Digital Commons Network^™

Adjunctive Diagnostic Studies Completed Following Detection Of Candidemia In Children: Secondary Analysis Of Observed Practice From A Multicenter Cohort Study Conducted By The Pediatric Fungal Network, Rachel L Wattier, Robert F T Bucayu, Craig L K Boge, Rachael K Ross, Inci Yildirim, Theoklis E Zaoutis, Debra L Palazzi, Surabhi B Vora, Elio Castagnola, Martha Avilés-Robles, Lara Danziger-Isakov, Alison C Tribble, Tanvi S Sharma, Antonio C Arrieta, Gabriela Maron, David M Berman, Dwight E Yin, Lillian Sung, Michael Green, Emmanuel Roilides, Kiran Belani, José Romero, Pere Soler-Palacin, Eduardo López-Medina, Dawn Nolt, Ibrahim Zaid Bin Hussain, William J Muller, Sarmistha B Hauger, Natasha Halasa, Daniel Dulek, Alice Pong, Blanca E Gonzalez, Mark J Abzug, Fabianne Carlesse, Anna R Huppler, Sujatha Rajan, Catherine Aftandilian, Monica I Ardura, Arunaloke Chakrabarti, Benjamin Hanisch, Christine M Salvatore, Lena Klingspor, Elizabeth D Knackstedt, Irja Lutsar, Maria E Santolaya, Sydney Shuster, Sarah K Johnson, William J Steinbach, Brian T Fisher

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Adjunctive diagnostic studies (aDS) are recommended to identify occult dissemination in patients with candidemia. Patterns of evaluation with aDS across pediatric settings are unknown.

METHODS: Candidemia episodes were included in a secondary analysis of a multicenter comparative effectiveness study that prospectively enrolled participants age 120 days to 17 years with invasive candidiasis (predominantly candidemia) from 2014 to 2017. Ophthalmologic examination (OE), abdominal imaging (AbdImg), echocardiogram, neuroimaging, and lumbar puncture (LP) were performed per clinician discretion. Adjunctive diagnostic studies performance and positive results were determined per episode, within 30 days from candidemia onset. Associations of aDS performance with episode characteristics …

Tailoring The Gut Microbiome Through Diet To Target Short Chain Fatty Acids And Trimethylamine N-Oxide For Heart Failure Prevention, Julia M. Gabel

PANDION: The Osprey Journal of Research and Ideas

The number of people diagnosed with heart failure is on the rise—it’s becoming an epidemic. There are treatment options available for heart failure, but unfortunately there is not a cure. However, most cases of heart failure can be prevented. One mechanism that provides promise for preventing heart failure is the implementation of a heart healthy diet. However, not in the context that most are familiar with. In this case, a heart healthy diet is in reference to the ability of diet to tailor the gut microbiome in order to target specific metabolites that are associated with heart failure. Diet plays …

Dispensing With Reductionism And Dualism: Biological Anthropological Perspectives Towards Understanding Disease, Epidemics, And Pandemics, Anne Grauer

Anthropology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

At no time in recent history has the topic of disease, epidemics and pandemics been more at the forefront of public conversation than it is now. Previously, the threat of epidemics such as Ebola, the 1918 influenza epidemic, and the plague, were commonly framed as “back then” or “over there.” Perhaps COVID ended the public's delusion. For biological anthropologists, however, the perspective has differed appreciably. Pandemics and epidemics are viewed as integral and repeated aspects of human existence, and the kindling to start an outbreak of gargantuan proportion has been delicately stacked for centuries (if not millennia). If the public …

Blockade Of Interferon Signaling Decreases Gut Barrier Integrity And Promotes Severe West Nile Virus Disease, Shih-Ching Lin, Fang R Zhao, Hana Janova, Adrian Gervais, Summer Rucknagel, Kristy O Murray, Jean-Laurent Casanova, Michael S Diamond

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The determinants of severe disease caused by West Nile virus (WNV) and why only ~1% of individuals progress to encephalitis remain poorly understood. Here, we use human and mouse enteroids, and a mouse model of pathogenesis, to explore the capacity of WNV to directly infect gastrointestinal (GI) tract cells and contribute to disease severity. At baseline, WNV poorly infects human and mouse enteroid cultures and enterocytes in mice. However, when STAT1 or type I interferon (IFN) responses are absent, GI tract cells become infected, and this is associated with augmented GI tract and blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability, accumulation of gut-derived …

