Digital Commons Network^™

Spatiotemporal Epidemiology Of Varicella In Chongqing, China, 2014-2018, Hua Zhu, Han Zhao, Rong Ou, Qing Zeng, Ling Hu, Hongfang Qiu, Manoj Sharma, Mengliang Ye

Environmental & Global Health Faculty Research

Although immunization against varicella using vaccines has been proven to be significant and effective in the past decades, varicella remains a major public health concern for many developing countries. Varicella vaccination has not been introduced into routine immunization programs in China, and varicella outbreaks have continued to occur. Taking the city of Chongqing, which has a high prevalence of varicella, as an example, this study explored the spatiotemporal epidemiology of varicella. Based on the reported data of varicella cases from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2018 in Chongqing, hot spots and space-time clusters of varicella were identified using spatial …

Cancer Health Disparities Among African Americans: A Socioecological Approach, Seth M. Spitzley

The Hilltop Review

Research shows that health outcomes are influenced by race or ethnicity, socioeconomic status, education and literacy levels, and the physical environment (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014). The health statuses of minority groups, such as African Americans, are adversely impacted by inequality (Randall, 2009). In Kalamazoo, Michigan, the leading cause of death for all residents in Kalamazoo County was cancer, where black individuals have the highest death rate among any other racial or ethnic group. That African Americans comprise less than 11% of the population in Kalamazoo County thus suggests that African Americans are disproportionately impacted by cancer …

Pregnancy And Neonatal Outcomes In Sars-Cov-2 Infection: A Systematic Review., R. S. Chamseddine, F. Wahbeh, F. Chervenak, L. J. Salomon, B. Ahmed, A. Rafii

Journal Articles

With the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 and its rapid spread, concerns regarding its effects on pregnancy outcomes have been growing. We reviewed 245 pregnancies complicated by maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection across 48 studies listed on PubMed and MedRxiv. The most common clinical presentations were fever (55.9%), cough (36.3%), fatigue (11.4%), and dyspnea (12.7%). Only 4.1% of patients developed respiratory distress. Of all patients, 89.0% delivered via cesarean section (n = 201), with a 33.3% rate of gestational complications, a 35.3% rate of preterm delivery, and a concerning 2.5% rate of stillbirth delivery or neonatal death. Among those tested, 6.45% of newborns were …

Living With Killing: The Lived Experiences Of Young Black Men In South Chicago, Ponda Barnes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Homicide is a serious public health crisis in the United States, and it has long-term health, psychological, economic, and social implications to society, including disproportionately impacting one group. Among young African American males between the ages 15–24, homicide is the leading cause of death,. Much has been written about this phenomenon, but the voices of the young men directly involved are rarely heard. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to investigate youth violence and homicide through the lens of male African Americans aged 18-24 living in one low-income community in Chicago, with the objective of understanding why Black …

Post Chemotherapeutic Treatment Impact On Pediatric Patients With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Roaa Alfarshooti

Wayne State University Theses

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most prevalent type of leukemia among children. It is characterized by chromosomal and genetic variations and abnormalities occurring in the leukemic cells. Prognosis predictors of ALL depend on risk-based stratification and the reaction to the initial therapy. Current treatment regimens of ALL contribute to the survival of approximately 80% of pediatric ALL patients with 90% 5-year event-free survival. Based on the patient’s features impacting prognosis and risk of therapy failure, cases can be designated to receive the adequate type of treatment regimens. The higher the risk, the more aggressive, intensive, and toxic is the …

A Comparative Spatial And Climate Analysis Of Human Granulocytic Anaplasmosis And Human Babesiosis In New York State (2013-2018), Collin J. O'Connor

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) and human babesiosis are tick-borne diseases spread by Ixodes scapularis (the blacklegged or deer tick) and are the result of infection with Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Babesia microti, respectively. In New York State (NYS), incidence rates of these diseases increased concordantly until around 2013, when rates of HGA began to increase more rapidly than human babesiosis, and the spatial extent of the diseases diverged. Surveillance data of tick-borne pathogens (2007 to 2018) and reported human cases of HGA (n=4,297) and human babesiosis (n=2,986) (2013 to 2018) from the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) showed a …

Prevalence Of Restricted Spirometry Within Two Eastern Kentucky Counties A Cross Sectional Study, Quincy Bascombe

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

Objective: This study examines the prevalence of restrictive spirometry in Eastern Kentucky and its association among men and women with various demographic and exposure (occupational and environmental) factors.

Methods: A cross sectional, cluster sample (N = 685) of participants from Letcher and Harlan Counties, aged 21 and over, answered a questionnaire focused on risk factors for respiratory health outcomes including questions on demographic, health, occupational, and environmental exposures variables. Pulmonary function tests were administered to all participants with no significant cardiovascular or cerebrovascular events within the past 30 days. Log-binomial regression was used to calculate prevalence ratios (PRs) …

Rural Disparities In Lung Cancer Mortality: An Ecologic Study In Florida, Batel Amouyal

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States and worldwide. The higher mortality among patients with lung cancer is related to cases being diagnosed in late stage where treatment is limited. Urban and rural health outcomes are potentially influenced by differences in accessibility to health care services. We are unaware of existing research examining geographic differences in or factors related to lung cancer mortality in Florida. Therefore, this study aims to examine lung cancer mortality differences between urban and rural counties in Florida. We examined all 67 counties in Florida to investigate if a rural …

An Ecological Approach To Understanding Lethal Violence In The Us Using Stream Analogy, Jacqueline Seals

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

ABSTRACT OF CAPSTONE

Background: Lethal violence, homicides and suicides, is a growing issue in the US. Historically homicides and suicides have been studied separately, but with stream analogy of lethal violence homicides and suicides are both currents of lethal violence, just branching in opposite directions. The purpose of this study is to understand which county-level factors increase risk of lethal violence.

Methods: This ecological study combined open-source datasets to create one dataset of socioeconomic risk factors of lethal violence. Counties with 10 or more lethal violent deaths were included (n=2751). Negative Binomial models examined the relationship between risk factors and …

Hysplit As An Environmental Impact Assessment Tool To Study The Data Discrepancies Between Olea Europaea Airborne Pollen Records And Its Phenology In Sw Spain, Alejandro Monroy-Colín, J. M. Maya-Manzano, Rafael Tormo-Molina, Raúl Pecero-Casimiro, María Ángeles Gonzalo-Garijo, Santiago Fernández-Rodríguez

Articles

The olive tree (Olea europaea) is a native evergreen tree in the Mediterranean region, being one of the most important causes of seasonal respiratory allergies in Mediterranean countries. This work aims to relate flowering phenology, source tree distribution, meteorology, and airborne pollen records for this species and to analyse the possible arrival of air masses from distant areas during days when differences between the phenological and pollen peaks. Aerobiological sampling was carried out in Badajoz (SW Spain) for 4 years (2016–2019) using a Hirst volumetric sampler. Trees were geolocalized in the city and surrounding areas. The pollination phenology of 15 …

Journal Of The Arkansas Academy Of Science - Volume 74, 2020, Academy Editors

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Smoking And Covid-19, Willie P. Rajvong, Yelena Tarasenko

Eagles Talking About the Public’s Health

No abstract provided.

Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta Monarchus Boddaert, 1783), Michael L. Avery

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Common Names: Monk Parakeet, Quaker Parakeet, Quaker Parrot, Quaker Conure, Grey-headed Parakeet

The natural distribution of the Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus Boddaert, 1783) extends from southern Bolivia, through Paraguay, southern Brazil and Uruguay to southern Argentina (Fig. 10.1 ). It is documented as invasive in a range of countries, and of these, there are at least 17 countries where they are breeding in the wild, as detailed below. ...

The Monk Parakeet is among the most successful invasive bird species in the world. Unlike many other invasive birds, such as the Ring-necked Parakeet (Psittacula krameri) and the …

Assessment Of Eating Habits And Lifestyle During Coronavirus Pandemic In The Mena Region: A Cross-Sectional Study, Leila Cheikh Ismail, Tareq M. Osaili, Maysm N. Mohamad, Amina Al Marzouqi, Amjad H. Jarrar, Antonis Zampelas, Carla Habib-Mourad, Dima Omar Abu Jamous, Habiba I. Ali, Haleama Al Sabbah, Hayder Hasan, Latifa Mohammed Rashid Almarzooqi, Lily Stojanovska, Mona Hashim, Reyad R.Shaker Obaid, Samar Elfeky, Sheima T. Saleh, Zahieh A.M. Shawar, Ayesha S. Al Dhaheri

