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COVID-19 virus-detecting mask can alert of exposure via your smartphone

<p>Move over <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/covid/rise-of-rapid-antigen-testing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">inaccurate RATs</a>. Get out of my nose and throat PCR swab tests. There’s a new method of COVID-19 detection and it’s wearable.</p> <p>A research team from Tongji University in China, has created a face mask that can detect COVID-19 (as well as other common respiratory viruses such as colds and influenza) and send an alert to your smartphone.</p> <p>The mask is highly sensitive, with the inbuilt sensor able to detect the virus <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/lets-clear-the-air-on-ventilation-cosmos-weekly-taster/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">in the air</a> after only ten minute’s exposure at extremely low concentrations – far less than produced by sneezing, coughing or talking.</p> <p>“Previous research has shown face mask wearing can reduce the risk of spreading and contracting the disease. So, we wanted to create a mask that can detect the presence of virus in the air and alert the wearer,” says Yin Fang, an author of the study and a material scientist at Shanghai Tongji University.</p> <div class="newsletter-box"> <div id="wpcf7-f6-p214217-o1" class="wpcf7" dir="ltr" lang="en-US" role="form"> <form class="wpcf7-form mailchimp-ext-0.5.62 spai-bg-prepared init" action="/science/covid-19-detecting-mask-smartphone/#wpcf7-f6-p214217-o1" method="post" novalidate="novalidate" data-status="init"> <p style="display: none !important;"><span class="wpcf7-form-control-wrap referer-page"><input class="wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-text referer-page" name="referer-page" type="hidden" value="https://cosmosmagazine.com/people/" data-value="https://cosmosmagazine.com/people/" aria-invalid="false" /></span></p> <p><!-- Chimpmail extension by Renzo Johnson --></form> </div> </div> <p>The sensor on the mask has tiny synthetic molecules – called ‘aptamers’ – which are able to be tweaked to detect proteins unique to specific pathogens, such as SARS-Cov-2, H5N1 (colloquially known as ‘bird flu’) and H1N1 (‘swine flu’). Once the aptamer detects the virus, the sensor amplifies the signal via a specialised component known as an <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344400852_Ion-Gated_Transistor_An_Enabler_for_Sensing_and_Computing_Integration" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ion-gate transistor</a> (which is highly sensitive and able to detect very low voltage signals) and sends an alert to the user’s phone.</p> <p>“Our mask would work really well in spaces with poor ventilation, such as elevators or enclosed rooms, where the <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/covid-ventilation-standards/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">risk of getting infected is high</a>,” Fang says. The device is also highly customisable and can be swiftly modified to detect new and emerging threats.</p> <p>This is not the first time <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/smart-masks-to-detect-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">‘smart masks’ have been created</a> to detect COVID-19, but what sets these devices apart is their sensitivity and ‘tunability’ to different viruses.</p> <p>The team is working on reducing the detection time and increasing the sensitivity of their devices. In the future, they hope the technology could be expanded to further applications and wearables for other conditions such as cancers and heart diseases.</p> <p>“Currently, doctors have been relying heavily on their experiences in diagnosing and treating diseases. But with richer data collected by wearable devices, disease diagnosis and treatment can become more precise,” Fang says.</p> <p><!-- Start of tracking content syndication. Please do not remove this section as it allows us to keep track of republished articles --></p> <p><img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=214217&amp;title=COVID-19+virus-detecting+mask+can+alert+of+exposure+via+your+smartphone" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><!-- End of tracking content syndication --></p> <div id="contributors"> <p><em><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/covid-19-detecting-mask-smartphone/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This article</a> was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/clare-kenyon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Clare Kenyon</a>. Clare Kenyon is a science journalist for Cosmos. An ex-high school teacher, she is currently wrangling the death throes of her PhD in astrophysics, has a Masters in astronomy and another in education. Clare also has diplomas in music and criminology and a graduate certificate of leadership and learning.</em></p> <p><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p> </div>

Technology

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Pesticide exposure makes it harder for bees to walk in a straight line

<p>Bees, long despised for stinging humans and pets, but loved by horticulturalists for their life giving goodness, are under attack like never before.</p> <p>In June research identified a dangerous variant of the deformed wing virus is <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220601111805.htm#:~:text=Summary%3A,and%20the%20animals%20to%20die." target="_blank" rel="noopener">on the rise worldwide</a>. The virus infects honeybees, causing their wings to atrophy and the animals to die. </p> <p>Also that month the varroa mite, a major honeybee parasite, was discovered in biosecurity surveillance hives at the Port of Newcastle.</p> <p>Now new research has identified what happens to bees when they are subject to insecticides.</p> <p>Have you ever struggled to walk in a straight line after having one too many? Well, it seems that honeybees are having similar issues but after getting a dose of insecticides.</p> <p>“Here we show that commonly used insecticides like sulfoxaflor (kills aphids and lygus) and the neonicotinoid imidacloprid (pesticide that protects seeds of field crops) can profoundly impair the visually guided behaviour of honeybees,” <a href="https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/bees-struggle-to-fly-in-a-straight-line-if-theyve-been-exposed-to-pesticides" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said lead author of a new study</a>, Dr Rachel H Parkinson from the University of Oxford.</p> <p>“Our results are reason for concern because the ability of bees to respond appropriately to visual information is crucial for their flight and navigation, and thus their survival.”</p> <div class="newsletter-box"> <div id="wpcf7-f6-p202420-o1" class="wpcf7" dir="ltr" lang="en-US" role="form"> <form class="wpcf7-form mailchimp-ext-0.5.62 spai-bg-prepared init" action="/earth/pesticide-exposure-bees-walk-straight-line/#wpcf7-f6-p202420-o1" method="post" novalidate="novalidate" data-status="init"> <p style="display: none !important;"><span class="wpcf7-form-control-wrap referer-page"><input class="wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-text referer-page" name="referer-page" type="hidden" value="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/" data-value="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/" aria-invalid="false" /></span></p> <p><!-- Chimpmail extension by Renzo Johnson --></form> </div> </div> <p>Insects have an innate ‘optomotor response’, which lets them orient themselves back onto a straight trajectory if they steer off-course while walking or flying.</p> <p>The research, published in <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/finsc.2022.936826/full" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Frontiers in Insect Science</em></a><em>,</em> challenged this optomotor response of walking honeybees by putting them in front of video screens of vertical lines which tricked them into thinking they’d moved off course.</p> <p>The vertical bars would move from left to right, or right to left which ‘tricks’ the bee into thinking it’s been blown off-course and needs to perform a corrective turn.</p> <p>The team of researchers looked at four groups of between 20-30 bees. The control had access to normal sugar water to drink, while the other three had different forms of insecticides added. One group had 50 parts per billion of imidacloprid, another had 50 parts per billion sulfoxaflor, and the last had 25 parts per billion of imidacloprid and 25 parts per billion of sulfoxaflor together.</p> <p>Unfortunately, the bees which had been exposed to the insecticide performed worse as they turned to get back on track. Bees exposed to pesticides seemed to have shallower turns and sometimes only turned one way. The asymmetry between left and right turns for example was 2.4 times greater for those bees exposed to pesticides.</p> <p>After this experiment, the researchers then had a look at the bee brains to look at the damage. Using molecular techniques, the team found that pesticide-exposed bees tended to have an elevated proportion of dead cells in parts of the brain’s optic lobes, which is important for processing visual input.</p> <p>Key genes for detoxification were also dysregulated after exposure. However these brain changes were relatively weak and highly variable across bees, and unlikely to be the sole explanation for the strong visual issues in the original experiment.</p> <p>“Neonicotinoid and sulfoximine insecticides activate neurons in the insect brain and are not always recycled fast enough to prevent toxicity,” said Parkinson.</p> <p>This research comes on the heels of a slew of other research in recent years suggesting that pesticides <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/pesticides-impair-baby-bee-brain-development/">impair baby bee brain development,</a> or it can make <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/neonicotinoids-make-bees-antisocial-and-lazy/">them antisocial and lazy</a>, and many scientists <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/sustainability/scientists-call-for-urgent-action-on-bee-killing-insecticides/">are asking for them to be banned</a>.</p> <p><!-- Start of tracking content syndication. Please do not remove this section as it allows us to keep track of republished articles --></p> <p><img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=202420&amp;title=Pesticide+exposure+makes+it+harder+for+bees+to+walk+in+a+straight+line" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><!-- End of tracking content syndication --></p> <div id="contributors"> <p><em><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/pesticide-exposure-bees-walk-straight-line/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This article</a> was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/jacinta-bowler" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jacinta Bowler</a>. Jacinta Bowler is a science journalist at Cosmos. They have a undergraduate degree in genetics and journalism from the University of Queensland and have been published in the Best Australian Science Writing 2022.</em></p> <p><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p> </div>

