Emergence Of Threats Research Articles

Evaluation of tangential flow filtration coupled to long-read sequencing for ostreid herpesvirus type 1 genome assembly.

Whole-genome sequencing is widely used to better understand the transmission dynamics, the evolution and the emergence of new variants of viral pathogens. This can bring crucial information to stakeholders for disease management. Unfortunately, aquatic virus genomes are usually difficult to characterize because most of these viruses cannot be easily propagated in vitro. Developing methodologies for routine genome sequencing of aquatic viruses is timely given the ongoing threat of disease emergence. This is particularly true for pathogenic viruses infecting species of commercial interest that are widely exchanged between production basins or countries. For example, the ostreid herpesvirus type 1 (OsHV-1) is a Herpesvirus widely associated with mass mortality events of juvenile Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas. Genomes of Herpesviruses are large and complex with long direct and inverted terminal repeats. In addition, OsHV-1 is unculturable. It therefore accumulates several features that make its genome sequencing and assembly challenging. To overcome these difficulties, we developed a tangential flow filtration (TFF) method to enrich OsHV-1 infective particles from infected host tissues. This virus purification allowed us to extract high molecular weight and high-quality viral DNA that was subjected to Illumina short-read and Nanopore long-read sequencing. Dedicated bioinformatic pipelines were developed to assemble complete OsHV-1 genomes with reads from both sequencing technologies. Nanopore sequencing allowed characterization of new structural variations and major viral isomers while having 99,98 % of nucleotide identity with the Illumina assembled genome. Our study shows that TFF-based purification method, coupled with Nanopore sequencing, is a promising approach to enable in field sequencing of unculturable aquatic DNA virus.

A Broad-Host-Range Plasmid Outbreak: Dynamics of IncL/M Plasmids Transferring Carbapenemase Genes.

IncL/M broad-host-range conjugative plasmids are involved in the global spread of blaOXA-48 and the emergence of blaNDM-1. The aim of this study was to evaluate the transmission potential of plasmids encoding the emergent NDM-1 carbapenemase compared to the pandemic OXA-48. The conjugation rate and fitness cost of IncM2 and IncL plasmids encoding these carbapenemase genes were tested using a variety of host bacteria. Genomic analysis of uropathogenic Escherichia coli SAP1756 revealed that blaNDM-1 was encoded on an IncM2 plasmid, which also harboured blaTEM-1, bleMBL and sul1 and was highly similar to plasmids isolated from the same geographical area. Conjugation experiments demonstrated that NDM-1 and OXA-48-carrying plasmids transfer successfully between different Enterobacterales species, both in vitro and in vivo. Interestingly, E. coli isolates tested as recipients belonging to phylogroups A, B1, D and F were able to receive IncM2 plasmid pSAP1756, while phylogroups B2, C, E and G were not permissive to its acquisition. In general, the IncL OXA-48-carrying plasmids tested transferred at higher rates than IncM2 harbouring NDM-1 and imposed a lower burden to their host, possibly due to the inactivation of the tir fertility inhibition gene and reflecting their worldwide dissemination. IncM2 plasmids carrying blaNDM-1 are considered emergent threats that need continuous monitoring. In addition to sequencing efforts, phenotypic analysis of conjugation rates and fitness cost are effective methods for estimating the pandemic potential of antimicrobial resistance plasmids.

A Modified Vancomycin Molecule Confers Potent Inhibitory Efficacy against Resistant Bacteria Mediated by Metallo-β-Lactamases.

Multidrug-resistant bacterial infections mediated by metallo-β-lactamases (MβLs) have grown into an emergent health threat, and development of novel antimicrobials is an ideal strategy to combat the infections. Herein, a novel vancomycin derivative Vb was constructed by conjugation of triazolylthioacetamide and vancomycin molecules, characterized by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and confirmed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). The biological assays revealed that Vb effectively inhibited S. aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), gradually increased the antimicrobial effect of β-lactam antibiotics (cefazolin, meropenem and penicillin G) and exhibited a dose-dependent synergistic antibacterial effect against eight resistant strains tested, which was confirmed by the time-kill curves determination. Most importantly, Vb increased the antimicrobial effect of meropenem against the clinical isolates EC08 and EC10 and E. coli producing ImiS and CcrA, resulting in a 4- and 8-fold reduction in MIC values, respectively, at a dose up to 32 μg/mL. This work offers a promising scaffold for the development of MβLs inhibitors, specifically antimicrobials for clinically drug-resistant isolates.