All Works

© The Authors 2020. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has rapidly spread globally, forcing countries to apply lockdowns and strict social distancing measures. The aim of this study was to assess eating habits and lifestyle behaviors among residents of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region during the lockdown. A cross-sectional study among adult residents of the MENA region was conducted using an online questionnaire designed on Google Forms during April 2020. A total of 2970 participants from 18 countries participated in the current study. During the pandemic, over 30% reported weight gain, 6.2% consumed five or more meals per …

Black Vulture Conflict And Management In The United States: Damage Trends, Management Overview, And Research Needs, Bryan M. Kluever, Morgan Pfeiffer, Scott C. Barras, Brett Dunlap, Lee A. Humberg

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Contrary to rapid declines of many vulture (Accipitridae, Cathartidea) species worldwide, black vulture (Coragyps atratus) populations are increasing and expanding their range in North America. Vultures exhibit complex behaviors and can adapt to any human-dominated landscape or land use. These traits, combined with population growth and range expansion, have contributed to increased human–vulture conflicts. Our goal was to summarize the current status and trends in human–black vulture conflicts (hereafter human– vulture conflicts), review available management strategies, identify knowledge gaps, and provide recommendations to enhance management and understanding of this species and the associated conflicts. We found human–vulture conflicts …

Hypothetical Human Immune Genome Complex Gradient May Help To Explain The Congenital Zika Symdrome Catastrophe In Brazil: A New Theory, F. R. S. Oliveira, C. C. Bresani-Salvi, C. N. L. Morais, A. W. Bigham, U. Braga-Neto, Gladys E. Maestre, John L. Vandeberg, E. T. A. Marques, B. Acioli-Santos

School of Medicine Publications

There are few data considering human genetics as an important risk factor for birth abnormalities related to ZIKV infection during pregnancy, even though sub-Saharan African populations are apparently more resistant to CZS as compared to populations in the Americas. We hypothesized that single nucleotide variants (SNVs), especially in innate immune genes, could make some populations more susceptible to Zika congenital complications than others. Differences in the SNV frequencies among continental populations provide great potential for Machine Learning techniques. We explored a key immune genomic gradient between individuals from Africa, Asia and Latin America, working with complex signatures, using 297 SNVs. …

Association Between Opening A Jail And Sexually Transmitted Infections In Rural Counties Across The United States, Tyler Harvey

Public Health Theses

Abstract

Objective

To estimate the effect of openings jail in rural counties on county-level chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis prevalence rates.

Methods

We used county-level data from the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (2005-2017) to obtain chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis rates, and the American Correctional Association’s National Jail and Adult Detention Directory (2013-2014) to locate rural jail openings. Using a generalized synthetic control method, we estimated the effect of opening jails in 41 rural counties between 2010 and 2012 across the United States on sexually-transmitted infections.

Results

We found an average treatment effect for chlamydia prevalence …

Microcystins And Liver Disease Mortality, Insights From An Ecological Study, Rajesh Tirpaul Melaram

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Microcystins (MCs) are toxic secondary metabolites produced by freshwater cyanobacteria. Algal bloom subsidence can stimulate MC release, which can impair liver function if orally exposed to in large doses. The purpose of this retrospective, U.S. ecological study was to determine if MC exposure represented an environmental risk factor for liver disease mortality using a socioecological approach. A longitudinal ecological substudy investigated the association between average total MCs in Lake Washington and Lake Manatee and age-adjusted chronic liver disease (CLD)/cirrhosis death rates in Brevard County and Manatee County, Florida (FL). A prediction model of total MCs was deduced by quantifying levels …

Childhood Blood Lead Levels And Adolescent Crime Rates In The United States, Jude Juiye Soweh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Juvenile violent crime rates in the United States have been on a continuous decline since 1996. Despite this decrease, youth violence as well as racial differences in crime rates continues to be a public health issue in the United States. Researchers have linked externalization behavior in children to factors including genetics, parental upbringing, abuse, school environment, and media exposure but have not fully considered the relationship between early childhood lead contamination and youth violence. This was an ecologic study of the relationship between early childhood blood lead levels (BLLs; ≥ 10µg/dL before 2012 or ≥ 5µg/dL after 2012) and crime …

