Digital Commons Network^™

University Of New Mexico Health Sciences Center Discovery Research Annual Report 2020, Michael Haederle, Jana Fothergill, Rebecca Roybal Jones, Yamhilette Licon Muñoz, Robert Oliver, Rebecca Sena, Michele Sequeira, Leasure Shanley, Seth Fuller

Research Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Time-Restricted Feeding On Body Weight, Energy, Mood, Sleep, And Hunger Levels Of Adults On Social Media, Rachel Elizabeth Haines

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of time-restricted eighthour feeding on body weight, self-reported energy, mood, and hunger scores, and selfreported sleep patterns of adult men and women on social media. Generally healthy adults ages 18 to 65 were invited on social media to participate in a five-week study which involved a one week of following their normal dietary patterns succeeded by four weeks of practicing time-restricted feeding of eight hours per day, also known as 16 hours of fasting. Daily surveys were created in Survey Monkey and distributed through the messaging platform, Remind, that gathered …

Evaluation Of Antibody Response Directed Against Porcine Reproductive And Respiratory Syndrome Virus Structural Proteins, Hung Q. Luong, Huong T.L. Lai, Hiep L.X. Vu

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Luciferase-immunoprecipitation system (LIPS), a liquid phase immunoassay, was used to evaluate antibody responses directed against the structural proteins of PRRSV in pigs that were experimentally infected with virulent PRRSV strains. First, the viral N protein was used as a model antigen to validate the assay. The LIPS results were highly comparable to that of the commercial IDEXX PRRS X3 ELISA. Subsequently, the assay was applied to simultaneously measure antibody reactivity against all eight structural proteins of PRRSV. The highest immunoreactivities were detected against GP3, M, and N proteins while the lowest reactivity was detected against ORF5a protein. Comparative analysis of …

Gulls As Sources Of Environmental Contamination By Colistin-Resistant Bacteria, Alan B. Franklin, Andrew M. Ramey, Kevin T. Bentler, Nicole L. Barrett, Loredana M. Mccurdy, Christina A. Ahlstrom, Jonas Bonnedahl, Susan A. Shriner, Jeffrey C. Chandler

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

In 2015, the mcr-1 gene was discovered in Escherichia coli in domestic swine in China that conferred resistance to colistin, an antibiotic of last resort used in treating multi-drug resistant bacterial infections in humans. Since then, mcr-1 was found in other human and animal populations, including wild gulls. Because gulls could disseminate the mcr-1 gene, we conducted an experiment to assess whether gulls are readily colonized with mcr-1 positive E. coli, their shedding patterns, transmission among conspecifics, and environmental deposition. Shedding of mcr-1 E. coli by small gull flocks followed a lognormal curve and gulls shed one strain >101 …

Piscivorous Bird Use Of Aquaculture And Natural Water Bodies In Mississippi, Paul C. Burr, Jimmy I. Avery, Garrett M. Street, Bronson K. Strickland, Brian S. Dorr

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Double crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) and great egrets (Ardea alba) have an extensive history of human wildlife conflict with the aquaculture industry of western Mississippi, USA, due to

their depredation of cultured catfish (Ictalurus spp.). Although aquaculture is abundant, western Mississippi also contains naturally occurring water bodies that offer alternative forage opportunities to these species. How cormorants or egrets distribute themselves among these 2 foraging options is unknown, but it has been generally assumed each species uses aquaculture disproportionately more because of the high density of available prey. To test this assumption, we surveyed these …

Control Or Eradication: Problems In The Management Of Invasive Birds, Michael L. Avery, Chris J. Feare

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Humans have captured, transported and intentionally released wild birds for centuries (Blackburn et al., 2009). Motivations for such purposeful introductions include food (West and Zhou, 2007), religion (Agoramoorthy and Hsu, 2007), sport (McDowall, 1994), biocontrol (Bennett and Hughes, 1959; Kurdila, 1995) and aesthetics (Ryan, 1906; Thomson, 1922). Many purposeful bird introductions were the work of acclimatization societies, particularly in North America, New Zealand and Australia. These societies were formed in the 19th century by European settlers to transport bird species from their homelands in efforts to establish them in the newly settled regions (Thomson, 1922; Dunlap, 1997). As a result …

Corona Letter 2 (Undated), Jill Swiencicki

Cardinal COVID Journal: Prose

No abstract provided.

