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Medical and Research Library News

DSHS Medical and Research Library publishes MRL News, a monthly newsletter that highlights training opportunities, trending topics, and journal articles for public health professionals.

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HHS employees may email the Medical and Research Library to receive research assistance, learn how to access electronic resources featured in the newsletter, or obtain the full text of articles mentioned in this month’s news.

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Medical and Research Library News By Month

July 2025

Medical and Research Library News

Training opportunities
Websites and reports on trending topics
Journal articles of note
New ebooks

Training opportunities

The webinars and online classes listed here are shared solely as opportunities to learn more information of interest to public health personnel. All times listed are in Central Time.

July 10, 2025; 1–3:30 p.m. Exploring the Types of Evidence Behind Diet and Chronic Disease.
Join this webinar from the National Academies to explore the types of evidence used to look at relationships between diet and chronic disease.

July 17, 2025; 11:30a.m.–1 p.m. Empowering Patients to Change Behavior Using Digital Healthcare Tools.
This webinar from Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) will explore how digital health tools can empower patients to take an active role in their health and drive meaningful, sustainable behavior change. The panel will examine how clinical decision support systems, artificial intelligence-powered platforms, and mobile health apps can help healthcare providers engage patients in managing chronic conditions and making informed decisions about their health.

July 29, 2025; 12–1:30 p.m. Health Statistics on the Web.
Join this webinar from the Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) to learn the difference between data and statistics, key features and use of health statistics, steps to finding health statistics, and sources of health statistics at the local, state and national level in this 90-minute webinar.

July 30, 2025; 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m. DSHS Grand Rounds - Transforming HIV Prevention and Care.
This webinar is offered by the DSHS Office of Practice and Learning Grand Rounds program. Presenters will describe recent advances in HIV prevention and care, with a focus on the exciting developments in long-acting HIV prevention and treatment. Dr. Taylor will also cover the state of the HIV epidemic in Texas and the evolution of comprehensive HIV care.

Websites and reports on trending topics

CINAHL Complete is a DSHS library e-resource that provides access to literature in nursing and allied health disciplines dating back to 1981. The full text of 600 journals can be found within, and over 5,600 journals are indexed, including virtually all English language nursing journals along with selected titles in biomedicine, alternative therapies, and consumer health. Please contact the library for remote access options.

Disaster Research Response (DR2) Resources Portal is a repository of data collection tools and related resources curated by the National Institutes of Health to empower human health research in response to disasters and public health emergencies.

ECRI Guidelines Trust is a publicly available repository of objective, evidence-based clinical practice guidelines that provides physicians, nurses, and other healthcare practitioners with up-to-date clinical practices to advance safe and effective patient care.

ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, is a bibliographic search engine providing free access to educational-related literature. ERIC provides coverage of journal articles, conferences, meetings, government documents, theses, reports, audiovisual media, and monographs.

Journal articles of note

Danner MT, Schrodt CA, Tuttle A, et al. Three cases of adolescent orf virus skin and soft tissue infection in southeast Texas. Pediatr Infect Dis J. Published online May 9, 2025. doi:10.1097/INF.0000000000004851
Abstract
We report 3 adolescents who presented to a tertiary care hospital in Houston, Texas, with cutaneous skin lesions after contact with sheep and/or goats. The cases presented a diagnostic challenge initially but were later suspected or confirmed as orf virus infection after consultation with infectious diseases specialists.

