Within-City Variation in Ambient Carbon Monoxide Concentrations: Leveraging Low-Cost Monitors in a Spatiotemporal Modeling Framework.

Background: Based on human and animal experimental studies, exposure to ambient carbon monoxide (CO) may be associated with cardiovascular disease outcomes, but epidemiological evidence of this link is limited. The number and distribution of ground-level regulatory agency monitors are insufficient to characterize fine-scale variations in CO concentrations.

Objectives: To develop a daily, high-resolution ambient CO exposure prediction model at the city scale.

The effect of the participatory heat education and awareness tools (HEAT) intervention on agricultural worker physiological heat strain: results from a parallel, comparison, group randomized study.

Background: Farmworkers are at risk of heat-related illness (HRI). We sought to: 1) evaluate the effectiveness of farmworker Spanish/English participatory heat education and a supervisor decision-support mobile application (HEAT intervention) on physiological heat strain; and 2) describe factors associated with HRI symptoms reporting.

Methods: We conducted a parallel, comparison group intervention study from May-September of 2019 in Central/Eastern Washington State, USA.

Associations between repeated measures of urinary phthalate metabolites and biomarkers of oxidative stress in a rural agricultural cohort of children with asthma.

Phthalate exposure is widespread, and studies suggest an adverse relationship with asthma morbidity, including some support for oxidative stress as an underlying pathophysiological mechanism. Urinary phthalate metabolites have been associated with biomarkers of oxidative stress, but data are few in children diagnosed with asthma. We used participant data from the Home Air in Agriculture Pediatric Intervention Trial (HAPI) to examine longitudinal relationships between phthalates and oxidative stress in a cohort of Latino children with asthma residing in an agricultural community.

Longitudinal measures of phthalate exposure and asthma exacerbation in a rural agricultural cohort of Latino children in Yakima Valley, Washington.

Phthalates are a class of widely used synthetic chemicals found in commonly used materials and products. Epidemiological studies suggest phthalate exposure is associated with asthma outcomes, though most studies have not investigated phthalates as triggers of exacerbations in children diagnosed with asthma. This study used data from the Home Air in Agriculture Pediatric Intervention Trial (HAPI) to examine relationships between phthalate exposure and outcomes related to childhood asthma exacerbation.

The Effect of Participatory Heat Education on Agricultural Worker Knowledge.

Objectives: Farmworkers disproportionately experience preventable adverse health effects from heat exposure. We sought to evaluate the effect of participatory heat education on farmworker knowledge.

Methods: We conducted a parallel, comparison group intervention study to investigate the effectiveness of a Spanish/English participatory, culturally-tailored, heat education-based intervention on farmworker heat knowledge in the Summer 2019.

Randomized trial of a portable HEPA air cleaner intervention to reduce asthma morbidity among Latino children in an agricultural community.

Background: Data on pediatric asthma morbidity and effective environmental interventions in U.S. agricultural settings are few.

Publicly available low-cost sensor measurements for PM exposure modeling: Guidance for monitor deployment and data selection.

High-resolution, high-quality exposure modeling is critical for assessing the health effects of ambient PM in epidemiological studies. Using sparse regulatory PM measurements as principal model inputs may result in two issues in exposure prediction: (1) they may affect the models' accuracy in predicting PM spatial distribution; (2) the internal validation based on these measurements may not reliably reflect the model performance at locations of interest (e.g.

Effectiveness of portable HEPA air cleaners on reducing indoor endotoxin, PM and coarse particulate matter in an agricultural cohort of children with asthma: A randomized intervention trial.

We conducted a randomized trial of portable HEPA air cleaners in the homes of children age 6-12 years with asthma in the Yakima Valley, Washington. All families received asthma education while intervention families also received two HEPA cleaners (child's bedroom, living room). We collected 14-day integrated samples of endotoxin in settled dust and PM and PM in the air of the children's bedrooms at baseline and one-year follow-up, and used linear regression to compare follow-up levels, adjusting for baseline.

Effectiveness of portable HEPA air cleaners on reducing indoor PM and NH in an agricultural cohort of children with asthma: A randomized intervention trial.

We conducted a randomized trial of portable HEPA air cleaners with pre-filters designed to also reduce NH in non-smoking homes of children age 6-12 with asthma in Yakima Valley (Washington, USA). Participants were recruited through the Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic asthma education program. All participants received education on home triggers while intervention families additionally received two HEPA cleaners (child's sleeping area, main living area).

The home air in agriculture pediatric intervention (HAPI) trial: Rationale and methods.

Background: Data addressing air quality effects on children with asthma in rural U.S. communities are rare.

Association Between Long-term Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution and Change in Quantitatively Assessed Emphysema and Lung Function.

Importance: While air pollutants at historical levels have been associated with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, it is not known whether exposure to contemporary air pollutant concentrations is associated with progression of emphysema.

Objective: To assess the longitudinal association of ambient ozone (O3), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), and black carbon exposure with change in percent emphysema assessed via computed tomographic (CT) imaging and lung function.

