Life Sciences Commons^™

Utilising Discriminant Function Analysis (Dfa) For Classifying Osteoarthritis (Oa) Patients And Volunteers Based On Biomarker Concentration, Laura Jane Coleman, John L Byrne, Stuart Edwards, Rosemary O'Hara

Student and Faculty Publications

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease characterised by the breakdown of cartilage, causing pain, stiffness, and limited movement. Early diagnosis is crucial for effective management but remains challenging due to non-specific early symptoms. This study explores the application of Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA) to classify OA patients and healthy volunteers based on biomarker concentrations of Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and Myeloperoxidase (MPO). DFA was employed to analyse biomarker data from 86 participants (58 patients, 28 volunteers) to evaluate the discriminatory power of these biomarkers in predicting OA. Significant differences were observed in MPO and TNF-α levels between …

Sustainability Of Management Practices Of Mountain Pastures In Reunion Island (Indian Ocean), V Blanfort, P Thomas, G Balent, A Michon

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

The grazing systems are an essential component of these volcanic highlands (1000-2000m). Our investigations consist of building up diagnosis tools and decision rules for a sustainable control of these fragile grazed ecosystems composed of native and sown pastures. The use of a systemic approach allows us to analyse the interrelationship between the vegetation dynamic and the agricultural practices through three biological indicators which relate to one hundred paddocks in six cattle farms. Concerning the vegetation dynamics, it seems that some management practices lead to a nonreversable degradation stage. As regards the forage system, the measure of sward-height and estimation of …

Assessing The Impact Of Storage Conditions On Rna From Human Saliva And Its Application To The Identification Of Mrna Biomarkers For Asthma, Poorna Manasa Bhamidimarri, David Fuentes, Laila Salameh, Bassam Mahboub, Rifat Hamoudi

Student and Faculty Publications

Introduction: Human saliva was used to develop non-invasive liquid biopsy biomarkers to establish saliva as an alternate to blood and plasma in translational research. The present study focused on understanding the impact of sample storage conditions on the extraction of RNA from saliva and the RNA yield, to be applied in clinical diagnosis. In this study, genes related to asthma were used to test the method developed.

Methods: Salivary RNA was extracted from three subjects using the Qiazol® based method and quantified by both spectrophotometric (NanoDrop) and fluorometric (Qubit®) methods. RNA integrity was measured using a bioanalyzer. Quantitative PCR was …

A Meta-Analysis For Laboratory Diagnostics For Coccidioidomycosis, Mary C. Cowen

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Coccidioidomycosis, commonly referred to as Valley Fever, is a fungal infection found in arid regions of the southwestern United States and Mexico. Infection occurs through inhalation of airborne spores from Coccidioides species, Coccidioides immitis and/or Coccidioides posadasii, and proceeds in both pulmonary and disseminated fashions. Approximately 60% of patients with coccidioidomycosis remain asymptomatic, while 40% will experience symptoms. Within the literature, there are no papers that summarize sensitivity and specificity values between different tests; therefore, this paper presents sensitivity and specificity results across different tests and companies (Meridian, IMMY, and MiraVista).

The Heteroptera (Hemiptera) Of North Dakota Ii: Enicocephalomorpha : Enicocephalidae, Alexander H. Knudson, Veronica Calles Torrez, David A. Rider

The Great Lakes Entomologist

The Enicocephalomorpha of North Dakota is documented with the report of the unique-headed bug, Systelloderes biceps (Say, 1832) from North Dakota for the first time. We also discuss the geographic distribution of S. biceps and Systelloderes culicis (Uhler, 1892), provide color photographs, provide diagnoses for the separation of these species from all other North American species, and designate a lectotype for S. culicis (Uhler).

