Rodenticide Restrictions: The Precautionary Principle in Action

In the Environmental Protection Agency\u27s proposed mitigation measures (published 1/17/07, Federal Register), we can see the precautionary principle in action: When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically (Ashford 1998). EPA\u27s proposed measures would classify all second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides as restricted use, so that they cannot be sold to the general public. This proposed restriction will diminish the ability of consumers to control rodents in their own residence, and will disproportionately affect minority and low-income citizens in the large cities of America. EPA\u27s analysis fails to properly account for the potential impact on public health and other social costs of their mitigation proposal. The EPA\u27s analysis does not show that second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides present a significant hazard to non-target wildlife. At best, it simply makes a case that primary and secondary hazards are possible. It does not allow any conclusions about the actual risk posed to wildlife. Liphatech (and other manufacturers, through the Rodenticide Registrants\u27 Task Force, RRTF) have proposed alternative mitigation measures to address both risks to wildlife and risks to children, while preserving the public\u27s access to the most effective rodent control pesticides. The proposed alternatives include: limiting consumer rodenticide use to inside of buildings, using bittering agents in consumer products, directing consumers to use smaller bait placements, using label language that is more clear and understandable to the consumer, providing consumer education through internet sites and point­-of-sale signs/brochures

Conservative buffering of approximate nonlinear constraints

In engineering design practice behavior is usually predicted based on some known nominal design. However, when the design is fabricated it will differ from the nominal design because of manufacturing tolerances. In order to generate nominal designs that will still satisfy behavior constraints in the presence of manufacturing tolerances, engineers resort to the use of safety factors, over and above those introduced to account for other uncertainties (e.g., in load conditions, material properties, analysis modeling). The accurate selection of the values of these manufacturing tolerances safety factors is dependent on the capability of the engineer to determine the sensitivity of the critical constraints to changes in the design variables. This process usually leads to overly conservative designs. The task of choosing safety factors is much more difficult in structural synthesis because: (1) it is not known which constraints will be active at the final design, (2) as the design changes during the synthesis process the sensitivities of the constraints with respect to the design variables also change, and (3) the imposition of the safety factors themselves may change the set of critical constraints. These difficulties can be overcome with the approximation concepts approach to structural synthesis by buffering the approximate constraints with quantities that are related to the design variable tolerances and the accurate sensitivities of the constraints with respect to the design variable. Designs generated by this approach tend to be feasible but not overly conservative

The Impact of Individual Investment Behavior for Retirement Welfare: Evidence from the United States and Germany

Much of the industrialized world is undergoing a significant demographic shift, placing strain on public pension systems. Policymakers are responding with pension system reforms that put more weight on privately managed retirement funds. One concern with these changes is the effect on individual welfare if individuals invest suboptimally. Using micro-level data from the United States and Germany, we compare the optimal expected lifetime utility computed using a realistically calibrated model with the actual utility as reflected in empirical asset allocation choices. Through this analysis, we are able to identify the population subgroups with relatively large welfare losses. Our results should be helpful to public policymakers in designing programs to improve the performance of privately organized retirement systems.Asset Allocation, Retirement Welfare, Pension Reform

Molecular absorption in transition region spectral lines

Aims: We present observations from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) of absorption features from a multitude of cool atomic and molecular lines within the profiles of Si IV transition region lines. Many of these spectral lines have not previously been detected in solar spectra. Methods: We examined spectra taken from deep exposures of plage on 12 October 2013. We observed unique absorption spectra over a magnetic element which is bright in transition region line emission and the ultraviolet continuum. We compared the absorption spectra with emission spectra that is likely related to fluorescence. Results: The absorption features require a population of sub-5000 K plasma to exist above the transition region. This peculiar stratification is an extreme deviation from the canonical structure of the chromosphere-corona boundary . The cool material is not associated with a filament or discernible coronal rain. This suggests that molecules may form in the upper solar atmosphere on small spatial scales and introduces a new complexity into our understanding of solar thermal structure. It lends credence to previous numerical studies that found evidence for elevated pockets of cool gas in the chromosphere.Comment: accepted by A&A Letter

