Google street view image availability in the Bronx and San Diego, 2007-2020: Understanding potential biases in virtual audits of urban built environments.

Google Street View's 'Time Machine' feature holds promise for longitudinal street audits of built and natural environments for urban health research. As images are only available when Google collected data, differential image availability over time and place could bias audit data quality. We assessed image availability at 2000 randomly selected locations within the Bronx and San Diego from which Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) participants were recruited. In the Bronx, a mean of 7.4 images (95% CI: 7.2,7.5) were available at each location, and 63% of those locations had imagery in 2007 and 2019. In San Diego, fewer images were available (mean 5.4, 95% CI: 5.2,5.6) especially on minor streets (mean 4.4, 95% CI: 4.1,4.6). Image availability was more spatially clustered in San Diego (Moran's I 0.14) than the Bronx (Moran's I 0.04). Differential image availability may affect precision of neighborhood change estimates assessed by longitudinal virtual audit.

Laboratory Validation of Hexoskin Biometric Shirt at Rest, Submaximal Exercise, and Maximal Exercise While Riding a Stationary Bicycle.

OBJECTIVE: Evaluate Hexoskin performance on a stationary bike against "gold standard" laboratory equipment and develop adjustment models for future use in field settings. METHODS: Compared respiratory rate (RR), tidal volume (VT), minute ventilation (VE), and heart rate (HR) measured by the Hexoskin shirt to simultaneous spirometry and full 12-lead electrocardiogram during a laboratory based incremental exercise test on a stationary bicycle. RESULTS: Data from 17 participants demonstrated Hexoskin VT and VE had the best agreement in the submaximal exercise level (discrepancies less than or equal to 5.3%) with larger discrepancies observed at rest (less than or equal to 15.3%) and at maximal exercise level (less than or equal to 11.7%). The discrepancies for HR and RR were lower at all levels (less than 10%). Adjusting for sex and body weight allowed for a single VE algorithm across the entire range of effort (r = 0.89). CONCLUSION: These discrepancies are acceptable for field use in comparison to the ranges typical of bicycle commuting.

Immunogenicity without Efficacy of an Adenoviral Tuberculosis Vaccine in a Stringent Mouse Model for Immunotherapy during Treatment.

To investigate if bacterial persistence during TB drug treatment could be overcome by modulation of host immunity, we adapted a clinically-relevant model developed for the evaluation of new drugs and examined if immunotherapy with two adenoviral vaccines, Ad35-TBS (AERAS-402) and Ad26-TBS, could shorten therapy in mice. Even though immunotherapy resulted in strong splenic IFN-γ responses, no effect on bacterial replication in the lungs was seen. Multiplex assay analysis of lung samples revealed the absence of cytokine augmentation such as IFN-γ, TNF-α and IL-2, suggesting that immunization failed to induce immunity in the lungs. In this model, we show that IFN-γ levels were not associated with protection against disease relapse. The results obtained from our study raise questions regarding the traits of protective TB immunity that are relevant for the development of future immunotherapeutic and post-exposure vaccination strategies.

Perspectives of northern Ugandan health providers about the effect of cultural beliefs and practices on birth outcomes.

This research is important for those interested in the health of women and children in Africa, specifically the country of Uganda. Maternal and infant mortality rates in Uganda, especially northern Uganda, are very high. Many health providers from resource-rich countries are interested in partnering with health providers in low-resource countries such as Uganda to improve maternal and infant mortality, yet they know very little about the traditional and indigenous beliefs and practices and how these factors contribute to the success of intervention programs. It is essential that cultural considerations be included in interventions. In this article, researchers from the United States offer the perspectives of providers in Uganda regarding an intervention program in which the Americans participated.