scholarly journals Ongoing mitigation strategies and further needs of the United States food industry to control COVID-19 in the work environment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Llanos-Soto ◽  
Ece Bulut ◽  
Sarah I Murphy ◽  
Christopher J Henry ◽  
Claire Zoellner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Work Environment ◽  
Food Industry ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Supply Chain Disruptions ◽  
Web Based ◽  
The Us ◽  
United States Food

The COVID-19 pandemic has had dire effects on the United States (US) food industry through impacts on workers' health and wellbeing and supply chain disruptions. The objectives of this study were to determine what the food industry needs to be able to control COVID-19 impacts in the work environment and what mitigation strategies are being implemented. A web-based needs assessment survey was distributed from January to April 2021, via 13 food professional/trade organizations and 2 social networks, targeting management professionals at food (produce, dairy, poultry, and beef/pork) processing facilities and produce farm operations in the US. Statistical analyses evaluated patterns in self-reported adoption of mitigation strategies against COVID-19 in the participants' facilities/operations and perceived needs of the industry regarding COVID-19. Responses to open-ended questions were analyzed using thematic analysis. In total 145 responses were received, of which 79 were usable, including 38 (48%) from the dairy, 17 (22%) from the fresh produce, and 24 (30%) from a mixture of other food industry sectors. Only two usable responses were from the beef/pork sector and none from the poultry sector. Findings revealed that several social distancing, biosecurity, and surveillance mitigation strategies against COVID-19 are commonly implemented in the participants' facilities/operations, but their implementation frequency differs by the facility/operation size and industry sector. Also, findings indicated that collaboration between the food industry and government agencies, contingency plans and appropriate training, and new technologies are needed to control COVID-19 in the food industry. Subject to limitations associated with the relatively low response rate (possible selection bias), the findings suggest that the US food industry is prepared to safeguard workers' health and businesses in the event of a new COVID-19 variant or similar future disaster, provided that appropriate structures are put in place to ensure coordination and compliance, both before and during such an outbreak.

scholarly journals McDonald's — Much Maligned, But an Engine of Economic Development

2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 1850123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian E. Tschoegl
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Fast Food ◽  
Food Industry ◽  
The United States ◽  
External Effects ◽  
Fast Food Industry ◽  
The Us ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Backward Linkages

Critics have excoriated the US fast-food industry in general, and McDonald's most particularly, both per se and as a symbol of the United States. However, examining McDonald's internationalization and development abroad suggests that McDonald's and the others of its ilk are sources of development for mid-range countries. McDonald's brings training in management, encourages entrepreneurship directly through franchises and indirectly through demonstration effects, creates backward linkages that develop local suppliers, fosters exports by their suppliers, and has positive external effects on productivity and standards of service, cleanliness, and quality in the host economies.

scholarly journals Differentiation between the Regulatory paths placed on Mouthwashes in the US and EU

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 8-13
Author(s):  
Philip Saddik ◽  
John Pappan
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Oral Diseases ◽  
External Appearance ◽  
Regulatory Systems ◽  
The Us ◽  
United States Food ◽  
States Food ◽  
Therapeutic Properties

Regulating oral rinses has been and still is a topic of debate and confusion. Oral rinses are products that are mainly used for cleaning, perfuming and changing the appearance of the teeth, which in turn improves the individual’s external appearance. Adding medicinal ingredients to these rinses, it can then be used for the elimination and/or prevention of some oral diseases, an example being gingivitis. The United States Food and Drug Administration placed guidelines which state that mouthwashes with possible therapeutic properties should be registered as drugs rather than cosmetics. Meanwhile, on a different continent, Germany along with the other members of the European Union decided not to categorize mouthwashes as drugs, but rather as cosmetics, using its sole purpose of cleaning and beautifying the teeth as the excuse. The following research will thoroughly differentiate between the diverse regulatory systems forced upon mouthwashes across the two countries—the United States and Germany.

Letters to the Editor

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1981 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 473-473
Author(s):  
David B. Nelson ◽  
Renate D. Kimbrough ◽  
Philip S. Landrigan ◽  
A. Wallace Hayes ◽  
George C. Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Drug Administration ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
Food Industry ◽  
The United States ◽  
Letters To The Editor ◽  
Department Of Agriculture ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
Food Commodities

Dr Wray's comments are, of course, very appropriate and encouraging. Aflatoxin was first detected in food commodities from other parts of the world. As concentrations in other parts of the world have usually been higher, little attention has been paid to the possibility of aflatoxin exposure in humans in the United States except by those who are directly involved in monitoring the human food supply (US Department of Agriculture, the food industry, and the US Food and Drug Administration).

