Digital Commons Network^™

Decreasing Central Line Complications With A Dedicated Team Approach, Donna Degennaro

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Central-line catheters save lives, but they can also bring about complications, such as hospital-acquired infections. The Institute of Healthcare Improvement has collected data indicating that using proper insertion techniques and maintenance care, known as "the bundle," can prevent bloodstream infections associated with central lines. Progress has been made toward that end: The bundle has been used in intensive care units in a variety of hospitals and reportable central-line infections have decreased by 38%. However, because infections continue to occur inside and outside intensive care units, more needs to be done to protect all patients from these deadly infections. The purpose …

A New Regulatory Framework For Low-Impact/High-Value Aquaculture In Nova Scotia, Meinhard Doelle, William Lahey

Reports & Public Policy Documents

The report is the result of a detailed assessment of aquaculture regulations in Nova Scotia. It proposes a new regulatory framework for the Nova Scotia aquaculture industry based on the principles of effectiveness, openness, transparency, accountability, proportionality, integration, and precaution. The report is based on a 18 months independent review of the industry and how it is regulated, as well as various forms of engagement with the public and key stakeholders. The report draws on regulatory practice in key jurisdictions around the world, including Scotland, Chile, the US, and other provinces in Canada.

Student Handbook: Van D. And Barbara B. Fishback Honors College, Van D. And Barbara B. Fishback Honors College

Honors College Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

Epidemiology Of Pneumococcal Disease In A National Cohort Of Older Adults, Haley J. Morrill, Aisling R. Caffrey, Eunsun Noh, Kerry L. Laplante

Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Introduction: Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. We sought to describe the epidemiology of non-invasive and invasive pneumococcal disease in a national Veterans Affairs population.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study in older patients (aged ≥50 years) with positive pneumococcal cultures from any site within the United States between 2002 and 2011. We described outpatient and inpatient pneumococcal disease incidence per 100,000 clinic visits/hospitalizations. Repeat cultures within a 30-day period were considered to represent the same episode. To describe the epidemiology of serious pneumococcal infections (bacteremia, meningitis, pneumonia), we assessed demographics, clinical characteristics, and risk factors …

Worth The Weight: Using Inverse Probability Weighted Cox Models In Aids Research, Ashley L. Buchanan, G. Hudgens, Stephen R. Cole, Bryan Lau, Adaora A. Adimora

Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Survival analysis methods such as Cox regression can be used in infectious disease research to compare the timing of clinical events between treatment or exposure groups. Randomized clinical trials are the gold standard for estimating the effect of a treatment or exposure on a survival time endpoint. However, clinical trials are not always ethical or feasible. In that case, inference about the effect of interest might be attempted using data from observational studies. Unfortunately, observational studies may be riddled with confounding which can cast doubt on the validity of the results. In this tutorial, we demonstrate how inverse probability weighted …

Urgent Global Opportunities To Prevent Birth Defects., Robert L. Brent Dr.

The Selected Works of Robert Brent

No abstract provided.

Equitable Written Assessments For English Language Learners: How Scaffolding Helps, Marcelle A. Siegel, Deepika Menon, Somnath Sinha, Nattida Promyod, Cathy Wissehr, Kristy L. Halvorson

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

This study investigated the effects of the use of scaffolds in written classroom assessments through the voices of both native English speakers and English language learners from two middle schools. Students responded to assessment tasks in writing, by speaking aloud using think aloud protocols, and by reflecting in a post-assessment interview. The classroom assessment tasks were designed to engage students in scientific sense making and multifaceted language use, as recommended by the Next Generation Science Standards. Data analyses showed that both groups benefited from the use of scaffolds. The findings revealed specific ways that modifications were supportive in helping students …

The Daily Gamecock, Friday, October 17, 2014, University Of South Carolina, Office Of Student Media

October

No abstract provided.

