Nano Risk Analysis: Advancing the Science for Nanomaterials Risk Management

Scientists, activists, industry, and governments have raised concerns about health and environmental risks of nanoscale materials. The Society for Risk Analysis convened experts in September 2008 in Washington, DC to deliberate on issues relating to the unique attributes of nanoscale materials that raise novel concerns about health risks. This article reports on the overall themes and findings of the workshop, uncovering the underlying issues for each of these topics that become recurring themes. The attributes of nanoscale particles and other nanomaterials that present novel issues for risk analysis are evaluated in a risk analysis framework, identifying challenges and opportunities for risk analysts and others seeking to assess and manage the risks from emerging nanoscale materials and nanotechnologies. Workshop deliberations and recommendations for advancing the risk analysis and management of nanotechnologies are presented.     

Psychological stress-factors and concentration of immunoglobulins and complement components in Norwegian nurses

Psychological stress produces immunological changes in animals, and increasing evidence suggests that this may also be true for humans. In the present study of 34 nurses in a busy ward of a Norwegian hospital, significant relationships have been demonstrated between die plasma levels of immunoglobulins and complement components and work-related 'stress', anxiety, and cognitive defence strategies. The main components of die work-related stress experience were role-stress and nonparticipation in decision-making.

The results indicate chat immunological parameters may perhaps be used as a psychological stress indicator, but the relationships are complex and can best be understood if individual coping and defence mechanisms are considered. Health symptoms were also examined, but these were not related to stress experience or immunological measures.     

Housing Type and Neighbourhood Safety Behaviour Predicts Self-rated Health,Psychological Well-being and Frequency of Recent Unhealthy Days: A Comparative Cross-sectional Study of the General Population in Sweden

This study aimed at analysing associations among housing type, neighbourhood safety behaviour, self-rated health (SRH), psychological well-being and unhealthy days in the general population. From 2004 to 2013, 90,845 Swedes completed a questionnaire about their health, number of days with poor health, psychological well-being, housing type, and whether they refrained from going out based on perception of neighbourhood safety. People not living in private housing and those who did not go out for safety reasons reported lower SRH and psychological well-being and higher frequency of recent unhealthy days and days without work capacity due to poor health.     

The Changing Character of Regulation: A Comparison of Europe and the United States

European and U.S. regulatory policies have changed considerably over the past 30 years. In Europe, since the mid-1980s, consumer and environmental regulation has become more politically salient and regulations have by and large become stricter. On the other hand, in the United States consumer and environmental issues have become less salient and contentious, and regulations have not become (comparatively) stricter. This apparent "flip-flop" of regulatory systems has not been analyzed in much detail to date. This perspective is an attempt to analyze some examples in which it has occurred and identifies one possible cause--namely, credibility.     

Swedish Chemical Regulation: An Overview and Analysis

This article begins with a review of the regulation of chemicals in Sweden over the past 30 years, focusing particularly on the 1997 Government Environmental Quality Bill, which called for a toxic-free society by the year 2020. The second part of the article analyzes why Sweden has taken this route. The third and final section discusses Sweden's present role in formulating present EU chemical regulation, such as the recent EU Chemical White Paper, and hypothesizes future impacts of Swedish chemical regulations on the EU itself.     

Statistical Corrections of Invalid Correlation Matrices

Suppose estimates are available for correlations between pairs of variables but that the matrix of correlation estimates is not positive definite. In various applications, having a valid correlation matrix is important in connection with follow‐up analyses that might, for example, involve sampling from a valid distribution. We present new methods for adjusting the initial estimates to form a proper, that is, nonnegative definite, correlation matrix. These are based on constructing certain pseudo‐likelihood functions, formed by multiplying together exact or approximate likelihood contributions associated with the individual correlations. Such pseudo‐likelihoods may then be maximized over the range of proper correlation matrices. They may also be utilized to form pseudo‐posterior distributions for the unknown correlation matrix, by factoring in relevant prior information for the separate correlations. We illustrate our methods on two examples from a financial time series and genomic pathway analysis.     

The Swing of the Regulatory Pendulum in Europe: From Precautionary Principle to (Regulatory) Impact Analysis

Regulation in Europe is currently driven by three distinct, yet not entirely unrelated factors. These are competitiveness, sustainable development and governance. Increasingly these factors influence both the need for, and concepts of, what the European Commission (the Commission) refers to as “better regulation.” To ensure better regulation, two regulatory philosophies have been put forward, namely the precautionary principle and impact assessment.^1,2 In this paper, I first briefly describe the current drivers of better regulation. Then I examine the use of these two regulatory philosophies in helping to achieve better regulation. In the final section I offer some speculations on the future development of European Union (EU) regulation. Will elements of the Commission and the EU member states operate in an even more precautionary environment, or will the implementation of the precautionary principle be seen as too costly, forcing regulators to resort to an even greater use of impact analysis?     

A comparison of perceived health, attitudes to work, leisure time, and social welfare systems among people in a rural area in the north of Sweden and among people in the city of Stockholm

A problem attracting considerable attention in Sweden today is the substantial regional differences in sickness absence. The aim of the study was to investigate and compare how people, from a random sample of the population in both a rural area in the north of Sweden and the Swedish capital Stockholm, perceive their health, and what their attitudes are to work, leisure time and social welfare systems. Results showed that a larger proportion of those answering in Stockholm considered their health status to be "very good", compared with those in the rural area (p<0.0001). A majority in the rural area compared to the city of Stockholm reported a high or very high level of aches/pain (p<0.0001) and that work causes them physical problems p<0.0001). The population in both Stockholm and the rural area is of the opinion that the increase in sickness absence is mainly due to deterioration in the work environment. Almost half of the individuals in both the rural area and in Stockholm are of the opinion that many of those sick-listed are not actually ill. It may be that in the rural area in north Sweden people are more inclined to put their opinions to practice than those in Stockholm are.