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JoshiThesis_approved.pdf (555.91 KB)
ETD Abstract Container
Abstract Header
A Model of the Appendix's Role in Clostridium difficile Infection
Author Info
Joshi, Tejas C
Permalink:
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1492599340909151
Abstract Details
Year and Degree
2017, Master of Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Mathematics.
Abstract
The appendix has been hypothesized to protect the colon against Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) by providing a continuous source of commensal bacteria that crowd out the pathogen and/or by contributing to immune dynamics. Here, a series of deterministic systems comprised of ordinary differential equations model the appendix and colon microbiome. Simulations and simple analytic techniques were used to explore dynamics of the system under biological parameters. The first, simple model exhibited bistability with steady states of healthy bacterial populations and of fulminant CDI. When levels of toxin, inflammation and antibodies were added to the system, the effects of anti-inflammatory drugs, biotherapies and antibiotics were also investigated through equilibrium analysis. However, neither the appendiceal migration rate nor the boost to antibody production exerted a significant impact on the stability of the system, thus failing to support the proposed protective role of the appendix against CDI.
Committee
Wanda Strychalski, Dr. (Committee Chair)
Karen Abbott, Dr. (Advisor)
Erkki Somersalo, Dr. (Committee Member)
Peter Thomas, Dr. (Committee Member)
Pages
52 p.
Subject Headings
Biology
;
Mathematics
Keywords
Appendix
;
Clostridium difficile infection
;
model
;
ordinary differential equations
;
bistability
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Citations
Joshi, T. C. (2017).
A Model of the Appendix's Role in Clostridium difficile Infection
[Master's thesis, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1492599340909151
APA Style (7th edition)
Joshi, Tejas.
A Model of the Appendix's Role in Clostridium difficile Infection.
2017. Case Western Reserve University, Master's thesis.
OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center
, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1492599340909151.
MLA Style (8th edition)
Joshi, Tejas. "A Model of the Appendix's Role in Clostridium difficile Infection." Master's thesis, Case Western Reserve University, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1492599340909151
Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)
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Document number:
case1492599340909151
Download Count:
97
Copyright Info
© 2017, some rights reserved.
A Model of the Appendix's Role in Clostridium difficile Infection by Tejas C Joshi is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies and OhioLINK.