Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Close Contacts Of Xenograft Recipients: Ethical Considerations Due To Risk Of Xenozoonosis, Daniel J Hurst, Luz Padilla, Daniel Rodger, Tamar Schiff, David K C Cooper

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

With decades of pre-clinical studies culminating in the recent clinical application of xenotransplantation, it would appear timely to provide recommendations for operationalizing oversight of xenotransplantation clinical trials. Ethical issues with clinical xenotransplantation have been described for decades, largely centering on animal welfare, the risks posed to the recipient, and public health risks posed by potential spread of xenozoonosis. Much less attention has been given to considerations relating to potentially elevated risks faced by those who may care for or otherwise have close contact with xenograft recipients. This paper examines the ethical and logistical issues raised by the potential exposure to …

The Effectiveness Of Disinfection Protocols In Osteopathic Family Medicine Offices, Riley Phyu, Harrison A Patrizio, Thomas Boyle, Todd Schachter

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

CONTEXT: Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) pose a substantial public health threat. Despite significant strides to curb HAIs in hospital environments, outpatient settings have not received the same degree of attention. Given their emphasis on holistic, patient-centered care, osteopathic family medicine offices are pivotal in both disease prevention and comprehensive patient treatment. The importance of simple yet effective disinfection protocols, such as thorough cleaning between patient appointments, cannot be overstated in these settings because they are integral to minimizing disease transmission.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to assess the effectiveness of the current disinfection protocols in osteopathic family medicine offices.

METHODS: A cross-sectional …

Bisphenol-A And Phthalate Metabolism In Children With Neurodevelopmental Disorders, T Peter Stein, Margaret D Schluter, Robert A Steer, Xue Ming

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

BACKGROUND: The etiology of autism spectrum (ASD) and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity (ADHD) disorders are multifactorial. Epidemiological studies have shown associations with environmental pollutants, such as plasticizers. This study focused on two of these compounds, the Bisphenol-A (BPA) and Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP). The major pathway for BPA and DEHP excretion is via glucuronidation. Glucuronidation makes insoluble substances more water-soluble allowing for their subsequent elimination in urine.

HYPOTHESIS: Detoxification of these two plasticizers is compromised in children with ASD and ADHD. Consequently, their tissues are more exposed to these two plasticizers.

METHODS: We measured the efficiency of glucuronidation in three groups of children, …

Development Of A Covid-19 Vulnerability Index (Cvi) For The Counties And Residents Of New Jersey, Usa., Remo Disalvatore, Sarah K Bauer, Jeong Eun Ahn, Kauser Jahan

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Faculty Scholarship

The coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19, has impacted countless aspects of everyday life since it was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization in March of 2020. From societal to economic impacts, COVID-19 and its variants will leave a lasting impact on our society and the world. During the height of the pandemic, it became increasingly evident that indices, such as the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) Social Vulnerability Index (SVI), were instrumental in predicting vulnerabilities within a community. The CDC's SVI provides important estimates on which communities will be more susceptible to 'hazard events' by compiling a …

Pandemic Response Officers: Integration Between Medical, Public Health, And Higher Education Systems To Expedite Prevention And Response., Anne C Jones, Genevive R Meredith, Donna Leong, Sabine Jamal, Rachel Buckwalter, John D Clarke, Marin Clarkberg, Allan Bishop, Frank Cantone, Claire Espey, Frank Kruppa, Mary George Opperman, Gary A Koretzky

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

CONTEXT: Research and policy studies alike have enumerated population and community health benefits of system integration between medical, public health, and social entities. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic revealed the necessity of a well-trained and adequately staffed public health and medical workforce in order to process SARS-CoV-2 cases and prevent subsequent transmission. Higher education systems, in particular, represented defined populations of exposure and transmission. Opportunities existed for collaboration and task sharing between institutions of higher education and local public health departments to limit spread and impacts.

PROGRAM: This article describes the Pandemic Response Officer (PRO) program at Cornell University, …

Physician Stress In The Era Of Covid-19 Vaccine Disparity: A Multi-Institutional Survey, Sarah Zahl, Debasis Mondal, David Tolentino, Jennifer A Fischer, Sherry Jimenez

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

CONTEXT: Healthcare workers are at a high risk of infection during infectious disease outbreaks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the availability of several vaccines against COVID-19, the absence of vaccination in patients and colleagues remains a continuous source of stress in healthcare workers. We conducted a survey of physician preceptors, both MDs and DOs, to explore the impact of differences in the patients' and colleagues' vaccination status on their well-being, stress, and burnout.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study is to determine whether exposure to unvaccinated patients and/or colleagues increases stress and burnout in physician preceptors by utilizing a …

