Genomic variations associated with risk and protection against vincristine-induced peripheral neuropathy in pediatric cancer patients.

Vincristine-induced peripheral neuropathy is a common and highly debilitating toxicity from vincristine treatment that affects quality of life and often requires dose reduction, potentially affecting survival. Although previous studies demonstrated genetic factors are associated with vincristine neuropathy risk, the clinical relevance of most identified variants is limited by small sample sizes and unclear clinical phenotypes. A genome-wide association study was conducted in 1100 cases and controls matched by vincristine dose and genetic ancestry, uncovering a statistically significant (p < 5.

Machine learning model identifies genetic predictors of cisplatin-induced ototoxicity in CERS6 and TLR4.

Background: Cisplatin-induced ototoxicity remains a significant concern in pediatric cancer treatment due to its permanent impact on quality of life. Previously, genetic association analyses have been performed to detect genetic variants associated with this adverse reaction.

Methods: In this study, a combination of interpretable neural networks and Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) was employed to identify genetic markers associated with cisplatin-induced ototoxicity.

Examining the Facets of Burden from Agricultural Injury: Policy Implications.

Agriculture is one of the most dangerous industries in the United States. Loss of life, injury, and illness estimates in the agriculture industry only measure a fraction of the total burden to society. The purpose of this review was to conduct a comprehensive scan of the peer-reviewed literature to catalog research that explores the burden of agricultural injury to synthesize what is currently known.

Tractors, Trees, and Rollover Protective Structures: A Cause for Concern.

Injury and fatality events that are caused by tree work and tractor-related activities contribute to the already elevated rates of work-related injuries in the agriculture and logging sectors. This brief report highlights the circumstances surrounding these events, as well as a number of surveillance sources that identify the extent to which they contribute to the injury burden in these hazardous industries. These data sources include fatality investigations, agricultural injury news reports, consumer product injury data captured from emergency rooms and near-miss reporting data captured from individuals participating in the National Rollover Protective Structure Rebate Program (NRRP).

Understanding Stakeholder Dissemination Preferences for an Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing Injury Surveillance System.

Researchers and epidemiologists are working to improve the capture of agriculture, forestry, and fishing (AgFF) injuries in a variety of ways. A critical component of any surveillance system is the dissemination of information. The purpose of this paper is to report on a survey conducted with AgFF injury surveillance stakeholders to understand preferred dissemination strategies.

Systematic Critical Review of Genetic Factors Associated with Cisplatin-induced Ototoxicity: Canadian Pharmacogenomics Network for Drug Safety 2022 Update.

Background: Cisplatin is commonly used to treat solid tumors; however, its use can be complicated by drug-induced hearing loss (ie, ototoxicity). The presence of certain genetic variants has been associated with the development/occurrence of cisplatin-induced ototoxicity, suggesting that genetic factors may be able to predict patients who are more likely to develop ototoxicity. The authors aimed to review genetic associations with cisplatin-induced ototoxicity and discuss their clinical relevance.

Factors associated with injury among Maine logging workers.

Introduction: Despite dramatic improvements in safety, logging remains one of the most dangerous industries in the United States. The purpose of this study was to explore longitudinal injury trends among Maine logging workers.

Methods: Loggers participated in seven quarterly surveys, over the course of 18 months.

Regulates Cardiac Sensitivity to Anthracycline Chemotherapy.

Background: Anthracycline chemotherapies cause heart failure in a subset of cancer patients. We previously reported that the anthracycline doxorubicin (DOX) induces cardiotoxicity through the activation of cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2).

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine whether retinoblastoma-like 2 (RBL2/p130), an emerging CDK2 inhibitor, regulates anthracycline sensitivity in the heart.

Intravenous N-Acetylcysteine to Prevent Cisplatin-Induced Hearing Loss in Children: A Nonrandomized Controlled Phase I Trial.

Purpose: Cisplatin-induced hearing loss (CIHL) is common and permanent. As compared with earlier otoprotectants, we hypothesized N-acetylcysteine (NAC) offers potential for stronger otoprotection through stimulation of glutathione (GSH) production. This study tested the optimal dose, safety, and efficacy of NAC to prevent CIHL.

Ensuring data quality and maximizing efficiency in coding agricultural and forestry injuries: Lessons to improve occupational injury surveillance.

Introduction: Specialized occupational injury surveillance systems are filling the gap in the undercount of work-related injuries in industries such as agriculture and forestry. To ensure data quality and maximize efficiency in the operation of a regional occupational injury surveillance system, the need for continued dual coding of occupational injury records was assessed.

Methods: Kappa scores and percent agreement were used to compare interrater reliability for assigned variables in 1,259 agricultural and forestry injuries identified in pre-hospital care reports.

Continuous physiological signal measurement over 24-hour periods to assess the impact of work-related stress and workplace violence.

Work-related stress has long been recognized as an essential factor affecting employees' health and wellbeing. Repeated exposure to acute occupational stressors puts workers at high risk for depression, obesity, hypertension, and early death. Assessment of the effects of acute stress on workers' wellbeing usually relies on subjective self-reports, questionnaires, or measuring biometric and biochemical markers in long-cycle time intervals.

