Program Office Research Articles

Effect of Fluoride on Oral Health Status Among General Population Residing in High- and Low-Level Fluoride Blocks in Erode District, Tamil Nadu, India: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the fluoride levels in groundwater and their effect on oral health status among the general population of Erode district, Tamil Nadu, India. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among the general population of index age groups 5, 12, 15, 35-44, and 65-74 years. A total of 540 subjects participated in the study. High fluoride blocks of Erode district were selected based on the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Government of India, 2010, and the low fluoride were taken from the Groundwater Year Book (GWYB) of Tamil Nadu and UT of Puducherry, 2018. The Oral Health Assessment Form 2013 (adult and children) of the World Health Organization (WHO) was used to assess dental caries and enamel fluorosis. Clinical examination was performed using a mouth mirror and explorer under natural illumination by a single examiner. Data obtained were processed and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 26. A Chi-squared test was employed to analyze the difference between the high and low fluoride blocks. A P value of 0.05 was set to be statistically significant. The current study had a contrary finding with the CGWB on water quality analysis of fluoride levels in drinking water for high fluoride block, Ammapet (1.12 ppm) and Anthiyur (1.08 ppm). The prevalence of enamel fluorosis in high fluoride block Ammapet was 44.4% and Anthiyur was 54.8%. The prevalence of dental caries in high fluoride block Ammapet was 45.9% and in Anthiyur was 43%. The prevalence of enamel fluorosis in low fluoride block Bhavanisagar was 27.4% and in Gobichettipalayam was 28.2%. The prevalence of dental caries in low fluoride block Bhavanisagar was 61.5%, and in Gobichettipalayam was 54.8%. This study's contradictory finding emphasizes the importance of drinking water; sanitation staff should monitor and report water fluoridation data on a monthly basis in accordance with the Water Fluoridation Reporting System, and CGWB should plan and organize a team for the upgradation of water quality in India. The National Program for Prevention and Control of Dental Diseases should look on to the endemic areas for the prevention of dental fluorosis, which should be assessed, implemented, and monitored by the public health dentist who should be recruited as oral health program officers in both central and state governments.

Изучение возможности адаптации Microsoft Excel к механизму проведения аудита малыми и средними компаниями по аналогии с алгоритмом работы современного программного продукта AuditXP

This article deals with the actual problem of the expediency and possibility of adapting the Microsoft Excel office program to the audit process (including the formation of auditor working documents). By examining the advantages and disadvantages of specialized software and further comparing the identified features with the characteristics of Microsoft Excel, recommendations are formulated for implementing the necessary functions in the most relevant way for the audit organization. Based on a theoretical analysis of the capabilities of modern software products (including AuditXP) in the field of audit, a methodology for fundamental auditor actions is compiled at the stages of planning and collecting audit evidence. It describes the consequences of adapting Microsoft Excel to the audit process (by analogy with the mechanism of specialized software) for audit organizations or an individual auditor.

Ifakara MasterClasses: lessons from leading experts on the battle against malaria

Bringing together the global community is vital for continued progress in the fight against malaria. The Ifakara MasterClasses consist of discussions with experts that allow for applied understanding of specific subjects related to malaria control. They enable researchers, postgraduate students, National Malaria Program officials, and malaria advocates to engage in the same virtual room to share best practices in malaria control. In this TrendsTalk, the organizers, hosts, and some participant researchers present a synthesis of five key MasterClasses held to emphasize their mission of promoting essential scientific discourse on malaria and its control by bringing together world-leading experts to discuss technical knowledge and experiences with a wide audience.

Updates on the DebriSat hypervelocity experiment and characterization of fragments in support of environmental models

