Low back pain around retirement age and physical occupational exposure during working life

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Physical occupational exposure is a risk factor for low back pain in workers but the long term effects of exposure remain unclear. As several countries consider increasing the retirement age, further information on this topic is relevant. This study aimed to describe the prevalence of low back pain among middle aged and aging individuals in the general French population according to physical occupational exposure and retirement status.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study population originated from the French national survey 'Enquête décennale santé 2002'. Low back pain for more than 30 days within the previous twelve months (LBP) was assessed using a French version of the Nordic questionnaire. Occupational exposure was self assessed. Subjects were classified as "exposed" if they were currently or had previously been exposed to handling of heavy loads and/or to tiring postures. The weighted prevalence of LBP was computed separately for men and women, for active (aged 45-59) and retiree (aged 55-74), according to 5-year age group and past/present occupational exposure.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>For active men, the prevalence of LBP was significantly higher in those currently or previously exposed (n = 1051) compared with those never exposed (n = 1183), respectively over 20% versus less than 11%. Among retired men, the prevalence of LBP tended towards equivalence with increasing age among those previously exposed (n = 748) and those unexposed (n = 599).</p> <p>Patterns were quite similar for women with a higher prevalence in exposed active women (n = 741) compared to unexposed (n = 1260): around 25% versus 15%. Similarly, differences between previously exposed (n = 430) and unexposed (n = 489) retired women tended to reduce with age.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The prevalence of LBP in active workers was associated with occupational exposure. The link with past exposure among retirees decreased with age. These results should be considered for policies dealing with prevention at the workplace and retirement.</p

Means to an End: An Assessment of the Status-blind Approach to Protecting Undocumented Worker Rights

This article applies the tenets of bureaucratic incorporation theory to an investigation of bureaucratic decision making in labor standards enforcement agencies (LSEAs), as they relate to undocumented workers. Drawing on 25 semistructured interviews with high-level officials in San Jose and Houston, I find that bureaucrats in both cities routinely evade the issue of immigration status during the claims-making process, and directly challenge employers’ attempts to use the undocumented status of their workers to deflect liability. Respondents offer three institutionalized narratives for this approach: (1) to deter employer demand for undocumented labor, (2) the conviction that the protection of undocumented workers is essential to the agency’s ability to regulate industry standards for all workers, and (3) to clearly demarcate the agency’s jurisdictional boundaries to preserve institutional autonomy and scarce resources. Within this context, enforcing the rights of undocumented workers becomes simply an institutional means to an end

