Digital Commons Network^™

Indoor Tobacco Legislation Is Associated With Fewer Emergency Department Visits For Asthma Exacerbation In Children., Christina E. Ciaccio, Tami Gurley-Calvez, Theresa I. Shireman

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND: During the past 3 decades, numerous cities and states have adopted laws that ban smoking in public indoor spaces. The rationale for these policies has been to protect nonsmokers from the adverse health effects of secondhand smoke.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the implementation of indoor smoking legislation is associated with a decrease in emergency department visits for asthma in children.

METHODS: This retrospective analysis used a natural experiment to estimate the impact of clean indoor air legislation on the rate of emergency department admissions for asthma exacerbation in children. Data were obtained from the Pediatric Health Information System. A …

Should Neonatologists Give Opinions Withdrawing Life-Sustaining Treatment?, J S. Blumenthal-Barby, Laura Loftis, Christy L. Cummings, William Meadow, Monica Lemmon, Peter A. Ubel, Laurence Mccullough, Emily Rao, John Lantos

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

An infant has a massive intracranial hemorrhage. She is neurologically devastated and ventilator-dependent. The prognosis for pulmonary or neurologic recovery is bleak. The physicians and parents face a choice: withdraw the ventilator and allow her to die or perform a tracheotomy? The parents cling to hope for recovery. The physician must decide how blunt to be in communicating his own opinions and recommendations. Should the physician try to give just the facts? Or should he also make a recommendation based on his own values? In this article, experts in neonatology, decision-making, and bioethics discuss this situation and the choice that …

Mir-155 Expression And Correlation With Clinical Outcome In Pediatric Aml: A Report From Children's Oncology Group., Ranjani Ramamurthy, Maya Hughes, Valerie Morris, Hamid Bolouri, Robert B. Gerbing, Yi-Cheng Wang, Michael R. Loken, Susana C. Raimondi, Betsy A. Hirsch, A S. Gamis, Vivian G. Oehler, Todd A. Alonzo, Soheil Meshinchi

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND: Aberrant expression of microRNA-155 (miR-155) has been implicated in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and associated with clinical outcome.

PROCEDURE: We evaluated miR-155 expression in 198 children with normal karyotype AML (NK-AML) enrolled in Children's Oncology Group (COG) AML trial AAML0531 and correlated miR-155 expression levels with disease characteristics and clinical outcome. Patients were divided into quartiles (Q1-Q4) based on miR-155 expression level, and disease characteristics were then evaluated and correlated with miR-155 expression.

RESULTS: MiR-155 expression varied over 4-log10-fold range relative to its expression in normal marrow with a median expression level of 0.825 (range 0.043-25.630) for the entire …

How Female Online Businesses And Brands Are Using Instagram Stories, Hannah N. Vanderslice

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

Instagram is one of the newest forms of social media that impacts its audience on a visual level, since the content is centered on photos and videos. Their newest feature, Instagram stories, is temporary videos and/or photos strung together to form a gallery, which has been compared to Snapchat’s version of live stories. Instagram stories offer a unique opportunity for businesses to take advantage of the temporary, 24-hour platform that shows specific frame-by-frame analytics that help create efficient and compelling content to repost permanently that helps organic search engine optimization. As a cost-effective means of advertising, early adopter large and …

Flavored Electronic Cigarette Use And Smoking Among Youth., Hongying Dai, Jianqiang Hao

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Flavored electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are not prohibited in the United States, and e-cigarette flavors proliferate on the market. This study sought to examine flavored e-cigarette use and its association with smoking among youth.

METHODS: Estimates of flavored e-cigarette use from the 2014 National Youth Tobacco Survey were investigated. A logistic regression model was used to assess whether flavored e-cigarette use was associated with (1) intention to initiate cigarette use among never-smoking youth (n = 16 471), (2) intention to quit tobacco use among current-smoking youth (n = 1338), and (3) perception of tobacco's danger among all respondents …

Cataract Surgery In Children From Birth To Less Than 13 Years Of Age: Baseline Characteristics Of The Cohort., Michael X. Repka, Trevano W. Dean, Elizabeth L. Lazar, Kimberly G. Yen, Phoebe D. Lenhart, Sharon F. Freedman, Denise Hug, Bahram Rahmani, Serena X. Wang, Raymond T. Kraker, David K. Wallace, Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

OBJECTIVE: To describe baseline characteristics, initial postoperative refractive errors, operative complications, and magnitude of the intraocular lens (IOL) prediction error for refractive outcome in children undergoing lensectomy largely in North America.