Machine Learning As A Tool For Early Detection: A Focus On Late-Stage Colorectal Cancer Across Socioeconomic Spectrums, Hadiza Galadima, Rexford Anson-Dwamena, Ashley Johnson, Ghalib Bello, Georges Adunlin, James Blando

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Purpose: To assess the efficacy of various machine learning (ML) algorithms in predicting late-stage colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnoses against the backdrop of socio-economic and regional healthcare disparities. Methods: An innovative theoretical framework was developed to integrate individual- and census tract-level social determinants of health (SDOH) with sociodemographic factors. A comparative analysis of the ML models was conducted using key performance metrics such as AUC-ROC to evaluate their predictive accuracy. Spatio-temporal analysis was used to identify disparities in late-stage CRC diagnosis probabilities. Results: Gradient boosting emerged as the superior model, with the top predictors for late-stage CRC diagnosis being anatomic site, …

Host-Defense Piscidin Peptides As Antibiotic Adjuvants Against Clostridioides Difficile, Adenrele Oludiran, Areej Malik, Andriana C. Zourou, Yonghan Wu, Steven P. Gross, Albert Siryapon, Asia Poudel, Kwincy Alleyne, Savion Adams, David S. Courson, Myriam L. Cotten, Erin B. Purcell

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The spore-forming intestinal pathogen Clostridioides difficile causes multidrug resistant infection with a high rate of recurrence after treatment. Piscidins 1 (p1) and 3 (p3), cationic host defense peptides with micromolar cytotoxicity against C. difficile, sensitize C. difficile to clinically relevant antibiotics tested at sublethal concentrations. Both peptides bind to Cu²⁺ using an amino terminal copper and nickel binding motif. Here, we investigate the two peptides in the apo and holo states as antibiotic adjuvants against an epidemic strain of C. difficile. We find that the presence of the peptides leads to lower doses of …

Identification And Characterization Of Two Novel Kcnh2 Mutations Contributing To Long Qt Syndrome, Anthony Owusu-Mensah, Jacqueline Treat, Joyce Bernardi, Ryan Pfeiffer, Robert Goodrow, Bright Tsevi, Victoria Lam, Michel Audette, Jonathan M. Cordeiro, Makarand Deo

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

We identified two different inherited mutations in KCNH2 gene, or human ether-a-go-go related gene (hERG), which are linked to Long QT Syndrome. The first mutation was in a 1-day-old infant, whereas the second was in a 14-year-old girl. The two KCNH2 mutations were transiently transfected into either human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells or human induced pluripotent stem-cell derived cardiomyocytes. We performed associated multiscale computer simulations to elucidate the arrhythmogenic potentials of the KCNH2 mutations. Genetic screening of the first and second index patients revealed a heterozygous missense mutation in KCNH2, resulting in an amino acid change (P632L) in the …

Diagnosing Nitrogen, Phosphorous And Potassium Status Of Natural Grassland In The Presence Of Legumes, C. Jouany, P. Cruz, J. P. Theau, M. Duru

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

In most temperate areas, sustainable management of grassland ecosystems has to deal with evaluation and management of N, P and K resources. For this purpose, appropriate diagnostic systems are needed in order to manage fertilisation accordingly. The nutrient index method based on nutrient concentrations in plant tissues relative to the degree of growth has been developed; it relies on critical curves which serve for diagnostic: for N, the critical curve gives the optimum N concentration for different levels of biomass accumulation in swards, for P and K optimum concentrations are a linear function of sward N concentration (Duru & Thélier-Huché, …

New Insights On Epidemiology Of Infectious Bronchitis Virus In Iran By Comparing Two Genotyping Methods, Arash Ghalyanchilangeroudi, Hossein Hosseini, Zahra Ziafati Kafi, Naser Sadri, Ali Hojabr Rajeoni, Hamideh Najafi

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

Different genotypes of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) in poultry are circulating worldwide. The most efficient classification system for IBV genotypes is based on the complete sequencing of S1 gene, and the target organ can be trachea, kidney, oviduct, lung, esophagus, proventriculus, intestine, liver, spleen, bursa, cecal tonsils, cloaca, and testis. In Iran, IBV genotyping is usually performed by partial sequencing of S1 gene, and the trachea is often selected for sampling. This study applies a different genotyping method, and compares the results with the routine method of genotyping. Samples were collected from the trachea and kidneys of 50 broiler flocks …

