Evaluation of Harmful Algal Bloom Outreach Activities

With an apparent increase of harmful algal blooms (HABs) worldwide, healthcare providers, public health personnel and coastal managers are struggling to provide scientifically-based appropriately-targeted HAB outreach and education. Since 1998, the Florida Poison Information Center-Miami, with its 24 hour/365 day/year free Aquatic Toxins Hotline (1–888–232–8635) available in several languages, has received over 25,000 HAB-related calls. As part of HAB surveillance, all possible cases of HAB-related illness among callers are reported to the Florida Health Department. This pilot study evaluated an automated call processing menu system that allows callers to access bilingual HAB information, and to speak directly with a trained Poison Information Specialist. The majority (68%) of callers reported satisfaction with the information, and many provided specific suggestions for improvement. This pilot study, the first known evaluation of use and satisfaction with HAB educational outreach materials, demonstrated that the automated system provided useful HAB-related information for the majority of callers, and decreased the routine informational call workload for the Poison Information Specialists, allowing them to focus on callers needing immediate assistance and their healthcare providers. These results will lead to improvement of this valuable HAB outreach, education and surveillance tool. Formal evaluation is recommended for future HAB outreach and educational materials

Supporting Self-Regulation of Children with ADHD Using Wearables: Tensions and Design Challenges

The design of wearable applications supporting children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD) requires a deep understanding not only of what is possible from a clinical standpoint but also how the children might understand and orient towards wearable technologies, such as a smartwatch. Through a series of participatory design workshops with children with ADHD and their caregivers, we identified tensions and challenges in designing wearable applications supporting the self-regulation of children with ADHD. In this paper, we describe the specific challenges of smartwatches for this population, the balance between self-regulation and co-regulation, and tensions when receiving notifications on a smartwatch in various contexts. These results indicate key considerations—from both the child and caregiver viewpoints—for designing technological interventions supporting children with ADHD

Pathogenic Mechanism of the FIG4 Mutation Responsible for Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease CMT4J

CMT4J is a severe form of Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy caused by mutation of the phosphoinositide phosphatase FIG4/SAC3. Affected individuals are compound heterozygotes carrying the missense allele FIG4-I41T in combination with a null allele. Analysis using the yeast two-hybrid system demonstrated that the I41T mutation impairs interaction of FIG4 with the scaffold protein VAC14. The critical role of this interaction was confirmed by the demonstration of loss of FIG4 protein in VAC14 null mice. We developed a mouse model of CMT4J by expressing a Fig4-I41T cDNA transgene on the Fig4 null background. Expression of the mutant transcript at a level 5× higher than endogenous Fig4 completely rescued lethality, whereas 2× expression gave only partial rescue, providing a model of the human disease. The level of FIG4-I41T protein in transgenic tissues is only 2% of that predicted by the transcript level, as a consequence of the protein instability caused by impaired interaction of the mutant protein with VAC14. Analysis of patient fibroblasts demonstrated a comparably low level of mutant I41T protein. The abundance of FIG4-I41T protein in cultured cells is increased by treatment with the proteasome inhibitor MG-132. The data demonstrate that FIG4-I41T is a hypomorphic allele encoding a protein that is unstable in vivo. Expression of FIG4-I41T protein at 10% of normal level is sufficient for long-term survival, suggesting that patients with CMT4J could be treated by increased production or stabilization of the mutant protein. The transgenic model will be useful for testing in vivo interventions to increase the abundance of the mutant protein

Pregnancy Intentions and Folic Acid Supplementation Exemplars: Findings from the Central Pennsylvania Women\u27s Health Study

One Healthy People 2010 objective is that 80% of women in the United States start a pregnancy with optimal levels of folic acid. This often requires women to use folic acid supplements preconceptionally to get adequate levels. Efforts to achieve the objective have resulted in a suboptimal floor effect at less than 50% of women. We advance a framework based on exemplification theory, identifying supplementation as an additive action in which two role models exemplify folic acid supplementation among women of reproductive age able to become pregnant (n = 1,258). The women were participants in Phase I of the Central Pennsylvania Women\u27s Health Study (CePAWHS). One exemplar identified represents the positive habits aligned with supplementers considering a pregnancy sometime in their future, while the other resides in the exemplification of positive habits aligned with supplementers not considering a pregnancy sometime in their future but still able to become pregnant. Among women not considering a future pregnancy, daily green salad consumption, weekly fish consumption, having had a health care visit in the past year, and having had any ob/gyn visit in the past 2 years resulted in increased odds of folic acid supplement use in a multivariable model. In the same model, an increase in age resulted in increased odds of folic acid supplement use. Among women considering a future pregnancy, not smoking cigarettes, having higher levels of psychosocial stress, and having higher levels of interaction social support resulted in increased odds of folic acid supplement use in a multivariable model. In the same model, those who have had a health care visit in the past year, as well as those who have received pregnancy planning counseling, were also more likely to use a folic acid supplement. Implications for strategic communication are considered