The Effects That Liquid And Solid Cattle Manure Have On The Water Quality Of Drainage Ditches In Putnam County, Ohio, Janelle Horstman

Honors Projects

Lake Erie has experienced harmful algal blooms with increased frequency since the mid-1990s due to excess nutrients from Rivers, such as the Maumee River, and largely agricultural watersheds. Nonpoint source pollution from agriculture contributes to eutrophication, algal blooms, and the degradation of water quality. This creates stress on aquatic fauna, reduced aesthetic quality, odor, and limits of the water for usage of drinking, recreation, and industry. This research paper asks what the contributions of having access to manure application records, soil records, and information about antibiotics have on what is known about manure management and antibiotic resistance, which has been …

Refusal To Autopsy: A Societal Practice In Pakistan Context, Laila Akber Cassum

School of Nursing & Midwifery

Autopsies or post-mortem examinations have become a common practice in Western medicine for verifying the cause of death, and to obtain additional scientific information on certain diseases. In monotheistic religions autopsies present several ethical questions even though the advantages attributed to post-mortems in the West are well acknowledged by people living in this modern world. In Islamic Republic of Pakistan where Islam is the prevailing religion followed by the Muslims, Pakistani society have diverse perception, assumptions and hypothesis on the concept of autopsy. This presumption is due to presence of diverse objections raised in religious and sociocultural context. In our …

Interactions Of Neuropathogenic Escherichia Coli K1 (Rs218) And Its Derivatives Lacking Genomic Islands With Phagocytic Acanthamoeba Castellanii And Nonphagocytic Brain Endothelial Cells, Farzana Abubakar Yousuf, Zuhair Yousuf, Junaid Iqbal, Ruqaiyyah Siddiqui, Hafsa Khan, Naveed Ahmed Khan

Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences

Here we determined the role of various genomic islands in E. coli K1 interactions with phagocytic A. castellanii and nonphagocytic brain microvascular endothelial cells. The findings revealed that the genomic islands deletion mutants of RS218 related to toxins (peptide toxin, alpha -hemolysin), adhesins (P fimbriae, F17-like fimbriae, nonfimbrial adhesins, Hek, and hemagglutinin), protein secretion system (T1SS for hemolysin), invasins (IbeA, CNF1), metabolism (D-serine catabolism, dihydroxyacetone, glycerol, and glyoxylate metabolism) showed reduced interactions with both A. castellanii and brain microvascular endothelial cells. Interestingly, the deletion of RS218-derived genomic island 21 containing adhesins (P fimbriae, F17-like fimbriae, nonfimbrial adhesins, Hek, and hemagglutinin), …

The Genetics Of Conservation Translocations: A Comparison Of North American Golden Eagles (Aquila Chrysaetos Canadensis) And Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus Leucocephalus), Maria Wheeler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the past half-century, two raptors with similar life histories, bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos canadensis) were the subjects of either broad-scale reintroduction or translocation projects in North America. These two different conservation approaches provided the framework for a retrospective natural experiment. The goal of my research was to determine the effects of these two conservation management approaches on the genetic population structure of each species. Methods included sequencing cyt b mtDNA and genotyping 10 microsatellite loci for contemporary and historic golden eagles and bald eagles. Contemporary samples were collected from captive and wild birds, and …

A Feasibility Study Of Motivational Interviewing For Health Risk Behaviors Among Thai Youth Living With Hiv, Chokechai Rongkavilit, Sylvie Naar-King, Juline Koken, Torsak Bunupuradah, Xinguang Chen, Pichai Saengcharnchai, Apirudee Panthong, Jeffrey T. Parsons

Publications and Research

Thailand is among the few less-developed countries with successful HIV prevention among segments of the population (National AIDS Prevention and Alleviation Committee, 2010). However, the success of HIV prevention among Thai adolescents and young adults has been questionable. The highest percentage of Thai persons with AIDS remain in the age group of 25–34 years, indicating that the time of greatest HIV acquisition has occurred in adolescence and young adulthood (Thai Working Group on HIV/AIDS, 2010). Most Thai youth living with HIV (TYLH) acquire HIV through sexual contact (National AIDS Prevention and Alleviation Committee, 2010). In a study of TYLH, only …

Novel Management Methods: Immunocontraception And Other Fertility Control Tools, Giovanna Massei, Dave Cowan, Douglas C. Eckery

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Impacts of overabundant ungulate populations on human activities and conservation include crop and forestry losses, collisions with vehicles, disease transmission, nuisance behaviour, damage to infrastructures, predation on livestock and native species, and reduction of biodiversity in plant and animal communities (e.g. Curtis et ai., 2002; Massei et al., 2011; Reimoser and Putman, 2011; Ferroglio et ai., 2011; Langbein et al., 2011). Current trends in human population growth and landscape development indicate that human-ungulate conflicts in Europe, as well as in the United States, are likely to increase in parallel with increased expansion in numbers and range of many of these …

