10,153 research outputs found

    Annual SHOT Report 2018

    Get PDF
    SHOT is affiliated to the Royal College of PathologistsAll NHS organisations must move away from a blame culture towards a just and learning culture. All clinical and laboratory staff should be encouraged to become familiar with human factors and ergonomics concepts. All transfusion decisions must be made after carefully assessing the risks and benefits of transfusion therapy. Collaboration and co-ordination among staff is vital

    Norsk rÄ kumelk, en kilde til zoonotiske patogener?

    Get PDF
    The worldwide emerging trend of eating “natural” foods, that has not been processed, also applies for beverages. According to Norwegian legislation, all milk must be pasteurized before commercial sale but drinking milk that has not been heat-treated, is gaining increasing popularity. Scientist are warning against this trend and highlights the risk of contracting disease from milkborne microorganisms. To examine potential risks associated with drinking unpasteurized milk in Norway, milk- and environmental samples were collected from dairy farms located in south-east of Norway. The samples were analyzed for the presence of specific zoonotic pathogens; Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter spp., and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC). Cattle are known to be healthy carriers of these pathogens, and Campylobacter spp. and STEC have a low infectious dose, meaning that infection can be established by ingesting a low number of bacterial cells. L. monocytogenes causes one of the most severe foodborne zoonotic diseases, listeriosis, that has a high fatality rate. All three pathogens have caused milk borne disease outbreaks all over the world, also in Norway. During this work, we observed that the prevalence of the three examined bacteria were high in the environment at the examined farms. In addition, 7% of the milk filters were contaminated by STEC, 13% by L. monocytogenes and 4% by Campylobacter spp. Four of the STEC isolates detected were eaepositive, which is associated with the capability to cause severe human disease. One of the eae-positive STEC isolates were collected from a milk filter, which strongly indicate that Norwegian raw milk may contain potential pathogenic STEC. To further assess the possibilities of getting ill by STEC after consuming raw milk, we examined the growth of the four eae-positive STEC isolates in raw milk at different temperatures. All four isolates seemed to have ability to multiply in raw milk at 8°C, and one isolate had significant growth after 72 hours. Incubation at 6°C seemed to reduce the number of bacteria during the first 24 hours before cell death stopped. These findings highlight the importance of stable refrigerator temperatures, preferable < 4°C, for storage of raw milk. The L. monocytogenes isolates collected during this study show genetic similarities to isolates collected from urban and rural environmental locations, but different clones were predominant in agricultural environments compared to clinical and food environments. However, the results indicate that the same clone can persist in a farm over time, and that milk can be contaminated by L. monocytogenes clones present in farm environment. Despite testing small volumes (25 mL) of milk, we were able to isolate both STEC and Campylobacter spp. directly from raw milk. A proportion of 3% of the bulk tank milk and teat milk samples were contaminated by Campylobacter spp. and one STEC was isolated from bulk tank milk. L monocytogenes was not detected in bulk tank milk, nor in teat milk samples. The agricultural evolvement during the past decades have led to larger production units and new food safety challenges. Dairy cattle production in Norway is in a current transition from tie-stall housing with conventional pipeline milking systems, to modern loose housing systems with robotic milking. The occurrence of the three pathogens in this project were higher in samples collected from farms with loose housing compared to those with tiestall housing. Pasteurization of cow’s milk is a risk reducing procedure to protect consumers from microbial pathogens and in most EU countries, commercial distribution of unpasteurized milk is legally restricted. Together, the results presented in this thesis show that the animal housing may influence the level of pathogenic bacteria in the raw milk and that ingestion of Norwegian raw cow’s milk may expose consumers to pathogenic bacteria which can cause severe disease, especially in children, elderly and in persons with underlying diseases. The results also highlight the importance of storing raw milk at low temperatures between milking and consumption.