Missed Work Due to Occupational Illness Among Hispanic Horse Workers

Occupational illnesses are inadequately reported for agriculture, an industry dominated by a vulnerable Hispanic population and high fatal and nonfatal injury rates. Work-related illnesses can contribute to missed work, caused by a combination of personal and work factors, with costs to the individual, employer, and society. To better understand agricultural occupational illnesses, 225 Hispanic horse workers were interviewed via community-based convenience sampling. Descriptive statistics, bivariate analyses, and log binomial regression modeling were used to: (1) describe the prevalence of missed work due to work-related illnesses among Hispanic horse workers, (2) examine work-related and personal factors associated with missed work, and (3) identify health symptoms and work-related characteristics potentially associated with missed work. Key findings reveal that having at least one child (PR = 1.71, 95% CI = 1.03, 2.84), having poor self-reported general health (PR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.48, 1.08), experiencing stress during a typical workday (PR = 2.58, 95% CI = 1.25, 5.32), or spending less time with horses (PR = 1.87, 95% CI = 1.15, 3.05) are significant predictors of missing work. Interventions can be designed to identify workers most susceptible to missing work and provide resources to reduce absenteeism. Future research should examine work-related illness in agricultural horse production, including personal and work-related factors, in order to diminish occupational health disparities among these workers, who are more likely to be employed in hazardous agricultural work

Ice-Cap: A Method for Growing Arabidopsis and Tomato Plants in 96-well Plates for High-Throughput Genotyping

It is becoming common for plant scientists to develop projects that require the genotyping of large numbers of plants. The first step in any genotyping project is to collect a tissue sample from each individual plant. The traditional approach to this task is to sample plants one-at-a-time. If one wishes to genotype hundreds or thousands of individuals, however, using this strategy results in a significant bottleneck in the genotyping pipeline. The Ice-Cap method that we describe here provides a high-throughput solution to this challenge by allowing one scientist to collect tissue from several thousand seedlings in a single day 1,2. This level of throughput is made possible by the fact that tissue is harvested from plants 96-at-a-time, rather than one-at-a-time

Impact of the COVID-19 Shutdown on Mental Health in Appalachia by Working Status

Introduction: To slow the spread of COVID-19 in the United States, businesses shutdown in Spring 2020. Research has indicated the impact on frontline workers, yet little is known about the impact on those who were not working outside the home or switched to working remotely. Purpose: The purpose of this report is to identify the financial and healthcare issues and mental health impact of the COVID-19 shutdown on Appalachians by worker categories. Methods: An online survey was administered from May 8 – June 6, 2020 to a convenience sample of previous research participants and shared through social media networks, i.e., snowball sampling. Questions investigated mental health, financial and healthcare issues, and employment status. Survey responses were summarized by percentages overall and by working categories. Results: Of the 751 participants, 276 (42%) resided in Appalachia. After removing 17 who lost their job due to COVID-19, 59 (23%) indicated not working outside the home prior to COVID-19, whereas 111 (43%) and 89 (34%) switched to working remotely and continued working outside the home during the shutdown. Respondents were predominately Caucasian and female. Nearly a quarter of participants had lost or reduced income due to the shutdown. Approximately half missed or postponed healthcare appointments. Mental health impacts were similar across the groups, with half of the respondents reporting anxiety due to COVID-19. Implications: Further research is needed to explore health outcomes associated with missed healthcare appointments during the shutdown. Mental health support may be needed equally by those isolated at home and frontline workers

Spatial patterns and source attribution of urban methane in the Los Angeles Basin

Urban areas are increasingly recognized as a globally important source of methane to the atmosphere; however, the location of methane sources and relative contributions of source sectors are not well known. Recent atmospheric measurements in Los Angeles, California, USA, show that more than a third of the city's methane emissions are unaccounted for in inventories and suggest that fugitive fossil emissions are the unknown source. We made on-road measurements to quantify fine-scale structure of methane and a suite of complementary trace gases across the Los Angeles Basin in June 2013. Enhanced methane levels were observed across the basin but were unevenly distributed in space. We identified 213 methane hot spots from unknown emission sources. We made direct measurements of ethane to methane (C_2H_6/CH_4) ratios of known methane emission sources in the region, including cattle, geologic seeps, landfills, and compressed natural gas fueling stations, and used these ratios to determine the contribution of biogenic and fossil methane sources to unknown hot spots and to local urban background air. We found that 75% of hot spots were of fossil origin, 20% were biogenic, and 5% of indeterminate source. In regionally integrated air, we observed a wider range of C_2H_6/CH_4 values than observed previously. Fossil fuel sources accounted for 58–65% of methane emissions, with the range depending on the assumed C_2H_6/CH_4 ratio of source end-members and model structure. These surveys demonstrated the prevalence of fugitive methane emissions across the Los Angeles urban landscape and suggested that uninventoried methane sources were widely distributed and primarily of fossil origin

The Siren Site and the Long Transition from Archaic to Late Prehistoric Lifeways on the Eastern Edwards Plateau of Central Texas

