Implementing a Staff-Led Smoking Cessation Intervention in a Diverse Safety-Net Rheumatology Clinic: A Pre-Post Scalability Study in a Low-Resource Setting.

Objective: Quit Connect (QC), our specialty clinic smoking cessation intervention, supports clinic staff to check, advise, and connect willing patients to a state quit line or class. QC improved tobacco screening and quit line referrals 26-fold in a predominantly White academic health care system population. Implementing QC includes education, electronic health record (EHR) reminders, and periodic audit feedback.

Performance of Modified ALMS and BLISS Criteria with Standard of Care Treatment in Two US Health Care Systems.

Objective: A retrospective cohort study was undertaken in a predominantly Black population undergoing standard treatment for lupus nephritis (LN) to estimate the incidence of, and risk factors for, complete response (CR) according to modified Aspreva Lupus Management Study (mALMS) and modified Belimumab International Study in Lupus Nephritis (mBLISS) criteria by 12 months.

Methods: Patients with biopsy-proven LN class III or IV ± V, urine protein-to-creatinine ratio of ≥1gm/gm and estimated glomerular filtration rate of >50 ml/minute/1.73 m at the time of the incident LN flare were included.

Depression, stigma and social isolation: the psychosocial trifecta of primary chronic cutaneous lupus erythematosus, a cross-sectional and path analysis.

Objective: Depression is common in individuals with chronic cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CCLE). However, how CCLE may impact patients' psychological well-being is poorly understood, particularly among disproportionally affected populations. We examined the relationships between depression and psychosocial factors in a cohort of predominantly Black patients with primary CCLE (CCLE without systemic manifestations).

Timing and Predictors of Incident Cardiovascular Disease in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Risk Occurs Early and Highlights Racial Disparities.

Objective: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) affects Black people 2 to 3 times more frequently than non-Black people and is associated with higher morbidity and mortality. In total, 4 studies with predominantly non-Black SLE cohorts highlighted that cardiovascular disease (CVD) is no longer primarily a late complication of SLE. This study assessed the timing and predictors of incident CVD in a predominantly Black population-based SLE cohort.

Cross-sectional study of the effects of self-efficacy on fatigue and pain interference in black women with systemic lupus erythematosus: the role of depression, age and education.

Objective: While fatigue and pain are pervasive symptoms in SLE, self-efficacy can mitigate their intensity and impact on patients' daily activity. We examined the relationships of these domains and their interactions with demographics and depression in black women with SLE.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional analysis of data collected among 699 black women with SLE.

Factors Associated With the Initiation and Retention of Patients With Lupus in the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program.

Objective: The Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) is designed to enhance patients' self-efficacy and skills to manage their chronic illness. There is compelling evidence for the benefits of the CDSMP among patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE); however, little is known about predictors of participation among Black women with SLE. We examined factors associated with CDSMP initiation and completion in this population.

B cell subset composition segments clinically and serologically distinct groups in chronic cutaneous lupus erythematosus.

Objective: While the contribution of B-cells to SLE is well established, its role in chronic cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CCLE) remains unclear. Here, we compare B-cell and serum auto-antibody profiles between patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), CCLE, and overlap conditions.

Methods: B-cells were compared by flow cytometry amongst healthy controls, CCLE without systemic lupus (CCLE+/SLE-) and SLE patients with (SLE+/CCLE+) or without CCLE (SLE+/CCLE-).

The Problem of Pain in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: An Explication of the Role of Biopsychosocial Mechanisms.

Objective: To define biopsychosocial mechanisms of pain that go above and beyond disease activity and organ damage in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of patient-reported data in a population-based registry of 766 people with SLE. Predictors of pain intensity and interference were examined using hierarchical linear regression.

Overcoming barriers to recruitment and retention of African-American women with SLE in behavioural interventions: lessons learnt from the WELL study.

Background: African-Americans are historically under-represented in SLE studies and engaging them in behavioural interventions is challenging. The Women Empowered to Live with Lupus (WELL) study is a trial conducted to examine the effectiveness of the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) among African-American women with SLE. We describe enrolment and retention challenges and successful strategies of the WELL study.

Patient perceptions and preferences of biologic therapies in SLE.

Objective: To evaluate patient perceptions of biologic therapies from a large, population-based cohort of patients with SLE with significant numbers of blacks and whites and across the full spectrum of socioeconomic strata and disease severity.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of validated patients with SLE enrolled in the Georgians Organized Against Lupus Cohort between September 2014 and August 2015. The survey instrument was developed ad hoc by the authors and contained an introduction on biologics.

Racial Disparities in Mortality Associated with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus - Fulton and DeKalb Counties, Georgia, 2002-2016.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic, systemic autoimmune disease with often nonspecific symptoms that can lead to a delay in diagnosis. The disease disproportionately affects women and minorities. Blacks with SLE also have more severe disease and develop it at an earlier age (1).

Chronic Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus: Depression Burden and Associated Factors.

Objectives: Depression may occur in up to 30% of individuals with cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE), many of whom may also have systemic manifestations. Chronic cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CCLE) conditions are less likely to present systemic involvement than acute and subacute conditions but more often cause permanent scarring and dyspigmentation. However, little is known about depression in those who have CCLE confined to the skin (primary CCLE).

Physician-patient interactions in African American patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: Demographic characteristics and relationship with disease activity and depression.

