Public Health Commons^™

Populations Receiving Optimally Fluoridated Public Drinking Water— United States, 1992-2006

United States Public Health Resources

Water fluoridation has been identified by CDC as one of 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century. The decline in the prevalence and severity of dental caries (tooth decay) in the United States during the past 60 years has been attributed largely to the increased use of fluoride. Community water fluoridation is an equitable and cost-effective method for delivering fluoride to the community. A Healthy People 2010 objective is to increase to 75% the proportion of the U.S. population served by community water systems who receive optimally fluoridated water. To update and revise previous reports on fluoridation in …

Self-Reported Falls And Fall-Related Injuries Among Persons Aged ≥65 Years–United States, 2006, J.A. Stevens, K.A. Mack, L.J. Paulozzi, M.F. Ballesteros

United States Public Health Resources

Problem: In 2005, 15,802 persons aged ≥65 years died from fall injuries. How many older adults seek outpatient treatment for minor or moderate fall injuries is unknown.
Method: To estimate the percentage of older adults who fell during the preceding three months, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analyzed data from two questions about falls included in the 2006 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey.
Results: Approximately 5.8 million (15.9%) persons aged ≥65 years reported falling at least once during the preceding three months, and 1.8 million (31.3%) of those who fell sustained an injury that resulted …

Using Population-Based Cancer Registry Data To Assess The Burden Of Human Papillomavirus-Associated Cancers In The United States: Overview Of Methods, Meg Watson, Mona Saraiya, Faruque Ahmed, Cheryll J. Cardinez, Marsha E. Reichman, Hannah K. Weir, Thomas B. Richards

United States Public Health Resources

Increased attention to human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers in light of the recent release of an HPV vaccine, as well as increased availability of cancer registry data that now include reporting from a large proportion of the US population, prompted the current assessment of HPV-associated cancers. This article describes methods used to assess the burden of HPV-associated cervical, vulvar, vaginal, penile, anal, and oral cavity/oropharyngeal cancers in the United States during 1998 through 2003 using cancer registry data, and it provides a brief overview of the epidemiology of these cancers.

Persistent infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV) is considered to be …

Anabolic Androgenic Steroids: Use And Perceived Use In Non-Athlete College Students, Joseph M. Berning, Kent J. Adams, Mark Debeliso, Bryant A. Stamford, Ian Newman

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Objective: The authors investigated the use and perceived use of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) among nonathlete college students. Participants: The authors surveyed a sample of 485 nonathlete college students at a major metropolitan university. Methods: They administered a survey on use and perceived use of AAS to the students. Results: Forty-two participants (9%) reported using AAS (37 men, 5 women). Seniors were the most likely to use AAS (36%), and freshman the least likely (7%). Thirty-four percent of nonusers and 41% of users indicated they knew between 1 and 5 AAS users. Of the total sample, 36% perceived that 5% …

Parasite Pathoecology Of Salmon Pueblo And Other Chacoan Great Houses: The Healthiest And Wormiest Ancestral Puebloans, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

Two fields of paleopathological investigation originated in the Southwest. Archaeoparasitology is the study of ancient parasite infection (Reinhard 1990, 1992b). It includes comparisons between time periods of single societies as well as comparisons of parasitism between different, contemporaneous cultures. For example, Fry (1980) compared Fremont and Anasazi parasitism, and also Archaic hunter-gatherer and ancestral Pueblo parasitism. All of these studies fall into the definition of archaeoparasitology.

By contrast, pathoecology is the reconstruction of relationships among behavior, environment, and disease organisms in the development of illness (Martinson et al. 2003; ReinhardandBuikstra2003; Reinhardet al. 2003; Santoro et al. 2003).1his field developed from …

Cranial Deformation As The Cause Of Death For A Child From The Chillon River Valley, Peru, Shelia M.F. Medoncade Souza, Karl J. Reinhard, Andrea Lessa