Family & Pets

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House dust from 35 countries reveals our global toxic contaminant exposure and health risk

<p>Everyone’s home gets dusty, but is yours the same as house dust in China or the US? Researchers around the world have united to capture the <a rel="noopener" href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c04494" target="_blank">world’s first trans-continental data on household dust.</a></p> <p>People from 35 countries vacuumed their homes and sent their dust to universities in different countries, where it was tested for potentially toxic trace metals. Researchers gathered data on the human and household factors that might affect how much humans are exposed to these contaminants.</p> <p>This is the first effort to collect global data of this type in a single <a rel="noopener" href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c04494" target="_blank">study</a>. It shed new light on the sources and risks associated with trace metal exposure, which can lead to concerning neurocognitive effects in people of all ages.</p> <p>The <a rel="noopener" href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c04494" target="_blank">study</a> shows it doesn’t matter whether you live in a high or low income country, are rich or poor – we’re all exposed to contaminants via dust.</p> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433642/original/file-20211124-19-29ut51.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433642/original/file-20211124-19-29ut51.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="A man sneezes in a dusty room" /></a> <em><span class="caption">It doesn’t matter whether you live in a high or low income country, we are all exposed to contaminants in dust.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></em></p> <p><strong>Differences between countries</strong></p> <p>Local environmental factors and contamination histories can make a difference.</p> <p>In <a rel="noopener" href="https://www-sciencedirect-com.simsrad.net.ocs.mq.edu.au/science/article/pii/S0269749121011751" target="_blank">New Caledonia</a>, elevated chromium, nickel and manganese were evident, due to local rock, soil and nickel smelters. These may be linked to increased <a rel="noopener" href="https://www-jstor-org.simsrad.net.ocs.mq.edu.au/stable/45011245" target="_blank">lung</a> and <a rel="noopener" href="https://www-sciencedirect-com.simsrad.net.ocs.mq.edu.au/science/article/pii/S1877782117301455" target="_blank">thyroid</a> cancers in New Caledonia.</p> <p>In New Zealand, arsenic concentrations are <a rel="noopener" href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gexplo.2016.05.009" target="_blank">naturally high</a>. One in three New Zealand homes exceeded the acceptable health risk for children under two, set by the US Environmental Protection Agency.</p> <p>Australia has concerning levels of arsenic and lead contamination in house dust. One in six Australian homes exceeded the US Environmental Protection Agency acceptable health risk. Arsenic exposure can increase <a rel="noopener" href="https://www-sciencedirect-com.simsrad.net.ocs.mq.edu.au/science/article/pii/S1382668915300946" target="_blank">cancer risk</a> and cause problems to respiratory health and immune function. <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/the-verdicts-in-we-must-better-protect-kids-from-toxic-lead-exposure-41969" target="_blank">Lead</a> can affect children’s brain and nervous system development, causing behavioural and developmental problems.</p> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439426/original/file-20220104-23-nhnz25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439426/original/file-20220104-23-nhnz25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="A man dusts on top of a shelf." /></a> <em><span class="caption">Frequent vacuuming, mopping and dusting with a damp cloth can reduce your risk.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></em></p> <p>It’s clear <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749121020443" target="_blank">lead mining</a> and <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/children-continue-to-be-exposed-to-contaminated-air-in-port-pirie-113484" target="_blank">smelting</a> activities cause high lead levels in dust for local communities. But the study shows inner city areas are equally affected, commonly from legacy sources like <a rel="noopener" href="https://www-sciencedirect-com.simsrad.net.ocs.mq.edu.au/science/article/pii/S016041201000156X" target="_blank">emissions</a> from the <a rel="noopener" href="https://www-sciencedirect-com.simsrad.net.ocs.mq.edu.au/science/article/pii/S0883292717301300" target="_blank">leaded petrol era</a>, or peeling lead paint in homes.</p> <p>Data from Accra, in Ghana showed homes contained elevated lead concentrations, likely due to nearby electronic recycling operations. Old wiring and circuitry are <a rel="noopener" href="https://greatforest.com/sustainability101/best-recycling-videos-story-electronics/" target="_blank">burned to extract metals</a>, causing trace metals such as lead, nickel and copper to fall out as dust across the city.</p> <p>So where do contaminants in house dust come from?</p> <p>One source reflects lead from past leaded petrol emissions and paints. Another reflects the degradation of building materials, rich in copper and zinc. This was more prevalent in older homes, which have seen more wear and tear and have been exposed to traffic emissions longer.</p> <p>The third common source is soil, which gets blown in from outside and <a rel="noopener" href="https://www-sciencedirect-com.simsrad.net.ocs.mq.edu.au/science/article/pii/S0160412019320021" target="_blank">walked into homes</a> by people and pets.</p> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433643/original/file-20211124-17-1tfgi8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433643/original/file-20211124-17-1tfgi8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="A woman cleans a vent." /></a> <em><span class="caption">Simple home cleaning practices, like frequently vacuuming, mopping and dusting with a damp cloth can reduce your exposure to contaminants in dust.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></em></p> <p><strong>What factors affect how risky your dust is?</strong></p> <p>We also gathered global data on building materials, pets, hobbies, habits and home characteristics.</p> <p>What made the most difference to metals in dust were house age, peeling paint, having a garden and smoking.</p> <p>Interestingly, homes with garden access had higher dust concentrations of lead and arsenic.</p> <p>Older homes had higher levels of all metals except chromium, and are likely to have residues from peeling paints, traffic and industrial pollutants, pest treatments and other chemicals.</p> <p>Other factors, such as home type, building material, heating fuel didn’t appear to influence trace metal concentrations in homes.</p> <p>Critically, what’s outside ends up <a rel="noopener" href="https://www-sciencedirect-com.simsrad.net.ocs.mq.edu.au/science/article/pii/S0013935120302504" target="_blank">in our homes</a>, where it can be inhaled and <a rel="noopener" href="https://pubs-acs-org.simsrad.net.ocs.mq.edu.au/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.1c01097" target="_blank">ingested</a>.</p> <p>While global averages were within accepted thresholds, many individual homes exceeded these, particularly homes in Australia for lead-related risks, New Caledonia and the US for chromium-related risks, and New Zealand for arsenic-related risks.</p> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433664/original/file-20211124-21-1czyn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433664/original/file-20211124-21-1czyn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="A person wipes dust from a shoe area." /></a> <em><span class="caption">Reduce the amount of dust entering your home by taking your shoes off at the door.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></em></p> <p><strong>How to reduce your exposure to contaminants in dust</strong></p> <p>Frequent vacuuming, mopping and dusting with a damp cloth can reduce your risk. Vacuuming reduces contaminants like <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/were-all-ingesting-microplastics-at-home-and-these-might-be-toxic-for-our-health-here-are-some-tips-to-reduce-your-risk-159537" target="_blank">microplastics</a> in house dust.</p> <p>If you live in an older home, keep the paint in good condition so it’s not flaking off.</p> <p>When painting or renovating, follow safety <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/your-environment/household-building-and-renovation/lead-safety" target="_blank">guidance</a> from your state’s environmental protection authority – or call a <a href="https://painters.edu.au/Training-Resources/CPCCPD3031-Work-safely-with-lead-painted-surfaces-in-the-painting-industry.htm">professional</a>.</p> <p>Hobbies involving lead, like fishing, shooting and metal work, can affect your trace metal exposure. Choosing not to smoke inside will reduce exposures to chromium and manganese.</p> <p>Cover exposed soil in your garden with mulch or grass, use a dual system of outdoor and indoor mats, take shoes off at the door and towel down muddy pets before letting them inside.</p> <p>Considering we spend most of our lives <a rel="noopener" href="https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jea.7500165" target="_blank">indoors</a>, there is growing <a rel="noopener" href="https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.simsrad.net.ocs.mq.edu.au/doi/epdf/10.1111/ina.12722" target="_blank">international interest</a> in setting public health guidelines for chemicals in indoor settled dust.</p> <p>In <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/your-environment/household-building-and-renovation/lead-safety" target="_blank">Australia</a> and the <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.epa.gov/lead/hazard-standards-and-clearance-levels-lead-paint-dust-and-soil-tsca-sections-402-and-403" target="_blank">US</a>, we have guidance for lead dust, but not other contaminants.</p> <p>The best way to know what’s in your house dust is to have it tested by <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.360dustanalysis.com/" target="_blank">DustSafe</a> researchers. <!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172499/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439427/original/file-20220105-25-mvokjp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439427/original/file-20220105-25-mvokjp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="A man vacuums his house." /></a> <span class="caption"><em>Vacuuming reduces contaminants like microplastics in house dust.</em></span><em> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></em></p> <p><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/cynthia-faye-isley-602937" target="_blank">Cynthia Faye Isley</a>, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Environmental Science, <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/macquarie-university-1174" target="_blank">Macquarie University</a>; <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kara-fry-1274525" target="_blank">Kara Fry</a>, Academic Casual, <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/macquarie-university-1174" target="_blank">Macquarie University</a>, and <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/mark-patrick-taylor-11394" target="_blank">Mark Patrick Taylor</a>, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/macquarie-university-1174" target="_blank">Macquarie University</a></em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/house-dust-from-35-countries-reveals-our-global-toxic-contaminant-exposure-and-health-risk-172499" target="_blank">original article</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