A Justifiable Food-Energy-Legislative Triangle?1,2

1979 ◽  
Vol 42 (12) ◽  
pp. 982-986
Author(s):  
NAN UNKLESBAY
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Resource Management ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Food Industry ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Other ◽  
Food Energy ◽  
United States Food ◽  
States Food ◽  
Management Techniques

A conceptual model of the food-energy-legislative triangle within the United States food industry is presented. The scope of the triangle is pictorially represented. Each apex of the triangle is defined and examples are given to illustrate the interrelationships among them. The triangle includes all nutritious and nonnutritious foods produced; all direct and indirect energy used to produce, process, distribute and consume foods and all food-related legislation. Recent examples were chosen to illustrate how changes in one apex of the triangle affect components of the other two apexes. An analogy was drawn between the Bermuda and food-energy-legislative triangles to illustrate that the level of apathy towards solving the Bermuda Triangle cannot be tolerated for the latter triangle. Recommendations are given for using sound resource management techniques to identify all interdependencies in the food-energy-legislative triangle and thus increase the effectiveness of national policies affecting the food industry.

Analysis of freight train collision risk in the United States

2018 ◽  
Vol 233 (8) ◽  
pp. 817-830 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tejashree Turla ◽  
Xiang Liu ◽  
Zhipeng Zhang
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Value At Risk ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Conditional Value At Risk ◽  
Collision Risk ◽  
Worst Case ◽  
Freight Train ◽  
The Us ◽  
Traffic Exposure

Rail transportation is pivotal for the national economy. Despite being rare, a train accident can potentially result in severe consequences, such as infrastructure damage costs, casualties, and environmental impacts. An understanding of accident frequency, severity, and risk is important for rail safety management. In the United States, extensive prior research has focused on risk analyses of train derailments and highway–rail grade crossing accidents. Relatively less work has been conducted regarding train collision risk. The US Federal Railroad Administration identifies various accident causes, among which the authors of this study have analyzed the major collision causes. For each major accident cause, the authors have analyzed its resultant collision frequency, severity (in terms of damage cost or casualties), and correspondingly the risk, which is the combination of the frequency and severity. The analysis was based on train collision data in the United States from 2001 to 2015. This analysis focuses on freight trains in the United States, due to their immense traffic exposure. On the temporal scale, collision rate (the number of collisions normalized by traffic exposure) has an approximately 5% annual reduction. In terms of collision cause, failures to obey signals, overspeeds, and violations of mainline operating rules accounted for more collisions than other causes. Two alternative risk measures, namely the expected consequence and conditional value at risk, were used to evaluate the freight train collision risk on main tracks, accounting for both the average and worst-case scenarios. This collision risk analysis methodology may provide the US Department of Transportation and railroad industry with information and decision support for identifying, evaluating, and implementing cost-effective risk mitigation strategies.

Bioinformatics Patents - The Challenges

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rujita Ravindra Shenoy
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Information Technology ◽  
European Union ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Technology Research ◽  
The Us ◽  
Software Patents ◽  
Research Tools

This paper examines the problems and complexities created by the patent regime as well as challenges posed by accommodating new technologies like bioinformatics in its traditional patent framework. It examines and analyses the standards of biotechnology and software patents followed in the US, EU and India based on judicial precedents and its implications on bioinformatics patents, analyses bioinformatics patents granted in the United States and European Union and examines the  Indian Patent Manual and the patentability standards followed in India.Keywords: Bioinformatics, Patents, Information Technology, research tools, biotechnology and software patents, Intellectual Property Rights. 

scholarly journals Wisconsin April 2020 Election Not Associated with Increase in COVID-19 Infection Rates

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew C. Berry ◽  
Madhuri S. Mulekar ◽  
Bruce B. Berry
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Incubation Period ◽  
Case Reports ◽  
The United States ◽  
Infection Rates ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Primary Election ◽  
Milwaukee County ◽  
The Us ◽  
Voting Age

