Epidemiology Commons^™

Exploring The Impact Of Adverse Childhood Experiences On Preventive Healthcare Utilization In Rural Georgia, Ryan R. Traylor

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and preventive healthcare use among adults in Georgia, specifically within rural populations facing structural barriers. Using 2023 Georgia Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data, the research analyzes associations between ACE exposure, rural residence, and preventive care outcomes, including physical exams and flu vaccinations. Guided by an intersectionally adapted version of Andersen’s Behavioral Model of Health Services Use, the study evaluates how predisposing factors, enabling resources, and perceived barriers relate to healthcare engagement. Logistic regression analyses assess the correlation of ACE exposure, cost barriers, provider access, and sociodemographics with preventive …

Prevalence Of Grip And Leg Strength Asymmetries In U.S. Youth, Elyse M. Deschryver

Theses and Dissertations

Early-life physical activity is important for building muscular strength, supporting healthy growth and disease prevention, and for establishing physical activity and strength habits that often track into adulthood. Although grip strength asymmetry is a well-documented risk factor in older adults, evidence in children and adolescents is limited and largely based on small, sport-specific samples. PURPOSE: To describe grip and leg extension strength asymmetries in a nationally representative sample of U.S. youth aged 6–15 years using the National Youth Fitness Survey (NNYFS). METHODS: The analysis included 1,214 participants (606 boys, 608 girls) with valid grip or leg extension data. Age, sex, …

Enhancing Public Health Strategies: Addressing The Rsv Burden In Alabama Through Clinical Treatment, Community Prevention, And Surveillance Approaches, Martha K. Findley Roper, Jennifer S. Dawson

Journal of Public Health in the Deep South

Introduction: Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is a highly contagious pathogen driving morbidity, hospitalizations, and economic burden. This review uses the epidemiological triad and National Wastewater Surveillance System data to assess transmission, viral load spikes in Alabama, and strategies for treatment and prevention.

Methods: A review of literature on supportive care, vaccination, monoclonal antibodies, and emerging nanomedicine was reviewed to evaluate strategies for reducing viral burden and complications.

Results: Trends from December 2024–January 2025 were assessed with National Wastewater Surveillance System data. Primary prevention includes immunization, hygiene, air quality maintenance, and early diagnostics. Tertiary care addresses complications such as secondary …

Determinan Ketidakpatuhan Kunjungan Pengambilan Obat Antiretroviral Pasien Hiv/Aids Di Kabupaten Bekasi Tahun 2023-2024, Intan Ully Athalia Sihombing, Mondastri Korib Sudaryo, Helda Helda, Helwiah Umniyati, Irva Zulviya Hasyim

Jurnal Epidemiologi Kesehatan Indonesia

Non-adherence to scheduled antiretroviral (ARV) medication pickup can reduce treatment effectiveness, increase the risk of drug resistance, and contribute to poor HIV infection control. This study aimed to identify factors associated with missed ARV pickup appointments among people living with HIV/AIDS in Bekasi District. An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted using secondary data from HIV/AIDS patients undergoing ARV therapy in 2023–2024. Data were analyzed descriptively (univariate), using Chi-square tests (bivariate), and log-binomial regression (multivariate). Among 811 patients, 341 (42%) were recorded as non-adherent to their medication pickup schedule. The results showed that having an unsuppressed viral load (>50 copies/ml) …

Symptom Clusters And Their Association With Health-Related Quality Of Life In Pediatric Cancer Survivors After Treatment Completion, Krishtee Napit

Theses & Dissertations

A critical area of cancer research, symptom management, has evolved from focusing on individual symptoms to recognizing the complexity of co-occurring symptoms, commonly referred to as symptom clusters. However, most studies on pediatric cancer symptom clusters have focused primarily on the treatment phase or long-term survivorship, overlooking the early post-treatment period. This dissertation examines the prevalence of multiple symptoms and symptom clusters in pediatric cancer survivors post-treatment; factors associated with the total number of symptoms and symptom clusters; and the association of the total number of symptoms and symptom clusters with health-related quality of life (HRQoL). We developed and tested …

