Digital Commons Network^™

Has The Epidemiology Of Nosocomial Candidemia Changed?, Laura Puzniak, Steven Teutsch, William Powderly, Louis Polish

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Postexposure Prophylaxis Against Varicella-Zoster Virus Infection Among Recipients Of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant: Unresolved Issues, David M. Weinstock, Michael Boeckh, Farid Boulad, Janet A. Eagan, Victoria J. Fraser, David K. Henderson, Trish M. Perl, Deborah Yokoe, Kent A. Sepkowitz

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Survey Of Knowledge, Beliefs, And Practices Of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Healthcare Workers Regarding Nosocomial Infections, Central Venous Catheter Care, And Hand Hygiene, Allison M. Kennedy, Alexis M. Elward, Victoria J. Fraser

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Exploration Of School Administrator Attitudes Regarding Implementation Of Do Not Resuscitate Policy In The Elementary And Secondary School Setting, Martha Hone-Warren

Theses Digitization Project

No previous study has attempted to clarify and articulate administrator attitudes regarding DNR orders in the school setting. Administrative school staff are responsible for development and implementation of school policy therefore understanding administrators' attitudes would assist discussion and decision making related to DNR orders in the school setting.

Sars Surveillance During Emergency Public Health Response, United States, March-July 2003, Stephanie J. Schrag, John T. Brooks, Chris Van Beneden, Umesh D. Parashar, Patricia M. Griffin, Larry J. Anderson, William J. Bellini, Robert F. Benson, Dean D. Erdman, Alexander Klimov, Thomas G. Ksiazek, Teresa C. T. Peret, Deborah F. Talkington, W. Lanier Thacker, Maria L. Tondella, Jacquelyn S. Sampson, Allen W. Hightower, Dale F. Nordenberg, Brian D. Plikaytis, Ali S. Khan, Nancy E. Rosenstein, Tracee A. Treadwell, Cynthia G. Whitney, Anthony E. Fiore, Tonji M. Durant, Joseph F. Perz, Annemarie Wasley, Daniel Feikin, Joy L. Herndon, William A. Bower, Barbara W. Klibourn, Deborah A. Levy, Victor G. Coronado, Joanna Buffington, Clare A. Dykewicz, Rima F. Khabbaz, Mary E. Chamberland

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

In response to the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the United States established national surveillance using a sensitive case definition incorporating clinical, epidemiologic, and laboratory criteria. Of 1,460 unexplained respiratory illnesses reported by state and local health departments to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from March 17 to July 30, 2003, a total of 398 (27%) met clinical and epidemiologic SARS case criteria. Of these, 72 (18%) were probable cases with radiographic evidence of pneumonia. Eight (2%) were laboratory-confirmed SARS-coronavirus (SARS-CoV) infections, 206 (52%) were SARS-CoV negative, and 184 (46%) had undetermined SARS-CoV status because of …

Medical Training Using Simulation: Toward Fewer Animals And Safer Patients, Jonathan Balcombe

Experimentation Collection

This paper presents the current status of computer-based simulation in medicine. Recent technological advances have enabled this field to emerge from esoteric explorations in academic laboratories to commercially available simulators designed to train users to perform medical procedures from start to finish. Today, more than a dozen companies are producing virtual reality simulators and interactive manikins for training in endoscopy, laparoscopy, anaesthesia, trauma management, angiography, and needle insertion. For many of these procedures, thousands of animals are still being used in training. Yet simulation has many advantages that can transcend scientific, ethical, economic and logistical problems that arise when using …

Animals And Alternatives: Societal Expectations And Scientific Need, Alan M. Goldberg

Experimentation Collection

As Russell and Burch suggested more than 40 years ago, the most humane science is the best science. The path ahead is clear: pain and distress must be eliminated in animal experiments or reduced to an absolute minimum, and, as scientists, we must use the most humane approaches in our research. To accomplish the best science, we must train those who come after us in the principles and practice of humane science.

Anthrax In A Highly Endemic Area: Survey Of Knowledge, Attitudes And Beliefs Among Haitian Livestock Owners And Follow-Up Public Health Practice, Katie Steneroden

International Journal of Global Health and Health Disparities

Anthrax, a zoonotic disease with worldwide distribution, is endemic and enzootic in Haiti. Hyper-endemic areas exist and regional outbreaks occur sporadically throughout the country. The number of cases of human cutaneous anthrax reported in a rural area of central Haiti has increased in the last several years. A cross-sectional questionnaire was developed to ascertain livestock owners' knowledge of anthrax and analyzed for potential risk factors and intervention strategies. Results of this survey indicate that a lack of knowledge of the signs, symptoms and transmission of anthrax may be contributing to an increase in human cases. Survey results have been reported …

A Processed Pseudogene Contributes To Apparent Mule Deer Prion Gene Heterogeneity, Kelly A. Brayton, Katherine I. O'Rourke, Amy K. Lyda, Michael W. Miller, Donald P. Knowles Jr.

