Digital Commons Network^™

Hypothetical Human Immune Genome Complex Gradient May Help To Explain The Congenital Zika Symdrome Catastrophe In Brazil: A New Theory, F. R. S. Oliveira, C. C. Bresani-Salvi, C. N. L. Morais, A. W. Bigham, U. Braga-Neto, Gladys E. Maestre, John L. Vandeberg, E. T. A. Marques, B. Acioli-Santos

School of Medicine Publications

There are few data considering human genetics as an important risk factor for birth abnormalities related to ZIKV infection during pregnancy, even though sub-Saharan African populations are apparently more resistant to CZS as compared to populations in the Americas. We hypothesized that single nucleotide variants (SNVs), especially in innate immune genes, could make some populations more susceptible to Zika congenital complications than others. Differences in the SNV frequencies among continental populations provide great potential for Machine Learning techniques. We explored a key immune genomic gradient between individuals from Africa, Asia and Latin America, working with complex signatures, using 297 SNVs. …

Genetic And Functional Analyses Of Virulence Potential Of An Escherichia Coli O157:H7 Strain Isolated From Super-Shedder Cattle, Lin Teng, Shinyoung Lee, Dongjin Park, Kwangcheol Casey Jeong

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157:H7 is an enteric pathogen that causes life-threatening disease in humans, with cattle being major natural reservoirs. A group of STEC O157:H7 with a dramatic combination of high virulence potentials and super-shedder bovine origin have been isolated. Here, an STEC O157:H7 isolate, JEONG-1266, was analyzed by comparative genomics, stx genotyping, and phenotypic analyses. The phylogenetic typing and whole-genome comparison consistently showed that JEONG-1266 is genetically close to EC4115 (one of 2006 Spinach outbreak isolates) and SS17 (an isolate from super-shedder cattle) strains, all of which belong to lineage I/II and Clade 8. Both lineage …

A Mouse Model Of Human Tlr4 D299g/T399i Snps Reveals Mechanisms Of Altered Lps And Pathogen Responses, Katharina Richard, Kurt H. Piepenbrink, Kari Ann Shirey, Archana Gopalakrishnan, Shreeram Nallar, Daniel J. Prantner, Darren J. Perkins, Wendy Lai, Alexandra Vik, Vladimir Y. Toshchakov, Chiguang Feng, Rachel Fanaroff, Andrei E. Medvedev, Jorge C.G. Blanco, Stefanie N. Vogel

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Two cosegregating single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in human TLR4, an A896G transition at SNP rs4986790 (D299G) and a C1196T transition at SNP rs4986791 (T399I), have been associated with LPS hyporesponsiveness and differential susceptibility to many infectious or inflammatory diseases. However, many studies failed to confirm these associations, and transfection experiments resulted in conflicting conclusions about the impact of these SNPs on TLR4 signaling. Using advanced protein modeling from crystallographic data of human and murine TLR4, we identified homologous substitutions of these SNPs in murine Tlr4, engineered a knock-in strain expressing the D298G and N397I TLR4 SNPs homozygously, and characterized in vivo …

Population Pharmacokinetics Of Ribavirin In Lung Transplant Recipients And Examination Of Current And Alternative Dosing Regimens, Eliza Milliken

Theses

Ribavirin is used in the treatment of respiratory paramyxovirus infection in lung transplant recipients; however, its pharmacokinetic profile in the transplant population is unknown despite the potential for alterations due to underlying pathology. Furthermore, the ability of current regimens to meet exposure targets has not been established. This study examined the pharmacokinetics of ribavirin in a lung transplant population from which current and alternate dosing regimens were assessed. Population pharmacokinetic modelling was conducted in NONMEM using concentrationtime data from 24 lung transplant recipients and 6 healthy volunteers. Monte Carlo simulation was used to assess the ability of dosing regimens to …

Multifaceted Interventions To Improve Hand Hygiene Compliance Among Nurses, Christopher Hoffman

DNP Projects

The WHO has identified hand hygiene as the single “most important measure to avoid the transmission of harmful germs and prevent healthcare-associated infections” (World Health Organization [WHO], 2009) and subsequently created guidelines specifically focused on hand hygiene and prevention of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). Nurses know and understand the importance of performing hand hygiene before and after patient contact, but often compliance is subpar. An extensive literature review was conducted for methods and interventions to improve hand hygiene compliance. The review of literature found seven systematic reviews which helped shape this study. The purpose of this study is to examine the …

