Digital Commons Network^™

Anticoagulant Rodenticide Residues In Game Animals In California, Stella C. Mcmillin, Robert H. Poppenga, Shannon C. Chandler, Deana L. Clifford

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) are used to control rodents around homes, buildings, and in agriculture. They have been found widely in predatory and scavenging wildlife as a result of secondary exposure and less commonly in herbivores and omnivores from primary exposure. While predators and scavengers have been monitored for AR exposure, very little information is available about AR residues in edible muscle tissue of game animals. Game animals may be exposed to ARs through direct consumption of bait, ingestion of contaminated food or vegetation, or consumption of contaminated prey items. Carcasses of three species of game animals (black bear, wild pigs, …

Collecting To The Core — The Fall Of The Roman Empire, Fred W. Jenkins, Anne Doherty

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

The Role Of The Public Health Nurse In Rural Areas Of Kerry And Cork, Hannah Healy

Theses

Aim of Research: To understand and gain insight into the role of the Public Health nurse in rural communities in Kerry and Cork.

Background: Public health nursing is the single largest group in community care, current figure employed by the HSE stands at 1,438. Demographic, changes such as the increase in population coupled with the shift in care from the acute sector to primary care has provided many challenges to the PHN service .

Objective: Whilst there have been substantial reviews on the role and workload of the PHN in Ireland, there is limited qualitative research available on what the …

Optimisation Of Ion Exchange Chromatography Purification Protocols For A Staphylococcal Peptidoglycan Degrading Hydrolase Enzyme, Fiona Maher

Theses

Bacteriophage (phage) are the most abundant biological entities on earth and were first discovered by d’Herelle in 1917. They are found wherever their hosts live and, like all viruses they do not have the ability to make their own protein. Therefore, in order to reproduce, phage must invade and infect bacterial cells. This project focused on the optimisation of Ion Exchange Chromatography purification protocols for a staphylococcal peptidoglycan degrading hydrolase enzyme (CHAPk). The project objective was to obtain the greatest yield of enzyme from the growth of the E.coU XL 1-Blue expression system into which the vector pQE60 was previously …

Essential Evidence-Based Introductory Bioterrorism Content For Practicing Nurses, Manu Sharma

Yale School of Nursing Digital Theses

Bioterrorism content is too often absent from nursing education post-licensure. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), bioterrorism is defined as “the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria, or other germs (agents) used to cause illness or death in people, animals, or plants.” A literature search and a review of available resources elucidated pertinent content items on bioterrorism and its associated precautions for nurses. Next, two rounds of expert panel consisting of five members rated the identified content and proffered comments to validate the curriculum. Finally, a four-hour in-person pilot educational session was implemented based on the results. …

Pap Utilization Survey In Nueva Vida, Nicaragua: Professional And Health Promotoras Partnership, Olushola O. Ogunleye, Bethesda J. O'Connell, Megan A. Quinn, Lea C. Florence, Kaitlyn Shirely

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer affecting women in developing countries and accounted for 84% of the global incidence of cervical cancer in 2012. Nicaragua is one country illustrating this disparity, with an annual cervical cancer mortality six times the U.S. rate. This may be explained by lack and poor utilization of effective screening programs, especially the Papanicolaou, or Pap, smear. This study resulted from a partnership formed by faculty and students from two U.S. universities and a Nicaraguan nonprofit organization to conduct projects to benefit a community in Nicaragua. To promote a free Pap smear program provided …

Development Of A Genotype-By-Sequencing Immunogenetic Assay As Exemplified By Screening For Variation In Red Fox With And Without Endemic Rabies Exposure, Michael E. Donaldson, Yessica Rico, Karsten Hueffer, Halie M. Rando, Anna V. Kukekova, Christopher J. Kyle

Computer Science: Faculty Publications

Pathogens are recognized as major drivers of local adaptation in wildlife systems. By determining which gene variants are favored in local interactions among populations with and without disease, spatially explicit adaptive responses to pathogens can be elucidated. Much of our current understanding of host responses to disease comes from a small number of genes associated with an immune response. High-throughput sequencing (HTS) technologies, such as genotype-by-sequencing (GBS), facilitate expanded explorations of genomic variation among populations. Hybridization-based GBS techniques can be leveraged in systems not well characterized for specific variants associated with disease outcome to “capture” specific genes and regulatory regions …

