Investigating health impacts of natural resource extraction projects in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mozambique, and Tanzania: protocol for a mixed methods study

Natural resource extraction projects offer both opportunities and risks for sustainable development and health in host communities. Often, however, the health of the community suffers. Health impact assessment (HIA) can mitigate the risks and promote the benefits of development but is not routinely done in the developing regions that could benefit the most.; Our study aims to investigate health and health determinants in regions affected by extractive industries in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mozambique, and Tanzania. The evidence generated in our study will inform a policy dialogue on how HIA can be promoted as a regulatory approach as part of the larger research initiative called the HIA4SD (Health impact assessment for sustainable development) project.; The study is a concurrent triangulation, mixed methods, multi-stage, multi-focus project that specifically addresses the topics of governance and policy, social determinants of health, health economics, health systems, maternal and child health, morbidity and mortality, and environmental determinants, as well as the associated health outcomes in natural resource extraction project settings across four countries. To investigate each of these health topics, the project will (1) use existing population-level databases to quantify incidence of disease and other health outcomes and determinants over time using time series analysis; (2) conduct two quantitative surveys on mortality and cost of disease in producer regions; and (3) collect primary qualitative data using focus groups and key informant interviews describing community perceptions of the impacts of extraction projects on health and partnership arrangements between the projects and local and national governance. Differences in health outcomes and health determinants between districts with and without an extraction project will be analyzed using matched geographical analyses in quasi-Poisson regression models and binomial regression models. Costs to the health system and to the households from diseases found to be associated with projects in each country will be estimated retrospectively.; Fieldwork for the study began in February 2019 and concluded in February 2020. At the time of submission, qualitative data collection had been completed in all four study countries. In Burkina Faso, 36 focus group discussions and 74 key informant interviews were conducted in three sites. In Ghana, 34 focus group discussions and 64 key informant interviews were conducted in three sites. In Mozambique, 75 focus group discussions and 103 key informant interviews were conducted in four sites. In Tanzania, 36 focus group discussions and 84 key informant interviews were conducted in three sites. Quantitative data extraction and collection is ongoing in all four study countries. Ethical approval for the study was received in all four study countries prior to beginning the fieldwork. Data analyses are underway and results are expected to be published in 2020 and 2021.; Disentangling the complex interactions of resource extraction projects with their host communities requires an integrative approach drawing on many methodologies under the HIA umbrella. By using complementary data sources to address the question of population health in project areas from several angles, bias and missing data will be reduced, generating high-quality evidence to aid countries in moving toward sustainable development.; DERR1-10.2196/17138

The Ready-To-Go Questionnaire predicts health outcomes during travel: a smartphone application-based analysis

BACKGROUND The Ready-To-Go (R2G) Questionnaire is a tool for rapid assessment of health risks for travel consultation. This study aims to assess the utility of the R2G Questionnaire in identifying high-risk travellers and predicting health events and behaviour during travel in the TOURIST2 prospective cohort. METHODS TOURIST2 data were used to calculate the R2G medical and travel risk scores and categorize each participant based on their risk. The TOURIST2 study enrolled 1000 participants from Switzerland's largest travel clinics between 2017 and 2019. Participants completed daily smartphone application surveys before, during and after travel on health events and behaviours. We used regression models to analyse incidence of overall health events and of similar health events grouped into health domains (e.g. respiratory, gastrointestinal, accident/injury). Incidence rate ratios (IRR) are displayed with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). RESULTS R2G high-risk travellers experienced significantly greater incidence of health events compared to lower-risk travellers (IRR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.22-1.33). Both the medical and travel scores showed significant positive associations with incidence of health events during travel (IRR = 1.11, 95% CI: 1.07-1.16; IRR = 1.07, 95% CI: 1.03-1.12, respectively), with significant increases in all health domains except skin disorders. Medical and travel risk scores were associated with different patterns in behaviour. Travellers with chronic health conditions accessed medical care during travel more often (IRR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.03-1.31), had greater difficulty in carrying out planned activities (IRR = -0.04, 95% CI: -0.05, -0.02), and rated their travel experience lower (IRR = -0.04, 95% CI: -0.06, -0.02). Travellers with increased travel-related risks due to planned travel itinerary had more frequent animal contact (IRR = 1.09, 95% CI: 1.01-1.18) and accidents/injuries (IRR = 1.28, 95% CI: 1.15-1.44). CONCLUSIONS The R2G Questionnaire is a promising risk assessment tool that offers a timesaving and reliable means to identify high-risk travellers. Incorporated into travel medicine websites, it could serve as a pre-consultation triage to help travellers self-identify their risk level, direct them to the appropriate medical provider(s), and help practitioners in giving more tailored advice

