Digital Commons Network^™

Pathogen Transmission Techniques And Genotypic Resistance To Disease In The Threatened Coral, Acropora Cervicornis, Megan Bock

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Unprecedented population losses of the staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis, since the 1970s have been attributed primarily to disease. Although a positive linear relationship between disease prevalence and increased water temperature has been described, the pathogen(s) causing disease and whether they are spread through the water or vectors is still poorly understood. Additionally, an increase in disease outbreaks and severity has provided an urgent need to identify natural genotypic resistance to disease in Caribbean acroporids. Studies to date have explored a variety of pathogen transmission methods, but prior to this study, there has been no examination of differences among common techniques. …

Identifying Disease-Resistant And Thermal-Tolerant Genotypes In The Threatened Staghorn Coral, Acropora Cervicornis, Morgan V. Hightshoe

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Since the 1970s, loss of herbivores, coral bleaching, pollution, and disease epidemics have reshaped the ecological framework of coral reefs. Staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis, was a major reef-building scleractinian coral found throughout Florida and the Caribbean that experienced unprecedented population declines primarily due to disease and coral bleaching. These two stressors are coupled; the highest coral disease prevalence occurs after periods of thermal stress caused by increased sea surface temperature. Previous research documented three disease-resistant A. cervicornis genotypes in Panama, but it is unknown if disease-resistant genotypes exist in the Florida Keys. Thermal tolerance has been found to be …

2018 April 27 - Board Of Trustees Meeting, Board Of Trustees, East Tennessee State University

Board of Trustees Agendas and Minutes

No abstract provided.

2018 April 27 - Board Of Trustees Academic And Student Affairs Committee, Board Of Trustees, East Tennessee State University

Board of Trustees Agendas and Minutes

No abstract provided.

Cd8+ T-Cell Responses In Vaccination: Reconsidering Targets And Function In The Context Of Chronic Antigen Stimulation, Gabriela L. Cosma, Laurence Eisenlohr

Department of Microbiology and Immunology Faculty Papers

Cytotoxic CD8 T cells play important roles in eliminating infected and transformed cells. Owing to their potential for therapeutic applications, significant efforts are dedicated toward developing CD8 T cell-based vaccines. Thus far, CD8 T-cell vaccination strategies have had limited success therapeutically in contrast to those targeting antibody-based immunity. However, if the current challenges and gaps in the understanding of T-cell biology are overcome, the full potential of rational CD8 T-cell vaccine design might be realized. Here, we review recent progress in this direction, focusing on target selection and maintenance of function in the settings of chronic infections and cancers.

The Localization Of The Indian Sanitary Department: Cholera’S Role In Creating The Bureaucracy Of The Raj And Sustaining An Empire, Ethan Friederich

Voces Novae

In 1817, the first cholera pandemic emerged from the brackish waters of the Bangladeshi coast.1 The bureaucracy of British India tasked regional Sanitary Commissioners with eliminating cholera, beginning a country-wide movement in public health, but both social pressures and imperial concerns impacted medical progress. Compared to the local officers, the national division of the Sanitary Department and the Indian Medical Service (IMS) crafted and employed a narrow scientific perspective, distinct from popular research and Western measures to counteract the disease. In the West, medical practice and study resulted in the successful implementation of public sanitation and new standards for clean …

Use Of Urine Antigen Testing For Blastomyces In An Integrated Health System, Dennis J. Baumgardner

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Purpose: Blastomycosis, an endemic fungal infection, mimics many other diseases. We explored the use of Blastomyces urine antigen (BuAg), reportedly the most sensitive noninvasive test, in clinical practice and compared it to other noninvasive tests.

Methods: A total of 836 BuAg tests performed on unique patients (first test only) at one large integrated health system from June 2013 to May 2016 were retrospectively reviewed to examine test characteristics and demographic features. Of these, 100 cases from 2015, a year containing a large local blastomycosis outbreak, were randomly selected for detailed analysis.

