Digital Commons Network^™

Urinary Excretion Of Dithiocarbamates And Selfreported Cruciferous Vegetable Intake: Application Of The ‘Method Of Triads’ To A Foodspecific Biomarker, Jay H. Fowke, James R. Hébert, Jed W. Fahey

Faculty Publications

Objective: Greater intake of Cruciferous vegetables (e.g. broccoli) may prevent cancer at several sites. Urinary excretion of isothiocyanate conjugates (dithiocarbamates, DTC) provides a specific biomarker of Cruciferous vegetable consumption suitable for epidemiological investigations. However, no gold-standard referent is available for evaluating urinary DTC levels as an estimator of Cruciferous vegetable consumption. We compared urinary DTC levels to intake as measured by two selfreported dietary assessment techniques. Design: Cruciferous vegetable consumption was measured before and after a behavioural dietary intervention using multiple 24-hour recalls (24HR), a foodcounting questionnaire (VFQ) and urinary DTC excretion levels. Analysis included a structural equation approach (Method …

Depression: A Decade Of Progress, More To Do, Veronica V. Goff

National Health Policy Forum

This issue brief discusses the most recent findings on depression prevalence and cost; examines trends in outpatient treatment, including the dramatic growth in antidepressant use; discusses efforts to improve treatment in primary care; and explores possible public policy avenues for improving treatment access and quality.

Prescription Drugs In Nursing Homes: Managing Costs And Quality In A Complex Environment, Dan Mendelson, Rajeev Ramchand, Richard Abramson, Anne Tumlinson

National Health Policy Forum

This issue brief provides a description of prescription drug use in nursing homes and a summary of policy issues in this area. It first profiles the nursing home pharmaceutical market, outlining the major trends in demographics and drug utilization, the supply chain by which drugs go from manufacturers to pharmacies to nursing home residents, and the alternative arrangements by which prescription drugs in nursing homes are financed. The paper then provides a synopsis of current policy issues, focusing in turn on cost containment and quality improvement initiatives.

U.S. Childhood Vaccine Availability: Legal, Regulatory, And Economic Complexities, Robin J. Strongin

National Health Policy Forum

Despite the vital role they play in public health, childhood vaccines travel a complicated road from laboratory to provider and patient. From the fall of 2000 until well into 2002, a combination of factors, including market dynamics, legal challenges, and regulatory hurdles, led to a shortage of some childhood vaccines. This paper examines each of these factors, focusing on the important roles of both the public and the private sectors.

Associations Between Cardiorespiratory Fitness And C-Reactive Protein In Men, Timothy S. Church, Carolyn E. Barlow, Conrad P. Earnest, James B. Kampert, Elisa L. Priest, Steven N. Blair

Faculty Publications

Objective - This study examined the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and C-reactive protein (CRP), with adjustment for weight and within weight categories.

Methods and Results - We calculated median and adjusted geometric mean CRP levels, percentages of individuals with an elevated CRP (≥2.00 mg/L), and odds ratios of elevated CRP across 5 levels of cardiorespiratory fitness for 722 men. CRP values were adjusted for age, body mass index, vitamin use, statin medication use, aspirin use, the presence of inflammatory disease, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, and smoking habit. We found an inverse association of CRP across fitness levels (P for …

Laboratory Response To Anthrax Bioterrorism, New York City, 2001, Michael B. Heller, Michel L. Bunning, Martin E.B. France, Debra M. Niemeyer, Leonard Peruski, Tim Naimi, Phillip M. Talboy, Patrick H. Murray, Harald W. Pietz, John Kornblum, William Oleszko, Sara T. Beatrice, Joint Microbiological Rapid Response Team, New York City Anthrax Investigation Working Group, Denis Nash

Publications and Research

In October 2001, the greater New York City Metropolitan Area was the scene of a bioterrorism attack. The scale of the public response to this attack was not foreseen and threatened to overwhelm the Bioterrorism Response Laboratory’s (BTRL) ability to process and test environmental samples. In a joint effort with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the cooperation of the Department of Defense, a massive effort was launched to maintain and sustain the laboratory response and return test results in a timely fashion. This effort was largely successful. The development and expansion of the facility are described, as …

The Analysis Of Placement Values For Evaluating Discriminatory Measures, Margaret S. Pepe, Tianxi Cai