DESIGN: Prospective registry study of children from birth to enrollment.

PARTICIPANTS: Total of 1266 eyes of 994 children; 49% female and 59% white.

METHODS: Measurement of refractive error, axial length, and complete ophthalmic examination.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Eye and systemic associated conditions, IOL style, refractive error, pseudophakic refraction prediction error, operative and perioperative complications.

RESULTS: Mean age at first eligible lens surgery was 4.2 years; 337 (34%) were(59%). Additional …

Family Factors That Characterize Adolescents With Severe Obesity And Their Role In Weight Loss Surgery Outcomes., Meg H. Zeller, Sanita Hunsaker, Carmen Mikhail, Jennifer Reiter-Purtill, Mary Beth Mccullough, Beth Garland, Heather Austin, Gia Washington, Amy Baughcum, Dana Rofey, Kevin Smith, Teenview Study Group And In Collaboration With The Teen-Labs Consortium

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Objective: To comprehensively assess family characteristics of adolescents with severe obesity and whether family factors impact weight loss outcomes following weight loss surgery (WLS).

Methods: Multisite prospective data from 138 adolescents undergoing WLS and primary caregivers (adolescent: Mage = 16.9; MBMI = 51.5 kg/m2 ; caregiver: Mage = 44.5; 93% female) and 83 nonsurgical comparators (NSComp: adolescent: Mage = 16.1; MBMI = 46.9 kg/m2 ; caregiver: Mage = 43.9; 94% female) were collected using standardized measures at presurgery/baseline and at 1 and 2 years.

Results: The majority (77.3%) of caregivers had obesity, with rates of caregiver WLS significantly higher in …

Aspirin Resistance Predicts Adverse Cardiovascular Events In Patients With Symptomatic Peripheral Artery Disease, Tilak Pasala, Jennifer Soo Hoo, Mary Kate Lockhart, Rehan Waheed, Prasanna Sengodan, Jeffrey Alexander, Sanjay Gandhi

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Antiplatelet therapy reduces the risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, and vascular death in patients who have symptomatic peripheral artery disease. However, a subset of patients who take aspirin continues to have recurrent cardiovascular events. There are few data on cardiovascular outcomes in patients with peripheral artery disease who manifest aspirin resistance.

Patients with peripheral artery disease on long-term aspirin therapy (≥4 wk) were tested for aspirin responsiveness by means of the VerifyNow Aspirin Assay. The mean follow-up duration was 22.6 ± 8.3 months. The primary endpoint was a composite of death, myocardial infarction, or ischemic stroke. Secondary endpoints were the …

Endovascular Treatment Of Superior Vena Cava Syndrome Via Balloon-In-Balloon Catheter Technique With A Palmaz Stent, Wassim Shatila, Abdelkader Almanfi, Mehran Massumi, Kathryn G Dougherty, Dhaval R Parekh, Neil E Strickman

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Superior vena cava syndrome is a well-known disease entity that carries substantial rates of morbidity and mortality. Although most cases of superior vena cava syndrome are secondary to a malignant process, additional causes (such as mediastinal fibrosis, pacemaker lead implantation, or central venous catheter placement) have been reported. Multiple treatment options include percutaneous transluminal angioplasty, stent implantation, thrombolysis, mechanical thrombectomy, and venous grafting. We present a case of superior vena cava syndrome in a symptomatic 30-year-old woman who obtained complete relief of obstruction and marked symptomatic improvement through venoplasty and stenting, aided by our use of a balloon-in-balloon catheter system.

"Eyeing" The Cause Of Heart Failure: Visible Telltale Clues, Herbert L Fred, Manoj Thangam

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

No abstract provided.

