Digital Commons Network^™

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (Hiv) – An Analysis Of Trends In Hiv Diagnoses From 2008 – 2018, Ulysses G. Gardner

Scholarship in Medicine - All Papers

Objective: An estimated 1.1 million people are living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the United States. Despite over two decades of research, a cure for HIV has not been approved and it remains a pandemic. This research study was conducted to determine the statistical significance in HIV incidence based on diagnoses in 2008 versus 2018; age groups 25-34 years old versus 55+ years old; Black versus Hispanic versus White; male versus female; and geographical location. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted using data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Atlas Plus data sets, a collection …

Research And Creative Activity, July 1, 2020-June 30, 2021: Major Sponsored Programs And Faculty Accomplishments In Research And Creative Activity, University Of Nebraska-Lincoln, Office Of Research And Economic Development, University Of Nebraska-Lincoln

Office of Research and Economic Development: Publications

Foreword by Bob Wilhelm, Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development, University of Nebraska-Lincoln:

This booklet highlights successes in research, scholarship and creative activity by University of Nebraska–Lincoln faculty during the fiscal year running July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021.

It lists investigators, project titles and funding sources on major grants and sponsored awards received during the year; fellowships and other recognitions and honors bestowed on our faculty; books and chapters published by faculty; performances, exhibitions and other examples of creative activity; patents and licensing agreements issued; National Science Foundation I-CORPS teams; and peer-reviewed journal articles and conference presentations. …

Human Papillomavirus Infection And Cervical Dysplasia In A Subset Of Arab American Women, Anita B. Shallal, Evi Abada, Ziad Fehmi, Saivaishnavi Kamatham, Joseph Trak, Omar Fehmi, Andrew Toma, Sarah Farooqi, Hyejeong Jang, Seongho Kim, Sudeshna Bandyopadhyay, Marcus J. Zervos, Rouba Ali-Fehmi

Infectious Diseases Articles

Background: With limited health data on Arab Americans (AAs), we sought to describe the health-seeking behaviors, prevalence of abnormal cervical cytology and high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) serotypes, and the relationship with socioeconomic factors among a subset of AA women.

Methods: Retrospective observational cohort study of women undergoing routine cancer screening at the Arab-American Center for Economic and Social Services clinic. Data collected included demographics, tobacco use, gross monthly income, prior Papanicolaou (Pap) smear history, and results of cervical cytology and high-risk HPV testing.

Results: Of 430 women, 74 (17%) reported that they had never had a Pap smear. Three hundred …

Identifying Sources Of Covid19 Pandemic Supply Chain Fragility, Clovia Hamilton

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Supply chain management is in the industrial engineering management and operations management disciplines. It involves product procurement of raw materials, production, storage, distribution, wholesales, and retail sales. The COVID19 pandemic has the added challenge of healthcare service operations management. This paper is a bibliometric study of the COVID19 supply chain fragility problem. In February 2021, the United States’ President called for a review of the pandemic related supply chain for vaccines, personal protective equipment (PPE), medical equipment such as ventilators, and food. This study involves a search for references published between January 1, 2020 and April 30, 2021. It reveals …

Assessment Of Psychological Functioning In Retired Firefighters, Jordana Simone Pepper

Theses and Dissertations

The past decade has witnessed a significant increase in clinical attention directed to mental health problems in firefighters. The basis for heightened activity in this area is the convergence of evidence indicating that firefighters demonstrate significantly high levels of psychological disorders such as depression and PTSD (Henderson et al., 2016). A previously unexplored risk factor for psychopathology in firefighters is active retirement. Retirement can lead to a decline in psychological functioning, as well as a decline in a person’s self-concept clarity through group loss (Slotter, Winter & Soto, 2015). This loss has the potential to cause, or enhance, feelings of …

Characterization Of Mas1-86 Activity In Malaria Parasites, Leah A. Keim, Tessa M. Firestone, Emily K. Bremers, Sukhithasri Vijayrajratnam, Mohamed A. Seleem, Martin Conda-Sheridan, Caroline L. Ng