Bone-Loading Physical Activity And Alcohol Intake But Not Bmi Affect Areal Bone Mineral Density In Young College-Aged Korean Women: A Cross-Sectional Study., Dong Jun Sung, Harshvardhan Singh, Seung-Bum Oh, Sojung Kim

Faculty Scholarship for the College of Science & Mathematics

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine the differences in areal bone mineral density (aBMD) based on alcohol consumption behaviors, bone-loading history as assessed by a bone-specific physical activity questionnaire (BPAQ), and the body mass index (BMI). College-aged female students (N = 112) were recruited from the universities in Seoul and Gyeonggi province, South Korea. The aBMD of the lumbar spine and non-dominant side of the proximal femur (total hip, TH; femoral neck, FN; femoral trochanter, FT) were measured using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Alcohol consumption was determined by the frequency and amount of alcohol intake during …

Older Adults' Health Care Utilization A Year After Experiencing Fear Or Distress From Hurricane Sandy, Laura P Sands, Yimeng Xie, Rachel Pruchno, Allison Heid, Yili Hong

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether self-reports of disaster-related psychological distress predict older adults' health care utilization during the year after Hurricane Sandy, which hit New Jersey on October 29, 2012.

METHODS: Respondents were from the ORANJ BOWL Study, a random-digit dialed sample from New Jersey recruited from 2006 to 2008. Medicare hospital, emergency department (ED) and outpatient claims data from 2012 and 2013 were matched to 1607 people age 65 and older in 2012 who responded to follow-up surveys conducted from July 2013 to July 2015 to determine their hurricane-related experiences.

RESULTS: In total, 7% (107) of respondents reported they experienced …

Agreement Between Clinician-Rated Versus Patient-Reported Outcomes In Huntington Disease, Noelle E Carlozzi, Nicholas R Boileau, Joel S Perlmutter, Kelvin L Chou, Julie C Stout, Jane S Paulsen, Michael K Mccormack, David Cella, Martha A Nance, Jin-Shei Lai, Praveen Dayalu

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

BACKGROUND: Clinician-rated measures of functioning are often used as primary endpoints in clinical trials and other behavioral research in Huntington disease. As study costs for clinician-rated assessments are not always feasible, there is a question of whether patient self-report of commonly used clinician-rated measures may serve as acceptable alternatives in low risk behavioral trials.

AIM: The purpose of this paper was to determine the level of agreement between self-report and clinician-ratings of commonly used functional assessment measures in Huntington disease.

DESIGN: 486 participants with premanifest or manifest Huntington disease were examined. Total Functional Capacity, Functional Assessment, and Independence Scale assessments …

Factors Associated With End-Of-Life Planning In Huntington Disease., Nancy R Downing, Siera Goodnight, Sena Chae, Joel S Perlmutter, Michael Mccormack, Elizabeth Hahn, Stacey K Barton, Noelle Carlozzi

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: Knowledge of one's gene status for adult onset conditions provides opportunity to make advance end-of-life (EOL) plans. The purposes of these analyses were to (1) determine the prevalence of EOL plans, including advance directives (ADs) among persons across 3 stages of Huntington disease (HD) and (2) examine factors associated with having ADs in this sample.

METHODS: Data are from 503 participants in the HD Quality of Life study. Participants completed an online health-related quality-of-life survey that included questions regarding EOL planning and self-reported HD symptoms. Frequencies were calculated for EOL planning by the HD stage. Bivariate analysis and logistic …

Evaluating Cognition In Individuals With Huntington Disease: Neuroqol Cognitive Functioning Measures, Jin-Shei Lai, Siera Goodnight, Nancy R Downing, Rebecca E Ready, Jane S Paulsen, Anna L Kratz, Julie C Stout, Michael K Mccormack, David Cella, Christopher Ross, Jenna Russell, Noelle E Carlozzi

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

PURPOSE: Cognitive functioning impacts health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for individuals with Huntington disease (HD). The Neuro-QoL includes two patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures of cognition-Executive Function (EF) and General Concerns (GC). These measures have not previously been validated for use in HD. The purpose of this analysis is to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Neuro-QoL Cognitive Function measures for use in HD.

METHODS: Five hundred ten individuals with prodromal or manifest HD completed the Neuro-QoL Cognition measures, two other PRO measures of HRQOL (WHODAS 2.0 and EQ5D), and a depression measure (PROMIS Depression). Measures of functioning The Total …

Objective Coding Of Content And Techniques In Workplace-Based Supervision Of An Ebt In Public Mental Health, Shannon Dorsey, Suzanne E U Kerns, Leah Lucid, Michael D Pullmann, Julie P Harrison, Lucy Berliner, Kelly Thompson, Esther Deblinger

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

BACKGROUND: Workplace-based clinical supervision as an implementation strategy to support evidence-based treatment (EBT) in public mental health has received limited research attention. A commonly provided infrastructure support, it may offer a relatively cost-neutral implementation strategy for organizations. However, research has not objectively examined workplace-based supervision of EBT and specifically how it might differ from EBT supervision provided in efficacy and effectiveness trials.

