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Improving Veteran Care Through Research, Clinton Colmenares

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No abstract provided.

Device Engineering For Infectious Disease Diagnosis Using Isothermal Dna Amplification And Lateral Flow Detection, Kristina Roskos

KGI Theses and Dissertations

Technologies that enable infectious diseases diagnosis in low-resource settings could greatly facilitate effective treatment and containment of such diseases. Nucleic acid amplification testing can be used to identify pathogens, but typically requires highly-trained personnel and large, expensive lab equipment, neither of which is available in low-resource settings. Our overall goal is to develop a portable diagnostic system that utilizes a low-cost, disposable, mesofluidic cartridge and a handheld electronics unit to perform fully-integrated nucleic acid testing at the point of care in low-resource settings. As a first step toward this goal, we developed a subunit to execute isothermal nucleic acid amplification …

Eradicating Malaria: Improving A Multiple-Timestep Optimization Model Of Malarial Intervention Policy, Taryn M. Ohashi

Scripps Senior Theses

Malaria is a preventable and treatable blood-borne disease whose complications can be fatal. Although many interventions exist in order to reduce the impacts of malaria, the optimal method of distributing these interventions in a geographical area with limited resources must be determined. This thesis refines a model that uses an integer linear program and a compartmental model of epidemiology called an SIR model of ordinary differential equations. The objective of the model is to find an intervention strategy over multiple time steps and multiple geographic regions that minimizes the number of days people spend infected with malaria. In this paper, …

Cellular Mechanisms Of Pathogenesis Of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Omar Jorge Castillo

Biology Theses

Epithelial permeability is distorted by Pseudomonas aeruginosa elastase (PE) and changes in barrier function are caused by disruption of tight junction (TJ) proteins occludin, zonula occludens (ZO)-1 and alterations of the cytoskeleton. Increase in paracellular permeability is caused, in part, by activation of cellular signaling transduction pathways. The exact signaling mechanisms that lead to epithelial disruption are not yet fully understood. I sought to evaluate whether PE exposure can activate the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and whether, PE-induced TJ disruption was dependent upon activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) arm of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. My …

Isolation, Characterization And Synthesis Of Asthma Inducing Fungal Glycolipid And Analytical Method Development For Novel Antimicrobial Peptide Mimics, Vinod Chaudhary

Theses and Dissertations

NKT cells are an important part of human immune system and recognize a specific set of antigens called glycolipids. Only a handful of "natural" NKT cell antigens are known till date. Although NKT cells play a protective role against pathogenic organisms, imbalances in NKT cell functions are implicated in many diseases including asthma. Allergic asthma, a Th2 driven inflammation of airways, is primarily caused by inhalation of environmental allergens. In the last decade, inhaled allergen Aspergillus fumigatus has been under scrutiny for the presence of NKT cell antigens that might trigger asthma. We successfully isolated, characterized and synthesized a "natural" …

Predictive Modeling Of Avian Influenza In Wild Birds, Keiko Herrick

Biological Sciences

Over the past 20 years, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), specifically Eurasian H5N1 subtypes, caused economic losses to the poultry industry and sparked fears of a human influenza pandemic. Avian influenza virus (AIV) is widespread in wild bird populations in the low-pathogenicity form (LPAI), and wild birds are thought to be the reservoir for AIV. To date, however, nearly all predictive models of AIV focus on domestic poultry and HPAI H5N1 at a small country or regional scale. Clearly, there is a need and an opportunity to explore AIV in wild birds using data-mining and machinelearning techniques. I developed predictive …

The Menstrual Body, Ashly S. Patterson

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The main objective of this study is to develop a feminist theoretical understanding of menstruation. I first explore Simone de Beauvoir’s feminist existentialist concept of woman as Other to establish a baseline from which all other sociocultural discourses on menstruation flow. I next expand Erving Goffman’s symbolic interactionist theory on stigma to discuss the social-psychological internalization process that girls encounter as they become enculturated into menstruation as a stigmatic condition. I then use a macro-discursive, Foucauldian analysis on power and discourse to understand how menstruation has been socially constructed from premodern superstitions, to the rise of modern medicine in the …

A Comparison Of Medication Managemnt Between Older And Younger Adults Living With Hiv, Judy A. Frain

Dissertations

The aims of this study were to examine whether there are differences in medication management between older and younger adults living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus and to explore the relationship between age and personal factors including cognitive ability, depression and self-efficacy on medication management. The research utilized a descriptive-correlational, cross-sectional design to compare medication management between older and younger adults living with HIV and to describe differences in predictive factors of cognition, depression, and self-efficacy on medication management ability between older and younger adults living with HIV. Results indicate both older and younger adults have high rates of mild cognitive …

