Digital Commons Network^™

A New List Of Cuban Crinoids (Echinodermata: Crinoidea), Ruber Rodriguez-Barreras, Charles G. Messing

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

This review is based on the most recent taxonomic classification of extant Cuban Crinoidea. Existing material in natural history collections in Cuba was analyzed in detail and accurately reflects species presence. The crinoid literature was also reviewed. Several previously unpublished observations of species found in waters off Cuba have also been included. This paper provides the most up to date description of the Cuban crinoid fauna. Habitat, distribution, depth range and localities in Cuba are reported for each species. Collection codes for available specimens are included when known. The work describes a total of 33 species (plus two subspecies) in …

Habitat Characterization, Distribution, And Areal Extent Of Deep-Sea Coral Ecosystems Off Florida, Southeastern U.S.A., John K. Reed, Charles G. Messing, Brian K. Walker, Sandra Brooke, Thiago B.S. Correa, Myra Brouwer, Tina Udouj, Stephanie Farrington

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The deep-sea (200-1000 m) seafloor off the southeastern U.S. has a variety of extensive deep-sea coral ecosystem (DSCE) habitats including: deep-water coral mounds; various hard-bottom habitats off Florida including the Miami Terrace, Pourtales Terrace, and deep-water canyons (Agassiz and Tortugas Valleys); and deep island slopes off western Bahamas and northern Cuba. The dominant structure-forming scleractinian corals are Lophelia pertusa and Enallopsammia profunda; other structure-forming taxa include stylasterid corals, gorgonians, black corals, and sponges. This biota is associated with hard-bottom seafloor of variable high-relief topography which can be remotely identified from bathymetric data. NOAA bathymetric contour maps and digital elevation …

The Yellow Stingray, Urobatis Jamaicensis (Chondrichthyes Urotrygonidae): A Synoptic Review, Richard E. Spieler, Daniel P. Fahy, Robin L. Sherman, James Sulikowski, T. Patrick Quinn

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The yellow stingray, Urobatis jamaicensis (Cuvier) has been the subject of a multitude of diverse studies on its natural history, morphology, and physiology. We have attempted here to briefly review all the studies on U. jamaicensis both published and unpublished with the goal of providing comparative information for researchers working on related species as well as to highlight areas of research requiring further investigation in this one.

Psychology, 2013-2014, University Of South Florida St. Petersburg

Academic Learning Compacts

The Academic Learning Compact for 2013-2014 for the Bachelor's of Arts in Psychology.

Randomized, Open-Label Trial Of Primaquine Against Vivax Malaria Relapse In Indonesia, Inge Sutanto, Bagus Tjahjono, Hasan Basri, W. Robert Taylor, Fauziah A. Putri, Rizka A. Meilia, Rianto Setiabudy, Siti Nurleila, Lenny L. Ekawati, Iqbal Elyazar, Jeremy Farrar, Herawati Sudoyo, J. Kevin Baird

United States Public Health Resources

Radical cure of Plasmodium vivax infection applies blood schizontocidal therapy against the acute attack and hypnozoitocidal therapy against later relapse. Chloroquine and primaquine have been used for 60 years in this manner. Resistance to chloroquine by the parasite now requires partnering other blood schizontocides with primaquine. However, the safety and efficacy of primaquine against relapse when combined with other drugs have not been demonstrated. This randomized, open-label, and relapse-controlled trial estimated the efficacy of primaquine against relapse when administered with quinine or dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine for treatment of the acute infection. Among 650 soldiers who had returned to their malaria-free base in …

Tribute To Purnomo Projodipuro (April 11, 1934–May 10, 2013), J. Kevin Baird

United States Public Health Resources

The many dozens of our Society members who were clinicians and scientists assigned to the US Naval Medical Research Unit #2 (NAMRU-2) in Jakarta, Indonesia, during its 40-year presence (1970–2010) in that nation, along with many Indonesian colleagues, are also alumni of the School of Purnomo. This diminutive, quiet, and unassuming scholar and gentleman so profoundly affected nearly all of us professionally and personally that his imprint is as meaningful and lasting as our collective alma maters. His strongest legacy as a mentor and exemplar is that separating those two dimensions—personal and professional—should be virtually impossible. Our work, he instructed …

