Public health preparedness and response competency model methodology.

Objective: The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act calls for establishing a competency-based training program to train public health practitioners. To inform such training, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Association of Schools of Public Health managed groups of experts to produce a competency model which could function as a national standard of behaviorally based, observable skills for the public health workforce to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from all hazards.

Design: A systematic review of existing competency models generated a competency model of proposed domains and competencies.

Cardiorespiratory biomarker responses in healthy young adults to drastic air quality changes surrounding the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Associations between air pollution and cardiorespiratory mortality and morbidity have been well established, but data to support biologic mechanisms underlying these associations are limited. We designed this study to examine several prominently hypothesized mechanisms by assessing Beijing residents' biologic responses, at the biomarker level, to drastic changes in air quality brought about by unprecedented air pollution control measures implemented during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. To test the hypothesis that changes in air pollution levels are associated with changes in biomarker levels reflecting inflammation, hemostasis, oxidative stress, and autonomic tone, we recruited and retained 125 nonsmoking adults (19 to 33 years old) free of cardiorespiratory and other chronic diseases.

Skin cancer surveillance behaviors among US Hispanic adults.

Background: Little skin cancer prevention research has focused on the US Hispanic population.

Objective: This study examined the prevalence and correlates of skin cancer surveillance behaviors among Hispanic adults.

Methods: A population-based sample of 788 Hispanic adults residing in 5 southern and western states completed an online survey in English or Spanish in September 2011.

Initial metformin or sulphonylurea exposure and cancer occurrence among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Aim: This was a retrospective cohort study of type 2 diabetes patients, to evaluate the association between initial metformin or sulphonylurea treatment and cancer incidence.

Methods: Patients identified in the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), previously General Practice Research Database, during 1995-2008 who were initially stabilized on OHA monotherapy, including metformin, sulphonylurea, thiazolidinediones (TZDs) or meglitinides, were included in the cohort. New diagnoses of cancer, including malignant solid tumours and haematological malignancies, occurring during the follow-up were identified from the cohort.

Suppression of the NF-κB pathway by diesel exhaust particles impairs human antimycobacterial immunity.

Epidemiological studies suggest that chronic exposure to air pollution increases susceptibility to respiratory infections, including tuberculosis in humans. A possible link between particulate air pollutant exposure and antimycobacterial immunity has not been explored in human primary immune cells. We hypothesized that exposure to diesel exhaust particles (DEP), a major component of urban fine particulate matter, suppresses antimycobacterial human immune effector cell functions by modulating TLR-signaling pathways and NF-κB activation.

Community built environment factors and mobility around senior wellness centers: the concept of "safe senior zones".

The authors investigated built environment (BE) factors in urban neighborhoods in DeKalb County, Georgia. Each volunteering, consenting senior was placed into one of two groups: walking tours outside, then discussions (n=37); and focus group discussions indoors about photographs of BE conditions potentially influencing mobility (n=43). The authors sought to identify BE factors-both real and perceived by participating seniors-related to their ability to walk around senior wellness centers in a healthy and safe manner.

Lower task persistence in smokers with schizophrenia as compared to non-psychiatric control smokers.

One contributing factor to difficulty in quitting smoking may be task persistence, which can be viewed as a behavioral manifestation of distress tolerance, and describes the act of persisting in a difficult or effortful task. Task persistence was assessed in smokers with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder (SZ/SA; N = 71) and non-psychiatric controls (N = 78) before a quit attempt. These data support the hypothesis that smokers with SZ/SA display less task persistence than do non-psychiatric controls when persistence is measured via mirror tracing and a 2-item persistence measure.

Qualitative analysis of Camel Snus' website message board--users' product perceptions, insights and online interactions.

Background: In 2006, RJ Reynolds began test-marketing Camel Snus, a new smokeless tobacco (SLT) product. Promotion included use of a brand website, a relatively new marketing channel used by tobacco companies, which allowed visitors to learn about the product and discuss it with others on the website's message board. Our study aimed to examine early experiences with and perceptions of Camel Snus as described by board contributors and also to consider the use and benefits of the message board for both consumers and the company.

Measurement of inflammation and oxidative stress following drastic changes in air pollution during the Beijing Olympics: a panel study approach.

Ambient air pollution has been linked to cardiovascular and respiratory morbidity and mortality in epidemiology studies. Frequently, oxidative and nitrosative stress are hypothesized to mediate these pollution effects, however precise mechanisms remain unclear. This paper describes the methodology for a major panel study to examine air pollution effects on these and other mechanistic pathways.

Knowledge and concerns related to the human papillomavirus vaccine among underserved Latina women.

Objective: This study's purpose was to assess knowledge and concerns related to the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine among underserved Latina women and Latina mothers of female adolescents and to explore differences between those in the vaccinated and those in the unvaccinated groups.

