Podcasts about environmental epidemiology

Die Themen in den Wissensnachrichten: +++ Navis brauchen ein Update, weil sich die Position des magnetischen Nordpols verändert hat +++ Viele schreien aus Frust ihre Geräte an +++ Was passiert, wenn SIE den Heiratsantrag macht? +++**********Weiterführende Quellen zu dieser Folge:Airlines, shipping companies and sleigh drivers rush to update crucial navigation systems ahead of Christmas rush, British Geological Survey, 17.12.2024Additive effect of high transportation noise exposure and socioeconomic deprivation on stress-associated neural activity, atherosclerotic inflammation, and cardiovascular disease events, Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, 22.11.2024Frohes Fest – und ein bisschen Geduld mit der Technik, Bitkom, 20.12.2024Why don't more women choose to propose to their male partners?, The Conversation, 19.12.2024The auditory midbrain mediates tactile vibration sensing, Cell 18.12.2024Alle Quellen findet ihr hier.**********Ihr könnt uns auch auf diesen Kanälen folgen: TikTok auf&ab , TikTok wie_geht und Instagram .

Professor Guy Marks AO FAHMS is a distinguished respiratory and public health physician and environmental epidemiologist. Currently serving as the President and interim Executive Director of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), he has led the Respiratory and Environmental Epidemiology group at the Woolcock Institute since 1997. His research primarily focuses on lung health, with particular emphasis on airway diseases, air pollution, and tuberculosis. Additionally, he is dedicated to capacity building in lung health research. In this episode, we delve into the essential factors for TB elimination, emphasizing the need for clinicians, researchers, and policymakers to focus on the infectious nature of TB. We explore the significance of large-scale active case finding, a strategy employed since the early 20th century, and discuss why targeted case-finding should be prioritized in middle- and low-burden countries where it proves most effective.Summary (Unfortunately not included in the audio) Despite extensive eradication efforts comparable to malaria and HIV, TB remains a persistent public health issue. Guy indicated that current metrics suggest we are not on track to meet the 2030-2035 global TB eradication targets. Professor Marks highlights the primary factors required for TB elimination, with emphasis that as clinicians, researchers, and policymakers, we need to centre our approach to TB eradication on the basis infectious nature of TB. Since its use in the early 20th century in Western countries, large-scale active case finding remains a primary strategy in the management of TB. Guy indicates that targeted case-finding should be reserved for middle and low TB burden countries where it is more effective.  Professor Mark's Vietnam-Based Research on TB Transmission shows that in high-burden TB countries: Most TB cases result from recent transmission, and are the largely responsible for driving the epidemic in these settings. Identifying and treating these recently diagnosed cases leads to a rapid reduction in TB incidence across the population.  Feasibility and cost remain as the prohibitive challenges for implementing molecular techniques widely in TB case identification. However, advances in radiographic technology are helping to bridge this gap, especially in high TB settings.  Professor Mark's suggests that the essential approach to achieving TB eradication will revolve around finding patients with TB and delivering efficient and effective healthcare.

Toxic chemicals leach from food packaging into your food. Some of these chemicals disrupt your hormones. Some cause cancer. Some affect your children more. Some disperse into the environment and harm wildlife.For 300,000 years, humans lived without plastic. We created this system, maybe thinking only of the effects we wanted, imagining these toxic effects wouldn't happen. Maybe we didn't imagine they could happen. We don't have to create these materials or use them. We are creating more all the time. There's just so much oil, it's so cheap, and there's nothing stopping producers from creating and selling them. Nearly everyone agrees a role of government is to protect you from my taking or destroying your life, liberty, and property, yet businesses and government gain money and power from creating them.Jane's research and courses inform us of the dangers the producers don't want us to know about. In this episode, she shares how she discovered this problem, what she's doing about it, and details about the problems. She didn't originally intend to go in this direction, but chemicals from plastic were leaching into other experiments she was doing. The producer of the leaching materials didn't tell her. She had to do new research to find out, saw its seriousness, and kept going.It's scary to learn. Still, while I'd rather live in a world where we don't permit people to poison us and profit from it, as long as we do, I'd rather know than not know.The Food Packaging ForumTheir Crash Course in Food Contact Materials and HealthThe article she co-wrote published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology the day of this episode: Evidence for widespread human exposure to food contact chemicalsA CNN article on Jane's research that happened to come out the day before this episode: Toxic chemicals used in food preparation leach into human bodies, study finds Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In yet another example of how weird chemicals have become ubiquitous in the modern American diet, a new study just came out showing that a pesticide linked to infertility was found in upwards of 80 percent of people in America.

How bad is London's air quality compared to other cities? How do we measure the success of policies such as ULEZ? Are 15 minute cities the future solutions for improving our health and environment?In part 1 of our discussion around air quality policies, we speak with Dr. Audrey de Nazelle, a Senior Lecturer at the Centre of Environmental Policy. Audrey is also co-chair of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology. Covering a variety of nuances around the subject of air quality policy, Dr. Audrey, and host Dr. Alex Lathbridge, explore air pollution management, changing citizens health behaviour, and the critical role of urban planning when improving air quality.Hosted by Dr. Alex Lathbridge. Produced by Hiren Joshi, Lizzy Ratcliffe, Hannah Macdonald. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Kris Mork, Director of Public Health Informatics at Guidehouse, says the development of AI needs to be inclusive; Heidi Bojes, Director of the Environmental Epidemiology and Disease Registry at the Texas Department of State Health Services, discusses incorporating an environmental health surveillance unit as part of their overall Hurricane response; an ASTHO blog article describes how to respond to additional hurricane threats aside from water and wind; and ASTHO has a webpage for funding opportunities, RFPs, and collaboration opportunities.  ASTHO Webinar: Artificial Intelligence in State and Territorial Public Health Texas Department of Emergency Management Webpage: Preparedness ASTHO Blog Article: Preparing for and Responding to Infectious Disease Threats Following Hurricanes ASTHO Blog Article: Responding to Environmental Health Threats Following Hurricanes ASTHO Webpage: Funding & Collaboration Opportunities  

Warren Villagomez, Director of Public Health Hospital for the Emergency Preparedness Program at the Commonwealth Health Care Corporation, shares the public health planning lessons learned form COVID-19; Hsini Lin, Office Chief for Environmental Epidemiology at the Arizona Department of Health Services, explains the ADHS response to record breaking heat; ASTHO has a new Speakers Bureau that connects event organizers with expert speakers; and sign up for ASTHO's Public Health Weekly email newsletters.   ADHS: Extreme Weather & Public Health ASTHO: Climate and Health ASTHO: Speakers Bureau ASTHO Webpage: Public Health Weekly email newsletters

