Epidemiology Commons^™

Editorial: The Public Health Scholars As The Health Leaders, Al Asyary, Meita Veruswati, Putri Bungsu Machmud, Indri Hapsari Susilowati

Kesmas

1. Achmadi UF. Kesehatan Masyarakat: Teori dan Aplikasi. Jakarta: Rajawali Pers; 2014.

2. Asyary A. Editorial. Kesmas. 2023; 18 (Special Issue 1): 1-3. DOI: 10.21109/kesmas.v18isp1.7201

3. Badan Kebijakan Pembangunan Kesehatan. Pembangunan Kesehatan di Indonesia melalui Kesinambungan Finansial Jaminan Kesehatan serta Meningkatkan Kualitas Layanan dengan Integrasi Data. Jakarta: Kementerian Kesehatan Republik Indonesia; 2023.

Exploration Of The Implementation Of An Integrated Electronic Laboratory Information Management System On Quality Diagnostics Service Indicators At A County Level Public Hospital In Western Kenya., Kelly Allen

Capstone Collection

Underinvestment in pathology and laboratory capacity caused by low visibility in research and in prioritization by public health leaders results in limited effective healthcare coverage and an estimated 1.1 million premature deaths annually in Low-and-Middle-Income Countries. Kenya’s public health laboratories provide a median 41% of the Essential Diagnostic List to their patients and in Kisumu County, as much as 44.2% of the population has little to no access to essential diagnostics. The government of Kisumu implemented the county Health Laboratory Strategic Plan 2018-2022 to address this public health challenge. Little information exists on the effectiveness of these initiatives and the …

Associations Between Birth Defects With Neural Crest Cell Origins And Pediatric Embryonal Tumors, Eugene C Wong, Philip J Lupo, Tania A Desrosiers, Hazel B Nichols, Susan M Smith, Charles Poole, Mark Canfield, Charles Shumate, Tiffany M Chambers, Jeremy M Schraw, Wendy N Nembhard, Mahsa M Yazdy, Eirini Nestoridi, Amanda E Janitz, Andrew F Olshan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: There are few assessments evaluating associations between birth defects with neural crest cell developmental origins (BDNCOs) and embryonal tumors, which are characterized by undifferentiated cells having a molecular profile similar to neural crest cells. The effect of BDNCOs on embryonal tumors was estimated to explore potential shared etiologic pathways and genetic origins.

METHODS: With the use of a multistate, registry-linkage cohort study, BDNCO-embryonal tumor associations were evaluated by generating hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) with Cox regression models. BDNCOs consisted of ear, face, and neck defects, Hirschsprung disease, and a selection of congenital heart defects. Embryonal …

Impacts On Malaria Transmission Of Altered Biogenic Amine Levels In {\It Anopheles} Mosquitoes: Insights From A Mathematical Model, Michael Robert

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Characterizing How Food Advertising And Genetic Obesity Risk Factors Affect Neural Reward Reactivity And Eating In The Absence Of Hunger In Children, Dabin Yeum

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

The complex and multifactorial etiology of obesity involves the interaction of numerous risk factors. Assessing the gene-environment interaction of pediatric obesity can provide valuable insights for the characterization of key factors contributing to obesity and identification of potential points of intervention. The data used in this thesis comes from a single sample of young children recruited from the communities surrounding Dartmouth College. The primary objective of this thesis is to assess the impacts of complicated gene-environment interaction on pediatric obesity. First, we assessed the dynamic and static advertising of food cues to examine they lead to differential neural reward responsivity. …

Neuroprotective Agents With Therapeutic Potential For Covid-19, César A Zaa, Clara Espitia, Karen L Reyes-Barrera, Zhiqiang An, Marco A Velasco-Velázquez

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

COVID-19 patients can exhibit a wide range of clinical manifestations affecting various organs and systems. Neurological symptoms have been reported in COVID-19 patients, both during the acute phase of the illness and in cases of long-term COVID. Moderate symptoms include ageusia, anosmia, altered mental status, and cognitive impairment, and in more severe cases can manifest as ischemic cerebrovascular disease and encephalitis. In this narrative review, we delve into the reported neurological symptoms associated with COVID-19, as well as the underlying mechanisms contributing to them. These mechanisms include direct damage to neurons, inflammation, oxidative stress, and protein misfolding. We further investigate …

Cancer Patients' Preferences And Perceptions Of Advantages And Disadvantages Of Telehealth Visits During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Deepika Kumar, Nancy Gordon, Constanza Zamani, Tammy Sheehan, Ernesto Martin, Olga Egorova, Jessica Payne, Tatjana Kolevska, Elad Neeman, Raymond Liu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: We aimed to ascertain oncology patients' perceptions of telehealth versus in-person (IP) visits for different types of clinical encounters.