Spatial Distribution Of G6pd Deficiency Variants Across Malaria-Endemic Regions, Rosalind E. Howes, Mewahyu Dewi, Frederic B. Piel, Wuelton M. Monteiro, Katherine E. Battle, Jane P. Messina, Anavaj Sakuntabhai, Thomas N. Williams, J. Kevin Baird, Simon I. Hay

United States Public Health Resources

Background: Primaquine is essential for malaria control and elimination since it is the only available drug preventing multiple clinical attacks by relapses of Plasmodium vivax. It is also the only therapy against the sexual stages of Plasmodium falciparum infectious to mosquitoes, and is thus useful in preventing malaria transmission. However, the difficulties of diagnosing glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PDd) greatly hinder primaquine’s widespread use, as this common genetic disorder makes patients susceptible to potentially severe and fatal primaquine-induced haemolysis. The risk of such an outcome varies widely among G6PD gene variants.

Methods: A literature review was conducted to identify surveys of …

Malaria Caused By Plasmodium Vivax: Recurrent, Difficult To Treat, Disabling, And Threatening To Life — Averting The Infectious Bite Preempts These Hazards, J. Kevin Baird

United States Public Health Resources

The maxim ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’ finds few better demonstrations than with malaria caused by Plasmodium vivax. Thoroughly neglected over the past 60 years, the chemotherapy of this complex infection has been dangerous and ineffective until the present. Work is at last being done, but seeing that translate to real improvements at the periphery of care delivery will take years of deliberate effort. In the meantime, patients face substantial risk of debilitating, threatening, and fatal courses of illness associated with a diagnosis of vivax malaria. For some of the most vulnerable to such …

Suppressive Chemoprophylaxis Invites Avoidable Risk Of Serious Illness Caused By Plasmodium Vivax Malaria, J. Kevin Baird

United States Public Health Resources

Despite inadequacy in preventing vivax malaria after travel, suppressive chemoprophylaxis has dominated travel medicine strategy since the advent of chloroquine in 1946. The lethal threat of falciparum malaria versus the perceived benign consequence of vivax malaria underpins this strategic posture. Recent evidence demonstrating vivax malaria as often pernicious should prompt reconsideration of that posture. Causal prophylaxis kills early developing forms of plasmodia in the liver, thus preventing attacks of falciparum and vivax malaria during travel and delayed onset vivax malaria following travel. Primaquine is the only available drug for this application, and has good evidence of safety, tolerability and efficacy …

Is Obesity Still Increasing Among Pregnant Women? Prepregnancy Obesity Trends In 20 States, 2003–2009, S.C. Fisher, S.Y. Kim, A.J. Sharma, R. Rochat, B. Morrow

United States Public Health Resources

Objective. To estimate trends in prepregnancy obesity prevalence among women who delivered live births in the US during 2003–2009, by state, age, and race–ethnicity.

Methods. We used Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) data from2003, 2006, and 2009 to measure prepregnancy obesity (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 30 kg/m²) trends in 20 states. Trend analysis included 90,774 records from 20 US states with data for all 3 study years. We used a chi-square test for trend to determine the significance of actual and standardized trends, standardized to the age and race–ethnicity distribution of the 2003 sample.

Results. Prepregnancy …

Structure And Kinetic Analysis Of H2S Production By Human Mercaptopyruvate Sulfurtransferase, Pramod Kumar Yadav, Kazuhiro Yamada, Taurai Chiku, Markos Koutmos, Ruma V. Banerjee

United States Public Health Resources

Background: Mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase (MST) generates H₂S, a signaling molecule.

Results: The detailed kinetics and crystal structure of human MST with bound substrate are reported.

Conclusion: Thioredoxin is the preferred persulfide acceptor from MST.

