Digital Commons Network^™

Prevalence Of Snake Fungal Disease Caused By Ophidiomyces Ophiodiicola In East Texas, Alan Lizarraga

Biology Theses

Fungal pathogens and resultant disease are credited with the decline of many species across all branches of the tree of life. Fungal diseases such as Snake Fungal Disease (SFD), primarily caused by the fungus Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola (Oo), have been strongly associated with the cause of the decrease/disappearance of many snake populations in North America. To date SFD in the wild has been described as far southwest as central Louisiana. Due to similar conditions and the proximity of East Texas to central Louisiana, a survey of local snake populations provided crucial information about the spread and presence of this emerging pathogen. …

Trypanosoma Cruzi Modulates Piwi-Interacting Rna Expression In Primary Human Cardiac Myocytes During The Early Phase Of Infection, Kayla J. Rayford, Ayorinde Cooley, Ashutosh Arun, Girish Rachakonda, Yulia Kleschenko, Fernando Villalta, Siddharth Pratap, Maria F. Lima, Pius N. Nde

Publications and Research

Trypanosoma cruzi dysregulates the gene expression profile of primary human cardiomyocytes (PHCM) during the early phase of infection through a mechanism which remains to be elucidated. The role that small non-coding RNAs (sncRNA) including PIWI-interacting RNA (piRNA) play in regulating gene expression during the early phase of infection is unknown. To understand how T. cruzi dysregulate gene expression in the heart, we challenged PHCM with T. cruzi trypomastigotes and analyzed sncRNA, especially piRNA, by RNA-sequencing. The parasite induced significant differential expression of host piRNAs, which can target and regulate the genes which are important during the early infection phase. An …

Daily Eastern News: December 11, 2020, Eastern Illinois University

December

No abstract provided.

Uab To Provide First Vaccine Doses To Front Line And Clinical Staff, Ems And Other Birmingham-Area Hospitals, Tyler Greer

Browse All News

No abstract provided.

Identification Of Victims Of Human Trafficking: Leading Change Through A Global Pandemic, Connie Clemmons-Brown

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Human trafficking is a multi-billion-dollar global industry, generating $150 billion annually (International Labour Organization [ILO], 2014), and driven by the exploitation of victims of all ages, primarily for forced labor or commercial sex. Victims endure frequent and prolonged abuse, suffering illnesses, and injuries. When accessing the health care system, they often go unrecognized by health care providers and nurses. Recognition requires training to raise awareness and the right tools to capture the information necessary to identify victims and address opportunities to improve their safety, care, and support. The aim of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) evidence-based change project was …

Valley Fever: Education For Primary Care Providers And Allied Health Care Professionals, Michelle Elizabeth Bergen

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Valley Fever: Educating Primary Care Providers and Allied Healthcare Professionals

Abstract

Problem: Coccidioidomycosis (cocci), informally Valley Fever (VF), infects the lungs with the fungal spore coccidioides. It is prevalent in areas where soil disturbance occurs. Currently, there are no related educational or standardized guidelines exist for primary care providers (PCPs) in California’s Central Valley, where VF is highly endemic (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018).

Context: A Doctor of Nursing Practice project educational program for PCPs and allied healthcare workers (AHWs) at the Adventist Health Central Valley Network (AHCVN) clinics. The project aimed to educate PCPs to …

The Experience Of Living With Hypertension: Lessons From A Cohort Of Older Men, Junjira Seesawang

Dissertations

Poor adherence to treatment and poorly controlled hypertension are common in older men, especially in rural areas. Knowledge about the experience of living with hypertension among older men is important for developing nursing practices to enhance treatment adherence. However, little is known about the personal experiences of older men with hypertension. This dissertation includes three papers that address the following: (1) the experiences of men with hypertension, based on a review of literature, (2) factors influencing the ability to self-manage hypertension among older adults in Asian countries, based on a review of qualitative studies, and (3) grounded theory study exploring …

Ultracontinuous Single Haplotype Genome Assemblies For The Domestic Cat (Felis Catus) And Asian Leopard Cat (Prionailurus Bengalensis), Kevin R. Bredemeyer, Andrew J. Harris, Gang Li, Le Zhao, Nicole M. Foley, Melody E. Roelke-Parker, Stephen James O'Brien, Leslie A. Lyons, Wesley C. Warren, William J. Murphy

Biology Faculty Articles

In addition to including one of the most popular companion animals, species from the cat family Felidae serve as a powerful system for genetic analysis of inherited and infectious disease, as well as for the study of phenotypic evolution and speciation. Previous diploid-based genome assemblies for the domestic cat have served as the primary reference for genomic studies within the cat family. However, these versions suffered from poor resolution of complex and highly repetitive regions, with substantial amounts of unplaced sequence that is polymorphic or copy number variable. We sequenced the genome of a female F1 Bengal hybrid cat, the …

