Digital Commons Network^™

Black Death Bodies, Sharon Dewitte, Maryanne Kowaleski

Faculty Publications

The fourteenth-century Black Death was one of the most important and devastating epidemics in human history. It caused or accelerated important demographic, economic, political, and social changes throughout the Old World and has therefore been the subject of scholarly research in a variety of fields, including history, anthropology, demography, and molecular biology. In this paper, we examine the Black Death (specifically, the first and second outbreaks of fourteenth-century plague, c. 1347–1351 and 1361–1362) from bioarchaeological and historical perspectives, focusing on attempts to reconstruct mortality patterns and addressing the questions: Who died in England during the Black Death? How did they …

Promotional Effect Of Molten Carbonates On Proton Conductivity And Oxygen Reduction Reaction – An Experimental And Computational Study, Xiaolei Xiong

Theses and Dissertations

Recent research of Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) is aimed to lower the operating temperature to an intermediate temperature (IT) range of 500 to 700^oC, while maintaining a proper performance. This Ph.D. research project investigates the promotional effects of alkaline carbonate eutectics on the proton conductivity of proton conducting electrolytes and cathodic ORR reactivity in SOFCs by both experimental and computational methods. The ionic conductivity of the MC-BZY composite above 500^oC increases with the higher loading of MC. The sample exhibited nearly a factor of two higher conductivity in H₂-containing atmosphere than in air. …

Best Practice For Screening Adult Patients With Psoriasis For Polyautoimmunity: Celiac Disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis And Crohn’S Disease, Susan Danielle Ashbaugh

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quality improvement project was to determine if screening primary care patients with psoriasis will improve early detection of celiac disease (CD), rheumatoid arthritis, and Crohn’s disease (CrD). The aim of this project is to assess the utility of early screening in patients with psoriasis in order to facilitate earlier diagnosis of CD, RA and CrD, which would consequently initiate earlier treatment and improve long-term patient outcomes. Genetic and population-based studies suggest that individuals with psoriasis have a greater risk of also having CrD, CD or RA, than do individuals without psoriasis. The literature also suggests that …

Depressive Symptoms Association With Health Outcomes And Treatment In Older Americans With Diabetes, Lashonda Jovon Williams

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Diabetes remains the 7th leading cause of death in the United States. Diabetes is a major public health concern of its own, but when you add the comorbidity of depression, diabetes outcomes are amplified. This dissertation examines how depressive symptomatology and treatment for depression are associated with selfreported health (SRH) and diabetes control.

Methods: Chi-square and logistic regression were used to analyze data from the Health and Retirement Study (2012). We assessed the associations between SRH and diabetes control with depressive symptomatology data.

Results: In our sample (n=4374), 19% of respondents reported high depressive symptomatology and …

Recipients’ Perspectives Regarding Expanded Carrier Screening Of Gamete Donors, Erika Kristy Jackson

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: This study explored the perspectives of intended parents regarding genetic carrier screening of a gamete donor. The main goal of this study was to determine how much genetic carrier screening information a recipient would prefer to receive about potential donors. The study also aimed to identify factors that potentially influence a recipient’s choice of donor based on genetic screening results. Methods: An online questionnaire was developed to assess intended parents’ preferences regarding expanded carrier screening (ECS) of their donors. Participants were recruited from various online support groups and were eligible if they had previously utilized or were currently utilizing …

A Quality Improvement Project To Reduce The Incidence Of Clostridium Difficile Infection Through Implementation Of Evidence-Based Terminal Clean Procedures, Tamara Cook

Theses and Dissertations

Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are a huge economic burden and threat to patient health and outcomes. Clostridium difficile is the most common HAI. Effective hand hygiene and proper environmental cleaning procedures are significant to preventing the spread of C. difficile infections. The research question used to guide this project is: Does the use of a monitoring system for post C. difficile isolation terminal clean procedure reduce the rate of hospital-acquired C. difficile in the acute care population? A thorough organizational assessment was performed and directed this project to identify causes that may contribute to the recurrences of C. difficile infections. The …

