Digital Commons Network^™

Study Aims To Discover If Hookworm, Related Intestinal Parasites Are Present In Alabama Black Belt, Alicia Rohan

Browse All News

No abstract provided.

Non-Invasive Methods For Measuring And Monitoring Stress Physiology In Imperiled Amphibians, Edward J. Narayan, Zachery R. Forsburg, Drew R. Davis, Caitlin R. Gabor

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Global climate change is negatively impacting global biodiversity and ectothermic vertebrates, with amphibians being the most imperiled vertebrate taxa. Increased mean global atmospheric temperatures, high rates of habitat degradation, and exposure to infectious diseases, such as chytridiomycosis, have contributed to population declines and extinctions of rare and endangered amphibian species. Field-based monitoring of physiological endocrine traits can help determine the sub-lethal effects of environmental stressors and provide early alerts when populations are chronically stressed. Recent advances in amphibian stress endocrinology include the development and use of non-invasive methods to quantify the glucocorticoid, or stress biomarker, corticosterone. Non-invasive methods, such as …

Why No One Knew That Hillary Clinton Would Lose The 2016 Election, Donald L. Buresh, Theresa Pavone

Touro University Worldwide Publications and Research

The paper argues that a blind reliance on the use and results of predictive models led to the major pollsters never knowing that Hillary Rodham Clinton would lose the 2016 Presidental election. The reason is that history is not necessarily a good predictor of the future and that predictive models employed by the pollsters assumed the existence of a steady-state which was not present at the time. The paper introduces predictive models by providing a short history, followed by explaining how predictive models work. The paperlists the fundamental assumptions of predictive models, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages. The paper then …

Understanding The Characteristics Of Remittance Recipients In Venezuela: A Country In Economic Crisis, Nicole A. Degla

Undergraduate Economic Review

This essay analyzes household surveys from the World Bank Global Financial Inclusion Database for the years 2011, 2014, and 2017, as a means to distinguish individual level characteristics of remittance recipients in Venezuela. Remittances are defined as “crossborder, person-to-person payments of relatively low value. The transfers are typically recurrent payments by migrant workers to their relatives in their home countries (World Bank, 2015). Through the use of a linear probability model and probit regressions, I examine the variables age, gender, education level, and income quintile. Results of the analysis find that age has a statistically significant negative effect on the …

Summary Of The International Patient Safety Conference, June 28-29, 2019, Kathmandu, Nepal, Deepak C. Bajracharya, Kshitij Karki, Chhiring Yangjen Lama, Rajesh Dhoj Joshi, Shankar Man Rai, Sudhakar Jayaram, Amit Tomer, John Zervos, Mohammad Imran Khan, Arjun Sapkota, Madan Kumar Upadhyaya, Paul E. Kilgore

Department of Pharmacy Practice

Globally, medical errors are associated with an estimated $42 billion in costs to healthcare systems. A variety of errors in the delivery of healthcare have been identified by the World Health Organization and it is believed that about 50% of all errors are preventable. Initiatives to improve patient safety are now garnering increased attention across a range of countries in all regions of the world. From June 28--29, 2019, the first International Patient Safety Conference (IPSC) was held in Kathmandu, Nepal and attended by over 200 healthcare professionals as well as hospital, government, and non-governmental organization leaders. During the conference, …

Summary Of The International Patient Safety Conference, June 28-29, 2019, Kathmandu, Nepal, Deepak C. Bajracharya, Kshitij Karki, Chhiring Y. Lama, Rajesh D. Joshi, Shankar M. Rai, Sudhakar Jayaram, Amit Tomer, John Zervos, Mohammad I. Khan, Arjun Sapkota, Madan K. Upadhyaya, Paul E. Kilgore

Global Health Initiative Articles

Globally, medical errors are associated with an estimated $42 billion in costs to healthcare systems. A variety of errors in the delivery of healthcare have been identified by the World Health Organization and it is believed that about 50% of all errors are preventable. Initiatives to improve patient safety are now garnering increased attention across a range of countries in all regions of the world. From June 28--29, 2019, the first International Patient Safety Conference (IPSC) was held in Kathmandu, Nepal and attended by over 200 healthcare professionals as well as hospital, government, and non-governmental organization leaders. During the conference, …

Gut Microbiota: From The Forgotten Organ To A Potential Key Player In The Pathology Of Alzheimer's Disease, Dong-Oh Seo, David M Holtzman

