Digital Commons Network^™

Contribution Of Murine Igg Fc Regions To Antibody Binding To The Capsule OfBurkholderia Pseudomallei, Michael J. Dillon, Rachael A. Loban, Dana E. Reed, Peter Thorkildson, Kathryn J. Pflughoeft, Sujata G. Pandit, Paul J. Brett, Mary N. Burtnick, David P. Aucoin

Peninsula Medical School

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Ivermectin On Brugia Malayi Females In Vitro: A Transcriptomic Approach, Cristina Ballesteros, Lucienne Tritten, Maeghan O'Neill, Erica Burkman, Weam I. Zaky, Jianguo Xia, Andrew Moorhead, Steven A. Williams, Timothy G. Geary

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis are tropical diseases caused by infections with parasitic nematodes. Resulting chronic diseases can be strongly blinding and disfiguring, and contribute to an entrenched cycle of poverty in affected populations. Ivermectin is one of the pivotal drugs used to control these infections. The mechanism of antifilarial action of the drug is incompletely resolved. It kills circulating larval stages (microfilariae), but only reversibly sterilizes adult worms without killing them. Our limited understanding of the involved mechanisms hampers treatment optimization and sustainability of the efficacy of the drug, and investigations into its pharmacology are of paramount importance. Working with …

Building From The Hiv Response Toward Universal Health Coverage, Jonathon Jay, Kent Buse, Marielle Hart, Robert Marten, Scott Kellerman, Morolake Odetoyinbo, Jonathan D. Quick, Timothy Evans, Peter Piot, Mark Dybul, Agnes Binagwaho

Dartmouth Scholarship

Universal health coverage (UHC) has gained prominence as a global health priority. The UHC movement aims to increase access to quality, needed health services while reducing financial hardship from health spending, particularly in low- and middle- income countries.
As a policy agenda, UHC has been identified primarily with prepayment and risk-pool- ing programs. While financing policies provide important benefits, increasing access to health services will require broader reforms.
For lessons, the UHC movement should look to the global HIV response, which has confronted many of the same barriers to access in weak health systems. Considerable success on HIV has resulted …

Abstracts From The 22nd Annual Health Care Systems Research Network Conference, April 13–16, 2016, Atlanta, Georgia

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

This proceedings supplement includes selected abstracts presented at the 22nd annual conference of the Health Care Systems Research Network (HCSRN), held April 13–16, 2016, in Atlanta, Georgia. The HCSRN connects the resources and capabilities of research departments from its member health care systems. Collectively, the organization represents more than 1,900 scientists and research staff from an array of disciplines such as epidemiology, economics, disparities, outcomes and quality assessment, trials and genomics.

State Space Analysis Of Dominant Structures In Dynamic Social Systems, Jeremy B. Sato

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Many systems involving human relationships are modeled as dynamic systems, as diverse as urban population growth, diffusion of innovations, spread of viruses, and supply chain management. A fundamental assumption is that these systems contain variables which accumulate and deplete over time (people, innovation adoptions, infections, and orders), and whose dynamics are determined by societal rules and human decision making processes. These assumptions allow the system to be formally expressed by ordinary differential equations which are often nonlinear and contain multiple state variables and feedback loops. Analytical methods have been developed to identify the dominant feedback loops which primarily influence the …

Utilization Of Cholera Toxin B As An Adjuvant For The Subunit Pspa Vaccine, Provides Effective Protection Against Streptococcus Pneumoniae Challenge, Daniel R. Pinho

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a prevalent human pathogen associated with pneumonia. It is estimated that approximately 1 million people around the world die each year, specifically with young children and the elderly comprising a significant portion. Currently, antibiotics can treat the infection but individuals such as the young or elderly are more susceptible to bodily damage from symptoms, such as pneumonia, meningitis, and sepsis, thus require more preventive measures. As a result, vaccinations are a key solution to providing effective protection against infectious pathogens. Presently, two vaccinations exist in the market: PPSV₂₃ and PCV₁₃, which only protect against …

Functions For Murine Norovirus Protein Ns1/2 In Mice And Cells, Broc Taylor Mccune

