scholarly journals Data-driven identification of potential Zika virus vectors

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle V. Evans ◽  
Tad A. Dallas ◽  
Barbara A. Han ◽  
Courtney C. Murdock ◽  
John M. Drake
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Zika Virus ◽  
Vector Competence ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Correct Identification ◽  
Populations At Risk ◽  
Emerging Virus

AbstractZika is an emerging virus whose rapid spread is of great public health concern. Knowledge about transmission remains incomplete, especially concerning potential transmission in geographic areas in which it has not yet been introduced. To identify unknown vectors of Zika, we developed a data-driven model linking vector species and the Zika virus via vector-virus trait combinations that confer a propensity toward associations in an ecological network connecting flaviviruses and their mosquito vectors. Our model predicts that thirty-five species may be able to transmit the virus, seven of which are found in the continental United States, including Culex quinquefasciatus and Cx. pipiens. We suggest that empirical studies prioritize these species to confirm predictions of vector competence, enabling the correct identification of populations at risk for transmission within the United States.

scholarly journals Data-driven identification of potential Zika virus vectors

eLife ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle V Evans ◽  
Tad A Dallas ◽  
Barbara A Han ◽  
Courtney C Murdock ◽  
John M Drake
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Zika Virus ◽  
Vector Competence ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Correct Identification ◽  
Populations At Risk ◽  
Emerging Virus

Zika is an emerging virus whose rapid spread is of great public health concern. Knowledge about transmission remains incomplete, especially concerning potential transmission in geographic areas in which it has not yet been introduced. To identify unknown vectors of Zika, we developed a data-driven model linking vector species and the Zika virus via vector-virus trait combinations that confer a propensity toward associations in an ecological network connecting flaviviruses and their mosquito vectors. Our model predicts that thirty-five species may be able to transmit the virus, seven of which are found in the continental United States, including Culex quinquefasciatus and Cx. pipiens. We suggest that empirical studies prioritize these species to confirm predictions of vector competence, enabling the correct identification of populations at risk for transmission within the United States.

Shifting the Paradigm in HIV Prevention and Treatment Service Delivery Toward Differentiated Care for Youth

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent Guilamo-Ramos ◽  
Marco Thimm-Kaiser ◽  
Adam Benzekri ◽  
Donna Futterman
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Hiv Prevention ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
The United States ◽  
Hiv Care ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Service Needs ◽  
Minority Adolescents ◽  
Prevention And Treatment ◽  
Differentiated Care

Despite significant progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the United States, HIV prevention and treatment disparities among key populations remain a national public health concern. While new HIV diagnoses are increasing among people under age 30—in particular among racial, ethnic, and sexual minority adolescents and young adults (AYA)—dominant prevention and treatment paradigms too often inadequately consider the unique HIV service needs of AYA. To address this gap, we characterize persistent and largely overlooked AYA disparities across the HIV prevention and treatment continuum, identify AYA-specific limitations in extant resources for improving HIV service delivery in the United States, and propose a novel AYA-centered differentiated care framework adapted to the unique ecological and developmental factors shaping engagement, adherence, and retention in HIV services among AYA. Shifting the paradigm for AYA to differentiated HIV care is a promising approach that warrants implementation and evaluation as part of reinforced national efforts to end the HIV epidemic in the United States by 2030.

scholarly journals Exotic Haemaphysalis longicornis (Acari: Ixodidae) in the United States: Biology, Ecology, and Strategies for Management

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brittany L Schappach ◽  
Rayda K Krell ◽  
Victoria L Hornbostel ◽  
Neeta P Connally
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Vector Competence ◽  
The United States ◽  
United States Department ◽  
Haemaphysalis Longicornis ◽  
Life Stages ◽  
Department Of Agriculture ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Significant Public Health ◽  
Multiple Pathogens

Abstract The Asian longhorned tick (ALT), Haemaphysalis longicornis Neumann (Acari: Ixodidae), is a three-host tick that was first detected outside of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) quarantine in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, in 2017 and subsequently found in another 14 states. In its native Asia, and where it has become established in Australia and New Zealand, ALTs feed on a variety of hosts and are economically important livestock pests and competent vectors of multiple pathogens to humans and other animals. The degree to which ALT will become a persistent livestock pest or competent vector for introduced or existing pathogens in the United States is yet unclear. Because of its vast host availability, ability to reproduce asexually, known vector competence, and the presence of multiple life stages on hosts, the expansion of ALT establishment in the United States is expected, and is a significant public health and veterinary concern. In this paper, we discuss the biology, geographical distribution, life cycle and seasonal activity, reproduction, identification, medical and veterinary implications, management options, and future concerns in the United States.

