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Understanding Factors That Impact Health Behaviors And Access To Healthcare Among Youth Experiencing Homelessness, Kathryn Rosales Gallardo

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Youth experiencing homelessness (YEH) have a high risk of adverse health outcomes and their utilization of healthcare services is low. This dissertation aims to further understand factors that impact YEH’s health behaviors and access to healthcare services. This dissertation is in the form of three manuscripts that each contribute to the overall aim. In manuscript 1, we examined the rates and correlates of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination initiation and completion among a sample of YEH in seven U.S. cities using logistic regression models. We found that HPV vaccination completion is low among male (19%) and female (37%) YEH. Among male …

Trends In Injection Drug Use In Texas Treatment Facility Admissions, Cara Dahlhausen

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

This is a serial cross-sectional secondary analysis of drug treatment admissions records from the TEDS-A from years 2013-2017. The prevalence of injected drug use was calculated for each year and analyzed across the five-year period using a chi-square test to determine the presence of significant change in injection drug use from 2013 to 2017. Prevalence of injection drug use also will be calculated for each year by drug type (heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine), age, sex, ethnicity and race, and will be analyzed for trends using a chi-square test.

Exploration Of Breastfeeding As A Protective Factor For Breast Cancer In South African Women: A Nested Case-Control Study, Booker S. Quiera

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Background. South African’s (SA) breast cancer incidence rate is continually increasing (39 per 100,000 (2012) versus 46.2 per 100,000 (2018) with trends towards later-stage diagnosis. In previous literature, breastfeeding has been assessed as a protective factor for breast cancer; however, the SA population experiences inconsistent breastfeeding trends, rates, and support services. Therefore, this study will evaluate the inverse association between breast cancer and breastfeeding history. Methods. Cases (breast cancer) and controls (mastalgia) were matched 1:1 on clinical visit from May-August 2019 at Groote Schuur Hospital (GSH) in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. Breastfeeding history, breast carcinoma diagnosis, and clinically …

Exploration Of Breastfeeding As A Protective Factor For Breast Cancer In South African Women: A Nested Case-Control Study, Quiera S. Booker

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

South African’s (SA) breast cancer incidence rate is continually increasing (39 per 100,000 (2012) versus 46.2 per 100,000 (2018) with trends towards later-stage diagnosis. In previous literature, breastfeeding has been assessed as a protective factor for breast cancer; however, the SA population experiences inconsistent breastfeeding trends, rates, and support services. Therefore, this study will evaluate the inverse association between breast cancer and breastfeeding history. Methods. Cases (breast cancer) and controls (mastalgia) were matched 1:1 on clinical visit from May-August 2019 at Groote Schuur Hospital (GSH) in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. Breastfeeding history, breast carcinoma diagnosis, and clinically relevant …

Impact Of Domestic Animals On Prevalence Of Vector-Borne Diseases In Humans, Md Mondal Hasan Zahid

Mathematics Dissertations - Archive

Vector-borne infectious diseases are one of the leading problems for public health worldwide, particularly in underdeveloped and developing countries. These diseases infect humans through the bite of infected vectors. The effect of host diversity on disease persistence, well studied in ecological literature, is examined here in a domestic setting. Some additional hosts dilute infection, while others amplify certain disease infections. Domestic animals can play an important role, as an additional host, in the disease dynamics by affecting host-pathogen interactions. However, the effect of additional hosts is not always straightforward since their presence impacts negatively by helping the vector population grow …

Battlefield Of Bandages: A Case Study On Sanitation Policy, Medical Reform, And Disease Prevention During The War Of Rebellion, Ashley L. Simpson

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The American Civil War was a devastating conflict costing over 750,000 lives and millions of dollars in the aftermath. However, the most urgent threat was not musket balls, cannons or grapeshot. Afflictions such as typhoid fever, malaria, smallpox, measles, pneumonia, and diarrhea contracted from crowded, unsanitary camp and hospital conditions were responsible for two-thirds of all Civil War casualties. In April 1861, a group of Union women met at church to organize a relief agency whose goal was to aid the thousands of Union soldiers dying from disease. Armed with enlightenment ideas about medical care and sanitation, the Women's Central …