Law, Structural Racism, And The Covid-19 Pandemic, Ruqaiijah Yearby, Seema Mohapatra

All Faculty Scholarship

Racial and ethnic minorities have always been the most impacted by pandemics because of: disparities in exposure to the virus; disparities in susceptibility to contracting the virus; and disparities in treatment. This article explains how structural racism, the ways in which laws are used to advantage the majority and disadvantage racial and ethnic minorities, has caused these disparities. Specifically, this article focuses on how employment, housing, health care, and COVID-19 relief laws have been manipulated to disadvantage racial and ethnic minorities, making minorities more susceptible to COVID-19 infection and death. This article uses Blumenshine’s 2008 framework to outline how structural …

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Ptsd) Coverage And Other Expanding Benefit Changes In The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Marketplace: Academic Legal Perspective, Michael C. Duff

All Faculty Scholarship

This paper discusses the increased use of causation presumptions in workers' compensation cases involving firefighters and other first responders. It also considers increasing workers' compensation coverage of post traumatic stress disorder with respect to those same categories of workers. The paper discusses how workers' compensation coverage of certain conditions tends to parallel the growth of potential tort liability, observes that disease presumptions were a feature of early 20th century workers' compensation statutes (and so are not new), and argues that recognition of workers' compensation "mental-mental" claims has been consistent with "zone of danger" expansion of the negligent infliction of emotional …

Clinical Diagnosis, Ultrastructural Study And Antigenic Characterization Of Platynosomum Fastosum In Cats, Babi Kyi Soe

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Platynosomum fastosum is a cat liver fluke causing hepatobiliary diseases in cats. To evaluate the criterior to support the suspicion index for early disease detection during subclinical infection, the biochemical parameters composed of liver, pancreatic enzymes, tumor markers were evaluated in 14 P. fastosum naturally-infected cats. As a result, alanine transaminase (ALT) and gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) were found elevated in 57.8% (8/14) of infected cats. For the diagnostic imaging, bile sediments were present in 85.7% (12/14) of infected cats in their gallbladders. Since the number of bile-derived P. fastosum eggs were significantly higher than that from fecal samples (p=0.001), …

Antimicrobial Resistance In Salmonella Enterica Isolated From Dogs And Cats In Northern And Northeastern Thailand, Thanich Chantharothaiphaichit

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is One Health issue involved in humans, animals and environment and a unified One Health approach is required to contain this problematic issue. However, data on AMR in companion animals is limited. Dogs and cats are popular pet animals and are known to carry many bacterial pathogens that are of public health importance, including Salmonella. This study aimed to identify serovars of Salmonella and phenotypically and genetically characterize AMR in Salmonella isolated from dogs and cats in Northern and Northeastern Thailand. A total of 178 S. enterica isolates from dogs (n= 159) and cats (n= 19) collected …

Antioxidant And Antimicrobial Activities Of Crude Extracts Of Actinomycetes From Soils, Khaing Zar Wai

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

A total of 17 actinomycetes isolated from soil collected from Nong Khai, Nakhon Ratchasima, Khon Kaen, Phichit, Chachoengsao and Udonthani Province, were evaluated on antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. They were identified as Streptomyces (16 strains) and Micromonospora (1 strain) based on their phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics including 16S rRNA gene sequences analysis. Strain JA03 showed 98.95% similarity of 16S rRNA gene sequence to S. puniciscabiei DSM 41929T. Strain JA03 was found to be the novel species of genus Streptomyces based on whole genome average nucleotide identity (ANI). All these strains were evaluated on antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Based on agar …

Association Between Smartphone Addiction And Mental Health During The Covid-19 Pandemic 2021 Among Inner Mongolia Medical University Students, The People's Republic Of China, Longlong Zhao

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Smartphone is currently playing a crucial role; consequently, many smartphone users have become addicted and eventually resulted in psychological problems. This study intends to assess an association between smartphone addition and mental health among students of Inner Mongolia Medical University. The researcher employed random sampling technique in data collection by having 500 students of Inner Mongolia Medical University. The questionnaires distributed cover such topics as demographic characteristics; smartphone use behaviors; smartphone addiction scale (SAS-SV) questionnaire; life experience during COVID-19 questionnaire and depression anxiety and stress Scale (DASS-21) questionnaire. As for data analysis, binary logistic regression and multivariable logistic regression for …

