Peer-reviewed Scientific Literature Research Articles

Development and application of a health-based framework for informing regulatory action in relation to exposure of microplastic particles in California drinking water

Microplastics have been documented in drinking water, but their effects on human health from ingestion, or the concentrations at which those effects begin to manifest, are not established. Here, we report on the outcome of a virtual expert workshop conducted between October 2020 and October 2021 in which a comprehensive review of mammalian hazard studies was conducted. A key objective of this assessment was to evaluate the feasibility and confidence in deriving a human health-based threshold value to inform development of the State of California’s monitoring and management strategy for microplastics in drinking water. A tiered approach was adopted to evaluate the quality and reliability of studies identified from a review of the peer-reviewed scientific literature. A total of 41 in vitro and 31 in vivo studies using mammals were identified and subjected to a Tier 1 screening and prioritization exercise, which was based on an evaluation of how each of the studies addressed various quality criteria. Prioritized studies were identified largely based on their application and reporting of dose–response relationships. Given that methods for extrapolating between in vitro and in vivo systems are currently lacking, only oral exposure in vivo studies were identified as fit-for-purpose within the context of this workshop. Twelve mammalian toxicity studies were prioritized and subjected to a Tier 2 qualitative evaluation by external experts. Of the 12 studies, 7 report adverse effects on male and female reproductive systems, while 5 reported effects on various other physiological endpoints. It is notable that the majority of studies (83%) subjected to Tier 2 evaluation report results from exposure to a single polymer type (polystyrene spheres), representing a size range of 0.040 to 20 µm. No single study met all desired quality criteria, but collectively toxicological effects with respect to biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress represented a consistent trend. While it was possible to derive a conservative screening level to inform monitoring activities, it was not possible to extrapolate a human–health-based threshold value for microplastics, which is largely due to concerns regarding the relative quality and reliability of current data, but also due to the inability to extrapolate data from studies using monodisperse plastic particles, such as polystyrene spheres to an environmentally relevant exposure of microplastics. Nevertheless, a conservative screening level value was used to estimate a volume of drinking water (1000 L) that could be used to support monitoring activities and improve our overall understanding of exposure in California’s drinking water. In order to increase confidence in our ability to derive a human–health-based threshold value in the future, several research recommendations are provided, with an emphasis towards strengthening how toxicity studies should be conducted in the future and an improved understanding of human exposure to microplastics, insights critically important to better inform future risk assessments.Graphical abstract

Injury surveillance in the Canadian Armed Forces: An environmental scan

LAY SUMMARY Injuries can affect the operational readiness, wellness, and careers of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel. Many injuries are preventable; thus, it is important for the CAF to create a sustainable, accurate, and timely injury surveillance system (ISS) that can be used to describe injury incidence, populations at risk, and other causal factors to effectively direct injury prevention efforts. As a first step in the creation of an ISS, the authors conducted a rapid environmental scan that included a review of both the peer-reviewed scientific literature and publicly available information, along with an internal organization scan, to gather information on ISS facilitators, barriers, recommendations, data sources, and potential injury indicators. The results of this work will be used to plan the next steps in the development and implementation of the CAF ISS. In addition, this information can be used to facilitate engagement and collaboration with stakeholders and decision makers to ensure that the ISS collects and reports key data needed to target and prioritize interventions most likely to have the greatest impact on reducing injuries and improving the health and operational readiness of CAF personnel.

Systematic review of animal-based indicators to measure thermal, social, and immune-related stress in pigs.

The intense nature of pig production has increased the animals' exposure to stressful conditions, which may be detrimental to their welfare and productivity. Some of the most common sources of stress in pigs are extreme thermal conditions (thermal stress), density and mixing during housing (social stress), or exposure to pathogens and other microorganisms that may challenge their immune system (immune-related stress). The stress response can be monitored based on the animals' coping mechanisms, as a result of specific environmental, social, and health conditions. These animal-based indicators may support decision making to maintain animal welfare and productivity. The present study aimed to systematically review animal-based indicators of social, thermal, and immune-related stresses in farmed pigs, and the methods used to monitor them. Peer-reviewed scientific literature related to pig production was collected using three online search engines: ScienceDirect, Scopus, and PubMed. The manuscripts selected were grouped based on the indicators measured during the study. According to our results, body temperature measured with a rectal thermometer was the most commonly utilized method for the evaluation of thermal stress in pigs (87.62%), as described in 144 studies. Of the 197 studies that evaluated social stress, aggressive behavior was the most frequently-used indicator (81.81%). Of the 535 publications examined regarding immune-related stress, cytokine concentration in blood samples was the most widely used indicator (80.1%). Information about the methods used to measure animal-based indicators is discussed in terms of validity, reliability, and feasibility. Additionally, the introduction and wide spreading of alternative, less invasive methods with which to measure animal-based indicators, such as cortisol in saliva, skin temperature and respiratory rate via infrared thermography, and various animal welfare threats via vocalization analysis are highlighted. The information reviewed was used to discuss the feasible and most reliable methods with which to monitor the impact of relevant stressors commonly presented by intense production systems on the welfare of farmed pigs.

