Digital Commons Network^™

Longitudinal Survival Outcomes In Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation: An Institutional Experience., Justin Jiang, Audrey M Sigmund, Qiuhong Zhao, Patrick Elder, Don M Benson, Sumithira Vasu, Samantha Jaglowski, Alice Mims, Hannah Choe, Karilyn Larkin, Jonathan E Brammer, Sarah Wall, Nicole Grieselhuber, Ayman Saad, Sam Penza, Yvonne A Efebera, Nidhi Sharma

Oncology Articles

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) is a potentially curative treatment for many hematological disorders, but is often complicated by relapse of the underlying disease, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), and infectious complications. We conducted a retrospective analysis on patients undergoing allo-SCT from 1984 to 2018 to better understand how survival has changed longitudinally with therapeutic advancements made to mitigate these complications. Method: We analyzed data from 1943 consecutive patients who received allo-SCT. Patients were divided into groups (gps) based on the year (yr) of transplant. Primary endpoints were overall survival (OS), progression free survival (PFS), and GVHD-free relapse-free survival (GRFS). Secondary …

Tumor-Intrinsic Sirpa Promotes Sensitivity To Checkpoint Inhibition Immunotherapy In Melanoma, Zhicheng Zhou, Mei-Ju May Chen, Yikai Luo, Kamalika Mojumdar, Xin Peng, Hu Chen, Shweta V Kumar, Rehan Akbani, Yiling Lu, Han Liang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Checkpoint inhibition immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment, but many patients show resistance. Here we perform integrative transcriptomic and proteomic analyses on emerging immuno-oncology targets across multiple clinical cohorts of melanoma under anti-PD-1 treatment, on both bulk and single-cell levels. We reveal a surprising role of tumor-intrinsic SIRPA in enhancing antitumor immunity, in contrast to its well-established role as a major inhibitory immune modulator in macrophages. The loss of SIRPA expression is a marker of melanoma dedifferentiation, a key phenotype linked to immunotherapy efficacy. Inhibition of SIRPA in melanoma cells abrogates tumor killing by activated CD8+ T cells in a co-culture …

Physics-Informed Neural Networks For Informed Vaccine Distribution In Heterogeneously Mixed Populations, Alvan Arulandu, Padmanabhan Seshaiyer

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Metagenomics Next Generation Sequencing (Mngs): An Exciting Tool For Early And Accurate Diagnostic Of Fungal Pathogens In Plants, Fatma Seyma Gökdemir, Özlem Darcansoy Iseri, Abhishek Sharma, Premila Achar, Füsun Eyidogan

Faculty Articles

Crop output is directly impacted by infections, with fungi as the major plant pathogens, making accurate diagnosis of these threats crucial. Developing technology and multidisciplinary approaches are turning to genomic analyses in addition to traditional culture methods in diagnostics of fungal plant pathogens. The metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) method is preferred for genotyping identification of organisms, identification at the species level, illumination of metabolic pathways, and determination of microbiota. Moreover, the data obtained so far show that this new approach is promising as an emerging new trend in fungal disease detection. Another approach covered by mNGS technologies, known as metabarcoding, …

On Analysis Of Effectiveness Controlling Covid-19 With Quarantine And Vaccination Compartments In Indonesia, Prihantini Prihantini

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Modeling The Impact Of Hospitalization On The Death Rate Of An Ebola Outbreak, Erin N. Bodine, Jana V. Turner

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Dynamics Of A Diffusive Vaccination Model With Therapeutic Impact And Non-Linear Incidence Rates, Md Shahriar Mahmud

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Covid-19 And Challenges To The Classical Theory Of Epidemics, Simon Levin

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

High-Temporal Resolution Profiling Reveals Distinct Immune Trajectories Following The First And Second Doses Of Covid-19 Mrna Vaccines., Darawan Rinchai, Sara Deola, Gabriele Zoppoli, Basirudeen Syed Ahamed Kabeer, Sara Taleb, Igor Pavlovski, Selma Maacha, Giusy Gentilcore, Mohammed Toufiq, Lisa Mathew, Li Liu, Fazulur Rehaman Vempalli, Ghada Mubarak, Stephan Lorenz, Irene Sivieri, Gabriella Cirmena, Chiara Dentone, Paola Cuccarolo, Daniele Roberto Giacobbe, Federico Baldi, Alberto Garbarino, Benedetta Cigolini, Paolo Cremonesi, Michele Bedognetti, Alberto Ballestrero, Matteo Bassetti, Boris P Hejblum, Tracy Augustine, Nicholas Van Panhuys, Rodolphe Thiebaut, Ricardo Branco, Tracey Chew, Maryam Shojaei, Kirsty Short, Carl G Feng, Predict-19 Consortium, Susu M Zughaier, Andrea De Maria, Benjamin Tang, Ali Ait Hssain, Davide Bedognetti, Jean-Charles Grivel, Damien Chaussabel