Tungsten-niobium oxide bronzes: a bulk and surface structural study

[EN] Materials from the WO3-Nb2O5 system, presenting bronze-type crystal structures, display outstanding functional properties for several applications as thermoelectric materials, lithium-ion battery electrodes, or catalysts. In this work, a series of W-Nb-O oxide bronzes have been synthesized by the hydrothermal method (with Nb/(W + Nb) ratios in the range of 0-1). A combination of bulk and surface characterisation techniques has been applied to get further insights into: (i) the effect of thermal treatments on as-prepared materials and (ii) the surface chemical nature of W-Nb-O oxide bronzes. Thermal treatments promote the following structural changes: (i) loss of emerging long-range order and (ii) the elimination of NH4+ and H2O species from the structural channels of the as-synthesized materials. It has been observed that W-Nb-O bronzes with Nb at% of ca. 50% are able to retain a long-range order after heat-treatments, which is attributed to the presence of a Cs-0.5[W2.5Nb2.5O14]-type structure. Increasing amounts of Nb 5T in the materials (i) promote a phase transition to pseudocrystalline phases ordered along the c-axis; (ii) stabilize surface W s. species (elucidated by XPS); and (iii) increase the proportion of surface Lewis acid sites (as determined by the FTIR of adsorbed CO). Results suggest that pseudocrystalline oxides (with a Nb at% >= 50%) are closely related to NbO2 pentagonal bipyramid-containing structures. The stabilisation of Lewis acid sites on these pseudocrystalline materials leads to a higher yield of heavy compounds, at the expense of acrolein formation, in the gas-phase dehydration of glycerol.The authors would like to acknowledge the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades in Spain for the financial support (RTI2018-099668-B-C21 and SEV-2016-0683 projects), and the Electron Microscopy Service at Universitat Politecnica de Valencia for providing facilities and technical support. D. D. also thanks Severo Ochoa Excellence Program for his fellowship (SVP-2014-068669).Delgado-Muñoz, D.; Concepción Heydorn, P.; Trunschke, A.; López Nieto, JM. (2020). Tungsten-niobium oxide bronzes: a bulk and surface structural study. Dalton Transactions. 49(38):13282-13293. https://doi.org/10.1039/d0dt02058cS13282132934938D. J. M. Bevan and P.Hagenmuller , Non-Stoichiometric Compounds , Pergamon , 1973Quan, H., Gao, Y., & Wang, W. (2020). Tungsten oxide-based visible light-driven photocatalysts: crystal and electronic structures and strategies for photocatalytic efficiency enhancement. Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers, 7(4), 817-838. doi:10.1039/c9qi01516gWu, C.-M., Naseem, S., Chou, M.-H., Wang, J.-H., & Jian, Y.-Q. (2019). Recent Advances in Tungsten-Oxide-Based Materials and Their Applications. Frontiers in Materials, 6. doi:10.3389/fmats.2019.00049P. G. Dickens and M. F.Pye , in Intercalation Chemistry , ed. M. S. Whittingham and A. J. Jacobson , Academic Press , 1982 , pp. 539–561Tilley, R. J. D. (1995). The crystal chemistry of the higher tungsten oxides. International Journal of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials, 13(1-3), 93-109. doi:10.1016/0263-4368(95)00004-6CHEETHAM, A. K., & VON DREELE, R. B. (1973). Cation Distributions in Niobium Oxide Block Structures. Nature Physical Science, 244(139), 139-140. doi:10.1038/physci244139a0Obayashi, H., & Anderson, J. S. (1976). Intermediate phases and pseudophases in the system WO3Nb2O5: Tetragonal tungsten bronze phases. Journal of Solid State Chemistry, 17(1-2), 79-89. doi:10.1016/0022-4596(76)90205-xMAGNÉLI, A. (1950). Structure of β-Tungsten Oxide. Nature, 165(4192), 356-357. doi:10.1038/165356b0M. Greenblatt , in Physics and Chemistry of Low-Dimensional Inorganic Conductors , ed. C. Schlenker , J. Dumas , M. Greenblatt and S. van Smaalen , Springer US , Boston, MA , 1996 , vol. 2 , pp. 15–43Chen, J., Wang, H., Deng, J., Xu, C., & Wang, Y. (2018). Low-crystalline tungsten trioxide anode with superior electrochemical performance for flexible solid-state asymmetry supercapacitor. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 6(19), 8986-8991. doi:10.1039/c8ta01323cGarcía-González, E., Soriano, M. D., Urones-Garrote, E., & López Nieto, J. M. (2014). On the origin of the spontaneous formation of nanocavities in hexagonal bronzes (W,V)O3. Dalton Trans., 43(39), 14644-14652. doi:10.1039/c4dt01465kSoriano, M. D., Concepción, P., Nieto, J. M. L., Cavani, F., Guidetti, S., & Trevisanut, C. (2011). Tungsten-Vanadium mixed oxides for the oxidehydration of glycerol into acrylic acid. Green Chemistry, 13(10), 2954. doi:10.1039/c1gc15622eMurayama, T., Kuramata, N., Takatama, S., Nakatani, K., Izumi, S., Yi, X., & Ueda, W. (2012). Synthesis of porous and acidic complex metal oxide catalyst based on group 5 and 6 elements. Catalysis Today, 185(1), 224-229. doi:10.1016/j.cattod.2011.10.029Omata, K., Izumi, S., Murayama, T., & Ueda, W. (2013). Hydrothermal synthesis of W–Nb complex metal oxides and their application to catalytic dehydration of glycerol to acrolein. Catalysis Today, 201, 7-11. doi:10.1016/j.cattod.2012.06.004Thibodeau, T. J., Canney, A. S., DeSisto, W. J., Wheeler, M. C., Amar, F. G., & Frederick, B. G. (2010). Composition of tungsten oxide bronzes active for hydrodeoxygenation. Applied Catalysis A: General, 388(1-2), 86-95. doi:10.1016/j.apcata.2010.08.025M. J. Sienko , in Nonstoichiometric Compounds, Advances in Chemistry , ed. R. Ward , American Chemical Society , 1963 , vol. 39 , ch. 21, pp. 224–236Yang, C., Chen, J.