In accordance to a typical exposure scenario approx. 3 g of the formulation were applied to hands, arms, legs, feet, face and neck of each volunteer (approx. 50% of body surface). At least 26 piston hubs were applied from the pump spray bottle and residual content of

IR3535® in the selleck products bottle was determined thereafter by weighing. Subjects were permitted to take showers 12 h after application of the formulation. Urine samples from the subjects were collected in predetermined intervals (one hour before application, and then 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, 36 and 48 h after application). After determination of the total urine volume, two aliquots of 50 ml were stored at −20 °C. Blood samples (10 mL) were also taken at predefined time points (24 h before application, directly after application of IR3535®, and 0.5, 1,

1.5, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 24 h after application of IR3535®) by the supervising physician with heparinized syringes. Blood samples were immediately centrifuged for 15 min at 1 560 x g to separate erythrocytes and plasma. Plasma samples were then rapidly frozen and stored at −70 °C until further sample preparation and analysis. IR3535®1 and IR3535®-free acid 2 in urine and plasma http://www.selleckchem.com/products/ldk378.html were determined by LC–MS/MS using electrospray ionization. Processed plasma and urine samples were separated on a ReproSil Pur ODS3 HPLC column (2 mm × 150 mm; 5 μm; Maisch, Ammerbuch, Germany) using an Agilent 1100 autosampler and an Agilent 1100 HPLC-pump (Agilent, Waldbronn, Germany). Separation was performed by gradient elution with water containing 0.1% formic acid (solvent A)

and methanol (solvent B) using the following conditions: 90% A, 10% B, isocratic for 2 min, linear increase to 100% B within 10 min, followed by 100% B for 5 min, at a flow-rate of 200 μL/min. The HPLC-system was directly coupled to a triple stage quadrupole mass spectrometer (API 2000 Q-Trap, Applied Biosystems, Darmstadt, Germany). Analytes were detected in the positive-ion mode at a vaporizer temperature of 400 °C and a TurboIon® Spray voltage of +4.0 kV. Spectral data were recorded with nitrogen as collision gas (CAD = 4) in the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. Mass transitions Baricitinib monitored during the separation are listed in Table 3. The following mass transitions were used for quantification: m/z 180–110 for the internal standard phenacetin, m/z 216–170 for IR3535®1, and m/z 188–86 for IR3535®-free acid 2. Quantification of IR3535®1 and IR3535®-free acid 2 in human plasma was performed in 200 μL aliquots of the plasma samples after thawing at 4 °C for 2 h and fortification with 5 μL of the internal standard phenacetin (1 mg/L in water) (Kress, 2009). Subsequently, 200 μL of methanol were added to each sample. Samples were then vortexed and centrifuged for 20 min at 20.000 × g at 4 °C.

The analysis technique used for these patients consisted of placing an inverted T on the preplan ultrasound and the corresponding postimplant CT axial image with the back of the T placed at the posterior aspect of the prostate. The ultrasound and CT images in this way were fused together to allow transfer of the volumes drawn initially on the preimplant ultrasound to be superimposed on the postimplantation CT scan. The authors defined “excellent” target coverage as V100 of 90% or greater and D90 of 100% or greater. Using these criteria, 48% of the implants were considered as having excellent dosimetry. In an earlier selleck inhibitor report

(12), these authors defined a cohort of implants that were defined as “too cool” with V100 lower than 80% and/or D90 lower than 90%. Using these latter criteria, the percent of implant procedures that Selleckchem GSK3 inhibitor were “cool” and considered inadequate ranged from 13% to 36%. The value of the postimplantation CT assessment is well recognized and considered the standard mode of post-implantation quality assessment. Several reports have indicated that the quality of the dose delivery to the prostate is associated with long-term biochemical tumor control. Stock et al. (2) had reported

that D90 values lower than 140 Gy were associated with a higher incidence of prostate-specific antigen failure. A large multiinstitutional study demonstrated that D90 greater than 130 Gy was associated with an 8-year prostate-specific antigen relapse-free survival of 93% compared with 76% among patients who had posttreatment