Faculty Research 2022

Knowledge of the mechanisms underpinning the development of protective immunity conferred by mRNA vaccines is fragmentary. Here, we investigated responses to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mRNA vaccination via high-temporal resolution blood transcriptome profiling. The first vaccine dose elicited modest interferon and adaptive immune responses, which peaked on days 2 and 5, respectively. The second vaccine dose, in contrast, elicited sharp day 1 interferon, inflammation, and erythroid cell responses, followed by a day 5 plasmablast response. Both post-first and post-second dose interferon signatures were associated with the subsequent development of antibody responses. Yet, we observed distinct interferon response patterns after each …

Understanding The Behavior, Challenges, And Privacy Risks In Digital Technology Use By Nursing Professionals, Ankit Shrestha, Danielle M. Graham, Prakriti Dumaru, Rizu Paudel, Kristin A. Searle, Mahdi Nasrullah Al-Ameen

Computer Science Student Research

With the growing adoption of digital technology in healthcare organizations, it is important to understand nursing professionals’ behavior and challenges, and the corresponding privacy implications around digital technology use. To this end, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 21 participants (16 nursing professionals, and five nursing faculties) in the USA. In our study with nursing professionals, we explored how they used digital technology and protected sensitive health data at their workplace. We investigated their understanding of privacy breaches and possible consequences, the challenges they encountered to maintaining privacy, and their workarounds to deal with such issues. We looked into the support …

Sindh: Floods And Rural Economy - Part 2, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

On top of the adverse global and national developments in a post-pandemic world, Sindh and Balochistan got severely hit by extraordinary torrential rains in a short interval of time. During this time, the average rainfall received was 1100 mm — five times the normal. According to the Sindh chief minister, flooding from Balochistan amounted to 120 maf of flood water equivalent to the capacity of multiple Tarbela Dams. The dysfunctional or nonexistent drainage system contributed to the miseries of the people as large swathes of land on both the left and right bank are still inundated. The upcoming wheat cultivation …

Evaluating The Effect Of Public Health Governance Structure And Public Opinion On Covid-19 Disease Control Interventions, Daniel Chacreton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Background

Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, the responses to the pandemic varied greatly from nation to nation. In the US, state-level variance in responses has likely contributed to the disparate COVID-19 infection-related state-level outcomes such as incidence and case fatality rates. The large variances in national and sub-national responses to COVID-19 when combined with the abundance of factors that influence disease transmission rates has created a number of important research opportunities.

Methods

In this vain, this research study aims to describe the relationship that exists between public health governance structure and public sentiment and COVID-19 control measure effectiveness …

Exploring Stakeholders' Experiences And Perceptions Regarding Barriers To Effective Surveillance Of Communicable Diseases In A Rural District Of Pakistan: A Qualitative Study, Imran Naeem Abbasi, Sameen Siddiqi, Mmna Rehana Sididiqui, Rumina Hasan

Community Health Sciences

Objective: To explore the experiences and perceptions of health system stakeholders of a rural district of Sindh, Pakistan regarding the barriers to effective surveillance of communicable diseases.
Design: This qualitative descriptive exploratory design comprised in-depth interviews. Both inductive and deductive thematic analysis was applied to identify key themes from the data.
Settings: The study was conducted in public sector healthcare facilities and the district health office of the rural district of Thatta, in Sindh province, Pakistan.
Participants: Fifteen healthcare managers and healthcare providers working in the eight public sector primary and secondary healthcare facilities were interviewed using an open-ended in-depth …

Narrowband Ultraviolet B Response In Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma Is Characterized By Increased Bacterial Diversity And Reduced Staphylococcus Aureus And Staphylococcus Lugdunensis, Madeline J. Hooper, Gail L. Enriquez, Francesca L. Veon, Tessa M. Lewitt, Dagmar Sweeney, Stefan J. Green, Patrick C. Seed, Jaehyuk Choi, Joan Guitart, Michael B. Burns, Xiaolong A. Zhou

Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Skin microbiota have been linked to disease activity in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). As the skin microbiome has been shown to change after exposure to narrowband ultraviolet B (nbUVB) phototherapy, a common treatment modality used for CTCL, we performed a longitudinal analysis of the skin microbiome in CTCL patients treated with nbUVB. 16S V4 rRNA gene amplicon sequencing for genus-level taxonomic resolution, tuf2 amplicon next generation sequencing for staphylococcal speciation, and bioinformatics were performed on DNA extracted from skin swabs taken from lesional and non-lesional skin of 25 CTCL patients receiving nbUVB and 15 CTCL patients not receiving nbUVB from …

Clinical And In Vitro Evidence Favoring Immunoglobulin Treatment Of A Chronic Norovirus Infection In A Patient With Common Variable Immunodeficiency, Jeroen J A Van Kampen, Virgil A S H Dalm, Pieter L A Fraaij, Bas B Oude Munnink, Claudia M E Schapendonk, Ray W Izquierdo-Lara, Nele Villabruna, Khalil Ettayebi, Mary K Estes, Marion P G Koopmans, Miranda De Graaf

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Immunocompromised individuals can become chronically infected with norovirus, but effective antiviral therapies are not yet available.

METHODS: Treatments with nitazoxanide, ribavirin, interferon alpha-2a, and nasoduodenally administered immunoglobulins were evaluated sequentially in an immunocompromised patient chronically infected with norovirus. In support, these components were also applied to measure norovirus inhibition in intestinal enteroid cultures in vitro. Viral RNA levels were determined in fecal and plasma samples during each treatment and viral genomes were sequenced.

RESULTS: None of the antivirals resulted in a reduction of viral RNA levels in feces or plasma. However, during ribavirin treatment, there was an increased accumulation …

Repeated Out-Of-Africa Expansions Of Helicobacter Pylori Driven By Replacement Of Deleterious Mutations, Harry A Thorpe, Elise Tourrette, Koji Yahara, Filipa F Vale, Siqi Liu, Mónica Oleastro, Teresa Alarcon, Tsachi-Tsadok Perets, Saeid Latifi-Navid, Yoshio Yamaoka, Beatriz Martinez-Gonzalez, Ioannis Karayiannis, Timokratis Karamitros, Dionyssios N Sgouras, Wael Elamin, Ben Pascoe, Samuel K Sheppard, Jukka Ronkainen, Pertti Aro, Lars Engstrand, Lars Agreus, Sebastian Suerbaum, Kaisa Thorell, Daniel Falush

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Helicobacter pylori lives in the human stomach and has a population structure resembling that of its host. However, H. pylori from Europe and the Middle East trace substantially more ancestry from modern African populations than the humans that carry them. Here, we use a collection of Afro-Eurasian H. pylori genomes to show that this African ancestry is due to at least three distinct admixture events. H. pylori from East Asia, which have undergone little admixture, have accumulated many more non-synonymous mutations than African strains. European and Middle Eastern bacteria have elevated African ancestry at the sites of these mutations, implying …

Imprinted Antibody Responses Against Sars-Cov-2 Omicron Sublineages, Young-Jun Park, Zhuoming Liu, Javier Janer, Sean P J Whelan, Herbert W Virgin, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron sublineages carry distinct spike mutations resulting in escape from antibodies induced by previous infection or vaccination. We show that hybrid immunity or vaccine boosters elicit plasma-neutralizing antibodies against Omicron BA.1, BA.2, BA.2.12.1, and BA.4/5, and that breakthrough infections, but not vaccination alone, induce neutralizing antibodies in the nasal mucosa. Consistent with immunological imprinting, most antibodies derived from memory B cells or plasma cells of Omicron breakthrough cases cross-react with the Wuhan-Hu-1, BA.1, BA.2, and BA.4/5 receptor-binding domains, whereas Omicron primary infections elicit B cells of narrow specificity up to 6 months after …

Impact Of Covid-19 Lockdown On Smoking (Waterpipe And Cigarette) And Participants' Bmi Across Various Sociodemographic Groups In Arab Countries In The Mediterranean Region, Haleama Al Sabbah, Enas Assaf, Zainab Taha, Radwan Qasrawi, Leila Cheikh Ismail, Ayesha Al Dhaheri, Maha Hoteit, Ayoub Al-Jawaldeh, Reema Tayyem, Hiba Bawadi, Majid Alkhalaf, Khlood Bookari, Iman Kamel, Somaia Dashti, Sabika Allehdan, Mostafa Waly, Diala Abu Al-Halawa, Rania Mansour, Mohammed Ibrahim, Mariam Al-Mannai