Home Hints & Tips

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World’s youngest Prime Minister goes out clubbing after Covid exposure

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The world’s youngest Prime Minister, Finland’s Sanna Marin, has apologised to the public after a photo surfaced of her in a nightclub following the foreign minister testing positive for COVID-19.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I did wrong. I should have considered the situation more carefully,” Marin, 36, said in a television interview by public broadcaster Yle on Wednesday night.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Marin decided not to cut her night out short on Saturday, despite being told she had been exposed to the coronavirus the day before, she explained on Facebook on Monday, after a Finnish gossip magazine published a photo of her in a crowded nightclub.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But Marin wasn’t the only politician in the line of fire.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Economic Affairs Minister Mika Lintila also attended a floorball match between Finland and Latvia on Sunday, despite being advised to avoid contact with others, Helsingin Sanomat newspaper reported on Wednesday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Defence Minister Antti Kaikkonen went to a dinner party on Saturday while Finance Minister Annika Saarikko and Science and Culture Minister Antti Kurvinen cancelled their attendance of the same event to avoid contacts, evening paper Ilta-Sanomat reported on Tuesday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">All three ministers were exposed on Friday at a meeting attended by Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, who on Saturday tested positive.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Marin said she was at a restaurant when she received a phone call from her state secretary informing her about the exposure.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“He said ministers would not be quarantined because they all have been vaccinated twice,” Marin wrote on Facebook, explaining why she continued socialising.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The prime minister’s office later said it had sent the exposed ministers two text messages on Saturday recommending that they avoid contact with other people.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Marin said she had left her official phone at home and instead relied on aides reaching her on her personal phone.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Marin has since taken two tests that were negative, while Lintila and Kaikkonen have also tested negative.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Finland has seen a surge of new COVID-19 cases in the past months, spurring health officials to worry about the healthcare system being overburdened.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Several big hospitals around the country have postponed non-critical surgeries and the government on Wednesday proposed a vaccine mandate for healthcare workers.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: EPA</span></p>

Travel Trouble

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Karl fires up on Deputy Premier: "There's no playbook"

<p>John Barilaro, the NSW Deputy Premier, has admitted authorities are not sure “what’s working and what’s not working”, during a heated interview on <em>Today</em>.</p> <p>“One of the things we keep saying is, it’s difficult to quantify what’s working and what’s not working,” he said on Thursday morning.</p> <p>“And the reality is, even though we continue to see a rise in numbers, those numbers aren’t accelerating into hundreds and hundreds.</p> <p>“In one way the restrictions are working but, of course, more needs to be done and that’s why yesterday there were a number of changes in relation to being able to move out of your local government area.”</p> <p>The show’s host Karl Stefanovic appeared enraged by the Deputy Premier’s admission.</p> <p>“Sorry to put this to you, but I think you just said you don't know what’s working and what isn’t. Is that what you said?” Stefanovic asked.</p> <p>Barilaro responded: “Yeah, look, there’s no playbook, Karl. There is no rule book.”</p> <p>He went on to claim that reducing mobility is the key to success.</p> <p>“The reality is, to be able to say that I know how to get this under control or the government knows how to get this completely under control... is still testing the government and its resources.”</p> <p>Stefanovic then asked the politician: “If you don't know what’s working, how can they (people of NSW) have any level of confidence as to when they will come out of lockdown?”</p> <p>“Well, Karl, over the past 18 months we have managed a number of outbreaks. The Delta strain is really challenging us because it’s transmissible and contagious,” Mr Barilaro fired back.</p> <p>“We are putting in place all the learned experience of the last 18 months (and) the advice from health and we will continue to throw more at this.</p> <p>“I can assure the public that they should have confidence because (of) what we have done in the past. But we are not going to pretend that we have every answer because we don’t.”</p> <p>NSW announced 177 new cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday, marking July 28th the worst day since the latest outbreak began on June 16.</p> <p>The state government’s inability to reduce numbers in positive cases has forced them to extend the lockdown for another four weeks at least.</p>

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Urgent alert as Sydney exposure sites explode

