Changes in the Perceptions of the Neighborhood Environment and Physical Activity Patterns Among Mexican Americans on the Texas-Mexico Border.

Introduction: Little research on the association of neighborhood environment with physical activity in resource-poor communities has been done. This study assessed changes in perceptions of the neighborhood environment and the association between those perceptions and physical activity in Mexican Americans on the Texas-Mexico border in an area where there would be community efforts to enhance pedestrian and cycling infrastructure and programming.

Methods: We analyzed data from a population-based cohort of Mexican American individuals on the Texas-Mexico border.

Development and refinement of a corner-based injury prevention programme for Latino day labourers.

Objective: Latino day labourers (LDLs) in the USA are at increased risk for non-fatal and fatal occupational injuries, which are compounded by stressors that include wage theft, job insecurity and discrimination. This paper describes the development and refinement of Vales+Tú (You are Worthy of More), an injury prevention programme currently being evaluated as part of a cluster randomised trial in which health promotion is taken directly to the 'corners' (e.g.

Incidence and Predictors of Breakthrough and Severe Breakthrough Infections of SARS-CoV-2 After Primary Series Vaccination in Adults: A Population-Based Survey of 22 575 Participants.

Background: Breakthrough infections of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are well documented. The current study estimates breakthrough incidence across pandemic waves, and evaluates predictors of breakthrough and severe breakthrough infections (defined as those requiring hospitalization).

Methods: In total, 89 762 participants underwent longitudinal antibody surveillance.

Novel Automation of an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Spot Assay Testing Method: Comparable Diagnostic Performance of the T-SPOT. Test Using Manual Density Gradient Cell Isolation versus Automated Positive Selection with the T-Cell Kit.

The diagnosis of latent tuberculosis (TB) infection (LTBI) is critical to improve TB treatment and control, and the T-SPOT. test is a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot assay used for this purpose. The objective of the study was to increase automation and extend the time between blood collection and processing for the T-SPOT.

The Impact of Aging on the Lung Alveolar Environment, Predetermining Susceptibility to Respiratory Infections.

Respiratory infections are one of the top causes of death in the elderly population, displaying susceptibility factors with increasing age that are potentially amenable to interventions. We posit that with increasing age there are predictable tissue-specific changes that prevent the immune system from working effectively in the lung. This mini-review highlights recent evidence for altered local tissue environment factors as we age focusing on increased tissue oxidative stress with associated immune cell changes, likely driven by the byproducts of age-associated inflammatory disease.

Antibody Duration After Infection From SARS-CoV-2 in the Texas Coronavirus Antibody Response Survey.

Understanding the duration of antibodies to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus that causes COVID-19 is important to controlling the current pandemic. Participants from the Texas Coronavirus Antibody Response Survey (Texas CARES) with at least 1 nucleocapsid protein antibody test were selected for a longitudinal analysis of antibody duration. A linear mixed model was fit to data from participants (n = 4553) with 1 to 3 antibody tests over 11 months (1 October 2020 to 16 September 2021), and models fit showed that expected antibody response after COVID-19 infection robustly increases for 100 days postinfection, and predicts individuals may remain antibody positive from natural infection beyond 500 days depending on age, body mass index, smoking or vaping use, and disease severity (hospitalized or not; symptomatic or not).

Using Community-Academic Partnerships and a Creative Expression Contest to Engage Youth in the Development of Communication Materials for Promoting Behaviors That Prevent COVID-19.

Youth can transmit COVID-19 to adults, but few communication materials exist for engaging youth in COVID-19 prevention behaviors. We describe the process of leveraging a community-academic partnership in a rapid response initiative to engage youth in a contest (i.e.

Scaling a Community-Wide Campaign Intervention to Manage Hypertension and Weight Loss.

Public health impacts can be achieved when evidence-based interventions are implemented to those most in need. Too often implementation never or slowly occurs. The community-wide campaign intervention Tu Salud ¡Si Cuenta! has evidence of improving health outcomes related to chronic disease among low-income, Latinos.

CXCL1: A new diagnostic biomarker for human tuberculosis discovered using Diversity Outbred mice.

More humans have died of tuberculosis (TB) than any other infectious disease and millions still die each year. Experts advocate for blood-based, serum protein biomarkers to help diagnose TB, which afflicts millions of people in high-burden countries. However, the protein biomarker pipeline is small.

A Participatory, State-Community-Academic Model to Improve Pregnancy Outcomes in Texas: The Healthy Families Initiative.

Background: While the Texas infant mortality rate (IMR) is below the Healthy People 2020 objective (5.7 per 1,000 live births), stark differences in IMR are seen across Texas communities. Health indicators for the state suggest important missed opportunities for improving maternal and infant outcomes.

Make Your Move Experience: A Worksite Wellness Pilot in South Texas.

Purpose: To describe the implementation of Make Your Move Experience (MYME) between 2015 and 2017.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Setting: Make Your Move Experience is a culturally sensitive worksite wellness program in South Texas designed to encourage sedentary workers to engage in physical activity.

Coaction Between Physical Activity and Fruit and Vegetable Intake in Racially Diverse, Obese Adults.

Purpose: There is minimal understanding of the potential for coaction, defined as action on one behavior increasing the likelihood of taking action on another behavior, between physical activity (PA) and fruit and vegetable (FV) intake. The purpose of this study was to assess the bidirectional coaction between FV intake and PA, as well as self-efficacy for these behaviors, in a racially diverse sample of obese adults.

Design: This is a secondary analysis using data collected from the Path to Health study, a randomized controlled trial.

Health coaching to encourage obese adults to enroll in commercially-available weight management programs: The path to health study.

Physicians are recommended to screen and refer obese patients to weight management programs (WMPs). There are often limited referral options for physicians, though commercially-available WMPs could be a potential solution. The purpose of this study (Path to Health) was to evaluate the efficacy of health coaching to promote enrollment in commercially-available WMPs through a two-arm, RCT with obese patients (n = 168) randomly assigned to intervention (n = 84) or control groups (n = 84).

Perceived Social and Built Environment Correlates of Transportation and Recreation-Only Bicycling Among Adults.

Introduction: Research on perceptions of environmental factors in relation to transportation and recreation bicycling is limited in the United States. We explored the association between perceived social and built environment factors with total, transportation, and recreation bicycling in a sample of adult bicyclists in Austin, Texas, and Birmingham, Alabama. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between perceived social and built environment factors and domain-specific bicycling in a sample of adult bicyclists.

Perspectives on cervical cancer screening and prevention: challenges faced by providers and patients along the Texas-Mexico border.

Background: The Rio Grande Valley (RGV) and Laredo regions located along the Texas-Mexico border consist of seven counties with a population of approximately 1.5 million people and a high uninsured rate (33.5%).

Toll-like receptor 4: a target for chemoprevention of hepatocellular carcinoma in obesity and steatohepatitis.

The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is rapidly increasing. We aimed to elucidate the genetic basis of NAFLD-associated HCC and identify candidate targets for chemoprevention. Twenty HCC tumors, distant liver and matched tails from mice with hepatocyte-deletion of Pten (Hep) were subjected to whole-exome sequencing.

Participants' perceptions of interactions with community health workers who promote behavior change: a qualitative characterization from participants with normal, depressive and anxious mood states.

Background: Interventions that promote healthier lifestyles among Latinos often involve community health workers (CHWs). CHWs can effectively advocate for healthier lifestyles and may be pivotal in addressing such mental health conditions as depression and anxiety. The goal of this study was to characterize the relationship dynamics between Latino participants and CHWs, from the participant's perspective.

Exposure to e-cigarette marketing and product use among Mexican American young adults on the US-Mexico border: A pilot study.

Historically, the tobacco industry has marketed directly to minority groups, which is associated with increased product use; the advent of e-cigarettes poses a new risk. The purpose of this study is to examine associations between exposure to tobacco marketing via traditional and digital marketing channels and ever use of e-cigarettes among Mexican-American young adults. Ninety-two Mexican-American young adults between 18 and 29 years of age (61% female) were recruited from the Cameron County Hispanic Cohort, a well-characterized population-based cohort on the U.

Intrapersonal and Environmental Correlates of Bicycling in U.S. Adults.

Introduction: Bicycling is a health-promoting physical activity, but little is known about the factors that influence this behavior in the U.S. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to identify multilevel ecologic correlates of bicycling behaviors in a nationally representative sample of U.

Predicting treatment failure, death and drug resistance using a computed risk score among newly diagnosed TB patients in Tamaulipas, Mexico.

The purpose of this study was to develop a method for identifying newly diagnosed tuberculosis (TB) patients at risk for TB adverse events in Tamaulipas, Mexico. Surveillance data between 2006 and 2013 (8431 subjects) was used to develop risk scores based on predictive modelling. The final models revealed that TB patients failing their treatment regimen were more likely to have at most a primary school education, multi-drug resistance (MDR)-TB, and few to moderate bacilli on acid-fast bacilli smear.

Tuberculosis-diabetes epidemiology in the border and non-border regions of Tamaulipas, Mexico.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is a re-emerging risk factor for TB development and adverse TB outcomes. As a follow-up of our previous study in 1998-2004, we reassessed prevalence of DM and its associated factors among 8431 TB patients using surveillance data from 2006 to 2013 for the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, across the border with Texas. Prevalence of DM was 25.

Dipstick urinalysis for diabetes screening in TB patients.

Introduction: Diabetes knowledge among TB patients can contribute to improved TB treatment outcomes, but lack of diabetes diagnosis awareness is a limitation in developing countries. Given its low cost, the sensitivity of urine glucose dipsticks for diabetes screening in TB patients was assessed.

Methods: Glycosuria was assessed in 90 newly diagnosed TB patients (38 with diabetes) in south Texas, USA (n = 20) and northeast Mexico (n = 70) during January 2009-December 2010.

Rapid DNA extraction for specific detection and quantitation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA in sputum specimens using Taqman assays.

Rapid tuberculosis (TB) detection is critical for disease control, and further quantitation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) in sputum is valuable for epidemiological and clinical studies. We evaluated a simple, robust and cost-efficient in-house DNA extraction and downstream Taqman approach for detection and quantitation of Mtb genomes from sputum of newly-diagnosed TB patients and non-TB controls. DNA was extracted using guanidine isothiocyanate and silica-based spin columns in less than 2 h, stored frozen, and Taqman assays were used to detect Mtb with IS6110 and quantify it targeting RD1 and IS1081.