Publications by authors named "Wentz A"

Red mud (RM) is composed of a waste alkaline solution (pH = 13.3) obtained from the production of alumina. It contains high concentrations of hematite (FeO), goethite (FeOOH), gibbsite [Al(OH)], a boehmite (AlOOH), anatase (Tetragonal-TiO), rutile (Ditetragonal dipyramidal-TiO), hydrogarnets [CaAl(SiO)(OH)], quartz (SiO), and perovskite (CaTiO).

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In 2017, Rhode Island responded to rising overdose deaths by establishing statewide emergency department (ED) treatment standards for opioid overdose and opioid use disorder. One requirement of the policy is that providers prescribe or provide take-home naloxone to anyone presenting to EDs with opioid overdose. Among adults presenting to EDs with opioid overdose from 2018 to 2019, approximately half received take-home naloxone.

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Introduction: Urolithiasis causes severe acute pain and is commonly treated with opioid analgesics in the emergency department (ED). We examined opioid analgesic use after episodes of acute pain.

Methods: Using data from a longitudinal trial of ED patients with urolithiasis, we constructed multivariable models to estimate the adjusted probability of opioid analgesic use 3, 7, 30, and 90 days after ED discharge.

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SiO-SOH, with a surface area of 115 m/g and pore volume of 0.38 cmg, and 1.32 mmol H/g was used as a 20% / catalyst for the preparation of methyl salicylate (wintergreen oil or MS) from acetylsalicylic acid (ASA).

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Introduction: Lumbosacral radiculopathy/radiculitis (LR) or "sciatica" is a commonly intractable sequelae of chronic low back pain (LBP), and challenges in the treatment of LR indicate that persistent pain may have both mechanical and neuropathic origins. Mindfulness-based interventions have been demonstrated to be effective tools in mitigating self-reported pain in LBP patients. This paper describes the protocol for a randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluating the effects of the specific mindfulness-based intervention Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) on LR symptoms and sequelae, including mental health and physical function.

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Study Objective: Emergency department (ED)-based naloxone distribution and peer-based behavioral counseling have been shown to be feasible, but little is known about utilization maintenance over time and clinician, patient, and visit level factors influencing implementation.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of an ED overdose prevention program providing take-home naloxone, behavioral counseling, and treatment linkage for patients treated for an opioid overdose at two Rhode Island EDs from 2017 to 2020: one tertiary referral center and a community hospital. Utilizing a Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework, we evaluated program reach, adoption, implementation modifiers, and maintenance using logistic and Poisson regression.

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Background: Severe acute pain is still commonly treated with opioid analgesics in the United States, but this practice could prolong the duration of pain.

Objectives: Estimate the risk of experiencing persistent pain after opioid analgesic use after emergency department (ED) discharge among patients with suspected urolithiasis.

Methods: We analyzed data collected for a longitudinal, multicenter clinical trial of ED patients with suspected urolithiasis.

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In this paper, we propose a hierarchical statistical model for a single repairable system subject to several failure modes (competing risks). The paper describes how complex engineered systems may be modelled hierarchically by use of Bayesian methods. It is also assumed that repairs are minimal and each failure mode has a power-law intensity.

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Before President Johnson's Executive Order 11241 in August 1965, married men received lower draft priority for military service. As the Vietnam War escalated in the summer of 1965, anecdotal evidence suggests draft-eligible men sought marriage to lower their likelihood of serving. This paper quantifies the effects of these Vietnam-era policies on marriage and finds that they significantly reduced the age at first marriage and altered the choice of spouse.

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Study Objective: We sought to determine the influence of the Levels of Care for Rhode Island Emergency Departments and Hospitals for Treating Overdose and Opioid Use Disorder (Levels of Care) on emergency department (ED) provision of take-home naloxone, behavioral counseling, and referral to treatment.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of Rhode Island ED visits for opioid overdose from 2017 to 2018 was performed using data from a statewide opioid overdose surveillance system. Changes in provision of take-home naloxone, behavioral counseling, and referral to treatment before and after Levels of Care implementation were assessed using interrupted time series analysis.

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SiO-SOH, with a surface area of 115 m/g, pore volumes of 0.38 cmg and 1.32 mmol H/g, was used as a 10% w/w catalyst for the preparation of 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural (HMF) from fructose.

