Classifying hazardous movements and loads during manual materials handling using accelerometers and instrumented insoles.

Improper manual material handling (MMH) techniques are shown to lead to low back pain, the most common work-related musculoskeletal disorder. Due to the complex nature and variability of MMH and obtrusiveness and subjectiveness of existing hazard analysis methods, providing systematic, continuous, and automated risk assessment is challenging. We present a machine learning algorithm to detect and classify MMH tasks using minimally-intrusive instrumented insoles and chest-mounted accelerometers.

Environmental Air Pollution and Olfactory Decline in Aging.

Background: Olfactory impairment is increasingly common with older age, which may be in part explained by cumulative effects of exposure to inhaled toxins. However, population-based studies investigating the relationship between air pollution and olfactory ability are scarce.

Objectives: We aimed to investigate associations between exposure to common air pollutants and longitudinal change in odor identification.

Occupational risk factors for work disability following carpal tunnel syndrome: a pooled prospective study.

Background: Although recent studies have identified important risk factors associated with incident carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), risk factors associated with its severity have not been well explored.

Objective: To examine the associations between personal, workplace psychosocial and biomechanical factors and incident work disability among workers with CTS.

Methods: Between 2001 and 2010 five research groups conducted coordinated prospective studies of CTS and related work disability among US workers from various industries.

Night Shift Work, MTNR1B rs10830963 Polymorphism, and Prostate Cancer Risk: Findings from a Prospective, Population-Based Study.

Background: The association between night shift work and prostate cancer is controversial. Evidence shows that genetic and environmental factors both contribute to the development of prostate cancer. It is well known that melatonin plays a protective role in prostate cancer.

Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among COVID-19 vaccinated and unvaccinated healthcare personnel, first responders, and other essential and frontline workers: Eight US locations, January-September 2021.

Background: We sought to evaluate the impact of changes in estimates of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness on the incidence of laboratory-confirmed infection among frontline workers at high risk for SARS-CoV-2.

Methods: We analyzed data from a prospective frontline worker cohort to estimate the incidence of COVID-19 by month as well as the association of COVID-19 vaccination, occupation, demographics, physical distancing, and mask use with infection risk. Participants completed baseline and quarterly surveys, and each week self-collected mid-turbinate nasal swabs and reported symptoms.

Exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of ambient fine particulate matter (PM) depletes the ovarian follicle reserve and causes sex-dependent cardiovascular changes in apolipoprotein E null mice.

Background: Fine particulate matter (PM) exposure accelerates atherosclerosis and contains known ovotoxic chemicals. However, effects of exposure to PM on the finite ovarian follicle pool have hardly been investigated, nor have interactions between ovarian and cardiovascular effects. We hypothesized that subchronic inhalation exposure to human-relevant concentrations of PM results in destruction of ovarian follicles via apoptosis induction, as well as accelerated recruitment of primordial follicles into the growing pool.

Feasibility of a High-Volume Filter Sampler for Detecting SARS-CoV-2 RNA in COVID-19 Patient Rooms.

Aerosolization of SARS-CoV-2 by COVID-19 patients can put healthcare workers and susceptible individuals at risk of infection. Air sampling for SARS-CoV-2 has been conducted in healthcare settings, but methods vary widely and there is need for improvement. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of using a high-volume filter sampler, BioCapture z720, to detect SARS-CoV-2 in COVID-19 patient rooms in a medical intensive care unit, a dedicated COVID-19 ward, and at nurses' stations.

[The full (and necessary) integration of Occupational Health into Public Health.].

The COVID-19 pandemic is clearly showing the importance for the surveillance and protection of human health of acting in all settings of life: family, community, education, leisure or work, among others, as well as addressing the multiple determinants that influence the health and well-being of the population: demographic, healthcare, environmental, social, eco-nomic, cultural or occupational, among others. With respect to occupational health and the work-related determinants of health, the potential of occupational health services acting at the company level is clear, and could be generalized to almost any public health action setting. This article reflects on the opportunities for coordination between the occupational health system in Spain (including resources from mutual insurance companies, companies themselves and administrations) and the public health system, including both health care (primary care, hospital) and public health services.

Hospitalised heat-related acute kidney injury in indoor and outdoor workers in the USA.

Objectives: To characterise heat-related acute kidney injury (HR-AKI) among US workers in a range of industries.

Methods: Two data sources were analysed: archived case files of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Office of Occupational Medicine and Nursing from 2010 through 2020; and a Severe Injury Reports (SIR) database of work-related hospitalisations that employers reported to federal OSHA from 2015 to 2020. Confirmed, probable and possible cases of HR-AKI were ascertained by serum creatinine measurements and narrative incident descriptions.

Exploring spatial averaging of contamination in fomite microbial transfer models and implications for dose.

Background: When modeling exposures from contact with fomites, there are many choices in defining the sizes of compartments representing environmental surfaces and hands, and the portions of compartments involved in contacts. These choices impact dose estimates, yet there is limited guidance for selection of these model parameters.

Objective: The study objective was to explore methods for representing environmental surface and hand contact areas in exposure models and implications for estimated doses.

A pilot study of total personal exposure to volatile organic compounds among Hispanic female domestic cleaners.

Cleaners have an elevated risk for the development or exacerbation of asthma and other respiratory conditions, possibly due to exposure to cleaning products containing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) leading to inflammation and oxidative stress. This pilot study aimed to quantify total personal exposure to VOCs and to assess biomarkers of inflammation and pulmonary oxidative stress in 15 predominantly Hispanic women working as domestic cleaners in San Antonio, Texas, between November 2019 and July 2020. In partnership with a community organization, Domésticas Unidas, recruited women were invited to attend a training session where they were provided 3M 3500 passive organic vapor monitors (badges) and began a 72-hr sampling period during which they were instructed to wear one badge during the entire period ("AT," for ll the ime), a second badge only while they were inside their home ("INS," for ide), and a third badge only when they were outside their home ("OUT," for side).

Assessing the association between lifetime exposure to greenspace and early childhood development and the mediation effects of air pollution and noise in Canada: a population-based birth cohort study.

Background: Exposure to greenspace is associated with improved childhood development, but the pathways behind this relationship are insufficiently understood. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the association between lifetime residential exposure to greenspace and early childhood development and evaluate the extent to which this association is mediated by reductions in traffic-related air pollution and noise.

Methods: This population-based birth cohort study comprised singleton births in Metro Vancouver, BC, Canada, between April 1, 2000, and Dec 31, 2005.

Association of dietary fat intake and hepatocellular carcinoma among US adults.

Background And Aims: The role of dietary fat consumption in the etiology of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. We investigated the associations of total fat and fatty acids with risk of HCC among US adults in a hospital-based case-control study.

Methods: We analyzed data from 641 cases and 1034 controls recruited at MD Anderson Cancer Center during 2001-2018.

Electronic cigarette aerosol increases the risk of organ dysfunction by enhancing oxidative stress and inflammation.

An electronic cigarette is a rechargeable device that produces an inhaled aerosol containing varying levels of nicotine, and inorganic and organic toxicants and carcinogenic compounds. The aerosol is generated by heating a solution of propylene glycol and glycerin with nicotine and flavoring ingredients at a high temperature. The e-cigarette was developed and marketed as a safer alternative to the regular cigarette which is known to be injurious to human health.

Comparing approaches for modelling indirect contact transmission of infectious diseases.

Mathematical models describing indirect contact transmission are an important component of infectious disease mitigation and risk assessment. A model that tracks microorganisms between compartments by coupled ordinary differential equations or a Markov chain is benchmarked against a mechanistic interpretation of the physical transfer of microorganisms from surfaces to fingers and subsequently to a susceptible person's facial mucosal membranes. The primary objective was to compare these models in their estimates of doses and changes in microorganism concentrations on hands and fomites over time.

SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence among firefighters in Orange County, California.

Objectives: We conducted serological SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing from October to November 2020 to estimate the SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among firefighters/paramedics in Orange County (OC), California.

Methods: OC firefighters employed at the time of the surveillance activity were invited to participate in a voluntary survey that collected demographic, occupational and previous COVID-19 testing data, and a SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin (Ig)G antibody blood test. We collected venous blood samples using mobile phlebotomy teams that travelled to individual fire stations, in coordination with an annual tuberculosis testing campaign for firefighters employed by OC Fire Authority (OCFA), and independently for firefighters employed by cities.

Trends in incidence and correlation between medical costs and lost workdays for work-related amputations in the State of California from 2007 to 2018.

Background: Detailed information regarding workers who experience an amputation in the workplace over the last decade is limited. To better understand the financial and functional impact of a work-related amputation, this study quantifies the incidence of work-related amputations in the California workforce from 2007 to 2018 as well as the relationship between medical costs and lost workdays as a function of amputation level.

Methods: Workers' compensation claims data from California spanning the years 2007 to 2018 were evaluated to describe trends in amputation incidence (N = 16 931).

Diné citizen science: Phytoremediation of uranium and arsenic in the Navajo Nation.

Mid-20th century mining in Naabeehó Bináhásdzo (Navajo Nation) polluted soil and groundwater with uranium and arsenic. The Diné and other indigenous residents of this region use groundwater for drinking, livestock, and irrigation, creating a serious environmental health risk. Currently, many individuals and communities on the Navajo Nation must purchase and transport treated water from hours away.

Quantifying SARS-CoV-2 Infection Risk Within the Google/Apple Exposure Notification Framework to Inform Quarantine Recommendations.

Most early Bluetooth-based exposure notification apps use three binary classifications to recommend quarantine following SARS-CoV-2 exposure: a window of infectiousness in the transmitter, ≥15 minutes duration, and Bluetooth attenuation below a threshold. However, Bluetooth attenuation is not a reliable measure of distance, and infection risk is not a binary function of distance, nor duration, nor timing. We model uncertainty in the shape and orientation of an exhaled virus-containing plume and in inhalation parameters, and measure uncertainty in distance as a function of Bluetooth attenuation.

Guideline adherence and lost workdays for acute low back pain in the California workers' compensation system.

Context: The use of clinical-practice guidelines is a suggested method for improving health outcomes by the earlier provision of necessary and effective medical interventions.

Objective: To quantify the influence of adherence to guideline-recommended interventions in the first week of treatment for an initial low back pain (LBP) injury on lost workdays.

Methods: In a retrospective cohort of California's workers' compensation claims data from May 2009 to May 2018, 41 diagnostic and treatment interventions were abstracted from the medical claims for workers with acute LBP injuries and compared with guideline recommendations.

Respirators, face masks, and their risk reductions via multiple transmission routes for first responders within an ambulance.

First responders may have high SARS-CoV-2 infection risks due to working with potentially infected patients in enclosed spaces. The study objective was to estimate infection risks per transport for first responders and quantify how first responder use of N95 respirators and patient use of cloth masks can reduce these risks. A model was developed for two Scenarios: an ambulance transport with a patient actively emitting a virus in small aerosols that could lead to airborne transmission (Scenario 1) and a subsequent transport with the same respirator or mask use conditions, an uninfected patient; and remaining airborne SARS-CoV-2 and contaminated surfaces due to aerosol deposition from the previous transport (Scenario 2).

Fiber burden and asbestos-related diseases: an umbrella review.

Objective: What are the levels of asbestos exposure that cause each type of health effect? The objective of this study was to review the available scientific evidence on exposure levels for asbestos and their relationship to health effects.

Method: An umbrella review of English-language reviews and meta-analyses, from 1980 to March 2021 was conducted. We included reviews involving quantified asbestos exposures and health outcomes.