Toward a New Approach to Creating Population-Representative Data for Demographic Research.

The evaluation of innovative web-based data collection methods that are convenient for the general public and that yield high-quality scientific information for demographic researchers has become critical. Web-based methods are crucial for researchers with nationally representative research objectives but without the resources of larger organizations. The web mode is appealing because it is inexpensive relative to in-person and telephone modes, and it affords a high level of privacy.

Evaluating the Scope of Services and Monetary Impact of Charity Medical Clinics in North Texas.

Introduction/objectives: The cost of medical services is a major barrier to healthcare accessibility for underserved populations in the United States. Community charity medical clinics help address this disparity by providing free or reduced-cost care for the medically underinsured; however, their economic and public health contributions are unknown. The objective of this study was to evaluate the scope of services and monetary impact of 4 community charity medical clinics in North Texas, with one of the largest medically underinsured populations in the United States.

Impact of soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibition on silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis, ectopic lymphoid neogenesis, and autoantibody production in lupus-prone mice.

Objective: Acute intranasal (IN) instillation of lupus-prone NZBWF1 mice with crystalline silica (cSiO) triggers robust lung inflammation that drives autoimmunity. Prior studies in other preclinical models show that soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) inhibition upregulates pro-resolving lipid metabolites that are protective against pulmonary inflammation. Herein, we assessed in NZBWF1 mice how acute IN cSiO exposure with or without the selective sEH inhibitor TPPU influences lipidomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and histopathological biomarkers of inflammation, fibrosis, and autoimmunity.

Proxy Survey Cost Indicators in Interviewer-Administered Surveys: Are they Actually Correlated with Costs?

Survey design decisions are-by their very nature-tradeoffs between costs and errors. However, measuring costs is often difficult. Furthermore, surveys are growing more complex.

Evolving dual-trait EPSP synthase variants using a synthetic yeast selection system.

The enzyme 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) functions in the shikimate pathway which is responsible for the production of aromatic amino acids and precursors of other essential secondary metabolites in all plant species. EPSPS is also the molecular target of the herbicide glyphosate. While some plant EPSPS variants have been characterized with reduced glyphosate sensitivity and have been used in biotechnology, the glyphosate insensitivity typically comes with a cost to catalytic efficiency.

Applying Responsive Survey Design to Small-Scale Surveys: Campus Surveys of Sexual Misconduct.

Responsive survey design is a technique aimed at improving the efficiency or quality of surveys by using incoming data from the field to make design changes. The technique was pioneered on large national surveys, but the tools can also be applied on the smaller-scale surveys most commonly used by sociologists. We demonstrate responsive survey design in a small-scale, list-based sample survey of students on the topic of sexual misconduct.

Subchronic intranasal lipopolysaccharide exposure induces pulmonary autoimmunity and glomerulonephritis in NZBWF1 mice.

Lupus, a systemic autoimmune disease shaped by gene-environment interplay, often progresses to endstage renal failure. While subchronic systemic exposure to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) triggers autoimmunity and glomerulonephritis in lupus-prone mice, it is unknown if inhaling LPS, which is common in certain occupations, can similarly trigger lupus. Here we determined how subchronic intranasal (IN) LPS instillation influences autoimmunity and glomerulonephritis development in lupusprone NZBWF1 female mice.

Incorporating Adaptive Survey Design in a Two-Stage National Web or Mail Mixed-Mode Survey: An Experiment in the American Family Health Study.

This article presents the results of an adaptive design experiment in the recruitment of households and individuals for a two-stage national probability web or mail mixed-mode survey, the American Family Health Study (AFHS). In the screening stage, we based the adaptive design's subgroup differentiation on segmentation. We used tailored invitation materials for a subsample where a high proportion of the population was Hispanic and added a paper questionnaire to the initial mailing for a subsample with rural and older families.

Dietary docosahexaenoic acid supplementation inhibits acute pulmonary transcriptional and autoantibody responses to a single crystalline silica exposure in lupus-prone mice.

Introduction: Workplace exposure to respirable crystalline silica (cSiO) has been epidemiologically linked to lupus. Consistent with this, repeated subchronic intranasal cSiO instillation in lupus-prone NZBWF1 mice induces inflammation-/autoimmune-related gene expression, ectopic lymphoid tissue (ELT), autoantibody (AAb) production in the lung within 5 to 13 wk followed systemic AAb increases and accelerated onset and progression of glomerulonephritis within 13 to 17 wk. Interestingly, dietary docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplementation suppresses these pathologic effects, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear.

An experimental evaluation of a stopping rule aimed at maximizing cost-quality trade-offs in surveys.

Surveys face difficult choices in managing cost-error trade-offs. Stopping rules for surveys have been proposed as a method for managing these trade-offs. A stopping rule will limit effort on a select subset of cases to reduce costs with minimal harm to quality.

Visible Cash, a Second Incentive, and Priority Mail? An Experimental Evaluation of Mailing Strategies for a Screening Questionnaire in a National Push-to-Web/Mail Survey.

In push-to-web surveys that use postal mail to contact sampled cases, participation is contingent on the mail being opened and the survey invitations being delivered. The design of the mailings is crucial to the success of the survey. We address the question of how to design invitation mailings that can grab potential respondents' attention and sway them to be interested in the survey in a short window of time.

Methods for improving participation rates in national self-administered web/mail surveys: Evidence from the United States.