My Brother’s Reaper: Examining Officially Reported Siblicide Incidents in the United States, 2000–2007

2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 523-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey A. Walsh ◽  
Jessie L. Krienert
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Theoretical Foundation ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Sibling Violence ◽  
Extreme Form ◽  
Older Brothers ◽  
Intrafamilial Violence ◽  
Frequent Offenders

With higher rates than any other form of intrafamilial violence, Hoffman and Edwards (2004) note, sibling violence “constitutes a pandemic form of victimization of children, with the symptoms often going unrecognized and the effect ignored” (p. 187). Approximately 80% of children reside with at least one sibling (Kreider, 2008), and in its most extreme form sibling violence manifests as siblicide. Siblicide is poorly understood with fewer than 20 empirical studies identified in the extant literature since 1980 (see Eriksen & Jensen, 2006). The present work employs 8 years of Supplemental Homicide Report (SHR) data, 2000–2007, with siblicide victims and offenders age 21 years and younger, to construct contemporary victim and offender profiles examining incident characteristics. Findings highlight the sex-based nature of the offense with unique victimization patterns across victims and offenders. Older brothers using a firearm are the most frequent offenders against both male and female siblings. Strain as a theoretical foundation of siblicide is offered as an avenue for future inquiry.

scholarly journals Adult sports-related traumatic brain injury in United States trauma centers

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. E4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ethan A. Winkler ◽  
John K. Yue ◽  
John F. Burke ◽  
Andrew K. Chan ◽  
Sanjay S. Dhall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mortality Rates ◽  
Hospital Length Of Stay ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Medical Complications ◽  
Equestrian Sports ◽  
Prolonged Hospital

OBJECTIVE Sports-related traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an important public health concern estimated to affect 300,000 to 3.8 million people annually in the United States. Although injuries to professional athletes dominate the media, this group represents only a small proportion of the overall population. Here, the authors characterize the demographics of sports-related TBI in adults from a community-based trauma population and identify predictors of prolonged hospitalization and increased morbidity and mortality rates. METHODS Utilizing the National Sample Program of the National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB), the authors retrospectively analyzed sports-related TBI data from adults (age ≥ 18 years) across 5 sporting categories—fall or interpersonal contact (FIC), roller sports, skiing/snowboarding, equestrian sports, and aquatic sports. Multivariable regression analysis was used to identify predictors of prolonged hospital length of stay (LOS), medical complications, inpatient mortality rates, and hospital discharge disposition. Statistical significance was assessed at α < 0.05, and the Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons was applied for each outcome analysis. RESULTS From 2003 to 2012, in total, 4788 adult sports-related TBIs were documented in the NTDB, which represented 18,310 incidents nationally. Equestrian sports were the greatest contributors to sports-related TBI (45.2%). Mild TBI represented nearly 86% of injuries overall. Mean (± SEM) LOSs in the hospital or intensive care unit (ICU) were 4.25 ± 0.09 days and 1.60 ± 0.06 days, respectively. The mortality rate was 3.0% across all patients, but was statistically higher in TBI from roller sports (4.1%) and aquatic sports (7.7%). Age, hypotension on admission to the emergency department (ED), and the severity of head and extracranial injuries were statistically significant predictors of prolonged hospital and ICU LOSs, medical complications, failure to discharge to home, and death. Traumatic brain injury during aquatic sports was similarly associated with prolonged ICU and hospital LOSs, medical complications, and failure to be discharged to home. CONCLUSIONS Age, hypotension on ED admission, severity of head and extracranial injuries, and sports mechanism of injury are important prognostic variables in adult sports-related TBI. Increasing TBI awareness and helmet use—particularly in equestrian and roller sports—are critical elements for decreasing sports-related TBI events in adults.

The Recent Rise of Suicide Mortality in the United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gonzalo Martínez-Alés ◽  
Tammy Jiang ◽  
Katherine M. Keyes ◽  
Jaimie L. Gradus
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Suicide Mortality ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Suicide Rates ◽  
Subsequent Decrease

Suicide is a major public health concern in the United States. Between 2000 and 2018, US suicide rates increased by 35%, contributing to the stagnation and subsequent decrease in US life expectancy. During 2019, suicide declined modestly, mostly owing to slight reductions in suicides among Whites. Suicide rates, however, continued to increase or remained stable among all other racial/ethnic groups, and little is known about recent suicide trends among other vulnerable groups. This article ( a) summarizes US suicide mortality trends over the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, ( b) reviews potential group-level causes of increased suicide risk among subpopulations characterized by markers of vulnerability to suicide, and ( c) advocates for combining recent advances in population-based suicide prevention with a socially conscious perspective that captures the social, economic, and political contexts in which suicide risk unfolds over the life course of vulnerable individuals. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Public Health, Volume 43 is April 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Political sophistication

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Παύλος Βασιλόπουλος
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
American Literature ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Information ◽  
Cognitive Capacity ◽  
Basic Knowledge ◽  
Political Sophistication

