Digital Commons Network^™

Applying Modern Immunology To The Plague Of Ancient Athens, Juhi C. Patel

Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee

During the 5^th century BCE, ancient Athens and Sparta were involved in a major war during which an epidemic disease broke out in Athens, claiming the lives of a substantial part of the population. Although the ancient Greek historian Thucydides provides a first-hand account of the symptoms of the plague, modern historians have not been able to definitively identify the pathogen that caused the deadly epidemic. In 1994, a burial tomb of Athens was unearthed that unveiled the likely remains of plague victims. In 2005, scientists conducted molecular testing on the dental remains and used suicide PCR to compare …

How Misinformation And Mistrust Compound The Threat Of Epidemics, William Boyd

Honors Theses

This thesis was conducted to study the effects of misinformation and medical mistrust on the public health field. I use the events of the Chapare Virus outbreak in Bolivia in the summer of 2019 and the public dialogue during that time period to discuss these themes. I used data from market survey's in La Paz, newspaper articles from Página Siete, and Tweets from the time period of the outbreak. My findings suggest that misinformation and medical mistrust affected public health measures, which has major implications for the way the public health field should address future public health events.

U.S. Response To Covid-19 Compared To Other Diseases, Brian E. Barton

2020 Symposium Posters

Emergence of a new infectious disease out of China has caused a global reaction to combat the spread. On December 31, 2019, China reported a cluster of cases of pneumonia in people associated with the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, Hubei Province. On January 7, 2020, Chinese health authorities confirmed that this cluster was associated with a novel coronavirus, 2019-nCoV. Governments around the world responded to the threat by instituting lockdowns, closing businesses, using experimental medications, and even closing boarders. Citizens responded in kind by increasing social distancing and the usage of personal protective devices such as face masks …

Pneumonia: An Unexpected Graveyard Visitor?, Daniel A. Casas, Jigar Chauhan, Melanie Williams, Jan Sambataro, David Sukhai, Pablo G. Dubon, Jorge Perez

West Florida Division GME Research Day 2020

Community acquired pneumonia caused by Influenza can present with superinfection. On rare occasions, an unexpected organism is discovered.

Novel Infection Status Post Electrocution Requiring A 4th Ray Amputation, William R. Judson, John D. Murphy, Phillip H. Sussman, John N. Harker

West Florida Division GME Research Day 2020

• Prevotella bivia is an anaerobic, non-pigmented, Gram-negative bacillus species that is known to inhabit the human female vaginal tract and oral flora. It is most commonly associated with endometritis and pelvic inflammatory disease.^{1, 2}
• Rarely, P. bivia has been found in the nail bed, chest wall, intervertebral discs, and hip and knee joints.¹ The bacteria has been linked to necrotizing fasciitis, osteomyelitis, or septic arthritis.^{3, 4}
• Only 3 other reports have described P. bivia infections in the upper extremity with one patient requiring amputation2, and one with deep soft tissue infection requiring multiple debridements and extensive tenosynovectomy. …

New Onset Psychosis Secondary To Neurosyphilis, Samantha Linda Jane Vu, Lauren Angela Demarco, Francis Butler, Nihal Shah

West Florida Division GME Research Day 2020

Syphilis is a highly contagious sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by the spirochetal bacterium Treponema pallidum. Transmission occurs through direct contact of painless ulcerative lesions, chancres, located on the genitalia (penis, labia) and oral mucosa. Neurosyphilis is any involvement of the central nervous systems (brain, meninges, or spinal cord) by the bacterium.

Development Of Rationally Designed Live Attenuated Vaccines For Lassa Fever And Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis., Dylan Macgregor Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lassa Virus (LASV) and Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus (VEEV) are two single stranded RNA viruses belonging to the Arenavirus and Alphavirus families, respectively. Both are emerging pathogens without approved vaccines or treatments. VEEV is an important biothreat pathogen because it has been weaponized and is extremely infectious as an aerosol. VEEV causes biphasic febrile illness that can progress to a viral encephalitis with low mortality, but high morbidity. LASV causes a viral hemorrhagic fever, Lassa Fever (LF), which is endemic in West Africa, and responsible for between 100-500k annual infections with a 1-2% overall mortality rate. ML29 and VEEV TC-83 …

Dual Role Of Antimicrobial Peptide Cathelicidin In Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease., Fengyuan Li

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Patients with alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) have high morbidity and mortality in its severe forms. One of the major features in different forms of ALD is the altered gut microbiota. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) play a crucial role in maintaining gut microbiota homeostasis. LL-37 (known as CRAMP in mouse) is the sole member of the human cathelicidin family and has piqued great research interest for its dual role in modulating microbiota and the immune response in metabolic diseases. Inflammasome activation is an important component of the liver pathophysiology in ALD and requires two signals for its full activation to induce the …

