Laura Ford - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Laura Ford

Research paper thumbnail of Scoring systems to assess relapse risk in alcohol use disorder presenting for early liver transplantation: A systematic review

General Hospital Psychiatry

Research paper thumbnail of Extensive Health Care Utilization and Costs of an Early Liver Transplantation Program for Alcoholic Hepatitis

Research paper thumbnail of Performance of Repeat BinaxNOW Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Antigen Testing in a Community Setting, Wisconsin, November 2020–December 2020

Clinical Infectious Diseases

Repeating the BinaxNOW antigen test for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 using 2 g... more Repeating the BinaxNOW antigen test for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 using 2 groups of readers within 30 minutes resulted in high concordance (98.9%) in 2110 encounters. Same-day repeat antigen testing did not significantly improve test sensitivity (77.2% to 81.4%) while specificity remained high (99.6%).

Research paper thumbnail of A Chemical Engineering Competition For Middle And High School Students

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings

Research paper thumbnail of Attracting High School Students To Engineering By Adapting A National Collegiate Competition

2005 Annual Conference Proceedings

Research paper thumbnail of How We teach: Unit Operations Laboratory

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings

Research paper thumbnail of Chemically Powered Toy Cars: A Way To Interest High School Students In A Chemical Engineering Career

2003 Annual Conference Proceedings

Research paper thumbnail of Teaching Tip: Stakeholders Presentations: A Technical Presentation to a General Audience

Chemical Engineering Education

Research paper thumbnail of Using a Journal Article with Sophomores to Increase Lifelong Learning Confidence

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings

Research paper thumbnail of How We Teach: Chemical Engineering in the First Year

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access Proceedings

Research paper thumbnail of Recognizing Rhetoric in Sociological Theory: The Unmasking Style in Social Theory by Peter Baehr

Research paper thumbnail of Genetic Analysis Using a High Density SNP Array in Myelodysplastic Syndrome: Clinical Utility and Comparative Analysis Study Compared to Metaphase Chromosome Analysis

Blood

There is no single technology capable of detecting the various genetic and genomic aberrations ob... more There is no single technology capable of detecting the various genetic and genomic aberrations observed in patients with neoplasia. Patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) may present with chromosomal copy number changes (duplication, deletion, and amplification), balanced chromosome rearrangements, copy neutral loss of heterozygosity (CN-LOH) and/or gene mutations. Currently only microscopic chromosomal changes, as dictated by the international prognostic scoring system (IPSS-R), are used to determine the genetic risk in MDS. However, different genetic aberrations, particularly gene mutations are anticipated to be incorporated into the IPSS-R in the near future. The Affymetrix CytoScan® HD Array is a high definition array with over 2.6 million markers (both copy number and SNP) allowing resolution capabilities way beyond that of metaphase chromosome analysis. The incorporation of 750,000 SNPs also allows for detection of CN-LOH, regions known to harbour bi-allelic gene mutatio...

Research paper thumbnail of Cost of Salmonella Infections in Australia, 2015

Journal of Food Protection

Gastroenteritis caused from infections with Salmonella enterica (salmonellosis) causes significan... more Gastroenteritis caused from infections with Salmonella enterica (salmonellosis) causes significant morbidity in Australia. In addition to acute gastroenteritis, approximately 8.8% of people develop irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and 8.5% of people develop reactive arthritis (ReA). We estimated the economic cost of salmonellosis and associated sequel illnesses in Australia in a typical year circa 2015. We estimated incidence, hospitalizations, other health care usage, absenteeism, and premature mortality for four age groups using a variety of complementary data sets. We calculated direct costs (health care) and indirect costs (lost productivity and premature mortality) by using Monte Carlo simulation to estimate 90% credible intervals (CrI) around our point estimates. We estimated that 90,833 cases, 4,312 hospitalizations, and 19 deaths occurred from salmonellosis in Australia circa 2015 at a direct cost of AUD 23.8 million (90% CrI, 19.3 to 28.9 million) and a total cost of AUD 124....

Research paper thumbnail of Whole-Genome Sequencing of Salmonella Mississippi and Typhimurium Definitive Type 160, Australia and New Zealand

Emerging Infectious Diseases

Research paper thumbnail of Judicial Social Theorizing and Its Relation to Sociology

Research paper thumbnail of Investigating locally relevant risk factors for Campylobacter infection in Australia: protocol for a case–control study and genomic analysis

BMJ Open

IntroductionThe CampySource project aims to identify risk factors for human Campylobacter infecti... more IntroductionThe CampySource project aims to identify risk factors for human Campylobacter infection in Australia. We will investigate locally relevant risk factors and those significant in international studies in a case–control study. Case isolates and contemporaneous isolates from food and animal sources will be sequenced to conduct source attribution modelling, and findings will be combined with the case–control study in a source-assigned analysis.Methods and analysisThe case–control study will include 1200 participants (600 cases and 600 controls) across three regions in Australia. Cases will be recruited from campylobacteriosis notifications to health departments. Only those with a pure and viable Campylobacter isolate will be eligible for selection to allow for whole genome sequencing of isolates. Controls will be recruited from notified cases of influenza, frequency matched by sex, age group and geographical area of residence. All participants will be interviewed by trained t...

