Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Covid-19 Pandemic In Brazil: Clinical Manifestation And Effect Of Comorbidities On Outcomes Of Hospitalized Sari Cases, Mario Keko, Karl E. Peace

Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Hospitalized SARI cases of 2020 reported to the Ministry of Health of Brazil through the SIVEP Gripe system are subject to our analysis. They are classified as COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 and clinical manifestations and comorbidities are reported for each group. The time trend in the number of cases reported in 2020 is compared to the previous year and the performance of the PCR test is explored in each group. The proportion of death is reported among different subgroups of the patients by epidemiological week. Logistic and Poisson regression models are used to check the effect of comorbidities on clinical outcomes.

Design, Synthesis And Applications Of Nanoparticles In Suppression Of Mosquito-Born Flaviviridae Viruses, Maria R. Blahove

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recently, nanoparticles have become an origin of exploration in the chemistry field due to their unique medical uses. The current drug delivery models of nanoparticles often include a metal base with a drug conjugated to its surface. However this raises concerns regarding toxicity. A novel approach to solving this dilemma is the development of nanosized biocompatible polymer-based micelles, created from PEG-PCL-PEG triblock polymer, and formed around a drug of choice. The goal is to create a drug carrier nanoparticle system that is labile at a specific intracellular pH, without undue toxicity to the cell. This creates a drug-loaded nanoparticle that …

The Use Of Penalized Regression Analysis To Identify County-Level Demographic And Socioeconomic Variables Predictive Of Increased Covid-19 Cumulative Case Rates In The State Of Georgia, Holly L. Richmond, Joana Tome, Haresh Rochani, Isaac Chun-Hai Fung, Gulzar H. Shah, Jessica S. Schwind

Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Systemic inequity concerning the social determinants of health has been known to affect morbidity and mortality for decades. Significant attention has focused on the individual-level demographic and co-morbid factors associated with rates and mortality of COVID-19. However, less attention has been given to the county-level social determinants of health that are the main drivers of health inequities. To identify the degree to which social determinants of health predict COVID-19 cumulative case rates at the county-level in Georgia, we performed a sequential, cross-sectional ecologic analysis using a diverse set of socioeconomic and demographic variables. Lasso regression was used to identify variables …

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Transmission Potential, Iran, 2020, Kamalich Muniz-Rodriguez, Isaac Fung, Shayesteh R. Ferdosi, Sylvia Ofori, Yiseul Lee, Amna Tariq, Gerardo Chowell

Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Publications

To determine the transmission potential of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in Iran in 2020, we estimated the reproduction number as 4.4 (95% CI 3.9–4.9) by using a generalized growth model and 3.5 (95% CI 1.3–8.1) by using epidemic doubling time. The reproduction number decreased to 1.55 after social distancing interventions were implemented.

Sars-Cov-2 Viral And Serological Testing When College Campuses Reopen: Some Practical Considerations, Isaac Chun-Hai Fung, Chi-Ngai Cheung, Andreas Handel

Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Publications

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic prompted universities across the United States to close campuses in Spring 2020. Universities are deliberating whether, when, and how they should resume in-person instruction in Fall 2020. In this essay, we discuss some practical considerations for the use of 2 potentially useful control strategies based on testing: (1) severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing followed by case-patient isolation and quarantine of close contacts, and (2) serological testing followed by an “immune shield” approach, that is, low social distancing requirements for seropositive persons. The isolation of case-patients and …

Epidemiology Of Cancers In Men Who Have Sex With Men (Msm): A Protocol For Umbrella Review Of Systematic Reviews, Manoj Kumar Honaryar, Yelena Tarasenko, Maribel Almonte, Vitaly Smelov

Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Publications

While earlier studies on men having sex with men (MSM) tended to examine infection-related cancers, an increasing number of studies have been focusing on effects of sexual orientation on other cancers and social and cultural causes for cancer disparities. As a type of tertiary research, this umbrella review (UR) aims to synthesize findings from existing review studies on the effects of sexual orientation on cancer. Relevant peer-reviewed systematic reviews (SRs) will be identified without date or language restrictions using MEDLINE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and the International Prospective Register for Systematic Reviews, among others. The research team members will …

