Reaching the Hispanic Green Industry Workforce: Experiences and Practical Tools for Extension Professionals

There are approximately 500,000 Hispanics living in Georgia. The Green Industry (turfgrass, ornamentals, and landscape sectors) is one of the fastest growing industries in the state. Close to 90% of all Georgia Green Industry companies employ Hispanics as their primary labor force. Language and cultural barriers hamper productivity, efficiency, and safety in the industry. The need to develop training programs in Spanish is widely recognized. We present relevant information and tools to take into consideration when implementing training programs for the green industry\u27s Hispanic workforce

Safety Pays for Hispanic Employees, Company Owners, and Extension Professionals Active in Urban Agriculture Industries

The landscape industry and other urban agriculture industries are dangerous, and many of the workers in these industries are Hispanic. The financial, emotional, and social costs of workplace injuries are substantial. Extension personnel, business owners, and all workers benefit when safety trainings are held in Spanish. The impact, benefits, and ease of conducting safety trainings in Spanish for Hispanic workers in urban agriculture industries are discussed

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Turfgrass Disease Diagnosis: Past, Present, and Future

Turfgrass is a multibillion-dollar industry severely affected by plant pathogens including fungi, bacteria, viruses, and nematodes. Many of the diseases in turfgrass have similar signs and symptoms, making it difficult to diagnose the specific problem pathogen. Incorrect diagnosis leads to the delay of treatment and excessive use of chemicals. To effectively control these diseases, it is important to have rapid and accurate detection systems in the early stages of infection that harbor relatively low pathogen populations. There are many methods for diagnosing pathogens on turfgrass. Traditional methods include symptoms, morphology, and microscopy identification. These have been followed by nucleic acid detection and onsite detection techniques. Many of these methods allow for rapid diagnosis, some even within the field without much expertise. There are several methods that have great potential, such as high-throughput sequencing and remote sensing. Utilization of these techniques for disease diagnosis allows for faster and accurate disease diagnosis and a reduction in damage and cost of control. Understanding of each of these techniques can allow researchers to select which method is best suited for their pathogen of interest. The objective of this article is to provide an overview of the turfgrass diagnostics efforts used and highlight prospects for disease detection

Virtual Conferencing in Extension: Reaching Audiences, Saving Resources, and Benefiting the Environment

Travel costs, employees\u27 productive professional time, budget debits, and unnecessary carbon emissions have prompted creative ways to deliver information. Horizon Wimba™ allows interaction between presenters and audiences through real-time presentations, multiple location access, slide viewing, live conversation, and voice and written messaging board. Three hundred forty-nine people participated in the four workshop lunch and learn series in 17 counties. A conservative reduction estimate of only one vehicle travel from each location roundtrip to training venue for each of the four workshops yields a savings of $6,000 in mileage reimbursement, 200 hours of UGA Employee time, and 3,400 fewer pounds of carbon emissions

Use of Pictorial Evaluations to Measure Knowledge Gained by Hispanic Landscape Workers Receiving Safety Training

Landscape work is dangerous. In the Southeast, Hispanic workers predominate in landscape industries. The incidence of functional illiteracy in this group of workers is high. A pictorial knowledge-based evaluation instrument was developed to measure the effectiveness of the trainings. No reading skills were required to take the evaluation. The evaluation instrument was not sensitive enough to measure knowledge gain as a result of the training quantitatively but has application as a strong review and discussion tool and could be used for group evaluations to collect qualitative data

Development of a Co-Dominant Cleaved Amplified Polymorphic Sequences Assay for the Rapid Detection and Differentiation of Two Pathogenic Clarireedia spp. Associated with Dollar Spot in Turfgrass

Dollar spot is one of the most destructive diseases in turfgrass. The causal agents belong to the genus Clarireedia, which are known for causing necrotic, sunken spots in turfgrass that coalesce into large damaged areas. In low tolerance settings like turfgrass, it is of vital importance to rapidly detect and identify the pathogens. There are a few methods available to identify the genus Clarireedia, but none of those are rapid enough and characterize down to the species level. This study produced a co-dominant cleaved amplified polymorphic sequences (CAPS) test that differentiates between C. jacksonii and C. monteithiana, the two species that cause dollar spot disease within the United States. The calmodulin gene (CaM) was targeted to generate Clarireedia spp. specific PCR primers. The CAPS assay was optimized and tested for specificity and sensitivity using DNA extracted from pure cultures of two Clarireedia spp. and other closely related fungal species. The results showed that the newly developed primer set could amplify both species and was highly sensitive as it detected DNA concentrations as low as 0.005 ng/µL. The assay was further validated using direct PCR to speed up the diagnosis process. This drastically reduces the time needed to identify the dollar spot pathogens. The resulting assay could be used throughout turfgrass settings for a rapid and precise identification method in the US

Turfgrass Management at Your Fingertips: Information Delivered Through Smart Phone Technology

Turfgrass managers and Extension professionals often require real-time, in-situ pest diagnosis, management, and recommendations. Advanced smart phones have become important tools for industry professionals and allow flexibility while traveling or away from the office. We have developed an application (app) for iPhone® and Blackberry® smart phones that allows access to a library of resources in the field. The Turfgrass Management application contains a full suite of weed, disease, insect, and turfgrass species resources. More than 2,500 subscriptions from over 30 countries have been downloaded. We present evidence of the usefulness of delivery of information through this mobile technology