Digital Commons Network^™

Spotlight On Blisibimod And Its Potential In The Treatment Of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Evidence To Date, Aleksander Lenert, Timothy B. Niewold, Petar Lenert

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

B cells in general and BAFF (B cell activating factor of the tumor necrosis factor [TNF] family) in particular have been primary targets of recent clinical trials in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In 2011, belimumab, a monoclonal antibody against BAFF, became the first biologic agent approved for the treatment of SLE. Follow-up studies have shown excellent long-term safety and tolerability of belimumab. In this review, we critically analyze blisibimod, a novel BAFF-neutralizing agent. In contrast to belimumab that only blocks soluble BAFF trimer but not soluble 60-mer or membrane BAFF, blisibimod blocks with high affinity all three forms of BAFF. …

P23. Elucidation Of The Signaling Pathway Of Mertk, Kyle Taruc

Western Research Forum

Background

Mer Tyrosine Kinase (MERTK) is a receptor which mediates efferocytosis – removal of apoptotic cells by phagocytes such as macrophages. MERTK plays a critical role in homeostasis, with mutations in MERTK associated with the development and progression of atherosclerosis, the buildup of cholesterol-laden plaque in the sub-arterial space. Indeed, one MERTK allele is associated with 66% (heterozygous) to 75% (homozygous) protection from atherosclerosis, while other alleles and SNP’s pre-dispose to atherosclerosis and autoimmunity. Complications resulting from atherosclerosis, including heart attack and stroke, are currently the second leading cause of mortality in Canada. Despite the importance of MERTK in atherosclerosis …

Pulmonary Surfactant Fortified With Cath-2 As A Novel Therapy For Bacterial Pneumonia, Brandon J. Baer

Western Research Forum

Background: Bacterial pneumonia is a leading cause of death worldwide, with high mortality rates persisting even after antibiotic treatment. Current treatments for pneumonia involve administration of antibiotics, however after the bacteria are killed they release toxic substances that induce inflammation and lung dysfunction. Host defense peptides represent a potential solution to this problem through their ability to down regulate inflammation. However, effective delivery to the lung is difficult because of the complex branching structure of the airways. My study addresses this delivery problem by using exogenous surfactant, a pulmonary delivery vehicle capable of improving spreading of these peptides throughout the …

Moyo Vol. I N 2, Anne Shaver, Heather Harmless, Kim Cockrell, Christian Perry, Daniel Benboe, Dale N. Gerding, N. Smith, Trey Dunham, Kevin Fore, Nancy Sherman, Christoffer Wetterquist, Sheryn Moore, Lisa Ransdell

Moyo

JDB. "The Bradys On Sex: Any Excuse to Talk About Marsha". 1.

Shaver, Anne. "One View From Lesbos". 2.

Harmless, Heather. "In Sex Lies Inequality". 3.

Anonymous. "Mom and Dad, I Was Raped: The Account of One Anonymous Denison Woman". 4.

Cockrell, Kim. "When Ebony & Ivory Consumate: Interracial Sex".

Perry, Christian. "The State's Permission?". 8.

Benboe, Daniel. "Fact or Fiction?" 8.

Gerding, Dale N. "STDs: Are You At Risk?". 9.

Smith, N. "Confessions of A Nymphomaniac". 10.

Dunham, Trey. “Sex and God”. 15.

Fore, Kevin. "Straight Talk on Homosexuality". 16.

Sherman, Nancy. "Sex, Booze, and the Swedish Bikini Team". …

Camp Signaling Enhances Hiv-1 Long Terminal Repeat (Ltr)-Directed Transcription And Viral Replication In Bone Marrow Progenitor Cells., Anupam Banerjee, Luna Li, Vanessa Pirrone, Fred C. Krebs, Brian Wigdahl, Michael R. Nonnemacher

