Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Citrullinated And Malondialdehyde-Acetaldehyde Modified Fibrinogen Activates Macrophages And Promotes An Aggressive Synovial Fibroblast Phenotype In Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis, Nozima Aripova, Michael J. Duryee, Bryant England, Carlos D. Hunter, Jack E. Mordeson, Evan Ryan, Eric C. Daubach, Debra J. Romberger, Geoffrey M. Thiele, Ted R. Mikuls

Journal Articles: Internal Medicine

Objective: Post-translational protein modifications with malondialdehyde-acetaldehyde (MAA) and citrulline (CIT) are implicated in the pathogenesis of rheumatoidarthritis (RA). Although precise mechanisms have not been elucidated, macrophage-fibroblast interactions have been proposed to play a central role in the development and progression of RA. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the downstream effects of macrophage released soluble mediators, following stimulation with fibrinogen (FIB) modified antigens, on human fibroblast-like synoviocytes (HFLS).

Methods: PMA-treated U-937 monocytes (Mϕ) and macrophage-differentiated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (MP) were stimulated with FIB, FIB-MAA, FIB-CIT, or FIB-MAA-CIT. HFLS-RA cells were stimulated directly with FIB antigens or with …

Human Alcohol-Microbiota Mice Have Increased Susceptibility To Bacterial Pneumonia, Kelly C. Cunningham, Deandra R. Smith, Daniel Villageliu, Christi M. Ellis, Amanda E. Ramer-Tait, Jeffrey D. Price, Todd A. Wyatt, Daren L. Knoell, Mystera M. Samuelson, Patricia E Molina, David A. Welsh, Derrick R. Samuelson

Journal Articles: Environmental, Agricultural & Occupational Health

Preclinical studies have shown that chronic alcohol abuse leads to alterations in the gastrointestinal microbiota that are associated with behavior changes, physiological alterations, and immunological effects. However, such studies have been limited in their ability to evaluate the direct effects of alcohol-associated dysbiosis. To address this, we developed a humanized alcohol-microbiota mouse model to systematically evaluate the immunological effects of chronic alcohol abuse mediated by intestinal dysbiosis. Germ-free mice were colonized with human fecal microbiota from individuals with high and low Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scores and bred to produce human alcohol-associated microbiota or human control-microbiota F1 progenies. …

Accelerated Sars-Cov-2 Intrahost Evolution Leading To Distinct Genotypes During Chronic Infection, Chrispin Chaguza, Anne M. Hahn, Mary E. Petrone, Shuntai Zhou, David Ferguson, Mallery I. Breban, Kien Pham, Mario A. Peña-Hernández, Christopher Castaldi, Verity Hill, Yale Sars-Cov-2 Genomic Surveillance Initiative, Wade Schulz, Ronald I. Swanstrom, Scott C. Roberts, Nathan D. Grubaugh, Kendall Billig, Rebecca Earnest, Joseph R. Fauver, Chaney C. Kalinch, Nicholas Kerantzas, Tobias R. Koch, Bony De Kumar, Marie L. Landry, Isabel M. Ott, David Peaper, Irina R. Tikhonova, Chantal B. F. Vogels

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

The chronic infection hypothesis for novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant emergence is increasingly gaining credence following the appearance of Omicron. Here, we investigate intrahost evolution and genetic diversity of lineage B.1.517 during a SARS-CoV-2 chronic infection lasting for 471 days (and still ongoing) with consistently recovered infectious virus and high viral genome copies. During the infection, we find an accelerated virus evolutionary rate translating to 35 nucleotide substitutions per year, approximately 2-fold higher than the global SARS-CoV-2 evolutionary rate. This intrahost evolution results in the emergence and persistence of at least three genetically distinct genotypes, suggesting …

The Effectiveness Of An Ehealth Family-Based Intervention Program In Patients With Uncontrolled Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2dm) In The Community Via Wechat: Randomized Controlled Trial, Yuheng Feng, Yuxi Zhao, Linqi Mao, Minmin Gu, Hong Yuan, Jun Lu, Qi Zhang, Qian Zhao, Xiaohong Li

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background: Intervention based on family support and risk perception can enhance type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients’ self-care activities. In addition, eHealth education is considered to improve family members’ support for patients with T2DM. However, there is little evidence from rigorously designed studies on the effectiveness of an intervention combining these approaches.

