Evaluation of Self-Reported Agricultural Tasks, Safety Concerns, and Health and Safety Behaviors of Young Adults in U.S. Collegiate Agricultural Programs.

Young adults enrolled in collegiate agricultural programs are a critical audience for agricultural health and safety training. Understanding the farm tasks that young adults engage in is necessary for tailoring health and safety education. The project analyzed evaluation survey responses from the Gear Up for Ag Health and Safety™ program, including reported agricultural tasks, safety concerns, frequency of discussing health and safety concerns with healthcare providers, safety behaviors, and future career plans. The most common tasks reported included operation of machinery and grain-handling. Most participants intended to work on a family-owned agricultural operation or for an agribusiness/cooperative following graduation. Reported safety behaviors (hearing protection, eye protection, and sunscreen use when performing outdoor tasks) differed by gender and education type. Male community college and university participants reported higher rates of "near-misses" and crashes when operating equipment on the roadway. One-third of participants reported discussing agricultural health and safety issues with their medical provider, while 72% were concerned about the health and safety of their family and co-workers in agriculture. These findings provide guidance for better development of agricultural health and safety programs addressing this population-future trainings should be uniquely tailored, accounting for gender and educational differences.

Neighbourhood incidence rate of paediatric dental extractions under general anaesthetic in South West England.

Introduction Extraction of decayed teeth is the most common reason for UK children aged 5-9 years to receive a general anaesthetic. Inequalities in oral health are well recognised, but is under-explored in dental general anaesthesia (DGA).Methods Secondary analysis of routinely collected data from three local authorities in South West England was used to assess: 1) dental activities recorded for children <18 years attending NHS general dental practitioners (GDP); 2) the incidence rate of DGA and disease severity among <16-year-olds; and 3) individual and neighbourhood factors associated with higher rates of child DGA, and greater severity of disease.Results Among 208,533 GDP appointments, rates of preventive action were low where 1/7 included fluoride varnish but 1/5 included permanent fillings. The incidence rate of DGA was 6.6 admissions for every 1,000 children, rising to 12.4/1,000 among 5-9-year-olds. A total of 86 (7.6%) children had previously received a DGA at the same hospital. Area deprivation was strongly associated with higher rates of DGA, but rates of DGA remained high in less deprived areas. No associations were observed between number of teeth removed and socio-economic status.Conclusion Too many children are receiving DGA, and too few preventive actions are recorded by GDPs. Area-based inequalities in DGA were apparent, but wealthy areas also experienced substantial childhood dental decay.

Activation of mTOR pathway in myeloid-derived suppressor cells stimulates cancer cell proliferation and metastasis in lal(-/-) mice.

Inflammation critically contributes to cancer metastasis, in which myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are an important participant. Although MDSCs are known to suppress immune surveillance, their roles in directly stimulating cancer cell proliferation and metastasis currently remain unclear. Lysosomal acid lipase (LAL) deficiency causes systemic expansion and infiltration of MDSCs in multiple organs and subsequent inflammation. In the LAL-deficient (lal(-/-)) mouse model, melanoma metastasized massively in allogeneic lal(-/-) mice, which was suppressed in allogeneic lal(+/+) mice owing to immune rejection. Here we report for the first time that MDSCs from lal(-/-) mice directly stimulated B16 melanoma cell in vitro proliferation and in vivo growth and metastasis. Cytokines, that is, interleukin-1ß and tumor necrosis factor-α from MDSCs are required for B16 melanoma cell proliferation in vitro. Myeloid-specific expression of human LAL (hLAL) in lal(-/-) mice rescues these malignant phenotypes in vitro and in vivo. The tumor-promoting function of lal(-/-) MDSCs is mediated, at least in part, through overactivation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway. Knockdown of mTOR, Raptor or Rictor in lal(-/-) MDSCs suppressed their stimulation on proliferation of cancer cells, including B16 melanoma, Lewis lung carcinoma and transgenic mouse prostate cancer-C2 cancer cells. Our results indicate that LAL has a critical role in regulating MDSCs' ability to directly stimulate cancer cell proliferation and overcome immune rejection of cancer metastasis in allogeneic mice through modulation of the mTOR pathway, which provides a mechanistic basis for targeting MDSCs to reduce the risk of cancer metastasis. Therefore MDSCs possess dual functions to facilitate cancer metastasis: suppress immune surveillance and stimulate cancer cell proliferation and growth.

Stakeholder involvement in designing an oral care training package for care home staff.

