Digital Commons Network^™

The Barriers And Facilitators Of Hiv-Exposed Infant Testing As Perceived By Hiv-Positive Mothers In Botswana: A Qualitative Study, Grace Karugaba, Jennifer Simpson, Bathusi Mathuba, Onkemetse Phoi, Thato Regonamanye, Keofentse Mathuba, Eldah Dintwa, Bornapate Nkomo, Dinah Ramaabya, Mathabo Relebohile Pule, Mogomotsi Matshaba

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Despite high rates of HIV testing and enrolment of HIV-positive pregnant women on antiretroviral therapy in Botswana, coverage for HIV-exposed infant (HEI) testing remains suboptimal. Many factors can contribute to suboptimal HEI testing rates, but they have seldom been thoroughly investigated in Botswana. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the experiences and perspectives of HIV-positive mothers on the barriers and facilitators of HEI testing to inform interventions to promote HEI testing in Botswana.

METHODS: We conducted focus group discussions (FGDs) with HIV-positive mothers who gave birth in 2016 at the three largest public hospitals in Botswana. …

Factors Impacting Vaccine Uptake During Pregnancy: A Retrospective Analysis, Maame Aba Coleman, Deepa Dongarwar, Jessica Ramirez, Mei-Li Laracuente, Chelsea Livingston, Julliet Ogu, Racquel Lyn, Arabella Hall, Sylvia Adu-Gyamfi, Hamisu M Salihu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Vaccine uptake rates during pregnancy remain below target goals due to a convergence of factors. In particular, women of lower socioeconomic means and racial minorities typically have reduced rates of vaccine acceptance. This study aims to identify additional factors contributing to vaccine acceptance within a sample population of women receiving prenatal care in Houston, Texas, United States of America.

METHODS: We performed a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of 11,500 pregnant women covered by Medicaid or ChipPerinate who received prenatal care during 2013-2021, assessing influenza (flu) and combined Tetanus, Diphtheria, Acellular Pertussis (TDAP) vaccine acceptance in the patient population. …

Characterization And Outcomes Of Hospitalized Children With Coronavirus Disease 2019: A Report From A Multicenter, Viral Infection And Respiratory Illness Universal Study (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Registry, Utpal S Bhalala, Katja M Gist, Sandeep Tripathi, Karen Boman, Vishakha K Kumar, Lynn Retford, Kathleen Chiotos, Allison M Blatz, Heda Dapul, Sourabh Verma, Imran A Sayed, Varsha P Gharpure, Erica Bjornstad, Nancy Tofil, Katherine Irby, Ronald C Sanders, Julia A Heneghan, Melissa Thomas, Manoj K Gupta, Franscene E Oulds, Grace M Arteaga, Emily R Levy, Neha Gupta, Margit Kaufman, Amr Abdelaty, Mark Shlomovich, Shivanand S Medar, A M Iqbal O'Meara, Joshua Kuehne, Shina Menon, Paras B Khandhar, Aaron S Miller, Suzanne M Barry, Valerie C Danesh, Ashish K Khanna, Kimberly Zammit, Casey Stulce, Patrick W Mcgonagill, Asher Bercow, Ioana G Amzuta, Sandeep Gupta, Mohammed A Almazyad, Louisdon Pierre, Prithvi Sendi, Sidra Ishaque, Harry L Anderson, Pooja Nawathe, Murtaza Akhter, Patrick G Lyons, Catherine Chen, Allan J Walkey, Azra Bihorac, Imam Wada Bello, Judith Ben Ari, Tanja Kovacevic, Vikas Bansal, John T Brinton, Jerry J Zimmerman, Rahul Kashyap

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVES: Multicenter data on the characteristics and outcomes of children hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 are limited. Our objective was to describe the characteristics, ICU admissions, and outcomes among children hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 using Society of Critical Care Medicine Discovery Viral Infection and Respiratory Illness Universal Study: Coronavirus Disease 2019 registry.

DESIGN: Retrospective study.

SETTING: Society of Critical Care Medicine Viral Infection and Respiratory Illness Universal Study (Coronavirus Disease 2019) registry.

PATIENTS: Children (< 18 yr) hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 at participating hospitals from February 2020 to January 2021.

INTERVENTIONS: None.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The primary outcome was ICU admission. Secondary outcomes included hospital and ICU duration of stay and ICU, hospital, …

Rotavirus-Induced Lipid Droplet Biogenesis Is Critical For Virus Replication, Jeanette M Criglar, Mary K Estes, Sue E Crawford

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

A variety of pathogens, including viruses, bacteria and parasites, target cellular lipid droplets for their replication. Rotaviruses (RVs) infect the villous epithelium of the small intestine and are a major cause of acute gastroenteritis in infants and young children worldwide. RVs induce and require lipid droplets for the formation of viroplasms, sites of virus genome replication, and nascent particle assembly. Here we review the role of lipid droplets in RV replication. Inhibitors of fatty acid synthesis or chemicals that interfere with lipid droplet homeostasis decrease the number and size of viroplasms and the yield of infectious virus. We used a …

Metabolic Targeting, Immunotherapy And Radiation In Locally Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Where Do We Go From Here?, Annika Dhawan, Phillip M Pifer, Vlad C Sandulache, Heath D Skinner

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

In the US, there are ~250,000 new lung cancer diagnoses and ~130,000 deaths per year, and worldwide there are an estimated 1.6 million deaths per year from this deadly disease. Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death worldwide, and it accounts for roughly a quarter of all cancer deaths in the US. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) represents 80-85% of these cases. Due to an enormous tobacco cessation effort, NSCLC rates in the US are decreasing, and the implementation of lung cancer screening guidelines and other programs have resulted in a higher percentage of patients presenting with …

Diagnosis And Interpretation Of Testing For Cat Scratch Disease, Nasim Khalfe, Doris Lin

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Cat scratch disease (CSD) is an infectious disease caused by Bartonella henselae that presents as regional lymphadenopathy which can appear within weeks after a cat scratch. There is no gold standard for diagnosis. Rather, clinicians rely on an amalgam of criteria to make a definitive diagnosis. We describe a case of a 44-year-old woman with six cats who presented with a painful left inguinal mass, had splenic lesions on imaging, and had positive serology but a negative polymerase chain reaction test for B. henselae.

The Effects Of Glucocorticoids And Immunosuppressants On Cancer Outcomes In Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy, Sebastian Bruera, Maria E Suarez-Almazor

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The emergence of checkpoint inhibitors has created a paradigm shift for the treatment of various malignancies. However, although these therapies are associated with improved survival rates, they also carry the risk of immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Moderate to severe irAEs are typically treated with glucocorticoids, sometimes with the addition of immunosuppressants as steroid-sparing therapy. However, it is unclear how glucocorticoids and immunosuppressants may impact cancer survival and the efficacy of immune checkpoint therapy on cancer. In this narrative review, we discuss the effects of glucocorticoids and immunosuppressants including methotrexate, hydroxychloroquine, azathioprine, mycophenolate mofetil, tumor-necrosis factor (TNF)-inhibitors, interleukin-6 inhibitors, interleukin-1 inhibitors, …

Investigation Of Urinary Metabolomics In A Phase I Hookworm Vaccine Trial In Gabon, Madeleine Eunice Betouke Ongwe, Yoanne D Mouwenda, Koen A Stam, Peter G Kremsner, Bertrand Lell, David Diemert, Jeff Bethony, Maria E Bottazzi, Peter J Hotez, Remko V Leeuwen, Martin P Grobusch, Ayola A Adegnika, Oleg A Mayboroda, Maria Yazdanbakhsh

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Metabolomics provides a powerful tool to study physiological changes in response to various perturbations such as vaccination. We explored whether metabolomic changes could be seen after vaccination in a phase I trial where Gabonese adults living either in rural or semi-urban areas received the subunit hookworm vaccine candidates (Na-GST-1 and Na-APR-1 (M74) adjuvanted with Alhydrogel plus GLA-AF (n = 24) or the hepatitis B vaccine (n = 8) as control. Urine samples were collected and assayed using targeted 1H NMR spectroscopy. At baseline, a set of metabolites significantly distinguished rural from semi-urban individuals. The pre- and post-vaccination comparisons indicated significant …

Cytomegalovirus Infection Among Patients With Cancer Receiving Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors, Kavea Panneerselvam, David Szafron, Rajan N Amin, Dongguang Wei, Dongfeng Tan, Mehmet Altan, Pablo C Okhuysen, Malek Shatila, Gottumukkala Subba Raju, Anusha S Thomas, Yinghong Wang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), used for the treatment of solid and hematologic malignancies, come with the risk of immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Opportunistic infections (e.g., cytomegalovirus [CMV]) mimic irAE symptoms and are understudied in this population. We aimed to describe the incidence, characteristics, treatment and outcomes of CMV infection in ICI-treated patients.

METHODS: We conducted a single-center retrospective review of all adult patients who were CMV-positive after ICI therapy between 06/2011 and 05/2020. A CMV-positive non-ICI cohort was matched to the ICI group based on age, sex and cancer type. Variables of interest were collected through electronic medical records. …

Analysis Of Recurrent Urinary Tract Infection Management In Women Seen In Outpatient Settings Reveals Opportunities For Antibiotic Stewardship Interventions, Marissa A Valentine-King, Barbara W Trautner, Roger J Zoorob, George Germanos, Michael Hansen, Jason L Salemi, Kalpana Gupta, Larissa Grigoryan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVES: We characterized antibiotic prescribing patterns and management practices among recurrent urinary tract infection (rUTI) patients, and we identified factors associated with lack of guideline adherence to antibiotic choice, duration of treatment, and urine cultures obtained. We hypothesized that prior resistance to nitrofurantoin or trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX), shorter intervals between rUTIs, and more frequent rUTIs would be associated with fluoroquinolone or β-lactam prescribing, or longer duration of therapy.

METHODS: This study was a retrospective database study of adult women with

RESULTS: Among 214 patients with 566 visits, 61.5% of prescriptions comprised first-line agents of nitrofurantoin (39.7%) and TMP-SMX (21.5%), followed by …

Convalescent Plasma In Hospitalized Pediatric And Obstetric Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) Patients, Saki Ikeda, Eduardo Benzi, Lisa A Hensch, Sridevi Devaraj, Shiu-Ki Rocky Hui, Manisha Gandhi, Karin A Fox, Jun Teruya, Flor M Munoz

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Published data on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) convalescent plasma (CCP) use in children and obstetric patients are limited. We describe a single-center experience of hospitalized patients who received CCP for acute COVID-19.

METHODS: A retrospective review of children 0-18-years-old and pregnant patients hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed acute COVID-19 who received CCP from March 1, 2020 to March 1, 2021 was performed. Clinical and laboratory data were collected to assess the safety of CCP administration. Antibodies to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) were measured in the CCP products and in patients before transfusion and at various time points post-transfusion. …

Phase 3 Safety And Efficacy Of Azd1222 (Chadox1 Ncov-19) Covid-19 Vaccine, Ann R Falsey, Magdalena E Sobieszczyk, Ian Hirsch, Stephanie Sproule, Merlin L Robb, Lawrence Corey, Kathleen M Neuzil, William Hahn, Julie Hunt, Mark J Mulligan, Charlene Mcevoy, Edwin Dejesus, Michael Hassman, Susan J Little, Barbara A Pahud, Anna Durbin, Paul Pickrell, Eric S Daar, Larry Bush, Joel Solis, Quito Osuna Carr, Temitope Oyedele, Susan Buchbinder, Jessica Cowden, Sergio L Vargas, Alfredo Guerreros Benavides, Robert Call, Michael C Keefer, Beth D Kirkpatrick, John Pullman, Tina Tong, Margaret Brewinski Isaacs, David Benkeser, Holly E Janes, Martha C Nason, Justin A Green, Elizabeth J Kelly, Jill Maaske, Nancy Mueller, Kathryn Shoemaker, Therese Takas, Richard P Marshall, Menelas N Pangalos, Tonya Villafana, Antonio Gonzalez-Lopez

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: The safety and efficacy of the AZD1222 (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) vaccine in a large, diverse population at increased risk for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in the United States, Chile, and Peru has not been known.

METHODS: In this ongoing, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, phase 3 clinical trial, we investigated the safety, vaccine efficacy, and immunogenicity of two doses of AZD1222 as compared with placebo in preventing the onset of symptomatic and severe coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) 15 days or more after the second dose in adults, including older adults, in the United States, Chile, and Peru.

RESULTS: …

The Five Ds Of Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship For Urinary Tract Infections, Melanie C Goebel, Barbara W Trautner, Larissa Grigoryan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Urinary tract infections (UTI) are one of the most common indications for antibiotic prescriptions in the outpatient setting. Given rising rates of antibiotic resistance among uropathogens, antibiotic stewardship is critically needed to improve outpatient antibiotic use, including in outpatient clinics (primary care and specialty clinics) and emergency departments. Outpatient clinics are in general a neglected practice area in antibiotic stewardship programs, yet most antibiotic use in the United States is in the outpatient setting. This article provides a comprehensive review of antibiotic stewardship strategies for outpatient UTI in the adult population, with a focus on the "five Ds" of stewardship …

Central Line Associated Bloodstream Infection Caused By Kodamaea Ohmeri In A Young Child, Amier Haidar, Farhana Khaja, Brian Simms, Amr Issam Elgehiny, Tracy Omoegbele, Nikita Khetan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION:

CASE REPORT: The patient is a 5-year-old male with a history of short gut syndrome, and total parenteral nutrition (TPN) dependence who presented to the emergency room with a two-day history of productive-cough, rhinorrhea, and fever. Antibiotic therapy was initiated with cefepime and vancomycin for suspected CLABSI. However, within the first twenty-four hours of his admission, his initial blood culture from his central venous catheter became positive for yeast so fluconazole was added due to suspicion of candidemia. During his admission, his initial central line and peripheral blood culture were later speciated as

CONCLUSIONS: This case report further acknowledges …

Stat3 Inhibits Type I Interferon Signaling In Type I Conventional Dendritic Cells, Taylor Chrisikos

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) are an essential immune population, responsible for controlling adaptive immunity and tolerance. Recently, type I cDCs (cDC1s) have been delineated as a distinct cDC subset, uniquely responsible for coordinating T cell-mediated immunity against pathogens and tumors. Although the importance of cDC1s is now well established, the mechanisms that regulate cDC1 function remain largely unknown. Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3) mediates the intracellular signaling of interleukin 10 (IL-10), an immunosuppressive cytokine. Therefore, we hypothesized that STAT3 and IL-10 inhibit cDC1 function and induction of T cell-mediated immunity. Herein, we show that IL-10 inhibits polyinosinic:polycytidylic …

Enhancing Adoptive Cell Therapy By Augmenting Fitness And Anti-Tumor Function Of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes, Parin Shah

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The success of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has established the importance of cancer immunotherapy in solid cancers, where it has been adopted as one of the standards of care for advanced melanoma and lung cancer. It is currently being investigated to treat other solid cancers. However, a large fraction of patients do not respond to ICIs and relapse. ICI therapy offers an in vivo approach to activate tumor-specific T cells, albeit in some cases, this modality does not create a sufficiently robust anti-tumor response. Thus, ex vivo approaches employing manipulation of immune cells, such as Adoptive Cell Therapy (ACT) using …

Nmr Spectroscopy-Based Metabolomics Of Platelets To Analyze Brain Tumors, Shivanand Pudakalakatti, Alessandra Audia, Anirudh Mukhopadhyay, José S Enriquez, Dontrey Bourgeois, Nabihah Tayob, Niki M Zacharias, Steven W Millward, Daniel Carson, Mary C Farach-Carson, Frederick F Lang, Amy B Heimberger, Krishna P Bhat, Pratip K Bhattacharya

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

"Tumor-educated platelets" have recently generated substantial interest for the diagnosis of cancer. We hypothesized that tumor educated platelets from patients with brain tumors will reflect altered metabolism compared to platelets from healthy volunteers. Here, in a pilot study, we have employed nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy in platelets from brain tumor patients to demonstrate altered metabolism compared to the platelets obtained from healthy volunteers.

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis With Various Doses Of Hydroxychloroquine Among Healthcare Personnel With High-Risk Exposure To Covid-19: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Fibhaa Syed, Muhammad Hassan, Mohammad Ali Arif, Sadia Batool, Rauf Niazi, Ume E Laila, Sadia Ashraf, Junaid Arshad

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective This trial aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with various hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) doses against a placebo among healthcare personnel (HCP) with high-risk exposure to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19). Methods A phase II, randomized, placebo-controlled trial was conducted including 200 subjects with no active or past severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection (antibody testing and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were taken at the time of enrollment). Subjects of experimental groups one to three received HCQ in various doses and the control group received a placebo. The study outcomes in terms of …

Transient Ascaris Suum Larval Migration Induces Intractable Chronic Pulmonary Disease And Anemia In Mice, Yifan Wu, Evan Li, Morgan Knight, Grace Adeniyi-Ipadeola, Li-Zhen Song, Alan R Burns, Ana Clara Gazzinelli-Guimaraes, Ricardo Fujiwara, Maria Elena Bottazzi, Jill E Weatherhead

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Ascariasis is one of the most common infections in the world and associated with significant global morbidity. Ascaris larval migration through the host's lungs is essential for larval development but leads to an exaggerated type-2 host immune response manifesting clinically as acute allergic airway disease. However, whether Ascaris larval migration can subsequently lead to chronic lung diseases remains unknown. Here, we demonstrate that a single episode of Ascaris larval migration through the host lungs induces a chronic pulmonary syndrome of type-2 inflammatory pathology and emphysema accompanied by pulmonary hemorrhage and chronic anemia in a mouse model. Our results reveal that …

Bicuspid Aortic Valve In Pregnancy Complicated By Aortic Valve Vegetation, Aortic Root Abscess, And Aortic Insufficiency, Shan He, Christopher A Huynh, Yi Deng, Sandeep Markan, Anvinh Nguyen

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

A 39-year-old patient presented to our Labor and Delivery unit with fever and nausea in the context of recent bacteriuria. She was found to be in sepsis due to an incidental bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) complicated by aortic valvular vegetations, severe aortic insufficiency, and aortic root abscess, requiring an emergent cesarean section. Three days after delivery, the patient successfully underwent a mechanical aortic valve replacement and root reconstruction. In this case report, medical, surgical, and anesthetic management of parturient patients with BAV are discussed. The management of this congenital valvulopathy and vasculopathy is complicated by the extensive hemodynamic and cardiovascular …

Case Report: Molecular Diagnosis Of Cystoisospora Belli In A Severely Immunocompromised Patient With Hiv And Kaposi Sarcoma, Roumen Borilov Iordanov, Lauren M Leining, Meng Wu, Galant Chan, Andrew R Dinardo, Rojelio Mejia

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Diarrhea in an immunocompromised patient has a broad infectious differential. Diagnosis is difficult despite advances in diagnostic modalities. We report a case of a 45-year-old Nigerian woman who immigrated to the United States 2 years ago. She presented to the hospital with gastrointestinal bleeding, newly diagnosed HIV, and disseminated Kaposi sarcoma. During hospitalization, the patient had an onset of watery diarrhea and high eosinophilia. Subsequent stool analysis using multi-parallel real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction for 13 parasites was positive for Cystoisospora belli. The patient was treated with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, but had relapsed disease when her antibiotics were stopped prematurely. After restarting …

Case Report: Molecular Diagnosis Of Cystoisospora Belli In A Severely Immunocompromised Patient With Hiv And Kaposi Sarcoma, Roumen Borilov Iordanov, Lauren M Leining, Meng Wu, Galant Chan, Andrew R Dinardo, Rojelio Mejia

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Diarrhea in an immunocompromised patient has a broad infectious differential. Diagnosis is difficult despite advances in diagnostic modalities. We report a case of a 45-year-old Nigerian woman who immigrated to the United States 2 years ago. She presented to the hospital with gastrointestinal bleeding, newly diagnosed HIV, and disseminated Kaposi sarcoma. During hospitalization, the patient had an onset of watery diarrhea and high eosinophilia. Subsequent stool analysis using multi-parallel real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction for 13 parasites was positive for Cystoisospora belli. The patient was treated with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, but had relapsed disease when her antibiotics were stopped prematurely. After restarting …

A Community-Based Management Of Covid-19 In A Mobile Container Unit, Elena Petrova, Timothy Farinholt, Tejas P Joshi, Hannah Moreno, Mayar Al Mohajer, Shital M Patel, Joseph Petrosino, Sharmila Anandasabapathy

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Vaccine uptake is a multifactor measure of successful immunization outcomes that includes access to healthcare and vaccine hesitancy for both healthcare workers and communities. The present coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted the need for novel strategies to expand vaccine coverage in underserved regions. Mobile clinics hold the promise of ameliorating such inequities, although there is a paucity of studies that validate environmental infection in such facilities. Here, we describe community-based management of COVID-19 through a Smart Pod mobile clinic deployed in an underserved community area in the United States (Aldine, Harris County, TX, USA). In particular, we validate infection …

Posttranslational Modifications In Pd-L1 Turnover And Function: From Cradle To Grave, Xinfang Yu, Wei Li, Ken H Young, Yong Li

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) is one of the most classic immune checkpoint molecules. Cancer cells express PD-L1 to inhibit the activity of effector T cells' cytotoxicity through programmed death 1 (PD-1) engagement in exposure to inflammatory cytokines. PD-L1 expression levels on cancer cells might affect the clinical response to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapies. Hence, understanding molecular mechanisms for regulating PD-L1 expression is essential for improving the clinical response rate and efficacy of PD-1/PD-L1 blockade. Posttranslational modifications (PTMs), including phosphorylation, glycosylation, ubiquitination, and acetylation, regulate PD-L1 stability, cellular translocation, and interaction with its receptor. A coordinated positive and negative regulation via PTMs is …

Ms 143 Guide To Vernie Stembridge Md Papers (1945-2000), Vernie A. Stembridge (1924-2000)

Manuscript Finding Aids

The Vernie A. Stembridge, MD papers contains professional papers, military records, reprints, administrative records, correspondence, awards, photographs, realia, oversized materials, personal papers, artifacts, yearbooks, textbooks, monographs, printed materials, memorabilia, ceritifactes, artwork, and audiovisual materials. See more at MS 143.

Pediatric Climate Change Advocacy: A Call To Action For Health Care Providers, Pragya Rai, John I. Sutter, J Gary Wheeler, Robert G. Byron, Lori G. Byron

Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk

Climate change already besieges us. Using specific examples this paper highlights the impacts of climate change affecting children today, particularly those who disproportionately experience those impacts and beseeches pediatricians and other healthcare professionals in all types of practice settings to engage in climate change advocacy. Examples of organizational, educational, legislative/policy, and cooperative/community advocacy are provided. Pediatricians have been quick to recognize the threat of climate change, but broader engagement is needed from all health professions.

Apathy Is Not Associated With A Panel Of Biomarkers In Older Adults With Hiv Disease, Steven Paul Woods, Jennifer L Thompson, Michelle A Babicz, Lokesh Shahani, Gabriela Delevati Colpo, Natalia P Rocha, Erin E Morgan, Antonio L Teixeira

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: Apathy is prevalent in HIV disease and can significantly impact personal well-being; however, little is known about its neurobiological substrates in persons with HIV (PWH) disease.

METHODS: This cross-sectional, correlational study examined the association between apathy and several plasma biomarkers (tumor necrosis factor alpha, kynurenine, tryptophan, quinolinic acid, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, glial fibrillary acidic protein, neurofilament light chain, and phosphorylated tau at position threonine 181) in 109 PWH and 30 seronegative participants ages 50 and older. Apathy was measured with a composite score derived from subscales of the Frontal Systems Behavior Scale and the Profile of Mood States.

RESULTS: …

Efficacy Of The Mrna-1273 Sars-Cov-2 Vaccine At Completion Of Blinded Phase, Hana M El Sahly, Lindsey R Baden, Brandon Essink, Susanne Doblecki-Lewis, Judith M Martin, Evan J Anderson, Thomas B Campbell, Jesse Clark, Lisa A Jackson, Carl J Fichtenbaum, Marcus Zervos, Bruce Rankin, Frank Eder, Gregory Feldman, Christina Kennelly, Laurie Han-Conrad, Michael Levin, Kathleen M Neuzil, Lawrence Corey, Peter Gilbert, Holly Janes, Dean Follmann, Mary Marovich, Laura Polakowski, John R Mascola, Julie E Ledgerwood, Barney S Graham, Allison August, Heather Clouting, Weiping Deng, Shu Han, Brett Leav, Deb Manzo, Rolando Pajon, Florian Schödel, Joanne E Tomassini, Honghong Zhou, Jacqueline Miller

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: At interim analysis in a phase 3, observer-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial, the mRNA-1273 vaccine showed 94.1% efficacy in preventing coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). After emergency use of the vaccine was authorized, the protocol was amended to include an open-label phase. Final analyses of efficacy and safety data from the blinded phase of the trial are reported.

METHODS: We enrolled volunteers who were at high risk for Covid-19 or its complications; participants were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive two intramuscular injections of mRNA-1273 (100 μg) or placebo, 28 days apart, at 99 centers across the United States. …

Efficacy Of Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine In Nepal: Final Results Of A Phase 3, Randomised, Controlled Trial, Mila Shakya, Merryn Voysey, Katherine Theiss-Nyland, Rachel Colin-Jones, Dikshya Pant, Anup Adhikari, Susan Tonks, Yama F Mujadidi, Peter O'Reilly, Olga Mazur, Sarah Kelly, Xinxue Liu, Archana Maharjan, Ashata Dahal, Naheeda Haque, Anisha Pradhan, Suchita Shrestha, Manij Joshi, Nicola Smith, Jennifer Hill, Jenny Clarke, Lisa Stockdale, Elizabeth Jones, Timothy Lubinda, Binod Bajracharya, Sabina Dongol, Abhilasha Karkey, Stephen Baker, Gordan Dougan, Virginia E Pitzer, Kathleen M Neuzil, Shrijana Shrestha, Buddha Basnyat, Andrew J Pollard

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Typhoid fever is a major public health problem in low-resource settings. Vaccination can help curb the disease and might reduce transmission. We have previously reported an interim analysis of the efficacy of typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV) in Nepali children. Here we report the final results after 2 years of follow-up.

METHODS: We did a participant-masked and observer-masked individually randomised trial in Lalitpur, Nepal, in which 20 019 children aged 9 months to younger than 16 years were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive a single dose of TCV (Typbar TCV, Bharat Biotech International, India) or capsular group …

Positron Emission Tomography In The Covid-19 Pandemic Era, Chentao Jin, Xiaoyun Luo, Shufang Qian, Kai Zhang, Yuanxue Gao, Rui Zhou, Peili Cen, Zhoujiao Xu, Hong Zhang, Mei Tian

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a major public health problem worldwide since its outbreak in 2019. Currently, the spread of COVID-19 is far from over, and various complications have roused increasing awareness of the public, calling for novel techniques to aid at diagnosis and treatment. Based on the principle of molecular imaging, positron emission tomography (PET) is expected to offer pathophysiological alternations of COVID-19 in the molecular/cellular perspectives and facilitate the clinical management of patients. A number of PET-related cases and research have been reported on COVID-19 over the past one year. This article reviews the current studies of …