Characterising professional drivers’ exposure to traffic-related air pollution: Evidence for reduction strategies from in-vehicle personal exposure monitoring

Professional drivers working in congested urban areas are required to work near harmful traffic related pollutants for extended periods, representing a significant, but understudied occupational risk. This study collected personal black carbon (BC) exposures for 141 drivers across seven sectors in London. The aim of the study was to assess the magnitude and the primary determinants of their exposure, leading to the formulation of targeted exposure reduction strategies for the occupation. Each participant’s personal BC exposures were continuously measured using real-time monitors for 96 h, incorporating four shifts per participant. ‘At work’ BC exposures (3.1 ± 3.5 µg/m3) were 2.6 times higher compared to when ‘not at work’ (1.2 ± 0.7 µg/m3). Workers spent 19% of their time ‘at work driving’, however this activity contributed 36% of total BC exposure, highlighting the disproportionate effect driving had on their daily exposure. Taxi drivers experienced the highest BC exposures due to the time they spent working in congested central London, while emergency services had the lowest. Spikes in exposure were observed while driving and were at times greater than 100 µg/m3. The most significant determinants of drivers’ exposures were driving in tunnels, congestion, location, day of week and time of shift. Driving with closed windows significantly reduced exposures and is a simple behaviour change drivers could implement. Our results highlight strategies by which employers and local policy makers can reduce professional drivers’ exposure to traffic-related air pollution

"The dots just don't join up": understanding the support needs of families of children on the autism spectrum

Much research has documented the elevated levels of stress experienced by families of autistic children. Yet remarkably little research has examined the types of support that these families perceive to be beneficial to their lives. This study, co-produced by researchers and school-based professionals, sought to establish these families’ support needs from their own perspectives. In total, 139 parents of autistic children with additional intellectual disabilities and limited spoken communication, all attending an inner-city London school, participated in an initial survey examining parental wellbeing, self-efficacy and the extent to which they felt supported. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a subgroup of parents (n = 17), some of whom reported in the survey that they felt unsupported, in order to gain their in-depth perspectives. The results from both the survey and the interviews suggested that existing support (particularly from formal support services) was not meeting parents’ needs, which ultimately made them feel isolated and alienated. Parents who were interviewed called for service provision that adopted a relational, family-centred approach – one that understands the specific needs of the whole family, builds a close working relationship with them and ensures that they are supported at times when the parents and families feel they need it most

'Like building a plane and flying it all in one go': an interview study of infection prevention and control in Australian general practice during the first 2 years of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

OBJECTIVES: General practitioners (GPs) and their staff have been at the frontline of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Australia. However, their experiences of responding to and managing the risks of viral transmission within their facilities are poorly described. The aim of this study was to describe the experiences, and infection prevention and control (IPC) strategies adopted by general practices, including enablers of and challenges to implementation, to contribute to our understanding of the pandemic response in this critical sector. DESIGN: Semistructured interviews were conducted in person, by telephone or online video conferencing software, between November 2020 and August 2021. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty general practice personnel working in New South Wales, Australia, including nine GPs, one general practice registrar, four registered nurses, one nurse practitioner, two practice managers and two receptionists. RESULTS: Participants described implementing wide-ranging repertoires of IPC strategies-including telehealth, screening of patients and staff, altered clinic layouts and portable outdoor shelters, in addition to appropriate use of personal protective equipment (PPE)-to manage the demands of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Strategies were proactive, influenced by the varied contexts of different practices and the needs and preferences of individual GPs as well as responsive to local, state and national requirements, which changed frequently as the pandemic evolved. CONCLUSIONS: Using the 'hierarchy of controls' as a framework for analysis, we found that the different strategies adopted in general practice often functioned in concert with one another. Most strategies, particularly administrative and PPE controls, were subjected to human variability and so were less reliable from a human factors perspective. However, our findings highlight the creativity, resilience and resourcefulness of general practice staff in developing, implementing and adapting their IPC strategies amidst constantly changing pandemic conditions

Smelling the past: a case study for identification, analysis and archival of historic pot-pourri as a heritage smell

Our interaction with heritage objects and spaces is very often limited to a visual experience. However, our perception is multisensory, whether deliberate or not; olfactory stimuli can significantly affect our experience of the world, including cultural heritage. Little is known about the smells of the past, and the olfactory properties of heritage objects and places are not systematically preserved and protected. This work presents scientific analysis of a potpourri identified as historic, by sampling and identification of volatile organic compounds using thermal desorption – gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometric detection (TD-GC-TOF-MS). The odour of the potpourri was also characterised using GC with olfactometric detection and evaluated by a sensory panel. The chemical and sensory information was used to create a historic potpourri odour wheel, as a conservation tool for archival and public engagement purposes