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The rise of evidence-based medicine, medical informatics, and genomics --- together with growing enthusiasm for machine learning and other types of algorithms to standardize medical decision-making --- has lent increasing credibility to biomedical knowledge as a guide to the practice of medicine. At the same time, concern over the lack of attention to the underlying assumptions and unintended health consequences of such practices, particularly the widespread use of race-based algorithms, from the simple to the complex, has caught the attention of both physicians and social scientists. Epistemological debates over the meaning of "the social" and "the scientific" are consequential in discussions of race and racism in medicine.

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Background: Patients with Crohn disease (CD) often develop strictures that require surgery. Endoscopic balloon dilation (EBD) is an alternative treatment that can be safe and effective. The objective of this study was to assess factors associated with the need for repeat EBD and surgery after initial EBD for stricturing CD.

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Objective: Previous research has suggested caution about opioid analgesic usage in the emergency department (ED) setting and raised concerns about variations in prescription opioid analgesic usage, both across institutions and for whom they are prescribed. We examined opioid analgesic usage in ED patients with suspected urolithiasis across fifteen participating hospitals.

Methods: This is a secondary analysis of a clinical trial including adult ED patients with suspected urolithiasis.

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Background: Mindfulness-based programs hold promise for improving cardiovascular health (e.g. physical activity, diet, blood pressure).

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Background And Objectives: Impacts of mindfulness-based programs on blood pressure remain equivocal, possibly because the programs are not adapted to engage with determinants of hypertension, or due to floor effects. Primary objectives were to create a customized Mindfulness-Based Blood Pressure Reduction (MB-BP) program, and to evaluate acceptability, feasibility, and effects on hypothesized proximal self-regulation mechanisms. Secondary outcomes included modifiable determinants of blood pressure (BP), and clinic-assessed systolic blood pressure (SBP).

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How one healthcare system became the first in the world to achieve a combination of Magnet recognition and Pathway to Excellence designation for all of its hospitals.

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Objectives: In the United States, all men who have sex with men (MSM) were banned from donating blood from 1985 through 2015. In 2016, the guideline was amended such that men who had sexual contact with other men within the previous 12 months could not donate blood. We aimed to identify blood donation practices and their relationship with HIV risk and testing among young adult MSM (YMSM) at risk for having HIV.

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Objectives/hypothesis: Human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive and HPV-negative oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) are distinct disease entities. Prognostic factors specific to each entity have not been adequately explored. Goals for this study were: 1) to determine whether HPV-positive and HPV-negative OPSCCs have distinct prognostic factors, and 2) to explore the prognostic significance of sex and race in OPSCC after HPV stratification STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective case series.

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Objectives: Despite the fact that HPV-driven oropharyngeal cancer (HPV-OPC) has relatively low recurrence rates, intensive post-therapy monitoring remains the standard of care. Post-treatment biomarkers are needed to risk stratify HPV-OPC patients for more individualized surveillance intensity and which remain at higher recurrence risk.

Materials And Methods: 115 HPV-OPC patients (ascertained by p16 immunohistochemistry and/or in-situ hybridization) from a multicenter prospective case study (HOTSPOT) had blood collected at diagnosis, and 64 of these also had blood collected at post-treatment follow-up visits for up to two years.

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Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a well-established prognostic marker for oropharyngeal squamous cell cancer (OPSCC). Because of the limited numbers of women and nonwhites in studies to date, sex and racial/ethnic differences in prognosis have not been well explored. In this study, survival differences were explored by the tumor HPV status among 1) patients with OPSCCs by sex and race and 2) patients with nonoropharyngeal (non-OP) head and neck squamous cell cancers (HNSCCs).

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Importance: Human papillomavirus (HPV) causes an increasing proportion of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (OPSCCs), particularly in white men. The prevalence of HPV among other demographic groups and other anatomic sites of HNSCC is unclear.

Objective: To explore the role of HPV tumor status among women and nonwhites with OPSCC and patients with nonoropharyngeal head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (non-OP HNSCC).

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Purpose: Persistent oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection increases risk for oropharyngeal carcinoma, and people living with HIV have higher rates of oral HPV infection and related cancers. Some prescription medications have immunomodulatory effects, but the impact of medication use on oral HPV natural history is unknown.

Methods: Scope oral rinse-and-gargle samples were collected semi-annually from 1,666 participants and tested for 37 types of oral HPV DNA using PCR; 594 HPV-infected participants with 1,358 type-specific oral HPV infections were identified.

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