Posters: 2021 Summer Undergraduate Research Program

In 2019, ~ 229 million malaria cases were reported globally, causing 409,000 deaths. Malaria is caused by the Plasmodium parasite with cyclical infection in human and Anopheles mosquito host. P. falciparum is the most common species, causing approximately 75% of malaria. Asexual, blood stage parasites cause malaria symptoms. The lifecycle begins with merozoites that invade red blood cells and they develop into rings, then trophozoite, and mature into schizonts. Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) is the first-line treatment for uncomplicated falciparum malaria. Resistance to all artemisinin (ART) is a widespread problem, which is conferred by point mutations in Kelch 13. The …

Editorial: The Planet’S Pandemic Pandemonium, Bharath Sriraman

The Mathematics Enthusiast

No abstract provided.

Phased Return Of Students To 77 Transitional Kindergarten-8th Grade Schools With Cohesive Mitigation Strategies Serving As Protective Factors Against The Increase Of Covid-19 Cases In Marin County: September 2020-January 2021, Shayne Q. Paff, Rochelle Ereman, Lisa Santora, Bethany Dominik, Alana Mcgrath, Jasmine Soriano, Charis Baz, Matthew Willis, Michaela George

Global Public Health | Faculty Scholarship

Background and objective

Earlier uncertain implications of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the pediatric population prompted the authorities to close schools worldwide under the premise that school settings would serve as drivers of an increase in the cases of COVID-19. Safe and equitable full-in-person school instruction is a critical factor in the continued educational gains of children and for their general well-being. The objective of this study was to report epidemiological trends related to the increasing percentage of students returning to in-person instruction, the suspected in-school transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), the virus that …

Acquired Syphilis By Nonsexual Contact In Childhood, Guillermo Moscatelli, Samanta Moroni, Facundo García Bournissen, Nicolás Falk, Alejandra Destito, Nicolás González, Griselda Ballering, Indira D'Amico, Luciana García, Jaime Altcheh

Paediatrics Publications

Background: Children may acquire syphilis by nonsexual contact as a consequence of close and repetitive contact with mucosal or skin lesions of people with active syphilis. Methods: Prospective cohort study of pediatric patients with acquired syphilis by nonsexual contact. Demographics, clinical findings, posttreatment serology development and general laboratory data were collected. Sexual transmission was ruled out after a careful medical and psychosocial evaluation of the patient and his/her family. Results: Twenty-four patients were included in the study. Mean age at diagnosis was 4.2 years old. All of them came from overcrowded households with poor hygiene conditions. The most frequent reason …

Epigenetic Memories And The Evolution Of Infectious Diseases, Geoff Wild

Biology Publications

Genes with identical DNA sequence may show differential expression because of epigenetic marks. Where epigenetic marks respond to past conditions, they represent a form of “memory”. Despite their medical relevance, the impact of memories on the evolution of infectious diseases has rarely been considered. Here we explore the evolution of virulence in pathogens that carry memories of the sex of their previous host. We show that this form of memory provides information about the sex of present and future hosts when the sexes differ in their pathogen’s transmission pattern. Memories of past hosts enable the evolution of greater virulence in …

Flattening The Curve, Peter Zizler, Mandana Sobhanzadeh

The Mathematics Enthusiast

We quantify flattening the curve under the assumption of a soft quarantine in the spread of a contagious viral disease in a society. In particular, the maximum daily infection rate is expected to drop by twice the percentage drop in the virus reproduction number. The same percentage drop is expected for the maximum daily hospitalization or fatality rate. A formula for the expected maximum daily fatality rate is given.

Capacity Building For A New Multicenter Network Within The Echo Idea States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network, Robert D. Annett, Scott Bickel, John C. Carlson, Kelly Cowan, Sara Cox, Mark J. Fisher, J Dean Jarvis, Alberta S. Kong, Jessica S. Kosut, Kurtis R. Kulbeth, Abbot Laptook, Pearl A. Mcelfish, Mary M. Mcnally, Lee M. Pachter, Barbara A. Pahud, Lee A. Pyles, Jennifer Shaw, Kari Simonsen, Jessica Snowden, Christine B. Turley, Andrew M. Atz

Pediatrics Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Vacteens.Org: A Mobile Web App To Improve Hpv Vaccine Uptake, W Gill Woodall, Gregory Zimet, Alberta Kong, David Buller, Jeannyfer Reither, Lance Chilton, Valerie Myers, Randall Starling

Pediatrics Research and Scholarship

U.S. HPV vaccine uptake remains below the Healthy People 2030 goal of 80% series completion. Parental concerns and misinformation about the efficacy and safety of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine remain, and may be addressed by digital interventions tailored to their concerns. Reported here are results from a small scale randomized trial testing a mobile web app for parents and their adolescent daughters (ages 11-14 years) encouraging HPV vaccination in New Mexico, an ethnically-diverse U.S. state.