Jackson SS, Pfeiffer RM, Gardner E, et al. Sex differences in cancer mortality among solid organ transplant recipients. Int J Cancer. 2025;157(3):427-435. doi:10.1002/ijc.35415
Abstract
Males have increased mortality after a cancer diagnosis than females, possibly due to poorer immunosurveillance. We tested whether the female survival advantage is lost with immunosuppression by evaluating 17,048 cancer patients (68% male) with a prior solid organ transplant using data from the US Transplant Cancer Match Study and 1,221,914 cancer patients (58% male) from the general population using data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program. We evaluated 13 solid cancers that occur in both sexes. We compared mortality due to cancer in males and females using a male:female hazard ratio (M:F HR) derived from Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for age, race/ethnicity, diagnosis year, stage, and cancer treatment. Among cancer patients in the general population, males had higher cancer-specific mortality than females for cancers of the lip, stomach, colorectum, anus, liver, lung, skin, brain, and thyroid, with M:F HRs ranging from 1.06 to 1.59. Only colorectal cancer showed an attenuation in the female mortality advantage in transplant recipients (M:F HRTransplant: 0.89; 95% CI: 0.77, 1.03; vs. M:F HRGenPop: 1.07; 95% CI: 1.06, 1.08; P-interaction = 0.007). Among kidney cancer patients, the female mortality advantage was stronger in the transplant population (M:F HRTransplant: 1.33; 95% CI: 1.11, 1.60; M:F HRGenPop: 1.02; 95% CI: 0.99, 1.04; P-interaction = 0.003). Overall, we did not find consistent evidence that the female advantage in cancer mortality is weakened among immunosuppressed transplant recipients, suggesting that non-immune factors contribute to the female advantage among cancer patients in the general population.

Shumate C, Allred R, Dixon A, et al. Trends in the prevalence of Down syndrome (Trisomy 21) in Texas by maternal race/ethnicity and maternal age groups, 1999-2020. Am J Med Genet A. Published online May 4, 2025. doi:10.1002/ajmg.a.64109
Abstract
Down syndrome (DS) is a common chromosomal aneuploidy characterized by intellectual disability. Older maternal age is the strongest known risk factor for DS. The purpose of this study was to describe DS prevalence among major racial/ethnic groups stratified by maternal age, and to assess trends in prevalence over time in Texas. Cases with DS diagnoses delivered between 1999 and 2020 were identified from the Texas Birth Defects Registry (TBDR). Birth prevalence and crude prevalence ratios (PRs) by maternal race/ethnicity, maternal education, residence along the Texas-Mexico border, and Texas public health region (PHR) were calculated. Trends over time were assessed using Joinpoint. DS prevalence was significantly lower among mothers < 35 years compared to those 35+ years. Hispanic mothers, mothers with less than high school education, and mothers residing along the Texas-Mexico border had consistently higher PRs. Joinpoint analyses revealed significant increases in DS prevalence over time among non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic mothers. These findings identified significant increases in DS prevalence among non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic mothers compared to non-Hispanic White mothers, suggesting a potential widening of racial/ethnic differences in DS occurrence. Further research is needed to explore underlying drivers of these trends and to address differences in DS prevalence.

Stephens SB, Morris SA, Benjamin RH, et al. Longitudinal trends in pediatric survival by congenital heart defect in Texas, 1999 to 2017. JACC Adv. Published online May 19, 2025. doi:10.1016/j.jacadv.2025.101812
Abstract
Background: Despite previously improved survival among children with congenital heart defects (CHDs), U.S. population-level evaluations of survival within recent years are scarce.
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to describe the survival landscape among children with CHDs in a large population-based birth defects registry overall and by CHD lesion.
Methods: This population-based cohort study evaluated 1999 to 2017 live births with ≥1 major CHD in the statewide Texas Birth Defects Registry. Variables included CHD lesion, demographics, gestational age at birth (term/preterm), low birthweight (<2,500 g at birth), among others. Kaplan-Meier analyses were used to describe survival to 7 days, 28 days, 1 year, 5 years, and 10 years of life. Kaplan-Meier survival estimates were generated for 1-year survival for CHDs overall by lesion, using log-rank tests assessing differences by exposure.
Results: Of 61,656 children with CHDs, survival was 98.1% and 90.7% at 7 days and 10 years, respectively, and substantially varied by lesion (range, 50.0% to 97.3% 10-year survival). Survival longitudinally improved for complex lesions including hypoplastic left heart syndrome (48.7% 1-year survival for cases born 1999-2004 vs 64.8% in 2014-2017; P < 0.0001). One-year survival differed by maternal race/ethnicity (eg, 58.3% for cases with complex pulmonary atresia born to non-Hispanic Black mothers vs 80.5% for non-Hispanic White mothers, P = 0.01), sex, gestational age, birthweight, and extracardiac defect status.
Conclusions: One-year survival improved for most CHDs over recent decades, although survival varies widely by CHD and characteristics. Findings have implications for clinical counseling, population-level resource and research planning, and reinforce the need for mitigation of disparities among individuals with CHDs.

