Public Health Commons^™

Clinically Stable Covid-19 Patients Presenting To Acute Unscheduled Episodic Care Venues Have Increased Risk Of Hospitalization: Secondary Analysis Of A Randomized Control Trial, Joseph Bledsoe, Scott C Woller, Maria Brooks, Frank C Sciurba, Jerry A Krishnan, Deborah Martin, Peter Hou, Janet Y Lin, Andrei Kindzelski, Eileen Handberg, Bridget-Anne Kirwan, Elaine Zaharris, Lauren Castro, Nancy L Shapiro, Carl J Pepine, Sarah Majercik, Zhuxuan Fu, Yongqi Zhong, Vidya Venugopal, Yu-Hsuan Lai, Paul M Ridker, Jean M Connors

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Assessment for risks associated with acute stable COVID-19 is important to optimize clinical trial enrollment and target patients for scarce therapeutics. To assess whether healthcare system engagement location is an independent predictor of outcomes we performed a secondary analysis of the ACTIV-4B Outpatient Thrombosis Prevention trial.

METHODS: A secondary analysis of the ACTIV-4B trial that was conducted at 52 US sites between September 2020 and August 2021. Participants were enrolled through acute unscheduled episodic care (AUEC) enrollment location (emergency department, or urgent care clinic visit) compared to minimal contact (MC) enrollment (electronic contact from test center lists of positive …

Co-Clinical Imaging Metadata Information (Cimi) For Cancer Research To Promote Open Science, Standardization, And Reproducibility In Preclinical Imaging, Stephen M Moore, James D Quirk, Andrew W Lassiter, Richard Laforest, Gregory D Ayers, Cristian T Badea, Andriy Y Fedorov, Paul E Kinahan, Matthew Holbrook, Peder E Z Larson, Renuka Sriram, Thomas L Chenevert, Dariya Malyarenko, John Kurhanewicz, A Mcgarry Houghton, Brian D Ross, Stephen Pickup, James C Gee, Rong Zhou, Seth T Gammon, Henry Charles Manning, Raheleh Roudi, Heike E Daldrup-Link, Michael T Lewis, Daniel L Rubin, Thomas E Yankeelov, Kooresh I Shoghi

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Preclinical imaging is a critical component in translational research with significant complexities in workflow and site differences in deployment. Importantly, the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) precision medicine initiative emphasizes the use of translational co-clinical oncology models to address the biological and molecular bases of cancer prevention and treatment. The use of oncology models, such as patient-derived tumor xenografts (PDX) and genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs), has ushered in an era of co-clinical trials by which preclinical studies can inform clinical trials and protocols, thus bridging the translational divide in cancer research. Similarly, preclinical imaging fills a translational gap as an …

Perspectives On Non-Prescription Antibiotic Use Among Hispanic Patients In The Houston Metroplex, Lindsey Laytner, Patricia Chen, Susan Nash, Michael K Paasche-Orlow, Richard Street, Roger Zoorob, Barbara Trautner, Larissa Grigoryan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Non-prescription antibiotic use includes taking an antibiotic without medical guidance (e.g., leftovers, from friends/relatives, or purchased without a prescription). Non-prescription use contributes to antimicrobial resistance, adverse drug reactions, interactions, superinfection, and microbiome imbalance. Qualitative studies exploring perspectives regarding non-prescription use among Hispanic patients are lacking. We used the Kilbourne Framework for Advancing Health Disparities Research to identify factors influencing patients' non-prescription use and organize our findings.

METHODS: Our study includes Hispanic primary care clinic patients with different types of health insurance coverage in the Houston metroplex who endorsed non-prescription use in a previous survey. Semistructured interviews explored the factors …

Higher Dose Corticosteroids In Patients Admitted To Hospital With Covid-19 Who Are Hypoxic But Not Requiring Ventilatory Support (Recovery): A Randomised, Controlled, Open-Label, Platform Trial, Recovery Collaborative Group

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Low-dose corticosteroids have been shown to reduce mortality for patients with COVID-19 requiring oxygen or ventilatory support (non-invasive mechanical ventilation, invasive mechanical ventilation, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation). We evaluated the use of a higher dose of corticosteroids in this patient group.