Bioanalytical Studies Of Disease Protein Profiles: Maldi-Tof Ms, Prajkta Satish Chivte

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by a novel coronavirus named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has ravaged the world for the past 3 years. Even today, there still exists a need for rapid, accurate, economical and non-invasive diagnostic testing platforms that yield high specificity and sensitivity towards the constantly mutating SARS-CoV-2. Research has consistently indicated saliva to be a more amenable specimen type for early detection of SARS-CoV-2, compared to the oral and nasopharyngeal swabs. Considering the limitations and high demand of the existing COVID-19 testing platforms, this dissertation work studies used MALDI-ToF MS (matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of …

Habitat Imaging Biomarkers For Diagnosis And Prognosis In Cancer Patients Infected With Covid-19, Muhammad Aminu, Divya Yadav, Lingzhi Hong, Elliana Young, Paul Edelkamp, Maliazurina Saad, Morteza Salehjahromi, Pingjun Chen, Sheeba J Sujit, Melissa M Chen, Bradley Sabloff, Gregory Gladish, Patricia M De Groot, Myrna C B Godoy, Tina Cascone, Natalie I Vokes, Jianjun Zhang, Kristy K Brock, Naval Daver, Scott E Woodman, Hussein A Tawbi, Ajay Sheshadri, J Jack Lee, David Jaffray, D Code Team, Carol C Wu, Caroline Chung, Jia Wu

Student and Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVES: Cancer patients have worse outcomes from the COVID-19 infection and greater need for ventilator support and elevated mortality rates than the general population. However, previous artificial intelligence (AI) studies focused on patients without cancer to develop diagnosis and severity prediction models. Little is known about how the AI models perform in cancer patients. In this study, we aim to develop a computational framework for COVID-19 diagnosis and severity prediction particularly in a cancer population and further compare it head-to-head to a general population.

METHODS: We have enrolled multi-center international cohorts with 531 CT scans from 502 general patients and …

Ecological Diagnosis And Diversity Structure Of The Forest Birds Community In Machroha Forest (Souk Ahras – Northeastern Algeria), Abdelhak Boucif, Mouslim Bara, Moussa Houhamdi

Journal of Bioresource Management

Machroha forest is a large hot spot of biodiversity of northeastern region of Algeria. It is dominated by several species of oak tree that can contribute to the conservation of many animals such as birds. Our study was carried out from February 2019 to July 2021, in order to diagnosis the ecological status of forest birds and their dynamics. Our results reported that this forest was including 19.21% of the Algerian avifauna diversity. We recorded 78 species of birds classified in 32 families. The main species were sedentary with an insectivorous trophic categories and terrestrial guild. Three species observed in …

A Review On Serum, Genetic And Mirna Associated Biomarkers For The Early Diagnosis Of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (Hcc)), Ambreen Kanwal, Asima Tayyeb

Journal of Bioresource Management

Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most devastating complication of liver cirrhosis and diagnosis in earlier stages could be useful in curative interventions. The main aim of this review was to analyze current diagnostic biomarkers which are available for the early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). For this purpose, we searched different web databases including Medline/Pubmed. We found multiple significant serum biomarkers for imperative diagnosis including α- Fetoprotein, Des- γ -carboxyprothrombin (DCP), Osteopontin (OPN), Glypican-3 (GPC3), Golgi protein-73 (GP73), Squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCA), Annexin A2 (ANXA2) and Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) but all of these represent low sensitivity and low …

The Time For A Consensus Regarding The Coeliac Disease Diagnosis In Adults Has Come: Balancing The Pros And Cons Of Omitting The Biopsy, Carolina Ciacci, Julio C. Bao

Translational Medicine @ UniSa

How balancing the pros and cons of omitting the biopsy in diagnosing CeD in adults?