Objective: African American patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are at high risk for poor outcomes. Both patient characteristics and the severity of the disease may influence physician-patient interactions, which in turn can impact disease outcomes. We aimed to examine whether patient perceptions of interpersonal processes of care (i.

Depressive Symptoms Are Associated With Low Treatment Adherence in African American Individuals With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Objective: African American (AA) people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are at high morbidity and mortality risk, and they often require multiple medications. Low medication adherence is a highly prevalent, multidimensional problem associated with poor outcomes in people with SLE. Depression, a predictor of low adherence in people with chronic conditions, has been described in over 35% of AAs with SLE.

Racial Disparities in the Incidence of Primary Chronic Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus in the Southeastern US: The Georgia Lupus Registry.

Objective: Relative to studies of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), epidemiologic studies of chronic cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CCLE) are rare and are limited to populations with no racial diversity. We sought to provide minimum estimates of the incidence of primary CCLE (CCLE in the absence of SLE) in a population comprised predominantly of white individuals and black individuals in the southeastern region of the US.

Methods: The Georgia Lupus Registry allowed for the use of multiple sources for case-finding, including dermatology and rheumatology practices, multispecialty health care facilities, and dermatopathology reports.

Correction to: Effect of daily low dose prednisone, divided or single daily dose, in the treatment of African Americans with early rheumatoid arthritis.

One of the author's name on this article was incorrectly spelled as "Shuling Li". The correct spelling is "Shuling Liu" and is now presented correctly in this article.

Effect of daily low dose prednisone, divided or single daily dose, in the treatment of African Americans with early rheumatoid arthritis.

Determine the effect of daily low divided or single daily dose of prednisone on the longitudinal change in the number of tender and swollen joints and HAQ scores in African Americans (AA) with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) from the Consortium for the Longitudinal Evaluation of African Americans with Early Rheumatoid Arthritis (CLEAR) 1 Registry. In a prospective, multicenter observational cohort study, AA with early RA were enrolled and followed longitudinally for up to 5 years. 345 were enrolled.

External Validation of the Lupus Impact Tracker in a Southeastern US Longitudinal Cohort With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Objective: To examine the external validity of the Lupus Impact Tracker (LIT), a systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)-specific, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) tool in a population-based cohort of patients with SLE in Atlanta, Georgia. We modeled the association of LIT scores with patient-reported measures of SLE activity (Systemic Lupus Activity Questionnaire [SLAQ]) and organ damage (self-administered Brief Index of Lupus Damage [SA-BILD]). We investigated the association of LIT scores with general HRQoL using the Short Form 12 (SF-12).

Replicative DNA polymerase δ but not ε proofreads errors in Cis and in Trans.

It is now well established that in yeast, and likely most eukaryotic organisms, initial DNA replication of the leading strand is by DNA polymerase ε and of the lagging strand by DNA polymerase δ. However, the role of Pol δ in replication of the leading strand is uncertain. In this work, we use a reporter system in Saccharomyces cerevisiae to measure mutation rates at specific base pairs in order to determine the effect of heterozygous or homozygous proofreading-defective mutants of either Pol ε or Pol δ in diploid strains.

Burden of systemic lupus erythematosus on employment and work productivity: data from a large cohort in the southeastern United States.

Objective: To examine the burden of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) on work loss, unemployment, and work productivity impairment in an SLE cohort from the southeastern US.

Methods: We examined 689 SLE patients ages 18-64 years from the Georgians Organized Against Lupus (GOAL) cohort. GOAL is a longitudinal cohort predominantly derived from the Georgia Lupus Registry, a population-based registry established in metropolitan Atlanta.

Primary preventive services in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: study from a population-based sample in Southeast U.S.

Objectives: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients are at risk for complications that can be mitigated by appropriate preventive care. We examined the receipt of immunizations, cancer screening, and cardiovascular risk preventive services in a predominantly Black cohort of SLE patients from the Southeast U.S.

Mismatch repair-dependent mutagenesis in nondividing cells.

Mismatch repair (MMR) is a major DNA repair pathway in cells from all branches of life that removes replication errors in a strand-specific manner, such that mismatched nucleotides are preferentially removed from the newly replicated strand of DNA. Here we demonstrate a role for MMR in helping create new phenotypes in nondividing cells. We show that mispairs in yeast that escape MMR during replication can later be subject to MMR activity in a replication strand-independent manner in nondividing cells, resulting in either fully wild-type or mutant DNA sequence.

Implementation of a pediatric trauma massive transfusion protocol: one institution's experience.

Background: Massive transfusion protocols (MTPs) with fixed ratios of blood products may improve outcomes in coagulopathic adult trauma patients. However, there is a paucity of data on transfusion support protocols for pediatric trauma patients, whose mechanisms of injury may differ from those seen in adults. We hypothesized that an MTP would improve outcomes in children, through a balanced blood product resuscitation.

Coagulopathy is prevalent and associated with adverse outcomes in transfused pediatric trauma patients.

Objective: To evaluate coagulopathy in pediatric trauma patients on presentation to the emergency department, and to quantify the relationship with mortality.

Study Design: Pediatric trauma patients requiring a blood transfusion (red blood cells, fresh frozen plasma, platelets, or cryoprecipitate) within 24 hours of arrival were included. Coagulation values on emergency department arrival were analyzed, as were clinical details and outcome.