This paper describes the principles applied and the challenges met while seeking user and other stakeholder perspectives before designing an oral care training package for carers in nursing and residential care facilities. The public health competencies it illustrates include the application of appropriate leadership styles, strategic management, collaborative working and knowledge of research methodology.

Narrowband multispectral filter set for visible band.

We design, fabricate and characterise a narrowband Fabry-Pérot multispectral filter set for the visible range (400-750 nm) that is suitable for integration onto complementary-metal oxide-semiconductor image sensors. We reduce the fabrication steps by fixing the physical cavity length and altering the effective optical length instead. Using electron-beam lithography, a sub-wavelength hole array is patterned in a silicon nitride cavity layer, backfilled with poly(methyl methacrylate), and bounded by aluminium mirrors to create 23 filters with full-width half-maximums of 22-46 nm. Additionally, for colourmetric reproduction applications, using as few as 10 filters gives a colour difference (CIEDE2000) of 0.072, better than trichromatic filters.

Cytoplasmic p53 and activated Bax regulate p53-dependent, transcription-independent neural precursor cell apoptosis.

The prodeath effects of p53 are typically mediated via its transcriptional upregulation of proapoptotic Bcl-2 family members, including PUMA, Noxa, and/or Bax. We previously reported that staurosporine (STS), a broad-spectrum kinase inhibitor and prototypical apoptosis-inducing agent, produced p53-dependent, Bax-dependent, neural precursor cell (NPC) apoptosis, but that this effect occurred independently of new gene transcription and PUMA expression. To further characterize the mechanism by which p53 regulates NPC death, we used primary cerebellar NPCs derived from wild-type, p53-deficient, and Bax-deficient neonatal mice and the mouse cerebellar neural stem cell line, C17.2. We found that STS rapidly increased p53 cytoplasmic immunoreactivity in neuritic-like processes in C17.2 cells, which preceded Bax activation and caspase-3 cleavage. Confocal microscopy analysis of STS-treated cells revealed partial colocalization of p53 with the mitochondrial marker pyruvate dehydrogenase as well as with conformationally altered "activated" Bax, suggesting an interaction between these proapoptotic molecules in triggering apoptotic death. Nucleophosmin (NPM), a CRM1-dependent nuclear chaperone, also exhibited partial colocalization with both activated Bax and p53 following STS treatment. These observations suggest that cytoplasmic p53 can trigger transcription-independent NPC apoptosis through its potential interaction with NPM and activated Bax.

bcl-2/Adenovirus E1B 19-kd interacting protein 3 (BNIP3) regulates hypoxia-induced neural precursor cell death.

Perinatal hypoxia-ischemia may result in long-term neurological deficits. In addition to producing neuron death, HI causes death of neural precursor cells (NPCs) in the developing brain. To characterize the molecular pathways that regulate hypoxia-induced death of NPCs, we treated a mouse neural stem cell line (C17.2 cells) and fibroblastic growth factor II-expanded primary NPCs derived from wild-type or gene-disrupted mice, with oxygen glucose deprivation or the hypoxia mimetics desferrioxamine or cobalt chloride. Neural precursor cells undergoing hypoxia exhibited time- and concentration-dependent caspase-3 activation and cell death, which was significantly reduced by treatment with a broad caspase inhibitor or protein synthesis inhibition. Bax/Bak-deficient NPCs were protected from desferrioxamine-induced death and exhibited minimal caspase-3 activation. Oxygen glucose deprivation or hypoxia-mimetic exposure also resulted in increased hypoxia-inducible factor alpha and bcl-2/adenovirus E1B 19-kd interacting protein 3 (BNIP3) expression. BNIP3 shRNA treatment failed to affect hypoxia-induced caspase-3 activation but inhibited cell death and nuclear translocation of apoptosis-inducing factor, indicating that BNIP3 is an important regulator of caspase-independent NPC death after hypoxia. These studies demonstrate that hypoxia activates both caspase-dependent and -independent NPC death pathways that are critically regulated by multiple Bcl-2 family members.

Acute neonatal glucocorticoid exposure produces selective and rapid cerebellar neural progenitor cell apoptotic death.

