Publications by authors named "Amy Schwartz"

The extravasation of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) is a critical component of the innate immune response that involves transendothelial migration (TEM) and interstitial migration. TEM-mediated interactions between PMNs and vascular endothelial cells (VECs) trigger a cascade of biochemical and mechanobiological signals whose effects on interstitial migration are currently unclear. To address this question, we cultured human VECs on a fibronectin-treated transwell insert to model the endothelium and basement membrane, loaded PMN-like differentiated HL60 (dHL-60) cells in the upper chamber of the insert, and collected the PMNs that crossed the membrane-supported monolayer from the lower chamber.

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  • A study analyzed Medicare data from 2016 to 2019, identifying over 88,000 adults aged 65 and older who were diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease in the U.S.
  • Most diagnoses were found in high-incidence states, predominantly during the summer months, and were more common among men.
  • The number of diagnoses significantly exceeded figures reported by public health surveillance.
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  • The study investigates a new imaging technique, multi-spectral cryo-fluorescence tomography (CFT), for tracking fluorescent perfluorocarbon (PFC) nanoemulsions in mice with inflammation models.
  • By injecting different fluorescent PFC nanoemulsions into mice and imaging them 24 hours later, researchers were able to see how well these tracers localized in various tissues.
  • The results show that CFT effectively identifies the distribution of PFC nanoemulsions, providing a high-resolution alternative for validating probe localization compared to traditional histological methods.
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Tularemia is caused by the highly infectious bacterium Francisella tularensis, which is recognized as a Tier 1 bioterrorism agent. Tularemia has a range of recognized clinical manifestations, but fewer than 20 bone or joint infections from 6 countries have been reported in the literature to date. This series includes 13 cases of F.

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Objective: The study objective was to determine the effect of gentrification on the weight outcomes of New York City public school students living in public housing.

Methods: In a prospective cohort of 19,022 New York City public school students in public housing followed during 2009-2017, weight outcomes of students living in public housing buildings in gentrified neighborhoods were compared to those living in consistently low-socioeconomic-status neighborhoods; assignment was quasi-random in each borough.

Results: Among the 42,182 student-year observations, gentrification did not increase weight outcomes significantly, for BMI z scores (0.

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Objective: Buprenorphine is effective for chronic pain and safer than full-agonist opioids; however, limited education about and support for buprenorphine can result in under-prescribing in primary care and reduced access in specialty pain clinics. The purpose of this quality improvement initiative was to optimize and evaluate procedures for transferring patients stable on buprenorphine for chronic pain from a specialty pain clinic back to primary care.

Setting: Eight primary care clinics within a Veterans Health Administration health care system.

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In rural Uganda, many people who are ill consult traditional healers prior to visiting the formal healthcare system. Traditional healers provide supportive care for common illnesses, but their care may delay diagnosis and management of illnesses that can increase morbidity and mortality, hinder early detection of epidemic-prone diseases, and increase occupational risk to traditional healers. We conducted open-ended, semi-structured interviews with a convenience sample of 11 traditional healers in the plague-endemic West Nile region of northwestern Uganda to assess their knowledge, practices, and attitudes regarding plague and the local healthcare system.

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  • Borrelia miyamotoi, a bacteria spread by Ixodes ticks, was identified as a cause of hard tick relapsing fever in the US in 2013, leading to surveillance efforts in nine states.
  • From 2013 to 2019, 300 cases were reported, with 166 confirmed and a median patient age of 52; most cases were in males and occurred primarily during the summer months.
  • Common symptoms included fever and headache, with 28% experiencing recurring fevers and 13% of patients hospitalized; continued surveillance is essential to better understand this disease's incidence and impact.
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Background And Purpose: Pharmacy capstone exams are an example of an assessment strategy to evaluate student competency and practice-readiness. Capstone exam processes have been discussed in the literature; however, description of format, evolution of the process, and implementation in the year prior to rotations is lacking. This manuscript discusses the development, implementation, and utilization of a third professional year pharmacy capstone exam to assess advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) readiness.

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Background: Understanding the drivers of SARS-CoV-2 transmission can inform the development of interventions. We evaluated transmission identified by contact tracing investigations between March-May 2020 in Salt Lake County, Utah, to quantify the impact of this intervention and identify risk factors for transmission.

Methods: RT-PCR positive and untested symptomatic contacts were classified as confirmed and probable secondary case-patients, respectively.

