Biospecimen research and the law.

In the well-known case of Henrietta Lacks, cells from her tumor were taken without consent and used more than 70 years ago to create the first immortal human cell line ("HeLa" cells). That event led to many scientific breakthroughs and to the debate about the ethics of consent and requirements for compensation. May 2024 saw two decisions by US federal courts-one related to Lacks-that could narrow the scope of research allowed on tissues obtained without consent and on nonidentified tissues, with implications for biomedicine.

Dental Health Utilization in Palau: Feasibility of an Oral Cancer Screening Program.

Background: Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the Western Pacific region. The prevalent tradition of chewing betel nut in Palau, an island nation in this region, is a risk factor in the development of oral cancer. Oral cancer is the fifth most common cancer in Palau, and the prognosis can be improved with early detection facilitated by visual inspection of the oral cavity by dentists.

Sharing the Details: Implementing and Evaluating the Integration of New York State AIDS Institute Health Equity Competencies for Health Care Providers into Clinical Training Activities.

Background: The New York State (NYS) Department of Health (DOH) AIDS Institute (AI) Clinical Education Initiative (CEI) trains the NYS health care workforce to improve health outcomes related to HIV, sexual health, hepatitis C, and for people who use drugs.

Methods: In 2019, CEI began consistently integrating health equity into CEI activities through a working group that mapped NYS DOH AI health equity competencies for providers onto planned clinical education. We conducted a convergent mixed methods study on qualitative and quantitative participant feedback form (PFF) data to evaluate these competencies between April 1, 2021, and September 30, 2022, and conducted an annual survey of NYS clinician needs in 2021 and 2022.

Ending the Epidemic: Building Health Care Capacity Through HIV and HCV Preceptorship Programs.

Since 2015, Mount Sinai HIV/HCV Center of Excellence has implemented two-day HIV and HCV preceptorships for New York State health care. Participants assessed their knowledge of and confidence to perform 13 HIV or 10 HCV prevention- and treatment-related skills, measured on a 4-point Likert scale from "not at all" to "very" knowledgeable/confident at baseline, exit survey, and a recent evaluation. Wilcoxon signed rank sum tests determined mean differences at all three time points.

An evaluation of RNA-seq differential analysis methods.

RNA-seq is a high-throughput sequencing technology widely used for gene transcript discovery and quantification under different biological or biomedical conditions. A fundamental research question in most RNA-seq experiments is the identification of differentially expressed genes among experimental conditions or sample groups. Numerous statistical methods for RNA-seq differential analysis have been proposed since the emergence of the RNA-seq assay.

Science, healthcare system, and government effectiveness perception and COVID-19 vaccination acceptance and hesitancy in a global sample: an analytical cross-sectional analysis.

Background: Determinants of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance are complex; how perceptions of the effectiveness of science, healthcare and government impact personal COVID-19 vaccine acceptance is unclear, despite all three domains providing critical roles in development, funding and provision, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccine.

Objective: To estimate impact of perception of science, healthcare systems, and government along with sociodemographic, psychosocial, and cultural characteristics on vaccine acceptance.

Design: We conducted a global nested analytical cross-sectional study of how the perceptions of healthcare, government and science systems have impacted COVID-19 on vaccine acceptance.

Attitudes Toward the Environment and Use of Information and Communication Technologies to Address Environmental Health Risks in Marginalized Communities: Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Information and communication technologies, including mobile health (mHealth), can help isolated communities address environmental health challenges. The Puerto Rican island of Culebra has faced multiple sociopolitical and economic factors that have distressed the island's environment and health. Culebrenses are technologically engaged and have demonstrated a use of technology that transcends socioeconomic barriers.

Social media study of public opinions on potential COVID-19 vaccines: informing dissent, disparities, and dissemination.

The current development of vaccines for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is unprecedented. Little is known, however, about the nuanced public opinions on the vaccines on social media. We adopted a human-guided machine learning framework using more than six million tweets from almost two million unique Twitter users to capture public opinions on the vaccines for SARS-CoV-2, classifying them into three groups: pro-vaccine, vaccine-hesitant, and anti-vaccine.

