Visualisation of latent fingerprint on wild bird eggshells by alternate light sources following superglue fuming

The theft of the eggs of endangered or protected species of bird, and subsequent reduction in wildlife population, is a significant problem worldwide. Detection rates are comparatively low towards this type of crime and fingerprinting of egg shells is infrequently utilised due to the technical barrier. This paper explores a novel technique using cyanoacrylate (superglue) fuming in conjunction with fluorescent dye to visualise latent fingerprints upon avian eggshells assisted with alternate light sources. A systematic investigation of experimental parameters has also been carried out to optimise the condition for the fingerprint visualisation. This research project has successfully developed latent fingerprints upon smooth wild bird eggshells but was less successful on developing prints on more textured, porous eggshells.Published onlin

A Systematic Review of Innate Immunomodulatory Effects of Household Air Pollution Secondary to the Burning of Biomass Fuels

Background: Household air pollution (HAP)-associated acute lower respiratory infections cause 455,000 deaths and a loss of 39.1 million disability-adjusted life years annually. The immunomodulatory mechanisms of HAP are poorly understood. Objectives: The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of all studies examining the mechanisms underlying the relationship between HAP secondary to solid fuel exposure and acute lower respiratory tract infection to evaluate current available evidence, identify gaps in knowledge, and propose future research priorities. Methods: We conducted and report on studies in accordance with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. In all, 133 articles were fully reviewed and main characteristics were detailed, namely study design and outcome, including in vivo versus in vitro and pollutants analyzed. Thirty-six studies were included in a nonexhaustive review of the innate immune system effects of ambient air pollution, traffic-related air pollution, or wood smoke exposure of developed country origin. Seventeen studies investigated the effects of HAP-associated solid fuel (biomass or coal smoke) exposure on airway inflammation and innate immune system function. Results: Particulate matter may modulate the innate immune system and increase susceptibility to infection through a) alveolar macrophage-driven inflammation, recruitment of neutrophils, and disruption of barrier defenses; b) alterations in alveolar macrophage phagocytosis and intracellular killing; and c) increased susceptibility to infection via upregulation of receptors involved in pathogen invasion. Conclusions: HAP secondary to the burning of biomass fuels alters innate immunity, predisposing children to acute lower respiratory tract infections. Data from biomass exposure in developing countries are scarce. Further study is needed to define the inflammatory response, alterations in phagocytic function, and upregulation of receptors important in bacterial and viral binding. These studies have important public health implications and may lead to the design of interventions to improve the health of billions of people daily

Reflections on qualitative data analysis training for PPI partners and its implementation into practice

Service users should be involved in every part of the research process, including analysis of qualitative research data such as interviews and focus groups. To enhance their participation, confidence and contributions, training and support for both the ‘professional’ researcher and lay member of public is essential. Historically this has taken a number of forms from short 1 day training sessions through to training spread out over several months. There currently is limited guidance on the quantity and content of such training sessions for Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Partners. This paper discusses and explores the content and delivery of qualitative analysis training held over two sessions of 3 h duration to members of a University PPI group. The training was designed by experienced qualitative researchers and PPI partners based on available literature and research expertise. Training included the theory of qualitative research methods, and practical qualitative analysis coding skills. These skills were developed through the use of ‘mock’ interviews which participants practiced coding in supportive group sessions. Their feedback on the training is provided. One of the PPI partners subsequently went onto code data with a researcher working on a funded research study, and has reflected on both the training sessions and the subsequent analysis of the data. These reflections have been supplemented by reflections of the researcher who worked alongside the PPI partner, revealing that the process challenged perspectives and helped them view data through a service users eyes. A positive working relationship was central to this

The Missing Piece: Drought Impacts Monitoring Report from a Workshop in Tucson, AZ MARCH 5-6, 2013

Based on a shared interest to better understand the impacts of drought and the potential utility of using drought impacts reporting as a tool for monitoring conditions, researchers from the Carolinas RISA (Dow, Lackstrom, and Brennan), the Climate Assessment for the Southwest (Crimmins and Ferguson), and the Southwest Climate Science Center (Meadow) decided to convene a workshop in Tucson in March 2013. The primary goal was to assemble a small group of university and agency scientists involved with drought impacts monitoring to discuss opportunities and barriers associated with drought impacts reporting, recommend best practices for implementing a drought impacts reporting system, and develop a path forward for addressing or overcoming barriers. The longer-term objective of the initial meeting was to explore the feasibility of creating a community of practice that could share information and integrate activities related to drought impacts research and reporting

Lung cancer stage-shift following a symptom awareness campaign

Background: Lung cancer outcomes in the UK are worse than in many other developed nations. Symptom awareness campaigns aim to diagnose patients at an earlier stage to improve cancer outcomes. Methods: An early diagnosis campaign for lung cancer commenced in Leeds, UK in 2011 comprising public and primary-care facing components. Rates of community referral for chest X-ray and lung cancer stage (TNM seventh edition) at presentation were collected from 2008 to 2015. Linear trends were assessed by χ2 test for trend in proportions. Headline figures are presented for the 3 years pre-campaign (2008–2010) and the three most recent years for which data are available during the campaign (2013–2015). Findings: Community-ordered chest X-ray rates per year increased from 18 909 in 2008–2010 to 34 194 in 2013–2015 (80.8% increase). A significant stage shift towards earlier stage lung cancer was seen (χ2(1)=32.2, p<0.0001). There was an 8.8 percentage point increase in the proportion of patients diagnosed with stage I/II lung cancer (26.5% pre-campaign vs 35.3% during campaign) and a 9.3% reduction in the absolute number of patients diagnosed with stage III/IV disease (1254 pre-campaign vs 1137 during campaign). Interpretation: This is the largest described lung cancer stage-shift in association with a symptom awareness campaign. A causal link between the campaign and stage-shift cannot be proven but appears plausible. Limitations of the analysis include a lack of contemporary control population

