Digital Commons Network^™

The Role Of Social Media In Human Trafficking Victimization, Alicia Marie Terwilliger

Theses and Dissertations

Human trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, and receipt of people. Humans are one of the only global commodities that can be sold and used repeatedly (Jones et al., 2007), helping to make trafficking a multi-billion-dollar industry worldwide. There are several types of trafficking, including forced labor, debt bondage, organ harvesting, and sexual exploitation. Often, trafficking includes threats, the use of force, coercion, abduction, and fraud for exploitation, labor, harvested organs, or sex. Human trafficking occurs domestically and across international borders, with over 45 million victims globally (Bonilla & Mo, 2019). Every state in the United States is affected …

American Epidemic: The Societal And Multi-Generational Impacts Caused By The Mass Incarceration Of Women In The United States, Jessica Younts

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the social impacts of incarcerating women, specifically mothers, as well as the far-reaching collateral consequences that the mass incarceration of women in the United States has on formerly incarcerated women’s successful reintegration back into society and analyzed how the harsh policies that exist detrimentally impact family members and society as a whole. This study revealed several themes that show the far reaching damage incarceration itself has on women and their families and provides a more comprehensive analysis of the incalculable costs of mass incarceration. By raising awareness to the long-term impact on society, this research can provide …

Puberty And Dna Methylation With Lung Function In Young Adults And Asthma Acquisition During Adolescence And Young Adulthood, Liang Li

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Previous studies have shown the association of age at puberty onset with lung function later in life, and the relationship of newborn DNA methylation (DNAm) with childhood asthma, However, the roles of height growth and DNAm play between age of pubertal events and young adulthood lung function and how DNAm at birth is associated with asthma acquisition later in life are unknown. This dissertation represents an effort to tackle these knowledge gaps. A discovery cohort, the Isle of Wight birth cohort (IOWBC), and a replication cohort, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) birth cohort are included in …

Epigenetics And Lung Function During Pre- And Post-Adolescence, Genome-Scale Studies, Shadia Khan Sunny

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

The period from pre-adolescence to post-adolescence of life is significant for lung function development when it reaches its maximal level. Reduced lung function development in early life predisposes to respiratory and other chronic diseases later in life and is associated with early mortality. DNA methylation (DNA-M) is a potential epigenetic mechanism through which environmental exposures can exert their eects on gene expression and disease risk. It acts as an epigenetic memory of past exposure such as pubertal onset. DNA-M changes over time in response to biological aging, sex, and environmental factors, and such changes also occur in the adolescence period. …

Analysis Of Intervention Effectiveness Using Early Outbreak Transmission Dynamics To Guide Future Pandemic Management And Decision-Making In Kuwait, Michael G. Tyshenko, Tamer Oraby, Joseph C. Longenecker, Harri Vainio, Janvier Gasana, Walid Q. Alali, Mohammad Alseaidan, Susie Elsaadany, Mustafa Al-Zoughool

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a World Health Organization designated pandemic that can result in severe symptoms and death that disproportionately affects older patients or those with comorbidities. Kuwait reported its first imported cases of COVID-19 on February 24, 2020. Analysis of data from the first three months of community transmission of the COVID-19 outbreak in Kuwait can provide important guidance for decision-making when dealing with future SARS-CoV-2 epidemic wave management. The analysis of intervention scenarios can help to evaluate the possible impacts of various outbreak control measures going forward which aim to reduce the effective reproduction …

Hepatosplenic Abscess From Klebsiella Pneumoniae In Poorly Controlled Diabetic, Chidinma Ejikeme, Onyeka Nwachukwu, Sarah Ayad, Payal Rath, Ifunanya Ejikeme, Julius Salamera

Student Publications

Invasive Klebsiella pneumoniae infection and pyogenic liver abscess in patients with underlying diabetes mellitus has been well described over the past 3 decades, predominantly in the Southeast Asian population, especially in Taiwan and Korea. K pneumoniae has now become the most common causative pathogen of pyogenic liver abscess in Asian countries. This shift from Escherichia coli to K pneumoniae may also be increasingly occurring in the United States of America and European countries. Compared with the >80% incidence described in Taiwan, the incidence in the United States is still reported to be lower, around 30% to 40%. However, as more …

