First report of barley virus G infecting winter barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) in France.

As part of a cereals virome project high throughput sequencing (HTS)-based viral indexing was performed on plants with symptoms of barley yellow dwarf disease collected in June (2017-2020) in the main French cereals production areas. Total RNAs from 32 individual plants were purified (RNeasy Plant Mini Kit, Qiagen, Courtaboeuf, France) and Illumina sequenced (2x150 nt) following ribodepletion (Genewiz-Azenta, Leipzig, Germany). Following quality trimming, reads for each sample were de novo assembled (CLC Genomics Workbench 21, Qiagen) [1] and contigs annotated by BlastX analysis. In four winter barley samples collected in 2018 (18-58, 18-325 and 18-326) and 2019 (19-30A), besides contigs representing diverse viruses such as barley yellow dwarf viruses-PAV and PAS, Hordeum vulgare endornavirus, cereal yellow dwarf virus-RPV (18-326), wheat dwarf virus (18-325 and 18-326) and a novel Polerovirus (18-58 and 18-326), large contigs with high identity to barley virus G (BVG) were identified. BVG, a tentative Polerovirus, was initially reported in barley in South Korea in 2016 [2] and has so far been identified in a few other hosts including wheat, oat, maize, proso and foxtail millets as well as switchgrass. It has been reported from the USA and Australia [3] and, in Europe, from the Netherlands, Germany, Hungary and Greece [4]. Large BVG scaffolds representing near complete genomes could be reconstructed for each sample, integrating a total of 128.339, 7.188, 8.078 and 20.073 reads, for samples 19-30A, 18-58, 18325 and 18-326 respectively. Given that between 17.2 and 20.5 million reads had been obtained per sample, these values translate into between 0.04% (18-58 and 18-325) and 0.6% (19-30A) of total reads, and to average coverages of between 158x (18-58) and 2866x (19-30A) for the genomic scaffolds. The four assembled sequences (5584-5610 nt) have been deposited in GenBank (ON419453-ON419456). They are nearly identical (98.4 to 99.5% nt identity) and share between 97.7% and 98.5% nt identity with a barley reference isolate from the South Korea (NC_029906). To confirm the presence of BVG, a primer pair was designed based on available BVG sequences. Primers BVG-F(5'-CTAGCCCAACGAGTTGCGGG-3') and BVG-R(5'-GGTACAGAAGCTCTACGGTTC-3') amplifying a 394 nt were used in a two-step RT-PCR on new RNA extracts obtained from the 18-325 and 18-326 infected plants. The amplicons were directly sequenced and showed respectively 99.2% (ON419457, 18-325) and 100% (18-326) nt identity with the corresponding de novo scaffolds. The four analyzed samples have been collected respectively in 2018 (18-58, 18-325, 18-326) and 2019 (19-30A) in three different regions of France (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Occitanie and Centre-Val de Loire), indicating a wide distribution and a persistence over time of BVG in France. To our knowledge, this represents the first report of a natural infection of BVG in cultivated winter barley in France. Presence of BVG may have been overlooked in a range of situation, as indicated by its retrospective discovery in a 34 years old Australian sample [3], possibly explaining its broad distribution in France. While the mixed infection status of the analyzed plants precludes any conclusion on its pathogenicity in French cereals, BVG has been reported to be associated with a range of symptoms in various hosts so that further studies to evaluate its prevalence and impact in France and to begin to understand its epidemiology are clearly warranted by the present results.

The First Nationally Representative Benchmark of the Local Governmental Public Health Workforce: Findings From the 2017 Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey.

CONTEXT: A changing public health landscape requires local governmental health departments (LHDs) to have a workforce prepared to meet complex challenges. While previous assessments looked at organizational data on the LHD workforce, the Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey (PH WINS) is the first nationally representative survey to examine individual perceptions of training needs, workplace environment, job satisfaction, and awareness of emerging concepts in public health. OBJECTIVES: Characterize key interests and needs of the local governmental public health workforce. DESIGN: Survey invitations were sent to individual LHD employees on the basis of a stratified sampling approach. The LHDs had to employ a minimum of 25 staff and serve a population of 25 000 or greater to be eligible for inclusion. SETTING: 399 LHDs across the United States. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 26 533 LHD employees completed the survey (59% response rate). RESULTS: The majority of local public health workers are female (81%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 78%-84%) and white non-Hispanic (68%, 95% CI: 64%-72%). Of the nearly quarter of workers who declared an intent to leave within the next year excluding retirement (22%, 95% CI: 19%-25%), the most common reasons included pay (46%, 95% CI: 42%-50%), lack of opportunities for advancement (40%, 95% CI: 38%-50%), and workplace environment (30%, 95% CI: 27%-32%). Across jurisdiction size and supervisory level, skills gaps were noted in budget and financial management, systems and strategic thinking, developing a vision for a healthy community, and change management. CONCLUSIONS: As the first nationally representative sample of the local governmental public health workforce, these data create a national benchmark against which LHDs can measure their workforce. Given the similarities found across LHDs serving different jurisdiction sizes, a unified approach to workforce development should be employed across all LHDs. The LHD leadership should address retention, reward creativity and innovation, improve communication between leadership and employees, and provide opportunities for advancement.

