Digital Commons Network^™

Doxycycline Didn’T Cure The Fever! An Interesting Case Of Large Granular Lymphocytic (Lgl) Leukemia With Secondary Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (Hlh)., Dayan Ojeda Damas, Ayesha Hamid, Kevin Wu, Michael Lapelusa, Nabeel Sarhill, Henry Kwang

School of Medicine Publications

HLH: A rare association with LGL Leukemia Dayan Ojeda-Damas MD, Ayesha Hamid MD, Kevin Wu MD, Michael Lapelusa MS-3, Nabeel Sarhill MD, Henry Kwang MD University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Internal Medicine Residency at Valley Baptist Medical Center. Harlingen, TX Introduction Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a potentially fatal syndrome characterized by excessive immune activation. It is diagnosed in patients of all ages and is classified as either primary from gene mutations or secondary from various triggers. We present an interesting case of HLH in a patient with large granular lymphocytic leukemia (LGL). Presentation A 53-year-old female with a questionable …

The Re-Emerging Association Between Tuberculosis And Diabetes: Lessons From Past Centuries, Jose Cadena, Selvalakshmi Rathinavelu, Juan Carlos Lopez Alvarenga, Blanca I. Restrepo

School of Medicine Publications

The association between tuberculosis (TB) and diabetes mellitus (DM) had a common place in the literature up to the first half of the 20th century, but virtually disappeared with the discovery of insulin to treat DM and antibiotics to cure TB. In the late 1990s the literature began to re-emerge with the worldwide increase in type 2 DM, particularly in TB-endemic countries. Today, type 2 DM is the most prevalent comorbidity among TB patients and the World Health Organization considers it a threat to TB control. We summarize the literature on TB and DM up to the 1960s. Then we …

The Emergence Of Population Health In Us Academic Medicine, Marc N. Gourevitch, Lesley H. Curtis, Maureen S. Durkin, Angela Fagerlin, Annetine C. Gelijns, Richard Platt, Belinda M. Reininger, Judith Wylie-Rosett, Katherine Jones, William M. Tierney

School of Medicine Publications

Importance In response to rapidly growing interest in population health, academic medical centers are launching department-level initiatives that focus on this evolving discipline. This trend, with its potential to extend the scope of academic medicine, has not been well characterized.

Objective To describe the emergence of departments of population health at academic medical centers in the United States, including shared areas of focus, opportunities, and challenges.

Design, Setting, and Participants This qualitative study was based on a structured in-person convening of a working group of chairs of population health–oriented departments on November 13 and 14, 2017, complemented by a survey …

Genetic Structure Of The Painted Bunting And Its Implications For Conservation Of Migratory Populations, Andrea Contina, Jose L. Alcantara, Eli S. Bridge, Jeremy D. Ross, William F. Oakley, Jeffrey F. Kelly, Kristen Ruegg

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences Faculty Publications

The Painted Bunting Passerina ciris is a Neotropical songbird which breeds primarily in the USA during the summer and migrates to Mexico, Central America, southern Florida and the Caribbean over the winter. Male Painted Buntings are brightly coloured, which makes them highly sought after as pets, particularly in Mexico, Central America and Europe. We used short sequence repeats (microsatellite DNA) to investigate the population genetic structure of the Painted Bunting and its implications in conservation management of migratory populations. We found a detectable level of population differentiation as revealed by pairwise FST and RST comparisons and Bayesian clustering …

Glycated Serum Protein Genetics And Pleiotropy With Cardiometabolic Risk Factors, Matthew P. Johnson, Ryan Keyho, Nicholas B. Blackburn, Sandra Laston, Satish Kumar, Juan M. Peralta, Suman S. Thapa, Bradford Towne, Janardan Subedi, John Blangero, Sarah Williams-Blangero

School of Medicine Publications

Measurements of fasting glucose (FG) or glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) are two clinically approved approaches commonly used to determine glycemia, both of which are influenced by genetic factors. Obtaining accurate measurements of FG or HbA1c is not without its challenges, though. Measuring glycated serum protein (GSP) offers an alternative approach for assessing glycemia. The aim of this study was to estimate the heritability of GSP and GSP expressed as a percentage of total serum albumin (%GA) using a variance component approach and localize genomic regions (QTLs) that harbor genes likely to influence GSP and %GA trait variation in a large …