All Works

INTRODUCTION Tobacco smokers are at high risk of developing severe COVID-19. Lockdown was a chosen strategy to deal with the spread of infectious diseases; nonetheless, it influenced people's eating and smoking behaviors. The main objective of this study is to determine the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on smoking (waterpipe and cigarette) behavior and its associations with sociodemographic characteristics and body mass index. METHODS The data were derived from a large-scale retrospective cross-sectional study using a validated online international survey from 38 countries (n=37207) conducted between 17 April and 25 June 2020. The Eastern Mediterranean Region (WHO-EMR countries) data related …

Unraveling The Complex Interactions Between Members Of The Schistosoma Haematobium Group And Bulinus Snails In And Around Lake Victoria In West Kenya, Caitlin Raiselle Babbitt

Biology ETDs

Schistosoma haematobium, the agent of urogenital schistosomiasis, and related schistosomes are transmitted by members of the genus Bulinus. Each of the 38 Bulinus species vary in their ability to vector schistosome species and non-schistosome trematodes resulting in a patchwork of snail-parasite compatibilities. Accurately identifying snail intermediate hosts and the disease-causing parasites they transmit is critical for snail control strategies and the management of human schistosomiasis. Towards these ends, this thesis identifies bulinid species and the parasites they transmit and implicates certain species in the transmission of S. haematobium. The thesis also includes a systematic review of methods …

Longitudinal Shotgun Metagenomic Analysis Of The Vaginal Microbiome During The Onset Of Bacterial Vaginosis, John W. Lammons, Jacob H. Elnaggar, Evelyn Toh, Amy Dong

Dr. Joseph M. Moerschbaecher, III Graduate Research Day

No abstract provided.

Is Lactobacillus Phage Involved In The Pathogenesis Of Bacterial Vaginosis?, Jacob H. Elnaggar, Evelyn Toh, Amy Dong, John W. Lammons

Dr. Joseph M. Moerschbaecher, III Graduate Research Day

No abstract provided.

Whistleblowing As An Anti-Corruption Strategy In Health And Pharmaceutical Organizations: A Scoping Review Protocol., Taryn Vian, Brianna Agnew Mph, Keith Mcinnes Jr

Nursing and Health Professions Faculty Research and Publications

Background

Whistleblowing can bring suspected wrongdoing to the attention of someone who is in the position to rectify the problem. Whistleblowing research can help improve effectiveness of anti-corruption efforts in the health sector.

Objective

The objective of this scoping review is to understand the extent and type of evidence on whistleblowing as an anti-corruption strategy in health and pharmaceutical organizations in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Methods

This scoping review searched the PubMed, Scopus, and EMBASE databases from 2005 to 2020, limited to English language. We also searched websites of multilateral agencies or international non-governmental organizations for policy documents, guidance …

Rickettsia Parkeri Infection Modulates The Sialome And Ovariome Of The Gulf Coast Tick, Amblyomma Maculatum, Melina Garcia Guizzo, Khemraj Budachetri, Abdulsalam Adegoke, Jose M.C. Ribeiro, Shahid Karim

Faculty Publications

The Gulf Coast tick, Amblyomma maculatum, is a vector of several tick-borne pathogens, including Rickettsia parkeri. The ability of R. parkeri to persist within the tick population through transovarial and transstadial transmission, without apparently harming the ticks, contributes to the pathogen’s perpetuation in the tick population. Previous studies have shown that the R. parkeri load in A. maculatum is regulated by the tick tissues’ oxidant/antioxidant balance and the non-pathogenic tick microbiome. To obtain further insights into the interaction between tick and pathogen, we performed a bulk RNA-Seq for differential transcriptomic analysis of ovaries and salivary …

Effective Medical Waste Management For Sustainable Green Healthcare, Sang M. Lee, Donhee Lee

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

This study examines the importance of medical waste management activities for developing a sustainable green healthcare environment. This study applied a multiple methodological approach as follows. A thorough review of the literature was performed to delineate the factors that have been explored for reducing medical waste; hospital staff who handle medical waste were surveyed to obtain their opinions on these factors; the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was applied to determine the priorities among the identified key factors; and experts’ opinions were consulted to assess the actual applicability of the results derived by the AHP. The study identified the following factors …

Cervical Necrotizing Fasciitis And Shock In The Post-Operative Pediatric Patient, Paul Bryan Hankey, Jason R. Brown

Student Publications

Cervical necrotizing fasciitis (CNF) is a rare infection that can quickly lead to devastating patient outcomes. Considering the vital importance of surrounding neck structures, rapid control of the infection is essential. Infection is most frequently polymicrobial and occurs in the adult patient in the context of certain medical comorbidities. Complications are typically limited to tissue destruction in the form of necrosis. There are no current reports describing CNF complicated by acute shock in the post-operative pediatric patient. Here, we present a pediatric case of CNF complicated by acute shock following Sistrunk procedure for removal of a supposed thyroglossal duct cyst. …

