Digital Commons Network^™

Elevated Plasma Il-6 Associates With Increased Risk Of Advanced Fibrosis And Cholangiocarcinoma In Individuals Infected By Opisthorchis Viverrini, Banchob Sripa, Bandit Thinkhamrop, Eimorn Mairiang, Thewarach Laha, Sasithorn Kaewkes, Paiboon Sithithaworn, Maria V. Periago, Vajarabhongsa Bhudhisawasdi, Ponlapat Yonglitthipagon, Jason Mulvenna, Paul J. Brindley, Alex Loukas, Jeffrey M. Bethony

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

Opisthorchis viverrini is considered among the most important of the food-borne trematodes due to its strong association with advanced periductal fibrosis and bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma). We investigated the relationship between plasma levels of Interleukin (IL)-6 and the risk of developing advanced fibrosis and bile duct cancer from chronic Opisthorchis infection. We show that IL-6 circulates in plasma at concentrations 58 times higher in individuals with advanced fibrosis than age, sex, and nearest-neighbor matched controls and 221 times higher in individuals with bile duct cancer than controls. We also observed a dose-response relationship between increasing levels of plasma IL-6 and …

The Length-Biased Lognormal Distribution And Its Application In The Analysis Of Data From Oil Field Exploration Studies, Makarand V. Ratnaparkhi, Uttara V. Naik-Nimbalkar

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

The length-biased version of the lognormal distribution and related estimation problems are considered and sized-biased data arising in the exploration of oil fields is analyzed. The properties of the estimators are studied using simulations and the use of sample mode as an estimate of the lognormal parameter is discussed.

Genetic Variation In Potentially Virulent Vibrio Parahaemolyticus From The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Nicholas Felix Noriea Iii

Dissertations

Vibrio parahaemolyticus (V_p) is a gram-negative bacterium found naturally in marine and estuarine environments. V_p is found in oysters including those which are later consumed by the public. Sub-populations of potentially virulent Vp contain specific virulence factors and are relevant human pathogens capable of causing gastroenteritis, wound infection, and death. The tdh and trh genes, both encoding hemolysins, have been correlated with the majority of clinical V_p isolates but have not been shown to be the definitive virulence factors.

A total of 146 V_p isolates from the northern Gulf of Mexico were collected and probed …

The Prevalence Of Essential Hypertension In Kasigau, Kenya, Lindsay Williams

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Hypertension is the leading cause of cardiovascular disease worldwide. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a widespread chronic non-communicable disease (NCD) which is on the rise in developing countries. Evidence based on extensive research studies on risk factors for NCDs suggests that they could be easily significantly decreased by simply controlling their risk factors. Although high blood pressure has been recognized as a leading risk factor for CVD, little research has been done to document the prevalence and incidence of essential hypertension (EH) in lower socioeconomic developing countries. One such country is Kenya. It was found in our research study that Kasigau …

Host Specificity Of Ecuadorian Bat Flies (Diptera: Streblidae), Eric Stamper

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Diptera: Streblidae are ectoparasites of bat populations found in many locations throughout the world. These ectoparasites are generally known as bat flies. They attach themselves to the wing membranes and bodies of bats to bite and feed on their blood. Using a large sample consisting of over 2,000 bats and 6,000 bat flies, I have conducted a study of the degree of host specificity of these ectoparasites. Host specificity is a measurement of the degree to which a particular parasite is restricted to its host or hosts. Here I find evidence to support more recent findings that bat flies are …

Closer Than “Arms Length”: Understanding The Factors Associated With Collaborative Contracting, Anna A. Amirkhanyan, Hyun Joon Kim, Kristina T. Lambright

Public Administration Faculty Scholarship

This article focuses on collaborative relationships between contractors and government agencies and explores which contract characteristics, contractor traits, and environmental factors are associated with the development of such relationships. The study uses data from the Partnership Impact Research Project, a three-round longitudinal survey of over one hundred child care centers and Head Start agencies in Ohio. Our findings suggest that stronger collaborative contracting relationships are associated with greater contract specificity, better contractor service quality, and contractor affiliation with a larger organization. On the other hand, a contractor’s financial autonomy and nonprofit status are negatively related to collaborative relationship strength. We …