Age-Friendly Care And Mobility In Hospitalized Older Adults With Cognitive Impairment: A Feasibility Quality Improvement Initiative, Jasmine K. Vickers, Richard E. Kennedy, Shari Harrell, David H. James, Katrina Booth, Emily Simmons, Cynthia J. Brown, Kellie L. Flood

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Hospitalized older adults with cognitive impairment (CI) have an increased risk for adverse outcomes. Acute Care for Elders (ACE) Units were developed to reduce functional decline in hospitalized older adults. INTERVENTION: We developed a quality improvement (QI) initiative to disseminate ACE care processes to non-ACE units, converting them into "Virtual ACE" units. The aim of this evaluation is to examine the impact of this intervention on the mobilization of patients with CI. POPULATION: Older adults with CI admitted to a study unit (ACE Unit or seven Virtual ACE units). METHODS: We conducted a pre/post-intervention evaluation of the proportion of …

Childhood Myopia Part Ii: Treatment Mechanisms, Emerging Options, And Considerations, Safal Khanal Dr, Erin S. Tomiyama Dr, Síofra Harrington Dr

Articles

Abstract

The rapidly increasing prevalence of myopia and its association with vision-threatening complications in later life has intensified efforts to identify treatments that can prevent the onset and slow the progression of myopia in children. These efforts have led to the development of several optical, environmental, and pharmacological myopia control treatments. Investigations of additional treatment options are ongoing and have shown great promise for clinical translation. Although significant progress has been made in identifying potential pathways and modes of action of these treatments, a complete mechanistic understanding is still lacking. This critical review article explores the potential mechanisms underlying the …

Machine Learning For Preeclampsia Prediction: Enhancing Screening In Primary Health Care, Dwirani Amelia, Asri Adisasmita, Kemal N. Siregar, Detty Siti Nurdiati

Kesmas

Preeclampsia is a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide, with early detection being critical for reducing adverse outcomes. This study aimed to develop a machine learning model for predicting the risk of preeclampsia using readily available maternal characteristics such as body mass index, mean arterial pressure, and clinical history of hypertension or diabetes mellitus. Secondary data from 2,250 pregnancies were analyzed, addressing challenges such as missing data and class imbalance through preprocessing. Various algorithms, including support vector machines, random forest, and logistic regression, were evaluated. Herein, a support vector machines model with threshold adjustment showed the best performance, …

Schistosoma Haematobium Infection In Ethiopian Children: Evaluating Praziquantel Efficacy, Nutritional Effects, And Diagnosis Using Flukecatcher, Louis Fok

Theses & Dissertations

Urogenital schistosomiasis continues to impact the wellbeing of hundreds of millions of people worldwide and remains a significant public health challenge across Ethiopia. Despite existing knowledge on the disease, there remain significant unanswered questions with regard to its treatment and diagnosis. This dissertation evaluated the efficacy of praziquantel at treating urogenital schistosomiasis, improving nutritional parameters among children and the performance of FlukeCatcher at detecting and determining the intensity of infection. In effecting this, a total of 977 children aged 5 through 15 from the Afar and Gambella regions of Ethiopia were screened for S. haematobium infection using urine filtration microscopy …

Enhancing Healthcare-Associated Infection Prevention: The Role Of Hand Hygiene, Ppe, Isolation, And Vaccination Education, Kaitlyn N. Rollo

Aurora

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) represent a significant threat to patient safety in hospital environments. These infections are often linked to lapses in infection prevention protocols, including inadequate hand hygiene, improper use of personal protective equipment (PPE), and insufficient isolation procedures. This project aimed to evaluate compliance with infection control policies and identify areas for improvement at Lima Memorial Hospital. By focusing on auditing, education, and data analysis, the goal was to reduce HAI rates and strengthen overall infection prevention practices.