METHODS: This randomised, controlled, open-label platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]) is assessing multiple possible treatments in patients hospitalised for COVID-19. Eligible and consenting adult patients with clinical evidence of hypoxia (ie, receiving oxygen or with oxygen saturation

FINDINGS: Between May 25, 2021, and May 13, 2022, 1272 patients with COVID-19 and hypoxia receiving no oxygen …

Higher Dose Corticosteroids In Patients Admitted To Hospital With Covid-19 Who Are Hypoxic But Not Requiring Ventilatory Support (Recovery): A Randomised, Controlled, Open-Label, Platform Trial, Recovery Collaborative Group

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Low-dose corticosteroids have been shown to reduce mortality for patients with COVID-19 requiring oxygen or ventilatory support (non-invasive mechanical ventilation, invasive mechanical ventilation, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation). We evaluated the use of a higher dose of corticosteroids in this patient group.

METHODS: This randomised, controlled, open-label platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]) is assessing multiple possible treatments in patients hospitalised for COVID-19. Eligible and consenting adult patients with clinical evidence of hypoxia (ie, receiving oxygen or with oxygen saturation

FINDINGS: Between May 25, 2021, and May 13, 2022, 1272 patients with COVID-19 and hypoxia receiving no oxygen …

Neurodevelopment, Vision And Auditory Outcomes At Age 2 Years In Offspring Of Participants In The ‘Women First’ Maternal Preconception Nutrition Randomised Controlled Trial, Michelle Fernandes, Nancy F. Krebs, Jamie Westcott, Antoinette Tshefu, Adrien Lokangaka, Melissa Bauserman, Ana L. Garcés, Lester Figueroa, Sarah Saleem, Sumera A. Aziz, Robert L. Goldenberg, Shivaprasad S. Goudar, Sangappa M. Dhaded, Richard J. Derman, Jennifer F. Kemp, Marion Koso-Thomas, Amaanti Sridhar, Elizabeth M. Mcclure, K. Michael Hambidge

Global Health Articles

BACKGROUND: Maternal nutrition in preconception and early pregnancy influences fetal growth. Evidence for effects of prenatal maternal nutrition on early child development (ECD) in low-income and middle-income countries is limited.

OBJECTIVES: To examine impact of maternal nutrition supplementation initiated prior to or during pregnancy on ECD, and to examine potential association of postnatal growth with ECD domains.

DESIGN: Secondary analysis regarding the offspring of participants of a maternal multicountry, individually randomised trial.

SETTING: Rural Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guatemala, India and Pakistan.

PARTICIPANTS: 667 offspring of Women First trial participants, aged 24 months.

INTERVENTION: Maternal lipid-based nutrient supplement initiated …

Research Personnel Exposure To Carbon Dioxide During Euthanasia Procedures, Devon Nealer, Felicia Reibstein, Jennifer Bendorf, Emily Lafferty, Stephanie Ramborger, Taylor Swift, Jacqueline O'Malley, Thomas Boyle

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a commonly used euthanasia agent in animal facilities. This procedure is carried out by replacing oxygen with carbon dioxide in animal cages, thus providing a quick and painless method of euthanasia. Unfortunately, there has been limited research on the potential effects of human exposure to CO2 during euthanasia procedures.

Following a previous carbon dioxide exposure study in the vivarium at Rowan SOM in 2016, the CO2 cylinders and euthanasia chambers have been relocated to room 153 Science Center and the vivarium has adopted a localized exhaust that helps remove the contaminant at the source.

While the …

Linking Social And Built Environmental Factors To Leisure-Time Physical Activity In Rural Cancer Survivors, Courtney J Stevens, Yue Liao, Minxing Chen, Natalia I Heredia, Hannah Arem, Jasmine Sukumar, Lenat Joffe, Kathryn H Schmitz, Scherezade K Mama

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: This study explored associations between social and built environmental factors and leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) in rural cancer survivors (RCS) and whether these associations differed by exercise stage of change (SOC).

METHOD: RCS (n = 219) completed questionnaires assessing LTPA, SOC, and social (social status, connectedness, support) and environmental (home environment, neighborhood environment) factors. Linear regression models examined associations between social and built environmental factors and LTPA and tested for moderation by SOC.

