Digital Commons Network^™

Occurrence Of Blastocystis In Water Of Two Rivers From Recreational Areas In Malaysia, I. Ithoi, A. Jali, J.W. Mak, W.Y. Wan Sulaiman, R. Mahmud

Research Publications (2011 to 2015)

This study reports the occurrence of Blastocystis in water from two rivers, Sungai Congkak and Sungai Batu, located in recreational areas in Malaysia. This protozoan was detected in samples from both rivers with an average of 33.3% and 22.1%, respectively. It was detected highest at the downstream (73.8% and 33.8%) followed by midstream (17.5% and 25.0%) and upstream (8.8% and 7.5%) stations, with additionally higher detection during holidays (with average 47.5% and 30.8%) than week days (with average 19.2% and 13.3%), in both rivers, respectively. There was a strong association with the daily activities of locals and visitors, who came …

Optimization Of The Expression Of Surface Antigen Sag1/2 Of Toxoplasma Gondii In The Yeast Pichia Pastoris, G. Thiruvengadam, Init Ithoi, Mun Yik Fong, Yee Ling Lau

Research Publications (2011 to 2015)

Surface antigens are the most abundant proteins found on the surface of the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Surface antigen 1 (SAG1) and Surface antigen 2 (SAG2) remain the most important and extensively studied surface proteins. These antigens have been identified to play a role in host cell invasion, immune modulation, virulence attenuation. Recombinant SAG1/2 was cloned and expressed in yeast Pichia pastoris. We describe here optimization of critical parameters involved in high yield expression of the recombinant SAG1/2. Our results suggest that recombinant SAG1/2 were best expressed at 30ºC, pH 6 and 1 methanol as the carbon source by X33 Pichia …

Profiling Of Burkholderia Cepacia Secretome At Mid-Logarithmic And Early-Stationary Phases Of Growth, Vanitha Mariappan, Kumutha Malar Vellasamy, Onn Haji Hashim, Jamuna Vadivelu

Research Publications (2011 to 2015)

Background: Burkholderia cepacia is a Gram-negative pathogen that causes serious respiratory infections in immunocompromised patients and individuals with cystic fibrosis. This bacterium is known to release extracellular proteins that may be involved in virulence. Methodology/Principal Findings: In the present study, B. cepacia grown to mid-logarithmic and early-stationary phases were investigated on their ability to invade and survive intracellularly in A549 lung epithelial cells in order to discern the fate of these bacteria in the pathogenesis of B. cepacia lung infections in in vitro condition. The early-stationary phase B. cepacia was demonstrated to be more invasive than mid-logarithmic phase. In addition, …

Antimicrobial Susceptibility Profiling And Genomic Diversity Of Multidrug-Resistant Acinetobacter Baumannii Isolates From A Teaching Hospital In Malaysia, Boon Hong Kong, Yasmin Abu Hanifah, Mohd Yasim Mohd Yusof, Kwai Lin Thong

Research Publications (2011 to 2015)

The resistance phenotypes and genomic diversity of 185 Acinetobacter baumannii isolates obtained from the intensive care unit (ICU) of a local teaching hospital in Kuala Lumpur from 2006 to 2009 were determined using antimicrobial susceptibility testing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Antibiogram analyses showed that the isolates were fully resistant to β-lactam antimicrobials and had high resistance rates to the other antimicrobial agents tested. However, the isolates were susceptible to polymyxin B. Resistance to cefoperazone/sulbactam was only detected in strains isolated from 2007 to 2009. Some environmental isolates and an isolate from the hands of a healthcare worker (HCW) had …

Proceedings Of The 123rd Annual Meeting Of The Iowa Academy Of Science [Program, 2011], Iowa Academy Of Science

Iowa Academy of Science Documents

Contents:

Program Summary --- 2-3
Acknowledgements --- 4
Contents --- 5
Welcome --- 5
Iowa Junior Academy of Science Competition --- 6
Geology Special Event Using Geographic Information Systems in Iowa's K-16 Classrooms --- 7
General Session I-Roaming Mars, a Personal Perspective --- 8
Iowa Junior Academy of Science Award Luncheon --- 9
Iowa Academy of Science Business Meeting --- 9
Iowa Academy of Science Volunteers for 2010-2011 --- 10
Symposium A-Unintended Health & Environmental Consequences of Confinement Agriculture --- 11
Symposium B-Investigating Forensic Science --- 12
Symposium C-150th Anniversary-Science and the Civil War --- 13
Symposia Speakers --- 14-15 …

Going Viral, Judy Diamond

World of Viruses

Science education is developing new and innovative means of communication that compete directly with global media to reach the ‘YouTube Generation’. The truly interdisciplinary team of the SEPA-funded World of Viruses project is discovering how best to spread the word.