Sickle Cell Disease With Cyanotic Congenital Heart Disease: Long-Term Outcomes In 5 Children, Glen J Iannucci, Olufolake A Adisa, Matthew E Oster, Michael Mcconnell, William T Mahle

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Sickle cell disease is a risk factor for cerebrovascular accidents in the pediatric population. This risk is compounded by hypoxemia. Cyanotic congenital heart disease can expose patients to prolonged hypoxemia. To our knowledge, the long-term outcome of patients who have combined sickle cell and cyanotic congenital heart disease has not been reported. We retrospectively reviewed patient records at our institution and identified 5 patients (3 girls and 2 boys) who had both conditions. Their outcomes were uniformly poor: 4 died (age range, 12 mo-17 yr); 3 had documented cerebrovascular accidents; and 3 developed ventricular dysfunction. The surviving patient had developmental …

Monitoring Change In Volume Of Calcifications In Juvenile Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathy: A Pilot Study Using Low Dose Computed Tomography., Maria Ibarra, Cynthia Rigsby, Gabrielle A. Morgan, Christina L. Sammet, Chiang-Ching Huang, Dong Xu, Ira N. Targoff, Lauren M. Pachman

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND: Dystrophic calcifications may occur in patients with J uvenile Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathy (JIIM) as well as other connective tissue and metabolic diseases, but a reliable method of measuring the volume of these calcifications has not been established. The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of low dose, limited slice, Computed Tomography (CT) to measure objectively in-situ calcification volumes in patients with JIIM over time.

METHODS: Ten JIIM patients (eight JDM, two Overlap) with calcifications were prospectively recruited over a 2-year period to undergo two limited, low dose, four-slice CT scans. Calculation of the volume of calcifications …

Application Of 3-Dimensional Computed Tomographic Image Guidance To Watchman Implantation And Impact On Early Operator Learning Curve: Single-Center Experience, Dee Dee Wang, Marvin H. Eng, Daniel Kupsky, Eric Myers, Michael Forbes, Mehnaz Rahman, Mohammed Zaidan, Sachin Parikh, Janet Wyman, Milan Pantelic, Thomas Song, Jeffrey Nadig, Patrick Karabon, Adam Greenbaum, William O'Neill

Cardiology Articles

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine the impact of 3-dimensional (3D) computed tomographic (CT) guided procedural planning for left atrial appendage (LAA) occlusion on the early operator WATCHMAN learning curve.

BACKGROUND: Traditional WATCHMAN implantation is dependent on 2-dimensional transesophageal echocardiographic (TEE) sizing and intraprocedural guidance.

METHODS: LAA occlusion with the WATCHMAN device was performed in 53 patients. Pre-procedural case plans were generated from CT studies with recommended device size, catheter selection, and C-arm angle for deployment.

RESULTS: All 53 patients underwent successful LAA occlusion with the WATCHMAN. Three-dimensional CT LAA maximal-width sizing was 2.7 ± 2.2 mm …

A Trial Of Unrelated Donor Marrow Transplantation For Children With Severe Sickle Cell Disease., Shalini Shenoy, Mary Eapen, Julie A. Panepinto, Brent R. Logan, Juan Wu, Allistair Abraham, Joel Brochstein, Sonali Chaudhury, Kamar Godder, Ann E. Haight, Kimberly A. Kasow, Kathryn Leung, Martin Andreansky, Monica Bhatia, Jignesh Dalal, Hilary Haines, Jennifer Jaroscak, Hillard M. Lazarus, John E. Levine, Lakshmanan Krishnamurti, David Margolis, Gail C. Megason, Lolie C. Yu, Michael A. Pulsipher, Iris Gersten, Nancy Difronzo, Mary M. Horowitz, Mark C. Walters, Naynesh Kamani

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Children with sickle cell disease experience organ damage, impaired quality of life, and premature mortality. Allogeneic bone marrow transplant from an HLA-matched sibling can halt disease progression but is limited by donor availability. A Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (BMT CTN) phase 2 trial conducted from 2008 to 2014 enrolled 30 children aged 4 to 19 years; 29 were eligible for evaluation. The primary objective was 1-year event-free survival (EFS) after HLA allele-matched (at HLA-A, -B, -C, and -DRB1 loci) unrelated donor transplant. The conditioning regimen included alemtuzumab, fludarabine, and melphalan. Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis included calcineurin inhibitor, …

Subjective Report Of Side Effects Of Prescribed And Nonprescribed Psychostimulant Use In Young Adults, Tess E. Smith, Michelle M. Martel, Alan D. Desantis

