Digital Commons Network^™

Comparison Of The Effectiveness Of Disinfectant-Impregnated Wipes Versus Detergent Wipes For Surface Decontamination, Jacob Amadin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over time, there is an increased need to adopt more advanced and effective ways of disinfection. The emergence of the coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic reminded the world on the importance of disinfection. Disinfection has been a routine in the healthcare setting. However, with the current pandemic problem, it is more prominently and persistently done in the domestic setting and other business settings beyond healthcare. As such, the use of most disinfectants and detergent wipes to achieve a near sanitized environment has become a common practice around the globe. This research presents the efficacy of disinfectant impregnated versus detergents wipes through comparison. …

Promoting Hpv Vaccination With Vaccine-Hesitant Parents Using Social Media: A Formative Research Mixed-Method Study, Silvia Sommariva

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Vaccine hesitancy, the refusal or delay in complying with set immunization schedules, has been proclaimed one of the “ten threats to global health” by the World Health Organization in 2019. Since then, the COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the importance of vaccine promotion and management of vaccine hesitancy. While anti-vaccine arguments have not surprisingly evolved much over the past decades, the speed at which those ideas spread has. Web-based technologies, such as social network sites (SNSs), provide a fertile ground for vaccine-related misinformation to spread. Therefore, SNSs are a primary channel to scale efforts to address vaccine hesitancy, using customized approaches. …

Tourism, Education, And Identity Making: Agency And Representation Of Indigenous Communities In Public Sites Within Florida., Timothy R. Lomberk Ii

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

National parks have a history of complex relations with Native communities beginning with the advent of the National Park Service to representation of Native histories in the present. I will focus on two specific cases located within Florida, utilizing the lens of authorized heritage to show challenges of representation; and the range of ways that representation has been addressed and are currently being addressed with respect to Native communities in Florida. I utilize ethnohistorical and ethnographic methods to explore issues of representation in public spaces; such as museums and national parks. I am interested in critical representations of Native American …

Microbiological Study In A Gneissic Cave From Sri Lanka, With Special Focus On Potential Antimicrobial Activities, Ethige Isuru P. Silva, Pathmakumara Jayasingha, Saman Senanayake, Anura Dandeniya, Dona Helani Munasinghe

International Journal of Speleology

The emergence of antibiotic resistance is a global health crisis, thus the search for novel antimicrobial compounds has become a continuous necessity. Underexplored and extreme environments, such as cave ecosystems, have been identified as a promising potential source for the discovery of novel microorganisms with novel antimicrobial compounds (AMC). This study presents the first cave microbiological investigation in Sri Lanka, with a special preference for bioprospecting of novel AMC. The cave sediment characterization demonstrated the presence of close to strong acidic conditions (pH 3.1 – 3.3) and thus indicates the possibility of isolating acidophilic microorganisms. Eight cave wall/ceiling fungal strains …

Crow's Nest, March 8, 2021, Crow's Nest Staff

Crow's Nest

The March 8, 2021, issue of the Crow's Nest.

Measuring Human And Economic Activity From Satellite Imagery To Support City-Scale Decision-Making During Covid-19 Pandemic, Rodrigo Minetto, Maurício Pamplona Segundo, Gilbert Rotich, Sudeep Sarkar

All publications

The COVID-19 outbreak forced governments worldwide to impose lockdowns and quarantines to prevent virus transmission. As a consequence, there are disruptions in human and economic activities all over the globe. The recovery process is also expected to be rough. Economic activities impact social behaviors, which leave signatures in satellite images that can be automatically detected and classified. Satellite imagery can support the decision-making of analysts and policymakers by providing a different kind of visibility into the unfolding economic changes. In this article, we use a deep learning approach that combines strategic location sampling and an ensemble of lightweight convolutional neural …

A Literature Review Of Medical Support In Cave Rescue And Confined Space Medicine – Implications In Urban Underground Space Development., J Goh