Karl Reinhard Publications

Two small mummy bundles, found in a tomb at the Chillon River Valley, Lima Plains, Peru exist in the collections of the Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. They were donated to the collections at the beginning of the 20th century. A multidisciplinary team is now curating and studying them. CT scans confirmed both skeletons were of individuals less than one year old at death. One of the bundles is intact and will be preserved and displayed. The other one was partly decomposed and the authors received permission to unwrap it to analyze the bones in details. Mites and pollen …

A Child And His Fate: Tuberculosis, Perimortem Trauma And Mummification, Sheila M. M.De Souza, Karl J. Reinhard, Bernardo Tessarollo, Jose Fernando Cardona Zannier, Adauto Araujo

Karl Reinhard Publications

A male child, sitting, 7 years, circumferential deformation, skin marked by coiled fibers, nostril plugs, consistent with Aymara practices was CT scanned. Puppae in the skin suggest exposition of the body previous to the funeral. Dark brown color at the skin suggest blood perfusion. A broken area at the right frontal with the skin partially inside is suggestive of perimorten trauma. There were no bone debris inside the skull and the CT images show two confluent fractures defined by radiating lines extending beyond the missing bone surface. The right eyeball is projected out, the tongue is outside the mouth, the …

Pathoecology And The Future Of Coprolite Studies In Bioarchaeology, Karl J. Reinhard, Vaughn M. Bryant Jr.

Karl Reinhard Publications

Human coprolites currently provide an expanding array of information about the diet, health, and ecology of prehistoric people in the Southwest, but for many years coprolites were not recognized or preserved, or they were not considered important and thus were not saved (Bryant and Dean 2006). With the expansion of archaeological field work during the last half of the twentieth century archaeologists have increasingly explored the "complete" potentials of sites, including the collection and analysis of geomorphologic, botanical, and faunal data. In some ideal habitats (e.g., very dry or frozen) this includes exploring the scientific potential of human coprolite studies. …

Pathoecology Of Two Ancestral Pueblo Villages, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

Pathoecology is the study of the biotic, abiotic, and cultural environments of disease (Martinson et al. 2003). A parasitic infection is the result of the pathoecological interaction of host behavior, parasite life cycle, the environment in which both life forms live, the nutritional status of the host, and host physiological responses to all of these factors. Parasites contribute to anemia in many ways. Some, such as hookworm, actually consume blood and cause iron loss through their activities. For other parasites, symptoms such as profuse diarrhea reduce intestinal absorption of nutrients. Others, such as certain fish tapeworms, actually compete for absorption …

Paleoparasitology: Perspectives With New Techniques, Adauto Araújo, Karl Reinhard, Otilio M. Bastos, Ligia C. Costa, Claude Pirmez, Alena Iñighez, Ana Carolina Vicente, Carlos M. Morel, Luiz Fernando Ferreira

Karl Reinhard Publications

Paleoparasitology is the study of parasites found in archaeological material. The development of this field of research began with histological identification of helminth eggs in mummy tissues, analysis of coprolites, and recently through molecular biology. An approach to the history of paleoparasitology is reviewed in this paper, with special reference to the studies of ancient DNA identified in archaeological material.

Paleoparasitologia: perspectivas com novas técnicas
Paleoparasitologia é o estudo de parasitos encontrados em material arqueológico. O desenvolvimento deste campo da pesquisa teve início com a identificação de ovos de helmintos em tecidos mumificados, análise de coprólitos e, recentemente, através da …

Enterobius Vermicularis Ancient Dna In Pre-Columbian Human Populations, Alena Mayo Iniguez, Karl J. Reinhard, Luiz Fernando Ferreira, Adauto Araujo, Ana Carolina, Paulo Vincente

Karl Reinhard Publications

In prehistoric populations the paleoparasitological findings show an Enterobius vennicularis homogeneous distribution among North American hunter-gatherers intensified with the advent of agriculture. The same occurred in the transition from nomad hunter-gatherers to sedentary farmers in South America, although E. vermicularis infection encompasses only the ancient Andean peoples. Since molecular techniques are sensitive in detecting ancient DNA (aDNA), in this work we have performed a molecular paleoparasitological study of E. vermicularis. aDNA was recovered from North and South American coprolites (4110 BC-AD 900). Human (cox 2 and HVR) and pinworm (5S rRNA spacer) sequences were determined. The sequence analysis confirmed E. …