Murine Typhus Presenting With Acute Psychosis And Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation: A Case Report, Abdullah M. Pervaiz, Rabail Tariq, Salman A. Bangash, Yasir Lal

School of Medicine Publications

Murine typhus is an endemic infectious disease caused by Rickettsia typhi and is transmitted by fleas. It typically causes a mild illness with symptoms of fever, rash, headache, chills, and non-specific gastrointestinal complaints. However, there have been no reported cases in the literature of murine typhus infection causing symptoms of acute psychosis and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC).

A 30-year-old female with a history of gastric bypass and chronic pain syndrome presented to the emergency department with altered mental state and fever. She developed vivid visual hallucinations, DIC, and hypoxia with pulmonary opacities, ultimately requiring intubation. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed …

The Rider (2019-03-18), Victor G. Ramirez

The Rider Archives

Vol.4 No.23

Diabetes, Undernutrition, Migration And Indigenous Communities: Tuberculosis In Chiapas, Mexico, H. A. Rashak, H. J. Sánchez-Pérez, Bassent Abdelbary, A. Bencomo-Alerm, N. Enriquez-Ríos, A. Gómez-Velasco, A. Colorado, M. Castellanos-Joya, M. H. Rahbar, Blanca I. Restrepo

Physician Assistant Studies Faculty Publications

We investigated the distribution of comorbidities among adult tuberculosis (TB) patients in Chiapas, the poorest Mexican state, with a high presence of indigenous population, and a corridor for migrants from Latin America. Secondary analysis on 5508 new adult TB patients diagnosed between 2010 and 2014 revealed that the most prevalent comorbidities were diabetes mellitus (DM; 19.1%) and undernutrition (14.4%). The prevalence of DM in these TB patients was significantly higher among middle aged (41–64 years) compared with older adults (⩾65 years) (38.6% vs. 23.2%; P < 0.0001). The prevalence of undernutrition was lower among those with DM, and higher in communities with high indigenous presence. Immigrants only comprised 2% of all TB cases, but were more likely to have unfavourable TB treatment outcomes (treatment failure, death and default) when compared with those born in Chiapas (29.5% vs. 11.1%; P < 0.05). Unfavourable TB outcomes were also more prevalent among the TB patients with undernutrition, HIV or older age, but not DM (P < 0.05). Our study in Chiapas illustrates the challenges of other regions worldwide where social (e.g. indigenous origin, poverty, migration) and host factors (DM, undernutrition, HIV, older age) are associated with TB. Further understanding of these critical factors will guide local policy makers and health providers to improve TB management.

Determinants Of Self-Efficacy Among Individuals Who Are Hard-Of-Hearing, Sergio Cuevas, Roy K. Chen, Chia Vang, Shawn P. Saladin

School of Rehabilitation Services & Counseling Faculty Publications

Self-efficacy plays an important role in their lives of the estimated 48 million Americans who report having some degree of hearing impairment, helping them navigate through a myriad of communication challenges. The purpose of the present study was to assess the levels of self-efficacy in this disability group by examining an array of social, psychological, spiritual, disability, and demographic variables. A total of 114 persons who identified as hard-of-hearing took part in an online survey. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed to answer the research question. The proposed regression model explained 24.7% of variance in self-efficacy among individuals who …

A Rare Presentation Of Cardiac Aspergilloma In An Immunocompetent Host: Case Report And Literature Review, Abdullah M. Pervaiz, Salman A. Bangash, Raheel Akhtar, Zain Wahab, Hyder Bangash

School of Medicine Publications

Cardiac aspergilloma is exceptionally rare with only a handful of cases reported and majority of them being in immunocompromised patients. Here, we present a case of cardiac aspergilloma involving the right and left ventricle in an immunocompetent patient that initially presented with acute limb ischemia. He was later found to have a cardiac mass with histopathological diagnosis confirming Aspergillus species. Despite aggressive medical and surgical interventions, the patient had an unfavorable outcome due to low suspicion of invasive fungal endocarditis given his immunocompetent status. Cardiac aspergilloma should remain in the differential diagnosis of immunocompetent patients as early clinical suspicion will …

