Digital Commons Network^™

Transmission Potential Of Rickettsia Felis Through Cutaneous Inoculation Of Infectious Flea Feces, Kelsey Porter Legendre

LSU Master's Theses

Rickettsia felis, the causative agent of flea-borne spotted fever, is an emerging pathogen of the transitional group Rickettsiae and an important cause of febrile illness in Africa. Since the organism’s original discovery in the early 1990s, much research has been directed towards elucidating transmission mechanisms within the believed primary host and reservoir, the cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis). However, while a growing number of human cases are being reported throughout the world, a definitive transmission mechanism from arthropod host to vertebrate host resulting in clinical disease has not been found. Several possible mechanisms, including bite of infected arthropods …

Student Nurses Perception Of Ability To Provide Care Internationally, Cassie A. Williams

Honors College Theses

PUPOSE: With diversity expected to increase in the future, Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) education regarding international nursing care and cultural competency was explored. Specifically, the purpose of this research was to determine whether current BSN students believe they are capable of providing appropriate care to international patients and/or patients of different cultural backgrounds.

METHODOLOGY: A mixed-methods survey was designed to assess student’s perception of ability to care for and interact with international patients and patients of different cultural backgrounds. Additionally, it was assessed whether students believed more cultural education should be provided by the School of Nursing.

RESULTS: …

Synthesis, Characterization, And Assessment Of Cationic Polypeptoids Toward Gene Delivery And Development Of Air Stable N-Substituted N-Thiocarboxyanhydrides, Jessica Michelle Simpson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Peptoids are a class of peptidomimetic polymers, which have attracted much attention over the years. Due to their structural similarity to peptides, this group of polymers affords good biocompatibility making them of interest for biomedical applications. This dissertation is largely about the design, synthesis, and characterization of cationic polypeptoids for biological applications, particularly nonviral gene delivery. The dissertation will also cover the development, characterization, and polymerization behavior of a new, air stable N-thiocarboxyanhydride (NTA) monomer.

Introducing functionality, such as small biomolecules and organic compounds can provide distinctive properties to the polymers. Chapter 1 introduces gene therapy and concepts pertinent …

Asian Indians And Premature Heart Disease: A Systematic Review, Juvy Montecalvo Acosta

Nursing Education Research Conference (NERC)

This systematic review aims is to locate, appraise, and examine the best available evidence for identification of the risk factors of heart disease in the Asian Indian population.

A System Dynamics Innovation Diffusion Model Applied To Carbon Nanotube Manufacturing, Frances G. Mackinnon

Theses and Dissertations

The transition of advanced technologies from their nascent state to viable commercial entities is a critical step in assuring the United States' national technological superiority and support is often required to incubate such technological developments. We propose a spiral development to investigate the possible scenarios, underlying economics, and risk associated with scaling up carbon nanotube (CNT) production to a commercially viable scale. As the first stage of this proposed effort, this study characterizes the potential scenarios by which a CNT manufacturing company can generate positive annual net revenue and potentially be considered a competitive manufacturer of CNT products on an …

The Search For Solutions In America's Opioid Crisis, Staff

Browse All News

No abstract provided.

Reduction In Needlestick Injuries Using A Novel Package Of Interventions, Kamal Thakor Patel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In 2015 Dr. Pratiksha Vaghela started the “Stop Poking Me” campaign which was aimed at curbing the increase in the number of needlesticks at the James A. Haley Veteran Affairs Hospital (JAHVA). The data for needlesticks was collected by the Occupational Medicine Clinic (OMC) between Oct 2013 and Oct 2016. We then obtained the original data from Dr. Vaghela’s project and compared the data to assess whether the new implementations have truly decreased the number of needlesticks. There was a 23.6% reduction in the number of needlesticks between 2013 and 2016 and even more importantly a 60.1% reduction between 2015 …

Design, Synthesis, Application Of Biodegradable Polymers, Mussie Gide

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bacterial infections have posed a serious threat to the public health due to the significant rise of the infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. There has been considerable interest in the development of antimicrobial agents which mimic the natural HDPs, and among them biodegradable polymers are newly discovered drug candidates with ease of synthesis and low manufacture cost compared to synthetic host defense peptides. Herein, we present the synthesis of biocompatible and biodegradable polymers including polycarbonate polymers, unimolecular micelle hyperbranched polymers and dendrimers that mimic the antibacterial mechanism of HDPs by compromising bacterial cell membranes. The developed amphiphilic polycarbonates are highly …

C-Reactive Protein In Community Acquired Pneumonia, Mohammed Abed Abdulhussein, Haydar Jawad Al-Jobourim