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Noroviruses are a leading cause of epidemic gastroenteritis and a major health burden worldwide. One source for outbreaks is individuals who shed virus asymptomatically and persistently. Viral persistence is a successful strategy for viruses to spread, but the mechanisms and consequences of norovirus persistent infection are unknown. In this dissertation, we sought to determine the norovirus determinant(s) of persistence and explore the functions of the associated viral molecules.To determine the viral determinants of persistent infection and tropism, we used the murine norovirus model system in mice. Using plasmid infectious clones for persistent strain CR6 and non-persistent strain CW3, we mapped …

Too Many Humans, Dwindling Resources, And Not Enough Space, Jorge T. Martinez

Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)

This paper will address the often-overlooked subject of human overpopulation and examine the role it plays in the environmental health of our planet. Part I will define overpopulation and how it is determined, as well as briefly examine animal overpopulations and their effects on the environment. Part II will turn to human population trends, the carrying capacity of humans on earth, and the environmental consequences of human overpopulation. The environmental issues currently faced in China, India, Africa, and other densely populated areas will be explored. Part III will analyze some of the legal solutions that have been implemented to curb …

Hurricane Sandy And Her Lasting Environmental Impacts, Amanda Hunt

Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)

More than three years have passed since Hurricane Sandy; estimated to be nearly 900 to 1,000 miles wide, made landfall along the U.S. Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Coasts on October 29, 2012. This Comment addresses the exacerbated environmental and public health effects of Hurricane Sandy, which resulted from flaws in disaster relief funding.

Improving Efficacy Of Library Services: Arima Modelling For Predicting Book Borrowing For Optimizing Resource Utilization, K Kumar, M M.Alpha Raj

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Book borrowing is a key service in libraries. Library users frequently visit the library for borrowing books compared to other library services. To predict book-borrowing service in a college library, Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model has been developed from the data pertaining to book borrowing during the year 1998 to 2013. The study found that the number of books borrowed one month and twelve months earlier could estimate the number of books borrowed in a month. The study used a fitted model for predicting book borrowing for the year 2014 by two alternative approaches: 12-steps ahead versus 1-step …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Amphiphiles For Mammalian Cell Transfection And Antimicrobial Activity, Joseph William Meisel

Dissertations

Amphiphiles are molecules that contain both water-soluble and water-insoluble components. The dual nature of these molecules engenders remarkable properties including the ability to self-assemble into ordered structures. Cell membranes are composed of amphiphilic phospholipids that organize into a bilayer motif. Synthetic amphiphiles can interact with natural membranes and influence the transport of molecules across the cell membrane. The work elaborated in this report employs amphiphiles to co-assemble with DNA and transport the genetic material across cell membranes. First, a simplified method for interacting DNA with amphiphiles was developed. Second, a series of known ion-transporting compounds were assayed for their interaction …

Continuous Isolation Of Monocytes Using A Magnetophoretic-Based Microfluidic Chip, Jeff Darabi, Chuan Guo

SIUE Faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

Monocytes play an important role in the immune system and are responsible for phagocytizing and degrading foreign microorganisms in the body. The isolation of monocytes is important in various immunological applications such as in-vitro culture of dendritic cells. We present a magnetophoretic-based microfluidic chip for rapid isolation of highly purified, untouched monocytes from human blood by a negative selection method. This bioseparation platform integrates several unique features into a microfluidic device, including locally engineered magnetic field gradients and a continuous flow with a buffer switching scheme to improve the performance of the cell separation process. The results indicate high monocyte …

The Reconstruction And Analysis Of Oral Microbiome Composition Using Dental Calculus From The Mississippi State Asylum (1855-1935), Jackson, Ms, Jonathan Robert Belanich

Theses and Dissertations

The human oral microbiome is the total amount of microbial biodiversity present in the oral cavity and, given its relevance to human health and disease, has recently become a foci for study. By analyzing dental calculus, and sequencing the bacterial DNA, it is possible to reconstruct and examine the oral microbiomes of past individuals. In this study, dental calculus was sampled from (N=4) skeletons recovered from the cemetery of the mid 19th- 20th, century Mississippi State Asylum in Jackson, MS. Bacterial DNA isolation and shotgun sequencing were successful, with 16S analyses yielding an average of 96 identified species. All samples …

