Advancing research on greenspace and climate-sensitive adverse birth outcomes for equity and impact.

Environmental epidemiologists are increasingly evaluating whether and how human exposure to vegetation (greenspace) can benefit health. Relatedly, scientists and policymakers have highlighted the need to integrate efforts to address the dual crises of accelerating climate change and rapid loss of biodiversity, including nature-based solutions. Greenspace is one solution that can protect humans from climate-related exposures, including heat, air pollution, and flooding.

The Study of Environmental Exposure of Mothers and Infants Impacted by Large-Scale Agriculture (SEMILLA): Description of the Aims and Methods of a Community-Based Birth Cohort Study.

Background/objectives: Women of childbearing age not only reside in agricultural communities but also form an integral part of the agricultural labor force. Limited research investigates the impact of prenatal fungicide exposure on infant health, specifically ethylenebisdithiocarbamates and their toxic by-product, ethylenethiourea (ETU), particularly in occupational settings. This paper describes the background, aims, protocol, and baseline sample characteristics for the SEMILLA study, which investigates prenatal ETU exposure, neonatal thyroid function, infant growth, and neurobehavioral development in an agricultural region of Ecuador.

The Michigan Farmworker Project: A Community-Based Participatory Approach to Research on Precarious Employment and Labor Exploitation of Farmworkers.

Precarious employment is an important social determinant of health inequities. Through in-depth qualitative interviews ( = 35), we examine precarious employment and labor exploitation, their potential impact on the working environment, and, ultimately, the health of farmworkers. We present results from the community-based participatory Michigan Farmworker Project.

Precarious Work and Housing for Michigan Farmworkers During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond.

Objectives: Farmworkers in Michigan face precarious and exploitative labor conditions that affect their access to affordable, fair, and quality housing, which are key social determinants of health. We sought to assess the health, working conditions, and housing access, affordability, and quality of farmworkers living in and outside of employer-provided housing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We conducted a mixed methods cross-sectional study in collaboration with community partners from the Michigan Farmworker Project and the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.

A patient tailored approach to the surgical treatment of hemorrhoids leads to equal satisfaction following hemorrhoidectomy, stapled hemorrhoidopexy or a combination of both.

Purpose: Up to 20% of patients suffering from symptomatic hemorrhoids will require surgery. Excisional hemorrhoidectomy (EH) and stapled hemorrhoidopexy (SH) are both standard and safe procedures. While SH has a short-term advantage of faster recovery and lower postoperative pain, its long-term efficacy is debatable.

Measuring Latinx/@ immigrant experiences and mental health: Adaptation of discrimination and historical loss scales.

Migration processes encompass uncertainty, discrimination, racism, stigma, social isolation, lack of access to resources, fear of deportation, and family separation, having a critical impact on the health of Latinx/@ immigrants in the United States. It is essential to accurately measure the ways in which social, legal, economic, and political contexts impact mental health. This article discusses adaptation and use of discrimination and historical loss measures in a multilevel community-based advocacy, learning, and social support intervention (Immigrant Well-Being Project) with Latinx/@ immigrants in New Mexico, using participatory research approaches.

Underwater Light Manipulation by the Benthic Diatom : From PAR Efficient Collection to UVR Screening.

Several species of diatoms, unicellular microalgae which constitute the main component of phytoplankton, are characterized by an impressive photosynthetic efficiency while presenting a noticeable tolerance versus exposure to detrimental UV radiation (UVR). In particular, the growth rate of the araphid diatom is not significantly affected by harsh treatments with UVR, even in absence of detectable, specific UV-absorbing pigments and even if it is not able to avoid high UV exposure by motility. In this work we applied a multi-disciplinary approach involving numerical computation, photonics, and biological parameters in order to investigate the possible role of the frustule, micro- and nano-patterned silica shell which encloses the cell, in the ability of to efficiently collect photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) and to simultaneously screen the protoplasm from UVR.

Innovative participatory bilingual data analysis with Latinx/@ immigrants: Language, power, and transformation.

