Digital Commons Network^™

A Study Of Drug-Related Police Corruption Arrests, Philip M. Stinson, John Liederbach, Steven L. Brewer, Hans Schmalzried, Brooke E. Mathna, Krista L. Long

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Purpose – The purpose of the study is to provide empirical data on cases of drug-related police corruption. It identifies and describes incidents in which police officers were arrested for criminal offenses associated with drug-related corruption.

Design/methodology/approach – The study is a quantitative content analysis of news articles identified through the Google News search engine using 48 automated Google Alerts queries. Statistical analyses include classification trees to examine causal pathways between drugs and corruption.

Findings – Data were analyzed on 221 drug-related arrest cases of officers employed by police agencies throughout the United States. Findings show that drug-related corruption involves …

Association Of Spirochetal Infection With Morgellons Disease, Marianne J. Middelveen, Divya Burugu, Akhila Poruri, Jennie Burke, Peter J. Mayne, Eva Sapi, Douglas G. Kahn, Raphael B. Stricker

Biology and Environmental Science Faculty Publications

Morgellons disease (MD) is an emerging multisystem illness characterized by skin lesions with unusual filaments embedded in or projecting from epithelial tissue. Filament formation results from abnormal keratin and collagen expression by epithelial-based keratinocytes and fibroblasts. Recent research comparing MD to bovine digital dermatitis, an animal infectious disease with similar skin features, provided clues that spirochetal infection could play an important role in the human disease as it does in the animal illness. Based on histological staining, immunofluorescent staining, electron microscopic imaging and polymerase chain reaction, we report the detection of Borrelia spirochetes in dermatological tissue of four randomly-selected MD …

Improved Culture Conditions For The Growth And Detection Of Borrelia From Human Serum, Eva Sapi, Namrata Pabbati, Akshita Datar, Ellen M. Davies, Amy Rattelle, Bruce A. Kuo

Biology and Environmental Science Faculty Publications

In this report we present a method to cultivate Borrelia spirochetes from human serum samples with high efficiency. This method incorporates improved sample collection, optimization of culture media and use of matrix protein. The method was first optimized utilizing Borrelia laboratory strains, and later by demonstrating growth of Borrelia from sera from fifty seropositive Lyme disease patients followed by another cohort of 72 Lyme disease patients, all of whom satisfied the strict CDC surveillance case definition for Lyme disease. The procedure resulted in positive cultures in 47% at 6 days and 94% at week 16. Negative controls included 48 cases. …

Evolutionary Biology For The 21st Century, Robert Ricklefs, Jonathan Losos, Stevan Arnold, Gill Bejerano, E. Brodie Iii, David Hibbett, Hopi Hoekstra, David Mindell, Antonia Monteiro, Craig Moritz, H. Orr, Dmitri Petrov, Susanne Renner, Pamela Soltis, Thomas Turner

Biology Department Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Single-Tier Testing With The C6 Peptide Elisa Kit Compared With Two-Tier Testing For Lyme Disease, Gary P. Wormser, Martin Schriefer, Maria E. Aguero-Rosenfeld, Andrew Levin, Allen C. Steere, Robert B. Nadelman, John Nowakowski, Adriana Marques, Barbara J. Johnson, J Stephen Dumler

NYMC Faculty Publications

For the diagnosis of Lyme disease, the 2-tier serologic testing protocol for Lyme disease has a number of shortcomings including low sensitivity in early disease; increased cost, time, and labor; and subjectivity in the interpretation of immunoblots. In this study, the diagnostic accuracy of a single-tier commercial C6 ELISA kit was compared with 2-tier testing. The results showed that the C6 ELISA was significantly more sensitive than 2-tier testing with sensitivities of 66.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] 61.7-71.1) and 35.2% (95% CI 30.6-40.1), respectively (P < 0.001) in 403 sera from patients with erythema migrans. The C6 ELISA had sensitivity statistically comparable to 2-tier testing in sera from Lyme disease patients with early neurologic manifestations (88.6% versus 77.3%, P = 0.13) or arthritis (98.3% versus 95.6%, P = 0.38). The specificities of C6 ELISA and 2-tier testing in over 2200 blood donors, patients with other conditions, and Lyme disease vaccine recipients were found to be 98.9% and 99.5%, respectively (P < 0.05, 95% CI surrounding the 0.6 percentage point difference of 0.04 to 1.15). In conclusion, using a reference standard of 2-tier testing, the C6 ELISA as a single-step serodiagnostic test provided increased sensitivity in early Lyme disease with comparable sensitivity in later manifestations of Lyme disease. The C6 ELISA had slightly decreased specificity. Future studies should evaluate the performance of the C6 ELISA compared with 2-tier testing in routine clinical practice.

