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The SARS-CoV-2 virus appeared and was discovered in the year 2019, marking its significance. The spread of the virus also had serious consequences for national safety; members of the Police and Fire Brigade contracted the infection and therefore the efficiency of their operational activity decreased. Since the beginning of 2020, the biological laboratory of the Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear (CBRN) unit of Milan's Fire Brigade headquarters performed thousands of serological tests to monitor the health of the Fire Brigade and various branches of the Police Forces. The aim of this study is to evaluate the degree of concordance and interchangeability between a lateral flow immunochromatographic assay (LFIA) and an automated laboratory immunoassay with different viral targets by comparing the data gathered from a sample group of firemen and policemen participating in a serological screening campaign. The serological tests used in this study are the LYHER® Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) IgM/IgG Antibody Combo Test Kit and the Elecsys® Anti-SARS-CoV-2. The degree of concordance was computed using Cohen's kappa, with a result of 0.78 (CI 95%, 0.661-0.898), which is equivalent to a substantial agreement measured between the two tests. Additionally, the sensitivity of both serological tests was found to be 97%.

Dispersion of a radiological source is a complex scenario in terms of first response, especially when it occurs in an urban environment. The authors in this paper designed, simulated, and analyzed the data from two different scenarios with the two perspectives of an unintentional fire event and a Radiological Dispersal Device (RDD) intentional explosion. The data of the simulated urban scenario are taken from a real case of orphan sources abandoned in a garage in the center of the city of Milan (Italy) in 2012. The dispersion and dose levels are simulated using Parallel Micro Swift Spray (PMSS) software, which takes into account the topographic and meteorological information of the reference scenarios. Apart from some differences in the response system of the two scenarios analyzed, the information provided by the modeling technique used, compared to other models not able to capture the actual urban and meteorological contexts, make it possible to modulate a response system that adheres to the real impact of the scenario. The authors, based on the model results and on the evidence provided by the case study, determine the various countermeasures to adopt to mitigate the impact for the population and to reduce the risk factors for the first responders.

Climate smart village approach is identified as an important strategy laid out in the Myanmar Climate Smart Agriculture Strategy (MCSAS, 2016) Four climate smart villages were established in 2017 to facilitate participatory action research to develop the CSV approach as well as to generate evidence of outcomes. The CSV approach is based on the principle of community-directed research process where community-members collaborate with an external researcher to investigate community challenges and their solutions. Like other countries in 2020, the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Myanmar implemented wide-scale national and local restrictions on mobility that impacted trade and business resulting to an economic slowdown. Rural communities dominated by smallholder agriculture in Myanmar are not spared from the negative impacts of these restrictions. This paper seeks to assess the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to the 4 climate smart villages in Myanmar by analyzing household survey data (N = 527) collected in 2020 during the height of economic disruptions and comparing these data to the household survey conducted during the pre-pandemic period of 2018. Our analysis indicated that overall, the effect of the pandemic to agriculture production in 2020 production season in the 4 CSVs has been minimal as evidenced by the continued agriculture production at the same levels as the pre-pandemic conditions in 2018. The effects to household food security and diet diversity has been varied. Sakta village in Chin state in the highlands have demonstrated that diversified production systems enable them to achieve food security in the pandemic year of 2020., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2022 The Authors.)

Concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and methoxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers (MeO-PBDEs); are reported in specimens of fish notothenioids Chaenocephalus aceratus (SSI), Trematomus bernacchii (ERN), and Nototheniops nudifrons (NOD) from the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Significant differences in the accumulation of 2'-MeO-BDE-68 and 6-MeO-BDE-47 were detected among the analysed species. MeO-BDEs were significantly higher in SSI (11.7, 8.6, and 14.1 ng g -1 lw) than in NOD (1.63, 1.63, and 3.0 ng g -1 lw) in muscle, liver, and gill, respectively. Feeding ecology traits explain the accumulation patterns of MeO-PBDEs. SSI has a higher feeding activity with a broader diet, followed by ERN, whereas NOD is a benthic/sedentary fish with a narrower diet. The accumulation of PBDEs was neither species-, nor tissue-specific. The current study expands the knowledge concerning the accumulation of PBDEs and MeO-PBDEs in Antarctic marine fish and supports the importance of species-specificity in the accumulation of MeO-PBDEs., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study evaluates the effects of nutrition education on improving knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of mothers and the improvement of the nutritional status of their children. A cluster randomized controlled design using multistage sampling was employed. The integrated school-based nutrition programme included gardening, nutrition education for parents, and supplementary feeding for children (GarNESup). KAP of mothers was assessed using pretested questionnaires administered by teachers. The randomly selected schools were randomly allocated into two groups: Both schools provided lunch to targeted children with one-dish indigenous vegetable recipe, but School 1 received iron-fortified rice whereas School 2 was provided ordinary rice. Eighty wasted and/or anaemic children in each school were fed for 120 days. Nutrition education for children's parents was done every school card claim day and during parent-teacher meetings using 10 developed modules. Weight, height, and haemoglobin level of children and KAP of mothers were measured at baseline and endpoint using standard techniques. KAP of mothers who had completed more than six modules had significantly increased from baseline to endpoint: Negative consequence of worm infestation (33.3% to 60.6%, P = 0.035), importance of serving breakfast for children (42.4% to 78.8%, P = 0.004), cooking vegetables (63.6% to 93.9%, P = 0.002), and purchasing fortified foods was recorded (51.5% to 93.9%, P = 0.000). Children in School 1 had significantly higher weight gain (1.33 ± 0.72) and haemoglobin level (0.49 ± 0.99) than children in School 2 (0.84 ± 0.59; 0.12 ± 0.70). Nutrition education resulted to significant increase of mother's KAP and the implementation of the integrated school-based nutrition model significantly improved children's nutritional status., (© 2019 The Authors. Maternal & Child Nutrition Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

