Digital Commons Network^™

Occult Hepatitis B Virus Infection In A Kenyan Cohort Of Hiv Infected Anti-Retroviral Therapy Naïve Adults, Adil Salyani, Jasmit Shah, Rodney Adam, George Otieno, Evelyn Mbugua, Reena Shah

Internal Medicine, East Africa

Background: Occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (OBI) is a phase of HBV infection characterised by the presence of HBV DNA in the absence of detectable hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). OBI is of concern in the HIV-infected due to high prevalence and risk of HBV reactivation. The prevalence and clinico-demographic characteristics of OBI in anti-retroviral therapy (ART) naïve HIV infected adults in Kenya is unknown.

Methods: A cross sectional study carried was out at three sites in Kenya. HIV infected ART naïve adults were enrolled and demographic data collected. Blood samples were assayed for HBsAg, HBV DNA, alanine aminotransferase, …

Seroprevalence Of Hepatitis B Virus Infection, Anti-Hcv Antibodies And Hiv And Knowledge Among People Who Use Drugs Attending Methadone Therapy Clinic In Tanzania: A Cross-Sectional Study, Semvua B. Kilonzo, Daniel I. W Gunda, David C. Majinge, Hyasinta Jaka, Paulina M. Manyiri, Fredrick Kalokola, Grahame Mtui, Elichilia R. Shao, Fatma Bakshi, Alex Stephano

Internal Medicine, East Africa

Background: Methadone therapy clinics have been recently introduced in Tanzania, aiming at reducing risk behaviors and infection rates of viral hepatitis and HIV among people who use drugs. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence, associated factors and knowledge level of these conditions among people who use drugs attending a methadone clinic in Tanzania.

Methods: We enrolled 253 People who using drugs receiving Methadone therapy. Clinical data was retrospectively collected from the medical records and face-to face interviews were conducted to determine the behavioral risk factors and respondents’ knowledge on viral hepatitis and HIV.

Results: An overall …

Collaboration Between Public Health And Marketing Experts As A Response To Covid-19, M. Courtney Hughes, Yihui Tang, Shupei Yuan

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

Since the beginning of 2020, as the world’s population has dealt with COVID-19 and abrupt changes to the normal status quo, academic scholars are no exception, experiencing radical changes to their teaching modalities (remote versus in-person) and often major interruptions in their research. One month after the initial shift to working remotely in March, we obtained approval from Northern Illinois University’s Institutional Review Board to conduct a brief survey with recently published academic scholars in the fields of public health and marketing to understand their views of how this unprecedented time may affect their work. In examining patterns in the …

A Computational Simulation-Based Framework For Estimating Potential Product Impact During Product Design, Christopher S. Mabey, Andrew G. Armstrong, Christopher A. Mattson, John L. Salmon, Nile W. Hatch, Eric C. Dahlin

Faculty Publications

The impact of engineered products is a topic of concern in society. Product impact may fall under the categories of economic, environmental or social impact, with the last category defined as the effect of a product on the day-to-day life of people. Design teams lack sufficient tools to estimate the social impact of products, and the combined impacts of economic, environmental and social impacts for the products they are designing. This paper aims to provide a framework for the estimation of product impact during product design. To estimate product impact, models of both the product and society are required. This …

Role Of Partnership In Hiv-Related Outcomes In Heterosexual Individuals Newly Diagnosed With Hiv, Maira Sohail

All ETDs from UAB

A supportive intimate partner has shown to be helpful in HIV care of men who have sex with men, and in some African heterosexual couples; however, knowledge on this phenomenon among heterosexual people with HIV (PWH) is limited in the United States context. This project included two quantitative studies and one qualitative study to examine the role of intimate partnership in HIV care among heterosexual, newly diagnosed PWH. Both quantitative studies were conducted among heterosexual, newly diagnosed (2013-2017) individuals at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) 1917 Clinic. The first study examined the role of partnership (un-partnered, unmarried-partnered, and …

From Classrooms To Polluted Communities: Scientific Inquiry In Birmingham, Alabama And Beyond, Sarah Jeanne Adkins-Jablonsky

All ETDs from UAB

Nearly half of all U.S. students who declare science majors in college do not graduate with science degrees within six years. Improvements in science outcomes are linked with active-learning pedagogies such as Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs). However, despite the need for education reform particularly in Alabama, active-learning interventions are severely understudied in Alabama universities. Chapter 1 describes novel CUREs at four colleges in Birmingham, AL: The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB); Jefferson State Community College (JSCC), Samford University (SU), and Birmingham Southern College (BSC). Chapter 2 shows how an agar art CURE, The Art of Microbiology, impacts student …

Social Inclusion Among People With Mobility Limitations In The Global South, Shane Burns

All ETDs from UAB

An estimated 15% of the world’s population have a disability—roughly 80% of whom live in the Global South. People with disabilities experience profound social disparities that affect their quality of life and social inclusion. Due to the array of cultural perspectives and institutional capacities around the globe, provision of disability rights can come with its challenges. In many cultural contexts, people have moral beliefs about disability that result in shame. More medicalized beliefs toward disability are often the result of medical infrastructure that offers goods and services. Using a framework that arrays these moral and medical dimensions, I theorized that …

Service Profiles In Substance Use Disorder Treatment: The Role Of Institutional And Organizational Factors, Reena Joseph Kelly

All ETDs from UAB

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are a growing crisis globally and in the US, and place an enormous health, social, and financial burden on the nation. To address the complex nature of SUDs, treatment typically involves a combination of different types of services to address the medical, behavioral and social needs of the patient and care is often delivered by specialized SUD treatment facilities. Despite recommendations for a broad suite of services, individual facilities vary in the specific services that they offer. This study examined whether and why systematic differences exist between treatment facilities based on their service mix and whether …

Characterization Of The Metabolic And Cognitive Features Of A Novel Alzheimer’S Disease Rat Model Along With Investigation Of Its Gut Microbiota Change Over Time, Akash Nagarajan

All ETDs from UAB

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is currently the fifth highest cause of death in the United States and affects primarily individuals of very old age (>80 yrs.). Aging is known to be the biggest risk factor of AD. Recent studies have shown that AD patients have an altered gut microbiota composition. To investigate whether the Alzheimer’s disease pathology in the brain could drive gut microbiota changes during the adult and late life stage of the rat, we performed 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing on the fecal samples of the animals at 14 months and 20 months of age. We found a distinctive …

Advances In Lipid-Based Nanoparticles For Cancer Chemoimmunotherapy, Tianqi Wang, Yusuke Suita, Saradha Miriyala, Jordan Dean, Nikos Tapinos, Jie Shen

Chemical, Biomolecular, and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Nanomedicines have shown great potential in cancer therapy; in particular, the combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy (namely chemoimmunotherapy) that is revolutionizing cancer treatment. Currently, most nanomedicines for chemoimmunotherapy are still in preclinical and clinical trials. Lipid-based nanoparticles, the most widely used nanomedicine platform in cancer therapy, is a promising delivery platform for chemoimmunotherapy. In this review, we introduce the commonly used immunotherapy agents and discuss the opportunities for chemoimmunotherapy mediated by lipid-based nanoparticles. We summarize the clinical trials involving lipid-based nanoparticles for chemoimmunotherapy. We also highlight different chemoimmunotherapy strategies based on lipid-based nanoparticles such as liposomes, nanodiscs, and lipid-based hybrid …

White Paper On Engineering Controls For Bioaerosols In Non-Industrial/ Non-Healthcare Settings, Cheri L. Marcham, American Conference Of Governmental Industrial Hygienists

