Examining The Association Between Smoking Frequency And Long Covid: A Brfss Study, Bhavya Patel

Capstone Experience

Objectives: To examine the relationship between self-reported smoking frequency and the presence of Long COVID among individuals who tested positive for COVID-19.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a sample of 44,738 COVID-positive participants from the 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) dataset. Logistic regression was utilised to compute prevalence odds ratios (pOR) and was adjusted for potential sociodemographic confounders.

Results: Individuals who smoked daily were found to have a greater likelihood of reporting Long COVID in comparison with nonsmokers (Crude pOR=1.22; CI= [1.10-1.35]). However, in the adjusted regression model, daily smoking was no longer significant (Adjusted pOR=1.04; …

Sars-Cov-2 Infectivity, And Interaction With Ace2 In The Human Oral Cavity: A Comprehensive Study, Blake Joseph Henkel

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The oral cavity has the ability to transport infections throughout the body and be infected by bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and viruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is the virus that led to the most recent pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 has unique ways of interacting with the human body to infect individuals, which has led researchers and scientists to have limited knowledge on its long-term impact on human health. However, there are ways to identify various oral cavity infections and prevent infection now and in the future. Many studies have been conducted in an attempt to understand the body’s …

Developing Disinfection Strategies For Controlling Human Norovirus, Sars-Cov-2, And Clostridioides Difficile Endospores In Long-Term Care Facilities, Jinge Huang

All Dissertations

Long-term care facilities (LTCFs) provide an environment favorable for the transmission of three critical human pathogens: human norovirus (HuNoV), severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and Clostridioides difficile. Given residents in LTCFs are susceptible to infections due to their advanced ages and compromised immune systems, effective environmental surface disinfection plays a crucial role in controlling the spread of human pathogens within these settings and, therefore, mitigates the risk of infections caused by these pathogens. This dissertation aimed to assess the efficacy of various types of disinfectants against two HuNoV surrogates [feline calicivirus (FCV) and Tulane virus (TuV)], two …

Detection Of Sars-Cov-2 Mutations In Vermillion, Sd, Wastewater Utilizing Probe-Based Rt-Qpcr, Matthew J. Schmitz

Honors Thesis

The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from the subgenus Sarbecovirus, has presented numerous public health challenges for communities across the globe. As demonstrated by the Delta variant (B.1.617.2) and the recent Omicron variants, the virus can mutate and pose new risks for communities, such as reinfection, increased transmissibility, and variable mortality. As such, accurately monitoring the spread of specific variants has become a priority for public health agencies. However, clinical testing faces various limitations, and the increased use of at-home test kits inhibits surveillance. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) can monitor infection rates of entire …

Epidemiology Of Sars-Cov-2 Breakthrough Infections In Kentucky March 1st 2021 - December 31st, 2022, Harrison Hynes

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

Objective: Provide epidemiologic overview of SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections in Kentucky considering both demographic and geographic variables.

Background: We believe descriptive information of breakthrough cases for a defined population will provide public health practitioners with useful information relating to SARS-CoV-2 infection control and vaccination efforts.

Methods: We obtained SARS-CoV-2 case data from the Kentucky Department for Public Health COVID-19 case repository, which mirrors National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS) data. The study sample used for analysis comprised 147,000 individuals who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in Kentucky between the dates of March 1^st, 2021 and December 31^st, 2022. …

Safe Practices For Preventing Covid-19 Among School-Aged Children, Meleena Reyelle Banda-Garcia

Nursing | Senior Theses

Communicable diseases and infections are common health problems among children. Among the most impactful communicable diseases present today is COVID-19, a disease caused by a virus named SARS-CoV-2, which has forced many school closures due to rapid transmission. Despite children not being the main driving factor of the spread of the disease, severe complications underlying COVID-19 incidence have resulted in increased hospitalization among school-age children.The initial global response to the spread of COVID-19 included the closure of school systems; however as the disease continues to be effectively managed, communities are starting to re-open schools partially or entirely nationwide. Although pharmaceutical …

Three Dimensional Spatio-Temporal Cluster Analysis Of Sars-Cov-2 Infections, Keith W. Allison

Masters Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the need for fine-scale analysis of the clustering of cases of infectious disease in order to better understand and prevent the localized spread of infection. The students living on the University of Massachusetts, Amherst campus provided a unique opportunity to do so, due to frequent mandatory testing during the 2020-2021 academic year, and dense living conditions. The South-West dormitory area is of particular interest due to its extremely high population density, housing around half of students living on campus during normal conditions. Using data gathered by the Public Health Promotion Center (PHPC), we analyzed the …