Research paper thumbnail of The Epidemiology of Salmonella enterica Outbreaks in Australia, 2001–2016

Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems

Salmonella enterica is an important cause of foodborne illness in Australia, regularly causing hi... more Salmonella enterica is an important cause of foodborne illness in Australia, regularly causing high-profile outbreaks involving commercially-available foods. We used the national register of foodborne outbreaks to review the transmission pathways, settings, serotypes, and food vehicles of Salmonella outbreaks in Australia between 2001 and 2016. We examined trends over time of implicated food vehicles in outbreaks where there was statistical, microbiological, or descriptive evidence. Of the 990 Salmonella outbreaks reported, 79% (778/990) were suspected or confirmed to have been transmitted through contaminated food. Of these, 61% (472/778) occurred in food premises and 84% (656/778) were caused by Salmonella Typhimurium. Eggs and egg-containing foods were the most frequently identified food vehicle. Outbreaks due to egg-based sauces and Vietnamese style sandwiches, which often contain pâté and raw egg butter, increased, while outbreaks due to poultry meat, beef, pork, other sandwiches, and other desserts had a decreasing trend from 2001 to 2016. Identifying food vehicles and the Salmonella serotypes causing outbreaks in Australia provides important evidence for food regulation strategies and control measures.

Research paper thumbnail of The relative price of healthy and less healthy foods available in Australian school canteens

Health promotion international, Jan 12, 2018

School canteens have an important role in modelling a healthy food environment. Price is a strong... more School canteens have an important role in modelling a healthy food environment. Price is a strong predictor of food and beverage choice. This study compared the relative price of healthy and less healthy lunch and snack items sold within Australian school canteens. A convenience sample of online canteen menus from five Australian states were selected (100 primary and 100 secondary schools). State-specific canteen guidelines were used to classify menu items into 'green' (eat most), 'amber' (select carefully) and 'red' (not recommended in schools). The price of the cheapest 'healthy' lunch (vegetable-based 'green') and snack ('green' fruit) item was compared to the cheapest 'less healthy' ('amber/red') lunch and snack item, respectively, using an un-paired t-test. The relative price of the 'healthy' items and the 'less healthy' items was calculated to determine the proportion of schools that sold the '...

Research paper thumbnail of Seven Salmonella Typhimurium Outbreaks in Australia Linked by Trace-Back and Whole Genome Sequencing

Foodborne pathogens and disease, Jan 20, 2018

Salmonella Typhimurium is a common cause of foodborne illness in Australia. We report on seven ou... more Salmonella Typhimurium is a common cause of foodborne illness in Australia. We report on seven outbreaks of Salmonella Typhimurium multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA) 03-26-13-08-523 (European convention 2-24-12-7-0212) in three Australian states and territories investigated between November 2015 and March 2016. We identified a common egg grading facility in five of the outbreaks. While no Salmonella Typhimurium was detected at the grading facility and eggs could not be traced back to a particular farm, whole genome sequencing (WGS) of isolates from cases from all seven outbreaks indicated a common source. WGS was able to provide higher discriminatory power than MLVA and will likely link more Salmonella Typhimurium cases between states and territories in the future. National harmonization of Salmonella surveillance is important for effective implementation of WGS for Salmonella outbreak investigations.

Research paper thumbnail of Incorporating Whole-Genome Sequencing into Public Health Surveillance: Lessons from Prospective Sequencing of Salmonella Typhimurium in Australia

Foodborne pathogens and disease, Mar 16, 2018

In Australia, the incidence of Salmonella Typhimurium has increased dramatically over the past de... more In Australia, the incidence of Salmonella Typhimurium has increased dramatically over the past decade. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) is transforming public health microbiology, but poses challenges for surveillance. To compare WGS-based approaches with conventional typing for Salmonella surveillance, we performed concurrent WGS and multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA) of Salmonella Typhimurium isolates from the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) for a period of 5 months. We exchanged data via a central shared virtual machine and performed comparative genomic analyses. Epidemiological evidence was integrated with WGS-derived data to identify related isolates and sources of infection, and we compared WGS data for surveillance with findings from MLVA typing. We found that WGS data combined with epidemiological data linked an additional 9% of isolates to at least one other isolate in the study in contrast to MLVA and epidemiological data, and 19% more isolates than e...

