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Allergen Homologs In The Euroglyphus Maynei Draft Genome, S. Dean Rider, Majorie S. Morgan, Larry G. Arlian

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Euroglyphus maynei is a house dust mite commonly found in homes worldwide and is the source of allergens that sensitize and induce allergic reactions in humans. It is the source of species-specific allergens as well as allergens that are cross-reactive with the allergens from house dust mites Dermatophagoides farinae and D. pteronyssinus, and the ectoparasitic scabies mite Sarcoptes scabiei. The genomics, proteomics and molecular biology of E. maynei and its allergens have not been as extensively investigated as those of D. farinae, D. pteronyssinus, and S. scabiei where natural and recombinant allergens from these species have been characterized. Until now, …

Spread Of Dermacentor Reticulatus Is Associated With The Loss Of Forest Area, Ewa J. Mierzejewska, Agustín Estrada-Peña, Anna Bajer

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

Changes in tick distribution and abundance are among the main drivers of the (re)emergence of transmitted pathogens. We aimed to uncover the reasons of the reported spread of Dermacentor reticulatus in Poland using a variety of proxies of environmental features, ground-measured temperature and remotely-sensed data of temperature and vegetation. Ground-measured temperature was recorded in 2013–2014, in sites where D. reticulatus presence (n = 16) or absence (n = 16) was confirmed. We specifically aimed to test whether changes in phenology of vegetation and the length of the growing season were correlated with field-derived data regarding the presence/absence of D. reticulatus …

Health Profiles Of Newly Arriving Refugees In Kentucky, 2016: Data From The University Of Louisville Global Health Program, Ruth M. Carrico, Timothy L. Wiemken, Rahel Bosson, William A. Mattingly, Rebecca Ford, Sarah Van Heiden, Stanley Kotey, Julio A. Ramirez

Journal of Refugee & Global Health

Objectives: Refugees resettling in the United States bring with them a number of health conditions, the majority chronic. These health conditions may impact their ability to be successful with disease self-management and employment, and acculturate and thrive in their new communities. Knowledge of health conditions present in individual refugee populations can be of benefit to healthcare providers in the community and public health. The objective of this manuscript is to describe the state of health among refugees newly arriving in the US and resettling in Kentucky during 2016.

Methods: Using data from the domestic health screens, immunization clinics, and the …

Refugee-Centered Medical Home:A New Approach To Care At The University Of Louisville Global Health Center, Rahel Bosson, Ruth M. Carrico, Anupama Raghuram, Paula Peyrani, William A. Mattingly, Rebecca Ford, Stephen P. Furmanek, Julio A. Ramirez

Journal of Refugee & Global Health

Refugees arrive to the United States with a full spectrum of health conditions, many of which involve intense case management requiring significant financial investments and use of healthcare resources. Kentucky receives more than 3,000 new refugees each year and ranked 10th in the nation for numbers of new arrivals resettled during 2015. These refugees arrive from diverse countries representing different cultures and speaking different languages. In addition, they arrive with diverse health conditions and medical needs. The aims of this paper are to share experiences from the University of Louisville Global Health Center regarding conceptualization, implementation and evaluation of a …

Use Of Emergency Department For Care Access By Refugees Resettling In Kentucky, 2015: Findings From The University Of Louisville Global Health Center, Ruth M. Carrico, Carmen Mitchell, Dawn Balcom, Linda Goss, Anna Persaud, Karen Mutsch, Timothy L. Wiemken, Rahel Bosson, Julio A. Ramirez

Journal of Refugee & Global Health

Background: Kentucky is one of the largest rural resettlement areas for refugees in the US welcoming more than 3,000 refugees and other entrants during 2015. Refugees arrive with a number of chronic health conditions that require ongoing management in a healthcare system where they lack knowledge and ability to navigate. This may encourage them to seek care that is easy to access but episodic and fragmented. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency and reasons for accessing care via a local emergency department by resettling refugees during their first twelve months of resettlement.