Å spise mat som er mindre prosessert og mer «naturlig» er en pĂ„gĂ„ende trend i Norge og i andre deler av verden. Interessen for Ă„ drikke melk som ikke er varmebehandlet, sĂ„kalt rĂ„ melk, er ogsĂ„ Ăžkende. I Norge er det pĂ„budt Ă„ pasteurisere melk fĂžr kommersielt salg for Ă„ beskytte forbrukeren mot sykdomsfremkallende mikroorganismer. Fagfolk advarer mot Ă„ drikke rĂ„ melk, og pĂ„peker risikoen for Ă„ bli syk av patogene bakterier som kan finnes i melken. I denne avhandlingen undersĂžker vi den potensielle risikoen det medfĂžrer Ă„ drikke upasteurisert melk fra Norge. I tillegg til Ă„ samle inn tankmelk- og speneprĂžver fra melkegĂ„rder i sĂžrĂžst Norge, samlet vi ogsĂ„ miljĂžprĂžver fra de samme gĂ„rdene for Ă„ kartlegge forekomst og for Ă„ identifisere potensielle mattrygghetsrisikoer i melkeproduksjonen. Alle prĂžvene ble analysert for de zoonotiske sykdomsfremkallende bakteriene Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter spp., og Shiga toksin-produserende Escherichia coli (STEC). Kyr kan vĂŠre friske smittebĂŠrere av disse bakteriene, som dermed kan etablere et reservoar pĂ„ gĂ„rdene. Bakteriene kan overfĂžres fra gĂ„rdsmiljĂžet til melkekjeden og dermed utfordre mattryggheten. Disse bakteriene har forĂ„rsaket melkebĂ„rne sykdomsutbrudd over hele verden, ogsĂ„ i Norge. Campylobacter spp. og STEC har lav infeksiĂžs dose, som vil si at man kan bli syk selv om man bare inntar et lavt antall bakterieceller. L. monocytogenes kan gi sykdommen listeriose, en av de mest alvorlige matbĂ„rne zoonotiske sykdommene vi har i den vestlige verden. Resultater fra denne oppgaven viser en hĂžy forekomst av de tre patogenene i gĂ„rdsmiljĂžet. I tillegg var 7% av melkefiltrene vi testet positive for STEC, 13% positive for L. monocytogenes og 4% positive for Campylobacter spp.. Fire av STEC isolatene bar genet for Intimin, eae, som er ansett som en viktig virulensfaktor som Ăžker sjansen for alvorlig sykdom. Ett av de eae-positive isolatene ble funnet i et melkefilter, noe som indikerer at norsk rĂ„ melk kan inneholde patogene STEC. For Ă„ videre vurdere risikoen for Ă„ bli syk av STEC fra rĂ„ melk undersĂžkte vi hvordan de fire eae-positive isolatene vokste i rĂ„ melk lagret ved forskjellige temperaturer. For alle isolatene Ăžkte antall bakterier etter lagring ved 8°C, og for et isolat var veksten signifikant. Etter lagring ved 6°C ble antallet bakterier redusert de fĂžrste 24 timene, deretter stoppet reduksjonen i antall bakterier. Disse resultatene viser hvor viktig det er Ă„ ha stabil lav lagringstemperatur for rĂ„ melk, helst < 4°C. L. monocytogenes isolatene som ble samlet inn fra melkegĂ„rdene viste genetiske likheter med isolater samlet inn fra urbane og rurale miljĂžer rundt omkring i Norge. Derimot var kloner som dominerte i landbruksmiljĂžet forskjellige fra kliniske isolater og isolater fra matproduksjonslokaler. Videre sĂ„ man at en klone kan persistere pĂ„ en gĂ„rd over tid og at melk kan kontamineres av L. monocytogenes kloner som er til stede i gĂ„rdsmiljĂžet. Til tross for smĂ„ testvolum av tankmelken (25 mL) fant vi bĂ„de STEC og Campylobacter spp. i melkeprĂžvene. 3% av tankmelkprĂžvene og speneprĂžvene var positive for Campylobacter spp. og ett STEC isolat ble funnet i tankmelk. L. monocytogenes ble ikke funnet direkte i melkeprĂžvene. Landbruket i Norge er i stadig utvikling der besetningene blir stĂžrre, men fĂŠrre. Melkebesetningene er midt i en overgang der tradisjonell oppstalling med melking pĂ„ bĂ„s byttes ut med lĂžsdriftssystemer og melkeroboter. Forekomsten av de tre patogenene funnet i denne studien var hĂžyere i besetningene med lĂžsdrift sammenliknet med besetningene som hadde melkekyrne oppstallet pĂ„ bĂ„s. Pasteurisering er et viktig forebyggende tiltak for Ă„ beskytte konsumenter fra mikrobielle patogener, og i de fleste EU-land er kommersielt salg av rĂ„ melk juridisk begrenset. Denne studien viser at oppstallingstype kan pĂ„virke nivĂ„ene av patogene bakterier i gĂ„rdsmiljĂžet og i rĂ„ melk. Inntak av rĂ„ melk kan eksponere forbruker for patogene bakterier som kan gi alvorlig sykdom, spesielt hos barn, eldre og personer med underliggende sykdommer. Resultatene underbygger viktigheten av Ă„ pasteurisere melk for Ă„ sikre mattryggheten, og at det er avgjĂžrende Ă„ lagre rĂ„ melk ved kontinuerlig lave temperaturer for Ă„ forebygge vekst av zoonotiske patogener

