Prevalence of antibody to Trypanosoma cruzi in Hispanic-surnamed patients seen at Parkland Health & Hospital System, Dallas, Texas

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Chagas disease constitutes an important public health threat in terms of morbidity and mortality in the areas in the United States where immigrant populations from Latin America are conspicuous. We conducted a survey to assess the prevalence of anti-<it>T. cruzi </it>antibody in Hispanic-surnamed patients seen at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, Texas.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>Five hundred serum specimens from Hispanic-surnamed patients were tested by a preliminary ELISA method. On a subset of 50 sera confirmatory testing was also performed using an alternative ELISA, indirect immunofluorescence, and TESA immunoblot. For 274 of 500 Hispanic-surnamed patients, we were able to ascertain immigration status upon medical chart review. Of the 274 sera analyzed, one sample tested as positive for anti-<it>T. cruzi </it>antibody by the preliminary ELISA, and by the three confirmatory methods.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The goal of this study is to increase the awareness of <it>T. cruzi </it>infection and Chagas disease in areas where the Latin American immigrant communities are growing. Our study highlights the importance of testing for Chagas disease in the populations most at risk, and the need for current data on the actual seroprevalence in areas where such immigrant populations are conspicuous. Larger-scale epidemiologic surveys on Chagas disease in the immigrant communities from Latin America are warranted.</p

Health Behaviors of Student Community Research Partners When Designing and Implementing a Healthy Lifestyle Intervention on College Campuses

Few studies work with college students as equal partners in all aspects of Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and even less evaluate behaviors of those college partners. The current study aimed to examine health behaviors of students by designing and implementing a peer-led, social marketing campaign (Get Fruved) to promote healthier lifestyles on their campuses. Enrolled students (n = 376) were trained to either design and implement a health promotion intervention (Social Marketing and Environmental Interventionists; SMEI, n = 78), be peer mentors (PM; n = 205), or serve as control participants (n = 93). Students’ behaviors (dietary, activity, and stress) and anthropometrics were assessed at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months. The population was predominately Caucasian, female, and between 19 and 20 years old. On average, fruit and vegetable consumption slightly decreased across all time points for each group with control at a larger decline. Students International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) scores showed students met recommended amounts of activity throughout the intervention, with males reporting higher activity levels. Cohen’s Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) analyses indicated 19 year olds had higher stress along with females had higher than males. Students involved in a CBPR approach to be trained, design, and implement a lifestyle intervention can achieve maintenance of health behaviors throughout a college year when compared to control students

A Community Based Participatory Approach to Training Young Adults to Design and Implement a Social Marketing Framed Lifestyle Intervention on Their College Campus

Background: Using a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) approach may increase the likelihood of relevance and acceptability of the designed intervention, especially on a college campus. Furthermore, recruiting and training college students to design a social marketing framed healthy lifestyle intervention for their peers will allow the intervention to be tailored to the needs of the campus. Objectives: To describe the process of online-course training college students to develop a campus-based, social marketing health promotion intervention. Methods: Four universities recruited current college students (18+ y.o.) to develop a social marketing and environmental intervention (SMEI), which was completed during a 16-week, online/in-person hybrid semester course. Researchers and Extension professionals trained students to design 24 weeks of intervention events that would be implemented the upcoming year. Results: Seventy-eight students enrolled in the study and social marketing and environmental intervention course among the four intervention states (Florida = 30, South Dakota = 8, Tennessee = 13, West Virginia = 27); students were predominately Caucasian (65.8%), females (84.0%), and sophomore status in college (64.9%). Throughout the semester, students assessed their campus environments, set priorities, and developed weekly events and resources needed to implement the intervention on their campuses. By the end of the semester, with researcher support, students had designed 24 weeks of intervention events (marketing, recruiting, and implementation) focusing on nutrition/food/diet, physical activity, stress management, sleep, and time management. These events and resources were catalogued into a digital toolkit of instructions and activities for each week of intervention events. Conclusion: Using a Community-Based Participatory Research approach with college students interested in health allows for the development of an intervention that stems from grass roots efforts and is tailored to the acceptability and needs of their peer

