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Progression Magazine, 2016 Spring, Coastal Carolina University

Progression Magazine

Magazine of the College of Science at Coastal Carolina University.

Application Of Intuitionistic Fuzzy Entropy To Disruption Risk Management In Aerospace Supply Chain, Kuo-Hwa Chang, Chao-Ran Cheng

Applied Mathematics & Information Sciences

This study proposes a multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) model as a hierarchical framework for strategic planning of disruption risk and selection of contiguous solutions. This model is applied to the aerospace industry, which is characterized by low-probability, high-consequence (LP-HC) disruption risk involving flight safety issues, and seeks to provide supply-chain owners a decision framework for minimizing disruption risk in the aerospace supply chain. The study’s findings indicate that application of the intuitionistic fuzzy entropy weight (IFEW) method to aerospace supply chain disruption risk management yields excellent results, and can provide enterprises wishing to establish resilient supply chains important guidelines in the …

Investigation Of The Enviromental Factors Associated With The Temporal Abundance Of Lutzomyia Anthophora On A Ranch Near Poth, Texas, Maha Alshhrany

Theses & Dissertations

Leishmaniasis is caused by infection with protozoan parasites within the genus Leismania transmitted by the bites of female sand flies within the genus Lutzomyia in the New World. This study investigated the seasonal abundance of sand flies and evaluated the correlation of temperature with abundance data. Sand flies were collected at the Garrison ranch near Poth, Texas (28° 57’ 10” N; 98° 7’ 28” W) from May in 2014 through October, 2015. Recorded highest abundance of sand flies in 2014 was in October, 2 females Lu.anthophora and 5 males Lu.anthophora were captured producing 0.58 sand flies /trap night, while, mean …

Proper Technique When Administering Intramuscular Injections, Ashley M. Isaac-Dockery

Nursing Theses and Capstone Projects

The intent of the evidence-based practice project was to implement a policy change requiring licensed nurses employed by a local rural healthcare organization to complete an educational module on correct intramuscular (IM) administration technique. During the 2014 influenza season, injuries were noted to employees who received influenza vaccinations within the healthcare organization. The injuries occurred after licensed nurses employed by the healthcare organization administered the influenza injection incorrectly to other employees. Injuries were noted after the influenza injection was administered too high in the deltoid causing injury to the shoulder joint. A corrective action plan was developed by a doctoral …

A Conserved Dna Repeat Promotes Selection Of A Diverse Repertoire Of Trypanosoma Brucei Surface Antigens From The Genomic Archive., Galadriel Hovel-Miner, Monica R. Mugnier, Benjamin Goldwater, George A. M. Cross, F. Nina Papavasiliou

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

African trypanosomes are mammalian pathogens that must regularly change their protein coat to survive in the host bloodstream. Chronic trypanosome infections are potentiated by their ability to access a deep genomic repertoire of Variant Surface Glycoprotein (VSG) genes and switch from the expression of one VSG to another. Switching VSG expression is largely based in DNA recombination events that result in chromosome translocations between an acceptor site, which houses the actively transcribed VSG, and a donor gene, drawn from an archive of more than 2,000 silent VSGs. One element implicated in these duplicative gene conversion events is a DNA repeat …

A Conserved Dna Repeat Promotes Selection Of A Diverse Repertoire Of Trypanosoma Brucei Surface Antigens From The Genomic Archive., Galadriel Hovel-Miner, Monica R Mugnier, Benjamin Goldwater, George A M Cross, F Nina Papavasiliou

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

African trypanosomes are mammalian pathogens that must regularly change their protein coat to survive in the host bloodstream. Chronic trypanosome infections are potentiated by their ability to access a deep genomic repertoire of Variant Surface Glycoprotein (VSG) genes and switch from the expression of one VSG to another. Switching VSG expression is largely based in DNA recombination events that result in chromosome translocations between an acceptor site, which houses the actively transcribed VSG, and a donor gene, drawn from an archive of more than 2,000 silent VSGs. One element implicated in these duplicative gene conversion events is a DNA repeat …

