Explore the vast range of titles available.

Objectives: We surveyed 287 American women from April 2020 until the November 2020 presidential election to evaluate their primary news source, beliefs on the constitutionality of mask-wearing and stay-at-home orders, government's ability to implement public health orders, and political affiliation. Methods: Qualtrics surveys were distributed on social media. Using a chi-square test of independence, we evaluated differences by age groups, ethnicity, and education. Results: Age, ethnicity, and education were all statistically related to beliefs about public health initiatives. Conclusions: These results can help tailor public health interventions, policies, and laws focused on compliance with public health initiatives aimed at reducing the spread of the virus.

Winter Storm Uri, one of the coldest in decades, brought snow and ice to Texas along with record subfreezing temperatures for 5 days February 13–17, 2021, and was followed by Winter Storm Viola, which brought more of the same February 18–19, 2021. Millions of Texans lost electricity and clean, running water for several days, which some suggest was due in part to a state-regulated energy market. Many Texas schools shut down for the entire week, as the death toll rose from these storms due to hypothermia and exposure, carbon monoxide poisoning, fire, drowning, and poor road conditions. Not only were COVID-19 vaccinations halted due to impassable roads but also Texas hospitals struggled to provide electricity and water pressure needed to perform life-saving medical treatments for their patients. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the historic winter storm event, identify vulnerable populations and key public health policies, and highlight the potential environmental public health risks associated with the storms.

Hurricane Harvey, a Category-4 hurricane, dropped more than 40 in. of rain across Harris County, Texas, over 4 days, inundating the third-most populous county in the U.S. and damaging an estimated 136,000 structures. Most major roadways were flooded, impeding rescue and recovery efforts. An estimated 120,000 customers in the Houston area experienced power outages; many were without power for several days. The heavily industrialized area experienced accidental releases of numerous air pollutants from the petrochemical industry, and several Superfund sites were underwater for days, delaying assessment of the potential chemical contamination to nearby waterways. The purpose of this article is to 1) provide an overview of the historic flooding event, 2) identify vulnerable populations, 3) highlight the potential environmental public health risks associated with the storm, and 4) provide recommendations for future action.

Objective: In this study, we examined college students' opinions and behaviors related to vaping. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional Qualtrics survey of undergraduate students in spring and fall of 2019. Links were distributed via email and course links. Categorical responses to policy questions were compared by semester of survey administration using chi-square analysis and binary logistic regression modeling. Results: Overall, 81.6% of students believed vaping was a public health concern, and 51.7% believed more restrictive laws were needed; although 34% indicated they needed more information. Semester was significantly associated with all policy opinions, with higher affirmative responses in the fall versus spring. Women and students aged 22-25 (vs 18-21) had higher odds of believing more restrictive vaping laws are needed. Conclusion: There is a paucity of information regarding student perceptions of vaping regulations and laws. More communication and education related to vaping policies are both needed to increase knowledge and perceptions of vaping and to prevent youth and young adult vaping related morbidity and mortality rate increases. Collaboration between researchers and academic administrative officials can help to ensure the development and enforcement of evidence-based policy that better identifies policy deficits and improves future outcomes.

How a dispersion of particulates suspended in a solvent dries into a solid coating often is more important to the final coating quality than even its composition. Essential properties like porosity, strength, gloss, particulate order, and concentration gradients are all determined by the way the particles come together as the coating dries. Cryogenic scanning electron microscopy (cryoSEM) is one of the most effective methods to directly visualize a drying coating during film formation. Using this method, the coating is frozen, arresting particulate motion and solidifying the sample so that it be imaged in an SEM. In this thesis, the microstructure development of particulate coatings was explored with several case studies. First, the effect of drying conditions was determined on the collapse of hollow latex particles, which are inexpensive whiteners for paint. Using cryoSEM, it was found that collapse occurs during the last stages of drying and is most likely to occur at high drying temperatures, humidity, and with low binder concentration. From these results, a theoretical model was proposed for the collapse of a hollow latex particle. CryoSEM was also used to verify a theoretical model for the particulate concentration gradients that may develop in a coating during drying for various evaporation, sedimentation and particulate diffusion rates. This work created a simple drying map that will allow others to predict the character of a drying coating based on easily calculable parameters. Finally, the effect of temperature on the coalescence and cracking of latex coatings was explored. A new drying regime for latex coatings was identified, where partial coalescence of particles does not prevent cracking. Silica was shown to be an environmentally friendly additive for preventing crack formation in this regime.

Teens who need help with drug or alcohol problems are usually referred to a rehabilitation program. Rehabilitation programs focus on individual needs. Trained counselors determine which services will be most appropriate for each teen. Each is then referred to appropriate treatment programs within the Broward County Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services. Inpatient rehabilitation requires round-the-clock treatment at a residential facility. Outpatient care involves meeting with a counselor once or twice a week to work on staying clean and sober. Most teens are relegated to the outpatient program because they are found to be experimenting with drugs as a way to cope with life's problems.

Every Wednesday evening, teen volunteers from around Broward County gather to uphold the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. It's the Teen Court of the 17th Judicial Circuit's Trial Court Administration and Mediation Department. Within the new program, designed to offer an alternative to formal courtroom proceedings, trained high school student volunteers take the courtroom roles of defense attorney, prosecuting attorney, clerk, bailiff and jury. Teen Court's philosophy is accepting personal responsibility for one's actions. The defendant, having already admitted guilt, comes before the Teen Court jury for sentencing only. Teens who are unwilling to acknowledge wrongness are handled by another court mediation and arbitration process.

The microbial spoilage of meat and seafood products with short shelf lives is responsible for a significant amount of food waste. Food spoilage is a very heterogeneous process, involving the growth of various, poorly characterized bacterial communities. In this study, we conducted 16S ribosomal RNA gene pyrosequencing on 160 samples of fresh and spoiled foods to comparatively explore the bacterial communities associated with four meat products and four seafood products that are among the most consumed food items in Europe. We show that fresh products are contaminated in part by a microbiota similar to that found on the skin and in the gut of animals. However, this animal-derived microbiota was less prevalent and less abundant than a core microbiota, psychrotrophic in nature, mainly originated from the environment (water reservoirs). We clearly show that this core community found on meat and seafood products is the main reservoir of spoilage bacteria. We also show that storage conditions exert strong selective pressure on the initial microbiota: alpha diversity in fresh samples was 189±58 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) but dropped to 27±12 OTUs in spoiled samples. The OTU assemblage associated with spoilage was shaped by low storage temperatures, packaging and the nutritional value of the food matrix itself. These factors presumably act in tandem without any hierarchical pattern. Most notably, we were also able to identify putative new clades of dominant, previously undescribed bacteria occurring on spoiled seafood, a finding that emphasizes the importance of using culture-independent methods when studying food microbiota.

Minimal residual disease (MRD) testing by flow cytometry is ubiquitous in hematolymphoid neoplasm monitoring, especially B-lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), for which it provides predictive information and guides management. Major heterogeneity was identified in 2014. Subsequently, new Flow Cytometry Checklist items required documentation of the sensitivity determination method and required lower level of detection (LLOD) inclusion in final reports. This study assesses Laboratory Accreditation Program (LAP) participation and new checklist items' impact on flow cytometry MRD testing. To survey flow cytometry laboratories about MRD testing for B-ALL and plasma cell myeloma. In particular, enumerate the laboratories performing MRD testing, the proportion performing assays with very low LLODs, and implementation of new checklist items. Supplemental questions were distributed in the 2017-A mailing to 548 flow cytometry laboratories subscribed to the College of American Pathologists FL3 Proficiency Testing Survey (Flow Cytometry-Immunophenotypic Characterization of Leukemia/Lymphoma). The percentage of laboratories performing MRD studies has significantly decreased since 2014. Wide ranges of LLOD and collection event numbers were reported for B-ALL and plasma cell myeloma. Most laboratories determine LLOD by using dilutional studies and include it in final reports; a higher proportion of LAP participants used these practices than nonparticipants. Several MRD testing aspects vary among laboratories receiving FL3 Proficiency Testing materials. After the survey in 2014, new checklist items were implemented. As compared to 2014, fewer laboratories are performing MRD studies. While LLOD remains heterogeneous, a high proportion of LAP subscribers follow the new checklist requirements and, overall, target LLOD recommendations from disease-specific working groups are met.

Wild and intentionally ignited fires are not new to North American landscapes or to the Indigenous cultures whose ancestral places encompass them. For millennia, Indigenous fire stewardship has been regionally and locally distributed across North American ecosystems. These practices reshaped fire regimes to provide safe living and foraging conditions and reduced wildfires and their emissions prior to Euro-American colonization. Euro-American colonization impacts initially included introduction of foreign diseases and widespread genocide, which broadly diminished the extent of Indigenous fire stewardship. Colonial policies and practices thereafter effectively altered vegetation and fuel patterns, fire regimes, and the once far-reaching effects of Indigenous fire stewardship. These influences have contributed to the current state of wildfires and their climate effects. Prior to colonization, Indigenous stewardship rights had been passed down through generations for millennia of active stewardship, and those rights were and continue to be protected under Indigenous law. However, US federal laws do not recognize these fundamental rights despite their legal standing in international law. Re-instating these rights would provide many advantages to addressing the modern wildfire and climate crisis. Re-instatement could be accelerated through linked land access, policy reform, and learning opportunities. Resumen Los incendios naturales o iniciados intencionalmente no son nuevos en los paisajes de Norteamérica, o para las culturas indígenas cuyos lugares ancestrales abarcan. Por milenios, las Administraciones Indígenas de Tierras para mitigar los incendios ( Indigenous Fire Stewardship , IFS) han sido regional- y localmente distribuidas a través de los ecosistemas de Norteamérica. Esas prácticas reconfiguraron los regímenes de fuegos para proveer de condiciones de vida más seguras y también de forraje, y redujeron los incendios naturales y sus emisiones previo a la llegada de la colonización Euro-americana. Los impactos de esta colonización incluyeron la introducción de enfermedades foráneas, y genocidios diversos, lo que disminuyó en gran medida la extensión de las IFS. Las políticas y prácticas coloniales posteriores efectivamente alteraron la vegetación y los patrones de combustibles, los regímenes de fuegos, y también los efectos de las IFS, por entonces poderosas y de gran alcance territorial. Esas influencias han contribuido al estado actual de los incendios de vegetación y sus efectos sobre el clima. Antes de la colonización, los derechos de las IFS se pasaban de generación en generación y por milenios, mediante la administración activa de las IFS, y esos derechos fueron, y continúan siendo protegidos, bajo la ley indígena. Sin embargo las leyes federales de los EEUU no reconocen ese derecho fundamental a pesar de su status legal dentro de las leyes internacionales. Reinstalar esos derechos proveerá de muchas ventajas para ser adicionadas a la crisis moderna de los incendios y del clima. Esta reinstalación puede acelerarse a través de accesos ligados a diferentes tierras, una reforma de las políticas y las oportunidades que brinda el aprendizaje.