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Side effects of prescribed and nonprescribed psychostimulant use are understudied. Objectives: The study examined side effects of prescribed and nonprescribed psychostimulant use in a college sample with attention to possible gender differences. Methods: 2716 undergraduates (1448 male) between the ages of 17 and 57 years (M = 19.43 years, SD = 1.7 years) completed an online survey that included questions about the subjective side effects of prescribed and nonprescribed psychostimulant use. Results: Results suggested that prescribed users more frequently reported side effects, compared to nonprescribed users. For prescribed users, females more frequently reported appetite, somatic, and anxiety-related side …

A Prospective Study Of Antidepressant Adherence And Suicidal Ideation Among Adults, Fady Henein, Deepak Prabhakar, Edward L. Peterson, Keoki L. Williams, Brian Ahmedani

Center for Health Policy and Health Services Research Articles

No abstract provided.

Administration Of Electroconvulsive Therapy For Depression Associated With Deep Brain Stimulation In A Patient With Post-Traumatic Parkinson's Disease: A Case Study, Miles G. Cunningham, Golnaz Yadollahikhales, Gordana Vitaliano, Craig Van Horne

Neurosurgery Faculty Publications

Background: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been shown to be effective for parkinsonian symptoms poorly responsive to medications. DBS is typically well-tolerated, as are the maintenance battery changes. Here we describe an adverse event during a battery replacement procedure that caused rapid onset of severe depression.

Case Presentation: The patient is a 58-year-old woman who was in a serious motor vehicle accident and sustained a concussion with loss of consciousness. Within weeks of the accident she began developing parkinsonian symptoms that progressively worsened over the subsequent 10 years. Responding poorly to medications, she received DBS, which controlled her movement symptoms. …

Quantitative Proteomic Profiling Reveals Hepatic Lipogenesis And Liver X Receptor Activation In The Pander Transgenic Model., Mark G. Athanason, Whitney A. Ratliff, Dale Chaput, Catherine B. Marelia, Melanie N. Kuehl, Stanley M. Stevens Jr., Brant R. Burkhardt

Molecular Biosciences Faculty Publications

PANcreatic-DERived factor (PANDER) is a member of a superfamily of FAM3 proteins modulating glycemic levels by metabolic regulation of the liver and pancreas. The precise PANDER-induced hepatic signaling mechanism is still being elucidated and has been very complex due to the pleiotropic nature of this novel hormone. Our PANDER transgenic (PANTG) mouse displays a selective hepatic insulin resistant (SHIR) phenotype whereby insulin signaling is blunted yet lipogenesis is increased, a phenomena observed in type 2 diabetes. To examine the complex PANDER-induced mechanism of SHIR, we utilized quantitative mass spectrometry-based proteomic analysis using Stable Isotope Labeling by Amino Acids in Cell …

Perspectives Of Women In Orthopaedic Surgery On Leadership Development, Ann C. Joyce

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over the past 50 years, the demographics of medical school graduates in the United States has changed dramatically with the number of women (47%) almost equaling the number of men in 2014 (AAMC, 2014). However, the Association of American Medical Colleges (2014) reports that orthopaedic surgery has the lowest proportion of female residents, instructors, assistants, associate, and full professors of all the sub-specialties and little has changed in the past several decades.

Due to the healthcare reform and the changing needs of our society, it is importance to recruit, retain, and promote women into leadership positions. The purpose of this …

Offline Social Relationships And Online Cancer Communication: Effects Of Social And Family Support On Online Social Network Building, Namkoong Kang, Dhavan V. Shah, David H. Gustafson

Community & Leadership Development Faculty Publications

This study investigates how social support and family relationship perceptions influence breast cancer patients’ online communication networks in a computer-mediated social support (CMSS) group. To examine social interactions in the CMSS group, we identified two types of online social networks: open and targeted communication networks. The open communication network reflects group communication behaviors (i.e., one-to-many or “broadcast” communication) in which the intended audience is not specified; in contrast, the targeted communication network reflects interpersonal discourses (i.e., one-to-one or directed communication) in which the audience for the message is specified. The communication networks were constructed by tracking CMSS group usage data …

Albuminuria Changes And Cardiovascular And Renal Outcomes In Type 1 Diabetes: The Dcct/Edic Study., Ian H De Boer, Xiaoyu Gao, Patricia A Cleary, Ionut Bebu, John M Lachin, Mark E Molitch, Trevor Orchard, Andrew D Paterson, Bruce A Perkins, Michael W Steffes, Bernard Zinman

Epidemiology Faculty Publications

Background and objectives In trials of people with type 2 diabetes, albuminuria reduction with renin-angiotensin system inhibitors is associated with lower risks of cardiovascular events and CKD progression. We tested whether progression or remission of microalbuminuria is associated with cardiovascular and renal risk in a well characterized cohort of type 1 diabetes.