Christopher Waldrop, M.P.H., is a Senior Health Scientist in the Division of Public Health Informatics and Analytics at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (FDA's CFSAN). In this role, he leads cross-agency workgroups to advance FDA priorities on nutrition, food safety, and biotechnology issues. He also helps identify and assess emerging consumer research and educational needs, advises CFSAN leadership on potential and emerging issues, and assists in prioritizing activities in FDA's food program. Mr. Waldrop holds a degree in advertising from Texas Tech University and an M.P.H. degree from Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Vanessa Coffman is the Director of the Alliance to Stop Foodborne Illness. She comes to Stop Foodborne Illness with a diverse background in food safety and sustainability, with a focus on environmental exposures across the food system. She received her Ph.D. in Environmental Epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a M.S. degree in Global Public Health and the Environment from the University of California, Berkeley. She has conducted research for the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) in Sierra Leone examining farming opportunities in a post-war setting, on occupational and residential exposures from large pork production operations in rural North Carolina, examining the association between nitrate in drinking water (largely from food animal operations) and fetal health outcomes using Danish population-based health registers, and previously worked at Stop Foodborne Illness as a policy analyst. She has testified in front of U.S. government officials, has authored peer-reviewed papers, and helped draft federal regulations. In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with Mr. Waldrop and Dr. Coffman [2:46] about: FDA and Stop Foodborne Illness' ongoing collaboration on a webinar series promoting food safety culture within industry Effective strategies for communicating to corporate leadership the importance of food safety to their business Ways in which organizations have successfully engaged employees and assessed their awareness about food safety The future of food safety culture assessment from a regulatory standpoint, as well as the importance of assessing culture within an organization, building upon a conversation that took place during the FDA/Stop Foodborne Illness Webinar #7 held at the 2023 Food Safety Summit  FDA's priorities for food safety culture in the near future, as well as plans for future FDA/Stop Foodborne Illness webinars and efforts to promote food safety culture. Resources Register for FDA/Stop Foodborne Illness Webinar #8, "Facing Food Safety Challenges Through Culture & Adaptability” Watch the FSM Webinar: "FDA's Food Safety Culture—Advancing Culture Throughout the Supply Chain" Watch the FDA/Stop Foodborne Illness Webinar #7, “Live from the Food Safety Summit: Measure What You Treasure” Read “A Food Safety Paradox: The Mechanistics of Selling Food Safety” by Larry Keener, CFS, PA Sponsored byMichigan State University Online Food Safety We Want to Hear from You! Please send us your questions and suggestions to podcast@food-safety.com

In this episode, Sujani sits down with Inyang Uwak, an environmental epidemiologist with a background in medicine. They discuss Inyang's experience with her MPH and DrPH program, how to succeed in environmental epidemiology, and how Inyang's clinical background has helped her in her current career. You'll LearnHow Inyang found her way to public health and specifically epidemiology and environmental from a clinical backgroundWhat considerations and support she used to make her decision to switch to public healthHow her clinical experience has helped her in her public health careerInyang's experience with the Johns Hopkins MPH program and juggling school work with family life and motherhoodWhy Inyang chose to pursue a DrPH over a PhD How she was able to incorporate an interest in research work into her programWhat a day in the life of an environmental epidemiologist looks likeWhat skills are necessary to succeed as an environmental epidemiologistWhat opportunities there are in different sectors for environmental epidemiologistsToday's GuestDr. Inyang Uwak is a Senior Epidemiologist with the CDC Foundation, an independent nonprofit created by Congress to support the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's critical health protection work. Dr. Uwak provides her expertise in the field to the City of Houston Health department's Bureau of Pollution Control and Prevention. She received her DrPH from Texas A&M University in Epidemiology and Environmental Health, her MPH from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, and her Medical Degree from the University of Calabar, Nigeria. She currently serves as the APHA's Environment Section Program Planning Co-Chair. When she is not working, she enjoys running in the park with her family and creating healthy treats in the kitchen.ResourcesFollow Inyang on LinkedInLearn more about Inyang's research Learn more about the CDC Foundation Learn more about the American Public Health Association Support the showJoin The Public Health Career Club: the #1 hangout spot and community dedicated to building and growing your dream public health career.

Vanessa Coffman, Ph.D. is the Director of the Alliance to Stop Foodborne Illness. She has a diverse background in food safety and sustainability, with a focus on environmental exposures across the food system. Dr. Coffman has conducted various research for the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), on topics such as farming opportunities in post-war Sierra Leonne, occupational and residential exposures from large pork production operations in rural North Carolina, and the association between nitrate in drinking water from food animal operations and fetal health outcomes. Dr. Coffman previously worked at Stop Foodborne Illness as a policy analyst, and she has testified in front of U.S. government officials, authored peer-reviewed papers, and helped draft federal regulations. Dr. Coffman received a Ph.D. in Environmental Epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and an M.S. degree from the University of California–Berkeley in Global Public Health and the Environment. Sherry Brice-Williamson, M.B.A. is the Vice President of Global Quality and Food Safety at the Kellogg Company, where she oversees end-to-end food safety and quality for Kellogg's internal and external network. Sherry has over 20 years of experience in the industry and joined Kellogg in 2012 as part of the Pringles acquisition from P&G. She has served in numerous supply chain roles in the company, ranging from operations to quality. Sherry was promoted to Vice President of Global Food Safety and Quality in January 2020. Sherry is on the SSAFE board of directors and is affiliated with a number of other industry associations such as Stop Foodborne Illness, where she is an Alliance member. Sherry also co-chairs the national chapter of KAARG (Kellogg African American Resource Group). Sherry holds B.S. and M.B.A. degrees in Business Management and is a member of the Golden Key International National Honors Society. Megan Kenjora, M.P.A. is the Senior Manager of Food Safety Culture at The Hershey Company, where she leads a diverse global team to embed food safety in the hearts and minds of all Hershey employees. Megan has extensive experience building relationships among diverse groups, getting cross-functional support, and effectively communicating messages across cultures. Megan was an engaged member of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Technical Working Group that authored the GFSI position paper, “A Culture of Food Safety,” and served as the inaugural chair of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) Food Safety Culture Professional Development Group. Bringing a passion for food safety culture, she currently serves on the planning committee and numerous working groups as part of the Alliance to Stop Foodborne Illness. A combat veteran who served eight years in the U.S. Army, Megan came to Hershey in 2014 from Raytheon, where she specialized in adult learning for various intelligence courses. She is a lifelong learner and an advocate for DEI, serving as a co-lead for the Hershey Veterans Business Resource Group. Megan is an M.B.A. candidate at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, and she holds an M.P.A. from Penn State University, B.A. degrees in Political Science and Classics from Bucknell University, and a Korean linguist certification from the Defense Language Institute. In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with Vanessa, Sherry, and Megan [25:40] about: The history of Stop Foodborne Illness and the Alliance to Stop Foodborne Illness, and how the Alliance leverages food safety culture as a vehicle for positive change in the food industry to make food safer for consumers The ways in which Megan's experience at Hershey informs the Alliance's work, such as bringing a proactive perspective to industry engagement and encouraging the adoption of best practices How Kellogg's and Hershey's memberships in the Alliance have helped both companies drive sustainable food safety cultures through collaboration and knowledge-sharing The resources included in Stop Foodborne Illness' Food Safety Culture Toolkit, which is tailored for small- and medium-sized businesses How the Alliance's work, such as advocacy for recall modernization, is steered by the needs and expertise of its members Why it is important for industry to understand the crucial need for food safety, and how resources such as video messaging and gamification frameworks can support that understanding The importance of clear and effective food safety communication from upper management, and how the Food Safety Culture Toolkit aids this objective The ways in which Sherry and Megan have established successful communication practices within their organizations to encourage robust food safety cultures. News and Resources Poisoned—Book on Prominent Foodborne Illness Outbreak—Getting New Edition, Netflix Documentary [2:08] FDA Submits FSMA Traceability Final Rule Ahead of New Era of Smarter Food Safety Webinar [7:26] 2020 Estimates Released: Food Types Associated with E. Coli, Salmonella, Listeria Foodborne Illness Outbreaks [14:46] Trust, Transparency Focus of Maple Leaf Foods' 12th Annual Food Safety Symposium [20:12] Ep. 128. Bill Marler: Perspectives on Poisoned and Food Safety Progress FSMA Proposed Rule for Food Traceability (FDA) Foodborne Illness Source Attribution Estimates for 2020 for Salmonella, Escherichia coli O157, and Listeria monocytogenes using Multi-Year Outbreak Surveillance Data, United States (CDC) We Want to Hear from You! Please send us your questions and suggestions to podcast@food-safety.com

