Digital Commons Network^™

School And Community Drivers Of Child Diets In Two Arab Cities: The Scale Protocol And Innovative Tools To Assess Children's Food Environments, Hala Ghattas Ph.D., Zeina Jamaluddine, Aline Semaan, Nehmat El-Helou, Gloria Safadi, Tatiana Elghossain, Christelle Akl, Shady Elbassuoni, Ali Chalak, Jalila El Ati

Faculty Publications

Background

In the context of the rapid nutrition transition experienced by middle-income countries of the Arab region, children and adolescent's food choices and dietary behaviors are early risk factors for the development of non-communicable diseases. Assessment of factors influencing food choices among this age group is challenging and is usually based on self-reported data, which are prone to information and recall bias. As the popularity of technologies and video gaming platforms increases, opportunities arise to use these tools to collect data on variables that affect food choice, dietary intake, and associated outcomes. This protocol paper describes the SCALE study (School …

School And Community Drivers Of Child Diets In Two Arab Cities: The Scale Protocol And Innovative Tools To Assess Children’S Food Environments, Hala Ghattas Ph.D., Zeina Jamaluddine, Aline Semaan, Nehmat El-Helou, Gloria Safadi, Tatiana Elghossain, Christelle Akl, Shady Elbassuoni, Ali Chalak, Jalila El Ati, The Scale Research Group

Faculty Publications

Background

In the context of the rapid nutrition transition experienced by middle-income countries of the Arab region, children and adolescent’s food choices and dietary behaviors are early risk factors for the development of non-communicable diseases. Assessment of factors influencing food choices among this age group is challenging and is usually based on self-reported data, which are prone to information and recall bias. As the popularity of technologies and video gaming platforms increases, opportunities arise to use these tools to collect data on variables that affect food choice, dietary intake, and associated outcomes. This protocol paper describes the SCALE study (School …

Sexual Stature Difference Fluctuations In Pre- And Post-Black Death London As An Indicator Of Living Standards, Emily J. Brennan, Sharon Dewitte

Faculty Publications

Objectives: The degree of sexual stature difference (SSD), the ratio of male to female height, is argued to be an indicator of living standards based on evidence that physical growth for males is more sensitive to environmental fluctuations. In a resource-poor environment, the degree of SSD is expected to be relatively low. The aim of this study is to comparatively assess SSD in medieval London in the context of repeated famine events and other environmental stressors before the Black Death (BD) and the improved living conditions that characterized the post-Black Death period.

Methods: To test the hypothesis that a poor …

Partial Least Squares Enhances Genomic Prediction Of New Environments, Osval A. Montesinos-López, Abelardo Montesinos-López, Kismiantini, Armando Roman-Gallardo, Keith Gardner, Morten Lillemo, Roberto Fritsche-Neto, José Crossa

Faculty Publications

In plant breeding, the need to improve the prediction of future seasons or new locations and/or environments, also denoted as “leave one environment out,” is of paramount importance to increase the genetic gain in breeding programs and contribute to food and nutrition security worldwide. Genomic selection (GS) has the potential to increase the accuracy of future seasons or new locations because it is a predictive methodology. However, most statistical machine learning methods used for the task of predicting a new environment or season struggle to produce moderate or high prediction accuracies. For this reason, in this study we explore the …

Pathways To Food Insecurity In The Context Of Conflict: The Case Of The Occupied Palestinian Territory, Tracy Kuo Lin, Rawan Kafri, Weeam Hammoudeh, Suzan Mitwalli, Zeina Jamaluddine, Hala Ghattas Ph.D., Rita Giacaman, Tiziana Leone

Faculty Publications

Background: Conflict reduces availability of production input and income, increases the number of days households had to rely on less preferred foods, and limits the variety of foods eaten and the portion size of meals consumed. While existing studies examine the impact of conflict on different food security measures (e.g., Food Consumption Score, Food Insecurity Experience Scale), the relationship between these measures as well as their relationship with political, economic, and agricultural factors remain under explored. Food insecurity may not only be an externality of conflict but also food deprivation may be utilized as a weapon to discourage residency in …

Circadiomics: Circadian Omic Web Portal, Muntaha Samad, Forest Agostinelli, Tomoki Sato, Kohei Shimaji, Pierre Baldi

