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An Examination Of Impaired Driving: The Integral Role Of Cognitive And Behavioral Predictors, Andrew Tatch

Theses and Dissertations

Despite modest reductions over previous decades, improvements in impaired driving prevalence have stalled at problematic levels in recent years. Recent self-report data indicate that 20 percent of driving age individuals acknowledge operating a vehicle within two hours of alcohol consumption within the previous year and there are approximately 121 million episodes of impaired driving annually. Extant research has consistently identified specific subgroups, including men, young adults, and individuals with less education, as being high risk for driving under the influence. Additionally, researchers of impaired driving have discerned certain impaired driving-related attitudes and behaviors as important predictors of impaired driving. Despite …

Mechanoreceptor Activation In The Treatment Of Drug-Use Disorders: Mechanism And Outcome, Kyle Bills

Theses and Dissertations

The therapeutic benefits attributed to activation of peripheral mechanoreceptors are poorly understood. There is growing evidence that mechanical stimulation modulates substrates in the supraspinal central nervous system (CNS) that are outside the canonical somatosensory circuits. This work demonstrates that activation of peripheral mechnoreceptors via mechanical stimulation (MStim) is sufficient to increase dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), alter neuron firing rate in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and increase membrane translocation of delta opioid receptors (DORs) in the NAc. Further, we demonstrate that these effects are dependent on DORs and acetylcholine receptors. Additionally, MStim can block neuronal markers of …

Tuning Size And Light Emission Characteristics Of Cdses/Zns Alloyed Core-Shell Quantum Dots By Alcohol, John Casey Marnocha

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, a one-step isotropic down-tuning of the size of alloyed CdSe1−xSx/ZnS core- shell quantum dots is developed by vapor and liquid-phase etching using a ∼ 10 : 1 isopropyl alcohol to water solution. The results of spectroscopic studies confirm continuous variation of the excitonic emission color from red to green for samples treated for up to 15 mins using a vapor-based method. According to HRTEM characterizations, the shift is consistent with a diameter reduction of quantum dots that proceeds at the average rate of ∼ 1.3 ̊A/min. The emission intensity while seen to undergo an initial drop due …

Tuning Size And Light Emission Characteristics Of Cdses/Zns Alloyed Core-Shell Quantum Dots By Alcohol, John Casey Marnocha

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, a one-step isotropic down-tuning of the size of alloyed CdSe1−xSx/ZnS core- shell quantum dots is developed by vapor and liquid-phase etching using a ∼ 10 : 1 isopropyl alcohol to water solution. The results of spectroscopic studies confirm continuous variation of the excitonic emission color from red to green for samples treated for up to 15 mins using a vapor-based method. According to HRTEM characterizations, the shift is consistent with a diameter reduction of quantum dots that proceeds at the average rate of ∼ 1.3 ̊A/min. The emission intensity while seen to undergo an initial drop due …

Genome-Wide Systems Genetics Of Alcohol Consumption And Dependence, Kristin Mignogna

Theses and Dissertations

Widely effective treatment for alcohol use disorder is not yet available, because the exact biological mechanisms that underlie this disorder are not completely understood. One way to gain a better understanding of these mechanisms is to examine the genetic frameworks that contribute to the risk for developing this disorder. This dissertation examines genetic association data in combination with gene expression networks in the brain to identify functional groups of genes associated with alcohol consumption and dependence.

The first study took advantage of the behavioral complexity of human samples, and experimental capabilities provided by mouse models, by co-analyzing gene expression networks …

Glial Cell Mechanisms Regulate Alcohol Sedation In Drosophila Melanogaster, Kristen M. Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Approximately 16 million people in America are diagnosed with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) but no efficacious medical treatments exist. Alcohol-related behaviors can be studied in model organisms, and changes in these behaviors can be correlated with either (i) a risk for alcohol dependence or (ii) a symptom/feature of AUD itself. Although AUD is a disease of the central nervous system, a majority of research has focused on the neuronal underpinnings, leaving glial contributions largely undescribed. We used Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly) to identify genes whose expression in glia regulates alcohol sedation. Mammals and Drosophila have conserved behavioral responses to alcohol …

Cellular Mechanisms By Which Alcohol Promotes Hiv Protease Inhibitor-Induced Hepatotoxicity, Michael Hinton

Theses and Dissertations

CELLULAR MECHANISMS BY WHICH ALCOHOL PROMOTES HIV PROTEASE INHIBITOR-INDUCED HEPATOTOXICITY

Michael Hinton, B.S.

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

Virginia Commonwealth University, 2019

Major Director: Huiping Zhou

Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology

The development of highly-active-antiretroviral therapy(HAART) has allowed management of HIV and extended the lives of those infected. Alcohol abuse, which is very common in HIV-1 infected patients, is one of the most important co-morbid risk factors for liver injury and has been associated with the occurrence of serious metabolic syndrome and subsequent discontinuation …