Management Of Viral Central Nervous System Infections: A Primer For Clinicians, P Brandon Bookstaver, Phillip L. Mohorn, Ansal Shah, Lauren D. Tesh, April M. Quidley, Ravish Kothari, Christopher M. Bland, Sharon Weissman

Faculty Publications

Viruses are a common cause of central nervous system (CNS) infections with many host, agent, and environmental factors influencing the expression of viral diseases. Viruses can be responsible for CNS disease through a variety of mechanisms including direct infection and replication within the CNS resulting in encephalitis, infection limited to the meninges, or immune-related processes such as acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. Common pathogens including herpes simplex virus, varicella zoster, and enterovirus are responsible for the greatest number of cases in immunocompetent hosts. Other herpes viruses (eg, cytomegalovirus, John Cunningham virus) are more common in immunocompromised hosts. Arboviruses such as Japanese encephalitis …

The Daily Gamecock, Wednesday, June 21, 2017, University Of South Carolina, Office Of Student Media

June

No abstract provided.

Paleodemographic And Biochemical Analysis Of Urbanization, Famine, And Mortality, Brittany S. Walter

Theses and Dissertations

Urbanization is a transitional period often associated with deteriorating population health and increased mortality, as the rapid increase of population density in urban centers facilitates the transmission of infectious diseases, unsanitary living conditions, and precarious food supplies. Research on the transition to an urban environment in the past offers a temporal depth to our understanding of the consequences of urbanization that cannot be accomplished through examination of contemporary populations. This project integrates paleodemographic (hazard analysis) and biochemical (stable isotope analysis) approaches to examine the health and diet of inhabitants in late medieval England (c. 1120-1539 CE), specifically the relationship between …

Analysis Of Food Exposures In Foodborne Disease Outbreaks, Alecia T. Alianell

Theses and Dissertations

Foodborne illness remains a serious public health problem in the United States in general as well as South Carolina in particular. Obtaining good food ingestion histories as well as possible risky environmental exposures is one of the earliest, most important tasks to complete in any foodborne outbreak investigations. Because time is of the essence in investigations, we have evaluated a rarely used biostatistical method, Random Forests, to data obtained from DHEC. Random Forests has the potential to facilitate more rapid identification of foods or environmental exposures that may be associated with outbreaks. We also examined previous cases of salmonellosis using …

Tuberculosis Screening In New Healthcare Employees: A Comparison Of Quantiferon®-Tb Gold In-Tube Test And Tuberculin Skin Test, Mary C. Giovannetti

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Streamlining onboarding processes for new hires to maximize efficiency and reduce costs while meeting regulatory requirements is a constant challenge for healthcare systems’ Employee Health staff. Health screening is a required step and includes obtaining a detailed health history, tuberculosis screening, drug screens, immunizations, fit for duty examinations, obtaining medical records, clarification of disability accommodations, pre-work screens, and other tests which are time consuming and result in delays in hire dates. Faced with a high volume of potential new employee hires a major southeast healthcare system was concerned about delays in new hire start dates. The two-step tuberculin skin …

Multilevel And Multisectoral Processes Of Implementing Nutritionsensitive Ideology And Programming In Ethiopia’S Development Landscape, Andrea Marie Warren

Theses and Dissertations

This research sought to understand the ways in which ideas and discourses in international development are adapted in a country context. Our particular focus was on how ideas at the international and national level become reality at the subnational and community levels. We primarily examined the sensitization of Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Program to nutrition across sectors and down levels of government as a way to understand how the global momentum around nutrition, particularly multisectoral or nutrition-sensitive initiatives, can be translated into action.

The first manuscript delves further into the operational realities of implementing multisectoral nutrition-sensitive programming among the neglected …

The Impact Of Digital Technology On Health Of Populations Affected By Humanitarian Crises: Recent Innovations And Current Gaps, Sandra Mesmar, Reem Talhouk, Chaza Akik, Patrick Olivier, Imad H. Elhajj, Shady Elbassuoni, Sarah Armoush, Joumana Kalot, Madeline Balaam, Aline Germani, Hala Ghattas Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Digital technology is increasingly used in humanitarian action and promises to improve the health and social well-being of populations affected by both acute and protracted crises. We set out to (1) review the current landscape of digital technologies used by humanitarian actors and affected populations, (2) examine their impact on health and well-being of affected populations, and (3) consider the opportunities for and challenges faced by users of these technologies. Through a systematic search of academic databases and reports,weidentified 50digital technologies used by humanitarian actors, and/or populations affected by crises. We organized them according to the stage of the humanitarian …