To develop, maintain, and update orbital debris environmental and break-up models, such as the NASA Orbital Debris Engineering Model (ORDEM) and the NASA Standard Satellite Breakup Model (SSBM), the NASA Orbital Debris Program Office (ODPO) relies on the most recent validated datasets from various measurement sources, both laboratory and environmental. One key project that will provide insight for break-up events using modern-day spacecraft materials and construction techniques is the DebriSat laboratory hypervelocity-impact test. Based on the mass of the target, the projectile, and the impact velocity, the expected number of fragments greater than 2 mm, generated using the NASA SSBM, was estimated to be close to 85,000. To date, the DebriSat fragment database continues to grow, with over 200,000 fragments collected that will help inform updates to the SSBM. Additionally, the growing fragment ensemble will support key parameters for the next release of NASA's environmental models, employing fragment shapes, densities, and size distributions. To further support these environmental models, specifically the size parameter used in ground-based optical measurements, optical characterization on a subset of DebriSat fragments is being conducted in ODPO's Optical Measurement Center (OMC). Broadband bidirectional reflectance distribution (BRDF) measurements will provide insight into the optical-based NASA Size Estimation Model (OSEM). The OSEM equates an object's brightness to size (e.g., diameter of a disk or sphere) given several assumed parameters, including a defined phase function, albedo, and range. To address the first defined parameter, the ODPO has been using ray-tracing software to simulate light conditions in the OMC and to generate phase functions (i.e., specular, Lambertian, and experimentally derived) of known shapes, materials, and sizes. This simulated data, in addition to the experimentally derived measurements collected in the OMC, will aid in determining whether a new phase function would be suitable for an updated OSEM. The OSEM also assumes a single-value albedo, thus pre-impact spectral measurements on a subset of DebriSat materials were acquired for baseline material characterization and to provide insight into spacecraft material taxonomies. This DebriSat spectral data, along with spectral measurements from other known spacecraft material samples, will allow for better analyses of albedo variations and the effect on size calculations of defined laboratory targets, thus further supporting OSEM updates. This paper provides an overview of DebriSat, the status of the project, updates on the parameter distributions, an overview of the NASA SSBM, and ongoing fragment characterization efforts within the OMC.

The Emerging Leaders in Public Health Initiative: Individual Leadership Transformation.

The Emerging Leaders in Public Health (ELPH) Initiative, sponsored by The Kresge Foundation, provided leadership development to local governmental public health leaders. An adaptive leadership framework was used to shape the curriculum. The coleads attended multiday convenings and webinars over a 16- to 18-month period. Key components of the initiative included using applied learning to solidify their leadership skills as they worked to develop a new role for their agencies provision of a resource grant from The Kresge Foundation to support agency transformation and technical assistance and consultation provided by a National Program Office. An external evaluator conducted a multicomponent evaluation of individual leadership skill change. Graduates assessed change in their own leadership and change in their colead. Colleagues of ELPH participants were surveyed about their observed changes in the leadership actions of the program graduates. One hundred four leaders from 30 states participated in the initiative in 3 successive cohorts. Leaders demonstrated improvement as shown by self-report and external observation. Improved ability to communicate in a way that inspires others was one of the most significant changes in leadership behaviors. Additional leadership actions were strengthened including the ability to create and maintain high-performing teams, the ability to ask transformational questions, and the ability to actively listen to understand. The pandemic has shown the importance of developing the field, starting with leadership. Leadership development and agency transformation are synergistic; they depend on each other and support each other.

A Research Agenda forCriminal Justice Involvement Among U.S. Veterans.

A substantial proportion of adults in the U.S. criminal justice system are military veterans. Justice-involved veterans are of particular public concern given their service to the country and the high rates of health and social problems in the general veteran population. This article describes the development of a national research agenda for justice-involved veterans. In the summer of 2022, the VA National Center on Homelessness among Veterans in partnership with the VA Veterans Justice Programs Office convened a national group of subject matter experts and stakeholders across three listening sessions that included 40-63 attendees per session. These sessions were recorded, and transcriptions of all sessions and chats were synthesized to generate a preliminary list of 41 agenda items. The Delphi method involving two rounds of ratings from subject matter experts was used to develop consensus. The final research agenda consists of 22 items covering five domains: Epidemiology and knowledge of the population, treatment and services, systems and systems interface, methodology and research resources, and policies. The intent of sharing this research agenda is to spur stakeholders to conduct, collaborate, and support further study in these areas.

