Publications by authors named "MG Schmidt"

Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how different types of multimorbidity impact sleeping medication usage among women aged 20-69 in Southern Brazil.
  • Three patterns of multimorbidity were identified: cardiometabolic, endocrine-articular, and psychosomatic, with younger women (under 45) showing significantly higher likelihoods of using sleeping medications based on these patterns.
  • The findings highlight the urgent need for health promotion aimed at young women to address the early use of sleeping medications and the associated risks.
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Importance: Mass violence incidents (MVIs) are prevalent in the US and can have profound and long-lasting psychological consequences on direct survivors, but their outcomes among the broader communities where the MVI occurred are unknown.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of and factors associated with past-year and current posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among adults in communities that experienced an MVI.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cross-sectional survey was completed between February and September 2020 with a household probability sample of adults from 6 communities that had experienced an MVI between 2015 and 2019: Dayton, Ohio; El Paso, Texas; Parkland, Florida; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; San Bernadino, California; and Virginia Beach, Virginia.

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Objectives: This study aims to determine (1) which providers in US healthcare systems order lead tests, why and at what frequency and (2) whether current patient population lead levels are predictive of clinical outcomes.

Methods: Retrospective medical record study of all blood lead tests in the Medical University of South Carolina healthcare system 2012-2016 and consequent evidence of central nervous system (CNS)-related disease across a potential 10-year window (2012-2022).

Results: Across 4 years, 9726 lead tests resulted for 7181 patients (49.

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Background: Partial hepatectomy is a preferred treatment option for many patients with hepatocellular carcinoma however, pre-existing pathological abnormalities originating from hepatic steatosis can alter the decision to perform surgery or postoperative outcomes as a consequence of the impact steatosis has on liver regeneration.

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of a saturated or unsaturated high fat diet-mediated steatosis on liver regeneration following partial hepatectomy.

Methods: Mice were fed a low-fat control diet (CD, 13% fat), lard-based unsaturated (LD, 60% fat) or milk-based saturated high fat diet (MD, 60% fat) for 16 weeks at which time partial hepatectomy (approx.

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The scope of this paper is an ecological study to determine the consumption of low-dose naltrexone (LDN) in the 26 Brazilian capitals and the Federal District and monitor the trend between the years 2014 to 2020. Data collection on the dispensation of manipulated naltrexone was done through the National Management System of Controlled Products, published in 2020, considering low-dose prescriptions of up to 5 mg. The calculation of the dispensation coefficients used the population estimates of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics.

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Vaccine hesitancy is a serious threat to global health; however, significant COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy exists throughout the United States. The 5C model, which postulates five person-level determinants for vaccine hesitancy - confidence, complacency, constraints, risk calculation, and collective responsibility - provides one theoretical way of understanding COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. The present study examined the effects of these 5C drivers of vaccine behavior on early vaccine adoption and vaccine intentions above and beyond theoretically salient demographic characteristics and compared these associations across a National sample (n = 1634) and a statewide sample from South Carolina (n = 784) - a state with documented low levels of COVID-19 vaccination uptake.

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Importance: Environmental disasters, such as the Flint, Michigan, water crisis, are potentially traumatic events (PTEs) that may precipitate long-term psychiatric disorders. The water crisis was associated with acute elevations in mental health problems in the Flint community, but long-term psychiatric sequelae have not yet been evaluated using standardized diagnostic measures.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of and factors associated with current presumptive diagnostic-level major depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among Flint residents 5 years after the onset of the crisis.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examined how having multiple chronic health conditions (multimorbidity) affects the use of sleep medications among women aged 20-69 in Southern Brazil.
  • Results showed that women with two or more chronic conditions were 78% more likely, and those with three or more were 90% more likely, to use sleep medications compared to those without such conditions, independent of obesity and mental health factors.
  • The findings suggest that chronic health issues may negatively impact sleep quality, leading to a higher likelihood of sleep medication use, starting at a younger age and potentially continuing into later life.
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Microbial burden associated with near-patient touch surfaces results in a greater risk of health care-associated infections (HAIs). Acute care beds may be a critical fomite, as traditional plastic surfaces harbor the highest concentrations of bacteria associated with high-touch surfaces in a hospital room's patient zone. Five high-touch intensive care unit (ICU) bed surfaces encountered by patients, health care workers, and visitors were monitored by routine culture to assess the effect U.

