Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Risk Factors Of Worsening Of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus In Patients At Two Tertiary Hospitals In Jakarta, Giri Aji, Mondastri Korib Sudaryo, Ratna Djuwita, Sukamto Sukamto

Kesmas

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a prototypical multiorgan autoimmune disease with a fluctuating and chronic disease course. As an emerging disease in this century, SLE will burden stakeholders and the country. This study was conducted to determine the prognostic factors for SLE worsening, especially in ambulatory patients. This ambispective study used logistic regression to view the risk factors for worsening SLE in patients. Anemia, age, body mass index, education level, employment status, marital status, hydroxychloroquine, and immunosuppressants were the independent variables in this study. This study concludes that anemia is statistically significant and, therefore, a risk factor for worsening SLE …

The Impact Of Vaccinations And Chronic Disease On Covid Death Rates, James L. Doti

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

This study presents a theoretical and empirical regression model to measure the efficacy of vaccinations in reducing COVID death rates across states over the 3/10/21 to 12/28/22 period. During that period, it was estimated that the availability of vaccinations resulted in a reduction of 427,000 COVID deaths in the nation. To arrive at that estimate, other covariants were held constant. In particular, it was found that chronic disease should be included as an explanatory variable to arrive at unbiased measures of the efficacy of vaccinations in reducing deaths. In addition, the percentage of people over the age of 65 was …

Association Between Acculturation, Dental Floss Use, Dental Visits And Unmet Dental Needs Among Asians In The United States: Findings From National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey (Nhanes) 2011–2018, Ting Luo, Kaylin Beiter, Tung Sung Tseng

School of Graduate Studies Faculty Publications

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to examine the associations between acculturation and dental floss, regular dental visits and unmet dental care needs among Asian Americans, as well as the moderating effects of these associations. Methods: This study analysed national representative samples from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011–2018. A total of 2763 Asian Americans aged 20 and older were included in this analysis. The primary predictor, acculturation score, was determined by three questions: (i) language spoken at home (higher score for English), (ii) country of birth (higher score for United States) and (iii) length of …

A Polygenic Risk Score For Alzheimer’S Disease Constructed Using Apoe-Region Variants Has Stronger Association Than Apoe Alleles With Mild Cognitive Impairment In Hispanic/Latino Adults In The Us, Wassim Tarraf, Martha Daviglus, Melissa Lamar, Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller, Jianwen Cai, Charles S Decarli, Hector M Gonzalez, Myriam Fornage

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: Polygenic Risk Scores (PRSs) are summaries of genetic risk alleles for an outcome.

METHODS: We used summary statistics from five GWASs of AD to construct PRSs in 4,189 diverse Hispanics/Latinos (mean age 63 years) from the Study of Latinos-Investigation of Neurocognitive Aging (SOL-INCA). We assessed the PRS associations with MCI in the combined set of people and in diverse subgroups, and when including and excluding the APOE gene region. We also assessed PRS associations with MCI in an independent dataset from the Mass General Brigham Biobank.

RESULTS: A simple sum of 5 PRSs ("PRSsum"), each constructed based on a …

Igg3 Subclass Antibodies Recognize Antigenically Drifted Influenza Viruses And Sars-Cov-2 Variants Through Efficient Bivalent Binding, Marcus J. Bolton, Jefferson J.S. Santos, Claudia P. Arevalo, Trevor Griesman, Megan Watson, Shuk Hang Li, Paul Bates, Holly Ramage, Patrick C. Wilson, Scott E. Hensley

Department of Microbiology and Immunology Faculty Papers

The constant domains of antibodies are important for effector functions, but less is known about how they can affect binding and neutralization of viruses. Here, we evaluated a panel of human influenza virus monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) expressed as IgG1, IgG2, or IgG3. We found that many influenza virus-specific mAbs have altered binding and neutralization capacity depending on the IgG subclass encoded and that these differences result from unique bivalency capacities of the subclasses. Importantly, subclass differences in antibody binding and neutralization were greatest when the affinity for the target antigen was reduced through antigenic mismatch. We found that antibodies expressed …

Occupation And Risk Of Traumatic Brain Injury In The Millennium Cohort Study, Jose-Miguel Yamal

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an occupational health hazard of military service. Few studies have examined differences in military occupational categories (MOC) which take into consideration the physical demands and job requirements across occupational groups.