A Rare Cause Of Diarrhea: Intestinal Spirochetosis In An Hiv-Positive Patient., Lacey Falgout, Shilpa Kailas, Supraja Sridhar, Nisha Loganantharaj

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Intestinal spirochetosis (IS) is a rare gastrointestinal infection with vague presenting symptoms. Diagnosis is confirmed histopathologically. Risk factors include homosexuality and HIV. Antibiotic treatment with metronidazole usually leads to resolution of symptoms. We present the case of a 56-year-old HIV-positive man with chronic, watery diarrhea who was diagnosed with IS. This case highlights the importance of considering IS in the differential in HIV-positive patients with nonspecific gastrointestinal symptoms after more common etiologies have been ruled out.

The Effectiveness Of Disinfection Protocols In Osteopathic Family Medicine Offices, Riley Phyu, Harrison A Patrizio, Thomas Boyle, Todd Schachter

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

CONTEXT: Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) pose a substantial public health threat. Despite significant strides to curb HAIs in hospital environments, outpatient settings have not received the same degree of attention. Given their emphasis on holistic, patient-centered care, osteopathic family medicine offices are pivotal in both disease prevention and comprehensive patient treatment. The importance of simple yet effective disinfection protocols, such as thorough cleaning between patient appointments, cannot be overstated in these settings because they are integral to minimizing disease transmission.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to assess the effectiveness of the current disinfection protocols in osteopathic family medicine offices.

METHODS: A cross-sectional …

An Assessment Of Fetal Rhd Screening In Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (Nipt) And Implementation Of Targeted Routine Antenatal Anti-D Prophylaxis (Traadp) In Enhancing Management Of Rhd-Negative Women At Risk Of Haemolytic Disease Of The Fetus/Newborn (Hdfn) In University Hospital Limerick Group (Uhlg), Anna Pohrebyannyk

International Undergraduate Journal of Health Sciences

Alloimmunisation, formerly isoimmunisation, or sensitisation can occur in pregnancy when a Rhesus D (RhD)-negative woman carries an RhD-positive fetus. Incompatibility of Rh status causes development of allo anti-D antibodies in response to antigen exposure from foreign fetal red cells in fetomaternal haemorrhages (FMHs) or potential sensitising events (PSEs) i.e., iatrogenic interventions (medical or surgical treatment), silent or spontaneous transplacental haemorrhages (STHs) in pregnancy, at birth or other traumas. Anti-D antibodies are immune-mediated and can cross the placenta and attach to fetal cells causing destruction and haemolysis. Offspring of primigravida women are unaffected usually and it is later pregnancies that may …

Description Of A New Pavlovskyella Species (Acari: Argasidae) From Chile, Sebastián Muñoz-Leal, José M Venzal, Alexander R Kneubehl, Job E Lopez, Thiago F Martins, Marcelo B Labruna

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Soft ticks (Argasidae) of the Pavlovskyella Pospelova-Shtrom subgenus are important vectors of relapsing fever spirochetes, which are agents of disease globally. South American representatives of the Pavlovskyella subgenus include 3 species: Ornithodoros (Pavlovskyella) brasiliensis Aragão, Ornithodoros (Pavlovskyella) furcosus Neumann, and Ornithodoros (Pavlovskyella) rostratus Aragão. Here, we describe a fourth species based on morphological and mitogenomic evidence of ticks collected in burrows of unknown hosts in central Chile. The larva of the new species separates from other South American soft ticks by the following combination of characters: 13 pairs of dorsolateral setae, dorsal plate hexagonal, hypostome blunt with denticles from apex …

Candida-Induced Granulocytic Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells Are Protective Against Polymicrobial Sepsis, Shannon Esher Righi, Amanda J. Harriett, Elizabeth A. Lilly, Paul L. Fidel Jr., Mairi C. Noverr

School of Dentistry Faculty Publications

Polymicrobial intra-abdominal infections (IAI) can lead to life-threatening sepsis with significant morbidity and mortality, especially when pathogenic fungi are involved. We have employed an established clinically relevant mouse model of fungal/bacterial IAI and shown that immunization with low-virulence Candida species, that is, Candida dubliniensis, can induce responses that protect against sepsis via the suppression of lethal inflammation. This protection is dependent on long-lived Gr-1(+) polymorphonuclear leukocytes that display characteristics consistent with myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and trained innate immunity. Here we aimed to functionally and phenotypically characterize these protective Gr-1(+) leukocytes. Compared to nonimmunized control mice, we observed increased levels …

Is Β-Lactamase Testing Acceptably Accurate For Predicting Haemophilus Influenzae Susceptibility To Β-Lactams? Epidemiological Data From Philadelphia, Usa, 2017–2023, Arianna B. Morton, Chairut Vareechon, Matthew A. Pettengill

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

No abstract provided.

