Neighborhood Opportunity and Vulnerability and Incident Asthma Among Children.

Background: The extent to which physical and social attributes of neighborhoods play a role in childhood asthma remains understudied.

Objective: To examine associations of neighborhood-level opportunity and social vulnerability measures with childhood asthma incidence.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cohort study used data from children in 46 cohorts participating in the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program between January 1, 1995, and August 31, 2022.

Development of a multivariable prediction model for anal high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions in persons living with HIV in Puerto Rico: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Persons living with HIV (PLWH) are at high risk of developing anal high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL). We aimed to develop a prediction model for anal HSIL based on individual characteristics of PLWH.

Methods: Cross-sectional study of PLWH aged ≥21 years who attended the Anal Neoplasia Clinic of the University of Puerto Rico Comprehensive Cancer Center from 2016 to 2022.

State Variation in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Anus Incidence and Mortality, and Association With HIV/AIDS and Smoking in the United States.

Purpose: Squamous cell carcinoma of the anus (SCCA) incidence and mortality rates are rising in the United States. Understanding state-level incidence and mortality patterns and associations with smoking and AIDS prevalence (key risk factors) could help unravel disparities and provide etiologic clues.

Methods: Using the US Cancer Statistics and the National Center for Health Statistics data sets, we estimated state-level SCCA incidence and mortality rates.

The impact of Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico's health system: post-disaster perceptions and experiences of health care providers and administrators.

Background: After its landfall in Puerto Rico in 2017, Hurricane Maria caused the longest blackout in United States history, producing cascading effects on a health care system that had already been weakened by decades of public sector austerity and neoliberal health reforms. This article addresses how health care professionals and administrators experienced the health care system's collapse and the strategies used by them to meet their communities' health needs.

Methods: Data were collected between September 2018 and February 2020.

Parallel mechanisms of visual memory formation across distinct regions of the honey bee brain.

Visual learning is vital to the behavioral ecology of the Western honey bee (Apis mellifera). Honey bee workers forage for floral resources, a behavior that requires the learning and long-term memory of visual landmarks, but how these memories are mapped to the brain remains poorly understood. To address this gap in our understanding, we collected bees that successfully learned visual associations in a conditioned aversion paradigm and compared gene expression correlates of memory formation in the mushroom bodies, a higher-order sensory integration center classically thought to contribute to learning, as well as the optic lobes, the primary visual neuropil responsible for sensory transduction of visual information.

A 64-Year-Old Man with Traumatic Right Middle Lobe Lung Herniation Successfully Managed Conservatively.

BACKGROUND Intercostal lung hernias can be congenital or acquired and involve a protrusion of lung tissue beyond the thoracic cage. Post-traumatic intercostal lung hernias can present with symptoms of pain and dyspnea or can be asymptomatic. This report is of a case of traumatic right middle lobe lung herniation through the intercostal junction of the fourth and fifth ribs in a 64-year-old man that was successfully managed conservatively.

Socioeconomic Factors Influencing Self-reported Outcomes After Posterior Wall Fractures of the Acetabulum: Lessons Learned From a Hispanic Population.

Introduction: Demographic and socioeconomic factors are important determinants that may affect patient self-reported outcomes after acetabular fracture surgery. Hispanics, as a minority group, have an increased tendency to suffer demographic and socioeconomic disparities. At the present time, there is scant information regarding their role among Hispanic patients with acetabular fractures.

A Proteomics Signature of Mild Hypospadias: A Pilot Study.

Mild hypospadias is a birth congenital condition characterized by the relocation of the male urethral meatus from its typical anatomical position near the tip of the glans penis, to a lower ventral position up to the brim of the glans corona, which can also be accompanied by foreskin ventral deficiency. For the most part, a limited number of cases have known etiology. We have followed a high-throughput proteomics approach to study the proteome in mild hypospadias patients.

Tracking Red Palm Mite Damage in the Western Hemisphere Invasion with Landsat Remote Sensing Data.

Red palm mites ( Hirst, Acari: Tenuipalpidae) were first observed in the western hemisphere on the islands and countries surrounding the Caribbean Sea, infesting the coconut palm ( L.). Detection of invasive pests usually relies upon changes in vegetation properties as result of the pest activity.

Functional and Disability Assessment Among Hispanics With Zone 2 Flexor Tendon Injuries: Comparative Study Between Flexor Digitorum Superficialis Repair and Flexor Digitorum Superficialis Excision.

Introduction: Flexor tendon lacerations in zone II have been reported to be the most complicated of all tendon injuries. Currently, there is no consensus on treatment in surgical management for patients with flexor tendon laceration of flexor digitorum profundus and flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS). The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the repair of FDS tendons provided superior functional outcomes compared with FDS excision in Hispanic patients.

Comparative Toxicity of and (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) to Selected Insecticides.

Until recently, the Old World bollworm (OWB) (Hübner) and the corn earworm (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) were geographically isolated. Both species are major pests of agricultural commodities that are known to develop insecticide resistance, and they now coexist in areas where invaded the Americas. This is the first study to compare the susceptibility of the two species to conventional insecticides.

Repeated semen exposure decreases cervicovaginal SIVmac251 infection in rhesus macaques.

