How Does Environmental Temperature Affect Farmworkers' Work Rates in the California Heat Illness Prevention Study?

Objective: Estimate the association between environmental temperature (wet bulb globe temperature [WBGT]) and work rate over the course of a workday.

Methods: Repeated-measures regression was used to identify characteristics impacting work rate in a cross-sectional study of Latino farmworkers. Minute-by-minute work rate (measured by accelerometer) and WBGT were averaged over 15-minute intervals.

Are Cal/OSHA Regulations Protecting Farmworkers in California From Heat-Related Illness?

Objective: Determine compliance with and effectiveness of California regulations in reducing farmworkers' heat-related illness (HRI) risk and identify main factors contributing to HRI.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study of Latino farmworkers, core body temperature (CBT), work rate, and environmental temperature (WBGT) were monitored over a work shift by individual ingestible thermistors, accelerometers, and weather stations, respectively. Multiple logistic modeling was used to identify risk factors for elevated CBT.

Analysis of the Beaufort Gyre Freshwater Content in 2003-2018.

Hydrographic data collected from research cruises, bottom-anchored moorings, drifting Ice-Tethered Profilers, and satellite altimetry in the Beaufort Gyre region of the Arctic Ocean document an increase of more than 6,400 km of liquid freshwater content from 2003 to 2018: a 40% growth relative to the climatology of the 1970s. This fresh water accumulation is shown to result from persistent anticyclonic atmospheric wind forcing (1997-2018) accompanied by sea ice melt, a wind-forced redirection of Mackenzie River discharge from predominantly eastward to westward flow, and a contribution of low salinity waters of Pacific Ocean origin via Bering Strait. Despite significant uncertainties in the different observations, this study has demonstrated the synergistic value of having multiple diverse datasets to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of Beaufort Gyre freshwater content variability.

Enhanced eddy activity in the Beaufort Gyre in response to sea ice loss.

The Beaufort Gyre freshwater content has increased since the 1990s, potentially stabilizing in recent years. The mechanisms proposed to explain the stabilization involve either mesoscale eddy activity that opposes Ekman pumping or the reduction of Ekman pumping due to reduced sea ice-ocean surface stress. However, the relative importance of these mechanisms is unclear.

Acute kidney injury and workload in a sample of California agricultural workers.

Background: Kidney damage is associated with an increased workload in high ambient temperatures and may represent a pathway to chronic kidney disease of unknown origin in agricultural workers. We tested the associations of workload and heat with acute kidney dysfunction in California agricultural workers.

Methods: We recruited a convenience sample of 471 agricultural workers from 29 farms in California during two summer harvest seasons.