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Horizontal Transmission Of Helicoverpa Armigera Nucleopolyhedrovirus (Hearnpv) In Soybean Fields Infested With Helicoverpa Zea (Boddie), Joseph Lee Black

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Helicoverpa armigera Nucleopolyhedrovirus (HearNPV) is a commercially available viral biopesticide that targets Heliothines, including Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), the most damaging pest of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) in the Mid-South. Previous formulations of HearNPV have been well studied; however, no research has been published on current formulations. The first objective of this thesis was to assess the rate of horizontal transmission of HearNPV in a soybean field infested with H. zea when HearNPV was applied as a bio-insecticide, and to identify arthropods that are important obligate carriers in dissemination. HearNPV spread 200 feet in 3 fields, and was …

Because We Have To: Flamenco As Survival Strategy Against Detrimental Effects Of Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder, Dolores Garcia

Theatre & Dance ETDs

Can daily practice in flamenco training help mediate the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) on the brain and body? This thesis focuses on the inner-workings of the brain and how it processes stress and trauma. This is discussed through the idea of the Fear Circuit, which is a habitual response to reminders of the original trauma; the review of a current therapy for PTSD patients-Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR); the theory that throwing (skill in speed and precision –based throwing activities), music, and dance can all work to increase strength in areas of the brain that atrophy …

Towards An Eco-Phylogenetic Framework For Infectious Disease Ecology, Nicholas M. Fountain-Jones, William D. Pearse, Luis E. Escobar, Ana Alba-Casals, Scott Carver, T. Jonathan Davies, Simona Kraberger, Monica Papes, Kurt Vandegrift, Katherine Worsley-Tonks, Meggan E. Craft

Biology Faculty Publications

Identifying patterns and drivers of infectious disease dynamics across multiple scales is a fundamental challenge for modern science. There is growing awareness that it is necessary to incorporate multi-host and/or multi-parasite interactions to understand and predict current and future disease threats better, and new tools are needed to help address this task. Eco-phylogenetics (phylogenetic community ecology) provides one avenue for exploring multi-host multi-parasite systems, yet the incorporation of eco-phylogenetic concepts and methods into studies of host pathogen dynamics has lagged behind. Eco-phylogenetics is a transformative approach that uses evolutionary history to infer present-day dynamics. Here, we present an eco-phylogenetic framework …

Cannibalism And Infectious Disease: Friends Or Foes?, Benjamin G. Van Allen, Forrest P. Dillemuth, Andrew J. Flick, Matthew J. Faldyn, David R. Clark, Volker H.W. Rudolf, Bret D. Elderd

Faculty Publications

© 2017 by The University of Chicago. Cannibalism occurs in a majority of both carnivorous and noncarnivorous animal taxa from invertebrates to mammals. Similarly, infectious parasites are ubiquitous in nature. Thus, interactions between cannibalism and disease occur regularly. While some adaptive benefits of cannibalism are clear, the prevailing view is that the risk of parasite transmission due to cannibalism would increase disease spread and, thus, limit the evolutionary extent of cannibalism throughout the animal kingdom. In contrast, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the other half of the interaction between cannibalism and disease, that is, how cannibalism affects parasites. …

The Effect Of Hospital Biocide Sodium Dichloroisocyanurate On The Viability And Properties Of Clostridium Difficile Spores., L. T. Joshi, A. Welsch, J. Hawkins, L. Baillie

Peninsula Dental School

UNLABELLED: Clostridium difficile is the primary cause of healthcare-associated diarrhoea globally and produces spores which are resistant to commonly used biocides and are able persist on contaminated surfaces for months. This study examined the effect o

Clostridium Difficile: A Study On Its Potential As A Food-Borne Pathogen And Strategies For Controlling Its Transmission, Genevieve Flock

Doctoral Dissertations

Clostridium difficile is a gram-positive, spore-forming, anaerobic, nosocomial pathogen affecting hospitalized patients taking long-term antibiotics. The bacterium is responsible for over 500,000 cases and 29,000 deaths annually (Lessa et al., 2015), with ~ $3 billion in health-care costs (O'Brien et al., 2007). There has been the emergence of a new hypervirulent strain of C. difficile known as North American Pulsotype 1 (NAP1), which is responsible for severe infections. Further, an increase in the incidence of C. difficile infections outside of hospital environments (Hensgens et al., 2012; McDonald et al., 2006; Rupnik et al., 2009) is observed. It is reported that …

