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Objectives Previous studies have reported high concentrations of airborne fumigants and other chemicals inside unopened shipping containers, but it is unclear whether this is reflective of worker exposures. Methods We collected personal 8-h air samples using a whole-air sampling method. Samples were analysed for 1,2-dibromoethane, chloropicrin, ethylene oxide, hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen phosphide, methyl bromide, 1,2-dichloroethane, C2-alkylbenzenes, acetaldehyde, ammonia, benzene, formaldehyde, methanol, styrene, and toluene. Additive Mixture Values (AMVs) were calculated using the New Zealand Workplace Exposure standard (WES) and American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) Threshold Limit Values (TLVs) of the 8-h, time-weighted average exposure limit. Linear regression was conducted to assess associations with work characteristics. Results We included 133 workers handling shipping containers, 15 retail workers unpacking container goods, 40 workers loading fumigated and non-fumigated exe. Birabresib However, as it is not clear whether working conditions of participants included in this study were representative of this industry as a whole, and not all relevant exposures were measured, we cannot exclude the possibility that high exposures may occur in some workers.Background Muscle metrics derived from CT are associated with adverse health events in older persons, but obtaining these metrics using current methods is not practical for large datasets. We developed a fully-automated method for muscle measurement on CT images. This study aimed to determine the relationship between muscle measurements on CT with survival in a large multicenter trial of older adults. Methods The relationship between baseline paraspinous skeletal muscle area (SMA) and skeletal muscle density (SMD) and survival over 6 years was determined in 6803 men and 4558 women (baseline age 60-69 years) in the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST). The automated machine learning pipeline selected appropriate CT series, chose a single image at T12, and segmented left paraspinous muscle, recording cross-sectional area and density. Associations between SMA and SMD with all-cause mortality were determined using sex-stratified Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted for age, race, height, weight, pack-years of smoking, and presence of diabetes, chronic lung disease, cardiovascular disease, and cancer at enrollment. Results After a mean 6.44 ± 1.06 years of follow-up, 635 (9.33%) men and 265 (5.81%) women died. In men, higher SMA and SMD were associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality, in fully adjusted models. A one-unit standard deviation increase was associated with a hazard ratio (HR)=0.85 (95%CI=0.79,0.91;p less then 0.001) for SMA and HR=0.91 (95%CI=0.84,0.98;p=0.012) for SMD. In women, the associations did not reach significance. Conclusion Higher paraspinous SMA and SMD, automatically derived from CT exams, were associated with better survival in a large multicenter cohort of community-dwelling older men.BACKGROUND The incidence of tuberculosis (TB) remains high in many countries, including some middle- and high-income countries without financial constraints for diagnosis and treatment. The implementation of an improved algorithm for diagnosis using 2 rapid molecular tests should help reduce the TB burden. MATERIAL AND METHODS Between April 2018 and March 2019, sputum samples from 711 patients suspected of TB in Nanshan, Shenzhen, China, were included in this prospective study. All sputum samples were examined by smear microscopy, Mycobacterium Growth Indicator Tube (MGIT) 960 culture, and Xpert MTB/RIF. The sputum remnants of Xpert MTB/RIF were used for MTBDRplus to confirm the Xpert results both for the presence of TB bacilli and for resistance to rifampicin (RIF), and also to diagnose multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). RESULTS In total, 200 (28.1%) of the 711 sputa were positive for TB by Xpert MTB/RIF, and the sputum remnants were used for MTBDRplus. The simultaneous use of Xpert MTB/RIF and MTBDRplus directly on sputum samples permitted accurate bacteriologic confirmation of TB in 64% (119/187) of cases and detection of 70% (7/10) of strains that were MDR. CONCLUSIONS The implementation of 2 rapid nucleic acid-based tests on sputum samples could facilitate the prompt and appropriate treatment of most TB cases.Battling COVID-19 in Bangladesh A Conversation with Dr. John Clemens of icddr,b.As COVID-19 has spread across the globe, quarantines and sheltering-in-place orders have become important public health tools but, as currently implemented, have eroded human rights, particularly for the marginalized, including essential workers, detainees, women, and children. Quarantines and sheltering-in-place orders must include explicit guarantees of human rights protections. We outline protections for the quarantined that communities and governments should strive to guarantee.This article provides a critical appraisal of the available evidence concerning clinical exposure to orally administered cannabidiol (CBD), with special reference to factors affecting gastrointestinal absorption, presystemic elimination, and susceptibility to metabolic drug interactions. Although detailed studies have not been published, the available data suggest that the absolute bioavailability of CBD after oral dosing under fasting conditions is approximately 6%, and increases fourfold when the medication is co-administered with a high-fat meal. Based on measurements of CBD plasma exposure after oral dosing and a 6% absolute oral bioavailability estimate, the actual clearance of CBD in adults can be inferred to be in the order of 67 L/h, which is similar to the value of 74 ± 14 L/h (mean ± standard deviation) determined after intravenous injection of a 20-mg dose of deuterium-labeled CBD in five healthy subjects. Assuming that the CBD blood-to-plasma ratio is about 1, as in the case of tetrahydrocannabinoimizing pharmacokinetic variability and consequent intra- and interindividual differences in therapeutic response and susceptibility to adverse effects.Unfortunately, the 5th author name has been publisehd incorrectly in the original publication. The complete correct name is given below.