Digital Commons Network^™

Distribution Of Health Care Services And Access As A Function Of Population In Southeast Alaska, Valerie Strasburger, Stephanie Fugal

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The majority of health disparities in Alaska are related to reliable and affordable access to health care. This is particularly relevant to the communities in southeast Alaska (SEAK) because many of them are isolated island communities. The purpose of my research was to determine the areas in SEAK with the most severe limitations to enable health professionals in this region to meet the goals set in Healthy Alaskans 2010.

Review: Health Communication In The New Media Landscape (2009), Angela Cooke-Jackson

Journal of Media Literacy Education

No abstract provided.

How Studies Of Human Sex Ratios At Birth May Lead To The Understanding Of Several Forms Of Pathology, William H. James

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

This paper deals with the problem of the causes of the variation of sex ratio (proportion male) at birth. This problem is common to a number of areas in biology and medicine e.g. obstetrics, neurology/psychiatry, parasitology, virology, oncology and teratology. It is established that there are significantly biased, but unexplained, sex ratios in each of these fields. Yet workers in them (with the possible exception of virology) have regarded the problem as a minor loose end, irrelevant to the field’s major problems. However, as far as I know, no-one has previously noted that unexplained biased sex ratios occur, and thus …

Feeling The Heat? Substantial Variation In Temperatures Does Not Affect The Proportion Of Males Born In Australia, Barnaby J. Dixson, John Haywood, Philip J. Lester, Diane K. Ormsby

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

The global proportion of male births has been shown to vary with climate, with a higher proportion of male births documented in colder climates. Here we examined the hypothesis that ambient temperature predicts fluctuations in the proportion of male births in Australia and within seven Australian states using historical annual data spanning 1910-2009. We predicted that within states with tropical ambient temperatures the proportion of male births would decrease when ambient temperatures are higher. Considering the national composite births for the whole of Australia first, the proportion of males born ranged only from 0.510 to 0.517. We observed no relationship …

A Review Of Vaccine Approaches For West Nile Virus, Arun V. Iyer, Konstantin G. Kousoulas

Faculty Publications

The West Nile virus (WNC) first appeared in North America in 1999. The North American lineages of WNV were characterized by the presence of neuroinvasive and neurovirulent strains causing disease and death in humans, birds and horses. The 2012 WNV season in the United States saw a massive spike in the number of neuroinvasive cases and deaths similar to what was seen in the 2002-2003 season, according to the West Nile virus disease cases and deaths reported to the CDC by year and clinical presentation, 1999-2012, by ArboNET (Arboviral Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). In addition, the …

Induced Plant Defenses, Host-Pathogen Interactions, And Forest Insect Outbreaks, Bret D. Elderd, Brian J. Rehill, Kyle J. Haynes, Greg Dwyer

Faculty Publications

Cyclic outbreaks of defoliating insects devastate forests, but their causes are poorly understood. Outbreak cycles are often assumed to be driven by density-dependent mortality due to natural enemies, because pathogens and predators cause high mortality and because natural-enemy models reproduce fluctuations in defoliation data. The role of induced defenses is in contrast often dismissed, because toxic effects of defenses are often weak and because induced-defense models explain defoliation data no better than naturalenemy models. Natural-enemy models, however, fail to explain gypsy moth outbreaks in North America, in which outbreaks in forests with a higher percentage of oaks have alternated between …

The Current Volume 24 : Issue 3, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Healing From The Ground Up : A Story Of One Community's Recovery From Natural Disaster, Karen F. Gray

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

Our climate today is unpredictable; the entire world is experiencing the dramatic, often cataclysmic, effects of climate change. From June 1, 2011 to October, 2011, in just 6 months, the small community of Monson, Massachusetts experienced a tornado, a hurricane and an out of season nor'easter blizzard. This qualitative case study examined what community leaders in Monson did to help the community recover. Participants in this study were people who became known and respected for the relief work they contributed to the town of Monson, during and after the tornado. Six participants were interviewed and asked to respond to a …

Inadequate Access To Healthy Opportunities And Structural Violence: A Case Study Of Health Disparities Among Hispanics In Mclean County, Cecilia Montesdeoca

Senior Theses - Anthropology

Significant disproportionate human suffering is experienced by socially disadvantaged populations as a result of preventable difference in the burden of disease, injury, violence, and/or opportunities to achieve optimal health. Disparities in health refer to differences between two or more population groups in health outcomes and in the prevalence, incidence, or burden of disease, disability, injury, or death (CNHEOa 2013). Health disparities are discriminatory and are directly related to the historical and current unequal distribution of social, political, economic, and environmental resources (CDC 2007). While such disparities are more visible when comparing health status of whole countries, they are also embedded …

