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To examine patterns in adolescent and young adult tobacco use, comparing Latinx foreign-born children and children of foreign-born parents (i.e., children of immigrants(COI)) to Latinx US-born children of US-born parents (i.e., children of nonimmigrants,(CONI)) and to CONI White youth who grew up in small and rural towns. Data were from youth who lived in control communities that participated in a community-randomized trial of the Communities That Care prevention system. We compared Latinx CONI (n = 154) with Latinx COI (n = 316) and with non-Latinx White CONI (n = 918). We examined tobacco use in adolescence (any adolescent use, early onset, and chronic use) and young adulthood (any past-year tobacco use, any daily smoking, any nicotine dependence symptoms) with mixed-effects logistic regressions. In adolescence, Latinx CONI had a higher prevalence of any and chronic tobacco use relative to Latinx COI, and of any and early onset tobacco use relative to non-Latinx White CONI. In young adulthood, Latinx CONI were more likely to report tobacco use in the past year, any symptoms of nicotine dependence, and daily smoking relative to Latinx COI; and more likely to report daily smoking relative to non-Latinx White CONI. Generation differences in young adult tobacco use were explained by chronic tobacco use in adolescence. The study suggests targeting chronic tobacco use in adolescence to prevent disparities in tobacco outcomes among Latinx young adults from rural communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To characterize school handgun carrying and violence risk factors among rural youth. Using a sample of rural youth (n = 1995), we quantified the proportion who carried a handgun to school, carried but not to school, and did not carry across grades 7–12 and endorsed risk factors for violence in individual, peer, school, and community domains. Overall, 3% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2%–4%) of youth ever carried to school; 15% (95% CI: 14%–16%) carried but not to school; and 82% (95% CI: 80%–84%) never carried. Violence risk factors (e.g., attacking someone) were more commonly endorsed by youth who carried to school (84%; 95% CI: 73%–95%) than those who carried but not to school (51%; 95% CI: 44%–58%) and did not carry (23%; 95% CI: 20%–26%). Carrying a handgun to school in rural areas is not common; however, it is associated with risk factors for violence. Understanding violence risk factors among youth who carry handguns to school could inform violence prevention programs in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Continuous wear of Kinesio Tapes leads to accumulation of environmental microorganisms and opportunistic pathogens. • The organisms accumulated on Kinesio Tapes show varying degrees of antimicrobial resistance. • Kinesio Tapes can affect the growth of the human skin microbiota. Kinesio tapes (KTs) are tapes used in physical therapy and athletics. We sought to evaluate if wearing KTs for extended periods of time increases exposure to antibiotic resistant opportunistic pathogens and/or effects normal human skin bacteria. The study consisted of 10 volunteers wearing 9 KTs on their arms for 5 consecutive days. Microorganisms were isolated from fragments collected on the second and fifth day then analyzed. Bacteria were identified using the BIOLOG system. Resistance to selected antibiotics was performed using E-Test. The effect of KTs on the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis , and Micrococcus luteus was evaluated in a diffusion-based assay. We found that KTs accumulated environmental bacteria. Among 22 species 8 were opportunistic pathogens, and all of them exhibited resistance to at least one antibiotic. None of the tapes produced inhibition zones against S. aureus. One tape, Leukotape P, caused growth inhibition in non-pathogenic S. epidermidis and M. luteus. The adhesive material of the tapes inhibited the growth of all tested bacteria. These results indicate that KTs may increase the exposure to antibiotic resistant pathogens which can accumulate from the environment. Further, extended exposure could lead to changes in normal skin microbiota, potentially contributing to increased risks of skin infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Suspect screening of exposure biomarkers in human breast milk and infant stool. • 542 features in breast milk and 864 in stool were identified or annotated. • Consumption of complementary foods influenced the chemical exposure of infants. • Correlations between xenobiotics in both biological matrices evaluated. • Dietary exposure correlated to the stool microbiome composition. Early-life exposure to natural and synthetic chemicals can impact acute and chronic health conditions. Here, a suspect screening workflow anchored on high-resolution mass spectrometry was applied to elucidate xenobiotics in breast milk and matching stool samples collected from Nigerian mother-infant pairs (n = 11) at three time points. Potential correlations between xenobiotic exposure and the developing gut microbiome, as determined by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, were subsequently explored. Overall, 12,192 and 16,461 features were acquired in the breast milk and stool samples, respectively. Following quality control and suspect screening, 562 and 864 features remained, respectively, with 149 of these features present in both matrices. Taking advantage of 242 authentic reference standards measured for confirmatory purposes of food bio-actives and toxicants, 34 features in breast milk and 68 features in stool were identified and semi-quantified. Moreover, 51 and 78 features were annotated with spectral library matching, as well as 416 and 652 by in silico fragmentation tools in breast milk and stool, respectively. The analytical workflow proved its versatility to simultaneously determine a diverse panel of chemical classes including mycotoxins, endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), antibiotics, plasticizers, perfluorinated alkylated substances (PFAS), and pesticides, although it was originally optimized for polyphenols. Spearman rank correlation of the identified features revealed significant correlations between chemicals of the same classification such as polyphenols. One-way ANOVA and differential abundance analysis of the data obtained from stool samples revealed that molecules of plant-based origin elevated as complementary foods were introduced to the infants' diets. Annotated compounds in the stool, such as tricetin, positively correlated with the genus Blautia. Moreover, vulgaxanthin negatively correlated with Escherichia - Shigella. Despite the limited sample size, this exploratory study provides high-quality exposure data of matched biospecimens obtained from mother-infant pairs in sub-Saharan Africa and shows potential correlations between the chemical exposome and the gut microbiome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although there is a paucity of contemporary data on pacemaker lead survival rates, small studies suggest that some leads may have higher malfunction rates than do others.Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the malfunction rates of current pacemaker leads.Methods: A meta-analysis including studies that examined the non-implant-related lead malfunction rates of current commercially available active fixation pacemaker leads was performed. An electronic search of MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, and Embase was performed. DerSimonian and Laird random effects models were used.Results: Eight studies with a total of 14,579 leads were included. Abbott accounted for 10,838 (74%), Medtronic 2510 (17%), Boston Scientific 849 (6%), and MicroPort 382 (3%) leads. The weighted mean follow-up period was 3.6 years. Lead abnormalities occurred in 5.0% of all leads, 6.1% of Abbott leads, 1.1% of Medtronic, 1.4% of Boston Scientific, and 5.5% of MicroPort. The most common lead abnormality was lead noise with normal impedance. Abbott leads were associated with an increased risk of abnormalities (relative risk [RR] 7.81; 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.21-19.04), reprogramming (RR 7.95; 95% CI 3.55-17.82), and lead revision or extraction (RR 8.91; 95% CI 3.36-23.60). Abbott leads connected to an Abbott generator had the highest abnormality rate (8.0%) followed by Abbott leads connected to a non-Abbott generator (4.7%) and non-Abbott leads connected to an Abbott generator (0.4%).Conclusions: Abbott leads are associated with an increased risk of abnormalities compared with leads of other manufacturers, primarily manifesting as lead noise with normal impedance, and are associated with an increased risk of lead reprogramming and lead revision or extraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]