Improving Pandemic Influenza Risk Assessment, Colin A. Russell, Peter M. Kasson, Ruben O. Donis, Steven Riley, John Dunbar, Andrew Rambaut, Jason Asher, Stephen Burke, C. Todd Davis, Rebecca J. Garten, Sandrasegaram Gnanakaran, Simon I. Hay, Sander Herfst, Nicola S. Lewis, James O. Lloyd-Smith, Catherine A. Macken, Sebastian Maurer-Stroh, Elizabeth Neuhaus, Colin R. Parrish, Kim M. Pepin, Samuel S. Shepard, David L. Smith, David L. Suarez, Susan C. Trock, Marc-Alain Widdowson, Dylan B. George, Marc Lipsitch, Jesse D. Bloom

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Assessing the pandemic risk posed by specific non-human influenza A viruses is an important goal in public health research. As influenza virus genome sequencing becomes cheaper, faster, and more readily available, the ability to predict pandemic potential from sequence data could transform pandemic influenza risk assessment capabilities. However, the complexities of the relationships between virus genotype and phenotype make such predictions extremely difficult. The integration of experimental work, computational tool development, and analysis of evolutionary pathways, together with refinements to influenza surveillance, has the potential to transform our ability to assess the risks posed to humans by non-human influenza viruses …

Evolution Of Puma Lentivirus In Bobcats (Lynx Rufus) And Mountain Lions (Puma Concolor) In North America, Justin S. Lee, Sarah N. Bevins, Laurel E. K. Serleys, Winston Vickers, Ken A. Logan, Mat Aldredge, Erin E. Boydston, Lisa M. Lyren, Roy Mcbride, Melody Roelke-Parker, Jill Pecon-Slattery, Jennifer L. Troyer, Seth P. Riley, Walter M. Boyce, Kevin R. Crooks, Sue Vandewoude

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Mountain lions (Puma concolor) throughout North and South America are infected with puma lentivirus clade B (PLVB). A second, highly divergent lentiviral clade, PLVA, infects mountain lions in southern California and Florida. Bobcats (Lynx rufus) in these two geographic regions are also infected with PLVA, and to date, this is the only strain of lentivirus identified in bobcats. We sequenced full-length PLV genomes in order to characterize the molecular evolution of PLV in bobcats and mountain lions. Low sequence homology (88% average pairwise identity) and frequent recombination (1 recombination breakpoint per 3 isolates analyzed) were observed …

Short Report: Antibody Prevalence Of Select Arboviruses In Mute Swans (Cygnus Olor) In The Great Lakes Region And Atlantic Coast Of The United States, Kerri Pedersen, David R. Marks, Dustin M. Arsnoe, Sarah N. Bevins, Eryu Wang, Scott C. Weaver, Randall M. Mickley, Thomas J. Deliberto

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Mute swans (Cygnus olor) are an invasive species in the United States. The dramatic increase in their populations in localized areas has led to various problems, among them competition with native species and attacks on humans by aggressive swans. However, very little is known about the ability of these swans to transmit pathogens to humans, domestic birds, or wildlife or participate in enzootic maintenance. To learn more about select pathogens that mute swans may harbor, a survey was conducted from April of 2011 to August of 2012 in the Great Lakes region and localized areas of the Atlantic …

Right Place, Wrong Species: A 20-Year Review Of Rabies Virus Cross Species Transmission Among Terrestrial Mammals In The United States, Ryan M. Wallace, Amy T. Gilbert, Dennis Slate, Richard Chipman, Amber Singh, Cassie Wedd, Jesse D. Blanton

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Introduction: In the continental US, four terrestrial mammalian species are reservoirs for seven antigenic rabies virus variants. Cross species transmission (CST) occurs when a rabies virus variant causes disease in non-reservoir species.

Methods: This study analyzed national surveillance data for rabies in terrestrial mammals. The CST rate was defined as: number of rabid non-reservoir animals/number of rabid reservoir animals. CST rates were analyzed for trend. Clusters of high CST rate counties were evaluated using space-time scanning statistics.