The Innovator - Winter 2020, Allison Litera

Faculty Affairs & Research Newsletters - The Innovator

Newsletter published by the Offices of Faculty Affairs & Research

Burnout On The Front Lines: Physicians And Nurses As Servant-Leaders During Covid-19, Rebekah Rogers

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

Individuals rely on physicians and nurses during some of the most critical moments in their lives. The United States fell victim to a widespread health pandemic in early 2020 caused by the spread of a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) that paralyzed the country and devastated the global economy. The international health crisis thrust first responders to the front lines of an evolving war unlike anything society has seen in a century. As of September 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported more than 6.5 million confirmed cases and 194,155 deaths in the United States (CDC, 2020). The cities …

The Drug-Centered Model Of Treatment: Expanding Patient Treatment Options And Understanding, Lillian Francis

Theses & ETDs

Antidepressants have been believed to work by targeting underlying biological abnormalities that lead to the development of depression; this explanation is known as the disease-centered model of treatment. The drug-centered model of treatment states that antidepressants work by inducing an altered physiological state in the patient. This altered state can often be therapeutic. The purpose of this study is to investigate how individuals with depression view the drug-centered model. Participants were given a survey to complete in order to assess their receptivity to the drug-centered model of treatment. Thirty-two percent of participants supported the drug-centered model, and 21% of participants …

Urbanization And The Spread Of Hiv In Sub-Saharan Africa: A Comparison Of Lagos, Nigeria And Johannesburg, South Africa, Jacob Wentz

Theses & ETDs

The first documented infection of HIV was found in blood samples in the Democratic Republic of Congo in central Africa. Despite these origins, southern Africa is the region most affected by HIV in the world. The second most affected region in the world is west Africa. To build upon research about the spread of HIV across the sub continent, and to assess the impact of demographic change on the differences in HIV prevalence in west and southern Africa, this study investigates the role that urbanization in two regional metropoles—Lagos, Nigeria and Johannesburg, South Africa—plays in creating conditions conducive to the …

Anxious Bodies, Miranda Chapman

Theses & ETDs

Combatting the malignant theory of separation of body and mind proposed by René Descartes in 1641, Anxious Bodies details the suffering associated with anxiety disorders. Eleven highly realistic mixed-media paintings featuring embroidery transform anxiety from something invisible to something obvious and alarming, inviting the viewer into the world of mental illness. The horrific subject matter of the works, depicting parasites, dermatological conditions, mutations, etc. corrupting various parts of the human body call to the viewer while also disturbing them. Contrasting my work with more oppressive paintings of mental illness done in the 19th century and comparing my work to the …

Tropics, Transmission, And Epidemics: Using Hiv/Aids Data To Compare Health Systems In Yucatan, Florida, And Cuba., Ormond Derrick

Theses & ETDs

Differences in health systems are a point of debate among public health scholars around the world. Some countries provide free and universal healthcare through a single payer system, others use an employment-based healthcare system, and some have no universal healthcare guarantee. Health systems also include public health structures, which differ based on the healthcare system as well. The variation of these systems and of their varying levels of integration make comparisons of the effectiveness of health systems difficult. Using HIV/AIDS data allows for an insight into how well each of these systems operate, by providing universal, standardized, and comparable public …

A Call For Community Consciousness: Ethnographic Elucidation Of The Importance Of ‘Community’ In Hiv Care And Outreach Services Of Sarasota, Florida, Andrew Lanser

Theses & ETDs

This anthropological study explores the presence of ‘community’ within HIV related communities of the Sarasota area through ethnographic research with HIV service providers. ‘Community’ is a concept frequently discussed within the framework of communities inordinately affected by HIV but rarely explored through perspectives of professionals in HIV care and outreach. In adopting the later perspective, community is presented as evidencing itself in the form of (1) communities most at risk of HIV infection; (2) ‘community’ among HIV service providers; (3) ‘community’ among people living with HIV; and (4) community-oriented HIV outreach. Aside from the commonality of ‘community’ across informant conversations, …

Biopolitics, Individuality, And Engaged Science: Two Paradigm Shifts And Their Implications For A Liberatory Biology, David Finch

Theses & ETDs

Science and technology studies (STS) is the study of the relationships between science and technology on one hand, and society, politics, and culture on the other. Feminist/postcolonial STS uses this form of interdisciplinary inquiry to address issues relating to social justice. Of particular interest to some feminist and postcolonial STS scholars has been the topic of genetic determinism, which has historically been used to justify colonial, ethnic, sex-based and class-based hierarchies. This viewpoint fallaciously suggests that genes play a uniquely deterministic role in the development and lifestyles of humans and other organisms, relying on the idea that biological (and indeed, …

The Effects Of Increased Wildfires Due To Climate Change On The Respiratory Health Of New Mexicans, Satyam D. Patel

Climate Change and Public Health Preparedness

No abstract provided.