Autoantibodies Neutralizing Type I Ifns Underlie West Nile Virus Encephalitis In ∼40% Of Patients, Adrian Gervais, Francesca Rovida, Maria Antonietta Avanzini, Stefania Croce, Astrid Marchal, Shih-Ching Lin, Alessandro Ferrari, Christian W Thorball, Orianne Constant, Tom Le Voyer, Quentin Philippot, Jérémie Rosain, Micol Angelini, Malena Pérez Lorenzo, Lucy Bizien, Cristian Achille, Francesca Trespidi, Elisa Burdino, Irene Cassaniti, Daniele Lilleri, Chiara Fornara, José Camilla Sammartino, Danilo Cereda, Chiara Marrocu, Antonio Piralla, Chiara Valsecchi, Stefano Ricagno, Paola Cogo, Olaf Neth, Inés Marín-Cruz, Monia Pacenti, Alessandro Sinigaglia, Marta Trevisan, Andrea Volpe, Antonio Marzollo, Francesca Conti, Tiziana Lazzarotto, Andrea Pession, Pierluigi Viale, Jacques Fellay, Stefano Ghirardello, Mélodie Aubart, Valeria Ghisetti, Alessandro Aiuti, Emmanuelle Jouanguy, Paul Bastard, Elena Percivalle, Fausto Baldanti, Anne Puel, Margaret R Macdonald, Charles M Rice, Giada Rossini, Kristy O Murray, Yannick Simonin, Anna Nagy, Luisa Barzon, Laurent Abel, Michael S Diamond, Aurélie Cobat, Shen-Ying Zhang, Jean-Laurent Casanova, Alessandro Borghesi

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Mosquito-borne West Nile virus (WNV) infection is benign in most individuals but can cause encephalitis in <1% of infected individuals. We show that ∼35% of patients hospitalized for WNV disease (WNVD) in six independent cohorts from the EU and USA carry auto-Abs neutralizing IFN-α and/or -ω. The prevalence of these antibodies is highest in patients with encephalitis (∼40%), and that in individuals with silent WNV infection is as low as that in the general population. The odds ratios for WNVD in individuals with these auto-Abs relative to those without them in the general population range from 19.0 (95% CI 15.0–24.0, P value <10–15) for auto-Abs neutralizing only 100 pg/ml IFN-α and/or IFN-ω to 127.4 (CI 87.1–186.4, P value <10–15) for auto-Abs neutralizing both IFN-α and IFN-ω at a concentration of 10 ng/ml. These antibodies block the protective effect of IFN-α in Vero cells infected with WNV in vitro. Auto-Abs neutralizing IFN-α and/or IFN-ω underlie ∼40% of cases of WNV encephalitis.

Rhino-Cerebral Aspergillosis In An Immunocompetent Patient, Jisun Won, Carolina Severiche Mena, Joseph Glowacki, Dimple Patel

Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives

Rhino-cerebral aspergillosis is a rare phenomenon describing a contiguous spread of Aspergillus species from the paranasal sinuses to the intracranial space. In this case report, we describe a case of invasive rhino-cerebral aspergillosis arising in the setting of prolonged intranasal steroid use in an 81-year-old patient with chronic sinusitis. This case report emphasizes the importance of recognizing steroid use as a risk factor for invasive aspergillosis in otherwise immunocompetent individuals.

Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus In Person Living With Hiv, Connecticut, Usa, 2021, Jonathan Dyal, Shiv Gandhi, Caitlin M Cossaboom, Austin Leach, Ketan Patel, Marjorie Golden, Joseph Canterino, Marie-Louise Landry, Debi Cannon, Mary Choi, Inna Krapiunaya, John D Klena, Trevor Shoemaker

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus is an underreported cause of miscarriage and neurologic disease. Surveillance remains challenging because of nonspecific symptomatology, inconsistent case reporting, and difficulties with diagnostic testing. We describe a case of acute lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus disease in a person living with HIV in Connecticut, USA, identified by using quantitative reverse transcription PCR.

