Disparities in Life Course Outcomes for Transition-Aged Youth with Disabilities.

Close to 750,000 youth with special health care needs transition to adult health care in the United States every year; however, less than one-half receive transition-planning services. Using the "F-words" organizing framework, this article explores life course outcomes and disparities in transition-aged youth with disabilities, with a special focus on youth with autism, Down syndrome, and cerebral palsy. Despite the importance of transition, a review of the available literature revealed that (1) youth with disabilities continue to have poor outcomes in all six "F-words" domains (ie, function, family, fitness, fun, friends, and future) and (2) transition outcomes vary by race/ethnicity and disability.

Economic and disease burden of breast cancer associated with suboptimal breastfeeding practices in Mexico.

Purpose: Exclusive breastfeeding and longer breastfeeding reduce women's breast cancer risk but Mexico has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates worldwide. We estimated the lifetime economic and disease burden of breast cancer in Mexico if 95% of parous women breastfeed each child exclusively for 6 months and continue breastfeeding for over a year.

Methods: We used a static microsimulation model with a cost-of-illness approach to simulate a cohort of Mexican women.

Potential deaths averted in USA by replacing cigarettes with e-cigarettes.

Introduction: US tobacco control policies to reduce cigarette use have been effective, but their impact has been relatively slow. This study considers a strategy of switching cigarette smokers to e-cigarette use ('vaping') in the USA to accelerate tobacco control progress.

Methods: A Status Quo Scenario, developed to project smoking rates and health outcomes in the absence of vaping, is compared with Substitution models, whereby cigarette use is largely replaced by vaping over a 10-year period.

Health risks from exposure to untreated wastewater used for irrigation in the Mezquital Valley, Mexico: A 25-year update.

Wastewater reuse for agriculture is common worldwide; wastewater treatment, however, is rare in many countries, leading to high potential for exposure to harmful pathogens. Mexico City, one of the largest producers of untreated wastewater for agricultural use worldwide, was the site of key epidemiologic studies conducted in the 1990s. We both reviewed the literature on and conducted a cross-sectional study of diarrheal risk and wastewater contamination to provide an updated assessment of health risks and to inform an upcoming update of the 2006 WHO guidelines on wastewater reuse.

Characterization of the axon initial segment of mice substantia nigra dopaminergic neurons.

The axon initial segment (AIS) is the site of initiation of action potentials and influences action potential waveform, firing pattern, and rate. In view of the fundamental aspects of motor function and behavior that depend on the firing of substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) dopaminergic neurons, we identified and characterized their AIS in the mouse. Immunostaining for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), sodium channels (Na ) and ankyrin-G (Ank-G) was used to visualize the AIS of dopaminergic neurons.

Correction: Parameter estimation for multistage clonal expansion models from cancer incidence data: A practical identifiability analysis.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.

Potential for immune-driven viral polymorphisms to compromise antiretroviral-based preexposure prophylaxis for prevention of HIV-1 infection.

Objective: Long-acting rilpivirine is a candidate for preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for prevention of HIV-1 infection. However, rilpivirine resistance mutations at reverse transcriptase codon 138 (E138X) occur naturally in a minority of HIV-1-infected persons; in particular those expressing human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B18 where reverse transcriptase-E138X arises as an immune escape mutation. We investigate the global prevalence, B18-linkage and replicative cost of reverse transcriptase-E138X and its regional implications for rilpivirine PrEP.

Identification of major routes of HIV transmission throughout Mesoamerica.

Background: Migration and travel are major drivers of the spread of infectious diseases. Geographic proximity and a common language facilitate travel and migration in Mesoamerica, which in turn could affect the spread of HIV in the region.

Methods: 6092 HIV-1 subtype B partial pol sequences sampled from unique antiretroviral treatment-naïve individuals from Mexico (40.

Mechanisms of Kappa Opioid Receptor Potentiation of Dopamine D2 Receptor Function in Quinpirole-Induced Locomotor Sensitization in Rats.

Background: Increased locomotor activity in response to the same stimulus is an index of behavioral sensitization observed in preclinical models of drug addiction and compulsive behaviors. Repeated administration of quinpirole, a D2/D3 dopamine agonist, induces locomotor sensitization. This effect is potentiated and accelerated by co-administration of U69593, a kappa opioid receptor agonist.

Expected population weight and diabetes impact of the 1-peso-per-litre tax to sugar sweetened beverages in Mexico.

Study Question: What effect on body mass index, obesity and diabetes can we expect from the 1-peso-per-litre tax to sugar sweetened beverages in Mexico?

Methods: Using recently published estimates of the reductions in beverage purchases due to the tax, we modelled its expected long-term impacts on body mass index (BMI), obesity and diabetes. Microsimulations based on a nationally representative dataset were used to estimate the impact of the tax on BMI and obesity. A Markov population model, built upon an age-period-cohort model of diabetes incidence, was used to estimate the impact on diagnosed diabetes in Mexico.

Are steroids effective in toxic epidermal necrolysis and Stevens-Johnson syndrome?