Semen is the vehicle for virion dissemination in the female reproductive tract (FRT) in male-to-female HIV transmission. Recent data suggests that higher frequency semen exposure is associated with activation of anti-HIV mechanisms in HIV negative sex workers. Here, we use a non-human primate (NHP) model to show that repeated vaginal exposure to semen significantly reduces subsequent infection by repeated low-dose vaginal SIVmac251 challenge.

Invasion origin, rapid population expansion, and the lack of genetic structure of cotton bollworm () in the Americas.

In 2013, (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) was officially declared as present in Brazil and, after two years, the species was detected in the Caribbean and North America. Information on genetic features and accurate distribution of pests is the basis for agricultural protection policies. Furthermore, such knowledge is imperative to develop control strategies, understand the geographical range, and genetic patterns of this species in the Americas.

EXPLORING THE FEASIBILITY AND ACCEPTABILITY OF BIOMARKER COLLECTION FOR HIV INFECTION AND CHRONIC STRESS AMONG TRANSWOMEN IN PUERTO RICO.

The assessment of biomarkers related to HIV and chronic stress increases opportunities for the design of more comprehensive research and intervention efforts on the health of transwomen within the context of Health Psychology. In this paper, we present data from a study implemented in Puerto Rico that aimed to: document the feasibility/acceptability of collecting biomarkers for chronic stress and HIV among transwomen; qualitatively document the factors related to the collection of biomarkers in this population; and explore the feasibility of collecting other types of biological specimens from transwomen in future studies. We implemented an exploratory mixed-method study with a sample of 10 transwomen.

Alterations of larval photo-dependent swimming responses (PDR): New endpoints for rapid and diagnostic screening of aquatic contamination.

Detection and toxicity assessment of waterborne contaminants are crucial for protecting human health and the environment. Development of easy-to-implement, rapid and cost-effective tools to measure anthropogenic effects on watersheds are critical for responsible management, particularly in times of increasing development and urbanization. Traditionally, environmental toxicology has focused on limited endpoints, such as lethality and fertility, which are directly affecting population levels.

Heterogeneity of elemental composition and natural abundance of stables isotopes of C and N in soils and leaves of mangroves at their southernmost West Atlantic range.

Mangrove communities were selected in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil, near their southernmost limit of distribution, to study mineral nutrient relation in soils and plants. Communities included three true mangrove species, Rhizophora mangle, Laguncularia racemosa and Avicennia germinans, and two associated species, the fern Acrostichum danaeifolium, and the grass Spartina densiflora. The sites included communities in the lower Río Tavares near Florianopolis city, Sonho beach near Palhoça city, and the Santo Antonio lagoon.

On the Role of the Blood Vessel Endothelial Microvilli in the Blood Flow in Small Capillaries.

Endothelial microvilli that protrude into the capillary lumen, although invisible in the optical microscopy, may play an important role in the blood flow control in the capillaries. Because of the plug effects, the width of the gap between the capillary wall and the blood cell is especially critical for the blood flow dynamics in capillaries, while microvilli located on the capillary wall can easily control the velocity of the blood flow. We report that microvilli in the capillaries of different vertebrate species have similar characteristics and density, suggesting similarities between the respective regulation mechanisms.

Serial cervicovaginal exposures with replication-deficient SIVsm induce higher dendritic cell (pDC) and CD4+ T-cell infiltrates not associated with prevention but a more severe SIVmac251 infection of rhesus macaques.

Objective: Intravaginal exposure to simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) acutely recruits interferon-alpha (IFN-α) producing plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) and CD4 T-lymphocyte targets to the endocervix of nonhuman primates. We tested the impact of repeated cervicovaginal exposures to noninfectious, defective SIV particles over 72 hours on a subsequent cervicovaginal challenge with replication competent SIV.

Methods: Thirty-four female Indian Rhesus macaques were given a 3-day twice-daily vaginal exposures to either SIVsmB7, a replication-deficient derivative of SIVsmH3 produced by a T lymphoblast CEMx174 cell clone (n = 16), or to CEM supernatant controls (n = 18).

First Report of Squash vein yellowing virus Affecting Watermelon and Bitter Gourd in Puerto Rico.

In 2005, symptoms of watermelon vine decline (WVD) were observed on a 200-acre watermelon farm in Santa Isabel, on the south central coast of Puerto Rico. WVD symptoms included leaf curling, mosaics, and internode necrosis. In early growth stages of WVD, reduced vigor and plant stunting occurred.

Obesity prevalence odds ratios in four Puerto Rican towns: a pilot study.

Purpose: Obesity is a major public health problem associated with major mortality causes. It is the second leading cause of preventable diseases in the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico (PR). The purpose of the study is to estimate the Obesity Prevalence Odds Ratios in Four Puerto Rican Towns.

ADHD correlates, comorbidity, and impairment in community and treated samples of children and adolescents.

Patterns of correlates, comorbidity and impairment associated with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and youth were examined in representative samples from the community and from treatment facilities serving medically indigent youth in Puerto Rico. Information from caretakers and youths was obtained using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children, (version IV), measures of global impairment, and a battery of potential correlates. In the community (N = 1,896) and the treated samples (N = 763), 7.