D90 values lower than 130 Gy (7). Recently, investigators from Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center have shown that D90 greater than 140 Gy based on the dosimetric assessment of a postimplantation CT scan obtained on the day of the brachytherapy procedure predicted for improved long-term biochemical tumor control (5). Notwithstanding these findings, it is important to note that a dosimetric analysis indicative of suboptimal dose coverage will not necessarily result MG-132 mouse in an inferior tumor control outcome. Especially for patients with disease confined to a particular region within the prostate where the dose distribution happens to be adequate, tumor control would be expected despite what may be considered inadequate dose coverage for the rest of the gland. We acknowledge that there are limitations of the CT postimplantation assessment, which include postprocedure edema that can at times mistakenly characterize an implant as inadequate. Nevertheless, the postimplantation CT as a QA assessment is still considered standard of care after prostate brachytherapy and provides an opportunity for the radiation oncologist to perform a critical assessment of the inadequacies of target coverage.

The cis-elements included Ca2 +-responsive, abiotic stress responsive, light and circadian rhythm Vorinostat regulation, disease resistance and seed development, such as: ABRERATCAL, ABRELATERD1, ACGTATERD1, BOXLCOREDCPAL, CARGCW8GAT, CIACADIANLELHC, CTRMCAMV35S, DPBFCOREDCDC3, EECCRCAH1, DOFCOREZM, GT1CONSENSUS, INRNTPSADB, POLASIG2, RYREPEATGMGY2, RYREPEATLEGUMINBOX, SEBFCONSSTPR10A, SEF4MOTIFGM7S, SP70A, and TATABOX2 ( Table 2). EST data could provide useful information for gene expression

research. There are about 66,051 foxtail millet ESTs in the NCBI EST database. Thus, EST mining and thr whole-genome AG-014699 mw shotgun (WGS) database were employed to analyze transcript levels of SiCKX genes. The coding sequences of SiCKX genes were used to query the EST database using the megablast tool. Based on tissue and organ types, the EST data were classified into eight groups ( Table 3). The results indicated that all SiCKX genes had expression data support. Expression data for all the SiCKX genes

were obtained for seedlings and leaves. The EST number for SiCKX3 was highest, up to 25. Expression data for SiCKX genes SiCKX1 and SiCKX10 were checked in eight tissue types. The relative transcript levels of the SiCKX genes in germinating embryos under 6-BA, NaCl, and PEG treatments are shown in Fig. 6. Transcripts of SiCKX1, SiCKX3, SiCKX4, SiCKX5, SiCKX8, SiCKX9, and SiCKX10 were induced

by all three treatments. SiCKX6 and SiCKX7 were up-regulated in embryos treated with 6-BA and PEG, whereas the expression levels were unchanged in embryos under NaCl treatment, and SiCKX2 and SiCKX11 expressions were induced only by 6-BA. In 1971, Pačes et al. described CKX activity in crude tobacco cell culture extracts [17]. Later, similar activity was found in maize kernels [51]. Since then many papers have reported CKX activity from a variety of tissues and species. In recent years, with whole genome sequencing, much the CKX gene family was thoroughly investigated in many plant species using comparative genomic approaches. CKX enzymes are encoded by a multigene family with varying numbers of members in different plant species [37]. In the present work, we isolated 11 CKX genes from foxtail millet in silico. cis-elements play essential roles in the regulation of gene expression by controlling the efficiency of promoters. Thus research on cis-elements could lay a foundation for further functional analysis of the SiCKX genes.

Both of the patients with AFIB also had ICA stenosis on the ipsilateral side (both measuring 60% according to ECST criteria).

Summarizing, no patient with TA had a visible spot sign. The spot sign was detectable in 10 out of 13 patients (73%) with CRAO. With the exception of one patient, CRAOs were not associated with TA. Taken in account only the patients with embolic CRAO (12 out of 13) the spot sign was present in 83% of the cases. No spot sign could be seen in patients with other forms of ischemic optic neuropathy (e.g. AION, retinal artery branch occlusion). Using the exact Fisher test comparing the frequency of the spot sign in TA and non-TA patients we found a p-value Epacadostat manufacturer of 0.01, the sensitivity of detecting embolic CRAO using the “spot sign” was 83% (95% CI: this website 65–99%). The specificity for embolic occlusions was 100% (95% CI: 65–100%). In this prospective study we demonstrate the diagnostic significance of retrobulbar ultrasonography for the differentiation of embolic and vasculitic causes of ischemic optic neuropathy. The causes for ION can be subdivided into different groups, depending on the affected retinal arteries: CRAO, AION and PION [11]. TA, embolism or hypoperfusion are responsible for retinal ischemia in all subgroups. Reliable techniques to discriminate between the

