Digital Commons Network^™

Pressures To Comply Or Defy: How Social Values Influence Perceptions Of Healthcare Workers As Villains, James K. Beggan, Scott T. Allison

Heroism Science

During the Covid-19 pandemic, politicians, the media, and the public labeled frontline workers as heroes. The goal of this article is to examine how certain aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic—such as the nature of the Covid-19 virus, coupled with insufficient governmental and institutional responses—created a situation where it became possible for people to characterize healthcare workers as villains. This approach to medical professionals is rather novel in heroism studies and social sciences. A qualitative review of available data sources provided evidence that frontline healthcare workers were perceived negatively. Experiencing a lack of cooperation from patients and their families, healthcare personnel …

The Characterization Of The Sars-Cov-2 Receptor Binding Domain Interaction With The Human Ace2 Receptor And Potential Small Molecule Inhibitors, Camryn Carter

Honors Theses

In December 2019, a novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), was identified in Wuhan, China after numerous patients experienced pneumonia symptoms, but existing medicinal treatments were ineffective.1 The global spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus caused an outbreak of the infectious disease, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which was soon after declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, referred to as the COVID-19 pandemic. According to John Hopkins University, over 1,000,000 people have died from SARS-CoV-2 infection and about 104,000,000 cases have been confirmed in the United States (US). An infection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is caused by the …

The Hero’S Journey As A Novel, Narrative, And Improvisational Group Intervention On Quality Of Life For People With Parkinson’S Disease, Robert D. Cochrane, James W. Navalta, Anne E. Weisman

Heroism Science

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the fastest-growing neurological diseases in the world. Pharmaceutical and surgical interventions continue to advance to better address motor symptoms. However, disability from non-motor symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, and stress persist. Expressive therapies, including art, music, and dance are being explored and implemented more frequently to address this growing need. We developed this study to examine the feasibility of a novel program using online narrative therapy, with constructs from Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, and improvisation for people with PD (PWPD). Participants from across the U.S. and U.K. met online via Zoom once a week …

Post Traumatic Growth Amongst Australian Bravery Award Recipients, Tom Voigt, Joanne Williams, Catherine M. Bennett, Angela Dew, Susan Balandin

Heroism Science

This study explored aspects of Post Traumatic Growth (PTG) amongst Australian Bravery Award recipients exposed to serious or life-threatening trauma. PTG is the process whereby some people experience growth following traumatic experiences. Previous PTG research has focused on specific disasters, incidents or cohorts of survivors. We explored a range of incidents in both civilian and non-civilian award recipients. Sixty-five Australian Bravery Award recipients (37 civilian and 28 non-civilian) completed the Post Traumatic Growth Inventory and provided additional demographic information about their bravery incident. Results showed that civilians experienced significantly higher growth (mean PTG score = 49.7 than non-civilians (mean PTG …

What Pandemics Teach Us About Servant Leadership, Kelly L. Bezio

Interdisciplinary Journal of Leadership Studies

This article seeks to understand what pandemics teach us about servant leadership. It analyzes two texts, which reflect on people of color’s experiences becoming servant leaders during such public health crises: A Narrative of the Proceedings of the Black People, during the Late Awful Calamity in Philadelphia, in the Year 1793 (1794) and The Auntie Sewing Squad Guide to Mask Making, Radical Care, and Racial Justice (2021). These texts balance detailed depictions of what this leadership praxis looks like with trenchant critiques of how service, racism, and leadership tend to intersect in the United States. As texts that demonstrate the …

A Differential Equations Model Of Circulatory System Hemodynamics, Allison Newman

Honors Theses

Our model successfully uses the ventricles to pump blood across the blood vessels, lungs, and an organ for multiple cardiac cycles. We can hypothesize that this model will be able to pump blood to multiple organs that are connected in a parallel circuit. A new compartment would be465 added for the addition of each major organ system, and new rate functions that connect the organs to their local arteries and veins would be necessary.

In-Person Vs Telephonic Interpretation: A Case Study From The Perspective Of Providers And Interpreters At A Virginia Free Clinic, Lucy Cummins

Honors Theses

High-quality medical interpretation is critical to ensuring that patients with limited English proficiency, a rapidly growing group in the US, receive equitable care. Today, as federally-funded hospitals and clinics are legally required to offer language services, a myriad of interpretation options are available and used by providers across the country, including both telephone and in-person interpreters. Though these two options both allow for translation of dialogue between patients and providers, they differ in the communicative and interpersonal experiences they offer.

Tuberculosis And Poor Health Among Migrant And Seasonal Farmworkers In The United States, Lucy Cummins

Health Studies Capstones

The following paper will explore the prevalence of TB among migrant and seasonal farmworkers in the United States, and the systemic forces that contribute to that prevalence. Cyclical of poverty, dangerous working conditions, and barriers to healthcare overall have all led to increased risk of TB infection for farmworkers and their families. Moreover, structural violence traps these farmworkers in conditions of increased risk that have a major impact on their general health. Thus, the issue of TB is not a single issue, but one that relates to a range of social, economic, and political factors. Improving TB outcomes for farmworkers …

Essure: The Iud Story We Should Have Seen Coming, Jessica Mahoney

Health Studies Capstones

Female sterilization is the second most common contraceptive method used by women in the U.S.. Historically, the procedure was done via laparoscopic surgery. However, in 2002, Bayer’s new female contraceptive device called Essure was approved by the FDA, allowing hysteroscopic sterilization. The Essure device is essentially a small metal coil that is inserted into each fallopian tube with the intention of causing swelling and scarring that closes off the tubes. The device was attractive for many women and physicians because the procedure could be performed in a doctor’s office rather than an operating room. As of 2015, 750,000 women had …

Covid-19 And Campus Life: Student Perspectives, Ryan Shah

Osmosis Magazine

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented changes to campus life as students have adjusted to the hybrid class model and physical distancing framework. Simply residing on campus this semester has been a privilege; many Spiders, especially international students and students with pre-existing health conditions, could not come at all. Among students on campus, there are varying attitudes about how this semester of “Protecting Our Web” has gone. To document this historic semester, I interviewed three students in mid- October:

• Colin Sparkevicius, a senior from Pennsylvania majoring in business administration
• Tereza Hernandez, a sophomore from Virginia majoring in global studies
• Karthik …

“A Fitbit For Your Brain”-Elon Musk, Sci-Fi Or Attainable?, Ryan Cvelbar

Osmosis Magazine

Just a couple months ago, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and now Neuralink, debuted his enhanced design of the Neuralink, a wireless brain implant the size of a coin, which he plans to use to ultimately facilitate the achievement of a state of symbiosis between humans and artificial intelligence. Specifically, Musk envisions a world where we can control technology with our minds by connecting the neurons of our brains to the Neuralink and hence, digitally to computers.

We’Ve Got Your Back: New Studies In Spinal Cord Regeneration, Joshua Pandian

Osmosis Magazine

Every day, the spinal cord transmits messages between the brain and body at speeds of 270 miles per hour. The spinal cord allows us to walk, run, or swim. However, for 200,000 Americans who suffer from spinal cord injury (SCI), simply standing up is often not a possibility. This number rises by approximately 17,000 cases a year as a result of sports injuries, car accidents, motorcycle collisions, or falls. Unlike many cells in the body, the neurons in the spinal cord cannot regenerate after an injury, which means spinal cord injuries tend to last for the remainder of one’s lifetime.

Salmonella: Clever Bacteria, Najnin Rimi

Osmosis Magazine

A recent outbreak of salmonella caused many grocery stores to recall their onions and many unknowing consumers to become ill. A major produce supplier from California, Thompson International Inc., had announced a recall on August 1st for all onion types distributed by the company starting May 1st of 2020. This caused a recall from over hundreds of grocery stores, even our familiar Kroger and Walmart grocery stores.

Passive Antibody Therapy: Potentially The First Covid-19 Treatment, Caterina Erdas

Osmosis Magazine

While the world anxiously waits for a COVID-19 vaccine, thousands of people are in critical condition, in need of help today. Scientists are wondering what tools they have now to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and help save the lives of patients in critical condition. Passive antibody therapy may be the solution.

Illuminating Health Disparities: The Untold Story Of Black Women’S Pregnancies, Kacy Workman

Osmosis Magazine

Recent studies have found that Black women are 3-4 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than White women. Researchers in the 1990s examined data surrounding specific pregnancy complications such as postpartum hemorrhage, finding that although prevalence rates were similar between White and Black women, Black women with these conditions were 2-3 times more likely to die than their White counterparts. Despite medical advances, these rates have not improved over time. Data analyses examining maternal mortality from 2005 – 2014 reveal that mortality rates for Black women have actually increased from 39 to 49 deaths for every 100,000 live …

Ai And Art: An Increasingly Inextricable Affair, Rebecca Hedlund

Osmosis Magazine

Siri, Waze, Google Translate, Instagram -- we experience Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI) every day of our lives when we use apps that are trained for a specific task, such as when Spotify recommends new songs based on the music you already like. These apps compute the data users give (whether knowingly or not) and adjust their own algorithms to provide the best possible experience. This is an application of Artificial Intelligence called machine learning. While some see it as a subset of AI, many argue that the ability to learn and improve through experience is critical to the very definition …

The Benefits Of Reading On Longevity, Olivia Lomax

Osmosis Magazine

What if I told you there is a scientifically proven way of adding time to your life that is as simple as reading a few chapters of your favorite book? A study performed at Yale University School of Public Health compared the longevity of people who read books to those who only read periodicals. Those conducting the study predicted that the book-readers would have increased levels of survival, as reading books has been shown to promote two distinct cognitive properties tied to longevity.

Letter From The Editor, Ryan Shah

Osmosis Magazine

Letter form the Editor-in-Chief, Ryan Shah.

Osmosis - Fall 2020

Osmosis Magazine

Osmosis is a student read, led, and written publication from the University of Richmond, focusing on all aspects of healthcare and science.

Is Medecine Losing Money?, Garrett Lang

Osmosis Magazine

It is no secret that modern medicine has improved people’s lives in virtually every are of healthcare. What is also not a secret is how expensive it is. . Not only does the average American spend roughly $5000 on healthcare, they also spend roughly $1200 on pharmaceuticals. The candidates gunning for the U.S. presidency often bring up the topic of rising pharmaceuticals and what they would do to change it. Medical services and products as a whole are of concern for virtually all Americans, and many of them are considered overpriced. The development of these products isn’t cheap, and it …

Our Future In A 3-D Printer, Ryan Cvelbar

Osmosis Magazine

CareCloud, a privately held technology company headquartered out of Miami, states that according to recent figures, the average cost of an organ transplant in the U.S. can reach well over $1 million. Furthermore, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), more than 113,000 patients in the U.S. are currently waiting for an organ transplant. Anne Paschke of UNOS stresses this need for organs by expressing that only 1 to 2 percent of the population dies in a way that makes them potential organ donors. Although the need for organs has yet to be met, bioprinting has the potential …

Tree Man Syndrome, George Qiao

Osmosis Magazine

Imagine a condition in which lesions that grow on your appendages are so severe that you cannot use your hands and feet properly. Moreover, these lesions are large and painful, and prevent you from being able to perform daily activities. Surgery, a common answer for this condition, can temporarily control the growths, but the lesions continue to grow back after each surgical operation. Currently, there is no cure, and the treatments only offer a temporary fix. Therefore, you are faced with a lifelong condition that severely limits your ability to live a normal life. Though there are many debilitating diseases, …

What’S The Hang-Up On Hangovers?, Anthony Isenhour

Osmosis Magazine

Getting a hangover after drinking the night before can lead to varying regrets the next morning depending on a variety of factors including gender, weight, food consumption, and alcohol consumption. What a hangover feels like can vary a lot too: headaches, nausea, fatigue, etc.

Scientists are interested in understanding hangovers and how to prevent them because they experience them too.

Wolves And Ravens: Defining A Unique Relationship, Caterina Erdas

Osmosis Magazine

I barely felt the cold, dry Montana air pierce my lungs as I looked through my scope for an iconic animal in our culture: a wolf. While the dramatic thermal features on the south side of Yellowstone National Park attract the most visitors, the north is quiet and rich with life. The Lamar Valley is a stunning stage for Yellowstone’s wildlife to interact with one another. As the sun rises and hits the mountain tops, the cold air rushes into the valley and creates a thick fog, a curtain. Backstage, the wooded mountain ranges slowly bleed into the tall grasses …

Coronavirus Is Spreading Fast, But What Is Spreading Faster?, Dana Morcillo

Osmosis Magazine

The term coronavirus refers not to the newest, mysterious disease that is slowly spreading globally, but rather a family of viruses. These viruses are the source behind common illnesses such as the common cold to the more recent outbreaks of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Other more severe diseases have occurred before then such as the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003 and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in 2012.

Brains On Batteries: The Potential Of Deep Brain Stimulation, Joshua Pandian

Osmosis Magazine

Deep brain stimulation (DBS), the process of implanting electrodes into the brain to lessen the symptoms of neurological diseases, began as an experimental idea based on early pain-processing theories. Today, DBS is used to treat various neurological disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, depression, OCD, and chronic pain. While major advancements have been made in recent years, DBS is still in its infancy and possesses a tremendous potential to advance human well-being as our knowledge of neuroscience increases.

Living Lethal Weapons, Rilyn Mckallip

Osmosis Magazine

Biological weapons, as defined by the Federation of American Scientists, are “toxins and microorganisms, such as viruses and bacteria, used to deliberately inflict disease among people, animals and agriculture.” Biological weapons have been used for hundreds of years on varying scales, from the catapulting of plague-infected corpses into enemy cities in the 14th century, to the testing of infectious diseases in China during WWII, to the 2001 anthrax attacks. These weapons act discreetly, as it is hard to trace an outbreak to a particular attacker and it takes several days for an infected individual to show signs of the disease. …

Letter From The Editor, Anthony Isenhour

Osmosis Magazine

Letter from the Editor-in-Chief, Anthony Isenhour.

Osmosis - Spring 2020

Osmosis Magazine

Osmosis is a student read, led, and written publication from the University of Richmond, focusing on all aspects of healthcare and science.

Interview With A Specialist: Dr. Christopher S. Thomas, Md Invasive Cardiology Virginia Cardiovascular Specialists, Joseph Mceachon

Osmosis Magazine

Interview With Dr. Christopher S. Thomas, MD.