Immunology and Infectious Disease Commons^™

Vitro Bacteriophage Treatment For A Staphylococcus Aureus And Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Co-Culture, Alexis Perry

Arkansas Women in STEM Conference

Recent studies show that up 27-36% of all infections are polymicrobial, involving more than one bacteria species. In all categories, polymicrobial infections are often more virulent and harmful to the patient. Since different types of bacteria can communicate with each other through quorum-sensing when in the presence of each other, they can display different genomic characteristics. Further research into polymicrobial infections needs to be done because these changing characteristics can prevent treatment from working, such as antibiotics or bacteriophage therapy. This experiment focused on the co-culture between the two bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, which can be found co-existing …

Investigating Alternative Induction Of The S. Aureus 80a Prophage, Jody Caretti

Student Scholar Showcase

Widespread antibiotic resistance has quickly become one of the most concerning crises affecting modern medicine, especially in cases of Staphylococcal infections, which have become resistant to all ��-lactam antibiotics. As a result, research into alternative forms of treatment for bacterial infections is a top priority. Bacteriophage therapy is a popular candidate for replacing antibiotics, due to the way the viruses interact with the bacteria. The 80�� prophage integrates its DNA into Staphylococcus aureus strain 10616 via the lysogenic cycle, and replicates with the bacterial cell. When stressed, the bacteria stop replicating and the prophage stimulates the lytic cycle, activating transcription …

Effects Of Alcohol On The Inflammatory Response During Toxoplasma Gondii Infection: Literature Review, Amani Sastry

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Phage Hunters: The Discovery Of Two Novel Bacteriophages That Infect Gordonia Rubripertincta, Sarah Ballarin, Neel Balusa, Melissa Bell, Samia Caballero, Joshua Chan, Maria Farez, Ashley J. Guillen-Tapia, Nashrah Pierre-Louis, Victoria Polishuk, Bhavya Soni, Julie Torruellas Garcia, Katie E. Crump

Sea-Phages

Antibiotic resistance is a global healthcare concern because it poses a threat to effectively treating bacterial infections and the need for alternative therapeutics are urgently required. Phage therapy, which uses viruses to treat bacterial infections, is a promising alternative to conventional antibiotics. Phages have also been widely used in the food industry to prevent microbial growth on certain foods and are currently being explored as a method for bioremediation of oil spills and wastewater treatment. Although phages are ubiquitous in nature, many have yet to be discovered. Through the SEA-PHAGES (Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science) program …

Developing A Multiplex Pcr To Amplify Borrelia Burgdorferi Dna In The Presence Of Ixodes Scapularis Dna, Mckenzie Henkelman, Kimberly Bates

Ramaley Celebration

Lyme Disease is caused by a spirochete bacterium (Borrelia burgdorferi). It is transmitted by ticks of the genus Ixodes. Ixodes scapularis, more commonly known as the black-legged tick or deer tick is capable of carrying and transmitting the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi to humans and other mammals and is the species of ticks found in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Lyme Disease is a complex disease that causes a multitude of side effects both acute and chronic. It can affect multiple systems in the human body, including the cardiovascular and nervous systems. The prevalence of Lyme Disease in the Midwest …

Exploring Anti-Schistosoma Analog Sa01, Sarah Alsuleiman

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Schistosomiasis is a waterborne parasitic worm infection able to infect in the larval stage through direct skin penetration. This disease affects approximately 270 million people worldwide and is widespread in tropical as well as subtropical regions with higher distribution in areas lacking sufficient sanitation and safe drinking water. Although some possible alternatives are emerging, currently, the most effective drug treatment is praziquantel (PZQ). However, PZQ is only effective against the adult stage of the worm, allowing juvenile worms to progress in the infection. Furthermore, Schistosoma is developing resistance to this drug as reduced efficacy has been noted. As a result, …

Fact Or Myth: The Flu Can Be Caused By The Flu Vaccine, Arleigh Wood

2020 Virtual Spring Student Showcase for Research and Creative Inquiry

To many, the flu vaccine seems like a threat to an otherwise healthy individual. People often get the flu after receiving the flu shot, which does not promote confidence in the general public. These and other reasonings have created a myth that the flu vaccine can cause the flu. Understanding how the vaccination is created and how it interacts with the immune system helps to realize why the flu vaccine cannot cause the virus. For the vaccine to work, adaptive immunity must be activated by the introduction of the viral particles in a safe manner. An effective immune response from …

Lipoarabinomannan From Mycobacterium Smegmatis Stimulates An Inflammatory Response In Raw 264.7 Murine Macrophages, Aysha Zaman

Student Scholar Showcase

Macrophages are a key leukocyte in defense against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. The precise mechanism by which M. tuberculosis evades host macrophage defenses remains unknown, so understanding how macrophages interact with cell wall components of mycobacteria is critical. Lipoarabinomannan (LAM) is a glycolipid Toll-like receptor-2 (TLR-2) ligand found on the cell wall of mycobacteria, and is thought to contribute to the cell wall structural integrity. When LAM binds to TLR on host leukocytes, this activates cellular responses and phagocytosis by host macrophages. Nitric oxide production can be used as a measure of inflammatory response and can be evaluated via nitrite response …

Targeted Therapy For The Future: The Use Of Novel Antimicrobial Peptides Against P. Aeurginosa, Matthew Froid