Self-Reported vs. Measured Height, Weight, and BMI in Young Adults

Self-reported height and weight, if accurate, provide a simple and economical method to track changes in body weight over time. Literature suggests adults tend to under-report their own weight and that the gap between self-reported weight and actual weight increases with obesity. This study investigates the extent of discrepancy in self-reported height, weight, and subsequent Body Mass Index (BMI) versus actual measurements in young adults. Physically measured and self-reported height and weight were taken from 1562 students. Male students marginally overestimated height, while females were closer to target. Males, on average, closely self-reported weight. Self-reported anthropometrics remained statistically correlated to actual measures in both sexes. Categorical variables of calculated BMI from both self-reported and actual height and weight resulted in significant agreement for both sexes. Researcher measured BMI (via anthropometric height and weight) and sex were both found to have association with self-reported weight while only sex was related to height difference. Regression examining weight difference and BMI was significant, specifically with a negative slope indicating increased BMI led to increased underestimation of weight in both sexes. This study suggests self-reported anthropometric measurements in young adults can be used to calculate BMI for weight classification purposes. Further investigation is needed to better assess self-reported vs measured height and weight discrepancies across populations

A Multi-Year Examination of Gardening Experience and Fruit and Vegetable Intake During College

Gardening has been positively associated with fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption based on short-term studies among children, but long-term data among adolescents and young adults are lacking. This investigation sought to elucidate the association between gardening experience and FV intake among college students over a two-year period. Students (N = 593) from eight universities were assessed at the end of their freshman (Y1) and sophomore (Y2) years during the springs of 2016 and 2017, respectively. At each time point, participants completed the NCI FV Screener and questions related to gardening experience and FV-related attitudes and behaviors. Students were then categorized into four groups based on gardening experience: Gardened only during the first or second year (Y1 only and Y2 only gardeners), gardened both years (Y1+Y2 gardeners), and non-gardeners. While both Y1 only and Y1+Y2 gardeners reported significantly higher FV intake relative to non-gardeners at Y1 (2.3 ± 0.9 and 2.6 ± 0.7 versus 1.9 ± 0.6 cup equivalents (CE)/day, respectively; p \u3c 0.01), only Y1+Y2 gardeners differed from non-gardeners at Y2 (2.4 ± 0.6 versus 1.8 ± 0.5 CE/day; p \u3c 0.001). Additionally, Y1+Y2 gardeners reported more frequent engagement of several FV-related behaviors, including shopping at farmers’ markets, eating locally grown foods, and cooking from basic ingredients; and were five times more likely to have gardened during childhood (OR: 5.2, 95%, CI: 3.5–8.8; p \u3c 0.001). Findings suggest that while isolated gardening experiences during college are associated with FV intake, reoccurring experience may be essential for sustained benefit

Prevalence and Correlates of Food Insecurity Among U.S. College Students: A Multi-institutional Study

Background: College students may be vulnerable to food insecurity due to limited financial resources, decreased buying power of federal aid, and rising costs of tuition, housing, and food. This study assessed the prevalence of food insecurity and its sociodemographic, health, academic, and food pantry correlates among first-year college students in the United States. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among first-year students (n = 855) across eight U.S. universities. Food security status was assessed using the U.S. Department of Agriculture Adult Food Security Survey Module. Cohen’s Perceived Stress Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and Eating Attitudes Test-26 were used to assess perceived stress, sleep quality, and disordered eating behaviors, respectively. Participants self-reported their grade point average (GPA) and completed questions related to meal plan enrollment and utilization of on-campus food pantries. Results: Of participating students, 19% were food-insecure, and an additional 25.3% were at risk of food insecurity. Students who identified as a racial minority, lived off-campus, received a Pell grant, reported a parental education of high school or less, and did not participate in a meal plan were more likely to be food-insecure. Multivariate logistic regression models adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics and meal plan enrollment indicated that food-insecure students had significantly higher odds of poor sleep quality (OR = 2.32, 95% CI: 1.43–3.76), high stress (OR = 4.65, 95% CI: 2.66–8.11), disordered eating behaviors (OR = 2.49, 95% CI: 1.20–4.90), and a GPA \u3c 3.0 (OR = 1.91, 95% CI: 1.19–3.07) compared to food-secure students. Finally, while half of the students (56.4%) with an on-campus pantry were aware of its existence, only 22.2% of food-insecure students endorsed utilizing the pantry for food acquisition. Conclusions: Food insecurity among first-year college students is highly prevalent and has implications for academic performance and health outcomes. Higher education institutions should screen for food insecurity and implement policy and programmatic initiatives to promote a healthier college experience. Campus food pantries may be useful as shortterm relief; however, its limited use by students suggest the need for additional solutions with a rights-based approach to food insecurity. Trial Registration: Retrospectively registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02941497

