Novel gas exposure system for the controlled exposure of plants to gaseous hydrogen fluoride.

Plants can serve as sensitive bioindicators of the presence of contaminant vapors in the atmosphere. This work describes a novel laboratory-based gas exposure system capable of calibrating plants as bioindicators for the detection and delineation of the atmospheric contaminant hydrogen fluoride (HF) as a preparatory step for monitoring release emissions. To evaluate changes in plant phenotype and stress-induced physiological effects attributed to HF alone, the gas exposure chamber must have additional controls to simulate otherwise optimal plant growth conditions including variables such as light intensity, photoperiod, temperature, and irrigation.

Quarantine and serial testing for variants of SARS-CoV-2 with benefits of vaccination and boosting on consequent control of COVID-19.

Quarantine and serial testing strategies for a disease depend principally on its incubation period and infectiousness profile. In the context of COVID-19, these primary public health tools must be modulated with successive SARS CoV-2 variants of concern that dominate transmission. Our analysis shows that (1) vaccination status of an individual makes little difference to the determination of the appropriate quarantine duration of an infected case, whereas vaccination coverage of the population can have a substantial effect on this duration, (2) successive variants can challenge disease control efforts by their earlier and increased transmission in the disease time course relative to prior variants, and (3) sufficient vaccine boosting of a population substantially aids the suppression of local transmission through frequent serial testing.

Comparative analyses of eighteen rapid antigen tests and RT-PCR for COVID-19 quarantine and surveillance-based isolation.

Background: Rapid antigen (RA) tests are being increasingly employed to detect SARS-CoV-2 infections in quarantine and surveillance. Prior research has focused on RT-PCR testing, a single RA test, or generic diagnostic characteristics of RA tests in assessing testing strategies.

Methods: We have conducted a comparative analysis of the post-quarantine transmission, the effective reproduction number during serial testing, and the false-positive rates for 18 RA tests with emergency use authorization from The United States Food and Drug Administration and an RT-PCR test.

Environmental assessment of pediatric Lead exposure in Tehran; a prospective cross-sectional study.

Background: Ingestion and inhalation are common routes of exposure for lead in humans. Developing countries still have unacceptably high rates of lead toxicity, especially in children. Studies on probable risk factors of lead poisoning in Iranian children are insufficient.

Optimal COVID-19 quarantine and testing strategies.

For COVID-19, it is vital to understand if quarantines shorter than 14 days can be equally effective with judiciously deployed testing. Here, we develop a mathematical model that quantifies the probability of post-quarantine transmission incorporating testing into travel quarantine, quarantine of traced contacts with an unknown time of infection, and quarantine of cases with a known time of exposure. We find that testing on exit (or entry and exit) can reduce the duration of a 14-day quarantine by 50%, while testing on entry shortens quarantine by at most one day.

Optimal COVID-19 quarantine and testing strategies.

As economic woes of the COVID-19 pandemic deepen, strategies are being formulated to avoid the need for prolonged stay-at-home orders, while implementing risk-based quarantine, testing, contact tracing and surveillance protocols. Given limited resources and the significant economic, public health, and operational challenges of the current 14-day quarantine recommendation, it is vital to understand if shorter but equally effective quarantine and testing strategies can be deployed. To quantify the probability of post-quarantine transmission upon isolation of a positive test, we developed a mathematical model in which we varied quarantine duration and the timing of molecular tests for three scenarios of entry into quarantine.

Examples of coupled human and environmental systems from the extractive industry and hydropower sector interfaces.

Large-scale corporate projects, particularly those in extractive industries or hydropower development, have a history from early in the twentieth century of creating negative environmental, social, and health impacts on communities proximal to their operations. In many instances, especially for hydropower projects, the forced resettlement of entire communities was a feature in which local cultures and core human rights were severely impacted. These projects triggered an activist opposition that progressively expanded and became influential at both the host community level and with multilateral financial institutions.

Experience and lessons from health impact assessment for human rights impact assessment.

As globalisation has opened remote parts of the world to foreign investment, global leaders at the United Nations and beyond have called on multinational companies to foresee and mitigate negative impacts on the communities surrounding their overseas operations. This movement towards corporate impact assessment began with a push for environmental and social inquiries. It has been followed by demands for more detailed assessments, including health and human rights.

Baseline malaria vector transmission dynamics in communities in Ahafo mining area in Ghana.

Background: Malaria vector dynamics are relevant prior to commencement of mining activities. A baseline entomology survey was conducted in Asutifi and Tano (referred to as Ahafo) in the Brong-Ahafo geo-political region of Ghana during preparatory stages for mining by Newmont Ghana Gold Limited.

Methods: Between November 2006 and August 2007, eight Centre for Disease Control light traps were set daily (Monday-Friday) to collect mosquitoes.

