ICF International (United States)

Exposure to environmental chemicals can influence fetal growth, and these alterations are associated with adverse health outcomes across the lifespan. Personal care products (PCPs) are frequently used by women of reproductive age, including many chemicals known to adversely impact fetal development. Given the high number of chemicals in PCPs, a class-based approach of grouping these chemicals by common characteristic(s) (e.g., chemical structure, mode of action) may support future hazard identification evaluations. To develop a systematic evidence map (SEM) identifying and characterizing the scientific literature on gestational exposure to PCPs or their chemical constituents and fetal growth to support potential chemical class-based assessments. Following standardized systematic review methodology, three databases were searched for relevant human and experimental animal studies through June 2024. Study characteristics were extracted and summarized in interactive visualizations and text. Of the four main chemical classes assessed, phthalates and phenols were most frequently studied (40% and 30% of studies, respectively), followed by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and parabens. Few studies evaluated product use. Birthweight was the most frequently assessed outcome (approximately 99% of studies). Many human studies evaluated potential modifying factors of health (% of studies), such as infant sex (58%), race and ethnicity (7%), and socioeconomic status (1%). Given the availability of well-studied "anchor" chemicals within related chemical groups, this SEM supports the feasibility of class-based approaches to evaluate the association between phthalates, PFAS, phenols, and parabens and fetal growth. Further research on PCPs and fetal growth should address areas of uncertainty, including data gaps on potential effect modifiers, such as socioeconomic status.

Jet fuel inhalation represents one of the most significant exposures among service members; however, health outcomes are unclear, and the processes linking exposures and respiratory effects are undefined. A systematic literature review of human, animal, and mechanistic studies was conducted to assess and synthesize the scientific evidence on the adverse respiratory effects of jet fuel exposure. Animal studies provided moderate evidence that jet fuel inhalation resulted in adverse effects through cytotoxicity, tissue damage, inflammation, airway remodeling, and lung function changes, which was corroborated by mechanistic data. This was further supported by slight epidemiologic evidence that jet fuel exposure is associated with increased respiratory symptoms and disease. Evidence indicates that jet fuel exposure is likely to produce adverse respiratory effects, which may have important implications for exposed service members and veterans.

Parenting programs have primarily focused on supporting mothers with knowledge and practice of responsive caregiving. However, the role of non-primary caregivers such as grandparents, aunts, and older siblings has not been adequately addressed in programming. Using ChildFund International's programmatic data from Kenya and Uganda, this cross-sectional study examined the extent to which children aged 0-5 years were left in the care of non-primary caregivers in the household and whether the primary caregivers' absence was associated with engagement by non-primary caregivers. We found that a considerable proportion of children aged 0-5 years in Kenya and Uganda were entrusted in the care of non-primary caregivers for at least 3 days or more during the week. Yet, the primary caregivers' absence was not consistently associated with greater engagement by fathers and other members of the household. Our findings call for parenting programs to consider adopting a holistic and contextualized approach where all involved caregivers are intentionally targeted rather than focusing just on the identified primary caregiver alone.

Abstract This article examines the role of unemployment benefits (UBs) and employment protection legislation (EPL) reforms in shaping the response of unemployment to output changes. Results—based on local projection estimates for an unbalanced sample of twenty-seven advanced economies during the period 1970–2019—suggest that reforms reducing the generosity of UB dampen the response of unemployment to output changes, while reforms reducing the stringency of EPL amplify it. Results are robust to a battery of robustness checks, including control for potential confounder effects and an instrumental variable approach to address endogeneity.

ABSTRACT The R-LINE model, which was released in 2013 as a stand-alone model for roadway-type applications and was based on a set of newly developed dispersion curves, exhibited favorable model performance in a limited set of evaluations. In 2019, the R-LINE model was incorporated as the RLINE source type in EPA’s preferred near-field dispersion model AERMOD. Since its inclusion in AERMOD, the RLINE source type has been tested and compared to other AERMOD source types using multiple data sets and transportation studies. The outcome of these tests is a need to revisit the dispersion parameters used in the original RLINE dispersion curves to address performance issues suggested by comparisons to AREA and VOLUME source types in AERMOD. The work presented here includes corrections to the RLINE vertical wind profiling, harmonization of several aspects of the RLINE formulation with AERMOD’s AREA and VOLUME source types (i.e. the addition of terrain and meander weighting), and updates to the RLINE dispersion parameterization based on a computational optimization routine. The updated RLINE source type is compared with AREA and VOLUME estimates for two hot-spot transportation studies. RLINE modeled estimates are also reevaluated with two of the previous evaluation studies and two additional tracer studies. The updated RLINE formulation leads to improved performance in most cases and closer comparison with the AREA and VOLUME sources. Implications: The RLINE source type was recently added by the EPA to the AERMOD model as a “preferred” model option. Thus, the RLINE source type is now available to the air quality modeling community as a modeling option without any approval required. This paper explains recent changes to the model formulation and provides both an updated and expanded model evaluation. For the updated evaluation, we compare the three AERMOD source types (RLINE, AREA, and VOLUME) for two tracer databases used when the RLINE source was initially created (Caltrans 99 and Idaho Falls). We also add model evaluations for two “new” databases (GM Sulfate and Berkeley Freeway Experiment) to expand the assessments of model performance. Additionally, two model intercomparisons are examined, comparing design concentrations for two real-world highway hot-spot projects for RLINE against the AREA and VOLUME sources, which show much better agreement between the three source types with the updated RLINE model. The work is essential for dispersion model practitioners to understand the specifics of RLINE’s model formulation as well as its performance against the other two AERMOD source types typically used for modeling roadway emissions.

Coastal flooding is occurring more frequently due to global sea-level rise, among other factors. However, current understanding of coastal flood frequency and sea-level rise impacts is predominantly based on tide gauges, which do not measure water levels on land. Here, we present data from a novel network of land-based flood sensors in the state of North Carolina, USA. We demonstrate that tide-gauge data are poor indicators of flooding: floods occur 26–128 days annually, an order of magnitude greater than what regional tide gauges suggest in some places. Improving the accuracy of coastal flood measures is critical for identifying the impacts of sea-level rise and developing effective adaptation strategies.

Evaluate factors influencing the decision-making processes of school administrators and investigate the existence and use of emergency operations plans (EOPs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using survey data representative of US K-12 public schools in 2022, the prevalence of 16 factors that influenced reporting school administrators' COVID-19 prevention strategy implementation decision-making (Wave 4; N = 399) and the presence and use of school EOPs (Wave 5; N = 400) are presented overall and by urban-rural classification, poverty level, and school level. Qualitative interviews were conducted with a subset of school administrators and used thematic analysis to understand factors influencing implementation of prevention strategies and emergency preparedness. School district requirements or recommendations (81.6%) was the top reported factor influencing decisions on the use of COVID-19 prevention strategies. Although most schools created or updated their EOP during the 2021/2022 school year (78.1%), only 26.7% implemented or exercised an EOP during the COVID-19 pandemic. Themes from qualitative analysis focused on factors influencing the implementation of prevention strategies, limitations of current EOPs, and importance of continuous investment in school preparedness. Investing in actions to improve schools' capacity to respond to emergencies such as developing comprehensive EOPs, building partnerships, and defining roles and responsibilities is important.