A Single Exercise Bout Enhances The Manufacture Of Viral-Specific T-Cells From Healthy Donors: Implications For Allogeneic Adoptive Transfer Immunotherapy, Guillaume Spielmann, Catherine Bollard, Hawley Kunz, Patrick J. Hanley, Richard J. Simpson

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infections remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The adoptive transfer of donor-derived viral-specific cytotoxic T-cells (VSTs) is an effective treatment for controlling CMV and EBV infections after HSCT; however, new practical methods are required to augment the ex vivo manufacture of multi-VSTs from healthy donors. This study investigated the effects of a single exercise bout on the ex vivo manufacture of multi-VSTs. PBMCs isolated from healthy CMV/EBV seropositive participants before (PRE) and immediately after (POST) 30-minutes of cycling exercise were stimulated with CMV (pp65 and …

Vol. 7 No. 2, Spring 2016; The Great De-Bait: America, Deer Hunting, And The Camouflage Of Anti/Pro-Baiting Regulations, Cole Deblaey

Northern Illinois Law Review Supplement

Big-game baiting is hunting’s civil war of the soul, a battle of ideas like few the sport has ever seen. Most debates in the hunting community deal with the mechanics of the sport, nuts-and-bolts issues such as season dates, equipment and management strategies of wildlife agencies. This one is different. It questions the heart, soul, and motive of a hunter–and that inflames deep passions. The argument has been waged between brothers in the world’s oldest sport at hunting lodges, wildlife agencies, seats of government, and the ballot box. This Comment canvases and attempts to demystify the camouflage of pro and …

College Of Health Sciences Newsletter, May 2016, Irving B. Harrell (Editor)

Ellmer College of Health Sciences Newsletters

May 2016 issue of Old Dominion University's College of Health Sciences Newsletter.

Gis And Spatial Analysis: Summer Internship With The Center For Health And Global Environment At The Harvard T.H. Chan School Of Public Health, Wensi Hu

Sustainability and Social Justice

The objective of the report is to introduce and discuss my internship at the Center for Health and Global Environment at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in Boston, MA. The internship lasted four months from the middle of May to the middle of September, with 15 hours each week. My tasks included geocoding, developing GIS-calculated variables, data visualization/mapping and documentation. Creation of variables was vital as it included air quality data, land use map, greenness (NDVI), roads data as well as parks data.

I am happy that I have a chance to work under a professional environmental …

Avs Corner, May 2016, Kim Hill, Emily Cook, Hayley Boyd, Jamison Lynch, Johanna Johnson, Alexandra Johnson, April Jeffcoat

AVS Corner

No abstract provided.

Rac1 And Ire1 Are Required To Prevent Early Loss Of Intestinal Homeostasis In Drosophila Melanogaster, Mauricio M. Ortega

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

No abstract available

Characterization Of Bacterial Pathogens Involved In Aerobic Vaginitis: Prevalence, Strain Characterization And Sequelae, Leslie A. Lafferty

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Theses and Dissertations

Aerobic vaginitis (AV) is a more recently defined infection that involves aerobic pathogenic bacteria that replace the normal flora of the vaginal tract. It is commonly mistaken for other vaginal infections, such as bacterial vaginosis (BV), because they share many common symptoms. AV leads to complications during pregnancy, such as premature delivery and amnion infection, and is diagnosed by indications that range from vaginal discharge to inflammation. Because this infection is difficult to diagnose differentially from other vaginal infections, it is important to determine what pathogens are involved in AV so that we may have the ability to detect them. …

Detection Of Respiratory Viruses And Bacteria In Children Using A Twenty-Two Target Reverse-Transcription Real-Time Pcr (Rt-Qpcr) Panel, Chelsey Ellis, Amita Misir, Charles Hui, Mona Jabbour, Nicholas Barrowman, Jonathan Langill, Jennifer Bowes, Robert Slinger

Paediatrics Publications

Background: Rapid detection of the wide range of viruses and bacteria that cause respiratory infection in children is important for patient care and antibiotic stewardship. We therefore designed and evaluated a ready-to-use 22 target respiratory infection reverse-transcription real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) panel to determine if this would improve detection of these agents at our pediatric hospital. Methods: RT-qPCR assays for twenty-two target organisms were dried-down in individual wells of 96 well plates and saved at room temperature. Targets included 18 respiratory viruses and 4 bacteria. After automated nucleic acid extraction of nasopharyngeal aspirate (NPA) samples, rapid qPCR was performed. …

Assessing Next-Generation Sequencing And 4 Bioinformatics Tools For Detection Of Enterovirus D68 And Other Respiratory Viruses In Clinical Samples, Weihua Huang, Guiqing Wang, Henry Lin, Jian Zhuge, Sheila M. Nolan, Eric Vail, Nevenka Dimitrova, John T. Fallon

NYMC Faculty Publications

We used 4 different bioinformatics algorithms to evaluate the application of a metagenomic shot-gun sequencing method in detection of Enterovirus D68 and other respiratory viruses in clinical specimens. Our data supported that next-generation sequencing, combined with improved bioinformatics tools, is practically feasible and useful for clinical diagnosis of viral infections.

Nanofiltration Rejection Of Contaminants Of Emerging Concern From Municipal Water Resource Recovery Facility Secondary Effluents For Potable Reuse Applications, Steven Michael Jones

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As reuse of municipal water resource recovery facility (WRRF) effluent becomes vital to augment diminishing fresh drinking water resources, concern exists that conventional barriers may prove deficient and the upcycling of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) could prove harmful to human health and aquatic species if more effective and robust treatment barriers are not in place.

There are no federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) regulations in place specifically for direct potable reuse (DPR) of WRRF effluent. Out of necessity, some states are developing their own DPR reuse regulations. Currently, reverse osmosis (RO) is the default full advanced treatment (FAT) …

Characterization Of Induced Rnai Silencing Of Vaccinia Virus Essential Genes, Kewa Jiang

University Scholar Projects

Vaccinia virus (VACV) is a large double-stranded DNA virus and the prototypical member of the family Poxviridae and is most notable for its use as the vaccine that eradicated smallpox (variola virus). More recently, VACV has been used to develop recombinant vaccines and immunotherapies. However, many of these processes require VACV replication to be tightly controlled. RNA interference (RNAi) is a powerful tool for in vitro silencing of mRNAs that are complimentary to 19-21 base pairs (bp) of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). This project outlines the design and preliminary analysis of two inducible RNAi silencing constructs targeting multiple VACV essential genes …

Optimization Of Expression And Purification Of The Rig-I-Like-Receptor, Lgp2, Srinath-Reddi Pingle

University Scholar Projects

The innate immune system is one of the first lines of defense against pathogens. RIG-I like receptors (RLRs) are a class of cytosolic receptors that recognize molecular patterns of invading pathogens and signal for downstream interferon induction. The RLR family consists of three proteins, RIG-I, MDA5, and LGP2. MDA5 and LGP2 work together to recognize and bind long viral dsRNA. LGP2 is thought to regulate MDA5 activation, but little is understood about this process. Characterization of the mechanism of action of these receptors requires careful biophysical and biochemical analyses. I have developed expression and purification of methods LGP2 and MDA5 …

Cd4 T Cell-Derived Ifn-Γ Plays A Minimal Role In Control Of Pulmonary Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Infection And Must Be Actively Repressed By Pd-1 To Prevent Lethal Disease, Shunsuke Sakai, Keith D. Kauffman, Michelle A. Sallin, Arlene H. Sharpe, Howard A. Young, Vitaly V. Ganusov, Daniel L. Barber

United States Public Health Resources

IFN-γ–producing CD4 T cells are required for protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection, but the extent to which IFN-γ contributes to overall CD4 T cell-mediated protection remains unclear. Furthermore, it is not known if increasing IFN-γ production by CD4 T cells is desirable in Mtb infection. Here we show that IFN-γ accounts for only ~30% of CD4 T cell-dependent cumulative bacterial control in the lungs over the first six weeks of infection, but >80% of control in the spleen. Moreover, increasing the IFN-γ–producing capacity of CD4 T cells by ~2 fold exacerbates lung infection and leads to the early death …

