Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Examination Of Urinary Pesticide Concentrations, Protective Behaviors, And Risk Perceptions Among Latino And Latina Farmworkers In Southwestern Idaho, Carly Hyland, Alejandra Hernandez, Éric Gaudreau, Jessica Larose, Jean-François Bienvenu, Lisa Meierotto, Rebecca L. Som Castellano, Cynthia L. Curl

Public Health and Population Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Introduction: Studies have documented high levels of pesticide exposure among men farmworkers; however, few have examined exposures or the experiences of women farmworkers. Data gaps also exist regarding farmworkers’ perceived risk and control related to pesticides, information that is critical to develop protective interventions.

Objective: We aimed to compare urinary pesticide biomarker concentrations between Latino and Latina farmworkers and examine associations with occupational characteristics, risk perceptions, perceived control, and protective behaviors.

Methods: We enrolled a convenience sample of 62 farmworkers (30 men and 32 women) during the pesticide spray season from April–July 2022 in southwestern Idaho. Participants were asked to …

Next-Generation Crispr Gene-Drive Systems Using Cas12a Nuclease, Sara Sanz Juste, Emily M Okamoto, Christina Nguyen, Xuechun Feng, Víctor López Del Amo

Journal Articles

One method for reducing the impact of vector-borne diseases is through the use of CRISPR-based gene drives, which manipulate insect populations due to their ability to rapidly propagate desired genetic traits into a target population. However, all current gene drives employ a Cas9 nuclease that is constitutively active, impeding our control over their propagation abilities and limiting the generation of alternative gene drive arrangements. Yet, other nucleases such as the temperature sensitive Cas12a have not been explored for gene drive designs in insects. to address this, we herein present a proof-of-concept gene-drive system driven by Cas12a that can be regulated …

What Regenerative Agriculture Can Teach Medical Students About Human Health, David Ebbott, Dimitrios Papanagnou

Department of Emergency Medicine Faculty Papers

No abstract provided.

Movements And Resource Selection Of Wild Pigs Associated With Growth Stages Of Corn, Bethany A. Friesenhahn, Randall W. Deyoung, Michael J. Cherry, Humberto L. Perotto-Baldivieso, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Nathan P. Snow

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are one of the most successful invasive species globally and are often implicated in agricultural damage. This damage is expected to increase as ranges of wild pigs expand, impacting the human food supply and increasing costs of food production. Our objective was to evaluate movement behaviors of wild pigs relative to resource availability and landscape features in an agriculture-dominated landscape, with a goal of informing management practices for reducing damage to corn. We monitored hourly movements of adult wild pigs relative to corn crops using GPS collars during the 2019 and 2020 growing seasons (Feb–Sept) in …

Rodents In Agriculture: A Broad Perspective, Gary Witmer

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The largest taxonomic group of mammals is rodents, with over 2200 species known around the world [1]. More recently, it was stated that over 2500 species exist [2]. Many species exist on all continents, with the exception of Antarctica. Rodents have adapted to all ecosystems of the world, including tundra, alpine, temperate forests, grasslands, arid regions, and aquatic systems. They provide many ecosystem functions, including soil aeration and mixing, seed and spore dispersal, vegetation succession, and being an important food source for predatory animals. Some species of rodents are even consumed by people in some parts of the world. Most …

Towards A More Comprehensive Understanding Of Wild Pig (Sus Scrofa) Impacts On Agricultural Producers: Insights From A Texas Case Study, Keith M. Carlisle, Nicole Didero, Sophie Mckee, Julie Elser, Stephanie A. Shwiff

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

This research investigates the impacts of invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa Linneaus) on agricultural producers in Texas, with the aim of identifying and describing all categories of wild pig impacts and quantifying the extent of producers’ over- or underestimation of their total wild pig-related costs in 2018, as compared to calculations based upon data subsequently provided by the producers about individual wild pig-related costs and losses. Based on interviews with 23 producers in 16 Texas counties, we identified more than 20 discrete categories of negative impacts and negligible positive impacts associated with wild pigs. Among them were categories that have …

What About The Rest Of Them? Fatal Injuries Related To Production Agriculture Not Captured By The Bureau Of Labor Statistics (Bls) Census Of Fatal Occupational Injuries (Cfoi), Bryan Weichelt, Erika Scott, Rick Burke, John Shutske, Serap Gorucu, Wayne T. Sanderson, Murray Madsen, Emily Redmond, Dennis J. Murphy, Risto Rautiainen

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Surveillance of injuries in production agriculture is necessary to inform stakeholders about workplace hazards and risks in order to improve and advance injury prevention policies and practices for this dangerous industry. The most comprehensive fatal injury surveillance effort currently in the United States is the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), which covers occupational fatalities in all U.S. industries, including production agriculture. However, this surveillance does not include many categories of fatalities that occur during agricultural work or on production agriculture worksites. To better capture the human cost of production agriculture, the authors of this …

Covid-19_School Of Economics_Malacarne And Colleagues Address The Impacts Of Covid- 19 On Maine's Food System, University Of Maine School Of Economics

Teaching, Learning & Research Documents

Screenshot of a University of Maine School of Economics news release webpage regarding Jonathan Malacarne (SOE Assistant Professor), Jason Lilley (University of Maine Cooperative Extension Professional), and Tora Jackson (Maine Farmer Resource Network) presenting a summary of the impacts of COVID-19 on Maine's food system at the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry's (DACF) 2021 virtual Maine Ag Trades Show.

