Validation of food store environment secondary data source and the role of neighborhood deprivation in Appalachia, Kentucky

Background Based on the need for better measurement of the retail food environment in rural settings and to examine how deprivation may be unique in rural settings, the aims of this study were: 1) to validate one commercially available data source with direct field observations of food retailers; and 2) to examine the association between modified neighborhood deprivation and the modified retail food environment score (mRFEI). Methods Secondary data were obtained from a commercial database, InfoUSA in 2011, on all retail food outlets for each census tract. In 2011, direct observation identifying all listed food retailers was conducted in 14 counties in Kentucky. Sensitivity and positive predictive values (PPV) were compared. Neighborhood deprivation index was derived from American Community Survey data. Multinomial regression was used to examine associations between neighborhood deprivation and the mRFEI score (indicator of retailers selling healthy foods such as low-fat foods and fruits and vegetables relative to retailers selling more energy dense foods). Results The sensitivity of the commercial database was high for traditional food retailers (grocery stores, supermarkets, convenience stores), with a range of 0.96-1.00, but lower for non-traditional food retailers; dollar stores (0.20) and Farmer’s Markets (0.50). For traditional food outlets, the PPV for smaller non-chain grocery stores was 38%, and large chain supermarkets was 87%. Compared to those with no stores in their neighborhoods, those with a supercenter [OR 0.50 (95% CI 0.27. 0.97)] or convenience store [OR 0.67 (95% CI 0.51, 0.89)] in their neighborhood have lower odds of living in a low deprivation neighborhood relative to a high deprivation neighborhood. Conclusion The secondary commercial database used in this study was insufficient to characterize the rural retail food environment. Our findings suggest that neighborhoods with high neighborhood deprivation are associated with having certain store types that may promote less healthy food options

Dengue Virus Infection-Enhancing Activity in Serum Samples with Neutralizing Activity as Determined by Using FcγR-Expressing Cells

Dengue has become a major international public health concern in recent decades. There are four dengue virus serotypes. Recovery from infection with one serotype confers life-long protection to the homologous serotype but only partial protection to subsequent infection with other serotypes. Secondary infection with a serotype different from that in primary infection increases the risk of development of severe complications. Antibodies may play two competing roles during infection: virus neutralization that leads to protection and recovery, or infection-enhancement that may cause severe complications. Progress in vaccine development has been hampered by limited understanding on protective immunity against dengue virus infection. We report the neutralization activity and infection-enhancement activity in individuals with dengue in Malaysia. We show that infection-enhancement activity is present when neutralizing activity is absent or low, and cross-reactive neutralizing activity may be hampered by infection-enhancing activity. Conventional assays for titration of neutralizing antibody do not consider infection-enhancement activity. We used an alternative assay that determines the sum of neutralizing and infection-enhancement activity in sera from dengue patients. In addition to providing insights into antibody responses during infection, the alternative assay provides a new platform for the study of immune responses to vaccine

An Estimation of the Coastal Premium for Residential Housing Prices in San Diego County

Coastal premium, Hedonic model, San Diego, Housing prices, California housing, R21, Q31,