Utility of cockroach as a model organism in the assessment of toxicological impacts of environmental pollutants

Environmental pollution is a global concern because of its associated risks to human health and ecosystem. The bio-monitoring of environmental health has attracted much attention in recent years and efforts to minimize environmental contamination as well as to delineate toxicological mechanisms related to toxic exposure are essential to improve the health conditions of both humans and animals. This review aims to substantiate the need and advantages in utilizing cockroaches as a complementary, non-mammalian model to further understand the noxious impact of environmental contaminants on humans and animals. We discuss recent advances in neurotoxicology, immunotoxicology, reproductive and developmental toxicology, environmental forensic entomotoxicology, and environmental toxicology that corroborate the utility of the cockroach (Periplaneta americana, Blaptica dubia, Blattella germanica and Nauphoeta cinerea) in addressing toxicological mechanisms as well as a sensor of environmental pollution. Indeed, recent improvements in behavioural assessment and the detection of potential biomarkers allow for the recognition of phenotypic alterations in cockroaches following exposure to toxic chemicals namely saxitoxin, methylmercury, polychlorinated biphenyls, electromagnetic fields, pharmaceuticals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, chemical warfare agents and nanoparticles. The review provides a state-of-the-art update on the current utility of cockroach models in various aspects of toxicology as well as discusses the potential limitations and future perspectives.

The one health landscape in Sub-Saharan African countries

OBJECTIVES

One Health is transiting from multidisciplinary to transdisciplinary concepts and its viewpoints should move from 'proxy for zoonoses', to include other topics (climate change, nutrition and food safety, policy and planning, welfare and well-being, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), vector-borne diseases, toxicosis and pesticides issues) and thematic fields (social sciences, geography and economics). This work was conducted to map the One Health landscape in Africa.

METHODS

An assessment of existing One Health initiatives in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries was conducted among selected stakeholders using a multi-method approach. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to One Health initiatives were identified, and their influence, interest and impacts were semi-quantitatively evaluated using literature reviews, questionnaire survey and statistical analysis.

RESULTS

One Health Networks and identified initiatives were spatiotemporally spread across SSA and identified stakeholders were classified into four quadrants. It was observed that imbalance in stakeholders' representations led to hesitation in buying-in into One Health approach by stakeholders who are outside the main networks like stakeholders from the policy, budgeting, geography and sometimes, the environment sectors.

CONCLUSION

Inclusion of theory of change, monitoring and evaluation frameworks, and tools for standardized evaluation of One Health policies are needed for a sustained future of One Health and future engagements should be outputs- and outcomes-driven and not activity-driven. National roadmaps for One Health implementation and institutionalization are necessary, and proofs of concepts in One Health should be validated and scaled-up. Dependence on external funding is unsustainable and must be addressed in the medium to long-term. Necessary policy and legal instruments to support One Health nationally and sub-nationally should be implemented taking cognizance of contemporary issues like urbanization, endemic poverty and other emerging issues. The utilization of current technologies and One Health approach in addressing the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 and other emerging diseases are desirable. Finally, One Health implementation should be anticipatory and preemptive, and not reactive in containing disease outbreaks, especially those from the animal sources or the environment before the risk of spillover to human.

The occurrence of Anisakis spp. in Australian waters: past, present, and future trends

As one of the world's megadiverse countries, Australian biodiversity is vital for global biodiversity. Nematodes belonging to the genus Anisakis (family Anisakidae) are an important part of this biodiversity due to their ability to be repeatedly transmitted among their intermediate hosts before reaching the top of the food pyramid. Therefore, they have a significant impact on the community structures of various ecosystems. In addition, globally, they are known to be of medical and veterinary significance. The aim of this article is to provide an update on the current knowledge about these important parasites in Australia. Since 1916, a total of 234 records of Anisakis spp. from various hosts and localities have been found in Australia. It is estimated that the occurrence of Anisakis spp. and their health impacts in at least 84, 98.5, and 95% of Australian marine mammals, fish, and water birds, respectively, have not been documented yet. The results of this study suggest Australia is perhaps home to the most diverse Anisakis fauna. Available information is dominated by reports of these parasites in fish hosts, many of them among edible fish. Given the popularity of seafood in Australia and the occurrence of infectious stages of Anisakis spp. in edible fish, all stakeholders should be made aware of the occurrence, prevalence, and survival of Anisakis spp. in seafood. Also, as more pet owners feed their pets with a variety of fish and seafood products, it is important for veterinarians to be aware of seafood transmitted Anisakis spp. in pet animals. This study also highlights several important knowledge gaps: (i) The detailed life cycle of Anisakis spp. in Australia is not known. Detecting their first intermediate hosts is important for better management of crustacean zooplankton populations in our waters. (ii) Research on Anisakis spp. in Australia has been restricted to limited taxonomical studies and should extend to other aspects of these important parasites. (iii) The capacity to identify parasite taxa to species is especially important for resolving biological diversity around Australia; however, opportunities to formally train in parasite taxonomy are rare and diminishing. There is a need to train researchers with taxonomy skills. (iv) Given the vast range of biodiversity in Australia and the broad host-specificity of Anisakis spp., particularly in the larval stages, the full range of their intermediate hosts remains unknown. (v) The health impacts of the infection of the intermediate/definitive hosts with Anisakis spp. are not fully understood. Thus, one of the important areas for future studies is investigating the pathogenicity of Anisakis spp. in affected animals. This is a crucial yet unknown factor for the conservation of some endangered species in Australia.

