Organisms Commons^™

Impacts On Fitness Associated With Acquisition Of Gut Microbiota In Drosophila, Corinne Topolski

Honors Projects

Drosophila melanogaster is a model organism that has been studied to demonstrate the role of gut microbiota in fitness. It has already been established the gut microbiota is extremely important for the health of the organism, but the source of the microbiota has not been studied as thoroughly. In order to test if the source of microbiota affects the fitness of the individual, adult male and female flies were placed onto plates to defecate after being raised on standard food and food with carbenicillin. Stock eggs were washed in either water or a bleach solution, then placed on the defecation …

Cell Type Composition And Circuit Organization Of Clonally Related Excitatory Neurons In The Juvenile Mouse Neocortex, Cathryn R Cadwell, Federico Scala, Paul G Fahey, Dmitry Kobak, Shalaka Mulherkar, Fabian H Sinz, Stelios Papadopoulos, Zheng H Tan, Per Johnsson, Leonard Hartmanis, Shuang Li, Ronald J Cotton, Kimberley F Tolias, Rickard Sandberg, Philipp Berens, Xiaolong Jiang, Andreas Savas Tolias

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Clones of excitatory neurons derived from a common progenitor have been proposed to serve as elementary information processing modules in the neocortex. To characterize the cell types and circuit diagram of clonally related excitatory neurons, we performed multi-cell patch clamp recordings and Patch-seq on neurons derived from Nestin-positive progenitors labeled by tamoxifen induction at embryonic day 10.5. The resulting clones are derived from two radial glia on average, span cortical layers 2–6, and are composed of a random sampling of transcriptomic cell types. We find an interaction between shared lineage and connection type: related neurons are more likely to …

Lavender Aromatherapy: Ready For Prime-Time Office Use?, Dennis J. Baumgardner

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

The editor-in-chief of Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews comments on the perioperative use of lavender aromatherapy and its potential to relieve pain and anxiety during minor primary care office procedures.

Prevalence Of The Hypervirulent Nap1/Bi/027 Strain Of C. Difficile In Southwestern Virginia And Risk Factors Associated With Infection, Andrew O. Hanna, Anthony Baffoe-Bonnie, Shikha Vasudeva

Graduate Medical Education (GME) Resident and Fellow Research Day Posters

C. difficile infection (CDI) incidence has increased over the last several decades. The BI/NAP1/027 ribotype was discovered in 2005 and has since been responsible for multiple outbreaks in the US and Canada. This subtype of C. Difficile is known to be more virulent in vivo and produce more severe disease. Limited regional data of the prevalence of this ribotype is available, which could help guide treatment. Using infection control data from a large regional hospital and a VA medical center, this study documented the prevalence of the 027 ribotype in Southwest Virginia. Patients were included if they were tested at …

Tick-Borne Infections In New Hampshire: An Evaluation Of The Diagnostic Process In A Local Patient Population, Katherine Anderson

Honors Theses and Capstones

Overall, approximately 95 percent of reported cases of vector-borne disease were associated with ticks, making these the most medically important group of arthropods in the United States.¹ Despite the prevalence of tick-borne infections, the process for the diagnosis of this condition is not well studied. This study aims to analyze data from a pool of 100 patients who underwent testing for tick-borne disease in the same institution in Dover, New Hampshire during the most recent peak tick season of 2019. Information utilized in this study included: patient age, sex, location of testing (inpatient versus outpatient), diagnostic testing methods used …

Extensively Drug-Resistant Pseudomonas Aeruginosa In Vitro Susceptibility And Mechanisms Of Resistance, Chanah Gallagher

