Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Prediction Of Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole Resistance In Community-Onset Urinary Tract Infections, Madeline Demarsh, P Brandon Bookstaver, Caroline Gordon, Juanne Lim, Nicole Griffith, Nicole K. Bookstaver, Julie Ann Justo, Joseph Kohn, Majdi N. Al-Hasan

Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to predict trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (SXT) resistance in patients with community-onset urinary tract infection (UTI) due to Enterobacteriaceae based on patient-specific risk factors. METHODS: This was a retrospective case-control study in Prisma Health facilities in central South Carolina, USA, including three community hospitals, affiliated emergency departments and ambulatory clinics, including adult patients with community-onset UTI due to Enterobacteriaceae (1 April 2015 to 29 February 2016). Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine risk factors for SXT resistance. RESULTS: Among 351 unique patients with community-onset UTI, 71 (20.2%) had SXT-resistant Enterobacteriaceae urinary isolates. Overall, median age was 64 years …

Differential Relationships Between Waist Circumference And Cardiorespiratory Fitness Among People With And Without Type 2 Diabetes, Andrew Ortaglia, Samantha M. Mcdonald, Christina Supino, Michael D. Wirth, Xuem Sui, Matteo Bottai

Faculty Publications

Adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus tend to exhibit an increased level of central adiposity, augmenting their risk of further non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Importantly, consistent evidence demonstrates a significant, negative association between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and waist circumference (WC). However, no previous studies have investigated differences in these CRF-related reductions in WC between adults with and without diabetes.

This study used data from the Aerobic Center for Longitudinal Studies, conducted between 1970 and 2006 among predominately Non-Hispanic White, middle-to-upper class adults in Texas. Quantile regression models were used to estimate CRF-related differences in WC between persons with and without diabetes. …

Recent Advances In Stimuli-Responsive Drug Release And Targeting Concepts Using Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles, Ghada G. Abdo, Moustafa M. Zagho, Ashraf Khalil

Faculty Publications

Being a developed and promising approach, nanotechnology has attracted a lot of attention in biomedical and pharmaceutical therapy applications. Among nanostructured materials, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) are effectively used as nanocarriers for drug delivery systems. MSNs can be tailored-designed by different synthetic techniques. Their morphological characteristics dictate the type of application of such materials. Recently, polymer-based materials have been employed to functionalize the MSNs surface. These modified nanocarriers are loaded with the drug and can unload their “cargo” upon exposure to either endogenous or exogenous types of stimuli. In this study, different targeting concepts, including passive, active, vascular, nuclear, and …

Responding To Health Needs Of Women, Children And Adolescents Within Syria During Conflict: Intervention Coverage, Challenges And Adaptations, Chaza Akik, Aline Semaan, Linda Shaker-Berbari, Zeina Jamaluddine, Ghada E. Saad, Katherine Lopes, Joanne Constantin, Abdulkarim Ekzayez, Neha S. Singh, Karl Blanchet, Jocelyn Dejong, Hala Ghattas Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Background:

Women and children suffer disproportionately in armed-conflicts. Since 2011, the protracted Syrian crisis has fragmented the pre-existing healthcare system. Despite the massive health needs of women and children, the delivery of key reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and nutrition (RMNCAH&N) interventions, and its underlying factors are not well-understood in Syria. Our objective was to document intervention coverage indicators and their implementation challenges inside Syria during conflict.

Methods:

We conducted 1) a desk review to extract RMNCAH&N intervention coverage indicators inside Syria during the conflict; and 2) qualitative interviews with decision makers and health program implementers to …

Rethinking Covid-19 Vulnerability: A Call For Lgbtq+ Im/Migrant Health Equity In The U.S. During And After A Pandemic, Nolan Kline

Faculty Publications

Public health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have emphasized older adults’ vulnerability, but this obfuscates the social and political root causes of health inequity. To advance health equity during a novel communicable disease outbreak, public health practitioners must continue to be attentive to social and political circumstances that inform poor health. Such efforts are especially needed for populations who are exposed to numerous social and political factors that structure health inequity, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or otherwise-queer identifying (LGBTQ+) populations and im/migrant populations. The COVID-19 outbreak is therefore a critical time to emphasize root causes of health inequity.

