Digital Commons Network^™

The Role Of Manganese In Streptococcus Sanguinis, Tanya M. Puccio

Theses and Dissertations

Streptococcus sanguinis is primarily associated with oral health as a commensal bacterium. As an opportunistic pathogen, S. sanguinis is capable of colonizing heart valve vegetations, leading to the disease infective endocarditis. Previous studies from our lab have identified the high-affinity manganese transporter SsaACB as important for endocarditis virulence. The impact that manganese depletion has on S. sanguinis had never been evaluated and a secondary manganese transporter has not been identified. Thus, we employed the use of a fermentor to control large-scale growth over time and depleted manganese in an ΔssaACB mutant using a metal chelator, EDTA. The changes in …

Development Of An Anatomically And Electrically Conductive Brain Phantom For Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, Hamzah A. Magsood

Theses and Dissertations

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive technique for diagnostics, prognostic, and treatments of various neurological diseases. However, the lack of anatomically realistic brain phantoms has made the experimental verification of stimulation strength in the form of induced electric fields/voltages in the brain tissues an impediment to developing new TMS coils, stimulators, and treatment protocols. There are significant technological, safety, and ethical limitations to test the potential TMS treatment procedures or develop enhancements and refine them on humans or animals. This work aims to bridge the gap by introducing and developing an innovative manufacturing and fabrications process to produce a …

Predicting Black Male Undergraduate Degree Completion At A Pwi Examining Single Indicators Of Religiosity, Anxiety, And Depression., Nickolas Spears Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Religiosity is a well-known protective factor for mental health as a coping and resilience source, which positively affects Black male college students' academic success. However, less is known about whether religiosity predicts degree completion and buffers Black males' mental health from a quantitative research approach. Black males have one of the lowest degree completion rates at four-year institutions. Students who experience poor mental health outcomes have lower degree completion. This study utilized logistic regression to investigate whether religiosity: (1) predicted degree completion among Black male undergraduate students and (2) moderated anxiety and depression. The results suggest Black males identify high …

Changing Landscapes: Perspectives Of Young African American Women Of Population-Wide Testing For Hereditary Breast Cancer Mutations, Alesha Henderson

Theses and Dissertations

Young African American women continue to die from breast cancer at higher rates than White women. In an effort to promote breast cancer prevention, population-wide testing (PWT) for all women in the U.S. starting at age 30 is a potential future initiative that is garnering a lot of attention. However, African American women currently utilize genetic testing for hereditary breast cancer at lower rates than White women. Therefore, if young African American women are not prioritized in a future roll out of PWT, then existing breast cancer and genetic testing disparities will likely continue to widen. The purpose of this …

A Review Of Factors, Seating Design, And Shape Capture Methods For Reducing Pressure Injury Risk, John A. Damiao

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation in the form of three papers ready for submission to peer-reviewed journals is submitted toward the requirements of the PhD in Health Related Sciences program at Virginia Commonwealth University. Chapter One provides an introductory overview of the project, including: (a) an overview of pressure injuries, (b) the impact of seating as an intervention, and (c) aims of the three-paper dissertation in addressing various aspects of pressure injury prevention. Each paper is unique and singular in its focus, yet all share the overlying aim of addressing pressure injury risk associated with wheelchair seating. Paper One describes the unique facilitators …

Swipe Right For Condoms And Testing: Differences In High-Risk Sexual Behavior And Sexual Health Beliefs Among Dating App Users Compared To Non-App Users, Shelby A. Smout

Theses and Dissertations

Millions of Americans are currently using smartphone dating applications (apps) to socialize and meet with others. In some cases, app-based conversations lead to sexual interactions. Previous research examining the relationship between the use of dating apps and sexual behaviors has found that individuals who use dating apps and meet with partners from the app are more likely to engage in high-risk sexual behaviors such as having multiple partners and inconsistent condom use. Individuals between the ages of 18 and 24 are the group most likely to be using dating apps compared to other age groups and are a high-risk group …

