Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

An Approach To Identify Gene-Environment Interactions And Reveal New Biological Insight In Complex Traits, Xiaofeng Zhu, Yihe Yang, Noah Lorincz-Comi, Gen Li, Amy R Bentley, Paul S De Vries, Michael Brown, Alanna C Morrison, Charles N Rotimi, W James Gauderman, Dabeeru C Rao, Hugues Aschard

Journal Articles

There is a long-standing debate about the magnitude of the contribution of gene-environment interactions to phenotypic variations of complex traits owing to the low statistical power and few reported interactions to date. to address this issue, the Gene-Lifestyle Interactions Working Group within the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genetic Epidemiology Consortium has been spearheading efforts to investigate G × E in large and diverse samples through meta-analysis. Here, we present a powerful new approach to screen for interactions across the genome, an approach that shares substantial similarity to the Mendelian randomization framework. We identify and confirm 5 loci …

Adsorbents From Rice Husk And Shrimp Shell For Effective Removal Of Heavy Metals And Reactive Dyes In Water, Md Ibrahim H Mondal, Shovra Chandra Chakraborty, Md Saifur Rahman, Shaik Merkatur Hakim Marjuban, Firoz Ahmed, John L Zhou, Mohammad Boshir Ahmed, Masoumeh Zargar

Journal Articles

Widespread contamination by heavy metals (HMs) and dyes poses a major health risk to people and ecosystems requiring effective treatment. In this work, rice husk (RH) and shrimp shells were extracted to obtain amorphous silica and chitosan, respectively, which were utilized to produce nano-chitosan-coated silica (NCCS). To ensure the stability of the nanoparticles, silica was freeze-dried after being coated with nano-chitosan. Functional groups (-NH

Protecting Human And Animal Health: The Road From Animal Models To New Approach Methods, Barbara L F Kaplan, Alan M Hoberman, William Slikker, Mary Alice Smith, Emanuela Corsini, Thomas B Knudsen, M Sue Marty, Sonya K Sobrian, Suzanne C Fitzpatrick, Marcia H Ratner, Donna L Mendrick

Journal Articles

Animals and animal models have been invaluable for our current understanding of human and animal biology, including physiology, pharmacology, biochemistry, and disease pathology. However, there are increasing concerns with continued use of animals in basic biomedical, pharmacological, and regulatory research to provide safety assessments for drugs and chemicals. There are concerns that animals do not provide sufficient information on toxicity and/or efficacy to protect the target population, so scientists are utilizing the principles of replacement, reduction, and refinement (the 3Rs) and increasing the development and application of new approach methods (NAMs). NAMs are any technology, methodology, approach, or assay used …

Joint Problem-Solving Orientation, Mutual Value Recognition, And Performance In Fluid Teamwork Environments, Michaela Kerrissey, Zhanna Novikov

Journal Articles

INTRODUCTION: Joint problem-solving orientation (JPS) has been identified as a factor that promotes performance in fluid teamwork, but research on this factor remains nascent. This study pushes the frontier of understanding about JPS in fluid teamwork environments by applying the concept to within-organization work and exploring its relationships with performance, mutual value recognition (MVR), and expertise variety (EV).

METHODS: This is a longitudinal, survey-based field study within a large United States healthcare organization

RESULTS: Our results affirm a moderated mediation model wherein JPS enhances performance, both directly and through MVR; EV serves as a moderator in the JPS-MVR relationship. JPS …

Artificial Light At Night And Social Vulnerability: An Environmental Justice Analysis In The Us 2012-2019, Qian Xiao, Yue Lyu, Meng Zhou, Jiachen Lu, Kehe Zhang, Jun Wang, Cici Bauer

Journal Articles

BACKGROUND: Artificial Light at Night (ALAN) is an emerging health risk factor that has been linked to a wide range of adverse health effects. Recent study suggested that disadvantaged neighborhoods may be exposed to higher levels of ALAN. Understanding how social disadvantage correlates with ALAN levels is essential for identifying the vulnerable populations and for informing lighting policy.