Inter-Rater Reliability Of Physical Abuse Determinations And Abusive Fracture Incidence At A Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center, Kate Buesser

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

As there is no “gold standard” in determining whether a fracture is caused by accident or abuse, agreement among medical providers is paramount. Using abstracted medical record data from children <36 months of age presenting to a level 1 pediatric emergency department (ED), we examined the extent of agreement between specialists who evaluate children with fractures for suspected abuse. To simulate clinical scenarios, two pediatric orthopaedists and two child abuse pediatricians (CAPs) reviewed the full abstraction and imaging, whereas the two pediatric radiologists reviewed a brief history and imaging.

Each physician independently rated each case using a 7-point ordinal scale designed to distinguish accidental from abusive injuries. For any discrepancy in independent ratings, the two specialists discussed the case and came to a joint rating. We analyzed 3 types of agreement: (1) within specialties using independent ratings, (2) between specialties using joint ratings, and (3) between clinicians (orthopaedists and CAPs) with more versus less experience. Agreement between pairs of …

Syrian Refugee Health: A Qualitative Analysis Of Experiences With The U.S. Healthcare System, Eunice M. M. Defilippo

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

SYRIAN REFUGEE HEALTH: A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF EXPERIENCES WITH

HEALTHCARE IN THE UNITED STATES. Eunice M. M. DeFilippo, Amer Abdullah, Tracy L.

Rabin. Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.

As refugee populations worldwide increase exponentially, there is growing concern for the health needs of these displaced individuals. This qualitative study examines the illness experiences of newly arrived Syrian refugees as they navigate the complex U.S. healthcare system, in an attempt to identify and characterize potential barriers to care that can be addressed. The specific aims of this study are to understand the experiences, beliefs, …

The Impact Of Place-Based Determinants Of Health On Utilization Of Emergency Department Services, Tehreem Rehman

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

The purpose of the study is to investigate whether higher prevalence of place-based structural determinants of health inequity is directly associated with frequent utilization of services in the emergency department. Chi-square and t-test analyses found that compared to non-frequent ED users, frequent ED users were older (mean age 43.18 vs. 35.23, p

Acknowledgements

The student author of this thesis is grateful for all the guidance and support provided by both faculty and community mentors. She is thankful for the time of Mark Abraham, Executive Director of DataHaven, who expressed faith in this project and its potential to inform subsequent initiatives …

Global Health Trials Methodological Research Agenda: Results From A Priority Setting Exercise, Anna Rosala-Hallas, Aneel Bhangu, Jane Blazeby, Louise Bowman, Mike Clarke, Trudie Lang, Mona Nasser, Nandi Siegfried, Karla Soares-Weiser, Matt R. Sydes, Duolao Wang, Junhua Zhang, Paula R. Williamson

More Faculty of Health Research

No abstract provided.

Ecology, Epidemiology, And Evolutionary Genetics Of Canine Distemper Virus Spillover In African Lions, Julie Kay Weckworth

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The impact of emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) on the health and persistence of wildlife populations is an increasing conservation concern. Large carnivores are particularly vulnerable to EID impacts because they often occur in small, isolated populations with demographic and genetic challenges to long-term persistence. Ecological forces that isolate carnivore populations, e.g. agricultural intensification, simultaneously increase the probability of disease exposure from domestic species and can amplify population susceptibility to infection.

