In a recent study, Kim and co-author Woodam Chung, PhD, a forest engineer at Oregon State University, were the first to objectively measure biomechanical stress experienced by professional timber fellers during actual timber felling operations. They also evaluated forest workers’ perceptions of wearable exoskeletons—emerging technology already being used in other physically demanding industries such as shipbuilding and automotive and aerospace manufacturing.

A new pilot study from the University of California, Davis published in the Journal of Dairy Science, demonstrates that simple acidification treatment with citric acid offers an effective, accessible, and easy-to-use alternative to pasteurization to ensure the safety of raw waste milk on farms for both the staff disposing of it and calves consuming it.

In a novel study evaluating the electricity costs of running common in-home durable medical equipment, a team of electricity, energy market, economics and health services researchers found that Americans who rely on equipment such as oxygen concentrators, CPAP machines, ventilators and peritoneal kidney dialysis machines face increased household monthly energy bills by up to 40 percent and even higher in states with elevated electricity rates. People whose health is very compromised tend also to face strained financial circumstances, and electricity costs to power this equipment is often a significant burden, notes study senior author Kosali Simon, PhD, M.A., of Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University. Use of this equipment is growing with a projected market increase from $43.3 billion in 2022 to $64.8 billion in 2027.

This study highlights how an online dialogic teaching approach in a university media literacy class fostered students’ global awareness, critical solidarity, and a sense of community when the media provided conflicting narratives of us versus them during the COVID-19 pandemic.