New ebooks at the library

Academic Conference Presentations by Mark R. Freiermuth.

Complete Guide to Laboratory Safety, 4th ed. by Dan Scungio and Terry Jo Gile.

Conducting an Observational Epidemiological Study by Sarah Cuschieri.

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport.

Emerging Zoonotic and Wildlife Pathogens: Disease Ecology, Epidemiology, and Conservation by Dan Salkeld.

Plotkin's Vaccines, 8^th ed. edited by Walter A. Orenstein.

People, Performance, and Succeeding as a Manager by the Harvard Business Review.

Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing Success: NCLEX-Style Q&A Review, 5^th ed. by Catherine Melfi Curtis.

The Scientific Basis of Mpox (Monkeypox) edited by Rajkumar Rajendram.

Wastewater-Based Disease Surveillance for Public Health Action by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

For more information, employees may email the Medical and Research Library at library@dshs.texas.gov to receive research assistance, learn how to access electronic materials, or to obtain the full text of articles mentioned in this month’s news.

The Medical and Research Library News is sent out once a month or when important library news or events occur. Recent issues of the MRL News are online. If any of the links do not open for you, please email library@dshs.texas.gov and we will send you what you need. Thank you!

If you would like to subscribe, please send an email to library@dshs.texas.gov with Subscribe in the subject line.

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June 2025

Medical and Research Library News

Training opportunities
Websites and reports on trending topics
Journal articles of note
New eBooks

Training opportunities

The webinars and online classes listed here are shared solely as opportunities to learn more information of interest to public health personnel. All times listed are in Central Time.

June 9, 2025; 10 a.m.–12 p.m. Microplastics and Health: Research Priorities, Mitigation Strategies, and Public Communication in the Face of Uncertainties.
Join this webinar from the National Academies to learn about emerging science, policy responses, and public communication strategies surrounding microplastics and human health. With growing evidence of widespread exposure and ongoing uncertainty about health impacts, this discussion will explore key research gaps and opportunities, examine past, present, and potential mitigation efforts, and discuss how risk communication can be used to support informed decisions in the face of scientific uncertainty.

June 12, 2025; 1–2 p.m. INSPIRE: Readiness - Tackling Public Health Communication Conundrums: Rumors and Public Trust.
Join the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) for a timely conversation as they explore strategies to safeguard public health and build public trust. In today's fast-paced information landscape, misleading rumors pose a serious threat to public health efforts, weakening trust and diminishing effective response. To address this complex issue, this webinar brings together experienced public health champions to share real-world strategies and lessons learned in their communities. This INSPIRE: Readiness session will highlight communication tactics, cross-agency collaborations, and community engagement tools that may be used to help dispel harmful public health rumors. Inaccurate information, whether about vaccines, disease outbreaks, or public health mandates, can spread quickly through social media, word of mouth, or online forums – often overshadowing accurate messages from trusted sources. During this webinar, attendees will gain a deeper understanding of what it takes to manage public perception during health crises and how to build more resilient systems in the future.

June 18, 2025; 1–2:30 p.m. How PubMed Works: Medical Subject Headings (MeSH).
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) is the National Library of Medicine’s controlled vocabulary thesaurus that gives uniformity and consistency to the indexing and cataloging of biomedical literature. Join this webinar from the Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) to explore the MeSH database, describe a controlled vocabulary, explore the four types of MeSH terms, locate and explain entry terms, date introduced, previous indexing, and automatic explosion.

