Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Humanized Mice For Brain Infection Of Emerging Viruses, Edward Makarov

Theses & Dissertations

Studies on the pathogenesis of emerging viruses that present a global threat are critical for pathogen classification and therapeutic development. Humanized mice enable investigation of viral pathogens, including Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1), Zika virus (ZIKV), Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and Dengue virus (DENV), offering an advanced understanding into the mechanisms of viral perseverance in its natural human host cells and for therapeutic discovery. Realizing the diverse dynamics of various viral infections with the capacity to establish an innovative acuity for therapeutics and mechanics when utilizing humanized mice contributes a formerly inaccessible insight into human-specific viral pathogenesis and treatment. We recently developed …

Evaluation Of Stratified Antibiograms For Use In Laboratory And Antimicrobial Stewardship, Linsey Donner

Theses & Dissertations

Antibiograms are critical for choosing empiric antimicrobial therapy. Cumulative antibiograms, which aggregate susceptibility data, can mask differences within specific patient subsets or clinical syndromes. This dissertation was done to determine if antibiotic susceptibilities showed substantial differences when comparing stratified antibiograms to cumulative antibiograms.

Antibiotic susceptibility data was retrospectively obtained from Nebraska Medicine January 1, 2017 – December 31, 2019 for Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, and Enterococcus faecalis. The University of Nebraska Medical Center’s web antibiogram clinical decision support tool was used to export the data. Bacteria-antibiotic susceptibility rates of stratified antibiograms …

Improving Developing Countries’ Health Information Systems Capacity For Infectious Disease Pandemic Responses: A Case Study Of The Ebola Virus Disease And The Coronavirus Disease Pandemics, Uche Ikenyei

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

There is increasing evidence to demonstrate that current information system theoretical models meant to assess the success of the health information systems (HIS) lack the applicable theoretical underpinning suitable for developing countries. This stems partly from a theory-evidence gap where theoretical models developed in the West are applied in developing country contexts but lack tailoring to localized, contextual realities. Therefore, this study addresses this gap by enhancing the DeLeon and McLean's information system success model with six contextual factors peculiar to the infectious disease HISs in a developing country context.

This study took place in two developing countries, Liberia and …

The Influence Of Comorbid Gad On Er Utilization In Urban Youth With Asthma, David A. Karpe

Theses and Dissertations

Current literature indicates a strong association between asthma and the early onset of comorbid generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in minors and their primary caregivers. Studies show that asthma prevalence increases with certain demographic factors, such as ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and housing quality. Evidence also suggests that GAD influences decision-making, especially when deciding to utilize emergency room (ER) services for asthma-related concerns. This study analyzed the effect of comorbid GAD on minors with asthma and ER utilization. The data were provided by an earlier Stress & Justice Study (S&J) baseline survey, an investigation aimed at understanding the impact of parental criminal …

The Curious Case Of Hla-Dr-Positive Apl, Kanta Devi, Natasha Bahadur Ali

Section of Haematology/Oncology

The triad of weak/absent CD34, negative HLA-DR expression, and positivity to CD117 is pathognomonic for the diagnosis of acute promyelocytic leukemia. However, in rare cases, strong positivity to HLD-DR and CD34 may be noted.

Student Pharmacists’ Emotional Responses And Coping During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Hannah E. Johnson, Deaundre Bumpass, Aric Schadler, Jeffrey Cain

Journal of Wellness

Introduction: Health professions students, including student pharmacists, have been impacted by the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19 pandemic) as schools have transitioned to remote learning and cancelled milestone events. During times of crises, media consumption and hobby participation also impact well-being. The adverse emotional responses and coping strategies of student pharmacists amidst the COVID-19 pandemic have not been evaluated, nor have factors that may contribute to emotional responses. The purpose of this study is to determine Doctor of Pharmacy students’ emotional responses and coping precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the influence of media use, working status, and participation in hobbies. …

Effect Of Levodopa On Eeg Connectivity In Parkinson's Patients, Sepehr Torab Parhiz

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Levodopa is a dopamine replacement medication administered to patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) to alleviate their motor symptoms. However, its long-term use can cause adverse side effects, including involuntary motor movements. We studied 16 PD patients before and after taking Levodopa based on resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) recordings to determine how Levodopa affects the functional connectivity of their brain networks. We used several metrics from graph theory, in particular the minimum spanning tree (MST) metric, and analyzed how they change after subjects take Levodopa. We observed significant changes in the lower alpha band toward a more path-like and less globally efficient …

Smoking, Alcohol Consumption, And Depression In Association With Incidence Of Type 2 Diabetes Among Mexican Americans In Starr County, Texas, Gabriela Rubannelsonkumar

