Spent coffee grounds as a suitable alternative to standard soil in ecotoxicological tests

Eisenia andrei is considered in OECD and ISO guidelines to be a suitable replacement for Eisenia fetida in ecotoxicological assays. This suggests that other alternative materials and methods could also be used in standard procedures for toxicity testing. The guidelines also favor using less time-consuming procedures and reducing costs and other limitations to ecotoxicological assessments. In recent years, spent coffee grounds (SCG) have been used to produce vermicompost and biochar and as an additive to organic fertilizers. In addition, the physicochemical characteristics of SCG indicate that the material is a suitable substrate for earthworms, with the organisms performing as well as in natural soil. In the present study, a battery of ecotoxicological tests was established with unwashed and washed SCG and a natural reference soil (LUFA 2.2). The test substrates were spiked with different concentrations of silver nitrate. Survival and reproduction of the earthworm E. andrei were assessed under different conditions, along with substrate basal respiration (SBR) as a proxy for microbial activity. Seedling emergence and the germination index of Lepidium sativum were also determined, following standard guidelines. Exposure to silver nitrate had similar effects on earthworm survival and reproduction, as the estimated effective concentrations (EC10 and EC50) in unwashed SCG and LUFA 2.2 overlapped. A hormetic effect was observed for SBR in LUFA 2.2 spiked with 12.8 mg/kg but not in unwashed SCG. Both SBR and root development were inhibited by similar concentrations of silver nitrate in washed SCG. The findings indicate that unwashed SCG could potentially be used as a substrate in E. andrei toxicity tests and support the eventual inclusion of this material in the standard guidelines.

Improving nurses' performance in the safe handling of antineoplastic agents: a quasi-experimental study

Background

The safe and standard handling of antineoplastic drugs can reduce the effects of occupational exposure and promote safe behaviors in nurses. Thus, the present study aimed to determine the effects ofstandard guidelines education on the safe handling of antineoplastic drugs among oncologynurses in Ardabil, Iran.

Methods

Thequasi-experimental study with a one-group pretest-posttest design was performed among 32 nursesworking in the oncology wards of two educational hospitals in Ardabil city, during 2020. Allthe nurses in the wards who met the inclusion criteria participated in the study. The data were collectedby usinga demographic information form and nurses’knowledge assessment questionnaire regardingthe standard guidelines for working with antineoplastic drugs, and a standard checklist for examiningtheir performance in this regard. Subsequently, they were analyzed by descriptive (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (t-test)and Pearson’s correlation coefficient) in SPSS 22.

Results

The mean and standard deviation of the knowledge and performance scores of the oncology nurses was59.56±6.41and 18.96±2.54 respectively, which changed to 66±4.82 and 32.03±2.45 respectively three months after training. The results of the t-test represented a statistically significant difference between the level of knowledge and performance before and after the intervention (P=0.001).

Conclusions

Based on the results, the standard guidelines education improved the nurses’ knowledge and performance on the safe handling of antineoplastic drugs in the chemotherapy wards. Therefore, it is advised to increase the awareness of the oncology nurses in this regard in the planning and policy-making ofhealthcare centers.