Browsing by Author "Buttling, Lauren G."
Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- Building Interdisciplinary Partnerships for Community-Engaged Environmental Health Research in Appalachian VirginiaSatterwhite, Emily M.; Bell, Shannon E.; Marr, Linsey C.; Thompson, Christopher K.; Prussin, Aaron J. II; Buttling, Lauren G.; Pan, Jin; Gohlke, Julia M. (MDPI, 2020-03-05)This article describes a collaboration among a group of university faculty, undergraduate students, local governments, local residents, and U.S. Army staff to address long-standing concerns about the environmental health effects of an Army ammunition plant. The authors describe community-responsive scientific pilot studies that examined potential environmental contamination and a related undergraduate research course that documented residents’ concerns, contextualized those concerns, and developed recommendations. We make a case for the value of resource-intensive university–community partnerships that promote the production of knowledge through collaborations across disciplinary paradigms (natural/physical sciences, social sciences, health sciences, and humanities) in response to questions raised by local residents. Our experience also suggests that enacting this type of research through a university class may help promote researchers’ adoption of “epistemological pluralism”, and thereby facilitate the movement of a study from being “multidisciplinary” to “transdisciplinary”.
- Maternal proximity to Central Appalachia surface mining and birth outcomesButtling, Lauren G.; McKnight, Molly Xi; Kolivras, Korine N.; Ranganathan, Shyam; Gohlke, Julia M. (Wolters Kluwer Health, 2021-02)Maternal residency in Central Appalachia counties with coal production has been previously associated with increased rates of low birth weight (LBW). To refine the relationship between surface mining and birth outcomes, this study employs finer spatiotemporal estimates of exposure.
Methods
We developed characterizations of annual surface mining boundaries in Central Appalachia between 1986 and 2015 using Landsat data. Maternal address on birth records was geocoded and assigned amount of surface mining within a 5 km radius of residence (street-level). Births were also assigned the amount of surface mining within residential ZIP code tabulation area (ZCTA). Associations between exposure to active mining during gestation year and birth weight, LBW, preterm birth (PTB), and term low birth weight (tLBW) were determined, adjusting for outcome rates before active mining and available covariates.Results
The percent of land actively mined within a 5 km buffer of residence (or ZCTA) was negatively associated with birth weight (5 km: β = -14.07 g; 95% confidence interval [CI] = -19.35, -8.79, P = 1.79 × 10-7; ZCTA: β = -9.93 g; 95% CI = -12.54, -7.33, P = 7.94 × 10-14). We also found positive associations between PTB and active mining within 5 km (odds ratio [OR] = 1.06; 95% CI = 1.03, 1.09, P = 1.43 × 10-4) and within ZCTA (OR = 1.04; 95% CI = 1.03, 1.06, P = 9.21 × 10-8). Positive relationships were also found between amount of active mining within 5 km or ZIP code of residence and LBW and tLBW outcomes.Conclusions
Maternal residency near active surface mining during gestation may increase risk of PTB and LBW. - Maternal Residential Proximity to Central Appalachian Surface Mining and Adverse Birth OutcomesButtling, Lauren G. (Virginia Tech, 2020)Maternal residency in Central Appalachian coalfields has been associated with low birth weight at the county-level. To refine the relationship between proximity and adverse birth outcomes, this study employs finer spatial scales of exposure. Spatiotemporal characterizations of surface mining boundaries in Central Appalachia between 1986-2015 were developed using Landsat data. The maternal address field on births records from VA, WV, KY, and TN were geocoded and assigned amount of surface mining within a 5km radius of residence (street-level). Births were also assigned exposures based on the amount of surface mining within residential ZIP code tabulation area (ZCTA) (ZIP code-level). Using linear and logistic regression, associations between surface mining activities during gestation and birth weight, preterm birth, low birth weight, and term low birth weight were determined, adjusting for available demographic factors. An increase in surface mining activities was negatively associated with birth weight at the street-level (β = −8.93g; (95% CI = -12.69 -5.7, P= <0.001) and ZIP code-level (β = −4.41g ; 95% CI = -6.30, -2.52, P= <0.001). Small, statistically significant associations were also found between preterm birth and mining within 5km of residence (OR = 1.003; 95% CI = 1.001, 1.005, P= 0.003) and within maternal ZCTA (OR = 1.002; 95% CI = 1.001, 1.003, P=0.001). Relationships were also found between amount of mining within 5km of residence and low birth weight and term low birth weight outcomes. This study found subtle, but significant associations between proximity to active surface mining during gestation and adverse birth outcomes.
- Survival of the Enveloped Virus Phi6 in Droplets as a Function of Relative Humidity, Absolute Humidity, and TemperaturePrussin, Aaron J. II; Schwake, David Otto; Lin, Kaisen; Gallagher, Daniel L.; Buttling, Lauren G.; Marr, Linsey C. (American Society for Microbiology, 2018-04-06)Infectious diseases caused by enveloped viruses, such as influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), cause thousands of deaths and billions of dollars of economic losses per year. Studies have found a relationship among temperature, humidity, and influenza virus incidence, transmission, or survival; however, there are contradictory claims about whether absolute humidity (AH) or relative humidity (RH) is most important in mediating virus infectivity. Using the enveloped bacteriophage Phi6, which has been suggested as a surrogate for influenza viruses and coronaviruses, we designed a study to discern whether AH, RH, or temperature is a better predictor of virus survival in droplets. Our results show that Phi6 survived best at high (>85%) and low (<60%) RHs, with a significant decrease in infectivity at mid-range RHs (~60 to 85%). At an AH of less than 22 g · m⁻³, the loss in infectivity was less than 2 orders of magnitude; however, when the AH was greater than 22 g · m⁻³, the loss in infectivity was typically greater than 6 orders of magnitude. At a fixed RH of 75%, infectivity was very sensitive to temperature, decreasing two orders of magnitude between 19°C and 25°C. We used random forest modeling to identify the best environmental predictors for modulating virus infectivity. The model explained 83% of variation in Phi6 infectivity and suggested that RH is the most important factor in controlling virus infectivity in droplets. This research provides novel information about the complex interplay between temperature, humidity, and the survival of viruses in droplets.