Dusty Occupations and Pulmonary Obstruction in Kentucky: A Proportionate Mortality Analysis

Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the third leading cause of death in the United States. Occupational exposure to vapors, gases, dusts, or fumes (VGDFs), in combination with smoking, significantly increases the risk of developing COPD. Amongst agricultural workers, exposure to pesticides has been found to cause significantly elevated rates of annual decline in lung function, ultimately leading to a clinical diagnosis of pulmonary obstruction if the period of exposure is sufficient. Purpose It is hypothesized that, when compared to the standard population, workers in “dusty” occupations (where VGDF workplace exposure is significant) die at significantly elevated rates from certain cardiac and pulmonary pathologies (AMI, stroke, COPD, chronic lower respiratory disease), due to the pulmonary obstruction caused by workplace VGDF exposure. Methods Using death certificate data provided by the Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics, Cabinet for Health & Family Services, proportionate mortality ratios of dusty occupations versus non-dusty occupations were calculated for select pulmonary and cardiovascular causes of death. These calculations were done for both winter months (December, January, and February) and non-winter months (March through November). A logistic model was created with following covariates: age, race, gender, occupation type (dusty vs. non-dusty), and time of death (winter month versus non-winter month). The outcome of interest was a death due to stroke, cardiac pathology, chronic respiratory pathology, or acute respiratory pathology. Results PMR values for those above the median age (75 years) were significantly elevated for myocardial infarction in both winter and non-winter deaths. PMR values for those of the 25th percentile in age and older were significantly elevated for COPD in non-winter months. PMR values for all age groups in non-winter deaths were significantly elevated for respiratory illness from occupational agent exposure. PMR values were significantly elevated for those of the 25th percentile age group and older in non-winter deaths from respiratory cancer. In both winter and non-winter deaths, the PMR for chronic lower respiratory disease was significantly higher only for those above the 75th percentile in age group. For winter deaths, only those in the 25th-50th percentile age group and those above the 75th percentile had significantly elevated PMR values for COPD. For winter deaths, significantly elevated PMR values existed for at least one age group for deaths from respiratory cancer and respiratory illness from an occupational agent. Being older than the median value of age more than doubles one’s odds of death from stroke (OR 2.23 (1.479, 3.541) for 50th to 75th percentiles, OR 2.959 (1.913, 4.575) for 75th percentile and older). Dusty occupation was associated with increased odds of death from a cardiac pathology only in female workers above the median age (OR 1.139 (1.056, 1.228) for ages from 50th to 75th percentile, OR 1.161 for ages from 75th percentile onward). Male workers are 1.5 (OR 1.504 (1.429, 1.583)) times as likely to die from chronic respiratory diseases as their female colleagues. As age increases, the odds of dying from acute respiratory pathologies increase dramatically (ages from 25th to 50th percentile: OR 1.976 (1.637, 2.384), ages from 50th to 75th percentile OR 3.908 (3.292, 4.640), ages from 75th percentile onward OR 6.209 (5.244, 7.352)). OR for winter time and acute respiratory pathology is 1.204 (1.094, 1.326) Discussion A higher proportion of the deaths in workers from dusty occupations are due to COPD, myocardial infarction, chronic lower respiratory disease, respiratory illness caused by an occupational agent, and respiratory cancers when compared to workers of similar socio-economic status in non-dusty occupations. Furthermore, working in a dusty occupation is not a significant predictor of increased risk of death from stroke. Dusty occupation is a significant predictor of increased death from a cardiac pathology only in women between the 25th and 75th percentiles of the age distribution. Male workers in the study were 1.5 times as likely to die from a chronic respiratory pathology as female workers. Non-Caucasian workers were 0.73 times as likely to die from chronic respiratory pathologies as their Caucasian colleagues. Winter time increases ones odds of dying from an acute respiratory disease by 1.2 times. Furthermore, as age increases, the odds of dying from an acute respiratory pathology or stroke increase dramatically, regardless of one’s industry type

Water level response in back-barrier bays unchanged following Hurricane Sandy

© The Author(s), 2014. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Geophysical Research Letters 41 (2014): 3163–3171, doi:10.1002/2014GL059957.On 28–30 October 2012, Hurricane Sandy caused severe flooding along portions of the northeast coast of the United States and cut new inlets across barrier islands in New Jersey and New York. About 30% of the 20 highest daily maximum water levels observed between 2007 and 2013 in Barnegat and Great South Bay occurred in 5 months following Hurricane Sandy. Hurricane Sandy provided a rare opportunity to determine whether extreme events alter systems protected by barrier islands, leaving the mainland more vulnerable to flooding. Comparisons between water levels before and after Hurricane Sandy at bay stations and an offshore station show no significant differences in the transfer of sea level fluctuations from offshore to either bay following Sandy. The post-Hurricane Sandy bay high water levels reflected offshore sea levels caused by winter storms, not by barrier island breaching or geomorphic changes within the bays

A synthesis of magnetostratigraphic results from Pliocene-Pleistocene sediments cored using the hydraulic piston corer

We present a summary evaluation of the distribution and qualitative ranking of the Plio-Pleistocene magnetostratigraphic results obtained to date from Deep Sea Drilling Project and Ocean Drilling Program piston-cored sites. A review of the published magnetostratigraphic records provides insights into the important extrinsic and intrinsic factors which affect the quality of the paleomagnetic records. The extrinsic factors originate with drilling processes, such as core barrel remagnetization, and steps can be taken to reduce these effects and improve the data quality. The distribution of the high-quality records correlates well both with areas of terrigenous sediment input as well as regions of moderate biological productivity. This suggests that important intrinsic factors include the origin of the original magnetic carrier in the sediment (lithogenic or biogenic) and the degree to which the magnetic carrier has been affected by reduction diagenesis

The good, the bad and the ugly of dendritic cells during prion disease

Prions are a unique group of proteinaceous pathogens which cause neurodegenerative disease and can be transmitted by a variety of exposure routes. After peripheral exposure, the accumulation and replication of prions within secondary lymphoid organs are obligatory for their efficient spread from the periphery to the brain where they ultimately cause neurodegeneration and death. Mononuclear phagocytes (MNP) are a heterogeneous population of dendritic cells (DC) and macrophages. These cells are abundant throughout the body and display a diverse range of roles based on their anatomical locations. For example, some MNP are strategically situated to provide a first line of defence against pathogens by phagocytosing and destroying them. Conventional DC are potent antigen presenting cells and migrate via the lymphatics to the draining lymphoid tissue where they present the antigens to lymphocytes. The diverse roles of MNP are also reflected in various ways in which they interact with prions and in doing so impact on disease pathogenesis. Indeed, some studies suggest that prions exploit conventional DC to infect the host. Here we review our current understanding of the influence of MNP in the pathogenesis of the acquired prion diseases with particular emphasis on the role of conventional DC