Has Voluntary Public Health Accreditation Impacted Health Department Perceptions and Activities in Quality Improvement and Performance Management?

CONTEXT: The Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) is now in its 10th year, making it an ideal time to study the impact of PHAB accreditation on local health departments (LHDs). OBJECTIVE: To examine whether applying for PHAB accreditation affects perceptions and activities regarding quality improvement (QI) and performance management (PM) within LHDs. DESIGN: Data from the National Association of County & City Health Officials' 2010, 2013, and 2016 National Profile of Local Health Departments and associated QI modules were linked to PHAB-applicant data collected in e-PHAB in a cross-sectional and longitudinal approach examining self-reported QI/PM activities. PARTICIPANTS: Local health departments responding to National Association of County & City Health Officials Profile questionnaires and QI modules in 2010, 2013, and 2016. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Implementation of formal QI program within agency, numbers of formal QI projects in the past year, presence of elements indicating formal QI program implementation, and changes over time by accreditation status as of June 2017. RESULTS: Accredited and in-process LHDs showed greater gains over time in all of the outcome measures than LHDs not registered in e-PHAB. Results of logistic regression controlling for population served and governance type found accredited LHDs more likely to report formal QI programs agency-wide (odds ratio: [OR] = 27.0; P < .001) and have implemented 6 to 8 elements of formal QI (OR = 27.0; P < .001) in 2016, compared with nonaccreditation-seeking LHDs. Between 2013 and 2016, LHDs that responded to both survey waves that were registered in e-PHAB or accredited were significantly more likely than nonaccreditation-seeking LHDs to report any increase in overall level of QI implementation (OR = 4.89; P = .006) and increase in number of elements of formal QI (OR = 16.1; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Local health departments accredited by June 2017 and those in process reported more formal QI activities and showed greater improvements with QI/PM implementation over time than LHDs not undertaking accreditation. Public Health Accreditation Board accreditation appears to influence QI/PM uptake. As health departments are contemplating whether to apply for accreditation, the potential for developing a more robust QI/PM system should be taken into account.

National Voluntary Public Health Accreditation: Are More Local Health Departments Intending to Take Part?

OBJECTIVE: This article examines local health department (LHD) participation and intentions to participate in national voluntary accreditation and reasons for not seeking accreditation. Specifically, it compares the results of national surveys among LHDs in 2010, 2013, and 2014. DESIGN: Longitudinal cohort study. SETTING: United States. PARTICIPANTS: LHDs that responded to the 2014 Forces of Change Survey and the 2010 and 2013 National Association of County and City Health Officials Profile studies. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: LHD level of engagement in Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) accreditation. RESULTS: Data of 2014 indicated that 1% of LHDs achieved accreditation and 11% had submitted an application or a statement of intent, compared with 6% of LHDs that submitted an application or a statement of intent in 2013. The percent of LHDs that indicated they planned to apply for accreditation but had not submitted a statement of intent declined from 27% in 2013 to 22% in 2014. In multivariate models, controlling for governance category and jurisdiction population size, LHDs in states where the state health department (SHD) participated in e-PHAB had higher odds of being favorably inclined toward accreditation than those located in states where the SHD was not in the e-PHAB system (odds ratio = 2.82, 95% confidence interval: 1.81-4.41). Across 2013 and 2014, and across small and large LHDs, the top 2 reasons for deciding not to apply for accreditation were the time/effort required exceeded the benefits (67%) and fees were too high (46%). CONCLUSIONS: SHDs are powerful mediators of LHDs' perceptions of the PHAB accreditation program. Health department governance structure and jurisdiction population size are associated with LHD accreditation participation decisions. With the launch of PHAB's program, fewer LHDs are undecided about accreditation participation and many have taken affirmative steps to become accredited. The top 2 reasons LHDs indicated for not proceeding with accreditation were time/effort exceed benefit and fees perceived as too high.

Local Health Department Engagement in Community Physical Activity Policy.

INTRODUCTION: This study assessed correlates of self-reported local health department (LHD) participation in community policy/advocacy activities that support physical activity. METHODS: In 2014, cross-sectional data from the nationally representative 2013 National Profile of Local Health Departments study administered by the National Association of County and City Health Officials were analyzed. Outcomes were participation in policy/advocacy activities related to urban design/land use, active transportation, and access to recreational facilities. Independent variables included structural characteristics, performance improvement efforts, and collaboration. Multivariate logistic regression models were computed. RESULTS: Representatives of 490 LHDs participated (79% response rate). Respondents reported similar participation in urban design/land use (25%); active transportation (16%); and recreational facility access (23%) policy/advocacy. LHDs with populations of ≥500,000 were more likely to report urban design/land use (p=0.004) as well as active transportation policy/advocacy participation (p=0.007) compared with those with populations of ≤50,000. LHDs with a community health improvement plan were more likely to participate in urban design/land use policy/advocacy (p=0.001). LHDs who regularly use the Community Guide were more likely to report policy/advocacy activity on active transportation (p=0.007) and expanding access to recreation facilities (p=0.009). LHDs engaged in a land use partnership were more likely to report urban design/land use (p<0.001) and active transportation (p=0.001) policy/advocacy participation. CONCLUSIONS: Participation in community physical activity policy/advocacy among LHDs was low in this study and varied by LHD characteristics. Intervention opportunities include assisting smaller LHDs and promoting performance improvement efforts and evidence-based practice resources.