<p><span>A late-night alert has been issued by NSW Health, which has added 48 new exposure sites across Sydney.</span><br /><br /><span>Authorities are urging anyone who may have attended the following venues during the times stated, is now considered a close contact and must isolate, get tested and stay inside for 14 days.</span><br /><br /><span>Sydney is currently undergoing its fifth week of lockdown, but local transmission of the Delta-variant remains high.</span></p> <p>FULL LIST OF EXPOSURE SITES:</p> <p><br /><span>GoVita, 1052 Old Princes Highway, Wednesday 21 July, 9:45am-9:55am</span><br /><br /><strong>GWYNNEVILLE</strong><br /><br /><span>Gwynneville Bakery, 3.168 Gipps Road, Saturday July 24, 9am-9:30am</span><br /><br /><strong>BELFIELD</strong><br /><br /><span>Mancini’s Original Woodfired Pizza, 21 Burwood Road, July 24, all day</span><br /><br /><strong>CAMPSIE</strong><br /><br /><span>Campsie Centre, Friday, July 23 all day; Saturday, July 24 all day</span><br /><br /><strong>SAN REMO</strong><br /><br /><span>Priceline, Friday, July 23 from 2.20 pm to 2.40pm</span><br /><br /><strong>ROSEBERY</strong><br /><br /><span>IGA, Friday, July 23 from 4 pm to 4.55pm</span><br /><br /><strong>ENGADINE</strong><br /><br /><span>GoVita, Wednesday, July 21 from 9.45 am to 9.55am</span><br /><br /><strong>BEVERLY HILLS</strong><br /><br /><span>Pizza Hut, Wednesday, July 21 from 1.45 pm to 2.15pm</span><br /><br /><strong>ROSELANDS</strong><br /><br /><span>Caltex Woolworths, Monday July 26 from 3.10 pm to 3.20pm</span><br /><br /><em>These bus routes are also considered exposure sites and anyone who travelled them must get tested and self-isolate.</em><br /><br /><strong>ROUTE 25</strong><br /><br /><span>From Tuggerah Station to Bateau Bay Square, Friday July 23 from 1.58 pm to 2.35pm</span><br /><br /><strong>ROUTE 21</strong><br /><br /><span>From Lions Park, Central Coast Highway, Long Jetty to Gosford Train Station, Stand N, Friday July 23 from 3.41 pm to 4.30pm</span><br /><br /><em>Anyone who attended these venues during these times are considered a casual contact. Those who were there must get tested and self-isolate until they receive a negative result.</em><br /><br /><strong>WENTWORTHVILLE</strong><br /><br /><span>Officeworks, Sunday, July 18 from 10.40 am to 11am</span><br /><br /><strong>BANKSTOWN</strong><br /><br /><span>Fields of Fruit, Sunday, July 18 from 11.10 am to 11.25am</span><br /><br /><strong>TOONGABBIE</strong><br /><br /><span>Toongabbie Fish Market, Sunday, July 18 from 11.10 am to 11.25am</span><br /><br /><strong>POTTS POINT</strong><br /><br /><span>Jeremy and Sons, Monday, July 19 from 7.30 am to 7.45am</span><br /><br /><strong>LEICHHARDT</strong><br /><br /><span>Leichhardt Marketplace, Monday, July 19 from 9.55 am to 10.10am</span><br /><br /><span>Blooms the Chemist, Saturday, July 24 from 10.30 am to 10.45am</span><br /><br /><strong>MARSDEN PARK</strong><br /><br /><span>Puma Energy Australia, Monday, July 19 from 11 am to 11.05am</span><br /><br /><strong>ULTIMO</strong><br /><br /><span>Aldi, Monday, July 19 from 12 pm to 12.10pm</span><br /><br /><strong>HORNSBY</strong><br /><br /><span>Dan Murphy’s, Saturday, July 24 from 5.20 pm to 5.40 pm</span><br /><br /><strong>PENDLE HILL</strong><br /><br /><span>Pendle Inn Hotel, Monday, July 19 from 12 pm to 12.10pm</span><br /><br /><strong>BASS HILL</strong><br /><br /><span>Kahil Meats, Monday July 19 from 3.30 pm to 3.55pm</span><br /><br /><strong>CANLEY HEIGHTS</strong><br /><br /><span>Carter &amp; G’s Coffee Shop, Tuesday, July 20 from 7.40 am to 7.50am; Wednesday, July 21 from 7.40 am to 7.50am</span><br /><br /><strong>BELLAMBI</strong><br /><br /><span>Bunnings, Tuesday, July 20 from 11 am to 11.15am</span><br /><br /><strong>LAKEMBA</strong><br /><br /><span>Chemist Warehouse, Tuesday, July 20 from 2.30 pm to 3pm</span><br /><br /><span>Woolworths, Tuesday, July 27 from 2.30 pm to 2.45pm</span><br /><br /><strong>MERRYLANDS</strong><br /><br /><span>Hamze Bros Fruit and Veg, Wednesday, July 21 from 9 am to 9.05am</span><br /><br /><span>Services Australia, Tuesday, July 20 from 10.50 am to 11.05am</span><br /><br /><strong>BASS HILL</strong><br /><br /><span>Woolworths, Wednesday, July 21 from 9.05 am to 9.15am</span><br /><br /><strong>CHULLORA</strong><br /><br /><span>Aldi, Wednesday, July 21 from 9.20 am to 10am</span><br /><br /><strong>CABRAMATTA</strong><br /><br /><span>Woolworths, Wednesday, July 21 from 12.25 pm to 12.45pm; Saturday, July 24 from 1.30 pm to 1.35pm</span><br /><br /><span>Accounting Dynamics, Tuesday, July 27 from 4.20 pm to 7.30pm</span><br /><br /><strong>LONG JETTY</strong><br /><br /><span>7-Eleven, Friday, July 23 from 3.15 pm to 3.35pm</span><br /><br /><strong>BANKSTOWN</strong><br /><br /><span>Supa IGA, Wednesday, July 21 from 12 pm to 1.30pm</span><br /><br /><span>Bankstown Lebanese Fruit and Mixed Business, Thursday, July 22 from 10 am to 10.15am</span><br /><br /><strong>BLACKTOWN</strong><br /><br /><span>Kebab Express, Friday, July 23 from 8.40 pm to 8.50pm</span><br /><br /><span>Chester Jakes Supersave Chemist, Saturday, July 24 from 10.35 am to 10.50am</span><br /><br /><strong>NARELLAN</strong><br /><br /><span>Coles, Thursday, July 22 from 5 am to 10.10am; Saturday, July 24 from 5 am to 1.20pm; Sunday July 25 from 5 am to 10am</span><br /><br /><strong>BELMORE</strong><br /><br /><span>Belmore Hardware, Thursday, July 22 from 9.30 am to 11am</span><br /><br /><strong>LIVERPOOL</strong><br /><br /><span>Chemist Warehouse, Thursday, July 22 from 11 am to 11.15am</span><br /><br /><span>Westpac, Thursday, July 22 from 11.20 am to 2.55pm</span><br /><br /><span>Woolworths, Thursday, July 22 from 7 pm to 8.15pm</span><br /><br /><strong>CAMPBELLTOWN</strong><br /><br /><span>Priceline, Thursday, July 22 from 11.50 am to 12.05pm</span><br /><br /><strong>CAMPSIE</strong><br /><br /><span>Woolworths, Thursday July 15 from 6.20 pm to 6.40pm; Friday July 23 from 1 pm to 1.20pm; Tuesday July 27 from 2 pm to 2.20pm</span><br /><br /><span>Campsie Growers Market, Wednesday, July 21 from 8.30 am to 6pm; Thursday, July 22 from 8 am to 3pm</span><br /><br /><span>Jin Mart, Wednesday, July 21 from 4.10 pm to 4.20pm</span><br /><br /><span>Chemist Warehouse, Thursday, July 22 from 6 pm to 6.15pm</span><br /><br /><span>Jono’s Cafe, Saturday, July 24 from 10 am to 10.15am</span><br /><br /><strong>CABRAMATTA</strong><br /><br /><span>Heng’s Garage, Friday, July 23 from 10.20 am to 1pm</span><br /><br /><strong>FAIRFIELD</strong><br /><br /><span>McDonald’s, Thursday, July 15 from 9 pm to 9.30pm</span><br /><br /><span>Woolworths, Wednesday, July 21 from 12.30 pm to 1.30pm; Thursday, July 22 from 1.35 pm to 2.40pm; Friday, July 23 from 7.30 pm to 8pm</span><br /><br /><strong>FAIRFIELD HEIGHTS</strong><br /><br /><span>Fairfield District Medical Centre, Thursday, July 22 from 12 pm to 12.30pm</span><br /><br /><span>7-Eleven, Monday, July 19 from 7 pm to 7.10pm</span><br /><br /><span>Fairfield Heights Tobacconist, Wednesday, July 21 from 1 pm to 2pm</span><br /><br /><strong>ROSEMEADOW</strong><br /><br /><span>Woolworths, Thursday, July 22 from 12.20 pm to 12.45pm; Friday, July 23 from 1.25 pm to 2.10pm</span><br /><br /><strong>AUBURN</strong><br /><span>Woolworths, Saturday, July 17 from 10.40 am to 11.05am; Thursday, July 22 from 1.50 pm to 2pm; Saturday, July 24 from 11.10 am to 11.30am</span><br /><br /><strong>KINGSWOOD</strong><br /><br /><span>Freechoice, Monday, July 19 from 7 pm to 7.10pm</span><br /><br /><strong>KINGS PARK</strong><br /><br /><span>Subway, Friday, July 23 from 9 pm to 9.05pm</span><br /><br /><strong>THE PONDS</strong><br /><br /><span>Flash News, Thursday, July 22 from 3.35 pm to 3.50pm; Saturday, July 24 from 4.05 pm to 4.15pm</span><br /><br /><span>Costi’s Seafood and Grill, Saturday, July 24 from 4.05 pm to 4.10pm</span><br /><br /><span>Priceline, Saturday, July 24 from 4.10 pm to 4.20pm</span><br /><br /><strong>CASULA</strong><br /><br /><span>BP, Thursday, July 22 from 4 pm to 8pm; Sunday, July 25 from 7.35 am to 4.30pm</span><br /><br /><strong>PROSPECT</strong><br /><br /><span>Uncle Sid’s Oven, Friday, July 23 from 11.30 am to 12pm</span><br /><br /><strong>OLD TOONGABBIE</strong><br /><br /><span>Memphis 9 Cafe, Friday, July 23 from 8.10 am to 8.20am</span><br /><br /><strong>KOGARAH</strong><br /><br /><span>Fardoulis Sweet and Nuts, Friday, July 23 from 12 pm to 5.45pm</span><br /><br /><strong>LIDCOMBE</strong><br /><br /><span>Woolworths, Friday, July 23 from 2.30 pm to 4pm</span><br /><br /><span>Cafe Rodem, Saturday, July 24 from 11.50 am to 11.55am</span><br /><br /><strong>MOUNT ANNAN</strong><br /><br /><span>Aldi, Saturday, July 24 from 9.25 am to 10am</span><br /><br /><span>Woolworths, Sunday, July 25 from 9.50 am to 10.15am</span><br /><br /><strong>WENTWORTH POINT</strong><br /><br /><span>Coles Wentworth Point, Saturday July 24 from 9.35 am to 10.05am</span><br /><br /><strong>REVESBY</strong><br /><br /><span>Woolworths, Saturday, July 24 from 2.45 pm to 5.15pm</span><br /><br /><strong>SMITHFIELD</strong><br /><br /><span>Bunnings, Saturday, July 24 from 3.30 pm to 4pm</span><br /><br /><strong>BURWOOD</strong><br /><br /><span>Woolworths, Saturday, July 24 from 3.15 pm to 4 pm and 9.15 pm to 9.35pm</span><br /><br /><span>Hungry Jacks, Saturday, July 24 from 5.20 pm to 5.40pm</span><br /><br /><span>Coles, Saturday, July 24 from 9.30 pm to 9.50pm</span><br /><br /><strong>INGLEBURN</strong><br /><br /><span>Speedway, Saturday, July 24 from 1 pm to 2pm</span><br /><br /><span>Woolworths, Saturday, July 24 from 2.50 pm to 3.05pm</span><br /><br /><strong>ST MARYS</strong><br /><br /><span>Liquor Stax, Saturday, July 24 from 9.30 pm to 9.45pm</span><br /><br /><strong>PETERSHAM</strong><br /><br /><span>Frangos Charcoal Chicken, Sunday, July 25 from 3.10 pm to 3.25pm</span><br /><br /><strong>SPRING FARM</strong><br /><br /><span>Choice Pharmacy, Monday, July 26 from 12 pm to 1pm</span><br /><br /><span>Woolworths, Monday, July 26 from 12 pm to 1pm</span><br /><br /><strong>ZETLAND</strong><br /><br /><span>Coles, Sunday, July 25 from 4 pm to 4.30pm</span><br /><br /><strong>HARRIS PARK</strong><br /><br /><span>Australia Post, Thursday, July 22 from 2.30 pm to 2.40pm</span><br /><br /><strong>GREENACRE</strong><br /><br /><span>Bunnings, Tuesday, July 27 from 3 pm to 3.20pm</span><br /><br /><strong>RIVERWOOD</strong><br /><br /><span>Riverwood Hot Bread, Friday, July 23 from 12.55 to 1pm</span><br /><br /><strong>LIVERPOOL</strong><br /><br /><span>Barbara Long Park, Wednesday, July 21 from 4.30 pm to 6pm</span><br /><br /><span>Hillier Oval, Wednesday, July 21 from 4.30 pm to 6pm</span></p>

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NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard isolating after COVID exposure

<p>NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has confirmed that he is in isolation after coming into contact with a person who has tested positive for coronavirus.</p> <p>“When I woke up this morning about 5.30 there was a text message from NSW Health advising me that there is a possible positive case who works at Parliament House in Sydney and that I should therefore self-isolate until further notice,” he told Sunrise on Thursday.</p> <p>“They’re obviously doing some investigations, so I could be a close contact, I’m hoping I’m not, but we’ll see how the day transpires,” he added.</p> <p>On Thursday morning, Minister for Agriculture and Western New South Wales, Adam Marshall confirmed to radio station 2GB that he is COVID positive but asymptomatic, and has "no doubt" it was from his visit to Christos pizza.</p> <p>Marshall is one of four Nationals MPs who are currently in isolation after dining at the restaurant in inner Sydney.</p> <p>The restaurant is a venue of concern according to NSW Health.</p> <p>Only 16 MPs will be allowed in NSW Parliament on Thursday. The rest have been told not to come.</p> <p>Hazzard has revealed the Premier was not affected.</p> <p>“I would think that the Premier wouldn’t be a close contact, she’d be more likely to either not be a contact at all or be a casual contact,” he said.</p> <p>“I can’t comment specifically on her because the message that I have received is about me, but if she had received such a message I think I’d have known about it by now.”</p> <p>“So we’ve still got a Premier, we may not have a Health Minister who is at full capacity right now, but we still have a Premier,” he declared.</p> <p>The news comes as Sydney deals with a growing outbreak.</p>

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Public health alert for NSW tourist hotspot