June 25, 2025; 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m. DSHS Grand Rounds - TB and Mental Health Comorbidities.
This webinar is offered by the DSHS Office of Practice and Learning Grand Rounds program. DSHS Grand Rounds explores the science and practice of population health and awards continuing education credits/contact hours for various disciplines. Visit the Grand Rounds calendar to see information on upcoming sessions. Held monthly on the fourth Wednesday, sessions last 90 minutes with the final 20 minutes reserved for Q&A.

Websites and reports on trending topics

AIDSVu is an interactive online mapping tool that visualizes the impact of the HIV epidemic on communities across the United States. This tool is presented by Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health and visualizes HIV-related data by race/ethnicity, sex, age, and transmission category, and shows how HIV is related to various social determinants of health, such as high school education, poverty, and housing.

ASABE Technical Library from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), a professional and technical organization dedicated to the advancement of engineering applicable to agricultural, food, and biological systems, provides online access to ASABE standards, meeting and conference papers, textbooks, and monographs.

FastStats A to Z provides quick access to statistics on topics of public health importance and is organized alphabetically. Links are provided to publications that include the statistics presented, to sources of more data, and to related web pages. From the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

State Public Health Legislation Database covers topics related to public health including infectious disease prevention and treatment, public health reporting and workforce and vaccines. It includes all introduced legislation from 2021 to the present and is updated at least twice per month as legislation is identified by National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) staff.

Journal articles of note

Hsu CJ, Schraw JM, Desrosiers TA, et al. All genetic subtypes of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia exhibit increased incidence rates in children with Down syndrome. Leukemia. Published online April 11, 2025. doi:10.1038/s41375-025-02602-w

Children with Down syndrome (DS) have a 20-fold increased risk and 2% lifetime risk of developing B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). Despite improvements over time, survival in DS-ALL remains consistently
10 to 20% lower compared to non-DS-ALL, due to both increased relapse and more frequent and severe treatment-related toxicities.

Lombard J, Stenkamp-Strahm C, McCluskey B, et al. The One Health challenges and opportunities of the H5N1 outbreak in dairy cattle in the United States. J Dairy Sci. Published online April 28, 2025. doi:10.3168/jds.2024-26222
Abstract
The outbreak of H5N1 in dairy cattle in United States revealed challenges in identification and management of a novel disease. The virus showed an exceptional ability to spread between farms and among cows within a farm. The impact of the virus on dairy cattle varied from nonclinical to severe clinical signs and death. Many dairy producers did not report clinical signs in their cows or test for the virus. Cats and peridomestic birds on many affected dairies died from viral exposure. Dairy workers showed signs of conjunctivitis, which was confirmed to be due to H5N1. With the disease affecting multiple species and showing efficient cow-to-cow transmission, the situation only worsened. There was a negative impact on the relationships among dairy producers, dairy workers, poultry producers, and veterinarians, in which professional and personal relationships were severed and some experienced loss of employment. The regulatory response varied by geographic location, and in some states, animal health and human health authorities elevated producer fears of consequences of reporting. Authorities did quickly confirm that pasteurization inactivated the virus in dairy products and showed that it was very rarely detected in beef from affected cows. In this review, we will describe the relationships among the dairy industry and animal and human health and why the H5N1 outbreak requires a One Health perspective of all stakeholders in order to address it effectively.