Kimmel Cancer Center Papers, Presentations, and Grand Rounds

CD34⁺ hematopoietic progenitor cells have been shown to be susceptible to HIV-1 infection, possibly due to a low-level expression of CXCR4, a coreceptor for HIV-1 entry. Given these observations, we have explored the impact of forskolin on cell surface expression of CXCR4 in a cell line model (TF-1). The elevation of intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) by forskolin through adenylyl cyclase (AC) resulted in transcriptional upregulation of CXCR4 with a concomitant increase in replication of the CXCR4-utilizing HIV-1 strain IIIB. Transient expression analyses also demonstrated an increase in CXCR4-, CCR5-, and CXCR4-/CCR5-utilizing HIV-1 (LAI, YU2, and 89.6, respectively) promoter …

Tackling The Social Determinants Of Health: A Central Role For Providers, Jessica Mantel

Georgia State University Law Review

Americans’ poor health and high health care costs largely stem from social, environmental, and behavioral factors that adversely impact health. Yet, health care providers traditionally have neglected the social determinants of health, focusing instead on medically treating patients’ symptoms. As a result, addressing the social determinants of health has primarily been the domain of government and community groups. Unfortunately, the efforts of the public health and social services sectors are stymied by chronic underfunding, a situation unlikely to change in the current political environment. This article identifies a potential solution to this problem: recent health care reforms that encourage health …

The Final (Oral Ebola) Vaccine Trial On Captive Chimpanzees?, Peter D. Walsh, Drishya Kurup, Dana L. Hasselschwert, Christoph Wirblich, Jason E. Goetzmann, Matthias J. Schnell

Department of Microbiology and Immunology Faculty Papers

Could new oral vaccine technologies protect endangered wildlife against a rising tide of infectious disease? We used captive chimpanzees to test oral delivery of a rabies virus (RABV) vectored vaccine against Ebola virus (EBOV), a major threat to wild chimpanzees and gorillas. EBOV GP and RABV GP-specific antibody titers increased exponentially during the trial, with rates of increase for six orally vaccinated chimpanzees very similar to four intramuscularly vaccinated controls. Chimpanzee sera also showed robust neutralizing activity against RABV and pseudo-typed EBOV. Vaccination did not induce serious health complications. Blood chemistry, hematologic, and body mass correlates of psychological stress suggested …

Enhanced Control Of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Extrapulmonary Dissemination In Mice By An Arabinomannan-Protein Conjugate Vaccine, R Prados-Rosales, L Carreno, T Cheng, C Blanc, B Weinrick, Aharona Glatman-Freedman, A Casadevall, S Hung, A Tripathi, J Xu, Aharona Glatman-Freedman, W Jacobs Jr., J Chan, S Porcelli, J Achkar, A Casadevall

NYMC Faculty Publications

Currently there are a dozen or so of new vaccine candidates in clinical trials for prevention of tuberculosis (TB) and each formulation attempts to elicit protection by enhancement of cell-mediated immunity (CMI). In contrast, most approved vaccines against other bacterial pathogens are believed to mediate protection by eliciting antibody responses. However, it has been difficult to apply this formula to TB because of the difficulty in reliably eliciting protective antibodies. Here, we developed capsular polysaccharide conjugates by linking mycobacterial capsular arabinomannan (AM) to either Mtb Ag85b or B. anthracis protective antigen (PA). Further, we studied their immunogenicity by ELISA and …

Impact Of A National Guideline On Antibiotic Selection For Hospitalized Pneumonia., Derek J Williams, Matthew Hall, Jeffrey S Gerber, Mark I Neuman, Adam L Hersh, Thomas V Brogan, Kavita Parikh, Sanjay Mahant, Anne J Blaschke, Samir S Shah, Carlos G Grijalva

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: We evaluated the impact of the 2011 Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society/Infectious Diseases Society of America pneumonia guideline and hospital-level implementation efforts on antibiotic prescribing for children hospitalized with pneumonia.

