Interstitial Lung Disease and Progressive Pulmonary Fibrosis: a World Trade Center Cohort 20-Year Longitudinal Study.

Purpose: World Trade Center (WTC) exposure is associated with obstructive airway diseases and sarcoidosis. There is limited research regarding the incidence and progression of non-sarcoidosis interstitial lung diseases (ILD) after WTC-exposure. ILD encompasses parenchymal diseases which may lead to progressive pulmonary fibrosis (PPF).

Normal Lung Function and Mortality in World Trade Center Responders and National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III Participants.

Low FEV is a biomarker of increased mortality. The association of normal lung function and mortality is not well described. To evaluate the FEV-mortality association among participants with normal lung function.

Lower Airway Dysbiosis Augments Lung Inflammatory Injury in Mild-to-Moderate Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with high morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Cigarette smoke is a causative factor; however, not all heavy smokers develop COPD. Microbial colonization and infections are contributing factors to disease progression in advanced stages.

Association of Lung Function Decline with All-Cause and Cancer-Cause Mortality after World Trade Center Dust Exposure.

In numerous cohorts, lung function decline is associated with all-cause and cardiovascular-cause mortality, but the association between the decrease in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV) and cancer-cause mortality, particularly after occupational/environmental exposure(s), is unclear. Exposure to dust/smoke from the World Trade Center (WTC) disaster caused inflammation and lung injury in Fire Department of the City of New York rescue/recovery workers. In addition, prior research found that >10% of the cohort experienced greater than twice the age-related decrease in FEV (⩾64 ml/yr).

Relationship between low serum immunoglobulin E levels and malignancies in 9/11 World Trade Center responders.

Background: Individuals with very low immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels have a high risk of developing malignancy. Previous studies have revealed that World Trade Center (WTC) responders exposed to carcinogens have an elevated risk of some cancers.

Objective: To evaluate the association between low-serum IgE levels and cancer development in WTC-exposed responders.

High burden of clonal hematopoiesis in first responders exposed to the World Trade Center disaster.

The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC) created an unprecedented environmental exposure to aerosolized dust, gases and potential carcinogens. Clonal hematopoiesis (CH) is defined as the acquisition of somatic mutations in blood cells and is associated with smoking and exposure to genotoxic stimuli. Here we show that deep targeted sequencing of blood samples identified a significantly higher proportion of WTC-exposed first responders with CH (10%; 48 out of 481) when compared with non-WTC-exposed firefighters (6.

Twenty-Year Reflection on the Impact of World Trade Center Exposure on Pulmonary Outcomes in Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) Rescue and Recovery Workers.

After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 (9/11), many rescue/recovery workers developed respiratory symptoms and pulmonary diseases due to their extensive World Trade Center (WTC) dust cloud exposure. Nearly all Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) workers were present within 48 h of 9/11 and for the next several months. Since the FDNY had a well-established occupational health service for its firefighters and Emergency Medical Services workers prior to 9/11, the FDNY was able to immediately start a rigorous monitoring and treatment program for its WTC-exposed workers.

Microbial signatures in the lower airways of mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients associated with poor clinical outcome.

Respiratory failure is associated with increased mortality in COVID-19 patients. There are no validated lower airway biomarkers to predict clinical outcome. We investigated whether bacterial respiratory infections were associated with poor clinical outcome of COVID-19 in a prospective, observational cohort of 589 critically ill adults, all of whom required mechanical ventilation.

Serum Th-2 cytokines and FEV decline in WTC-exposed firefighters: A 19-year longitudinal study.

Background: Accelerated-FEV -decline, defined as rate of decline in FEV  > 64 ml/year, is a risk factor for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in World Trade Center (WTC)-exposed firefighters. Accelerated-FEV -decline in this cohort is associated with elevated blood eosinophil concentrations, a mediator of Th-2 response. We hypothesized that an association exists between Th-2 biomarkers and FEV decline rate in those with accelerated-FEV -decline.

Lung function decline before and after treatment of World Trade Center associated obstructive airways disease with inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting beta agonists.

Background: Greater than average loss of one-second forced expiratory volume (FEV ) is a risk factor for asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and asthma/COPD overlap syndrome in World Trade Center (WTC)-exposed firefighters. Inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting beta agonists (ICS/LABA) are used to treat obstructive airways disease but their impact on FEV -trajectory in this population is unknown.

Methods: The study population included WTC-exposed male firefighters who were treated with ICS/LABA for 2 years or longer (with initiation before 2015), had at least two FEV measurements before ICS/LABA initiation and two FEV measurements posttreatment between September 11, 2001 and September 10, 2019.

Differential Expression of , , and Is Associated with Brain Metastasis of ER-Negative Breast Cancers.

Background: Brain metastasis is considered one of the major causes of mortality in breast cancer patients. To invade the brain, tumor cells need to pass the blood-brain barrier by mechanisms that are partially understood. In primary ER-negative breast cancers that developed brain metastases, we found that some of the differentially expressed genes play roles in the T cell response.

Microbial signatures in the lower airways of mechanically ventilated COVID19 patients associated with poor clinical outcome.