-F., Zeng, X., Cheng, D., & Cao, D. (2014). Design of the Alkali-Metal-Doped WO3 as a Near-Infrared Shielding Material for Smart Window. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 53(46), 17981-17988. doi:10.1021/ie503284xMigas, D. B., Shaposhnikov, V. L., Rodin, V. N., & Borisenko, V. E. (2010). Tungsten oxides. I. Effects of oxygen vacancies and doping on electronic and optical properties of different phases of WO3. Journal of Applied Physics, 108(9), 093713. doi:10.1063/1.3505688Ostertag, W., & Collins, C. V. (1967). Electrical resistivity of cubic rare earth, thorium and uranium tungsten bronzes. Materials Research Bulletin, 2(2), 217-221. doi:10.1016/0025-5408(67)90060-8Ostertag, W. (1966). Rare Earth Tungsten Bronzes. Inorganic Chemistry, 5(5), 758-760. doi:10.1021/ic50039a014Von Rohr, F. O., Ryser, A., Ji, H., Stolze, K., Tao, J., Frick, J. J., … Cava, R. J. (2019). The h ‐Sb x WO 3+2 x Oxygen Excess Antimony Tungsten Bronze. Chemistry – A European Journal, 25(8), 2082-2088. doi:10.1002/chem.201805251Cerretti, G., Schrade, M., Song, X., Balke, B., Lu, H., Weidner, T., … Tremel, W. (2017). Thermal stability and enhanced thermoelectric properties of the tetragonal tungsten bronzes Nb8−xW9+xO47 (0 < x < 5). Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 5(20), 9768-9774. doi:10.1039/c7ta01121kGriffith, K. J., Wiaderek, K. M., Cibin, G., Marbella, L. E., & Grey, C. P. (2018). Niobium tungsten oxides for high-rate lithium-ion energy storage. Nature, 559(7715), 556-563. doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0347-0Okumura, K., Tomiyama, T., Shirakawa, S., Ishida, S., Sanada, T., Arao, M., & Niwa, M. (2011). Hydrothermal synthesis and catalysis of Nb2O5–WOxnanofiber crystal. J. Mater. Chem., 21(1), 229-235. doi:10.1039/c0jm02882gDelgado, D., Fernández-Arroyo, A., Domine, M. E., García-González, E., & López Nieto, J. M. (2019). W–Nb–O oxides with tunable acid properties as efficient catalysts for the transformation of biomass-derived oxygenates in aqueous systems. Catalysis Science & Technology, 9(12), 3126-3136. doi:10.1039/c9cy00367cSaha, D., Jensen, K. M. Ø., Tyrsted, C., Bøjesen, E. D., Mamakhel, A. H., Dippel, A.-C., … Iversen, B. B. (2014). In Situ Total X-Ray Scattering Study of WO3Nanoparticle Formation under Hydrothermal Conditions. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 53(14), 3667-3670. doi:10.1002/anie.201311254Juelsholt, M., Lindahl Christiansen, T., & Jensen, K. M. Ø. (2019). Mechanisms for Tungsten Oxide Nanoparticle Formation in Solvothermal Synthesis: From Polyoxometalates to Crystalline Materials. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 123(8), 5110-5119. doi:10.1021/acs.jpcc.8b12395Murayama, T., Kuramata, N., & Ueda, W. (2016). Hydrothermal synthesis of W–Ta–O complex metal oxides by assembling MO6 (M = W or Ta) octahedra and creation of solid acid. Journal of Catalysis, 339, 143-152. doi:10.1016/j.jcat.2016.04.007Murayama, T., Nakajima, K., Hirata, J., Omata, K., Hensen, E. J. M., & Ueda, W. (2017). Hydrothermal synthesis of a layered-type W–Ti–O mixed metal oxide and its solid acid activity. Catalysis Science & Technology, 7(1), 243-250. doi:10.1039/c6cy02198kDelgado, D., Soriano, M. D., Solsona, B., Zamora, S., Agouram, S., Concepción, P., & López Nieto, J. M. (2019). Tungsten-titanium mixed oxide bronzes: Synthesis, characterization and catalytic behavior in methanol transformation. Applied Catalysis A: General, 582, 117092. doi:10.1016/j.apcata.2019.05.026Delgado, D., Chieregato, A., Soriano, M. D., Rodríguez-Aguado, E., Ruiz-Rodríguez, L., Rodríguez-Castellón, E., & López Nieto, J. M. (2018). Influence of Phase Composition of Bulk Tungsten Vanadium Oxides on the Aerobic Transformation of Methanol and Glycerol. European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry, 2018(10), 1204-1211. doi:10.1002/ejic.201800059Delgado, D., Fernández-Arroyo, A., Salvia, N. L., Domine, M. E., & Nieto, J. M. L. (2019). Reflux-synthesized bulk and diluted W-Nb-O mixed oxide bronzes for the valorization of short-chain oxygenates aqueous mixtures. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 40(11), 1778-1787. doi:10.1016/s1872-2067(19)63419-4La Salvia, N., Delgado, D., Ruiz-Rodríguez, L., Nadji, L., Massó, A., & Nieto, J. M. L. (2017). V- and Nb-containing tungsten bronzes catalysts for the aerobic transformation of ethanol and glycerol. Bulk and supported materials. Catalysis Today, 296, 2-9. doi:10.1016/j.cattod.2017.04.009Choi, J., Moon, K., Kang, I., Kim, S., Yoo, P. J., Oh, K. W., & Park, J. (2015). Preparation of quaternary tungsten bronze nanoparticles by a thermal decomposition of ammonium metatungstate with oleylamine. Chemical Engineering Journal, 281, 236-242. doi:10.1016/j.cej.2015.06.101Nieto, J. M. L., Botella, P., Vázquez, M. I., & Dejoz, A. (2002). The selective oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane over hydrothermally synthesised MoVTeNb catalysts. Chem. Commun., (17), 1906-1907. doi:10.1039/b204037aSadakane, M., Yamagata, K., Kodato, K., Endo, K., Toriumi, K., Ozawa, Y., … Ueda, W. (2009). Synthesis of Orthorhombic Mo-V-Sb Oxide Species by Assembly of Pentagonal Mo6O21Polyoxometalate Building Blocks. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 48(21), 3782-3786. doi:10.1002/anie.200805792Wagner, J. B., Timpe, O., Hamid, F. A., Trunschke, A., Wild, U., Su, D. S., … Schlögl, R. (2006). Surface texturing of Mo–V–Te–Nb–O x selective oxidation catalysts. Topics in Catalysis, 38(1-3), 51-58. doi:10.1007/s11244-006-0070-1Barthel, J., Weirich, T. E., Cox, G., Hibst, H., & Thust, A. (2010). Structure of Cs0.5[Nb2.5W2.5O14] analysed by focal-series reconstruction and crystallographic image processing. Acta Materialia, 58(10), 3764-3772. doi:10.1016/j.actamat.2010.03.016Soriano, M. D., García-González, E., Concepción, P., Rodella, C. B., & López Nieto, J. M. (2017). Self-Organized Transformation from Hexagonal to Orthorhombic Bronze of Cs–Nb–W–O Mixed Oxides Prepared Hydrothermally. Crystal Growth & Design, 17(12), 6320-6331. doi:10.1021/acs.cgd.7b00999Dickens, P. G., & Whittingham, M. S. (1968). The tungsten bronzes and related compounds. Quarterly Reviews, Chemical Society, 22(1), 30. doi:10.1039/qr9682200030MAGNÉLI, A. (1952). Tungsten Bronzes containing Six-membered Rings of WO6 Octahedra. Nature, 169(4306), 791-792. doi:10.1038/169791a0Szilágyi, I. M., Madarász, J., Pokol, G., Király, P., Tárkányi, G., Saukko, S., … Varga-Josepovits, K. (2008). Stability and Controlled Composition of Hexagonal WO3. Chemistry of Materials, 20(12), 4116-4125. doi:10.1021/cm800668xPinar, A. B., Márquez-Álvarez, C., Grande-Casas, M., & Pérez-Pariente, J. (2009). Template-controlled acidity and catalytic activity of ferrierite crystals. Journal of Catalysis, 263(2), 258-265. doi:10.1016/j.jcat.2009.02.017Gu, Z., Ma, Y., Zhai, T., Gao, B., Yang, W., & Yao, J. (2006). A Simple Hydrothermal Method for the Large-Scale Synthesis of Single-Crystal Potassium Tungsten Bronze Nanowires. Chemistry - A European Journal, 12(29), 7717-7723. doi:10.1002/chem.200600077Xie, F. Y., Gong, L., Liu, X., Tao, Y. T., Zhang, W. H., Chen, S. H., … Chen, J. (2012). XPS studies on surface reduction of tungsten oxide nanowire film by Ar+ bombardment. Journal of Electron Spectroscopy and Related Phenomena, 185(3-4), 112-118. doi:10.1016/j.elspec.2012.01.004Grundner, M., & Halbritter, J. (1980). XPS and AES studies on oxide growth and oxide coatings on niobium. Journal of Applied Physics, 51(1), 397-405. doi:10.1063/1.327386Kreissl, H. T., Li, M. M. J., Peng, Y.-K., Nakagawa, K., Hooper, T. J. N., Hanna, J. V., … Tsang, S. C. E. (2017). Structural Studies of Bulk to Nanosize Niobium Oxides with Correlation to Their Acidity. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 139(36), 12670-12680. doi:10.1021/jacs.7b06856BURSILL, L. A., & HYDE, B. G. (1972). Rotation Faults in Crystals. Nature Physical Science, 240(102), 122-124. doi:10.1038/physci240122a0Bursill, L. A., & Smith, D. J. (1984). Interaction of small and extended defects in nonstoichiometric oxides. Nature, 309(5966), 319-321. doi:10.1038/309319a0Migas, D. B., Shaposhnikov, V. L., & Borisenko, V. E. (2010). Tungsten oxides. II. The metallic nature of Magnéli phases. Journal of Applied Physics, 108(9), 093714. doi:10.1063/1.3505689Dupin, J.-C., Gonbeau, D., Vinatier, P., & Levasseur, A. (2000). Systematic XPS studies of metal oxides, hydroxides and peroxides. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2(6), 1319-1324. doi:10.1039/a908800hCiftyürek, E., Šmíd, B., Li, Z., Matolín, V., & Schierbaum, K. (2019). Spectroscopic Understanding of SnO2 and WO3 Metal Oxide Surfaces with Advanced Synchrotron Based; XPS-UPS and Near Ambient Pressure (NAP) XPS Surface Sensitive Techniques for Gas Sensor Applications under Operational Conditions. Sensors, 19(21), 4737. doi:10.3390/s19214737Pawlak, D. A., Ito, M., Oku, M., Shimamura, K., & Fukuda, T. (2001). Interpretation of XPS O (1s) in Mixed Oxides Proved on Mixed Perovskite Crystals. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 106(2), 504-507. doi:10.1021/jp012040aA. Davydov , Molecular Spectroscopy of Oxide Catalyst Surfaces , John Wiley & Sons , Hoboken , 2003 , pp. 27–179Perra, D., Drenchev, N., Chakarova, K., Cutrufello, M. G., & Hadjiivanov, K. (2014). Remarkable acid strength of ammonium ions in zeolites: FTIR study of low-temperature CO adsorption on NH4FER. RSC Adv., 4(99), 56183-56187. doi:10.1039/c4ra12504eZecchina, A., Marchese, L., Bordiga, S., Pazè, C., & Gianotti, E. (1997). Vibrational Spectroscopy of NH4+ Ions in Zeolitic Materials:  An IR Study. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 101(48), 10128-10135. doi:10.1021/jp9717554Katryniok, B., Paul, S., Bellière-Baca, V., Rey, P., & Dumeignil, F. (2010). Glycerol dehydration to acrolein in the context of new uses of glycerol. Green Chemistry, 12(12), 2079. doi:10.1039/c0gc00307gFoo, G. S., Wei, D., Sholl, D. S., & Sievers, C. (2014). Role of Lewis and Brønsted Acid Sites in the Dehydration of Glycerol over Niobia. ACS Catalysis, 4(9), 3180-3192. doi:10.1021/cs5006376Sung, K.-H., & Cheng, S. (2017). Effect of Nb doping in WO3/ZrO2 catalysts on gas phase dehydration of glycerol to form acrolein. RSC Advances, 7(66), 41880-41888. doi:10.1039/c7ra08154

