Health and Housing Trends of Single Homeless Adults in Chittenden County, Vermont

Introduction. Homeless individuals are at an increased risk for both physical and mental health comorbidities compared to those with stable housing. Prior studies have demonstrated that many of these individuals do not seek or receive proper medical care. This study provides a landscape analysis of health characteristics in the single adult homeless population in Chittenden County, Vermont. Methods. Interviews were conducted using a modified version of the Vulnerability Index – Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool to determine vulnerability indices across a range of different health and social wellness domains. Single home- less adults were sampled from community self-help clinics and transitional living and homeless shelters from September to November 2017. Results. 56 in-person surveys were conducted. Mean age of participants was 45.3 years and over half were male (63%). Extended periods or multiple episodes of homelessness were experienced most by those who reported sleeping outdoors (89%); this group also reported the highest use of emergency services (47%). The highest incidence of abuse/trauma as a contributing factor for homelessness was reported most in the 18-30 age group (71%) and least in the above 51 age group (35%). Nearly all participants owned a cell phone (86%). Conclusions. Single homeless adults self-reported a variety of health and social is- sues, including substance abuse, increased emergency department use, and in- creased abuse, trauma, and deteriorated social relationships. This study highlights different risk factors that contribute to homelessness in this select population. Future research should evaluate how to individually address these vulnerabilities to optimize health care and well-being.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1255/thumbnail.jp

Contaminants of emerging concern in bay mussels throughout the Salish Sea

Monitoring of bay mussels (Mytilus trossulus) has been an important part of WDFW’s Toxics-focused Biological Observation System (TBiOS) in the Puget Sound. Traditional monitoring has focused on a suite of priority compounds including PAHs, PCBs, PBDEs, and metals. In order to expand the range of compounds investigated, we undertook a pilot program in 2016 to analyze a select set of tissue samples for contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), utilizing two distinct analytical approaches. One set was analyzed by targeted methods focusing on a suite of over 200 pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and endocrine disrupting compounds. The results supported the notion of widespread exposure of marine organisms to trace levels of organic contaminants, including compounds such as the antidepressant sertraline, and the antibiotic virginiamycin. They also clearly demonstrated the importance of analytical considerations such as matrix effects, variable limits of detection, and quality assurance criteria when expanding and comparing these results across an ecosystem. A second set of tissue samples were analyzed by high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) in order to gain a broader understanding of exposures without focusing on a pre-defined list of analytes. This non-targeted approach utilized accurate mass, isotopic ratios, and retention time information for the tentative identification of a wide range of unique compounds for follow up analysis. Additional criteria, such as differential occurrence patterns, potential for biological interactions, and/or compound properties (e.g., halogenation), are then applied to identify a subset for focused identification. In this instance a candidate list of approximately 175 unique compounds was selected for identification based on common occurrence across samples and presence in existing accurate mass databases and libraries. These results again support the notion of a wide range of CEC exposures in the nearshore of Puget Sound, including synthetic hormones such as drospirenone

It\u27s safe to move! A protocol for a randomised controlled trial investigating the effect of a video designed to increase people\u27s confidence becoming more active despite back pain

Introduction Social media provide promising contemporary platforms for sharing public health information with a broad audience. Before implementation, testing social media campaigns that are intended to engage audiences and initiate behaviour change is necessary. This trial aims to investigate the effectiveness of a public health campaign to increase people\u27s confidence in becoming more active despite low back pain in comparison with no intervention. Methods and analysis This is an online randomised controlled trial with two intervention groups and one control group in a 1:1:1 allocation. People over 18 years of age and fluent in English will be recruited via social media advertising. We developed a social media-based public health campaign to support recommendations for managing low back pain. The interventions are two videos. Participants in the control group will be asked questions about low back pain but will not view either video intervention. The primary outcome will be item 10 of the Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire, which asks participants to rate how confident they would feel to gradually become more active despite pain ranging from 0 (not at all confident) to 6 (completely confident). This outcome will be measured immediately in all participant groups. We will compare group mean of the three arms of the trial using univariate analyses of variance. Ethics and dissemination This trial has been prospectively registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry. We obtained ethical approval from our institutions Human Research Ethics Committee before data collection. We will publish the results in a peer-reviewed medical journal and on institution websites