Significance: The structure provides molecular insights into activation and stabilization of MST reaction intermediates.

Identification Of Potential Synthetic Lethal Genes To P53 Using A Computational Biology Approach, Xiaosheng Wang, Richard Simon

United States Public Health Resources

Background: Identification of genes that are synthetic lethal to p53 is an important strategy for anticancer therapy as p53 mutations have been reported to occur in more than half of all human cancer cases. Although genomewide RNAi screening is an effective approach to finding synthetic lethal genes, it is costly and labor-intensive.

Methods: To illustrate this approach, we identified potentially druggable genes synthetically lethal for p53 using three microarray datasets for gene expression profiles of the NCI-60 cancer cell lines, one next-generation sequencing (RNA-Seq) dataset from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project, and one gene expression data from …

Oxidative Damage And Myofiber Degeneration In The Gastrocnemius Of Patients With Peripheral Arterial Disease, Dustin J. Weiss, George P. Casale, Panagiotis Koutakis, Aikaterini A. Nella, Stanley A. Swanson, Zhen Zhu, Dimitrios Miserlis, Jason M. Johanning, Iraklis I. Pipinos

United States Public Health Resources

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD), a manifestation of systemic atherosclerosis that produces blockages in arteries supplying the legs, affects an estimated 27 million people in Europe and North America. Increased production of reactive oxygen species by dysfunctional mitochondria in leg muscles of PAD patients is viewed as a key mechanism of initiation and progression of the disease. Previous studies demonstrated increased oxidative damage in homogenates of biopsy specimens from PAD gastrocnemius compared to controls, but did not address myofiber-specific damage. In this study, we investigated oxidative damage to myofibers as a possible cause of the myopathy of PAD. To achieve this, …

A 7-Plex Microbead-Based Immunoassay For Serotyping Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia Coli, Laurie M. Clotilde, Clay Bernard Iv, Alexandra Salvador, Andrew Lin, Carol R. Lauzon, Mark Muldoon, Yichun Xu, Klaus Lindpaintner, J. Mark Carter

United States Public Health Resources

Serotyping of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) has been contingent upon the availability of antisera. Here we describe a 7-plexmicrobead-based immunoassay to simultaneously serotype seven STECs (i.e., belonging to serogroups O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, O145, and O157) by the Luminex xMAP® technology. This technology presents many advantages: Its multiplexed format (up to 100 analytes) saves time, reagents, and test sample, and many regulatory agencies currently utilize this platform for other assays. In this study, a total of seventy-nine STEC strains belonging to the 7 different serogroups of interest were tested. These strains had been previously serotyped and their serogroup …

Development And Performance Evaluation Of A Streamlined Method For Nucleic Acid Purification, Denaturation, And Multiplex Detection Of Bluetongue Virus And Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease Virus, Megan E. Schroeder, Donna J. Johnson, Eileen N. Ostlund, Jennifer Meier, Mangkey A. Bounpheng, Alfonso Clavijo

United States Public Health Resources

Bluetongue virus (BTV) and Epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) possess similar structural and molecular features, are transmitted by biting midges (genus Culicoides), and cause similar diseases in some susceptible ruminants. Generally, BTV causes subclinical disease in cattle, characterized by a prolonged viremia. EHDV-associated disease in cattle is less prominent; however, it has emerged as a major economic threat to the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) industry in many areas of the United States. The recent emergence of multiple BTV and EHDV serotypes previously undetected in the United States demonstrates the need for robust detection of all known serotypes …

Geo 482.01a: Global Change, Johnnie N. Moore

University of Montana Course Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Suffolk Alumni Magazine, Spring/Summer, 2013, Suffolk University

Suffolk University Magazine

No abstract provided.

