Using the precaution adoption process model and the health belief model to understand radon testing and mitigation: a pre-post quasi-experimental study.

BACKGROUND: Despite being the leading cause of lung cancer for non-smokers, few Canadians take action to test for and mitigate radon. This study's aim was twofold: (1) to investigate predictors of radon testing and mitigation using the Precaution Adoption Process Model (PAPM) and Health Belief Model (HBM); and (2) to assess the impact on beliefs of receiving radon results above health guidelines. METHODS: A convenience sample within Southeastern Ontario households was recruited to test their homes for radon (N = 1,566) for a pre-post quasi-experimental study. Prior to testing, participants were surveyed on risk factors and HBM constructs. All participants whose homes tested above the World Health Organization's radon guideline (N = 527) were surveyed after receiving their results and followed for up to 2 years after. Participants were classified into PAPM stages and regression analyses were conducted to determine predictors between different stages (from deciding to test onwards). Paired bivariate analyses compared responses before and after receiving results. RESULTS: Perceived benefits from mitigating was associated with progressing through all stages in the study's scope. Perceived susceptibility to and severity of illness and perceptions of cost and time to mitigate were associated with progression through some PAPM stages. Homes with smokers or individuals under 18 were associated with not progressing through some stages. Home radon level was associated with mitigation. Attitudes towards many HBM constructs significantly decreased after receiving a high radon result. CONCLUSIONS: Public health interventions should target specific radon beliefs and stages to ensure households test and mitigate for radon.

The relationship between muscle activation and handwriting quality with non-native grip styles.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to explore the differences in muscle activity, handwriting legibility, and consistency when using the 4 primary handwriting grip styles: dynamic quadrupod (DQ), dynamic tripod, lateral quadrupod (LQ) and lateral tripod. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Thirty-four 18-22-year-old participants completed a handwriting legibility test on paper as well as consistency and metrics tests using both surface electromyography and a digital writing tablet. Electromyography was used to measure the activity of 6 muscles associated with handwriting, and the tablet measured stroke duration, length, velocity, and pen pressure. Subjects used each grip style with all protocols and scores were normalized to their native grip. Significance was set at P < .05. RESULTS: Females had a lower range in legibility scores than males by 3.5% ± 1.7% (p = .046, d = 0.713), but grip style did not impact legibility. The upper trapezius (UT) was more active in the lateral tripod and LQ grips compared to DQ by 16.8% ± 5.2% and by 13.8% ± 5.2%, (p = .007, p = .012, respectively, partial η2 = 0.188). The stroke duration was greater in the LQ grip style than dynamic tripod and DQ grip styles (p = .008, p = .023, respectively; partial η2 = 0.123). CONCLUSIONS: Lateral grip styles involve more whole-arm, stabilizing movements while dynamic grip styles require fine dexterous movements. Furthermore, females are likely to be able to employ any grip with minimal effect on legibility. For a patient needing guidance in rehabilitation, understanding the differences in grips could aid selection of the optimum grip style to employ based on their muscular control deficits.

Mechanisms of endocrine resistance in breast cancer: an overview of the proposed roles of noncoding RNA.

Endocrine therapies such as tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors are the standard treatment options for estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer patients. However, resistance to these agents has become a major clinical obstacle. Potential mechanisms of resistance to endocrine therapies have been identified, often involving enhanced growth factor signaling and changes in the expression or action of the estrogen receptor, but few studies have addressed the role of noncoding RNA (ncRNA). Two important types of ncRNA include microRNA (miRNA) and long noncoding RNA (lncRNA). miRNAs are small RNA molecules that regulate gene expression via translational inhibition or degradation of mRNA transcripts, while lncRNAs are larger RNA molecules that have been shown to play a role in multiple cellular maintenance functions such as protein scaffolding, chromatin looping, and regulation of mRNA stability. Both miRNA and lncRNA have recently impacted the field of breast cancer research as important pieces in the mechanistic puzzle of the genes and pathways involved in breast cancer development and progression. This review serves as an overview of the roles of miRNA and lncRNA in breast cancer progression and the development of endocrine resistance. Ideally, future experiments in the field should include identification of ncRNAs that could be potential therapeutic targets in endocrine-resistant tumors, as well as ncRNA biomarkers that facilitate more tumor-specific treatment options for endocrine-resistant breast cancer patients.