Prescribed Reading: May 2013, Centracare Clinic

Prescribed Reading

• Health Care Matters: Name change signals focus on health
• Recognizing employees who Lead with Care
• Patient Satisfaction Scorecard
• Welcome to our new CentraCare providers!
• Clinic leader expands her role
• Celiac Disease/Gluten-Free Diet
• New interpretive services vendor selected
• Diversity tip
• Physician of Excellence award
• Review new e-Communications policy
• Get the shot!
• Dialysis program receives 5-diamond patient safety status
• Thank you for your support and generosity!
• Adolescent Residential Facility Open House
• May 19-25 is Medical Transcription Week
• Perinatology Clinic to move May 28
• Spring into good health!
• Reaching out to Spanish-speaking women
• Lean improves process and performance
• Baa baa black sheep, have …

Sr-12-13-34 Cc, Marshall University

Recommendations

No abstract provided.

Move Montana: An Exercise Program For Children, Adolescents, And Their Families, Deanna Lynn Babb

Dissertations

Despite advances in medical science, the prevalence of obesity in the US has more than doubled in the last three decades, to over 72 million people (CDC, 2009). The purpose of this project was to pilot an exercise program that would increase physical activity in a group of adolescents and one of their parents or guardians. A convenient sample of 10 adults and eight adolescents returned surveys and exercised through the entire eight weeks (N = 18). Ten of the 18 participants (56%), six parents and four adolescents, reported increased frequency of exercise each week throughout the eight week period. …

The Investigation Of Risk Factors For Upper Respiratory Infections Among College Students, Romie Barnes

Honors Theses

Upper respiratory tract infections and cold-like illnesses are common sources of morbidity among college students. The emphasis of hand-washing and reducing the dispersal of aerosol droplets by covering coughs and sneezes reduces the spread of the common cold. However, less emphasis is placed on other risk factors for reducing cold-like illness such as: stress level and physical activity (Doyle and Cohens 2009). An increase in stress and a decrease in physical activity are common among college students (Nichol et al 2005). For this reason, the present study analyzed the effects of stress and physical activity on the incidence of upper …

Structural Mechanism Of Orthopoxvirus Sabotage Of Mhci Antigen Presentation, William Howard Mccoy Iv

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Immunomodulatory proteins that subvert major histocompatibility complex class I: MHCI) antigen presentation can help viruses to evade cytotoxic T-lymphocyte: CTL) detection and clearance. Cowpox virus, like other orthopoxvirus family members, is a large DNA virus, whose genomic termini encode numerous immunomodulatory genes, including two ER-resident MHCI saboteurs: CPXV012 and CPXV203). CPXV012 inhibits peptide loading of MHCI within the peptide-loading complex: PLC), while CPXV203 inhibits surface expression of both murine and human MHCI through the use of a C-terminal ER-retention sequence: KTEL). An association: direct or indirect) between CPXV203 and MHCI was first demonstrated in pull-down experiments. This doctoral work explores …

Animal Welfare And Food Safety Aspects Of Confining Broiler Chickens To Cages, Sara Shields, Michael Greger

Agribusiness Collection

In most areas of the world, broiler chickens are raised in floor systems, but cage confinement is becoming more common. The welfare of broiler chickens in cages is affected by movement restriction, poor bone strength due to lack of exercise, and prevention of key behavioral patterns such as dustbathing and ground scratching. Cages for broiler chickens also have a long history of causing skin and leg conditions that could further compromise welfare, but a lack of controlled studies makes it difficult to draw conclusions about newer cage designs. Cage environments are usually stocked at a higher density than open floor …

In Vitro Efficacy Of Clinically Available Drugs Against Growth And Viability Of Acanthamoeba Castellanii Keratitis Isolate Belonging To The T4 Genotype, Abdul Mannan Baig, Junaid Iqbal, Naveed Ahmed Khan

Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences

The effects of clinically available drugs targeting muscarinic cholinergic, adrenergic, dopaminergic, and serotonergic receptors; intracellular calcium levels and/or the function of calcium-dependent biochemical pathways; ion channels; and cellular pumps were tested against a keratitis isolate of Acanthamoeba castellanii belonging to the T4 genotype. In vitro growth inhibition (amoebistatic) assays were performed by incubating A. castellanii with various concentrations of drugs in the growth medium for 48 h at 30°C. To determine amoebicidal effects, amoebae were incubated with drugs in phosphate-buffered saline for 24 h, and viability was determined using trypan blue exclusion staining. For controls, amoebae were incubated with the …

Development Of Safe And Efficacious Live Attenuated Edwardsiella Ictaluri Vaccines Against Enteric Septicemia Of Catfish, Neeti Dahal

