Hepatitis C Screening

Clinical Question: Does screening baby boomers for Hepatitis C decrease mortality and/or save money? Bottom Line Answer: Age-based screening for hepatitis C is cost effective ($4900 per QALY gained) for those born between 1945 and 1965

Effects of single and combined inoculations of selected Trichoderma and Bacillus isolates on growth of dry bean and biological control of Rhizoctonia solani damping-off

Six Trichoderma isolates, Trichoderma atroviride strain 3A, T. atroviride strain 6, Trichoderma harzianum, strain SY, Trichoderma pseudokoningii, an unidentified strain Trichoderma sp. strain 2F and T. harzianum strain kmd and three Bacillus subtilis isolates, B. subtilis B69, B. subtilis B77 and B. subtilis B81, were tested in vivo, singly and each in combination for growth promotion of dry beans and biological control of damping-off caused by Rhizoctonia solani in cucumber. All fungal and bacterial isolates were applied as seed treatments in greenhouse and rhizotron studies. Greenhouse trials showed that combined inoculations of T. atroviride strain 6 and B. subtilis B69 gave the highest growth promotion of bean in terms of seedling dry biomass (43.0% over uninoculated control). Rhizotron studies supported these findings, where it was shown that root biomass and root area were increased. However, results obtained for bean yield trials were inconsistent and had no correlation with the seedling trials (P = 0.87 and P = 0.35). No increase was obtained in protein or fat content of bean seed for any of the selected isolates and/or their combinations tested in two separate greenhouse yield trials. In the biological control trials, single inoculations of T. harzianum strain kmd, T. atroviride strain 3A and T. harzianum strain SY gave the highest percentage survival of cucumber plants in the greenhouse. None of the Trichoderma plus Bacillus combinations were better than the single inoculations of T. harzianum strain kmd, T. atroviride strain 3A and T. harzianum strain SY. The performances, particularly of B. subtilis B69 and B81 were enhanced when combined with T. atroviride strain 3A, T. atroviride strain 6, T. harzianum strain SY or T. harzianum strain kmd. The performance of each of the Trichoderma and Bacillus combinations was better than the Bacillus isolates used alone. This study showed that there was potential in using mixtures of Trichoderma and Bacillus for improving plant growth and disease control.Key words: Bacillus, dry bean, plant growth promotion, Trichoderma

Application of selected biological control agents in conjunction with tolclofos-methyl for the control of damping-off caused by Rhizoctonia solani

Selected Trichoderma and Bacillus isolates were tested as seed treatments with reduced concentrations of tolclofos-methyl against Rhizoctonia solani damping-off using cucumber as test plants. In vitro bioassays using filter paper disc infused with six concentrations [active ingredient (ai)]of tolclofos-methyl (0.005, 0.05, 0.125, 0.25, 0.5 and 1.5 g ai/l) showed that growth of Trichoderma isolates on agar plates were less inhibited at 0.005 and 0.05 g ai/l than 0.125 – 1.5 g ai/l tolclofos-methyl concentrations while Bacillus isolates were not affected by any of the six concentrations. In a greenhouse study with a 0.05 g ai/l tolclofos-methyl concentration, Trichoderma and Bacillus isolates applied alone or in combination to cucumber seeds resulted in a better disease control than the Trichoderma and Bacillus treatments used alone. As high as 86% disease control was achieved by combining 0.05 g ai/l tolclofos-methyl with T. harzianum Isolate SYN which was significantly better (P =0.001) than the 0.05 g ai/l tolclofos-methyl control. In all cases, additive effects of combining 0.05 g ai/l tolclofos-methyl with Trichoderma and Bacillus treatments were observed

Adverse Effects Associated with Diazoxide Use in Neonates

Abstract Introduction: Diazoxide is the first-line treatment used to manage infants and children with hypoglycemia secondary to hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia (HH), after initial stabilization of blood glucose. Recent changes in Pediatric Endocrine Society guidelines regarding definition of, and screening for hypoglycemia in the neonate led to an increase in the number of infants treated with diazoxide. Previous studies have noted various side effects of diazoxide. With the increased use of this drug in neonates, our aim is to further evaluate these side effects. Methods: We performed a retrospective case control analysis of all neonates admitted to a tertiary care center in New Jersey who were treated with diazoxide for hypoglycemia after a confirmed diagnosis of HH between 1/1/2015 and 9/1/2019. All subjects were younger than 6 months of age at treatment initiation with diazoxide. We collected data regarding general patient characteristics, diuretic dosing, findings on echocardiogram, blood counts, episodes of emesis, and quantity of feeds at time points before and after diazoxide initiation. Results: A total of 25 infants (64% males) met inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis. Based on echocardiogram results, one baby (4%) had pulmonary hypertension (PHTN) prior to initiation of diazoxide, and 20% after, with 5 cases (20%) of reopening of the ductus arteriosus (DA). Nine patients (36%) required a diuretic dose increase after diazoxide initiation. There was increased feeding intolerance with increased number of emesis events after diazoxide initiation (p=0.006). A week after initiation of diazoxide, there was no improvement in the percent of total oral intake as would typically be expected. Conclusion: New onset PHTN and re-opening of the DA were associated with initiation of diazoxide treatment. Significant increase in emesis after diazoxide initiation suggests that infants may be experiencing feeding difficulties associated with this medication. Larger studies are needed to further evaluate the extent and frequencies of these side effects

The Global Health interactive Curricula Experience (iCE) Platform & App : Technology that Enables Inter-professional Innovation

Global Health Initiatives Committee (GHIC) Serves the Jefferson community as the premier point of engagement for students & faculty interested in medical and public health issues that transcend national boundaries Creates an institutional focus on preparing students for public service careers in population health and public policy at local, national, and global levels To enable all TJU faculty to: - Deliver global health education, in a friendly, interactive format - Does not require an expert to deliver - Can be used in very small or large pieces depending on your need

Modeling Camera Effects to Improve Visual Learning from Synthetic Data

Recent work has focused on generating synthetic imagery to increase the size and variability of training data for learning visual tasks in urban scenes. This includes increasing the occurrence of occlusions or varying environmental and weather effects. However, few have addressed modeling variation in the sensor domain. Sensor effects can degrade real images, limiting generalizability of network performance on visual tasks trained on synthetic data and tested in real environments. This paper proposes an efficient, automatic, physically-based augmentation pipeline to vary sensor effects --chromatic aberration, blur, exposure, noise, and color cast-- for synthetic imagery. In particular, this paper illustrates that augmenting synthetic training datasets with the proposed pipeline reduces the domain gap between synthetic and real domains for the task of object detection in urban driving scenes

Building Interprofessional Global Health Infrastructure at a University and Health System: Navigating Challenges and Scaling Successes

Mission: Global Jefferson will create sustainable programs of global distinction through collaboration that position Jefferson as a local and international destination and resource for education, research, and clinical activities. Global Jefferson is supported by the Associate Provost for Global Affairs, part of the Office of the Provost. Global activity at Jefferson includes: Global Health Initiatives Committee (GHIC) Service Learning Global Research & Exchange between institutions Pre-clinical, translational, clinical, and applied research Poster presented at: 8th Annual Global Health Conference of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH)https://jdc.jefferson.edu/globalhealthposters/1000/thumbnail.jp

Cholera and household water treatment why communities do not treat water after a cholera outbreak: a case study in Limpopo Province

Background: Cholera is one of the common diseases in developing countries caused by consumption of contaminated and untreated drinking water. A study was conducted 7 months after a cholera outbreak in Vhembe district, Limpopo, South Africa. The aim of the study was to assess if the communities were still conforming to safe water practices after an outbreak of cholera. Methodology: One hundred and fifty-two (152) participants from 11 villages were recruited to form 21 focus groups, with a mean of 7. The interview transcripts were coded and arranged based on the study themes. Results: Of the 21 groups in 11 villages, three villages were using water from boreholes, six were using river water and three were using mixed sources which included river, canal and spring water, three depended on municipal tanks and only six were using tap water. Only 19% of the respondents treated their water, even though the majority of communities reported treatment of water as a priority. Four villages claimed they never received environmental health education at all, while most of the villages confirmed they received education during a cholera outbreak. Conclusion: Regardless of the outbreak and health education efforts done, communities continued using unprotected water sources without any form of treatment, as they perceived it to be unimportant. Sustainable water supplies and environmental health education should be continued after an outbreak as it is important for public health gains

Citric Acid-Mediated Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Plants

Several recent studies have shown that citric acid/citrate (CA) can confer abiotic stress tolerance to plants. Exogenous CA application leads to improved growth and yield in crop plants under various abiotic stress conditions. Improved physiological outcomes are associated with higher photosynthetic rates, reduced reactive oxygen species, and better osmoregulation. Application of CA also induces antioxidant defense systems, promotes increased chlorophyll content, and affects secondary metabolism to limit plant growth restrictions under stress. In particular, CA has a major impact on relieving heavy metal stress by promoting precipitation, chelation, and sequestration of metal ions. This review summarizes the mechanisms that mediate CA-regulated changes in plants, primarily CA's involvement in the control of physiological and molecular processes in plants under abiotic stress conditions. We also review genetic engineering strategies for CA-mediated abiotic stress tolerance. Finally, we propose a model to explain how CA's position in complex metabolic networks involving the biosynthesis of phytohormones, amino acids, signaling molecules, and other secondary metabolites could explain some of its abiotic stress-ameliorating properties. This review summarizes our current understanding of CA-mediated abiotic stress tolerance and highlights areas where additional research is needed