different forms are funduscopy and fluorescence angiography. Moreover FA can be helpful to show delayed nearly filling or vascular leakage in choroidal vessels in AION for example. However, both methods cannot elicitate the underlying etiology because they lack sensitivity or depth penetration beyond the retina and thus cannot elucidate the underlying cause of ION. Temporal arteritis (Horton disease or giant cell arteritis) and embolism from cerebrovascular disease require different acute and long-term therapeutic managements: for an embolic event, anticoagulation or platelet inhibition plus control of vascular risk factors should be initiated; whereas in TA, rapid initiation and long-lasting steroid therapy is essential. Due to the significant side effects

of long-term steroid treatment, it is clear that a correct diagnosis is mandatory. So far, the only valid list of diagnostic criteria for TA has been established by the American College of Rheumatology. According to the ACR, 3 or more of the following criteria must be present for a diagnosis of TA: (1) age of 50 years or older; (2) new onset of localized headache; (3) temporal artery tenderness on palpation or decreased pulsation; (4) ESR of 50 mm/h or higher; (5) abnormal findings of a temporal artery biopsy. The sensitivity for this diagnosis was reported to be 93.5%, with a specificity of 91.2% for the discrimination of giant cell arteritis from other forms of vasculitis [12]. The main disadvantage of these criteria is that they were not developed and validated for diagnosis in the general population [13].

There are indications, however, that this might be significant. Thus, L-phenylalanine benzyl ester, which was found to reduce sickling, appears to partition into the RBC membrane and non-specifically inhibits transport Trametinib ic50 systems including the Na+/K+ pump, the cation cotransporters (probably the Na+–K+–2Cl− cotransporter, NKCC) and the anion exchanger (AE1)

whilst also increasing passive cation leaks [12]. No information is available on the aromatic aldehydes. The current results provide the first evidence that o-vanillin directly inhibits the RBC KCC, Gardos channel and Psickle. As reported, o-vanillin was found to increase O2 affinity and inhibit sickling, but their effects on these permeability pathways do not depend on this action. Thus, for KCC and Gardos channel, inhibition also occurred when RBCs were treated with either the sulphydryl reacting reagent NEM or the Ca2 + ionophore A23187, manipulations which bypass any anti-sickling action of o-vanillin. The Na+/K+ pump was also inhibited by o-vanillin. Although this raises the possibility that it acts non-specifically, as suggested for the phenylalanine benzyl esters [12], perhaps by partitioning

into the membrane and destabilising the transporters, the much reduced effect of its isoform, para-vanillin (or usually simply vanillin) argues against this. 5HMF, currently in clinical trials in SCD patients, was different in effect, at least in the transport assays carried out in this work. Nevertheless, this website present findings indicate that it is possible to design aromatic aldehydes which combine a direct inhibitory effect on HbS polymerisation together with favourable effects on reduction

of RBC permeability to thereby increase RBC hydration. These dual effects may potentiate their ability to ameliorate the complications of SCD. There are no conflicts of interest to declare. AH carried out most experiments with assistance from UMC and OTG. Study was designed by JSG, DCR and ST. Analysis was carried out by AH, UMC and OTG. Manuscript was prepared by JSG, AH and DCR. We thank Action Medical Research and the Medical Research Council for financial support. UMC is supported by a BBSRC studentship. OTG is supported through the generosity of a Yousef Jameel Scholarship and the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust. “
“The clinical manifestations of sickle cell anemia MRIP (SCA) include marked phenotypic heterogeneity, involving genetic and environmental factors as well. Fetal hemoglobin (HbF) levels and concomitant α-thalassemia are the two best characterized modifiers of severity in SCA and β-thalassemia. α-Thalassemia modulates SCA by reducing the intracellular concentration of sickle cell hemoglobin (HbS), which decreases HbS polymer-induced cellular damage and in turn ameliorates hemolysis. High HbF levels may reduce SCA severity due to its ability to inhibit HbS polymerization and also reduce the mean corpuscular HbS concentration (reviewed in [1] and [2]).