Open Access Publications

More than 300 years ago, Antony van Leewenhoeck first described observing single-celled microorganisms, which he termed "animalcules," examining his saliva under a microscope. Although the idea of the coexistence of microorganisms in our body is not new, we have only recently been able to investigate their ecological relationship to our body, with the development of high-throughput molecular techniques. The diverse microorganism communities residing in our guts are established and maintained by complex interactions among microorganisms and their host. Notably, their alteration has been implicated in influencing various diseases including neurological diseases. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of …

The Impact Of Msaabcr On Sara-Associated Phenotypes Is Different In Divergent Clinical Isolates Of Staphylococcus Aureus, Joseph S. Rom, Aura M. Ramirez, Karen E. Beenken, Gyan S. Sahukhal, Mohamed O. Elasri, Mark S. Smeltzer

Faculty Publications

The staphylococcal accessory regulator (sarA) plays an important role in Staphylococcus aureus infections including osteomyelitis, and the msaABCR operon has been implicated as an important factor in modulating expression of sarA. Thus, we investigated the contribution of msaABCR to sarA-associated phenotypes in the S. aureus clinical isolates LAC and UAMS-1. Mutation of msaABCR resulted in reduced production of SarA and a reduced capacity to form a biofilm in both strains. Biofilm formation was enhanced in a LAC msa mutant by restoring the production of SarA, but this was not true in a UAMS-1 msa mutant. Similarly, …

Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease: Progressive Neurological Decline, Christine Fayad Md, Scott J. Anderson, H. Alex Akhondi Md

Internal Medicine

No abstract provided.

Reduction In Inappropriate C. Difficile Testing Through Just-In-Time Education Upon Order Entry, Amy K. Slenker Md, Matthew M. Miller Do, Joshua Rosentel Bsn, Rn

Department of Medicine

No abstract provided.

Hiv Prevention Via Mobile Messaging For Men Who Have Sex With Men (M-Cubed): Protocol For A Randomized Controlled Trial, Patrick Sean Sullivan, Ryan J. Zahn, Sarah Wiatrek, Cristian J. Chandler, Sabina Hirshfield, Rob Stephenson, Jose A. Bauermeister, Mary Ann Chiasson, Martin J. Downing, Deborah J. Gelaude, Aaron J. Siegler, Keith Horvath, Erin Rogers, Ana Alas, Evelyn J. Olansky, Heather Saul, Eli S. Rosenberg, Gordon Mansergh

Publications and Research

Background:

Men who have sex with men (MSM) continue to be the predominately impacted risk group in the United States HIV epidemic and are a priority group for risk reduction in national strategic goals for HIV prevention. Modeling studies have demonstrated that a comprehensive package of status-tailored HIV prevention and care interventions have the potential to substantially reduce new infections among MSM. However, uptake of basic prevention services, including HIV testing, sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, condom distribution, condom-compatible lubricant distribution, and preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP), is suboptimal. Further, stronger public health strategies are needed to promote engagement in HIV care …

Molluscum Contagiosum Infection With Features Of Primary Cutaneous Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma., Doaa Shalabi, John Ringe, Jason B. Lee, Neda Nikbakht

Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Biology Faculty Papers

CD30+ T cell pseudolymphomas (CD30+ PSL) are a group of benign inflammatory cutaneous disorders that can develop in settings of viral infections or drug reactions. Owing to their histological similarities to malignant lymphomas, these benign infiltrates are occasionally misdiagnosed as malignant, causing significant concerns for patients and physicians. Herein, we report a patient with CD30+ PSL associated with molluscum contagiosum whose initial biopsy revealed atypical large CD30-expressing cells, leading to a misdiagnosis of primary cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma and referral to our cutaneous lymphoma clinic. We report this case to demonstrate that reactive CD30+ infiltrate associated with molluscum contagiosum …

Chronic Environmental Exposure To Metal Mixtures In Tribal Populations And Potential Immune System Effects, Jennifer J. Ong

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Hardrock mining in the United States (US) has left a legacy of mixed metal mine waste sites. Wastes may contain multiple metals of health concern, including arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, and uranium, among others. Mining waste sites are disproportionately located on or contiguous to the watersheds of tribal lands. Due to proximity, and because of reliance on natural resources to maintain traditional diets and customs, Native American communities’ contact with multiple metals is often increased. Two impacted communities are the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (CRST) and Navajo Nation. Both tribes have expressed concerns that metals in mine waste adversely affect …