In the United States, increasing access to the internet, the increasing costs of large-scale face-to-face data collections, and the general reluctance of the public to participate in intrusive in-person data collections all mean that new approaches to nationally representative surveys are urgently needed. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the need for faster, higher-quality alternatives to face-to-face data collection. These trends place a high priority on the evaluation of innovative web-based data collection methods that are convenient for the U.

Toward personalized care for insomnia in the US Army: development of a machine-learning model to predict response to pharmacotherapy.

Study Objectives: Although many military personnel with insomnia are treated with prescription medication, little reliable guidance exists to identify patients most likely to respond. As a first step toward personalized care for insomnia, we present results of a machine-learning model to predict response to insomnia medication.

Methods: The sample comprised n = 4,738 nondeployed US Army soldiers treated with insomnia medication and followed 6-12 weeks after initiating treatment.

Lipidome modulation by dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation or selective soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibition suppresses rough LPS-accelerated glomerulonephritis in lupus-prone mice.

Introduction: Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-accelerated autoimmune glomerulonephritis (GN) in NZBWF1 mice is a preclinical model potentially applicable for investigating lipidome-modulating interventions against lupus. LPS can be expressed as one of two chemotypes: smooth LPS (S-LPS) or rough LPS (R-LPS) which is devoid of O-antigen polysaccharide sidechain. Since these chemotypes differentially affect toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-mediated immune cell responses, these differences may influence GN induction.

Investigation into the use of gamma irradiated Cytodex-1 microcarriers to produce a human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) vaccine candidate in epithelial cells.

V160 is a viral vaccine candidate against human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) that is manufactured using Adult Retinal Pigment Epithelial cells (ARPE-19) grown on Cytodex-1 microcarriers. The microcarriers are generally hydrated, washed, and autoclaved prior to use, which can be limiting at large production scales. To minimize microcarrier preparation and sterilization, the use of gamma irradiated Cytodex-1 was investigated.

An Experimental Evaluation of Two Approaches for Improving Response to Household Screening Efforts in National Mail/Web Surveys.

Survey researchers have carefully modified their data collection operations for various reasons, including the rising costs of data collection and the ongoing Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, both of which have made in-person interviewing difficult. For large national surveys that require household (HH) screening to determine survey eligibility, cost-efficient screening methods that do not include in-person visits need additional evaluation and testing. A new study, known as the American Family Health Study (AFHS), recently initiated data collection with a national probability sample, using a sequential mixed-mode mail/web protocol for push-to-web US HH screening (targeting persons aged 18-49 years).

Key Attributes of a Medical Learning Community Mentor at One Medical School: The Mentee Perspective.

To assess the elements necessary to be a successful learning community (ClinCalc) mentor to medical students from the mentee's perspective. Few such studies have utilized the in-depth and richness of detail obtained in qualitative studies. This qualitative study analyzed four focus group discussions lasting 45-90 min conducted at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, which has an established LC, in the year 2018.

A User-Driven Method for Using Research Products to Empirically Assess Item Importance in National Surveys.

Large-scale, nationally representative surveys serve many vital functions, but these surveys are often long and burdensome for respondents. Cutting survey length can help to reduce respondent burden and may improve data quality but removing items from these surveys is not a trivial matter. We propose a method to empirically assess item importance and associated burden in national surveys and guide this decision-making process using different research products produced from such surveys.

Comparative effects of human-equivalent low, moderate, and high dose oral prednisone intake on autoimmunity and glucocorticoid-related toxicity in a murine model of environmental-triggered lupus.

Autoimmune diseases can be triggered by environmental toxicants such as crystalline silica dust (cSiO). Here, we characterized the dose-dependent immunomodulation and toxicity of the glucocorticoid (GC) prednisone in a preclinical model that emulates onset and progression of cSiO-triggered lupus. Two cohorts of 6-wk-old female NZBWF1 mice were fed either control AIN-93G diet or one of three AIN-93G diets containing prednisone at 5, 15, or 50 mg/kg diet which span human equivalent oral doses (HED) currently considered to be low (PL; 5 mg/d HED), moderate (PM; 14 mg/d HED), or high (PH; 46 mg/d HED), respectively.

Rapid In-Process Measurement of Live Virus Vaccine Potency Using Laser Force Cytology: Paving the Way for Rapid Vaccine Development.

Vaccinations to prevent infectious diseases are given to target the body's innate and adaptive immune systems. In most cases, the potency of a live virus vaccine (LVV) is the most critical measurement of efficacy, though in some cases the quantity of surface antigen on the virus is an equally critical quality attribute. Existing methods to measure the potency of viruses include plaque and TCID50 assays, both of which have very long lead times and cannot provide real time information on the quality of the vaccine during large-scale manufacturing.

Gamma-tocopherol, a major form of vitamin E in diets: Insights into antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, mechanisms, and roles in disease management.

γ-Tocopherol (γT) is a major form of vitamin E in the US diet and the second most abundant vitamin E in the blood and tissues, while α-tocopherol (αT) is the predominant vitamin E in tissues. During the last >25 years, research has revealed that γT has unique antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities relevant to disease prevention compared to αT. While both compounds are potent lipophilic antioxidants, γT but not αT can trap reactive nitrogen species by forming 5-nitro-γT, and appears to show superior protection of mitochondrial function.