Digital Commons Network^™

Guanylate-Binding Protein 1 (Gbp1) Contributes To Cell-Autonomous Immunity Against Toxoplasma Gondii, Elizabeth M. Selleck, Sarah J. Fentress, Wandy L. Beatty, Daniel Degrandi, Klaus Pfeffer, Herbert W. Virgin Iv, John D. Macmicking, L. David Sibley

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Onchocerciasis: The Pre-Control Association Between Prevalence Of Palpable Nodules And Skin Microfilariae, Luc E. Coffeng, Sebatien D. S. Pion, Simon O'Hanlon, Simon Cousens, Adenike O. Abiose, Peter U. Fischer, Jan H. F. Remme, K. Yankum Dadzie, Michele E. Murdoch, Sake J. De Vlas, Maria-Gloria Basanez, Wilma A. Stolk, Michel Boussinesq

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

A Risk Score For Identifying Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus In Patients Presenting To The Hospital With Pneumonia, Andrew F. Shorr, Daniela E. Myers, David B. Huang, Brian H. Nathanson, Matthew F. Emons, Marin H. Kollef

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Structural And Functional Basis For Inhibition Of Erythrocyte Invasion By Antibodies That Target Plasmodium Falciparum Eba-175, Edwin Chen, May M. Paing, Nichole Salinas, B. Kim Lee Sim, Niraj H. Tolia

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

The Mating Competence Of Geographically Diverse Leishmania Major Strains In Their Natural And Unnatural Sand Fly Vectors, Ehud Inbar, Natalia S. Akopyants, Melanie Charmoy, Audrey Romano, Phillip Lawyer, Dia-Eldin A. Elnaiem, Florence Kauffmann, Mourad Barhoumi, Michael Grigg, Katherine Owens, Michael Fay, Deborah E. Dobson, Jahangheer Shaik, Stephen M. Beverley, David Sacks

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Chikungunya Virus Infection Results In Higher And Persistent Viral Replication In Aged Rhesus Macaques Due To Defects In Anti-Viral Immunity, Ilhem Messaoudi, Jennifer Vomaske, Thomas Totonchy, Craig N. Kreklywich, Kristen Haberthur, Laura Springgay, James D. Brien, Michael S. Diamond, Victor R. Defilippis, Daniel N. Streblow

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Electron Microscopic, Genetic And Protein Expression Analyses Of Helicobacter Acinonychis Strains From A Bengal Tiger, Nicole Tegtmeyer, Francisco Rivas Traverso, Manfred Rohde, Omar A. Oyarzabal, Norbert Lehn, Wulf Schneider-Brachert, Richard L. Ferrero, James G. Fox, Douglas E. Berg, Steffen Backert

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Review Of The Safety And Efficacy Of Vitamin A Supplementation In The Treatment Of Children With Severe Acute Malnutrition, Lora L. Iannotti, Indi Trehan, Mark J. Manary

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

A Mixed Methods Multiple Case Study Of Implementation As Usual In Children’S Social Service Organizations: Study Protocol, Byron J. Powell, Enola K. Proctor, Charles A. Glisson, Patricia L. Kohl, Ramesh Raghavan, Ross C. Brownson, Bradley P. Stoner, Christopher R. Carpenter, Lawrence A. Palinkas

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Knowledge And Practice Related To Compliance With Mass Drug Administration During The Egyptian National Filariasis Elimination Program, Khaled M. Abd Elaziz, Maged El-Setouhy, Mark H. Bradley, Reda M.R. Ramzy, Gary J. Weil

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Liver-Resident Nk Cells Confer Adaptive Immunity In Skin-Contact Inflammation, Hui Peng, Xiaojun Jiang, Yonglin Chen, Dorothy K. Sojka, Haiming Wei, Xiang Gao, Rui Sun, Wayne M. Yokoyama, Zhigang Tian

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Transcriptome Analyses Reveal Protein And Domain Families That Delineate Stage-Related Development In The Economically Important Parasitic Nematodes, Ostertagia Ostertagi And Cooperia Oncophora, Esley Heizer, Dante S. Zarlenga, Bruce Rosa, Xin Gao, Robin B. Gasser, Jessie De Graef, Peter Geldhof, Makedonka Mitreva

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Modeling The Impact And Costs Of Semiannual Mass Drug Administration For Accelerated Elimination Of Lymphatic Filariasis, Wilma A. Stolk, Quirine A. Ten Bosch, Sake J. De Vlas, Peter U. Fischer, Gary J. Weil, Ann S. Goldman

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Irf-3, Irf-5, And Irf-7 Coordinately Regulate The Type I Ifn Response In Myeloid Dendritic Cells Downstream Of Mavs Signaling, Helen M. Lazear, Alissa Lancaster, Courtney Wilkins, Mehul S. Suthar, Albert Huang, Sarah C. Vick, Lisa Clepper, Larissa Thackray, Margaret M. Brassil, Herbert W. Virgin, Janko Nikolich-Zugich, Ashlee V. Moses, Michael Gale Jr., Klaus Fruh, Michael S. Diamond