Wastewater Surveillance Of Sars-Cov-2 On American University Campuses: A Comparison Of Responses To The Covid-19 Pandemic, Emily Gosnell

Senior Theses

Wastewater surveillance has been used for a variety of purposes but, in recent years, has most notably been utilized during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many universities in the United States used it as a means of monitoring levels of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on their campuses. The University of South Carolina, University of Arizona, and University of North Carolina- Charlotte were three such schools. An analysis of data published by these three schools has been used to synthesize a proposed list of best methods to be used by other universities during the reemergence of SARS-CoV-2 or during the outbreak of a new …

Characteristics Of Covid-19 Vaccine-Hesitant Ucf College Students And Potential Avenues For Increasing Vaccination Rates, Justin A. Barthel

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic has been an ongoing disaster that has devasted millions of lives. With the development of COVID-19 vaccines in late 2020, there was a potential for populations to gain artificial active immunity in order to prevent future outbreaks. However, despite successful clinical trials, millions of citizens have been hesitant to receive the COVID-19 vaccines (Khubchandani et al., 2021). Demographics of the most prominent US vaccine-hesitant populations consist of ethnic/racial minorities and Republicans groups (Khubchandani et al., 2021). Little information is known about COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in colleges and universities. Colleges provide an elevated risk for infection through their …

Roles Of A Bradykinin Storm And A Cytokine Storm In Covid-19 Cases, Nouha H. Odeh

Honors College Theses

In the light of recent events, it is imperative to understand the key inflammatory response elements that appear to be the source of more severe ailments resulting from a SARS-CoV-2 viral infection known as Covid-19 The more severe cases of Covid-19 are characterized by a severe inflammatory response resulting in tissue damage. My research proposal aims to investigate the two possible culprits of this response: a bradykinin (BK) storm and an interleukin-6 (IL-6) mediated cytokine storm. In both systems respectively, the excess release of these signals subsequently signals the production of even more of the same response element, resulting in …

Comparison Of Mortality Data From Nebraska’S Rural & Metropolitan Health Districts, Claire Figi

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

As there has been minimal research done on the correlation between communities identified as rural or metropolitan and their mortality rates, this research aims to provide baseline evidence that mortality rates associated with non-infectious and infectious diseases are connected to an area’s rural or metropolitan classification. This study analyzed public data from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and the Center for Disease Control to compare mortality rates related to the top two causes of death in both rural and metropolitan health districts of the state of Nebraska, United States. This data was then compared to mortality rates …

An Analysis Of Preterm Birth Related To Sars-Cov-2 Infection By Race, Madeleine B. Mcgwin

All ETDs from UAB

Research investigating the association between pregnant women with COVID-19 infection and adverse birth outcomes, including preterm birth, having been contradicting. Individual differences between study populations, e.g., racial composition, may explain some of these inconsistencies. The aim of the present study is to determine if the association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and pre-term birth varies according to race. A cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the Vizient Clinical Data Base/Research Manager (CDB/RM). The study participants were women who gave birth in one of the Vizient facilities between March 2020 and January 2021. A positive COVID-19 test status was the primary exposure …

Impact Of Endangered Animal Protection Rights, Policies, And Practices On Zoonotic Disease Spread, Daniella Fedak-Lengel

Honors Projects

Building on field research in Costa Rica and Belize, this honors project analyzes environmental and endangered animal protection policies, rights, and practices in Central America and the Caribbean, and assesses the impact of veterinary science and biological research and practice, particularly conservation biology, on animal welfare concerns. Informed by the recent surge in awareness regarding zoonoses and zoonotic disease transmission, prevention and control, resulting from the current global pandemic of SARS-CoV-2, the project assesses the need for new and innovative types of collaboration, particularly involving conservation biologists, environmental scientists, public health experts, law and policy makers, and global trade and …

Evaluation Of The Humoral Immune Response As A Potential Indicator Of Disease Severity For Patients Hospitalized With Covid-19, Spencer Sterling

Capstone Experience

Members of the family Coronaviridae, including the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronaviruses (SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and seasonal human coronaviruses (HCoV-HKU1and HCoV-OC43), are highly communicable respiratory viruses; SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2, and MERS can cause severe disease, while seasonal human coronaviruses present with mild to moderate illness. Coronavirus envelope spike (S) glycoproteins are involved in receptor binding and cell fusion, and are the primary target for a neutralizing humoral response. The S protein is comprised of the S₁ and S₂ subunits; the S₁ subunit contains the receptor-binding domain (RBD), while the S_{2 …}