public health – Xing Wu

The cradle of plasma medicine, 20 years later

Mark A. Tomlin — Thu, 17 Mar 2022 15:24:20 +0000

Suresh Joshi, PhD, MD, left, and Alexander Fridman, PhD, at the Drexel Plasma Institute in January 2022. Photo courtesy of Suresh Joshi.

In 2022, Drexel University C. & J. Nyheim Plasma Institute (NPI) celebrates 20 years not only as a multidisciplinary research and teaching institute at the University, but as a beacon and international birthplace of plasma medicine. In this branch of plasma biomedical engineering, plasma, the fourth state of matter in which neutral atoms and molecules are somewhat transformed into charged particles like electrons and ions, is used in various ways for medical applications, engineering and environmental sciences, from disease prevention and treatment to regenerative medicine to water disinfection to air cleaning. Plasma medicine is an emerging branch that integrates basic sciences and engineering with biomedical sciences, medicine and public health.

Suresh Joshi, MD, PhD, has been involved with the NPI since 2008 and is the director of the NPI Center for Plasma in Health & Biomedical Engineering. A professor in the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science, and Health Systems and NPI, and assistant professor in the College of Medicine, Joshi has written the following article on the history of the institute and highlights from the past two decades.

The Nyheim Plasma Institute at Drexel University is actually the birthplace of plasma medicine. This year, it celebrates 20 years since its creation at Drexel University. Originally founded in 2002 as the AJ Drexel Plasma Institute (DPI), it has gone through a roller coaster ride like any other traditional academic research institute, but is still doing consistently progressive research and innovation over the of all these years. In 2016, Drexel Plasma Institute was renamed “The C&J Nyheim Plasma Institute” (NPI) in honor of the generous gift of Christel and John Nyheim and their family to DPI and their support as passionate advocates of plasma science and engineering.

Since its inception, NPI’s founding director, Alexander Fridman, PhD, who is the John A. Nyheim Professor at the College of Engineering, and his team of researchers and faculty from all disciplines have successfully curated a portfolio of awesome research. Today, the Plasma Institute at Drexel University is the largest plasma research institution in the United States of America in an academic configuration. More than 25 international, global, and US patents have been generated by research at Drexel University by NPI, and many of Drexel’s patented plasma-based technologies are translated from field trials to commercialization phases. More than 30 Drexel faculty, scientists and staff, as well as numerous alumni, students and associates, have contributed significantly to its growth.

As you can see, the NPI has grown over the years at Drexel and has also expanded the field and capabilities of plasma medicine worldwide. Here are some important points:

In 2003, the idea of plasma medicine at Drexel came to fruition through effective collaborations between faculties, scientists, engineers, and physicians with the then DPI. In 2006, with the help of Drexel University, the Plasma Institute and collaborating departments took a step in a new direction, creating a major research initiative in plasma medicine. This five-year program has helped bring together many renowned faculties, scientists, technologies and physicians (inside and outside of Drexel, as well as international partners).

In 2006–2007, an NPI invention led to the modified floating electrode dielectric barrier discharge (FE-DBD) plasma application technique for healthcare, medicine, and biomedical sciences. The FE-DBD technique is now successfully tested in the field of treatment of wounds, living tissue, skin disinfection and surface sterilization.

From 2008 to 2011, NPI and the Drexel College of Medicine research team led by me and my former colleague Ari Brooks, MD, who was then Associate Professor of Surgery and Chair of the Surgical Oncology Unit at the College of Medicine , have conducted successful research on plasma-treated liquids as potent antimicrobial agents for surface-associated disinfection. During the same period, Jane Azizkhan-Clifford, PhD, who is now Emeritus Professor and Associate Dean for Medical Student Research at the College of Medicine, and her team explored the molecular mechanisms of mammalian cell death and the associated pathways in cellular systems exposed to plasma. During the same period, all of the people mentioned above, and many more, have been instrumental in shifting many research paradigms, including the current Drexel faculties at Drexel Schools and Colleges, as well as external collaborators. They are, I would say, a truly interdisciplinary team of investigators in all pillars of plasma medicine.

In 2009, the International Society of Plasma Medicine (ISPM) was officially launched here with Professor Alexander Fridman as founding president. ISPM meets every two years in different countries and has made substantial progress in the field of plasma medicine. This summer, the 9^and International Conference on Plasma Medicine (ICPM9) meets at Jaarbeurs in Utrecht, the Netherlands. These conferences have been instrumental in networking many of the world’s leading plasma scientists, biologists, technologists and healthcare professionals, and have progressed wonderfully through collaborations.

From 2011 to 2014, a team of NPI researchers, led by me, demonstrated for the first time the bacterial biofilm inhibiting properties of plasma-activated solutions. During the same period, our research team demonstrated in vitro how plasma-treated material enhances wound healing in established wound models (in vitro), and subsequently studied rapid pathogen inactivation. multidrug-resistant (MDR) wounds by plasma-alginate dressing. At the 2012 American Society for Microbiology (ASM) International Meeting, my team and I presented research on the plasma-activated alginate dressing that has the ability to not only inactivate multidrug-resistant pathogens, but also to disinfect wounds and promote healing. A year later, my colleagues at Drexel and I explored the exact underlying mechanisms of inactivation, but Bill Costerton, PhD, a renowned microbial ecologist considered “the father of biofilms,” wasn’t there to see. progress; I wish it had been. (During an interview with ASM, he had emphatically mentioned how amazed he was at the invention of the plasma-alginate dressing and wished to see the underlying mechanisms of pathogen inactivation.)

In 2011-2017, Margaret Wheatley, PhD, John M. Reid Professor in the School of Biomedical Engineering, Health Sciences and Systems, and I led a team of researchers to demonstrate a successful application of a solution Non-thermal plasma-activated phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) in ultrasound contrast agent (UCA) sterilization. Currently, there is no other technology in the world that can safely sterilize ACU; chemical methods induce some changes in the UCA and are therefore not very suitable for this purpose.

