Cost-effectiveness of a Low-cost Educational Messaging and Prescription-fill Reminder Intervention to Improve Medication Adherence Among Individuals With Intellectual and Developmental Disability and Hypertension.

Background: Adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) have a similar prevalence of hypertension as the general population, but a higher rate of medication nonadherence at 50% compared with the average of 30%.

Objectives: To assess the cost-effectiveness of educational messaging and prescription-fill reminders to adults with IDD and hypertension and their helpers among Medicaid members in a randomized control trial.

Research Design: The authors calculated net cost savings by subtracting per-participant intervention costs from differences in spending between preintervention/postintervention cases versus controls.

A Randomized Controlled Trial using Brief Educational Messages Directed to Adults with Intellectual Disability and Hypertension or their Helpers Reduces Hospital Stays.

Purpose: We assessed an educational intervention to reduce the number of emergency department (ED) and inpatient stays for cardiovascular diagnoses, among South Carolina adult Medicaid Members with intellectual and developmental disability and hypertension (Members).

Design: This Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) included Members or the person who helped them with their medications (Helpers). Participants, who included Members and/or their Helpers, were randomly assigned to an Intervention or Control group.

Differences in Race and Ethnicity in Muscular Dystrophy Mortality Rates for Males under 40 Years of Age, 2006-2015.

Background/aims: Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) has childhood onset, primarily affects males, and is usually fatal before the age of 40 years. Previous studies have indicated that this X-linked condition is more prevalent in whites than in blacks, but those were based on active surveillance, and limited to smaller populations and younger ages.

Methods: US death data were used to calculate mortality rates by race and ethnicity, with MD as either the underlying or multiple cause of death (MCD).

Systematic Review of Chromium and Nickel Exposure During Pregnancy and Impact on Child Outcomes.

Some forms of chromium (Cr) and nickel (Ni) are toxic, especially with chronic elevated exposure, and certain forms such as hexavalent chromium or nickel carbonyl were labeled as carcinogens. Since both metals are naturally occurring, and used in industrial processes, individuals may be exposed through ingestion of contaminated food or water, inhalation, or dermal contact. This study focused on the impact of toxic forms of Cr and Ni during pregnancy and outcomes in newborn and young children.

Development of a tool to describe overall health, social independence and activity limitation of adolescents and young adults with disability.

There is a need for research that focuses on the correlation between self-perceived quality of life (QoL) and the health outcomes of adolescents with disability transitioning to adulthood. To better understand the transition experience of adolescents and young adults with disability, we developed a questionnaire to assess the impact of disability on QoL. We recruited 174 participants who were 15-24 years old and diagnosed with Fragile X syndrome (FXS), spina bifida (SB) or muscular dystrophy (MD) and conducted an exploratory factor analysis to identify factors that characterize QoL.

Characterization and control of the microbial community affiliated with copper or aluminum heat exchangers of HVAC systems.

Microbial growth in heating ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems with the subsequent contamination of indoor air is of increasing concern. Microbes and the subsequent biofilms grow easily within heat exchangers. A comparative study where heat exchangers fabricated from antimicrobial copper were evaluated for their ability to limit microbial growth was conducted using a full-scale HVAC system under conditions of normal flow rates using single-pass outside air.

Deriving realistic source boundary conditions for a CFD simulation of concentrations in workroom air.

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used increasingly to simulate the distribution of airborne contaminants in enclosed spaces for exposure assessment and control, but the importance of realistic boundary conditions is often not fully appreciated. In a workroom for manufacturing capacitors, full-shift samples for isoamyl acetate (IAA) were collected for 3 days at 16 locations, and velocities were measured at supply grills and at various points near the source. Then, velocity and concentration fields were simulated by 3-dimensional steady-state CFD using 295K tetrahedral cells, the k-ε turbulence model, standard wall function, and convergence criteria of 10(-6) for all scalars.

MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry speciation of staphylococci and their discrimination from micrococci isolated from indoor air of schoolrooms.

The focus of our work is the identification of medically relevant staphylococci from the environment; these organisms are among the major opportunistic pathogens associated with human disease. Andersen sampling was performed in schoolrooms during the school year. Eleven of thirty six isolates (all Gram-positive tetrads) were identified as staphylococci and 23 were characterized as micrococci.

Human K10 epithelial keratin is the most abundant protein in airborne dust of both occupied and unoccupied school rooms.

Previously it was demonstrated that the levels of large particles (>2 micron) and associated bacterial cell envelope markers increase greatly on occupation in schools; it was hypothesized that the source of both was shed human skin. In the current work to test this hypothesis, room air cleaners were used to collect airborne dust (>50-100 mg) from occupied and unoccupied school rooms which was then subjected to proteomic analysis. Proteins were extracted from the dust and separated using two dimensional gel electrophoresis (2D GE).

A second look at the Palmes' diffusive sampler.

The Palmes' tube, the first diffusive sampler incorporating a fixed path length, has received wide usage for the sampling of a large number of gaseous pollutants. But despite numerous previous studies, questions remain regarding the accuracy of these inexpensive, simple-to-construct, open-ended samplers. Here the mass transfer resistance in a Palmes' diffusive sampler was measured using the loss of cyclohexane from a Palmes' tube containing liquid cyclohexane at its base.

Large particles are responsible for elevated bacterial marker levels in school air upon occupation.

Muramic acid (Mur) is found in bacterial peptidoglycan (PG) whereas 3-hydroxy fatty acids (3-OH FAs) are found in Gram-negative bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Thus Mur and 3-OH FAs serve as markers to assess bacterial levels in indoor air. An initial survey, in a school, demonstrated that the levels of dust, PG and LPS (pmol m(-3)) were each much higher in occupied rooms than in the same rooms when unoccupied.

Increased levels of bacterial markers and CO2 in occupied school rooms.

Our group previously demonstrated that carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in heavily occupied schools correlate with the levels of airborne bacterial markers. Since CO2 is derived from the room occupants, it was hypothesized that in schools, bacterial markers may be primarily increased in indoor air because of the presence of children; directly from skin microflora or indirectly, by stirring up dust from carpets and other sources. The purpose of this project was to test the hypothesis.