METHODS: We assessed inpatient antibiotic prescribing for pneumonia at 28 children's hospitals between August 2009 and March 2015. Each hospital was also surveyed regarding local implementation efforts targeting antibiotic prescribing and organizational readiness to adopt guideline recommendations. To estimate guideline impact, we used segmented linear regression to compare the proportion of children receiving penicillins in March 2015 with the expected proportion at this same time point had the guideline not …

A Murine Model To Study Epilepsy And Sudep Induced By Malaria Infection., Paddy Ssentongo, Anna E Robuccio, Godfrey Thuku, Derek G Sim, Ali Nabi, Fatemeh Bahari, Balaji Shanmugasundaram, Myles W Billard, Andrew Geronimo, Kurt W Short, Patrick J Drew, Jennifer Baccon, Steven L Weinstein, Frank G Gilliam, José A Stoute, Vernon M Chinchilli, Andrew F Read, Bruce J Gluckman, Steven J Schiff

Neurology Faculty Publications

One of the largest single sources of epilepsy in the world is produced as a neurological sequela in survivors of cerebral malaria. Nevertheless, the pathophysiological mechanisms of such epileptogenesis remain unknown and no adjunctive therapy during cerebral malaria has been shown to reduce the rate of subsequent epilepsy. There is no existing animal model of postmalarial epilepsy. In this technical report we demonstrate the first such animal models. These models were created from multiple mouse and parasite strain combinations, so that the epilepsy observed retained universality with respect to genetic background. We also discovered spontaneous sudden unexpected death in epilepsy …

Data-Driven Identification Of Potential Zika Virus Vectors, Michelle V. Evans, Tad Dallas, Barbara A. Han, Courtney C. Murdock, John M. Drake

Faculty Publications

Zika is an emerging virus whose rapid spread is of great public health concern. Knowledge about transmission remains incomplete, especially concerning potential transmission in geographic areas in which it has not yet been introduced. To identify unknown vectors of Zika, we developed a data-driven model linking vector species and the Zika virus via vector-virus trait combinations that confer a propensity toward associations in an ecological network connecting flaviviruses and their mosquito vectors. Our model predicts that thirty-five species may be able to transmit the virus, seven of which are found in the continental United States, including Culex quinquefasciatus and Cx. …

Ethnic Groups’ Knowledge, Attitude And Practices And Rift Valley Fever Exposure In Isiolo County Of Kenya, Hippolyte Affognon, Peter Mburu, Osama Ahmed Hassan, Sarah Kingori, Clas Ahlm, Rosemary Sang, Magnus Evander

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is an emerging mosquito-borne viral hemorrhagic fever in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, affecting humans and livestock. For spread of infectious diseases, including RVF, knowledge, attitude and practices play an important role, and the understanding of the influence of behavior is crucial to improve prevention and control efforts. The objective of the study was to assess RVF exposure, in a multiethnic region in Kenya known to experience RVF outbreaks, from the behavior perspective. We investigated how communities in Isiolo County, Kenya were affected, in relation to their knowledge, attitude and practices, by the RVF outbreak of …

A Murine Model To Study Epilepsy And Sudep Induced By Malaria Infection, Paddy Ssentongo, Anna E. Robuccio, Godfrey Thuku, Derek G. Sim, Ali Nabi, Fatemeh Bahari, Balaji Shanmugasundaram, Myles W. Billard, Andrew Geronimo, Frank Gilliam

School of Medicine Publications

One of the largest single sources of epilepsy in the world is produced as a neurological sequela in survivors of cerebral malaria. Nevertheless, the pathophysiological mechanisms of such epileptogenesis remain unknown and no adjunctive therapy during cerebral malaria has been shown to reduce the rate of subsequent epilepsy. There is no existing animal model of postmalarial epilepsy. In this technical report we demonstrate the first such animal models. These models were created from multiple mouse and parasite strain combinations, so that the epilepsy observed retained universality with respect to genetic background. We also discovered spontaneous sudden unexpected death in epilepsy …

Summer Term 2017 Promises Diverse Learning Options, University Relations

Campus News Archive

A fully accredited institution in west central Minnesota, Morris makes it easy for community members and students from any college or university to enroll in undergraduate courses.