Structuring Targeted Surveillance For Monitoring Disease Emergence By Mapping Observational Data Onto Ecological Process, Luca Gerardo-Giorda, Gavino Puggioni, Robert J. Rudd, Lance A. Waller, Leslie A. Real

Computer Science and Statistics Faculty Publications

An efficient surveillance system is a crucial factor in identifying, monitoring and tackling outbreaks of infectious diseases. Scarcity of data and limited amounts of economic resources require a targeted effort from public health authorities. In this paper, we propose a mathematical method to identify areas where surveillance is critical and low reporting rates might leave epidemics undetected. Our approach combines the use of reference-based susceptible-exposed-infectious models and observed reporting data;We propose two different specifications, for constant and time-varying surveillance, respectively. Our case study is centred around the spread of the raccoon rabies epidemic in the state of New York, using …

Chimeric Rhinoviruses Displaying Mper Epitopes Elicit Anti-Hiv Neutralizing Responses, Guohua Yi, Mauro Lapelosa, Rachel Bradley, Thomas M. Mariano, Denise Elsasser Dietz, Scott Hughes, Terri Wrin, Chris Petropoulos, Emilio Gallicchio, Ronald M. Levy, Eddy Arnold, Gail Ferstandig Arnold

Publications and Research

Background: The development of an effective AIDS vaccine has been a formidable task, but remains a critical necessity. The well conserved membrane-proximal external region (MPER) of the HIV-1 gp41 glycoprotein is one of the crucial targets for AIDS vaccine development, as it has the necessary attribute of being able to elicit antibodies capable of neutralizing diverse isolates of HIV.

Methodology/Principle Findings: Guided by X-ray crystallography, molecular modeling, combinatorial chemistry, and powerful selection techniques, we designed and produced six combinatorial libraries of chimeric human rhinoviruses (HRV) displaying the MPER epitopes corresponding to mAbs 2F5, 4E10, and/or Z13e1, connected to an immunogenic …

Semi-Automated Curation Of Metabolic Models Via Flux Balance Analysis: A Case Study With Mycoplasma Gallisepticum, Eddy J. Bautista, Joseph Zinski, Steven M. Szczepanek, Erik L. Johnson, Edan R. Tulman, Steven J. Geary, Ranjan Srivastava

Open Access Author Fund Awardees' Articles

Primarily used for metabolic engineering and synthetic biology, genome-scale metabolic modeling shows tremendous potential as a tool for fundamental research and curation of metabolism. Through a novel integration of flux balance analysis and genetic algorithms, a strategy to curate metabolic networks and facilitate identification of metabolic pathways that may not be directly inferable solely from genome annotation was developed. Specifically, metabolites involved in unknown reactions can be determined, and potentially erroneous pathways can be identified. The procedure developed allows for new fundamental insight into metabolism, as well as acting as a semi-automated curation methodology for genome-scale metabolic modeling. To validate …

Public Health Practice-Based Research Networks: Creating Evidence For Practice, Glen P. Mays

Health Management and Policy Presentations

Powerful opportunities for learning from variation and change in public health delivery now exists across the U.S. health system. Practice-based research networks (PBRNs) provide the vehicles for harvesting evidence from applied, comparative studies -- and for feeding this information back into the delivery system.

An Economic Analysis Of Evolving Health Hazards, Justin Tevie

Economics ETDs

Health hazards (e.g., West Nile virus and antibiotic resistance) by their nature are detrimental to the health of mankind and are a vexing problem for society. Health authorities awareness of the rising health care costs associated with these health hazards highlights the need to undertake research in these areas. This dissertation presents a series of papers on these health hazards. Chapter 2 develops a spatial filtering panel data count model to examine the factors that contributed to the high prevalence of human West Nile virus (WNV) in California and Colorado using county-level data from 2003 to 2007. An econometric analysis …

The Weekly Challenger, September 5, 2013, The Weekly Challenger, Et Al

Weekly Challenger Newspaper Collection

The September 5, 2013, issue of The Weekly Challenger.

