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The Gay Men Who Play With Their Hiv Status., Matthew I. Euzarraga

Capstones

• Since the 90’s a group of individuals known as Bug Chasers, predominately gay men have been playing a game of cat and mouse actively wanting to be caught and infected with HIV. This is a dive into the world of bug chasing.

Multistrain Hiv-1 Elimination: A Crispr-Cas9 And Theranostics-Based Approach, Jonathan Herskovitz

Theses & Dissertations

A critical barrier to achieving a functional cure for infection by human immunodeficiency virus type one (HIV-1) rests in the presence of latent proviral DNA integrated in the nuclei of host CD4+ T cells and mononuclear phagocytes. Accordingly, HIV-1-infected patients must adhere to lifelong regimens of antiretroviral therapy (ART) to prevent viral rebound, CD4+ T cell decline, and progression to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Gene editing using clustered regularly interspersed short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-Cas9 technology stands as one means to inactivate integrated proviral DNA. We devised a mosaic gRNA CRISPR-Cas9 system- TatDE- that targets viral transcriptional regulator genes tat / …

Non-Prescription Sale Of Syringes In Monterey County, Ruby Ramos Godoy

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

I have interned for the Monterey County Health Department in the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Prevention Program. My capstone project focuses on a community problem targeting high HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV) transmission rates in Monterey County. There are high HIV and HCV rates among injection drug users (IDUs), and many of our community members may partake in these harmful activities. The cause of these high HIV and HCV rates is because there are limited amounts of pharmacies selling syringes without a prescription, which then causes the high HIV and HCV rates among injection drug users and low life expectancy …

Incorporating Hiv Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis In Primary Care, Daniel Manesh

Doctor of Nursing Practice

In 2012, the Food and Drug Administration approved a combination medication named Truvada (tenofovir/emtricitabine) as a prophylactic treatment to prevent HIV transmission. Truvada is also known as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PREP). PREP is a one-pill-a-day regimen proven to be 99% effective against HIV-1 transmission from sex and intravenous drug injection when taken daily. The uptake of PREP remains low because primary care providers fail to identify patients who meet the requirements to start PREP and fail to prescribe PREP for patients at risk. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to increase the uptake of PREP in patients at risk …

Application Of The “Idisco” Full-Brain Tissue Clearing Method: A View Of Dopamine And Inflammation In The Hiv-1 Transgenic Rat, Kristin Nickole Kirchner

Theses and Dissertations

The iDISCO (immunolabeling-enabled three-dimensional imaging of solvent-cleared organs) method is a quick, inexpensive, and easily adaptable tissue staining and clearing procedure that allows neuroscientists to study a protein of interest in a whole, unaltered tissue sample. While the iDISCO method was initially tested and validated for mice embryos and brains, the current experiment sought to adapt the method for use in the rat using HIV-1 transgenic (Tg) rat brain tissue. Antibodies for tyrosine hydroxylase and Iba-1 were validated in the HIV-1 Tg rat and in F344/N control rats using iDISCO. Confocal images were taken of tyrosine hydroxylase positive neurons in …

The Role Of Attentional Processes In The Associations Between Syndemics And Hiv Risk, Raymond L. Moody

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Sexual minority men (SMM) remain the group most affected by HIV in the United States. The term “syndemic” has been used to describe high levels of comorbidity and additive effects that some factors—childhood sexual abuse, intimate partner violence, sexual compulsivity, substance use, and depression—have on HIV transmission risk behavior (TRB). Previous research provides support for an HIV syndemic among SMM, but mechanisms linking syndemic factors and driving the association between the factors and TRB are less understood. Some research suggests that executive attention and emotion dysregulation are linked with several syndemic factors. As such, the aims of this dissertation were …

Impact Of 2012 Spanish Health Care Reform On Hiv-Positive Immigrants: A Mixed Methods Approach, Megi Gogishvili

Dissertations and Theses

Background: The financial crisis of 2008 hit Spain hard. As a consequence, the government took multiple austerity measures, including reforms in the healthcare system in 2012. Specifically, the government reduced the budget for health and social services by 13.7% in 2012.The reduction was further followed with structural changes via the 2012 Royal Decree Law (RDL) and Royal Decree (RD).The 2012 RDL and RD entailed broad areas of action,but most importantly the Spanish National Health System (SNS) no longer covered undocumented immigrants. The 2012 RDL and RD excluded approximately 500,000 undocumented immigrants from SNS.