Use Of A Direct, Rapid Immunohistochemical Test For Diagnosis Of Rabies Virus In Bats, Charles E. Rupprecht, Lolita Van Pelt, April D. Davis, Richard B. Chipman, David L. Bergman

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Rabies, a zoonotic encephalitis due to transmission of a lyssavirus, such as rabies virus (RABV), has the highest case fatality of any infectious disease. A global program for the elimination of human rabies caused by dogs is proposed for realization by 2030. Sensitive, specific, and inexpensive diagnostic tests are necessary for enhanced surveillance to detect infection, inform public health and veterinary professionals during risk assessments of exposure, and support overall programmatic goals. Multiple laboratory techniques are used to confirm a suspect case of rabies. One method for the detection of lyssavirus antigens within the brain is the direct rapid immunohistochemical …

Micromentignatha Geberti, A New Tiger Beetle Species From Australia (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae), Jürgen Wiesner

Insecta Mundi

Micromentignatha geberti (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae), new species, is described. It is distinguished from the other members of the genus by its larger body size and shape of elytral maculation.

Due to the kindness of Christian Kerkering, I was able to study specimens of a tiger beetle species he recently acquired. It proved to be new to science and is described herein. It is a member of Micromentignatha Sumlin, 1981, which raises the number of species in this genus to four (Wiesner 2020: 327). A key to distinguish these congeners as well as a catalog of the genus are given herein.

Identification And Management Of Phytophthora Aerial Blight Caused By Phytophthora Nicotianae On Catharanthus Roseus, Fulya Baysal-Gurel, Ravi Bika, Terri Simmons, Farhat A. Avin

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Phytophthora nicotianae is the most common pathogen in nurseries and gardens, infecting both woody and herbaceous ornamental plants. Phytophthora aerial blight symptoms such dull water-soaked lesions on shoot tips and leaf petioles, girdling on the main stem, necrosis, and wilting of annual vinca were observed in a commercial greenhouse in Warren Co., Tennessee, USA in May 2016. The objective of this study was to identify the causal agent of Phytophthora aerial blight and develop a fungicide management recommendation for ornamental producers. Attempts to isolate the pathogen from symptomatic leaf tissue were conducted and excised leaf pieces were embedded in the …

Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, And Clinical Manifestations Of Acute Esophageal Necrosis In Adults, Obaid Rehman, Urooj Jaferi, Inderbir Padda, Nimrat Khehra, Harshan Atwal, Mayur Parmar

HPD Articles

Acute esophageal necrosis (AEN), also termed "black esophagus," is a unique and uncommon occurrence observed in severely sick patients. Other terminologies include acute necrotizing esophagitis and Gurvits syndrome. This condition is described as a darkened distal third of the esophagus observed on endoscopy and presents as an upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleed, difficulty swallowing, abdominal pain, fever, syncope, nausea, and vomiting. The etiology of AEN has been linked to several possibilities, such as excessive gastric acid reflux, hypoperfusion, and ischemia due to impaired vascular supply and hemodynamic instability. Risk factors include increased age, sex (male), heart disease, hemodynamic insufficiency, alcohol use, …

Value Of Modified Duran’S Test In Clinical Diagnosis Of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Mahdi K. Qadir, Samih K. Hasan Kalwuri

Polytechnic Journal

Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a medical condition, the most common, most important, and best defined, and the most carefully studied of all nerve entrapment syndromes. Objective: Our study aims to evaluate clinical tests in the diagnosis of CTS with special reference to modified Duran’s test regarding specificity and sensitivity. Patients and Methods: A prospective study carried out on 300 hands in 240 patients with symptomatic CTS was taken, from August 2015 to February 2017, at Erbil Teaching hospital (Orthopedic department). History, clinical examination, and Electrophysiological by Electromyography and Nerve conduction study and 250 persons without symptoms on 300 …

Value Of Modified Duran’S Test In Clinical Diagnosis Of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Mahdi K. Qadir, Samih K. Hasan Kalwuri

