It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Saturday, October 12, 2024
Workforce diversity is key to advancing One Health
Innovation in public health requires more than an interdisciplinary approach; it also requires a diverse workforce that reflects a range of human characteristics
[Vienna, October 11, 2024] – A new article highlights a critical issue in the One Health approach—an emerging global framework for tackling complex health challenges at the intersection of human, animal, and environmental health. In the article in The Lancet Planetary Health, scientists Amélie Desvars-Larrive and Fariba Karimi from the Complexity Science Hub (CSH) point out that One Health's current framework fails to explicitly address workforce diversity.
According to Desvars-Larrive and Karimi, true innovation in solving public health challenges requires not just an interdisciplinary approach but also adiverse workforcethat reflects a range of human differences—including ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, race, nationality, and more.
The Multiple Facets of Diversity
“We usually think of diversity in One Health in terms of teams with experts from different knowledge areas,” explains Desvars-Larrive, who leads CSH’s research team on Health Across Species. “After meeting Fariba at CSH, I learned that diversity goes far beyond that,” says Desvars-Larrive, also a professor in Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna.
“Diversity has multiple facets. As we argue here, those differences in terms of social constructs such as ethnicity, race, and sexual orientation, contribute to diverse lived experiences that are important when addressing complex health challenges,” says Karimi, who leads CSH's research team on Algorithmic Fairness.
“Such global challenges are often complex problems and to solve them we need a diverse group of people to examine the problem from different angles and bring a variety of perspectives and methods,” explains Karimi, also a professor of Social Data Science at Graz University of Technology.
In her research, Karimi explores a wide range of social problems and phenomena through computational social science. Her recent work addresses the emergence of biases and inequality in social networks, as well as the visibility of minorities.
Innovative and Creative Thinking
According to Desvars-Larrive and Karimi, diversity fosters creativity, reduces groupthink, and improves the quality of scientific research. “Teams that encompass a diverse mix of genders, sociocultural backgrounds, and perspectives, while fostering inclusiveness, tend to be more productive, more competitive, more innovative, and better equipped to find effective science-based solutions. Notably, diversity in teams enhances community participation, particularly when researching minority populations,” add the CSH scientists.
“CSH fosters interdisciplinary research and communication, which allowed me to chat with Amélie about this topic ultimately leading to this shared understanding and this publication, showing the importance of creating space for diverse views,” adds Karimi.
The Complexity Science Hub (CSH) is Europe’s research center for the study of complex systems. We derive meaning from data from a range of disciplines — economics, medicine, ecology, and the social sciences — as a basis for actionable solutions for a better world. Established in 2015, we have grown to over 70 researchers, driven by the increasing demand to gain a genuine understanding of the networks that underlie society, from healthcare to supply chains. Through our complexity science approaches linking physics, mathematics, and computational modeling with data and network science, we develop the capacity to address today’s and tomorrow’s challenges.
Beyond silos: integrating diversity for a stronger One Health
Article Publication Date
9-Oct-2024
Racial and ethnic disparities in age-specific all-cause mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic
JAMA Network
About The Study:
In this cross-sectional study of the U.S. population during the COVID-19 public health emergency, excess mortality occurred in all racial and ethnic groups, with disparities affecting several minoritized populations. The greatest relative increases occurred in populations ages 25 to 64. Documented differences deviated from pre-pandemic disparities.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Jeremy Samuel Faust, MD, MS, email jsfaust@bwh.harvard.edu.
Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.
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Embed this link to provide your readers free access to the full-text article
About JAMA Network Open: JAMA Network Open is an online-only open access general medical journal from the JAMA Network. On weekdays, the journal publishes peer-reviewed clinical research and commentary in more than 40 medical and health subject areas. Every article is free online from the day of publication.