Fluctuating Temperatures Alter Environmental Pathogen Transmission In A Daphnia–Pathogen System, Tad Dallas, John M. Drake

Faculty Publications

Environmental conditions are rarely constant, but instead vary spatially and temporally. This variation influences ecological interactions and epidemiological dynamics, yet most experimental studies examine interactions under constant conditions. We examined the effects of variability in temperature on the host–pathogen relationship between an aquatic zooplankton host (Daphnia laevis) and an environmentally transmitted fungal pathogen (Metschnikowia bicuspidata). We manipulated temperature variability by exposing all populations to mean temperatures of 20°C for the length of the experiments, but introducing periods of 1, 2, and 4 hr each day where the populations were exposed to 28°C followed by periods of …

Combining Intensive Counseling By Frontline Workers With A Nationwide Mass Media Campaign Has Large Differential Impacts On Complementary Feeding Practices But Not On Child Growth: Results Of A Cluster-Randomized Program Evaluation In Bangladesh, Purnima Menon, Phuong Hong Nguyen, Kuntal Kumar Saha, Adiba Khaled, Tina Sanghvi, Jean Baker, Kaosar Afsana, Raisul Haque, Edward A. Frongillo Jr., Marie T. Ruel, Rahul Rawat

Faculty Publications

Background: Complementary feeding (CF) contributes to child growth and development, but few CF programs are delivered at scale. Alive & Thrive addressed this in Bangladesh through intensified interpersonal counseling (IPC), mass media (MM), and community mobilization (CM).

Objective: The objective was to evaluate the impact of providing IPC + MM + CM (intensive) compared with standard nutrition counseling + less intensive MM + CM (nonintensive) on CF practices and anthropometric measurements.

Methods: We used a cluster-randomized, nonblinded evaluation with cross-sectional surveys [n = ∼600 and 1090 children 6-23.9 mo and 24-47.9 mo/group, respectively, at baseline (2010) and n = ∼500 …

Alleged Insanity: Frank Johnson Sr., Racial Injustice, And The Failure Of The Mental Health Care System In South Carolina, Jonathon P. Johnson

Senior Theses

This thesis is about Frank Johnson Sr. and the circumstances that led to his downfall as a farmer and father of six, to his tragic death in the isolation of a racially segregated mental institution 18 miles away from his home. Using his life and incarceration at the South Carolina State Park mental health facility, I argue that racial injustice contributed to his tragic death and the woefully inadequate treatment thousands of African Americans in South Carolina received during Jim Crow. Additionally, I argue that the tragic circumstances around my great grandfather’s institutionalization and death were part of an enduring …

Test Site Predicts Hiv Care Linkage And Antiretroviral Therapy Initiation: A Prospective 3.5 Year Cohort Study Of Hivpositive Testers In Northern Tanzania, Elizabeth A. Reddy, Chris Bernard Agala, Venance P. Maro, Jan Ostermann, Brian W. Pence, Dafrosa K. Itemba, Donna Safley, Jia Yao, Nathan M. Thielman, Kathryn Whetten

Faculty Publications

Background: Linkage to HIV care is crucial to the success of antiretroviral therapy (ART) programs worldwide, loss to follow up at all stages of the care continuum is frequent, and long-term prospective studies of care linkage are currently lacking.

Methods: Consecutive clients who tested HIV-positive were enrolled from four HIV testing centers (1 health facility and 3 community-based centers) in the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania as part of the larger Coping with HIV/AIDS in Tanzania (CHAT) prospective observational study. Biannual interviews were conducted over 3.5 years, assessing care linkage, retention, and mental health. Bivariable and multivariate logistic regression analyses were …

Practice Characteristics That Matter In The Provision Of Health Education Services By Primary Care Physicians, George Paul Newby Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

The onset of chronic disease is occurring earlier and more often in the lives of adult citizens of the United States. The literature has effectively demonstrated the efficacy that physician provision of health education services offers their patients and the positive effects it has for lowering risk factors for chronic disease. The literature has described the complexities physicians encounter in providing these services. The literature is not as plentiful in defining and describing the characteristics of physician practice that are associated with increased health education provision.