Microbes Bind Complement Inhibitor Factor H Via A Common Site, T. Meri, H. Amdahl, M. J. Lehtinen, S. Hyvarinen, J. V. Mcdowell, A. Bhattachargee, S. Meri, R. Marconi, A. Goldman, T. S. Jokiranta

VCU Health Publications

To cause infections microbes need to evade host defense systems, one of these being the evolutionarily old and important arm of innate immunity, the alternative pathway of complement. It can attack all kinds of targets and is tightly controlled in plasma and on host cells by plasma complement regulator factor H (FH). FH binds simultaneously to host cell surface structures such as heparin or glycosaminoglycans via domain 20 and to the main complement opsonin C3b via domain 19. Many pathogenic microbes protect themselves from complement by recruiting host FH. We analyzed how and why different microbes bind FH via domains …

Review Article Mycobacterium Bovis (Bovine Tuberculosis) Infection In North American Wildlife: Current Status And Opportunities For Mitigation Of Risks Of Further Infection In Wildlife Populations, R. S. Miller, S. J. Sweeney

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis), the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis, has been identified in nine geographically distinct wildlife populations in North America and Hawaii and is endemic in at least three populations, including members of the Bovidae, Cervidae, and Suidae families. The emergence of M. bovis in North American wildlife poses a serious and growing risk for livestock and human health and for the recreational hunting industry. Experience in many countries, including the USA and Canada, has shown that while M. bovis can be controlled when restricted to livestock species, it is almost impossible to eradicate once it has spread …

Assessment Of Paper Interstate Certificates Of Veterinary Inspection Used To Support Disease Tracing In Cattle, Katie Portacci, Ryan Miller, Philip D. Riggs, Michael G. Buhnerkempe, Lauren M. Abrahamsen

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

Objective—To evaluate the differences among each state’s Interstate Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (ICVI) form and the legibility of data on paper ICVIs used to support disease tracing in cattle. Design—Descriptive retrospective cross-sectional study. Sample—Examples of ICVIs from 50 states and 7,630 randomly sampled completed paper ICVIs for cattle from 48 states. Procedures—Differences among paper ICVI forms from all 50 states were determined. Sixteen data elements were selected for further evaluation of their value in tracing cattle. Completed paper ICVIs for interstate cattle exports in 2009 were collected from 48 states. Each of the 16 data elements was recorded as legible, …

A National-Scale Picture Of U.S. Cattle Movements Obtainedfrom Interstate Certificate Of Veterinary Inspection Data, Daniel A. Grear, Ryan S. Miller, Jason E. Lombard, Colleen T. Webb, Michael Buhnerkempe, Katie Portacci

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

tWe present the first comprehensive description of how shipments of cattle connect thegeographic extent and production diversity of the United States cattle industry. We built anetwork of cattle movement from a state-stratified 10% systematic sample of calendar year2009 Interstate Certificates of Veterinary Inspection (ICVI) data. ICVIs are required to certifythe apparent health of cattle moving across state borders and allow us to examine cattlemovements at the county scale. The majority of the ICVI sample consisted of small ship-ments (head) moved for feeding and beef production. Geographically, the central plainsstates had the most connections, correlated to feeding infrastructure. The entire nation …

A Chimeric Plasmodium Falciparum Merozoite Surface Protein Vaccine Induces High Titers Of Parasite Growth Inhibitory Antibodies, James R. Alaro, Andrea Partridge, Kazutoyo Miura, Ababacar Diouf, Ana M. Lopez, Evelina Angov, Carole A. Long, James M. Burns Jr.