Results: The number of counties reporting a raccoon variant CST rate >1.0 increased from 75 in 1992 to 187 in 2011; counties with …

Avian Paramyxovirus Serotype 1 (Newcastle Disease Virus), Avian Influenza Virus, And Salmonella Spp. In Mute Swans (Cygnus Olor) In The Great Lakes Region And Atlantic Coast Of The United States, Kerri Pedersen, David R. Marks, Dustin M. Arsnoe, Claudio L. Afonso, Sarah N. Bevins, Patti J. Miller, Adam R. Randall, Thomas J. Deliberto

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Since their introduction to the United States in the late 19th century, mute swans (Cygnus olor) have become a nuisance species by causing damage to aquatic habitats, acting aggressively toward humans, competing with native waterfowl, and potentially transmitting or serving as a reservoir of infectious diseases to humans and poultry. In an effort to investigate their potential role as a disease reservoir and to establish avian health baselines for pathogens that threaten agricultural species or human health, we collected samples from 858 mute swans and tested them for avian paramyxovirus serotype 1 (APMV-1), avian influenza virus (AIV), and Salmonella spp. …

Etsu Pharmacy Professor Named To Editorial Board Of Scholarly Journal, Bill Gatton College Of Pharmacy, East Tennessee State University, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY Dr. Sam Harirforoosh, an associate professor in East Tennessee State Universitys Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy, has been selected to serve on the editorial board of a scholarly journal.

Clinical Pharmacokinetics, published by Springer Healthcare, is noted as the major review journal in the area of clinical pharmacokinetics and promotes the continuing development of clinical pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics for the improvement of drug therapy and aims to advance postgraduate education in clinical pharmacology and therapeutics.

Harirforoosh, who teaches in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, is also a member of ETSUs Center of Excellence for Inflammation, Infectious Disease …

Sex, Science, And The Age Of Anxiety, Linda C. Fentiman

Nebraska Law Review

This Article examines the question of whether the HPV vaccine should be mandated (for girls and/or boys) in the context of declining rates of childhood immunization and the potential threat to public health that this decline poses.20 The Article addresses two interconnected legal issues: first, whether mandating vaccines to prevent the spread of disease is constitutional under substantive due process and equal protection principles, and second, whether parents should be permitted to “opt out” of mandatory vaccination on their children’s behalf, either for all vaccines or those which prevent particular diseases. The Article addresses these issues in the context of …

Geographic Analysis Of West Nile Virus In The Upper Minnesota River Valley: A Gis And Multi-Temporal Remote Sensing Approach, Matthew Moore

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Throughout human evolution civilizations have been faced with implications from infectious diseases caused by various environmental factors. This connection was recognized as far back as the 5th century by Hippocrates and since several key advances have been realized and will be addressed in this an environmental and physical geography of disease. Arthropod or vector-borne viruses are among the most common pathogens introduced into the modern human population. West Nile Virus is considered endemic in most parts of the world and appeared in the United States in 1999 with 62 confirmed cases in an urban New York location. Since its first …

Uk Ag Equine Programs 2014 Calendar: A 12-Month Planning Calendar For The Care And Use Of Your Horses, Jason R. Philips, Glenn Mackie, Don Sorrell, Nicholas L. Carter, Paula A. Jerrell, Brian Newman, Daniel O. Wilson, Christopher Jeffcoat, Karen Douglas, Katheryn Cerny, Fernanda Camargo, Robert Coleman, Essie Rodgers, Jim Smith

Agriculture and Natural Resources Publications

The information in this calendar is provided to aid owners in planning for the care and use of their horses. When necessary, information is discussed in the month prior to application to allow horse owners adequate time to plan for activities such as weed control, soil testing, and vaccinations.

Contact your local veterinarian for health-related issues and your county extension agent for further information. Phone numbers are listed at the end of the calendar.

Densovirus Associated With Sea-Star Wasting Disease And Mass Mortality, Ian Hewson, Jason Button, Brent Gudenkauf, Benjamin Miner, Alisa Newton, Mya Breitbart, Elizabeth Fahsbender, Kevin Lafferty

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Sea stars inhabiting the Northeast Pacific Coast have recently experienced an extensive outbreak of wasting disease, leading to their degradation and disappearance from many coastal areas. In this paper, we present evidence that the cause of the disease is transmissible from disease-affected animals to apparently healthy individuals, that the disease-causing agent is a virus-sized microorganism, and that the best candidate viral taxon, the sea star-associated densovirus (SSaDV), is in greater abundance in diseased than in healthy sea stars.