This study is an analysis of the factors that are associated with provision of …

Structural And Functional Studies Of Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide And Streptolysin S Biosynthesis Proteins From Streptococcus Pyogenes, William T. Booth

Theses and Dissertations

Invasive infections caused by Streptococcus pyogenes, also known as Group A Strep (GAS), results in approximately 600,000 deaths annually. With evidence of antibiotic-resistant strains of this bacterium on the rise, there is a need for the identification of new drug targets to control these infections. In our approach we target the quinolinate-salvage pathway (QSP) and the streptolysin S (SLS) biosynthesis pathway. The QSP provides a secondary pathway for NAD+ biosynthesis within this organism; the SLS pathway leads to the formation of a quorum sensing molecule (SLS). We hypothesize that inhibition of the pathways will lead to GAS cell death or …

Cultural Perceptions Of Chikungunya In The Dominican Republic, James Preston Kerns

Theses and Dissertations

Chikungunya (CHIKV) is a mosquito-borne virus that recently (2013) entered the Western hemisphere and tore through the Caribbean and most of Latin America. The symptoms include rash, joint pain, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, and fever. In many cases, sufferers report persistent arthralgia long after the actual viral infection has subsided. There are a variety of misperceptions about CHIKV, which directly impact public health efforts aimed at reducing the prevalence of the disease. Understanding the epidemic spread of CHIKV in the DR and the growth of misconceptions about the origin, severity, cause, and treatment of the disease requires a perspective that encompasses …

Examining Crowdsourced Social Media Platforms And Their Association With College Students' Alcohol Consumption, Perceived Risk, And Behaviors, Danielle Gentile

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: High-risk alcohol use by U.S. college students remains a significant threat to individual health and community well-being. Newly-emerging social media platforms and apps which relay information about alcohol-related law enforcement serve as an intriguing addition to college alcohol-use environments. The purpose of this study was to examine the information delivered to users by the local social media platform @Drinking Ticket (DT), determine which types of information were then relayed to others, and clarify how this information influences alcohol use, perceived risk, and alcohol-related risk behaviors among college students. Methods: One year of DT tweets (n=854 tweets) were qualitatively coded …

From Near And Far: Utilization Of In-Situ And Remotely Sensed Satellite Data From Nasa And Noaa, Jessica Rochelle Price Sutton

Theses and Dissertations

Satellite remote sensing observations have been used for numerous studies to better understand physical and biological properties over varying spatial and temporal scales. Depending on the satellite and sensor, the satellite-derived observations can provide high spatial and temporal resolution for many important physical and biological variables. While there are many limitations in utilizing satellite remote sensing products, there are also many advantages. This dissertation investigates three different applications for satellite remote sensing products to address climatological and ecological concerns. This dissertation is motivated by two overall research questions: (1) How can satellite remote sensing products be used to address important …

Enslaved Labor In The Gang And Task Systems: A Case Study In Comparative Bioarchaeology Of Commingled Remains, William D. Stevens

Theses and Dissertations

This study designs and tests an approach intended to confront one of the major problems faced within biological anthropology, the commingling or mixing of human skeletal remains. The first goal of the study is to implement an approach to sorting mixed human remains in order that they can be made amenable to comparative study. Bioarchaeologists depend on an array of measures, preserved in the human skeleton, to assess the lifestyles and identity of past human groups. As many of these measures are preserved within the morphology of different bones, it is imperative that the association and context of remains are …

Molecular Cues Of Pattern-Recognition-Receptor Pathways In Redox-Toxicity-Driven Environmental Nafld, Suvarthi Das

Theses and Dissertations

With the pandemic proportions of obesity and a correlative increase in fatty liver disease, there was a dire need to explore the missing link between the changed environment and progression of NAFLD in obesity. My research implies that environmental toxin bromodichloromethane induces early liver lesions in obesity, and is mediated by the synchronous insult of oxidative stress and increased levels of the adipokine leptin. In a two-pronged approach to investigate the molecular cues, I looked at the role of Purinergic receptor X7 and Toll 4 receptor. Both rodent models and cell-based systems were used. Also, in order to validate my …