Medication Adherence To Successful Tuberculosis Treatment Outcome Among Tb/Hiv Patient At Prof. Dr. Sulianti Saroso Infectious Disease Hospital, Yusmaniar Yusmaniar, Adin H Kurniawan

Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy Research

Tuberculosis/Human Immunodeficiency Virus (TB/HIV) co-infection has poorer treatment outcome compared to non-co-infected patients. To benefit from therapy and to avoid contracting treatment-resistant strains, the individuals must adherent to medications. There is limited information regarding successful TB treatment outcomes and their associated factors. Thus, the study was designed to identify medication adherence associated with treatment outcomes among TB/HIV Patients at Prof. Dr. Sulianti Saroso Infectious Disease Hospital. This research was an observational study with retrospective approach from January 2015 to December 2017 by taking data from medical records and TB-01 form of TB/HIV patients in the outpatient clinic of the disease …

Aiming For Zero: Creating A Culture Of Safety And Improving Cauti Outcomes In The Microsystem, Shiela Escobar

Master's Projects and Capstones

Abstract

Problem: Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) remains the leading cause of hospital-acquired infection (HAI) despite being preventable. CAUTI increases the length of stay, morbidity, mortality, readmissions, and costs. There is also increasing antimicrobial resistance in pathogens causing CAUTI. Thus, reducing HAIs such as CAUTI should be a priority for every institution.

Context: The microsystem for this CAUTI quality improvement project is a 24-bed adult medical-telemetry unit in an acute care teaching hospital with excessive CAUTI. This project aims to improve the unit’s CAUTI standardized infection ratio (SIR) from a baseline of 2.54 to 1.75 by October 2020. A SIR …

Improving Frequency Of Hand Hygiene Education From Providers To Patients, Nancy Moran, Vanessa Hernandez, Christopher Sutton

Master's Projects and Capstones

Hand hygiene compliance is one of the most simplest forms of preventing infection. This paper focuses on improving the frequency and standardizing hand hygiene education to patients delivered by health care professionals from a primary care clinic. The ambulatory suburban community clinic in Oakland primarily serves the underserved population. The target population are the following providers: Physicians, Physician Assistants, Nurse Practitioners, Registered Nurse, Licensed Practical Nurse, and Medical Assistants. A survey was adapted from evidence-based studies, WHO, and CDC to collect data on current hand hygiene education provided to patients from healthcare professionals. An additional survey was given to patients …

Professional Development And Care Planning, Maninder Deol

Master's Theses

The Covid-19 infection trend revealed to the Californian Prison healthcare system the importance of offering top-quality preventive and care services to control diseases. Irrespective of the understanding, there have been challenges in the transitional gap as older nurses are retiring and replaced by new ones. However, the lack of technical experience among the new nurses has exposed the patient population to human errors, which might be costly to amend. As a result, the initiative embarked on a project to train and empower nurses on preventive and care techniques.

Critical areas of concern include reporting, data collection, patient symptomology, results interpretation, …

Knowledge, Attitudes, And Practices Against The Growing Threat Of Covid-19 Among Medical Students Of Pakistan, Khola Noreen, Zil-E Rubab, Muhammad Umar, Rehana Rehman, Mukhtiar Baig, Fizzah Baig

Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences

Background: On account of the COVID-19 pandemic, many changes have been implicated in university medical students. We are cognizant that pandemic can be controlled with dedicated contributions from all involved in the healthcare profession. Therefore, it is important to know the pandemic and application of knowledge by the medical students to formulate a further line of management in Pakistan.
Objective: We aimed toinvestigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding COVID-19 and its impact on medical students of Pakistan.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in June 2020 by a validated self-administered questionnaire. The survey instrument was tailored from a …

The Effects Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Humanitarian Aid Operations In Jordan, Hana Driss

Capstone Collection

Abstract

This is a qualitative descriptive exploratory study on the effects of humanitarian aid operations during the onset of Covid-19 through the perspective of aid workers in Jordan. The kingdom of Jordan was chosen for this study due to the country’s place as a humanitarian oasis in a region in crisis and to the government mandating one of the strictest lockdowns in the world in response to Covid-19. These measures closed borders and completely halted inter-city travel within Jordan, making the delivery of aid to refugees and inaccessible communities difficult. Ten participants were contacted and interviewed for this study. Each …

Equity, Engagement, And Health: School Organisational Issues And Priorities During Covid-19, Jose Eos R. Trinidad