MatSciBERT: A materials domain language model for text mining and information extraction

A large amount of materials science knowledge is generated and stored as text published in peer-reviewed scientific literature. While recent developments in natural language processing, such as Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) models, provide promising information extraction tools, these models may yield suboptimal results when applied on materials domain since they are not trained in materials science specific notations and jargons. Here, we present a materials-aware language model, namely, MatSciBERT, trained on a large corpus of peer-reviewed materials science publications. We show that MatSciBERT outperforms SciBERT, a language model trained on science corpus, and establish state-of-the-art results on three downstream tasks, named entity recognition, relation classification, and abstract classification. We make the pre-trained weights of MatSciBERT publicly accessible for accelerated materials discovery and information extraction from materials science texts.

Biorecognition Engineering Technologies for Cancer Diagnosis: A Systematic Literature Review of Non-Conventional and Plausible Sensor Development Methods.

Simple SummaryApproximately 70% of patients with cancer are diagnosed at late stages of the disease in developing countries. This is partly owed to the restricted access to cost-effective and accurate diagnostic tools in healthcare systems. Biosensor diagnostic tools based on conventional antibodies have been a valuable option for creating accessible detection systems for cancer. However, antibodies have certain limitations related to cost, stability, and applicability. The latter promoted the research and development of alternative approaches to generating molecules and molecule-based scaffolds with similar biorecognition properties to antibodies (non-conventional technologies). This review aimed to present and analyze the current trends of three of these emerging non-conventional technologies for biorecognition engineering in cancer diagnostics, named: molecularly imprinted polymers, recombinant antibodies, and antibody mimetic molecules. These non-conventional technologies are promising, relevant, and more accessible alternatives to conventional antibodies in developing cancer biosensors and worthy of being acknowledged by the scientific community, especially for their use in point-of-care cancer diagnostics in developing countries.Cancer is the second cause of mortality worldwide. Early diagnosis of this multifactorial disease is challenging, especially in populations with limited access to healthcare services. A vast repertoire of cancer biomarkers has been studied to facilitate early diagnosis; particularly, the use of antibodies against these biomarkers has been of interest to detect them through biorecognition. However, there are certain limitations to this approach. Emerging biorecognition engineering technologies are alternative methods to generate molecules and molecule-based scaffolds with similar properties to those presented by antibodies. Molecularly imprinted polymers, recombinant antibodies, and antibody mimetic molecules are three novel technologies commonly used in scientific studies. This review aimed to present the fundamentals of these technologies and address questions about how they are implemented for cancer detection in recent scientific studies. A systematic analysis of the scientific peer-reviewed literature regarding the use of these technologies on cancer detection was carried out starting from the year 2000 up to 2021 to answer these questions. In total, 131 scientific articles indexed in the Web of Science from the last three years were included in this analysis. The results showed that antibody mimetic molecules technology was the biorecognition technology with the highest number of reports. The most studied cancer types were: multiple, breast, leukemia, colorectal, and lung. Electrochemical and optical detection methods were the most frequently used. Finally, the most analyzed biomarkers and cancer entities in the studies were carcinoembryonic antigen, MCF-7 cells, and exosomes. These technologies are emerging tools with adequate performance for developing biosensors useful in cancer detection, which can be used to improve cancer diagnosis in developing countries.

A Scoping Review of Research on Older People and Intergenerational Relations in the Context of Climate Change.