United States Army: Publications

The C-terminal 19-kDa domain of Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface protein 1 (PfMSP1₁₉) is an established target of protective antibodies. However, clinical trials of PfMSP1₄₂, a leading blood-stage vaccine candidate which contains the protective epitopes of PfMSP1₁₉, revealed suboptimal immunogenicity and efficacy. Based on proof-of-concept studies in the Plasmodium yoelii murine model, we produced a chimeric vaccine antigen containing recombinant PfMSP1₁₉ (rPfMSP1₁₉) fused to the N terminus of P. falciparum merozoite surface protein 8 that lacked its low-complexity Asn/Asp-rich domain, rPfMSP8 (Asn/ Asp). Immunization of mice with the chimeric rPfMSP1/8 vaccine elicited …

The E. Coli Effector Protein Nlef Is A Caspase Inhibitor, Sonja Blasche, Mario Mortl, Holger Steuber, Gabriella Siszler, Shahista Nisa, Frank Schwarz, Inna Lavrik, Thomas M. A. Gronewold, Klaus Maskos, Michael S. Donnenberg, Dirk Ullmann, Peter Uetz, Manfred Kogl

Study of Biological Complexity Publications

Enterohemorrhagic and enteropathogenic E. coli (EHEC and EPEC) can cause severe and potentially life-threatening infections. Their pathogenicity is mediated by at least 40 effector proteins which they inject into their host cells by a type-III secretion system leading to the subversion of several cellular pathways. However, the molecular function of several effectors remains unknown, even though they contribute to virulence. Here we show that one of them, NleF, binds to caspase-4, -8, and -9 in yeast two-hybrid, LUMIER, and direct interaction assays. NleF inhibits the catalytic activity of the caspases in vitro and in cell lysate and prevents apoptosis in …

The Cipp Model In Evaluating The Affiliated Primary Health Care Centers Of Cebu Normal University, Julius C. Daño, Aida A. Inabangan

CNU Journal of Higher Education

The key factor in attaining health for all is the primary health care (PHC) as implemented in the Local Public Health System (LPHS). This study assessed the extent of the implementation of the basic services in the affiliated barangay health centers of the Cebu Normal University College of Nursing during the school year 2007-2008. This research was conducted in 13 barangay health centers affiliated with the Cebu Normal University-College of Nursing. Four personnel from each health center were involved as respondents of the study namely: the doctor, the nurse, the midwife and the barangay health worker (BHW). The instrument delved …

Characterization Of Selected Barangays With High And Low Incidence Of Dengue Fever, Christine Joy J. Bandala, Emilia N. Bustamante

CNU Journal of Higher Education

This study looks into the demographic, environmental and socioeconomic factors associated with dengue prevention and control in two barangays of Cebu City as of 2011:Barangay Guadalupe with its high incidence of dengue fever and Barangay Sta. Cruz with a low incidence of dengue fever. The study utilized the descriptive correlational design employing multi-level sampling in selecting respondents. Three (3) standardized research instruments were adopted, as follows: the Cebu Normal University Community Health Assessment, the Department of Health’s Green Star Project and the instrument used in the study of Nahida (2008) on the knowledge, attitudes and practices involved in Dengue fever …

A Novel, Network-Wide Outpatient Generational Urine Antibiogram, Jarrod W. Kile Rphd, Lalita G. Shastry Md

Department of Pharmacy

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Vancomycin Dosing And Corresponding Drug Concentrations In Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (Nicu) Patients, Christine Lam Pharmd, Jenny Boucher Bs, Pharmd, Jd, Bcps

Department of Pharmacy

No abstract provided.

Sexual Scripts And Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Black Heterosexual Men: Development Of The Sexual Scripts Scale, Gary Burkholder, Seth Noar, Michelle Teti

Walden Faculty and Staff Publications

Sexual scripts are widely shared gender and culture-specific guides for sexual behavior with important implications for HIV prevention. Although several qualitative studies document how sexual scripts may influence sexual risk behaviors, quantitative investigations of sexual scripts in the context of sexual risk are rare. This mixed methods study involved the qualitative development and quantitative testing of the Sexual Scripts Scale (SSS). Study 1 included qualitative semi-structured interviews with 30 Black heterosexual men about sexual experiences with main and casual sex partners to develop the SSS. Study 2 included a quantitative test of the SSS with 526 predominantly low-income Black heterosexual …

Improved Semiochemical Trapping And Population Genetics Of Mosquito Species Vectoring Rift Valley Fever In Kenya, David Poumo Tchouassi