Interdisciplinary Studies Faculty Publications

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has disrupted and posed great challenges for kindergarten-grade12 education systems. Initial studies on education and COVID-19 often focus on technology use, student learning, and school reopening plans. However, debates on the form of instruction become futile when stakeholders are unclear about what the competing values, issues, and priorities are. Using exploratory data analysis of a representative sample of US teachers and school leaders, this paper highlights key organisational issues and priorities in terms of addressing academic achievement gaps, students’ online engagement, and teachers’ and students’ health. More fundamentally, deeper issues are uncovered like equity for …

Transfer Learning For Decision Support In Covid-19 Detection From A Few Images In Big Data, Divydharshini Karthikeyan, Aparna S. Varde, Weitian Wang

Department of Computer Science Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The novel coronavirus (Covid-19) has spread rapidly amongst countries all around the globe. Compared to the rise in cases, there are few Covid-19 testing kits available. Due to the lack of testing kits for the public, it is useful to implement an automated AI-based E-health decision support system as a potential alternative method for Covid-19 detection. As per medical examinations, the symptoms of Covid-19 could be somewhat analogous to those of pneumonia, though certainly not identical. Considering the enormous number of cases of Covid-19 and pneumonia, and the complexity of the related images stored, the data pertaining to this problem …

The Enemy Of My Enemy Is Still My Enemy: The Biological Invasion And Management Of Gambusia In Peninsular India, M. Nobin Raja, G. Ravikanth, M. Nobin Raja

Open Access archive

Aquatic invasive species negatively impact the native aquatic communities in many parts of the world. Every nation faces the issue of introduced species, but the efforts to manage them depend on the varying capacity and willingness to manage invasions globally. Aquatic invasive species have their own set of challenges; it is crucial to understand the invasion dynamics of these species as well as their nature of interaction with humans to devise better mitigation processes. The freshwater aquatic wealth of India is seriously threatened by pollution, flow modification, overexploitation, habitat degradation and invasive alien species. India has several globally known freshwater …

Distributed De Novo Assembler For Large-Scale Long-Read Datasets, Sayan Goswami, Kisung Lee, Seung Jong Park

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Third-generation DNA sequencing technologies such as single-molecule real-time sequencing (SMRT) and nanopore sequencing have the potential to fill the gaps in the existing genome databases since the raw sequences produced by these machines are much longer than those of previous generations and therefore result in more contiguous assemblies. However, these long reads have a high error rate, which makes the assembly process computationally challenging. Moreover, since existing long-read assemblers are designed to run on a single machine, they either take days to complete or run out of memory on even moderate-sized datasets. In this paper, we present a distributed long-read …

Nontuberculous Mycobacterium (Ntm) Infection In Aquatic Workers With Purified Protein Derivative (Ppd) And Gold Quantiferon Tests., Lavanya Ravipati, Sarah A. Howard

Graduate Medical Education Research Journal

Background: Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infections are commonly caused by Mycobacterium marinum and fortuitum with M. marinum more likely to cause skin infections. Aquatic environments are a potential source of contact with M. marinum and fortuitum. Patients with NTM infections may present with positive tuberculin purified protein derivative (PPD) and/or gold QuantiFERON tests. However, PPD cannot differentiate between NTM infection and other tuberculous infections caused by different mycobacterial strains. We present a patient a marine biologist who was asymptomatic and presented for further evaluation as she has a h/o positive PPD and gold QuantiFERON test.

Methods: Patient informed consent was …

Customized Blister Packaging For Patients Living With Hiv: Assessment Of Patient Attitudes And Satisfaction, Holly Groteluschen, Harlan Sayles, Rebecca Osborn, Joshua P. Havens, Sara Bares, Jasmine R. Marcelin

Graduate Medical Education Research Journal

Adherence to antiretroviral medication results in reduced HIV transmission and improved health outcomes, yet challenges with medication adherence remain. A Collaborative Care Program was developed with a community pharmacy integrating a multi-dose adherence packaging service. We surveyed program participants to assess their satisfaction with this program and found an overall positive sentiment toward the program, that the program helped with reducing missed doses, and all patients would recommend the program to others.

The Uncharted Waters Of Graduate Medical Education During A Pandemic, Chandrakanth Are

Graduate Medical Education Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Assessment Methodology Of Preschool Education System Management, N.D. Salikhov

Central Asian Problems of Modern Science and Education

The article describes in detail the assessment of the management of the preschool education system and the existing organization of preschool education, the assessment of the activities of managers and staff, the assessment of the rating based on the results obtained.

