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PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to determine the incidence of cancer among employees at two petrochemical facilities in south Louisiana, and to compare their cancer rates to those of the general population of south Louisiana. METHODS: Records on 4639 active and former employees and retirees from the two plants were linked to the Louisiana Tumor Registry (LTR) database by LTR staff to ascertain incident cases of cancer. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were then calculated using the south Louisiana population as the comparison and adjusted for age, race, and time period. RESULTS: There was a significant 16% deficit of overall cancer cases for males in this cohort (SIR=0.84; 95% CI, 0.74-0.95). The only significantly elevated SIR in males was for cancer of the bone and joint (SIR=6.89; 95% CI, 1.42-20.1). This result was based on three non-fatal cases of bone cancer with different histologies, occurring in different parts of the body. These cases worked in different units of one plant. Significant deficits were seen for lung cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx. Cancer incidence among 719 female employees was non-significantly increased (SIR=1.24; 95% CI, 0.81-1.82). Breast cancer accounts for the excess (SIR=1.46; 95% CI, 0.73-2.61). Seventy percent of the breast cancer cases worked in an office setting. CONCLUSIONS: This study found little evidence of any association between cancer incidence and employment at these two petrochemical facilities. The increased incidence of bone cancer is unlikely to be due to occupational exposures. The non-significant excess of breast cancer may be due to early detection or other important unmeasured confounders, such as certain reproductive factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Hearing loss is a common problem for older adults entering rehabilitation hospitals., Aims and Objectives: To pilot a hearing loss screening device to determine feasibility, usability, and impact on patient outcomes., Methods: We screened all patients newly admitted to a geriatric day hospital for hearing loss using the SHOEBOX® QuickTest (SHOEBOX Ltd.) app as part of a quality improvement programme. We measured the time it took for each patient to complete screening and recorded any issues they had using the app. We recorded the number of patients who screened positive who did not have a previous diagnosis and changes in physician behaviours after they received their patients' results., Results: Seventy-four patients with a mean age of 83.4 years used the hearing screener. All patients were able to complete the screening with a mean time to completion of 10 min and 48 s. Ninety-nine percent of patients screened positive for hearing loss. Of these positives 56% were in participants not already known to have hearing loss. Physicians often changed their behaviour after receiving results by using assistive devices during visits and referring to audiology for formal testing., Conclusions: Screening for hearing loss is feasible in a geriatric day hospital. The SHOEBOX QuickTest app is acceptable, usable, resulting in the identification of undiagnosed hearing loss and in changes to physician behaviour., (© 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Hearing loss is the largest potentially modifiable risk factor for dementia and is highly prevalent among older adults, yet it goes largely unreported, unidentified, and untreated, at great cost to health and quality of life. Hearing screening is a proven cost-effective solution to overcome delays in its identification and management yet is not typically recommended by physicians for older adults., Objective: To demonstrate the feasibility and value of hearing screening for older adults at risk for dementia in order to enhance physicians' awareness of hearing loss and improve access to timely hearing care., Methods: Patients referred to two academic medical clinics for memory disorders were offered hearing screening as part of clinic protocol. Patients with hearing loss were recruited to the study if they consented to a post-appointment telephone interview and chart review. Memory Clinic physicians were surveyed about the usefulness of the screening information and referral of patients with hearing loss to audiology., Results: Hearing loss was reliably detected in Memory Clinic patients with both in-office and online screening tools. Physicians reported that screening enhanced their awareness of hearing loss and increased the referral rate to audiology., Conclusion: Hearing screening in Memory Clinic patients is a useful component of clinic protocol that facilitates timely access to management and addresses an important risk factor for dementia.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to validate a novel iPad-based rapid hearing loss screening tool (SHOEBOX QuickTest) in individuals with cognitive impairment. Design: Cross-sectional validation study. Setting: Bruyère Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada. Subjects and Methods: Twenty-five individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and mild dementia from the Bruyère Memory Program were included in this study. The study consisted of two components: (1) SHOEBOX QuickTest hearing screener and (2) a conventional hearing test (pure tone audiometry). Measurements: Hearing was assessed at 1,000, 2,000, and 4,000 Hz separately for each ear. The agreement between hearing ability groupings (good vs. reduced) from conventional hearing test and SHOEBOX QuickTest was determined. Specifically, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, as well as alignment between conventional thresholds and hearing threshold ranges. Results: An overall accuracy of 84% was observed for SHOEBOX QuickTest, and a sensitivity and specificity of 100 and 66.7%, respectively. 72% ([95% CI], 60.0-84.1%) of conventional audiometry thresholds were within the pre-established 10 dB SHOEBOX QuickTest. Conclusion: SHOEBOX QuickTest is a valid hearing loss screening tool for individuals with cognitive impairment. Implementing this iPad-based screening tool in memory clinics could not only aid in the timely diagnosis of hearing loss, but also assist physicians in providing a better assessment of cognitive impairment by ruling out hearing loss as a confounding variable., Competing Interests: MB is the Chief Medical Officer at SHOEBOX Ltd. AMF is the Manager, Research and Data Analytics at SHOEBOX Ltd. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Frank, Goldlist, Mark Fraser and Bromwich.)

