scholarly journals Incorporating biomarkers in ecological risk assessment of chemical contaminants of soils

2007 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-137
Author(s):  
A. J. Reinecke ◽  
S. A. Reinecke ◽  
M. S. Maboeta ◽  
J. P. Odendaal ◽  
R. Snyman
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
South African ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Diagnostic Tools ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Chemical Contaminants ◽  
Toxic Response ◽  
Future Research Directions

Soil is an important but complex natural resource which is increasingly used as sink for chemicals. The monitoring of soil quality and the assessment of risks posed by contaminants have become crucial. This study deals with the potential use of biomarkers in the monitoring of soils and the assessment of risk resulting from contamination. Apart from an overview of the existing literature on biomarkers, the results of various of our field experiments in South African soils are discussed. Biomarkers may have potential in the assessment of risk because they can indicate at an early stage that exposure has taken place and that a toxic response has been initiated. It is therefore expected that early biomarkers will play an increasing role as diagnostic tools for determining exposure to chemicals and the resulting effects. They may have predictive value that can assist in the prevention or minimising of risks. The aim of this study was to investigate the possibilities of using our results on biomarker responses of soil dwelling organisms to predict changes at higher organisational levels (which may have ecological implications). Our recent experimental results on the evaluation of various biomarkers in both the laboratory and the field are interpreted and placed in perspective within the broader framework of response biology. The aim was further to contribute to the development and application of biomarkers in regulatory risk assessment schemes of soils. This critical review of our own and recent literature on biomarkers in ecotoxicology leads to the conclusion that biomarkers can, under certain conditions, be useful tools in risk assessment. Clear relationships between contamination loads in soil organisms and certain biomarker responses were determined in woodlice, earthworms and terrestrial snails. Clear correlations were also established in field experiments between biomarker responses and changes at the population level. This indicated that, in spite of the fact that direct mechanistic links are still not clarified, biomarkers may have the potential to provide early indications of forthcoming changes at higher organisational levels. Ways are proposed in which biomarkers could be used in the future in risk assessment schemes of soils and future research directions are suggested. 

scholarly journals Circulating MicroRNAs as Novel Biomarkers for Osteoporosis and Fragility Fracture Risk: Is There a Use in Assessment Risk?

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (18) ◽  
pp. 6927
Author(s):  
Simone Ciuffi ◽  
Simone Donati ◽  
Francesca Marini ◽  
Gaia Palmini ◽  
Ettore Luzi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Fracture Risk ◽  
Fragility Fracture ◽  
Fracture Risk Assessment ◽  
Diagnostic Tools ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Circulating Micrornas ◽  
Specificity And Sensitivity ◽  
Traumatic Fracture ◽  
Potential Biomarkers

Osteoporosis is a multifactorial skeletal disease that is associated with both bone mass decline and microstructure damage. The fragility fractures—especially those affecting the femur—that embody the clinical manifestation of this pathology continue to be a great medical and socioeconomic challenge worldwide. The currently available diagnostic tools, such as dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX) score, and bone turnover markers, show limited specificity and sensitivity; therefore, the identification of alternative approaches is necessary. As a result of their advantageous features, such as non-invasiveness, biofluid stability, and easy detection, circulating cell-free miRs are promising new potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of osteoporosis and low-traumatic fracture risk assessment. However, due to the absence of both standardized pre-analytical, analytical, and post-analytical protocols for their measurement and universally accepted guidelines for diagnostic use, their clinical utility is limited. The aim of this review was to record all the data currently available in the literature concerning the use of circulating microRNAs as both potential biomarkers for osteoporosis diagnosis and fragility fracture risk evaluation, and group them according to the experimental designs, in order to support a more conscious choice of miRs for future research in this field.

scholarly journals Towards Full Utilization of Biomass Resources: A Case Study on Industrial Hemp Residue and Spent Mushroom Substrate

Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 1200
Author(s):  
Wubliker Dessie ◽  
Xiaofang Luo ◽  
Jiachen Tang ◽  
Wufei Tang ◽  
Meifeng Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Raw Materials ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Spent Mushroom Substrate ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Biomass Resources ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
Industrial Hemp ◽  
Full Utilization