RESULTS: Half (50.7%) of RCS were physically active, and 49.3% were not active. Social factors positively associated with LTPA included subjective social status in the community …

Colonizing And Virulence Factors In Enterotoxigenic Escherichia Coli From Peru, Fulton P Rivera, Anicia Medina, Maribel Riveros, Theresa J Ochoa, Maria J Pons, Joaquim Ruiz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) ranks among the most relevant diarrheagenic pathogens. Efforts to design vaccines to fight ETEC have been focused on colonizing factors (CFs) and atypical virulence factors (AVF). An effective vaccine must account for differences in the regional prevalence of these CFs and AVFs to be truly effective in a given area. In the present study, the presence of 16 CFs and 9 AVFs, as well as the heat-stable (ST) variants (STh or STp), was established by polymerase chain reaction in 205 Peruvian ETEC isolates (120 from diarrhea cases and 85 from healthy controls). Ninety-nine (48.3%) isolates were …

Association Of Prenatal Depression With New Cardiovascular Disease Within 24 Months Postpartum., Christina M Ackerman-Banks, Heather S Lipkind, Kristin Palmsten, Mariah Pfeiffer Rn, Mph, Catherine Gelsinger Rn, Katherine Ahrens Mph, Phd

Population Health

No abstract provided.

Spatial Transcriptomics Depict Ligand-Receptor Cross-Talk Heterogeneity At The Tumor-Stroma Interface In Long-Term Ovarian Cancer Survivors, Sammy Ferri-Borgogno, Ying Zhu, Jianting Sheng, Jared K Burks, Javier A Gomez, Kwong Kwok Wong, Stephen T C Wong, Samuel C Mok

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Advanced high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSC) is an aggressive disease that accounts for 70% of all ovarian cancer deaths. Nevertheless, 15% of patients diagnosed with advanced HGSC survive more than 10 years. The elucidation of predictive markers of these long-term survivors (LTS) could help identify therapeutic targets for the disease, and thus improve patient survival rates. To investigate the stromal heterogeneity of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in ovarian cancer, we used spatial transcriptomics to generate spatially resolved transcript profiles in treatment-naïve advanced HGSC from LTS and short-term survivors (STS) and determined the association between cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) heterogeneity and survival …

Association Of Mitochondrial Dna Copy Number With Brain Mri Markers And Cognitive Function: A Meta-Analysis Of Community-Based Cohorts, Yuankai Zhang, Xue Liu, Kerri L Wiggins, Nuzulul Kurniansyah, Xiuqing Guo, Amanda L Rodrigue, Wei Zhao, Lisa R Yanek, Scott M Ratliff, Achilleas Pitsillides, Juan Sebastian Aguirre Patiño, Tamar Sofer, Dan E Arking, Thomas R Austin, Alexa S Beiser, John Blangero, Eric Boerwinkle, Jan Bressler, Joanne E Curran, Lifang Hou, Timothy M Hughes, Sharon L R Kardia, Lenore J Launer, Daniel Levy, Thomas H Mosley, Ilya M Nasrallah, Stephen S Rich, Jerome I Rotter, Sudha Seshadri, Wassim Tarraf, Kevin A González, Vasan Ramachandran, Kristine Yaffe, Paul A Nyquist, Bruce M Psaty, Charles S Decarli, Jennifer A Smith, David C Glahn, Hector M González, Joshua C Bis, Myriam Fornage, Susan R Heckbert, Annette L Fitzpatrick, Chunyu Liu, Claudia L Satizabal

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Previous studies suggest that lower mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number (CN) is associated with neurodegenerative diseases. However, whether mtDNA CN in whole blood is related to endophenotypes of Alzheimer disease (AD) and AD-related dementia (AD/ADRD) needs further investigation. We assessed the association of mtDNA CN with cognitive function and MRI measures in community-based samples of middle-aged to older adults.

METHODS: We included dementia-free participants from 9 diverse community-based cohorts with whole-genome sequencing in the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program. Circulating mtDNA CN was estimated as twice the ratio of the average coverage of mtDNA to nuclear …

