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Using Rainbow Trout Cell Lines As A Model For Understanding The Innate Anti-Fv3 Immune Response, Graeme Robert Jones Lisser

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Ranavirus infections are on the rise and have been implicated in numerous species die-offs across the globe. Frog virus 3 (FV3) is the type-species of the genus, yet the immune mechanisms governing susceptibility remain poorly understood. Arguably the most important immune response to infection is the type I interferon (IFN) response. Type I IFNs trigger an “antiviral state” in host cells via the production of numerous interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) that act to inhibit virus replication in various way, including the induction of apoptosis. Apoptosis is an important antiviral defense mechanism to limit virus replication within infected cells. This study employed …

Disease Models With Immigration, Reem Almarashi

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In this thesis we focus first on studying the susceptible, exposed, and infected ($SEI$) disease model without immigration. We determine the basic reproduction number $\mathcal{R}_0$, which can be interpreted as the expected number of new cases that can be produced by a single infection in a completely susceptible population. Further, by using the Jacobian matrix, we determine the local stability of the disease model. Then we have the result that when $\mathcal{R}_0<1$ the DFE point is locally asymptotically stable(L.A.S). In contrast, when $\mathcal{R}_0>1$ we find that the endemic equilibrium is L.A.S. After that, we analyze the $SEI$ model with immigration of infected individuals.

Furthermore, we investigate the direction that the …

Contributing Factors To Child Stunting In Guatemala: A Systems Analysis Focused On Enteric Disease Transmission And Mycotoxin Exposure, Lee Emerson Voth-Gaeddert

Doctoral Dissertations

"Child stunting -- low height-for-age -- is a United Nation's indicator for chronic malnutrition that has been linked to both acute and chronic health problems. Data from Guatemala suggests for children under five years of age, 49% are classified as stunted. This dissertation tests the following hypotheses, among children in Guatemala 1) environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) is correlated with height-for-age, 2) aflatoxin B (AFB) exposure is correlated with height-for-age, and 3) AFB exposure is correlated with EED. A network analysis was conducted on data from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) collected in 2012 to identify trends in a …

Heat Wave And Mortality: A Multicountry, Multicommunitystudy, Y. Guo, A. Gasparrini, B.G. Armstrong, B Tawatsupa, A. Tobias, E. Lavinge, M. De Sousa Zanotti Stagliorio Coelho, X. Pan, H. Kim, M. Hashizume, Y. Honda, Y. Leon Guo, C. Wu, A. Zanobetti, J. D. Schwartz, M. L. Bell, M. Scortichini, P. Michelozzi, K. Punnasiri, S. Li, L. Tian, S. D. Osorio Garcia, X. Seposo, A. Overcenco, A. Zeka, P. J. Goodman, T. N. Dang, D. V. Dung, F. Mayvaneh, P. H. Nascimento Saldiva, G. Williams, S. Tong

Articles

Heat waves of all definitions had significant cumulative associations with mortality in all countries, but varied by community. The higher the temperature threshold used to define heat waves, the higher heat wave associations on mortality. However, heat wave duration did not modify the impacts. The association between heat waves and mortality appeared acutely and lasted for 3 and 4 d. Heat waves had higher associations with mortality in moderate cold and moderate hot areas than cold and hot areas. There were no added effects of heat waves on mortality in all countries/regions, except for Brazil, Moldova, and Taiwan. Heat waves …

Using Risk-Tracing Snowball Approach To Increase Hiv Case Detection Among High-Risk Populations In Cambodia: An Intervention Study, Srean Chhim, John Macom, Chettana Pav, Nirada Nim, Phearun Yun, Sopheap Seng, Siyan Yi

Background: Early HIV diagnosis and initiation onto antiretroviral therapy may prevent ongoing spread of HIV. Risk Tracing Snowball Approach (RTSA) has been shown to be effective in detecting new HIV cases in other settings. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of RTSA in increasing the rate of newly identified HIV cases among high-risk populations. Our second objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of RTSA, as compared to the walk-in group, in increasing the number of HIV tests and early case detection.

