Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Evaluation Of Stratified Antibiograms For Use In Laboratory And Antimicrobial Stewardship, Linsey Donner

Theses & Dissertations

Antibiograms are critical for choosing empiric antimicrobial therapy. Cumulative antibiograms, which aggregate susceptibility data, can mask differences within specific patient subsets or clinical syndromes. This dissertation was done to determine if antibiotic susceptibilities showed substantial differences when comparing stratified antibiograms to cumulative antibiograms.

Antibiotic susceptibility data was retrospectively obtained from Nebraska Medicine January 1, 2017 – December 31, 2019 for Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, and Enterococcus faecalis. The University of Nebraska Medical Center’s web antibiogram clinical decision support tool was used to export the data. Bacteria-antibiotic susceptibility rates of stratified antibiograms …

Antimicrobial Activity Of Bacterial Virus Components: An Empirical Investigation Of The Killing Capacity Of Toxins From Burkholderia, Kyle Walny

Honors Projects

Given the growing issue in healthcare of antibiotic resistance, effective and safe alternative treatment methods are required. One of these possible alternative treatment methods is bacteriotoxins including bacteriocins and tailocins. The focus of this study is a bacteriotoxin from Burkholderia cenocepacia (ATCC 25608), which was induced for toxin using a modified UV light induction procedure and tested against a variety of Pseudomonas and Burkholderia for its killing capacity. Various other pathogenic strains were then induced with UV light and tested. The results showed that the toxin from ATCC 25608 was very effective against most of the Burkholderia tested and warrants …

Deciphering The Mechanisms Of Alcaligenes Faecalis’ Inhibition Of Staphylococcus Aureus And Synergism With Antibiotics, Cortlyn Holdren

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Staphylococcus aureus has developed resistance to several antibiotics including vancomycin, which is often used as a “last resort” treatment. There is an ever-increasing need to develop novel antimicrobial treatments to combat S. aureus and other drug resistant bacteria. Microorganisms are most often found in polymicrobial communities where they either exhibit synergistic or antagonistic relationships. Competition between microorganisms can lead to the discovery of new antimicrobial targets as the specific mechanisms of resistance are elucidated. In addition, synergistic treatments are being evaluated for their combined effect and potential to decrease the concentration of drugs needed, and thus the side effects also. …

Molecular Interactions Of Human Cell Proteins With Sars-Cov-2 Versus Influenza Viruses, Linze Cowman

Honors Thesis

Molecular Interactions of Human Cell Proteins with SARS-CoV-2 versus Influenza

Viruses

Linze Cowman

Director: Victor Huber, Ph.D.

The novel Coronavirus Disease 2019, or COVID- 19, shows considerable similarity to a common influenza infection. Over the past year, innumerable studies have been investigating the Vitus in various capacities, from big-picture public health repercussions to the virus' biochemical interactions with human cells for infection. This research provides invaluable information in the ongoing war against infectious diseases. While the influenza virus is fairly well-understood, much surrounding the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) remains unclear, including its longevity, long-term health effects, methods …

Pushing The Limits: Increasing The Speed And Specificity Of Sars-Cov-2 Testing, Grayson Way

Theses and Dissertations

The prevalence and spread of the current COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the importance of continual improvements upon current microbiological testing methods. Rapid and accurate testing can help mitigate spread by improving on the time to quarantine and quarantine duration required. As of the writing of this thesis, COVID-19 has been responsible for more than 500,000 deaths in the United States of America, and greater than 2 million deaths globally. The work done in this thesis has shown improvements in the current SARS-CoV-2 testing methodology by reducing the time it takes for patient testing while maintaining accuracy and the sensitivity required …