Pickle Creek runs two miles through Ste. Genevieve County's sandstone valleys. It carries some of Missouri's cleanest water, but residents worry that could change if Nexgen Silica gets full approval to mine sandstone on a 249-acre plot of land along nearby Highway 32.They don't have to look very far to see the outcome they fear most. Ste. Genevieve sits near Missouri's Old Lead Belt, where mining lasted from the 1700s to 1972 and spanned nearby Washington, Madison and St. Francois counties.The industry produced nine million tons of lead and 250 million tons of hazardous mining waste.Decades later, some residents are still dealing with toxic waste left behind by lead mining.“There is literally a Superfund site sitting in the middle of town that they capped off, but for decades it was just loose, blowing lead everywhere,” said Samantha Danieley, who grew up in Washington County and now lives in St. Francois County. The new mine has nothing to do with lead, but residents fear history could repeat itself. Lead mining and silica mining can both produce invisible dust that can harm a person's health if swallowed or inhaled once it's in the air. Brothers Larry and Patrick Kertz are lifelong residents of Ste. Genevieve. They remember riding motorcycles past the hills of mine waste 35 miles from home in the 1970s and 1980s. After living in the shadow of lead mining, Larry Kertz said he wants a better understanding of what will be left when the silica mine is no longer useful. “It could be a big ditch with a huge waste pile of silica sand that could blow out into the area,” he said. “They're not really addressing what's going to be done after the mine is over.”Other residents are worried about how the mine will impact the natural environment. “We want to raise our kids in this beautiful outdoorsy environment with farm life and all these things,” said Jillian Ditch Anslow, a mom to a 14-month-old daughter who started Operation Sand, an organization to oppose the silica mine earlier this year. “And now we have this potential threat to our children's health and development.”Lasting legacyThe fight over Nexgen's silica mine has rekindled a debate that has played out in communities across the country, where the lasting legacy of lead mining means residents regularly risk contact with the neurotoxin in their daily lives.Lead persists in the environment, including in water and soil where it can pose a threat to the health of people living nearby. After the mining ended in the Old Lead Belt, several large areas of mine waste, called chat dumps, were left behind in the region.A combination of years of blowing winds, runoff from rain and manual transportation by locals of waste materials have supercharged the toxin's reach. The Big River, a tributary of the Meramec River, also transported toxic mine waste downstream.“I remember growing up in Potosi and we would pick pieces of lead up off the ground,” Danieley said. Some of the piles left behind span upwards of 1,000 acres, said Jason Gunther, a project manager with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) who oversees remediation work in Big River Mine Tailings Superfund site, including St. Francois County. “This material was also set above these towns, some of these piles were 300 feet above the neighboring towns,” Gunther said. “They would blow… Not just gravel-sized materials but also much finer materials.”He estimates the soil on 5,000 properties in St. Francois County has been contaminated by lead, although soil sampling isn't complete. Even if a sample comes back at 800 parts per million – double the concentration considered safe by the EPA for children to play in – it could be years before the soil is remediated because of the high number of properties testing with high concentrations. “It's not uncommon to see some that are above 2,000 parts per million,” Gunther said. Natural levels of lead in soil typically range from 50 to 400 parts per million, according to the EPA. Gunther expects soil remediation and pile stabilization work to continue beyond 2030.Meanwhile, locals have adapted to life under the toxic circumstances. Danieley said when her teenage children were younger, she worried about letting them play outside. Children can become poisoned from playing in contaminated soil when they get lead dust or paint chips or dust on their fingers then put their hands in their mouths. Danieley also worried about how the contaminated soil could impact local farming. “If you're out doing yard gardening, and you're digging through all this lead contaminated dust, you're getting that dust on your hands, you're possibly ingesting it,” she said. Mining isn't the only way lead can end up in soil, says Jeff Wenzel, bureau chief for the Bureau of Environmental Epidemiology with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.Soil along busy roads can also be contaminated from before gasoline was unleaded and paint chips from old houses can taint soil in yards. But in Missouri in particular, lead mining contributed significantly to contaminated soil in some areas. “Lead mining has been in Missouri pretty much since since Missouri was a state even before Missouri was a state,” Wenzel said. Once lead makes it into soil, it can pose a major health hazard for people living nearby. Wenzel says that beyond the hand-to-mouth route, lead particles can also be breathed into the mouth then swallowed.Crops planted in tainted soil can also pose a threat. “Your root crops can have dirt or soil left on them, so you want to clean those really well,” Wenzel said. “We see uptake in plants, especially plants like kale. Things like green plants that can live multiple years or come back year after year especially can have a pretty high lead accumulation.”According to the World Health Organization, there is no safe level of lead, and even low levels of exposure has been shown to cause cognitive impairment in children.Research dating back decades has shown that children living near mining areas are more likely to have elevated blood lead levels than children who don't. Missouri's Old Lead Belt counties aren't the only former mining regions devastated by the impacts of the industry long after it ended. Galena, Kansas, is part of the Tri-State Mining District that spanned parts of Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri until the 1970s. The rural town of less than 3,000 people was named after the lead ore known as galena after it was found there in the late 1800s.In the same county in Treece, Kansas, the Picher Lead Company of Joplin, Missouri, discovered lead and zinc underground in 1914, according to a 2012 article published in The New York Times. By the 1920s, the site was the largest producer of zinc and lead in the country and by 1981 the EPA ranked Treece as the most contaminated area in the country. Today, it's a ghost town, bought out by the federal agency.Waste from zinc and lead mining covered 4,000 acres in Cherokee County when the mining ended.The EPA is still taking remedial action on the site and conducting investigative work on nearby watersheds. Silica health risksIn Ste. Genevieve, Anslow wants to keep her town from becoming a case study for how silica mining impacts human health.Silica mining typically relies on open pit or dredging mining methods. The process can generate dust-sized particles invisible to the naked eye that can be inhaled and reach the lungs. Over time, extended exposure is associated with silicosis, lung cancer or chronic bronchitis. People working directly with silica dust are most at risk for developing medical lung conditions, said Bobby Shah, a pulmonologist with St. Luke's Hospital in Chesterfield, Missouri. “We definitely have known for decades that silica itself is harmful to the lungs,” Shah said. “Patients across that spectrum of acute, chronic or accelerated [silicosis], can develop scarring in their lungs, the term that is commonly used as fibrosis,” Shah said, “and they can quickly and then from there on, develop even more respiratory symptoms.”Shah said there's not enough data to know what risk silica particles pose to the general population surrounding a mining site, but people who smoke are more likely to develop medical conditions related to exposure. “I don't want my daughter to be where it's like, okay, ‘Let's come and sample and let's monitor the children's health in Ste. Genevieve County,'” Anslow said. Mitigation processes will help limit the mine's impact on residents' health, said Clark Bollinger, Nexgen's general manager.“Certainly the dust will not be an issue,” he said. “The noise – we've got ideas and things in place to help mitigate some of the noise for the local residents.”Bollinger said the site contains enough reserves for around 50 years of mining and that there's a plan in place to restore the area and ensure it's safe after the mining ends by installing a large lake. He also said the mine will have minimal or no impact on nearby Hawn State Park or the local watershed and aquifer. Missouri Parks Association executive director Kendra Varns Wallis said it's not yet possible to know for sure how the mine could impact local water sources and wildlife and expressed concern about its proximity to Hickory Canyons Natural Area. “There couldn't be a worse place to put it, honestly,” Wallis said. As Ste. Genevieve residents fight against the mine, Nexgen remains far from breaking ground. Some of Anslow's work with Operation Sand paid off when county commissioners and the county health department passed an ordinance prohibiting new mines from opening within a half-a-mile of schools, towns, churches and public wells.Nexgen has filed a suit asking a judge to strike down the ordinance. In July, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Land Reclamation Program granted the company one of three permits required to operate the mine. The company m

Dr. Marc Weisskopf is the Cecil K. and Philip Drinker Professor of Environmental Epidemiology and Physiology at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. In this interview, he discusses his recent publication titled “Occupational lead exposure and survival with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,” which discusses the role that environmental risk factors could play in ALS.

