Digital Commons Network^™

Flucytosine Pharmacokinetics In A Critically Ill Patient Receiving Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy, Megan E. Kunka, Elizabeth A. Cady, Heejung C. Woo, Melissa L. Thompson Bastin

Pharmacy Practice and Science Faculty Publications

Purpose. A case report evaluating flucytosine dosing in a critically ill patient receiving continuous renal replacement therapy. Summary. This case report outlines an 81-year-old male who was receiving continuous venovenous hemofiltration (CVVH) for acute renal failure and was being treated with flucytosine for the treatment of disseminated Cryptococcus neoformans infection. Due to patient specific factors, flucytosine was empirically dose adjusted approximately 50% lower than intermittent hemodialysis (iHD) recommendations and approximately 33% lower than CRRT recommendations. Peak and trough levels were obtained, which were supratherapeutic, and pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated. The patient experienced thrombocytopenia, likely due to elevated flucytosine …

The Behavioral Response Of Culex Erraticus To Different Snake Odors, Lindsey E. Wells

Honors College Theses

Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) is an arbovirus that can cause fatal infections in humans and horses. Unfortunately, the transmission mechanisms of this virus are still largely unknown. Culex erraticus displays a strong potential for serving as a vector of EEEV because of its indiscriminate feeding pattern and abundance in areas with the highest prevalence of infection. However, Culex erraticus is incapable of over-wintering the virus, yet EEE recurs each spring. Snakes may play an important role in over-wintering the virus, and certain snake species may be infected more frequently than others. This study was conducted to determine if Culex …

Opportunism In Ugandan Ngos: A Randomized Field Experiment, Eric Reuben Smith

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Corruption undermines the effectiveness of international development. The financial integrity of non-governmental organizations (NGO) can be improved by donor-to-organization contact, but foreign donors rarely travel to countries such as Uganda. This project involved a randomized design to compare the size of project bids by NGO management when approached by potential donors (foreigners) or donor representatives (Ugandan citizens). Local donor representatives were more likely to be denied information during an in-person visit than the foreigners visiting NGOs. Otherwise, foreign potential donors were provided with information that was the same as local representatives, except in 6 instances in which bids were substantially …

Isolating And Testing Antibiotic-Producing Bacteria From Marine And Terrestrial Samples From St. Petersburg, Fl, Arianna M. Reybitz

USF St. Petersburg campus Honors Program Theses (Undergraduate)

Many current antibacterial agents on the market are derived from compounds naturally produced by bacteria. This experiment was conducted to isolate and assess possible antibacterial strains, namely Actinomycetes, from 50 mL of marine and terrestrial samples collected from nine locations around the St. Petersburg area. The agar plates were prepared with Jensen’s AMM agar and inoculated with bacterial samples which had been diluted by factor 1:100 and heated. Three plates were initially assigned to a sample to test against three laboratory bacteria by the overlay method. Then isolates were selected and inoculated onto TSA and BHI agar plates to test …

Impact And Reach Of A Peer-Led Health Education Intervention Utilizing Harm Reduction Strategies In An Incarcerated Population, Miranda Leah Sedillo

Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences ETDs

Prisons are high-risk environments for communicable disease transmission. The majority of incarcerated individuals return to their communities, many with untreated disease, creating a need for disease control, prevention and treatment within the prison population. Prisoner Health is Community Health: The New Mexico Peer Education Project (NMPEP) was developed by Project ECHO® (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) to address the epidemic of Hepatitis C transmission in the New Mexico state prison system. NMPEP is a low-cost, peer-led health education intervention aimed to increase knowledge and harm reduction techniques among incarcerated individuals prior to returning to their communities. The model is innovative …

Repurposing Ebselen For Treatment Of Multidrug-Resistant Staphylococcal Infections, Shankar Thangamani, Waleed Younis, Mohamed N. Seleem

Department of Comparative Pathobiology Faculty Publications

Novel antimicrobials and new approaches to developing them are urgently needed. Repurposing already-approved drugs with well-characterized toxicology and pharmacology is a novel way to reduce the time, cost, and risk associated with antibiotic innovation. Ebselen, an organoselenium compound, is known to be clinically safe and has a well-known pharmacology profile. It has shown potent bactericidal activity against multidrug-resistant clinical isolates of staphylococcus aureus, including methicillin- and vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA and VRSA). We demonstrated that ebselen acts through inhibition of protein synthesis and subsequently inhibited toxin production in MRSA. Additionally, ebselen was remarkably active and significantly reduced established staphylococcal …

Risk Factors For Loss To Follow-Up Prior To Art Initiation Among Patients Enrolling In Hiv Care With Cd4+ Cell Count ≥200 Cells/Μl In The Multi-Country Mtct-Plus Initiative, R Charon Gwynn, Ashraf Fawzy, Ida Viho, Yingfeng Wu, Elaine J. Abrams, Denis Nash

Publications and Research

Background In resource-limited settings, many HIV-infected patients are lost to follow-up (LTF) before starting ART; risk factors among those not eligible for ART at enrollment into care are not well described. Methods We examined data from 4,278 adults (3,613 women, 665 men) enrolled in HIV care through March 2007 in the MTCT-Plus Initiative with a CD4 count ≥200 cells/mm3 and WHO stage ≤ 2 at enrollment. Patients were considered LTF if > 12 months elapsed since their last clinic visit. Gender-specific Cox regression models were used to assess LTF risk factors. Results The proportion LTF was 8.2 % at 12 months …

Caspase-8 Scaffolding Function And Mlkl Regulate Nlrp3 Inflammasome Activation Downstream Of Tlr3., Seokwon Kang, Teresa Fernandes-Alnemri, Corey Rogers, Lindsey Mayes, Ying Wang, Christopher Dillon, Linda Roback, William Kaiser, Andrew Oberst, Junji Sagara, Katherine A Fitzgerald, Douglas R Green, Jianke Zhang, Edward S Mocarski, Emad S Alnemri

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty Papers

TLR2 promotes NLRP3 inflammasome activation via an early MyD88-IRAK1-dependent pathway that provides a priming signal (signal 1) necessary for activation of the inflammasome by a second potassium-depleting signal (signal 2). Here we show that TLR3 binding to dsRNA promotes post-translational inflammasome activation through intermediate and late TRIF/RIPK1/FADD-dependent pathways. Both pathways require the scaffolding but not the catalytic function of caspase-8 or RIPK1. Only the late pathway requires kinase competent RIPK3 and MLKL function. Mechanistically, FADD/caspase-8 scaffolding function provides a post-translational signal 1 in the intermediate pathway, whereas in the late pathway it helps the oligomerization of RIPK3, which together with …

Judging Responsibility, Responsible Judging, John C.P. Goldberg

DePaul Law Review

This Article sketches two ways in which Judge Weinstein’s judicial performance raises issues of responsibility. First, it considers how he has deployed responsibility concepts that are central to tort law. Unsurprisingly, it concludes that, in his efforts to do “equity” through mass tort litigation, he has stretched these concepts quite far. This conclusion raises a second set of questions about responsibility—namely, questions about the role responsibilities of federal district court judges. As to these, the Article contends that Judge Weinstein’s tort decisions are consistent with a familiar and plausible account of judicial decision-making. It also notes ways in which he …

Fake Drugs And Iii Government, Joseph S. Dupras

Strategic Informer: Student Publication of the Strategic Intelligence Society

No abstract provided.

Probiotic Therapy For The Prevention Of Recurrent Spontaneous Preterm Birth, Kali O’Dell

Yale School of Medicine Physician Associate Program Theses

Preterm birth is the national leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Nearly 500,000 infants are born prematurely each year in the United States and the annual cost of prematurity averages over $26 billion dollars. Despite multiple interventions to reduce infection related prematurity many spontaneous preterm births remain attributed infection and inflammation. We hypothesize that prevention of infection and inflammation related spontaneous preterm birth is possible through enrichment, stabilization, and normalization of the vaginal microbiome. To test this hypothesis we will perform a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trial of intravaginal Lactobacillus probiotic in women at high-risk for spontaneous preterm birth. …

Working With Passion, Effecting Change In A Context Of Uncertainty, Sandra M. Moore

Center for Social Development Research

This CSD Perspective has been adapted from a commencement address given by Sandra M. Moore on May 14, 2015, before the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University.