Diversity-Oriented Synthesis Of Novel Benzimidazoles As Antimalarial Agents Via Post Ugi Mcr, Anshu Dandia, Pankaj Potlia, Irfan Khan, Vivek Kumar Kashyap, Ved Prakash Verma, Mankiva Karnatak, Anupam Dhasmana, Shashi Pandey, Tarun Shrimali, Vijay Parewa, Shahnawaz Khan, Jaybir Singh

School of Medicine Publications

An efficient strategy for the syntheses of highly diverse benzimidazoles in exceptional yields via post Ugi reactions has been described. In our methodology we have utilized isocyanide based Ugi-reaction followed by acid catalyzed condensation cyclization reaction under microwave irradiations. All benzimidazole derivatives showed moderate to good antimalarial activity when compared with chloroquine as reference compound. Among these compounds, three of them (8b), (8c), (8d) were found to be most potent towards antimalarial activity. The synthesized hybrids were examined for their purity with the help of thin layer chromatography. Different analytical techniques were employed for further characterization like Mass studies, NMRs …

Vertical Transmission Of Zika Virus In Aedes Aegypti And Aedes Albopictus, Stephanie Cantu

Honors Theses

Arboviruses such as Zika (ZIKV), dengue, chikungunya are responsible causing over 4 million people to live with debilitating conditions and may produce long-term health consequences. Zika virus, a newly emerging arbovirus, has potentially severe neurological complications and a potential to cause severe birth defects. There are no current vaccines for Zika virus, and the primary method for control the spread of this disease is through early detection and vector control. Assessing and quantifying viral transmission patterns is critical for successful control efforts. Zika virus shows some unique (among arboviruses) transmission patterns, notably the ability to be sexually transmitted. One aspect …

Co-Infection Of Zika And Dengue Virus In Aedes Aegypti And Aedes Albopictus Mosquitoes, Felicia Vazquez

Theses and Dissertations

The term co-infection describes an event when multiple pathogens infect a single host. For vector-borne diseases, a vector may become co-infected by feeding either on a single host that has multiple pathogens or feeding multiple hosts, each of which may be infected. Co-infection in non-vector hosts has been shown to influence immune response and eventual outcome of disease, and is likely to have a similar impact on vector species. With multiple vector-borne diseases circulating in South Texas, the potential for co-infection exists. We examined when mosquitoes are infected with one virus and subsequently infected with another. We hypothesized that the …

Design, Synthesis And Microbiological Evaluation Of Novel Compounds As Potential Staphylococcus Aureus Phenylalanine Trna Synthetase Inhibitors, Samar S. Elbaramawi, Casey Hughes, Jennifer Richards, Arya Gupta, Samy M. Ibrahim, El Sayed M. Lashine, Mohamed E. El-Sadek, Alex J. O’Neill, Mandy Wootton, James M. Bullard

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences Faculty Publications

AS THE RESISTANCE of Staphylococcus aureus to antibiotics represents a major threat to global health, anti-infectives with novel mechanisms must be developed. Novel compounds were generated as potential phenylalanine tRNA synthetase (PheRS) inhibitors based on the published homology model of S. aureus PheRS to aid the design process using Molecular Operating Environment (MOE) software. PheRS was selected as it is structurally unique enzyme among the aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRS), it is considerably different from human cytosolic and human mitochondrial aaRS and it is essential and conserved across bacterial species. The designed compounds were synthesized according to different clear schemes. The compounds …

Research Symposium - Health Disparities 2018: Closing The Gap, The University Of Texas Rio Grande Valley. School Of Medicine

School of Medicine Publications

With the theme of “Health Disparities: Closing the Gap,” this symposium aims to showcase the work done by researchers here in the Valley and beyond toward improving the health and well-being of the communities they serve and society as a whole.