Canine distemper virus emerged as a conservation threat to African lions when an explosive epizootic caused the death or disappearance of a third of the Serengeti lion population in 1994. …

Bottom-Up And Top-Down Controls On Food Webs In Headwater Streams, Miriam O. Bayer

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Headwater streams account for 70% of stream channel length in the USA and are important as hotspots of nutrient uptake and native biodiversity. Biofilm, the mixed auto- and heterotrophic microbial community covering stream substrates, is where the majority of nutrient processing occurs, and forms the base of stream food webs, particularly in heavily shaded, oligotrophic streams. Both bottom-up (e.g., nutrients, light) and top-down (i.e., consumption) processes are known to affect periphyton, the autotrophic component of biofilm, but little is known about what controls the biofilm community as a whole. Top-down effects are common in streams, where fish are often the …

Impact Of Client Criminal History: Barriers To Consider For The Rehabilitation Counselor, Brent Van Ham

Research Papers

For people navigating the world with a disability, the presence of a criminal record may present them with yet another challenge to function within their lives to the fullest extent possible. The prevalence of people who seek rehabilitative services who have criminal records may require counselors to have more knowledge of the barriers that they frequently encounter. The rehabilitation counselor who works with these clients must take these barriers into account when planning and implementing services for them, just as they must take into account other barriers that are socially derived, such as discrimination in all of its forms and …

Gene Knockout Of Prfa And The Arginine Deiminase Pathway In Listeria Monocytogenes, Kearstin Edmonds

Online Theses and Dissertations

Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive facultative intracellular pathogen. This species is a common cause of food-borne illness outbreaks with high fatality rates. L. monocytogenes is known to produce a number of virulence factors, including enzymes and toxins, which are involved in the disease process. The arginine deiminase pathway has the ability to regulate acidic environments by converting arginine to ammonia, ornithine, and ATP. With the help of a membrane-bound antiporter, the ornithine is transported out of the cell while the ammonia is converted to ammonium. The ATP by-product can also be used with the F0F1-ATPase system to help maintain homeostasis. …

Recognizing Addictive Disorders Through Transdiagnostic Assessment, Meagan M. Carr

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Some evidence suggests high rates of comorbidity between substance and other related addictive disorders. However, few self-report instruments adopt a transdiagnostic approach, which would be best positioned to answer questions about comorbidity as well as other related phenomenon, such as discontinuation of one type of behavior and initiation of another. The current work aimed to develop a measure that screened for seven types of potentially addictive behavior: alcohol use, drug use, tobacco use, gambling, binge eating, hypersexual behavior, and excessive video game playing. Data were collected at three time-points to develop a large pool of possible items, establish the initial …

Relationship Between Pk2 And Number Of Kupffer Cells Duringthe Progression Of Liver Fibrosis In Patients With Hbv, Xiao-Qin Liu, Rong-Rong Wei, Cheng-Cheng Wang, Li-Yu Chen, Cong Liu, Kai Liu

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Background/aim: This study aimed to investigate the potential regulatory role of prokineticin 2 (PK2) in modulation of the number and function of Kupffer cells (KCs) during the progression of liver fibrosis in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV). Materials and methods: We obtained liver tissue sections from 200 patients with HBV undergoing surgical resection in our hospital between January 2013 and July 2016. Of these 200 tissue sections, 150 were fibrosis tissues and 50 were hepatocellular carcinoma tissues. Immunohistochemical evaluations were performed to assess the expression levels of CD68 and PK2 in the sections. The clinical parameters of these 200 …

Peripheral Arterial Disease Increases The Risk Of Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria Andamputation In Diabetic Foot Infections, Pinar Aysert Yildiz, Tuğba Özdi̇l, Murat Di̇zbay, Özlem Güzel Tunçcan, Kenan Hizel

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Background/aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the microbiological profile and resistance rates of diabetic foot infections (DFIs) and to determine the effect of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) on the microbiology, clinical condition, and treatment outcomes. Materials and methods: Characteristics, laboratory and imaging data, and the treatment modalities of patients admitted to our hospital with a diagnosis of DFI (PEDIS classification 3-4) during 2005-2016 were analyzed according to the presence of PAD. Results: Of 112 patients who were included in this study, 86 (76.8%) had PAD. Patients with PAD were older and had higher amputation rates (P < 0.05). A microbiological profile of patients revealed a predominance of gram-positive bacteria (57.1%). Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus spp. were the most frequently encountered bacteria. Incidence of Pseudomonas spp. infection was higher in the PAD group (P < 0.05). Of all patients, 24.1% had multidrug-resistant (MDR) microorganisms in their wound cultures. Presence of MDR bacteria in patients with PAD was 4.9-fold higher than that in patients without PAD (P < 0.05). Conclusion: This retrospective study indicates that PAD has a significant role, especially in elderly patients with DFIs. Patients should be promptly evaluated and treated for PAD to prevent infections with resistant microorganisms and limb loss.

