Factors Associated With Poor Clinical and Microbiologic Outcomes in Candida auris Bloodstream Infection: A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Candida auris has become a growing concern worldwide because of increases in incidence of colonization and reports of invasive infections. There are limited data on clinical factors associated with poor outcomes in patients with C. auris bloodstream infection (BSI).

Substance use moderates relationships between apolipoprotein E genotype, hepatitis C, cognition, and depression in Miami Adult Studies on HIV (MASH) participants.

The impact of APOE on HIV and HCV disease course, cognition, and memory has been understudied in minoritized populations. This study examined whether scores on cognition and depression measures differed by APOE ε4 carrier status while considering HCV and HIV seropositivity and whether these measures were moderated by substance use. A retrospective analysis examined cognitive and psychological data from participants (n = 493) in the Miami Adult Studies on HIV (MASH) cohort.

Preventing Cognitive Decline in Older Latino Adults With HIV Through a Culturally Tailored Health Promotion Intervention: Protocol for a Single-Arm Pilot Trial.

Background: Older Latino adults with HIV are at increased risk for mild cognitive impairment and earlier onset of aging-related cognitive decline. Improvements in cognitive functioning and cognitive outcomes are possible among people with HIV who adopt health promotion behaviors. However, health promotion interventions for older Latino adults with HIV have not been extensively used or widely recognized as viable treatment options.

Challenges and Opportunities with at-Home Blood Collection for HIV-1 Viral Load Monitoring among Sexual Minoritized Men who use Stimulants.

Sexually minoritized men (SMM) with HIV who use stimulants experience difficulties achieving and maintaining an undetectable viral load (VL). Home-based VL monitoring could augment HIV care by supporting interim, early identification of detectable VL. We describe implementation challenges associated with a home-collection device for laboratory-based VL testing among SMM with HIV who use stimulants.

Current perspective on e-cigarette use and respiratory outcomes: mechanisms and messaging.

Introduction: There has been an increasing amount of research on the consequences of e-cigarette use for respiratory outcomes, which is significant for public health and respiratory medicine. We discuss recent findings and lay out implications for prevention and treatment.

Areas Covered: Based on literature searches using several databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar) for keywords, including synonyms, 'e-cigarettes,' with 'pulmonary function,' 'oxidative stress,' and 'inflammation,' we review studies on acute effects of e-cigarette use for measures of pulmonary function and discuss selected laboratory studies on mechanisms of effect, focusing on processes with known relation to respiratory disease; oxidative stress and inflammation.

Analysis of Survival Modification by Furosemide Use in a Cohort of Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients with Severe or Critical Disease in Mexico: Due to Its Chemical Structure, Furosemide Is More than Just a Diuretic.

In the ongoing fight against Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), researchers are exploring potential treatments to improve outcomes, especially in severe cases. This includes investigating the repurposing of existing medications, such as furosemide, which is widely available. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of furosemide on mortality rates among COVID-19 patients with severe or critical illness.

Association between Depressive Symptoms, Physical Activity, and Health Factors in Hispanic Emerging Adults.

Physical activity is a modifiable lifestyle behavior known for reducing symptoms of and being a risk factor for depression and mental health disorders. However, emerging adults (ages 18-25) struggle to meet recommended amounts. In this study, we explore the association between physical activity, depressive symptoms, and health factors in 137 Hispanic emerging adults.

Partial Nicotine Reduction and E-Cigarette Users' Puffing Behaviors Among Adults Aged 21 to 35 Years: A Randomized Crossover Clinical Trial.

Importance: The advent of salt-based, high-nicotine electronic nicotine delivery systems [e-cigarettes] has contributed to their epidemic use among young people in the US, necessitating the need for policies to address the addictiveness of these products.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of partial nicotine reduction on new-generation e-cigarette users' puffing behaviors.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This randomized crossover clinical trial was conducted at the Clinical Research Lab for Tobacco Smoking at Florida International University in Miami between April 15, 2022, and October 17, 2023.

Assessing the Risk of Heart Attack: A Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression Analysis of Heavy Metal Mixtures.

Background: The assessment of heavy metals' effects on human health is frequently limited to investigating one metal or a group of related metals. The effect of heavy metals mixture on heart attack is unknown.

Methods: This study applied the Bayesian kernel machine regression model (BKMR) to the 2011-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data to investigate the association between heavy metal mixture exposure with heart attack.

Moderate intensity aerobic exercise alleviates motor deficits in 6-OHDA lesioned rats and reduces serum levels of biomarkers of Parkinson's disease severity without recovery of striatal dopamine or tyrosine hydroxylase.

