Safety Doesn't Happen by Accident: A Longitudinal Investigation on the Antecedents of Safety Behavior.

Research recognizes the shared perceptions of the priority attributed to safety in comparison to other organizational goals (i.e., safety climate) as a potential antecedent of safety behavior among construction workers. This type of climate can dismantle barriers to the promotion of effective strategies to mitigate workplace hazards. On the other hand, the current understanding of the underlying process that links the perception of a safety climate to the implementation of safety behavior is far from being exhaustive. Accordingly, this study aimed to explore the role of risk perception and safety knowledge in explaining the positive impact of safety climate before attending a training course (Time 0) and safety behavior after the training completion (Time 1). Data were collected at two time-points on a sample of N = 278 construction workers taking part in different safety training courses promoted by a vocational training organization in Northern Italy. The hypothesized relationships were tested using a serial mediation model bootstrapping approach. The obtained results indicated that the perception of a safety climate at Time 0 (T0) among construction workers is associated with higher risk perception and safety knowledge that, in turn, resulted in a higher implementation of safety behavior at Time 1 (T1). These findings contribute to the understanding of those factors that constitute a fertile ground for preventing injuries and accidents in the construction sector.

Sphingosine 1-phosphate induces antimicrobial activity both in vitro and in vivo.

Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), a polar sphingolipid metabolite, is involved in a wide spectrum of biological processes, including Ca(++) mobilization, cell growth, differentiation, motility, and cytoskeleton organization. Here, we show a novel role of S1P in the induction of antimicrobial activity in human macrophages that leads to the intracellular killing of nonpathogenic Mycobacterium smegmatis and pathogenic M. tuberculosis. Such activity is mediated by host phospholipase D, which favors the acidification of mycobacteria-containing phagosomes. Moreover, when it was intravenously injected in mycobacteria-infected mice, S1P reduced mycobacterial growth and pulmonary tissue damage. These results identify S1P as a novel regulator of the host antimicrobial effector pathways.