"I think they are infected because of their ignorance and lack of responsibility": A mixed-methods study on HIV-related stigma in the healthcare system in Kazakhstan.

Background: HIV-related stigma among healthcare providers remains a significant barrier to effective HIV care and treatment. This study aimed to assess HIV-related stigma and associated factors among healthcare providers in primary healthcare clinics (PHCs) in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Methods: A mixed-methods design was employed, involving quantitative surveys and qualitative in-depth interviews.

Neuropsychiatric symptoms and clinical characteristics of survivors with colloid cysts.

Background: Colloid cysts are rare, benign brain tumors often located in the third ventricle or near the foramen of Monro. They can evoke neuropsychiatric and physical symptoms including migraine, visual changes, memory loss, and sudden loss of consciousness. They are associated with high mortality due to late moderate-to-severe symptom presentation and limited access to neurological and/or neurosurgical expertise.

Pediatric lead exposure and risk of influenza and pneumonia in an underrepresented, urban sample.

The present objective was to estimate the association between childhood blood lead concentrations (BLC) and clinical diagnoses of influenza or pneumonia among a large, low-income, underrepresented cohort of children using a retrospective design. Medical records were pulled from the Temple University Hospital System (TUHS) located in inner-city Philadelphia, PA from 2010 to 2020. All children ≤14 years of age with an available lead value in their medical records were included in the analysis (N = 14,217).

Serum NFL and neuropsychological performance over ∼8 years in women with and without HIV: a longitudinal repeated measures study.

Background: Blood-based biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and stroke, including serum neurofilament light chain (sNFL), are understudied in women living with and without HIV.

Methods: We assessed cross-sectional and longitudinal change in sNFL between 2008 and 2019 associated with neuropsychological performance (NP) among women living with HIV (WLWH) and without HIV (WLWOH) age ≥40 years in the Women's Interagency HIV Study. Baseline and repeated ∼8-year fasting sNFL levels were measured using Simoa.

Factors Associated with Corticosteroid Adherence in Sarcoidosis.

Purpose: We measured corticosteroid medication adherence (CMA) in sarcoidosis patients and analyzed if demographic and clinical factors, beliefs about medications, corticosteroid side-effects, psychosocial status, and the doctor-patient relationship were associated with corticosteroid adherence.

Methods: Sarcoidosis patients receiving corticosteroids were eligible to participate. CMA was measured using the Medication Adherence Response Scale-10 (MARS-10), a validated patient reported outcome measure (PRO).

A computationally efficient sequential regression imputation algorithm for multilevel data.

Due to the computational burden, especially in high-dimensional settings, sequential imputation may not be practical. In this paper, we adopt computationally advantageous methods by sampling the missing data from their perspective predictive distributions, which leads to significantly improved computation time in the class of variable-by-variable imputation algorithms. We assess the computational performance in a comprehensive simulation study.

Blood DNA methylation in post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC): a prospective cohort study.

Background: DNA methylation integrates environmental signals with transcriptional programs. COVID-19 infection induces changes in the host methylome. While post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) is a long-term complication of acute illness, its association with DNA methylation is unknown.

Longitudinal Evaluation of Cepstral Peak Prominence in Children.

Objectives: To evaluate whether the acoustic measure of cepstral peak prominence changes during typical development in children 2-7.

Methods: Data were retrospectively analyzed from the Arizona Child Acoustic Database Repository in this longitudinal cohort study. The Repository contains longitudinal data recordings from 63 total children between 2 and 7 years of age.

Organizational Health Literacy and Health Among New York State Medicaid Members.

Background: The definition of health literacy has recently expanded beyond the idea of individual skills to include the system and environment the individual interacts with to receive care, known as organizational health literacy (OHL). However, neither the prevalence of OHL nor the impact of OHL on individuals' perceptions of their health and healthcare have been examined in New York's Medicaid managed care population.

Objective: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of organizational health literacy in the New York State (NYS) Medicaid Managed Care (MMC) program.

Peripheral Blood Omics and Other Multiplex-based Systems in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine.

Over the last years, the use of peripheral blood-derived big datasets in combination with machine learning technology has accelerated the understanding, prediction, and management of pulmonary and critical care conditions. The goal of this article is to provide readers with an introduction to the methods and applications of blood omics and other multiplex-based technologies in the pulmonary and critical care medicine setting to better appreciate the current literature in the field. To accomplish that, we provide essential concepts needed to rationalize this approach and introduce readers to the types of molecules that can be obtained from the circulating blood to generate big datasets; elaborate on the differences between bulk, sorted, and single-cell approaches; and the basic analytical pipelines required for clinical interpretation.

The Relationship Between Serum Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Level and the Decision to Escalate Treatment of Sarcoidosis.

Purpose: We performed a retrospective analysis of a sarcoidosis cohort who had sACE obtained at their initial clinic visit, but the treating physician was blinded to the results. We examined the relationship between sACE and the treating physician's decision to escalate sarcoidosis treatment.

Methods: Treatment was considered escalated if the prednisone dose was increased or if the prednisone dose was not changed but an additional anti-sarcoidosis drug was added or the dose was increased.

Trends and Non-Clinical Predictors of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and Influenza Diagnosis in an Urban Pediatric Population.

Objective: To evaluate the demographic, maternal, and community-level predictors of pediatric respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza diagnosis among an urban population of children residing in Rochester, NY.

