Partial shading by solar panels delays bloom, increases floral abundance during the late-season for pollinators in a dryland, agrivoltaic ecosystem.

Habitat for pollinators is declining worldwide, threatening the health of both wild and agricultural ecosystems. Photovoltaic solar energy installation is booming, frequently near agricultural lands, where the land underneath ground-mounted photovoltaic panels is traditionally unused. Some solar developers and agriculturalists in the United States are filling the solar understory with habitat for pollinating insects in efforts to maximize land-use efficiency in agricultural lands. However, the impact of the solar panel canopy on the understory pollinator-plant community is unknown. Here we investigated the effects of solar arrays on plant composition, bloom timing and foraging behavior of pollinators from June to September (after peak bloom) in full shade plots and partial shade plots under solar panels as well as in full sun plots (controls) outside of the solar panels. We found that floral abundance increased and bloom timing was delayed in the partial shade plots, which has the potential to benefit late-season foragers in water-limited ecosystems. Pollinator abundance, diversity, and richness were similar in full sun and partial shade plots, both greater than in full shade. Pollinator-flower visitation rates did not differ among treatments at this scale. This demonstrates that pollinators will use habitat under solar arrays, despite variations in community structure across shade gradients. We anticipate that these findings will inform local farmers and solar developers who manage solar understories, as well as agriculture and pollinator health advocates as they seek land for pollinator habitat restoration in target areas.

Novel Formative Approach of the ESAP-ITE Provides Strong Predictive Value for ABIM Certification Outcomes.

BACKGROUND: The Endocrine Self-Assessment Program In-Training Examination (ESAP-ITE) has the novel formative approach of allowing open access to all questions and answers after secure examination administration is complete, resulting in the creation of an entirely new in-training examination annually. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether scores on the novel ESAP-ITE predict pass/fail outcomes on the American Board of Internal Medicine Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism Certification Examination (ABIM-ECE). METHODS: All endocrine fellows-in-training who took the ESAP-ITE between 2016 and 2019 and then subsequently attempted the ABIM-ECE within the same calendar year were included (n = 982). Primary analyses used the ESAP-ITE score from the final year of fellowship training. Covariates included sex, age on date of ABIM-ECE, medical school country, fellowship program region, pass/fail outcomes on the ABIM Internal Medicine Certification Examination, and ESAP-ITE score. All variables were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: ESAP-ITE score (P < 0.001), ABIM Internal Medicine Certification Examination outcome (P < 0.001), and age (P = 0.005) were each significant predictors of passing the ABIM-ECE on the first attempt. ESAP-ITE score was the strongest predictor of passing the ABIM-ECE, and this relationship was such that a score of 75% correct yielded a 97% probability of passing the ABIM-ECE, whereas a score of 50% correct generated only a 70% probability of doing so. Sex, fellowship program region, and medical school country were not significant predictors of ABIM-ECE outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to serving as an important learning instrument for endocrine fellowship programs, ESAP-ITE is a robust predictive tool for pass/fail outcomes on the ABIM-ECE.

Novel hospital curtains with antimicrobial properties: a randomized, controlled trial.

DESIGN: Privacy curtains that separate patient care areas in hospitals may play an important role in the transmission of healthcare-associated pathogens. The aim of this randomized, controlled trial was to assess the effectiveness in a clinical setting of curtains incorporating a complex element compound (CEC) with antimicrobial properties. SETTING: Twenty-one rooms in a surgical intensive care unit (ICU) and 9 rooms in a medical ICU were randomly selected to receive either a new standard curtain or a new identical-looking CEC curtain. Fifteen rooms received CEC curtains and 15 received standard curtains. METHODS: Cultures were performed of samples that were collected from curtains twice a week for 4 weeks (23 days). Contamination was determined according to standard microbiologic methods. Time to contamination was assessed with the Wilcoxon rank-sum test and survival analysis. Incidence rates of contamination were compared using Poisson regression. RESULTS: The median time to first contamination was 7 times longer for CEC curtains than for standard curtains (14 vs 2 days; [Formula: see text]). CEC curtains were significantly less contaminated than standard curtains according to earlier culture results but not significantly different for later culture results. Fourteen CEC curtains and 13 standard curtains were contaminated at least once ([Formula: see text]). The adjusted rate of contamination was 29% lower among CEC versus standard curtains, but this was not statistically significant (rate ratio, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.48-1.07). CONCLUSIONS: CEC privacy curtains increase the time to first contamination as compared with standard curtains. Use of privacy curtains with antimicrobial properties could increase the time between washings and may potentially play a role in decreasing pathogen transmission.

Hospital privacy curtains are frequently and rapidly contaminated with potentially pathogenic bacteria.

BACKGROUND: Privacy curtains are a potentially important site of bacterial contamination in hospitals. We performed a longitudinal study to determine the prevalence and time course of bacterial contamination on privacy curtains. METHODS: Over a 3-week period, swab cultures (n = 180) were obtained twice weekly from the leading edge of 43 curtains in 30 rooms in 2 intensive care units and a medical ward. Curtains were marked to determine when they were changed. Contamination with Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant S aureus (MRSA), Enterococcus spp, vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE), or aerobic gram-negative rods was determined by standard microbiologic methods. To distinguish persistence of pathogens on curtains from recontamination, all VRE and MRSA were typed using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. RESULTS: Twelve of 13 curtains (92%) placed during the study showed contamination within 1 week. Forty-one of 43 curtains (95%) demonstrated contamination on at least 1 occasion, including 21% with MRSA and 42% with VRE. Eight curtains yielded VRE at multiple time points: 3 with persistence of a single isolate type and 5 with different types, suggesting frequent recontamination. CONCLUSION: Privacy curtains are rapidly contaminated with potentially pathogenic bacteria. Further studies should investigate the role of privacy curtains in pathogen transmission and provide interventions to reduce curtain contamination.