Ecological Determinants of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1) Outbreaks in Bangladesh

BACKGROUND: The agro-ecology and poultry husbandry of the south Asian and south-east Asian countries share common features, however, with noticeable differences. Hence, the ecological determinants associated with risk of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI-H5N1) outbreaks are expected to differ between Bangladesh and e.g., Thailand and Vietnam. The primary aim of the current study was to establish ecological determinants associated with the risk of HPAI-H5N1 outbreaks at subdistrict level in Bangladesh. The secondary aim was to explore the performance of two different statistical modeling approaches for unmeasured spatially correlated variation. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: An ecological study at subdistrict level in Bangladesh was performed with 138 subdistricts with HPAI-H5N1 outbreaks during 2007-2008, and 326 subdistricts with no outbreaks. The association between ecological determinants and HPAI-H5N1 outbreaks was examined using a generalized linear mixed model. Spatial clustering of the ecological data was modeled using 1) an intrinsic conditional autoregressive (ICAR) model at subdistrict level considering their first order neighbors, and 2) a multilevel (ML) model with subdistricts nested within districts. Ecological determinants significantly associated with risk of HPAI-H5N1 outbreaks at subdistrict level were migratory birds' staging areas, river network, household density, literacy rate, poultry density, live bird markets, and highway network. Predictive risk maps were derived based on the resulting models. The resulting models indicate that the ML model absorbed some of the covariate effect of the ICAR model because of the neighbor structure implied in the two different models. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The study identified a new set of ecological determinants related to river networks, migratory birds' staging areas and literacy rate in addition to already known risk factors, and clarified that the generalized concept of free grazing duck and duck-rice cultivation interacted ecology are not significant determinants for Bangladesh. These findings will refine current understanding of the HPAI-H5N1 epidemiology in Bangladesh

Vitamin D insufficiency in COVID-19 and influenza A, and critical illness survivors: a cross-sectional study

Objectives: The steroid hormone vitamin D has roles in immunomodulation and bone health. Insufficiency is associated with susceptibility to respiratory infections. We report 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D) measurements in hospitalised people with COVID-19 and influenza A and in survivors of critical illness to test the hypotheses that vitamin D insufficiency scales with illness severity and persists in survivors. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting and participants: Plasma was obtained from 295 hospitalised people with COVID-19 (International Severe Acute Respiratory and emerging Infections Consortium (ISARIC)/WHO Clinical Characterization Protocol for Severe Emerging Infections UK study), 93 with influenza A (Mechanisms of Severe Acute Influenza Consortium (MOSAIC) study, during the 2009–2010 H1N1 pandemic) and 139 survivors of non-selected critical illness (prior to the COVID-19 pandemic). Total 25(OH)D was measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Free 25(OH)D was measured by ELISA in COVID-19 samples. Outcome measures: Receipt of invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) and in-hospital mortality. Results: Vitamin D insufficiency (total 25(OH)D 25–50 nmol/L) and deficiency (<25 nmol/L) were prevalent in COVID-19 (29.3% and 44.4%, respectively), influenza A (47.3% and 37.6%) and critical illness survivors (30.2% and 56.8%). In COVID-19 and influenza A, total 25(OH)D measured early in illness was lower in patients who received IMV (19.6 vs 31.9 nmol/L (p<0.0001) and 22.9 vs 31.1 nmol/L (p=0.0009), respectively). In COVID-19, biologically active free 25(OH)D correlated with total 25(OH)D and was lower in patients who received IMV, but was not associated with selected circulating inflammatory mediators. Conclusions: Vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency was present in majority of hospitalised patients with COVID-19 or influenza A and correlated with severity and persisted in critical illness survivors at concentrations expected to disrupt bone metabolism. These findings support early supplementation trials to determine if insufficiency is causal in progression to severe disease, and investigation of longer-term bone health outcomes

Taking the pulse of Earth's tropical forests using networks of highly distributed plots

