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.

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 due 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 i.e., IL-1β and TNFα 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 over-activation 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, LLC and Tramp-C2 cancer cells. Our results indicate that LAL plays 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.

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.

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.

An outbreak of toxoplasmosis linked to cats

Clinical, serologic, and epidermiologic evidence documents an outbreak of toxoplasmosis involving ten of 30 members of an extended family. The index patient had unusual clinical manifestations including brain abscesses, progressive chorioretinitis, seizures, neurologic deficits, hepatosplenomegaly, pneumonitis, and eosinophilia. Toxoplasmosis was confirmed by demonstrating the organism in brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluids; clinical and serologic evidence also indicated infection with Toxocara (viscd children. Of the 11 such children, seven (68%) were seropositive, six of whom had high acute-phase titers (greater than or equal to 1024) to Toxoplasma and a disease consistent with acute toxoplasmosis. All six of the latter group required specific chemotherapy. Geophagia was associated statistically with acute toxoplasmosis among the children; it also increased the risk of infection with Toxocara and enteroparasites. Two school-aged children and two adults had serologic evidence of acute toxoplasmosis, but only one of the group was symptomatic. Epidemiologic evidence indicates that this outbreak was probably caused by ingesting oocysts from cat feces. We suggest that the severe and unusual clinical manifestations of the index patient resulted from simultaneous infection with Toxoplasma and Toxocara.