Classical Swine Fever Surveillance in Feral Swine

Diseases such as classical swine fever (CSF) and foot-and-mouth disease have been eradicated in the United States, but possible reintroductions merit the development of an enhanced surveillance system. Important foreign animal or transboundary diseases like these pose a significant risk to the health of wildlife and livestock in the United States. Wildlife Services (WS) performs surveillance in targeted feral swine (Sus scrofa) populations as part of a comprehensive United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service effort to demonstrate disease-free status in our nation\u27s livestock and wildlife. Surveillance is based on risk assessments which identify high risk states and the vicinity of feral swine to transitional or commercial swine production facilities. During 2007 and 2008, WS sampled and tested (n = 3661) feral swine. CSF was not detected in feral swine in the United States through this surveillance effort

USDA and State/Tribal Cooperator Summary for 2006/2007 National Early Detection System for HPAI in Wild Migratory Birds: Accomplishments, Findings, and Future Direction

In late 2005, at the request of the Homeland Security Council\u27s Policy Coordinating Committee for Pandemic Influenza Preparedness, the United States Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Interior began developing a United States Interagency Strategic Plan for the early detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) introduction into North America by wild migratory birds. This plan was stepped down by various regional, state, and tribal entities and was implemented nationwide in mid-2006. USDA funded Federal, State, and Tribal cooperators began with a goal of collecting over 75,000 surveillance samples from wild migratory birds during the 2006/2007 surveillance period. The 2006 accomplishments, findings, and Al surveillance results are reported. The USDA\u27s HPAI surveillance strategies and goals are discussed for the 2007 sampling season

Outcomes after redo aortobifemoral bypass for aortoiliac occlusive disease

ObjectivePatients presenting with occluded aortobifemoral (ABF) bypass grafts are managed with a variety of techniques. Redo ABF (rABF) bypass procedures are infrequently performed because of concerns about procedural complexity and morbidity. The purpose of this analysis was to compare midterm results of rABF bypass with those of primary ABF (pABF) bypass for aortoiliac occlusive disease to determine if there are significant differences in outcomes.MethodsA retrospective review was performed of all patients undergoing ABF bypass for occlusive disease between January 2002 and March 2012. A total of 19 patients underwent rABF bypass and 194 received pABF bypass during that period. Data for an indication- and comorbidity-matched case-control cohort of 19 elective pABF bypass patients were collected for comparison to the rABF bypass group. Primary end points included rate of major complications as well as 30-day and all-cause mortality. Secondary end points were amputation-free survival and freedom from major adverse limb events.ResultsThe rABF bypass patients more frequently underwent prior extra-anatomic or lower extremity bypass operations compared with pABF bypass patients (P = .02); however, no difference was found in the incidence of prior failed endovascular iliac intervention (P = .4). By design, indications for the rABF and pABF bypass groups were the same (claudication, n = 6/6 [31.6%]; P = 1; critical limb ischemia, n = 13/13 [78.4%]; P = 1). Aortic access was more frequently by retroperitoneal exposure in the rABF bypass group (n = 13 vs n = 1; P < .0001), and a significantly higher proportion of the rABF bypass patients required concomitant infrainguinal bypass or intraprocedural adjuncts such as profundaplasty (n = 14 vs n = 5; P = .01). The rABF bypass patients experienced greater blood loss (1097 ± 983 mL vs 580 ± 457 mL; P = .02), received more intraoperative fluids (3400 ± 1422 mL vs 2279 ± 993 mL; P = .01), and had longer overall procedure times (408 ± 102 minutes vs 270 ± 48 minutes; P < .0001). Length of stay (days ± standard deviation) was similar (pABF bypass, 11.2 ± 10.4; rABF bypass, 9.1 ± 4.5; P = .7), and no 30-day or in-hospital deaths occurred in either group. Similar rates of major complications occurred in the two groups (pABF bypass, n = 6 [31.6%]; rABF bypass, n = 4 [21.1%]; observed difference, 9.5%; 95% confidence interval, −17.6% to 36.7%; P = .7). Two-year freedom from major adverse limb events (±standard error mean) was 82% ± 9% vs 78% ± 10% for pABF and rABF bypass patients (log-rank, P = .6). Two-year amputation-free survival was 90 ± 9% vs 89 ± 8% between pABF and rABF bypass patients (P = .5). Two-year survival was 91% ± 9% and 90% ± 9% for pABF and rABF bypass patients (P = .8).ConclusionsPatients undergoing rABF bypass have higher procedural complexity compared with pABF bypass as evidenced by greater operative time, blood loss, and need for adjunctive procedures. However, similar perioperative morbidity, mortality, and midterm survival occurred in comparison to pABF bypass patients. These results support a role for rABF bypass in selected patients