Rare Case Of Pediatric Post-Transplant Lymphoproliferative Disorder Presenting With Pleural Masses Complicated By Pleural Effusions, Erini Nessim Kostandy, David Wan, Essam Imseis

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder is a complication in organ transplant recipients characterized by uncontrolled proliferation of B-lymphocytes, occurring in 6% of pediatric patients, with risk factors including primary Epstein-Barr virus infection, intensity of immunosuppression, and cytomegalovirus infection. The clinical symptoms are often nonspecific, and it is associated with a high mortality rate if left untreated. We describe a rare case of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder who presented with pleural-based masses resulting in pleural effusions.

Intravenous Aviptadil And Remdesivir For Treatment Of Covid-19-Associated Hypoxaemic Respiratory Failure In The Usa (Tesico): A Randomised, Placebo-Controlled Trial, Samuel M Brown, Christina E Barkauskas, Birgit Grund, Shweta Sharma, Andrew N Phillips, Lindsay Leither, Ithan D Peltan, Michael Lanspa, Daniel L Gilstrap, Ahmad Mourad, Kathleen Lane, Jeremy R Beitler, Alexis L Serra, Ivan Garcia, Eyad Almasri, Mohamed Fayed, Kinsley Hubel, Estelle S Harris, Elizabeth A Middleton, Macy A G Barrios, Kusum S Mathews, Neha N Goel, Samuel Acquah, Jarrod Mosier, Cameron Hypes, Elizabeth Salvagio Campbell, Akram Khan, Catherine L Hough, Jennifer G Wilson, Joseph E Levitt, Abhijit Duggal, Siddharth Dugar, Andrew J Goodwin, Charles Terry, Peter Chen, Sam Torbati, Nithya Iyer, Uriel S Sandkovsky, Nicholas J Johnson, Bryce R H Robinson, Michael A Matthay, Neil R Aggarwal, Ivor S Douglas, Jonathan D Casey, Manuel Hache-Marliere, J Georges Youssef, William Nkemdirim, Brad Leshnower, Omar Awan, Sonal Pannu, Darragh Shane O'Mahony, Prasad Manian, J W Awori Hayanga, Glenn W Wortmann, Bruno M Tomazini, Robert F Miller, Jens-Ulrik Jensen, Daniel D Murray, Nina A Bickell, Jigna Zatakia, Sarah Burris, Elizabeth S Higgs, Ven Natarajan, Robin L Dewar, Adam Schechner, Nayon Kang, Alejandro Arenas-Pinto, Fleur Hudson, Adit A Ginde, Wesley H Self, Angela J Rogers, Cathryn F Oldmixon, Haley Morin, Adriana Sanchez, Amy C Weintrob, Alexandre Biasi Cavalcanti, Anne Davis-Karim, Nicole Engen, Eileen Denning, B Taylor Thompson, Annetine C Gelijns, Virginia Kan, Victoria J Davey, Jens D Lundgren, Abdel G Babiker, James D Neaton, H Clifford Lane

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: There is a clinical need for therapeutics for COVID-19 patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure whose 60-day mortality remains at 30-50%. Aviptadil, a lung-protective neuropeptide, and remdesivir, a nucleotide prodrug of an adenosine analog, were compared with placebo among patients with COVID-19 acute hypoxaemic respiratory failure.

METHODS: TESICO was a randomised trial of aviptadil and remdesivir versus placebo at 28 sites in the USA. Hospitalised adult patients were eligible for the study if they had acute hypoxaemic respiratory failure due to confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and were within 4 days of the onset of respiratory failure. Participants could be randomly …

New Records Of Ornithodoros Turicata (Ixodida: Argasidae) In Rural And Urban Sites In The Mexican States Of Aguascalientes And Zacatecas Indicate The Potential For Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever, Edwin Vázquez-Guerrero, José Luis González-Quiroz, María Lilia Domínguez-López, Alexander R Kneubehl, Aparna Krishnavajhala, Michael W Curtis, Alejandro Ponce-Mendoza, Paulina Estrada-De Los Santos, Job E Lopez, J Antonio Ibarra