The Influence of Anti-LGBTQIA+ Legislation on Graduate Medical Education

The Influence of Anti-LGBTQIA+ Legislation on Graduate Medical Education

Clinical and immunological characteristics of medical students depending on the duration and program of study

Chronic psycho-emotional stress can cause dysfunction of neuroimmunoendocrine dysregulation with consequences in the form of a violation of the functional potential of the immune system. Adaptation to new living conditions at the start of studies at a medical university is one of the inevitable circumstances that first-year students overcome. Education under the military training program at a medical university carries an additional stress load in this aspect. Research on the mechanisms of formation of adaptive reactions of the immune system during training under the military training program for officers of the medical service is of undoubted interest. The purpose of the study was to compare the clinical manifestations of immune-mediated pathology and the parameters of adaptive and innate immunity of medical students depending on the length of service and training program. Under observation were 104 medical students, all men, of which 37 were first-year students and 67 were third-year students of a medical university. The subjects of each course were divided into two subgroups depending on the training program. The group of first-year students consisted of 18 people from the military training center (VTC) and 19 people from the medical and preventive faculty (LPF). Among the third-year students of the VUC – 31, LPF – 36. For the clinical characterization of the incidence during the year of study, registration cards for the analysis of immune-mediated pathology were used, the parameters of the immune system at the end of the spring semester were studied using standard methodological approaches. The data obtained indicate that in the first year students with an additional load in the form of a military training program have a more difficult time adapting to learning in comparison with first-year students of the medical faculty. These differences consist in a more frequent and significant clinical manifestation of infectious pathology and are reflected in the functional potential of cellular parameters of innate immunity. The statement of signs of inhibition of the functional potencies of macrophage cells and natural killers in firstyear students of a military training center is an alarming factor in the possible disruption of the adaptive reserves of the immune response system, which probably suggests the need to develop programs to prevent the negative impact of stress-forming factors. By the third year of study, the students of the military training center have the best clinical and immunological indicators of the functioning of the immune system in comparison with the students of the standard educational program of general practitioners. It is likely that during this period the process of psychological adaptation of military medical students is completed.

Increasing Registration for a VA Multidrug-Resistant Organism Alert Tool

Objectives: To address the importation of multi-drug-resistant organisms (MDROs) when a colonized or infected patient is transferred from another VA facility, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) launched the Inpatient Pathogen Tracker (IPT) in 2020. IPT tracks MDRO-infected/colonized patients and alerts MDRO Program Coordinators (MPCs) and Infection Preventionists (IPs) when such patients are admitted to their facility to facilitate rapid identification and isolation of infected/colonized patients. IPT usage has been low during initial rollout (32.5%). The VHA and the CARRIAGE QUERI Program developed targeted implementation strategies to increase utilization of IPT’s second iteration, VA Bug Alert (VABA). Methods: Familiarity with IPT was assessed via pre-education survey (3/2022). All sites received standard VABA implementation including: 1) adaptation of VABA features based on end-user feedback (completed 4/2022), 2) development and delivery of an educational module regarding the revised tool (completed 4/2022), and 3) internal facilitation from the VHA MDRO Program Office (ongoing) (see Figure for all key timepoints). Intent to register for VABA was assessed via post-education survey (4-5/2022). Sites (125 eligible) not registered for VABA by 6/1/2022 were randomly assigned to receive one of two conditions from 6/2022–8/2022: continued standard implementation alone or enhanced implementation. Enhanced implementation added the following to standard implementation: 1) audit and feedback reports and 2) external facilitation, including interviews and education about VABA. We compared the number of sites with ≥1 MPC/IP registered for VABA to-date between implementation conditions. Results:Pre-education survey. 168 MPC/IPs across 117 sites responded (94% of eligible sites). Among respondents, 25% had used IPT, 35.1% were familiar with but had not used IPT, and 39.9% were unfamiliar with IPT. Post-education survey. 93 MPC/IPs across 80 sites responded (59% of eligible sites). Of these, 81.7% said they planned to register for VABA, 4.3% said they would not register, and 14.0% said they were unsure. Post-6/1/2022 Registrations. By 6/1/2022, 71% of sites had ≥1 registered VABA user. Of the 28 unregistered sites eligible for enhanced implementation, thirteen were assigned to receive enhanced implementation, and fifteen were assigned to receive continued standard implementation. Eight sites in the enhanced implementation condition (61.5%) registered for VABA. Seven standard-implementation-only sites (46.7%) registered. The number of registered sites did not significantly differ by implementation condition (Fisher’s exact p=0.476). Conclusions: Standard and enhanced implementation were equally effective at encouraging VABA registration, suggesting that allocating resources to enhanced implementation may not be necessary.Disclosures: None.