Theses and Dissertations

Edwardsiella ictaluri is the causative agent of enteric septicemia of catfish (ESC), which is the most economically important disease of farm-raised channel catfish. E. ictaluri is considered a facultative intracellular pathogen like other well-known species in the Enterobacteriaceae, and it is capable of surviving inside channel catfish neutrophils and macrophages. Its ability to survive inside neutrophils and macrophages has made the development of an effective vaccine against ESC particularly challenging. The goal is to develop a safe, efficacious live attenuated ESC vaccine that is practical and economically beneficial to catfish producers. In this study, single and combination of mutations in …

Increasing Milk Replacer Crude Protein Concentrations With Or Without Direct-Fed Microbial Supplementation On Pre-Weaned Holstein Calves During Heat Stress, Adam J. Geiger

Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted to determine the effect of modified crude protein (CP) concentrations and a supplemental directed microbial in the milk replacer fed to Holstein calves during elevated ambient temperatures. Fortyour Holstein calves were randomly assigned treatments in a 2x2 factorial arrangement of treatments. Weekly and daily measurements were taken and analyzed using PROC MIXED in SAS. Calves fed increased CP concentrations in the milk replacer had greater body weight and frame measurements during the pre-weaning phase and at weaning. Directed microbial supplementation led to increased ADG during the post-weaning phase. Directed microbial supplementation and milk replacer modification helped …

Efficient Classification And Prediction Algorithms For Biomedical Information, Rania M. Kilany

Doctoral Dissertations

Voluminous data sets are being generated on a continual basis in various branches of science and engineering. As a result, the amount of scholarly publications has also increased tremendously. For instance, Pubmed carries millions of abstracts. Pubmed's size keeps growing at a rapid pace. Given such large repositories, one of the challenges for any biologist will be to retrieve the information of interest in a short amount of time. In this research we propose novel solutions for such problems of information retrieval.

One of the goals of this research has been to develop a computational tool that can come up …

Infectious Disease: An Agent-Based Simulation., Iqra Ahmad

Undergraduate Honors Theses

One of the primary reasons for studying infectious diseases is to improve control and ultimately eradicate the infection from the population (Keeling 2008). An agent base model was designed to observe the spread of disease and the effect of vaccination using the program known as StarLogo- TNG. Experiments were designed, not having a particular disease in mind, and simulations were run to determine the effects of different variables on the vaccination process of a certain population. Goals included observation of how infections spread and how vaccination plays a role in various situations such as, root of the infection, population size, …

Long-Term Care Need And Utilization Among Baby Boomers And Older Adults With Mental Illnesses In Connecticut, Kathy G. Kellett

Doctoral Dissertations

Archival abstract submitted.

Isolation, Antibiotic Resistance And Clonal Similarities Of Salmonella Spp. In Catfish And Processing Facilities, Norman N. Arroyo Llantin

Theses and Dissertations

Salmonella spp. is a human pathogen that has been reported in catfish, but with conflicting results. Salmonella spp. was isolated from live catfish, catfish products and the processing environment during catfish production, followed by evaluation of their antibiotic resistance and clonal similarities. Distinction of Salmonella spp. was increased by lowering background microflora with the addition of the antimicrobial novobiocin to the agar media. More than ten Salmonella serotypes were isolated from catfish and catfish products, such as live, chilled fillets, frozen fillets, and conveyor belts in catfish processing facilities. The isolates that were recovered include Salmonella ser. Typhimurium, Barranquilla, Mbadaka, …

Next Generation Public Health Delivery: Optimizing Health And Economic Impact, Glen P. Mays

Health Management and Policy Presentations

Improving population health in the context of significant policy and economic change will require governmental public health agencies to rethink their roles within the U.S. health and social services systems, giving much greater attention to "catalytic" functions intended to mobilize, direct, and coordinate the actions of others. A growing body of evidence and experience suggests that such changes are likely to be feasible, effective, and efficient.

Anr And Its Activation By Plch Activity In Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Host Colonization And Virulence, Angelyca A. Jackson, Maegan J. Gross, Emily F. Daniels, Thomas H. Hampton, John H. Hammond, Isabelle Vallet-Gely, Simon L. Dove, Bruce A. Stanton, Deborah A. Hogan

Dartmouth Scholarship

Pseudomonas aeruginosa hemolytic phospholipase C (PlcH) degrades phosphatidylcholine (PC), an abundant lipid in cell membranes and lung surfactant. A ΔplcHR mutant, known to be defective in virulence in animal models, was less able to colonize epithelial cell monolayers and was defective in biofilm formation on plastic when grown in lung surfactant. Microarray analyses found that strains defective in PlcH production had lower levels of Anr-regulated transcripts than the wild type. PC degradation stimulated the Anr regulon in an Anr-dependent manner under conditions where Anr activity was submaximal because of the presence of oxygen. Two PC catabolites, choline and glycine …