Effect Of Differences In Month And Location Of Measurement In Estimating Prevalence And Trend Of Wasting And Stunting In India In 2005-2006 And 2015-2016, Emily M. Madan, Edward A. Frongillo Jr., Sayeed Unisa, Laxmikant Dwivedi, Robert Johnston, Abner Daniel, Praween K. Agrawal, Sila Deb, Ajay Khera, Purnima Menon, Phuong H. Nguyen

Faculty Publications

Background: Child undernutrition in India remains widespread. Data from the National Family Health Survey 3 and 4 (NFHS-3 and NFHS-4) suggest that wasting prevalence has increased while stunting prevalence has declined. Objective: The objectives of this study were to do the following: ) describe wasting and stunting by month of measurement in India in children surveys, and ) test whether differences in the timing of anthropometric data collection and in states between survey years introduced bias in the comparison of estimates of wasting and stunting between NFHS-3 and NFHS-4. Methods: Data on wasting and stunting for 42,608 and 232,744 children …

Objective Church Environment Audits And Attendee Perceptions Of Healthy Eating And Physical Activity Supports Within The Church Setting, Marilyn E. Wende, Andrew T. Kaczynski, John A. Bernhart, Caroline G. Dunn, Sarah Wilcox

Faculty Publications

Interventions in faith-based settings are increasingly popular, due to their effectiveness for improving attendee health outcomes and behaviors. Little past research has examined the important role of the church environment in individual-level outcomes using objective environmental audits. This study examined associations between the objectively measured physical church environment and attendees’ perceptions of physical activity (PA) and healthy eating (HE) supports within the church environment, self-efficacy for PA and HE, and self-reported PA and HE behaviors. Data were collected via church audits and church attendee surveys in 54 churches in a rural, medically underserved county in South Carolina. Multi-level regression was …

Measuring Learning And Engagement During Debriefing: A New Instrument, Shelly Jensen Reed

Faculty Publications

Background: Debriefing is considered to be where the bulk of learning takes place. Examination of debriefing is needed to help determine if facilitation methods effectively contribute to the learning process. More instruments are needed to evaluate all key debriefing elements, and no tools exist that evaluate participant engagement in the learning process.

Method: Kolb’s experiential learning theory was used to inform tool development. The focus of the new instrument is behaviors that indicate engagement with the learning process as the learner moves through Kolb’s learning cycle. A qualitative study of debriefing facilitators was performed, and a behaviorally anchored instrument was …

Multicenter, Observational Cohort Study Evaluating Third-Generation Cephalosporin Therapy For Bloodstream Infections Secondary To Enterobacter, Serratia, And Citrobacter Species, Caroline Derrick, P. Brandon Bookstaver, Zhiqiang K. Lu, Christopher M. Bland, S. Travis King, Kayla R. Stover, Kathey Rumley, Shawn H. Macvane, Jenna Swindler, Scott Kincaid, Trisha Branan, David Cluck, Benjamin Britt, Kelly E. Pillinger, Bruce M. Jones, Virginia Fleming, V. Paul Dimondi, Sandy Estrada, Brad Crane, Brian Odle, Majdi N. Al-Hasan, Julie Ann Justo

Faculty Publications

Objectives: There is debate on whether the use of third-generation cephalosporins (3GC) increases the risk of clinical failure in bloodstream infections (BSIs) caused by chromosomally-mediated AmpC-producing Enterobacterales (CAE). This study evaluates the impact of definitive 3GC therapy versus other antibiotics on clinical outcomes in BSIs due to Enterobacter, Serratia, or Citrobacter species. Methods: This multicenter, retrospective cohort study evaluated adult hospitalized patients with BSIs secondary to Enterobacter, Serratia, or Citrobacter species from 1 January 2006 to 1 September 2014. Definitive 3GC therapy was compared to definitive therapy with other non-3GC antibiotics. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression evaluated the impact of …

