Characterizing public health emergency perceptions and influential modifiers of willingness to respond among pediatric healthcare staff.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to characterize the public health emergency perceptions and willingness to respond (WTR) of hospital-based pediatric staff and to use these findings to propose a methodology for developing an institution-specific training package to improve response willingness.

Methods: A prospective anonymous web-based survey was conducted at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, including the 180-bed Johns Hopkins Children's Center, between January and March 2009. In this survey, participants' attitudes/beliefs regarding emergency response to a pandemic influenza and a radiological dispersal device (RDD or "dirty bomb") event were assessed.

Expression divergence measured by transcriptome sequencing of four yeast species.

Background: The evolution of gene expression is a challenging problem in evolutionary biology, for which accurate, well-calibrated measurements and methods are crucial.

Results: We quantified gene expression with whole-transcriptome sequencing in four diploid, prototrophic strains of Saccharomyces species grown under the same condition to investigate the evolution of gene expression. We found that variation in expression is gene-dependent with large variations in each gene's expression between replicates of the same species.

Characterizing hospital workers' willingness to respond to a radiological event.

Introduction: Terrorist use of a radiological dispersal device (RDD, or "dirty bomb"), which combines a conventional explosive device with radiological materials, is among the National Planning Scenarios of the United States government. Understanding employee willingness to respond is critical for planning experts. Previous research has demonstrated that perception of threat and efficacy is key in the assessing willingness to respond to a RDD event.

How accessible was information about H1N1 flu? Literacy assessments of CDC guidance documents for different audiences.

We assessed the literacy level and readability of online communications about H1N1/09 influenza issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during the first month of outbreak. Documents were classified as targeting one of six audiences ranging in technical expertise. Flesch-Kincaid (FK) measure assessed literacy level for each group of documents.

VERITAS?: A time for VERIQAS™ and a new approach to training, education, and the quality assessment of CD4+ T lymphocyte counting (I).

Background: The aim of clinical laboratories is to produce accurate and reproducible results to enable effective and reliable clinical practice and patient management. The standard approach is to use both internal quality control (IQC) and external quality assessment (EQA). IQC serves, in many instances, as a "go, no go" tool to provide real time assurance that instruments and reagent or test systems are performing within defined specifications.

ISHAGE protocol: are we doing it correctly?

Background: Flow cytometric CD34(+) stem cell enumeration is routinely performed to optimize timing of peripheral blood stem cell collections and assess engraftment capability of the apheresis product. While a number of different flow methodologies have been described, the highly standardized ISHAGE protocol is currently the most widely employed, with 204/255 (81%) international participants in the UK NEQAS CD34(+) stem cell enumeration program indicating their use of this method. Recently, two laboratories were identified as persistent poor performers, a fact attributed to incorrect ISHAGE protocol usage/setup.

The estrogen-regulated transcription factor PITX1 coordinates gene-specific regulation by estrogen receptor-alpha in breast cancer cells.

The estrogen receptor α (ERα) is a master regulator of gene expression and works along with cooperating transcription factors in mediating the actions of the hormone estradiol (E2) in ER-positive tissues and breast tumors. Here, we report that expression of paired-like homeodomain transcription factor (PITX1), a tumor suppressor and member of the homeobox family of transcription factors, is robustly up-regulated by E2 in several ERα-positive breast cancer cell lines via ERα-dependent interaction between the proximal promoter and an enhancer region 5' upstream of the PITX1 gene. Overexpression of PITX1 selectively inhibited the transcriptional activity of ERα and ERβ, while enhancing the activities of the glucocorticoid receptor and progesterone receptor.

Petroleum scarcity and public health: considerations for local health departments.

Recognition of petroleum as a finite global resource has spurred increasing interest in the intersection between petroleum scarcity and public health. Local health departments represent a critical yet highly vulnerable component of the public health infrastructure. These frontline agencies currently face daunting resource constraints and rely heavily on petroleum for vital population-based health services.