COVID-19, lifestyle behaviors and mental health: A mixed methods study of women 6 months following a hypertensive pregnancy.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic introduced unprecedented challenges to both the physical and psychological health of postpartum women. The aim of this study was to determine how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the diet, physical activity and mental health of women 6 months following a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy. Methods: Mixed methods sub-study of the Blood Pressure Postpartum trial, which recruited women following a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy from six Sydney metropolitan hospitals. Cross sectional analysis of baseline quantitative data, collected at 6-months postpartum from March 2019-February 2022, and qualitative data analysis from semi-structured telephone interviews, was performed. Dates of COVID-19 lockdowns for Sydney, Australia were collected from government websites. Diet (vegetable, fruit, alcohol, take away intake) and physical activity (walking, vigorous activity, strength training frequency and duration) were assessed using the self-report NSW Population Health Survey. Depression and anxiety were assessed using the Edinburgh Depression Scale and GAD-7 scale, respectively. Outcome data were compared between women who completed surveys "In Lockdown" vs. "Not in Lockdown" as well as "Prior to any Lockdown" vs. "During or Following any Lockdown". Results: Of 506 participants, 84 women completed the study surveys "In Lockdown," and 149 completed the surveys "Prior to any Lockdown." Thirty-four participants were interviewed. There were no statistically significant differences in diet, physical activity, depression and anxiety among women who completed the survey "In Lockdown" vs. "Not in Lockdown." "Prior to any Lockdown," participants were more likely to do any walking (95% vs. 89%, p = 0.017), any vigorous activity (43% vs. 30%, p = 0.006) or any strength training (44% vs. 33%, p = 0.024), spent more time doing vigorous activity (p = 0.003) and strength training (p = 0.047) and were more likely to drink alcohol at least monthly (54% vs. 38%, p < 0.001) compared with "During or Following any Lockdown." Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the confinements of lockdown did not markedly influence the mental health, diet and physical activity behaviors of women 6 months following hypertensive pregnancy. However, physical activity levels were reduced following the emergence of COVID-19, suggesting targeted efforts may be necessary to re-engage postpartum women with exercise. Trial registration: https://anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=376286&isReview=true, identifier: ACTRN12618002004246.

Complete Genome Sequence of Geobacter sp. Strain FeAm09, a Moderately Acidophilic Soil Bacterium.

A moderately acidophilic Geobacter sp. strain, FeAm09, was isolated from forest soil. The complete genome sequence is 4,099,068 bp with an average GC content of 61.1%. No plasmids were detected. The genome contains a total of 3,843 genes and 3,608 protein-coding genes, including genes supporting iron and nitrogen biogeochemical cycling.

Porosity and pore size distribution in a sedimentary rock: Implications for the distribution of chlorinated solvents.

Characterizing properties of the rock matrix that control retention and release of chlorinated solvents is essential in evaluating the extent of contamination and the application of remediation technologies in fractured rock. Core samples from seven closely spaced boreholes in a mudstone subject to trichloroethene (TCE) contamination were analyzed using Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry to investigate porosity and pore size distribution as a function of mudstone characteristics, and depth and lateral extent in the aquifer; organic carbon content was also evaluated to identify the potential for adsorption. Porosity and retardation factor varied over two orders of magnitude, with the largest porosities and largest retardation factors associated with carbon-rich mudstone layers. Larger porosities were also measured in the shallow rock that has been subject to enhanced groundwater flow. Porosity also varied over more than an order of magnitude in spatially continuous mudstone layers. The analyses of the rock cores indicated that the largest pore diameters may be accessible to entry of the nonaqueous form of TCE. Although the porosity associated with the largest pore diameters is small (~0.1%), that volume of TCE can significantly affect the total TCE that is retained in the rock matrix. The dimensions of the largest pore diameters may also be accessible to microbes responsible for reductive dechlorination; however, the small percentage of the pore space that can accommodate microbes may limit the extent of reductive dechlorination in the rock matrix.

Regulated and unregulated halogenated disinfection byproduct formation from chlorination of saline groundwater.

