Recruitment and retention of farm owners and workers for a six-month prospective injury study in New Zealand: a feasibility study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Agricultural workers experience high rates of occupational injury. There is a lack of analytic studies which provide detailed occupational exposure information to inform intervention development.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A feasibility study simulating a six month prospective cohort study was designed and undertaken. The levels of farm and worker participation and retention were analysed to determine the feasibility of the methods for wider deployment.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Recruitment levels were comparable with other studies, with 24% of farms and 36% of non-owner workers participating. Once recruited, retention was high at 85% and 86% respectively.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The main challenges identified were in the recruitment process. Once recruited, farms and workers tended to complete the study, indicating that prospective studies in this the agricultural workforce may be feasible. Issues encountered and potential solutions for future studies are discussed.</p

Meiosis-specific gene discovery in plants: RNA-Seq applied to isolated Arabidopsis male meiocytes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Meiosis is a critical process in the reproduction and life cycle of flowering plants in which homologous chromosomes pair, synapse, recombine and segregate. Understanding meiosis will not only advance our knowledge of the mechanisms of genetic recombination, but also has substantial applications in crop improvement. Despite the tremendous progress in the past decade in other model organisms (e.g., <it>Saccharomyces cerevisiae </it>and <it>Drosophila melanogaster</it>), the global identification of meiotic genes in flowering plants has remained a challenge due to the lack of efficient methods to collect pure meiocytes for analyzing the temporal and spatial gene expression patterns during meiosis, and for the sensitive identification and quantitation of novel genes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A high-throughput approach to identify meiosis-specific genes by combining isolated meiocytes, RNA-Seq, bioinformatic and statistical analysis pipelines was developed. By analyzing the studied genes that have a meiosis function, a pipeline for identifying meiosis-specific genes has been defined. More than 1,000 genes that are specifically or preferentially expressed in meiocytes have been identified as candidate meiosis-specific genes. A group of 55 genes that have mitochondrial genome origins and a significant number of transposable element (TE) genes (1,036) were also found to have up-regulated expression levels in meiocytes.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These findings advance our understanding of meiotic genes, gene expression and regulation, especially the transcript profiles of MGI genes and TE genes, and provide a framework for functional analysis of genes in meiosis.</p

Risk Factors for First Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunt Infection: Findings from a Multi-Center Prospective Cohort Study

ObjectiveTo quantify the extent to which cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt revisions are associated with increased risk of CSF shunt infection, after adjusting for patient factors that may contribute to infection risk.Study designWe used the Hydrocephalus Clinical Research Network registry to assemble a large prospective 6-center cohort of 1036 children undergoing initial CSF shunt placement between April 2008 and January 2012. The primary outcome of interest was first CSF shunt infection. Data for initial CSF shunt placement and all subsequent CSF shunt revisions prior to first CSF shunt infection, where applicable, were obtained. The risk of first infection was estimated using a multivariable Cox proportional hazard model accounting for patient characteristics and CSF shunt revisions, and is reported using hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CI.ResultsOf the 102 children who developed first infection within 12 months of placement, 33 (32%) followed one or more CSF shunt revisions. Baseline factors independently associated with risk of first infection included: gastrostomy tube (HR 2.0, 95% CI, 1.1, 3.3), age 6-12 months (HR 0.3, 95% CI, 0.1, 0.8), and prior neurosurgery (HR 0.4, 95% CI, 0.2, 0.9). After controlling for baseline factors, infection risk was most significantly associated with the need for revision (1 revision vs none, HR 3.9, 95% CI, 2.2, 6.5; ≥2 revisions, HR 13.0, 95% CI, 6.5, 24.9).ConclusionsThis study quantifies the elevated risk of infection associated with shunt revisions observed in clinical practice. To reduce risk of infection risk, further work should optimize revision procedures

Parental smoking and child poverty in the UK: an analysis of national survey data

