In Vitro Study to Assess Effective Cleaning Techniques for Removing from Menstrual Cups.

Background: We sought to determine the effectiveness of common cleaning procedures in eliminating from silicone menstrual cups.

Methods: In this in vitro study, we tested four cleaning techniques: (1) cold water; (2) cold water and liquid soap; (3) cold water followed by steeping the cup in boiled water for 5 min in a ceramic mug covered with a small plate; and (4) cold water and soap followed by steeping the cup in boiled water as in (3). Human blood was coated to the inner and outer surface of each cup, dried, and incubated with 10 colony-forming units (CFU/mL).

Comparison of electronic versus manual abstraction for 2 standardized perinatal care measures.

Objective: Given that electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs) are playing a central role in quality improvement applications nationwide, a stronger evidence base demonstrating their reliability is critically needed. To assess the reliability of electronic health record-extracted data elements and measure results for the Elective Delivery and Exclusive Breast Milk Feeding measures (vs manual abstraction) among a national sample of US acute care hospitals, as well as common sources of discrepancies and change over time.

Materials And Methods: eCQM and chart-abstracted data for the same patients were matched and compared at the data element and measure level for hospitals submitting both sources of data to The Joint Commission between 2017 and 2019.

Evaluation of Changes in Grams of Sugar Sold After the Implementation of the Seattle Sweetened Beverage Tax.

Importance: Adults and children routinely exceed recommended intake amounts of added sugars established by dietary guidelines. Taxes are used as a policy tool to reduce demand for sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) given consumption-related adverse health outcomes but may induce substitution to other sources of added sugars.

Objective: To examine the extent to which changes in grams of sugar sold from taxed beverages may be offset by changes in grams of sugar sold from untaxed beverages, sweets, and stand-alone sugar after the implementation of the Seattle, Washington, Sweetened Beverage Tax (SBT) on January 1, 2018.

Measuring Mitochondrial Electron Transfer Complexes in Previously Frozen Cardiac Tissue from the Offspring of Sow: A Model to Assess Exercise-Induced Mitochondrial Bioenergetics Changes.

The mitochondrial electron transfer complex (ETC) profile is modified in the heart tissue of the offspring born to an exercised sow. The hypothesis proposed and tested was that a regular maternal exercise of a sow during pregnancy would increase the mitochondrial efficiency of offspring heart bioenergetics. This hypothesis was tested by isolating mitochondria using a mild-isolation procedure to assess mitochondrial ETC and supercomplex profiles.

Cost-sharing With Medicaid Expansion in Michigan: Obligations and Propensity to Pay.

Background: Six states expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act have obtained waivers to incorporate cost-sharing.

Objective: We describe the magnitude and distribution of cost-sharing imposed by the Healthy Michigan Plan and enrollees' propensity to pay.

Research Design: Enrollees are followed for at least 18 months (6-mo baseline period for utilization and spending before receipt of first cost-sharing statement; ≥12 mo follow-up thereafter to ascertain obligations and payments).

Breaching Trust: A Qualitative Study of Healthcare Experiences of People Who Use Drugs in a Rural Setting.

Increased drug use has disproportionately impacted rural areas across the U.S. People who use drugs are at risk of overdose and other medical complications, including infectious diseases.

Asking the Right Questions: Screening Men for Partner Violence.

With lifetime intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization rates for self-identified men between 14% and 20%, and an expanding understanding of gender as a nonbinary construct, practitioners in some clinical environments have expressed interest in screening all patients for IPV. Yet, few IPV screening instruments have been validated for use in nonfemale populations. This research tests the appropriateness and acceptability of a screening instrument developed for use with women.

Tobacco 21 adoption decreased sales of cigarette brands purchased by young people: a translation of population health survey data to gain insight into market data for policy analysis.

Introduction: Policies raising the minimum age of sale of tobacco products to 21 (T21) proliferated at state and local levels across the USA before a federal policy was adopted. Evidence of the effectiveness of these policies is building and lags implementation. This study exploits demographic patterns of cigarette brand purchasing to evaluate the effectiveness of T21.

Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis and Other Mining-Related Lung Disease: New Manifestations of Illness in an Age-Old Occupation.

Coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) and other mining-related lung diseases are entirely preventable, yet continue to occur. While greater attention has been given to CWP and silicosis, mining exposures cause a broad spectrum of respiratory disease, including chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and pulmonary fibrosis. Physicians must obtain a detailed occupational and exposure history from miners in order to make an accurate diagnosis and determine the risk of disease progression.

Body Composition, Physical Activity, and Convenience Food Consumption among Asian American Youth: 2011-2018 NHANES.

The primary purpose of this study was to describe obesity, body composition, convenience food consumption, physical activity, and muscle strength among Asian American youth compared to other racial/ethnic groups. The secondary purpose was to examine whether obesity, body composition, convenience food consumption, physical activity, and muscle strength differed by acculturation levels among Asian American youth. A secondary analysis was conducted using data from 12,763 children aged 2 to 17 years that participated in the 2011-2018 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Measuring the Transition Readiness of Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes Using the Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire.

