A Pilot Study of a Sibling-Based Online Intervention to Increase PrEP Uptake and Willingness Among Latino MSM.

This study explored the feasibility and acceptability of Entre Herman@s, a novel sibling-based intervention designed to engage siblings to increase PrEP utilization among Latino men who have sex with men (LMSM). Siblings were trained in rudimentary motivational interviewing skills to uncover, evoke, and strengthen their brother's motivation to use PrEP, using the constructs of the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills (IMB) model for health behavior change. This pilot demonstrated high feasibility, meeting recruitment, retention, and intervention completion targets.

Underrepresentation of Black Men in Physician Assistant and Associate Training.

Importance: The underrepresentation of Black men in the health care workforce, particularly among physician assistants and associates (PAs), represents a missed opportunity to alleviate shortages of health care professionals and enhance workforce diversity. Increasing the number of Black men in the training pipeline could significantly benefit education, patient care, and overall health outcomes.

Objective: To analyze patterns from 2013 to 2021 among Black men applying to and matriculating into PA programs and compare these figures with the age-specific US population of Black men.

KMT2D Deficiency Causes Sensorineural Hearing Loss in Mice and Humans.

Individuals with Kabuki syndrome type 1 (KS1) often have hearing loss recognized in middle childhood. Current clinical dogma suggests that this phenotype is caused by frequent infections due to the immune deficiency in KS1 and/or secondary to structural abnormalities of the ear. To clarify some aspects of hearing loss, we collected information on hearing status from 21 individuals with KS1 and found that individuals have both sensorineural and conductive hearing loss, with the average age of presentation being 7 years.

Impact of food insecurity and food environment on the diet quality of older African Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction: A high quality diet is vital in promoting wellbeing and ensuring good health, particularly for those living with chronic conditions. Older African Americans, already burdened with a higher prevalence of chronic conditions, also face a higher risk for suboptimal diets. The COVID-19 pandemic had lasting effects on access to healthy food for all Americans, but some demographic groups were disproportionately affected.

Impact of post-incarceration care engagement interventions on HIV transmission among young Black men who have sex with men and their sexual partners: an agent-based network modeling study.

Background: Understanding the impact of incarceration on HIV transmission among Black men who have sex with men is important given their disproportionate representation among people experiencing incarceration and the potential impact of incarceration on social and sexual networks, employment, housing, and medical care. We developed an agent-based network model (ABNM) of 10,000 agents representing young Black men who have sex with men in the city of Chicago to examine the impact of varying degrees of post-incarceration care disruption and care engagement interventions following release from jail on HIV incidence.

Methods: Exponential random graph models were used to model network formation and dissolution dynamics, and network dynamics and HIV care continuum engagement were varied according to incarceration status.

Would the Siblings of Latinx Men Who Have Sex With Men Encourage Their Brothers to Use PrEP? Findings From a Feasibility and Acceptability Study.

We explored whether siblings can be engaged in PrEP promotion. We used the Information-Motivation-Behavior model to develop and conduct surveys and dyadic interviews with Latino men who have sex with men (LMSM) and their siblings (n = 31) and three sibling-only focus groups (n = 20). For LMSM, only n = 14 (45%) agreed they would benefit from taking PrEP, yet = 22 (71%) would take PrEP to make their sibling worry less about them, and = 23 (74%) requested a PrEP referral.

Physician Assistants/Associates With Doctoral Degrees: Where Are They Now?

Purpose: The impact of holding a doctoral credential by clinically practicing physician assistants/associates (PAs) remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate practice patterns and describe demographic characteristics of PAs who have terminal doctoral degrees.

Methods: This was a secondary analysis of data obtained from the 2021 Salary Survey of the American Academy of PAs.

Assessing Food Access, Exercise, and Dietary History among Older African American Parishioners During the COVID-19 Pandemic (C-FED Study): Design, Opportunities, Challenges, and Lessons Learned.

Objectives: Unhealthy diets and inadequate exercise are associated with chronic health conditions and excess mortality. Older African Americans do not meet dietary and exercise guidelines, and this may have worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic due to individual and environmental factors, including food insecurity. Studies evaluating these dynamics are essential for developing interventions.

Drug Use, Family Support, and Depressive Symptoms Among Latinx Sexual Minority Men: A Longitudinal Analysis.

Family rejection has negative health consequences for Latinx sexual minority men (LSMM). However, LSMM often reconcile with their families, a phenomenon cross-sectional studies miss. We analyzed longitudinal data from the Healthy Young Men's Study in Los Angeles.

Diet Quality of Older African Americans: Impact of Knowledge and Perceived Threat of COVID-19.

Confusing health messages and environmental changes intended to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus have affected the dietary behavior of older African Americans. We investigated the impact of COVID-19-related factors on diet quality and the relationship between food access and diet quality. We surveyed 150 African Americans aged 55 years and above during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Racial/ethnic and gender disparity in the severity of NAFLD among people with diabetes or prediabetes.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) exhibits a racial disparity. We examined the prevalence and the association between race, gender, and NAFLD among prediabetes and diabetes populations among adults in the United States. We analyzed data for 3,190 individuals ≥18 years old from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2017-2018.