Most publications associated SSA flux with wind speed or friction velocity. Later, Veron et al. (2012) described a sea spray concentration function for spume droplets

under high wind speed conditions. This work suggests that supra-millimetre droplets are more important than had been earlier predicted. What is more, this work describes the observation of liquid sheets forming at the crests of breaking waves, which is an earlier unreported SSA generation mechanism. Another interesting parameterisation Everolimus ic50 was proposed by Ovadnevaitte et al. (2014), where the friction velocity was replaced by the Reynolds number for a multimodal aerosol flux. The vast majority of the SSA flux literature relates to measurements in the open ocean. Aerosol measurements in the Baltic Sea are valuable since its waters differ substantially from oceanic waters. The Baltic is one of the largest inland brackish seas by area, where major inflows of oceanic waters are rare. Waves on the Baltic Sea surface have Bortezomib mouse relatively shorter lifetimes compared with ocean waves. The SSA coarse mode is produced by wave crashing and bubble bursting, and these mechanisms are strongly correlated with wind speed. The influence of wind speed and air masses on SSA concentrations in the Baltic region have been studied by a number of researchers (Zieliński & Zieliński 2002, Petelski

& Piskozub 2006, Lewandowska & Falkowska 2013). The prevailing winds in the southern Baltic Sea are westerlies. Such a circulation is determined by the transport of fresh maritime polar air masses (Leppäranta & Myrberg 2009), creating strong wind conditions related to the movements of low pressure systems from the Atlantic Ocean. Zdun et al. (2011) showed wind direction to have a strong

influence Farnesyltransferase on aerosol optical properties in the Baltic Sea region. Byčenkienė et al. (2013) demonstrated that the marine boundary layer is not seriously affected by long-range transport but that local transport of air pollution is an important factor. Thus, averaged SSA concentrations and size distributions in the Baltic Sea region are very valuable. All processes responsible for SSA emission from the sea surface, like bubble bursting (Blanchard 1963) or the direct tearing of wave crests (Monahan et al. 1986), are related to the composition of sea surface water. Surface active agents (surfactants) significantly reduce surface tension (Rosen et al. 2012). The role of surfactants in SSA flux has been widely described, inter alia by Sellegri et al. (2006), Modini et al. (2010) and Long et al. (2011). The Baltic Sea is a drainage basin for a large area, which is why the composition of surfactants differs significantly from that of ocean areas (Drozdowska et al. 2013, Drozdowska & Fateyeva 2013). This is indicated by coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM) measurements (Schwarz et al. 2002, Kowalczuk et al. 2003, Kowalczuk et al. 2010).

, 2010). Given the complex nature of antibody elicitation, whether these factors

influence the rate of antibody formation is unknown. With alternative enzyme replacement therapies for type 1 Gaucher disease available, physicians considering treatment options will require high-quality data on the development of antibodies in patients treated with imiglucerase or velaglucerase alfa. We therefore developed and validated a panel of highly sensitive and equivalent assays for the detection and characterization of anti-velaglucerase alfa and anti-imiglucerase antibodies. Identical methods were developed to evaluate patient sera for anti-velaglucerase alfa and anti-imiglucerase click here antibodies. The bridge electrochemiluminescent (ECL) immunoassay, in which the drug is alternatively labeled with capture or detection functional groups, detected all immunoglobulin subclasses and was considered the antibody screening assay. The radioimmunoprecipitation

(RIP) assay was confirmatory Staurosporine datasheet for the presence of IgG antibodies, and the Ig subclass electrochemiluminescent immunoassays were confirmatory assays for the presence of IgA, IgM, and IgE antibodies. A diagram of the testing flowchart is shown in Fig. 1. The antibody screening assays and IgG assays were calibrated and quantitative, using human antibody-positive controls. The IgA, IgM, and IgE assays were semi-quantitative and utilized synthetic positive controls, since naturally occurring IgA, IgM, or IgE antibodies against velaglucerase alfa or imiglucerase were not available. To further test whether antibodies neutralized enzyme activity in vitro, assays were also developed to measure inhibition in vitro of velaglucerase alfa and imiglucerase hydrolysis of the substrate 4-nitrophenyl-β-d-glucopyranoside. The ECL assays were read on a SECTOR™ Imager 2400 (Meso Scale Discovery, Gaithersburg, MD) using Meso

Scale Discovery Workbench® Software. Streptavidin-coated high bind MA2400 96-microwell plates were also purchased from Meso Scale Discovery, as were the Sulfo-TAG™ NHS-Ester Kit for ruthenium-complex labeling and the read buffer S (4×) for ECL assay. Flat-bottomed Nunc MaxiSorp ELISA plates were purchased from Nalge Nunc International selleck kinase inhibitor (Rochester, NY). EZ-Link® Sulfo-NHS-LC-Biotinylation Kits and BCA™ Protein Assay Kits were acquired from Pierce (Pierce Protein Research Products from Thermo Fisher Scientific, Rockford, IL). Protein G Sepharose 4 Fast Flow columns and ECL Blocker B were acquired from GE Healthcare (Piscataway, NJ). Dulbecco’s Phosphate Buffered Saline solution (DPBS) was obtained from Invitrogen (Carlsbad, CA). Protease-free bovine serum albumin (BSA) was obtained from American Bioanalytical (Natick, MA). Purified sheep anti-glucocerebrosidase polyclonal antibody and mouse anti-glucocerebrosidase monoclonal antibody were both prepared by Shire Human Genetic Therapies.

, 1996, Elenkov et al., 2000, Woiciechowsky et al., 1998, Zhang et al., 2005 and Souza-Queiroz et al., 2008). B2-agonists inhibit IL-12 production (Panina-Bordignon et al., 1997), which is known to have a central role in the immune system by skewing the immune response towards Th1-type

responses. In this respect, studies from our laboratory and others (Hasegawa et al., 1997, Queiroz et al., 2002, Queiroz et al., 2011, Souza-Queiroz BI 2536 et al., 2008 and Torello et al., 2010) have proposed that CV has a direct myelostimulating outcome through inducing the Th1 response via activation of macrophages to produce IL-12 and IFN-γ. Previous findings from our laboratory demonstrated that pre-treatment with CV prevented this decrease in IFN-γ (Th1) and increase in IL-10 (Th2) after an acute foot-shock stressor (Souza-Queiroz et al., 2008). This reduction in IL-1 and TNF-α was prevented by treating mice with CV that were inoculated with tumors (Ramos et al., 2010) or exposed to lead (Queiroz et al., 2008 and Queiroz et al., 2011). These cytokines are known to stimulate the production of neutrophils from the bone marrow and to mediate chemoattraction of granulocytes from the circulation

to peripheral sites of injury. In the present study, we observed that the effects produced by both single and repeated stressors were suppressive, however, SST had a stronger impact on most of the parameters evaluated. This could be AZD6244 molecular weight explained by a decrease in hormone release due to glandular exhaustion or down-regulation of receptors,

among other possibilities, or it could also be explained by a reduction in the emotional impact initially caused by the stressful situation, thus leading to a decreased endocrine response over time (Armario, 2001). Delineating how stress influences hematopoiesis is important for developing potential pharmacological interventions to decrease the incidence of stress-induced immune dysfunction. BCKDHB Irrespective of the mechanisms involved, the immunomodulatory effect of CV on stressed mice may have an important role in protecting hosts from stressful situations, leading to an increase in the ability of the immune system to respond to this challenge (for an overview of the mechanisms of action from CV on stressed mice observed in this study, see Fig. 9). This research, which is part of the Ph.D. dissertation to be presented by Julia de Souza Queiroz to the Department de Farmacology/Hemocentro, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil, was supported by the FAPESP Foundation (No. 09/51886-3) and CNPq (No. 300764/2010-3); the authors wish to express their sincere gratitude. “
“Symbioses play a central role in the evolution of biological complexity and leaf-cutting ants are a prodigious example of this (Ness et al., 2010).