Faculty Publications

Circadian rhythms are a foundational aspect of biology. These rhythms are found at the molecular level in every cell of every living organism and they play a fundamental role in homeostasis and a variety of physiological processes. As a result, biomedical research of circadian rhythms continues to expand at a rapid pace. To support this research, CircadiOmics (http://circadiomics.igb.uci.edu/) is the largest annotated repository and analytic web server for high-throughput omic (e.g. transcriptomic, metabolomic, proteomic) circadian time series experimental data. CircadiOmics contains over 290 experiments and over 100 million individual measurements, across >20 unique tissues/organs, and 11 different species. Users are …

Natural Products Inhibitors Of Monoamine Oxidases—Potential New Drug Leads For Neuroprotection, Neurological Disorders, And Neuroblastoma, Narayan D. Chaurasiya, Francisco León Ph.D., Ilias Muhammad, Babu L. Tekwani

Faculty Publications

Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) are an important class of drugs prescribed for treatment of depression and other neurological disorders. Evidence has suggested that patients with atypical depression preferentially respond to natural product MAOIs. This review presents a comprehensive survey of the natural products, predominantly from plant sources, as potential new MAOI drug leads. The psychoactive properties of several traditionally used plants and herbal formulations were attributed to their MAOI constituents. MAO inhibitory constituents may also be responsible for neuroprotective effects of natural products. Different classes of MAOIs were identified from the natural product sources with non-selective as well as selective …

Influence Of Guideline Operationalization On Youth Activity Prevalence In The International Children’S Accelerometry Database, Catherine Gammon, Andrew J. Atkin, Kirsten Corder, Ulf Ekelund, Bjorge Herman Hansen, Lauren B. Sherar, Lars Bo Anderson, Sigmund Anderssen, Rachel Davey, Pedro C. Hallal, Russell Jago, Susi Kriemler, Peter Lund Kristensen, Soyang Kwon, Kate Nothstone, Russell R. Pate Ph.D., J. O. Salmon, Luis B. Sardinha, Esther M.F. Sluijs

Faculty Publications

Introduction

The United Kingdom and World Health Organization recently changed their youth physical activity (PA) guidelines from 60 min of moderate- to vigorous-intensity PA (MVPA) every day, to an average of 60 min of MVPA per day, over a week. The changes are based on expert opinion due to insufficient evidence comparing health outcomes associated with different guideline definitions. This study used the International Children’s Accelerometry Database to compare approaches to calculating youth PA compliance and associations with health indicators.

Methods

Cross-sectional accelerometer data (n = 21,612, 5–18 yr) were used to examine compliance with four guideline definitions: daily …

Leaders Are Readers: What Journals Do Public School Superintendents Read?, Matt Townsley, Benterah C. Morton

Faculty Publications

This study involving 233 participants from ten states sought to identify the types of educational journals practicing superintendents read. The findings indicate that the majority of superintendents are reading publications provided by professional and trade organizations rather than peer-reviewed journals. Across all subgroups, Educational Leadership, School Administrator, Education Week, and The American School Board Journal were the four most frequently read periodicals. The majority of superintendents are reading publications provided by professional and trade organizations rather than peer-reviewed journals.

Correlates Of Zero-Dose Vaccination Status Among Children Aged 12–59 Months In Sub-Saharan Africa: A Multilevel Analysis Of Individual And Contextual Factors, Chamberline E. Ozigbu, Bankole Olatosi Ph.D., Zhenlong Li, James W. Hardin, Nicole L. Hair

Faculty Publications

Despite ongoing efforts to improve childhood vaccination coverage, including in hard-to-reach and hard-to-vaccinate communities, many children in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remain unvaccinated. Considering recent goals set by the Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030), including reducing the number of zero-dose children by half, research that goes beyond coverage to identify populations and groups at greater risk of being unvaccinated is urgently needed. This is a pooled cross-sectional study of individual- and country-level data obtained from Demographic and Health Surveys Program and two open data repositories. The sample includes 43,131 children aged 12–59 months sampled between 2010 and 2020 in 33 SSA countries. …