KEY COLLABORATORS
Judy Diamond, Professor, University of Nebraska State Museum
Charles Wood, Director, Nebraska Center for Virology
Moira Rankin, President, Soundprint Media Center, Inc
Carl Zimmer, Science writer and author of WoV book of essays, A Planet of Viruses
David Uttal, Cognitive science professor, Northwestern University
Benjamin Jee, Cognitive scientist, College of Holy Cross
Tom Floyd, Comic illustrator, Nebraska Educational …

Small Molecule Inhibitors Of Staphylococcus Aureus Rnpa Alter Cellular Mrna Turnover, Exhibit Antimicrobial Activity, And Attenuate Pathogenesis, Patrick D. Olson, Lisa J. Kuechenmeister, Kelsi L. Anderson, Sonja Daily, Karen E. Beenken, Christelle M. Roux, Michelle L. Reniere, Tami L. Lewis, William J, Weiss, Mark Pulse, Phung Nguyen, Jerry W. Simecka, John M. Morrison, Khalid Sayood, Oluwatoyin A. Asojo, Mark S. Smeltzer, Eric P. Skaar, Paul M. Dunman

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is estimated to cause more U.S. deaths annually than HIV/AIDS. The emergence of hypervirulent and multidrug-resistant strains has further amplified public health concern and accentuated the need for new classes of antibiotics. RNA degradation is a required cellular process that could be exploited for novel antimicrobial drug development. However, such discovery efforts have been hindered because components of the Gram-positive RNA turnover machinery are incompletely defined. In the current study we found that the essential S. aureus protein, RnpA, catalyzes rRNA and mRNA digestion in vitro. Exploiting this activity, high through-put and secondary screening assays identified …

Medicine + Health, Winter 2011, George Washington University, School Of Medicine And Health Sciences, Office Of Communications And Marketing

Medicine + Health Magazine

No abstract provided.

Purification Of A Recombinant Heavy Chain Fragment C Vaccine Candidate Against Botulinum Serotype C Neurotoxin [Rbontc(HC)] Expressed In Pichia Pastoris, Michael P. Dux, Jicai Huang, Rick Barent, Mehmet Inan, S. Todd Swanson, Jayanta Sinha, John T. Ross, Leonard A. Smith, Theresa J. Smith, Ian Henderson, Michael M. Meagher

United States Army: Publications

A purification process for the manufacture of a recombinant C-terminus heavy chain fragment from botulinum neurotoxin serotype C [rBoNTC(H_c)], a potential vaccine candidate, has been defined and successfully scaled-up. The rBoNTC(H_c) was produced intracellularly in Pichia pastoris X-33 using a three step fermentation process, i.e., glycerol batch phase, a glycerol fed-batch phase to achieve high cell densities, followed by a methanol induction phase. The rBoNTC(H_c) was captured from the soluble protein fraction of cell lysate using hydrophobic charge induction chromatography (HCIC; MEP HyperCel™), and then further purified using a CM 650M ion exchange chromatography …

Application Of Protection Motivation Theory To Study The Factors That Influence Disaster Recovery Planning: An Empirical Investigation, Shalini Wunnava

Doctoral Dissertations

In today's information intensive and networked world, Disaster Recovery Planning (DRP) is a critical and significant activity. However, DRP does not always receive the attention it deserves. Therefore, it is critical to examine the factors that influence the undertaking of disaster recovery planning. A model on disaster recovery planning was developed using the theoretical lens of Protection Motivation Theory (PMT). Drawing from PMT literature and using the information technology disaster recovery planning (ITDRP) construct developed by Shropshire and Kadlec (2009), a research model was developed in which perceived severity, perceived vulnerability, intrinsic rewards, extrinsic rewards, fear, response efficacy, self-efficacy, and …

The Search, The Jackson Laboratory

Search Magazine

No abstract provided.

