Publications by authors named "Franck K"

This report explores the 24-hour dietary recall (24HDR) form used for the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). Dietary supplement use, amount of money spent on food, time being physically active, portion size consumed, foods reported by meals, and preparation of the meal were common components collected among 61 EFNEP programs. Components not included were instructions for the peer educator, use of food models/measuring cups, examples of foods/beverages, time food/beverages were consumed, color coding, and a prompt to review what was written.

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Background: Vaccine breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infections are common and of clinical and public health concern. However, little is known about the immunological characteristics of patients hospitalized due to these infections. We aimed to investigate and compare immune cell subpopulations and induced immune responses in vaccinated and non-vaccinated patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19.

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Article Synopsis
  • Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) infections can cause severe respiratory issues and acute flaccid myelitis, with a significant rise reported during the fall-winter season of 2021-2022 across Europe.
  • The study by the European Non-Polio Enterovirus Network (ENPEN) analyzed over 10,481 samples from 19 countries, identifying 1,004 as EV-D68, predominantly affecting young children, where 37.9% required hospitalization.
  • Additionally, genetic analyses uncovered two new B3-derived lineages without regional patterns, indicating a notable impact of the infections and the emergence of new virus strains.
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The microbiological analysis of wastewater samples is increasingly used for the surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 globally. We described the setup process of the national SARS-CoV-2 wastewater-based surveillance system in Denmark, presented its main results during the first year of activities, from July 2021 to June 2022, and discussed their operational significance. The Danish SARS-CoV-2 wastewater-based surveillance system was designed to cover 85 % of the population in Denmark and it entailed taking three weekly samples from 230 sites.

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The purpose of this study was to determine how the 24-hour dietary recall (24HDR) is administered and how the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) peer educators and other staff are trained on the data collection and entry process, from the EFNEP coordinators' perspectives. This cross-sectional, quantitative study utilized an online survey to collect information from EFNEP coordinators representing 61 of 76 EFNEP programs. While 56% of the programs collected the 24HDR data starting with the first thing eaten the previous day, 49% of them started collecting data at the time of class, going backwards.

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The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) is a federally funded program that teaches nutrition education to adults and youth with low-income. EFNEP is funded throughout the United States including federal territories. The purpose of EFNEP is to provide nutrition education.

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  • A study in Denmark identified 10 cases of the SARS-CoV-2 variant BA.2.86, showcasing its genetic characteristics and presence in low levels through wastewater analysis.
  • The World Health Organization classified BA.2.86 as a variant under monitoring on August 17, 2023, due to its numerous mutations in the spike gene.
  • There is an ongoing need for global monitoring of COVID-19 and its variants, including BA.2.86, to track their spread and impact.
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Analysis of wastewater is used in many settings for surveillance of SARS-CoV-2, but it remains unclear how well wastewater testing results reflect incidence. Denmark has had an extensive wastewater analysis system that conducts 3 weekly tests in ≈200 sites and has 85% population coverage; the country also offers free SARS-CoV-2 PCR tests to all residents. Using time series analysis for modeling, we found that wastewater data, combined with information on circulating variants and the number of human tests performed, closely fitted the incidence curve of persons testing positive.

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  • The study aimed to determine the incidence of neonatal herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections and the number of neonates needing treatment with acyclovir to promptly manage serious HSV cases.
  • In Denmark from 2010 to 2019, 54 neonates were identified with HSV, showing an incidence rate of 9 per 100,000 live births, with some presenting symptoms similar to invasive bacterial infections (IBI).
  • The findings suggest that while the incidence of HSV infections has increased, the number of neonates needing treatment with acyclovir is high, indicating that not all infants suspected of IBI should be treated with acyclovir as per current guidelines; vigilance for HSV should be maintained, especially in
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Biosecurity practice limits the occurrence of diseases and economic losses in fish farms. The objective of this study was to characterize fish farming in the Administrative Division of Wouri, Cameroon (3°97'04″-3°58'13″N; 9°76'78″-9°46'4.3″E) and assess the biosecurity practices.

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People living in rural areas of the United States, especially in the southern region, are much less likely to walk or cycle for leisure time or transportation. The purpose of this study is to provide a more detailed community-level estimate of walking and cycling behaviors and attitudes among adults living in a rural county (Hardeman County, TN) participating in a High Obesity Program (HOP) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Telephone interviews and online surveys regarding walking and cycling behaviors, attitudes, and perceptions of the built environment were completed by 634 adults.

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Rural residents tend to eat less fruits and vegetables, placing them at higher risk of chronic diseases compared with urban residents. Farmers' markets can provide increased access to fresh produce for rural communities. Encouraging markets to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits through Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) can expand access to healthy foods to low-income residents.

