Comprehensive Internationalization: A Dynamic Approach to Transformative Practice at the Centro Universitario de los Valles

Thesis advisor: Hans de WitThesis advisor: Rebecca C. SchendelCUValles has no intentional, integrated institutional pathway to comprehensive internationalization. Consequently, the primary purpose of this transformative inquiry is to analyze how comprehensive internationalization might be achieved at CUValles: a constituent of a decentralized, multi-campus University Network. Interviews with 12 key informants and official document analysis were the means of data collection. Findings indicate the disarticulated presence of all comprehensive internationalization as characterized by ACE, (2017). Comprehensive internationalization might be achieved at CUValles through a context savvy application of de Wit’s Internationalization Cycle (2002), integrated from an “Inter-Campus Research Institute for International Higher Education”.Thesis (MA) — Boston College, 2020.Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education.Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education

Schistosomiasis among Travelers: New Aspects of an Old Disease

Schistosomiasis is increasingly encountered among travelers returning from the tropics; signs and symptoms of travelers may differ from those of local populations. During 1993–2005, schistosomiasis was diagnosed in 137 Israeli travelers, most of whom were infected while in sub-Saharan Africa. Clinical findings compatible with acute schistosomiasis were recorded for 75 (66.4%) patients and included fever (71.3%), respiratory symptoms (42.9%), and cutaneous symptoms (45.2%). At time of physical examination, 42 patients (37.1%) still had symptoms of acute schistosomiasis, chronic schistosomiasis had developed in 23 (20.4%), and 48 (42.5%) were asymptomatic. Of patients who were initially asymptomatic, chronic schistosomiasis developed in 26%. Diagnosis was confirmed by serologic testing for 87.6% of patients, but schistosome ova were found in only 25.6%. We conclude that acute schistosomiasis is a major clinical problem among travelers, diagnostic and therapeutic options for acute schistosomiasis are limited, and asymptomatic travelers returning from schistosomiasis-endemic areas should be screened and treated

Opisthorchiasis from Imported Raw Fish

Acute liver fluke infection results from eating raw fish illegally imported from Siberia

Molecular Characterization of Borrelia persica, the Agent of Tick Borne Relapsing Fever in Israel and the Palestinian Authority

The identification of the Tick Borne Relapsing Fever (TBRF) agent in Israel and the Palestinian Authority relies on the morphology and the association of Borrelia persica with its vector Ornithodoros tholozani. Molecular based data on B. persica are very scarce as the organism is still non-cultivable. In this study, we were able to sequence three complete 16S rRNA genes, 12 partial flaB genes, 18 partial glpQ genes, 16 rrs-ileT intergenic spacers (IGS) from nine ticks and ten human blood samples originating from the West Bank and Israel. In one sample we sequenced 7231 contiguous base pairs that covered completely the region from the 5′end of the 16S rRNA gene to the 5′end of the 23S rRNA gene comprising the whole 16S rRNA (rrs), and the following genes: Ala tRNA (alaT), Ile tRNA (ileT), adenylosuccinate lyase (purB), adenylosuccinate synthetase (purA), methylpurine-DNA glycosylase (mag), hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (hpt), an hydrolase (HAD superfamily) and a 135 bp 5′ fragment of the 23S rRNA (rrlA) genes. Phylogenic sequence analysis defined all the Borrelia isolates from O. tholozani and from human TBRF cases in Israel and the West Bank as B. persica that clustered between the African and the New World TBRF species. Gene organization of the intergenic spacer between the 16S rRNA and the 23S rRNA was similar to that of other TBRF Borrelia species and different from the Lyme disease Borrelia species. Variants of B. persica were found among the different genes of the different isolates even in the same sampling area

Molecular Characterization of Tickborne Relapsing Fever Borrelia, Israel

Blood samples from 18 tickborne relapsing fever (TBRF) patients and Ornithodoros tholozani specimens were tested with a Borrelia flaB-PCR. Results were positive for all patients and 2%–40% of ticks. A 7–amino acid gap characterized all 9 sequenced flagellin gene amplicons. By phylogenetic analysis, Israel TBRF Borrelia sequences clustered separately from American and African groups