Methods included a comprehensive review of existing hospital infection prevention policies, followed by hand hygiene and PPE audits across the hospital’s …

Optimising Non-Cycloplegic Screening Strategies For Early Detection Of Pre-Myopia And Myopia In Young Children, Síofra Harrington, Michael Moore, James Loughman, Ian Flitcroft, Veronica O'Dwyer

Articles

Purpose: Early detection of myopia is essential to delay its onset and progression. Pre-myopia, defined by an inadequate hyperopic reserve, increases myopia risk in childhood. However, effective screening methods remain limited. This study aimed to develop practical non-cycloplegic screening methods for pre-myopia and myopia in 6- to 7-year-olds to support earlier interventions.

Methods: This cross-sectional study of 621 Irish schoolchildren (mean age: 7.12 ± 0.45 years; 51.8% boys) assessed uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA). Cycloplegic spherical equivalent refraction (SER) classified refractive status (myopia: SER ≤ −0.50D; pre-myopia: SER > −0.50 ≤ 0.75D). Pre- and post-cycloplegic SER were measured using the Welch …

Detection Of Covid-19 Variants, Christina Aglieco

Honors Scholar Theses

The outbreak of Covid-19 in December 2019 was devastating to many but led to major advancements in vaccine research and development. The development of a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 infection offers protection for the public but cannot eliminate the risk of contracting Covid-19 due to the many viral mutations since the initial wild-type strain isolation in 2019. Analysis of these viral mutations will allow for the development of vaccines with greater protection against the new variants of the coronavirus. Secondary to Covid-19 infection seen in the pediatric population is Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children or MIS-C. Through qPCR analysis of pediatric …

Refractive Error And Axial Length (Real) Study: Feasibility Of A Population Study In The United States, Sarah E. Singh Dr, Lisa A. Ostrin, Kristen Kerber Dr, Concepcion Cayle, Celia Gong Dr, Lal Barsha Dr, Ian Flitcroft, Síofra Harrington, James Loughman, Kathryn Saunders Prof, Fuensanta Vera-Diaz Dr

Articles

Myopia is the most common eye disease and a leading cause of blindness. A contemporary, large, and ethnically and geographically diverse study of ocular biometry and refractive error in children in the United States is needed to help better describe differences between myopic and nonmyopic eyes.

This is an initial cross-sectional report from the Refractive Error and Axial Length Growth Curve Study that includes ocular component data as a function of age, gender, and geographic location. This feasibility report will inform a planned larger longitudinal ocular growth study in children in the United States.

Cross-sectional data on children, ages 3 …

The Epidemiology Of Sports And Recreation Related Toe Fractures In The United States, Dogerno Norceide, Gabriel I. Onor, Oluwatomi Akingbola, William Justice, Nana F. Amponsah, Abimbola Okulaja, Ifeanyichukwu Onor, Michael Okoronkwo, Chibuikem Nwizu, David Pedowitz

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Fractures of the toes are among the most frequently diagnosed lower extremity fractures. In sports, toe fractures may present after diverse mechanisms of injury, varying severity, and varying implications for management. This study aimed to discern trends in toe fractures presenting to US emergency departments (EDs) particularly in association with sports and recreational activities. An additional aim of the study was to identify if rates of toe fracture presentation significantly decreased during the year 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: We queried the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) database to identify toe fractures presented to …

Patterns And Outcomes In Urotrauma: An Analysis Of Fatality Trends And Contributing Factors, Neharika Penmetcha, Aun Bangash, Kelsey Baker

Research Symposium

Background: Urotrauma, involving injuries to the kidneys, ureters, and bladder, represents a critical subset of trauma cases, significantly impacting patient morbidity and mortality. Renal and urogenital injuries account for 10–20% of abdominal trauma in adults and children. Understanding urotrauma's epidemiology is vital for improving care protocols and resource allocation. Despite its impact, data on injury mechanisms, intent, and care modalities specific to urotrauma remain limited. This study investigates patterns in injury mechanisms, intent, transport modalities, and facility transfer status to identify factors influencing patient outcomes and inform trauma care improvements.

