Development of a job-exposure matrix-like exposure assessment method for the US general population based on Occupational Information Network (O*NET) job tasks.

Background: Job-exposure matrices (JEMs) are often used for exposure assessment in occupational exposure and epidemiology studies. However, general population JEMs are difficult to find and access for workers in the United States of America.

Objective: We aimed to use publicly available information to develop a JEM-like exposure assessment method to determine exposure to a wide range of occupational agents in a wide range of occupations for US general population studies.

Neuromodulation Strategies to Reduce Inflammation and Improve Lung Complications in COVID-19 Patients.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, races across academia and industry have been initiated to identify and develop disease modifying or preventative therapeutic strategies has been initiated. The primary focus has been on pharmacological treatment of the immune and respiratory system and the development of a vaccine. The hyperinflammatory state ("cytokine storm") observed in many cases of COVID-19 indicates a prognostically negative disease progression that may lead to respiratory distress, multiple organ failure, shock, and death.

Nanopore-based metagenomics analysis reveals prevalence of mobile antibiotic and heavy metal resistome in wastewater.

In-depth studies of the microbiome and mobile resistome profile of different environments is central to understanding the role of the environment in antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which is one of the urgent threats to global public health. In this study, we demonstrated the use of a rapid (and easily portable) sequencing approach coupled with user-friendly bioinformatics tools, the MinION (Oxford Nanopore Technologies), on the evaluation of the microbial as well as mobile metal and antibiotic resistome profile of semi-rural wastewater. A total of 20 unique phyla, 43 classes, 227 genera, and 469 species were identified in samples collected from the Amherst Wastewater Treatment Plant, both from primary and secondary treated wastewater.

Unexpected Prevalence of -Positive in the Animas River, Durango, Colorado.

Since 2014, biology students at Fort Lewis College have studied the water quality of the Animas River in Durango, Colorado. Environmental microbiology and molecular biology techniques have been employed to study isolates from the river and to define characteristics of the bacteria related to public health. was found in the river, as well as in culverts and tributary creeks that drain into the river within the Durango city limits.

Metagenomic Profiling of Microbial Pathogens in the Little Bighorn River, Montana.

The Little Bighorn River is the primary source of water for water treatment plants serving the local Crow Agency population, and has special significance in the spiritual and ceremonial life of the Crow tribe. Unfortunately, the watershed suffers from impaired water quality, with high counts of fecal coliform bacteria routinely measured during run-off events. A metagenomic analysis was carried out to identify potential pathogens in the river water.

An Acute Randomized Controlled Trial of Noninvasive Peripheral Nerve Stimulation in Essential Tremor.

Objective: To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a wrist-worn peripheral nerve stimulation device in patients with essential tremor (ET) in a single in-office session.

Methods: This was a randomized controlled study of 77 ET patients who received either treatment stimulation (N = 40) or sham stimulation (N = 37) on the wrist of the hand with more severe tremor. Tremor was evaluated before and immediately after the end of a single 40-minute stimulation session.

A Metagenomic Approach to Evaluating Surface Water Quality in Haiti.

The cholera epidemic that occurred in Haiti post-earthquake in 2010 has resulted in over 9000 deaths during the past eight years. Currently, morbidity and mortality rates for cholera have declined, but cholera cases still occur on a daily basis. One continuing issue is an inability to accurately predict and identify when cholera outbreaks might occur.

OpenSim: Simulating musculoskeletal dynamics and neuromuscular control to study human and animal movement.

Movement is fundamental to human and animal life, emerging through interaction of complex neural, muscular, and skeletal systems. Study of movement draws from and contributes to diverse fields, including biology, neuroscience, mechanics, and robotics. OpenSim unites methods from these fields to create fast and accurate simulations of movement, enabling two fundamental tasks.

A Perspective on the Global Pandemic of Waterborne Disease.

Waterborne diseases continue to take a heavy toll on the global community, with developing nations, and particularly young children carrying most of the burden of morbidity and mortality. Starting with the historical context, this article explores some of the reasons why this burden continues today, despite our advances in public health over the past century or so. While molecular biology has revolutionized our abilities to define the ecosystems and etiologies of waterborne pathogens, control remains elusive.

Bile salts affect expression of Escherichia coli O157:H7 genes for virulence and iron acquisition, and promote growth under iron limiting conditions.

Bile salts exhibit potent antibacterial properties, acting as detergents to disrupt cell membranes and as DNA-damaging agents. Although bacteria inhabiting the intestinal tract are able to resist bile's antimicrobial effects, relatively little is known about how bile influences virulence of enteric pathogens. Escherichia coli O157:H7 is an important pathogen of humans, capable of causing severe diarrhea and more serious sequelae.

A rolling constraint reproduces ground reaction forces and moments in dynamic simulations of walking, running, and crouch gait.

Recent advances in computational technology have dramatically increased the use of muscle-driven simulation to study accelerations produced by muscles during gait. Accelerations computed from muscle-driven simulations are sensitive to the model used to represent contact between the foot and ground. A foot-ground contact model must be able to calculate ground reaction forces and moments that are consistent with experimentally measured ground reaction forces and moments.

Designing for scale: development of the ReMotion Knee for global emerging markets.

Amputees living in developing countries have a profound need for affordable and reliable lower limb prosthetic devices. The World Health Organization estimates there are approximately 30 million amputees living in low-income countries, with up to 95% lacking access to prosthetic devices. Effective prosthetics can significantly affect the lives of these amputees by increasing opportunity for employment and providing improvements to long-term health and well-being.