Research paper thumbnail of Scoring systems to assess relapse risk in alcohol use disorder presenting for early liver transplantation: A systematic review

General Hospital Psychiatry

Research paper thumbnail of Extensive Health Care Utilization and Costs of an Early Liver Transplantation Program for Alcoholic Hepatitis

Research paper thumbnail of Performance of Repeat BinaxNOW Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Antigen Testing in a Community Setting, Wisconsin, November 2020–December 2020

Clinical Infectious Diseases

Repeating the BinaxNOW antigen test for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 using 2 g... more Repeating the BinaxNOW antigen test for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 using 2 groups of readers within 30 minutes resulted in high concordance (98.9%) in 2110 encounters. Same-day repeat antigen testing did not significantly improve test sensitivity (77.2% to 81.4%) while specificity remained high (99.6%).

Research paper thumbnail of A Chemical Engineering Competition For Middle And High School Students

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings

Research paper thumbnail of Attracting High School Students To Engineering By Adapting A National Collegiate Competition

2005 Annual Conference Proceedings

Research paper thumbnail of How We teach: Unit Operations Laboratory

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings

Research paper thumbnail of Chemically Powered Toy Cars: A Way To Interest High School Students In A Chemical Engineering Career

2003 Annual Conference Proceedings

Research paper thumbnail of Teaching Tip: Stakeholders Presentations: A Technical Presentation to a General Audience

Chemical Engineering Education

Research paper thumbnail of Using a Journal Article with Sophomores to Increase Lifelong Learning Confidence

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings

Research paper thumbnail of How We Teach: Chemical Engineering in the First Year

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access Proceedings

Research paper thumbnail of Recognizing Rhetoric in Sociological Theory: The Unmasking Style in Social Theory by Peter Baehr

Research paper thumbnail of Genetic Analysis Using a High Density SNP Array in Myelodysplastic Syndrome: Clinical Utility and Comparative Analysis Study Compared to Metaphase Chromosome Analysis

Blood

There is no single technology capable of detecting the various genetic and genomic aberrations ob... more There is no single technology capable of detecting the various genetic and genomic aberrations observed in patients with neoplasia. Patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) may present with chromosomal copy number changes (duplication, deletion, and amplification), balanced chromosome rearrangements, copy neutral loss of heterozygosity (CN-LOH) and/or gene mutations. Currently only microscopic chromosomal changes, as dictated by the international prognostic scoring system (IPSS-R), are used to determine the genetic risk in MDS. However, different genetic aberrations, particularly gene mutations are anticipated to be incorporated into the IPSS-R in the near future. The Affymetrix CytoScan® HD Array is a high definition array with over 2.6 million markers (both copy number and SNP) allowing resolution capabilities way beyond that of metaphase chromosome analysis. The incorporation of 750,000 SNPs also allows for detection of CN-LOH, regions known to harbour bi-allelic gene mutatio...

Research paper thumbnail of Cost of Salmonella Infections in Australia, 2015

Journal of Food Protection

Gastroenteritis caused from infections with Salmonella enterica (salmonellosis) causes significan... more Gastroenteritis caused from infections with Salmonella enterica (salmonellosis) causes significant morbidity in Australia. In addition to acute gastroenteritis, approximately 8.8% of people develop irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and 8.5% of people develop reactive arthritis (ReA). We estimated the economic cost of salmonellosis and associated sequel illnesses in Australia in a typical year circa 2015. We estimated incidence, hospitalizations, other health care usage, absenteeism, and premature mortality for four age groups using a variety of complementary data sets. We calculated direct costs (health care) and indirect costs (lost productivity and premature mortality) by using Monte Carlo simulation to estimate 90% credible intervals (CrI) around our point estimates. We estimated that 90,833 cases, 4,312 hospitalizations, and 19 deaths occurred from salmonellosis in Australia circa 2015 at a direct cost of AUD 23.8 million (90% CrI, 19.3 to 28.9 million) and a total cost of AUD 124....

Research paper thumbnail of Whole-Genome Sequencing of Salmonella Mississippi and Typhimurium Definitive Type 160, Australia and New Zealand

Emerging Infectious Diseases

Research paper thumbnail of Judicial Social Theorizing and Its Relation to Sociology

Research paper thumbnail of Investigating locally relevant risk factors for Campylobacter infection in Australia: protocol for a case–control study and genomic analysis

BMJ Open

IntroductionThe CampySource project aims to identify risk factors for human Campylobacter infecti... more IntroductionThe CampySource project aims to identify risk factors for human Campylobacter infection in Australia. We will investigate locally relevant risk factors and those significant in international studies in a case–control study. Case isolates and contemporaneous isolates from food and animal sources will be sequenced to conduct source attribution modelling, and findings will be combined with the case–control study in a source-assigned analysis.Methods and analysisThe case–control study will include 1200 participants (600 cases and 600 controls) across three regions in Australia. Cases will be recruited from campylobacteriosis notifications to health departments. Only those with a pure and viable Campylobacter isolate will be eligible for selection to allow for whole genome sequencing of isolates. Controls will be recruited from notified cases of influenza, frequency matched by sex, age group and geographical area of residence. All participants will be interviewed by trained t...

Research paper thumbnail of The Epidemiology of Salmonella enterica Outbreaks in Australia, 2001–2016

Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems

Salmonella enterica is an important cause of foodborne illness in Australia, regularly causing hi... more Salmonella enterica is an important cause of foodborne illness in Australia, regularly causing high-profile outbreaks involving commercially-available foods. We used the national register of foodborne outbreaks to review the transmission pathways, settings, serotypes, and food vehicles of Salmonella outbreaks in Australia between 2001 and 2016. We examined trends over time of implicated food vehicles in outbreaks where there was statistical, microbiological, or descriptive evidence. Of the 990 Salmonella outbreaks reported, 79% (778/990) were suspected or confirmed to have been transmitted through contaminated food. Of these, 61% (472/778) occurred in food premises and 84% (656/778) were caused by Salmonella Typhimurium. Eggs and egg-containing foods were the most frequently identified food vehicle. Outbreaks due to egg-based sauces and Vietnamese style sandwiches, which often contain pâté and raw egg butter, increased, while outbreaks due to poultry meat, beef, pork, other sandwiches, and other desserts had a decreasing trend from 2001 to 2016. Identifying food vehicles and the Salmonella serotypes causing outbreaks in Australia provides important evidence for food regulation strategies and control measures.

Research paper thumbnail of The relative price of healthy and less healthy foods available in Australian school canteens

Health promotion international, Jan 12, 2018

School canteens have an important role in modelling a healthy food environment. Price is a strong... more School canteens have an important role in modelling a healthy food environment. Price is a strong predictor of food and beverage choice. This study compared the relative price of healthy and less healthy lunch and snack items sold within Australian school canteens. A convenience sample of online canteen menus from five Australian states were selected (100 primary and 100 secondary schools). State-specific canteen guidelines were used to classify menu items into 'green' (eat most), 'amber' (select carefully) and 'red' (not recommended in schools). The price of the cheapest 'healthy' lunch (vegetable-based 'green') and snack ('green' fruit) item was compared to the cheapest 'less healthy' ('amber/red') lunch and snack item, respectively, using an un-paired t-test. The relative price of the 'healthy' items and the 'less healthy' items was calculated to determine the proportion of schools that sold the '...

Research paper thumbnail of Seven Salmonella Typhimurium Outbreaks in Australia Linked by Trace-Back and Whole Genome Sequencing

Foodborne pathogens and disease, Jan 20, 2018

Salmonella Typhimurium is a common cause of foodborne illness in Australia. We report on seven ou... more Salmonella Typhimurium is a common cause of foodborne illness in Australia. We report on seven outbreaks of Salmonella Typhimurium multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA) 03-26-13-08-523 (European convention 2-24-12-7-0212) in three Australian states and territories investigated between November 2015 and March 2016. We identified a common egg grading facility in five of the outbreaks. While no Salmonella Typhimurium was detected at the grading facility and eggs could not be traced back to a particular farm, whole genome sequencing (WGS) of isolates from cases from all seven outbreaks indicated a common source. WGS was able to provide higher discriminatory power than MLVA and will likely link more Salmonella Typhimurium cases between states and territories in the future. National harmonization of Salmonella surveillance is important for effective implementation of WGS for Salmonella outbreak investigations.

Research paper thumbnail of Incorporating Whole-Genome Sequencing into Public Health Surveillance: Lessons from Prospective Sequencing of Salmonella Typhimurium in Australia

Foodborne pathogens and disease, Mar 16, 2018

In Australia, the incidence of Salmonella Typhimurium has increased dramatically over the past de... more In Australia, the incidence of Salmonella Typhimurium has increased dramatically over the past decade. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) is transforming public health microbiology, but poses challenges for surveillance. To compare WGS-based approaches with conventional typing for Salmonella surveillance, we performed concurrent WGS and multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA) of Salmonella Typhimurium isolates from the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) for a period of 5 months. We exchanged data via a central shared virtual machine and performed comparative genomic analyses. Epidemiological evidence was integrated with WGS-derived data to identify related isolates and sources of infection, and we compared WGS data for surveillance with findings from MLVA typing. We found that WGS data combined with epidemiological data linked an additional 9% of isolates to at least one other isolate in the study in contrast to MLVA and epidemiological data, and 19% more isolates than e...