Diseases Commons^™

The One Health Approach To Identify Knowledge, Attitudes And Practices That Affect Community Involvement In The Control Of Rift Valley Fever Outbreaks, Osama Ahmed Hassan, Hippolyte Affognon, Joacim Rocklöv, Peter Mburu, Rosemary Sang, Clas Ahlm, Magnus Evander

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a viral mosquito-borne disease with the potential for global expansion, causes hemorrhagic fever, and has a high case fatality rate in young animals and in humans. Using a cross-sectional community-based study design, we investigated the knowledge, attitudes and practices of people living in small village in Sudan with respect to RVF outbreaks. A special One Health questionnaire was developed to compile data from 235 heads of household concerning their knowledge, attitudes, and practices with regard to controlling RVF. Although the 2007 RVF outbreak in Sudan had negatively affected the participants’ food availability and livestock income, …

Elevated Prevalence Of Helicobacter Species And Virulence Factors In Opisthorchiasis And Associated Hepatobiliary Disease., Raksawan Deenonpoe, Eimorn Mairiang, Pisaln Mairiang, Chawalit Pairojkul, Yaovalux Chamgramol, Gabriel Rinaldi, Alex Loukas, Paul J. Brindley, Banchob Sripa

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

Recent reports suggest that Opisthorchis viverrini serves as a reservoir of Helicobacter and implicate Helicobacter in pathogenesis of opisthorchiasis-associated cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). Here, 553 age-sex matched cases and controls, 293 and 260 positive and negative for liver fluke O. viverrini eggs, of residents in Northeastern Thailand were investigated for associations among infection with liver fluke, Helicobacter and hepatobiliary fibrosis. The prevalence of H. pylori infection was higher in O. viverrini-infected than uninfected participants. H. pylori bacterial load correlated positively with intensity of O. viverrini infection, and participants with opisthorchiasis exhibited higher frequency of virulent cagA-positive H. pylori than those free of …

Plasmid Diversity And Phylogenetic Consistency In The Lyme Disease Agent Borrelia Burgdorferi, Sherwood R. Casjens, Eddie B. Gilcrease, Marija Vujadinovic, Emmanuel F. Mongodin, Benjamin J. Luft, Steven E. Schutzer, Claire M. Fraser, Wei-Gang Qiu

Publications and Research

Background: Bacteria from the genus Borrelia are known to harbor numerous linear and circular plasmids. We report here a comparative analysis of the nucleotide sequences of 236 plasmids present in fourteen independent isolates of the Lyme disease agent B. burgdorferi.

Results: We have sequenced the genomes of 14 B. burgdorferi sensu stricto isolates that carry a total of 236 plasmids. These individual isolates carry between seven and 23 plasmids. Their chromosomes, the cp26 and cp32 circular plasmids, as well as the lp54 linear plasmid, are quite evolutionarily stable; however, the remaining plasmids have undergone numerous non-homologous and often duplicative recombination …

Advances In Neglected Tropical Disease Vaccines: Developing Relative Potency And Functional Assays For The Na-Gst-1/Alhydrogel Hookworm Vaccine., Jill B. Brelsford, Jordan L Plieskatt, Anna Yakovleva, Amar Jariwala, Brian P Keegan, Jin Peng, Pengjun Xia, Guangzhao Li, Doreen Campbell, Maria Victoria Periago, Rodrigo Correa-Oliveira, Maria Elena Bottazzi, Peter J. Hotez, David Diemert, Jeffrey M. Bethony

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

A new generation of vaccines for the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) have now advanced into clinical development, with the Na-GST-1/Alhydrogel Hookworm Vaccine already being tested in Phase 1 studies in healthy adults. The current manuscript focuses on the often overlooked critical aspects of NTD vaccine product development, more specifically, vaccine stability testing programs. A key measure of vaccine stability testing is "relative potency" or the immunogenicity of the vaccine during storage. As with most NTD vaccines, the Na-GST-1/Alhydrogel Hookworm Vaccine was not developed by attenuation or inactivation of the pathogen (Necator americanus), so conventional methods for measuring relative potency are …

Potent Single-Domain Antibodies That Arrest Respiratory Syncytial Virus Fusion Protein In Its Prefusion State, Iebe Rossey, Morgan Gilman, Stephanie Kabeche, Koen Sedeyn, Daniel Wrapp