Implementation Of Oral Health Recommendations In Pediatric Primary Care, Kelly Lucash

Dissertations

Abstract

Problem: Early childhood caries (ECC) is the most common chronic disease of childhood and fluoride is key to prevention. A major barrier to dental care for children is lack of access to a dental provider. Current practice recommendations include the application of fluoride varnish (FV) in the primary care setting. The purpose of this quality improvement initiative was to evaluate the number of FV applications in a Midwestern, suburban pediatric primary care practice.

Methods: An observational, descriptive design utilizing retrospective medical record reviews for children aged 12-, 18-, 24-, and 36-months who experienced well-child visits between April 1^{st …}

Testing Predictability Of Disease Outbreaks With A Simple Model Of Pathogen Biogeography, Tad Dallas, Colin J. Carlson, Timothée Poisot

Faculty Publications

Predicting disease emergence and outbreak events is a critical task for public health professionals and epidemiologists. Advances in global disease surveillance are increasingly generating datasets that are worth more than their component parts for prediction-oriented work. Here, we use a trait-free approach which leverages information on the global community of human infectious diseases to predict the biogeography of pathogens through time. Our approach takes pairwise dissimilarities between countries’ pathogen communities and pathogens’ geographical distributions and uses these to predict country–pathogen associations. We compare the success rates of our model for predicting pathogen outbreak, emergence and re-emergence potential as a function …

What Are Best Strategies For Symptoms Management, Health, And Wellness Promotion Of Individuals With Diabetes?, Ogochukwu Vera Nnakwe

Biennial Convention (CONV)

The prevalence of diabetes has double within the past years.This study aims to identify the best strategies for symptoms management, health and wellness promotion of individuals with diabetes.Continuous creation of awareness and education can increase the knowledge of the people about this order so they can better manage their health.

A Novel Training Simulator For Portable Ultrasound Identification Of Incorrect Newborn Endotracheal Tube Placement – Observational Diagnostic Accuracy Study Protocol, Hasan S. Merali, Mark O. Tessaro, Khushboo Q. Ali, Shaun K. Morris, Sajid Bashir Soofi, Shabina Ariff

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Background: Endotracheal tube (ETT) placement is a critical procedure for newborns that are unable to breathe. Inadvertent esophageal intubation can lead to oxygen deprivation and consequent permanent neurological impairment. Current standard-of-care methods to confirm ETT placement in neonates (auscultation, colorimetric capnography, and chest x-ray) are time consuming or unreliable, especially in the stressful resuscitation environment. Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) of the neck has recently emerged as a powerful tool for detecting esophageal ETTs. It is accurate and fast, and is also easy to learn and perform, especially on children.
Methods: This will be an observational diagnostic accuracy study consisting of two …

Viral Infections And Interferons In The Development Of Obesity, Yun Tian, Jordan Jennings, Yuanying Gong, Yongming Sang

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Obesity is now a prevalent disease worldwide and has a multi-factorial etiology. Several viruses or virus-like agents including members of adenoviridae, herpesviridae, slow virus (prion), and hepatitides, have been associated with obesity; meanwhile obese patients are shown to be more susceptible to viral infections such as during influenza and dengue epidemics. We examined the co-factorial role of viral infections, particularly of the persistent cases, in synergy with high-fat diet in induction of obesity. Antiviral interferons (IFNs), as key immune regulators against viral infections and in autoimmunity, emerge to be a pivotal player in the regulation of adipogenesis. In this review, …

Food Habits Of Coyotes (Canis Latrans) In The Valles Caldera National Preserve, New Mexico, Suzanne J. Gifford, Eric M. Gese, Robert R. Parmenter

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wildlife managers needed to understand coyote (Canis latrans) ecology in order to develop management plans on the nascent Valles Caldera National Preserve in northern New Mexico. Managers concerned about low elk (Cervus elaphus) recruitment had observed an increase in sightings of coyotes and observations of coyote predation on elk calves. Our objective was to identify and quantify coyote diet, and assess the temporal variation in coyote diet on the Valles Caldera National Preserve, particularly as related to elk calf consumption. We examined coyote food habits using 1,385 scats analyzed monthly from May 2005 to November 2008. …