Objective: This randomized controlled trial (RCT) aimed to assess the effectiveness of an eHealth family-based health education intervention for patients with T2DM to improve their glucose control, risk perception, and self-care behaviors.

Methods: This single-center, 2-parallel-group RCT was conducted between 2019 and 2020. Overall, 228 patients were recruited …

An Intravenous Pancreatic Cancer Therapeutic: Characterization Of Crispr/Cas9n-Modified Clostridium Novyi-Non Toxic, Kaitlin M. Dailey, James M. Small, Jessica E. Pullan, Seth Winfree, Krysten E. Vance, Megan Orr, Sanku Mallik, Kenneth W. Bayles, Michael A. Hollingsworth, Amanda E Brooks

Journal Articles: Pathology and Microbiology

Clostridium novyi has demonstrated selective efficacy against solid tumors largely due to the microenvironment contained within dense tumor cores. The core of a solid tumor is typically hypoxic, acidic, and necrotic-impeding the penetration of current therapeutics. C. novyi is attracted to the tumor microenvironment and once there, can both lyse and proliferate while simultaneously re-activating the suppressed immune system. C. novyi systemic toxicity is easily mitigated by knocking out the phage DNA plasmid encoded alpha toxin resulting in C. novyi-NT; but, after intravenous injection spores are quickly cleared by phagocytosis before accomplishing significant tumor localization. C. novyi-NT could be designed …

Androgen Receptor Inhibition Suppresses Anti-Tumor Neutrophil Response Against Bone Metastatic Prostate Cancer Via Regulation Of Tβri Expression, Massar Alsamraae, Diane Costanzo-Garvey, Benjamin A. Teply, Shawna Boyle, Gary Sommerville, Zachary T. Herbert, Colm Morrissey, Alicia J. Dafferner, Maher Y. Abdalla, Rachel W. Fallet, Tammy Kielian, Heather Jensen Smith, Edson I. Deoliveira, Keqiang Chen, Ian A. Bettencourt, Ji Ming Wang, Daniel W. Mcvicar, Tyler Keeley, Fang Yu, Leah M. Cook

Journal Articles: Pathology and Microbiology

Bone metastatic disease of prostate cancer (PCa) is incurable and progression in bone is largely dictated by tumor-stromal interactions in the bone microenvironment. We showed previously that bone neutrophils initially inhibit bone metastatic PCa growth yet metastatic PCa becomes resistant to neutrophil response. Further, neutrophils isolated from tumor-bone lost their ability to suppress tumor growth through unknown mechanisms. With this study, our goal was to define the impact of metastatic PCa on neutrophil function throughout tumor progression and to determine the potential of neutrophils as predictive biomarkers of metastatic disease. Using patient peripheral blood polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs), we identified that …

Agricultural Dust Derived Bacterial Extracellular Vesicle Mediated Inflammation Is Attenuated By Dha, Art J. Heires, Derrick R. Samuelson, Daniel Villageliu, Tara M. Nordgren, Debra J. Romberger

Journal Articles: Pulmonary & Critical Care Med

Dietary long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) and their pro-resolving metabolites are protective against atherosclerotic disease, and ameliorate systemic inflammatory conditions including lupus erythematosus, psoriasis, and bronchial asthma. Organic bioaerosol inhalation is a common and injurious hazard associated with agricultural occupations such as work in swine concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and is known to increase the risk for developing respiratory conditions such as asthma and COPD. Nearly all cells secrete membrane-bound vesicles (extracellular vesicles, EVs) that have the capacity to transmit protein, nucleic acid, and lipid signaling mediators between cells. Using a polymer-based isolation technique (ExoQuick, PEG) followed …

Icenticaftor, Novel Therapy For Copd: This Glass Is Half Full, Stephen I. Rennard

Journal Articles: Pulmonary & Critical Care Med

No abstract provided.

