Digital Commons Network^™

Nrsg 256.01: Pathophysiology, Ginger M. Sillars

University of Montana Course Syllabi, 2021-2025

No abstract provided.

Anty 210n.01: Introduction To Biological Anthropology, Randall R. Skelton

University of Montana Course Syllabi, 2021-2025

No abstract provided.

Generative Large Language Models Are All-Purpose Text Analytics Engines: Text-To-Text Learning Is All Your Need, Cheng Peng, Xi Yang, Aokun Chen, Zehao Yu, Kaleb E Smith, Anthony B Costa, Mona G Flores, Jiang Bian, Yonghui Wu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: To solve major clinical natural language processing (NLP) tasks using a unified text-to-text learning architecture based on a generative large language model (LLM) via prompt tuning.

Methods: We formulated 7 key clinical NLP tasks as text-to-text learning and solved them using one unified generative clinical LLM, GatorTronGPT, developed using GPT-3 architecture and trained with up to 20 billion parameters. We adopted soft prompts (ie, trainable vectors) with frozen LLM, where the LLM parameters were not updated (ie, frozen) and only the vectors of soft prompts were updated, known as prompt tuning. We added additional soft prompts as a prefix …

Strategies For The Development Of Metalloimmunotherapies, Xiaoqi Sun, Xingwu Zhou, Xiaoyue Shi, Omar A Abed, Xinran An, Yu Leo Lei, James J Moon

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Metal ions play crucial roles in the regulation of immune pathways. In fact, metallodrugs have a long record of accomplishment as effective treatments for a wide range of diseases. Here we argue that the modulation of interactions of metal ions with molecules and cells involved in the immune system forms the basis of a new class of immunotherapies. By examining how metal ions modulate the innate and adaptive immune systems, as well as host-microbiota interactions, we discuss strategies for the development of such metalloimmunotherapies for the treatment of cancer and other immune-related diseases.

Determinant Of 30-Day Mortality Of Pulmonary Legionellosis: Do Coinfections Matter?, Takahiro Matsuo, Sebastian Wurster, Ying Jiang, Jeffrey Tarrand, Scott E Evans, Dimitrios P Kontoyiannis

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

We retrospectively reviewed 64 cases of cancer with pulmonary legionellosis (Legionella pneumophila in 73%). Nearly all patients received Legionella-active antibiotics, yet 30-day mortality was 23%. Independent predictors of 30-day mortality were hyponatremia, bilateral lung involvement, and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score ≥5. Lung coinfections were common (31%) but did not significantly increase mortality.

The Principles Of (Partial Locality, Partial Indeterminacy, Partial Nonlocality) And (Multi Locality, Multi Indeterminacy, Multi Nonlocality), Florentin Smarandache

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

This article introduces new neutrosophic principles aiming to extend and generalize the concepts of locality and nonlocality by addressing scenarios involving indeterminacy, together with partiality and multitude, in physics, mechanics, cosmology, biology, medicine, chemistry, economics, ecology, sociology. Locality refers to interactions or processes confined within a limited region of space or time. But there may be a Total (100%) Locality, or a Partial Locality (less than 100% and greater than 0%). The effects are constrained to the immediate environment. Contrariwise, NonLocality refers to interactions or connections between entities separated by space or time. The changes in one location have instantaneous …

Exploring Neutrosophic Over Supra Exterior Modal Topological Structure: Theory And Application In Healthcare Decision-Making, R.Narmada Devi, Yamini Parthibanm

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

Neutrosophic environments have gained significant relevance across diverse disciplines. Neutro sophic Over Supra Exterior Modal Topological Structure is introduced, demonstrating the generation of two distinct structures through traditional Neutrosophic Over supra topological operations, denoted as ⊞ (closure) and ⊡ (interior), along with novel Neutrosophic Over Supra Exterior Modal Operations, expressed as ✖ (modal closure) and ⊙ (modal interior). This exploration delves into the essential properties and characteristics of these structures, illuminating their behavior and implications. To illustrate the practical relevance, a numerical example is presented, demonstrating the identification of disease types using a score function. The study conclusively shows that …

Refai: A Gpt-Powered Retrieval-Augmented Generative Tool For Biomedical Literature Recommendation And Summarization, Yiming Li, Jeff Zhao, Manqi Li, Yifang Dang, Evan Yu, Jianfu Li, Zenan Sun, Usama Hussein, Jianguo Wen, Ahmed M Abdelhameed, Junhua Mai, Shenduo Li, Yue Yu, Xinyue Hu, Daowei Yang, Jingna Feng, Zehan Li, Jianping He, Wei Tao, Tiehang Duan, Yanyan Lou, Fang Li, Cui Tao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objectives: Precise literature recommendation and summarization are crucial for biomedical professionals. While the latest iteration of generative pretrained transformer (GPT) incorporates 2 distinct modes-real-time search and pretrained model utilization-it encounters challenges in dealing with these tasks. Specifically, the real-time search can pinpoint some relevant articles but occasionally provides fabricated papers, whereas the pretrained model excels in generating well-structured summaries but struggles to cite specific sources. In response, this study introduces RefAI, an innovative retrieval-augmented generative tool designed to synergize the strengths of large language models (LLMs) while overcoming their limitations.

Materials and methods: RefAI utilized PubMed for systematic literature retrieval, …

The Association Of Glycated Hemoglobin And Lipid Profile With Peripheral Artery Disease In Metabolic Syndrome Patients From Northwestern Algeria, Imane Bouragba, Mustapha Diaf, Sarra Souiah, Asmaa Melih, Attouya Mellali

Baghdad Science Journal

Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) was incorporated as an indicator of dysglycemia, as opposed to fasting glycaemia, for the purpose of classifying patients based on their vascular incidents. This choice was made due to HbA1c's robust correlation with vascular factors like pulse wave velocity, intima media thickness, and the albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR). However, the relationship between HbA1c and lipid profile in developing artery disease remain uncertain. We set out to investigate the association of HbA1c and lipid profile with peripheral artery diseases (PAD) in patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS) in north-western Algeria. Our cross sectional study was carried out during six months. …

Institute For Global Health And Development : Issue 9 - September 2024, Institute For Global Health And Development

IGHD Newsletters

• A Call for Action
• Recent Events
• Supporting Women in Science 2024
• Climate Change and Health Symposium
• Breaking Barriers for Gender and Health Equity
• IGHD Summer Internship Program 2024
• The New Faces at IGHD

Beneficial Effects Of Lactobacillus Plantarum On Growth Performance, Immune Status, Antioxidant Function And Intestinal Microbiota In Broilers, Xiao Xiao, Tiantian Cui, Songke Qin, Tao Wang, Jinsong Liu, Lihan Sa, Yanping Wu, Yifan Zhong, Caimei Yang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Lactobacillus plantarum (L. plantarum) has been globally regarded as antibiotic alternative in animal farming in the past few years. However, the potential function of L. plantarum in broilers has not been systemically explored. In this study, a total of 560 one-day-old yellow-feathered broilers were randomly divided into 3 groups, fed with basal diet and drank with L. plantarum HJZW08 (LP) at the concentration of 0 (CON), 1000 × 10^5 (LP1000), and 2000 × 10^5 CFU/L (LP2000) for 70 d. Results showed that the body weight (BW), average daily …

Lessons Learnt From Broad-Spectrum Coronavirus Antiviral Drug Discovery, Andrew A Bolinger, Jun Li, Xuping Xie, Hongmin Li, Jia Zhou

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Highly pathogenic coronaviruses (CoVs), such as severe acute respiratory syndrome CoV (SARS-CoV), Middle East respiratory syndrome CoV (MERS-CoV), and the most recent SARS-CoV-2 responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, pose significant threats to human populations over the past two decades. These CoVs have caused a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations ranging from asymptomatic to severe distress syndromes (ARDS), resulting in high morbidity and mortality.

Areas covered: The accelerated advancements in antiviral drug discovery, spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, have shed new light on the imperative to develop treatments effective against a broad spectrum of CoVs. This perspective discusses strategies and …

Determinant Of 30-Day Mortality Of Pulmonary Legionellosis: Do Coinfections Matter?, Takahiro Matsuo, Sebastian Wurster, Ying Jiang, Jeffrey Tarrand, Scott E Evans, Dimitrios P Kontoyiannis

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

We retrospectively reviewed 64 cases of cancer with pulmonary legionellosis (Legionella pneumophila in 73%). Nearly all patients received Legionella-active antibiotics, yet 30-day mortality was 23%. Independent predictors of 30-day mortality were hyponatremia, bilateral lung involvement, and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score ≥5. Lung coinfections were common (31%) but did not significantly increase mortality.

Study Of Life History Traits Of Culex Pipiens Linnaeus, 1758 (Diptera: Culicidae) In Laboratory In Erbil Province In Kurdistan Region-Iraq, Dlpak Birkhader Yaba, Shamall Abdulla Al-Muffti

Polytechnic Journal

This study aimed to study some biological aspects of different stages of Culex pipiens Linnaeus, 1758 in a laboratory that gathered randomly from four regions in Iraq's Kurdistan from Erbil. The results of the current study revealed that the eggs were laid in rafts, and the egg was elongated in shape, which was narrowed in one end. The mean number of laid eggs was 187.4 eggs; the mean hatching percentage was 83.07%, and the mean incubation period was 28.3 hours. The mean length of the first, second, third, and fourth larval instar was 2.21, 3.27,4.72, and 5.73 mm, respectively. The …

Detection And Prevalence Of A Novel Bandavirus Related To Guertu Virus In Amblyomma Gemma Ticks And Human Populations In Isiolo County, Kenya, Hellen Koka, Solomon Langat, Samuel Oyola, Faith Cherop, Gilbert Rotich, James Mutisya, Victor Ofula, Konongoi Limbaso, Juliette R. Ongus, Joel Lutomiah, Rosemary Sang

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Introduction Emerging tick-borne viruses of medical and veterinary importance are increasingly being reported globally. This resurgence emphasizes the need for sustained surveillance to provide insights into tick-borne viral diversity and associated potential public health risks. We report on a virus tentatively designated Kinna virus (KIV) in the family Phenuiviridae and genus Bandavirus. The virus was isolated from a pool of Amblyomma gemma ticks from Kinna in Isiolo County, Kenya. High throughput sequencing of the virus isolate revealed close relatedness to the Guertu virus. The virus genome is consistent with the described genomes of other members of the genus Bandavirus, with …

Clinical Features Of Chagas Disease Progression And Severity, Maria Carmo P Nunes, Caryn Bern, Eva H Clark, Antonio L Teixeira, Israel Molina

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Chagas disease, the most common form of nonischaemic cardiomyopathy globally, is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in Latin America. Chagas cardiomyopathy has a wide clinical spectrum and prognosis, which is primarily determined by the severity of left ventricular dysfunction. Chagas disease also affects the brain, particularly manifesting as cardioembolic strokes and cognitive impairments. Disease progression is influenced by various factors such as anti-parasite treatments, host-parasite interactions, and other determinants. This review explores Chagas disease, covering clinical presentations, the range of severity of Chagas cardiomyopathy, and neurological manifestations. We investigate factors that influence the progression of cardiomyopathy, …

A Curious Case Of Medium-Vessel Vasculitis, Nisa N Ilsin, Haleigh D Stafford, Anna Catinis, Theodore Rosen

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Vasculitis, or the inflammation of vessels due to primary or secondary causes, may arise from numerous etiologies, often leading to diagnostic uncertainty. Delayed treatment due to diagnostic or etiologic uncertainty presents a significant clinical risk, with consequences including organ failure and mortality. We describe a case of a 58-year-old male with a history including ankylosing spondylitis who presented with painful ulcers involving the bilateral lower extremities following a trip to the southern Texas border. Histopathology revealed medium-vessel vasculitis; however, the search for a likely etiology in the setting of a unique combination of potential vasculitis precipitants, including glochid inoculation, a …

A Call To Action: The Shea Research Agenda To Combat Healthcare-Associated Infections., Jennie H. Kwon, Sonali D. Advani, Westyn Branch-Elliman, Barbara I. Braun, Vincent Chi-Chung Cheng, Kathleen Chiotos, Peggy Douglas, Shruti K. Gohil, Sara C. Keller, Eili Y. Klein, Sarah L. Krein, Eric T. Lofgren, Katreena Merrill, Rebekah W. Moehring, Elizabeth Monsees, Luci Perri, Felicia Scaggs Huang, Mark A. Shelly, Felicia Skelton, Emily S. Spivak, Pranavi V. Sreeramoju, Katie J. Suda, Joseph Y. Ting, Gregory David Weston, Mohamed H. Yassin, Matthew J. Ziegler, Lona Mody

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

No abstract provided.

A Case Of Persistent Intra-Abdominal Stenotrophomonas Maltophilia Infection Despite Bacteriophage Therapy, Grace D Cullen, Keiko Christine Salazar, Austen Lee Terwilliger, Saima Aslam, Justin R Clark, Anthony W Maresso, Paul L Bollyky, Jenny R Aronson

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Multidrug resistant infections are a challenge in the health care setting and a cause of patient morbidity and mortality. Bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that target and kill bacteria and have been used in patients to treat bacterial infections. We present a case of disseminated Stenotrophomonas maltophilia infection, with pulmonary, intra-abdominal and bloodstream involvement. The patient was treated with a combination of antibiotics and personalized phage therapy, administered daily for 12 days both intravenously as well as via intra-abdominal drains. Phage therapy was well-tolerated, the patient cleared S. maltophilia from their bloodstream and their intra-abdominal abscesses were stable or decreased in …

Molecular Detection Of Intestinal Parasites In A Rural Community Of Colombia: A One Health Approach To Explore Potential Environmental-Zoonotic Transmission, Sergio Castañeda, Claudia Patricia Acosta, Luis Reinel Vasquez-A, Luz H Patiño, Rojelio Mejía, Juan David Ramírez

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Aims: Protozoan and helminth parasitic infections pose significant public health challenges, especially in developing countries with rural populations marked by suboptimal hygiene practices and socio-economic constraints. The parasites are the etiological agents of these infections and have a notably elevated global prevalence. Therefore, this study focuses on estimating the frequency and transmission dynamics of several parasitic species, including Blastocystis, Giardia, Cryptosporidium spp., Entamoeba histolytica, Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, Taenia spp. and hookworms, within a rural community in southwest Colombia with a particular emphasis on the One Health framework, considering environmental and zoonotic transmission potentials.

Methods and results: This study involved …

Prevalence Of Non-Communicable Diseases Among Household Contacts Of People With Tuberculosis: A Systematic Review And Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis, Yohhei Hamada, Matteo Quartagno, Farihah Malik, Keolebogile Ntshamane, Anna Tisler, Sanjay Gaikwad, Carlos Acuna-Villaorduna, Perumal Kannabiran Bhavani, Bachti Alisjahbana, Blanca I. Restrepo

School of Medicine Publications

Objective

To investigate the prevalence of non-communicable diseases among household contacts of people with tuberculosis.

Methods

We conducted a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis. We searched Medline, Embase and the Global Index Medicus from inception to 16 May 2023. We included studies that assessed for at least one non-communicable disease among household contacts of people with clinical tuberculosis. We estimated the non-communicable disease prevalence through mixed effects logistic regression for studies providing individual participant data, and compared it with estimates from aggregated data meta-analyses. Furthermore, we compared age and sex-standardised non-communicable disease prevalence with national-level estimates standardised for …

"Allowing Space For Voice…All Our Voices:" Understanding Ho'ouna Pono Implementation Through Educational Leadership Perspectives In Rural Hawai'i Schools, Kelsie H Okamura, Tessa Palafu, Katlyn An, Sarah Momilani Marshall, Steven Keone Chin, Kelly A Stern, Byron J Powell, Sara J Becker, David S Mandell, Scott K Okamoto

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Epidemiological research over the past two decades has highlighted substance use disparities that affect Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander youth, and the lack of effective approaches to address such disparities (Okamoto et al., 2019). The Ho'ouna Pono curriculum is a culturally grounded, teacher-implemented, video-enhanced substance use prevention program that has demonstrated efficacy in rural Hawai'i in a large-scale trial (Okamoto et al., 2019). Despite its potential to ameliorate health disparities and address youth substance use, prevention programs such as Ho'ouna Pono have been poorly disseminated and implemented across Hawai'i, raising the question:

Retinoblastoma Malignance And Exosome Mechanisms Facilitating Optic Nerve Head Metastatic Niche Formation, Cui Shi

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Retinoblastoma (RB) is a rare pediatric ocular tumor that occurs before five years of age and it is the most common intraocular cancer of childhood with more than 300 children in the United States and 8000 diagnosed globally each year. RB arises from the proliferation of cone photoreceptor precursor cells in the retina as a result of mutations in the RB1 gene. The influence of RB secreted factors on cells in the retinal environment has not been fully elucidated. Cancer cell released exosomes have been shown to transform their microenvironment through transfer of metastasis promoting molecular cargo. Cancer cell extracellular …

Understanding Primate Immunity To African Trypanosomes Through The Characterization Of Trypanosome Lytic Factor Formation And Function, Sara Fresard

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

African trypanosomes cause an annual loss of over 1 billion USD due to their economic and agricultural burden in Sub-Saharan Africa. These parasites are unicellular, extracellular parasites, that infect humans, cattle, and other livestock. Humans and some non-human primates are protected against most species of trypanosomes due to an innate immunity factor, Trypanosome Lytic Factor (TLF). This modified High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) contains two unique proteins, Haptoglobin Related Protein (HPR), a ligand to a trypanosome surface receptor, and Apolipoprotein-L1 (APOL1), the lytic component. Our overall goal is to use our understanding of primate immunity to create genetically modified cattle that …

Health Behaviors And Physical Health Among Young Adults With Varying Psychometric Schizotypy, Christopher Liong

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Schizophrenia has consistently been associated with increased rates of physical illness and early mortality. One explanation for this association might be poor health behaviors, as people with schizophrenia are more sedentary, less physically active, and more likely to engage in substance use compared to the general population. Schizotypy may be conceptualized as the phenotypic expression of increased risk for schizophrenia spectrum disorders, and dimensional models of schizotypy suggest that it varies on a continuum ranging from non-clinical (i.e. low schizotypy) to clinical (i.e. high schizotypy and dysfunction, as in schizophrenia). Though schizotypy and schizophrenia appear to share similar deficits and …

A Prospective Cohort Study Of Pregnancy Outcomes Following Antepartum Infection With Sars-Cov-2, James D Doss, Emily Diveley, Fan Zhang, Amy Scheffer, Ruizhi Huang, Daniel Jackson, Nandini Raghuraman, Ebony B Carter, Indira U Mysorekar, Jeannie C Kelly

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objectives: Our study aimed to explore the impact of COVID-19 infection on pregnancy outcomes, accounting for the progression of variants, vaccines, and treatment modalities.

Study design: We performed a prospective longitudinal cohort study at two urban tertiary centers enrolling patients with a confirmed intrauterine singleton pregnancy from December 23, 2020 to July 18, 2022. Patients were evaluated for SARS-CoV-2 infection at enrollment and every trimester using serum antibody testing. The primary outcome was preterm birth. Symptom and treatment data were collected from pregnant patients with COVID-19 infections. Variant strain infection status was determined from local wastewater analysis.

Results: 448 patients …

Update On The Diagnosis Of Tuberculosis, Irina Kontsevaya, Andrea Maurizio Cabibbe, Daniela Maria Cirillo, Andrew R Dinardo, Nicole Frahm, Stephen H Gillespie, David Holtzman, Lennard Meiwes, Elisa Petruccioli, Maja Reimann, Morten Ruhwald, Wilber Sabiiti, Francesca Saluzzo, Elisa Tagliani, Delia Goletti

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a global public health threat, and the development of rapid and precise diagnostic tools is the key to enabling the early start of treatment, monitoring response to treatment, and preventing the spread of the disease.

Objectives: An overview of recent progress in host- and pathogen-based TB diagnostics.

Sources: We conducted a PubMed search of recent relevant articles and guidelines on TB screening and diagnosis.

Content: An overview of currently used methods and perspectives in the following areas of TB diagnostics is provided: immune-based diagnostics, X-ray, clinical symptoms and scores, cough detection, culture of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and …

Potentially Functional Variants Of Chmp4a And Panx1 In The Pyroptosis-Related Pathway Predict Survival Of Patients With Non-Oropharyngeal Head And Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Xiaozhun Tang, Huiling Wang, Hongliang Liu, Guojun Li, Erich M Sturgis, Sanjay Shete, Qingyi Wei

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Pyroptosis has been implicated in the advancement of various cancers. Triggering pyroptosis within tumors amplifies the immune response, thereby fostering an antitumor immune environment. Nonetheless, few published studies have evaluated associations between functional variants in the pyroptosis-related genes and clinical outcomes of patients with non-oropharyngeal head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (NON-ORO HNSCC).

Methods: We conducted an association study of 985 NON-ORO HNSCC patients who were randomly divided into two groups: the discovery group of 492 patients and the replication group of 493 patients. We used Cox proportional hazards regression analysis to examine associations between genetic variants of the …

Tuberculosis Prevention: Current Strategies And Future Directions, Anca Vasiliu, Leonardo Martinez, Rishi K Gupta, Yohhei Hamada, Tara Ness, Alexander Kay, Maryline Bonnet, Martina Sester, Stefan H E Kaufmann, Christoph Lange, Anna M Mandalakas

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: An estimated one fourth of the world's population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and 5-10% of those infected develop tuberculosis in their lifetime. Preventing tuberculosis is one of the most underutilized but essential components of curtailing the tuberculosis epidemic. Moreover, current evidence illustrates that tuberculosis manifestations occur along a dynamic spectrum from infection to disease rather than a binary state as historically conceptualized. Elucidating determinants of transition between these states is crucial to decreasing the tuberculosis burden and reaching the END-TB Strategy goals as defined by the WHO. Vaccination, detection of infection, and provision of preventive treatment are key …

A Systematic Review And Expert Delphi Consensus Recommendation On The Use Of Vaccines In Patients Receiving Dupilumab: A Position Paper Of The American College Of Allergy, Asthma And Immunology, Jay A Lieberman, Derek K Chu, Tasnuva Ahmed, Timothy E Dribin, Elissa M Abrams, Aikaterini Anagnostou, Kimberly G Blumenthal, Mark Boguniewicz, Nicole M Chase, David B K Golden, Nicholas L Hartog, Jennifer R Heimall, Tina Ho, Monica G Lawrence, David A Khan, Timothy Dean Minniear, S Shahzad Mustafa, John J Oppenheimer, Elizabeth J Phillips, Allison Ramsey, Nicholas L Rider, Lynda Schneider, Marcus S Shaker, Jonathan M Spergel, Cosby A Stone, David R Stukus, Julie Wang, Matthew J Greenhawt

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Dupilumab is a monoclonal antibody that targets the interleukin (IL)-4 receptor alpha subunit, thus blocking the effects of IL-4 and IL-13, and has shown efficacy in treating various conditions including asthma, atopic dermatitis, eosinophilic esophagitis, and others. Because of its immune modulatory effects, clinical trials that studied dupilumab did not allow patients to receive live vaccines during the clinical trials because of an abundance of caution, and thus package inserts recommend that patients who are being treated with dupilumab should avoid live vaccines. Because dupilumab is now approved for use in patients from 6 months of age for the …