Novirhabdovirus Infection In Wild-Type And Rag1 Mutant Zebrafish Suggests Roles Of Lymphocytes In Resistance, Du Ngoc Nguyen

Theses and Dissertations

Disease development of wild-type and Rag1 mutant zebrafish was evaluated after challenge with Snakehead Rhabdovirus (SHRV), a novirhabdovirus. Rag1 mutants lack T and B lymphocytes and thus lack lymphocyte-based acquired immunity. Wild-type zebrafish became more disease resistant as they aged (4 months and older) and at an elevated temperature (28°C) but mutants remained sensitive at all ages and temperatures tested. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT qPCR) demonstrated that interferon gamma and MxA expression significantly increased in both types of fish at 2 days post-infection with subsequent dwindling of expression. The high interferon gamma expression suggests activation of natural …

Bayesian Networks To Assess The Newborn Stool Microbiome, William E. Bennett Jr.

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

In human stool, a large population of bacterial genes and transcripts from hundreds of genera coexist with host genes and transcripts. Assessments of the metagenome and transcriptome are particularly challenging, since there is a great deal of sequence overlap among related species and related genes. We sequenced the total RNA content from stool samples in a neonate using previously-described methods. We then performed stepwise alignment of different populations of RNA sequence reads to different indices, including ribosomal databases, the human genome, and all sequenced bacterial genomes. Each pool of RNA at each alignment step was subjected to compression to assess …

Advancement & Communications Open Meeting Packet 08/11/2016, Uc Hastings Board Of Directors

2016 Board of Directors Agenda and Materials

No abstract provided.

Pcom Opportunities Academy 2016 Graduation Ceremony, Pcom Office Of Diversity And Community Relations

Diversity and Inclusion

Program for PCOM Opportunities Academy Graduation Ceremony, Inagural Class.

Master of Ceremonies: Meghan Cleghorn, JH, MBA, President of Cleghorn Performance Elevation LLC.

Keynote Speaker: Antonia Novello, MD, 14th Surgeon General of the United States.

Marijuana Use Among Young Black Men Who Have Sex With Men And The Hiv Care Continuum: Findings From The Uconnect Cohort, Dexter R. Voisin

Faculty Scholarship

Background: Young Black men who have sex with men (YBMSM) are at highest risk for HIV seroconversion in the United States. Successful movement through the HIV care continuum is an important intervention for limiting onwards HIV transmission. Objective: Little data exists on how substances most commonly used by YBMSM, such as marijuana, are related to the HIV continuum, which represents the primary aim of this study. Methods: A cohort of YBMSM (n = 618) was generated through respondent-driven sampling. Frequency of marijuana use and marijuana use as a sex-drug were assessed across the HIV care continuum using weighted logistic regression …

Comparison Of Statistical Algorithms For The Detection Of Infectious Disease Outbreaks In Large Multiple Surveillance Systems, Dg Enki, Ph Garthwaite, Cp Farrington, Et Al

Peninsula Medical School

A large-scale multiple surveillance system for infectious disease outbreaks has been in operation in England and Wales since the early 1990s. Changes to the statistical algorithm at the heart of the system were proposed and the purpose of this paper is to compare two new algorithms with the original algorithm. Test data to evaluate performance are created from weekly counts of the number of cases of each of more than 2000 diseases over a twenty-year period. The time series of each disease is separated into one series giving the baseline (background) disease incidence and a second series giving disease outbreaks. …

Lipophosphoglycans From Leishmania Amazonensis Strains Display Immunomodulatory Properties Via Tlr4 And Do Not Affect Sand Fly Infection, Paula M. Nogueira, Rafael R. Assis, Ana C. Torrecilhas, Elvira M. Saraiva, Natália L. Pessoa, Marco A. Campos, Eric F. Marialva, Cláudia M. Ríos-Velasquez, Felipe A. Pessoa, Nágila F. Secundino, Jerônimo N. Rugani, Elsa Nieves, Salvatore J. Turco, Maria N. Melo, Rodrigo P. Soares