METHODS: We used satellite data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Black Marble data product to quantify annual ALAN levels (2012-2019), and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) to quantify social disadvantage, both at …

Linking Social And Built Environmental Factors To Leisure-Time Physical Activity In Rural Cancer Survivors, Courtney J Stevens, Yue Liao, Minxing Chen, Natalia I Heredia, Hannah Arem, Jasmine Sukumar, Lenat Joffe, Kathryn H Schmitz, Scherezade K Mama

Journal Articles

BACKGROUND: This study explored associations between social and built environmental factors and leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) in rural cancer survivors (RCS) and whether these associations differed by exercise stage of change (SOC).

METHOD: RCS (n = 219) completed questionnaires assessing LTPA, SOC, and social (social status, connectedness, support) and environmental (home environment, neighborhood environment) factors. Linear regression models examined associations between social and built environmental factors and LTPA and tested for moderation by SOC.

RESULTS: Half (50.7%) of RCS were physically active, and 49.3% were not active. Social factors positively associated with LTPA included subjective social status in the community …

Fruit And Vegetable Intake And Home Nutrition Environment Among Low-Income Minority Households With Elementary-Aged Children, Brittni Naylor Metoyer, Ru-Jye Chuang, Minjae Lee, Christine Markham, Eric L Brown, Maha Almohamad, Jayna M Dave, Shreela V Sharma

Journal Articles

Racial/ethnic and socioeconomic differences were shown to have an influence on child fruit and vegetable intake. This study examined the associations between parent and child fruit and vegetable intake and the home nutrition environment among Hispanic/Latino and African American families. Through a cross-sectional study design, self-reported surveys (

Wastewater Pandemic Preparedness: Toward An End-To-End Pathogen Monitoring Program, Justin R Clark, Austen Terwilliger, Vasanthi Avadhanula, Michael Tisza, Juwan Cormier, Sara Javornik-Cregeen, Matthew Clayton Ross, Kristi Louise Hoffman, Catherine Troisi, Blake Hanson, Joseph Petrosino, John Balliew, Pedro A Piedra, Janelle Rios, Jennifer Deegan, Cici Bauer, Fuqing Wu, Kristina D Mena, Eric Boerwinkle, Anthony W Maresso

Journal Articles

Molecular analysis of public wastewater has great potential as a harbinger for community health and health threats. Long-used to monitor the presence of enteric viruses, in particular polio, recent successes of wastewater as a reliable lead indicator for trends in SARS-CoV-2 levels and hospital admissions has generated optimism and emerging evidence that similar science can be applied to other pathogens of pandemic potential (PPPs), especially respiratory viruses and their variants of concern (VOC). However, there are substantial challenges associated with implementation of this ideal, namely that multiple and distinct fields of inquiry must be bridged and coordinated. These include engineering, …

Chemical Explosion, Covid-19, And Environmental Justice: Insights From Low-Cost Air Quality Sensors, Guning Liu, Katie Moore, Wei-Chung Su, George L Delclos, David Gimeno Ruiz De Porras, Bing Yu, Hezhong Tian, Bin Luo, Shao Lin, Grace Tee Lewis, Elena Craft, Kai Zhang

Journal Articles

OBJECTIVES: to examine the impact of the Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC) fire and COVID-19 on airborne particulate matter (PM) concentrations and the PM disproportionally affecting communities in Houston using low-cost sensors.

METHODS: We compared measurements from a network of low-cost sensors with a separate network of monitors from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the Houston metropolitan area from Mar 18, 2019, to Dec 31, 2020. Further, we examined the associations between neighborhood-level sociodemographic status and air pollution patterns by linking the low-cost sensor data to EPA environmental justice screening and mapping systems.

