Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Global Burden Of Adolescent And Young Adult Cancer In 2019: A Systematic Analysis For The Global Burden Of Disease Study 2019, Elysia M. Alvarez, Lisa M. Force, Rixing Xu, Kelly Compton, Dan Lu, Ismaeel Yunusa Ph. D., Et Al.

Faculty Publications

Background

Methods

Devfold: A Toolbox For Designing Age-Specific Fnirs Channel Placement, Xiaoxue (Jessie) Fu Ph.D., John E. Richards

Faculty Publications

Significance: Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a noninvasive technique that uses scalp-placed sensors to measure cerebral hemoglobin concentration. Commercial NIRS instruments do not allow for whole-head coverage and do not intrinsically indicate which brain areas generate the NIRS signal. Hence, the challenge is to design source–detector channel arrangement that maximizes sensitivity to a given brain region of interest (ROI). Existing methods for optimizing channel placement design have been developed using adult head models. Thus, they have limited utility for developmental research.

Aim: We aim to build an application from an existing toolbox (fOLD) that guides NIRS channel configuration based on age …

The Validity Of Using One Force Platform To Quantify Whole-Body Forces, Velocities, And Power During A Plyometric Push-Up, Zhanxin Sha, Boyi Dai

Faculty Publications

Background: Previous studies have typically measured velocity and power parameters during the push-up, either using one or two force platforms. The purpose of the study was to compare the force, velocity, and power parameters between the one-force-platform method and the two-force-platform method during plyometric push-ups.

Methods: Thirty-four physically active young adults participated in the study to perform the plyometric push-up. For the two-force-platform calculation method, the forces applied to the feet and hands were both measured. For the one-force-platform calculation method, the forces applied to the feet were assumed to be constant, while the forces applied to hands …

Covid-19 Vaccine Acceptance In Older Syrian Refugees: Preliminary Findings From An Ongoing Study, Noura Salibi, Sawsan Abdulrahim, Maria El Haddad, Stephanie Bassil, Zeina El Khoury, Hala Ghattas Ph.D., Stephen J. Mccall

Faculty Publications

This study assesses COVID-19 vaccine intentions among a sample of older Syrian refugee beneficiaries of a humanitarian organization in Lebanon, and explores factors associated with vaccine refusal. The findings are part of an ongoing rotating 4-wave panel study. The sample was limited to participants from the first panel who completed a phone interview between January-February 2021. Out of 1,037 beneficiaries, almost a third (29%) reported no intention to vaccinate. Reasons for refusal were: newness of the vaccine (35%); preference to maintain precaution measures (21%); belief that the COVID-19 vaccine is not essential (21%); and other (23%). COVID-19 vaccine refusal was …

Occasions, Purposes, And Contexts For Offering Snacks To Preschool-Aged Children: Schemas Of Caregivers With Low-Income Backgrounds, Christine E. Blake, Kirsten K. Davison, Rachel E. Blaine, Jennifer O. Fisher

Faculty Publications

Objective Snacking among preschool aged children is nearly universal and has been associated with overconsumed nutrients, particularly solid fats and added sugars (SoFAS). This research examined caregivers’ schemas, or cognitive frameworks, for offering snacks to preschool-aged children.

Methods A qualitative design utilizing card sort methods was employed. Participants were 59 Black, Hispanic, and White caregivers of children aged 3–5 years with low-income backgrounds. Caregivers sorted 63 cards with images of commonly consumed foods/beverages by preschool-aged children in three separate card sorts to characterize snacking occasions, purposes, and contexts. The mean SoFAS content (kcal/100 g) of foods/beverages was evaluated by snacking …

Actions In Global Nutrition Initiatives To Promote Sustainable Healthy Diets, Ligia I. Reyes, Shilpa V. Constantinides, Shiva Bhandari, Edward A. Frongillo Jr. Ph.D., Pepijn Schreinemachers, Sigrid Wertheim-Heck, Helen Walls, Michelle Holdsworth, Amos Laar, Tuan Nguyen, Christopher Turner, Kate Wallard, Christine E. Blake Ph.D., Rd