There has been a growing controversy regarding the continued use of glucocorticoid therapy to treat respiratory dysfunction associated with prematurity, as mounting clinical evidence has shown neonatal exposure produces permanent neuromotor and cognitive deficits. Here we report that, during a selective neonatal window of vulnerability, a single glucocorticoid injection in the mouse produces rapid and selective apoptotic cell death of the proliferating neural progenitor cells in the cerebellar external granule layer and permanent reductions in neuronal cell counts of their progeny, the cerebellar internal granule layer neurons. Our estimates suggest that this mouse window of vulnerability would correspond in the human to a period extending from approximately 20 weeks gestation to 6.5 weeks after birth. This death pathway is critically regulated by the proapoptotic Bcl-2 family member Puma and is independent of p53 expression. These rodent data indicate that there exists a previously unknown window of vulnerability during which a single glucocorticoid exposure at clinically relevant doses can produce neural progenitor cell apoptosis and permanent cerebellar pathology that may be responsible for some of the iatrogenically induced neurodevelopmental abnormalities seen in children exposed to this drug. This vulnerability may be related to the physiological role of glucocorticoids in regulating programmed cell death in the mammalian cerebellum.

Evaluation of UW solution in rat kidney preservation. II. The effect of pharmacological additives.

The present studies show clearly that both dexamethasone and insulin can be omitted without altering the efficacy of UW. Adenosine and glutathione are both helpful additives, as is allopurinol. These findings suggest an important role of reperfusion injury after preservation, and confirm the benefits of adding pharmacological agents likely to reduce this injury. Cold ischemic damage was significantly ameliorated by UW solution in this stringent model of rat kidney preservation for 48 hr. A substantially simplified modification of UW solution has been shown to give equally effective kidney preservation, after removal of hydroxyethyl starch, dexamethasone, and insulin. Adenosine, glutathione, and allopurinol have been confirmed as helpful pharmacological additives. These findings have defined some of the mechanisms of effectiveness of UW solution and suggest avenues of further exploration to improve simple hypothermic storage and to prevent reperfusion injury.

Liver preservation with UW solution. I. Evidence that hydroxyethyl starch is not essential.

Preservation of rat livers by simple ice-storage has been demonstrated after 24 hr using the University of Wisconsin (UW) solution. Equally good preservation could be obtained by substituting hydroxyethyl starch (HES) from another source or by omission of HES from the UW formulation. Survival, early and late function, and morphology at the end of a 3-month follow-up period were essentially similar for all three test groups. It is concluded that HES is not required for optimum preservation of the rat liver in this treatment model.

Evaluation of UW solution in a rat kidney preservation model. I. Effect of hydroxyethyl starch and electrolyte composition.

Preservation of rat kidneys by simple ice-storage has been demonstrated after 48 hr using the University of Wisconsin (UW) solution; hypothermic preservation of the rat kidney was dramatically improved. A modified UW solution without hydroxyethyl starch (HES) also gave uniform survival after 48 hr of storage, and even better function and morphology. Substitution of HES from another source also improved renal function when compared with UW (Dupont) and it is suggested that prolonged storage of UW solution prior to use may reduce its effectiveness. Reversing the Na:K ratio of the solution still allowed successful preservation, but significantly worsened morphology of the surviving kidney.

Evaluation of commercial serodiagnostic kits for toxoplasmosis.

To evaluate commercially available diagnostic kits for human immunoglobulin G to Toxoplasma gondii, we purchased three enzyme immunoassay (EIA) (Cordia-T, Toxo Bio-EnzaBead, and Toxoelisa), two indirect hemagglutination (IHA) (TPM-Test and ToxHAtest), one fluoroimmunoassay (Toxoplasma-G FIAX), and one latex agglutination (Eiken Toxotest-MT) kit from U.S. suppliers. A total of 100 serum specimens, including 27 that were negative (less than 1:16) and 73 that were positive for the various titers in the Toxoplasma indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) test, were tested once with each kit; serum samples with discrepant results were retested. Qualitatively, results obtained with the Toxo Bio-EnzaBead EIA, the TMP-Test IHA, and FIAX, and the Toxotest-MT latex agglutination kits agreed exactly with those of IIF. Although all IIF-positive serum samples were detected by the Cordia-T and the Toxoelisa EIAs, four samples determined to be negative by IIF were identified as positive with the Cordia-T kit, and six negative samples by IIF were determined to be positive with the Toxoelisa kit. Results of the ToxoHAtest IHA kit were extremely difficult to read. Quantitatively, the seven kits were difficult to compare because the expression of results was not standardized. Of the four kits that gave positive results in titers, Toxoplasma-G FIAX had the closest agreement with IIF, as determined by the Spearman rank correlation coefficient (0.9168), followed by the Eiken Toxotest-MT (0.8293), the Toxo Bio-EnzaBead (0.7553), and the TPM-Test (0.7206) kits.