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Soft ticks from the Ornithodoros genus are vectors of relapsing fever (RF) spirochetes around the world. In Mexico, they were originally described in the 19th century. However, few recent surveillance studies have been conducted in Mexico, and regions where RF spirochetes circulate remain vague. Here, the presence of soft ticks in populated areas was assessed in two sites from the Mexican states of Aguascalientes and Zacatecas. Argasidae ticks were collected, identified by morphology and mitochondrial 16S rDNA gene sequencing, and tested for RF borreliae. The specimens in both sites were identified as Ornithodoros turicata but no RF spirochetes were detected. …

Perspectives On Contingency Management For Alcohol Use And Alcohol-Associated Conditions Among People In Care With Hiv, Shawn M Cohen, Dominick Dephilippis, Yanhong Deng, James Dziura, Tekeda Ferguson, Lisa M Fucito, Amy C Justice, Stephen Maisto, Vincent C Marconi, Patricia Molina, Manuel Paris, Maria C Rodriguez-Barradas, Michael Simberkoff, Nancy M Petry, David A Fiellin, E Jennifer Edelman

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Contingency management (CM) is an evidence-based approach for reducing alcohol use; however, its implementation into routine HIV primary care-based settings has been limited. We evaluated perspectives on implementing CM to address unhealthy alcohol use and associated conditions for people with HIV in primary care settings.

METHODS: From May 2021 to August 2021, we conducted two focus groups with staff involved in delivering the intervention (n = 5 Social Workers and n = 4 Research Coordinators) and individual interviews (n = 13) with a subset of participants involved in the multi-site Financial Incentives, Randomization, and Stepped Treatment (FIRST) trial. Qualitative …

Transfusion Reactions Associated With Covid-19 Convalescent Plasma In Outpatient Clinical Trials, Moises A Huaman, Jay S Raval, James H Paxton, Giselle S Mosnaim, Bela Patel, Shweta Anjan, Barry R Meisenberg, Adam C Levine, Christi E Marshall, Anusha Yarava, Aarthi G Shenoy, Sonya L Heath, Judith S Currier, Yuriko Fukuta, Janis E Blair, Emily S Spivak, Joann R Petrini, Patrick B Broderick, William Rausch, Marieelena Cordisco, Jean Hammel, Benjamin Greenblatt, Valerie C Cluzet, Daniel Cruser, Kevin Oei, Matthew Abinante, Laura L Hammitt, Catherine G Sutcliffe, Donald N Forthal, Martin S Zand, Edward R Cachay, Seble G Kassaye, Malathi Ram, Ying Wang, Piyali Das, Karen Lane, Nichol A Mcbee, Amy L Gawad, Nicky Karlen, Daniel E Ford, Oliver Laeyendecker, Andrew Pekosz, Sabra L Klein, Stephan Ehrhardt, Bryan Lau, Sheriza N Baksh, David M Shade, Arturo Casadevall, Daniel F Hanley, Jiangda Ou, Thomas J Gniadek, Alyssa Ziman, Shmuel Shoham, Kelly A Gebo, Evan M Bloch, Aaron A R Tobian, David J Sullivan, Jonathan M Gerber

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) is an important therapeutic option for outpatients at high risk of hospitalization from SARS-CoV-2 infection. We assessed the safety of outpatient CCP transfusions administered during clinical trials.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: We analyzed data pertaining to transfusion-related reactions from two randomized controlled trials in the U.S. that evaluated the efficacy of CCP versus control plasma in various ambulatory settings. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess whether CCP was associated with transfusion reactions, after adjusting for potential confounders.

RESULTS: The combined study reported 79/1351 (5.9%) adverse events during the transfusion visit, with the majority 62/1351 …

Loss Of Stearoyl-Coa Desaturase 2 Disrupts Inflammatory Response In Macrophages, Joseph B Lin, Amy Mora, Tzu Jui Wang, Andrea Santeford, Darksha Usmani, Marianne M Ligon, Indira U Mysorekar, Rajendra S Apte

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Macrophages are innate immune cells that patrol tissues and are the first responders to detect infection. They orchestrate the host immune response in eliminating invading pathogens and the subsequent transition from inflammation to tissue repair. Macrophage dysfunction contributes to age-related pathologies, including low-grade inflammation in advanced age that is termed "inflammaging." Our laboratory has previously identified that macrophage expression of a fatty acid desaturase, stearoyl-CoA desaturase 2 (SCD2), declines with age. Herein, we delineate the precise cellular effects of SCD2 deficiency in murine macrophages. We found that deletion of