Undergraduate students are now into their 5th virtual semester online.  Profs regularly complain about online learning, and so do students.  What has worked well with online learning, and what has not?  What are students really missing when it comes to campus life?  In this episode of GDP we hear from 3 global students in global health about the pros and cons of taking a degree mostly online.  How has it changed their perspective on higher education?  How have they managed to stay engaged?  What do they plan to do next? Sophie Geernaert is a second year studying Health Promotion at Dalhousie University. She is in this program's Research and Policy stream and conducting her honors thesis in Environmental Epidemiology. She studied online for four semesters of University while living in Washington D.C. but have finally moved to Halifax in hopes of an in-person semester. To feel a part of Dalhousie University, she became the President of the Health Promotion Society and the Trip Coordinator for Dalhousie University's branch of the MEDLIFE Movement. Allie Luscombe, is in second year of the BSc Health Promotion program at Dalhousie University, with a focus on Research Policy. She is passionate about youth mental health advocacy, psychology, politics and, of course, health promotion! She is currently the secretary of the Health Promotion Society. This semester unfortunately marks her fifth semester online, and she has not had a single in-person class thus far in her post-secondary education. She attended  online classes from her hometown in rural Newfoundland last year and has been back and forth from Newfoundland and Halifax these past two semesters. She has worked in a walk-in clinic during the pandemic while attending my classes online and offered administrative support for several mass vaccination clinics in my hometown. While she is glad she got to spend an extra year at home, she is hopeful that she will have a chance to attend in-person classes in the coming fall semester Urmi Sheth is a  second year student of the global health program at York University with a specialization in global health policy, management, and systems. She is passionate about advocacy and created a virtual global health magazine to promote equity-centred dialogue around global health issues. She also started a volunteer-led organization called Our Sustainable Vision to educate youth and raise awareness about the importance of the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as provide a platform for involvement. She has done almost all of university online! Follow Dr. Bob on Twitter: @Professor Huish

Andrew joins to talk about communication of advanced statistical concepts to a lay audience, but will probably also whine some about the 76ers. He holds a PHD from Johns Hopkins in Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology and has built several NBA statistical apps which are linked from his twitter account @anpatt7 Download the Callin app for iOS and Android to listen to this podcast live, call in, and more! Also available at callin.com

Researcher explains the psychology of successful aging University of California at Los Angeles, November 2, 2021 Successful aging can be the norm, says UCLA psychology professor Alan Castel "There are a lot of myths about aging, and people often have negative stereotypes of what it means to get old," Castel said. "I have studied aging for two decades, and have seen many impressive role models of aging, as well as people who struggle in older age. Happiness increases our lives by four to 10 years, a recent research review suggested. "As an added bonus," Castel writes, "those additional years are likely to be happy ones." (NEXT) New study finds potatoes, when enjoyed as part of a healthy diet, are not associated with elevated heart health risk factors among adolescent girls Boston University, October 29, 2021 Recently published research in the British Journal of Nutrition found that 9-17 year-old girls who consumed up to one cup of potatoes daily had no increased risk of becoming overweight or developing high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, or impaired fasting glucose by the end of the study in late adolescence. “Our results show that nutrient-rich potatoes can be part of a healthy diet in young girls during this important period of growth and development,” says the study's senior author. “There is growing evidence that overall diet quality is what really matters in the preservation of heart health. Potatoes are an affordable food, with a number of valuable nutrients, and our research suggests that moderate intakes of potatoes, along with many other types of vegetables,  can be a regular part of a healthy diet pattern.” (NEXT) Study finds acupuncture lowers hypertension by activating natural opioids  University of California at Irvine, Oct. 31, 2021 Researchers with the UCI Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine have found that regular electroacupunture treatment can lower hypertension by increasing the release of a kind of opioid in the brainstem region that controls blood pressure. In tests on rats, UCI cardiology researcher Zhi-Ling Guo and colleagues noted that reduced blood pressure lasted for at least three days after electroacupuncture by increasing the gene expression of enkephalins, which one of the three major opioid peptides produced by the body. The present study shows that repetitive electroacupuncture evokes a long-lasting action in lowering blood pressure in hypertension, suggesting that this therapy may be suitable for treating clinical hypertension.. (NEXT) The golden chanterelle mushroom hastens wound healing Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences (Iran), November 3, 2021  The golden chanterelle mushroom, an edible fungus, makes for more than just a good and filling dinner. According to a study, you can also use it to heal your wounds faster. The study, published in the International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms, investigated the fungus' antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. They performed an in vivo experiment on male rats. The animals were given a circular excision and a linear incision and then divided into four groups: nontreated, vehicle-treated, treated with an ointment containing mushroom extract, and treated with madecassol, the reference drug. The circular and linear wounds were treated topically once a day for nine days and 17 days respectively. (NEXT) New research links foods high in anthocyanins to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease Northumbria University (UK),  November 5, 2021  New research suggests eating red may be one of the best ways to keep your heart healthy. A study published in Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition suggests anthocyanins, the red-pigmented flavonoids that are abundant in Montmorency tart cherries, may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and cardiovascular-related death. The systematic review and meta-analysis of 19 different studies found that people with the highest anthocyanin intake were 9% less likely to suffer from coronary heart disease and 8% less likely to die from causes associated with heart disease, compared to those with the lowest intake. (NEXT) Researchers find phthalates in wide variety of fast foods George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, October 29, 2021 A team of researchers has found phthalates in a wide variety of fast foods. In their paper published in Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, the group describes how they collected samples of fast food from several restaurants and tested them for phthalates and other chemicals meant to replace them—and what they found. Phthalates are esters of phthalic acid and are commonly used to make plastic substances more flexible. Researchers have found that consumption of phthalates can disrupt the endocrine system and by extension levels of hormones in the body. Research has also shown that they can lead to asthma in children and increased obesity. (NEXT) Removing digital devices from the bedroom can improve sleep for children, teens Penn State University, November 2, 2021 Removing electronic media from the bedroom and encouraging a calming bedtime routine are among recommendations Penn State researchers outline in a recent manuscript on digital media and sleep in childhood and adolescence. The recommendations, for clinicians and parents, are: 1. Make sleep a priority by talking with family members about the importance of sleep and healthy sleep expectations; 2. Encourage a bedtime routine that includes calming activities and avoids electronic media use; 3. Encourage families to remove all electronic devices from their child or teen's bedroom, including TVs, video games, computers, tablets and cell phones; 4. Talk with family members about the negative consequences of bright light in the evening on sleep; and 5. If a child or adolescent is exhibiting mood or behavioral problems, consider insufficient sleep as a contributing factor.