Nano-structured silicon anodes are attractive alternatives to graphitic carbons in rechargeable Li-ion batteries, owing to their extremely high capacities. Despite their advantages, numerous issues remain to be addressed, the most basic being to understand the complex kinetics and thermodynamics that control the reactions and structural rearrangements. Elucidating this necessitates real-time in situ metrologies, which are highly challenging, if the whole electrode structure is studied at an atomistic level for multiple cycles under realistic cycling conditions. Here we report that Si nanowires grown on a conducting carbon-fibre support provide a robust model battery system that can be studied by (7)Li in situ NMR spectroscopy. The method allows the (de)alloying reactions of the amorphous silicides to be followed in the 2nd cycle and beyond. In combination with density-functional theory calculations, the results provide insight into the amorphous and amorphous-to-crystalline lithium-silicide transformations, particularly those at low voltages, which are highly relevant to practical cycling strategies.

Quantitative characterization of intrinsic and artificial defects in ferromagnetic structures is critical to future magnetic storage based on vortices or domain walls moving through nanostructured devices. Using torsional magnetometry, we observe finite size modifications to the Barkhausen effect in the limiting case of a single vortex core interacting with individual pointlike pinning sites in a magnetic thin film. The Barkhausen effect in this limit becomes a quantitative two-dimensional nanoscale probe of local energetics in the film. Tailoring the pinning potential using single-point focused ion beam implantation demonstrates control of the effect and points the way to integrated magneto-mechanical devices incorporating quantum pinning effects.

Research on romantic relationships among lower income, African American young adults has mostly focused on problem behaviors, and has infrequently documented nonpathological relationship processes that are widely studied among middle-class college students, their wealthier and largely European American counterparts [Journal of Black Studies 39 (2009) 570]. To identify nonpathological cultural concepts related to heterosexual romantic relationships, we interviewed 144 low to low-mid income, African American young adults aged 19-22 from the San Francisco Bay Area, CA, metropolitan Chicago, IL, and Greater Birmingham, AL. We identified 12 gender-shared scripts related to the romantic relationship in areas of (1) defining the relationship, (2) processes of joining, (3) maintaining balance, and (4) modulating conflict. Understanding romantic relationship scripts is important as successful romantic relationships are associated with improved mental and physical health among lower income individuals as compared with individuals without romantic partners [Social Science & Medicine 52 (2001) 1501]., (© FPI, Inc.)

Nanoelectromechanical systems could have applications in fields as diverse as ultrasensitive mass detection and mechanical computation, and can also be used to explore fundamental phenomena such as quantized heat conductance and quantum-limited displacement. Most nanomechanical studies to date have been performed in the frequency domain. However, applications in computation and information storage will require transient excitation and high-speed time-domain operation of nanomechanical systems. Here we show a time-resolved optical approach to the transduction of ultrahigh-frequency nanoelectromechanical systems, and demonstrate that coherent control of nanomechanical oscillation is possible through appropriate pulse programming. A series of cantilevers with resonant frequencies ranging from less than 10 MHz to over 1 GHz are characterized using the same pulse parameters.

Background: Because of the high concentration of oil refining and petrochemical facilities, the industrial area of the lower Mississippi River of South Louisiana has been termed the Industrial Corridor and has frequently been referred to as the "Cancer Corridor"., Aims: To quantitatively assess the "Cancer Corridor" controversy based on mortality data available in the public domain, and to identify potential contributing factors to the observed differences in mortality., Methods: Age adjusted mortality rates were calculated for white and non-white males and females in the Industrial Corridor, Louisiana, and the United States for the time periods 1970-79, 1980-89, and 1990-99., Results: All-cause mortality and all cancer combined for white males in the Industrial Corridor were significantly lower than the corresponding Louisiana population while Louisiana had significantly higher rates than the US population for all three time periods. Cancer of the lung was consistently higher in the Industrial Corridor region relative to national rates but lower than or similar to Louisiana. Non-respiratory disease and cerebrovascular disease mortality for white males in the Industrial Corridor were consistently lower than either Louisiana or the USA. However, mortality due to diabetes and heart disease, particularly during the 1990s, was significantly higher in the Industrial Corridor and Louisiana when compared to the USA. Similar mortality patterns were observed for white females. The mortality for non-white males and females in the Industrial Corridor was generally similar to the corresponding populations in Louisiana. There were no consistent patterns for all cancer mortality combined. Stomach cancer was increased among non-whites in both the Industrial Corridor and Louisiana when compared to the corresponding US data. Mortality from diabetes and heart disease among non-whites was significantly higher in the Industrial Corridor and Louisiana than in the USA., Conclusions: Mortality rates in the Industrial Corridor area were generally similar to or lower than the State of Louisiana, which were increased compared to the United States. Contrary to prior public perceptions, mortality due to cancer in the Industrial Corridor does not exceed that for the State of Louisiana.