Australian-American Fulbright Alumni: An Analysis of the Impact of the Australian-American Fulbright Program on American Awardees

The Australian-American Fulbright Commission was established in 1949 in Canberra, Australia. Remarkably, the Commission had never before conducted an alumni impact report in its 72-year history. Thus, it was vital to carry out this study as soon as possible so as to hear from as many alumni as are willing and able to participate at this time. This study sought to answer the following research question: How have Australian Fulbright scholarships impacted the lives and careers of the American alumni? The research drew on the analysis of secondary survey data and through semi-structured interviews. The major findings of the study are that the Fulbright Program had an overwhelmingly positive impact on the personal and professional lives of the American alumni who traveled to Australia. However, the participants did raise recommendations around improving engagement with home institutions, adjusting the awardee perspective, and increasing alumni outreach and publicity about the Program. From these findings, the conclusion that can be drawn is that the Fulbright Program can have a greater impact on its alumni through increased efforts in the areas identified above. The implications for professional practice are potentially changing priorities around communications, alumni engagement and more. In addition, it may be that Fulbright Commissions will see value in adapting practices to better connect with home and host institutions as well as place increased emphasis on promoting alumni events and opportunities. Keywords: alumni, Australia, Fulbright, impact, mutual understanding, public diplomacy, United State

Review of Surgical Management for Closed-Angle Glaucoma

Closed-angle glaucoma, also known as angle-closure glaucoma, is one of the major types of glaucoma. Glaucoma is a term used to describe a broad group of ocular diseases that damage the optic nerve. The type of angle closure with which the patient presents, whether acute, subacute, or chronic, will dictate their treatment. Management of these three presentations will be discussed at length later in this article. In the United States, closed-angle glaucoma is less common than open-angle glaucoma, which often has a gradual onset of intraocular pressure (IOP) elevation and optic nerve damage

The pattern of expression of CD147/neurothelin during human T-cell ontogeny as defined by the monoclonal antibody 8D6

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66424/1/j.1399-0039.1997.tb02853.x.pd

The Effectiveness of JeffWLP for Weight Loss and General Nutritional Knowledge in Obese Patients

PURPOSE: The increasing prevalence of obesity urgently requires effective management strategies. This study evaluates the effectiveness of Jefferson Weight Loss Program (JeffWLP), a trained medical student-delivered health education program in a predominantly African-American patient cohort. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was performed enrolling 30 patients with an average socioeconomic status of 5.8 (10 maximum). The intervention group (n=18) completed JeffWLP, a low-cost, 12-week health coaching program combining education sessions with graded step exercises. The control group (n=12) received usual care. Mean baseline age, BMI, and General Nutritional Knowledge Questionnaire (GNKQ) scores were: 46±13 years, 38±5, and 14.7±1.9 (maximum score=17) respectively. RESULTS: Patients completing JeffWLP achieved greater weight loss, with mean weight loss of 6.1±7.8 pounds (p=0.01) compared to 4.4±7.5 pounds weight gain in controls (p=0.14). This corresponded to 2.7±3.3% weight reduction (p=0.01) and 2.0±3.5% weight gain (p=0.15). Mean endpoint GNKQ scores decreased overall slightly to 14.5±1.9, but improvement correlated with total, group, and 1:1 class attendance (R=0.81, 0.75, 0.77, p=0.0004, 0.002, 0.001 respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The significant weight reduction of 2.7±3.3% achieved in just 12 weeks of JeffWLP suggests meaningful progress towards improving cardiovascular health. Correlation of GNKQ scores to attendance suggests that patients acquired knowledge facilitating these positive outcomes. Our results support the establishment of student-delivered patient education programs to help combat the obesity epidemic.https://jdc.jefferson.edu/aoa_research_symposium_posters/1010/thumbnail.jp

Travel-Associated Zika Virus Disease Acquired in the Americas Through February 2016

BACKGROUND: Zika virus has spread rapidly in the Americas and has been imported into many nonendemic countries by travelers. OBJECTIVE: To describe clinical manifestations and epidemiology of Zika virus disease in travelers exposed in the Americas. DESIGN: Descriptive, using GeoSentinel records. SETTING: 63 travel and tropical medicine clinics in 30 countries. PATIENTS: Ill returned travelers with a confirmed, probable, or clinically suspected diagnosis of Zika virus disease seen between January 2013 and 29 February 2016. MEASUREMENTS: Frequencies of demographic, trip, and clinical characteristics and complications. RESULTS: Starting in May 2015, 93 cases of Zika virus disease were reported. Common symptoms included exanthema (88%), fever (76%), and arthralgia (72%). Fifty-nine percent of patients were exposed in South America; 71% were diagnosed in Europe. Case status was established most commonly by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing of blood and less often by PCR testing of other body fluids or serology and plaque-reduction neutralization testing. Two patients developed Guillain–Barre syndrome, and 3 of 4 pregnancies had adverse outcomes (microcephaly, major fetal neurologic abnormalities, and intrauterine fetal death). LIMITATION: Surveillance data collected by specialized clinics may not be representative of all ill returned travelers, and denominator data are unavailable. CONCLUSION: These surveillance data help characterize the clinical manifestations and adverse outcomes of Zika virus disease among travelers infected in the Americas and show a need for global standardization of diagnostic testing. The serious fetal complications observed in this study highlight the importance of travel advisories and prevention measures for pregnant women and their partners. Travelers are sentinels for global Zika virus circulation and may facilitate further transmission

Pre-Travel Preparation of US Travelers Going Abroad to Provide Humanitarian Service, Global TravEpiNet 2009–2011

We analyzed characteristics of humanitarian service workers (HSWs) seen pre-travel at Global TravEpiNet (GTEN) practices during 2009–2011. Of 23,264 travelers, 3,663 (16%) travelers were classified as HSWs. Among HSWs, 1,269 (35%) travelers were medical workers, 1,298 (35%) travelers were non-medical service workers, and 990 (27%) travelers were missionaries. Median age was 29 years, and 63% of travelers were female. Almost one-half (49%) traveled to 1 of 10 countries; the most frequent destinations were Haiti (14%), Honduras (8%), and Kenya (6%). Over 90% of travelers were vaccinated for or considered immune to hepatitis A, typhoid, and yellow fever. However, for hepatitis B, 292 (29%) of 990 missionaries, 228 (18%) of 1,298 non-medical service workers, and 76 (6%) of 1,269 medical workers were not vaccinated or considered immune. Of HSWs traveling to Haiti during 2010, 5% of travelers did not receive malaria chemoprophylaxis. Coordinated efforts from HSWs, HSW agencies, and clinicians could reduce vaccine coverage gaps and improve use of malaria chemoprophylaxis

468 glp compliant non clinical safety and biodistribution of a recombinant aav2 8 vector administered intravenously for treatment of mucopolysaccharidosis type vi

Mucopolysaccharidosis VI (MPS VI) is a lysosomal storage disorder caused by deficiency of the enzyme arylsulfatase B (ARSB), which results in widespread accumulation and excretion of toxic glycosaminoglycans. We recently developed a successful gene therapy approach based on a single systemic administration of AAV2/8 that targets liver of MPS VI animal models. In view of a gene therapy clinical trial for MPS VI, we performed GLP-compliant non-clinical studies to assess the safety and biodistribution of AAV2/8. TBG. hARSB, a recombinant AAV2/8 vector encoding human ARSB (hARSB) under the control of the thyroxine-binding globulin promoter (TBG). We used transgenic C57/BL6-TgARSBC91S mice that overexpress an inactive hARSB C91S mutant and are thus immune tolerant to hARSB. Mice were treated with either AAV2/8.TBG. hARSB or the vehicle alone, as control. Toxicity was evaluated on day 15 (D15) and 180 (D180) after systemic injection of 2×1013 gc/kg, which is 10X the highest dose proposed for the clinical study [20males(M)+20females(F)/treatment/timepoint]. No mortality, abnormal clinical signs and alteration in body weight, body temperature and food intake were observed through the study. Similarly, no clinically relevant changes in blood chemistry and hematology were found in treated mice compared to controls. Histopathology revealed thyroid epithelial hypertrophy in AAV-treated mice. AAV2/8.TBG. hARSB biodistribution and expression was evaluated on D15 and D180 at the dose of 2×1012 gc/kg, which is 1X the highest dose proposed for the clinical study (5M+5F/treatment/timepoint). Although vector DNA was present in all organs on D15, it was sequestered mainly in liver at levels at least 3 logs higher than those found in other organs. Vector DNA declined on D180, but remained high in liver. Accordingly, hARSB was mainly expressed stably in liver, supporting TBG tissue specificity. Vector DNA was found in gonads of both sexes at 3 logs lower than in liver. A robust reduction of vector DNA was observed on D180. A supportive study conducted in male rabbits showed that vector shedding in semen was only transient, which suggests that the risk of inadvertent germline transmission of AAV2/8. TBG.hARSB is minimal at least in male animals. An in situ hybridization study is ongoing in ovaries to elucidate AAV localization. Finally, AAV DNA was only transiently present in plasma, urine and stools of mice (up to D37, D2 and D14, respectively), which minimizes the potential risk associated with transmission to third parties and/or the environment. In conclusion, these studies show a safe profile of intravenous administrations of AAV2/8. TBG.hARSB and pave the way for the phase I/II clinical trial