Results: Demographics for the BuAg-tested population: mean age 54.9 …

Practical Spectrophotometric Assay For The Dape-Encoded N-Succinyl-L,L-Diaminopimelic Acid Desuccinylase, A Potential Antibiotic Target, Tahira K. Heath, Marlon R. Lutz Jr., Cory T. Reidl, Estefany R. Guzman, Claire A. Herbert, Boguslaw P. Nocek, Richard C. Hotz, Kenneth W. Olsen, Miguel A. Ballicora, Daniel P. Becker

Chemistry: Faculty Publications and Other Works

A new enzymatic assay for the bacterial enzyme succinyl-diaminopimelate desuccinylase (DapE, E.C. 3.5.1.18) is described. This assay employs N⁶-methyl-N²-succinyl-L,L-diaminopimelic acid (N⁶-methyl-L,L-SDAP) as the substrate with ninhydrin used to detect cleavage of the amide bond of the modified substrate, wherein N⁶-methylation enables selective detection of the primary amine enzymatic product. Molecular modeling supported preparation of the mono-N⁶-methylated-L,L-SDAP as an alternate substrate for the assay, given binding in the active site of DapE predicted to be comparable to the endogenous substrate. The alternate substrate for the assay, N^{6 …}

Practical Spectrophotometric Assay For The Dape-Encoded N-Succinyl-L,L-Diaminopimelic Acid Desuccinylase, A Potential Antibiotic Target, Tahirah K. Heath, Marlon R. Lutz Jr., Cory Reidl, Estefany R. Guzman, Claire A. Herbert, Boguslaw P. Nocek, Richard C. Holz, Kenneth W. Olsen, Miguel A. Ballicora, Daniel P. Becker

Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications

A new enzymatic assay for the bacterial enzyme succinyl-diaminopimelate desuccinylase (DapE, E.C. 3.5.1.18) is described. This assay employs N⁶-methyl-N²-succinyl-L,L-diaminopimelic acid (N⁶-methyl-L,L-SDAP) as the substrate with ninhydrin used to detect cleavage of the amide bond of the modified substrate, wherein N⁶-methylation enables selective detection of the primary amine enzymatic product. Molecular modeling supported preparation of the mono-N⁶-methylated-L,L-SDAP as an alternate substrate for the assay, given binding in the active site of DapE predicted to be comparable to the endogenous substrate. The alternate substrate for the assay, N^{6 …}

Associations Between Feeding Practices And Growth And Neurodevelopmental Outcomes, Barbara T. Do, Nellie I. Hansen, Carla Bann, Rebecca L. Lander, Shivaprasad S. Goudar, Omrana Pasha, Elwyn Chomba, Sangappa M. Dhaded, Vanessa R. Thorsten, Jan L. Wallander, Fred J. Biasini, Richard Derman, Robert L. Goldenberg, Waldemar A. Carlo

Global Health Articles

Background

Feeding practices over the first several years of a child’s life can critically influence development. The purpose of this study was to examine associations between feeding practices and growth and neurodevelopmental outcomes at 36 months of age among children from low- and low-middle-income countries (LMIC).

Methods

We conducted a secondary analysis using data collected from children in India, Pakistan, and Zambia who were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial of a home-based early development intervention program called Brain Research to Ameliorate Impaired Neurodevelopment Home-based Intervention Trial. Qualitative dietary data collected at 36 months was used to assess the modified …

Van Wagoner Promoted To Associate Dean For Students, Brit Blalock

Browse All News

No abstract provided.

Genomic Methods For Bacterial Infection Identification, Duy Tran Pham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) have high mortality rates around the world and are a challenge to medical science due to rapid mutation rates in their pathogens. A new methodology is proposed to identify bacterial species causing HAIs based on sets of universal biomarkers for next-generation microarray designs (i.e., nxh chips), rather than a priori selections of biomarkers. This method allows arbitrary organisms to be classified based on readouts of their DNA sequences, including whole genomes. The underlying models are based on the biochemistry of DNA, unlike traditional edit-distance based alignments. Furthermore, the methodology is fairly robust to genetic mutations, which are …

Vacci [Nation]: New York As A Stepping Stone To A Healthier Country, Kayla Hardesty

Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development

(Excerpt)