Coastal utilities exploiting mildly saline groundwater (<150 mg/L chloride) may be challenged by disinfection byproduct (DBP) formation, a concern likely to increase with sea-level rise. Groundwater from North Carolina coastal aquifers is characterized by large variations in concentrations of halides (bromide up to 10,600 µg/L) and dissolved organic carbon (up to 5.7 mg-C/L). Formation of 33 regulated and unregulated halogenated DBPs, including trihalomethanes (THMs), haloacetic acids (HAAs), haloacetonitriles, haloacetamides, and haloacetaldehydes, was measured after simulated chlorination of 24 coastal North Carolina groundwater samples under typical chlorination conditions. Results of chlorination simulation show that THM levels exceeded the Primary Maximum Contaminant Levels in half of the chlorinated samples. Addition of halides to a low salinity groundwater (110 mg/L chloride) indicated that elevated bromide triggered DBP formation, but chloride was not a critical factor for their formation. DBP speciation, but not overall molar formation, was strongly correlated with bromide variations in the groundwater. THMs and HAAs dominated the measured halogenated DBPs on a mass concentration basis. When measured concentrations were weighted by metrics of toxic potency, haloacetonitriles, and to a lesser degree, haloacetaldehydes and HAAs, were the predominant contributors to calculated DBP-associated toxicity. For some samples exhibiting elevated ammonia concentrations, the addition of chlorine to form chloramines in situ significantly reduced halogenated DBP concentrations and calculated toxicity. HAAs dominated the calculated toxicity of chloraminated waters. Reverse osmosis treatment of saline groundwater (chloride >250 mg/L) can reduce DBP formation by removing halides and organic precursors. However, we show that in a case where reverse osmosis permeate is blended with a separate raw groundwater, the residual bromide level in the permeate could still exceed that in the raw groundwater, and thereby induce DBP formation in the blend. DBP-associated calculated toxicity increased for certain blends in this system due to the DBPs resulting from the combination of the elevated bromide concentration in the permeate and the organic precursors from the raw coastal groundwater.

Screening for Spinal Dysraphisms in Newborns With Sacral Dimples.

Sacral dimples are common physical examination findings among newborns and are rarely associated with spinal dysraphism. Screening ultrasonography for simple sacral dimples in the absence of other physical findings leads to unnecessary health care costs and undue stress on families. This study was a retrospective chart review of infants with a sacral dimple on examination who underwent spinal ultrasonography in the first week of life. The documented indication for ultrasonography was compared to standard guidelines. Among 151 infants in the study, 80% had a normal spinal ultrasound. Of infants with abnormal ultrasonography, 7 (5%) had abnormal spinal magnetic resonance imaging and 2 infants (1%) required neurosurgical intervention. Our study revealed that nearly one-third of infants who underwent spinal ultrasonography had a simple sacral dimple and low likelihood of spinal dysraphism according to existing guidelines. Among patients who underwent spinal ultrasonography in accordance with guidelines, only a small percentage required neurosurgical intervention indicating that guidelines may need to be revised. Larger studies involving multiple centers are necessary to assess this need.

Engineering a trifunctional proline utilization A chimaera by fusing a DNA-binding domain to a bifunctional PutA.

Proline utilization A (PutA) is a bifunctional flavoenzyme with proline dehydrogenase (PRODH) and Δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate (P5C) dehydrogenase (P5CDH) domains that catalyses the two-step oxidation of proline to glutamate. Trifunctional PutAs also have an N-terminal ribbon-helix-helix (RHH) DNA-binding domain and moonlight as autogenous transcriptional repressors of the put regulon. A unique property of trifunctional PutA is the ability to switch functions from DNA-bound repressor to membrane-associated enzyme in response to cellular nutritional needs and proline availability. In the present study, we attempt to construct a trifunctional PutA by fusing the RHH domain of Escherichia coli PutA (EcRHH) to the bifunctional Rhodobacter capsulatus PutA (RcPutA) in order to explore the modular design of functional switching in trifunctional PutAs. The EcRHH-RcPutA chimaera retains the catalytic properties of RcPutA while acquiring the oligomeric state, quaternary structure and DNA-binding properties of EcPutA. Furthermore, the EcRHH-RcPutA chimaera exhibits proline-induced lipid association, which is a fundamental characteristic of functional switching. Unexpectedly, RcPutA lipid binding is also activated by proline, which shows for the first time that bifunctional PutAs exhibit a limited form of functional switching. Altogether, these results suggest that the C-terminal domain (CTD), which is conserved by trifunctional PutAs and certain bifunctional PutAs, is essential for functional switching in trifunctional PutAs.

Understanding the Knowledge Gap Experienced by U.S. Safety Net Patients in Teleretinal Screening.

Safety-net patients' socioeconomic barriers interact with limited digital and health literacies to produce a "knowledge gap" that impacts the delivery of healthcare via telehealth technologies. Six focus groups (2 African- American and 4 Latino) were conducted with patients who received teleretinal screening in a U.S. urban safety-net setting. Focus groups were analyzed using a modified grounded theory methodology. Findings indicate that patients' knowledge gap is primarily produced at three points during the delivery of care: (1) exacerbation of patients' pre-existing personal barriers in the clinical setting; (2) encounters with technology during screening; and (3) lack of follow up after the visit. This knowledge gap produces confusion, potentially limiting patients' perceptions of care and their ability to manage their own care. It may be ameliorated through delivery of patient education focused on both disease pathology and specific role of telehealth technologies in disease management.