From 2012 to 2013, NPI published another breakthrough, this time demonstrating that plasma-treated solutions not only inactivate biofilm-embedded microbes/pathogens and behave as broad-spectrum microbicides, but also retain their antimicrobial properties for longer. two years at room temperature. This discovery has changed the dynamics of approaches to how plasma-activated solutions can be generated, applied, and stored on the self. Thus, a potentially competent biocidal agent was found comparable to some of the traditional biocides.

In 2014-2017, an NPI team led by Vandana Millar, MD, associate professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the College of Medicine; Fred Krebs, PhD, associate professor in the College of Medicine’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology; and Prof. Alexander Fridman demonstrated how non-thermal plasma exposure leads to immune cell activation and investigated the underlying mechanisms. In 2016, our NPI team demonstrated how plasma-charged non-thermal aerosols inactivate airborne bacteria within seconds and investigated the underlying mechanisms of airborne pathogen inactivation. . These experiments confirmed how plasma-based technologies could help keep operating rooms and hospital premises safe, as shown by mechanism-based studies. Thus, all these innovations contribute to the understanding of plasma-based technologies and their preventive and therapeutic approaches.

In December 2021, Professor Alexander Fridman and I were named United States Experts in Plasma Non-Thermal Technologies through the International commission in electrical engineering (IEC) in Geneva, Switzerland. This nomination is based on our expertise and contributions in non-thermal plasma technologies (Prof. Alexander Fridman for non-thermal plasma technologies, and myself for the application of plasma technologies in biology and medicine). This appointment was proposed by Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) through the American National Institute of Standards (ANSI) to IEC. the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and IEC are global organizations for international standards and are composed of technical experts and representatives of various national standards organizations of member countries. This honor has become a wonderful opportunity to look back on some of Drexel’s Plasma Institute’s outstanding accomplishments related to plasma medicine.

At Drexel, I will redirect my efforts and review some of the plasma medicine products such as plasma solutions, plasma lotion and plasma ointment, and plan interdisciplinary and collaborative research to bring these studies to the translational research phase and to the interventional trials. This research will also open the doors to plasma cosmetic science.

Drexel and NPI have several plasma-based products in various stages of development for healthcare applications. By reactivating collaborative plasma medicine research on campus and re-establishing an interdisciplinary team of researchers, we can achieve this success. I hope that one day our plasma products will reach the community, health centers and end users.

Diversity among oncologists does not reflect US population

Mark A. Tomlin — Sun, 20 Feb 2022 02:23:45 +0000

While the representation of women in academic radiation oncology and medical oncology faculties has increased over time, racial and ethnic minorities are still vastly underrepresented in these fields, according to a cross-sectional study of data from the Association of American Medical Colleges.

“Creating and sustaining a diverse healthcare workforce is a priority to help address societal inequities and health disparities, especially in light of the changing demographics of the general U.S. population. “, wrote authors led by Sophia C. Kamran, MD, a radiation oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

the studywhich was published Dec. 9 in JAMA Oncology, surveyed full-time U.S. faculty in radiation therapy and medical oncology departments from 1970 to 2019.

Improved patient satisfaction, compliance, and outcomes have been documented when a healthcare workforce better reflects the demographics of those they serve, Kamran and associates wrote.

They point to recent increases in the number and urgency of calls for greater diversity in the healthcare workforce, also citing higher incidence and mortality of new cancer cases among Black, Indigenous and Hispanic populations, compared to their non-Hispanic white counterparts. Previous calls for diversity in the health workforce have led to the creation of opportunities and pathways for increased representation of women and racial and ethnic minority groups in medicine, and the overall diversity of medical school faculty has increased by race, ethnicity and gender.

The change, however, is less in magnitude than what has been observed among medical school applicants, students, and graduates, and medical school diversity gains have not kept pace with the growing diversity of medical schools. the American population. It remains unclear whether corresponding advances have taken place in the composition of radiation oncology and medical oncology departments over the past 5 decades.

Despite the lack of diversity, the total number of teachers has increased

Analysis by Kamran and associates found that the total number of faculty increased over time in radiation oncology and medical oncology, with faculty representation of underrepresented women in medicine (URM) increasing proportionally from 0, 1% per decade in radiation oncology (95% confidence interval, 0.005%-0.110%; P < . 001 for trend) and medical oncology (95% CI, -0.03% to 0.16%; P = 0.06 for the trend), compared to female non-URM professors, who increased by 0.4% (95% CI, 0.25% to 0.80%) per decade in radiation oncology and by 0 .7% (95% CI, 0.47% to 0.87%) per decade in medical oncology (P < 0.001 for the trend for both). Male faculty representation at URM did not change significantly for radiation oncology (0.03% per decade [95% CI, −0.008% to 0.065%]; P= 0.09 for trend) or for medical oncology (0.003% per decade [95% CI, −0.13% to 0.14%]; P = 0.94 for the trend).

In 2009 and 2019, the representation of women and URM people for both specialties was lower than their representation in the US population. The Faculty of Radiation Oncology had the lowest URM representation in 2019 at 5.1%. The total number of URM faculty represented in both medical oncology and radiation oncology remained low across all grades in 2019 (Medical oncology: instructor, 2 out of 44 [5%]; assistant professor, 18 of 274 [7%]; associate professor, 13 of 177 [7%]; tenured professor, 13 out of 276 [5%]. Radiation oncology: instructor, 9 out of 147 [6%]; assistant professor, 57 out of 927 [6%]; associate professor, 20 out of 510 [4%]; tenured professor, 18 out of 452 [4%]).

“Our results highlight significant diversity differences along the career ladder in both specialties, with women having lower academic rank than men throughout the study period and underrepresented [racial and ethnic groups] at all ranks,” the authors wrote.

And, although blacks, Hispanics and natives make up about 31% of the U.S. population, their inclusion in the health care workforce is lagging at all stages of the pipeline, investigators found.