Addressing The Social Vulnerability Of Mississippi Gulf Coast Vietnamese Community Through The Development Of Community Health Advisors, Susan Mayfield-Johnson, Danielle Fastring, Daniel Le, Jane Nguyen

Faculty Publications

Background:Resiliency is the ability to prepare for, recover from, and adapt to stressors from adverse events. Social vulnerabilities (limited access to resources, political power, and representation; lack of social capital; aspects of the built environment; health inequities; and being in certain demographic categories) can impact resiliency. The Vietnamese population living along the Mississippi Gulf Coast is a community that has unique social vulnerabilities that impact their ability to be resilient to adverse events. Objectives: The purpose of this project was to address social vulnerability by implementing and evaluating a volunteer Community Health Advisor (CHA) project to enhance community resiliency in …

2020 County Health Rankings Tennessee Data And Updated Substance Abuse 2005-2019, Kelsey L. Grabeel, Jenny Moore

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Association Of Multisetting Community Programs And Policies With Child Body Mass Index: The Healthy Communities Study, Vicki L. Collie-Akers, Stephen B. Fawcett, Jerry A. Schultz, Kandace K. Fleming, Rebecca E. Swinburne Romine, Lorrene D. Ritchie, Edward A. Frongillo Jr., S Sonia Arteaga

Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION:

Expert opinion suggests that efforts to address childhood obesity should seek to transform the environments in which children operate. The objective of this study was to describe the extent to which multisetting programs and policies interact with community and child predictors and are associated with child body mass index (BMI) in the 130 US communities participating in the Healthy Communities Study.

METHODS:

For 2 years beginning in fall 2013, we collected data through key informant interviews on community programs and policies related to healthy weight among children that occurred in the 10 years before the interview. We characterized community …

Hereditary Cancer Syndrome Recognition And Testing: Beyond Brca, Deborah O. Himes, Hanford B. Shuman

Faculty Publications

Hereditary cancer syndromes, resulting from mutations of tumor suppressor genes, can significantly increase the risk for breast cancer. Although hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome caused by BRCA1/2mutations is well-known, less well-known hereditary cancer syndromes also exist. This article focuses on 3 other syndromes, including Li-Fraumeni, Cowden, and Peutz-Jeghers. This article will help prepare nurse practitioners to recognize key clinical features of these syndromes and understand testing criteria. Additionally, this article discusses barriers to diagnosing hereditary cancer syndromes and the role of primary care nurse practitioners in ordering genetic tests and making genetic referrals for optimal patient care.

The Relation Between Linguistic Awareness Skills And Spelling In Adults: A Comparison Among Scoring Procedures, Victoria S. Henbest, Lisa A. Fitton Ph.D., Krystal L. Werfel, Kenn Apel

Faculty Publications

Purpose: Spelling is a skill that relies on an individual’s linguistic awareness, the ability to overtly manipulate language. The ability to accurately spell is important for academic and career success into adulthood. The spelling skills of adults have received some attention in the literature, but there is limited information regarding which approach for analyzing adults’ spelling is optimal for guiding instruction or intervention for those who struggle. Thus, we aimed to examine the concurrent validity of four different scoring methods for measuring adults’ spellings (a dichotomous scoring method and three continuous methods) and to determine whether adults’ linguistic awareness skills …

Pharmacist-Driven Culture And Sexually Transmitted Infection Testing Follow-Up Program In The Emergency Department, Stephanie C. Shealy, Christine Alexander, Tina Grof Hardison, Joseph Magagnoli, Julie Ann Justo, Caroline Derrick, Joseph Kohn, Hana Rac Winders, Troy Privette, Majdi N. Al-Hasan, P. Brandon Bookstaver