Reasons clinical education directors intend to leave their jobs.

Objectives: The goals of this study were to characterize clinical coordinators compared to other Physician Assistant (PA) faculty, and investigate factors associated with intent to leave their position, institution, and academia in the U.S.

Methods: This was a secondary analysis of data obtained from the 2019 Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) Faculty and Directors Survey.

Reducing Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Sexually Transmitted Infections Risk in African American Women with At-Risk Male Partners: A Randomized Trial.

We examined the efficacy of the Females of African American Legacy Empowering Self (FemAALES) intervention in a cohort of 203 publicly insured Black women in Los Angeles. Women who reported recent sex with a male partner who was at increased risk for infection by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and sexually transmitted infections (STI) were randomized to the six-session FemAALES intervention or to a single client-centered family planning and STI/HIV counseling session. Participants were followed at 3 and 9 months post-intervention.

Academic leadership in physician assistant/associate medical education: a cross-sectional analysis of the association with doctoral degree, gender, and minority status.

Background: There is a critical need for a diverse pool of academic leaders to increase the number and diversity of the medical workforce. Physician Assistant/Associate (PA) is a growing medical profession. Although the master's degree is the terminal degree for PAs, a growing number of PAs obtain a variety of doctoral degrees.

An exploratory study to characterize the HIV testing-to-care continuum to improve outcomes for Black and Latinx residents of South Los Angeles.

Background: South Los Angeles (SPA6), with mostly Black (27.4%) and Latinx (68.2%) residents, has the second highest rates of new HIV diagnoses (31 per 100,000) in Los Angeles County.

Effects of Noise Exposure and Aging on Behavioral Tone Detection in Quiet and Noise by Mice.

Aging leads to degeneration of the peripheral and central auditory systems, hearing loss, and difficulty understanding sounds in noise. Aging is also associated with changes in susceptibility to or recovery from damaging noise exposures, although the effects of the interaction between acute noise exposure and age on the perception of sounds are not well studied. We tested these effects in the CBA/CaJ mouse model of age-related hearing loss using operant conditioning procedures before and after noise exposure and longitudinally measured changes in their sensitivity for detecting tones in quiet or noise backgrounds.

Minority Stress and Sexual Functioning Among African American Women With At-Risk Partners in South Los Angeles.

Background: Preliminary evidence indicates that acute and chronic psychological stress affect sexual arousal and satisfaction. African American women, in particular, are vulnerable to the impacts of gender- and race-related stress, given their socially constructed identities as African Americans and as women.

Aim: We examined associations between minority stress and sexual function using data from 248 African American women.

Factors predicting incarceration history and incidence among Black and Latino men who have sex with men (MSM) residing in a major urban center.

We analyzed data from a cohort of Black and Latino men who have sex with men (MSM) in order to identify correlates of prevalent and incident incarceration, including potential predictors related to their status as sexual and gender minorities (SGMs). Baseline and follow-up self-administered survey data were examined from Los Angeles County participants' ages 18-45 years at enrollment who were either HIV negative or living with HIV, but recruited to over represent men who used drugs and men with unsuppressed HIV infection. Multivariable logistic regression models were developed to identify predictors of baseline incarceration history and of incident incarceration over study follow-up among 440 and 338 participants, respectively.

Auditory Behavior in Adult-Blinded Mice.

Cross-modal plasticity occurs when the function of remaining senses is enhanced following deprivation or loss of a sensory modality. Auditory neural responses are enhanced in the auditory cortex, including increased sensitivity and frequency selectivity, following short-term visual deprivation in adult mice (Petrus et al. Neuron 81:664-673, 2014).

Sex-Specific Differences in the Association Between Race/Ethnicity and NAFLD Among US Population.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is spreading worldwide, with a racial/ethnic disparity. We examined the gender role in the racial/ethnic difference in NAFLD in the US population. We analyzed data for 3,292 individuals ≥18 years old from NHANES 2017-2018, a representative sample of the non-institutionalized adult population in the US.

Dietary quality, food security and glycemic control among adults with diabetes.

Background And Aims: Nutritionally adequate diets can slow the progression of diabetes, but adherence to recommended dietary choices can be hindered by food insecurity. We examined the relationship between dietary quality, food insecurity, and glycemic control among adults with Type 2 Diabetes.

Methods: We analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2011-2016) for 1682 adults =>20 years old with Type 2 diabetes.

Deafness in an auditory specialist, the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus).

Bats are long-lived animals that show presumed resistance to noise-induced and age-related hearing loss, which has been attributed to their dependence on sound processing for survival. Echolocation and basic auditory functions have been studied extensively in the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus), an insectivorous microchiropteran species. We conducted hearing tests and analysis of cochlear sensory cells in a group of big brown bats that exhibited anomalies in behavioral sonar tracking experiments and/or lacked neural responses to acoustic stimulation in subcortical auditory nuclei.