Credit The Parents? The Impact Of Racial Socialization On African American Students’ Stress-Related Coping And College Adjustment, Briana Bouldin

Theses and Dissertations

Many new stressors emerge in college and have a significant impact on college adjustment. However, little is known about common stressors, their causes, and impact on college adjustment for students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). This project investigated the extent to which different college stressors impact sleep-related college adjustment, and whether racial socialization and emotion regulation strategies serve as coping strategies that moderate this relationship for HBCU students. The theoretical framework for the study was an adapted version of the Integrative Conceptual Model of Adaptive Socialization (ICMAS; Dunbar et al., 2017). Data were collected via an online survey …

Children’S Participation Rights In Child Welfare Systems: Identifying Opportunities For Implementation, Anna M. Cody

Theses and Dissertations

Children’s participation rights are critically important for supporting children’s well-being. Studies across the world consistently demonstrate that children and youth feel uninvolved, silenced and marginalized within the child welfare context which has a direct impact on their physical safety as well as their subjective well-being. There has been a shift in US policy and practice towards recognizing the value and importance of engaging youth, older youth in particular, in being involved with planning for their care and for their future. However, definitions of what meaningful “youth engagement” might look like within the child welfare context generally lack clarity. In addition, …

A Phenomenological Study Of Nonbinary Resilience And Mental Health, Calvin J. Hall Iii

Theses and Dissertations

Nonbinary individuals, or those who do not exclusively identify with a male or female gender, have gained increasing recognition and representation within the past ten years. Despite these steps forward, nonbinary individuals still experience higher rates of sexual assault, police brutality/harassment, job-related discrimination, and erasure when compared to binary transgender individuals, or gender-diverse individuals who exclusively identify as male or female. These disparities in violence, discriminatory practices, and erasure have been linked to exceptionally high rates of depression and anxiety in nonbinary people within the U.S. Thus, efforts to improve nonbinary mental health are critically needed. Previous research finds that …

Ndrg1 And Myelin-Related Disease: Alcoholism And Chemotherapy-Induced Neuropathy, Guy Harris

Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a prevalent neuropsychiatric disease with profound health, social, and economic consequences. With an estimated 50% heritability, identifying genes that engender risk and contribute to the underlying neurobiological mechanisms represents an important first step in developing effective treatments. Gene expression studies are an important source of candidate genes for studying AUD, providing windows into the molecular machinery engaged by the brain in response to ethanol. Our laboratory has implicated N-myc down-regulated gene 1 (Ndrg1) as a potential candidate gene that modulates ethanol-induced changes in myelin-related gene expression and acute sensitivity to ethanol. Analysis of …

Applications Of Dynamic Linear Models To Random Allocation Models, Albert H. Lee Iii

Theses and Dissertations

Although advances in modern computational algorithms have provided researchers the ability to work problems which were once too computationally complex to solve, problems with high computation or large parameter spaces still remain. Problems such as those involving Time Series can be such problems. Chapter 1 looks at the the use of Exponentially Weighted Moving Averages developed by \citep{holt2004forecasting, winters1960forecasting} which were thought to provide sufficient solutions to these Time Series. A discussion is provided which illustrates the shortcomings of the EWMA and how its infinite number of possible starting values provides the modeler with an endless number of possible solutions …

Characterizing A20 Function In Periodontal Tissue Homeostasis, Erin Mooney

Theses and Dissertations

The regulation of inflammatory signaling pathways is critical for proper innate immune responses to pathogens as well as the prevention of chronic inflammation. Ubiquitination, a covalent posttranslational modification, has been identified as a key regulator of multiple signaling cascades, including nuclear factor (NF)-κB. A20 (also known as TNF alpha induced protein 3 or TNFAIP3) has emerged as critical ubiquitin-editing enzyme that functions as an endogenous regulator of inflammation through termination of NF-κB activation as part of a negative feedback loop. Through its function in a plethora of biological processes, aberrant expression and/or function of A20 has been implicated in gastrointestinal, …

Transcriptomic Profiling Of Postmortem Prefrontal Cortex And Nucleus Accumbens From Chronic Alcohol Abusers., Eric S. Vornholt

Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a debilitating psychiatric illness that develops from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. While it is well documented that AUD is heritable, the shift from recreational alcohol use to abuse/dependence is poorly understood. In this dissertation, using postmortem brain tissue from individuals with alcohol dependence (AD), we profiled the genome-wide expression of circular RNA (circRNA), microRNA (miRNA), and messenger RNA (mRNA) to better understand the impact of gene expression on the development of AUD. To achieve this, we performed two independent studies that explore transcriptome differences between AD cases and controls. The first of …

Culturally-Relevant Factors That Influence Healthy Eating Among African American College Students, Danyel Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Obesity is a national epidemic in the US, disproportionately affecting African Americans, such that the obesity prevalence in African Americans (49.6%) surpassed the national prevalence (42.4%) in 2018. Those same disparities exist at the collegiate level, such that 27.4% of a sample of African Americans college students had obesity, surpassing the national prevalence of obesity (12.1%) in 2018. Diet, an important driver of obesity, is influenced by several psychological, social, and environmental factors. However, cultural factors influencing diet are understudied among African American college students. The overarching goal of the current study was to identify culturally-relevant factors that promote healthy …

Comparing Parent-Report And Performance-Based Measures Of Vestibular Processing, Elisha D. Chambers

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Comparing Parent-report and Performance-based Measures of Vestibular Processing

By Elisha Chambers, MS. OTR/L

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

Virginia Commonwealth University, 2020

Major Director: Stacey Reynolds, Ph.D OTR/L

Associate Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy

In the field of occupational therapy, there is a need to explore the relationship between performance based-measures and parent-report measures of vestibular functioning because thorough assessment sets the foundation for effective intervention. Time constraints, child distractibility, and limited participation are all issues that pediatric occupational therapists face during evaluations. It …

Impact Of A Culturally-Relevant Support Program And Latinx Adolescents' Help Seeking Services: An Academic-Latinx Community Service Partnership To Enhance Culturally Responsive Services For Latinx Immigrant Youth., Lisa S. Fuentes

Theses and Dissertations

Latinxs, in general, report logistical barriers that contribute to utilizing fewer healthcare services and/or not knowing how to navigate the healthcare system. In addition to underutilizing healthcare services, Latinx immigrant youth also report higher levels of negative attitudes towards mental health. However, little is still known regarding factors that impact these attitudes with Latinx immigrant youth, as well as the community support efforts that are available to this specific group. Using a semi-structured interview on 12 Latinx immigrant youth, this master’s thesis explored: (1) the attitudes towards mental health, (2) attitudes towards mental health services, (3) and the experiences of …

Family Relationship Hope In Parents Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Lindsay A. Kozachuk

Theses and Dissertations

Parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience unique parenting demands. Although these parents often report high levels of mental health challenges, such as depression (e.g., Scherer et al., 2019), they also report resilience factors such as family support and hope (e.g., Ekas et al., 2016). The present study investigated a novel construct, family relationship hope, in parents of children with ASD by examining the psychometric properties of the Family Relationship Hope Scale (FRHS), variables associated with family relationship hope and its link with depression. Factor analyses examined the factor structure and model fit of the FRHS. The post-crisis …

Profiles Of Adjustment Among Children In Institutional Care In Ghana: Predictors Of Positive Functioning, Anna W. Wright

Theses and Dissertations

Worldwide, approximately 2-8 million children reside in institutional care, which can lead to developmental setbacks. Given the need for institutional care persists, it is important to continue investigating which improvements can be made to provide optimal care. The current mixed-methods study included participants from Accra, Ghana. Study 1 involved cluster analyses to determine patterns of adjustment for 100 children in institutional care (CIC) (M age = 13.31 years, SD = 3.14; 40% female) and 100 children in families (CIF) (M age = 13.37 years, SD = 3.08; 40% female) across several domains. ANOVA was used to evaluate whether …

University Hackathons: Managerialism, Gamification, And The Foreclosure Of Creativity, Anthony L. Clary

Theses and Dissertations

This research presents a generative critique of hackathon events held in the contemporary research university. Through the analysis of cultural imaginaries and embedded techno-political forms, it works toward an assessment of whether these events support, foreclose, or redirect ideas of the future that might otherwise challenge technocratic, accumulatory, and/or hierarchal organization. Informed by institutional histories and firsthand field research at events, dynamics of entrepreneurialism, gamification, and techno-solutionism are extrapolated and problematized. Ultimately, this research draws on a historical materialist approach to understanding how and why hackathon events have flourished in the university setting. Corroborating recent theories of platform capitalism, vectoralism, …

Mother Is How I Got Down Pat, Kyrae Dawaun

Theses and Dissertations

This essay gathers concepts of matriarchal studies, theatre and hospitality in thinking beyond the contemporary venue of painting. Recognizing the limits of fine arts, as it is today, a product of a patriarchal, capitalistic societal structure, in its service to an inclusive, public sphere, my work is insistent on the value of installation. Accessibility to space (the art space), language, and the right to politics are goals inspiring the evolved features in my studio practice. The use of word is central in my study of our human behaviors as they can be best modeled according to the appreciation of mother(ing). …

Exploring The Creation Of Immersive And Responsive Spaces For Interrelationship Through The Concept Of Playfulness, Yonghun Jung

Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic that began in early 2020 is causing serious damage to many countries. As of May, the number of confirmed patients worldwide is at 3.35 million and the death toll stands at 239,000 people. As a way to prevent the pandemic, most countries encourage people to keep social or physical distance and self-quarantine. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they recommend that people stay at least six feet away from each other and the South Korean government also recommend keeping their distance from each other at least two meters.

Because of the current situation, …

In Vivo Effects Of The Cb1 Allosteric Modulator Ldk1258, A Structural Analog Of Org-27569, Mohammed A. Mustafa

Theses and Dissertations

CB1 receptor allosteric modulators are an area of growing interest for their potential novel therapeutic actions. In the present study, we examined LDK1258 in a series of pharmacological in vivo tests sensitive to CB1 receptor stimulation. In the tetrad assay, LDK1258 produced significant decreases in locomotor activity and body temperature measures but did not produce either antinociception as measured in the tail-withdrawal assay or catalepsy as assessed in the bar test. These same effects were observed in both CB1 (-/-) and (+/+) mice. Moreover, LDK1258 failed to shift the dose-response curves of two orthosteric CB1 receptor agonists in the triad …

Against The Eyes Of God And Man: The Suicide And Alcohol Intoxication Deaths Of Enslaved People In Alexandria And Henrico County, Virginia, 1805-1829, Peighton L. Young

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to provide a compressive examination of suicide and self-destructive behaviors within specific enslaved populations in early republic Virginia localities. I use coroners’ inquests as the primary means for identifying notable causes of death and potential behavioral patterns amongst the enslaved people presented in this study. I focused my investigation on two causes of death, demographics, and localities respectively: the drowning suicides committed by enslaved women along the Potomac River waterfront in Alexandria between 1807 and 1824 and the alcohol intoxication-related deaths of enslaved men in Henrico County between 1805 and 1829. Stepping away from …

Port To World, Samuel M. Brown

Theses and Dissertations

Among those that are ill for long periods, there is often a mistrust created not only in one’s own body but in the institution that promises a cure to the malady. Often this stems naturally from the dogma of the institution paired with one’s desire for wellness, for the institution's goals are many besides the overall health of the patient. Even when a patient is cured of an ailment, this is often just the first step in the actual healing process. The body can quickly change, and the mind takes time to catch up with the body's condition. My work …

Legal Permanent Residents In The Us Labor Market: Occupational Mobility Of High-Skilled And Low-Skilled Immigrants, Larissa Ferreira Coelho

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the vast research concerning immigrants and occupational mobility, little is known if the patterns for high-skilled and low-skilled workers differ. In this project, I analyze the pre-to-post migration occupational mobility of legal permanent residents in the US by using occupation and migration histories from the New Immigrant Survey. I contrast the first occupation in the US to the last occupation abroad using descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing, and multinomial logistic regression models. Findings show different patterns of occupational mobility for low-skilled and high-skilled workers. High-skilled immigrants were less likely to experience downward occupational mobility than their low-skilled counterparts. The high-skilled …

Taking The Water, Alison Ho

Theses and Dissertations

“The baby boomer generation is about to transform into the largest elderly population in human history, changing how everyone lives, large and small. All of this will directly affect recreation and leisure professionals especially in leisure programming” (Sperezza & Banerjee, 2010, p. 197). In 2012, there were 43.1 million people in the United States that were aged 65+ and it is predicted that by 2050, that number will rise to 83.7 million (Ortman, Velkoff, Hogan, 2014). Baby boomers are more physically active than previous generations and many will now live 20% - 25% of their lives in active retirement. There …

Transforming Trauma: Performing The Works Of William Shakespeare As Rehabilitation For Incarcerated Individuals, Elyssa Mersdorf

Theses and Dissertations

This paper is the summation of my research and exploration into the history, social ramifications, and individual psychological impact of incarceration and the use of theatre as a vehicle of rehabilitation. Throughout my studies, I encountered evidence in the forms of personal accounts from theatre practitioners, scholarly articles, inmate testimonials, and historical journals regarding the success of such carceral theatre programs in the reformation of the prisoners they serve. How have past prison procedures and strategies hindered or helped inmates in their preparation for their transition from life in a penitentiary to reintroduction into larger society? What are the financial …

Relationship Of Demographic Characteristics Of Occupational And Physical Therapists Towards Their Knowledge And Attitude On Person-Centered Care In Skilled Nursing Facilities, Sadashiv R. Aggarwal

Theses and Dissertations

The study aimed to assess the relationship of specific demographic characteristics of occupational (OTs) and physical therapists (PTs) with their knowledge and attitudes towards principles of Person-Centered Care (PCC) in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). The study further examined if knowledge and/or attitudinal differences exist between OTs and PTs towards PCC. The proposed descriptive study used the Person-Centered Care theory, which is a holistic (bio-psychosocial-spiritual) health care delivery approach. PCC delivers services that are respectful and individualized, allowing negotiation of care, and offering choice through a therapeutic relationship where persons receiving care are empowered to be involved in health decisions at …

Feasibility And Acceptability Of Focused Breathing For Management Of Anxiety In Parkinson’S Disease, Susan K. Chandler

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Anxiety is recognized as a predominant nonmotor symptom of Parkinson’s disease (PD) which greatly diminishes quality of life. Current treatment is largely pharmacologic and is recognized as rife with undesirable and unsafe side effects. Reviews commissioned by The Movement Disorder Society Task Force on Evidence-Based Medicine and the American Academy of Neurology revealed there was insufficient evidence to make recommendations for the treatment of anxiety. A review of the literature confirmed anxiety in PD is underdiagnosed, undertreated, and under studied. A common element in many of the non-pharmacologic self-managed interventions used by the studies included in the review was …

The Effects Of An Inflammasome Inhibitor Olt1177 On The Development Of Ischemic Heart Failure, Joseph S. Aliaga

Theses and Dissertations

Thesis Abstract

THE EFFECTS OF AN INFLAMMASOME INHIBITOR OLT1177 ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF ISCHEMIC HEART FAILURE

By Joseph S. Aliaga, BS

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Virginia Commonwealth University, 2020

Background: Evidence suggests that prolonged and enhanced pro-inflammatory signaling, modulated by the NLRP3 inflammasome, plays a crucial role in the pathophysiology of several different types of cardiovascular diseases such as acute myocardial infarction (AMI), adverse ventricular remodeling, and heart failure (HF). Consequently, we hypothesize that attenuating the enhanced inflammatory response using a pharmacological NLRP3 …