Factors Influencing The Success Of Cord Blood Collection: A Tertiary Perinatal Medicinecenter's Experience, Atakan Tanaçan, Pinar Yurdakul Mesutoğlu, Fati̇h Aktoz, Gökçen Örgül, Meral Beksaç, Mehmet Si̇nan Beksaç

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Background/aim: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of certain maternal, fetal, and umbilical cord blood unit factors on storage and/or discard incidence of collected cord blood units from perinatal medicine patients. Materials and methods: A total of 273 cord blood units collected between January 2011 and December 2016 in the Division of Perinatology of Hacettepe University Hospital were evaluated retrospectively in this study. Results: Of the collected cord blood units, 53.8% (147/273) were stored. Infant birth weight, cord blood unit volume, total nucleated cell count, and CD34+ cell count were statistically significantly different between the eligible and discarded cord …

Interprofessional Education At Unmc: 2018 Annual Report, University Of Nebraska Medical Center

Annual Reports: Interprofessional Education

No abstract provided.

America’S Relation To World Order: Two Indictments, Two Thought Experiments, And A Misquotation, Philip C. Bobbitt

Faculty Scholarship

The State is undergoing a crisis of legitimacy owing to its inability to cope with novel problems of weapons proliferation, transnational threats including climate change, a fragile global financial infrastructure, cultural influences carried by electronic communications, and an undemocratic regime of human rights law. These fatal inadequacies are summoning forth a new constitutional order, the latest in a series of century-spanning archetypal regimes that have arisen since the Renaissance and the collapse of feudalism. A backlash against the harbingers of this new order, however, is crippling the development of those modes of action that are required to deal with the …

A Pharmacist-Led Medication Switch Protocol In An Academic Hiv Clinic: Patient Knowledge And Satisfaction, Sarah S. Lee, Joshua P. Havens, Harlan R. Sayles, Jennifer L. O'Neill, Anthony T. Podany, Susan Swindells, Kimberly K. Scarsi, Sara H. Bares

Journal Articles: Infectious Diseases

BACKGROUND: Tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) is associated with less renal and bone toxicity compared with tenofovir disoproxil (TDF). TAF's recent FDA approval has spurred HIV providers to consider switching antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimens containing TDF to TAF to minimize long term risks. Patient views on the process of such medication switches have not been explored.

METHODS: Patients taking elvitegravir/cobicistat/emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (E/C/F/TDF) following the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval of elvitegravir/cobicistat/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide (E/C/F/TAF) received medication education from an HIV pharmacist prior to switching to the tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) formulation. Patients were asked to complete a cross-sectional survey assessing satisfaction with …

Determinants Of Facilitated Health Insurance Enrollment For Patients With Hiv Disease, And Impact Of Insurance Enrollment On Targeted Health Outcomes., Renae Furl, Shinobu Watanabe-Galloway, Elizabeth Lyden, Susan Swindells

Journal Articles: Infectious Diseases

BACKGROUND: The introduction of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has provided unprecedented opportunities for uninsured people with HIV infection to access health insurance, and to examine the impact of this change in access. AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs) have been directed to pursue uninsured individuals to enroll in the ACA as both a cost-saving strategy and to increase patient access to care. We evaluated the impact of ADAP-facilitated health insurance enrollment on health outcomes, and demographic and clinical factors that influenced whether or not eligible patients enrolled.