Social Stressors, Arboviral Infection, and Immune Dysregulation in the Coastal Lowland Region of Ecuador: A Mixed Methods Approach in Ecological Perspective.

Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that transmits arboviral diseases such as dengue (DENV), chikungunya (CHIKV), and Zika viruses (ZIKV), is present in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Individuals at risk of mosquito-borne disease (MBD) in the urban tropics face daily challenges linked to their socio-environment conditions, such as poor infrastructure, poverty, crowding, and limited access to adequate healthcare. These daily demands induce chronic stress events and dysregulated immune responses.

Risk of COVID-19-related bullying, harassment and stigma among healthcare workers: an analytical cross-sectional global study.

Objectives: Essential healthcare workers (HCW) uniquely serve as both COVID-19 healers and, potentially, as carriers of SARS-CoV-2. We assessed COVID-19-related stigma and bullying against HCW controlling for social, psychological, medical and community variables.

Design: We nested an analytical cross-sectional study of COVID-19-related stigma and bullying among HCW within a larger mixed-methods effort assessing COVID-19-related lived experience and impact.

Qualitative Assessment of Environmental Health Risk Perceptions and Community Challenges in a Puerto Rican Community: Change and Continuity in Response to Hurricanes Irma and María.

Culebra, a geographically isolated island located 17 miles from the eastern coast of Puerto Rico's main island, suffers from an amalgam of significant environmental health risk and associated social determinants of health that are affecting the community. In 2017, two major Hurricanes (Irma and María) impacted Culebra, resulting in an increase of preexisting environmental health risk. The present study's primary aim was to explore community attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions of environmental health risk, and to describe the social priorities of in relation to these risks and challenges.

Association between diabetes, metabolic syndrome and heart attack in US adults: a cross-sectional analysis using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2015.

Objectives: Diabetes mellitus (DM) and metabolic syndrome (MS) are both associated with heart attack. Evidence regarding which condition-MS or DM-is better associated with heart attack, however, is limited. The purpose of this study is to examine DM and MS, and their comparative associations with heart attack, using the 2015 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).

Effects of pre-gestational diabetes mellitus and gestational diabetes mellitus on macrosomia and birth defects in Upstate New York.

Aims: To evaluate the effects of pre-gestational diabetes mellitus (PGDM) and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) on macrosomia and birth defects.

Methods: Existing birth registry data from the Perinatal Data System in Upstate New York was analysed. 650,914 women with a singleton term pregnancy (≥37 weeks) aged 18-55 years from 2004 to 2016 were included.

The Association between Metabolic Syndrome and Morbid Events in Type 2 Diabetes after a 7-Year Community Management: Beijing Community Diabetes Study 17.

Background: To examine the association between morbid events and metabolic syndrome (MS) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methods: A prospective, longitudinal, multicenter study was conducted at 13 community health centers associated with Beijing Tongren Hospital. From 2008 to 2015, there have been 3,525 T2DM patients being managed based on the Chinese guideline for T2DM.

Association Between Neck Circumference and Coronary Heart Disease: A Meta-analysis.

: Neck circumference (NC) was found to be related to the risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD). However, the effects of NC on CHD are still controversial. To evaluate the relationship between NC and CHD, a meta-analysis of observational studies was performed.

Association of periodontal disease with depression and adverse birth outcomes: Results from the Perinatal database; Finger Lakes region, New York State.

Preterm and low birth weight infants are at greater risk for mortality and a variety of health and developmental problems. Data from the Finger Lakes Perinatal Data System database on 316,956 deliveries occurring between 2004-2014 and pregnancy outcomes were analyzed to assess the association of periodontal (gum) disease with depression, other maternal factors and adverse birth outcomes. Adjusted effects of periodontal disease and depression on adverse birth outcomes were estimated using multiple logistic regression models and path analysis.