The Roles Of Family Physicians During A Pandemic., Maria Mathews, Leslie Meredith, Dana Ryan, Lindsay Hedden, Julia Lukewich, Emily G Marshall, Richard Buote, Lauren Moritz, Sarah Spencer, Shabnam Asghari, Judith B Brown, Thomas R Freeman, Paul S Gill, Rita K Mccracken, Madeleine Mckay, Bridget Ryan, Shannon L Sibbald, Stephen Wetmore, Eric Wong

Health Studies Publications

Family physicians play important roles throughout all stages of a pandemic response; however, actionable descriptions outlining these roles are absent from current pandemic plans. Using a multiple case study design, we conducted a document analysis and interviewed 68 family physicians in four Canadian regions. We identified roles performed by family physicians in five distinct stages of pandemic response: pre-pandemic, phased closure and re-opening, acute care crisis, vaccination, and pandemic recovery. In addition to adopting public health guidance to ensure continued access to primary care services, family physicians were often expected to operationalize public health roles (eg, staffing assessment centres), modulate …

Social And Economic Capital As Effect Modifiers Of The Association Between Psychosocial Stress And Oral Health, Abby L J Hensel, Noha Gomaa

Dentistry Publications

OBJECTIVES: To assess the extent of the association of psychosocial stress with oral health in an Ontario population stratified by age groups, and whether any association is modified by indicators of social and economic capital.

METHODS: We retrieved data of 21,320 Ontario adults, aged 30-74 years old, from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS: 2017-2018), which is a Canada-wide, cross-sectional survey. Using binomial logistic regression models that adjusted for age, sex, education, and country of birth, we examined the association of psychosocial stress (indicated by perceived life stress) with inadequate oral health (indicated as having at least one of the …

Increased Top-Down Control Of Emotions During Symptom Provocation Working Memory Tasks Following A Rct Of Alpha-Down Neurofeedback In Ptsd., Saurabh Bhaskar Shaw, Andrew A Nicholson, Tomas Ros, Sherain Harricharan, Braeden Terpou, Maria Densmore, Jean Theberge, Paul Frewen, Ruth A Lanius

Department of Medicine Publications

BACKGROUND: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been found to be associated with emotion under-modulation from the prefrontal cortex and a breakdown of the top-down control of cognition and emotion. Novel adjunct therapies such as neurofeedback (NFB) have been shown to normalize aberrant neural circuits that underlie PTSD psychopathology at rest. However, little evidence exists for NFB-linked neural improvements under emotionally relevant cognitive load. The current study sought to address this gap by examining the effects of alpha-down NFB in the context of an emotional n-back task.

METHODS: We conducted a 20-week double-blind randomized, sham-controlled trial of alpha-down NFB and collected …

How The Body Remembers: Examining The Default Mode And Sensorimotor Networks During Moral Injury Autobiographical Memory Retrieval In Ptsd., Breanne E Kearney, Braeden A Terpou, Maria Densmore, Saurabh B Shaw, Jean Theberge, Rakesh Jetly, Margaret C Mckinnon, Ruth A Lanius

Department of Medicine Publications

Neural representations of sensory percepts and motor responses constitute key elements of autobiographical memory. However, these representations may remain as unintegrated sensory and motor fragments in traumatic memory, thus contributing toward re-experiencing and reliving symptoms in trauma-related conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Here, we investigated the sensorimotor network (SMN) and posterior default mode network (pDMN) using a group independent component analysis (ICA) by examining their functional connectivity during a script-driven memory retrieval paradigm of (potentially) morally injurious events in individuals with PTSD and healthy controls. Moral injury (MI), where an individual acts or fails to act in a …

Implementation Of Increased Physical Therapy Intensity For Improving Walking After Stroke: Walk 'N Watch Protocol For A Multisite Stepped-Wedge Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial, Sue Peters, Shannon B Lim, Mark T Bayley, Krista Best, Louise A Connell, Hélène Corriveau, Sarah J Donkers, Sean P Dukelow, Tara D Klassen, Marie-Hélène Milot, Brodie M Sakakibara, Lisa Sheehy, Hubert Wong, Jennifer Yao, Janice J Eng

