Reduction and Simultaneous Removal of 99Tc and Cr by Fe(OH)2(s) Mineral Transformation.

Technetium (Tc) remains a priority remediation concern due to persistent challenges, including mobilization due to rapid reoxidation of immobilized Tc, and competing comingled contaminants, e.g., Cr(VI), that inhibit Tc(VII) reduction and incorporation into stable mineral phases. Here Fe(OH)2(s) is investigated as a comprehensive solution for overcoming these challenges, by serving as both the reductant, (Fe(II)), and the immobilization agent to form Tc-incorporated magnetite (Fe3O4). Trace metal analysis suggests removal of Tc(VII) and Cr(VI) from solution occurs simultaneously; however, complete removal and reduction of Cr(VI) is achieved earlier than the removal/reduction of comingled Tc(VII). Bulk oxidation state analysis of the final magnetite solid phase by XANES shows that the majority of Tc is Tc(IV), which is corroborated by XPS measurements. Furthermore, EXAFS results show successful, albeit partial, Tc(IV) incorporation into magnetite octahedral sites. Cr XPS analysis indicates reduction to Cr(III) and the formation of a Cr-incorporated spinel, Cr2O3, and Cr(OH)3 phases. Spinel (modeled as Fe3O4), goethite (α-FeOOH), and feroxyhyte (δ-FeOOH) are detected in all reacted final solid phase samples analyzed by XRD. Incorporation of Tc(IV) has little effect on the spinel lattice structure. Reaction of Fe(OH)2(s) in the presence of Cr(III) results in the formation of a spinel phase that is a solid solution between magnetite (Fe3O4) and chromite (FeCr2O4)

Collaborative writing with young people with disabilities: raising new questions of authorship and agency

The process of communication between author and reader is a critical issue in examining any text. When considering the communication of ideas from young people whose voices are seldom heard, the journey from author to audience has particular significance. The construction of children and young people as ‘authors’ is important, especially for those with learning difficulties or who struggle to comply with the current emphasis on spelling, punctuation and grammar. This article relates to a UK Research-Council-funded three-year collaborative research project involving the co-creation of fictional stories with young people with disabilities to represent aspects of their lives. Drawing on frameworks from narratology, I analyse the co-creation of one of the stories, and present an interpretation and elaboration of the discourse structure of narrative fiction to illustrate the complexities of the relationship between the multi-faceted ‘author’ and community ‘reader’ of these stories. The combination of qualitative research and fictional prose has particular characteristics and implications for the dissemination and communication of research findings; while extending feminist critique of Barthes’ claim for the death of the author provides new insights for engaging children in writing with their own voice

Mapping infectious disease hospital surge threats to lessons learnt in Singapore: a systems analysis and development of a framework to inform how to DECIDE on planning and response strategies.

BACKGROUND: Hospital usage and service demand during an Infectious Disease (ID) outbreak can tax the health system in different ways. Herein we conceptualize hospital surge elements, and lessons learnt from such events, to help build appropriately matched responses to future ID surge threats. METHODS: We used the Interpretive Descriptive qualitative approach. Interviews (n = 35) were conducted with governance and public health specialists; hospital based staff; and General Practitioners. Key policy literature in tandem with the interview data were used to iteratively generate a Hospital ID Surge framework. We anchored our narrative account within this framework, which is used to structure our analysis. RESULTS: A spectrum of surge threats from combinations of capacity (for crowding) and capability (for treatment complexity) demands were identified. Starting with the Pyramid scenario, or an influx of high screening rates flooding Emergency Departments, alongside fewer and manageable admissions; the Reverse-Pyramid occurs when few cases are screened and admitted but those that are, are complex; during a 'Black' scenario, the system is overburdened by both crowding and complexity. The Singapore hospital system is highly adapted to crowding, functioning remarkably well at constant near-full capacity in Peacetime and resilient to Endemic surges. We catalogue 26 strategies from lessons learnt relating to staffing, space, supplies and systems, crystalizing institutional memory. The DECIDE model advocates linking these strategies to types of surge threats and offers a step-by-step guide for coordinating outbreak planning and response. CONCLUSIONS: Lack of a shared definition and decision making of surge threats had rendered the procedures somewhat duplicative. This burden was paradoxically exacerbated by a health system that highly prizes planning and forward thinking, but worked largely in silo until an ID crisis hit. Many such lessons can be put into play to further strengthen our current hospital governance and adapted to more diverse settings