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Microbial bioburden associated with the built environment can impact the rate of health care-associated infection acquisition; higher bioburden results in a greater incidence of health care-associated infections. Two disinfectants registered by the US Environmental Protection Agency and a trial disinfectant were evaluated for their ability to limit the establishment of bioburden subsequent to application under in situ conditions on patient bed rails within a medical intensive care unit. Bioburden samples were collected immediately prior to disinfection and at 1, 6, and 24 hours after application.

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Introduction: The ability to monitor physical activity throughout the day and during various activities continues to improve with the development of wrist-worn monitors. However, the accuracy of wrist-worn monitors to measure both heart rate and energy expenditure during physical activity is still unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine the accuracy of several popular wrist-worn monitors at measuring heart rate and energy expenditure.

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The analysis of dental students' clinical production/participation has been used to assess whether a prospective graduate is capable of unsupervised and independent practice (that is, competent to perform that practice). This method and others have inherent biases that may not accurately reflect whether the student has mastered the associated concepts and techniques required for dentistry. The aim of this study was to assess an informatics system that assigned curriculum meta-tags with time-based relative educational value units (ReVUs) to each clinical procedure performed by Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) students.

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Background: Stethoscopes may serve as vehicles for transmission of bacteria among patients. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of antimicrobial copper surfaces to reduce the bacterial concentration associated with stethoscope surfaces.

Methods: A structured prospective trial involving 21 health care providers was conducted at a pediatric emergency division (ED) (n = 14) and an adult medical intensive care unit located in tertiary care facilities (n = 7).

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Objective: To assess the ability of copper alloy surfaces to mitigate the bacterial burden associated with commonly touched surfaces in conjunction with daily and terminal cleaning in rural hospital settings.

Design: A prospective intention-to-treat trial design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of cooper alloy surfaces and respective controls to augment infection control practices under pragmatic conditions.

Setting: Half of the patient rooms in the medical-surgical suite in a 49-bed rural hospital were outfitted with copper alloy materials.

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Background: Studies have consistently shown that copper alloyed surfaces decrease the burden of microorganisms in health care environments. This study assessed whether copper alloy surfaces decreased hospital-associated infections in pediatric intensive and intermediate care units.

Methods: Admitted infants were assigned sequentially to a room furnished with or without a limited number of copper alloyed surfaces.

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Antibiotic resistance is a growing threat to human health exacerbated by a lack of new antibiotics. We now describe a series of substituted diamines that produce rapid bactericidal activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and stationary-phase bacteria. These compounds reduce biofilm formation and promote biofilm dispersal in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

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Background: Health care-associated infections result in significant patient morbidity and mortality. Although cleaning can remove pathogens present on hospital surfaces, those surfaces may be inadequately cleaned or recontaminated within minutes. Because of copper's inherent and continuous antimicrobial properties, copper surfaces offer a solution to complement cleaning.

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Objective: This is a translational science article that discusses copper alloys as antimicrobial environmental surfaces. Bacteria die when they come in contact with copper alloys in laboratory tests. Components made of copper alloys were also found to be efficacious in a clinical trial.

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Steatotic livers are more sensitive to ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) and are thus routinely rejected for transplantation because of their increased rate of primary nonfunction (PNF). Lean livers have less I/R-induced damage and inflammation due to Kupffer cells (KC), which are protective after total, warm, hepatic I/R with associated bowel congestion. This protection has been linked to KC-dependent expression of the potent anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10).

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Uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) is a mitochondrial membrane protein that regulates energy metabolism and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. We generated mouse carboxy- and amino-terminal green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged UCP2 constructs to investigate the effect of UCP2 expression on cell proliferation and viability. UCP2-transfected Hepa 1-6 cells did not show reduced cellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) but showed increased levels of glutathione.

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Fatty liver or hepatic steatosis is a common health problem associated with abnormal liver function and increased susceptibility to ischemia/reperfusion injury. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of the fatty acid synthase inhibitor cerulenin on hepatic function in steatotic ob/ob mice. Different dosages of cerulenin were administered intraperitoneally to ob/ob mice for 2 to 7 days.

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