Additive Effects Of Cyclic Peptide [R4w4] When Added Alongside Azithromycin And Rifampicin Against Mycobacterium Avium Infection,
2023
Western University of Health Sciences
Additive Effects Of Cyclic Peptide [R4w4] When Added Alongside Azithromycin And Rifampicin Against Mycobacterium Avium Infection, Melissa Kelley, Kayvan Sasaninia, Arbi Abnousian, Ali Badaoui, James Owens, Abrianna Beever, Nala Kachour, Rakesh Kumar Tiwari, Vishwanath Venketaraman
Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research
Mycobacterium avium (M. avium), a type of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), poses a risk for pulmonary infections and disseminated infections in immunocompromised individuals. Conventional treatment consists of a 12-month regimen of the first-line antibiotics rifampicin and azithromycin. However, the treatment duration and low antibiotic tolerability present challenges in the treatment of M. avium infection. Furthermore, the emergence of multidrug-resistant mycobacterium strains prompts a need for novel treatments against M. avium infection. This study aims to test the efficacy of a novel antimicrobial peptide, cyclic [R4W4], alongside the first-line antibiotics azithromycin and rifampicin in reducing M. avium survival. Colony-forming unit (CFU) …
Mutation-Induced Changes In The Stability, B-Cell Epitope, And Antigenicity Of The Sars-Cov-2 Variant Spike Protein: A Comparative Computational Stud,
2023
Biology Department, Faculty of mathematics and Natural Sciences, Brawijaya University, Malang, Indonesia
Mutation-Induced Changes In The Stability, B-Cell Epitope, And Antigenicity Of The Sars-Cov-2 Variant Spike Protein: A Comparative Computational Stud, Nira Meirita Wijayanti, Muhammad Hermawan Widyananda, Lailil Muflikhah, Nashi Widodo
Karbala International Journal of Modern Science
The spike (S) protein is a major antigenicity site that targets neutralizing antibodies and drugs. The growing number of S protein mutations has become a severe problem for developing effective vaccines. Here, we investigated four severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants that were the most infectious and widespread during the COVID-19 pandemic to determine the trends and patterns of mutation-induced changes in the stability, B-cell epitope, and antigenicity of the SARS-CoV-2 S protein. The data showed that the Beta and Gamma variants had three mutations on the receptor-binding domain (RBD), which is the specific site on the S …
Mining Sars-Cov-2 Phylogenetic Trees To Estimate Circulating Infections And Patterns Of Migration,
2023
The University of Western Ontario
Mining Sars-Cov-2 Phylogenetic Trees To Estimate Circulating Infections And Patterns Of Migration, Erin V. Brintnell
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic led to the formation of very large databases of genomic viral data. These databases contain information on transmission dynamics, emergence and evolution of SARS-CoV-2. However, extracting this information from sequences is difficult, as most methods of analyzing viral genomes were developed for smaller data sets. Therefore, my objective was to develop new fast estimators of the number of infections (I) and the rate of migration based on simple features of SARS-CoV-2 phylogenies.
I simulated pathogen evolution using a susceptible-exposed-infectious-recovered (SEIR) model of pathogen spread, reconstructing evolution using CoVizu. For simulations of I, I varied the total number …
Predicting Dengue Incidence In Central Argentina Using Google Trends Data,
2023
Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas y Tecnológicas, CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Centro de Investigaciones Entomológicas de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
Predicting Dengue Incidence In Central Argentina Using Google Trends Data, Sahil Chindal, Elizabet Estallo, Yanjun Qian, Michael Robert
Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference
No abstract provided.