    AnuĂĄrio cientĂ­fico da Escola Superior de Tecnologia da SaĂșde de Lisboa - 2021

    Get PDF
    É com grande prazer que apresentamos a mais recente edição (a 11.ÂȘ) do AnuĂĄrio CientĂ­fico da Escola Superior de Tecnologia da SaĂșde de Lisboa. Como instituição de ensino superior, temos o compromisso de promover e incentivar a pesquisa cientĂ­fica em todas as ĂĄreas do conhecimento que contemplam a nossa missĂŁo. Esta publicação tem como objetivo divulgar toda a produção cientĂ­fica desenvolvida pelos Professores, Investigadores, Estudantes e Pessoal nĂŁo Docente da ESTeSL durante 2021. Este AnuĂĄrio Ă©, assim, o reflexo do trabalho ĂĄrduo e dedicado da nossa comunidade, que se empenhou na produção de conteĂșdo cientĂ­fico de elevada qualidade e partilhada com a Sociedade na forma de livros, capĂ­tulos de livros, artigos publicados em revistas nacionais e internacionais, resumos de comunicaçÔes orais e pĂłsteres, bem como resultado dos trabalhos de 1Âș e 2Âș ciclo. Com isto, o conteĂșdo desta publicação abrange uma ampla variedade de tĂłpicos, desde temas mais fundamentais atĂ© estudos de aplicação prĂĄtica em contextos especĂ­ficos de SaĂșde, refletindo desta forma a pluralidade e diversidade de ĂĄreas que definem, e tornam Ășnica, a ESTeSL. Acreditamos que a investigação e pesquisa cientĂ­fica Ă© um eixo fundamental para o desenvolvimento da sociedade e Ă© por isso que incentivamos os nossos estudantes a envolverem-se em atividades de pesquisa e prĂĄtica baseada na evidĂȘncia desde o inĂ­cio dos seus estudos na ESTeSL. Esta publicação Ă© um exemplo do sucesso desses esforços, sendo a maior de sempre, o que faz com que estejamos muito orgulhosos em partilhar os resultados e descobertas dos nossos investigadores com a comunidade cientĂ­fica e o pĂșblico em geral. Esperamos que este AnuĂĄrio inspire e motive outros estudantes, profissionais de saĂșde, professores e outros colaboradores a continuarem a explorar novas ideias e contribuir para o avanço da ciĂȘncia e da tecnologia no corpo de conhecimento prĂłprio das ĂĄreas que compĂ”e a ESTeSL. Agradecemos a todos os envolvidos na produção deste anuĂĄrio e desejamos uma leitura inspiradora e agradĂĄvel.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    A Decision Support System for Economic Viability and Environmental Impact Assessment of Vertical Farms