The Inhibitory Effect Of Francisella Tularensis On Endothelial Cells, Deanna Bublitz

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

The endothelium can be activated by various bacterial pathogens to secrete proinflammatory cytokines and recruit circulating leukocytes. However, there is a distinct lack of activation of these cells by Francisella tularensis, the causative agent of tularemia. Given the importance of endothelial cells in facilitating innate immunity, we investigated the ability of the attenuated live vaccine strain (LVS) and virulent Schu S4 strain of F. tularensis to inhibit the proinflammatory response of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Living F. tularensis LVS and Schu S4 did not stimulate secretion of the chemokine CCL2 by HUVEC, whereas material released from heat-killed bacteria …

Immunizations For Adults And Children, Lynne J. Goebel, Nancy B. Norton, Maurice A. Mufson

Internal Medicine

Vaccines represent the most important medical advance of the twentieth century. The time has passed when large numbers of children and adults suffered serious, life threatening illness from viruses including poliovirus, measles virus, influenza viruses, hepatitis B virus and varicella zoster virus or faced lifelong disability or death from bacterial infections including Hemophilus influenzae, meningococcus and pneumococcus, all infections that can be prevented now by effective vaccines.

Assessment Of Nutritional Knowledge And Eating Behaviors On The Weight And Obesity Of College Students, Britta Thielemann

General Human Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Obesity has become a major nationwide health concern. Negative eating habits and lack of proper nutrition information were highlighted as major aspects of weight gain. This study was conducted in order to understand the relationship between nutritional knowledge and eating behaviors and their impact on the weight and obesity of college students. For this study, an instrument was designed that included survey questions regarding perception of healthy and unhealthy foods, personal consumption, and demographic factors. The instrument was administered to 577 college students. The results indicated a positive relationship between the knowledge of nutrition and eating behavior and the weight …

An Evaluation Of Hiv/Aids Incidence Reduction And Awareness-Raising Interventions Inspired By The Sonagachi Project And The 100% Condom Use Program, Nicole Fernandez

HIM 1990-2015

In the past thirty years, HIV/AIDS (Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) transformed from a mysteriously lethal disease affecting limited portions of the population to a true global pandemic. Although HIV/AIDS is responsible for the deaths of approximately 30 million people worldwide, prevalence rates are now increasing significantly due to increasing survival rates. However, overall increasing incidence rates now serve as a primary concern for researchers. Avert (2011) suggests that there is a lack of behavioral interventions and prevention programs aimed at decreasing the number of newly affected individuals. This is problematic as it may create not only physical and …

Determination Of Selectivity And Potential For Drug Resistance Of Novel Antimalarial Compounds From Nature-Inspired Synthetic Libraries, Eric Keasler

HIM 1990-2015

As malaria, caused by Plasmodium spp., continues to afflict millions of people worldwide, there is a dire need for the discovery of novel, inexpensive antimalarial drugs. Although there are effective drugs on the market, the consistent development of drug resistant species has decreased their efficacy, further emphasizing that novel therapeutic measures are urgently needed. Natural products provide the most diverse reservoir for the discovery of unique chemical scaffolds with the potential to effectively combat malarial infections, but, due to their complex structures, they often pose extreme challenges to medicinal chemists during pharmacokinetic optimization. In our laboratory we have performed unbiased, …

Evaluation Of Pneumonia Virus Of Mice As A Possible Human Pathogen, Linda G. Brock, Ruth A. Karron, Christine D. Krempl, Peter L. Collins, Ursula J. Buchholz

United States Public Health Resources

Pneumonia virus of mice (PVM), a relative of human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), causes respiratory disease in mice. There is serologic evidence suggesting widespread exposure of humans to PVM. To investigate replication in primates, African green monkeys (AGM) and rhesus macaques (n=4) were inoculated with PVM by the respiratory route. Virus was shed intermittently at low levels by a subset of animals, suggesting poor permissiveness. PVM efficiently replicated in cultured human cells and inhibited the type I interferon (IFN) response in these cells. This suggests that poor replication in nonhuman primates was not due to a general nonpermissiveness …

