The Health Status of Hispanic Agricultural Workers in Georgia and Florida

To examine the health status of Hispanic agricultural workers in Florida and Georgia. Health data from agricultural workers in the Farm Worker Family Health Program (June 2019) and research studies in Florida (May 2015 and May 2019) were examined. Data from 728 agricultural workers were collected through sociodemographic questionnaire and clinical data. In the Florida sample, 83% were overweight or obese, 70% elevated blood pressure, 60% met the definition of prediabetes. In Georgia, 64% were overweight or obese and 67% had elevated blood pressure. Weak correlations were observed between BMI and systolic blood pressure (unadjusted r?=?0.20), diastolic blood pressure (unadjusted r?=?0.19), and glucose (unadjusted r?=?0.14). Adjusting for age and gender did not show statistically significant correlation between BMI and systolic and diastolic blood pressure or glucose. While BMI has been shown to be strongly associated with high blood pressure and impaired glucose, we found a weak correlation among agricultural workers. Given the common and high use of pesticides and elevated rates of hypertension, impaired glucose, and adiposity in agricultural workers, the public health impact of this relationship may require and lead to occupational reform that protects the health of agricultural workers. Future studies should assess occupational and environmental factors and lifestyle differences between agricultural workers and the general population to better understand these discrepancies in health status.

     

Cardiovascular risk independently predicts small functional bladder storage capacity

International Urology and Nephrology - We aimed to determine the potential relationship between atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) score, which equates to 10-year risk of...     

Placental Insulin/IGF-1 Signaling,PGC-1α, and Inflammatory Pathways Are Associated With Metabolic Outcomes at 4–6 Years of Age: The ECHO Healthy Start Cohort

An adverse intrauterine environment is associated with the future risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Changes in placental function may underpin the intrauterine origins of adult disease, but longitudinal studies linking placental function with childhood outcomes are rare. Here, we determined the abundance and phosphorylation of protein intermediates involved in insulin signaling, inflammation, cortisol metabolism, protein glycosylation, and mitochondrial biogenesis in placental villus samples from healthy mothers from the Healthy Start cohort. Using MANOVA, we tested the association between placental proteins and offspring adiposity (fat mass percentage) at birth (n = 109) and infancy (4–6 months, n = 104), and adiposity, skinfold thickness, triglycerides, and insulin in children (4–6 years, n = 66). Placental IGF-1 receptor protein was positively associated with serum triglycerides in children. GSK3β phosphorylation at serine 9, a readout of insulin and growth factor signaling, and the ratio of phosphorylated to total JNK2 were both positively associated with midthigh skinfold thickness in children. Moreover, peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor γ coactivator (PGC)-1α abundance was positively associated with insulin in children. In conclusion, placental insulin/IGF-1 signaling, PGC-1α, and inflammation pathways were positively associated with metabolic outcomes in 4- to 6-year-old children, identifying a novel link between placental function and long-term metabolic outcomes.     

Management of cervicofacial lymphatic malformations requires a multidisciplinary approach

Background/PurposeCervicofacial lymphatic malformations (CFLM) are rare, potentially life-threatening vascular anomalies, yet reports on multidisciplinary treatment strategies are lacking. We evaluated outcomes for CFLMs following sclerotherapy, surgical resection, and/or medical management.MethodsWe identified children with a CFLM at a vascular anomalies center from 2004 to 2019. Exclusion criteria: retro-orbital malformations, untreated malformations, patients without follow-up. Primary clinical outcome was contour improvement, with significance defined as LM volume reduction of > 50% by cross-sectional imaging.ResultsSixty-three children met inclusion criteria: 35 with macrocystic CFLMs, six with microcystic CFLMs, and 22 with mixed-type malformations. Mean post-intervention follow-up was 27.5 months. Fifty-eight patients underwent sclerotherapy (median: two treatments). Doxycycline and/or bleomycin were used in 95% of patients. After sclerotherapy, 97% of macrocystic CFLMs improved significantly compared to 82% of mixed and 67% of microcystic lesions. Sixteen children underwent surgical resection with 75% significantly improving; two additional patients were successfully treated with sclerotherapy after debulking surgery. Six children received sirolimus for microcystic disease, of which 33% significantly improved.ConclusionSclerotherapy is very effective for macrocystic components of CFLMs, albeit less so for microcystic disease. Microcystic CFLMs frequently require surgical resection. Sirolimus is a helpful therapeutic adjunct, particularly for microcystic lesions, but more study is needed.Level of EvidenceLevel II, prognosis study     