Auditory training improves neural timing in the human brainstem.

The auditory brainstem response reflects neural encoding of the acoustic characteristic of a speech syllable with remarkable precision. Some children with learning impairments demonstrate abnormalities in this preconscious measure of neural encoding especially in background noise. This study investigated whether auditory training targeted to remediate perceptually-based learning problems would alter the neural brainstem encoding of the acoustic sound structure of speech in such children. Nine subjects, clinically diagnosed with a language-based learning problem (e.g., dyslexia), worked with auditory perceptual training software. Prior to beginning and within three months after completing the training program, brainstem responses to the syllable /da/ were recorded in quiet and background noise. Subjects underwent additional auditory neurophysiological, perceptual, and cognitive testing. Ten control subjects, who did not participate in any remediation program, underwent the same battery of tests at time intervals equivalent to the trained subjects. Transient and sustained (frequency-following response) components of the brainstem response were evaluated. The primary pathway afferent volley -- neural events occurring earlier than 11 ms after stimulus onset -- did not demonstrate plasticity. However, quiet-to-noise inter-response correlations of the sustained response ( approximately 11-50 ms) increased significantly in the trained children, reflecting improved stimulus encoding precision, whereas control subjects did not exhibit this change. Thus, auditory training can alter the preconscious neural encoding of complex sounds by improving neural synchrony in the auditory brainstem. Additionally, several measures of brainstem response timing were related to changes in cortical physiology, as well as perceptual, academic, and cognitive measures from pre- to post-training.

TriCalm(®) hydrogel is significantly superior to 2% diphenhydramine and 1% hydrocortisone in reducing the peak intensity, duration, and overall magnitude of cowhage-induced itch.

BACKGROUND: Itch is one of the most frequent skin complaints and its treatment is challenging. From a neurophysiological perspective, two distinct peripheral and spinothalamic pathways have been described for itch transmission: a histaminergic pathway and a nonhistaminergic pathway mediated by protease-activated receptors (PAR)2 and 4. The nonhistaminergic itch pathway can be activated exogenously by spicules of cowhage, a tropical plant that releases a cysteine protease named mucunain that binds to and activates PAR2 and PAR4. PURPOSE: This study was conducted to assess the antipruritic effect of a novel over-the-counter (OTC) steroid-free topical hydrogel formulation, TriCalm(®), in reducing itch intensity and duration, when itch was induced with cowhage, and compared it with two other commonly used OTC anti-itch drugs. STUDY PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: This double-blinded, vehicle-controlled, randomized, crossover study recorded itch intensity and duration in 48 healthy subjects before and after skin treatment with TriCalm hydrogel, 2% diphenhydramine, 1% hydrocortisone, and hydrogel vehicle, used as a vehicle control. RESULTS: TriCalm hydrogel significantly reduced the peak intensity and duration of cowhage-induced itch when compared to the control itch curve, and was significantly superior to the two other OTC antipruritic agents and its own vehicle in antipruritic effect. TriCalm hydrogel was eight times more effective than 1% hydrocortisone and almost six times more effective than 2% diphenhydramine in antipruritic action, as evaluated by the reduction of area under the curve. CONCLUSION: TriCalm hydrogel has a robust antipruritic effect against nonhistaminergic pruritus induced via the PAR2 pathway, and therefore it could represent a promising treatment option for itch.

Neural plasticity following auditory training in children with learning problems.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the plasticity of the central auditory pathway and accompanying cognitive changes in children with learning problems. METHODS: Children diagnosed with a learning disability and/or attention deficit disorder worked with commercial auditory processing training software for 8 weeks; control groups consisted of normal-learning and learning-impaired children who did not participate in any remedial programs. Auditory brainstem function was evaluated in response to click and speech stimuli in quiet; cortical responses to speech stimuli were obtained in quiet and noise. Academic achievement and cognitive abilities were assessed with standardized measures. RESULTS: Compared to controls, the trained group improved on measures of auditory processing and exhibited changes in cortical responses in quiet and in noise. In quiet, cortical responses reflected an accelerated maturational pattern; in background noise, cortical responses became more resistant to degradation. Brainstem responses did not change with training. CONCLUSIONS: Children with learning problems who practiced with auditory training software exhibited plasticity of neural encoding of speech sounds at the cortical, but not subcortical, level of the auditory pathway. This plasticity was accompanied by improvement in behavioral performance. SIGNIFICANCE: This study demonstrates that in learning-impaired children working with commercial auditory processing training programs affects both the perception and the cortical representation of sound.

Deficits in auditory brainstem pathway encoding of speech sounds in children with learning problems.

