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Evolution, Ecology, And Disparities: Constructing Stature, Immune Functioning, And Reproduction In Brazilian Quilombo, And United States, Women, Anna C. Rivara

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to test how growth, reproduction, and immune functioning interact in two populations of adult women residing in vastly different socio-economic and ecological environments, the Kalunga quilombo in Brazil, and the United States of America. The presence of life history trade-offs was tested to determine how the different envirnonments, and socio-ecological contexts of the populations were creating differential risks for health and reproductive outcomes, and life history trade-offs.

I hypothesized that the Kalunga people, living in very difficult and harsh conditions, would experience greater amounts of, and more severe, life history trade-offs than the U.S. …

Characterizing Gross Lesions In Corals On Fringing Reefs Of Taiwan And Hainan Island, China, Adrienne George

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Visible lesions on coral colonies are potential indicators that environmental stressors are influencing a reef. To test this hypothesis, pairs of near-shore reefs on Taiwan were surveyed along an anthropogenically influenced gradient that included locations near the cities of Taipei and Taitung, and more remote reefs off Green Island. Two fringing reefs at Sanya, Hainan Island, a popular Chinese resort area, were also assessed. Field surveys were undertaken to detect, quantify and visually describe the occurrence of lesions at each site. Coral mucus samples were collected from both normal-appearing polyps and lesion-afflicted areas of colonies to assess carbon requirements of …

Success Of Wildlife Disease Treatment Depends On Host Immune Response, Brooke Maslo, Sarah A. Gignoux-Wolfsohn, Nina H. Fefferman

KIP Articles

Infectious diseases significantly threaten many wildlife populations. Proposed treatments often fail to consider resulting impacts on natural host defense mechanisms and ongoing infection risks. We demonstrate the importance of prior knowledge of host defenses by modeling outcomes of various treatment regimes on bat populations infected with white-nose syndrome (WNS), a disease that has caused declines in multiple North American species. Despite differences in species susceptibility to the causative fungus, how hosts respond to and survive infection remains unclear. We explore three potential host-defense mechanisms: upregulation of the responsive innate or adaptive immune systems, and rapid evolution that enables evolutionary rescue. …

Molecular Detection Of Viruses In Kenyan Bats And Discovery Of Novel Astroviruses, Caliciviruses And Rotaviruses, Cecilia Waruhiu, Sheila Ommeh, Vincent Obanda

KIP Articles

This is the first country-wide surveillance of bat-borne viruses in Kenya spanning from 2012–2015 covering sites perceived to have medium to high level bat-human interaction. The objective of this surveillance study was to apply a non-invasive approach using fresh feces to detect viruses circulating within the diverse species of Kenyan bats. We screened for both DNA and RNA viruses; specifically, astroviruses (AstVs), adenoviruses (ADVs), caliciviruses (CalVs), coronaviruses (CoVs), flaviviruses, filoviruses, paramyxoviruses (PMVs), polyomaviruses (PYVs) and rotaviruses. We used family-specific primers, amplicon sequencing and further characterization by phylogenetic analysis. Except for filoviruses, eight virus families were detected with varying distributions and …

Further Evidence For Bats As The Evolutionary Source Of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus, S. J. Anthony, K. Gilardi, V. D. Menachery

KIP Articles

The evolutionary origins of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus (MERS-CoV) are unknown. Current evidence suggests that insectivorous bats are likely to be the original source, as several 2c CoVs have been described from various species in the family Vespertilionidae. Here, we describe a MERS-like CoV identified from a Pipistrellus cf. hesperidus bat sampled in Uganda (strain PREDICT/PDF-2180), further supporting the hypothesis that bats are the evolutionary source of MERS-CoV. Phylogenetic analysis showed that PREDICT/PDF-2180 is closely related to MERS-CoV across much of its genome, consistent with a common ancestry; however, the spike protein was highly divergent (46% amino acid …

Strategies For Reducing Preventable Hospital Readmissions On Medicare Patients, Andres Patricio Garcia-Arce