Examining Rules in Friends with Benefits Relationships

Establishing communicative and behavioral boundaries in romantic relationships provides partners with a greater sense of relational stability and certainty. For romantic relationships, these boundaries, such as sexual exclusivity, are relatively straightforward. For casual sex relationships, however, the relational rules are less stable and certain. This exploratory study examined rules in friends with benefits relationships (FWBRs) for 109 college students in the USA. Responses to open-ended questions were collected through an online questionnaire, and data were qualitatively analyzed through an inductive thematic analysis. The data were structured into communication rules, sexual rules, and relational definition rules. Results provide overlap and extension of previous work investigating rules in FWBRs. Notably, participants reported sexual exclusivity as an important rule. Additionally, potentially competing discourses in FWBR rules were best understood through the lens of relational dialectics. Findings reflect a tension in terms of relational work, as partners struggle with maintaining their sexual and friendship relationship while not falling into the “territory” of romantic relationships.

     

Community care staff attitudes towards delivering a falls prevention exercise intervention to community care clients

Millions of older people world-wide receive community care services in their home to assist them to live independently. These services often include personal care, domestic assistance and social support which are delivered by non-university trained staff, and are frequently long term. Older people receiving community care services fall 50% more often than individuals of similar age not receiving services. Yet, few ongoing community care services include exercise programs to reduce falls in this population. We conducted an earlier study to examine the feasibility of community care staff delivering a falls prevention program. A critical finding was that while some of the assessment and support staff responsible for service delivery delivered the falls prevention exercise program to one or two clients, others delivered to none. Therefore, the aim of this qualitative sub-study was to understand reasons for this variation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 participating support staff and assessors from 10 community care organisations. Staff who had successfully delivered the intervention to their clients perceived themselves as capable and that it would benefit their clients. Older clients who were positive, motivated and wanted to improve were perceived to be more likely to participate. Staff who had worked at their organisation for at least 5 years were also more likely to deliver the program compared to those that had only worked up to 2 years. Staff that did not deliver the intervention to anyone were more risk averse, did not feel confident enough to deliver the program and perceived their clients as not suitable due to age and frailty. Experienced staff who are confident and have positive ageing attitudes are most likely to deliver falls prevention programs in a home care organisation.     

Tioman virus, a novel paramyxovirus isolated from fruit bats in Malaysia

A search for the natural host of Nipah virus has led to the isolation of a previously unknown member of the family Paramyxoviridae. Tioman virus (TiV) was isolated from the urine of fruit bats (Pteropus hypomelanus) found on the island of the same name off the eastern coast of peninsular Malaysia. An electron microscopic study of TiV-infected cells revealed spherical and pleomorphic-enveloped viral particles (100--500 nm in size) with a single fringe of embedded peplomers. Virus morphogenesis occurred at the plasma membrane of infected cells and morphological features of negative-stained ribonucleoprotein complexes were compatible with that of viruses in the family Paramyxoviridae. Serological studies revealed no cross-reactivity with antibodies against a number of known Paramyxoviridae members except for the newly described Menangle virus (MenV), isolated in Australia in 1997. Failure of PCR amplification using MenV-specific primers suggested that this new virus is related to but different from MenV. For molecular characterization of the virus, a cDNA subtraction strategy was employed to isolate virus-specific cDNA from virus-infected cells. Complete gene sequences for the nucleocapsid protein (N) and phosphoprotein (P/V) have been determined and recombinant N and V proteins produced in baculovirus. The recombinant N and V proteins reacted with porcine anti-MenV sera in Western blot, confirming the serological cross-reactivity observed during initial virus characterization. The lack of a C protein-coding region in the P/V gene, the creation of P mRNA by insertion of 2-G residues, and the results of phylogenetic analyses all indicated that TiV is a novel member of the genus Rubulavirus.