Zinc might help to stave off respiratory infection symptoms and cut illness duration Western Sydney University (Australia), November 2, 2021   A zinc supplement might help stave off the symptoms of respiratory tract infections, such as coughing, congestion, and sore throat, and cut illness duration, suggests a pooled analysis of the available evidence, published in the open access journal BMJ Open. But the quality of the evidence on which these findings are based is variable, and it's not clear what an optimal formulation or dose of this nutrient might be, caution the researchers. Respiratory tract infections include colds, flu, sinusitis, pneumonia and COVID-19. Most infections clear up by themselves, but not all. And they often prove costly in terms of their impact on health services and time taken in sick leave. Zinc has a key role in immunity, inflammation, tissue injury, blood pressure and in tissue responses to lack of oxygen. As a result, it has generated considerable interest during the current pandemic for the possible prevention and treatment of COVID-19 infection. In response to calls for rapid evidence appraisals to inform self-care and clinical practice, the researchers evaluated zinc for the prevention and treatment of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, and other viral respiratory tract infections. When that review was published, the results of several relevant clinical trials weren't yet available, so this current review brings the available evidence up to date.  The review includes 28 clinical trials involving 5446 adults, published in 17 English and Chinese research databases up to August 2020. None of the trials specifically looked at the use of zinc for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19. The most common zinc formulations used were lozenges followed by nasal spraysand gels containing either zinc acetate or gluconate salts. Doses varied substantially, depending on the formulation and whether zinc was used for prevention or treatment. Pooled analysis of the results of 25 trials showed that compared with dummy treatment (placebo), zinc lozenges or nasal spray prevented 5 respiratory tract infections in 100 people a month. These effects were strongest for curbing the risk of developing more severe symptoms, such as fever and influenza-like illnesses. But this is based on only three studies. On average, symptoms cleared up 2 days earlier with the use of either a zinc spray or liquid formulation taken under the tongue (sublingual) than when a placebo was used. During the first week of illness, participants who used sublingual or nasal spray zinc were nearly twice as likely to recover as those who used placebo: 19 more adults out of 100 were likely to still have symptoms a week later if they didn't use zinc supplements.  While zinc wasn't associated with an easing in average daily symptom severity, it was associated with a clinically significant reduction in symptom severity on day 3.  Side effects, including nausea and mouth/nose irritation, were around 40% more likely among those using zinc, but no serious side effects were reported in the 25 trials that monitored them.  However, compared with placebo, sublingual zinc didn't reduce the risk of developing an infection or cold symptoms after inoculation with human rhinovirus, nor were there any differences in illness duration between those who used zinc supplements and those who didn't. Nor was the comparative effectiveness of different zinc formulations and doses clear. And the quality, size, and design of the included studies varied considerably. "The marginal benefits, strain specificity, drug resistance and potential risks of other over-the-counter and prescription medications makes zinc a viable 'natural' alternative for the self-management of non-specific [respiratory tract infections], the researchers write.  "[Zinc] also provides clinicians with a management option for patients who are desperate for faster recovery times and might be seeking an unnecessary antibiotic prescription," they add. "However, clinicians and consumers need to be aware that considerable uncertainty remains regarding the clinical efficacy of different zinc formulations, doses and administration routes, and the extent to which efficacy might be influenced by the ever changing epidemiology of the viruses that cause [respiratory tract infections]," they caution. And how exactly zinc might exert its therapeutic effects on respiratory infections, including COVID-19, warrants further research, they conclude.     Drinking alcohol to stay healthy? That might not work, says new study Ulrich John of University Medicine (Germany), November 2, 2021 Increased mortality risk among current alcohol abstainers might largely be explained by other factors, including previous alcohol or drug problems, daily smoking, and overall poor health, according to a new study publishing November 2nd in PLOS Medicine by Ulrich John of University Medicine Greifswald, Germany, and colleagues. Previous studies have suggested that people who abstain from alcohol have a higher mortality rate than those who drink low to moderate amounts of alcohol. In the new study, researchers used data on a random sample of 4,028 German adults who had participated in a standardized interview conducted between 1996 and 1997, when participants were 18 to 64 years old. Baseline data were available on alcohol drinking in the 12 months prior to the interview, as well as other information on health, alcohol and drug use. Mortality data were available from follow-up 20 years later. Among the study participants, 447 (11.10%) had not drunk any alcohol in the 12 months prior to the baseline interview. Of these abstainers, 405 (90.60%) were former alcohol consumers and 322 (72.04%) had one or more other risk factor for higher mortality rates, including a former alcohol-use disorder or risky alcohol consumption (35.40%), daily smoking (50.00%), or fair to poor self-rated health (10.51%). The 125 alcohol abstinent persons without these risk factors did not show a statistically significantly difference in total, cardiovascular or cancer mortality compared to low to moderate alcohol consumers, and those who had stayed alcohol abstinent throughout their life had a hazard ratio of 1.64 (95% CI 0.72-3.77) compared to low to moderate alcohol consumers after adjustment for age, sex and tobacco smoking. "The results support the view that people in the general population who currently are abstinent from alcohol do not necessarily have a shorter survival time than the population with low to moderate alcohol consumption," the authors say. "The findings speak against recommendations to drink alcohol for health reasons." John adds, "It has long been assumed that low to moderate alcohol consumption might have positive effects on health based on the finding that alcohol abstainers seemed to die earlier than low to moderate drinkers. We found that the majority of the abstainers had alcohol or drug problems, risky alcohol consumption, daily tobacco smoking or fair to poor health in their history, i.e., factors that predict early death."   Quercetin helps to reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer Univ. of Hawaii and Univ. of Southern California, November 1, 2021 Quercetin, which is found naturally in apples and onions, has been identified as one of the most beneficial flavonols in preventing and reducing the risk of pancreatic cancer. Although the overall risk was reduced among the study participants, smokers who consumed foods rich in flavonols had a significantly greater risk reduction. This study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, is the first of its kind to evaluate the effect of flavonols – compounds found specifically in plants – on developing pancreatic cancer. According to the research paper, “only a few prospective studies have investigated flavonols as risk factors for cancer, none of which has included pancreatic cancer. “ Researchers from Germany, the Univ. of Hawaii and Univ. of Southern California tracked food intake and health outcomes of 183,518 participants in the Multiethnic Cohort Study for eight years. The study evaluated the participants' food consumption and calculated the intake of the three flavonols quercetin, kaempferol, and myricetin. The analyses determined that flavonol intake does have an impact on the risk for developing pancreatic cancer. The most significant finding was among smokers. Smokers with the lowest intake of flavonols presented with the most pancreatic cancer. Smoking is an established risk factor for the often fatal pancreatic cancer, notes the research. Among the other findings were that women had the highest intake of total flavonols and seventy percent of the flavonol intake came from quercetin, linked to apple and onion consumption. It is believed that these compounds may have anticancer effects due to their ability to reduce oxidative stress and alter other cellular functions related to cancer development. “Unlike many of the dietary components, flavonols are concentrated in specific foods rather than in broader food groups, for example, in apples rather than in all fruit,” notes the research study. Previously, the most consistent inverse association was found between flavonols, especially quercetin in apples and lung cancer, as pointed out in this study. No other epidemiological flavonol studies have included evaluation of pancreatic cancer. While found in many plants, flavonols are found in high concentrations in apples, onions, tea, berries, kale, and broccoli. Quercetin is most plentiful in apples and onions.   