YOUNG_ADULLLT Scotland: Key Messages for Scottish Policy Actors

This dissemination paper presents findings and recommendations produced from the research project entitled Policies Supporting Young Adults in their Life Course: A Comparative Study of Lifelong Learning and Inclusion in Education and Work in Europe (YOUNG_ADULLLT). The project ran from 2016 to 2019 and was funded by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation initiative. This paper is intended for use by Scottish policymakers, practitioners and researchers in the fields of adult education, lifelong learning, youth policy and skills policy, as well as international audiences interested in the case of Scotland

Vascular ring: a commonly overlooked cause of neonatal respiratory distressVascular ring: a commonly overlooked cause of neonatal respiratory distress

Objective: To report a case of a newborn with complete vascular ring caused by the right-sided aortic arch with retroesophageal left subclavian artery and Kommerell diverticulum. Case Report: A preterm newborn female (36 weeks 3 days) with low birth weight (1670 g) was delivered by cesarean section, with Apgar scores of 7/8. Physical examination revealed dyspnea, cyanosis, and inspiratory stridor with systolic murmur (2/6 grade) at the left upper sternal border. She was transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit, with improvement in her cyanosis and respiratory distress, immediately after orotracheal intubation. Chest X-ray demonstrated mediastinal enlargement with a right-sided aortic arch. The transthoracic echocardiogram showed situs solitus, levocardia, foramen ovale, tortuous and right-sided aortic arch, enlarged ascending aorta, large patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), left-to-right shunt at atrial septal and PDA levels, and Doppler signs of right pulmonary artery flow obstruction probably caused by vascular compression. Angiotomography confirmed the vascular ring and detailed his obstruction anatomy: the right-sided aortic arch with the retroesophageal left subclavian artery arising from the Kommerell diverticulum and left-sided PDA. The anomalous left subclavian artery caused the tracheo-esophageal, right pulmonary artery, and right bronchus compression. The left-sided large PDA completed the vascular ring and its combination caused early symptoms. Conclusion: Vascular ring it’s a congenital malformation that should be suspected in all patients associated with aortic arch anomaly presenting with respiratory symptoms (dyspnea/inspiratory stridor and/or chronic sibilance).Objetivo: Relatar o caso de um recém-nascido com anel vascular completo causado por artéria subclávia esquerda retroesofágica em arco aórtico à direita, associado a um divertículo de Kommerell. Relato de Caso: Paciente do gênero feminino, prematuro (36 semanas e 3 dias), baixo peso (1670g), nasceu de parto via cesária e com Apgar 7/8. Ao exame físico notava-se dispneia, cianose, estridor inspiratório e sopro sistólico (2/6) em borda esternal esquerda alta. A paciente foi levada para unidade de terapia intensiva neonatal com melhora imediata do padrão respiratório e da cianose após intubação orotraqueal. A radiografia de tórax demonstrou alargamento do mediastino e arco aórtico à direita. O ecocardiograma transtorácico evidenciou: forame oval pérvio, arco aórtico à direita e tortuoso, dilatação da aorta ascendente, canal arterial pérvio grande, shunt esquerda-direita pelo septo interatrial e canal arterial e sinais de obstrução ao fluxo da artéria pulmonar direita por provável compressão vascular. A angiotomografia confirmou o anel vascular e esclareceu sua anatomia: arco aórtico à direita com artéria subclávia esquerda retroesofágica originando-se de um divertículo (Kommerell) associada à um canal arterial patente à esquerda. A artéria subclávia esquerda anômala ocasionava compressão extrínseca esofagotraqueal, do fluxo da artéria pulmonar direita e do brônquio fonte à direita. À esquerda, o grande canal arterial patente completava o anel vascular, o que ocasionou sintomas precoces. Conclusões: O anel vascular é uma malformação congênita que deve ser suspeitada em todos os pacientes com anomalias do arco aórtico que apresentam sintomas respiratórios (dispneia/estridor inspiratório e/ou sibilância crônica)

Comparison of Current-Use Pesticide and Other Toxicant Urinary Metabolite Levels among Pregnant Women in the CHAMACOS Cohort and NHANES