The Assessment of the Risk Ranking and Mobility Potential Associated with Environmental Resistomes in Wastewater Using Metagenomic Assembly

The environmental pollution of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) is a growing public health concern. In the current study, de novo metagenomic assembly and bioinformatics analysis approaches were utilized to estimate the quantitative risk index of the environmental resistomes in wastewater influent (INF) and effluent (EFF) of a conventional wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Egypt. Furthermore, the risk indices of the local INF and EFF resistomes were compared to those calculated for the selected publicly available wastewater datasets from eight countries worldwide. Additionally, a classification framework prioritizing the public health hazard level of the discharged non-redundant highly mobilized ARGs was introduced. This integrative outline considered the estimated mobility potential percentage, host pathogenicity, and annotation category (perfect, strict, and loose) of the detected ARGs on their assembled contigs. Moreover, high-quality metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) were extracted and the putative genome bins with acquired ARGs were determined. The comprehensive resistome risk scores of the local WWTP showed that INF resistome had a slightly higher risk index (47.87) compared to the average score of the other examined counterparts (41.06). However, the estimated risk value of EFF resistome (26.80) was ranked within the global average (26.06) of the selected international WWTPs. Furthermore, the determination of the samples’ risk ranking showed that most of the effluent resistomes were clustered in a lower risk rank compared to the other selected samples for raw sewage, influent, and hospital wastewater, indicating the impact of the wastewater treatment process on reducing the ARG mobilization potential in downstream environments. The evaluation of the ARGs’ genetic context in their ARG-carrying contigs (ACCs) indicated that a total of 161/648 (25%) non-redundant ARGs were co-located with sequences of mobile genetic determinants on the same ACC in both the INF and EFF assemblies. These ARGs comprised the pan mobile resistome of the studied WWTP. Of them, 111 ARGs with a mobility potential percent (M%) less than 95% were grouped at the least risk level 5. The remaining 50 highly mobilized ARGs (M% ≥ 95%) were extracted and classified into four higher risk levels. Those of risk levels 1 and 2 (39 ARGs) represented the current ARG dissemination threats for further monitoring in downstream environments, where they were all carried by pathogenic hosts and annotated to the perfect and strict categories by the resistance gene identifier software (RGI). A total of 10 highly mobilized ARGs were assigned to risk rank 3, as they comprised the loose hits of the RGI analysis. Finally, the risk level 4 ARGs constituted genes that co-existed with the non-pathogenic sequence on the ACCs and were represented by one gene in the current analysis framework. The two previous categories constituted new highly mobilized ARGs of emergent threat to public health. On the other hand, a total of 35 and 118 MAGs were recovered from INF and EFF assembled metagenomes, respectively, using selection cutoff thresholds of a minimum completeness of 70% and a maximum contamination of 10%. While none of the INF MAGs carried any acquired ARGs, six EFF genome bins (5%) were associated with ten acquired ARGs, as indicated by the ResFinder software. These results suggest that potential horizontal gene transfer (HGT) events have evolved among the community members of the studied EFF samples.

Inclusive governance: Enhance health literacy to reduce vaccine hesitancy

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic placed a call for action worldwide. Based on scientific investigation, governments need to assess strategic priorities. Health system capacity constraints and failures in response to the pandemic have social, medical, productivity, and economic implications. It compounds health equity issues and confronts with excess mortality, higher chronic disease prevalence, and risk factors. Despite initial progress in vaccination against COVID-19 and attempts to speed up vaccination, the Western Balkan lags behind. Infodemic and low trust in institutions are among the main factors associated with low success and adverse effects on other vaccination programs. This presentation aims to shed light on the importance of health literacy in resilient communities supported by inclusive governance. Methods A narrative review based on literature on inclusive governance, health literacy, and resilient communities during COVID-19 and other emergencies. Primary sources are databases, scientific articles, Health System Response Monitor, and observations by ECDC and OECD. Results Results show that characteristics of resilient communities in possessing knowledge and ability to assess risk, manage an emergency, monitor change, and address threats stand out. Many studies highlight the interconnectedness of community members with the wider external environment and their participation in decision-making to improve health services. Examples include interventions for developing future vaccination programs in program planning, conducting sound evaluations, transferring results to those who need to know, and receiving feedback. The key to this success is enhancing digital and health literacy. Conclusions COVID-19 requires cross-sectional strategies to reinforce collaborative gains and build resilient communities, ready to apply population strategies for prevention. Inclusive governance and a bottom-up approach will be essential to optimize the response to future challenges.

