Pentane extracts of matureDrosophila melanogaster males substantially increased the attractiveness of food odors to both males and females in a wind-tunnel olfactometer. Extracts of females caused no such increase. An active component of the extract was isolated and identified as (Z)-11-octadecenyl acetate (cis-vaccenyl acetate, cVA), and synthetic cVA was active in bioassay. Hydrolysis of the ester linkage or movement of the double bond to the 9 position destroyed the activity. Mature virgin males released cVA into their feeding vials, and amounts of synthetic CVA equal to that released per male caused significant bioassay responses. Females, which were known to receive cVA from males during copulation, were found to emit relatively large amounts of the ester into their feeding vials within 6 hr after mating. cVA had been demonstrated previously to be a close-range pheromone inD. melanogaster, discouraging males from courting other males or recently mated females; it now appears to have a longer-range function as well.

The physical demands of emergency response are a leading cause of injuries that may benefit from similar interventions across the occupations. To assess risk, improved exposure data need to be acquired, particularly for volunteers.

Hyperthermia from exertion and environmental conditions during agricultural work manifests itself by various symptoms and may lead to death. From 1992 through 2006, 68 workers employed in crop production and related services died from heat-related illness. The crop worker fatality rate averaged 4 heat-related deaths per one million workers per year-20 times higher than the 0.2 rate for US civilian workers overall. Many of the agricultural workers who died were foreign-born. Foreign-born workers tend to have limited English language skills and often are not acclimatized to exertion in hot weather when beginning seasonal jobs. Increased recognition of heat hazards to agricultural workers, in particular, has stimulated concern among employers, workers, and public policy makers. California and Washington have led the nation in adopting workplace safety standards designed to prevent heat-related illnesses. These state regulations include new specific requirements for employer provision of drinking water, shade for rest or other sufficient means to recover from heat, worker and supervisor training, and written heat safety plans. Agricultural employers face practical challenges in fulfilling the purpose and complying with these standards. By their very nature the standards impose generic requirements in a broad range of circumstances and may not be equally protective in all agricultural work settings. It is vital that employers and supervisors have a thorough knowledge of heat illness prevention to devise and implement safety measures that suit local conditions. Ongoing risk-based assessment of current heat conditions by employers is important to this safety effort. Workers need training to avoid heat illness and recognize the symptoms in themselves and coworkers. Innovative management practices are joining time-honored approaches to controlling heat stress and strain. Research targeted to answer questions about heat accumulation and dissipation during agricultural work and audience-sensitive education to promote understanding of basic physiology and recognition of hyperthermia symptoms can aid in heat illness prevention. This review was prepared for the Agricultural Safety and Health Council of America/ National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health conference, "Be Safe, Be Profitable: Protecting Workers in Agriculture," Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, January 27-28, 2010.

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Objectives-To estimate the number and rate of occupational injuries and illnesses treated in hospital emergency departments and to characterize the nature, event, and source of injury and illness. Setting-Twenty four hour emergency departments in hospitals in the United States. Methods-Surveillance for occupational injuries and illnesses was conducted in a national probability based sample of hospital emergency departments through the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS). Worker demographics, nature of injury and disposition, and incident circumstances were abstracted from emergency department medical records, typically within 24-72 hours of treatment.Results-Approximately 3.6 million occupational injuries and illnesses were treated in emergency departments in 1998. Younger workers, particularly males, continue to have the highest rates of work related injuries. Together, lacerations, punctures, amputations, and avulsions represented one fourth of the emergency department treated injuries, mostly to hand and fingers. Sprains and strains, largely to the trunk, also accounted for one fourth of the injuries. The three leading injury events were contact with objects, bodily reactions and exertions, and falls. Conclusions-Despite apparent decreases in rates, youth continue to have a high burden of injury in the workplace. However, three fourths of all emergency department treated injuries occur to workers 20-44 years of age. Emergency department surveillance is particularly amenable to capture of young worker injuries and provides a wealth of injury details to guide prevention eVorts-eVorts that will likely reduce occupational injuries as these workers age. Emergency department surveillance also provides injury estimates with few demographic or employer constraints, other than the medical venue used. (Injury Prevention 2001;7(Suppl I):i21-26)

Low concentrations of dietary triacylglycerols including tristearin, triolein, and tripalmitolein, were assessed to determine their effects during egg to pupal stages on adult epicuticular hydrocarbon (EHC) variation in cactophilic Drosophila mojavensis. Triacylglycerols were added singly and in combination at concentrations of 1%, 3%, and 9% to a lipid-free culture medium. Control diets included Carolina Drosophila and lipid-free media. Egg to adult viability was reduced at triacylglycerol concentrations greater than 1%, except for tristearin. Both triolein and tripalmitolein increased EHC amounts to levels similar to those in combination and control diets. Tristearin caused significantly lower quantities of EHCs in adult flies than triolein or tripalmitolein, consistent with previous studies on reduced tristearin assimilation into adult EHCs. We rejected the hypothesis that unsaturated and saturated triacylglycerols were assimilated into unsaturated and saturated adult EHCs, respectively. Since these triacylglycerols comprise a fraction of known lipids in the columnar cacti used for breeding in nature, and EHCs serve as contact pheromones in D. mojavensis, these and other naturally occurring triacylglycerols may provide a direct causal link between host plant use and patterns of chemically mediated mate choice.

A method, whereby primary and secondary amines are exhaustively alkylated to their quaternary stage in a one-step procedure, has been extended to a broad spectrum of amines. The study synthetically utilizes the fact that protonation of sterically hindered amines is affected only slightly by steric hindrance, whereas nucleophilicity as measured by the rate of alkylation is considerably decreased. A sterically hindered organic base of greater base strength than the reactant amines is employed to bind the acid that is generated in alkylation reactions. Selection of an appropriate organic base as the proton acceptor enables complete alkylation of primary and secondary aromatic amines with pKa values as low as 2.36 and alicyclic and strong aliphatic amines with pKa values as high as 11.1. The mild and homogeneous reaction conditions result in good yields with minimal laboratory manipulations and effort. The method is of particular importance for reactions in which the amines and the alkylating agents possess labile functions.

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