Design, setting, participants, & measurements We studied 1441 participants in the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial/Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications study. Albumin excretion rate (AER) was quantified annually or biennially for up to 30 years. For each participant, albuminuria status was defined over time as normoalbuminuria (AER …

Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors And Left Ventricular Hypertrophy In Girls And Boys With Ckd., Rebecca L. Ruebner, Derek Ng, Mark Mitsnefes, Bethany J. Foster, Kevin Meyers, Bradley A. Warady, Susan L. Furth

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Background and objectives: Prior studies suggested that women with CKD have higher risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality than men, although putative mechanisms for this higher risk have not been identified. We assessed sex differences in (1) CVD risk factors and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), and (2) the relationship of left ventricular mass (LVM) with different measures of body size in children with CKD.

Design, setting, participants, and measurements: The study population comprised 681 children with CKD from the Chronic Kidney Disease in Children cohort, contributing 1330 visits. CVD risk factors were compared cross-sectionally by sex. LVH was defined …

Variation In Type And Frequency Of Diagnostic Imaging During Trauma Care Across Multiple Time Points By Patient Insurance Type, Nathaniel Bell, Laura Repáraz, William R. Fry, R Stephen Smith, Alejandro Luis

Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND:

Research has shown that uninsured patients receive fewer radiographic studies during trauma care, but less is known as to whether differences in care are present among other insurance groups or across different time points during hospitalization. Our objective was to examine the number of radiographic studies administered to a cohort of trauma patients over the entire hospital stay as well as during the first 24-hours of care.

METHODS:

Patient data were obtained from an American College of Surgeons (ACS) verified Level I Trauma Center between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2012. We used negative binomial regression to construct …

Resting-State Network-Specific Breakdown Of Functional Connectivity During Ketamine Alteration Of Consciousness In Volunteers., Vincent Bonhomme, Audrey Vanhaudenhuyse, Athena Demertzi, Marie-Aurélie Bruno, Oceane Jaquet, Mohamed Ali Bahri, Alain Plenevaux, Melanie Boly, Pierre Boveroux, Andrea Soddu, Jean François Brichant, Pierre Maquet, Steven Laureys

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

BACKGROUND: Consciousness-altering anesthetic agents disturb connectivity between brain regions composing the resting-state consciousness networks (RSNs). The default mode network (DMn), executive control network, salience network (SALn), auditory network, sensorimotor network (SMn), and visual network sustain mentation. Ketamine modifies consciousness differently from other agents, producing psychedelic dreaming and no apparent interaction with the environment. The authors used functional magnetic resonance imaging to explore ketamine-induced changes in RSNs connectivity.

METHODS: Fourteen healthy volunteers received stepwise intravenous infusions of ketamine up to loss of responsiveness. Because of agitation, data from six subjects were excluded from analysis. RSNs connectivity was compared between absence of …

The Serotonin Transporter Promoter Polymorphism Moderates The Continuity Of Behavioral Inhibition In Early Childhood., Victoria C Johnson, Katie R Kryski, Haroon I Sheikh, Heather J Smith, Shiva M Singh, Elizabeth P Hayden

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Persistently elevated behavioral inhibition (BI) in children is a marker of vulnerability to psychopathology. However, little research has considered the joint influences of caregiver and child factors that may moderate the continuity of BI in early childhood, particularly genetic variants that may serve as markers of biological plasticity, such as the serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR). We explored this issue in 371 preschoolers and their caregivers, examining whether parent characteristics (i.e., overinvolvement or anxiety disorder) and child 5-HTTLPR influenced the continuity of BI between ages 3 and 5. Measures were observational ratings of child BI, observational and questionnaire measures …