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While advocates argue that gentrification changes the neighborhood food environment critical to children's diet and health, we have little evidence documenting such changes or the consequences for their health outcomes. Using rich longitudinal, individual-level data on nearly 115,000 New York City children, including egocentric measures of their food environment and BMI, we examine the link between neighborhood demographic change ("gentrification"), children's access to restaurants and supermarkets, and their weight outcomes. We find that children in rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods see increased access to fast food and wait-service restaurants and reduced access to corner stores and supermarkets compared to those in non-gentrifying areas.

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The view of owning a home as integral to the "American dream" is enshrined in numerous policies designed to promote homeownership. Whether or not these policies are worth their cost is unclear and depends, in part, on the extent to which owner-occupied housing (OOH) confers socially important benefits. Yet identifying the effects of OOH is complicated, not only due to standard concerns about selection, but also because OOH tends to be located in neighborhoods with better amenities (including schools) and is often synonymous with living in a single-family home.

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This paper estimates the relationship between neighborhood violent crime and child and adolescent weight and fitness. It uses detailed data from the Fitnessgram assessments of public school students in New York City matched to point specific crime data geocoded to students' residential location. Our empirical approach compares the weight and fitness outcomes of students exposed to a violent crime on their residential H-block with those living in the same census tract but not exposed to violent crime in close proximity to their home.

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Although the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Curriculum Quality Surveys (CQS) are required for programs to distribute and utilize as part of accreditation standards, programs face challenges in survey administration and timing, interpreting data and results, and following up on action plans. Because the CQS surveys are standardized, they can allow for greater comparison among institutions, yet interpretation of the items can vary considerably. Programs have flexibility in determining samples for administration and timing of administration (ie, number of years), but some participants (such as preceptors) can suffer from survey overload if multiple institutions administer in the same year.

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This cross-sectional study of New York City school data examines differences in COVID-19 vaccination rates by race, ethnicity, and borough.

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  • School nutrition programs aim to improve access to healthy foods in schools but face challenges due to varying kitchen and cafeteria infrastructure.
  • A study analyzed data from 1804 schools in NYC and found that factors like co-location, overcrowding, and cafeteria capacity significantly influenced meal participation and scheduling.
  • Poor infrastructure can create disparities in access to these nutrition programs, highlighting the need for improvements to ensure equity across all schools.
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Lyme disease, the most commonly reported vector-borne disease in the United States, is caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted through the bite of an infected blacklegged tick. In the absence of a licensed vaccine, the prevention of Lyme disease relies heavily on limiting tick exposure. Methods for limiting tick exposure include personal protection measures such as repellent use, wearing protective clothing, avoiding areas where ticks may be present, bathing after exposure to tick habitat and performing regular tick checks.

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Lyme disease is the most commonly reported vector-borne disease in the United States (US), with approximately 300,000 -to- 40,000 cases reported annually. The blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, is the primary vector of the Lyme disease-causing spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, in high incidence regions in the upper midwestern and northeastern US. Using county-level records of the presence of I.

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Outcomes and costs of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) contact tracing are limited. During March-May 2020, we constructed transmission chains from 184 index cases and 1,499 contacts in Salt Lake County, Utah, USA, to assess outcomes and estimate staff time and salaries. We estimated 1,102 staff hours and $29,234 spent investigating index cases and contacts.

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Wildlife-vehicle collisions are one of the main causes of mortality for wild mammals and birds in the UK. Here, using a dataset of 54,000+ records collated by a citizen science roadkill recording scheme between 2014-2019, we analyse and present temporal patterns of wildlife roadkill of the 19 most commonly reported taxa in the UK (84% of all reported roadkill). Most taxa (13 out of 19) showed significant and consistent seasonal variations in road mortality and fitted one of two seasonal patterns; bimodal or unimodal: only three species (red fox Vulpes vulpes, European polecat Mustela putorius and Reeves' muntjac deer Muntiacus reevesi) showed no significant seasonality.

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  • * The study investigated the barriers and motivations related to the acceptability of a new Lyme disease vaccine among potential consumers and clinicians in high-incidence regions.
  • * Key motivators for clinicians and consumers to support the vaccine include the perceived benefits of the vaccine, existing preventive measure shortcomings, and the desire for greater peace of mind regarding Lyme disease.
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