Bupropion And Nicotine Patch As Smoking Cessation Aids In Alcoholics, Kathleen M. Grant, Stephanie Sinclair Kelley, Lynette M. Smith, Sangeeta Agrawal, James R. Meyer, Debra J. Romberger

United States Public Health Resources

This is a double blind placebo controlled study of sustained release bupropion as a smoking cessation aid in alcoholics undergoing treatment for their alcoholism. Participants (N=58) were enrolled within one week of entry into alcohol treatment from community and Veterans Affairs Substance Use Disorder programs. All participants received nicotine patch and were invited to attend a smoking cessation lecture and group. Cigarette smoking and alcohol outcomes were measured at six months. Bupropion when added to nicotine patch did not improve smoking outcomes. One-third of participants on bupropion reported discontinuing the drug during weeks 1-4. Participants reported cigarette outcomes with nicotine …

Repeat Organic Dust Exposure–Induced Monocyte Inflammation Is Associated With Protein Kinase C Activity, Jill A. Poole, Todd A. Wyatt, Susanna G. Von Essen, John Hervert, Conrad Parks, Tracy Mathisen, Debra J. Romberger

United States Public Health Resources

Background: Organic dust exposure results in an inflammatory response that attenuates over time, but repetitive exposures can result in chronic respiratory diseases. Mechanisms underlying this modulated response are not clear.
Objective: This study investigated the effects of repeat versus single organic dust exposure–induced inflammatory mediators and protein kinase C (PKC) activity in monocytes.
Methods: Settled organic dust was obtained from swine confinement facilities. Promonocytic THP-1 cells and human peripheral blood monocytes were pretreated with or without dust extract and then restimulated. Culture supernatants were evaluated for TNF-α, IL-6, CXCL8, and IL-10. Responses were compared with endotoxin-depleted dust, LPS, and peptidoglycan. …

Western Nebraska Health Information Exchange: Public Health Reporting – Where Does All The Data Go?, Keerun Kamble, Nancy C. Shank, Kim Woods, Mark Dekraai, Elizabeth T. Willborn

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

The Public Health Reporting - Schematics and Matrix outlines the current requirements of public health surveillance and reporting from rural healthcare providers to local, state, and national entities. The report was created to enhance the understanding of public health reporting for members of the Western Nebraska Health Information Exchange Network.

The Public Health Reporting- Schematics and Matrix:

- Highlights the complex processes, duplicate steps, and challenges with public health reporting and information sharing in Western Nebraska.

- Enables public health administrators, educators, and policy makers to make reporting systems more efficient.

- Illustrates an effective way to document a public …

The Class Ii Major Histocompatibility Complex Molecule Bola-Dr Is Expressed By Endothelial Cells Of The Bovine Corpus Luteum, Matthew J. Cannon, John S. Davis, Joy L. Pate

United States Public Health Resources

Cells expressing class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules are found within the corpus luteum (CL) of several species. Expression and localization of class II MHC molecules in the bovine CL were examined in the present study. Immunohistochemical evaluation revealed class II MHC molecules on single cells in early CL (days 4 and 5 post-estrus). Two class II MHC-expressing cell types were observed in midcycle CL (days 10–12 post-estrus), single cells similar to those observed in the early CL, and endothelial cells. Not all endothelial cells expressed class II MHC, and further investigation revealed expression of only one type of …

Global Scale Climate–Crop Yield Relationships And The Impacts Of Recent Warming, David Lobell, Christopher Field

United States Public Health Resources

Changes in the global production of major crops are important drivers of food prices, food security and land use decisions. Average global yields for these commodities are determined by the performance of crops in millions of fields distributed across a range of management, soil and climate regimes. Despite the complexity of global food supply, here we show that simple measures of growing season temperatures and precipitation—spatial averages based on the locations of each crop—explain ∼30% or more of year-to-year variations in global average yields for the world’s six most widely grown crops. For wheat, maize and barley, there is a …