UW Biostatistics Working Paper Series

The idea of using measurements such as biomarkers, clinical data, or molecular biology assays for classification and prediction is popular in modern medicine. The scientific evaluation of such measures includes assessing the accuracy with which they predict the outcome of interest. Receiver operating characteristic curves are commonly used for evaluating the accuracy of diagnostic tests. They can be applied more broadly, indeed to any problem involving classification to two states or populations (D = 0 or D = 1). We show that the ROC curve can be interpreted as a cumulative distribution function for the discriminatory measure Y in the …

Clinical And Epidemiological Correlates Of Genotypes Within The Mycobacterium Avium Complex Defined By Restriction And Sequence Analysis Of Hsp65, Sandra C. Smole, Fionnuala Mcaleese, Jutamas Ngampasutadol, C. Fordham Von Reyn, Robert D. Arbeit

Dartmouth Scholarship

Species identification of isolates of the Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) remains a difficult task. Although M. avium and Mycobacterium intracellulare can be identified with expensive, commercially available probes, many MAC isolates remain unresolved, including those representing Mycobacterium lentiflavum as well as other potentially undefined species. PCR restriction analysis (PRA) of the hsp65 gene has been proposed as a rapid and inexpensive approach. We applied PRA to 278 MAC isolates, including 126 from blood of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients, 59 from sputum of HIV-negative patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 88 from environmental sources, and 5 pulmonary isolates from …

Reducing Childhood Pedestrian Injuries: Proceedings Of A Multidisciplinary Conference, Richard A. Schieber, Maria Vegega

United States Public Health Resources

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Motor vehicle crashes are associated with one of every five deaths among children 1 to 14 years of age in the United States, and pedestrian injuries account for a third of them. Compared with occupant injuries, pedestrian injuries are more severe; death is five times more likely to occur among those injured. In 1999, 533 child pedestrians were killed, and at least 30,000 children were nonfatally injured in traffic. Another 200 were killed in non-traffic areas, including driveways, sidewalks, and parking lots. Traumatic brain injury accounts for more than half the fatalities.
Dr. Schieber noted that the decline …

Building Jefferson's Future, Douglas J. Macmaster Jr., Paul C. Brucker

Thomas Jefferson University Administrative Documents and Reports

2002 Annual report of Thomas Jefferson University.

Jefferson Medical College Annual Report, 2002, Thomas J. Nasca

Jefferson Medical College Administrative Documents and Reports

No abstract provided.

Hatch-Waxman, Generics, And Patents: Balancing Prescription Drug Innovation, Competition, And Affordability, Robin J. Strongin

National Health Policy Forum

This paper explores the complex connections among intellectual property protection, competition, and access to affordable prescription drug products. It focuses on several provisions of the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 (Hatch-Waxman) and discusses the debate swirling around its reform. An overview of landmark intellectual property laws and a description of the generic drug approval process are also included.

Will The Nation Be Ready For The Next Bioterrorism Attack? Mending Gaps In The Public Health Infrastructure, Eileen Salinsky

National Health Policy Forum

This paper provides an overview of critical weaknesses in public health preparedness capabilities and discusses policy initiatives to address these shortcomings. It examines developmental needs related to communication and coordination, information systems, laboratories, the development and distribution of vaccines and other countermeasures, emergency medical preparedness and response, and the public health workforce. The paper summarizes the status of federal and state plans to respond to these developmental needs and touches on the challenges likely to emerge as these plans are implemented.

Average Wholesale Price For Prescription Drugs: Is There A More Appropriate Pricing Mechanism?, Dawn Gencarelli

National Health Policy Forum

This paper defines the average wholesale price (AWP), an important benchmark for prescription drug pricing and reimbursement. The paper briefly explains the AWP's various uses in the pricing of prescription drugs, highlights some of the problems that have emerged as a result of the way it is reported and used, and explores some of the possibilities for reform. The paper also contains a glossary of commonly used terms, as well as an appendix that lists the state Medicaid reimbursement formulas.

Commencement Program 2002, Loma Linda University

Commencement Programs

CONTENTS

2 | 2002 Events of Commencement

3 | The Academic Procession

4 | Significance of Academic Regalia

5 | The Speakers

11 | The University Honorees

18 | The School Honorees

27 | The Programs

• School of Medicine, 28
• School of Dentistry, 35
• Graduate School, 43
• School of Nursing, 53
• School of Allied Health Professions - Physical Therapy, 58
• School of Allied Health Professions, 66
• School of Public Health, 75

Development Of Dose Coefficients For Radionuclides Produced In Spallation Neutron Sources, Phillip W. Patton

Transmutation Sciences Physics (TRP)

