[Teachers and smoking. Methods and results of an awareness and up-dating program in Ligurian schools]. / I docenti e il fumo di tabacco. Metodologia e risultati di un programma di sensibilizzazione e aggiornamento nelle scuole liguri.

An investigation on smoking habits of teachers of secondary and high schools allowed the collection of very interesting and useful data for the organization of post-graduate up-date courses and health education programs. Smokers' proportion remains still high, as 35% of males and 30% of females teachers are smokers; this situation is different in other countries, where an inverse relationship exists between smoking habit and economic welfare and cultural level. The number of daily-cigarettes was rather low only in females teachers, as 50% smoked less than 5-10 daily-cigarettes. Teachers' interviews suggested the high degree of interest in the organization of health education programs and courses on smoking, with special regard to the courses on smoking, with special regard to the methodology that is required for prevention programs in the school. The high attendance to the courses, the quantity and quality of teachers' reports on these problems and the practical application in school environment of these theoretical concepts confirmed the reliability and effectiveness of this methodologic approach.

[Cooking meat in microwave ovens does not cause formation of mutagenic substances]. / La cottura di carne con forni a microonde non determina la formazione di sostanze mutagene.

UNLABELLED: During the cooking process of meat, mutagenic and/or carcinogenic substances can be formed that can induce tumours of the gastro-intestinal tract or of other organs in the rat. The formation of these substances is proportionate to the cooking time, the cooking surface and the quantity of fats contained in meat. A comparison is made between beef cooked on a grid where the temperature reaches 200 degrees C, and cooked in a microwave oven (Cuocorapido Candy 500 CL, frequency 2450 Mhz) where the temperature does not exceed 100 degrees C. Mutagenic substances were extracted by the Commoner technique and mutagenic activity was assayed with the Ames test. RESULTS: no mutagenic activity was demonstrated in the extracts of meat cooked in microwave ovens, while mutagenic activity was clearly demonstrated in the extracts of meat cooked on a grid.