교사 및 공무원을 위한 한부모가족 이해교육 프로그램 개발 연구: 서울특별시 한부모가족지원센터 프로그램 사례

This study aims to develop educational programs for teachers and government officers to understand singleparent families. Prior to the development, the report on the educational program to understand single-parent families provided by the Seoul Single-Parent Family Support Center and educational demands of teachers and government officers were analyzed. As a result, the programs for understanding single-parent families were developed for teachers and government officers. First, the two-hour program for teachers consisted of topics like understanding single-parent families, teachers’ experiences related to single-parent families, and useful policy information for single-parent families. Second, the two-hour program for government officers included topics such as understanding single-parent families, family policies and social welfare programs for single-parent families, and skills for an effective communication with single-parent families. Finally, effective program management strategies for teachers and government officers were discussed.

Capacity building through comprehensive implementation research training and mentorship: an approach for translating knowledge into practice

BackgroundImplementation research (IR) is increasingly gaining popularity as the act of carrying an intention into effect. It is thus an important approach to addressing individual practices, policies, programmes and other technologies to solving public health problems. Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) continue to experience public health problems which could be addressed using implementation research. These countries however fall behind prioritizing implementation research due to the disorganized approach used to providing knowledge about the value and scope of implementation research. This paper seeks to explain steps taken to resolve this by capacity strengthening activities through a comprehensive implementation research training and mentorship programme which was informed by needs assessment.MethodsThe roll-out of the comprehensive implementation research training and mentorship was done in phases, including engaging the implementation research community through TDR Global, competency building for programme officers and ethical review board/committee members, and practical guidance to develop an implementation research proposal. The Bloom taxonomy guided the training whilst the Kirkpatrick Model was used for the evaluation of the effectiveness of the capacity building.ResultsThe findings identified critical areas of mentors and how mentorship should be structured and the most effective ways of delivering mentorship. These findings were used to develop a mentorship guide in IR. The mentorship guidance is to be used as a check-tool for mentoring participants during trainings as part of the package of resources in implementation research. It is also to be used in equipping review board members with knowledge on ethical issues in implementation research.ConclusionThe approach for providing comprehensive implementation research training and mentorship for programme personnel has provided an opportunity for both potential mentors and mentees to make inputs into developing a mentorship guidance for LMICs. This guidance would help address mentorship initiation and implementation challenges in IR.

Interprofessional Experiences of Family Nurse Practitioner Students During a Military Field Practicum.

Team building is a real-world necessity in military and civilian health care settings. Interprofessional education (IPE) is therefore an essential component of health care education. At the Uniformed Services University, there are continued, deliberate attempts for IPE to occur to successfully prepare students to work together and adapt to ever-changing contexts. Although past quantitative research has analyzed interprofessional collaboration among military medical students, this study explores the interprofessional experiences of family nurse practitioner (FNP) students during a military medical field practicum. This study was reviewed by the Uniformed Services University Human Research Protections Program Office (Protocol DBS.2021.257). We used the qualitative transcendental phenomenological approach to design our study. We analyzed the reflection papers of 20 family nurse practitioner students who participated in Operation Bushmaster in order to explore their interprofessional experiences. Our research team coded and categorized the data, developing textural and structural descriptions of these categories, which served as the results of our study. We present the study's three key findings that students expressed and include perspectives from their viewpoints to illustrate each theme. The three themes related to IPE are (1) quality of integration determines perception of experience, (2) challenges inspire continued growth, and (3) increased self-awareness of one's own strengths. It is important for educators and leaders to find ways to allow for positive team integration and cohesion so that students do not feel overwhelmed by their perceived lack of knowledge or experience. Educators can use that perception to motivate a growth mindset so that they can continually seek out ways to improve and grow. Additionally, educators can prepare students with adequate knowledge to ensure that each team member meets mission success. Finally, to continually develop, students need to have awareness of their own strengths as well as areas for growth to enhance their own performance as well as that of the military interprofessional health care teams.