In the present study, the possible associations between selected persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and biological factors were assessed in different tissues of two Antarctic notothenioid fish: Notothenia rossii (NOR) and Trematomus newnesi (TRN) collected at Potter Cove, King George Island/Isla 25 de Mayo, South Shetland Islands. Specifically, association patterns between biological factors (body size, lipid content, body condition) and POP concentrations (polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and metabolites, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), chlordanes (CHLs) and methoxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers (MeO-PBDEs)), were explored by using two approaches: multivariate analyses (principal component analysis: PCA) and intraspecific correlations. Integrating results suggest that biological factors such as size, KI and tissue type seemed to be associated to selective accumulation of POPs for immature specimens of N. rossii, and KI and tissue type for mature specimens of T. newnesi. Each particular factor should be considered when choosing N. rossii or T. newnesi as sentinels for POPs pollution in Antarctic marine environments. Further, both nototheniids showed a selective accumulation pattern in their gonads of penta-chlorinated biphenyls (penta-CBs; 55.5 and 29ngg -1 lw for N. rossii and T. newnesi, respectively) and organochlorine pesticides such as DDTs (199 and 13.3ngg -1 lw, for N. rossii and T. newnesi respectively), and of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in gills (97.2 and 22.1 for ngg -1 lw, for N. rossii and T. newnesi, respectively), highlighting the importance of these tissues in monitoring studies of pollution in fish. The current study expands the knowledge concerning the biological factors to be investigated when specific pollutants are monitored and supports the importance of tissue type for the selective accumulation of POPs in Antarctic fish. Additionally, a contribution to the scarce data on concentration of MeO-PBDEs in Antarctic marine organisms, particularly in the highly diverse perciform suborder Notothenioidei is provided., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

In the present work, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and metabolites, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) were analyzed in three Antarctic notothenioids fish species: Trematomus newnesi (TRN), Notothenia coriiceps (NOC) and Notothenia rossii (NOR). The contribution of each POP-family to the total load was as follows: ΣPCB (40%)>ΣDDT (27%)>ΣPBDEs (23%)>ΣHCH (10%). Among the 23 PCB congeners analyzed, penta-CBs homologues were the prevalent group, followed by hexa-CBs and hepta-CBs. DDT and its metabolites presented the following trend: p,p'-DDT>p,p'-DDE~p,p'-DDD. PBDE profile was dominated by BDE-47 and BDE-99 congeners, followed by BDE-100>BDE-28>BDE-154, BDE-153. Among HCHs, the γ-HCH isomer was detected in all samples, constituting 69% total HCH load, while α-HCH and β-HCH contributions were 15% and 16%, respectively. The levels of POPs reported here suggest that NOR and NOC are more susceptible to accumulate the analyzed contaminants than TRN, a species not previously analyzed for POPs. Distribution of POPs among different tissues of the three species (muscle, liver, gonads, and gills) was also investigated. Considering lipid weight, the general pattern of POPs distribution in tissues indicated that while gonads showed higher levels of PCBs, DDTs and HCH, the most significant PBDE concentrations were recorded in gills. Also, a comparative analysis of POPs concentration in fish samples from Antarctic area was included., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Fish of the suborder Notothenioidei have successfully radiated into the Southern Ocean and today comprise the dominant fish sub-order in Antarctic waters in terms of biomass and species abundance. During evolution in the cold and stable Antarctic climate, the Antarctic lineage of notothenioids developed several unique physiological adaptations, which make them extremely vulnerable to the rapid warming of Antarctic waters currently observed. Only recently, a further phenomenon exclusive to notothenioid fish was reported: the translocation of the mitochondrial gene encoding the NADH Dehydrogenase subunit 6 (ND6), an indispensable part of complex I in the mitochondrial electron transport system.This study investigated the potential physiological consequences of ND6 translocation for the function and thermal sensitivity of the electron transport system in isolated liver mitochondria of the two nototheniid species Notothenia coriiceps and Notothenia rossii, with special attention to the contributions of complex I (NADH DH) and complex II (Succinate DH) to oxidative phosphorylation. Furthermore, enzymatic activities of NADH:Cytochrome c Oxidoreductase and Cytochrome C Oxidase were measured in membrane-enriched tissue extracts.During acute thermal challenge (0-15°C), capacities of mitochondrial respiration and enzymatic function in the liver could only be increased until 9°C. Mitochondrial complex I (NADH Dehydrogenase) was fully functional but displayed a higher thermal sensitivity than the other complexes of the electron transport system, which may specifically result from its unique amino acid composition, revealing a lower degree of stability in notothenioids in general. We interpret the translocation of ND6 as functionally neutral but the change in amino acid sequence as adaptive and supportive of cold stenothermy in Antarctic nototheniids. From these findings, an enhanced sensitivity to ocean warming can be deduced for Antarctic notothenioid fish.