Association Of Landfall Atlantic Tropical Storms And Human Cases Of Locally Acquired West Nile Virus Infection In Florida, Jackson G. Mosley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

West Nile virus (WNv) is the most widely distributed flavivirus and considered a vector-borne pathogen of global significance. During the study period from 2002 to 2018, WNv had the highest incidence of locally acquired human cases when compared to any other mosquito borne illness in Florida with 373 cases documented during the study period. The purpose of the study is to determine if there is an association between Florida landfall tropical storms (LTS) and the incidence of locally acquired human WNv cases from 2002 through 2018. The study used a retrospective ecological study design guided by the epidemiological triad model …

Population-Level Determinants Of Cholera Incidence In African Countries, Ngoy Nsenga

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Cholera remains endemic in Africa, with limited access to safe drinking water and inadequate sanitation as 2 of the main drivers of its dissemination. Few studies have examined the impact of health system capacity, even though it plays an important role in prevention, early detection, and response to a cholera outbreak. Grounded in the ecosocial theory of infectious disease dissemination, this quantitative ecological study explored the effect of social vulnerability (as measured by access to safe drinking water and sanitation, rate of open defecation, poverty, income inequality, gender inequality, and adult literacy) and health system (as measured by health financing …

Demographic, Environmental, And Clinical Variables Associated With Dengue In Saint Lucia, Brendan Lee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Dengue is the most important arboviral disease of public health concern on the world stage. In Saint Lucia, the disease has been endemic for years. Little research has been published on the specific epidemiology of dengue in Saint Lucia, and this study sought to identify the risk factors associated with the disease specific to the island. This study was underpinned by ecological theory, which is used to explain the possible relationships between risk factors and the occurrence of dengue. This three-manuscript study was used to evaluate the relationship between demographic, environmental, and clinical variables and the occurrence of dengue as …

Population Density And Spatial Distribution Of Neglected Tropical Diseases In Sierra Leone, Abou B. Funna

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are the most common health conditions affecting the poorest residents of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). These infections affect an estimated 2 billion people worldwide, including 500 million people living in SSA. About 85% of NTD infections are a result of helminth infections; hookworm is also a common occurrence among SSA’s poorest people, especially children. Schistosomiasis is the 2nd most prevalent NTD after hookworm. This quantitative correlational study investigated population distribution and the spread of NTDs in Sierra Leone. The focus was on 5 major NTDs: ascariasis, hookworm, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis, and trichuris. Data were obtained from the …

Epidemiology Of Soccer‐Related Head Injury In Children 5–14 Years In Victoria, Australia, Amy E. Smith, Catherine Krejany, Moyez Jiwa

Medical Papers and Journal Articles

Aim: Our aim was to use epidemiological data to determine the incidence of soccer‐related head injuries in children aged 5–14 years who presented at emergency departments (EDs) or were admitted in hospitals in Victoria, Australia.

Methods: ED presentation and hospital admission de‐identified aggregate data were from the Victorian Injury Surveillance Unit. Soccer participation data were compared with the soccer‐related head injury data to determine the incidence of this injury among these children.

Results: The incidence of ED presentations was 0.17% of children participating in soccer during the study period (financial years 2011–2012 to 2015–2016). The 10–14‐years age group presented with …

Socioeconomic Status, Benzathine Penicillin Prophylaxis, And Clinical Outcomes In Patients With Rheumatic Heart Disease, Christopher Sabo Yilgwan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is the major cause of acquired heart disease and death for children and young adults in developing countries. Poverty and social disadvantage are thought to influence the clinical outcomes in RHD patients. Guided by the health lifestyle theory, this study assessed the relationship between socioeconomic status and clinical outcomes (heart failure events and mortality) in patients with RHD. It also examined how adherence to penicillin prophylaxis mediates the effect of socioeconomic status (SES) on clinical outcomes. Using the Nigerian database of the REMEDY study, this study was conducted with 243 participants using Poisson regression and logistic …

Statements About The Pervasiveness Of Behavior Require Data About The Pervasiveness Of Behavior, Craig P. Speelman, Marek Mcgann