BACKGROUND: In 2011/12 approximately 2.3 million children, 17% of children in the UK, were estimated to be in relative poverty. Cigarette smoking is expensive and places an additional burden on household budgets, and is strongly associated with socioeconomic deprivation. The aim of this study was to provide an illustrative first estimate of the extent to which parental smoking exacerbates child poverty in the UK. METHODS: Findings from the 2012 Households Below Average Income report and the 2012 Opinions and Lifestyle Survey were combined to estimate the number of children living in poor households containing smokers; the expenditure of typical smokers in these households on tobacco; and the numbers of children drawn into poverty if expenditure on smoking is subtracted from household income. RESULTS: 1.1 million children - almost half of all children in poverty - were estimated to be living in poverty with at least one parent who smokes; and a further 400,000 would be classed as being in poverty if parental tobacco expenditure were subtracted from household income. CONCLUSIONS: Smoking exacerbates poverty for a large proportion of children in the UK. Tobacco control interventions which effectively enable low income smokers to quit can play an important role in reducing the financial burden of child poverty

Current Knowledge and Considerations Regarding Survey Refusals: Executive Summary of the AAPOR Task Force Report on Survey Refusals

The landscape of survey research has arguably changed more significantly in the past decade than at any other time in its relatively brief history. In that short time, landline telephone ownership has dropped from some 98 percent of all households to less than 60 percent; cell-phone interviewing went from a novelty to a mainstay; address-based designs quickly became an accepted method of sampling the general population; and surveys via Internet panels became ubiquitous in many sectors of social and market research, even as they continue to raise concerns given their lack of random selection. Among these widespread changes, it is perhaps not surprising that the substantial increase in refusal rates has received comparatively little attention. As we will detail, it was not uncommon for a study conducted 20 years ago to have encountered one refusal for every one or two completed interviews, while today experiencing three or more refusals for every one completed interview is commonplace. This trend has led to several concerns that motivate this Task Force. As refusal rates have increased, refusal bias (as a component of nonresponse bias) is an increased threat to the validity of survey results. Of practical concern are the efficacy and cost implications of enhanced efforts to avert initial refusals and convert refusals that do occur. Finally, though no less significant, are the ethical concerns raised by the possibility that efforts to minimize refusals can be perceived as coercive or harassing potential respondents. Indeed, perhaps the most important goal of this document is to foster greater consideration by the reader of the rights of respondents in survey research

Healthcare systems data in the context of clinical trials - A comparison of cardiovascular data from a clinical trial dataset with routinely collected data

BACKGROUND: Routinely-collected healthcare systems data (HSD) are proposed to improve the efficiency of clinical trials. A comparison was undertaken between cardiovascular (CVS) data from a clinical trial database with two HSD resources. METHODS: Protocol-defined and clinically reviewed CVS events (heart failure (HF), acute coronary syndrome (ACS), thromboembolic stroke, venous and arterial thromboembolism) were identified within the trial data. Data (using pre-specified codes) was obtained from NHS Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) and National Institute for Cardiovascular Outcomes Research (NICOR) HF and myocardial ischaemia audits for trial participants recruited in England between 2010 and 2018 who had provided consent. The primary comparison was trial data versus HES inpatient (APC) main diagnosis (Box-1). Correlations are presented with descriptive statistics and Venn diagrams. Reasons for non-correlation were explored. RESULTS: From 1200 eligible participants, 71 protocol-defined clinically reviewed CVS events were recorded in the trial database. 45 resulted in a hospital admission and therefore could have been recorded by either HES APC/ NICOR. Of these, 27/45 (60%) were recorded by HES inpatient (Box-1) with an additional 30 potential events also identified. HF and ACS were potentially recorded in all 3 datasets; trial data recorded 18, HES APC 29 and NICOR 24 events respectively. 12/18 (67%) of the HF/ACS events in the trial dataset were recorded by NICOR. CONCLUSION: Concordance between datasets was lower than anticipated and the HSD used could not straightforwardly replace current trial practices, nor directly identify protocol-defined CVS events. Further work is required to improve the quality of HSD and consider event definitions when designing clinical trials incorporating HSD

Foliar water uptake by coastal wetland plants: A novel water acquisition mechanism in arid and humid subtropical mangroves