This dissertation is concerned with the concept of political sophistication, referring to the extent and organization of a person’s stored political cognition (Luskin 1987).Available empirical evidence on the levels of political sophistication in mass publics comes almost exclusively from the United States and point to two broad conclusions: First, systematic empirical research has demonstrated that political information in the mass public is particularly low (Converse 1964, Delli Carpini and Keeter 1996). Citizens lack basic knowledge over political affairs. Time and again empirical studies have systematically showed that citizens in the United States and elsewhere fall short of passing even the most rudimentary political knowledge tests. This finding that was first illustrated by the Michigan school in the early 1960s (Campbell et al. 1960) resulted in a wide pessimism over the meaning of public opinion and even of representative democracy (Inglehart 1985).The second broad conclusion is that the politically sophisticated and unsophisticated differ: Political sophisticates have the cognitive capacity to translate their deeper held political values and predispositions into consistent political attitudes (Zaller 1992). They are able to use their political knowledge in order to make informed vote choices in the sense that they accurately adjust their political positions to the parties’ platforms (Delli Carpini and Keeter 1996, Lau and Redlawsk 1997, 2006). What is more, they are more likely to participate in elections and other political activities and are less susceptible to political propaganda (Delli Carpini and Keeter 1996).However the idea that political sophistication matters for the quality of the public’s political decision-making has met strong theoretical and methodological criticism by the ‘low information rationality’ perspective (Popkin 1991, Lupia 1994,Graber 2001). This group of theories argues that politically inattentive citizens can form their political judgment on the basis of heuristics that allow them to make reasonable choices reflecting their predispositions and interests even though they lack political knowledge.The principal aims of this thesis are: a)to compare different measurement perspectives on political sophistication and assess their methodological potential especially in regard with comparative research on political knowledgeb)to explore the extent to which the pattern of ignorance that has been repeatedly highlighted in the American literature is an internal characteristic of political behavior stemming from the low expected utility of acquiring political information or it is subject to particular cultural and systemic characteristics. To this direction I use Greece as a case study by undertaking an analytical survey of political sophistication, one of the very few that have been conducted across the Atlantic.c)The third aim is to investigate the determinants of political sophistication and especially the potential of the mass media in political learning and in the context of the Greek political and media system.d)d) Finally this thesis addresses the unresolved question concerning the differences in quality of political decisions between the political sophisticated and unsophisticated layers of the public by evaluating the explanatory potential of two competing theories (political sophistication v. low information rationality) in the multi-party political environment of Greece

Are We Prepared for Precision Public Health? An Examination of Genomics Content in Graduate Public Health Programs

2021 ◽  
pp. 003335492110557
Author(s):  
Karen L. Niemchick ◽  
Ally Goerge ◽  
Amy H. Ponte
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Genome Project ◽  
Public Health Workforce ◽  
Public Health Genomics ◽  
Master Of Public Health ◽  
Precision Public Health ◽  
Populations At Risk ◽  
Genomics Education

Objective With the completion of the Human Genome Project and swift development of genomic technologies, public health practitioners can use these advancements to more precisely target disease interventions to populations at risk. To integrate these innovations into better health outcomes, public health professionals need to have at least a basic understanding of genomics within various disciplines of public health. This descriptive study focused on the current level of genomics content in accredited master of public health (MPH) programs in the United States. Methods We conducted an internet search on all 171 Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH)–accredited MPH programs in the United States for genomics content in required and elective courses using the search terms “genetics,” “genomics,” and “molecular.” Results Of the 171 CEPH-accredited MPH programs examined, 52 (30.4%) schools and programs in 34 states offered some type of genomics education. Thirty-five (20.5%) schools and programs had a course in genetic epidemiology, 29 (16.9%) had a course in genetic biostatistics or bioinformatics, and 17 (9.9%) had a course in general public health genomics. The remaining 119 offered no course with a focus on genetics or genomics. In addition, some electives or specifically focused courses related to genomics were offered. Conclusion We found inadequate training in public health genomics for MPH students. To realize the promise of precision public health and to increase the understanding of genomics among the public health workforce, MPH programs need to find ways to integrate genomics education into their curricula.

scholarly journals Exploring Experiences and Perceptions of Older African American Males Aging With HIV in the Rural Southern United States

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara J. Blake ◽  
Gloria A. Jones Taylor ◽  
Richard L. Sowell
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
African American ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
African American Men ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Treatment And Prevention ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Living With Hiv

The HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) epidemic in the United States remains a serious public health concern. Despite treatment and prevention efforts, approximately 50,000 new HIV cases are transmitted each year. Estimates indicate that 44% of all people diagnosed with HIV are living in the southern region of the United States. African Americans represent 13.2% of the United States population; however, 44% (19,540) of reported new HIV cases in 2014 were diagnosed within this ethnic group. The majority of cases were diagnosed in men (73%, 14,305). In the United States, it is estimated that 21% of adults living with HIV are 50 years or older. There exists limited data regarding how well African American men are aging with HIV disease. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of older African American men living with HIV in rural Georgia. Data were collected from 35 older African American men living with HIV using focus groups and face-to-face personal interviews. Qualitative content analysis revealed six overlapping themes: (1) Stigma; (2) Doing Fine, Most of the Time; (3) Coping With Age-Related Diseases and HIV; (4) Self-Care; (5) Family Support; and (6) Access to Resources. The findings from this study provide new insights into the lives of rural HIV-infected African American men, expands our understanding of how they manage the disease, and why many return to or remain in rural communities.

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