Exploring the use of solid fuels for cooking and household air pollution in informal settlements through photovoice: The Fuel to Pot study in Ndirande (Malawi) and Mukuru (Kenya).

Introduction: Worldwide, 2.4 billion people rely on solid fuels such as wood or charcoal for cooking, leading to approximately 3.2 million deaths per year from illnesses attributable to household air pollution.

"Why should care workers be any different from prison workers?" A qualitative study of second-hand smoke exposure during home-care visits and potential measures to eliminate exposure.

Introduction: Despite world-leading measures in place to protect employees from second-hand smoke exposure in workplaces in the United Kingdom, workers who deliver health and social care in private homes remain unprotected legally in this setting from second-hand smoke exposure (SHS).

Methods: Fourteen individuals took part in either an in-depth telephone interview (n = 11) or an online focus group discussion (n = 3), including home-care workers (n = 5) and managers (n = 5) based in Lanarkshire (Scotland) and local/national policy makers (n = 4). Participants were asked about the extent to which exposure to SHS is an issue during home visits and possible additional measures that could be put in place to eliminate exposure.

Nursing Leadership in a Post-Pandemic Elective Orthopaedic Theatre Department: A Detailed Thematic Analysis of an Open-Ended Qualitative Survey.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted nursing theatre staff, departmental activity, and delivery of services to patients. This work-based project aimed to investigate the challenges of nursing leadership in an elective orthopaedic department at current times.

Methods: The study collected qualitative data exploring theatre staff's expectations from leadership, offering insight on how the pandemic has influenced the way of working and exploring how the future in this unit may look.

The Effect of Adult Smoking Behavior on Children's Exposure to Secondhand Smoke. An Analysis Based on Salivary Cotinine Levels Among Children in Dhaka and Karachi.

Introduction: Exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) risks children's health. However, biomarkers are rarely used to study SHS exposure among children in low- and middle-income countries.

Aims And Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional data collected between March and November 2022 for a cluster-randomized controlled trial investigating a Smoke-Free Intervention in 2769 children aged 9-15 in 74 schools (34 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and 40 in Karachi, Pakistan).

Piloting co-developed behaviour change interventions to reduce exposure to air pollution and improve self-reported asthma-related health.

Background: Exposure to air pollution can exacerbate asthma with immediate and long-term health consequences. Behaviour changes can reduce exposure to air pollution, yet its 'invisible' nature often leaves individuals unaware of their exposure, complicating the identification of appropriate behaviour modifications. Moreover, making health behaviour changes can be challenging, necessitating additional support from healthcare professionals.

Physiologically based modeling of LNP-mediated delivery of mRNA in the vascular system.

RNA therapeutics are an emerging, powerful class of drugs with potential applications in a wide range of disorders. A central challenge in their development is the lack of clear pharmacokinetic (PK)-pharmacodynamic relationship, in part due to the significant delay between the kinetics of RNA delivery and the onset of pharmacologic response. To bridge this gap, we have developed a physiologically based PK/pharmacodynamic model for systemically administered mRNA-containing lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) in mice.

"I have to stay inside …": Experiences of air pollution for people with asthma.

Asthma, characterized by airway inflammation, sensitization and constriction, and leading to symptoms including cough and dyspnoea, affects millions of people globally. Air pollution is a known asthma trigger, yet how it is experienced is understudied and how individuals with asthma interact with air quality information and manage exacerbation risks is unclear. This study aimed to explore how people living with asthma in Scotland, UK, experienced and managed their asthma in relation to air pollution.

A cluster randomised controlled trial to reduce respiratory effects of cotton dust exposure among textile workers: the MultiTex RCT study.

Background: We determined the effectiveness of an intervention to reduce cotton dust-related respiratory symptoms and improve lung function of textile workers.

Methods: We undertook a cluster randomised controlled trial at 38 textile mills in Karachi, Pakistan. The intervention comprised: training in occupational health for workers and managers, formation of workplace committees to promote a health and safety plan that included wet mopping and safe disposal of cotton dust, provision of simple face masks, and further publicity about the risks from cotton dust.

Curbside particulate matter and susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Background: Biologic plausibility for the association between exposure to particulate matter (PM) less than 10 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) morbidity in epidemiologic studies has not been determined. The upregulation of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) entry receptor on host cells, by PM is a putative mechanism.

Objective: We sought to assess the effect of PM on SARS-CoV-2 infection of cells .

Preterm birth, birth weight, infant weight gain and their associations with childhood asthma and spirometry: a cross-sectional observational study in Nairobi, Kenya.

Background: In sub-Saharan Africa, the origins of asthma and high prevalence of abnormal lung function remain unclear. In high-income countries (HICs), associations between birth measurements and childhood asthma and lung function highlight the importance of antenatal and early life factors in the aetiology of asthma and abnormal lung function in children. We present here the first study in sub-Saharan Africa to relate birth characteristics to both childhood respiratory symptoms and lung function.

Exposure to secondhand and thirdhand smoke in private vehicles: Measurements in air and dust samples.