Public Health Services & Systems Research: Concepts, Methods, And Emerging Findings, Glen P. Mays

Health Management and Policy Presentations

The field of public health services & systems research (PHSSR) increasingly is addressing the question of how to assess the value of investments in public health programs, infrastructure, and delivery systems. Progress in quasi-experimental research designs, measurement, estimation techniques, and data sources are yielding important insight.

Antimicrobial Activity And Mechanistic Study For The Poly(Phenylene Ethynylene) (Ppe)-Based Cationic Conjugated Polyelectrolytes And Oligo-Phenylene Ethynylenes, Ying Wang

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

My dissertation work focuses on recent progress made in elucidating the intermolecular interactions between a novel class of synthetic phenylene ethynylene (PPE)-based conjugated polyelectrolyte polymers (CPEs) and oligomers (OPEs) and multiscale cellular targets that give rise to their remarkable broad spectrum biocidal activity. We studied the interactions and self-assembly behaviors of the CPEs and OPEs with a set of vital biomolecules, including lipids, proteins and nucleic acids, that reveal the potential pathways by which the synthetic biocidal agents could exert toxicity. Then, we explored the antimicrobial effects and mechanisms of the CPEs and OPEs on multiple clinically relevant pathogens, with …

We Are...Marshall, September 4, 2013, Office Of Marshall University Communications

We Are ... Marshall: the Newsletter for Marshall University 1999-2023

No abstract provided.

Skin Lesions In European Hibernating Bats Associated With Geomyces Destructans, The Etiologic Agent Of White-Nose Syndrome, Gudrun Wibbelt, Sébastien J. Puechmaille, Bernd Ohlendorf, Kristin Mühldorfer, Thijs Bosch, Tamás Görföl, Karsten Passior, Andreas Kurth, Daniel Lacremans, Frédéric Forget

KIP Articles

No abstract provided.

Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Exotoxin Y-Mediated Tau Hyperphosphorylation Impairs Microtubule Assembly In Pulmonary Microvascular Endothelial Cells, Ron Balczon, Nutan Prasain, Cristhiaan Ochoa, Jason Prater, Bing Zhu, Mikhail Alexeyev, Sarah Sayner, Dara W. Frank, Troy Stevens

University Faculty and Staff Publications

Pseudomonas aeruginosa uses a type III secretion system to introduce the adenylyl and guanylyl cyclase exotoxin Y (ExoY) into the cytoplasm of endothelial cells. ExoY induces Tau hyperphosphorylation and insolubility, microtubule breakdown, barrier disruption and edema, although the mechanism(s) responsible for microtubule breakdown remain poorly understood. Here we investigated both microtubule behavior and centrosome activity to test the hypothesis that ExoY disrupts microtubule dynamics. Fluorescence microscopy determined that infected pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells contained fewer microtubules than control cells, and further studies demonstrated that the microtubule-associated protein Tau was hyperphosphorylated following infection and dissociated from microtubules. Disassembly/reassembly studies determined that …

Determine Tb-Lam Lateral Flow Urine Antigen Assay For Hiv-Associated Tuberculosis: Recommendations On The Design And Reporting Of Clinical Studies, Stephen D. Lawn, Keertan Dheda, Andrew D. Kerkhoff, Jonathan G. Peter, Susan Dorman, Catharina C. Boehme, Mark P. Nicol

Medicine Faculty Publications

Detection of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis cell wall antigen lipoarabinomannan (LAM) in urine permits diagnoses of tuberculosis (TB) to be made in HIV-infected patients with advanced immunodeficiency. This can be achieved at the point-of-care within just 30 minutes using the Determine TB-LAM, which is a commercially available, lateral-flow urine ‘strip test’ assay. The assay has been shown to have useful diagnostic accuracy in patients enrolling in antiretroviral treatment services or in HIV-infected patients requiring admission to hospital medical wards in sub-Saharan Africa. Such patients have high mortality risk and have most to gain from rapid diagnosis of TB and immediate initiation …

September 3, 2013 Graduate Affairs Committee Minutes, Armstrong Atlantic State University

Armstrong Office of the Registrar: Graduate Affairs Committee Minutes (Archived)

September 3, 2013 Graduate Affairs Committee Minutes

Acylsulfonamides And Processes For Producing The Same, Hong-Gang Wang, Roman Manetsch, Xiangdong Hu, Sameer Kulkarni, Jiazhi Sun

USF Patents

The present disclosure relates to acylsulfonamides and processes for their preparation. The processes involve a target-guided synthesis approach, whereby a thioacid and a sulfonyl azide are reacted in the presence of a biological target protein, a Bcl-2 family protein, to form the acylsulfonamide.