Characterization of Clinostomum sp. (Trematoda: Clinostomidae) infecting cormorants in south-eastern Australia

Clinostomum Leidy, 1856 (Trematoda: Clinostomidae) is a cosmopolitan, zoonotic genus of fluke that has been poorly studied in an Australian setting. Following previous reports of reservoir fish in Australian fish ponds being heavily infected with Clinostomum metacercaria, the current study was conducted to determine the specific identity of Clinostomum sp. in inland Australia, by examining and characterizing parasites collected from a potential definitive host, cormorants. A total of 33 parasite specimens belonging to the genus Clinostomum were collected from two cormorants (little black cormorants, Phalacrocorax sulcirostris) that were collected from the Narrandera Fisheries Research Centre, New South Wales, at the same locality where metacercaria of Clinostomum sp. have been reported in fish. All specimens in our study were immature adults. Clinostomum specimens with similar morphology have been identified as C. complanatum in the past, based on their morphological characteristics. However, phylogenetic analyses based on the ITS sequence data in the present study suggest they are the same as the Clinostomum sp. previously reported from carp gudgeons (Hypseleotris spp.) from the same farm, and distinct from C. complanatum. The ITS sequences obtained from the specimens in the present study were most similar to those belonging to C. phalacrocoracis (never reported in Australia). Our specimens formed a distinct clade on the phylogenetic tree and their specific identity awaits until fully mature specimens are described in future studies.

The occurrence and abundance of infective stages of zoonotic nematodes in selected edible fish sold in Australian fish markets

Seafood is nutritious and a healthy source of proteins and its regular consumption is highly recommended by medical professionals and dieticians. Owing to this, the global consumption of seafood per capita has been significantly increasing since the 1960s. Consequently, seafood-borne pathogens, including parasites, have also become more widely known and recognised. In Australia, a vast island country, information about such parasites is extremely limited. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and abundance of zoonotic parasites, including anisakid nematodes, in selected Australian edible fish. Four species of fish, namely tiger flathead, Platycephalus richardsoni (n = 43), blue mackerel, Scomber australasicus (n = 117), snapper, Pagrus auratus (n = 11) and school whiting, Sillago flindersi (n = 90) were purchased from a fish market. Although a range of parasites was found, due to their significance for human health, the focus of this study was on nematodes whose infectious stage was found in these fish. The prevalence of nematodes in these fish species was 86.05%, 64.10%, 45.45% and 56.67%, respectively. Among the parasites found, Anisakis spp., Contracaecum spp. and Hysterothylacium spp. in tiger flathead, blue mackerel and school whiting, might be of zoonotic importance. Our findings suggest there is a need to revise current seafood safety protocols and develop educational campaigns for seafood industries stakeholders.

Impact of Weather Parameters and Population Density on the COVID-19 Transmission: Evidence from 81 Provinces of Turkey

Weather factors are effective to transmission of various diseases. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and kinds of influenza can be given as example these diseases. The novel corona virus which is called COVID-19 is the most dangerous problem all around the world in these days. Early studies have revealed that COVID-19 cases are affected by environmental factors. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the number of novel coronavirus cases and several weather parameters in 81 provinces of Turkey. Mean incubation period of COVID-19 is in question. Thus, this paper also aims to provide better understanding of the exact incubation period in Turkey by employing four different timeframe which are on the day (lag 0), 3 days ago (lag 3), 7 days ago (lag 7) and 14 days ago (lag 14). We have considered population density as a control variable. The dataset cover COVID-19 cases, population density, average temperature, humidity, pressure, dew point, wind speed, and sunshine duration for 81 provinces of Turkey. We find that population density has a positive correlation with COVID-19 cases. We also find that in lag 3, all parameters except for sunshine duration are negatively correlated with COVID-19 cases and significant. However, only 3 parameters, temperature, air pressure and dew point are negatively correlated with COVID-19 cases and significant for lag 0, lag 7 and lag 14. In addition, temperature, air pressure and dew point parameters are negative and significant in all timeframes.

