Digital Commons Network^™

Neutrosophic Fuzzy Hierarchical Clustering For Dengue Analysis In Sri Lanka, S. Vandhana, J Anuradha

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

No abstract provided.

“By Unexpected Means”—The Founding Of St. Joseph At St. Louis, 1863-1878, Dana Delibovi

The Confluence (2009-2020)

Five nuns traveled to St. Louis in 1863 to create a contemplative order in the midst of the Civil War. Dana Delibovi investigates the reasons the group came.

The Censored Bimodal Skew-Normal-Flexible Model With An Application To Plasma Hiv-1 Rna, Germa ́N Moreno-Arenas, Guillermo Mart ́Inez-Flo ́Rez, Artur J. Lemonte

Applied Mathematics & Information Sciences

We introduce the censored bimodal skew-normal-flexible distribution which can be very useful in dealing with censored data together with bimodality and high (or low) levels of skewness and kurtosis. A simple expression for its moments is derived. The frequentist approach is considered to draw inference, and the traditional maximum likelihood method is employed to estimate the unknown parameters. We also derive the observed information matrix. An application of the new model to the plasma HIV-1 RNA measurement is presented for illustrative purposes.

Subcontracting And Sweatshops During Coronavirus – The Wake-Up Call Businesses Need?, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Coronavirus continues to impact the already struggling retail sector. Wesfarmers, one of Australia's largest listed companies and the owner of bargain retailers Kmart and Target, recently announced the closure of some 75 Target stores, with another 90 to be converted to the more profitable Kmart outlets. Fears remain for some 1000 Target workers whose jobs are at risk.

Multicenter, Observational Cohort Study Evaluating Third-Generation Cephalosporin Therapy For Bloodstream Infections Secondary To Enterobacter, Serratia, And Citrobacter Species, Caroline Derrick, P. Brandon Bookstaver, Zhiqiang K. Lu, Christopher M. Bland

Faculty and Student Publications

Objectives: There is debate on whether the use of third-generation cephalosporins (3GC) increases the risk of clinical failure in bloodstream infections (BSIs) caused by chromosomally-mediated AmpC-producing Enterobacterales (CAE). This study evaluates the impact of definitive 3GC therapy versus other antibiotics on clinical outcomes in BSIs due to Enterobacter, Serratia, or Citrobacter species. Methods: This multicenter, retrospective cohort study evaluated adult hospitalized patients with BSIs secondary to Enterobacter, Serratia, or Citrobacter species from 1 January 2006 to 1 September 2014. Definitive 3GC therapy was compared to definitive therapy with other non-3GC antibiotics. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression evaluated the impact of …

U.S. Response To Covid-19 Compared To Other Diseases, Brian E. Barton

2020 Symposium Posters

Emergence of a new infectious disease out of China has caused a global reaction to combat the spread. On December 31, 2019, China reported a cluster of cases of pneumonia in people associated with the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, Hubei Province. On January 7, 2020, Chinese health authorities confirmed that this cluster was associated with a novel coronavirus, 2019-nCoV. Governments around the world responded to the threat by instituting lockdowns, closing businesses, using experimental medications, and even closing boarders. Citizens responded in kind by increasing social distancing and the usage of personal protective devices such as face masks …

Modeling And Analysis Of Symptomatic And Asymptomatic Infections Of Zika Virus Disease With Non-Monotonic Incidence Rate, Naba Kumar Goswami, B. Shanmukha

Applied Mathematics & Information Sciences

In this Zika virus disease model, we have incorporated a non-monotonic incidence rate for the human to human transmission, which describes the psychological effect from the behavioural change of the susceptible individuals and the crowding effect of the infected individuals. The proposed epidemic model has seven mutually exclusive sub-classes of humans and mosquitoes which are analyzed by a suitable approach to control the Zika virus. Transmission of Zika virus is of three types, which are between human to human, human to mosquito and mosquito to human. The existence, the local stability of the disease-free, and the endemic equilibrium have been …

Development And Initial Validation Of The Covid Stress Scales, Steven Taylor, Caeleigh A. Landry, Michelle M. Paluszek, Thomas A. Fergus, Dean Mckay, Gordon J.G. Asmundsone