Faculty Publications

Expanding pharmacist-driven antimicrobial stewardship efforts in the emergency department (ED) can improve antibiotic management for both admitted and discharged patients. We piloted a pharmacist-driven culture and rapid diagnostic technology (RDT) follow-up program in patients discharged from the ED. This was a single-center, pre- and post-implementation, cohort study examining the impact of a pharmacist-driven culture/RDT follow-up program in the ED. Adult patients discharged from the ED with subsequent positive cultures and/or RDT during the pre- (21 August 2018–18 November 2018) and post-implementation (19 November 2018–15 February 2019) periods were screened for inclusion. The primary endpoints were time from ED discharge to …

Patient With Questions About Cancer Risk, Deborah O. Himes, Jennie Vagher

Faculty Publications

Primary care nurse practitioners routinely care for patients with personal or family histories of cancer. Approximately 5% to 10% of all cancers are related to hereditary cancer syndromes (HCSs), which cause an increased risk for developing more cancers and cancers at earlier ages than the general population. Nurse practitioners in primary care must become comfortable with identifying patients at risk for HCSs. Ordering genetic tests can be a challenge because the number of genetic tests available is growing at a rapid pace. This case highlights a woman who survived breast cancer at age 25 and basal cell carcinoma at age …

Impact Of Reappraisal Of Fluoroquinolone Minimum Inhibitory Concentration Susceptibility Breakpoints In Gram-Negative Bloodstream Isolates, Stephanie C. Shealy, Matthew M. Brigmon, Julie Ann Justo, P Brandon Bookstaver, Joseph Kohn, Majdi N. Al-Hasan

Faculty Publications

The Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute lowered the fluoroquinolone minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) susceptibility breakpoints for and glucose non-fermenting Gram-negative bacilli in January 2019. This retrospective cohort study describes the impact of this reappraisal on ciprofloxacin susceptibility overall and in patients with risk factors for antimicrobial resistance. Gram-negative bloodstream isolates collected from hospitalized adults at Prisma Health-Midlands hospitals in South Carolina, USA, from January 2010 to December 2014 were included. Matched pairs mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated to examine the change in ciprofloxacin susceptibility after MIC breakpoint reappraisal. Susceptibility of to ciprofloxacin declined by 5.2% (95% …

Everyday Communication Challenges In Aphasia: Descriptions Of Experiences And Coping Strategies, Tyson G. Harmon

Faculty Publications

Background: Everyday communication often occurs in situations that pose high attentional and social demands. People with aphasia have reported perceiving greater challenge communicating in these situations, but more specific information about these challenges could help clinicians and researchers work toward more meaningful intervention outcomes and increased life participation.

Aims: To explore the everyday communication experiences of people with aphasia based on their own perspectives and to identify how they report coping with everyday communication challenges.

Method: Twenty-one participants with mild or moderate aphasia completed semi-structured interviews that immediately followed the experimental arm of a larger project. Interview questions solicited descriptions …

Associations Between Food Insecurity And Psychotropic Medication Use Among Women Living With Hiv In The United States, Henry J. Whittle, William R. Wolfe, Lila A. Sheira, Edward A. Frongillo Jr., Kartika Palar, Daniel Merenstein, Tracey E. Wilson, Adebola Adedimeji, Mardge H. Cohen, Eryka L. Wentz, Phyllis C. Tien, Sheri D. Weiser

Faculty Publications

AIMS: Psychotropic prescription rates continue to increase in the United States (USA). Few studies have investigated whether social-structural factors may play a role in psychotropic medication use independent of mental illness. Food insecurity is prevalent among people living with HIV in the USA and has been associated with poor mental health. We investigated whether food insecurity was associated with psychotropic medication use independent of the symptoms of depression and anxiety among women living with HIV in the USA. METHODS: We used cross-sectional data from the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS), a nationwide cohort study. Food security (FS) was the primary …

Hpv Knowledge, Attitudes, And Vaccination Among Hispanic/Latino College Students In The Usa, Itzel Corral Gonzalez, Wei-Chen Tung, Ho-Jui Tung, Wing Lam Tock