The number of immigrants in Spain has …

The Aids Virus And The Galvanization Of The Lgbtq Movement For Equality, Michael Ernest Wachowski

Graduate Theses

The LGBTQ community was greatly altered by the AIDS crisis and the organizations that were founded in the 1980s. AIDS would become associated with those of the gay community during the early years of the crisis. The government and leading health officials perpetuated the public’s ignorance about the relativity new disease leading to more misunderstandings and mishandlings of the HIV/AIDS crisis. The disease did not discriminate among people, however, and quickly spread throughout many of the communities in the U.S. Organizations with roots in the LGBTQ community established themselves during the 1980s to deal with not only the AIDS crisis, …

Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging As A Diagnostic Biomarker Of Hiv-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders (Hand), Mikki Schantell

Capstone Experience

Objective: The goal of this study was to do an exploratory analysis to determine if gray matter brain volumes and cortical thickness measures obtained from structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) can discriminate people with HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND), neurocognitively unimpaired people with HIV (NU PWH), and HIV-negative controls (HIV- controls) using linear discriminant analyses.

Methods: A total of 231 participants, including 110 PWH and 121 HIV- controls, completed a neuropsychological (NP) battery and an sMRI protocol. The bilateral gray matter volumes and cortical thickness brain regions were analyzed using 18 linear discriminant models to assess the discriminability of gray matter …

Multi-Scale Evolution Of Virulence Of Hiv-1, David W. Dick

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

HIV-1 is a rapidly replicating retrovirus that faces two distinct fitness landscapes: within-host HIV-1 faces viral competition for host cells and for escape from the immune system, and between hosts HIV-1 faces a transmission bottleneck in which the majority of new infections are started by a single virus strain. Possibly as a result of these conflicting selective pressures, the rate of evolution of HIV-1 tends to be greater within-host than between hosts.

A current hypothesis for this difference in evolutionary rates is that the HIV-1 latent reservoir acts to archive virus for later transmission. We offer a related but complimentary …

Implementing An M-Health Program To Prevent Hiv In Msm And Tgw, Marja Cormack-Price

Nursing Master's Theses

Clinical Problem: Rates of HIV in the LGBTQ population, specifically persons from the men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (TGW) group, have a higher rate of HIV when compared to the public. These rates continue to increase and remain most prevalent amongst this group. It has been identified that high risk sexual behaviors (HRSB) lead to higher rates of HIV transmission and acquisition. According to the literature, the use of social media is prevalent in the LGBTQ community as they tend to use social media in sex seeking behaviors.

Significance: There is an urgency and importance …

Aging With Hiv In The United States: Trends And Impact Of Hospital Stays On Inpatient Resource Utilization, And Costs Of Care, 2003-2015, Khairul Alam Siddiqi

Theses and Dissertations

Background:

Due to advances in Antiretroviral Therapy (ART), people living with HIV (PLWH) live longer in the United States. Aging prolongs exposure to HIV and antiretroviral drugs, which could lead to an elevated risk of developing multiple age-related comorbidities [HIV Associated Non-AIDS (HANA) conditions], earlier for PLWH. Higher comorbidity burdens among older PLWH may require greater use of inpatient care, i.e., higher hospitalization, inpatient resource utilization, and costs. This study examined the trends and characteristics of comorbidities, resource utilization, and costs of hospital stays with HIV (HSWH) compared to hospital stays without HIV (HSWOH). We also assessed trends for resource …

17 Β-Estradiol And Phytoestrogens Attenuate Apoptotic Cell Death In Hiv-1 Tat Exposed Primary Cortical Cultures, Sheila Marie Adams

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), neurological disorders develop in most people infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). The poor CNS delivery of anti-retrovirals allows continued virus production and renders neurons susceptible to the toxic effects of released viral proteins. The neurotoxic potential of HIV-1 viral protein Tat has been shown to include excitotoxicity, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction leading to subsequent cell death. Thus, Tat is thought to have a key role in the pathogenesis of HIV-associated neurodegeneration. Estrogens are universally considered to be neuroprotective, as such; estrogens have positive implications in the treatment …

Vulnerable Agents: Ugandan Children's Experiences With Hiv Rehabilitation And Reintegration, Colleen Walsh Lang

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Exploration Of The Complex Relationship Among Multilevel Predictors Of Prep Use Among Men Who Have Sex With Men In The United States, Kristina M. Rodriguez

Dissertations and Theses

Background: Men who have sex with men (MSM) remain the group most heavily affected by HIV in the United States (US), with MSM of color further disproportionately represented. In July 2012, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate plus emtricitabine (TDF-FTC, Truvada) for use as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in HIV-negative adults who are at high-risk of HIV infection. Despite its effectiveness, PrEP prescriptions are reaching only a small proportion of those who could benefit from the drug and prescription rates vary both by race and geographic region. The goal of this dissertation was …

Predictors Of Tb-Mortality Among Hospitalized Hiv-Infected Children In Kenya, Henry Sohre Kitiabi Mr., Lisa Marie Cranmer Dr.

