Associations between respiratory illnesses and secondhand smoke exposure in flight attendants: A cross-sectional analysis of the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute Survey

Abstract Background Secondhand tobacco smoke (SHS) is associated with increased risk of respiratory illness, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. Prior to smoking bans on airlines in the late 1980s, flight attendants were exposed to a significant amount of SHS. In the present study, we examine associations between flight attendant SHS exposure and development of respiratory illnesses and cardiovascular disease. Methods Between December 2006 and October 2010, three hundred sixty-two flight attendants completed an online questionnaire with information regarding experience as a flight attendant, medical history, smoking history, and SHS exposure. Rates of illnesses in flight attendants were compared with an age and smoking history matched population sample from NHANES 2005-2006. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association of reported medical conditions and pre-ban years of exposure. Results Compared with the sample from NHANES 2005-2006, flight attendants had increased prevalence of chronic bronchitis (11.7% vs. 7.2%, p < 0.05), emphysema/COPD (3.2% vs. 0.9%, p < 0.03), and sinus problems (31.5% vs. 20.9%, p < 0.002), despite a lower prevalence of medical illnesses including high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, heart failure, cancer, and thyroid disease. Amongst flight attendants who reported never smoking over their lifetimes, there was not a significant association between years of service as a flight attendant in the pre-smoking ban era and illnesses. However, in this same group, there was a significantly increased risk of daily symptoms (vs. no symptoms) of nasal congestion, throat, or eye irritation per 10-year increase of years of service as a flight attendant prior to the smoking ban (OR 2.14, 95% CI 1.41 - 3.24). Conclusions Flight attendants experience increased rates of respiratory illnesses compared to a population sample. The frequency of symptoms of nasal congestion, throat or eye irritation is associated with occupational SHS exposure in the pre-smoking ban era

Incorporating Genomics and Bioinformatics across the Life Sciences Curriculum

Undergraduate life sciences education needs an overhaul, as clearly described in the National Research Council of the National Academies’ publication BIO 2010: Transforming Undergraduate Education for Future Research Biologists. Among BIO 2010’s top recommendations is the need to involve students in working with real data and tools that reflect the nature of life sciences research in the 21st century [1]. Education research studies support the importance of utilizing primary literature, designing and implementing experiments, and analyzing results in the context of a bona fide scientific question [1–12] in cultivating the analytical skills necessary to become a scientist. Incorporating these basic scientific methodologies in undergraduate education leads to increased undergraduate and post-graduate retention in the sciences [13–16]. Toward this end, many undergraduate teaching organizations offer training and suggestions for faculty to update and improve their teaching approaches to help students learn as scientists, through design and discovery (e.g., Council of Undergraduate Research [www.cur.org] and Project Kaleidoscope [ www.pkal.org])

The Group as a Psycho-Educational Medium for the Teaching of Anti-Racist Practice on Social Work Trainings

This article discusses the anxieties that lead to resistance to anti-racist and culturally sensitive reflection and engagement on social work trainings. It briefly discusses a culturally diverse social work training and the anxieties described by the students that hindered the integration of the teaching of race and culture during the training. The article then contrasts this with another more successful training experience on another social work course at a different university with a similar level of cultural diversity by the use of the group as a psycho-educational method to manage the student’s defences and avoidance of the difficult and painful knowledge required to enhance reflexivity when it comes to issues of race. It discusses how the role and skills of the seminar leader can manage the student’s defences through the use of group dynamic processes and concepts as psycho-educational tools; thereby deepening the observational and reflective skills of the social work students during their training in preparation for their future work within diverse settings and in line with the social work competencies and regulation requirements

Thinking about Race: The Salience of Racial Identity at Two- and Four-Year Colleges and the Climate for Diversity

Racial identity salience is an important component of identity development that is associated with a number of educational outcomes. Using the Diverse Learning Environments Survey, this study identifies precollege and college experiences that contribute to a heightened salience of racial identity, and its relationship to perceptions of campus climate

Heating performance evaluation of a combined gas heating/electric cooling and gas water-heating system in a contemporary research house. Topical Report. (Dec. 90 - Apr. 91)

Under the sponsorship of the Gas Research Institute, a combined gas heating/electric cooling and gas water-heating system was tested during the heating season in an unoccupied contemporary research house located near Washington, D.C. The research house was moderately furnished to approximate conditions of occupancy for a family of three. Presence of occupants and use of appliances were simulated. Performance of the unit was evaluated on the basis of indoor comfort, dynamic response to changing indoor/outdoor conditions, effect of setback, effect of different water-draw schedules, energy consumption, and efficiency.