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Residential biomass burning is an important source of black carbon (BC) exposure among rural communities in low- and middle-income countries. We collected 7165 personal BC samples and individual/household level information from 3103 pregnant women enrolled in the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network trial. Women in the intervention arm received free liquefied petroleum gas stoves and fuel throughout pregnancy; women in the control arm continued the use of biomass stoves. Median (IQR) postintervention BC exposures were 9.6 μg/m 3 (5.2-14.0) for controls and 2.8 μg/m 3 (1.6-4.8) for the intervention group. Using mixed models, we characterized predictors of BC exposure and assessed how exposure contrasts differed between arms by select predictors. Primary stove type was the strongest predictor ( R 2 = 0.42); the models including kerosene use, kitchen location, education, occupation, or stove use hours also provided additional explanatory power from the base model adjusted only for the study site. Our full, trial-wide, model explained 48% of the variation in BC exposures. We found evidence that the BC exposure contrast between arms differed by study site, adherence to the assigned study stove, and whether the participant cooked. Our findings highlight factors that may be addressed before and during studies to implement more impactful cookstove intervention trials.

Background: Distal one-third clavicle fractures are frequently unstable and often require surgical fixation due to high rates of nonunion. Many common methods of fixation have high rates of union but are associated with hardware discomfort and need for secondary surgery. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of a fixation technique involving arthroscopically assisted open reduction internal fixation of unstable distal clavicle fractures via a coracoclavicular (CC) suspensory endobutton and cerclage tape., Methods: This was a retrospective case series evaluating patients who underwent fixation of unstable distal clavicle fractures via arthroscopically assisted CC stabilization by a single fellowship-trained shoulder and elbow surgeon between 2020 and 2022. Demographic and injury-related data were collected via chart review. Preoperative and postoperative radiographs were reviewed to evaluate for signs of radiographic union. Primary outcome measures included fracture union, complications, and need for additional procedures. Patients were also contacted via telephone to obtain American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons scores., Results: Six patients were eligible for inclusion in this study with a mean age of 52.8 ± 14.0 and a mean follow-up of 2.0 years (range 1.6-2.7 years). Mean American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons scores were 86.2 ± 21.8 (range 52-100). There were no postoperative complications, signs of symptomatic hardware, or need for secondary surgery at the final follow-up among this cohort of patients. All patients had achieved and maintained full radiographic union at a mean radiographic follow-up of 5.5 months (range 2.0-12.9 months)., Conclusion: Arthroscopically assisted CC stabilization of distal clavicle fractures demonstrated high union rates while limiting complications or need for secondary hardware removal. Further analysis on a larger scale is recommended to determine long-term outcomes and direct comparison to other surgical techniques., (© 2024 The Author(s).)