Simultaneous Onset Of Haematological Malignancy And Covid: An Epicovideha Survey, Chiara Cattaneo, Jon Salmanton-García, Francesco Marchesi, Shaimaa El-Ashwah, Federico Itri, Barbora Weinbergerová, Maria Gomes Da Silva, Michelina Dargenio, Julio Dávila-Valls, Natasha Ali

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Background: The outcome of patients with simultaneous diagnosis of haematological malignancies (HM) and COVID-19 is unknown and there are no specific treatment guidelines.
Methods: We describe the clinical features and outcome of a cohort of 450 patients with simultaneous diagnosis of HM and COVID-19 registered in the EPICOVIDEHA registry between March 2020 to February 2022.
Results: Acute leukaemia and lymphoma were the most frequent HM (35.8% and 35.1%, respectively). Overall, 343 (76.2%) patients received treatment for HM, which was delayed for longer than one month since diagnosis in 57 (16.6%). An overall response rate was observed in 140 (40.8%) patients …

Persistence Of Onchocerciasis In Villages In Enugu And Ogun States In Nigeria Following Many Rounds Of Mass Distribution Of Ivermectin, Uwem F Ekpo, Obiora A Eneanya, Edith N Nwankwo, Islamiat Y Soneye, Gary J Weil, Peter U Fischer, Obioma C Nwaorgu

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Onchocerciasis is endemic in most local government areas (LGAs) in Enugu and Ogun states. Most meso- and hyper-endemic LGAs have received many rounds of ivermectin mass drug administration (MDA). This study aimed to determine the current prevalence of onchocerciasis in villages in Enugu and Ogun states that were formerly highly endemic and to assess progress toward elimination of the infection in areas believed to be at high risk for persistence.

METHODS: Cross-sectional community surveys were conducted 8 to 12 months after the last round of MDA in 16 villages (6 in Enugu state and 10 in Ogun state) in …

Frosted Branch Angiitis Presenting After A Sars-Cov-2 Infection., Akhila Alapati, Nathaniel Cameron, Sean Gratton, Erin Stahl, Mary Champion

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

PURPOSE: To report a case of frosted branch angiitis presenting in a pediatric patient with unremarkable laboratory work-up apart from SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies.

OBSERVATIONS: Less than four weeks after a SARS-CoV-2 infection, a 10 year-old female presented to the emergency department with severe headache and intermittent fevers. During her hospital admission, the ophthalmology service was consulted for blurry vision. Subsequent eye examination revealed frosted branch angiitis. The patient initially received intravenous corticosteroids but was escalated to plasmapheresis to achieve resolution of her symptoms. Outpatient maintenance therapy consisted of an oral Prednisone taper and Infliximab infusion.

CONCLUSION AND IMPORTANCE: This case …

Sars-Cov-2 Spike Conformation Determines Plasma Neutralizing Activity Elicited By A Wide Panel Of Human Vaccines, John E. Bowen, Young-Jun Park, Cameron Stewart, Jack T. Brown, William K. Sharkey, Alexandra C. Walls, Anshu Joshi, Kumail Ahmed, Asefa Shariq, Najeeha Talat Iqbal

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Numerous safe and effective coronavirus disease 2019 vaccines have been developed worldwide that use various delivery technologies and engineering strategies. We show here that vaccines containing prefusion-stabilizing S mutations elicit antibody responses in humans with enhanced recognition of S and the S1 subunit relative to postfusion S as compared with vaccines lacking these mutations or natural infection. Prefusion S and S1 antibody binding titers positively and equivalently correlated with neutralizing activity, and depletion of S1-directed antibodies completely abrogated plasma neutralizing activity. We show that neutralizing activity is almost entirely directed to the S1 subunit and that variant cross-neutralization is mediated …

Fungal Peritonitis Secondary To Aspergillosis In A Peritoneal Dialysis Patient, Carl Tanba, Nahar Saleh

Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives

Fungal peritonitis remains a serious complication of peritoneal dialysis that carries a high morbidity and mortality. Most cases of fungal infections are due to Candida species; however few cases are seen in the setting of non-Candida such Aspergillus, Fusarium, and Mucor. Prompt peritoneal dialysis catheter removal and early anti-fungal treatment have been considered as best strategies to improve survival.

We present a rare case of a 27-year-old male with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis on peritoneal dialysis (PD) presented to the hospital recurrent episodes of abdominal pain, diarrhea, and cloudy output from his peritoneal catheter. He was found to have fungal …