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">NSW Health has boosted COVID-19  testing in the area around Jervis Bay after a visitor from Melbourne visited several locations while potentially infectious.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The department said in a statement it had been advised by Victoria’s Department of Health that the Melbournian visited Jervis Bay, Goulbourn, Hyams Beach, and Vincentia on Sunday, May 23 and Monday, May 24.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The person drove back to Melbourne on Monday, before reporting the onset of symptoms on May 25 and being tested for COVID-19 a week later on Monday, May 31.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With Victoria in a “circuit breaker” lockdown as cases and exposure sites continue to grow, NSW Health is urging anyone who visited the venues of concern at the times listed to contact NSW Health, get tested for COVID-19, and isolate until they receive further instructions.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The venues include:</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cooked Goose Cafe, 76 Cyrus Street, Hyams Beach from 10am-12pm, Sunday May 23</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Coles Vincentia Shopping Village, 21 The Wool Road, Vincentia from 12pm-1pm, Sunday, May 23</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Green Patch campground, Booderee National Park, Village Bay Road, Jervis Bay all day Sunday, May 23 until 9am on Monday, May 24</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shell Coles Express Big Merino, 1/3 Sowerby Street, Goulbourn from 10am-11.30am, Monday, May 23</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Trapper’s Bakery, 4 Sowerby Street, Goulbourn from 10.30am-11.30am, Monday, May 24 </span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As investigations continue, NSW Health said it may add new venues of concern.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Testing will increase in the area, including a drive-through pop-up COVID-19 testing clinic in Huskisson.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Anyone who lives in Jervis Bay, or has visited Jervis Bay since 22 May, is asked to be especially vigilant for the onset of even the mildest of cold-like symptoms, and is urged to come forward for testing immediately if they appear, then isolate until a negative is received,” NSW Health said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Additionally, anyone who has recently had symptoms should also get tested.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Chief Health Officer Professor Paul Kelly said the case was most likely linked to the current outbreak in Victoria.</span></p>

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Nail salon workers suffer chemical exposures that can be like working at a garage or a refinery

<p>Anyone who has walked past a nail salon is familiar with the noxious odors that emanate from acrylic nails, polishes and removers. Customers getting manicures and pedicures endure the smell temporarily, but manicurists who inhale these evaporating chemicals for hours expose themselves to health risks.</p> <p>The smells come from volatile organic compounds, or VOCs – compounds that <a href="https://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/chemicals-and-contaminants/volatile-organic-compounds-vocs">easily become vapors or gases</a>. These substances have been <a href="https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/volatile-organic-compounds-impact-indoor-air-quality#Health_Effects">linked to health problems</a> ranging from headaches and respiratory irritation to reproductive complications and cancer. In a normal room-temperature environment, VOCs evaporate and humans breathe them in.</p> <p>Our research team, along with colleagues at Colorado State University, recently investigated <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2019.03.086">chemical exposures in six Colorado nail salons</a> and found that employees spent their days exposed to high levels of VOCs. Participating technicians, who had worked in salons for up to 19 years, reported suffering headaches and skin and eye irritation.</p> <p>We measured levels of benzene and formaldehyde in the salons, and determined that exposure to these known human carcinogens was increasing the workers’ lifetime cancer risks above one in one million – the level that <a href="https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/iwachap10.pdf">many U.S. agencies consider acceptable</a> in regulating exposure to harmful substances.</p> <p>Nail salon workers in New York City rally for safer working conditions.</p> <p><strong>Identifying health hazards</strong></p> <p>A 2015 <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/10/nyregion/at-nail-salons-in-nyc-manicurists-are-underpaid-and-unprotected.html">New York Times exposé</a> highlighted underpayment and poor working conditions in New York nail salons. However, it failed to address chemical exposures that salon workers experience daily.</p> <p>Several research groups have sought to <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2010.300099">characterize</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09603123.2012.755152">quantify</a> VOC exposures <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-018-1353-0">in the nail salon environment</a>, using standard measurement techniques and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-007-9084-4">self-reported health surveys</a>. Their research shows that nail salon workers are exposed to higher levels of VOCs than they would typically be expected to encounter in most homes, occupations or urban environments. As a result, these workers frequently experience work-related health symptoms.</p> <p>Our study measured 10 VOCs, including the carcinogens <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2019.03.086">benzene and formaldehyde</a>. We found that VOC levels in the six salons where we monitored regularly exceeded common threshold levels for <a href="https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/iris_drafts/atoz.cfm?list_type=alpha">odor and inhalation risk</a>. In some cases this posed a significant risk of cancer over a 20-year exposure period.</p> <p>Twenty workers answered questionnaires about their personal health. Among them, 70% reported some form of short-term health symptom related to their employment, while 40% reported multiple related symptoms.</p> <p>We worked closely with salon owners to enlist volunteer nail technicians to participate. Having owners’ support was instrumental, since it allowed salon workers to accurately report on their health and working conditions without fear of reprisal.            </p> <p>Workers have participated in making groundbreaking policy change such as passing the SF <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HealthyNailSalon?src=hash">#HealthyNailSalon</a> Program Ordinance <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EFCSRchat?src=hash">#EFCSRchat</a></p> <p><strong>Like working at an oil refinery</strong></p> <p>Many people view cosmetology as a relatively safe profession, but it isn’t. We found that exposures to aromatic hydrocarbons like benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes – collectively referred to as BTEX – resembled those previously reported in studies of <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Ambient-Air-Quality-Monitoring-in-Terms-of-Volatile-Singh-Ramteke/7089e7068ccb85bca9d05f36598e2b5fb92ae910">oil refinery workers</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10807031003670071">auto garage technicians</a>.</p> <p>Our results aren’t unique. A 2018 Iranian study found similar concentrations of benzene, ethylbenzene, and xylene in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12995-018-0213-x">Tehran beauty salons</a>. Another study conducted that year in Michigan found concentrations of toluene at <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-018-1353-0">over 100 parts per billion</a>, which is roughly 30 times higher than <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-09/documents/toluene.pdf">reported urban outdoor levels</a>.</p> <p>Regulation of this kind of workplace exposure has not kept pace with science. Many U.S. occupational safety and health exposure limits have not been updated <a href="https://ohsonline.com/Articles/2014/12/01/Can-OSHA-Update-the-PELs.aspx">for nearly 50 years</a>. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, readily acknowledges that many of its permissible exposure limits are “<a href="https://www.osha.gov/dsg/annotated-pels/">outdated and inadequate</a> for ensuring protection of worker health.”</p> <p>OSHA offers only guidance and recommendations for businesses, effectively shifting the burden of worker protection onto private industry. This is especially problematic in the nail salon industry, where over 90% of salons are small businesses that <a href="https://www.labor.ucla.edu/publication/nail-files/">employ fewer than 5 people</a> and do not have safety personnel on staff.</p> <p>Inadequate cosmetic product regulations and labeling requirements make it hard to know which products are actually safe. A 2012 study by the California Environmental Protection Agency found that 10 out of 12 nail products labeled “toluene free” still contained <a href="https://dtsc.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2018/04/DTSC-Summary-of-Data-Findings-from-Testing-a-Limited-Number-of-Nail-Products-April-2012.pdf">up to 17% toluene</a>. Products labeled free of the so-called “toxic three” ingredients – dibutyl phthalate or DBP, toluene and formaldehyde – actually contained <a href="https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/nailsalons/chemicalhazards.html#resources">greater concentrations of DBP</a>, an endocrine-disrupting compound, than products that made no claims at all.</p> <p><strong>Solving the problem</strong></p> <p>Owners often work in nail salons, so they generally support efforts to improve air quality inside their businesses. Those who we interviewed typically had some understanding of the problem and wanted to fix it, but didn’t always know how.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-05/documents/nailsalonguide.pdf">U.S. Environmental Protection Agency</a>, the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/99-112/pdfs/99-112.pdf?id=10.26616/NIOSHPUB99112">National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health</a> and <a href="https://www.osha.gov/Publications/3542nail-salon-workers-guide.pdf">OSHA</a> all publish healthy nail salon guides. Yet owners in our study had never heard of them – perhaps because the guides are only published in English, while many nail salon workers are Asian and Latino immigrants with limited English language skills.</p> <p>Several grassroots community organizations have published guides to improving salons’ air quality in both <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5783e9b9be6594e480435ffe/t/58f447f903596ebd7ca8f6f3/1492404219566/Nail-Salon-Booklet-FINAL-Vietnamese-March-26-2014-adjusted-for-color-copier-and-single-pages.pdf">Vietnamese</a> and <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5783e9b9be6594e480435ffe/t/58f447e386e6c023e6aff51c/1492404197241/Chinese-FINAL-Version-2-2012.pdf">Chinese</a>. These references discuss ventilation and use of personal protective equipment, which are paramount for mitigating chemical exposures in the workplace.</p> <p>Small changes, such as running ventilation continuously, wearing <a href="http://safety-zone.com/products/nitrile-gloves/">nitrile gloves</a>and utilizing proper <a href="https://www.firstaidglobal.com/product-page/carbon-filter-masks-n95-with-exhalation-valve">charcoal face masks</a>, can significantly reduce worker exposure. Results from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2019.106499">our most recent study</a> also suggest that placing large activated carbon sinks in salons could effectively remove VOCs from the air. We are currently experimenting with embedding these chemical-absorbing materials into <a href="https://cen.acs.org/environment/pollution/Environmental-engineer-Lupita-Montoya-scrutinizes/97/i32">pieces of art</a> that can hang on salon walls.</p> <p>Another priority is conveying information to larger audiences and advocating for more safety training in cosmetology certification programs. Education and training are particularly important for ethnic minority groups.</p> <p>Many workplace standards enforced by OSHA, such as those regulating exposure to toxic and hazardous substances, <a href="https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/nailsalons/standards.html">apply to nail salons</a>. However, cosmetic manufacturers are <a href="https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetics-laws-regulations/fda-authority-over-cosmetics-how-cosmetics-are-not-fda-approved-are-fda-regulated#Who_is_responsible">not required</a> to obtain federal approval for products or ingredients before they go on the market, or to file product information with the agency.</p> <p>In contrast, California passed a bill in 2018 that will require manufacturers to <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB2775">provide ingredient labels</a> on any professional cosmetic products manufactured after July 1, 2020 and sold in the state. The campaign for this common-sense reform was largely led by advocacy groups like the <a href="https://cahealthynailsalons.org/">California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative</a>. Practical steps like this can improve conditions for workers who receive little attention but are exposed to serious health risks on the job every day.</p> <p><em>Written by Lupita D. Montoya and Aaron Lamplugh. Republished with permission of </em><a href="https://theconversation.com/nail-salon-workers-suffer-chemical-exposures-that-can-be-like-working-at-a-garage-or-a-refinery-118152"><em>The Conversation.</em></a></p>

