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Expert perspectives on exposure-response functions for urban health policy: Lessons from a UBDPolicy workshop
No full textPolicy-makers require robust, quantitative evidence in order to better align urban and transport planning practices with public health goals. Epidemiologically derived exposure-response functions can quantify the association between urban health determinants and human health outcomes. They are therefore a crucial input in quantitative health risk assessments, providing to policy-makers actionable evidence on how healthier, more sustainable cities may be achieved.The Urban Burden of Disease Policy (UBDPolicy) project convened a two-day workshop to discuss recent developments, ongoing challenges, and future directions for exposure-response functions and their application to quantitative health risk assessment. The workshop discussions centred around air pollution, transport noise, non-optimal temperature, greenspace and physical activity as primary pathways through which urban and transport planning impact human health. Based on this workshop, we provide an expert-guided perspective on how to enhance both our conceptual understanding of exposure-response functions and their practical application in urban health risk assessment. We also identify pathway-specific as well as cross-cutting (e.g., quantifying multiple exposures, need for population sub-group evidence) research needs relevant to environmental health more broadly. We propose several future research directions as an agenda for advancing urban environmental health
Ultra-processed food intake and impairment across multiple cognitive domains in nationally representative older U.S. adults
No full textIntroduction: Ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption, which accounts for more than 50% of energy intake in the U.S., has steadily increased among older adults over the past decade. UPF consumption is associated with overall cognitive decline, but few studies have examined the associations between UPF consumption and individual cognitive domains. In this study, we examined associations between UPF consumption and impairment in executive function, memory, language, visuospatial, and orientation using data from the longitudinal and nationally representative Health and Retirement Study (HRS).Methods: Data were drawn from HRS participants who took part in both the 2013 Health Care and Nutrition Study (HCNS) and the 2016 Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP) and who did not have dementia or memory problems at baseline (2012) (n = 1,408). Dietary intake was assessed using the food frequency questionnaire from 2013 HCNS. UPF was classified using the Nova categorization. The percentage of energy intake from UPF was grouped into sex-specific quintiles (Q). Cognitive impairment was assessed from the 2016 HCAP based on cognitive domain scores, defined as >1.5 SDs below the mean or a T-score = 35. Weighted multivariate-logistic regression was used to estimate the associations between UPF consumption and cognitive outcomes.Results: In the analytic sample, mean UPF intake was 42.3% energy/day. After adjustment for baseline sociodemographic and health characteristics, higher UPF consumption showed a marginally significant trend toward greater impairment in executive function (Q4 vs. Q1, OR 2.08, 95% CI 1.16–3.74; Q5 vs. Q1, OR 1.73, 95% CI 0.97–3.09; P-trend = 0.052). UPF consumption was not significantly associated with impairment in other cognitive domains.Discussion: Our findings highlight a potential association between high UPF intake and executive functioning impairment among older U.S. adults
Assessing the success of a horizon scanning approach in predicting invasive non‐native species arrival
No full textDespite increasing awareness of invasive non‐native species (INNS) and enhanced biosecurity controls in many countries, INNS are still arriving and establishing in new destinations, remaining a globally acknowledged threat to native biodiversity. Preventing the introduction of INNS, as opposed to controlling them once they have arrived, is recognised as the most effective approach to their management. Horizon scanning represents one of the key tools to identify high‐risk INNS that have yet to arrive within a region and has been applied in many contexts around the world, but to date there have been no studies that systematically assess the effectiveness of this approach. Here, we revisit the horizon scan for Great Britain conducted in 2013 that assessed the likelihood of high‐risk INNS arriving within the next 10 years, establishing and having an impact on biodiversity and ecosystems. We evaluated the success of this exercise in predicting arrival of these species within the subsequent 10 years. Ninety‐two species were shortlisted in the 