Digital Commons Network^™

Somatic Symptom Disorder In Dermatology, James L. Levenson, Aditi A. Sharma, Alex G. Ortega-Loayza

Psychiatry Publications

Somatic symptom disorder (SSD) is defined by the prominence of somatic symptoms associated with abnormal thoughts, feelings, and behaviors related to the symptoms, resulting in significant distress and impairment. Individuals with these disorders are more commonly encountered in primary care and other medical settings, including dermatology practice, than in psychiatric and other mental health settings. What defines the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors as abnormal is that they are excessive, that is, out of proportion to other patients with similar somatic symptoms, and that they result in significant distress and impairment. SSD may occur with or without the presence of a …

Molecular Genetic Influences On Normative And Problematic Alcohol Use In A Population-Based Sample Of College Students, Bradley T. Webb, Alexis C. Edwards, Aaron R. Wolen, Jessica E. Salvatore, Fazil Aliev, Brien P. Riley, Cuie Sun, Vernell S. Williamson, James N. Kitchens, Kimberly Pedersen, Amy Adkins, Megan E. Cooke, Jeanne E. Savage, Zoe Neale, Seung B. Cho, Danielle M. Dick, Kenneth S. Kendler

Psychiatry Publications

Background: Genetic factors impact alcohol use behaviors and these factors may become increasingly evident during emerging adulthood. Examination of the effects of individual variants as well as aggregate genetic variation can clarify mechanisms underlying risk.

Methods: We conducted genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in an ethnically diverse sample of college students for three quantitative outcomes including typical monthly alcohol consumption, alcohol problems, and maximum number of drinks in 24 h. Heritability based on common genetic variants (h2SNP) was assessed. We also evaluated whether risk variants in aggregate were associated with alcohol use outcomes in an independent sample of young …

Electroconvulsive Therapy In Geriatric Patients: A Literature Review And Program Report From Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, Usa, Andrew D. Snyder, Vasu Venkatachalam, Ananda Pandurangi

Psychiatry Publications

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an effective therapeutic intervention in the elderly patients with major depression, especially those with psychosis, suicidality, catatonia, nutritional compromise, and resistance to medications. Response rates can be as high as 80%. We present an extensive review of the relevant literature, provide a description of the ECT program at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, USA, and present results of our experience with ECT in fifty elderly patients. The treatments were safe, well tolerated, and produced high response rates, variably between 68% and 84%. Patients in the long‑term maintenance ECT program continue to show sustained benefits from …

Parsing Metamap Files In Hadoop, Amy Olex, Alberto Cano, Bridget T. Mcinnes

Computer Science Publications

The UMLS::Association CUICollector module identifies UMLS Concept Unique Identifier bigrams and their frequencies in a biomedical text corpus. CUICollector was re-implemented in Hadoop MapReduce to improve algorithm speed, flexibility, and scalability. Evaluation of the Hadoop implementation compared to the serial module produced equivalent results and achieved a 28x speedup on a single-node Hadoop system.

Service-Learning Community Partner Impact Assessment Report, Jennifer Jettner, Lynn Pelco, Katie Elliott

Division of Community Engagement Resources

In the summer of 2017, VCU’s Office of Service-Learning conducted an evaluation of the impact of service-learning on community partner organizations. This assessment aimed to collect actionable feedback from partners and to inform improvements to service-learning courses at VCU that successfully address partners’ concerns. An external researcher conducted phone interviews with a representative sample of 22 community partners. Partners were asked how a specific service-learning course impacted their organization in three areas: organizational capacity, economically, and socially. Partners were also asked about faculty interactions and the likelihood of recommending the service-learning course to other organizations like their own. This report …

Prevalence Of Past-Year Dental Visit Among Us Adults, 1999– 2010: Comparison Of Trends And Estimates Between The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System And Three National Surveys, Mei Lin, Chen-Hsun Li, Liang Wei, Shillpa Naavaal, Shellie Kolavic Gray, Michael C. Manz, Laurie Barker

Dental Public Health and Policy Publications

Objectives: To compare estimated prevalence of past-year dental visit (PPYDV) among US adults aged ≥18 years from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to estimates from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), and National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Methods: We estimated PPYDV adjusted for covariates (age, race/ethnicity, education level, poverty status, edentulism) using BRFSS, MEPS, and NHIS 1999-2010, and NHANES 1999-2004. We tested trend in overall PPYDV for BRFSS, MEPS, and NHIS from 1999-2010. For 2002 and 2010, we calculated absolute differences (AD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) in PPYDV between BRFSS …

Virginia College Access Resource Study: Region One Report, Amy Corning, Kate Daly, Jesse Senechal

MERC Publications

This research brief shares the results of a MERC study commissioned by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) and supported by Virginia 529 about college access in central Virginia. The purpose of college access providers is discussed as well the current areas of need. A list of access providers in Virginia are listed at the end of the brief.

