Ready or Not? Protecting the Public's Health From Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism, 2008

Examines ten indicators to assess progress in state readiness to respond to bioterrorism and other public health emergencies. Evaluates the federal government's and hospitals' preparedness. Makes suggestions for funding, restructuring, and other reforms

F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2011

Outlines 2008-10 national and state obesity rates, health indicators, and policies to address the epidemic; regional, economic, and social barriers to healthy choices; impact of the 2010 healthcare reform and Let's Move initiative; and recommendations

Ready or Not? Protecting the Public\u27s Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism

While significant progress has been made to better protect the country from health emergencies, funding for essential programs has been cut, putting these improvements in jeopardy. Additionally, a number of critical areas of preparedness still have significant gaps, including surge capacity and biosurveillance systems, and these problems are less likely to be addressed as funding decreases

F as in Fat: How the Obesity Crisis Threatens America's Future, 2010

Discusses 2007-09 national and state obesity rates, health indicators, and policies; regional, economic, and social barriers to healthy choices; effects of the 2009 stimulus and 2010 healthcare reform on prevention; survey findings; and recommendations

Unhealthy Diet Is Associated With Poor Sleep in Preschool-Aged Children

Unhealthy dietary choices are associated with poor sleep in children through adults. Yet, how diet and sleep are related in early childhood, when diet is reliant on parent choices around food availability, is unknown. The authors aimed to explore how frequency of fruit, vegetable, fast food, and soda consumption are associated with preschool children’s sleep quality. They also considered how parenting factors may impact the relationship between children’s sleep and diet. Actigraphy data were collected from 383 children 33–70 months old. Caregivers reported on child food and beverage frequency, demographics, and health items. Parenting strategies were assessed using the Parenting Scale. Multiple linear regression was used to examine associations between sleep and dietary measures with socioeconomic status, race-ethnicity, physical activity, and body mass index as covariates. Shorter nap duration was associated with more frequent consumption of fruits and vegetables (B = –3.6, p = .03). Shorter nighttime and 24-hr sleep durations were associated with more frequent consumption of fast food (B = –6.5, p = .01; B = –5.8, p = .01). Shorter nighttime sleep and later sleep onset were associated with more frequent soda consumption (B = –9.2, p = .01; B = 0.23, p = .001). Use of ineffective parenting strategies was negatively associated with fruit and vegetable consumption (r = –.29, p = .01) and positively associated with soda consumption (r = .25, p = .02) but was unrelated to sleep measures. Thus, ineffective parenting strategies may underlie child access to unhealthy foods, which, in turn, contributes to poor sleep. Encouraging healthier dietary habits and educating caregivers on how to reinforce such practices may lead to better sleep outcomes in early childhood

F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future 2012

https://www.rwjf.org/content/dam/farm/reports/reports/2012/rwjf40131

Outbreaks: Protecting Americans From Infectious Diseases 2015

Infectious diseases -- most of which are preventable -- disrupt the lives of millions of Americans each year. But the country does not sufficiently invest in basic protections that could help avoid significant numbers of outbreaks and save billions of dollars in unnecessary healthcare costs. U.S. investments in infectious disease prevention ebb and flow, where there is a major ramp up when a new eminent threat emerges, but then falls back when the problem seems contained.In the most recent example last year, the Ebola outbreak resulted in ephemeral attention and emergency supplemental funding to backfill gaps in the nation's ability to respond. But, lags in even emergency funding processes meant much of the support came too late to address immediate needs in states and in Africa. And the funding was not at a sufficient level to shore up ongoing gaps, leaving the United States still vulnerable for when the next emerging threat arises.Fighting infectious disease requires constant vigilance. Policies and resources must be in place to allow scientists and public health and medical experts to have the tools they need to: control ongoing outbreaks -- such as HIV/AIDS, antibiotic-resistant superbugs and foodborne illnesses; detect new or reemerging outbreaks -- such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), measles and avian flu; and monitor for potential bioterrorist threats -- such as anthrax or smallpox

Outbreaks: Protecting Americans From Infectious Diseases 2014

This report examines a range of infectious disease concerns. The report highlights a series of 10 indicators in each state that, taken collectively, offer a composite snapshot of strengths and vulnerabilities across the health system. These indicators help illustrate the types of policy fundamentals that are important to have in place not just to prevent the spread of disease in the first place but also to detect, diagnose and respond to outbreaks. In addition, the report examines key areas of concern in the nation's ability to prevent and control infectious diseases and offers recommendations for addressing these gaps. The Outbreaks report provides the public, policymakers and a broad and diverse set of groups involved in public health and the healthcare system with an objective, nonpartisan, independent analysis of the status of infectious disease policies; encourages greater transparency and accountability of the system; and recommends ways to assure the public health and healthcare systems meet today's needs and work across borders to accomplish their goals

Cross-Sectional Associations of 24-Hour Sedentary Time, Physical Activity, and Sleep Duration Compositions with Sleep Quality and Habits in Preschoolers

Although some studies indicate physical activity and sleep quality are positively associated in children, most reports examined physical activity independent of other 24-h behaviors and focused on older children. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the predicted changes in sleep efficiency and habits when reallocating time between movement behaviors using compositional isotemporal substitution in preschool-aged children. Accelerometers were worn by 288 participants (51.6 ± 9.5 months) for up to 16 days. Sleep outcomes included sleep efficiency, nap frequency, sleep disturbances, and bedtime resistance. Compositional isotemporal substitution analyses demonstrated that the combined effect of 24-h movement behaviors was associated with sleep efficiency (p \u3c 0.001) and nap frequency (p \u3c 0.003). When sleep increased by 30 min at the expense of stationary time or light physical activity, estimates of sleep efficiency and bedtime resistance decreased while nap frequency increased. When stationary time increased by 30 min from moderate to vigorous physical activity, estimated sleep efficiency increased and sleep disturbances decreased. Although this study presents preliminary evidence that 24-h movement behavior compositions in early childhood are associated with sleep quality and nap frequency, estimated effects from theoretical time reallocations across sleep outcomes were mixed

The sense of smell, its signalling pathways, and the dichotomy of cilia and microvilli in olfactory sensory cells

Smell is often regarded as an ancillary perception in primates, who seem so dominated by their sense of vision. In this paper, we will portray some aspects of the significance of olfaction to human life and speculate on what evolutionary factors contribute to keeping it alive. We then outline the functional architecture of olfactory sensory neurons and their signal transduction pathways, which are the primary detectors that render olfactory perception possible. Throughout the phylogenetic tree, olfactory neurons, at their apical tip, are either decorated with cilia or with microvilli. The significance of this dichotomy is unknown. It is generally assumed that mammalian olfactory neurons are of the ciliary type only. The existance of so-called olfactory microvillar cells in mammals, however, is well documented, but their nature remains unclear and their function orphaned. This paper discusses the possibility, that in the main olfactory epithelium of mammals ciliated and microvillar sensory cells exist concurrently. We review evidence related to this hypothesis and ask, what function olfactory microvillar cells might have and what signalling mechanisms they use