Forecasting Stock Indices With The Covid-19 Infection Rate As An Exogenous Variable, Mohammad Saha A. Patwary

School of Computing and Informatics

Forecasting stock market indices is challenging because stock prices are usually nonlinear and non- stationary. COVID-19 has had a significant impact on stock market volatility, which makes forecasting more challenging. Since the number of confirmed cases significantly impacted the stock price index; hence, it has been considered a covariate in this analysis. The primary focus of this study is to address the challenge of forecasting volatile stock indices during Covid-19 by employing time series analysis. In particular, the goal is to find the best method to predict future stock price indices in relation to the number of COVID-19 infection rates. …

Temporal Dynamics Of Genetically Heterogeneous Extended-Spectrum Cephalosporin-Resistant Escherichia Coli Bloodstream Infections, William C Shropshire, Benjamin Strope, Selvalakshmi Selvaraj Anand, Jordan Bremer, Patrick Mcdaneld, Micah M Bhatti, Anthony R Flores, Awdhesh Kalia, Samuel A Shelburne

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Extended-spectrum cephalosporin-resistant Escherichia coli (ESC-R-Ec) is an urgent public health threat with sequence type clonal complex 131 (STc131), phylogroup B2 strains being particularly concerning as the dominant cause of ESC-R-Ec infections. To address the paucity of recent ESC-R-Ec molecular epidemiology data in the United States, we used whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to fully characterize a large cohort of invasive ESC-R-Ec at a tertiary care cancer center in Houston, Texas, collected from 2016 to 2020. During the study time frame, there were 1,154 index E. coli bloodstream infections (BSIs) of which 389 (33.7%) were ESC-R-Ec. …

Metapopulation Dynamics Of Sars-Cov-2 Transmission In A Small-Scale Amazonian Society, Thomas Kraft, Edmond Seabright, Sarah Alami, Samuel M. Jenness, Paul L. Hooper, Bret Beheim, Helen Davis, Daniel K. Cummings, Daniel Eid Rodriguez, Maguin Gutierrez Cayuba, Emily J. Miner, Xavier De Lamballerie, Lucia Inchauste, Stéphane Priet, Benjamin Trumble, Jonathan Stieglitz, Hillard Kaplan, Michael Gurven

ESI Publications

The severity of infectious disease outbreaks is governed by patterns of human contact, which vary by geography, social organization, mobility, access to technology and healthcare, economic development, and culture. Whereas globalized societies and urban centers exhibit characteristics that can heighten vulnerability to pandemics, small-scale subsistence societies occupying remote, rural areas may be buffered. Accordingly, voluntary collective isolation has been proposed as one strategy to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 and other pandemics on small-scale Indigenous populations with minimal access to healthcare infrastructure. To assess the vulnerability of such populations and the viability of interventions such as voluntary collective isolation, we …

Exploration Of A Potential Desirability Of Outcome Ranking Endpoint For Complicated Intra-Abdominal Infections Using 9 Registrational Trials For Antibacterial Drugs, Tori Kinamon, Ramya Gopinath, Ursula Waack, Mark Needles, Daniel Rubin, Deborah Collyar, Sarah B Doernberg, Scott Evans, Toshimitsu Hamasaki, Thomas L Holland, Jessica Howard-Anderson, Henry Chambers, Vance G Fowler, Sumati Nambiar, Peter Kim, Helen W Boucher

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Desirability of outcome ranking (DOOR) is a novel approach to clinical trial design that incorporates safety and efficacy assessments into an ordinal ranking system to evaluate overall outcomes of clinical trial participants. Here, we derived and applied a disease-specific DOOR endpoint to registrational trials for complicated intra-abdominal infection (cIAI).