Dysphagia In Covid-19 Patients From The Speech Language Pathologists Perspective, Ashley M. Cochran

ETD Archive

The purpose of this study was to establish whether dysphagia presented concomitantly with COVID-19 from the perspective of speech language pathologists. Three main research questions were examined (1) Does dysphagia occur as a symptom or a secondary condition to COVID-19? (2) What is the nature of dysphagia seen in COVID-19 patients? (3) Does dysphagia occur as a result of COVID-19 treatment protocols? This qualitative study involved 20 participants who were medical speech language pathologists in hospitals across several states. A survey was submitted to participants via Qualtrics. Although the answers to some research questions were not conclusive, it appeared that …

Covid-19 Related Physical And Mental Health Stressors In Families Using A Social Determinants Lens., Elizabeth Vasquez, Erin Bell, Melissa Tracy

Understanding and eliminating minority health disparities in a 21st-century pandemic: A White Paper Collection

Racial and ethnic minorities, those of lower socioeconomic status (SES), and older adults have experienced higher rates of infection, severity of illness, and mortality from COVID-19 than other groups. These populations are also disproportionately affected by financial and social disruptions caused by the pandemic, including job loss, reduction in community services, and disconnection from supportive networks critically important for the health and well-being of families. Further, these same populations often live in multi- generational households and rely on a family-dependent caregiver model. The aim of this project is to beta test an online questionnaire to identify individual and household risk …

Telomere Length Shortening In Microglia: Implication For Accelerated Senescence And Neurocognitive Deficits In Hiv, Alexander Khmaladze, Ting Chean Khoo, Anna V. Sharikova, Chiu-Bin Hsaio, Harneet Bedi, Raquel Gomez, Ayesha Khan, Taylor Meciszewski, Ravikumar Aalinkeel, Supriya D. Mahajan

Physics Faculty Scholarship

The widespread use of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has led to the accelerated aging of the HIV-infected population, and these patients continue to have a range of mild to moderate HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). Infection results in altered mitochondrial function. The HIV-1 viral protein Tat significantly alters mtDNA content and enhances oxidative stress in immune cells. Microglia are the immune cells of the central nervous system (CNS) that exhibit a significant mitotic potential and are thus susceptible to telomere shortening. HIV disrupts the normal interplay between microglia and neurons, thereby inducing neurodegeneration. HIV cART contributes to the inhibition of telomerase …

Cauti: What Are We Testing?, Christoph Lecznar

VCU Health Nursing

Purpose: The purpose of this evidence-based practice (EBP) project was to identify and implement evidence-based practice to reduce Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI).

Background: CAUTIs are deemed never events by Centers for Medicaid and Medicare and are tied to financial reimbursements. CDC states 17-69% of CAUTIs are preventable with recommended infection control measures. UTIs are the most common type of Hospital-acquired infection, with an estimated of occurrence of 9.5% reported by acute care hospitals. Every day a catheter is in place, the risk of CAUTI increases by 3-7%. Current recommendations for reduction in CAUTI rates include educational strategies, catheter avoidance, …

Literature Review: Covid-19'S Impact On Violence, Jean Cheek, Laura Ashworth

VCU Health Nursing

Violence has been exacerbated by the pandemic, resulting in a plethora of research that can be complementary and contradictory. A preliminary thematic literature search was performed using keywords such as human trafficking, IPV, sexual assault, pandemic, covid, and child abuse. This resulted in over 100 articles between 2019 and 2021. The literature review revealed common themes such as pandemics and natural disasters increase the risk for violence in women, children, and marginalized populations. Stay-at-home orders put vulnerable populations in closer proximity to the abuser. A low socioeconomic standing increases the propensity to abuse and be abused. Calls to human trafficking …