Global Analysis Of Chlorella Variabilis Nc64a Mrna Profiles During The Early Phase Of Paramecium Bursaria Chlorella Virus-1 Infection, Janet M. Rowe, Adrien Jeanniard, James R. Gurnon, Yuannan Xia, David D. Dunigan, James L. Van Etten, Guillaume Blanc

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

The PBCV-1/Chlorella variabilis NC64A system is a model for studies on interactions between viruses and algae. Here we present the first global analyses of algal host transcripts during the early stages of infection, prior to virus replication. During the course of the experiment stretching over 1 hour, about a third of the host genes displayed significant changes in normalized mRNA abundance that either increased or decreased compared to uninfected levels. The population of genes with significant transcriptional changes gradually increased until stabilizing at 40 minutes post infection. Functional categories including cytoplasmic ribosomal proteins, jasmonic acid biosynthesis and anaphase promoting …

Dynamic Attachment Of Chlorovirus Pbcv-1 To Chlorella Variabilis, Irina Agarkova, Brigitte Hertel, Xinzheng Zhang, Les Lane, Alexander Tchourbanov, David D. Dunigan, Gerhard Thiel, Michael G. Rossmann, James L. Van Etten

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Chloroviruses infect their hosts by specifically binding to and degrading the cell wall of their algal hosts at the site of attachment, using an intrinsic digesting enzyme(s). Chlorovirus PBCV-1 stored as a lysate survived longer than virus alone, suggesting virus attachment to cellular debris may be reversible. Ghost cells (algal cells extracted with methanol) were used as a model to study reversibility of PBCV-1 attachment because ghost cells are as susceptible to attachment and wall digestion as are live cells. Reversibility of attachment to ghost cells was examined by releasing attached virions with a cell wall degrading enzyme extract. The …

Genetic Variation And Possible Mechanisms Driving The Evolution Of Worldwide Fig Mosaic Virus Isolates, Jeewan Jyot Walia, Anouk Willemsen, Eminur Elci, Kadriye Caglayan, Bryce W. Falk, Luis Rubio

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Fig mosaic virus (FMV) is a multipartite negative-sense RNA virus infecting fig trees worldwide. FMV is transmitted by vegetative propagation and grafting of plant materials, and by the eriophyid mite Aceria ficus. In this work, the genetic variation and evolutionary mechanisms shaping FMV populations were characterized. Nucleotide sequences from four genomic regions (each within the genomic RNAs 1, 2, 3, and 4) from FMV isolates from different countries were determined and analyzed. FMV genetic variation was low, as is seen for many other plant viruses. Phylogenetic analysis showed some geographically distant FMV isolates which clustered together, suggesting long-distance migration. …

Risk Factors For Early Childhood Infection Of Human Herpesvirus-8 In Zambian Children: The Role Of Early Childhood Feeding Practices, Kay L. Crabtree, Janet M. Wojcicki, Veenu Minhas, David R. Smith, Chipepo Kankasa, Charles D. Mitchell, Charles Wood

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Background—Human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) infection in early childhood is common throughout sub-Saharan Africa with prevalence increasing throughout childhood. Specific routes of transmission have not been clearly delineated, though HHV-8 is present in high concentrations in saliva.

Methods—To understand the horizontal transmission of HHV-8 within households to children we enrolled for cross-sectional analysis, 251 households including 254 children, age two and under, in Lusaka, Zambia. For all children, plasma was screened for HHV-8 and HIV-1 and health and behavioral questionnaires were completed. Multi-level logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess independent factors for HHV-8 infection in children.

Results—Risk factors for HHV-8 infection …

Turnip Crinkle Virus Coat Protein Inhibits The Basal Immune Response To Virus Invasion In Arabidopsis By Binding To The Nac Transcription Factor Tip, Teresa Donze, Feng Qu, Paul Twigg, T. Jack Morris

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Turnip crinkle virus (TCV) has been shown to interact with a NAC transcription factor, TIP, of Arabidopsis thaliana, via its coat protein (CP). This interaction correlates with the resistance response manifested in TCV-resistant Arabidopsis ecotype Di-17. We report that failure of a mutated CP to interact with TIP triggered the corresponding TCV mutant (R6A) to cause more severe symptoms in the TCV-susceptible ecotype Col-0. We hypothesized that TCV regulates antiviral basal immunity through TIP-CP interaction. Consistent with this hypothesis, we found that the rate of accumulation of R6A was measurably slower than wild-type TCV over the course of an …

Time To Competitive Exclusion, Andrew M. Kramer, John M. Drake

Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

A predictive theory of population extinction for natural populations requires integrating the effects of stochasticity with the interactions engaged in with populations of other species. The theory of competitive exclusion predicts that inferior competitors for a limiting resource will be driven to extinction, but the effects of resource competition on time to extinction have not been examined. We studied a stochastic version of Tilman's resource competition model to examine two species competition-driven extinction. Simulations showed that competitive imbalance, population size and demographic rates of the “inferior” competitor were the most important determinants of mean extinction time, while factors including resource …