METHODS: During the inaugural open enrollment period for the ACA, 284 Nebraska ADAP …

Exploring The Use Of Sport As A Platform For Health Promotion With Youth In Africa: A Scoping Review., Adam H. Hansell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

According to the World Health Organization, Africa has the highest rates of disease and child mortality in the world. Previous research suggests that sport may be an effective vehicle to enhance health knowledge and behaviors among at-risk youth. The primary purpose of this review was to analyze and synthesize published interventions exploring the use of sport or physical activity for health promotion with children and youth in Africa. A total of 916 articles were retrieved from ten electronic bibliographic databases with 28 meeting inclusion criteria. Targeted health outcomes in sport-based interventions included HIV-related knowledge and behaviors, essential health practices, physical …

Three Essays Examining Early Life Shocks That Affect Human Capital Production, Uche Eseosa Ekhator

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation comprises three essays. The first examines the effect of health insurance on child health and healthcare utilization in Nigeria. It uses the implementation and expansion of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to introduce an exogenous variation in health insurance eligibility, a natural experiment that fits a difference-in-difference analysis. Findings from this essay suggest that health insurance decreases the prevalence of diarrhea and increases birthweight among children. It also increases the probability that children receive polio and diphtheria vaccines and increases the probability that children from middle-income households receive medical treatment for diarrhea. The second essay examines the …

Verbal And Spatial Working Memory Among Drug-Using Hiv-Infected Men And Women, Eileen Martin, M. K. Keutmann, J. S. Fogel, P. M. Maki, R. Gonzalez, J. Vassileva, L. H. Rubin, David Hardy

Psychological Science Faculty Works

Working memory (WM) is a critical component of many neurocognitive functions. The literature has demonstrated consistently that WM impairment is more frequent and severe among substance-dependent individuals (SDIs) infected with HIV compared with uninfected SDIs; however, the SDIs who participated in these previous studies were primarily male. There are few published data on WM performance among HIV+ women with or without substance use disorders, and essentially no direct comparisons of WM performance between HIV+ men and women, regardless of substance use. We investigated potential sex and serostatus effects on WM among a sample of 360 SDIs (114 with HIV; 66% …

Innate Chemical Resistance Of Virginia Big-Eared Bats (Corynorhinus Townsendii Virginianus) To White-Nose Syndrome, Daniel S. Danford, Leah Shriver, Hazel A. Barton

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

White-nose Syndrome (WNS) is an emergent epidemic disease of bats in North America. Caused by the novel fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans, with a mortality rate of >75%, in the last decade WNS has led to the local extinction of numerous bat species. Despite this high mortality, one species, the Virginia big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii virginianus) remains unaffected. Virginia big-eared bats (VBEs) are commonly found covered in a yellow, oily substance, with a pelage commensal population dominated by the yeast, Debaryomyces udenii. As D. udenii is an oleaginous yeast that produces yellow colonies, the fungus may be responsible …

Platelet Rich Plasma Treatment Application For Multiple Purposes, Eric M. Bendel

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) treatments, a relatively new practice, are used for a variety of medical and clinical treatments. More recently, an increasing number of case studies and research has focused on the efficacy and use of PRP to treat injuries, and potential cosmetic benefits. This article is a compilation of numerous case studies regarding diverse uses of PRP in order to better understand the uses as well as efficacy of the treatment. The applications include: atrophic acne scarring³, orthopedic care², Hepple stage V osteochondral lesion of the talus⁵, chronic non-healing ulcers⁶, …

Antibiotic Prescribing Habits Of Urgent Care Providers, Mellisa Thompson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Antibiotics are commonly prescribed and requested for viral illnesses despite evidence-based research studies and societal guidelines that advise against this practice. Literature has indicated that antibiotic decision-making comes from a provider's experience or exposure to illness, uncertainty of illness, or from being pressured by the patient. Nurses and advanced practice nurses are important participants in the antibiotic stewardship initiative. The purpose of this project was to examine potential knowledge deficits responsible for inappropriate antibiotic prescribing at a rural urgent care clinic in the southeastern United States, which when addressed could promote an educational in-service to decrease the number of antibiotics …

Intensive Care Unit Nurse Education To Reduce Sepsis Mortality Rates, Corina Meade

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sepsis causes major health care problems in the United States, resulting in long hospitalizations, complications, and even patient death. Lack of nursing knowledge regarding sepsis signs and symptoms is a significant problem at a hospital in the northeast. Local hospital data showed a high patient mortality rate for patients diagnosed with sepsis. The purpose of this project was to develop an educational module on sepsis for intensive care nurses. The educational module was developed using current sepsis evidence-based guidelines. The practice-focused question for the project asked whether an educational module on sepsis would increase the intensive care nurse's knowledge on …