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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Deciphering The Perpetual Fight Between Virus And Host: Utilizing Bioinformatics To Elucidate The Host's Genetic Mechanisms That Influence Jc Polyomavirus Infection, Michael P. Wilczek Aug 2021

Deciphering The Perpetual Fight Between Virus And Host: Utilizing Bioinformatics To Elucidate The Host's Genetic Mechanisms That Influence Jc Polyomavirus Infection, Michael P. Wilczek

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

JC polyomavirus (JCPyV) is a human-specific pathogen that infects 50-80% of the population, and can cause a deadly, demyelinating disease, known as progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). In most of the population, JCPyV persistently infects the kidneys but during immunosuppression, it can reactivate and spread to the central nervous system (CNS), causing PML. In the CNS, JCPyV targets two cell types, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes. Due to the hallmark pathology of oligodendrocyte lysis observed in disease, oligodendrocytes were thought to be the main cell type involved during JCPyV infection. However, recent evidence suggests that astrocytes are targeted by the virus and act …


Enhancing Microbiome Host Disease Prediction With Variational Autoencoders, Celeste Manughian-Peter Aug 2021

Enhancing Microbiome Host Disease Prediction With Variational Autoencoders, Celeste Manughian-Peter

Computational and Data Sciences (MS) Theses

Advancements in genetic sequencing methods for microbiomes in recent decades have permitted the collection of taxonomic and functional profiles of microbial communities, accelerating the discovery of the functional aspects of the microbiome and generating an increased interest among clinicians in applying these techniques with patients. This advancement has coincided with software and hardware improvements in the field of machine learning and deep learning. Combined, these advancements implicate further potential for progress in disease diagnosis and treatment in humans. The ability to classify a human microbiome profile into a disease category, and additionally identify the differentiating factors within the profile between …


Identification And Characterization Of Butyrate-Producing Species In The Human Gut Microbiome, Grace Maline May 2021

Identification And Characterization Of Butyrate-Producing Species In The Human Gut Microbiome, Grace Maline

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) including ulcerative colitis, indeterminate colitis, and Crohn’s disease are increasingly common conditions that places a high physical and financial burden on individuals and global healthcare systems. Though many treatments exist for these conditions, their unpredictable nature and causation make them difficult to manage across the variety of IBD patients. Additionally, many of these treatments come with undesirable side effects or modes of delivery. Therefore, it is worthwhile to explore the use of Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs) such as butyrate whose affects in the human gut include decreased inflammation and decreased risk of colorectal cancer. As …