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Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of a preappointment oral dose of gabapentin on the neurological examination of cats.

Methods: A prospective, randomized and blinded clinical trial was conducted in 35 client-owned healthy cats. Cats were scheduled for two appointments and randomly assigned to receive either a placebo or a 100 mg gabapentin capsule prior to the second veterinary visit.

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  • The study aimed to evaluate how Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) Implementing Agencies (SIAs) utilized the SNAP-Ed Evaluation Framework (Framework), which provides 51 indicators to assess program success in the first five years.
  • A survey was conducted across three fiscal years (2017, 2019, and 2021) with SIAs that received funding, showing that over 80% of them used the Framework for program planning and data collection.
  • Despite a general high usage, a decline was noted in the specific measurement of work accomplished from 2017 to 2021, indicating a need for improved focus on long-term outcomes beyond immediate indicators set by the USDA.
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Background: Viral shedding and neutralizing antibody (NAb) dynamics among patients hospitalized with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and immune correlates of protection have been key questions throughout the pandemic. We investigated the duration of reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) positivity, infectious viral shedding and NAb titers as well as the association between NAb titers and disease severity in hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Denmark 2020-2021.

Materials And Methods: Prospective single-center observational cohort study of 47 hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

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Background: Neurological complications during and after SARS-CoV-2 infection have been frequently described. The detection of either SARS-CoV-2 RNA or specific antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in cerebrospinal fluid in the context of concomitant neurological manifestations indicates neuroinfection.

Methods And Results: This is a retrospective descriptive analysis of cerebrospinal fluids and serum samples from 2 hospitalized patients and autopsy findings from 2 patients who died at home.

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This report describes the development and revision of core competencies for the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education program leaders, supervisors, and paraprofessional educators across the land-grant university system. The developing curriculum methodologies were used to engage panels of exemplary employees and an advisory panel of program leaders. A crosswalk examined key documents, and a gap analysis explored the competencies of similar professions.

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Objectives: To develop a model to predict individualized hearing aid benefit. To provide interpretations of model predictions on global and individual levels.

Methods: We compiled a data set of patients with hearing loss who trialed hearing aids and completed the Client Oriented Scale of Improvement (COSI) questionnaire, a validated patient-reported outcome measure of hearing aid benefit.

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Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate, using echocardiography, the effects of oral administration of a single dose of gabapentin on the physiologic variables (heart rate [HR], respiratory rate [RR] and systolic blood pressure [SBP]) and systolic and diastolic cardiac function of healthy cats.

Methods: This was a prospective, randomized and blinded study with 40 healthy cats aged between 6 months and 2 years. The cats' health status was assessed on the first appointment (T1) when they underwent a physical examination, complete blood count, biochemical profile, assessment of physiologic variables and echocardiogram.

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Objectives: In 2020, Advanced Bionics (AB) announced a recall of two cochlear implant (CI) models, the "HiRes Ultra" and "HiRes Ultra 3D", because of reports of hearing degradation. The present study examines clinical parameters and patient features in cases of device failure and evaluates outcomes after reimplantation.

Materials And Methods: A series of 52 patients implanted with the recalled devices experienced suspected device failure and subsequently underwent revision CI placement at a tertiary academic medical center between December 2019 and November 2021.

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Introduction: Worsening of the opioid epidemic amplifies calls for involvement of the nationwide Cooperative Extension System (Extension) in addressing this crisis. Understanding knowledge and attitudes among Extension professionals who directly interact with communities is critical given identified needs for increased capacity and substantial federal investments supporting Extension's opioid response. This study explored opioid knowledge and attitudes among Extension professionals in one state to identify attitudes and perceptions that may influence community-level efforts.

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We report wastewater surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern by using mutation-specific, real-time PCR and rapid nanopore sequencing. This surveillance might be useful for an early warning in a scenario in which a new variant is emerging, even in areas that have low virus incidences.

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Background: Local management for vestibular schwannoma (VS) is associated with excellent local control with focus on preserving long-term serviceable hearing. Fractionated proton radiation therapy (FPRT) may be associated with greater hearing preservation because of unique dosimetric properties of proton radiotherapy.

Objective: To investigate hearing preservation rates of FPRT in adults with VS and secondarily assess local control and treatment-related toxicity.

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, the utility of portable audiometry became more apparent as elective procedures were deferred in an effort to limit exposure to health care providers. Herein, we retrospectively evaluated mobile-based audiometry in the emergency department and outpatient otology and audiology clinics. Air conduction thresholds with mobile audiometry were within 5 dB in 66% of tests (95% CI, 62.

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