Higher Risk Of Short Term Covid-19 Vaccine Adverse Events In Myositis Patients With Autoimmune Comorbidities: Results From The Covad Study, Mrinalini Dey, Naveen R, Elena Nikiphorou, Parikshit Sen, Sreoshy Saha, James B Lilleker, Vishwesh Agarwal, Sinan Kardes, Jessica Day, Marcin Milchert, Mrudula Joshi, Tamer Gheita, Babur Salim, Tsvetelina Velikova, Abraham Edgar Gracia-Ramos, Ioannis Parodis, Albert Selva O'Callaghan, Minchul Kim, Tulika Chatterjee, Ai Lyn Tan, Ashima Makol, Arvind Nune, Lorenzo Cavagna, Miguel A Saavedra, Samuel Katsuyuki Shinjo, Nelly Ziade, Johannes Knitza, Masataka Kuwana, Oliver Distler, Bhupen Barman, Yogesh Preet Singh, Rajiv Ranjan, Avinash Jain, Sapan C Pandya, Rakesh Kumar Pilania, Aman Sharma, Manesh M Manoj, Vikas Gupta, Chengappa G Kavadichanda, Pradeepta Sekhar Patro, Sajal Ajmani, Sanat Phatak, Rudra Prosad Goswami, Abhra Chandra Chowdhury, Ashish Jacob Mathew, Padnamabha Shenoy, Ajay Asranna, Keerthi Talari Bommakanti, Anuj Shukla, Arunkumar R Pande, Kunal Chandwar, John D Pauling, Chris Wincup, Döndü Üsküdar Cansu, Erick Adrian Zamora Tehozol, Jorge Rojas Serrano, Ignacio García-De La Torre, Nicoletta Del Papa, Gianluca Sambataro, Atzeni Fabiola, Marcello Govoni, Simone Parisi, Elena Bartoloni Bocci, Gian Domenico Sebastiani, Enrico Fusaro, Marco Sebastiani, Luca Quartuccio, Franco Franceschini, Pier Paolo Sainaghi, Giovanni Orsolini, Rossella De Angelis, Maria Giovanna Danielli, Vincenzo Venerito, Lisa S Traboco, Leonardo Santos Hoff, Suryo Anggoro Kusumo Wibowo, Stylianos Tomaras, Daman Langguth, Vidya Limaye, Merrilee Needham, Nilesh Srivastav, Akira Yoshida, Ran Nakashima, Shinji Sato, Naoki Kimura, Yuko Kaneko, Jesús Loarce-Martos, Sergio Prieto-González, Albert Gil-Vila, Raquel Arànega Gonzalez, Hector Chinoy, Vikas Agarwal, Rohit Aggarwal, Latika Gupta

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Outcomes Following Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation For Severe Covid-19 In Pregnancy Or Post Partum, John J Byrne, Amir A Shamshirsaz, Alison G Cahill, Mark A Turrentine, Angela R Seasely, Joe Eid, Caroline E Rouse, Michael Richley, Nandini Raghuraman, Mariam Naqvi, Yasser Y El-Sayed, Martina L Badell, Cece Cheng, James Liu, Emily H Adhikari, Soha S Patel, Erika R O'Neil, Patrick S Ramsey

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

IMPORTANCE: Existing reports of pregnant patients with COVID-19 disease who require extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) are limited, with variable outcomes noted for the maternal-fetal dyad.

OBJECTIVE: To examine maternal and perinatal outcomes associated with ECMO used for COVID-19 with respiratory failure during pregnancy.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This retrospective multicenter cohort study examined pregnant and postpartum patients who required ECMO for COVID-19 respiratory failure at 25 hospitals across the US. Eligible patients included individuals who received care at one of the study sites, were diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy or up to 6 weeks post partum by positive nucleic …

Outcomes Of The “Brca Quality Improvement Dissemination Program”: An Initiative To Improve Patient Receipt Of Cancer Genetics Services At Five Health Systems, Erica M Bednar, Minxing Chen, Michael T Walsh, Amanda L Eppolito, Molly H Klein, Kelly Teed, Brittany Hodge, Jordan Hunter, Han Gill Chao, Dillon Davis, Wilshauna Serchion, Cara Yobbi, Rebekah Krukenberg, Sandra B Jenkinson, Jennifer J Moore, Cassandra Garcia, Fatimaeliza Gonzalez, Towanna Murray, Linda D Nielsen, Brenda Ho, Megan Haas, Sarah B Greenzweig, Abby Anderson, Christina Johnson, Nichole A Morman, Elizabeth Bowdish, Emaline Wise, Julia N Cooper, Pauline Kefalas Russ, Katelyn Tondo-Steele, Buonarotti F De Gracia, Brooke Levin, Kristin Mattie, Kathryn Zarnawski, Molly Kalasinski, Jennifer Stone, Caitlin O'Brien, Alexa Bream, Aidan M Kennedy, Rachel A Paul, Michelle Bilbao, Maureen Romero, Rebecca L Carr, Jennifer M Siettmann, Anna K Vercruyssen, Kaycee Leon, Banu K Arun, Andrew V Grainger, David P Warshal, Erin Bowman, Timothy A Goedde, Deepa Halaharvi, Kellie Rath, Generosa Grana, Lida Mina, Karen H Lu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: A quality improvement initiative (QII) was conducted with five community-based health systems' oncology care centers (sites A-E). The QII aimed to increase referrals, genetic counseling (GC), and germline genetic testing (GT) for patients with ovarian cancer (OC) and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).