Biofilm Accumulation And Immune Response During Experimental Peri-Implant Mucositis., Amy Rosania

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Ganoderma Lucidum Reduces Obesity In Mice By Modulating The Composition Of The Gut Microbiota, Chih-Jung Chang, Chuan-Sheng Lin, Chia-Chen Lu, Jan Martel, Yun-Fei Ko, David M. Ojcius, Shun-Fu Tseng, Tsung-Ru Wu, Yi-Yuan Margaret Chen, John Ding-E. Young, Hsin-Chih Lai

All Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty Articles

Obesity is associated with low-grade chronic inflammation and intestinal dysbiosis. Ganoderma lucidum is a medicinal mushroom used in traditional Chinese medicine with putative anti-diabetic effects. Here, we show that a water extract of Ganoderma lucidum mycelium (WEGL) reduces body weight, inflammation and insulin resistance in mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). Our data indicate that WEGL not only reverses HFD-induced gut dysbiosis—as indicated by the decreased Firmicutes-to-Bacteroidetes ratios and endotoxin-bearing Proteobacteria levels—but also maintains intestinal barrier integrity and reduces metabolic endotoxemia. The anti-obesity and microbiota-modulating effects are transmissible via horizontal faeces transfer from WEGL-treated mice to HFD-fed mice. We further …

A Cysteine Zipper Stabilizes A Pre-Fusion F Glycoprotein Vaccine For Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Guillaume B. E. Stewart-Jones, Paul V. Thomas, Man Chen, Aliaksandr Druz, Gordon M. Joyce, Wing-Pui Kong, Mallika Sastry, Conque Soto, Yongping Yang, Baoshan Zhang, Lei Chen, Gwo-Yu Chuang, Ivelin S. Georgiev, Jason S. Mclellan

Dartmouth Scholarship

Recombinant subunit vaccines should contain minimal non-pathogen motifs to reduce potential off-target reactivity. We recently developed a vaccine antigen against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which comprised the fusion (F) glycoprotein stabilized in its pre-fusion trimeric conformation by “DS-Cav1” mutations and by an appended C-terminal trimerization motif or “foldon” from T4-bacteriophage fibritin. Here we investigate the creation of a cyste- ine zipper to allow for the removal of the phage foldon, while maintaining the immunogenic- ity of the parent DS-Cav1+foldon antigen. Constructs without foldon yielded RSV F monomers, and enzymatic removal of the phage foldon from pre-fusion F trimers resulted in …

Serials Solutions Subject Search Report 2014-2015, Andree Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Statistics on the total number of Serials Solutions subject searches at the University of Rhode Island Libraries by month for 2014-2015. Shows how many times the A-Z full text electronic journal list (at http://zu4tq4pb5v.search.serialssolutions.com/) was browsed by specific subjects.

In Vitro And In Vivo Evaluation Of Infestation Deterrents Against Lice, Kyong-Sup Yoon, Jennifer K. Ketzis, Samuel W. Andrewes, Christopher S. Wu, Kris Honraet, Dorien Staljanssens, Bart Rossel, J Marshall Clark

SIUE Faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

The human head louse is a cosmopolitan ectoparasite and frequently infests many people, particularly school-age children. Due to widespread pyrethroid resistance and the lack of efficient resistance management, there has been a considerable interest in the protection of uninfested people and prevention of reinfestation by disrupting lice transfer. In this study, two nonclinical model systems (in vitro and in vivo) were used to determine the efficacy of the infestation deterrents, Elimax lotion and Elimax shampoo, against human head lice or poultry chewing lice, respectively. With in vitro assessments, female head lice exhibited significantly higher avoidance responses to hair tufts treated …

High Multiple Carriage And Emergence Of Streptococcus Pneumoniae Vaccine Serotype Variants In Malawian Children, Arox W. Kamng'ona, Jason Hinds, Naor Bar-Zeev, Katherine A. Gould, Chrispin Chaguza, Chisomo Msefula, Jennifer E. Cornick, Benard W. Kulohoma, Katherine Gray, Stephen D. Bentley, Neil French, Robert S. Heyderman, Dean B. Everett

