2211 research outputs found
Sort by
Healthcare-associated infections and the prescribing of antibiotics in hospitalized patients of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) States: a mixed-methods systematic review
No full textBackground : Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) and variation in antibiotic prescribing pose a significant public health challenge in hospitals of low-resource countries.
Aim: To critically appraise and synthesize the evidence on HAI and the prescribing of antibiotics in CARICOM States.
Methods: We included all primary qualitative and quantitative studies that addressed HAI, and the prescribing of antibiotics in hospitalized patients of CARICOM States. We searched Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, Global Health and regional databases. Risk of bias was assessed using the Mixed-methods Appraisal Tool. Findings were presented in narrative and table formats.
Results: Twenty-one studies met the inclusion criteria for this mixed-methods systematic review (MMSR). Studies were from four different CARICOM States: Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Haiti and Antigua and Barbuda. The ICU had the highest rate of Infections, 67% over four years. Surgical site infections were discussed by seven studies and ranged from 1.5 to 7.3%. For inpatients with contaminated or infected wounds, rates ranged from 29% to 83%. Empiric and prophylactic therapies were common and inappropriately prescribed. Resources, and training for healthcare workers in infection control and antimicrobial stewardship were insufficient. Few qualitative studies existed, so we were unable to integrate evidence from qualitative and quantitative paradigms.
Conclusions: Evidence from CARICOM States show high rates of healthcare-associated infections, and inappropriately prescribed antibiotics primarily in the ICU. Disease surveillance, infection control and antimicrobial stewardship programs require urgent evidence-based improvements.Journal ArticleAccepted for publicationDate of registration in PROSPERO 1st April 201
Molecular structure of a Copper (I) Thiolate and its water-soluble complex
No full textThe goal of this research was to develop reproducible methods to crystallize some copper(I) thiolates, denoted [Cuₙ(SR)ₘ]ⁿ⁻ᵐ in which “R” stands for an organic fragment, and obtain high-quality crystal structures of these compounds using single-crystal X-ray diffraction. We specifically focused on obtaining crystal structures of copper(I) 2-hydroxyethanethiolate, CuSCH₂CH₂OH (Cu2ME), and hexakis(2-hydroxyethanethiolato) tetracuprate(I) (Cu₄(SCH₂CH₂OH)₆]²⁻).
This was attempted by crystallizing tetraalkylammonium salts of complexions [Cu₄(SCH₂CH₂OH)₆]²⁻ synthesized according to the equation below:
2NR₄OH + 2HSCH₂CH₂OH + 4CuSCH₂CH₂OH →
2(NR₄)₂[Cu₄(SCH₂CH₂OH)₆] + H₂O
It is hypothesized that using bases with a bulkier alkyl group would allow the entire salt to crystallize due to the similar bulkiness of the Cu₄(SCH₂CH₂OH)₆]²⁻ anion. The crystal structure of neutral Cu₂ME was confirmed from crystals formed by vapor diffusion at room temperature.
Methanolic 3M NH₄OH was the basic solution used to deprotonate 2-mercaptoethanol and dissolve Cu2ME. Diethyl ether was the nonsolvent, and in this case, the complex anion did not crystallize; instead, the Cu2ME starting material formed X-ray quality single crystals, which were analyzed at various temperatures. After attempting various methods, crystals suitable for determining the structure of the [Cu₄(SCH₂CH₂OH)₆]²⁻ complex were formed by vapor diffusion at room temperature using aqueous 1.5 M tetrabutylammonium hydroxide (Bu₄NOH) as the base with tetrahydrofuran (THF) as the nonsolvent. These tetrabutylammonium salts are slated for analysis by single-crystal X-ray diffraction
Exploring environmental and pathogenic microbial diversity within our community
No full textA metagenomics approach was used to take a closer look at bacterial communities living in sand samples taken from a local Bay area. In particular, we were interested in determining the abundance and diversity of pathogenic and biodegrading bacterial species within these samples. Metagenomics is a process used to identify mixed communities of microorganisms. Oxford
Nanopore sequencing technology showed there were diverse bacterial populations within each sequenced sample. Prior to sequencing, PCR was used to amplify 16S rDNA from samples to specifically identify bacteria. Post base-calling analysis of sequences using EPI2ME software revealed that samples contained pathogenic and biodegradable bacterial species. Studying
environmental microbial communities allows a closer look at microbial diversity within specific environments and the unique characteristics of these organisms that allow them to coexist, as well as their overall impact on the local environment
Bagui, Sikha
No full textProfessor
Dr. Bagui, Professor and Askew Fellow, was former Chair of the Department of Computer Science and Founding Director of the Center for Cybersecurity at The University of West Florida. Dr. Bagui is active in publishing peer reviewed journal articles in the areas of database design, data mining, Big Data analytics, Machine Learning and AI. She has also written several books on Database Design and SQL.
ORCiD: 0000-0002-1886-4582
ResearcherID
Parameter space exploration in pedestrian queue design to mitigate infectious disease spread
No full textReducing the interactions between pedestrians in crowded environments can potentially curb the spread of infectious diseases including COVID-19. The mixing of susceptible and infectious individuals in many high-density man-made environments such as waiting queues
involves pedestrian movement, which is generally not taken into account in modeling studies of disease dynamics. In this paper, a social force-based pedestrian-dynamics approach is used to evaluate the contacts among proximate pedestrians which are then integrated with a stochastic epidemiological model to estimate the infectious disease spread in a localized outbreak. Practical application of such multiscale models to real-life scenarios can be limited by the uncertainty in human behavior, lack of data during early stage epidemics, and inherent stochasticity in the problem. We parametrize the sources of uncertainty and explore the associated parameter space using a novel high-efficiency parameter sweep algorithm. We show the effectiveness of a low-discrepancy sequence (LDS) parameter sweep in reducing the number of simulations required for effective parameter space exploration in this multiscale problem. The algorithms are applied to a model problem of infectious disease spread in a pedestrian queue similar to that at an airport security check point. We find that utilizing the low-discrepancy sequence-based parameter sweep, even for one component of the multiscale model, reduces the computational requirement by an order of magnitude.Journal ArticleFinal article published online ahead of prin
Charges, length of stay, and complication associations with trauma center ownership in adult patients with mild to moderate trauma
No full textBackground: For-profit (FP) trauma centers (TCs) charge more for trauma care than not-for-profit (NFP) centers. We sought to determine charges, length of stay (LOS), and complications associations with TC ownership status (FP, NFP, and government) for three diagnoses among patients with overall low injury severity.
Methods: Adult patients treated at TCs with an International Classification of Diseases-based injury severity score (ICISS) survival probability ≥ 0.85 were identified. Only those who with a principal diagnosis of femur, tibial or rib fractures were included.
Results: Total charges were significantly higher at FP centers than NFP and lower at government centers (89.6% and -12.8%, respectively). FP TCs had a 12.5% longer LOS and government TCs had a 20.4% longer LOS than NFP TCs.
Conclusion: Patients presenting to FP TCs with mild/moderate femur, tibial, or rib fractures experienced higher charges and increased LOS compared with government or NFP centers. There was no difference in overall complication rates.Journal ArticlePre-prin
Heavy metal concentration in local watersheds
No full textHeavy metals commonly found in water include manganese, lead, arsenic, chromium and copper.
Metals play an important role in stabilizing a healthy biochemical ecosystem; however, lead, chromium and arsenic are harmful and toxic when ingested.
Areas with a rich history of pollution have a higher probability of contaminated waters. Studying local watersheds can lead to identifying harmful metals and informing local public about the
risk of using contaminated watershed for recreational use