Background: This study aimed to estimate airborne nicotine concentrations and nicotine, cotinine, and tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) in settled dust from private cars in Spain and the UK.

Methods: We measured vapor-phase nicotine concentrations in a convenience sample of 45 private cars from Spain (N = 30) and the UK (N = 15) in 2017-2018. We recruited non-smoking drivers (n = 20), smoking drivers who do not smoke inside the car (n = 15), and smoking drivers who smoke inside (n = 10).

Particle Exposure Hazards of Visiting Outdoor Smoking Areas for Patients with Asthma or COPD Even in EU Countries with Comprehensive Smokefree Laws.

Smokefree laws are intended to protect against second-hand smoke (SHS) in outdoor areas. We examined if exposure to PM2.5 particles in outdoor smoking areas changed breathing rates in 60 patients with asthma ( = 30) or with COPD ( = 30), in an open, non-randomised, interventional study model in Czechia, Ireland and Spain.

Asthma symptoms, spirometry and air pollution exposure in schoolchildren in an informal settlement and an affluent area of Nairobi, Kenya.

Background: Although 1 billion people live in informal (slum) settlements, the consequences for respiratory health of living in these settlements remain largely unknown. This study investigated whether children living in an informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya are at increased risk of asthma symptoms.

Methods: Children attending schools in Mukuru (an informal settlement in Nairobi) and a more affluent area (Buruburu) were compared.

Personal exposures to fine particulate matter and carbon monoxide in relation to cooking activities in rural Malawi.

Air pollution is a major environmental risk factor for cardiorespiratory disease. Exposures to household air pollution from cooking and other activities, are particularly high in Southern Africa. Following an extended period of participant observation in a village in Malawi, we aimed to assess individuals' exposures to fine particulate matter (PM ) and carbon monoxide (CO) and to investigate the different sources of exposure, including different cooking methods.

Byssinosis and lung health among cotton textile workers: baseline findings of the MultiTex trial in Karachi, Pakistan.

Objectives: To assess the association of exposure in cotton mills in Karachi with different definitions of byssinosis and lung health.

Methods: This cross-sectional survey took place between June 2019 and October 2020 among 2031 workers across 38 spinning and weaving mills in Karachi. Data collection involved questionnaire-based interviews, spirometry and measurements of personal exposure to inhalable dust.

Measurement of airborne nicotine, as a marker of secondhand smoke exposure, in homes with residents who smoke in 9 European countries.

Objective: Smoke-free policies are effective in preventing secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure, but their adoption at home remains largely voluntary. This study aimed to quantify SHS exposure in homes with residents who smoke in Europe according to households' characteristics, tobacco consumption habits, and national contextual factors.

Methods: Cross-sectional study (March 2017-September 2018) based on measurements of air nicotine inside 162 homes with residents who smoke from nine European countries.

Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) from non-tobacco sources in homes within high-income countries: a systematic review.

Unlabelled: The health impacts associated with exposure to elevated concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM) are well recognised. There is a substantial number of studies characterising PM concentrations outdoors, as well as in homes within low- and middle-income countries. In high-income countries (HICs), there is a sizeable literature on indoor PM relating to smoking, but the evidence on exposure to PM generated from non-tobacco sources in homes is sparse.

Knowledge, Beliefs, and Behaviors Related to Secondhand Smoke and Smoking in the Home: A Qualitative Study With Men in Malaysia.

Introduction: Despite the health risks associated with secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure, smoking in the home is common in Malaysia, and almost exclusively a male behavior.

Aims And Methods: This study explored male smokers' knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors related to SHS exposure and smoking in the home, to guide future intervention development. Twenty-four men who smoked and lived in Klang Valley, Kuantan, or Kuala Terengganu took part in semi-structured interviews which explored knowledge and beliefs regarding SHS in the home, and associated home-smoking behaviors.

"Everything the hujur tells is very educative but if I cannot apply those in my own life then there is no meaning": a mixed-methods process evaluation of a smoke-free homes intervention in Bangladesh.

Background: Second-hand smoke exposure from tobacco significantly contributes to morbidity and mortality worldwide. A cluster RCT in Bangladesh compared a community-based smoke-free home (SFH) intervention delivered in mosques, with or without indoor air quality (IAQ) feedback to households to no intervention. Neither was effective nor cost-effective compared to no intervention using an objective measure of second-hand smoke.

Second-hand Smoke Exposure Among Home Care Workers (HCWs) in Scotland.

Objectives: Second-hand tobacco smoke (SHS) is a serious cause of ill-health, and concern around SHS exposure at work has driven legislation in public places. In Scotland, most workers are now protected from SHS at work. However, home care workers (HCWs) may still be exposed, as they enter private homes where smoking is unregulated.

Exposure to secondhand aerosol from electronic cigarettes at homes: A real-life study in four European countries.

Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use emits potentially hazardous compounds and deteriorates indoor air quality. Home is a place where e-cigarettes may frequently be used amid its increasing prohibition in public places. This study assessed the real-life scenario of bystanders' exposure to secondhand e-cigarette aerosol (SHA) at home.