Digital Commons Network^™

Safety And Immunogenicity Of Live Viral Vaccines In A Multicenter Cohort Of Pediatric Transplant Recipients, Amy G Feldman, Brenda L Beaty, Jose A Ferrolino, Gabriela Maron, Hillary K Weidner, Saira A Ali, Leandra Bitterfeld, Mary Alice Boulware, Kathleen M Campbell, Emily Carr, Shelley Chapman, Yeh-Chung Chang, Ryan Cunningham, Ronald H Dallas, Keerti L Dantuluri, Bryanna N Domenick, Noelle H Ebel, Scott Elisofon, Rima Fawaz, Marc Foca, Hayley A Gans, Vani V Gopalareddy, Cindy Gu, Nitika A Gupta, Katherine Harmann, Jessica Hollenbeck, Anna R Huppler, Catalina Jaramillo, Nagraj Kasi, Nanda Kerkar, Stacee Lerret, Steven J Lobritto, Maclovio J Lopez, Elizabeth Marini, Alisha Mavis, Sonia Mehra, Lynnette Moats, Sindhu Mohandas, Flor M Munoz, Krupa R Mysore, Ceren Onsan, Nadia Ovchinsky, Kerrigan Perkins, Stacy Postma, Lauren Pratscher, Elizabeth B Rand, Regina K Rowe, Danielle Schultz, Katherine Sear, Megan L Sell, Tanvi Sharma, Janis Stoll, Mychoua Vang, Dominique Villarin, Carly Weaver, Phoebe Wood, Olivia Woodford-Berry, George Yanni, Lara A Danziger-Isakov

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

IMPORTANCE: Live vaccines (measles-mumps-rubella [MMR] and varicella-zoster virus [VZV]) have not been recommended after solid organ transplant due to concern for inciting vaccine strain infection in an immunocompromised host. However, the rates of measles, mumps, and varicella are rising nationally and internationally, leaving susceptible immunocompromised children at risk for life-threating conditions.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the safety and immunogenicity of live vaccines in pediatric liver and kidney transplant recipients.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cohort study included select pediatric liver and kidney transplant recipients who had not completed their primary MMR and VZV vaccine series and/or who displayed nonprotective serum antibody …

Crimson And Black Fall 2023, Central Washington University

Crimson and Black

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of Effluent: Exploring How Wastewater Effluent Impacts Ísafjörður, Iceland, Madi Bennett-Wells

Iceland: Climate Change and The Arctic

Wastewater effluent is of growing concern in communities without proper wastewater treatment plans in place. This study examines the effects that wastewater discharge has on water quality in various communities through field research and an accompanying literature review. Water quality parameters (pH and temperature) were used to determine the impact effluent has on the local harbor, Pollurinn, in Ísafjörður, Iceland. Results showed that there was a statistical significance between pH and the area of study, while temperature was more varied; these results signify that effluent has the biggest impact on the area immediately surrounding the effluent pipe. The literature review …

Characterization Of Influenza-Specific Antibodies, Xinping Ran

ENGS 86 Independent Projects (AB Students)

Influenza viruses cause respiratory illness that affects 8% of the U.S. population annually. However, current influenza vaccines have a limited efficacy of only 40-60%. This highlights the need for a universal vaccine design that can generate broadly neutralizing antibodies against influenza surface protein hemagglutinin (HA). Previous work by our group identified HA-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) from serum samples through high-throughput antibody profiling. In this study, three of the identified mAbs were generated using mammalian cell expression and their binding affinity against three HA antigens was characterized via Enzyme-Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assay (ELISA). The ELISA results demonstrated specific binding affinity towards B/Yamagata/18/1998 …

Raman Spectral Cytopathology For Cancer Diagnostic Applications, Fiona Lyng, Damian Traynor, Isha Behl, Declan O'Dea, Hugh Byrne

Books/Book Chapters

Histopathology is currently regarded as the “gold standard” patient sampling technique for cancer diagnostics. It involves extraction of a tissue sample, or biopsy, which is then sectioned and stained for evaluation by a pathologist [1]. Cytopathology, on the other hand, is the field of disease diagnosis at the cellular level [2], necessitating only the microscopic evaluation of samples of cells which can be harvested by less invasive methods such as exfoliative brushing, needle probes or from biofluids. Based on the identification of abnormalities in cellular appearance, cytopathology is currently widely used to aid in the screening of cancer, as well …

Search, The Jackson Laboratory

Search Magazine

No abstract provided.