Correlates Of Zero-Dose Vaccination Status Among Children Aged 12-59 Months In Sub-Saharan Africa: A Multilevel Analysis Of Individual And Contextual Factors, Chamberline Ozigbu, Bankole Olatosi, Zhenlong Li, James W. Hardin, Nicole L. Hair

Faculty Publications

Despite ongoing efforts to improve childhood vaccination coverage, including in hard-to-reach and hard-to-vaccinate communities, many children in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remain unvaccinated. Considering recent goals set by the Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030), including reducing the number of zero-dose children by half, research that goes beyond coverage to identify populations and groups at greater risk of being unvaccinated is urgently needed. This is a pooled cross-sectional study of individual- and country-level data obtained from Demographic and Health Surveys Program and two open data repositories. The sample includes 43,131 children aged 12–59 months sampled between 2010 and 2020 in 33 SSA countries. …

Association Between The Dietary Inflammatory Index And Gastric Disease Risk: Findings From A Korean Population-Based Cohort Study, Sundara Raj Sreeja, Trong-Dat Le, Bang Wool Eom, Seung Hyun Oh, Nitin Shivappa Mbbs, Mph, Ph.D., James R. Hébert Scd, Mi Kyung Kim

Faculty Publications

Evidence suggests that diets with high pro-inflammatory potential may play a substantial role in the origin of gastric inflammation. This study aimed to examine the association between the energy-adjusted dietary inflammatory index (E-DIITM) and gastric diseases at baseline and after a mean follow-up of 7.4 years in a Korean population. A total of 144,196 participants from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study_Health Examination (KoGES_HEXA) cohort were included. E-DII scores were computed using a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression were used to assess the association between the E-DII and gastric disease risk. In …

Household Food Insecurity Is Associated With Diabetic Ketoacidosis But Not Severe Hypoglycemia Or Glycemic Control In Youth And Young Adults With Youth‐Onset Type 2 Diabetes, Lauren A. Reid, Jason A. Mendoza, Anwar T. Nerchant, Marco Geraci, Beth A. Reboussin, Faisal S. Malik, Alice M. Ellyson, Dana Dabelea, Lina Merjaneh, Santica M. Marcovina, Eva Lustigova, Jean .. Lawrence, Angela D. Liese Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Objective: To examine the association between household food insecurity (HFI), glycemic control, severe hypoglycemia and diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) among youth and young adults (YYA) with youth-onset type 2 diabetes.

Research design and methods: This cross-sectional study included 395 YYA with type 2 diabetes from the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study (2015–2019). HFI was reported by young adult participants or parents of minor participants via the US Household Food Security Survey Module. Glycemic control was assessed by HbA1c and analyzed as a continuous and categorical variable (optimal:9.0%). Acute complications included self-reported severe hypoglycemia or DKA in the last 12 months. …

Adolescent Health Risk Behaviors, Adverse Experiences, And Self-Reported Hunger: Analysis Of 10 States From The 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Surveys, Kathryn L. Krupsky, Sarah Silwa, Hilary Seligman, Andrea D. Brown, Angela D. Liese Ph.D., Zewditu Demissie, Ellen Barnidge

Faculty Publications

We examined associations between adolescent self-reported hunger, health risk behaviors, and adverse experiences during the 2018–2019 school year. Youth Risk Behavior Survey data were pooled from 10 states. Prevalence ratios were calculated, and we assessed effect measure modification by sex. The prevalence of self-reported hunger was 13%. Self-reported hunger was associated with a higher prevalence of every health risk behavior/adverse experience analyzed, even after adjusting for sex, grade, and race/ethnicity. Sex did not modify associations. Findings underscore needs for longitudinal research with more robust measures of adolescent food insecurity to clarify the temporality of relationships.

