. Measurements and modeling of exposure complement these observations. The measures focus on the parameters influenced by the perception of risk described in the interviews. The results of exposure measurements are compared to practices observed and used to qualify and quantify the impact of perception on health risk.ResultsThis work shows that farmers' perceptions of risk related to pesticides used is empirical and based on criteria such as smell, type, form or effectiveness of products to estimate the risk. Farmers' behavior to reduce exposure is correlated with their perception of the products used. The use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is the strongest marker of perception. The higher the risk perceived, the greater the use of PPE is high. But the practical risk reductions are not always effective in reducing exposure. Indeed, exposure measurements show that operators, even in users of PPE, are unaware of indirect contamination (cab tractors, work environment). Combined with frequent misuse of PPE (reuse of disposable PPE, partial or improper use), these defects perception are increase exposure to pesticides.Modeling and exposure’s measurement based on observed practices are used to quantify the health consequences of these behaviors. It appears that the health risk of pesticides is acceptable when used as recommended. However, recommended practices are theoretical and observations show that operators have behaviors that deviate from recommended practices depending on pesticides used. But these behaviors are not perceived as risky. The health risks associated with individual practice is very difficult to generalize. However, this work highlights profiles of risk and describes strong determinants of perception. The risk-control feeling is the key determinant in risk acceptance by farmers.ConclusionThis work shows that the perception of risk plays a decisive role in the exposure to pesticide of farmers. The health risk is substantially dependent on the perception of risk. The risk prevention policies must support this risk perception to adapt messages and educate the operators to not adapted practices such as indirect contamination or improper use of PPE, few considered by some pesticides users.

The increase in global population witnessed over recent years poses major threats to the quality of the air we breathe. Coupled with population growth in many developed countries, often driven by immigration, there have been substantial increases in the populations of developing countries. At the same time, an increasing number of individuals live in urban environments. In order to assess risk of exposure to hazardous air pollutants (air toxics) in the inner city, where a susceptible population resides, data obtained from high school students in the New York and Los Angeles TEACH (Toxic Exposure Assessment: A Columbia-Harvard Study) studies, were analyzed, with the three main objectives to: 1). Assess, characterize, quantify and compare directly-measured personal air toxics exposures from New York and Los Angeles; 2). Assess, quantify and compare the concentrations and temporal and spatial variability of air toxics measured in the outdoor urban microenvironments of these two cities; 3). Determine if personal air toxics exposures could be modeled using available time-activity information, coupled with measured microenvironmental air pollution inputs. The main findings of this research revealed substantial differences between New York and Los Angeles in the quantity and quality of particle-associated personal air toxics exposures in these two cities. Students across cities exhibited similar levels of personal exposure to particulate matter (PM 2.5) and to high levels of sulfates (greater in Los Angeles than New York; both likely of vehicular traffic origin). Different patterns of exposure to particle-associated air toxics was observed in the two cities and across seasons. In New York, students demonstrated substantially higher exposures to iron, cobalt, and manganese, likely of subway origin, than their counterparts in Los Angeles, who exhibited higher exposures to calcium, aluminum, magnesium (likely of crustal origin). Across seasons, within cities, differences were also detected, with higher levels of air toxics exposures shown in New York in the winter than in the summer for nearly 80% of the analytes, similar to the general pattern (winter vs. fall) in Los Angeles. With respect to outdoor air toxics concentrations, in general terms, crustal sources of air toxics were detected in both cities, though in Los Angeles these levels tended to be higher than in New York, often significantly. Anthropogenic sources were evident in each of the cities to varying degrees. Sulfates were detected at comparable high levels across both cities, though the levels tended to be higher and variability of concentrations of this air pollutant was greater Los Angeles than New York, likely reflecting differences both in patterns of traffic and built environment. Various approaches taken to model spatial and temporal variability of outdoor air toxics concentrations using mixed procedures showed city-specific, spatial and temporal variance patterns of air toxics. Using location and time (day) inputs, in New York, Zn, Pt, and Sn were among the elements with highest spatial variability in the summer, whereas in the winter, Co and La (possibly of subway origin) showed high spatial-temporal variance. In Los Angeles on the other hand, highest spatial to temporal variance ratios were noted for Cs, Ni and K in the fall and Ni, As and Mg in the winter. Each city also revealed different patterns of temporally dominant air toxics, consistent with variable-in-time excursions in air toxics reflecting remote, upwind sources. Using regression modeling that accounted for the distribution of measured personal air toxics, coupled with available time-activity diary data from TEACH and assignment of those activities to specific measured microenvironments, modeling of personal exposures yielded generally strong coefficients of determination, explanatory power and could be cross-validated. Important findings included the role of the indoor environment in predicting personal exposures and the degree to which a small percentage of time spent in the transit environment could affect exposures to trace elements from this source. Although the majority of elements could be predicted in large part by indoor exposures, not simply as a reflection of outdoor air toxics concentrations, the inclusion of other microenvironments, in many cases substantially increased the predictive power of the models generated. The research pursued in this thesis project further details and underscores the risk of air toxics exposures of young residents of the inner city, which, unlike workplace and environmental standards that traditionally may have been based on single exposures, are characterized by exposures to low level complex mixtures of air toxics. In aggregate, these mixtures may have different health consequences than more intense single pollutant exposures. Data generated here may help to inform planning of air quality monitoring approaches in the inner city, as well as provide one template for predictive modeling of human exposures to air toxics in that complex environment, to reduce the need for direct personal measurements to assess exposure risk. This may ultimately contribute to approaches to mitigate air toxics exposures and its consequences for an expanding global population residing in the world's inner cities.