Researcher explains the psychology of successful aging University of California at Los Angeles, November 2, 2021 Successful aging can be the norm, says UCLA psychology professor Alan Castel in his new book, "Better with Age: The Psychology of Successful Aging" (Oxford University Press). Castel sees many inspiring role models of aging. French Impressionist Claude Monet, he notes, began his beloved water lily paintings at age 73. Castel cites hundreds of research studies, including his own, combined with personal accounts from older Americans, including Maya Angelou, Warren Buffett, John Wooden, Bob Newhart, Frank Gehry, David Letterman, Jack LaLanne, Jared Diamond, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, John Glenn and Vin Scully. Castel notes that architect Gehry designed conventional buildings and shopping malls early in his career, and decades later designed the creative buildings he would only dream about when he was younger. Others who did much of their best work when they were older include Mark Twain, Paul Cezanne, Frank Lloyd Wright, Robert Frost and Virginia Woolf, he writes. "There are a lot of myths about aging, and people often have negative stereotypes of what it means to get old," Castel said. "I have studied aging for two decades, and have seen many impressive role models of aging, as well as people who struggle in older age. This book provides both science behind what we can to do age well and role models of successful aging. While some books focus on how to try to prevent or delay aging, 'Better with Age' shows how we can age successfully and enjoy the benefits of old age. I have combined the lessons the psychology of aging teaches us with insights from some of the people who have succeeded in aging well." Castel cites a 1979 study by Harvard University social psychologist Ellen Langer in which men in their 70s and 80s went to a week-long retreat at a motel that was re-designed to reflect the décor and music from 1959. The men, who were all dependent on family members for their care, were more independent by the end of the week, and had significant improvements in their hearing, memory, strength and scores on intelligence tests. Some played catch with a football. One group of the men, who were told to behave like they were 20 years younger, showed greater flexibility, and even looked younger, according to observers who saw photos of them at the start and end of the week. In another study, researchers analyzed Catholic nuns' diary entries made in the 1930s and 1940s, when the nuns were in their 20s, and determined their level of happiness from these diaries. More than 50 years later, 75 percent of the most cheerful nuns survived to age 80, while only 40 percent of the least happy nuns survived to 80. The happiest nuns lived 10 years longer than the least happy nuns. Happiness increases our lives by four to 10 years, a recent research review suggested. "As an added bonus," Castel writes, "those additional years are likely to be happy ones." Successful aging involves being productive, mentally fit, and, most importantly, leading a meaningful life, Castel writes. What are the ingredients of staying sharp and aging successfully, a process which Castel says can start at any age? He has several recommendations. Tips for longevity Walking or other physical exercise is likely the best method to ensure brain and body health, Castel writes. In a large 2011 study, older adults were randomly assigned to a group that walked for 40 minutes three times a week or a stretching group for the same amount of time. After six months and again after one year, the walking group outperformed the stretching group on memory and cognitive functioning tests. Too much running, on the other hand, can lead to joint pain and injuries. In addition, after one year, those who walked 40 minutes a day three times a week showed a 2 percent increase in the volume of the hippocampus—an important brain region involved in memory. Typically, Castel notes, the hippocampus declines about 1 percent a year after age 50. "Walking actually appears to reverse the effects of aging," Castel says in the book. Balance exercises are proven to prevent falls, can keep us walking and may be the most essential training activity for older adults, Castel writes. Each year, more than two million older Americans go to the emergency room because of fall-related injuries. A 2014 British study found that people who could get up from a chair and sit back down more than 30 times in a minute were less likely to develop dementia and more likely to live longer than those who could not. A good balance exercise is standing on one leg with your eyes open for 60 seconds or more, and then on the other leg. Those who did poorly on this were found in a study to be at greater risk for stroke and dementia. Like walking, sleep is valuable free medicine. Studies have shown a connection between insomnia and the onset of dementia. People who speak more than one language are at reduced risk for developing dementia, research has shown; there is some evidence being bilingual or multilingual can offset dementia by five years, Castel writes. One study found that among people between 75 and 85, those who engaged in reading, playing board games, playing musical instruments and dancing had less dementia than those who did none of those activities. "Lifelong reading, especially in older age, may be one of the secrets to preserving mental ability," Castel writes. Set specific goals. Telling yourself to "eat healthy" is not very likely to cause a change; setting a goal of "eating fewer cookies after 7 p.m." is better. Similarly, "walk four days a week with a friend" is a more useful goal than "get more exercise" and "call a friend or family member every Friday morning" is better than "maintain friendships." How can we improve our memory? When Douglas Hegdahl was a 20-year-old prisoner of war in North Vietnam, he wanted to learn the names of other American prisoners. He memorized their names, capture dates, methods of capture and personal information of more than 250 prisoners to the tune of the nursey rhyme, "Old MacDonald Had a Farm." Today, more than four decades later, he can still recall all of their names, Castel writes. Social connections are also important. Rates of loneliness among older adults are increasing and chronic loneliness "poses as large a risk to long-term health and longevity as smoking cigarettes and may be twice as harmful for retirees as obesity," Castel writes. The number of Americans who say they have no close friends has roughly tripled in the last few decades. There is evidence that people with more social support tend to live longer than those who are more isolated, and that older adults who lead active social lives with others are less likely to develop dementia and have stronger immune systems to fight off diseases. "Staying sharp," Castel writes, "involves staying connected—and not to the Internet." A 2016 study focused on "super-agers"—people in their 70s whose memories are like those of people 40 years younger. Many of them said they worked hard at their jobs and their hobbies. The hard work was challenging, and not always pleasurable, leaving people sometimes feeling tired and frustrated. Some researchers believe this discomfort and frustration means you are challenging yourself in ways that will pay off in future brain and other health benefits. Research has shown that simply telling older adults they are taking a "wisdom test" rather than a "memory test" or "dementia screening" actually leads to better results on the identical memory test, Castel writes. If you are concerned about your memory, or that of a loved one, it may be wise to see a neurologist, Castel advises. Castel, 42, said he is struck by how many older adults vividly recall what is most important to them. As Castel quotes the Roman philosopher and statesman Cicero: "No old man forgets where he has hidden his treasure."     Researchers find phthalates in wide variety of fast foods George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, October 29, 2021 A team of researchers from The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, the Southwest Research Institute and the Chan School of Public Health, has found phthalates in a wide variety of fast foods. In their paper published in Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, the group describes how they collected samples of fast food from several restaurants and tested them for phthalates and other chemicals meant to replace them—and what they found. Phthalates are esters of phthalic acid and are commonly used to make plastic substances more flexible. Prior research has shown that they can also increase durability and longevity making them popular for plastics makers. Researchers have found that consumption of phthalates can disrupt the endocrine system and by extension levels of hormones in the body. Research has also shown that they can lead to asthma in children and increased obesity.  In this new effort, the researchers built on prior work they conducted looking at urine samples of volunteers where they found that those who ate more fast food, tended to have more phthalates in their system. To learn more about the link between fast food and phthalate levels, the researchers visited six fast food restaurants in and around San Antonio, Texas, and collected 64 food items to be used as test samples. They also asked for a pair of the plastic gloves that were used by food preparers at the same establishments and obtained three of them. In studying the food samples, the researchers found DnBP in 81% of the samples and DEHP in 70% of them. They also noted that the foods with the highest concentrations of phthalates were meat-based, such as cheeseburgers or burritos. The team also found DINCH, DEHT and DEHA, chemicals that have begun replacing phthalates in many of the samples they collected. They note that it is not known if such replacements are harmful to humans if ingested. The researchers did not attempt to find out how the phthalates were making their way into the fast foods but suspect it is likely from residue on rubber gloves used by cooks who prepare them. It is also possible, they note, that they are coming from plastic packaging.   Removing digital devices from the bedroom can improve sleep for children, teens Penn State University, November 2, 2021 Removing electronic media from the bedroom and encouraging a calming bedtime routine are among recommendations Penn State researchers outline in a recent manuscript on digital media and sleep in childhood and adolescence. The manuscript appears in the first-ever special supplement on this topic in Pediatricsa nd is based on previous studies that suggest the use of digital devices before bedtime leads to insufficient sleep. The recommendations, for clinicians and parents, are:   1. Make sleep a priority by talking with family members about the importance of sleep and healthy sleep expectations; 2. Encourage a bedtime routine that includes calming activities and avoids electronic media use; 3. Encourage families to remove all electronic devices from their child or teen's bedroom, including TVs, video games, computers, tablets and cell phones; 4. Talk with family members about the negative consequences of bright light in the evening on sleep; and 5. If a child or adolescent is exhibiting mood or behavioral problems, consider insufficient sleep as a contributing factor. "Recent reviews of scientific literature reveal that the vast majority of studies find evidence for an adverse association between screen-based media consumption and sleep health, primarily delayed bedtimes and reduced total sleep duration," said Orfeu Buxton, associate professor of biobehavioral health at Penn State and an author on the manuscript. The reasons behind this adverse association likely include time spent on screens replacing time spent sleeping; mental stimulation from media content; and the effects of light interrupting sleep cycles, according to the researchers. Buxton and other researchers are further exploring this topic. They are working to understand if media use affects the timing and duration of sleep among children and adolescents; the role of parenting and family practices; the links between screen time and sleep quality and tiredness; and the influence of light on circadian physiology and sleep health among children and adolescents.