Cross-Species Transmission Potential Between Wild Pigs, Livestock, Poultry, Wildlife, And Humans: Implications For Disease Risk Management In North America, Ryan S. Miller, Steven Sweeney, Chris Slootmaker, Daniel A. Grear, Paul A. Di Salvo, Deborah Kiser, Stephanie A. Shwiff

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

Cross-species disease transmission between wildlife, domestic animals and humans is an increasing threat to public and veterinary health. Wild pigs are increasingly a potential veterinary and public health threat. Here we investigate 84 pathogens and the host species most at risk for transmission with wild pigs using a network approach. We assess the risk to agricultural and human health by evaluating the status of these pathogens and the co-occurrence of wild pigs, agriculture and humans. We identified 34 (87%) OIE listed swine pathogens that cause clinical disease in livestock, poultry, wildlife, and humans. On average 73% of bacterial, 39% of …

Transmission Pattern Of Major Clonal Lineages Of Toxoplasma Gondii, Pooja Saraf

Doctoral Dissertations

Toxoplasma gondii is the most successful zoonotic pathogen known today. One-third of people are chronically infected worldwide. Different strains of T. gondii shows variability in mouse virulence which may potentially correlate with disease manifestation in humans. As a result, mouse is used as the model organism to study the virulence of T. gondii strains. To study the virulence on a global scale, it is necessary to establish a standardized approach for mice virulence assays. Thus, we review the methodologies used in different labs and put forth standardized approaches to study the T. gondii virulence in mice (Chapter 1). Recent …

The Ebola Virus Prevention And Human Rights Implications, Florence Shu-Acquaye

University of Massachusetts Law Review

The Ebola virus and its now infamous 2014 West African outbreak have constituted the deadliest and most terrifying epidemic of recent memory. Not only does the epidemic now carry an already ghastly backdrop in the public mind when discussions around it begin, but, like the AIDS epidemic, cultural practices have contributed to the entrenchment of Ebola in Africa, compounded by weak human rights laws and stigmatization, all of these factors having contributed to the multi-faceted and complex nature of addressing the problem of eliminating this disease in Africa. This article examines the African countries that have been plagued by the …

Effects Of Chikungunya Virus Titers In Blood Meals On Virus Infection, Dissemination, And Transmission In Asian Tiger Mosquito: Aedes Albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae), Ranida Tuanudom, Nichapat Yurayart, Sonthaya Tiawsirisup

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an important mosquito-borne virus and transmission cycle of this virus involves mosquito vectors and infected vertebrate hosts. However, the study about vector competence for CHIKV in Thailand is limited. This study was conducted to examine the effects of CHIKV titers in blood meals on vector competence of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae). Five groups of Ae. albopictus were allowed to feed on different levels of CHIKV in the blood meals which were 102, 103, 104, 105, and 106 CID50/ml of CHIKV. Body, legs and wings, and saliva samples from blood-fed mosquitoes were assayed for the presence of …

Controlling Factors That Potentially Against Transmission Of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever At State Elementary Schools In Yogyakarta, Tri Baskoro Tunggul Satoto, Nur Alvira, Tri Wibawa, Ajib Diptyanusa

Kesmas

Sekolah dasar merupakan tempat yang dapat mengakibatkan peningkatan penyakit dengue pada anak karena faktor lingkungan, adanya potensi penularan, belum adanya system manajemen lingkungan yang baik dan beberapa upaya pengendalian yang tidak lagi efektif. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui faktor yang berpotensi terhadap penularan demam berdarah dengue bagi anak, sehingga sistem kewaspadaan dini dapat ditegakkan. Jenis penelitian ini adalah analitik dengan rancangan potong lintang. Penelitian dilaksanakan pada 91 sekolah dasar negeri di Kota Yogyakarta. Variabel yang diobservasi adalah serotype virus DEN, resistensi insektisida, kepadatan vektor,dan kondisi fisik sekolah. Analisis data menggunakan analisis deskriptif dan korelasi-regresi (a = 0.05). Hasil menunjukkan bahwa …

