Statistics and Probability Commons^™

Scanner: A Web Platform For Annotation, Visualization And Sharing Of Single Cell Rna-Seq Data, Guoshuai Cai, Xuanxuan Yu, Choonhan Youn, Jun Zhou, Feifei Xiao

Faculty Publications

In recent years, efficient scRNA-seq methods have been developed, enabling the transcriptome profiling of single cells massively in parallel. Meanwhile, its high dimensionality and complexity bring challenges to the data analysis and require extensive collaborations between biologists and bioinformaticians and/or biostatisticians. The communication between these two units demands a platform for easy data sharing and exploration. Here we developed Single-Cell Transcriptomics Annotated Viewer (SCANNER), as a public web resource for the scientific community, for sharing and analyzing scRNA-seq data in a collaborative manner. It is easy-to-use without requiring special software or extensive coding skills. Moreover, it equipped a real-time database …

A Keyword-Enhanced Approach To Handle Class Imbalance In Clinical Text Classification, Andrew E. Blanchard, Shang Gao, Hong Jun Yoon, J. Blair Christian, Eric B. Durbin, Xiao Cheng Wu, Antoinette Stroup, Jennifer Doherty, Stephen M. Schwartz, Charles Wiggins, Linda Coyle, Lynne Penberthy, Georgia D. Tourassi

School of Public Health Faculty Publications

Recent applications ofdeep learning have shown promising results for classifying unstructured text in the healthcare domain. However, the reliability of models in production settings has been hindered by imbalanced data sets in which a small subset of the classes dominate. In the absence of adequate training data, rare classes necessitate additional model constraints for robust performance. Here, we present a strategy for incorporating short sequences of text (i.e. keywords) into training to boost model accuracy on rare classes. In our approach, we assemble a set of keywords, including short phrases, associated with each class. The keywords are then used as …

The Isocaloric Substitution Of Plant-Based And Animal-Based Protein In Relation To Aging-Related Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review, Jiali Zheng, Tianren Zhu, Guanghuan Yang, Longgang Zhao, Fangyu Li, Yong-Moon Park, Fred K. Tabung, Susan E. Steck Phd, Mph, Rd, Xiaoguang Li, Hui Wang

Faculty Publications

Plant-based and animal-based protein intake have differential effects on various aging-related health outcomes, but less is known about the health effect of isocaloric substitution of plant-based and animal-based protein. This systematic review summarized current evidence of the isocaloric substitutional effect of plant-based and animal-based protein on aging-related health outcomes. PubMed and Embase databases were searched for epidemiologic observational studies published in English up to 15 March 2021. Studies that included adults ≥18 years old; use of a nutritional substitution model to define isocaloric substitution of plant protein and animal protein; health outcomes covering mortality, aging-related diseases or indices; and reported …

Addressing Ascertainment Bias In The Study Of Cardiovascular Disease Burden In Opioid Use Disorders - Application Of Natural Language Processing Of Electronic Health Records, Jade Huang Singleton

Theses and Dissertations--Epidemiology and Biostatistics

In the United States, the prevalence of long-term exposure to opioid drugs, for both medically and nonmedically indicated purposes, has increased considerably since the mid-1990’s. Concerns have emerged about the potential health effects of opioid use. There is also growing interest in other possible connections with opioid use including cardiovascular disease. Electronic health records (EHR) contain information about patient care in the form of structured codes and unstructured notes. Natural language processing (NLP) provides a tool for processing unstructured textual data in EHR clinical notes and extracts useful information for research with structured formats. The purpose of this dissertation was …

Opioid Use Disorder Treatment With Buprenorphine: Analysis Of Treatment Utilization And Associated Outcomes In Kentucky, Feitong Lei

Theses and Dissertations--Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Opioid use disorder (OUD) is chronic opioid use that results in clinically significant suffering, impairment, or even death. The opioid epidemic in the United States has become a public health and economic crisis, affecting patients' well-being and the nation's overall health and welfare. Eastern Kentucky was among the first regions affected by the opioid crisis, and Kentucky has historically ranked among the top five states for age-adjusted drug overdose mortality rate.

