Developing an evaluation framework for public health environmental surveillance: Protocol for an international, multidisciplinary Delphi consensus study

\ua9 2025 Manuel et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Introduction Public health environmental surveillance has evolved, especially during the coronavirus pandemic, with wastewater-based surveillance being a prominent example. As surveillance methods expand, it is important to have a robust evaluation of surveillance systems. This consensus study will develop an evaluation framework for public health environmental surveillance, informed by the expanding practice of wastewater-based surveillance during the pandemic. Methods The public health environmental surveillance evaluation framework will be developed in five steps. In Step 1, a multinational and multidisciplinary executive group will be formed to guide the framework development process. In Step 2, candidate items will be generated by conducting relevant scoping reviews and consultation with the study executive group. In Step 3, an international electronic Delphi will be conducted over two rounds to develop consensus on items for the framework. In Step 4, the executive group will reconvene to finalize the evaluation framework, discuss standout items, and determine the dissemination strategies. Lastly, Step 5 will focus on disseminating the evaluation framework to all parties involved with or affected by wastewater-based surveillance using traditional and public-oriented methods. Discussion The Delphi consensus study will provide multidisciplinary and multinational consensus for the evaluation framework, by providing a set of minimum criteria required for the evaluation of public health environmental surveillance systems. The evaluation framework is intended to support the sustainability of environmental surveillance and improve its implementation, reliability, credibility, and value

Downregulation of Cinnamyl-Alcohol Dehydrogenase in Switchgrass by RNA Silencing Results in Enhanced Glucose Release after Cellulase Treatment

Cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD) catalyzes the last step in monolignol biosynthesis and genetic evidence indicates CAD deficiency in grasses both decreases overall lignin, alters lignin structure and increases enzymatic recovery of sugars. To ascertain the effect of CAD downregulation in switchgrass, RNA mediated silencing of CAD was induced through Agrobacterium mediated transformation of cv. “Alamo” with an inverted repeat construct containing a fragment derived from the coding sequence of PviCAD2. The resulting primary transformants accumulated less CAD RNA transcript and protein than control transformants and were demonstrated to be stably transformed with between 1 and 5 copies of the T-DNA. CAD activity against coniferaldehyde, and sinapaldehyde in stems of silenced lines was significantly reduced as was overall lignin and cutin. Glucose release from ground samples pretreated with ammonium hydroxide and digested with cellulases was greater than in control transformants. When stained with the lignin and cutin specific stain phloroglucinol-HCl the staining intensity of one line indicated greater incorporation of hydroxycinnamyl aldehydes in the lignin

Randomised controlled trial of an automated, interactive telephone intervention (TLC Diabetes) to improve type 2 diabetes management: baseline findings and six-month outcomes

Background: Effective self-management of diabetes is essential for the reduction of diabetes-related complications, as global rates of diabetes escalate. Methods: Randomised controlled trial. Adults with type 2 diabetes (n = 120), with HbA1c greater than or equal to 7.5 %, were randomly allocated (4 × 4 block randomised block design) to receive an automated, interactive telephone-delivered management intervention or usual routine care. Baseline sociodemographic, behavioural and medical history data were collected by self-administered questionnaires and biological data were obtained during hospital appointments. Health-related quality of life (HRQL) was measured using the SF-36. Results: The mean age of participants was 57.4 (SD 8.3), 63 % of whom were male. There were no differences in demographic, socioeconomic and behavioural variables between the study arms at baseline. Over the six-month period from baseline, participants receiving the Australian TLC (Telephone-Linked Care) Diabetes program showed a 0.8 % decrease in geometric mean HbA1c from 8.7 % to 7.9 %, compared with a 0.2 % HbA1c reduction (8.9 % to 8.7 %) in the usual care arm (p = 0.002). There was also a significant improvement in mental HRQL, with a mean increase of 1.9 in the intervention arm, while the usual care arm decreased by 0.8 (p = 0.007). No significant improvements in physical HRQL were observed. Conclusions: These analyses indicate the efficacy of the Australian TLC Diabetes program with clinically significant post-intervention improvements in both glycaemic control and mental HRQL. These observed improvements, if supported and maintained by an ongoing program such as this, could significantly reduce diabetes-related complications in the longer term. Given the accessibility and feasibility of this kind of program, it has strong potential for providing effective, ongoing support to many individuals with diabetes in the future

Pilot study in differentiating north Norfolk glacial sediments using mineral magnetic data

Pilot mineral magnetic data from the fine-sand fraction of glacial sediments from north Norfolk suggest that two magnetic parameters, the Absolute Saturation Isothermal Remanent Magnetism (A1000 mT) and the Median Destructive Field (MDF) may help discriminate glacial sediments of Anglian and Devensian age. Samples are most obviously separated by the large range in A1000 mT values. One group of glacial sediments have A1000 mT values between 170-340, implying a high concentration of magnetic minerals. MDF variability is low in this group, around 40-50, probably indicating the presence of easily magnetised magnetite. This group might represent a magnetically distinct Devensian 'Hunstanton Till'. The second group of glacial sediments has A1000 mT values mostly below 40, implying low concentrations of magnetic minerals, but with variable MDF values (45-70). This second group has A1000 mT and MDF values within error of previously published data for Anglian tills elsewhere in Norfolk In some localities, particularly in the Cley-Blakeney-Warham area, these magnetically distinct sediments are in close juxtaposition. The identification of glacial sediments with 'Hunstanton Till' and 'Anglian till' magnetic character supports earlier work which suggested that at least two groups of glacial sediments are present on the north Norfolk coast. A more complete study of glacial sediments in north Norfolk, using the techniques outlined here along with traditional sedimentological and mineralogical data, is needed to confirm these initial findings and extend the geographic coverage

The barrier coastline of North Norfolk, with particular reference to Scolt Head Island

Situated on the barrier coastline of north Norfolk, eastern England, Scolt Head Island is remarkable for the long period—almost one hundred years—of sustained geo- morphological research, allowing a proper, and rare, assessment of the relative importance of the role of ‘normal’ processes versus extreme events (storm surge impacts) in determining landform evolution. Drawing on an extensive literature, the chapter reports on studies of the Holocene history of the barrier island and the historical dynamics of barrier westward extension and landward retreat (and associated sand dune initiation, growth and decline). It considers contemporary tidal channel hydrodynamics and patterns of back-barrier saltmarsh sedimentation and accretion. It concludes by considering how the process environment may change, and Scolt may develop, in the near future and the implications for landward ecosystems and communities