AbstractBackgroundWisconsin (WI) held a primary election in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Live voting at polls was allowed despite concern over increasing the spread of COVID-19. In addition to 1.1 million absentee ballots cast, 453,222 persons voted live. The purpose of our study was to determine if an increase in COVID-19 activity was associated with the election.MethodsUsing the voting age population for the United States (US), WI, and its 3 largest counties, and daily new COVID-19 case reports from various COVID-19 web-based dashboards, daily new case rates were calculated. With election day April 7, the incubation period included April 12-21. The new case activity in the rest of the US was compared with the Wisconsin activity during the incubation period.ResultsWI daily new case rates were lower than those of the rest of the US for the 10-day period before the election and remained lower during the post exposure incubation period. The ratio of Wisconsin new case rates to US new case rates was 0.34 WI: 1 US for the 10 days leading up to the election and declined to 0.28 WI: 1 US for the 10-day post-incubation period after the election. Similar analysis for Milwaukee county showed a pre-election ratio of 1.02 Milwaukee: 1 US and after the election the ratio was 0.63 Milwaukee: 1 US. Dane county had a pre-election ratio of 0.21 Dane: 1 US case, and it fell to 0.13 Dane: 1 US after the election. Waukesha county had a pre-election ratio of 0.27 Waukesha: 1 US case and that fell to 0.19 Waukesha: 1 US after the election.ConclusionsThere was no increase in COVID-19 new case daily rates observed for Wisconsin or its 3 largest counties following the election on April 7, 2020, as compared to the US, during the post-incubation interval period.

scholarly journals Flood exposure and social vulnerability in the United States

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Tate ◽  
Md Asif Rahman ◽  
Christopher T. Emrich ◽  
Christopher C. Sampson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
Spatial Association ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Us South ◽  
Flood Exposure ◽  
The Us ◽  
High Flood

AbstractHuman exposure to floods continues to increase, driven by changes in hydrology and land use. Adverse impacts amplify for socially vulnerable populations, who disproportionately inhabit flood-prone areas. This study explores the geography of flood exposure and social vulnerability in the conterminous United States based on spatial analysis of fluvial and pluvial flood extent, land cover, and social vulnerability. Using bivariate Local Indicators of Spatial Association, we map hotspots where high flood exposure and high social vulnerability converge and identify dominant indicators of social vulnerability within these places. The hotspots, home to approximately 19 million people, occur predominantly in rural areas and across the US South. Mobile homes and racial minorities are most overrepresented in hotspots compared to elsewhere. The results identify priority locations where interventions can mitigate both physical and social aspects of flood vulnerability. The variables that most distinguish the clusters are used to develop an indicator set of social vulnerability to flood exposure. Understanding who is most exposed to floods and where, can be used to tailor mitigation strategies to target those most in need.

scholarly journals Adverse Events Related to Polyvinyl Alcohol Hydrogel Hemiarthroplasty of 1st Metatarsal: An Analysis of Reports to the United States Food and Drug Administration

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 2473011420S0006
Author(s):  
Sreenivasulu Metikala ◽  
Karim Mahmoud Khamis ◽  
Kathryn O’Connor ◽  
Wen Chao ◽  
Keith L. Wapner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Foreign Body ◽  
Adverse Events ◽  
Polyvinyl Alcohol ◽  
Foreign Body Reaction ◽  
Bone Erosion ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Us ◽  
United States Food ◽  
States Food

Category: Midfoot/Forefoot Introduction/Purpose: Polyvinyl Alcohol Hydrogel (PAH) hemiarthroplasty has gained popularity in the operative management of symptomatic hallux rigidus since its introduction to the US in July 2016. Despite encouraging initial results, any implant has the potential for complications that may not become apparent until it is in widespread use. Also, the series of publications supporting the effectiveness of PAH have come from a limited group of institutions and surgeons which creates an opportunity for observational bias. Other complications or unsatisfactory outcomes may be under-reported, such as those experienced in community centers due to the challenges in publishing lower volume work. In order to look at a broader range of potential complications, we reviewed the United States Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) database and compared with published literature. Methods: The Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience (MAUDE) database of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was retrospectively reviewed between July 2016 and October 2019 using the assigned product code: PNW for the PAH implant. All the reported adverse events, implant-related complications, and secondary procedures were analyzed. Results: A total of 49 events have been reported to this voluntary database over the past 3 years while over 22,000 Cartiva devices have been implanted. Implant subsidence was the most common with 16 reported instances. Fragmentation of the device was observed in nine and four reports were related to infection in which two were deep infections needing antibiotic spacers. Bone erosion managed by grafting was documented in three reports and foreign body reaction was noted in one. Persistent pain and swelling were common presentations. Thirty-five of 49 reported events required additional operative procedures performed at a mean interval of 4.75 months following the index procedure while four more were awaiting further surgery. Conversion to fusion was the most common procedure, featured in 10 reports. Conclusion:: The analysis of the MAUDE database disclosed certain device-related dysfunctions that have been under-reported in the published literature. Also, complications such as fragmentation, bone erosion and foreign body reaction have not been previously described. Awareness of these details will assist in decision-making and quality control. Due to the voluntary nature of reporting, the true incidence of each complication is unknown with the above data representing a baseline. Nonetheless, the MAUDE database serves as an illuminating source of information which would further be strengthened by a more robust and mandatory reporting of device-related complications. [Table: see text][Table: see text]

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