Welfare Costs Of Catastrophes: Lost Consumption And Lost Lives, Ian W. R. Martin, Robert S. Pindyck

Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei Working Papers

Most of the literature on the economics of catastrophes assumes that such events cause a reduction in the stream of consumption, as opposed to widespread fatalities. Here we show how to incorporate death in a model of catastrophe avoidance, and how a catastrophic loss of life can be expressed as a welfare-equivalent drop in consumption. We examine how potential fatalities affect the policy interdependence of catastrophic events and “willingness to pay" (WTP) to avoid them. Using estimates of the “value of a statistical life" (VSL), we find the WTP to avoid major pandemics, and show it is large (10% or …

The Local Stability Of A Modified Multi-Strain Sir Model For Emerging Viral Strains, Miguel Fudolig, Reka Howard

Department of Statistics: Faculty Publications

We study a novel multi-strain SIR epidemic model with selective immunity by vaccination. A newer strain is made to emerge in the population when a preexisting strain has reached equilbrium. We assume that this newer strain does not exhibit cross-immunity with the original strain, hence those who are vaccinated and recovered from the original strain become susceptible to the newer strain. Recent events involving the COVID-19 virus shows that it is possible for a viral strain to emerge from a population at a time when the influenza virus, a well-known virus with a vaccine readily available, is active in a …

2020-12-09_Michiganoverview_Covidtestingtimes, Michigan Department Of Health & Human Services

Michigan COVID-19 Testing Turnaround Data

The COVID Testing Turnaround Time page was obtained from Michigan's COVID-19 data page: https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus/0,9753,7-406-98163_98173-545615--,00.html.

This report was created by the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services, providing data for the past 14 days on the average time it takes for a diagnostic COVID-19 laboratory test to be reported to the state health department. Testing turnaround time data will be updated weekly on Friday mornings.

MDHHS receives results from commercial labs, hospitals, and public health labs. However, public health laboratories perform limited diagnostic testing and disease surveillance for infectious diseases. Total turnaround time is calculated from the difference of …

2020-12-09_Michiganoverview_Covidsymptoms, Michigan Department Of Health & Human Services

Michigan COVID-19 Syndromic Surveillance System Data

The Syndromic Surveillance System Data report was obtained from Michigan's COVID-19 dashboard, from under the link "​Coronavirus Symptoms": https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus. Data was compiled by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). The information was updated daily.

Syndromic Surveillance System data is obtained from approximately 183 facilities participating in syndromic surveillance (132 Emergency Departments (ED), 51 Urgent Cares) across the State of Michigan. The reporting is based on individuals who present at EDs and may not be representative of the overall population. The coronavirus-like symptoms query searches visit free-text (chief complaint, triage notes, and clinical impression) for fever or …

Mathematical Model Of The Role Of Asymptomatic Infection In Outbreaks Of Some Emerging Pathogens, Nourridine Siewe, Bradford Greening Jr., Nina H. Fefferman

Articles

Preparation for outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases is often predicated on beliefs that we will be able to understand the epidemiological nature of an outbreak early into its inception. However, since many rare emerging diseases exhibit different epidemiological behaviors from outbreak to outbreak, early and accurate estimation of the epidemiological situation may not be straightforward in all cases. Previous studies have proposed considering the role of active asymptomatic infections co-emerging and co-circulating as part of the process of emergence of a novel pathogen. Thus far, consideration of the role of asymptomatic infections in emerging disease dynamics have usually avoided considering …

Antimicrobial Peptide Development: From Massively Parallel Peptide Sequencing To Bioinformatic Motif Identification, Alexander K. Erikson

Theses and Dissertations

The isolation, purification, and clinical deployment of antibiotics is one of the major drivers of decrease in morbidity and mortality from infectious bacteria in the 20th century. The rapid, ubiquitous deployment of antibiotics encouraged swift development and distribution of antibiotic resistance. New, novel techniques, technologies, and ultimately therapeutic antimicrobial compounds will be required to counter the rise of antibiotic resistant microbes. Historically, mimicking naturally occurring compounds has been the most fruitful method for discovering new antibiotics; unsurprisingly, many recent efforts have focused on expanding the cultivation and detection of previously unknown microbes and compounds, respectively. Other techniques explore developing compounds …

Climate Change Disclosures After Nifla, Daniel Abrams

University of Chicago Legal Forum

No abstract provided.

2020-12-08_Michiganoverview_Covidsymptoms, Michigan Department Of Health & Human Services

Michigan COVID-19 Syndromic Surveillance System Data

The Syndromic Surveillance System Data report was obtained from Michigan's COVID-19 dashboard, from under the link "​Coronavirus Symptoms": https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus. Data was compiled by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). The information was updated daily.

Syndromic Surveillance System data is obtained from approximately 183 facilities participating in syndromic surveillance (132 Emergency Departments (ED), 51 Urgent Cares) across the State of Michigan. The reporting is based on individuals who present at EDs and may not be representative of the overall population. The coronavirus-like symptoms query searches visit free-text (chief complaint, triage notes, and clinical impression) for fever or …