Complete Genome Sequence Of The Epidemic And Highly Virulent Ctx-M-15-Producing H30-Rx Subclone Of Escherichia Coli St131, Paal S. Andersen, Marc Stegger, Maliha Aziz, Tania L. Contente-Cuomo, Henry S. Gibbons, Paul Keim, Evgeni V. Sokurenko, James R. Johnson, Lance B. Price

Environmental and Occupational Health Faculty Publications

We report the complete genome sequence, including five complete plasmid sequences, of Escherichia coli ST131 isolate JJ1886. The isolate was obtained in 2007 in the United States from a patient with fatal urosepsis and belongs to the virulent, CTX-M-15-producing H30-Rx sublineage.

Androgen Receptor-Target Genes In African American Prostate Cancer Disparities, Bi-Dar Wang, Qi Yang, Kristin Ceniccola, Fernando Bianco, Ramez Andrawis, Thomas W. Jarrett, Harold A. Frazier, Steven R. Patierno, Norman H. Lee

Pharmacology and Physiology Faculty Publications

The incidence and mortality rates of prostate cancer (PCa) are higher in African American (AA) compared to Caucasian American (CA) men. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying PCa disparities, we employed an integrative approach combining gene expression profiling and pathway and promoter analyses to investigate differential transcriptomes and deregulated signaling pathways in AA versus CA cancers. A comparison of AA and CA PCa specimens identified 1,188 differentially expressed genes. Interestingly, these transcriptional differences were overrepresented in signaling pathways that converged on the androgen receptor (AR), suggesting that the AR may be a unifying oncogenic theme in AA PCa. Gene promoter …

Self-Care For Native American People With Type 2 Diabetes: A Creative Approach To Enhance Their Well-Being, Manuela Przybyszewska-Wosiek

Theses and Graduate Projects

The development of culturally congruent visual resources on self-care in type 2 diabetes is a culturally appropriate method to provide education to the Native American patients. In particular, the creation of a series of illustrations on foot care is needed. Guided by Leininger's Culture Care Theory and the Sunrise Enabler, materials on foot care are developed through the convergence of emic (generic) and etic (professional) knowledge. Orem's Theory of Self-Care and the Native American perspectives are used to integrate concepts pertaining to self-care. This project supports the enhancement of health literacy as a component of health communication - a goal …

Promotion Of Mental Health Wellness Among Second Generation Immigrants In The Cedar Riverside Neighborhood, Caroline Abenakyo

Theses and Graduate Projects

Effects of the stigma associated with mental health illness among immigrant populations are exacerbated by challenges like language barrier, poverty and low education status. Immigrant children and teenagers are more vulnerable to compromised mental health wellness due to their dependence upon adults and their critical developmental stages. The purpose of this project is to explore the collaborative effort between health care professionals, law enforcement, community leaders and volunteers in the development of a nursing based support group for East African immigrant parents to promote mental health wellness for second generation immigrants in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood. Madeleine Leininger's Theory of …

The Malaika Project, Monicah M. Gikiri

Theses and Graduate Projects

Father involvement has been reported to have a positive relationship with children outcomes. The goal of this project is to empower young fathers by providing a safe home. The Malaika project will provide safe housing for young fathers age l8-21. Providing housing stability could potentially increase the parental involvement of the young father. The project was guided by Watson Theory of Caring and Culture of Safety Theory developed by Irihapeti Merenia Ramsden. This paper provides a guide on how these safe homes will be established. The project will discuss challenges that have been identified such as financing, IRS filings, and …

Employee Satisfaction And Employee Productivity: Finding The Link, Diane Slyman

Theses and Graduate Projects

In this era of economic challenges corporate leadership struggles to do more with less, while maintaining the delicate balance between employee productivity and employee satisfaction. The focus of this research paper is to determine the degree to which employee job satisfaction truly impacts employee productivity. Can it really be as simple as to increase employee satisfaction in order to get them to produce more? The study further examines satisfaction and proiductivity measurements for a department within a healthcare administration department. While a limited sample size, the department's survey results are compared to the literature review relative to top satisfaction drivers …

More Than A Search Engine: Undergraduate Perspectives On Library Instruction, Kristine Vick