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacy

Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes severe healthcare-associated infections. Forty-eight extensively drug-resistant (XDR)-P. aeruginosa isolates were selected from 287 isolates collected for evaluation based on clinical susceptibility data. In vitro activity of commonly utilized antimicrobials (i.e. antipseudomonal beta-lactams, aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolones, and polymyxins) plus ceftolozane-tazobactam, ceftazidime-avibactam, and aztreonam-avibactam against XDR-P. aeruginosa were determined. The mechanism of resistance profile was determined through phenotypic expression analysis. Overall, polymyxin B and colistin were 100% susceptible. Apart from the polymyxins, ceftolozane-tazobactam had the highest susceptibility (94%) followed by ceftazidime-avibactam (90%) and amikacin (83%). Ceftolozane-tazobactam activity was not significantly different from ceftazidime-avibactam (p=0.6831). Only 40% of isolates …

Mucosa-Associated Microbiota In Barrett’S Esophagus, Dysplasia, And Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Differ Similarly Compared With Healthy Controls, Shajan Peter, Amanda Pendergraft,, William Vanderpol, Mel Wilcox, Kondal R. Kyanam Kabir Baig, Casey Morrow, Jacques Izard, Peter J. Mannon

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Introduction: Alterations in the composition of the human gut microbiome and its metabolites have been linked to gut epithelial neoplasia. We hypothesized that differences in mucosa-adherent Barrett’s microbiota could link to risk factors, providing risk of progression to neoplasia.

Methods: Paired biopsies from both diseased and nonaffected esophagus (as well as gastric cardia and gastric juice for comparison) from patients with intestinal metaplasia (n = 10), low grade dysplasia (n = 10), high grade dysplasia (n = 10), esophageal adenocarcinoma (n = 12), and controls (n = 10) were processed for mucosa-associated bacteria …

Mapping Misinformation In The Coronavirus Outbreak, Ana Santos Rutschman

All Faculty Scholarship

The coronavirus outbreak has sent ripples of fear and confusion across the world. These sentiments—and our collective responses to the outbreak—are made worse by rampant misinformation surrounding the new strain of the virus, COVID-2019. In this post, I survey some of the most pervasive areas of tentacular coronavirus-related misinformation that has proliferated online -- as well as the responses of social media companies like YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest and TikTok that may ultimately prove inadequate given the magnitude of the problem.

The Use Of Probiotics To Prevent Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia In Adults, Michael Roper, Paige Douthett

Physician Assistant Capstones, 2016 to 2019

Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of preventing the acquisition of ventilator- associated pneumonia with the use of probiotic supplementation, as compared to a placebo, among hospitalized adult men and women receiving more than 24 hours of mechanical ventilation. Design: Systematic Literature Review. Methods: Systematic searches were conducted through PubMed and Scopus using the search terms “ventilator”, “probiotics”, and “prevention”. Records were excluded from the analysis if they were published before 2015, full text was not available, studies other than randomized control trial or cohort studies, and if the study population was less than 18 years old. Results: Of …

Oral Fungal Microbiota: To Thrush And Beyond, Dennis J. Baumgardner

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

The oral microbiota is complex, multikingdom, interactive, and involves extensive biofilm formation. While dominated by bacteria, Candida is a frequent member of this microbiota; however, several other potentially pathogenic fungi (among around 100 identified species) appear to reside in some individuals, including Cryptococcus, Aspergillus, and Fusarium. Oral candidiasis may manifest as a variety of disease entities in normal hosts and in the immunocompromised. These include pseudomembranous candidiasis (thrush), hyperplastic or atrophic (denture) candidiasis, linear gingival erythema, median rhomboid glossitis, and angular cheilitis. The purpose of this review is to describe the oral fungal microbiota (ie, oral mycobiota), …

The Essential Role Of Carbon Metabolism In The Virulence Of Cryptococcus Neoformans, Mara Weigner

Senior Honors Theses

Cryptococcus neoformans infections are a major cause of meningoencephalitis in immunosuppressed patients worldwide. Inhaled as spores or desiccated yeast cells, C. neoformans can undergo metabolic changes in response to the new host environment that allow it to cross the blood brain barrier and cause deadly central nervous system (CNS) infections. Nutrient acquisition, and specifically carbon metabolism, is critical for survival and proliferation within the host. Notably, efficient carbon metabolism is necessary to produce the polysaccharide capsule, which is arguably C. neoformans’ most important and well-studied virulence factor. As such, a better understanding of carbon acquisition and regulation is essential for …

