Digital Commons Network^™

Genetic Characterization And Dna Barcoding Of The Zoonotic Parasite Gnathostoma, Ryan Pogodzinski

Student Presentations

Zoonotic diseases are transmitted to humans from wildlife and often pose serious health risks. One such disease, gnathostomiasis, is caused by parasitic nematodes in the genus Gnathostoma, commonly transmitted by consumption of infected undercooked freshwater fish. Lately, movement of animals over international borders has increased, leading to emerging zoonotic diseases (2018; CDC – One Health Basics). Human gnathostomiasis is just one example.

This project expands on previous research (Cole et al.) which identified Gnathostoma in invasive eels and imported eels from food markets, using morphological features and DNA sequences of the ribosomal RNA gene array’s ITS-2 (intergenic transcribed spacer-2) region. …

Phage Hunters: The Discovery Of Two Novel Bacteriophages That Infect Gordonia Rubripertincta, Sarah Ballarin, Neel Balusa, Melissa Bell, Samia Caballero, Joshua Chan, Maria Farez, Ashley J. Guillen-Tapia, Nashrah Pierre-Louis, Victoria Polishuk, Bhavya Soni, Julie Torruellas Garcia, Katie E. Crump

Sea-Phages

Antibiotic resistance is a global healthcare concern because it poses a threat to effectively treating bacterial infections and the need for alternative therapeutics are urgently required. Phage therapy, which uses viruses to treat bacterial infections, is a promising alternative to conventional antibiotics. Phages have also been widely used in the food industry to prevent microbial growth on certain foods and are currently being explored as a method for bioremediation of oil spills and wastewater treatment. Although phages are ubiquitous in nature, many have yet to be discovered. Through the SEA-PHAGES (Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science) program …

Assessment Of Emergency Care Services In Nigerian Hospitals: A Cross-Sectional Study, Kelechi Herbert Umoga

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

The Accident and Emergency (A&E) unit in Nigeria is a key entry point to access health care for patients with various diseases. Currently there are limited data assessing the functionality of these units and their capacity for care. This study aims to evaluate the functional capacity of A&Es in Nigeria and to identify factors impeding optimal care.We conducted a cross-sectional study of seven hospitals in Nigeria, randomly selecting one hospital from each of the six geopolitical zones, and purposively including National Hospital Abuja. We used a universal sampling technique interviewing all doctors and nurses identified as routine A&E staff. We …

Is Risk Compensation Real? The Effect Of Perceived Level Of Hiv Acquisition On Risk Behavior In A Pilot Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Demonstration Project In Men Who Have Sex With Men In Malaysia, Kelsey Rankin

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is highly effective in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention for key populations, including men who have sex with men (MSM). In Malaysia, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence among MSM is 22%, and is even higher in key urban areas, including Kuala Lumpur. Despite nationwide campaigns committed to address HIV, scale-up of PrEP for MSM in Malaysia has been suboptimal. This limitation can be attributed partially to concerns that PrEP will lead to increased sexual risk behaviors, based on the controversial theory of risk compensation.

A 2018 PrEP demonstration study of MSM in Malaysia (n=150) was used to …

Nonlinear Mixed-Effects Models For Hiv Viral Load Trajectories Before And After Antiretroviral Therapy Interruption, Incorporating Left Censoring, Sihaoyu Gao, Lang Wu, Tingting Yu, Roger Kouyos, Huldrych F. Gunthard, Rui Wang

Harvard University Biostatistics Working Paper Series

Characterizing features of the viral rebound trajectories and identifying host, virological, and immunological factors that are predictive of the viral rebound trajectories are central to HIV cure research. In this paper, we investigate if key features of HIV viral decay and CD4 trajectories during antiretroviral therapy (ART) are associated with characteristics of HIV viral rebound following ART interruption. Nonlinear mixed effect (NLME) models are used to model viral load trajectories before and following ART interruption, incorporating left censoring due to lower detection limits of viral load assays. A stochastic approximation EM (SAEM) algorithm is used for parameter estimation and inference. …

Better Medicine, Lehigh Valley Health Network

Better Medicine

No abstract provided.