Evaluating The Importation Of Yellow Fever Cases Into China In 2016 And Strategies Used To Prevent And Control The Spread Of The Disease, Chao Li, Dan Li, Shirley Joann Smart, Lei Zhou, Peng Yang, Jianming Ou, Yi He, Ruiqi Ren, Tao Ma, Nijuan Xiang, Haitian Sui, Yali Wang, Jian Zhao, Chaonan Wang, Yeping Wang, Daxin Ni, Isaac Chun-Hai Fung, Dexin Li, Yangmu Huang, Qun Li

Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Publications

During the yellow fever epidemic in Angola in 2016, cases of yellow fever were reported in China for the first time. The 11 cases, all Chinese nationals returning from Angola, were identified in March and April 2016, one to two weeks after the peak of the Angolan epidemic. One patient died; the other 10 cases recovered after treatment. This paper reviews the epidemiological characteristics of the 11 yellow fever cases imported into China. It examines case detection and disease control and surveillance, and presents recommendations for further action to prevent additional importation of yellow fever into China.

A Call For Consistency In The Official Naming Of The Disease Caused By Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 In Non-English Languages, Lu Dong, Zhe Li, Isaac Fung

Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Publications

We investigated the adoption of World Health Organization (WHO) naming of COVID-19 into the respective languages among the Group of Twenty (G20) countries, and the variation of COVID-19 naming in the Chinese language across different health authorities. On May 7, 2020, we identified the websites of the national health authorities of the G20 countries to identify naming of COVID-19 in their respective languages, and the websites of the health authorities in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and Singapore and identify their Chinese name for COVID-19. Among the G20 nations, Argentina, China, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Turkey do …

Designing Peptides To Bind Kappa B Dna And Mimic Nf-Kappa B Protein Complexes, Nicholas A. Markowich

Honors College Theses

Transcription factors are important proteins that regulate gene expression and protein synthesis. Transcription factors can either boost the gene’s transcription rate by helping RNA polymerase activate transcription or restrict it by interfering with RNA polymerase, thereby repressing transcription. Nuclear factor-kappa-B (NF-κB) transcription factors are a family of proteins that control the synthesis of proteins involved in many cellular processes such as inflammatory and immune responses, cell growth, and apoptosis. However, the overexpression and activation of these transcription factors is linked to deadly conditions such as cancer and neurodegenerative diseases which currently have few safe cures. The goal of this research …

Silicon Quantum Dots Conjunctive With Stable Radicals: Potential Application In Non-Invasive Cancer Diagnostics, Daylan R. Post

Honors College Theses

Quantum Dots, and nanomaterials in general, are one of the most promising areas of current physical study, especially their potential medical uses. In this study we introduced Nitroxide free radicals into a Silicon Quantum Dot (SiQD) solution and conducted experiments on the modified SiQDs in order to characterize their physical properties. We gathered emission, excitation, absorption and electron spin resonance (ESR) spectra of both modified and unmodified SiQDs. Previous studies have shown the possibility of using proteins as markers for cancer detection. Our measurements show the potential of using the interaction between these protein markers and SiQDs as a form …

Doubling Time Of The Covid-19 Epidemic By Province, China, Kamalich Muniz-Rodriguez, Gerardo Chowell, Chi-Hin Cheung, Dongyu Jia, Po-Ying Lai, Yiseul Lee, Manyun Liu, Sylvia Ofori, Kimberlyn M. Roosa, Lone Simonsen, Cecile Viboud, Isaac Fung

Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Publications

In China, the doubling time of the coronavirus disease epidemic by province increased during January 20–February 9, 2020. Doubling time estimates ranged from 1.4 (95% CI 1.2–2.0) days for Hunan Province to 3.1 (95% CI 2.1–4.8) days for Xinjiang Province. The estimate for Hubei Province was 2.5 (95% CI 2.4–2.6) days.