Factors Related To Behavior Of Mothers In Child Care Influencing On Diarrhea Among Children Aged Under 2 Years In Myanmar, Yair Naing Oo

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Diarrhea among children aged under 2 years remains a huge challenge for Myanmar because it is the fourth leading cause of death among children aged under 5 years. This study aimed to find the association between maternal behavior in childcare and diarrhea among children aged under 2 years in Myanmar. Cross-sectional data was obtained from the 2015 Myanmar Demographic and Health Survey used for the study. A total of 1655 children, aged 0–23 months and who are the youngest and lived with their mothers, were selected for this study. The prevalence of diarrhea among Myanmar children under two years old …

Stress Of Thai Dentists During Covid-19 Pandemic In Thailand, Athikhun Praditpapha

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Background: COVID-19 pandemic is a public health emergency of international concern with many countries affected including Thai. Due to the nature of the work, dental practitioner is a high-risk professional to contract the disease. Many studies were conducted to study the impact of the situation on mental health of both general population and health care personnel. However, there are scant data about the stress of Thai dental practitioner caused by COVID-19 and the associated factors. Objectives: The primary aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence and level of stress, along with its risk/protective factors. The secondary aim was …

Articulator Q4 2020

Metro Denver Dental Society Articulator Magazine

The MDDS Articulator magazine has been serving as the voice for Denver's dental community for over 100 years.

Distributed to approximately 2,000 dental professionals quarterly, the Articulator features local news, industry trends, practice management guidance, data-driven research and more. The award-winning publication is available to member dentists in both print and digital forms.

Issues include cover and feature articles alongside regular columns with regional news impacting the Metro Denver membership including editorial and perspectives columns, legal, association activities, component news, continuing education opportunities, and classifieds.

The Virocene Epoch: The Vulnerability Nexus Of Viruses, Capitalism And Racism, Jude Fernando

Sustainability and Social Justice

COVID-19 has ushered in a new planetary epoch—the Virocene. In doing so, it has laid bare the limits of humanity’s power over nature, exposing the vulnerability of ‘normal’ ways of living and their moral and pragmatic bankruptcy in coping with those vulnerabilities. ‘Normal’ is powerless against the virus and has not worked for a majority of the world’s human and non-human population. Whatever new normal humanity fashions depends on the socio-ecological change set in motion by mutations between human and non-human species. The outcomes of society’s responses to the pandemic depend on how human agency, as an embodiment of social, …

Screening For Legionnaires’ Disease: A Predictive Model For Improving Health And Economic Outcomes, Alyssa K. Amick

Public Health Theses

Introduction: Legionnaires’ disease (LD), caused by the Legionella bacterium, is a rare but serious atypical pneumonia that is often underdiagnosed in the clinical setting. Recent guideline changes by the American Thoracic Society limited use of the urinary Legionella tests, the primary form of diagnosis, due to the excessive costs of regular testing. Delays in testing and diagnosis of LD result in increased cost of treatment and risk of death.

Objective: To develop a predictive model to estimate a patient’s probability of having LD. This model would serve as a screen to better target diagnostic efforts, prevent misdiagnosis, and reduce the …

A Literature Review Of Current Tuberculosis Prophylaxis Strategies For Plhiv In Namibia, Anumita Bajpai

Public Health Theses

INTRODUCTION: The HIV and TB co-epidemic remains a big obstacle in reducing PLHIV mortality and morbidity in Namibia. The solution to that has been the implementation of isoniazid preventative therapy (IPT) alongside ART for PLHIV to prevent the development of active tuberculosis. As newer shorter regimens of IPT (3HP) are released it is important to Namibia’s Ministry of Health to evaluate the efficacy of these newer IPT regimens prior to their implementation.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this review is to compare the benefit of 3HP to that of 6-month or continuous (36-month) daily IPT for PLHIV to make future TB …

Effect Of Antiretroviral Drug Dolutegravir On Mitochondrial Function, Anthony Chui

Public Health Theses

Background: Though antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimens have become progressively less toxic, ART-associated toxicity is still pervasive. Dolutegravir (DTG) is an HIV integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI), a class of antiretrovirals that are generally well-tolerated by patients. However, in the clinic there are reports of unexpectedly high rates of toxicity in cohorts of pregnant women such as neural tube defects, and in older patients’ adverse effects such as neuropsychiatric disorders. We hypothesized that these adverse effects could be due to DTG-induced mitochondrial toxicity in the central nervous system.