Physical Therapy Publications

RATIONALE: Clinical practice guidelines support structured, progressive protocols for improving walking after stroke. Yet, practice is slow to change, evidenced by the little amount of walking activity in stroke rehabilitation units. Our recent study (n = 75) found that a structured, progressive protocol integrated with typical daily physical therapy improved walking and quality-of-life measures over usual care. Research therapists progressed the intensity of exercise by using heart rate and step counters worn by the participants with stroke during therapy. To have the greatest impact, our next step is to undertake an implementation trial to change practice across stroke units where …

Premotor And Posterior Parietal Cortex Activity Is Increased For Slow, As Well As Fast Walking Poststroke: An Fnirs Study, Shannon B Lim, Sue Peters, Chieh-Ling Yang, Lara A Boyd, Teresa Liu-Ambrose, Janice J Eng

Physical Therapy Publications

Background and Purpose. The ability to change gait speeds is important for interacting with the surrounding environment. Gait speed modulation poststroke is often impaired and is related to decreased walking independence after stroke. Assessment of brain activation during walking at different speeds can provide insight into important regions for facilitating gait recovery. The purpose is to determine: (1) the symmetry of brain activation as individuals increase or decrease their gait speed, (2) the activation levels in frontal to parietal brain regions during walking at different speeds, and (3) the relationship between an individual’s stroke impairment or their ability to modulate …

Contraception And Healthcare Utilization By Reproductive-Age Women Who Use Drugs In Rural Communities: A Cross-Sectional Survey., Ximena A. Levander, Canyon A. Foot, Sara L. Magnusson, Ryan R. Cook, Jerel M. Ezell, Judith Feinberg, Vivian F. Go, Kathryn E. Lancaster, Elizabeth Salisbury-Afshar, Gordon S. Smith, Ryan P. Westergaard, April M. Young, Judith I. Tsui, P. Todd Korthuis

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Women who use drugs (WWUD) have low rates of contraceptive use and high rates of unintended pregnancy. Drug use is common among women in rural U.S. communities, with limited data on how they utilize reproductive, substance use disorder (SUD), and healthcare services.

OBJECTIVE: We determined contraceptive use prevalence among WWUD in rural communities then compared estimates to women from similar rural areas. We investigated characteristics of those using contraceptives, and associations between contraceptive use and SUD treatment, healthcare utilization, and substance use.

DESIGN: Rural Opioids Initiative (ROI) - cross-sectional survey using respondent-driven sampling (RDS) involving eight rural U.S. regions …

Teaching The Teachers: Development And Evaluation Of A Racial Health Equity Curriculum For Faculty., Olanrewaju Falusi, Lin Chun-Seeley, Desiree De La Torre, Danielle G Dooley, Melissa Baiyewu, Theiline T Gborkorquellie, Chaya T Merrill, Elizabeth Davis, Maranda C Ward

Health Sciences Education Research

INTRODUCTION: Faculty are increasingly expected to teach about the impact of racism on health and to model the principles of health equity. However, they often feel ill-equipped to do so, and there is limited literature on faculty development on these topics. We developed a curriculum for faculty education on racism and actions to advance racial health equity.

METHODS: The curriculum design was based on a literature review and needs assessments. Implementation consisted of four live virtual 1-hour sessions incorporating interactive didactics, cases, reflection, goal setting, and discussion offered to a multidisciplinary group of pediatric faculty at a children's hospital. Topics …

Multi-Ancestry Genome-Wide Association Analyses Improve Resolution Of Genes And Pathways Influencing Lung Function And Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Risk, Nick Shrine, Abril G. Izquierdo, Jing Chen, Richard Packer, Robert J. Hall, Anna L. Guyatt, Chiara Batini, Rebecca J. Thompson, Chandan Puvuluri, Vidhi Malik, Brian D. Hobbs, Matthew Moll, Wonji Kim, Ruth Tal-Singer, Per Bakke, Katherine A. Fawcett, Catherine John, Kayesha Coley, Noemi Nicole Piga, Sinjini Sikdar, Martin D. Tobin, Et Al.

