Digital Commons Network^™

Antibiotic-Bound Poly(Caprolactone) Polymer, Edward Turos, Michelle Leslie

USF Patents

This invention is the design and synthesis of a caprolactone monomer which bears a pendant protected carboxyl group. This monomer has been copolymerized with caprolactone in varying ratios. After polymerization, the protecting group can be removed and an antibiotic can be attached as a new pendant group. The bioactivity of the antibiotic-bound poly(caprolactone) polymer is described.

The Role Of Tumor Suppressors, Ship And Rb, In Immune Suppressive Cells, Michelle Marie Collazo Ruiz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) have been extensively studied in the past 30-40 years. Their potent suppressive capacity shown in several pathological and clinical settings, such as cancer and transplantation, has made it evident that better understanding their development and function is critical.

Specifically, Tregs play a pivotal role in preventing autoimmunity, graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), and organ graft rejection. We previously demonstrated that germline or induced SH2 domain-containing inositol 5-phosphatase (SHIP) deficiency in the host abrogates GvHD. Here we show that SHIP-deficiency promotes an increase of FoxP3+ cells in both the CD4+CD25+ and the CD4+CD25- T …

Incorporating Quantitative Reasoning In Common Core Courses: Mathematics For The Ghost Map, John R. Jungck

Numeracy

How can mathematics be integrated into multi-section interdisciplinary courses to enhance thematic understandings and shared common readings? As an example, four forms of quantitative reasoning are used to understand and critique one such common reading: Steven Berlin Johnson’s "The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic - and How it Changed Science, Cities and the Modern World" (Riverhead Books, 2006). Geometry, statistics, modeling, and networks are featured in this essay as the means of depicting, understanding, elaborating, and critiquing the public health issues raised in Johnson’s book. Specific pedagogical examples and resources are included to illustrate applications and …

Pathology In Euthermic Bats With White Nose Syndrome Suggests A Natural Manifestation Of Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome, Carol U. Meteyer, Daniel Barber, Judith N. Mandl

KIP Articles

No abstract provided.

Understanding Viral Transmission Behavior Via Protein Intrinsic Disorder Prediction: Coronaviruses, Gerard Kian-Meng Goh, A. Keith Dunker, Vladimir N. Uversky

Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications

Besides being a common threat to farm animals and poultry, coronavirus (CoV) was responsible for the human severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2002–4. However, many aspects of CoV behavior, including modes of its transmission, are yet to be fully understood. We show that the amount and the peculiarities of distribution of the protein intrinsic disorder in the viral shell can be used for the efficient analysis of the behavior and transmission modes of CoV. The proposed model allows categorization of the various CoVs by the peculiarities of disorder distribution in their membrane (M) and nucleocapsid (N). This categorization …

An Ims/Atp Assay For The Detection Of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis In Urine, Dawn M. Hunter, Daniel V. Lim

Molecular Biosciences Faculty Publications

Background. Although sputum smears are the gold standard for diagnosis of tuberculosis, sensitivity in HIV/TB coinfection cases is low, indicating a need for alternative methods. Urine is being increasingly evaluated. Materials and Methods. A novel method for detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) in synthetic urine using a combined IMS/ATP assay was evaluated. Preliminary work established standard ATP conditions and the sensitivity and specificity of the MTB antibody. Eighty-four blinded samples in four replicate assays were evaluated for the presence of MTB using labeled immunomagnetic beads for capture. Beads were separated, washed, and resuspended in broth and added to a …

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Infections In Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Children And Adolescents, George K. Siberry, Toni Frederick, Patricia Emmanuel, Mary E. Paul, Beverly Bohannon, Travis Wheeling, Theresa Barton, Mobeen H. Rathore, Kenneth L. Dominguez

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Background. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection incidence has increased in healthy US children. Our objective was to evaluate MRSA incidence and correlates in HIV-infected youth. Methods. The CDC-sponsored LEGACY study is a US multicenter chart abstraction study of HIV-infected youth. We identified MRSA infections among participants with ≥1 visit during 2006. We used bivariate and multivariable analyses to compare sociodemographic and HIV clinical factors between MRSA cases and noncases. Results. Fourteen MRSA infections (1 invasive, 12 soft tissue, 1 indeterminate) occurred among 1,813 subjects (11.1 infections/1,000 patient-years (PY), 95% CI: 11.06–11.14). Most (86%) isolates were clindamycin susceptible. …

Histopathology Confirms White-Nose Syndrome In Bats In Europe, Jiri Pikula, Hana Bandouchova, Landislov Novotny

KIP Articles

White-nose syndrome, associated with the fungal skin infection geomycosis, caused regional population collapse in bats in North America. Our results, based on histopathology, show the presence of white-nose syndrome in Europe. Dermatohistopathology on two bats (Myotis myotis) found dead in March 2010 with geomycosis in the Czech Republic had characteristics resembling Geomyces destructans infection in bats confirmed with white-nose syndrome in US hibernacula. In addition, a live M. myotis, biopsied for histopathology during hibernation in April 2011, had typical fungal infection with cupping erosion and invasion of muzzle skin diagnostic for white-nose syndrome and conidiospores identical to G. destructans that …

Interaction Of Herbal Compounds With Biological Targets: A Case Study With Berberine, Xiao-Wu Chen, Yuan Ming Di, Jian Zhang, Zhi-Wei Zhou, Chun Guang Li, Shu-Feng Zhou

Pharmacy Faculty Publications

Berberine is one of the main alkaloids found in the Chinese herb Huang lian (Rhizoma Coptidis), which has been reported to have multiple pharmacological activities. This study aimed to analyze the molecular targets of berberine based on literature data followed by a pathway analysis using the PANTHER program. PANTHER analysis of berberine targets showed that the most classes of molecular functions include receptor binding, kinase activity, protein binding, transcription activity, DNA binding, and kinase regulator activity. Based on the biological process classification of in vitro berberine targets, those targets related to signal transduction, intracellular signalling cascade, cell surface …

Senate Bill (A) 53-059 Annual Budget Bill 2013-2014, Adam Aldridge

Legislative Branch Publications

No abstract provided.

Toothbrush Contamination: A Review Of The Literature, Michelle R. Frazelle, Cindy L. Munro

Nursing Faculty Publications

Toothbrushes are commonly used in hospital settings and may harbor potentially harmful microorganisms. A peer-reviewed literature review was conducted to evaluate the cumulative state of knowledge related to toothbrush contamination and its possible role in disease transmission. A systematic review was conducted on adult human subjects through three distinct searches. The review resulted in seven experimental and three descriptive studies which identified multiple concepts related to toothbrush contamination to include contamination, methods for decontamination, storage, design, and environmental factors. The selected studies found that toothbrushes of healthy and oral diseased adults become contaminated with pathogenic bacteria from the dental plaque, …

Understanding Viral Transmission Behavior Via Protein Intrinsic Disorder Prediction: Coronaviruses, Gerard Kian-Meng Goh, A. Keith Dunker, Vladimir N. Uversky

Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications

Besides being a common threat to farm animals and poultry, coronavirus (CoV) was responsible for the human severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2002–4. However, many aspects of CoV behavior, including modes of its transmission, are yet to be fully understood. We show that the amount and the peculiarities of distribution of the protein intrinsic disorder in the viral shell can be used for the efficient analysis of the behavior and transmission modes of CoV. The proposed model allows categorization of the various CoVs by the peculiarities of disorder distribution in their membrane (M) and nucleocapsid (N). This categorization …

Penile Enhancement Procedures With Simultaneous Penile Prosthesis Placement, Tariq S. Hakky, Jessica Suber, Gerard Henry, David Smith, Paul Bradley, Daniel Martinez, Rafael E. Carrion

Surgery Faculty Publications

Here we present an overview of various techniques performed concomitantly during penile prosthesis surgery to enhance penile length and girth. We report on the technique of ventral phalloplasty and its outcomes along with augmentation corporoplasty, suprapubic lipectomy, suspensory ligament release, and girth enhancement procedures. For the serious implanter, outcomes can be improved by combining the use of techniques for each scar incision. These adjuvant procedures are a key addition in the armamentarium for the serious implant surgeon

Cloning Of The Gene, Purification As Recombinant Protein And Functional Characterization Of Leishmania Mexicana Cytochrome B5 Reductase, Ala Azhari

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Leishmania are protozoan parasites that are transmitted by a sand fly vector. These parasites affect not only humans but also wild animals including domestic dogs and rodents, which form an additional challenge and public health problem to control the disease. Leishmaniasis is an important disease with worldwide distribution, including Saudi Arabia, the Middle East, and other tropical and subtropical areas around the world. Due to the expansion of irrigation and agricultural activities, more exposure to sand fly occurs, which leads to the expansion of leishmaniasis infections as newly emerging disease.

Emerging drug resistance in leishmaniasis is an additional problem, contributed …

Bayesian Inference On Mixed-Effects Models With Skewed Distributions For Hiv Longitudinal Data, Ren Chen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Statistical models have greatly improved our understanding of the pathogenesis of HIV-1 infection

and guided for the treatment of AIDS patients and evaluation of antiretroviral (ARV) therapies.