METHODS: QII activities occurred at sites over several years, all concluding by December 2020. Medical records of patients with OC and TNBC were reviewed, and rates of referral, GC, and GT of patients diagnosed during the 2 years before the QII were compared to those diagnosed during the QII. Outcomes were analyzed using descriptive statistics, two-sample t-test, …

Combining Physics-Based Models With Deep Learning Image Synthesis And Uncertainty In Intraoperative Cone-Beam Ct Of The Brain, Xiaoxuan Zhang, Alejandro Sisniega, Wojciech B Zbijewski, Junghoon Lee, Craig K Jones, Pengwei Wu, Runze Han, Ali Uneri, Prasad Vagdargi, Patrick A Helm, Mark Luciano, William S Anderson, Jeffrey H Siewerdsen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Image-guided neurosurgery requires high localization and registration accuracy to enable effective treatment and avoid complications. However, accurate neuronavigation based on preoperative magnetic resonance (MR) or computed tomography (CT) images is challenged by brain deformation occurring during the surgical intervention.

PURPOSE: To facilitate intraoperative visualization of brain tissues and deformable registration with preoperative images, a 3D deep learning (DL) reconstruction framework (termed DL-Recon) was proposed for improved intraoperative cone-beam CT (CBCT) image quality.

METHODS: The DL-Recon framework combines physics-based models with deep learning CT synthesis and leverages uncertainty information to promote robustness to unseen features. A 3D generative adversarial network …

National Cancer Control Plan Of The Korea: Current Status And The Fourth Plan (2021-2025), Kyu-Tae Han, Jae Kwan Jun, Jeong-Soo Im

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Cancer management has become a major policy goal for the government of the Korea. As such, the government introduced the National Cancer Control Plan (NCCP) to reduce the individual and social burdens caused by cancer and to promote national health. During the past 25 years, 3 phases of the NCCP have been completed. During this time, the NCCP has changed significantly in all aspects of cancer control from prevention to survival. The targets for cancer control are increasing, and although some blind spots remain, new demands are emerging. The government initiated the fourth NCCP in March 2021, with the vision …

Aapm Task Group Report 305: Guidance For Standardization Of Vendor-Neutral Reject Analysis In Radiography, Kevin Little, Ingrid Reiser, Bruce Apgar, Poonam Dalal, Jaydev Dave, Ryan Fisher, Katie Hulme, Mary Ellen Jafari, Emily Marshall, Stephen Meyer, Quentin Moore, Nicole Murphy, Thomas Nishino, Katelyn Nye, Kevin O'Donnell, John Sabol, Adrian Sanchez, William Sensakovic, Lawrence Tarbox, Robert Uzenoff, Alisa Walz-Flannigan, Charles Willis, Jie Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Reject rate analysis is considered an integral part of a diagnostic radiography quality control (QC) program. A rejected image is a patient radiograph that was not presented to a radiologist for diagnosis and that contributes unnecessary radiation dose to the patient. Reject rates that are either too high or too low may suggest systemic department shortcomings in QC mechanisms. Due to the lack of standardization, reject data often cannot be easily compared between radiography systems from different vendors. The purpose of this report is to provide guidance to help standardize data elements that are required for comprehensive reject analysis and …