The Emerging Oral Pathogen, Filifactor Alocis, Disrupts Neutrophil Functions To Enhance Survival And Dysregulate Inflammation., Irina Miralda Molina

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Periodontitis is an irreversible, chronic inflammatory disease where pathogenic microbial communities accumulate in the gingival crevice. Advances in culture-independent techniques have facilitated the identification of new bacterial species in periodontal lesions, such as the Gram-positive anaerobe, Filifactor alocis. Neutrophils are a major component of the innate host response, and the outcome of their interaction with F. alocis may be a determinant of oral health status. While neutrophil functions typically protect the host against periodontal disease, oral pathogens have adapted to evade or disarm neutrophil microbicidal functions while promoting mechanisms that drive inflammation, which also provides a source of nutrients …

Elucidating The Developmental Defects In Zebrafish Associated With The Cardiac Drug Verapamil, Blake Stephan Justis

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Birth defects are abnormalities in a developing organism that lead to a malformation in structure or function. Over half of birth defects have no determined cause; however, known causes occur by genetic anomalies, exposure to environmental agents (a.k.a. teratogens), or multifactorial reasons. To explain the unknown causes of birth defects, an area of focus in this study is to identify potential teratogens. Identifying these teratogens, is key to preventing future birth defects. An obvious source of teratogens in pregnant women would be that of pharmaceuticals. Thus, a main goal of this study is to identify drugs that cause birth defects. …

Effect Of Cigarette Smoking On Cd4 Count And Viral Load Among Hiv Patients Attending Treatment At Nebraska Medicine, Chacha Josiah Mwita

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

Background

Smoking is known to have a negative impact on both morbidity and mortality in people living with HIV (PLHIV). However, there is inconsistent information about the role of smoking on markers of HIV disease progression (CD4 count and HIV viral load). This study examined the effects of cigarette smoking on markers of HIV disease progression among PLHIV at Nebraska Medicine.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study was conducted utilizing electronic health information of 604 PLHIV who attended treatment at Nebraska Medicine between 2012 and 2020. Multiple linear regression was used to model the effects of smoking on the mean change …

How Nutrition Can Help To Fight Against Covid-19 Pandemic, Faseeha Aman, Sadia Masood

Section of Internal Medicine

Currently Covid-19 pandemic is a leading challenge across the globe. It is mandatory to attain and maintain good nutritional status to fight against virus. Nutritional status of individual is affected by several factors such as age, sex, health status, life style and medications. Nutritional status of individuals has been used as resilience towards destabilization during this COVID-19 pandemic. Optimal nutrition and dietary nutrient intake impact the immune system, therefore the only sustainable way to survive in current context is to strengthen the immune system. There is no evidence found that supplement can cure the immune system except Vit C, which …

Can Technology Help Improve Diarrhoea Management?, Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta

Woman and Child Health

No abstract provided.

A Case Of Babesiosis Seen Outside Of Its Endemic Area And Outside Of Its Incubation Period, Kiran Tirumalasetty, Jinal K. Patel, Gauthier L. Stepman, Bassem Zeidan, K V. Sundaresh, Parth R. Desai, Johnathan Frunzi

West Florida Division GME Research Day 2020

Babesiosis Microti is a parasitic alveolate that is usually transmitted by Ixodes scapularis ticks. In the United States, the endemic areas of Babesiosis include the Northeast and Upper Midwestern regions [1]. Symptoms include fever, malaise, fatigue, vomiting, and jaundice [1]. Current therapy primarily consists of a combination of azithromycin and atovaquone. Clindamycin and quinine may be administered in severe cases. For its emerging health risk worldwide, clinicians must be aware of the several presenting manifestations of babesiosis. Since 2017, the Centers Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has deemed Babesiosis is a reportable disease. This case focuses on the importance of …

Filifactor Alocis: Resilience And Manipulation Against Neutrophil Effector Functions In A Dysbiotic Oral Environment., Max N. Rogers

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Periodontitis is a multifactorial chronic inflammatory infectious disease that affects around 50% of the adult population in the USA. Neutrophils, which are the primary immune cells recruited to restore health at sites of infection, are profuse in the gingival space during oral infections. In a community-wide effort, pathogenic oral bacteria hijack neutrophil effector functions to evade killing, resulting in an uncontrollable inflammatory loop that leads into inflammation-mediated tissue injury. One of these harmful emerging oral pathogens, Filifactor alocis, has been shown to evade neutrophil killing and contribute to disease progression. The purpose of this study is to gain a …