Inflamation And Depression, Elena Jeliazkova

Theses & ETDs

Over a century ago, Professor Julius Wagner von Jauregg received the Nobel Prize for his work on the immunological implications of psychiatry. In the past twenty years, Psychoneuroimmunology has produced novel research on the immunological implications of psychiatric disorders, such as depression. Established by the American Psychiatric Association, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, defines the depression as a depressed mood and loss of interest, insomnia or hypersomnia, fatigue, inability to concentrate, suicidality, psychomotor retardation and weight change. While no clear etiological explanation has been discovered, the pathophysiology of depression involves neurotransmitter imbalance. This review investigates the bidirectional …

Wild Cats In Captivity On Improving Captive Enviroment With Regard To Biology And Behavoir, Leandra Irene Lyniuk

Theses & ETDs

Leopards (Panthera pardus) and lions (Panthera leo) are the wild feline species examined in this thesis and case study. They are considered charismatic megafauna and popular in captivity while some subspecies are critically endangered in the wild. A literature review revealed that these species may be more complex behaviourally than previously thought. The conclusion was made that optimal captive habitats need to cater to each species unique behavioural and biological needs in order for these species to thrive in captivity. Captive habitat is the last environment in which they are supported. A case study conducted at the Jacksonville Zoo and …

Nematode Parasites Of Costa Rican Snakes (Serpentes) With Description Of A New Species Of Abbreviata (Physalopteridae), Charles R. Bursey, Daniel R. Brooks

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Seventy-eight snakes collected in the Area de Conservación Guanacaste, Costa Rica were necropsied: Boidae (1 species), boa constrictor, Boa constrictor; Colubridae (21 species), Ecuador sipo, Chironius grandisquamis; road guarder, Conophis lineatus; South American forest racer, Dendrophidion percarinatus; speckled racer, Drymobius margaritiferus; mimic false coral snake, Erythrolamprus mimus; blunthead tree snake, Imantodes cenchoa; western tree snake, Imantodes inornatus; banded cat-eyed snake, Leptodeira annulata; striped lowland snake, Leptodrymus pulcherrimus; Cope’s parrot snake, Leptophis depressirostris; yellow-bellied racer, Liophis epinephelus; neotropical whip snake, Masticophis mentovarius; brown vinesnake, Oxybelis aeneus; …

Plasmodium Falciparum Malaria Endemicity In Indonesia In 2010, Iqbal R.F. Elyazar, Peter W. Gething, Anand P. Patil, Hanifah Rogayah, Rita Kusriastuti, Desak M. Wismarini, Siti N. Tarmizi, J. Kevin Baird, Simon I. Hay

United States Public Health Resources

Background: Malaria control programs require a detailed understanding of the contemporary spatial distribution of infection risk to efficiently allocate resources. We used model based geostatistics (MBG) techniques to generate a contemporary map of Plasmodium falciparum malaria risk in Indonesia in 2010.

Methods: Plasmodium falciparum Annual Parasite Incidence (PfAPI) data (2006–2008) were used to map limits of P. falciparum transmission. A total of 2,581 community blood surveys of P. falciparum parasite rate (PfPR) were identified (1985–2009). After quality control, 2,516 were included into a national database of age-standardized 2–10 year old PfPR data (PfPR …

Radical Cure: The Case For Anti-Relapse Therapy Against All Malarias, J. Kevin Baird

United States Public Health Resources

Douglas et al [1] describe patency with Plasmodium vivax in the 63 days after treatment of malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum in >10,000 subjects in Thailand over a 14-year period who received 25 different therapies. Therapy for acute malaria aims at the asexual stages of the organism infecting blood. Among the many blood schizontocidal drugs that achieve this therapeutic effect, none eliminate dormant stages in the liver, which are known as hypnozoites. Regardless of the species being treated, if hypnozoites are present, relapse may occur in the absence of treatment with primaquine, which is the only registered hypnozoitocide. The patients …

Landscape And Residential Variables Associated With Plague-Endemic Villages In The West Nile Region Of Uganda, Katherine Macmillan, Russell E. Enscore, Asaph Ogen- Odoi, Jeff N. Borchert, Nackson Babi, Gerald Amatre, Linda A. Atiku, Paul S. Mead, Kenneth L. Gage, Rebecca J. Eisen

United States Public Health Resources

Plague, caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis , is a severe, often fatal disease. This study focuses on the plagueendemic West Nile region of Uganda, where limited information is available regarding environmental and behavioral risk factors associated with plague infection. We conducted observational surveys of 10 randomly selected huts within historically classified case and control villages (four each) two times during the dry season of 2006 ( N = 78 case huts and N = 80 control huts), which immediately preceded a large plague outbreak. By coupling a previously published landscape-level statistical model of plague risk with this observational survey, …

Factors Associated With Viral Rebound In Hiv-1-Infected Individuals Enrolled In A Therapeutic Hiv-1 Gag Vaccine Trial, Jonathan Z. Li, Zabrina L. Brumme, Chanson J. Brumme, Hongying Wang, John Spritzler, Michael N. Robertson, Michael M. Lederman, Mary Carrington, Bruce D. Walker, Rovert T. Schooley, Daniel R. Kuritzkes

United States Public Health Resources

Background. Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vaccines directed to the cell-mediated immune system could have a role in lowering the plasma HIV-1 RNA set point, which may reduce infectivity and delay disease progression.