Particulate matter and subclinical atherosclerosis : associations between different particle sizes and sources with carotid intima-media thickness in the SAPALDIA study

Subclinical atherosclerosis has been associated with long-term exposure to particulate matter (PM), but the relevance of particle size and sources of exposure remains unclear.; We investigated the association of long-term exposure to PM10 (≤ 10 μm), PM2.5 (≤ 2.5 μm: total mass, vehicular, and crustal sources), and ultrafine particles [UFP &lt; 0.1 μm: particle number concentration (PNC) and lung-deposited surface area (LDSA)] with carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT).; We used data from 1,503 participants ≥ 50 years old who participated in the third examination of the Swiss SAPALDIA cohort. Exposures were obtained from dispersion models and land-use regression models. Covariate information, including previous cardiovascular risk factors, was obtained from the second and third SAPALDIA examinations.; The adjusted percent difference in CIMT associated with an exposure contrast between the 10th and 90th percentile was 1.58% (95% CI: -0.30, 3.47%) for PM10, 2.10% (95% CI: 0.04, 4.16%) for PM2.5, 1.67% (95% CI: -0.13, 3.48%) for the vehicular source of PM2.5, -0.58% (95% CI: -3.95, 2.79%) for the crustal source of PM2.5, 2.06% (95% CI: 0.03, 4.10%) for PNC, and 2.32% (95% CI: 0.23, 4.40%) for LDSA. Stronger associations were observed among diabetics, subjects with low-educational level, and those at higher cardiovascular risk.; CIMT was associated with exposure to PM10, PM2.5, and UFP. The PM2.5 source-specific analysis showed a positive association for the vehicular source but not for the crustal source. Although the effects of PNC and LDSA were similar in magnitude, two-pollutant and residual-based models suggested that LDSA may be a better marker for the health relevance of UFP. Citation: Aguilera I, Dratva J, Caviezel S, Burdet L, de Groot E, Ducret-Stich RE, Eeftens M, Keidel D, Meier R, Perez L, Rothe T, Schaffner E, Schmit-Trucksäss A, Tsai MY, Schindler C, Künzli N, Probst-Hensch N. 2016. Particulate matter and subclinical atherosclerosis: associations between different particle sizes and sources with carotid intima-media thickness in the SAPALDIA study. Environ Health Perspect 124:1700-1706; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/EHP161

Tissue tropisms opt for transmissible reassortants during avian and swine influenza A virus co-infection in swine

Genetic reassortment between influenza A viruses (IAVs) facilitate emergence of pandemic strains, and swine are proposed as a “mixing vessel” for generating reassortants of avian and mammalian IAVs that could be of risk to mammals, including humans. However, how a transmissible reassortant emerges in swine are not well understood. Genomic analyses of 571 isolates recovered from nasal wash samples and respiratory tract tissues of a group of co-housed pigs (influenza-seronegative, avian H1N1 IAV–infected, and swine H3N2 IAV– infected pigs) identified 30 distinct genotypes of reassortants. Viruses recovered from lower respiratory tract tissues had the largest genomic diversity, and those recovered from turbinates and nasal wash fluids had the least. Reassortants from lower respiratory tracts had the largest variations in growth kinetics in respiratory tract epithelial cells, and the cold temperature in swine nasal cells seemed to select the type of reassortant viruses shed by the pigs. One reassortant in nasal wash samples was consistently identified in upper, middle, and lower respiratory tract tissues, and it was confirmed to be transmitted efficiently between pigs. Study findings suggest that, during mixed infections of avian and swine IAVs, genetic reassortments are likely to occur in the lower respiratory track, and tissue tropism is an important factor selecting for a transmissible reassortant