Generation Of An Oncolytic Adenovirus Targeting The Cxcr4 And Cxcr7 Chemokine Receptors In Breast Cancer, Samia Melissa O'Bryan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Breast cancer is the most diagnosed cancer in women under 60 and the second most diagnosed cancer in women over 60. While treatments for localized breast cancer are quite successful with high survival rates at 99%, advanced breast cancer remains hard to treat with a nearly 75% decrease in survival. Current treatments are inefficient at treating advanced stages of breast cancer, and thus, new therapies are sorely needed to address the complexity of advanced stage breast cancer. The ideal therapy would be capable of systemic administration, targets cancer cells and spares normal tissue. Oncolytic adenovirus is an ideal therapeutic vector …

Plasticity In The Human Gut Microbiome Defies Evolutionary Constraints, Andres Gomez, Ashok Kumar Sharma, Elizabeth K. Mallott, Klara J. Petrzelkova, Carolyn A. Jost Robinson, Carl J. Yeoman, Franck Carbonero, Barbora Pafco, Jessica M. Rothman, Alexander Ulanov, Klara Vickova, Katherine R. Amato, Stephanie L. Schnorr, Nathaniel J. Dominy, David Modry, Angelique Todd, Manolito Torralba, Karen E. Nelson, Michael B. Burns, Ran Blekhman, Melissa Remis, Rebecca M. Stumpf, Brenda A. Wilson, H. Rex Gaskins, Paul A. Garber, Bryan A. White, Steven R. Leigh

Anthropology Faculty Research

The gut microbiome of primates, including humans, is reported to closely follow host evolutionary history, with gut microbiome composition being specific to the genetic background of its primate host. However, the comparative models used to date have mainly included a limited set of closely related primates. To further understand the forces that shape the primate gut microbiome, with reference to human populations, we expanded the comparative analysis of variation among gut microbiome compositions and their primate hosts, including 9 different primate species and 4 human groups characterized by a diverse set of subsistence patterns (n = 448 samples). The results …

Short Amylin Receptor Antagonist Peptides Improve Memory Deficits In Alzheimer’S Disease Mouse Model, Rania Soudy, Ryoichi Kimura, Aarti Patel, Wen Fu, Kamaljit Kaur, David Westaway, Jing Yang, Jack Jhamandas

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Recent evidence supports involvement of amylin and the amylin receptor in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We have previously shown that amylin receptor antagonist, AC253, improves spatial memory in AD mouse models. Herein, we generated and screened a peptide library and identified two short sequence amylin peptides (12–14 aa) that are proteolytically stable, brain penetrant when administered intraperitoneally, neuroprotective against Aβ toxicity and restore diminished levels of hippocampal long term potentiation in AD mice. Systemic administration of the peptides for five weeks in aged 5XFAD mice improved spatial memory, reduced amyloid plaque burden, and neuroinflammation. The common residue SQELHRLQTY …

Phylogenetic Estimates Of Hiv-1 Gp120 Indel Rates Across The Group M Subtypes, John Palmer, Art Poon

Western Research Forum

Insertions and deletions (indels) in the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein gp120 play a significant role in the evolution of HIV pathogenesis and transmission fitness. While substitution rates in HIV-1 are well characterized by phylogenetic models, there is a lack of quantitative measures of indel rates in HIV-1. Here we use a dated-tip phylogenetic analysis of gp120 sequences to estimate indel rates for 7 subtypes and CRFs of HIV-1 group M.

We obtained and processed 26,359 HIV-1 gp120 sequences from the Los Alamos National Laboratory HIV Sequence database. After filtering these sequences, we extracted the conserved and variable regions from the remaining …

Author Correction: Fuctional Eubacteria Species Along With Transdomain Gut Inhabitants Favour Dysgenic Diversity In Oxalate Stone Disease, Mangesh V. Suryananshi, Shrikant S. Bhute, Rahul P. Gune, Yogesh S. Shouche

Life Sciences Faculty Research

This Article contains an error in the order of the Figures. Figures 2, 3 and 4 were published as Figures 4, 2, and 3 respectively. The correct Figures 2, 3 and 4 appear below as Figs 1, 2 and 3respectively. The Figure legends are correct.