BackgroundWe measured 34 metabolites of current-use pesticides and other precursor compounds in urine samples collected twice during pregnancy from 538 women living in the Salinas Valley of California, a highly agricultural area (1999-2001). Precursors of these metabolites included fungicides, carbamate, organochlorine, organophosphorus (OP), and pyrethroid insecticides, and triazine and chloroacetanilide herbicides. We also measured ethylenethiourea, a metabolite of the ethylene-bisdithiocarbamate fungicides. Repeat measurements of the compounds presented here have not been reported in pregnant women previously. To understand the impact of the women's regional environment on these findings, we compared metabolite concentrations from the CHAMACOS (Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas) cohort with U.S. national reference data for 342 pregnant women sampled by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2002).ResultsThe eight metabolites detected in > 50% of samples [2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP); 2,5-dichlorophenol (2,5-DCP); 1- and 2-naphthol; ortho-phenylphenol (ORTH); para-nitrophenol (PNP); 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP); and 3,4,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCPy)] may be related to home or agricultural pesticide use in the Salinas Valley, household products, and other sources of chlorinated phenols. More than 78% of women in this study had detectable levels of at least one of the OP pesticide-specific metabolites that we measured, and > 30% had two or more. The 95th percentile values of six of the most commonly detected (> 50%) compounds were significantly higher among the CHAMACOS women after controlling for age, race, socioeconomic status, and smoking [(2,4-DCP; 2,5-DCP; ORTH; PNP; 2,4,6-TCP; and TCPy); quantile regression p < 0.05].ConclusionsFindings suggest that the CHAMACOS cohort has an additional burden of precursor pesticide exposure compared with the national sample, possibly from living and/or working in an agricultural area

Determinants of Organophosphorus Pesticide Urinary Metabolite Levels in Young Children Living in an Agricultural Community

Organophosphorus (OP) pesticides are used in agriculture and several are registered for home use. As young children age they may experience different pesticide exposures due to varying diet, behavior, and other factors. We measured six OP dialkylphosphate (DAP) metabolites (three dimethyl alkylphosphates (DMAP) and three diethyl alkylphosphates (DEAP)) in urine samples collected from ∼400 children living in an agricultural community when they were 6, 12, and 24 months old. We examined bivariate associations between DAP metabolite levels and determinants such as age, diet, season, and parent occupation. To evaluate independent impacts, we then used generalized linear mixed multivariable models including interaction terms with age. The final models indicated that DMAP metabolite levels increased with age. DMAP levels were also positively associated with daily servings of produce at 6- and 24-months. Among the 6-month olds, DMAP metabolite levels were higher when samples were collected during the summer/spring versus the winter/fall months. Among the 12-month olds, DMAP and DEAP metabolites were higher when children lived ≤60 meters from an agricultural field. Among the 24-month-olds, DEAP metabolite levels were higher during the summer/spring months. Our findings suggest that there are multiple determinants of OP pesticide exposures, notably dietary intake and temporal and spatial proximity to agricultural use. The impact of these determinants varied by age and class of DAP metabolite

The effect of CSR evaluations on affective attachment to CSR in different identity orientation firms

The goal of the present research is to examine the way in which organisational identity orientation and corporate social responsibility (CSR) interact to produce affective attachment and related beneficial behaviours among organisational members. Using a questionnaire, administered in Poland, we show that when CSR activity is viewed as authentic by employees, it leads to affective attachment to the organisation's CSR stance, while an instrumental evaluation is correlated with a negative attachment to the CSR stance. The results suggest that CSR motives are particularly important for organisations with relational and collectivistic identity orientations because of the focus of these organisations on mutual or collective good that can be demonstrated through CSR. The results contribute to social identity literature by establishing a clear relationship between the concepts of identity orientation and CSR and showing that only authentic CSR produces affective attachment and behaviours that benefit the organisation

Prospective individual patient data meta-analysis of two randomized trials on convalescent plasma for COVID-19 outpatients