A Potent Antimalarial Benzoxaborole Targets A Plasmodium Falciparum Cleavage And Polyadenylation Specificity Factor Homologue., Ebere Sonoiki, Caroline L. Ng, Marcus C. S. Lee, Denghui Guo, Yong-Kang Zhang, Yasheen Zhou, M. R. K. Alley, Vida Ahyong, Laura M. Sanz, Maria Jose Lafuente-Monasterio, Chen Dong, Patrick G. Schupp, Jiri Gut, Jenny Legac, Roland A. Cooper, Francisco-Javier Gamo, Joseph Derisi, Yvonne R. Freund, David A. Fidock, Philip J. Rosenthal

Natural Sciences and Mathematics | Faculty Scholarship

Benzoxaboroles are effective against bacterial, fungal and protozoan pathogens. We report potent activity of the benzoxaborole AN3661 against Plasmodium falciparum laboratory-adapted strains (mean IC50 32 nM), Ugandan field isolates (mean ex vivo IC50 64 nM), and murine P. berghei and P. falciparum infections (day 4 ED90 0.34 and 0.57 mg kg-1, respectively). Multiple P. falciparum lines selected in vitro for resistance to AN3661 harboured point mutations in pfcpsf3, which encodes a homologue of mammalian cleavage and polyadenylation specificity factor subunit 3 (CPSF-73 or CPSF3). CRISPR-Cas9-mediated introduction of pfcpsf3 mutations into parental lines recapitulated AN3661 resistance. PfCPSF3 homology models placed these …

New Instrument Allows N.H. Veterinary Diagnostic Lab To Identify Infections In Animals In Minutes, Lori Tyler Gula

Media Relations

No abstract provided.

Identifying Infections In Animals Now Takes Minutes At The Nh Veterinary Diagnostic Lab, Lori Wright

UNH Today Archive

No abstract provided.

Optimizing Media Conditions To Enhance Toxoplasma Gondii Cyst Growth, Margaret Moore

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Toxoplasma gondii, the causative agent of toxoplasmosis, is an intracellular protozoan that commonly infects people throughout the world. Under immune pressure, parasites can develop into bradyzoite cysts within cells to avoid presentation or processing by the adaptive immune response. These cysts can persist in human tissue for years escaping both drug therapies and the immune system. While these cysts do not pose major health problems for healthy individuals, those who are immunocompromised are at great risk for recurrent acute infections should the cysts rupture.

This study investigated the effects of cell culture medias of varying richness on bradyzoite cyst …

Outcomes Of Early Transition From Intravenous To Oral Antimicrobial Treatment In Pediatric Osteomyelitis, Sofia Rahmanzai

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

The purpose of this clinical study is to determine the effectiveness of the updated treatment for acute osteomyelitis. This treatment plan consists of early transition from intravenous to oral antimicrobial therapy. The efficaciousness of these therapies were compared with post-discharge outcomes and complication rates. This study will utilize patient records during 2011 to 2016 from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Children’s Hospital and Medical Center. The study includes patients aged from 1 month to 18 years for acute or unspecified osteomyelitis. Excluded patients are children with chronic osteomyelitis, hospitalization of ten or more days, patients with comorbid conditions …

The Evaluation Of Carbon Dioxide-Independent Media For Toxoplasma Gondii Growth, Matthew C. Martens

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Toxoplasma gondii is a human pathogen that plays a role as the causative agent of toxoplasmosis, a disease that produces many deleterious effects for immunocompromised individuals and infants. Current research involving this intracellular parasite requires the use and continues maintenance of costly cell incubators attached to bulky carbon dioxide canisters. To reduce laboratory costs and space requirements, we, therefore, propose a novel procedure by which human foreskin fibroblasts, as well as Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites, may be grown in a commercially available carbon dioxide-independent media. Growth assays utilizing resazurin dye or relative fluorescence from parasites modified with a red fluorescent protein …

H2o: Nature's Barometer: Water Flows Through A Variety Of Research At Jmu, Donna Dunn

Monty

No abstract provided.