Investigating Gene-Diet Interactions Impacting The Association Between Macronutrient Intake And Glycemic Traits, Kenneth E Westerman, Maura E Walker, Sheila M Gaynor, Jennifer Wessel, Daniel Dicorpo, Jiantao Ma, Alvaro Alonso, Stella Aslibekyan, Abigail S Baldridge, Alain G Bertoni, Mary L Biggs, Jennifer A Brody, Yii-Der Ida Chen, Joseé Dupuis, Mark O Goodarzi, Xiuqing Guo, Natalie R Hasbani, Adam Heath, Bertha Hidalgo, Marguerite R Irvin, W Craig Johnson, Rita R Kalyani, Leslie Lange, Rozenn N Lemaitre, Ching-Ti Liu, Simin Liu, Jee-Young Moon, Rami Nassir, James S Pankow, Mary Pettinger, Laura M Raffield, Laura J Rasmussen-Torvik, Elizabeth Selvin, Mackenzie K Senn, Aladdin H Shadyab, Albert V Smith, Nicholas L Smith, Lyn Steffen, Sameera Talegakwar, Kent D Taylor, Paul S De Vries, James G Wilson, Alexis C Wood, Lisa R Yanek, Jie Yao, Yinan Zheng, Eric Boerwinkle, Alanna C Morrison, Miriam Fornage, Tracy P Russell, Bruce M Psaty, Daniel Levy, Nancy L Heard-Costa, Vasan S Ramachandran, Rasika A Mathias, Donna K Arnett, Robert Kaplan, Kari E North, Adolfo Correa, April Carson, Jerome I Rotter, Stephen S Rich, Joann E Manson, Alexander P Reiner, Charles Kooperberg, Jose C Florez, James B Meigs, Jordi Merino, Deirdre K Tobias, Han Chen, Alisa K Manning

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Few studies have demonstrated reproducible gene-diet interactions (GDIs) impacting metabolic disease risk factors, likely due in part to measurement error in dietary intake estimation and insufficient capture of rare genetic variation. We aimed to identify GDIs across the genetic frequency spectrum impacting the macronutrient-glycemia relationship in genetically and culturally diverse cohorts. We analyzed 33,187 participants free of diabetes from 10 National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine program cohorts with whole-genome sequencing, self-reported diet, and glycemic trait data. We fit cohort-specific, multivariable-adjusted linear mixed models for the effect of diet, modeled as an isocaloric substitution of carbohydrate …

Predictors Of Hiv Molecular Cluster Membership And Implications For Partner Services, Camden J Hallmark, Charles Luswata, Natascha Del Vecchio, Christina Hayford, Ricardo Mora, Michelle Carr, Marlene Mcneese, Nanette Benbow, John A Schneider, Joel O Wertheim, Kayo Fujimoto

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Public health surveillance data used in HIV molecular cluster analyses lack contextual information that is available from partner services (PS) data. Integrating these data sources in retrospective analyses can enrich understanding of the risk profile of people in clusters. In this study, HIV molecular clusters were identified and matched to information on partners and other information gleaned at the time of diagnosis, including coinfection with syphilis. We aimed to produce a more complete understanding of molecular cluster membership in Houston, Texas, a city ranking ninth nationally in rate of new HIV diagnoses that may benefit from retrospective matched analyses between …

Turnaround Time And Efficiency Of Pediatric Outpatient Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Multi-Institutional Cross-Sectional Study, Shireen E Hayatghaibi, Cecilia G Cazaban, Sherwin S Chan, Jonathan R Dillman, Xianglin L Du, Yu-Ting Huang, Ramesh S Iyer, Osama I Mikhail, John M Swint

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Aside from single-center reports, few data exist across pediatric institutions that examine overall MRI turnaround time (TAT) and the determinants of variability.

OBJECTIVE: to determine average duration and determinants of a brain MRI examination at academic pediatric institutions and compare the duration to those used in practice expense relative value units (RVUs).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This multi-institutional cross-sectional investigation comprised four academic pediatric hospitals. We included children ages 0 to < 18 years who underwent an outpatient MRI of the brain without contrast agent in 2019. Our outcome of interest was the overall MRI TAT derived by time stamps. We estimated determinants of overall TAT using an adjusted log-transformed multivariable linear regression model with robust standard errors.

RESULTS: The average overall TAT significantly varied among the four hospitals. A sedated brain MRI ranged from 158 min to 224 min, a non-sedated MRI from 70 min to …

Reliability Estimates For Assessing Meal Timing Derived From Longitudinal Repeated 24-Hour Dietary Recalls, Lacie Peterson, Hyejung Lee, Inge Huybrechts, Carine Biessy, Marian L Neuhouser, Benjamin Haaland, Benjamin Krick, Marc Gunter, Matthias B Schulze, Franziska Jannasch, Adriana M Coletta, Sheetal Hardikar, Amandine Chaix, Cici X Bauer, Qian Xiao, Mary C Playdon

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Regulating meal timing may have efficacy for improving metabolic health for preventing or managing chronic disease. However, the reliability of measuring meal timing with commonly used dietary assessment tools needs characterization prior to investigating meal timing and health outcomes in epidemiologic studies.

