Progress Towards Next Generation Modulators Of Ctbp's Oncogenic Effects, Jacqueline L. West

Theses and Dissertations

Human C-terminal binding proteins (CtBP1 and CtBP2) are transcriptional coregulators of multiple genes in the human genome, including tumor suppressor genes (e.g., Bik, PTEN, BRCA1, and E-cadherin) as well as oncogenes (e.g. MDR1 and Tiam1). Both homologues of CtBP are overexpressed in many types of cancer, including breast cancer (92%), ovarian cancer (83%), colorectal cancer (64%), hepatocellular carcinoma (60%), gastric cancer, prostate cancer, and pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Further, expression levels of CtBP correlate with worse prognostic outcomes and more aggressive tumor features because it promotes proliferation, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and cancer stem cell self-renewal activity.

Our laboratory has identified a lead inhibitor …

Sociodemographic And Injury Severity Characteristics As Predictors Of Functional Independence In Older Adults With Tbi Up To 10 Years Post Injury, Carmen M. Tyler

Theses and Dissertations

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) incidence rates have been increasing in recent years, with the greatest number of TBIs and the highest morbidity and mortality rates in individuals aged 80 and over. As average life expectancy continues to increase, the older adult population is expected to comprise nearly one-quarter of the U.S. populace by 2060. With the increased risk to a larger proportion of the U.S. population posed by TBI, the aim of the current study was to examine the roles of sociodemographic and injury severity characteristics as predictors of functional independence trajectories across 1, 2, 5, and 10 years after …

Considering Queerness - Actor Training's Issues And Alternatives, Jacob Leblanc

Theses and Dissertations

Educators in academic theatre programs, whether queer or non-queer, trans or cisgender, may not intentionally consider queerness in their pedagogical practices. What follows is an examination of current issues in academia that can affect queer students negatively and disproportionately. Anecdotal evidence is provided to demonstrate different issues that may be present in the classroom experiences of queer students. The Stanislavski system is critiqued through a contemporary, queer lens to locate possible shortcomings in the acting technique when it is applied by queer performers. Queer alternatives to the Stanislavski system are vetted and offered to queer students who might seek something …

A Technology-Based, Mixed Methods Approach To Examining The Psychosocial Determinants Of Maternal Health Disparities, Hannah M. Ming

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Exposure to racism and discrimination in the U.S. increases Black women’s risk for experiencing maternal health disparities. Additionally, racism and discrimination affect maternal psychosocial well-being, creating evidence for a biopsychosocial relationship between racism and maternal health outcomes. However, current research does not define the psychosocial Black maternal self well. Given the dynamic relationship between racism, psychosocial well-being, and Black maternal health outcomes, research must comprehensively examine the Black maternal self. The operationalization of a comprehensive construct for Black maternal psychosocial well-being can improve understanding of the relationship between racism, psychosocial well-being, and Black maternal health outcomes.

Purpose: …

Understanding Structure/Process-Property Relationships To Optimize Development Lifecycle In Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia Aerogels For Thermal Management, Rebecca C. Walker

Theses and Dissertations

Aerogels are mesoporous materials with unique properties, including high specific surface area, high porosity, low thermal conductivity, and low density, increasing these materials’ effectiveness in applications such as catalyst supports, sorption media, and electrodes in solid oxide fuel cells. Zirconia (ZrO₂) aerogels have special interest for high-temperature applications due to the high melting point of ZrO₂ (2715°C) and stability between 600°C and 1000°C, where other aerogel systems often begin to sinter and densify. These properties and unique pore structure make zirconia aerogels advantageous as thermal management systems, especially in aeronautics and aerospace applications. However, to be effective …

Clear Aligner Therapy In The Mixed Dentition: Indications And Practitioner Perspectives, Nicholas M. Lynch

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: This study evaluated current trends and perspectives among orthodontists regarding clear aligner therapy in the mixed dentition (CAMD), including insights into perceived indications, compliance, oral hygiene, and other factors.

