Publications by authors named "Austin Leach"

Background: A peri-urban outbreak of Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) among dairy cattle from May through August 2018 in northern Tanzania was detected through testing samples from prospective livestock abortion surveillance. We sought to identify concurrent human infections, their phylogeny, and epidemiologic characteristics in a cohort of febrile patients enrolled from 2016-2019 at hospitals serving the epizootic area.

Methods: From September 2016 through May 2019, we conducted a prospective cohort study that enrolled febrile patients hospitalized at two hospitals in Moshi, Tanzania.

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Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus is an underreported cause of miscarriage and neurologic disease. Surveillance remains challenging because of nonspecific symptomatology, inconsistent case reporting, and difficulties with diagnostic testing. We describe a case of acute lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus disease in a person living with HIV in Connecticut, USA, identified by using quantitative reverse transcription PCR.

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Background: In June 2019, the Bolivian Ministry of Health reported a cluster of cases of hemorrhagic fever that started in the municipality of Caranavi and expanded to La Paz. The cause of these cases was unknown.

Methods: We obtained samples for next-generation sequencing and virus isolation.

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Background: Temporary sympathectomy by injection of bupivacaine at the site of the left stellate ganglion is used in the management of refractory angina at several UK centres. Although patients frequently report significant reduction in symptoms, efficacy has not been established by double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled trial (RCT).

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of the procedure for the first time by a double-blind RCT.

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Pain related to cardiac disease has been recognised for centuries. However, the precise mechanisms of angina pectoris remain bafflingly obscure. Conventional cardiological angina management concentrates on methods to improve oxygen delivery to cardiac myocytes as our understanding of cardiac muscle cells' response to hypoxia increases.

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Previous atomistic simulations and experiments have attributed size effects in the elastic modulus of Ag nanowires to surface energy effects inherent to metallic surfaces. However, differences in experimental and computational trends analyzed here imply that other factors are controlling experimentally observed modulus changes. This study utilizes atomistic simulations to determine how strongly nanowire geometry and surface structure influence nanowire elastic modulus.

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Dislocation nucleation is essential to the plastic deformation of small-volume crystalline solids. The free surface may act as an effective source of dislocations to initiate and sustain plastic flow, in conjunction with bulk sources. Here, we develop an atomistic modeling framework to address the probabilistic nature of surface dislocation nucleation.

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Chronic refractory angina is an increasingly prevalent, complex chronic pain condition, which results in frequent hospitalization for chest pain. We have previously shown that a novel outpatient cognitive-behavioral chronic disease management program (CB-CDMP) improves angina status and quality of life in such patients. In the present study of 271 chronic refractory angina patients enrolled in our CB-CDMP, total hospital admissions were reduced from 2.

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The aim of this study was to investigate the safety and efficacy of the two most commonly practiced temporary sympathectomy techniques in the treatment of chronic refractory angina. Fifty-nine consecutive refractory angina patients commencing outpatient temporary sympathectomy from November 1, 2000 to November 1, 2002, were prospectively audited for duration of pain relief and procedural complications over a two-year period. A total of 227 stellate ganglion blockades (SGB) and 100 paravertebral blockades (PVB) were performed on 59 chronic refractory angina (CRA) patients naïve to sympathectomy.

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Taking the time to explore patients' objectives not only improves consent procedures but may avoid some interventions altogether

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Angina pectoris that is refractory to optimal medication and revascularization is becoming an increasingly common clinical problem. Recently the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved transmyocardial laser revascularization (TMLR) for use in this group of patients and a large numbers of patients have already undergone this therapy. Unfortunately TMLR has is associated with an unacceptably high perioperative mortality (Cooley DA, Frazier OH, Kadipasaoglu KA, Lindenmeir MH, Pehlivanoglu S, KoIff JW, Wilansky S, Moore WH.

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