Differences in Presenting Health Warning Labels on Hookah Venue Menus Between Immersive Virtual Reality and Online Surveys.

Background: Virtual reality (VR) platforms can simulate the real world, whereas online surveys are efficient settings for assessing and testing information. In this study, the effects of presenting health warning labels (HWLs) on hookah venue menus were compared between these two message-testing settings.

Methods: Separate studies were conducted in VR ( = 96) and online survey ( = 213) settings.

Incidence of opioid misuse by cigarette smoking status in the United States.

Background: The combination of opioid misuse and cigarette smoking contributes to increased morbidity and mortality compared to each substance use alone. We estimated the incidence of opioid misuse for persons who currently or formerly smoked versus never smoked.

Methods: Data came from the 2015-2020 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health cross-sectional surveys of US civilians aged 12+ (n = 315,661).

El Niño Southern Oscillation, monsoon anomaly, and childhood diarrheal disease morbidity in Nepal.

Climate change is adversely impacting the burden of diarrheal diseases. Despite significant reduction in global prevalence, diarrheal disease remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among young children in low- and middle-income countries. Previous studies have shown that diarrheal disease is associated with meteorological conditions but the role of large-scale climate phenomena such as El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and monsoon anomaly is less understood.

Longitudinal associations between receiving E-cigarette price promotions and subsequent E-cigarette use among U.S. Young adult cigarette smokers.

Introduction: E-cigarette price promotions (EPPs; i.e., marketed reductions in cost) may influence young adult cigarette smokers to try, dual use with, or completely transition to e-cigarettes.

Associations between living in localities with e-cigarette sales restrictions and e-cigarette use change among young adults in Los Angeles County.

Introduction: Local e-cigarette sales restrictions (ESRs) may impact e-cigarette use. This study examined the associations between living in localities with various ESR policies and changes in e-cigarette use among young adults in Los Angeles (LA) County, California, USA.

Methods: Data were from a cohort of LA County young adults (18-21 years; n=2100) who completed two waves of surveys (Fall 2018-Summer 2019 and Summer-Fall 2020).

Longitudinal associations between U.S. youth exposure to E-cigarette marketing and E-cigarette use harm perception and behavior change.

E-cigarette marketing tactics to reach and appeal to youth are rapidly changing. This study examined to what extent youth e-cigarette marketing exposure was associated with e-cigarette use behavior change one year later, during a time when youth e-cigarette use was starting to surge in the U.S.

Manual Palpation vs. Femoral Arterial Doppler Ultrasound for Comparison of Pulse Check Time During Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in the Emergency Department: A Pilot Study.

Background: Manual palpation (MP) is frequently employed for pulse checks, but studies have shown that trained medical personnel have difficulty accurately identifying pulselessness or return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) using MP. Any delays in identifying pulselessness can lead to significant delays in starting or resuming high-quality chest compressions.

Objectives: This study explored whether femoral arterial Doppler ultrasound (FADU) decreases pulse check duration during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) compared with MP among patients in the emergency department (ED) receiving CPR directed by emergency medicine physicians who had received minimal additional didactic ultrasound training.

Biomarker Categorization in Transcriptomic Meta-Analysis by Concordant Patterns With Application to Pan-Cancer Studies.

With the increasing availability and dropping cost of high-throughput technology in recent years, many-omics datasets have accumulated in the public domain. Combining multiple transcriptomic studies on related hypothesis via meta-analysis can improve statistical power and reproducibility over single studies. For differential expression (DE) analysis, biomarker categorization by DE pattern across studies is a natural but critical task following biomarker detection to help explain between study heterogeneity and classify biomarkers into categories with potentially related functionality.

Racial and Sex Differences between Urinary Phthalates and Metabolic Syndrome among U.S. Adults: NHANES 2005-2014.

Phthalates, plasticizers ubiquitous in household and personal care products, have been associated with metabolic disturbances. Despite the noted racial differences in phthalate exposure and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS), it remains unclear whether associations between phthalate metabolites and MetS vary by race and sex. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted among 10,017 adults from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (2005-2014).

Forecasting COVID-19 Cases Based on Social Distancing in Maryland, USA: A Time-Series Approach.

Objective: Our objective is to forecast the number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the state of Maryland, United States, using transfer function time series (TS) models based on a Social Distancing Index (SDI) and determine how their parameters relate to the pandemic mechanics.

Methods: A moving window of 2 mo was used to train the transfer function TS model that was then tested on the next week data. After accounting for a secular trend and weekly cycle of the SDI, a high correlation was documented between it and the daily caseload 9 days later.

Public Compliance With Social Distancing Measures and SARS-CoV-2 Spread : A Quantitative Analysis of 5 States.

Objective: We quantified the association between public compliance with social distancing measures and the spread of SARS-CoV-2 during the first wave of the epidemic (March-May 2020) in 5 states that accounted for half of the total number of COVID-19 cases in the United States.

Methods: We used data on mobility and number of COVID-19 cases to longitudinally estimate associations between public compliance, as measured by human mobility, and the daily reproduction number and daily growth rate during the first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York.

Results: The 5 states mandated social distancing directives during March 19-24, 2020, and public compliance with mandates started to decrease in mid-April 2020.

Association between private drinking water wells and the incidence of Campylobacteriosis in Maryland: An ecological analysis using Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) data (2007-2016).

Campylobacter is a leading cause of bacterial foodborne illness in the United States. Campylobacter infections have most often been associated with food-related risk factors, such as the consumption of poultry and raw milk. Socioeconomic, agricultural and environmental factors, including drinking water source, can also influence the risk of campylobacteriosis.

Tobacco Point-of-Sale Influence on U.S. Adult Smokers.

Introduction: Prior research has shown that tobacco companies target point-of-sale (POS) marketing to low-income communities. This research assessed the association between demographic characteristics and venue type with purchasing tobacco products in response to marketing.

Methods: Using Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study Wave 1 Adult data, this analysis compared promotion awareness and purchase influence among current smokers.

Causes of Excess Deaths in Puerto Rico After Hurricane Maria: A Time-Series Estimation.

To determine the number and causes of excess deaths in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria made landfall on September 20, 2017. We obtained monthly vital statistics data on all deaths from January 2008 through October 2017. We conducted a time-series analysis to estimate excess mortality in September and October 2017 overall and by age, sex, and cause of death.

Dissociating the effect of flavor and nicotine in smokeless tobacco products using electroencephalography: The case of wintergreen flavors.

The increased consumption of tobacco products in recent years has been linked, among other factors, to the presence of added flavors. Although flavors are important in explaining consumption, their effects in the brain have until now been unexplored. In the present study, we investigated how electrophysiology can serve to dissociate the effects of nicotine and flavor.