The Effect Of Health And Dental Insurance On Us Children’S Dental Care Utilization For Urgent And Non-Urgent Dental Problems - 2008, Shillpa Naavaal, Laurie K. Barker, Susan O. Griffin

Dental Public Health and Policy Publications

Objective: We examined the association between utilization of care for a dental problem (utilization-DP) and parent-reported dental problem (DP) urgency among children with DP by type of health care insurance coverage.

Methods: We used weighted 2008 National Health Interview Survey data from 2,834 children, aged 2-17 years with at least one DP within the 6 months preceding survey. Explanatory variables were selected based on Andersen's model of healthcare utilization. Need was considered urgent if DP included toothache, bleeding gums, broken or missing teeth, broken or missing filling, or decayed teeth and otherwise as non-urgent. The primary enabling variable, insurance, had …

2015-2016 Service-Learning Impact Measure Report, Samantha Poelstra

Division of Community Engagement Resources

The VCU Service-Learning Office distributes the Service-Learning Impact Measure (SLIM) at the end of every semester to evaluate the impact of service-learning classes on student learning. Results are used to guide professional development opportunities, as well as to further improve the quality of and recruit additional tenure-line faculty members to teach designated service-learning classes.

Creating, Collaborating And Adapting: Implementing A Decentralized Youth Policy, Tina C. Carter, Alyssa King

Division of Community Engagement Resources

The first year implementing a new policy on campus comes with unique opportunities as well as challenges in ensuring appropriate controls and protections for minors. A decentralized policy can often highlight these barriers, but can also create space for innovation. When a policy is located in departments like human resources and risk management infrastructures designed to bolster policies and manage liability are present. For policies in non-traditional areas of higher education, the journey to a sustainable policy model requires a different approach. Virginia Commonwealth University’s policy, Safety and Protection of Minors, is located under the Division of Community Engagement, within …

Quantifying Variation In Gait Features From Wearable Inertial Sensors Using Mixed Effects Models, Kellen Garrison Cresswell, Yongyun Shin, Shanshan Chen

Biostatistics Publications

The emerging technology of wearable inertial sensors has shown its advantages in collecting continuous longitudinal gait data outside laboratories. This freedom also presents challenges in collecting high-fidelity gait data. In the free-living environment, without constant supervision from researchers, sensor-based gait features are susceptible to variation from confounding factors such as gait speed and mounting uncertainty, which are challenging to control or estimate. This paper is one of the first attempts in the field to tackle such challenges using statistical modeling. By accepting the uncertainties and variation associated with wearable sensor-based gait data, we shift our efforts from detecting and correcting …

Comorbidity, Pain, Utilization, And Psychosocial Outcomes In Older Versus Younger Sickle Cell Adults: The Pisces Project, Donna K. Mcclish, Wally R. Smith, James L. Levenson, Imoigele P. Aisiku, John D. Roberts, Susan D. Roseff, Viktor E. Bovbjerg

Biostatistics Publications

Background. Patients with SCD now usually live well into adulthood. Whereas transitions into adulthood are now often studied, little is published about aging beyond the transition period. We therefore studied age-associated SCD differences in utilization, pain, and psychosocial variables. Methods. Subjects were 232 adults in the Pain in Sickle Cell Epidemiology Study (PiSCES). Data included demographics, comorbidity, and psychosocial measures. SCD-related pain and health care utilization were recorded in diaries. We compared 3 age groups: 16–25 (transition), 26–36 (younger adults), and 37–64 (older adults) years. Results. Compared to the 2 adult groups, the transition group reported fewer …

Tobacco Use And Health Insurance Literacy Among Vulnerable Populations: Implications For Health Reform, Robert T. Braun, Yaniv Hanoch, Andrew J. Barnes

