: Place-based initiatives (PBIs) invest in a geographic area and often build community power to improve well-being. However, there can be differences in results for different groups within a community. : In six communities, we measured differences in "power to" by race/ethnicity at two points for the first phase of the PBI Healthy Places North Carolina (HPNC) using five indicators: (1) representation in network of actors collaborating to improve health, (2) leadership attributes, (3) perceived change in attributes due to HPNC, (4) network centrality, and (5) perceived change in network ties due to HPNC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMultisector stakeholders, including, community-based organizations, health systems, researchers, policymakers, and commerce, increasingly seek to address health inequities that persist due to structural racism. They require accessible tools to visualize and quantify the prevalence of social drivers of health (SDOH) and correlate them with health to facilitate dialog and action. We developed and deployed a web-based data visualization platform to make health and SDOH data available to the community.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Objectives: Hearing loss frequently goes undiagnosed and untreated, with serious sequelae. Hearing screening facilitates diagnosis and treatment but is not routinely conducted in primary care. This study addresses the attitudes and insights of patients and primary care clinic personnel relative to the routinization of hearing screening in primary care for older adults.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMotivation: Chemical reaction networks (CRNs) play a pivotal role in diverse fields such as systems biology, biochemistry, chemical engineering, and epidemiology. High-level definitions of CRNs enables to use various simulation approaches, including deterministic and stochastic methods, from the same model. However, existing Python tools for simulation of CRN typically wrap external C/C++ libraries for model definition, translation into equations and/or numerically solving them, limiting their extensibility and integration with the broader Python ecosystem.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Limited long-term safety data are published on HA/CaHA/L, a hybrid dermal filler combining hyaluronic acid (HA), calcium hydroxyapatite (CaHA), and lidocaine (L).
Methods: This retrospective multicenter study assessed treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) in adults treated with HA/CaHA/L. The full analysis set (FAS) included eligible consented adults ( = 403); the long-term safety analysis (LTSA) set included FAS participants with greater than or equal to 12-months HA/CaHA/L exposure ( = 243).
Background: A phase 4, prospective, open-label, multicenter study showed that treatment with deoxycholic acid injections (ATX-10) followed by a hyaluronic acid filler (VYC-20L) is safe and effective for reducing submental fullness and improving jawline definition.
Objective: To quantify changes in the jawline and submental area using 3-dimensional (3D) photogrammetry and conduct an immunohistochemical analysis of submental tissue. Methods: Participants received 1 to 6 ATX-101 treatments (8 weeks apart) followed by VYC-20L (optional touch-up after 14 days).
Background: A validated scale is needed for objective and reproducible comparisons of marionette lines before and after treatment in clinical studies.
Objective: To describe the development and validation of a 5-point photonumeric marionette lines scale.
Methods: The scale was developed to include an assessment guide, verbal descriptors, and real and morphed subject images for each scale grade.
Objectives: The prevalence of hearing loss increases with age. Untreated hearing loss is associated with poorer communication abilities and negative health consequences, such as increased risk of dementia, increased odds of falling, and depression. Nonetheless, evidence is insufficient to support the benefits of universal hearing screening in asymptomatic older adults.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProg Community Health Partnersh
July 2023
Problem: Translating research to support practice is becoming a more prominent goal in the scientific community. However, further innovation and research is needed on effective approaches to this endeavor.
Purpose: This case study describes an approach that combines the insights of diffusion of innovation theory with the philosophy and practices of community engagement.