Journal
JAMA Network Open
Potential risk factors for suicide identified in the professional athlete population
The care models for the screening and management of mental health issues in professional athletes often do not consider sport-related factors that are unique to this population
George A. Wilson, MBBS, of the University of South Wales in the UK, and his colleagues write, "The data we reviewed showed that former athletes were likely to be more at risk of suicide when compared to the global average. However, overall, when compared with age-matched controls, professional and elite athletes were likely to be at an equal or lower risk of suicide. It is recommended that future research aim to develop and implement resources to help athletes prepare for life after retirement, such as life skills training and educational groups to mitigate the risk of suicide within this cohort."
Participation in elite and professional sports does not increase the risk of suicide
The authors based their conclusions on a review of 9 studies of suicide in elite or professional athletes who were at least 16 years old. Collectively, the studies involved 23,836 athletes: 2,407 women and 21,429 men.
Besides finding no elevated risk of suicide overall, Dr. Wilson and his colleagues found no trends in suicide risk related to specific sports. The exceptions were elite or professional sports in which the use of anabolic androgenic steroids was suspected to be high and shooting sports where athletes have access to firearms.
Several factors may contribute to a lower risk of suicide in athletes, the reviewers note. Regular exercise is well established to have a positive effect on mental health and well-being, and belonging to a sports community or team can lead to decreased feelings of social isolation and loneliness. "Athletes may also develop effective coping skills through sport, which can foster a sense of resilience and mastery that can be applied to other areas of life." The social conditions and higher socioeconomic status of professional athletes may also help protect against suicide.
Elite and professional athletes do have certain potential risk factors for suicide
The reviewers did find evidence of potential risk factors for suicide among elite and professional athletes:
Retirement from sport
Anabolic androgenic steroid use
Sexual abuse victimization
The use of self-blame or behavioral disengagement as a coping strategy
"Retirement from athletic careers is often a stressful and challenging experience," the authors emphasize. "Athletes may experience a loss of purpose, a loss of identity, emotional distress, social isolation as well as financial challenges and difficulties in adjusting to a new lifestyle outside of sport. The psychology of athlete retirement is complex and multifaceted. It is therefore important to ensure support and resources are in place to help athletes cope with the emotional aspects of the process."
Dr. Wilson and his colleagues emphasize that as the field of sports psychiatry continues to develop, physicians need to consider other sport-related factors that are unique to elite and professional athletes. "A comprehensive understanding of these factors is required to provide guidance for those working with athletes to enhance models of care, improve emotional wellbeing, and increase quality of life in this population."
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Risk Factors for Suicide Among Professional Athletes
Article Publication Date
11-Oct-2024
Mitigating black carbon emissions: Key drivers in residential and coke/brick productions
Science China Press
image:
Figure 1Temporal trends of black carbon (BC) emissions from 37 major source types across seven sectors from 1960 to 2019 (A). Source profiles in 1962, 1995, and 2019 are shown as ring charts (B).
Black carbon (BC) is a short-lived climate forcing aerosol that can strongly absorb solar radiation, leading to climate warming. As a major component of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), BC also adversely affects human health. Multiple epidemiological studies have shown that BC is significantly more toxic than other PM components. Reducing BC emissions is crucial for mitigating global warming and improving regional air quality. However, existing BC inventories have significant uncertainties due to data limitations and other factors.
This study improved China's BC emission inventory by updating a series of activity intensity data and emission factor data from field measurements. It identified and quantified the contributions of various driving factors of major BC emission sources in China. The inventory was extended to 2019, with emission source categories refined to 146 types, a spatial resolution of 0.1°×0.1°, and a monthly temporal resolution. Benefitted from the new information and structural decomposition analysis for critical factors driving long-term variation of BC emissions in the past and coming decades, the inventory has been substantially improved and will provide stronger scientific support to policy implementation in BC pollution mitigation.