This was early-stage, proof-of-concept research on the full utilization of biomass resources. The current study considered industrial hemp residue (IHR) and spent mushroom substrate (SMS) to demonstrate the initial upstream steps towards the total valorization of biomass. Accordingly, different pretreatment methods such as autohydrolysis, thermal hydrolysis, and thermochemical hydrolysis methods were employed against individual and various mix ratios of IHR and SMS. To this end, raw materials, hydrolysates, and residual solids were analyzed to gain some insights, identify gaps, and suggest future research directions in this area. Implementation of the full utilization of biomass resources is, in fact, not only a matter of transforming the resources into valuable products, but it is also a plausible waste management strategy in the quest towards the development of a circular bioeconomy and sustainable future.

Putting risk management into the corporate sustainability context

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorren Kirsty Haywood
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
South African ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Corporate Sustainability ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Business ◽  
Sustainability Challenges

Purpose This research investigates what is driving corporate sustainability within South African organisations and to what extent these drivers intersect with risk management. This is important as new and emerging business risks are proving to be directly linked to sustainability issues having implication on long-term organisational performance. This implies that sustainability and risk should not be mutually exclusive. Design/methodology/approach By means of semi-structured interviews, sustainability managers of 11 South African organisations were engaged to gain insight relating to the immediate sustainability issues, risk landscape and the possible intersection between these issues within their organisations. Questions posed were around drivers of sustainability, risks to an organisation, changes in risks, relationship between sustainability and risk. By means of thematic analysis key issues emerging from the responses of the sustainability managers could be identified and themes determined based on similarities. This was followed by trend analysis of the frequency of responses to different sustainability and risk themes to interpret the data. Findings Results reveal that sustainability and risk management are similar in their intent purpose and output both aligned towards reducing impacts and managing uncertainty. However even though sustainability has increasingly become integral to business its value contribution and linkage with risk management differ significantly amongst organisations. This suggests that sustainability and risk management remain two distinct frameworks for managing uncertainty in business. Originality/value Research on integrating a sustainability perspective in risk management is at an early stage. To understand and respond to emerging risks, organisations need to integrate sustainability and risk management into their decision strategies – not only to minimize potential losses but also to exploit new business opportunities arising from the sustainability agenda. Future research should be directed towards advancing systematic methods for identifying and managing sustainability risks such that key sustainability challenges are firmly embedded in the risk management of the business. In this regard, organisations would be in a position to build resilience into their business models and operations.

scholarly journals Emerging themes in Population Consequences of Disturbance models

2021 ◽  
Vol 288 (1957) ◽  
pp. 20210325
Author(s):  
Kelly A. Keen ◽  
Roxanne S. Beltran ◽  
Enrico Pirotta ◽  
Daniel P. Costa
Keyword(s):  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Risk Assessments ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Real World Application ◽  
Population Consequences ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
Conservation And Management

Assessing the non-lethal effects of disturbance from human activities is necessary for wildlife conservation and management. However, linking short-term responses to long-term impacts on individuals and populations is a significant hurdle for evaluating the risks of a proposed activity. The Population Consequences of Disturbance (PCoD) framework conceptually describes how disturbance can lead to changes in population dynamics, and its real-world application has led to a suite of quantitative models that can inform risk assessments. Here, we review PCoD models that forecast the possible consequences of a range of disturbance scenarios for marine mammals. In so doing, we identify common themes and highlight general principles to consider when assessing risk. We find that, when considered holistically, these models provide valuable insights into which contextual factors influence a population's degree of exposure and sensitivity to disturbance. We also discuss model assumptions and limitations, identify data gaps and suggest future research directions to enable PCoD models to better inform risk assessments and conservation and management decisions. The general principles explored can help wildlife managers and practitioners identify and prioritize the populations most vulnerable to disturbance and guide industry in planning activities that avoid or mitigate population-level effects.

scholarly journals The influence of logistics integration on information sharing and business performance: The case of small and medium enterprises in South Africa

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Chinomona ◽  
R.I. David Pooe
Keyword(s):  
Information Sharing ◽  
South African ◽  
Business Performance ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Gauteng Province ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Medium Enterprise ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
Medium Enterprises