All PhD Dissertations

The East African region is a major hot bed for old and newly emerging arboviral diseases that are occurring with increasing frequency and magnitude. The lack of effective treatment or preventive vaccinations for most of these infections emphasizes the need for surveillance to monitor circulation, which is critical for informing public health decision for early warning and response. Monitoring mosquito populations and mosquito-borne virus activity are the cornerstones of surveillance programs. As a model, this project focussed on Rift Valley fever (RVF), a mosquito-borne zoonosis, which remains prevalent in most parts of Kenya. Improving mosquito-based arbovirus surveillance by increasing trap …

Elicitation Of Anti-Mosquito Immune Responses In Balb/C Mice Immunized With Plasmids Containing Anopheles Gambiae Mucin 1 (Agmuc1), Gm-Csf And Il-12 Genes, Wilfred Emonyi Injera

All PhD Dissertations

Various strategies that block malaria transmission from an infected human host to a female Anopheline mosquito that involve killing of the blood fed mosquito have been studied as a potential strategy to control malaria. These include the immunization of animal hosts with either whole homogenized blood fed mosquito midguts or their extracts. In 1939, William Trager first demonstrated anti-vector immunity by immunizing guinea pigs and rabbits with extracts of the tick Dermacentor variabilis. This immunological targeting of tick midgut antigens led to the commercial development of a vaccine against Boophilus microplus ticks licenced in 1985.This study investigated the mosquitocidal effects …

People Who Inject Drugs, Hiv Risk, And Hiv Testing Uptake In Sub-Saharan Africa, A K. Asher, J A. Hahn, Marie-Claude Couture, K Maher, Page

Nursing and Health Professions Faculty Research and Publications

Dramatic rises in injection drug use (IDU) in sub-Saharan Africa account for increasingly more infections in a region already overwhelmed by the HIV epidemic. There is no known estimate of the number of people who inject drugs (PWID) in the region, or the associated HIV prevalence in PWID. We reviewed literature with the goal of describing high-risk practices and exposures in PWID in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as current HIV prevention activities aimed at drug use. The literature search looked for articles related to HIV risk, injection drug users, stigma, and HIV testing in sub-Saharan Africa. This review found evidence …

Condom Negotiation Across Different Relationship Types By Young Women Engaged In Sex Work In Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Lisa Maher, Julie Mooney-Somers, Pisith Phlong, Marie-Claude Couture, Serey Serey Kien, Ellen Stein, Anna Juong Bates, Neth Sansothy, Kimberly Page, Young Women's Health Study Collaborative

Nursing and Health Professions Faculty Research and Publications

Cambodia’s 100% Condom Use Programme is credited with an increase in consistent condom use in commercial sexual interactions and a decrease in HIV prevalence among female sex workers (FSWs). There has been little improvement in condom use between FSWs and non-commercial partners, prompting calls for more innovative approaches to increasing condom use in these relationships. To understand why condoms are used or not used in sexual interactions involving FSWs, we examined condom negotiation across different types of relationships. We conducted 33 in-depth interviews with young (15 to 29 years) women engaged in sex work in Phnom Penh. There was an …

Eastern Equine Encephalitis: An Assessment Of Vermont’S Treatment Plan And The Lack Of Preventative Treatment, Lauren E. Bierman

Writing Across the Curriculum

When an avian host and the Culiseta melanura mosquito meet in fresh water hardwood swamps, the Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus (EEE) is spread to the bird community. When that same bird is bitten by a mosquito that feeds on humans, such as the Aedes, Coquillettidia, and Culex species, the EEE virus has found its bridge vector. EEE is a rare disease in humans; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported in 2010 that the virus affects an average of 6 people per year (Epidemiology & Geographic Distribution section, para 2). In 2010, blood collected from deer …

Advancing Data Reuse In Phyloinformatics Using An Ontology-Driven Semantic Web Approach, Maryam Panahiazar, Amit P. Sheth, Ajith Harshana Ranabahu, Rutger Vos, Jim Leebens-Mack

Kno.e.sis Publications

Phylogenetic analyses can resolve historical relationships among genes, organisms or higher taxa. Understanding such relationships can elucidate a wide range of biological phenomena, including, for example, the importance of gene and genome duplications in the evolution of gene function, the role of adaptation as a driver of diversification, or the evolutionary consequences of biogeographic shifts. Phyloinformaticists are developing data standards, databases and communication protocols (e.g. Application Programming Interfaces, APIs) to extend the accessibility of gene trees, species trees, and the metadata necessary to interpret these trees, thus enabling researchers across the life sciences to reuse phylogenetic knowledge. Specifically, Semantic Web …