A critical analysis of the cycles of physical activity policy in England

BACKGROUND: There has been increasing focus on the importance of national policy to address population levels of physical inactivity. Components of a comprehensive national physical activity policy framework include: 1) national recommendations on physical activity levels; 2) setting population goals and targets; 3) surveillance or health monitoring systems; and 4) public education. The aim of the current paper was to analyse the policy actions which have addressed each of these elements in England and to identify areas of progress and remaining challenges.  METHODS: A literature search was undertaken to identify past and present documents relevant to physical activity policy in England. Each document was analysed to identify content relevant to the four key elements of policy which formed the focus of the current research.  RESULTS: Physical activity recommendations are an area where England has demonstrated a robust scientific approach and good practice; however, the physical activity campaigns in England have not been sufficiently sustained to achieve changes in social norms and behaviour. The setting of physical activity targets has been unrealistic and continuous changes to national surveillance measures have presented challenges for monitoring trends over time.  CONCLUSIONS: Overall, physical activity policy in England has fluctuated over the past two decades. The variations and cycles in policy reflect some of the challenges in implementing and sustaining physical activity policy in the face of political changes, changes in government direction, and changing opportunities to profile active lifestyles

A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of the Relationships among Post-secondary Students’ Attitudes Toward Statistics and Statistics Achievement

Background: An understanding of statistics is essential in our data-driven world. Accordingly, successful completion of a statistics course is required for undergraduate and graduate students from many disciplines. Attitudes toward statistics is a multidimensional construct that expresses individuals’ positive or negative dispositions to statistics. A wide body of research indicates that there are statistically significant relationships among attitudes toward statistics and statistics achievement. However, the reported magnitudes of these relationships differ across studies.  Methods/Design: This review will examine the relationships among post-secondary students’ scores on the attitude components assessed by the Survey of Attitudes toward Statistics (SATS) and their statistics achievement assessed using a variety of measures. As the data allow, this review then will explore the impact of possible moderating research characteristics including, for example, those associated with research sources, institutions, courses, subjects, and the SATS and statistics achievement measures. Discussion: In the resulting journal article, this section will focus on the results and the strengths and limitations of the synthesized literature. We expect that the study will contribute to the literature on the relationship between attitudes toward statistics and achievement by synthesizing the individual research results. The availability of the required information and the quality of primary studies will be potential limitations for the current study

Formación en salud ambiental en carreras de Medicina de la Argentina.Una vacancia de gran impacto en la salud pública

Introducción: el impacto de la crisis socioambiental sobre la salud ha sido ampliamente documentado, evidenciando la necesidad de incluir contenidos de salud ambiental y determinación ambiental de la salud en la formación del personal de salud. Sin embargo, en la Argentina, la educación médica aún carece de una integración sistemática de esta perspectiva en sus planes de estudio. Este trabajo analiza la incorporación de la perspectiva de desarrollo sustentable en los perfiles de egreso y, cuando esta se halla presente, examina los planes de estudio para evaluar su coherencia curricular. Material y métodos: se realizó un análisis documental cualitativo sobre los perfiles de egreso de las 47 facultades de Medicina de la Argentina, identificando referencias a términos vinculados a la sustentabilidad. Posteriormente, se analizaron los planes de estudio de las seis facultades cuyo perfil de egreso incluye esta perspectiva, sistematizando los datos en una matriz de análisis y clasificando la información en categorías temáticas. Resultados: solo 6 de las 47 facultades de Medicina (12,7%) incluyen menciones explícitas a la sustentabilidad en sus perfiles de egreso. El análisis de sus planes de estudio mostró que, si bien existen algunas referencias a salud ambiental en asignaturas como salud pública, epidemiología o parasitología, no se identifican materias específicas que desarrollen esta perspectiva de manera transversal y sistemática. Conclusión: existe una vacancia curricular en la educación médica en la Argentina con respecto a la relación entre ambiente y salud. Es necesario reformular los planes de estudio incorporando la sustentabilidad como un eje transversal, abordando problemáticas como el acceso a agua segura, la exposición a agroquímicos, el impacto del cambio climático en la salud, entre otras