There are three medications (buprenorphine, methadone, naltrexone) approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat OUD. As a partial opioid agonist, buprenorphine is a safe medication for …

Perception Of Health Care Access In Rural Georgia: Findings From A Community Health Needs Assessment Survey, Elisa M. Childs, Tiffany R. Washington

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Background: Limited access to health care services has been cited as a barrier to care for individuals who live in rural areas, contributing to significant health disparities in this population. While perception of services has been cited as a determinant of utilization of health services, it is unknown how perception of services influences health care access in rural areas. The paucity of studies specific to areas in the United States that are medically underserved, necessitated this study and its quantification of the issues that are relevant to individuals living in rural Georgia.

Methods: This study examined the perception of health …

The Online Ordering Behaviors Among Participants In The Oklahoma Women, Infants, And Children Program: A Cross-Sectional Analysis, Qi Zhang, Kayoung Park, Junzhou Zhang, Chuanyi Tang

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is a nutrition assistance program in the United States (U.S.). Participants in the program redeem their prescribed food benefits in WIC-authorized grocery stores. Online ordering is an innovative method being pilot-tested in some stores to facilitate WIC participants' food benefit redemption, which has become especially important in the COVID-19 pandemic. The present research aimed to examine the online ordering (OO) behaviors among 726 WIC households who adopted WIC OO in a grocery chain, XYZ (anonymous) store, in Oklahoma (OK). These households represented approximately 5% of WIC households who redeemed …

Stigma And Discrimination’S Effect On Hiv Testing Of Pregnant Women In Nigeria, Charles Echezona Nzelu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The utilization of HIV testing services among pregnant women in Nigeria has not been optimal. Although much is known about the determinants of HIV testing among pregnant women, there is a gap in knowledge on determinants for pregnant women infected with the virus, specifically whether stigma and discrimination are barriers. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of stigmatizing attitudes and personal knowledge of discriminatory practices towards persons living with HIV/AIDS on the decision by pregnant Nigerian women aged 15-49 years to test for HIV during antenatal visits or childbirth. The health belief model served as the …

Length Of Stay In A Homeless Shelter And Mitigating Homelessness, Uwemedimo S. Etteyit

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractHomelessness is a major public health issue in the United States. Every night, thousands of people have no residence to call their own. Most homeless persons turn to homeless shelters for help. Despite the homeless shelters, the problem of homelessness persists. This study examined the concept that the length of time spent at a homeless shelter is related to the homeless persons mitigating their homelessness through home placement, jobs, and healthcare access. Homelessness was examined using the socioecological model with its attendant levels of influence. On the intrapersonal level, socioeconomic status, education, old age, veteran status, and disability were factors. …

Estimating Weighted Panel Sizes For Primary Care Providers: An Assessment Of Clustering And Novel Methods Of Panel Size Estimation On Electronic Medical Records, Martin A. Lavallee

Theses and Dissertations

Primary Care is on the frontlines of healthcare, thus they see the most diverse set of patients. In order to achieve high functioning primary care, a practice must establish empanelment, the pairing of patients to providers. Enumeration of empanelment, or estimating panel sizes, helps ensure that the demands of the patients demand the supply of providers and optimize the balance of primary care resources to improve quality of care. Further we can adjust panel sizes by using patient-level data on healthcare utilization and complexity extracted from the electronic medial record to determine the amount of care or burden of work …

A Participatory Group Process To Collect And Disseminate Covid-19 Needs Assessment Data, Areebah Ahmed

Undergraduate Research Posters

The Richmond, VA COVID-19 Needs Assessment Survey (RVA CoNA) was created in March 2020 to identify behaviors and needs related to COVID-19 in Richmond area adults ages 18 and over. Results are being used to inform support, strategic efforts, and educational outreach of local community organizations. The purpose of this study is to (1) summarize the process used to develop the RVA CoNA, (2) summarize preliminary survey results from a second phase of data collection as well as initial feedback from community partners, and (3) summarize initial conclusions and results dissemination strategies.Community partners and researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University jointly …