Development and Validation of the Short Healthy Eating Index Survey with a College Population to Assess Dietary Quality and Intake

Because diet quality (DQ) is associated with risk of chronic disease and is a common construct assessed in health-related research, validated tools to assess DQ are needed that have low respondent and researcher burden. Thus, content experts develop the Short Healthy Eating Index (sHEI) tool and an associated scoring system. The sHEI scoring system was then refined using a classification and regression tree (CRT) algorithm methodology with an iterative feedback process with expert review and input. The sHEI scoring system was then validated using a concurrent criterion validation process that included the sHEI DQ scores (calculated from responses from 50 participants) being compared to the participants’ Healthy Eating Index scores derived from 24 h recalls. The total HEI score from the CRT algorithm highly correlated with the 24 h recall HEI score (0.79). For individual food group items, the correlation between the CRT algorithm scoring and the 24 h recall data scoring ranged from 0.44 for refined grains to 0.64 for whole fruits. The sHEI appears to be a valid tool for estimating overall dietary quality and individual items (with correlations \u3e 0.49) for fruits, vegetables, dairy, added sugar, sugar from sugar-sweetened beverages, and calcium

Promoting sexual and reproductive health among adolescents in southern and eastern Africa (PREPARE): project design and conceptual framework

Background: Young people in sub-Saharan Africa are affected by the HIV pandemic to a greater extent than young people elsewhere and effective HIV-preventive intervention programmes are urgently needed. The present article presents the rationale behind an EU-funded research project (PREPARE) examining effects of community-based (school delivered) interventions conducted in four sites in sub-Saharan Africa. One intervention focuses on changing beliefs and cognitions related to sexual practices (Mankweng, Limpopo, South Africa). Another promotes improved parent-offspring communication on sexuality (Kampala, Uganda). Two further interventions are more comprehensive aiming to promote healthy sexual practices. One of these (Western Cape, South Africa) also aims to reduce intimate partner violence while the other (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania) utilises school-based peer education. Methods/design: A modified Intervention Mapping approach is used to develop all programmes. Cluster randomised controlled trials of programmes delivered to school students aged 12–14 will be conducted in each study site. Schools will be randomly allocated (after matching or stratification) to intervention and delayed intervention arms. Baseline surveys at each site are followed by interventions and then by one (Kampala and Limpopo) or two (Western Cape and Dar es Salaam) post-intervention data collections. Questionnaires include questions common for all sites and are partly based on a set of social cognition models previously applied to the study of HIV-preventive behaviours. Data from all sites will be merged in order to compare prevalence and associations across sites on core variables. Power is set to .80 or higher and significance level to .05 or lower in order to detect intervention effects. Intraclass correlations will be estimated from previous surveys carried out at each site. Discussion: We expect PREPARE interventions to have an impact on hypothesized determinants of risky sexual behaviour and in Western Cape and Dar es Salaam to change sexual practices. Results from PREPARE will (i) identify modifiable cognitions and social processes related to risky sexual behaviour and (ii) identify promising intervention approaches among young adolescents in sub-Saharan cultures and contexts.publishedVersionPeer Reviewe

High-Speed CMOS-Free Purely Spintronic Asynchronous Recurrent Neural Network

Neuromorphic computing systems overcome the limitations of traditional von Neumann computing architectures. These computing systems can be further improved upon by using emerging technologies that are more efficient than CMOS for neural computation. Recent research has demonstrated memristors and spintronic devices in various neural network designs boost efficiency and speed. This paper presents a biologically inspired fully spintronic neuron used in a fully spintronic Hopfield RNN. The network is used to solve tasks, and the results are compared against those of current Hopfield neuromorphic architectures which use emerging technologies

Heavy Alcohol Use Is Associated With Worse Retention in HIV Care

Poor retention in HIV care is associated with worse clinical outcomes and increased HIV transmission. We examined the relationship between self-reported alcohol use, a potentially modifiable behavior, and retention