Muthanna Medical Journal

C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute phase protein synthesized by hepatocytes. In response to infection or tissue inflammation, CRP production is rapidly stimulated by cytokines, particularly interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1 and tumor necrosis factor. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the prognostic value of CRP levels at admission as an indicator of the severity or complication of CAP. Fifty patients with primary diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia during March 2013 to February 2014. A 25 patients were males and 25 females. The CRP measured by CRP-latex Slide agglutination method. Also patient underwent chest-x ray and patients were categorized into …

Evolution Of Alu Elements In The Saimiri And Papio Lineages Of Primates, Jasmine Nicole Brown Baker

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Alu elements are approximately 300 base pair (bp) primate specific non- autonomous retrotransposons. Alu elements, a short interspersed element (SINE), account for high copy numbers in all primate genomes. Numerous Alu element subfamilies have undergone varying degrees of activity and amplification within primates. Identification of these subfamilies has proved to be very informative in elucidating phylogenies and as phylogenomic markers. Squirrel monkeys, genus Saimiri, are one of the most well-known neotropical primates and the second most commonly used laboratory monkey. Squirrel monkey species diverged approximately 1.5 million years ago and are native to South America. Despite being well-known, there …

Utilization Of Prevention Of Mother-To-Child Transmission (Pmtct) Services Among Pregnant Women In Hiv Care In Uganda: A 24-Month Cohort Of Women From Pre-Conception To Post-Delivery., Rhoda K Wanyenze, Kathy Goggin, Sarah Finocchario-Kessler, Jolly Beyeza-Kashesya, Deborah Mindry, Josephine Birungi, Mahlet Woldetsadik, Glenn J Wagner

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

OBJECTIVE: We assessed the uptake of prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) services in a cohort of HIV infected women in care at The AIDS Support Organization Jinja and Kampala in Uganda, who were trying to conceive, over a period of 24 months, to inform the strengthening of PMTCT service access for women in care.

RESULTS: Of the 299 women 127 (42.5%) reported at least one pregnancy within 24 months; 61 women (48.0%) delivered a live child. Of the 55 who had a live birth at the first pregnancy, 54 (98.2%) used antenatal care (ANC) starting at 15.5 weeks of gestation …

Career Corner: Quidel Looking For Full-Time And Part-Time Qc Technicians, Ohio University College Of Arts & Sciences

All Forum Articles

No abstract provided.

Ethnicity, Climate, And House Types As Mortality Factors In The New Orleans' 1878 Yellow Fever Outbreak, Gabriele Richardson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The following study is first a demonstration that even incomplete health data from 1878 New Orleans’ yellow fever outbreak can be used with modern epidemiological methods and achieve useful and revealing results. Accordingly, this research examines three possible associations between New Orleans’ population exposed to yellow fever and the environment they lived in, using 4,755 yellow fever cases, derived from the New Orleans Board of Health report, Cemetery Burial records, Hospital, Asylum, and prison registers, and New Orleans obituaries. The first relationship addresses the vulnerability to yellow fever for people born in Italy, France, Great Britain, and the German Empire, …

Rapid Identification And Typing Of Mycobacterium Avium Complex Using Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (Maldi-Tof) Library And Biomarker Based Approaches, Claudia Antonika, John Dustin Loy, Raul Barletta, Michael Collins

UCARE: Research Products

Bacteria associated with the Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) cause significant problems in animal agriculture and cause large economic losses and morbidity of livestock. Two clinically important subspecies of M. avium are M.avium ssp paratuberculosis (MAP) and M. avium ssp hominissuis (MAH). MAP is the etiologic agent of Johne’s disease, a chronic and fatal enteritis in ruminants, that has been linked to Crohn’s disease in humans.1 MAH has zoonotic potential as it is one of the leading causes of secondary infections in AIDS patients. Identification of M. avium in clinical samples is challenging as they have overlapping host ranges and clinical …

Update To The Qi Assessment Of Attending Physician Burnout At Lehigh Valley Health Network, Priscilla Shen

USF-LVHN SELECT

No abstract provided.