As shown in Figure 1, which presents the temporal variation in BC emissions from major sources. The total annual emission was 1.11 (0.90-1.41) Tg in 1962, increased monotonically to a peak value of 3.03 (1.92-5.15) Tg in 1995, and declined thereafter to 1.02 (0.75-1.52) Tg in 2019. In 1962, residential solid fuel combustion dominated the BC emission sources, accounting for 83.2% of the total emissions. However, by the emission peak year of 1995, the relative contribution of the residential sector had significantly declined to 34.7%, while the industrial sector’s contribution had risen from 7.8% in 1962 to 56.4% in 1995, primarily due to the substantial increase in coke (32.0%) and brick (19.5%) productions. By 2019, the most significant sources of BC emissions were coke production (18.7%), residential coal consumption (15.4%), brick kilns (12.2%), residential biomass fuels (10.8%), and diesel vehicles (8.0%). In sum, the predominant contributors were the consumption of solid fuels in the residential sector and industrial coke and brick production. These three sources accounted for 89.4%, 83.6%, and 57.4% of the total emissions in 1962, 1995, and 2019, respectively.
This study quantitatively analyzed the driving factors for the three major emission sources mentioned above. For residential emissions, the dominant negative factors were residential energy mix transition and stove switching, particularly the transition from coal and biomass fuels to cleaner energy sources. While most factors influenced both rural and urban areas in the same direction, urbanization had a positive effect in urban areas and a negative effect in rural areas, leading to slightly negative net effects on the overall trend.
In 1996, the Coal Law was enacted, and beehive coke began to be banned. Despite beehive coke accounting for only 10.1% of the total production over these 60 years, its contribution to the total BC emissions from coking reached as high as 65.3% due to its extremely high emission factors and lack of control measures. Consequently, the overall temporal trends of coke production and BC emissions exhibited notable differences. The former depended primarily on industrial-scale coke production, while beehive coke ovens predominantly governed the latter. The major drivers behind the changes in BC emissions from coke production were quantified. The key drivers include coke production, the phasing out of beehive coke ovens, and various abatement measures.
There were two general peaks in brick production, with peak years around 1995 and 2016. The significant difference in the overall temporal pattern between the productions and emissions was the relatively low emissions during the second wave. This difference was caused by reduced EFs in recent years due to brick kiln upgrading and installing end-of-pipe dust removal facilities. The positive driver was the brick production on BC emissions. The most important negative driver was the replacement of annular kilns with tunnel kilns. In comparison, dust removal had a much smaller impact on emission reduction since end-of-pipe facilities cannot effectively mitigate strong BC emissions from fugitive sources.
Figure 4 Temporal trends of brick production (A) and BC emissions from brick kilns (B) in China. Major drivers affecting BC emissions are shown as cumulative contributions(C).
Figure 3 Temporal trends in coke production (A) and BC emissions from coking (B) in China. Major drivers affecting BC emissions are also shown as accumulative contributions (C).
Severe cold-water bleaching and mortality of deep-water reef observed in the Eastern Tropical Pacific
New study highlights that deep coral ecosystems in the Eastern Pacific likely face a two-pronged threat over the 21st century: bleaching driven by the intrusion of warm water from above and by cold water from below.
Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
image:
Expedition diver Rose Dodwell documenting the extent of coral bleaching along a transect at 32 meters depth (white transect tape is visible in the middle of the image).
Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (MPIC) recently published a paper detailing their observations of a major coral bleaching and mortality event that occurred on the deep reefs of the Clipperton Atoll, a remote coral island in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. This bleaching, which was highly unexpected, is driven by the upwards displacement of cold water to much shallow depths than normal. The researchers link the presence of this anomalously shallow, cold water to changes in easterly wind strength in the Pacific, and demonstrate that the variability in wind strength can explain other past observed bleaching events of shallow reefs in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. Their study, which was recently published in the scientific journal Science of the Total Environment, highlights that cold-water bleaching may prove to be a major threat to deep reef ecosystems over the 21st century.
