Digital Commons Network^™

Time In Ghana And Dietary Patterns In Liberian Refugees, Wilhelmenia Lee Ross

Public Health Theses

Previous research suggests acculturation (i.e. exposure and assimilation to local culture) is associated with changes in dietary patterns among immigrants. This study investigates this association in a refugee population using time in refugee settlement as a proxy for acculturation. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among a convenience sample to: (i) identify dietary patterns in Liberian refugees and Ghanaians living in or near a refugee settlement; (ii) compare adherence to these dietary patterns between groups; and (iii) investigate the association between acculturation and dietary patterns in Liberian refugees. Time in refugee settlement was assessed by self-report; food consumption was assessed by …

Determinants Of Perceived Insufficient Milk And The Infant Feeding Practices Of New Mothers In León, Nicaragua, Cara Safon

Public Health Theses

Breastfeeding has been shown to improve maternal and child health. In Nicaragua, the primary risk of death and disability-adjusted life years among children under 5 years of age is suboptimal breastfeeding. Although the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health promotes exclusive breastfeeding from within the first half hour through the first 6 months of life, less than a third of children in the country under 6 months are exclusively breastfed. As part of a larger, mixed-methods study, 21 semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with new mothers recruited from 3 primary health centers between June and August 2015 in order to identify the …

Practice Patterns Of Genetic Testing And Target Therapy Use In Metastatic Lung Cancer, Tannaz Sedghi

Public Health Theses

Introduction

All patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) should undergo EGFR mutation testing and receive appropriate therapy, however, variation in testing and therapy use is a growing concern. The objective of this investigation was to identify physicians’ practice patterns and predictors of physicians’ genetic testing and targeted therapy use in metastatic lung cancer.

Methods

Approximately 360 physicians caring for CanCORS patients with lung or colorectal cancer completed a survey between 2012 to 2013 assessing attitudes and practices with respect to genetic testing and targeted therapies. The outcome variables were: (1) physicians’ reports that they would likely recommend (a) …

A Process Evaluation Of A Relationship Strengthening Hiv Prevention Intervention: The Partners In Life Curriculum Amongst Adolescent Parents In New Haven, Connecticut, Modupeore Shenbanjo

Public Health Theses

In impoverished urban areas in the Northeast, the prevalence of HIV among heterosexuals is more than 28 times greater than the prevalence in the general U.S. heterosexual population.1,70 In the United States, America’s youth (ages 15-24) account for half of all new STIs occurring among young men and women (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013).1 Numerous couple-based HIV studies have found that couple-based approaches are generally efficacious in promoting safer sex behaviors (El-Bassel et al., 2010).4 This project aims to examine the implementation (Campbell et al., 2000)1 of the Partners in LIFE curriculum to identify successes and limitations of …

A Review Of Propensity Score Use In Drug Post-Marketing Safety Surveillance, Motao Sun

Public Health Theses

Drug post marketing safety surveillance is a very important part of pharmacovigilance, which is overseen by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other regulatory agencies throughout the world. These studies are generally performed by pharmaceutical sponsors and academicians, although it is occasionally the case that a regulatory agency will either fund the research or have large databases which is analyzed by the regulators themselves. One example of agency surveillance is the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS). Generally, preapproval studies only involve several hundred to several thousand patients, so all possible side effects of a drug cannot be explored …

The Effect Of Spatiotemporally-Dependent Air Pollution Exposure On Birthweight In The Lanzhou Birth Cohort, Dennis Wang

Public Health Theses

Introduction: Low birthweight serves as a proxy risk factor for a number of conditions later in development. Of China’s urban centers, Lanzhou has long been considered one of the worst-affected cities by air pollution.

Objectives: This study uses spatial heterogeneity in air pollution exposure across addresses in Lanzhou and temporal heterogeneity resulting from the differential timing of pregnancy in the Lanzhou Birth Cohort to investigate the association between PM10 exposure and birthweight.

Methods: The study population consisted of 4,865 mother-child pairs from the Gansu Provincial Maternity and Child Care Hospital. Participants completed an epidemiological questionnaire and patient data were collected …

Neurocognitive Impairment Impacts Hiv Medication Adherence, Damian Weikum

Public Health Theses

Objective: To examine neurocognitive impairment (NCI) and its association with antiretroviral therapy (ART) medication adherence among HIV-infected men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (TGW) in Lima, Peru.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey assessed 313 HIV-infected Peruvian MSM and TGW prescribed ART using a computer-assisted survey instrument to examine NCI and its association with optimal ART adherence, defined as taking ≥90% of prescribed medications. The survey included demographic characteristics and standardized measures for drug and alcohol use disorders, depression, and other factors associated with non-adherence.

Results: An exploratory factor analysis was conducted to optimize an NCI self-report scale …

Whole-Genome Sequencing And Phylogenetic Analysis Of Novel Paramyxoviruses Discovered In Bats From Brazil, Heather Louise Wells

Public Health Theses

Wildlife disease surveillance has been increasing in recent years in an effort to identify and characterize novel emerging zoonoses. In particular, bats have been targets of active surveillance because of their recent associations with diseases of global public health importance, such as Ebola virus, SARS-like coronaviruses, and Nipah and Hendra virus. The high species richness, large population sizes, and frequent inter- and intra-species interactions of bats make them ideal reservoirs of infectious diseases. For this molecular epidemiological study, novel paramyxoviruses discovered through surveillance of bats in Brazil were fully sequenced to allow for a range of genetic analyses, including the …

Evaluating Resilience In Syrian And Jordanian Youth, Rebecca Wener Wener

Public Health Theses

This paper uses baseline data collected from the Child Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM) that was administered to a sample of 603 Jordanian and Syrian adolescents living in Northern Jordan during Fall 2015 as part of a broader evaluation of the impact of a mental health and psychosocial wellbeing intervention. Data were analyzed to 1) determine whether the questionnaire performed according to the 3-factor structure predicted in the literature and 2) explore relationships between CYRM scores, individual, family and contextual factors, and measures of mental health, stress and wellbeing. With some exceptions, the predicted 3-factor structure was found within the Syrian-Jordanian …

The Role Of Folate In The Association Between Perinatal Air Pollution Exposure And Birth Outcomes In Lanzhou, China, Rebecca Ann Wong

Public Health Theses

Background: China’s rapid economic and industrial development over the past few decades has been accompanied by tremendous increases in air pollutant emissions and come at a serious cost to the environment and public health. Recent research has revealed an increased risk of adverse birth outcomes associated with perinatal air pollution exposure. Although the mechanisms by which air pollutants contribute to adverse birth outcomes have not yet been established, folate intake has been shown to counteract several of the hypothesized biological pathways.

Hypothesis: Dietary folate intake and folic acid supplementation modify the association between perinatal air pollution exposure (PM10, NO2, SO2) …

Pirnas Variants And Lung Cancer Risk: A Post-Gwas Study, Rui Ye

Public Health Theses

Background: Lung cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and one of the top cause of cancer death worldwide. The recent discovery of PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), one type of non-coding RNAs, has been shown to be involved in tumorgenesis pathways of various types of cancer types by accumulating evidences. However, the role of piRNAs in lung cancer development is underexplored.

Methods: Genotype and phenotype data were obtained from a genome-wide association study of lung cancer risk (3,702 cases and 3,739 controls) and 1,173 imputed piRNAs variants were analyzed by association analysis for lung cancer risk. A secondary expression analysis is …

All-Source Exposures To Arsenic For Residents Living Near Historic Gold Mine Areas In Northwest Romania, Zhen Zhang

Public Health Theses

Background: Roşia Montană gold mine is the site of historic mining operations since Roman times. Contamination of nearby communitiesby historic mining activities is of serious concern.

Objective: The study objective is to investigate whether living in the vicinity of historic gold mining increases risk of arsenic exposure from the surrounding environment, and if dietary intake from home gardens is associated with reduced risk of arsenic exposure.

Methods: We performed assessments in 64 participants from 57 households within the target communities. All study participants gave written informed consent. The study was approved by the institutional review boards of the regional public …

Refining The Staging Scheme For Human Papillomavirus-Related Oropharyngeal Carcinoma, Tiange Chen

Public Health Theses

Current TNM staging system derived empirically from human papillomavirus (HPV) unrelated oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) has been shown inadequate to predict survival for HPV-related OPC. This study used three recursive partitioning algorithms, Classification Trees (CART), Conditional Inference Trees (CTree) and Model-based Recursive Partitioning (MOB) to derive a new staging scheme based on data from the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB). The derived staging systems were compared to the current system using the criteria such as hazard consistency within staging groups, hazard discrimination between groups, predictive ability and balance of distribution across groups. A total of 5,712 patients were included in the …

Predictors Of Breast Density In Hispanic And Latino Women Living In The Northeast Region Of The United States, Emma Claye

Public Health Theses

Introduction: Breast density, the fibroglandular, non-fatty tissue in the breast, has been shown to be a significant risk factor for breast cancer. Little is currently known about the predictors of breast density among the understudied but increasing population of Hispanic and Latino women in the United States.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to identify predictors of breast density among Hispanic and Latino women in Connecticut and to determine if these differ from those described in other populations. Because the hormonal milieu is somewhat different in Hispanic/Latinas compared with White women, we are interested in how these variables impact …

Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 1 (Aldh1) Genes In Cancer Clinical Prognosis Outcomes, Mengyi Ding

Public Health Theses

ABSTRACT

Background & Hypothesis

It has become clear that ALDH1 genes are involved in the pathobiology of various human cancers. Several lines of evidence indicated that ALDH1 gene expression in tumors may be associated with clinical prognosis outcomes. This hypothesis of our study is that ALDH1 genes may be used to predict human cancer prognosis. In order to test this hypothesis, a systematic review of published articles, a meta-analysis using Random-Effects model was conducted to assess the association between ALDH1 genes and clinicopathological features as well as survival outcomes.

Methods

Using PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science, this study identified …

Exploring The Link Between Early Adversity And Behavioral Health, Erin Dowling

Public Health Theses

Background/Rationale Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and their lasting sequelae are a significant public health concern. ACEs are a risk factor for increased risk of detrimental health behaviors, chronic disease morbidity, and mortality. Though this connection has been supported by an abundance of evidence, how best to address these issues in practice and in the community has yet to be confirmed. Prior research examining the health promoting factors exhibited by adults who have experienced several different ACEs yet have experienced few negative health outcomes, have identified social support, education, and physical activity as potentially protective factors. This study seeks to identify …

Assessment Of Floral-Derived Aromatic Compounds And Sugar Lures To Capture Male And Female Aedes Aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae), Kara Mackenzie Fikrig

Public Health Theses

Abstract

The viruses transmitted by Aedes aegypti, including dengue and Zika viruses, are rapidly expanding in geographic range and as a threat to public health. In response, control programs are increasingly turning to the use of sterile insect techniques resulting in a need to trap male Ae. aegypti in order to monitor the efficacy of the intervention. However, there is a lack of effective and cheap methods for trapping males. We attempted to exploit the male physiological need to obtain energy from sugar feeding in order lure the mosquitoes into a passive trap. We tested promising aromatic and sugar lures …

Smoking, Genetic Polymorphisms In Dna Repair Genes And Risk Of Thyroid Cancer, Qi Guo

Public Health Theses

While the number of current smokers has declined due to legal and regulatory measures and public health awareness, cigarette smoking remains the top risk factor for many diseases, including cancers originated from various tissues. Meanwhile, thyroid cancer incidence has increased significantly in the USA. Former epidemiology studies have investigated the association between smoking and risk of thyroid cancer, and interestingly results from these studies have shown that smoking has protective effect on risk of thyroid cancer. Studies have tapped into genetic polymorphisms and their association with thyroid cancer (and its subtypes) to further examine the susceptibility of certain gene variants …

Neighborhood-Level Socioeconomic Status And County Fairs And The Risk Of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia Coli Incidence In Connecticut, 2012 To 2014, Gili Hrusa

Public Health Theses

Abstract

Background: Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) is a reportable illness. It is associated with a spectrum of clinical manifestations that range from watery and/or bloody diarrhea to hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a life threatening condition which causes acute renal failure in both children and adults. A study in Connecticut (CT) by Whitney et al. (2015) found a strong association between higher socioeconomic status (SES) and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli incidence. In the same study, there was a weaker association demonstrated between rurality and STEC incidence as well. The primary aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between …

Vitamin D Status And Age Of Menarche:, Alexandra Hua

Public Health Theses

Early age of menarche (AOM) increases risk for chronic disorders, including cardiovascular disease and related mortality, type 2 diabetes, and breast cancer. Vitamin D deficiency may be linked to earlier onset of menstruation, but there is limited research examining vitamin D and its association with AOM. The objective of this study was to examine the association between vitamin D levels and AOM by analyzing the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data from 2001-2010. We hypothesized that that vitamin D deficiency is associated with earlier age of menarche in adolescent and early adult females in the United States. Cross-sectional …

Lifetime Residential Water Source And Thyroid Cancer Risk: A Connecticut Based Case-Control Study, Hannah Grace Kaneck

Public Health Theses

While incident thyroid cancer diagnoses continue to increase at a rate faster than any other cancer in the US, questions about environmental exposures’ link to small malignancy increases persist. Nitrate consumption as a predictor for thyroid cancer has become a topic of interest due to their ubiquitous contamination of water and food supplies. No epidemiological studies have looked at the correlation of residential water source over an entire lifetime and its relation to thyroid cancer. A Connecticut based case-control study conducted in 2010-2011, including 462 histologically confirmed incident thyroid cancer cases and 498 Connecticut based controls used multivariate unconditional logistic …

Dietary Patterns And Thyroid Cancer Risk: A Population-Based Case-Control Study, Jiaxin Liang

Public Health Theses

Thyroid cancer (TC) incidence has increased greatly during the past decades with a few established risk factors. The relationship between diet factors and TC remains unclear. Limited literature has investigated the association and with inconsistent findings. We examined the association between dietary pattern and risk of TC in a population based case-control study conducted in Connecticut (2010-2011). 390 historically confirmed incident TC cases and 436 population-based controls that completed baseline dietary history questionnaires were included in the analyses. We identified 3 distinct dietary patterns (“Starchy Foods and Desserts”, “Fruits and Vegetables”, “High Protein and Fat”) through principal components analysis. Multivariate …

Stress, Social Support, And Low Birth Weight: The Birth To Twenty Cohort, Esther Lim

Public Health Theses

The role that psychosocial factors play in determining birth weight has been thought to play an analogous role as physical insults during pregnancy. In particular, maternal social support and stress have been studied separately with respect to their association with low birth weight (LBW), with more recent studies examining their interaction. The latter case has found that the level of social support reported by participants can modify the association between perceived levels of stress and LBW status. However, much of the research conducted to study and establish this relationship has mostly taken place within the high income countries (HIC) of …

The Effectiveness Of Egfr-Tkis In Treatment Of Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: A Meta-Analysis, Xiao Li

Public Health Theses

Epidermal growth factor receptor- tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) is one of the genetic targeted medicines that is used to treat non-small-cell lung cancer. However, because EGFR-TKIs have a specific target, they are not believed to benefit all non-small-cell cancer patients.

We conducted a meta-analysis synthesizing 9 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of EFGR-TKIs among two patient populations: unselected patients with unknown EGFR mutation status and selected patients harboring EGFR mutation

Among unselected patients, the efficacy of EGFR-TKIs is inferior to chemotherapy. The hazard of disease progression in the EGFR-TKI group is 1.46 times that in the …

Yale Medicine : Alumni Bulletin Of The School Of Medicine, Autumn 2015, Yale University. School Of Medicine

Yale Medicine Magazine - alumni bulletin and magazine

This is the Autumn 2015 issue of Yale Medicine: alumni bulletin of the School of Medicine, v. 50, no. 1. Prepared in cooperation with the alumni and development offices at the School of Medicine. Earlier volumes are called Yale School of Medicine alumni bulletins, dating from v.1 (1953) through v.13 (1965).

Network Analysis Of The Sardex Community Currency, Georgios Iosifidis, Yanick Charette, Giuseppe Littera, Leandros Tassiulas, Nicholas Christakis

Yale Day of Data

We present a transaction dataset and preliminary analysis results about Sardex, a complementary currency (CC) in Sardinia, Italy. Sardex is currently considered one of the most successful CCs in Europe, as it grows continuously in terms of transactions’ volume and membership, and has been already replicated in 8 other regions in Italy. We model Sardex as a transaction network and study its basic properties.

Crowdsourcing Global Wastewater Data, Don Mosteller, Sam Cohen, Cory Nestor, Angel Hsu, Omar Malik

Yale Day of Data

No time to waste: Crowdsourcing global wastewater treatment data

Worldwide, over 80 percent of wastewater is discharged into water bodies without undergoing treatment, severely impairing human well-being and ecosystem vitality along the way. National performance on wastewater treatment is difficult to quantify and is poorly understood due to a lack of common definitions, poor data collection standards, and limited historical data. To address this, the Yale Environmental Performance Index (EPI), a research group that produces a biennial ranking of country-level environmental performance, developed a first-of-its kind national wastewater treatment indicator.[1]

The indicator assesses wastewater treatment performance for 183 countries, …

K-Mer Analysis On Developmental And Housekeeping Enhancer Peaks, Yunsi Yang, Anurag Sethi, Mark Gerstein

Yale Day of Data

The regulation of gene expression involves interaction between transcriptional enhancers and core promoters. However, the separation between developmental and housekeeping gene regulation remains unknown. Here, we present a method to detect if different core promoters exhibit specificity to certain enhancers within massively parallel assays for enhancer detection. We use k-mers of various length (3-8bp) as sequence features and compare k-mer frequencies between developmental and housekeeping enhancers. This method shows promoter specificity of enhancers in D. melanogaster.

Applying A Historical Science As A Practical Science: Big Data, Evolution, Medicine, And Public Health, Jeffrey Townsend

Yale Day of Data

No abstract provided.

Deep Integration Of High-Throughput Rna And Protein Data, Rob Kitchen

Yale Day of Data

No abstract provided.