Diseases Commons^™

Investigation Of Orthohantavirus Genetics In Rodent Reservoirs And Clinical Samples, Samuel M Goodfellow

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Orthohantaviruses are negative-sense, single stranded RNA viruses with trisegmented genomes that can cause severe disease in humans and are carried by several host reservoirs throughout the world. In the United States, Sin Nombre orthohantavirus (SNV) is the primary cause of hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS) with a fatality rate of ~36% and the highest cases occuring in the southwest region. The primary SNV host reservoir is thought to be the western deer mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus, however it has been shown that other rodents can carry different orthohantaviruses. We designed a pan-orthohantavirus detection tool to survey several small mammal populations throughout New …

Effects Of Home-Based High-Intensity Interval Training Versus Continuous Walking On Cognition In Overweight And Obese Women, Kelsey C. Bourbeau

Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences ETDs

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to determine whether six weeks of home-based high-intensity interval training versus six weeks of moderate-intensity walking improves cognition, depression, and anxiety in women that are overweight or obese. Design: A randomized control trial design. Subjects: Twelve sedentary women characterized as overweight or obese were randomized into either a six-week home-based high-intensity interval training (HIIT, n = 6, 26.6 ± 8.9 years, 37.4 ± 4.9% body fat) group or a six-week moderate-intensity walking (Walk, n = 6, 22.5 ± 3.7 years, 40.2 ± 4.1% body fat) group. Main Measures: Pre- and post-intervention, participants …

Surgical Intervention With Adjunctive Cryotherapy For Canine Conjunctival Hemangiosarcomas Versus Hemangiomas, Lisa M. Hoard

Biomedical Engineering ETDs

Conjunctival hemangiomas and hemangiosarcomas are vascular tumors that affect the tissue in the eyes of canines. While relatively rare, these tumors can be costly to remove, and have a possibility of recurrence. Therefore, more understanding of the nature of these tumors and recurrence rates is of importance to the veterinary ophthalmologist. To date, there is limited data in the literature (2 retrospective studies) that examine the development, treatment, and recurrence of these vascular tumors; furthermore, the analyses do not examine the potential recurrence of tumors after treatment with therapies adjunctive to surgery (such as cryoablation, radiotherapy, and others). For this …

The Development Of An Instrument To Measure Transdermal Hydrogen Sulfide As A Way To Evaluate Microvascular Health In Humans, Benjamin Thomas Matheson

Biomedical Engineering ETDs

Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) is a gasotransmitter critical in maintaining microcirculation homeostasis. Impaired microcirculation occurs in multiple disease states such as peripheral vascular disease, diabetes mellitus (DM), and hypertension. Early detection and identification of patients with DM who are at risk for heart attack, stroke and amputation due to microvascular disease is crucial. Human skin is an accessible vascular bed that provides an opportunity to non-invasively measure H₂S, which could be used as a biomarker to evaluate microvascular health.

In this work, a novel H₂S gas sensor, called the transdermal arterial gasotransmitter sensor (TAGS^{TM …}

Developing A Virus-Like Particle (Vlp)-Based Vaccine For Neisseria Gonorrhoeae, Ashvini Vaidya

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Neisseria gonorrhoeae (Ng) is a sexually transmitted bacterium that infects human reproductive mucosal surfaces. Due to the risk of complications in untreated cases and evolving antibiotic resistance, a prophylactic vaccine is critical for preventing infection. There are four Ng outer-membrane proteins that contribute to Ng survival and resistance: PorB, BamA, TbpA, and MtrE. Each protein contains surface-exposed loops that are targets of bactericidal antibodies. Vaccines were developed by displaying Ng epitopes on the surface of bacteriophage virus-like particles (VLP). VLPs are immunogenic, multivalent, self-assembling complexes composed of viral structural proteins. Antigenic peptide sequences can be displayed on the surface …

Evolutionary Ecology Of Host-Parasite Relationships: Role Of Host Ecology, Phylogeny, And Demographics In Shaping Parasite Evolution, Erika Taylor Gendron

Biology ETDs

Host-parasite systems exist across complex and ecologically heterogeneous landscapes, and may occur across taxonomically and ecologically disparate host species. Under these conditions, mechanisms underlying microevolutionary processes (i.e. gene flow, genetic drift) are not always clear, and may be mediated by numerous co-occurring factors specific to individual hosts. Host traits such as host immunology, demographics, phylogeny and ecology may act in concert to shape host-parasite relationships, and ultimately evolutionary processes. The research described herein used phylogeographic, phylogenomic, and population genetic methods to further understanding of how host traits impact the evolutionary ecology of trematode systems, using avian schistosomes (Digenea: Schistosomatidae) as …

Chronic Environmental Exposure To Metal Mixtures In Tribal Populations And Potential Immune System Effects, Jennifer Ong

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Hardrock mining in the United States (US) has left a legacy of mixed metal mine waste sites. Wastes may contain multiple metals of health concern, including arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, and uranium, among others. Mining waste sites are disproportionately located on or contiguous to the watersheds of tribal lands. Due to proximity, and because of reliance on natural resources to maintain traditional diets and customs, Native American communities’ contact with multiple metals is often increased. Two impacted communities are the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (CRST) and Navajo Nation. Both tribes have expressed concerns that metals in mine waste adversely affect …

Iron-Containing Nanoparticles For The Treatment Of Chrionic Biofilm Infections In Cystic Fibrosis, Leisha M. A. Martin