Methods: This study was conducted from April 1 to September 30, 2016 at two …

Patterns Of Hiv Testing, Drug Use, And Sexual Behaviors In People Who Use Drugs: Findings From A Community-Based Outreach Program In Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Gitau Mburu, Chanrith Ngin, Sovannary Tuot, Pheak Chhoun, Khuondyla Pal, Siyan Yi

Background: People who use drugs are an important priority for HIV programs. However, data related to their utilization of HIV services are limited. This paper reports patterns of HIV testing, drug use, and risk and service perception among people who use drugs. Study participants were receiving HIV and harm reduction services from a communitybased program in Phnom Penh, comprised of itinerant peer-led outreach and static drop-in centers.

Methods: This was a mixed-methods study conducted in 2014, comprising of a quantitative survey using a structured questionnaire, followed by two focus group discussions among a sub-sample of survey participants. Participants …

Risk Factors Associated With Poor Health Outcomes For Children Under The Age Of 5 With Moderate Acute Malnutrition In Rural Fagita Lekoma District, Awi Zone, Amhara, Ethiopia, 2016, W/Amilak Adamu, Dube Jara, Mulunesh Alemayehu, Sahai Burrowes

Background: Left untreated, moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) in children can lead to severe acute malnutrition, stunting, developmental delays, and death. Despite recent progress the prevalence of malnutrition remains high throughout Ethiopia. The ability to make accurate prognoses and develop effective treatment strategies for children with MAM is currently limited and, as result, a significant proportion of children with MAM fail to recover even with treatment. We seek to address this limitation by assessing the risk factors for poor outcomes among children under the age of 5 with MAM in a rural area of Ethiopia’s Amhara Region. This region is …

Equine Infectious Anemia, Karl H. Hoopes

All Current Publications

This fact sheet gives information on equine infectious anemia, a blood-borne infectious viral disease of horses, donkeys, and mules. It describes transmission, clinical disease, diagnosis and control.

Caseous Lymphadenitis Management In Goats, C. Kim Chapman, Matthew J. Kennedy

All Current Publications

This fact sheet describes Caseous Lymphadenitis, an infectious disease of sheep and goats and gives information on managing the disease.

Thermal Inactivation Analysis Of Water-Related Pathogens In Domestic Hot Water Systems, Liam Mccarton, Sean O'Hogain

Articles

This study aims to investigate whether hot water systems supplied with harvested rainwater present an increased risk to health over hot water systems supplied with potable mains water. It reviews previous studies investigating the health effects of utilising rainwater within domestic systems. The main risk to public health of mains-supplied hot water systems is the operation, maintenance, age, location and temperature of the system. Rainwater-harvesting systems contain an inherent water treatment train consisting of flocculation, settlement, sorption and bioreaction, and stored rainwater quality improves as metal and chemical contaminants settle to form sludge. Laboratory experiments were conducted using a variety …

Po213 Sonar Identifies Research Training Needs In A Clinical Training Program, E Abdelgadir, D Patel, M O’Gara, O Leach, Oa Masri, S Bhattacharjee, A Shah, J Talbot, H Zafar, C Carroll

Peninsula Medical School

No abstract provided.

Tracking The Amphibian Pathogens Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis And Batrachochytrium Salamandrivorans Using A Highly Specific Monoclonal Antibody And Lateral-Flow Technology, Michael J. Dillon, Andrew E. Bowkett, Michael J. Bungard, Katie M. Beckman, Michelle F. O'Brien, Kieran Bates, Matthew C. Fisher, Jamie R. Stevens, Christopher R. Thornton

Peninsula Medical School

The fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) causes chytridiomycosis, a lethal epizootic disease of amphibians. Rapid identification of the pathogen and biosecurity is essential to prevent its spread, but current laboratory-based tests are time-consuming and require specialist equipment. Here, we describe the generation of an IgM monoclonal antibody (mAb), 5C4, specific to Bd as well as the related salamander and newt pathogen Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal). The mAb, which binds to a glycoprotein antigen present on the surface of zoospores, sporangia and zoosporangia, was used to develop a lateral-flow assay (LFA) for rapid (15 min) detection of the pathogens. The LFA detects known …

Prevalence Of Epilepsy In China Between 1990 And 2015: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Peige Song, Yezhou Liu, Xinwei Yu, Jingjing Wu, Adrienne N. Poon, Alessandro R. Demaio, Wei Wang, Igor D. Rudan, Kityee Chan