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Therapeutic Efficacy Of Antibodies Lacking Fcgammar Against Lethal Dengue Virus Infection Is Due To Neutralizing Potency And Blocking Of Enhancing Antibodies, Katherine L. Williams, Soila Sukupolvi-Petty, Martina Beltramello, Syd Johnson, Federica Sallusto, Antonio Lanzavecchia, Michael S. Diamond, Eva Harris

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

An Upstream Open Reading Frame Modulates Ebola Virus Polymerase Translation And Virus Replication, Reed S. Shabman, Thomas Hoenen, Allison Groseth, Omar Jabado, Jennifer M. Binning, Gaya K. Amarasinghe, Heinz Feldmann, Christopher F. Basler

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Integration Of Mouse And Human Genome-Wide Association Data Identifies Kcnip4 As An Asthma Gene, Robert C. Strunk, Et Al

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Emerging Roles For Immunomodulatory Functions Of Free Isg15, Jessica A. Campbell, Deborah J. Lenschow

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Making Vaccines "On Demand", Anne S. De Groot, Leo Einck, Leonard Moise, Michael Chambers, John Ballantyne, Robert W. Malone, Matthew Ardito, William Martin

Institute for Immunology and Informatics Faculty Publications

The integrated US Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise (PHEMCE) has made great strides in strategic preparedness and response capabilities. There have been numerous advances in planning, biothreat countermeasure development, licensure, manufacturing, stockpiling and deployment. Increased biodefense surveillance capability has dramatically improved, while new tools and increased awareness have fostered rapid identification of new potential public health pathogens. Unfortunately, structural delays in vaccine design, development, manufacture, clinical testing and licensure processes remain significant obstacles to an effective national biodefense rapid response capability. This is particularly true for the very real threat of “novel pathogens” such as the avian-origin influenzas H7N9 …

Animal-Assisted Therapy And The Child-Animal Bond: Children's Well-Being And Behavior, Connie I. Jacobs

Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Recognizing The Impact Of Personal And Environmental Influences On Type 2 Diabetes Management, Johna S. Brown

Research Papers

Globalization has drastically altered the way humans function. Modern ways of life have induced obesity and type 2 diabetes upsurges on a global level. Type 2 diabetes is a complex chronic illness that can be extremely difficult to prevent and manage. It requires strict consistency in terms of energy consumption, self-assessment, and physical activity. A wide array of variables impact human behavior and one’s ability to abide by such strict regimens. These variables can often be categorized as environmental or personal influences. Comprehensive understanding of these variables can provide insight to diabetics and health professions regarding barriers to diabetes management …

Use Of Social Ecology And Mixed Methods Research To Develop An Instrument To Assess Determinants Of Hiv/Sti Risk Among A Young Adult Population, Lasonja Bonita Kennedy

All ETDs from UAB

Globally, 340 million people are affected by HIV/AIDS. Approximately 50,000 are newly infected within the United States each year with HIV. One in five of those infected is unaware of his/her status. Young adults are particularly impacted by the disease; 39% of new HIV infections are diagnosed in individuals between the ages of 13 and 29. To comprehensively examine the independent and interrelated determinants of HIV/STI risks among young adults, the researcher developed, validated, and psychometrically examined a self-report instrument guided by constructs from the Social Ecological Model (SEM). Development and validation of the content within the survey was conducted …

The Role Of Complement In Experimental Cerebral Malaria, Theresa N. Ramos

All ETDs from UAB

Cerebral malaria (CM) is one of the most severe clinical complications of P. falciparum malaria with a fatality rate of 15-30%, and 10% of CM survivors have permanent neurological sequelae. Since inflammation is a central pathophysiological tenet of CM, we began examining the role of the complement system in pathogenesis of experimental cerebral malaria (ECM) using Plasmodium berghei ANKA (PbA) model. Previous studies using this model indicated that mice naturally deficient in complement component C5 were protected from cerebral complications, and wild type mice treated with anti-C5aR antibody were also protected. To determine the protective mechanism of naturally-C5 deficient mice, …

Tuberculosis Screening And Treatment Outcomes In Zambia, Jennifer Harris

All ETDs from UAB

Zambia is a country in Southern Africa with dual HIV and tuberculosis (TB) epidemics. The annual TB incidence is 444/100,000 and 64% of TB patients are co-infected with HIV. Accurate screening and diagnosis for TB is challenging since it often presents with non-specific signs and symptoms and the available diagnostics are neither sensitive nor specific. Papers one and two of this dissertation focus on the derivation of TB screening rules to more accurately identify high-risk persons in two Zambian populations: inmates and HIV clinic patients. Among inmates, being HIV positive and having a body mass index < 18.5 most strongly predicted HIV disease. Chest pain was also strongly associated, but this may have been a chance finding. For HIV clinic patients, we developed four rules with increasing complexity of clinical tools used for screening. Sensitivity was very high with all rules; the addition of vital signs and pulmonary exam findings to symptom-based screening rules greatly increased the rules' specificity. Furthermore, a rule incorporating pulmonary exam findings performed similarly to a rule with chest radiography suggesting pulmonary exam may be an inexpensive alternative to x-ray. The final paper looks at TB incidence, mortality and intermediate clinical outcomes in a cohort of HIV clinic patients with and without TB during their first 12 months of HIV care. TB incidence was very high during this time period, despite thorough screening at baseline. Mortality was elevated in both culture-confirmed and clinically-diagnosed TB patients, with much of the elevated risk concentrated in TB patients who had culture-confirmed but clinically-unapparent disease. Looking at intermediate outcomes among patients who started anti-retroviral therapy, the change in CD4 cell count was similar for patients with and without TB. TB patients started off with lower mean body weights and hemoglobin concentrations but also showed greater increases over 12 months, thus `catching up' with the TB-negative patients. If these findings are replicable in other cohorts they could have substantial impact on TB screening and diagnostic procedures in resource limited, high burden countries like Zambia.

