Factors Affecting Vegetable Growers’ Exposure to Fungal Bioaerosols and Airborne Dust

We have quantified vegetable growers’ exposure to fungal bioaerosol components including (1→3)-β-d-glucan (β-glucan), total fungal spores, and culturable fungal units. Furthermore, we have evaluated factors that might affect vegetable growers’ exposure to fungal bioaerosols and airborne dust. Investigated environments included greenhouses producing cucumbers and tomatoes, open fields producing cabbage, broccoli, and celery, and packing facilities. Measurements were performed at different times during the growth season and during execution of different work tasks. Bioaerosols were collected with personal and stationary filter samplers. Selected fungal species (Beauveria spp., Trichoderma spp., Penicillium olsonii, and Penicillium brevicompactum) were identified using different polymerase chain reaction-based methods and sequencing. We found that the factors (i) work task, (ii) crop, including growth stage of handled plant material, and (iii) open field versus greenhouse significantly affected the workers’ exposure to bioaerosols. Packing of vegetables and working in open fields caused significantly lower exposure to bioaerosols, e.g. mesophilic fungi and dust, than harvesting in greenhouses and clearing of senescent greenhouse plants. Also removing strings in cucumber greenhouses caused a lower exposure to bioaerosols than harvest of cucumbers while removal of old plants caused the highest exposure. In general, the exposure was higher in greenhouses than in open fields. The exposures to β-glucan during harvest and clearing of senescent greenhouse plants were very high (median values ranging between 50 and 1500 ng m−3) compared to exposures reported from other occupational environments. In conclusion, vegetable growers’ exposure to bioaerosols was related to the environment, in which they worked, the investigated work tasks, and the vegetable crop

Problems in managing a slow-growing pikeperch (

Local fishery managers in Lake Sahajärvi tried to increase pikeperch yields by increasing the minimum allowed mesh size from 45 to 60 mm and size limit from 37 to 40 cm. However, due to the slow growth of pikeperch these measures may not be reasonable. Here, pikeperch yields were modelled with an age and size-structured yield-per-recruit model as a function of mesh size. Besides yields, also the proportion of minimum landing size and immature pikeperch caught with a different mesh size were evaluated. The results showed that maximum yields per recruit can be obtained with a 44 mm mesh size corresponding to yields of about 180 kg per 1000 age 2 pikeperch while with 60 mm mesh size the estimated yields are only 46 kg. The share of immature pikeperch is only 0.4% in 44 mm mesh size nets due to very small average size at maturity (24.8 cm TL) of both sexes. Because the observed growth is slow (k = 0.11 and L∞ = 65.28 cm TL) and the density of pikeperch (BPUE in NORDIC nettings = 1200 g·net-1) is high, the most reasonable management measure to improve growth and average size could be to radically decrease population density

Diabetic Myonecrosis: A Diagnostic and Treatment Challenge in Longstanding Diabetes

Objective. Diabetes mellitus is associated with microvascular and macrovascular complications; the most commonly recognized ones include diabetic nephropathy, retinopathy, and neuropathy. Less well-known complications are equally important, as timely recognition and treatment are essential to decrease short- and long-term morbidity. Methods. Herein, we describe a case of a 41-year-old female with longstanding, uncontrolled type 2 diabetes, who presented with classical findings of diabetic myonecrosis. Results. Our patient underwent extensive laboratory and imaging studies prior to diagnosis due to its rarity and similarity in presentation with other commonly noted musculoskeletal conditions. We emphasize the clinical presentation, laboratory and imaging findings, treatment regimen, and prognosis associated with diabetic myonecrosis. Conclusion. Diabetic myonecrosis is a rare complication of longstanding, poorly controlled diabetes mellitus. The diagnosis requires a high index of suspicion in the right clinical setting: acute onset nontraumatic muscular pain with associated findings on clinical exam, laboratory studies, and imaging. While the short-term prognosis is good, the recurrence rate remains high and long-term prognosis is poor given underlying uncontrolled diabetes and associated sequelae

Electrodeposition and optical properties of ZnxCd1-xS thin films

Electrodeposition technique has been used to deposit CdS-ZnCdS-ZnS solid solution films. Influence of Zn content in the solution on the band gap change is studied. Bandgap tailoring has been observed from 2.41 to 3.5 eV for the entire solid solutio