KIP Articles

To conduct a literature review and knowledge synthesis of medical support in cave rescue and confined space medicine (CSM), thereby, extrapolating the knowledge gained from cave rescue and CSM to consequence management in Urban Underground Space (UUS) development. Methodology: A review of current medical literature was conducted. Data sources: Search engines utilized include PubMed, Medline, Cochrane Library, Science Direct and Google Scholar. Results and Recommendations: The synthesized knowledge based on available literature was extrapolated to application during consequence management in UUS development. Conclusion: As underground urbanization progresses to create sustainable habitats for the world’s increasing population, city planners need to …

Synthetic Plasmodium Antigens, Compositions, And Uses Thereof, John H. Adams, Christopher L. King, Niraj H. Tolia, Edwin Chen, Nichole Diane Salinas, Miriam Thankam George, Francis B. Ntumngia, Samantha Jones Barnes

USF Patents

Provided herein are synthetic P. vivax antigens, antibodies and pharmaceutical formulations and vaccines thereof. Also provided herein are methods of treating and/or preventing Plasmodium infection and/or disease by administering the synthetic P. vivax antigens, antibodies and pharmaceutical formulations and vaccines thereof.

Leishmania Inhibitors, Bill J. Baker, Nerida G. Wilson, Dennis E. Kyle, Anne-Claire D. Limon

USF Patents

In one aspect, methods and compositions for treating parasitic diseases, for example, leishmaniasis.

Crow's Nest, January 18, 2021, Crow's Nest Staff

Crow's Nest

The January 18, 2021, issue of the Crow's Nest.

Pseudogymnoascus Destructans Growth In Wood, Soil And Guano Substrates, Jenny Urbina, Tara Chestnut, Jennifer M. Allen, Taal Levi

KIP Articles

Understanding how a pathogen can grow on different substrates and how this growth impacts its dispersal are critical to understanding the risks and control of emerging infectious diseases. Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) causes white-nose syndrome (WNS) in many bat species and can persist in, and transmit from, the environment. We experimentally evaluated Pd growth on common substrates to better understand mechanisms of pathogen persistence, transmission and viability. We inoculated autoclaved guano, fresh guano, soil, and wood with live Pd fungus and evaluated (1) whether Pd grows or persists on each (2) if spores of the fungus remain viable 4 months after …

Pseudogymnoascus Destructans Growth In Wood, Soil And Guano Substrates, Jenny Urbina, Tara Chestnut, Jennifer M. Allen, Taal Levi

KIP Articles

Understanding how a pathogen can grow on different substrates and how this growth impacts its dispersal are critical to understanding the risks and control of emerging infectious diseases. Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) causes white-nose syndrome (WNS) in many bat species and can persist in, and transmit from, the environment. We experimentally evaluated Pd growth on common substrates to better understand mechanisms of pathogen persistence, transmission and viability. We inoculated autoclaved guano, fresh guano, soil, and wood with live Pd fungus and evaluated (1) whether Pd grows or persists on each (2) if spores of the fungus remain viable 4 months after …

Computing For Numeracy: How Safe Is Your Covid-19 Social Bubble?, Charles Connor

Numeracy

The COVID-19 pandemic has led many people to form social bubbles. These social bubbles are small groups of people who interact with one another but restrict interactions with the outside world. The assumption in forming social bubbles is that risk of infection and severe outcomes, like hospitalization, are reduced. How effective are social bubbles? A Bayesian event tree is developed to calculate the probabilities of specific outcomes, like hospitalization, using example rates of infection in the greater community and example prior functions describing the effectiveness of isolation by members of the social bubble. The probabilities are solved for two contrasting …

Using Covid-19 Vaccine Efficacy Data To Teach One-Sample Hypothesis Testing, Frank Wang

Numeracy

In late November 2020, there was a flurry of media coverage of two companies’ claims of 95% efficacy rates of newly developed COVID-19 vaccines, but information about the confidence interval was not reported. This paper presents a way of teaching the concept of hypothesis testing and the construction of confidence intervals using numbers announced by the drug makers Pfizer and Moderna publicized by the media. Instead of a two-sample test or more complicated statistical models, we use the elementary one-proportion z-test to analyze the data. The method is designed to be accessible for students who have only taken a …

Analysis Of The Self-Directed Learning Readiness Of New Graduate Registered Nurses, Denise Hain

