New York State Climate Impacts Assessment Chapter 07: Human Health and Safety.

New Yorkers face a multitude of health and safety risks that are exacerbated by a changing climate. These risks include direct impacts from extreme weather events and other climate hazards, as well as indirect impacts occurring through a chain of interactions. Physical safety, physical health, and mental health are all part of the equation-as are the many nonclimate factors that interact with climate change to influence health outcomes.

Clinical effectiveness of a silicone foam dressing for the prevention of heel pressure ulcers in critically ill patients: Border II Trial.

Objective: Critically ill patients are at high risk of developing pressure ulcers (PU), with the sacrum and heels being highly susceptible to pressure injuries. The objective of our study was to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of a new multi-layer, self-adhesive soft silicone foam heel dressing to prevent PU development in trauma and critically ill patients in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Method: A cohort of critically ill patients were enrolled at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

Macrophage delivery of an oncolytic virus abolishes tumor regrowth and metastasis after chemotherapy or irradiation.

Frontline anticancer therapies such as chemotherapy and irradiation often slow tumor growth, but tumor regrowth and spread to distant sites usually occurs after the conclusion of treatment. We recently showed that macrophages could be used to deliver large quantities of a hypoxia-regulated, prostate-specific oncolytic virus (OV) to prostate tumors. In the current study, we show that administration of such OV-armed macrophages 48 hours after chemotherapy (docetaxel) or tumor irradiation abolished the posttreatment regrowth of primary prostate tumors in mice and their spread to the lungs for up to 27 or 40 days, respectively.

Use of macrophages to target therapeutic adenovirus to human prostate tumors.

New therapies are required to target hypoxic areas of tumors as these sites are highly resistant to conventional cancer therapies. Monocytes continuously extravasate from the bloodstream into tumors where they differentiate into macrophages and accumulate in hypoxic areas, thereby opening up the possibility of using these cells as vehicles to deliver gene therapy to these otherwise inaccessible sites. We describe a new cell-based method that selectively targets an oncolytic adenovirus to hypoxic areas of prostate tumors.

A novel magnetic approach to enhance the efficacy of cell-based gene therapies.

Attempts have been made to use various forms of cellular vectors to deliver therapeutic genes to diseased tissues like malignant tumours. However, this approach has proved problematic due to the poor uptake of these vectors by the target tissue. We have devised a novel way of using magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) to enhance the uptake of such 'therapeutically armed' cells by tumours.

Seizures after epidural blood patch with undiagnosed subdural hematoma.

Objective: We present a case of new-onset seizures in a parturient who received an epidural blood patch (EBP) in the presence of an undiagnosed cerebral subdural hematoma. We review the relevant literature and examine the implications for management.

Case Report: A 33-year-old parturient developed symptoms of postdural puncture headache 16 hours after initiation of epidural analgesia for labor.

Treatment of acute Achilles tendon ruptures: a systematic overview and metaanalysis.

A quantitative systematic review of randomized and quasirandomized trials was conducted to determine the effect of surgical versus conservative treatment of acute Achilles tendon ruptures on rates of rerupture. Secondary outcomes included deep infection rates, return to normal function, and minor complaints. A search of computerized databases was conducted to locate clinical studies published from 1969 to 2000.

Meta-analyses in orthopaedic surgery. A systematic review of their methodologies.

Background: The number and quality of well-designed scientific studies in the orthopaedic literature are limited. The purpose of this review was to determine the methodological qualities of published meta-analyses on orthopaedic-surgery-related topics.

Methods: A systematic review of meta-analyses was conducted.

Establishment of creatinine clearance reference values for older women.

Age-adjusted reference ranges for creatinine clearance were determined in 279 women, ages 40-95 years, who were housed in a metabolic research unit and consumed a meat-free diet. Creatinine clearance, but not serum creatinine, declined with age by 0.63 mL/min per 1.

Assessment of the safety of high-dose, short-term supplementation with vitamin E in healthy older adults.

The effect of daily supplementation of 800 mg dl alpha-tocopheryl acetate for 30 d on general health, nutrient status, hepatic and renal function, intermediary metabolism, hematological status, plasma nutrients and antioxidant status, thyroid hormones, and urinary creatinine concentrations was studied in 32 healthy elderly (> 60 y) people who participated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, residential trial. The subjects reported no side effects due to the supplements. Supplementation had no effect on body weight, plasma total protein, albumin, glucose, total cholesterol and triglycerides, conjugated and unconjugated bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, indicators of hepatic and renal function, hematologic status, thyroid hormones, or serum and urinary creatinine concentrations and creatinine clearance.

Nutritional correlates of atrophic glossitis: possible role of vitamin E in papillary atrophy.

Atrophy of the filiform papillae of the tongue is a sign of malnutrition. However, papillary atrophy has not been correlated with laboratory indices of nutritional status. We studied photographs of tongues from 30 elderly subjects and determined the percentage of normal papillary development (%NPD) relative to a reference photograph.

Relationships between acetone, cataracts, and ascorbate in hairless guinea pigs.

Acetone is one of the most commonly used industrial solvents. Recent literature indicated that in guinea pigs, but not rabbits, acetone is cataractogenic and that elevated acetone exposure is also associated with depressed aqueous ascorbate levels. Other work indicated that aqueous and lens levels of ascorbate are closely linked and that depressed ascorbate status is related to cataract.

Vascular disease risk factors, urinary free cortisol, and health histories in older adults: shyness and gender interactions.

We studied relationships between shyness and health during a health screening survey of older adults (ages 50-88) living in an active retirement community in the southwestern United States (n = 232). As in previous studies of infants, older individuals with hay fever, insomnia and constipation were more shy than those without these problems. Shy persons overall showed higher sitting systolic blood pressure and a larger fall in orthostatic systolic blood pressure on standing; shy men had a greater prevalence of hypertension histories than did low-shy men.