Virus Diseases Commons^™

Take Care Of One Another, John J. Petillo

University Briefings & Virtual Events

We are living in anxious times: A pandemic. Financial crisis. Racial, social and political divisions. And, now election uncertainties on a national level. The collective impact of all these stressors impacts each one of us.

Coevolution, Dynamics And Allostery Conspire In Shaping Cooperative Binding And Signal Transmission Of The Sars-Cov-2 Spike Protein With Human Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2, Gennady M. Verkhivker

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Binding to the host receptor is a critical initial step for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to enter into target cells and trigger virus transmission. A detailed dynamic and energetic view of the binding mechanisms underlying virus entry is not fully understood and the consensus around the molecular origins behind binding preferences of SARS-CoV-2 for binding with the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) host receptor is yet to be established. In this work, we performed a comprehensive computational investigation in which sequence analysis and modeling of coevolutionary networks are combined with atomistic molecular simulations and comparative binding free energy analysis of …

Coronavirus Update 11-3-20, The Coronavirus Planning Team

University Briefings & Virtual Events

With a rise in COVID cases around the state, Connecticut’s governor has rolled back many of the state regulations from Phase 3 to Phase 2. This does not have a tremendous impact on the University, because we did not move to Phase 3 in many areas.

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 96, No. 11, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news. This issue contains articles:

• Murray, Debra. Campaigning During COVID-19
• Stryker, Shane. Third Party Candidates Present Options Outside Democrats & Republicans
• WKU Young Democrats
• WKU College Republicans
• Serrano, Francisco. A Voice of Change for the Young Generation
• Thornton, Maggie. Kentucky’s 1^st Congressional District
• Holland, Kelley. Kentucky’s 2^nd Congressional District
• Latimer, Jacob. Senate Candidates on College-Level Issues – Mitch McConnell, Amy McGrath
• Collins, Michael. District 20 Candidates on the Issues – Patti Minter, Leanette Lopez
• Who’s Running for City Commission?

Associations Between Household-Level Exposures And All-Cause Diarrhea And Pathogen-Specific Enteric Infections In Children Enrolled In Five Sentinel Surveillance Studies, Josh M. Colston, Abu S G. Faruque, M Jahangir Hossain, Debasish Saha, Suman Kanungo, Inácio Mandomando, Muhammad Imran Nisar, Anita K. M. Zaidi, Richard Omore, Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Diarrheal disease remains a major cause of childhood mortality and morbidity causing poor health and economic outcomes. In low-resource settings, young children are exposed to numerous risk factors for enteric pathogen transmission within their dwellings, though the relative importance of different transmission pathways varies by pathogen species. The objective of this analysis was to model associations between five household-level risk factors-water, sanitation, flooring, caregiver education, and crowding-and infection status for endemic enteric pathogens in children in five surveillance studies. Data were combined from 22 sites in which a total of 58,000 stool samples were tested for 16 specific enteropathogens using …

From Ace2 To Covid-19: A Multiorgan Endothelial Disease, Richard A. Stein, Lauren M. Young

Publications and Research

Editorial

Dissecting Drivers Of Basal Immunity And Acute Responses To Viral Infection, Aisha Nadia Hegab Souquette

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Heterogeneity in the human immune system can lead to limited vaccine efficacy, poor response to therapeutics, increased susceptibility to immune mediated diseases, and differential outcome to infection. Studies to date have suggested a role for biological, environmental, and genetic factors in immune variation; however, they are often focused on a specific subset of the population (e.g. ancestral group, age range) which can exclude phenotypes unique to a diverse population and bias results. To address this gap, we have utilized samples from healthy or influenza virus infected subjects from 8 distinct populations in 5 countries to conduct an integrative analysis of …

Attenuation Of Interferon Responses In The Obese Host And Ramifications For Influenza Virus Evolution, Rebekah Reed Honce

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

The most insidious pandemic of modern life does not arise from an infectious agent but rather from malnutrition. With its global incidence tripling over the past three decades, obesity is a major public health concern. Obesity’s rising prevalence has also illuminated its impact on communicable diseases. Following the 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus pandemic, obesity was identified as a risk factor for increased disease severity and mortality in infected individuals. Obesity causes a chronic state of meta-inflammation with systemic implications for immunity, including delayed antiviral responses to influenza virus infection, poor recovery, and impaired immunological memory. However, the majority of …

Coronavirus Update 10-30-20, The Coronavirus Planning Team

University Briefings & Virtual Events

We all want to be here until Thanksgiving as planned, and we don’t want you to have to spend your final weeks in quarantine. Please use good judgment this weekend.

Coronavirus Update 10-23-20, The Coronavirus Planning Team

University Briefings & Virtual Events

While we are asking you to stay on campus as much as possible, the good news is that there will be plenty to do.

Role Of Interleukin-1 Family Members And Signaling Pathways In Kshv Pathogenesis, Lindsey Barrett, Jungang Chen, Lu Dai, Karlie Plaisance-Bonstaff, Luis Del Valle, Zhiqiang Qin

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 96, No. 10, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news. This issue contains articles:

• Nutter, Abbey. Haunting on the Hill
• Latimer, Jacob. Campus Community Expresses Their Thoughts on Buildings & Colleges Connected to Slave Owners
• Collins, Michael. Greek Organizations Under Scrutiny for COVID-19 Violations
• Cox, Alex. Editorial Cartoon re: Body Image
• College Diet Culture
• Frazier, Keilen & Anna Leachman. Carving New Paths – Southwest Kentucky Mountain Bike Association
• E-Sports Explained
• Gaylord, Kaden. Nothing to Celebrate About That Win – Football
• Hargrove, Matthew. Tyrell Pigrome’s Late Touchdown Gives Hilltoppers First Win in Two Weeks – Football

Coronavirus Update 10-27-20, The Coronavirus Planning Team

University Briefings & Virtual Events

We want to start by talking about Halloween.

Covid-19 And Quantitative Literacy: Focusing On Probability, Michael A. Lewis

Numeracy

The COVID-19 pandemic is arguably the worst crisis the world has faced, so far, in this new century. We haven’t seen a pandemic like this since the 1918 Flu at the beginning of the last century, and, as of this writing, there appears to be no end in sight. What those of us who’re focused on quantitative methods have noticed, in addition to the many people dying, becoming ill, and losing their livelihoods, is the importance of quantitative literacy to an understanding of what’s going on. That’s what this article is about. Specifically, it’s about how the COVID-19 pandemic is …

Meeting Minutes, Wku Council Of Academic Deans

Council of Academic Deans

Meeting regarding South Central Workforce Development Board, capital allocations, faculty handbook, full year scheduling, search processes/protocols, faculty mental health & burnout and post-Thanksgiving office staffing.

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 96, No. 9, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news. This issue contains articles:

• Aboah, Henri. Blooming – Flower Shops
• Reynolds, Easton. Record Setting Voter Turnout Expected This Election Season
• Collins, Michael. Grocery Shopping In a Pandemic
• Mallon, Sam. Fighting for Peace – Bowling Green for Peace
• Tomlin, Laura. WKU Environmental Health & Safety Provides Do’s & Don’t’s for This Halloween During COVID-19
• It’s Time for WKU to Switch to Environmentally-friendly Take-out Products – Dining Services
• Keiser, Nick. Covering a WKU Football Game Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Hargrove, Matthew. In Ruins – Football
• Gaylord, Kaden. The Offense Doesn’t Have …

Analysis Of Kshv B Lymphocyte Lineage Tropism In Human Tonsil Reveals Efficient Infection Of Cd138+ Plasma Cells, Farizeh Aalam, Ramina Nabiee, Jesus Ramirez Castano, Jennifer Totonchy

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Despite 25 years of research, the basic virology of Kaposi Sarcoma Herpesviruses (KSHV) in B lymphocytes remains poorly understood. This study seeks to fill critical gaps in our understanding by characterizing the B lymphocyte lineage-specific tropism of KSHV. Here, we use lymphocytes derived from 40 human tonsil specimens to determine the B lymphocyte lineages targeted by KSHV early during de novo infection in our ex vivo model system. We characterize the immunological diversity of our tonsil specimens and determine that overall susceptibility of tonsil lymphocytes to KSHV infection varies substantially between donors. We demonstrate that a variety of B lymphocyte …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 96, No. 8, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news. This issue contains articles:

• Lowe, Julianna. A Look Inside – Jamison Moorehead, Quarantine
• Burris, Lily. Day in the Life – Sharon Hunter
• Collins, Michael & Lauren Deppen. Need to Know – COVID-19
• Frazier, Keilen. Homecoming in Barnes-Campbell Hall – Quarantine
• Lowe, Julianna. Survey to Student – Dining Services, Quarantine
• Collins, Michael. Kentucky Universities’ Records on COVID-19
• Burris, Lily. Voices on the Inside – Sam Padgett, Chris Willis, Parker Randall, River Carter, Iyanla Shackelford
• Hargrove, Matthew. Herd Tramples WKU – Football
• Gaylord, Kaden. Travis Hudson is the Greatest of All …

