New insights into the association of air pollution and kidney diseases by tracing gold nanoparticles with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

Exposure to particles from air pollution has been associated with kidney disease; however, the underlying biological mechanisms are incompletely understood. Inhaled particles can gain access to the circulation and, depending on their size, pass into urine, raising the possibility that particles may also sequester in the kidney and directly alter renal function. This study optimised an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) method to investigate the size dependency of particle accumulation in the kidneys of mice following pulmonary instillation (0.8 mg in total over 4 weeks) to gold nanoparticles (2, 3-4, 7-8, 14 or 40 nm or saline control). Due to the smallest particle sizes being below the limit of detection in single particle mode, ICP-MS was operated in total quantification mode. Gold was detected in all matrices of interest (blood, urine and kidney) from animals treated with all sizes of gold nanoparticles, at orders of magnitude higher than the methodological limit of detection in biological matrices (0.013 ng/mL). A size-dependent effect was observed, with smaller particles leading to greater levels of accumulation in tissues. This study highlights the value of a robust and reliable method by ICP-MS to detect extremely low levels of gold in biological samples for indirect particle tracing. The finding that nano-sized particles translocate from the lung to the kidney may provide a biological explanation for the associations between air pollution and kidney disease.

A Virtual Reality Platform for Analyzing Remote Archaeological Sites.

This paper describes a Virtual Reality (VR) prototype developed to help archaeologists and other stakeholders explore and analyse archaeological data in a more immersive context. We describe a VR reconstruction of Pleito Cave, a fragile world class rock-art site with accessibility limitation. Key stakeholders are identified and a prototype is described that provides a VR platform for visualizing and interacting with complex archaeological data (gathered from techniques such as decorrelation stretch and X-ray fluorescence) virtually 'in situ' , in a way that would not be possible at the real site. The prototype allows multiple remote users to interact with the cave together remotely providing opportunities for collaborative interpretation and analysis of archaeological data. We also present a survey-based evaluation in which both archaeologists and Native American stakeholders indicate positive responses for measures of both engagement and value.

Distributing participation in design: Addressing challenges of a global pandemic.

Participatory Design (PD) - whose inclusive benefits are broadly recognised in design - can be very challenging, especially when involving children. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to further barriers to PD with such groups. One key barrier is the advent of social distancing and government-imposed social restrictions due to the additional risks posed for e.g. children and families vulnerable to COVID-19. This disrupts traditional in-person PD (which involves close socio-emotional and often physical collaboration between participants and researchers). However, alongside such barriers, we have identified opportunities for new and augmented approaches to PD across distributed geographies, backgrounds, ages and abilities. We examine Distributed Participatory Design (DPD) as a solution for overcoming these new barriers, during and after COVID-19. We offer new ways to think about DPD, and unpick some of its ambiguities. We do this through an examination of the results from an online Interaction Design and Children (IDC) 2020 workshop. The workshop included 24 researchers with experience in PD, in a range of forms, in the context of children. Initially designed to take place in-person and to include a design session with children in a school in London, the workshop was adjusted to an online format in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the adverse circumstances, we discovered that the unexpected change of the workshop style from in-person to online was an opportunity and an impetus for us to address the new PD challenges of the global pandemic. In this article we contribute seven themes which were revealed during our IDC workshop, providing guidance on important areas for consideration when planning and conducting PD in the context of a global pandemic. With a focus on the term 'distributed', we offer insights on how DPD can be applied and explored in these circumstances with child participants. We conclude with a number of lessons learned, highlighting the opportunities and challenges DPD offers to enable continued co-design during a global pandemic. In particular, DPD provides greater access for some populations to be involved in PD, but technical and social challenges must be addressed.