In view of the inherited temporal dimension of climate change, this study aims to highlight diverse intergenerational effects and coping strategies by examining the state of literature on older people and intergenerational relations in the context of climate change. A scoping review of peer-reviewed scientific literature was conducted. We searched the following bibliographical data sets: PubMed, Web of Science, and APA PsycNet in addition to a snowballing search based on Google Scholar. The primary search was conducted between September 22, 2021 and September 26, 2021, using variations of the search terms: older people AND intergenerational AND climate change. Two independent raters classified the articles using prespecified inclusion and exclusion criteria. In total, 20 articles were maintained for data extraction. Articles reflect 2 poles in relation to older people and intergenerational relations in the context of climate change. The first emphasizes intergenerational conflicts and differences, whereas the second stresses solidarity and transmission of knowledge and practices between the generations. Both older and younger people are affected by age-based discrimination in the context of climate change. Generational differences in energy consumption and attitudes toward climate change exist. Nonetheless, these can be overcome by stressing the solidarity between the generations and the ability of older people to contribute to the climate change movement as well as by the ability of both young and old to transmit knowledge and practices related to sustainability.

Vaccination for the Prevention of Neonatal Calf Diarrhea in Cow-Calf Operations: A Scoping Review

Neonatal calf diarrhea (NCD), also known as scours, is an important disease of preweaned calves that affects the production and welfare of beef herds. While hygiene and nutrition are important in reducing the incidence of NCD, vaccination of dams or calves is often employed for the prevention of NCD. The present scoping review summarizes the available peer-reviewed scientific English literature on vaccination of dams or calves for the prevention of NCD over the past decades. The online databases Medline, CAB Abstracts, and Biosis were searched for articles on the topic published between 1950 and 2020. Online software was used to systematically evaluate 2807 citations for inclusion through pre-determined criteria in a 2-step process. In the 113 articles included in the review, vaccines tested targeted the pathogens E. coli (n = 43), bovine rotavirus (BRV, n = 38), Salmonella (n = 29), bovine coronavirus (BCV, n = 14), bovine viral diarrhea virus (n= 7), and other pathogens (n = 8). Field trials for commercial vaccines have been published for the most important pathogens, and results on efficacy are variable for such vaccines targeting BRV, BCV, and E. coli. Meta-analyses exploring efficacy of these vaccines would be helpful to practitioners and producers. No field studies on commercial products have shown efficacy for Salmonella vaccines so that a meta-analysis would unlikely come to a different conclusion. Further research is needed on vaccines for protozoal pathogens like Cryptosporidium parvum as well as on the importance of several emerging enteric viruses in calves.

Moderating or mediating effects of family characteristics on socioeconomic inequalities in child health in high-income countries \u2013 a scoping review

BackgroundBy explaining the development of health inequalities, eco-social theories highlight the importance of social environments that children are embedded in. The most important environment during early childhood is the family, as it profoundly influences children’s health through various characteristics. These include family processes, family structure/size, and living conditions, and are closely linked to the socioeconomic position (SEP) of the family. Although it is known that the SEP contributes to health inequalities in early childhood, the effects of family characteristics on health inequalities remain unclear. The objective of this scoping review is to synthesise existing research on the mediating and moderating effects of family characteristics on socioeconomic health inequalities (HI) during early childhood in high-income countries.MethodsThis review followed the methodology of “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews”. To identify German and English scientific peer-reviewed literature published from January 1st, 2000, to December 19th, 2019, the following search term blocks were linked with the logical operator “AND”: (1) family structure/size, processes, living conditions, (2) inequalities, disparities, diversities, (3) income, education, occupation, (4) health and (5) young children. The search covered the electronic databases PubMed, PsycINFO, and Scopus.ResultsThe search yielded 7,089 records. After title/abstract and full-text screening, only ten peer-reviewed articles were included in the synthesis, which analysed the effects of family characteristics on HI in early childhood. Family processes (i.e., rules /descriptive norms, stress, parental screen time, parent–child conflicts) are identified to have mediating or moderating effects. While families’ living conditions (i.e., TVs in children’s bedrooms) are suggested as mediating factors, family structure/size (i.e., single parenthood, number of children in the household) appear to moderate health inequalities.ConclusionFamily characteristics contribute to health inequalities in early childhood. The results provide overall support of models of family stress and family investment. However, knowledge gaps remain regarding the role of family health literacy, regarding a wide range of children’s health outcomes (e.g., oral health, inflammation parameters, weight, and height), and the development of health inequalities over the life course starting at birth.

A Career Life-Cycle Perspective on Women's Health and Safety: Insights From the Defense Health Board Report on Military Women's Health.