The Development Of A Primer Payload With Microparticles For Uti Pathogen Identification Using Polythymidine- Modified Lamp Primers In Droplet Lamp,
2023
Claremont Colleges
The Development Of A Primer Payload With Microparticles For Uti Pathogen Identification Using Polythymidine- Modified Lamp Primers In Droplet Lamp, Jonas Otoo
KGI Theses and Dissertations
Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) are among the diagnostic tests with the highest sensitivity and specificity. However, they are more complex to develop than other diagnostic tests such as biochemical tests and lateral flow immunoassay tests. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the gold standard for NAATs. PCR requires thermal cycling to achieve clonal amplification of the target pathogen DNA for diagnosis. Thermal cycling poses a challenge in the development of PCR diagnostics for point-of-care (POC) settings. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) offers an isothermal method for NAATs diagnostics. The advancement of the microfluidics field significantly enhances the development of LAMP diagnostics …
The Role Of Community In Immunity Against Sars-Cov-2,
2023
Kean University
The Role Of Community In Immunity Against Sars-Cov-2, Jessica Kobilas
Kean Quest
This literature review investigated the roles genes activated by social interactions had in helping to build immunity against COVID-19. Past studies have shown that individuals who are more socially connected are less likely to become ill due to social interactions strengthening the immune system through optimal exposure to bacteria and viruses in the environment. The IL-6 and TLR4 genes that are activated through social interactions and associated with cytokines have been analyzed in cases of various viral infections. Cytokines play a role in inflammation and have both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses to infections and viruses. The results suggest that the …
Syndemics And Social Factors: Infectious Disease Patterns Within The Population Of People Experiencing Homelessness In The United States,
2023
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Syndemics And Social Factors: Infectious Disease Patterns Within The Population Of People Experiencing Homelessness In The United States, Kathleen Berzonsky
Honors Theses, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Individuals experiencing homelessness are at increased risk of suffering from infectious diseases. This is due to a number of social factors and healthcare disparities, as well as the idea of syndemics, by which diseases cluster together to worsen disease burden. Current intervention strategies approach treatment from a post-infection perspective, but reducing transmission rates of infectious diseases within the population of people experiencing homelessness will require a shift in the healthcare framework. The issue of people experiencing homelessness must be viewed through a biosocial lens, focusing on preventative care and treatment. I provide an overview of the social factors governing infectious …
Meta-Narrative Review Of Pd-L1 By Immunotherapy On Triple-Negative Breast Cancer,
2023
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Meta-Narrative Review Of Pd-L1 By Immunotherapy On Triple-Negative Breast Cancer, Hannah Lazo, Tyler Harris, Hao Truong, Alina Masroor
Research Methods Poster Session 2023
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive form of subtype breast cancer and there are currently new treatments being discovered such as the combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy. In immunotherapy against triple-negative breast cancer, checkpoint inhibitors like PD-1/PD-L1 treat TNBC by blocking the “off” signal that prevents T-cells from killing cancer cells. As a group, we conducted a meta-narrative review collecting results from primary sources such as clinical trials and human experimental studies to support our research question on how PD-L1 inhibitor treatments compare to other treatments in patients with TNBC. The review included articles searched from Embase, Pubmed, EMBASE, …
Complex Narratives Of Individuals Living With Alpha-Gal Syndrome (Ags). A Mixed-Methods Investigation: Examined Through Self-Reported Data, In-Person Interviews, And A Group Body Mapping Art Therapy Intervention,
2023
Dominican University of California
Complex Narratives Of Individuals Living With Alpha-Gal Syndrome (Ags). A Mixed-Methods Investigation: Examined Through Self-Reported Data, In-Person Interviews, And A Group Body Mapping Art Therapy Intervention, Sylvan Streightiff
Art Therapy | Master's Theses
Alpha-gal (galactose-α-1,3-galactose) Syndrome or AGS is an under-recognized chronic condition which coincides with tick-bite exposure, resulting in a unique allergy to non-primate mammalian products and byproducts (in addition to other items caring the α-gal epitope such as carrageenan, agar-agar, and nori). This paper explores the experiences of individuals with this illness, establishing psychological context for expressed symptomatology, while emphasizing the complex trauma rooted in the population’s experiences of the life-altering and life-threatening contexts associated with managing AGS. This research is structured with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) theory and utilizes a mixed-methods approach to arts-based research with the goal of …