Covid-19 Digital Research

Research and clinical observations suggest that during times of pandemic many people exhibit stress- or anxiety-related responses that include fear of becoming infected, fear of coming into contact with possibly contaminated objects or surfaces, fear of foreigners who might be carrying infection (i.e., disease-related xenophobia), fear of the socio-economic consequences of the pandemic, compulsive checking and reassurance-seeking regarding possible pandemic-related threats, and traumatic stress symptoms about the pandemic (e.g., nightmares, intrusive thoughts). We developed the 36-item COVID Stress Scales (CSS) to measure these features, as they pertain to COVID-19. The CSS were developed to better understand and assess COVID-19-related distress. …

Understanding Covid-19 With Single Cell Immune Profiling, Alex Palacio

Creative Activity and Research Day - CARD

Scientists all around the world are coming together for a single goal -- to find the cure for COVID-19; the virus that has sent millions of people worldwide to hospitals and hundreds of thousands of people to their death. While scientists are trying to uncover the mysteries of the virus, 10X Genomics product lines are able to help scientists achieve their goal. With the Single Cell Immune Profiling, scientists around the world are able to study the immune response and antigen specificity of the virus. The Immune Profiling product line is able to study millions of T-Cells and B-Cells on …

Spring/Summer 2020, Full Issue

The Confluence (2009-2020)

No abstract provided.

The Autoimmune System: The Effect Of Physiological Stressors On Autoantibody Glycosylation And Fidelity Of Autoantibody Profiles, Rahil Kheirkhah

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Theses and Dissertations

The presence of thousands of autoantibodies (aABs) in the human sera is typical, and therefore it is possible to identify an aAB profile for each individual. In the first part of this thesis, we will show the cerebrospinal fluid also exhibits an extraordinarily complex immunoglobulin G aAB profile that is composed of thousands of aABs. We show that the pattern of expression of individual aABs in CSF closely mimics that in the blood, indicative of a blood-based origin for CSF aABs. In addition, using longitudinal serum samples obtained over a span of nine years, we show remarkable stability in aAB …

2020-05-01_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 …

Diagnosis And Treatment Of Uti At Gateway Internal Medicine, Kathra Wickam

Cohort VIII

The project is a quality improvement (QI) initiative with a target population concentrated on adult women, between 18 and 99 years of age, presenting with symptoms of urinary tract infection (UTI). The symptoms are often nonspecific, and dipstick urinalysis lacks adequate specificity; empiric treatment leads to substantial antibiotic exposure that ultimately proves unnecessary. The completion of this QI project came about after a ten-day reflective practice, during which I identified a UTI diagnosis and treatment problem in women at Gateway Internal Medicine in El Paso, Texas. The QI project is aimed at reducing inappropriate outpatient antibiotic use and UTI recurrence …

Pneumonia: An Unexpected Graveyard Visitor?, Daniel A. Casas, Jigar Chauhan, Melanie Williams, Jan Sambataro, David Sukhai, Pablo G. Dubon, Jorge Perez

West Florida Division GME Research Day 2020

Community acquired pneumonia caused by Influenza can present with superinfection. On rare occasions, an unexpected organism is discovered.

Novel Infection Status Post Electrocution Requiring A 4th Ray Amputation, William R. Judson, John D. Murphy, Phillip H. Sussman, John N. Harker

West Florida Division GME Research Day 2020

• Prevotella bivia is an anaerobic, non-pigmented, Gram-negative bacillus species that is known to inhabit the human female vaginal tract and oral flora. It is most commonly associated with endometritis and pelvic inflammatory disease.^{1, 2}
• Rarely, P. bivia has been found in the nail bed, chest wall, intervertebral discs, and hip and knee joints.¹ The bacteria has been linked to necrotizing fasciitis, osteomyelitis, or septic arthritis.^{3, 4}
• Only 3 other reports have described P. bivia infections in the upper extremity with one patient requiring amputation2, and one with deep soft tissue infection requiring multiple debridements and extensive tenosynovectomy. …

A Case For Restoration And Recovery Of Zostera Marina L. In The Great Bay Estuary, David M. Burdick, Kenneth J. Edwardson, Thomas Gregory, Kalle Matso, Trevor Mattera, Melissa Paly, Christopher Peter, Frederick Short, Dante D. Torio

PREP Reports & Publications

No abstract provided.

A Childhood Dream: A Guide To Veterinary Medicine, Kaitlyn Lowe

ESSAI

No abstract provided.