Deep Learning-Based Hardware Trojan Detection With Block-Based Netlist Information Extraction

With the globalization of the semiconductor industry, hardware Trojans (HTs) are an emergent security threat in modern integrated circuit (IC) production. Research is now being conducted into designing more accurate and efficient methods to detect HTs. Recently, a number of machine learning (ML)-based HT detection approaches have been proposed; however, most of them still use knowledge-driven approaches to design features and often use engineering intuition to carefully craft the detection model to improve accuracy. Therefore, in this work, we propose a data-driven HT detection system based on gate-level netlists. The system consists of four main parts: 1) Information extraction from netlist block; 2) Natural language processing (NLP) for translating netlist information; 3) Deel learning (DL)-based HT detection model; 4) HT component final voter. In the experiments, both a long short-term memory networks (LSTM) model and convolutional neural network (CNN) model are used as our detection models. We performed the experiments on the HT benchmarks from Trust-hub and K-fold crossing verification has been applied to evaluate different parameter settings in the training procedure. The experimental results show that the proposed HT detection system can achieve 79.29% TPR, 99.97% TNR, 87.75% PPV and 99.94% NPV for combinational Trojan detection and 93.46% TPR, 99.99% TNR, 98.92% PPV and 99.92% NPV for sequential Trojan detection after voting-based optimization using the LEDA library-based HT benchmarks ( <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">logic_level</i> =4, upsampling, LSTM, 5 epochs).

Fluoroquinolone Derivatives in the Treatment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection.

Tuberculosis (TB) is currently one of the leading causes of death due to infective agents, and the growing rate of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) cases poses an emergent public health threat. Fluoroquinolones are commonly used in the treatment of both MDR TB and drug-sensitive tuberculosis patients who are intolerant to first-line antitubercular agents. Unfortunately, these drugs have mild side effects, relevant to the prolonged treatment regimens and diminished bioavailability due to binding of metal ions. Moreover, the resistance to fluoroquinolones is also on the rise, a characteristic of extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR TB). Here, we developed esters as prodrugs of the fluoroquinolones levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin, with long-chain fatty alcohols. Both the alcohols and the quinolone have previously shown antimycobacterial activity and the aim was to develop esters with improved lipophilicity and capable of delivering the free acid inside mycobacterial cells. The carboxylic acid group of fluoroquinolones is essential to the mode of action but is also responsible for many of its side effects and metal-chelating properties. The synthesis, stability in biological media, and antibacterial activity were evaluated, the latter not only against Mycobacterium tuberculosis but also against other clinically relevant bacterial species, since the parent compounds display a broad spectrum of activity. The biological results show a reduction in the antitubercular activity of the synthesized derivatives, probably due to deficient activation of the ester prodrug. Despite this, it was found that the derivatives exhibit bioactivity against other fluoroquinolone-resistant bacteria, indicating a different mode of action and suggesting that it may be worthwhile to research further modifications to the carboxylic acid group. This might lead to new compounds that are efficient against resistant strains. This idea that the compounds may act by a different mechanism of action was further supported by a brief computer investigation that demonstrated the potential lack of selectivity of the esters to the fluoroquinolone target.