Public Health Theses

Abstract

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, resulting in an estimated one million new cases and over 200,000 deaths annually among children. TB is the leading cause of death in HIV-infected children globally (Swaminathan & Rekha, 2010), but few studies have evaluated cofactors of pediatric TB mortality the era ART. We evaluated predictors of TB mortality in a cohort of HIV-infected hospitalized Kenyan children initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Methods: HIV-infected children age(PUSH) trial. Children were ART-naïve and started ART within 2 weeks of enrollment. All children underwent intensified TB case finding at enrollment and were …

Aging Women With Human Immunodeficiency Virus: A Narrative Analysis Of Stigma, Seja Jackson

Doctoral Dissertations

Aging Women with Human Immunodeficiency Virus: A Narrative Analysis of Stigma

Seja Jackson, Ph.D.

University of Connecticut, 2020

Over 50 % of people living with HIV are over age 50 (CDC, 2019a). Older women face unique challenges due to Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) stigma, which leads to complications including late diagnosis and poorer outcomes. Despite the transition of HIV to a chronic disease, HIV stigma remains.

In alignment with feminist principles, this author used Catherine Riessman’s (1993; 2008) method of thematic narrative analysis to illuminate the stories of aging women living with HIV. I interviewed 12 women over 50, aging …

Mobilizing Museums Against Aids: Visual Aids And Day Without Art, 1988–1989, Kyle Croft

Theses and Dissertations

This paper provides a historical account and analysis of Visual AIDS’ first Day Without Art in 1989, a day of action and mourning observed at hundreds of art museums in response to the AIDS crisis. Day Without Art marshaled arts professionals to engage in the struggle against AIDS, shifting social roles and responsibilities within art institutions.

A Novel Approach To Hiv Prevention: Understanding Multi-Level Influences On Hiv Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (Prep) Uptake And Outreach Among African Americans., Suur Debrah Ayangeakaa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examined and provided basis for addressing factors related to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) engagement, outreach, and uptake among high-risk African American youth groups in Louisville, KY. This qualitative dissertation study was designed through the lens of an interpretive framework of social constructivism which holds that multiple realities and interpretations exist and are socially constructed through the lived experiences of individuals and their interactions with others. Thus, lived experiences of various African American youth groups in Louisville as well as key informants of AIDS service organizations (ASOs) across the U.S. (including Louisville) were explored to develop a deeper understanding …

Effect Of Cigarette Smoking On Cd4 Count And Viral Load Among Hiv Patients Attending Treatment At Nebraska Medicine, Chacha Josiah Mwita

Capstone Experience

Background

Smoking is known to have a negative impact on both morbidity and mortality in people living with HIV (PLHIV). However, there is inconsistent information about the role of smoking on markers of HIV disease progression (CD4 count and HIV viral load). This study examined the effects of cigarette smoking on markers of HIV disease progression among PLHIV at Nebraska Medicine.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study was conducted utilizing electronic health information of 604 PLHIV who attended treatment at Nebraska Medicine between 2012 and 2020. Multiple linear regression was used to model the effects of smoking on the mean change …

Another Possibility: Hiv And The Contemporary Moment, Matthew Halse

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

“Another Possibility: HIV and the Contemporary Moment” addresses possibilities for political participation and HIV activism in a post-antiretroviral world. With advancing medical technologies rendering viral loads undetectable for HIV positive persons and with increasingly prevalent use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) as prevention technique for HIV negative persons comes the opportunity for a renewed understanding of the epidemic. Against the grain of nostalgic framings of activism prompted by the immanence of death, this dissertation outlines possibilities for new forms of political participation because of, not in spite of, the becoming-chronic of HIV.

Global movements including U=U (Undetectable = Untransmittable) messaging, referring …

Aging With Hiv: Biomarkers Of Inflammation And Incident Rheumatologic Disease, Jennifer Leslie Simon Hanberg

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

Chronic Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection results in multimorbidity and shortened lifespan. Inflammation and immune dysfunction contribute to these outcomes. The aim of this thesis is (1) to investigate the utility of two inflammatory biomarkers evaluated in other settings (neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR)) for prognostication in patients living with HIV (PLWH) and comorbid inflammatory states; and (2) to compare the frequency and severity with which rheumatologic disease states occur in PLWH to demographically and behaviorally similar uninfected individuals (“controls”).