Crippling Rapid Evolution Of Metastasis And Drug Resistance In A549 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells With The Clinically Relevant Hsp90 Inhibitor Auy922, Nickolas Anthony Bacon

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The ability for species to evolve new features in response to changing circumstances in order to survive and propagate is a ubiquitous observation on both the macroscopic and microscopic levels of living systems. It should be no surprise, then, that diseases such as cancer utilize their own forms of adaptation to perpetuate themselves when exposed to external threats. Indeed, concepts drawn from Darwinian evolution are now widely accepted to help explain certain aspects of carcinogenesis and malignant progression, the sum of which have come to be known as the theory of tumor evolution. Since metastasis and drug resistance are features …

No. 48: Covid-19 And Emergency Food Security Policies In Urban China, Taiyang Zhong, Jonathan Crush, Zhenzhong Si, Steffanie Scott

Hungry Cities Partnership

The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to spread worldwide, threatening people’s health as well as their food security. Yet, empirical research investigating its impacts on food security is scant. Limited attention has been paid to the local food security management implications of an infectious disease pandemic. To narrow these gaps, this study investigated the development of emergency food policies in Wuhan and Nanjing in China and households’ food security, based on a combination of online surveys of household food security and policy document analysis. This study shows that COVID-19 and associated quarantine measures caused many households to experience food insecurity. There …

Adjuvantation Of Influenza Vaccines To Induce Cross-Protective Immunity, Zhoufan Li, Yiwen Zhao, Yibo Li, Xinyuan Chen

Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Influenza poses a huge threat to global public health. Influenza vaccines are the most effective and cost-effective means to control influenza. Current influenza vaccines mainly induce neutralizing antibodies against highly variable globular head of hemagglutinin and lack cross-protection. Vaccine adjuvants have been approved to enhance seasonal influenza vaccine efficacy in the elderly and spare influenza vaccine doses. Clinical studies found that MF59 and AS03-adjuvanted influenza vaccines could induce cross-protective immunity against non-vaccine viral strains. In addition to MF59 and AS03 adjuvants, experimental adjuvants, such as Toll-like receptor agonists, saponin-based adjuvants, cholera toxin and heat-labile enterotoxin-based mucosal adjuvants, and physical adjuvants, …

Predictors Of Potentially Suboptimal Treatment Of Urinary Tract Infections In Long-Term Care Facilities, Haley J. Appaneal, R. Caffrey, Vrishali V. Lopes, Vincent Mor, David M. Dosa, Kerry L. Laplante, Theresa I. Shireman

Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Background: Suboptimal antibiotic treatment of urinary tract infection (UTI) is high in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) and likely varies between facilities. Large-scale evaluations have not been conducted.

Aim: To identify facility-level predictors of potentially suboptimal treatment of UTI in Veterans Affairs (VA) LTCFs and to quantify variation across facilities.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of 21,938 residents in 120 VA LTCFs (2013–2018) known as Community Living Centers (CLCs). Potentially suboptimal treatment was assessed from drug choice, dose frequency, and/or treatment duration. To identify facility characteristics predictive of suboptimal UTI treatment, LTCFs with higher and lower rates of suboptimal …

Health And Nutrition Status Of Hemodialysis Patients During Ramadan In Saudi Arabia., Bayan Mansour Tashkandi

Wayne State University Dissertations

During Ramadan R month, Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, and medication from sunrise to sunset, and this causes some changes in their lifestyle and often eating habits (quantity and quality). These changes could lead to affect their health and nutritional status. Among Hemodialysis (HD) patients, malnutrition is common, and it is associated with mortality. Some HD patients opt to fast R which could have an impact on their nutritional and health status. Thus, the primary objective of this study was to document nutritional changes before, during, and after Ramadan on biochemical and health parameters in HD patients. A prospective cohort …

An Emergent Legionnaires' Disease Syndemic: Water Supply Systems, Infrastructural Violence, And Afflicted Lives In The South Bronx, Ny, Eduardo Piqueiras