Prioritization Of Biomarker Targets In Human Umbilical Cord Blood: Identification Of Proteins In Infant Blood Serving As Validated Biomarkers In Adults, Nicole Hansmeier, Tzu-Chiao Chao, Lynn R. Goldman, Frank R. Witter, Rolf U. Halden

Environmental and Occupational Health Faculty Publications

Background: Early diagnosis represents one of the best lines of defense in the fight against a wide array of human diseases. Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is one of the first easily available diagnostic biofluids and can inform about the health status of newborns. However, compared with adult blood, its diagnostic potential remains largely untapped.

Objectives: Our goal was to accelerate biomarker research on UCB by exploring its detectable protein content and providing a priority list of potential biomarkers based on known proteins involved in disease pathways.

Methods: We explored cord blood serum proteins by profiling a UCB pool of 12 …

Technological Aspects Of Molecular Diagnosis Of Bacterial Infectious Diseases, Christine S. Booth

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is continually growing in its application, particularly in the field of molecular diagnosis of disease from clinical specimens. The main focus has been in the detection and identification of pathogens. However, quantitative PCR is increasingly utilized to determine initial pathogen load. A well-designed PCR protocol is required in all of these instances. Just as importantly, in the context of disease diagnosis; is the design of the sample processing methodology. The ideal method should concentrate the DNA and effectively isolate a high-quality DNA product, free of PCR inhibitors, while also being simple, reproducible and safe.

The …

Inoculation Of Bats With European Geomyces Destructans Supports The Novel Pathogen Hypothesis For The Origin Of White-Nose Syndrome, Lisa L. Warnecke, James M. Turner, Trent K. Bollinger

KIP Articles

No abstract provided.

Tobacco-Use Promotional Environment And Intrapersonal Environment: Predictors Of Smoking Intention Among Young Southern California Thai-American Adolescents, Arpakorn Magkunthod Phd, Msn, Rn

Dissertations

This study explores tobacco-use related environment, intrapersonal factors, and smoking initiation in Thai-American adolescents aged 10 to 16 living in Southern California. A purposive sample of 217 youth was recruited from seven Thai-community centers located in four counties of Southern California: The sample was fairly evenly distributed by gender with female (54.5%) and almost three quarters (70.9%) were born in the United States (70.9%). Age ranged from 10 to 16 years, with the mean age 12.71 years old (SD =1.835); 27% reported age of 11. Data were collected using the 97 item Teen Tobacco-Use Questionnaire. Findings indicated 12 participants (6.3%) …

Roles Of The Chaperone/Usher Pathways Of Yersinia Pestis In Interactions With Host Cells And Virulence, Matthew Ryan Hatkoff

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, encodes for a large repertoire of pili, which are hair-like fibers that extend out from the bacterial surface. Pili formed by the chaperone/usher pathway are adhesive structures that contribute to virulence in many Gram-negative bacteria. The Y. pestis genome contains eleven chaperone/usher operons. I sought to understand what roles these pathways have on the ability of Y. pestis to bind to host cells, cause disease, and contribute to virulence. I initially examined a panel of Y. pestis mutants containing deletions of the usher genes for six of these chaperone/usher pathways. I found that …

Identification And Validation Of References Genes For Transcriptome Analysis Of Murine Gammaherpesvirus 68 Infection, Sandeep Steven-Andrew Reddy

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

The human gammaherpesviruses (gammaHV), Kaposi's sarcoma-associated virus (KSHV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), are the etiologic agents of many lymphoproliferative and neoplastic disorders. Murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV68) has a high biological and genetic correlation to EBV and KSHV and represents an amenable, tractable model system to investigate host-virus interactions during chronic gammaHV infections. Modulating host cellular gene expression is one common strategy utilized during infection by all three viruses. Here, we have shown that four previously reported housekeeping genes (HKGs), ActB, beta2M, GAPDH and HPRT, evade host shutoff and exhibit stable transcript expression. The validation of these genes in the context …