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background: Epilepsy is a major neurological disorder that affects approximately 65 million people worldwide. Globally, the burden of epilepsy is not evenly distributed, with more than 80% of sufferers residing in low- and middle-income countries. This study estimates the burden of epilepsy in mainland China from 1990 to 2015 and explores the variations of burden by age and gender.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature from 1990 to 2015 using Chinese and English academic databases (CNKI, WanFang, VIP and PubMed) to identify population- based prospective studies on the prevalence of epilepsy in mainland Chinese. Multilevel mixed-effects …

Accumulating Risk: Environmental Justice And The History Of Capitalism In Detroit, 1880-2015, Josiah John Rector

Wayne State University Dissertations

This dissertation is an environmental history of Detroit, Michigan from the 19th century to the present. Recent scholarship on the history of capitalism has largely ignored the problem of environmental inequality, and the negative externalities of economic growth. In contrast, studies of the environmental justice movement have richly documented race, class, and gender inequalities in environmental risk exposure. However, they have neglected the relationship between the development of the environmental justice movement and the restructuring of American capitalism since the 1970s, including deindustrialization and the shift to neoliberalism. Bringing these fields together, this dissertation connects Detroit’s long-term economic transformation to …

Local Health Departments In Iowa: Are They Keeping Up With The Shift From Communicable To Chronic Disease?, Jeremy M. Whitaker

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The leading causes of death in the United States are heart disease, cancer, and lower respiratory diseases; chronic disease that account for over half of all deaths. Local health departments (LHDs) are not required by statute to prevent these diseases. This study examines three questions: (1) Are local health departments engaging in primary chronic disease prevention, (2) Are there differences between urban and rural health departments in preventing chronic disease, and (3) What the barriers preventing them from preventing chronic disease.

LHDs are primarily funded by a combination of state and local funding, with much of the state funding coming …

Sick Of Deviants: How The Behavioral Immune System May Impact Responses To Violated Norms, Neal G. Pollock

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

In order to protect themselves from harmful pathogens, individuals have evolved a behavioral immune system (BIS) that is sensitive to disease cues (Schaller, 2006). At the cultural-level, there are variations in norms based on the prevalence of pathogens within a region (Schaller & Murray, 2008). Previous findings support the notion that the BIS promotes conformity (Murray & Schaller, 2012; Murray, Trudeau, & Schaller, 2011; Gelfand et al., 2011), as this produces an environment that is more protected against harmful pathogens. The current study attempted to provide experimental evidence for increased punishment for norm violations when the BIS was activated. Seventy-six …

Prediction Of Viral Loads For Diagnosis Of Hepatitis C Infection In Human Plasma Samples Using Raman Spectroscopy Coupled With Partial Least Squares Regression Analysis, Hugh Byrne, Franck Bonnier, H. Nawaz, N. Rashid, M. Saleem

Articles

Raman spectroscopy has been used to identify the biochemical changes associated with the presence of the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) in infected human blood plasma samples as compared with healthy samples, as control. The aim of the study was to establish the Raman spectral markers of hepatitis infection, which could be used for diagnostic purposes. Moreover, multivariate data analysis techniques, including Principal Component Analysis (PCA), coupled with Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), and Partial Least Square Regression (PLSR) are employed to further demonstrate the diagnostic capability of the technique. The PLSR model is developed to predict the viral loads of the …

Inside The Tent: An In-Depth Analysis On Refugee Camps Through A Science, Technology, And Society Perspective, Sonia Shenoi

Scripps Senior Theses

Currently, over 65 million people around the world have been forced from their homes; among them are nearly 21 million refugees. Thus, the discussion of refugees and refugee camps on a global scale is ever more salient given the recent heightened attention to the global crises. This thesis uses an interdisciplinary Science, Technology, and Society (STS) approach to analyze the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) policies, refugee camps, and their implication in the greater society.