Parental loss, trusting relationship with current caregivers, and psychosocial adjustment among children affected by AIDS in China.

The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between parental loss, trusting relationship with current caregivers, and psychosocial adjustment among children affected by AIDS in China. In this study, cross-sectional data were collected from 755 AIDS orphans (296 double orphans and 459 single orphans), 466 vulnerable children living with HIV-infected parents, and 404 comparison children in China. The trusting relationship with current caregivers was measured with a 15-item scale (Cronbach's α = 0.

Asymmetric propargylation of ketones using allenylboronates catalyzed by chiral biphenols.

Chiral biphenols catalyze the enantioselective asymmetric propargylation of ketones using allenylboronates. The reaction uses 10 mol % of 3,3'-Br(2)-BINOL as the catalyst and allenyldioxoborolane as the nucleophile, in the absence of solvent, and under microwave irradiation to afford the homopropargylic alcohol. The reaction products are obtained in good yields (60-98%) and high enantiomeric ratios (3:1-99:1).

Elimination of the helium requirement in high-field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS): beneficial effects of decreasing the analyzer gap width on peptide analysis.

Cylindrical geometry high-field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) focuses and separates gas-phase ions at atmospheric pressure and room (or elevated) temperature. Addition of helium to a nitrogen-based separation medium offers significant advantages for FAIMS including improved resolution, selectivity and sensitivity. Aside from gas composition, ion transmission through FAIMS is governed by electric field strength (E/N) that is determined by the applied voltage, the analyzer gap width, atmospheric pressure and electrode temperature.

Surveillance programme for important equine infectious respiratory pathogens in the USA.

The prevalence and epidemiology of important viral (equine influenza virus [EIV], equine herpesvirus type 1 [EHV-1] and EHV-4) and bacterial (Streptococcus equi subspecies equi) respiratory pathogens shed by horses presented to equine veterinarians with upper respiratory tract signs and/or acute febrile neurological disease were studied. Veterinarians from throughout the USA were enrolled in a surveillance programme and were asked to collect blood and nasal secretions from equine cases with acute infectious upper respiratory tract disease and/or acute onset of neurological disease. A questionnaire was used to collect information pertaining to each case and its clinical signs.

Oxidative stress response in the opportunistic oral pathogen Fusobacterium nucleatum.

The anaerobic, Gram-negative bacillus Fusobacterium nucleatum plays a vital role in oral biofilm formation and the development of periodontal disease. The organism plays a central bridging role between early and late colonizers within dental plaque and plays a protective role against reactive oxygen species. Using a two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry approach, we have annotated 78 proteins within the proteome of F.

BamTools: a C++ API and toolkit for analyzing and managing BAM files.

Motivation: Analysis of genomic sequencing data requires efficient, easy-to-use access to alignment results and flexible data management tools (e.g. filtering, merging, sorting, etc.

Medical students' participation in the 2009 Novel H1N1 influenza vaccination administration: policy alternatives for effective student utilization to enhance surge capacity in disasters.

As cases of 2009 novel H1N1 influenza became prevalent in Cincinnati, Ohio, Hamilton County Public Health called upon the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine to enhance its surge capacity in vaccination administration. Although the collaboration was well organized, it became evident that a system should exist for medical students' involvement in disaster response and recovery efforts in advance of a disaster. Therefore, 5 policy alternatives for effective utilization of medical students in disaster-response efforts have been examined: maintaining the status quo, enhancing the Medical Reserve Corps, creating medical school-based disaster-response units, using students within another selected disaster-response organization, or devising an entirely new plan for medical students' utilization.

Radiological incident preparedness: planning at the local level.

Radiological terrorism has been recognized as a probable scenario with high impact. Radiological preparedness planning at the federal and state levels has been encouraging, but translating complex doctrines into operational readiness at the local level has proved challenging. Based on the authors' experience with radiological response planning for the City of Baltimore, this article describes an integrated approach to municipal-level radiological emergency preparedness planning, provides information on resources that are useful for radiological preparedness planning, and recommends a step-by-step process toward developing the plan with relevant examples from the experience in Baltimore.