Genetic Contributors Of Incident Stroke In 10,700 African Americans With Hypertension: A Meta-Analysis From The Genetics Of Hypertension Associated Treatments And Reasons For Geographic And Racial Differences In Stroke Studies, Nicole D. Armstrong, Vinodh Srinivasasainagendra, Amit Patki, Rikki M. Tanner, Bertha A. Hidalgo, Hemant K. Tiwari, Nita A. Limdi, Ethan M. Lange, Leslie A. Lange, Donna K. Arnett, Marguerite R. Irvin

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background: African Americans (AAs) suffer a higher stroke burden due to hypertension. Identifying genetic contributors to stroke among AAs with hypertension is critical to understanding the genetic basis of the disease, as well as detecting at-risk individuals.

Methods: In a population comprising over 10,700 AAs treated for hypertension from the Genetics of Hypertension Associated Treatments (GenHAT) and Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) studies, we performed an inverse variance-weighted meta-analysis of incident stroke. Additionally, we tested the predictive accuracy of a polygenic risk score (PRS) derived from a European ancestral population in both GenHAT and REGARDS AAs …

Dysregulation Of Dna Methylation And Epigenetic Clocks In Prostate Cancer Among Puerto Rican Men, Anders Berglund, Jaime Matta, Jarline Encarnación-Medina, Carmen Ortiz-Sanchéz, Julie Dutil, Raymond Linares, Joshua Marcial, Caren Abreu-Takemura, Natasha Moreno, Ryan Putney, Ratna Chakrabarti, Hui Yi Lin, Kosj Yamoah, Carlos Diaz Osterman, Liang Wang, Jasreman Dhillon, Youngchul Kim, Seung Joon Kim, Gilberto Ruiz-Deya, Jong Y. Park

School of Public Health Faculty Publications

In 2021, approximately 248,530 new prostate cancer (PCa) cases are estimated in the United States. Hispanic/Latinos (H/L) are the second largest racial/ethnic group in the US. The objective of this study was to assess DNA methylation patterns between aggressive and indolent PCa along with ancestry proportions in 49 H/L men from Puerto Rico (PR). Prostate tumors were classified as aggressive (n = 17) and indolent (n = 32) based on the Gleason score. Genomic DNA samples were extracted by macro-dissection. DNA methylation patterns were assessed using the Illumina EPIC DNA methylation platform. We used ADMIXTURE to estimate global ancestry proportions. …

Acute Pediatric Chagas Disease In Antioquia, Colombia: A Geographic Location Of Suspected Oral Transmission, Lídia Gual-Gonzalez, Catalina Aango-Ferreira, Laura Camila Lopera-Restrepo, Omar Cantillo-Barraza, Daniela Velásquez Marín, Natalia Restrepo Bustamante, Omar Triana-Chavez, Melissa Nolan Ph.D., Mph

Faculty Publications

Chagas disease, Trypanosoma cruzi infection, is an insidious cause of heart failure in Latin America. Early diagnosis and treatment are critical to prevent irreversible myocardial damage that progressively accumulates over decades. Several structural barriers account for the less than 1% of cases in Colombia being treated, including poor physician knowledge, especially considering that some regions are considered non-endemic. The two cases reported here represent an emerging epidemiologic scenario associated with pediatric Chagas disease. Both cases are suspected oral transmitted parasitic infection in a geographic region of Colombia (Andean region of Antioquia) where no previous oral transmission of Chagas disease had …

Basis For Changes In The Disease Burden Estimates Related To Vitamin A And Zinc Deficiencies In The 2017 And 2019 Global Burden Of Disease Studies, Sonja Y. Hess, Alexander C. Mclain, Haley Lescinsky, Kenneth H. Brown, Ashkan Afshin, Reed Atkin, Saskia Jm Osendarp

Faculty Publications

Background:

The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study provides estimates of death and disability from eighty-seven risk factors, including some micronutrient deficiencies. Objectives:

