Depression, perceived stress and nervios associated with injury in the MICASA Study, a California farm worker population

Introduction: While many studies report on the risks of agricultural injury, few have examined psychosocial factors associated with injury, especially among Latino farm workers. We examined psychological factors, including depression, perceived stress, social support and nervios that may be associated with an increased risk of injury. Methods: MICASA is a population-based study of occupational exposures and health in farm workers. An interviewer-administered questionnaire collected data on 759 Latinos, 18-55 years old, engaged in farm work and residing in Mendota, CA. The questionnaire assessed self-reported psychosocial factors and injury risk. A qualifying injury was defined as one with the need for medical care, going to a medical setting, loss of consciousness, >½ day lost work time or restricted from normal activities. Results: Mean age was 37.9 years. 65.0% of participants were born in Mexico and 27.7% were born in El Salvador. The past-year cumulative incidence of injury was 9.0%. A higher cumulative incidence of past-year injury was observed among participants older than 40 years (55.9% vs. 37.1 %), current smokers (17.7% vs. 10.7%), working in agriculture more than 11 years (65.7% vs. 52.7%), and long-term U.S. residents (more than 21 years) (58.8% vs. 42.6%). After adjusting for age, sex, and current smoking, depression (OR=5.4, 95% CI: 3.1-9.4) and nervios (OR=2.2, 95% CI: 1.3-3.8) were significantly associated with injury. Conclusions: The findings may be useful for guiding prevention and management of injury. Further cohort research to confirm the temporality of the association between psychosocial variables and injury is needed.Introduction : De nombreuses études ont examiné les risques de blessures en milieu agricole mais peu se sont intéressées aux facteurs psychosociaux associés à ces blessures, en particulier parmi les ouvriers agricoles latinos. Nous avons étudié les facteurs psychologiques, notamment la dépression, le stress ressenti, le soutien social et l'état de nervosité qui peuvent être liés à un risque accru de blessures. Méthodes : L'étude MICASA est une étude de population qui porte sur les expositions professionnelles et la santé des ouvriers agricoles. Un questionnaire rempli par un enquêteur a permis de recueillir des données sur 759 Latinos, de 18 à 55 ans, ouvriers agricoles et résidant à Mendota, en Californie. Ce questionnaire a évalué les facteurs psychosociaux auto-déclarés et le risque de blessure. Une blessure admissible a été définie comme une blessure impliquant des soins médicaux, une visite dans un établissement médical, une perte de connaissance, >½ journée d'arrêt de travail ou d'activités limitées. Résultats : L'âge moyen était de 37,9 ans. 65,0 % des participants étaient nés au Mexique et 27,7 % au Salvador. L'incidence cumulée de blessures l'année précédente était de 9,0 %. Une plus grande incidence cumulée de blessures l'année précédente a été observée parmi les participants âgés de plus de 40 ans (55,9 % vs. 37,1 %), les fumeurs (17,7 % vs. 10,7 %), ceux travaillant dans l'agriculture depuis plus de 11 ans (65,7 % vs. 52,7 %), et les résidents américains de longue durée (plus de 21 ans) (58,8 % vs. 42,6 %). Après ajustement en fonction du sexe et du tabagisme, la dépression (OR=5,4, IC à 95 % : 3,1-9,4) et l'état de nervosité (OR=2,2, IC à 95 % : 1,3-3,8) ont été associés de manière significative à des blessures.  Conclusions : Les résultats peuvent être utiles pour orienter la prévention et la prise en charge des blessures. D'autres études de cohortes sont nécessaires pour confirmer la temporalité de l'association entre les variables psychosociales et les blessures.Introducción: Aunque se han realizado numerosos estudios sobre los riesgos de lesiones en la agricultura, pocos son los que han examinado los factores psicosociales asociados a dichas lesiones, especialmente entre los trabajadores agrícolas latinos. Hemos estudiado los factores psicosociales, tales como la depresión, el estrés percibido, el apoyo social y los nervios, que pueden asociarse a un mayor riesgo de lesiones. Métodos: MICASA es un estudio de población sobre exposiciones y salud occupacionales en trabajadores agrícolas. Un cuestionario realizado por entrevistador recogió datos de 759 latinos, de entre 18 y 55 años de edad, que realizaban labores agrícolas y con residencia en Mendota (California). El cuestionario evaluaba los factores sociales y el riesgo de lesiones declarados por los encuestados. Las lesiones por las que calificaban para el estudio eran aquellas que requerían asistencia médica o la visita a un centro médico, que implicaban pérdida de conciencia o pérdida de más de medio día de trabajo o que restringían la realización de actividades normales. Resultados: La edad media era de 37.9 años. El 65,0% de los participantes eran originarios de México y el 27.7% de El Salvador. La incidencia acumulada de lesiones del año pasado fue del 9.0%. Se observó una mayor incidencia acumulada de lesiones el año pasado entre participantes de más de 40 años (55.9% contra 37.1 %), fumadores activos (17.7% contra 10.7%), que llevan trabajando en la agricultura más de 11 años (65.7% contra 52.7%) y los residentes en Estados Unidos por un  largo plazo (más de 21 años) (58.8% contra 42.6%). Tras ajustar los resultados por edad, sexo, condición de fumador, la depresión (OR=5,4; 95% IC: 3,1-9,4) y los nervios (OR=2,2, 95% IC: 1.3-3.8) se asociaron de forma importante a las lesiones. Conclusiones: Las conclusiones extraídas pueden ser de utilidad para guiar la prevención y manejo de lesiones. Es necesario realizar otros estudios de cohortes para confirmar la temporalidad de la asociación entre las variables psicosociales y las lesiones