Multinational corporations and infectious disease: Embracing human rights management techniques.

Background: Global health institutions have called for governments, international organisations and health practitioners to employ a human rights-based approach to infectious diseases. The motivation for a human rights approach is clear: poverty and inequality create conditions for infectious diseases to thrive, and the diseases, in turn, interact with social-ecological systems to promulgate poverty, inequity and indignity. Governments and intergovernmental organisations should be concerned with the control and elimination of these diseases, as widespread infections delay economic growth and contribute to higher healthcare costs and slower processes for realising universal human rights.

The State of Alaska's early experience with institutionalization of health impact assessment.

Background: Many nations routinely include health impact assessments (HIA) in public policy decisions. Institutionalization of HIA formally integrates health considerations into a governmental decision-making process. We describe an example of institutionalization in the United States through Alaska's early experience with institutionalization of HIA.

Untapped potential of health impact assessment.

The World Health Organization has promoted health impact assessment (HIA) for over 20 years. At the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), HIA was discussed as a critical method for linking health to "green economy" and "institutional framework" strategies for sustainable development. In countries having a high human development index (HDI), HIA has been added to the overall assessment suite that typically includes potential environmental and social impacts, but it is rarely required as part of the environmental and social impact assessment for large development projects.

Enhancing impact: visualization of an integrated impact assessment strategy.

The environmental impact assessment process is over 40 years old and has dramatically expanded. Topics, such as social, health and human rights impact are now included. The main body of an impact analysis is generally hundreds of pages long and supported by countless technical appendices.

Health impact assessment of industrial development projects: a spatio-temporal visualization.

Development and implementation of large-scale industrial projects in complex eco-epidemiological settings typically require combined environmental, social and health impact assessments. We present a generic, spatio-temporal health impact assessment (HIA) visualization, which can be readily adapted to specific projects and key stakeholders, including poorly literate communities that might be affected by consequences of a project. We illustrate how the occurrence of a variety of complex events can be utilized for stakeholder communication, awareness creation, interactive learning as well as formulating HIA research and implementation questions.

Malaria epidemiology in the Ahafo area of Ghana.

Background: Plasmodium falciparum malaria remains endemic in sub-Saharan Africa including Ghana. The epidemiology of malaria in special areas, such as mining areas needs to be monitored and controlled. Newmont Ghana Gold Limited is conducting mining activities in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana that may have an impact on the diseases such as malaria in the mining area.

Baseline health situation of communities affected by the Nam Theun 2 hydroelectric project in central Lao PDR and indicators for monitoring.

Hydroelectric projects offer opportunities for infrastructure development and economic growth; yet, if not well designed, implemented and operated, they have the potential to negatively affect the health and well-being of local and distant downstream communities. Remote rural populations are particularly vulnerable to the sudden influx of men, materials and money, and associated population mixing that accompany project construction phases. Two large-scale baseline health surveys, carried out in 2001/2002 in two communities that were affected by the Nam Theun 2 hydroelectric project in central Lao PDR, were analysed.

Nanotechnology and nanotoxicology: a primer for clinicians.

Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter in dimensions <100 nm. At this size, matter can take on different chemical and physical properties, giving the products characteristics useful to industry, medicine and technology. Government funding and private investors provide billions of research dollars for the development of new materials and applications.

Solvents and vapor intrusion pathways.

Vapor intrusion must be recognized appropriately as a separate pathway of contamination. Although many issues resemble those of other forms of contamination (particularly its entryway, which is similar to that of radon seepage), vapor intrusion stands apart as a unique risk requiring case-specific action. This article addresses these issues and the current understanding of the most appropriate and successful remedial actions.

Stress in expatriates.

With economic globalization, the rate and effects of culture shock stress in expatriates and their families are expected to increase. The stressor may occur from the micro-environment, the macro-environment, or the mega-environment. The effects of stress are frequently due to predictable reactions such as insecurity, distress, and homesickness.

Respiratory infections: SARS and tuberculosis.

Positive-microscopy TB is a real issue for the respiratory diseases department of N'Djaména General Hospital, with a prevalence rate of 37 cases in 100 patients. The delay of diagnosis for positive-microscopy TB is excessive. Patients seem to be more responsible for this delay than the healthcare facilities.

HIV/AIDS prevention programs: methodologies and insights from the dynamic modeling literature.

Given the quickly changing landscapes of both global HIV infection and the HIV prevention literature, it has become increasingly difficult to identify or design an effective HIV prevention program. The authors discuss methods of selecting an appropriate program so that readers can critically evaluate the literature and create a suitable program for their unique setting. The intent of this article is to provide the reader with analytic modeling tools and methodology to search effectively the literature so that an appropriate and successful HIV prevention program can by selected by an organization or project team.