Determinant Of G-Chain Mediated Fc Receptor Signaling, Spandan Shah

All ETDs from UAB

Fc receptors provide an interface between humoral immunity and cellular immunity by binding to the Fc portion of immunoglobulin and mediating effector functions. Cells expressing Fc receptors play a major role in immune complex clearance via phagocytosis, leading to a context dependent pro- or anti-inflammatory environment. Signaling by multi-chain Fc receptor complexes, including FcgRI, FcgRIII, FceRI and FcaRI is mediated by the ITAM-containing common FceRIg (g-chain) subunit. However, despite the use of a common g-chain, different Fc receptor complexes elicit specific cellular programs, suggesting additional layers of regulation of tyrosine based signaling by g-chain. We hypothesized that the unique g-chain …

Homology Model Of 30s Ribosomal Subunit From Mycobacteria Tuberculosis, Peterson Gitonga Mathenge

All Master’s Theses

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of the tuberculosis, has infected more than a third of the world population to date. It has been known to be a very aggressive bacterium that is highly resistant to current drugs that target Tuberculosis. Antibiotics such as viomycin and capreomycin have been shown to bind to functionally important regions of the bacterial ribosome inhibiting protein synthesis process thereby affecting the bacterial cells viability. It is hypothesized that, a three dimensional structure of the 30S ribosomal subunit of the bacterium, will bring about a novel approach on drug target, and will be important in the …

The Real Issue Behind Stanford V. Roche: Faulty Conceptions Of University Assignment Policies Stemming From The 1947 Biddle Report, Sean M. O'Connor

Articles

The recent Supreme Court decision in Stanford v. Roche laid bare a faulty assumption of the federal research funding system. Government patent policy for federally funded research relies on "contractors"—the recipients of federal funding—to secure patent assignments from their employees. While this practice was routine for private firms and nonprofit research institutions, it was not for universities. This was in part based on the relationship of faculty and other researchers to universities that differed from industry employment relationships.

The roots of this faulty assumption can be traced to the seminal 1947 Biddle Report. Detailed monographs drafted as appendices to …

Potential For Sylvatic Mammals And Stray Canines In Transmission Of Leishmaniasis And Trypanosoma Cruzi In Paso Del Norte Border Area, Jacqueline Alyssa Mariscal

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Potential for sylvatic mammals and stray canines in transmission of leishmaniasis and Trypanosoma cruzi in Paso del Norte Border Area

Background. New World leishmaniasis is a zoonotic protozoal disease caused by various species of the genus Leishmania1. A number of mammalian species have been described as hosts for Leishmania2. Some of them also are considered to play important roles as disease reservoirs. Chagas' disease, also known as American trypanosomiasis, is a potentially life-threatening illness caused by the protozoan parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi, (T. cruzi)3. It is well recognized that T. cruzi is endemic in the United States, as evidenced by infections …

Synthetic Asphaltene As A Novel Dye In Dye Sensitized Solar Cells Dsscs, Hassan Sharif

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation approves the possibility of the first time use of synthetic asphaltene as new dye in dye sensitized solar cells. In which the conversion efficiency of synthetic asphaltene DSSC has improved up to 2.0 %. Synthetic asphaltene sample was prepared from the starting material as in literature and applied for various solar cell parameters of TiO2 based dyesensitized solar cell DSSC. DSSCs were fabricated using the synthetic asphaltene as dye. Different variables and parameters were carried out to test the photovoltaic performance of the cells, these parameters include open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current; fill factor. The first result was obtained …

The Effect Of Exogenous Leptin On Dendritic Cell Migration And Interactions With T Cells, Amanda L. Gonzales

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Obesity is a complex, chronic disease that has reached epidemic proportions in the United States and shows no indication of receding. It is a state of chronic low-grade inflammation that is initiated by morphological changes in large accumulations of adipose tissue. Leptin is a pleiotropic hormone secreted by adipose tissue, presenting a possible link between obesity and inflammation. In this study, we assessed the effect of leptin on bone marrow-derived (BM) dendritic cells (DC) (BM-DC) function, antigen presenting cells vital for the activation of naí¯ve T cells. Previous data produced in our laboratory established that the addition of leptin to …