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

Lung-function impairment underlies chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and predicts mortality. In the largest multi-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analysis of lung function to date, comprising 580,869 participants, we identified 1,020 independent association signals implicating 559 genes supported by ≥2 criteria from a systematic variant-to-gene mapping framework. These genes were enriched in 29 pathways. Individual variants showed heterogeneity across ancestries, age and smoking groups, and collectively as a genetic risk score showed strong association with COPD across ancestry groups. We undertook phenome-wide association studies for selected associated variants as well as trait and pathway-specific genetic risk scores to infer possible consequences of …

Longitudinal Assessment Of Multimorbidity Medication Patterns Among Smokers In The Copdgene Cohort, Yisha Li, Sarah J. Schmiege, Heather Anderson, Nicole E. Richmond, Kendra A. Young, John E. Hokanson, Stephen I. Rennard, Tessa L. Crume, Erin Austin, Katherine A. Pratte, Rebecca Conway, Gregory L. Kinney

Journal Articles: Pulmonary & Critical Care Med

Background and objectives: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is usually comorbid with other chronic diseases. We aimed to assess the multimorbidity medication patterns and explore if the patterns are similar for phase 1 (P1) and 5-year follow-up phase 2 (P2) in the COPDGene cohort. Materials and Methods: A total of 5564 out of 10,198 smokers from the COPDGene cohort who completed 2 visits, P1 and P2 visits, with complete medication use history were included in the study. We conducted latent class analysis (LCA) among the 27 categories of chronic disease medications, excluding COPD treatments and cancer medications at P1 and …

Molecular Characterization Of Streptococcus Pneumoniae Causing Disease Among Children In Nigeria During The Introduction Of Pcv10 (Gsk), Stephanie W. Lo, Paulina A. Hawkins, Binta Jibir, Fatimah Hassan-Hanga, Mahmoud Gambo, Rasaq Olaosebikan, Grace Olanipekun, Huda Munir, Nicholas Kocmich, Amy J. Rezac-Elgohary, Safiya Gambo, Danstan Bagenda, Paul D. Fey, Robert F. Breiman, Lesley Mcgee, Stephen D. Bentley, Stephen K. Obaro, Community Acquired Pneumonia And Invasive Bacterial Disease Capibd Consortium

Journal Articles: Anesthesiology

Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is a leading vaccine-preventable cause of childhood invasive disease. Nigeria has the second highest pneumococcal disease burden globally, with an estimated ~49 000 child deaths caused by pneumococcal infections each year. Ten-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (GSK; PCV10) was introduced in December 2014 in a phased approach. However, few studies have characterized the disease-causing pneumococci from Nigeria. This study assessed the prevalence of serotypes, antibiotic susceptibility and genomic lineages using whole genome sequencing and identified lineages that could potentially escape PCV10 (GSK). We also investigated the potential differences in pneumococcal lineage features between children with and …

Exploring Barriers And Promoters Of Crc Screening Use Among Agricultural Operators: A Pilot Study Of An Application Of Concept Mapping, Cheryl Beseler, Jungyoon Kim, Roma Subramanian, Susan Harris, Karen Funkenbusch, Aaron Yoder, Tamara Robinson, Jason M. Foster, Shinobu Watanabe-Galloway

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of the study was to identify barriers and facilitators of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening use among agricultural operators in Nebraska, US.

METHODS: The concept mapping approach was used to engage participants and enhance the generation of ideas and opinions regarding CRC screening. Two focus groups (seven women and seven men) were conducted.

RESULTS: Among women, the cost domain was most agreed upon as important, followed by experiencing symptoms, awareness, and family. Among men, the important concepts related to CRC screening were family and friend support, feeling too young to get CRC, family or personal history of CRC, …

How The Commonwealth Of The Northern Mariana Islands Stalled Covid-19 For 22 Months And Managed Its First Significant Community Transmission, Dwayne Davis, Stephanie Kern-Allely, Lily Muldoon, John M. Tudela, Jesse Tudela, Renea Raho, Heather S. Pangelinan, Halina Palacios, John Tabaguel, Alan Hinson, Guillermo Lifoifoi, Warren Villagomez, Joseph R. Fauver, Haley L. Cash, Esther Muña, Sean T. Casey, Ali S. Khan

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

OBJECTIVE: The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) is a remote Pacific island territory with a population of 47 329 that successfully prevented the significant introduction of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) until late 2021. This study documents how the response to the introduction of COVID-19 in CNMI in 2021 was conducted with limited resources without overwhelming local clinical capacity or compromising health service delivery for the population.