METHODS: We surveyed adults undergoing cancer treatment at Kaiser Permanente Northern California infusion centers between November 2021 and May 2022 using a self-administered questionnaire. Patients were asked about visit modality preferences (video, phone, and IP) for six types of clinical discussions, overall advantages and disadvantages of telehealth (video or phone) versus IP modalities, and barriers to video visit use.

RESULTS: The 839 patients who completed surveys in English were 63% female; median age 63 years; 64% White; and 73% college-educated …

Self-Reported Consumption Of Bottled Water V. Tap Water In Appalachian And Non-Appalachian Kentucky, Jason W. Marion

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: Quantitative studies on drinking water perceptions in Appalachia are limited. High-profile water infrastructure failures in the U.S. and Eastern Kentucky, coupled with human-made and natural disasters in the Appalachian Region, have likely impacted opinions regarding tap water.

Purpose: To use existing unexplored data to describe baseline tap water v. bottled water consumption in Kentucky.

Methods: Telephone-based cross-sectional data were obtained from the 2013 Kentucky Health Issues Poll (KHIP) directed by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. Among many items in KHIP, self-reported consumption of bottled water over tap water, reasons for bottled water use, and demographic data were obtained. …

Stratification Of Pediatric Covid-19 Cases Using Inflammatory Biomarker Profiling And Machine Learning., Devika Subramanian, Aadith Vittala, Xinpu Chen, Christopher Julien, Sebastian Acosta, Craig Rusin, Carl Allen, Nicholas Rider, Zbigniew Starosolski, Ananth Annapragada, Sridevi Devaraj

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

While pediatric COVID-19 is rarely severe, a small fraction of children infected with SARS-CoV-2 go on to develop multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C), with substantial morbidity. An objective method with high specificity and high sensitivity to identify current or imminent MIS-C in children infected with SARS-CoV-2 is highly desirable. The aim was to learn about an interpretable novel cytokine/chemokine assay panel providing such an objective classification. This retrospective study was conducted on four groups of pediatric patients seen at multiple sites of Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX who consented to provide blood samples to our COVID-19 Biorepository. Standard laboratory markers of …

Genome-Scale Methylation Analysis In Blood And Tumor Identifies Immune Profile, Age Acceleration, And Dna Methylation Alterations Associated With Bladder Cancer Outcomes, Ji-Qing Chen

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Bladder cancer patients receive frequent screening due to the high tumor recurrence rate (more than 60%). Nowadays, the conventional monitoring method relies on cystoscopy which is highly invasive and increases patient morbidity and burden to the health care system with frequent follow-up. As a result, it is urgent to explore novel markers related to the outcomes of bladder cancer. Immune profiles have been associated with cancer outcomes and may have the potential to be biomarkers for outcomes management. However, little work has been conducted to investigate the associations of immune cell profiles with bladder cancer outcomes. Here, I utilized the …

Investigation Of Orthohantavirus Genetics In Rodent Reservoirs And Clinical Samples, Samuel Melvin Goodfellow

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Orthohantaviruses are negative-sense, single stranded RNA viruses with trisegmented genomes that can cause severe disease in humans and are carried by several host reservoirs throughout the world. In the United States, Sin Nombre orthohantavirus (SNV) is the primary cause of hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS) with a fatality rate of ~36% and the highest cases occuring in the southwest region. The primary SNV host reservoir is thought to be the western deer mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus, however it has been shown that other rodents can carry different orthohantaviruses. We designed a pan-orthohantavirus detection tool to survey several small mammal populations throughout New …

Ancestral Diversity In Lipoprotein(A) Studies Helps Address Evidence Gaps, Moa P Lee, Sofia F Dimos, Laura M Raffield, Zhe Wang, Anna F Ballou, Carolina G Downie, Christopher H Arehart, Adolfo Correa, Paul S De Vries, Zhaohui Du, Christopher R Gignoux, Penny Gordon-Larsen, Xiuqing Guo, Jeffrey Haessler, Annie Green Howard, Yao Hu, Helina Kassahun, Shia T Kent, J Antonio G Lopez, Keri L Monda, Kari E North, Ulrike Peters, Michael H Preuss, Stephen S Rich, Shannon L Rhodes, Jie Yao, Rina Yarosh, Michael Y Tsai, Jerome I Rotter, Charles L Kooperberg, Ruth J F Loos, Christie Ballantyne, Christy L Avery, Mariaelisa Graff

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: The independent and causal cardiovascular disease risk factor lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) is elevated in >1.5 billion individuals worldwide, but studies have prioritised European populations.

METHODS: Here, we examined how ancestrally diverse studies could clarify Lp(a)'s genetic architecture, inform efforts examining application of Lp(a) polygenic risk scores (PRS), enable causal inference and identify unexpected Lp(a) phenotypic effects using data from African (n=25 208), East Asian (n=2895), European (n=362 558), South Asian (n=8192) and Hispanic/Latino (n=8946) populations.