Confronting Environmental Inequality: Assessing and Mitigating Students\u27 Exposure to Near Roadway Air Pollution in Silicon Valley

Near roadway vehicle emissions, such as particulate matter (PM), nitrous oxides, and other contaminants, are major sources of air pollution, which can cause respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses.1 Chronic air and noise pollution exposures can also negatively influence cognitive function and student learning. Of greatest concern are concentrations within 500 feet of high traffic street edges, but concentrations can be harmful at distances up to 1320 ft.2 Vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, or those with impaired health are likely to suffer the greatest impacts. In 2003, the California legislature passed SB 352, prohibiting building new schools within 500 ft of high traffic roadways. However, SB 352 does not address what action should be taken to reduce the health risks for children at school sites already near high traffic roadways, and the Bill acknowledges that a disproportionate amount of low income students attend such schools. A recent report found that nationwide more than 8000 public schools or about one in every 11 public schools, serving roughly 4.4 million students is located within 500 ft. of a road with more than 30,000 vehicles per day, or at least 10,000 cars and 500 trucks per day. Many more head start and private schools are also exposed.3 An earlier study, found that 13.5% of students attended schools within 820 ft of a major roadway, concluding that minority and underprivileged children were disproportionately affected, although some results varied regionally.4 To better understand pollution patterns, environmental justice issues, and the community responses in Santa Clara County (SCC), we started field research in the Greater Washington Neighborhood of San Jose, CA. We started here because of the proximity of schools to high traffic roadways, and the support that Thriving Neighbors Initiative offered through partnerships with Washington Elementary School (WES) and a network of promotoras that are improving their community and interested in a community-based research

The Grizzly, April 6, 1979

International House Postponed • Friedmann To Edit Ruby • New Deanship Filled • Changes Announced In Staff • Clean Mailroom - How Long? • Nuclear Energy: Worth the Risk? • Ursinus College International House: An Idea Whose Time has Come (Almost) • Roving Reporter: Grizzly opinions? • Letters to the Editor: President responds • WRUC Last Hope For Radio • Feit Forum: Origins On Earth • Audio Corner: Tape decks • Portrait Of The Professor: Dr. William Williamson • Ursinus News In Brief: Judiciary board suspends two; Honor society seeks applicants; Two to take sabbaticals; Board Approves Cost Increases • Lacrosse Starts Second Year • Golfers Start Strong • Spring Fling • Sports Profile: Eric Rea • Bear Baseball On The Roll • Men\u27s Tennis Starts 0-4https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1017/thumbnail.jp

Evaluating Current Practices in Shelf Life Estimation

The current International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) methods for determining the supported shelf life of a drug product, described in ICH guidance documents Q1A and Q1E, are evaluated in this paper. To support this evaluation, an industry data set is used which is comprised of 26 individual stability batches of a common drug product where most batches are measured over a 24 month storage period. Using randomly sampled sets of 3 or 6 batches from the industry data set, the current ICH methods are assessed from three perspectives. First, the distributional properties of the supported shelf lives are summarized and compared to the distributional properties of the true shelf lives associated with the industry data set, assuming the industry data set represents a finite population of drug product batches for discussion purposes. Second, the results of the ICH poolability^ tests for model selection are summarized and the separate shelf life distributions from the possible alternative models are compared. Finally, the ICH methods are evaluated in terms of their ability to manage risk. Shelf life estimates that are too long result in an unacceptable percentage of nonconforming batches at expiry while those that are too short put the manufacturer at risk of possibly having to prematurely discard safe and efficacious drug product. Based on the analysis of the industry data set, the ICH-recommended approach did not produce supported shelf lives that effectively managed risk. Alternative approaches are required