Ethanol Lock Therapy In The Treatment And Prevention Of Catheter-Related Bloodstream Infections, Breanna Anderson

HIM 1990-2015

Ethanol lock therapy is a novel technique that is being studied for its efficacy in eradicating catheter related bloodstream infections. A systematic review of interdisciplinary studies from CINAHL, Medline, Academic Search Premier, Biological Abstracts, and Web of Knowledge databases was performed. This meta-analysis examined the findings of thirty-five studies on ethanol lock therapy. Twenty-six of these studies compared ethanol to a placebo and nine studies performed a direct comparison of ethanol to other agents frequently used in antimicrobial lock technique. Ethanol lock therapy was shown to be effective as both a prophylactic therapy and as an active treatment in eradicating …

The Role Of Human Awareness On The Spatial Patterns Of The Tick-Borne Disease Human Monocytic Ehrlichiosis In Missouri., James Edward Nunn 1985-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME), a tick-borne disease that has recently surfaced in the United States, exists in regions where the tick vector population is established. This study utilizes methods that look beyond identifying high-risk regions, and investigates disparate awareness, self-perceived threat, and seriousness of HME to further enhance existing spatial modeling. The Health Belief Model provides a theoretical framework that encompasses the disease ecology aspect of medical geography to understand the relationship between people and their environment by surveying participants in study regions of Missouri. Results are suggestive that awareness differs between high/low incidence regions. Furthermore, education and income were …

Identifying Aggregatibacter Actinomycetemcomitans Periodontal Antigens By Immunoscreening., Gerald Bernard Pevow

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Periodontitis is a chronic, destructive inflammatory disease of the supporting tissues of the teeth with a high prevalence among adults. While the complete pathogenesis of periodontitis remains unclear, it is initiated and sustained by dental plaque containing pathogens such as Porphyromonas gingivalis, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Bacteroides forsythus, and Prevotella intermedia. Our hypothesis is that multiple antigens are recognized by human antibodies, and antigens can be identified by use of a genomic expression library. We developed an unbiased global approach to define A. actinomycetemcomitans protein antigens that elicit humoral immune responses and developed a screening method to identify periodontal antigens. We identified …

Depression In Reproductive-Age Women : Assessment Of Infectious, Endocrinological, And Immunological Correlates From An Evolutionary Perspective., Amber N. Carrier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Depression is one of the most frequent causes of disability worldwide. It can affect the psychological, social, and physical wellbeing of those that suffer from it, the majority of which are women. Depression has been linked to immune activation as well as serotonin depletion through a reduction in its precursor, tryptophan. Chlamydia trachomatis infection and estrogen can influence both the immune system and tryptophan levels, thereby biochemically inducing a depressive state. If this is the case, the use of exogenous estrogen through oral contraceptive pills (OCPs) could increase depressive symptoms, while the use of antibiotics to treat C. trachomatis infection …

Accuracy Of Diagnosis And Relationship With Quality Of Emergency Medicine Training Program, Muhammad Shahid, Kamran Hameed, Romaina Iqbal, Osama Afzal, Rooham Nakeer, Junaid Razzak

Department of Emergency Medicine

An indicator for emergency room performance is the ability to establish the correct diagnosis within the emergency room over the years. The authors chose to examine the non-congruence of Emergency Room diagnoses to that established after hospital stay for three selected years. A total of 8488 records were reviewed and all disparate diagnosis were recorded and categorized. Retrospective chart reviews were done from July 2008 to February 2009 at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. A substantial reduction in the percentage of disparate diagnoses was seen over the years from 41% in the initial year to 14% in the last …

Inhume, Entomb, Inurn, Immure: Cemeteries And Constructions Of Britishness, 1767-1852, Sarah Hoglund

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

This dissertation examines the emergence of commercial cemeteries in late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth century Britain, arguing that these spaces of the dead were a key site for the rehearsal of a middle class, British identity. Unlike earlier scholars, who tended to approach the nineteenth century as something like a golden age of burial, hoping to remind the reader of the sacrifices we have made to become thoroughly modern, I have instead attempted to use the cemetery as a way of engaging a series of current issues in the field of nineteenth century studies. Seeking to provide a transcultural, interdisciplinary framing of …