RESULTS: Fourteen genome-wide significant loci with numerous population specific signals of large effect were identified that enabled construction of Lp(a) PRS of moderate (R

CONCLUSIONS: …

Editorial, Al Asyary

Kesmas

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Covid-19 On The Financial Performance Of Largest Teaching Hospitals, Karima Lalani, Jeffrey Helton, Francine R Vega, Marylou Cardenas-Turanzas, Tiffany Champagne-Langabeer, James R Langabeer

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted hospital operations. Anecdotal evidence suggests financial performance likewise suffered, yet little empirical research supports this claim. This study aimed to explore the impact of the pandemic on the financial performance of the most prominent academic hospitals in the United States. Data from the 115 largest major teaching hospitals in the United States were extracted from the American Hospital Directory for three years (2019-2021). We hypothesized that the year and region would moderate the relationship between a hospital's return on assets (financial performance) and specific operational variables. We found evidence through descriptive statistics and multivariate moderated regressions …

Improving Microbiome Research Through Enhanced Reporting And Modeling The Effects Of Antibiotic Usage, Chloe A. Mirzayi

Dissertations and Theses

I consider two key areas in the growing field of human microbiome research: improving the quality of study reporting and the impact of antibiotics on participants in human gut microbiome research studies. In the first chapter, a team of evaluators used the Strengthening the Organization and Reporting of Microbiome Studies (STORMS) checklist to assess recently published microbiome literature. I found moderate agreement and reliability between evaluators, identified several items in STORMS that could be improved, and confirmed that the STORMS checklist can serve as a tool for assessing the reporting quality of published microbiome study. The next chapter considers pre-exposure …

(R2032) Modeling The Effect Of Sanitation Effort On The Spread Of Carrier-Dependent Infectious Diseases Due To Environmental Degradation, Ram Naresh, Sandhya Rani Verma, J. B. Shukla, Manju Agarwal

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

In this present study, an SIS model is proposed and analyzed to study the effect of sanitation effort in controlling the spread of carrier-dependent infectious disease in a human habitat due to environmental degradation. The dynamics of the model consist of six dependent variables, the susceptible population density, infective population density, carrier population density, cumulative density of environmental degradation and the density of sanitation effort applied on carrier population and degraded environment. In the modeling process, the carrier population density and sanitation effort are modeled logistically and the degradation of the environment is assumed to be directly proportional to the …

Dietary Changes Among Normal And High Blood Pressure Adolescents During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Bernadette Victoria, Ratu Ayu Dewi Sartika, Rizti Millva Putri

Kesmas

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted adolescents' unhealthy eating habits and sedentary lifestyles, leading to an increase in blood pressure and obesity rate. High blood pressure among adolescents is an early indicator of adult hypertension, but this condition has received less attention recently. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the differences in dietary changes among high school students with normal and high blood pressure before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in West Lampung District, Indonesia. A cross-sectional design was used, and the sample population consisted of 167 students aged 14-19 years. The results showed that 43 participants had elevated blood …

Analytical Approach For Monitoring The Behavior Of Patients With Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma At Different Stages As A Function Of Time, Aditya Chakaborty Dr, Chris P. Tsokos Dr

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Drug Ideologies Of The United States, Macy Montgomery

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

The United States has been increasingly creating lenient drug policies. Seventeen states and Washington, the District of Columbia, legalized marijuana, and Oregon decriminalized certain drugs, including methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine. The medical community has proven that drugs, including marijuana, have myriad adverse health side effects. This leads to two questions: Why does the United States government continue to create lenient drug policies, and what reasons do citizens give for legalizing drugs when the medical community has proven them harmful? The paper hypothesizes that the disadvantages of drug legalization outweigh its benefits because of the numerous harms it causes, such as …

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 …

An Overview Of Viruses And The Infamous Sars-Cov-2, Jake Sun

The Confluence

Background information on viruses is first presented which include topics like evolution, ecology, history, identification, structure, and application. The novel SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, pandemic originated in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Millions of people were infected with the virus in a short time period causing urgent concern worldwide. The purpose of this review is to provide a brief and general understanding of the SARS-CoV-2 to increase awareness and actions toward preventive measures. COVID-19 is a (+) ssRNA spherical enveloped virion that causes primarily respiratory illnesses. The S protein interacts with ACE-2 receptors on the host cell to gain entry …

