Organisms Commons^™

"Don't Look Up" Your Science-Herd Immunity Or Herd Mentality?, Botond Z Igyártó

Department of Microbiology and Immunology Faculty Papers

This analysis piece will attempt to examine some of the critical pandemic-related measures implemented in the United States from an immunological perspective and pinpoint caveats that should have been considered before their implementation. I also discuss alternative measures grounded in scientific data that were not thoroughly explored and likely could have helped fight the pandemic.

Solid-State Nmr Analysis Of Unlabeled Fungal Cell Walls From Aspergillus And Candida Species, Liyanage D. Fernando, Malitha C. Dickwella Widanage, S. Chandra Shekar, Frederic Mentink-Vigier, Ping Wang, Sungsool Wi, Tuo Wang

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Fungal infections cause high mortality in immunocompromised individuals, which has emerged as a significant threat to human health. The efforts devoted to the development of antifungal agents targeting the cell wall polysaccharides have been hindered by our incomplete picture of the assembly and remodeling of fungal cell walls. High-resolution solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (ss NMR) studies have substantially revised our understanding of the polymorphic structure of polysaccharides and the nanoscale organization of cell walls in Aspergillus fumigatus and multiple other fungi. However, this approach requires 13C/15N-enrichment of the sample being studied, severely restricting its application. Here we employ the dynamic …

Tracking The Source Of Helicobacter Pylori In Watersheds Of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Mary Elizabeth Sailors

Biology Theses

Helicobacter pylori is a pathogenic bacterium that infects more than half of the world’s population. The large number of H. pylori infections in Puerto Rico could be related to the waterborne transmission of the pathogen. While the San Juan Bay Estuary (SJBE) system is home to over three million people, water quality studies in this area of Puerto Rico are lacking. The goal of this study is to determine seasonal and yearly (2020-2021) shifts and relationships between the presence of H. pylori and host-specific (human and dog) Bacteroides in streams that flow through the northern coastal zone of Puerto Rico …

A Case Report Of Pulmonary Actinomycosis: A Diagnostic Quagmire, Sarah Akbani, Aderinsola O. Ademiluyi, Jonathan Dean, Vinita Mathur

Advances in Clinical Medical Research and Healthcare Delivery

The implications of misdiagnosis can be drastic, especially when the correct diagnosis is treatable. Pulmonary actinomycosis is one of the complications of infection with actinomyces, an anaerobic gram-positive organism that is usually found as a part of the normal flora in the human body infection. It is a very rare disease and is frequently mistaken with other diagnoses owing to its nonspecific presentation. In this report, we present a 67-year-old male with a mass like lesion on a CT scan of his chest that was done due to progressively worsening productive cough, weight loss and fatigue. These symptoms could have …

Investigating Alternative Induction Of The S. Aureus 80a Prophage, Jody Caretti

Student Scholar Showcase

Widespread antibiotic resistance has quickly become one of the most concerning crises affecting modern medicine, especially in cases of Staphylococcal infections, which have become resistant to all ��-lactam antibiotics. As a result, research into alternative forms of treatment for bacterial infections is a top priority. Bacteriophage therapy is a popular candidate for replacing antibiotics, due to the way the viruses interact with the bacteria. The 80�� prophage integrates its DNA into Staphylococcus aureus strain 10616 via the lysogenic cycle, and replicates with the bacterial cell. When stressed, the bacteria stop replicating and the prophage stimulates the lytic cycle, activating transcription …

A Quantitative Analysis Of The Efficacy Of Various Essential Oils Against The Sars Cov-2 Virus, Elizabeth Wagstaff, Chandrelyn Kraczek, Jack Brandon Lopez

Annual Research Symposium

A poster presentation and abstract for the Roseman Symposium. The project focuses on testing 3 essential oil blends and two disinfectants containing an essential oil blend against SARS CoV-2 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The project procedure involves plaque assays, disinfection, and neutralization techniques.

Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections: Patient Characteristics, Treatment, And Clinical Outcomes In One South Texas Acute Care Hospital, Kimberly A. Ambrosini, Jose Campo Maldonado

MEDI 9331 Scholarly Activities Clinical Years

Background: Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CA-UTIs) account for 40 percent of nosocomial infections worldwide. Their elimination is at the forefront of quality improvement in one South Texas acute care hospital.

Methods: Over a period of 6 months, five CA-UTIs occurred in one South Texas acute care hospital. These cases were identified via regular surveillance by Infection Prevention staff and the Laboratory Department of the hospital. This research reviews patient age, sex, length of stay, bacteria contracted, appropriate antibiotic use, patient characteristics, and overall outcomes.

Results: Between the months of July and December 2021, 5 CAUTIs were contracted. Patients …

Examining The Pulmonary Response To Repeated Vishniacozyma Victoriae Exposure And Its Association With Allergic Airway Disease, Rachael Erin Rush

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Allergic airway diseases such as asthma continue to increase in incidence in industrialized nations like the United States. These diseases are complex inflammatory processes involving numerous cells and mediators and are strongly influenced by fungal exposures. Recent developments in fungal detection methods have highlighted the contribution of Basidiomycota yeast species in indoor environments such as Vishniacozyma (syn. Cryptococcus) victoriae. However, despite the high levels of this yeast detected in indoor environments, very little is known about it or its role in respiratory morbidity. V. victoriae is phylogenetically similar to pathogenic Cryptococcus neoformans but lacks a capsule and is …