Disruption Of Ritual: Doctor/Patient Interactions In The Era Of Internet, Amanda Seeman

Sociology ETDs

The historical establishment of medicine as a profession laid the foundation on which it claims dominance and authority over medical decision-making. Through scientific discoveries and a state-recognized monopoly over medical work, doctors were able to subdue patients during doctor/patient interactions and conceal specialized knowledge from the public. Ritualized doctor/patient interactions are characterized as expert physician decision-making for passive compliant patients. However, the democratization of information on the internet has disrupted the ritual interactions of doctors and patients by granting open access to specialized medical knowledge. Internet informed patients bring their own knowledge to clinical encounters and use it to be …

Cloning And Characterization Of Ef-Tu And Ef-Ts From Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Stephanie O. Palmer, Edna Y. Rangel, Alberto E. Montalvo, Alexis T. Tran, Kate C. Ferguson, James M. Bullard

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Chemistry)

We have cloned genes encoding elongation factors We have cloned genes encoding elongation factors EF-Tu and EF-Ts from Pseudomonas aeruginosa and expressed and purified the proteins to greater than 95% homogeneity. Sequence analysis indicated that P. aeruginosa EF-Tu and EF-Ts are 84% and 55% identical to E. coli counterparts, respectively. P. aeruginosa EF-Tu was active when assayed in GDP exchange assays. Kinetic parameters for the interaction of EF-Tu with GDP in the absence of EF-Ts were observed to be = 33 μM, = 0.003 s−1, and the specificity constant was  s−1 μM−1. In the presence of EF-Ts, these values were …

Antimycobacterial And Photosynthetic Electron Transport Inhibiting Activity Of Ring-Substituted 4-Arylamino-7-Chloroquinolinium Chlorides, Jan Otrevel, Pavel Bobal, Iveta Zadrazilova, Rodeney Govender, Matus Pesko, Stanislava Keltosova, Petra Koleckarova, Petr Marsalek, Ales Imramovsky, Aidan Coffey, Jim O'Mahony, Peter Kollar, Alois Cizek, Katarina Kralova, Josef Jampilek

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

In this study, a series of twenty-five ring-substituted 4-arylamino-7-chloroquinolinium chlorides were prepared and characterized. The compounds were tested for their activity related to inhibition of photosynthetic electron transport (PET) in spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) chloroplasts and also primary in vitro screening of the synthesized compounds was performed against mycobacterial species. 4-[(2-Bromophenyl)amino]-7-chloroquinolinium chloride showed high biological activity against M. marinum, M. kansasii, M. smegmatis and 7-chloro-4-[(2-methylphenyl)amino]quinolinium chloride demonstrated noteworthy biological activity against M. smegmatis and M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis. The most effective compounds demonstrated quite low toxicity (LD₅₀ > 20 μmol/L) against the human monocytic leukemia THP-1 cell line within preliminary …

Antimycobacterial And Photosynthetic Electron Transport Inhibiting Activity Of Ring-Substituted 4-Arylamino-7-Chloroquinolinium Chlorides, Rodeney Govender, Aidan Coffey, Jim O'Mahony, Et. Al.

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

In this study, a series of twenty-five ring-substituted 4-arylamino-7-chloroquinolinium chlorides were prepared and characterized. The compounds were tested for their activity related to inhibition of photosynthetic electron transport (PET) in spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) chloroplasts and also primary in vitro screening of the synthesized compounds was performed against mycobacterial species. 4-[(2-Bromophenyl)amino]-7-chloroquinolinium chloride showed high biological activity against M. marinum, M. kansasii, M. smegmatis and 7-chloro-4-[(2-methylphenyl)amino]quinolinium chloride demonstrated noteworthy biological activity against M. smegmatis and M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis. The most effective compounds demonstrated quite low toxicity (LD50 > 20 μmol/L) against the human monocytic leukemia THP-1 cell line within preliminary in …

A Funding Profile Of The Nih, Matthew Richardson

Research Trends

No abstract provided.

Trends In Pediatrics: Overview Of Research Trends From 2007-2011, Daphne Van Weijen Dr

Research Trends

No abstract provided.

Multitargeting By Turmeric, The Golden Spice: From Kitchen To Clinic (Abstract), Subash C. Gupta, Bokyung Sung, Ji Hye Kim, Sahdeo Prasad, Shiyou Li, Bharat Aggarwal

Faculty Publications

Abstract attached