scholarly journals The impact of environmental conditions on human performance: A handbood of environmental exposures. Volume 1

1994 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Echeverria ◽  
V Barnes ◽  
A Bittner
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Human Performance ◽  
Environmental Exposures ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals Caribbean Consortium for Research in Environmental and Occupational Health (CCREOH) Cohort Study: influences of complex environmental exposures on maternal and child health in Suriname

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. e034702
Author(s):  
Wilco Zijlmans ◽  
Jeffrey Wickliffe ◽  
Ashna Hindori-Mohangoo ◽  
Sigrid MacDonald-Ottevanger ◽  
Paul Ouboter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Occupational Health ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Fish Consumption ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Environmental Exposures ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Environmental And Occupational Health

PurposeThe Caribbean Consortium for Research in Environmental and Occupational Health prospective environmental epidemiologic cohort study addresses the impact of chemical and non-chemical environmental exposures on mother/child dyads in Suriname. The study determines associations between levels of environmental elements and toxicants in pregnant women, and birth outcomes and neurodevelopment in their children.ParticipantsPregnant women (N=1143) were enrolled from December 2016 to July 2019 from three regions of Suriname: Paramaribo (N=738), Nickerie (N=204) and the tropical rainforest interior (N=201). Infants (N=992) were enrolled at birth. Follow-up will take place until children are 48 months old.Findings to dateBiospecimens and questionnaire data on physiological and psychosocial health in pregnant women have been analysed. 39.1% had hair mercury (Hg) levels exceeding values considered safe by international standards. Median hair Hg concentrations in women from Paramaribo (N=522) were 0.64 µg/g hair (IQRs 0.36–1.09; range 0.00–7.12), from Nickerie (N=176) 0.73 µg/g (IQR 0.45–1.05; range 0.00–5.79) and the interior (N=178) 3.48 µg/g (IQR 1.92–7.39; range 0.38–18.20). 96.1% of women ate fish, respective consumption of the three most consumed carnivorous species, Hoplias aimara, Serrasalmus rhombeus and Cichla ocellaris, known to have high Hg levels, was 44.4%, 19.3% and 26.3%, respectively, and was greater among the interior subcohort. 89% frequently consumed the vegetable tannia, samples of which showed presence of worldwide banned pesticides. 24.9% of pregnant women had Edinburgh Depression Scale scores indicative of probable depression.Future plansFish consumption advisories are in development, especially relevant to interior women for whom fish consumption is likely to be the primary source of Hg exposure. Effects of potentially beneficial neuroprotective factors in fish that may counter neurotoxic effects of Hg are being examined. A pesticide literacy assessment in pregnant women is in progress. Neurodevelopmental assessments and telomere length measurements of the children to evaluate long-term effects of prenatal exposures to toxicant mixtures are ongoing.

scholarly journals Morphological Variations of Wild Populations of Brycon dentex (Characidae, Teleostei) in the Guayas Hydrographic Basin (Ecuador). The Impact of Fishing Policies and Environmental Conditions

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1901
Author(s):  
Ana Gonzalez-Martinez ◽  
Carmen De-Pablos-Heredero ◽  
Martin González ◽  
Jorge Rodriguez ◽  
Cecilio Barba ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Discriminant Analysis ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Anthropogenic Activity ◽  
Freshwater Species ◽  
Fishing Pressure ◽  
Wild Populations ◽  
Morphometric Variation ◽  
Morphological Variations ◽  
Body Development ◽  
The Impact

The Guayas, located in Ecuador, is the largest basin in the Pacific Ocean and has an inventory of 123 native freshwater species. Most of these are endemic species that are threatened or at-risk due to anthropogenic activity and the modification, fragmentation, and destruction of habitats. The aim of this study was to determine the morphometric variation in three wild populations of Brycon dentex in the Guayas basin rivers and their connections to fishing management and environmental conditions. A total of 200 mature fish were captured, and 26 morphometric parameters were measured. The fishing policies (Hypothesis 1) and environmental conditions (Hypothesis 2) were considered fixed factors and were validated by t-tests. The morphological variation among the three populations (Hypothesis 3) was validated through a discriminant analysis. Fishing policies and resource management were found to generate morphological differences associated with body development. In addition, the environmental conditions were found to influence the size and structure of Brycon dentex populations. The analyzed populations were discriminated by the generated morphometric models, which differentiated Cluster 1 (Quevedo and Mocache rivers) with high fishing pressure from Cluster 2 (Pintado river) with medium–low fishing pressure. Morphometric differentiation by discriminant analysis is a direct and economic methodology that can be applied as an indicator of diversity maintenance.

scholarly journals The Impact of Shape-Based Cue Discriminability on Attentional Performance

Vision ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 18
Author(s):  
Olga Lukashova-Sanz ◽  
Siegfried Wahl ◽  
Thomas S. A. Wallis ◽  
Katharina Rifai
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Processing ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Human Performance ◽  
Covert Attention ◽  
Orientation Discrimination ◽  
Know How ◽  
Processing Times ◽  
Attentional Performance ◽  
Cue Processing ◽  
The Impact