Publications

The list of disease pathogens that can be transmitted in the air is extensive. This list includes the common cold, SARS, measles, Hansen's disease (leprosy), polio, influenza, Legionella (Legionnaires’ disease and Pontiac fever), and tuberculosis (TB). TB, SARSCoV-1, avian influenza, varicella, and now SARS-CoV-2 all have received public notice due not only to their known or assumed ability to be transmitted in the air rapidly from one individual to another, but also for their virulence. Other bioaerosols that can be transmitted through the air include bacteria, fungal spores and fragments, dust mites, and pollen. This document was developed to address …

Crushed By Covid-19 Medical Bills, Coronavirus Victims Need Debt Relief Under The Bankruptcy Code And Workers' Compensation Laws, Creola Johnson

Penn State Law Review (2003 - Present)

No abstract provided.

Examining Social Vulnerability And The Association With Covid-19 Incidence In Harris County, Texas, Guillermo A Tortolero, Marcia De Oliveira Otto, Ryan Ramphul, Jose-Miguel Yamal, Alison Rector, Michael Brown, Melissa F Peskin, Dania Mofleh, Eric Boerwinkle

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Studies have investigated the association between social vulnerability and SARS-CoV-2 incidence. However, few studies have examined small geographic units such as census tracts, examined geographic regions with large numbers of Hispanic and Black populations, controlled for testing rates, and incorporated stay-at-home measures into their analyses. Understanding the relationship between social vulnerability and SARS-CoV-2 incidence is critical to understanding the interplay between social determinants and implementing risk mitigation guidelines to curtail the spread of infectious diseases. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between CDC's Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) and SARS-CoV-2 incidence while controlling for testing rates and …

The Content, Teaching Methods And Effectiveness Of Spiritual Care Training For Healthcare Professionals: A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review, Kate Fiona Jones, Piret Paal, Xavier Symons, Megan C. Best

IES Papers and Journal Articles

Context: Spirituality has been demonstrated to play an important role in healthcare, yet many staff feel ill-equipped to deliver spiritual care. Spiritual care training programs have been developed to address this need.

Objective: The aim of this mixed-methods systematic review was to identify spiritual care training programs for healthcare professionals or students, and to investigate program content, teaching methods, key outcomes, and identified challenges and facilitators.

Methods: A mixed-methods systematic review was conducted. The search terms (‘religio*’ OR ‘spiritual*’ OR ‘existenti*’) were combined with (‘educat*’ OR ‘train*’ OR ‘curricul*’ OR ‘program*’), AND (‘care’ OR ‘therap*’ OR ‘treatment’ OR ‘competenc*’). Search …

Heeding The Call Of Covid-19, David Wiebers, Valery Feigin

Animal Sentience

We are grateful to all of our commentators. They have provided a wide range of valuable perspectives and insights from many fields, revealing a broad interest in the subject matter. Nearly all the commentaries have helped to affirm, refine, expand, amplify, deepen, interpret, elaborate, or apply the messages in the target article. Some have offered critiques and suggestions that help us address certain issues in greater detail, including several points concerning industrialized farming and the wildlife trade. Overall, there is great awareness and strong consensus among commentators that any solution for preventing future pandemics and other related health crises must …

Covid-19 And The Urgency For Advancements In Health Equity, Ifeoluwa Kayode, Gulzar H. Shah

Eagles Talking About the Public’s Health

No abstract provided.

A Fuzzy Expert System For Predicting The Mortality Of Covid'19, Monika Mangla, Nonita Sharma, Poonam Mittal

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a widespread impact on health and economy across the globe. It is leading to a huge number of deaths per day. Few researchers have been attracted to analyzing the mortality rate of COVID-19 from various perspectives. During the research, it has become evident that these fatalities are not only caused by COVID19, but they are also affected by some other factors. The authors of this paper aim to encompass three important types of factors viz. risk factors, clinical factors, and miscellaneous factors that influence the mortality of COVID-19. This manuscript presents a rule-based model under …

New Normal: Cooperative Paradigm For Covid-19 Timely Detection Andcontainment Using Internet Of Things And Deep Learning, Farooque Hassan Kumbhar, Ali Hassan Syed, Soo Young Shin