Demographic Factors Associated With Prevalence Of Antibody To Sin Nombre Virus In Deer Mice In The Western United States, Charles Calisher, Kent Wagoner, Brian Amman, J. Jeffrey Root, Richard J. Douglass, Amy Kuenzi, Ken Abbott, Cheryl Parmenter, Terry Yates, Thomas Ksiazek, Barry J. Beaty, James N. Mills

United States Public Health Resources

We used long-term data collected for up to 10 yr (1994–2004) at 23 trapping arrays (i.e., webs and grids) in Arizona, Colorado, Montana, and New Mexico to examine demographic factors known or suspected to be associated with risk of infection with Sin Nombre virus (SNV) in its natural host, the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus). Gender, age (mass), wounds or scars, season, and local relative population densities were statistically associated with the period prevalence of antibody (used as a marker of infection) to SNV in host populations. Nevertheless, antibody prevalence and some of the risk factors associated with antibody …

Identification Of Vibrio Isolates By A Multiplex Pcr Assay And Rpob Sequence Determination, Cheryl L. Tarr, Jayna S. Patel, Nancy Puhr, Evangeline Sowers, Cheryl A. Bopp, Nancy A. Strockbine

United States Public Health Resources

Vibrio, a diverse genus of aquatic bacteria, currently includes 72 species, 12 of which occur in human clinical samples. Of these 12, three species—Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, and Vibrio vulnificus—account for the majority of Vibrio infections in humans. Rapid and accurate identification of Vibrio species has been problematic because phenotypic characteristics are variable within species and biochemical identification requires 2 or more days to complete. To facilitate the identification of human-pathogenic species, we developed a multiplex PCR that uses species-specific primers to amplify gene regions in four species (V. cholerae, V. parahaemolyticus, V. …

Annual Report To The Nation On The Status Of Cancer, 1975–2004, Featuring Cancer In American Indians And Alaska Natives, David K. Espey, Xiao-Cheng Wu, Judith Swan, Charles Wiggins, Melissa A. Jim, Elizabeth Ward, Phyllis A. Wingo, Holly L. Howe, Lynn A. G. Ries, Barry A. Miller, Ahmedin Jemal, Faruque Ahmed, Nathaniel Cobb, Judith S. Kaur, Brenda K. Edwards

United States Public Health Resources

BACKGROUND. The American Cancer Society, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Cancer Institute, and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries collaborate annually to provide updated information on cancer occurrence and trends in the U.S. The 2007 report features a comprehensive compilation of cancer information for American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN).

METHODS. Cancer incidence data were available for up to 82% of the U.S. population. Cancer deaths were available for the entire U.S. population. Long-term (1975 through 2004) and fixed-interval (1995 through 2004) incidence and mortality trends were evaluated by annual percent change …

One-Year Changes In Glucose And Heart Disease Risk Factors Among Participants In The Wisewoman Programme, Jc Will, O Khavjou, Ea Finkelstein, Rk Loo, Ky Gregory-Mercado

United States Public Health Resources

Background: WISEWOMAN provides chronic disease risk factor screening, referrals and lifestyle interventions to low-income, uninsured women, to reduce their heart disease and stroke risk. Participants learn behaviour-changing skills tailored to low-income populations, such as collaborative goal setting, the need to take small steps and other empowerment techniques.

Aim: To quantify the baseline prevalence of pre-diabetes (fasting blood glucose 5.5–6.9 mmol/l) and diabetes among WISEWOMAN participants and assess one year changes in glucose levels and other diabetes risk factors.

Methods: We used 1998–2005 baseline and one-year follow-up data from WISEWOMAN participants. Using a multilevel regression model, we assessed …

A Scale-Free Systems Theory Of Motivation And Addiction, R. Andrew Chambers, Warren K. Bickel, Marc N. Potenza

United States Public Health Resources

Scale-free organizations, characterized by uneven distributions of linkages between nodal elements, describe the structure and function of many life-based complex systems developing under evolutionary pressures. We explore motivated behavior as a scale-free map toward a comprehensive translational theory of addiction. Motivational and behavioral repertoires are reframed as link and nodal element sets, respectively, comprising a scale-free structure. These sets are generated by semi-independent information-processing streams within cortical–striatal circuits that cooperatively provide decision-making and sequential processing functions necessary for traversing maps of motivational links connecting behavioral nodes. Dopamine modulation of cortical–striatal plasticity serves a central-hierarchical mechanism for survival-adaptive sculpting and development …