Methods: A retrospective review analyzed 3,492 trauma cases, filtered for …

Perspectives Of African American And Hispanic/Latino Individuals On Hiv Molecular Cluster Detection, Maxwell Richardson, Brendan H. Pulsifer, Jane Yoon Scott, David Holland, Eleanor W. Garlow, Pascale Wortley, Daniel Mauck, Jenna Gettings, Valeria Cantos, Masonia Traylor, Eric Rangel, David Folkes, Carlos Saldana

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Background: Responding to HIV clusters detected using molecular data has been shown to reduce transmission and improve testing, treatment, and prevention. However, there are varied opinions about the use of cluster detection activities, and some advocates have raised concerns about patient consent, data security, and the potential for HIV criminalization. Incorporating the perspectives of marginalized populations that are disproportionately affected by HIV is essential to understanding the diversity of those perspectives, yet it is often overlooked in the literature. Thus, our study seeks to highlight the perspectives of Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino individuals in the Southern United States on HIV …

Increasing Covid-19 Testing And Vaccination Uptake In The Take Care Texas Community-Based Randomized Trial: Adaptive Geospatial Analysis, Kehe Zhang, Jocelyn V Hunyadi, Marcia C De Oliveira Otto, Miryoung Lee, Zitong Zhang, Ryan Ramphul, Jose-Miguel Yamal, Ashraf Yaseen, Alanna C Morrison, Shreela Sharma, Mohammad Hossein Rahbar, Xu Zhang, Stephen Linder, Dritana Marko, Rachel White Roy, Deborah Banerjee, Esmeralda Guajardo, Michelle Crum, Belinda Reininger, Maria E Fernandez, Cici Bauer

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Geospatial data science can be a powerful tool to aid the design, reach, efficiency, and impact of community-based intervention trials. The project titled Take Care Texas aims to develop and test an adaptive, multilevel, community-based intervention to increase COVID-19 testing and vaccination uptake among vulnerable populations in 3 Texas regions: Harris County, Cameron County, and Northeast Texas.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to develop a novel procedure for adaptive selections of census block groups (CBGs) to include in the community-based randomized trial for the Take Care Texas project.

METHODS: CBG selection was conducted across 3 Texas regions over a 17-month period …

Characteristics And Outcomes Of Adults Hospitalized With Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Brian S. Shaw, Cara Slaton, Ian P. Murphy, Michael Mcalister, Daniel Egan, Kwabena Ayesu

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a negative sense single-stranded RNA virus (ssRNA) that primarily causes respiratory infections in both children and older adults. We examined clinical characteristics and outcomes of hospitalized adult patients who tested positive for RSV.

Methods: This was a multicenter, retrospective, descriptive study that examined adult patients admitted with a positive RSV test over two years across eight hospitals in Orlando, Florida.

Results: A total of 120 patients were included, of which 88 (73%) were 60 years old and older. Overall, patients with RSV infection were caucasian (62%) with a median age of 70 years and …

Hybrid Versus Vaccine Immunity Of Mrna-1273 Among People Living With Hiv In East And Southern Africa: A Prospective Cohort Analysis From The Multicentre Covpn 3008 (Ubuntu) Study, Nigel Garrett, Asa Tapley, Aaron Hudson, Sufia Dadabhai, Bo Zhang, Nyaradzo M Mgodi, Jessica Andriesen, Azwidihwi Takalani, Leigh H Fisher, Jia Jin Kee, Craig A Magaret, Manuel Villaran, John Hural, Erica Andersen-Nissen, Guido Ferarri, Maurine D Miner, Bert Le Roux, Eduan Wilkinson, Richard Lessells, Tulio De Oliveira, Jackline Odhiambo, Parth Shah, Laura Polakowski, Margaret Yacovone, Taraz Samandari, Zvavahera Chirenje, Peter James Elyanu, Joseph Makhema, Ethel Kamuti, Harriet Nuwagaba-Biribonwoha, Sharlaa Badal-Faesen, William Brumskine, Soritha Coetzer, Rodney Dawson, Sinead Delany-Moretlwe, Andreas Henri Diacon, Samantha Fry, Katherine Margaret Gill, Zaheer Ahmed Ebrahim Hoosain, Mina C Hosseinipour, Mubiana Inambao, Craig Innes, Steve Innes, Dishiki Kalonji, Margaret Kasaro, Priya Kassim, Noel Kayange, William Kilembe, Fatima Laher, Moelo Malahleha, Vongane Louisa Maluleke, Grace Mboya, Kirsten Mcharry, Essack Mitha, Kathryn Mngadi, Pamela Mda, Tumelo Moloantoa, Cissy Kityo Mutuluuza, Nivashnee Naicker, Vimla Naicker, Anusha Nana, Annet Nanvubya, Maphoshane Nchabeleng, Walter Otieno, Elsje Louise Potgieter, Disebo Potloane, Zelda Punt, Jamil Said, Yashna Singh, Mohammed Siddique Tayob, Yacoob Vahed, Deo Ogema Wabwire, M Juliana Mcelrath, James G Kublin, Linda-Gail Bekker, Peter B Gilbert, Lawrence Corey, Glenda E Gray, Yunda Huang, Philip Kotze, Covpn 3008 Ubuntu Study Team