Data on convalescent plasma (CP) treatment in COVID-19 outpatients are scarce. We aimed to assess whether CP administered during the first week of symptoms reduced the disease progression or risk of hospitalization of outpatients. Two multicenter, double-blind randomized trials (NCT04621123, NCT04589949) were merged with data pooling starting when = 50 years and symptomatic for <= 7days were included. The intervention consisted of 200-300mL of CP with a predefined minimum level of antibodies. Primary endpoints were a 5-point disease severity scale and a composite of hospitalization or death by 28 days. Amongst the 797 patients included, 390 received CP and 392 placebo; they had a median age of 58 years, 1 comorbidity, 5 days symptoms and 93% had negative IgG antibody-test. Seventy-four patients were hospitalized, 6 required mechanical ventilation and 3 died. The odds ratio (OR) of CP for improved disease severity scale was 0.936 (credible interval (CI) 0.667-1.311); OR for hospitalization or death was 0.919 (CI 0.592-1.416). CP effect on hospital admission or death was largest in patients with <= 5 days of symptoms (OR 0.658, 95%CI 0.394-1.085). CP did not decrease the time to full symptom resolution

Global maps of soil temperature

Research in global change ecology relies heavily on global climatic grids derived from estimates of air temperature in open areas at around 2 m above the ground. These climatic grids do not reflect conditions below vegetation canopies and near the ground surface, where critical ecosystem functions occur and most terrestrial species reside. Here, we provide global maps of soil temperature and bioclimatic variables at a 1-km2 resolution for 0–5 and 5–15 cm soil depth. These maps were created by calculating the difference (i.e. offset) between in situ soil temperature measurements, based on time series from over 1200 1-km2 pixels (summarized from 8519 unique temperature sensors) across all the world\u27s major terrestrial biomes, and coarse-grained air temperature estimates from ERA5-Land (an atmospheric reanalysis by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts). We show that mean annual soil temperature differs markedly from the corresponding gridded air temperature, by up to 10°C (mean = 3.0 ± 2.1°C), with substantial variation across biomes and seasons. Over the year, soils in cold and/or dry biomes are substantially warmer (+3.6 ± 2.3°C) than gridded air temperature, whereas soils in warm and humid environments are on average slightly cooler (−0.7 ± 2.3°C). The observed substantial and biome-specific offsets emphasize that the projected impacts of climate and climate change on near-surface biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are inaccurately assessed when air rather than soil temperature is used, especially in cold environments. The global soil-related bioclimatic variables provided here are an important step forward for any application in ecology and related disciplines. Nevertheless, we highlight the need to fill remaining geographic gaps by collecting more in situ measurements of microclimate conditions to further enhance the spatiotemporal resolution of global soil temperature products for ecological applications

Global maps of soil temperature

Research in global change ecology relies heavily on global climatic grids derived from estimates of air temperature in open areas at around 2 m above the ground. These climatic grids do not reflect conditions below vegetation canopies and near the ground surface, where critical ecosystem functions occur and most terrestrial species reside. Here, we provide global maps of soil temperature and bioclimatic variables at a 1-km² resolution for 0–5 and 5–15 cm soil depth. These maps were created by calculating the difference (i.e., offset) between in-situ soil temperature measurements, based on time series from over 1200 1-km² pixels (summarized from 8500 unique temperature sensors) across all the world’s major terrestrial biomes, and coarse-grained air temperature estimates from ERA5-Land (an atmospheric reanalysis by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts). We show that mean annual soil temperature differs markedly from the corresponding gridded air temperature, by up to 10°C (mean = 3.0 ± 2.1°C), with substantial variation across biomes and seasons. Over the year, soils in cold and/or dry biomes are substantially warmer (+3.6 ± 2.3°C) than gridded air temperature, whereas soils in warm and humid environments are on average slightly cooler (-0.7 ± 2.3°C). The observed substantial and biome-specific offsets emphasize that the projected impacts of climate and climate change on near-surface biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are inaccurately assessed when air rather than soil temperature is used, especially in cold environments. The global soil-related bioclimatic variables provided here are an important step forward for any application in ecology and related disciplines. Nevertheless, we highlight the need to fill remaining geographic gaps by collecting more in-situ measurements of microclimate conditions to further enhance the spatiotemporal resolution of global soil temperature products for ecological applications

Mitochondrial physiology

As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery