Support Risk Assessment Research Articles

It's Not the Flu: Popular Perceptions of the Impact of COVID-19 in the U.S.

Messaging from U.S. authorities about COVID-19 has been widely divergent. This research aims to clarify popular perceptions of the COVID-19 threat and its effects on victims. In four studies with over 4,100 U.S. participants, we consistently found that people perceive the threat of COVID-19 to be substantially greater than that of several other causes of death to which it has recently been compared, including the seasonal flu and automobile accidents. Participants were less willing to help COVID-19 victims, who they considered riskier to help, more contaminated, and more responsible for their condition. Additionally, politics and demographic factors predicted attitudes about victims of COVID-19 above and beyond moral values; whereas attitudes about the other kinds of victims were primarily predicted by moral values. The results indicate that people perceive COVID-19 as an exceptionally severe disease threat, and despite prosocial inclinations, do not feel safe offering assistance to COVID-19 sufferers. This research has urgent applied significance: the findings are relevant to public health efforts and related marketing campaigns working to address extended damage to society and the economy from the pandemic. In particular, efforts to educate the public about the health impacts of COVID-19, encourage compliance with testing protocols and contact tracing, and support safe, prosocial decision-making and risk assessment, will all benefit from awareness of these findings. The results also suggest approaches, such as engaging people's stable values rather than their politicized perspectives on COVID-19, that may reduce stigma and promote cooperation in response to pandemic threats.

Exploring unknown per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in the German environment – The total oxidizable precursor assay as helpful tool in research and regulation

Limnetic, marine and soil samples of the German environmental specimen bank (ESB) were analyzed for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) using target analysis and a modified total oxidizable precursor (TOP) assay (direct TOP assay (dTOP)) that works without prior extraction.Target analysis determined ∑PFAS concentrations in bream livers of 8.7–282 μg kg−1 wet weight (ww) in 2019, with highest contaminations in the Rhine and lower Elbe. In bream fillet, concentrations were lower (<0.5–10.6 μg kg−1 ∑PFAS). Contamination of suspended particulate matter (SPM) was highest in the upper Elbe downstream the Czech border (5.5 μg kg−1 dry weight (dw) in 2018). Herring gull eggs from the North and Baltic Seas showed ∑PFAS levels around 53.0–69.6 μg kg−1 ww in 2019. In soil, concentrations ranged between <0.5 and 4.6 μg kg−1 dw with highest levels in the Dueben Heath near Leipzig and the low mountain range Solling. PFOS dominated in most samples. Of the targeted precursors, only FOSA, EtFOSAA, MeFOSAA, 6:2-FtS and 6:2 diPAP were found. Replacement chemicals (ADONA, HFPO-DA, F-53B) were not detected.The dTOP assay revealed that considerable amounts of precursors were present at most riverine sampling sites. Particularly high precursor concentrations were observed in samples from the Upper Elbe at the Czech border and the Upper and Middle Rhine. In herring gull eggs and most soil samples, though, concentrations of precursors were low. Time trend analysis showed decreasing trends for most detected PFAS since 2005. In SPM, however, C4-C6 perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids seem to increase indicating growing use of precursors based on shorter fluorinated chains.The results demonstrate that target analysis detects only a minor fraction of the PFAS burdens in environmental samples. The dTOP assay can support risk assessment and chemical monitoring with more comprehensive exposure data of the actual contamination.

Communicating potentially large but non‐robust changes in multi‐model projections of future climate

AbstractThe future climate projections in the IPCC reports are visually communicated via maps showing the mean response of climate models to alternative scenarios of socio‐economic development. The presence of large changes is highlighted by stippling the maps where the mean climate response (the signal) is large compared to internal variability (the noise) and the response is robust, that is, consistent in sign, across the individual models. In addition, hatching is used to mark the regions with a small multi‐model mean change. This approach may fail to recognize the risk of large changes in regions where the uncertainty is large and the response is not robust. Here, we present a more informative diagnostic to support risk assessment that is obtained by quantifying the mean forced signal‐to‐noise ratio of the individual model responses, rather than the signal‐to‐noise ratio of the mean response. This enables us to identify regions where a large future change compared to year‐to‐year variability is plausible, regardless of whether the signal is robust across the ensemble. For mean precipitation changes, we find that the majority (58% in surface area) of the unmarked regions and a sizeable portion (19%) of the hatched regions from the AR5 projections hid climate change responses to the RCP8.5 scenario that are on average large compared to the year‐to‐year variability. Based on the newer CMIP6 ensemble, a considerable potential for large annual‐mean precipitation changes, despite the lack of a robust multi‐model projection, exists over 22% of the surface land area, particularly in Central America, northern South America (including the Amazon), Central and West Africa (including parts of the Sahel), and the Maritime Continent.

Assessment of Climate-Driven Flood Risk and Adaptation Supporting the Conservation Management Plan of a Heritage Site. The National Art Schools of Cuba

This work illustrates the contribution of flood risk assessment and adaptation to set up a conservation management plan for a masterpiece of 20th-century architecture. Case study is the iconic complex, internationally known as the National Art Schools of Cuba. It consists of five buildings built in the early 1960s within a park of Habana next to the Caribbean Sea. The path of the river (Rio Quibù) crossing the estate was modified to fit the landscape design. The complex has then been exposed to the risk of flooding. The School of Ballet, located in a narrow meander of the river, slightly upstream of a bridge and partially obstructing the flow, is particularly subject to frequent flash floods from the Rio Quibù, and it needs urgent restoration. Keeping ISA Modern is a project aimed at preserving the Schools complex. Based upon in situ surveys on the Rio Quibù and local area measurements during 2019, numerical modelling, and previous work by the Cuban National Institute of Hydraulic Resources, we pursued a flood risk analysis for the area, and a preliminary analysis of available risk reduction strategies. Using HEC-RAS 2D software for hydraulic modelling, we evaluated the flooded area and the hydraulic conditions (flow depth, velocity) for floods with given return periods. Our results show that SB is a building most subject to flooding, with high levels of risk. Defense strategies as designed by Cuban authorities may include a (new) wall around the School of Ballet and widening of the river channel, with high impact and cost, although not definitive. Temporary, light, permanent, and low cost/impact flood proofing structures may be used with similar effectiveness. We demonstrate that relatively little expensive hydraulic investigation may aid flood modelling and risk assessment in support of conservation projects for historically valuable sites. This may support brainstorming and the selection of (low to high cost) adaptation and risk reduction measures in the coastal areas of Cuba in response to ever increasing extreme storms and sea level rise controlling flood dynamics under transient climate change.

The Value of Urban Flood Modeling

AbstractFloods are important disturbances to urban socio‐eco‐technical systems and their meteorological drivers are projected to increase through the century due to global climate change. Urban flood models are numerical models that have the capability of representing the features of urban ecosystems and the mechanisms of flooding that impact them. They have the potential to play a critical role in flood risk assessment, operational response, and resilience planning, but existing models remain limited in their capability to represent integrated flooding processes in urban areas and provide the credible quantitative information needed to support risk assessment and resilience practice. Research to advance model development, facilitate intensive watershed monitoring for model parameterization and validation, and support collaboration between researchers and practitioners should be prioritized. This will represent a substantial, expensive effort, but will still be of great value as cities are faced with urgent challenges posed by climate change in coming decades.

Portable Raman Spectrometer for In Situ Analysis of Asbestos and Fibrous Minerals

Asbestos inhalation is associated with fatal respiratory diseases and raises concerns from the perspective of workplace safety and environmental impacts. Asbestos and asbestos-like minerals naturally occur in rocks and may become airborne when outcrops or soils are disturbed by anthropic activities. In situ detection of these minerals is a crucial step for the risk evaluation of natural sites. We assess here whether a portable Raman spectrometer (pRS) may be used in the identification of asbestos and asbestos-like minerals at the mining front during exploitation. pRS performance was tested at three geologically different mining sites in Italy and New Caledonia and compared with a high-resolution micro-Raman spectrometer (HRS). About 80% of the overall in situ analyses at the mining front were successfully identified by pRS, even when intermixed phases or strongly disaggregated and altered samples were analyzed. Chrysotile and tremolite asbestos, asbestos-like antigorite, and balangeroite were correctly detected during surveys. The major difficulties faced during in situ pRS measurements were fluorescence emission and focussing the laser beam on non-cohesive bundles of fibers. pRS is adequate for discriminating asbestos and asbestos-like minerals in situ. pRS may support risk assessment of mining sites to better protect workers and environment.

Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients presenting for intravitreal injection.

AimDue to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, nosocomial transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is of great concern to clinicians of all specialties. Currently there are no published data available on the prevalence of the infection in ophthalmology patients presenting for intravitreal injection (IVI). The purpose of this retrospective study was to estimate the prevalence of SARS-CoV‑2 infection in patients presenting for IVI at our hospital.MethodsPatients presenting for IVI in April 2020 at our hospital who had been screened for SARS-CoV‑2 infection using nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal specimen for real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis were included in a retrospective study. To assess the representativity of this sample for IVI patients, characteristics were compared with patients presenting for IVI during March–April 2019.ResultsThe study included 279 patients and 319 historic control patients. Of 277 valid test results, one SARS-CoV‑2 positive patient was found, resulting in a carrier rate of 0.36% with a 95% Clopper–Pearson confidence interval of 0.01–1.99%. No differences in sex (57.7% vs. 59.9% female, p = 0.650), age (77.63 ± 10.29 vs. 77.59 ± 10.94 years, p = 0.962), and region of residence were found between groups.ConclusionThe study provides an estimate for the prevalence of SARS-CoV‑2 infection in asymptomatic patients presenting for IVI. While these data may be used as a baseline, further research is needed to assess the development of SARS-CoV‑2 prevalence in this patient group in order to support risk assessment and infection prevention strategies.

Metal speciation of the Paraopeba river after the Brumadinho dam failure

On January 25, 2019, a tailings dam at the Córrego do Feijão iron ore mine (Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, southern Brazil) ruptured and released ~12 million m3 of mine tailings into the Paraopeba River, which is an important source of drinking water to a populous region. While water potability due to a strong increase in turbidity has been well documented, possible effects of metal contamination are yet to be addressed. We investigated the speciation of metals in the river water and desorption of metals from sediments as a means of supporting risk assessment, using the diffusive gradient in thin films (DGT) technique, desorption experiments and chemical speciation calculations. The results of the in-situ DGT monitoring revealed that the labile concentrations of metals were low in relation to the respective total and dissolved concentrations. Chemical speciation calculations showed that the heavy metals were not stable in the Paraopeba River. The desorption experiments suggested that sediments may release a limited amount of As and Cu, but large amounts of Mn into the river water. Higher concentrations of Fe and Mn indicated a possible association with the impact of mine tailings. In general, the total metal concentrations during the rainy season were higher than those during the dry season, whereas the reverse was generally the case for labile forms. This pattern reveals that metal speciation is intrinsically dependent on the seasonal variation of the hydrological conditions.

Genomic surveillance of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax cases at the University Hospital in Tegucigalpa, Honduras

Malaria continues to be an important health problem in Honduras despite major progress achieved reducing its incidence in the last two decades. In a context of case reduction, continuing surveillance of parasite diversity and drug resistance is an important component to assist effective malaria control strategies and support risk assessments. In this study, we employed next generation sequencing on collected Plasmodium vivax and P. falciparum samples from the Hospital Escuela (University Hospital) in Honduras between 2005 and 2017. Hospital Escuela is the main public health hospital in Honduras and receives suspected malaria cases from endemic regions within the country. The resulting sequencing data was used to assess complexity of infections, parasite population structure, parasite diversity and drug resistance profiling. All P. vivax samples and all autochtonous P. falciparum samples were monoclonal and presented a low intra population diversity (π = 0.25 and 0.07, respectively). Genotyping of drug resistance markers showed that three P. falciparum samples presented the chloroquine resistant haplotype SVMNT on pfcrtr (positions 72–76). Epidemiological data suggested that two of these samples were imported cases from Africa whereas the third one was a local case. Three suspected imported cases (two of which were also pfcrt mutants) presented the pfmdr1 86Y mutation that further enhances the CQ resistant genotype. No evidence was found for kelch13 artemisinin resistance associated mutations nor parasite genetic background mutations. Discriminant analysis of principal components and phylogenetic analysis showed two P. vivax and two P. falciparum parasite sub-populations with limited recombination between them. It also confirmed the closer relationship of the three imported cases with African strains. Our findings showed that local Honduras P. falciparum strains do not hold CQ resistance polymorphisms which aligns with clinical data reported by the country and supports the continuity of CQ based treatment in Honduras. In addition, our findings highlight the need of using genomic approaches to provide key information about parasite biology including drug resistance, population structure and HRP2/HRP3 deletions which are becoming relevant as the country move towards elimination.

Extended Characterization and Impact of Visible Fatty Acid Particles - A Case Study With a mAb Product.

In recent years, there has been increased scrutiny on the presence and formation of product-related particles in biopharmaceutical formulations. These types of particles, originating from the degradation of the active pharmaceutical ingredient or the excipients, can be challenging to identify and characterize due to their fragility. Additionally, the mechanisms of their formation as well as the impact of their presence on drug product safety can be complicated to elucidate. In this work, a case study is presented in which multiple batches of one formulated monoclonal antibody (mAb-A) were analyzed at different batch ages to better understand the formation of visible particles resulting from degradation of the surfactant polysorbate 20. The particle identity was determined by Raman spectroscopy as free fatty acid (FFA) and the particle composition over time was monitored by mass spectrometry. Further experimental work includes the counts and morphologies of subvisible particles by flow imaging microscopy. Finally, we evaluated the consequences of saline and human plasma exposure to the visible particles to better understand their fate upon dilution and/or administration which is routinely performed in the clinical setting. The experiments performed in this work can be used to support risk assessments of visible product-related particles.

Assessment of moisture risk of wooden beam embedded in internally insulated masonry walls with 2D and 3D models

Internal insulation of masonry walls may significantly increase the decay risk of embedded wooden beams due to lower temperature and consequently lower drying potential in retrofitted existing walls. Since high moisture contents will affect performance and service life of wood, the assessment of moisture-related damage risks in wooden beam-ends in internally insulated masonry walls is particularly relevant to heritage buildings. The proper selection of indoor and outdoor materials and the addition of an embedded heating source offer means of decreasing this risk. Numerical studies of hygrothermal performance of wooden beam-ends support risk assessment but traditionally this has been performed with 2D models. Therefore, in order to assess whether a 2D numerical model can represent accurately the 3D hygrothermal behavior of wooden beam-ends, the difference between 2D and 3D model results of the hygrothermal performance of wooden beam-ends embedded in internally insulated masonry wall is analysed for a northern continental climate. Given the small differences in relative humidity, temperature and mould index between the 2D and 3D models, it is suitable to replace 3D models with 2D ones for predicting the risk of moisture-related problems in the wood beam-end when studying the impact of different envelope components. However, for evaluating the effect of active heating on wooden beam-end performance, it is found that a 3D hygrothermal model should be used. In this case, a 2D model cannot accurately model heating locally at the beam-end resulting in an over prediction of temperature and thus in an underprediction of the moisture damage risk.

Assessing the Ecological Risks of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances: Current State-of-the Science and a Proposed Path Forward.

Per‐ and poly‐fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) encompass a large, heterogenous group of chemicals of potential concern to human health and the environment. Based on information for a few relatively well‐understood PFAS such as perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoate, there is ample basis to suspect that at least a subset can be considered persistent, bioaccumulative, and/or toxic. However, data suitable for determining risks in either prospective or retrospective assessments are lacking for the majority of PFAS. In August 2019, the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry sponsored a workshop that focused on the state‐of‐the‐science supporting risk assessment of PFAS. The present review summarizes discussions concerning the ecotoxicology and ecological risks of PFAS. First, we summarize currently available information relevant to problem formulation/prioritization, exposure, and hazard/effects of PFAS in the context of regulatory and ecological risk assessment activities from around the world. We then describe critical gaps and uncertainties relative to ecological risk assessments for PFAS and propose approaches to address these needs. Recommendations include the development of more comprehensive monitoring programs to support exposure assessment, an emphasis on research to support the formulation of predictive models for bioaccumulation, and the development of in silico, in vitro, and in vivo methods to efficiently assess biological effects for potentially sensitive species/endpoints. Addressing needs associated with assessing the ecological risk of PFAS will require cross‐disciplinary approaches that employ both conventional and new methods in an integrated, resource‐effective manner. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;40:564–605. © 2020 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC. This article has been contributed to by US Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.

Combining Environmental Footprint Models, Remote Sensing Data, and Certification Data towards an Integrated Sustainability Risk Analysis for Certification in the Case of Palm Oil

Monitoring the potential impacts of the growing Bioeconomy (BE) is a crucial precondition for the development of viable and sustainable strategies. Potential environmental consequences from resource production for the German Bioeconomy can be assessed with the concept of environmental footprint modelling. Furthermore, remote sensing and sustainability certification are tools that can support risk assessment and mitigation i.e., regarding land use (change), biodiversity, carbon stocks, and water consumption. Thus, they can complement the results of footprint models and produce assessment results with a much higher resolution. Among other things, this can enable the development of strategies for more sustainable production practices in high-risk areas and avoid potential bans of biomass imports from entire countries/regions. The conducted case study on palm oil in this paper shows intersections between indicators used in sustainability certification systems and in footprint modelling considering processes on plantation and mill levels. Local best practices for the sustainable production of biomass are identified through a literature review and are extended by a survey, which evaluates the feasibility and conditions of implementing the selected practices on plantations. The conceptual approach outlined in this paper can be seen as a first step towards an integrated sustainability risk analysis of processes and products used within the BE that might be further developed from this starting point. It takes into account footprint modelling data, the use of sustainability certification systems, and data and results from remote sensing analyses. This will enable low-risk producers of renewable resources, who are located in regions generally flagged as high-risk when using environmental footprint modelling, not to be excluded from market activities but to set best practice examples that can then be expanded into these regions.

ESG METRICS IN FIRM RISK ASSESSMENT: EVIDENCE FROM SHORT SELLING

ABSTRACT This study investigates the value-relevance of environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics in the formulation of investment decisions. Specifically, the extent to which investors utilize ESG metrics in executive compensation contracts to formulate risk assessment in investing decisions. Prior research regards short sellers as particularly sophisticated investors with a desire to understand a company’s value creation plan by analyzing credible, standardized information to support risk assessment. However, a serious gap exists between corporates and investors over the standardization and consistency of ESG information and reporting. Prior research about the effect of executive compensation on ESG has been limited in scope and produced mixed results. These studies primarily focus on the use of ESG targets in executive compensation contracts as opposed to the effects of said targets on investment decisions. Using a hand-collected data set, the relationships between short interest, financial and ESG measures in executive compensation contracts are examined. The results show a correlation between short positions and the effectiveness of ESG target measures in executive compensation contracts indicating short sellers do incorporate the measures when assessing risk. Keywords ESG, Executive Compensation, Short sellers, Risk Assessment, Reporting targets

Using Global Biodiversity Information Facility Occurrence Data for Automated Invasive Alien Species Risk Mapping

To support invasive alien species risk assessments, the Tracking Invasive Alien Species (TrIAS) project has developed an automated, open, workflow incorporating state-of-the-art species distribution modelling practices to create risk maps using the open source language R. It is based on Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data and openly published environmental data layers characterizing climate and land cover. Our workflow requires only a species name and generates an ensemble of machine-learning algorithms (Random Forest, Boosted Regression Trees, K-Nearest Neighbors and AdaBoost) stacked together as a meta-model to produce the final risk map at 1 km2 resolution (Fig. 1). Risk maps are generated automatically for standard Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) greenhouse gas emission scenarios and are accompanied by maps illustrating the confidence of each individual prediction across space, thus enabling the intuitive visualization and understanding of how the confidence of the model varies across space and scenario (Fig. 2). The effects of sampling bias are accounted for by providing options to: use the sampling effort of the higher taxon the modelled species belongs to (e.g., vascular plants), and to thin species occurrences. use the sampling effort of the higher taxon the modelled species belongs to (e.g., vascular plants), and to thin species occurrences. The risk maps generated by our workflow are defensible and repeatable and provide forecasts of alien species distributions under further climate change scenarios. They can be used to support risk assessments and guide surveillance efforts on alien species in Europe. The detailied modeling framework and code are available on GitHub: https://github.com/trias-project.

Modeling the Bioaccumulation and Biomagnification Potential of Microplastics in a Cetacean Foodweb of the Northeastern Pacific: A Prospective Tool to Assess the Risk Exposure to Plastic Particles

Microplastics (MPs) can readily be ingested by marine organisms. Direct ingestion and trophic transfer are likely to be the main pathway for microplastics to bioaccumulate in upper trophic level organisms. Bioaccumulation potential of MPs in marine mammalian foodwebs is scarcely known. To understand whether microplastics bioaccumulate in marine mammals, a bioaccumulation model for MPs was developed for the filter-feeding humpback whale and fish-eating resident killer whale foodwebs of the Northeastern Pacific. Applying three concentration scenarios for MPs by entering observed water and sediment concentrations as input data (low, high and moderate scenarios), and tested under two different elimination rates (kE) for zooplankton, the model predicted species-specific and foodweb-specific bioaccumulation potential. The predator-prey biomagnification factor (BMFTL, used to assess the ratio of the MP concentration in predator to that in prey adjusted to the difference of trophic levels), involving cetaceans, appeared to be not only lower than one or equal to one (BMFTL ≤ 1 as in resident killer whale/Chinook salmon), but also BMFTL > 1 in some predator-prey relationships (humpback whale/zooplankton). Depending on the magnitude of abiotic concentrations used in the modelling, the trophic magnification factor (TMF) regression analyses over time showed lack of evidence for trophic magnification as the magnification was independent of the trophic level, indicating no changes (TMF = 1; p>0.05), and trophic dilution (TMF 0.05), following 100-365 days. Compared to the high biomagnification behaviour of persistent organic pollutants in marine foodwebs, scarce biomagnification capacity of microplastic was predicted in the cetacean foodwebs. Notwithstanding, the moderate to high microplastic bioaccumulation predicted in some lower trophic level marine organisms highlights the health risks of toxic exposure to marine fauna and coastal communities relying strongly on seafood. This modelling work provides a tool to assess the bioaccumulation potential and impact of microplastics in the marine environment to support risk assessment and inform plastic waste management.

Parameters predicting COVID-19-induced myocardial injury and mortality

Clinical manifestations of COVID-19 affect many organs, including the heart. Cardiovascular disease is a dominant comorbidity and prognostic factors predicting risk for critical courses are highly needed. Moreover, immunomechanisms underlying COVID-induced myocardial damage are poorly understood. ObjectiveTo elucidate prognostic markers to identify patients at risk. ResultsOnly patients with pericardial effusion (PE) developed a severe disease course, and those who died could be identified by a high CD8/Treg/monocyte ratio. Ten out of 19 COVID-19 patients presented with PE, 7 (78%) of these had elevated APACHE-II mortality risk-score, requiring mechanical ventilation. At admission, PE patients showed signs of systemic and cardiac inflammation in NMR and impaired cardiac function as detected by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), whereas parameters of myocardial injury e.g. high sensitive troponin-t (hs-TnT) were not yet increased. During the course of disease, hs-TnT rose in 8 of the PE-patients above 16 ng/l, 7 had to undergo ventilatory therapy and 4 of them died. FACS at admission showed in PE patients elevated frequencies of CD3+CD8+ T cells among all CD3+ T-cells, and lower frequencies of Tregs and CD14+HLA−DR+-monocytes. A high CD8/Treg/monocyte ratio predicted a severe disease course in PE patients, and was associated with high serum levels of antiviral cytokines. By contrast, patients without PE and PE patients with a low CD8/Treg/monocyte ratio neither had to be intubated, nor died. ConclusionsPE predicts cardiac injury in COVID-19 patients. Therefore, TTE should be performed at admission. Immunological parameters for dysfunctional antiviral immunity, such as the CD8/Treg/monocyte ratio used here, supports risk assessment by predicting poor prognosis.

Software agents supporting the security of IT systems handling personal information

ABSTRACT In organisational settings, information system management involves making decisions related to the protection of data stored and processed in such systems. These decisions are associated with risks that should be minimised through continued monitoring of user activities, network analysis, and implementation of innovative technologies. Risk management concerns the process of identifying and assessing risks. Organisational risk management calls for dedicated IT solutions capable of analysing, supporting an organisation’s operations. This study focuses on issues relating to risks inherent in data protection alongside aspects of information system security exemplified by intrusion detection systems (IDS). The study seeks to explore the concept of personal data security using state-of-the-art solutions that have been developed in computer decision support. As a result, an algorithm for screening email messages from the angle of personal data protection is proposed, and a prototype software agent system is presented capable of supporting risk assessment based on system logs.

Stacked genetically modified soybean harboring herbicide resistance and insecticide rCry1Ac shows strong defense and redox homeostasis disturbance after glyphosate-based herbicide application

BackgroundWorld agricultural production of genetically modified (GM) products, in particular, the combination of different traits/genes in the same plant has been a trend over the last decade. There have been concerns raised over stacking multiple herbicide and insect-resistant transgenes that could result in fitness costs depending on the type and strength of selection pressures exerted by the environment. Here, we report the results of transcriptomic analysis comparing the effect of glyphosate-based herbicide (GBH) in the single-transgene versus stacked, herbicide-resistant soybean varieties on various biological processes, metabolic pathways, and key shikimic enzymes.ResultsGene expression data showed that defense metabolism and redox homeostasis were equally modulated in single-transgene and stacked-variety samples. Carbon accumulation and energy metabolisms were distinct between the varieties and photosynthesis metabolism was found negatively affected in the single-transgene variety only. In the stacked variety, the shikimate pathway was modulated by the accumulation of transcripts from phenylalanine gene and other cascade genes. As expected, the expression of native EPSPS was upregulated in both varieties when herbicide was applied. On the other hand, transgenic EPSPS expression was down-regulated in both GM varieties upon herbicide application which cannot be explained.ConclusionGlyphosate-based herbicides toxicity suggests its effects on carbon central metabolism and flux, redox metabolism, photosynthesis, and to hormone and defense response in plants. The observed unintended effects in GM herbicide-tolerant varieties unravel the deleterious effects previously observed on GM-tolerant varieties growth and production. The impact of GBH on shikimate and cascade pathways was observed in terms of both native and transgenic insensitive EPSPS modulation, alteration of jasmonic acid and lignin metabolism in both single-transgene and stacked variety. The energy metabolism and carbon flux were differently affected in these varieties. Oxidative stress, more specifically glutathione metabolism, induced by GBH, was also observed in this study. The stacked variety showed a more pronounced stress response (activation of specific stress defense proteins, Rboh, WRKY) and secondary compounds (β-glucosidase, isoflavone 7-O-methyltransferase). Omics profiling techniques, such as transcriptomics, can be considered tools to support risk assessment in detecting unintended effects due to the GBH application.

Obligatory metabolomic profiling of gene-edited crops is risk disproportionate.

SUMMARYIt has been argued that the application of metabolomics to gene‐edited crops would present value in three areas: (i) the detection of gene‐edited crops; (ii) the characterization of unexpected changes that might affect safety; and (iii) building on the track record of rigorous government regulation in supporting consumer acceptance of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Here, we offer a different perspective, relative to each of these areas: (i) metabolomics is unable to differentiate whether a mutation has resulted from gene editing or from traditional breeding techniques; (ii) it is risk‐disproportionate to apply metabolomics for regulatory purposes to search for possible compositional differences within crops developed using the least likely technique to generate unexpected compositional changes; and (iii) onerous regulations for genetically engineered crops have only contributed to unwarranted public fears, and repeating this approach for gene‐edited crops is unlikely to result in a different outcome. It is also suggested that article proposing the utility of specific analytical techniques to support risk assessment would benefit from the input of scientists with subject matter expertise in risk assessment.