METHODS: Data from COVID-19 case investigations, contact tracing, the Commonwealth's immunization registry and whole genome sequencing were collated and analysed as part of this study.

RESULTS: Between 26 March 2020 and 31 December …

Development And Validation Of A Questionnaire To Assess Awareness And Knowledge Of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, A Liver Cancer Etiological Factor, Among Chinese Young Adults, Yi Du, Fedja A. Rochling, Dejun Su, Kendra Ratnapradipa, Jianghu James Dong, Evi A. Farazi

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

PURPOSE: Despite the increasing prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a liver cancer etiological factor, among Chinese young adults (CYA), there is a lack of valid, reliable, ready-to-use survey instruments for assessing awareness and knowledge of NAFLD in this population. The aims of this study were to develop, validate, and assess the reliability of a web-based, self-administered questionnaire evaluating awareness and knowledge of NAFLD among CYA.

METHODS: Based on review of relevant literature, a draft questionnaire was initially developed. Face and content validity of the questionnaire was evaluated by an expert panel of seven gastroenterologists. The construct validity was …

Evaluating The Impact Of Using A Wound-Specific Oral Nutritional Supplement To Support Wound Healing In A Rehabilitation Setting, Rya K Clark, Argyrios Stampas, Kirk W Kerr, Jeffrey L Nelson, Suela Sulo, Luis Leon-Novelo, Esther Ngan, Dehuti Pandya

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Chronic wounds adversely affect patient quality of life, increase the risk of mortality, and impose high costs on healthcare systems. Since protein-energy malnutrition or specific nutrient deficiencies can delay wound healing, nutritionally focused care is a key strategy to help prevent or treat the occurrence of non-healing wounds. The objective of our study of inpatients in a rehabilitation hospital was to quantify the effect of daily wound-specific oral nutritional supplementation (WS-ONS) on healing chronic wounds. Using electronic medical records, we conducted a retrospective analysis of patients with chronic wounds. We identified records for (a) a treatment group who received standard …

Multi-Model Order Spatially Constrained Ica Reveals Highly Replicable Group Differences And Consistent Predictive Results From Resting Data: A Large N Fmri Schizophrenia Study, Xing Meng, Armin Iraji, Zening Fu, Peter Kochunov, Aysenil Belger, Judy M Ford, Sara Mcewen, Daniel H Mathalon, Bryon A Mueller, Godfrey Pearlson, Steven G Potkin, Adrian Preda, Jessica Turner, Theo G M Van Erp, Jing Sui, Vince D Calhoun

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Brain functional networks identified from resting functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data have the potential to reveal biomarkers for brain disorders, but studies of complex mental illnesses such as schizophrenia (SZ) often yield mixed results across replication studies. This is likely due in part to the complexity of the disorder, the short data acquisition time, and the limited ability of the approaches for brain imaging data mining. Therefore, the use of analytic approaches which can both capture individual variability while offering comparability across analyses is highly preferred. Fully blind data-driven approaches such as independent component analysis (ICA) are hard to …

Nonsystematic Reporting Biases Of The Sars-Cov-2 Variant Mu Could Impact Our Understanding Of The Epidemiological Dynamics Of Emerging Variants, Mary E. Petrone, Carolina Lucas, Bridget Menasche, Mallery I. Breban, Inci Yildirim, Melissa Campbell, Saad B. Omer, Edward C. Holmes, Albert I. Ko, Nathan D. Grubaugh, Akiko Iwasaki, Craig B. Wilen, Chantal B. F. Vogels, Joseph R. Fauver

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

Developing a timely and effective response to emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) is of paramount public health importance. Global health surveillance does not rely on genomic data alone to identify concerning variants when they emerge. Instead, methods that utilize genomic data to estimate the epidemiological dynamics of emerging lineages have the potential to serve as an early warning system. However, these methods assume that genomic data are uniformly reported across circulating lineages. In this study, we analyze differences in reporting delays among SARS-CoV-2 VOCs as a plausible explanation for the timing of the global response to the former VOC …

Biomarkers Of Toxic Exposure And Oxidative Stress Among U.S. Adult Users Of Premium Cigar Versus Other Cigar Subtypes: 2013-2019, Hongying Dai, Neal L. Benowitz, Eleanor Rogan, Abraham Degarege, James Buckley, Ali S. Khan

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

INTRODUCTION: Cigars are currently the second-highest-used combustible tobacco product among U.S. adults, but knowledge about health effects of premium cigars versus other cigar subtype use is limited.