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

Pathogenesis and transmission of the prion disorders (transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, TSEs) are mediated by a modified isoform of the prion protein (PrP). Prion protein gene (PRNP) alleles associated with relative susceptibility to TSE have been identified in sheep, humans and possibly elk. Comparable data have not been derived for mule deer, a species susceptible to the TSE chronic wasting disease (CWD). Initial analysis of the open reading frame (ORF) in exon 3 of the mule deer PRNP gene revealed polymorphisms in all 145 samples analyzed, with 10 potential polymorphic sites. Because 144/145 (99.3%) of the samples were heterozygous …

Resistance To Scrapie In Prp Arr/Arq Heterozygous Sheep Is Not Caused By Preferential Allelic Use, P. A. Caplazi, Katherine I. O'Rourke, T. V. Baszler

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

Scrapie is a prion disease in sheep that, similar to Kuru or variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), requires both prion exposure and a genetic susceptibility. Susceptibility is defined by amino acid polymorphisms in the single copy prion protein (PrP) gene, Prnp. Specifically, in sheep homozygous for A at position 136 and R at position 154, susceptibility is defined by R or Q at position 171. The genotype ARQ/ARQ confers susceptibility, whereas (apart from a few reported exceptions) genotypes ARR/ARQ and ARR/ARR confer resistance. Similarly, a M/V polymorphism at Prnp codon 129 determines susceptibility to vCJD and Kuru,4 with partial resistance conferred …

Polymorphisms In The Prion Precursor Functional Gene But Not The Pseudogene Are Associated With Susceptibility To Chronic Wasting Disease In White-Tailed Deer, Katherine I. O'Rourke, Terry R. Spraker, Linda K. Hamburg, Thomas E. Besser, Kelly A. Brayton, Donald P. Knowles

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) status and PrP genotypes were determined for a group of 133 wild white-tailed deer in a 780 acre enclosure in western Nebraska, USA. Approximately half of the deer tested showed evidence of PrP^d in the brainstem or lymphoid tissues. Four PRNP alleles encoding amino acid substitutions were identified, with substitutions at residues 95 (Q→H), 96 (G→S) or 116 (A→G), each with serine (S) at residue 138. In addition, a processed pseudogene with two alleles encoding five or six copies of the octapeptide repeat was identified in 26% of the deer. Both alleles encoded asparagine (N) …

Transmission Of Transmissible Mink Encephalopathy To Raccoons (Procyon Lotor) By Intracerebral Inoculation, Amir N. Hamir, Janice M. Miller, Katherine I. O'Rourke, Jason C. Bartz, Mick J. Stack, Melanie J. Chaplin

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

To determine the transmissibility of transmissible mink encephalopathy (TME) agent to raccoons and to provide information about clinical course, lesions, and suitability of currently used diagnostic procedures for detection of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) in raccoons, 4 raccoon kits were inoculated intracerebrally with a brain suspension from mink experimentally infected with TME. One uninoculated raccoon kit served as a control. All 4 animals in the TME-inoculated group showed clinical signs of neurologic disorder and were euthanized between 21 and 23 weeks postinoculation (PI). Necropsy examinations revealed no gross lesions. Spongiform encephalopathy was observed by light microscopy, and the presence of …

Variable Patterns Of Distribution Of Prpcwd In The Obex And Cranial Lymphoid Tissues Of Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni) With Subclinical Chronic Wasting Disease, T. R. Spraker, A. Balachandran, D. Zhuang, Katherine I. O'Rourke

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

Sections of medulla oblongata. taken at the level of the obex, palatine tonsil and medial retropharyngeal lymph node from 10,269 captive Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni), were examined by immunohistochemical staining with monoclonal antibody for the prion protein associated with the transmissible spongiform encephalopathy of cervids, chronic wasting disease (PrP^CWD). The protein was detected in 226 of them. On the basis of the anatomical location of the deposits in the brainstem of 183 elk, four distinct patterns of distribution of PrP^CWD within the parasympathetic region of the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve …

Challenges For Reducing Inequities In Health And Healthcare For The 21st Century, Osman Galal, Roberto De Vogli