Survey Assessment Of Community Knowledge And Prevention Of Chagas Disease And Its Vector In Hidalgo And Cameron Counties, Adam Dennis Wiejaczka

Theses and Dissertations

Chagas disease, caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, kills thousands of people annually and is the dominant cause of infectious myocarditis worldwide. Kissing bugs are vectors that carry T. cruzi . and are found in the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV). There is no vaccination nor cure for Chagas. The best mechanism of prevention is to control vector infestations. Little research is available regarding the level of understanding local communities have about Chagas.

Our goal was to test the knowledge of several communities in the LRGV on Chagas disease. Our hypothesis states that local communities do not have sufficient …

Traf3ip2 Mediates Tweak/Tweakr-Induced Pro-Fibrotic Responses In Cultured Cardiac Fibroblasts And The Heart, Nitin A. Das, Andrea J. Carpenter, Tadashi Yoshida, Senthil A. Kumar, Sandeep Gautam, Ricardo Mostany, Reza Izadpanah, Ashok Kumar, Srinivas Mummidi, Ulrich Siebenlist, Bysani Chandrasekar

School of Medicine Publications

Persistent inflammation promotes development and progression of heart failure (HF). TWEAK (TNF-Related WEAK Inducer Of Apoptosis), a NF-κB- and/or AP-1-responsive proinflammatory cytokine that signals via TWEAK receptor (TWEAKR), is expressed at high levels in human and preclinical models of HF. Since the adapter molecule TRAF3IP2 (TRAF3 Interacting Protein 2) is an upstream regulator of various proinflammatory pathways, including those activated by NF-κB and AP-1, we hypothesized that targeting TRAF3IP2 inhibits TWEAK-induced proinflammatory and pro-fibrotic responses in vitro and in vivo. Consistent with the hypothesis, forced expression of TRAF3IP2 upregulated TWEAK and its receptor expression in cultured adult mouse cardiac fibroblasts …

Antimicrobial Properties And Characterization Of Polymer/Composite Nanofibers, David De La Garza

Theses and Dissertations

Pathogenic bacteria have been the cause of many illnesses worldwide due to their rapid growth and reproduction in food and water. Bacteria-resistant antibiotics and kidney complications due to overuse of antibiotics has remained a large public health concern. The goal of this research project was to find an alternative by producing nanofibers that inhibit microbial growth utilizing Forcespinning technology. The Forcespinning of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) with Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes functionalized with OH (SWCNT-OH) and Ag + flakes were carried out on solutions with different concentrations. Scanning electron microscopy was used to view fiber morphology and investigate the average nanofiber …

Absence Of Evidence Or Evidence Of Absence? A Discussion On Paleoepidemiology Of Neoplasms With Contributions From Two Portuguese Human Skeletal Reference Collections (19th–20th Century), Carina Marques, Vítor Matos, Tiago Costa, Albert Zink, Eugénia Cunha

Anthropology Faculty Publications

Biological, sociocultural, demographic and environmental factors are major contributors to the contemporary burden of oncological diseases. Although cancer’s current epidemiological landscape is fairly well known, its past occurrence and history seem more obscure. In order to test the hypothesis that paleopathological diagnosis is an adequate measure of the prevalence of malignant neoplasms in human remains, 131 skeletons (78 females, 53 males, age-at-death range: 15–93 years) from Coimbra and Lisbon Identified Skeletal Collections, 19th/20th century (Portugal), were examined. The cause of death for all of the selected skeletons was a malignant neoplasm, as recorded in the collection’s documental files. Through the …

Absence Of Evidence Or Evidence Of Absence? A Discussion On Paleoepidemiology Of Neoplasms With Contributions From Two Portuguese Human Skeletal Reference Collections (19th–20th Century), Carina Marques, Vítor Matos, Tiago Costa, Albert Zink, Eugénia Cunha

Anthropology Faculty Publications

Biological, sociocultural, demographic and environmental factors are major contributors to the contemporary burden of oncological diseases. Although cancer’s current epidemiological landscape is fairly well known, its past occurrence and history seem more obscure. In order to test the hypothesis that paleopathological diagnosis is an adequate measure of the prevalence of malignant neoplasms in human remains, 131 skeletons (78 females, 53 males, age-at-death range: 15–93 years) from Coimbra and Lisbon Identified Skeletal Collections, 19th/20th century (Portugal), were examined. The cause of death for all of the selected skeletons was a malignant neoplasm, as recorded in the collection’s documental files. Through the …