OBJECTIVES: to evaluate the reliability of estimating meal timing parameters, including overnight fasting duration, the midpoint of overnight fasting time, the number of daily eating episodes, the period with the largest percentage of daily caloric intake, and late last eating episode (> 09:00 pm) from repeated 24-h dietary recalls (24HRs).

METHODS: Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), Light's Kappa …

Opioid-Related Mortality: Dynamic Temporal And Spatial Trends By Drug Type And Demographic Subpopulations, Massachusetts, 2005–2021, Thomas J Stopka, Marc R Larochelle, Xiaona Li, Dana Bernson, Wenjun Li, Leland K Ackerson, Ric Bayly, Olaf Dammann, Cici Bauer

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Fatal opioid-related overdoses (OOD) present significant public health challenges. Intuitive and replicable analytical approaches are needed to inform targeted public health responses.

METHODS: We obtained fatal OOD data for 2005-2021 from the Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics. We conducted heatmap analyses to assess trends in fatal OOD rates per 100,000 residents, visualizing rates by death year and decedent age at one-year intervals, stratifying by race/ethnicity, sex, rurality, and involved substances. We calculated Getis-Ord Gi* statistics to identify spatial clusters of OOD rates.

RESULTS: Among 20,774 fatal OODs, rates were higher among males, and highly variable by race/ethnicity, …

Postpartum Detection Of Diastolic Dysfunction And Nondipping Blood Pressure Profile In Women With Preeclampsia, Marwa Sayed, Mariam Rashed, Ahmed M Abbas, Amr Youssef, Mohamed Abdel Ghany

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

BACKGROUND: Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction and nocturnal "nondipping" of blood pressure detected via ambulatory blood pressure monitoring are predictors of increased cardiovascular morbidity.

METHODS: A prospective cohort study including normotensive women with a history of preeclampsia in their current pregnancy was conducted. All cases were subjected to 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and 2-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography 3 months after delivery.

RESULTS: This study included 128 women with a mean (SD) age of 28.6 (5.1) years and a mean (SD) basal blood pressure of 123.1 (6.4)/74.6 (5.9) mm Hg. Among the participants, 90 (70.3%) exhibited an ambulatory blood pressure monitoring profile …

The Social Vulnerability Index As A Risk Stratification Tool For Health Disparity Research In Cancer Patients: A Scoping Review, Tiffaney Tran, Morgan A Rousseau, David P Farris, Cici Bauer, Kelly C Nelson, Hung Q Doan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: The social vulnerability index (SVI), developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is a novel composite measure encompassing multiple variables that correspond to key social determinants of health. The objective of this review was to investigate innovative applications of the SVI to oncology research and to employ the framework of the cancer care continuum to elucidate further research opportunities.

METHODS: A systematic search for relevant articles was performed in five databases from inception to 13 May 2022. Included studies applied the SVI to analyze outcomes in cancer patients. Study characteristics, patent populations, data sources, and outcomes were …

Dna Methylation Analysis Is Used To Identify Novel Genetic Loci Associated With Circulating Fibrinogen Levels In Blood, Julie Hahn, Jan Bressler, Arce Domingo-Relloso, Ming-Huei Chen, Daniel L Mccartney, Alexander Teumer, Jenny Van Dongen, Marcus E Kleber, Dylan Aïssi, Brenton R Swenson, Jie Yao, Wei Zhao, Jian Huang, Yujing Xia, Michael R Brown, Ricardo Costeira, Eco J C De Geus, Graciela E Delgado, Dre'von A Dobson, Paul Elliott, Hans J Grabe, Xiuqing Guo, Sarah E Harris, Jennifer E Huffman, Sharon L R Kardia, Yongmei Liu, Stefan Lorkowski, Riccardo E Marioni, Matthias Nauck, Scott M Ratliff, Maria Sabater-Lleal, Tim D Spector, Pierre Suchon, Kent D Taylor, Florian Thibord, David-Alexandre Trégouët, Kerri L Wiggins, Gonneke Willemsen, Jordana T Bell, Dorret I Boomsma, Shelley A Cole, Simon R Cox, Abbas Dehghan, Andreas Greinacher, Karin Haack, Winfried März, Pierre-Emmanuel Morange, Jerome I Rotter, Nona Sotoodehnia, Maria Tellez-Plaza, Ana Navas-Acien, Jennifer A Smith, Andrew D Johnson, Myriam Fornage, Nicholas L Smith, Alisa S Wolberg, Alanna C Morrison, Paul S De Vries

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background:

Fibrinogen plays an essential role in blood coagulation and inflammation. Circulating fibrinogen levels may be determined by inter-individual differences in DNA methylation at CpG sites, and vice versa.