Anosmia And Ageusia As The Only Indicators Of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19), Qian Zhang, Khine S. Shan, Shahrzad Abdollahi, Travis C. Nace

Abington Jefferson Health Papers

The patient is a 60-year-old woman with a history of vertigo and seasonal allergies who presented to the hospital with the chief complaint of headache. Radiological findings were negative for intracranial abnormalities. The headache was due to trigeminal neuralgia. She had concurrent complaints of anosmia and ageusia without fever, respiratory symptoms, or obvious risk factors. However, it was determined to test the patient for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection despite extremely low clinical suspicion. Unfortunately, she was found to be COVID-19 positive after she was discharged from the hospital while she remained asymptomatic. There is currently a lack of published …

Service Learning In Bolgatanga, Ghana: Women’S Health Teaching —Empowering School-Aged Girls In An Underdeveloped Nation—, Margaret Temofeew

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this service learning experience, I noticed cultural, economic, and educational barriers to menstrual hygiene in Bolgatanga, Ghana. These barriers affect the health and education of school-aged girls in Bolgatanga.

The Implementation Of A Respiratory Syncytial Virus Prevention And Awareness Pamphlet In The Daycare Setting, Kaylie Marie Humphreys

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is the number one cause of bronchiolitis in children under five years of age and regretfully the number one cause of hospitalization in the first year of life. RSV leads to over three million hospitalizations, two million outpatient visits, and 200,000 deaths in the pediatric population globally each year. While no vaccine is currently available to prevent the spread of RSV, efforts must be shown in spreading awareness of strategies utilized in infection prevention such as hand hygiene and properly covering a cough or sneeze.

This project aimed to present this education to a target population …

Biophysical Characterization Of Protein-Nanoparticle Interactions, Yasiru Randika Perera

Theses and Dissertations

Nanoparticles (NPs) have become a key tool in medicine and biotechnology; as drug delivery systems, biosensors, and diagnostic devices. However, the mechanism of biocorona formation on nanoparticle surfaces and their impact on drug delivery remains speculative. Nevertheless, functionalized nanoparticles have demonstrated major success in medical applications; having been shown to effectively treat disease. The mechanistic details of protein behavior on nanoparticle surfaces remain poorly understood to date; due to difficulty in determining the orientation and structure of protein on NPs. Furthermore, surface crowding, orientation, and degree of disorder have been shown to perturb the efficacy of protein on NPs; dramatically …

The Presence Of Legionellae In Respiratory Devices: Convenience Sampling Of Idaho Long Term Care Facilities, Andrew Nutting

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Legionella is a bacterium found naturally in moist environments. Persons can become infected when they inhale airborne droplets of water containing such bacteria. Legionellosis cases associated with the use of respiratory devices such as Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) units, jet nebulizers, portable room humidifiers, and respiratory ventilation equipment have been identified in context of a Legionellosis outbreak. However, a systematic search for the presence of Legionella bacteria in respiratory devices outside of a Legionellosis outbreak has not been reported. The goal of this study was to carry out such a survey on different types of respiratory devices in long …

Severe Covid 19 Case With Atypical Presentation, Collin Richards, Raef Fadel, Odaliz Abreu-Lanfranco, Indira Brar, Geehan Suleyman

MERF 2020 - Case Reports

Introduction: COVID-19 was brought to the attention of the WHO on December 31st, 2019 and classified a global pandemic on March 11th. As of March 26th, there were 2,856 cases and 60 deaths in Michigan, with 851 cases and 15 deaths in Detroit. Efforts to characterize risk factors for severe disease may improve clinical outcomes and inform resource allocation. Better understanding of the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 are essential to slowing transmission and treating patients. Below we detail the clinical features of a COVID-19 positive patient seen in early March, 2020.