The DNA methylome of cervical cells can predict the presence of ovarian cancer

The vast majority of epithelial ovarian cancer arises from tissues that are embryologically derived from the Müllerian Duct. Here, we demonstrate that a DNA methylation signature in easy-to-access Müllerian Duct-derived cervical cells from women with and without ovarian cancer (i.e. referred to as the Women’s risk IDentification for Ovarian Cancer index or WID-OC-index) is capable of identifying women with an ovarian cancer in the absence of tumour DNA with an AUC of 0.76 and women with an endometrial cancer with an AUC of 0.81. This and the observation that the cervical cell WID-OC-index mimics the epigenetic program of those cells at risk of becoming cancerous in BRCA1/2 germline mutation carriers (i.e. mammary epithelium, fallopian tube fimbriae, prostate) further suggest that the epigenetic misprogramming of cervical cells is an indicator for cancer predisposition. This concept has the potential to advance the field of risk-stratified cancer screening and prevention

Incidence of diabetes mellitus following hospitalisation for COVID ‐19 in the United Kingdom: A prospective observational study

Background: People hospitalised for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) have elevated incidence of diabetes. However, it is unclear whether this is due to shared risk factors, confounding or stress hyperglycaemia in response to acute illness. Methods: We analysed a multicentre prospective cohort study (PHOSP‐COVID) of people ≥18 years discharged from NHS hospitals across the United Kingdom following COVID‐19. Individuals were included if they attended at least one research visit with a HbA1c measurement within 14 months of discharge and had no history of diabetes at baseline. The primary outcome was new onset diabetes (any type), as defined by a first glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) measurement ≥6.5% (≥48 mmol/mol). Follow‐up was censored at the last HbA1c measurement. Age‐standardised incidence rates and incidence rate ratios (adjusted for age, sex, ethnicity, length of hospital stay, body mass index, smoking, physical activity, deprivation, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia/hypercholesterolaemia, intensive therapy unit admission, invasive mechanical ventilation, corticosteroid use and C‐reactive protein score) were calculated using Poisson regression. Incidence rates were compared with the control groups of published clinical trials in the United Kingdom by applying the same inclusion and exclusion criteria, where possible. Results: Incidence of diabetes was 91.4 per 1000 person‐years and was higher in South Asian (incidence rate ratios [IRR] = 3.60; 1.77, 7.32; p < 0.001) and Black ethnic groups (IRR = 2.36; 1.07, 5.21; p = 0.03) compared with White ethnic groups. When restricted to similar characteristics, the incidence rates were similar to those in UK clinical trials data. Conclusion: Diabetes incidence following hospitalisation for COVID‐19 is high, but it remains uncertain whether it is disproportionately higher than pre‐pandemic levels

Large-scale phenotyping of patients with long COVID post-hospitalization reveals mechanistic subtypes of disease

One in ten severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infections result in prolonged symptoms termed long coronavirus disease (COVID), yet disease phenotypes and mechanisms are poorly understood1. Here we profiled 368 plasma proteins in 657 participants ≥3 months following hospitalization. Of these, 426 had at least one long COVID symptom and 233 had fully recovered. Elevated markers of myeloid inflammation and complement activation were associated with long COVID. IL-1R2, MATN2 and COLEC12 were associated with cardiorespiratory symptoms, fatigue and anxiety/depression; MATN2, CSF3 and C1QA were elevated in gastrointestinal symptoms and C1QA was elevated in cognitive impairment. Additional markers of alterations in nerve tissue repair (SPON-1 and NFASC) were elevated in those with cognitive impairment and SCG3, suggestive of brain–gut axis disturbance, was elevated in gastrointestinal symptoms. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) was persistently elevated in some individuals with long COVID, but virus was not detected in sputum. Analysis of inflammatory markers in nasal fluids showed no association with symptoms. Our study aimed to understand inflammatory processes that underlie long COVID and was not designed for biomarker discovery. Our findings suggest that specific inflammatory pathways related to tissue damage are implicated in subtypes of long COVID, which might be targeted in future therapeutic trials