To review methodological changes that led to large differences in the disease burden estimates for vitamin A and Zn deficiencies between the GBD 2017 and 2019 Studies. Methods:

GBD publications were reviewed; additional information was provided by GBD researchers. Results:

Vitamin A deficiency prevalence is based on plasma retinol concentration, whereas the estimate for Zn deficiency prevalence uses dietary adequacy as a proxy. The estimated global prevalence of vitamin A deficiency for children aged 1–4 years in …

Nutrient Intake And Dietary Inflammatory Potential In Current And Recovered Anorexia Nervosa, Olivia Patsalos, Bethan Dalton, Christia Kyprianou, Joseph Firth, Nitin Shivappa Mbbs, Mph, Ph.D., James Hébert Scd, Ulrike Schmidt, Hubertus Himmerich

Faculty Publications

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is characterised by disrupted and restrictive eating patterns. Recent investigations and meta-analyses have found altered concentrations of inflammatory markers in people with current AN. We aimed to assess nutrient intake in participants with current or recovered AN, as compared to healthy individuals, and explore group differences in dietary inflammatory potential as a possible explanation for the observed alterations in inflammatory markers. We recruited participants with current AN (n = 51), those recovered from AN (n = 23), and healthy controls (n = 49). We used the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), to calculate a Dietary …

Factors Influencing Intent To Take A Covid-19 Test In The United States, Sheila Rutto

Theses and Dissertations

In 2020, COVID-19 became the first pandemic in the world’s history that brought the entire world to an abrupt and unexpected halt. Since the first reported case of the disease to date, the novel coronavirus has been able to wreak havoc in literary every corner of the globe and left an ever-growing number of unprecedented fatalities. The normal way of life has been disrupted, and the level of uncertainty about the end of this pandemic continues to manifest to many. Due to the urgency to bring this pandemic under control, medical officers have been able to recommend actions that people …

Challenges For Estimating The Global Prevalence Of Micronutrient Deficiencies And Related Disease Burden: A Case Study Of The Global Burden Of Disease Study, Sonja Y. Hess, Alexander C. Mclain Ph.D., Edward A. Frongillo Jr. Ph.D., Ashkan Afshin, Nicholas J. Kassebaum, Saskia Jm Osendarp, Reed Atkin, Rahul Rawat, Kenneth H. Brown

Faculty Publications

Information on the prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies is needed to determine related disease burden; underpin evidence-based advocacy; and design, deliver, and monitor safe, effective interventions. Assessing the global prevalence of deficiency requires a valid micronutrient status biomarker with an appropriate cutoff to define deficiency and relevant data from representative surveys across multiple locations and years. The Global Burden of Disease Study includes prevalence estimates for iodine, iron, zinc, and vitamin A deficiencies, for which recommended biomarkers and appropriate deficiency cutoffs exist. Because representative survey data are lacking, only retinol concentration is used to model vitamin A deficiency, and proxy indicators …

Predictors Of Poor Glycemic Control In Diabetic Clients With Mental Health Illness, Community Alliance, Omaha, Nebraska, Rachelle Flick

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

People with severe mental illness tend to die 10-25 years earlier than the general population (WHO). Main contributors to these premature deaths include comorbidities such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. Diabetes prevalence in mentally ill people is 2 times higher than the general population (WHO). The World Health Organization is taking action to improve the health of people with severe mental illness. These efforts include creating protocols of prevention, identification, assessment, and treatment for mentally ill people, as well as improving access to general health services through the integration of physical and mental health services. Community Alliance, located in …

Statistical Analysis Based On Adaptive Progressive Hybrid Censored Data From Lomax Distribution, Amal Helu, Hani Samawi

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

In this article, we consider statistical inferences about the unknown parameters of the Lomax distribution basedon the Adaptive Type-II Progressive Hybrid censoring scheme, this scheme can save both the total test time and the cost induced by the failure of the units and increases the efficiency of statistical analysis. The estimation of the parameters is derived using the maximum likelihood (MLE) and the Bayesian procedures. The Bayesian estimators are obtained based on the symmetric and asymmetric loss functions. There are no explicit forms for the Bayesian estimators, therefore, we propose Lindley’s approximation method to compute the Bayesian estimators. A comparison …