Objective: The insights of Latinx/@ immigrants are essential to developing interventions that better address complex multilevel phenomena impacting mental health. Despite important advances in methods that genuinely embody participatory research practices, attention to collaborative data collection, analysis, and dissemination are limited. Our aim is to describe the development and implementation of research practices to address these gaps through an emphasis on and understanding of the centrality of language in collaborative research processes.

Glacial melt disturbance shifts community metabolism of an Antarctic seafloor ecosystem from net autotrophy to heterotrophy.

Climate change-induced glacial melt affects benthic ecosystems along the West Antarctic Peninsula, but current understanding of the effects on benthic primary production and respiration is limited. Here we demonstrate with a series of in situ community metabolism measurements that climate-related glacial melt disturbance shifts benthic communities from net autotrophy to heterotrophy. With little glacial melt disturbance (during cold El Niño spring 2015), clear waters enabled high benthic microalgal production, resulting in net autotrophic benthic communities.

SWI/SNF complexes act through CBP-1 histone acetyltransferase to regulate acute functional tolerance to alcohol.

Background: SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling genes are required for normal acute responses to alcohol in C. elegans and are associated with alcohol use disorder in two human populations. In an effort to discover the downstream genes that are mediating this effect, we identified SWI/SNF-regulated genes in C.

Early life risk factors of motor, cognitive and language development: a pooled analysis of studies from low/middle-income countries.

Objective: To determine the magnitude of relationships of early life factors with child development in low/middle-income countries (LMICs).

Design: Meta-analyses of standardised mean differences (SMDs) estimated from published and unpublished data.

Data Sources: We searched Medline, bibliographies of key articles and reviews, and grey literature to identify studies from LMICs that collected data on early life exposures and child development.

The Mental Health of the Organic Farmer: Psychosocial and Contextual Actors.

Despite the large body of research and literature on the health and mental health of farmers, we should not assume that research findings necessarily apply to the organic farmer. The limited literature on the mental health of the organic farmer points to potential differences. Research has found that workers on organic farms may be happier than their counterparts; others have identified added sources of stress related to the perceived need of organic farmers to embrace concepts linked to the organic movement.

The State of US Health, 1990-2016: Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Among US States.

Introduction: Several studies have measured health outcomes in the United States, but none have provided a comprehensive assessment of patterns of health by state.

Objective: To use the results of the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) to report trends in the burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors at the state level from 1990 to 2016.

Design And Setting: A systematic analysis of published studies and available data sources estimates the burden of disease by age, sex, geography, and year.

Health and Safety in Organic Farming: A Qualitative Study.

Objective: To explore health and safety issues in organic farming, particularly among small farmers in central New Mexico.

Methods: Participants included 10 certified organic producers and 20 workers. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and observations.

Assessment of Maternal-Infant Interaction: Application of the Still Face Paradigm in a Rural Population of Working Women in Ecuador.

Objectives The importance of mother-child interaction in early infancy on child development has been well documented. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of using the Still Face Paradigm to measure mother interactive style, infant affect and emotional regulation in a rural Ecuador setting. Methods Infant's emotional regulation and the quality of mother's interaction were measured with the Still Face Paradigm at 4 months of age (±15 days).

Maternal touch and infant affect in the Still Face Paradigm: A cross-cultural examination.

Touch between mother and infant plays an important role in development starting from birth. Cross-cultural differences surrounding rearing practices have an influence on parent-infant interaction, including types of touch used and the development of emotional regulation. This study was designed to investigate maternal touch and infant emotional regulation in infant-mother dyads from Ecuador (n=25) and Hispanic dyads from the United States (US) (n=26).

Characterization of Pesticide Exposure in a Sample of Pregnant Women in Ecuador.

Few studies have detailed the prenatal pesticide exposure levels of women employed in or residing near large-scale agricultural industries. This study reports pesticide metabolite levels during and shortly after pregnancy in a pilot study of workers in Ecuador. Urine samples were collected for 16 rose workers and 10 nonagricultural workers enrolled into the study in early pregnancy.