Diversity among radiation oncologists and medical oncologists lags behind the diversity of medical schools in general, which has grown through the efforts of the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Despite some improvements, the authors suggest the need for more initiatives to retain racial and ethnic minorities in an effort to reflect the diversity of the cancer population in the United States.

“This is a multifactor problem, with a focus not only on increasing diversity in the upstream pipeline, but on maintaining diversity across the pipeline, requiring difficult but necessary conversations about systemic racial and ethnic bias, lack of exposure and opportunity, and financial toxicities and pressures, to name a few. Until these factors are better defined and better addressed, focused and targeted mentoring is essential,” the authors wrote.

Small steps can have a collective impact

In a commentary published with the study, Frederick Lansigan, MD, and Charles R. Thomas Jr, MD, both of Norris Cotton Cancer Center at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH, called for systemic change in practices hiring.

“Any small step of change that helps support the issues highlighted by Kamran et al.’s study can have a collective positive impact. A holistic assessment of [underrepresented] applicants at all stages of education and training are paramount, and participation in selection committees is necessary to ensure fair processes. Mentoring programs, leadership courses, and addressing microaggressions and abuse can improve retention of [underrepresented] medical school graduates and oncology trainees. Cancer centers can build and lead visible and tangible efforts for diversity, equity, inclusion, justice and belonging as we do at our institution,” the physicians wrote.

Importantly, Lansigan and Thomas said the oncology community must agree that intentionally increasing the number of underrepresented physicians in the U.S. workforce is necessary to better address health care inequities.

“We need everyone on board to reduce structural barriers to early childhood education. We need STEM programs that start in elementary school and provide support through middle school. Oncologists can mentor these young learners to emphasize the positive aspects of a career in oncology, the importance of [underrepresented] oncology physicians and the resilience to care for people with critical illness, many of whom will come from underserved populations. “Physicians and public health experts themselves who want to tackle the gap between [underrepresented] and [non-underrepresented] medicine School [students] and oncology trainees must seek and be elected to positions that can begin to balance this equation. If more are willing to recognize the structural inequalities that exist in the oncology workforce pipeline, we can begin to solve the complex equation of structural inequalities.

Lansigan said he is the acting associate dean of diversity, equity and inclusion at the Geisel School of Medicine and the director of diversity, equity and inclusion for the department of medicine at Dartmouth. -Hitchcock Medical Center. No other disclosures were reported.

This story originally appeared on MDedge.comwhich is part of the Medscape professional network.

Care-seeking behavior of COVID-19 cases during the first eight weeks of the outbreak in Singapore: differences between local community and imported cases and having visits to one or more healthcare providers | BMC Public Health

Mark A. Tomlin — Sat, 05 Feb 2022 13:33:56 +0000

Our study revealed differences in care-seeking behavior among subgroups of early COVID-19 cases in Singapore. Locally acquired cases had a significantly longer time from symptom onset to hospital admission than imported cases (median 6 days versus 4 days). Among those who had at least one pre-admission visit, a higher percentage of locally acquired cases had seen a doctor at the primary care level than imported cases (89.8% versus 56.5%).

Imported cases were more likely to go to the ED, bypassing primary care clinics altogether (43.5% of imported cases versus 10.2% of locally acquired cases went directly to the ED without any clinic visit, p< 0.001), and those who attended the clinics had fewer visits before being referred for further testing to the national testing center or other emergency services (6.2% of imported cases had at least three primary care visits prior to admission, compared to 21.3% of locally acquired cases) (Table 1). This observation could be due to two reasons: first, the imported cases consisted mainly of international undergraduate students from Singapore and foreigners working in Singapore, who were less likely to have a regular doctor and with an increased perception of their risk of infection, would go to the emergency room directly or earlier in their patient journey; second, the increased vigilance of primary care physicians towards this group. As the pandemic unfolded and more became known about the virus, the Singapore Ministry of Health issued travel advisories and revised circulars were issued to doctors on suspected case definitions . Thus, the attitude of doctors would change accordingly with a lower screening threshold for patients deemed to be at increased risk of infection, which would translate into a reduction in visits by imported cases.

In contrast, doctors’ perception of a lower risk of community transmission at the time led to locally acquired cases being referred only after there was no clinical improvement despite repeat visits. Equally crucial is the patient’s personal knowledge and health literacy. [15,16,17]. Locally acquired cases may have attributed their symptoms to a cold or gastroenteritis, leading to delays of up to a month in seeing a doctor. Although seemingly harmless under normal circumstances, it could have devastating consequences in the event of an outbreak.

Overall, Singapore residents were more likely to attend primary care clinics than non-residents (84.0% versus 58.7%). Fever, cough, sore throat and diarrhea were common symptoms of COVID-19 cases [18], routinely managed in the community by family physicians.

Among the subgroup of locally acquired cases with at least two primary care visits who saw the same care provider (median of 2 visits), a smaller proportion (27.6%) had three or more visits before diagnosis. being referred and admitted, compared to 61.4% of those who consulted different providers (median of 3 visits). Having no basis for comparison with previous visits, another health care provider lacks relevant information when formulating the patient’s management plan, which usually leads to diagnosis, isolation and treatment later, and therefore increases the risk of transmission. Our results thus highlight the risk of being treated by several healthcare providers or of “doctor shopping” within the same episode of illness. [19,20,21].

Physician purchases could be attributed to various factors. One of the factors is accessibility to health care; with high concentrations of primary care clinics throughout the island, the convenience of traveling to clinics close to one’s place of work and home outweighs concerns about continuity of care [19, 22,23,24]. Another factor is unmet expectations; patients may have misconceptions about taking less effective medications when symptoms persist or feel dissatisfied with previous consultations [19, 22,23,24]. Therefore, appropriate public health communication to the public is crucial even in times of peace.