Although various statistical modeling and analysis methods have been applied for estimating the

parameters of HIV dynamics via mixed-effects models, a common assumption of distribution is

normal for random errors and random-effects. This assumption may lack the robustness against

departures from normality so may lead misleading or biased inference. Moreover, some covariates

such as CD4 cell count may be often measured with substantial errors. Bivariate clustered

(correlated) data are also commonly encountered in …

Design Of Novel Inhibitors For Infectious Diseases Using Structure-Based Drug Design: Virtual Screening, Homology Modeling And Molecular Dynamics, Divya Ramamoorthy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The main aim of the study in this thesis was to use structure-based protocols to design new drugs for enzymes, DXS and DXR in the non mevalonate pathway. Another aim of this study was to identify the dimer interface in E.coli FabH as an allosteric binding site for designing new class of anti-infective drugs. We have attempted to identify potential inhibitors for DXS by docking the NCI Diversity set compounds, compound libraries available from GSK-MMV and St. Jude's Children's research center. FabH dimer interface has been identified as a potential target using SiteMap, Alanine mutagenesis and docking studies.

The first …

Perceived Barriers For Implementing Primary Sexually Transmitted Infection Prevention, Rachel Monique Stewart-Campbell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adolescents continue to be at increased risk for contracting sexually transmitted infections (STI's). This research study describes the perception of barriers that providers in the Tampa Bay area encounter when implementing primary STI prevention programs for adolescents within the community context. This study used semi structured interviews to explore perceived barriers for implementing primary such programs for adolescents in the Tampa Bay area programs. Participants reported faith based institutions/churches and schools as common sectors for presenting a variety of barriers for implementing their program. Perceptions of barriers were described as, the need to tailor program messages and presentations based on …

Framework For Analyzing The Future Threat Of Wmd Terrorism, James J.F. Forest

Journal of Strategic Security

This article examines theories of practical and strategic constraints that collectively explain why so few terrorist groups in history have crossed (or attempted to cross) the WMD threshold. From this analysis, it becomes clear that a terrorist group's deliberations about WMD can be influenced (positively or negatively) by a variety of factors. Our projections of the future WMD terrorism threat must therefore account for changes in the kinds of practical and strategic constraints that could lead to an increased willingness and/or capability of a group to pursue these kinds of weapons. Further, there are ways in which governments can influence …

The Yellow Flag Of Quarantine: An Analysis Of The Historical And Prospective Impacts Of Socio-Legal Controls Over Contagion, Peter Oliver Okin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Under the ancient threat of morbidity and mortality from infectious diseases, human societies have responded for thousands of years by imposing social containment measures. Even before theorists and laymen recognized the existence of pathogenic organisms, or fully understood the principles of contagion, many societies and individuals did empirically infer that such diseases were transmissible from human to human (as well as sometimes between animals and humans). Having few effective technological measures to prevent or treat contagions, they did devise a variety of socio-behavioral procedures for separating overtly ill persons or suspected disease-carriers from nominally uninfected people. These methods included various …

Occupational Stressors Among Providers Of Hiv Prevention And Support Services, Mackenzie Kaye Rapp

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Much literature has documented the high levels of burnout, stress, and grief in HIV physicians and nurses due to the challenging nature of the chronic, fatal disease with which they deal on a daily basis. Providers of social and HIV prevention services face similar challenges while working with stigmatized, terminally ill clients. However, since these latter occupations deal with social, rather than clinical interventions, their experiences may differ from those of medical personnel. Through open-ended interviews with HIV counselors, educators, case managers, and outreach workers, this exploratory study assesses the occupational stressors of providers of social and HIV prevention services …

Stochastic Modeling Of Network-Centric Epidemiological Processes, Divine Wanduku

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The technological changes and educational expansion have created the heterogeneity in the human species. Clearly, this heterogeneity generates a structure in the population

dynamics, namely: citizen, permanent resident, visitor, and etc. Furthermore, as the heterogeneity in the population increases, the human mobility between meta-populations patches

also increases. Depending on spatial scales, a meta-population patch can be decomposed into sub-patches, for examples: homes, neighborhoods, towns, etc. The dynamics of human

mobility in a heterogeneous and scaled structured population is still its infancy level. We develop and investigate (1) an algorithmic two scale human mobility dynamic model for a meta-population. Moreover,the two …

Therapeutic Peptide-Based Vaccination Strategies Against Hpv-Induced Cancers, Kelly Barrios Marrugo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is an urgent need for the development of an effective therapeutic vaccine against cancer caused by human papilloma virus (HPV). We focused on HPV-induced malignancies because of their high worldwide prevalence (e.g., cervical carcinoma and head & neck cancer). A successful therapeutic vaccine could prevent the 250 000 deaths/year worldwide and the 2.25 billion dollars that

are expended in related care in the US.