Beauty & Style

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What is exposure therapy and how can it treat social anxiety?

<p>Most of us experience a level of social anxiety at some point in our lives. We worry about what people think of us, about being excluded, about being judged or humiliated.</p> <p><a href="http://www.dsm5.org/Documents/Social%20Anxiety%20Disorder%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf">Social anxiety</a> is characterised by an excessive fear of negative evaluation or judgement, triggered by social or performance situations. For social anxiety to be considered a disorder, the person must also be distressed by their social concerns or report a disruption in their life. They may find it difficult to interact with work colleagues, to make friends, or even to have brief conversations with others.</p> <p>Excessive social anxiety <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27124713">makes us feel lonely</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12950433">reduces our quality of life</a>. Social anxiety disorder is the most <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18374843">common anxiety disorder</a> and begins as early as 11 years of age.</p> <p>Exposure therapy – where people face their feared social situations, with the guidance of a therapist – is one form of treatment that can be used to reduce excessive social anxiety symptoms. So how does it work?</p> <p><strong>Avoidance and safety behaviours</strong></p> <p>Although it’s normal to want to avoid social situations that make us uncomfortable, social fears almost always become worse when we avoid those situations.</p> <p>Avoidance can mean a conscious decision to avoid a dreaded social situation, such as deciding not to go to a party, or it can mean using “<a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/behavioural-and-cognitive-psychotherapy/article/the-importance-of-behaviour-in-the-maintenance-of-anxiety-and-panic-a-cognitive-account/B3BAA0EFEF179C99BBCA5F983B05A534">safety behaviours</a>” to cope with or avoid a perceived threat.</p> <p>Overt safety behaviours might include wearing a hat to cover your face, away from scrutiny. Covert acts involve mental actions, such as excessive effort in memorising a speech before giving it.</p> <p>People with excessive social anxiety often attribute feeling safer or averting a distressing social situation to the fact they carried out these safety behaviours. For example, “no one looked at me in a weird way because I wore a hat”, or “the speech went OK because I made the effort to memorise it all”.</p> <p>The problem is, when safety rules becomes established, actions become conditional on them. For example, “the only way I can be safe from scrutiny is to keep my face hidden”. Safety behaviours need to be addressed, or they can <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0005789405800887">undermine treatment</a> and <a href="http://ac.els-cdn.com/S0005791607000055/1-s2.0-S0005791607000055-main.pdf?_tid=ac4c1996-8c24-11e6-ab6a-00000aab0f02&amp;acdnat=1475800161_24fbf140a28404d7a162e57ca6625247">end up maintaining</a> the person’s anxiety levels.</p> <p><strong>What is exposure therapy?</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0005796715300802">Exposure therapy</a> is where people face a feared social situation until their anxiety decreases or the anxiety-related expectancies are disrupted.</p> <p>It’s a <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15022272">well-researched treatment</a> for anxiety disorders and is usually done within <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-cognitive-behaviour-therapy-37351">cognitive behaviour therapy</a>, which also addresses the underlying unhelpful thoughts.</p> <p>Exposure to the source of social anxiety is confronting, but it’s possible to achieve your goals with professional guidance. A trained therapist is able to identify the source of these social concerns, how severe they are and whether this has stopped you from doing what you would like to do.</p> <p>More importantly, a trained therapist can identify and address any unhelpful thoughts and beliefs you may carry.</p> <p>There are different <a href="http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/anxiety/exposure-therapy-anxiety-disorders">variations</a> of exposure strategies and the choice of which type to use is dependent on the situation. Real world confrontation, such as speaking in front of a large audience, is one possibility, but it may not always be possible.</p> <p>Vividly imagining the feared situation, role-playing with the therapist and using technology such as <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Meta-analysis+of+technology-assisted+interventions+for+social+anxiety+disorder">virtual reality</a> can also deliver exposure. Other modes of delivery include flooding (tackling the most difficult task straight away) or systematic desensitisation (often combined with relaxation exercises).</p> <p>Therapists often grade the level of exposure to social situations that make the person distressed, from easiest to hardest, to ensure the process is safe and tolerable. There is, however, a risk that therapists deliver these treatments too quickly and too much, which can cause distress and a reluctance to try again. Treatment may also be approached in an overly cautious way, which slows down its <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0005796716301425">effectiveness</a>.</p> <p><strong>How does it work?</strong></p> <p>Say your feared social situation is going to a party. Here’s an example of how graded exposure therapy might play out:</p> <p>1) Rank how anxious you feel about going to different types of parties. You can use a 0 to 100 scale (0 refers to no anxiety at all or 100 very anxious) or rank it from lowest to very high anxiety (as below).</p> <p><iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/puj2g/1/" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" width="100%" height="455"></iframe></p> <p>2) Select a task lower down on the list. This is a task that you find difficult but feel you can succeed in. If you are unable to stay engaged with this task, go back and select an easier task.</p> <p>3) Stay in the situation until your anxiety reduces.</p> <p>4) Repeat it until the task becomes easy. Only move to a more difficult task when you feel comfortable with your current task.</p> <p>5) Reflect on what happened and what you can take away from the exercise. Some of your predictions of social disasters, for instance, may not have occurred.</p> <p>Always target something you can succeed in. In this example, option two or three may be too difficult for you to work on. But you may be able to manage option four (having lunch with colleagues).</p> <p>Don’t rely on your safety behaviours. For example, you may find that you spend a lot of time fiddling with your mobile or drinking too much alcohol to feel more comfortable. If you feel a need to use any of your safety behaviours, first select a task you feel more comfortable with.</p> <p>Don’t feel like you have to get rid of all your anxiety. It is normal to feel socially anxious. And don’t expect your social anxiety to go away immediately.</p> <p>Finally, practise again until you feel more comfortable. You can move to a more difficult task only after you feel comfortable with the previous task.</p> <p>Keep in mind that individual cognitive-behaviour therapy is the single <a href="http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(14)70329-3/abstract">most effective</a> treatment for those with <a href="https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg159/chapter/1-Recommendations">social anxiety disorder</a>, more so than exposure therapy alone. So while exposure therapy may help, it’s best if it forms part of an individual cognitive-behaviour therapy plan.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/64483/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: http://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em>Written by <span>Michelle H Lim, Lecturer and Clinical Psychologist, Swinburne University of Technology</span>. Republished with permission of </em><a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-exposure-therapy-and-how-can-it-treat-social-anxiety-64483"><em>The Conversation</em></a><em>. </em></p>

