Risk factors associated with indicators of dehydration among migrant farmworkers.

OBJECTIVE: Farmworkers are at increased risk of adverse health outcomes related to occupational heat exposure and inadequate access to water, shade, or rest breaks. Presently, there is a dearth of studies examining the prevalence of dehydration and related factors in U.S. farmworkers. Our objectives were to characterize hydration status during typical workdays and to identify risk factors associated with increased dehydration in migrant farmworkers employed in Florida. METHODS: Urine samples were collected and analyzed for urine specific gravity (USG) 2-3 times per person per day over five days in May 2021 and 2022. Data collection included demographic characteristics, wet-bulb-globe-temperature (WBGT), and information on working conditions (task type, duration, and crop units harvested), fluid intake, clothing worn, and heat safety behaviors. Multivariable mixed regression models were used to evaluate risk factors associated with change in USG levels (continuous) during a work shift. RESULTS: A total of 111 farmworkers participated in this study providing 1020 cumulative USG measurements, of which 96.8% of end-of-shift USG samples were above 1.020 indicating potential dehydration. In multivariable models, dehydration assessed using change in USG levels significantly declined with age (ß = -0.078; 95%CI: 0.150, -0.006) but showed significant increase with body mass index (ß = 0.016; 95%CI: 0.003, 0.028), WGBT (ß = 0.054; 95%CI:0.044, 0.064), mean shift duration, and state of primary residence. We did not find significant associations of dehydration with type of clothing worn, intake of employer-provided water, or crop units harvested during a shift in this sample of farmworkers. CONCLUSION: Our findings underscore the need for additional research to evaluate adverse outcomes related to dehydration and to better understand recovery patterns from chronic dehydration across workweeks and harvest seasons in migrant farmworkers.

An Automated Immunoblot Method for Detection of IgG Antibodies to Hepatitis C Virus: a Potential Supplemental Antibody Confirmatory Assay.

An estimated 41,200 people were newly infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) in 2016 in the United States. Screening tests for antibodies to HCV may generate up to 32% false positivity in low-risk populations. Current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) screening recommendations do not require confirmatory testing of a screening anti-HCV-positive test; however, confirmation is valuable for surveillance in the absence of HCV RNA testing. A recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA) was used as a confirmatory assay for anti-HCV-reactive samples but was discontinued in 2013. Another anti-HCV confirmatory assay, INNO-LIA, is commercially available in Europe but is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States. We report the development of an anti-HCV assay that was performed on an automated immunoblot platform using a fourth-generation HCV recombinant fusion protein. Based on testing of 70 well-characterized samples, of which 40 were HCV RNA and anti-HCV positive, 15 were HCV RNA positive/anti-HCV negative, and 15 were HCV RNA and anti-HCV negative, the specificity and sensitivity of the HCV-WES assay were 100% and 95%, respectively. Concordance between INNO-LIA and HCV-WES was determined by testing 205 HCV RNA-negative/anti-HCV-positive samples, of which 149 (72.7%) were positive by HCV-WES, while 146 (71.2%) were positive by INNO-LIA. We have shown proof of concept for the use of this test for confirmation of screened anti-HCV results. The HCV-WES assay has advantages over manual Western blot assays and INNO-LIA, including ease of use, lower cost, and reduced hands-on time.

Social Vulnerabilities Among Hired Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers During COVID-19: The Need for Employment-Based Indicators.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to explore farmworkers' experiences of social vulnerability during the peak period of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Telephone surveys of 63 migrant and seasonal farmworkers across three major agricultural areas in Florida were conducted. The survey, designed and disseminated with critical support from a statewide farmworker membership and advocacy organization, included items related to social and occupational precarity and a suite of demographic conditions, including specific employment-based indicators and categories. Data were analyzed with SPSS using a series of statistical significance tests including Pearson's Chi-Square, Fisher's Exact, T-tests, and Mann-Whitney U. An open-ended question regarding employment precarity was also analyzed for frequencies of responses pertaining to a set of descriptive categories. RESULTS: Survey findings demonstrated a high degree of social vulnerability among the farmworker sample, with notable variation in the type and severity of vulnerability and risk exposure across employment-based indicators and occupational categories. For example, a cross-industry comparison between vegetable field workers and greenhouse nursery workers revealed a disparity in COVID-exposure risk through commuting characteristics, as 43% of vegetable field workers used shared, employer-provided transport, while 68% of nursery workers used personal vehicles. CONCLUSION: While previous research has broadly established the extreme precarity of migrant and seasonal farmworkers during the peak COVID-19 period, the variability of experience, exposure to risk, and social vulnerability between farmworkers representing distinct employment-based indicators and occupational categories demonstrated in this study contributes to widening awareness of the importance of assessing farmworker experiences at a more granular level. In addition to delineating social vulnerability across key demographic categories, cross-industry comparisons between farmworkers revealed significant discrepancies in risk and vulnerability to COVID-19. Future research that further explores this variability may reveal opportunities to improve disaster-relief planning and mitigate social vulnerability in future disaster scenarios. The importance of surveying the vulnerability of worker populations, aside from geographic communities, is highlighted.

Rickettsia felis infection rates in an east Texas population.

Murine typhus (Rickettsia typhi), endemic in southern California and South Texas, is maintained within a host-vector system consisting of the opossum and cat flea. In the early 1990s, a second rickettsial species, Rickettsia felis, was also found to be maintained within the opossum-cat flea system and is, in fact, found more commonly than R. typhi in the opossum and cat flea. Recognized as a human pathogen in 1994, R. felis causes an infection that produces symptoms indistinguishable from classic murine typhus caused by R. typhi. Just how frequently "murine" typhus is caused by R. felis versus R. typhi is uncertain. By using a recombinant antigen specific for R. felis, 148 human serum samples were assayed for the presence of antibodies specific for R. felis. Results indicated that out of 32 samples that were positive when run against R. typhi, only 3 were also positive for R. felis. Thus, we conclude that R. felis infections are rare in Texas and most murine typhus is due to R. typhi infection.

An evaluation of cytotoxicity of the taxane and platinum agents combination treatment in a panel of human ovarian carcinoma cell lines.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to determine the optimum schedule for combination of taxane and platinum agents in human ovarian carcinoma cell lines. METHODS: Cell growth inhibition was determined by the standard MTT assay and an IC(50) was calculated for docetaxel, paclitaxel, cisplatin, and carboplatin in seven human ovarian cancer cell lines (CAOV-3, OVCAR-3, SKOV-3, ES-2, OV-90, TOV-112D, and TOV-21G). The IC(50) was defined as the drug concentration required for a 50% reduction in optical density. Cytotoxicity assays were performed with four sequential combinations of a taxane and a platinum compound. In each combination, cell lines were treated with the appropriate IC(50) of the drugs for varying time increments between 3 and 24 h. Controls were no drug, each agent alone and the combination of both. Results were obtained via manual cell counting with a hemocytometer. RESULTS: The inhibitory concentration to achieve 50% cell death (IC(50)) was determined for each compound in each cell line. The IC(50) ranged from 0.8 to 1.7 nM, 0.7 to 1.8 nM for docetaxel and paclitaxel, respectively, and 17.4 to 25.7 microM, 15.1 to 25.7 microM for cisplatin and carboplatin, respectively. CONCLUSION: In this study the combination of docetaxel plus cisplatin was considerably more active in vitro than any of the other taxane plus platinum agent combinations evaluated in the panel of human ovarian cancer cell lines. In vitro activity was similar to previously report clinical studies comparing taxane and platinum combination regimens. This suggests the combination of docetaxel with cisplatin will have enhanced clinical activity compared to the paclitaxel plus carboplatin regimen.

An in vitro study of the inhibitory activity of gemcitabine and platinum agents in human endometrial carcinoma cell lines.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the cytotoxic activity of gemcitabine on a panel of endometrial cancer cell lines and to determine if the addition of platinum agents enhanced this activity. METHODS: A panel of four endometrial carcinoma cell lines was treated with variable concentrations of gemcitabine, gemcitabine and cisplatin, or gemcitabine and carboplatin. 3-(4,5-Cimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays were performed to determine the IC(50). RESULTS: Each cell line evaluated revealed a dose-dependent decrease in cell growth for gemcitabine alone and in combination with platinum agents. The IC(50) of gemcitabine with cisplatin was significantly lower than that of gemcitabine alone for all cell lines, including the platinum-resistant line. CONCLUSION: Gemcitabine exerts in vitro cytotoxicity on endometrial cancer cell lines, and the combination of gemcitabine and cisplatin is superior to gemcitabine alone. This may represent a promising option for treatment of endometrial cancer.

Ingesta de energía y nutrientes, funcionalidad y actividad física en personas mayores / Intake of energy and nutrients, functionality, and physical activity in elderly persons

INTRODUCCION: Este trabajo forma parte del estudio multicentro europeo longitudinal (1989/1993/1999) SENECA (Survey in Europe on Nutrition and the Elderly, a Concerted Action), desarrollado por EURONUT, la Acción Concertada de la UE sobre Nutrición y Salud, para estudiar diferencias nutricionales y de estilo de vida y su efecto sobre salud y funcionalidad de personas de las cohortes 1913-1918, de 19 ciudades europeas. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: El objetivo aquí es valorar las repercusiones del aporte energético y nutricional, y actividad física sobre la funcionalidad de una muestra de 35 hombres y 47 mujeres (77,2ñ 1,8 y 76,6ñ 1,6 años, respectivamente, en 1993), mediante técnicas estandarizadas: estudio dietético, funcionalidad física (Actividades de la Vida Diaria), cognitiva (Test Mini-Mental) y afectiva (Escala de Depresión Geriátrica) y actividad física. RESULTADOS Y DISCUSION: Longitudinalmente, se mantiene el consumo energético y empeora el perfil calórico. Se conserva un alto grado funcional físico, pero disminuye la actividad física en hombres (p< 0,01) y mujeres (p< 0,05). Generalmente, quienes más actividad física realizan tienen mejor funcionalidad física: hombres especialmente en actividades 'instrumentales' (p< 0,001) y mujeres en 'movilidad' (p< 0,001); y afectiva: hombres (p< 0,05). Mayor funcionalidad física coincide con mejora cognitiva en mujeres (p< 0,05) y afectiva en hombres (p< 0,05). CONCLUSIONES: Al envejecer empeora el perfil calórico, se mantienen consumo energético y funcionalidad física y desciende actividad física. Generalmente, capacidad funcional y actividad física se asocian positivamente en mayores (AU)