Podium Session D

ABSTRACT:

Colitis is a vast entity with different etiologies and an abundance of diverse literature focusing on its different aspects. It is a condition of the colon that has an array of etiologies that range from being caused by lacerations on the linings of the colon, medically induced to the lack of blood supply to critical parts of the colon, colitis can lead to severe symptoms. Notable symptoms of colitis include abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, weight loss, and bloody stools. Its significance in medicine and healthcare cannot be over-emphasized.

Bacterial infections, parasites, vascular ischemia, or autoimmune inflammation can cause serious injuries to the colon. Bacterial infections such as Clostridium, Campylobacter, Shigella, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella are major causes of colitis. Entamoeba histolytica is the most common parasitic infection globally. Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are commonly known as colitis and identified by their "relapsing-remitting" nature.

An array of literature has focused on the disease, and most arrive at the consensus that an early diagnosis of the disease is critical and medication needs to be administered depending on the cause. Patients suffering from colitis are most likely to show such symptoms as bloody and watery diarrhea, rectal pain, weight loss, urgent bowel movements, abdominal pains, and rectal bleeding. Detailed medical history, serum, and stool tests are some of the diagnoses performed to evaluate intestinal inflammation. Medications, surgery, and diet have a pivotal role in the treatment of colitis. This ` aims to discuss the etiology, pathophysiology, histopathology, history and physical, evaluation, differential diagnosis, treatment, and complications of colitis; as well as the Covid-19 related issues, morbidities, and consequences.

ABSTRACT:

The use of biochar to recover nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater especially source-separated human urine is attractive from both economic and environmental standpoints. The widespread use of pharmaceuticals has raised concerns as they are not fully metabolized and ended up in human urine. The objective of this study is to examine adsorption of antibiotics (azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim, and tetracycline) and nutrients (ammonium and phosphate) in source-separated human urine by biochar and subsequent desorption. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted using biochar prepared from oak wood (OW) and paper mill sludge (PMS) to elucidate the effects of adsorption time, pH, and adsorbent dose. The desorption of adsorbed nutrients and antibiotics was also investigated. While the nutrient adsorption was more favorable by the PMS biochar, antibiotic adsorption was more prolific by the OW biochar. Hydrogen bonding and π-π interaction were identified as potential adsorption mechanisms. Experimental results agree with the Freundlich isotherm and pseudo-second order models (except the OW biochar for the kinetics). The findings suggest that biochar can adsorb both nutrients (43.30-266.67 mg g-1) and antibiotics (246.70-389.0 µg g-1) simultaneously. Lower solution pH (<5) was better for antibiotic adsorption, while higher solution pH (≥5) favored nutrient recovery. Also, desorption of the antibiotics (maximum of 92.6% for trimethoprim) was observed and might arise in the environment with the applications of biochar for nutrient recovery from human urine and subsequently for soil quality improvement. The findings serve as a foundation for future research on adsorption-based methods for separating nutrients and antibiotics in aqueous solutions, particularly urine.

ABSTRACT:

Background. Clinicians treating psychosis in Lewy Body Dementia are often faced with difficult decisions regarding management of patients, especially those with severe and relenting psychosis. Clozapine is unique among antipsychotics in its efficacy in treatment-resistant schizophrenia and has notable benefits on aggressive and suicidality. Case Report. We report the case of a 68-year-old white male with a three-year history of worsening cognition and visual hallucinations. PET scan revealed occipital hypometabolism compared to preserved posterior cingulate gyrus (cingulate island sign) yielding a diagnosis of probable LBD. Patient failed trials of quetiapine, rivastigmine, pimavanserin, and olanzapine. The decision was made to pursue treatment with clozapine starting at 12.5 mg with gradual titration. Several hours after his first dose of clozapine, cognition worsened significantly with increased confusion, agitation, and restlessness. Patient then fell and was unable to get off the floor. Patient was brought to the hospital and medically stabilized before being discharged to hospice where he died peacefully seven days after his initial dose of clozapine. Conclusion. We believe this patient succumbed to cholinergic rather than dopaminergic depletion due to predisposition with advanced age and polypharmacy. Furthermore, there was an overall lack of dopamine-related adverse effects such as rigidity, hyperthermia, or features of neuroleptic malignant syndrome. While clinicians may turn to antipsychotics such as clozapine for psychotic symptoms in LBD, its anticholinergic burden should not be underestimated.

ABSTRACT:

Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is the major identifiable cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. The emergence of hypervirulent C. difficile strains has led to increases in both hospital- and community-acquired CDI. Furthermore, the rate of CDI relapse from hypervirulent strains can reach up to 25%. Thus, standard treatments are rendered less effective, making new methods of prevention and treatment more critical. Previously, the bile salt analog called CamSA was shown to inhibit spore germination in vitro and protect mice and hamsters from the C. difficile type strain 630. Here, we show that CamSA was less active in preventing spore germination by other C. difficile ribotypes, including the hypervirulent strain R20291. The strain-specific in vitro germination activity of CamSA correlated with its ability to prevent CDI in mice. Additional bile salt analogs were screened for in vitro germination inhibition activity against strain R20291, and the most active compounds were tested against other strains. A new bile salt analog, CaPA, was found to be a better antigerminant than CamSA against eight different C. difficile strains. In addition, CaPA was capable of reducing, delaying, or preventing murine CDI signs with all strains tested. CaPA-treated mice showed no obvious toxicity and showed minor effects on their gut microbiome. CaPA’s efficacy was further confirmed by its ability to prevent CDI in hamsters infected with strain 630. These data suggest that C. difficile spores respond to germination inhibitors in a strain-dependent manner. However, careful screening can identify antigerminants with broad CDI prophylaxis activity.

ABSTRACT:

On March 17, 2021, in the state of Nevada, Governor Steve Sisolak ordered all casinos in the state to shut down. Casinos would not reopen in a limited capacity until two and a half months later. During this time, countless individuals who suffer from addictions to gambling could not engage in an activity once so prevalent in their lives.

I work as an interviewer for the Nevada problem Gambling center and talk to people currently working on recovering from gambling addiction. Specifically, the questions we use to address the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on their recovery are as follows: 1. Thinking about the pandemic, do you think it affected your relationship to gambling and/or your road to recovery in a significant way? 2. If yes, do you think any anxiety or stressors from the pandemic directly affected your relationship to gambling and/or your road to recovery? 3. Do you think the pandemic affected the recovery process, such as getting into the program and your experiences in the program?

I plan to develop a paper that looks at the responses to these questions and code them for pertinent themes to understand the effects of the pandemic for those that deal with gambling addiction in Nevada. I also will compare experiences based on the time since starting the program: 30 days, 90 days, 365 days, and more than a year. I will analyze how the research expands the literature on gambling addiction and improve future treatment and counseling.