Logistics integration across partnering firms has become the backbone of supply chain management as it facilitates information sharing, which is required in order to enhance business performance. This study investigated the mediatory role of information sharing on the relationships between logistics integration and business performance within the small and medium enterprise (SME) context. Five research hypotheses were postulated and the hypotheses were empirically tested using sample data from the SME sector in South Africa’s Gauteng Province. The results indicated that logistics integration positively influences information sharing and business performance in a significant way within the context of South African SMEs. Managerial implications of the findings are discussed, whilst limitations and future research directions are indicated.

scholarly journals Machine Learning-Based Behavioral Diagnostic Tools for Depression: Advances, Challenges, and Future Directions

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 957
Author(s):  
Thalia Richter ◽  
Barak Fishbain ◽  
Gal Richter-Levin ◽  
Hadas Okon-Singer
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Objective Assessment ◽  
Clinical Information ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Behavioral Data ◽  
Diagnostic Tools ◽  
Diagnostic Process ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Neuroimaging Data ◽  
Future Research Directions

The psychiatric diagnostic procedure is currently based on self-reports that are subject to personal biases. Therefore, the diagnostic process would benefit greatly from data-driven tools that can enhance accuracy and specificity. In recent years, many studies have achieved promising results in detecting and diagnosing depression based on machine learning (ML) analysis. Despite these favorable results in depression diagnosis, which are primarily based on ML analysis of neuroimaging data, most patients do not have access to neuroimaging tools. Hence, objective assessment tools are needed that can be easily integrated into the routine psychiatric diagnostic process. One solution is to use behavioral data, which can be easily collected while still maintaining objectivity. The current paper summarizes the main ML-based approaches that use behavioral data in diagnosing depression and other psychiatric disorders. We classified these studies into two main categories: (a) laboratory-based assessments and (b) data mining, the latter of which we further divided into two sub-groups: (i) social media usage and movement sensors data and (ii) demographic and clinical information. The paper discusses the advantages and challenges in this field and suggests future research directions and implementations. The paper’s overarching aim is to serve as a first step in synthetizing existing knowledge about ML-based behavioral diagnosis studies in order to develop interventions and individually tailored treatments in the future.

Falls Prevention in the Home

2011 ◽  
pp. 46-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rose A. Kenny ◽  
Cliodhna Ni Scanaill ◽  
Michael McGrath
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Aging Process ◽  
Falls Prevention ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Falls Risk ◽  
Future Research Directions

Approximately 1 in 3 people over the age of 65 fall each year; therefore it is of little surprise that falling is often accepted as a natural part of the aging process. Many falls are simply managed using alarm pendants to notify others when a falls event occurs. However, falls technology extends beyond simple notification; technology can be used to screen for falls risk, or to prevent a fall from occurring. In this chapter, we review the latest best practices for the identification of falls risk. We review the technology, if any, developed to support these practices, and discuss the challenges of using technology for in-home falls prevention, risk assessment and falls detection. Recommendations and suggestions for future research directions are discussed.

scholarly journals Heterogeneity in loss aversion: evidence from field elicitations

2017 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 196-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Sproul ◽  
Clayton P. Michaud
Keyword(s):  
Prospect Theory ◽  
Loss Aversion ◽  
Applied Research ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Gaussian Mixture ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Parameter Estimates ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type

Purpose Prospect theory is now widely accepted as the dominant model of choice under risk, but has not been fully incorporated into applied research because of uncertainty about how to include population-level parameter estimates. The purpose of this paper is to characterize heterogeneity across people to lay a foundation for future applied research. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses elicitation data from field experiments in Vietnam to fit a finite Gaussian mixture model using the expectation maximization algorithm. Applied results are simulated for investment allocations under myopic loss aversion. Findings The authors find that about 20 percent of the sample is classified as extremely loss averse, while the rest of the population is only mildly loss averse. This implies a bimodal distribution of loss aversion in the population. Research limitations/implications The data set is only moderately sized: 181 subjects. Future research will be needed to extend these results out of sample, and to other regions. Originality/value This paper provides empirical evidence that heterogeneity matters in prospect theory modeling. It highlights how policy makers might be misled by assuming that average prospect theory parameters are typical within the population.

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