Resilience Assessment of an Urban Metro Complex Network: A Case Study of the Zhengzhou Metro

An urban metro network is susceptible to becoming vulnerable and difficult to recover quickly in the face of an unexpected attack on account of the system’s complexity and the threat of various emergencies. Therefore, it is necessary to assess the resilience of urban metro networks. However, the research on resilience assessment of urban metro networks is still in the development stage, and it is better to conduct said research using a technique which combines many attributes, multiple methods, and several cases. Therefore, based on the complex network modeling and topological characteristics analysis of metro systems, a metro network’s robustness and vulnerability measurement method under node interruption and edge failure is proposed for the first time in this study. Then, considering the three cases of general station interruption, interchange station interruption, and traffic tunnel failure, a quantitative resilience assessment model of metro networks is put forward, and the corresponding recovery strategies are discussed. Finally, a case study of the Zhengzhou Metro Network (ZZMN) under an extreme rainstorm is conducted to demonstrate the viability of the proposed model. The results show that ZZMN possesses scale-free and small-world network properties, and it is robust to random interruptions but vulnerable to deliberate attacks. ZZMN still needs to improve its effectiveness in information transmission. The centrality distribution for each node in the ZZMN network differs significantly, and each node’s failure has a unique impact on the network. The larger the DC, BC, and PR of a node is, the lower the network’s robustness after its removal is, and the stronger the vulnerability is. Compared with the three cases of general station interruption, interchange station interruption, and traffic tunnel failure, the network loss caused by tunnel failure was the lowest, followed by general station interruption, and the interruption at interchange stations was the most costly. Given the failures under various cases, the metro management department should prioritize selecting the optimal recovery strategy to improve the resilience of the metro network system. This study’s findings can assist in making urban metro systems less vulnerable to emergencies and more resilient for a quick recovery, which can provide scientific theoretical guidance and decision support for the safety and resilient, sustainable development of urban metro systems.

Investigation of the Antibiofilm Activity of Some Spices and Medicinal Plants Essential Oils

Biofilms are the structure microbial that attach to different surfaces and enclave microorganisms in a matrix composed, protecting them from harsh conditions, including immune effectors and antibiotics. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the anti-biofilm activity of lavender, cloves, eucalyptus, rosemary, thyme, and oregano commercial essential oils, known for their biocidal properties against Gram-positive and Gram-negative ESKAPE isolates, exhibiting multiple drug resistance. The most efficient proved to be the oregano, thyme, and clove essential oils, which exhibited the lowest minimal biofilm eradication concentrations values against all bacterial species. Although lavender, eucalyptus, and rosemary had a weaker effect than the first three oils, they have also inhibited biofilm development at concentrations low enough to be considered effective. This experimental approach may open new perspectives for developing efficient strategies to combat the emergent threat of antibiotic resistance and to control the formation of microbial biofilms, being also a valuable source of bioactive compounds and new anti-biofilm drugs.

Removal of harmful algae in natural water by semiconductor photocatalysis- A critical review.

Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) have turned out to be a global occurrence owing to the detrimental phenomenon like eutrophication and global climate change caused by human activities. This newly emergent threat imposes a severe hazardous to public health, ecosystems and fishery-based economies. Rapid and exponential growth of certain delirious and toxic algal species shall be held causative to the formation of HABs. The potential disadvantages they pose, make it necessary the identification of efficient treatment methodologies. Photocatalysis has been identified as the most promising solution amongst all the identified and investigated methods, for the environmental and economic benefits beheld. Different treatment methodologies were evaluated and light has been thrown on the advantages beheld by photocatalysis over the other methods. Focus has been given to the different photocatalysts that have been so far put to use towards photocatalytic disinfection of HABs and algal toxins. This present study provides useful information on the application of the traditional and photocatalysis process for removal of HABs in water bodies. Moreover, the results revealed that photocatalysis method could cause potent inhibitory effect on growth of algae species and disrupted algal cells membranes to some extent. Finally, the conventional treatment techniques have been recognized to be insufficient for removal of HABs. However, the photocatalyst technology have been utilized mostly for the mineralization and neutralization of the algal pollutants without any harmful secondary pollutants.

Microplastics impede larval urchin selective feeding.

