Background:
Nearly half of U.S. workers have access to workplace wellness programs (WWPs), 58% of workers with access participate. The aim of this study was to assess interest in WWP participation ...and identify reasons for lack of interest among workers with work-related permanent impairments—a population at elevated risk of adverse health outcomes.
Methods:
Workers who returned to work after a work-related permanent impairment were interviewed 11 to 15 months after workers’ compensation claim closure. Qualitative content analysis methods were used to code open-ended responses.
Findings:
Of 560 respondents, 51.4% expressed interest in WWP participation. Numerous adverse health and economic characteristics were associated with WWP interest, for example, interest was expressed by 63.3% of workers reporting fair/poor health status versus 47.1% reporting good/excellent; 56.9% of workers reporting moderate/severe pain versus 41.4% reporting mild/no pain; 64.7% of workers without health insurance versus 50.1% with health insurance; 69.0% of workers reporting depression versus 47.2% without depression; 70.4% of workers reporting obesity versus 48.0% without obesity; and 63.2% of workers often worried about expenses versus 46.9% reporting sometimes/never worried. Specific participation barriers were described by 34.2% of the 272 workers who were not interested.
Conclusions/Applications to Practice:
A majority of workers with work-related permanent impairments—particularly those with adverse health and economic characteristics—were interested in WWPs. Many workers who reported no interest cited participation barriers. Further research is needed to determine whether addressing such barriers would enhance equitable access. Those undertaking WWP planning, implementation, and outreach should ensure that WWPs are inclusive and serve workers with disabilities.
SUMMARY
This study investigates whether qualified/adverse audit opinions on the fairness of the financial statements impact market yields for city/county general obligation bonds. Although state and ...local governments represent a significant part of the U.S. economy, the value of external assurance in this market is questionable given the untimely nature of municipal audit reports. We find evidence consistent with municipal bond market participants penalizing counties and local governments with qualified/adverse audit opinions for both primary market issuances and secondary trading. For example, in a propensity score matched sample, we find that, on average, primary market yields are higher by 34 higher basis points for municipalities receiving qualified/adverse audit opinions. Our primary market findings hold for two matched samples (attribute and propensity score), a within-sample analysis, and a number of robustness tests. The results suggest that municipal investors value the information content of an independent audit report.
Data Availability: Data are available from the public sources cited in the text.
Mercury (Hg) is a globally distributed environmental contaminant with a variety of deleterious effects in fish, wildlife, and humans. Breeding songbirds may be useful sentinels for Hg across diverse ...habitats because they can be effectively sampled, have well-defined and small territories, and can integrate pollutant exposure over time and space. We analyzed blood total Hg concentrations from 8,446 individuals of 102 species of songbirds, sampled on their breeding territories across 161 sites in eastern North America geometric mean Hg concentration = 0.25 μg/g wet weight (ww), range <0.01–14.60 μg/g ww. Our records span an important time period—the decade leading up to implementation of the USEPA Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, which will reduce Hg emissions from coal-fired power plants by over 90 %. Mixed-effects modeling indicated that habitat, foraging guild, and age were important predictors of blood Hg concentrations across species and sites. Blood Hg concentrations in adult invertebrate-eating songbirds were consistently higher in wetland habitats (freshwater or estuarine) than upland forests. Generally, adults exhibited higher blood Hg concentrations than juveniles within each habitat type. We used model results to examine species-specific differences in blood Hg concentrations during this time period, identifying potential Hg sentinels in each region and habitat type. Our results present the most comprehensive assessment of blood Hg concentrations in eastern songbirds to date, and thereby provide a valuable framework for designing and evaluating risk assessment schemes using sentinel songbird species in the time after implementation of the new atmospheric Hg standards.
Since the isolation of graphene in 2004, two-dimensional (2D) materials research has rapidly evolved into an entire subdiscipline in the physical sciences with a wide range of emergent applications. ...The unique 2D structure offers an open canvas to tailor and functionalize 2D materials through layer number, defects, morphology, moiré pattern, strain, and other control knobs. Through this review, we aim to highlight the most recent discoveries in the following topics: theory-guided synthesis for enhanced control of 2D morphologies, quality, yield, as well as insights toward novel 2D materials; defect engineering to control and understand the role of various defects, including in situ and ex situ methods; and properties and applications that are related to moiré engineering, strain engineering, and artificial intelligence. Finally, we also provide our perspective on the challenges and opportunities in this fascinating field.
Although recent academic studies on nonprofits have documented aggressive accounting behavior, these studies have primarily examined the sector in isolation and have not reached definitive ...conclusions regarding the relative aggressiveness of the nonprofit and for-profit sectors. Using actuarial assumptions for defined benefit (DB) pension plans as a proxy for discretionary accounting choices, we examine whether nonprofit managers respond through their actuarial choices to incentives to manage DB pension assumptions, and whether differences exist in the aggressiveness of these assumptions for nonprofits and for-profits. We find evidence consistent with nonprofits managing pension assumptions when incentives and less monitoring exist. Comparing our nonprofits to a sample of for-profits, we find evidence consistent with nonprofits utilizing more aggressive pension assumptions and making stronger responses to incentives to manage these assumptions. Our findings are consistent with the premise that nonprofits are more aggressive than for-profits when using actuarial estimates that deflate pension obligations and inflate performance.