Dartmouth Scholarship

Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the main cause of lower respiratory tract infections in young children. The RSV fusion protein (F) is highly conserved and is the only viral membrane protein that is essential for infection. The prefusion conformation of RSV F is considered the most relevant target for antiviral strategies because it is the fusion-competent form of the protein and the primary target of neutralizing activity present in human serum. Here, we describe two llama-derived single-domain antibodies (VHHs) that have potent RSV-neutralizing activity and bind selectively to prefusion RSV F with picomolar affinity. Crystal structures of these VHHs …

Research Brief: "Age, Race, And Cardiovascular Outcomes In African American Veterans", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This study builds on previous research that shows increased risk of cardiovascular disorders among African Americans, and applies that research to African American veterans who receive care at the VHA. For policy and practice, this study suggests various ways that African American veterans can lower their risk of cardiovascular disorders, as well as ways that the VHA can improve the health of veterans. Suggestions for future research include having a larger sample of female veterans, analysis of the factors that contribute to African Americans' higher risk of cardiovascular disorders, and differences in access to health care among African American veterans.

Island Voices: Experiences Of Living With Cleft Lip And Or Palate., Rachna Gopal, Brenda Louw

ETSU Faculty Works

To date there is a lack of information on how young adults in Mauritius, a representation of the majority contexts, experience living with CLP. The aim of this study is to give a voice to young Mauritian adults with CLP; in describing their treatment journey and satisfaction with cleft care.

Adults With Cleft Lip And Palate And Hearing Loss, Rachna Gopal, Brenda Louw

ETSU Faculty Works

Framework and Research Question:

• The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) developed by the World Health Organization (WHO 2001) is a framework to address functioning and disability related to a health condition within the context of the individual’s activities and participation in everyday life.
• Therefore, in addition to the audiologic test battery the individual’s perception of hearing status and its impact on communication should be considered.
• The aim of this study is to describe the hearing status of Mauritian adultslivingwith CL/P and their perceptions of the role of hearing in their lives

Ux007 For The Treatment Of Long Chain-Fatty Acid Oxidation Disorders: Safety And Efficacy In Children And Adults Following 24weeks Of Treatment., J Vockley, B Burton, G T Berry, N Longo, J Phillips, Pranoot Tanpaiboon, +Several Additional Authors

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Long-chain fatty acid oxidation disorders (LC-FAOD) lead to accumulation of high concentrations of potentially toxic fatty acid intermediates. Newborn screening and early intervention have reduced mortality, but most patients continue to experience frequent hospitalizations and significant morbidity despite treatment. The deficient energy state can cause serious liver, muscle, and heart disease, and may be associated with an increased risk of sudden death. Triheptanoin is a medium odd-chain fatty acid. Anaplerotic metabolites of triheptanoin have the potential to replace deficient tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates, resulting in net glucose production as a novel energy source for the treatment of LC-FAOD. …

Metastatic Biomarkers In Synovial Sarcoma, Rosalia De Necochea-Campion, Lee M. Zuckerman, Hamid R. Mirshahidi, Shahrzad Khosrowpour, Chien-Shing Chen, Saied Mirshahidi

Library Articles and Research

Synovial sarcoma (SS) is an aggressive soft tissue sarcoma (STS) that typically occurs in the extremities near a joint. Metastatic disease is common and usually occurs in the lungs and lymph nodes. Surgical management is the mainstay of treatment with chemotherapy and radiation typically used as adjuvant treatment. Although chemotherapy has a positive impact on survival, the prognosis is poor if metastatic disease occurs. The biology of sarcoma invasion and metastasis remain poorly understood. Chromosomal translocation with fusion of the SYT and SSX genes has been described and is currently used as a diagnostic marker, although the full impact of …

Association Of Igg4 Response And Autoimmune Pancreatitis With Intraductal Papillary-Mucinous Neoplasms, Amin A. Hedayat, Mikhail Lisovsky, Arief A. Suriawinata

Dartmouth Scholarship

Objectives: Concurrent intraductal papillary-mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) and autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) was observed in a patient (index case) at our institution. Cases of coincidental IPMN and type 1 AIP and concurrent ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and AIP have been previously reported. In this study we evaluate the hypothesis that IPMN elicits an IgG4 response. Methods: Twenty-one pancreases (including the index case) with IPMN resected at our institution were studied. H&E stained slides were reviewed and blocks of peritumoral pancreas were immunostained with IgG4 to look for IgG4-positive plasma cells. Results: We found evidence of variable IgG4 overexpression in 4/21 (19%) of IPMN. …

Banning College Football: An Urgent Objective For Brain Health Advocates, Kenneth P. Serbin

At Risk for Huntington's Disease

No abstract provided.