Scaling Social Franchises: Lessons Learned From Farm Shop, Kevin Mckague, Farouk Jiwa, Karim Harji, Obidimma Ezezika

Health Studies Publications

Background

The challenge of enhancing food security and livelihoods for smallholder farmers has been a significant concern in the agricultural development field. To increase farm productivity and enable smallholder farmers to rise out of poverty, several organizations have initiated social franchising business models to create sustainable social enterprises. Social franchising has recently gathered increased interest in lower-income countries for its potential to address social and ecological issues, support local entrepreneurs, and reach financial sustainability to allow for scaling through market forces. Social franchising combines the principles of business franchising (standardized systems and other supports that reduce risk for the entrepreneur) …

Cooperative Extension Covid-19_Maine State Virtual Fair 2020, University Of Maine Cooperative Extension

Cooperative Extension

Screenshot of University of Maine Cooperative Extension 4-H Club's Maine State Virtual Fair 2020 webpage.

Cooperative Extension Covid-19_4-H Virtual Fun Run, University Of Maine Cooperative Extension

Cooperative Extension

Screenshot of webpage with the details of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension 4-H Club Virtual Fun Run along the coast of Maine.

Cooperative Extension Covid-19_Services & Programs Webpages, University Of Maine Cooperative Extension

Cooperative Extension

Screenshots of various University of Maine Cooperative Extension webpages featuring announcements regarding various programs, services, and publications provide by the Cooperative Extension during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cooperative Extension Covid-19_Food Safety Information For Maine Consumers, University Of Maine Cooperative Extension

Cooperative Extension

Food Safety Information for Maine Consumers created by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension.

College Of Natural Sciences, Forestry, And Agriculture_Cropping Systems Course Pse 101 Lecture Slides, Rachel E. Schattman

College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture

Lecture slide deck for Cropping Systems course PSE 101, taught by Rachel E. Schattman, Assistant Professor of Sustainable Agriculture, School of Food and Agriculture Associate and Climate Change Institute, University of Maine. Also includes cover email from Professor Schattman to the Provost Office regarding the inclusion of the COVID-19 pandemic into the lecture on the Food Safety Modernization Act.

Cooperative Extension Covid-19_Master Gardener Volunteer Policy, University Of Maine Cooperative Extension

Cooperative Extension

Screenshot of various University of Maine Cooperative Extension webpages featuring the Master Gardner Volunteer Policy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cooperative Extension Covid-19_4-H Quaranteen Virtual Science Cafés Webpage, University Of Maine Cooperative Extension

Cooperative Extension

Screenshots from University of Maine Cooperative Extension webpage showing various Maine 4-H online QuaranTEEN Virtual Science Cafés programs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cooperative Extension Covid-19_Farming & Livestock Webpages, University Of Maine Cooperative Extension

Cooperative Extension

Screenshots of various University of Maine Cooperative Extension webpages featuring guidance and resources regarding farming and livestock during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Myd88 Regulates A Prolonged Adaptation Response To Environmental Dust Exposure-Induced Lung Disease, Amber N. Johnson, Jack R. Harkema, Amy J. Nelson, John D. Dickinson, Julianna Kalil, Michael J. Duryee, Geoffrey M. Thiele, Balawant Kumar, Amar B. Singh, Rohit Gaurav, Sarah C. Glover, Ying Tang, Debra J. Romberger, Tammy Kielian, Jill A. Poole

Journal Articles: Internal Medicine

BACKGROUND: Environmental organic dust exposures enriched in Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists can reduce allergic asthma development but are associated with occupational asthma and chronic bronchitis. The TLR adaptor protein myeloid differentiation factor88 (MyD88) is fundamental in regulating acute inflammatory responses to organic dust extract (ODE), yet its role in repetitive exposures is unknown and could inform future strategies.

METHODS: Wild-type (WT) and MyD88 knockout (KO) mice were exposed intranasally to ODE or saline daily for 3 weeks (repetitive exposure). Repetitively exposed animals were also subsequently rested with no treatments for 4 weeks followed by single rechallenge with saline/ODE.