Auspicious Symbols Of Rank And Status, Byron Breedlove, Isaac Fung

Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Work published in Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Limited Early Warnings And Public Attention To Coronavirus Disease 2019 In China, January–February, 2020: A Longitudinal Cohort Of Randomly Sampled Weibo Users, Yuner Zhu, King-Wa Fu, Karen A. Grépin, Hai Liang, Isaac Fung

Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Objective:

Awareness and attentiveness have implications for the acceptance and adoption of disease prevention and control measures. Social media posts provide a record of the public’s attention to an outbreak. To measure the attention of Chinese netizens to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a pre-established nationally representative cohort of Weibo users was searched for COVID-19-related key words in their posts.

Methods:

COVID-19-related posts (N = 1101) were retrieved from a longitudinal cohort of 52 268 randomly sampled Weibo accounts (December 31, 2019–February 12, 2020).

Results:

Attention to COVID-19 was limited prior to China openly acknowledging human-to-human transmission on …

Everyone Loves Gummi Bears! Removing The Intimidation Factor From Research Data Management With Yummy Fun., Dawn N. Cannon-Rech, Jeffrey M. Mortimore

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

How do you get students excited about research data management and attract over 70 participants to a voluntary workshop? How do you get Librarians excited about teaching a research data management workshop to undergraduates? With the promise of Gummi Bears and hands-on fun! During this workshop session, presenters will break down their experience overhauling a faculty workshop into an active learning session to expose students of all experience levels to basic research data management concepts and techniques. Presenters will walk participants through their design process from inception to delivery, highlighting how Gummi Bears lessened students’ intimidation with this complex topic …

Rickettsialpox – A Rare But Not Extinct Disease: A Review Of The Literature And New Directions, Marina Eremeeva, Kamalich Muniz-Rodriguez

Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Smallpox rickettsia is an urban zoonosis caused by Rickettsia akari. To date, R. akari is the only characterized representative of the group of spotted fevers transmitted by the gamasid mite Liponyssoides sanguineus, which is common among peridomic rodents. This disease was first described in New York in 1946, and a few years later a similar outbreak occurred in the Ukrainian SSR. Numerous serological studies and diagnostics of sporadic cases of smallpox rickettsiosis suggest its widespread occurrence on the planet; however, the current geography and incidence of smallpox rickettsiosis is unknown. Smallpox rickettsiosis is characterized by the classic clinical triad of …

Short-Term Effects Of Ambient Ozone, Pm2. 5, And Meteorological Factors On Covid-19 Confirmed Cases And Deaths In Queens, New York., Atin Adhikari, Jingjing Yin

Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Publications

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2, has been rapidly increasing in the United States. Boroughs of New York City, including Queens county, turn out to be the epicenters of this infection. According to the data provided by the New York State Department of Health, most of the cases of new COVID-19 infections in New York City have been found in the Queens county where 42,023 people have tested positive, and 3221 people have died as of 20 April 2020. Person-to-person transmission and travels were implicated in the initial spread of the outbreaks, but factors …

Molecular Typing Of Rickettsia Akari, Marina E. Eremeeva

Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Rickettsia akari is an obligate intracellular bacterium that causes smallpox rickettsia. Rickettsia akari is an atypical member of the rickettsia spotted fever (SFG) group because it circulates in gamasid mites; however, only limited data are available regarding the degree of genetic diversity of R. akari isolates. We examined 13 isolates of R. akari isolated from humans, rodents, and ticks in the United States, the countries of the former USSR, and the former Yugoslavia for the period from 1946 to 2003 for diversity in the composition of tandem repeats (TR) and intergenic regions (IGR). Using the Tandem Repeat Finder software (http://tandem.bu.edu) …

Social Ecological Factors Affecting Substance Abuse In Ghana (West Africa) Using Photovoice, Ahmed Kabore, Evans Afriyie-Gyawu, James Awuah, Andrew R. Hansen, Ashley Walker, Melissa Hester, Moussa Aziz Wonadé Sié, Dhruv Medarametla, Nicolas Meda

Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Introduction: substance abuse is an important public health issue affecting West Africa; however, there is currently a dearth of literature on the actions needed to address it. The aim of this study was to assess the risks and protective factors of substance abuse in Ghana, West Africa, using the photovoice method.