Mortality among patients with COVID-19 and respiratory failure is high and there are no known lower airway biomarkers that predict clinical outcome. We investigated whether bacterial respiratory infections and viral load were associated with poor clinical outcome and host immune tone. We obtained bacterial and fungal culture data from 589 critically ill subjects with COVID-19 requiring mechanical ventilation.

Prehospital hypoxemia, measured by pulse oximetry, predicts hospital outcomes during the New York City COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: To determine if oxygen saturation (out-of-hospital SpO2), measured by New York City (NYC) 9-1-1 Emergency Medical Services (EMS), was an independent predictor of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in-hospital mortality and length of stay, after controlling for the competing risk of death. If so, out-of-hospital SpO2 could be useful for initial triage.

Methods: A population-based longitudinal study of adult patients transported by EMS to emergency departments (ED) between March 5 and April 30, 2020 (the NYC COVID-19 peak period).

Microbial signatures in the lower airways of mechanically ventilated COVID19 patients associated with poor clinical outcome.

Mortality among patients with COVID-19 and respiratory failure is high and there are no known lower airway biomarkers that predict clinical outcome. We investigated whether bacterial respiratory infections and viral load were associated with poor clinical outcome and host immune tone. We obtained bacterial and fungal culture data from 589 critically ill subjects with COVID-19 requiring mechanical ventilation.

Pre-COVID-19 lung function and other risk factors for severe COVID-19 in first responders.

https://bit.ly/3nZPuZY.

Functional lower airways genomic profiling of the microbiome to capture active microbial metabolism.

Background: Microbiome studies of the lower airways based on bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequencing assess microbial community structure but can only infer functional characteristics. Microbial products, such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), in the lower airways have significant impact on the host's immune tone. Thus, functional approaches to the analyses of the microbiome are necessary.

System impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on New York City's emergency medical services.

Objectives: To describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on New York City's (NYC) 9-1-1 emergency medical services (EMS) system and assess the efficacy of pandemic planning to meet increased demands.

Methods: Longitudinal analysis of NYC 9-1-1 EMS system call volumes, call-types, and response times during the COVID-19 peak-period (March 16-April 15, 2020) and post-surge period (April 16-May 31, 2020) compared with the same 2019 periods.

Results: EMS system received 30,469 more calls from March 16-April 15, 2020 compared with March 16-April 15, 2019 (161,815 vs 127,962;  < 0.

Factors Predicting Treatment of World Trade Center-Related Lung Injury: A Longitudinal Cohort Study.

The factors that predict treatment of lung injury in occupational cohorts are poorly defined. We aimed to identify patient characteristics associated with initiation of treatment with inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting beta-agonist (ICS/LABA) >2 years among World Trade Center (WTC)-exposed firefighters. The study population included 8530 WTC-exposed firefighters.

Performance of Risk Factor-Based Guidelines and Model-Based Chest CT Lung Cancer Screening in World Trade Center-Exposed Fire Department Rescue/Recovery Workers.

Background: Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer incidence and death in the United States. Risk factor-based guidelines and risk model-based strategies are used to identify patients who could benefit from low-dose chest CT (LDCT) screening. Few studies compare guidelines or models within the same cohort.

Identification of Blood-Brain Barrier-Associated Proteins in the Human Brain.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is essential for cerebral homeostasis and controls the selective passage of molecules traveling in and out of the brain. Despite the crucial role of the BBB in a variety of brain diseases and its relevance for the development of drugs, there is little known about its molecular architecture. In particular, the composition of the basal lamina between the astrocytic end-feet and the endothelial cells is only partly known.

Episodic Aspiration with Oral Commensals Induces a MyD88-dependent, Pulmonary T-Helper Cell Type 17 Response that Mitigates Susceptibility to .

Cross-sectional human data suggest that enrichment of oral anaerobic bacteria in the lung is associated with an increased T-helper cell type 17 (Th17) inflammatory phenotype. In this study, we evaluated the microbial and host immune-response dynamics after aspiration with oral commensals using a preclinical mouse model. Aspiration with a mixture of human oral commensals (MOC; , , and ) was modeled in mice followed by variable time of killing.

Medical Leave Associated With COVID-19 Among Emergency Medical System Responders and Firefighters in New York City.

This cohort study examines use of medical leave among emergency medical service (EMS) responders and firefighters in New York, New York, during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic compared with earlier periods.

Periostin Is Expressed by Pericytes and Is Crucial for Angiogenesis in Glioma.

The expression of the matricellular protein periostin has been associated with glioma progression. In previous work we found an association of periostin with glioma angiogenesis. Here, we screen gliomas for POSTN expression and identify the cells that express periostin in human gliomas.

Characteristics Associated With Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrests and Resuscitations During the Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic in New York City.

Importance: Risk factors for out-of-hospital death due to novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are poorly defined. From March 1 to April 25, 2020, New York City, New York (NYC), reported 17 118 COVID-19-related deaths. On April 6, 2020, out-of-hospital cardiac arrests peaked at 305 cases, nearly a 10-fold increase from the prior year.