Honors Program Theses and Research Projects

Previous studies on conditions like obesity, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have explored the correlations between them and various other human conditions, including aortic stiffness, left ventricular hypertrophy and sleep apnea, as they predict possibilities of developing certain diseases in Mexican Americans. This study aims to observe the correlation between lifestyle decisions that could relate to the onset of the depression in normal, prediabetic, and diabetic individuals. These include smoking habits and alcohol consumption. Many papers have previously conducted research on these lifestyle habits as they relate to obesity, hypertension, diabetes, however, have done so in a singular …

Electron Microscope Images Of Human Coronaviruses Reality Versus Illusion, Mohamed Ayman Ghallab, Christine Barsoum, Stefan Polak, Olia El Hassoun, Ayman Ghallab

Dentistry

ABSTRACT Since the outbreak of COVID-19 as a pandemic disease earlier in 2020, several publications reported the electron microscope images of SARS-CoV-2. This article reviews 73 articles from March 1956 till April 2021, focusing on the ultrastructure characteristics of the viruses. We present the scientifi c debate and provide an opinion on the current controversy of electron microscopic images interpreted as SARS-CoV-2 particles in specimens from patients with COVID-19. Finally, we report our fi ndings in a post-mortem lung specimen of a COVID-19 patient. With this we hope to facilitate accurate interpretation of TEM fi ndings, and contribute to the …

Consultation/Liaison Psychiatry During Covid-19, Robert Frierson, Steven B Lippmann

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

Consultation/liaison psychiatrists care for people with co-existing medical and psychologic difficulties. The coronavirus pandemic is stressful for patients and their psychiatric caregivers. Patients have lost support systems and harbor fears about exposing family to the virus. COVID-19 sometimes exacerbates previous psychiatric conditions, while diminishing intimacy with physicians. Everyone is oversaturated with COVID-19-related news focusing on rising concerns about the illness and about jobs, school, and housing insecurities.

The psychiatrist maintains a hospital presence despite fear of contracting the disease. Challenges include addressing staff morale, evidencing empathy despite telecommunication devices, and treating anxiety, depression, sleep phobias, post intubation flashbacks, COVID-19-induced cognitive …

Visualizing Phytochemical-Protein Interaction Networks: Momordica Charantia And Cancer, Yumi L. Briones, Alexander T. Young, Fabian M. Dayrit, Armando Jerome De Jesus, Nina Rosario L. Rojas

Chemistry Faculty Publications

The in silico study of medicinal plants is a rapidly growing field. Techniques such as reverse screening and network pharmacology are used to study the complex cellular action of medicinal plants against disease. However, it is difficult to produce a meaningful visualization of phytochemical-protein interactions (PCPIs) in the cell. This study introduces a novel workflow combining various tools to visualize a PCPI network for a medicinal plant against a disease. The five steps are 1) phytochemical compilation, 2) reverse screening, 3) network building, 4) network visualization, and 5) evaluation. The output is a PCPI network that encodes multiple dimensions of …

Examining The Healthcare Journeys Of African American Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes Amid Covid-19, Lei Edmerson

Honors Theses

The overall purpose of this study is to explore the pandemic experience of African American’s with Type 2 Diabetes. This study was done to highlight a specific group of people who live with a chronic illness and the steps they took to ensure their safety during a pandemic. The COVID- 19 pandemic had been shown to adversely and disproportionately impact minorities and those with diabetes in regards to mortality rates. This study aims to bring light to the stories of those dealing with more than just the pandemic. It wanted to explore how they made it thus far, and if …

Self-Measured Blood Pressure Monitoring: A Patient Empowerment Project, Alison Cusmano

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Hypertension is a public health issue estimated to affect 112 million adults by 2030. Primary care patients in an outpatient clinic in Southern California with elevated blood pressure readings in the office did not have an organized system for close follow-up. The purpose of this evidence-based project (EBP) was to educate patients on self-measured blood pressure monitoring (SMBP), Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), diet interventions, and healthy weight loss to improve hypertension rates. Through these interventions, patients developed an understanding of their systolic and diastolic blood pressure goals. Nurse practitioners, medical assistants, and licensed vocational nurses screened for high …

Program Development And Evaluation Of A Diabetes Self-Management Education And Support Toolkit On An E-Learning Platform For Young Adults Living With Type 2 Diabetes, Marlene Eicher

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Project

The purpose of this project was to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a diabetes education toolkit on an e-learning platform for improving individual self-management and medication knowledge to promote healthy lifestyle behaviors for young adults living with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

A descriptive, quasi-experimental design with one-group pretest-posttest was used. Participants were recruited from an independently owned medical clinic. The participants were English-speaking young adults, between ages 18 to 39 with a diagnosis of prediabetes or T2DM. The intervention was a DSMES toolkit with twelve e-learning modules that participants completed over a three-month period. Data collected was age …

An Investigation Of Chronic Pain As A Much-Neglected Symptom Of Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Sydney Collins