Evolutionary Enhancement Of Zika Virus Infectivity In Aedes Aegypti Mosquitoes, Yang Liu, Jianying Liu, Senyan Du, Cheng-Feng Qin, Penghua Wang, Pei-Yong Shi, Gong Cheng

NYMC Faculty Publications

Zika virus (ZIKV) remained obscure until the recent explosive outbreaks in French Polynesia (2013-2014) and South America (2015-2016). Phylogenetic studies have shown that ZIKV has evolved into African and Asian lineages. The Asian lineage of ZIKV was responsible for the recent epidemics in the Americas. However, the underlying mechanisms through which ZIKV rapidly and explosively spread from Asia to the Americas are unclear. Non-structural protein 1 (NS1) facilitates flavivirus acquisition by mosquitoes from an infected mammalian host and subsequently enhances viral prevalence in mosquitoes. Here we show that NS1 antigenaemia determines ZIKV infectivity in its mosquito vector Aedes aegypti, which …

Ebola Virus - Epidemiology, Diagnosis, And Control: Threat To Humans, Lessons Learnt, And Preparedness Plans - An Update On Its 40 Year's Journey, Raj Kumar Singh, Kuldeep Dhama, Yashpal Singh Malik, Muthannan Andavar Ramakrishnan, Kumaragurubaran Karthik, Rekha Khandia, Ruchi Tiwari, Ashok Munjal, Mani Saminathan, Perumal Arumugam, Sunil Kumar Joshi

Bioelectrics Publications

Ebola virus (EBOV) is an extremely contagious pathogen and causes lethal hemorrhagic fever disease in man and animals. The recently occurred Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreaks in the West African countries have categorized it as an international health concern. For the virus maintenance and transmission, the non-human primates and reservoir hosts like fruit bats have played a vital role. For curbing the disease timely, we need effective therapeutics/prophylactics, however, in the absence of any approved vaccine, timely diagnosis and monitoring of EBOV remains of utmost importance. The technologically advanced vaccines like a viral-vectored vaccine, DNA vaccine and virus-like particles are …

Zika Virus From A Neonatologist’S Perspective, A Zylak, Sergio Golombek

NYMC Faculty Publications

Zika virus has been known for more than half a century. Its clinical significance was just recently discovered, after the epidemic of Zika virus emerged in South and Central America. A task force established in 2015 by the Brazil Ministry of Health investigated the possible association between congenital Zika infection and microcephaly in fetuses and newborns. Since then more and more evidence emerged, supporting this hypothesis. The objective of this article is to review and summarize the currently available literature regarding Zika virus from a neonatologist’s standpoint and provide some guidance to medical providers who may have to care for …

Haemophilus Influenzae Type B Invasive Disease In Amish Children, Missouri, Usa, 2014, Angela L. Myers, Mary Anne Jackson, Lixin Zhang, Douglas S. Swanson, Janet R. Gilsdorf

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

© 2017, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). All rights reserved. During 5 months in 2014, three Amish children in Missouri, USA, were diagnosed with invasive Haemophilus influenzae type b infection. Two were rural neighbors infected with a genetically similar rare strain, sequence type 45. One child had recently traveled, raising the possibility of maintenance of this strain among unvaccinated carriers in Amish communities.

Controlling Viral Outbreaks: Quantitative Strategies, Anna Mummert, Howard Weiss

Mathematics Faculty Research

Preparing for and responding to outbreaks of serious livestock infectious diseases are critical measures to safeguard animal health, public health, and food supply. Almost all of the current control strategies are empirical, and mass culling or “stamping out” is frequently the principal strategy for controlling epidemics. However, there are ethical, ecological, and economic reasons to consider less drastic control strategies. Here we use modeling to quantitatively study the efficacy of different control measures for viral outbreaks, where the infectiousness, transmissibility and death rate of animals commonly depends on their viral load. We develop a broad theoretical framework for exploring and …

Finite Element Analysis Of A Friction Clutch System In An Automatic Transmission, Samuel Cook