New Onset Psychosis Secondary To Neurosyphilis, Samantha Linda Jane Vu, Lauren Angela Demarco, Francis Butler, Nihal Shah

West Florida Division GME Research Day 2020

Syphilis is a highly contagious sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by the spirochetal bacterium Treponema pallidum. Transmission occurs through direct contact of painless ulcerative lesions, chancres, located on the genitalia (penis, labia) and oral mucosa. Neurosyphilis is any involvement of the central nervous systems (brain, meninges, or spinal cord) by the bacterium.

The Impact Of Extreme Heat On Environmental Justice Communities In California: Assessing Equity In Climate Action Plans, Karishma S. Becha

Master's Projects and Capstones

Climate change projections suggest extreme heat events will be more frequent over the next few decades. Extreme heat has both negative environmental and social impacts as it affects energy security, public health by increasing the risk of heat-related illnesses and stresses food and crop supply through prolonged droughts. The impacts of extreme heat will also disproportionately affect communities of low economic status. Because of this, there is a need for better climate action plans that can adapt to and mitigate the impacts brought upon by extreme heat that does not disproportionately impact vulnerable communities. This research analyzed local government Climate …

Placing Notes In The Virtual “Western Wall”: Online Memorial Culture In Chinese Social Media, Xiaoyu Zhang

Master's Projects and Capstones

Each society has a unique way of understanding death and coping with mourning. The increasing online mourners in China gradually generated a collective reference to the Weibo account that belongs to the dead, the “Western Wall.” This project searches for answers to two questions: 1) What characterizes Chinese online memorial practice? And how do these practices compare with those in the Western countries? 2) What aspects of Chinese culture and social conditions can explain Chinese online memorial practices? By combining corpus analysis with thematic analysis on 1,606 comments left on the last tweet of two accounts of deceased Weibo users, …

Dermatologists In The Wild West, 1870-1900: The Early Pioneers From The Mississippi River To The Pacific Coast., Leonard J Hoenig, Lawrence Charles Parish

Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Biology Faculty Papers

During the Wild West era of American history (approximately 1870-1900), at least 53 dermatologists settled between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Coast. In 1870, two dermatologists began their practice in the city of St Louis, Missouri (William Augustus Hardaway and Solomon Claiborne Martin, Sr) and one dermatologist started his practice in San Francisco, California (George J. Bucknall). By 1900, 50 more dermatologists had settled in 19 cities located in the American West (Tables 1,2). There, they established practices, initiated academic programs, and pioneered dermatology as a medical specialty in the western United States. This contribution provides brief biographic profiles …

What's All The Buzzy About? Using Cryotherapy And Vibration For Pain During Vaccinations In Children, Marta L. Byma

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

Vaccinations are the most common painful needle procedure, with an estimated 12 billion injections given per year (CDC, 2019). The usual method for administration of vaccinations is through needle puncture, which is often painful. Children often report receiving a shot as one of the most feared and painful experiences (McMurtry et al., 2015). The purpose of this evidence-based practice (EBP) project was to improve patient experiences by decreasing the pain that is associated with vaccinations through the use of a nonpharmacological method for comfort via the Buzzy® device. After thorough analysis and synthesis of the literature, the Buzzy® device that …

Multidrug-Resistant Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Evokes Differential Inflammatory Responses In Human Microglial And Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells, Poonam Naik, Sukhvinder Singh, Sushma Vishwakarma, Inderjeet Kaur

Open Access archive

Increasing incidences of multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens causing endophthalmitis threaten our ability to treat this condition, and the modulation of inflammatory responses by MDR bacteria is not known. In this study, using human microglia and retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, we compare the inflammatory responses of sensitive (S-PA) and multidrug-resistant (MDR-PA) clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Infected cells were subjected to qPCR analysis, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and immunostaining to assess the expression of inflammatory mediators. Both microglia and RPE cells, challenged with S-PA and MDR-PA, induced a time-dependent expression of inflammatory cytokines. Significant differences were observed in expression levels of …

Different Coral Pathogens Causing Disease Through Biofilm Formation And Ways To Study And Disrupt It, Dena Kamel

2020 Spring Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

Coral pathogens have been causing irreversible damage to the coral communities all around the world. Specific genera of bacteria like Vibrio have been studied throughout the years, however, researchers continue to find new species. Some pathogens’ biofilm formation ability negatively impacts the corals. We attempted to optimize the biofilm assay in a specific species Vibrio coralliilyticus in order to learn more about the conditions and variables that affect biofilm formation and to develop a set of conditions that the pathogen deems as ideal. The immediate goal of this research is to be able to quantify biofilm and find factors that …