A disturbing surprise in the remote Eastern Pacific
Alan Foreman and Nicholas Duprey, two postdoctoral researchers from Alfredo Martínez-García’s group at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, conducted a scientific expedition to Clipperton Atoll in early 2023 to collect samples from Clipperton’s shallow reefs. This work, conducted onboard the sailing yacht S/Y Acadia as part of a collaboration with the Rohr Foundation, was aimed at retrieving coral cores and water samples in an area that will allow MPIC researchers to reconstruct changes in the size of oxygen minimum zones in the Eastern Pacific over the 20th century. “Clipperton is a truly remote destination: 800 nautical miles south of Mexico and 1000 nautical miles west of Costa Rica,” explains Nicolas Duprey.
“Although we were in the area to collect other samples, serendipitously we observed bleaching on the deep coral reefs on one of our first dives,” recalls Alan. “From the temperature of the surrounding water, we were able to infer that this was almost certainly driven by the presence of cold water,” adds Nic. This was indeed quite a surprise to the two paleoclimatologists, considering that Clipperton is located in an area of the Pacific known for its warm water, with an average surface water temperature of 28°C for most of the year.
How to quantify a massive bleaching event 30 meters underwater
With assistance in the field from study coauthors Mark Rohr, Rose Dodwell, and Guy Dodwell, the two scientists began documenting the extensive bleaching present around Clipperton, both by recording the percentage of bleached and dead coral at 32 meters depth (~70 percent) and by photographing the bleaching in high resolution. With help from Matan Yuval at the University of Haifa, they merged the huge photo collection into one single image, a so-called a photomosaic, for further analysis back on dry land. When combined with temperature measurements of the upper 300 meters of the water column, it became clear that the deep corals were bleaching due to cold shock, and that this shock played a large part in was leading to substantial mortality along the deep reefs.
Assisted by Marielle Dumestre (MPIC), the researchers compiled a database of published cold- and warm-water bleaching events that occurred in the shallow reefs of the region to better elucidate the role of cold-water intrusions in governing reef ecosystem functionality. It turned out that the timing of cold-water bleaching events coincided with past maxima in easterly wind strength. “We quickly realized that this anomalously cold water so high in the water column was linked to oscillations in easterly wind strength in the Eastern Tropical Pacific,” says Alan. This link suggests that any future intensification of easterly winds in the Pacific may be a significant threat for its mesophotic coral ecosystems, as it could drive severe bleaching via increased exposure to colder waters from depth.
Mesophotic coral reefs are facing dual threats in the 21st century
Recent studies suggest that major La Niña events associated with strong easterly winds will become both stronger and more frequent in the near future. Models also predict that extreme La Niña events will follow extreme El Niño events more often. The researchers hypothesize, that, if this becomes a reality, unusually cold water will be displaced onto Eastern Tropical Pacific deep and mid-depth reefs on the heels of increased warm thermal stress from the surface. The authors of the study fear that, given the severity of bleaching and the associated coral mortality seen at Clipperton, the impact of cold-water bleaching on deep coral reefs is not transient, and that such events could strongly impact the health and functionality of a given deep-water reef.
“Our observations, in combination with recent reports of warm-water bleaching of Red Sea and Indian Ocean mesophotic coral ecosystems, highlight that 21st century mesophotic coral ecosystems in the Eastern Pacific face a two-pronged challenge: warm-water bleaching from above, and cold-water bleaching from below”, Alan concludes.
More information:
Coral Bleaching: The corals expel single-celled algae that they need to survive. As a result, they lose their color and often starve to death. Read more: https://www.mpg.de/21887931/coral-bleaching
Funding: Beyond funding by the Max Planck Society, the field expedition and research was made possible in major part by The Rohr Foundation. Other funders include the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) – Project number 468591845 – SPP 2299/Project number 441832482; the Paul Crutzen Nobel Prize Fellowship; the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust; the Maurice Hatter Foundation; the Data Science Research Center at the University of Haifa; the Murray Foundation for student research; Microsoft AI for Earth: AI for Coral Reef Mapping.