Methods: Using data from …

Commonwealth Times 2017-08-21

Commonwealth Times, 1969-

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Mental Health In Cuban Refugees: The Role Of The Refugee Health Screener-15, Rahel Bosson, Victoria A. Schlaudt, Monnica T. Williams, Ruth M. Carrico, Adriana Peña, Julio A. Ramirez, Jonathan Kanter

Journal of Refugee & Global Health

The Refugee Health Screener-15 (RHS-15) is widely used in refugee populations, but the psychometric properties and clinical utility have not been evaluated in Cuban refugees and entrants. The current study explored results from the Spanish version of the RHS-15 in a sample of 53 Cuban entrants and refugees, and of these, 17.6% screened positive for a mental health concern. Analyses suggested that a positive screening was significantly related to symptoms of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder; however, it was not associated with demographic variables such as gender, mode of transport, or the number of countries through which a refugee …

Rates Of Autoimmune Disease Increasing In Women, Rosa De La Cotera

Grace Peterson Nursing Research Colloquium

Abstract

Autoimmune disorders (AD) are a group of highly disabling pathological conditions that are growing at an alarming rate affecting approximately 8% of the population. These disorders occur more frequently in women, as 78% of those diagnosed are women. Little conclusive research has been conducted as to determine why there is a tremendous sex disparity when looking at the rates. Due to the overall poor health that results from these disorders, there is an increase in the societal burden in terms of health care costs, loss of work productivity and reduced quality of life. The aim of this integrative literature …

Development Of C5ar-Targeted Nanoparticles For Delivery Of Vaccines, Shailendra Bharadwaj Tallapaka Venkata Sesha

Theses & Dissertations

Since the early attempts of Benjamin Jesty at inducing immunity against smallpox and the pioneering work of Edward Jenner, vaccination has been, and continues to remain, the principal method of protection from diseases. However, most of the successful vaccines have been against pathogens that do not have major mechanisms to evade the immune system. So far, many life-threatening diseases like hepatitis C, HIV infection, malaria etc., have been resistant to existing vaccination strategies. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop new vaccination strategies that can generate long-lived protective immunity against such pathogens.

The purpose of this thesis is to …

Redirection Of The Immune Response To Staphylococcus Aureus Biofilm Infection, Anna G. Staudacher

Theses & Dissertations

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is a leading cause of community- and healthcare-associated infections and has a propensity to form biofilms. Biofilm infections are recalcitrant to host immune-mediated clearance as well as antibiotics, making them exceptionally difficult to eradicate. The biofilm environment has been shown to skew the host immune response towards an anti-inflammatory phenotype, characterized by alternatively activated macrophages, recruitment of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), and minimal neutrophil and T cell infiltrates. Our laboratory has attempted to redirect the host immune response towards one that would favor bacterial clearance by employing strategies to augment pro-inflammatory mechanisms. One such …

Patient-Centered Medical Home Adoption In School-Based Health Centers, Abbey Gregg

Theses & Dissertations

The patient-centered medical home (PCMH) is promoted as a primary care delivery design that can improve health care quality and patient outcomes while controlling health care costs. To achieve PCMH recognition, primary care providers must implement practice-level changes in order to deliver care that is comprehensive, coordinated, accessible, high quality, and whole-person oriented. This practice transformation requires advanced use of health information technology, staff investment in quality improvement and care coordination, and significant investments of both financial and human resources to support these activities. As a safety-net provider, school-based health centers (SBHCs) serve vulnerable children that typically experience barriers to …

Clostridium Difficile: A Study On Its Potential As A Food-Borne Pathogen And Strategies For Controlling Its Transmission, Genevieve Flock

Doctoral Dissertations

Clostridium difficile is a gram-positive, spore-forming, anaerobic, nosocomial pathogen affecting hospitalized patients taking long-term antibiotics. The bacterium is responsible for over 500,000 cases and 29,000 deaths annually (Lessa et al., 2015), with ~ $3 billion in health-care costs (O'Brien et al., 2007). There has been the emergence of a new hypervirulent strain of C. difficile known as North American Pulsotype 1 (NAP1), which is responsible for severe infections. Further, an increase in the incidence of C. difficile infections outside of hospital environments (Hensgens et al., 2012; McDonald et al., 2006; Rupnik et al., 2009) is observed. It is reported that …

Estimates Of Burden And Consequences Of Infants Born Small For Gestational Age In Low And Middle Income Countries With Intergrowth-21(St) Standard: Analysis Of Cherg Datasets., Anne Cc Lee, Naoko Kozuki, Simon Cousens, Gretchen A Stevens, Hannah Blencowe, Mariangela F Silveira, Ayesha Sania, Heather E Rosen, Christentze Schmiegelow, Linda S Adair, Abdullah H Baqui, Fernando C Barros, Zulfiqar A Bhutta, Laura E Caulfield, Parul Christian, Siân E Clarke, Wafaie Fawzi, Rogelio Gonzalez, Jean Humphrey, Lieven Huybregts, Simon Kariuki, Patrick Kolsteren, John Lusingu, Dharma Manandhar, Aroonsri Mongkolchati, Luke C Mullany, Richard Ndyomugyenyi, Jyh Kae Nien, Dominique Roberfroid, Naomi Saville, Dianne J Terlouw, James M Tielsch, Cesar G Victora, Sithembiso C Velaphi, Deborah Watson-Jones, Barbara A Willey, Majid Ezzati, Joy E Lawn, Robert E Black, Joanne Katz