This is required, because without this information the Committee cannot proceed. References. These should include the details required for most journal articles today (title of paper; names of all authors, with initials; name or standard abbreviation of the journal; volume number; start and end pages; year; PMID number, if available). Supporting publications and contact information

are required exactly as for a new enzyme. As the system for classifying enzymes has been continuously revised and updated since it was first set up in 1960, it has remained far more in tune with current research than the recommendations on enzyme kinetics have done, and the present web-based selleck inhibitor system for proposing new entries works very smoothly at present. Some hundreds of new entries are added every year. Nonetheless, researchers should be conscious that any expert on a particular enzyme is likely to know far more about it than any member of the Nomenclature Committee can know, and is therefore well placed to notice and correct errors and omissions in the list. The future health of the classification system must depend in part on the willingness of biochemists to communicate new information and to correct errors in old information. The author has no conflict of interest. “
“High-resolution spectrometers and theoretical advances in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), together with the development of protein engineering, provide powerful means

to elucidate the structure–function relationships of substrates,

peptides, C59 wnt ic50 proteins and, in particular, enzymes. NMR spectroscopy can, in principle, yield detailed information regarding enzyme structure and the structure of the specific ligands which bind to the enzyme. The structure of the ligands at the binding sites of enzymes and the structure of enzyme–ligand Depsipeptide complexes can also be obtained, as well as the dynamics of the ligand and the associated structure of the protein binding site. The tertiary structures of proteins and peptides can now be determined in solution, independently of diffraction data, by homonuclear and heteronuclear multi-dimensional NMR. Since NMR is a time-dependent phenomenon, kinetic as well as thermodynamic and structural information regarding both enzymes and substrates can be obtained. The attraction of NMR is that (again, in principle) one can investigate the magnetic nuclei of each of the atoms within the molecule of the enzyme (1H, 13C, 15N, …), of the ligands which bind to the enzyme (1H, 19F, 31P, 13C,…), or of the environment of the active-site (solvent 1H2O, 2D2O, 23Na, 39K, 35Cl,…). Since a large number of enzymes either contain metal ions (metallo-enzymes) or require the addition of metal ions for activity (metal-requiring enzymes) a variety of these metal ions can be observed by NMR. These include divalent cations (25Mg, 43Ca, 59Co, 113Cd, etc.) and monovalent cations (7Li, 23Na, 39K, 205Tl, etc.).

This last category included the functions that were less prevalent in the study population, including journalists, medical staff, wastewater management teams, and soil remediation teams. Finally, the five zones of presence on-site from the questionnaire were regrouped into three zones in the analyses: <50 m (immediately on the site of the train accident); 50–250 m; and >250 m. Selleckchem BMS-734016 This last category corresponded to the perimeter of the evacuation zone that was determined for the residents. To facilitate an efficacious medical assistance to the emergency responders after the biomonitoring study, a communication plan was established in close collaboration with the communication

departments of the WIV-ISP and of the Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment. Apart from a mailing to each participant

with their individual value, it envisaged an all-embracing communication to the other stakeholders including recommendations to authorities and various information sessions for the individual participants and their occupational physicians. In addition, the Sotrastaurin solubility dmso plan provided that participants with a high CEV value got a home visit by a medical practitioner to discuss their results. In total, there were 841 emergency responders (Table 2) with measures of CEV (blood), cotinine (urine), spatial and temporal information of the presence on-site between May 4–10 (questionnaire), and for whom the function was known. This study population why was mainly composed of fire-fighters (54%) and police (34%); the three other groups (army, civil protection and ‘others’) together representing only 12%. The majority (89.5%) of the participants were men, with the highest proportions (95% or more) in the fire-fighters, the civil protection, and the army. In the police workers and in the group ‘others’, men were somewhat less represented (70.8% till 78.3%). Median ages were comparable among the different functions, varying between 35 and 46 years. Of the 841 emergency

responders, 206 (24.5%) were classified as ‘smokers’. The proportion of smokers was comparable among the different functions, ranging between 22.7% and 25.3%. Table 3 presents the CEV concentrations in the non-smokers, after extrapolation to the time of the accident, i.e., May 4. Twenty-six percent of the non-smokers exceeded the reference value of 10 pmol/g globin. The overall distribution of CEV concentrations in the non-smokers, however, remained within the ranges as described for smokers in the literature, the 95th percentile and the maximum value being 73 and 452 pmol/g globin, respectively. CEV levels differed clearly according to function with median values ranging from 2.6 pmol/g globin among the army till 15 pmol/g globin among the civil protection workers. The civil protection workers appeared to be the mostly exposed with almost 60% of results above the reference value, which is two times more than the proportion of increased CEV levels in fire-fighters or the group ‘others’.