    Get PDF
    Vertical farming (VF) is the practice of growing crops or animals using the vertical dimension via multi-tier racks or vertically inclined surfaces. In this thesis, I focus on the emerging industry of plant-specific VF. Vertical plant farming (VPF) is a promising and relatively novel practice that can be conducted in buildings with environmental control and artificial lighting. However, the nascent sector has experienced challenges in economic viability, standardisation, and environmental sustainability. Practitioners and academics call for a comprehensive financial analysis of VPF, but efforts are stifled by a lack of valid and available data. A review of economic estimation and horticultural software identifies a need for a decision support system (DSS) that facilitates risk-empowered business planning for vertical farmers. This thesis proposes an open-source DSS framework to evaluate business sustainability through financial risk and environmental impact assessments. Data from the literature, alongside lessons learned from industry practitioners, would be centralised in the proposed DSS using imprecise data techniques. These techniques have been applied in engineering but are seldom used in financial forecasting. This could benefit complex sectors which only have scarce data to predict business viability. To begin the execution of the DSS framework, VPF practitioners were interviewed using a mixed-methods approach. Learnings from over 19 shuttered and operational VPF projects provide insights into the barriers inhibiting scalability and identifying risks to form a risk taxonomy. Labour was the most commonly reported top challenge. Therefore, research was conducted to explore lean principles to improve productivity. A probabilistic model representing a spectrum of variables and their associated uncertainty was built according to the DSS framework to evaluate the financial risk for VF projects. This enabled flexible computation without precise production or financial data to improve economic estimation accuracy. The model assessed two VPF cases (one in the UK and another in Japan), demonstrating the first risk and uncertainty quantification of VPF business models in the literature. The results highlighted measures to improve economic viability and the viability of the UK and Japan case. The environmental impact assessment model was developed, allowing VPF operators to evaluate their carbon footprint compared to traditional agriculture using life-cycle assessment. I explore strategies for net-zero carbon production through sensitivity analysis. Renewable energies, especially solar, geothermal, and tidal power, show promise for reducing the carbon emissions of indoor VPF. Results show that renewably-powered VPF can reduce carbon emissions compared to field-based agriculture when considering the land-use change. The drivers for DSS adoption have been researched, showing a pathway of compliance and design thinking to overcome the ‘problem of implementation’ and enable commercialisation. Further work is suggested to standardise VF equipment, collect benchmarking data, and characterise risks. This work will reduce risk and uncertainty and accelerate the sector’s emergence

    Forested buffers in agricultural landscapes : mitigation effects on stream–riparian meta-ecosystems

    Get PDF
    Stream–riparian meta-ecosystems are strongly connected through exchanges of energy, material and organisms. Land use can disrupt ecological connectivity by affecting community composition directly and/or indirectly by altering the instream and riparian habitats that support biological structure and function. Although forested riparian buffers are increasingly used as a management intervention, our understanding of their effects on the functioning of stream–riparian metaecosystems is limited. This study assessed patterns in the longitudinal and lateral profiles of streams in modified landscapes across Europe and Sweden using a pairedreach approach, with upstream unbuffered reaches lacking woody riparian vegetation and with downstream reaches having well-developed forested buffers. The presence of buffers was positively associated with stream ecological status as well as important attributes, which included instream shading and the provision of suitable habitats for instream and riparian communities, thus supporting more aquatic insects (especially EPT taxa). Emergence of aquatic insects is particularly important because they mediate reciprocal flows of subsidies into terrestrial systems. Results of fatty acid analysis and prey DNA from spiders further supported the importance of buffers in providing more aquatic-derived quality food (i.e. essential fatty acids) for riparian spiders. Findings presented in this thesis show that buffers contribute to the strengthening of cross-ecosystem connectivity and have the potential to affect a wide range of consumers in modified landscapes

    Contemporary, decadal, and millennial-scale permafrost- and vegetation dynamics and carbon release in an alpine region of Jotunheimen, Norway

    Get PDF
    Climatic warming in northern alpine regions facilitates the thawing of permafrost, the associated release of soil carbon into the atmosphere, and the altitudinal shifts in vegetation patterns. Here, a multi-disciplinary approach is adopted to investigate the response of an alpine permafrost landscape (Jotunheimen, Norway, with focus on GaldhĂžpiggen) to climatic changes over long- to medium timescales. First, a gas analyser is used to explore how ecosystem respiration is affected by ecosystem (soil and vegetation) and geomorphological (cryogenic disturbance) factors during the peak growing season. A palaeoecological record is then analysed to infer the past dynamics of the alpine tree lines and the lower limit of permafrost on GaldhĂžpiggen over the millennial- and centennial scales. Finally, remotely sensed satellite imagery is combined with observed air temperatures to create a model that provides an estimation of land surface temperatures over the past six decades. The model is then used to predict surface ‘greenness’ over the same period. Palynological evidence from GaldhĂžpiggen indicates that the altitudinal limits of alpine tree lines have shifted by hundreds of metres in response to climatic changes over the millennial scale. Since 1957, the model predictions indicate substantial increases in land surface temperatures and growing season surface ‘greenness’ (i.e., vegetation abundance) in Jotunheimen, but the change has not been spatially uniform. The highest increases were recorded over the low- and mid-alpine heaths above the tree line (1050-1500 m a.s.l.), which was attributed to increased shrub cover. This trend could facilitate carbon release from the ground, as peak growing season ecosystem respiration was found to be most strongly controlled by soil microclimate and plant growth forms. The likely future scenario in response to warming in Jotunheimen will be continued permafrost degradation, with higher altitudes (≄1500 m a.s.l.) experiencing decreased cryoturbation, increased shrub encroachment and higher surface CO2 emissions