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Self-directed learning readiness is the level of ability and willingness to manage one’s own learning. Research has been conducted on the self-directed learning readiness of both student nurses and professional nurses. However, research has not expanded to focus on the self-directed learning readiness of new graduate Registered Nurses entering the workforce. The purpose of this study was to identify the self-directed learning readiness of new graduate Registered Nurses entering the workforce in a hospital setting. The study examined their self-directed learning readiness profile; the differences in scores based on nursing degree, nursing program, and age; and the differences in scores …

Identifying Barriers And Facilitators To Implementation Of Community-Based Tuberculosis Active Case Finding With Mobile X-Ray Units In Lima, Peru: A Re-Aim Evaluation, Courtney M. Yuen, Daniela Puma, Ana Karina Millones, Jerome T. Galea, Christine Tzelios, Roger I. Calderon, Meredith B. Brooks, Judith Jimenez, Carmen Contreras, Tim C. Nichols, Tom Nicholson, Leonid Lecca, Mercedes C. Becerra, Salmaan Keshavjee

Social Work Faculty Publications

Objectives: Identify barriers and facilitators to integrating community tuberculosis screening with mobile X-ray units into a health system.

Methods: Reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation and maintenance evaluation.

Setting: 3-district region of Lima, Peru.

Participants: 63 899 people attended the mobile units from 7 February 2019 to 6 February 2020.

Interventions: Participants were screened by chest radiography, which was scored for abnormality by computer-aided detection. People with abnormal X-rays were evaluated clinically and by GeneXpert MTB/RIF (Xpert) sputum testing. People diagnosed with tuberculosis at the mobile unit were accompanied to health facilities for treatment initiation.

Primary and secondary outcome measures: Reach was …

Natural Resources To Control Covid-19: Could Lactoferrin Amend Sars-Cov-2 Infectivity?, Ehab H. Mattar, Fatma Elrashdy, Hussein A. Almehdar, Vladimir N. Uversky, Elrashdy M. Redwan

Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications

The world population is still facing the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Such a challenge requires complicated tools to control, namely vaccines, effective cures, and complementary agents. Here we present one candidate for the role of an effective cure and/or complementary agent: lactoferrin. It is the cross-talking mediator between many organs/cellular systems in the body. It serves as a physiological, immunological, and anti-microbial barrier, and acts as a regulator molecule. Furthermore, lactoferrin has receptors on most tissues cells, and is a rich source for bioactive peptides, particularly in the digestive system. In the past months, in vitro and in …

Targeting Autophagy In Ischemic Stroke: From Molecular Mechanisms To Clinical Therapeutics, Amir Ajoolabady, Shuyi Wang, Guido Kroemer, Josef M. Penninger, Vladimir N. Uversky, Domenico Pratico, Nils Henninger, Russel J. Reiter, Askiel Bruno, Kaumudi Joshipura, Hamid Aslkhodapasandhokmabad, Daniel J. Klionsky, Jun Ren

Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications

Stroke constitutes the second leading cause of death and a major cause of disability worldwide. Stroke is normally classified as either ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke (HS) although 87% of cases belong to ischemic nature. Approximately 700,000 individuals suffer an ischemic stroke (IS) in the US each year. Recent evidence has denoted a rather pivotal role for defective macroautophagy/autophagy in the pathogenesis of IS. Cellular response to stroke includes autophagy as an adaptive mechanism that alleviates cellular stresses by removing long-lived or damaged organelles, protein aggregates, and surplus cellular components via the autophagosome-lysosomal degradation process. In this context, autophagy functions as …

Simple And Efficient Protocol For Immunoglobulin Y Purification From Chicken Egg Yolk, Elrashdy M. Redwan, Abdullah A. Aljadawi, Vladimir N. Uversky

Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications

Besides being a common food component broadly consumed worldwide, egg yolk immunoglobulin Y (IgY) has essential therapeutic potentials. In fact, in a time of ever-increasing risk of antibiotic resistance, it is crucial to find new ways to battle infection, and oral administration of preformed specific antibodies represents one of the most attractive approaches against infection. Infectious diseases of bacterial and viral origin in humans and animals can be controlled and passively cured by orally applied IgYs isolated from chicken egg yolks. Despite multiple obvious advantages of oral administration of IgY, harvesting IgY from egg yolk in a pure form is …

