Identification of Upper Respiratory Tract Pathogens Using Electrochemical Detection on an Oligonucleotide Microarray

Bacterial and viral upper respiratory infections (URI) produce highly variable clinical symptoms that cannot be used to identify the etiologic agent. Proper treatment, however, depends on correct identification of the pathogen involved as antibiotics provide little or no benefit with viral infections. Here we describe a rapid and sensitive genotyping assay and microarray for URI identification using standard amplification and hybridization techniques, with electrochemical detection (ECD) on a semiconductor-based oligonucleotide microarray. The assay was developed to detect four bacterial pathogens (Bordetella pertussis, Streptococcus pyogenes, Chlamydia pneumoniae and Mycoplasma pneumoniae) and 9 viral pathogens (adenovirus 4, coronavirus OC43, 229E and HK, influenza A and B, parainfluinza types 1, 2, and 3 and respiratory syncytial virus. This new platform forms the basis for a fully automated diagnostics system that is very flexible and can be customized to suit different or additional pathogens. Multiple probes on a flexible platform allow one to test probes empirically and then select highly reactive probes for further iterative evaluation. Because ECD uses an enzymatic reaction to create electrical signals that can be read directly from the array, there is no need for image analysis or for expensive and delicate optical scanning equipment. We show assay sensitivity and specificity that are excellent for a multiplexed format

Defining the causes of sporadic Parkinson's disease in the global Parkinson's genetics program (GP2)

The Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program (GP2) will genotype over 150,000 participants from around the world, and integrate genetic and clinical data for use in large-scale analyses to dramatically expand our understanding of the genetic architecture of PD. This report details the workflow for cohort integration into the complex arm of GP2, and together with our outline of the monogenic hub in a companion paper, provides a generalizable blueprint for establishing large scale collaborative research consortia

Multi-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analysis of Parkinson?s disease

Although over 90 independent risk variants have been identified for Parkinson’s disease using genome-wide association studies, most studies have been performed in just one population at a time. Here we performed a large-scale multi-ancestry meta-analysis of Parkinson’s disease with 49,049 cases, 18,785 proxy cases and 2,458,063 controls including individuals of European, East Asian, Latin American and African ancestry. In a meta-analysis, we identified 78 independent genome-wide significant loci, including 12 potentially novel loci (MTF2, PIK3CA, ADD1, SYBU, IRS2, USP8, PIGL, FASN, MYLK2, USP25, EP300 and PPP6R2) and fine-mapped 6 putative causal variants at 6 known PD loci. By combining our results with publicly available eQTL data, we identified 25 putative risk genes in these novel loci whose expression is associated with PD risk. This work lays the groundwork for future efforts aimed at identifying PD loci in non-European populations

The “death ship" Normanna, federal power in 1892, and immigration to America in a time of cholera

Arts, Faculty ofHistory, Department ofUnreviewedUndergraduat

Pestilential policy and migratory maladies : the American state, epidemic disease policy, and migration, 1890–1915

This thesis examines the development of American public health institutions and public health policy during the Progressive Era through the interplay of the twin issues of anti-epidemic disease policy and immigration and rethinks the relationship between race, migration, policy, and public health. It investigates three disease epidemics that occurred during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, in which migrants figured prominently: the 1892 cholera outbreak in New York City, the 1900 plague epidemic in San Francisco, and the typhoid fever outbreaks started by the woman who came to be known as Typhoid Mary. Through these three case studies, this thesis argues that though American public health institutions greatly expanded their reach in this period as the central state took on the primary responsibility for protecting the nation’s health, these institutions remained shakier and more vulnerable to challenges than the secondary literature has appreciated. I demonstrate this trend by studying the perspectives of both the pub-lic health officials implementing anti-epidemic policies and the migrants caught up in these poli-cies, highlighting the roles played by challengers to public health policy. These “resisters,” as I term them, were a broad group of disparate individuals ranging from the political and racial elite, to racially and politically marginalized migrants; their resistance constrained public health offi-cials’ actions and the range of policy tools wielded by public health agencies. Finally, in light of this pattern, this thesis draws a comparison between public health in the Progressive era and the Covid-19 pandemic in twenty-first century America. I suggest that the vulnerabilities in the pub-lic health system exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic are part of a much longer history, and arose in part because America’s system of public health sits atop institutional foundations that were never particularly sturdy even at the time they were built.Arts, Faculty ofHistory, Department ofGraduat

Perception and Barriers to CalFresh Utilization Among Asian Pacific Islander Ethnic Groups in Greater Los Angeles

Objective: To understand the perceptions of and barriers to CalFresh participation among Asian and Pacific Islander (API) communities, with the goal of developing interventions to increase food access and reduce food insecurity. Methods: Five focus groups conducted with Tongan, Korean, and Vietnamese community members and community-based organization service providers living in Greater Los Angeles. Additional insight was gathered via surveys administered to service providers who work directly with API communities. Results: Four main themes were found among twelve sub-themes: the application process, pride, shame, and citizenship status. Among the results, variations between each group were found. The Tongan population experiences a lack of knowledge about the program, the eligibility criteria, and how to apply for the program. The Vietnamese population experiences fear that CalFresh participation will jeopardize their chances of citizenship. Nevertheless, this population had a significantly higher rate of applying for CalFresh than the Tongan population. Lastly, the Korean population lacks information on how to apply for CalFresh, as it is a lengthy and complex process. This population also does not want to be labeled or identified as being needy, preferring food pantries rather than CalFresh. Conclusions and Implications: These findings suggest the need to program culturally specific interventions to mitigate these barriers in order to improve SNAP participation rates among low-income immigrant API groups. Consequently, this work has the potential to improve CalFresh utilization in low-income immigrant API communities, thus helping to reduce health disparities

Teacher noticing from a sociopolitical perspective: the FAIR framework for anti-deficit noticing

In this paper, we respond to the continued harm of deficit discourses in mathematics education, focusing on discourses that systematically devalue the knowledge and abilities of students of color in classrooms in the United States. We specifically aim to (1) develop a sociopolitical framework for conceptualizing mathematics teacher noticing and (2) conceptualize and illustrate the enactment of noticing that challenges deficit discourses about these students and their communities—anti-deficit noticing—through the lens of our framework. We address our first research aim by introducing the FAIR framework, which foregrounds the role of sociopolitical Framing as an essential component of noticing that shapes and is shaped by Attending, Interpreting, and Responding, processes that have frequently been discussed in studies of teacher noticing. We show how an analysis using FAIR can contribute to understanding deficit noticing. We then conceptualize and illustrate anti-deficit noticing using the case of Oscar, a college mathematics instructor who worked with many Black and Hispanic students and himself identified as Hispanic. We discuss the local context that supported Oscar’s anti-deficit noticing and conclude with implications for future research and practice. © 2021, FIZ Karlsruhe.12 month embargo; first published online 17 February 2021This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

The Role of Glutathione in the Management of Cell-Mediated Immune Responses in Individuals with HIV

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a major cause of death worldwide. Without appropriate antiretroviral therapy, the infection can develop into acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). AIDS leads to the dysregulation of cell-mediated immunity resulting in increased susceptibility to opportunistic infections and excessive amounts of inflammatory cytokines. HIV-positive individuals also demonstrate diminished glutathione (GSH) levels which allows for increased viral replication and increased pro-inflammatory cytokine release, further contributing to the high rates of mortality seen in patients with HIV. Adequate GSH supplementation has reduced inflammation and slowed the decline of CD4+ T cell counts in HIV-positive individuals. We aim to review the current literature regarding the role of GSH in cell-mediated immune responses in individuals with HIV- and AIDS-defining illnesses