Amphotercin Washout Of Fungal Peritonitis In Liver Transplant Recipient: A Novel Approach, Ann Thompson, Mara Piltin, Alyssa Imperatore, Ely Sebastian, Sandra Paluzzi

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Invasive fungal infection has a significant prevalence among organ transplant patients and is associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Fungal infection is difficult to identify early and subsequently difficult to effectively treat. In this case presentation we have a 45 y/o orthotopic liver transplant recipient who was profoundly sick from fungal peritonitis and due to the appearance of her abdomen and intestines, with the help of infectious disease, decided to proceed with direct amphotercin washout of the abdomen in the operating room. The patient had complete resolution of her fungal peritonitis and is doing well.

Mucormycosis - Dual Therapy With Prolonged Survival, Maydelin Pecchio, Yariela Osabio, Yariela Morales, Forest W. Arnold

Journal of Refugee & Global Health

Mucorales fungal infection is a fungal disease with potentially fatal outcomes. The most frequent involvement in humans comes from the orders known as Mucorales and Entomophthorales. Mucorales is more acute and has a predilection for immunocompromised patients. Mucorales are associated with an affinity for vessels, which leads to invasion and infarction of tissue. Mucormycosis is a devastating complication that can be a life threatening fungal invasion in many patients in an immunocompromised state.

Severity Of Disease And Mortality For Hospitalized Patients With Community-Acquired Viral Pneumonia Compared To Patients With Community-Acquired Bacterial Pneumonia, Richard Y. Kim, Thomas Chandler, Stephen P. Furmanek, Timothy Lee Wiemken, Rodrigo Cavallazzi

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

Background: There exists a large body of literature to help identify, diagnose, treat, and manage community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Despite this, there is little data that directly compares the clinical syndromes and complications of pure bacterial pneumonia to pure viral pneumonia. Our study compares the clinical presentation, morbidity and mortality of viral vs. bacterial etiologies of CAP.

Methods: This was a secondary data analysis of the Community-Acquired Pneumonia Organization (CAPO) international study database. Data was collected concerning patient demographics, physical examination findings, laboratory findings, radiological findings, severity of illness, and clinical outcomes and stratified according to the two study groups, CAVP …

Adaptation Of The Streptococcal Collagen-Like Protein 1, Scl1, Of Group A Streptococcus To Recognize Fibronectin Type Iii Repeats, Dudley H. Mcnitt

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Background: Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is responsible more than 700 million infections worldwide each year. Most of these infections start with initial colonization of the throat and skin, which is augmented by surface adhesins. The streptococcal collagen-like protein 1 (Scl1) is a major adhesin expressed by GAS that contains an N-terminal sequence-variable (V) domain, protruded away from the cell surface by the collagen domain. The Scl-V domain is comprised of three pairs of anti-parallel α-helices interconnected by surface-exposed loops. For attachment, GAS adhesins require a portal of entry, such as a wound or breach in the epithelium, to enter …

The Role Of Non-Neuronal Acetylcholine In Urogenital Chlamydial Infection, Jessica R. Lockhart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Chlamydia trachomatiscauses a bacterial sexually transmitted infection, Chlamydia, that is often chronic and casues reproductive complications in women. We hypothesized that Chlamydia infection increases local acetylcholine (ACh) production, which regulates the host’s inflammatory response to the infection. Female mice infected with C. muridarumwere sacrificed at days 3, 9, 15, and 21 post-infection, genital tract tissues harvested, and immunohistochemistry performed to enumerate ACh-producing cells. Infection increased the number of ACh-producing cells in cervical tissue at days 3,15, and 21 post-infection (pi), uterine tissue at day 3 and 9 pi, and ovarian tissue day 3, 15, and 21 pi. These …

Nocardia Brasiliensis Infection After Hurricane Irma: Two Case Reports, Sarah Al-Obaydi Md, James Demaio, Nemer Dabage Md

Infectious Disease

Background: Although an increase in skin and soft tissue infections has been well documented after natural disasters, cases of Nocardia brasiliensis infection have not been included in prior reports. We present two cases of N. brasiliensis lymphadenitis that occurred in Manatee County, Florida after Hurricane Irma.

