Validation of a questionnaire about the perception of occupational biohazard in Spanish companies.

Objectives: The aim of this work was to develop, validate and test a new questionnaire to assess the biological risk in workers with intentional or unintentional exposure to biological agents.

Methods: A questionnaire including 34 questions was developed to study the perception of workers against occupational biohazard. Content Validity Index (CVI) and Content Validity Ratio (CVR) were calculated for the analysis of content validity.

[Differences of occupational biohazard protection risk in relation to company size].

Objective To obtain information on the level of exposure and protection of workers to biological agents working in the health sector, farms, meat industry, laboratories, sewage treatment plants, food industry and veterinary centers, valuing their differences in relation to the size of the company. Method A study in which 590 workers belonging to 59 Spanish companies. An initial questionnaire with 3 questions was sent to companies and answered by those responsible for prevention, and another questionnaire with 34 questions to be answered by exposed workers was also sent.

A novel fungal prenyl diphosphate synthase in the dimorphic zygomycete Mucor circinelloides.

Two Mucor circinelloides structural genes involved in isoprenoid biosynthesis were isolated and characterised. The isoA gene encodes a typical eukaryotic farnesyl diphosphate synthase (EC 2.5.

Expression of the carG gene, encoding geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase, is up-regulated by blue light in Mucor circinelloides.

A new structural gene, carG, involved in the biosynthesis of carotenoids in the fungus Mucor circinelloides was isolated by heterologous hybridisation, using a probe derived from the Gibberella fujikuroi ggs1 gene. Functional analyses in Escherichia coli showed that the encoded protein has geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate (GGPP) synthase activity. A comparison of the deduced protein with other GGPP synthases suggested that the carG gene might have evolved from other larger genes present in some fungi.