METHODS: This study was approved by the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Institutional Review Board. Data for this cross-sectional study were obtained from the Naval Health Research Center's Millennium Cohort Study, an ongoing DoD study. Univariate analyses were employed to calculate frequencies and proportions for all variables. Bivariate analyses included unadjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% CI for the association between …

Daily Early-Life Exposures To Diet Soda And Aspartame Are Associated With Autism In Males: A Case-Control Study, Lynne Parsons Heilbrun

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Since its introduction, aspartame-the leading sweetener in U.S. diet sodas (DS)-has been reported to cause neurological problems in some users. In prospective studies, the offspring of mothers who consumed diet sodas/beverages (DSB) daily during pregnancy experienced increased health problems. We hypothesized that gestational/early-life exposure to ≥1 DS/day (DSearly) or equivalent aspartame (ASPearly: ≥177 mg/day) increases autism risk. The case-control Autism Tooth Fairy Study obtained retrospective dietary recalls for DSB and aspartame consumption during pregnancy/breastfeeding from the mothers of 235 offspring with autism spectrum disorder (ASD: cases) and 121 neurotypically developing offspring (controls). The exposure odds ratios (ORs) for DSearly and …

A Study Of Approaches To Mitigate Seafarer Fatigue Based On Workload Self-Assessment By Ship's Crew, Jun Liu

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Improving Pilot Boarding Arrangements To Prevent Transfer Accidents, Wenduan Song

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Research On Prevention And Management Of Seafarer Fatigue, Yiheng Xu

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Neurotoxicity And Outcomes From Developmental Lead Exposure: Persistent Or Permanent?, Jay S. Schneider

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Background:

Childhood lead poisoning remains an important public health issue in the United States, as well as elsewhere in the world. Although primary prevention is a major goal and it is critically important to keep children from getting poisoned, it is also important to explore ways to reduce the neurotoxic effects of lead in those children already poisoned. Whether lead-induced neurotoxicity and its related adverse outcomes are viewed as “permanent” or “persistent” may influence the way in which potential remediation efforts are considered for improving outcomes from childhood lead poisoning.

Objectives:

The objective of this commentary was to discuss the …

David Remmert Touts The Importance Of Educating The Next Wave Of Health Care Workers, Eric Stock

Interviews for WGLT

With his past experience working for public health departments, Assistant Professor of Public Health David Remmert touts the importance of educating the next wave of health care workers through the new public health program in IWU's School of Nursing and Health Sciences.

Targeting Breast Cancer: The Familiar, The Emerging, And The Uncharted Territories, Hamidreza Montazeri Aliabadi, Arthur Manda, Riya Sidgal, Co Chung

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Breast cancer became the most diagnosed cancer in the world in 2020. Chemotherapy is still the leading clinical strategy in breast cancer treatment, followed by hormone therapy (mostly used in hormone receptor-positive types). However, with our ever-expanding knowledge of signaling pathways in cancer biology, new molecular targets are identified for potential novel molecularly targeted drugs in breast cancer treatment. While this has resulted in the approval of a few molecularly targeted drugs by the FDA (including drugs targeting immune checkpoints), a wide array of signaling pathways seem to be still underexplored. Also, while combinatorial treatments have become common practice in …

Public Health Instructors' Attitudes Regarding Online Instructional Course Design: A Collective Case Study, Meaghan A. Gargin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this collective case study was to describe instructors’ attitudes regarding Keller’s personalized system of instruction (PSI) for a sample of online master’s-level public health instructors at an institution of higher education. The central research question was how do public health instructors describe their attitudes regarding personalized system of instruction and online graduate education? The institution selected for this investigation was “University A.” The theory guiding this study was Keller’s personalized system of instruction (PSI), as it features five elements for student-centered course design in higher education learning. The elements include: (a) self-pacing, (b) unit mastery, (c) lectures …