New research suggests that fast foods often contain harmful chemicals found in soft plastics. In a study published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, researchers at George Washington University tested 64 fast food items from McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Domino's, Taco Bell and Chipotle. They found small amounts of industrial chemicals […] The post 45. Study finds fast food often contains harmful chemicals appeared first on Dr. David Geier - Feel and Perform Better Than Ever.

A new, peer-reviewed and vetted study by researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center confirms the coronavirus can be spread through tiny airborne particles, not just larger droplets from coughing and sneezing. The study is published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology and used data from people who had been quarantined aboard a cruise ship last year. Dr. Josh Santarpia is the research director of the University of Nebraska's National Strategic Research Institute. He said follow-up research helped determine what size of particle could transmit SARS-coV-2 virus.

What are the broader issues for TB control at present? How has COVID-19 impacted TB programs? What are the longer term prospects for TB control over the coming decade in the post pandemic era? Dr James Trauer and Professor Guy Marks answer these questions and discuss the areas requiring focus.Guy Marks is a respiratory physician and epidemiologist and a public health physician. He is the President of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung disease and has led the Respiratory and Environmental Epidemiology group at the Woolcock since 1997. The major focus of his research interest is lung health with specific focus on airways disease, air pollution and tuberculosis. He also has a strong commitment to capacity building for lung health research. 

What are the broader issues for TB control at the moment? How has COVID-19 impacted TB programs? What are the longer term prospects for TB control over the coming decade in the post pandemic era? Dr James Trauer and Professor Guy Marks answer these questions and discuss the areas requiring focus.Guy Marks is a respiratory physician and epidemiologist and a public health physician. He is the President of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung disease and has led the Respiratory and Environmental Epidemiology group at the Woolcock since 1997. The major focus of his research interest is lung health with specific focus on airways disease, air pollution and tuberculosis. He also has a strong commitment to capacity building for lung health research.

Healthy and sustainable diets are essential for planetary health. Poor diets are a leading cause of ill health and death globally, and the food system is responsible for between 20% and 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions. On-going environmental changes are also having a direct impact on food production, and without substantial efforts to adapt to the new environmental conditions, the food system will struggle to deliver healthy and sustainable diets for all. In this episode, Karl Byrne has a chat with Professor Alan Dangour, the Director of LSHTM's Centre of Climate Change and Planetary Health, and Pauline Scheelbeek, Assistant Professor of Nutritional and Environmental Epidemiology, about the challenges our food systems face and what we have to do to ensure healthy, nutritional and sustainable food supplies to feed the world's ever growing population. Find out more about the Centre of Climate Change and Planetary Health.

Sabrina investigates whether indoor plants are actually good for us - or is it one big botanical hoax?Contact us: Twitter and Instagram @SciClubPod or email ScienceClubPod@gmail.comSci Club Podcast is created by Sabrina Wilson, John Lavery and Tyler Sudholz.References:Wolverton B, Johnson A, Bounds K. “Interior Landscape Plants for Indoor Air Pollution Abatement” (AKA NASA Clean Air Study). NASA, 15 Sep 1989.Wolverton Environmental Services www.wolvertonenvironmental.com (accessed 28 Aug 2020)Meyer, R. “A Popular Benefit of Houseplants is a Myth”, The Atlantic Magazine, 9 Mar 2019 (https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/03/indoor-plants-clean-air-best-none-them/584509/ accessed 28 Aug 2020)Cheng, L. “Sorry, your houseplants aren’t actually purifying your apartment’s air”, Massive Science, 30 Jan 2020 (https://massivesci.com/articles/houseplants-air-pollution-quality-vocs-indoors-nasa-study/ accessed 28 Aug 2020)Cummings B & Waring M. “Potted plants do not improve indoor air quality”. Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology 30: 253-261 published 6 Nov 2019 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-019-0175-9

Audrey Gaskins is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. Dr. Gaskins earned her doctoral degree in nutrition and epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health in 2014. This training was preceded by a two-year fellowship in the Department of Epidemiology at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and a Bachelor's of Science degree in engineering from Duke University in 2008. Dr. Gaskins's research is aimed at elucidating how environmental, dietary, and lifestyle factors experienced throughout the life course influence a couple's ability to conceive and maintain a healthy pregnancy to term. Over the past decade, she has published over 100 articles on how diet and lifestyle factors affect semen quality, menstrual cycle function, time to pregnancy, miscarriage, and outcomes of assisted reproduction using a variety of population based studies. Her research has been cited over 1,500 times and resulted in numerous awards including multiple NIEHS Top 10 Extramural Science Papers of the Year and the Best New Researcher Award from the International Society of Environmental Epidemiology. In April 2017, Dr. Gaskins received a prestigious 5-year career development award from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to further her research on how exposure to environmental chemicals such as air pollution interact with dietary factors to influence a couple's fertility. In addition to her research endeavors, Dr. Gaskins teaches courses ranging from research methods to nutrition and health and devotes a significant amount of time to mentoring students and fellows at Emory and Emory-affiliated hospitals. She is the current chair of the Nutrition Special Interest Group of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and on the editorial board for Fertility & Sterility, one of the leading academic journals of reproductive medicine. What does the research say about the recent rise in infertility? What are the dietary and environmental factors contributing to fertility and healthy pregnancy? Dr. Gaskins answers these and many other questions in this interview. Tune in to learn more! Dr. Gaskins profile: https://sph.emory.edu/faculty/profile/index.php?FID=10025 Recent papers by Dr. Gaskins: Gaskins AJ, Chavarro JE. Diet and fertility: a review. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2018 Apr;218(4):379-389 Gaskins AJ, Nassan FL, Chiu YH, Arvizu M, Williams PL, Keller MG, Souter I, Hauser R, Chavarro JE; EARTH Study Team. Dietary patterns and outcomes of assisted reproduction. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2019 Jun;220(6):567 Twitter: @audreyjane4

Dee and Carol discuss and debate the best paperwhites to grow, how to grow (or not grow) Brussel sprouts and the truth about houseplants in the news.Links:Sources for Paperwhites:Brent and Becky's BulbsJohn ScheepersNot all Paperwhites Stink on Dee's blog.Vodka!  Supposed to add to the water to keep the paperwhites shorter and stockier.  Pickling your paperwhites.  Waxed Amaryllis:QVCBurpeeBrussels sprouts:BurpeeRoasted Brussels sprouts with Balsamic vinegar and honey. Add bacon!University of Minnesota Extension full instructions for growing Brussels sprouts.The Truth About HouseplantsThe Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology published an article called “Potted plants do not improve indoor air quality: a review and analysis of reported VOC removal efficiencies.”GrowIt Mobile 2020 Houseplant ReportEmail us at TheGardenangelists@gmail.com and look for us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and now Pinterest.For more info on Carol, visit her website.For more info on Dee, visit her website.

In this week’s episode we're talking about new research comparing the health of athletes in the National Football League and Major League Baseball. The study looked at 6,000 athletes between the years of 1979 and 2013. During that period, there were 517 deaths among NFL players and 431 deaths among MLB players, translating into a 26% higher mortality rate among football players compared with baseball players. The findings showed that while NFL players died of neurodegenerative diseases at a higher rate than MLB players, both groups of athletes were more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than brain diseases. The study was led by Marc Weisskopf, Cecil K. and Philip Drinker Professor of Environmental Epidemiology and Physiology at the Harvard Chan School. The research comes amid increasing concerns over the effects of repeated head trauma on the health of NFL players. And while the study did show a difference in death rates, it’s still unclear exactly what’s driving that disparity—and how to address it. We sat down with Weisskopf to discuss the research and the unanswered questions he’s hoping to answer in the future. Full Transcript: https://hsph.me/sports-pod

