ObjectiveWithin Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) populations perceive health and well-being differently to non-Indigenous Australians. Existing health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) measurement tools do not account for these differences. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a culturally specific parent-proxy HR-QoL measurement tool for First Nations children.DesignScale development was informed by parents/carers of children with a chronic illness and an expert panel. The preliminary 39-item survey was reviewed (n=12) and tested (n=163) with parents/carers of First Nations children aged 0–12 years at baseline with comparative scales: the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, generic HR-QoL (Paediatric QoL Inventory 4.0, PedsQL4.0) and Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale, and repeated (n=46) 4 weeks later. Exploratory Factor Analysis was used for scale reduction. Reliability and validity were assessed by internal consistency, test–retest, and correlations with comparison scales.ResultsItems within our First Nations-Child Quality of Life (FirstNations-CQoL) were internally consistent with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of ≥0.7 (quality of life, 0.808; patient experience, 0.880; patient support, 0.768) and overall test–retest reliability was good (r=0.75; 95% CI 0.593 to 0.856). Convergent validity was observed with the PedsQL4.0 with Pearson’s coefficients of r=0.681 (ages 2–4 years); r=0.651 (ages 5–12 years) and with the Kessler Psychological Distress scale (r=−0.513). Divergent validity against the Spence Anxiety Scale was not demonstrated.ConclusionsThe FirstNations-CQoL scale was accepted by the participants, reliable and demonstrated convergent validity with comparison measures. This tool requires further evaluation to determine responsiveness, its minimal important difference and clinical utility.
Highlights
UV-A irradiated epoxy coatings led to decreased ecotoxicological effects.
UV-A irradiated epoxy coatings released toxic transformation products.
4-
tert-
Butylphenol was identified as main driver for ecotoxicological effects.
BPA and structural analogs contribute to estrogenic effects of irradiated materials.
Background
Cathodic protection by sacrificial anodes composed of aluminum-zinc-indium alloys is often applied to protect offshore support structures of wind turbines from corrosion. Given the considerable growth of renewable energies and thus offshore wind farms in Germany over the last decade, increasing levels of aluminum, indium and zinc are released to the marine environment. Although these metals are ecotoxicologically well-studied, data regarding their impact on marine organisms, especially sediment-dwelling species, as well as possible ecotoxicological effects of galvanic anodes are scarce. To investigate possible ecotoxicological effects to the marine environment, the diatom Phaedactylum tricornutum, the bacterium Aliivibrio fischeri and the amphipod Corophium volutator were exposed to dissolved galvanic anodes and solutions of aluminum and zinc, respectively, in standardized laboratory tests using natural seawater. In addition to acute toxicological effects, the uptake of these elements by C. volutator was investigated.
Results
The investigated anode material caused no acute toxicity to the tested bacteria and only weak but significant effects on algal growth. In case of the amphipods, the single elements Al and Zn showed significant effects only at the highest tested concentrations. Moreover, an accumulation of Al and In was observed in the crustacea species.
Conclusions
Overall, the findings of this study indicated no direct environmental impact on the tested marine organisms by the use of galvanic anodes for cathodic protection. However, the accumulation of metals in, e.g., crustaceans might enhance their trophic transfer within the marine food web.
Rationale
(Eco‐)toxicological effects are mostly derived empirically and are not correlated with metal uptake. Furthermore, if the metal content is determined, mostly bulk analysis of the whole organism population is conducted; thus, biological variability is completely disregarded, and this may lead to misleading results. To overcome this issue, we compared two different solid sampling techniques for the analysis of single organisms.
Methods
In this study, complementary electrothermal vaporization/inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ETV/ICP‐MS) ⇔ laser ablation/inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA/ICP‐MS)‐based methods for the analysis of individual organisms were developed and the results obtained were compared with the concentrations obtained after digestion and measured using ICP‐MS. For this purpose, a common (eco‐)toxicological test organism, the mud shrimp Corophium volutator, was selected. As proof‐of‐concept application, these organisms were incubated with environmentally relevant metals from galvanic anodes, which are often used for protection against metal corrosion in, for example, offshore wind farms.
Results
The bulk analysis revealed that large quantities of the incubated elements were detectable. Using the ETV/ICP‐MS method, we could identify a high biovariability within the population of organisms tested. Using the LA/ICP‐MS method, it could be determined that the large quantities of the elements detected were due to adsorption of the metals and not due to uptake, which correlates well with the absence of (eco‐)toxicological effects.
Conclusions
The results obtained imply the efficiency of complementary methods to explain the absence or presence of (eco‐)toxicological effects. In particular, methods that allow for single‐organism analysis or provide even a spatial resolution support the interpretation of ecotoxicological findings.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.