Development Of Low-Cost Impedimetric Biosensors For Clinical Diagnostics And Water Testing, Andrew Lehron Cobb

All Theses

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that waterborne diseases alone account for over 3.4 million deaths per year. With such a high mortality, the need to provide a fast and accurate means of identifying the cause of the microbial infection is fundamental to the quality of care and paramount to public health. In resource-poor settings a shortage of clinics pose a major problem, as patients are required to travel long distances, many of which cannot afford the return trip to retrieve their test results. Between visits most clinics are limited to microscopic analyses, telehistology, or media-based metabolic tests, which can …

Identifying Gaps For Research Prioritisation: Global Burden Of External Causes Of Injury As Reflected In The Cochrane Database Of Systematic Reviews., C Karimkhani, R Trikha, B Aksut, T Jones, Ln Boyers, M Schlichte, H Pederson, T Okland, C Diguiseppi, M Nasser, M Naghavi, T Vos, Sl Yoong, L Wolfenden, Cj Murray, Rp Dellavalle

More Faculty of Health Research

Burden of disease should impact research prioritisation.To analyse the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) and determine whether systematic reviews and protocols accurately represent disease burden, as measured by disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2010 Study.Two investigators collected GBD disability metrics for 12 external causes of injury in the GBD 2010 Study. These external causes were then assessed for systematic review and protocol representation in CDSR. Data was collected during the month of April 2015. There were no study participants aside from the researchers. Percentage of total 2010 DALYs, 2010 DALY rank, and median …

Improving Reliability Of Medical Device Tracking Using Unique Device Identification, John A. Bonfanti

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The term “disruptive innovation” has been the buzzword of industries looking to create technological advancements in their respective fields ever since the term was first coined in 1995. In order to invest in the future of the industry, companies are beginning to focus on new, innovative ideas that come into the market as a low-cost alternative to the sustaining innovations currently in place. Similar business-models can be seen in the healthcare industry, as physicians look to disruptive innovations to provide methods of diagnosis and treatment that are easier to perform and maintain. Companies, from medical device manufacturers to the hospitals …

Aging American Prisons: Length Of Stay, Dying Behind Bars, And Implications For Public Health, Stephanie G. Barger

Sociology and Criminology Undergraduate Honors Theses

One notable consequence of mass incarceration is the growing population of elderly prison inmates in the U.S. This growth raises questions concerning the causes and implications of such a change, as housing older prisoners places a financial strain on state and federal correctional systems. Because this added cost is largely a result of medical needs, the growing elderly inmate population has raised questions about the impact of incarceration on health. This study investigates the causes of this “graying” of American prisons and its potential effects on correctional and community health. Using National Corrections Reporting Program data from 1990 to 2009, …

Environmental Vegetation : A Possible Association With Cardiovascular Disease Risk., Ray Anthony Yeager Ii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The built environment affects numerous aspects of human health and wellbeing, including risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in both the U.S. and worldwide. The amount and quality of environmental vegetation, is an important aspect of the built environment that affects known CVD risk factors, including psychosocial stress, health behaviors, and exposure to air pollutants. Nevertheless, little evidence on the role of potential mechanisms and geographic scale in these relationships exists. Of previous studies that describe associations between vegetation and CVD outcomes, limited investigation has been performed to assess these observed relationships in differing …

Modification Of T9ss Cargo Proteins Of Porphyromonas Gingivalis For Their Secretion In Soluble Form And Purification By Affinity Chromatography., Apoorv Goel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Porphyromonas gingivalis, a keystone-pathogen associated with periodontitis, utilizes the Type IX Secretion System (T9SS) to secrete proteins bearing the conserved C-terminal domain (CTD), many of which are essential virulence factors. These include, besides gingipains and PPAD, 29 other proteins. During or after the outer membrane translocation the CTD is cleaved off and a glycan moiety is covalently attached anchoring the secreted proteins at the bacterial cell surface. Objective: Most of the CTD bearing proteins have only hypothetical functions assigned. It is plausible that these CTD bearing proteins may also play a crucial role in P. gingivalis pathogenesis. Therefore, …