The Psychology Of Science Denialism And Lessons For Public Health Authorities,
2023
King & Spalding
The Psychology Of Science Denialism And Lessons For Public Health Authorities, Brenna Moreno, Molly J. Walker Wilson
All Faculty Scholarship
As it wreaked tragedy on the world, the outbreak of COVID-19 helped expose a pandemic of a different kind, one steeped in distrust and contrarianism. This movement, termed science denialism, has been lurking and undermining public health efforts for decades. Specifically, it is “the employment of rhetorical arguments to give the appearance of legitimate debate where there is none, an approach that has the ultimate goal of rejecting a proposition on which a scientific consensus exists.” Unlike skepticism, which is “doubt as to the truth of something” and works to progress both science and society, denialism is characterized by individuals’ …
Crispr Technology As An Antiviral In Dsdna And Ssrna Viruses,
2022
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Crispr Technology As An Antiviral In Dsdna And Ssrna Viruses, Cathryn Mayes
Theses & Dissertations
The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the necessity of emergency response and pandemic preparedness, especially for emerging viral threats. Currently, virus-specific vaccines and antivirals are the primary tools to combat viral diseases; however, broad-spectrum antivirals that target more than one virus species could provide additional protection from emerging and re-emerging viral diseases (Andersen et al. 2020; Zhu et al. 2015; Hickman et al. 2022).
Clustered regulatory interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-associated endonucleases have become recently utilized as potential antiviral strategies due to their high specificity, efficacy, and versatility (Najafi et al. 2022). While CRISPR-based antivirals have previously been used to target specific …
Selection Pressure On Surface Exposed Virus Proteins,
2022
The University of Western Ontario
Selection Pressure On Surface Exposed Virus Proteins, Sareh Bagherichimeh
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Viral infection requires the interaction between virus surface-exposed (SE) proteins and host cell receptors. This can result in an “arms race” that is assumed to drive accelerated rates of evolution, and some well known examples of diversifying selection involve surface pro- teins (HIV-1 env, influenza hemagglutinin). We conducted a systematic analysis to determine whether this is truly a distinctive feature of SE virus proteins, in comparison to non-SE proteins encoded by the same genomes.
We obtained reference and all neighbour genomes of 52 human viruses from the NCBI Viral Genomes database. The coding sequences (CDS) of each genome extracted by …
Comparison Of The Humoral Immune Response Following Both Bacterial Challenge And Rnai Of Major Factors On Proliferation Of Bartonella Quintana In The Human Louse,
2022
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Comparison Of The Humoral Immune Response Following Both Bacterial Challenge And Rnai Of Major Factors On Proliferation Of Bartonella Quintana In The Human Louse, Jake Zina
Masters Theses
Human body lice, Pediculus humanus humanus, and head lice, Pediculus humanus capitis, have been hematophagous ectoparasites of humans for thousands of years. Despite being ecotypes, only body lice are known to transmit bacterial diseases to humans, and it appears that lower humoral and cellular immune responses allow body lice to possess a higher vector competence. We previously observed that the transcription level of the defensin 1 gene was up-regulated only in head lice following oral challenge of Bartonella quintana, a causative agent of trench fever, and also that body lice excreted more viable B. quintana in their …
A Study Of Multiple Sclerosis,
2022
University of Louisville
Obesity As A Risk Factor For Covid-19,
2022
Nova Southeastern University
Obesity As A Risk Factor For Covid-19, Gabriela Hermes, Mir Saleem
Mako: NSU Undergraduate Student Journal
The coronavirus pandemic has presented a wide range of challenges for healthcare systems in the world. COVID-19 has infected millions of people, with approximately 90% of the population showing mild or no symptoms. The disease has some risk factors that increase its severity, such as obesity, age, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, suppressed immune system, and pulmonary disorders. Obese individuals have higher chances of having symptomatic COVID-19 infection with excessive rates of hospitalization and ICU admission. Understanding the mechanisms defining the link between COVID-19 and obesity is necessary to develop preventive measures and therapeutic interventions for people with obesity. Patients with obesity …