We used an HPV-induced mouse cancer model to test vaccines

composed of a CD8 T cell peptide epitope administered with potent adjuvants designed to generate vast numbers of high avidity cytotoxic T lymphocytes specific for …

Behavioral And Immunological Phenotypes Of Transgenic Mice Overexpressing Human Secreted Amyloid Precursor Protein Alpha: Implications For Autism, Antoinette R. Bailey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Autism is a heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by impaired social interaction and communication as well as restricted and repetitive behaviors and focused interests. In addition to the cardinal behavioral characteristics observed for diagnosis, autistic individuals exhibit a number of comorbid conditions as well as a variety of aberrant immunological features. Recent studies report that plasma from autistic children contained elevated levels of secreted amyloid precursor protein alpha (sAPP-á), the á-secretase cleavage product of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) which is ubiquitously expressed in the brain, spleen, thymus and other organs. Interestingly, the sAPP-á fragment functions as a neurotrophic …

Drug Discovery From Floridian Mangrove Endophytes, Jeremy Beau

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A significant challenge of the 21st century is the growing health threat stemming from drug-resistant infectious diseases. There is an undeniable need to discover new, safe and effective drugs with novel mechanisms of action to combat this threat. A study of drugs currently on the market showed that natural products account for approximately 75% of new anti-infective drugs, either as new agents or analogs based upon their structure. Unfortunately, major pharmaceutical companies have cut back tremendously in natural products research in part due to the frustrating obstacle of frequent rediscovery of compounds. Fungi in particular are difficult to work with …

The Effects Of Food Insecurity On Mental Wellbeing In Monteverde Costa Rica, Robert Eugene Cowherd

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The rapid expansion of ecotourism in the Monteverde zone of Costa Rica has increased the incidence in food insecurity in the area. Changes in food preferences and availability have led to a more homogenized diet that is increasingly delocalized and reliant on processed foods. Additionally, there has been a rapid economic shift away from agricultural and dairy farming to an economy more reliant on tourism. This NSF supported study builds upon data from a longitudinal investigation (#BNS 0753017) examining the nutritional effects of this rapid economic transition. Using a mixed methods approach, a culturally appropriate scale of stress was developed …

Lenalidomide Targets The T-Cell Co-Stimulatory Pathway To Mediate Immune Modulation, Jessica Marie Mcdaniel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

T-cells are lymphocytes that make up part of the adaptive arm of the immune system, and are essential for efficient protection from and eradication of viruses and pathogens. T-cells not only play an important role in protection from external agents, but also regulate and prevent activation towards self-peptides and detect and remove erratically growing cells. Alterations in T-cell activation and suppression contribute to auto-immunity, immunocompromised disorders, and cancer progression.

The immune system, and T-cells in particular, provides daily surveillance, recognition and destruction of aberrant cells. Although the immune system is proficient at suppressing malignant progression, tumor cells acquire various methods …

Senate Bill (A) 52-057 Fy 2012-2013 Annual Budget Bill, Adam Aldridge

Legislative Branch Publications

No abstract provided.

Diseases And Causes Of Death In European Bats: Dynamics In Disease Susceptibility And Infection Rates, Kristin Mühldorfer, Stephanie Speck, Andreas Kurth

KIP Articles

Bats receive increasing attention in infectious disease studies, because of their well recognized status as reservoir species for various infectious agents. This is even more important, as bats with their capability of long distance dispersal and complex social structures are unique in the way microbes could be spread by these mammalian species. Nevertheless, infection studies in bats are predominantly limited to the identification of specific pathogens presenting a potential health threat to humans. But the impact of infectious agents on the individual host and their importance on bat mortality is largely unknown and has been neglected in most studies published …

A Novel Device And Nanoparticle-Based Approach For Improving Diagnosis And Treatment Of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, Natasha Faith Cover

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) is one of the most common causes of morbidity in women. PID is a polymicrobial infection of the female reproductive tract, and is associated with pelvic pain, abnormal uterine bleeding, and tubal damage that can lead to ectopic pregnancies and infertility. It is curable but the effects of PID can be permanent if not properly diagnosed and treated. PID presents as a spectrum of disease and is often missed at early stages; even acute PID can be difficult to diagnose, as there is no single conclusive diagnostic test. Currently, PID is identified and treated syndromically because …

Commencement Convocation Program, Usf, Baccalaureates, December 9, 2011, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

King O'Neal Scholars - Stephen Coder, Chelsea Conley, Chasity Guerra, and Luke Richardson; Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters - Paul Farmer; Honorary Doctor of Education - Michael S. McPherson; President's Global Leadership Award - Young-Sun Lee; Outstanding Graduate - Ryan Spellins