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The governments of Australia and New Zealand require a phytosanitary treatment to control adult brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), as overwintering aggregations have been intercepted in the importation pathway of various nonhorticultural consignments, including vehicles. The commercialized fumigant, eFUME, a 16.7% by mass dilution of ethyl formate in carbon dioxide, resulted in complete control of ca. 1,000 field-collected, naturally diapausing adult H. halys in each of 3 independent trials at 10 ± 0.5 °C (⁠ x ¯   ±   2 s ⁠) when ethyl formate levels in enclosure headspace were maintained steady-state at ca. 14.5 mg/liter for 4 h to yield Ct exposures ranging from 57.9 to 63.1 mg/liter h. Consistent with previous findings where greenhouse reared H. halys were controlled using laboratory formulations of this ethyl formate—carbon dioxide mixture, these confirmatory methods and results further inform technical and operational features of commercial practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background High rates of tuberculosis (TB) in migrants from Tibet and Nepal have been documented for over 120 years and were previously ascribed to poor living conditions in the places of settlement. Adaptations to altitude involving genes in the Hypoxia-Inducible Factor pathway are present in 90–95% of Tibetans and in Nepalis these allele frequencies increase by 17% with each 1000 m increase in altitude. Methods We calculated the incidence of TB by country of origin in immigrants from South and East Asia in New South Wales (NSW), Australia between 2004 and 2018, and compared disease severity, site of infection, evidence of local transmission and prevalence of latent TB, among these groups. Results The incidence of active TB was consistently higher among 30 000 Nepalese and 1000 Tibetans than among all other immigrants to NSW. Nepal was the only country of origin where TB incidence in immigrants was not significantly lower than the reported TB incidence in the country of origin. Conclusions and implications High rates of TB among Nepalese and Tibetan immigrants in Australia are unlikely to be attributable to pre-existing disease or local acquisition. Phenotypic effects of high-altitude adaptations may include a dampening of inflammatory responses to hypoxia, an effect unmasked by descent to a normoxic environment. A corollary of these findings may be that hypoxia-induced inflammation limits TB progression, reconfirming previous explanations for the apparent efficacy of high-altitude sanatoria. If vindicated by subsequent research, these provisional findings could open new avenues into preventive and host-directed interventions for tuberculosis. Lay Summary The incidence of tuberculosis among Nepalese immigrants to Australia and other people of Tibetan heritage who migrate to lower altitudes is very high. In these screened populations, pre-existing active TB or locally acquired infection are unlikely explanations. We suggest that adaptations to altitude combined with descent to higher oxygen levels in air at sea level may be contributing factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The proportion of asthma in adults that is due to occupational exposures is not known.Aim To examine the contribution of workplace exposures to the development of asthma in adults in New South Wales (NSW) in a cross sectional, population-based study.Methods A randomly selected population of 5331 18- to 49-year olds completed and returned a mailed questionnaire (response rate 37%). In adult-onset asthmatics we examined the association of asthma with reported exposure, within 1 year of asthma onset, to a list of occupations and exposures known to be at risk for occupational asthma (high-risk jobs and exposures).Results Among 910 subjects (18%) with asthma, 383 (7%) subjects reported adult-onset disease. After adjusting for sex, age and smoking, working in any high-risk job or exposure at the time of asthma onset was significantly associated with adult-onset asthma (OR 1.51, 95% CI 1.19–1.92). The population attributable risk (PAR) of adult-onset asthma for either a high-risk job or an exposure was 9.5%. Sudden onset, irritant or reactive airways dysfunction syndrome type exposures were associated with adult-onset asthma (OR 4.65, 95% CI 1.64–13.2). The PAR of adult-onset asthma for these exposures was 0.2%.Conclusion Reported adult onset of asthma is common and occupational exposures may be associated with 9.5% of prevalent cases of adult-onset asthma in NSW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]