Empathy, Burnout, And Emotional Intelligence In Incoming Usf Pharmacy And Medical Students, Ainslee Juarbe Ms4, Jeanne L. Jacoby Md

USF-LVHN SELECT

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Vaccine Derived Poliovirus Type 2 Outbreak Response Options: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Karachi, Pakistan, Ali Faisal Saleem Dr, Mohammad Tahir Yousafzai, Ondrej Mach, Asia Khan, Farheen Quadri, William C. Weldon, M. Steven Oberste, Syed S. Zaidi, Muhammad M. Alam, Anita K. M. Zaidi

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Background: Outbreaks of circulating vaccine derived polioviruses type 2 (cVDPV2) remain a risk to poliovirus eradication in an era without live poliovirus vaccine containing type 2 in routine immunization. We evaluated existing outbreak response strategies recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for control of cVDPV2 outbreaks.
Methods: Seronegative children for poliovirus type 2 (PV2) at 22 weeks of life were assigned to one of four study groups and received respectively (1) one dose of trivalent oral poliovirus vaccine (tOPV); (2) monovalent OPV 2 (mOPV2); (3) tOPV together with a dose of inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV); or (4) mOPV2 with …

Exploring Significant Impacts Of Global Health On Nursing Education And Resource-Poor Communities: An Integrative Literature Review, Kimberly Elkayam, Elizabeth Del Cimmuto

Grace Peterson Nursing Research Colloquium

Exploring Significant Impact of Global Health Experienced by Nursing Educators: An Integrative Literature Review

Elizabeth Del Cimmuto & Kimberly Elkayam

Faculty Sponsor: Young-Me Lee, PhD, RN

Background: Nursing education in the United States is largely focused on health promotion at the local and community level. Modern advances in communication technology have facilitated a movement in nursing to gradually adopt a global health perspective in both practice and education.

Objective: to explore what research has been done regarding how nurse educators are impacted by adopting global health perspectives in nursing education and to suggest one potential way to add to this …

The Benefits Of Yoga Therapy To The Health And Wellness Of Cancer Patients: An Integrative Review, Rima Beitoni

Grace Peterson Nursing Research Colloquium

Abstract

Background: The health and wellness – body, mind, and spirit, of cancer patients is vital to each person’s quality of life. Due to the psychological stressors and physical, mental, and emotional pressures cancer patients’ experience, they are at risk for impaired health and wellness and diminished Quality of Life (QOL). Yoga has been shown to benefit individuals by enhancing their coping ability to transform stress, anxiety, and pain to be more manageable.

Purpose: The purpose of this integrated literature review is to analyze evidence-based research and practices that explore the benefits of yoga in cancer patients and to explain …

Poster Session 1, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, University Of Kentucky

Kentucky Water Resources Annual Symposium

1. The Ecological Importance of Perched Aquifers and Their Hydrological Connectivity to Ridge Top Ephemeral Wetlands in Daniel Boone National Forest
2. Water Bugs and Bacteria: Creating a Water Quality Monitoring Program for the Wheeling Creek Watershed in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia
3. Use of eDNA to Detect Salamander Species in Central Kentucky Streams
4. Hydrogeological Properties of Natural and Constructed Wetlands in Kentucky’s Daniel Boone National Forest
5. Use of eDNA in Multiple Species Fish Biomass Determinations in Small to Mid-sized Lotic Systems
6. Rainfall Runoff Model Development Using HSPF for a Flood Control Reservoir System to Examine Long Term Benefits
7. Examining the …

The Grace Peterson Research Colloquium, [email protected] Annerino, Katherin Winingham

Grace Peterson Nursing Research Colloquium

Background: Research suggests that a large number of prisoners in the United States suffer from mental illness, with a portion actively psychotic at any given time. Though it is a constitutional right for prisoners to receive adequate mental health care, most correctional facilities in the country do not provide appropriate treatment.

Objectives: To explore what research has been conducted regarding the treatment of mental illness, specifically schizophrenia, in the US prison system and plans to improve the inadequacies.

Methods: This integrative literature review was conducted using the following keywords and phrases: schizophrenia in prison, schizophrenia in jail, psychosis in …

2018 Program: Honors Student Symposium, University Of Dayton. University Honors Program

Honors Student Symposium

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Poly (Glycerol Sebacate) Incorporation Within Hybrid Chitin–Lignin Sol–Gel Nanofibrous Scaffolds, Tuerdimaimaiti Abudula, Lassaad Gzara, Giovanna Simonetti, Ahmed Alshahrie, Numan Salah, Pierfrancesco Morganti, Angelo Chianese, Afsoon Fallahi, Ali Tamayol, Sidi A. Bencherif, Adnan Memic