Methods: An original, 22-item survey was mailed to both a randomized, nationally representative sample of practicing orthodontic specialists (n = 800) and to a specific, randomized sub-sample of high-aligner-prescribing orthodontists (n = 200). Questions assessed respondents’ demographic information, experience with clear aligner therapy, and perceived advantages/disadvantages of CAMD compared to fixed appliance therapy (FA). Responses were compared using McNemar’s chi-squared and paired t-tests to assess CAMD versus FA. …

Rational Design Of Flexible And Stretchable Electronics Based On 3d Printing, Yuanhang Yang

Theses and Dissertations

Flexible and stretchable electronics have been considered as the key component for the next generation of flexible devices. There are many approaches to prepare the devices, such as dip coating, spin coating, Mayer bar coating, filtration and transfer, and printing, etc. The effectiveness of these methods has been proven, but some drawbacks cannot be ignored, such as lacking pattern control, labor consuming, requiring complex pretreatment, wasting conductive materials, etc.

In this investigation, we propose to adopt 3D printing technology to design flexible and stretchable electronics. The objective is to rationally design flexible and stretchable sensors, simplify the preparation process, form …

Role Of Inhibition And Spiking Variability In Ortho- And Retronasal Olfactory Processing, Michelle F. Craft

Theses and Dissertations

Odor perception is the impetus for important animal behaviors, most pertinently for feeding, but also for mating and communication. There are two predominate modes of odor processing: odors pass through the front of nose (ortho) while inhaling and sniffing, or through the rear (retro) during exhalation and while eating and drinking. Despite the importance of olfaction for an animal’s well-being and specifically that ortho and retro naturally occur, it is unknown whether the modality (ortho versus retro) is transmitted to cortical brain regions, which could significantly instruct how odors are processed. Prior imaging studies show different …

Therapeutic Injectable Iron-Chelating Hydrogels, Debbie Campbell-Rance

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Therapeutic Injectable Iron-Chelating Hydrogels for Improved Central Nervous System Regeneration

By

Debbie S. Campbell-Rance

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University 2021.

Director: Xuejun Wen, M.D., Ph.D., AIMBE Fellow, Alice T. and William H. Goodwin Jr. Endowed Chair Professor in Regenerative Medicine, Institute for Engineering and Medicine, Department of Chemical and Life Science Engineering

Severe traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries are major global public health and socioeconomic problems in terms of mortality and morbidity. Currently there are two main lines of treatment under development for …

Culturally Relevant Coping Strategies Within Bicultural Latine College Students In The Face Of Anti-Immigrant Sentiment And Policy, Cindy M. Hernandez

Theses and Dissertations

Despite their protective potential against anti-immigrant sentiment and policy, the connections between bicultural identity development and culturally relevant coping among temporarily documented Latinx college students remain unstudied. Therefore, this study (a) describes culturally relevant coping strategies used by bicultural Latinx college students, (b) examines the role cultural identity plays in bicultural Latinx college students’ coping strategies, and (c) illuminates the role institutional level systems play in liminally-documented college students’ coping with anti-immigrant sentiment and policy. Participants in this study included 16 Latine college students (M_age = 21.19, SD = 3.21) with DACA (n = 14) or TPS (n = …

Development And Optimization Of A Low Volume Air-Jet Dry Powder Inhaler (Dpi) Platform For The Delivery Of High Dose Aerosolized Powder To Infants, Connor Howe

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research project was to develop an infant air-jet dry powder inhaler (DPI) platform for high-efficiency nose-to-lung (N2L) aerosol administration to infants through optimization of individual system components followed by expansion of the system to higher doses and different formulations using a new approach. Primary challenges associated with aerosol delivery to infants using the N2L route include the extremely narrow extrathoracic airways, short inspiratory times (~0.2 sec), low safe airway pressure (H₂O), and very low volumes of air (~10 mL) available to form the aerosol. The infant air-jet DPI system was comprised of three main …

Machine Learning (Ml) - Assisted Tools For Enhancing Security And Privacy Of Edge Devices, Santosh Kumar Nukavarapu

Theses and Dissertations

The rapid growth of edge-based IoT devices, their use cases, and autonomous communication has created new challenges with privacy and security. Side-channel attacks are one of the examples of security and privacy vulnerabilities that can cause inference at Internet-Service Provider (ISP) and local Wi-Fi networks. Such an attack would leak user’s sensitive information such as home occupancy, medical activity, and daily routines. Another example is that these devices have weak authentication and low encryption standards, making them an easy target for malware-based attacks such as denial of service or launching other network attacks using these infected devices. This thesis dissertation …

An Analysis Of The Special Focus Facility Program And Nursing Home Quality, Annie S. Rhodes

Theses and Dissertations

The Special Focus Facility Program is an intensive program meant to rapidly support 88 of the lowest quality nursing homes in the United States, as determined by the Five-Star Quality Ranking system. There are also 435 facility candidates which are similarly low performing but not enrolled in the program. Academic literature has largely ignored this program, and the existing grey literature is more than a decade old and does not include COVID-19 data. Applying a political economy of aging framework and using a case matching methodology, Special Focus Facilities (SFF), Special Focus Facility Candidate (SFFc) nursing homes, and 5-star nursing …

Comparison Of Peak Skin Dose Calculated By Patient Radiation Dose Monitoring And Tracking Systems Versus Solid-State Detector Measurements, Vincent D. Gargaro

Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to compare the Peak Skin Dose (PSD) that patients obtain from fluoroscopy procedures. The study will show the differences between the PSD measured and calculated from a solid-state detector and the values the unit is displaying. Also, the study will compare PSD measurements from Patient Radiation Dose Monitoring and Tracking Systems (PRDMT). Numerous parameters need to be obtained to depict the PSD that a patient is receiving accurately. The PSD is crucial in assessing the potential biological effects of radiation.

The formalization used to derive the calculated PSD in this study has been established by Jones, A. …

Therapeutic Approaches For Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Franck J. Kamga Gninzeko

Theses and Dissertations

Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is characterized by shortness of breath and low oxygen levels. RDS affects the neonatal and adult populations. In the neonatal population, RDS can be classified as NRDS (Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome), while in adults, it is known as ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome). This dissertation examines a therapeutic approach to NRDS and a mechanistic approach to ARDS with in vivo and in vitro models of lung injury. NRDS is characterized by a deficiency or lack of surfactant. Surfactant is an essential compound composed of phospholipids and proteins to prevent the lungs from collapsing. There are several …

Design And Exploration Of New Models For Security And Privacy-Sensitive Collaboration Systems, Ramandeep Kaur Sandhu

Theses and Dissertations

Collaboration has been an area of interest in many domains including education, research, healthcare supply chain, Internet of things, and music etc. It enhances problem solving through expertise sharing, ideas sharing, learning and resource sharing, and improved decision making.

To address the limitations in the existing literature, this dissertation presents a design science artifact and a conceptual model for collaborative environment. The first artifact is a blockchain based collaborative information exchange system that utilizes blockchain technology and semi-automated ontology mappings to enable secure and interoperable health information exchange among different health care institutions. The conceptual model proposed in this dissertation …

Outcome Of Endodontic Microsurgery: Success And Survival Rates At Virginia Commonwealth University, Abdullah Alawadhi

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Endodontic microsurgery treatment is an option for teeth with apical periodontitis and may be indicated for teeth with previous endodontic treatment that have not healed, teeth with canal obstructions which would impede a non-surgical approach, and where a biopsy is needed. The purpose of this study is to evaluate healing after endodontic microsurgery in 2-dimensional PA radiographs and 3 dimensional CBCT imaging. Methods: Patient records were pooled from graduate resident cases completed at Virginia Commonwealth University in the Graduate Endodontic Clinic between the years 2010 to 2020. Cases were identified using the CDT codes and a key word search …

The Effect Of Er:Yag, Nd:Yag And Co2 Laser Combined With Hydrogen Peroxide, Sodium Hypochlorite, Chlorohexidine Or Fluoride On Reducing Oral Bacterial Count Implicated In Root Caries, Nitya Reddy

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: Lasers have been used for treatment of dentinal hypersensitivity and for various bacterial reduction indications in periodontology. Their effectiveness in killing oral bacteria is not well known. The compounding effect of the combination of a laser treatment and adjunct antimicrobial agent use on bacterial viability is still evolving. The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the effect of three lasers commonly used in dentistry in conjunction with chlorhexidine (CHX), hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), or sodium fluoride (NaF) on viability of oral bacteria associated with root caries.

Methods: Three …

The Effect Of Crowding On The Accuracy Of 3d Printed Aligners, Tonya Spangler

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: To evaluate the accuracy of three-dimensionally (3D) printed aligners compared to conventional vacuum-formed thermoplastic aligners with varying levels of dental crowding.

Methods: Digital intraoral scans of 10 different cases were assigned to their respective groups (n=10, each, 30 total) as follows: no crowding (control), moderate crowding, and severe crowding. Using 3Shape software, digital aligner samples were created in standard tessellation language (STL) file format and randomly 3D printed. The same STL files of each case were also sent to a dental laboratory for the fabrication of vacuum-formed samples, which is the current technology used for manufacturing aligners. The intaglio …

Detailing The Genetic And Environmental Influences Shared Between Conventional And Electronic Cigarette Use Across Measures Of Initiation And Past 12-Month Use, James Clifford

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction. Tobacco use is a public health crisis with nearly 500,000 Americans suffering premature mortality attributable to tobacco use in 2014. New development efforts have created new nicotine delivery systems whose health consequences are not yet fully understood such as electronic cigarettes (ECIG). It is possible there are shared genetic and environmental factors that influence an individual’s liability to initiate cigarette (CIG) or ECIG use, as both systems are designed to deliver nicotine.

Methods. Four study designs were used to resolve the genetic and environmental influences that underlie CIG and ECIG initiation. A twin study, scoping review, genome-wide association study …

The Silent Rage Of Being Loved, Michelle R. Albertson

Theses and Dissertations

The Silent Rage of Being Loved is a multimedia installation working primarily with photography, video, and sculpture. It explores the nuanced ways in which memory, grief, and veneration manifest physically in my life through objects and my body. My proposed thesis installation is intended as a place of refuge for my audience amongst a shrine-like space and for us, collectively, to reexamine and widen the ways in which we experience mourning and grief.

Madeleine Béjart: La Femme Galante, Katherine E. Jackson

Theses and Dissertations

The 17th Century marked the beginning of women professionally joining the acting profession and as such brought about change in the career opportunities for women. Madeleine Béjart was one of these actresses who is notorious for her liaison and working relationship with famed playwright, Molière. Through this personal relationship her role in history was relegated to that of mistress and the scandal concerning Molière’s wife Armande who is speculated to either be Madeleine's daughter or sister. By using historical and biographical information on Madeleine along with two works of Molière in which she originated roles, I will explore the intricacies …

Periodic Trends In The Infrared And Optical Absorption Spectra Of Metal Chalcogenide Clusters, Alain Ward

Theses and Dissertations

We have investigated the Optical absorption, Infrared spectra, Binding Energies, and various other cluster properties to determine the existence of periodic trend for Transition Metal Chalcogenide Clusters ligated with CO ligands. We were motivated to answer the question of whether periodic behavior can be observed in properties of octahedral metal-chalcogenide clusters. We have used the Amsterdam Density Functional code to calculate the electronic structure of Transition Metal Chalcogenide Clusters using gradient-corrected density functional theory. We determined the existence of several periodic trends in properties of octahedral Transition Metal Chalcogenide Clusters TM₆Se₈(CO)₆. To investigate these …

Exploring Predictors In The Receipt Of Patient/Family-Centered Care, Arami Anwell

Theses and Dissertations

Study 1

OBJECTIVES: The research aim of this study was to identify predictors associated with the receipt of PFCC among U.S. children/families

METHODS: Caregivers of 38,803 non-institutionalized children, aged 0 to 17 years, were surveyed by the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) 2018–20019. Patient/family-centered care (PFCC) was measured using five components of health care delivery that were answered on a 4-point Likert scale. Logistic regression models were analyzed for the overall receipt of PFCC and each component of PFCC, with survey weighting added to adjust for complex sampling design.

RESULTS: Many predictors were associated with the receipt of PFCC. …

A Case Study Exploring How The Zero Barriers In Stem Education Professional Development Program Affects Attitudes And Confidence Toward Teaching Stem Content To Students With Disabilities, Alison Dossick

Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to assess how the Zero Barriers in STEM Education professional development (PD) course affected teacher attitudes and confidence in teaching science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) content to students with disabilities. A convergent mixed-methods case study analysis was used. The research questions were devised by examining answers on a pre-survey and post-survey. Documentation included a full analysis of two pre- and post-surveys, teacher implementation logs, team action plans, program evaluations, and semi-structured interviews. Barriers included time to plan and implement the outlined strategies and administrative and colleague support. This research uncovered some of the difficulties of …

A Thematic Analysis Of African American Fathers' Emotion-Related Beliefs And Behaviors, Deon Brown

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored African American fathers’ beliefs about and experiences with their own and their children’s negative emotions (i.e., parental meta-emotion philosophy and parental emotion socialization). Participants included 58 African American fathers in the Midwestern region of the United States between the ages of 29 and 40 (Mage = 30.94). 57 were biological fathers and one was a stepfather to toddlers between 24 and 31 months of age. Participants were invited to complete lab tasks, including the meta-emotion interview (MEI). The MEI is semi-structured interview of parents’ and their children’s negative emotion (i.e., sadness and anger). I selected a subset …

Trajectories Of Medication Non-Adherence With Time-Varying Predictors And Association With Health Outcomes: A Comparison Of Classical Statistical Methods With Machine Learning Algorithms, Vasco Pontinha

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Medication adherence is a major obstacle to improving health care outcomes in long-term therapies for chronic diseases. According to the World Health Organization, interventions for improving medication adherence can have a higher impact on the health of the population than any other advance in medical treatments. Approximately 125,000 individuals die every year in the U.S. because of non-adherence to medication, representing societal costs of $100-289 billion. Previous research has successfully used group-based trajectories methods to identify similar longitudinal medication adherence trajectories. However, medication adherence is not an isolated behavior and is influenced by many factors that current interventions fail …

Structure-Based Drug Discovery And Development Of Protein Structure Prediction Tools Using An Empirical Force Field, Noah B. Herrington

Theses and Dissertations

Traditional drug discovery has rapidly accelerated thanks to development of computational molecular modeling. The crucial component that these computational studies hinge upon is having a well-defined, and energetically favorable structure. Structures of proteins and ligands that meet these criteria are important for accurately simulating models used to study drug binding. To demonstrate the role of accurate structure simulation in the study of these events, this thesis presents, first, a story examining the problem of accurate structure modeling of ionizable residues within protein structures, specifically aspartic acid, glutamic acid, and histidine. I present our method, which uses the HINT force field …

“There Was Some Sort Of Missing Middle”: Lived Experiences Of Jewish Youth With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Aliza Lambert

Theses and Dissertations

Though religion and spirituality contribute to overall well-being (Koenig, 2012; Koenig & Cohen, 2002), social support (Biggs & Carter, 2016; Koenig & Cohen, 2002; Taub & Werner, 2016), quality of life (QOL; Myers & Sweeney, 2000), coping strategies (Krok, 2008), and lower rates of depression and anxiety (Brown et al., 2013; Young et al., 2000), religion and spirituality are seldom included in curriculum in counselor education and supervision doctoral programs (Adams et al., 2015; Henriksen et al., 2015). In the present study, the researcher uses a multiple-case study design to describe the lived experiences of Jewish youth with intellectual and …

Learning Robot Motion From Creative Human Demonstration, Charles C. Dietzel

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents a learning from demonstration framework that enables a robot to learn and perform creative motions from human demonstrations in real-time. In order to satisfy all of the functional requirements for the framework, the developed technique is comprised of two modular components, which integrate together to provide the desired functionality. The first component, called Dancing from Demonstration (DfD), is a kinesthetic learning from demonstration technique. This technique is capable of playing back newly learned motions in real-time, as well as combining multiple learned motions together in a configurable way, either to reduce trajectory error or to generate entirely …