McGarry ME, Raraigh KS, Farrell P, et al. Cystic fibrosis newborn screening: a systematic review-driven consensus guideline from the United States Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Int J Neonatal Screen. 2025;11(2):24. Published 2025 Apr 2.
doi:10.3390/ijns11020024
Abstract
Newborn screening for cystic fibrosis (CF) has been universal in the US since 2010; however, there is significant variation among newborn screening algorithms. Systematic reviews were used to develop seven recommendations for newborn screening program practices to improve timeliness, sensitivity, and equity in diagnosing infants with CF: (1) The CF Foundation recommends the use of a floating immunoreactive trypsinogen (IRT) cutoff over a fixed IRT cutoff; (2) The CF Foundation recommends using a very high IRT referral strategy in CF newborn screening programs whose variant panel does not include all CF-causing variants in CFTR2 or does not have a variant panel that achieves at least 95% sensitivity in all ancestral groups within the state; (3) The CF Foundation recommends that CF newborn screening algorithms should not limit CFTR variant detection to the F508del variant or variants included in the American College of Medical Genetics-23 panel; (4) The CF Foundation recommends that CF newborn screening programs screen for all CF-causing CFTR variants in CFTR2; (5) The CF Foundation recommends conducting CFTR variant screening twice weekly or more frequently as resources allow; (6) The CF Foundation recommends the inclusion of a CFTR sequencing tier following IRT and CFTR variant panel testing to improve the specificity and positive predictive value of CF newborn screening; (7) The CF Foundation recommends that both the primary care provider and the CF specialist be notified of abnormal newborn screening results. Through implementation, it is anticipated that these recommendations will result in improved sensitivity, equity, and timeliness of CF newborn screening, leading to improved health outcomes for all individuals diagnosed with CF following newborn screening and a decreased burden on families.

Zhang K, Taylor MM, Hunyadi J, et al. Examining demographic, geographic, and temporal patterns of melanoma incidence in Texas From 2000 to 2018: retrospective study. JMIR Cancer. 2025;11:e67902. Published 2025 May 2. doi:10.2196/67902
Abstract
Background: Melanoma currently ranks as the fifth leading cancer diagnosis and is projected to become the second most common cancer in the United States by 2040. Melanoma detected at earlier stages may be treated with less-risky and less-costly therapeutic options.
Objective: This study aims to analyze temporal and spatial trends in melanoma incidence by stage at diagnosis (overall, early, and late) in Texas from 2000 to 2018, focusing on demographic and geographic variations to identify high-risk populations and regions for targeted prevention efforts.
Methods: We used melanoma incidence data from all 254 Texas counties from the Texas Cancer Registry (TCR) from 2000 to 2018, aggregated by county and year. Among these, 250 counties reported melanoma cases during the period. Counties with no cases reported in a certain year were treated as having no cases. Melanoma cases were classified by SEER Summary Stage and stratified by the following four key covariates: age, sex, race and ethnicity, and stage at diagnosis. Incidence rates (IRs) were calculated per 100,000 population, and temporal trends were analyzed using joinpoint regression to determine average annual percentage changes (AAPCs) with 95% CIs for the whole time period (2000-2018), the most recent 10-year period (2009-2018), and the most recent 5-year period (2014-2018). Heat map visualizations were developed to assess temporal trends by patient age, year of diagnosis, stage at diagnosis, sex, and race and ethnicity. Spatial cluster analysis was conducted using Getis-Ord Gi* statistics to identify county-level geographic clusters of high and low melanoma incidence by stage at diagnosis.
Results: A total of 82,462 melanoma cases were recorded, of which 74.7% (n=61,588) were early stage, 11.3% (n=9,352) were late stage, and 14% (n=11,522) were of unknown stage. Most cases were identified as males and non-Hispanic White individuals. Melanoma IRs increased from 2000 to 2018, particularly among older adults (60+ years; AAPC range 1.20%-1.84%; all P values were <.001), males (AAPC 1.59%; P<.001), and non-Hispanic White individuals (AAPC of 3.24% for early stage and 2.38% for late stage; P<.001 for early stage and P = .03 for late state). Early-stage diagnoses increased while the rates of late-stage diagnoses remained stable for the overall population. The spatial analysis showed that urban areas had higher early-stage incidence rates (P=.06), whereas rural areas showed higher late-stage incidence rates (P=.05), indicating possible geographic-based differences in access to dermatologic care.
Conclusions: Melanoma incidence in Texas increased over the study time period, with the most-at-risk populations being non-Hispanic White individuals, males, and individuals aged 50 years and older. The stable rates of late-stage melanoma among racial and ethnic minority populations and rural populations highlight potential differences in access to diagnostic care. Future prevention efforts may benefit from increasing access to dermatologic care in areas with higher rates of late-stage melanoma at diagnosis.

New eBooks at the library

Academic & Scientific Poster Presentation: A Modern Comprehensive Guide by Nicholas Rowe

Adverse Childhood Experiences, Attachment, and the Early Years Learning Environment: Research and Inclusive Practice by Hazel G. Whitters

Care of Adults with Chronic Childhood Conditions edited by Alice A. Kuo

Creating Empowering Environments for People with Dementia edited by Kevin Charras and Eef Hogervorst

Data Visualization in R and Python by Marco Cremonini

Mass Spectrometry for the Clinical Laboratory edited by Hari Nair and William Clarke

Rabies: Scientific Basis of the Disease and Its Management edited by Anthony R. Fooks and Alan C. Jackson

Tapping the Power of PowerPoint for Medical Posters and Presentations by Anand J. Thakur

Writing, Presenting, and Communicating with Confidence by the Harvard Business Review

If you would like to subscribe, please send an email to library@dshs.texas.gov with Subscribe in the subject line.

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May 2025

Medical and Research Library News

Training opportunities
Websites and reports on trending topics
Journal articles of note
New eBooks

Training opportunities

The webinars and online classes listed here are shared solely as opportunities to learn more information of interest to public health personnel. All times listed are in Central Time.

May 6, 2025; 12–1 p.m. Region 6 Public Health Leadership Institute (R6-PHLI).
Join this webinar to learn more about R6-PHLI. Applications for the Fall 2025 R6-PHLI are now open and will be accepted until Sunday, June 1, 2025, or until the cohort is filled. The purpose of R6-PHLI is to develop the next generation of leaders in public health by providing an opportunity for strategic professional growth for those interested in refining their leadership skills and advancing their career to the next level. The R6-PHLI focuses on mid-management emerging leaders and is not intended for senior executives. R6-PHLI is designed to create a learning community that explores timely leadership topics and builds core skills. The sessions use interactive discussions with leaders in the field and are reinforced through practice activities.

May 12, 2025; 1–2 p.m. From PubMed to TrialGPT.
This presentation from the Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) will explore the role of AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) in transforming biomedical discovery and healthcare. It highlights real-world applications like improving PubMed searches (Best Match, Nature Biotechnology 2018), supporting precision medicine (LitVar, Nature Genetics 2023), and assisting patient-to-trial matching (TrialGPT, Nature Communications, 2024). This presentation will also address the challenges and limitations of using AI/LLMs in this field.

May 20, 2025; 12–1 p.m. Fostering Mental Well-Being: Strengthening Support Systems at Home, School, and Beyond.
Since 1949, Mental Health Awareness Month has been observed across the United States. Mental well-being is fundamental for individuals, families, and communities to thrive. As we navigate different life stages, the ways we manage maintaining positive mental well-being changes, requiring us to actively engage and adapt to our needs and those of society. In this webinar, hosted by UTHealth Houston School of Public Health in Austin, you will hear from Dr. Roshni Koli, Chief Medical Officer with Meadows Mental Health Institute, and Michelle Rawcliffe, MPH, Curriculum & Content Manager with CATCH Global Foundation. Through their expert lens, they will explore evidence-based practices that foster health and well-being for parents, families, and educators, supporting a conducive school environment, coordinated strategies that elevate mental health awareness in communities, and professional development opportunities available for educators.

May 28, 2025; 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m. DSHS Grand Rounds.
This webinar is offered by the DSHS Office of Practice and Learning Grand Rounds program. DSHS Grand Rounds explores the science and practice of population health and awards continuing education credits/contact hours for various disciplines. Visit the Grand Rounds calendar to see information on upcoming sessions. Held monthly on the fourth Wednesday, sessions last 90 minutes with the final 20 minutes reserved for Q&A.

Websites and reports on trending topics

AGRICOLA - A bibliographic resource from the National Agricultural Library with millions of citations relating to the field of agriculture for journal articles, book chapters, theses, patents, and technical reports to support agricultural research.