Capstone Design Expo Posters

The purpose of this project is to develop a computational solution to the effects of certain variables present inside an automatic transmission, more specifically, the friction clutch system that enables and disables different gear-sets. Afton partnered with the School of Engineering looking for a time-sensitive, computational solution to serve as a valuable comparison to what exists at Afton’s disposal currently. The solution is a finite element analysis (FEA) simulation that transforms a real world device with many nuances and intricacies into a simplified model in a two dimensional test space. The challenge exists in keeping the simplified model accurate to …

Reducing Noise In Automatic Transmission, Connor Golden-Weathers, Riley Hall, Matthew Bosco, Felix Pyatigorskiy

Capstone Design Expo Posters

The efficiency of an automobile increases as its running torque increases. This is an avenue for improving fuel economy that is actively being pursued. However, transmissions running at higher torques produce an unacceptable amount of noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH). NVH occurs most visibly as a result of the vehicle’s friction clutch behavior. At present, machines capable of testing this behavior exist (MTM machine and LVFA rig) but are very expensive in terms of time, space, and production cost.

The goal of this project is to produce a cost-effective machine in which friction clutch behavior can be analyzed in a …

Development Of Mouse Models For The Study Of Zika Virus Pathogenesis And Antibody Response, Anna Beatriz Kawiecki

LSU Master's Theses

After the emergence of Zika virus (ZIKV) in the Americas in 2015, ZIKV infection was associated for the first time since its discovery with severe symptoms in both adults and congenital cases, including neurological, ocular, and developmental manifestations. Previous ZIKV circulation in Africa and Southeast Asia has been characterized by mild symptoms and small-scale case-counts. It is unclear whether the unprecedented size and severity of the ZIKV outbreak in the Americas are the consequence of a change in the virus, different background flaviviral immunity in the population, or a reporting issue. In addition, ZIKV has been shown to be transmitted …

Effect Of Scattered Electrons On The 'Magic Plate' Transmission Array Detector Response, Z A. Alrowaili, Michael L. F Lerch, Marco Petasecca, Martin G. Carolan, Anatoly B. Rosenfeld

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Transmission type detectors can provide a measure of the energy fluence and if they are real-time systems that do not significantly attenuate the radiation beam have a distinct advantage over the current method as Quality Assurance (QA) could in principle be done during the actual patient treatment. The use of diode arrays in QA holds much promise due to real-time operation and feedback when compared to other methods e.g. films which are not real-time. The goal of this work is to describe the characterization of the radiation response of a silicon diode array called the Magic Plate (MP) when operated …

Proposed Amendment To Iec/Tr 61000.3.6:2008 For Harmonic Allocation To Loads In Transmission Systems, Tuan Vu, Duane A. Robinson, Victor J. Gosbell, Sarath Perera, Rizah Memisevic

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

Ensuring harmonic voltage distortion levels in transmission systems remain below acceptable levels relies on appropriate allocations of emissions to customer loads and bulk supply points. A number of practical issues have been identified with the existing harmonic allocation method for transmission systems in the technical report IEC/TR 61000-3-6:2008, Ed.2: the method to assess the total available power of a busbar, a key component to harmonic allocations, is not intuitive and there is a lack of clarity in the report; the method for sharing planning levels also does not allow unused spare capacity at a busbar to be shared with other …

Tribological And Dynamical Study Of An Automotive Transmission System, Meng Li

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The transmission system is critical for automotive and heavy duty equipment due to its prominent role in the powertrain system, which is often challenged with degraded torque capacity and harsh dynamic response. Simulation-guided design can provide appropriate guidelines to resolve these problems with virtual analyses. In current study, the tribological and dynamical study of an automatic transmission is performed at two levels: a wet clutch and powertrain. In this dissertation, tribological study is performed for a wet clutch based on the thermohydrodynamic (THD) analysis that takes the following factors into account. • The groove effect (depth, area, and pattern) is …

Functional Studies Of Novel Mosquito Stage-Specific Genes In The Malaria Parasite, Plasmodium Berghei., Kaitlyn Kiernan

Master's Theses

The development and survival of the malaria parasite Plasmodium within its mosquito vector is not very well understood. When the parasite is taken up by an Anopheles mosquito, it is exposed to digestive enzymes, reactive oxygen species, increasing pH, decreasing temperature, and a diverse microbial flora. Our lab is studying the adaptive mechanisms underlying parasite survival in this hostile environment, one of which is movement out of the midgut. In order to escape the midgut, the parasite develops into an elongated, motile form called the ookinete. I am investigating two genes, thioredoxin-like protein 1 (trxl-1) and subpellicular microtubule protein 1 …