A New Class Of Gold Nanoantibotics - Direct Coating Of Ampicillin On Gold Nanoparticles, Dillon S. Pender

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Need for novel, innovative strategies for developing antibiotics is becoming a necessity due to an increasing number of rapidly evolving micro-organismal threats. Antibiotic encapsulated gold nanoparticles (GNPs) are one such strategy showing promise. We report the development of ampicillin encapsulated gold nanoparticles (Amp-GNPs) that possess highly effective, dose dependant antibacterial activity. In this method, ampicillin molecules have been coated on individual GNPs which can then serve as drug carrier devices. Our method for synthesizing Amp-GNPs is an entirely ecofriendly, single step reaction taking place in an aqueous buffer. Following characterization of Amp-GNPs, we find them to be ~15 nm in …

The Role Of Self-Efficacy In Increasing Food Security Among Participants Of A New Food Pantry Model In Hartford, Ct, Angela G. Colantonio

Master's Theses

Background: Food insecurity is defined as not having the resources to obtain enough safe, nutritionally adequate food in socially acceptable ways to support an active, healthy life. A new approach to emergency food assistance is needed, and researchers have encouraged the exploration of empowerment, self-efficacy, and goal setting as a means of better understanding and preventing food insecurity. Objective: The study aim is to examine the association between food insecurity and self-efficacy, and evaluate the ability of a new food pantry model (Freshplace) to increase the food security and self-efficacy of members. Methods: A randomized control trial comparing Freshplace to …

Lab/Ntal Facilitates Fungal/Pamp-Induced Il-12 And Ifn-Γ Production By Repressing Β-Catenin Activation In Dendritic Cells., Selinda J. Orr, Ashley R. Burg, Tim Chan, Laura Quigley, Gareth W. Jones, Jill W. Ford, Deborah Hodge, Catherine Razzook, Joseph Sarhan, Yava L. Jones-Hall, Gillian C. Whittaker, Kimberly C. Boelte, Lyudmila Lyakh, Marco Cardone, Geraldine M. O'Connor, Cuiyan Tan, Hongchuan Li, Stephen K. Anderson, Simon A. Jones, Weigo Zhang, Philip R. Taylor, Giorgio Trinchieri, Daniel W. Mcvicar

Department of Comparative Pathobiology Faculty Publications

Fungal pathogens elicit cytokine responses downstream of immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM)-coupled or hemiITAM-containing receptors and TLRs. The Linker for Activation of B cells/Non-T cell Activating Linker (LAB/NTAL) encoded by Lat2, is a known regulator of ITAM-coupled receptors and TLR-associated cytokine responses. Here we demonstrate that LAB is involved in anti-fungal immunity. We show that Lat2−/− mice are more susceptible to C. albicans infection than wild type (WT) mice. Dendritic cells (DCs) express LAB and we show that it is basally phosphorylated by the growth factor M-CSF or following engagement of Dectin-2, but not Dectin-1. Our data revealed …

To Get A Diploma Or To Get Welfare: Duncan's Dilemma, Nina E. West

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Past, Present And Future Of Transnational Conflict In Jordan: A Study Of Syrian Refugees In The Hashemite Kingdom, David F. Becker

Capstone Projects – Politics and Government

In this paper I am considering the numerous effects that hosting refugees can have on a host country. These effects can be seen when examining a host country’s health, economic, educational, and security sectors. In addition, many cases of refugee flows are associated with conflict contagion, which may cause a refugee population to become militarized. After reviewing the relevant literature on these topics, I study how these possible effects unfold in the context of the Syrian refugees currently escaping to Jordan from their civil war. The Kingdom of Jordan and its people are significantly affected by the increased stresses that …

Do User Fees Increase Tuberculosis Notifications?, Chioma Y. Chukwumah

Economics Honors Projects

Public health sectors around the world strive to provide accessible and affordable care. Tight government budgets and growing populations lead countries to consider adding or raising charges to health care consumers. These user fees may affect the quality, equity and revenue of health care. This paper investigates the impact of user fees on notifications of tuberculosis. In the panel data composed of 176 countries from 1960 to 2012, I find no evidence that suggests user fees increase tuberculosis. In contrast, I find strong and robust evidence suggesting user fees are associated with fewer new cases of tuberculosis.

Method Of Inhibiting Ab-Type Bacterial Toxins And Treatment For Associated Diseases, Michael Taylor, Kenneth Teter

UCF Patents

Disclosed herein are compounds useful in inhibiting the action of AB-type bacterial toxins such as cholera, traveler's diarrhea, enterohemorrhagic diarrhea caused by E. coli O157:H7 and pertussis or whooping cough. Also included in the invention is the use of these compounds in treatment of diseases associated with those toxins.