Selective Behavioral Alterations In The Hiv-1 Transgenic Rat: Implications For Diagnosis Of Pediatric Hiv-1, Kristen A. Mclaurin

Theses and Dissertations

Since the advent of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), pediatric HIV-1 (PHIV) has evolved from a fatal disease to a chronic disease with children perinatally infected with HIV-1 surviving into adulthood. The HIV-1 transgenic (Tg) rat, which expresses 7 of the 9 HIV-1 genes constitutively throughout development, was used to investigate the early development of chronic neurological impairment in PHIV. Male and female Fischer HIV-1 Tg and F344N control rats, sampled from 35 litters, were repeatedly assessed during early development using multiple experimental paradigms, including somatic growth, locomotor activity, cross-modal prepulse inhibition (PPI) and gap-prepulse inhibition (gap-PPI). A rightward shift towards …

Prediction Of Fluoroquinolone Resistance In Gram-Negative Bacteria Causing Bloodstream Infections, Seejil Dan, Ansal Shah, Julie Ann Justo, P Brandon Bookstaver, Joseph Kohn, Helmut Albrecht, Majdi N. Al-Hasan

Faculty Publications

Increasing rates of fluoroquinolone resistance (FQ-R) have limited empirical treatment options for Gram-negative infections, particularly in patients with severe beta-lactam allergy. This case-control study aims to develop a clinical risk score to predict the probability of FQ-R in Gram-negative bloodstream isolates. Adult patients with Gram-negative bloodstream infections (BSI) hospitalized at Palmetto Health System in Columbia, South Carolina, from 2010 to 2013 were identified. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify independent risk factors for FQ-R. Point allocation in the fluoroquinolone resistance score (FQRS) was based on regression coefficients. Model discrimination was assessed by the area under receiver operating characteristic curve …

Costs Of Resistance And Infection By A Generalist Pathogen, Tad Dallas, Mathieu Holtackers, John M. Drake

Faculty Publications

Pathogen infection is typically costly to hosts, resulting in reduced fitness. However, pathogen exposure may also come at a cost even if the host does not become infected. These fitness reductions, referred to as “resistance costs”, are inducible physiological costs expressed as a result of a trade-off between resistance to a pathogen and aspects of host fitness (e.g., reproduction). Here, we examine resistance and infection costs of a generalist fungal pathogen (Metschnikowia bicuspidata) capable of infecting a number of host species. Costs were quantified as reductions in host lifespan, total reproduction, and mean clutch size as a function …

Reforming Healthcare Reform, Jacqueline Fox

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Uptake Of Nanoparticles By Vibrio Gazogenes, Shonda Renee Jones

Theses and Dissertations

Vibrio gazogenes, a Gram-negative species of marine bacteria, was capable of transporting 20 nm (diameter) surface-carboxylated, polystyrene, fluorescent FluoSpheres® microspheres (excitation/emission = 505/515) through the outer membrane, which was indicated by a detectable decrease in the fluorescence intensity of the nanoparticles in the culture medium. A mechanism of transport was investigated involving the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) protein transporters that traverse the outer membrane. Inhibition of the ABC transporters did not prevent the entry of the nanoparticles into the cell, suggesting there was an alternate mechanism of transport. The addition of nanoparticles to the culture medium also did not provide any …

Breastfeeding Among Working Mothers In Saudi Arabia, Maryam Suliman Alhabas

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: To examine the relationship of not having breastfeeding support policy in workplace such as employees pumping breast milk or breastfeeding their infant while at work policy to early initiation of formula and cessation of breastfeeding. Design: Crosssectional study. Setting and Subjects: A total of 273 workingwomen, working in 12 different organizations in Riyadh, KSA. Method: An electronic questionnaire survey was administered to 340 workingwomen in 12 different organizations in Riyadh. Questions were about participants’ demographics and employment characteristics, breastfeeding support services in their workplace, knowledge about breastfeeding benefits, breastfeeding duration after return to work, and formula initiation. Results: Having …