Are Smokers Only Using Cigarettes? Exploring Current Polytobacco Use Among An Adult Population, Jennifer M. Bombard, Linda L. Pederson, David E. Nelson, Ann M. Malarcher

United States Public Health Resources

Background: The primary focus of tobacco prevention and cessation interventions has been on cigarette smoking. Polytobacco use (the concurrent use of cigarettes and one or more other tobacco product[s]), may present additional health risks and make cessation more difficult.
Methods: We determined population estimates of tobacco product use and of polytobacco use for more than 50000 adults from 10 states. Logistic regression analyses were used to determine factors independently associated with polytobacco use among men only (due to low use among women).
Results: The overall adult prevalence was 22.4% for cigarettes and 3.4% for polytobacco use. Polytobacco use was more …

Relaxin Receptors In Hepatic Stellate Cells And Cirrhotic Liver, Robert G. Bennett, Shana R. Dalton, Katrina J. Mahan, Martha J. Gentry-Nielsen, Frederick G. Hamel, Dean J. Tuma

United States Public Health Resources

The polypeptide hormone relaxin has antifibrotic effects on a number of tissues, including the liver. Central to the progression of hepatic fibrosis is the transdifferentiation of hepatic stellate cells (HSC) from a quiescent state to an activated, myofibroblastic phenotype that secretes fibrillar collagen. Relaxin inhibits markers of HSC activation, but relaxin receptor expression in the liver is unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine the expression of the relaxin receptors LGR7 and LGR8 in activated HSC. Production of cAMP was induced by treatment of HSC with relaxin, or the relaxin-related peptides InsL3 or relaxin-3, selective activators of LGR8 …

Performance Of A Commercial Immunoglobulin M Antibody Capture Assay Using Analyte-Specific Reagents To Screen For Interfering Factors During A West Nile Virus Epidemic Season In Nebraska, Anthony R. Sambol, Steven H. Hinrichs, Wayne R. Hogrefe, Beth K. Schweitzer

United States Public Health Resources

In 2003, the Nebraska Public Health Laboratory tested more than 10,371 serum and 516 cerebral spinal fluid specimens. Results showed that without performing the interfering factors screen for specimens in the low positive index value range of >1.1 to ≤3.5, a false positivity rate of 6.5% would have been realized.

Comparative Genetic Analysis Of Genomic Dna Sequences Of Two Human Isolates Of Tanapox Virus, Steven H. Nazarian, John W. Barrett, A. Michael Frace, Melissa Olsen-Rasmussen, Marina Khristova, Mae Shaban, Sarah Neering, Yu Li, Inger K. Damon, Joseph J. Esposito, Karim Essani, Grant Mcfadden

United States Public Health Resources

Members of the genus Yatapoxvirus, which include Tanapox virus (TPV) and Yaba monkey tumor virus, infect primates including humans. Two strains of TPV isolated 50 years apart from patients infected from the equatorial region of Africa have been sequenced. The original isolate from a human case in the Tana River Valley, Kenya, in 1957 (TPV-Kenya) and an isolate from an infected traveler in the Republic of Congo in 2004 (TPV-RoC). Although isolated 50 years apart the genomes were highly conserved. The genomes differed at only 35 of 144,565 nucleotide positions (99.98% identical). We predict that TPV-RoC encodes 155 …

Social Capital And Rates Of Gonorrhea And Syphilis In The United States: Spatial Regression Analyses Of State-Level Associations, Salaam Semaan, Maya Sternberg, Akbar Zaidi, Sevgi O. Aral

United States Public Health Resources

We conducted spatial regression analysis to account for spatial clustering of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and to examine the state-level association between social capital (using Putnam’s public use data set) and rates of gonorrhea and syphilis. We conducted the analysis for the 48 contiguous states of the United States for 1990, 1995, and 2000 and controlled for the effects of regional variation in STD rates, and for state variation in poverty, income inequality, racial composition, and percentage aged 15–34 years. We compared the results of the spatial regression analysis with those of ordinary least squares (OLS) regression. Controlling for all …