Health Care For All In Ireland? The Consequences Of Politics For Health Policy, Vivienne Byers

Articles

The Irish health-care system is a complicated mix of public and private providers, with inequitable and unclear routes for health-service users to access and navigate the system. In 2011, the Irish Government committed to significant health reform to develop a universal single-tier health system. In line with other European nations this was to be underpinned by the principle of social solidarity, with equitable access based on need rather than ability to pay. The road to this reform and its recent collapse highlights the practical implications of political and policy choices in health care, and has implications for financing and delivery, …

Hypoxia Reduces The Pathogenicity Of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa By Decreasing The Expression Of Multiple Virulence Factors, Bettina Schaible, Javier Rodriguez, Amaya Garcia, Alexander Von Kriegsheim, Siobhan Mcclean, Caitríona Hickey, Ciara E. Keogh, Eric Brown, Kirsten Schaffer, Alexis Broquet, Cormac T. Taylor

Articles

Our understanding of how the course of opportunistic bacterial infection is influenced by the microenvironment is limited. We demonstrate that the pathogenicity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains derived from acute clinical infections is higher than that of strains derived from chronic infections, where tissues are hypoxic. Exposure to hypoxia attenuated the pathogenicity of strains from acute (but not chronic) infections, implicating a role for hypoxia in regulating bacterial virulence. Mass spectrometric analysis of the secretome of P. aeruginosa derived from an acute infection revealed hypoxia-induced repression of multiple virulence factors independent of altered bacterial growth. Pseudomonas aeruginosa lacking the Pseudomonas prolyl-hydroxylase …

Characteristics Of Hiv-Infected Children At Enrollment Into Care And At Antiretroviral Therapy Initiation In Central Africa, A Adedimeji, A Edmonds, Donald R. Hoover, Qiuhu Shi, J Sinayobye, M Nduwimana, P Lelo, D Nash, K Anastos, M Yotebieng

NYMC Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Despite the World Health Organization (WHO) regularly updating guidelines to recommend earlier initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in children, timely enrollment into care and initiation of ART in sub-Saharan Africa in children lags behind that of adults. The impact of implementing increasingly less restrictive ART guidelines on ART initiation in Central Africa has not been described. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data are from the Central Africa International Epidemiologic Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA) pediatric cohort of 3,426 children (0-15 years) entering HIV care at 15 sites in Burundi, DRC, and Rwanda. Measures include CD4 count, WHO clinical stage, age, and …

Sex With Sweethearts: Exploring Factors Associated With Inconsistent Condom Use Among Unmarried Female Entertainment Workers In Cambodia, Siyan Yi, Sovannary Tuot, Pheak Chhoun, Khuondyla Pal, Chanrith Ngin, Kolab Chhim, Carinne M. Brody

Background: Despite the success in promoting condom use in commercial relationships, condom use with regular, noncommercial partners remains low among key populations in Cambodia. This study explores factors associated inconsistent condom use with sweethearts among unmarried sexually active female entertainment workers (FEWs).

Methods: In 2014, the probability proportional to size sampling method was used to randomly select 204 FEWs from entertainment venues in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap for face-to-face interviews. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine independent determinants of inconsistent condom use.

Results: Of total, 31.4% of the respondents reported consistent condom use with …

Transition Into Adult Care: Factors Associated With Level Of Preparedness Among Adolescents Living With Hiv In Cambodia, Siyan Yi, Chanrith Ngin, Khuondyla Pal, Vohith Khol, Sovannary Tuot, Sokunmealiny Sau, Penhsun Ly

Background: Preparing adolescents for transition into adult care and supporting their acquisition of self-health care management skills is a critical determinant of their post-transition HIV care outcomes. However, there is a scarcity of research on effective transition strategies. This study explores factors associated with adolescent preparedness for transition into adult care in Cambodia.

Methods: In August 2016, a cross-sectional study was conducted among 223 adolescents living with HIV aged 15–17, randomly selected from 11 antiretroviral therapy clinics, utilizing a structured questionnaire. The level of preparedness was determined using a pre-existing scale, and adolescents were categorized as having a …

Herpes Zoster During Immunosuppressive Therapy For Autoimmune Diseases, Mohammad Faizan Zahid, Mariam Ghufran, Armaghan-E-Rehman Mansoor, Muhammad Rizwan Sohail

Medical College Documents

Background: Patients on immunosuppressive therapy are at a greater risk for herpes zoster reactivation and are more likely to have adverse outcomes. Propylactic antivrials and vaccinations may potentially prevent these complications.Methods: Medical literature addressing the clinical course and therapy of herpes zoster in patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy for autoimmune disorders, and the roles of anti-viral prophylaxis and vaccination was reviewed. Research databases including PubMed, Ovid, Medline, Google Scholar and Cochrane were utilized.Results: Acyclovir and its derivatives are most commonly used in this setting for treatment and reduction of post-zoster complications. Foscarnet may be used for acyclovir-resistant strains. At both conventional …