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: With limited access to mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in lower income countries, and people living with HIV (PLWH) largely excluded from clinical trials, Part A of the multicentre CoVPN 3008 (Ubuntu) study aimed to assess the safety of mRNA-1273, the relative effectiveness of hybrid versus vaccine immunity, and SARS-CoV-2 viral persistence among PLWH in East and Southern Africa during the omicron outbreak.

METHODS: Previously unvaccinated adults with HIV and/or other comorbidities associated with severe COVID-19 received either one (hybrid immunity) or two (vaccine immunity) 100-mcg doses of ancestral strain mRNA-1273 in the first month, depending on baseline evidence of prior …

Resilience And Reality: Exploring The Lived Experiences Of People Living With Hiv In Texas During The Covid-19 Pandemic – A Qualitative Study., Ahmed F. Alanazi

Social Work Dissertations - Archive

This study investigated the lived experiences of individuals living with HIV (PLWH) in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) area of Texas during the COVID-19 pandemic, using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) framework. The research examined the intersection of health, social dynamics, and psychological resilience among PLWH, who faced compounded vulnerabilities due to systemic inequities and the dual public health crises of HIV and COVID-19. Through semi-structured interviews with ten participants from diverse backgrounds, the study captured the profound impacts of disrupted healthcare systems, heightened stigma, and social isolation on this marginalized population. The findings reveal that the pandemic exacerbated existing inequities …

Weighted Family History Density Of Substance Use: Influence On Participant Substance Use Onset, Escalation, And Duration, Carleigh A. Litteral

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Substance use disorders impose a staggering toll on the United States (U.S.), straining healthcare systems, destabilizing communities, and profoundly impacting both individuals and families. Approximately one in six Americans aged 12 and older had a past-year substance use disorder in 2022 (Key Substance Use, 2022), and nearly one-third of adults experience a substance use disorder in their lifetime (Wu, 2010), contributing to an economic burden exceeding $400 billion annually (National Drug Threat Assessment, 2011). Family history of substance use disorders is a key predictor of vulnerability, with individuals who have affected relatives being 2–8 times more …

Molecular Epidemiologic Studies Of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Me/Cfs), Anil Kumar

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Background: Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME)/chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a disabling multisystem complex disorder with no known etiology or approved treatment. Our studies aimed to assess the link between ME/CFS and autoimmune disease (AID) and cancer, and to identify potential biomarkers and biological mechanisms to further explore pathophysiology of this diseases.

Methods: All analyses were done using data from a case-control study of ME/CFS conducted by Dr. Roxana Moslehi and her collaborators. In our first study we estimated the cumulative incidences of AID and cancer among first degree relatives of 60 cases and 61 controls and compared cumulative …

Impact Of Covid-19 Lockdown On Patient-Provider Electronic Communications, Michael A Hansen, Rebecca Chen, Jacqueline Hirth, James Langabeer, Roger Zoorob

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: SARS CoV-2 virus (COVID-19) impacted the practice of healthcare in the United States, with technology being used to facilitate access to care and reduce iatrogenic spread. Since then, patient message volume to primary care providers has increased. However, the volume and trend of electronic communications after lockdown remain poorly described in the literature.

METHODS: All incoming inbox items (telephone calls, refill requests, and electronic messages) sent to providers from patients amongst four primary care clinics were collected. Inbox item rates were calculated as a ratio of items per patient encountered each week. Trends in inbox rates were assessed during …

Optimization Of Cellular Transduction By The Hiv-Based Pseudovirus Platform With Pan-Coronavirus Spike Proteins, Syamala Rani Thimmiraju, Maria Jose Villar, Jason T Kimata, Ulrich Strych, Maria Elena Bottazzi, Peter J Hotez, Jeroen Pollet

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Over the past three years, new SARS-CoV-2 variants have continuously emerged, evolving to a point where an immune response against the original vaccine no longer provided optimal protection against these new strains. During this time, high-throughput neutralization assays based on pseudoviruses have become a valuable tool for assessing the efficacy of new vaccines, screening updated vaccine candidates against emerging variants, and testing the efficacy of new therapeutics such as monoclonal antibodies. Lentiviral vectors derived from HIV-1 are popular for developing pseudo and chimeric viruses due to their ease of use, stability, and long-term transgene expression. However, the HIV-based platform has …

Panel Stacking Is A Threat To Consensus Statement Validity, Kasper P Kepp, Preben Aavitsland, Marcel Ballin, Francois Balloux, Stefan Baral, Kevin Bardosh, Howard Bauchner, Eran Bendavid, Raj Bhopal, Daniel T Blumstein, Paolo Boffetta, Florence Bourgeois, Adam Brufsky, Peter J Collignon, Sally Cripps, Ioana A Cristea, Nigel Curtis, Benjamin Djulbegovic, Oliver Faude, Maria Elena Flacco, Gordon H Guyatt, George Hajishengallis, Lars G Hemkens, Tammy Hoffmann, Ari R Joffe, Terry P Klassen, Despina Koletsi, Dimitrios P Kontoyiannis, Ellen Kuhl, Carlo La Vecchia, Tea Lallukka, John Lambris, Michael Levitt, Spyros Makridakis, Helena C Maltezou, Lamberto Manzoli, Ana Marusic, Clio Mavragani, David Moher, Ben W Mol, Taulant Muka, Florian Naudet, Paul W Noble, Anna Nordström, Peter Nordström, Nikolaos Pandis, Stefania Papatheodorou, Chirag J Patel, Irene Petersen, Stefan Pilz, Nikolaus Plesnila, Anne-Louise Ponsonby, Manuel A Rivas, Andrea Saltelli, Manuel Schabus, Michaéla C Schippers, Holger Schünemann, Marco Solmi, Andreas Stang, Hendrik Streeck, Joachim P Sturmberg, Lehana Thabane, Brett D Thombs, Athanasios Tsakris, Simon N Wood, John P A Ioannidis

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Consensus statements can be very influential in medicine and public health. Some of these statements use systematic evidence synthesis but others fail on this front. Many consensus statements use panels of experts to deduce perceived consensus through Delphi processes. We argue that stacking of panel members toward one particular position or narrative is a major threat, especially in absence of systematic evidence review. Stacking may involve financial conflicts of interest, but nonfinancial conflicts of strong advocacy can also cause major bias. Given their emerging importance, we describe here how such consensus statements may be misleading, by analyzing in depth a …

Factors Associated With Elevated Sars-Cov-2 Immune Response In Children And Adolescents, Sarah E Messiah, Rhiana Abbas, Emma Bergqvist, Harold W Kohl, Michael D Swartz, Yashar Talebi, Rachit Sabharwal, Haoting Han, Melissa A Valerio-Shewmaker, Stacia M Desantis, Ashraf Yaseen, Henal A Gandhi, Ximena Flandes Amavisca, Jessica A Ross, Lindsay N Padilla, Michael O Gonzalez, Leqing Wu, Mark A Silberman, David Lakey, Jennifer A Shuford, Stephen J Pont, Eric Boerwinkle

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Understanding the distinct immunologic responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection among pediatric populations is pivotal in navigating the COVID-19 pandemic and informing future public health strategies. This study aimed to identify factors associated with heightened antibody responses in children and adolescents to identify potential unique immune dynamics in this population.