The Battle Against Malaria: A Teachable Moment, Randy K. Schwartz

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Malaria has been humanity’s worst public health problem throughout recorded history. Mathematical methods are needed to understand which factors are relevant to the disease and to develop counter-measures against it. This article and the accompanying exercises provide examples of those methods for use in lower- or upper-level courses dealing with probability, statistics, or population modeling. These can be used to illustrate such concepts as correlation, causation, conditional probability, and independence. The article explains how the apparent link between sickle cell trait and resistance to malaria was first verified in Uganda using the chi-squared probability distribution. It goes on to explain …

Parasite Infection, Carcinogenesis And Human Malignancy., Hoang Van Tong, Paul J. Brindley, Christian G Meyer, Thirumalaisamy P Velavan

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

Cancer may be induced by many environmental and physiological conditions. Infections with viruses, bacteria and parasites have been recognized for years to be associated with human carcinogenicity. Here we review current concepts of carcinogenicity and its associations with parasitic infections. The helminth diseases schistosomiasis, opisthorchiasis, and clonorchiasis are highly carcinogenic while the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, the causing agent of Chagas disease, has a dual role in the development of cancer, including both carcinogenic and anticancer properties. Although malaria per se does not appear to be causative in carcinogenesis, it is strongly associated with the occurrence of endemic Burkitt lymphoma in …

Yeast Help Identify Cytopathic Factors Of Zika Virus, Michael I. Bukrinsky

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

Accumulating evidence implicates Zika virus (ZIKV) in pathogenesis of microcephaly in newborns and Guillain-Barré syndrome in adults. However, it remains unclear which viral proteins are responsible for these effects and what are the underlying mechanisms of their pathogenic activity. A recent paper by Drs. Zhao and Gallo, and their colleagues at University of Maryland in Baltimore used fission yeast for genome-wide analysis of ZIKV proteins. They demonstrated cytopathogenic activity for seven ZIKV proteins, anaC, C, prM, M, E, NS2B and NS4A. This activity was shown to be dependent on oxidative stress, and for NS4A they demonstrated involvement of the TOR …

Dysuria: An Uncommon Presentation In Emergency Department Following Bladder Neck Disruption., Ali Pourmand, Assya Abdallah, Hamid Shokoohi, Mindy Park, Marie White, Francis O'Connell

Emergency Medicine Faculty Publications

Prostate cancer is the most common life-threatening cancer diagnosed in men. Complications of prostatectomies vary and often include urinary incontinence, erectile dysfunction and pain, while other complications go unreported. While emergency physicians are already familiar with the more common post-operative complications presenting to their departments, including urinary retention, ileus, surgical site infections, venous thromboembolisms and urinary tract infections, they must have a high index of suspicion for rarer complications. We report a case of posterior bladder neck disruption as a complication of a robotic assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy that presented to the emergency department as dysuria and abdominal pain following urination.

Junctional Ectopic Tachycardia Secondary To Myocarditis Associated With Sudden Cardiac Arrest, Michael E. A. Cunningham, Robin W. Doroshow, Laura Oliveri, Jeffrey P. Moak

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Metastatic Melanoma To The Bladder: Case Report And Review Of The Literature., Rohit V. Patil, Solomon L Woldu, Elena Lucas, Andrew M Quinn, Franto Francis, Vitaly Margulis

Urology Faculty Publications

A 49-year-old Caucasian woman presented to the dermatology clinic for follow-up of malignant melanoma with a complaint of painless gross hematuria. Two years prior she was diagnosed with malignant melanoma from a skin lesion on her left flank treated with wide excision, negative axillary sentinel lymph node biopsy, and adjuvant radiotherapy. Subsequently, she had no evidence of disease until urologic evaluation of her hematuria revealed two lesions in her bladder and cytopathology demonstrated findings consistent with malignant melanoma. We review literature on melanoma metastatic to the bladder and discuss the potential role of metastasectomy and other treatment strategies in such …

