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Molecular Diagnosis Of Malaria, Veerachai Eursitthichai

Asian Medical Journal and Alternative Medicine

Malaria is an important infectious disease and causes severe public health problems in many tropicalcountries including Thailand. An effective diagnosis to discriminate the various Plasmodium species is needed toselect the proper regimen for malarial treatment. Diagnosis of malaria by thick or thin blood films under the lightmicroscope is the gold standard. The limitations of this technique are low sensitivity (5-20 parasites/μl) and theneed for an experienced examiner able to discriminate the Plasmodium species. Diagnosis can also be based onthe detection of circulating antibodies and antigens. The sensitivity of the immuno-chromatographical test (ICT)in detection of antigen is 100 parasites/μl. Nucleic acid …

Ensuring Government Accountability During Public Health Emergencies, Fazal Khan

Scholarly Works

The main argument of this Article is that the gravest threat to civil liberties during a public health emergency (PHE) stems from federal powers premised on post-9/11 national security justifications, not putative state powers under the Model State Emergency Health Powers Act (MSEHPA). While I concur with earlier assessments that the MSEHPA is seriously flawed and that PHEs should be construed as primarily federal issues, going forward, more critical attention needs to be focused on the federal role during PHEs as the initially alarming MSEHPA appears to be more of a paper tiger. First, as the responses to Hurricane Katrina …

Community Structure And Dynamics Of Monogenea And Trematoda In Three North American Cyprinid Species In The Salt Valley Watershed, Nebraska, Alaine Kathryn Knipes

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

An investigation was made of the communities of gill monogene genus Dactylogyrus (Platyhelminthes, Monogenea) and the populations of blackspot parasite (Platyhelminthes, Trematoda) of Pimephales promelas, Notropis stramineus, and Semotilus atromaculatus in 3 distinct sites along the 3 converging tributaries in southeastern Nebraska from 2004 to 2006. This work constitutes the first multi-site, multi-year study of a complex community of Dactylogyrus spp. and their reproductive activities on native North American cyprinid species. The biological hypothesis that closely related species with direct lifecycles respond differently to shared environmental conditions was tested. It was revealed that in this system that, Cyprinid …

Lps-Induced Production Of Inflammatory Mediators In The Liver Of Postnatal Animals, Valerie P. Le Rouzic

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is the primary component of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria and is responsible for the majority of inflammatory effects of infections from Gram-negative bacteria. To gain better understanding of the effects that postnatal age has on the inflammatory response, pups were randomly assigned to be treated with 250 µg/kg of LPS or saline at postnatal day (P) 1, P21, and P70. Two hours post stimulation, the pups were sacrificed and their livers were harvested for total RN A extraction. Relative mRNA levels of inflammatory genes and �-actin were determined using RT-PCR analysis with appropriate rat sense and …

The Liberal Gene: Sociobiology As Emancipatory Discourse In The Late Soviet Union, Yvonne Howell

Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Faculty Publications

In the following analysis, we will find that Soviet sociobiology did not develop incrementally out of daring interdisciplinary probes; rather, it seemed to spring forth fully formulated in the comprehensive Novyi mir article. Moreover, already in 1971, several years before Wilson's book established its controversial eponymous discipline in the United States, the biosocial paradigm was framed by its earliest Soviet proponents as a scientific vindication for diversity, pluralism, individual difference, heterogeneity, human rights, and ultimately, individual responsibility for one's own actions. In short, the same scientific discipline that in the west was associated with racism, reductionism, and social determinism developed …

Is There An Association Of Giardiasis With Beta-Thalassemia Minor?, Javed Yakoob, Wasim Jafri, Hizbullah Shaikh

Section of Gastroenterology

Beta–thalassemia minor is a symptomless carrier state of a hemoglobinopathy which predisposes to bacterial infections. We report three cases presenting with giardiasis, a parasitic infection of gastrointestinal tract caused by Giardia lamblia. Patients presented with recurrent diarrhea and abdominal pain for over a year. An esophagogastroduodenoscopy finding varied from normal to acute duodenitis. Duodenal biopsy demonstrated changes consistent with mild chronic non-specific inflammation with G. lamblia trophozoites. All three patients were diagnosed as β -thalassemia minor hemoglobin electrophoresis. They were treated with Diloxanide furoate 500 mg and Metronidazole 400mg three times daily for five days. Their symptoms resolved and a …

Pkcα And Cpi-17 Expression And Spatial-Temporal Distribution With Activation In Pig Stomach Antrum And Fundus, Yu Zhang

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Smooth muscle contraction is a complicated process coordinated by contractile, regulatory and cytoskeletal proteins. The force generation depends on the phosphorylation of Myosin Regulatory Light Chain (MLC20). Myosin Light Chain Kinase (MLCK) and Myosin Light Chain Phosphatase (MLCP) are the two main regulators of the MLC20 phosphorylation level. MLCP is further controlled by two known pathways including the G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs)/ phospholipase C (PLC)/ diacylglycerol (DAG)/ protein kinase C (PKC)/ PKC-potentiated inhibitory protein for heterotrimeric myosin light chain phosphatase of 17 kDa (CPI-17) pathway. While messengers involved in this pathway have been proposed, studies on the details of …

Malaria In Prehistoric Sardinia (Italy): An Examination Of Skeletal Remains From The Middle Bronze Age, Teddi J. Setzer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sardinia was an island with a history of a malarious environment until eradication efforts were conducted from 1946 to 1950. While historic documents suggest the disease was introduced from North Africa around 500 BC, no study has been conducted to test for the presence of malaria in prehistoric native populations, such as the Nuragic people of the Bronze Age. However, it has been suggested that aspects of the Nuragic culture, for example the stone structures found throughout the island, are adaptations to a malarious environment. The purpose of this dissertation is to test the hypothesis that malaria was present in …

Children Adopted Internationally Examining Developmental Status At Arrival And Six Month Follow Up, Ann Mccormick

Theses and Dissertations

In the past 5 years, almost 100,000 children have been internationally adopted. Research suggests that many of these children have growth and developmental delays, but few large scale studies have been completed. In the current study data obtained from a restrospective chart review of 534 children followed in the International Adoption Clinic at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center between 1999 and 2007 was analyzed. Prevalence of developmental delays and sensory processing issues initially and after 6 months in country, the relationship of delays/issues with previously identified risk factors, and the frequency of recommendations for early intervention (EI) and therapy services …

Anti-Hiv Activity In Cervical-Vaginal Secretions From Hiv-Positive And -Negative Women Correlate With Innate Antimicrobial Levels And Igg Antibodies, Mimi Ghosh, John V. Fahey, Zheng Shen, Timothy Lahey, Susan Cu-Uvin, Zhijin Wu, Kenneth Mayer, Peter F. Wright, John C. Kappes, Christina Ochsenbauer, Charles R. Wira

Dartmouth Scholarship

Background: We investigated the impact of antimicrobials in cervicovaginal lavage (CVL) from HIV(+) and HIV(2) women on target cell infection with HIV. Since female reproductive tract (FRT) secretions contain a spectrum of antimicrobials, we hypothesized that CVL from healthy HIV(+) and (2) women inhibit HIV infection.

Methodology/Principal Findings: CVL from 32 HIV(+) healthy women with high CD4 counts and 15 healthy HIV(2) women were collected by gently washing the cervicovaginal area with 10 ml of sterile normal saline. Following centrifugation, anti- HIV activity in CVL was determined by incubating CVL with HIV prior to addition to TZM-bl cells. Antimicrobials and …

Proportion And Determinants Of Incomplete Vaccination Among Children Aged Less Than Two Years In Baghdad City, Faris Al-Lami, Loai S. Fadil

Iraqi Postgraduate Medical Journal

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Immunization is the most important public health advance of the 20th century and the most cost-effective and a life-saving intervention. The public health initiative is to get 90% of the nation's children adequately immunized before their third birthday. OBJECTIVE: To determine the proportion and determinants of incomplete vaccination among a sample of children aged less than two years in Baghdad city. Design: A cross sectional study. Setting: A random sample of 11 Primary Health Care Centers in Baghdad city. Data Collection time: Feb/1st-May/31st / 2008 SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A systematic random sample of 562 children aged less than …

Who Is Exposed To Smoke At Home? A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Survey In Central Vietnam, Motoi Suzuki, Vu Dinh Thiem, Lay-Myint Yoshida, Dang Duc Anh, Paul E. Kilgore, Koya Ariyoshi

Department of Pharmacy Practice

No abstract provided.

Substance-Related Health Disorders In Women: A Retrospective Study Of Women In A Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Facility, Elaine D. Kauschinger

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the health profiles of women seeking residential treatment for substance abuse with women in the community. These 2 data sets consisted of a total of 621 participants. An additional aim of the present study was to examine whether these health profiles differ between the monosubstance abusing and polysubstance abusing women within the treatment group. There were a total of 257 participants in this group. All analyses controlled for the effects of age, insurance, marital status, employment and race/ethnicity. Binary logistic regressions were used to compare between and within the specified groups on …

Spatial Spread Of Infectious Diseases, Aaron Mora

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

In this thesis we do a comparative study of diffusive models with non-diffusive models, looking at the effect movements in the form of simple diffusion have on the spreading of infectious diseases. This study is undertaken within the context of the SI and SIR models, two of the most fundamental models for the propagation of infectious diseases. The diffusive SI and SIR models are supplemented with no flux boundary conditions to insure meaningful comparison of the populations predictions. In addition, we use a one dimensional spatial domain for computational simplicity. The comparison of the SI (and SIR) model with its …

The Effect Of A 36-Session Cardiac Rehabilitation Program On The Framingham Risk Score, Veronica Gonzales

Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences ETDs

Cardiac Rehabilitation is widely used in the United States to help individuals who have had a cardiac event that is approved by insurance companies. Factors that lead to the development of cardiovascular disease are lack of exercise, tobacco use, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, and diet comprised of high consumption of saturated fats, salt, refined carbohydrates, and low levels of fruits and vegetables (World Health Organization, 2008). The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of a cardiac rehabilitation program in modifying the patients Framingham risk score after 36 sessions of cardiac rehabilitation. This is a …

Probiotic Therapy - Recruiting Old Friends To Fight New Foes, Roy D. Sleator

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

Against a backdrop of increasing antibiotic resistance, and the emergence of new and evolving pathogens, clinicians are increasingly forced to consider alternative therapies - probiotics are one such alternative.

The Efficacy And Safety Of Insulin-Sensitizing Drugs In Hiv-Associated Lipodystrophy Syndrome: A Meta-Analysis Of Randomized Trials, Siddharth H. Sheth, Robin J. Larson

Dartmouth Scholarship

HIV-associated lipodystrophy syndrome (HALS) is characterized by insulin resistance, abnormal lipid metabolism and redistribution of body fat. To date, there has been no quantitative summary of the effects of insulin sensitizing-agents for the treatment of this challenging problem. We searched MEDLINE, the Cochrane Library, clinical trial registries, conference proceedings and references for randomized trials evaluating rosiglitazone, pioglitazone or metformin in patients with evidence of HALS (last update December 2009). Two reviewers independently abstracted data and assessed quality using a standard form. We contacted authors for missing data and calculated weighted mean differences (WMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for each …

Leveraging Institutional Partnerships And Individual Expertise To Support Translational Science: An Extension Of The Informationist Model, Layne Johnson, Julie Jacko, Linda Watson

International Association of Scientific and Technological University Libraries, 31st Annual Conference

In Fall 2009, the Health Sciences Libraries (HSL) and the Institute for Health Informatics (IHI) at the University of Minnesota jointly recruited a new position titled Translational Science Information Specialist and IHI-Library Fellow to serve as library liaison to the University’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute, to co-direct the graduate program in health informatics, and to leverage expertise to support University-wide initiatives in E-Science and data services. The position built on experience with and commitment to the concept of “informationist”. This paper reports the opportunities, challenges and evolving critical role of the Information Specialist as “curator” and “translator” of health …

A Case Of Gastric And Duodenal Strongyloidiasis, Dhuha Ma Al-Sajee, Aisha Al-Hamdani

Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal

Strongyloides stercoralis is a nematode parasite which causes a protracted asymptomatic intestinal infection. It is considered a life threatening condition in immunocompromised patients when hyperinfection is associated with disseminated disease. The diagnosis by routine stool examination is very limited since the larval output in stools is very low. We present the case of a 52 year-old Omani man from Salalah, in the southern region of Oman, with a 15-year history of type 2 diabetes mellitus and recently discovered to have hairy cell leukaemia, who complained of nausea, abdominal pain, loss of appetite and loss of weight. An oesophagogastroduodoscopic biopsy was …

The Diagnostic Yield Of Thyroid Function Tests And Their Cost-Effectiveness In The Student Clinic At Sultan Qaboos University : Retrospective Chart Review, Kawther El Shafie, Asila Al-Shaqsi, Badriya Al Lawati, Hadia, Shyam S. Ganguly, Samir Al Adawi, Mohammed Al Shafaee

Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal

Objectives: To assess the significance of requesting thyroid function tests (TFT) and their cost effectiveness for specific and non-specific symptoms of thyroid disease in a specific population in Oman. Methods: A retrospective chart review study was conducted in the student clinic at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman in the year 2007–2008. It included all patients (N = 319) of both sexes for whom TFTs were requested. The patients’ main complaints and the final diagnoses were collected from their medical records. Results: The most common presentations for which TFTs were requested were irregular periods (n = 82); fatiguability (n = 49), …

Advanced General Medicine Conference Joint Conference Of The Royal College Of Physicians Uk, Ministry Of Health, Oman And Sultan Qaboos University 20th - 23rd February 2010, Sultan Qaboos University

Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal

No abstract provided.

Ex Vivo Expansion Of Tumor-Specific T Cells With Sequential Common Gamma Chain Cytokines Render Them Refractory To Mdsc Upon Adoptive Immunotherapy., Debasmita Basu

Theses and Dissertations

Myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are heterogeneous population of immature cells at various stages of differentiation, characterized by the presence of CD11b and Gr1 in mice. They are major contributors of the tumor-induced immune suppression against the tumors. So far, various strategies have been introduced to overcome the endogenous MDSCs. Most of these approaches rely on the elimination of MDSCs and it is not clear whether tumor-reactive T cells may be differentiated towards phenotypes that are refractory to MDSCc. Our laboratory has previously shown that high affinity T cells derived from tumor-sensitized wild-type FVB mice and expanded ex vivo with …

University Work Plan : 2010, University Of South Florida St. Petersburg., University Of South Florida. System.

Statewide Governing Boards: Reports and Planning Documents

The BOT approved the USFSP and USF System plans on 15 June 2010.

Forging A Link: Diaspora Developmental Activities For The Homeland, The Case Of Eko Club International, Hakeem Ibikunle Tijani

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

This paper focuses on relatively unknown Diaspora group (Eko Club International-ECI)) analyzing its activities both in the Diaspora and the homeland. My attempt is to present a tentative survey of the activities of the association within the last seven years. Despite being recent, the ECI has made remarkable impacts through social and developmental projects) members) monthly financial contributions) and networking with government in the homeland. Unlike exiting studies about Diaspora associations) this paper is not about remittances by Lagosians in the Diaspora. Rather) it is about their efforts at collective social and developmental projects for the homeland.

Role Of Pknb Kinase In Antibiotic Resistance And Virulence In Community-Acquired Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Strain Usa300, S. Tamber, J. Schwartzman, A. L. Cheung

Dartmouth Scholarship

The regulation of cellular processes by eukaryote-like serine/threonine kinases is widespread in bacteria. In the last 2 years, several studies have examined the role of serine/threonine kinases in Staphylococcus aureus on cell wall metabolism, autolysis, and virulence, mostly in S. aureus laboratory isolates in the 8325-4 lineage. In this study, we showed that the pknB gene (also called stk1) of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strain COL and the community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA) strain USA300 is involved in cell wall metabolism, with the pknB mutant exhibiting enhanced sensitivity to β-lactam antibiotics but not to other classes of antibiotics, including aminoglycosides, ciprofloxacin, …

Regulation Of Hemolysin Expression And Virulence Of Staphylococcus Aureus By A Serine/Threonine Kinase And Phosphatase., Kellie Burnside, Annalisa Lembo, Melissa De Los Reyes, Anton Iliuk, Nguyen-Thao Binhtran, James E. Connelly, Wan-Jung Lin, Byron Z. Schmidt, Anthony R. Richardson, Ferric C. Fang, Weiguo Andy Tao, Lakshmi Rajagopal

Department of Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Exotoxins, including the hemolysins known as the alpha (α) and beta (β) toxins, play an important role in the pathogenesis of Staphylococcus aureus infections. A random transposon library was screened for S. aureus mutants exhibiting altered hemolysin expression compared to wild type. Transposon insertions in 72 genes resulting in increased or decreased hemolysin expression were identified. Mutations inactivating a putative cyclic di-GMP synthetase and a serine/threonine phosphatase (Stp1) were found to reduce hemolysin expression, and mutations in genes encoding a two component regulator PhoR, LysR family transcriptional regulator, purine biosynthetic enzymes and a serine/threonine kinase (Stk1) increased expression. Transcription of …

Comparative Genomics Of The Family Vibrionaceae Reveals The Wide Distribution Of Genes Encoding Virulence-Associated Proteins, Timothy G. Lilburn, Jianying Gu, Hong Cai, Yufeng Wang

Publications and Research

Background Species of the family Vibrionaceae are ubiquitous in marine environments. Several of these species are important pathogens of humans and marine species. Evidence indicates that genetic exchange plays an important role in the emergence of new pathogenic strains within this family. Data from the sequenced genomes of strains in this family could show how the genes encoded by all these strains, known as the pangenome, are distributed. Information about the core, accessory and panproteome of this family can show how, for example, genes encoding virulence-associated proteins are distributed and help us understand how virulence emerges. Results We deduced the …

John Jay College Performance Goals And Targets Year-End Results: 2009-2010 Academic Year, John Jay College Of Criminal Justice

Reports and Publications from John Jay College

No abstract provided.

Development Of Novel Image Analysis Methods For The Morphological Quantification Of Filamentous Fungi, David Barry

Doctoral

Mycelial morphology is a critically important process property in fermentations of lamentous micro-organisms, as particular phenotypes are associated with maximum productivity. The design of systems capable of rapidly and accurately characterising morphology within a given process represents a signi cant challenge to biotechnologists, as the complex phenotypes that are manifested are often not easily quanti ed. A system has been developed for high-resolution characterisation of lamentous fungal growth, using membrane immobilization and fully-automatic imageprocessing software. The system has been used to quantify the early-stage hyphal di erentiation of Aspergillus oryzae on solid substrates, by measuring spore projected area and circularity, …

Nipah/Hendra: Understanding The Links Between Human And Veterinary Emerging Diseases, Jules Minke

Vaccine Technology III

Animals constitute an important source of infectious diseases for humans and the majority of recent emerging diseases in humans are zoonotic. Infections occur through direct or indirect transmission from wildlife reservoirs or via the food chain. Nipah and Hendra viruses have recently joined the growing list of viruses that emerged from bats to cause serious disease in humans and livestock. Although the precise mode of virus transmission is not fully understood, human infection appears to be the result of close contact with infected horses and pigs that act as amplifying hosts. Improved control strategies are necessary to reduce the transmission …