Assessing the exposure and hazard of diesel exhaust in professional drivers: a review of the current state of knowledge

It is well-established that traffic-related air pollution has a detrimental impact on health. Much of the focus has been on diesel exhaust emissions due to a rapid increase in vehicle numbers and studies finding that this pollutant is carcinogenic. Unsurprisingly, the highest diesel exposures that the general population experiences are during urban daily commutes; however, few studies have considered professional drivers who are chronically exposed to the pollutant due to their work in transport microenvironments. In this narrative review, we address the literature on professional drivers’ exposure to diesel exhaust and advocate that a modern exposure science approach utilised in commuter personal exposure studies is needed. This type of evaluation will provide a more detailed understanding of the time-activity of professional drivers’ exposures which is required to identify specific interventions to reduce their risk to diesel exhaust emissions

A sparse covarying unit that describes healthy and impaired human gut microbiota development

Characterizing the organization of the human gut microbiota is a formidable challenge given the number of possible interactions between its components. Using a statistical approach initially applied to financial markets, we measured temporally conserved covariance among bacterial taxa in the microbiota of healthy members of a Bangladeshi birth cohort sampled from 1 to 60 months of age. The results revealed an ecogroup of 15 covarying bacterial taxa that provide a concise description of microbiota development in healthy children from this and other low-income countries, and a means for monitoring community repair in undernourished children treated with therapeutic foods. Features of ecogroup population dynamics were recapitulated in gnotobiotic piglets as they transitioned from exclusive milk feeding to a fully weaned state consuming a representative Bangladeshi diet

Understanding the needs and preferences for cancer care among First Nations people: an integrative review.

This systematic review aimed to identify the needs and preferences for cancer care services among Australian First Nations people. An integrative review was conducted. A wide range of search terms were used to increase the sensitivity and specificity of the searches in electronic databases. Methodological quality assessment, data extraction, was conducted independently by two reviewers, and a narrative synthesis was conducted. Forty‐two studies were included. A total of 2965 Australian First Nations adults, both men and women of various ages across the lifespan, were represented; no First Nations children affected by cancer were represented in the studies. Three themes emerged which included: (1) discrimination, racism and trauma, resulting from colonization, directly impacted First National people's cancer care experience; (2) cultural ways of knowing, being and doing are fundamental to how First Nations people engage with cancer care services; and (3) First Nations people need culturally safe person‐centred cancer care services that address practical needs. Most participants represented in this review experienced discrimination, racism and trauma, resulting from colonization, which directly negatively impacted Aboriginal peoples' cancer care experience. While the Optimal Cancer Pathway (OCP) was launched in Australia several years ago, people with cancer may continue to experience distressing unmet care needs. Our team includes both First Nations people, non‐First Nations researchers and healthcare professionals with expertise in cancer care. The researchers employed decolonizing restorative approaches to ensure voice, respect, accountability and reciprocity in this review work. Members of the multidisciplinary team including nurses and policymakers should reflect on these findings, ensure that they have up‐to‐date cultural safety training and stand together with Indigenous and non‐Indigenous cancer leaders to take proactive steps to stamp out and dismantle oppression in health, and safely implement the OCP

Emotion based attentional priority for storage in visual short-term memory

A plethora of research demonstrates that the processing of emotional faces is prioritised over non-emotive stimuli when cognitive resources are limited (this is known as ‘emotional superiority’). However, there is debate as to whether competition for processing resources results in emotional superiority per se, or more specifically, threat superiority. Therefore, to investigate prioritisation of emotional stimuli for storage in visual short-term memory (VSTM), we devised an original VSTM report procedure using schematic (angry, happy, neutral) faces in which processing competition was manipulated. In Experiment 1, display exposure time was manipulated to create competition between stimuli. Participants (n = 20) had to recall a probed stimulus from a set size of four under high (150 ms array exposure duration) and low (400 ms array exposure duration) perceptual processing competition. For the high competition condition (i.e. 150 ms exposure), results revealed an emotional superiority effect per se. In Experiment 2 (n = 20), we increased competition by manipulating set size (three versus five stimuli), whilst maintaining a constrained array exposure duration of 150 ms. Here, for the five-stimulus set size (i.e. maximal competition) only threat superiority emerged. These findings demonstrate attentional prioritisation for storage in VSTM for emotional faces. We argue that task demands modulated the availability of processing resources and consequently the relative magnitude of the emotional/threat superiority effect, with only threatening stimuli prioritised for storage in VSTM under more demanding processing conditions. Our results are discussed in light of models and theories of visual selection, and not only combine the two strands of research (i.e. visual selection and emotion), but highlight a critical factor in the processing of emotional stimuli is availability of processing resources, which is further constrained by task demands