Relationship between physical activity and disability in low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

It is often assumed that patients with pain-related disability due to low back pain (LBP) will have reduced physical activity levels, but recent studies have provided results that challenge this assumption. The aim of our systematic review was to examine the relationship between physical activity and disability in LBP. The literature search included 6 electronic databases and the reference list of relevant systematic reviews and studies to May 2010.

The role of Cdk5 in cognition and neuropsychiatric and neurological pathology.

Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) is a proline-directed serine/threonine kinase that is ubiquitous in the nervous system and interacts with a myriad of substrates. Its modulation of synaptic plasticity and associated mechanisms of learning and memory as well as neurodegeneration and cognitive disease highlights its importance in the human brain. Cdk5 is active throughout the neuron via its kinase activity, protein-protein interactions, and nuclear associations.

Public health-specific National Incident Management System trainings: building a system for preparedness.

Local health departments (LHDs) are at the hub of the public health emergency preparedness system. Since the 2003 issuance of Homeland Security Presidential Directive-5, LHDs have faced challenges to comply with a new set of all-hazards, 24/7 organizational response expectations, as well as the National Incident Management System (NIMS). To help local public health practitioners address these challenges, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded Johns Hopkins Center for Public Health Preparedness (JH-CPHP) created and implemented a face-to-face, public health-specific NIMS training series for LHDs.

The evidence base for effectiveness of preparedness training: a retrospective analysis.

Objectives: In 2007, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) commissioned an Evidence-Based Gaps Collaboration Group to consider whether past experience could help guide future efforts to educate and train public health workers in responding to emergencies and disasters.

Methods: The Group searched the peer-reviewed literature for preparedness training articles meeting three criteria: publication during the period when CDC's Centers for Public Health Preparedness were fully operational, content relevant to emergency response operations, and content particular to the emergency response roles of public health professionals. Articles underwent both quantitative and qualitative analyses.

Fiducial marker placement for intraoperative spine localization.

In recent years, there has been a great increase in the number of cases of image-guided fiducial marker placement for the purposes of stereotactic radiosurgery. At the authors' parent institution, a tertiary referral academic medical center, the placement of fiducial markers has also been used for the purposes of localization before spine surgery. Given the reported prevalence of "wrong-site" surgical intervention documented in the medical literature, particularly involving spinal surgery, the neurosurgical department at the authors' institution has requested the expertise of interventional radiology for assistance in preoperative spine localization.

The use of psychological first aid (PFA) training among nurses to enhance population resiliency.

Disaster mental health research has found that psychological casualties from a given disaster can be expected to far outnumber physical casualties. Amidst a shortage of mental health professionals and against the backdrop of natural disasters, continued terrorism, and pandemic influenza, there is a striking need to expand and operationalize available human resources to enhance the psychological resiliency of those affected. Through the utilization of psychological first aid (PFA) as an early crisis intervention tool, and by virtue of their occupation and experience, nurses are particularly well-suited to assume a leadership role in expanding the disaster mental health presence beyond the existing cadre of mental health clinicians.

Experimentally induced gestational androgen excess disrupts glucoregulation in rhesus monkey dams and their female offspring.

Discrete fetal androgen excess during early gestation in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) promotes endocrine antecedents of adult polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)-like traits in female offspring. Because developmental changes promoting such PCOS-like metabolic dysfunction remain unclear, the present study examined time-mated, gravid rhesus monkeys with female fetuses, of which nine gravid females received 15 mg of testosterone propionate (TP) subcutaneously daily from 40 to 80 days (first to second trimesters) of gestation [term, mean (range): 165 (155-175) days], whereas an additional six such females received oil vehicle injections over the same time interval. During gestation, ultrasonography quantified fetal growth measures and was used as an adjunct for fetal blood collections.