Women's health has demanded more attention from employers as women integrated into the workforce. Traditionally male-dominant fields and occupations require special attention to workplace design, physical standards for entry, employment practices, equipment, and health monitoring. This editorial summarizes the Defense Health Board's (DHB) review of Active Duty Women's Health and its recommendations grounded in a woman's career life-cycle. The DHB reviewed the Department of Defense and foreign militaries' current women's health services, relevant policies and practices, peer-reviewed scientific literature, and subject matter expert interviews. The DHB's recommendations centered on a comprehensive approach to education, health care access and treatment, professional workforce development, workplace standards and equipment, and accountable outcomes metrics to guide improvement. Employers can learn how to reduce morbidity, leading to a healthier and more productive female workforce.

The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) updated position statement on perioperative venous thromboembolism prophylaxis in bariatric surgery

The following position statement is the second update by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) on prophylactic measures for reducing the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in bariatric surgery patients, after the previous update in 2013 [ [1] Clinical Issues Committee of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric SurgeryASMBS updated position statement on prophylactic measures to reduce the risk of venous thromboembolism in bariatric surgery patients. Surg Obes Relat Dis. 2013; 9: 493-497 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (106) Google Scholar ]. The purpose of this statement is to enhance the quality of care in bariatric surgery by reviewing the available evidence on VTE prophylaxis. Since there is limited high-quality data, these practice guidelines suggest some recommendations that are based on available knowledge, peer-reviewed scientific literature, and expert opinion regarding reasonable use of prophylactic measures for VTE in bariatric surgery patients. The intent of issuing such a statement is to provide objective information regarding the use of VTE prophylaxis and its possible role in the prevention of such complications. The statement will be revised in the future when additional evidence becomes available. VTE prevention in bariatric surgery: from where have we come, and how did we get here?Surgery for Obesity and Related DiseasesVol. 18Issue 2PreviewThe American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) Clinical Issues Committee (CIC) has published 3 position statements on the issue of venous thromboembolism (VTE) prevention in bariatric surgery, including the most recent in this issue of the journal [1]. The authors of this accompanying editorial are the 3 previous chairs of the ASMBS CIC who served during the timeframe in which the previous statements were issued. The purpose of this editorial is to add some perspective to publication of the current position statement that updates the ASMBS position. Full-Text PDF

Aqueous Extract of <i>Erythrina senegalensis</i> Exhibits Dose-Dependent Hepatoprotective Activity on Paracetamol-Induced Liver Damage in Wistar Rats

Erythrina senegalensis is utilized in the treatment of liver diseases in folklore medicine in most of northern Nigeria, but sufficient pharmacological-based and peer-reviewed scientific literature is not available to authenticate its use in the treatment of liver ailments. This research is aimed at assessing the hepatoprotective effects of Erythrina senegalensis against paracetamol-induced (PCM-induced) hepatotoxicity in wistar albino rats. This was evaluated by estimating the activities of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) as compared with the control group. The extract was concentrated and then desired concentrations of extracts were made by dissolving in normal saline. Four different doses of aqueous extracts Erythrina senegalensis (200, 300, 400 and 500 mg/kg) were administered orally for 6 consecutive days after the 72 hrs administration of paracetamol (1500 mg/kg) per body weight. Paracetamol significantly induced oxidative stress in the liver, ultimately leading to increased serum levels of liver enzyme markers like alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase. Administration of the extracts showed significant (p 0.05) and dose-dependent hepatoprotective activity resulting in decrease in the activity of ALT, AST and ALP. These data revealed that Erythrina senegalensis aqueous extracts possess significant hepatoprotective activity against PCM-induced toxicity attributable to its constituent phytochemicals. The mechanism of hepatoprotection seems to be through the modulation of antioxidant enzyme systems.

Characterization of dynamic process of carious and erosive demineralization - an overview.

To review the analytical methods for carious and erosive demineralization an initial search of peer-reviewed scientific literature from the digital library database of PubMed/Medline indexed journals published up to early 2022 was carried out based on keywords relevant to the topic criteria including bibliographic citations from the papers to gather the most updated information. This current review aims to provide an updated overview of the advantages, limitations, and potential applications of direct and indirect research methods available for studying various dynamic stages of carious and erosive demineralization in enamel and dentin. This paper categorizes and describes the most suitable, frequently adopted and widely used quantitative and qualitative techniques in in vitro/in vivo research which are well-established, emerging, or comparatively novel techniques that are being explored for their potential validation.

A Review of 3-Nitrooxypropanol for Enteric Methane Mitigation from Ruminant Livestock.

Simple SummaryEnteric methane (CH4) from the anaerobic fermentation of feed carbohydrates in ruminant livestock accounts for 3 to 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Among the different CH4 mitigating approaches evaluated to decrease enteric CH4 emissions from ruminants, the feed additive 3-nitrooxypropanol is effective with a mean reduction in CH4 of 30%, depending on animal type, diet and dose. 3-nitrooxypropanol is chemically synthesized and studies show low safety risk with no detrimental effects to animals and humans. 3-nitrooxypropanol was recently approved by regulatory authorities for use in Brazil and Chile and has received a favorable opinion from the scientific panel of the European Food Safety Authority, with approvals in various jurisdictions expected in the near future. As a substantial body of research on 3-nitrooxypropanol is now available, this review offers a timely analysis of the opportunities and challenges of using 3-nitrooxypropanol to mitigate enteric CH4 emissions in ruminant livestock.Methane (CH4) from enteric fermentation accounts for 3 to 5% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to climate change. Cost-effective strategies are needed to reduce feed energy losses as enteric CH4 while improving ruminant production efficiency. Mitigation strategies need to be environmentally friendly, easily adopted by producers and accepted by consumers. However, few sustainable CH4 mitigation approaches are available. Recent studies show that the chemically synthesized CH4 inhibitor 3-nitrooxypropanol is one of the most effective approaches for enteric CH4 abatement. 3-nitrooxypropanol specifically targets the methyl-coenzyme M reductase and inhibits the final catalytic step in methanogenesis in rumen archaea. Providing 3-nitrooxypropanol to dairy and beef cattle in research studies has consistently decreased enteric CH4 production by 30% on average, with reductions as high as 82% in some cases. Efficacy is positively related to 3-NOP dose and negatively affected by neutral detergent fiber concentration of the diet, with greater responses in dairy compared with beef cattle when compared at the same dose. This review collates the current literature on 3-nitrooxypropanol and examines the overall findings of meta-analyses and individual studies to provide a synthesis of science-based information on the use of 3-nitrooxypropanol for CH4 abatement. The intent is to help guide commercial adoption at the farm level in the future. There is a significant body of peer-reviewed scientific literature to indicate that 3-nitrooxypropanol is effective and safe when incorporated into total mixed rations, but further research is required to fully understand the long-term effects and the interactions with other CH4 mitigating compounds.

Is Science Effectively Conveyed to the Public? A Case Study of Genetically Modified Mosquito Release

Science is the driving force behind the advancement of society making public engagement with science vital. With the rapid pace of scientific discoveries, the availability of well-balanced scientific information is possibly the most important it has ever been. This study aims to determine the effectiveness with which scientific information is disseminated to the public. This was done by conducting a survey in which people were given three articles to read about the release of genetically modified mosquitoes. These three articles were adapted from local news coverage, government authorities, and peer-reviewed scientific literature. Survey participants were queried on their relative preferences for these articles. Additionally, the top 100 hits on Google for the search item “Florida mosquito release” were analyzed to assess the availability of the scientific information preferred by survey respondents. The results of this study showed that the public seeks quality, balanced scientific literature but that these types of articles aren’t easily accessible. Articles that prioritize getting clicks are more prevalent than those that present balanced scientific research.

Validation of Digital Applications for Evaluation of Visual Parameters: A Narrative Review.

The current review aimed to collect and critically analyze the scientific peer-reviewed literature that is available about the use of digital applications for evaluation of visual parameters in electronic devices (tablets and smartphones), confirming if there are studies calibrating and validating each of these applications. Three bibliographic search engines (using the search equation described in the paper) and the Mendeley reference manager search engine were used to complete the analysis. Only articles written in English and that are evaluating the use of tests in healthy patients to measure or characterize any visual function aspects using tablets or smartphones were included. Articles using electronic visual tests to assess the results of surgical procedures or are conducted in pathological conditions were excluded. A total of 19 articles meeting these inclusion and exclusion criteria were finally analyzed. One critical point of all these studies is that there was no mention of the characterization (spatial and/or colorimetrical) of screens and the stimuli used in most of them. Only two studies described some level of calibration of the digital device before the beginning of the study. Most revised articles described non-controlled comparatives studies (73.7%), reporting some level of scientific evidence on the validation of tools, although more consistent studies are needed.

Traceability in food supply chains: a systematic literature review and future research directions

The food traceability system (TS) provides visual services for consumers by recording every operation procedure of food supply, processing, marketing as well as distribution throughout the supply chain. This study aims to review the academic papers which are related to food supply chain traceability (FSCT) and proposes a framework for future research. To do this, we carry out a systematic literature review of 278 peer-reviewed scientific literature published between 1994 and September 2019. By classifying the FSCT into pre-study and post-study of TS implementation, this study reveals a number of future research directions of FSCT based on thematic findings and points out that the focus on such issues has shifted to the post-adoption study of TSs. This study further categorizes nine specific research topics from past literature and identifies specific opportunities of each theme for future research.