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The immunomodulatory properties of lipophosphoglycans (LPG) from New World species of Leishmania have been assessed in Leishmania infantum and Leishmania braziliensis, the causative agents of visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis, respectively. This glycoconjugate is highly polymorphic among species with variation in sugars that branch off the conserved Gal(β1,4)Man(α1)-PO₄ backbone of repeat units. Here, the immunomodulatory activity of LPGs from Leishmania amazonensis, the causative agent of diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis, was evaluated in two strains from Brazil. One strain (PH8) was originally isolated from the sand fly and the other (Josefa) was isolated from a human case. The ability of …

Unprecedented Disease-Related Coral Mortality In Southeastern Florida, William F. Precht, Brooke Erin Gintert, Martha L. Robbart, Ryan Fura, Robert Van Woesik

Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Anomalously high water temperatures, associated with climate change, are increasing the global prevalence of coral bleaching, coral diseases, and coral-mortality events. Coral bleaching and disease outbreaks are often inter-related phenomena, since many coral diseases are a consequence of opportunistic pathogens that further compromise thermally stressed colonies. Yet, most coral diseases have low prevalence (<5%), and are not considered contagious. By contrast, we document the impact of an extremely high-prevalence outbreak (61%) of white-plague disease at 14 sites off southeastern Florida. White-plague disease was observed near Virginia Key, Florida, in September 2014, and after 12 months had spread 100 km north and 30 km south. The disease outbreak directly followed a high temperature coral-bleaching event and affected at least 13 coral species. Eusmilia fastigiata, Meandrina meandrites, and Dichocoenia stokesi were the most heavily impacted coral species, and were reduced to <3% of their initial population densities. A number of other coral species, including Colpophyllia natans, Pseudodiploria strigosa, Diploria labyrinthiformis, and Orbicella annularis were reduced to <25% of their initial densities. The high prevalence of disease, the number of susceptible species, and the high mortality of corals affected suggests this disease outbreak is arguably one of the most lethal ever recorded on a contemporary coral reef.

Associations Between Mental Health And Ebola-Related Health Behaviors: A Regionally Representative Cross-Sectional Survey In Post-Conflict Sierra Leone, Theresa S. Betancourt, Robert T. Brennan, Patrick Vinck, Tyler J. Vanderweele, Dayo Spencer-Walters, Joshua Jeong, Adeyinka M. Akinsulure-Smith, Phuong Pham

Publications and Research

Background

Little attention has been paid to potential relationships between mental health, trauma, and personal exposures to Ebola virus disease (EVD) and health behaviors in post-conflict West Africa. We tested a conceptual model linking mental health and trauma to EVD risk behaviors and EVD prevention behaviors.

Methods and Findings

Using survey data from a representative sample in the Western Urban and Western Rural districts of Sierra Leone, this study examines associations between war exposures, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, depression, anxiety, and personal EVD exposure (e.g., having family members or friends diagnosed with EVD) and EVD-related health behaviors among 1,008 …

Prophylactic Bacteriophage Administration More Effective Than Post-Infection Administration In Reducing Salmonella Enterica Serovar Enteritidis Shedding In Quail, Mosab Ahmadi, M. Amir Karimi Torshizi, Shaban Rahimi, John J. Dennehy

Publications and Research

Infections caused by Salmonella bacteria, often through poultry products, are a serious public health issue. Because of drawbacks associated with antibiotic prophylaxis, alternative treatments are sought. Bacterial viruses (bacteriophages) may provide an effective alternative, but concerns remain with respect to bacteriophage stability and effectiveness. To this end, we assessed the stability of a novel bacteriophage isolated from poultry excreta, siphovirus PSE, and its effectiveness in reducing Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis colonization in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, we sought to determine how the timing (prophylactic or therapeutic) and route (oral gavage or vent lip) of PSE administration impacted its effectiveness. …

Oyster ( Crassostrea Virginica ) Recruitment Studies In The Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire, Robert L. Eckert

