Publications by authors named "Danyel Hermes Tacker"
Importance: West Virginia prioritized SARS-CoV-2 vaccine delivery to nursing home facilities because of increased risk of severe illness in elderly populations. However, the persistence and protective role of antibody levels remain unclear.
Objective: To examine the persistence of humoral immunity after COVID-19 vaccination and the association of SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels and subsequent infection among nursing home residents and staff.
Background: Deaths attributable to fentanyl (FEN, a synthetic opioid) are high in Appalachia and highest in West Virginia. The goal of the study was to determine FEN prevalence among specimens submitted for definitive opioid testing and monitor responses to provider notifications of unexpected FEN findings during Q1 2020.
Methods: All definitive opioid test data were reviewed daily for FEN signatures in Q1 2020.
Objective: To quantify the benefits of automating specimen extraction in terms of specimen-preparation times and labor usage.
Methods: We used workflow modeling and time-motion studies to compare manual and automated solid-phase extraction methods to prepare specimens for a mass spectrometry-based vitamin D assay. We processed 20 batches, that included 5 to 90 specimens each, with both methods in parallel and randomly over a 4-week period.
Objective: To measure free phenytoin (FP) concentrations in filtered specimens using the Abbott ARCHITECT iPhenytoin assay and to compare results from this method with results from the Abbott TDx/FLx assays.
Methods: We verified accuracy, analytic measurement range, and precision for FP measurements. For correlation and therapeutic interval studies, we used filtered calibrators, controls, proficiency-testing materials, and surplus clinical samples.
Background: Cocaethylene (CE) is known to increase the permeability of human microvascular endothelial cell monolayers. The molecular mechanism underlying this increase may involve calcium-modulated signaling pathways such as the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) and the nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) family of transcription factors. The hypothesis of this study was that CE-mediated endothelial permeability change may be mediated by the p38 MAPK and consequently NF-kappaB dimers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Cocaethylene (CE) is a conjugate of cocaine and ethanol that may contribute to the pathogenesis of systemic vascular diseases. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of CE on human microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC-1) in culture.
Methods: Proliferating and confluent monolayers of HMEC-1 were used for assessing growth kinetics, viability, cytotoxicity, and morphologic/barrier alterations after CE treatment (0-1 mmol/l) for up to 7 days.