Bioaccumulation Of Non-Essential Trace Elements Detected In Women's Follicular Fluid, Urine, And Plasma Is Associated With Poor Reproductive Outcomes Following Single Euploid Embryo Transfer: A Pilot Study, Andrea Palomar, Roberto Gonzalez-Martin, Alicia Quiñonero, Nuria Pellicer, Rocio Fernandez-Saavedra, Isabel Rucandio, Rodolfo Fernandez-Martinez, Estefania Conde-Vilda, Alberto J. Quejido, Caroline Zuckerman, Christine Whitehead, Richard T. Scott, Francisco Dominguez

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Faculty Papers

This study aims to determine the association of non-essential trace elements present in follicular fluid, plasma, and urine with reproductive outcomes of women undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidies (PGT-A) and single frozen euploid embryo transfer (SET/FET). This single-center, prospective cohort study included sixty women undergoing ICSI with PGT-A and SET/FET between 2018 and 2019. Urine, plasma and follicular fluid samples were collected on the vaginal oocyte retrieval day to simultaneously quantify ten non-essential trace elements (i.e., Ba, Sr, Rb, Sn, Ti, Pb, Cd, Hg, Sb, and As). We found several associations between the levels of …

"We Just Have To Trust The People In White Lab Coats": Analyzing Distrust In Vaccine Hesitant Comments On The Hhs Nondiscrimination In Health Programs And Activities Proposed Rule, Hima Bindu Lakshmi Vedantham

Dissertations and Theses

Vaccine attitudes provide a valuable site for analyzing trust relations on both interpersonal and institutional levels. This study is a content analysis of public comments submitted from August through October 2022 in response to a proposed rule issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which sought to strengthen non-discrimination protections in healthcare programs. Specifically, it examines the role of distrust in shaping and reinforcing vaccine hesitant beliefs, experiences, and healthcare decisions. The five themes identified in the study illustrate a breakdown in trust in pharmaceutical companies, government actors, and healthcare providers, reflecting broader social patterns. In the …

Association Between Chronic Disease And Substance Use Among Older Adults In Tennessee, Manik Ahuja, Jessica Stamey, Johanna Cimilluca, Kawther Al Skir, Mary K. Herndon, Kathleen Baggett, Thiveya Sathiyasaleen, Praveen Fernandopulle

ETSU Faculty Works

Background:

Design and methods:

Retrospective And Real-Time Measures Of The Quantity Of E-Cigarette Use: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study, Megan E Piper

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: Quantifying e-cigarette use is challenging because of the wide variety of products and the lack of a clear, objective demarcation of a use event. This study aimed to characterize the difference between retrospective and real-time measures of the quantity of e-cigarette use and identify the covariates that may account for discrepancies between the two types of measures.

METHODS: This study analyzed data from 401 college student e-cigarette users in Indiana and Texas who responded to a web survey (retrospective) and 7-day ecological momentary assessments (EMA) (real-time) on their e-cigarette use behavior, dependence symptomatology, e-cigarette product characteristics, and use contexts …

Characteristics And Source-Specific Health Risks Of Ambient Pm2.5-Bound Pahs In An Urban City Of Northern Taiwan, Yu-Chieh Ting, Chun-Hung Ku, Yu-Xuan Zou, Kai-Hsien Chi, Jhy-Charm Soo, Chin-Yu Hsu, Yu-Cheng Chen

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with highly toxic compounds mainly exist in small-sized particles and can induce considerable human health risks. Studies on PM2.5-bound PAHs and their source-specific human health risks still remain scarce. Daily PM2.5 samples (n = 119) were collected every three days from 2016 to 2017 in Taipei city, Taiwan. Fifteen PAHs in PM2.5 were analyzed via gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC/MS-MS). We utilized a positive matrix factorization (PMF) model, diagnostic ratios, and potential source contribution function (PSCF) to identify the origins of PM2.5-bound PAHs. The annual concentration of total PAHs (TPAH) was 0.79 ± 0.67 ng …

Metapopulation Dynamics Of Sars-Cov-2 Transmission In A Small-Scale Amazonian Society, Thomas Kraft, Edmond Seabright, Sarah Alami, Samuel M. Jenness, Paul L. Hooper, Bret Beheim, Helen Davis, Daniel K. Cummings, Daniel Eid Rodriguez, Maguin Gutierrez Cayuba, Emily J. Miner, Xavier De Lamballerie, Lucia Inchauste, Stéphane Priet, Benjamin Trumble, Jonathan Stieglitz, Hillard Kaplan, Michael Gurven