METHODS: Initially, we applied an a priori DOOR prototype to electronic patient-level data from 9 phase 3 noninferiority trials for cIAI submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration between 2005 and 2019. We derived a cIAI-specific DOOR endpoint based on clinically meaningful events that trial participants experienced. Next, we …

Leucocytozoon Cariamae N. Sp. And Haemoproteus Pulcher Coinfection In Cariama Cristata (Aves: Cariamiformes): First Mitochondrial Genome Analysis And Morphological Description Of A Leucocytozoid In Brazil, Lis Marques De C. Vieira, Pedro Henrique O. Pereira, Daniel Ambrózio Da Rocha Vilela, Irène Landau, M. Andreína Pacheco, Ananias A. Escalante, Francisco C. Ferreira, Érika Martins Braga

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

The distribution of avian haemosporidians of the genus Leucocytozoon in the Neotropics remains poorly understood. Recent studies confirmed their presence in the region using molecular techniques alone, but evidence for gametocytes and data on putative competent hosts for Leucocytozoon are still lacking outside highland areas. We combined morphological and molecular data to characterize a new Leucocytozoon species infecting a non-migratory red-legged seriema (Cariama cristata), the first report of a competent host for Leucocytozoon in Brazil. Leucocytozoon cariamae n. sp. is distinguished from the Leucocytozoon fringillinarum group by its microgametocytes that are not strongly appressed to the host cell …

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) …

Systematic Design And Data-Driven Evaluation Of Social Determinants Of Health Ontology (Sdoho), Yifang Dang, Fang Li, Xinyue Hu, Vipina K Keloth, Meng Zhang, Sunyang Fu, Muhammad F Amith, J Wilfred Fan, Jingcheng Du, Evan Yu, Hongfang Liu, Xiaoqian Jiang, Hua Xu, Cui Tao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: Social determinants of health (SDoH) play critical roles in health outcomes and well-being. Understanding the interplay of SDoH and health outcomes is critical to reducing healthcare inequalities and transforming a "sick care" system into a "health-promoting" system. To address the SDOH terminology gap and better embed relevant elements in advanced biomedical informatics, we propose an SDoH ontology (SDoHO), which represents fundamental SDoH factors and their relationships in a standardized and measurable way.

Material and methods: Drawing on the content of existing ontologies relevant to certain aspects of SDoH, we used a top-down approach to formally model classes, relationships, and …

Class-Driven Synergy And Antagonism Between A Pseudomonas Phage And Antibiotics, Paul Nicholls, Justin R Clark, Carmen Gu Liu, Austen Terwilliger, Anthony W Maresso

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The ubiquitous bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa is responsible for severe infections in patients with burns, cystic fibrosis, and neutropenia. Biofilm formation gives physical refuge and a protected microenvironment for sessile cells, rendering cure by antibiotics a challenge. Bacteriophages have evolved to prey on these biofilms over millions of years, using hydrolases and depolymerases to penetrate biofilms and reach cellular targets. Here, we assessed how a newly discovered KMV-like phage (ΦJB10) interacts with antibiotics to treat P. aeruginosa more effectively in both planktonic and biofilm forms. By testing representatives of four classes of antibiotics (cephalosporins, aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolones, and carbapenems), we demonstrated …

Hepatitis A Virus And Hepatitis E Virus As Food- And Waterborne Pathogens—Transmission Routes And Methods For Detection In Food, Katalin Nemes, Sofia Persson, Magnus Simonsson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Foodborne viruses are an important threat to food safety and public health. Globally, there are approximately 5 million cases of acute viral hepatitis due to hepatitis A virus (HAV) and hepatitis E virus (HEV) every year. HAV is responsible for numerous food-related viral outbreaks worldwide, while HEV is an emerging pathogen with a global health burden. The reported HEV cases in Europe have increased tenfold in the last 20 years due to its zoonotic transmission through the consumption of infected meat or meat products. HEV is considered the most common cause of acute viral hepatitis worldwide currently. This review focuses …

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 …

Understanding And Quantifying Bioaerosol Fate Within The Aerobiological Pathway: Physical Transport, Environmental Decay, And Mitigation, Sean Kinahan

Theses & Dissertations

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for better tools to understand and characterize phases of the aerobiological pathway, a model for understanding how infectious bioaerosols are sourced, generated, transported, deposit, and affect human health. This dissertation presents validation of methodologies for studying transport of airborne biological agents and variations on their consequences, especially focusing on their physical and chemical fate. Chapter 1 focuses on a parallel comparison of two methods of aging bioaerosols in real-world outdoor environments with complex sunlight, atmospheric chemistry, and pollutants. Both capture on microfibers and the use of Goldberg rotating drums to keep a …