Methods: Human neuroblastoma cells were treated with ART regimens that are currently considered …

Use Of Shotgun Metagenomic Sequencing To Determine How The Human Gut Microbiome And Antibiotic Resistome Influence The Risk Of Recurrent Clostridioides Difficile Infection, Maria Alexandra Correa

Public Health Theses

Clostridioides difficile is an opportunistic enteric pathogen that can cause a range of symptoms in humans from diarrhea to pseudomembranous colitis. The risk of recurrence of C. difficile infection after initial treatment with antibiotics is high. Although prior studies have sought to understand the link between the human gut microbiome and the risk of recurrence, none have utilized shotgun metagenomic sequencing methods to establish a relationship between microbiota diversity and recurrence risk. In this study, stool samples were obtained from 47 patients at Yale New Haven Hospital who tested positive for an incident C. difficile infection. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing was …

An Impact Evaluation Of The Rollout Of The Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine In Uttar Pradesh State, India. 2017-2019, Elizabeth Edgerley

Public Health Theses

This paper is aimed toward examining whether methods currently being rolled out to administer the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine to children in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh is effectively reducing morbidity and mortality. The fundamental question regarding this current effort is if it proves to be useful at reducing the prevalence of Streptococcus Pneumoniae and whether the surveillance methods examining the efficacy of healthcare interventions are helpful. Both rural and urban India are troubling areas for public health surveillance to reach, though many diseases of poverty and respiratory illnesses such as pneumonia flourish there. With no true quantification of burden, …

Trends In Cyclosporiasis In Connecticut, 1997—2019, Alexandra Edmundson

Public Health Theses

Introduction: Cyclosporiasis is a foodborne, parasitic infection, causing prolonged debilitating diarrhea, especially in immunosuppressed persons. Exposure to Cyclospora occurs mainly through ingestion of contaminated fresh produce, often during international travel. Nationally, it has been increasing in the United States. Connecticut surveillance data have yet to be systematically analyzed.

Methods: Active surveillance of cyclosporiasis in Connecticut has been conducted since 1997, including follow up of laboratory-confirmed cases by chart review and interview. Data collected include patient demographics, symptoms, severity of illness, and exposures. Data from 1997-2019 were analyzed to identify trends in incidence and changing demographics and sources of exposure.

Results: …

Covid-19 Risk Among Temporary Protected Status Beneficiaries, Diana Estefania Estrada Alamo

Public Health Theses

The current federal response of the United States to the COVID-19 pandemic has created conditions and resulted in unintended consequences that may be disproportionately increasing the risk of COVID-19 infection and sequelae for immigrant populations. This investigative thesis explores whether states with a greater percentage of Temporary Protected Status beneficiaries experience more COVID-19 related deaths as compared to the rest of the United States. Using a multiple linear regression model for statistical analysis, covariates under consideration include the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases, tests performed, hospitalizations reported, as well as the population density of each state and the proportion of …

Ethnic Differences And Risk Of Early-Onset Hodgkin Lymphoma, Connor Ashton Graham

Public Health Theses

Ethnic differences in the risk of early-onset Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) have been understudied. We evaluated potential associations between birth characteristics and early-onset HL in the California Linkage Study of Early-onset Cancers, a population-based case-control study that included a large number of non-Hispanic white and Hispanic subjects. This analysis included 2,819 HL cases (non-Hispanic white: 1651, Hispanic: 1168) diagnosed at the age of 0-37 years in California during 1988-2015 and 140,950 controls matched on race/ethnicity and year of birth. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated from multivariable logistic regression models. Among non-Hispanic whites, a birthweight of ≥4,000g …

“Malicious Medicine”: A Qualitative Study Of Medical Mistrust And Prep Perceptions For African American And Hispanic Men And Women In New Haven, Ct, Alexandra Lee Grimaldi

Public Health Theses

Objective: To understand how medical mistrust impacts perceptions of PrEP and willingness to use PrEP for African American and Hispanic men and women in New Haven, Connecticut.

Methods: This qualitative study utilized semi-structured interviews to examine medical mistrust, PrEP awareness, and willingness to use PrEP amongst African American and Hispanic men and women in New Haven, Connecticut.