PREP Reports & Publications

Oyster populations in New Hampshire’s Great Bay Estuary have experienced dramatic declines similar to populations along the east coast. These declines have caused ecosystem degradation in estuaries and prompted a focus on oyster reef restoration. Despite the large use of procured funds dedicated for oyster reef restoration, few quantifiable successes have occurred. Currently, there is no rigorous method for determining where a restored reef would have the highest probability for long-term success. However, consistent and substantial natural recruitment is a major factor to consider. In this research, I identify historic trends in oyster populations, quantify the success and failures of …

Week Of August 8, 2016, New York Medical College

InTouch

• NYMC Welcomes SOM Class of 2020
• Andrew Mutnick, M.D. '01, Is Named SOM Associate Dean for Student Affairs
• SOM Office of Admissions Seeks MMI Interviewers
• SOM Offers High School Students Hands-On Look at Medicine

Medical School Watercooler Newsletter - August 7, 2016, Lindsey Lyle

Watercooler Newsletter

This is the August 7, 2016 edition of the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine's newsletter - Watercooler.

Contents Include:

• USA Mourns Loss of Dr. Herbert H. Winkler
• USA Welcomes Dr. Elizabeth Park
• Dr. Brooks Cash Quoted in TIME Magazine
• South Alabama Pediatricians, Family Physicians, Hospital Administrators Announce Local Impact of Medicaid Cut

Real-Time Pcr Detection And Phylogenetic Relationships Of Neorickettsia In Digeneans From Egypt, Phillipines, Thailand, Vietnam And The United States, Stephen E. Greiman, Jefferson A. Vaughan, Rasha Elmahy, Poom Adisakwattana, Nguyen Van Ha, Thomas J. Fayton, Amal I. Khalil, Vasyl V. Tkach

Student Publications

Neorickettsia (Rickettsiales, Anaplasmataceae) is a genus of obligate intracellular bacterial endosymbionts of digeneans (Platyhelminthes, Digenea). Some Neorickettsia are able to invade cells of the digenean's vertebrate host and are known to cause diseases of domestic animals, wildlife, and humans. In this study we report the results of screening digenean samples for Neorickettsia collected from bats in Egypt and Mindoro Island, Philippines, snails and fishes from Thailand, and fishes from Vietnam and the USA. Neorickettsia were detected using a real-time PCR protocol targeting a 152bp fragment of the heat shock protein coding gene, GroEL, and verified with nested PCR and sequencing …

In Print, Corey Levitan

UNLV Innovation

Changing the Game: Women at Work in Las Vegas, 1940-1990, Joanne Goodwin University of Nevada Press

Global Patents: Limits of Transnational Enforcement, Marketa Trimble Oxford University Press

Neuropsychological Aspects of Substance Use Disorders: Evidence-Based Perspective, Daniel Allen and Steven Paul Woods Oxford University Press

Racialized Schools: Understanding and Addressing Racism in Schools, Jesse Brinson and Shannon Smith Routledge

A Model For Emerging Infectious Disease/Disaster Preparedness Training For Nursing Students, Susana Barroso

Open Access Dissertations

Disasters can occur due to natural events or environmental accidents, or they can be purposeful and man-made. Regardless of how they occur, disasters place extraordinary stresses on society’s ability to deal with the catastrophic effects. Given the prevalence of disasters and infectious disease pandemics, there is an urgent need to improve education of healthcare providers. Because nurses comprise the largest percentage of healthcare providers and are early disaster responders, disaster preparedness is critical. Some studies have shown that an education gap exists between nursing school curricula and the expectations of nurses and nursing faculty with regard to disaster preparedness. While …

Improving Veteran Access To Heart Failure Specialty Care: A Change Model Project, Mark Bird Whelchel

Dissertations

Background: Many Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities have cardiac services, but not all VHA centers offer heart failure care. Viable alternative models exist to traditional outpatient treatment by physicians, such as Tele-medicine consultations, the use of nurse practitioner run clinics, and the use of models such as Specialty Care Access Network-Extension for Community (SCAN-ECHO) and site specific contracted physician services models. These have the potential to improve Veteran access to care. Objective: The purpose of this change project was to conduct a needs assessment survey, in joint effort with the Hershey Medical Center Heart and Vascular Institute, to identify barriers …