Toxic epidermal necrolysis and Stevens-Johnson syndrome are severe adverse skin reactions to medications and infections. Steroids are described as a therapeutic alternative, but their use is still controversial. To answer this question, we searched in Epistemonikos database, which is maintained by screening multiple information sources.

Dose-response relationships for environmentally mediated infectious disease transmission models.

Environmentally mediated infectious disease transmission models provide a mechanistic approach to examining environmental interventions for outbreaks, such as water treatment or surface decontamination. The shift from the classical SIR framework to one incorporating the environment requires codifying the relationship between exposure to environmental pathogens and infection, i.e.

Risk prediction models for selection of lung cancer screening candidates: A retrospective validation study.

Background: Selection of candidates for lung cancer screening based on individual risk has been proposed as an alternative to criteria based on age and cumulative smoking exposure (pack-years). Nine previously established risk models were assessed for their ability to identify those most likely to develop or die from lung cancer. All models considered age and various aspects of smoking exposure (smoking status, smoking duration, cigarettes per day, pack-years smoked, time since smoking cessation) as risk predictors.

The Juggling Act of Supervision in Community Mental Health: Implications for Supporting Evidence-Based Treatment.

Supervisors are an underutilized resource for supporting evidence-based treatments (EBTs) in community mental health. Little is known about how EBT-trained supervisors use supervision time. Primary aims were to describe supervision (e.

Are cannabinoids effective in multiple sclerosis?

Multiple beneficial effects have been proposed lately for cannabinoids in different clinical situations. Among them, it has been postulated they would control symptoms of multiple sclerosis. However, there is no consensus about their real clinical role.

Parameter estimation for multistage clonal expansion models from cancer incidence data: A practical identifiability analysis.

Many cancers are understood to be the product of multiple somatic mutations or other rate-limiting events. Multistage clonal expansion (MSCE) models are a class of continuous-time Markov chain models that capture the multi-hit initiation-promotion-malignant-conversion hypothesis of carcinogenesis. These models have been used broadly to investigate the epidemiology of many cancers, assess the impact of carcinogen exposures on cancer risk, and evaluate the potential impact of cancer prevention and control strategies on cancer rates.

Case-Case Analysis Using 7 Years of Travelers' Diarrhea Surveillance Data: Preventive and Travel Medicine Applications in Cusco, Peru.

AbstractIn Cusco, Peru, and South America in general, there is a dearth of travelers' diarrhea (TD) data concerning the clinical features associated with enteropathogen-specific infections and destination-specific risk behaviors. Understanding these factors would allow travel medicine providers to tailor interventions to patients' risk profiles and travel destination. To characterize TD etiology, evaluate region-specific TD risk factors, and examine relationships between preventive recommendations and risk-taking behaviors among medium- to long-term travelers' from high-income countries, we conducted this case-case analysis using 7 years of prospective surveillance data from adult travelers' presenting with TD to a physician in Cusco.

Modeling Biphasic Environmental Decay of Pathogens and Implications for Risk Analysis.

As the appreciation for the importance of the environment in infectious disease transmission has grown, so too has interest in pathogen fate and transport. Fate has been traditionally described by simple exponential decay, but there is increasing recognition that some pathogens demonstrate a biphasic pattern of decay-fast followed by slow. While many have attributed this behavior to population heterogeneity, we demonstrate that biphasic dynamics can arise through a number of plausible mechanisms.

The impact of overdiagnosis on the selection of efficient lung cancer screening strategies.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recently updated their national lung screening guidelines and recommended low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) for lung cancer (LC) screening through age 80.

Skeletal muscle fibroblasts in health and disease.

As the primary producer of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins in skeletal muscle, fibroblasts play an important role providing structural support to muscle. Skeletal muscle ECM is vital for force transduction from muscle cells to tendons and bones to create movement. It is these ECM connections that allow the movement created in muscle to be transmitted to our skeleton.

Endometrial Cancer Trends by Race and Histology in the USA: Projecting the Number of New Cases from 2015 to 2040.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to explore incidence and incidence-based mortality trends for endometrial cancer in the USA and project future incident cases, accounting for differences by race and histological subtype.

Methods: Data on age-adjusted and age-specific incidence and mortality rates of endometrial cancer were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results 18 registries. Trends in rates were analyzed using Joinpoint regression, and average annual percent change (AAPC) in recent years (2006-2011) was computed for histological subtypes by race.

Patients' Attitudes Regarding Lung Cancer Screening and Decision Aids. A Survey and Focus Group Study.

Rationale: Little is known about vulnerable patients' perceptions and understanding of, and preferences for, lung cancer screening decision aids.

Objectives: To determine, in a low-income, racially diverse population, (1) participants' experience, preferences, and reactions to web-based and paper decision aids, and (2) their understanding of harms and benefits of lung cancer screening.

Methods: We enrolled outpatients at an urban county hospital in six focus group discussions that included review of a web-based and a paper-based lung-cancer screening decision aid.