Исследование ультрадисперсных оксидов меди, полученных плазмодинамическим методом

The synthesis of copper oxides has a great importance due to the fact these materials are widely used in superconductors manufacturing. It’s known that properties of materials in nanodispersed conditions are improved. In this article, an analysis of ultradispersed plasmodynamic synthesis product obtained using coaxial magnetoplasma accelerator with copper electrodes was carried out. The obtained powder was analyzed by X-ray diffractometer Shimadzu XRD 7000 using the temperature consoles Anton Paar TTK450. Using this analysis such phases as copper Cu, copper oxide (I) Cu2O, copper oxide (II) CuO, and copper hydroxide hydrate Cu(OH)[2]•H[2]O were identified in the product. By gradually heating, the powder to the temperature of 800 °С the phase change was observed. The mass of copper oxide increased up to 96% and copper hydroxide hydrate

Community health impacts of the trident copper mine project in Northwestern Zambia: results from repeated cross-sectional surveys

The application of a health impact assessment (HIA) for a large-scale copper mining project in rural Zambia triggered the long-term monitoring and evaluation of determinants of health and health outcomes in communities living in proximity to the mine. Three consecutive cross-sectional surveys were conducted at intervals of four years; thus, at baseline (2011), four (2015) and eight (2019) years into the project's development. Using the same field and laboratory procedures, the surveys allowed for determining changes in health indicators at the household level, in young children (<5 years), school attendees (9-14 years) and women (15-49 years). Results were compared between communities considered impacted by the project and communities outside the project area (comparison communities). The prevalence of; Plasmodium falciparum; infection increased in both the impacted and comparison communities between 2011 and 2019 but remained consistently lower in the impacted communities. Stunting in children < 5 years and the prevalence of intestinal parasite infections in children aged 9-14 years mostly decreased. In women of reproductive age, selected health indicators (i.e., anaemia, syphilis, underweight and place of delivery) either remained stable or improved. Impacted communities generally showed better health outcomes than comparison communities, suggesting that the health interventions implemented by the project as a consequence of the HIA have mitigated potential negative effects and enhanced positive effects. Caution is indicated to avoid promotion of health inequalities within and beyond the project area

Early career researchers want Open Science : Comment

Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0)Open Science is encouraged by the European Union and many other political and scientific institutions.However, scientific practice is proving slow to change.We propose, as early career researchers, that it is our task to change scientific research into open scientific research and commit to Open Science principles.Non peer reviewe

Minor Body Science with the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

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Marine algal flora of São Miguel Island, Azores