Tobacco-Gene Activity Profile In Porphyromonas Gingivalis, Filifactor Alocis And Treponema Denticola., Neelima Chowdary Cherukumalli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Smoking is an established risk factor for periodontitis. Prior studies have shown that cigarette smoke extract (CSE) can induce profound phenotypic changes in Porphyromonas gingivalis and alters the virulence of this important periodontal pathogen. We hypothesized that CSE might also alter gene expression in established periodontal pathogens, Porphyromonas gingivalis and Treponema denticola, as well as in the emerging pathogen, Filifactor alocis. Oral bacteria were grown in CSE-conditioned medium (1000 ng/ml nicotine equivalents) or in unconditioned control medium. Total RNA was extracted and CSE-regulated genes were identified by comparison of the mRNA profiles of CSE with control cultures using RNA-Seq …

Microbiota Activated Cd103+ Dcs Stemming From Oral Microbiota Adaptation Specifically Drive Γδt17 Proliferation And Activation., Christopher Jay Fleming

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

IL-17 producing γδ T cells (γδT17) promote numerous autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis and arthritis, as well as, cancers of the colon, lung and breasts. Yet γδT17 peripheral regulation has yet to be thoroughly explored. In mice deficient in IL-17 signaling, we observed expansion of γδT17 in all major tissues. However, γδT17 expansion was not uniformly distributed systemically and was most prominent in oral draining cervical lymph nodes (LNs) with monoclonal expansion of Vγ6 γδT17. In vitro proliferation assays of these cervical LNs showed endogenous proliferation by γδT17 dependent on cell-to-cell contact with CD103⁺ DCs. CD86⁺ and CD80 …

Porphyromonas Gingivalis Gingipains Induce A Pro-Inflammatory Extracellular Microenvironment : The Role Of Par-2 And Fibronectin., Jeffrey S. Marschall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease that is characterized by severe tissue destruction of the gingiva and other tooth supporting structures; if left untreated, tooth loss and disintegration of the alveolar bone occurs. This chronic inflammatory state has been linked to other systemic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and Alzheimer’s disease. Porphyromonas gingivalis is the major pathogenic microbe in periodontitis. The main virulence factors of P. gingivalis are the Arg-aa and Lys-aa gingipains, which are proteolytic enzymes implicated in a plethora of activities that allow P. gingivalis to subvert the human immune system in the oral cavity …

Characterization Of The Role Of The Burkholderia Pseudomallei Type 3 Secretion System Using In Vivo Imaging., Maria Gabriela Gutierrez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Melioidosis is a fatal infectious disease caused by the Tier 1 Select Agent Burkholderia pseudomallei. Hallmarks of melioidosis include pneumonic disease and prominent septicaemic spread. Both forms of disease are contingent upon the bacterium’s intracellular life cycle and particularly on its ability to escape from host cell phagosomes. Upon encountering a host cell, B. pseudomallei is internalized into membrane-bound vacuoles from which the bacterium must rapidly escape to the cytoplasm in order to replicate and promote its survival. In the host cytoplasm, B. pseudomallei is capable of polymerizing actin for intracellular and intercellular motility and spread, lysing the host …

Affective Cultural Practice: Imagining Queer Feminism In The Riot Grrrl Movement, Kate Siegfried

Dissertations - ALL

Turning toward affective and emotional manifestations of resistance, this project engages Riot Grrrl cultural production including zines, flyers, lyrics, and performances. Positioning these artifacts and enactments as a specifically queer feminist praxis, I hone in on grrrl relationality and collectivity as the embodied space where political imaginings are carried out. After first establishing the Riot Grrrl movement as a primarily affectively configured movement, I focus specifically on the mobilization of anger and intimacy within the movement. First, I position anger as an emotion that enables a queering of patriarchal protection culture that the grrrls mobilize to subvert cultural logics of …