Rudolph, the kids' ward reindeer: a scoping review of the effects of support animals on the well-being of healthcare staff.

Background: Many systematic reviews identify support animals or animal assisted activity as a beneficial and standard practice in several medical disciplines for patients (children, adolescents, and adults) and residents in care homes. A variety of animals are used such as dogs, cats, ponies, horses, alpacas, reindeer, penguins, rabbits, and tarantulas. Our objective was to explore the evidence regarding effects of animal assisted activity on a further population of interest; namely, healthcare staff.

Occurrence and in vitro toxicity of organic compounds in urban background PM.

This study describes the chemical composition and in vitro toxicity of the organic fraction of fine particulate matter (PM) at an urban background site, which receives emissions either from Frankfurt international airport or the city centre, respectively. We analysed the chemical composition of filter extracts (PM) using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a high-resolution mass spectrometer, followed by a non-target analysis. In parallel, we applied the bulk of the filter extracts to a Microtox and acetylcholinesterase-inhibition assay for in vitro toxicity testing.

Incubation in Wastewater Reduces the Multigenerational Effects of Microplastics in .

The aging of microplastics in the environment changes their physicochemical properties. While this may affect their toxicity, comparative data on the effects of aged compared to pristine microplastics are scarce. One of those aging processes is the sorption of chemicals, which has mainly been studied for individual pollutants present in marine ecosystems.