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The high expenditure of healthcare in the United States (U.S.) does not translate into better quality of care. Indeed, the U.S. healthcare system is recognized by its lack of efficiency and waste (which represents about 20% of the country’s healthcare expenses). Lack of coordination is one of the most referenced causes of waste in the U.S. healthcare system, and preventable hospital readmissions have been acknowledged to be evidence of poor coordination of care. In fiscal year 2013, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) established financial penalties for inpatient care reimbursements in hospitals with excessive readmissions. All the same, …

Dynamics Of Multicultural Social Networks, Kristina B. Hilton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Historically human endeavors around the globe are in search of bilateral relationships. Knowledge and commerce has played a very significant role in increasing the ability for humans to connect for the betterment of the human species. As the means of communication improve, mutual benefits to the community as a whole also increase. Moreover, the benefits are filtered down to members of the overall community. Recent advancement in electronic communication technologies and in knowledge, in particular, physical, chemical, engineering and medical sciences and philosophies, have facilitated nearly instantaneous multi-cultural interactions. Local problems and solutions have become global. This has generated a …

Nurses' Attitudes Toward Death: Examining The Relationship With Background And Palliative Education And Training Variables, Julie Dawn Vognsen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe Registered Nurses’ attitudes toward death and their perspectives on education and training related to death and end-of-life patient care. A complementary goal was to determine whether nurses’ attitudes and perspectives are associated with background variables. The three attitudes toward death included anxiety, escape, and neutral attitudes. The background variables of the nurses included formal educational level, age, gender, ethnicity, years of nursing practice, state of residence, and area of nursing practice.

A survey including four sections was used for data collection. The first section of the survey utilized an established 32-item survey …

Analysis Of Antibody-Induced Plasmodium Falciparum Sporozoites Through Scanning Electron Microscopy, Sagorika Bera

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Malaria is a devastating disease that continues to affect millions of people worldwide every year. Specifically, Plasmodium falciparum is the most common human malaria parasite, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. P. falciparum causes the most malignant and debilitating symptoms with the highest mortality and complication rates. Even with the worldwide efforts of many researchers and organizations, the road to discovering a vaccine has been difficult and challenging. Due do to the improvements in in vitro liver stage assays as well as rodent models of mammalian malaria, pre-erythrocytic stages of malaria have become a more accessible target for experimental studies. These vaccine …

A Novel Approach To The Discovery Of Natural Products From Actinobacteria, Rahmy Tawfik

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Actinobacteria, primarily the genus Streptomyces, have led to the development of a number of antibiotics, which result from their secondary metabolites or modified derivatives. Secondary metabolite production can result from competition with neighboring microbes in an effort to disrupt growth, aiding in the competition for vital nutrients in impoverished conditions. Such secondary metabolites have the potential to affect a plethora of cellular functions in target cells, including, cell wall development, protein synthesis, protein function and fatty acid synthesis/metabolism. Due to the pandemic spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria, it is imperative to continue the search for new therapeutic agents …

Development Of Tools For Stable Transfection In The Human Filarial Parasite Brugia Malayi Via The Piggybac Transposon System, Johan Chabanon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Brugia malayi is one of three species of nematode known to cause lymphatic filariasis (LF) in humans. LF infects over 120 million people, causing debilitating disease. Various global programs have been launched in the past 20 years to eliminate LF. These programs have greatly scaled up the resources and efforts allocated to halting the transmission and reducing disease burden. Only a few drugs are used to treat LF, and resistance is thus a devastating possibility. Research aimed at identifying new drug targets could therefore prove essential in elimination of LF.

Genetic manipulation of B. malayi has been limited to transient …

(Not) Everything Is Good And Easy: Language-Related Healthcare Experiences Of Two Groups Of Low-Income Latina Mothers, Aria Anna Walsh-Felz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This cross-sectional, comparative, qualitative study explored language-related issues experienced by low-income Spanish-speaking mothers navigating pediatric care for their children in Hillsborough County, Florida. Hospitals, pediatric clinics, specialists, and dental care have differing degrees of linguistic accessibility and accommodations for limited English proficient families. Two groups of mothers were interviewed: bilingual (n=9) and Spanish-speaking limited-English proficient (SSLEP) mothers (n=21). These groups perceived the effect of language on navigating pediatric healthcare differently, creating tension in perceptions and experience between them. Such tensions included SSLEP mothers expressing satisfaction with pediatric care simultaneously with shortcomings in communication. SSLEP mothers said that everything was easy, …