Inclusive mindedness: evolving knowledge and beliefs of preservice educators in California

Early childhood special educators in the United States must familiarize themselves with the importance of inclusive practices and how to successfully implement these practices to support young students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment. Depending on the credentialing program special educators in the United States complete, their understanding and training in inclusive education can vary greatly. The purpose of this study was to address the need for training in inclusion by creating an Office of Special Education Program (OSEP) grant-funded inclusive education course for preservice early childhood special educators at one university in California and then to examine how the inclusion course changed early childhood special education teacher candidates’ knowledge and beliefs of inclusion. Over 4 years, 97 early childhood special education preservice teachers participated in pre- and postcourse surveys, which determined their perceptions, understanding, and practical skills of inclusive education increased, demonstrating course effectiveness.

Budaya Kerja Optimal Adminstrasi Keuangan: Studi Implementasi di Kantor Kecamatan

Local income is the amount of money that a region receives through its regional treasury account, either as compensation for its own efforts or as a consequence of aid from the federal government or other authorized sources. The Padang District Office plays a crucial part in managing the sub-district's financial administrative issues, including budget preparation, cash holders' treasury, bookkeeping, and financial accountability in compliance with legal requirements. This study used a qualitative technique combined with a descriptive methodology for its research. The Head of Padang District Office's Program and Budget Subdivision is directly interviewed for data gathering, and documentation is also used. The goal of this study is to assess the efficiency of the Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget's implementation and determine whether the District Office's preparation of the budget complies with Minister of Home Affairs Regulation No. 64 of 2020. The research's findings demonstrate that the Padang District Office's budget preparation process complies with Minister Regulation Number 64 of 2020, and that the budget for the fiscal year 2022–2023 has an efficiency level of 92%, or is considered to be efficient. The Padang District Office routinely examines the executed budget, whether it comes from the financial supervisor or the district office budget users.

The Emerging Leaders in Public Health Initiative: Leadership Development to Advance Public Health Practice.

Effective leadership is essential for governmental public health agencies to promote and protect the health of their communities. The Emerging Leaders in Public Health Initiative, a program of The Kresge Foundation, was implemented to strengthen leadership in governmental public health. We seek to examine lessons from the initiative to contribute to the field a better understanding of leadership development practices. An external evaluator conducted a retrospective analysis of participant responses postinitiative to assess the overall impact of the initiative and explore which components were most valuable. United States. Directors and other staff from governmental public health agencies were recruited in 2-person teams to participate in 3 successive cohorts. Drawn from adaptive leadership principles, a framework was developed to guide the selection and implementation of educational and experiential activities. Participants were challenged to develop a new role for their public health agency, which provided a learning laboratory to practice individual and team leadership skills. The Kresge Foundation provided participants with a resource grant and a National Program Office offered convenings, webinars, coaching, and technical assistance over the 18 months of the developmental experience. Satisfaction, perceived value of components, and future intentions were assessed from participants in cohorts II and III (n = 70). The overall response rate was 93%. One hundred four diverse leaders from 52 agencies, representing 30 states participated in the initiative. Participants were extremely satisfied with the program (94%) and indicated a strong likelihood of recommending it to a colleague (96%). Unrestricted grant funding, peer learning, and in-person learning sessions were the program components rated most highly valuable. This initiative offers insights into principles and processes to be considered for future public health leadership development.

PELATIHAN MS OFFICE SEBAGAI PENUNJANG KEGIATAN ADMINISTRASI APARAT KAMPUNG ONGGARI DISTRIK MALIND

The use of information technology, especially computer programs, is nowadays very beneficial to work efficiency. A person's ability to use MS Office programs such as Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint will speed up the village's tools to accomplish tasks by Specifically related to administration with more and more village tools controlling these applications so that they have more time needed because they can do it on their own and without the help of other parties. Once simple documentation was created, this training was aimed at Onggari village officials in Malind County with the aim of enabling village officials to develop their abilities or skills by proficiently using computer programs and making the most of them. To carry out activities related to information management in the Onggari Village District.

Traumatic Brain Injury Intensive Evaluation and Treatment Program: Protocol for a Partnered Evaluation Initiative Mixed Methods Study.

