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  • Mcneil Schack posted an update 1 week, 5 days ago

    Both miners and OGE workers were significantly more likely than other manual labor workers to report smokeless tobacco use and not always wearing seatbelts. Compared with other manual labor workers, OGE workers were significantly more likely to report obesity, and miners were significantly more likely to report inadequate sleep. Conclusion/Application to Practice Prevalence of most health risk factors differed among miners, OGE, other manual labor, and nonmanual labor workers. These differences could lead to disparities in health outcomes. Occupational health professionals in mining and OGE can use this information to inform and target integrated wellness and health and safety programs.The emergence of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the subsequent need for physical distancing have necessitated a swift change in health care delivery. T0901317 clinical trial Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, many institutions utilized an interdisciplinary clinic model including both a laryngologist and a speech-language pathologist for the evaluation of patients with voice, swallowing, and upper airway disorders. To improve access, many providers are pursuing the use of interdisciplinary telemedicine to provide individualized patient-centered care while allowing for physical distancing. The purpose of this commentary is to review the current literature regarding telemedicine in laryngology and speech-language pathology as well as the current and future states of practice for interdisciplinary tele-evaluations.The plant-pathogenic fungus Fusarium graminearum, causal agent of Fusarium head blight (FHB) disease on small grain cereals, produces toxic trichothecenes that require facilitated export for full virulence. Two potential modes of mycotoxin transport are membrane-bound transporters, which move toxins across cellular membranes, and N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment receptor (SNARE)-mediated vesicular transport, by which toxins may be packaged as cargo in vesicles bound for organelles or the plasma membrane. In this study, we show that deletion of a gene (Sso2) for a subapically localized t-SNARE protein results in growth alteration, increased sensitivity to xenobiotics, altered gene expression profiles, and reduced deoxynivalenol (DON) accumulation in vitro and in planta as well as reduced FHB symptoms on wheat. A double deletion mutant generated by crossing the ∆sso2 deletion mutant with an ATP-binding cassette transporter deletion mutant (∆abc1) resulted in an additive reduction in DON accumulation and almost complete loss of FHB symptoms in planta. These results suggest an important role of Sso2-mediated subapical exocytosis in FHB progression and xenobiotic defense and are the first report of an additive reduction in F. graminearum DON accumulation upon deletion of two distinct modes of cellular export. This research provides useful information which may aid in formulating novel management plans of FHB or other destructive plant diseases.Background Few epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) on air pollutants exist, and none have been done on transportation noise exposures, which also contribute to environmental burden of disease. Objective We performed mutually independent EWAS on transportation noise and air pollution exposures. Methods We used data from two time points of the Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung and Heart Diseases in Adults (SAPALDIA) from 1,389 participants contributing 2,542 observations. We applied multiexposure linear mixed-effects regressions with participant-level random intercept to identify significant Cytosine-phosphate-Guanine (CpG) sites and differentially methylated regions (DMRs) in relation to 1-y average aircraft, railway, and road traffic day-evening-night noise (Lden); nitrogen dioxide (NO2); and particulate matter (PM) with aerodynamic diameter less then 2.5μm (PM2.5). We performed candidate (CpG-based; cross-systemic phenotypes, combined into “allostatic load”) and agnostic (DMR-based) pathwaywas associated with source-specific transportation noise and air pollution exposures, with distinct and shared enrichments for pathways related to inflammation, cellular development, and immune responses. These findings contribute in clarifying the pathways linking these exposures and age-related diseases but need further confirmation in the context of mediation analyses. https//doi.org/10.1289/EHP6174.As rhinologists return to practice amid SARS-CoV-2, special considerations are warranted given the unique features of their subspecialty. Rhinologist manipulation of nasal tissue, proximity, and frequent aerosol-generating procedures (AGPs) create high risk for infection transmission. There are 4 areas of special consideration to mitigate risk (1) previsit planning for risk stratification/mitigation, (2) appropriate personal protective equipment, (3) preprocedural testing, and (4) environmental controls. During previsit planning, risk factors of the patient and procedures are considered. High-risk AGPs are identified by duration, proximity, manipulation of high-viral load tissue, and use of powered instrumentation. Appropriate personal protective equipment includes selection of respiratory and eye protection. COVID-19 testing can screen for asymptomatic carriers prior to high-risk procedures; however, alternative testing methods are required in rhinologic patients not eligible for nasopharyngeal testing due to nasal obstruction or skull base defects. Last, AGPs in rhinologic practices require considerations of room air handling and environmental controls.Objective To investigate the changes of blood pressure (BP) on patients with obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSA) before and after upper airway surgery. Design Case series with chart review. Setting Tertiary academic medical center. Subjects and methods Patients with OSA who underwent upper airway surgery were enrolled. We retrospectively investigated the nighttime and daytime BP before and at least 3 months after OSA surgery. Paired t test was used to compare the changes of BP before and after surgery. Generalized estimating equation was used to examine the prognostic significance of the variables in predicting the changes of postoperative BP. Results In total, 176 patients with OSA (149 men, 27 women; mean age, 42.9 years; mean apnea/hypopnea index, 43.1/h) were enrolled in this study. The overall nighttime and daytime BP decreased significantly before and after OSA surgery (daytime systolic BP was reduced from 137.3 ± 14.0 mm Hg to 132.7 ± 17.0 mm Hg, P less then .01; nighttime systolic BP was reduced from 138.