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 …

Precision Medicine, Ancestry, Genetics And Race, Lucio Miele

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

DiscoverBMB, March 25 - 28, 2023, Seattle, WA

Metabolic Dysregulation Impairs Lymphocyte Function During Severe Sars-Cov-2 Infection, Sanjeev Gurshaney, Anamaria Morales-Alvarez, Kevin Ezhakunnel, Andrew Manalo, Thien-Huong Huynh, Jun-Ichi Abe, Nhat-Tu Le, Daniela Weiskopf, Alessandro Sette, Daniel S Lupu, Stephen J Gardell, Hung Nguyen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Cellular metabolic dysregulation is a consequence of SARS-CoV-2 infection that is a key determinant of disease severity. However, how metabolic perturbations influence immunological function during COVID-19 remains unclear. Here, using a combination of high-dimensional flow cytometry, cutting-edge single-cell metabolomics, and re-analysis of single-cell transcriptomic data, we demonstrate a global hypoxia-linked metabolic switch from fatty acid oxidation and mitochondrial respiration towards anaerobic, glucose-dependent metabolism in CD8+Tc, NKT, and epithelial cells. Consequently, we found that a strong dysregulation in immunometabolism was tied to increased cellular exhaustion, attenuated effector function, and impaired memory differentiation. Pharmacological inhibition of mitophagy with mdivi-1 reduced excess glucose …

3rd Place Contest Entry: Using The Scientific Method To Combat The Biological And Sociological Effects Of The Covid-19 Pandemic: An Aspiring Healthcare Professional’S Perspective, Isabelle Dhindsa

Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize

This is Isabelle Dhindsa's submission for the 2023 Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize, which won third place. It contains their essay on using library resources, their bibliography, and a sample of their research project on using the scientific method to combat the biological and sociological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Isabelle is a fourth-year student at Chapman University, majoring in Biology. Their faculty mentor is Dr. Carmichael Peters.

Prevalence Of Sars-Cov-2 Antibodies In Liberty University Student Population, Emily Bonus

Senior Honors Theses

In 2020, the virus SARS-CoV-2 gained attention as it spread around the world. Its antibodies are poorly understood, and little research focuses on those with few COVID-19 complications yet large numbers of close contacts: university students. This longitudinal study recorded SARS-CoV-2 antibody presence in 107 undergraduate Liberty University students twice during early 2021. After extensive data cleaning and the application of various statistical tests and ANOVAs, the data seems to show that in the case of COVID-19 infections, SARS-CoV-2 IgM antibodies are immediately produced, and then IgG antibodies follow later. However, the COVID-19 vaccine causes the production of both IgM …

Intergenerational Change In Hiv/Aids-Related Stigma In Cato Manor, Mijin Cho

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In South Africa, the world’s epicenter of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, HIV-related stigma and stigma-enforcing stereotypes continue to serve as major health barriers to receiving adequate HIV prevention and treatment. While there continues to be a rise in research and advocacy, there is a need to study HIV stigma through a multigenerational lens that addresses the changing HIV/AIDS stigma in the post-apartheid era. Using qualitative methodology, this study aims to explore the generational differences in perceived HIV stigma between females in their 20s and above 50 years of age (as denoted by “50s+”) living in Cato Manor, South Africa. The study …

Institutional Strategies To Maintain And Grow Imaging Research During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Mai-Lan Ho, Corey W Arnold, Summer J Decker, John D Hazle, Elizabeth A Krupinski, David A Mankoff

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Understanding imaging research experiences, challenges, and strategies for academic radiology departments during and after COVID-19 is critical to prepare for future disruptive events. We summarize key insights and programmatic initiatives at major academic hospitals across the world, based on literature review and meetings of the Radiological Society of North America Vice Chairs of Research (RSNA VCR) group. Through expert discussion and case studies, we provide suggested guidelines to maintain and grow radiology research in the postpandemic era.

Diet And Salivary Microbiome On Cardiovascular Risk And Glycemic Control In Participants With And Without Type 1 Diabetes: The Cacti Study, Tiantian Pang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: The prevalence of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) has been increasing drastically in the United States. People with T1DM are at a higher risk of developing diabetes-related complications, including cardiovascular disease (CVD). Diet is one of the most modifiable factors and healthy eating could reduce CVD risk among individuals with T1DM. The current 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans focus on overall healthy eating patterns rather than individual foods and nutrients. A healthy dietary pattern or high-quality diet can be measured by diet quality indexes, and generally contains minimal ultra-processed foods (UPF). Although substantial evidence has linked poor diet quality …

Disease Risk Of Reintroducing Primates Confiscated From The Illegal Wildlife Trade, Ana Patricia Mendoza Becerra

Dissertations

Zoonotic infections are easily shared between human and other primates, and thus primate trafficking poses a high risk of introducing zoonotic pathogens into urban environments as well as spreading human-associated diseases into natural environments when infected primates are released. The magnitude of these risks has not been thoroughly studied in the context of primate trafficking and rehabilitation of Neotropical primates. In this dissertation, I address some knowledge gaps in disease risk analysis of reintroducing trafficked primates. In chapter 1, I describe the dynamics, diversity, and composition of live wildlife trafficking in urban markets in Peru. I found these markets are …