Faculty Publications

Multiple recent global nutrition initiatives have recommended actions to transform food systems to improve food environments and food choice. This study aimed to identify actions recommended by these initiatives and understand their similarities and differences. Twelve global nutrition initiatives were reviewed, collectively spanning 13 action themes and accompanying strategies. Action themes were analyzed according to primary focus on either food environments and their food system drivers or food choice. Representation of the 13 actions varied across initiatives. Some actions overlapped; others were infrequently represented. Strategies targeting food environments and their food system drivers were more frequently recommended than strategies targeting …

Fostering Distance Education: Lessons From A United States-England Partnered Collaborative Online International Learning Approach, Lucy A. Ingram, Courtney M. Monroe, Haley Wright, Amy Burrell, Rebecca Jenks, Simon Cheung, Daniela B. Friedman Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) is a teaching and learning approach whereby entire courses or modules are co-developed and team taught by instructors from different institutions for students of both institutions. Since 2006, the approach has been gaining in mass appeal; however, considering our present-day global coronavirus pandemic, COILs have a renewed relevance in academia. Faculty from the University of South Carolina (United States) and Coventry University (England) embarked on a COIL partnership yielding a valuable experience that can serve as a model for other institutions that are interested in developing innovative and cross-cultural distance learning opportunities. The purpose of …

In Vitro Activity Of Non-Antibiotic Drugs Against Staphylococcus Aureus Clinical Strains, Natalie K. Boyd, Grace C. Lee, Chengwen Teng Pharm.D., Ph.D., Christopher R. Frei

Faculty Publications

Objectives: We hypothesised that one or more of the non-antibiotic candidates selected for this study would demonstrate antibiotic activity against Staphylococcus aureus.

Methods: We determined minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) for non-antibiotic drugs (amlodipine, azelastine, ebselen and sertraline) against five clinical S. aureus isolates and one quality control strain using the Microplate Alamar Blue Assay (MABA). Our research group selected clinical isolates obtained from nasal and wound swab cultures of patients with skin and soft-tissue infections who were seen at primary care clinics in the South Texas Ambulatory Research Network (STARNet).

Results: Three of the non-antibiotic …

Tipping Point: Integrating Social Determinants Of Health Concepts In A College Of Nursing, Victoria H. Davis Dnp, Aprn, Cpnp-Pc, Cne, Crystal L. Murillo Phd, Rn, Chse-A, Anef, Faan, Kate K, Chappell Phd, Aprn, Cpnp-Pc, Coretta Jenerette, Alicia K. Ribar, Karen Worthy Phd, Mph, Rn, Cne, Cnecl, Jeannette O. Andrews Phd, Rn, Faan

Faculty Publications

Background:

State health rankings, national nursing education reform, and increasing awareness of social injustices propelled a college of nursing to transform its strategic plan, infrastructure, and curriculum. The prevalence of social determinants of health (SDOH) in South Carolina indicates a need for the state's health workforce to understand the impact of SDOH and recognize strategies to address and ameliorate SDOH. With the paradigmatic integration of diversity, equity, and inclusion in nursing education, there is a need for programmatic and curricular integration of SDOH to increase awareness, foster understanding, and transform perspectives among nursing faculty, staff, and students.

Method:

Institutional changes …

Challenges For Estimating The Global Prevalence Of Micronutrient Deficiencies And Related Disease Burden: A Case Study Of The Global Burden Of Disease Study, Sonja Y. Hess, Alexander C. Mclain Ph.D., Edward A. Frongillo Jr. Ph.D., Ashkan Afshin, Nicholas J. Kassebaum, Saskia Jm Osendarp, Reed Atkin, Rahul Rawat, Kenneth H. Brown

