Interactions of pathogens and irritant chemicals in land-applied sewage sludges (biosolids)

BACKGROUND: Fertilisation of land with processed sewage sludges, which often contain low levels of pathogens, endotoxins, and trace amounts of industrial and household chemicals, has become common practice in Western Europe, the US, and Canada. Local governments, however, are increasingly restricting or banning the practice in response to residents reporting adverse health effects. These self-reported illnesses have not been studied and methods for assessing exposures of residential communities to contaminants from processed sewage sludges need to be developed. METHODS: To describe and document adverse effects reported by residents, 48 individuals at ten sites in the US and Canada were questioned about their environmental exposures and symptoms. Information was obtained on five additional cases where an outbreak of staphylococcal infections occurred near a land application site in Robesonia, PA. Medical records were reviewed in cases involving hospitalisation or other medical treatment. Since most complaints were associated with airborne contaminants, an air dispersion model was used as a means for potentially ruling out exposure to sludge as the cause of adverse effects. RESULTS: Affected residents lived within approximately 1 km of land application sites and generally complained of irritation (e.g., skin rashes and burning of the eyes, throat, and lungs) after exposure to winds blowing from treated fields. A prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus infections of the skin and respiratory tract was found. Approximately 1 in 4 of 54 individuals were infected, including 2 mortalities (septicaemia, pneumonia). This result was consistent with the prevalence of S. aureus infections accompanying diaper rashes in which the organism, which is commonly found in the lower human colon, tends to invade irritated or inflamed tissue. CONCLUSIONS: When assessing public health risks from applying sewage sludges in residential areas, potential interactions of chemical contaminants with low levels of pathogens should be considered. An increased risk of infection may occur when allergic and non-allergic reactions to endotoxins and other chemical components irritate skin and mucus membranes and thereby compromise normal barriers to infection

Vegetative Ecological Characteristics of Restored Reed (Phragmites australis) Wetlands in the Yellow River Delta, China

In this study, we compared ecological characteristics of wetland vegetation in a series of restoration projects that were carried out in the wetlands of Yellow River Delta. The investigated characteristics include plant composition structure, species diversity and community similarity in three kinds of Phragmites australis wetlands, i.e. restored P. australis wetlands (R1, R2, R3 and R4: restored in 2002, 2005, 2007 and 2009, respectively), natural P. australis wetland (N) and degraded P. australis wetland (D) to assess the process of wetlands restoration. The coverage of the R1 was 99%, which was similar to natural wetland. Among all studied wetlands, the highest and lowest stem density was observed in R1 and R2, respectively, Plant height and stem diameter show the same trend as N > R2 > R1 > R3 > D > R4. Species diversity of restored P. australis wetlands became closed to natural wetland. Both species richness and Shannon–Wiener index had similar tendency: increased first and then decreased with restored time. The highest species richness and species diversity were observed in R2, while the lowest values of those parameters were found in natural P. australis wetland. Similarity indexes between restored wetlands and natural wetland increased with the restoration time, but they were still less than 50%. The results indicate that the vegetation of P. australis wetlands has experienced a great improvement after several years’ restoration, and it is feasible to restored degraded P. australis wetlands by pouring fresh water into those wetlands in the Yellow River Delta. However, it is notable that costal degraded P. australis wetland in this region may take years to decades to reach the status of natural wetland