Case Report: An 80-year-old female presented to …

Atypical Presentation Of Covid-19 Causing Rhabdomyolysis: A Case Report, Gulmohar Singh-Kucukarslan, Danielle Heidemann

MERF 2020 - Case Reports

An otherwise healthy 42-year-old male presented with lower back pain and thigh pain. On presentation, he was found to have a CPK of 4100 and a creatinine of 2.99 (baseline 1). Lumbar x-ray was negative for an acute process. Urine drug screen was negative. However, repeat CPK revealed a CPK of 313,000 and a creatinine of 4.11. Upon further questioning, the patient denied any sort of trauma or injury. Given concern for crackles that were heard on exam, chest x-ray was completed and revealed multifocal opacities. The patient denied any sort of respiratory symptoms, however given that the patient presented …

A Unique Presentation Of Cryptococcus Neoformans And Pneumocystis Jirovecii Pjp ) Co Infection In A Newly Diagnosed Hiv Patient, Zain Tariq, Shereen Zia, Daniel Schultz, Indira Brar, Robert J. Tibbetts

MERF 2020 - Case Reports

One week prior to demise, a 30 years old smoker male with a past medical history significant for intermittent asthma presented to emergency with shortness of breath, wheezing, productive cough, and generalized fatigue for 1 week. He was afebrile, normotensive, tachycardic and had O2 saturation of 96% on room air. Physical examination showed cachexia, audible wheezes and oropharyngeal erythema. Labs showed WBC 3600/uL with lymphocyte count of 700/uL and mild thrombocytopenia. Chest X ray was clear. Serology was reactive for HIV, pending viral load. Working diagnosis was asthma exacerbation in the setting of a possible viral infection for which he …

An Unusual Case Of Urban Actinomyces Pyogenes Infective Endocarditis, Maher Musleh, Anita Ukani, Zain Tariq, Erica Herc

MERF 2020 - Case Reports

Actinomyces pyogenes is a gram positive bacillus known to cause pyogenic infections in animals with rare reports in humans with farm animal exposure. A 52-year-old male who was an active injection drug user presented to the emergency department with right-sided weakness, expressive aphasia, and altered mental status. He was found to be tachycardic and febrile. The patient was admitted two weeks prior for bilateral pneumonia and blood cultures grew Actinomyces pyogenes. Infectious Diseases was not consulted during that admission. On this admission, CT head showed a large left MCA ischemic stroke. Further imaging was concerning for septic emboli to the …

Pandemic Emergency Department Triage Screening: Symptoms Increase Sensitivity, Aaron Sherwood, Tessa Lewitt, Raef Fadel, Joseph B. Miller, Geehan Suleyman, Odaliz Abreu-Lanfranco, Indira Brar

MERF 2020 - Case Reports

INTRODUCTION: In the weeks following the January 20, 2020, announcement of the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the United States, valuable data was published on the clinical characteristics, including the most common presenting symptoms of individuals affected with the disease. One study in Wuhan, China, identified fever (43.8% on admission and 88.7% during hospitalization) and cough (67.8%) as common symptoms. A second study in Washington State identified shortness of breath as an initial symptom in 76% of patients. This case highlights the importance of rapid incorporation of updated data on the symptomatology of diseases into triage screening questionnaires during …

Rituximab-Induced Procalcitonin Elevation, Zachery Bauer, Junior Uduman

MERF 2020 - Case Reports

Procalcitonin has been studied as a marker of bacterial lung infection. It frequently guides clinical practice and antibiotic management. However, procalcitonin is known to have false positive results in certain scenarios. This case describes an 86 year old African American woman with mantle cell lymphoma who presented with acute on chronic dyspnea. Diagnostic tests found a white blood cell count of 632 k/uL (95% lymphocytes) and procalcitonin of 1.29 ng/mL. Computed tomography of the chest demonstrated a right lung consolidation and hilar lymphadenopathy. She was treated empirically for pneumonia with ceftriaxone and azithromycin. Additionally, she received induction chemotherapy with rituximab …

Magnetic Field–Driven Assembly And Reconfiguration Of Multicomponent Supraparticles, A. Al Harraq, J. G. Lee, B. Bharti

Faculty Publications

Suprastructures at the colloidal scale must be assembled with precise control over local interactions to accurately mimic biological complexes. The toughest design requirements include breaking the symmetry of assembly in a simple and reversible fashion to unlock functions and properties so far limited to living matter. We demonstrate a simple experimental technique to program magnetic field–induced interactions between metallodielectric patchy particles and isotropic, nonmagnetic “satellite” particles. By controlling the connectivity, composition, and distribution of building blocks, we show the assembly of three-dimensional, multicomponent supraparticles that can dynamically reconfigure in response to change in external field strength. The local arrangement of …