The Antimicrobial Properties Of Zinc-Releasing Bioceramics, Xin He

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Up to 80% of nosocomial infections are caused by biofilm-producing bacteria such as Staphylococci and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These types of microorganisms can become resistant to antibiotics and are difficult to eliminate. As such, there is tremendous interest in developing bioactive implant materials that can help to minimize these post- operative infections. Using water-based chemistry, we developed an economical, biodegradable and biocompatible orthopedic implant material consisting of zinc- doped hydroxyapatite (HA), which mimics the main inorganic component of the bone. Because the crystallinity of HA is typically too compact for efficient drug release, we substituted calcium ions in HA with zinc …

Variation And Organization In Social Behavior: Infectious Disease And Human Intergroup Conflict And Warfare; And The Organization Of Foraging Behavior In Harvester Ants, Kenneth Letendre

Biology ETDs

Social behavior is an important contributor to the success of widely distributed animal taxa, including such distantly related taxa as humans and ants. There is variation in the features and organization of social systems based on ecological constraints and goals, as these alter the costs and benefits of social behaviors, and select for different optimal behaviors for social groups in different environments. I present two bodies of research: an effort to explain geographic variation in the frequency and intensity of human civil conflict; and an effort to describe and model the foraging behavior of colonies of harvester ants of the …

Population Dynamics Of Flaviviruses In The United States, Kendra Pesko

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

The genus Flavivirus comprises viral species with positive sense, single stranded RNA genomes, most of which are transmitted by mosquitoes and ticks. During replication, RNA viruses have higher mutation rates than DNA viruses, because their virally encoded RNA dependent RNA polymerase has no proofreading activity. These viruses have been shown to exist within and between hosts as swarms of closely related mutant genomes that can be examined through sequence analysis. In the work presented here we focus on the population dynamics of two zoonotic flaviviruses that cause human morbidity and mortality in the United States: tick-borne Powassan virus (POW) and …

The Persistence Of Infectious Diseases In Metapopulations, Jonathan Calvin Hayes

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Mathematical models provide a great deal of information about the dynamics of disease spread. In this paper, we use stochastic simulation to investigate spontaneous disease extinction and réintroduction in a SIR model. We begin by investigating path to extinction and time to extinction in single population models, and then expand to a multipopulation model linked with linear migration. We have found that in a single population model, it is more effective to use random pulse vaccinations less per year at a higher removal rate. We have expanded this result by developing a vaccination strategy giving one large, well timed pulse …

The Antiviral Activity Of Curcumin On Herpes Simplex Virus-1, Susan A. Pungitore

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Herpes simplex virus 1 is a common human pathogen that causes an initial productive infection followed by a lifelong latent infection of sensory neurons. Although the active infection is self-limiting in healthy populations, HSV can pose serious health risks to immunocompromised individuals. Furthermore, drug-resistant strains of HSV-1 have emerged in the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) afflicted populations, necessitating the development of efficacious treatment options to combat HSV-1 infections. In recent years, plant derived products have gained popularity as promising antiviral agents. Studies of plant-derived compounds, including polysaccharide extracts from algae and hydrolyzable tannins, indicated that antiviral activity may be contributed …

A Leishmania Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase As A Potential Anti-Parasitic Drug Target : Purification, Characterization And Inhibitor Interactions, Aysenur Sayakci

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The disease, Leishmaniasis, is caused by the protozoal parasite Leishmania, which is transmitted by the bite of an infected Phlebotomine female sandfly. It is a significant health problem in tropical regions of the world and new therapeutic approaches for treating this disease are urgently needed.

Protozoal MAPKs (Mitogen Activated Protein Kinases) play important roles in parasite viability and infectivity and as such, represent viable drug targets. It has been demonstrated that LmxMPKl is an essential MAPK required for the parasite to establish infection and for proliferation of the amastigote stage (the mammalian stage of the parasite) of the parasite. In …