Theses and Graduate Projects

Historically, libraries have been repositories of knowledge for scholars. Overtime, libraries have evolved into media centers that include digital access points, instructional spaces, and comfortable gathering places. As school libraries transition to accommodate the 2lst century learner, are educators meeting the needs of the college and career bound students they serve? The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain insight into the information literacy instruction that occurs in high school libraries. Specifically, how effective this instruction was in preparing students for college. This research was conducted with five undergraduates attending college in a variefy of public and private institutions. …

Our Shared Table: The Emerging Future Of Food, Seed And Biodiversity, Marita Bujold

Theses and Graduate Projects

Until recent decades, food was produced entirely by organic methods by farming communities who depended on adapting seeds within specific ecosystems and local ecological knowledge. This traditional approach to agriculture generated a wealth of vital genetically diverse seeds and plants. Since 1960, peasant communities have contributed 1.9 million varieties of plants to the world's seed banks. In today's food economy, one and half billion peasant farmers continue to rely on seed saving, local ecological knowledge and produce 70% of the world's food. The remaining thirty per cent of food produced by the agribusiness approach to farming that emerged in the …

An Ibook For Elementary Students: The Great Wall Of China, Carrie L. Carlson

Theses and Graduate Projects

Digital texts may provide learners with a richer reading and leaming experience as compared with traditional paper texts. Research suggests learners enjoy reading interactive texts and may spend more time with interactive materials. For my Leadership Application Project, I developed an interactive text for third grade students focused on the Great Wall of China and then tested it in several classrooms. I found that students showed a significant increase in content knowledge after using this book. In addition, they were engaging in learning and wanted to spend more time with the material, even when their assigned task was complete. This …

Breast Milk For Preterm Infants: A Nursing Education Program, Lynn Root

Theses and Graduate Projects

The incidence and duration of breast milk feedings for preterm infants, via gavage, bottle and/or breast, is less than that of full-term infants despite scientific-based benefits of breast milk for preterm infants. Maternal-neonatal nurses play a critical role in supporting mothers of preterm infants and promoting breast milk for this population. However, when caring for the mother-preterm dyad, the maternal-neonatal nurse may encounter several barriers in the promotion of breast milk. It has been identified that one of the major barriers to the initiation and maintenance of lactation in mothers of preterm infants is the inconsistent information and lack of …

Community Gardening And The Somali Immigrant Community, Sarah Sanford

Theses and Graduate Projects

Obesity, diabetes, and hypertension are all common diagnoses within the Somali immigrant community in Minneapolis, Minnesota. There is an opportunity for collaboration between graduate nursing sfudents at Augsburg College, which is a small inner-city college, the Health Commons, which is a drop-in health center staffed by nurses, and community members in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood to address improvement in health, food choices, and socialization opporfunities for Somali immigrants. The purpose of this project is to develop relationships with Somali immigrant community members in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, Augsburg College graduate nursing students, University of Minnesota Extension Office dieticians and master gardeners, and …

Support Of The Informal Kinship Care Family, Emily J. Hansen

Theses and Graduate Projects

Most children cannot imagine living without their parents; for some though, because of social instability, substance abuse, or parental neglect, life apart from their parents is the reality. When these children are cared for by a relative or a close family friend without the involvement of a child welfare agency, the family that is created is known as an informal kinship care family. Because of the fluid nature of these families, little is known about them, leaving this group disadvantaged and neglected by the health care community. After a review of the existing literature, observation of informal kinship care families, …

Influenza Vaccination: An Educational Module For Health Care Workers, Lisa A. Hogan

Theses and Graduate Projects

The seasonal influenza virus continues to have a significant impact on the health of hundreds of thousands of individuals in the United States each year, despite the availability of a vaccine shown to be effective at reducing both illness and death. All Health Care Workers (HCWs) at a large Midwestern medical center must make a choice whether to receive the yearly influenza vaccine or not, and approximately 5,000 HCWs chose to decline the vaccine in 20l2. Reasons given for these declinations included fears about vaccine safety and effectiveness, as well as misperceptions about vaccine side effects and the intended recipients. …