A research consortium comprised of representatives from several universities and national laboratories has been established as part of this on-going project to generate internal and external dose conversion coefficients for radionuclides produced in spallation neutron sources. Information obtained from this multi-year study will be used to support the siting and licensing of future accelerator-driven nuclear initiatives within the U.S. Department of Energy complex, including the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) and Accelerator Production of Tritium (APT) Projects. Determination of these coefficients will also fill data gaps for several hundred radionuclides that exist in Federal Guide Report No. 11 and in Publications …

A Case Study Of An Ergonomic Evaluation For A Shop Floor Facility, Ivan Siguencia

Theses

The aim of this paper is to discuss and recommend solutions for the ergonomic hazards present in a shop floor type of manufacturing facility. This type of study is important since the ergonomic issues that concern the shop floor worker are different than those faced by the assembly line worker. The shop floor employee for the most part enjoys work satisfaction, task variety, and is able to control his own work pace. From an ergonomic standpoint, this is the preferred work environment.

The focus of this paper is a case study. This study is a one-day ergonomic assessment of a …

How Vulnerable Is The Nation's Food Supply? Linking Food Safety And Food Security, Robin J. Strongin

National Health Policy Forum

This paper reviews the food safety regulatory apparatus in place today, especially the activities of the two lead agencies in assuring food safety — the Food and Drug Administration within the Department of Health and Human Services and the Food Safety and Inspection Service within the Department of Agriculture. It examines the system's strengths and vulnerabilities, particularly in light of the post–September 11 environment that includes the heightened threat of terrorism. The paper also touches upon legislative and budgetary proposals aimed at improving food security, including the growing but debated interest in a single food safety agency.

Residential Radon Exposure And Lung Cancer: Variation In Risk Estimates Using Alternative Exposure Scenarios, R. William Field, Brian J. Smith, Daniel J. Steck, Charles F. Lynch

Physics Faculty Publications

The most direct way to derive risk estimates for residential radon progeny exposure is through epidemiologic studies that examine the association between residential radon exposure and lung cancer. However, the National Research Council concluded that the inconsistency among prior residential radon case-control studies was largely a consequence of errors in radon dosimetry. This paper examines the impact of applying various epidemiologic dosimetry models for radon exposure assessment using a common data set from the Iowa Radon Lung Cancer Study (IRLCS). The IRLCS uniquely combined enhanced dosimetric techniques, individual mobility assessment, and expert histologic review to examine the relationship between cumulative …

Clinical, Pathological And Molecular Factors Predicting Axillary Node Involvement In Primary Breast Cancer In Pakistani Women, T. Siddiqui, A. Salam, S. Khan, N. Kayani, Shahid Pervez

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Background:

Axillary lymph node involvement in primary breast cancer is one of its most important prognostic features. Thus any factors that may predict axillary lymph node involvement in this setting could be potentially helpful in treatment planning and other interventions.

Objective:

The objective of this study was to evaluate clinical, pathological and immuno-histochemical markers in univariate and multivariate analysis, which may be helpful predictors of axillary lymph node involvement in breast cancer.

Method:

A retrospective analysis of 555 cases. Of these 58% had axillary nodal positivity and 42% were negative.

Conclusion:

Factors of no significance included patient’s age, height, weight, …

Public Health Emergency Preparedness: Fundamentals Of The "System", Eileen Salinsky

National Health Policy Forum

This paper examines the existing public health infrastructure, with an emphasis on the resources and activities necessary for public health emergency preparedness and response. It provides a brief historical overview of the evolution of public health and contrasts public health interventions with medicine and health care services. The paper summarizes the broad range of activities that constitute public health practice today and provides a more detailed review of functions and services that are critical to emergency response capabilities. It explores the legal foundation for public health authorities, discussing constitutional, federal, and state public health law. The paper also summarizes how …

A Study To Examine The Attitudes And Perceptions Of Saudi Women In The United States And Canada Toward Exercise And Physical Activity, Tawfeeq E. Al-Bakry

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

This study is an examination of the knowledge and perceptions of Saudi women in the United States and Canada in regard to exercise and physical activity. No studies on exercise, physical activity or sport for women in Saudi Arabia were found in the literature.