We recognized several limitations to our study. The observational design of our study excluded causal inference. This study was limited to the initial period of COVID-19 where cases were mainly imported. As the epidemic progressed, care-seeking behaviors would change, and as such, a thorough study would be useful to determine the attitudes and responses of the people of Singapore to each phase of the epidemic. Our study was limited to cases diagnosed and managed in Singapore, and the findings cannot be generalized to the care-seeking behavior of COVID-19 cases in other countries with health systems and coping mechanisms. different funding. Because some information about primary care visits before hospitalization was verified based on self-reports, the data collected was subject to recall bias. Nonetheless, standard operating procedures were in place to ensure the accuracy and consistency of documented information, such as training public health workers to interview cases and verifying reported case movements from other sources.

Obituary: Robert E. Kleiger, professor of medicine, 87 years old – The Source

Mark A. Tomlin — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 20:43:25 +0000

Robert E. Kleiger, MD, longtime electrophysiologist in the cardiovascular division of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, died of prostate cancer on January 21, 2022 at his home in St. Louis. He was 87 years old.

kleiger

Kleiger, a professor of medicine, was a cardiologist widely known for his deep expertise in electrocardiography, the measurement and analysis of the electrical activity of the heart. A textbook he co-authored on the subject, “Clinical Scalar Electrocardiography”, was first published in 1972 and is still in use today. He was also a dedicated teacher and mentor to students, residents, fellows and faculty. In recognition of his outstanding teaching and training, he received the Benico Barzilai Teaching Award from the Cardiology Fellowship Program in 2021.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our distinguished colleague, Dr. Robert Kleiger,” said Victoria J. Fraser, MD, Adolphus Busch Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Department of Medicine. “His legacy will continue in the countless students, residents, and fellows he taught over his long and outstanding career, as well as in the body of knowledge he developed and published to share his detailed understanding of the electrocardiography.”

Kleiger helped establish cardiovascular care in what was then the Jewish Hospital. He joined the faculty of the School of Medicine in 1969 and, at the Jewish Hospital, served as director of the cardiac station, medical intensive care unit and graphics laboratory. He was acting head of the hospital’s cardiology division from 1981 to 1985.

Kleiger’s first published study, in a 1961 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, described the initial use of electric countershock for the treatment of ventricular tachycardia, a life-threatening arrhythmia. Heavily involved in clinical research, Kleiger has also served as the site’s principal investigator or electrocardiography consultant for numerous clinical trials.

A native of Brooklyn, NY, Kleiger received his bachelor’s degree from Yale University in 1956 and his medical degree from Harvard Medical School in 1960. He interned at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston in 1961 and continued his training with an in-house residency. medicine at Barnes Hospital in 1963. He then completed two fellowships in cardiology – at Harvard School of Public Health in 1965 and at Stanford University School of Medicine in 1969.

Through his philanthropic contributions to the Cardiovascular Division, the Robert E. Kleiger, MD Cardiology Endowment was recently established. The endowment will be used to support the division and an annual conference in its honor.

Beyond his brilliant career, Kleiger was an avid birdwatcher and photographer, interests he pursued on his many travels, including to Antarctica and the Gobi Desert.

He is survived by his nieces, Susan Kushner and Nancy Wasserman; their spouses and children.

A service was held January 28 at Knollwood Park Cemetery in Ridgewood, NY. The Cardiovascular Division will also hold a memorial service, on a date to be announced.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Robert E. Kleiger, MD, Endowment in Cardiology, fonds number 127472; Washington University in St. Louis, college advancement; MSC1247-414-2100; 7425 Forsyth Blvd; St. Louis, MO 63105.

Originally published by School of Medicine

Geotechnical Services Market Latest Advances and Business Opportunities 2021-2030

Mark A. Tomlin — Mon, 17 Jan 2022 13:44:00 +0000

Allied Market Research

Geotechnical Services Market by Type and Application: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast by 2030

PORTLAND, OREGON, USA, Jan. 17, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — The global geotechnical services market is expected to reach $3.7 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 6.7% by 2021 to 2030. The geotechnical service determines whether a site is suitable for a particular construction project. Geotechnics is a civil engineering discipline that deals with the theory of soil and rock mechanics to study the physical properties of earth materials. Geotechnical services include drilling a deep hole in the ground, collecting soil samples, testing the sample, analyzing the test report and making appropriate foundation recommendations. These services play an important role in the planning of major infrastructure, such as high-rise buildings, bridges, railways, tunnels and similar construction projects on land and at sea. In addition to construction, services geotechnics are used in the oil and gas and mining industries.

The massive amount of investments made by government authorities for construction activities in emerging economies is one of the factors responsible for the growth of the geotechnical services market. Additionally, developments in oil and gas projects are expected to benefit the geotechnical instrumentation and monitoring market in the coming years.

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The geotechnical services market analysis has been done on the basis of type, application and region. Based on type, the market is fragmented into underground urban space, slope and excavation, ground and foundation. The underground urban space segment is expected to hold the largest geotechnical services market share during the forecast period owing to the utilization of underground urban space, which is one of the prerequisites for the development of megacities.

Based on application, the market is categorized into bridges and tunnels, building construction, marine, mining, municipal, oil and gas, and others. The municipal segment was the major contributor in 2020, while the oil and gas segment is expected to register a CAGR of 7.2% during the geotechnical services market forecast period.

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Regionally, North America garnered the largest share as the region is home to large geotechnical services companies, especially in the United States. Hence, the rapid development of new infrastructure in the Americas is one of the major drivers for the growth of the geotechnical services market in this region.

The major companies profiled in the geotechnical services industry are AECOM, Stantec, Geoquip Marine Group, WSP, Fugro, HDR, EGS Survey, Gardline Limited, Arup and Kiewit Corp. These players have adopted strategies such as product launches and business expansion to sustain the competition and strengthen their presence in the market.

Get Detailed Analysis of Impact of COVID-19 on Geotechnical Services Market @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-for-customization/13201?reqfor=covid

Impact of COVID-19 on the Global Geotechnical Services Market:

As COVID-19 is an infectious disease which originated in Hubei province from Wuhan city in China in late December. The highly contagious disease, caused by a virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is transmitted from human to human. Since the December 2019 outbreak, the disease has spread to nearly 213 countries around the world, with the World Health Organization declaring it a public health emergency on March 11, 2020.
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the partial or complete shutdown of production facilities, which do not fall under essential goods, due to a prolonged lockdown in major countries such as the United States, the China, Japan, India and Germany. This has led to the closure or suspension of their production activities in most industrial units around the world. Construction and infrastructure are one of the most affected sectors, due to a lockdown announced in several countries. The lockdown has affected several construction and infrastructure projects due to supply chain disruptions and worker unavailability. In March 2020, Boston became the first city in the United States to halt all construction activities to contain the spread of COVID-19, which negatively impacted the growth of the geotechnical services market.

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Omicron News, Vaccines and EU cases: Live updates from Covid

Mark A. Tomlin — Tue, 11 Jan 2022 14:15:00 +0000

Credit…Shannon Stapleton / Reuters

The number of Americans hospitalized with Covid-19 has surpassed last winter’s peak, underscoring the severity of the threat the virus continues to pose as the highly contagious variant of Omicron tears apart in the United States.

As of Sunday, 142,388 people infected with the virus had been hospitalized nationwide, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, surpassing the peak of 142,315 reported on January 14 of last year. The seven-day daily hospital average was 132,086, an 83% increase from two weeks ago.

The Omicron wave overwhelmed hospitals and exhausted staff already exhausted by the Delta variant. It was driven largely by people under the age of 60. For people over 60, daily admissions are still lower than last winter.

Hospitalization totals also include people who accidentally tested positive for the virus after being admitted for conditions unrelated to Covid-19; there is no national data indicating how many people are in this category.

Case
Hospitalizations
Death

300% of last winter’s peak

About this data

Covid updates: long waits and extra expense for many to get US tests

Mark A. Tomlin — Sun, 09 Jan 2022 05:07:00 +0000

Picture

Credit…Dustin Chambers for The New York Times

Many Americans have stood in long lines at free test sites since before the Christmas and New Years holiday rush. Many more bypass the lines and pay $ 20 or more for tests in. over-the-counter home sales – if they can find one.

Running out of options, some headed to overcrowded emergency rooms in the hope of getting tested, putting themselves and others at greater risk and potentially delaying emergency care for those ill. and injured.

“The current demand for testing far exceeds the available testing resources,” said Michael T. Osterholm, epidemiologist and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.

This was evident this week, as many people searched for tests to take before returning to school or work. President Biden addressed the issue last month by announcing that 500 million tests would be available for free starting in January. But his administration has not given a launch date for the program, and that number of tests won’t go far in a country of some 330 million people.

Jenna Zitomer, 25, said her family of five in Westchester, NY, spent around $ 680 on rapid tests in recent months. “It’s pretty crazy, especially since it’s well over half of a salary for me,” said research scientist Ms. Zitomer. â€œIt sounds like something we have to start budgeting every month now, like groceries or utilities. For my family, not having access to the tests could mean exposing several severely immunocompromised people to Covid-19. It basically makes it life or death.

Ms. Zitomer added that at her local test center, “the lines have gotten so long that they have started canceling appointments and full test days because drive-thru lines are causing traffic problems.” .

Britt Crow-Miller, 35, a lecturer at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said her family spent around $ 500 on home testing kits. With two adults and three children, a single ride costs around $ 100. “Who can afford that every time someone sniffs?” ” she said. “As someone lucky enough to be a good employee and have a partner who is also well employed, I am very aware that home testing is essentially a luxury.”

And yet, Mrs Crow-Miller, said that if one of the children “wakes up with a sore throat, I don’t feel like a responsible member of the community who sends him to school without giving him a call. first take a test “.

Elizabeth Sasser, 24, a network planning analyst living in Syracuse, NY, said her expenses for the tests – around $ 300 – were well spent. â€œMy family has also had asymptomatic positives,â€ she said, â€œwhich probably would have led to more infections had it not been for the prior purchase of home tests.â€

There have been gaps in testing capacity since the start of the pandemic.

In early 2020, researchers rushed to find the swabs and fluids needed to collect and store the samples sent to labs for polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, testing, considered the gold standard for detection. viral. Backlogs in testing in the United States continued that summer, in part due to a shortage of tiny pieces of tapered plastic, called pipette tips, which are used to quickly and precisely move liquid between vials.

The shortage of equipment is no longer the weak link in the supply chain, but new problems have arisen. The first is simply that demand exceeds supply.

There is also preliminary evidence that the home antigen tests that many Americans rely on – at least as currently administered, with a nasal swab – may fail to detect some cases of Omicron over the years. first days of infection. Researchers say Omicron replicates faster or earlier in the throat and mouth than in the nose.

This could complicate the strategy to fend off the current wave, in which the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that Omicron accounts for 95% of new cases.

Home testing, which can provide results within minutes, remains an important public health tool, scientists say. Positive results are particularly informative as it can take days to get PCR test results. But a negative home test should be treated with caution.

“Everyone wants these tests to do more than they can,” said Dr Osterholm.

– Adele Hassan and Anna P. Kambhampaty

Governor’s Office | This week in New Jersey: January 7, 2022

Mark A. Tomlin — Sat, 08 Jan 2022 00:43:26 +0000

GOVERNOR MURPHY LEADS THE RESPONSE TO WINTER STORMS

Governor Murphy led the state’s response to two winter storms with State Police Superintendent Col. Patrick Callahan, Department of Transportation Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti and Public Services Board Chairman Joseph Fiordaliso to closely monitor state efforts to mitigate the impact of storms.

GOVERNOR MURPHY TO ISSUE 2022 STATE ADDRESS

Governor Phil Murphy’s State of State 2022 address will be released online and via social media on Tuesday, January 11, 2022, reaffirming his commitment to lead New Jersey through the COVID-19 public health crisis, improve the lives of middle-class families, and build a stronger and more resilient post-pandemic economy.

“Over the past year, New Jersey has proven its resilience in the face of adversity. While still facing the challenges of the pandemic, we have made undeniable progress for working class and middle class families who live in New Jersey ”, Governor Murphy said. “This year’s State of the State address will focus on our continued commitment to education and economic opportunity, and making our state more affordable for families. Together, we will move forward on the path to building a stronger and fairer New Jersey. ”

GOVERNOR MURPHY ANNOUNCES NEW JERSEY NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYMENT TO HELP LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES

Governor Murphy announced that the New Jersey National Guard will be deployed to long-term care facilities in New Jersey to help with COVID-19 response efforts and to augment facility staff.

“Time and time again, the New Jersey National Guard has stepped up its efforts throughout this pandemic,” Governor Murphy said. “This deployment will send members of our National Guard to long-term care facilities with staffing needs and act to protect the health and safety of long-term care residents as the Omicron variant spreads across the country. .

GOVERNOR MURPHY ANNOUNCES EXTENDED REVENUE ELIGIBILITY FOR DUTY DRUG ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS

Gov. Phil Murphy announced that income limits for the Elderly and Disabled Pharmaceutical Assistance (PAAD) and Senior Gold Prescription Discount Drug Assistance Programs have increased by $ 10,000, making drug prices more affordable and benefiting over 20,000 seniors. The income threshold increase, which was part of Governor Murphy’s fiscal year 2022 budget, is the largest one-time increase in the history of the PAAD and Senior Gold Prescription Discount drug assistance programs.

“Few problems have a greater financial impact on New Jersey families than the ever-increasing cost of prescription drugs,” Governor Murphy said. “Making New Jersey a more affordable place to live means working to reduce the cost of prescription drugs. I am extremely proud of the progress we have made with this historic benefit increase that will extend benefits to thousands of New Jerseyans. “

GOVERNOR MURPHY ANNOUNCES SECOND LIBRARY CONSTRUCTION ACT

Governor Phil Murphy announced the second round of funding for the Library Construction Bond Act (LCBA), which allocates $ 37 million to 36 library projects in 13 counties in New Jersey. The Library Bond Act was approved by voters in 2017 and authorizes $ 125 million in state bonds for technology updates, building improvements, and other library projects across the state.

“Libraries are the foundation of our communities and investing in them is just as essential as investing in our schools, towns and villages and in our families.” Governor Murphy said. “The library provides essential resources and is where the concept of lifelong learning comes to fruition, where the spirit of community is celebrated and where families come together. I am happy to announce this second round of funding so that we can continue to see progress in modernizing New Jersey libraries. “

American coronavirus: Americans could face a different reality in January as Covid-19 sweeps the country, experts warn

Mark A. Tomlin — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 11:33:00 +0000

“Omicron is really everywhere,” Dr. Megan Ranney, professor of emergency medicine at Brown University’s School of Public Health, told CNN Friday night. “What worries me the most over the next month is that our economy is going to shut down, not because of the policies of the federal government or the state governments, but rather because many of us are sick. “

In New York City, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is plagued by staffing issues and has announced that three subway lines – the B, Z and W – which serve various parts of the boroughs have been suspended.

Health services – exhausted after several virus outbreaks and now stretched again by a growing number of Covid-19 patients – are also already feeling impacts. The University of Maryland Capital Region Health this week joined a growing list of state medical centers to activate emergency protocols after a surge in cases fueled staff shortages and overwhelmed emergency services .

“The current demand for care is draining our available resources, including staff,” UM Capital Region Health said in a statement Friday.

In Ohio, Governor Mike DeWine on Wednesday announced the deployment of about 1,250 National Guard members as hospitals grapple with staff shortages.

On the same day, the mayor of Cincinnati declared a state of emergency due to a staff shortage at the city’s firefighters following an increase in Covid-19 infections. The mayor’s statement said that if the personnel issue was not addressed, it would “significantly undermine” the readiness levels of first responders.

“Prepare yourself. We have to remember that in the coming weeks there is going to be an unprecedented number of social disruptions,” Dr Peter Hotez, dean of the University’s National School of Tropical Medicine, told CNN. Baylor.

These also include flight disruptions, he said, due to absences of TSA agents and aircrews.

Thousands of flights have already been canceled or delayed throughout the holiday season, with staff and crew reporting ill. The Federal Aviation Administration said on Friday that an “increased number” of its employees were testing positive for the virus, and that “to maintain safety, the volume of traffic at some facilities could be reduced, which could cause delays during peak periods “.

Your main questions about Covid-19, answers

Previous virus rules are “out the window”

The latest wave, which has skyrocketed the number of cases across the world, is being fueled by the Omicron variant, the most contagious strain of coronavirus yet, according to health experts.

The virus is now “extraordinarily contagious” and previous mitigation measures that were helping now may not be as helpful, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner told CNN on Friday.

“At the start of this pandemic… we were all taught that you have significant exposure if you are within six feet of someone and are in contact with them for more than 15 minutes. All of these rules are by the way. window, ”Reiner said. “It’s a hyper-contagious virus.”

Now even a quick and transient encounter can lead to infection, Reiner added, including if someone’s mask is loose, or if a person quickly pulls their mask down, or if a person walks into an elevator in. which someone else has just coughed.

“This is how you can get this virus,” Reiner said.

The transmissibility of the variant helps explain the sheer number of infections reported worldwide, including the United States. Over the past week, several states reported new records of cases and hospitalizations, shattering previous records.

New Jersey has more than 28,000 new cases of Covid-19 thanks to PCR tests, Governor Phil Murphy wrote on Twitter Friday. At a press conference, the governor said that number was roughly “quadruple compared to just two weeks ago and four times more cases than at the height of the wave last winter” .

“Our hospitals are currently at about the same number as they were on the worst day of the wave last winter,” he added. “The problem is, right now, we’re not seeing any signs of slacking off.”

Other states, including Arkansas, Maryland and New York, have also reported new record high numbers of cases.

And a sharp rise in infections – especially among children – could soon lead to an increase in hospitalizations, said infectious disease expert Dr Jeanne Marrazzo.

“The explosive increase in the number of cases is really fueling what might normally be a relatively small proportion … of children who experience these serious consequences,” she told CNN’s Amara Walker on Friday. “But you associate the gigantic number of cases with the small number affected, plus the proportion of unvaccinated, and I really fear that we are facing a tidal wave of admissions, especially for children in the weeks to come. to come. .”

Hospital admissions for Covid-19 children have already hit an all-time high this week, with a record average of 378 children admitted to hospital on any given day during the week ending December 28, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States and the United States. Ministry of Health and Social Services.

Children under 5 are not yet eligible for a Covid-19 vaccine, and an injection for these groups is unlikely to be available until mid-2022, experts say.

Concerns about going back to school

With the virus spreading, some staff and experts are expressing concern about what reopening schools could mean.

“There will be pediatric hospitalizations,” Hotez said. “And what will be the other difficult element over the next few weeks, keeping the schools open, because of this high transmissibility – especially if you start to see absences of teachers, bus drivers, cafeteria staff.”

The Massachusetts Teachers Association, New England’s largest public sector union, urged the state’s education commissioner this week to keep schools closed on Monday, except for staff Covid-19 testing .

“Using Monday as a day for testing and analyzing data will allow our school districts to make prudent decisions about staffing needs so they can continue to learn in person for students if it is safe or develop plans for it. emergency if a district deems it necessary, “President Merrie Najimy, president of the association, said in a statement.

The state’s executive education office said on Friday that schools will be open on Monday, despite a request from the teachers’ union.

“The Ministry of Elementary and Secondary Education has been working hard this week to make rapid home tests available to all teachers and staff in public schools in light of testing shortages the country is experiencing. Massachusetts is one of the few states that provides rapid testing. tests to its teachers. It is not an obligation for teachers to return to work, nor necessary to reopen schools after the holidays, ”said Colleen Quinn, spokesperson for the office, in a statement.

“It is disappointing,” the statement added, “that once again the MTA is trying to find a way to close schools, which we know is to the extreme detriment of our children.”

Meanwhile, a growing number of colleges and universities across the country are making changes at the start of the 2022 spring semester due to the increase in the number of cases.

Duke University extended its plan for distance education by a week amid “incredibly high” positive cases among faculty and growing number of cases among students who are already in the area , the school announced on Friday.

Michigan State University announced on Friday that classes will begin predominantly remotely on Jan. 10 and stay remotely for at least three weeks.

“I realize that students prefer to be in person, and so do I,” said Samuel L. Stanley Jr., president of the university, in a statement. “But it’s important that we do it in a safe manner. Starting the semester remotely and de-densifying the campus in the coming weeks may be one solution to slowing the spread of the virus.”

Correction: A previous version of this article misrepresented the number of records broken this week in the seven-day average of daily new cases of Covid-19. The most recent average figure has also been updated to reflect the latest data from JHU.

CNN’s Kiely Westhoff, Virginia Langmaid, Elizabeth Stuart, Laura Studley and Sharif Paget contributed to this report.

Chronicle’s Most Read World Microscopy Record in ’21

Mark A. Tomlin — Mon, 20 Dec 2021 15:35:35 +0000

In 2020, four of the five most read stories in the Cornell Chronicle were related to the pandemic. This year, as of December 1, there was only one COVID-19 story in the top 20 – a reflection of the â€œnew normalâ€ after a year like no other.

Of Chronicle’s 10 best articles in 2021, five were in research, one reported a major giveaway to college, and two low profile Cornelians doing extraordinary things – including a graduate who played a key role in landing the rover Perseverance by. NASA on Mars.

The only story related to the pandemic in the top 20 involved Weill Cornell Medicine’s research on vaccination and pregnant women. It happened at # 17, with almost 11,000 pageviews.

The Chronicle publishes approximately 1,500 articles per year online and in daily and weekly newsletters. As Cornell’s official clearinghouse, the Chronicle shares major administrative announcements, groundbreaking research, student accomplishments and campus events, and documents the university’s impact on the city, state , the nation and the world. Here’s a look at some of the most popular stories from the past 12 months, according to data from Google Analytics.

Best Stories

An astonishing nanoscale investigation topped all stories in 2021 after engineering researchers, led by David Muller, set a world record in triple the resolution a state-of-the-art electron microscope. â€œIt doesn’t just set a new record,â€ said Muller, Samuel B. Eckert engineering professor. â€œHe has reached a regime that will effectively be an ultimate limit for resolution. Basically, now we can figure out where the atoms are in a very simple way. “

This image shows an electronic ptychographic reconstruction of a crystal of praseodymium orthoscandate (PrScO3), magnified 100 million times.

This story, from May 20, has attracted (so far) over 126,700 pageviews; more than half of those views likely occurred on May 22, when the Chronicle site had over 76,000 pageviews – at least seven times more than usual.

Philanthropy for the world-renowned Cornell Hospitality School placed second in 2021 when the Chronicle announced a historic donation of $ 50 million who created the Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hospitality Administration. The donation will provide scholarships to expand access to education for future generations of hotel business leaders. Nolan’s story has attracted more than 52,400 pageviews since its publication on September 17.

The third most read story, with over 35,000 views, is one of four of the top 20 related to sustainability, a top priority at Cornell. The mid-October article found that over 99.9% of peer-reviewed scientific papers agreed that climate change is mainly caused by humans, according to research co-authored by Benjamin Houlton, Dean Ronald P. Lynch of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Other stories related to sustainable development in the top 20 of 2021:

research led by Lynden Archer, Dean of Engineering Joseph Silbert, exploring the use of low-cost materials create rechargeable batteries it will make energy storage safer and more affordable, which reached # 7 with over 14,000 views;
research co-directed by Robert Howarth, professor at CALS, explaining why “blue” hydrogen could in fact be more harmful to the environment as some fossil fuels (# 13, nearly 13,000 views); and
news from a commitment of $ 30 million by David R. Atkinson ’60 and Patricia Atkinson for naming a new multidisciplinary building on campus, intended to foster innovative and collaborative research in several priority areas, including sustainability (# 14, over 12,000 views). The building will house, among others, the Atkinson Center for Sustainability and the new Masters program in Public Health.

The most read articles # 4 and # 5 on the Chronicle site were both related to campus news – an introduction to class of 2025, which has reached new levels of diversity and is impressive despite the challenges of the pandemic (over 31,300 views); and the announcement of university residences in the residential expansion of the north campus being named in honor of a Nobel laureate, renowned Chinese scholar and the Cayuga nation, whose traditional lands Cornell is located. This story attracted nearly 17,000 views.

Cornell sent five Olympians to Tokyo in 2021.

Two of the remaining top 10 stories, both of which garnered over 14,000 pageviews, featured Cornellians doing amazing things. At n Â° 6 is a preview story the five Cornell alumni – Kyle Dake ’13 (wrestling), Tracy Eisser ’12 (rowing), Michael Grady ’19 (rowing), Taylor Knibb ’20 (triathlon) and Rudy Winkler ’17 (athletics) – who visited Tokyo in July for the 2020 Summer Olympics delayed by the pandemic. For the record: Knibb won a silver medal in the mixed triathlon relay, and Dake – the Lansing native and four-time NCAA champion – won bronze in the men’s 74-kilogram freestyle.

And at # 9 was the story of NASA aerospace engineer Swati Mohan ’04, who calmly called the “play-by-play” of the Perseverance rover landing on March 2020. “Touchdown confirmed” was Mohan’s call at around 3:55 pm on February 18th. â€œPerseverance is safe on the surface of Mars, ready to begin looking for signs of past life. “

The other Chronicle top 10 stories (# 8 & 10) also garnered around 14,000 views and were related to research: An ILR School report indicating that internal applicants who face rejection are almost twice as likely to leave their organization such as those who were hired for an internal job or who had not applied at all for a new job; and research from the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, concluding that even a slight increase in the tax rate on groceries could increase the risk of food insecurityfor many.

Other highlights

Other notable stories from the past 12 months:

Vital friendship: ILR associate professor Adam Seth Litwin has spent more than two years secretly improving his health so that he can donate a kidney to his longtime colleague Ron Ehrenberg. The successful operation was carried out on June 29.

Swati Mohan ’04 at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory mission control on February 18, prior to Perseverance landing.

Heroes: On a hot March afternoon at Taughannock Falls State Park, three undergraduates – Alexander Chung ’21, Anjan Mani ’23, and Felipe Santamaria ’23 – helped save a 62 year old man who had fallen into the 40 degree waters of Cayuga Lake while fishing on a jetty with his two grandsons.

A New Way: A study conducted by the faculty of the College of Veterinary Medicine found that transporting endangered black rhinos upside down by their feet is actually safer than having the animals tranquilized on the side. The research received a Nobel Prize Ig 2021, which recognizes unlikely searches in many categories.

New School: A major donation from Jeb E. Brooks, MBA ’70, with his wife Cherie Wendelken and the Brooks Family Foundation, endowed and named the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, advancing the nascent school’s mission to help solve complex global political challenges. Jeb Brooks is an advocate for socially responsible investing; her late father Earl taught at Cornell.

Maia Dedrick (left), Hirsch postdoctoral researcher at the Cornell Institute of Archeology and Material Studies, and Lori Khatchadourian, associate professor of Near Eastern studies at the College of Arts and Sciences and co-director of the St. James, examine the soil and rocks in a sieve.

Deeper: 2021 stories in the Chronicle looked at the university from different angles. Among them was the story of nine design students who set out to create a design for renovate the old Waterloo organ company and make it an art center in the village in the north of the state; and the story of a multidisciplinary team of Cornell students and faculty joining with community members to lead a archaeological excavations at St. James AME Zion Church in Ithaca, the oldest active â€œfreedom churchâ€ in the world and a stop on the Underground Railroad.

Notable passages

Harold “Hal” Bierman Jr.Professor Emeritus Emeritus of Management and Finance Nicholas H. Noyes, who transformed the framing of investment decisions and mentored thousands of MBA students during a 59-year career at Cornell, died on February 12 at the age of 96.

Walter LaFeber, Andrew H. and James S. Tisch, University Professor Emeritus in the Department of History (A&S), who received standing ovations from students for classroom lectures and whose mastery of American foreign relations has guided historians , political scientists and politicians for decades, died on March 9 to 87.

Neil W. Ashcroft, professor emeritus of physics Horace White (A&S) and a leading theorist in condensed matter physics, whose career saw some kind of rebirth after his official retirement in 2006, when he joined the research group of the Nobel Prize-winning chemist Roald Hoffman, died March 15, 82.

Robert “Bob” Buhrman, MS ’69, Ph.D. ’73, Cornell’s second senior vice president for research, who has helped expand Cornell’s emerging science and engineering programs and secure research funding, is died April 13 at age 75.

Arthur “Art” Gensler Jr., B. Arch. ’58, celebrated as a global architect, savvy entrepreneur and founder of a small firm that has grown into one of the largest and most successful firms in the industry, died on May 10 at the age of 85 .

Dr Alexandre de Lahunta, DVM ’58, Ph.D. ’63, Emeritus Professor of Anatomy James Law, considered the founder of veterinary neurology, died on August 17 at the age of 88.