Mind

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Woman rushed to hospital after “exposure” to recalled fruit from Coles

<p>A South Australian woman has been rushed to hospital with hepatitis A after possible “exposure” to a recalled fruit produce from Coles.</p> <p><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Daily Mail reports</strong></em></span></a> South Australian health authorities believe the infection could potentially be linked to the woman’s consumption of the Creative Gourmet Frozen Pomegranate, which has been linked to 11 similar cases nationwide.</p> <p>Entyce Food Ingredients, which manufactures the fruit product, made the precautionary recall of the 180g packets last month, and SA health authorities followed up by putting a alert on the food item Tuesday afternoon.</p> <p>“The gap between eating one of these products and becoming sick can be anywhere between 15 days and 50 days,” Dr Fay Jenkins <a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>told Seven News</strong></em></span></a>.</p> <p>“It's quite possible these two cases in South Australia ate this product before the recall happened.”</p> <p>Products with a best before date up to and including March 21, 2020 should be returned.</p> <p><img width="306" height="306" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7818180/creative-gourmet.jpg" alt="Creative Gourmet"/></p> <p><em>The product in question. Image credit: Daily Mail</em></p> <p>Symptoms of hepatitis A can include nausea, fever, vomiting and a yellowing of the skin, and anyone who has eaten the frozen pomegranate product from Coles has been advised to consult a medical professional if these symptoms appear.</p> <p>What are your thoughts?</p>

News

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How to reduce your exposure to chemicals

<p>Dr Libby is a nutritional biochemist, best-selling author and speaker.</p> <p>Q: I've recently become aware of just how many chemicals we're exposed to on a daily basis. I would like to reduce this for my health and the health of my family, particularly my children. Your thoughts on this are appreciated. </p> <p>A: It is unknown exactly how many synthetic chemicals exist in the world today, but the Chemical Abstracts (CAS) Registry currently lists more than 100 million chemicals, most of which are not tested for long-term human safety.</p> <p>Chemical overexposure has been linked to developmental issues, obesity and many global diseases as a whole. The World Health Organisation estimates that 4.9 million deaths and a quarter of total disease burden can be attributed to "modifiable environmental factors".</p> <p>Furthermore, when your liver is burdened from trying to process foreign chemicals, it can contribute to weight gain, fatigue, food intolerances, reproductive issues and other conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome.</p> <p>However, there are some simple steps you can take today to start reducing your chemical load:</p> <ul> <li>Buy organic produce where possible and/or shop at local farmers' markets as you can often pick up spray-free produce. I know organic can be more expensive, but if you switch a few items per week to organic on your shopping list it can make a difference. Re-evaluate your budget, and see if you could reprioritise some of your expenses to include more organic produce.</li> <li>Eat foods with ingredients you would find in nature. If a food item has ingredients/additives you cannot pronounce, your body likely cannot deal with it either.</li> <li>Switch to natural cleaning products. We are fortunate to live in a time where there are conscious companies creating great quality eco-friendly cleaning products, which are better for you and the planet. Many are high quality too, so you won't need to use as much to achieve great results, thereby making it just as cost effective.</li> <li>Switch to natural body care and make-up where possible. If that is overwhelming, try starting with lipstick.</li> <li>Take your shoes off before entering the house – our shoes can accumulate synthetic chemicals, which are best left off the carpets and outside the home.</li> <li>Use reusable BPA free water bottles and BPA free tinned food (if you use tins).</li> <li>At home, store things in glass rather than plastic.</li> <li>Never heat plastic. This means not putting it in the dishwasher, too.</li> </ul> <p>Even if you commit to implementing just a few of the above points, it can help reduce your chemical load and positively impact your health in the long run.</p> <p>This is just a small snapshot of how synthetic chemicals can impact our health, but remember you are in a position to vote with your wallet for the type of future you want.</p> <p><em>The advice contained in this column is not intended to be a substitute for direct, personalised advice from a health professional. Join Dr Libby for her upcoming 'Sort Your Sleep' New Zealand tour, for more information or to purchase tickets visit <a href="http://drlibby.com/">drlibby.com</a></em></p> <p><em>Written by Dr Libby Weaver. First appeared on <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Stuff.co.nz.</strong></span></a> <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/"></a></em></p>

Body

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When it comes to hearing, a healthy diet is more important than noise exposure

<p>While the old wives’ tale about carrots being good for your eyes isn’t quite as true as your parents made you believe, what you eat still plays a role in healthy hearing.</p> <p>University of Florida researchers examined the eating habits of 2,366 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, as well as giving them a four-part hearing test. Health researcher and lead study author, Christopher Spankovich, analysed the data, finding a strong connection among diet, hearing and noise exposure.</p> <p>The results, published in the International Journal of Audiology, found that the hearing of people who consumed a healthy diet but had higher noise exposure was comparable to the hearing of people with lower noise exposure that ate poorer diets.</p> <p>For the purposes of this study, healthy eating was defined as people who scored well on the Healthy Eating Index, which was part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Out of score of 100, a person is awarded points for eating well (for example, eating the full number of servings of veggies) while they lose point if they consume too much of certain foods (for example, eat too much sodium). In Spankovich’s study, the average score was 63.11 per cent. Seventy three per cent of the sample had intermediate scores, ranging from 51 to 80 per cent, which were classified as “needs improvement,” while 14.6 per cent had poor scores and 12 per cent had good scores.</p> <p>“Our hearing health is linked to our general health. Our auditory system is dependent on our cardiovascular, neural and metabolic health, and if we are not healthy in general, it makes sense that we could increase our susceptibility to hearing loss,” said Spankovich.</p> <p>Hearing is affected by multiple factors. Some are avoidable and some aren’t. The changeable factors include cardiovascular health issues, diet, ototoxic medications and exposure to loud noise.  </p> <p>Spankovich emphasised that study identified a relationship between hearing and diet – not a causal link. And while healthy eating hasn’t been proven to reverse hearing damage, a good diet plays a part in prevention.</p> <p>Next, Spankovich plans to examine the link with a larger cohort over a longer period of time.</p>

Hearing

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