Software for the frontiers of quantum chemistry:An overview of developments in the Q-Chem 5 package

This article summarizes technical advances contained in the fifth major release of the Q-Chem quantum chemistry program package, covering developments since 2015. A comprehensive library of exchange–correlation functionals, along with a suite of correlated many-body methods, continues to be a hallmark of the Q-Chem software. The many-body methods include novel variants of both coupled-cluster and configuration-interaction approaches along with methods based on the algebraic diagrammatic construction and variational reduced density-matrix methods. Methods highlighted in Q-Chem 5 include a suite of tools for modeling core-level spectroscopy, methods for describing metastable resonances, methods for computing vibronic spectra, the nuclear–electronic orbital method, and several different energy decomposition analysis techniques. High-performance capabilities including multithreaded parallelism and support for calculations on graphics processing units are described. Q-Chem boasts a community of well over 100 active academic developers, and the continuing evolution of the software is supported by an “open teamware” model and an increasingly modular design

Interleukin-1 has opposing effects on connective tissue growth factor and tenascin-C expression in human cardiac fibroblasts.

Cardiac fibroblasts (CF) play a central role in the repair and remodeling of the heart following injury and are important regulators of inflammation and extracellular matrix (ECM) turnover. ECM-regulatory matricellular proteins are synthesized by several myocardial cell types including CF. We investigated the effects of pro-inflammatory cytokines on matricellular protein expression in cultured human CF. cDNA array analysis of matricellular proteins revealed that interleukin-1α (IL-1α, 10ng/ml, 6h) down-regulated connective tissue growth factor (CTGF/CCN2) mRNA by 80% and up-regulated tenascin-C (TNC) mRNA levels by 10-fold in human CF, without affecting expression of thrombospondins 1-3, osteonectin or osteopontin. Western blotting confirmed these changes at the protein level. In contrast, tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) did not modulate CCN2 expression and had only a modest stimulatory effect on TNC levels. Signaling pathway inhibitor studies suggested an important role for the p38 MAPK pathway in suppressing CCN2 expression in response to IL-1α. In contrast, multiple signaling pathways (p38, JNK, PI3K/Akt and NFκB) contributed to IL-1α-induced TNC expression. In conclusion, IL-1α reduced CCN2 expression and increased TNC expression in human CF. These observations are of potential value for understanding how inflammation and ECM regulation are linked at the level of the CF

SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity are associated with genetic variants affecting gene expression in a variety of tissues

Variability in SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity between individuals is partly due to genetic factors. Here, we identify 4 genomic loci with suggestive associations for SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and 19 for COVID-19 disease severity. Four of these 23 loci likely have an ethnicity-specific component. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) signals in 11 loci colocalize with expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) associated with the expression of 20 genes in 62 tissues/cell types (range: 1:43 tissues/gene), including lung, brain, heart, muscle, and skin as well as the digestive system and immune system. We perform genetic fine mapping to compute 99% credible SNP sets, which identify 10 GWAS loci that have eight or fewer SNPs in the credible set, including three loci with one single likely causal SNP. Our study suggests that the diverse symptoms and disease severity of COVID-19 observed between individuals is associated with variants across the genome, affecting gene expression levels in a wide variety of tissue types

A first update on mapping the human genetic architecture of COVID-19

peer reviewe

Workplace Health-and-Safety Violations in Agriculture: Epidemiology and Implications for Education and Enforcement Policy

Agriculture is one of the most important industries in California, enjoying over $22 billion in farm cash receipts annually. In addition to economic benefits, national and state data show that agriculture is on of the most dangerous industries with respect to occupational illnesses and injuries. Because Latino and Latina workers provide the majority of production in the industry, they are uniquely increased risk for occupational injury and illness.The fragmentation of regulatory activities causes inefficiency and confusion on the part of employers, employees, and regulators. In particular, lack of information sharing between agencies leads to ineffective enforcement and educational efforts. Consequently, a pilot program was begun in 1992 that partnered agencies to improve efficiency through sharing of resources and information. The program, intended to target industries with a history of regulatory problems, was named the Targeted Industries Partnership Program (TIPP). Agriculture and garment manufacturing were chosen as targeted industries because of their importance for California and their history of regulatory problems.The main research objective of this project is to characterize agricultural operations that have received notices of violation of health, safety, and labor regulations during 1993 and 1994 through TIPP and to identify patterns and risk factors for violation. Using a database of California farm operations developed and maintained by the California Institute for Rural Studies (CIRS), we compared operations that received notices of violations through TIPP during 1993 and 1994 with those that did not. This allowed us to develop a profile of operations at high risk for labor-law violations, identity and characterize risk factors, and describe patterns of violation. In addition, TIPP files were matched against the Licensed Farm Labor Contractor file (provided by the CDIR) to identify which TIPP citations were made to licensed farm-labor contractors

Workplace Health-and-Safety Violations in Agriculture: Epidemiology and Implications for Education and Enforcement Policy

Agriculture is one of the most important industries in California, enjoying over $22 billion in farm cash receipts annually. In addition to economic benefits, national and state data show that agriculture is on of the most dangerous industries with respect to occupational illnesses and injuries. Because Latino and Latina workers provide the majority of production in the industry, they are uniquely increased risk for occupational injury and illness.The fragmentation of regulatory activities causes inefficiency and confusion on the part of employers, employees, and regulators. In particular, lack of information sharing between agencies leads to ineffective enforcement and educational efforts. Consequently, a pilot program was begun in 1992 that partnered agencies to improve efficiency through sharing of resources and information. The program, intended to target industries with a history of regulatory problems, was named the Targeted Industries Partnership Program (TIPP). Agriculture and garment manufacturing were chosen as targeted industries because of their importance for California and their history of regulatory problems.The main research objective of this project is to characterize agricultural operations that have received notices of violation of health, safety, and labor regulations during 1993 and 1994 through TIPP and to identify patterns and risk factors for violation. Using a database of California farm operations developed and maintained by the California Institute for Rural Studies (CIRS), we compared operations that received notices of violations through TIPP during 1993 and 1994 with those that did not. This allowed us to develop a profile of operations at high risk for labor-law violations, identity and characterize risk factors, and describe patterns of violation. In addition, TIPP files were matched against the Licensed Farm Labor Contractor file (provided by the CDIR) to identify which TIPP citations were made to licensed farm-labor contractors