The traumatic brain injury (TBI) Intensive Evaluation and Treatment Program (IETP) is an innovative modality for delivering evidence-based treatments in a residential, inpatient format to special operational forces service members and veterans with mild TBI. IETPs provide bundled evidence-based assessment, treatment, referral, and case management in concordance with the existing guidelines for mild TBI and commonly co-occurring comorbidities. To date, there has been no formal characterization or evaluation of the IETP to understand the determinants of implementation across the system of care. The goal of our partnered evaluation initiative (PEI) with an operational partner, the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation National Program Office, is to facilitate the full implementation of the IETP across all 5 Veterans Health Administration TBI-Centers of Excellence (TBI-COE) and to inform minimum standards while supporting the unique characteristics of each site. This IETP partnered evaluation will describe each of the 5 TBI-COE IETP services and state of implementation to identify opportunities for adaptation and scale, characterize the relationship between patient characteristics and clinical services received, evaluate the outcomes for participants in the IETP, and inform ongoing implementation and knowledge translation efforts to support IETP expansion. In alignment with the goals of the protocol, ineffective treatment components will be targeted for deimplementation. A 3-year concurrent mixed methods evaluation using a participatory approach in collaboration with the operational partner and TBI-COE site leadership will be conducted. Qualitative observations, semistructured focus groups, and interviewing methods will be used to describe IETP, stakeholder experiences and needs, and suggestions for IETP implementation. Quantitative methods will include primary data collection from patients in the IETP at each site to characterize long-term outcomes and patient satisfaction with treatment and secondary data collection to quantitatively characterize patient-level and care system-level data. Finally, data sets will be triangulated to share data findings with partners to inform ongoing implementation efforts. Data collection began in December 2021 and is currently ongoing. The results and deliverables will inform IETP characterization, evaluation, implementation, and knowledge translation. The results of this evaluation seek to provide an understanding of the determinants affecting the implementation of IETPs. Service member, staff, and stakeholder insights will inform the state of implementation at each site, and quantitative measures will provide options for standardized outcome measures. This evaluation is expected to inform national Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Office policies and processes and knowledge translation efforts to improve and expand the IETP. Future work may include cost evaluations and rigorous research, such as randomized controlled trials. DERR1-10.2196/44776.

Feasibility of tobacco cessation intervention at non-communicable diseases clinics: A qualitative study from a North Indian State.

One of the 'best buys' for preventing Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) is to reduce tobacco use. The synergy scenario of NCDs with tobacco use necessitates converging interventions under two vertical programs to address co-morbidities and other collateral benefits. The current study was undertaken with an objective to ascertain the feasibility of integrating a tobacco cessation package into NCD clinics, especially from the perspective of healthcare providers, along with potential drivers and barriers impacting its implementation. A disease-specific, patient-centric, and culturally-sensitive tobacco cessation intervention package was developed (published elsewhere) for the Health Care Providers (HCPs) and patients attending the NCD clinics of Punjab, India. The HCPs received training on how to deliver the package. Between January to April 2020, we conducted a total of 45 in-depth interviews [medical officers (n = 12), counselors (n = 13), program officers (n = 10), and nurses (n = 10)] within the trained cohort across various districts of Punjab until no new information emerged. The interview data wereanalyzed deductively based on six focus areas concerning feasibility studies (acceptability, demand, adaptation, practicality, implementation, and integration) using the 7- step Framework method of qualitative analysis and put under preset themes. The respondent's Mean ± SD age was 39.2± 9.2 years, and years of service in the current position were 5.5 ± 3.7 years. The study participants emphasized the role of HCPs in cessation support (theme: appropriateness and suitability), use of motivational interviewing, 5A's & 5R's protocol learned during the training & tailoring the cessation advice (theme: actual use of intervention activities); preferred face-to-face counseling using regional images, metaphors, language, case vignettes in package (theme: the extent of delivery to intended participants). Besides, they also highlighted various roadblocks and facilitators during implementation at four levels, viz. HCP, facility, patient, and community (theme: barriers and favorable factors); suggested various adaptations to keep the HCPs motivated along with the development of integrated standard operating procedures (SOPs), digitalization of the intervention package, involvement of grassroots level workers (theme: modifications required); the establishment of an inter-programmatic referral system, and a strong politico-administrative commitment (theme: integrational perspectives). The findings suggest that implementing a tobacco cessation intervention package through the existing NCD clinics is feasible, and it forges synergies to obtain mutual benefits. Therefore, an integrated approach at the primary & secondary levels needs to be adopted to strengthen the existing healthcare systems.

High fat diet feeding induces brain mitochondrial dysfunction in female Ossabaw swine

Study objective: Emerging evidence now suggest reduced mitochondrial function as a key initiator in Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-like pathology increasing the need for models of AD that display mitochondrial dysfunction. Dyslipidemia is a common aliment from overconsumption of a high fat diet (HFD) that increases the risk of AD and may contribute to mitochondrial dysfunction. Rodent studies utilize HFDs to induce brain pathology resembling that of AD. Unsurprisingly, rodent studies are rarely recapitulated in humans, which leads to a very low clinical success rate and highlights the need for more translatable models to study AD-like pathology. Swine seem to share many characteristics of humans and might offer a more translatable model to study HFD induced pathology. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine if HFD feeding in swine could offer a more translatable model to study mitochondrial dysfunction during neurodegeneration. Hypothesis: 6-months of HFD feeding will decrease indices of mitochondrial function and biogenesis in female Ossabaw swine. Methods: To characterize the effects of a HFD on brain mitochondrial health in a highly translatable swine model, high resolution respirometry measurements were taken from isolated brain mitochondria from in female Ossabaw swine fed a HFD for 6-months. Additionally, indices of mitochondrial biogenesis in whole tissue was measured (transcriptional markers of biogenesis and citrate synthase activity). Results: HFD feeding significantly increased body weight (p<0.05) with trending increases in blood glucose (p<0.10). Maximal uncoupled mitochondrial respiration was significantly decreased (p<0.05) with state 3-complex I and state 3 complex I & II trending down in the dorsal hippocampus (DH) after HFD diet feeding (p<0.10). Additionally, state 2 respiration was significantly decreased in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) after HFD feeding (p<0.05). HFD feeding increased transcriptional markers of mitochondrial biogenesis in the DH and PFC (p<0.05), without altering whole homogenate citrate synthase activity in either brain region. Conclusions: These data indicate HFD feeding in Ossabaw pigs could offer a potential model to study pathologies relating to mitochondrial dysfunction during neurodegenerative process. Additionally, the DH was found to be more vulnerable to HFD-induced perturbations, evident by the exacerbated deficits in mitochondrial respiration in this brain region. Finally, these data suggest HFD-induced increase in transcriptional markers of mitochondrial biogenesis may be a compensatory response to HFD-induced mitochondrial respiration deficits. However, citrate synthase activity was not different between groups indicating this upregulation of transcriptional markers was unable to translate to an increase in mitochondrial content in the DH and PFC. The project was supported by the MU Office of Postdoctoral Education Research Grant Program. Additional funding was also generously provided Scott Rector. Images in figure 2 adapted and modified from “Krebs cycle template”, by BioRender.com (2022). Retrieved from https://app.biorender.com/biorender-templates . This work was also supported with resources and the use of facilities at the University of Missouri and Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital in Columbia, Missouri. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Rapid Bioethical Assessment for Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Host Genetic Study in Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia: Towards a Context-Specific Ethical Approach.

Rapid Ethical Assessment (REA) is a rapid qualitative study anticipated to understand the ethical sphere of the research setting prior to recruiting study subjects. This study assessed the communities' knowledge about tuberculosis (TB) and research, understand the social arrangements advisable for recruiting research participant and appraised the information provision and consent process. The study was conducted in Amhara region, Ethiopia from 5th-30th January 2021. Google-based survey, face-to-face in-depth interview and focus group discussion were carried out to collect the data from researchers, data collectors, health professionals, TB program officers. A structured questionnaire was administered to assess the knowledge of TB patients and healthy controls about TB, research, gene, (co)evolution and consent process. Over 71% of researchers were not satisfied with the current consent process, and 82.7% of researchers agreed that the best interest of the research participants was not adequately addressed in the current research practices in ANRS. TB patients and healthy controls misunderstood research and its goals. Participants advised the researchers to approach the community with the assistance of health extension workers (HEW) or religious/local leaders. Combined use of verbal and written based information provision at individual participant level is the preferred way for information provision. The adherence of researchers to standard information provision and consent process was very low. Healthy controls and TB patients have low level of knowledge and awareness about research, ethics and genomic research-related common terms. Hence, public education is required to strengthen the research ethics in the region.