Are We Passing On Violence To The Next Generation?: Gender Norms And Gender-Based Violence Attitudes Among Early Adolescents In Indonesia, I Gusti A A. Mahendra, Anggriyani Wahyu Pinandari, Ifta Choiriyah, Siswanto Agus Wilopo

Kesmas

Intensification of gender norms during puberty affects adolescents’ perceptions and behavior related to violence. This study examined the association between gender norms and gender-based violence (GBV) among early adolescents considering socio-ecological variables using cross-sectional data from 3,618 Indonesian Global Early Adolescent Study pupils. Chi square tests with simple and multiple logistic regression analyses examined how different factors' levels predict GBV. Among boys, GBV attitudes were found high (53%). Furthermore, they also had high heteronormative expectations, threatened feelings, experiences of violence, porn access, and 5+ adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Logistic regression results revealed that adolescent boys having one or two scores …

A Healthy Dietary Pattern With A Low Inflammatory Potential Reduces The Risk Of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus, Lotta Pajunen, Liisa Korkalo, Noora Houttu, Outi Pellonperä, Kati Mokkala, Nitin Shivappa Mbbs, Mph, Ph.D., James Hébert Scd, Tero Vahlberg, Kristina Tertti, Kirsi Laitinen

Faculty Publications

Purpose An optimal diet for lowering the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is still to be defined, but may comprise of nutrient intakes, dietary patterns, diet quality, and eating frequency. This study was designed to investigate the contribution of diet in developing GDM in a comprehensive way. Methods The dietary intake of overweight or obese women, a risk group for GDM (n = 351), was assessed using 3-day food diaries and diet quality questionnaires in early pregnancy. Eating frequency and nutrient intakes were calculated, and dietary patterns identified using principal component analysis. The inflammatory potential of the diet was …

The Indonesian Strategy To Achieve Universal Health Coverage Through National Health Insurance System: Challenges In Human Resources, Atikah Adyas

Kesmas

Many countries are currently trying to achieve universal health insurance coverage in order to provide health protection for their population. Indonesia has received a strong political commitment to implement national health insurance including government support to finance the poor. The implementation of comprehensive national health insurance requires human resources, each of which has a role in fighting for noble goals for the welfare of all people. This paper is taken from the experience of Indonesia and several other countries as well as guidelines that can be used in exploring the role of human resources for the success of the implementation …

Mental Fatigue And Its Associated Factors Among Coal Mining Workers After One Year Of The Covid-19 Pandemic In Indonesia, Hendra Djamalus, Budi Utomo, I Made Djaja, Sjahrul M. Nasri

Kesmas

Mental fatigue among coal mining operators was related to driving activities that require high concentration. This study aimed to determine factors that contributed to mental fatigue among coal mine operators in Indonesia, specifically in Kalimantan and Sumatra, after a one-year COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 480 operators from two companies and seven sites. A self-administrated questionnaire in the Google Form was used to measure mental fatigue, the non-work-related factors (age, education, marital status, residence, and stress level), and work-related factors (working periods, shift pattern, type of shift, and work area in mining). The data analyzed using Chi-square …

The Covid-19 Pandemic: Role Of Coping Humor And Internal Health Locus Of Control On Social Dysfunction And Anxiety & Depression, Muhammad Arief Sumantri, Zahrani Zahrani, Hilda Rosa Ainiyah, Azmul Fuady Idham

Kesmas

The concerns about the impact of social distancing on mental health have been widely discussed. This study aimed to know the predictive effect of coping humor and Internal Health Locus of Control (Internal HLoC) on social dysfunction and anxiety & depression during the implementation of the COVID-19 social distancing agenda. This study was also intended to assess the effect of humor content on coping humor. A quantitative approach was used as the method ofthe study with 243 online-recruited participants, and a PLS-SEM analysis was applied to find out the predictive effect in this study. The results and conclusions showed that …