Faculty Publications

Information on the prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies is needed to determine related disease burden; underpin evidence-based advocacy; and design, deliver, and monitor safe, effective interventions. Assessing the global prevalence of deficiency requires a valid micronutrient status biomarker with an appropriate cutoff to define deficiency and relevant data from representative surveys across multiple locations and years. The Global Burden of Disease Study includes prevalence estimates for iodine, iron, zinc, and vitamin A deficiencies, for which recommended biomarkers and appropriate deficiency cutoffs exist. Because representative survey data are lacking, only retinol concentration is used to model vitamin A deficiency, and proxy indicators …

Filling The Knowledge Gap For Nurse Leaders: Next Steps Following Covid-19, Mikel W. Hand, Catherine Alexander, Bret Lyman, Joy Parchment, M Lindell Joseph, Esther Chipps

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this article is to share gaps in knowledge and research related to pandemic management identified by nurse leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of a larger Delphi study, nurse leaders responded to an open-ended question about gaps in research they saw as important following the pandemic. Responses were analyzed using directed content analysis. Results are presented as 4 supercategories: Organizational leadership preparedness, adaptive leadership in crisis, innovations in care delivery, and health, well-being, and resilience.

Verification Of A Mobile Psychoacoustic Test System, Jordana C. Soares, Sangamanatha Veeranna, Vijay Parsa, Chris Allan, Winnie Ly, Minh Duong, Paula Folkeard, Sheila Moodie, Prudence Allen

Faculty Publications

Many hearing difficulties can be explained as a loss of audibility, a problem easily detected and treated using standard audiological procedures. Yet, hearing can be much poorer (or more impaired) than audibility predicts because of deficits in the suprathreshold mechanisms that encode the rapidly changing, spectral, temporal, and binaural aspects of the sound. The ability to evaluate these mechanisms requires well-defined stimuli and strict adherence to rigorous psychometric principles. This project reports on the comparison between a laboratory-based and a mobile system’s results for psychoacoustic assessment in adult listeners with normal hearing. A description of both systems employed is provided. …

Ultra-Conformal Skin Electrodes With Synergistically Enhanced Conductivity For Long-Time And Low-Motion Artifact Epidermal Electrophysiology, Yan Zhao, Song Zhang, Tianhao Yu, Yan Zhang, Guo Ye, Han Cui, Chengzhi He, Wenchao Jiang, Yu Zhai, Chunming Lu, Xiaodan Gu, Nan Liu

Faculty Publications

Accurate and imperceptible monitoring of electrophysiological signals is of primary importance for wearable healthcare. Stiff and bulky pregelled electrodes are now commonly used in clinical diagnosis, causing severe discomfort to users for long-time using as well as artifact signals in motion. Here, we report a ~100 nm ultra-thin dry epidermal electrode that is able to conformably adhere to skin and accurately measure electrophysiological signals. It showed low sheet resistance (~24 Ω/sq, 4142 S/cm), high transparency, and mechano-electrical stability. The enhanced optoelectronic performance was due to the synergistic effect between graphene and poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS), which induced a high …

Metacognition, Social Cognition, And Mentalizing In Psychosis: Are These Distinct Constructs When It Comes To Subjective Experience Or Are We Just Splitting Hairs?, P. H. Lysaker, S. Cheli, G. Dimaggio, B. Buck, K. A. Bonfils, K. Huling, C. Wiesepape, J. T. Lysaker

Faculty Publications

Research using the integrated model of metacognition has suggested that the construct of metacognition could quantify the spectrum of activities that, if impaired, might cause many of the subjective disturbances found in psychosis. Research on social cognition and mentalizing in psychosis, however, has also pointed to underlying deficits in how persons make sense of their experience of themselves and others. To explore the question of whether metacognitive research in psychosis offers unique insight in the midst of these other two emerging fields, we have offered a review of the constructs and research from each field. Following that summary, we discuss …

A Healthy Dietary Pattern With A Low Inflammatory Potential Reduces The Risk Of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus, Lotta Pajunen, Liisa Korkalo, Noora Houttu, Outi Pellonperä, Kati Mokkala, Nitin Shivappa Mbbs, Mph, Ph.D., James Hébert Scd, Tero Vahlberg, Kristina Tertti, Kirsi Laitinen