Distribution And Molecular Differentiation Of Culex Pipiens Complex Species In Themiddle And Eastern Black Sea Regions Of Turkey, Muhammet Mustafa Akiner, Murat Öztürk, Fati̇h Şaban Beri̇ş, Çağaşan Karacaoğlu, Fati̇h Mehmet Şi̇mşek, Aytül Uzun Akgeyi̇k

Turkish Journal of Zoology

Culex pipiens species complex is commonly found in tropical and subtropical areas. Identification of species complexes and their spatial distribution patterns are fundamental steps needed to improve our understanding of arboviral disease circulation and their control. The specimens were differentiated using the Ace-2 gene, and the ecological forms of Culex pipiens were identified by analysis of the CQ11 microsatellite locus. Results showed that all sample points comprised of Culex pipiens s.s., and seven points contained Culex torrentium. Further, we determined that 22 haplotypes from five haplogroups were identified within the Ace-2 marker, and three haplotypes were contained within the CQ11 …

Evaluation Of The Feeding Patterns Of Important Mosquito Vector Species Using Molecular Techniques, Fatma Bursali, Fati̇h Mehmet Şi̇mşek

Turkish Journal of Zoology

This study investigated the feeding patterns of populations of Anopheles sacharovi, Culex tritaeniorhynchus, and Culex pipiens in the Mediterranean and Aegean regions of Turkey. Blood-fed females resting inside barns, houses, and chicken coops in the rural areas were collected between May 2017 and September 2019, and the genomic DNA from each female was isolated to determine the blood source after amplification of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene region. Cytb results showed that out of 445 blood-fed An. sacharovi females 2 blood-fed from dogs, 9 from birds, and 434 from cows. The results also showed that all 216 blood-fed females Cx. …

2022 Community Health Needs Assessment Health Profile Carbon County, Lehigh Valley Health Network

LVHN Annual & Statistical Reports

No abstract provided.

2022 Community Health Needs Assessment Health Profile Lehigh County, Lehigh Valley Health Network

LVHN Annual & Statistical Reports

No abstract provided.

2022 Community Health Needs Assessment Health Profile Luzerne County, Lehigh Valley Health Network

LVHN Annual & Statistical Reports

No abstract provided.

2022 Community Health Needs Assessment Health Profile Northampton County, Lehigh Valley Health Network

LVHN Annual & Statistical Reports

No abstract provided.

2022 Community Health Needs Assessment Health Profile Lackawanna County, Lehigh Valley Health Network

LVHN Annual & Statistical Reports

No abstract provided.

2022 Community Health Needs Assessment Health Profile Schuylkill County, Lehigh Valley Health Network

LVHN Annual & Statistical Reports

No abstract provided.

2022 Community Health Needs Assessment Health Profile Monroe County, Lehigh Valley Health Network

LVHN Annual & Statistical Reports

No abstract provided.

Σ-Ary, Minnesota State University Moorhead, Mathematics Department

Math Department Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Covid-19 Financial Consequences In United States Hospitals, Hannah T. Osburn, Murat Mert Solakoglu, Gretel Toloza Alvarez

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Introduction: Since the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, United States (U.S.) hospitals have struggled to stay financially afloat amid the constant battle with unprecedented circumstances and financial consequences from the pandemic. The purpose of this research was to analyze the financial consequences of COVID-19 for U.S. hospitals to determine the impact on the number of inpatient cases, length of stay (LOS), surgeries performed, and operating expenses. The hypothesis was that U.S. hospitals were financially affected by the consequences of COVID-19, having more inpatient cases, increased LOS, fewer surgeries performed, and higher operating expenses.

Methodology: The methodology for this …

Experiences In Remote Learning: Perceptions Of West Virginia Educators During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Craig Edward Arch

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

In March 2020, the threat of illness caused by Covid-19 prompted West Virginia Governor Jim Justice to abruptly close public schools statewide. Instruction was delivered remotely for the remainder of the 2019 – 2020 school year and sporadically across the state during the 2020-2021 school year with educators holding class meetings and delivering instruction where technology and a reliable internet connection were available. Gaining understanding as it relates to a teacher’s remote learning experience may provide insight into how administrators can prepare for future interruptions in in-person instruction. Identifying specific areas teachers felt were challenging or stressful may provide a …

Research Annual Report Fy2022, Children's Mercy Kansas City

Research Annual Reports

Annual report of the research at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City MO, a pediatric medical center.

Fusion, 2022, George Washington University, William H. Beaumont Medical Research Honor Society

Fusion

No abstract provided.

Cryptococcosis In A Patient With Multiple Myeloma Receiving Pomalidomide: A Case Report And Literature Review, Daniel B. Chastain, Sahand Golpayegany, Andrés F. Henao-Martínez, Brittany T. Jackson

Faculty and Student Publications

While overall survival with multiple myeloma (MM) has improved, patients suffer from overwhelming tumor burden, MM-associated comorbidities, and frequent relapses requiring administration of salvage therapies. As a result, this vicious cycle is often characterized by cumulative immunodeficiency stemming from a combination of disease- and treatment-related factors leading to neutropenia, T-cell deficiency, and hypogammaglobulinemia. Infectious etiologies differ based on the duration of MM and treatment-related factors, such as number of previous treatments and cumulative dose of corticosteroids. Herein, we present the case of a patient who was receiving pomalidomide without concomitant corticosteroids for MM and was later found to have cryptococcosis, …

Vol. 97, No. 1 | Fall/Winter 2021-22, Bridgewater College

Bridgewater Magazine

Forward Thinking: The College's first endowed, named school marks a pivotal moment in our history

The Use Of Probiotic Applications In Early Life Stages To Mitigate Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis Infections In Rana Luteiventris (Columbia Spotted Frogs), Autumn N. Holley

2022 Symposium

Chytridiomycosis, an amphibian skin disease caused by a chytrid fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), has been linked to global amphibian declines. Some amphibian populations are resistant to severe infection due to symbiotic antifungal skin bacteria, but attempts to develop probiotics from these bacteria have been inconsistently successful because bacteria fail to persist on the skin. Studies have largely been conducted on adult and juvenile amphibians, despite amphibians having fewer known mechanisms for microbiome regulation prior to metamorphosis. We hypothesize that probiotics will persist longer and thus be more effective against pathogen infection if they are applied at an early life …

Heir To The Throne: Ron Desantis’S Inheritance Of A Trumpian Covid-19 Ideology, Monica Mayer, Walker Talton

International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference

Despite the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, a surprising number of Americans remain skeptical of vaccines and other preventative measures. This variance in attitude may be explained in part by the diverse pandemic responses of state governors and their political ideologies. Using Florida governor Ron DeSantis as a case study, we analyze an October 2021 press conference using the rhetorical method of ideological criticism to explore the governor’s ideological stance towards public health, personal liberty, and the balance between safety and economic concerns. We find he embraces an ideology of “Trumpism” that emphasizes personal choice over public health and economic …

The Opioid Crisis, Sarah Mobley

Integrated Studies

The purpose of this report is to explore the increase of people who have become addicted to opioids after prescribed the narcotic by a doctor or obtaining them illegally. Opioid addiction has resulted in many people in the United States and abroad becoming dependent on opioids for basic daily activities. Medical experts have found multiple solutions to stop addiction caused by doctors and other healthcare professionals who can prescribe medications. However, recent data shows that opioid addiction is still on the rise. This report includes how the crisis began, the different methods recommended to slow the crisis and current statistics …

The Sweeping Changes Felt In Healthcare During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Leslie Shehorn

Integrated Studies

This paper aims to acknowledge frontline healthcare workers’ obstacles and hospitals’ hardships during the covid pandemic in 2020. After identifying the origin and epidemiology of the covid-19 virus, extensive research determined how challenges impacted global hospitals. These challenges included reduction of staff, supply shortages, changes in policies and procedures, organizational forced mandates, decreased revenue, hospital capacity overflow, hospital visitation guidelines, fears among healthcare professionals leading to psychological distress, and management of the unknown virus within healthcare organizations worldwide. The research will discuss healthcare mandates that took place to manage the covid virus, visitation guidelines hospitals adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic …

Regulation Of Genetically Engineered (Ge) Mosquitoes As A Public Health Tool: A Public Health Ethics Analysis, Zahra Meghani

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Background: In recent years, genetically engineered (GE) mosquitoes have been proposed as a public health measure against the high incidence of mosquito-borne diseases among the poor in regions of the global South. While uncertainties as well as risks for humans and ecosystems are entailed by the open-release of GE mosquitoes, a powerful global health governance non-state organization is funding the development of and advocating the use of those bio-technologies as public health tools.

In August 2016, the US Food and Drug Agency (FDA) approved the uncaged field trial of a GE Aedes aegypti mosquito in Key Haven, Florida. The …

Covid-19 In Sub-Saharan Africa: Monitoring Impacts On Learning Outcomes: Burundi Report, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer), Unesco Institute For Statistics

Monitoring Learning

Six African countries participated in the COVID-19: Monitoring Impacts on Learning Outcomes (MILO) project in 2021 – Burundi, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Senegal and Zambia. This report presents the key findings from the MILO project for Burundi. The MILO study was designed to provide information on the impact of the pandemic on learning outcomes. As countries work towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4.1.1b, it is essential that progress towards this goal continues to be monitored. The MILO project was implemented to provide a way for countries to measure learning progress against Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4.1.1b prior to, …

Career Choice Of Tourism Students In A Triple-Whammy Crisis, Monica W.C. Choy, Alexander Seeshing Yeung

Faculty of Management & Hospitality (THEi)

Hong Kong hospitality and tourism industry has been battered by the triple whammy of social unrest, Sino-US trade war and COVID-19 pandemic in recent years. To understand how vulnerable tourism students may be in terms of career shock when facing the three major challenges, 407 tourism students in Hong Kong were surveyed. Structural equation modelling found a positive correlation between affect (an intrinsic, motivating factor) and extraneous events (an extrinsic, demotivating factor), indicating that motivation and demotivating factors may co-exist. Affect was more positively correlated with three career choice outcomes (intent to join the industry, desire for a lifelong career, …

Comparative Transmissibility Of Sars-Cov-2 Variants Delta And Alpha In New England, Usa, Rebecca Earnest, Rockib Uddin, Nicholas Matluk, Nicholas Renzette, Katherine J. Siddle, Christine Loreth, Gordon Adams, Christopher H. Tomkins-Tinch, Mary E. Petrone, Jessica E. Rothman, Mallery I. Breban, Robert Tobias Koch, Kendall Billig, Joseph R. Fauver, Chantal B.F. Vogels, Sarah Turbett, Kaya Bilguvar, Bony De Kumar, Marie L. Landry, David R. Peaper, Kevin Kelly, Greg Omerza, Heather Grieser, Sim Meak, John Martha, Hannah H. Dewey, Susan Kales, Daniel Berenzy, Kristin Carpenter-Azevedo, Ewa King, Richard C. Huard, Sandra C. Smole, Catherine M. Brown, Timelia Fink, Andrew S. Lang, Glen R. Gallagher, Pardis C. Sabeti, Stacey Gabriel, Bronwyn L. Macinnis, New England Variant Investigation Team, Ryan Tewhey, Mark D. Adams, Daniel J. Park, Jacob E. Lemieux, Nathan D. Grubaugh

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Delta variant quickly rose to dominance in mid-2021, displacing other variants, including Alpha. Studies using data from the United Kingdom and India estimated that Delta was 40-80% more transmissible than Alpha, allowing Delta to become the globally dominant variant. However, it was unclear if the ostensible difference in relative transmissibility was due mostly to innate properties of Delta's infectiousness or differences in the study populations. To investigate, we formed a partnership with SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance programs from all six New England US states. By comparing logistic growth rates, we found that Delta …