International Journal of Global Health and Health Disparities

Human life expectancy during the time of the Roman Empire was approximately 28 years. In 1990, global life expectancy had increased to 65 years. The advances in life expectancy in the 20th century were remarkable by any standard. Although many factors contributed to this enhanced life expectancy, including medical technologies, by far the largest proportion of the increase occurred as a consequence of economic growth, rising living standards and nutrition. Despite the large improvements in terms of life expectancy, significant health variations still remain between countries and across different socioeconomic classes with in countries. As the 20th century proceeded, a …

Occurrence Of Co-Colonization Or Co-Infection With Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci And Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus In A Medical Intensive Care Unit, David K. Warren, Anand Nitin, Cheri Hill

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Dinitroanilines Bind Α-Tubulin To Disrupt Microtubules, Naomi S. Morrissette, Arpita Mitra, David Sept, L. David Sibley

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

A Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Gown Use In Controlling Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus Transmission: Is It Worth The Price?, Laura A. Puzniak, Kathleen N. Gillespie, Terry Leet, Marin Kollef, Linda M. Mundy

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Biology Of PrpSc Accumulation In Two Natural Scrapie-Infected Sheep Flocks, Patrick Caplazi, Katherine I. O'Rourke, Cynthia Wolf, Daniel Shaw, Timothy V. Baszler

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

Sheep scrapie is a prion disease that requires interaction of exogenous prions with host prion protein (PrP) supporting prion formation. Disease is associated with deposition of a host-generated conformational variant of PrP, PrP^sc, in a variety of tissues, including brain, resulting in fatal spongiform encephalopathy. Efficiency of PrP^sc formation is determined by polymorphisms in the PrP-coding sequence. This article adds to previous data of natural sheep scrapie, concentrating on the effect of host genotype and age on PrP^sc accumulation patterns during preclinical and clinical disease. Two entire scrapie-infected, predominantly Suffolk-cross, sheep flocks euthanized for regulatory purposes …

Plant Cell-Based Intimin Vaccine Given Orally To Mice Primed With Intimin Reduces Time Of Escherichia Coli O157:H7 Shedding In Feces, Nicole A. Judge, Hugh S. Mason, Alison D. O'Brien

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

Intimin is the primary adhesin of Escherichia coli O157:H7, the most common infectious cause of bloody diarrhea in the United States and the leading cause of acute kidney failure in children who develop hemolytic uremic syndrome. Cattle are the primary reservoir of E. coli O157:H7. Indeed, most cases of E. coli O157:H7 infection in the United States occur after ingestion of contaminated undercooked hamburger or produce that had contact with bovine manure. Because intimin is required for persistent colonization of neonatal calves and adult cattle, we hypothesized that an intimin-based vaccination strategy in calves would reduce colonization of cattle with …

Bovine Tuberculosis In Swedish Farmed Deer: Detection And Control Of The Disease, Helene Wahlström

Michigan Bovine Tuberculosis Bibliography and Database

Bovine tuberculosis (BTB) was introduced into Swedish farmed deer herds in 1987. Epidemiological investigations showed that 10 deer herds had become infected (July 1994) and a common source of infection, a consignment of 168 imported farmed fallow deer, was identified (I).

As trace-back of all imported and in-contact deer was not possible, a control program, based on tuberculin testing, was implemented in July 1994. As Sweden has been free from BTB since 1958, few practicing veterinarians had experience in tuberculin testing. In this test, result relies on the skill, experience and conscientiousness of the testing veterinarian. Deficiencies in performing the …

Department Of Veterinary And Biomedical Sciences 2004 Annual Report

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Information and History

Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences Personnel
VBMS Teaching Program
VBMS Research Program
International Activities, 2004
Veterinary Extension Program. 2004
VBMS Grants and Contracts Program. 2004
Refereed Publications by VBMS Faculty in 2004
Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences. Selected Committees, Editorial and Other Appointments. 2004
Articles Regarding the Department in 2004
Departmental Budget Summaries. 2004
Nebraska Agricultural Statistics. 2003/2004

West Nile Virus Blood Transfusion-Related Infection Despite Nucleic Acid Testing, Alexandre Macedo De Oliveira, Brady D. Beecham, Susan P. Montgomery, Robert S. Lanciotti, Jeffrey M. Linnen, Cristina Giachetti, Larry A. Pietrelli, Susan L. Stramer, Thomas J. Safranek

United States Public Health Resources

BACKGROUND: A case of West Nile virus (WNV) encephalitis associated with transfusion of blood that did not react when tested for WNV by minipool (MP) nucleic acid testing (NAT) is described. A Nebraska man developed clinical encephalitis 13 days after surgery and transfusion of 26 blood components. Antibody testing confirmed WNV infection. An investigation was initiated to determine the source of this infection.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: The patient’s family members were interviewed to identify risk factors for WNV infection. Residual samples were retested for WNV RNA using transcription-mediated amplification (TMA) assay and two polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays. …

Research Annual Report 2003, Children's Mercy Hospital

Research Annual Reports

Annual report of the research at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City MO, a pediatric medical center.