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Pathogenic bacteria, such as the gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa, are becoming resistant to our current arsenal of antibiotics at an alarming rate. P. aeruginosa is a leading cause of nosocomial acquired infections and is a primary co-morbidity in patients with compromised immune systems. One potential source of new antibiotic agents is antimicrobial peptides. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are small proteins, and some have shown a high degree of efficacy and broad-spectrum activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. An experimental AMP that has been developed by Dr. Wang at UNMC, DASamp2, has shown to be effective against virulent bacteria, including P. …

Large Scale Dynamical Model Of Macrophage/Hiv Interactions, Matthew M. Froid

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Properties emerge from the dynamics of large-scale molecular networks that are not discernible at the individual gene or protein level. Mathematical models - such as probabilistic Boolean networks - of molecular systems offer a deeper insight into how these emergent properties arise. Here, we introduce a non-linear, deterministic Boolean model of protein, gene, and chemical interactions in human macrophage cells during HIV infection. Our model is composed of 713 nodes with 1583 interactions between nodes and is responsive to 38 different inputs including signaling molecules, bacteria, viruses, and HIV viral particles. Additionally, the model accurately simulates the dynamics of over …

Instances Of Influenza In The United States Visualized, Parth Patel

Publications and Research

The Tycho Project collects large data sets related to healthcare and in particular, instances and geographical information of diseases. We look at the instance counts and locations of Influenza from 1919-1951 across the United States. We hope to find seasonal and geographical insight to the spread of the disease.

Development Of A Pd-L1 Pet Imaging Biomarker, Caleb Jack Bridgwater

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Immunotherapy strategies are very promising treatments for cancer patients. Specifically, Immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy focusing on the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway shows long-lasting positive results in many cancer patients. Unfortunately, not all the patients can benefit from this highly effective treatment. Hence, there is a great need for predictive biomarkers. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining has been used as a way of predicting patient response, yet shows many problems. For example, IHC utilizes an invasive biopsy and sample fixing, which creates an incomplete and delayed picture of the patient’s biochemistry and the tumor microenvironment, consequently ignoring metastases.

The purpose of this study is to …

Towards A Mechanism Of Action Of An Antischistosomal Drug: Measuring Granulocytic Activity, Samantha Sack

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by a family of schistosome parasites which leads to vital organ damage. Praziquantel (PZ) is the only available treatment, but it is effective only against the adult worm. Partner labs have tested an antischistosomal drug which has been shown to have a higher efficacy against both juvenile and mature parasites in mice and monkeys compared to PZ. This effectiveness does not transfer to in vitro experiments; it kills the parasite outside of its host only at extremely high concentrations. This indicates that its efficacy is host-dependent, but the mechanism by which it functions …

The Evaluation Of Carbon Dioxide-Independent Media For Toxoplasma Gondii Growth, Matthew C. Martens

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Toxoplasma gondii is a human pathogen that plays a role as the causative agent of toxoplasmosis, a disease that produces many deleterious effects for immunocompromised individuals and infants. Current research involving this intracellular parasite requires the use and continues maintenance of costly cell incubators attached to bulky carbon dioxide canisters. To reduce laboratory costs and space requirements, we, therefore, propose a novel procedure by which human foreskin fibroblasts, as well as Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites, may be grown in a commercially available carbon dioxide-independent media. Growth assays utilizing resazurin dye or relative fluorescence from parasites modified with a red fluorescent protein …

The Effects Of The Fungus Beauvaria Sp. On The Cave Cricket, Hadenoecus Subterraneus, Christina N. Walker, Derrick J. Jent, Claire A. Fuller

Scholars Week

The cave cricket, Hadenoecus subterraneus, is a keystone species in cave ecosystems within Mammoth Cave National Park (MCNP). Within MCNP, many cricket cadavers have been found

with a thick, white fungus growing on them; this fungus has previously been identified to be Beauveria bassiana. However, new molecular data suggests that this may actually be the species B. amorpha. Cricket cadavers with Beauveria sp. were collected from MCNP and cultured on potato dextrose agar. Cultures will be sent to the USDA for a genetic analysis and identification of the fungus. The purpose of this study is to examine if the relationship …

Analysis Of The Chondroitinase Operon Of Flavobacterium Columnare, Erin L. Sorlien

Senior Honors Projects

Analysis of the chondroitinase operon of Flavobacterium columnare

Erin Sorlien

Major

Cell and Molecular Biology, Chemistry

Advisor

Dr. David R. Nelson

Date

May 2, 2013

Keywords

Flavobacterium columnare, columnaris disease, chondroitin AC lyase, complementation, csl operon

Abstract
Flavobacterium columnare, an opportunistic bacterial pathogen of fish, is the causative agent of columnaris disease (CD). The bacterium is a Gram-negative rod that exhibits gliding motility and avidly forms biofilms. CD affects both wild and cultured freshwater fish, and continues to cause large economic losses to the fish farming industry. According to an investigation conducted by the National Animal Health Monitoring System, CD …

Mama What Is Celiac, Suad Fahad Alferaih

Dr. Suad Fahad AlFuraih

قصة ماما ماهو السلياك

Dengue And Aedes Aegypti: A Public Health Problem Along The United States-Mexico Border (Lecture Number 1 - A Series Of Dengue Lectures), Frank Cortez Flores

Frank Cortez Flores

My primary public health interest is the reemerging arboviral infections (e.g., dengue) that are increasing in incidence, expanding into new geographic areas, affecting new populations, and are threatening to increase in the near future, especially following a natural disaster (e.g., hurricanes). The goal of the dengue lecture series is to promote the recognition of dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever and improve the understanding of factors involved in prevention, surveillance and control of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the principal mosquito vector of dengue virus. The purpose of these lectures is to accelerate learning and development of an effective dengue prevention and …