RESULTS: Repetitive …

A Hard Row To Hoe: Suicide Among Kentucky Farmers, Olivia Eiler

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, male farmers die by suicide at nearly twice the rate of the general population. My research focuses on understanding the factors contributing to this trend and identifying potential solutions, with a specific focus on the Commonwealth of Kentucky. I have collected qualitative data through video interviews with political leaders, scholars, and youth who are active in the agriculture community. These individuals have identified several key stressors, including stigma, a lack of healthcare providers in rural areas, financial insecurity, a lack of appreciation from the public, and uncertainty due to decisions made …

Timing And Extent Of Crop Damage By Wild Pigs (Sus Scrofa Linnaeus) To Corn And Peanut Fields, C. M. Boyce, Kurt C. Vercauteren, James C. Beasley

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The global expansion of wild pigs over the last few decades has resulted in an increase in extent and distribution of damages to crops, placing a growing strain on agricultural producers and land managers. Despite the extent of wild pig damage to agriculture, there is little data regarding timing and spatial variability of damage to corn (Zea mays Linnaeus) and we found no data regarding the effect of these factors on peanuts (Arachis hypogaea Linnaeus). Our objective was to determine the timing and extent of wild pig damage to corn and peanut fields, as well as the extent …

Movement Behavior Of Radio-Tagged European Starlings In Urban, Rural, And Exurban Landscapes, Page E. Klug, H. Jeffrey Homan

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Since their intentional introduction into the United States in the 1800s, European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) have become the fourth most common bird species and a nuisance bird pest in both urban and rural areas. Managers require better information about starling movement and habit-use patterns to effectively manage starling populations and the damage they cause. Thus, we revisited 6 radio-telemetry studies conducted during fall or winter between 2005 and 2010 to compare starling movements (n = 63 birds) and habitat use in 3 landscapes. Switching of roosting and foraging sites in habitat-sparse rural landscapes caused daytime (0900–1500 hours) …

Water Use Governance In A Temperate Region: Implications For Agricultural Climate Change Adaptation In The Northeastern United States, Rachel E. Schattman, Meredith T. Niles, Hannah M. Aitken

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Climate change and access to water are interrelated concerns for agriculture and other sectors, even in temperate regions. Governance approaches and regulatory frameworks determine who has access to water, for what purpose, and when. In the northeastern United States, water governance has historically been conducted by states through a combination of statutory guidance and common law. However, it is unclear what effect if current governance approaches will be sufficient for achieving resource conservation and equitable allocation in a changing climate. To provide insight into these issues, we conducted the first review of freshwater governance in the 12 states that comprise …

Us County-Level Agricultural Crop Production Typology, Courtney R. Hammond Wagner, Meredith T. Niles, Eric D. Roy

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Objectives: Crop production is an important variable in social, economic and environmental analyses. There is an abundance of crop data available for the United States, but we lack a typology of county-level crop production that accounts for production similarities in counties across the country. We fill this gap with a county-level classification of crop production with ten mutually exclusive categories across the contiguous United States. Data description: To create the typology we ran a cluster analysis on acreage data for 21 key crops from the United States Department of Agriculture's 2012 Agricultural Census. Prior to clustering, we estimated undisclosed county …

Behavior Change Interventions Delivered Through Interpersonal Communication, Agricultural Activities, Community Mobilization, And Mass Media Increase Complementary Feeding Practices And Reduce Child Stunting In Ethiopia, Sunny S. Kim, Phuong Hong Nguyen, Yisehac Yohannes, Yewelsew Abebe, Manisha Tharaney, Elizabeth Drummond, Edward A. Frongillo Jr., Marie T. Ruel, Purnima Menon

Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Appropriate infant and young child feeding practices are critical for optimal child growth and development, but in Ethiopia, complementary feeding (CF) practices are very poor. Alive & Thrive (A&T) provided intensive behavior change interventions through 4 platforms: interpersonal communication (IPC), nutrition-sensitive agricultural activities (AG), community mobilization (CM), and mass media (MM).

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of A&T intensive compared with nonintensive interventions (standard nutrition counseling and agricultural extension service and less intensive CM and MM) on CF practices and knowledge and child anthropometric outcomes.

METHODS: We used a cluster-randomized …

Diaspora’S Role In Nepal’S Development: Summary Of The Forum Held At The Nepali National Convention. Baltimore, Md, Usa. July 5-7, 2019, Ambika P. Adhikari, Diwakar Dahal, Rajendra Khatiwada

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

Four major Nepalese community organizations, ANA, ANMA, BANA, and INLS jointly hosted the “Nepali National Convention 2019” in Baltimore, Maryland, USA during July 5 to 7, 2019. Eight other community-based organizations including Blood Donors of America, Society of American Nepalese Nurses, Nepalese Association of Florida, Nepal Pasa Pucha Amerikaye, America Nepal Women’s Association of Greater Washington, Nepal Education and Culture Center, America Nepal Society, and Association of Nepali Teraian in America were involved as co-hosts of the convention. Several other local organizations participated in support of the convention.

