Digital Commons Network^™

Changing Policy, Population Council

Momentum

IN THIS ISSUE: Strengthening EC policies in Bangladesh | Changing how policymakers think about early marriage | Targeting global investments in HIV | Developing the potential of India’s youth | Strengthening policies for sexual violence victims | Protecting migrants from HIV

A Temporal Role Of Type I Interferon Signaling In Cd8+ T Cell Maturation During Acute West Nile Virus Infection, Amelia K. Pinto, Stephane Daffis, James D. Brien, Maria D. Gainey, Wayne M. Yokoyama, Kathleen C.F Sheehan, Kenneth M. Murphy, Robert D. Schreiber, Michael S. Diamond

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Protective Immunity To Pre-Erythrocytic Stage Malaria, Robert J. Schwenk, Thomas L. Richie

United States Army: Publications

The development of a vaccine against malaria is a major research priority given the burden of disease, death and economic loss inflicted upon the tropical world by this parasite. Despite decades of effort, however, a vaccine remains elusive. The best candidate is a subunit vaccine termed RTS,S but this provides only partial protection against clinical disease. This review examines what is known about protective immunity against pre-erythrocytic stage malaria by considering the humoral and T cell-mediated immune responses that are induced by attenuated sporozoites and by the RTS,S vaccine. On the basis of these observations a set of research priorities …

Clostridium Difficile Infections In Patients With Severe Burns, Scott J. Crabtree, Janelle L. Robertson, Kevin K. Chung, Evan M. Renz, Steven E. Wolf, Duane R. Hospenthal, Clinton K. Murray

United States Army: Publications

With improved survival in burn patients, Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) remains a significant potential complication. The incidence of, risk factors for, and outcomes of CDI in severely burned patients are poorly studied and remain unclear. This study involves retrospective case control and cohort studies using electronic medical records from February 1, 2002 to January 31, 2009 at the US Department of Defense’s only burn unit. Demographic, risk factor, and outcome data were collected for all C. difficile toxin positive patients in the burn, medical, and surgical intensive care units and the hospital’s step down unit along with an additional analysis …

A Diagnostic Approach To Pruritus, Brian V. Reamy, Christopher W. Bunt, Stacy Fletcher

United States Air Force: Publications

Pruritus can be a symptom of a distinct dermatologic condition or of an occult underlying systemic disease. Of the patients referred to a dermatologist for generalized pruritus with no apparent primary cutaneous cause, 14 to 24 percent have a systemic etiology. In the absence of a primary skin lesion, the review of systems should include evaluation for thyroid disorders, lymphoma, kidney and liver diseases, and diabetes mellitus. Findings suggestive of less serious etiologies include younger age, localized symptoms, acute onset, involvement limited to exposed areas, and a clear association with a sick contact or recent travel. Chronic or generalized pruritus, …

Cultivating The Next Generation Of International Digital Government Researchers: A Community-Building Experiment, Natalie Helbig, Sharon S. Dawes, Meghan E. Cook, Jana Hrdinova

Center for Technology in Government

5th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance (ICEGOV2011), Mon, 26 Sep 2011.Over the last two decades universities and post-secondary education policies have addressed globalization trends by internationalizing curricula and articulating global concern in their missions. This paper presents an evaluation of an international training program for early-career digital government researchers, designed to develop their interest and skill in cross-cultural, multidisciplinary, and practice-oriented research. The program overall appears to stimulate participants’ individual creativity, scholarly productivity, and professional networks, while broadening their appreciation for work that investigates internationally important topics and involves not only multidisciplinary but multicultural teams. The …

Molecular Characterization Of Novel Sulfotransferases From The Tick, Ixodes Scapularis, Sivakamasundari Pichu, Emine Bihter Yalcin, José Mc Ribeiro, Roberta S. King, Thomas N. Mather

Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Ixodes scapularis, commonly known as the blacklegged or deer tick, is the main vector of Lyme disease in the United States. Recent progress in transcriptome research has uncovered hundreds of different proteins expressed in the salivary glands of hard ticks, the majority of which have no known function, and include many novel protein families. We recently identified transcripts coding for two putative cytosolic sulfotransferases in these ticks which recognized phenolic monoamines as their substrates. In this current study, we characterize the genetic expression of these two cytosolic sulfotransferases throughout the tick life cycle as well as the …

Long-Term Psychological Outcomes And Awareness Of Deficit In Persons With Traumatic Brain Injury And Their Significant Others: The Role Of Physiological And Neuroendocrine Reactivity To Stress, Sarah J. Meachen

Wayne State University Dissertations

This study investigated the relationships between physiological/neuroendocrine reactivity to stress and long-term psychological outcomes among persons with TBI and their significant others. In addition, this study examined the potential moderating role of patient AOD in characterizing these relationships. The findings indicate that physiological stress reactivity predicts poor psychosocial functioning in survivors of TBI and their significant others. Chronic stress (reflected in high baseline values) and stress reactivity were generally adversely associated with psychological distress and life satisfaction. Among significant others of TBI survivors, this pattern was also observed for sense of caregiving mastery and burden. However, there were also some …

Identification Of The Role Of The Sal Locus In Streptococcus Pyogenes Virulence During Host-Pathogen Interactions, Phanramphoei Namprachan-Frantz

Wayne State University Dissertations

The pathogenesis of Streptococcus pyogenes is due to its ability to overcome and adapt to the harsh environment created by the host immune response. The focus of this project was the SalKR two-component regulatory system, which facilitates bacterial adaptation by responding to environmental signals during host pathogen-interactions. The first goal of this project was to determine a role in virulence for the SalKR regulatory system. The complete deletion of the salKR genes in the wild type S. pyogenes strain HSC5 produced a highly attenuated mutant in a Zebrafish infection model. The ΔsalKR mutant appeared to lose the ability to survive …

Raman Spectroscopy For The Microbiological Characterization And Identification Of Medically Relevant Bacteria, Khozima Mahmoud Hamasha

Wayne State University Dissertations

The detection and identification of pathogenic bacteria has become more important than ever due to the increase of potential bioterrorism threats and the high mortality rate of bacterial infections worldwide. Raman spectroscopy has recently gained popularity as an attractive robust approach for the molecular characterization, rapid identification, and accurate classification of a wide range of bacteria.

In this dissertation, Raman spectroscopy utilizing advanced statistical techniques was used to identify and discriminate between different pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacterial strains of E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacterial species by probing the molecular compositions of the cells.

The five-carbon sugar xylitol, which cannot …

Pamam Dendrimer-Based Therapeutic And Diagnostic Nanodevices, Admira Bosnjakovic

Wayne State University Dissertations

Dendrimers are ideal materials to be used in the emerging field of nanomedicine. Their nanoscale size and high density of functional groups on their peripheries allow them to be used for various biomedical applications. This work exploits dendrimers as drug delivery vehicles and a versatile platform for capturing biomarkers with improved sensitivity and specificity. Hydroxyl terminated poly(amidoamine) dendrimer (PAMAM-OH) was modified with a linker having amine group at the end and conjugated to two drugs, erythromycin (EM) and allopregnanonolne, respectively and evaluated in vitro. Both drugs were provided with a linker having carboxylic group required for conjugation reaction with dendrimer. …

Children's Mercy Hospital Annual Report 2010, Children's Mercy Hospital

Children's Mercy Annual Reports

Annual report for The Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City MO, a pediatric medical center.

Distribution Of Culicoides Sonorensis (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) In Nebraska, South Dakota, And North Dakota: Clarifying The Epidemiology Of Bluetongue Disease In The Northern Great Plains Region Of The United States, E. T. Schmidtmann, M. V. Herrero, A. L. Green, D. A. Dargatz, J. M. Rodriquez, T. E. Walton

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

The presence or absence of the biting midge Culicoides sonorensis Wirth & Jones (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), a primary vector of bluetongue viruses (genus Orbivirus, family Reoviridae, BTV) in North America, was assessed on ranches and farms across the Northern Great Plains region of the United States, specifically Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota, as part of a 2-yr regional study of BTV exposure among cattle. Blacklight/suction trap samples totaling 280 2-night intervals were taken at 140 aquatic sites (potential larval habitat for C. sonorensis) on 82 livestock operations (ranches and farms) that span a south-to-north gradient of expected decreasing …

Bovine Tuberculosis In A Nebraska Herd Of Farmed Elk And Fallow Deer: A Failure Of The Tuberculin Skin Test And Opportunities For Serodiagnosis, W. Ray Waters, Gary E. Stevens, Mark A. Schoenbaum, Kathy A. Orloski, Suelee Robbe-Austerman, N. Beth Harris, S. Mark Hall, Bruce V. Thomsen, Arach J. Wilson, Roger E. Brannian, Jeffrey T. Nelson, Shawn Schafer, Javan Esfandiari, Meghan Dutton, Rena Greenwald, Konstantin P. Lyashchenko

