Spatiotemporal variation in fish mercury contamination: Comparing approaches for crafting consumption advisories and assessing impairment.

Mercury in fish is a serious human health concern. Mercury is a widespread contaminant that exceeds health effect thresholds in many fish species and waterbodies. The objectives were to determine the spatiotemporal variation of mercury in fish tissue for several fish species across thousands of lakes and to assess the potential use of fish length standardization and statistical models to improve fish consumption guidelines and impairments determinations in lake-rich areas.

Developing a National-Scale Exposure Index for Combined Environmental Hazards and Social Stressors and Applications to the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Cohort.

Tools for assessing multiple exposures across several domains (e.g., physical, chemical, and social) are of growing importance in social and environmental epidemiology because of their value in uncovering disparities and their impact on health outcomes.

Associations between combined exposure to environmental hazards and social stressors at the neighborhood level and individual perinatal outcomes in the ECHO-wide cohort.

Limited studies examine how prenatal environmental and social exposures jointly impact perinatal health. Here we investigated relationships between a neighborhood-level combined exposure (CE) index assessed during pregnancy and perinatal outcomes, including birthweight, gestational age, and preterm birth. Across all participants, higher CE index scores were associated with small decreases in birthweight and gestational age.

Malaria in Refugee Children Resettled to a Holoendemic Area of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: Malaria is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in refugee children in high-transmission parts of Africa. Characterizing the clinical features of malaria in refugees can inform approaches to reduce its burden.

Methods: The study was conducted in a high-transmission region of northern Zambia hosting Congolese refugees.

Effect of Weather and Game Factors on Injury Rates in Professional Baseball Players.

Background: Injury rates in baseball players of all ages are increasing. Identifying modifiable risk factors is paramount to implementing injury prevention programs.

Purpose/hypothesis: The purpose was to evaluate the influence of weather (temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, and heat index) and game factors (start time, duration, single vs doubleheader) on injury rates in professional baseball players.

The Lyme and Tickborne Disease Dashboard: A map-based resource to promote public health awareness and research collaboration.

With the incidence of Lyme and other tickborne diseases on the rise in the US and globally, there is a critical need for data-driven tools that communicate the magnitude of this problem and help guide public health responses. We present the Johns Hopkins Lyme and Tickborne Disease Dashboard (https://www.hopkinslymetracker.

Epidemiology of Spine-Related Neurologic Injuries in Professional Baseball Players.

Study Design: A retrospective case series study.

Objective: To analyze the epidemiology of diagnoses of degenerative cervical and lumbar spinal conditions among Major League Baseball (MLB) and Minor League Baseball (MiLB) players.

Summary Of Background Data: Repetitive high-energy forces in professional baseball players may predispose them to degenerative cervical and lumbar spinal conditions.

A syndromic surveillance tool to detect anomalous clusters of COVID-19 symptoms in the United States.

Coronavirus SARS-COV-2 infections continue to spread across the world, yet effective large-scale disease detection and prediction remain limited. COVID Control: A Johns Hopkins University Study, is a novel syndromic surveillance approach, which collects body temperature and COVID-like illness (CLI) symptoms across the US using a smartphone app and applies spatio-temporal clustering techniques and cross-correlation analysis to create maps of abnormal symptomatology incidence that are made publicly available. The results of the cross-correlation analysis identify optimal temporal lags between symptoms and a range of COVID-19 outcomes, with new taste/smell loss showing the highest correlations.

Examining Batting Performance After a Sports-Related Concussion Among Major League Baseball Position Players.

Background: An ongoing challenge in sports-related concussion (SRC) is determining full recovery. This study examines performance metrics in baseball after an SRC and provides a template for assessment of return-to-performance parameters.

Purpose: To determine whether batting performance returns to baseline after an SRC.

Epidemiology of acromioclavicular joint injuries in professional baseball: analysis from the Major League Baseball Health and Injury Tracking System.

Background: Shoulder injuries account for a large portion of all recorded injuries in professional baseball. Much is known about other shoulder pathologies in the overhead athlete, but the incidence and impact of acromioclavicular (AC) joint injuries in this population are unknown. We examined the epidemiology of AC joint injuries in Major League Baseball (MLB) and Minor League Baseball (MiLB) players and determined the impact on time missed.

A Spatiotemporal Analysis of Organ-Specific Lupus Flares in Relation to Atmospheric Variables and Fine Particulate Matter Pollution.

Objective: To identify potential clusters of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) organ-specific flares and their relationship to fine particulate matter pollution (PM2.5), temperature, ozone concentration, resultant wind, relative humidity, and barometric pressure in the Hopkins Lupus Cohort, using spatiotemporal cluster analysis.

Methods: A total of 1,628 patients who fulfilled the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics classification criteria for SLE and who had a home address recorded were included in the analysis.

Adjusted, non-Euclidean cluster detection of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in the Chesapeake Bay, USA.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus (V. parahaemolyticus) is a naturallyoccurring bacterium found in estuaries, such as the Chesapeake Bay (USA), that can cause vibriosis, a food - and waterborne illness, in humans. Tracking the spatial and temporal distribution of V.

Diagnosis of an aneurysmal bone cyst of the cricoid cartilage: A case report.

An aneurysmal bone cyst (ABC) is a type of reactive reparative bone neoplasm that rarely occurs in the head and neck. To date, only a small number of cases have been previously reported. The present study reports the case of a 58-year-old male who presented with a tumor in the laryngeal cricoid cartilage, a rare position for a tumor, who subsequently underwent treatment by surgical resection.

Characterizing liquid redistribution in a biphasic vibrating vocal fold using finite element analysis.

Objectives: Vocal fold tissue is biphasic and consists of a solid extracellular matrix skeleton swelled with interstitial fluid. Interactions between the liquid and solid impact the material properties and stress response of the tissue. The objective of this study was to model the movement of liquid during vocal fold vibration and to estimate the volume of liquid accumulation and stress experienced by the tissue near the anterior-posterior midline, where benign lesions are observed to form.

Permeability of canine vocal fold lamina propria.

Objectives/hypothesis: Determine the permeability of excised canine vocal fold lamina propria.

Study Design: Basic science.

Methods: Vocal folds were excised from canine larynges and mounted within a device to measure the flow of 0.

Voice Outcome of Modified Frontolateral Partial Laryngectomy in Excised Canine Larynges and Finite Element Model.

Objective: To evaluate vocal parameters after modified frontolateral partial laryngectomy (MFLPL) and frontolateral partial laryngectomy (FLPL) in both excised canine and finite element models.

Study Design: FLPL and MFLPL were compared, using a prospective paired case control laboratory study with excised canine larynx and computational modeling.

Setting: Basic science study conducted in university laboratory.