Honors Theses

Ehlers Danlos Syndrome is a group of heritable loose connective tissue disorders with 13 distinguished subtypes. The hypermobile type of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (hEDS) is the most common subtype and is caused by a genetic mutation that leads to defective collagen fibrils. This leads to joint instability and hypermobility, skin elasticity, widespread pain, fatigue, and generalized tissue fragility. Chronic pain is reported to be a symptom in as high as 92% of the hEDS population (Voermans et al., 2010); despite this prevalence, there is a significant lack of research, awareness, and treatment standardization regarding pain in hEDS. This literature review …

Navigating The Impact Of Covid-19 On Small Commercial Businesses And Insurance Companies, And A Call To Action For Future Communicable Disease Outbreaks, Natalie Pena

Honors Program Theses and Research Projects

The short-term and long-term effects of Covid-19 have caused many small commercial businesses to face financial hardships, loss of employees, and even closures for entities that were already experiencing low profit margins. Distraught with their businesses suffering, owners turned to their primary insurance companies to receive compensation through their business interruption policies. However, most insureds were upset when they discovered that their insurance plans did not include communicable diseases and pandemics as a covered peril. This led to many small businesses battling these issues in the courts and fighting for insurance companies to provide financial assistance to them during this …

Optimizing Empiric Vancomycin Use In Febrile Neutropenia Patients, Nicole Tadros, Erika Dittmar, Radhan B. Gopalani

Nursing & Health Sciences Research Journal

Introduction: National guidelines do not support routine empiric vancomycin use in the initial management of febrile neutropenia (FN) and only recommend it in patients with specific clinical indications. This bi-phasic quality improvement project aimed to evaluate current vancomycin use in FN and improve compliance with a guideline-driven algorithm (GDA) to ensure appropriate prescribing and therapy duration in a community hospital.

Methods: Phase I was a retrospective review of charts of adults receiving empiric vancomycin therapy for FN at a community hospital. Phase II was a prospective review of charts of patients with FN, who received pharmacist-led interventions, to improve de-escalation …

Coronavirus Update 12-9-21, The Coronavirus Planning Team

University Briefings & Virtual Events

We want to thank you all again for your commitment to the Pioneer Promise this semester. That commitment on the part of the entire community helped us keep the number of positive cases very low and avoid the kind of big spikes that some of our neighboring colleges and universities experienced.

Minimizing Musculoskeletal Injury Risk In Health Care Professionals With Education On Safe Patient Handling, Aubrey Graves

Honors College Theses

Introduction: Nursing is a high-risk occupation for musculoskeletal injuries due to the strenuous activity of patient handling. These tasks include, assisting a patient in bed, moving a patient from the bed to a wheelchair, and assisting with walking. These work-related tasks can create a large amount of stress on the body, especially the back if proper technique is not utilized and/or if excessive loads are applied. The purpose of this study is to examine if teaching proper body mechanics and the dangers of not performing the tasks properly is an effective way of reducing musculoskeletal injuries.

Methods: The NUR 202 …

Lung Cancer Screening: An Evidence-Based Practice Change Project, Robert Bland

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: Lung cancer is the leading cause of global cancer deaths and is a significant health issue in the US, claiming more than 155,000 lives each year. Lung cancer screening through low dose computed tomography (LDCT) can reduce lung cancer mortality by 20 percent but unfortunately, lung cancer screening is underutilized.

PICOT Question: The PICOT question that guided this project was: in a patient population eligible for LDCT lung screening (P), how does auditing of practice with feedback to the providers (I), compared to not doing the interventions as mentioned above (C), increase LDCT lung cancer screenings in the …

Ketone Body Metabolism In The Ischemic Heart, Stephen C. Kolwicz Jr.

Health and Exercise Physiology Faculty Publications

Ketone bodies have been identified as an important, alternative fuel source in heart failure. In addition, the use of ketone bodies as a fuel source has been suggested to be a potential ergogenic aid for endurance exercise performance. These findings have certainly renewed interest in the use of ketogenic diets and exogenous supplementation in an effort to improve overall health and disease. However, given the prevalence of ischemic heart disease and myocardial infarctions, these strategies may not be ideal for individuals with coronary artery disease. Although research studies have clearly defined changes in fatty acid and glucose metabolism during ischemia …

Covid-19 Newsletter (Vol. 98), Center For Disaster Medicine, New York Medical College

COVID-19 Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Links To Weekend Booster Clinics (12/11 And 12/12), The Coronavirus Planning Team

University Briefings & Virtual Events

These clinics will be expanded to 200 slots. The link will stop working when the clinic is full.