Dry Needling for Spine Related Disorders: a Scoping Review

Introduction/Background: The depth and breadth of research on dry needling (DN) has not been evaluated specifically for symptomatic spine related disorders (SRD) from myofascial trigger points (TrP), disc, nerve and articular structures not due to serious pathologies. Current literature appears to support DN for treatment of TrP. Goals of this review include identifying research published on DN treatment for SRD, sites of treatment and outcomes studied. Methods: A scoping review was conducted following Levac et al.’s five part methodological framework to determine the current state of the literature regarding DN for patients with SRD. Results: Initial and secondary search strategies yielded 55 studies in the cervical (C) region (71.43%) and 22 in the thoracolumbar-pelvic (TLP) region (28.57%). Most were randomized controlled trials (60% in C, 45.45% in TLP) and clinical trials (18.18% in C, 22.78% in TLP). The most commonly treated condition was TrP for both the C and TLP regions. In the C region, DN was provided to 23 different muscles, with the trapezius as treatment site in 41.88% of studies. DN was applied to 31 different structures in the TLP region. In the C region, there was one treatment session in 23 studies (41.82%) and 2–6 treatments in 25 (45.45%%). For the TLP region, one DN treatment was provided in 8 of the 22 total studies (36.36%) and 2–6 in 9 (40.9%). The majority of experimental designs had DN as the sole intervention. For both C and TLP regions, visual analogue scale, pressure pain threshold and range of motion were the most common outcomes. Conclusion: For SRD, DN was primarily applied to myofascial structures for pain or TrP diagnoses. Many outcomes were improved regardless of diagnosis or treatment parameters. Most studies applied just one treatment which may not reflect common clinical practice. Further research is warranted to determine optimal treatment duration and frequency. Most studies looked at DN as the sole intervention. It is unclear whether DN alone or in addition to other treatment procedures would provide superior outcomes. Functional outcome tools best suited to tracking the outcomes of DN for SRD should be explored.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12998-020-00310-

Initial Test of the Benchmark Chemical Approach for Predicting Microbial Transformation Rates in Aquatic Environments

Using 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid methyl ester (2,4-DME) as a benchmark chemical, we determined relative pseudo-first-order rate coefficients for the butoxyethyl ester of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-DBE), methyl parathion, and methyl-3-chlorobenzoate in a diversity of microbial samples, including water, sediment, biofilm, and floating microbial mats collected from a laboratory mesocosm as well as from streams, lakes, and wetlands in Georgia and Florida. The decreasing order of reactivity for relative microbial transformation rates was 2,4-DBE > 2,4-DME > methyl-3-chlorobenzoate > methyl parathion. Half-lives of the chemicals varied about 60-fold depending on the chemical and microbial sample. Relative rate coefficients, however, typically varied only about threefold for field-collected samples. Relative rate coefficients determined with samples from a laboratory mesocosm were consistently low compared with the field sample data. Overall, the data indicated that microbial transformation rates of a chemical can be satisfactorily inferred for a wide variety of microbial habitats—such as water, biofilm, or a sediment—on the basis of its transformation rate relative to that of an appropriate benchmark chemical by using a single type of microbial sample

Combined tool approach is 100% successful for emergency football face mask removal

Objective: To compare effectiveness of two techniques for removing football face masks: cutting loop straps [cutting tool: FMXtractor((R)) (FMX)] or removing screws with a cordless screwdriver and using the FMXtractor as needed for failed removals [combined tool (CT)]. Null hypotheses: no differences in face mask removal success, removal time or difficulty between techniques or helmet characteristics. Design: Retrospective, cross-sectional. Setting: NOCSAE-certified helmet reconditioning plants. Participants: 600 used high school helmets. Interventions: Face mask removal attempted with two techniques. Main Outcome Measurements: Success, removal time, rating of perceived exertion (RPE). Results: Both techniques were effective [CT 100% (300/300); FMX 99.4% (298/300)]. Use of the back-up FMXtractor((R)) in CT trials was required in 19% of trials. There was significantly (P \u3c 0.001) less call for the backup tool in helmets with silver screws (6%) than in helmets with other screws (31%). Mean removal time was 44.51 +/- 18.79s (CT: 37.84 +/- 15.37s, FMX: 51.21 +/- 19.54s; P \u3c 0.001). RPE was different between techniques (CT: 1.83 +/- 1.20, FMX: 3.11 +/- 1.27; P \u3c 0.001). Removal from helmets with silver screws was faster (Silver = 33.38 +/- 11.03, Others = 42.18 +/- 17.64; P \u3c 0.001) and easier (Silver = 1.42 +/- 0.89, Other = 2.23 +/- 1.33; P \u3c 0.001). Conclusions: CT was faster and easier than FMX Most CT trials were completed with the screwdriver alone; helmets with silver screws had 94% screwdriver success. Clinically, these findings are important because this and other research shows that compared to removal with cutting tools, screwdriver removal decreases time, difficulty and helmet movement (reducing potential for iatrogenic injury). The combined-tool approach captures benefits of the screwdriver while offering a contingency for screw removal failure. Teams should use degradation-resistant screws