Promoting Physical Activity In Group Home Settings: Staff Perspectives Through A Swot Analysis, Bik C. Chow, Peggy Hiu Nam Choi, Wendy Yajun Huang, Chien-Yu Pan

Faculty of Design & Environment (THEi)

Purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate perceptions of staff about the promotion of physical activity (PA) in selected group residences of Hong Kong (HK), some of which had experienced a multi-component PA program. Method: Focus group interviews with nineteen staff members from four group homes (two of which received the program) were conducted. Findings: A SWOT analysis provided important insights into residential staff views about key influences on the quality of PA programs for residents with intellectual disabilities (ID). Positive (strengths and opportunities) and negative (weaknesses and threats) influences were identified. They were associated with characteristics of …

Safe Injection Sites: Existing Evidence And Implications For Massachusetts

The Graduate Review

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Gene Drive Approaches For Public Benefit, Michael R. Santos

United States Public Health Resources

Gene drive approaches—those which bias inheritance of a genetic element in a population of sexually reproducing organisms—have the potential to provide important public benefits. The spread of selected genetic elements in wild populations of organisms may help address certain challenges, such as transmission of vector-borne human and animal diseases and biodiversity loss due to invasive animals. Adapting various naturally occurring gene drive mechanisms to these aims is a long-standing research area, and recent advances in genetics have made engineering gene drive systems significantly more technically feasible. Gene drive approaches would act through changes in natural environments, thus robust methods to …

2020 Intersession Catalog, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

Intersession Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Mirna-146a Polymorphism Was Not Associated With Malaria In Southern India, Welmoed Van Loon, Prabhanjan P. Gai, Suyamindra S. Kulkarni, Rashmi Rasalkar

Open Access archive

Micro-RNAs (miRNAs) play a crucial role in immune regulation, and a common miRNA-146a polymorphism (rs2910164) increased the odds of falciparum malaria in pregnant African women. Here, we examined whether this association holds true in a different population, that is, 449 mainly male and adult malaria patients and 666 community controls in southwestern India. Plasmodium vivax malaria (67%) predominated over falciparum malaria (11%) and mixed species infections (22%). Overall, 59% of the study participants carried the miRNA-146a polymorphism. However, it was not associated with the odds of malaria, irrespective of parasite species. This underlines the importance of considering the complexities of …

Toward A Symbiotic Perspective On Public Health: Recognizing The Ambivalence Of Microbes In The Anthropocene, S. Sariola, Scott F. Gilbert

Biology Faculty Works

Microbes evolve in complex environments that are often fashioned, in part, by human desires. In a global perspective, public health has played major roles in structuring how microbes are perceived, cultivated, and destroyed. The germ theory of disease cast microbes as enemies of the body and the body politic. Antibiotics have altered microbial development by providing stringent natural selection on bacterial species, and this has led to the formation of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains. Public health perspectives such as “Precision Public Health” and “One Health” have recently been proposed to further manage microbial populations. However, neither of these take into account …

Stakeholder Participation In Ipbes: Connecting Local Environmental Work With Global Decision Making, Cornelia B. Krug, Eleanor Sterling, Timothy Cadman, Jonas Geschke, Paula F. Drummond De Castro, Rainer Schliep, Isimemen Osemwegie, Frank E. Muller-Karger, Tek Maraseni

Marine Science Faculty Publications

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services(IPBES) strengthens the science-policy interface by producing scientific assessments on biodiversity and ecosystem services to inform policy. IPBES fosters knowledge exchange across disciplines, between researchers and other knowledge holders, practitioners, societal actors and decision makers working at different geographic scales. A number of avenues for participation of stakeholders across the four functions if IPBES exist. Stakeholders come from diverse backgrounds, including Indigenous Peoples and local communities, businesses, and non-governmental organization. They represent multiple sources of information, data, knowledge, and perspectives on biodiversity. Stakeholder engagement in IPBES seeks to 1. communicate, disseminate, and …

Ticks On Lizards: Parasite-Host Interactions Of The Southern Alligator Lizard (Elgaria Multicarinata) In Washington State, Emma Houghton