Analysis Of Covid-19 Burden, Epidemiology And Mitigation Strategies In Muslim Majority Countries, Rachel Jardine, James Wright, Zainab Samad, Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta

Section of Cardiology

Background: Muslim majority countries have experienced a considerable burden of COVID-19 infection. However, there has been a relative lack of research comparing COVID-19 outbreaks and responses between Muslim-majority countries.
Aims: This study aimed to analyse COVID-19 burden, epidemiology and mitigation strategies in Muslim-majority countries.
Methods: We use a mixed-methods approach to describe the course of the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the Islamic world, highlight the range of non-pharmaceutical interventions used and the speed with which they were implemented, and investigate reasons behind the differing responses between Muslim-majority countries. The number of cases and deaths per million population, and the mean time …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 96, No. 7, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news. This issue contains articles:

• Murray, Debra. Truckin’ Great: COVID-19 Leads to New Dining Options
• Bertucci, Leo. WKU COVID-dashboard Lacks Active Case Count
• Rash, Liza. Math Department Head Responds to Demotion, Reanalyzes Model 41 Days Later - Bruce Kessler
• Kieser, Nick. Lady Topper Golf Finishes Second in Hoover Invitational
• Cox, Alexander. Editorial Cartoon re: Scholarship Money
• Opening Doors: New Scholarships Show that WKU Cares
• Edmonds, Garrett. Student Government Association President Garrett Edmonds Plans for New Academic Year
• Hargrove, Matthew. Tops Take Victory – Football
• Gaylord, Kaden. Don’t Let This Be …

From Caregiver To Patient And Back Again ... My Covid Experience, Marie B. Thornton

Journal of Interprofessional Practice and Collaboration

As a Registered Nurse and a member of the nursing faculty at a public university, my primary role and instinct is to be a caregiver. Here is my story about becoming a patient with COVID-19 and finally returning to be a caregiver once again.

Project Soar Research Informs National Policy Change In Tanzania Expanding Access To Hiv Services For Marginalized Populations, Population Council

Research Utilization and Impact Briefs

A recent Project SOAR study evaluated community-based delivery of antiretroviral treatment to female sex workers (FSWs) in Tanzania, demonstrating the value of this approach to improve HIV care. Informed by these findings, the Government of Tanzania changed national guidance to allow for community-based HIV treatment to better meet the needs of marginalized populations, including FSWs.

Coronavirus Update 10-2-20, The Coronavirus Planning Team

University Briefings & Virtual Events

Our ramped-up random testing of asymptomatic students went well this week, and we are processing the results. We tested more than 1,200 students and some faculty and staff. Next week, we begin saliva testing and will test even more community members. The testing method, called SalivaDirect, was developed by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health. It was granted an emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and has been used to test asymptomatic players and staff in the NBA. We are one of the first education institutions to use this test—if not the very first.

Can Viruses Cause Lupus?, Stephen I. Reeder

Selected Honors Theses

Like so many autoimmune diseases, the exact cause of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) remains unknown. Evidence points to both genetics and environment playing roles in the onset of the disease, but neither acts independent of the other. Genetics are the easier of the two to study with recent advances in the field making it easier to isolate genes shared by individuals with the disease. However, genetic studies reveal that there is almost certainly an environmental component to the development of SLE. The underlying pathology and existing research on environmental contributors to the development of SLE suggest that viruses could potentially …

Dana Drozina Ll.M. '21: Reflections On The Fall 2020 Semester, Dana Drozina

Law School Personal Reflections on COVID-19

No abstract provided.

Professor Jennifer S. Stevenson: Reflections On The Fall 2020 Semester, Jennifer S. Stevenson

Law School Personal Reflections on COVID-19

No abstract provided.

Professor Jeffrey Bellin: Reflections On The Fall 2020 Semester, Jeffrey Bellin

Law School Personal Reflections on COVID-19

No abstract provided.

Samy W. Abdallah '21: Reflections On The Fall 2020 Semester, Samy W. Abdallah

Law School Personal Reflections on COVID-19

No abstract provided.

Julian Miller '23: Reflections On The Fall 2020 Semester, Julian Miller

Law School Personal Reflections on COVID-19

No abstract provided.

Professor Stacy Kern-Scheerer: Reflections On The Fall 2020 Semester, Stacy Kern-Scheerer

Law School Personal Reflections on COVID-19

No abstract provided.