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Abstract The Irish Sea is an important area for Norway Lobster Nephrops norvegicus fisheries, which are the most valuable fishing resource in the UK. Norway lobster are known to ingest microplastic pollution present in the sediment and have displayed reduced body mass when exposed to microplastic pollution. Here, we identified microplastic pollution in the Irish Sea fishing grounds through analysis of 24 sediment samples from four sites of differing proximity to the Western Irish Sea Gyre in both 2016 and 2019. We used µFTIR spectroscopy to identify seven polymer types, and a total of 77 microplastics consisting of fibres and fragments. The mean microplastics per gram of sediment ranged from 0.13 to 0.49 and 0 to 1.17 MP/g in 2016 and 2019, respectively. There were no differences in the microplastic counts across years, and there was no correlation of microplastic counts with proximity to the Western Irish Sea Gyre. Considering the consistently high microplastic abundance found in the Irish Sea, and the propensity of N. norvegicus to ingest and be negatively impacted by them, we suggest microplastic pollution levels in the Irish Sea may have adverse impacts on N. norvegicus and negative implications for fishery sustainability in the future.

The study explores the role of the Eye to I© intervention model in facilitating advancement through social stages of play in which skills contribute to the quality of social interaction and communication in children with autism. Data were collected on 11 participants, ages of 2–6 years, formally diagnosed with autism, receiving Eye to I© Social Communication therapy at Potentials Therapy Center, New Delhi, India. Eye to I© is developed in-house at Potentials and is further discussed in the paper. All participants attended a form of group intervention. A mixed-method design included quantitative measures administered pre and post intervention (Communication DEALL Developmental Checklist, Communication Matrix) and video coding of Social Communication sessions. Qualitative measures were semi-structured parent interviews conducted at the end of intervention. Thematic analysis and quantitative statistical analysis results show that by the end of the Eye to I© intervention period children engaged in social stages of play of greater developmental complexity and showed increased scores in assessments of social skills as well as generalization of skills. This suggests that skill acquisition necessary to directly support two diagnostic criteria areas of autism as per DSM-V; i.e., communication and social interaction occurred during the period of intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to high quality weather and climate data is crucial for a wide range of societal and economic issues. It allows optimising industrial processes, supports the identification of potential risks related to climate change or allows the development of corresponding adaptation and mitigation strategies. Although such data is freely available through Germany’s national meteorological service DWD (Deutscher Wetterdienst) since 2017, the application potential in industry and society has certainly not yet been fully unlocked. Major obstacles are the complexity of the raw data, as well as missing tools for their simple integration into existing industrial applications. The goal of the research project FAIR is to simplify the information exchange between the DWD and economical players. In order to reach this goal a requirement analysis with end-users of weather data from three different sectors was conducted. A central requirement regarding the site assessment of wind plants is quick and easy access to historical wind-series at specific sites. Preferably downloadable in formats like CSV or via an API. Event planning partners are interested in a quick access to health relevant weather information at their event location, and the E-mobility sector in temperature data along planned routes. In this paper, we summarize the results of the requirement analysis and present the deduced technical architecture and FAIR services aiming at a user-friendly exchange of weather data.

Introduction: While most people with cerebral palsy (CP) will have a life expectancy similar to that of the general population, international research has primarily focused on childhood and adolescence; and knowledge about the quality of life (QoL) of young adults with CP, its trajectories, and associated factors remains scarce.Methods: This longitudinal study included young adults with CP living in five European regions and who had previously participated in the SPARCLE cohort as children and/or adolescents. Their QoL in the psychological well-being and social relationships domains was estimated using age-appropriate validated instruments (KIDSCREEN-52 in childhood/adolescence and WHOQOL-Bref in young adulthood). We used generalized linear mixed-effect models with random intercept to estimate long-term trajectories of QoL in both domains and to investigate whether severity of impairment, pain, and seizure influenced these trajectories. We sought to identify potentially different trajectories of QoL from childhood to adulthood using a shape-based clustering method.Results: In total, 164 young adults with CP aged 22–27 years participated in the study. Psychological well-being linearly decreased by 0.78 points (scale 0–100) per year (95% confidence interval (CI) −0.99 to −0.56) from childhood to young adulthood, whereas QoL in the social relationships domain increased (β coefficient 1.24, 95% CI 0.92–1.55). Severity of impairment was associated with reduced QoL in all life periods of the study (childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood): motor impairment with social relationships, and more nuancedly intellectual disability with psychological well-being and social relationships. At all periods, frequent pain significantly reduced psychological well-being, and seizures were associated with lower QoL in the social relationships domain. In both domains, we identified a group of individuals with CP who presented a reverse trajectory compared with the general QoL trajectory.Conclusion: Identification of QoL trajectories and their associated factors yields improved knowledge about the experience of individuals with CP until young adulthood. Further studies are needed to better understand the determinants that have the greatest influence on the different shapes of long-term trajectories of QoL.