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Characterizes the initial stages of aluminum nitride (AlN) thin-film growth through conventional and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Importance of AlN in semiconductor packaging applications; Three basic configurations of AlN; Alignments of AlN grains.

The article reports on the findings of an HIV testing conducted in the U.S. from 2004 to 2006. Eight community-based organizations in the cities of Boston, Massachusetts, Chicago, Illinois, Detroit, Michigan and Kansas participated in the rapid HIV testing. Results reveal that almost 25% were not aware that they were infected. As reported, among 23,900 people who underwent the testing, 39% were non-Hispanic blacks, 31% were Hispanics.

The article presents the preliminary results of integrating rapid testing for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) into the healthcare services routinely offered in several emergency departments (ED) in different states during the period of January 2005 to March 2006. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched its Advancing HIV Prevention: New Strategies for a Changing Epidemic initiative in April 2003.

Reports on a study which examined cases of congenital syphilis (CS) in the U.S. in 2002. Decline in the rates of CS among racial and ethnic minority populations; Rates of CS among infants; Factors which can result in CS.

This article presents news from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The organization examined rapid HIV testing in the community setting in the U.S. from 2004-2006 which was created in response to an initiative launched by the CDC to have more people know their HIV status. It is estimated that 1 million Americans are infected and of those, a quarter do not know it. This report details how a demonstration project promoting rapid testing in the community worked to identify infected patients. The results of the study showed that community programs like this offers opportunities to treat and prevent the spread of the disease.

Summarizes the investigation of the misuse of Bicillin C-R at a clinic serving the GLBT community in Los Angeles, California from January 1999 to March 2004. Products containing benzathine penicillin G which are being marketed by Monarch Pharmaceuticals; Number of patients who were treated with Bicillin C-R for confirmed syphilis infection at the clinic; Purpose of developing a standard protocol for the patients.

OBJECTIVE: Understanding perceived benefits and disadvantages of HIV testing in emergency departments (EDs) is imperative to overcoming barriers to implementation. We codify those domains of public health and clinical care most affected by implementing HIV testing in EDs, as determined by expert opinion. METHODS: Opinions were systematically collected from attendees of the 2007 National ED HIV Testing Consortium meeting. Structured evaluation of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis was conducted to assess the impact of ED-based HIV testing on public health. A modified Delphi method was used to assess the impact of ED-based HIV testing on clinical care from both individual patient and individual provider perspectives. RESULTS: Opinions were provided by 98 experts representing 42 academic and nonacademic institutions. Factors most frequently perceived to affect public health were (strengths) high volume of ED visits and high prevalence of HIV, (weaknesses) undue burden on EDs, (opportunities) reduction of HIV stigma, and (threats) lack of resources in EDs. Diagnostic testing and screening for HIV were considered to have a favorable impact on ED clinical care from both individual patient and individual provider perspectives; however, negative test results were not perceived to have any benefit from the provider's perspective. The need for HIV counseling in the ED was considered to have a negative impact on clinical care from the provider's perspective. CONCLUSION: Experts in ED-based HIV testing perceived expanded ED HIV testing to have beneficial impacts for both the public health and individual clinical care; however, limited resources were frequently cited as a possible impediment. Many issues must be resolved through further study, education, and policy changes if the full potential of HIV testing in EDs is to be realized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The metabolism and toxicity of current-use herbicide safeners remain understudied. We investigated the enantioselective metabolism of the safener benoxacor in Rhesus monkey subcellular fractions. Benoxacor was incubated with liver microsomes and cytosol from female and male monkeys (≤30 min). Benoxacor levels and enantiomeric fractions were determined with gas chromatography. Benoxacor was metabolized by microsomal cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs), cytosolic glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs), and microsomal and cytosolic carboxylesterase (CESs). CES-mediated microsomal metabolism followed the order males > females, whereas the CYP-mediated clearance followed the order females > males. CYP-mediated metabolism initially resulted in an enrichment of the second eluting benoxacor enantiomer (E 2 -benoxacor), whereas the first eluting benoxacor enantiomer (E 1 -benoxacor) was enriched after 10 or 30 min in female or male microsomal incubations. Benoxacor metabolism by GSTs was enantiospecific, with a total depletion of E 1 -benoxacor after approximately 20 min. Thus, the enantioselective metabolism of benoxacor by GSTs and CYPs may affect its toxicity., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Hans-Joachim Lehmler reports financial support was provided by National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. David Cwiertny reports financial support was provided by National Science Foundation. Hans-Joachim Lehmler reports financial support was provided by National Science Foundation., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) coordinates the Global Invasive Bacterial Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (IB-VPD) Surveillance Network to support vaccine introduction decisions and use. The network was established to strengthen surveillance and laboratory confirmation of meningitis caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Neisseria meningitidis., Methods: Sentinel hospitals report cases of children <5 years of age hospitalized for suspected meningitis. Laboratories report confirmatory testing results and strain characterization tested by polymerase chain reaction. In 2019, the network included 123 laboratories that follow validated, standardized testing and reporting strategies., Results: From 2014 through 2019, >137 000 suspected meningitis cases were reported by 58 participating countries, with 44.6% (n = 61 386) reported from countries in the WHO African Region. More than half (56.6%, n = 77 873) were among children <1 year of age, and 4.0% (n = 4010) died among those with reported disease outcome. Among suspected meningitis cases, 8.6% (n = 11 798) were classified as probable bacterial meningitis. One of 3 bacterial pathogens was identified in 30.3% (n = 3576) of these cases, namely S. pneumoniae (n = 2177 [60.9%]), H. influenzae (n = 633 [17.7%]), and N. meningitidis (n = 766 [21.4%]). Among confirmed bacterial meningitis cases with outcome reported, 11.0% died; case fatality ratio varied by pathogen (S. pneumoniae, 12.2%; H. influenzae, 6.1%; N. meningitidis, 11.0%). Among the 277 children who died with confirmed bacterial meningitis, 189 (68.2%) had confirmed S. pneumoniae. The proportion of pneumococcal cases with pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) serotypes decreased as the number of countries implementing PCV increased, from 77.8% (n = 273) to 47.5% (n = 248). Of 397 H. influenzae specimens serotyped, 49.1% (n = 195) were type b. Predominant N. meningitidis serogroups varied by region., Conclusions: This multitier, global surveillance network has supported countries in detecting and serotyping the 3 principal invasive bacterial pathogens that cause pediatric meningitis. Streptococcus pneumoniae was the most common bacterial pathogen detected globally despite the growing number of countries that have nationally introduced PCV. The large proportions of deaths due to S. pneumoniae reflect the high proportion of meningitis cases caused by this pathogen. This global network demonstrated a strong correlation between PCV introduction status and reduction in the proportion of pneumococcal meningitis infections caused by vaccine serotypes. Maintaining case-based, active surveillance with laboratory confirmation for prioritized vaccine-preventable diseases remains a critical component of the global agenda in public health.The World Health Organization (WHO)-coordinated Invasive Bacterial Vaccine-Preventable Disease (IB-VPD) Surveillance Network reported data from 2014 to 2019, contributing to the estimates of the disease burden and serotypes of pediatric meningitis caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae and Neisseria meningitidis., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.)

Serostudies are needed to answer generalizable questions on disease risk. However, recruitment is usually biased by age or location. We present a nationally-representative study for dengue from 70 communities in Bangladesh. We collected data on risk factors, trapped mosquitoes and tested serum for IgG. Out of 5866 individuals, 24% had evidence of historic infection, ranging from 3% in the north to >80% in Dhaka. Being male (aOR:1.8, [95%CI:1.5-2.0]) and recent travel (aOR:1.3, [1.1-1.8]) were linked to seropositivity. We estimate that 40 million [34.3-47.2] people have been infected nationally, with 2.4 million ([1.3-4.5]) annual infections. Had we visited only 20 communities, seropositivity estimates would have ranged from 13% to 37%, highlighting the lack of representativeness generated by small numbers of communities. Our findings have implications for both the design of serosurveys and tackling dengue in Bangladesh., Competing Interests: HS, KP, RP, IR, ZR, MA, MR, HA, JH, EG No competing interests declared

Background: Diarrhea is a leading cause of death in children <5 years worldwide, causing an estimated 215,000 deaths in 2013. This evaluation tracks the epidemiologic patterns and most common rotavirus genotypes among hospitalized children in this age group with acute gastroenteritis in Lao PDR., Methods: Children <5 years in a central tertiary hospital in the capital city were prospectively enrolled into the surveillance platform during January 2009-December 2015. We collected information regarding clinical characteristics of enrolled children. Stool samples were obtained within 24 h of hospital admission and tested for rotavirus using rotavirus antigen detection enzyme immunoassay. Samples were sent to the regional reference laboratories in Australia and South Korea for genotyping. Bivariate analyses compared demographic and clinical characteristics between rotavirus positive and negative children using Chi-square statistical testing. Seasonality of rotavirus and annual genotype distribution are also described., Results: We enrolled 1853 children <5 years with acute gastroenteritis during the surveillance period and collected 1772 fecal specimens, 982 (55%) of which tested positive for rotavirus. A higher proportion of rotavirus acute gastroenteritis was observed among children 12-23 months of age as compared to rotavirus negative children in the same age group, 41% vs 36%. Eighty-six percent of rotavirus positive children experienced vomiting, as compared to 65% of rotavirus negative children. Eighty-five percent (n = 830/982) of rotavirus positive specimens occurred during the dry season (January-April). The most common genotypes identified were G1, G2, G3 and P8 and P4. The most prevalent combined genotype differed annually during the surveillance period., Conclusion: Surveillance continues to be important in documenting the burden of rotavirus in children <5 years in Lao PDR as well as providing a baseline for determining the impact of rotavirus vaccine once it is introduced into Lao PDR's national immunization schedule., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)