Arrhythmias In Hospitalized Heart Transplanted Patients: A United States National Study, Srikanth Yandrapalli, Prakash Harikrishnan, Zeeshan Solangi, Wilbert S. Aronow, Sachin Sule, Alan L. Gass, Chhaya Aggarwal, William H. Frishman, Sei Iwai, Howard A. Cooper, Julio A. Panza, Gregg M. Lanier

NYMC Faculty Posters

No abstract provided.

Investigating The Role Of Lipopolysaccharide And Polyinosinic:Polycytidylic Acid In Boosting Cd4 T Cell Responses, Paurvi R. Shinde

Doctoral Dissertations

Most commonly used adjuvants in vaccines are effective at elevating serum antibody titers but do not elicit significant CD4 or CD8 T cell response. CD4 T cells are important in protection against challenging infectious diseases such as HIV, malaria and tuberculosis and also important for anti-tumor immunity. Therefore, our goal is to evaluate how adjuvants lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and polyinosinic:polycytidilic acid (poly I:C) induced mechanisms enhance the CD4 T cell immunity. LPS, a known Toll like receptor 4 (TLR4) ligand, when injected with or shortly after a T cell antigen, enhances T cell clonal expansion, long-term survival and Th1 differentiation. Importantly, …

Jobe V. Dirne Clinic/Heritage Health Appellant's Brief Dckt. 44604

Idaho Supreme Court Records & Briefs, All

No abstract provided.

Dueling Biological And Social Contagions, Feng Fu, Nicholas A. Christakis, James H. Fowler

Dartmouth Scholarship

Numerous models explore how a wide variety of biological and social phenomena spread in social networks. However, these models implicitly assume that the spread of one phenomenon is not affected by the spread of another. Here, we develop a model of “dueling contagions”, with a particular illustration of a situation where one is biological (influenza) and the other is social (flu vaccination). We apply the model to unique time series data collected during the 2009 H1N1 epidemic that includes information about vaccination, flu, and face-to-face social networks. The results show that well- connected individuals are more likely to get vaccinated, …

March 2, 2017, The Daily Mississippian

Daily Mississippian (all digitized issues)

No abstract provided.

Progress Notes, Lehigh Valley Health Network

Progress Notes

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Estradiol Metabolism In Urogenital Schistosomiasis-Induced Bladder Cancer, Nuno Vale, Maria Gouveia, Gabriel Rinaldi, Julio Santos, Lucio Lara Santos, Paul J. Brindley, Jose Correia Da Costa

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

Urogenital schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease that can lead to bladder cancer. How urogenital schistosomiasis induces carcinogenesis remains unclear, although there is evidence that the human blood fluke Schistosoma haematobium, the infectious agent of urogenital schistosomiasis, releases estradiol-like metabolites. These kind of compounds have been implicated in other cancers. Aiming for enhanced understanding of the pathogenesis of the urogenital schistosomiasisinduced bladder cancer, here we review, interpret, and discuss findings of estradiol-like metabolites detected in both the parasite and in the human urine during urogenital schistosomiasis. Moreover, we predict pathways and enzymes that are involved in the production of these …

Rising Tide 2017, Une Office Of Research And Scholarship, Ed Bilsky, Dani Deason, Philip Shelley, Jennie E. Aranovitch, Josh Pahigian, Laura M. Duffy, Marine Miller

Rising Tide

Research and scholarship highlights from University of New England community members. This issue highlights student and faculty research and projects within UNE's College of Arts and Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Westbrook College of Health Professions, College of Pharmacy, College of Dental Medicine, and projects and research from UNE's Centers of Excellence.

How Can Data Mining Improve Health Care?, Abd Elrazek Abd Elrazek

Applied Mathematics & Information Sciences

Building health care systems related- symptoms differ than estimated illness, can have a substantial impact on health. It is important for the clinician to recognize when symptoms/ illness are related to the patient’s workplace, environment and even considered culture, these should be treated as occupational/ environmental or cultural illnesses. Evidence-based medicine is a powerful tool to help minimize treatment variation, readmission and unexpected costs. However the best-practice guidelines contribute further to the goal of standardized patient outcomes and controlling costs. We discuss data mining intelligent technology to improve health care systems in a way saving time, effort and money and …