Evaluating the cost implications of integrating SARS-CoV-2 genome sequencing for infection prevention and control investigation of nosocomial transmission within hospitals

OBJECTIVES: The COG-UK hospital-onset COVID-19 infection (HOCI) trial evaluated the impact of SARS-CoV-2 whole genome sequencing (WGS) on acute infection, prevention, and control (IPC) investigation of nosocomial transmission within hospitals. We estimated the cost implications of using the information from the sequencing reporting tool (SRT), used to determine likelihood of nosocomial infection in IPC practice. METHODS: We conducted a micro-costing approach for SARS-CoV-2 WGS. Data on IPC management resource use and costs were collected from interviews with IPC teams from 14 participating sites and used to assign cost estimates for IPC activities as collected in the trial. Activities included IPC specific actions following a suspicion of healthcare-associated infection (HAI) or outbreak, as well as changes to practice following the return of data via SRT. RESULTS: The mean per sample costs of SARS-CoV-2 sequencing was estimated at £77.10 for rapid and £66.94 for longer turnaround phases. Over the 3 months interventional phases, the total management cost of IPC-defined HAIs and outbreak events across the sites was estimated at £225,070 and £416,447, respectively. Main cost drivers were bed-day lost due to wards closures because of outbreaks followed by outbreak meetings and bed-day lost due to cohorting contacts. Actioning SRTs, the cost of HAIs increased by £5,178 due to unidentified cases and the cost of outbreaks lowered by £11,246 as SRTs excluded hospital outbreaks. CONCLUSIONS: Although, SARS-CoV-2 WGS adds to the total IPC management cost, additional information provided could balance out the additional cost, depending on identified design improvements and effective deployment

Examining the relationship between household air pollution and infant microbial nasal carriage in a Ghanaian cohort.

BACKGROUND: Pneumonia, a leading cause of childhood mortality, is associated with household air pollution (HAP) exposure. Mechanisms between HAP and pneumonia are poorly understood, but studies suggest that HAP may increase the likelihood of bacterial, instead of viral, pneumonia. We assessed the relationship between HAP and infant microbial nasal carriage among 260 infants participating in the Ghana Randomized Air Pollution and Health Study (GRAPHS). METHODS: Data are from GRAPHS, a cluster-randomized controlled trial of cookstove interventions (improved biomass or LPG) versus the 3-stone (baseline) cookstove. Infants were surveyed for pneumonia during the first year of life and had routine personal exposure assessments. Nasopharyngeal swabs collected from pneumonia cases (n?=?130) and healthy controls (n?=?130) were analyzed for presence of 22 common respiratory microbes by MassTag polymerase chain reaction. Data analyses included intention-to-treat (ITT) comparisons of microbial species presence by study arm, and exposure-response relationships. RESULTS: In ITT analyses, 3-stone arm participants had a higher mean number of microbial species than the LPG (LPG: 2.71, 3-stone: 3.34, p?<?0.0001, n?=?260). This difference was driven by increased bacterial (p?<?0.0001) rather than viral species presence (non-significant). Results were pronounced in pneumonia cases and attenuated in healthy controls. Higher prevalence bacterial species were Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Moraxella catarrhalis. Exposure-response relationships did not yield significant associations between measured CO and nasal microbial carriage. CONCLUSIONS: Our intention-to-treat findings are consistent with a link between HAP and bacterial nasal carriage. No relationships were found for viral carriage. Given the null results in exposure-response analysis, it is likely that a pollutant besides CO is driving these differences

Infant Nasopharyngeal Microbiota Subphenotypes and Early Childhood Lung Function: Evidence from a Rural Ghanaian Pregnancy Cohort.

Early life respiratory microbiota may increase risk for future pulmonary disease. Associations between respiratory microbiota and lung health in children from low- and middle-income countries are not well-described. Leveraging the Ghana Randomized Air Pollution and Health Study (GRAPHS) prospective pregnancy cohort in Kintampo, Ghana, we collected nasopharyngeal swabs in 112 asymptomatic children aged median 4.3 months (interquartile range (IQR) 2.9, 7.1) and analyzed 22 common bacterial and viral pathogens with MassTag polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We prospectively followed the cohort and measured lung function at age four years by impulse oscillometry. First, we employed latent class analysis (LCA) to identify nasopharyngeal microbiota (NPM) subphenotypes. Then, we used linear regression to analyze associations between subphenotype assignment and lung function. LCA suggest that a two-class model best described the infant NPM. We identified a higher diversity subphenotype (N = 38, 34%) with more pathogens (median 4; IQR 3.25, 4.75) and a lower diversity subphenotype (N = 74, 66%) with fewer pathogens (median 1; IQR 1, 2). In multivariable linear regression models, the less diverse NPM subphenotype had higher small airway resistance (R5-R20 β = 17.9%, 95% CI 35.6, 0.23; p = 0.047) compared with the more diverse subphenotype. Further studies are required to understand the role of the microbiota in future lung health