The Forum “Diaspora’s Role in Nepal’s Development” was held from 1:30-3:00 pm …

Seeing Is Not Always Believing: Crop Loss And Climate Change Perceptions Among Farm Advisors, Meredith T. Niles, Sarah Wiener, Rachel E. Schattman, Gabrielle Roesch-Mcnally, Julian Reyes

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

As climate change is expected to significantly affect agricultural systems globally, agricultural farm advisors have been increasingly recognized as an important resource in helping farmers address these challenges. While there have been many studies exploring the climate change belief and risk perceptions as well as behaviors of both farmers and agricultural farm advisors, there are very few studies that have explored how these perceptions relate to actual climate impacts in agriculture. Here we couple survey data from United States Department of Agriculture farm service employees (n = 6, 514) with historical crop loss data across the United States to explore …

Ovalbumin-Sensitized Mice Have Altered Airway Inflammation To Agriculture Organic Dust, Kristi J. Warren, John D. Dickinson, Amy J. Nelson, Todd A. Wyatt, Debra J. Romberger, Jill A. Poole

Journal Articles: Internal Medicine

Agriculture exposures are associated with reducing the risk of allergy and asthma in early life; yet, repeated exposures later in life are associated with chronic bronchitis and obstructive pulmonary diseases. The objective of this study was to investigate the airway inflammatory response to organic dust extract (ODE) in mice with established ovalbumin (OVA)-induced experimental asthma. C57BL/6 mice were either OVA sensitized/aerosol-exposed or saline (Sal) sensitized/aerosol-challenged. Both groups were then subsequently challenged once with intranasal saline or swine confinement ODE to obtain 4 treatment groups of Sal-Sal, Sal-ODE, OVA-Sal, and OVA-ODE. Airway hyper-responsiveness (AHR) to methacholine, bronchiolar lavage fluid, lung tissues, …

Does Household Capital Mediate The Uptake Of Agricultural Land, Crop, And Livestock Adaptations? Evidence From The Indo-Gangetic Plains (India), Sameer H. Shah, Courtney Hammond Wagner, Udita Sanga, Hogeun Park, Lia Helena Monteiro De Lima Demange, Carolina Gueiros, Meredith T. Niles

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Farmers in the Indo-Gangetic Plains produce much of the wheat and rice grown in India. However, food production and millions of farm-based livelihoods in this region will continue to be adversely affected by hydro-climatic change and variation, reduced land productivity, and declining groundwater levels. Thus, agricultural adaptations are essential for protecting and improving upon intersecting goals of food security, poverty alleviation, and wellbeing. Household “capital” (e.g., natural, human, financial, physical, and social) is commonly cited as an indicator of livelihood adaptability and innovation. We develop a series of mediated structural equation models to empirically evaluate the validity of capital as …

Improved Reference Genome For The Domestic Horse Increases Assembly Contiguity And Composition, Theodore S. Kalbfleisch, Edward S. Rice, Michael S. Depriest Jr., Brian P. Walenz, Matthew S. Hestand, Joris R. Vermeesch, Brendan L. O'Connell, Ian T. Fiddes, Alisa O. Vershinina, Nedda F. Saremi, Jessica L. Petersen, Carrie J. Finno, Rebecca R. Bellone, Molly E Mccue, Samantha A. Brooks, Ernest Bailey, Ludovic Orlando, Richard E. Green, Donald C. Miller, Douglas F. Antczak, James N. Macleod

Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center Faculty Publications

Recent advances in genomic sequencing technology and computational assembly methods have allowed scientists to improve reference genome assemblies in terms of contiguity and composition. EquCab2, a reference genome for the domestic horse, was released in 2007. Although of equal or better quality compared to other first-generation Sanger assemblies, it had many of the shortcomings common to them. In 2014, the equine genomics research community began a project to improve the reference sequence for the horse, building upon the solid foundation of EquCab2 and incorporating new short-read data, long-read data, and proximity ligation data. Here, we present EquCab3. The count of …

Atvs And Agriculture: A Review Of The Literature, Hali Neves, William Brazile, David P. Gilkey

Safety Health & Industrial Hygiene

The purpose of this article was to provide a review of the published literature pertaining to agricultural All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) use and injury, fatality, exposure assessment, risk estimation and interventions. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) technique was used to identify high quality relevant articles pertaining to ATV-related injury, fatality, exposure assessment, risk estimation, and interventions in an agricultural setting. Inclusion criteria for articles included publications from January 1, 2000 through August 31, 2016, use of injury epidemiology assessment tools, NIOSH hierarchy of controls and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Logic Model Development Guide. Thirty-four articles met …