Characterization Of Nanodiamondbased Anti-Hiv Drug Delivery To The Brain, Upal Roy, Vadym Drozd, Andriy Durygin, Jesse Rodriguez, Paul Barber, Venkata Atluri, Xiaohua Liu, Thomas G. Voss, Surendra Saxena, Madhavan Nair

Health & Biomedical Sciences Faculty Publications

Human Immunodefciency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Present combination antiretroviral therapy has substantially improved HIV-1 related pathology. However, delivery of therapeutic agents to the HIV reservoir organ like Central nervous system (CNS) remains a major challenge primarily due to the inefective transmigration of drugs through Blood Brain Barrier (BBB). The recent advent of nanomedicine-based drug delivery has stimulated the development of innovative systems for drug delivery. In this regard, particular focus has been given to nanodiamond due to its natural biocompatibility and non-toxic nature–making it a more efcient drug carrier than other …

Genetic Association With Subgingival Bacterial Colonization In Chronic Periodontitis, Franco Cavalla, Cláudia Cristina Biguetti, Jessica Lima Melchiades, Andre Pantenuci Tabanez, Michelle De Campos Soriani Azevedo, Ana Paula Favaro Trombone, Marcelo Faveri, Magda Feres, Gustavo P. Garlet

School of Podiatric Medicine Publications

Chronic periodontitis is the most prevalent form of inflammatory destructive bone disease and has been affecting humans since antiquity. Evidence suggest that genetic factors can highly influence periodontitis risk, modulating disease elements such as the susceptibility to microbial colonization and the nature of subsequent host-microbe interaction. Several single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been associated with the occurrence of periodontitis, but the full range of genetic influence in periodontitis outcomes remains to be determined. In this context, this study comprises an analysis of possible correlation between periodontitis-related genetic variants with changes in the subgingival microbiological pattern performed in a Brazilian population ( …

Intracranial Hypertension Secondary To Eosinophilic Meningitis Caused By Angiostrongylus Cantonensis, Roberto A. Cruz, Christopher Smith, Alexander B. Ramos, Brian Copeland, Paula Seal

School of Medicine Publications

Angiostrongylus Cantonensis, a nematode, is a well-known cause of eosinophilic meningitis in endemic areas such as Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, and Hawaii. Nevertheless, an increasing number of cases in the southeast of the U.S. have been documented recently, specifically in Louisiana, Texas, and Florida. Infection is acquired after ingesting undercooked fresh water snails, mollusks, or undercooked vegetables contaminated by the slime from infected snails or slugs. Typical signs and symptoms include fever, general malaise, meningeal signs, headaches, photophobia, nausea and vomiting. Here we present a 23 year-old woman who presented to our emergency department with signs and symptoms consistent …

Mexican American Counselor And Client: Perceptions Toward Substance Use Disorders, Eluterio Blanco Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Over 28.6 million Americans have admitted to the ongoing use of illicit drugs and more than half of Americans are current alcohol drinkers yet a significant number of these people do not seek treatment. Trends regarding substance-related treatment have shown Hispanic drug users tend to underutilize drug and alcohol services and treatment avoidance is especially prevalent among Mexican Americans who reside along the US-Mexico border, due in part to the stigma associated with substance use. In addition, counselor attitudes as well as student counselors-in-training attitudes are showing a manifestation of the same kind of stigma toward substance use as the …

Genetic Analysis Of Deep Phenotyping Projects In Common Disorders, Elliot S. Gershon, Godfrey Pearlson, Matcheri S. Keshavan, Carol Tamminga, Ney Alliey Rodriguez

School of Medicine Publications

Several studies of complex psychotic disorders with large numbers of neurobiological phenotypes are currently under way, in living patients and controls, and on assemblies of brain specimens. Genetic analyses of such data typically present challenges, because of the choice of underlying hypotheses on genetic architecture of the studied disorders and phenotypes, large numbers of phenotypes, the appropriate multiple testing corrections, limited numbers of subjects, imputations required on missing phenotypes and genotypes, and the cross-disciplinary nature of the phenotype measures. Advances in genotype and phenotype imputation, and in genome-wide association (GWAS) methods, are useful in dealing with these challenges. As compared …

Optic Neuropathy And Congenital Glaucoma Associated With Probable Zika Virus Infection In Venezuelan Patients, C Gustavo De Moraes, Michele Petitto, Juan B. Yepez, Anavaj Sakuntabhai, Etienne Simon-Loriere, Mussaret B. Zaidi, Matthieu Prot, Claude Ruffie, Susan S. Kim, Gladys E. Maestre

School of Medicine Publications

Introduction: Although the current Zika virus (ZIKV) epidemic is a major public health concern, most reports have focused on congenital ZIKV syndrome, its most devastating manifestation. Severe ocular complications associated with ZIKV infections and possible pathogenetic factors are rarely described. Here, we describe three Venezuelan patients who developed severe ocular manifestations following ZIKV infections. We also analyse their serological response to ZIKV and dengue virus (DENV).

Case presentation: One adult with bilateral optic neuritis, a child of 4 years of age with retrobulbar neuritis [corrected]. and a newborn with bilateral congenital glaucoma had a recent history of an acute exanthematous …

Family History And Obesity In Youth, Their Effect On Acylcarnitine/Aminoacids Metabolomics And Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (Nafld). Structural Equation Modeling Approach, Maria Elena Romero-Ibarguengoitia, Felipe Vadillo-Ortega, Augusto Enrique Caballero, Isabel Ibarra-Gonzalez, Arturo Herrera-Rosas, Maria Fabiola Serratos-Canales, Mireya Leon-Hernandez, Antonio Gonzalez-Chavez, Srinivas Mummidi, Ravindranath Duggirala, Juan Carlos Lopez Alvarenga

School of Medicine Publications

Background

Structural equation modeling (SEM) can help understanding complex functional relationships among obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), family history of obesity, targeted metabolomics and pro-inflammatory markers. We tested two hypotheses: 1) If obesity precedes an excess of free fatty acids that increase oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction, there would be an increase of serum acylcarnitines, amino acids and cytokines in obese subjects. Acylcarnitines would be related to non-alcoholic fatty disease that will induce insulin resistance. 2) If a positive family history of obesity and type 2 diabetes are the major determinants of the metabolomic profile, there would be higher …

Cyp2a6 Is Associated With Obesity: Studies In Human Samples And A High Fat Diet Mouse Model, Kesheng Wang, Xue Chen, Stephen C. Ward, Ying Liu, Youssoufou Ouedraogo, Chun Xu, Arthur I. Cederbaum, Yongke Lu

Health & Biomedical Sciences Faculty Publications

Background/objectives

CYP2A6 (CYP2A5 in mice) is mainly expressed in the liver. Hepatic CYP2A6 expression is increased in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). In mice, hepatic CYP2A5 is induced by high fat diet (HFD) feeding. Hepatic CYP2A5 is also increased in monosodium glutamate-induced obese mice. NAFLD is associated with obesity. In this study, we examined whether obesity is related to CYP2A6.

Subjects/methods

Obesity genetic association study: The SAGE is a comprehensive genome-wide association study (GWAS) with case subjects having a lifetime history of alcohol dependence and control subjects never addicted to alcohol. We used 1030 control individuals with self-reported …

Utrgv School Of Medicine Course Catalog 2018-2019, The University Of Texas Rio Grande Valley. School Of Medicine

UTRGV Catalogs

No abstract provided.

An Integrated Lean Supply Chain Framework For U.S. Hospitals, Subhajit Chakraborty, Jorge A. Gonzalez

Management Faculty Publications

We apply a lean supply chain framework to the healthcare industry in the U.S., drawing support from lean systems philosophy. We conceptualize a view of the U.S. healthcare ecosystem that places a hospital and its admitted patients at the center and describes how all entities inside and outside the hospital work can implement lean principles to improve patients' quality care. This application depicts how a holistic consideration of hospital resources available in both the internal and external supply chain would increase the optimal use of such resources and ultimately serve patients. We offer propositions suggesting that an integrated supply chain …