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

The spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has caused trillions of dollars of damages to the governments and health authorities by affecting the global economies. It is essential to identify, track and trace COVID-19 spread at its earliest detection. Timely action can not only reduce further spread but also help in providing an efficient medical response. Existing schemes rely on volunteer participation, and/or mobile traceability, which leads to delays in containing the spread. There is a need for an autonomous, connected, and centralized paradigm that can identify, trace and inform connected personals. We propose a novel connected Internet of Things …

Pandemic Emotions: The Good, The Bad, And The Unconscious —Implications For Public Health, Financial Economics, Law, And Leadership, Peter H. Huang

Publications

Pandemics lead to emotions that can be good, bad, and unconscious. This Article offers an interdisciplinary analysis of how emotions during pandemics affect people’s responses to pandemics, public health, financial economics, law, and leadership. Pandemics are heart-breaking health crises. Crises produce emotions that impact decision-making. This Article analyzes how fear and anger over COVID-19 fueled anti-Asian and anti-Asian American hatred and racism. COVID-19 caused massive tragic economic, emotional, mental, physical, and psychological suffering. These difficulties are interconnected and lead to vicious cycles. Fear distorts people’s decision readiness, deliberation, information acquisition, risk perception, and thinking. Distortions affect people’s financial, health, and …

Environmental Law, Disrupted By Covid-19, Rebecca Bratspies, Vanessa Casado Peréz, Robin Kundis Craig, Lissa Griffin, Sarah Krakoff, Keith Hirokawa, Katrina Kuh, Jessica Owley, Melissa Powers, Shannon Roesler, Jonathan Rosenbloom, J. B. Ruhl, Erin Ryan, David Takacs

Publications

For over a year, the COVID-19 pandemic and concerns about systemic racial injustice have highlighted the conflicts and opportunities currently faced by environmental law. Scientists uniformly predict that environmental degradation, notably climate change, will cause a rise in diseases, disproportionate suffering among communities already facing discrimination, and significant economic losses. In this Article, members of the Environmental Law Collaborative examine the legal system’s responses to these crises, with the goal of framing opportunities to reimagine environmental law. The Article is excerpted from their book Environmental Law, Disrupted, to be published by ELI Press later this year.

Urti Associated With Reuse Of Mask During Covid 19, Nikita Nallathambi, Dr. Rakesh Bs

Digital Journal of Clinical Medicine

No abstract provided.

Analyzing Electronic Health Records With Time-To-Event Endpoints: Propensity Scores And Semiparametric Approaches, Jonathan W. Yu

Theses and Dissertations

For analyzing large electronic health records (EHR) with time-to-event endpoints, such as in kidney transplantation, a major challenge is to provide an accurate risk analyses, while accounting for a multitude of epidemiological and statistical complexities. Motivated by a right-censored kidney transplantation EHR dataset derived from the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS), this dissertation, through a culmination of two interrelated yet distinctly different projects, focuses on developments of novel statistical procedures and methodologies to address some pressing issues arising in EHR-based research. In the first project, we aim to decouple the causal effects of treatments (here, studying subgroups, such as …

A Pandemic At The Library: Lessons From Covid-19 About Technology Needs For Remote Working During A Crisis, Rebecca Ciota, Erika Barber

Publications

No abstract provided.

Tailoring Public Health Policies, Govind Persad

Publications

In an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19, many states and countries have adopted public health restrictions on activities previously considered commonplace: crossing state borders, eating indoors, gathering together, and even leaving one's home. These policies often focus on specific activities or groups, rather than imposing the same limits across the board. In this Article, I consider the law and ethics of these policies, which I call tailored policies.In Part II, I identify two types of tailored policies: activity-based and group-based. Activity-based restrictions respond to differences in the risks and benefits of specific activities, such as walking outdoors and …

Rational Design Of Small Molecule Disruptors Of Protein-Protein Interactions: Pd-1/Pd-L1; C-Myc, Arid4b, Samuel Ofori

