Pesticide spraying for West Nile virus control and emergency department asthma visits in New York City, 2000

Pyrethroid pesticides were applied via ground spraying to residential neighborhoods in New York City during July–September 2000 to control mosquito vectors of West Nile virus (WNV). Case reports link pyrethroid exposure to asthma exacerbations, but population-level effects on asthma from large-scale mosquito control programs have not been assessed. We conducted this analysis to determine whether widespread urban pyrethroid pesticide use was associated with increased rates of emergency department (ED) visits for asthma. We recorded the dates and locations of pyrethroid spraying during the 2000 WNV season in New York City and tabulated all ED visits for asthma to public hospitals from October 1999 through November 2000 by date and ZIP code of patients’ residences. The association between pesticide application and asthma-related emergency visits was evaluated across date and ZIP code, adjusting for season, day of week, and daily temperature, precipitation, particulate, and ozone levels. There were 62,827 ED visits for asthma during the 14-month study period, across 162 ZIP codes. The number of asthma visits was similar in the 3-day periods before and after spraying (510 vs. 501, p = 0.78). In multivariate analyses, daily rates of asthma visits were not associated with pesticide spraying (rate ratio = 0.92; 95% confidence interval, 0.80–1.07). Secondary analyses among children and for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease yielded similar null results. This analysis shows that spraying pyrethroids for WNV control in New York City was not followed by population-level increases in public hospital ED visit rates for asthma

Pulmonary artery stiffness in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (copd) and emphysema: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) COPD Study

Purpose: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and particularly emphysema are characterized by stiffness of the aorta, due in part to accelerated elastin degradation in the lungs and aorta. Stiffness of the pulmonary arteries (PAs) may also be increased in COPD and emphysema, but data are lacking. We assessed PA stiffness using MRI in patients with COPD and related these measurements to COPD severity and percent emphysema. Materials and Methods: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) COPD Study recruited 290 participants, age 50–79 years with 10 or more packyears and free of clinical cardiovascular disease. COPD severity were defined on postbronchodilator spirometry by ATS/ERS criteria. Percent emphysema was defined as the percentage of regions of the lung < -950 Hounsfield units on full-lung computed tomography (CT). PA stain was defined by the percent change in cross-sectional PA area between systole and diastole on MRI. Blood flow across the tricuspid and mitral valves was assessed by phase-contrast MRI for determination of the ventricular diastolic dysfunction (E/A ratio). Results: PA strain was reduced in COPD compared with controls (P = 0.002) and was inversely correlated with COPD severity (P = 0.004). PA strain was inversely associated to percent emphysema (P = 0.01). PA strain was also markedly correlated with right ventricular diastolic dysfunction measured by E/A ratios in the fully adjusted mix models (P = 0.02). Conclusion: PA strain is reduced in COPD, related in part to percent emphysema on CT scan, which may have implications for pulmonary small vessel flow and right ventricular function. Level of Evidence: 2 Technical Efficacy: Stage

Multi-lepton signals from the top-prime quark at the LHC

We analyze the collider signatures of models with a vector-like top-prime quark and a massive color-octet boson. The top-prime quark mixes with the top quark in the Standard Model, leading to richer final states than ones that are investigated by experimental collaborations. We discuss the multi-lepton final states, and show that they can provide increased sensitivity to models with a top-prime quark and gluon-prime. Searches for new physics in high multiplicity events are an important component of the LHC program and complementary to analyses that have been performed.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, 2 table

Smoking and Subclinical ILD in RA versus the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

A population-based cohort showed an association between cigarette smoking and subclinical parenchymal lung disease defined as regions of increased computed tomography (CT) lung densitometry. This technique has not been applied to the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) population where associated ILD is highly prevalent. The association between cumulative cigarette smoking and volume of areas of high attenuation (HAA: >-600 and <-250 Hounsfield Units) on full inspiratory CT was compared in 172 RA participants and 3,969 controls in a general population sample. Multivariable regression models were used to adjust for demography, anthropometrics, percent emphysema, and CT parameters. The mean cumulative cigarette smoking exposure was 25 (IQR 10–42) and 15(IQR 5–31) pack-years for the RA and non-RA cohorts, respectively. Mean HAA was 153(±57) cm3 and 129(±50) cm3 in the RA and non-RA cohorts, respectively. Each 10 cigarette pack-year increment was associated with a higher HAA by 0.03% (95% CI, 0.007–0.05%) in RA patients and by 0.008% (95% CI, 0.003–0.01%) in those without RA (interaction p = 0.001). Cigarette smoking was associated with higher lung attenuation; with a magnitude of association more pronounced in those with RA than in the general population. These data suggest that cigarette smoking may be a more potent ILD risk factor for RA patients than in the general population

Association of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy With Incident Hypertension: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

Increased left ventricular (LV) mass and changes in LV geometry may precede hypertension onset. The authors examined the associations of LV mass and geometry, assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, with hypertension incidence in 2,567 normotensive participants enrolled in 2000–2002 in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, an ethnically diverse, population-based, US study. Over a median follow-up of 4.8 years, 745 (29%) participants developed hypertension. In a fully adjusted model including baseline blood pressure, the relative risks of incident hypertension from the lowest to highest LV mass quartile were 1.00 (referent), 1.13 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.89, 1.43), 1.28 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.63), and 1.78 (95% CI: 1.38, 2.30) (P < 0.001 for linear trend). Higher levels of LV concentric geometry, defined by higher LV mass to end-diastolic volume quartiles, were associated with higher risk of incident hypertension in a fully adjusted model (P = 0.044 for linear trend). In a final model containing both quartiles of LV mass and LV mass/volume along with all covariates including baseline blood pressure, higher LV mass quartiles were associated with incident hypertension (P < 0.001 for linear trend), whereas higher LV mass/volume quartiles were not (P = 0.643 for linear trend). In this multiethnic cohort, alterations in LV mass preceded hypertension onset among normotensive individuals

Endothelial Dysfunction and the Risk of Hypertension: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

Hypertension is associated with impaired endothelial function in cross-sectional studies. However, few longitudinal data exist on whether endothelial dysfunction precedes the development of hypertension. We examined the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between endothelial-dependent brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and hypertension prevalence and incidence in 3500 participants from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, an ethnically diverse, community-based cohort study. At baseline, the prevalence ratios (95% CI) of hypertension from the highest to the lowest quartile of FMD were 1.00 (referent), 1.26 (1.12 to 1.40), 1.35 (1.21 to 1.52), and 1.68 (1.50 to 1.87; linear trend P<0.001). This association remained (P=0.017) after adjustment for demographics (age, sex, and ethnicity), Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis site, and other risk factors. Of the 1869 participants without hypertension at baseline, 584 (31.3%) developed hypertension over a median follow-up of 4.8 years. The unadjusted relative risks (95% CI) of incident hypertension from the highest to the lowest quartile of FMD were 1.00 (referent), 1.38 (1.14 to 1.67), 1.44 (1.19 to 1.74), and 1.64 (1.36 to 1.97; linear trend P<0.001). However, after adjustment for demographics and Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis site, the relationship between FMD and incident hypertension was attenuated and not statistically significant: 1.00 (referent), 1.26 (1.04 to 1.52), 1.19 (0.98 to 1.44), and 1.18 (0.97 to 1.44). The longitudinal results also did not appreciably change after adjustment for additional risk factors and baseline blood pressure levels. In this sample, reduced FMD was not an independent predictor of hypertension incidence, suggesting that impaired endothelial function does not play a major role in the development of hypertension