AIMS AND METHODS: This study analyzed the biospecimen data (n = 31 875) from Waves 1-5 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study, collected during 2013-2019. Multivariable generalized estimation equations, accounting for within-person clustering, were conducted to examine differences in urine biomarkers of exposure (BOE) from five classes of harmful and potentially harmful constituents along with a biomarker of oxidative stress (urine 8-isoprostane) among exclusive users of premium cigars versus other …

Short-Term Removal Of Exercise Impairs Glycemic Control In Older Adults: A Randomized Trial, Leryn J. Reynolds, Troy M. Williams, Joel E. Harden, Hannah M. Twiddy, Monica L. Kearney

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

Postprandial glycemia (PPG) predicts cardiovascular disease, and short-term physical inactivity increases PPG in young, active adults. Whether this occurs in older, active adults who may be more prone to bouts of inactivity is unknown. This study determined if postprandial interstitial glucose (PPIG) was impaired in active older adults following the removal of exercise for 3 days (NOEX) compared to active young adults. In this randomized, crossover study, 11 older (69.1 ± 1.9 years) and 9 young (32.8 ± 1.8 years) habitually active (≥90 min/week of exercise) adults completed 3-days of NOEX and 3-days of normal habitual exercise (EX), separated by …

Exposure To Pcb126 During The Nursing Period Reversibly Impacts Early-Life Glucose Tolerance, Brittany B. Rice, Keegan W. Sammons, Sara Y. Ngo Tenlep, Madeline T. Weltzer, Leryn J. Reynolds, Cetewayo S. Rashid, Hollie I. Swanson, Kevin J. Pearson

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent environmental organic pollutants known to have detrimental health effects. Using a mouse model, we previously demonstrated that PCB126 exposure before and during pregnancy and throughout the perinatal period adversely affected offspring glucose tolerance and/or body composition profiles. The purpose of this study was to investigate the glucose tolerance and body composition of offspring born to dams exposed to PCB126 during the nursing period only. Female ICR mice were bred, and half of the dams were exposed to either vehicle (safflower oil) or 1 µmole PCB126 per kg of body weight via oral gavage on postnatal …

Barriers And Challenges For Visually Impaired Students In Pe - An Interview Study With Students In Austria, Germany, And The Usa, Sebastian Ruin, Justin A. Haegele, Martin Giese, Jana Baumgärtner

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

Physical education (PE) is an important part of school education worldwide, and at the same time, almost the only subject that explicitly deals with body and movement. PE is therefore of elementary importance in the upbringing of young people. This also applies to children with visual impairments. However, existing findings on participation and belonging in PE as well as on physical and motor development reveal that this group of children and adolescents is noticeably disadvantaged in this respect. Against this background, this paper aims to explore fundamental barriers and challenges across different types of schools, types of schooling, and countries …

Oral/Oropharyngeal “Selfies” In Gay And Bisexual Men: A Pilot Study Exploring Oropharyngeal Screening For Hpv-Related Possible Malignancies, Michael W Ross, Sarah L Bennis, C Mark Nichols, I Niles Zoschke, J Michael Wilkerson, B R Simon Rosser, Cyndee L Stull, Alan G Nyitray, Charlene Flash, Samir S Khariwala

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objectives: This study aims to determine the potential uptake and quality of oropharyngeal "selfies" taken by gay/bisexual men as a screening approach for HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer.

Methods: From 1,699 gay/bisexual men in the US, surveyed about knowledge and attitudes to HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer, a random sample of 320 men were invited to take an oropharyngeal "selfie" by smartphone and send it to the study website: 113 (35.5%) did so. Images were rated for quality by three healthcare professional raters blinded to each other's rating, with an otolaryngologist as the gold standard. In the second wave, those whose images were rated …