Methods:

We performed an epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) of circulating fibrinogen levels in 18,037 White, Black, American Indian, and Hispanic participants representing 14 studies from the CHARGE consortium. Circulating leukocyte DNA methylation was measured in 12,904 participants using the Illumina 450K array, and in 5,133 participants using the EPIC array. Each study performed an EWAS of fibrinogen using linear mixed models adjusted for potential confounders. Study-specific results were combined using array-specific …

Chronic Overlapping Pain Conditions And Long-Term Opioid Treatment, Maria Ukhanova, Robert W Voss, Miguel Marino, Nathalie Huguet, Steffani R Bailey, Daniel M Hartung, Jean O'Malley, Irina Chamine, John Muench

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVES: One in 5 people in the United States lives with chronic pain. Many patients with chronic pain experience a subset of specific co-occurring pain conditions that may share a common pain mechanism and that have been designated as chronic overlapping pain conditions (COPCs). Little is known about chronic opioid prescribing patterns among patients with COPCs in primary care settings, especially among socioeconomically vulnerable patients. This study aims to evaluate opioid prescribing among patients with COPCs in US community health centers and to identify individual COPCs and their combinations that are associated with long-term opioid treatment (LOT).

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective …

The Effects Of Natural Epigenetic Therapies In 3d Ovarian Cancer And Patient-Derived Tumor Explants: New Avenues In Regulating The Cancer Secretome, Aya Mohr-Sasson, Jigal Haas, Michal Sivan, Yoni Zehori, Rina Hemi, Raoul Orvieto, Arnon Afek, Jaron Rabinovici

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

KEY MESSAGE: Menstruation of adolescent girls might be influenced by Covid-19 mRNA vaccine, however, the ovarian reserve estimated by AMH is not compromised.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have suggested that the acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) mRNA vaccine causes menstrual abnormalities which led to concerns regarding its influence on the reproductive system. This study aims to investigate the influence of the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine on gynecologic well-being and future fertility of adolescent girls.

METHODS: This is a prospective cohort study conducted at a university affiliated medical center between June and July 2021. Adolescent girls aged 12-16 years who were vaccinated …

Assessment Of Corticosteroid Therapy And Death Or Disability According To Pretreatment Risk Of Death Or Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia In Extremely Preterm Infants, Erik A Jensen, Laura Elizabeth Wiener, Matthew A Rysavy, Kevin C Dysart, Marie G Gantz, Eric C Eichenwald, Rachel G Greenberg, Heidi M Harmon, Matthew M Laughon, Kristi L Watterberg, Michele C Walsh, Bradley A Yoder, Scott A Lorch, Sara B Demauro

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

IMPORTANCE: Meta-analyses suggest that corticosteroids may be associated with increased survival without cerebral palsy in infants at high risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) but are associated with adverse neurologic outcomes in low-risk infants. Whether this association exists in contemporary practice is uncertain because most randomized clinical trials administered corticosteroids earlier and at higher doses than currently recommended.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether the pretreatment risk of death or grade 2 or 3 BPD at 36 weeks' postmenstrual age modified the association between postnatal corticosteroid therapy and death or disability at 2 years' corrected age in extremely preterm infants.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND …

Monte Carlo-Derived 99m Tc Uptake Quantification With Commercial Planar Mbi: Absolute Tumor Activity, Benjamin P Lopez, Srinivas Cheenu Kappadath

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Molecular breast imaging (MBI) of 99mTc-sestamibi is an emerging adjunct qualitative tool in the detection and diagnosis of breast cancer.

PURPOSE: This work outlines the development and performance evaluation of a methodology to absolutely quantify tumor 99mTc activity uptake using a commercially available dual-headed MBI system by implementing corrections for background, scatter, attenuation, and detector characteristics.

METHODS: A validated Monte Carlo application of a commercial MBI system was used to simulate over 7000 unique acquisitions of spherical and ellipsoidal tumors in breast tissue. Tumor absolute activity was calculated following background, scatter, and attenuation corrections of tumor region of interest …