This Note focuses on New York State specifically and proposes that all states, including New York, eliminate their religious exemption to mandatory immunization laws and maintain only a medical exemption. Part I of this Note will give a brief backdrop of the development of immunization laws in the United States and will detail the history of New York’s vaccination exemption laws. Part II will then analyze recent statistics along with the health, judicial and economic consequences created by the increased rates of religious exemptions in New York. Part III will address New York’s social distancing policy where unimmunized children …

Quantifying Transport Of Passive Tracers And Inertial Particles In Geophysical Flows, Eric Forgoston

Sustainability Seminar Series

There has been a steady increase in the deployment of autonomous underwater and surface vehicles for applications such as ocean monitoring, tracking of marine processes, and forecasting contaminant transport. The underwater environment poses unique challenges since robots must operate in a communication and localization-limited environment where their dynamics are tightly coupled with the environmental dynamics. This work presents current efforts in understanding the impact of geophysical fluid dynamics on underwater vehicle control and autonomy. The focus of the first part of the talk is on the control of collaborative vehicles to track Lagrangian coherent structures and to localize contaminant spills. …

Value Of Toll-Like Receptor 3 (Tlr3) In Chronic Kidney Disease Patients With Hepatitis C Virus Infection, Aisha El-Shimy, El-Saied Shabaan, Hala Ibrahim, Iman Kamel, Tarek Fouad

Journal of Medicine in Scientific Research

Background Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a severe public health problem with a worldwide predominance of 3%. An estimated 5–20% of infected patients develop cirrhosis annually, and 1–4% of them develop hepatocellular carcinoma. In Egypt, the prevalence of HCV antibody and HCV RNA are 10.0 and 7.0%, respectively, in the 15–59 years age group. In children of 1–14 years old, the prevalence of HCV antibody and HCV RNA are 0.4 and 0.2%, respectively. HCV infection is a cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and results in a significant problem in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) might have an …

Restoring A Mapuche World: Resistance To Settler Colonialism In Chile's Child Protection System, Maxine Freedman

Political Science Honors Projects

How do Mapuche families engage with and resist settler colonialism in order to move toward decolonization? I argue that Mapuche families, especially youth, who are subjected to settler colonialism, envision and fight for a decolonized world. Grounded in the dispossession of indigenous land, settler colonialism permeates Chilean institutions including the child protection system, SENAME. SENAME targets indigenous families with tactics such as child removal, confinement, and criminalization, and its attempts at intercultural reform further assimilate families into settler culture. Yet, Mapuche people sustain their indigenous world. Youth promote Mapuche autonomy and knowledge through their discourse. Their vision might serve to …

Extensive Gene Amplification As A Mechanism For Piperacillin-Tazobactam Resistance In Escherichia Coli., Lisa M Schechter, David P Creely, Cherilyn D Garner, Dee Shortridge, Hoan Nguyen, Lei Chen, Blake M Hanson, Erica Sodergren Weinstock, George M. Weinstock, W Michael Dunne, Alex Van Belkum, Shana R Leopold

Faculty Research 2018

Although the TEM-1 β-lactamase (Bla_TEM-1) hydrolyzes penicillins and narrow-spectrum cephalosporins, organisms expressing this enzyme are typically susceptible to β-lactam/β-lactamase inhibitor combinations such as piperacillin-tazobactam (TZP). However, our previous work led to the discovery of 28 clinical isolates of Escherichia coli resistant to TZP that contained only bla_TEM-1 One of these isolates, E. coli 907355, was investigated further in this study. E. coli 907355 exhibited significantly higher β-lactamase activity and Bla_TEM-1 protein levels when grown in the presence of subinhibitory concentrations of TZP. A corresponding TZP-dependent increase in bla_TEM-1 copy number was also observed, with as …

Department Of Chemistry And Biochemistry 23rd Departmental Symposium In Conjunction With The Petersheim Academic Exposition, Seton Hall University

Petersheim Academic Exposition

No abstract provided.