Perception of Workforce Skills Needed Among Public Health Professionals in Local Health Departments: Staff Versus Top Executives.

OBJECTIVES: To examine how top executives and staff from local health departments (LHDs) perceive the importance of various types of workforce skills, and to assess the differences in the perception of the importance of these workforce skills between these 2 groups and among LHDs serving different-sized jurisdictions. DESIGN: Data for this study were drawn from the 2014 Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey (PH WINS) and the 2015 Forces of Change survey. While PH WINS collected data from LHD staff, the Forces of Change survey was administered to LHD top executives. Ratings of perceived importance of workforce skills from LHD staff and top executives were compared. RESULTS: Overall, LHD workers at all levels believe that core competencies are important for their jobs. The perceived importance of these skills differed somewhat across supervisory level (nonsupervisory staff vs supervisory staff vs top executives). Communication was rated as one of the most important skills by all groups. For top executives, ensuring that programs are managed within budget constraints was the most important skill for their employees. However, this skill was rated much lower among staff. Policy development skills were rated to be of lowest importance by LHD leaders and staff. CONCLUSIONS: LHD leaders and staff agree on the relative importance of some competencies, although they also show some clear differences in the relative importance that they place on other competencies. It is essential to strengthen the communication between public health leaders and staff regarding the importance of workforce skills. More investigation is needed to assess whether and how gaps in staff competencies are addressed in the workforce development strategies.

Do people serve as cues to smoke?

INTRODUCTION: Recent research has identified that the environments in which smoking has previously occurred can alone, in the absence of any explicit smoking stimuli (e.g., cigarettes, lighters), serve as cues that induce robust craving to smoke. The goal of the present study was to determine if people can similarly function as smoking and nonsmoking cues capable of directly affecting smokers' cue-induced craving. METHODS: Smokers (N = 72) borrowed cameras to take photos of the people in their lives around whom they do and do not smoke ("personal" smoking and nonsmoking people, PS and PN, respectively). Self-report and physiological cue reactivity to those photos were compared with smokers' reactivity to photos of people unknown to them ("standard" smoking and nonsmoking people, SS and SN, respectively). RESULTS: Results suggest that the people around whom smokers regularly smoke (PS) can alone function as cues capable of eliciting patterns of reactivity similar to that evoked by proximal and environment smoking cues, namely, increased craving to smoke, negative affect, and excitement. In contrast, the people around whom smokers do not smoke become associated with not smoking (PN) and serve a potential protective function by reducing craving and increasing calm. CONCLUSIONS: This novel investigation and its results have implications for promoting smoking cessation by developing strategies to manage a smoker's social environment.

Bringing the real world into the laboratory: personal smoking and nonsmoking environments.

Pictorial representations of specific environments related to smoking can evoke robust craving to smoke, even in the absence of any proximal cues to smoke (e.g., cigarettes, lighters). To evaluate the salience of smoking environment cues, we developed a novel procedure for bringing smokers' real world smoking and nonsmoking environments into the laboratory to compare them with standard (i.e., not personalized) environments within a cue-reactivity paradigm. Seventy-two smokers used digital cameras to take pictures of the environments in which they do and do not smoke. They then completed a cue-reactivity session during which they viewed and rated pictures of smoking and nonsmoking environments, half personal and half standard, all devoid of proximal smoking cues. As hypothesized, personal environments led to a significantly larger smoking-nonsmoking difference in craving, compared with the standard environments. Personalization also enhanced stimuli vividness, relevance, positive affect, and excitement, as well as heart rate changes from baseline. Implications of these findings for exposure-based research and treatment for addiction, as well as other psychological disorders, are discussed.

Proximal versus distal cues to smoke: the effects of environments on smokers' cue-reactivity.

Smokers are highly reactive to smoking-related cues that are directly linked, or most proximal, to actual smoking behavior (e.g., lit cigarettes). However, over the course of smoking, proximal cues may not be the only stimuli to become strongly associated with smoking. Distal cues, such as the environments in which smoking occurs (e.g., bar) might also gain associative properties and come to evoke robust reactivity from smokers. To test this, a pilot study was first conducted to develop standard pictorial stimuli of smoking and nonsmoking environments, all of which were completely devoid of proximal smoking cues. A comparison set of smoking and nonsmoking proximal cues was then created. Using the 12 total pictorial cues developed, 62 adult smokers participated in a cue-reactivity study during which they viewed and rated pictorial smoking and nonsmoking environment and proximal cues. Results demonstrate that, similar to proximal cues, environments associated with smoking can alone function as stimuli capable of evoking strong subjective reactivity from smokers. This work supports a broader conceptualization of drug-related cues in cue-based research and treatment development that includes proximal and distal cues as distinct categories. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved).