Digital Commons Network^™

Effectiveness Of Probiotics In Preventing Antibiotic Associated Diarrhea And Clostridium Difficile In Long Term Care, Marva Edwards-Marshall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Problem/Purpose: Antibiotic associated diarrhea (AAD) and clostridium-difficile diarrhea (CDAD) are the most common forms of infectious diarrhea in long-term care facilities. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of probiotics in preventing AAD and CDAD in the long term care geriatric population, and to identify interventions that can be used to improve clinical practice. Background/Significance: Prophylactic use of probiotics have been purported to decrease the incidences of AAD and CDAD. Previous studies have yielded contradictory results on the efficacy of probiotics. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of administration of probiotics on the …

Identification Of Novel Antimalarials From Marine Natural Products For Lead Discovery, Stephenie M. Alvarado

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An estimated 500 million cases of malaria occur each year. The increasing prevalence of drug resistant strains of Plasmodium in most malaria endemic areas has significantly reduced the efficacy of current antimalarial drugs for prophylaxis and treatment of this disease. Therefore, discovery of new, inexpensive, and effective drugs are urgently needed to combat this disease. Marine biodiversity is an enormous source of novel chemical entities and has been barely investigated for antimalarial drug discovery. In an effort to discover novel therapeutics for malaria, we studied the antimalarial activities of a unique marine-derived peak fraction library provided by Harbor Branch Oceanographic …

System Identification Of Nonlinear Autoregressive Models In Monitoring Dengue Infection, H. Abdul Rahim, F. Ibrahim, M.N. Taib

Research Publications (2006 to 2010)

This paper proposes system identification on application of nonlinear AR (NAR) based on Artificial Neural Network (ANN) for monitor of dengue infections. In building the model, three selection criteria, i.e. the final prediction error (FPE), Akaike's Information Criteria (AIC), and Lipschitz number were used. Each of the models is divided into two approaches, which are unregularized approach and regularized approach. The findings indicate that NARMAX model with regularized approach yields better accuracy by 80.60. The best parameters' settings for this thesis can be found using the Lipschitz number criterion for the model order selection with artificial neural network structure of …

Jefferson Medical College Annual Report, 2010, Mark L. Tykocinski

Jefferson Medical College Administrative Documents and Reports

No abstract provided.

Synthesis Of Novel Borinic Acids As Potential Hiv-1 Protease Inhibitors, Donald Ray Clayton Iii

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Implementation of antiretroviral treatment has drastically increased both the survival and quality of life of HIV/AIDS patients. While there has been significant success using these life saving drugs, several problems have arisen during their use. Among these major setbacks included the rising incidences of resistance, low bioavailability, and an unacceptable level of toxicity. Consequently, there is an urgent need for the development and production of new inhibitory compounds with increased resistance profiles, higher bioavailability, and decreased toxicity. Recent studies have demonstrated that boron modified peptides are effective inhibitors of aspartic proteases. Furthermore, these boronated compounds have exhibited dual-inhibition along with …

Building The Pandemic Influenza Digital Archive (Pida) At The National Institutes Of Health Library, James King

Sci-Tech News

A paper delivered at the Future of Science Librarianship Contributed Papers session at the 2010 Annual Conference of the Special Libraries Association.

Revelations Of Adaptive Technology Hiding In Your Operating System, Kathleen P. King

Department of Leadership, Policy, and Lifelong Learning

Pre-publication version of a chapter about the assistive technology tools and resources available for free in Windows OS and Mac OS. Introducing higher education faculty to free resources, features and programs which they can recommend to their students or perhaps use for themselves (for instance for fading eyesight or hearing). In addition, the chapter briefly shares strategies and examples of how they might be used.

The book will have an entire chapter dedicated to assistive technology as well. This is a popularized assistive technology chapter for generalist, NON special education, faculty to become acquainted with readily available and free resources. …

Synthesis And Reactivity Of D-[(2'-Ethylazocarboxylato)-5-Methyl]Uridine Analogues, Hui Wang

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Masculinity, Health, And Human Rights: A Sociocultural Framework, Shari L. Dworkin

UC Law SF International Law Review

This paper draws upon a sociocultural framework from masculinity studies and applies it to the case of men's health with the goal of providing the legal field with critical considerations that might shape a stronger future research agenda in the area of masculinity, rights, and health.

It is well recognized that gender inequality affects women, and that men enjoy numerous cultural and institutional privileges that negatively shape women's health outcome. These commonly understood drivers of women's poor health have led to crucial and much needed linkages between women's rights and health. However, men do not exclusively enjoy cultural and institutional …

Epizootiologic Survey Of Mycobacterium Bovis In Wildlife And Farm Environments In Northern Michigan, Gary W. Witmer, Amanda E. Fine, James Gionfriddo, Michael Pipas, Kirk Shively, Kim Piccolo, Patrick Burke

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Bovine tuberculosis (bovine TB), caused by Mycobacterium bovis, has reemerged in northern Michigan, USA, with detections in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in 1994 and in cattle in 1998. Since then, significant efforts have been directed toward reducing deer densities in the area in the hopes of reducing the bovine TB prevalence rate in deer and eliminating spillover of the disease into cattle. Despite the success of the efforts to reduce deer densities, additional cattle herds have become infected. Other mammals can be infected with M. bovis, and some carnivores and omnivores had been found to be infected with …

Comparison Of Endocrine Response To Stress Between Captive-Raised And Wild-Caught Bighorn Sheep, Sarah Coburn, Mo Salman, Jack Rhyan, Thomas Keefe, Matthew Mccollum, Keith Aune, Terry Spraker, Lowell Miller

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Stress hormones in Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis), produced in response to environmental changes, road development, or high population density, may impact their immune systems to a threshold level that predisposes them to periodic, large-scale mortality. We compared the stress response to a novel environmental situation and repeated handling between bighorn sheep born and raised in captivity (CR) and bighorn sheep born in the wild (WC) and brought into captivity. We measured plasma epinephrine, norepinephrine, cortisol, and fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM). Three weeks after each group’s arrival we used a one-time drop-net event to elicit an …

I. Microwave-Influenced Diversity-Oriented Synthesis Of Biologically Relevant Small & Natural-Product-Like Molecules Via Multicomponent Coupling Reactions Ii. Synthetic Studies Toward The Total Synthesis Of The Repeating Tetrasaccharide Unit Of Zwitterionic Polysaccharide Ps A1, Soumava Santra

Wayne State University Dissertations

Microwave-influenced diversity-oriented synthesis of biologically relevant small and natural-product-like molecules via multicomponent coupling reactions (MCCRs) have been investigated. Cheap, readily available starting materials in conjunction of microwave irradiation and employment of environmentally benign solvent (e.g. water) provided a common platform that allowed to access a wide array of structurally and skeletally diverse molecules. The investigation allowed us to establish a new paradigm of diversity-activity relationships (DARs) by tuning reacting components of the MCCRs and proved that in contrary to the conventional use of microwave as a rate accelerating tool, it can be used to influence reactivity of molecules. The method …

From Biosphere To Noosphere: Vladimir Vernadsky's Theoretical System As A Conceptual Framework For Universal Sustainability Education, Irina L. Trubetskova

Doctoral Dissertations

In light of accelerating global warming and climate change, the importance of sustainability education is unquestionable. It is a requirement of our time that sustainability education must become a part of any professional curriculum in higher education because today's college students are tomorrow's decision makers and the key players at local, national, and international levels.

Although the importance of education for a sustainable future has been recognized by the global community and we are now living through the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014), a common conceptual approach to teaching sustainability does not exist. We face a …

Ectoparasites Of Bats In Mongolia (Ischnopsyllidae, Nycteribiidae, Cimicidae And Spinturnicidae), Ingo Sceffler, Dietrich Dolch, Jargalsaikhan Ariunbold, Nyamsuren Batsajchan, Andreas Abraham, Klaus Thiele

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

For large parts of the world, the knowledge of bat ectoparasites is still scanty. Regarding Mongolia, only few studies exist to date. This paper analyzes results from extensive captures between 2005-2008, carried out in different sites of Mongolia. Discussed ectoparasites include bat fleas, (Ischnopsyllidae), bat flies (Nycteribiidae), and bat bugs (Cimicidae) and spinturnicid mites (Spinturnicidae). A number of species found in this study were new records for Mongolia, and for many species additional sites were reported. For some bat species, the spectrum and frequency of larger ectoparasites could be determined for the first time.

Current State Of Ixodidae Research In Mongolia, Daniel Kiefer, K. Pfister, D. Tserennorov, G. Bolormaa, D. Otgonbaatar, Ravčigijn Samjaa, E. G. Burmeister, Mathias S. Kiefer

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

Our research presents the Ixodidae-fauna in Mongolia. The current taxonomic state in Mongolia shows 19 Ixodidae taxa extracted in 308 locations from 115 bird and mammal species. In 1980, the species Ixodes persulcatus SCHULZE, 1930 and Ixodes berlesei Birula, 1895 were detected in Inget Tolgoi and Ixodes laguri OLENEV, 1929 on Meriones unguiculatus 10 km southeast of Ulaanbaatar for the first time. In 2000 the species Haemaphysalis concinna Koch, 1844 was detected in the Selenge-river area and Argas (Argas) vulgaris FILIPPOVA, 1961 was detected in the Gobi area. From the collection of M. and A. STUBBE 1 N …

Distribution Of Fleas (Siphonaptera) In Bird-Nests, Bird Siphonaptera On Mammalia And The Medical Importance Of Interspecific Flea Transmission In Mongolia, Daniel Kiefer, K. Pfister, D. Tserennorov, D. Otgonbaatar, Ravčigijn Samjaa, D. Sumjaa, E. G. Burmeister, Mathias S. Kiefer

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

Starting in the 1960s of the last century a huge amount of material from mammals and birds was collected in Mongolia. The according results were published in Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei, Volume 1-10, and represented on conferences in Halle, Moscow, Irkutsk, Ulaanbaatar, Bratislava and the Entomological Review St. Petersburg.

A big part of the collected material consisted of ectoparasites analyzed by experts from Mongolia, Germany, England, Russia, Poland, Czech Republic, and Slovakia resulting in newly described species along with zoogeographical and ecological profiles.

During the years 1974-2007 material from 321 nests of 38 bird taxa were obtained. 157 …

Natural History Of Belonuchus Nordmann Spp. And Allies (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) In Heliconia L. (Zingiberales: Heliconiaceae) Flower Bracts, J. H. Frank, R. Barrera

Insecta Mundi

Adults, and in some species larvae, of several members of Belonuchus Nordmann (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae) and a few related genera seem to be to various degrees consistently associated with flower bracts of the genus Heliconia (Zingiberales: Heliconiaceae). They are predators and eat various dipterous and lepidopterous larvae in that habitat. Adults of at least Belonuchus cephalotes (Sharp) and Odontolinus fasciatus Sharp are able to immerse completely in water to capture larvae and/or pupae of mosquitoes (Culicidae).

Adults and larvae of Belonuchus satyrus Erichson, and adults of B. cacao Blackwelder and B. rufipennis (F.) were found in water-filled flower bracts of …

The Absence Of Presence: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis Of Indicated Interventions To Increase Student Attendance, Brandy R. Maynard

Dissertations

The present study utilized systematic review methods and meta-analysis to quantitatively synthesize research and systematically examine the effects of indicated intervention programs on school attendance behaviors of elementary and secondary school students. A comprehensive search strategy resulted in the identification 11 randomized studies, 9 quasi-experimental studies and 13 single group pre-post test studies that met inclusion criteria. Effect sizes data and study, participant, and intervention characteristics were coded and analyzed. Analyses of the randomized and quasi-experimental studies were performed separately from the single group pre-post test studies.

The meta-analytic findings showed overall positive and moderate effects of indicated attendance interventions …

Breastfeeding Practices Among Arab Women Living In The United States, Afnan H. Saaty

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Background: Arab women‟s breastfeeding practices, including exclusive breastfeeding, are shaped by cultural and religious values and beliefs. Many studies have investigated breastfeeding practices among Arab mothers in their Arabic countries, but no published studies were identified that looked at these practices in Arab women living in the United States.

The purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore breastfeeding practices including exclusive breastfeeding among Arab women living in the United States.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional design with a convenience sample of 90 Arab mothers was used. Participants were recruited from the Muslim Community Association of Ann Arbor, MI; Islamic …

Njinga, Stuart Mackenzie

Quill & Scope

This piece is based upon my experiences over the course of 18 months in Lusaka, Zambia with the Cen- ter for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ). I worked with patients in HIV/AIDS clinics across the country, coordinating community health initiatives and assisting in small business develop- ment for HIV support groups. In this setting, the limits and discrepancies in access to health care, nutri- tion, employment and education were stark and sobering, but it wasn’t necessary to venture into the heart of a compound to witness the risk factors faced by most Zambians. A simple commute to work was …

2010 Work Plan Usf Tampa, Usf

USF Accountability Reports

No abstract provided.

The Sir Epidemiology Model In Predicting Herd Immunity, Joanna Nicho

Undergraduate Journal of Mathematical Modeling: One + Two

The Simple Epidemic Model uses three states to describe the spread of an infection: the susceptible (S), the infected (I), and the recovered (R). This model follows the trend of an infection over time and can predict whether an infection will spread. Using this model, epidemiologists may calculate the percentage of the population that needs to be vaccinated in order to provide a population immunity from a disease. This study will compare the vaccination percentage required for herd immunity to measles, mumps, and rubella against the current percentage of vaccinated individuals.

Successful Financial Regulators Think Like Public Health Experts: Why Regulators Must Fight 'Control Fraud' Like Public Health Specialists, William K. Black

Faculty Works

“Control fraud” is the leading cause of bank failures and financial crises. In “control fraud” the persons controlling a seemingly legitimate entity use it as a weapon to defraud. This essay analyzes the role of regulators in two epidemics of control fraud: the savings & loan debacle of the 1980s and the ongoing financial crises that first became acute in the nonprime mortgage sector.

Effective regulation is essential to prevent and contain such epidemics. An epidemic is the natural outcome of a “pathogenic environment” which requires a reservoir of hosts for the pathogens to infect, and “vectors” to spread the …

Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections In Females, Raheela Mohsin Rizvi, Khurram Mutahir Siddiqui

Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology

Uncomplicated Urinary tract infections are common in adult women across the entire age spectrum, with mean annual incidence of 15% and 10% in those aged 15-39 and 40-79 years, respectively. Urinary tract infection (UTI), with its diverse clinical syndromes and affected host groups, remains one of the most common but widejly misunderstood and challenging infectious diseases encountered in clinical practice. Recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) present a significant problem for women and a challenge for the doctors who care for them. The diagnosis of uncomplicated UTI can be achieved best by a thorough assessment of patient symptoms with or without …

Referral Mechanism Improves Uptake Of Art Services For Hiv+ Fp Clients, Population Council

Reproductive Health

An operations research intervention by the Population Council in Kenya aimed to design a referral framework for linking HIV‐positive family planning (FP) clients to treatment and care in selected health facilities. The project also assessed the acceptability and effectiveness in increasing the number of eligible HIV‐positive FP clients receiving HIV care and treatment services. This summary details the effort to improve the linkage between FP services and comprehensive care centers that led to a dramatic increase in the proportions of HIV-positive clients in FP clinics who go on to receive HIV/AIDS treatment and care services at the same facility. Recommendations …

Gv-1 Chemical Derivatives As Potential New Antibiotics, Julie Wesselink, Roderick Morgan

Student Summer Scholars Manuscripts

Despite advancements in many areas of human medicine, infectious disease continues to be a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Improper and excessive use of antibacterial compounds has led to the rise of resistant species of bacteria like Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci (VRE), and Extreme Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (XDR-TB). We have found a possible alternative that would replace the current ineffective treatment methods – a potentially new class of antibiotics that inhibits Gram-positive bacteria growth. These chemical compounds have shown inhibition against S. aureus and E. faecalis, so MRSA and VRE strains were then …

Unmet Medical Need Of Underserved Population In A Safety-Net Organization, Leslie Clem

Master of Public Health Program Student Publications

Background: Safety net providers serve a large proportion of America’s uninsured and low income population. The purpose of this study is to determine if differences in unmet medical needs exist between the provisional and clinic populations, age groups, and sex and race categories. This research study provides information about the population that receives services from Good Neighbor House, a non-profit social service organization in Dayton, Ohio.

Methods: GNH created a survey to assess the unmet medical need of their clients. The instrument contains questions about routine medical care, unmet medical care in the last 12 months, medical bills, and demographic …

Practice Patterns For Antibiotic De-Escalation In Culture-Negative Healthcare-Associated Pneumonia, M. Schlueter, C. James, A. Dominguez, Laura V. Tsu, G. Seymann

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Background Published guidelines for the treatment of healthcare-associated pneumonia (HCAP) recommend initial broad-spectrum antibiotics with appropriate de-escalation based on culture results. Guideline recommendations are based on data from intubated patients, in whom cultures are easily obtained. The approach to antibiotic de-escalation for culture-negative patients has not been addressed. Consequently, there are no published reports that describe the current standard of practice. Patients and methods All patients admitted to a university hospital with a diagnosis of HCAP, as defined by use of a pneumonia orderset, were identified retrospectively over a 2-year period. Antibiotics prescribed on admission, during hospital stay, and on …

The Challenges Of Keeping Private International Dispute Resolution In The Private Healthcare Sector, Kay Boulware-Miller

The International Lawyer

No abstract provided.

Characterization Of Drug Resistant Salmonella Enterica Serotype Typhimurium By Antibiograms, Plasmids, Integrons, Resistance Genes And Pfge, Douadi Benacer, Kwai Lin Thong, Haruo Watanabe, Savithri Devi Puthucheary

Research Publications (2006 to 2010)

Forty-seven Salmonella Typhimurium (33 zoonotic, 14 clinical) strains were tested for antimicrobial resistance using the standard disk diffusion method. The presence of relevant resistance genes and class 1 integrons were investigated by using PCR. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and plasmid profiling were carried out to determine the genomic diversity of Salmonella Typhimurium. Approximately 57.4 of the S. Typhimurium strains were multidrug resistant (MDR) and showed high resistance rates to tetracycline (70.2), sulfonamides (57.4), streptomycin (53.1), ampicillin (29.7), nalidixic acid (27.6), kanamycin (23.4), chloramphenicol (21.2), and trimethoprim (19.1). Resistance towards cephalosporins was noted for cephalothin (27.6), cephradine (21.2), amoxicillin clavulanic acid …