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We analyze how far-sightedness and risk aversion as well as the perceived trustworthiness of others correlate with COVID-19-related protective behaviors in France. We leverage individual-level data from the corona survey of the Survey of Health Aging and Retirement in Europe linked with a paper questionnaire survey about preferences conducted in France just before the coronavirus outbreak. Our results suggest that far-sightedness and risk aversion are strong predictors of individuals' protective behavior. More far-sighted individuals are more likely to not visit their family members anymore, wear a mask, and keep their distance from others when outside, wash their hands more regularly and cover their cough. Risk aversion increases the likelihood of not meeting more than 5 other people and not meeting with family members anymore. Concerning the perceived trustworthiness, we find that a higher level of trust in others reduces compliance with the recommendations about meeting with 5 or more people and family gatherings. We interpret this result as a sign that individuals with trust in others perceive a lower risk of being infected by friends and family members. Hence, they are more willing to take risks when they engage in social interactions when they perceive their relatives as trustworthy. The government should therefore consider individuals' heterogeneity in preferences and beliefs when implementing a strategy to encourage people to comply with its COVID-19 protective recommendations., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

High temporal resolution sampling of runoff (15 samples/4 h) and river water (24 samples/24 h) was performed during a major rainstorm (41 mm/4 h) in the Bordeaux Metropole, after a dry and high vehicle-density period. Runoff was sampled at the outlet of one collector draining Northern Bordeaux Highway (NBH; 80,000-93,000 vehicles/day) and river water in the downstream Jalle River. The studied metals, including priority and emergent (Rare Earth Elements [REEs]) contaminants, showed major temporal and spatial variations in the dissolved and particulate concentrations. Hierarchical cluster analyses distinguished metal groups, reflecting different: (i) sources (i.e., automotive traffic: Zn-Cu-Ce and wastewater treatment plant: Cd-Ag-Gd) and/or (ii) processes (i.e., groundwater dilution by rainwater and sorption processes). The contribution of the particulate fraction to total metal fluxes was predominant in the NBH collector (except for Sr and Mo) and highly variable in the Jalle River, where the highest particulate metal loads were due to the export of road dusts exported by the NBH collector. Metal fluxes from the NBH collector represented highly variable fractions of daily fluxes into the Gironde Estuary at the outlet of the Jalle River, depending on elements and partitioning. The resulting relative contributions ranged from: 5% (Sr) to 40% (Cu) for dissolved phases and 30% (As) to 88% (Cu) for particulate phases. The first 40 min of the event accounted for 65% of the suspended particulate matter flux (and associated particulate metals) exported by the NBH collector, whereas the respective water flux contribution was 35%. This finding clearly demonstrates the importance of monitoring the first minutes of rainy events when establishing mass balances in urban systems., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC part of Springer Nature.)

Purpose: This study aimed to test if work unit characteristics (WUCs) reported by call-center managers were directly related to the psychological distress reported by call-handlers or if these associations were mediated by the psychosocial working conditions (PWC)., Methods: Managers of 105 call-centers were interviewed about their call-center's WUCs by occupational physicians. 2719 female call-handlers from these call-centers completed self-reported questionnaires to evaluate PWC (Karasek, Siegrist, and other specific workplace stressors) and psychological distress (GHQ12 score). A two-level analysis tested the relationships between the 14 WUCs and GHQ12 score, with and without adding PWC as confounders. Unchanged coefficients between WUCs and GHQ12 score were assumed to flag a direct association between WUCs and psychological distress. In the case of changed coefficients, the mediated proportion was estimated using multiple mixed models., Results: Five out of fourteen WUCs were related to GHQ12 score: outbound-call type, call-center size, number of activity parameters displayed on the screen, the existence of a fixed break, and the assigned role of the supervisor being the monitoring/supervision of call-handler activities. After adding PWC, the association remained statistically significant only for outbound calls. For the other WUCs, the proportion of mediation by stressor ranged from 56 to 66%. Mediation was mostly through job demand, lack of reward and ethical conflict dimensions., Conclusion: The main results were that (1) associations exist between the WUCs reported by managers and the psychological distress reported by call-handlers, and (2) that most of these associations are mediated by psychosocial working conditions.

Objective: To determine long-term predictors of bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV 1 ) decline., Methods: A longitudinal study in 110 bakers in 4 industrial bakeries and 38 non-exposed workers was conducted at the workplace with a mean of 3.3 visits per subject over a period of 13 years and a mean duration of follow-up of 6 years in bakers and 8 years in non-exposed subjects. A respiratory health questionnaire was administered; occupational allergen skin prick tests, spirometry and a methacholine bronchial challenge test were performed at each visit. In each bakery, full-shift dust samples of the inhalable fraction were obtained in order to assess the exposure of each job assignment. The repeated measurements of BHR and FEV 1 were analyzed using mixed effects logistic and linear regression models in subjects seen at least twice., Results: BHR, respiratory symptoms and their simultaneous occurrence depended on the duration of exposure. FEV 1 significantly decreased with duration of exposure and BHR at a preceding visit. This result persisted when adjusting for the effect of BHR at the current visit. The measured exposure levels were not a significant predictor for any outcome. Occupational sensitization was only a predictor of a decline in FEV 1 when duration of exposure was not included., Conclusion: In flour-exposed industrial bakers, length of exposure and smoking are long-term determinants of BHR and of the decrease in FEV 1 . BHR at a preceding visit predicted lower FEV 1 even when accounting for the effect of BHR at the current visit.

This paper studies how opioid analgesic sales are empirically related to socioeconomic disparities in France, with a focus on poverty. This analysis is made possible using the OpenHealth database, which provides retail sales data for opioid analgesics available on the French market. We exploit firm-level data for each of the 94 departments in Metropolitan France between 2008 and 2017. We show that increases in the poverty rate are associated with increases in sales: a one percentage point increase in poverty is associated with approximately a 5% increase in mild opioid sales. Our analysis further shows that opioid sales are positively related to the share of middle-aged people and individuals with basic education only, while they are negatively related to population density. The granularity and longitudinal nature of these data allow us to control for a large pool of potential confounding factors. Our results suggest that additional interventions should be more intensively addressed toward the most deprived areas. We conclude that a combination of policies aimed at improving economic prospects and strictly monitoring access to opioid medications would be beneficial for reducing opioid-related harm., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Acute retinal toxicity has been demonstrated to be associated with the intraoperative use of perfluorocarbon liquids (PFCLs), especially perfluorooctane (PFO). Recently, several cases of PFO-associated blindness have been reported in Spain, Holland, France, Italy, the Middle East, and South America., Methods: As a result, a new ISO guideline (ISO 16672:2020) was drafted, discussed, approved, and released in 2019. This recent ISO16672:2020 guideline recommends performing direct cytotoxicity tests as an option along with chemical analysis to measure PFCL quality (purity and safety)., Results: In this review paper, it has been emphasized why an appropriate biological test, specifically direct exposure of PFCL to live cells, for measuring cytotoxicity must be performed with each PFCL batch along with chemical analysis., Conclusions: The paper intends to compile all available information to discuss possible approaches for avoiding adverse clinical cases in future., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

This paper investigates the causal effect of the amount of formal care used on the informal care received by formal care users. We use an original instrument for formal care volume based on local disparities (NUTS 3 level, 96 units) in the price of formal care. Using the French CARE survey, we use a two-part model to assess the effect of formal care on the extensive and the intensive margin of informal care. An increase in the amount of formal care is found to be associated with a small decrease in the probability of using informal care. Heterogeneity tests show that this negative effect is mainly driven by help for daily activities provided by women. At the intensive margin, informal care is not significantly affected by the amount of formal care. Reforms increasing subsidies for formal care can thus be suspected to have a limited effect on informal care arrangements., (© 2021. The Author(s).)