Faculty Publications

Purpose An optimal diet for lowering the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is still to be defined, but may comprise of nutrient intakes, dietary patterns, diet quality, and eating frequency. This study was designed to investigate the contribution of diet in developing GDM in a comprehensive way. Methods The dietary intake of overweight or obese women, a risk group for GDM (n = 351), was assessed using 3-day food diaries and diet quality questionnaires in early pregnancy. Eating frequency and nutrient intakes were calculated, and dietary patterns identified using principal component analysis. The inflammatory potential of the diet was …

Performance Of A Validated Spontaneous Preterm Delivery Predictor In South Asian And Sub-Saharan African Women: A Nested Case Control Study, Rasheda Khanam, Tracy C. Fleischer, Nansi Boghossian, Imran Nisar, Usha Dhingra, Sayedur Rahman, Angela C. Fox, Muhammad Iiyas, Arup Dutta, Nurun Naher, Ashoka D. Polpitiya, Usma Mehmood, Saikat Deb, Aziz Ahmed Choudhury, Md Bahadur Badsha, Karim Muhammad, Said Mohammed Ali, Salahuddin Ahmed, Durlin E. Hickok, Najeeha Iqbal, Et. Al.

Faculty Publications

Objectives

To address the disproportionate burden of preterm birth (PTB) in low- and middle-income countries, this study aimed to (1) verify the performance of the United States-validated spontaneous PTB (sPTB) predictor, comprised of the IBP4/SHBG protein ratio, in subjects from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Tanzania enrolled in the Alliance for Maternal and Newborn Health Improvement (AMANHI) biorepository study, and (2) discover biomarkers that improve performance of IBP4/SHBG in the AMANHI cohort.

Study design

The performance of the IBP4/SHBG biomarker was first evaluated in a nested case control validation study, then utilized in a follow-on discovery study performed on the same samples. …

Causal Effects On Low Apgar At 5-Min And Stillbirth In A Malaria Maternal–Fetal Health Outcome Investigation: A Large Perinatal Surveillance Study In The Brazilian Amazon, Julio Abel Seijas-Chávez, Melissa Nolan Ph.D., Mph, Mary K. Lynn, Maria José Francalino Da Rocha, Muana Da Costa Araújo, Fernando Luiz Affonso Fonseca, Gabriel Zorello Laporta

Faculty Publications

Background

Malaria elimination in Brazil poses several challenges, including the control of Plasmodium falciparum foci and the hidden burden of Plasmodium vivax in pregnancy. Maternal malaria and fetal health outcomes were investigated with a perinatal surveillance study in the municipality of Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre state, Brazilian Amazon. The research questions are: what are the causal effects of low birth weight on low Apgar at 5-min and of perinatal anaemia on stillbirth?

Methods

From November 2018 to October 2019, pregnant women of ≥ 22 weeks or puerperal mothers, who delivered at the referral maternity hospital (Juruá Women and Children’s Hospital), …

Neural Correlates Of Infant Face Processing And Later Emerging Autism Symptoms In Fragile X Syndrome, Maggie W. Guy, John E. Richards, Abigail L. Hogan Ph.D., Jane E. Roberts

Faculty Publications

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the leading known genetic cause of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with 60–74% of males with FXS meeting diagnostic criteria for ASD. Infants with FXS have demonstrated atypical neural responses during face processing that are unique from both typically developing, low-risk infants and infants at high familial risk for ASD (i.e., infants siblings of children with ASD). In the current study, event-related potential (ERP) responses during face processing measured at 12 months of age were examined in relation to ASD symptoms measured at ~48 months of age in participants with FXS, as well as siblings of …

Social Determinants Of Health Related To Stay-At-Home Order Adherence And Social Distancing Attitudes Among A Diverse Deep South Population, Jennifer L. Lemacks, Tammy Greer, Sermin Aras, Laurie Abbott, Darlene Willis, June Gipson, Mohamed O. Elasri

Faculty Publications

Objective: To describe COVID-19 related symptoms and medical care experienced in the first six months of the pandemic as well as stay-at-home order adherence, and attitudes related to COVID-19 risk and social distancing among a diverse sample of adults in the Deep South.

