Pesticide prioritization approaches and limitations in environmental monitoring studies: From Europe to Latin America and the Caribbean.

Assessment and management of issues related to pesticide residues, such as environmental fate, monitoring and toxicity, are complex and, in many cases, require costly studies. The early establishment of a priority list of pesticides that should be monitored and assigned to a restricted-use policy is an important issue of post-registration Risk Assessment (RA). Various pesticide registration approaches have been adopted by different countries with those from Europe and the USA being the most popular, constituting the major prototypes for registration approaches in other countries. Adoption of pesticide registration and monitoring systems developed in Europe or USA by Latin American and Caribbean countries may underestimate factors affecting the environmental fate and toxicity of pesticides in their own countries. Incentive for this short review was the activities undertaken during the three KNOWPEC workshops held in Costa Rica, Argentina and Bolivia where European pesticide experts met Latin American experience in the form of Costa Rica's exceptional environmental conditions and ecology, Argentina's and Uruguay's soyisation and Bolivia's contrasting climate and agricultural zones. During the parallel activities of the workshop - including scientific presentations, field trips, interviews and meetings among European partners and pesticide stakeholders in Latin America, - the whole pesticide chain (import-export, trade, application, plant protection-efficacy, residues, monitoring, remediation and risk) was studied and clarified. Recently-published chemical prioritization studies were reviewed to consider their use as a tool to support risk assessments. Differences in regional practices are highlighted as regards to the establishment of RA or prioritization strategy in European and Latin American regimes. General guidance of establishing a cost-effective pesticide monitoring scheme in water bodies of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is also proposed. Moreover, we summarize the most important factors that should be taken into consideration for prioritization approaches and categorization used in pesticide environmental monitoring studies. Consideration of current RA approaches and limitations, and pesticide prioritization exercises highlighted in this Commentary could assist in the management of pesticides in Latin America and Caribbean.

Miniaturization of the microsuspension Salmonella/microsome assay in agar microplates.

The Salmonella/microsome assay (Ames test) is the most widely used mutagenicity test for the evaluation of pure chemicals and environmental samples. There are several versions of protocols available in the literature, including those that reduce the amount of sample needed for testing with liquid and agar media. The microsuspension version of the Salmonella/microsome assay is more sensitive than the standard protocol. It is performed using 5-times concentrated bacteria and less sample and S9 mixture, but still uses conventional Petri dishes (90 × 15 mm). It has been extensively used for environmental sample testing, including in effect-directed analysis (EDA). The objective of this study was to miniaturize the microsuspension assay using 12-well microplates instead of the conventional plates. For validation of this miniaturization, thirteen mutagenic compounds were tested using three Salmonella strains that were selected based on their different spontaneous reversion frequencies (low, medium, and high). The conditions of the miniaturized procedure were made as similar as possible to the microsuspension protocol, using the same testing design, metabolic activation, and data interpretation, and the tests were conducted in parallel. The miniaturized plate assay (MPA) and microsuspension procedures provided similar sensitivities although MPA is less laborious and require less sample and reagents, thereby reducing overall costs. We conclude that the MPA is a promising tool and can be particularly suitable for environmental studies such as EDA or monitoring programs. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 59:488-501, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Seguimiento a mujeres con resultado citológico positivo en una Empresa Social del Estado. Medellín, Colombia. 2011- 2012 / Monitoring of women with positive cytological result in a state-owned company, Medellín, Colombia, 2011- 2012 / Acompanhamento a mulheres com resultado citológico positivo em uma empresa do estado. Medellín, Colômbia. 2011- 2012

Resumen En Colombia el cáncer cérvico-uterino (Cacu) es una de las principales causas de muerte. Anualmente se diagnostican 7.000 casos y se registran 3.300 muertes, el 50% por diagnóstico tardío y falta de acceso a tratamientos especializados. Objetivo: describir el seguimiento a mujeres con resultado citológico positivo en una ESE de Medellín, 2011-2012. Metodología: estudio descriptivo transversal en 277 mujeres con resultado citológico positivo para lesiones sugestivas de alto grado y/o alteraciones glandulares. Se empleó muestreo estratificado y sistemático. Se utilizaron fuentes de información primaria y secundaria. La sistematización de datos se realizó en el programa SPSS, y se calcularon medidas de frecuencia, tendencia central y dispersión. Se empleó análisis descriptivo uni-bivariado para variables sociodemográficas, clínicas y relacionadas con la atención recibida. Resultados: el 10,7% de mujeres con lesiones de alto grado o invasoras no culminaron el tratamiento. La oportunidad total del seguimiento fue del 52,3% y las fases con mayores tiempos de espera para la atención fueron las citas para diagnóstico y tratamiento. Conclusión: A pesar de los esfuerzos para mejorar la cobertura del cribado y búsqueda activa de pacientes con citología positiva evidenciada en el estudio aún se presentan obstáculos en la atención de pacientes para un diagnóstico y tratamiento oportuno, lo que lleva en varios casos al avance de la enfermedad e incluso la muerte.

Abstract In Colombia, the Cervical Cancer (CC) is one of leading causes of cancer death in women. Annually 7,000 cases and 3,300 deaths are diagnosed; from which the 50% have been recorded died for late diagnosis and lack of access to specialized treatments. Objective:This study aims to monitor women who have had a positive cytological results in a state-owned company in Medellin from 2011 to 2012. Methodology:This is a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted on 277 women who had positive cytological results for lesions suggestive of high grade and/or glandular disorders. This research used stratified systematic sampling, and primary and secondary information sources. SPSS was implemented to systematize data like frequency, central tendency, and dispersion measurements were calculated. A descriptive univariate-bivariate analysis was implemented for sociodemographic and clinical related variables, and those related to the healthcare subjects received. Results:10.7% of women with high grade or invasive lesions did not complete the treatment. The total monitoring opportunity was 52.3%, and the phases with the longest-waiting times were waiting for appointments for diagnosis and treatment. Conclusion: Despite efforts to improve screening coverage and to actively seek patients with a positive cytology evidenced in the study, there are still obstacles that impede patients' prompt diagnosis and treatment, and this is something that in various cases leads to the progression of the disease and even death.

Resumo Na Colômbia, o câncer cérvico-uterino (Cacu) é uma das principais causas de morte. Na atualidade, diagnosticam-se 7.000 casos e registram-se 3.300 mortes. 50% das mortes acontece por diagnóstico tardio e falta de aceso a tratamentos especializados. Objetivo: descrever o acompanhamento a mulheres com resultado citológico positivo em uma Empresa Social do Estado (ESSE) de Medellín, 2011-2012. Metodologia: estudo descritivo transversal em 277 mulheres com resultado citológico positivo para lesões sugestivas de alto grau e/ou alterações glandulares. Utilizou-se amostragem estratificada e sistemática. Consultaram-se fontes de informação primárias e secundárias. Utilizou-se o programa SPSS para sistematizar os dados, e calcularam-se medidas de frequência, tendência central e dispersão. Fez-se análise descritiva uni-bivariada para variáveis sócio-demográficas, clínicas e relacionadas com o atendimento recebido. Resultados: 10,7% das mulheres com lesões de alto grau ou invasoras terminaram o tratamento. A oportunidade total do acompanhamento foi de 52,3% e as fases com tempos de espera mais prolongados para o atendimento foram as consultas diagnósticas e o tratamento. Conclusão: apesar dos esforços para aumentar a percentagem de detecção e para buscar ativamente pacientes com citologia positiva evidenciada, no estudo se evidenciam obstáculos no atendimento de pacientes para seu diagnóstico e tratamento oportunos, ocasionando o avanço da doença e até a morte em vários casos.