Nanoscience and Microsystems ETDs

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common genetic disease resulting in the morbidity and mortality of Caucasian children and adults worldwide. Due to a genetic mutation resulting in malfunction of the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (CFTR) protein, CF patients produce highly viscous mucus in their respiratory tract. This leads to impairment of the mucociliary clearance of inhaled microbes. In addition to reduced microbial clearance, anoxic environmental conditions in the lungs promote biofilm-mode growth of the pathogenic bacterial species Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Chronic infections of P. aeruginosa begin in early childhood and typically persist until respiratory failure and death result. The …

Evaluation Of The New Onset Diabetic Education Program For Navajo Adults, Denise S. Bartley

Nursing ETDs

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) is higher in American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/AN) than in any other racial or ethnic group in the United States (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [USDHHS] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2018). In response to this escalating health issue, the U.S. government funded a number of DM education and treatment programs focusing on AI/AN populations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the New Onset Diabetes Education Program (NODEP) based at Northern Navajo Medical Center (NNMC) in Shiprock, N.M.

The Navajo philosophy of learning was used as a guiding framework. …

Niemann-Pick C1, Its Connection To Obesity, And Its Impact On Human Evolution, Joseph Joshua Castillo

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Niemann-Pick type-C disease is a rare autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disease that classically presents in the first decade, leading to ataxia, vertical-gaze palsy, loss of communication skills, epileptic seizures, and eventually death. The stark reality about NPC disease underlines the important role the NPC1 protein plays in whole-body lipid homeostasis. It is no surprise, then, that the NPC1 gene has been associated with other diseases as well, such as obesity, diabetes, and Ebola virus infection. In this manuscript, a connection will be made that intertwines genetics, biochemical and molecular mechanisms, physiology, and evolutionary pressures, and will explain how a gene, discovered …

Developing Droplet Based 3d Cell Culture Methods To Enable Investigations Of The Chemical Tumor Microenvironment, Jacqueline A. De Lora

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Adaptation of cancer cells to changes in the biochemical microenvironment in an expanding tumor mass is a crucial aspect of malignant progression, tumor metabolism, and drug efficacy. In vitro, it is challenging to mimic the evolution of biochemical gradients and the cellular heterogeneity that characterizes cancer tissues found in vivo. It is well accepted that more realistic and controllable in vitro 3D model systems are required to improve the overall cancer research paradigm and thus improve on the translation of results, but multidisciplinary approaches are needed for these advances. This work develops such approaches and demonstrates that new droplet-based cell-encapsulation …

Regulations Of Pathogenic Cd4+ T Helper Lymphocytes In Inflammatory Diseases, Handong Zheng

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

In this comprehensive project, three interrelated studies with distinct foci were employed to understand the regulations of specific CD4⁺ T helper cell population in inflammatory diseases.

Pathogenic TH17 cells play an essential role in the initiation and development of both human multiple sclerosis (MS) and animal experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Nevertheless, the underlying mechanism by which the pathogenicity of TH17 cells is controlled in the autoimmune neuro-inflammation remains unclear. In aim 1, we revealed that lumican (Lum), an extracellular matrix (ECM) protein, negatively regulates encephalitic TH17 cell responses. Our findings highlighted a TH17 cell-intrinsic effect of Lum in suppressing …

Schistosomiasis In The Wild: A Transcriptomics Perspective On Field-Derived Biomphalaria Pfeifferi And Schistosoma Mansoni, And Their Interactions, Sarah K. Buddenborg

Biology ETDs

Schistosomiasis, caused by trematodes in the genus Schistosoma, is a widespread neglected tropical disease with the species S. mansoni infecting over 100 million people. We aimed to better understand the snail host and parasite responses during intramolluscan stages of infection by performing dual RNA-Seq on field-collected snails with natural infections from western Kenya. We collected uninfected Biomphalaria pfeifferi, B. pfeifferi with a patent cercariae-producing S. mansoni infection, and B. pfeifferi exposed to field-collected S. mansoni at 1 and 3d (days post infection).

We first created a high-quality B. pfeifferi transcriptome to identify the snail response to S. mansoni infection. …

A Multiscale Modeling Study Of The Mammary Gland, Joseph D. Butner

Biomedical Engineering ETDs

Multiscale, hybrid computer modeling has emerged as a valuable tool in the fields of computational systems biology and mathematical oncology. In this work, we present an overview of the motivations for, and development and implementation of, three hybrid multiscale models of the mammary gland system and early stage ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) in the gland. Pubertal mammary gland development was described first using a two-dimensional, lattice-based hybrid agent-based model description of the mammary terminal end bud (TEB), and then with a three-dimensional lattice-free TEB model. Both models implement a discrete, agent-based description of the cell scale, and a continuum, …

Detection Of Healthcare-Associated Infectious Disease Outbreaks With A Special Look At Clostridium Difficile Infection In Long-Term Care Facilities, Almea Matanock

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality and a public health priority. However, standard procedures and comprehensive guidelines for HAI outbreak detection and response are still needed. This hybrid thesis describes what is known about HAI outbreaks in the introduction, reviews the HAI outbreaks reported to New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH), in the first paper, and then in the second paper examines how established methods for detecting infectious disease outbreaks perform in identifying Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) outbreaks in long-term care facilities (LTCF) in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, and finally, it closes with our overall …