On behalf of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) conducted testing and data recovery investigations at the Siren site (41WM1126), a prehistoric multi-component site in the Interstate Highway 35 right-of-way along the South Fork of the San Gabriel River in Williamson County, Texas. The work was done to fulfill TxDOT’s compliance obligations under the National Historic Preservation Act and the Antiquities Code of Texas. The testing investigations were conducted under Antiquities Permit 3834, and the subsequent data recovery was under Permit 3938. Kevin Miller served as Principal Investigator on both permits. Though the site extends far beyond the area of potential effects both horizontally and vertically, the investigations focused on Late Archaic and Late Prehistoric components within a relatively limited area that would be subject to project impacts. The investigations were conducted in February 2006. The investigations identified five isolable components that were intermittently laid down from approximately 2600 to 900 years ago. A substantial Late Prehistoric Austin phase occupation is represented by Scallorn projectile points, stone tools, burned rock, faunal materials, and radiocarbon dates from cooking features. The component feature assemblage includes a cluster of discrete, well-preserved burned rock features that range from small fire-cracked rock concentrations to a large, slab-lined feature that dominates the cluster. The underlying components include four cultural strata representing a series of phases in the final millennium or so of the long Archaic period. These components span approximately 2600 to 1500 b.p., though earlier, deeply buried components were also noted on the site. These deeper deposits were not the focus of the investigations, however, since they would not be affected by the project. The Archaic components revealed a suite of small side-notched dart points such as Ensor, Fairland, and Frio, as well as many earlier broad-bladed styles such as Castroville, Montell, Marshall, and Pedernales. These robust components contained numerous burned rock features of varying size and function, abundant tools, well-preserved faunal materials, macrobotanical remains including geophytes from several earth ovens, and a large suite of radiocarbon dates. The features include an incipient burned rock midden, burned rock clusters, a debitage reduction area, a biface cache, slab-lined hearths, basin-shaped hearths, and small circular hearths. The distributions of artifacts and features within the Archaic components across the excavation blocks showed significant variations. These differences reflect sequential components that provide a view of diachronic trends in technology, subsistence, economy, and a suite of other behaviors and activities during the long transition from Archaic to Late Prehistoric adaptations. As previously determined by the testing excavations and further substantiated by the data recovery investigations, the Siren site, most notably the Late Archaic and Late Prehistoric components, is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion D, 36 CFR 60.4, and eligible for State Archeological Landmark designation under Criteria 1 and 2 of the Rules of Practice and Procedure for the Antiquities Code of Texas, 13 TAC 26.8. The excavations and subsequent analysis have mitigated the adverse effects of the bridge construction by recovering the vast majority of the affected components within the area of potential effect. No further archaeological work is recommended. Portions of the site outside the area of potential effects have not been fully evaluated, and any future impacts beyond the mitigated areas warrant further assessment

Radiocarbon-Based Partitioning of Soil Respiration in an Old-Growth Coniferous Forest

Temperate forests play an important role in the global carbon cycle, and are thought to currently be a sink for atmospheric CO₂. However, we lack understanding of the drivers of forest carbon accumulation and loss, hampering our ability to predict carbon cycle responses to global change. In this study, we used CO₂ flux and radiocarbon (¹⁴C) measurements to investigate the role of seasonal drivers on soil respiration. Radiocarbon measurements of CO₂ evolved during incubation of fine roots and root-free soils at the beginning and end of the growing season (April and August) showed that these two soil respiration sources (fine roots vis-a`-vis soils) have different mean residence times that stayed constant between seasons. Radiocarbon measurements show that root respiration was made up of carbon fixed 3–5 years prior to sampling, and that heterotrophic respiration was made up of carbon fixed 7–10 years prior. The difference in radiocarbon signature between the two sources allowed us to partition autotrophic and heterotrophic respiration sources for soil respiration measurements in the field. We observed a small but significant increase in Δ¹⁴C of soil respiration between April and August, suggesting an increase in heterotrophic respiration sources over the growing season. Using a two end-member mixing model, we estimate that 55 ± 22% of soil respiration originated from autotrophic (root) sources in April, but their contribution dropped to 38 ± 21% in August. These findings suggest that the contribution of root respiration increases at a time of high productivity and/or as a result of relatively low microbial respiration in the early spring in this old-growth coniferous forest.Keywords: root respiration, stored carbon, residence time of soil carbon, photosynthates, soil CO₂ flux, radiocarbo

Randomized trial of neoadjuvant vaccination with tumor-cell lysate induces T cell response in low-grade gliomas