Interrogation Of The Inkt-Mait Cell Interface,
2022
Western University
Interrogation Of The Inkt-Mait Cell Interface, Nicole I. Wang
Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference
Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells and mucosa-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are unique subsets of invariant T cells that are involved in regulating various tumor responses and display potent anti-microbial properties. Upon their activation, iNKT and MAIT cells secrete large quantities of T helper 1 (Th1)-, Th2-, and Th17-type cytokines that mediate their ability to regulate a variety of other immune cells, including B cells, natural killer cells, and macrophages. However, whether and how iNKT and MAIT cells regulate each other in vivo remains unknown. Here, we provide evidence for a cross-talk between iNKT and MAIT cells that resembles …
Investigating Host Defenses Of North American Salamanders Against The Recently Emerged Chytrid Pathogen, Batrachochytrium Salamandrivorans,
2022
Duquesne University
Investigating Host Defenses Of North American Salamanders Against The Recently Emerged Chytrid Pathogen, Batrachochytrium Salamandrivorans, Kenzie Pereira
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
A recently emerged chytrid fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) threatens salamander biodiversity. Bsal susceptibility varies between and within salamander species, but little is known about the mechanisms underlying these differences. Susceptibility is likely influenced by numerous interacting factors, but my dissertation studied the role of host immune responses.
My first aim investigated between species differences by studying the bioactive properties of salamander skin peptides against Bsal and the related pathogen, B. dendrobatidis (Bd). Skin peptides were collected from five salamander species, used for in vitro assays, and analyzed by RP-HPLC. While skin peptides from one …
Quality Of Life For Women With Chronic Lyme Disease: A Socioeconomic Investigation,
2022
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Quality Of Life For Women With Chronic Lyme Disease: A Socioeconomic Investigation, Dale M. Jones
Doctoral Dissertations
This is a mixed methods investigation of how chronic Lyme disease, including Lyme-like diseases and co-infections, affects the quality of life of women who have chronic Lyme. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used during three phases of research: a 91-question survey instrument followed by focus group discussions and written narratives. The research considered the socioeconomic impact on quality of life in five areas: obtaining a diagnosis, relationships and personal support systems, struggles with the medical system, the ability to work, and access to treatment. There were 500 responses to the survey, of which 373 were analyzed; 11 participants in …
Maternal Responses In The Face Of Infection Risk,
2022
Chapman University
Maternal Responses In The Face Of Infection Risk, Patricia C. Lopes, Brenna M. G. Gormally, Aubrey Emmi, Delilah Schuerman, Chathuni Liyanage, Ursula K. Beattie, L. Michael Romero
Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research
When animals are sick, their physiology and behavior change in ways that can impact their offspring. Research is emerging showing that infection risk alone can also modify the physiology and behavior of healthy animals. If physiological responses to environments with high infection risk take place during reproduction, it is possible that they lead to maternal effects. Understanding whether and how high infection risk triggers maternal effects is important to elucidate how the impacts of infectious agents extend beyond infected individuals and how, in this way, they are even stronger evolutionary forces than already considered. Here, to evaluate the effects of …
Genomic Insights Into Mechanisms Of Microbial Evolution And Evolution-Inspired Strategies To Combat Pathogen Diversity,
2022
The Graduate Center, City University of New York
Genomic Insights Into Mechanisms Of Microbial Evolution And Evolution-Inspired Strategies To Combat Pathogen Diversity, Saymon Akther
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
We live in an era of emerging infectious diseases that are increasingly common, rapidly spreading, and gravely devastating. Lyme disease, caused by bacteria belonging to the genus Borreliella, is rapidly rising in the Northern Hemisphere because of geographic range expansion of both the tick vectors and the pathogens. Evolutionary comparative analysis of Borreliella genomes is a key to understanding the phylogeographic history and mechanisms of their global diversification. Moreover, genomic variations in Borreliella associated with human pathogenicity, e.g., at loci encoding cell-surface antigens interacting with the vertebrate hosts, have not been fully identified. Similarly, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, caused …