O uso de praguicidas na agricultura e pecuária pode acarretar sérios problemas à saúde dos seres humanos e dos animais. O controle da presença destas substâncias nos alimentos e no meio ambiente são um instrumento importante para minimizar o risco da exposição a estas substâncias. No Brasil, as informações sobre resíduos de praguicidas são insuficientes, especialmente quando se trata de produtos de origem animal. Um importante nutriente na dieta dos seres humanos é o ovo, principalmente na dieta infantil. De acordo com a FAO o Brasil ocupa o 7° lugar na produção de ovos com 1,72 milhões de dúzias por ano e um consumo per capita de 1,7 kg/ano (IBGE, 2003). Embora o consumo de ovos no Brasil seja um aspecto importante a maior parte da produção é exportada para outros países, principalmente, Arábia Saudita, China, Japão e Holanda. Este estudo foi desenvolvido no período de Janeiro de 2004 a Dezembro de 2006, um total de 150 amostras de ovos foram coletadas no mercado e avaliadas para a presença de resíduos de praguicidas organoclorados, organofosforados e piretróides. O método utilizado nas analises para determinar os resíduos de praguicidas nas amostras foi o DFG S19. Este método consiste em extração com solvente orgânico, etapa de partição com diclorometano e purificação com o emprego de cromatografia de permeação a gel e mini-coluna de sílica gel. Para a identificação e quantificação foi utilizada a metodologia analítica de cromatografia gasosa com detectores de captura de elétrons, nitrogênio/fósforo e fotométrico de chama. Os estudos de recuperação estiveram dentro da faixa de 70 a 120%. Os resultados das analises mostraram que o herbicida alacloro foi detectado em 0,7% das amostras analisadas e a sua contribuição para a ingestão diária crônica foi avaliada. Este praguicida não possui LMR em ovo, assim como o parâmetro de ingestão diária aceitável não foi estabelecido, porém a presença em ovo pode ser atribuída a alimentação dos animais e este praguicida devido a presença de cloro na molécula pode contribuir para o risco crônico à saúde humana. Embora apenas uma amostra tenha tido um resultado positivo, o controle dos alimentos destinados a população são um importante fator a ser controlado para garantir a saúde da população. / The use of pesticides in agriculture and livestock can cause serious problem for human beings and animal health. The control of these substances in food and in the environment is an important instrument to minimize these risks. In Brazil information about pesticide residues on food are insufficient, especially for animal products. An important nutrient supply on human diet is the egg, it provides several nutrients especially for children. According to FAO Brazil is the 7th in world ranking production and produces 1.72million dozen/year and the consumption is around 1.7 kg/year (IBGE, 2003). Despite of the Brazilian scene the consumption per capita almost of egg production is exported to other countries and the main countries are Saudi Arabia, China, Japan and Netherlands. The study was developed from January 2004 to 2006, 150 egg samples were collected from the national market and evaluated for pesticide residues of organochlorine, organophosphorus and pyrethroids pesticides. A multiresidue method were employed to determinate the pesticide in samples. The method uses an organic solvent extraction, a partition with dichloromethane and purification step by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and silica gel column. For identification and quantification it was used gas chromatography techinique with ECD, NPD and FPD detectors. The recoveries for the method were within 70 to 120%. The results of the analysis showed that the herbicide alachlor were detected in 0.7% of the samples and the chronic dietary intake was evaluated. The pesticide does not have a proper use in egg, no MRL established and no ADI parameter. The presence could be attributed to feed contamination and the contribution to health risk could be detached once it has a chlorine molecule which could contribute to chronic diseases. Although only one sample was positive to pesticide residues this result is important to food quality control and consumer health. It helps to emphasize the risk studies on pesticide residues on animal and vegetable food.