This study aimed to assess readiness to transition from pediatric to adult health care in adolescents with type 1 diabetes using the Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire (TRAQ). TRAQ is a non-disease-specific self-report measure that assesses self-management and advocacy skills of youth with special health care needs. This study provides guidance on assessing transition readiness scores of adolescents with diabetes and identifying when health care providers should intervene.

Persisting Gaps in Coverage and Services of Illinois Women Who Acquired Insurance After Implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

Objectives: Before implementation of the Affordable Care Act, many uninsured women in Illinois received care through safety-net programs. The new law allowed them to acquire health insurance through Medicaid or the Illinois Health Exchange. We examined (1) the health care experiences of such women who previously used a safety-net program and acquired this new coverage and (2) persisting gaps in coverage for breast and cervical cancer services and other health care services.

Circumcision status at HIV infection is not associated with plasma viral load in men: analysis of specimens from a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Male circumcision provides men with approximately 60% protection from acquiring HIV infection via heterosexual sex, and has become a key component of HIV prevention efforts in sub-Saharan Africa. Possible mechanisms for this protection include removal of the inflammatory anaerobic sub-preputial environment and the high concentration of Langerhans cells on the inside of the foreskin, both believed to promote local vulnerability to HIV infection. In people who do acquire HIV, viral load is partially determined by infecting partner viral load, potentially mediated by size of infecting inoculum.

Global Citizen, Immigrant, Survivor, Activist, Gayby Boomer, Academic, and Editor: Dr. Sy and the History of AIDS Education and Prevention.

In this 30th anniversary of AIDS Education and Prevention, we turn our attention to its founder and editor, Dr. Francisco Sy. I trace Dr.

Syndemic Conditions, HIV Transmission Risk Behavior, and Transactional Sex Among Transgender Women.

This study examined the effect of four syndemic conditions-namely, polydrug use, depression, childhood sexual abuse, and intimate partner violence-on rates of HIV transmission risk behavior (TRB) and separately, transactional sex among transgender women. TRB was defined as the number of condomless penetrative sex events with a casual or main partner of discordant or unknown HIV status. Using data from 212 transgender women in New York City, multivariable analyses revealed that, compared to those with no syndemic conditions, dramatically higher rates of recent HIV TRB events (ARR = 8.

High-Risk Geographic Mobility Patterns among Young Urban and Suburban Persons who Inject Drugs and their Injection Network Members.

Young people in the USA who inject drugs, particularly those at a risk of residence instability, experience the highest incidence of hepatitis C (HCV) infections. This study examined associations between geographic mobility patterns and sociodemographic, behavioral, and social network characteristics of 164 young (ages 18-30) persons who inject drugs (PWID). We identified a potential bridge sub-population who reported residence in both urban and suburban areas in the past year (crossover transients) and higher-risk behaviors (receptive syringe sharing, multiple sex partners) compared to their residentially localized counterparts.

Relationship Dynamics and Sexual Risk Reduction Strategies Among Heterosexual Young Adults: A Qualitative Study of Sexually Transmitted Infection Clinic Attendees at an Urban Chicago Health Center.

Few studies have examined risk-reduction alternatives to consistent condom use for HIV prevention among heterosexual young adults. We used qualitative methodology to explore risk reduction strategies and contextual factors influencing attempts to reduce risk in an urban, high morbidity sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinic. Focus groups were conducted October-December 2014 with heterosexually identified men (n = 13) and women (n = 20) aged 18-29 seeking STI screening at an urban clinic.

Predicting high-need cases among new Medicaid enrollees.

Objectives: To assess the ability of a short, self-reported health needs assessment (HNA) collected at the time of Medicaid enrollment to predict subsequent utilization and costs.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Methods: We analyzed individual-level data that included self-reported HNAs, medical care encounter records, and administrative eligibility records for 34,087 childless adult Medicaid enrollees in Wisconsin, covering the period 2009-2010.

Improving water quality communications at beaches: input from stakeholders.

Objectives: Water quality communication practices vary widely and stakeholder input has not played a role in defining acceptable levels of risk. Although the 2012 Recreational Water Quality Criteria (RWQC) emphasize the importance of promptly notifying the public about hazardous conditions, little is known about the public's understanding of notifications, or about levels of risk deemed acceptable. We sought to address these gaps.

The effect of medical male circumcision on urogenital Mycoplasma genitalium among men in Kisumu, Kenya.

Background: We determined the prevalence of urethral Mycoplasma genitalium (MG) infection and whether infection was associated with circumcision status among men enrolled in the randomized trial of medical male circumcision to prevent HIV acquisition in Kisumu, Kenya.

Methods: MG and Trichomonas vaginalis were detected in first void urine by APTIMA transcription-mediated amplification assay. first void urine and urethral swabs were assessed for Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) and Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) by polymerase chain reaction assay.