Climate change alters freshwater availability in many ecosystems leading to shifts in distributions for many plants. Despite living exclusively in intertidal, saline environments, mangroves rely on non-saline water to maintain plant productivity. However, several mangrove species persist in arid environments where non-saline water from rain and groundwater sources are limited. Under these conditions, foliar water uptake from fog and mist may be an important water acquisition strategy. We conducted a field experiment in arid Baja California Sur, Mexico along with a controlled mist chamber experiment (using seedlings sourced from humid subtropical region, Florida, USA) to show that three co-occurring, neotropical mangrove species, Avicennia germinans, Laguncularia racemosa and Rhizophora mangle, growing in both arid and humid environments can access water condensed on their leaves. Foliar water uptake was greatest in A. germinans and lowest in R. mangle, possibly reflecting leaf traits associated with species-specific water balance strategies. In our field misting experiment, the contribution of foliar water uptake was higher in A. germinans (32 ± 2%) than L. racemosa (26 ± 2%) and R. mangle (16 ± 1%). Foliar water uptake also varied across locations for L. racemosa and R. mangle, with declining uptake towards both species’ northern range limits in Baja California Sur, suggesting the distribution patterns of arid-zone mangroves may be affected by species-specific spatial variation in foliar water use. Within species, foliar water use was comparable across field and controlled experiments irrespective of source population (Baja California Sur vs. Florida), suggesting foliar water uptake is not an arid-zone adaptation, and is instead used as a supplemental water balance strategy in arid and humid neotropical mangroves. Synthesis. Our findings indicate mangroves have the potential to access atmospheric water, such as rain, dew and sea fog, through their leaves to offset soil water deficits. Variation in foliar water use across these three neotropical mangrove species may influence mangrove species distributions across arid-zone and pseudo-drought (highly saline) environments, with implications for mangrove response to climate change

Price-minimizing behaviors in response to increasing tobacco price: a cross-sectional study of students

Background: The public health benefits of tobacco taxation are undermined when smokers engage in price-minimising behaviours other than quitting in response to rising prices. These include switching from smoking manufactured cigarettes to cheaper alternatives such as roll your-own (RYO). Young adults are particularly sensitive to tobacco prices. Methods: 314 students at the University of Nottingham, UK completed an online survey about their current smoking behaviour and their likely responses to hypothetical increases in the price of tobacco. Results: Cessation intent was linked to price, as was the likelihood of switching to cheaper products. Although only 7% said they would quit in response to a £0.50 increase in the price of their product, 68% said they would quit if it doubled. Among manufactured cigarette smokers who would switch products if the price of cigarettes doubled, 33% said they would switch to RYO. 44% stated they would switch to e-cigarettes if combustible tobacco became unaffordable. Conclusions: Large price increases could reduce prevalence among this age group, though this effect would be potentially be undermined by young adult smokers accessing cheaper alternatives to manufactured cigarettes. The apparent viability of e-cigarettes as a price minimising substitute for smoking may be encouraging from a public health perspective

An analysis of returned medicines in primary care

Objective: The number of pharmaceutical items issued on prescription is continually rising and contributing to spiralling healthcare costs. Although there is some data highlighting the quantity, in terms of weight of medicines returned specifically to community pharmacies, little is known about the specific details of such returns or other destinations for wasted medications. This pilot study has been designed to investigate the types and amounts of medicines returned to both general practices (GPs) and associated local community pharmacies determining the reasons why these medicines have been returned. Method: The study was conducted in eight community pharmacies and five GP surgeries within East Birmingham over a 4-week period. Main outcome Measure: Reason for return and details of returned medication. Results: A total of 114 returns were made during the study: 24 (21.1) to GP surgeries and 90 (78.9) to community pharmacies. The total returns comprised 340 items, of which 42 (12.4) were returned to GPs and 298 (87.6) to pharmacies, with the mean number of items per return being 1.8 and 3.3, respectively. Half of the returns in the study were attributed to the doctor changing or stopping the medicine; 23.7 of returns were recorded as excess supplies or clearout often associated with patients' death and 3.5 of returns were related to adverse drug reactions. Cardiovascular drugs were most commonly returned, amounting to 28.5 of the total drugs returned during the study. Conclusions: The results from this pilot study indicate that unused medicines impose a significant financial burden on the National Health Service as well as a social burden on the United Kingdom population. Further studies are examining the precise nature of returned medicines and possible solutions to these issues. © Springer 2005

Controlled antenatal thyroid screening II: Effect of treating maternal sub-optimal thyroid function on child behaviour

The Controlled Antenatal Thyroid Screening (CATS) study was the first randomised controlled trial to investigate effects of treating suboptimal-gestational-thyroid-function (SGTF) on child cognition. Since observational studies indicated that SGTF may also increase symptoms of autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the CATS cohort was used to investigate whether treatment of mothers affected their children’s behavior