Methods: Case 1-A 75 year old immune competent male may have injured his arm while retrieving a golf ball approximately four weeks after Hurricane Irma. Ten days later he presented to the hospital with an abscess on his left forearm and a lymphadenitis extending nearly to the axilla. Despite treatment with vancomycin, the lymph …

Using Clinical Decision Support Within The Electronic Health Record To Reduce Incorrect Prescribing For Acute Sinusitis, Regina Ginzburg, Justin J. Conway, Eve Waltermaurer, Wendy Song, Samantha P. Jellinek-Cohen

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Purpose: Acute sinusitis has viral etiology in more than 90% of cases, but antibiotics are prescribed for more than 80% of adults in the United States. While applications of computer-assisted guidelines have been found effective in reducing inaccurate prescribing for acute respiratory infections, there is a paucity of research focused specifically on the utilization of electronic best practice alerts (BPA) in improving treatment for acute sinusitis.

Methods: This observational cohort study examined prescribing behavior for sinusitis at a single Federally Qualified Health Center 1 year prior and during the first year of implementation of a BPA in the electronic health …

Type 2 Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus NPro Suppresses Type I Interferon Pathway Signaling In Bovine Cells And Augments Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus Replication, Abdulrahman Abdulaziz A. Alkheraif

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) and bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) infections contribute to the bovine respiratory disease complex (BRDC), which is a multi-factorial disorder involving co-infections of viruses and bacteria including mycoplasma. BRDC causes great economic losses to the United States feedlot industry. BVDV infection induces immunosuppression in infected animals. BVDV N^pro binds and degrades the transcription factor interferon regulatory factor-3 (IRF-3) and effectively blocks type I interferon (type I IFN) expression in host cells. BRSV nonstructural proteins, NS1 and NS2, block activation of IRF-3. In calves, concurrent infection with BVDV and BRSV resulted in more severe clinical …

Infections Not Fought: Antibiotic Resistance In Underserved Communities, Derek Lillestolen

Senior Honors Theses

In 1928, the profound effects of penicillin were discovered and antibiotic treatments became extremely popular. Broad-spectrum antibiotics, like tetracyclines, have been since branded as cure-all prescriptions and used profusely in the Western World and abroad. Due to ignorance of specific biochemical mechanisms and the misuse of antibiotics these drugs inadvertently allowed the rise in prevalence of antibiotic resistant strains of certain bacteria as the century progressed. Now, the specific genetic causes and mechanisms of antibiotic resistance are being understood, but the fight against antimicrobial resistance is far from over. In the United States, thousands of fatalities are caused annually by …

Use Of Urine Antigen Testing For Blastomyces In An Integrated Health System, Dennis J. Baumgardner

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Purpose: Blastomycosis, an endemic fungal infection, mimics many other diseases. We explored the use of Blastomyces urine antigen (BuAg), reportedly the most sensitive noninvasive test, in clinical practice and compared it to other noninvasive tests.

Methods: A total of 836 BuAg tests performed on unique patients (first test only) at one large integrated health system from June 2013 to May 2016 were retrospectively reviewed to examine test characteristics and demographic features. Of these, 100 cases from 2015, a year containing a large local blastomycosis outbreak, were randomly selected for detailed analysis.

