Principles for Water Governance in a Post-COVID World: Water Sector Needs to Be Embedded in Environmental Justice

This paper argues that the crisis in humanity's relationship with water reflected in rapidly escalating demand and dangerously depleting freshwater and groundwater reserves, can be understood as the outcome of the anthropocentric assumptions underlying our current development models. These assumptions have given rise to both the challenge of severe water scarcity as well as to the kind of policies used to address it. Drawing on principles from an environmental justice framework, it calls for a drastic restructuring of the water sector on more equitable, sustainable and democratic lines. Some of the guiding principles for water governance that are suggested include ensuring that interventions in nature or river systems are along the contours of nature, focusing on managing the demand for water as against the present emphasis on supply augmentation, recognition of structural and historical inequities which determine access to water, adoption of an approach to water management that is adaptive to rapidly changing circumstances and promotion of the participation of all stakeholders in governance and knowledge production. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023.

Health hazards related to using masks and/or personal protective equipment among physicians working in public hospitals in Dhaka: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Wearing masks or personal protective equipment (PPE) has become an integral part of the occupational life of physicians due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Most physicians have been developing various health hazards related to the use of different protective gears. This study aimed to determine the burden and spectrum of various health hazards associated with using masks or PPE and their associated risk factors. METHODS: This cross-sectional survey was conducted in Dhaka Medical College from March 01-May 30, 2021, among physicians from different public hospitals in Dhaka, Bangladesh. We analyzed the responses of 506 physicians who completed case record forms through Google forms or hard copies. FINDINGS: The mean (SD) age of the respondents was 35.4 [7.7], and 69.4% were men. Approximately 40% were using full PPE, and 55% were using N-95 masks. A total of 489 (96.6%) patients experienced at least one health hazard. The reported severe health hazards were syncope, severe dyspnea, severe chest pain, and anaphylaxis. Headache, dizziness, mood irritation, chest pain, excessive sweating, panic attack, and permanent facial disfigurement were the minor health hazards reported. Extended periods of work in the COVID-19-unit, reuse of masks, diabetes, obesity, and mental stress were risk factors for dyspnea. The risk factors for headaches were female sex, diabetes, and previous primary headaches. Furthermore, female sex and reusing masks for an extended period (> 6 h) were risk factors for facial disfigurement. The risk factors for excessive sweating were female sex and additional evening office practice for an extended period. CONCLUSIONS: Healthcare workers experienced several occupational hazards after using masks and PPE. Therefore, an appropriate policy is required to reduce such risks.

Removing systemic barriers to equity, diversity, and inclusion: Report of the 2019 Plant Science Research Network workshop "Inclusivity in the Plant Sciences".

A future in which scientific discoveries are valued and trusted by the general public cannot be achieved without greater inclusion and participation of diverse communities. To envision a path towards this future, in January 2019 a diverse group of researchers, educators, students, and administrators gathered to hear and share personal perspectives on equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in the plant sciences. From these broad perspectives, the group developed strategies and identified tactics to facilitate and support EDI within and beyond the plant science community. The workshop leveraged scenario planning and the richness of its participants to develop recommendations aimed at promoting systemic change at the institutional level through the actions of scientific societies, universities, and individuals and through new funding models to support research and training. While these initiatives were formulated specifically for the plant science community, they can also serve as a model to advance EDI in other disciplines. The proposed actions are thematically broad, integrating into discovery, applied and translational science, requiring and embracing multidisciplinarity, and giving voice to previously unheard perspectives. We offer a vision of barrier-free access to participation in science, and a plant science community that reflects the diversity of our rapidly changing nation, and supports and invests in the training and well-being of all its members. The relevance and robustness of our recommendations has been tested by dramatic and global events since the workshop. The time to act upon them is now.