Cold Atmospheric Plasma, A Novel Promising Anti-Cancer Treatment Modality., Dayun Yan, Jonathan H Sherman, Michael Keidar

Neurological Surgery Faculty Publications

Over the past decade, cold atmospheric plasma (CAP), a near room temperature ionized gas has shown its promising application in cancer therapy. Two CAP devices, namely dielectric barrier discharge and plasma jet, show significantly anti-cancer capacity over dozens of cancer cell lines in vitro and several subcutaneous xenograft tumors in vivo. In contrast to conventional anti-cancer approaches and drugs, CAP is a selective anti-cancer treatment modality. Thus far establishing the chemical and molecular mechanism of the anti-cancer capacity of CAP is far from complete. In this review, we provide a comprehensive introduction of the basics of CAP, state of the …

Pcsk9 Genetic Variants And Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes: A Mendelian Randomisation Study, A. Schmidt, D. Swerdlow, M. Holmes, R. Patel, Z. Fairhurst-Hunter, Cara L. Carty, +Several Additional Authors

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND:

Statin treatment and variants in the gene encoding HMG-CoA reductase are associated with reductions in both the concentration of LDL cholesterol and the risk of coronary heart disease, but also with modest hyperglycaemia, increased bodyweight, and modestly increased risk of type 2 diabetes, which in no way offsets their substantial benefits. We sought to investigate the associations of LDL cholesterol-lowering PCSK9 variants with type 2 diabetes and related biomarkers to gauge the likely effects of PCSK9 inhibitors on diabetes risk.

METHODS:

In this mendelian randomisation study, we used data from cohort studies, randomised controlled trials, case control studies, and …

Infection Control In Labor And Delivery Room, Learning From The Small Hospital Based Project, Savera Aziz Ali, Sumera Aziz Ali

School of Nursing & Midwifery

Background: It has been estimated that around 36% of the neonatal deaths occur due to infection in the lower and middle income countries. Infection control is a more substantial area of concern, particularly in Labor and delivery room. Multiple factors can cause infection in the labor room, therefore it is important to assess various factors of maternal and neonatal infection. Hence we explored multiple factors through this project and developed the action plan to address those factors effectively.
Methods: During our Leadership and Management course, we conducted a project in Labor room pertaining to a prevalent issue. The whole process …

Soluble Factors Secreted By Endothelial Cells Allow For Productive And Latent Hiv-1 Infection In Resting Cd4+ T Cells, John Henry Morris, Tran Nguyen, Abuoma Nwadike, Mackenzie L. Geels

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

In vitro, it is difficult to infect resting CD4+ T cells with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV), but infections readily occur in vivo. Endothelial cells (ECs) interact with resting CD4+ T cells in vivo, and we found previously that EC stimulation leads to productive and latent HIV infection of resting CD4+ T cells. In this study, we further characterize the interactions between EC and resting T cells. We found that resting CD4+ T cells did not require direct contact with EC for productive and/or latent infection to occur, indicating the involvement of soluble factors. Among 30 cytokines tested in …

Brivaracetam (Briviact): A Novel Adjunctive Therapy For Partial-Onset Seizures, Farbod Khaleghi, Eric C. Nemec

Physician Associate Studies Faculty Publications

Epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological disorder and affects more than 65 million individuals worldwide.This condition is marked by the presence of epileptic seizures, which result from an abnormal synchronous firing of excitatory neurons in the brain. When neurons fire synchronously, a wave of depolarization known as a paroxysmal depolarizing shift occurs. During this period, the neurons experience a lowered resistance to firing, leading to multiple action potentials that generate abnormally increased electrical activity within the brain.