Clinical Laboratory Standards - This MRL resource provides access to The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute’s (CLSI) full library of standards. eCLIPSE Ultimate Access is an enhanced, premium platform with advanced features to help you access standards quickly and easily. Please contact the DSHS library if you need assistance accessing this resource.

Portal to Texas History - Managed by the University of North Texas Libraries, the Portal of Texas History offers a digital gateway to rich collections held in Texas libraries, museums, archives, historical societies, and private collections and includes agency produced annual reports, newsletters, and pamphlets.

Understanding and Addressing Misinformation About Science - Our current information ecosystem makes it easier for misinformation about science to spread and harder for people to figure out what is scientifically accurate. Proactive solutions are needed to address misinformation about science, an issue of public concern given its potential to cause harm at individual, community, and societal levels. Improving access to high-quality scientific information can fill information voids that exist for topics of interest to people, reducing the likelihood of exposure to and uptake of misinformation about science. Misinformation is commonly perceived as a matter of bad actors maliciously misleading the public, but misinformation about science arises both intentionally and inadvertently and from a wide range of sources. This publication from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine characterizes the nature, scope, and impacts of this phenomenon, and provides guidance on interventions, policies, and future research.

Journal articles of note

Hoang TT, Schraw JM, Shumate C, et al. Co-occurrence of congenital anomalies and childhood brain tumors in 22 million live births. Neuro Oncol. Published online March 26, 2025
doi:10.1093/neuonc/noaf087
Abstract
Background: Children born with a congenital anomaly have a higher risk of developing a brain tumor during childhood or adolescence, but the co-occurrence between specific types of congenital anomalies and specific types of childhood brain tumors (CBTs) is not well described. This study characterized the associations between specific congenital anomalies and CBTs.
Methods: We leveraged a population-based registry linkage study of births (1990-2018), congenital anomalies, and cancer from nine states (n=22,599,099 births). Congenital anomalies were classified as major structural without a known chromosomal or genetic syndrome, chromosomal, neurofibromatosis, and/or tuberous sclerosis complex. CBT classification was based on the International Classification of Childhood Cancer for children diagnosed <20 years. Cox regression analyses were conducted separately by congenital anomaly for anomaly-CBT combinations with at least 5 co-occurring cases. We conducted analyses for any CBT and separately for astrocytoma, atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor, ependymoma, medulloblastoma, mixed and unspecified gliomas, and primitive neuroectodermal tumors.
Results: There were 6,247 children diagnosed with a CBT. Having any major structural anomaly was associated with risk of any CBT and across all subgroups (aHR range: 1.48-3.69) except ependymoma, particularly among children diagnosed with a tumor by 1 year of age. Of the 66 anomaly-CBT combinations analyzed, 42 were significant (p<0.05), including 25 in an earlier version of this study and 16 novel associations (aHR range: 1.46-525). Anomaly-CBT associations also differed by astrocytoma histology.
Conclusions: We observed consistent evidence that having a structural congenital anomaly increases risk of developing a CBT, particularly in infancy, which may provide insights into etiology.

Luke B, Fisher SC, Forestieri NE, et al. Maternal, reproductive and perinatal factors and the risks of birth defects: traditional and emerging factors. Reprod Biomed Online. Published online December 24, 2024. doi:10.1016/j.rbmo.2024.104781
Abstract
Research question: Does an association exist between maternal, reproductive and perinatal factors, and the risks of major non-chromosomal birth defects?
Design: This population-based cohort study included 1,126,058 naturally conceived singleton live births (21,644 with and 1,104,414 without a major non-chromosomal defect) who were born between 2004 and 2018 in New York, Texas, Massachusetts and North Carolina. All study children were linked to their respective state birth defect registries to identify major birth defects diagnosed within the first year of life, and to state death records. Children with chromosomal defects were excluded. Genitourinary defects were only evaluated in boys. Placental and bleeding issues included placenta previa, placental abruption, uterine bleeding and other excessive bleeding, and, at delivery, blood transfusion or unplanned hysterectomy. Adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were modelled using logistic regression.
Results: Among major non-chromosomal defects, the highest significant risks were with pre-gestational diabetes (adjusted OR 2.48, 95% CI 2.25 to 2.74), followed by placental or bleeding issues (adjusted OR 1.82, 95% CI 1.66 to 1.99); this pattern was also evident for congenital heart defects, blastogenesis defects, orofacial defects, gastrointestinal defects and musculoskeletal defects. Hypertension (pre-gestational and gestational), prior caesarean delivery, older maternal age and higher body mass index were also significant risk factors.
Conclusions: The risk factors most strongly associated with major non-chromosomal birth defects were pre-gestational diabetes and placental or bleeding issues; other significantly increased risks were hypertension (pre-gestational and gestational), prior caesarean delivery, older maternal age and pre-pregnancy body mass index 30 kg/m² or above.

O'Dell N, Bolling BG, Dacko N, et al. Identifying environmental drivers of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus abundance in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex using Random Forest modeling. J Med Entomol. Published online April 10, 2025
doi:10.1093/jme/tjaf036
Abstract
Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are 2 medically important vectors that have established populations globally. In the United States, Ae. aegypti populations declined post-Ae. albopictus introduction, though both species now can be readily found throughout the Southern US. Despite overlapping distributions, there are few studies that investigate and compare the drivers of abundance at spatial scales relevant to mosquito control and surveillance districts. To address this limitation, we analyzed longitudinal mosquito surveillance data from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, Texas. Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex is an area of interest due to its rapid population growth, diverse environmental conditions, and prior history with epidemic West Nile virus transmission. We trained a Random Forest model on a subset of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus data and meteorological and sociodemographic variables from Tarrant and Dallas counties to predict the abundance of both species within the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Additionally, we interpolated predictions to map mosquito abundance at unsampled locations. We found that Ae. aegypti abundance was positively correlated with hot and dry conditions within densely populated locations, with mean abundance peaking in the 33rd to the 44th weeks of the year. Ae. albopictus abundance was positively correlated with cooler temperatures in higher socio-economic locations with lower human population density, with mean abundance peaking in the 19th to the 32nd weeks of the year. Our results suggest that the diversity of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex's environmental conditions enable Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus to exploit differential niche spaces, which has the potential to influence vector control strategies and disease prevention efforts.

Salinas VA, Archer NP, Lustri LR, et al. Evaluating differences in non-syndromic orofacial clefts by infant sex: National Birth Defects Prevention Study, 1997 - 2011. J Pediatr. Published online March 28, 2025. doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2025.114567
Abstract
Objective: To investigate non-genetic factors that may contribute to observed differences in non-syndromic orofacial clefts by infant sex.
Study design: Using data for 1997-2011 deliveries from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study, a case-control study, we separately examined associations between 23 maternal factors and cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) and cleft palate alone (CP) using multivariable logistic regression stratified by infant sex.
Results: We compared 2,986 infants with CL/P and 1,557 with CP to 11,271 control infants without birth defects. After adjusting for maternal age at conception and education, lower odds of non-syndromic orofacial clefts were observed among male infants of non-Hispanic Black mothers (CL/P aOR: 0.36; 95% CI: 0.28 - 0.45; CP aOR: 0.56; 95% CI: 0.41 - 0.76) and of Hispanic mothers (CL/P aOR: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.73 - 0.96; CP aOR: 0.57; 95% CI: 0.45 - 0.72) compared with non-Hispanic White mothers. Similar, though attenuated, lower odds of non-syndromic orofacial clefts were observed among female infants of non-Hispanic Black mothers, but no association was observed among female infants of Hispanic mothers. Differences in associations between maternal education and nutrient intake (carbohydrate, energy, total lipids/fat, Vitamin E, and zinc) and CL/P, as well as maternal vitamin C intake and CP, were also observed by infant sex.
Conclusions: Associations between non-syndromic orofacial clefts and minority racial and ethnic groups were attenuated or non-existent among female infants compared with male infants. Sex-specific differences of CL/P appear more susceptible to environmental factors (eg, maternal education and nutrient intake) than sex-specific differences of CP.