With rapidly developing technology, visual cues became a powerful tool for deliberate guiding of attention and affecting human performance. Using cues to manipulate attention introduces a trade-off between increased performance in cued, and decreased in not cued, locations. For higher efficacy of visual cues designed to purposely direct user’s attention, it is important to know how manipulation of cue properties affects attention. In this verification study, we addressed how varying cue complexity impacts the allocation of spatial endogenous covert attention in space and time. To gradually vary cue complexity, the discriminability of the cue was systematically modulated using a shape-based design. Performance was compared in attended and unattended locations in an orientation-discrimination task. We evaluated additional temporal costs due to processing of a more complex cue by comparing performance at two different inter-stimulus intervals. From preliminary data, attention scaled with cue discriminability, even for supra-threshold cue discriminability. Furthermore, individual cue processing times partly impacted performance for the most complex, but not simpler cues. We conclude that, first, cue complexity expressed by discriminability modulates endogenous covert attention at supra-threshold cue discriminability levels, with increasing benefits and decreasing costs; second, it is important to consider the temporal processing costs of complex visual cues.

scholarly journals The interplay between environmental exposures and COVID-19 risks in the health of children

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter D. Sly ◽  
Brittany A. Trottier ◽  
Catherine M. Bulka ◽  
Stephania A. Cormier ◽  
Julius Fobil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Disease Severity ◽  
Research Effort ◽  
Severe Disease ◽  
Environmental Exposures ◽  
Research Strategy ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background An unusual feature of SARS-Cov-2 infection and the COVID-19 pandemic is that children are less severely affected than adults. This is especially paradoxical given the epidemiological links between poor air quality and increased COVID-19 severity in adults and that children are generally more vulnerable than adults to the adverse consequences of air pollution. Objectives To identify gaps in knowledge about the factors that protect children from severe SARS-Cov-2 infection even in the face of air pollution, and to develop a transdisciplinary research strategy to address these gaps. Methods An international group of researchers interested in children’s environmental health was invited to identify knowledge gaps and to develop research questions to close these gaps. Discussion Key research questions identified include: what are the effects of SAR-Cov-2 infection during pregnancy on the developing fetus and child; what is the impact of age at infection and genetic susceptibility on disease severity; why do some children with COVID-19 infection develop toxic shock and Kawasaki-like symptoms; what are the impacts of toxic environmental exposures including poor air quality, chemical and metal exposures on innate immunity, especially in the respiratory epithelium; what is the possible role of a “dirty” environment in conveying protection – an example of the “hygiene hypothesis”; and what are the long term health effects of SARS-Cov-2 infection in early life. Conclusion A concerted research effort by a multidisciplinary team of scientists is needed to understand the links between environmental exposures, especially air pollution and COVID-19. We call for specific research funding to encourage basic and clinical research to understand if/why exposure to environmental factors is associated with more severe disease, why children appear to be protected, and how innate immune responses may be involved. Lessons learned about SARS-Cov-2 infection in our children will help us to understand and reduce disease severity in adults, the opposite of the usual scenario.

THE IMPACT OF MIGRATION ON DISEASE RATES IN AREAS WITH PREVIOUS ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES

Epidemiology ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 7 (Supplement) ◽  
pp. S88 ◽  
Author(s):  
B G ARMSTRONG ◽  
S GLEAVE ◽  
P WILKINSON
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Exposures ◽  
Disease Rates ◽  
The Impact

Human Performance Evaluation of a Metaphor Graphic Display for Respiratory Data

1994 ◽  
Vol 33 (04) ◽  
pp. 390-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. Stewart ◽  
W. G. Cole
Keyword(s):  
Performance Evaluation ◽  
Human Performance ◽  
Pattern Detection ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Complex Task ◽  
Graphic Display ◽  
Literal Sense ◽  
Single Number ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Human Problem

Abstract:Metaphor graphics are data displays designed to look like corresponding variables in the real world, but in a non-literal sense of “look like”. Evaluation of the impact of these graphics on human problem solving has twice been carried out, but with conflicting results. The present experiment attempted to clarify the discrepancies between these findings by using a complex task in which expert subjects interpreted respiratory data. The metaphor graphic display led to interpretations twice as fast as a tabular (flowsheet) format, suggesting that conflict between earlier studies is due either to differences in training or to differences in goodness of metaphor, Findings to date indicate that metaphor graphics work with complex as well as simple data sets, pattern detection as well as single number reporting tasks, and with expert as well as novice subjects.

ASSESSING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS DURING NATURAL DISASTER: THE DEVELOPMENT OF A RAPID ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY

2002 ◽  
Vol 04 (04) ◽  
pp. 475-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHARLES KELLY
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Assessment Procedure ◽  
Disaster Victims ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
The Impact

The linkages between disaster and environmental damage are recognized as important to predicting, preventing and mitigating the impact of disasters. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedures are well developed for non-ndisaster situations. However, they are conceptually and operationally inappropriate for use in disaster conditions, particularly in the first 120 days after the disaster has begun. The paper provides a conceptual overview of the requirements for an environmental impact assessment procedure appropriate for disaster conditions. These requirements are captured in guidelines for a Rapid Environmental Impact Assessment (REA) for use in disasters. The REA guides the collection and assessment of a wide range of factors which can indicate: (1) the negative impacts of a disaster on the environment, (2) the impacts of environmental conditions on the magnitude of a disaster and, (3) the positive or negative impacts of relief efforts on environmental conditions. The REA also provides a foundation for recovery program EIAs, thus improving the overall post disaster recovery process. The REA is designed primarily for relief cadres, but is also expected to be usable as an assessment tool with disaster victims. The paper discusses the field testing of the REA under actual disaster conditions.

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