Hearing impairment is 1 of the 4 most prevalent chronic conditions in the elderly. However, the biological basis of age-related hearing loss is unknown.
The objective was to test the hypothesis that ...age-related hearing loss may be associated with poor vitamin B-12 and folate status.
A thorough audiometric assessment was conducted in 55 healthy women aged 60–71 y. Hearing function was determined by the average of pure-tone air conduction thresholds at 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz and was categorized into 2 groups for logistic regression analyses: normal hearing (<20 dB hearing level; n = 44) and impaired hearing (≥20 dB hearing level; n = 11).
Mean age was the same (65 y) for the normal hearing and impaired hearing groups. Pure-tone averages were inversely correlated with serum vitamin B-12 (r = −0.58, P = 0.0001) and red cell folate (r = −0.37, P = 0.01). Women with impaired hearing had 38% lower serum vitamin B-12 (236 compared with 380 pmol/L, respectively, P = 0.008) and 31% lower red cell folate (425 compared with 619 nmol/L, respectively, P = 0.02) than women with normal hearing. Among participants who did not take supplements containing vitamin B-12 or folate, women with impaired hearing had 48% lower serum vitamin B-12 (156 compared with 302 pmol/L, respectively, P = 0.0007) and 43% lower red cell folate (288 compared with 502 nmol/L, respectively, P = 0.001) than women with normal hearing.
Poor vitamin B-12 and folate status may be associated with age-related auditory dysfunction.
PurposeHigh‐risk opioid prescribing is a critical driver of prescription opioid‐related morbidity and mortality. This study explored opioid prescribing patterns across urban‐rural and economic ...distress classifications. Secondarily, this study explored the urban‐rural distribution of relevant health services, economic factors, and population characteristics.MethodsCounty‐level opioid prescribing metrics were based on quarterly Washington State Prescription Monitoring Program data (2012‐2017). Counties were classified using the 2013 National Center for Health Statistics Urban‐Rural Classification Scheme for Counties, and Washington State unemployment‐based distressed areas. County‐level measures from Area Health Resources Files were used to describe the urban‐rural continuum.FindingsPersistent economic distress was associated with higher‐risk opioid prescribing. The large central metropolitan category had lower‐risk opioid prescribing metrics than the other 5 urban‐rural categories, which were similar to each other and not ordered by degree of rurality. High‐risk prescribing declined over time, without notable trend divergence by either urban‐rural or economic distress classifications.ConclusionsThe most striking urban‐rural differences in opioid prescribing metrics were between large central metropolitan and all other categories; thus, we recommend caution when collapsing urban‐rural categories for analysis. Further research is needed regarding geographic and economic patterning of opioid prescribing practices, as well as the dissemination of guidelines and best practices across the urban‐rural continuum. Finally, the multiple intertwined burdens faced by rural communities—higher‐risk prescribing practices, higher opioid morbidity and mortality rates, and fewer resources for primary care, mental health care, alternative pain treatment, and opioid use disorder treatment—must be addressed as an urgent public health priority.
The silk of spiders first evolved 400 million years ago and orb webs emerged 180 million years ago; present-day spiders' webs are structures efficiently engineered by nature. The planar orb web of ...the garden spider Araneus diadematus has evolved with the prime function of capturing fast-moving and, on a relative scale, massive insects. We have now analysed the structural engineering of a complete web, using computer modelling, to incorporate the measured time-dependent stress-strain characteristics of the two chief types of web silk. With this model we unexpectedly discovered that aerodynamic damping plays a crucial role in prey capture, an observation that we confirmed in laboratory experiments on real webs.
The change in electron affinity and band bending as a result of atmosphere and fullerene (C60F48) induced surface conductivity on H‐terminated (100) diamond is determined by simultaneously measuring ...the work function (ϕ) and C1s core level shift for both intrinsic and boron doped diamond. Changes in work function as a result of surface transfer doping are shown to not only reflect variations in the position of the surface Fermi level as reported by earlier investigations but also changes in the electron affinity, with the latter accounting for up to 0.63 eV of the highest observed change in ϕ of 1.45 eV.
We perform high-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy on in situ cleaved topological insulator Bi2Se3 single crystals and in situ transport measurements on Bi2Se3 films grown by molecular beam ...epitaxy. We demonstrate efficient electron depletion of Bi2Se3 via vacuum deposition of molecular MoO3, lowering the surface Fermi energy to within ∼100 meV of the Dirac point, well into the topological regime. A 100 nm MoO3 film provides an air-stable doping and passivation layer.
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