Undergraduate Honors Theses

I investigated interactions between ectoparasites (ticks) and their host, the southern alligator lizard (Elgaria multicarinata). Alligator lizards are capable of complement-mediated killing of the Lyme disease spirochete carried by ticks and may potentially reduce Lyme disease prevalence by cleansing pathogenic organisms from ticks. Despite this, little is known about host-parasite dynamics in alligator lizards. My goals were to 1) assess patterns of tick presence (i.e. parasite load) on alligator lizards and 2) investigate potential negative effects of ticks on alligator lizards. I sampled lizards during the summer of 2019 near Catherine Creek, along the Columbia River Gorge in southern Washington. …

Ticks On Lizards: Parasite-Host Interactions Of The Southern Alligator Lizard (Elgaria Multicarinata) In Washington State, Emma Houghton

All Undergraduate Projects

I investigated interactions between ectoparasites (ticks) and their host, the southern alligator lizard (Elgaria multicarinata). Alligator lizards are capable of complement-mediated killing of the Lyme disease spirochete carried by ticks and may potentially reduce Lyme disease prevalence by cleansing pathogenic organisms from ticks. Despite this, little is known about host-parasite dynamics in alligator lizards. My goals were to 1) assess patterns of tick presence (i.e. parasite load) on alligator lizards and 2) investigate potential negative effects of ticks on alligator lizards. I sampled lizards during the summer of 2019 near Catherine Creek, along the Columbia River Gorge in southern Washington. …

The Effects Of Vaping On Oral Streptococci And Oral Inflammation, Matthew Caldwell

Honors Undergraduate Theses

E-cigarette (e-cig) use is rising, but much is unknown about the effects of its vapor. This vapor contains chemicals such as propylene glycol, a known antimicrobial, and nicotine, whose derivatives are carcinogenic. Here, we study the effects of vaping on resident bacteria of the oral cavity and on oral cell inflammation. Oral streptococci are major residents in the oral cavity, with S. mutans the primary cause of dental caries. Growth and biofilm formation have been shown to be enhanced upon exposure to traditional cigarette smoke in vitro. In this study, we analyzed the effects of e-cig vapor on growth …

Algebraic And Combinatorial Approaches For Counting Cycles Arising In Population Biology, Brian Chau

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Within population biology, models are often analyzed for the net reproduction number or other generalized target reproduction numbers, which describe the growth or decline of the population based on specific mechanisms. This is useful in determining the strength and efficiency of control measures for inhibiting or enhancing population growth. The literature contains many algebraic and combinatorial approaches for deriving the net reproduction number and generalized target reproduction numbers from digraphs and associated matrices. Finding, categorizing, and counting the permutations of disjoint cycles, or cycles unions is a requirement of the Cycle Union approach by Lewis et al. (2019). These cycles …

Exploring The Impact Of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Related To Sexual Behavior In College Men, Dalton J. Poe

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an effective tool for preventing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) acquisition in sexually active at-risk individuals such as men who have sex with men (MSM). The purpose of this study is to examine factors associated with intent to engage in risky sexual behavior among HIV-negative college aged (18-24) MSM who are currently adherent to PrEP or who have expressed interest in the future adoption of PrEP. A multiracial/ethnic sample of 31 men expressing interest in the adoption of PrEP and 6 men currently taking PrEP completed a quantitative survey identifying key themes regarding attitudes towards PrEP and …

Trait Anxiety And Other Personality Constructs As Predictors Of Negative Reactions To Quarantine And Social Isolation, Faith A. Ambrose

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Former research has shown a strong relationship between anxiety and various negative reactions to trauma, including widespread traumatic events such as natural disasters, war, and pandemics. COVID-19 has been an ongoing, potentially traumatic event for individuals all over the world. Even individuals who have not experienced serious traumatic consequences because of the pandemic have likely had some negative experiences regarding the mandated quarantine and social distancing. This study seeks to find possible personality predictors for negative reactions, whether they be behavioral or cognitive. Participants completed several questionnaires that test personality constructs, including trait anxiety, need for affiliation, extraversion, and autonomy. …

Detection Of Point Mutations Conferring Gentamicin Resistance In Escherichia Coli Using A Split-G4 Probe, Michael J. Greenberg

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The objective of this project was to develop a DNA hybridization sensor that can detect the presence of E. coli and reveal its resistance to the drug gentamicin. This probe will enable rapid and user-friendly diagnostics of E. coli infections and analysis of bacterial gentamicin-susceptibility profile by interrogation of a fragment of E. coli 16S rRNA bearing a substitution in the gentamicin-resistant cells. The sensor is promising for the point-of-care use to provide a timely UTI diagnostic solution. A quick diagnosis of E. coli infection and antibiotic resistance is crucial for treatment. To design a hybridization probe, we proposed a …