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Objectives: Dysphagia is a presenting symptom of both pharyngeal and oesophageal cancers. The referral pathway choice is determined by whether it is thought to be oropharyngeal or oesophageal, and this is in turn influenced by whether dysphagia is perceived to be above or below the suprasternal notch. We studied the concordance between the presence of pharynx‐localised dysphagia (PLD) and the location of the underlying disease processes. Design: A subset analysis of the Dysphagia Hotline Cohort, collected between 2004 and 2015, of patients with PLD and a structural diagnosis. Main outcome measures: Information about patient demography and presenting symptoms were recorded. The incisor‐to‐pathology distance, and the nature of the pathology, were recorded. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent predictors of malignancy. Results: The study included 177 patients. There were 92 males, and mean age at presentation was 74 years. The commonest benign pathologies were cricopharyngeal dysfunction with or without pharyngeal pouch (n = 67), peptic stricture (n = 44) and Schatzki's ring (n = 11). There were 49 cases of cancer, including one hypopharyngeal cancer, one cervical oesophageal cancer, 28 cancers of the upper/mid‐thoracic oesophagus, 15 cancers of the lower thoracic oesophagus and 4 cardio‐oesophageal cancers. In 105 (59%) patients, PLD was caused by oesophageal disease. Independent predictors of malignancy were weight‐change (loss >2.7 kg), a short history (<12 weeks) and presence of odynophagia. Nineteen (39%) of oesophageal cancers that presented with dysphagia that was localised only to the pharynx would have been beyond the reach of rigid oesophagoscopy. Conclusions: Pharynx‐localised dysphagia is more likely to be a referred symptom of structural oesophageal disease, including cancer, than a primary symptom of structural pharyngeal disease. Absence of additional alarm symptoms such as a short history, weight‐loss, and odynophagia, do not adequately exclude the possibility of oesophageal cancer. When the differential diagnosis of PLD includes malignancy, cancer should be presumed to be arising from the oesophagus or the cardio‐oesophageal region until proven otherwise. This requires direct visualisation of the mucosal surfaces of the oesophagus and the cardio‐oesophageal region, using either transoral or transnasal flexible endoscopy, irrespective of whether the initial assessment occurs within head and neck or upper gastrointestinal suspected cancer pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to measure the long-term odor emissions and corresponding concentrations and emissions of 20 odorous volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This study was an add-on study to the National Air Emission Monitoring Study (NAEMS). Odor and odorous gas measurements at four NAEMS sites, including dairy barns in Wisconsin (WI5B) and Indiana (IN5B), a swine finisher barn in Indiana (IN3B), and swine gestation and farrowing barns in Iowa (IA4B), were conducted from November 2007 to May 2009. The odorous gas samples were collected every two weeks using sorbent tubes (samples were collected twice each season of the year, with the exception of spring 2009 when samples were collected three times) and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-olfactometry (GC-MSO). In this article, we summarize the measured gas concentrations and emissions of the 20 target VOCs from each of the four sites. The average total odorous VOC concentrations for the entire sampling period were 276, 96.9, 1413 and 394 µg dsm-3 for WI5B, IN5B, IN3B, and IA4B, respectively. For the swine sites, the highest seasonal average total odorous VOC concentrations for each barn were observed during spring (1890 µg dsm-3 for IN3B and 458 µg dsm-3 for IA4B). For the dairy sites, the highest seasonal average total odorous VOC concentrations were observed in winter at WI5B (446 µg dsm-3) and in summer at IN5B (129 µg dsm-3). The average total emission rates for the 20 odorous VOCs were 290 mg h-1 AU-1 (WI5B), 36.0 mg h-1 AU-1 (IN5B), 743 mg h-1 AU-1 (IN3B), 33.9 mg h-1 AU-1 (IA4B swine gestation barns), and 91.7 mg h-1 AU-1 (IA4B swine farrowing room). The average seasonal total odorous VOC emission rates were highest during summer at WI5B (805 mg h-1 AU-1), IN5B (121 mg h-1 AU-1), and IN3B (1250 mg h-1 AU-1) and during spring at IA4B (95.8 mg h-1 AU-1). The emissions of specific VOCs varied between seasons, sites, and species. To date, this is the most comprehensive VOC measurement survey of odorous compound emission rates from commercial livestock buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simultaneous chemical and sensory analyses using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-olfactometry (GC-MS-O) for air samples collected at barn exhaust fans were used for quantification and ranking of the odor impacts of target odorous gases. Fifteen target odorous VOCs (odorants) were selected. Air samples were collected at dairy barns in Wisconsin and Indiana and at swine barns in Iowa and Indiana over a one-year period. The livestock facilities with these barns participated in the National Air Emissions Monitoring Study (NAEMS). Gas concentrations, odor character and intensity, hedonic tone, and odor peak area of the target odorants in air samples were measured simultaneously with GCMS- O. The four individual odorants emitted from both dairy and swine sites with the largest odor impacts (measured as odor activity value, OAV) were 4-methyl phenol, butanoic acid, 3-methyl butanoic acid, and indole. The total odor (limited to target VOCs and referred to as the measured concentrations, odor intensities, and OAVs) emitted from the swine sites was generally greater than that from the dairy sites. The Weber-Fechner law was used to correlate measured odor intensities with chemical concentrations. Odorants with higher mean OAV followed the Weber-Fechner law much better than odorants with lower mean OAV. The correlations between odor intensities and chemical concentrations were much better for the swine sites (typically p < 0.05 and R² = 0.16 to 0.51) than for the dairy sites (typically p > 0.05 and R² < 0.15). Linking specific gases to odor could assist in the development and evaluation of odor mitigation technologies for solving livestock odor nuisance problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing concern with air and odor emissions from agricultural facilities. A supplementary research project was conducted to complement the U.S. National Air Emissions Monitoring Study (NAEMS). The overall goal of the project was to establish odor and chemical emission factors for animal feeding operations. The study was conducted over a 17-month period at two freestall dairies, one swine sow farm, and one swine finisher facility. Samples from a representative exhaust airstream at each barn were collected in 10 L Tedlar bags and analyzed by trained human panelists using dynamic triangular forced-choice olfactometry. Samples were simultaneously analyzed for 20 odorous compounds (acetic acid, propanoic acid, butyric acid, isobutyric acid, valeric acid, isovaleric acid, hexanoic acid, heptanoic acid, guaiacol, phenol, 4-methylphenol, 4-ethylphenol, 2-aminoacetophenone, indole, skatole, dimethyl disulfide, diethyl disulfide, dimethyl trisulfide, hydrogen sulfide, and ammonia). In this article, which is part 6 of a six-part series summarizing results of the project, we investigate the correlations between odor concentrations and odor activity value (OAV), defined as the concentration of a single compound divided by the odor threshold for that compound. The specific objectives were to determine which compounds contributed most to the overall odor emanating from swine and dairy buildings, and develop equations for predicting odor concentration based on compound OAVs. Single-compound odor thresholds (SCOT) were statistically summarized and analyzed and OAVs were calculated for all compounds. Odor concentrations were regressed against OAV values using multivariate regression techniques. Both swine sites had four common compounds with the highest OAVs (ranked high to low: hydrogen sulfide, 4-methylphenol, butyric acid, isovaleric acid). The dairy sites" had these same four compounds in common in the top five, and in addition diethyl disulfide was ranked second at one dairy site, while ammonia was ranked third at the other dairy site. Summed OAVs were not a good predictor of odor concentration (R² = 0.16 to 0.52), underestimating actual odor concentrations by 2 to 3 times. Based on the OAV and regression analyses, we conclude that hydrogen sulfide, 4-methylphenol, isovaleric acid, ammonia, and diethyl disulfide are the most likely contributors to swine odor while hydrogen sulfide, 4-methyl phenol, butyric acid, and isovaleric acid are the most likely contributors to dairy odors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Livestock facilities have historically generated public concerns due to their emissions of odorous air and various chemical pollutants. Odor emission factors and identification of principal odorous chemicals are needed to better understand the problem. Applications of odor emission factors include inputs to odor setback models, while chemical emission factors may be compared with regulation thresholds as a means of demonstrating potential health impacts. A companion study of the National Air Emissions Monitoring Study (NAEMS) included measurements necessary for establishing odor and chemical emission factors for confined animal feeding operations. This additional investigation was conducted by the University of Minnesota, Iowa State University, West Texas A&M Agri-Life Center, and Purdue University. The objectives were to (1) determine odor emission rates across swine and dairy facilities and seasons using common protocols and standardized olfactometry methods, (2) develop a chemical library of the most significant odorants, and (3) correlate the chemical library with the olfactometry results. This document describes the sampling and quality assurance methods used in the measurement and evaluation of odor and chemical samples collected at two freestall dairy farms, one sow (gestation/farrowing) facility, and one finishing pig site. Odor samples were collected in Tedlar bags and chemical samples were collected in sorbent tubes at barn inlet and exhaust locations using the NAEMS multiple-location gas sampling systems. Quality assurance protocols included interlaboratory comparison tests, which were evaluated to identify variations between olfactometry labs. While differences were observed, the variations among the labs and samples appeared random and the collected odor data were considered reliable at a 0.5% level of statistical significance. Overall, the study took advantage of groundbreaking opportunities to collect and associate simultaneous odor and chemical information from swine and dairy buildings while maintaining accordance with standard methods and comparability across laboratories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kevin Heathcote and Emil Jankulovski report in their paper on the tests indicating that the existing code will need to be revised to take into account the moisture content of test specimens when preparing a specification for compressive strength. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An abstract of the article "Comparative analysis of three BNP assays in community assessment of LV systolic dysfunction: a cost-saving tool," by S. Modi and colleagues is presented.

An abstract of the article "Identifying valvular & structural heart disease using brain natiuretic peptide: a three assay comparison," by S. Modi and colleagues is presented.