Microplastics are emergent threats to marine organisms as ingestion can cause a multitude of physiological problems. Suspension feeders, including marine invertebrate larvae, are particularly susceptible to ingesting microplastics due to similarities in physical appearance to algal cells. Larval feeding involves multiple stages: the capture and subsequent selection of particles followed by ingestion from the mouth to the stomach, digestion, and finally, egestion. Yet, little is known about which aspect of the feeding process is disrupted by microplastics. Here, we determine if prior exposure to microplastics alters the feeding behavior of the larval sea urchin Heliocidaris crassispina. We conducted two experiments: a food handling experiment studied larval survival, growth, and time required to fill and vacate the stomach; and a particle selection experiment analyzed changes in the ability of the larvae to selectively ingest algal cells over microplastics. In both experiments, larvae were pre-exposed to algae only (control), the addition of 10 μm polystyrene beads at 1 bead mL-1 or 1000 beads mL-1 until 3- or 7-days post-fertilization. Previous exposure to microplastics lengthened stomach filling time and impaired particle selection. While there was no significant change in survivorship and larval arm length, these sub-lethal impacts on larval feeding likely have more severe ramifications in vivo where food is limited, and thus, potentially threaten post-settlement success.

Automatic COVID-19 Diagnosis System Based on Deep Convolutional Neural Networks

A public health emergency threat is happening due to novel coronavirus 2019 (nCoV-2019) throughout the world. nCoV-2019 is also named Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-CoronaVirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). COVID-19 is the disease caused by this virus. The virus originates in bats and is transmitted to humans by some unidentified intermediate animals. This virus started around December 2019 at Wuhan of China. After that, it turned into a pandemic. Even though there is no efficient vaccination, the entire world fights against the COVID-19. This article presents an overview of the scenario of the world as well as India. Some of the leading countries in the world are also affected by this virus badly. Even India is the 2nd highest population, is taking necessary precautions to protect it. With the Government of India's decisions, along with effective social distancing and hygienic measures, India is in a better position. But, in the future, COVID19 cases in India, still unpredictable. We designed an algorithm based on Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), which helps to classify COVID19+ and COVID19- persons using people's chest X-ray images automatically generated within the shortest time. The proposed method discovered that employing CT scan medical images produced more accurate results than X-ray images.

Femtomolar detection of SARS-CoV-2 via peptide beacons integrated on a miniaturized TIRF microscope.

The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) continues to pose a substantial global health threat. Along with vaccines and targeted therapeutics, there is a critical need for rapid diagnostic solutions. In this work, we use computational protein modeling tools to suggest molecular beacon architectures that function as conformational switches for high-sensitivity detection of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein receptor binding domain (S-RBD). Integrating these beacons on a miniaturized total internal reflection fluorescence (mini-TIRF) microscope, we detect the S-RBD and pseudotyped SARS-CoV-2 with limits of detection in the femtomolar range. We envision that our designed mini-TIRF platform will serve as a robust platform for point-of-care diagnostics for SARS-CoV-2 and future emergent viral threats.

Geophysical threats of wartime to high-risk objects of Ukraine

Environment is changed by man consciously and mostly unconsciously. A characteristic feature of modern times is the unprecedented number of potentially dangerous enterprises that pose a real threat of emergencies of natural and man-made origin. Accidents at 203 high-risk Ukrainian facilities can lead to emergencies at the regional and state levels, spreading to other countries. Of all human engineering activities, hydraulic engineering has the greatest impact on the natural environment; significant effects of artificial regulation of precipitation, mining. These actions may also have military uses that involve intentional harm. The main task of military hydraulic engineering is the creation of artificial water barriers to advance the enemy. The use of artificial rainfall for the same purpose helps to soften road surfaces and provokes landslides along them, supports the erosion of river fords and increased soil water saturation. The earthquakes caused by the bombings are causing extensive damage to infrastructure. At the end of February 2014, Russia launched hostilities in Ukraine, which began with the annexation of Crimea, continued with a protracted armed conflict in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, led to the entry of troops on February 24, 2022. Military action is accompanied by conscious and unconscious manifestations of aggression in potentially dangerous enterprises.&#x0D; To protect against natural disasters of anthropogenic origin, in 1976 the Environmental Modification Convention was adopted. To date, only 94 of the 193 UN countries have ratified or agreed to the Convention. The list of potential 99 violators is supplemented by the founding member states of the United Nations and initiators of the development of the Convention within the USSR, the Russian Federation, which is waging hostilities on the territory of Ukraine, and Belarus.