THE UK FIREBALL ALLIANCE: LESSONS LEARNED FROM TWO METEORITE FIELD SEARCHES IN THE UK

Introduction: The UK currently has six meteor camera networks that are coordinated through the UK Fireball Alliance (UKFAll) [1]. Together, these networks currently image much of the UK's night sky. Since its formal establishment in 2020, the UKFAll has organised field searches following two detected fireball events that dropped meteorites in the UK: one at 21:54 (UTC) 28th February 2021 in Gloucestershire, England, and another at 23:45 (UTC) 14th April 2022 in Shropshire, England. The former fireball detection led to the recovery of the Winchcombe CM chondrite, the first UK meteorite in 30 years [2-4], whilst our search for the Shropshire meteorite have not yet located any stones. Here, we report some lessons learned as a citizen-science and academic collaboration, and from engaging with both local and national communities in searching for meteorites in Gloucestershire and Shropshire, UK. Camera Networks: UKFAll includes the UK Meteor Network (UKMON), Network for Meteor Triangulation and Orbit Determination (NEMETODE), the UK Fireball Network (UKFN), the Fireball Recovery and InterPlanetary Observation Network (FRIPON), the Global Meteor Network (GMN), and the AllSky7 network. Orbital calculations and dark flight modelling are a collaborative effort by researchers from the Global Fireball Observatory based at Curtin University, Australia, as well as the University of Western Ontario, Canada, and FRIPON, France. Winchcombe: Since the Winchcombe meteorite fell during a national lockdown, we issued a press release asking residents in Gloucestershire to report possible meteorite finds following the fireball, as opposed to sending a search party immediately. This approach was successful, with the Wilcock family waking to find a pile of dark rocks and powder on their driveway, and having seen the news, collecting the material and contacting the UKMON. Following verification of the meteorite fall, and additional refinement of the strewn field, a small (~15 scientists) search party assembled in Gloucestershire on 4th March 2021. This led to the recovery of the largest 152 g stone at Rushbury House farm on 6th March 2021. Field Experience: Members of UKFAll with meteorite searching experience led small teams of 4 - 8 people. The search was conducted in a unique situation due to COVID. Care was taken to remain socially distanced at all times, which made coordination of the search efforts challenging. Positive engagement with the local community was prioritised from the outset, with team leaders contacting landowners for permission to search and emphasising our safety precautions and risk assessments. News of the meteorite fall spread quickly, and residents were very hospitable and enthusiastic about our activities. The UK countryside is full of "meteorwrongs", and the rural terrain was difficult to search due to long grass, bushes etc. A game was devised to help boost morale - and to see if a meteorite would be found in that field - where a convincing meteorwrong was thrown into each new area by one team member to be found by the search team. During the field search, we also received many enquiries. These were managed by dedicated UKFAll team members, who replied to emails and visited potential meteorite finds in the area. The press interest in the story following the announcement that the meteorite had been found was significant, with journalists soon arriving in Winchcombe. This press release came after the main UKFAll search had ended, and there were many requests from the the media for interviews. Following several busy days, a key lesson learned was to the need to have a designated media liaison for any future press releases. Shropshire: This meteorite search was carried out over six days by ~20 scientists in an agricultural area south of Shrewsbury that included grazing land for sheep, wheat and rapeseed fields, and woodland. Searching in mid-April proved more challenging due to the increased vegetation cover. In order to train more people in meteorite hunting strategy, search line leaders were alternated each day. An initial small team arrived for the first two days to engage with the community. This "recon" was used to assess the terrain, identify key areas, and obtain permissions, and to avoid inundating small communities with search teams without advance notice. Early on, we engaged with a business owner, who helped to spread the word using local social media groups. Within 24 hours, most residents in the strewn field were aware of the meteorite fall and our presence, with many families conducting their own searches of public land. On 18th April 2022, a press release with an approximate strewn field was issued to local journalists. As with Winchcombe, there was significant national media interest, despite no stone being found to date. This helped us to gain access to search areas, as several landowers were aware of the meteorite before we contacted them. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Meteoritics & Planetary Science is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Emerging governmentality and biopolitics of covid-19 in india

Measures like disciplining and quarantining are associated with the governments' extraordinary powers during unprecedented times. In this context, the biopolitics of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is discussed. When the steps taken by the government to contain the spread of coronavirus are failing, we need new imageries to tackle the challenges that lie ahead of us. © 2020 Economic and Political Weekly. All rights reserved.