Tropical forests are the most diverse and productive ecosystems on Earth. While better understanding of these forests is critical for our collective future, until quite recently efforts to measure and monitor them have been largely disconnected. Networking is essential to discover the answers to questions that transcend borders and the horizons of funding agencies. Here we show how a global community is responding to the challenges of tropical ecosystem research with diverse teams measuring forests tree-by-tree in thousands of long-term plots. We review the major scientific discoveries of this work and show how this process is changing tropical forest science. Our core approach involves linking long-term grassroots initiatives with standardized protocols and data management to generate robust scaled-up results. By connecting tropical researchers and elevating their status, our Social Research Network model recognises the key role of the data originator in scientific discovery. Conceived in 1999 with RAINFOR (South America), our permanent plot networks have been adapted to Africa (AfriTRON) and Southeast Asia (T-FORCES) and widely emulated worldwide. Now these multiple initiatives are integrated via ForestPlots.net cyber-infrastructure, linking colleagues from 54 countries across 24 plot networks. Collectively these are transforming understanding of tropical forests and their biospheric role. Together we have discovered how, where and why forest carbon and biodiversity are responding to climate change, and how they feedback on it. This long-term pan-tropical collaboration has revealed a large long-term carbon sink and its trends, as well as making clear which drivers are most important, which forest processes are affected, where they are changing, what the lags are, and the likely future responses of tropical forests as the climate continues to change. By leveraging a remarkably old technology, plot networks are sparking a very modern revolution in tropical forest science. In the future, humanity can benefit greatly by nurturing the grassroots communities now collectively capable of generating unique, long-term understanding of Earth's most precious forests. Resumen Los bosques tropicales son los ecosistemas más diversos y productivos del mundo y entender su funcionamiento es crítico para nuestro futuro colectivo. Sin embargo, hasta hace muy poco, los esfuerzos para medirlos y monitorearlos han estado muy desconectados. El trabajo en redes es esencial para descubrir las respuestas a preguntas que trascienden las fronteras y los plazos de las agencias de financiamiento. Aquí mostramos cómo una comunidad global está respondiendo a los desafíos de la investigación en ecosistemas tropicales a través de diversos equipos realizando mediciones árbol por árbol en miles de parcelas permanentes de largo plazo. Revisamos los descubrimientos más importantes de este trabajo y discutimos cómo este proceso está cambiando la ciencia relacionada a los bosques tropicales. El enfoque central de nuestro esfuerzo implica la conexión de iniciativas locales de largo plazo con protocolos estandarizados y manejo de datos para producir resultados que se puedan trasladar a múltiples escalas. Conectando investigadores tropicales, elevando su posición y estatus, nuestro modelo de Red Social de Investigación reconoce el rol fundamental que tienen, para el descubrimiento científico, quienes generan o producen los datos. Concebida en 1999 con RAINFOR (Suramérica), nuestras redes de parcelas permanentes han sido adaptadas en África (AfriTRON) y el sureste asiático (T-FORCES) y ampliamente replicadas en el mundo. Actualmente todas estas iniciativas están integradas a través de la ciber-infraestructura de ForestPlots.net, conectando colegas de 54 países en 24 redes diferentes de parcelas. Colectivamente, estas redes están transformando nuestro conocimiento sobre los bosques tropicales y el rol de éstos en la biósfera. Juntos hemos descubierto cómo, dónde y porqué el carbono y la biodiversidad de los bosques tropicales está respondiendo al cambio climático y cómo se retroalimentan. Esta colaboración pan-tropical de largo plazo ha expuesto un gran sumidero de carbono y sus tendencias, mostrando claramente cuáles son los factores más importantes, qué procesos se ven afectados, dónde ocurren los cambios, los tiempos de reacción y las probables respuestas futuras mientras el clima continúa cambiando. Apalancando lo que realmente es una tecnología antigua, las redes de parcelas están generando una verdadera y moderna revolución en la ciencia tropical. En el futuro, la humanidad puede beneficiarse enormemente si se nutren y cultivan comunidades de investigadores de base, actualmente con la capacidad de generar información única y de largo plazo para entender los que probablemente son los bosques más preciados de la tierra. Resumo Florestas tropicais são os ecossistemas mais diversos e produtivos da Terra. Embora uma boa compreensão destas florestas seja crucial para o nosso futuro coletivo, até muito recentemente os esforços de medições e monitoramento foram amplamente desconexos. É essencial formarmos redes para obtermos respostas que transcendem fronteiras e horizontes de agências financiadoras. Neste estudo nós mostramos como uma comunidade global está respondendo aos desafios da pesquisa de ecossistemas tropicais, com equipes diversas medindo florestas, árvore por árvore, em milhares de parcelas monitoradas à longo prazo. Nós revisamos as maiores descobertas científicas deste trabalho, e mostramos também como este processo está mudando a ciência de florestas tropicais. Nossa abordagem principal envolve unir iniciativas de base a protocolos padronizados e gerenciamento de dados a fim de gerar resultados robustos em escalas ampliadas. Ao conectar pesquisadores tropicais e elevar seus status, nosso modelo de Rede de Pesquisa Social reconhece o papel-chave do produtor dos dados na descoberta científica. Concebida em 1999 com o RAINFOR (América do Sul), nossa rede de parcelas permanentes foi adaptada para África (AfriTRON) e Sudeste asiático (T-FORCES), e tem sido extensamente reproduzida em todo o mundo. Agora estas múltiplas iniciativas estão integradas através de uma infraestrutura cibernética do ForestPlots.net, conectando colegas de 54 países de 24 redes de parcelas. Estas iniciativas estão transformando coletivamente o entendimento das florestas tropicais e seus papéis na biosfera. Juntos nós descobrimos como, onde e por que o carbono e a biodiversidade da floresta estão respondendo às mudanças climáticas, e seus efeitos de retroalimentação. Esta duradoura colaboração pantropical revelou um grande sumidouro de carbono persistente e suas tendências, assim como tem evidenciado quais direcionadores são mais importantes, quais processos florestais são mais afetados, onde eles estão mudando, seus atrasos no tempo de resposta, e as prováveis respostas das florestas tropicais conforme o clima continua a mudar. Dessa forma, aproveitando uma notável tecnologia antiga, redes de parcelas acendem faíscas de uma moderna revolução na ciência das florestas tropicais. No futuro a humanidade pode se beneficiar incentivando estas comunidades basais que agora são coletivamente capazes de gerar conhecimentos únicos e duradouros sobre as florestas mais preciosas da Terra. Résume Les forêts tropicales sont les écosystèmes les plus diversifiés et les plus productifs de la planète. Si une meilleure compréhension de ces forêts est essentielle pour notre avenir collectif, jusqu'à tout récemment, les efforts déployés pour les mesurer et les surveiller ont été largement déconnectés. La mise en réseau est essentielle pour découvrir les réponses à des questions qui dépassent les frontières et les horizons des organismes de financement. Nous montrons ici comment une communauté mondiale relève les défis de la recherche sur les écosystèmes tropicaux avec diverses équipes qui mesurent les forêts arbre après arbre dans de milliers de parcelles permanentes. Nous passons en revue les principales découvertes scientifiques de ces travaux et montrons comment ce processus modifie la science des forêts tropicales. Notre approche principale consiste à relier les initiatives de base à long terme à des protocoles standardisés et une gestion de données afin de générer des résultats solides à grande échelle. En reliant les chercheurs tropicaux et en élevant leur statut, notre modèle de réseau de recherche sociale reconnaît le rôle clé de l'auteur des données dans la découverte scientifique. Conçus en 1999 avec RAINFOR (Amérique du Sud), nos réseaux de parcelles permanentes ont été adaptés à l'Afrique (AfriTRON) et à l'Asie du Sud-Est (T-FORCES) et largement imités dans le monde entier. Ces multiples initiatives sont désormais intégrées via l'infrastructure ForestPlots.net, qui relie des collègues de 54 pays à travers 24 réseaux de parcelles. Ensemble, elles transforment la compréhension des forêts tropicales et de leur rôle biosphérique. Ensemble, nous avons découvert comment, où et pourquoi le carbone forestier et la biodiversité réagissent au changement climatique, et comment ils y réagissent. Cette collaboration pan-tropicale à long terme a révélé un important puits de carbone à long terme et ses tendances, tout en mettant en évidence les facteurs les plus importants, les processus forestiers qui sont affectés, les endroits où ils changent, les décalages et les réactions futures probables des forêts tropicales à mesure que le climat continue de changer. En tirant parti d'une technologie remarquablement ancienne, les réseaux de parcelles déclenchent une révolution très moderne dans la science des forêts tropicales. À l'avenir, l'humanité pourra grandement bénéficier du soutien des communautés de base qui sont maintenant collectivement capables de générer une compréhension unique et à long terme des forêts les plus précieuses de la Terre. Abstrak Hutan tropika adalah di antara ekosistem yang paling produktif dan mempunyai kepelbagaian biodiversiti yang tinggi di seluruh dunia. Walaupun pemahaman mengenai hutan tropika amat penting untuk masa depan kita, usaha-usaha untuk mengkaji dan mengawas hutah-hutan tersebut baru sekarang menjadi lebih diperhubungkan. Perangkaian adalah sangat penting untuk mencari jawapan kepada soalan-soalan yang menjangkaui sempadan dan batasan agensi pendanaan. Di sini kami menunjukkan bagaimana sebuah komuniti global bertindak balas terhadap cabaran penyelidikan ekosistem tropika melalui penglibatan pelbagai kumpulan yang mengukur hutan secara pokok demi pokok dalam beribu-ribu plot jangka panjang. Kami meninjau semula penemuan saintifik utama daripada kerja ini dan menunjukkan bagaimana proses ini sedang mengubah bidang sains hutan tropika. Teras pendekatan kami memberi tumpuan terhadap penghubungan inisiatif akar umbi jangka panjang dengan protokol standar serta pengurusan data untuk mendapatkan hasil skala besar yang kukuh. Dengan menghubungkan penyelidik-penyelidik tropika dan meningkatkan status mereka, model Rangkaian Penyelidikan Sosial kami mengiktiraf kepentingan peranan pengasas data dalam penemuan saintifik. Bermula dengan pengasasan RAINFOR (Amerika Selatan) pada tahun 1999, rangkaian-rangkaian plot kekal kami kemudian disesuaikan untuk Afrika (AfriTRON) dan Asia Tenggara (T-FORCES) dan selanjutnya telah banyak dicontohi di seluruh dunia. Kini, inisiatif-inisiatif tersebut disepadukan melalui infrastruktur siber ForestPlots.net yang menghubungkan rakan sekerja dari 54 negara di 24 buah rangkaian plot. Secara kolektif, rangkaian ini sedang mengubah pemahaman tentang hutan tropika dan peranannya dalam biosfera. Kami telah bekerjasama untuk menemukan bagaimana, di mana dan mengapa karbon serta biodiversiti hutan bertindak balas terhadap perubahan iklim dan juga bagaimana mereka saling bermaklum balas. Kolaborasi pan-tropika jangka panjang ini telah mendedahkan sebuah sinki karbon jangka panjang serta arah alirannya dan juga menjelaskan pemandu-pemandu perubahan yang terpenting, di mana dan bagaimana proses hutan terjejas, masa susul yang ada dan kemungkinan tindakbalas hutan tropika pada perubahan iklim secara berterusan di masa depan. Dengan memanfaatkan pendekatan lama, rangkaian plot sedang menyalakan revolusi yang amat moden dalam sains hutan tropika. Pada masa akan datang, manusia sejagat akan banyak mendapat manfaat jika memupuk komuniti-komuniti akar umbi yang kini berkemampuan secara kolektif menghasilkan pemahaman unik dan jangka panjang mengenai hutan-hutan yang paling berharga di dunia