A Randomized, Controlled Study On The Safety And Efficacy Of Maraviroc And/Or Favipiravir Vs Currently Used Therapy In Severe Covid-19 Adults. “Comvivir” Trial., Adolfo Pérez-García, Alma Villalobos-Osnaya, Maria Luisa Hernández-Medel, Lucia Monserrat Perez-Navarro, Elba O. Medina-Hernandez, Diana Soa Cabrera-Orejuela, Ana Maria Espinoza-Garcia, Mireya Leon-Hernandez, Juan Carlos Lopez Alvarenga, Srinivas Mummidi

School of Medicine Publications

Multiple studies have established that hyperinflammatory response induced by SARS CoV-2 is a main cause of complications and death in infected subjects. Such dysfunctional immune response has been described as a dysregulated and exacerbated production of cytokines and chemokines that attracts and activates inflammatory cells, which start and sustain pulmonary and systemic damage, thus causing complications that lead to multi organ failure and death. Therefore, we suggest that blocking key inflammation receptors could help to reduce migration and activation of T cells, monocytes/macrophages and neutrophils, thus mitigating the cytokine dysregulation and averting severe complications and death. Importantly, the optimum treatment …

Migrating Genes: Using Adna And Archaeological Data To Explain Migration In The Casas Grandes Region Of Northern Mexico, Meradeth Snow, Michael T. Searcy

Faculty Publications

Migration as an archaeological topic has addressed huge distances, such as the colonization of the Americas, as well as smaller regions, such as the peopling of specific sites. The use of genetics as a medium to enhance our understanding of population movement can be an asset. There are potential pitfalls, however, such as the misrepresentation of DNA ranging across the landscape without human vectors or motivations. Genetic data must be interpreted through the lens of all available data from the site and surrounding region in order to understand how it its into the potential for human migration. These ideas will …

Socio-Economic Factors Associated With The Incidence Of Shiga-Toxin Producing Escherichia Coli (Stec) Enteritis And Cryptosporidiosis In The Republic Of Ireland, 2008–2017, Eiimear Cleary, Martin Boudou, Coilín Oscar Óhaiseadha, Patricia Garvey, Paul Mckeown, Jean O'Dwyer, Paul Hynds

Articles

The Republic of Ireland (ROI) currently reports the highest incidence rates of Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) enteritis and cryptosporidiosis in Europe, with the spatial distribution of both infections exhibiting a clear urban/rural divide. To date, no investigation of the role of socio-demographic profile on the incidence of either infection in the ROI has been undertaken. The current study employed bivariate analyses and Random Forest classification to identify associations between individual components of a national deprivation index and spatially aggregated cases of STEC enteritis and cryptosporidiosis. Classification accuracies ranged from 78.2% (STEC, urban) to 90.6% (cryptosporidiosis, rural). STEC incidence was …

Moving Towards More Sustainable Aquaculture Practices: A Meta‐Analysis On The Potential Of Plant‐Enriched Diets To Improve Fish Growth, Immunity And Disease Resistance, Miriam Reverter, N Tapissier‐Bontemps, Samira Sarter, Pierre Sasal, Domenico Caruso

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

AbstractAquatic animal diseases are one of the major limiting factors in aquaculture development, with disease emergence forecast to increase with global change. However, in order to treat increasing diseases in a context of global emergence of antimicrobial resistance and strengthening regulations on antimicrobial use, sustainable alternatives are urgently needed. The use of plant supplements to increase fish immunity and disease resistance has gained much popularity within the last decades. The use of functional supplements, such as plants, can also improve growth and feed assimilation, contributing to a better optimization of aquaculture resources (e.g. fish meal inclusion). We conducted a systematic …

Effects Of Perioperative Oxygen Concentration On Oxidative Stress In Adult Surgical Patients: A Systematic Review, Alexander H. Oldman, Daniel S. Martin, Martin Feelisch, Michael P.W. Grocott, Andrew F. Cumpstey

Peninsula Medical School

No abstract provided.

Divergent Trajectories Of Cellular Bioenergetics, Intermediary Metabolism And Systemic Redox Status In Survivors And Non-Survivors Of Critical Illness, Helen T. Mckenna, Ka O’Brien, Bernadette O. Fernandez, Magdalena Minnion, Adam Tod, Ben D. Mcnally, James A. West, Julian L. Griffin, Michael P. Grocott, Michael G. Mythen, Martin Feelisch, Andrew J. Murray, Daniel S. Martin

Peninsula Medical School

BackgroundNumerous pathologies result in multiple-organ failure, which is thought to be a direct consequence of compromised cellular bioenergetic status. Neither the nature of this phenotype nor its relevance to survival are well understood, limiting the efficacy of modern life-support.MethodsTo explore the hypothesis that survival from critical illness relates to changes in cellular bioenergetics, we combined assessment of mitochondrial respiration with metabolomic, lipidomic and redox profiling in skeletal muscle and blood, at multiple timepoints, in 21 critically ill patients and 12 reference patients.ResultsWe demonstrate an end-organ cellular phenotype in critical illness, characterized by preserved total energetic capacity, greater coupling efficiency and …

Current State-Of-The-Art Diagnostics For Norovirus Detection: Model Approaches For Point-Of-Care Analysis, Maja A. Zaczek-Moczydlowska, Azadeh Beizaei, Michael Dillon, Katrina Campbell

Peninsula Medical School

No abstract provided.

Covid-19, Politics, Economics And How The Future Pans Out Are Inseparable, Stephen Thomas Green, Lorenzo Cladi

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Dc And Impedance Sensors Based On Graphene For The Early Detection Of Alzheimer’S Protein Biomarkers, Carrie Jean Haslam

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an irreversible neurodegenerative disorder, responsible for 60-70% of all dementia incidences. Estimates suggest that there are over 47 million people affected by dementia, of which ~65% suffer from AD worldwide, costing the global healthcare system ~$1 trillion annually or over 1% of global GDP. As such, the prevention and management of AD has now become a public health priority. Here five distinctively different biosensing models are reported, explicitly developed for the ultrasensitive and label-free detection of selective biomarkers associated with AD, as well as cancer, using impedance/admittance spectroscopy. The approach based on 4-probe (using direct current …

Infrared Based Saliva Screening Test For Covid-19, Bayden R. Wood, Kamila Kochan, Diana E. Bedolla, Natalia Salazar‐Quiroz, Samantha L. Grimley, David Perezguaita, Matthew J. Baker, Jitraporn Vongsvivut, Mark J. Tobin, Keith R. Bambery, Dale Christensen, Shivani Pasricha, Anthony K. Eden, Aaron Mclean

Articles

Abstract: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has resulted in an unprecedented need for diagnostic testing that is critical in controlling the spread of COVID-19. We propose a portable infrared spectrometer with purpose-built transflection accessory for rapid point-of-care detection of COVID-19 markers in saliva. Initially, purified virion particles were characterized with Raman spectroscopy, synchrotron infrared (IR) and AFM-IR. A data set comprising 171 transflection infrared spectra from 29 patients testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-qPCR and 28 testing negative, was modeled using Monte Carlo Double Cross Validation with 50 randomized test and model sets. The testing sensitivity was 93 % …

Salmonella, Food Safety And Food Handling Practices, Olugbenga Ehuwa, Amit Jaiswal, Swarna Jaiswal

Articles

: Salmonellosis is the second most reported gastrointestinal disorder in the EU resulting from the consumption of Salmonella-contaminated foods. Symptoms include gastroenteritis, abdominal cramps, bloody diarrhoea, fever, myalgia, headache, nausea and vomiting. In 2018, Salmonella accounted for more than half of the numbers of foodborne outbreak illnesses reported in the EU. Salmonella contamination is mostly associated with produce such as poultry, cattle and their feeds but other products such as dried foods, infant formula, fruit and vegetable products and pets have become important. Efforts aimed at controlling Salmonella are being made. For example, legislation and measures put in place reduced …

Life In A Time Of Covid: A Mixed Method Study Of The Changes In Lifestyle, Mental And Psychosocial Health During And After Lockdown In Western Australians, Ranila Bhoyroo, Paola Chivers, Lynne Millar, Caroline Bulsara, Ben Piggott, Michelle Lambert, Jim Codde

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background: Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Western Australian government imposed multiple restrictions that impacted daily life activities and the social life. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of COVID-19 lockdown on the community’s physical, mental and psychosocial health. Methods: Approximately 2 months after a three-month lockdown, a cross-sectional study was opened to Western Australian adults for an 8-week period (25th August – 21 October 2020). Participants competed a 25-min questionnaire adapted from the Western Australia Health and Wellbeing Surveillance system. Participants provided information on their socio-demographic status, lifestyle behaviours, mental health, and psychosocial …

Supporting Patient-Clinician Interaction In Chronic Hiv Care: Design And Development Of A Patient-Reported Outcomes Software Application, Susan Herrmann, Brad Power, Amineh Rashidi, Mark Cypher, Frank Mastaglia, Amy Grace, Elizabeth Mckinnon, Pierre Sarrot, Christophe Michau, Matthew Skinner, Renae Desai, Martin Duracinsky

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background: The consideration of health-related quality of life (HRQL) is a hallmark of best practice in HIV care. Information technology offers an opportunity to more closely engage patients with chronic HIV infection in their long-term management and support a focus on HRQL. However, the implementation of patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures, such as HRQL in routine care, is challenged by the need to synthesize data generated by questionnaires, the complexity of collecting data between patient visits, and the integration of results into clinical decision-making processes. Objective: Our aim is to design and pilot-test a multimedia software platform to overcome these challenges …

Covid-19 Disease Severity And Death In Relation To Vitamin D Status Among Sars-Cov-2-Positive Uae Residents, Habiba Alsafar, William B. Grant, Rafiq Hijazi, Maimunah Uddin, Nawal Alkaabi, Guan Tay, Bassam Mahboub, Fatme Al Anouti

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Insufficient blood levels of the neurohormone vitamin D are associated with increased risk of COVID-19 severity and mortality. Despite the global rollout of vaccinations and promising preliminary results, the focus remains on additional preventive measures to manage COVID-19. Results conflict on vitamin D’s plausible role in preventing and treating COVID-19. We examined the relation between vitamin D status and COVID-19 severity and mortality among the multiethnic population of the United Arab Emirates. Our observational study used data for 522 participants who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 at one of the main hospitals in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Only 464 of those …

Asia Pacific Perspectives Vol. 17 No. 1, 2021, University Of San Francisco

Asia Pacific Perspectives

Contents:

Editor's Introduction by Melissa S. Dale

We are pleased to announce the publication of the latest issue of Asia Pacific Perspectives (vol. 17, no. 1). This issue showcases the resilience and creativity of scholars doing research and writing about the Asia Pacific during the COVID-19 pandemic.

These scholars, like others in the humanities and social sciences, have not only found ways to continue their scholarship during these trying times but to even re-image how to go about doing research moving forward.

From Sanitation to Soybeans: Kitchen Hygiene and Nutritional Nationalism in Republican China, 1911-1945 by Sarah Xia Yu

This …

From Sanitation To Soybeans: Kitchen Hygiene And Nutritional Nationalism In Republican China, 1911–1945, Sarah Xia Yu

Asia Pacific Perspectives

This article investigates evolving expectations for Chinese individuals to clean, cook, eat, and nourish in their private kitchens, and how certain diseases became urgent touchstones for the change in public health priorities. Reformists promoted personal responsibility and popular interest in kitchen and dietary hygiene, which increased as Chinese audiences became exposed to globally- circulating ideas of sanitation and nutrition in individual homes. Furthermore, this occurred in tandem with increased institutionalized government developments for improved infrastructure. This article also highlights Chinese participation in the transnational dietary science movement of the early twentieth century, as reformists developed methods for beriberi and tuberculosis …

Human Monocyte-Derived Macrophage Responses To M. Tuberculosis Differ By The Host’S Tuberculosis, Diabetes Or Obesity Status, And Are Enhanced By Rapamycin, Blanca I. Restrepo, Arshad Khan, Vipul K. Singh, Erica De Leon, Genesis P. Aguillón-Durán, Eder Ledezma-Campos, David H. Canaday, Chinnaswamy Jagannath

School of Medicine Publications

Human macrophages play a major role in controlling tuberculosis (TB), but their anti-mycobacterial mechanisms remain unclear among individuals with metabolic alterations like obesity (TB protective) or diabetes (TB risk). To help discern this, we aimed to: i) Evaluate the impact of the host’s TB status or their comorbidities on the anti-mycobacterial responses of their monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs), and ii) determine if the autophagy inducer rapamycin, can enhance these responses. We used MDMs from newly diagnosed TB patients, their close contacts and unexposed controls. The MDMs from TB patients had a reduced capacity to activate T cells (surrogate for antigen presentation) …

The Publication Trend Of Internal Medicine In Iran, The Middle East And The World: A 10-Year Bibliometric Analysis, Maryam Esmaeilzadeh, Abbas Doulani, Mohammad Gomar

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Abstract

Purpose: This study sought to evaluate the scientific publications of Iranian researchers in the field of internal medicine as well as to compare them with those of the countries of the Middle East and the world within 2009-2018.

Design/methodology/approach: In this bibliometric study, the Scopus database was used. All papers published in the past ten years by researchers from Iran, the Middle East and the world in the field of internal medicine were included in the study. Data analysis and drawing of scientific maps were performed using Excel and VOS viewer software.

Findings: The number of …

Defining Information Literacy Amid 21st Century Socio-Political Barriers, Alicea Peyton

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

No abstract provided.

Crispr Systems For Covid-19 Diagnosis, Hossein Rahimi, Marziyeh Salehiabar, Murat Barsbay, Mohammadreza Ghaffarlou, Taras Kavetskyy, Ali Sharafi, Soodabeh Davaran, Subhash C. Chauhan, Hossein Danafar, Murali M. Yallapu

School of Medicine Publications

The emergence of the new coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) was first seen in December 2019, which has spread rapidly and become a global pandemic. The number of cases of COVID-19 and its associated mortality have raised serious concerns worldwide. Early diagnosis of viral infection undoubtedly allows rapid intervention, disease management, and substantial control of the rapid spread of the disease. Currently, the standard approach for COVID-19 diagnosis globally is the RTqPCR test; however, the limited access to kits and associated reagents, the need for specialized lab equipment, and the need for highly skilled personnel has led to a detection slowdown. Recently, …

Machine Learning Models For Predicting The Imminent Risk Of Impulsive Behaviors Using Mhealth Sensors, Soujanya Chatterjee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Researchers have developed machine learning models for detecting behaviors (e.g., smoking, eating, and drinking) and health states (e.g., stress) from wearable and mobile sensors. However, these models help detect events after they occur. The next frontier is the prediction of imminent risk of adverse health events.For mobile sensor-based prediction of imminent risk of impulsive behaviors, passive and continuous detection of risk factors of such behaviors is necessary. But, for human thoughts, perceptions, and contexts (e.g., suicidal ideation, craving/urge, desire for immediate gratification, and exposure to risky environmental cues), that are potential antecedents and precipitants of impulsive behaviors (e.g., suicide attempt, …

Sleep, Health, And Wellbeing Among Middle-Aged And Older Adults: Impact Of Insomnia Symptoms On Incident Heart Failure, Cognitive Performance, And All-Cause Mortality, Asos Qadir Mahmood

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

In this three-paper dissertation, we used longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to investigate prospective associations between time-varying insomnia symptoms (difficulty initiating sleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, early-morning awakening, non-restorative sleep) and incident heart failure (HF), cognitive impairmentno dementia (CIND), and all-cause mortality among middle-aged and older adults (aged 50 years). In each study, we implemented a marginal structural modeling approach to generate the average causal effects of insomnia symptoms, while taking into account time-dependent biological, psycho-cognitive, behavioral, and lifestyle factors, and adjustments for selection bias.The first paper employed data from the 2002 through 2018 waves of HRS, …

Identification Of Epigenetic Markers For Allergic Diseases Via Genome-Scale Association Studies, Aniruddha Rathod

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Asthma is a global public health concern with limited preventive strategies. Recently, DNA methylation (DNAm) has been studied to understand the underlying pathogenesis of asthma. The role of DNAm in asthma acquisition from pre- to post- adolescence is unclear, and how its role changes from adolescence to adulthood is also unknown. The studies in this dissertation were carried out using data in two birth cohorts with one as a discovery cohort and the other as replication cohort. Longitudinal assessments in both cohorts revealed that the associations of DNAm at 62 Cytosine-Guanine sites (CpG sites) with asthma acquired during adolescence were …

An Assessment Of Health Hazards Associated With The Use Of Water Mist Systems As A Cooling Intervention In Australia, Edmore Masaka

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Water mist systems (WMS) installed and used for cooling ambient temperatures in public places fall within the category of premise plumbing. Premise plumbing refers to the water distribution networks that lie downstream of the water meter, and within buildings. The colonization of premise plumbing by opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens (OPPPs) such as Legionella pneumophila, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Mycobacterium avium, Acanthamoeba and Naegleria fowleri is emerging as a challenge for public health and water quality management. Contrary to other premise plumbing features like showers and domestic taps that have been implicated in various waterborne infections, the health risks associated with WMS are …