ESI Publications

The severity of infectious disease outbreaks is governed by patterns of human contact, which vary by geography, social organization, mobility, access to technology and healthcare, economic development, and culture. Whereas globalized societies and urban centers exhibit characteristics that can heighten vulnerability to pandemics, small-scale subsistence societies occupying remote, rural areas may be buffered. Accordingly, voluntary collective isolation has been proposed as one strategy to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 and other pandemics on small-scale Indigenous populations with minimal access to healthcare infrastructure. To assess the vulnerability of such populations and the viability of interventions such as voluntary collective isolation, we …

Utilization Of Wellness Practices For Burnout And Stress During Covid-19 Among An Interdisciplinary Cohort Of Emergency Healthcare Workers, Michael J. Zdradzinski, Sheri-Ann O. Kaltiso, Roslyn Seitz, Timothy P. Moran, Jennifer Clements, Sheryl L. Heron, Michelle D. Lall

Journal of Wellness

Introduction: The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) introduced additional stress to the baseline occupational stressors of emergency care workers. The objectives of this study were to evaluate perceived stress and burnout and the utilization and perceived benefit of wellness practices among emergency healthcare workers (EHCWs), including: emergency physicians, advanced practice providers (APPs), nurses, and departmental administrative staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: A cross-sectional 28-item electronic survey of EHCWs at three hospitals in a major United States city was used to measure participants’ utilization and perceived benefit of wellness practices, burnout (2-item measure), overall stress (perceived stress scale), and stress …

International Epidemiology Of Carbapenemase-Producing Escherichia Coli, Souha S Kanj, Karen Ordoñez, Minggui Wang, David L Paterson, Scott Evans, Lizhao Ge, Abhigya Giri, Carol Hill, Keri Baum, Robert A Bonomo, Barry Kreiswirth, Robin Patel, Cesar A Arias, Henry F Chambers, Vance G Fowler, David Van Duin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Carbapenemase-producing (CP) Escherichia coli (CP-Ec) are a global public health threat. We aimed to describe the clinical and molecular epidemiology and outcomes of patients from several countries with CP-Ec isolates obtained from a prospective cohort.

METHODS: Patients with CP-Ec were enrolled from 26 hospitals in 6 countries. Clinical data were collected, and isolates underwent whole-genome sequencing. Clinical and molecular features and outcomes associated with isolates with or without metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) were compared. The primary outcome was desirability of outcome ranking (DOOR) at 30 days after the index culture.

RESULTS: Of the 114 CP-Ec isolates in Consortium on resistance against …

Prenatal Exposure To Maternal Mood Entropy Is Associated With A Weakened And Inflexible Salience Network In Adolescence, Robert J. Jirsaraie, Anton M. Palma, Steven L. Small, Curt A. Sandman, Elysia Poggi Davis, Tallie Z. Baram, Hal S. Stern, Laura M. Glynn, Michael A. Yassa

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Background

Methods

Lessons Learned For Engaging Latino Families In Community-Based Programs, Alejandro Reyes Peralta, Ghaffar Ali Hurtado Choque, Marla Reicks, Silvia Alvarez De Davila, Darya Soltani

Journal of Extension

A family-skills program for Latino fathers and youth was implemented to prevent youth obesity. Lessons learned focused on practices to address barriers to engagement and retention among fathers and youth within the Latino community. Program development issues included selection of organizations, facilitators, language, and delivery methods. Implementation issues included timing and location. Cultural issues regarding learner needs, and teaching and implementation methods need to be considered. Using the lessons learned, Extension professionals can create impactful programs that engage and retain Latino fathers and youth.

