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Characterizing The Gut Microbiota During Plasmodium Infection And Antimalarial Treatment., Joshua E. Denny

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Plasmodium, the parasitic cause of malaria, is a global pathogen, annually causing 216 million infections and 445,000 deaths. As drug resistance continues develop and no effective vaccine is available, it is critical to understand the factors underlying the severity of this disease. Plasmodium is an extra-gastrointestinal tract infection where the parasite infects red blood cells causing clinical malaria. However, recent publications have pointed to interactions between the gut microbiota and malaria. With this in mind, the role of the gut microbiota in malaria infection was studied. C57BL/6 mice from different vendors displayed differential resistance and susceptibility to severe malaria, …

The Association Of Qsofa, Sofa, And Sirs With Mortality In Emergency Department Pneumonia, Ian D. Mecham, Nathan C. Dean, Emily L. Wilson, Al R. Jephson, Michael J. Lanpsa

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

Objective: To determine the association between 30-day mortality with Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS), Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA), and quick SOFA (qSOFA) in emergency department patients with pneumonia. Secondary outcomes included the association of sepsis scores with hospital admission and direct ICU admission.

Methods: This is a secondary analysis of a pneumonia population conducted in the emergency department of 3 tertiary care medical centers and 4 community hospitals. Adult immunocompetent patients diagnosed with pneumonia were included from 3 twelve-month periods spanning December 2009 to October 2015. We generated area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) values for …

Coping With Chronic Fungal Rhinosinusitis: Diagnosis To Therapy, Veronica Corcino, Leslie Beavin, Shengli Lu, Ashley Ross, Carmen V. Sciortino Jr.

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

No abstract provided.

Comparison Of Mortality And Therapy In Community Acquired Pneumonia, Gina Maki, Daniela Moreno, Anthony Harris, Steven Lawrence, Andrew Masica, Lois Lamerato, Marcus J. Zervos

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

Background: Community associated pneumonia (CAP) is one the most common causes of hospital admissions, exceeding more than one million per year in the United States, contributing to 3.4% of inpatient mortality. Our objective was to compare 30-day mortality using therapies recommended for treatment of CAP.

Methods: A multicenter retrospective analysis from four different hospitals was assessed from 2008 to 2013. The data was obtained from electronic medical records which included more than 70,000 patients. CAP patients were identified using discharge diagnostic codes during the years 2008-2013, as well as receiving therapy with ceftriaxone and azithromycin or a respiratory fluoroquinolone. Demographic …

Use Of Ultrasound For Diagnosis Of Pneumonia In Adults, A Review, Dafang Chen, Rodrigo Cavallazzi

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

Pneumonia is a common lung infection with significant morbidity and mortality. Currently, the diagnosis of pneumonia is made by patient history confirmed with chest radiograph or computed tomography. These modalities, however, have limitations including low accuracy, radiation exposure, and high cost. Lung ultrasound has become more prevalent in evaluating pulmonary conditions and has shown to be highly accurate in the diagnosis of pneumonia. The purpose of this review is to discuss sonographic findings associated with pneumonia, techniques used to obtain quality images, and the evidence in literature supporting the use of lung ultrasound in the diagnosis of pneumonia. Numerous studies …

Wnt/Β-Catenin Mediated Cancer Stem Cell Activation In Hepatocellular Carcinoma., Harshulkumar M. Pandit

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the deadliest cancers, with variable presentation, high chemotherapy resistance and early tumor recurrence. In this dissertation, we have systematically enriched, identified and characterized HCC cancer stem cells (CSCs) from 3 different HCC cell lines (Hepa1-6, HepG2, and Hep3B) using in vitro serum-free culture method. Enriched spheroids acquired CSC properties, primarily self-renewal capability, spheroid formation ability, and drug resistance. Heterogeneous CSCs enriched from Hepa1-6 cells demonstrated higher tumor initiation and proliferation capability in vivo, compared to control HCC cells in orthotopic immunocompetent mouse model. EpCAM+ CSCs were significantly enriched within heterogeneous Hepa1-6 CSC spheroids. Consequently, …

Bayesian Analytical Approaches For Metabolomics : A Novel Method For Molecular Structure-Informed Metabolite Interaction Modeling, A Novel Diagnostic Model For Differentiating Myocardial Infarction Type, And Approaches For Compound Identification Given Mass Spectrometry Data., Patrick J. Trainor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Metabolomics, the study of small molecules in biological systems, has enjoyed great success in enabling researchers to examine disease-associated metabolic dysregulation and has been utilized for the discovery biomarkers of disease and phenotypic states. In spite of recent technological advances in the analytical platforms utilized in metabolomics and the proliferation of tools for the analysis of metabolomics data, significant challenges in metabolomics data analyses remain. In this dissertation, we present three of these challenges and Bayesian methodological solutions for each. In the first part we develop a new methodology to serve a basis for making higher order inferences in metabolomics, …

Influence Of Built Environment And Social Capital On Mental Health Of Residents Of Assisted Living Communities In Louisville, Ky., Sarah E. Walsh, A. Scott Lajoie

Faculty Scholarship

Objectives: Prior research has shown social capital and built environment quality are associated with overall health status and the incidence of mental illness. This study explores the relationship between social capital, built environment, and quality of life specifically for assisted living residents, currently a gap in the literature. Method: A total of 76 assisted living residents were interviewed for the study using researcher-administered questionnaires. In addition, site audits were conducted to quantitatively evaluate the built environment surrounding 12 assisted living communities in the Louisville Metro region. Results: There was a moderate, positive correlation between social capital and mental health, r …

Designing Interactive Virtual Environments With Feedback In Health Applications., Yi Li

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

One of the most important factors to influence user experience in human-computer interaction is the user emotional reaction. Interactive environments including serious games that are responsive to user emotions improve their effectiveness and user satisfactions. Testing and training for user emotional competence is meaningful in healthcare field, which has motivated us to analyze immersive affective games using emotional feedbacks. In this dissertation, a systematic model of designing interactive environment is presented, which consists of three essential modules: affect modeling, affect recognition, and affect control. In order to collect data for analysis and construct these modules, a series of experiments were …

A New Surgical Approach For O-C2 Fusion, Solving The Problem Of Dysphagia., M. Kathryn Mcclure

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The fusion of the second cervical vertebrae to the occipital bone (O-C2 fusion) for head stabilization can result in postoperative dysphagia and dyspnea, negatively impacting the patient’s quality of life. Currently, the O-C2 angle is used for head placement, which may not place the head neutrally. We hypothesize that aligning the external auditory meatus with midline of the C2 will reduce oropharyngeal stenosis, reducing dysphagia. One male patient with poor swallow quality of life who required a revision of a previous O-C2 surgery was evaluated via videofluoroscopy and completed the standard swallow quality of life questionnaire (SWAL-QOL) before and after …

Tetanus In An Unvaccinated Amish Woman After A Breech Home Delivery In Kentucky, 2016, Veronica Corcino, Anna Q. Yaffee, Maydelin Pecchio, Mary E. Powell, Forest W. Arnold

Journal of Refugee & Global Health

No abstract provided.