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White-Nose Syndrome Without Borders: Pseudogymnoascus Destructans Infection Tolerated In Europe And Palearctic Asia But Not In North America, Jan Zukal, Hana Bandouchova, Jiri Brichta, Adela Cmokova, Kamil S. Jaron, Miroslav Kolarik, Veronika Kovacova, Alena Kubátová, Alena Nováková, Oleg Orlov, Jiri Pikula, Primož Presetnik, Jurģis Šuba, Alexandra Zahradníková, Natália Martínková

KIP Articles

A striking feature of white-nose syndrome, a fungal infection of hibernating bats, is the difference in infection outcome between North America and Europe. Here we show high WNS prevalence both in Europe and on the West Siberian Plain in Asia. Palearctic bat communities tolerate similar fungal loads of Pseudogymnoascus destructans infection as their Nearctic counterparts and histopathology indicates equal focal skin tissue invasiveness pathognomonic for WNS lesions. Fungal load positively correlates with disease intensity and it reaches highest values at intermediate latitudes. Prevalence and fungal load dynamics in Palearctic bats remained persistent and high between 2012 and 2014. Dominant haplotypes …

White-Nose Syndrome Without Borders: Pseudogymnoascus Destructans Infection Tolerated In Europe And Palearctic Asia But Not In North America, Jan Zukal, Hana Bandouchova, Jiri Brichta

KIP Articles

A striking feature of white-nose syndrome, a fungal infection of hibernating bats, is the difference in infection outcome between North America and Europe. Here we show high WNS prevalence both in Europe and on the West Siberian Plain in Asia. Palearctic bat communities tolerate similar fungal loads of Pseudogymnoascus destructans infection as their Nearctic counterparts and histopathology indicates equal focal skin tissue invasiveness pathognomonic for WNS lesions. Fungal load positively correlates with disease intensity and it reaches highest values at intermediate latitudes. Prevalence and fungal load dynamics in Palearctic bats remained persistent and high between 2012 and 2014. Dominant haplotypes …

Identification Of Novel Cyclic Lipopeptides From A Positional Scanning Combinatorial Library With Enhanced Antibacterial And Antibiofilm Activities, Nina Bionda, Renee M. Fleeman, César De La Fuente-Núñez, Maria C. Rodriguez, Fany Reffuveille, Lindsey N. Shaw, Irena Pastar, Stephen C Davis, Robert E W Hancock, Predrag Cudic

Molecular Biosciences Faculty Publications

Treating bacterial infections can be difficult due to innate or acquired resistance mechanisms, and the formation of biofilms. Cyclic lipopeptides derived from fusaricidin/LI-F natural products represent particularly attractive candidates for the development of new antibacterial and antibiofilm agents, with the potential to meet the challenge of bacterial resistance to antibiotics. A positional-scanning combinatorial approach was used to identify the amino acid residues responsible for driving antibacterial activity, and increase the potency of these cyclic lipopeptides. Screening against the antibiotic resistant ESKAPE pathogens revealed the importance of hydrophobic as well as positively charged amino acid residues for activity of this class …

Antigen Specific Induced T Regulatory Cellular Therapy For Graft-Versus-Host Disease Following Allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplantation, Jessica Lauren Heinrichs

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HCT) has been a successful cellular therapy for patients suffering from hematological malignancies for many decades; however, the beneficial effects of graft-versus-leukemia (GVL) are classically offset by graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). GVHD occurs when major and/or minor human leukocyte antigen (HLA) mismatches between donor and recipient cause rapid expansion and activation of donor effector T cells (Teffs) resulting in end organ damage to the recipient’s epithelial tissues. Given the lymphoproliferative nature of this disease, the standard treatment option is broad immunosuppression, which can result in primary disease relapse, steroid refractory GVHD, and/or opportunistic infection. A more …

Nutritional Status And Tuberculosis Risk In Adult And Pediatric Household Contacts, Omowunmi Aibana, Xeno Acharya, Chuan-Chin Huang, Mercedes C. Becerra, Jerome T. Galea, Silvia S. Chiang, Carmen C. Contreras, Roger Calderon, Rosa Yataco, Gustavo E. Velásquez, Karen Tintaya, Judith Jimenez, Leonid Lecca, Megan B. Murray

Social Work Faculty Publications

Background: Studies show obesity decreases risk of tuberculosis (TB) disease. There is limited evidence on whether high body mass index also protects against TB infection; how very high body mass indices influence TB risk; or whether nutritional status predicts this risk in children. We assessed the impact of body mass index on incident TB infection and disease among adults and children.

Methods and Findings: We conducted a prospective cohort study among household contacts of pulmonary TB cases in Lima, Peru. We determined body mass index at baseline and followed participants for one year for TB infection and disease. We used …

Effects Of Nutrient Supplementation On Host-Pathogen Dynamics Of The Amphibian Chytrid Fungus: A Community Approach, Julia C. Buck, Jason R. Rohr, Andrew R. Blaustein

Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

1. Anthropogenic stressors may influence hosts and their pathogens directly or may alter host–pathogen dynamics indirectly through interactions with other species. For example, in aquatic ecosystems, eutrophication may be associated with increased or decreased disease risk. Conversely, pathogens can influence community structure and function and are increasingly recognised as important members of the ecological communities in which they exist.
2. In outdoor mesocosms, we experimentally manipulated nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and the presence of a fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), and examined the effects on Bd abundance on larval amphibian hosts (Pseudacris regilla: Hylidae), amphibian traits and community dynamics. We …

Spatial Spread Of The West Africa Ebola Epidemic, Andrew M. Kramer, J. Tomlin Pulliam, Laura W. Alexander, Andrew W. Park, Pejman Rohani, John M. Drake

Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

Controlling Ebola outbreaks and planning an effective response to future emerging diseases are enhanced by understanding the role of geography in transmission. Here we show how epidemic expansion may be predicted by evaluating the relative probability of alternative epidemic paths. We compared multiple candidate models to characterize the spatial network over which the 2013–2015 West Africa epidemic of Ebola virus spread and estimate the effects of geographical covariates on transmission during peak spread. The best model was a generalized gravity model where the probability of transmission between locations depended on distance, population density and international border closures between Guinea, Liberia …

Reciprocal Moderation By Toxoplasma Gondii Seropositivity And Blood Phenylalanine – Tyrosine Ratio Of Their Associations With Trait Aggression, Ashwin Jacob Mathai, Xiaoqing Peng, Christopher A. Lowry, Thomas B. Cook, Lisa A. Brenner, Lena Brundin, Maureen W. Groer, Ina Giegling, Annette M. Hartmann, Bettina Konte, Marion Friedl, Dan Rujescu, Dietmar Fuchs

Nursing Faculty Publications

We previously reported that trait aggression, proposed as an endophenotype for suicidal behavior, is positively associated with Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) seropositivity in females, but not in males. Additionally, older males seropositive for T. gondii had lower scores on measures of trait aggression, including self-aggression. Trait aggression may be influenced by dopaminergic signaling, which is known to be moderated by gender and age, and potentially enhanced in T. gondii positives through the intrinsic production of dopamine by the microorganism. Therefore, we investigated associations between trait aggression and interactions between T. gondii enzyme-linked immunoabsorbant assay (ELISA) IgG titer-determined seropositivity …

Usfh Etextbook Py2-4 Cop 2016, Usf Libraries

All Assessment Data

No abstract provided.

Yersinia Pestis Caf1 Protein: Effect Of Sequence Polymorphism On Intrinsic Disorder Propensity, Serological Cross-Reactivity And Cross-Protectivity Of Isoforms, Pavel Kh. Kopylov, Mikhail E. Platonov, Vitaly G. Ablamunits, Tat’Yana I. Kombarova, Sergey A. Ivanov, Lidiya A. Kadnikova, Aleksey N. Somov, Svetlana V. Dentovskaya, Vladimir N. Uversky, Andrey P. Anisimov

Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications

Yersinia pestis Caf1 is a multifunctional protein responsible for antiphagocytic activity and is a key protective antigen. It is generally conserved between globally distributed Y. pestis strains, but Y. pestis subsp. microtus biovar caucasica strains circulating within populations of common voles in Georgia and Armenia were reported to carry a single substitution of alanine to serine. We investigated polymorphism of the Caf1 sequences among other Y. pestis subsp. microtus strains, which have a limited virulence in guinea pigs and in humans. Sequencing of caf1 genes from 119 Y. pestis strains belonging to different biovars within subsp. microtus showed that the …

