Reaching high-risk patient populations through emergency department opt-out HIV testing: A retrospective chart review

Specific Aims and Hypotheses: This study aimed to identify socioeconomic (SE), sexual, and other risk factors (RFs), among patients diagnosed with HIV infection through an emergency department-based opt-out HIV screening program, and to examine trends in intravenous drug use (IVDU) as a RF. H1: Unsafe sexual practices are the most commonly reported RF. H2: Role of IVDU as a RF has increased over the time period studied. Poster presented at 2017 APHA conference in Atlanta Georgia.https://jdc.jefferson.edu/cwicposters/1040/thumbnail.jp

ANTIOXIDANT MEDIATED DEFENSE ROLE OF ECLIPTAALBA HERBAL EXTRACT AGAINST CCL4 INDUCEDTOXIC HEPATITIS

Objective: The present study focuses on the antioxidant mediated protective effect of a popular medicinal herbEcliptaalba against CCl4induced oxidative stress in the liver of rats.Methods: Rats divided into four groups were administered with CCl4 andCCl4 along with methanol extract of leaves of Eclipta herb (200 and 400 mg/kg b. wt) for three weeks. At the end of treatment, rats were anaesthetized and blood samples were collected for serum separation. Biochemical analysis such as alanineaminotransferase (ALT), aspartateaminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and total bilirubin (TB) were done in serum. Liver tissue was used for glutathione (GSH), lipid peroxidation (LPO), gluatathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione Stransferase (GST), superoxide dismutase (SOD)and catalase (CAT) analysis. CCl4 administration caused significant elevation of the serum enzymes and total bilirubin content.Results: Antioxidant enzymes were drastically inhibited with significant reduction of glutathione and increased lipid peroxidation in CCl4 treated rats. Ecliptaalbaextracts administrated rats, however did not show much changes in marker enzyme level. Antioxidant enzyme status was also not affected and found nearer to the control levels. Increased gluatathione level and reduced lipid peroxidation was also evident in Eclipta alba treated rats.Conclusion: The findings show that Eclipta alba extract offers better protection against the free radical toxicity of CCl4

Isotropic properties of the photonic band gap in quasicrystals with low-index contrast

We report on the formation and development of the photonic band gap in two-dimensional 8-, 10- and 12-fold symmetry quasicrystalline lattices of low index contrast. Finite size structures made of dielectric cylindrical rods were studied and measured in the microwave region, and their properties compared with a conventional hexagonal crystal. Band gap characteristics were investigated by changing the direction of propagation of the incident beam inside the crystal. Various angles of incidence from 0 \degree to 30\degree were used in order to investigate the isotropic nature of the band gap. The arbitrarily high rotational symmetry of aperiodically ordered structures could be practically exploited to manufacture isotropic band gap materials, which are perfectly suitable for hosting waveguides or cavities.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, submitted to PR

Utilization of Pyrosequencing to Monitor the Microbiome Dynamics of Probiotic Treated Poultry (Gallus gallus domesticus) during Downstream Poultry Processing

Antibiotic growth promoters that have been historically employed to control pathogens and increase the rate of animal development for human consumption are currently banned in many countries. Probiotics have been proposed as an alternative to control pathogenic bacteria. Traditional culture methods typically used to monitor probiotic effects on pathogens possess significant limitations such as a lack in sensitivity to detect fastidious and non-culturable bacteria, and are both time consuming and costly. Here, we tested next generation pyrosequencing technology as a streamline and economical method to monitor the effects of a probiotic on microbial communities in juvenile poultry (Gallus gallus domesticus) after exposure to several microbiological challenges and litter conditions. Seven days and repeated again at 39 days following hatching, chicks were challenged with either Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis, Campylobacter jejuni, or no bacteria in the presence of, or without a probiotic (i.e., Bacillus subtilis) added to the feed. Three days following each of two challenges (i.e., days 10 and 42, respectively) the microbiome distributions of the poultry caecum were characterized based on 16S rDNA analysis. Generated PCR products were analyzed by automated identification of the samples after pooling, multiplexing and sequencing. A bioinformatics pipeline was then employed to identify microbial distributions at the phylum and genus level for the treatments. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that pyrosequencing technology is a rapid, efficient and cost-effective method to monitor the effects of probiotics on the microbiome of poultry propagated in an agricultural setting

Relevance of Ultrasound in the Diagnosis and Management of Malignancy of the Thyroid Disorders

BACKGROUND: The recent prevalence of ultrasonography has facilitated the early detection and qualitative evaluation of thyroid nodules – to differentiate between thyroid carcinoma and benign nodule, between metastatic lymph node and reactive node. It has moved from the suite of the radiologist to the surgeon’s office. AIM OF THE STUDY: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relevance of SPUS in the diagnosis and surveillance of malignancy of the thyroid. METHODS: Surgeon performed ultrasound for 389 patients and the data of 350 patients who underwent total thyroidectomy was compared with the report of the RPUS, FNAC and HPE. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value for each was calculated. The nodule characteristics – echogenicity, margins and calcifications were analysed for correlation with malignancy. CONCLUSIONS: Surgeon who is more familiar with the anatomy and patho-physiology of thyroid disorders triages the nodule better. Multivariate analysis of nodule characteristics showed that heteroechogenicity, irregular margins and microcalcifications had a greater association with DTC after adjustment for the other characteristics

Digitized archive of the Kodaikanal images: Representative results of solar cycle variation from sunspot area determination

Photographic images are valuable data resources for studying long term changes in the solar magnetic field and its influence on the Earth's climate and weather. We digitized more than 100 years of white light images stored in photographic plates and films that are available at Kodaikanal observatory starting from 1904. The digitized images were calibrated for relative plate density and aligned in such a way that the solar north is in upward direction. A semi-automated sunspot detection technique was used to identify the sunspots on the digitized images. In addition to describing the calibration procedure and availability of the data, we here present preliminary results on the sunspot area measurements and their variation with time. The results show that the white-light images have a uniform spatial resolution throughout the 90 years of observations. However, the contrast of the images decreases from 1968 onwards. The images are circular and do not show any major geometrical distortions. The measured monthly averaged sunspot areas closely match the Greenwich sunspot area over the four solar cycles studied here. The yearly averaged sunspot area shows a high degree of correlation with the Greenwich sunspot area. Though the monthly averaged sunspot number shows a good correlation with the monthly averaged sunspot areas, there is a slight anti-correlation between the two during solar maximum The Kodaikanal data archive is hosted at http://kso.iiap.res.in. The long time sequence of the Kodaikanal white light images provides a consistent data set for sunspot areas and other proxies. Many studies can be performed using Kodaikanal data alone without requiring intercalibration between different data sources.Comment: 9 pages, A&A(accepted