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Despite recent close attention to issues related to the reliability of psychological research (e.g., the replication crisis), issues of the validity of this research have not been considered to the same extent. This paper highlights an issue that calls into question the validity of the common research practice of studying samples of individuals, and using sample-based statistics to infer generalizations that are applied not only to the parent population, but to individuals. The lack of ergodicity in human data means that such generalizations are not justified. This problem is illustrated with respect to two common scenarios in psychological research that …

Co-Occurrence Across Time And Space Of Drug- And Cannabinoid- Exposure And Adverse Mental Health Outcomes In The National Survey Of Drug Use And Health: Combined Geotemporospatial And Causal Inference Analysis, Albert Stuart Reece, Gary Hulse

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background: Whilst many studies have linked increased drug and cannabis exposure to adverse mental health (MH) outcomes their effects on whole populations and geotemporospatial relationships are not well understood.

Methods

Ecological cohort study of National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) geographically-linked substate-shapefiles 2010–2012 and 2014–2016 supplemented by five-year US American Community Survey. Drugs: cigarettes, alcohol abuse, last-month cannabis use and last-year cocaine use. MH: any mental illness, major depressive illness, serious mental illness and suicidal thinking. Data analysis: two-stage, geotemporospatial, robust generalized linear regression and causal inference methods in R.

Results

410,138 NSDUH respondents. Average response rate 76.7%. …

Multilevel Analysis In Rural Cancer Control: A Conceptual Framework And Methodological Implications, Whitney Zahnd, Sara L. Mclafferty, Jan M. Eberth

Faculty Publications

Rural populations experience a myriad of cancer disparities ranging from lower screening rates to higher cancer mortality rates. These disparities are due in part to individual-level characteristics like age and insurance status, but the physical and social context of rural residence also plays a role. Our objective was two-fold: 1) to develop a multilevel conceptual framework describing how rural residence and relevant micro, macro, and supra-macro factors can be considered in evaluating disparities across the cancer control continuum and 2) to outline the unique considerations of multilevel statistical modeling in rural cancer research. We drew upon several formative frameworks that …

The Association Between Melanoma And Exposure To Arsenic Among U.S. Adults Using The National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey (Nhanes) From 2003 To 2016, Ahmed Bedaiwi

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

Background: Melanoma is a deadly skin cancer at late stages, and its incidence has been increasing significantly over the last ten years in the United States. Chronic exposure to arsenic has been associated in many studies as a risk factor for non-melanoma skin cancer, notably squamous cell carcinoma. However, current knowledge is limited regarding melanoma and long-term arsenic exposure.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study using the 2003-2016 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), to investigate the association between arsenic exposure and self-reported melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer diagnoses. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were conducted. …

Genome-Wide Meta-Analysis Of Macronutrient Intake Of 91,114 European Ancestry Participants From The Cohorts For Heart And Aging Research In Genomic Epidemiology Consortium, Jordi Merino, Hassan S. Dashti, Sherly X. Li, Chloé Sarnowski, Anne E. Justice, Misa Graff, Constantina Papoutsakis, Caren E. Smith, George V. Dedoussis, John Blangero

School of Medicine Publications

Macronutrient intake, the proportion of calories consumed from carbohydrate, fat, and protein, is an important risk factor for metabolic diseases with significant familial aggregation. Previous studies have identified two genetic loci for macronutrient intake, but incomplete coverage of genetic variation and modest sample sizes have hindered the discovery of additional loci. Here, we expanded the genetic landscape of macronutrient intake, identifying 12 suggestively significant loci (P < 1 × 10-6) associated with intake of any macronutrient in 91,114 European ancestry participants. Four loci replicated and reached genome-wide significance in a combined meta-analysis including 123,659 European descent participants, unraveling two novel loci; a common variant in RARB locus for carbohydrate intake and a rare variant in DRAM1 locus for protein intake, and corroborating earlier FGF21 and FTO findings. In additional analysis of 144,770 participants from the UK Biobank, all identified associations from the two-stage analysis were confirmed except for DRAM1. Identified loci might have implications in brain and adipose tissue biology and have clinical impact in obesity-related phenotypes. Our findings provide new insight into biological functions related to macronutrient intake.