Basic Science and Risk Communication: A Dialogue-Based Study

The authors use ethnographic analysis of a focus group discussion between scientists and laypersons to study information exchange in risk communication

Potential new health risk from lead in used consumer products purchased in the United States

The lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule and the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, both enacted in 2008, were intended to protect children from exposure to lead by setting federal limits on lead content. Neither of these federal actions, however, addresses a newly recognized pathway of exposure to lead from the use of used consumer products in the home. In the study described in this article, the authors purchased 28 used consumer items in the United States in 2004 and analyzed them for lead content using X-ray fluorescence technology. Nineteen of the items exceeded the federal standards for lead. The amount of lead in the items ranged from 745 parts per million (ppm) to 428,525 ppm. The authors' research shows that such items, which are easily purchased throughout the U.S., may contain surface lead concentrations in amounts greater than 700 times current federal limits. This article reveals an ongoing public health threat involved in exposure to lead that is not addressed by current laws or regulations. Addressing the risk involved in this threat requires continued research, public education, and targeted regulatory action.Reprinted with permission from the Journal of Environmental Health, December 2010, (Volume 73, Number 5, pp 8-12), a publication of the National Environmental Health Association, www.neha.org.KEYWORDS: Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, Lead, United States, Collectibles, Exposure to lead, LRRP, CPSIA, Consumer products, Antiques, Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rul

Amplified ambivalence: having a sibling with juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Despite increased awareness of family responses to chronic illness and disability, there is still a need to understand experiences of well siblings. We begin to address this by asking “What is it like to have a sibling with juvenile idiopathic arthritis?” (JIA).Eight families with an adolescent diagnosed with JIA participated. Four members of each family, including one healthy sibling, were interviewed and transcripts analyzed using grounded theory. Analysis suggests healthy siblings see their family as different to ‘normal’ families, forfeit time with peers, share vicariously adverse experiences of their ill sibling, and feel inadequately informed. Such experiences amplify the ambivalent nature of sibling relationships and are possibly felt most strongly during late childhood and early adolescence. Support from extended family can reduce these negative experiences and facilitate social and emotional adjustment which also occurs over time as the children mature. These findings have implications for healthcare professionals and voluntary organizations

Risk Behaviors and Self-Reported Illnesses Among Pacific Northwest Surfers

Although surfers have high incidental exposure to marine waters, no studies have investigated if surfer risk behaviors (such as surfing during advisories, near an outfall, during a rain event, or use of personal protective equipment) increase or decrease the risk of acquiring waterborne illnesses. We used a web-based survey to assess the association between risk-based behaviors with self-reported illnesses among Pacific Northwest surfers. Commonly reported illnesses include: ear infection or discharge (38%), sore throat or a cough (28%), diarrhea (16%), fever (10.5%) and vomiting (7%). Surfing often during rain events was associated with an increased likelihood of diarrhea (OR=2.7; 95% Cl: 1.4-5.47), sore throat (OR=1.26; 95% Cl:1.01-2.05), and ear infection (OR=1.39; 95% Cl: 1.01-2.32). Surfing during a health advisory was associated with increased likelihood of diarrhea (OR = 1.94; 95% CI: 1.03-4.64) and sore throat (OR = 2.32; 95% CI: 1.23-4.40). Other behaviors associated with increased illnesses include body surfing, surfing near an outfall, frequency of surfing and use of ear plugs. Approximately 40% of surfers were unaware if they had surfed during an active health advisory and 29% knowingly surfed during advisories, suggesting the need to engage this population about potential harm and behaviors that may increase health risk.©IWA Publishing 2015. The definitive peer-reviewed and edited version of this article is published in the Journal of Water and Health, volume 13 issue 1, pages 230-242, 2015, DOI:10.2166/wh.2014.231 and is available at www.iwapublishing.com. This is an author's peer-reviewed final manuscript, as accepted by the publisher. The published article is copyrighted by IWA Publishing and can be found at: http://jwh.iwaponline.com/content/13/1/230Keywords: behavior, marine water, surfer, recreational exposure, risk, recreational water illnes

SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Binding of Glycated Serum Albumin-Its Potential Role in the Pathogenesis of the COVID-19 Clinical Syndromes and Bias towards Individuals with Pre-Diabetes/Type 2 Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases

The immune response to SARS‐CoV‐2 infection requires antibody recognition of the spike protein. In a study designed to examine the molecular features of anti‐spike and anti‐nucleocapsid antibodies, patient plasma proteins binding to pre‐fusion stabilised complete spike and nucleocap-sid proteins were isolated and analysed by matrix‐assisted laser desorption ionisation–time of flight (MALDI‐ToF) mass spectrometry. Amongst the immunoglobulins, a high affinity for human serum albumin was evident in the anti‐spike preparations. Careful mass comparison revealed the preferential capture of advanced glycation end product (AGE) forms of glycated human serum albumin by the pre‐fusion spike protein. The ability of bacteria and viruses to surround themselves with serum proteins is a recognised immune evasion and pathogenic process. The preference of SARS‐ CoV‐2 for AGE forms of glycated serum albumin may in part explain the severity and pathology of acute respiratory distress and the bias towards the elderly and those with (pre)diabetic and athero-sclerotic/metabolic disease

Animals can assign novel odours to a known category

The ability to identify a novel stimulus as a member of a known category allows an organism torespond appropriately towards it. Categorisation is thus a fundamental component of cognition andan essential tool for processing and responding to unknown stimuli. Therefore, one might expectto observe it throughout the animal kingdom and across sensory domains. There is much evidenceof visual categorisation in non-human animals, but we currently know little about this process inother modalities. In this experiment, we investigated categorisation in the olfactory domain. Dogswere trained to discriminate between 40 odours; the presence or absence of accelerants formed thecategorical rule. Those in the experimental group were rewarded for responding to substrates withaccelerants (either burnt or un-burnt) and inhibit responses to the same substrates (either burnt or unburnt)without accelerants (S+ counterbalanced). The pseudocategory control group was trained onthe same stimuli without the categorical rule. The experimental group learned the discrimination andanimals were able to generalise to novel stimuli from the same category. None of the control animalswere able to learn the discrimination within the maximum number of trials. This study provides the firstevidence that non-human animals can learn to categorise non-biologically relevant odour information

Design and Administration of Patient-Centred Outcome Measures: The Perspectives of Children and Young People with Life-Limiting or Life-Threatening Conditions and Their Family Members

Background: Self-reported health data from children with life-limiting conditions is rarely collected. To improve acceptability and feasibility of child and family-centred outcome measures for children, they need to be designed in a way that reflects preferences, priorities and abilities. Objectives: The aim was to identify preferences for patient-reported outcome measure design (recall period, response format, length, administration mode) to improve the feasibility, acceptability, comprehensibility and relevance of a child and family-centred outcome measure, among children with life-limiting conditions and their family members. Method: A semi-structured qualitative interview study seeking the perspectives of children with life-limiting conditions, their siblings and parents on measure design was conducted. Participants were purposively sampled and recruited from nine UK sites. Verbatim transcripts were analysed using framework analysis. Results: A total of 79 participants were recruited: 39 children aged 5–17 years (26 living with a life-limiting condition; 13 healthy siblings) and 40 parents (of children aged 0–17 years). Children found a short recall period and a visually appealing measure with ten questions or fewer most acceptable. Children with life-limiting conditions were more familiar with using rating scales such as numeric and Likert than their healthy siblings. Children emphasised the importance of completing the measure alongside interactions with a healthcare professional to enable them to talk about their responses. While parents assumed that electronic completion methods would be most feasible and acceptable, a small number of children preferred paper. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that children with life-limiting conditions can engage in communicating preferences regarding the design of a patient-centred outcome measure. Where possible, children should be given the opportunity to participate in the measure development process to enhance acceptability and uptake in clinical practice. Results of this study should be considered in future research on outcome measure development in children