BACKGROUND. Long-term prognosis of WHO grade II low-grade gliomas (LGGs) is poor, with a high risk of recurrence and malignant transformation into high-grade gliomas. Given the relatively intact immune system of patients with LGGs and the slow tumor growth rate, vaccines are an attractive treatment strategy. METHODS. We conducted a pilot study to evaluate the safety and immunological effects of vaccination with GBM6-AD, lysate of an allogeneic glioblastoma stem cell line, with poly-ICLC in patients with LGGs. Patients were randomized to receive the vaccines before surgery (arm 1) or not (arm 2) and all patients received adjuvant vaccines. Coprimary outcomes were to evaluate safety and immune response in the tumor. RESULTS. A total of 17 eligible patients were enrolled — 9 in arm 1 and 8 in arm 2. This regimen was well tolerated with no regimen-limiting toxicity. Neoadjuvant vaccination induced upregulation of type-1 cytokines and chemokines and increased activated CD8+ T cells in peripheral blood. Single-cell RNA/T cell receptor sequencing detected CD8+ T cell clones that expanded with effector phenotype and migrated into the tumor microenvironment (TME) in response to neoadjuvant vaccination. Mass cytometric analyses detected increased tissue resident–like CD8+ T cells with effector memory phenotype in the TME after the neoadjuvant vaccination. CONCLUSION. The regimen induced effector CD8+ T cell response in peripheral blood and enabled vaccine-reactive CD8+ T cells to migrate into the TME. Further refinements of the regimen may have to be integrated into future strategies

Financing U.S. Graduate Medical Education: A Policy Position Paper of the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine and the American College of Physicians

In this position paper, the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine and the American College of Physicians examine the state of graduate medical education (GME) financing in the United States and recent proposals to reform GME funding. They make a series of recommendations to reform the current funding system to better align GME with the needs of the nation's health care workforce. These recommendations include using Medicare GME funds to meet policy goals and to ensure an adequate supply of physicians, a proper specialty mix, and appropriate training sites; spreading the costs of financing GME across the health care system; evaluating the true cost of training a resident and establishing a single per-resident amount; increasing transparency and innovation; and ensuring that primary care residents receive training in well-functioning ambulatory settings that are financially supported for their training roles

Impact of Audiovisual-Assisted Therapeutic Ambience in Radiation Therapy (AVATAR) on Anesthesia Use, Payer Charges, and Treatment Time in Pediatric Patients

Purpose Pediatric radiation therapy (RT) requires optimal immobilization that often necessitates daily anesthesia. To decrease anesthesia use, we implemented a novel audiovisual-assisted therapeutic ambience in RT (AVATAR) system that projects video onto a radiolucent screen within the child’s line of vision to provide attentional diversion. We investigated its reduction on anesthesia use, payer charges, and treatment time, in addition to its impact on radiation delivery. Methods and Materials A 6-year retrospective analysis was performed among children undergoing RT (n = 224) 3 years before and 3 years after the introduction of AVATAR. The frequency of anesthesia use before and after AVATAR implementation, in addition to RT treatment times, were compared. The number of spared anesthesia treatments allowed for a charge to payer analysis. To document the lack of surface dose perturbation by AVATAR, a phantom craniospinal treatment course was delivered both with and without AVATAR. Additionally, an ion chamber course was delivered to document changes to the dose at depth. Results More children were able to avoid anesthesia use entirely in the post-AVATAR cohort compared with the pre-AVATAR cohort (73.2% vs 63.4%; P = .03), and fewer required anesthesia for each treatment (18.8% vs 33%; P = .03). AVATAR introduction reduced anesthesia use for all ages studied. Treatment time per session was reduced by 38% using AVATAR compared with anesthesia. There were 326 fewer anesthesia sessions delivered over 3 years after AVATAR was introduced, with an estimated savings of >$500,000. Optically stimulated luminescent dosimeters revealed a small increase in dose of 0.8 Conclusions AVATAR introduction decreased anesthesia use in children undergoing RT. More children avoided anesthesia entirely, and fewer needed anesthesia for every treatment, resulting in a reduction in treatment time and savings of nearly$550,000 in approximately 3 years, with minimal perturbation of RT dose delivery

Maintenance N-acetyl cysteine treatment for bipolar disorder : a double-blind randomised placebo controlled trial

Background N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) is a glutathione precursor that has been shown to have antidepressant efficacy in a placebo-controlled trial. The current study aimed to investigate the maintenance effects of NAC following eight weeks of open-label treatment for bipolar disorder.Method The efficacy of a double blind randomized placebo controlled trial of 2 g/day NAC as adjunct maintenance treatment for bipolar disorder was examined. Participants (n = 149) had a Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Score of [greater than or equal to]12 at trial entry and, after eight weeks of open-label NAC treatment, were randomized to adjunctive NAC or placebo, in addition to treatment as usual. Participants (primarily outpatients) were recruited through public and private services and through newspaper advertisements. Time to intervention for a mood episode was the primary endpoint of the study, and changes in mood symptoms, functionality and quality of life measures were secondary outcomes.Results There was a substantial decrease in symptoms during the eight-week open-label NAC treatment phase. During the subsequent double-blind phase, there was minimal further change in outcome measures with scores remaining low. Consequently, from this low plateau, between-group differences did not emerge on recurrence, clinical functioning or quality of life measures.Conclusions There were no significant between-group differences in recurrence or symptomatic outcomes during the maintenance phase of the trial; however, these findings may be confounded by limitations. Trial Registration The trial was registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12607000074493)