Contaminated Communities: A video documentary of the Alberton, Montana mixed-chemical spill and an analysis of how its effects on toxics victims fits into a larger contamination framework from a political ecology perspective

The small rural mountain town of Alberton, MT located 32 miles west of Missoula, MT was the 1996 site of the largest contamination event in railroad history involving a mixture of chemicals. On April 11, 1996 a Montana Rail Link train derailed just west of the town of Alberton, leaking 130,000 pounds of chlorine gas, 17,000 of potassium cresylate (spent oil refinery waste), and 85 dry bulk pounds of sodium chlorate into the Alberton environment. Approximately 1000 people were evacuated from their homes, many for the seventeen day evacuation period that followed. The video documentary project that I embarked on in January 1997, the following year, attempts to chronicle the impact of this tragedy, on the lives of the evacuees from a political ecology perspective . It also documents the bureaucratic and medical responses to the changes in victims’ health and welfare over the course of the two and a half year period since the spill. The accompanying paper briefly describes the political ecology analysis of contamination events that guided my editing decisions for the documentary. The Appendix to this analysis contains a resource manual and action guide for preventing future Albertons, as well as an emergency response strategy for communities to follow, if such a tragedy does befall their community. The video documentary entitled A toxic train ran through it: a story of who benefits and who loses in toxic chemical catastrophes is included below as a mp4 video file. The video runs approximately 1 hour, 29 minutes, and 43 seconds

Biventricular repair for aortic atresia or hypoplasia and ventricular septal defect

AbstractObjective: Aortic valve atresia or hypoplasia can present with a ventricular septal defect and a normal mitral valve and left ventricle. These patients may be suitable for biventricular repair, although the optimal initial management strategy remains unknown. Methods: From January 1991 through March 1999, 20 patients with aortic atresia or hypoplasia and ventricular septal defect underwent operation with the intent to achieve biventricular repair. Aortic atresia was present in 7 patients, and aortic valve hypoplasia was present in 13 patients. Among those patients with aortic hypoplasia, Z-scores of the aortic valve anulus ranged from –8.8 to –2.7. Associated anomalies included interrupted aortic arch (n = 12 patients), coarctation (n = 6 patients), aortopulmonary window (n = 1 patient), and heterotaxia (n = 1 patient). Nine patients were staged with an initial Norwood procedure followed by biventricular repair in 8 patients. One patient awaits biventricular repair after a Norwood procedure. The conditions of 11 patients were corrected with a single procedure. Results: Among the 9 patients who underwent staged repair, there were no deaths after the Norwood procedure and 1 death after biventricular repair. For the 11 patients who underwent a primary biventricular repair, there was 1 early death and 2 late deaths from noncardiac causes. Follow-up ranged from 1 to 85 months (mean, 28 months). Actuarial survival for the entire group was 78% ± 10% at 5 years and was not significantly different between staged repair (89%) and primary biventricular repair (73%). Conclusions: Both primary and staged biventricular repair for patients with aortic atresia or hypoplasia and ventricular septal defect may be performed with good late survival. Refinements in technique of conduit insertion and arch reconstruction have resulted in primary biventricular repair becoming our preferred approach. (J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1999;118:648-54

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Global disparities in surgeons’ workloads, academic engagement and rest periods: the on-calL shIft fOr geNEral SurgeonS (LIONESS) study

: The workload of general surgeons is multifaceted, encompassing not only surgical procedures but also a myriad of other responsibilities. From April to May 2023, we conducted a CHERRIES-compliant internet-based survey analyzing clinical practice, academic engagement, and post-on-call rest. The questionnaire featured six sections with 35 questions. Statistical analysis used Chi-square tests, ANOVA, and logistic regression (SPSS® v. 28). The survey received a total of 1.046 responses (65.4%). Over 78.0% of responders came from Europe, 65.1% came from a general surgery unit; 92.8% of European and 87.5% of North American respondents were involved in research, compared to 71.7% in Africa. Europe led in publishing research studies (6.6 ± 8.6 yearly). Teaching involvement was high in North America (100%) and Africa (91.7%). Surgeons reported an average of 6.7 ± 4.9 on-call shifts per month, with European and North American surgeons experiencing 6.5 ± 4.9 and 7.8 ± 4.1 on-calls monthly, respectively. African surgeons had the highest on-call frequency (8.7 ± 6.1). Post-on-call, only 35.1% of respondents received a day off. Europeans were most likely (40%) to have a day off, while African surgeons were least likely (6.7%). On the adjusted multivariable analysis HDI (Human Development Index) (aOR 1.993) hospital capacity > 400 beds (aOR 2.423), working in a specialty surgery unit (aOR 2.087), and making the on-call in-house (aOR 5.446), significantly predicted the likelihood of having a day off after an on-call shift. Our study revealed critical insights into the disparities in workload, access to research, and professional opportunities for surgeons across different continents, underscored by the HDI

Proteins associated with pancreatic cancer survival in patients with resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly lethal disease with a dismal prognosis. However, while most patients die within the first year of diagnosis, very rarely, a few patients can survive for more than10-years. Better understanding the molecular characteristics of the pancreatic adenocarcinomas from these very long-term survivors (VLTS) may provide clues for personalized medicine and improve current pancreatic cancer treatment. To extend our previous investigation, we examined the proteomes of individual pancreas tumor tissues from a group of VLTS patients (survival ≥10 years) and short-term survival patients (STS, survival <14 months). With a given analytical sensitivity, the protein profile of each pancreatic tumor tissue was compared to reveal the proteome alterations that may be associated with pancreatic cancer survival. Pathway analysis of the differential proteins identified suggested that MYC, IGF1R and p53 were the top three upstream regulators for the STS associated proteins, and VEGFA, APOE, and TGFβ-1were the top three upstream regulators for the VLTS associated proteins. Immunohistochemistry analysis using an independent cohort of 145 PDAC confirmed that the higher abundance of ribosomal protein S8 (RPS8)and prolargin (PRELP)were correlated with STS and VLTS, respectively. Multivariate Cox analysis indicated that “High-RPS8 and Low-PRELP”was significantly associated with shorter survival time (HR=2.69, 95% CI 1.46-4.92, p=0.001).In addition, galectin-1, a previously identified protein with its abundance aversely associated with pancreatic cancer survival, was further evaluated for its significance in cancer-associated fibroblasts. Knockdown of galectin-1 in pancreatic cancer-associated fibroblasts dramatically reduced cell migration and invasion.The results from our study suggested that PRELP, LGALS1 and RPS8 might be significant prognostic factors, and RPS8 and LGALS1 could be potential therapeutic targets to improve pancreatic cancer survival if further validated