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Background: Carriage of either single or multiple pneumococcal serotypes (multiple carriage) is a prerequisite for developing invasive pneumococcal disease. However, despite the reported high rates of pneumococcal carriage in Malawi, no data on carriage of multiple serotypes has been reported previously. Our study provides the first description of the prevalence of multiple pneumococcal carriage in Malawi. Methods: The study was conducted in Blantyre and Karonga districts in Malawi, from 2008 to 2012. We recruited 116 children aged 0-13 years. These children were either HIV-infected (N = 44) or uninfected (N = 72). Nasopharyngeal samples were collected using sterile swabs. Pneumococcal …

Structure-Based Redesign Of Lysostaphin Yields Potent Antistaphylococcal Enzymes That Evade Immune Cell Surveillance, Kristina Blazanovic, Hongliang Zhao, Yoonjoo Choi, Wen Li, Regina S. Salvat, Daniel C. Osipovitch, Jennifer Fields, Leonard Moise, Brett L. Berwin, Steven N. Fiering, Chris Bailey-Kellogg, Karl E. Griswold

Institute for Immunology and Informatics Faculty Publications

Staphylococcus aureus infections exert a tremendous burden on the health-care system, and the threat of drug-resistant strains continues to grow. The bacteriolytic enzyme lysostaphin is a potent antistaphylococcal agent with proven efficacy against both drug-sensitive and drug-resistant strains; however, the enzyme’s own bacterial origins cause undesirable immunogenicity and pose a barrier to clinical translation. Here, we deimmunized lysostaphin using a computationally guided process that optimizes sets of mutations to delete immunogenic T cell epitopes without disrupting protein function. In vitro analyses showed the methods to be both efficient and effective, producing seven different deimmunized designs exhibiting high function and reduced …

New Approach To Women's Hiv Prevention Being Studied In U.S. Teens, Jim Bakken

Browse All News

No abstract provided.

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome: A Global Health Challenge, Lawrence O. Gostin, Daniel Lucey

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Beginning in May 2015, Middle-East respiratory syndrome (MERS) experienced its first publicly reported “super-spreading” event in South Korea. By mid-June, more than 120 cases and 11 deaths in South Korea had been linked to a businessman returning from travel to Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Globally more than 1200 had been infected of whom more than 450 died—a high fatality rate of 37%.

What are the most effective legal, social, and public health responses to MERS and other emerging diseases? First, the World Health Organization’s International Health Regulations (IHR) did not effectively guide the …

Animal Health Matters, Russ Daly, Jane Hennings

Animal Health MATTERS Newsletter

[Page] 1- ADRDL Steps Up in Light of Highly Pathogenic H5N2 Avian Influenza Outbreaks [Page] 2- Director's Message: The SD Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory and Emergency Testing for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza [Page] 3- Pre-Veterinary Students Honored by SDVMA and SDSU Through Stethoscope Ceremony [Page] 4- Clerical Staff Makes Strides in Efficiency and Service [Page] 5- ADRDL Pathologists Team with Veterinarian to Address Cattle Lameness for Livestock Group [Page] 5- Canine Influenza Testing—SDSU ADRDL [Page] 6- ADRDL Hosts Tours for Legislators and State Agency Staff [Page] 6- ADRDL Offers Next Generation Sequencing [Page] 6- ADRDL at the SDVMA …

Ada News - 06/15/2015, American Dental Association, Publishing Division

ADA News

Established in 1970 as the official newspaper of the American Dental Association, the ADA News serves practicing dentists and others allied to the dental profession in the U.S. and internationally. It is the No. 1 source of news and information about the many benefits and services the ADA delivers to members daily as well as timely information on scientific, social, political and economic developments affecting dentistry and health care.