Evaluation Of Anthelmintic Therapies In A Fall Calving Beef Cowherd, Laine Zammit

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Internal parasitism inevitability prompts economic loss in beef cattle production by decreasing growth performance and reproductive traits. Today, the most widely used class of anthelmintic used to treat parasitism, is the macrocyclic lactone. Many studies have conflicting results on the efficacy of macrocyclic lactones (ML) efficacy against internal parasitism. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of moxidectin and eprinomectin, two of the MLs, on cow performance. Multiparous fall calving, crossbred beef cows (n = 106) were allocated randomly to 1 of 3 anthelmintic treatments: 1) Negative control (CON), in which cows did not receive an anthelmintic, …

“A Moral Imperative To Prevent Aids”: Race And Religion In Atlanta’S Aids Activism, 1981-1993, Madison Bailey

Honors Theses

The early years of the AIDS epidemic marked a tumultuous period of American history, calling into question the authority of doctors and the ability of scientists to cure disease. Already marginalized groups, such as gay men and intravenous drug users, appeared to be most vulnerable to a deadly virus with no cure or effective treatments. In the face of discrimination, activists rose up to provide necessary services for AIDS patients and advocate on their behalf. This activism uniquely characterized the early AIDS epidemic and permanently changed the field of biomedical research. The current historiography of AIDS activism tends to focus …

Investigating The Interactions Between Individual Calmodulin And Hiv-1 Protein Domains, Riley K. Kendall, Jerry Larue

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The World Health Organization found that 37.9 million people were living with HIV by the end of 2018. HIV is a virus that weakens the immune system through viral replication and the destruction of CD4⁺ T-cells, which are white blood cells that detect infection and make antibodies. A cure for HIV has not yet been discovered. HIV-1 contains a Gag polyprotein which regulates the stages of viral replication. Previous studies suggest that the myristoyl group of a matrix protein peptide found on the Gag polyprotein, MA, forms a complex with a calcium-binding, multifunctional regulatory protein called Calmodulin (CaM). CaM …

Characterization Of A Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Cards Toxin Mutant, Nikaash Pasnoori

Honors Scholar Theses

Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a high-burden pathogen which causes mild to significant infections of the respiratory system. According to the CDC, an estimated two million cases occur yearly in the United States alone, demonstrating the widespread effect of the pathogen. In addition to being the cause of respiratory infections, M. pneumoniae has also been implicated in exacerbating pre-existing asthma conditions. These morbidities make finding a vaccine candidate a vital part of easing the healthcare burden caused by the pathogen. The current mechanism of infection is unknown, but recent evidence points to the Community Acquired Respiratory Distress Syndrome (CARDS) toxin as being …

Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein K (Hnrnp K) Overexpression And Its Interaction With Runx1 Rna In Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Marisa Aitken

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an often devastating hematologic malignancy with 5-year overall survival lingering near 20%. Acquiring a deeper understanding of molecular underpinnings of leukemogenesis will provide a basis for developing more effective therapeutic strategies for patients with AML.

Here, we identified overexpression of hnRNP K as a recurrent abnormality in a subset (~20%) of AML patients. High levels of this RNA-binding protein associated with inferior clinical outcomes in de novo AML. Thus, to evaluate its putative oncogenic capacity in myeloid disease, we overexpressed hnRNP K in murine hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells isolated from fetal liver cells (FLCs). …

The Effects Of Farnesol, A Quorum Sensing Molecule From Candida Albicans, On Alcaligenes Faecalis, Savannah Hutson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Quorum sensing molecules have become a recent focus of study to learn if and how they can be used, both on their own and in conjecture with current antimicrobial methods, as a means of bacterial control. One such quorum sensing molecule is the sesquiterpene alcohol, Farnesol, which is synthesized and released by the fungus, Candida albicans. In most in-vivo cases, our laboratory has shown that Alcaligenes faecalis overtakes C. albicans, preventing its growth. However, as a way to counteract this inhibitory effect, Farnesol may be one way that Candida has found to fight back. In this study, we …

Targeting Natural Killer Cells For Improved Immunity And Control Of The Adaptive Immune Response., Stephen Pierce, Eric S. Geanes, Todd Bradley

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Natural killer (NK) cells are critical for targeting and killing tumor, virus-infected and stressed cells as a member of the innate immune system. Recently, NK cells have also emerged as key regulators of adaptive immunity and have become a prominent therapeutic target for cancer immunotherapy and infection control. NK cells display a diverse array of phenotypes and function. Determining how NK cells develop and are regulated is critical for understanding their role in both innate and adaptive immunity. In this review we discuss current research approaches into NK cell adaptive immunity and how these cells are being harnessed for improving …

Clinical Features, Diagnosis And Management Of Covid-19 Patients In The Outdoor Setting, Bushra Jamil

Department of Medicine

In a brief span of a few months, coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has brought a major paradigm shift in operation of clinical services around the world. Infection may be mild, moderate or severe; many remain asymptomatic. High burden of non-communicable and communicable diseases theoretically puts Pakistani population at increased risk of severe COVID-19 infection. Considering the universal risk of infection, the outpatient services in Pakistan need to be redesigned. Starting with risk assessment of the facility and provision of a dedicated telephone connection, structure and workflow need to be redesigned in order to minimise risk of exposure to healthcare professionals, …

The Coronaviruses: Past, Present, Future, Kimball Kaufman, Shobhit Keswani, Cristobal Cintron, Hossein Akhondi

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

The current coronavirus pandemic is unparalleled in recent memory and fundamentally unique. It has been more than a century since humanity fought the Spanish flu pandemic. That widespread disease devastated a World War I-ravaged population when there was a relative paucity of medical knowledge. Coronavirus, on the other hand, is now befalling upon a developed world with advanced infrastructure and health systems; wherein access to medical information and technology is abundant. Yet, it has proven to be a destroyer of economies and populations without geographical partiality.

This article is meant to be a broad analysis of the virus, which is …

A Model For The Spread Of Infectious Diseases In A Region, Elizabeth Hunter, Brian Mac Namee, John D. Kelleher

Articles

In understanding the dynamics of the spread of an infectious disease, it is important to understand how a town’s place in a network of towns within a region will impact how the disease spreads to that town and from that town. In this article, we take a model for the spread of an infectious disease in a single town and scale it up to simulate a region containing multiple towns. The model is validated by looking at how adding additional towns and commuters influences the outbreak in a single town. We then look at how the centrality of a town …

Has Covid-19 Impacted Price-Weight Relationships And Value Of Gain?, Elliott James Dennis

Extension Farm and Ranch Management News

First paragraph:

In the beginning of COVID-19, much of the attention was focused on managing the redirection of meat product from food service to retail stores. This past month has keenly focused on packing plant closures due to COVID-19 cases among workers and how to manage the supply of fat cattle already ready for slaughter. Fat cattle available for slaughter either cannot get bids or bids are significantly below breakeven prices leaving feedlots with decisions to be made about marketing and placements. The April 2020 Cattle on Feed report (https://usda.library.cornell.edu/concern/publications/m326m174z) revealed March placement decisions. Placements were down about …

Swimming Through Lake Placid: A Major Headache, Elizabeth Severson, Claudia Leonard

Providence St. Vincent Internal Medicine 2020

Introduction: Leptospirosis is caused by Leptospira species, a spirochete bacterium that affects animals and humans. The disease can range from mild flu-like illness to multi-organ failure. While likely underreported, the incidence according to the World Health Organization can range from 0.1 to 10 per 100,000 depending on climate Leptospirosis is commonly associated with occupational or recreational exposures

Case Report: A 43 year-old previously healthy man presented with two weeks of myalgias, fevers, neck pain and throbbing headache. The patient competed in an Iron Man event in upstate New York one month prior to presentation. Initial investigation demonstrated a …

Bacterial Load In Virtual Reality Headsets, Benjamin Creel

Honors Theses

Virtual reality technology is a rapidly growing field of computer science. Virtual reality utilizes headsets which cover the user’s eyes, nose, and forehead. In this study, I analyzed the potential for these headsets to become contaminated with bacteria. The nosepieces and foreheads of two HTC Vive VR headsets of the Department of Computer Science of the University of Mississippi were sampled over the course of a seven-week Immersive Media (CSCI 447) course. Serial dilutions were performed, and samples were plated on various culture media. Following incubation, counts of bacteria were determined. DNA was extracted from bacterial growth on plates from …

Examining Zika Virus: Transmission, Diagnosis, Treatment, And Prevention, Noura Taybeh

BU Well

The Zika virus is a mosquito-borne virus that was first isolated in Uganda in 1947 and has since caused outbreaks in many parts of the world. It has multiple routes of transmission and may cause acute illness and death if not treated. The Zika virus becomes a major concern if transmitted from mother to fetus as it increases the chance of birth defects and developmental problems to the unborn baby. This article highlights the importance of early diagnosis and describes Zika virus’ transmission, treatment, and prevention.

How Immune T-Cell Augmentation Can Help Prevent Covid-19: A Possible Nutritional Solution Using Ketogenic Lifestyle, Ravi K. Kamepalli Md,Fidsa,Cwsp

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

No abstract provided.