Structural Modeling Of The Treponema Pallidum Outer Membrane Protein Repertoire: A Road Map For Deconvolution Of Syphilis Pathogenesis And Development Of A Syphilis Vaccine, Kelly L. Hawley, Jairo M. Montezuma-Rusca, Kristina N. Delgado, Navreeta Singh, Vladimir N. Uversky, Melissa J. Caimano, Justin D. Radolf, Amit Luthra

Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications

Treponema pallidum, an obligate human pathogen, has an outer membrane (OM) whose physical properties, ultrastructure, and composition differ markedly from those of phylogenetically distant Gram-negative bacteria. We developed structural models for the outer membrane protein (OMP) repertoire (OMPeome) of T. pallidum Nichols using solved Gram-negative structures, computational tools, and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) of selected recombinant periplasmic domains. The T. pallidum “OMPeome” harbors two “stand-alone” proteins (BamA and LptD) involved in OM biogenesis and four paralogous families involved in the influx/efflux of small molecules: 8-stranded β-barrels, long-chain-fatty-acid transporters (FadLs), OM factors (OMFs) for efflux pumps, and T. pallidum repeat proteins …

Spatial Spread Of White-Nose Syndrome In North America, 2006-2018, Andrew M. Kramer, Alex Mercier, Sean Maher, Yaw Kumi-Ansu, Sarah Bowden

Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

White-nose syndrome has caused massive mortality in multiple bat species and spread across much of North America, making it one of the most destructive wildlife diseases on record. This has also resulted in it being one of the most well-documented wildlife disease outbreaks, making it possible to look for changes in the pattern of spatial spread over time. We fit a series of spatial interaction models to the United States county-level observations of the pathogenic fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, that causes white-nose syndrome. Models included the distance between caves, cave abundance, measures of winter length and winter onset, and species …

Incident Tuberculosis Diagnoses In Children At High Risk For Disease, Milagros Wong, Julia M. Coit, Milagros Mendoza, Silvia S. Chiang, Helen Marin, Jerome T. Galea, Leonid Lecca, Molly F. Franke

Social Work Faculty Publications

We followed 35 children meeting a research definition for unconfirmed tuberculosis (TB) but in whom a pediatric pulmonologist did not diagnose or treat TB. After a median follow-up of 16.4 months, most children were not diagnosed with TB following a comprehensive evaluation. However, 2 were diagnosed with TB, demonstrating high TB risk (6%; exact 95% CI, 1%–19%). In some contexts, researchers may wish to supplement these research definitions with clinical decision data and longitudinal follow-up in order to improve specificity.

Prediction Tool To Identify Children At Highest Risk Of Tuberculosis Disease Progression Among Those Exposed At Home, Meredith B. Brooks, Leonid Lecca, Carmen Contreras, Roger Calderon, Rosa Yataco, Jerome Galea, Chuan-Chin Huang, Megan B. Murray, Mercedes C. Becerra

Social Work Faculty Publications

Background: There is a dearth of research to understand which children, among those who are exposed at home to tuberculosis (TB), are at the highest risk of TB disease, to tailor care. We sought to identify predictors of TB progression in children.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study of children living with adults with pulmonary TB in Lima, Peru (2009–2012). We applied classification and regression tree analysis to examine potential predictors of incident TB disease during 12 months in 3 age groups (0–4, 5–9, and 10–14 years). We calculated the relative risk (RR) for top predictors in each age …

A Non-Specialist Depression Care Pathway For Adolescents Living With Hiv And Transitioning Into Adult Care In Peru: A Nested, Proof Of Concept Pilot Study, Jerome T. Galea, Carmen Contreras, Milagros Wong, Karen Ramos, Valentina Vargas, Hugo Sánchez, Renato A. Errea, Leonid Lecca, Molly F. Franke

Social Work Faculty Publications

Background: Adolescents living with HIV (ALWH) are disproportionally impacted by depression, experiencing worse HIV outcomes. Integrated depression and HIV care may support antiretroviral adherence. This study pilot tested for proof of concept a basic depression care pathway for ALWH to inform depression care integration with HIV services in Peru.

Methods: ALWH were screened for depression with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Participants with PHQ-9 scores of ⩾10 or suicidal ideation (SI) were eligible for Psychological First Aid (PFA) delivered by non-mental health specialists. Participants with PHQ-9 re-assessments of ⩾20 or SI were referred to specialized services.

Results: Twenty-eight (11 female, …

Impact Of The Sars-Cov-2 Pandemic On Adolescents Living With Hiv In Lima, Peru, Renato A. Errea, Milagros Wong, Liz Senador, Alicia Ramos, Karen Ramos, Jerome T. Galea, Leonid Lecca, Hugo Sánchez, Carlos Benites, Molly F. Franke

Social Work Faculty Publications

Adolescents living with HIV (ALWH) have lower rates of virologic suppression and higher rates of immunologic decline compared to their older counterparts, potentially placing them at high-risk for developing severe SARS-CoV-2 disease. ALWH who are transitioning to adult care face additional challenges to remaining in care and adhering to treatment. In this special section we report the experiences of ALWH in the process of transitioning to adult HIV services during the COVID-19 pandemic. In first place, the government-mandated stay-at-home order has substantially limited access to full HIV care by restricting public transportation, HIV medication stock-outs, and the suspension of routine …

Racism In Medicine And Science, Samantha Soriano

USF St. Petersburg campus Honors Program Theses (Undergraduate)

The history of racism and prejudice in the United States is not limited to segregation, slavery, and discrimination. Medical and scientific racism continue to disproportionately affect Black and Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC). BIPOC have been used for scientific advancement without full disclosure of potential harm or adequate compensation. Scientists and medical providers have dehumanized minority individuals by disrespecting their autonomy and targeting vulnerable populations. This thesis consists of a literature review that surrounds the history of medical and scientific exploitation of people of color, ethical guidelines surrounding research, eugenics, and how assumptions affect the quality of care that minority …

Transcriptional Host–Pathogen Responses Of Pseudogymnoascus Destructans And Three Species Of Bats With White-Nose Syndrome, Christina M. Davy, Michael E. Donaldson, Hana Bandouchova, Ana M. Breit, Nicole A.S. Dorville, Yvonne A. Dzal, Veronika Kovacova, Emma L. Kunkel, Natália Martínková, Kaleigh J.O. Norquay, James E. Paterson, Jan Zukal, Jiri Pikula, Craig K.R. Willis, Christopher J. Kyle

KIP Articles

No abstract provided.

Failure To Protect?: Applying The Drri-2 Scales To Rwanda And Srebrenica, Elizabeth Mason

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This article critically reanalyses the action, or lack of action, taken by UN peacekeepers in Rwanda and Srebrenica in the 1990's. The lack of action of UN peacekeepers in Rwanda and Bosnia has long been criticised as a conscious decision made by peacekeepers to not act in defence of those being targeted but instead to act as bystanders of genocide when they had the ability to prevent acts of genocide taking place. This article re-examines the actions of the UN command under Romeo Dallaire in Rwanda and Thom Karremans in Srebrenica, Bosnia in terms of the stress-related factors which influenced …

Pressured By Students, Medical Schools Grapple With Climate Change, Michele Cohen Marill

All publications

In Miami, Florida, aspiring clinicians apply lessons learned while reaching out to the region’s most vulnerable communities.

Spatial And Temporal Determinants Associated With Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus Activity In Florida, Kristi M. Miley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus (EEEV) is considered the most pathogenic mosquito-borne illness in the United States. Human mortality has been estimated to range between 35 to 75%, with horses experiencing mortality rates greater than 90%. A large number of EEEV cases occur in Florida. Though we have come a long way since the first human infection was identified in the 1930s, there is still much to learn regarding the virus’s ability to maintain transmission year-round in Florida. Phylogenic studies support that Florida may serve as the geographic reservoir for EEEV. This research investigated spatiotemporal and ecological variables associated with risk …