Review article: Mapping the adaptation solution space – lessons from Jakarta

Abstract. Coastal cities are under rising pressure to adapt to climate change. They suffer from the severe effects of increased frequencies and intensities of coastal hazards, particularly flooding, while oftentimes continuing to sprawl into hazard-exposed areas and grow beyond the pace of sufficient infrastructure development. Even though these problems have been quite well understood for a while, there is still comparatively little knowledge and scientific assessment of the solution space, i.e., on the options available for adaptation and the ways in which they are being perceived, framed and evaluated in the scientific literature. Focusing on Jakarta, this study presents findings from a systematic assessment of peer-reviewed scientific literature on the adaptation solution space with regard to current and future flooding. Jakarta is chosen as a case study since it is among the cities with the highest flood risk and adaptation pressure globally while also being one of the most heavily researched coastal cities in this regard, certainly in the Global South. Based on a structured keyword search, we assess 339 articles. Results indicate that the perceived solution space is skewed towards hard protection against flooding, while measures to accommodate flooding or retreat from exposed areas are less widely considered in the scientific debate. Soft adaptation measures for the reduction of social vulnerability receive less attention in the literature than those measures targeting the taming of flood hazards, often through engineering solutions. Likewise, hybrid adaptation approaches, which combine soft and hard measures in a complementary way, are only rarely considered. Looking into the future, the findings suggest that despite the importance of hard flood protection as a main adaptation solution in Jakarta, other fields of the solution space deserve increased scientific attention. This relates in particular to urgently needed feasibility and effectiveness assessments of ecosystems-based solutions for flood mitigation and adaptation options targeting social vulnerability. While the empirical results are specific to Jakarta, heuristic observations from research on other coastal cities suggest that similar scoping exercises of the predominantly perceived solution space might be of relevance in many cities beyond Jakarta.

Editorial introductions

Editorial introductions

Greater than 99% consensus on human caused climate change in the peer-reviewed scientific literature

While controls over the Earth’s climate system have undergone rigorous hypothesis-testing since the 1800s, questions over the scientific consensus of the role of human activities in modern climate change continue to arise in public settings. We update previous efforts to quantify the scientific consensus on climate change by searching the recent literature for papers sceptical of anthropogenic-caused global warming. From a dataset of 88125 climate-related papers published since 2012, when this question was last addressed comprehensively, we examine a randomized subset of 3000 such publications. We also use a second sample-weighted approach that was specifically biased with keywords to help identify any sceptical peer-reviewed papers in the whole dataset. We identify four sceptical papers out of the sub-set of 3000, as evidenced by abstracts that were rated as implicitly or explicitly sceptical of human-caused global warming. In our sample utilizing pre-identified sceptical keywords we found 28 papers that were implicitly or explicitly sceptical. We conclude with high statistical confidence that the scientific consensus on human-caused contemporary climate change—expressed as a proportion of the total publications—exceeds 99% in the peer reviewed scientific literature.

Trends in the Regulation of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS): A Scoping Review.

Products containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been used for decades in industrial and consumer products. These compounds are persistent in the environment, bioaccumulative, and some are toxic to humans and other animals. Since the early 2000s, laws, policies, and regulations have been implemented to reduce the prevalence of PFAS in the environment and exposures to PFAS. We conducted a scoping literature review to identify how PFAS are regulated internationally, at the U.S. national level, and at the U.S. state level, as well as drivers of and challenges to implementing PFAS regulations in the U.S. This review captured peer-reviewed scientific literature (e.g., PubMed), grey literature databases (e.g., SciTech Premium Collection), Google searches, and targeted websites (e.g., state health department websites). We identified 454 relevant documents, of which 61 discussed the non-U.S. PFAS policy, 214 discussed the U.S. national-level PFAS policy, and 181 discussed the U.S. state-level PFAS policy. The drivers of and challenges to PFAS regulation were identified through qualitative analysis. The drivers of PFAS policy identified were political support for regulation, social awareness of PFAS, economic resource availability, and compelling scientific evidence. The challenges to implementing PFAS regulations were political limitations, economic challenges, unclear scientific evidence, and practical challenges. The implications for PFAS policy makers and other stakeholders are discussed.