Study Design: A test-negative case-control design was used to investigate various non-clinical determinants of RSV and influenza diagnosis among 1,808 children aged 0-14 years who presented to the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) or an affiliated health clinic in Rochester, NY between 2012-2019. These children were all tested for RSV and influenza via polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR) method, including RSV and influenza diagnosis of all severity types.

Maternal and Paternal Household Pesticide Exposure During Pregnancy and Risk of Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate whether risk estimates for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia change when restricting model comparison groups to "nonpesticide exposure" (NPE10) households.

Methods: Cases ( n = 1810) 15 years or younger were identified through Children's Cancer Group institutions between 1989 and 1993 and age-/sex-matched to controls ( n = 1951). Household pesticide use during pregnancy/month prior was collected via telephone.

Mental Health of Emergency Department Healthcare Workers During COVID-19 in Brooklyn, New York.

Background: Maintaining good mental health among Emergency Department healthcare workers (ED HCW) is paramount to well-functioning healthcare. We measured mental health and COVID-19 symptoms in ED HCW at a COVID-19 epicenter.

Methods: A cross-sectional, convenience sample of adult (≥18 years) ED HCW in Brooklyn, New York, USA, who were employed at ≥50% of a full-time effort, was surveyed September-December, 2020 with reference period March-May 2020.

Outcomes of prednisone-tapering regimens for cardiac sarcoidosis: A retrospective analysis demonstrating a benefit of infliximab.

Background: The optimal treatment strategy for cardiac sarcoidosis has not been standardized. We examined the effectiveness of three prednisone-tapering treatment regimens for cardiac sarcoidosis.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed prednisone-tapering treatment regimens for cardiac sarcoidosis that contained prednisone alone (P), prednisone plus methotrexate (P-M), and prednisone plus infliximab containing regimens (P-I).

Organ Donation Willingness Among Asian Americans: Results from a National Study.

Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial group in the USA, but their health disparities are often overlooked. Although their needs for transplantable organs are substantial, they have the lowest rates of organ donation per million compared to other Americans by race. To better understand Asian Americans' disposition toward organ donation, a self-administered survey was developed based on formative data collection and guidance from a Community Advisory Board composed of Asian American stakeholders.

The association of baseline sarcoidosis measurements with 6-month outcomes that are of interest to patients: Results from the On-line Sarcoidosis Assessment Platform Study (OSAP).

Introduction: The impact of common measures to assess sarcoidosis have not been compared longitudinally to outcomes that are meaningful to patients. We prospectively examined the relationship of baseline measurements of sarcoidosis status to outcomes of interest to patients longitudinally over 6 months.

Methods: Sarcoidosis patients cared for at 6 US medical centers were "phenotyped" at baseline with measurements of pulmonary function, organ involvement, health related quality of life (HRQoL) instruments, and their anti-sarcoidosis treatment history.

Toxic elements in follicular fluid adversely influence the likelihood of pregnancy and live birth in women undergoing IVF.

Study Question: Are follicular fluid (FF), arsenic (As), mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) concentrations associated with IVF outcomes among women undergoing IVF?

Summary Answer: There was a non-linear association between higher FF Hg concentration and a lower likelihood of biochemical pregnancy and live birth. Higher FF Pb concentration was also associated with a lower probability of live birth.

What Is Known Already: Previous research suggests that toxic elements may affect fertility among couples conceiving with and without assistance.

Metabolic Risk and Depression among Elderly Mexican Americans: The Roles of Nativity Status.

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between metabolic risk (MR) and depression in a sample of older Mexican Americans and examine whether the association differs by age at migration.

Methods: Longitudinal study using data from the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly (HEPESE) (N=807, mean age = 84.3).

Are environmental pollution and biodiversity levels associated to the spread and mortality of COVID-19? A four-month global analysis.

On March 12th, 2020, the WHO declared COVID-19 as a pandemic. The collective impact of environmental and ecosystem factors, as well as biodiversity, on the spread of COVID-19 and its mortality evolution remain empirically unknown, particularly in regions with a wide ecosystem range. The aim of our study is to assess how those factors impact on the COVID-19 spread and mortality by country.

Variability of essential and non-essential trace elements in the follicular fluid of women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Both essential and non-essential elements have been associated with female reproductive function in epidemiologic investigations, including among IVF populations. To date, most investigators have used blood or urine to assess biomarkers of exposure, with few employing ovarian follicular fluid (FF). FF may offer a more direct "snapshot" of the oocyte microenvironment than blood or urine, however previous studies report follicle-to-follicle variability in FF constituents that may contribute to exposure misclassification.

Hispanic Disaster Preparedness in the United States, 2017: Examining the Association with Residential Characteristics.

The number of highly destructive disasters is increasing in regions of the United States where the Hispanic population is growing fastest. Up-to-date studies of disaster preparedness are needed that include housing measures and other factors that may account for differences in disaster preparedness between Hispanics and other racial and ethnic groups. This study fills this gap in the literature by using data from the 2017 American Housing Survey, which includes a topical module on disaster planning along with the core measures of housing and neighborhood characteristics, including housing tenure.

Seafood consumption is associated with higher follicular fluid arsenic (As) and mercury (Hg) concentrations in women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Human exposure to non-essential toxic metals such as cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb), and metalloids such as arsenic (As) commonly occurs through diet. Toxic trace element exposures have been reported in association with fertility and fecundity in epidemiologic studies even at low to moderate levels. While most previous studies employed blood and urine biomarkers of exposure, few have assessed toxic trace elements in ovarian follicular fluid (FF), which surrounds the developing oocyte and hence may better reflect concentrations potentially affecting reproductive outcomes.