Fostering Scientific And Numerate Practices In Journalism To Support Rapid Public Learning, Louise Yarnall, Michael Andrew Ranney

Numeracy

Journalism has the potential––and arguably the mandate––to expand public understanding of societally important phenomena. However, some methods for more effectively educating the public have been persistently underutilized: in particular, embedding informative numerical rates and efficient scientific explanations in news reports. In the current era of disrupting and downsizing the news business, the challenges to using such methods have only increased. To address this problem, this article seeks to (a) raise awareness about the psychological reasons that help explain why it is crucial to use such elements in news reports, and (b) exhibit some methods for doing so that require modest …

Local And Regional Stressors Interact To Drive A Salinization-Induced Outbreak Of Predators On Oyster Reefs, David L. Kimbro, J. Wilson White, Hanna Tillotson, Nikkie Cox, Megan Christopher, Owen Stokes-Cawley, Samantha Yuan, Timothy J. Pusack, Christopher D. Stallings

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Predator outbreaks are predicted to increasingly decimate economically and ecologically important prey populations because global climate change and food-web modifications frequently facilitate predators and stress prey. Natural systems are organized hierarchically, with processes operating at multiple scales giving rise to patterns of biodiversity, so predicting and managing outbreaks requires a framework that accounts for the effects of both local and regional stressors. Here, we used the comparative experimental approach to investigate whether the collapse of a nationally important oyster fishery in the Gulf of Mexico (Apalachicola Bay, Florida) could have been (1) caused proximally by a predator outbreak and (2) …

Winter Behavior Of Bats And The Progression Of White-Nose Syndrome In The Southeastern United States, Riley Bernard, Gary F. Mccracken

KIP Articles

Understanding the winter behavior of bats in temperate North America can provide insight into how bats react to perturbations caused by natural disturbances such as weather, human-induced disturbances, or the introduction of disease. This study measured the activity patterns of bats outside of their hibernaculum and asked how this winter activity varied by time, temperature, bat species, body condition, and WNS status. Over the course of three winters (2011–2013), we collected acoustic data and captured bats outside of five hibernacula in Tennessee, United States. During this time, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the causative agent of white-nose syndrome, became established in hibernacula throughout …

Phylogenetics Of A Fungal Invasion: Origins And Widespread Dispersal Of White-Nose Syndrome, Kevin P. Drees, Jeffrey M. Lorch

KIP Articles

No abstract provided.

Parasite Microbiome Project: Systematic Investigation Of Microbiome Dynamics Within And Across Parasite-Host Interactions, Nolwenn M. Dheilly, Daniel Bolnick, Seth Bordenstein, Paul J. Brindley, Cédric Figuères, Edward C. Holmes, Joaquín Martínez Martínez, Anna J. Phillips, Robert Poulin, Karyna Rosario

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Understanding how microbiomes affect host resistance, parasite virulence, and parasite-associated diseases requires a collaborative effort between parasitologists, microbial ecologists, virologists, and immunologists. We hereby propose the Parasite Microbiome Project to bring together researchers with complementary expertise and to study the role of microbes in host-parasite interactions. Data from the Parasite Microbiome Project will help identify the mechanisms driving microbiome variation in parasites and infected hosts and how that variation is associated with the ecology and evolution of parasites and their disease outcomes. This is a call to arms to prevent fragmented research endeavors, encourage best practices in experimental approaches, and …

Role Of Healthcare Providers' Recommendation Style In Hpv Vaccine-Decision-Making Among Haitian Parents And Female Patients, Dudith Pierre-Victor, Dionne P. Stephens, Rachel Clarke, Kemesha Gabbidon, Purnima Madhivanan

USF St. Petersburg Campus Faculty Publications

Background and Purpose: The strong influence of physician recommendation on vaccine uptake is well established in the literature. However, its influence on HPV vaccine decision-making among young Haitian women is understudied. This study investigated the role of healthcare providers’ recommendation style in Haitian parents’ and female patients’ HPV vaccine decision-making. Methods: Thirty selfidentified Haitian women aged 17-26 years were recruited from a large university campus in the Southeastern United States (N=30). They completed in-depth face-to-face interviews regarding their HPV vaccine decision-making process. Transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Provider recommendation was cited as a major factor that influenced HPV …