All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) regulates key genes in the RARG-TOP2B pathway and reduces anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity.

The effectiveness of anthracycline chemotherapeutics (e.g., doxorubicin) is limited by anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity (ACT).

Using Participatory Ergonomics to Improve Health and Safety in Commercial Lobstering in the United States: 2 Case Studies.

The lobster-harvesting industry has a high occupational injury incidence compared to land-based industries. Participatory ergonomics methods were used to partner with lobstermen to develop and implement ergonomic improvements. The model included training in ergonomics principles, a forum for ergonomics discussions, and a sequence of meetings planned to focus on problem identification, intervention, evaluation, and dissemination of findings.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Northeast and Appalachian Loggers.

Objective: The Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety conducted a survey in December 2020 to understand the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the Androscoggin Mill explosion among loggers in six states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

Methods: Logger mailing addresses were aggregated with the assistance of state logging organizations. A paper survey, including a self-addressed return envelope was mailed to the loggers in December 2020.

Not Quite Out of the Woods: Overall Health and Chronic Disease Risk Factors among Maine Logging Workers.

Objective: This research reports on the health status, including chronic disease risk factors, among Maine loggers.

Methods: Loggers completed a survey and health screenings were held across Maine, collecting data on a variety of health endpoints.

Results: Seventy-five loggers participated.

The modern gut-hammer: Understanding the eating habits of loggers through Photovoice.

"Give Us Your Best Shot" is a Photovoice project designed to shed a light on loggers' food choices, attitudes toward and challenges around eating. This research focused on answering the question: What do you typically eat on a workday and where do you get it (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and drinks)? Consider: What makes it hard to eat healthier? If you feel you eat healthy, how do you do it? Participants were asked to take a photo to answer our research question at least once a week for a six-week period in autumn 2019. Photos and comments were exported from REDCap and imported into NVivo 12, a qualitative analysis software.

Evaluating the Evolution of Social Networks: A Ten-Year Longitudinal Analysis of an Agricultural, Fishing and Forestry Occupational Health Research Center.

As part of our evaluation of the NIOSH-funded Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety: Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (NEC), we present methodology, findings and the potential implications of a sequential social network analysis (SNA) conducted over ten years. Assessing the effectiveness of the center's scientific projects was our overarching evaluation goal. The evaluation design employed SNA to (a) look at changes to the center's network over time by visualizing relationships between center collaborators annually, (b) document collaborative ties and (c) identify particularly strong or weak areas of the network.

The development of a machine learning algorithm to identify occupational injuries in agriculture using pre-hospital care reports.

Purpose: Current injury surveillance efforts in agriculture are considerably hampered by the limited quantity of occupation or industry data in current health records. This has impeded efforts to develop more accurate injury burden estimates and has negatively impacted the prioritization of workplace health and safety in state and federal public health efforts. This paper describes the development of a Naïve Bayes machine learning algorithm to identify occupational injuries in agriculture using existing administrative data, specifically in pre-hospital care reports (PCR).

What about the Rest of Them? Fatal Injuries Related to Production Agriculture Not Captured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI).

Surveillance of injuries in production agriculture is necessary to inform stakeholders about workplace hazards and risks in order to improve and advance injury prevention policies and practices for this dangerous industry. The most comprehensive fatal injury surveillance effort currently in the United States is the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), which covers occupational fatalities in all U.S.

Transcriptome-wide association study uncovers the role of essential genes in anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity.

Anthracyclines are highly effective chemotherapeutic agents; however, their clinical utility is limited by severe anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity (ACT). Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have uncovered several genetic variants associated with ACT, but the impact of these findings requires further elucidation. We conducted a transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS) using our previous GWAS summary statistics (n = 280 patients) to identify gene expression-related associations with ACT.

Using hospitalization data for injury surveillance in agriculture, forestry and fishing: a crosswalk between ICD10CM external cause of injury coding and The Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System.

Background: While statistics related to occupational injuries exist at state and national levels, there are notable difficulties with using these to understand non-fatal injuries trends in agriculture, forestry, and commercial fishing. This paper describes the development and testing of a crosswalk between ICD-10-CM external cause of injury codes (E-codes) for agriculture, forestry, and fishing (AFF) and the Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS). By using this crosswalk, researchers can efficiently process hospitalization data and quickly assemble relevant cases of AFF injuries useful for epidemiological tracking.

A Scoping Review of Safety and Health Interventions in the High-Risk Dairy Industry: Gaps in Evidence Point to Future Directions in Research.

The occupational injury rate of the dairy industry (6.6 per 100 full-time workers) is twice that of the national average across all industries (3.3 per 100 full-time workers).

Prevention of adverse drug effects: a pharmacogenomic approach.

Purpose Of Review: Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are a serious burden and can negatively impact patient quality of life. One of these ADRs, anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity (ACT), occurs in up to 65% of treated patients and can lead to congestive heart failure. Pharmacogenetic studies have helped to reveal the mechanisms of ACT and, consequently, inform current strategies to prevent ACT in the clinic.