Background: Many pregnancy and birth cohort studies investigate the health effects of early-life environmental contaminant exposure. An overview of existing studies and their data is needed to improve collaboration, harmonization, and future project planning.Objectives: Our goal was to create a comprehensive overview of European birth cohorts with environmental exposure data.Methods: Birth cohort studies were included if they a) collected data on at least one environmental exposure, b) started enrollment during pregnancy or at birth, c) included at least one follow-up point after birth, d) included at least 200 mother–child pairs, and e) were based in a European country. A questionnaire collected information on basic protocol details and exposure and health outcome assessments, including specific contaminants, methods and samples, timing, and number of subjects. A full inventory can be searched on www.birthcohortsenrieco.net.Results: Questionnaires were completed by 37 cohort studies of > 350,000 mother–child pairs in 19 European countries. Only three cohorts did not participate. All cohorts collected biological specimens of children or parents. Many cohorts collected information on passive smoking (n = 36), maternal occupation (n = 33), outdoor air pollution (n = 27), and allergens/biological organisms (n = 27). Fewer cohorts (n = 12–19) collected information on water contamination, ionizing or nonionizing radiation exposures, noise, metals, persistent organic pollutants, or other pollutants. All cohorts have information on birth outcomes; nearly all on asthma, allergies, childhood growth and obesity; and 26 collected information on child neurodevelopment.Conclusion: Combining forces in this field will yield more efficient and conclusive studies and ultimately improve causal inference. This impressive resource of existing birth cohort data could form the basis for longer-term and worldwide coordination of research on environment and child health.

Errors in estimation of fat mass using BIA and DXA can be very large, and the direction of error can differ between the sexes.

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School nurses have faced many professional challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Focus group interviews were employed as a data collection method in this qualitative study to describe the perspectives of school nurses during the pandemic. Themes relevant to school nurse experiences and suggestions for change were identified. School nurses have demonstrated their essential role in facilitating health for students, staff, and families. Policymakers and the public must recognize this value. School nurses are encouraged to leverage opportunities for visibility within and beyond their own communities to enhance recognition of their role. School nurses should also lead the development of additional resources such as web-based health content and practice guidelines. Providing school nurses with resources needed to support their practice is essential so that, in turn, students may be cared for.

As the climate changes, plants and their associated microbiomes face greater water limitation and increased frequency of drought. Historical precipitation patterns can leave a legacy effect on soil and root-associated microbiomes, but the impact of this conditioning on future drought performance is poorly understood. Moreover, agricultural practices, like tilling and fertilization, may override precipitation legacies in natural systems. Precipitation gradients provide a means to assess these legacy effects. We collected six soil microbiomes across a Kansas precipitation gradient from both agricultural fields and native prairies. Seedlings of two Zea mays genotypes were inoculated with each soil microbiome in a factorial drought experiment. Droughted plants exhibited decreased shoot mass accumulation rates and greater root mass relative to shoot mass. Restructuring of the bacterial root-associated microbiome was apparent, with depletion observed in Pseudomonadota and enrichment in Actinomycetota, while the fungal microbiome was largely unaffected by drought. A historical precipitation legacy effect on soil microbiomes interacted with plants during drought treatment, but only among prairie soils. Prairie soils from historically wetter locations increased maize shoot biomass under drought more so than agricultural or historically drier prairie soils. We demonstrate links between legacy effects and drought performance, suggesting that future drying climates may condition soils to negatively impact plant performance.