Polytechnic Journal

Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a medical condition, the most common, most important, and best defined, and the most carefully studied of all nerve entrapment syndromes. Objective: Our study aims to evaluate clinical tests in the diagnosis of CTS with special reference to modified Duran’s test regarding specificity and sensitivity. Patients and Methods: A prospective study carried out on 300 hands in 240 patients with symptomatic CTS was taken, from August 2015 to February 2017, at Erbil Teaching hospital (Orthopedic department). History, clinical examination, and Electrophysiological by Electromyography and Nerve conduction study and 250 persons without symptoms on 300 …

Value Of Modified Duran’S Test In Clinical Diagnosis Of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Mahdi K. Qadir, Samih K. Hasan Kalwuri

Polytechnic Journal

Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a medical condition, the most common, most important, and best defined, and the most carefully studied of all nerve entrapment syndromes. Objective: Our study aims to evaluate clinical tests in the diagnosis of CTS with special reference to modified Duran’s test regarding specificity and sensitivity. Patients and Methods: A prospective study carried out on 300 hands in 240 patients with symptomatic CTS was taken, from August 2015 to February 2017, at Erbil Teaching hospital (Orthopedic department). History, clinical examination, and Electrophysiological by Electromyography and Nerve conduction study and 250 persons without symptoms on 300 …

Value Of Modified Duran’S Test In Clinical Diagnosis Of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Mahdi K. Qadir, Samih K. Hasan Kalwuri

Polytechnic Journal

Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a medical condition, the most common, most important, and best defined, and the most carefully studied of all nerve entrapment syndromes. Objective: Our study aims to evaluate clinical tests in the diagnosis of CTS with special reference to modified Duran’s test regarding specificity and sensitivity. Patients and Methods: A prospective study carried out on 300 hands in 240 patients with symptomatic CTS was taken, from August 2015 to February 2017, at Erbil Teaching hospital (Orthopedic department). History, clinical examination, and Electrophysiological by Electromyography and Nerve conduction study and 250 persons without symptoms on 300 …

Naviauxella Horii, A New Tiger Beetle Species From Myanmar (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae), Jürgen Wiesner, Moe Hnin Phyu

Insecta Mundi

Naviauxella horii Wiesner and Phyu, new species (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae), is described. It is distinguished from the other members of the genus by shape of the aedeagus and shape of the elytral maculation.

Due to the kindness of Michio Hori, we were able to study specimens of a tiger beetle species he recently collected in Myanmar. It proved to be new to science and is described herein. It is a member of the genus Naviauxella Cassola, 1988, which raises the number of species in this genus to 22 (Wiesner 2020: 264).

Relationship Between Outcomes Of Psychiatric Genetic Counseling And Time Since Onset And Diagnosis Of Psychiatric Illness, Sarah Saxton

Human Genetics Theses

Research shows that psychiatric genetic counseling (pGC) improves outcomes for patients. We conducted a retrospective chart review study to examine the relationship between outcomes of pGC and time since onset and/or diagnosis of psychiatric illness at a specialist pGC clinic. Specifically, we examined change in empowerment scores (as measured by the Genetic Counseling Outcome Scale (GCOS) prior to (T1) and approximately one month after the pGC appointment (T2)), in relationship to: a) time since symptom onset (TSO) and b) time since psychiatric diagnosis (TSD). Linear regression was used to determine the relationship between TSO and/or TSD and GCOS change, and …

Female Genital Tuberculosis In Pakistan - A Retrospective Review Of 10-Year Laboratory Data And Analysis Of 32 Cases, Tazeen Fatima, Rumina Hasan, Faisal Malik, Imran Ahmed, Linda Alice Bartlett, Michael G. Gravett, Sadia Shakoor

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Background: Female genital tuberculosis (FGTB) is an underobserved clinical entity owing to diagnostic challenges stemming from difficulty of obtaining diagnostic specimens and paucibacillary nature of the disease. Yet, FGTB is a cause of infertility, pelvic pain, or menstrual irregularities in high-burden countries. To assess laboratory and microbiology diagnostic utilization for FGTB in Pakistan, we have collected data from 2007 to 2016 to inform the need for improved laboratory diagnostics. The objectives of this study were to determine the proportion of FGTB as culture-confirmed extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) and to describe the characteristics of women with culture-confirmed FGTB in a nationwide laboratory …

A New Genus And Species Of Tiger Beetle, Pseudocollyris Shooki (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae), From Yunnan, China, Wen-Xuan Bi, Jürgen Wiesner

Insecta Mundi

A new genus, Pseudocollyris Bi and Wiesner, is established for the new species Pseudocollyris shooki Bi and Wiesner (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae), from Western Yunnan, China. A description, diagnostic features and illustrations of habitus are provided.