Faculty Publications

This study evaluated Human Papillomavirus-related knowledge and attitudes, vaccination practices, and explored associated factors among Hispanic/Latino college students in the United States of America. Using a self-administered survey, a descriptive, cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted in 2018 at colleges and universities in the United States of America. Our results indicate that Hispanic/Latino college students had a low level of HPV-related knowledge, a moderately positive attitude, and a moderate rate of HPV vaccination. Students who were in a health-related major, married/divorced, and had health insurance had greater knowledge and more positive attitudes towards HPV and its vaccines. This study is important …

Associations Of Maternal Resources With Care Behaviours Differ By Resource And Behaviour, Sulochana Basnet, Edward A. Frongillo Jr., Phuong Hong Nguyen, Spencer Moore, Mandana Arabi

Faculty Publications

Care is important for children's growth and development, but lack or inadequacy of resources for care can constrain appropriate caregiving. The objectives of this study were to examine whether maternal resources for care are associated with care behaviours specifically infant and young child feeding, hygiene, health-seeking, and family care behaviours. The study also examined if some resources for care are more important than others. This study used baseline Alive & Thrive household surveys from Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Ethiopia. Measures of resources for care were maternal education, knowledge, height, nourishment, mental well-being, decision-making autonomy, employment, support in chores, and perceived instrumental …

Adult Smokers’ Awareness And Interest In Trying Heated Tobacco Products: Perspectives From Mexico, Where Htps And E-Cigarettes Are Banned, Lizeth Cruz-Jiménez, Inti Barrientos-Gutiérrez, Liliana Coutiño-Escamilla, Katia Gallegos-Carrillo, Edna Arillo-Santillán, Jim Thrasher

Faculty Publications

Background: We evaluated smokers’ perceptions of heated tobacco products (HTPs) in Mexico, where industry publically lobbied to introduce HTPs into this country that banned both HTPs and e-cigarettes. Methods: Online surveys (November 2018 to July 2019) were analyzed from adults who only smoked cigarettes (n = 2091) or who smoked and used e-cigarettes (“dual users” n = 1128). Logistic models regressed HTP awareness, interest to trying HTPs, and having seen HTPs for sale (only among aware participants) on sociodemographics and tobacco-related variables. Results: Of the 17.1% who were aware of HTPs, 52.7% reported having seen HTPs for sale. Of all …

Speech Exemplar And Evaluation Database (Seed) For Clinical Training In Articulatory Phonetics And Speech Science, Marisha Speights Atkins, Dallin J. Bailey, Suzanne E. Boyce

Faculty Publications

One challenge faced by teachers of phonetics, speech science, and clinical speech disorders courses is providing meaningful instruction that closes the theory to practice gap. One barrier to providing this type of deep learning experience is the lack of publicly available examples of speech recordings that illustrate comparisons between typical and disordered speech production across a broad range of disorder populations. Data of this type exist, but are typically collected for specific research projects under narrowly written IRB protocols that do not allow for release of even de-identified speech recordings to other investigators or teachers. As a partial corrective to …

Functional Blockade Of E-Selectin In Tumor-Associated Vessels Enhances Anti-Tumor Effect Of Doxorubicin In Breast Cancer, Yoshihiro Morita, Macall Leslie, Hiroyasu Kameyama, Ganesh L. Lokesh, Norihisa Ichimura, Rachel Davis, Natalie Hills, Nafis Hasan, Roy Zhang, Yuji Kondo, David G. Gorenstein, David E. Volk, Inna Chervoneva, Hallgeir Rui, Takemi Tanaka

Faculty Publications

Chemotherapy is a mainstay of treatment for solid tumors. However, little is known about how therapy-induced immune cell infiltration may affect therapy response. We found substantial CD45 immune cell density adjacent to E-selectin expressing inflamed vessels in doxorubicin (DOX)-treated residual human breast tumors. While CD45 level was significantly elevated in DOX-treated wildtype mice, it remained unchanged in DOX-treated tumors from E-selectin null mice. Similarly, intravenous administration of anti-E-selectin aptamer (ESTA) resulted in a significant reduction in CD45 immune cell density in DOX-treated residual tumors, which coincided with a delay in tumor growth and lung metastasis in MMTV-pyMT mice. Additionally, both …