Breastfeeding Knowledge And Behavior In Lactational Amenorrhea Method (Lam) As A Natural Contraceptive, Mufdlilah Mufdlilah, Reza Bintangdari Johan, Sri Ratna Ningsih

Kesmas

The lactational amenorrhea method (LAM) is a natural contraceptive that is highly effective after the three essential criteria are fulfilled. However, there is a significantly low adoption resulting from poor knowledge and correct practices. This study aimed to determine the correlation between knowledge and behavior of breastfeeding mothers on breastfeeding as a natural contraceptive. This was an analytic observational study with a cross-sectional design involving 89 breastfeeding mothers and was performed from January to March 2018. Furthermore, data were collected using a questionnaire, and the results showed knowledge of breastfeeding mothers to be good (59.6%) and not good (51.7%). However, …

Integrated Model Of A Family Approach And Local Support In Tuberculosis Case Finding Efforts In People With Hiv/Aids, Erni Astutik, Chatarina Umbul Wahyuni, Imelda F E Manurung, Geofrey Ssekalembe

Kesmas

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains a major global public health problem. People with HIV/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) are more susceptible to opportunistic infections such as tuberculosis (TB). Therefore, families and community leaders need to help monitor people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). This study aimed to analyze an integrated family approach and local support model to detect TB cases in PLWHA. This study used a case-control study in Kupang City, East Nusa Tenggara Province, in July 2020. The sample comprised 100 people (50 PLWHA with TB case and 50 controls) using total sampling and random sampling, respectively. The variables …

Predictors Of The Covid-19 Social Distancing Practice Among Undergraduate Health Students In Samarinda City, Indonesia: A Cross-Sectional Study, Siti Hadijah Aspan, Pramon Viwattanakulvanid

Kesmas

Social distancing is a health protocol recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for reducing the spread of COVID-19. Undergraduate health students play an important role in the dissemination of accurate information. This study identified predictors that influenced the COVID-19 social distancing practice and examined the sources of social distancing information among undergraduate health students in Samarinda City, Indonesia. This cross-sectionalonline survey study (March-April 2021) involved 422 undergraduate students from medicine, public health, and pharmacy faculties at Mulawarman University. Binary logistic regression was conducted to identify factors associated with the COVID-19 social distancing practice. The results showed that age (AOR …

Knowledge, Attitudes, And Practices Of Health Personnel In Responding To The Covid-19 Pandemic In Indonesia, Dyah Suryani, Suyitno Suyitno, Maretalinia Maretalinia, Elvi Juliansyah, Vernonia Yora Saki, Kraichat Tantrakarnapa

Kesmas

The COVID-19 pandemic, originated in China, has spread to worldwide, including Indonesia. Until July 2021, the growth rate has been gradually increasing, and cases have been found in all 34 provinces of Indonesia. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of health personnel in the primary health care towards the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia using online self-report questionnaire. A total of 440 respondents contributed to this online survey. The average level of KAP were 7.7 out of 10.0, 14.3 out of 15.0, and 31.9 out of 36.0, respectively. There was no significant association between respondents’ …

The Seroprevalence Of Toxoplasma Gondii In Cats At The House Of Maternal Women With Toxoplasmosis In Badung, Indonesia, Made Subrata, Nyoman Mantik Astawa, Nyoman Tigeh Suryadi, Sang Gede Purnama, Kadek Karang Agustina, Ngakan Putu Anom Harjana, Made Damriyasa

Kesmas

Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic disease caused by infection with the parasite called Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii). The health and social impacts of the infectionare enormous, including miscarriage, hydrocephalus, blindness, and mental retardation. The occurrence of toxoplasmosis in maternal women cannot be se parated from cats around their houses. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of the parasite in cats found in the human carriers residences and identify the risk factors of toxoplasmosis in maternal women in Badung District, Bali Province, Indonesia. A total of 80 cat serum samples were obtained from two residential groups, 40 from the housing where …