Materials And Methods: We conducted cross-sectional written surveys of 206 Latina women at an urban health center in central New Jersey. Participants included vaccine-eligible women and mothers of vaccine-eligible adolescents.

Assessing the potential influence of asthma on student attendance/absence in public elementary schools.

Objectives: Student health, well-being, and productivity are determined in part by attending school daily. Increased annual average daily attendance (ADA) increases public funding for school district-based enrichment programs. Asthma is reported as the number 1 cause of American school absenteeism due to chronic illness; however, only limited, estimated national data exist.

Exploring the relationship between race/ethnicity, menthol smoking, and cessation, in a nationally representative sample of adults.

Objective: To explore the relationship between race/ethnicity, menthol smoking, and cessation in a nationally representative sample of adults.

Methods: Data from the 2005 U.S.

A local area analysis of racial, ethnic, and neighborhood disparities in breast cancer staging.

Few studies have examined the role of neighborhood socioeconomic condition in shaping breast cancer disparities in defined local areas. We tested associations between three measures of neighborhood socioeconomic condition (poverty, median income, and a composite neighborhood score) on breast cancer staging in two urban counties of the state of New Jersey. Data for these counties were obtained from the New Jersey Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results tumor registry and were selected because of their large racial/ethnic and socioeconomic diversity and pilot prevention efforts taking place in these areas.

Comparison of incidence of acute myocardial infarction in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus following initiation of neutral protamine Hagedorn insulin versus insulin glargine.

Recent reports have described different risks of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in association with specific oral antidiabetic medications. The present study compared the AMI incidence rates in new users of traditional neutral protamine Hagedorn (NPH) insulin and a long-acting synthetic insulin analog for basal insulin therapy. We retrospectively examined in-patient medical claims for AMI in a cohort of oral agent-treated patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus after the initiation of basal insulin therapy with either NPH (n = 5,461) or insulin glargine (n = 14,730) in a national administrative claims database comprising >30 managed healthcare plans in the United States.

Open-Label Study of Craving in Smokers With Schizophrenia Using Nicotine Nasal Spray Compared to Nicotine Patch.

RATIONALE: Nicotine nasal spray (NNS) may be better for relieving acute cigarette cravings than other nicotine replacement and it may help smokers with schizophrenia because of its rapid onset of action. OBJECTIVES: We tested whether NNS was more effective than a nicotine patch (NP; 21 mg) in reducing cue-induced craving during a 3-day abstinence. METHODS: Twenty-five smokers with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (SA) were randomized to open-label NNS or NP treatment after baseline measures of craving were assessed.

Health effects of real-world exposure to diesel exhaust in persons with asthma.

Many people, including people with asthma, experience short-term exposure to diesel exhaust (DE*) during daily activities. The health effects of such exposures, however, remain poorly understood. The present study utilized a real-world setting to examine whether short-term DE exposure would (1) worsen asthma symptoms, (2) augment airway inflammation, or (3) increase oxidative stress burdens.

Effect of Air Pollution Controls on Black Smoke and Sulfur Dioxide Concentrations across Ireland.

During the 1980s Ireland experienced severe pollution episodes, principally because of domestic coal burning. In 1990, the Irish government introduced a ban on the marketing, sale, and distribution of coal in Dublin. They extended the ban to Cork in 1995 and to ten other communities in 1998 and 2000.

Socioeconomic disparities in medical provider visits among medicare managed care enrollees.

This study examined socioeconomic disparities in medical provider visits for elderly people enrolled in two Medicare managed care plans. Controlling for health and demographic differences, elderly people of lower income had fewer primary care visits and those with lower education had fewer specialist visits. The number of emergency room visits was not significantly related to socioeconomic status (SES).

Racial and ethnic disparities in mobility device use in late life.

Objective: Although racial and ethnic disparities in disability are well established and technology is increasingly used to bridge gaps between functional deficits and environmental demands, little research has focused on racial and ethnic disparities in device use. This study investigated whether use of mobility devices differs by race and ethnicity and explored several reasons for this difference.

Methods: The sample included community-dwelling adults aged 65 and older from the 2002 and 2004 waves of the Health and Retirement Study.

Neighborhoods and disability in later life.

This paper uses the US Health and Retirement Study to explore linkages between neighborhood conditions and stages of the disablement process among adults aged 55 years and older in the United States. We consider multiple dimensions of the neighborhood including the built environment as well as social and economic conditions. In doing so, we use factor analysis to reduce indicators into eight neighborhood scales, which we incorporate into two-level logistic regression models along with controls for individual-level factors.

Is low-nicotine Marlboro snus really snus?

Swedish snus is a medium/high nicotine delivery, low-nitrosamine moist smokeless tobacco product that has been estimated to be at least 90% less harmful than smoked tobacco. More men use snus than smoke cigarettes in Sweden, and a quarter of male former smokers quit by switching to snus. Leading multinational cigarette manufacturers have begun test-marketing snus-like products in the United States and other countries.