2013 horizon scan. In total, 31 of the 92 species identified in the 2013 horizon scan had arrived by 2023. We found that 12 of the top 20 species had arrived within 10 years. In predicting arrival, there was a significant effect of species having arrived previously to Great Britain, and the number of countries in Western Europe and Baltic countries in which an INNS was found prior to 2013. Policy implications : We conclude that horizon scanning provides a rapid, affordable and successful mechanism to predict the arrival of high‐risk INNS. We highlight the importance of citizen science, including biological recording, and of local expertise for detecting and documenting arrival of INNS. We discuss knowledge gaps that could help inform and improve future horizon scanning. In addition, we recommend regularly repeating horizon scanning exercises to support biosecurity and awareness raising for INNS
Establishing a Memory Clinic Biobank Study
No full textBackgroundThe Northern Ireland Biobank was established to facilitate research access to quality-assured biological samples. Patients, with capacity to consent, are invited to give written consent for collection and retention of clinically surplus material for the purposes of research. In addition, blood can be collected for the purposes of biobanking.MethodSince May 2022 patients have been invited to donate clinically surplus cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to the NI Biobank. Since March 2023 patients have been invited to donate blood for the purposes of biobanking. CSF is collected using the drip method into false-bottomed Starstedt tubes. Blood is collected, non-fasting, into two EDTA bottles. Both are transported at room temperature to Trust (CSF) and NI Biobank (blood) laboratories on the same day. CSF is frozen at -80C. Blood is processed within 24 hours and stored as plasma and buffy coat.ResultThus far, n = 37 participants have consented to the retention of their clinical surplus CSF. In addition, n = 105 participants have donated blood for the purposes of biobanking.The main barrier to recruitment has been the availability of staff time to facilitate the consent and sampling processes.ConclusionBiobanking of biological samples, with access to associated clinical data, provides opportunities to study real-world memory clinic cohorts. Researchers interested in accessing these samples should contact the authors
Global cortical thinning predicts slower forward and backward walking in multiple sclerosis
No full textGait impairment and falls are common in multiple sclerosis (MS), yet the neural substrates contributing to mobility decline remain poorly understood. While prior studies have linked regional gray matter atrophy to motor outcomes, the role of diffuse cortical changes in complex gait tasks, such as backward walking, is less clear. This study examined whether diffuse cortical thinning is associated with forward and backward walking speed, and whether these relationships differ between fallers and nonfallers in MS. Forty-three individuals with MS (55 ± 10 years; 65% female) completed forward and backward Timed 25-Foot Walk assessments and high-resolution structural MRI. Cortical thickness and gray matter volume were estimated. Region-specific associations with gait speed were examined using regression with false discovery rate (FDR) correction. Principal component analysis revealed a global cortical thinning component that was associated with slower forward (β = −0.065, adjusted R2 = 0.14) and backward (β = −0.061, adjusted R2 = 0.19) walking speeds. In contrast, volumetric components did not significantly predict gait. Fallers and nonfallers did not differ in gait speed or cortical thinning, but exploratory moderation suggested stronger cortical thinning–gait associations in fallers, although effects did not remain significant after FDR correction. These preliminary findings suggest that diffuse cortical thinning is a consistent neural correlate of gait slowing in MS, with exploratory evidence suggesting that this relationship may be stronger among individuals with recent falls
Speculation in the United Kingdom, 1785‒2019
No full textSpeculation has long been thought to have significant economic effects, but it is difficult to measure, making it challenging to examine these effects empirically. In this paper we measure speculation in the United Kingdom since 1785 by using business and financial reporting in The Times newspaper. Our monthly speculation index reveals four distinct epochs of speculation in the United Kingdom. Epochs of high speculation coincide with higher stock market returns and higher economic growth, while low‐speculation periods coincide with high levels of government debt and financial repression. We find that low interest rates foment the development of higher speculation, and that eras of higher speculation are often followed by greater banking instability