The Contribution Of Marine Aggregate-Associated Bacteria To The Accumulation Of Pathogenic Bacteria In Oysters: An Agent-Based Model, Andrew M. Kramer, J. Evan Ward, Fred C. Dobbs, Melissa L. Pierce, John M. Drake

Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

Bivalves process large volumes of water, leading to their accumulation of bacteria, including potential human pathogens (e.g., vibrios). These bacteria are captured at low efficiencies when freely suspended in the water column, but they also attach to marine aggregates, which are captured with near 100% efficiency. For this reason, and because they are often enriched with heterotrophic bacteria, marine aggregates have been hypothesized to function as important transporters of bacteria into bivalves. The relative contribution of aggregates and unattached bacteria to the accumulation of these cells, however, is unknown. We developed an agent-based model to simulate accumulation of vibrio-type bacteria …

Cutaneous Human Papillomavirus Infection And Development Of Subsequent Squamous Cell Carcinoma Of The Skin, Shalaka S. Hampras, Rhianna A. Reed, Spencer Bezalel, Michael Cameron, Basil Cherpelis, Neil Fenske, Vernon K. Sondak, Jane Messina, Massimo Tommasino, Tarik Gheit, Dana E. Rollison

Pathology and Cell Biology Faculty Publications

The role of cutaneous human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in the development of subsequent cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is unknown. Pathologically confirmed cases of SCC () enrolled in a previously conducted case-control study were included in a retrospective cohort study to examine the association of cutaneous HPV at the time of SCC diagnosis with the risk of subsequent SCC development. Data on HPV seropositivity, HPV DNA in eyebrow hairs (EB) and SCC tumors were available from the parent study. Incidence of subsequent SCC was estimated using person-years of follow up. Cox Proportional Hazards ratios were estimated to evaluate the associations …

Syphilis And Hiv/Syphilis Co-Infection Among Men Who Have Sex With Men (Msm) In Ecuador, Isabel Hernandez, Ayesha Johnson, Miguel Reina-Ortiz, Carlos Rosas, Vinita Sharma, Santiago Teran, Eknath Naik, Hamisu M. Salihu, Enrique Teran, Ricardo Izurieta

Nursing Faculty Publications

There is a reemergence of syphilis in the Latin American and Caribbean region. There is also very little information about HIV/Syphilis co-infection and its determinants. The aim of this study is to investigate knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding sexually transmitted infections (STIs), in particular syphilis infection and HIV/Syphilis co-infection, as well as to estimate the prevalence of syphilis among men who have sex with men (MSM) in a city with one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in Ecuador. In this study, questionnaires were administered to 291 adult MSM. Questions included knowledge about STIs and their sexual practices. Blood samples …

Infections Caused By Live Vaccines In Cancer Research, Manuel Castro-Borobio, Shuchi Pandya, Sowmya Nanjappa, John Greene

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Fecal Microbiota Transplantation Outcomes In Immunocompetent And Immunocompromised Patients: A Single Center Experience, Kristen Zeitler, Ripal Joshi, Jose Montero, Sally Alrabaa

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Wrong Time, Wrong Place—A Hospital-Associated Outbreak Of Influenza A In The Summer, Richard Oehler, John Toney, Sandra Gompf, Miriam Ruisz, Vivian Vega, Jose Lezama, Yvonne Dunn

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Vaccinelink/La Salud Conexion: Successful Innovations With Vaccine Health Navigators (Vhns) To Identify And Overcome Vaccination Barriers In Underserved Communities, Jamie Morano, Meghan Borysova, Viviana Delgado, Mimi Roopini Ghosh, April Schenck, Manuel Castro-Borobio, Dawood Sultan

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Simple Allergist-Led Intervention Improves Resident Training In Anaphylaxis, Artemio M. Jongco, Sheila Bina, Robert J. Sporter, Marie A. Cavuoto Petrizzo, Blanka Kaplan, Myriam Kline, Susan J. Schuval

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

Physicians underrecognize and undertreat anaphylaxis. Effective interventions are needed to improve physician knowledge and competency regarding evidence-based anaphylaxis diagnosis and management (ADAM). We designed and evaluated an educational program to improve ADAM in pediatrics, internal medicine, and emergency medicine residents from two academic medical centers. Anonymous questionnaires queried participants’ demographics, prior ADAM clinical experience, competency, and comfort. A pretest assessing baseline knowledge preceded a 45-minute allergist-led evidence-based presentation, including practice with epinephrine autoinjectors, immediately followed by a posttest. A follow-up test assessed long-term knowledge retention twelve weeks later. 159 residents participated in the pretest, 152 participated in the posttest, and …

Pyoderma Gangrenosum Following Bilateral Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator Flaps, Eric Clayman, Kristen Marcet, Lauren Kuykendall, Dunya M. Atisha

Surgery Faculty Publications

Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is an atypical ulcerative cutaneous condition, with an estimated six cases per million people per year in the United States.[1] One-half of patients have idiopathic disease, and it is most commonly associated with underlying systemic inflammatory conditions or hematologic malignancies.[1] [2] There have been several reported cases of PG following breast reduction procedures; however, postsurgical PG (PSPG) is rarely seen following autologous tissue breast reconstruction.[3]

In this article, the authors report the clinical course, treatment, and outcome of a patient diagnosed with PSPG following a delayed breast reconstruction with …

Environment And Host Species Shape The Skin Microbiome Of Captive Neotropical Bats, Virginie Lemieux-Labonté, Nicolas Tromas, B. Jesse Shapiro

KIP Articles

No abstract provided.

Using A Novel Partitivirus In Pseudogymnoascus Destructans To Understand The Epidemiology Of White-Nose Syndrome, Vaskar Thapa, Gregory G. Turner, Susan Hafenstein

KIP Articles

White-nose syndrome is one of the most lethal wildlife diseases, killing over 5 million North American bats since it was first reported in 2006. The causal agent of the disease is a psychrophilic filamentous fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans. The fungus is widely distributed in North America and Europe and has recently been found in some parts of Asia, but interestingly, no mass mortality is observed in European or Asian bats. Here we report a novel double-stranded RNA virus found in North American isolates of the fungus and show that the virus can be used as a tool to study the epidemiology …

Hiv Stigma In Prisons And Jails: Results From A Staff Survey, Steven Belenko, Richard Dembo, Michael Copenhaver, Matthew Hiller, Holly Swan, Carmen A. Garcia, Daniel O'Connell, Carrie Oser, Frank Pearson, Jennifer Pankow

Criminology Faculty Publications

With numerous HIV service gaps in prisons and jails, there has been little research on HIV stigma attitudes among correctional staff. Such attitudes may undermine HIV services for inmates at risk of or infected with HIV. This HIV stigma attitudes survey among 218 correctional staff in 32 US facilities (1) provides an overview of staff’s stigma attitudes, (2) reports psychometric analyses of domains in Earnshaw and Chaudoir’s HIV Stigma Framework (HSF), and (3) explores differences in stigma attitudes among different staff types. Overall, correctional and medical staff expressed non stigmatizing attitudes toward people living with HIV/AIDS, but perceived that stigma …

A Comparison Of Rule-Based Analysis With Regression Methods In Understanding The Risk Factors For Study Withdrawal In A Pediatric Study, Mona Haghighi, Suzanne B. Johnson, Xiaoning Qian, Kristian F. Lynch, Kendra Vehik, Shuai Huang, The Teddy Study Group

Industrial and Management Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Regression models are extensively used in many epidemiological studies to understand the linkage between specific outcomes of interest and their risk factors. However, regression models in general examine the average effects of the risk factors and ignore subgroups with different risk profiles. As a result, interventions are often geared towards the average member of the population, without consideration of the special health needs of different subgroups within the population. This paper demonstrates the value of using rule-based analysis methods that can identify subgroups with heterogeneous risk profiles in a population without imposing assumptions on the subgroups or method. The rules …

High Prevalence Of Chlamydia Trachomatis And Neisseria Gonorrhoeae Infections In Anal And Pharyngeal Sites Among A Community-Based Sample Of Men Who Have Sex With Men And Transgender Women In Lima, Peru, Segundo R. Leon, Eddy R. Segura, Kelika A. Konda, Juan A. Flores, Alfonso Silva-Santisteban, Jerome T. Galea, Thomas J. Coates, Jeffrey D. Klausner, Carlos F. Caceres

Social Work Faculty Publications

Objectives: This study aimed to characterise the epidemiology of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) infections among men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (TW) in Lima, Peru.

Setting: Cross-sectional study in Lima, Peru.