Risk assessment for hazardous lubricants in machining industry

Knowing that over two-thirds of lubricant disposals return to the environment with no purification process, adequate strategies are demanded to reduce their risks. For this reason, the main focus of the present study is to describe an environment-friendly approach. In the first part, two widely used lubricants (mineral-based and vegetable-based) were introduced, and the reasons for their hazards were investigated. The composition of mineral-based lubricant was characterized by x-ray fluorescence elemental analysis. The result showed the presence of phosphorus, chlorine, and zinc dialkyl dithiophosphate in its composition that many scholars considered them to be the leading risk factor in the chemical composition of mineral-based lubricants. It has been focused on the potential risks of vegetable-based lubricants, which many researchers have identified as a safe lubricant. The Pseudomonas microbe was cultivated in the vegetable-based sample, and the result showed that although vegetable-based lubricants are compatible with humans, bacteria colony can quickly grow there without making any apparent changes that lead to harm to operators in a mysterious way. In the present work, the hypothesis of the safety of unreinforced vegetable-based lubricants has been rejected, and a new window on the environmental issues of vegetable-based lubricants has been presented. In the final, to eliminate environment-human risks and to reduce consumption of lubricant and natural resources to green manufacturing, a comprehensive study on the possibility of completely removing lubricant was performed. The results showed that the machining without lubricant could be replaced with the traditional method.

Using citizen science to speed up plastic collection and mapping of urban noise: Lessons learned from Denmark

Pollution is a widespread global problem, in which there is a particular need to involve the general populations. Approaches for involving the public in order to contribute for reaching a sustainable environment may include plastic collection and mapping of urban soundscape. Here we briefly reflect on some of the latest initiatives in Denmark involving citizen labor and citizen science.

Interactive impacts of climatic, hydrologic and anthropogenic activities on watershed health

The current study aimed to comprehensively assess the potential watershed health (WH) using an adapted reliability, resilience and vulnerability (R_elR_esV_ul) framework for the 24 sub-watersheds of Shazand, Markazi Province, Iran. Towards this goal, the appropriate criteria and acceptable corresponding thresholds were adapted to calculate the main WH indictors of reliability (R_el), resilience (R_es) and vulnerability (V_ul). Accordingly, the R_elR_esV_ul framework was conceptualized and customized for five criteria of standardized precipitation index (SPI), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), soil erosion, and low and high flow discharges. The effect sizes of used criteria and indicators on the Shazand WH status were also determined. Consequently, the status of R_el, R_es and V_ul indicators and integrated WH status were mapped for four years of 1986, 1998, 2008 and 2014 and for the whole watershed by developing an integrated watershed health index (IWHI). Finally, the change detection approach was applied to determine the trend of changes in IWHI during last three decades. The results approved the high variability in effectability of R_el, R_es and V_ul indicators and integrated health status of the Shazand Watershed from the selected criteria in study four years. The results revealed that in the all study years, the R_el indicator almost had the higher contribution rate (≥34%) in the Shazand WH. None of sub-watersheds in the study years were assessed in a healthy status in terms of IWHI based on the R_elR_esV_ul framework. In terms of WH change detection over the study periods, WH was found to declining by some 4% in the periods of 1986-1998 and 1986-2008 due to impact of industrialization and urban development. Whilst, the health status was non-significantly improved in other study periods. The present procedure can be supposed as a screening tool for a directive and efficient management of the watersheds.

Acceptability of health information technology aimed at environmental health education in a prenatal clinic

OBJECTIVE

To describe the acceptability of an interactive computer kiosk that provides environmental health education to low-income Latina prenatal patients.

METHODS

A mixed-methods approach was used to assess the acceptability of the Prenatal Environmental Health Kiosk pregnant Latina women in Salinas, CA (n=152). The kiosk is a low literacy, interactive touch-screen computer program with an audio component and includes graphics and an interactive game.

RESULTS

The majority had never used a kiosk before. Over 90% of women reported that they learned something new while using the kiosk. Prior to using the kiosk, 22% of women reported their preference of receiving health education from a kiosk over a pamphlet or video compared with 57% after using the kiosk (p<0.01). Qualitative data revealed: (1) benefit of exposure to computer use; (2) reinforcing strategy of health education; and (3) popularity of the interactive game.

CONCLUSION

The Prenatal Environmental Health Kiosk is an innovative patient health education modality that was shown to be acceptable among a population of low-income Latino pregnant women in a prenatal care clinic.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

This pilot study demonstrated that a health education kiosk was an acceptable strategy for providing Latina prenatal patients with information on pertinent environmental exposures.