Identification Of Potential Lead Antimalarial Compounds From Marine Microbial Extracts, Abigail Carbonell

HIM 1990-2015

Malaria, caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, has a long history as a global health threat. The vector-borne disease causes millions of deaths yearly, especially in developing countries with tropical climates that facilitate transmission. Compounding the problem is the emergence of drug-resistant strains due to overuse of outdated treatments. New compounds with antiplasmodial activity are needed to be developed as effective drugs against malaria. The hypothesis for this project is that marine microorganisms have a high likelihood of yielding novel antiplasmodial chemotypes because of their high diversity, which has not yet been explored for antimalarial development. In this project, microbes …

Vancomycin And Gentamicin Pharmacokinetic Alterations In An Adolescent Amputee, Kristen R. Nichols, Kari M. Edison, Michelle D. Rosenbaum, Chad A. Knoderer

Scholarship and Professional Work – COPHS

A 14-year-old male with bilateral above-the-knee amputations presented to our hospital for treatment of a skin and soft-tissue infection. We report the experience of vancomycin and gentamicin therapy in this patient. Because these medications require weight-based dosages and pharmacokinetic monitoring of serum levels, it was necessary to obtain peak and trough levels of the two drugs in order to determine the pharmacokinetic differences in this patient compared to those in an adolescent male without amputations. To our knowledge, this is the first report describing pharmacokinetic differences in an adolescent amputee.

Orientation For Increased Volunteer Effectiveness With Midwives For Haiti, Kelly Toner

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

This pilot study created a comprehensive orientation module to help Midwives for Haiti prepare volunteers to serve in the organization’s midwifery school in Haiti. The module was evaluated to assess its perceived effectiveness and) revise it to better fit volunteer needs. The volunteers completed the module prior to their trip to Haiti and then completed an evaluation survey upon return; only three volunteers completed the entire pilot study process. Two out of three responded that the orientation fully prepared them for their time abroad. Other comments included the need for (a) additional emphasis on basic math and drip rate calculations, …

Information And Communication Technology To Link Criminal Justice Reentrants To Hiv Care In The Community, Ann Kurth, Irene Kuo, James Peterson, Nkiru Azikiwe, Lauri Bazerman, Alice Cates, Curt G. Beckwith

Epidemiology Faculty Publications

The United States has the world’s highest prison population, and an estimated one in seven HIV-positive persons in the USA passes through a correctional facility annually. Given this, it is critical to develop innovative and effective approaches to support HIV treatment and retention in care among HIV-positive individuals involved in the criminal justice (CJ) system. Information and communication technologies (ICTs), including mobile health (mHealth) interventions, may offer one component of a successful strategy for linkage/retention in care. We describe CARE+ Corrections, a randomized controlled trial (RCT) study now underway in Washington, that will evaluate the combined effect of computerized motivational …

Federal Funds For Syringe Exchange Programs: A Necessary Component Toward Achieving An Aids-Free Generation, Rachel Hulkower, Leslie E. Wolf

Annals of Health Law and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Enhancing Communication Between Scientists, Government Officials, And The Lay Public: Advancing Science And Protecting The Public's Welfare Through Better Multi-Stakeholder Interfacing, Clark J. Lee, Patrick P. Rose, Earl Stoddard Iii

Annals of Health Law and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Graduate Medical Education 2012-2013 Annual Report, Children's Mercy Hospital

GME Annual Reports

Annual report of the Children's Mercy Hospital Graduate Medical Education department, including pediatric residency, internal medicine/pediatrics residency, fellowship programs, medical students, continuing medical education, and library services.

Irb-Approved Community-Engaged Research At Vcu: Analysis Of Baseline Data And Overview Of New Data System, Valerie Holton

Community-Engaged Research Resources

Within the academy and across VCU there is growing recognition that community-engaged research (CEnR) is a valuable framework that enables researchers to conduct research and produce results that can be directly translated into improvements in human health, education, sustainability, and economic development. One example of VCU’s institutional commitment to community engagement is that a description of CEnR has been added to the revised university promotion and tenure guidelines. Additionally, it is included as a key strategy in advancing the discovery of new knowledge, creative expression, and innovation by increasing and diversifying sponsored research and promoting translational research and scholarship that …