Methods: this study recruited and trained 10 participants in recovery from substance abuse and undergoing treatment in the greater Accra region of Ghana on the photovoice methodology. Each participant received a disposable camera to take pictures that represented the risk and protective factors pertinent to substance abuse …

Caspases And Cancer: Connections Through Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy, Sarah M. Hethcox

Honors College Theses

While excessive cell death inevitably leads to negative effects, the endurance of damaged cells in the presence of death signals can be equally detrimental to health. Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is a highly regulated process in which cues from within or from outside a cell can trigger an irreversible sequence of signals that carry out cell destruction known as the apoptotic cascade. A group of enzymes called caspases play a vital role in this cascade with some participating as initiators and others acting as effectors of protein cleavage and intracellular breakdown. Although it is normal for the activity of …

Use Of Complementary And Alternative Medicine Among People With Cardiovascular Diseases In Southeast Georgia, Chimuanya Okoli, Stacy Carswell, Sewuese Akuse, Kelly L. Sullivan

Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Heart disease is a leading cause of death in the United States. Proper treatment of patients with cardiovascular disease is essential and can be challenged by non-disclosed use of complementary or alternative treatments. The objective of this study was to assess which demographics were associated with complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use and if education affects the use of CAM.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among a stratified random sample of residents of Southeastern Georgia. Sampling was stratified by urban/rural residence in order to reach sufficient rural residents. Participants that indicated they had been diagnosed with hypertension or …

Quasi-Likelihood Ratio Tests For Homoscedasticity Of Variance In Linear Regression, Lili Yu, Varadan Sevilimedu, Robert Vogel, Hani Samawi

Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Two quasi-likelihood ratio tests are proposed for the homoscedasticity assumption in the linear regression models. They require few assumptions than the existing tests. The properties of the tests are investigated through simulation studies. An example is provided to illustrate the usefulness of the new proposed tests.

Safety Constraint Optimization Of Combination Drug Therapy In Hypertension Clinical Trials, Victor Chukwu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In Clinical Practice, combination drug therapy has become common in treating many disease conditions. The purpose of these combinations is often to ensure optimal efficacy and to reduce adverse effects that may arise from monotherapy. Clinical trials have also been conducted to ensure efficacy and safety of these combinations before they are introduced into the market. However, adverse effects still occur with combination therapies. The objective of this study is to (1) To determine a region of optimum doses of Drug A and Drug B in combination while focusing on efficacy alone (2) To determine a region of optimum doses …

Data Patterns Discovery Using Unsupervised Learning, Rachel A. Lewis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Self-care activities classification poses significant challenges in identifying children’s unique functional abilities and needs within the exceptional children healthcare system. The accuracy of diagnosing a child's self-care problem, such as toileting or dressing, is highly influenced by an occupational therapists’ experience and time constraints. Thus, there is a need for objective means to detect and predict in advance the self-care problems of children with physical and motor disabilities. We use clustering to discover interesting information from self-care problems, perform automatic classification of binary data, and discover outliers. The advantages are twofold: the advancement of knowledge on identifying self-care problems in …

Earthquake Exposures And Mental Health Outcomes In Children And Adolescents From Phulpingdanda Village, Nepal: A Cross-Sectional Study, Jessica S. Schwind, Clara B. Formby, Susan L. Santangelo, Stephanie A. Norman, Rebecca Brown, Rebecca Hoffman Frances, Elisabeth Koss, Dibesh Karmacharya

Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Background

Mental health issues can reach epidemic proportions in developed countries after natural disasters, but research is needed to better understand the impact on children and adolescents in developing nations.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was performed to examine the relationship between earthquake exposures and depression, PTSD, and resilience among children and adolescents in Phulpingdanda village in Nepal, 1 year after the 2015 earthquakes, using the Depression Self-Rating Scale for Children, Child PTSD Symptom Scale, and the Child and Youth Resilience Measure, respectively. To quantify exposure, a basic demographic and household questionnaire, including an earthquake exposure assessment tool for children and …

Inpatient And Outpatient Infection As A Trigger Of Cardiovascular Disease: The Aric Study, Logan Cowan, Pamela L. Lutsey, James S. Pankow, Kunihiro Matsushita, Junichi Ishigami, Kamakshi Lakshminarayan

Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Background

Acute infections are known cardiovascular disease (CVD) triggers, but little is known regarding how CVD risk varies following inpatient versus outpatient infections. We hypothesized that in‐ and outpatient infections are associated with CVD risk and that the association is stronger for inpatient infections.

Methods and Results

Coronary heart disease (CHD) and ischemic stroke cases were identified and adjudicated in the ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study). Hospital discharge diagnosis codes and Medicare claims data were used to identify infections diagnosed in in‐ and outpatient settings. A case‐crossover design and conditional logistic regression were used to compare in‐ and outpatient …

In Memoriam: Irina V. Tarasevich, Marina Eremeeva

Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Article published in New Microbes and New Infections.

Presence Of Antibiotic-Resistant Escherichia Coli In Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluents Utilized As Water Reuse For Irrigation, Asli Aslan, Zach A. Coles, Anunay Bhattacharya, Oghenekpaobor Oyibo

Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Providing safe water through water reuse is becoming a global necessity. One concern with water reuse is the introduction of unregulated contaminants to the environment that cannot be easily removed by conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). The occurrence of ampicillin, sulfamethoxazole, ciprofloxacin, and tetracycline-resistant Escherichia coli through the treatment stages of a WWTP (raw sewage, post-secondary, post-UV and post-chlorination) was investigated from January to May 2016. The highest concentrations of antibiotic resistant E. coli in the effluent were detected in April after rainfall. Ampicillin-resistant E. coli was the most common at the post UV and chlorination stages comprising 63% of …

Data On The Risk Perceptions Of Beach Water Safety In Coastal Georgia, Jeffery A. Jones, Asli Aslan, Rakhi Trivedi, Maria I. Olivas, Mikayla Hoffmann

Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Publications

These data reflect the perceptions of beach water quality drawn from a convenience sample of 238 visitors to Georgia (USA) beaches collected in June–July 2017 and are related to the research article entitled “Water quality and the perception of risk: a study of Georgia, USA, beachgoers” (Jones et al., 2018) [1]. Data were collected both via an online survey distributed through Facebook and through in-person questionnaires collected directly on the beaches.

An Area Based Fan Beam Projection Model, Richard E. Steele, Jiehua Zhu

Honors College Theses

Area based projection models for computed tomography mitigate raw data errors by treating X-Rays as beams, whereas traditional line based projection models treat an X-Ray like a line, thus generating significant error. In an existing area based fan beam projection model, a rotation matrix, Q, simulates the rotation of the emitter detector pair to reduce computational load, but this introduces approximations by using an approximated rotation matrix. We eliminate approximations by deriving an exact formula for the entries of Q. Using a rotation of axes and by considering the neighboring cells' contributions to the area, the result has formulations for …

Examining The Issue Of Compliance With Personal Protective Equipment Among Wastewater Workers Across The Southeast Region Of The United States, Tamara L. Wright

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Wastewater workers are exposed to different occupational hazards such as chemicals, gases, viruses, and bacteria. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is a significant factor that can reduce or increase the probability of an accident from hazardous exposures to chemicals and microbial contaminants. The purpose of this study was to identify wastewater worker’s beliefs and practices on wearing PPE and protections offered by PPE through the integration of the Health Belief Model (HBM). Participants were workers in the wastewater industry, which included wastewater operators, laboratory analysts, maintenance workers, wastewater collection workers, equipment operators, managers, and supervisors (n=272). The instrument was a self-administered …