Biodosepr-2006 Consensus Committee Report On Biodosimetric Methods To Evaluate Radiation Doses At Long Times After Exposure, Steven L. Simon, Ian Bailiff, André Bouville, Paola Fattibene, Ruth A. Kleinerman, David C. Lloyd, Stephen W.S. Mckeever, Alexander Romanyukha, Alexander V, Sevan’Kaev, James D. Tucker, Albrecht Wieser

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

The requirements for biodosimetric techniques used at long times after exposure, i.e., 6 months to more than 50 years, are unique compared to the requirements for methods used for immediate dose estimation. In addition to the fundamental requirement that the assay measures a physical or biologic change that is proportional to the energy absorbed, the signal must be highly stable over time to enable reasonably precise determinations of the absorbed dose decades later. The primary uses of these biodosimetric methods have been to support long-term health risk (epidemiologic) studies or to support compensation (damage) claims. For these reasons, the methods …

Grânulos De Amido E Fitólitos Em Cálculos Dentários Humanos: Contribuição Ao Estudo Do Modo De Vida E Subsistência De Grupos Sambaquianos Do Litoral Sul Do Brasil, Verônica Wesolowski, Sheila Maria Ferraz Mendonça De Souza, Karl Reinhard, Gregório Ceccantini

Karl Reinhard Publications

Este artigo tem por objetivo apresentar os resultados da recuperação e análise de micro-vestígios vegetais retidos em cálculos dentários de grupos de pescadores-coletores do litoral sul do Brasil. Apresenta também os resultados das relações mantidas entre grânulos de amido e cárie, e entre fitólitos e desgaste dentário.

Através da dissolução química de cálculos dentários foram recuperados microvestígios vegetais em todos os indivíduos estudados. Foi evidenciado o consumo de alimentos amiláceos em todas as séries esqueléticas estudadas, demonstrando independência entre dieta com aporte de produtos vegetais e utilização de cerâmica. Foram encontrados resultados sugestivos de padrões de escolha de alimentos diferenciados …

Transfusion-Associated Transmission Of West Nile Virus, United States 2003 Through 2005, Susan P. Montgomery, Jennifer A. Brown, Matthew Kuehnert, Theresa L. Smith, Nicholas Crall, Robert S. Lanciotti, Alexandre Macedo De Oliveira, Thomas Boo, Anthony A. Marfin, 2003 West Nile Virus Transfusion-Associated Transmission Investigation Team

United States Public Health Resources

BACKGROUND: National blood donation screening for West Nile virus (WNV) started in June 2003, after the documentation of WNV transfusion-associated transmission (TAT) in 2002.
STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Blood donations were screened with investigational nucleic acid amplification assays in minipool formats. Blood collection agencies (BCAs) reported screening results to state and local public health authorities. Donor test results and demographic information were forwarded to CDC via ArboNET, the national electronic arbovirus surveillance system. State health departments and BCAs also reported suspect WNV TATs to CDC, which investigated these reports to confirm WNV infection in blood transfusion recipients in the absence …

Phylogenetic Analysis Of Buggy Creek Virus: Evidence For Multiple Clades In The Western Great Plains, United States Of America, Martin Pfeffer, Jerome E. Foster, Eric A. Edwards, Mary Bomberger Brown, Nicholas Komar, Charles R. Brown

United States Public Health Resources

We present the first detailed phylogenetic analysis of Buggy Creek virus (BCRV), a poorly known alphavirus with transmission cycles involving a cimicid swallow bug (Oeciacus vicarius) vector and cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) and house sparrows (Passer domesticus) as the principal avian hosts. Nucleotide sequences of a 2,075-bp viral envelope glycoprotein-coding region, covering the entire PE2 gene, were determined for 33 BCRV isolates taken from swallow bugs at cliff swallow colonies in Nebraska and Colorado in the summer of 2001 and were compared with the corresponding region of BCRV isolates collected from Oklahoma in the …