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Investigating Exposure and Hazards of Micro- and Nanoplastics During Pregnancy and Early Life (AURORA Project): Protocol for an Interdisciplinary Study
Get PDFBackground:Micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) are emerging pollutants of concern with ubiquitous presence in global ecosystems. MNPs pose potential implications for human health; however, the health impacts of MNP exposures are not yet understood. Recent evidence suggests that MNPs can cross the placental barrier, underlying the urgent need to understand their impact on reproductive health and development.Objective:The Actionable eUropean ROadmap for early-life health Risk Assessment of micro- and nanoplastics (AURORA) project will investigate MNP exposures and their biological and health effects during pregnancy and early life, which are critical periods due to heightened vulnerability to environmental stressors. The AURORA project will enhance exposure assessment capabilities for measuring MNPs, MNP-associated chemicals, and plastic additives in human tissues, including placenta and blood.Methods:In this interdisciplinary project, we will advance methods for in-depth characterization and scalable chemical analytical strategies, enabling high-resolution and large-scale toxicological, exposure assessment, and epidemiological studies. The AURORA project performs observational studies to investigate determinants and health impacts of MNPs by including 800 mother-child pairs from 2 existing birth cohorts and 110 women of reproductive age from a newly established cohort. This will be complemented by toxicological studies using a tiered-testing approach and epidemiological investigations to evaluate associations between maternal and prenatal MNP exposures and health perturbations, such as placental function, immune-inflammatory responses, oxidative stress, accelerated aging, endocrine disruption, and child growth and development. The ultimate goal of the AURORA project is to create an MNP risk assessment framework and identify the remaining knowledge gaps and priorities needed to comprehensively assess the impact of MNPs on early-life health.Results:In the first 3 years of this 5-year project (2021-2026), progress was made toward all objectives. This includes completion of recruitment and data collection for new and existing cohorts, development of analytical methodological protocols, and initiation of the toxicological tiered assessments. As of September 2024, data analysis is ongoing and results are expected to be published starting in 2025.Conclusions:As plastic pollution increases globally, it is imperative to understand the impact of MNPs on human health, particularly during vulnerable developmental stages such as early life. The contributions of the AURORA project will inform future risk assessment.International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID):DERR1-10.2196/6317
How long do bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and viruses retain their replication capacity on inanimate surfaces? A systematic review examining environmental resilience versus healthcare-associated infection risk by “fomite-borne risk assessment”
Get PDFIn healthcare settings, contaminated surfaces play an important role in the transmission of nosocomial pathogens potentially resulting in healthcare-associated infections (HAI). Pathogens can be transmitted directly from frequent hand-touch surfaces close to patients or indirectly by staff and visitors. HAI risk depends on exposure, extent of contamination, infectious dose (ID), virulence, hygiene practices, and patient vulnerability. This review attempts to close a gap in previous reviews on persistence/tenacity by only including articles (n = 171) providing quantitative data on re-cultivable pathogens from fomites for a better translation into clinical settings. We have therefore introduced the new term “replication capacity” (RC). The RC is affected by the degree of contamination, surface material, temperature, relative humidity, protein load, organic soil, UV-light (sunlight) exposure, and pH value. In general, investigations into surface RC are mainly performed in vitro using reference strains with high inocula. In vitro data from studies on 14 Gram-positive, 26 Gram-negative bacteria, 18 fungi, 4 protozoa, and 37 viruses. It should be regarded as a worst-case scenario indicating the upper bounds of risks when using such data for clinical decision-making. Information on RC after surface contamination could be seen as an opportunity to choose the most appropriate infection prevention and control (IPC) strategies. To help with decision-making, pathogens characterized by an increased nosocomial risk for transmission from inanimate surfaces (“fomite-borne”) are presented and discussed in this systematic review. Thus, the review offers a theoretical basis to support local risk assessments and IPC recommendations
Provision of dietary education in UK-based cardiac rehabilitation: a cross-sectional survey conducted in conjunction with the British Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation
Get PDFDietary education is a core component of cardiac rehabilitation (CR). It is unknown how or what dietary education is delivered across the UK. We aimed to characterise practitioners who deliver dietary education in UK CR and determine the format and content of the education sessions. A fifty-four-item survey was approved by the British Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation (BACPR) committee and circulated between July and October 2021 via two emails to the BACPR mailing list and on social media. Practitioners providing dietary education within CR programmes were eligible to respond. Survey questions encompassed: practitioner job title and qualifications, resources, and the format, content and individual tailoring of diet education. Forty-nine different centres responded. Nurses (65·1 %) and dietitians (55·3 %) frequently provided dietary education. Practitioners had no nutrition-related qualifications in 46·9 % of services. Most services used credible resources to support their education, and 24·5 % used BACPR core competencies. CR programmes were mostly community based (40·8 %), lasting 8 weeks (range: 2-25) and included two (range: 1-7) diet sessions. Dietary history was assessed at the start (79·6 %) and followed up (83·7 %) by most centres; barriers to completing assessment were insufficient time, staffing or other priorities. Services mainly focused on the Mediterranean diet while topics such as malnutrition and protein intake were lower priority topics. Service improvement should focus on increasing qualifications of practitioners, standardisation of dietary assessment and improvement in protein and malnutrition screening and assessment
The predictability of fluctuating environments shapes the thermal tolerance of marine ectotherms and compensates narrow safety margins
Get PDFAquatic species living in productive coastal habitats with abundant primary producers have evolved in highly dynamic diel and seasonally fluctuating environments in terms of, for example, water temperature and dissolved oxygen. However, how environmental fluctuations shape the thermal tolerance of marine species is still poorly understood. Here we hypothesize that the degree of predictability of the diel environmental fluctuations in the coastal area can explain the thermal response of marine species. To test this hypothesis, we measured the thermal tolerance of 17 species of marine ectotherm from tropical, warm temperate and cold temperate latitudes under two levels of oxygen (around saturation and at supersaturation), and relate the results to their site-specific temperature and oxygen fluctuation and their environmental predictability. We demonstrate that oxygen and temperature fluctuations at tropical latitudes have a higher predictability than those at warm and cold temperate latitudes. Further, we show that marine species that are adapted to high predictability have the potential to tune their thermal performance when exposed to oxygen supersaturation, despite being constrained within a narrow safety margin. We advocate that the predictability of the environmental fluctuation needs to be considered when measuring and forecasting the response of marine animals to global warming
Glow up: the power of fiction in higher education research
Get PDFIncreasing numbers of researchers in the field of higher education research are searching for meaning rather than metrics: something in their data that call to them and that make their hearts soar. This paper leans into post-qualitative approaches and attempts to resist methodological arrest, drawing on the disciplinary language of literary fiction to explore how we can make meaning through creative acts of reading. We trace our literary roots across readings from a diverse range of texts and approaches to show how this method could help us reshape and reframe pedagogic challenges within higher education
Deadly Dolls: Midnight Tales of Uncanny Playthings
No full textAs mannequins, automata, effigies and dummies, dolls have haunted our imagination since ancient times, invoked throughout the years in literature and film as quintessential symbols of the uncanny. In this collection of fourteen tales harking from 1817 to 2022, Elizabeth Dearnley presents a sinister troupe of unsettling playthings from the minds of E. T. A. Hoffmann, Daphne du Maurier, Angela Carter, Agatha Christie, Robert Aickman, Camilla Grudova and many more.Including possessed puppets, artificial suitors and figures that blur the lines between human and doll, fresh nightmares await when the doors of the dolls’ house swing open and its denizens come out to play
A systematic review exploring healthcare professionals' perceptions of take‐home naloxone dispensing in acute care areas
No full textAimsTo explore healthcare professionals' perceptions and experiences of take-home naloxone initiatives in acute care settings to gain an understanding of issues facilitating or impeding dispensing.DesignSystematic literature review.Data SourcesCochrane, MEDLINE and CINAHL were searched from 15/03/2021 to 18/03/2021, with a follow-up search performed via PubMed on 22/03/2021. The years 2011 to 2021 were included in the search.Review MethodsA systematic literature review focused on qualitative studies and quantitative survey designs. Synthesis without meta-analysis was undertaken using a thematic analysis approach.ResultsSeven articles from the United States of America (5), Australia (1) and Canada (1) with 750 participants were included in the review. Results indicate ongoing stigma towards people who use drugs with preconceived moral concerns regarding take-home naloxone. There was confusion regarding roles and responsibilities in take-home naloxone dispensing and patient education. Similarly, there was a lack of clarity over logistical and financial issues.ConclusionTake-home naloxone is a vital harm reduction initiative. However, barriers exist that prevent the optimum implementation of these initiatives
SA-FLIDS: secure and authenticated federated learning-based intelligent network intrusion detection system for smart healthcare
Get PDFSmart healthcare systems are gaining increased practicality and utility, driven by continuous advancements in artificial intelligence technologies, cloud and fog computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT). However, despite these transformative developments, challenges persist within IoT devices, encompassing computational constraints, storage limitations, and attack vulnerability. These attacks target sensitive health information, compromise data integrity, and pose obstacles to the overall resilience of the healthcare sector. To address these vulnerabilities, Network-based Intrusion Detection Systems (NIDSs) are crucial in fortifying smart healthcare networks and ensuring secure use of IoMT-based applications by mitigating security risks. Thus, this article proposes a novel Secure and Authenticated Federated Learning-based NIDS framework using Blockchain (SA-FLIDS) for fog-IoMT-enabled smart healthcare systems. Our research aims to improve data privacy and reduce communication costs. Furthermore, we also address weaknesses in decentralized learning systems, like Sybil and Model Poisoning attacks. We leverage the blockchain-based Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) model to handle client authentication and secure communication. Additionally, we use the Trimmed Mean method to aggregate data. This helps reduce the effect of unusual or malicious inputs when creating the overall model. Our approach is evaluated on real IoT traffic datasets such as CICIoT2023 and EdgeIIoTset. It demonstrates exceptional robustness against adversarial attacks. These findings underscore the potential of our technique to improve the security of IoMT-based healthcare applications
Security and Privacy in Smart Environments
No full textThis volume gives readers an understanding of the multifaceted threats posed by the evolving cybersecurity landscape in smart environments, while also offering strategic insights into mitigative measures and proactive solutions.The chapters in the first part explain the current state of smart environments, shedding light on their complexities and vulnerabilities. The second part provides a fresh perspective on existing technologies and cyber challenges within the context of the modern era, offering novel insights and analyses. The third part is dedicated to exploring the intricacies of critical infrastructures. The concluding section offers a succinct overview of distributed ledger and privacy enhancement approaches, underscoring their potential role in fortifying cybersecurity measures.The contributors are among the leading researchers in the areas of smart environments, information security, and privacy, and the content will be of value to researchers in academia and industry, and security practitioners and policymakers
Smart urbanism in Africa: when theories do not fit with contextual practices
Get PDFTheories of smart urbanism have overlooked the influence of contextual factors on the conception, planning and implementation of digital transformation practices across regions. To articulate this critique, we focus on African cities and draw on a diverse range of urban and regional scholarship. We present the core assumptions advanced in the mainstream literature on smart urbanism and prove their inability to fit the organisation of African urban contexts. Three main research questions emerge from this critical examination and offer new perspectives for expanding knowledge on how smart urbanism challenges recombine with place-based governance approaches, not only in Africa, but globally
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