METHODS: Data collected between July and December 2023 from the Texas Coronavirus Antibody REsponse Survey (Texas CARES), a statewide prospective population-based antibody survey among 1-to-19-year-old participants, were analyzed. Each participant had the following data available for analysis: (1) Roche Elecsys® Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Immunoassay for Nucleocapsid protein antibodies (Roche N-test), (2) qualitative and …

Bayesian Beta-Binomial Mixed Models For Longitudinal, Clustered, And Spatiotemporal Data, Chun-Che Wen

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Overdispersed binomial data arise in many clinical and public health research studies. Examples include timeline followback data (TLFB), which are used in addiction research to monitor recent substance use. This dissertation proposes novel beta-binomial (BB) mixed models to address the challenges associated with overdispersed binomial data, including zero-inflation, heterogenous effects, and spatiotemporal correlation. Motivated by a 12-week randomized controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of varenicline tartrate for smoking cessation among adolescents, Aim 1 develops a Bayesian zero-inflated beta-binomial (ZIBB) model to analyze longitudinal and bounded TLFB data — namely, the number of abstinent days in the past week. Because treatment …

Teaching Bioinformatics Through The Analysis Of Sars-Cov-2: Project-Based Training For Computer Science Students, Pavlin G Poličar, Martin Špendl, Tomaž Curk, Blaž Zupan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

MOTIVATION: We learn more effectively through experience and reflection than through passive reception of information. Bioinformatics offers an excellent opportunity for project-based learning. Molecular data are abundant and accessible in open repositories, and important concepts in biology can be rediscovered by reanalyzing the data.

RESULTS: In the manuscript, we report on five hands-on assignments we designed for master's computer science students to train them in bioinformatics for genomics. These assignments are the cornerstones of our introductory bioinformatics course and are centered around the study of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). They assume no prior knowledge of molecular …

Viral And Host Factors Are Associated With Mortality In Hospitalized Patients With Covid-19, Neil R Aggarwal, Jacquie Nordwall, Dominique L Braun, Lucy Chung, Jordan Coslet, Tatyana Der, Nnakelu Eriobu, Adit A Ginde, Awori J Hayanga, Helene Highbarger, Mark Holodniy, Juan P Horcajada, Mamta K Jain, Kami Kim, Sylvain Laverdure, Jens Lundgren, Ven Natarajan, Hien H Nguyen, Sarah L Pett, Andrew Phillips, Garyphallia Poulakou, David A Price, Philip Robinson, Angela J Rogers, Uriel Sandkovsky, Katy Shaw-Saliba, Jeffrey M Sturek, Barbara W Trautner, Michael Waters, Cavan Reilly

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Persistent mortality in adults hospitalized due to acute COVID-19 justifies pursuit of disease mechanisms and potential therapies. The aim was to evaluate which virus and host response factors were associated with mortality risk among participants in Therapeutics for Inpatients with COVID-19 (TICO/ACTIV-3) trials.

METHODS: A secondary analysis of 2625 adults hospitalized for acute SARS-CoV-2 infection randomized to 1 of 5 antiviral products or matched placebo in 114 centers on 4 continents. Uniform, site-level collection of participant baseline clinical variables was performed. Research laboratories assayed baseline upper respiratory swabs for SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA and plasma for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid …

Challenges And Implications For Substance Use And Mental Healthcare Among Under-Resourced Women In The Covid-19 Era, Maria C Mejia, Alicia Kowalchuk, Sandra J Gonzalez, Muktha Nair, Lisa Webb, Nadine Scamp

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated disparities in mental healthcare and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment access, especially in under-resourced communities. This study aimed to comprehend the experiences of under-resourced women with SUD during the pandemic, their knowledge and attitudes toward it, and its impact on substance use and treatment access.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study included 66 under-resourced women receiving medically managed withdrawal treatment at a community residential SUD center. Data collection occurred between November 2021 and August 2022, utilizing a 75-item instrument covering COVID-19 exposure and its impact on health, substance use, treatment access, vaccination status, beliefs, and knowledge. Descriptive …