Waste collection services are uncommon in rural areas of low-resource countries, causing waste accumulation and subsequent dumping and burning of garbage. Air pollution from household garbage burning, including plastics, has been observed in Jalapa, Guatemala in addition to household air pollution (HAP) from cooking. Adolescent girls often help with these cooking and household tasks, but little is known about their exposures. We characterized 24-h exposures to HAP and household garbage burning in adolescent girls by measuring fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), black carbon (BC), urinary biomarkers of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), bisphenol A (BPA), and phthalates. We recruited 60 girls between 13 and 17 years of age who helped with cooking activities and lived with participants of the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial. We recruited n = 30 girls each from the control (wood-burning stove) and intervention (liquefied petroleum gas stove) arms. We also measured real-time kitchen concentrations of BC in 20 homes (33%). PM 2.5 and BC were measured in n = 21 control and n = 20 intervention participants. Median concentrations of personal PM 2.5 and BC and kitchen BC were lower (p < 0.05) in the intervention arm by 87%, 80%, and 85%, respectively. PAH metabolite concentrations were lower (p < 0.001) for all nine metabolites in intervention (n = 26) compared to control participants (n = 29). Urinary BPA concentrations were 66% higher in participants who reported using cosmetics (p = 0.02), and phthalate concentrations were 63% higher in participants who had reported using hair products during the sample period (p = 0.05). Our results suggest that gas stoves can reduce HAP exposures among adolescents who are not primary cooks at home. Biomarkers of plastic exposure were not associated with intervention status, but some were elevated compared to age- and sex-matched participants of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background: Household air pollution (HAP) from solid fuel use is associated with adverse birth outcomes, but data for exposure-response relationships are scarce. We examined associations between HAP exposures and birthweight in rural Guatemala, India, Peru, and Rwanda during the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial., Methods: The HAPIN trial recruited pregnant women (9-<20 weeks of gestation) in rural Guatemala, India, Peru, and Rwanda and randomly allocated them to receive a liquefied petroleum gas stove or not (ie, and continue to use biomass fuel). The primary outcomes were birthweight, length-for-age, severe pneumonia, and maternal systolic blood pressure. In this exposure-response subanalysis, we measured 24-h personal exposures to PM 2·5 , carbon monoxide, and black carbon once pre-intervention (baseline) and twice post-intervention (at 24-28 weeks and 32-36 weeks of gestation), as well as birthweight within 24 h of birth. We examined the relationship between the average prenatal exposure and birthweight or weight-for-gestational age Z scores using multivariate-regression models, controlling for the mother's age, nulliparity, diet diversity, food insecurity, BMI, the mother's education, neonate sex, haemoglobin, second-hand smoke, and geographical indicator for randomisation strata., Findings: Between March, 2018, and February, 2020, 3200 pregnant women were recruited. An interquartile increase in the average prenatal exposure to PM 2·5 (74·5 μg/m 3 ) was associated with a reduction in birthweight and gestational age Z scores (birthweight: -14·8 g [95% CI -28·7 to -0·8]; gestational age Z scores: -0·03 [-0·06 to 0·00]), as was an interquartile increase in black carbon (7·3 μg/m 3 ; -21·9 g [-37·7 to -6·1]; -0·05 [-0·08 to -0·01]). Carbon monoxide exposure was not associated with these outcomes (1·7; -3·1 [-12·1 to 5·8]; -0·003 [-0·023 to 0·017])., Interpretation: Continuing efforts are needed to reduce HAP exposure alongside other drivers of low birthweight in low-income and middle-income countries., Funding: US National Institutes of Health (1UM1HL134590) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1131279)., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests We declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background: Exposure to PM 2.5 arising from solid fuel combustion is estimated to result in ∼ 2.3 million premature deaths and 91 million lost disability-adjusted life years annually. Interventions attempting to mitigate this burden have had limited success in reducing exposures to levels thought to provide substantive health benefits., Objectives: This paper reports exposure reductions achieved by a liquified petroleum gas (LPG) stove and fuel intervention for pregnant mothers in the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) randomized controlled trial., Methods: The HAPIN trial included 3,195 households primarily using biomass for cooking in Guatemala, India, Peru, and Rwanda. Twenty-four-hour exposures to PM 2.5 , carbon monoxide (CO), and black carbon (BC) were measured for pregnant women once before randomization into control ( n = 1,605 ) and LPG ( n = 1,590 ) arms and twice thereafter (aligned with trimester). Changes in exposure were estimated by directly comparing exposures between intervention and control arms and by using linear mixed-effect models to estimate the impact of the intervention on exposure levels., Results: Median postrandomization exposures of particulate matter (PM) with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 μ m ( PM 2.5 ) in the intervention arm were lower by 66% at the first (71.5 vs. 24.1   μ g / m 3 ), and second follow-up visits (69.5 vs. 23.7   μ g / m 3 ) compared to controls. BC exposures were lower in the intervention arm by 72% (9.7 vs. 2.7   μ g / m 3 ) and 70% (9.6 vs. 2.8   μ g / m 3 ) at the first and second follow-up visits, respectively, and carbon monoxide exposure was 82% lower at both visits (1.1 vs. 0.2  ppm ) in comparison with controls. Exposure reductions were consistent over time and were similar across research locations., Discussion: Postintervention PM 2.5 exposures in the intervention arm were at the lower end of what has been reported for LPG and other clean fuel interventions, with 69% of PM 2.5 samples falling below the World Health Organization Annual Interim Target 1 of 35   μ g / m 3 . This study indicates that an LPG intervention can reduce PM 2.5 exposures to levels at or below WHO targets. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP10295.