Links Between Anr And Quorum Sensing In Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Biofilms, John H. Hammond, Emily F. Dolben, T. Jarrod Smith, Sabin Bhuju, Deborah Hogan

Dartmouth Scholarship

In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the transcription factor Anr controls the cellular response to low oxygen or anoxia. Anr activity is high in oxygen-limited environments, including biofilms and populations associated with chronic infections, and Anr is necessary for persistence in a model of pulmonary infection. In this study, we characterized the Anr regulon in biofilm-grown cells at 1% oxygen in the laboratory strain PAO1 and in a quorum sensing (QS)-deficient clinical isolate, J215. As expected, transcripts related to denitrification, arginine fermentation, high-affinity cytochrome oxidases, and CupA fimbriae were lower in the Δanr derivatives. In addition, we observed that transcripts associated with quorum …

Medical School Watercooler Newsletter - June 14, 2015, Lindsey Lyle

Watercooler Newsletter

This is the June 14, 2015 edition of the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine's Newsletter - Watercooler.

Contents Include:

Med School Café- 'Celiac Disease: Myths and Facts'

Medical Students to Receive White Coats June 20

Dr. Mark Taylor Awarded NIH Grant

USA Alum Receives MASA Award

Providers' Socioecological Perspectives On The Supports For And Challenges To Engagement In Care For Latino Youth Living With Hiv: A Qualitative Study, Diana Lemos

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

INTRODUCTION: Among youth, marginalized groups, such as Latino YLWH (LYLWH), may face multiple social stigmas, including such concerns as limited English-language proficiency, sexual-minority status, and immigration status that impact engagement across the continuum of HIV care (van Servellen, Chang, & Lombardi, 2002). One necessary step toward increasing understanding of the facilitators and barriers to this group’s engagement in HIV care is to examine engagement in care through a socioecological framework to better understand each of the multiple factors impacting Latino youth’s engagement in HIV care (Bronfenbrenner, 1986; Hosek, Harper, Lemos et al., 2005; Mugavero, Norton & Saag, 2011). Through the …

Skyport: Payload: Medical Cooler For The Skyport Uav, Madison Gee, Hector Lopez, Victor Magaña

Mechanical Engineering Senior Theses

Access to basic healthcare is a major persisting problem around the globe, especially in rural parts of the world. One of the many facets of this problem is access to vaccine treatment. The transportation and storage of vaccines at the proper temperature is an issue that is still being solved and improved upon today. One of the common solutions to this problem is the use of passive coolers such as ice packs and other refrigerants. The potential issue with passive cooling is that the temperature cannot be actively controlled. This is evident, as many vaccines are wasted due to incorrect …

Predicting And Exploring Network Components Involved In Pathogenesis In The Malaria Parasite Via Novel Subnetwork Alignments, Hong Cai, Timothy G. Lilburn, Changjin Hong, Jianying Gu, Rui Kuang, Yufeng Wang

Publications and Research

Background Malaria is a major health threat, affecting over 40% of the world's population. The latest report released by the World Health Organization estimated about 207 million cases of malaria infection, and about 627,000 deaths in 2012 alone. During the past decade, new therapeutic targets have been identified and are at various stages of characterization, thanks to the emerging omics-based technologies. However, the mechanism of malaria pathogenesis remains largely unknown. In this paper, we employ a novel neighborhood subnetwork alignment approach to identify network components that are potentially involved in pathogenesis. Results Our module-based subnetwork alignment approach identified 24 functional …

Sepsis 2015: You Say You Wanted A Revolution, R. Phillip Dellinger, Md, Mccm

Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine Presentations and Grand Rounds

Objectives:

1. Understand current considerations for changing definitions of sepsis
2. Understand what we should do in the early management of sepsis
3. Understand the questions still to be answered in guiding early management of sepsis
4. Know what’s going on in clinical trials in sepsis

Overall Goals and Objectives:

Following this activity, a participant should be able to:

1. Recognize recent advances and developments in Pulmonary Medicine & Critical Care and translate into clinical practice

2. Integrate perspectives of multiple disciplines into decision-making on behalf of patients through structured plans for patient care.

3. Develop areas for future research and discuss appropriate …

Van Wagoner Joins Medical Student Services As Assistant Dean For Students, Dorothy Efird

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No abstract provided.