FINDINGS: We found increased PM levels during …

Review Of Evidence For Environmental Causes Of Uveal Coloboma, Evan B Selzer, Delphine Blain, Robert B Hufnagel, Philip J Lupo, Laura E Mitchell, Brian P Brooks

Journal Articles

Uveal coloboma is a condition defined by missing ocular tissues and is a significant cause of childhood blindness. It occurs from a failure of the optic fissure to close during embryonic development and may lead to missing parts of the iris, ciliary body, retina, choroid, and optic nerve. Because there is no treatment for coloboma, efforts have focused on prevention. While several genetic causes of coloboma have been identified, little definitive research exists regarding the environmental causes of this condition. We review the current literature on environmental factors associated with coloboma in an effort to guide future research and preventative …

Additive And Interactive Associations Of Environmental And Sociodemographic Factors With The Genotypes Of Three Glutathione S-Transferase Genes In Relation To The Blood Arsenic Concentrations Of Children In Jamaica, Mohammad H Rahbar, Maureen Samms-Vaughan, Yuansong Zhao, Sepideh Saroukhani, Sheikh F Zaman, Jan Bressler, Manouchehr Hessabi, Megan L Grove, Sydonnie Shakspeare-Pellington, Katherine A Loveland

Journal Articles

Arsenic (As) is a metalloid that has been classified as a xenobiotic with toxic effects on human beings, especially on children. Since the soil in Jamaica contains As, dietary intake is considered the main source of As exposure in Jamaicans. In addition, glutathione S-transferase (GST) genes, including

Associations Between Physiological Biomarkers And Psychosocial Measures Of Pregnancy-Specific Anxiety And Depression With Support Intervention, Karen L Weis, Tony T Yuan, Katherine C Walker, Thomas F Gibbons, Wenyaw Chan

Journal Articles

Stress and anxiety significantly impact the hypothalamic-pituitary axis, and in pregnancy, the subsequent maternal-fetal response can lead to poor outcomes. The objective of this study was to assess the association between psychosocial measures of pregnancy-specific anxiety and physiologic inflammatory responses. Specifically, to determine the effectiveness of the Mentors Offering Maternal Support (M-O-M-S

Exposures At Day Labor Corners: Using Existing Georeferenced Data To Describe Features Of Urban Environments, Maria Eugenia Fernández-Esquer, Amy E Hughes, Sandi L Pruitt

Journal Articles

PURPOSE: Latino day laborers are male immigrants from mainly Mexico and Central America who congregate at corners, that is, informal hiring sites, to solicit short-term employment. Studies describing the occupational environment of Latino day laborers traditionally measure jobsite exposures, not corner exposures. We sought to elucidate exposures at corners by describing their demographic, socioeconomic, occupational, business, built, and physical environmental characteristics and by comparing corner characteristics with other locations in a large urban county in Texas.

METHODS: We used multiple publicly available data sets from the U.S. Census, local tax authority, Google's Nearby Places Application Programming Interface, and Environmental Protection …

Pm, Amal Rammah, Kristina W Whitworth, Inkyu Han, Wenyaw Chan, Elaine Symanski

Journal Articles

There is limited evidence on the role of exposure to chemical constituents of fine particulate matter (PM

Differential Dynamic Properties Of Scleroderma Fibroblasts In Response To Perturbation Of Environmental Stimuli, Momiao Xiong, Frank C. Arnett, Xinjian Guo, Hao Xiong, Xiaodong Zhou

Journal Articles

Diseases are believed to arise from dysregulation of biological systems (pathways) perturbed by environmental triggers. Biological systems as a whole are not just the sum of their components, rather ever-changing, complex and dynamic systems over time in response to internal and external perturbation. In the past, biologists have mainly focused on studying either functions of isolated genes or steady-states of small biological pathways. However, it is systems dynamics that play an essential role in giving rise to cellular function/dysfunction which cause diseases, such as growth, differentiation, division and apoptosis. Biological phenomena of the entire organism are not only determined by …