Community voices around COVID-19 vaccine in Chennai, India: A qualitative exploration during early phase of vaccine rollout.

Globally, vaccination is considered as an important public health strategy to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of the current study was to conduct an in-depth inquiry to explore perceptions of community members around COVID-19 vaccines in the southern city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu. This was conducted during the early phase of the vaccine rollout programme in India. A qualitative investigation was conducted between January-February 2021 through in-depth interviews. Healthcare workers, religious leaders, community influencers, local administrators and representatives of marginalized communities were included. The key informant interview guides and probes explored five domains; (i) vaccine availability, (ii) trust in COVID-19 vaccines, (iii) vaccine-related concerns, (iv) health/risk balance and (v) vaccine prioritization. Transcripted interviews were coded using a thematic approach and analyzed manually as well as with the help of ATLAS.ti 9 software. Eagerness to receive COVID-19 vaccines amongst some of the respondents was linked with freedom from fear, possible restoration of normalcy, protection of family and ability to travel and work abroad. Concerns around threat of emergence of new variants, damage caused by such viral mutants and trust in policymakers were other facilitatory influencers for vaccine uptake. On the other hand, doubts surrounding safety and fear of side effects of COVID-19 vaccine were the feeders to vaccine hesitancy. Lack of accurate information, sensational media reports and rumours exacerbated this fear and provoked anxiety among people. Apprehensions around COVID-19 vaccine in the wake of its rapid development and approval for use and reluctance to take it during the declining phase of the epidemic were identified as other inhibitory factors. Participants underlined the importance of having responsive communication strategies in place focussing on vaccine safety. Making vaccines available to people free of cost and ensuring wider access were other programmatic suggestions. In conclusion, our study findings suggest that it is essential to remain engaged with communities and execute evidence-based information dissemination strategy about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines. We identified that it is also imperative to sensitize and train media professionals on how to report side effects related to vaccines. Responsive communication strategies will thus have the potential to serve as a key public health approach pertaining to future pandemic preparedness as well as to manage the demands of clinical and public health issues in an ongoing pandemic situation.

An appraisal of the contextual drivers of successful antimicrobial stewardship implementation in Nigerian health care facilities

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a consequence of inappropriate actions, including irrational antimicrobial prescribing and use. Antimicrobial resistance remains an emergent and significant public health threat, particularly in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), including Nigeria. Optimizing antimicrobial (AM) use through functional hospital antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs is one of the strategies to control the spread of AMR. Literature is replete with evidence, but few studies examined the contextual factors limiting AMS functionality at the facility levels. This study explored the intrinsic contextual factors shaping AMS practice at the three-tiered levels of care. This was a qualitative case study with a purposeful sample size of 30 participants drawn from two primary, two secondary, and two tertiary health facilities in Nigeria. Data were coded and categorized for thematic analysis. Emergent themes include lack of AMS programs, inadequate guidelines, lack of modern equipment and incorrect diagnosis, absence of continuous medical education, imbalance of power among professionals, and pervasive external influence of pharmaceutical marketing companies. These findings demonstrate that the AMS program is lacking or poorly implemented at the three-tiered level of care. We recommended that health facilities establish AMS programs in line with the World Health Organization's stepwise approach. These challenges, if addressed, will promote the successful performance of the AMS program, contributing to rational AM use at all levels of care. Since primary health centres constitute 85.4% of all health facilities, customizing the AMS core elements at this level will contribute to achieving the goals of universal health coverage.

Willingness to Work during Public Health Emergencies: A Systematic Literature Review.

The identification of the factors underlying the willingness or lack thereof to respond to public health emergencies is paramount to informing more capable health services. The interest in this topic appears renewed with each surge of threat, either referring to natural disasters, man-made violence, or epidemic and pandemics. However, there is no systematic approach to the research patterns and related main findings concerning individual and contextual determinants. The present article contributes to this theme through a systematic literature review of a sample of 150 articles published in the last 30 years on the subject of willingness and preparedness of health professionals to deal with public health threats. Our findings show that the research is mainly phenomena and contextual driven, responding to whichever emergency threat is more salient in a given period. Geographically, research on this topic is led by USA and China, mostly solely, while European countries invest in collaborations that are more international. Universities, including health institutes and schools, and researchers at hospitals conduct most of the research on the topic. The main research areas are medicine, psychology, and psychiatry. Pandemics, including COVID-19, influenza, and natural disasters, are the phenomena gauging more attention as opposed to terrorism events and biological accidents. The specific role of health professionals within the institution, their belief in ethical duties, preparation training, and concerns regarding infection of self and family are the main variables influencing the willingness and ability to report to work in public health emergencies.

Locating a narrative paradigm Nexus in the circuit of culture: articulating the anti-proposition 112 public relations campaign in Colorado

ABSTRACT In the fall of 2018, fracking interests in Colorado initiated a public relations campaign against Proposition 112 – a measure that these interests perceived as an emergent threat to their continued viability. This thematic analysis reviewed the messaging used by the industry and its supporters as it appeared across 1,515 text articles (e.g., news accounts, op-eds, etc.) and 38 Facebook posts. We found that pro-fracking messages, rather than concentrating on the quality of the ideas offered in support of fracking (e.g., facts and data) often chose to emphasize connections to the lived experiences of the audiences. As such, this work offers an exploratory model of this phenomena called the Circuit of Culture/Narrative Paradigm Nexus Model, which includes as components values, aesthetics, and resonance. This model offers both a theoretical and applied framework for how an organization may affirm alliance with key audiences, especially when detecting an emergent threat to its continued existence.

Проблема обеспечения устойчивости функционирования опасных производственных объектов

The article deals with the problem of ensuring the sustainability of functioning of hazardous production facilities in the Donetsk People's Republic. Brief historical remark about the emergence of the problem of increasing the sustainability of the objects functioning is given. The problems of ensuring the sustainability of the functioning of hazardous production facilities faced by the Donetsk People's Republic in the war time are noted. The main ones are named: rational distribution of productive forces; preparation of economic facilities for recovery after the impact of natural and man-made disasters, means of destruction of the enemy; organization of public administration in emergency conditions. It is noted that it is possible to increase the sustainability of the functioning of hazardous facilities through the measures based on the provisions of the regulatory and scientific bases. Quantitative analysis is given in the article concerning potentially hazardous facilities in the Donetsk People's Republic, as well as a description of the hazard classes of production facilities. Considerable attention is paid to the sustainability of the functioning of hazardous production facilities and the reasons that impede its provision in the modern conditions. At present, ensuring the sustainability of the functioning of hazardous production facilities is complicated by the conduct of hostilities. It is proposed to introduce automated industrial safety management systems to increase the sustainability of the operation of hazardous production facilities and reduce the possible risks of emergency situations. Potentially the most hazardous enterprises are indicated in terms of the threat of large-scale emergencies; the necessity of carrying out measures aimed at preventing the threat of emergency situations is emphasized.

The vulnerability of whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) to the invasive European catfish (Silurus glanis) in a large peri-Alpine lake

The whitefish ( Coregonus lavaretus) is a core exploited species in numerous fisheries and the invasion of the European catfish ( Silurus glanis) in peri-Alpine lakes may represent an emergent threat to this salmonid. We aimed to assess the whitefish vulnerability to catfish in a French peri-Alpine lake (Lake Bourget) by combining diet analyses (metabarcoding), trophic link inferences from an allometric niche model (aNM), and the development of a predation risk metric derived from species depth matching and catfish energy demand. Whitefish DNA was found in 7% of catfish intestines, indicating a low but effective consumption. The aNM suggested that catfish (considering the current population size structure) may predate all whitefish life stages; though young-of-the-year (0+, 5–20 cm) may be the most exposed to predation. 0+ had higher depth matching with catfish than other life stages, especially in summer when the catfish exhibit their highest energy demand, leading to an overall higher predation risk. Our results highlighted the effective consumption of C. lavaretus by S. glanis and its time and age-varying vulnerability, suggesting that S. glanis may represent a new growing threat to this salmonid in a global change context.