Science Inventory

Next >>

Background. Seroconversion to a pathogen-specific antibody is a marker of an incident infection with a specific pathogen. While self-reported symptoms can be affected by reporting bias, seroconversion is likely to be free of this bias as it is based on objective measurements of a...

Background Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is a non-envelope, RNA virus that is transmitted through the fecal-oral route by direct contact or ingestion of contaminated food or water. HAV infections typically are diagnosed with the use of invasive and expensive serological assays. In...

Background. Inadequate exposure to health-promoting natural environments exacerbates adverse effects of chronic stress and contributes to reduced life expectancy in disadvantaged populations. Biomarker-based composite indices of allostatic load, systemic inflammation, and biologi...

Background and aim. Epigenetic age acceleration (EAA) or the difference between DNA methylation-predicted age and chronological age is affected by environmental and social factors, and predictive of systemic diseases. This study assessed associations between residential greenness...

This presentation is used to facilitate a discussion on drinking water and health at the Association of Public Health Laboratories Fellowship Program Orientation.

Background. Epigenetic age acceleration (EAA), a measure of biological ageing based on DNA methylation, is known to be affected by environmental and social factors, and to be predictive of systemic morbidity and mortality. This epidemiologic study assessed temporal changes in EAA...

What happens when you start an HIA, but part way into the effort you encounter some unforeseen road blocks (cue those pesky funding and resource constraints)? You take the road less traveled and turn the HIA into a Story Map! Navigating this new road, we were able to incorporate ...

Background: The outdoor air microbiome may affect human health via ingestion and inhalation pathways leading to changes in host microbiomes.  In addition, greater exposure to green space has been associated with improved human health and decreased allostatic load.  Allo...

Waterborne illness presents public health and economic challenges to communities with limited resources and impaired infrastructure. In Puerto Rico (PR), approximately one third of the 240 drinking water systems not served by the PR Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) offer litt...

Waterborne illness presents public health and economic challenges to communities with limited resources and impaired infrastructure. In Puerto Rico (PR), approximately one third of the 240 drinking water systems not served by the PR Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) offer litt...

The Proctor Creek Watershed Story Map is an easy-to-use interactive online tool that combines maps with narrative text, images, and multimedia content to convey information as a story and inform and connect with viewers. The Story Map explores community-identified concerns, such ...

Detecting environmental exposures and mitigating their impacts are growing global public health challenges. Antibody tests show great promise and have emerged as fundamental tools for large-scale exposure studies. Here, we apply, demonstrate and validate the utility of a salivary...

Several studies have shown that certain mosquitoes, including those that carry the West Nile virus, often prefer to lay their eggs in impaired or polluted waters. The City of Atlanta faces considerable challenges from mosquitoes each year and the Proctor Creek community has exper...

Non-invasive salivary antibody tests can be used to detect symptomatic and asymptomatic waterborne infections in prospective studies. Immunoconversion as a marker of infection is free of reporting bias potentially affecting self-reported symptoms. Families with children were r...

Norovirus is one of the most common causes of gastroenteritis. Following infection, anti-norovirus salivary immunoglobulin G (IgG) rises steeply within 2 weeks and remains elevated for several months; this immunoconversion can serve as an indicator of infection. We used a multipl...

EPA conducted a project in the Proctor Creek communities of Atlanta, GA to evaluate the expansion of green infrastructure and other low-impact development techniques throughout the watershed. This effort has grown out of a previous Health Impact Assessment (HIA), “Proctor C...

Background: Toxoplasma gondii infection can be acquired through ingestion of infectious tissue cysts in undercooked meat or environmental oocysts excreted by cats. This cross-sectional study assessed environmental risk factors for T.gondii infections and an association between la...

Background: Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite of cats that infects other warm-blooded animals including humans as intermediate hosts. It forms infectious cysts in the brain, muscle and other tissues establishing life-long latent infection. Approximately 10% of the US popu...

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is a common infection that is transmitted through the fecal-oral route, shed in the stool of infected individuals and spread either by direct contact or by ingesting contaminated food or water. Each year, approximately 1.4 million acute cases are reported...

Background. Our previously presented results of the ongoing epidemiological study in North Carolina showed that residential tree cover was associated with a reduced composite index of chronic inflammation in individuals who spent at least 30 min per day outdoors. The objective of...

Background: Among urban residents, increased contacts with nature are associated with reduced morbidity and mortality. The concept of allostatic load, a biomarker-based composite measure of physiological dysregulation, can be applied to study sub-clinical benefits of exposure, a...

Background: Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infects approximately 50% of adults in the United States. Latent HCMV infections may cause vascular inflammation leading to cardiovascular disease, but the existing evidence is inconsistent. Objective: We investigated demographic predict...

Understanding and curbing the mounting global increase in waterborne pathogen outbreaks are quickly becoming major priorities for public health professionals and policy makers. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 60% of global diarrheal deaths are caused by unsafe ...

Toxoplasma gondii infection can be acquired through ingestion of undercooked meat or environmental oocysts excreted by cats. This cross-sectional study of 206 adults in the Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina metropolitan area had two objectives: 1) to assess environmental risk fa...

Quantifying sporadic waterborne infections in community settings can be challenging. Salivary antibody immunoassays are a promising non-invasive tool that can be used in prospective studies of common infections, especially those involving children. This study was conducted in a...