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) are vital to many biological processes, including gene expression, and immune reactions to pathogens. There are approximately 650,000 PPIs in humans with pertinent physiological functions. Aberrant expression of PPIs lead to improper function and contribute to a plethora of disease conditions including cancer. Thus, PPIs represent an enormous target space for drug discovery and chemical probes. Direct targeting of clinically relevant PPIs with small molecules remains an unmet medical need. Development of small-molecule inhibitors of PPIs is a challenging enterprise and in most cases considered undruggable due to large protein surfaces, lack of deep binding pockets and …

Investigation Of Multidrug Efflux Transporter Acrb In Escherichia Coli: Assembly, Degradation And Dynamics, Prasangi Irosha Rajapaksha

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

The Resistant Nodulation Division (RND) super family member, tripartite AcrA-AcrB-TolC efflux pump, is a major contributor in conferring multidrug-resistance in Escherichia coli. The structure of the pump complex, and drug translocation by functional rotation mechanism have been widely studied. Despite of all these data, the dynamics of the assembly process of the pump and AcrB during functional rotation in the process of drug efflux remains poorly understood. My thesis focuses on understanding the pump assembly process, dynamics of AcrB in functional rotation mechanism, and also investigate the mechanism of degradation of AcrB facilitated by a C-terminal ssrA tag.

In the …

Probing The Assembly, Functional Relevance, And Dynamics Of Acra In Multi Drug Efflux In Escherichia Coli, Isoiza Ojo

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Efflux pumps and low permeability of the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria are major culprits in drug resistance. The most studied of these multidrug efflux pumps is the AcrAB-TolC, a complex of three proteins, the inner membrane transporter AcrB, the periplasmic adaptor AcrA and outer membrane factor TolC. This pump exports a wide range of molecules such as dyes, detergents, and antibiotics out of the bacteria system into the external environment. AcrB and TolC exist as obligate trimers, but the structure of AcrA during the assembly process is not well defined. My research aims to explore the functional and structural …

From Quandary Cases To Ordinary Life: New Opportunities To Connect Social Ethics And Health Care Ethics, Conor M. Kelly

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

In Christian bioethics, the call for a greater integration of social ethics and medical ethics is a popular refrain, yet lasting progress toward this goal has been elusive, in part due to the traditional emphasis on quandary cases in medical ethics. This article develops an alternative approach to moral discernment in health care, employing a theological interpretation of solidarity to promote greater social consciousness in ordinary health care decision making. This shifts the ethical analysis from abstract scenarios to everyday choices, elevating the moral significance of seemingly mundane concerns like antibiotic use and diet and exercise.

Application Of Data And Geospatial Analysis In Energy And Health Systems, Ali Faghani

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Having sustainable energy and health systems are the main factors in the vision plan of every country. Both of these systems are correlated with a variety of frameworks, including social, physical, technological, political, and economic factors. Therefore, different types of analytics methods can be implemented to develop the required assessments for those who make plans since understanding the effect of such factors individually, also their interactions, and the overall effect is crucial. With this regard, applications of data analysis and geospatial techniques in both energy, and health systems have recently gained attention. The proposed research here deployed advanced data analytics …

Characterization Of Potential Anti-Infective Agents By Targeting Burkholderia Pseudomallei And Escherichia Coli Ispf, Dakota Lane Grote

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

With the likelihood of contracting an antibiotic resistant infection increasing, the need for novel anti-infective agents is critical. The development of novel anti-infective agents benefits from the identification of new target pathways necessary for the survival of the pathogen. One such target is the methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway, responsible for the synthesis of the isoprenoid precursors isopentyl pyrophosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl pyrophosphate (DMAPP) in bacteria and other pathogenic organisms. The MEP pathway is an attractive target because it is specific to a wide range of pathogenic organisms, while humans have a separate pathway, the mevalonate (MVA) pathway, for the biosynthesis …