Access to digital and social media among Romanian HIV/AIDS clinical providers.

The WHO/UNAIDS suggests that digital tools - such as social media and online training opportunities, can connect providers in difficult social and medical contexts to providers elsewhere for guidance, support, and advice. Social media is emerging as an innovative option for connecting clinicians together and for enhancing access to professional resources. In Romania, characterized by an atypical HIV/AIDS epidemic which is further challenged by a range of access complexities, it is unclear how often - and which kinds of - social media clinicians use to support clinical care.

Development and Implementation of Culturally Tailored Offline Mobile Health Surveys.

Background: In low and middle income countries (LMICs), and other areas with low resources and unreliable access to the Internet, understanding the emerging best practices for the implementation of new mobile health (mHealth) technologies is needed for efficient and secure data management and for informing public health researchers. Innovations in mHealth technology can improve on previous methods, and dissemination of project development details and lessons learned during implementation are needed to provide lessons learned to stakeholders in both the United States and LMIC settings.

Objective: The aims of this paper are to share implementation strategies and lessons learned from the development and implementation stages of two survey research projects using offline mobile technology, and to inform and prepare public health researchers and practitioners to implement new mobile technologies in survey research projects in LMICs.

Seafood consumption and umbilical cord blood mercury concentrations in a multiethnic maternal and child health cohort.

Background: Fish consumption is common among the cultures of Hawaii, and given public health attention to mercury exposure in pregnancy, it is important to better understand patterns of fish consumption and mercury in pregnancy. This study examined the influence of maternal fish consumption during pregnancy on umbilical cord mercury (Hg) concentrations in a multiethnic cohort of women in Hawaii.

Methods: This secondary analysis of a prospective cohort pilot study examined antenatal seafood consumption and neonatal outcomes in Hawaii.

Power and stability properties of resampling-based multiple testing procedures with applications to gene oncology studies.

Resampling-based multiple testing procedures are widely used in genomic studies to identify differentially expressed genes and to conduct genome-wide association studies. However, the power and stability properties of these popular resampling-based multiple testing procedures have not been extensively evaluated. Our study focuses on investigating the power and stability of seven resampling-based multiple testing procedures frequently used in high-throughput data analysis for small sample size data through simulations and gene oncology examples.

Assessing differential expression in two-color microarrays: a resampling-based empirical Bayes approach.

Microarrays are widely used for examining differential gene expression, identifying single nucleotide polymorphisms, and detecting methylation loci. Multiple testing methods in microarray data analysis aim at controlling both Type I and Type II error rates; however, real microarray data do not always fit their distribution assumptions. Smyth's ubiquitous parametric method, for example, inadequately accommodates violations of normality assumptions, resulting in inflated Type I error rates.

Experience of initial symptoms of breast cancer and triggers for action in ethiopia.

Objective. This study assessed the initial experiences, symptoms, and actions of patients in Ethiopia ultimately determined to have breast cancer. Methods.

"Before we used to get sick all the time": perceptions of malaria and use of long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets (LLINs) in a rural Kenyan community.

Background: Malaria is a leading global cause of preventable morbidity and mortality, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, despite recent advances in treatment and prevention technologies. Scale-up and wide distribution of long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLINs) could rapidly decrease malarial disease in endemic areas, if used properly and continuously. Studies have shown that effective use of LLINs depends, in part, upon understanding causal factors associated with malaria.

Complex care systems in developing countries: breast cancer patient navigation in Ethiopia.

Background: As the global visibility and importance of breast cancer increases, especially in developing countries, ensuring that countries strengthen and develop health systems that support prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of a complex chronic disease is a priority. Understanding how breast cancer patients navigate health systems to reach appropriate levels of care is critical in assessing and improving the health system response in countries to an increasing breast cancer burden in their populations. Ethiopia has accelerated attention to breast cancer, expanding clinical and public health efforts at diagnosing and treating breast cancer earlier and more efficiently.