Genome-Wide Variation In Potyviruses, Deepti Nigam, Katherine Latourrette, Pedro F.N. Souza, Hernan Garcia Ruiz

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Potyviruses (family Potyviridae, genus Potyvirus) are the result of an initial radiation event that occurred 6,600 years ago. The genus currently consists of 167 species that infect monocots or dicots, including domesticated and wild plants. Potyviruses are transmitted in a non-persistent way by more than 200 species of aphids. As indicated by their wide host range, worldwide distribution, and diversity of their vectors, potyviruses have an outstanding capacity to adapt to new hosts and environments. However, factors that confer adaptability are poorly understood. Viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerases introduce nucleotide substitutions that generate genetic diversity. We hypothesized that selection imposed by …

A Novel Cytokine Response Modulatory Function Of Mek Inhibitors Mediates Therapeutic Efficacy, Mengyu Xie

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite the recent success of immune-checkpoint blockade therapy for late-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), lung cancer is still the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. One of the most important characteristics of lung cancer in therapeutic decision-making are the targetable molecules, including EGFR, ALK, BRAF, and MEK. The excitement of immune-checkpoint blockade therapy has triggered concerted efforts that focus on exploring combinations of immune checkpoint therapy with other approved therapeutic regimens aiming at further augmenting positive outcomes and survival. However, the lack of understanding of underlying mechanisms and evidence-based clinical testing has hindered the progress to a cure. Hence, …

Least Of My Worries: Food Security, Diet Quality, And Antiretroviral Adherence Among People Living With Hiv, Charlotte Ann Noble

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

More than forty years into the epidemic, HIV continues to impact the health and well-being of millions of people – nearly 37 million across the globe and in excess of 1 million in the U.S. – more than 44% of which live in the Southern United States. HIV continues to disproportionally affect marginalized populations, and vast amounts of money, time, and effort have been spent to understand how to slow the rate of new infections and improve health outcomes for People Living with HIV (PLWH). This study aims to understand the experience of living with and managing HIV while on …

The Chemical Ecology And Drug Discovery Potential Of The Antarctic Red Alga Plocamium Cartilagineum And The Antarctic Sponge Dendrilla Membranosa, Andrew Jason Shilling

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Chemical ecology is the study of chemical interactions between organisms and their environment mediated by small molecules involved in nonessential physiological functions, known as secondary metabolites. These compounds can be crucial to survival of the organism, and have also provided the field of medicine with some of history’s most influential drugs, referred to in that context as natural products. Antarctica is a dynamic and understudied environment, which affords the opportunity to examine the chemical ecology of unique organisms while simultaneously evaluating their novel chemistry for potential therapeutic properties as natural products.

Plocamium cartilagineum is a red macroalgal species found in …

Adapting The Diabetes Prevention Program For Low And Middle-Income Countries: Protocol For A Cluster Randomised Trial To Evaluate 'Lifestyle Africa'., Delwyn Catley, Thandi Puoane, Lungiswa Tsolekile, Ken Resnicow, Kandace Fleming, Emily A. Hurley, Joshua M. Smyth, Mara Z. Vitolins, Estelle V. Lambert, Naomi Levitt, Kathy Goggin

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Introduction: Low and middle-income countries like South Africa are experiencing major increases in burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular conditions. However, evidence-based interventions to address behavioural factors related to these diseases are lacking. Our study aims to adapt the CDC's National Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) within the context of an under-resourced urban community in Cape Town, South Africa.

Methods/analysis: The new intervention (Lifestyle Africa) consists of 17 weekly sessions delivered by trained community health workers (CHWs). In addition to educational and cultural adaptations of DPP content, the programme adds novel components of text messaging and …

Influence Of Disease Surveillance And Notification Systems On Epidemic Control In Local Government Areas Of Osun State, Michael Segun Omole Dr., Tajudeen Temitayo Adebayo, Rasaq Adetona Adio, Kayode Olayiwola Adepoju, Faruq Abubakar Umar, Micahel Babatunde Adeojo, Aliyu Wada

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study was to contribute to finding solutions to problems associated with disease surveillance and notification systems in relation to epidemic control in local government areas of Osun State.

Survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study was three hundred and six (306) medical and health officers in the 30 local government areas of Osun State. Total enumeration technique was used to cover all the 306 health care professionals in the 30 local government areas. A validated questionnaire was used for data collection with response rate of 93.1% and data were analyzed using descriptive …

Hematogenous Osteomyelitis In Juveniles: An Examination Of Pathophysiology And Variation In Occurrence In The Archaeological Record And Contemporarily

Symposium of Student Scholars

Osteomyelitis is a general term for a group of diseases that cause inflammation of the bone. In most cases, the cause is infectious agents entering the bloodstream from other infected areas, especially traumatic or surgical wounds (hematogenous osteomyelitis). The main causative agents are Staphylococcus aureus (staph) and Streptococcus (strep). Other causes of osteomyelitis include indirect infection from soft tissue infections or sepsis (Ortner 2003, 181). Although osteomyelitis can occur at any age, hematogenous osteomyelitis is especially prevalent among juveniles. The location of occurrence is related to the timing of development of the growth plates, as well as the vascular supply …

Establishing Computational Approaches Towards Identifying Malarial Allosteric Modulators: A Case Study Of Plasmodium Falciparum Hsp70s, Arnold Amusengeri, Lindy Astl, Kevin Lobb, Gennady M. Verkhivker, Özlem Tastan Bishop

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Combating malaria is almost a never-ending battle, as Plasmodium parasites develop resistance to the drugs used against them, as observed recently in artemisinin-based combination therapies. The main concern now is if the resistant parasite strains spread from Southeast Asia to Africa, the continent hosting most malaria cases. To prevent catastrophic results, we need to find non-conventional approaches. Allosteric drug targeting sites and modulators might be a new hope for malarial treatments. Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are potential malarial drug targets and have complex allosteric control mechanisms. Yet, studies on designing allosteric modulators against them are limited. Here, we identified allosteric …

Memory-Like Inflammatory Responses Of Microglia To Rising Doses Of Lps: Key Role Of Pi3kγ, Trim Lajqi, Guang Ping Lang, Fabienne Haas, David L. Williams, Hannes Hudalla, Michael Bauer, Marco Groth, Reinhard Wetzker, Reinhard Bauer

ETSU Faculty Works

Trained immunity and immune tolerance have been identified as long-term response patterns of the innate immune system. The causes of these opposing reactions remain elusive. Here, we report about differential inflammatory responses of microglial cells derived from neonatal mouse brain to increasing doses of the endotoxin LPS. Prolonged priming with ultra-low LPS doses provokes trained immunity, i.e., increased production of pro-inflammatory mediators in comparison to the unprimed control. In contrast, priming with high doses of LPS induces immune tolerance, implying decreased production of inflammatory mediators and pronounced release of anti-inflammatory cytokines. Investigation of the signaling processes and cell functions involved …

Macrophage-Associated Wound Healing Contributes To African Green Monkey Siv Pathogenesis Control, Fredrik Barrenas, Kevin Raehtz, Cuiling Xu, Lynn Law, Richard R. Green, Guido Silvestri, Steven E. Bosinger, Andrew Nishida, Qingsheng Li, Wuxun Lu, Jianshui Zhang, Matthew J. Thomas, Jean Chang, Elise Smith, Jeffrey M. Weiss, Reem A. Dawoud, George H. Richter, Anita Trichel, Dongzhu Ma, Xinxia Peng, Jan Komorowski, Cristian Apetrei, Ivona Pandrea, Michael Gale Jr.

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Natural hosts of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) avoid AIDS despite lifelong infection. Here, we examined how this outcome is achieved by comparing a natural SIV host, African green monkey (AGM) to an AIDS susceptible species, rhesus macaque (RM). To asses gene expression profiles from acutely SIV infected AGMs and RMs, we developed a systems biology approach termed Conserved Gene Signature Analysis (CGSA), which compared RNA sequencing data from rectal AGM and RM tissues to various other species. We found that AGMs rapidly activate, and then maintain, evolutionarily conserved regenerative wound healing mechanisms in mucosal tissue. The wound healing protein fibronectin …

Flood Disasters: What Lurks In The Water? An Educational Resource For Healthcare Providers, Luva M. Reeves

Biennial Convention (CONV)

The purpose of this Poster Presentation is to describe an educational resource for healthcare providers. The modality is a Web Based Educational Resource for healthcare providers. This is a web based program on post- flood disease risk, symptoms and management.