In this week’s episode we're talking about new research comparing the health of athletes in the National Football League and Major League Baseball. The study looked at 6,000 athletes between the years of 1979 and 2013. During that period, there were 517 deaths among NFL players and 431 deaths among MLB players, translating into a 26% higher mortality rate among football players compared with baseball players. The findings showed that while NFL players died of neurodegenerative diseases at a higher rate than MLB players, both groups of athletes were more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than brain diseases. The study was led by Marc Weisskopf, Cecil K. and Philip Drinker Professor of Environmental Epidemiology and Physiology at the Harvard Chan School. The research comes amid increasing concerns over the effects of repeated head trauma on the health of NFL players. And while the study did show a difference in death rates, it’s still unclear exactly what’s driving that disparity—and how to address it. We sat down with Weisskopf to discuss the research and the unanswered questions he’s hoping to answer in the future. You can subscribe to Harvard Chan: This Week in Health by visiting iTunes or Google Play and you can listen to it by following us on Soundcloud, and stream it on the Stitcher app or on Spotify. If you’re a fan, we’d appreciate you leaving a rating and review wherever you listen. Learn more Former NFL players die at a faster rate than other professional athletes, study finds (STAT) Pro-Athlete Mortality Gap (Harvard Medical School)

Live from The HIVE Conference held in Austin, TX in 2018, we’re proud to bring you one of the brightest minds in the discipline of indoor air quality research, Dr. Brett Singer from Lawrence Berkley National Labs. Join Kristof as he discusses a broad array of topics that affect every single person who breathes inside a house (so, ya know, most people). It’s our last episode of 2018 and season 4 so we made sure it’s extra long (almost an hour and a half!). Enjoy it and we’ll see you next year!________________________Dr. Brett C. Singer, PhD, is a Staff Scientist and Principal Investigator (PI) in the Energy Technologies Area of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Dr. Singer is the Leader of the Indoor Environment Group and co-leader of Indoor Air Quality research in the Residential Building Systems Group.Dr. Singer has conceived, conducted and led research projects related to air pollutant emissions, physical-chemical processes, and pollutant exposures in both outdoor and indoor environments. His research aims to understand the real world processes and systems that affect air pollutant exposures. His guiding professional motivation is to provide the scientific basis to inform energy and environmental policy.Dr. Singer leads the Indoor Environmental Quality project within the US-China Clean Energy Research Center Building Energy Efficiency Program.A major focus of Dr. Singer’s work over the past decade has been the study of environmental quality and risk reduction in high performance homes. The goal of this research is to accelerate the adoption of IAQ, comfort, durability and sustainability measures into new homes and retrofits of existing homes. This is achieved through the mechanisms of buildings codes and standards; training of builders and contractors; public education; and technology development – all supported by robust research. The IE and RBS research groups conduct in-home studies, controlled laboratory experiments, simulation-based studies and data analysis to identify the most effective and energy efficient air quality control strategies.Dr. Singer’s early career research examined on-road motor vehicle emissions and the effectiveness of California’s Smog Check program. His first project at LBNL examined the sorption of secondhand smoke compounds, an effect that contaminates materials and leads to extended odors and pollutant exposures. This work helped launch interest in the study of “thirdhand” smoke.Dr. Singer has authored or co-authored over 50 papers in archival, peer-reviewed journals and dozens of technical reports and peer-reviewed conference papers.Education and Honors:2016: Named to the Academy of Fellows of the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate.1998: Ph.D. in Civil & Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.1991: B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Temple University (Summa cum Laude).____________________________Lawrence Berkley National LabsFrom the infinite scale of the universe to the infinitesimal scale of subatomic particles, researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory – Berkeley Lab – are advancing the scope of human knowledge and seeking science solutions to some of the greatest problems facing humankind. Scientific excellence and an unparalleled record of achievement have been the hallmarks of this Laboratory since it was founded in 1931.Thirteen Nobel Prizes are associated with Berkeley Lab. Eighty Lab scientists are members of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), one of the highest honors for a scientist in the United States. Fifteen of our scientists have won the National Medal of Science, our nation’s highest award for lifetime achievement in fields of scientific research, and one (Arthur Rosenfeld) has received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. In addition, Berkeley Lab has trained tens of thousands of university science and engineering students who are advancing technological innovations across the nation and around the world.Located on a 202-acre site in the hills above the UC Berkeley campus with spectacular views of the San Francisco Bay, Berkeley Lab is a multiprogram science lab in the national laboratory system supported by the U.S. Department of Energy through its Office of Science. It is managed by the University of California and is charged with conducting unclassified research across a wide range of scientific disciplines. Technologies developed at Berkeley Lab have generated billions of dollars in revenues and thousands of jobs. Savings as a result of Berkeley Lab developments in energy-efficient technologies – from cool roofs to window coatings to appliances – have also been in the billions of dollars.Berkeley Lab was founded by Ernest Orlando Lawrence, a UC Berkeley physicist who won the 1939 Nobel Prize in physics for his invention of the cyclotron, a circular particle accelerator that opened the door to high-energy physics. It was Lawrence’s belief that scientific research is best done through teams of individuals with different fields of expertise, working together. His teamwork concept is a Berkeley Lab legacy that continues today.________________________The Corsi CodeOriginally from a paper titled, Klepeis et al., J Exp Anal Env Epid 2001, 11, 231 from Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology published in the year 2001, volume 11 about a study called the National Human Activity Pattern Survey funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency.______________________________

In this episode we welcome Lindsey J. Butler, (soon-to-be) Ph.D. of Environmental Health. Lindsey has a BS in Environmental Science, MS in Environmental Health and is currently working on finishing her Doctorate in that discipline at Boston University. AJ and I talk with Lindsey about the field of Environmental Epidemiology, her Doctoral work, climate change and more.

Richard welcomes an expert in environmental remediation and crime and trauma scene decontamination to discuss ghostly and demonic encounters on the job. GUEST:  Christian D. Cadieux is known as 'the real John Constantine.' He is one of the principals behind Crime and Trauma Scene Cleaners and its division Paranormal Contractors.   He has specialized in the Environmental Remediation industry, for close to the last 20 years of his life. His focus has always been on Crime & Trauma scenes. Christian is also a Private Investigator, that specializes in multiple disciplines, such as Forensics, Criminal Profiling and Paranormal. Christian D. Cadieux has mastered the algorithms of all forms of Paranormal Entity's giving Christian the understanding of how to permanently remove them thus, earning him the nickname of "The Real John Constantine." Christian is a native of Toronto, Ontario Canada, and has recently received his Ph.D. in Environmental Epidemiology. He is a guest speaker for many different universities on such subjects as Forensics, Biological Terrorism, and Infectious Disease Outbreaks.

The advent of modern technology within deeply misguided institutions and cultures has accelerated the near-demise of the biosphere. Our guest today argues that coupled with a deep awareness of ecological realities, visionary technology can benefit nature and society, and perhaps even help avert a worst-case climate disaster. Dr. Shearer is co-founder and CEO of Full Circle Biochar. Prior to launching Full Circle Biochar, Dr. Shearer was Chief Scientist at California Environmental Associates and Principal Environmental Scientist at AeroVironment Inc., where he worked in the next-generation transportation, energy, carbon mitigation, and information technology space. In addition to his private sector activities, Dr. Shearer has directed groundbreaking work in both public policy and philanthropic investment for climate change mitigation. Dr. Shearer sits on several nonprofit and educational boards including SkyTruth and Black Rock Labs (formerly Black Rock Solar). He has a Ph.D. in Environmental Epidemiology and a M.S. in Environmental Microbiology from the University of California, and B.S. in Biology from the University of Oregon.

Chlorine is one of the most common disinfectants used to kill microbes in water and make it safe for humans to swim in and drink. But when chlorine and other disinfectants combine with organic matter in pools such as sweat, urine, and skin cells, the results are disinfection by-products (DBPs), which have been linked with adverse health effects in animals and humans. In this podcast, Manolis Kogevinas discusses recent research on the carcinogenic and genotoxic potential of DBPs, but he also explains why people don't necessarily need to stop swimming in pools. Kogevinas is a professor and co-director of the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology in Barcelona, Spain. Visit the podcast webpage to download a full transcript of this podcast.