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

In 2009, Mycobacterium bovis infection was detected in a herd of 60 elk (Cervus elaphus) and 50 fallow deer (Dama dama) in Nebraska, USA. Upon depopulation of the herd, the prevalence of bovine tuberculosis (TB) was estimated at ∼71–75%, based upon histopathology and culture results. Particularly with elk, gross lesions were often severe and extensive. One year ago, the majority of the elk had been tested for TB by single cervical test (SCT), and all were negative. After initial detection of a tuberculous elk in this herd, 42 of the 59 elk were tested by SCT. …

Integrating Mechanistic And Polymorphism Data To Characterize Human Genetic Susceptibility For Environmental Chemical Risk Assessment In The 21st Century, Holly M. Mortensen, Susan Y. Euling

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

Response to environmental chemicals can vary widely among individuals and between population groups. In human health risk assessment, data on susceptibility can be utilized by deriving risk levels based on a study of a susceptible population and/or an uncertainty factor may be applied to account for the lack of information about susceptibility. Defining genetic susceptibility in response to environmental chemicals across human populations is an area of interest in the NAS' new paradigm of toxicity pathway-based risk assessment. Data from highthroughput/ high content (HT/HC), including -omics (e.g., genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics) technologies, have been integral to the identification and characterization …

Evidence Of Susceptibility To Morbillivirus Infection In Cetaceans From The United States, T. K. Rowles, L. S. Schwacke, R. S. Wells, J. T. Saliki, L. Hansen, A. Hohn, F. Townsend, R. A. Sayre, A. J. Hall

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Cetacean morbilliviruses (CeMV) are viruses that can cause mass mortalities among various odontocete species. In this study levels of “herd” immunity in cetaceans from the U.S. coast are described from the distribution and prevalence of antibodies against morbilliviruses. Neutralizing antibody titers against dolphin morbillivirus (DMV), porpoise morbillivirus (PMV), phocine distemper (PDV), and canine distemper viruses (CDV) were measured. Positive samples had higher titers against the CeMV than against the other morbilliviruses tested, indicating that although PDV or CDV can be used to investigate exposure their use may result in a higher false negative rate. The results suggest that morbillivirus did …

International Federation For Emergency Medicine Model Curriculum For Medical Student Education In Emergency Medicine, Cherri Hobgood, Venkataraman Anantharaman, Glen Bandiera, Peter Cameron, Pinchas Halperin, James Holliman, Nicholas Jouriles, Darren Kilroy, Terrence Mulligan, Andrew Singer

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

There is a critical and growing need for emergency physicians and emergency medicine resources worldwide. To meet this need, physicians must be trained to deliver time-sensitive interventions and life-saving emergency care. Currently, there is no internationally recognized, standard curriculum that defines the basic minimum standards for emergency medicine education. To address this lack, the International Federation for Emergency Medicine (IFEM) convened a committee of international physicians, health professionals and other experts in emergency medicine and international emergency medicine development, to outline a curriculum for foundation training of medical students in emergency medicine. This curriculum document represents the consensus of recommendations …

The United States Army Ocular Teleconsultation Program 2004 Through 2009, Michael J. Mines, Kraig S. Bower, Charles M. Lappan, Robert A. Mazzoli, Ronald K. Poropatich

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

PURPOSE: To describe the United States Army Ocular Teleconsultation program and all consultations received from its inception in July 2004 through December 2009.

DESIGN: Retrospective, noncomparative, consecutive case series.

METHODS: All 301 consecutive ocular teleconsultations received were reviewed. The main outcome measures were differential diagnosis, evacuation recommendations, and origination of consultation. Secondary measures included patient demographics, reason for consultation, and inclusion of clinical images.

RESULTS: The average response time was 5 hours and 41 minutes. Most consultations originated from Iraq (58.8%) and Afghanistan (18.6%). Patient care-related requests accounted for 94.7% of consultations; nonphysicians submitted 26.3% of consultations. Most patients (220/285; …

Accelerated Lymphocyte Reconstitution And Long-Term Recovery After Transplantation Of Lentiviral-Transduced Rhesus Cd34+ Cells Mobilized By G-Csf And Plerixafor, Naoya Uchida, Aylin Bonifacino, Allen E. Krouse, Mark E. Metzger, Gyorgy Csako, Agnes Lee-Stroka, Ross M. Fasano, Susan F. Leitman, Joseph J. Mattapallil, Matthew M. Hsieh, John F. Tisdale, Robert E. Donahue

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

Objective. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in combination with plerixafor produces significant mobilization of CD34⁺ cells in rhesus macaques. We sought to evaluate whether these CD34⁺ cells can stably reconstitute blood cells with lentiviral gene marking.