An evaluation of Boys Town\u27s Common Sense Parenting behavioral parent training program

A large number of children in the United States engage in a level of problem behavior that is severe enough to have negative impact on their lives at home, at school, and in the community. Parent training programs have become one of the most commonly used interventions for families of children with or at risk for problem behavior. While several different parent training programs exist, many have limitations (e.g., long program lengths, need for highly educated staff) and very few have been packaged into intervention programs that meet the standards to be evidence based (as set by organizations that aim to identify evidence-based interventions, e.g., Blueprints for Violence Prevention Project, What Works Clearinghouse, The National Registry of Evidence-based Programs & Practices). The purpose of this current dissertation study was to evaluate Boys Town’s Common Sense Parenting (CSP) program, which was designed to address the limitations of other parent training programs and has shown promise to be effective in previous research studies. The current study sought to examine the pre/post changes that occurred in areas of parent knowledge, parent stress, parenting practices and beliefs, and child externalizing behavior. Also, because parent training programs are not effective for all families, this study attempted to identify the variables (e.g., parent characteristics, child characteristics, level of treatment integrity) that were predictive of outcomes for the CSP program. Results indicated that following parent participation in the CSP program, there were significant increases for measures of parent knowledge and parenting practices and beliefs, and significant decreases for parent stress and child externalizing behavior. These findings were consistent with previous research on the CSP program. However, contrary to previous research on other parent training programs, very few predictors of outcomes were identified. Specifically, only 2 out of 15 sequential multiple regression analyses found that larger models (using parent characteristics, child characteristics, and/or level of treatment integrity as predictors) performed better than smaller models (using pretest scores alone as predictors). These results are discussed, along with the study limitations, directions for future research, and implications for practice

Convergent Validity of the Early Childhood Behavior Problem Screening Scale

This study examined the convergent validity of the parent and teacher versions of the Early Childhood Behavior Problem Screening Scale (ECBPSS) with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Caregiver-Teacher Report Form (C-TRF), respectively. Data were collected on a sample of preschool and kindergarten students (n = 149) from two medium-sized cities in the Midwest. Analyses of both the parent and teacher versions of the ECBPSS were corre¬lated with the corresponding Internalizing, Externalizing, and Total Problem scale scores of the CBCL and the C-TRF. The present findings and future research directions and limitations are discussed

Factor Structure, Internal Consistency, and Interrater Reliability of the Early Childhood Behavior Problem Screening Scale

The current study examined the initial psychometrics of the Early Childhood Behavior Problem Screening Scale (ECBPSS; Epstein & Nelson, 2006), namely the factor structure and associated internal consistency of factor items of parent and teacher versions as well as interrater reliability. Data came from samples of preschool- and kindergarten- age children from 2 medium-size cities in the U.S. midwest. Separate analyses of the parent and teacher data revealed internalizing and externalizing factors, with Cronbach’s alphas ranging from .83 to .95. Parent and teacher interrater reliability coefficients ranged from .32 to .37. Overall, the results suggest that the 12-item ECBPSS Parent and Teacher forms may be useful for screening young children who may be at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders

Interventions to Improve the Literacy Functioning of Adolescents with Emotional and/or Behavior Disorders: A Review of the Literature between 1965 and 2005

This review examines interventions intended to improve the literacy functioning of adolescent students with emotional and/or behavior disorders. Seventeen studies met inclusion criteria and included a variety of interventions designed to affect a variety of literacy areas, including spelling, writing, and reading fluency. Findings from these studies indicate that, overall, several different intervention types produced increases across areas of literacy functioning. However, both participant and setting characteristics were poorly described and were not representative of the population with emotional and/or behavioral disorders. The lack of research on interventions to increase adolescent literacy limits the generalizability of the results to a broader population. Considerations for practice implications and future research are discussed