Methods. Randomized, placebo-controlled trial involving HIV-1-infected participants who received a recombinant adenovirus serotype 5 (rAd5) HIV-1 gag vaccine or placebo. Sequence-based HLA typing was performed for all 110 participants who initiated analytic treatment interruption (ATI) to assess the role of HLA types previously associated with HIV prognosis. Plasma HIV-1 gag and pol RNA sequences were obtained during the ATI. Virologic endpoints and HLA groups …

Differential Microrna Regulation Of Hla-C Expression And Its Association With Hiv Control, Smita Kulkarni, Ram Savan, Ying Qi, Xiaojiang Gao, Yuko Yuki, Sara E. Bass, Maureen P. Martin, Peter Hunt, Steven G. Deeks, Amalio Telenti, Florencia Pereyra, David Goldstein, Steven Wolinsky, Bruce Walker, Howard A. Young, Mary Carrington

United States Public Health Resources

The HLA-C locus is distinct relative to the other classicalHLA class I loci in that it has relatively limited polymorphism1, lower expression on the cell surface, and more extensive ligand–receptor interactions with killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) 35 kb upstream of HLA-C (rs9264942; termed -35) associates with control of HIV, and with levels of HLA-C messenger RNA transcripts and cell-surface expression, but the mechanism underlying its varied expression is unknown. We proposed that the -35 SNP is not the causal variant for differential HLA-C expression, but rather is marking another polymorphism that directly affects levels of HLA-C. …

Hiv-1 Adaptation To Nk-Cell-Mediated Immune Pressure, Galit Alter, David Heckerman, Arne Schneidewind, Lena Fadda, Carl M. Kadie, Jonathan M. Carlson, Cesar Oniangue-Ndza, Maureen Martin, Bin Li, Salim I. Khakoo, Mary Carrington, Todd M. Allen, Marcus Altfeld

United States Public Health Resources

Natural killer (NK) cells have an important role in the control of viral infections, recognizing virally infected cells through a variety of activating and inhibitory receptors. Epidemiological and functional studies have recently suggested that NK cells can also contribute to the control of HIV-1 infection through recognition of virally infected cells by both activating and inhibitory killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs). However, it remains unknown whether NK cells can directly mediate antiviral immune pressure in vivo in humans. Here we describe KIR-associated amino-acid polymorphisms in the HIV-1 sequence of chronically infected individuals, on a population level. We show that these KIR-associated …

Hla-A*3101 And Carbamazepine-Induced Hypersensitivity Reactions In Europeans, Mark Mccormack, Ana Alfirevic, Stephane Bourgeois, John J. Farrell, Dalia Kasperavičiūtė, Mary Carrington, Graeme J. Sills, Tony Marson, Xiaoming Jia, Paul I. W. De Bakker, Krishna Chinthapalli, Mariam Molokhia, Michael R. Johnson, Gerard D. O'Connor, Elijah Chaila, Saud Alhusaini, B. Kevin Park, Chantal Depondt, Sanjay M. Sisodiya, David B. Goldstein, Panos Deloukas, Norman Delanty, Gianpiero L. Cavalleri, Munir Pirmohamed, Werner Pichler, Kevin V. Shianna, Rodney A. Radtke, Massimo Pandolfo

United States Public Health Resources

Background

Carbamazepine causes various forms of hypersensitivity reactions, ranging from maculopapular exanthema to severe blistering reactions. The HLA-B*1502 allele has been shown to be strongly correlated with carbamazepine-induced Stevens–Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS–TEN) in the Han Chinese and other Asian populations but not in European populations.

Methods

We performed a genomewide association study of samples obtained from 22 subjects with carbamazepine-induced hypersensitivity syndrome, 43 subjects with carbamazepine- induced maculopapular exanthema, and 3987 control subjects, all of European descent. We tested for an association between disease and HLA alleles through proxy single-nucleotide polymorphisms and imputation, confirming associations by high-resolution …

Persistent Infection Or Successive Reinfection Of Deer Mice With Bartonella Vinsonii Subsp. Arupensis, Ying Bai, Charles H. Calisher, Michael Y. Kosoy, J. Jeffrey Root, Jeffrey B. Doty

United States Public Health Resources

Bartonella infections are common in rodents. From 1994 to 2006, longitudinal studies of a rodent community, consisting mainly of deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), were conducted in southwestern Colorado to study hantaviruses. Blood samples from deer mice captured one or more times during the period 2003 to 2006 (n = 737) were selected to study bartonellae in deer mice. Bartonellae were found to be widely distributed in that population, with an overall prevalence of 82.4% (607/737 mice). No correlation was found between bartonella prevalence and deer mouse weight or sex. Persistent or successive infections with bartonellae were observed …

Washington University Magazine, February 2011

Washington University Magazine

No abstract provided.

Balancing Policy Tensions Of The Vaccine Act In Light Of The Omnibus Autism Proceeding: Are Petitioners Getting A Fair Shot At Compensation?, Laura A. Binski

Hofstra Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Medical Malpractice Model For Developing Countries?, Nathan Cortez

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

This Article, written for the symposium "Reforming Medical Liability: Global Perspectives," evaluates the unique plight of developing countries in crafting medical liability regimes. Many developing countries struggle to maintain workable systems for adjudicating physician negligence. This is due to a variety of factors, such as widespread poverty, more pressing public health priorities that demand attention, a scarcity of physicians, immature health care systems, large informal health sectors, regulatory deficits, and weak civil societies, among others. Patients in these countries are also less able than their counterparts in well-developed countries to evaluate and challenge the care they receive and thus serve …

Molecular Phylogeny Of The Oestroidea, Baneshwar Singh

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The superfamily Oestroidea includes approximately 9% (≈14,000 spp.) of the order Diptera. Many members of the superfamily are of medical, veterinary, agricultural, and forensic importance. Although Oestroidea has been the subject of much scientific scrutiny, the exact patterns of phylogenetic relationships among the key groups of the superfamily are unresolved and controversial. For a better understanding of oestroid evolutionary hypotheses, phylogenies of Oestroidea were reconstructed at several taxonomic levels using DNA sequence data. The specific aims were to determine the phylogeny of the 1) genus Chrysomya (Chrysomyinae); 2) subfamily Chrysomyinae (Calliphoridae); 3) family Oestridae (Oestroidea); and 4) family Calliphoridae (Oestroidea). …

Women, Vulnerability, And Humanitarian Emergencies, Fionnuala Ni Aolain

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

The catastrophic dimensions of humanitarian emergencies are increasingly understood and more visible to states and international institutions. There is greater appreciation for the social, economic and political effects that follow in the short to long term from the devastating consequences of humanitarian emergencies. There is also recognition of the gendered dimensions of humanitarian emergencies in policy and institutional contexts. It is generally acknowledged that women are overrepresented in the refugee and internally displaced communities that typically result from many humanitarian crises. Women bear acute care responsibilities in most societies and also disproportionately bear familial and communal care responsibilities in communities …

Boys' Masculinities In Three Adventure Physical Education Classes, Amy Tischler

Wayne State University Dissertations

The diminished state of youth health in the United States has been a rising concern over the past few decades (Fahlman, Dake, McCaughtry, & Martin, 2008; Krebs, Baker, & Greer, 2003). Headlines across the nation declare that children in the United States are getting heavier and most point to a lack of physical activity as the cause (Wechsler et al., 2004). Understanding adventure physical education might help to create physical education programs that captivate students so much so that they look forward to participating rather than enacting task avoidance strategies. In fact, physical education might empower students to be physically …

Visual Rhetoric And The Promotion Of Scientific Ideas: The Strange Case Of The Prion, Carol Reeves

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

In the field that investigates infectious brain diseases such as mad cow disease, the verbal and visual packaging of scientific visuals associated with identifying the agent, prion, its processes, and structure served the community ritual of establishing belief in a highly unorthodox phenomenon. Visual promotion fed into cultural expectations of single agents and simple processes, even though the actual agency and disease process have proven highly complex and perhaps unknowable.

Evaluation Of Vancomycin Dosing And Corresponding Drug Concentrations In Pediatric Patients, Lauren Maurer Pharmd, Jenny Boucher Pharmd, Bcps, Ejd

Department of Pharmacy

No abstract provided.