Dosing Of Education For Patients Newly Diagnosed With Multiple Sclerosis, Laura K. Miller

Student Dissertations

The value of patient education has been widely documented in various patient populations. The main focus of this study is to evaluate the timing of patient education in correlation with the time since diagnosis. The goal of this study is to make recommendations for the optimal time in which patient education should be delivered following a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). This study evaluates self-advocacy using the Patient Self-Advocacy Scale (PSAS) which was completed pre and post educational programs. This data, combined with demographic data was analyzed for any relationships. Although no statistically significant findings were established, many important trends …

Clinical Risk Factors For Infective Endocarditis In Staphylococcus Aureus Bacteremia, Vincent Bryan D Salvador, Bikash Chapagain, Astha Joshi, Debra J Brennessel

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Crucial to the management of staphylococcal bacteremia is an accurate evaluation of associated endocarditis, which has both therapeutic and prognostic implications. Because the clinical presentation of endocarditis can be nonspecific, the judicious use of echocardiography is important in distinguishing patients at high risk of developing endocarditis. In the presence of high-risk clinical features, an early transesophageal echocardiogram is warranted without prior transthoracic echocardiography.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical risk factors for staphylococcal infective endocarditis that might warrant earlier transesophageal echocardiography and to describe the incidence of endocarditis in cases of methicillin-resistant and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus …

Family Strategies To Support Siblings Of Pediatric Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Patients., Taylor E. White, Kristopher A. Hendershot, Margie D. Dixon, Wendy Pelletier, Ann Haight, Kristin Stegenga, Melissa A. Alderfer, Lydia Cox, Jeffrey M. Switchenko, Pamela Hinds, Rebecca D. Pentz

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

OBJECTIVE: To describe the strategies families report using to address the needs and concerns of siblings of children, adolescents, and young adults undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT).

METHODS: A secondary semantic analysis was conducted of 86 qualitative interviews with family members of children, adolescents, and young adults undergoing HSCT at 4 HSCT centers and supplemented with a primary analysis of 38 additional targeted qualitative interviews (23 family members, 15 health care professionals) conducted at the primary center. Analyses focused on sibling issues and the strategies families use to address these issues.

RESULTS: The sibling issues identified included: (1) feeling …

Percutaneous Valvuloplasty For Bioprosthetic Tricuspid Valve Stenosis, Gaurav Rana, Rohit Malhotra, Anjali Sharma, Nikolaos Kakouros

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Percutaneous transcatheter tricuspid balloon valvuloplasty (PTTBV) is an accepted treatment option for symptomatic severe native tricuspid valve stenosis, although surgical tricuspid valve replacement remains the treatment of choice. There have been few reports of successful PTTBV for bioprosthetic tricuspid valve stenosis. We present case reports of 3 patients from our hospital experience. Two of the 3 cases were successful, with lasting clinical improvement, whereas the 3rd patient failed to show a reduction in valve gradient. We describe the standard technique used for PTTBV. We present results from a literature review that identified 16 previously reported cases of PTTBV for bioprosthetic …

Cancer Antigen 125 Is Associated With Length Of Stay In Patients With Acute Heart Failure, Hakki Kaya, Recep Kurt, Osman Beton, Ali Zorlu, Hasan Yucel, Hakan Gunes, Didem Oguz, Mehmet Birhan Yilmaz

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

Length of stay is the primary driver of heart-failure hospitalization costs. Because cancer antigen 125 has been associated with poor morbidity and mortality rates in heart failure, we investigated the relationship between admission cancer antigen 125 levels and lengths of stay in heart-failure patients. A total of 267 consecutive patients (184 men, 83 women) with acute decompensated heart failure were evaluated prospectively. The median length of stay was 4 days, and the patients were classified into 2 groups: those with lengths of stay ≤4 days and those with lengths of stay >4 days. Patients with longer lengths of stay had …

Fare Thee Well, Dr Cooley, Herbert L Fred, James T Willerson

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

No abstract provided.

Titanium Plug Closure After Heartware Ventricular Assist Device Explantation In A 15-Year-Old Girl: First Us Experience, Diego A Lara, Aamir Jeewa, Barbara A Elias, Elizabeth O Mccullum, Susan W Denfield, William J Dreyer, Iki Adachi

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

We describe the case of a teenage girl with anthracycline-induced cardiomyopathy who received a HeartWare ventricular assist device and underwent successful device explantation after cardiac recovery. During device support, the patient's cardiac function returned to normal. Twelve months after implantation, we explanted the device via repeat median sternotomy. To close the hole in the left ventricular apex and preserve the sewing ring in case future device support is needed, we used a German-manufactured titanium plug, developed specifically for this purpose. To our knowledge, this is the first use of this plug in the United States. The patient recovered uneventfully and …