About The Rohr Foundation and S/Y Acadia: In support of ocean conservation, S/Y Acadia hosts scientists onboard to help document the health of marine ecosystems and diversity of marine life on voyages to remote locations around the globe. Their goals are to help forge connections between people, to document the challenges we face with regard to ocean health and climate change, and to promote policy-relevant science in support of marine conservation. (More details: https://www.yachtacadia.com/)
Severe cold-water bleaching of a deep-water reef underscores future challenges for Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems, Alan D. Foreman, Nicolas N. Duprey, Matan Yuval, Marielle Dumestre, Jennifer N. Leichliter, Mark C. Rohr, Rose C.A. Dodwell, Guy A.S. Dodwell, Eric E.G. Clua, Tali Treibitz, Alfredo Martínez-García
Easily deployable multisensory collaborative tele-robotic system to inspect pipes located in radioactive environments
The prototype has been designed and built by the Interactive and Robotic Systems Lab within the EU H2020 project "El-Peacetolero"
Universitat Jaume I
image:
The Interactive and Robotic Systems Lab (IRS) group at the Universitat Jaume I of Castelló has developed a mobile, lightweight, modular and reconfigurable manipulator robot, which includes a remote control station with 3D perception, modular and multi-device 3D simulation software that implements a digital twin for operator training, with the aim of operating in hazardous scenarios for human health, initially in the inspection of plastic pipes by probing and artificial vision.
The Interactive and Robotic Systems Lab (IRS) group at the Universitat Jaume I of Castelló has developed a mobile, lightweight, modular and reconfigurable manipulator robot, which includes a remote control station with 3D perception, modular and multi-device 3D simulation software that implements a digital twin for operator training, with the aim of operating in hazardous scenarios for human health, initially in the inspection of plastic pipes by probing and artificial vision.
The new technology, which has been validated on an experimental scale at the UJI's Centre for Research in Robotics and Underwater Technologies (CIRTESU), is applicable to the inspection of pipes and plastic materials in the surroundings of particle accelerators and nuclear power plants, and can be adapted to support teaching or healthcare staff in other types of challenging environments, such as infectious ones.
Software enhancements include a Robot Operating System (ROS)-based server and multiple clients that can be expanded to meet specific mission requirements. Hardware enhancements include wireless communications, various vision devices, localisation techniques, mobility, low weight and power consumption, an open nature that allows modularity and adaptability, and low production costs.
The new technology, which is the result of the European project "EU H2020 El-Peacetolero" (Embedded Electronic Solutions for Polymer Innovative Scanning Methods using Light-Emitting Devices for Diagnostic Routines), in which the UJI participates along with eight other European universities and research centres, will be adapted to specific applications through specific agreements and subsequent licensing agreements with companies.
The Universitat Jaume I, through the Cooperation and Technological Development Office and the Vice-Rector's Office for Scientific Transfer, Innovation and Dissemination, facilitates the scientific and technological transfer of its research staff, with the aim of advancing its vocation to transmit and disseminate scientific, technical, social and humanistic knowledge.
Method of Research
Computational simulation/modeling
Toddlers show increased physical activity with a robot playmate moving around the room
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Parents seeking help in encouraging toddlers to be physically active may soon need to look no further than an inexpensive robotic buddy for their kids, a new study by Oregon State University suggests.
The findings are important because movement plays a key role in the overall health of children, both in youth and later on in adulthood, the authors note.
Researchers observed individual sessions for eight kids ages 2-3 once a week for two months in a playroom that included various toys as well as a toddler-sized GoBot: a custom, wheeled, foam-padded robot designed through a collaboration between the OSU colleges of Engineering and Health.
Weekly sessions with each of the five boys and three girls were broken into three segments.
During one of them, the GoBot was in the room but not active, though the child was free to push and pull the robot around if he or she wanted to.
In another, the GoBot’s movements – basically keep-away maneuvers – were directed by an operator using a PlayStation DualShock4 controller, and in the third segment type, the motion was autonomous. In either scenario, the GoBot rewarded the child for getting close to it by emitting sounds, lights or bubbles.
The results showed that kids’ activity levels, measured by multiple sensors and cameras, were higher in the presence of an active robot.