Auditory brainstem responses were recorded in normal children (NL) and children clinically diagnosed with a learning problem (LP). These responses were recorded to both a click stimulus and the formant transition portion of a speech syllable /da/. While no latency differences between the NL and LP populations were seen in responses to the click stimuli, the syllable /da/ did elicit latency differences between these two groups. Deficits in cortical processing of signals in noise were seen for those LP subjects with delayed brainstem responses to the /da/, but not for LPs with normal brainstem measures. Preliminary findings indicate that training may be beneficial to LP subjects with brainstem processing delays.

Integration of heard and seen speech: a factor in learning disabilities in children.

Normal-learning children (NL) and children with learning disabilities (LD) reported their perceptions of unisensory (auditory or visual), concordant audiovisual (e.g. visual /apa/ and auditory /apa/) and conflicting (e.g. visual /aka/ and auditory /apa/) speech stimuli in quiet and noise (0 dB and -12 dB signal-to-noise ratio, SNR). In normal populations, watching such conflicting combinations typically changes auditory percepts ('McGurk effect'). NL and LD children identified unisensory auditory and congruent audiovisual stimuli similarly in all conditions. Despite being less accurate identifying unisensory visual stimuli, LD children were more likely than NL children to report hearing only the visual component of incongruent audiovisual stimuli at -12 dB SNR. Furthermore, LD children with brainstem timing deficits demonstrated a distinctive pattern of audiovisual perception. The results suggest that the perception of simultaneous auditory and visual speech differs between NL and LD children, perhaps reflecting variations in neural processing underlying multisensory integration.

Speaking clearly for children with learning disabilities: sentence perception in noise.

This study compared the speech-in-noise perception abilities of children with and without diagnosed learning disabilities (LDs) and investigated whether naturally produced clear speech yields perception benefits for these children. A group of children with LDs (n = 63) and a control group of children without LDs (n = 36) were presented with simple English sentences embedded in noise. Factors that varied within participants were speaking style (conversational vs. clear) and signal-to-noise ratio (-4 dB vs. -8 dB); talker (male vs. female) varied between participants. Results indicated that the group of children with LDs had poorer overall sentence-in-noise perception than the control group. Furthermore, both groups had poorer speech perception with decreasing signal-to-noise ratio; however the children with LDs were more adversely affected by a decreasing signal-to-noise ratio than the control group. Both groups benefited substantially from naturally produced clear speech, and for both groups, the female talker evoked a larger clear speech benefit than the male talker. The clear speech benefit was consistent across groups; required no listener training; and, for a large proportion of the children with LDs, was sufficient to bring their performance within the range of the control group with conversational speech. Moreover, an acoustic comparison of conversational-to-clear speech modifications across the two talkers provided insight into the acoustic-phonetic features of naturally produced clear speech that are most important for promoting intelligibility for this population.

A tribute to James Gordon Kelly.

During the June 2001, eighth biennial meeting of the Society for Community Research and Action in Atlanta, a wide variety of community psychologists across generations attended a tribute in honor of James Gordon Kelly. What follows is an attempt to capture the spirit of the afternoon tribute as expressed through remarks made by colleagues and readings of letters sent by those unable to attend. The wide range of individuals represented here attests to the many additive ways in which Jim has cared about the field of community psychology and has contributed to its essence. Three additional invited contributions are included wherein Dick Reppucci, Rhona Weinstein, and Julian Rappaport reflect on the influence of Jim on their own career and on the development of the field.

Learning impaired children exhibit timing deficits and training-related improvements in auditory cortical responses to speech in noise.

The physiological mechanisms that contribute to abnormal encoding of speech in children with learning problems are yet to be well understood. Furthermore, speech perception problems appear to be particularly exacerbated by background noise in this population. This study compared speech-evoked cortical responses recorded in a noisy background to those recorded in quiet in normal children (NL) and children with learning problems (LP). Timing differences between responses recorded in quiet and in background noise were assessed by cross-correlating the responses with each other. Overall response magnitude was measured with root-mean-square (RMS) amplitude. Cross-correlation scores indicated that 23% of LP children exhibited cortical neural timing abnormalities such that their neurophysiological representation of speech sounds became distorted in the presence of background noise. The latency of the N2 response in noise was isolated as being the root of this distortion. RMS amplitudes in these children did not differ from NL children, indicating that this result was not due to a difference in response magnitude. LP children who participated in a commercial auditory training program and exhibited improved cortical timing also showed improvements in phonological perception. Consequently, auditory pathway timing deficits can be objectively observed in LP children, and auditory training can diminish these deficits.