Search

Science and chemistry teachers often feel that they have insufficient knowledge about the legal requirements concerning proper handling of chemicals. To help teachers and technicians, we have developed an online resource with information and tools for the various aspects of chemical safety, such as legislation, risk assessment, storage, labelling and waste handling, including a framework for routines and training for staff and students. Additionally, the resource introduces the concept of green chemistry, an emerging field within chemistry education, and provides examples on how teachers could work with green chemistry principles in the science and chemistry classroom. The aim is that this extensive online material, covering the most important aspects of health, safety and environmental work in school science education, can serve as a useful resource for school leaders, teachers, technicians and science teacher educators in their work with these issues. The resource was developed by partners from the Universities of Helsinki, Ljubljana, Oslo, and Stockholm and co-funded by the Erasmus+ program of the European Union. The content is published in five languages and is freely available at https://chesse.org.

Background: Telomeres are non-coding sequences at the end of eukaryote chromosomes, which in complex with associated proteins serve to protect subtelomeric DNA. Telomeres shorten with each cell division, are regarded as a biomarker for aging and have also been suggested to play a role in atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The aim of the present study was to explore the associations between leukocyte telomere length and serum polyunsaturated fatty acids, diet, cardiovascular risk factors and features of myocardial infarction (MI) in elderly patients., Methods: The material is based upon the first 299 included patients in the OMEMI trial, where patients aged 70-82 years of age are randomized to receive omega-3 supplements or corn oil (placebo) after MI. Patients were included 2-8 weeks after the index MI. DNA was extracted from whole blood, and leukocyte telomere length (LTL) was analyzed by qPCR and reported as a number relative to a reference gene. Serum long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFA) content was analyzed by gas chromatography. Diet was evaluated with the validated SmartDiet food frequency questionnaire. Medical records, patient interviews and clinical examination provided previous medical history and anthropometric data. Non-parametric statistical tests were used., Results: Median (25, 75 percentile) LTL was 0.55 (0.42, 0.72). Patients had a median age of 75 years, 70.2% were male and 45.2% used omega-3 supplements. There was a weak, but significant correlation between LTL and linoleic acid (r = 0.139, p = 0.017), but not with other LCPUFAs. There was a trend towards longer telomeres with a healthier diet, but this did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.073). No associations were found between LTL and CVD risk factors or features of MI., Conclusions: In our population of elderly with a recent myocardial infarction LTL was associated with linoleic acid concentrations, but not with other LCPUFAs. Patients with a healthy diet tended to have longer telomeres. The limited associations may be due to age and the narrow age-span in our population. Further studies, designed to detect longitudinal changes should be performed to explore the role of telomeres in cardiovascular aging., Trial Registration: Clinical trials no. NCT01841944, registration date April 29, 2013.