Traditional Funeral And Burial Rituals And Ebola Outbreaks In West Africa: A Narrative Review Of Causes And Strategy Interventions, Chulwoo Park

Faculty Publications

Introduction: In West Africa, traditional funerals and burials have proven main contributors to the spread of infectious diseases, such as Ebola, plague, the Marburg virus, and others. Although the World Health Organization has provided guidelines for the safe burial process after learning of the culture of the afterlife in Ebola-affected areas, little effort has been made to integrate theoretical interventions and models for changing West Africans’ funeral behavior. This research was conducted to study 1) the background of traditional burial rituals, 2) interventions to contain Ebola outbreaks in West Africa, and 3) a strategic approach to future disease outbreak in …

Machine Learning For The Preliminary Diagnosis Of Dementia, Fubao Zhu, Xiaonan Li, Haipeng Tang, Zhuo He, Chaoyang Zhang, Guang-Uei Hung, Pai-Yi Chiu, Weihua Zhou

Faculty Publications

Objective: The reliable diagnosis remains a challenging issue in the early stages of dementia. We aimed to develop and validate a new method based on machine learning to help the preliminary diagnosis of normal, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), very mild dementia (VMD), and dementia using an informant-based questionnaire.

Methods: We enrolled 5,272 individuals who filled out a 37-item questionnaire. In order to select the most important features, three different techniques of feature selection were tested. Then, the top features combined with six classification algorithms were used to develop the diagnostic models.

Results: Information Gain was the most …

How One Library’S Location Change Impacted Health Information Requests: Comparing Zip Codes And Health Disparities To Inform Library Services: Data Files, David Petersen, Martha Earl, Cameron Watson, Kelsey Grabeel

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Smartphone App For Self-Management Of Heart Failure In Older African Americans: Feasibility And Usability Study, Sue P. Heiney, Sara B. Donevant, Swann Arp Adams, Pearman D. Parker, Hongtu Chen, Sue Levkoff

Faculty Publications

Background: Mobile health (mHealth) apps are dramatically changing how patients and providers manage and monitor chronic health conditions, especially in the area of self-monitoring. African Americans have higher mortality rates from heart failure than other racial groups in the United States. Therefore, self-management of heart failure may improve health outcomes for African American patients.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to determine the feasibility of using an mHealth app, and explore the outcomes of quality of life, including self-care maintenance, management, and confidence, among African American patients managing their condition after discharge with a diagnosis of heart failure. …

Fully Automated Bone Age Assessment On Large-Scale Hand X-Ray Dataset, Xiaoyang Pan, Yizhe Zhao, Hao Chen, De Wei, Chen Zhao, Zhi Wei

Faculty Publications

Bone age assessment (BAA) is an essential topic in the clinical practice of evaluating the biological maturity of children. Because the manual method is time-consuming and prone to observer variability, it is attractive to develop computer-aided and automated methods for BAA. In this paper, we present a fully automatic BAA method. To eliminate noise in a raw X-ray image, we start with using U-Net to precisely segment hand mask image from a raw X-ray image. Even though U-Net can perform the segmentation with high precision, it needs a bigger annotated dataset. To alleviate the annotation burden, we propose to use …

Comparing Self-Reported Medication Adherence Measures With Hair Antiretroviral Concentration Among People Living With Hiv In Guangxi, China, Quan Zhang, Xiaoming Li Ph.D., Shan Qiao Ph.D., Zhiyong Shen, Yuejiao Zhou

Faculty Publications

Background: Antiretroviral adherence is essential to HIV treatment efcacy. Various self-reported measures are commonly used for assessing antiretroviral adherence. Limited data are available regarding the validity of those selfreported measures in comparison with long-term objective biomarkers of adherence measures such as hair measures.

Methods: Self-reported adherence (frequency, percentage, and visual analog scale [VAS]) and hair tenofovir concentration were evaluated at a single time point from 268 people living with HIV in China. The responses to each of three self-reported measures were converted into percentage and then dichotomized as “optimal” (100%) vs. “suboptimal” (less than 100%) adherence. Two composite adherence scores …