Building a Culture of Health Through the Built Environment: Impact of a Cluster Randomized Trial Remediating Vacant and Abandoned Property on Health Mindsets.

Changing built environment conditions to impact health mindsets and health equity may be a promising target for public health interventions. The present study was a cluster randomized controlled trial to test the impact of remediating vacant and abandoned properties on factors related to health mindset-including well-being, health interconnectedness, social capital markers, neighborhood disorder and worry-as well as direct and indirect violence experiences and the moderating role of racial and income segregation on outcomes. A residential cohort of 405 participants from 194 randomly assigned geographic clusters were surveyed over five waves from 2019 to 2023. Compared to clusters with no treatment, participants in clusters where both vacant lots and abandoned homes were treated experienced significant increases in sense of community (83%, 95% CI=71 to 96%, p=0.01). Among participants in randomization clusters where only vacant lots were treated, there were declines in perceived neighborhood disorder (-55%, 95% CI=-79 to -5, p=0.06) and worry about community violence (-56%, 95% CI=-58 to - 12, p=0.06). There was also a moderating effect of racial and income spatial polarization, with the greatest changes in sense of community observed among more deprived areas with both homes and lots treated; and the largest changes in neighborhood worry and disorder were seen in more deprived areas with only lots treated. Remediation of vacant and abandoned properties may be one approach to change some but not all mindsets around health, and the effects may depend on the type of remediation as well as larger neighborhood conditions such segregation.

A class of organic cages featuring twin cavities.

A variety of organic cages with different geometries have been developed during the last decade, most of them exhibiting a single cavity. In contrast, the number of organic cages featuring a pair of cavities remains scarce. These structures may pave the way towards novel porous materials with emergent properties and functions.We herein report on rational design of a three-dimensional hexaformyl precursor 1, which exhibits two types of conformers, i.e. Conformer-1 and -2, with different cleft positions and sizes. Aided by molecular dynamics simulations, we select two triamino conformation capturers (denoted CC). Small-sized CC-1 selectively capture Conformer-1 by matching its cleft size, while the large-sized CC-2 is able to match and capture both conformers. This strategy allows the formation of three compounds with twin cavities, which we coin diphane. The self-assembly of diphane units results in superstructures with tunable proton conductivity, which reaches up to 1.37×10-5 S cm-1.

Association of interleukin-1 gene polymorphisms with dementia in a community-based sample: the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study.

The interleukin-1 (IL-1) pro-inflammatory cytokine family participates in inflammatory processes and vessel damage involved in neurodegeneration. Recent studies suggest that Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD) may share genetic risk factors. In this study, the frequency of polymorphisms in the genes coding for interleukin (IL)-1alpha, IL-1beta and the IL-1 receptor antagonist (RN) and their genotype associations with late-onset AD and VaD were determined in a Japanese-American cohort of men (n=931) participating in the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study (HAAS). A significant association was found between the IL-1beta (-511) and IL-1RN (+2018) polymorphisms and AD, suggesting that these variants confer an increased risk. Possessing the IL-1beta (-511) T/T genotype was also associated with VaD. There was no difference in the IL-1beta (+3953) frequency among the groups. Our results support the hypothesis that certain genetic variations contained within the IL-1 gene family contribute to the pathogenesis of dementia.

Fever, Myositis, and Paralysis: Is This Inflammatory Myopathy or Neuroinvasive Disease?

West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne RNA Flavivirus which emerged in North America in 1999. Most patients present with a febrile illness but a few develop WNV neuroinvasive disease. Myopathy is an uncommon manifestation. We describe a case of a 42-year-old male from Los Angeles who presented with 8 days of fever and muscle pain. Initial physical exam was normal except for 4/5 muscle strength testing in his extremity proximal muscles. Laboratory revealed a creatine kinase of 45,000 and a urinalysis with large blood but no red blood cells, suggesting rhabdomyolysis. The patient's condition declined despite aggressive supportive care and hydration, and on hospital day #6 he developed severe altered mental status and progressed to complete right arm paralysis and 2/5 muscle strength in bilateral legs. EMG/NCS showed sensorimotor axonal polyneuropathy and the cerebrospinal fluid was positive for IgM and IgG WNV antibodies. The patient was diagnosed with WNV neuroinvasive disease, poliomyelitis (and encephalitis) type with myopathy/muscle involvement. He was treated supportively and his muscle and neurologic disease gradually improved. At 12-month follow-up his muscle enzymes had normalized and his weakness had improved to 5/5 strength in bilateral legs and 3/5 strength in the right arm.

Application of microscopy in authentication of Chinese patent medicine--Bo Ying compound.

To establish a quality control method for the Chinese Patent Medicine (CPM)-Bo Ying Compound (BYC), a comparison study was carried out on it with microscopy. The micro-morphological characteristics of its 22 components in the CPM and in the crude constituents have been documented and compared with each other. Their corresponding features were described and documented with color digital micrographs, so as to authenticate the presence of genuine crude constituents in BYC. The results showed that almost all constituents of BYC are found within their representative fragments in the CPM except one (Borax) that could dissolve or merge with the other components. Also the study indicated that light microscopy, an easy and economical method, could be used for the identification of this kind of CPM that contains plant and animal materials without the specific characteristic chemical marker compounds.

Acute hemorrhagic myositis in inflammatory myopathy and review of the literature.

We describe two patients with dermatomyositis that presented with interstitial lung disease, positive V and Shawl sign who developed acute spontaneous abdominal/retroperitoneal bleed. Both patients expired despite aggressive treatment and resuscitation. Hemorrhagic myositis in these two patients with inflammatory myopathy is a very rare complication. The association of anti-Ro52 with this potentially very serious complication remains unclear. This potential relationship should be further evaluated in future studies.

A TGF-beta1 polymorphism association with dementia and neuropathologies: the HAAS.

The transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) is involved in post-ischemic neuronal rescue and in beta-amyloid turn-over. We hypothesized that the risk for dementia and related neuropathologies is modified by the TGF-beta1 functional genetic variants. The association of the TGF-beta1+29T-->C polymorphism with dementia was examined in a sample of 261 cases and 491 controls from the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study, including 282 subjects with autopsy data. Dementia was assessed in 1991 and 1994 by a multi-step protocol and standardized diagnostic criteria. The analysis was adjusted for demographic and vascular factors. Compared to the TT genotype, the TC and the CC genotypes were associated with a reduced risk for vascular dementia (OR(TC)=0.28, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.1-0.9; OR(CC)=0.28, CI: 0.1-0.9), microinfarcts (OR(CC)=0.31, CI: 0.13-0.71) and cerebral amyloid angiopathy (OR(CC)=0.48, CI: 0.2-0.9). The CC genotype was associated with an increase risk of neocortical plaques (OR(CC)=4.34, CI: 1.6-11.8). These preliminary data suggest that the TGF genetic variability may be important in the risk of vascular related dementia.