A Sound Idea: An Investigation Into Accessible Video Game Design For The Deaf And Hard Of Hearing, Luke James Brook

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

A widely accepted, and incorrect, assumption towards hearing accessibility in video games is that deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) users are those who encounter the least barriers and are generally well catered for. Rapid advancement in video game technology has seen video game sound evolve from simple blips generated by internal circuitry to fully realised digital audio used to convey critical information. To accommodate the DHH, this information needs to be conveyed in an alternative manner. However, evidence suggests existing accessible design solutions for the DHH lack specificity and are insufficient. Thus, the inability to hear, or hear well, …

A Nested Environmental Approach To Typhoid Epidemiology In Central Division, Fiji, Aaron Jenkins

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Many current disease threats involve interactions within and between nested subsystems of biological organisation. Typhoid fever is a serious disease threat in the South Pacific region, with Fiji reporting the highest annual number of cases, yet risk factors in this setting have been poorly studied. While localised behaviours have dominated perspectives on typhoid transmission, interactions between distal ecological conditions, conditions of the residential environment and localised behaviour deserve greater attention for their potential to influence transmission. This thesis demonstrates a nested approach to typhoid epidemiology using a fivefold methodology to explore how regional, river basin, residential, socio-cultural and behavioural subsystems …

Clostridium Difficile Infection In The Lao People's Democratic Republic: First Isolation And Review Of The Literature, Elaine Cheong, Tamalee Roberts, Sayaphet Rattanavong, Thomas V. Riley, Paul N. Newton, David A.B. Dance

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background

Current knowledge of the epidemiology of Clostridium difficile infection in Asia, and in particular the Greater Mekong Subregion, is very limited. Only a few studies from Thailand and Vietnam have been reported from the region with variable testing methods and results, and no studies from Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR). Therefore we investigated the presence of C. difficile in a single centre in the Lao PDR and determined the ribotypes present.

Method

Seventy unformed stool samples from hospital inpatients at Mahosot Hospital, Vientiane, were tested for the presence of C. difficile using selective differential agar and confirmed by latex …

Property And Sovereignty: An Indian Reserve And A Canadian City, Douglas C. Harris

All Faculty Publications

Property rights, wrote Morris Cohen in 1927, are delegations of sovereign power. They are created by the state and operate to establish limits on its power. As such, the allocation of property rights is an exercise of sovereignty and a limited delegation of it. Sixty years later, Joseph Singer used Cohen’s conceptual framing in a critical review of developments in American Indian law. Where the US Supreme Court had the opportunity to label an American Indian interest as either a sovereign interest or a property interest, he argued, it invariably chose to the disadvantage of the Indians. Within Canada, Indigenous …

Center Of Pressure Excursion During A Single Leg Standing Test In Ambulatory Children With Cerebral Palsy, Ryan Thomas Callahan

Theses and Dissertations--Kinesiology and Health Promotion

INTRODUCTION: Cerebral Palsy (CP) is the most common disabling motor disorder found during childhood, occurring in 2.1-3.2 of every 1,000 births. Motor functionality of children with CP is commonly compromised and is classified with a gross motor function classification score (GMFCS) and with the gross motor function measure (GMFM). Balance ability has typically been assessed using single leg stance test (SLST) time but more recently, center of pressure excursion (COPE) has shown to be a more valid measurement in populations with altered motor abilities. However, COPE has not been used to test balance in the CP population, yet. This study …

Small Noncoding Rna Expression During Extreme Anoxia Tolerance Of Annual Killifish (Austrofundulus Limnaeus) Embryos, Claire L. Riggs, Jason E. Podrabsky

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Small noncoding RNAs (sncRNA) have recently emerged as specific and rapid regulators of gene expression, involved in a myriad of cellular and organismal processes. MicroRNAs, a class of sncRNAs, are differentially expressed in diverse taxa in response to environmental stress, including anoxia. In most vertebrates, a brief period of oxygen deprivation results in severe tissue damage or death. Studies on sncRNA and anoxia have focused on these anoxia-sensitive species. Studying sncRNAs in anoxia-tolerant organisms may provide insight into adaptive mechanisms supporting anoxia tolerance. Embryos of the annual killifish Austrofundulus limnaeus are the most anoxia-tolerant vertebrates known, surviving over 100 days …