Long Chain Fatty Acids And Virulence Repression In Intestinal Bacterial Pathogens, Mary K. Mitchell, Melissa Ellermann

Faculty Publications

When bacterial pathogens enter the gut, they encounter a complex milieu of signaling molecules and metabolites produced by host and microbial cells or derived from external sources such as the diet. This metabolomic landscape varies throughout the gut, thus establishing a biogeographical gradient of signals that may be sensed by pathogens and resident bacteria alike. Enteric bacterial pathogens have evolved elaborate mechanisms to appropriately regulate their virulence programs, which involves sensing and responding to many of these gut metabolites to facilitate successful gut colonization. Long chain fatty acids (LCFAs) represent major constituents of the gut metabolome that can impact bacterial …

The Dna Methylation Landscape Of Five Pediatric-Tumor Types, Alyssa C. Parker, Badí I. Quinteros, Stephen Piccolo

Faculty Publications

Fewer DNA mutations have been identified in pediatric tumors than in adult tumors, suggesting that alternative tumorigenic mechanisms, including aberrant DNA methylation, may play a prominent role. In one epigenetic process of regulating gene expression, methyl groups are attached at the 5-carbon of the cytosine ring, leading to 5-methylcytosine (5mC). In somatic cells, 5mC occurs mostly in CpG islands, which are often within promoter regions. In Wilms tumors and acute myeloid leukemias, increased levels of epigenetic silencing have been associated with worse patient outcomes. However, to date, researchers have studied methylation primarily in adult tumors and for specific genes—but not …

Maternal Lineage And Habitat Use Patterns Explain Variation In The Fecundity Of A Critically Endangered Baleen Whale, Ana L. Bishop, Leah M. Crowe, Philip K. Hamilton, Erin L. Meyer-Gutbrod

Faculty Publications

The critically endangered North Atlantic right whale population (Eubalaena glacialis) has experienced multiple periods of decreased reproduction within its observable history, which have played a role in the overall decline of the species. In addition to this synchronized variation in reproduction across the population, there exists considerable individual variation in fecundity. To determine the impacts of family history and habitat use behavior on these individual variations in fecundity, photo identification data collected during four decades of visual monitoring were used to create a calving index for sexually mature females that could be used to evaluate matrilineal influence on …

Development, Validity, And Cross-Context Equivalence Of The Child Food Insecurity Experiences Scale For Assessing Food Insecurity Of School-Age Children And Adolescents, Edward A. Frongillo Jr., Maryah S. Fram, Hala Ghattas Ph.D., Jennifer Bernal, Zeina Jamaluddine, Sharon I. Kirkpatrick, David Hammond, Elisabetta Aurino, Sharon Wolf, Sophie M. Goudet, Mara Nyawo, Chika Hayashi

Faculty Publications

Background: Children ages 6 to 17 years can accurately assess their own food insecurity, whereas parents are inaccurate reporters of their children's experiences of food insecurity. No globally applicable scale to assess the food insecurity of children has been developed and validated.

Objectives: We aimed to develop a globally applicable, experience-based measure of child and adolescent food insecurity and establish the validity and cross-contextual equivalence of the measure.

Methods: The 10-item Child Food Insecurity Experiences Scale (CFIES) was based on items previously validated from questionnaires from the United States, Venezuela, and Lebanon. Cognitive interviews were conducted to check understanding of …

Interindividual Variation In Maximum Aerobic Metabolism Varies With Gill Morphology And Myocardial Bioenergetics In Gulf Killifish, Bernard B. Rees, Jessica E. Reemeyer, Brian A. Irving

Faculty Publications

This study asked whether interindividual variation in maximum and standard aerobic metabolic rates of the Gulf killifish, Fundulus grandis, correlates with gill morphology and cardiac mitochondrial bioenergetics, traits reflecting critical steps in the O2 transport cascade from the environment to the tissues. Maximum metabolic rate (MMR) was positively related to body mass, total gill filament length and myocardial oxygen consumption during maximum oxidative phosphorylation (multiple R2=0.836). Standard metabolic rate (SMR) was positively related to body mass, total gill filament length and myocardial oxygen consumption during maximum electron transport system activity (multiple R2=0.717). After controlling for body mass, individuals with longer …

Novel Approaches To Environmental Monitoring And Control Of Listeria Monocytogenes In Food Production Facilities, Priyanka Gupta, Achyut Adhikari

Faculty Publications

Listeria monocytogenes is a serious public health hazard responsible for the foodborne illness listeriosis. L. monocytogenes is ubiquitous in nature and can become established in food production facilities, resulting in the contamination of a variety of food products, especially ready-to-eat foods. Effective and risk-based environmental monitoring programs and control strategies are essential to eliminate L. monocytogenes in food production environments. Key elements of the environmental monitoring program include (i) identifying the sources and prevalence of L. monocytogenes in the production environment, (ii) verifying the effectiveness of control measures to eliminate L. monocytogenes, and (iii) identifying the areas and activities to …

Genetic Variation Among The Salinity Tolerant Breeding Lines Identified From Two Multi-Parent Advanced Generation Introgression Line Populations In Rice (Oryza Sativa), Sandeep Chapagain, Jonathan Concepcion, Rajat Pruthi, Lovepreet Singh, Adam Famoso, Prasant K. Subudhi

Faculty Publications

Salinity is a major environmental constraint affecting rice production in both irrigated and non-irrigated areas and threatening global food security. Development of salt-tolerant rice varieties with desirable agronomic traits is a logical approach to maintain high yield in saline areas. Here, we report development of two multi-parent advanced generation introgression line (MAGIL) rice populations in two US cultivar backgrounds and their physiological and morphological evaluation under salinity stress at germination and seedling stages. From the initial screening of 180 MAGILs in sand culture, 36 tolerant-to-moderately salt-tolerant lines were selected and further confirmed in hydroponics experiment. The selected MAGILs showed lower …

Covid-19 Prevention Behaviors In A Cooperative Extension Audience: Findings From A Nutrition Education Study, Matthew Greene, Catherine Ruth Losavio, Denise Holston

Faculty Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically impacted the delivery of nutrition education through Cooperative Extension. This study aimed to identify a Cooperative Extension audience’s attitudes towards virus prevention behaviors, preferred sources of information regarding COVID-19, and nutrition education preferences during the pandemic. We distributed an online survey to 477 potential nutrition education participants including questions about behaviors like mask wearing, preferences for virtual nutrition lesson delivery, and attitudes towards sources of information about COVID-19. Attitudes towards mask wearing and preferred sources of information differed significantly by race, income, and age. These differences have serious implications for future outreach and program delivery

In Their Own Words: Perspectives On Collection Weeding From Library Employees And Teaching Faculty, Dan Broadbent, Megan Frost, Gregory M. Nelson, David Pixton

Faculty Publications

Following a Science and Engineering collection weeding project of over 350,000 print items, our research team conducted interviews with 20 library employees and 19 teaching faculty involved in the project. The purpose of the interviews was to assess the interviewees’ perspectives and feelings relating to the time required to complete the project, inter- and intra- library communication, the decision-making processes, and their personal assessment of the costs and benefits of the project. The interviewees also offered their views of the overall project’s successes and areas for improvement. Drawing from a qualitative analysis of the interviews, we provide guidance for other …

Reducing Administrative Burdens To Protect Taxpayer Rights, Leslie Book, T. Keith Fogg, Nina E. Olson

Faculty Publications

The tax system designed by Congress imposes significant administrative burdens on taxpayers. IRS decisions regarding how it administers tax laws can add to congressionally imposed burdens. The administrative burdens are consequential and hurt some people, especially lower- or moderate- income individual taxpayers, more than others. While the IRS strives to measure and reduce the time and money taxpayers spend to comply with their tax obligations, it does not consider the effect administrative burdens have on taxpayer rights, including the right to be informed, the right to pay no more than the correct amount of tax, and the right to a …

Effects Of Bromocriptine On Glucose And Insulin Dynamics In Normal And Insulin Dysregulated Horses, Caroline M.M. Loos, Kristine L. Urschel, Eric S. Vanzant, Erin L. Oberhaus, Adam D. Bohannan, James L. Klotz, Kyle R. Mcleod

Faculty Publications

The objectives of the study were to study the effects of the synthetic ergot alkaloid (EA), bromocriptine, on glucose and lipid metabolism in insulin dysregulated (ID, n = 7) and non-ID (n = 8) mares. Horses were individually housed and fed timothy grass hay and two daily concentrate meals so that the total diet provided 120% of daily DE requirements for maintenance. All horses were given intramuscular bromocriptine injections (0.1 mg/kg BW) every 3 days for 14 days. Before and after 14 days of treatment horses underwent a combined glucose-insulin tolerance test (CGIT) to assess insulin sensitivity and a feed …

Whole-Genome Sequencing Of Kmr3 And Oryza Rufipogon-Derived Introgression Line Il50-13 (Chinsurah Nona 2/Gosaba 6) Identifies Candidate Genes For High Yield And Salinity Tolerance In Rice, Shashi Rekha Thummala, Haritha Guttikonda, Shrish Tiwari, Rajeshwari Ramanan, Niranjan Baisakh, Sarla Neelamraju, Satendra K. Mangrauthia

Faculty Publications

The genomes of an elite rice restorer line KMR3 (salinity-sensitive) and its salinity-tolerant introgression line IL50-13, a popular variety of coastal West Bengal, India, were sequenced. High-quality paired-end reads were obtained for KMR3 (147.6 million) and IL50-13 (131.4 million) with a sequencing coverage of 30X-39X. Scaffolds generated from the pre-assembled contigs of each sequenced genome were mapped separately onto the reference genome of Oryza sativa ssp. japonica cultivar Nipponbare to identify genomic variants in terms of SNPs and InDels. The SNPs and InDels identified for KMR3 and IL50-13 were then compared with each other to identify polymorphic SNPs and InDels …

Genomics And Geographic Diversity Of Bacteriophages Associated With Endosymbionts In The Guts Of Workers And Alates Of Coptotermes Species (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae), Junyan Chen, Christopher R. Gissendanner, Chinmay V. Tikhe, Hou Feng Li, Qian Sun, Claudia Husseneder

Faculty Publications

Subterranean termites depend nutritionally on their gut microbiota, which includes protozoa as well as taxonomically and functionally diverse bacteria. Our previous metavirome study revealed a high diversity and novel families of bacteriophages in the guts of Coptotermes formosanus workers from New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Two assembled bacteriophage genomes (Phages TG-crAlp-04 and 06, family Podoviridae) existed in all colonies and showed similarity to a prophage (ProJPt-Bp1) previously sequenced from a bacterial endosymbiont (Candidatus Azobacteroides pseudotrichonymphae, CAP) of protozoa in the gut of a termite species of the genus Prorhinotermes from Taiwan. In this study the genomes of Phage TG-crAlp-04 and …

Food Insecurity And Suicidal Behaviors Among Us High School Students*, Andrea D. Brown, Hilary Seligman, Sarah Silwa, Ellen Barnidge, Kathryn L. Krupsky, Zewiditu Demissie, Angela D. Liese

Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Food insecurity (FI) rates in the United States are particularly high among households with children. This research set aims to analyze if high school students experiencing FI had higher risk for mental health and suicidal behaviors.

METHODS: Using combined data from 11 states that conducted the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a total of 26,962 and24,051 high school students were used to estimate race/ethnicity and sex-stratified prevalence ratios (PRs) from Poissonregression models. A single-question was used to measure the exposure of FI and outcomes of mental health and suicidalbehaviors.

RESULTS: Overall, 10.8% of students reported FI. Students experiencing FI …

Updates In The Pharmacologic Prophylaxis And Treatment Of Invasive Candidiasis In The Pediatric And Neonatal Intensive Care Units, James Hunter Fly, Seerat Kapoor, Kelly Bobo, Jeremy S. Stultz

Faculty Publications

Purpose of review The goal of this review was to provide an update on the prevention and treatment options for invasive candidiasis (IC) in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).

Recent findings Studies have further validated the use of fluconazole for IC prophylaxis among high-risk patients in the NICU. It remains unclear if prophylaxis leads to resistance development and the ideal dosage regimen is still not clear. Recent studies have been published comparing caspofungin and micafungin to amphotericin B and illustrated similar efficacy outcomes in the NICU. Micafungin now has approval from the United …

Development And Evaluation Of A Measure For Social Support Provided By Friends During Lifestyle Management Programs, Laurie Abbott, Jennifer Lemacks, Tammy Greer

Faculty Publications

Obesity is a public health crisis that contributes to chronic disease prevalence, morbidity, and mortality. Nutrition and physical activity are risk factors for many chronic diseases including cancer and cardiovascular disease, the leading causes of death in the United States. Lifestyle management programs to address obesity and potential sequelae such as chronic conditions have shown efficacy, with social support an important factor in interventions. Instruments that assess social support specifically provided by friends are lacking but could be important predictors of program success. The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of the 10-item Social Support …