Participants: We recruited a group of 510 MSM and 208 TW for a subsequent community-based randomised controlled trial. The presence of CT and NG were evaluated using Aptima Combo2 in pharyngeal and anal swabs. We also explored correlates of these infections. Primary and secondary outcome measures: Study end points included overall prevalence of C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae in anal and pharyngeal …

Effect Of A Knowledge-Based And Skills-Based Programme For Physicians On Risk Of Sexually Transmitted Reinfections Among High-Risk Patients In China: A Cluster Randomised Trial, Don Operario, Debin Wang, Nickolas D. Zaller, Mei-Fen Yang, Kathleen Blaney, Jing Cheng, Qian Hong, Hongbo Zhang, Jing Chai, Gregory Szekeres, Jerome T. Galea, Thomas J. Coates

Social Work Faculty Publications

Background: China is experiencing growing epidemics of HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Programmes to train physicians in China on HIV and STI knowledge, diagnosis, treatment, and risk reduction counselling can potentially reduce HIV and STI risk among high-risk patients. We aimed to assess a knowledge-based and skills-based programme for physicians in China to reduce patients' STI risk.

Methods: In this cluster randomised trial, we block randomised counties in two provinces in eastern China to intervention or control groups. In the intervention group, physicians from county general hospitals participated in a structured HIV and STI training programme and received …

A Call To Integrate Neuroscience And Translational Research In Psychopathology: A Literature Review Of The Rdoc And Substance Abuse Disorder, Jaclyn Dell

USF St. Petersburg campus Honors Program Theses (Undergraduate)

In general medicine, and much more in the treatment of psychiatric illness, one size does not fit all. Expansive breakthroughs in science and medicine have given scientists insight into the biological causes of diseases and disorders heretofore unimaginable until the past several years. Moreover, the field of neuroscience has begun to unravel the complicated networking systems of the human brain, and scientists are slowly beginning to comprehend how humans process the world around them. This has allowed for personalized treatment and improved results in physical health. But what of emotional and mental health? The focus of this review is to …

Compositions Including Triciribine And One Or More Platinum Compounds And Methods Of Use Thereof, Jin Q. Cheng, Said M. Sebti

USF Patents

This application encompasses combination therapies including triciribine and related compounds and one or more platinum compounds and compositions with reduced toxicity for the treatment and prevention of tumors, cancer, and other disorders associated with abnormal cell proliferation.

Fungi On White-Nose Infected Bats (Myotis Spp.) In Eastern Canada Show No Decline In Diversity Associated With Pseudogymnoascus Destructans (Ascomycota: Pseudeurotiaceae), Karen J. Vanderwolf, David Malloch, Donald F. Mcalpine

International Journal of Speleology

The introduction of the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) to North America has stimulated research on the poorly known mycology of caves. It is possible that the introduction of Pd reduces the diversity of fungi associated with bats hibernating in caves. To test this hypothesis we examined the fungal assemblages associated with hibernating bats (Myotis spp.) pre- and post- white-nose syndrome (WNS) infection in eastern Canada using culture-dependent methods. We found the mean number of fungal taxa isolated from bats/hibernaculum was not significantly different between pre-infection (29.6 ± 6.1SD) and post-infection with WNS (32.4 ± 4.3). Although …

Compositions Including Triciribine And Bortezomib And Derivatives Thereof And Methods Of Use Thereof, Jin Q. Cheng, Said M. Sebti

USF Patents

This application relates to combination therapies including triciribine and related compounds and bortezomib and derivatives thereof analogs and compositions with reduced toxicity for the treatment and prevention of tumors, cancer, and other disorders associated with abnormal cell proliferation.

Synthesis Of Agents For The Treatment And Analysis Of Tropical Diseases, Jeanine Yacoub

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Toxoplasmosis is an opportunistic disease caused by the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. The parasite is usually staved off by a healthy immune system and remains dormant in the body. In immunocompromised patients, the parasite can become active and spread throughout the body causing symptoms such as encephalitis, cognitive disorders, seizures, and death. Combination drug therapy is the usual treatment for toxoplasmosis; however, patients suffer from problems of intolerance, allergic reactions, and cytotoxicity. In an effort to identify new drug targets for toxoplasmosis, a series of compounds have been synthesized that can be used as tools to probe the unique …