Protective Clothes And Equipment For Healthcare Workers To Prevent Them Catching Coronavirus And Other Highly Infectious Diseases

Saudi Medical Journal

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Dual Schistosome Infection Prevalence From Urine In An Endemic Community Of Ghana By Molecular Diagnostic Approach, William K. Anyan, Brittany R. Pulkkila, Clare E. Dyra, Miriam Price, Jean M. Naples, Joseph Quartey, Abraham K. Anang, Nilanjan Lodh

Clinical Lab Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Schistosomiasis is an important Neglected Tropical Disease caused by blood parasites called schistosomes. In sub-Saharan Africa, two major human schistosomes, namely Schistosoma mansoni and S. haematobium, often occur sympatrically and is responsible for almost 90% of the affected 290 million people worldwide. We have utilized a highly sensitive and specific assay by amplifying species-specific cell-free repeat DNA fragments by polymerase chain reaction to detect either single or dual schistosome infection from a single urine sample from a broad age group. In this study, we have tested filtered urine samples collected from 163 individuals aged 3–63 years, mostly children (median …

Stochastic Modeling Of Zoonotic Disease, Sausan Odatalla

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

We provide an overview of the mathematical modeling of deterministic and stochastic infectious disease models. These models enable one to understand the outbreak, spread, and extinction of disease. We then focus on stochastic models with a disease reservoir to understand outbreak vulnerability for zoonotic diseases such as Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). Numerical results from a more complicated EVD model are compared with the theoretical results of a simplified stochastic SISk model. We also demonstrate the effect that vaccine has on outbreak vulnerability in a population that is connected to a disease reservoir.

Climate Migration: Evaluating The Conditions That Breed Conflict, Avery Dillon

Honors Thesis

The prediction that climate change will cause conflict is at its core based on the assumption that climate change will trigger resource scarcity, resulting in displaced peoples and potentially violent conflict. However, the empirical evidence supporting this phenomenon is highly uncertain and at times directly contradictory. In recent decades, some have claimed that climate change’s exacerbation of extreme weather events such as hurricanes, floods, and droughts have already played major roles in conflicts such as the Syrian Civil War (Selby 2019). Others directly dispute this direct effect, arguing instead that climate change has played only a minor role in influencing …

Minutes Of The Monetary Policy Meeting On March 16, 2020, Bank Of Japan/Central Bank Of Japan

Documents

No abstract provided.

A Putative Cystathionine Beta-Synthase Homolog Of Mycolicibacterium Smegmatis Is Involved In De Novo Cysteine Biosynthesis, Saroj Kumar Mahato

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mycobacteria include serious pathogens of humans and animals. Mycolicibacterium smegmatis is a non-pathogenic model that is widely used to study core mycobacterial metabolism. This thesis explores mycobacterial pathways of cysteine biosynthesis by generating and study of genetic mutants of M. smegmatis. Published in vitro biochemical studies had revealed three independent routes to cysteine synthesis in mycobacteria involving separate homologs of cysteine synthase, namely CysK1, CysK2, and CysM. However, in vivo data were lacking. The M. smegmatis genome encodes only a CysM homolog and lacks orthologs for CysK1 or CysK2. The gene that codes for CysM is a part of an …

“A Moral Imperative To Prevent Aids”: Race And Religion In Atlanta’S Aids Activism, 1981-1993, Madison Bailey

Honors Theses

The early years of the AIDS epidemic marked a tumultuous period of American history, calling into question the authority of doctors and the ability of scientists to cure disease. Already marginalized groups, such as gay men and intravenous drug users, appeared to be most vulnerable to a deadly virus with no cure or effective treatments. In the face of discrimination, activists rose up to provide necessary services for AIDS patients and advocate on their behalf. This activism uniquely characterized the early AIDS epidemic and permanently changed the field of biomedical research. The current historiography of AIDS activism tends to focus …

Exosomes From Embryonic Stem Cells As A Prophylactic Vaccine Against Lung Cancer., Shuhan Meng