The Role Of Pre-Participation Exams In Identifying Student Athletes At Risk For Sudden Cardiac Arrest, Elizabeth Frey

Honors Projects

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is the leading cause of death in young student athletes (Drezner et al., 2007). With athletes being recognized as some of the healthiest members of society, a catastrophic event like this can stimulate debate over pre-participation screening and appropriate emergency actions. With 55-80% cases of sudden cardiac death (SCD) being asymptomatic before the event (Drezner et al., 2007), looking into how well pre-participation screenings identify at risk individuals becomes much more important. This project investigates to what extent pre-participation physicals (PPE) can be improved to better identify student athletes at risk for sudden cardiac death and …

The Effect Of Twist1b And Twist2 Knockdown On Tgf-Beta Signaling Expression In Tendon Progenitors, Marinia N. Bishay

Honors Scholars Collaborative Projects

Somites are important mesoderm structures that form in regularly timed intervals from the anterior end of the paraxial mesoderm at the end of gastrulation during embryogenesis. Cells of the ventromedial portion of the somite, the sclerotome, undergo epithelial to mesenchymal transition, surround the notochord, and give rise to connective tissues of the axial skeleton including the vertebrae, tendons, and ligaments. We are interested in understanding how the sclerotome is compartmentalized into the region that makes tendons. Genes expressed in the sclerotome, twist1 and twist2, are likely involved in the downstream differentiation of sclerotome to tendon progenitors. Previous studies have shown …

Lipocalin-2 Variants And Their Relationship With Cardio-Renal Risk Factors, Dahui Li, Haoyun Li, Carlie Bauer, Yue Hu, Joshua R. Lewis, Aimin Xu, Itamar Levinger, Yu Wang

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Objectives:

To investigate the serum, plasma and urine levels of lipocalin-2 (LCN2) variants in healthy humans and their associations with risk factors for cardiometabolic (CMD) and chronic kidney (CKD) diseases.

Methods:

Fifty-nine males and 41 females participated in the study. Blood and urine were collected following an overnight fasting. LCN2 variants were analyzed using validated in-house ELISA kits. Heart rate, blood pressure, lipids profile, glucose, adiponectin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), creatinine, cystatin C, and biomarkers for kidney function were assessed.

Results:

The levels of hLcn2, C87A and R81E in serum and urine, but not plasma, were significantly higher in men …

Can Repurposing Drugs Play A Role In Malaria Control?, Roland A. Cooper, Laura Kirkman

Natural Sciences and Mathematics | Faculty Scholarship

Innovative drug treatments for malaria, optimally with novel targets, are needed to combat the threat of parasite drug resistance. As drug development efforts continue, there may be a role for a host-targeting, repurposed cancer drug administered together with an artemisinin combination therapy that was shown to improve the speed of recovery from a malaria infection.

Implementation Of An Oral Hygiene Protocol For Adults Patients On Acute Care Units, Sharon J. Boler

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: Patients diagnosed with non-mechanically ventilated aspiration pneumonia can result in increased levels of care, longer lengths of stay, and are 8.4 more likely to die while hospitalized. Oral hygiene protocols have led to promising outcomes, evidenced by fewer cases of aspiration pneumonia in adult patients on medical surgical units.

PICOT: The PICOT question that guided this project was in adult non-mechanically ventilated hospital patients, does an Oral Hygiene Protocol (OHP) compared to current practice affect hospital acquired aspiration pneumonia during hospitalization.

Evidence: Fourteen studies met inclusion criteria that support the implementation of an evidence – based oral hygiene …

Effects Of Annexin A5 On Endothelial Inflammation Induced By Lipopolysaccharide-Activated Platelets And Extracellular Vesicles, Brent Jeffrey Tschirhart

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Sepsis is a dysregulated immune response to infection and the leading cause of mortality globally, accounting for 11 million deaths in 2017. To date, no therapeutics are available to treat the underlying septic response. Previous research from our laboratory has shown that annexin A5 (Anx5) treatment increased survival by 40% in mice with endotoxemia, a model of sepsis. During sepsis, activated platelets release membrane fragments called extracellular vesicles (EVs) with externalization of phosphatidylserine to which annexin A5 binds with a high affinity. We hypothesized that annexin A5 will block the pro-inflammatory response induced by activated platelets and EVs in vascular …

Genomic Epidemiology Of Clostridium Difficile Colonization And Transmission In An Intensive Care Unit Cohort, Brianne Ciferri

Dissertations and Theses

Abstract

Genomic epidemiology of Clostridium difficile colonization and transmission in an intensive care unit cohort

by Brianne Ciferri, MPH

Advisor: C. Mary Schooling, PhD

Introduction: Clostridiodes difficile (C. difficile) is a leading cause of healthcare associated infections (HAI) in the United States and responsible for an estimated incidence of 223,900 cases and 12,800 deaths per year^1,2. C. difficile can cause gastrointestinal illness with symptoms ranging from mild diarrheal illness to a life-threatening condition. C. difficile is an opportunistic pathogen in which spores can live in an undisturbed dormant state within the intestinal tract and become …