Este artículo contiene 52 páginas, 4 tablas, 15 figuras.Background The macroalgal flora of the Island of São Miguel (eastern group of the Azores Archipelago) has attracted the interest of many researchers in the past, the first publications going back to the nineteenth century. Initial studies were mainly taxonomic, resulting in the publication of a checklist of the Azorean benthic marine algae. Later, the establishment of the University of the Azores on the Island permitted the logistic conditions to develop both temporal studies and long-term research and this resulted in a significant increase on research directed at the benthic marine algae and littoral communities of the Island and consequent publications. Prior to the present paper, the known macroalgal flora of São Miguel Island comprised around 260 species. Despite this richness, a significant amount of the research was never made public, notably Masters and PhD theses encompassing information regarding presence data recorded at littoral and sublittoral levels down to a depth of approximately 40 m around the Island and the many collections made, which resulted in vouchers deposited in the AZB Herbarium Ruy Telles Palhinha and the LSM- Molecular Systematics Laboratory at the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the University of the Azores. The present publication lists the macroalgal taxonomic records, together with information on their ecology and occurrence around São Miguel Island, improving the knowledge of the Azorean macroalgal flora at local and regional scales. New information A total of 12,781 specimens (including some identified only to genus) belonging to 431 taxa of macroalgae are registered, comprising 284 Rhodophyta, 59 Chlorophyta and 88 Ochrophyta (Phaeophyceae). Of these, 323 were identified to species level (212 Rhodophyta, 48 Chlorophyta and 63 Ochrophyta), of which 61 are new records for the Island (42 Rhodophyta, 9 Chlorophyta and 10 Ochrophyta), one an Azorean endemic (Predaea feldmannii subsp. azorica Gabriel), five are Macaronesian endemisms (the red algae Botryocladia macaronesica Afonso-Carrillo, Sobrino, Tittley & Neto, Laurencia viridis Gil-Rodríguez & Haroun, Millerella tinerfensis (Seoane-Camba) S.M.Boo & J.M.Rico, Phyllophora gelidioides P.Crouan & H.Crouan ex Karsakoff and the green alga Codium elisabethiae O.C.Schmidt), 19 are introduced species (15 Rhodophyta, two Chlorophyta and two Ochrophyta) and 32 are of uncertain status (21 Rhodophyta, five Chlorophyta and six Ochrophyta).This research was supported by several projects, expeditions and campaigns (see Funding above) and lately by the project “ACORES-01-0145-FEDER-000072” funded the Operational Programme Azores 2020 (85% ERDF and 15% regional funds). Thanks are due to the campaign teams for their critical involvement in this project (Abel Sentíes, Aina del Alcázar, Ana Alfaya, Ana Belén Villalba Lapeña, Ana Santos, Ana Sofia Carreiro, André Amaral, Andrea Tracana, Ane Laborda, Anna Lloveras Armengol, António Brigos Plafon, Berta Solé Nadal, Camille Fontaine, Carlos Rius, Carles Mir, Caroline Terral, Catarina Santos, Cláudia Hipólito, Daniela Gabriel, Edward Hehre, Emanuel Xavier, Eduardo García, Enrique Almira, Esteban Belles, Eunice Nogueira, Fátima Vaz Pinto, Francisco Wallenstein, Gustavo M Martins, Heather Baldwin, Isadora Moniz, Jana Verdura, Joana Pombo, João Brum, João Faria Santos, João Ferreira, Laura Busquier, Marco Enoch, Maria Ana Dionísio, Maria Machín-Sánchez, Maria Vale, Marlene Terra, Mónica Martínez, Mutue Toyota Fujii, Patrícia Madeira, Pedro Raposeiro, Richard Fralick, Richard Thompson, Rocío Sánchez, Ruben Couto, Rubén Mosquera, Rui Sousa, Sara Peres, Tarso Costa, Tito Silva, Valeria Cassano, Virginie Leyendecker). Edgar Rosas Alquicira and Karla León Cisneros were supported by the Programme AlBan, the European Union Programme of High Level Scholarships for Latin America (through scholarships E05D060221MX and E05D060520MX), “Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología” (doctoral scholarships 176162 and 157904) and the UNAMUNO Programme of PhD Scholarships for Europe. Eva Cacabelos was supported by a postdoctoral grant (Project M1420-09-5369-FSE-000002) from ARDITI (Regional Agency for Development of Research, Technology and Innovation of Madeira). Andrea Z. Botelho was supported by a PhD grant (M3.1.a/F/083/2015), awarded by Fundo Regional da Ciência e Tecnologia (FRCT). Afonso C.L. Prestes was supported by a PhD grant (M3.1.a/F/083/2015), awarded by Fundo Regional da Ciência e Tecnologia (FRCT). Rita F. Patarra was supported by a Science and Technology Management Fellowship grant (SFRH/BGCT/135478/2018), awarded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT I.P.). Manuela I. Parente was supported by a Postdoc grant (SFRH/BPD/34246/2006), awarded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT).Peer reviewe

The PsychENCODE project

Recent research on disparate psychiatric disorders has implicated rare variants in genes involved in global gene regulation and chromatin modification, as well as many common variants located primarily in regulatory regions of the genome. Understanding precisely how these variants contribute to disease will require a deeper appreciation for the mechanisms of gene regulation in the developing and adult human brain. The PsychENCODE project aims to produce a public resource of multidimensional genomic data using tissue- and cell type–specific samples from approximately 1,000 phenotypically well-characterized, high-quality healthy and disease-affected human post-mortem brains, as well as functionally characterize disease-associated regulatory elements and variants in model systems. We are beginning with a focus on autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, and expect that this knowledge will apply to a wide variety of psychiatric disorders. This paper outlines the motivation and design of PsychENCODE