In 2017, the first author collected one remarkable tiger beetle during a survey in Western Yunnan, China. The beetle shows an elongated body, a metallic purple elytral surface with a pair of bright median spots and coarse punctation. Such appearance superficially resembles species of the tribe Collyridini (e.g. Collyris Fabricius, 1801 or Neocollyris Horn, 1901). However, detailed investigations of the beetle indicate it belongs to …

Novel Approaches For Covid-19 Diagnosis And Treatment: A Nonsystematic Review, Şebnem Gari̇p Ustaoğlu, Hakan Kaygusuz, Mehmet Di̇nçer Bi̇lgi̇n, Feri̇de Severcan

Turkish Journal of Biology

Since COVID-19 pandemic has been continuously rising and spreading, several original contributions and review articles on COVID-19 started to appear in the literature. The review articles are mainly focus on the current status of the pandemic along with current status of the corona diagnosis and treatment process. Due to some disadvantages of the currently used methods, the improvement on the novel promising diagnosis and treatment methods of corona virus is very important issue. In this review, after briefly discussing the status of current diagnosis and treatment methods, we present to the scientific community, novel promising methods in the diagnosis and …

Field Evaluation Of Recombinant Antigen Elisa In Detecting Zoonotic Schistosome Infection Among Water Buffaloes In Endemic Municipalities In The Philippines, Jose Ma. M. Angeles, Yasuyuki Goto, Masahi Kirinoki, Elena A. Villacorte, Kharleezelle J. Moendeg, Pilarita T. Rivera, Yuichi Chigusa, Shin-Ichiro Kawazu

Biology Faculty Publications

In this study, we investigated the use of recombinant antigens thioredoxin peroxidase-1 (rSjTPx-1) and tandem repeat rSj1TR in evaluating the antibody positivity rates of Schistosoma japonicum infection among water buffaloes from four endemic areas in the Philippines, two municipalities with high endemicity (Calatrava, Negros Occidental and Catarman, Northern Samar) and two municipalities nearing elimination with no cases of human schistosomiasis (Talibon and Trinidad, Bohol). These recombinant antigen ELISA assays were compared with other diagnostic tests including SEA-ELISA, FECT, and fecal-based PCR. Results showed that rSj1TR-ELISA has the highest agreement with PCR in all study areas. Furthermore, significant positivity rates among …

Analyses Of The Expression, Immunohistochemical Properties And Serodiagnostic Potential Of Schistosoma Japonicum Peroxiredoxin-4, Minh-Anh Dang-Trinh, Jose Ma. M. Angeles, Kharleezelle J. Moendeg, Adrian Miki C. Macalanda, Thu-Thuy Nguyen, Luna Higuchi, Shotaro Nakagun, Masahi Kirinoki, Yuichi Chigusa, Yasuyuki Goto, Shin-Ichiro Kawazu

Biology Faculty Publications

Background

Schistosoma japonicum, which inhabits the mesenteric vein of the mammalian hosts for about 20 to 30 years, is subjected to the oxidative stresses from the host defense mechanism during their intra-mammalian stages. To counteract this host immune attack, the parasite utilizes their antioxidant system for survival inside the host. Peroxiredoxins (Prxs), thiol-specific antioxidant proteins, play an essential role for protecting the parasite against oxidative stress by reducing hydrogen peroxide to water. Only three types of 2-Cys Prxs have been previously characterized in S. japonicum whereas a fourth Prx has been identified for Schistosoma mansoni as Prx-4. A sequence …