Wayne State University Dissertations

This dissertation examines how contemporary approaches to Legionnaires’ disease (LD) narrowly view it as a biomedical entity that obscures critical moral, temporal, and contextual dimensions creating gaps in how LD “cases” are defined and mitigated. Those who receive an LD diagnosis experience many unique challenges (e.g., personal, existential, community-based, and environmental) yet little is known about how this group of individuals experience recovery and attach meaning to their individual experiences. Using an anthropological lens of illness and recovery and a syndemics view of infrastructural violence this study examines those inadequately addressed multiple dimensions which limit our ability to confront the …

Deprivation Of The Right To Counsel For Federal Pretrial Detainees During The 2019 Novel Coronavirus Pandemic, 54 Uic L. Rev. 659 (2021), Mary Vukovich

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Review: Perspective On High-Performing Dairy Cows And Herds, J. H. Britt, R. A. Cushman, C. D. Dechow, H. Dobson, P. Humblot, M. F. Hutjens, G. A. Jones, F. M. Mitloehner, P. L. Ruegg, I. M. Sheldon, J. S. Stevenson

Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center: Reports

Milk and dairy products provide highly sustainable concentrations of essential amino acids and other required nutrients for humans; however, amount of milk currently produced per dairy cow globally is inadequate to meet future needs. Higher performing dairy cows and herds produce more milk with less environmental impact per kg than lower performing cows and herds. In 2018, 15.4% of the world's dairy cows produced 45.4% of the world's dairy cow milk, reflecting the global contribution of high-performing cows and herds. In high-performing herds, genomic evaluations are utilized for multiple trait selection, welfare is monitored by remote sensing, rations are formulated …

Aggregation Controlled Charge Generation In Fullerene Based Bulk Heterojunction Polymer Solar Cells: Effect Of Additive, Washat Ware, Tia Wright, Yimin Mao, Shubo Han, Jessa Guffie, Evgeny O. Danilov, Jeromy Rech, Wei You, Zhiping Luo, Bhoj Gautam

College of Health, Science, and Technology

Optimization of charge generation in polymer blends is crucial for the fabrication of highly efficient polymer solar cells. While the impacts of the polymer chemical structure, energy alignment, and interface on charge generation have been well studied, not much is known about the impact of polymer aggregation on charge generation. Here, we studied the impact of aggregation on charge generation using transient absorption spectroscopy, neutron scattering, and atomic force microscopy. Our measurements indicate that the 1,8-diiodooctane additive can change the aggregation behavior of poly(benzodithiophene-alt-dithienyl difluorobenzotriazole (PBnDT-FTAZ) and phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM)polymer blends and impact the charge generation process. Our …

Unm Pathology Pathfinder Winter 2021, Unm Department Of Pathology

Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Post-Discharge Healthcare Utilization In Infants With Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome, Shikhar Shrestha, Melissa H. Roberts, Jessie R. Maxwell, Lawrence M. Leeman, Ludmila N. Bakhireva

Family and Community Medicine Research and Scholarship

The opioid epidemic in the United States has led to a significant increase in the incidence of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS); however, the understanding of long-term consequences of NOWS is limited. The objective of this study was to evaluate post-discharge healthcare utilization in infants with NOWS and examine the association between NOWS severity and healthcare utilization. A retrospective cohort design was used to ascertain healthcare utilization in the first year after birth-related discharge using the CERNER Health Facts® database. ICD-9/ICD-10 diagnostic codes were used to identify live births and to classify infants into two study groups: NOWS and uncomplicated …

A Quality Improvement Learning Collaborative For Human Papillomavirus Vaccination., Kristin Oliver, Kera Beskin, Laura Noonan, Amy Shah, Rebecca Perkins, Sharon Humiston

Project ECHO Bibliography

Many published accounts have shown that quality improvement (QI) initiatives within medical practice settings can increase vaccination rates. Project ECHO is a telementoring platform that uses video conferencing technology to educate and support healthcare professionals through case-based learning and brief lectures. This manuscript explores the results of a learning collaborative focused on combining QI and Project ECHO to increase human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates within pediatric practices.

Methods: The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recruited 3 AAP chapters that then recruited individual pediatricians and their practices for participation. Participants responded to surveys regarding chapter and pediatrician experience and satisfaction. Impact …