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Chitin and lignin primarily accumulate as bio-waste resulting from byproducts of crustacean crusts and plant biomass. Recently, their use has been proposed for diverse and unique bioengineering applications, amongst others. However, their weak mechanical properties need to be improved in order to facilitate their industrial utilization. In this paper, we fabricated hybrid fibers composed of a chitin–lignin (CL)-based sol–gel mixture and elastomeric poly (glycerol sebacate) (PGS) using a standard electrospinning approach. Obtained results showed that PGS could be coherently blended with the sol–gel mixture to form a nanofibrous scaffold exhibiting remarkable mechanical performance and improved antibacterial and antifungal activity. The …

5-Lipoxygenase (5-Lox)-5-Lipoxygenase Activating Protein (Flap)-Nanodisc Complex: A Model For The 5-Lox-Flap Interaction, Erin Elizabeth Schexnaydre

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Leukotrienes (LT) are lipid mediators of the inflammatory response that play important roles in diseases such as asthma and atherosclerosis. Leukotriene A4 (LTA₄) is synthesized from arachidonic acid (AA) by 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) with the help of 5-lipoxygenase activating protein (FLAP), a trimeric nuclear transmembrane protein. Exactly how 5-LOX and FLAP interact is not well understood, however FLAP is essential for the production of leukotrienes in vivo. I used nanodiscs (NDs), engineered membrane systems, as a tool to study the 5-LOX-FLAP interaction. FLAP was incorporated into NDs with a phospholipid composition to mimic of the nuclear membrane. Structural features …

Role Of Pu.1 And C/Ebpα In Remodelling The Interleukin (Il)-1Β Enhancer-Promoter Interaction, Woohyun Cho, Soon-Duck Ha, Sung Ouk Kim

Western Research Forum

Background: IL-1b is a potent inflammatory cytokine promptly expressed in activated myeloid immune cells. Among various transcription factors, PU.1 and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein alpha (C/EBPa) play a key role in the lineage commitment of myeloid cells. To date, however, the exact mechanisms by which these lineage-determining transcription factors employ to regulate the expression of myeloid-specific genes remains elusive; thus, this study explores the role of PU.1 and C/EBPa in remodelling the chromatin conformation that allows ample production of IL-1b.

Methods: To examine the mechanism of these lineage-determining transcription factors, production of IL-1b and enhancer-promoter interactions were analyzed in non-myeloid B16-BL6 cells …

Developing Novel Therapeutics For Bacterial Lung Infections, Brandon J. Baer, Ruud Veldhuizen, Cory Yamashita

Western Research Forum

Background: Bacterial lung infections are leading causes of death worldwide. Unfortunately, increasing resistance to antibiotics and the inflammation often accompanying these infections are leading to poor outcomes despite antibiotic intervention. Complicating treatment further, the tree-like branching structure of the lung makes drug delivery to distal sites of infection difficult. Our research aims to address these challenges by developing new therapeutics and new tools to improve and assess drug delivery, bacterial killing and inflammation. Our therapy combines host defense peptides, which have been shown to kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria and down regulate inflammation, with a pulmonary vehicle, exogenous surfactant, that can improve …

Demographic And Socio-Economic Profile Of Labourers In Construction Industry Of Varanasi City (India), Dharma Raj, Bhanu Pratap Singh

Journal of Statistics Applications & Probability

Unorganised labour sector covers more than 90 per cent of the total work strength of India. Among these unorganized workers more than half of the construction workers belong to the informal sector. The present study aim to assess the demographic and socio-economic profile of the workers engaged in construction work in Varanasi City, India. A primary survey conducted during the period of June-September, 2016, individual level primary data has been collected from the targeted population using multi-stage convenience sampling method. It was found that more than half of the workers were from the age group of 20−35 and most of …

Defining Care Patterns And Outcomes Among Persons Living With Hiv In Washington, Dc: Linkage Of Clinical Cohort And Surveillance Data., Amanda D Castel, Arpi Terzian, Jenevieve Opoku, Lindsey Powers Happ, Naji Younes, Michael Kharfen, Alan Greenberg, Dc Cohort Executive Committee

Epidemiology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Triangulation of data from multiple sources such as clinical cohort and surveillance data can help improve our ability to describe care patterns, service utilization, comorbidities, and ultimately measure and monitor clinical outcomes among persons living with HIV infection.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to determine whether linkage of clinical cohort data and routinely collected HIV surveillance data would enhance the completeness and accuracy of each database and improve the understanding of care patterns and clinical outcomes.

METHODS: We linked data from the District of Columbia (DC) Cohort, a large HIV observational clinical cohort, with Washington, DC, Department …

The Comment, March 16, 2018, Bridgewater State University

The Comment

No abstract provided.

March 16, 2018 Ereporter, University Of Alabama At Birmingham

eReporter (campus newsletter)

No abstract provided.