Methods: Survey data were collected from 411 Louisiana and Mississippi residents for three weeks in June 2020 through social media.

Results: Over half (52.5%) of participants who experienced COVID-19 related symptoms (with 41.5% experiencing at least one symptom) did not feel the severity of symptoms warranted seeking medical care. 91.6% of the Deep South …

Blood Donation Fear, Perceived Rewards, Self-Efficacy, And Intention To Return Among Whole Blood Donors In China: A Social Cognitive Perspective, Zhong Li, Shuge Lei, Xiamoing Li Ph.D., Yilun Zhao, Yudong Dai, Shengxuan Jin, Qiang Fu, Xubing Cai, Zhenping Lin, Xiaoming Tu

Faculty Publications

With the increasing demand from aging population and seasonal blood shortage, recruiting and retaining blood donors has become an urgent issue for the blood collection centers in China. This study aims to understand intention to donate again from a social cognitive perspective among whole blood donors in China through investigating the association between the blood donation fear, perceived rewards, self-efficacy, and intention to return. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in six cities, which are geographically and socioeconomically distinct areas in Jiangsu, China. Respondents completed a self-administrated questionnaire interviewed by two well-trained medical students. A total of 191 blood donors were …

The Dietary Inflammatory Index Is Not Associated With Gut Permeability Or Biomarkers Of Systemic Inflammation In Hiv Immunologic Non-Responders, Fat Malazogu, Rodney K. Rousseau, Nitin Shivappa Mbbs, Mph, Ph.D., Sanja Huibner, Sharon L. Walmsley, Colin M. Kovacs, Erika Benko, Robert J. Reinhard, Ron Rosenes, James R. Hébert, Rupert Kaul

Faculty Publications

Immunologic non-responders (INRs) are a subset of individuals living with HIV who have suboptimal blood CD4+ T cell recovery despite effective antiretroviral therapy (ART). They are at an increased risk of serious non-AIDS co-morbidities and death, and demonstrate enhanced systemic immune activation. In other populations diet has been correlated with markers of systemic inflammation through the Diet Inflammatory Index (DII), but this association has not been studied in persons living with HIV (PLWH). Blood was collected from 28 INR PLWH with a blood CD4+ T cell count <350/μL despite ≥2 years of effective ART. Participants completed a Canadian Diet History Questionnaire, and their responses were used to calculate the DII. Plasma inflammatory markers (IFNγ, TNF, IL-6, sVCAM, D-dimer, sCD14 and CRP) were assayed by ELISA, cellular immune activation (HLA-DR and CD38 on CD4+ and CD8+ T cells) was quantified using flow cytometry, and small bowel permeability assessed by calculation of the urine LacMan ratio after drinking a mix of lactulose and mannitol. Participants were a median age of 57 years, had been on effective ART for 15 years, and the median DII was −1.91 (range of −3.78 to +2.23). No correlation was observed between DII and plasma markers of inflammation, levels of T cell activation, gut permeability, or the biomarker of bacterial translocation sCD14. Self-reported alcohol intake, a potential confounder of the relationship between diet and inflammatory biomarkers, was also not associated with systemic inflammation or gut permeability. Our findings suggest that other mechanisms, rather than diet, are likely to be the major driver of systemic inflammation in INR individuals.