Long-Term Exposure to Ambient Ozone and Progression of Subclinical Arterial Disease: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Air Pollution.

Background: Long-term ozone ([Formula: see text]) exposure is associated with cardiovascular mortality, but little is known about the associations between [Formula: see text] and subclinical arterial disease.

Objectives: We studied the longitudinal association of exposure to [Formula: see text] and progression of key subclinical arterial markers in adults: intima-media thickness of common carotid artery ([Formula: see text]), carotid plaque (CP) burden, and coronary artery calcification (CAC).

Methods: CAC was measured one to four times at baseline and at follow-up exams (1999–2012) by computed tomography (CT) in 6,619 healthy adults, recruited at age 45-84 y without cardiovascular disease (CVD), over a mean of 6.

Full-Endoscopic Lumbar Fusion Outcomes in Patients with Minimal Deformities: A Retrospective Study of Data Collected Between 2011 and 2015.

Background: Open transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) is the gold standard treatment for back pain due to degenerative disc disease and lumbar instability. Traditional open TLIF has been associated with extensive tissue dissection, excessive blood loss, and slow recovery time. Full-endoscopic transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (FE-TLIF) is an evolving treatment.

Associations between heat exposure, vigilance, and balance performance in summer tree fruit harvesters.

Background: We sought to evaluate potential mediators of the relationship between heat exposure and traumatic injuries in outdoor agricultural workers.

Methods: Linear mixed models were used to estimate associations between maximum work-shift Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) and post-shift vigilance (reaction time) and postural sway (total path length) in a cross-sectional sample of 46 Washington State tree fruit harvesters in August-September 2015.

Results: The mean (SD) WBGT was 27.

A novel principal component analysis for spatially misaligned multivariate air pollution data.

We propose novel methods for predictive (sparse) PCA with spatially misaligned data. These methods identify principal component loading vectors that explain as much variability in the observed data as possible, while also ensuring the corresponding principal component scores can be predicted accurately by means of spatial statistics at locations where air pollution measurements are not available. This will make it possible to identify important mixtures of air pollutants and to quantify their health effects in cohort studies, where currently available methods cannot be used.

Full-Endoscopic Assisted Lumbar Decompressive Surgery Performed in an Outpatient, Ambulatory Facility: Report of 5 Years of Complications and Risk Factors.

Background: Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) technique is becoming the standard tissue sparing approach for decompression of lumbar central and lateral recess stenosis, intervertebral disc herniation, or any situation that would have required extensive open decompression laminectomy. Full-endoscopic or arthroscopic assisted surgery is arguably the "ultra-MIS" approach to lumbar spinal pathology. Age and body mass index (BMI) are significant risk factors to be considered in full-endoscopic assisted ultra-MIS.

Heat exposure and productivity in orchards: Implications for climate change research.

Recent studies suggest that heat exposure degrades work productivity, but such studies have not considered individual- and workplace-level factors. Forty-six tree-fruit harvesters (98% Latino/a) from 6 orchards participated in a cross-sectional study in central/eastern Washington in 2015. The association between maximum measured work-shift wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) and productivity (total weight of fruit bins collected per time worked) was estimated using linear mixed-effects models, adjusting for relevant confounders.

Development of Long-term Spatiotemporal Models for Ambient Ozone in Six Metropolitan regions of the United States: The MESA Air Study.

Background: Current epidemiologic studies rely on simple ozone metrics which may not appropriately capture population ozone exposure. For understanding health effects of long-term ozone exposure in population studies, it is advantageous for exposure estimation to incorporate the complex spatiotemporal pattern of ozone concentrations at fine scales.

Objective: To develop a geo-statistical exposure prediction model that predicts fine scale spatiotemporal variations of ambient ozone in six United States metropolitan regions.

Historical Prediction Modeling Approach for Estimating Long-Term Concentrations of PM2.5 in Cohort Studies before the 1999 Implementation of Widespread Monitoring.

Introduction: Recent cohort studies have used exposure prediction models to estimate the association between long-term residential concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and health. Because these prediction models rely on PM2.

Association between air pollution and coronary artery calcification within six metropolitan areas in the USA (the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Air Pollution): a longitudinal cohort study.

Background: Long-term exposure to fine particulate matter less than 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5) and traffic-related air pollutant concentrations are associated with cardiovascular risk.

Prediction of fine particulate matter chemical components with a spatio-temporal model for the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis cohort.

Although cohort studies of the health effects of PM2.5 have developed exposure prediction models to represent spatial variability across participant residences, few models exist for PM2.5 components.

Combining Land-Use Regression and Chemical Transport Modeling in a Spatiotemporal Geostatistical Model for Ozone and PM2.5.

Assessments of long-term air pollution exposure in population studies have commonly employed land-use regression (LUR) or chemical transport modeling (CTM) techniques. Attempts to incorporate both approaches in one modeling framework are challenging. We present a novel geostatistical modeling framework, incorporating CTM predictions into a spatiotemporal LUR model with spatial smoothing to estimate spatiotemporal variability of ozone (O3) and particulate matter with diameter less than 2.