Targeted Lc-Ms Analysis For Metabolite Profiling From Pathogenic Bacteria, Jessica Gomez-Vargas

2020 Spring Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

Groundwater is relied on for drinking by more than 50 percent of the United States. For this reason, the purity of groundwater is extremely important. There has been possible contamination of opportunistic pathogenic microorganisms in groundwater attributable to oil and gas extractions from drilling and hydraulic fracturing; two of which are Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus cereus. These pathogens can cause severe infections in humans. P. aeruginosa increases prevalence of chronic and nosocomial infections. B. cereus produces toxins that are one of the most common causes of food poisoning. B. cereus can also cause infections of the eye, respiratory tract, and …

Functionalizing Nanoparticles With Cafa Protein To Target Bar Peptide For Oral Delivery Applications., Hetal Desai

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Porphyromonas gingivalis adherence to Streptococcus gordonii may be important for P. gingivalis colonization in the oral cavity. Nanoparticles encapsulating synthetic peptide BAR (BAR-NPs) inhibit P. gingivalis adherence more potently than free BAR. However, BAR-NPs would exhibit low retention in an open flow environment. Hypothesis: Targeting BAR-NPs to the streptococcal surface using CafA protein will enhance their efficacy. Methods: CafA-modified NPs encapsulating BAR were synthesized using double emulsion approach. Surface binding and retention, and release kinetics of BAR from CafA-modified NPs was assessed. Functional inhibition assays were performed using dual a species biofilm. Results: CafA-modified NPs demonstrated specificity of adhesion, …

Louisville's Dark Tourist: Liminality, Legend, And The Macabre., Montgomery Quaid Adams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a historical and theoretical analysis of touristic motivations behind visiting dark tourist attractions that uses two Louisville, Kentucky attractions as case-studies. It begins by providing an overview of concepts relevant to the analysis of these motivations including liminality, dark tourism, and legend studies, thereby drawing connections between these concepts to develop a framework for the analysis of these liminal spaces and the legends that surround them. It uses these theories to build a framework that argues for the inclusion of legend studies in the conversation of dark tourism and providing a new lens for viewing touristic motivation …

Leptospirosis: A Tropical Disease In The Midwest, Joshua J. Won

MERF 2020 - Case Reports

Introduction: Regional diseases travel across the globe with little difficulty in the modern age. Ease of long-distance travel and importation of exotic goods are the culprit. Leptospirosis is a disease mostly prevalent in tropical countries surrounding the equator, with the incidence of new cases decreasing as you move north. It is a zoonotic disease, with rodents as the common host, contributing to about 900,000 cases worldwide with up to 50,000 deaths per year. There are reported of cases throughout the southern United States, but new cases in the Midwest, or Northern states, are rare. Therefore, acquiring a thorough history, including …

Renal Cysts In An Immigrant Patient: An Atypical Presentation Of Echinococcosis, Bhavana Tetali, Daniel C. Grahf, Elian D. Abou Asala, Daniel Axelson

MERF 2020 - Case Reports

Introduction: Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is an infection caused by the Echinococcus tapeworm that results in the creation of cysts within a range of visceral organs. Ninety percent of these cysts are in the liver or lungs. In the United States, cases are quite rare and most are found in immigrants from endemic countries. Patients with CE may remain asymptomatic for years. If left undiagnosed and untreated, mortality from CE is estimated to be 90% by ten years. In this case, we discuss a patient who presented to the emergency department with genitourinary complaints and was diagnosed with CE of primary …

Case Report: Four Extremity Compartment Syndrome Fasciotomy Resulting From Influenza A Viral Myositis; A Rare Complication, Eric Chen, Arion Lochner, Robert Cesaro

MERF 2020 - Case Reports

Influenza A and B commonly cause benign respiratory disease in humans but can cause more severe illness in higher risk populations. From 2009-2015 there was only one reported case in the English literature with the formal diagnosis of compartment syndrome as a complication from influenza. We report an unusual case of a previously healthy adult patient who presented with myocarditis and severe rhabdomyolysis secondary to influenza A infection, which resulted in atraumatic compartment syndrome of all four extremities each requiring emergent fasciotomy. The patient was subsequently managed with delayed primary closure and skin grafting in the operating room. Prompt recognition …