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The antigenic similarity between embryos and tumors has raised the idea of using embryonic materials as a preventative vaccine against neoplastic disease. Indeed, a previous study reported that a vaccine comprised of allogeneic murine embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and murine fibroblasts expressing immune-stimulatory granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) successfully blocked the outgrowth of an implantable lung cancer (Lewis lung carcinoma; LLC) and lung tumors caused by a combination of a mutagen followed by chronic pulmonary inflammation. However, such a vaccine is obviously impractical for application to humans. The use of fibroblasts to produce GM-CSF is needlessly complicated, and intact live …

Development Of In Vitro Models To Study The Rapid Extraintestinal Dissemination Of Salmonella., Adarsh Gopinath

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Salmonella appears in the bloodstream of mice in as little as 15 minutes after oral inoculation and establishes persistent colonies in the spleen and liver. While its pathway to blood is undetermined, this phenomenon is dependent on the activity of Salmonella pathogenicity island 2 (SPI-2) coded type III secretion system (T3SS) and CD18+ phagocytes. We hypothesize that dendritic cells associated with the basal face of the gut epithelium, that are naturally migratory and known to sample for luminal antigens directly transport Salmonella to the bloodstream. This process comprises of at least two phases, dissociation and reverse transmigration. We define dissociation …

Fusobacterium Nucleatum: A Rare Presentation Of Hepatic Abscesses, Meghan Gwinn, Erica Herc

MERF 2020 - Case Reports

Fusobacterium nucleatum is a facultative anaerobic gram-negative bacillus found in the oral cavity, gastrointestinal tract, and genitourinary tract. Fusobacterium nucleatum is a rare cause of hepatic abscesses and empyema. We describe a case of Fusobacterium liver abscess and empyema, resulting in extensive thrombophlebitis in intraabdominal and extremity veins. A 78-year-old female with past medical history significant for bicytopenia and tooth repair 8 months prior presented with mild diarrhea and fatigue. She was febrile, tachycardic, and tachypneic. On physical exam, she had mild epigastric tenderness and bilateral lower extremity pitting edema. Labs were notable for an AKI and elevated LFTs. Imaging …

Hypercoagulability In Covid-19: A Rare Case Of Dic In Sars-Cov2 In The Emergency Department, Naureen Farook, Stephanie Stokes-Buzzelli

MERF 2020 - Case Reports

Although SARS-CoV2 is increasingly being considered a systemic disease, there have been very few case reports documenting DIC as a rare but fatal consequence of the SARS-CoV2 syndrome. We present our patient scenario as an example of severe COVID sepsis in the ED and DIC. 67-year old nursing home resident with CAD, DM, HTN, and seizures presents to our ED resus room with altered mental status and hypoxia after a reported fall from bed. He was tachycardic to 110 and required a nonrebreather at 15L saturating at 96%. His physical exam revealed GCS 10, no focal neurologic deficits, dry mucous …

Multicenter, Observational Cohort Study Evaluating Third-Generation Cephalosporin Therapy For Bloodstream Infections Secondary To Enterobacter, Serratia, And Citrobacter Species, Caroline Derrick, P. Brandon Bookstaver, Zhiqiang K. Lu, Christopher M. Bland, S. Travis King, Kayla R. Stover, Kathey Rumley, Shawn H. Macvane, Jenna Swindler, Scott Kincaid, Trisha Branan, David Cluck, Benjamin Britt, Kelly E. Pillinger, Bruce M. Jones, Virginia Fleming, V. Paul Dimondi, Sandy Estrada, Brad Crane, Brian Odle, Majdi N. Al-Hasan, Julie Ann Justo

ETSU Faculty Works

Objectives: There is debate on whether the use of third-generation cephalosporins (3GC) increases the risk of clinical failure in bloodstream infections (BSIs) caused by chromosomally-mediated AmpC-producing Enterobacterales (CAE). This study evaluates the impact of definitive 3GC therapy versus other antibiotics on clinical outcomes in BSIs due to Enterobacter, Serratia, or Citrobacter species. Methods: This multicenter, retrospective cohort study evaluated adult hospitalized patients with BSIs secondary to Enterobacter, Serratia, or Citrobacter species from 1 January 2006 to 1 September 2014. Definitive 3GC therapy was compared to definitive therapy with other non-3GC antibiotics. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression evaluated the impact of …