Fetal Demise And Failed Antibody Therapy During Zika Virus Infection Of Pregnant Macaques, Diogo M. Magnani, Thomas F. Rogers, Nicholas J. Maness, Nathan D. Grubaugh, Nathan Beutler, Varian K. Bailey, Lucas Gonzalez-Nieto, Martin J. Gutman, Núria Pedreño-Lopez, Jaclyn M. Kwal, Michael J. Ricciardi, Tereance A. Myers, Justin G. Julander, Rudolf P. Bohm, Margaret H. Gilbert, Faith Schiro, Pyone P. Aye, Robert V. Blair, Mauricio A. Martins, Kathrine P. Falkenstien, Amitinder Kaur, Christine L. Curry, Esper G. Kallas, Ronald C. Desrosiers, Pascal J. Goldschmidt-Clermont, Stephen S. Whitehead, Kristian G. Andersen, Myrna C. Bonaldo, Andrew A. Lackner, Antonito T. Panganiban, Dennis R. Burton, David I. Watkins

Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

Zika virus (ZIKV) infection of pregnant women is associated with pathologic complications of fetal development. Here, we infect pregnant rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) with a minimally passaged ZIKV isolate from Rio de Janeiro, where a high rate of fetal development complications was observed. The infection of pregnant macaques with this virus results in maternal viremia, virus crossing into the amniotic fluid (AF), and in utero fetal deaths. We also treated three additional ZIKV-infected pregnant macaques with a cocktail of ZIKV-neutralizing human monoclonal antibodies (nmAbs) at peak viremia. While the nmAbs can be effective in clearing the virus from …

Different Dose-Dependent Modes Of Action Of C-Type Natriuretic Peptide On Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Biofilm Formation., F Desriac, T Clamens, T Rosay, S Rodrigues, Et Al

School of Biomedical Sciences

We have previously shown that the C-type Natriuretic Peptide (CNP), a peptide produced by lungs, is able to impact Pseudomonasaeruginosa physiology. In the present work, the effect of CNP at different concentrations on P. aeruginosa biofilm formation was studied and the mechanisms of action of this human hormone on P. aeruginosa were deciphered. CNP was shown to inhibit dynamic biofilm formation in a dose-dependent manner without affecting the bacterial growth at any tested concentrations. The most effective concentrations were 1 and 0.1 µM. At 0.1 µM, the biofilm formation inhibition was fully dependent on the CNP sensor protein AmiC, whereas …

Autoimmune Disorders And Hypersensitivities In The Developed World, Margaret S. Bohm

Conspectus Borealis

No abstract provided.

Gender And Religion In A Shifting Social Landscape: Anglo-Saxon Mortuary Practices, Ad 600-700, Caroline Palmer

Undergraduate Honors Theses

My thesis examines seventh-century East Anglian mortuary practices and cross-correlates grave goods and human remains to determine whether there was an expression of the sexual division of labor during this period of social and religious change. I argue that gender roles changed as a result of adopting kingdoms and Christianity. Prior to this time period, Anglo-Saxons were primarily pagan and were buried with extensive burial goods. In addition to changes in religious and burial practices, during the Final Phase (600-700 AD) there appears to have been a division of labor that was not as dichotomous in the Migration Phase (450-600 …

Comparison Of Effectiveness Between Combination Of Beta-Lactam With Azyhtromycin Or Levofloxacin For Adult Pneumonia Patients, Gina Arifah, Eli Halimah, Rizky Abdulah

Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy Research

Treatment for pneumonia has always been a challenge due to the difficulties in diagnosis and the growing incidence of antibiotic resistance. Beta-lactam antibiotics are the first line treatment for pneumonia. The combination of beta-lactam with other antibiotics are preferred than single antibiotic therapy. However, there was limited information regarding the effectiveness of combination between beta-lactam with either macrolides or fluoroquinolone for the treatment of pneumonia.The purpose of this study was to determine the most effective combination of antibiotics for hospitalized adults pneumonia patients. This was a cross-sectional study with prospective data collection. The data source was the medical record of …

Assessment Of Risk Factors Of Hepatotoxicity Among Tuberculosis Patients, Muhammad F. Wardhana, Tiana Milanda, Sri A. Sumiwi

Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy Research

Tuberculosis is a devastating disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. If left untreated or not properly treated, it could lead to progressive tissue damage and even death. Short-term chemotherapy containing isoniazid, rifampicin. and pyrazinamide were proven to be very effective in the treatment of TB. However, the concern regarding its potential hepatotoxicity might hinder the completion of treatment. Information regarding risk factor of hepatotoxicity among Indonesian tuberculosis patients were limited. This study aimed to investigate risk factors of hepatotoxicity among Indonesian tuberculosis patients. This was a case-control study with retrospective approach conducted at one of the public hospital in Lampung, Indonesia. …

Using Social Media To Generate And Collect Primary Data: The #Showsworkplacecompassion Twitter Research Campaign, W Clyne, S Pezaro, K Deeny, R Kneafsey

Peninsula Medical School

BACKGROUND: Compassion is a core value embedded in the concept of quality in healthcare. The need for compassion toward healthcare staff in the workplace, for their own health and well-being and also to enable staff to deliver compassionate care for patients, is increasingly understood. However, we do not currently know how healthcare staff understand and characterize compassion toward themselves as opposed to patients. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to use social media for the generation and collection of primary data to gain understanding of the concept of workplace compassion. METHODS: Tweets that contained the hashtag #ShowsWorkplaceCompassion were collected …

West-Nile Virus Replicon Particles Infect 293t Cells Expressing Dc-Signr, Osvaldo Martinez, Emin Budimlic, John Keilty, Hannah Kunkel, Wells Pollock, Madilyn R. Schmitz, Nicole Crowson, Nathan L. Leonard, Amanda Madigan, Victoria R. Schwarzinger, Alyssa J. Meyer, Mary Soderlund, Jean K. Lim, Icann School Of Medicine, New York

Undergraduate Research Celebration 2018

West-Nile virus (WNV) is an arbovirus usually transmitted to humans via a mosquito vector. Infections commonly result in febrile symptoms while rare severe neuroinvasive cases may result in encephalitis or meningitis. Studies have shown that WNV infection efficiency is enhanced by expression of DC-SIGNR on target cells, which normally do not express DC-SIGNR. To investigate WNV tropism, we established 293T kidney epithelial cell lines that stably express vector, DC-SIGNR and mutants of DC-SIGNR that lack the entire carbohydrate-recognition domain (CRD) or lack the C-terminal half of the CRD. We demonstrate successful surface expression of DC-SIGNR and its mutants from stablytransfected …

Medical Advantages Of Allogeneic Vs Autologous Stem Cell Transplants As Treatment In Blood Related Cancer Patients, Hailey Erwin

Academic Festival

Stem cell transplants have become common treatment for certain types of cancer including multiple myeloma and acute lymphoblastic leukemia. There are two types of stem cells that are derived from different places. Autologous stem cells are taken from the body of a sick patient and put back into the same patient after treatment. Allogeneic stem cells come from a donor and are given to a person who is sick as treatment. The main focus of this paper is to analyze the two different type of stem cell treatments and to determine which one is a more effective method in treating …

Integrated Screening For Arginase Inhibitors, Todd J. Sullivan, Sushma Sree Bondela, Renee Russo, Evan Jones, Hatoon Albilady, Benjamin Alper, Joseph Audie

Academic Festival

Arginase is an enzyme that catalyzes the formation of L-ornithine and urea from L-arginine. L-arginine is also a substrate for nitric oxide synthase (NOS), resulting in the formation of nitric oxide (NO) which is a key vasodilator. Not surprisingly, arginase inhibitors are being studied to treat various diseases, including hypertension, erectile dysfunction, atherosclerosis, wound healing and myocardial reperfusion injury. Recently, the use of virtual screening and docking to identify and characterize novel arginase inhibitors as potential therapeutics to treat leshmania infections has been reported in the literature. Hence, there is interest in the development of new and improved arginase inhibitors. …

Proceedings Of The 130th Annual Meeting Of The Iowa Academy Of Science [Abstracts & Program, 2018], Iowa Academy Of Science.

Annual Meeting of the Iowa Academy of Science [Programs & Abstracts]

Contains information about the schedule and presentations for the 2018 annual meeting of the Iowa Academy of Science, including abstracts.

A Potential New Way To Reduce Bed Bug Infestations: Arthroshield 880, Kristian Sills, Anne Park, Sean O'Keefe

Celebration of Student Scholarship Poster Sessions Archive

No abstract provided.