Virus Taxonomy In The Age Of Metagenomics, Peter Simmonds, Mike Adams, Mária Benkő, Mya Breitbart, J. Rodney Brister, Eric Carstens

Marine Science Faculty Publications

The number and diversity of viral sequences that are identified in metagenomic data far exceeds that of experimentally characterized virus isolates. In a recent workshop, a panel of experts discussed the proposal that, with appropriate quality control, viruses that are known only from metagenomic data can, and should be, incorporated into the official classification scheme of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV). Although a taxonomy that is based on metagenomic sequence data alone represents a substantial departure from the traditional reliance on phenotypic properties, the development of a robust framework for sequence-based virus taxonomy is indispensable for the …

Electronegativity And Intrinsic Disorder Of Preeclampsia-Related Proteins, Carlos Polanco, Jorge Alberto Castañón-González, Vladimir N. Uversky, Thomas Buhse, José Lino Mendoza, Juan J. Calva

Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications

Preeclampsia, hemorrhage, and infection are the leading causes of maternal death in underdeveloped countries. Since several proteins associated with preeclampsia are known, we conducted a computational study in which evaluated the commonness and potential functionality of intrinsic disorder in these proteins and also made an attempt to characterize their origin. To this end, we used a several supervised techniques, as a Polarity Index Method (PIM), which evaluates the electronegativity of proteins from their sequence alone. Peculiarities of resulting polar profile of the group of preeclampsia-related proteins were then compared with profiles of a group of lipoproteins, antimicrobial peptides, angiogenesis-related proteins, …

Real Time Monitoring Of Children, And Adults With Mental Disabilities Using A Low-Cost Non-Invasive Electronic Device, Carlos Polanco, Ignacio Islas Vazquez, Adrian Martinez-Rivas, Miguel Arias-Estrada, Thomas Buhse, Juan J. Calva, Carlos Aguilar Salinas, Claudia Pimentel Instituto Nacional De Pediatría, Vladimir N. Uversky

Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications

There are a growing number of small children—as well as adults—with mental disabilities (including elderly citizens with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of age-related dementia) that are getting lost in rural and urban areas for various reasons. Establishing their location within the first 72 h is crucial because lost people are exposed to all kinds of adverse conditions and in the case of the elderly, this is further aggravated if prescribed medication is needed. Herein we describe a non-invasive, low-cost electronic device that operates constantly, keeping track of time, the geographical location and the identification of the subject using it. …

Accuracy Of Climate-Based Forecasts Of Pathogen Spread, Annakate M. Schatz, Andrew M. Kramer, John M. Drake

Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

Species distribution models (SDMs) are a tool for predicting the eventual geographical range of an emerging pathogen. Most SDMs, however, rely on an assumption of equilibrium with the environment, which an emerging pathogen, by definition, has not reached. To determine if some SDM approaches work better than others for modelling the spread of emerging, non-equilibrium pathogens, we studied time-sensitive predictive performance of SDMs for Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a devastating infectious fungus of amphibians, using multiple methods trained on time-incremented subsets of the available data. We split our data into timeline-based training and testing sets, and evaluated models on each set …

Global Patterns In Coronavirus Diversity

KIP Articles

No abstract provided.

Strongyloides Stercoralis Infection Incidence, Risk Factors And Outcomes Among Solid Organ Transplant Candidates And Recipients; A Florida Center Experience, Robert Castro, Sadaf Aslam, Christopher Albers, Louise Gutierrez, Marijesmar Gonzalez, Sally Alrabaa

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

Background: Most infections of Strongyloides stercoralis are asymptomatic but can be fulminant in the immunosuppressed. Fatal infections in transplant patients have been reported in United States but incidence estimates are lacking. Our protocol for Strongyloides until 2009 screened immigrants and those with travel history to endemic areas. In 2010, we began universal screening of SOT candidates due to a case of disseminated Strongyloidiasis in an unscreened lung transplant recipient with unknown risk factors. We calculated the incidence of Strongyloides stercoralis in our SOT candidates and associated risk factors, treatment, and outcomes since protocol change. Methods: A retrospective review was performed …