Association Between Diet Quality Indices And Incidence Of Type 2 Diabetes In The Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study, Allison M. Hodge, Md Nazmul Karim, James Hébert Scd, Nitin Shivappa Mbbs, Mph, Ph.D., Barbora De Courten

Faculty Publications

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a common condition whose incidence is increasing worldwide, and for which obesity and diet are important risk factors. The aim of this study was to assess the association of three diet quality scores with diabetes risk and how much of the association was mediated through body size. The Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study recruited 41,513 men and women aged 40–69 years during 1990–1994. At baseline, data were collected on lifestyle and diet, anthropometric measures were performed. Incident diabetes was assessed by self-report at follow-up surveys in 1994–1998 and 2003–2007. The associations between the dietary inflammatory index …

Challenges For Estimating The Global Prevalence Of Micronutrient Deficiencies And Related Disease Burden: A Case Study Of The Global Burden Of Disease Study, Sonja Y. Hess, Alexander C. Mclain, Edward A. Frongillo Jr., Ashkan Afshin, Nicholas J. Kassebaum, Saskia J. Osendarp, Reed Atkin, Rahul Rawat, Kenneth H. Brown

Faculty Publications

Information on the prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies is needed to determine related disease burden; underpin evidence-based advocacy; and design, deliver, and monitor safe, effective interventions. Assessing the global prevalence of deficiency requires a valid micronutrient status biomarker with an appropriate cutoff to define deficiency and relevant data from representative surveys across multiple locations and years. The Global Burden of Disease Study includes prevalence estimates for iodine, iron, zinc, and vitamin A deficiencies, for which recommended biomarkers and appropriate deficiency cutoffs exist. Because representative survey data are lacking, only retinol concentration is used to model vitamin A deficiency, and proxy indicators …

Deletion Of The Stress Response Gene Ddr48 From Histoplasma Capsulatum Increases Sensitivity To Oxidative Stress, Increases Susceptibility To Antifungals, And Decreases Fitness In Macrophages, Logan T. Blancett, Kauri A. Runge, Gabriella M. Reyes, Lauren A. Kennedy, Sydney C. Jackson, Sarah E. Scheuermann, Mallory B. Harmon, Jamease C. Williams, Glenmore Shearer

Faculty Publications

The stress response gene DDR48 has been characterized in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida albicans to be involved in combating various cellular stressors, from oxidative agents to antifungal compounds. Surprisingly, the biological function of DDR48 has yet to be identified, though it is likely an important part of the stress response. To gain insight into its function, we characterized DDR48 in the dimorphic fungal pathogen Histoplasma capsulatum. Transcriptional analyses showed preferential expression of DDR48 in the mycelial phase. Induction of DDR48 in Histoplasma yeasts developed after treatment with various cellular stress compounds. We generated a ddr48∆ deletion mutant to further …

Shaper-Pnd Trial: Clinical Effectiveness Protocol Of A Community Singing Intervention For Postnatal Depression, Carolina Estevao, Rebecca Bind, Daisy Fancourt, Kristi Sawyer, Paola Dazzan, Nick Sevdalis, Anthony Woods, Nikki Crane, Lavinia Rebecchini, Katie Hazelgrove, Manonmani Manoharan, Alexandra Burton, Hannah Dye, Tim Osborn, Rachel E. Davis, Tayana Soukup, Jorge Arias De La Torre, Ioannis Bakolis, Andy Healey, Rosie Perkins, Carmine Pariante

Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION: Postnatal depression (PND) affects approximately 13% of new mothers. Community-based activities are sought after by many mothers, especially mothers that prefer not to access pharmacological or psychological interventions. Singing has shown positive effects in maternal mood and mother-child bonding. The Scaling-Up Health-Arts Programmes: Implementation and Effectiveness Research-Postnatal Depression study will analyse the clinical and implementation effectiveness of 10-week singing sessions for PND in new mothers. This protocol paper will focus on the clinical effectiveness of this trial. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A total of 400 mothers with PND (with a score of at least 10 on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression …

A Novel Method For Ecg Signal Classification Via One-Dimensional Convolutional Neural Network, Xuan Hua, Jungang Han, Chen Zhao, Haipeng Tang, Zhuo He, Qinghui Chen, Shaojie Tang, Jinshan Tang, Weihua Zhou

