Art and Medicine: A Collaborative Project Between Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar and Weill Cornell Medicine in Qatar

Four faculty researchers, two from Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, and two from Weill Cornell Medicine in Qatar developed a one semester workshop-based course in Qatar exploring the connections between art and medicine in a contemporary context. Students (6 art / 6 medicine) were enrolled in the course. The course included presentations by clinicians, medical engineers, artists, computing engineers, an art historian, a graphic designer, a painter, and other experts from the fields of art, design, and medicine. To measure the student experience of interdisciplinarity, the faculty researchers employed a mixed methods approach involving psychometric tests and observational ethnography. Data instruments included pre- and post-course semi-structured audio interviews, pre-test / post-test psychometric instruments (Budner Scale and Torrance Tests of Creativity), observational field notes, self-reflective blogging, and videography. This book describes the course and the experience of the students. It also contains images of the interdisciplinary work they created for a culminating class exhibition. Finally, the book provides insight on how different fields in a Middle Eastern context can share critical /analytical thinking tools to refine their own professional practices

Carriage of Methicillin-Resistant <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> by Wild Urban Norway Rats (<i>Rattus norvegicus</i>)

<div><p>Methicillin-resistant <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> (MRSA) is an important cause of multi-drug-resistant infections in people, particularly indigent populations. MRSA can be transmitted between people and domestic animals, but the potential for transmission between people and commensal pests, particularly rodents, had not been investigated. The objective of this study was to identify the presence and characterize the ecology of MRSA in rats (<i>Rattus</i> spp.) from in an impoverished, inner-city neighborhood. Oropharyngeal swabs were collected from rats trapped in 33 city blocks and one location within the adjacent port. Bacterial culture was performed and MRSA isolates were characterized using a variety of methods, including whole-genome sequencing (WGS). The ecology of MRSA in rats was described using phylogenetic analysis, geospatial analysis, and generalized linear mixed models. MRSA was identified 22 of 637 (3.5%) rats tested, although prevalence varied from 0 – 50% among blocks. Isolates belonged to 4 clusters according to WGS, with the largest cluster (n = 10) containing isolates that were genetically indistinguishable from community-acquired USA300 MRSA strains isolated from people within the study area. MRSA strains demonstrated both geographic clustering and dispersion. The odds of an individual rat carrying MRSA increased with increased body fat (OR = 2.53, 95% CI = 1.33 – 4.82), and in the winter (OR = 5.29, 95% CI = 1.04 – 26.85) and spring (OR = 5.50, 95% CI = 1.10 – 27.58) compared to the fall. The results show that urban rats carried the same MRSA lineages occurring in local human and/or animal populations, supporting recent transmission from external sources. MRSA carriage was influenced by season, most likely as a result of temporal variation in rat behavior and rat-human interactions.</p></div

Relationship between MRSA-status, season, and morphometric characteristics among a population of wild Norway rats.

a<p>Frequencies and percentages may not add to 100% because of exclusion of rats with missing data for the variable in question.</p>b<p>Reference category.</p>c<p>Insufficient power for accurate estimation.</p

Prevalence of MRSA-positive and -negative rats in each city block.

<p>Prevalence of MRSA-positive and -negative rats in each city block.</p

Characteristics of 22 MRSA isolated obtained from wild Norway rats.

a<p>Not available.</p>b<p>Three repeat insertion from t008.</p>c<p>One variant position different from sequence type specified.</p>d<p>Minimum inhibitory concentration (µg/ml). Breakpoints for antimicrobial susceptibility (S =  sensitive, R =  resistant): Ampicillin: S≤0.25/R≥0.5, Cefoxitin: R>4, Chloramphenicol: S≤8/R≥32, Ciprofloxacin: S≤1/R≥4, Clindamycin: S≤0.5/R≥4, Daptomycin: S≤4/R≥16, Erythromycin: S≤0.5/R≥8, Gentamycin: S≤4/R≥16, Levofloxacin: S≤1/R≥4, Linezolid: S≤4/R≥8, Moxifloxacin: S≤0.5/R≥2, Nitrofurantoin: S≤32/R≥128, Oxacillin +2% NaCl: S≤2/R≥4, Penicillin: S≤0.12/R≥0.25, Quinpristen/dalfopristin: S≤1/R≥4, Rifampin: S≤1/R≥2, Streptomycin: Not available, Tetracycline: S≤4/R≥16, Tigecycline: S≤0.5, Trimethoprim/Sulphamethoxazole: S≤2/R≥4, Vancomycin: S≤2/R≥16.</p

Geographic distribution of MRSA-positive rats.

<p>Inset  =  Map of Vancouver with location of study site.</p