“It was interesting to us that the simple autonomous routine worked as well as directly teleoperated control when it came to engaging children,” said the College of Engineering’s Naomi Fitter, who led the study. “That means a relatively low-cost robot playmate – one that offers more intelligence and independence compared to current phone-operated robotic toys – might be feasible in the near future.”
For young children, the authors say, physical activity contributes to cognitive, social and motor development and also sets the stage for better psychosocial and cardiometabolic health later on, serving as a foundation for the potential of a lifetime of healthy habits.
“High rates of sedentary behavior are a big current challenge across many phases of life, and better physical activity at any part can lead to better health outcomes,” Fitter said.
The researchers also note that past studies indicate a significant number of children are below recommended physical activity guidelines, which contributes to high levels of childhood obesity and other negative health consequences.
“Toys that motivate crawling and assist with walking are widespread,” Fitter said, “but there’s a scarcity of toys designed to motivate young children to be active and explore their environments once they are ambulatory.”
Assistive robots like GoBot, she added, may be more effective than other tools for physical activity promotion because people tend to see robots as more “peer-like and influential” than non-embodied technologies like phones or computers.
“An important point is that we're not aiming to replace caregivers, but for parents, there can be periods of development during which it is hard to know how best to engage with your toddler,” Fitter said. “The work in our paper could lead to new robotic toys that families could play with together to help fill those gaps.”
Collaborating with Fitter were Rafael Morales Mayoral and Ameer Helmi of the College of Engineering and Samuel W. Logan of the College of Health.
Findings were published in the Journal of Translational Engineering in Health & Medicine.
Journal
IEEE Journal of Translational Engineering in Health and Medicine
Low-cost robots which can harvest and package strawberries in a matter of seconds have been trialled in Essex as part of ambitious plans to tackle a labour shortage in the industry.
The University of Essex has been working with world-famous jam makers, Wilkin & Sons, to test the new prototype, which costs a fraction of the price of existing technology.
Funded by a £1.02million grant fvia the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ flagship Farming Innovation Programme, the project has seen the low-cost robot tasked with picking strawberries from one of Wilkins and Sons’ vertical farms in Tiptree.
The robot, which can pick a strawberry in just 2.5 seconds, is based on a previous prototype which has been successfully trialled for the last two seasons.
The modular architecture can be easily adapted to other crops – with robotic harvesting trials planned later on in the project with onions, tomatoes and lettuce.
Dr Vishwanathan Mohan and Professor Klaus McDonald-Maier, both from Essex’s School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, have helped design and build the robot.
Dr Mohan said: “Through this project we want to transform how food is grown efficiently using robotics and AI, and make state-of-the-art agri-robotics technologies accessible to everyone.
“Even if smaller farms and businesses can afford a robot, you need a whole fleet of them to make a difference, so it is vital we find cost-effective alternatives to help the agricultural industry.
“At the same time robotics is a game changer to tackle some of the critical challenges facing us – food security, labour security, climate and energy.”
The prototype is able to pick the strawberries using a robotic arm, before weighing each one and placing it in packaging.
It is hoped the project will not only reduce the repetitive, labour-intensive process of crop picking, but will also extend the shelf-life of produce by speeding up the packaging process.
Existing crop-picking robots cost on average around £150,000 but if successful, the new prototype will cost a fraction of the price at around £10,000.
Chris Newenham, Joint Managing Director of Wilkin & Sons, said: “Wilkin & Sons are once again delighted to partner with the University of Essex in tackling what is currently the most significant challenge for our industry.
“Our experience from our initial work with the institution is that these challenges are inordinately complex and take time, it is work which is definitely not for the faint hearted but we are confident that we are working with the very best partners and very much looking forward to seeing the fruits of our collective labours over the coming years.”
The Government’s flagship Farming Innovation Programme aims to support ambitious projects to transform productivity and enhance environmental sustainability in England’s agricultural and horticultural sectors, whilst driving the sectors towards net zero.
Dr Vishwanathan Mohan trialling the robot on the farm in Tiptree, Essex.