Results: Demographics for the BuAg-tested population: mean age 54.9 …

In Vitro Assay Development As An Alternative To The Use Of Laboratory Animals For Measuring Clostridium Perfingens Type C Toxoid, Lauren M. Wilmes

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Clostridium perfringens type C produces beta toxin, which is a primary virulence determinate that can cause necrotic enteritis in neonatal animals. Vaccines directed against C. perfringens toxins have shown to be efficacious in preventing disease. However, the production of a commercial vaccine requires not only an efficacious antigen, but also testing methods for quantifying antigens and potency on final product. This research was undertaken to fulfill a need for the reduction in small animal usage to produce and deliver vaccines. The current testing methods are performed in vivo according to the Code of Federal Regulations number 9 (9CFR) United …

Evaluation Of Vaccine Derived Poliovirus Type 2 Outbreak Response Options: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Karachi, Pakistan, Ali Faisal Saleem Dr, Mohammad Tahir Yousafzai, Ondrej Mach, Asia Khan, Farheen Quadri, William C. Weldon, M. Steven Oberste, Syed S. Zaidi, Muhammad M. Alam, Anita K. M. Zaidi

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Background: Outbreaks of circulating vaccine derived polioviruses type 2 (cVDPV2) remain a risk to poliovirus eradication in an era without live poliovirus vaccine containing type 2 in routine immunization. We evaluated existing outbreak response strategies recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for control of cVDPV2 outbreaks.
Methods: Seronegative children for poliovirus type 2 (PV2) at 22 weeks of life were assigned to one of four study groups and received respectively (1) one dose of trivalent oral poliovirus vaccine (tOPV); (2) monovalent OPV 2 (mOPV2); (3) tOPV together with a dose of inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV); or (4) mOPV2 with …

Central Nervous System Histoplasmosis: Multicenter Retrospective Study On Clinical Features, Diagnostic Approach And Outcome Of Treatment, Joseph Wheat, Thein Myint, Ying Guo, Phebe Kemmer, Chadi A. Hage, Colin Terry, Marwan M. Azar, James Riddell, Peter Ender, Sharon Chen, Kareem Shehab, Kerry Cleveland, Eden Esguerra, James Johnson, Patty Wright, Vanja Douglas, Pascalis Vergidis, Winnie Ooi, John Baddley, David Bamberger, Raed N. Khairy, Holenarasipur R. Vikram, Elizabeth Jenny-Avital, Geetha Sivasubramanian, Karen Bowlware, Barbara Pahud, Juan Sarria, Townson Tsai, Maha Assi, Satish Mocherla

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

Central nervous system (CNS) involvement occurs in 5 to 10% of individuals with disseminated histoplasmosis. Most experience has been derived from small single center case series, or case report literature reviews. Therefore, a larger study of central nervous system (CNS) histoplasmosis is needed in order to guide the approach to diagnosis, and treatment.

A convenience sample of 77 patients with histoplasmosis infection of the CNS was evaluated. Data was collected that focused on recognition of infection, diagnostic techniques, and outcomes of treatment.

Twenty nine percent of patients were not immunosuppressed. Histoplasma antigen, or anti-Histoplasma antibodies were detected in the …

Novel Combination Bmp7 And Hgf Gene Therapy Instigates Selective Myofibroblast Apoptosis And Reduces Corneal Haze In Vivo, Suneel Gupta, Michael K. Fink, Arkasubhra Ghosh, Ratnakar Tripathi, Prashant R. Sinha, Ajay Sharma, Nathan P. Hesemann, Shyam S. Chaurasia, Elizabeth A. Giuliano, Rajiv R. Mohan

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

PURPOSE. We tested the potential of bone morphogenic protein 7 (BMP7) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) combination gene therapy to treat preformed corneal fibrosis using established rabbit in vivo and human in vitro models.

METHODS. Eighteen New Zealand White rabbits were used. Corneal fibrosis was produced by alkali injury. Twenty-four hours after scar formation, cornea received topically either balanced salt solution (BSS; n ¼ 6), polyethylenimine-conjugated gold nanoparticle (PEI2-GNP)-naked plasmid (n ¼ 6) or PEI2-GNP plasmids expressing BMP7 and HGF genes (n ¼ 6). Donor human corneas were used to obtain primary human corneal fibroblasts and myofibroblasts for mechanistic studies. …