Results: The majority of participants did not know about PrEP before their first interview of this study and the majority of participants did not decide to use PrEP over the course of this study. For those who are not interested in using PrEP, …

Creating An Antibody Digestive Curve In Cx. Quinquefasciatus Mosquitoes, Christina Ann Harden

Public Health Theses

Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus (EEEV) is an endemic arbovirus of increasing importance

in the United States. It is perpetuated via an enzootic cycle between Culiseta melanura

mosquitoes and avian reservoirs. In the northeast, transmission has distinct seasonality

and its overwintering mechanism is unknown. Xenosurveillance has been identified as a

possible way to elucidate viral circulation dynamics in states such as Connecticut that are

experiencing a resurgence of human EEE cases, potentially exacerbated by factors

associated with global climate change. This study sought to experimentally create an

antibody digestive curve for both mammalian and avian bloodmeals in Cx. quinquefasciatus

mosquitoes. Using …

Measuring Tb Stigma In Kampala, Uganda, Amber James

Public Health Theses

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and adversely affects persons living with HIV. TB is a highly stigmatizing disease and has been shown to interfere in household TB contact investigation. The objective of this study was to investigate the severity and characteristics of TB stigma through a multiple methods approach. Quantitative methods involved distributing Van Rie Stigma Scales validated in Southeast to household contacts of Index TB patients during routine household TB contact investigation. Qualitative methods involved interviewing household contacts about their attitudes towards household contact investigation, knowledge of TB transmission and treatment, and perceptions …

Development Of A Comprehensive Sexual Education Curriculum For A Private, Independent Day School For Students Pre-K Through 8th Grade, Haja I. Kamara

Public Health Theses

This paper describes the development of a comprehensive sex education (CSE) curriculum for The Country School (TCS), a coeducational, independent school in Madison, CT that serves approximately 200 students in Pre-Kindergarten through 8th grade. CSE describes a wide array of sex education programs and curricula that are scientifically accurate, culturally and age-appropriate, gender-sensitive and life skills-based. The goal for this project is multi-pronged: adapt existing health education programming, build out a new health and wellness program with a distinct scope and sequence for each grade level that includes resources and supports for ongoing parent education and professional development. To inform …

The Hiv Care Continuum And Barriers To Viral Suppression Among Men Who Have Sex With Men In Greater Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia., Lauren Haerin Kim

Public Health Theses

Background: Men who have sex with men (MSM) now account for nearly half of all new HIV cases in Malaysia. There has been little research, however, characterizing the HIV care continuum among MSM living with HIV in Malaysia. This study describes the HIV care continuum and examines factors associated with HIV viral non-suppression among newly diagnosed MSM living with HIV in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Methods: We enrolled 163 MSM living with HIV who were in care at a major university hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire. Electronic medical chart review also provided data on engagement in …

Investigating The Community-Level Variation In Hookworm Prevalence In The Kpandai District, Ghana: A Mixed-Methods Study, Harry Hyunteh Hyunteh Kim

Public Health Theses

Soil-transmitted helminths are a major cause of disability and morbidity in resource-poor settings: over 1.5 billion are estimated to be at risk of infection. Human behaviors and household socioeconomic conditions that facilitate contact with contaminated soil may increase exposure to parasites. The primary objective of the study was to investigate the community-level variation in hookworm prevalence in the Kpandai district of Ghana.

We used a mixed-methods approach to investigate behavioral, societal and environmental risk factors to hookworm exposure. 264 individuals from three neighboring villages (Jagbigbingdo [JG], Takumdo [TK], Wiae Chabor [WC]) were recruited using a convenience sampling strategy. Household questionnaires …

Prevalence, Awareness And Control Of Hypertension And Diabetes Among Hiv Positive And Negative Patients At The Military Hospital Of Douala, Cameroon, Duane Killian Madziva

Public Health Theses

Background: With anti-retroviral therapy (ART) prolonging the survival of people of living with HIV/ AIDS, other chronic co-morbidities such as hypertension, and diabetes are becoming an increasing problem. Studies on hypertension and diabetes in Sub-Saharan Africa are still limited, even with the growing concern of Africa’s dual burden of chronic and infectious diseases. As such, we aimed to determine the prevalence, awareness and control of hypertension and diabetes among people living with and without HIV/ AIDS in Cameroon. Methods: This was a hospital-based cross-sectional study conducted at the Military Hospital of Douala, Cameroon. Participants aged 21 – 65 years were …