Three cohorts were created from the Veterans Aging Cohort Study. In each cohort, patients were stratified by presence …

Socio-Economic Determinants Of Risky Sexual Behavior In Sub-Saharan Africa, Frida Tende

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Risky sexual behavior (RSB) is a major public health concern due to health outcomes, such as HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections, and unwanted pregnancies. RSB has been identified as 1 of the main components contributing to the high HIV incidence rate in sub-Saharan Africa. The purpose of the current research was to investigate RSB and its association with education and economic status among men and women in 3 sub-Saharan African countries (i.e., Rwanda, Zimbabwe, and Cameroon) while controlling for gender, age, religion, and place of residence. The social cognitive theory provided the framework for this cross-sectional study that included data from …

Regulation Of Schlafen 11 Expression, Christian Waldemar Corona Ayala

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Schlafen 11 (SLFN11) is a member a family of proteins that can be found in mammals. Members of this family are involved in important functions. SLFN11 in particular has been identified as a restriction factor for several evolutionarily disparate viruses such as HIV-1 and Flaviviruses and to play an important role in DNA repair, sensitizing cells to chemotherapy. Despite its relevance SLFN11 remains largely uncharacterized. The aim of this research was to achieve a more comprehensive understanding the regulation mechanism of SLFN 11 expression. Before our research, it was only known that type I interferon (IFN) regulates SLFN11 levels. However, …

Factors Associated With Hiv Among Black Women Experiencing Poverty: Exploring The Intersection Of Gender, Race, And Class, Robin Hardin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

More Black women are living with HIV relative to women from all other racial backgrounds, with unprotected heterosexual sex being the primary mode of transmission. There are power dynamics due to gender, class, and race that may increase susceptibility to contracting HIV among Black women with low socioeconomic status. Exploring the sociocultural and contextual factors that contribute to these high rates of HIV among Black women is critical for prevention efforts. Guided by Black feminist theory, which examines the intersectional effects of multiple marginalized identities, we formulated the current study. This study explored how factors embedded in the intersection of …

Voluntary Male Circumcision And Risk For Human Immunodeficiency Virus In Homa Bay, Kenya, George Obhai Gabriel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The role played by the belief about voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) in predicting HIV status has not been examined. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there were any differences between belief about VMMC, unprotected sex, age, number of sexual partners, relationship status, and HIV status among circumcised males aged between 18-49 years in Homa Bay County, Kenya. Drawing from the health belief model and case-control study design, 936 men were recruited based on their HIV status (468 HIV cases and 468 controls). A bivariate logistic regression was applied, and the results indicated that unprotected sex, age, …

Best Practices For Screening And Early Treatment For Hiv In The Hispanic Community, Juliana Deboviel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Hispanic community is among the ethnic minorities that are adversely affected by HIV/AIDS in the United States. HIV transmission rates and rates of death are high among Hispanic communities because of delays in HIV testing and late participation in HIV treatment, especially in the state where this study was conducted. However, advanced practices for screening and early treatment of HIV can improve patient outcomes and inform practice. Thus, this systematic review was conducted to identify the best available evidence for HIV screening and care in the Hispanic population in the Western United States that shares a border with Mexico. …

Risks For Hiv Infection Among Adolescent Girls And Young Women In Mozambique, Isabelle Casavant

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) living in Sub-Saharan African countries constitute 17% of the population, yet they account for one third of all new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections. To prevent HIV infections among AGYW, it is necessary to understand why they are disproportionally infected. The purpose of the dissertation was to identify risk for HIV among AGYW living in a southern district of Mozambique. The analysis was driven by the Modified Socio Ecological Model and performed using a quantitative dataset collected for the Chokwe Combination Prevention of HIV (N=3354). Logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess whether an …

Impact Of Education On Hiv Testing Among African American Women In The United States, Florence Matimbah Mbangowah

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Improved and increased human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing among African American women in the United States could facilitate early detection of the virus. The purpose of this cross-sectional quantitative study was to determine if there was a significant association between HIV testing participation and education level (i.e., high school, college, post-college level) based on access to healthcare after accounting for insurance, income, employment, marital status, English language proficiency, and vision quality. The integrated theory of health behavior change, the theoretical framework used for this research, proposes that changes in health behavior can be improved by various factors such as fostering …

Hiv/Sti Screening, Testing, And Prophylaxis Among Sexual Assault Survivors In U. S. Emergency Departments, Elizabeth A. Cita

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Use of HIV screening/testing and prophylaxis has been found to be low in the general emergency department (ED) population. Less is known about the use of HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening, testing, and prophylaxis among sexual assault survivors who present to EDs. The main research questions asked whether there was a relationship between race, socioeconomic status (SES), geographic region, or age, HIV/STI, treatment, and prophylaxis among sexual assault survivors that present to U.S. EDs. This study was a secondary analysis of data collected in the NHAMCS years 2010 to 2016 and included 112 geographic primary sampling units, about 480 hospitals. …