How muscle fiber lengths and velocities affect muscle force generation as humans walk and run at different speeds.

The lengths and velocities of muscle fibers have a dramatic effect on muscle force generation. It is unknown, however, whether the lengths and velocities of lower limb muscle fibers substantially affect the ability of muscles to generate force during walking and running. We examined this issue by developing simulations of muscle-tendon dynamics to calculate the lengths and velocities of muscle fibers from electromyographic recordings of 11 lower limb muscles and kinematic measurements of the hip, knee and ankle made as five subjects walked at speeds of 1.

Muscle contributions to fore-aft and vertical body mass center accelerations over a range of running speeds.

Running is a bouncing gait in which the body mass center slows and lowers during the first half of the stance phase; the mass center is then accelerated forward and upward into flight during the second half of the stance phase. Muscle-driven simulations can be analyzed to determine how muscle forces accelerate the body mass center. However, muscle-driven simulations of running at different speeds have not been previously developed, and it remains unclear how muscle forces modulate mass center accelerations at different running speeds.

Optimizing Locomotion Controllers Using Biologically-Based Actuators and Objectives.

We present a technique for automatically synthesizing walking and running controllers for physically-simulated 3D humanoid characters. The sagittal hip, knee, and ankle degrees-of-freedom are actuated using a set of eight Hill-type musculotendon models in each leg, with biologically-motivated control laws. The parameters of these control laws are set by an optimization procedure that satisfies a number of locomotion task terms while minimizing a biological model of metabolic energy expenditure.

Passive and dynamic shoulder rotation range in uninjured and previously injured overhead throwing athletes and the effect of shoulder taping.

Objectives: To investigate: (1) the passive and dynamic shoulder internal (IR) and external (ER) rotation range of motion (ROM) of 2 groups of asymptomatic overhead throwing athletes: one group who had never experienced shoulder symptoms and another who had shoulder symptoms >12 months ago, (2) the effect of taping on the passive and dynamic IR-ER ROM in both these groups.

Design: A within-subject repeated measures analysis of variance design to determine the differences in passive and dynamic shoulder rotation range and the effect of shoulder taping on the rotation range in a group of uninjured and previously injured overhead throwing athletes.

Setting: Academic institution sports medicine setting.

Effect of shoulder taping on maximum shoulder external and internal rotation range in uninjured and previously injured overhead athletes during a seated throw.

The purpose of our study was to investigate whether shoulder taping affects shoulder kinematics in injured and previously injured overhead athletes during a seated throw. Twenty-six overhead college athletes threw a handball three times with and without tape, while seated on a chair. An 8-camera Vicon Motion Capture system recorded markers placed on the upper limb and trunk during each of the throwing conditions.

Muscle contributions to propulsion and support during running.

Muscles actuate running by developing forces that propel the body forward while supporting the body's weight. To understand how muscles contribute to propulsion (i.e.

Community-based participatory research in Indian country: improving health through water quality research and awareness.

Water has always been held in high respect by the Apsaálooke (Crow) people of Montana. Tribal members questioned the health of the rivers and well water because of visible water quality deterioration and potential connections to illnesses in the community. Community members initiated collaboration among local organizations, the tribe, and academic partners, resulting in genuine community-based participatory research.

Preceptors for non-clinical employees: extending the value.

Although preceptors have been utilized for many years to orient nurses, non-clinical employees have not had the benefit of having consistent, competent, standardized guidance during their orientation period. A preceptorship program was implemented in Ambulatory Care Services for non-clinical employees to improve the orientation experience and to make new employees feel valued. The preceptor program was designed to standardize the information given and skills taught, to increase competence in all job tasks, to assure completion of orientation documents, to reduce staff turnover and increase job satisfaction, and to reduce orientation costs to the organization.

Isolation of potentially pathogenic Escherichia coli O157:H7 from the Ganges River.

Escherichia coli serotype O157:H7 was detected among bacteria collected from the Ganges River. O157:H7 isolates tested positive for stx(1), stx(2), and eae gene sequences. Identification of potentially pathogenic isolates from extensively used source water indicates that O157:H7 may be a significant but as yet underacknowledged public health concern in India.

The role of water use patterns and sewage pollution in incidence of water-borne/enteric diseases along the Ganges river in Varanasi, India.

In Varanasi, India, an estimated 200 million liters daily or more of untreated human sewage is discharged into the Ganges River. River water monitoring over the past 12 years has demonstrated faecal coliform counts up to 10(8) MPN (most probable number) per 100 ml and biological oxygen demand levels averaging over 40 mg/l in the most polluted part of the river in Varanasi. A questionnaire-based survey was used to estimate water-borne and enteric disease incidence and study river use among resident users of the Ganges River in Varanasi.

Functional characterization of two splice variants of rat bad and their interaction with Bcl-w in sympathetic neurons.

Neuronal cell death is in many cases regulated by competitive interactions between pro- and antiapoptotic proteins of the Bcl-2 family. In this study we have identified two splice variants of the rat proapoptotic molecule Bad, which differ in their carboxy-terminal regions. Both splice variants of Bad interacted with the antiapoptotic molecule Bcl-w as shown by yeast two-hybrid assay and by co-immunoprecipitation experiments from transfected cells.