Lincoln Business Sustainability Assessment And Incentive Strategies For Emission Reduction, Jacson Farho, Moira Gonzales, Isabella Mccollum

Environmental Engagement in the Community (ENVR 319): Student Projects

Environmental Engagement in the Community projects, fall 2023

A poster titled Lincoln Business Sustainability Assessment and Incentive Strategies for Emission Reduction for client Coalition for Environmental Improvement (C. Eichorn and G. Hanlon).

Enhancing Rice Leaf Disease Classification: A Customized Convolutional Neural Network Approach, Ammar Kamal Abasi, Sharif Naser Makhadmeh, Osama Ahmad Alomari, Mohammad Tubishat, Husam Jasim Mohammed

Machine Learning Faculty Publications

In modern agriculture, correctly identifying rice leaf diseases is crucial for maintaining crop health and promoting sustainable food production. This study presents a detailed methodology to enhance the accuracy of rice leaf disease classification. We achieve this by employing a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model specifically designed for rice leaf images. The proposed method achieved an accuracy of 0.914 during the final epoch, demonstrating highly competitive performance compared to other models, with low loss and minimal overfitting. A comparison was conducted with Transfer Learning Inception-v3 and Transfer Learning EfficientNet-B2 models, and the proposed method showed superior accuracy and performance. With …

The Water Question: Coverage, Conflict, And Confusion In Negaunee During The Typhoid Fever Epidemic Of 1889, Sam Brink

Upper Country: A Journal of the Lake Superior Region

Epidemic disease and the strain it places upon communities is the source of crucial insight into the structures and intricacies of community life. This assessment of the course of the 1889 Negaunee typhoid fever epidemic uncovers a variety of perspectives on the treatment and mitigation of the disease between August and November of 1889 in a diverse and densely-populated Iron Range town. These perspectives, presented primarily in the contemporary medical literature and the pages of The Weekly Mining Journal newspaper, illustrate a complex state of contention and conflict between Negaunee area residents and state health authorities. Investigation of community responses …

Environmental Surveillance Of Viral Pathogens For Identifying Infectious Disease Outbreaks, Alessandro Zulli

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

The detection and quantification of viral infectious disease outbreaks is necessary for theeffective implementation of public health interventions that protect human health. Communicable viral diseases are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and prior pandemics have had acute economic and social impacts. However, the identification and tracking of community wide outbreaks for most human viruses across the developed and developing world does not occur due to resource constraints. The goal of this dissertation’s research is to develop the science and methodology that underpin the environmental surveillance of viruses, focusing specifically on wastewater monitoring for identifying and tracking viral …

Mechanisms Of Immunopathology Following Covid-19 And Vaccination In Children & Early Life Immunity In Neonates, Anjali Ramaswamy

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

Children and babies have unique infectious and inflammatory susceptibilities and are at an increased risk for developing severe disease or autoinflammatory sequelae from infections. However, many pediatric autoinflammatory diseases are poorly understood, as are mechanisms by which humans mount immune defenses in early life. We uncovered novel immunopathologic mechanisms underlying two childhood inflammatory conditions linked to COVID-19 infection and vaccination: multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) and vaccine-adjacent myopericarditis, respectively. We leveraged a systems approach to study these conditions, using multiomic single-cell RNA sequencing and serum profiling. We found key signatures of MIS-C that include innate immune triggering, and an …

Functionalized Dna Nanostructures For Membrane Engineering, Qiancheng Xiong

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

DNA nanotechnology is a powerful tool for constructing precisely designed nanostructures with applications in diverse fields, including synthetic biology, nanomedicine, and biomolecular engineering. This dissertation explores the use of DNA nanotechnology in membrane engineering, focusing on developing DNA endoskeleton-supported membranes and large functionalized DNA-toxin nanopores. The first approach encountered challenges while constructing interlocked DNA nanostructures for endoskeleton-supported membranes. The negative results highlighted the need to optimize the interlocked DNA endoskeleton cage design further to ensure its practical application in templating fully exposed, continuous membranes. The second approach incorporated pneumolysins into DNA-origami channels to create large, functionalized DNA-toxin nanopores. These hybrid …

Statistical Methods In High-Throughput Biomedical Data With Application To Precision Medicine, Yunqing Liu

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

Precision medicine has emerged as a critical approach in healthcare due to its potential to revolutionize patient care. Traditional medical practices often adopt a one-size-fits-all approach, treating patients based on generalized guidelines. However, individuals exhibit significant variations in their genetic makeup, lifestyle factors, and environmental exposures. Precision medicine recognizes and leverages these differences to deliver personalized treatment plans tailored to each patient's unique characteristics. Recent technological advancements have facilitated the generation of high-throughput data, such as single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data, spatial transcriptomics (ST) data, locomotor activity assays measuring behavior, which offers the potential to the development of precision medicine. …

Bacterial Cell Surface Characterization By Phage Display Coupled To High-Throughput Sequencing, Casey Grun

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

Antimicrobial resistance is a looming threat that reflects the remarkable capacity of bacteria to adapt and change in response to selective pressures. The versatile pathogen P. aeruginosa is a model case---already intrinsically resistant to many antibiotics, it can establish decades-long chronic infections, during which it evolves to survive antimicrobial treatment and evade host defenses. Many changes occur on its cell surface, a key location for both virulence and antibiotic resistance, but our technologies for studying these adaptive phenotypes are limited. Here we combined phage display with high-throughput DNA sequencing to create a high throughput, highly multiplexed technology for surveying bacterial …

Outbreak Dynamics Of Emerging Sars-Cov-2 Variants In Human And Animal Populations, Rebecca Lynn Earnest

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic is characterized by cycles of SARS-CoV-2 viral variant emergence followed by surges of infections and deaths. In the United States, the most notable variants to date are Alpha (B.1.1.7), Delta (B.1.617.2 and AY.x sub-lineages), and Omicron (BA.1, BA.2, BA.4, BA.5, and various sub-lineages). Pandemic response evolved along with the virus, raising three overarching research questions with each new variant that correspond to the chapters of this dissertation. When a new variant emerges, how is it different from the previously dominant variant(s) in circulation? The set of mutations that define a SARS-CoV-2 variant can affect viral properties such …

Factors Influencing Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Among Asian Immigrant College Students During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Shinhi Han, Hee Sun Kang, Koun Eum, Jin Young Seo, Kathleen Karsten

Publications and Research

Despite strenuous efforts to increase vaccination rates against human papillomavirus (HPV), the rate of vaccination remains low in the U.S. The COVID-19 pandemic poses an additional challenge to HPV vaccination. This study aimed to explore the factors that contribute to HPV vaccination among Asian immigrant college students, based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), with HPV vaccine literacy and HPV vaccine hesitancy as additional constructs. This cross-sectional survey used convenience sampling, with133 Asian immigrant college students from New York City as study participants. Data were collected online using self-reported measures of the following study variables: HPV vaccine literacy, attitudes, …

Should We Use Rifampicin In Periprosthetic Joint Infections Caused By Staphylococci When The Implant Has Been Exchanged? A Multicenter Observational Cohort Study, Tobias Siegfried Kramer, Alex Soriano, Sarah Tedeschi, Antonia F. Chen, Pierre Tattevin, Eric Senneville, Joan Gomez-Junyent, Victoria Birlutiu, Sabine Petersdorf, Vicens Diaz De Brito, Ignacio Sancho Gonzalez, Katherine A. Belden, Marjan Wouthuyzen-Bakker

Division of Infectious Diseases and Environmental Medicine Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Previous studies demonstrated the efficacy of a rifampicin-based regimen in the treatment of acute staphylococcal periprosthetic joint infections (PJIs) treated with surgical debridement. However, evidence is lacking to support the use of rifampicin in cases where the implant is exchanged during revision.

METHODS: We included all consecutive cases of staphylococcal PJIs treated from January 2013 to December 2018 with revision surgery in this international, retrospective, multicenter observational cohort study. PJI was defined according to the European Bone and Joint Infection Society diagnostic criteria. A relapse or reinfection during follow-up, the need for antibiotic suppressive therapy, the need for implant …

Itihas Vol. 23 Issue No. 4, Sastra Univ

ITIHAS

NEWSLETTER FROM SASTRA DEEMED UNIVERSITY

Factors Associated With Respiratory Pathogen Panel Utilization In Children Hospitalized With Acute Respiratory Illness — New Vaccine Surveillance Network, Kansas City, 2017–2021, Edward Lyon, Brian R. Lee, Benjamin Clopper, Heidi L. Moline, Rangaraj Selvarangan, Jennifer Schuster

Posters

Background: Respiratory pathogen panels (RPP) are multiplex PCR platforms that detect several respiratory viruses from one specimen. For most children hospitalized with acute respiratory illness (ARI), management is supportive, and detection of a specific virus from RPP does not impact clinical care. Therefore, clinical RPP use is not standardized, and ordering is at the discretion of the clinician. We sought to understand factors associated with RPP utilization among pediatric patients hospitalized with ARI. Methods: From October 2017 to September 2021, participants < 18 years hospitalized with ARI were enrolled at a single site in the New Vaccine Surveillance Network (NVSN). Eligible patients were residents of Jackson County, MO, had one or more ARI symptoms (e.g., cough, fever, nasal congestion) lasting < 14 days, and were enrolled within 48 hours of admission. Parent interviews and medical chart reviews were conducted. All participants had a research RPP, but results were not available to the clinical providers. Clinical providers were able to order a clinical RPP (cRPP), for which they received test results. Characteristics of NVSN enrollees hospitalized with ARI with and without a cRPP are described. Lastly, medical complexity was assessed via the pediatric complex chronic conditions classification system (CCC) then analyzed via chi- square test between groups. Findings: During the study period, 1,038 participants were enrolled, and 555 (53.4%) received a cRPP. Most, 299 (53%), cRPPs were ordered in the emergency department or urgent care before admission. Age was a significant factor associated with cRPP use (Table 1). cRPP participants were more likely to have complex chronic conditions, and/or technology dependence. No difference in cRPP use was observed by race/ethnicity, payer status, or sex. More participants were enrolled in 2020-2021, but the overall usage of cRPP is similar between years (Table 2). Conclusions: In this large cohort of children hospitalized with ARI, medical complexity, technological dependence, and age < 2 months were associated with increased utilization of cRPPs. Understanding the impact of cRPP on clinical care requires further investigation to better understand the utility of these tests.

El Programa Ampliado De Inmunización (Pai) Y La Confianza En La Vacunación De La Población En Argentina: Estudio De Caso En La Vacunación Contra El Virus Del Papiloma Humano (Vph). The Expanded Program On Immunization (Epi) And Vaccine Confidence In Argentina’S Population: A Case Study On The Human Papillomavirus (Hpv) Vaccine., Ana Tiscareño

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

En este estudio, se realizó una exploración del Programa Ampliado de Inmunización (PAI) en Argentina y como sus estrategias afectan los motivos a vacunarse o no en el país. Con un sistema de salud universal y gratuito, la gente en Argentina tiene el derecho a la salud que incluye la vacunación gratuita y obligatoria. Pero en el campo de la inmunización, no hay estudios sobre los otros factores que llevaban a las personas a adherir o no a la vacunación. Para cumplir los objetivos de la investigación, se utilizó un abordaje descriptivo cualitativo con un análisis de fuentes secundarias y …

Surveillance Systems In Western Kenya: Methods, Perceptions, And Effectiveness, Marissa Duffy

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Surveillance is an important tool in monitoring and evaluating infectious disease patterns and trends. Surveillance is vital because it aids public health officials and medical professionals in creating better prevention methods and efficiently managing outbreaks. Kenya is home to many noncommunicable diseases making it an important location to conduct disease surveillance. Within Kenya, each county has its own surveillance unit which tracks and controls outbreaks. In addition, government run surveillance systems were established to determine disease burden, incidence, and patterns in specific at-risk communities around Kenya. One of these major surveillance systems is Population-Based Infectious Disease Surveillance (PBIDS) which has …

Socio-Economic Factors And Its Influence On The Association Between Temperature And Dengue Incidence In 61 Provinces Of The Philippines, 2010–2019, Xerxes Seposo, Sary Valenzuela, Geminn Louis Apostol

Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health Publications

Background

Temperature has a significant impact on dengue incidence, however, changes on the temperature-dengue relationship across axes of socio-economic vulnerability is not well described. This study sought to determine the association between dengue and temperature in multiple locations in the Philippines and explore the effect modification by socio-economic factors.

Method

Nationwide dengue cases per province from 2010 to 2019 and data on temperature were obtained from the Philippines’ Department of Health–Epidemiological Bureau and ERA5-land, respectively. A generalized additive mixed model (GAMM) with a distributed lag non-linear model was utilized to examine the association between temperature and dengue inci-dence. We further …

The Effects Of Artificial Sweeteners On The Human Body And Microbiome, Lauren K. Steely

Honors Theses

While artificial sweeteners are becoming a popular sugar alternative, their negative effects remain understudied and obscure to the general public. Whether people purposely incorporate them into their diet, artificial sweeteners are found in thousands of products and are consumed by all ages. The calories and weight gain associated with refined sugar often cause people to turn to zero-calorie options, thinking they are healthier; however, artificial sweeteners serve just as, if not greater, a threat to one’s health. Artificial sweeteners have been associated with weight gain, numerous health risks, type 2 diabetes, and negative effects on the gut microbiome. The goal …

Wright State University's Celebration Of Student Research, Scholarship & Creative Activities From Thursday, October 26, 2023, Wright State University

Celebration of Undergraduate & Graduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities Abstract Books

The student abstract booklet is a compilation of abstracts from students' oral and poster presentations at Wright State University's Celebration of Student Research, Scholarship & Creative Activities on October 26, 2023.

Undergraduate And Graduate Course Descriptions, Fall 2023, Wright State University

Course Descriptions

Wright State University undergraduate and graduate course descriptions from Fall 2023

Strength Training Is More Effective Than Aerobic Exercise For Improving Glycaemic Control And Body Composition In People With Normal-Weight Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomised Controlled Trial, Yukari Kobayashi, Jin Long, Shozen Dan, Neil M. Johannsen, Ruth Talamoa, Sonia Raghuram, Sukyung Chung, Kyla Kent, Marina Basina, Cynthia Lamendola, Francois Haddad, Mary B. Leonard, Timothy S. Church, Latha Palaniappan

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

Aims/hypothesis: Type 2 diabetes in people in the healthy weight BMI category (< 25 kg/m2), herein defined as ‘normal-weight type 2 diabetes’, is associated with sarcopenia (low muscle mass). Given this unique body composition, the optimal exercise regimen for this population is unknown. Methods: We conducted a parallel-group RCT in individuals with type 2 diabetes (age 18–80 years, HbA1c 47.5–118.56 mmol/mol [6.5–13.0%]) and BMI < 25 kg/m2). Participants were recruited in outpatient clinics or through advertisements and randomly assigned to a 9 month exercise programme of strength training alone (ST), aerobic training alone (AER) or both interventions combined (COMB). We used stratified block randomisation with a randomly selected block size. Researchers and caregivers were blinded to participants’ treatment group; however, participants themselves were not. Exercise interventions were conducted at community-based fitness centres. The primary outcome was absolute change in HbA1c level within and across the three groups at 3, 6 and 9 months. Secondary outcomes included changes in body composition at 9 months. Per adherence to recommended exercise protocol (PP) analysis included participants who completed at least 50% of the sessions. Results: Among 186 individuals (ST, n=63; AER, n=58; COMB, n=65) analysed, the median (IQR) age was 59 (53–66) years, 60% were men and 83% were Asian. The mean (SD) HbA1c level at baseline was 59.6 (13.1) mmol/mol (7.6% [1.2%]). In intention-to-treat analysis, the ST group showed a significant decrease in HbA1c levels (mean [95% CI] −0.44 percentage points [−0.78, −0.12], p=0.002), while no significant change was observed in either the COMB group (−0.35 percentage points, p=0.13) or the AER group (−0.24 percentage points, p=0.10). The ST group had a greater improvement in HbA1c levels than the AER group (p=0.01). Appendicular lean mass relative to fat mass increased only in the ST group (p=0.0008), which was an independent predictor of HbA1c change (beta coefficient −7.16, p=0.01). Similar results were observed in PP analysis. Only one adverse event, in the COMB group, was considered to be possibly associated with the exercise intervention. Conclusions/interpretation: In normal-weight type 2 diabetes, strength training was superior to aerobic training alone, while no significant difference was observed between strength training and combination training for HbA1c reduction. Increased lean mass relative to decreased fat mass was an independent predictor of reduction in HbA1c level. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02448498. Funding: This study was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH; R01DK081371). Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].

Quality & Patient Safety Gazette : Volume 2, Issue 3 - 2023, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi

Quality and Patient Safety Archives

• Safe Care Certification-Garden and Kharadar
• Workshop on Developing and Monitoring Clinical Practice Guide-Pathways/Protocols
• JCIA Made Easy Video Series-Prevention & Control of Infection (PCI) Standards on Finger Tips
• JCI Standards for Clinical Care Program Certification (CCPC)
• Blast from the Past
• Learn with Fun!
• Stay Tuned with Us…..

Initiating Chlorhexidine Wipes For Infection Prevention In The Icu, Samantha Carey

Nurse Residency

Background

• Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) result in approximately 28,000 deaths and approximately $2.3 billion in added costs to the U.S. healthcare system each year, and yet, many of these infections are preventable (Reynolds, 2021).

• Chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) is an antiseptic that can be used for skin cleaning and has been shown to be effective against a wide range of organisms, including some antimicrobial-resistant organisms.

• The primary objective of this study was to assess the incidents of CLABSI’s when CHG wipes were implemented compared to traditional bathing soap and water for patients with a central line in …

The Low-Hanging Fruit: Health, Rights, And The Commission, Bright Nkrumah

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

The year 2022 marked the 35th anniversary of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. As it is a custom in many communities, when one reaches this milestone, it is an opportune time to introspect and reflect on the successes and challenges encountered in one’s journey. It is this template that the paper adopts to measure the prospects and setbacks of the African Commission in the advancement of the right to health. The Article argues that while the body remains the poster child of the continent’s human rights architecture, its inability to clearly articulate how states ought to advance …

Covid-19: Implications For Audiology Practice, Madison Jane Bacca

Doctoral Scholarly Projects & Capstones

Coronavirus Disease 2019, or COVID-19, emerged in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and quickly became an international public health emergency. COVID-19 was declared a worldwide pandemic in March 2020 and has spread throughout the globe (Balkhair, 2020). COVID-19 manifests in the body in a myriad of ways, ranging from no symptoms at all to critical illness or death. COVID-19 infection can have long-lasting, widespread effects on the human body, including the auditory and vestibular systems. Despite preventative efforts, COVID-19 patients have presented to audiologists with complaints of hearing loss, tinnitus, and vertigo. Audiologists need to be aware of the reported …