Global Health Faculty Publications

Objectives To estimate small for gestational age birth prevalence and attributable neonatal mortality in low and middle income countries with the INTERGROWTH-21st birth weight standard.

Design Secondary analysis of data from the Child Health Epidemiology Reference Group (CHERG), including 14 birth cohorts with gestational age, birth weight, and neonatal follow-up. Small for gestational age was defined as infants weighing less than the 10th centile birth weight for gestational age and sex with the multiethnic, INTERGROWTH-21st birth weight standard. Prevalence of small for gestational age and neonatal mortality risk ratios were calculated and pooled among these datasets at the regional level. …

Human Milk And Allergic Diseases: An Unsolved Puzzle, Daniel Munblit, Diego G. Peroni, Alba Boix-Amorós, Peter S. Hsu, Belinda Van't Land, Melvin C. L. Gay, Anastasia Kolotilina, Chrysanthi Skevaki, Robert J. Boyle, Maria C. Collado, Johan Garssen, Donna T. Geddes, Ralph Nanan, Carolyn Slupsky, Ganesa Wegienka, Anita L. Kozyrskyj, John O. Warner

Public Health Sciences Articles

There is conflicting evidence on the protective role of breastfeeding in relation to the development of allergic sensitisation and allergic disease. Studies vary in methodology and definition of outcomes, which lead to considerable heterogeneity. Human milk composition varies both within and between individuals, which may partially explain conflicting data. It is known that human milk composition is very complex and contains variable levels of immune active molecules, oligosaccharides, metabolites, vitamins and other nutrients and microbial content. Existing evidence suggests that modulation of human breast milk composition has potential for preventing allergic diseases in early life. In this review, we discuss …

Genetic Diversity Of Cd14 Promoter Gene Polymorphism (Rs2569190) Is Associated With Regulation Of Malaria Parasitemia And Susceptibility To Plasmodium Falciparum Infection., Olusola Ojurongbe, Roland I. Funwei, Tara J. Snyder, Najihah Aziz, Yi Li, Catherine O. Falade, Bolaji N. Thomas

Articles

CD14 is a multifunctional receptor expressed on many cell types and has been shown to mediate immune response resulting in the activation of an inflammatory cascade, with polymorphism of its promoter (rs2569190) found to be associated with susceptibility to several diseases. In malaria infection, the CD14 gene demonstrated a pathogenic profile in regulating experimental cerebral malaria, with reports of elevated levels of soluble CD14 in serum of patients but no definitive conclusion. We present a detailed analysis of genetic diversity of CD14 promoter gene (snp −159 C/T; rs2519190) polymorphism between a malaria-infected group and uninfected controls and its association with …

The Phylogenetics And Evolutionary History Of The Northern Latitude Plant Genus Therorhodion (Maxim.) Small (Ericaceae), Margaret G. Oliver

Biological Sciences

Taxonomic uncertainty in the Arctic-alpine flowering plant genus Therorhodion (Maxim.) Small (Ericaceae) can be attributed to two distinctly different viewpoints representing the taxonomic diversity. Russian taxonomists recognize two species, one with two subspecies, whereas three distinct species are recognized in North America following a broader species concept. Therorhodion redowskianum Hutch. is restricted to Asia, and is unambiguously recognized by both viewpoints. Therorhodion camtschaticum Small and T. glandulosum Standl. ex Small have an amphiberingian distribution in eastern Asia and Alaska with T. glandulosum sometimes recognized as a subspecies of T. camtschaticum. Investigating this taxonomic disagreement creates an opportunity to learn more …

Estimates Of Burden And Consequences Of Infants Born Small For Gestational Age In Low And Middle Income Countries With Intergrowth-21st Standard: Analysis Of Cherg Datasets, Anne C C Lee, Naoko Kozuki, Simon Cousens, Gretchen A. Stevens, Hannah Blencowe, Mariangela F. Silveira, Ayesha Sania, Heather E. Rosen, Christentze Schmiegelow, Linda S. Adair, Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Objectives: To estimate small for gestational age birth prevalence and attributable neonatal mortality in low and middle income countries with the INTERGROWTH-21st birth weight standard.
Design: Secondary analysis of data from the Child Health Epidemiology Reference Group (CHERG), including 14 birth cohorts with gestational age, birth weight, and neonatal follow-up. Small for gestational age was defined as infants weighing less than the 10th centile birth weight for gestational age and sex with the multiethnic, INTERGROWTH-21st birth weight standard. Prevalence of small for gestational age and neonatal mortality risk ratios were calculated and pooled among these datasets at the regional level. …

Past, Present And Future Of Surgical Meshes: A Review, Karen Baylón, Perla Rodríguez-Camarillo, Alex Elías-Zúñiga, Jose Antonio Díaz-Elizondo, Robert Gilkerson, Karen Lozano

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Surgical meshes, in particular those used to repair hernias, have been in use since 1891. Since then, research in the area has expanded, given the vast number of post-surgery complications such as infection, fibrosis, adhesions, mesh rejection, and hernia recurrence. Researchers have focused on the analysis and implementation of a wide range of materials: meshes with different fiber size and porosity, a variety of manufacturing methods, and certainly a variety of surgical and implantation procedures. Currently, surface modification methods and development of nanofiber based systems are actively being explored as areas of opportunity to retain material strength and increase biocompatibility …

Social Determinants Of Health And Health Data Panel, Carol Gilbert, Athena Ramos, Tom Rauner, David J. Drozd

CPAR Presents: A Data and Research Series for Community Impact

A newer and expanding area of research is how socio-economic characteristics like income and education levels influence health outcomes. It has been said that your zip code is more important to your well-being than your genetic code. Local and national studies have shown correlations between higher poverty leading to lower life expectancy. Hear a panel of experts describe the health data of interest and how Census data tie into this important field of study.

More Haste, Less Speed: Could Public-Private Partnerships Advance Cellular Immunotherapies?, Tania M. Bubela, Katherine Bonter, Silvy Lachance, Jean-Sébastien Delisle, E Richard Gol

Office of the Provost

Cellular immunotherapies promise to transform cancer care. However, they must overcome serious challenges, including: (1) the need to identify and characterize novel cancer antigens to expand the range of therapeutic targets; (2) the need to develop strategies to minimize serious adverse events, such as cytokine release syndrome and treatment-related toxicities; and (3) the need to develop efficient production/manufacturing processes to reduce costs. Here, we discuss whether these challenges might better be addressed through forms of public-private research collaborations, including public-private partnerships (PPPs), or whether these challenges are best addressed by way of standard market transactions. We reviewed 14 public-private relationships …

The Governance Of Indigenous Health, Constance Macintosh

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

This chapter explores these dynamics of Indigenous health governance in Canada. It opens by describing how Indigenous peoples have successfully used constitutional arguments to assert their own vision of well-being, within the broader context of colonial oppression and attempts to erase Indigenous knowledge and culture. The chapter then tracks federal initiatives on Indigenous health, in their design and outcomes, and how they evolved into the contemporary state governance regime. The next part turns to provincial and self-government initiatives that have expanded, but also complicated, Indigenous health governance in Canada. The chapter closes by considering different ways in which provinces, territories …

Screening Of Antifungal Susceptibility In Cave-Dwelling Aspergilli And Report Of An Amphotericin B-Resistant Aspergillus Flavus, Erika L.S. Taylor, Gabriella F. Ferreira, Gustavo J.C. Freitas, Rodrigo L. Ferreira, Daniel De Assis Santos, Maria A. De Resende-Stoianoff

International Journal of Speleology

Caves are stable environments that favour the development of several microorganisms. The aspergilli represent a large number of species isolated from caves including strains capable of causing serious invasive opportunistic infections in humans. Considering that caves may harbour resistant strains to many antibiotics, investigation on the response of opportunistic aspergilli, isolated from pristine and tourist caves to antifungal agents and the mechanisms involved in resistance might be clinically relevant. A total of 32 strains of the species Aspergillus candidus, A. flavus, A. fumigatus, A. niger, A. tamarii, and A. terreus were isolated from caves in …

Pneumonia Due To A Rare Pathogen: Achromobacter Xylosoxidans, Subspecies Denitrificans, Hesham Awadh, Munthir Mansour, Obadah Aqtash, Yousef Shweihat

Internal Medicine

Achromobacter xylosoxidans, subspecies denitrificans, is a gram-negative rod recently implicated as an emerging cause of infection in both immunosuppressed and immunocompetent populations. Few cases are reported in literature involvingmultiple body systems. Diagnosis depends on cultures of appropriate specimens, and management usually is by administration of appropriate antibiotics(usually agents with antipseudomonal activity).We report a rare case of pneumonia due to infection with this organism, in a patient with preexisting bronchiectasis secondary to chronic aspiration.

Career Corner: Biology Alum Kevin King To Network With Stemstart Freshmen, Ohio University College Of Arts & Sciences

All Forum Articles

No abstract provided.

Midline Catheter Usage In The Neonatal Population, Kelly Freeland

Master's Projects and Capstones

Neonatal sepsis is associated with increased mortality and morbidities including lengthy hospital stays. Neonate’s immature immune system and susceptibility to sepsis make them prone to antibiotic treatment. Lack of recommendations points to the need for evidence-based practices when selecting a vascular access device (VAD). Literature reviewed demonstrated that a midline catheter (MC) was an option for a VAD with neonatal populations requiring antibiotic therapy more than 48 hours. MCs offer fewer complications compared to the peripheral intravenous (PIV) device. The objective of this project is to reduce the amount of pain experienced by neonates by reducing the number of PIV …

Robust Odorant Recognition In Biological And Artificial Olfaction, Nalin Katta

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Accurate detection and identification of gases pose a number of challenges for chemical sensory systems. The stimulus space is enormous; volatile compounds vary in size, charge, functional groups, and isomerization among others. Furthermore, variability arises from intrinsic (poisoning of the sensors or degradation due to aging) and extrinsic (environmental: humidity, temperature, flow patterns) sources. Nonetheless, biological olfactory systems have been refined over time to overcome these challenges. The main objective of this work is to understand how the biological olfactory system deals with these challenges, and translate them to artificial olfaction to achieve comparable capabilities. In particular, this thesis focuses …

Expansion Of Microbial Virology By Impetus Of The Reduction Of Viral Dark Matter, Siddharth Ravindran Krishnamurthy

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Modern metagenomic methods have rapidly accelerated the rate of viral discovery. Currently, to discover a novel virus, deep sequencing reads must align to a known reference virus. While alignment is effective at identifying closely related viruses, highly divergent viruses can often share no discernable sequence alignment with known viruses. Therefore, the accurate classification of viral dark matter – metagenomic sequences that originate from viruses but do not align to any reference virus sequences – is one of the major obstacles in not only discovering novel viruses, but also by extension, comprehensively defining the virome. As viral dark matter results fundamentally …

Exploring Host-Virus Interactions In Caenorhabditis Nematodes, Kevin Chen

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Caenorhabditis elegans is a powerful model organism that has elucidated many biological questions in the fields of genetics, development, and neurobiology. In addition, C. elegans has been used in the past decade to investigate host-pathogen interactions with bacteria and fungi. The recent identification of nematode viruses that naturally infect C. elegans and Caenorhabditis briggsae provides a unique opportunity to define host-virus interactions in these model hosts.This dissertation first explored the transcriptional response of C. elegans and C. briggsae to virus infection by RNA-seq. I identified a total of 320 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in C. elegans following Orsay virus infection. …

Antibiogram Study And Antibiotic Use Evaluation Using Gyssen Method In Patients With Diabetic Foot, Umul Fadlilah, Didik Hasmono, Yudi Agung Wibisono, Mia Melinda

Folia Medica Indonesiana

Foot infection is a common and serious problem in people with diabetes, which require proper management (diagnostic and therapeutic approaches) that can be cured. Empiric antibiotic regimen should be based on clinical data and bacteria pattern that are available, but definitive therapy should be based on the results of the infected tissue culture. The selection of initial antibiotic therapy was difficult and unwise use can lead to antibiotic-resistant. Evaluation is needed for using antibiotics to benefit wisely. The aim of this research is to analyzed the pattern of bacteria in diabetic foot and to its sensitivity test to antibiotics, analyze …

Week Of August 14, 2017, New York Medical College

InTouch

• The School of Medicine Class of 2021 Joins the College Community
• Center for Long-Term Care Welcomes Notable Physiotherapist and Philanthropist for Special Presentation
• GSBMS Welcomes New Students
• HSL Hosts Talk on the Health of the First President