Adverse Events Releated To Antibiotic Use In Patients With Myasthenia Gravis, Kristen Zeitler, Ripal Jariwala, Jose Montero

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

Background: Myasthenia gravis is a medical condition involving the neuromuscular junction, characterized by weakness and fatigue of voluntary muscles. While the understanding of myasthenia gravis has progressed over the years, questions remain regarding which antimicrobial agents can be administered safely to these patients. Traditionally, aminoglycosides and fluoroquinolones have been avoided in this patient population, while other antimicrobials may be prescribed with caution. With minimal literature to guide practice, our aim was to review antimicrobial prescribing in patients with myasthenia gravis at our institution. Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of adult patients 18 years of age and older with …

Incidence Of Seizure Exacerbation And Seizures Reported As Adverse Events During Adjunctive Treatment With Eslicarbazepine Acetate: A Pooled Analysis Of Three Phase Iii Controlled Trials, Mar Carreño, Selim Benbadis, Francisco Rocha, David Blum, Hailong Cheng

Neurology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Necrotizing Fasciitis Secondary To Aeromonas Infection Presenting With Septic Shock, Nikhil Bhatia, Manuel Castro-Borobio, John N. Greene, Sowmya Nanjappa

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

This report describes a case of necrotizing fasciitis presenting with septic shock due to an Aeromonas infection. The patient cut his foot while mowing the lawn and then spent time in a pool with black mold. He began feeling ill and developed swelling and a quarter-sized black area on his right lower extremity. Despite being hemodynamically unstable with systolic blood pressure in the low 70s, the patient was transferred to our facility from outside hospital 100 miles away. Upon arriving to facility, the patient appeared to be septic and the infected area of skin had grown. Irrigation and debridement were …

Reorienting Health Services To People With Chronic Health Conditions: Diabetes And Stroke Services In Malaysia, Sri Lanka And Thailand, Vasoontara Yiengprugsawan, Judith Healy, Hal Kendig, Malinee Neelamegam, Palitha Karunapema, Vijj Kasemsup

Epidemiology and Biostatistics Faculty Publications

This paper explores whether middle-income Asian countries are reorienting their health services in response to non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand were selected as case studies of Asian societies experiencing rapid increases both in NCDs and an aging population. While NCD programs, especially those related to diabetes and stroke, are well-established in Thailand, health services struggle to respond to increasing numbers of people with chronic health problems. Health services at all levels must plan ahead for more patients with chronic and often multiple conditions who require better integrated health care.

Mental Disorders And Drug/Alcohol Use In Patients Commencing Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Treatment, J. Scuffell, D. Boccia, F. Garcia Velarde, Segundo R. Leon, G. Raviola, Leonid Lecca, Jerome T. Galea

Social Work Faculty Publications

Mental disorders and alcohol/drug use worsen treatment outcomes for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (TB), but data are lacking for extensively drug-resistant (XDR) TB. We investigated the association of baseline mental disorders and alcohol/drug use on XDR-TB treatment outcomes in a retrospective study of 53 XDR-TB Peruvian patients during 2010–2012. Logistic regression estimated the odds ratios for unfavourable XDR-TB treatment outcomes. Overall treatment success was 25%. Mental disorders and drug/alcohol use were found in respectively 22.4% and 20.4% of patients; neither were associated with unfavourable treatment outcomes. Future research should explore the relationship between mental health and drug/alcohol use in XDR-TB treatment outcomes.

Security Inequalities In North America: Reassessing Regional Security Complex Theory, Richard J. Kilroy Jr, Abelardo Rodriguez Sumano, Todd Hataley

Journal of Strategic Security

This article re-evaluates earlier work done by the authors on Regional Security Complex Theory (RSCT) in North America, using sectoral analysis initially developed by Buzan and Waever, but also adding the variables of institutions, identity, and interests. These variables are assessed qualitatively in the contemporary context on how they currently impress upon the process of securitization within sectoral relations between Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The article reviews the movement from bilateral security relations between these states to the development of a trilateral response to regional security challenges post- 9/11. It further addresses the present period and what appears …