Use of Rapid Antigen Tests to End Isolation in a University Setting: Observational Study.

Background: COVID-19 isolation recommendations have evolved over the course of the pandemic. Initially, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention required 10 days of isolation after a positive test result. In December 2021, this was reduced to a minimum of 5 days with symptom improvement, followed by 5 days of mask wearing.

A school of public health responds to the pandemic: A case study from Washington D.C.

The emergence of COVID-19 immediately affected higher education, and the closure of campuses at the start of the pandemic in March of 2020 forced educational institutions to quickly adapt to changing circumstances. Schools of public health faced challenges not only of shifting to remote learning and work environments, but also uniquely redirecting public health research and service efforts toward COVID-19. This paper offers a case study of how the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University (GWSPH), the only school of public health in the nation's capital, initially adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic.

SARS-CoV-2 surveillance and outbreak response on an urban American college campus.

Objective: The George Washington University (GW) in Washington, D.C., USA established the Public Health Laboratory and Campus COVID-19 Support Team (CCST) to develop and implement its SARS-CoV-2 surveillance testing and outbreak response for the 2020-2021 academic year.

Methyl mercury, but not inorganic mercury, associated with higher blood pressure during pregnancy.

Prior studies addressing associations between mercury and blood pressure have produced inconsistent findings; some of this may result from measuring total instead of speciated mercury. This cross-sectional study of 263 pregnant women assessed total mercury, speciated mercury, selenium, and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in umbilical cord blood and blood pressure during labor and delivery. Models with a) total mercury or b) methyl and inorganic mercury were evaluated.

Prenatal exposure to tobacco smoke leads to increased mitochondrial DNA content in umbilical cord serum associated to reduced gestational age.

We investigated if prenatal exposures to tobacco smoke lead to changes in mitochondrial DNA content (mtDNA) in cord serum and adversely affect newborns' health. Umbilical cord serum cotinine levels were used to determine in utero exposure to smoking. Cord serum mtDNA was measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis of the genes coding for cytochrome c oxidase1 (MT-CO1) and cytochrome c oxidase2 (MT-CO2).

Optimal Exposure Biomarkers for Nonpersistent Chemicals in Environmental Epidemiology.

We discuss considerations that are essential when evaluating exposure to nonpersistent, semivolatile environmental chemicals such as phthalates and phenols (e.g., bisphenol A).

Cord Blood Methylmercury and Fetal Growth Outcomes in Baltimore Newborns: Potential Confounding and Effect Modification by Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Selenium, and Sex.

Background: Methylmercury (MeHg) may affect fetal growth; however, prior research often lacked assessment of mercury speciation, confounders, and interactions.

Objective: Our objective was to assess the relationship between MeHg and fetal growth as well as the potential for confounding or interaction of this relationship from speciated mercury, fatty acids, selenium, and sex.

Methods: This cross-sectional study includes 271 singletons born in Baltimore, Maryland, 2004-2005.

Prenatal mercury concentration is associated with changes in DNA methylation at TCEANC2 in newborns.

Background: Human exposure to the widespread environmental contaminant mercury is a known risk factor for common diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and neurological disorders through poorly characterized mechanisms. Evidence suggests mercury exposure may alter DNA methylation levels, but to date, the effects in early life on a genome-wide scale have not been investigated.

Methods: A study sample of 141 newborns was recruited in Baltimore, MD, USA and total mercury and methylmercury were measured in cord blood samples.

Paternal sperm DNA methylation associated with early signs of autism risk in an autism-enriched cohort.

Background: Epigenetic mechanisms such as altered DNA methylation have been suggested to play a role in autism, beginning with the classical association of Prader-Willi syndrome, an imprinting disorder, with autistic features.

Objectives: Here we tested for the relationship of paternal sperm DNA methylation with autism risk in offspring, examining an enriched-risk cohort of fathers of autistic children.

Methods: We examined genome-wide DNA methylation (DNAm) in paternal semen biosamples obtained from an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) enriched-risk pregnancy cohort, the Early Autism Risk Longitudinal Investigation (EARLI) cohort, to estimate associations between sperm DNAm and prospective ASD development, using a 12-month ASD symptoms assessment, the Autism Observation Scale for Infants (AOSI).

Elucidating the molecular basis of adverse health effects from exposure to anthropogenic polyfluorinated compounds using toxicoproteomic approaches.

Linear, short-chain polyfluorinated and perfluorinated alkyl compounds, often referred to as PFCs, have been in worldwide use as surfactants and polymer precursors for decades, and environmental dispersal of these highly persistent compounds represents a public health threat. Whereas ubiquitous low-level exposure to these compounds has been demonstrated in human populations from around the world, the exact mechanisms of toxicity and their toxic potency remain subject to investigation and scientific dispute. As with other environmental exposures, a major hurdle for gaining a better understanding of their human health impacts is the limited utility of cell culture and animal models serving as convenient, yet imperfect proxies to human physiology and disease.

Chemical safety, health care costs and the Affordable Care Act.

On May 22, 2013, the late Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Senator David Vitter (R-LA) and 19 of their colleagues introduced bipartisan chemical safety legislation in the US Senate, "The Chemical Safety Improvement Act of 2013." The bill's purpose is to protect human health and the environment against the hazards of toxic chemicals, by requiring the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to examine the safety of all chemicals in consumer products. The bill is currently before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, chaired by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA).

Assuring access to data for chemical evaluations.

Background: A database for studies used for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pesticide and chemical reviews would be an excellent resource for increasing transparency and improving systematic assessments of pesticides and chemicals.

Prioritization of biomarker targets in human umbilical cord blood: identification of proteins in infant blood serving as validated biomarkers in adults.

Background: Early diagnosis represents one of the best lines of defense in the fight against a wide array of human diseases. Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is one of the first easily available diagnostic biofluids and can inform about the health status of newborns. However, compared with adult blood, its diagnostic potential remains largely untapped.

Automated high-throughput fatty acid analysis of umbilical cord serum and application to an epidemiological study.

Large population studies show that polyunsaturated fatty acids are important for human health, but determining relationships between the health benefits and the fatty acid content has been hampered by the unavailability of labor-effective high-throughput technologies. An automated high throughput fatty acid analysis was developed from a previous procedure based on direct transesterification including the automation of chemical procedures, data acquisition and automatic data processing. The method was validated and applied to umbilical cord serum samples in an epidemiological study.

DNA methylation shows genome-wide association of NFIX, RAPGEF2 and MSRB3 with gestational age at birth.

Background: Gestational age at birth strongly predicts neonatal, adolescent and adult morbidity and mortality through mostly unknown mechanisms. Identification of specific genes that are undergoing regulatory change prior to birth, such as through changes in DNA methylation, would increase our understanding of developmental changes occurring during the third trimester and consequences of pre-term birth (PTB).

Methods: We performed a genome-wide analysis of DNA methylation (using microarrays, specifically CHARM 2.