Clinical outcomes of VNS therapy with AspireSR (including cardiac-based seizure detection) at a large complex epilepsy and surgery centre.

Purpose: To compare the efficacy of AspireSR to preceding VNS battery models for battery replacements, and to determine the efficacy of the AspireSR for new implants.

Methods: Data were collected retrospectively from patients with epilepsy who had VNS AspireSR implanted over a three-year period between June 2014 and June 2017 by a single surgeon. Cases were divided into two cohorts, those in whom the VNS was a new insertion, and those in whom the VNS battery was changed from a previous model to AspireSR.

Navigating the Health Care System: An Adolescent Health Literacy Unit for High Schools.

Background: Currently, no intervention concerning transition of health care responsibilities from parents to teens exists for adolescents in the general population. The purpose of this intervention was to evaluate teacher satisfaction and student knowledge gain of a health unit developed for adolescents on becoming their own health care advocates.

Methods: Throughout the 2014-2015 school year, 13 health and career technical education teachers in 11 Delaware high schools taught the unit to 948 students in 2 90-minute classes in 35 classrooms.

Continuous Retention and Viral Suppression Provide Further Insights Into the HIV Care Continuum Compared to the Cross-sectional HIV Care Cascade.

Background: The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care continuum has become an important tool for evaluating HIV care. Current depictions of the care continuum are often cross-sectional and evaluate retention and viral suppression (VS) in a single year, yet the National HIV/AIDS Strategy calls for programs with long-lasting outcomes.

Methods: Retrospective chart review of HIV-infected patients enrolled in a large, urban clinic in 2010 followed longitudinally for 36 months.

Three-year follow-up of an early childhood intervention: what about physical activity and weight status?

Background: Fundamental movement skills are a correlate of physical activity and weight status. Children who participated in a preschool intervention had greater movement skill proficiency and improved anthropometric measures (waist circumference and BMI z scores) post intervention. Three years later, intervention girls had retained their object control skill advantage.

Prevalence and indicators of viral suppression among persons with diagnosed HIV infection retained in care - Georgia, 2010.

Advances in treatment have led to dramatic improvements in the health of persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Moreover, treatment can reduce HIV transmission because suppressed levels of circulating virus makes HIV-infected persons less infectious. Until recently, antiretroviral therapy (ART) was recommended only for HIV patients with advanced disease (stages 2 and 3), and was optional for patients with early disease (stage 1).

Comparative evaluation of the VIDAS Listeria monocytogenes Xpress (LMX) for the detection of Listeria monocytogenes in a variety of foods.

The VIDAS Listeria monocytogenes Xpress (LMX) test is an enzyme-linked fluorescent immunoassay designed for use with the automated VIDAS or mini-VIDAS instruments for the specific detection of L. monocytogenes using a 26 h proprietary enrichment broth. The VIDAS LMX method was validated according to harmonized AOAC Research Institute (RI) and Official Methods of Analysis guidelines in both the AOAC Performance Tested Method (PTM) and GovVal programs.

Three year follow-up of an early childhood intervention: is movement skill sustained?

Background: Movement skill competence (e.g. the ability to throw, run and kick) is a potentially important physical activity determinant.

Tooty Fruity Vegie: an obesity prevention intervention evaluation in Australian preschools.

Issues Addressed: This paper presents the findings from a cluster randomised controlled evaluation of a preschool-based intervention (children aged 3-6 years), on the North Coast of NSW, which aimed to decrease overweight and obesity prevalence among children by improving fundamental movement skills (FMS), increasing fruit and vegetable intake and decreasing unhealthy food consumption.

Methods: The Tooty Fruity Vegie in Preschools program was implemented in 18 preschools for 10 months during 2006 and 2007. It included nutrition and physical activity strategies.

Networked resilience in rural Australia--a role for health promotion in regional responses to climate change.

Issues Addressed: This paper provides a model for how health promotion teams might establish and support regional collaborations of organisations in a broad response to climate change that enables emergence of multiple strategies tailored to regional needs.

Methods: Complex Adaptive Systems Theory (CAS) and Organisational Learning informed action to foster a Climate Change Collaboration that engaged in strategies to improve transport options, food security and energy sustainability. Social Network Analysis was used to evaluate the degree to which member organisations became networked, the evolution of key network qualities and the way the organisations were affiliated via their participation in emergent strategies.

Epidemiology of HIV among Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States, 2001-2008.

Background: Recent analyses have shown increases in combined annual HIV diagnosis rates for Asians and Pacific Islanders (API).

Methods: Using surveillance data from 33 states and 4 dependent areas we investigated the epidemiology of HIV among API during 2001-2008.

Results: HIV diagnoses for API during 2001-2008 were predominantly among persons age 30-39 years (40%) and males (78%).

HIV among Haitian-born persons in the United States, 1985-2007.

Objective: Haitian-born persons have been historically stigmatized for introducing HIV to North America; however, no previous study has reported on the national HIV surveillance trends among this foreign-born group.

Methods: Annual AIDS cases were estimated for adults and adolescents (aged >12 years) from all 50 US states and the District of Columbia who were diagnosed between 1985 and 2007, and who reported 'Haiti' as country of birth to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HIV data (with or without AIDS) for Haitian-born adults and adolescents diagnosed between 2004 and 2007 were obtained from 34 US states.

Validation of low-volume enrichment protocols for detection of Escherichia coli O157 in raw ground beef components, using commercial kits.

Testing of beef destined for use in ground beef products for the presence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 has become an important cornerstone of control and verification activities within many meat supply chains. Validation of the ability of methods to detect low levels of E. coli O157:H7 is critical to confidence in test systems.

Methods for the isolation and identification of Listeria spp. and Listeria monocytogenes: a review.

Listeria monocytogenes is an important food-borne pathogen and is widely tested for in food, environmental and clinical samples. Identification traditionally involved culture methods based on selective enrichment and plating followed by the characterization of Listeria spp. based on colony morphology, sugar fermentation and haemolytic properties.

Validation study to demonstrate the equivalence of a minor modification (TECRA ULTIMA protocol) to AOAC Method 998.09 (TECRA Salmonella Visual Immunoassay) with the cultural reference method.

The TECRA Salmonella Visual Immunoassay (VIA) using Rappaport-Vassiliadis RV[R10] as a single selective enrichment broth has Final Action approval (AOAC Method 998.09). TECRA has recently developed a protocol (TECRA ULTIMA), which involves the addition of a new additive to a 1 mL aliquot of the RV[R10] broth, prior to the heat-killing step, thereby allowing the RV[R10] broth to be tested directly in the kit and thus eliminating the need for the 2 h post-enrichment in M broth.

Salmonella in foods: new enrichment procedure for TECRA Salmonella Visual Immunoassay using a single rv(R10) only, TT only, or dual rv(R10) and TT selective enrichment broths (AOAC official method 998.09): collaborative study.

A collaborative study was conducted to compare a new enrichment procedure for the TECRA Salmonella Visual Immunoassay (TSVIA) with the reference method given in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Bacteriological Analytical Manual (7th Ed.

Modification of enrichment protocols for TECRA Listeria Visual Immunoassay method 995.22: collaborative study.

A collaborative study was conducted to validate new enrichment methods for the TECRA Listeria Visual Immunoassay (TLVIA). These new methods incorporate a newly formulated medium, TECRA Listeria Enrichrment Broth, which does not contain the highly toxic antifungal agent, cycloheximide. The new procedures will provide an alternative to the enrichment procedures described in AOAC Method 995.

In-house validation study for salmonella unique testing of juice (modification of AOAC official method 2000.07).

Following an industry request, a study was undertaken to validate a minor change to the Unique method for testing fruit juice. Twenty foods were tested in the original precollaborative study for TECRA Unique Salmonella test (2000.07).