Materials and Methods. We performed hematopoietic stem cell transplantation using G-CSF and plerixafor-mobilized rhesus CD34⁺ cells transduced with a lentiviral vector, and these data were compared with those of G-CSF and stem cell factor mobilization.

Results. G-CSF and plerixafor mobilization resulted in CD34⁺ cell yields that were twofold higher than yields with G-CSF and stem cell factor. CD123 (interleukin-3 receptor) …

Development Of Dengue Dna Vaccines, Janine R. Danko, Charmagne G. Beckett, Kevin R. Porter

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

Vaccination with plasmid DNA against infectious pathogens including dengue is an active area of investigation. By design, DNA vaccines are able to elicit both antibody responses and cellular immune responses capable of mediating long-term protection. Great technical improvements have been made in dengue DNA vaccine constructs and trials are underway to study these in the clinic. The scope of this review is to highlight the rich history of this vaccine platform and the work in dengue DNA vaccines accomplished by scientists at the Naval Medical Research Center. This work resulted in the only dengue DNA vaccine tested in a clinical …

A Recombinant Hendra Virus G Glycoprotein-Based Subunit Vaccine Protects Ferrets From Lethal Hendra Virus Challenge, Jackie Pallister, Deborah Middleton, Lin-Fa Wang, Reuben Klein, Jessica Haining, Rachel Robinson, Manabu Yamada, John White, Jean Payne, Yan-Ru Feng, Yee-Peng Chan, Christopher C. Broder

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

The henipaviruses, Hendra virus (HeV) and Nipah virus (NiV), are two deadly zoonotic viruses for which no vaccines or therapeutics have yet been approved for human or livestock use. In 14 outbreaks since 1994 HeV has been responsible for multiple fatalities in horses and humans, with all known human infections resulting from close contact with infected horses. A vaccine that prevents virus shedding in infected horses could interrupt the chain of transmission to humans and therefore prevent HeV disease in both. Here we characterise HeV infection in a ferret model and show that it closely mirrors the disease seen in …

Safety And Immunogenicity Of An Intranasal Shigella Flexneri 2a Invaplex 50 Vaccine, Mark S. Riddle, Robert W. Kaminski, Carlos Williams, Chad Porter, Shahida Baqar, Alexis Kordis, Theron Gilliland, Joyce Lapa, Melissa Coughlin, Chris Soltis, Erica Jones, Jackie Saunders, Paul B. Keiser, Ryan T. Ranallo, Robert Gormley, Michael Nelson, K. Ross Turbyfill, David Tribble, Edwin V. Oaks

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

Background: Shigella flexneri 2a lipopolysaccharide 50 is a nasally delivered subunit vaccine consisting of a macromolecular complex composed of LPS, IpaB, IpaC and IpaD. The current study examined vaccine safety and immunogenicity across a dose range and the clinical performance of a new intranasal delivery device.

Methods: Volunteers (N = 36) were randomized to receive vaccine via the Dolphin^TM (Valois of America, Congers, New York) intranasal spray device at one of three doses (240, 480, and 690 μg) on days 0, 14, and 28. Another group (N = 8) received the 240 μg dose via pipette. Vaccine safety was …

Prevalence, Knowledge, And Concern About Bed Bugs, Mary Beth Kaylor

Master of Public Health Program Student Publications

Recent research suggests that the United States and the world are on the verge of a bed bug pandemic. Assumptions have been made that socioeconomic status is not an indicator and that bed bugs are not competent disease vectors. However, little information is available at the local level about the prevalence of bed bugs in private homes. This study aimed to identify prevalence, knowledge, and concern about bed bugs in one village in Ohio. Responses from 96 individuals who completed the Prevalence, Knowledge, and Concern about Bed Bugs (PK CABB) survey were utilized for data analysis. The majority of the …

Discovering And Developing Diverse Stem Talent: Enabling Academically Talented Urban Youth To Flourish, Stephanie Pace Marshall, Glenn W. "Max" Mcgee, Eric Mclaren, Catherine C. Veal

Publications & Research

The Growing Excellence Gap in K-12 Education, Plucker, Burroughs, and Song (2010) provided compelling evidence that "the presence of an excellence gap is demonstrated on both national and state assessments of student performance," with "economically disadvantaged, English Language Learners, and historically underprivileged minorities representing a smaller proportion of students scoring at the highest levels of achievement" (p. 28). Three "case stories" of students from IMSA illuminate some of the (a) challenges and opportunities inherent in igniting STEM talent in urban youth and ensuring their success; (b) principles for designing and creating learning experiences and environments that ignite and nurture the …

Spei Restriction Enzyme Displays Greater Discriminatory Power Than Xbai Enzyme Does In A Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis Study On 146 Clinical Burkholderia Pseudomallei Isolates, K.H. Chua, K.H. See, Kwai Lin Thong, S.D. Puthucheary

Research Publications (2011 to 2015)

Restriction enzymes SpeI and XbaI were used in a pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) study for molecular characterization of 146 clinical Burkholderia pseudomallei isolates. The PFGE parameters were optimized to enable comparable, reproducible, and robust results. The optimized parameters for both SpeI and XbaI restriction enzymes used in this study were 200 V and a pulse time of 5 to 65 s for a 28-h runtime. Using SpeI, 9 different clusters were identified, whereas 6 clusters were identified by XbaI digestion, which exhibited 85 similarity to SpeI. SpeI (discrimination index D=0.854) showed higher discriminatory power than XbaI did (D=0.464).

Enterovirus 71 In Malaysia: A Decade Later, Yoke Fun Chan, I.C. Sam, K.L. Wee, Sazaly Abubakar

Research Publications (2011 to 2015)

In the last decade, Malaysia has experienced several hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) epidemics, complicated by fatalities due to severe neurological involvement. Enterovirus 71 (EV-71) has been implicated as the major causative agent for these epidemics. EV-71 infection is a global public health problem with pandemic potential. In many parts of Asia-Pacific, the virus has emerged as one of the most deadly virus infections amongst young children. The virus is highly transmissible through faecal-oral route and respiratory droplets. A recent rise in neurological complications and deaths suggests that the viruses currently circulating may be more virulent. The major risk …

In Vitro Antiviral Activity Of Fisetin, Rutin And Naringenin Against Dengue Virus Type-2, Keivan Zandi, Boon Teong Teoh, Sing Sin Sam, Pooi Fong Wong, Mohd Rais Mustafa, Sazaly Abubakar

Research Publications (2011 to 2015)

In vitro antiviral activities of three flavonoids; fisetin, naringenin and rutin against DENV-2 (NGC strain) were evaluated. Inhibitory effects of each compound at the different stages of DENV-2 infection were examined using foci forming unit reduction assay (FFURA) and quantitative real-time polymerase chain amplification (qRT-PCR). Fisetin, rutin and naringenin showed cytotoxic effects against Vero cells with 50% cytotoxicity (CC50) values of 247, >1000, and 87 µg/mL, respectively. Fisetin when added to Vero cells after virus adsorption inhibited DENV replication with a half maximal inhibition concentration (IC50) value of 55 µg/mL and selectivity index (SI) of 4.49. The IC50 value of …

2011-2012 - College Of Pharmacy Catalog, Office Of The Registrar, East Tennessee State University

Pharmacy Academic Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Factors Associated With High Prevalence Of Intestinal Protozoan Infections Among Patients In Sana'a City, Yemen, Naelah A. Alyousefi, Mohammed A. K. Mahdy, Rohela Mahmud, Yvonne Ai Lian Lim

Research Publications (2011 to 2015)

BACKGROUND: Intestinal protozoan diseases in Yemen are a significant health problem with prevalence ranging from 18 to 27. The present study is a cross-sectional study aimed at determining the factors associated with the high prevalence of intestinal protozoan infections among patients seeking health care in Sana'a City, the capital of Yemen. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Stool samples were collected from 503 patients aged between 1 and 80 years old; 219 were males and 284 females. Biodata were collected via pretested standard questionnaire. Faecal samples were processed and examined for (oo)cysts or ova using a wet mount preparation after formal-ether concentration technique. Cryptosporidium …

Global Distribution Of Shigella Sonnei Clones, I. Filliol-Toutain, C.S. Chiou, C. Mammina, P. Gerner-Smidt, Kwai Lin Thong, D.C. Phung, M. Pichel, R. Ranjbar, A.G. Sow, K. Cooper, E. Ribot, N. Binsztein, S.Y. Liang

Research Publications (2011 to 2015)

To investigate global epidemiology of Shigella sonnei, we performed multilocus variable number tandem repeat analysis of 1,672 isolates obtained since 1943 from 50 countries on 5 continents and the Pacific region. Three major clonal groups were identified; 2 were globally spread. Type 18 and its derivatives have circulated worldwide in recent decades.