Faculty Publications

This paper develops an end-to-end ECG signal classification algorithm based on a novel segmentation strategy and 1D Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) to aid the classification of ECG signals and alleviate the workload of physicians. The ECG segmentation strategy named R-R-R strategy (i.e., retaining ECG data between the R peaks just before and after the current R peak) is used for segmenting the original ECG data into segments to train and test the 1D CNN models. The novel strategy mimics physicians in scanning ECG to a greater extent, and maximizes the inherent information of ECG segments for diagnosis. The performance of …

Estimated Cost-Effectiveness Of Atezolizumab Plus Cobimetinib And Vemurafenib For Treatment Of Braf V600 Variation Metastatic Melanoma, Chao Cai, Ismaeel Yunusa Ph.D., Ahmad Tarhini

Faculty Publications

Importance In the IMspire150 trial, triplet treatment with atezolizumab and vemurafenib plus cobimetinib significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS) compared with vemurafenib plus cobimetinib alone for treatment of BRAF V600 variation metastatic melanoma. However, considering high cost of this combination, it is unclear if the incremental cost is worth the additional survival benefit.

Objective To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of atezolizumab and vemurafenib plus cobimetinib vs vemurafenib plus cobimetinib alone in patients with newly diagnosed unresectable BRAF V600 variation metastatic melanoma from the US health care perspective.

Design, Setting, and Participants This economic evaluation study used a 3-state partitioned survival model to …

Association Between Neighborhood Social Deprivation And Stage At Diagnosis Among Breast Cancer Patients In South Carolina, Oluwole Adeyemi Babatunde, Whitney Zahnd Ph.D., Jan Eberth Ph.D., Andrew B. Lawson, Swann Arp Adams, Eric Adjei Boakye, Melanie S. Jefferson, Caitlin G. Allen, John L. Pearce, Hong Li, Chanita Hughes Halbert

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between neighborhood social deprivation and individual-level characteristics on breast cancer staging in African American and white breast cancer patients. We established a retrospective cohort of patients with breast cancer diagnosed from 1996 to 2015 using the South Carolina Central Cancer Registry. We abstracted sociodemographic and clinical variables from the registry and linked these data to a county-level composite that captured neighborhood social conditions—the social deprivation index (SDI). Data were analyzed using chi-square tests, Student’s t-test, and multivariable ordinal regression analysis to evaluate associations. The study sample included 52,803 female patients …

Neurodevelopmental Processes In The Prefrontal Cortex Derailed By Chronic Hiv-1 Viral Protein Exposure, Kristen A. Mclaurin, Hailong Li, Rosemarie M. Booze, Charles F. Mactutus

Faculty Publications

Due to the widespread access to, and implementation of, combination antiretroviral therapy, individuals perinatally infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) are living into adolescence and adulthood. Perinatally infected adolescents living with HIV-1 (pALHIV) are plagued by progressive, chronic neurocognitive impairments; the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying these deficits, however, remain understudied. A longitudinal experimental design from postnatal day (PD) 30 to PD 180 was utilized to establish the development of pyramidal neurons, and associated dendritic spines, from layers II-III of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in HIV-1 transgenic (Tg) and control animals. Three putative neuroinflammatory markers (i.e., IL-1β, IL-6, and …

Differences By School Location In Summer And School Monthly Weight Change: Findings From A Nationally Representative Sample, Ethan T. Hunt, Bridget Armstrong Ph.D., Gabrielle Turner-Mcgrievy Ph.D., Rd, Michael Beets Med, Mph, Phd, Robert Weaver Med, Phd

Faculty Publications

Objectives: To examine changes in accelerations of Body Mass Index (BMI), age-and-sex specific body mass index (zBMI), and 95th percentile of BMI (%BMIp95) during the summer months and school year by school location designation (i.e., urban, suburban, exurban). This study utilized the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Class of 2010-2011.

Methods: Of the 18,174 children in the ECLS-K:2011 dataset, I restricted participants to those with at least two consecutive measures that occurred August/September or April/May. Mixed-effect regression analyses estimated differences in monthly change in BMI, zBMI, and %BMIp95 between the summer and school year while accounting for the ECLS-K complex …