Alleviation of motor impairment by aerobic exercise (AE) in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients points to activation of neurobiological mechanisms that may be targetable by therapeutic approaches. However, evidence for AE-related recovery of striatal dopamine (DA) signaling or tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) loss has been inconsistent in rodent studies. This ambiguity may be related to the timing of AE intervention in relation to the status of nigrostriatal neuron loss.

Longitudinal examination of ENDS characteristics, flavors, and nicotine content for cigarette cessation: Findings from PATH waves 5-6.

Background: A subpopulation of adults who smoke cigarettes use electronic nicotine device systems (ENDS) for cigarette cessation. This study examined the relationship between ENDS flavors, device types, and nicotine concentration with past month cigarette abstinence among adults using ENDS for cigarette cessation.

Methods: We used the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study (waves 5 and 6) to identify adults who self-reported using ENDS to quit cigarettes at baseline (wave 5) and investigated their cigarette abstinence at follow-up (wave 6) [n = 1252].

Mixed-methods analysis of satisfaction during a 12-session mindfulness-based intervention for women with a substance use disorder and trauma symptomatology.

Satisfaction with an intervention influences the uptake of behavior changes and the long-term efficacy of the intervention. Therefore, it is crucial to assess satisfaction by participant profile when creating and adapting behavior interventions for minoritized populations. Qualitative and quantitative data on participant trauma symptom severity and intervention satisfaction were collected through self-report surveys from 54 women.

Disordered Eating Attitudes and Their Association with Age, BMI, Stress, and Diet in College Students.

Objective: College students are at risk of disordered eating, particularly students with overweight/obesity and with higher stress, but little is known about how disordered eating may be related to diet. This study evaluated the associations between the Disordered Eating Attitudes Scale (DEAS) and age, BMI, stress, and diet.

Methods: This is a secondary analysis of the baseline data in participants from the Snackability Trial.

Psychosocial and socioeconomic changes among low-income people with HIV during the COVID-19 pandemic in Miami-Dade County, Florida: racial/ethnic and gender differences.

Background: COVID-19 profoundly and uniquely impacted people with HIV. People with HIV experienced significant psychosocial and socioeconomic impacts, yet a limited amount of research has explored potential differences across gender and racial/ethnic groups of people with HIV.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine psychosocial and socioeconomic stressors related to the COVID-19 pandemic among a diverse sample of people with HIV in South Florida and to determine if the types of stressors varied across gender and racial/ethnic groups.

Structural Determinants of Health and Markers of Immune Activation and Systemic Inflammation in Sexual Minority Men With and Without HIV.

Among sexual minority men (SMM), HIV and use of stimulants such as methamphetamine are linked with immune activation and systemic inflammation. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, SMM encountered financial challenges and structural obstacles that might have uniquely contributed to immune dysregulation and systemic inflammation, beyond the impacts of HIV and stimulant use. Between August 2020 and February 2022, 72 SMM with and without HIV residing in South Florida enrolled in a COVID-19 prospective cohort study.

Narratives of Disconnection: A Life Course Perspective of Methamphetamine Use Among Sexual Minority Men Living with HIV.

Background: Sexual minority men (SMM) are exposed to societal and structural stressors that translate into poor health outcomes. One such outcome is substance use, which research has long documented as a prominent disparity among SMM. Methamphetamine is a particularly deleterious substance for SMM because its use is often framed as a coping response to social and structural stressors.

A positive affect intervention alters leukocyte DNA methylation in sexual minority men with HIV who use methamphetamine.

Objective: This epigenomics sub-study embedded within a randomized controlled trial examined whether an evidenced-based behavioral intervention model that decreased stimulant use altered leukocyte DNA methylation (DNAm).

Methods: Sexual minority men with HIV who use methamphetamine were randomized to a five-session positive affect intervention (n = 32) or an attention-control condition (n = 21), both delivered during three months of contingency management for stimulant abstinence. All participants exhibited sustained HIV virologic control - an HIV viral load less than 40 copies/mL at baseline and six months post-randomization.

Long COVID among US adults from a population-based study: Association with vaccination, cigarette smoking, and the modifying effect of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Objective: Post-COVID Conditions (or Long COVID) have been widely reported, but population-based studies exploring the relationship between its risk factors are lacking. We examined the associations between Long COVID, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD], vaccination status, and cigarette smoking. We also tested for the modifying effect of COPD status.

The effects of plum products consumption on lipid profile in adults: A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis.

Consumption of plum does not yet clearly affect the lipid profile. To ascertain the advantages of plum consumption on adult lipid profiles, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis. We used pertinent keywords to search the databases of PubMed, Scopus, and ISI Web of Science up to November 10th, 2022, in order to find trials that were eligible.