Hepatitis C Diagnoses in an American Indian Primary Care Population

BACKGROUND: Despite large disparities in the burden of chronic liver disease, data on hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among American Indians (AIs) are lacking. We reviewed hepatitis C diagnoses in 35,712 AI/AN primary care patients. MAIN FINDINGS: At least one HCV-associated ICD-9 code was recorded in 251 (1%) patients between October 1, 2001 and September 30, 2003. An HCV enzyme-linked immunoassay (HCVEIA) was sent in 209 (83.0%); 206/209 (99%) were positive. Confirmatory testing was performed in 144/206 (70%) HCV-EIA positive patients; HCV infection was confirmed in 144 (100%). In the 90/144 (63%) charts with risk factor documentation, injection drug use was the most common risk factor (61/90, 68%). Deficiencies were present in hepatitis B and HIV testing, and hepatitis A and B vaccination. PRINCIPAL CONCLUSIONS: Improvements in laboratory workup of HCV and co-infections, risk factor ascertainment and documentation, and adult vaccination are needed to address HCV effectively in this population

Microprocessor-based Pressure Controller

A device for automatic control of pressure in an ion-atom scattering experiment has been constructed. The system was modeled to achieve the minimum time for transition from one pressure to another. The pressure controller learns the system response and iterates the parameters used in profiling the valve voltage to reduce the transition time. The device has been used with two different scattering chambers and has worked well with both

Reactive Scattering Cell For Atomic Hydrogen And Deuterium

A design for a high-temperature reactive scattering cell for atomic hydrogen and atomic deuterium is described. At approximately 2700 K a dissociation of the molecular target species of over 95% has been obtained. The lifetime of 340 h of operation is sufficient for precision, long-time, differential cross-section measurements

Results of Universal Prenatal Screening for Hepatitis C Infection in a Remote American Indian Primary Care Population

BACKGROUND: Although chronic liver disease remains a major area of health disparity for American Indian (AI) people, the epidemiology of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among AI people is poorly documented. Because of suspected high local prevalence, two remote AI clinics in the Northern Plains implemented universal prenatal HCV screening in 2005. When this screening program reported an unexpectedly high prenatal anti-HCV (anti-HCV antibody) positivity rate, we conducted a case-control study to determine risks for infection and opportunities for community intervention. MAIN FINDINGS: The clinics screened a total of 205 pregnant women (median age, 22 years). Of these 205 women, a total of 13 (6.3%; 95% confidence interval, 3.4–10.6) had anti-HCV confirmed. Of the anti-HCV-positive women, 10 (76.9%) were aged 15–24 years. We included 10 cases and 40 anti-HCV-negative prenatal controls in a case-control study. On multivariate analysis, only injection-drug use (IDU) remained associated with HCV seropositivity. CONCLUSIONS: Universal prenatal screening revealed a high prevalence of anti-HCV at these remote AI clinics. This population has not been previously described at being at elevated risk for HCV infection. In order to reduce health disparities, young, rural AI populations seeking prenatal care need to be included in interventions to reduce HCV transmission

Integrating Viral Hepatitis Screening and Prevention Services into an Urban Chemical Dependency Treatment Facility for American Indians and Alaska Natives

American Indian/Alaska Natives (AI/AN) patients at an urban residential chemical dependency treatment center participated in a viral hepatitis prevention project. Project activities integrated into patients’ treatment programs included viral hepatitis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) risk factor screening, education and counseling, laboratory testing, and hepatitis A and B vaccination. Of 928 AI/AN admissions, 585 (63%) completed risk factor screening assessment. Of these, 436 (75%) received at least one vaccination, viral hepatitis testing, or both. Of 322 patients tested, 91 (28%) were hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody positive. Lack of pre-existing immunity to vaccine-preventable viral hepatitis infection was common: 132 (45%) were susceptible to hepatitis A and 224 (70%) were susceptible to hepatitis B infection. Chemical dependency treatment centers serving urban AI/AN provide important opportunities for implementing viral hepatitis prevention programs for high-risk populations and for improving ongoing efforts to reduce the disparate impact of chronic liver disease in AI/ AN people

Elastic Angular Differential Cross Sections for Quasi-One-Electron Collision Systems at Intermediate Energies: (Na⁺, Li⁺)+H and (Mg⁺, Be⁺)+He

Measurements of elastic angular differential cross sections have been carried out for four quasi-one-electron collision systems at intermediate energies. Data are presented for Na++H collisions at laboratory energies of 35.94, 51.75, 63.89, and 143.75 keV, for Li++H collisions at energies of 19.44 and 43.75 keV, for Mg++He collisions at energies of 30, 66.7, and 150 keV, and for Be++He collisions at an energy of 56.25 keV. The highest energy in each case corresponds to a projectile velocity of (1/2 a.u. Born and Eikonal calculations, in which we model the projectile ion as a heavy structureless ion of charge +1e, are also presented. Our model calculations are in fair agreement with the experimental data over the range of measured scattering angles

Angular-Differential Studies of Excitation in Quasi-One-Electron Collisions at High Energy

Qualitative differences have been observed between two types of quasi-one-electron collision systems. We have studied valence-electron excitation at high energy (relative collision velocities up to 0.5 a.u.) in the Mg++He and Na++H collision systems, and find that while Mg++He collisions are dominated by direct excitation, the Na++H collisions exhibit significant molecular excitation, even at the highest velocities. This behavior can be understood in terms of the molecular structure of the respective collision complexes, and the energy separation between the ground and first excited states of the valence electron

Electron Capture at Very Small Scattering Angles from Atomic Hydrogen by 25-125-keV Protons

Differential cross sections for electron capture in collisions between protons and hydrogen atoms have been experimentally determined for incident proton energies of 25, 60, and 125 keV in the center-of-mass scattering-angle range of 0-3 mrad. The experimental results compare more favorably with the results of both a multistate and a two-state calculation than with the results of a continuum distorted-wave-approximation calculation. There is no evidence of a Jackson-Schiff-type minimum

Momentum-Transfer Scaling in Hydrogen-Isotope Collision Systems

The differential cross sections for excitation of atomic hydrogen isotopes to their n=2 states by proton or deutron impact are found to follow a simple scaling relationship. The momentum-transfer-scaled differential excitation cross sections, for a projectile velocity of 1.26 a.u., produce one differential cross-section curve for all four possible hydrogen-isotope collision systems. The experimental results are in excellent agreement with our Glauber-approximation calculations

Isotope Effect and Momentum-Transfer Scaling in the Elastic-Scattering Differential Cross Sections for Hydrogen-Isotope Collision Systems

A projectile-dependent isotope effect was found for the elastic-scattering differential cross sections in the hydrogen-isotope collision systems. All four differential cross sections lie on a common curve if they are divided by the square of the reduced mass and plotted against momentum transfer. The experimental results are in satisfactory agreement with a simple Glauber-approximation calculation