Digital Commons Network^™

Magnetic Nanosensors For Multiplexed Bacterial Pathogenesis Identification, Charalambos Kaittanis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Developing diagnostic modalities that utilize nanomaterials and miniaturized detectors can have an impact in point-of-care diagnostics. Diagnostic systems that (i) are sensitive, robust, and portable, (ii) allow detection in clinical samples, (iii) require minimal sample preparation yielding results quickly, and (iv) can simultaneously quantify multiple targets, would have a great potential in biomedical research and public healthcare. Bacterial infections still cause pathogenesis throughout the world (Chapter I). The emergence of multi-drug resistant strains, the potential appearance of bacterial pandemics, the increased occurrence of bacterial nosocomial infections, the wide-scale food poisoning incidents and the use of bacteria in biowarfare highlight the …

Water Resources, Health, And The Sustainability Of Interventions To Achieve Water And Sanitation Targets Of The Millennium Development Goals In A Changing World, Lauren M. Fry

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

This dissertation addresses sustainability of rapid provision of safe water and sanitation required to meet the Millennium Development Goals. Review of health-related literature and global statistics demonstrates engineers' role in achieving the MDGs. This review is followed by analyses relating to social, environmental, and health aspects of meeting MDG targets.

Analysis of national indicators showed that inadequate investment, poor or nonexistent policies and governance are challenges to global sanitation coverage in addition to lack of financial resources and gender disparity. Although water availability was not found to be a challenge globally, geospatial analysis demonstrated that water availability is a potentially …

The Discipline Of Identity: Examining The Challenges Of Developing Interdisciplinary Identities Within The Science Disciplines, Nicholas Richard Burk

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Conducting scientific research that integrates multiple disciplines is an increasingly important, and yet challenging endeavor. This study employs the construct of identity to characterize and examine the obstacles to successful interdisciplinary work. It is argued that identity provides a useful lens into the process of scientific investigation, because as a construct, it has been shown to influence the way one sees oneself, others, and the practice of “good science.” It is therefore assumed that scientists’ identities may be an under-examined, mitigating factor in whether they develop an interest and aptitude for interdisciplinary collaboration. This study qualitatively examines 20 postgraduate students …

The O’Neill Institute For National And Global Health Law: Discovering Innovative Solutions For The Most Pressing Health Problems Facing The Nation And The World, Lawrence O. Gostin, Oscar A. Cabrera, Susan C. Kim

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The connection between health and an individual’s ability to function in society, as well as the importance of health to a society’s economic, political, and social wellbeing necessitates finding innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing health problems. The O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University seeks to demonstrate the role that academia can play in addressing complex national and global health problems in a comprehensive, evidence-based, intellectually-rigorous, and nonpartisan manner. The O’Neill Institute currently has three research programs: global health law, national health law, and the center for disease prevention and outcomes. Projects within these …

National And Global Responsibilities For Health, Lawrence O. Gostin, Mark Heywood, Gorik Ooms, Anand Grover, John-Arne Røttingen, Wang Chenguang

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Preventable and treatable injuries and diseases are overwhelming sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and other impoverished areas of the world. Why are health outcomes among the world’s poor so dire after the first decade of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and despite a quadrupling of international health assistance over the past two decades? We believe that this dynamic can change by establishing clearer understandings of, and forging consensus around and governance structures to support, national and global responsibilities to improve global health.

With the goal of a new post-MDG global health paradigm, we are establishing the Joint Action and Learning …

The Joint Action And Learning Initiative On National And Global Responsibilities For Health, Lawrence O. Gostin, Gorik Ooms, Mark Heywood, Just Haffeld, Sigrun Møgedal, John-Arne Røttingen, Eric A. Friedman, Harald Siem

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

A population’s health and wellbeing is primarily a national responsibility. Every state owes all of its inhabitants a comprehensive package of essential health goods and services under its obligations to respect, protect, and fulfill the human right to health. Yet health is also a global responsibility. Every state has a duty to ensure a safe and healthy world, with particular attention to the needs of the world’s poorest people. Improving health and reducing unconscionable health inequalities is both an international obligation under the human right to health and a matter of global social justice.

The mutual obligations of states to …

Population Dynamics Of The Columbia Spotted Frog (Rana Luteiventris): Inference From Long-Term Demography, Rebecca Marie Wahl Mccaffery

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Worldwide extinctions of amphibians are at the forefront of the biodiversity crisis, with climate change figuring prominently as a potential driver of continued amphibian decline. Changes in both the mean and variability of climate conditions may affect amphibian populations in complex, unpredictable ways. However, few studies have evaluated effects of climate change on individual vital rates and subsequent population dynamics of amphibians. I investigated the population dynamics of a high elevation population of the Columbia spotted frog (Rana luteiventris) in relation to climate variation over a ten-year period.

I documented an increase in survival and breeding probability as severity of …

Hemin Acquisition In Bartonella Quintana, Nermi Lee Parrow

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Bartonella quintana, a Gram-negative bacterial pathogen, causes Trench fever, bacillary angiomatosis and endocarditis. Transmitted by the human body louse (Pediculus humanus corporis), the agent has a tropism for erythrocytes in humans. In vitro growth requires an extraordinary concentration of hemin, and genomic analyses indicate several potential uptake systems and iron-responsive regulators. Transcription of the hbp genes (hemin binding protein genes) is responsive to alterations in available hemin and an HbpA homolog in B. henselae reportedly functions as a hemin receptor in E. coli hemA strain EB53. B. quintana hbpA was not able to complement EB53, indicating that …

Innovations And Barriers In Health Microinsurance, Sheila Leatherman, Lisa Jones Christensen, Jeanna Holtz

Faculty Publications

Health microinsurance (HMI) offers a promising way to mitigate the risks of disease and ill health, which are disproportionately borne by the world’s poorest citizens. Despite that HMI is a relatively new phenomenon, recent figures indicate that approximately 40 million people worldwide have some form of HMI coverage, principally in India.

The emergence of HMI programmes worldwide provides hope that the poor will receive, at a minimum, a reliable, adequate level of access to affordable healthcare. Research shows that access to HMI reduces out-of-pocket health expenses, especially for catastrophic health events, and improves access to quality health care for those …

Studies Into Cytauxzoon And Helminth Infections Of Bobcats (Lynx Rufus) Of Northwest Arkansas, Emily Hickman, David Kreider, Chris Tucker, Jana Reynolds, Jeremy Powell, Tom Yazwinski

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of Cytauxzoon felis and gastrointestinal helminth infections in bobcats (Lynx rufus) of Northwest Arkansas, an area known to have numerous cases of cytaux in domestic cats. Sixty bobcat carcasses were collected from trappers located in Mulberry and Decatur, Arkansas. Blood samples from the hearts were used to isolate Cytauxzoon DNA. Next, a polymerase chain reaction ( PCR) procedure coupled with gel-electrophoresis assay for the 18s region of extracted DNA were used to determine the presence of the protozoan in the bobcats at the time of harvest. Out of the 60 …

The Role Of The Feral Pig (Sus Scrofa) As A Disturbance Agent And Seed Disperser In Central Florida's Natural Lands, Camille Rose Brescacin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Feral pigs (Sus scrofa) are considered to be among the world’s worst invasive species due to their successful invasion and ecological and economic impact to native and agricultural plants and animals around the world. Feral pigs are significant disturbance agents that destroy plant communities, change soil characteristics, alter nutrient cycling, and create open sites for colonization of both native and non-native plant species through their foraging behavior called rooting. In contrast to native animal disturbances, rooting is a striking feature in the landscape that varies in space, seasonal timing, frequency (number of times rooted), and intensity (depth of rooting). During …

On (Cr)Edibility: Why Food In The United States May Never Be Safe, Denis Stearns

Faculty Articles

Most critiques of regulation are premised on the concepts of “free markets” and “market failures” as justifying, or not, the need for government interventions and control of the marketplace. Using the market for food as an example, this article questions not only the possibility of a buyer being a free actor when buying food, but also whether it is meaningful to speak in terms of a “free” market at all. One centerpiece of this questioning is the author’s coining of the term “(cr)edibility” to stand for the twinned ideas of credibility and edibility as defining the nature of all commercial …

Racial /Ethnic Disparities In Hypertension In United States Residents: A Cross-Sectional Study Of Potential Explanatory Covariates, Franklin I. Opara

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Racial/ethnic disparities persist in hypertension (HTN) prevalence in the United States, and African Americans are disproportionately affected. The incidence is more than two-folds in African Americans compared to Caucasians, and mortality is highest among African Americans. Understanding the risk factors in HTN and how these factors vary across racial/ethnic groups is essential to reducing the mortality among African Americans. This study examined the prevalence of HTN among a sample non-institutionalized U.S. residents (N = 30,852), assessed racial/ethnic disparities and determined factors associated with racial/ethnic variance in HTN. A cross-sectional design was used to address these aims, utilizing the National Health …

Managing Health Care In A Libyan Public Hospital: A Case Study, Alexandria K. Osborne

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Libyan citizens who can afford private health care are opting out of the public health care system. They have a perception that the quality of public health care has deteriorated. The negative perceptions have resulted in a lack of trust by many of Libyan's citizens in the Libyan public health care system and consequently to unequal access to quality health care. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that have led to the negative perceptions and mistrust. The conceptual support for the study was based on a construct of trust that defines trust as the state of …

Social Capital Variables As Predictors Of Hiv Risk-Taking Behaviors Among Sub-Saharan African Immigrants In The United States, Gbadebo Ogundiran Ogungbade

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Vulnerable populations, including immigrants, are often at risk for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection because of their risk-taking behaviors. This study investigated risk-taking behavior for HIV infection among Sub-Saharan African (SSA) immigrants in United States. Using social capital as a theoretical foundation, the study aimed to address the question, is there any association between social capital assets of educational opportunity, employment, and eligibility for social assistance and HIV risk-taking behavior, defined as condom use before sex (CUBS) among SSA immigrant in the U.S? Potential participants were recruited through religious and social organizations in a southwestern US state. The survey generated …

Faculty Masthead, Mjlst Editorial Board

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

Global Legal Triage In Response To The 2009 H1n1 Outbreak, James G. Hodge, Jr.

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

An Epidemiologic Study Comparing The Health Environment Of Honduras And The United States., Martha Magee Mangum

Honors Theses

The content of this project investigates the deficit that exists within the area of healthcare in the Central American country of Honduras. It is a descriptive epidemiologic study, describing and comparing the demographics, health statistics, and healthcare system infrastructure of Honduras and the United States in hopes of bridging the gap between the statistics found through research and a firsthand experience in the country of Honduras.

Acute Transfusion Reactions Encountered In Patients At A Tertiary Care Center, Safoorah Khalid, Mohammad Usman, Mohammad Khurshid

Section of Haematology/Oncology

Objective: To determine the frequency and type of Acute Transfusion Reactions (ATRs) occurring in inpatients, reported to the transfusion service at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
Methods: This was a three years and seven months (from January 2005 till July 2008) retrospective review of all the transfusion reactions that were reported to the transfusion service at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan. All the reactions were clinically evaluated by the blood bank physician. Transfusion reactions occurring during or within four hours after transfusion were evaluated and classified by standard and recognized definitions defined by American Association of …

The Human Microbiome Harbors A Diverse Reservoir Of Antibiotic Resistance Genes, Morten O.A. Sommer, George M. Church, Gautam Dantas

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Mmunohistological Studies On Neoplasms Of Female And Male Onchocerca Volvulus: Filarial Origin And Absence Of Wolbachia From Tumor Cells, N. W. Brattig, A. Hoerauf, Peter U. Fischer, E. Liebau, C. Bandi, A. Debrah, M. Büttner, W. Büttner

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Early Severe Inflammatory Responses To Uropathogenic E. Coli Predispose To Chronic And Recurrent Urinary Tract Infection, Thomas J. Hannan, Indira U. Mysorekar, Chia S. Hung, Megan L. Isaacson-Schmid, Scott J. Hultgren

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Targeting Of B And T Lymphocyte Associated (Btla) Prevents Graft-Versus-Host Disease Without Global Immunosuppression, Jörn C. Albring, Michelle M. Sandau, Aaron S. Rapaport, Brian T. Edelson, Ansuman Satpathy, Mona Mashayekhi, Stephanie K. Lathrop, Chyi-Song Hsieh, Matthias Stelljes, Marco Colonna, Theresa L. Murphy, Kenneth M. Murphy

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Diagnosis Of Pulmonary Tuberculosis Among Asymptomatic Hiv+ Patients In Guangxi, China, Yao Zhang, Lan Yu, Zhi-Rong Tang, Shao-Biao Huang, Yuan-Jia Zheng, Zhi-Hao Meng, Kai Sun, Li-Ming Wang, Ray Y. Chen, Fu-Jie Zhang

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Lethal Antibody Enhancement Of Dengue Disease In Mice Is Prevented By Fc Modification, Scott J. Balsitis, Katherine L. Williams, Ruben Lachica, Diana Flores, Jennifer L. Kyle, Erin Mehlhop, Syd Johnson, Michael S. Diamond, P. Robert Beatty, Eva Harris

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Revised Shea Position Paper: Influenza Vaccination Of Healthcare Personnel, Thomas R. Talbot, Hilary Babcock, Arthur L. Caplan, Deborah Cotton, Lisa L. Maragakis, Gregory A. Poland, Edward J. Septimus, Michael L. Tapper, David J. Weber

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Prevention Of Healthcare-Associated Clostridium Difficile Infection: What Works?, Erik R. Dubberke

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Influenza Vaccination Among Healthcare Workers: Ten-Year Experience Of A Large Healthcare Organization, Cristina Ajenjo, Keith F. Woeltje, Hilary M. Babcock, Nancy Gemeinhart, Marilyn Jones, Victoria J. Fraser

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Tuboovarian Abscesses: Is Size Associated With Duration Of Hospitalization & Complications?, Jason Dewitt, Angela Reining, Jenifer E. Allsworth, Jeffrey F. Peipert

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Do Brief Screening Questions Or Provider Perception Accurately Identify Persons With Low Health Literacy In The Hiv Primary Care Setting?, Michael Ohl, Anna Harris, Diana Nurudtinova, Xueya Cai, Denise Drohobyczer, Edgar T. Overton

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.