The Role Of Breastfeeding In Mother-To-Child Transmission Of Hiv/Aids: A Comparative Case Study Of Three Countries, Anjali Cherukuri

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The HIV pandemic has affected millions of people around the world both medically and socially, since there is a stigma associated with this disease. Common methods of transmission include sexual intercourse and sharing needles, but there are other lesser known methods through which people can contract this disease. One such way is mother-to-child transmission (MTCT), in which a mother could transmit the virus to her child either during pregnancy, childbirth, or through breastfeeding. This paper focuses on the role of breastfeeding in the transmission of HIV from mother to child. Many studies have investigated how breastfeeding results in the transmission …

Inferring Infection Hazard In Wildlife Populations By Linking Data Across Individual And Population Scales, Kim M. Pepin, Shannon L. Kay, Ben D. Golas, Susan A. Shriner, Amy T. Gilbert, Ryan S. Miller, Andrea L. Graham, Steven Riley, Paul C. Cross, Michael D. Samuel, Mevin B. Hooten, Jennifer A. Hoeting, James O. Lloyd-Smith, Colleen T. Webb, Michael G. Buhnerkempe

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Our ability to infer unobservable disease-dynamic processes such as force of infection (infection hazard for susceptible hosts) has transformed our understanding of disease transmission mechanisms and capacity to predict disease dynamics. Conventional methods for inferring FOI estimate a time-averaged value and are based on population-level processes. Because many pathogens exhibit epidemic cycling and FOI is the result of processes acting across the scales of individuals and populations, a flexible framework that extends to epidemic dynamics and links within-host processes to FOI is needed. Specifically, within-host antibody kinetics in wildlife hosts can be short-lived and produce patterns that are repeatable across …

The 17th Rocky Mountain Virology Association Meeting, Joel Rovnak, Rushika Perera, Matthew W. Hopken, Jenna Read, Derrick M. Waller, Randall J. Cohrs

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Since 2000, scientists and students from the greater Rocky Mountain region, along with invited speakers, both national and international, have gathered at the Mountain Campus of Colorado State University to discuss their area of study, present recent findings, establish or strengthen collaborations, and mentor the next generation of virologists and prionologists through formal presentations and informal discussions concerning science, grantsmanship and network development. This year, approximately 100 people attended the 17th annual Rocky Mountain Virology Association meeting, that began with a keynote presentation, and featured 29 oral and 35 poster presentations covering RNA and DNA viruses, prions, virus-host interactions and …

Host Allometry Influences The Evolution Of Parasite Host-Generalism: Theory And Meta-Analysis, Josephine G. Walker, Amy Hurford, Jo Cable, Amy R. Ellison, Stephen J. Price, Clayton E. Cressler

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Parasites vary widely in the diversity of hosts they infect: some parasite species are specialists—infecting just a single host species, while others are generalists, capable of infecting many. Understanding the factors that drive parasite host-generalism is of basic biological interest, but also directly relevant to predicting disease emergence in new host species, identifying parasites that are likely to have unidentified additional hosts, and assessing transmission risk. Here, we use mathematical models to investigate how variation in host body size and environmental temperature affect the evolution of parasite host-generalism. We predict that parasites are more likely to evolve a generalist strategy …

Host Allometry Influences The Evolution Of Parasite Host-Generalism: Theory And Meta-Analysis, Josephine G. Walker, Amy Hurford, Jo Cable, Amy R. Ellison, Stephen J. Price, Clayton E. Cressler

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Parasites vary widely in the diversity of hosts they infect: some parasite species are specialists—infecting just a single host species, while others are generalists, capable of infecting many. Understanding the factors that drive parasite host-generalism is of basic biological interest, but also directly relevant to predicting disease emergence in new host species, identifying parasites that are likely to have unidentified additional hosts, and assessing transmission risk. Here, we use mathematical models to investigate how variation in host body size and environmental temperature affect the evolution of parasite host-generalism. We predict that parasites are more likely to evolve a generalist strategy …