METHODS: Data come from a descriptive study of supervision in the context of a state-funded EBT implementation effort. Verbal interactions from audio recordings of 438 supervision sessions between 28 supervisors and 70 clinicians from 17 public mental health …

Relationships Among Apathy, Health-Related Quality Of Life, And Function In Huntington's Disease., Nora E Fritz, Nicholas R Boileau, Julie C Stout, Rebecca Ready, Joel S Perlmutter, Jane S Paulsen, Kimberly Quaid, Stacey Barton, Michael K Mccormack, Susan L Perlman, Noelle E Carlozzi

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

Up to 90% of individuals with Huntington's disease (HD)-a progressive, inherited neurodegenerative disorder-experience apathy. Apathy is particularly debilitating because it is marked by a reduction in goal-directed behaviors, including self-care, social interactions, and mobility. The objective of this study was to examine relationships between variables of apathy, functional status, physical function, cognitive function, behavioral status/emotional function, and health-related quality of life. Clinician-rated measures of physical, cognitive, and behavioral function, including one clinician-rated item on apathy, and self-reported measures of physical function, health-related quality of life, and emotional, cognitive, and social function were collected in a single session from 487 persons …

A New Measure For End Of Life Planning, Preparation, And Preferences In Huntington Disease: Hdqlife End Of Life Planning, Noelle E Carlozzi, E A Hahn, S A Frank, J S Perlmutter, N D Downing, M K Mccormack, S Barton, M A Nance, S G Schilling, Hdqlife Site Investigators And Coordinators

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

BACKGROUND: Huntington disease is a fatal inherited neurodegenerative disease. Because the end result of Huntington disease is death due to Huntington disease-related causes, there is a need for better understanding and caring for individuals at their end of life.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to develop a new measure to evaluate end of life planning.

DESIGN: We conducted qualitative focus groups, solicited expert input, and completed a literature review to develop a 16-item measure to evaluate important aspects of end of life planning for Huntington disease. Item response theory and differential item functioning analyses were utilized to examine …

Experimental Data Extraction And In Silico Prediction Of The Estrogenic Activity Of Renewable Replacements For Bisphenol A., Huixiao Hong, Benjamin G Harvey, Giuseppe R Palmese, Joseph F. Stanzione Iii, Hui Wen Ng, Sugunadevi Sakkiah, Weida Tong, Joshua M Sadler

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Faculty Scholarship

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a ubiquitous compound used in polymer manufacturing for a wide array of applications; however, increasing evidence has shown that BPA causes significant endocrine disruption and this has raised public concerns over safety and exposure limits. The use of renewable materials as polymer feedstocks provides an opportunity to develop replacement compounds for BPA that are sustainable and exhibit unique properties due to their diverse structures. As new bio-based materials are developed and tested, it is important to consider the impacts of both monomers and polymers on human health. Molecular docking simulations using the Estrogenic Activity Database in …

Ethnic Differences In Maternal Adipokines During Normal Pregnancy, Xinhua Chen, Theresa O Scholl

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

Two adipokines (adiponectin and resistin) have opposite relations with insulin resistance and inflammation. Our major focus was to determine whether there were detectable ethnic differences in maternal adipokines during pregnancy. We also explored the correlation of the adipokines with maternal glucose homeostasis, blood pressure and anthropometric parameters. Pregnant women (n = 1634) were from a large prospective cohort study in Camden NJ (African-American 36.8%; Hispanic 47.6%; Caucasian 15.6%). Serum adiponectin and resistin were measured at entry (week 16.8) and the 3rd trimester (week 30.7) using the Luminex xMapTechnology. Significant differences were observed among ethnic groups, controlling for confounding variables. African …

Maternal Biomarkers Of Endothelial Dysfunction And Preterm Delivery, Xinhua Chen, Theresa O Scholl

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty Scholarship

BACKGROUND: Endothelial dysfunction is key to the development of atherosclerosis. Preterm delivery foreshadows later maternal cardiovascular disease (CVD), but it is not known if endothelial dysfunction also occurs. We prospectively measured circulating biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction in pregnant women with preterm or term delivery.

METHODS: We conducted a case-control study nested within a large prospective epidemiological study of young, generally healthy pregnant women. Women who delivered preterm (gestation, n = 240) and controls who delivered at term (n = 439) were included. Pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia were analyzed separately. Circulating endothelial dysfunction biomarkers included soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), vascular …