    Response of saline reservoir to different phaseCO₂-brine: experimental tests and image-based modelling

    Get PDF
    Geological CO₂ storage in saline rocks is a promising method for meeting the target of net zero emission and minimizing the anthropogenic CO₂ emitted into the earth’s atmosphere. Storage of CO₂ in saline rocks triggers CO₂-brine-rock interaction that alters the properties of the rock. Properties of rocks are very crucial for the integrity and efficiency of the storage process. Changes in properties of the reservoir rocks due to CO₂-brine-rock interaction must be well predicted, as some changes can reduce the storage integrity of the reservoir. Considering the thermodynamics, phase behavior, solubility of CO₂ in brine, and the variable pressure-temperature conditions of the reservoir, there will be undissolved CO₂ in a CO₂ storage reservoir alongside the brine for a long time, and there is a potential for phase evolution of the undissolved CO₂. The phase of CO₂ influence the CO₂-brine-rock interaction, different phaseCO₂-brine have a unique effect on the properties of the reservoir rocks, Therefore, this study evaluates the effect of four different phaseCO₂-brine reservoir states on the properties of reservoir rocks using experimental and image-based approach. Samples were saturated with the different phaseCO₂-brine, then subjected to reservoir conditions in a triaxial compression test. The representative element volume (REV)/representative element area (REA) for the rock samples was determined from processed digital images, and rock properties were evaluated using digital rock physics and rock image analysis techniques. This research has evaluated the effect of different phaseCO₂-brine on deformation rate and deformation behavior, bulk modulus, compressibility, strength, and stiffness as well as porosity and permeability of sample reservoir rocks. Changes in pore geometry properties, porosity, and permeability of the rocks in CO₂ storage conditions with different phaseCO₂-brine have been evaluated using digital rock physics techniques. Microscopic rock image analysis has been applied to provide evidence of changes in micro-fabric, the topology of minerals, and elemental composition of minerals in saline rocks resulting from different phaseCO₂-br that can exist in a saline CO₂ storage reservoir. It was seen that the properties of the reservoir that are most affected by the scCO₂-br state of the reservoir include secondary fatigue rate, bulk modulus, shear strength, change in the topology of minerals after saturation as well as change in shape and flatness of pore surfaces. The properties of the reservoir that is most affected by the gCO₂-br state of the reservoir include primary fatigue rate, change in permeability due to stress, change in porosity due to stress, and change topology of minerals due to stress. For all samples, the roundness and smoothness of grains as well as smoothness of pores increased after compression while the roundness of pores decreased. Change in elemental composition in rock minerals in CO₂-brine-rock interaction was seen to depend on the reactivity of the mineral with CO₂ and/or brine and the presence of brine accelerates such change. Carbon, oxygen, and silicon can be used as index minerals for elemental changes in a CO₂-brine-rock system. The result of this work can be applied to predicting the effect the different possible phases of CO₂ will have on the deformation, geomechanics indices, and storage integrity of giant CO₂ storage fields such as Sleipner, In Salah, etc

    Hunting Wildlife in the Tropics and Subtropics

    Get PDF
    The hunting of wild animals for their meat has been a crucial activity in the evolution of humans. It continues to be an essential source of food and a generator of income for millions of Indigenous and rural communities worldwide. Conservationists rightly fear that excessive hunting of many animal species will cause their demise, as has already happened throughout the Anthropocene. Many species of large mammals and birds have been decimated or annihilated due to overhunting by humans. If such pressures continue, many other species will meet the same fate. Equally, if the use of wildlife resources is to continue by those who depend on it, sustainable practices must be implemented. These communities need to remain or become custodians of the wildlife resources within their lands, for their own well-being as well as for biodiversity in general. This title is also available via Open Access on Cambridge Core
    • 

    corecore