This research aimed: (i) to evaluate on-farm (FARM data) multiparametric models developed under controlled experiment (INRAE data) and based on non-invasive indicators to detect subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA) in dairy cows. We also aimed to recover high discrimination capacity, if needed, by (ii) building new models with combined INRAE and FARM data; and (iii) enriching the models increasing from 2 to 5 indicators per model. For model enrichment, we focused on indicators determinable on-farm by quick and inexpensive routine analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Opt Soc Am A Opt Image Sci Vis
April 2023
Background estimation is the first step in quantitative analysis of images. It has an impact on all subsequent analyses, in particular for segmentation and calculation of ratiometric quantities. Most methods recover only a single value such as the median or yield a biased estimation in non-trivial cases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAssets-based interventions can address child health disparities by connecting families to existing community resources. Community collaboration when designing interventions may identify barriers and facilitators to implementation. The objective of this study was to identify crucial implementation considerations during the design phase of an asset-based intervention to address disparities in childhood obesity, Assets for Health.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn a context of social inequity, research translation naturally furthers health inequity. As Fundamental Cause Theory (FCT) explains-and an associated empirical literature illustrates-those with more resources benefit earlier and more from scientific innovation than those with fewer resources. Therefore, research translation of its own course creates and widens health disparities based on socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Social inequity is a primary driver of health disparities, creating multiple barriers to good health. These inequities were exacerbated during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, with Latinx communities suffering more than others. Grassroots collaborations have long existed to address disparities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Hyaluronic acid (HA) injectable gels are used to define, enhance, and volumize facial regions, such as the lips, a common treatment area.
Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the HA injectable gel Juvéderm Volift (Allergan, Aesthetics, an AbbVie Company Irvine, CA) with Lidocaine (VYC-17.5L) for lip augmentation in real-world clinical practice.
Background: Hearing loss is a high prevalence condition among older adults, is associated with higher-than-average risk for poor health outcomes and quality of life, and is a public health concern to individuals, families, communities, professionals, governments, and policy makers. Although low-cost hearing screening (HS) is widely available, most older adults are not asked about hearing during health care visits. A promising approach to addressing unmet needs in hearing health care is HS in primary care (PC) clinics; most PC providers (PCPs) do not inquire about hearing loss.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Objectives: Community engagement (CE), including community-engaged research, is a critical tool for improving the health of patients and communities, but is not taught in most medical curricula, and is even rarer in leadership training for practicing clinicians. With the growth of value-based care and increasing concern for health equity, we need to turn our attention to the benefits of working with communities to improve health and health care. The objective of this brief report is to increase understanding of the perceived benefits of CE training for primary care clinicians, specifically those already working.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInjections with hyaluronic acid (HA) fillers for facial rejuvenation and soft-tissue augmentation are among the most popular aesthetic procedures worldwide. Many HA fillers are available with unique manufacturing processes and distinct in vitro physicochemical and rheologic properties, which result in important differences in the fillers' clinical performance. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the properties most widely used to characterize HA fillers and to report their rheologic and physicochemical values obtained using standardized methodology to allow scientifically based comparisons.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAesthet Surg J Open Forum
September 2021
Elastin is the main component of elastic fibers, which provide stretch, recoil, and elasticity to the skin. Normal levels of elastic fiber production, organization, and integration with other cutaneous extracellular matrix proteins, proteoglycans, and glycosaminoglycans are integral to maintaining healthy skin structure, function, and youthful appearance. Although elastin has very low turnover, its production decreases after individuals reach maturity and it is susceptible to damage from many factors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnderstanding signal propagation across biological networks requires to simultaneously monitor the dynamics of several nodes to uncover correlations masked by inherent intercellular variability. To monitor the enzymatic activity of more than two components over short time scales has proven challenging. Exploiting the narrow spectral width of homo-FRET-based biosensors, up to three activities can be imaged through fluorescence polarization anisotropy microscopy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is increasing demand among transgender individuals for minimally invasive aesthetic procedures, such as injectable facial fillers and neurotoxins, for facial remodeling and transformation. These procedures may increase transgender individuals' satisfaction with their appearance and allow them to more effectively harmonize their physical appearance with their perception of self. There is currently a lack of information in the medical literature regarding guidelines for the use of these products in transgender patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Health Care Poor Underserved
September 2021
Background: Residential eviction is a component of housing instability that negatively affects physical and mental health, but the effect of eviction on health care utilization, specifically hospital readmissions and outpatient no-show rates, is not known.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of health care utilization of individuals evicted from public housing between January 2013 and December 2017, investigating hospital readmissions and no-show rates one year before and after eviction.
Results: 131 individuals who had been evicted had one year of data pre-and post-eviction.