Hierarchical micro-segmentations for zero-trust services via large language model-enhanced graph diffusion
No full textIn the rapidly evolving Next-Generation Networking (NGN) era, the adoption of zero-trust architectures has become increasingly crucial to protect security. However, provisioning zero-trust services in NGNs poses significant challenges, primarily due to the environmental complexity and dynamics. Motivated by these challenges, this paper explores efficient zero-trust service provisioning using hierarchical micro-segmentations. Specifically, we model zero-trust networks via hierarchical graphs, thereby jointly considering the resource- and trust-level features to optimize service efficiency. We organize such zero-trust networks through micro-segmentations, which support granular zero-trust policies efficiently. To generate the optimal micro-segmentation, we present the Large Language Model-Enhanced Graph Diffusion (LEGD) algorithm, which leverages the diffusion process to realize a high-quality generation paradigm. Additionally, we utilize gradient ascent and Large Language Models (LLM) to enable LEGD to optimize the generation policy and understand complicated graphical features. Moreover, realizing the unique trustworthiness updates and service upgrades in zero-trust NGN, we further present LEGD-Adaptive Maintenance (LEGD-AM), providing an adaptive way to perform task-oriented fine-tuning on LEGD. Extensive experiments demonstrate that the proposed LEGD achieves 90% higher efficiency in provisioning services compared with other baselines. Moreover, the LEGD-AM can reduce the service outage time by over 50%
Responses of rumen bacterial microflora to aflatoxin B1 challenge: potential roles of AHLs/AI-2 mediated quorum sensing
No full textBackgroundAs a universal cell-to-cell communication mode in the diverse microbial communities, quorum sensing (QS) has been discovered in the ruminal microbiome and supposed to play a significant role in feed digestion and microorganism adaptation during rumen fermentation. Besides, the mycotoxin aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) has been reported to cause rumen dysbacteriosis and alter the abundance of some specific ruminal bacteria that possess the QS-related genes. Threfore, we hypothesized that QS is involved in the responses of rumen bacterial microbiota to AFB1 exposure, and employed the rumen simulation technique (RUSITEC) to investigate the potential roles of QS in the AFB1-induced shifts in ruminal microbiota and relevant metabolisms.ResultsAFB1 raised ruminal pH and NH3-N concentration, but decreased total volatile fatty acid (TVFA) production, the molar proportions of acetate, propionate, butyrate, isobutyrate, valerate, isovalerate, and the disappearance of acid detergent fiber (ADF). The concentrations of QS signaling molecules including AI-2, C4-HSL, C6-HSL, and 3-oxo-C6-HSL were reduced by AFB1, whereas the microbial protein and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were unchanged. The copy numbers of Ruminococcus flavefaciens, methanogens, and fungi dropped, while the density of Selenomonas ruminantium rose in response to AFB1. LEfSe analysis showed that the species of unclassified_Prevotella, UCG_004_bacterium_YGB2007, Cenchrus americanus, uncultured_rumen_bacterium affiliated to the class Kiritimatiella, Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens, and Anaerovibrio_sp_JC8 were differentially enriched in the rumen liquid of different treatments, whilst another uncultured_rumen_bacterium was the only distinctively enriched species in the rumen solid. Further, the metabolomics analysis indicated that ascorbate and aldarate metabolism, histidine metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism, pyruvate metabolism, glycine, serine and threonine metabolism, biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, and arginine and proline metabolism were the commonly differential metabolic pathways. As illustrated by the Spearman analysis, the AI-2 and C6-HSL were positively correlated with the volatile fatty acids (VFAs), and C6-HSL was positively correlated with the copy numbers of Selenomonas ruminantium and Ruminococcus flavefaciens. Moreover, the positive or negative interconnections between the QS signal molecules and the relative abundances of differential bacterial taxa were also exhibited.ConclusionsThe present RUSITEC fermentation study revealed the potential involvements of AHLs/AI-2 mediated QS in the fluctuations of ruminal microbes and relevant rumen metabolisms under the AFB1 challenge, which could lead to the overall impairment of ruminal microbial fermentation. Future studies are necessitated to elucidate and testify the mechanisms of those correlations discovered in the current trial