Performance Of A1c Versus Ogtt For The Diagnosis Of Prediabetes In A Community-Based Screening, Jenny E. Camacho, Vallabh O. Shah, Ronald Schrader, Craig S. Wong, Mark R. Burge

Pediatrics Research and Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: Reliable identification of individuals at risk for developing diabetes is critical to instituting preventative strategies. Studies suggest that the accuracy of using hemoglobin A1c as a sole diagnostic criterion for diabetes may be variable across different ethnic groups. We postulate that there will be lack of concordance between A1c and the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) for diagnosing prediabetes across Hispanic and non-Hispanic white (NHW) populations.

METHODS: A total of 218 asymptomatic adults at risk for type 2 diabetes (T2D) were assessed with A1c and OGTT for the diagnosis of prediabetes. Glucose homeostasis status was assigned as no diabetes …

Concluding Commentary: Children In All Cancer Prevention Policy Decisions., Cynthia F Bearer, Lynn Goldman

Environmental and Occupational Health Faculty Publications

This interesting series of articles on Opportunities for Cancer Prevention During Early Life brings many ideas for the primary prevention of cancer in childhood, or in adults due to early life events. The economic burden not only of cancer mortality but also of lifelong morbidity among cancer survivors, as shown by Guy et al,1 raises the importance of this critical public health issue. The topics of these articles were developed during online seminars with the pioneers in this area, some of whom authored the articles. They reflect the determinants of health diagrammed so eloquently in Healthy People 2020.2 …

Human-Associated Bacteroides Spp. And Human Polyomaviruses As Microbial Source Tracking Markers In Hawaii, Marek Kirs, Roberto A Caffaro-Filho, Mayee Wong, Valerie J. Harwood, Philip Moravcik, Roger S Fujioka

Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

Identification of sources of fecal contaminants is needed to (i) determine the health risk associated with recreational water use and (ii) implement appropriate management practices to mitigate this risk and protect the environment. This study evaluated human-associated Bacteroides spp. (HF183TaqMan) and human polyomavirus (HPyV) markers for host sensitivity and specificity using human and animal fecal samples collected in Hawaii. The decay rates of those markers and indicator bacteria were identified in marine and freshwater microcosms exposed and not exposed to sunlight, followed by field testing of the usability of the molecular markers. Both markers were strongly associated with sewage, although …

Accuracy Of Name And Age Data Provided About Network Members In A Social Network Study Of People Who Use Drugs: Implications For Constructing Sociometric Networks, April M. Young, Abby E. Rudolph, Amanda E. Su, Lee King, Susan Jent, Jennifer R. Havens

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Purpose—Network analysis has become increasingly popular in epidemiologic research, but the accuracy of data key to constructing risk networks is largely unknown. Using network data from people who use drugs (PWUD), the study examined how accurately PWUD reported their network members’ (i.e., alters’) names and ages.

Methods—Data were collected from 2008 to 2010 from 503 PWUD residing in rural Appalachia. Network ties (n=897) involved recent (past 6 months) sex, drug co-usage, and/or social support. Participants provided alters’ names, ages, and relationship-level characteristics; these data were cross-referenced to that of other participants to identify participant-participant relationships and to determine …

Assessment Of Diastolic Function In Single-Ventricle Patients After The Fontan Procedure., Renee Margossian, Lynn A. Sleeper, Gail D. Pearson, Piers C. Barker, Luc Mertens, Michael D. Quartermain, Jason T. Su, Girish S. Shirali, Shan Chen, Steven D. Colan, Pediatric Heart Network Investigators

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND: Patients with functional single ventricles after the Fontan procedure have abnormal cardiac mechanics. The aims of this study were to determine factors that influence diastolic function and to describe associations of diastolic function with current clinical status.

METHODS: Echocardiograms were obtained as part of the Pediatric Heart Network Fontan Cross-Sectional Study. Diastolic function grade (DFG) was assessed as normal (grade 0), impaired relaxation (grade 1), pseudonymization (grade 2), or restrictive (grade 3). Studies were also classified dichotomously (restrictive pattern present or absent). Relationships between DFG and pre-Fontan variables (e.g., ventricular morphology, age at Fontan, history of volume-unloading surgery) and …