An Equity Response to COVID-19 in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: The Development and Work of the Black Equity Coalition.

From the onset of the pandemic in the United States, racial disparities in COVID-19 outcomes have been evident. In April 2020, several events prompted a concerned group of colleagues to form the Black Equity Coalition (BEC), a Black-led coalition in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, which brings together professionals from multiple sectors who aim to ensure an equitable response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Several significant milestones have been achieved, and this article describes the development, functioning, and outcomes of the Coalition in the first 15 months of operation (April 2020-June 2021).

Corrigendum to "Intelligent Techniques Using Molecular Data Analysis in Leukaemia: An Opportunity for Personalized Medicine Support System".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2017/3587309.].

Intelligent Techniques Using Molecular Data Analysis in Leukaemia: An Opportunity for Personalized Medicine Support System.

The use of intelligent techniques in medicine has brought a ray of hope in terms of treating leukaemia patients. Personalized treatment uses patient's genetic profile to select a mode of treatment. This process makes use of molecular technology and machine learning, to determine the most suitable approach to treating a leukaemia patient.

Modelling Predictors of Molecular Response to Frontline Imatinib for Patients with Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia.

Background: Treatment of patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) has become increasingly difficult in recent years due to the variety of treatment options available and challenge deciding on the most appropriate treatment strategy for an individual patient. To facilitate the treatment strategy decision, disease assessment should involve molecular response to initial treatment for an individual patient. Patients predicted not to achieve major molecular response (MMR) at 24 months to frontline imatinib may be better treated with alternative frontline therapies, such as nilotinib or dasatinib.

How to select end user clinical data entry devices. Rush University Medical Center develops tool to identify the quantity of devices needed for the implementation of a new EMR and CPOE system.

Selecting the right types and quantities of computers to support data entry to an inpatient Electronic Medical Record (EMR) can be challenging. In addition to software and hardware considerations, many other variables affect the decision including staffing levels, hospital workflows, and floor plans. Rush University Medical Center (RUMC) developed a tool to help identify the quantity of devices needed in a Patient Care Unit (PCU).

Reference values for performance on the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics V3.0 in an active duty military sample.

The Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics (ANAM) is a computerized measure of processing speed, cognitive efficiency, and memory. This study describes performance and psychometric properties of ANAM in an active duty, healthy military sample (N = 2,371) composed primarily of young (18-46 years) adult males. Rarely have neuropsychological reference values for use with individuals in the military been derived from a large, active duty military population, and this is the first computerized neuropsychological test battery with military-specific reference values.

A peptide vaccine administered transcutaneously together with cholera toxin elicits potent neutralising anti-FMDV antibody responses.

In this study a synthetic peptide representing residues 141-159 from the GH loop of VP1 protein of foot-and-mouth disease virus was tested for its capacity to elicit virus neutralising antibodies in mice after transcutaneous immunisation. Topical application of the peptide conjugated to bovine serum albumin together with cholera toxin as an adjuvant elicited anti-peptide antibody responses with strong virus neutralising activity. The combination of cholera toxin with an immunostimulatory CpG motif resulted in the induction of IgG1 and IgG2a anti-peptide antibodies with significantly enhanced virus neutralising activity.

Arthroscopic anterior shoulder stabilization of collision and contact athletes.

Background: Repair of the anterior labrum (Bankart lesion) with tightening of the ligaments (capsulorrhaphy) is the recommended treatment for recurrent anterior glenohumeral dislocations. Current evidence suggests that arthroscopic anterior stabilization methods yield similar failure rates for resubluxation and redislocation when compared to open techniques.

Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4

Purpose: To examine the results of arthroscopic anterior shoulder stabilization of high-demand collision and contact athletes.

A synthetic peptide containing the consensus sequence of the G-H loop region of foot-and-mouth disease virus type-O VP1 and a promiscuous T-helper epitope induces peptide-specific antibodies but fails to protect cattle against viral challenge.

A pilot study was carried out in cattle to determine the immunogenicity of a synthetic consensus peptide comprising the G-H loop region of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) type-O VP1 and a non-VP1 T-helper (Th) epitope. Cattle vaccinated intramuscularly either once (n = 5) or twice (n = 4) with 50 microg of the peptide preparation at a 21-day interval developed antibodies to the peptide as determined by ELISA with the exception of one steer that received a single dose. However, neutralizing antibody titers against FMDV type-O were modest and all animals presented with clinical FMD signs upon challenge 21 days after the last vaccination.

West Nile virus in blood: stability, distribution, and susceptibility to PEN110 inactivation.

Background: The outbreak of West Nile virus (WNV) is the most recent reminder that the blood supply continues to be vulnerable to emerging and reemerging pathogens. A potentially prospective approach to reducing the risk of transfusion-transmitted infections of a known or newly emerging microbe is implementation of a broad-spectrum pathogen reduction technology. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the susceptibility of WNV to PEN110 inactivation in RBCs and to characterize the WNV interaction with blood, including the stability of WNV in RBCs stored at 1 to 6 degrees C, its distribution and infectivity, and its ability to infect WBCs.

The history of research in foot-and-mouth disease.

The history of research in foot-and-mouth disease falls into several distinct areas. In this short chapter I have highlighted what I consider to be the significant advances in our knowledge of the disease and its causal agent. 1.

Applying peptide antigens onto bare skin: induction of humoral and cellular immune responses and potential for vaccination.

The development of non-invasive immunisation procedures is a top priority for public health agencies when it is realised that the current immunisation practices are unsafe, particularly in developing countries due to the widespread reuse of non-sterile syringes. There is a risk of abscess formation resulting in impairment of meat quality or the value of the hide, and the risk of transmission of infectious diseases when vaccines are administered to food animals by injection. Recently, the skin has emerged as an alternative route for non-invasive delivery of vaccines.

Effective synthetic peptide vaccine for foot-and-mouth disease in swine.

We have designed a peptide-based vaccine for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) effective in swine. The peptide immunogen has a G-H loop domain from the VP1 capsid protein of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) and a novel promiscuous T helper (Th) site for broad immunogenicity in multiple species. The G-H loop VP1 site was optimised for cross-reactivity to FMDV by the inclusion into the peptide of cyclic constraint and adjoining sequences.

Use of a portable real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction assay for rapid detection of foot-and-mouth disease virus.

Objective: To evaluate a portable real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay designed to detect all 7 viral serotypes of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV).

Design: Laboratory and animal studies.

Study Population: Viruses grown in tissue culture and animals experimentally infected with FMDV.