The Household Air Pollution Intervention Network trial is a multi-country study on the effects of a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stove and fuel distribution intervention on women's and children's health. There is limited data on exposure reductions achieved by switching from solid to clean cooking fuels in rural settings across multiple countries. As formative research in 2017, we recruited pregnant women and characterized the impact of the intervention on personal exposures and kitchen levels of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) in Guatemala, India, and Rwanda. Forty pregnant women were enrolled in each site. We measured cooking area concentrations of and personal exposures to PM 2.5 for 24 or 48 h using gravimetric-based PM 2.5 samplers at baseline and two follow-ups over two months after delivery of an LPG cookstove and free fuel supply. Mixed models were used to estimate PM 2.5 reductions. Median kitchen PM 2.5 concentrations were 296 μg/m 3 at baseline (interquartile range, IQR: 158-507), 24 μg/m 3 at first follow-up (IQR: 18-37), and 23 μg/m 3 at second follow-up (IQR: 14-37). Median personal exposures to PM 2.5 were 134 μg/m 3 at baseline (IQR: 71-224), 35 μg/m 3 at first follow-up (IQR: 23-51), and 32 μg/m 3 at second follow-up (IQR: 23-47). Overall, the LPG intervention was associated with a 92% (95% confidence interval (CI): 90-94%) reduction in kitchen PM 2.5 concentrations and a 74% (95% CI: 70-79%) reduction in personal PM 2.5 exposures. Results were similar for each site. CONCLUSIONS: The intervention was associated with substantial reductions in kitchen and personal PM 2.5 overall and in all sites. Results suggest LPG interventions in these rural settings may lower exposures to the WHO annual interim target-1 of 35 μg/m 3 . The range of exposure contrasts falls on steep sections of estimated exposure-response curves for birthweight, blood pressure, and acute lower respiratory infections, implying potentially important health benefits when transitioning from solid fuels to LPG., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Case: A 43-year-old man with chronic right shoulder pain and dysfunction due to recurrent anterior instability, irreparable subscapularis tear, and glenohumeral arthritis presented to our practice. After workup and counseling, he was treated with anatomic total shoulder arthroplasty augmented by anterior capsular reconstruction using human acellular dermal allograft. At 15 months postoperatively, his forward elevation, external rotation, and internal rotation were 160, 45, and T12, nearly equal to contralateral values. His glenohumeral joint remained reduced, and no complications were encountered., Conclusion: We report the first known anterior capsular reconstruction performed in combination with anatomic shoulder arthroplasty., Competing Interests: Disclosure: The Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest forms are provided with the online version of the article (http://links.lww.com/JBJSCC/B300)., (Copyright © 2020 by The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Incorporated.)

Purpose: Reconstruction of the ruptured interosseous membrane (IOM) is critical to restore forearm stability for the chronic Essex-Lopresti injury. Positive outcomes have been reported following IOM reconstruction with a single-bundle suture button (Mini-Tightrope) construct, although recent work suggests that double-bundle Mini-TightRope ® IOM reconstruction is biomechanically superior. The purpose of this study was to determine whether double-bundle Mini-TightRope ® reconstruction of the forearm IOM results in superior clinical outcomes to the single-bundle technique., Methods: Five patients with chronic Essex-Lopresti injuries treated with double-bundle Mini-TightRope ® IOM reconstruction were matched to five patients treated with single-bundle Mini-TightRope ® reconstruction. Improvement in clinical examination measures and patient-reported outcomes was compared between the groups., Results: Results were good to excellent in all 10 patients. At final follow-up, forearm rotation was significantly better in the single-bundle group, while maintenance of ulnar variance was better in the double-bundle group. No significant differences were noted between the two groups for any other numerical outcomes, and no complications occurred., Conclusion: These findings suggest that while IOM reconstruction with a double-bundle Mini-TightRope ® construct results in greater resistance to proximal migration of the radius in the intermediate term, there is a modest concomitant loss of forearm rotation when compared to single-bundle reconstruction., Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level IV.

Introduction: Hemiarthroplasty with concentric glenoid reaming (known as "ream and run") may be an option for treating glenohumeral arthritis in younger patients with a biconcave glenoid. The goal of this study was to evaluate early results of this technique., Methods: Two senior, fellowship-trained shoulder surgeons (G.R.W. and M.D.L.) performed a retrospective review of 23 patients (24 shoulders) with a biconcave glenoid and end-stage degenerative glenohumeral arthritis treated with hemiarthroplasty with concentric glenoid reaming. The mean patient age at the time of surgery was 50 years. We evaluated the Penn Shoulder Score (PSS), Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation (SANE) score, and Simple Shoulder Test (SST) score or the time to revision surgery., Results: Twenty-four humeral hemiarthroplasties with concentric glenoid reaming were performed in 23 patients. Twenty patients (21 shoulders) reached the end point of 2-year follow-up or revision surgery. Six shoulders (25%) required revision surgery at an average of 2.7 years (range, 0.7 to 7.2 years), and three were lost to follow-up. The remaining 14 patients (15 shoulders) were followed up for an average of 3.7 years (range, 2.3 to 4.9 years). At 2-year follow-up, these 15 shoulders did not require revision surgery and had an average SANE score, PSS, and SST score of 74.5%, 82.9, and 10.4, respectively. Increasing age correlated positively with the SANE score (r = 0.62; P = 0.015), PSS (r = 0.52; P = 0.047), and SST score (r = 0.63; P = 0.012). Early postoperative forward elevation correlated weakly with the PSS (r = 0.24; P = 0.395), and early postoperative external rotation correlated moderately with the PSS (r = 0.53; P = 0.044). Final external rotation correlated moderately with the PSS (r = 0.69; P = 0.005)., Discussion: Modest results were achieved with a hemiarthroplasty and concentric glenoid reaming in young patients with end-stage glenohumeral arthritis and a biconcave glenoid. Younger age and stiffness were associated with worse outcomes. Given the high revision rate and the percentage of patients who had unsatisfactory results, this procedure should be performed only after careful patient selection. Patients who are willing and able to undergo aggressive physical therapy focused on achieving early range of motion are more likely to have a satisfactory outcome after humeral hemiarthroplasty with concentric glenoid reaming.