Unequal Access: The Crisis Of Health Care Inequality For Low-Income African-American Residents Of The District Of Columbia, Robyn Whipple Diaz

Journal of Health Care Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

Surveillance For Waterborne-Disease Outbreaks Associated With Drinking Water--United States, 2001-2002, Brian G. Blackburn, Gunther F. Craun, Jonathan S. Yoder, Vincent Hill, Rebecca L. Calderon, Nora Chen, Sherline H. Lee, Deborah A. Levy, Michael J. Beach

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

PROBLEM/CONDITION: Since 1971, CDC, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists have maintained a collaborative surveillance system for collecting and periodically reporting data related to occurrences and causes of waterborne-disease outbreaks (WBDOs). This surveillance system is the primary source of data concerning the scope and effects of waterborne disease outbreaks on persons in the United States.

REPORTING PERIOD COVERED: This summary includes data on WBDOs associated with drinking water that occurred during January 2001-December 2002 and on three previously unreported outbreaks that occurred during 2000.

DESCRIPTION OF SYSTEM: Public health departments in the states, …

Commentary: Teratology In The 20th Century Environmental Causes Of Congenital Malformations In Humans And How They Were Established By Harold Kalter, Robert L. Brent

The Selected Works of Robert Brent

No abstract

Download Full Pdf Issue-Jefferson Translations-Vol. 1, No. 2, Spring 2004

Jefferson Translations

This issue includes the new Center for Translational Medicine, meet Dr. Walter Koch, medical oncology grows under Dr. Flomenberg, biodefense at Jefferson, Technology Transfer gives Jeff ideas broader access and the 125th gala honoring Dr. Bernard Segal.

Maximum Tolerable Dose Of Cyclophosphamide And Azathioprine In Pakistani Patients With Primary Renal Disease, S S. Ali, M A. Rabbani, S S M Moinuddin, Salim S. Virani, F Farooque, A Salam, A Ahmad

Section of Nephrology

Objective: The immunosuppressive regimens, at present, mainly rely on western guidelines that were derived from studies conducted in western populations. No such study exists for South Asian population, which is home to almost two billion people different in both genetics and environment from west. Locally derived thresholds for side effects markedly different from western figures may warrant re-adjustment of current local immunosuppressive regimens that are at present based largely on western guidelines. In order to define optimum dose for Cyclophosphamide (CYC) and Azathioprine (AZA) based immunosuppressive therapy, we conducted this study to find out maximum tolerable doses of azathioprine (AZA) …

Therapeutic Efficacy Of Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine And Prevalence Of Resistance Markers In Tanzania Prior To Revision Of Malaria Treatment Policy: Plasmodium Falciparum Dihydrofolate Reductase And Dihydropteroate Synthase Mutations In Monitoring In Vivo Resistance, K. Mugittu, M. Ndejembi, A. Malisa, M. Lemnge, Zul Premji, A. Mwita, W. Nkya, J. Kataraihya, S. Abdulla, H.-P. Beck, H. Mshinda

Pathology, East Africa

Prior to the 2001 malarial treatment policy change in Tanzania, we conducted trials to assess the efficacy of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) and the usefulness of molecular markers in monitoring resistance. A total of 383 uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria patients (between 6 and 59 months old) were treated with SP and their responses were assessed. Mutations in the P. falciparum dihydrofolate reductase (pfdhfr) and dihydropteroate synthase (pfdhps) genes in admission day blood samples were analyzed. Results indicated that 85.6% of the patients showed an adequate clinical response, 9.7% an early treatment failure, and 4.7% a late treatment failure. The quintuple mutant genotype …

Phosphorylation Of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Phosphoprotein P Is Indispensable For Virus Growth†, Subash C. Das, Asit K. Pattnaik

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

The phosphoprotein (P) of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) is an essential subunit of the viral RNAdependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) complex. It is phosphorylated at two different domains. Using defective interfering (DI) RNA or minigenomic RNA templates, we previously demonstrated that phosphorylation within the amino-terminal domain I is essential for transcription, whereas phosphorylation within the carboxyterminal domain II is necessary for replication. For the present study, we examined the role of the phosphorylation of residues in these domains in the life cycle of VSV. Various mutant P coding sequences were inserted into a full-length cDNA clone of VSV, and the virus …