Slowdown in the Decline of Tuberculosis Rates in California, 2000-2016.

Objectives: To determine the impact of the 2007-2009 economic crisis on tuberculosis (TB) trends among California residents.

Methods: We analyzed available data from 4 different population-representative data sets. We used time charts, trend lines, and change-point detection tests during 2000 to 2016 to describe TB trends in California.

Oculomotor Response to Cumulative Subconcussive Head Impacts in US High School Football Players: A Pilot Longitudinal Study.

Importance: Repetitive subconcussive head impacts in sports have emerged as a complex public health issue. Most of these head impacts remain asymptomatic yet have the potential to cause insidious neurological deficit if sustained repetitively. Near point of convergence (NPC) values have shown to reflect subclinical neuronal damage; however, the longitudinal pattern of NPC changes in association with subconcussive head impacts remains unclear.

Prenatal Bisphenol A Exposure Alters Epithelial Cell Composition in the Rhesus Macaque Fetal Oviduct.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an endocrine disrupting compound that is a pervasive environmental contaminant. Although it has been reported to affect the development of a variety of fetal reproductive tissues, data on the effect of fetal BPA exposure on oviducts were extremely limited and were only available in mice. To determine if there are adverse effects of gestational BPA exposure on fetal oviduct, we exposed pregnant rhesus macaques with female fetuses to oral or nonoral BPA during the last trimester of gestation (day 100 to term).

Neutrophil extracellular traps produced during inflammation awaken dormant cancer cells in mice.

Cancer cells from a primary tumor can disseminate to other tissues, remaining dormant and clinically undetectable for many years. Little is known about the cues that cause these dormant cells to awaken, resume proliferating, and develop into metastases. Studying mouse models, we found that sustained lung inflammation caused by tobacco smoke exposure or nasal instillation of lipopolysaccharide converted disseminated, dormant cancer cells to aggressively growing metastases.

Exposure to tobacco smoke increases bone loss in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Purpose: To define if exposure to tobacco smoke (TS) could induce reduction of bone mass and impairment of bone architecture, features observed in osteoporosis in normotensive rats and the influence of TS exposure on the osteoporotic features exhibited in the spontaneously hypertensive (SH) rats.

Methods: Normotensive Wistar Kyoto (WKY) and SH rats were exposed to filtered air or TS for 8 weeks, then their proximal femurs were extracted for micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) assessment, histological and immune-histological examinations to quantify the adverse influence of TS exposure on the bone mass and density, as well as bone architecture.

Results: We found that TS exposure not only induced significant decreases in bone mineral density (BMD), bone volume (BV), cortical and trabecular thickness (Ct.

Ambient particulate matter enhances the pulmonary allergic immune response to house dust mite in a BALB/c mouse model by augmenting Th2- and Th17-immune responses.

Ambient particulate matter (PM) exacerbates airway inflammation and hyper-reactivity in asthmatic patients. Studies show that PM has adjuvant-like properties that enhance the allergic inflammatory response; however, the mechanisms through which PM enhances these processes remain elusive. The objective of the study was to examine how ambient PM enhances the allergic immune response.

Physical activity and common tasks of California farm workers: California Heat Illness Prevention Study (CHIPS).

Farm workers are at risk of heat related illness (HRI), but their work rates that contribute to HRI have not been objectively assessed. The CHIPS study collected accelerometer data and characterized the physical activity of major farm tasks. Demographic information, work characteristics, and accelerometer data were collected from 575 farm workers in California.

Yield of Low-Dose Computerized Tomography Screening for Lung Cancer in High-Risk Workers: The Case of 7189 US Nuclear Weapons Workers.

Objectives: To determine the lung cancer screening yield and stages in a union-sponsored low-dose computerized tomography scan program for nuclear weapons workers with diverse ages, smoking histories, and occupations.

Methods: We implemented a low-dose computerized tomography program among 7189 nuclear weapons workers in 9 nonmetropolitan US communities during 2000 to 2013. Eligibility criteria included age, smoking, occupation, radiographic asbestos-related fibrosis, and a positive beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test.

"Who's Caring for Us?": Understanding and Addressing the Effects of Emotional Labor on Home Health Aides' Well-being.

Background And Objectives: Interventions to strengthen the home care workforce focus on workers' economic and physical well-being, without acknowledging the caring labor affecting emotional well-being. Our study examined workers' perceptions of the emotional effects of caring work, coping mechanisms, and desired support.

Research Design And Methods: We conducted 4 worker focus groups (n = 27).

Sex Differences in the Prenatal Programming of Adult Metabolic Syndrome by Maternal Androgens.

Context: Growing preclinical evidence suggests that hormonal programming by androgens in utero may contribute to cardiovascular disease risk in adult offspring. However, the effect of prenatal androgens on cardiometabolic outcomes in the human population, especially their potential differential impact on male vs female offspring, has not been well studied.

Design: Adult offspring (n = 274) of mothers enrolled in the New England birth cohorts of the Collaborative Perinatal Project were assessed at ages 39 to 50.

The AHR represses nucleotide excision repair and apoptosis and contributes to UV-induced skin carcinogenesis.

Ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation induces mutagenic DNA photoproducts, in particular cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs), in epidermal keratinocytes (KC). To prevent skin carcinogenesis, these DNA photoproducts must be removed by nucleotide excision repair (NER) or apoptosis. Here we report that the UVB-sensitive transcription factor aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) attenuates the clearance of UVB-induced CPDs in human HaCaT KC and skin from SKH-1 hairless mice.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Cardiovascular Diseases: A Cohort Study of Men and Women Involved in Cleaning the Debris of the World Trade Center Complex.

Background: We sought to determine whether post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a risk factor for myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke, beyond the expected effects from recognized cardiovascular risk factors and depression.

Methods And Results: World Trade Center-Heart is an observational prospective cohort study of 6481 blue-collar first responders nested within the World Trade Center Health Program in New York City. Baseline measures in 2012 and 2013 included blood pressure, weight and height, and blood lipids.

Self-management behaviors in World Trade Center rescue and recovery workers with asthma.

Background: Asthma is a major source of morbidity among World Trade Center (WTC) rescue and recovery workers. While physical and mental health comorbidities have been associated with poor asthma control, the potential role and determinants of adherence to self-management behaviors (SMB) among WTC rescue and recovery workers is unknown.

Objectives: To identify modifiable determinants of adherence to asthma self-management behaviors in WTC rescue and recovery worker that could be potential targets for future interventions.

TH17-Induced Neutrophils Enhance the Pulmonary Allergic Response Following BALB/c Exposure to House Dust Mite Allergen and Fine Particulate Matter From California and China.

Asthma is a global and increasingly prevalent disease. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 235 million people suffer from asthma. Studies suggest that fine particulate matter (PM2.

Exploring the Role of Depression as a Moderator of a Workplace Obesity Intervention for Latino Immigrant Farmworkers.

We explored if and how depression moderated the treatment effect of Pasos Saludables, a successful pilot workplace obesity intervention for Latino immigrant farmworkers. The original randomized controlled study assigned 254 participants 2:1 to a 10-session educational intervention versus control. We assessed the relationship between change in BMI (primary outcome) and interaction of treatment allocation and baseline risk for depression.

Ambient particulate matter activates the aryl hydrocarbon receptor in dendritic cells and enhances Th17 polarization.

The objective of this study was to explore the role of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) in ambient particulate matter (PM)-mediated activation of dendritic cells (DCs) and Th17-immune responses in vitro. To assess the potential role of the AhR in PM-mediated activation of DCs, co-stimulation, and cytokine expression, bone marrow (BM)-derived macrophages and DCs from C57BL/6 wildtype or AhR knockout (AhR) mice were treated with PM. Th17 differentiation was assessed via co-cultures of wildtype or AhR BMDCs with autologous naive T cells.

Standardized morbidity ratios of four chronic health conditions among World Trade Center responders: Comparison to the National Health Interview Survey.

Purpose: We conducted external comparisons for the prevalence of asthma, hypertension, diabetes, and cancer among World Trade Center (WTC) general responders using the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) as the reference, along with internal comparisons for the incidence of asthma.

Methods: Standardized Morbidity Ratios (SMRs) were calculated for the prevalence of the health conditions, and risk ratios (RRs) for asthma incidence.

Results: Relative to the NHIS, asthma prevalence was in excess in responders over the study years (age-adjusted SMRs = 1.

Suppressive effects of aryl-hydrocarbon receptor repressor on adipocyte differentiation in 3T3-L1 cells.

The aryl-hydrocarbon receptor repressor (AhRR) negatively regulates aryl-hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) signaling via its inhibitory transactivation. AhR is well known to suppress adipocyte differentiation, but the function of AhRR during adipogenesis is unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of AhRR in adipocyte differentiation using 3T3-L1 cells.

Determination of chemical-specific IgGs in serum by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with partial peptides of human serum albumin.

Many different types of chemicals are used in industry, and occupational allergies are becoming a serious problem in the field of industrial hygiene. In this study, we employed a novel enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with partial peptides of human serum albumin (HSA) to quantify chemical-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) in serum for evaluating exposure to chemicals. When HSA partial peptides containing lysine residues were mixed with formaldehyde (FA) or phthalic anhydride (PA), almost all lysine residues were lost.

Progression of vasogenic edema induced by activated microglia under permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion.

Brain edema is a severe complication that accompanies ischemic stroke. Increasing evidence shows that inflammatory cytokines impair tight junctions of the blood-brain barrier, suggesting the involvement of microglia in brain edema. In this study, we examined the role of microglia in the progression of ischemic brain edema using mice with permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion.

Tuberculosis Prevalence Among US Crop-Workers, 2000 to 2012: Trends and Contributing Factors.

Objective: We intend to study tuberculosis (TB) in one of the poorest communities in the US, hired agriculture workers, for most recent years (2000 to 2012) including the last recession period.

Methods: Time-chart, simple mean differences, and logistic regressions were used to describe TB-prevalence and risk factors among US crop-workers. Data were drawn from the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS).