Digital Commons Network^™

Utilizing Procalcitonin As A Guide For Antibiotic Therapy In An Acute Care Setting, Kayla J. Thomas

DNP Projects

In 1928, Alexander Fleming introduced the world to Penicillin. The discovery of Penicillin, one of the world’s first antibiotics, greatly reduced the number of deaths from infections. More than 100 different types of antibiotics have been developed over the past ninety years, resulting in better treatment of diseases. However, the use and misuse of antibiotics have led to antibiotic resistance (AMR). Currently, antibiotic-resistant bacteria kill 700,000 people every year (Tarín-Pelló et al., 2022). Procalcitonin (PCT) is a biomarker that can be utilized in the guidance of antibiotic therapy. PCT levels tend to rise in response to bacterial infections but remain …

Qualitative Study Of Hiv-Related Stigma In The Dental Care Setting, Sania A. Pullen, Dr. Dina T. Garcia

UROP Posters

Objectives: People living with HIV (PLWH) are susceptible to developing a variety of oral conditions that if left untreated can lead to sore gums, painful chewing, and tooth loss as well as compromise HIV management and viral suppression. Despite the increased risk of developing oral conditions, it is estimated that up to 58% of PLH do not receive regular dental care. This study aimed to examine HIV-related stigma and discrimination in the dental care setting.

Methods: Adults living with HIV who receive care through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program at the VCU Infectious Disease (ID) clinic were recruited to participate. …

Development And Modeling Of An Innovative Microfluidic Paper-Based Analytical Device For Quantitative Elisa, Ashutosh Kumar

Open Access Dissertations

This work contributes to the burgeoning field of paper-based analytical devices, with a particular focus on advancing global health outcomes through the development of an innovative paper-based Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (p-ELISA) platform. At its core, this research seeks to address the critical need for accessible, efficient, and reliable diagnostic tools by leveraging the unique properties of paper as a substrate for fluid dynamics and biochemical reactions. The motivation behind this endeavor is the potential for such devices to significantly improve diagnostic capabilities, especially in resource-limited settings where traditional laboratory infrastructure is scarce.

The work is structured around a comprehensive exploration …

Developing Effective Physical And Chemical Adjuvants For Influenza And Tumor Vaccines, Yibo Li

Open Access Dissertations

An adjuvant is a pharmacological substance added to a vaccine to enhance the intensity, breadth and endurance of the immune responses. Traditional discovery and development of vaccine adjuvants mainly based on empirical experiences have been slow, but the situation has improved in the past two decades as more molecular mechanisms of vaccine adjuvants were revealed. Now it has been widely recognized that most adjuvants activate innate immune system by targeting pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) such as toll-like receptors (TLRs) to enhance adaptive immune responses. PRRs are proteins expressed mainly on innate immune cells, such as dendritic cells (DCs) and macrophages, …

The "New" Drug War, Jennifer D. Oliva, Taleed El-Sabawi

Articles by Maurer Faculty

American policymakers have long waged a costly, punitive, racist, and ineffective drug war that casts certain drug use as immoral and those who engage in it as deviant criminals. The War on Drugs has been defined by a myopic focus on controlling the supply of drugs that are labeled as dangerous and addictive. The decisions as to which drugs fall within these categories have neither been made by health agencies nor based on scientific evidence. Instead, law enforcement agencies have been at the helm of the drug war advocating for and enforcing prohibition.

The drug war has been a failure …

Three Essays On Externalities Of Energy And Agricultural Production, Taiwo Foluso Akinyemi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation consists of three essays exploring the externalities that arise from energy production and development in a developing country, Nigeria, and agricultural production in a developed nation, the United States (US). The research examines the benefits of energy development in terms of its impact on local wealth and the associated costs, including the health effects on communities living near energy production sites. Additionally, the dissertation analyzes the opportunity costs of policies aimed at preventing the relocation of nutrients, particularly nitrogen fertilizers, within the agricultural sector and their impact on the producer and consumer surplus.

The first essay examines the …

The Intellectual Structure Of Audit Committee Research: A Bibliometric Analysis (1969 – 2020), Joel Behrend, Marc Eulerich, David A. Wood

Faculty Publications

The audit committee is a widely recognized mechanism of effective corporate governance. We advance prior literature reviews by using bibliometric analysis techniques that comprehensively process large bodies of bibliometric information. We base inferences on citation patterns of 1,173 articles to identify concepts that “shine through” within the scientific understanding of audit committees. Using content analysis, we then analyze these concepts and explore existing interrelationships. We document a declining influence of audit committee research, as well as a widening gap between the quantitative and qualitative research camps. While the former is mostly derivative in nature, the latter produces innovative insights on …

Between Wages And Wellbeing: Examining The Role Of Employers In Increasing Covid-19 Vaccine Uptake In The State Of West Virginia, Nathaniel Udoh Godwin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) stretched public health systems globally, with millions of cases confirmed across all continents of the world. The United States health systems struggled as the country grappled with emerging variants of the virus, differing levels of vaccine acceptance, misinformation, and disparity in health outcomes. As COVID-19 vaccines emerged, the U.S. Government sought to bolster uptake through myriad measures, including announcing vaccine requirements for federal employees, which was met with mixed reactions. Accordingly, some employers and businesses adopted a “no jab, no job” policy, while others stopped short of mandates but encouraged and incentivized vaccine uptake …

Immunomodulation In Osteosarcoma: From Therapy To Diagnostics, Ryan Austin Lacinski

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a rare pediatric bone malignancy. Those who develop advanced disease, often in the form of metastasis to the lung, experience poor five-year survival rates near approximately 25%. Considering minimal-to-no therapeutic breakthroughs have occurred for treatment of this disease since the 1980s, efforts to develop new therapeutics are underway. The goal of this dissertation was to initiate the preclinical efforts necessary to reinvigorate the use of immunostimulatory cytokine therapy for the treatment of OS and other solid tumors. This effort would not only include the development of the immunotherapeutic known as IL12ns, but also the clinical diagnostic tools …

Under The Golden Arch: Permanent Neutrality And Authoritarian International Law In Turkmenistan, Madison Wall

Emory International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Spectral Approaches For Characterizing Heterogeneity In Infectious Disease Models, Seoyun Choe

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Heterogeneity, influenced by diverse factors such as age, gender, immunity, behavior, and spatial distribution, plays a critical role in the dynamics of infectious disease transmission. Discrete mathematical structures, including matrices and graphs, can offer effective tools for modeling the interactions among these diverse factors, resulting heterogeneous epidemiological models. This dissertation explores analytical approaches, specifically utilizing eigenvalues and eigenvectors of discrete structures, to characterize heterogeneity within mathematical models of infectious diseases. Theoretical results, along with numerical simulations, enhance our understanding of heterogeneous epidemiological processes and their significant implications for disease control strategies.

In this dissertation, we introduce a unified approach to …

A Paradoxical Tale: Sodium Taurocholate Counteracts Bactericidal Potency Of Silver-Modified Cerium Oxide Nanoparticle (Agcnp), A Sporicidal Disinfectant Against C. Difficile On Abiotic Surfaces, Deepa Shah

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

The nosocomial pathogen Clostridioides difficile colonizes the gut leading to antibiotic-associated diarrhea, and severe inflammation. C. difficile spores—the main agent of transmission—survive for months on contaminated surfaces. Common disinfecting agents such as bleach and peroxides are used to prevent this; however, these chemicals are highly corrosive, toxic and pose serious health concerns. Seeking to address the challenges posed by conventional disinfectants, our research tested the feasibility of redox-active, silver-modified cerium oxide nanoparticles (AgCNP) formulations as a safer alternative. We tested the efficacy of AgCNP in rich culture media on C. difficile NAP1, a known hypervirulent strain associated with hospital endemics, …

The Color Of Disease: Race Science, Pandemic Influenza, And The Rise Of Epidemiology In The Segregated South, Andrew Kishuni

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

This thesis evaluates the relationship between race science and eugenics, statistical epidemiology and Southern public health thought, African American health, and the 1918-1920 influenza pandemic. Historians have neglected the flu as an important epidemiological event in Southern history and historiography. To demonstrate the significance of the flu, this thesis makes several arguments based on research from new qualitative and quantitative evidence. The chief argument is that African Americans suffered disproportionately compared to whites in the South, challenging the consensus that the flu affected both races equally. Segregation did not protect African Americans from the flu. In some cases, African Americans …

Disease Footprints: Understanding Basic Pathophysiology, Jeff Vasiloff, Md, Mph

OHIO Open Faculty Textbooks

Basic pathophysiology explained by Jeffrey Vasiloff, MD, MPH, Associate Clinical Professor, PA Program; Adjunct Professor, PT Program, College of Health Sciences and Professions, Ohio University Dublin Medical Campus; Physician Consultant: Ohio Association of Physician Assistants; Physician Volunteer: Franklin County & Columbus Medical Reserve Corps; Board Certification: Internal Medicine & Diabetes and Endocrinology.

Molecular Study Of The Agr Gene In Multidrug-Resistant (Mdr) And Extensively Drug-Resistant (Xdr) In The S. Aureus, Mays Ali Salim, Estabraq Ali Maklef, Montaha Abdul-Karim Al-Saffar

Al-Esraa University College Journal for Medical Sciences

Staphylococcus aureus a gram-positive coccus and one of the most important opportunistic bacteria that can lead to nosocomial infections. The purpose of this study is to explore the distribution and prevalence of the Agr gene in multidrug-resistance (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) S. aureus. 62 isolates performed antibiotic sensitivity test. The isolates showed 66.12% resistance to clindamycin with MIC at range≥4, erythromycin 77.41% with MIC at range≥8, ciprofloxacin 19.35% with MIC at range≥4, oxacillin 75.80% with MIC at range≥4, cefoxitin 45.16% with MIC at range≥8, gentamycin 29.03% with MIC at range≥16, nitrofurantoin 14.51% and MIC at range≥128, and tetracycline …

Understanding Social Dynamics In Toxic Conversations And Public Health Intervention Acceptance On Social Media, Ana Aleksandric

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Social media is now central to daily life, offering users a space to share content and opinions. However, these platforms also facilitate the spread of hate speech and misinformation, which can negatively impact public health. This dissertation develops methodologies to analyze social media data for insights that could inform health interventions. The research first examines user responses to toxic content, focusing on behavioral and emotional reactions, as well as group dynamics and bystander effects in toxic interactions. Another key focus is public opinion toward health interventions, particularly COVID-19 vaccination, using geolocated posts and analyzing factors such as race, ethnicity, and …

Black Males’ Experiences Of Resilience: A Narrative Study On College Students Experiences During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Keshia R. Graham

Theses and Dissertations

Black men’s resilience has historically been discussed, interwoven, and disguised by deficit-based models rather than strength-based ones. The current study examined Black men's resilience using a strength-based model for Black male students in higher education institutions. Specifically, the experiences and resilience of Black men before and during the COVID-19 pandemic were explored. This study targeted Black male students from an urban institution, with the aim to find out what key elements supported their resilient behavior throughout the most challenging times in their college career. The African American Male Theory and Resiliency Theory used as the theoretical framework. A narrative methodology …

Lung-Delivered Il-10 Therapy Elicits Beneficial Effects Via Immune Modulation In Organic Dust Exposure-Induced Lung Inflammation, Aaron D. Schwab, Todd A. Wyatt, Amy J. Nelson, Angela Gleason, Rohit Gaurav, Debra J. Romberger, Jill A. Poole

Journal Articles: Pulmonary & Critical Care Med

Efficacious therapeutic options capable of resolving inflammatory lung disease associated with environmental and occupational exposures are lacking. This study sought to determine the preclinical therapeutic potential of lung-delivered recombinant interleukin (IL)-10 therapy following acute organic dust exposure in mice. Here, C57BL/6J mice were intratracheally instilled with swine confinement organic dust extract (ODE) (12.5%, 25%, 50% concentrations) with IL-10 (1 μg) treatment or vehicle control intratracheally-administered three times: 5 hr post-exposure and then daily for 2 days. The results showed that IL-10 treatment reduced ODE (25%)-induced weight loss by 66% and 46% at Day 1 and Day 2 post-exposure, respectively. IL-10 …

Microbial Profile And Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns Of Surgical Intra-Abdominal Infections At A Tertiary Hospital In Tanzania A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study, Abduel Julius Kitua

Master of Surgery

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Among infections of surgical importance, intra-abdominal infections prevail among the most common in surgical patients with considerable morbidity and mortality. The ever-rising microbial resistance to commonly available antibiotics and geographical variations in microbial profile and resistance patterns poses a challenge to the management of these surgical infections of abdominal origin. The aim of this study was to evaluate microbiological characteristics and antibiotic susceptibility of isolates from intra-abdominal infections at a tertiary hospital in Tanzania and how these influence early treatment outcomes.

A Pediatric Patient With Severe Malaria Successfully Treated With Artesunate, Aoife Schanche, Annabel Ward, Ricardo Zegarra-Linares

South Atlantic Division GME Research Day 2024

No abstract provided.

Discovery And Optimization Of A Family Of Naturally Encoded Antibiotic Compounds That Evade Antibiotic, Adam Rosenzweig

Student Theses and Dissertations

Antibacterial resistant infections are an ongoing global health emergency. To combat this,novel potent antibiotics with unique modes of action are required. The classic arsenal of antibiotics used in clinical settings are largely natural products discovered by bulk fermentation of bacterial species isolates that are then extracted and purified to yield a bioactive compound.Unfortunately, this discovery pipeline no longer produces novel molecules, thus new discovery methodologies are essential to continue to identify antibiotic clinical candidate molecules. In the modern era, coupling natural product discovery with sequencing technologies has proven to bean efficient and fruitful method of identifying secondary metabolite natural products …

Molecular Mechanisms Of Sensing And Synergy By Anti-Bacteriophage Immune Systems In Staphylococcus, Dalton Van Banh

Student Theses and Dissertations

Viruses parasitize every known life form on the planet for their propagation and spread. To deal with this constant assault, organisms across all domains of life have evolved immune strategies in the form of genetically encoded systems to defend themselves. Immunity can be conceptualized as occurring in three fundamental stages. First, the immune system must identify an invading pathogen— either directly via recognition of a pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP), or indirectly by sensing the perturbation of homeostasis during the process of infection ("guard hypothesis"). Second, this information must be converted into molecular signals to be transmitted to the appropriate compartment …

The Nanomechanics Of Protocadherin 15, A Protein Essential For Human Hearing, Camila M. Villasante

Student Theses and Dissertations

Mechanical force controls the opening and closing of mechanotransductive ion channels atop the hair bundles in the inner ear. A mechanical element called the gating spring modulates the mechanotransduction channel's open probability by changing the force transmitted to the channels. The molecular identity of the gating spring is yet unconfirmed, but a leading candidate is the filamentous tip link connecting the mechanotransduction channel to the tallest neighboring stereocilium. The tip link is essential to mechanotransduction: when it is broken, mechanotransduction is abolished, and when it is allowed to regenerate, mechanotransduction returns. Each tip link comprises four protein molecules: a dimer …

Human Inborn Errors Of Immunity: Tuberculosis, Autoimmunity, And Beyond, Masato Ogishi

Student Theses and Dissertations

Tuberculosis (TB), a multi-organ infectious disease caused by virulent mycobacteria, most predominantly M. tuberculosis, remains one of the deadliest infectious diseases in human history. Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine, first implemented medically in 1921, has remained the only available vaccine for TB, although its protective effect is moderate. TB occurs in 5-10% of individuals exposed to those pathogens, while 90-95% remain asymptomatic (i.e.,latent infection or spontaneous clearance). This surprisingly large inter-individual variability has long attracted the attention of human geneticists. Classical twin-based genetic studies have demonstrated the presence of a substantial genetic risk of developing TB disease between monozygotic twins. Later, …

A Case Study In Program Evaluation, Alyssa Osborne

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

As a result of a Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) outbreak at a local high school, the Lexington Fayette County Health Department (LFCHD) has been tasked with developing a program to ensure timely reporting of actions taken in the event of a MRSA outbreak or disease outbreak of similar nature (1). This program evaluation is guided by the CDC’s 6-step program evaluation framework (2), which was used to inform this assessment.

Vascular And Metabolic Consequences Of T Cell Aging, David J. Buckley

Kinesiology Dissertations - Archive

Aging is the major non-modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), which is the leading cause of death in the United States. Many common CVD are diseases of the arteries. Two major hallmarks of arterial aging are 1) increased large artery stiffness and 2) endothelial dysfunction which is characterized by impaired endothelium dependent vasodilation and blunted nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability. Importantly, these adverse alterations in the arteries occur prior to, and are predictors of the onset of overt CVD. Advancing age is also a non-modifiable risk factor for impaired glucose homeostasis and is directly or indirectly associated with almost every …

Optimal Control Frameworks For A Class Of Epidemiological And Oncological Models, Asma Ali H Alghamdi

Mathematics Dissertations - Archive

In this thesis, we employ optimal control frameworks in two distinct contexts: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and esophageal cancer. For HIV, we introduce a comprehensive data-driven nonlinear optimization framework designed for personalized therapies. This framework utilizes a deterministic in-host nonlinear ordinary differential equation (ODE) model and formulates two optimization problems using individual patient data. The first problem focuses on estimating patient-specific parameters through constrained optimization, while the second problem determines optimal combination therapies to reduce viral load to undetectable levels. Several numerical experiments suggest that our framework can provide a robust and effective optimal dosages with lower toxicity levels to …

Predictors Of Utilization Of Preventive Gynecologic Health Services Among Women Veterans, Jennifer Lynn Milore

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

As the number of women veterans in the United States increases, additional attention has been given to understanding their healthcare experiences within the Veterans Health Administration. However, much of the current literature exploring women veterans has been qualitative and little research has examined quantitative relationships between experiences in the VA healthcare system and gynecologic health behaviors and outcomes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate potential factors (health literacy, social problem-solving abilities, and perceived gender discrimination) that may predict gynecologic health behaviors in women veterans. This study included 145 anonymous participants. Participants completed screening questions and demographic and health …

Resilience Of Mental Health Services Amidst Ebola Disease Outbreaks In Africa, Frankline Sevidzem Wirsiy, Nancy B. Tahmo, Lambed Tatah, David Brett-Major

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

INTRODUCTION: Health systems including mental health (MH) systems are resilient if they protect human life and produce better health outcomes for all during disease outbreaks or epidemics like Ebola disease and their aftermaths. We explored the resilience of MH services amidst Ebola disease outbreaks in Africa; specifically, to (i) describe the pre-, during-, and post-Ebola disease outbreak MH systems in African countries that have experienced Ebola disease outbreaks, (ii) determine the prevalence of three high burden MH disorders and how those prevalences interact with Ebola disease outbreaks, and, (iii) describe the resilience of MH systems in the context of these …

The Critical Role Of Nac1 In Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Stemness And Immunosuppression, Chrispus Ngule

Theses and Dissertations--Toxicology and Cancer Biology

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a highly heterogeneous and the most lethal breast cancer (BC) subtype. We report here a new role of nucleus accumbens associated protein 1 (NAC1) in maintaining stemness signature and features of TNBC and controlling the status of myeloid-derived suppressor cells, which accounts for its role in tumor progression and metastasis. This report demonstrates increased NAC1 amplification in TNBC metastatic samples compared to nonmetastatic tissues. In vitro, NAC1 depletion in TNBC cells suppressed their proliferation, colony formation, migration, and invasion. In vivo, NAC1 knockdown in TNBC cells reduced tumorigenic ability, diminished tumor growth rate, and abolished …