Arsenic decreases rice yield, and inorganic grain As threatens human health; thus, strategies to decrease rice As are critically needed. Increased plant-available silica (Si) can decrease rice As, yet the source of Si matters. Rice husk, an underutilized and Si-rich byproduct of rice production that contains less labile C and an order of magnitude less As than rice straw, may be an economically viable Si resource to decrease rice As, yet the impact of rice husk incorporation on As in the rice-soil nexus has not been reported. This proof-of-concept study shows that rice husk incorporation to soil (1% w/w) decreases inorganic grain As by 25-50% without negatively affecting grain Cd, yield, or dissolved CH4 levels. Rice husk is a critical yet perhaps overlooked resource to improve soil quality through enhanced nutrient availability and attenuate human health risks through consumption of As-laden grain.

Background: The incidence of failed rotator cuff repairs remains high, especially in the setting of massive tears or revision repairs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate patient outcomes and repair integrity after augmentation with the repair patch, a poly-l-lactide synthetic polymer., Methods: Sixteen consecutive patients with massive or recurrent rotator cuff tears underwent open repair with synthetic poly-l-lactide patch augmentation. Two patients required the patch to bridge defects, and 1 patient retore after a motor vehicle accident and had revision surgery at another institution. The 13 remaining patients were retrospectively evaluated from 1.2 to 1.7 years (average, 1.5 years) after surgery by PENN, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons, and Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation scores. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to examine the integrity of the repair at a minimum of 1 year of follow-up., Results: The mean age was 57.3 years (42-68 years). Five patients (38%) had an intact rotator cuff at the time of follow-up. The remaining patients (62%) had full-thickness tears. PENN scores significantly improved from a preoperative score of 50.9 to 77.6 (P < .005). American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons scores significantly improved from 32.8 to 74.2 (P = .0001). Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation scores at latest follow-up were 76.2., Conclusion: Poly-l-lactide repair patch augmentation of massive and recurrent large to massive rotator cuff tears demonstrates significant improvement in shoulder outcome measures for this difficult population, despite a retear rate of 62%. Further investigation with larger, prospective long-term studies is needed to determine whether this technique provides a true benefit compared with traditional, nonaugmented repair., (Copyright © 2015 Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Bacteria shed by operating room personnel is a source of wound contamination and postoperative infections. The personal protection system (PPS) was designed to decrease airborne bacteria and intraoperative contamination in total joint arthroplasty., Questions/purposes: We determined the microbial contamination rate of the PPS and incidence of contamination with key pathogens, Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci., Patients and Methods: We prospectively evaluated PPS contamination in 61 primary THAs and 41 TKAs. The PPS were assumed to be sterile before opening the packs. The initial culture was taken immediately after the hood was placed over the helmet. Four cultures were collected at the conclusion of the procedure. Plates were examined and colonies were classified according to Gram stain results and biochemical tests. S. aureus was classified as methicillin-resistant or -susceptible., Results: At time zero, 22 of 102 cultures isolated an organism, accounting for a contamination rate of 22%. The bacterial contamination rate of the PPS at the conclusion of the procedure was 47% (48 of 102). The relative percentage of the various organisms found was coagulase-negative staphylococci 50%, Micrococcus sp. 20%, methicillin-susceptible S. aureus 11%, and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) 1%., Conclusions: The external surface of the PPS cannot be assumed to be sterile after its removal from the original packaging. Of all the PPS studied, the potential pathogens coagulase-negative staphylococcus, S. aureus, and MRSA were found in 43%. This study supports the need to change gloves if the PPS is touched or adjusted during the procedure.