Stability Analyses On The Effect Of Vaccination And Contact Tracing In Monkeypox Virus Transmission, Solomon Eshun, Richmond Essieku, James Ladzekpo

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Monkeypox is a significant health concern due to its potential for morbidity and occasional mortality. Vaccination and effective contact tracing play pivotal roles in controlling infectious diseases, including monkeypox. This study aims to contribute to our understanding of monkeypox dynamics by developing a comprehensive mathematical model that incorporates key factors such as vaccination, quarantining, and contact tracing. Through rigorous sensitivity analysis, we explore the impact of varying vaccination coverage and contact tracing on the disease’s dynamics. In particular, we investigate the dynamics of the disease in relation to variable vaccination coverage and contact tracing. Our findings highlight the critical role …

A Mixed Methods Approach To Understanding The Links Between Mining, Climate Change And Selected Health Outcomes In India, Mary J. Cheruvillil

Dissertations and Theses

Despite ample evidence of the significant role that mining activities play in determining health outcomes, in India there is a dearth of comprehensive health studies that draw linkages between mining and health. The purpose of the following study is to investigate the impact of mining activities on population health in India using three different methods: ecological multivariable regression, exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) and content analysis of government documents using a phenomenological approach. The first aim uses the ecological multivariable regression to examine associations between mining activities and children’s malnutrition outcomes at the district level. Census data, the Demographic Health …

Developing An Ethical Framework-Guided Instrument For Assessing Bias In Ehr-Based Big Data Studies: A Research Protocol, Shan Qiao Ph.D., George Khushf, Xiaoming Li, Jiajia Zhang Ph.D., Bankole Olatosi Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Introduction The emergence of Big Data health research has exponentially advanced the fields of medicine and public health but has also faced many ethical challenges. One of most worrying but still under-researched aspects of the ethical issues is the risk of potential biases in data sets (eg, electronic health records (EHR) data) as well as in the data curation and acquisition cycles. This study aims to develop, refine and pilot test an ethical framework-guided instrument for assessing bias in Big Data research using EHR data sets.

Methods and analysis Ethical analysis and instrument development (ie, the EHR bias assessment guideline) …

Dynamics Of The Mrsa Population In A Chilean Hospital: A Phylogenomic Analysis (2000-2016), Lorena Díaz, Roberto Riquelme-Neira, Manuel Alcalde-Rico, Blake Hanson, Lina P Carvajal, Sandra Rincón, Jinnethe Reyes, Marusella Lam, Juan F Calderon, Rafael Araos, Patricia García, César A Arias, José M Munita

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The global dissemination of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is associated with the emergence and establishment of clones in specific geographic areas. The Chilean-Cordobes clone (ChC) (ST5-SCCmecI) has been the predominant MRSA clone in Chile since its first description in 1998, despite the report of other emerging MRSA clones in recent years. Here, we characterize the evolutionary history of MRSA from 2000 to 2016 in a Chilean tertiary health care center using phylogenomic analyses. We sequenced 469 MRSA isolates collected between 2000 and 2016. We evaluated the temporal trends of the circulating clones and performed a phylogenomic reconstruction to …

Covid-19 Mortality Rates Were Higher In States That Limited Governments From Enacting Public Health Emergency Orders, Xue Zhang, Mildred Warner, Gen Meredith

Center for Policy Research

State and local governments enacted various public health emergency policies during the COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in lower infection and death rates than would have occurred without these policies. However, some states limited emergency public health authority of state executives, state governors, and state and local officials during the pandemic. This brief summarizes the results of a study that used data from the Center for Public Health Law Research and Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker to explore which states passed laws that limited emergency public health authority during the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of those limitations on COVID-19 death …

Surgical Delay Of Thoracodorsal Artery Perforator Flaps For Bilateral Autologous Breast Reconstruction, Ryan D. Hoffman, Mark A. Maier, Hugo St. Hilaire, Robert J. Allen

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Summary; Autologous reconstruction accounts for nearly one-quarter of all breast reconstruction cases in the United States, with the abdomen functioning as the most popular donor site. This case describes a 62-year-old woman who presented to our clinic with a remote history of estrogen receptor+/progesterone+ breast cancer and bilateral implant-based reconstruction. After grade IV capsular contracture of her left breast, she presented for autologous reconstruction. Due to her body habitus and prior belt lipectomy, deep inferior epigastric perforator flap reconstruction was contra-indicated. The thoracodorsal artery perforator (TDAP) flap is well described in the literature, and was chosen as an alternative salvage …