This study focused on ascertaining knowledge of Saudi women regarding physical and psychological benefits of exercise and physical activity. Furthermore, this study investigated the barriers that limit Saudi women from participating in exercise and physical activity. The population for this study included Saudi women who are associated with Saudi clubs and student organizations in the United …

Production Of A Monoclonal Antibody Against Benzo[Α]Pyrene Diol Epoxide Dna Adducts, Brian Peden Austin

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

Benzo[α]pyrene is a ubiquitous pollutant produced from the incomplete combustion of organic material such as fossil fuels. It is found in the workplace, urban air, drinking water, and the food supply. Recently, it has been proposed that benzo[α]pyrene may be the causative agent in the formation of lung adenocarcinomas among some Taiwanese women exposed to cooking oil fumes without adequate ventilation. In this study, calf thymus DNA was modified in vitro with benzo[α]pyrene-diol epoxide (BPDE) to a level consistent with that found in biological samples. This DNA of low modification was used as an immunogen in the production of a …

How Should Governments Address High Levels Of Natural Radiation And Radon--Lessons From The Chernobyl Nuclear Accident And Ramsar, Iran, S. M. Javad Mortazavi, M. Ghiassi-Nejad, Azam Niroomand-Rad, P. Andrew Karam, John R. Cameron

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

The authors discuss the high levels of natural background radiation in Ramsar, Iran, and offer data indicating that this has had little effect on the health of Ramsar's inhabitants. The authors then examine the implications their research could have for public health policy.

Bse: Risk, Uncertainty, And Policy Change, Enda Cummins, Pat Grace, Kevin Mcdonnell, Shane Ward

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

The authors discuss how, in our "risk society," a range of potential risks and uncertainties are associated with new technologies and new diseases, such as BSE. These risks bring with them worries about human health, while the ability to assess and manage new health scares is an essential skill for government and related industries.

The Precautionary Principle And Radiation Protection, Kenneth L. Mossman, Gary E. Marchant

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

The authors examine the application of the precautionary principle through a case study of ionizing radiation control and suggest a reevaluation of current radiation safety standards and practices.

A Description Of Female, Adult Recreational Drug Users: A Sub-Analysis Of The Drugnet Survey, Leslie Bickett

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Drug abuse can be a serious, chronic, and relapsing health problem for both men and women. Among women, however, drug use and abuse present an array of different challenges to health and well-being. In addition, the health of women has been given less attention than the health of men. Little research has been conducted to identify and describe the invisible or hidden population of drug users, not abusers, who are not in treatment or incarcerated on drugrelated charges. The purpose of this study is to provide a descriptive and behavioral profile of adult, female, recreational drug users (i.e., not abusers). …

Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (Egfr) As A Prognostic Marker: An Immunohistochemical Study On 315 Consecutive Breast Carcinoma Patients, S. A. Aziz, Shahid Pervez, N. Kayani, M. H. Rahbar, S. Khan

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Objective: To assess the independent and interdependent prognostic value of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in carcinoma of breast in female population. The Type I family of growth factor receptors includes epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR also known as EGFRI).

Methods: The expression of EGFR protein was analysed immunohistochemically on 315 tumour specimens of infiltrating ductal carcinoma of breast. These patients also had axillary lymph nodes sampling.

Results: Overexpression and/or amplification of EGFR was observed in 70 (22.00%) tumours. Eleven (16%) were grade I, 43 (61%) grade II and 16 (23%) grade Ill tumours. Axillary lymph node metastasis had significant …

Promoting Marriage As Welfare Policy: Looking At A Public Role In Private Lives, Jane Koppelman

National Health Policy Forum

This issue brief discusses the interest in and politics surrounding government's using welfare reform legislation to carve out a stronger role in promoting marriage. It examines trends in family formation, their impact on society, and the effect of single parenting, divorce, and stepparenting on child well-being. The paper also looks at the treatment of marriage in current government programs, new state activities to promote marriage, proposals for a stronger government role, and marriage experts' expectations for the success of marriage education programs.

Correlates Of Vigorous Physical Activity For Children In Grades 1 Through 12: Comparing Parent-Reported And Objectively Measured Physical Activity, James F. Sallis, Wendell C. Taylor, Marsha Dowda, Patty S. Freedson, Russell R. Pate

Faculty Publications

Correlates of physical activity were examined in young people in grades 1 through 12, and analyses were conducted separately for eight age/grade and sex subgroups. Twenty-one explanatory variables were assessed by parental report. Physical activity was assessed in 781 young people via parent report, and 200 wore an accelerometer for seven days. Between 11% and 36% of parent-reported child vigorous physical activity was explained. The most consistent correlates were peer support and use of afternoon time for active rather than sedentary recreation. Peer support was the only significant correlate of objectively monitored activity in multiple subgroups.