Health Policy Publications

Background: Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), millions of Americans have been enrolling in the health insurance marketplaces. Nearly 20% of them are tobacco users. As part of the ACA, tobacco users may face up to 50% higher premiums that are not eligible for tax credits. Tobacco users, along with the uninsured and racial/ethnic minorities targeted by ACA coverage expansions, are among those most likely to suffer from low health literacy – a key ingredient in the ability to understand, compare, choose, and use coverage, referred to as health insurance literacy. Whether tobacco users choose enough coverage in the marketplaces …

Evaluation Of School-Based Dental Sealant Programs: An Updated Community Guide Systematic Economic Review, Susan O. Griffin, Shillpa Naavaal, Christina Scherrer, Mona Patel, Sajal Chattopadhyay

Dental Public Health and Policy Publications

Context

A recently updated Community Guide systematic review of the effectiveness of school sealant programs (SSPs) still found strong evidence that SSPs reduced dental caries among schoolchildren. This follow-up systematic review updates SSP cost and benefit information from the original 2002 review.

Evidence acquisition

Using Community Guide economic review methods, the authors searched the literature from January 2000 to November 20, 2014. The final body of evidence included 14 studies—ten from the current search and four with cost information from the 2002 review. Nine studies had information on SSP costs; six on sealant benefit (averted treatment costs and productivity losses); …

Virginia Dental Journal (Vol. 94, No. 1, 2017)

Virginia Dental Journal

No abstract provided.

Virginia Dental Journal (Vol. 94, No. 3, 2017)

Virginia Dental Journal

No abstract provided.

A Comprehensive Summary Of Services And Resources Provided By Librarians In Support Of Coda Accredited Predoctoral (Dds/Dmd) Dental Education Programs In The United States And Canada, Irene M. Lubker, Elizabeth Stellrecht, Richard Mcgowan, Nena Schvaneveldt, Susan Arnold, Elisa Cortez, Rebecca Davis, Michael Kronenfield, Nicole Theis-Mahon

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Objective

The objective of this study is to provide a summary of library services and resources that support dental education and research. This summary will demonstrate trends in dental librarianship as well as services and resources that can be adopted to serve the needs of dental related education programs. To date, there has not been a comprehensive summary of these services.

Methods

An environmental scan was carried out to take inventory of services that dental librarians (1) provide. The study population consisted of librarians who work in dental libraries or college / university libraries that serve dental programs. The librarians …

Feasibility Of A Relaxation Guided Imagery Intervention To Reduce Maternal Stress In The Nicu, Lois C. Howland, Nancy Jallo, Cynthia D. Connelly, Rita H. Pickler

School of Nursing Publications

Objective: To test the feasibility of a relaxation guided imagery (RGI) intervention for mothers of hospitalized preterm infants and to explore the biobehavioral effects of RGI on their distress, responsiveness, and physiological stress.

Design: Single sample, pretest-posttest design.

Setting: A large Level III NICU in Southern California.

Participants: Twenty mothers of hospitalized preterm infants (24-32 weeks gestational age).

Methods: Correlational analyses of RGI use with self-reported measures of distress (perceived stress, state anxiety, and depression symptoms), awakening salivary cortisol level, and salivary cortisol awakening response collected from mothers at baseline and after 8 weeks of an RGI intervention.

Results: Nineteen …

Factors Distinguishing Positive Deviance Among Low-Income African American Women: A Qualitative Study On Infant Feeding, Cecilia E. Barbosa, Saba W. Masho, Kellie E. Carlyle, Maghboeba Mosavel

School of Nursing Publications

Background: Positive deviant individuals practice beneficial behaviors in spite of having qualities characterizing them as high risk for unhealthy behaviors.

Objective: This study aimed to identify and understand factors distinguishing low-income African American women who breastfeed the longest (positive deviants) from those who breastfeed for a shorter duration or do not breastfeed.

Methods: Seven mini-focus groups on infant-feeding attitudes and experiences were conducted with 25 low-income African American women, grouped by infant-feeding practice. Positive deviants, who had breastfed for 4 months or more, were compared with formula-feeding participants who had only formula fed their babies and short-term breastfeeding participants who …

Care Works: Come Home For Care, The Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute At Virginia Commonwealth University, Valerie Coleman, Josh Van Dyck, Kate Haydon, Kenneth Warren Foster, Alexandra Reckendorf, Michelle Stickler

The Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute Publications

Essential to executing the mission and vision of an academic medical center (AMC) is attracting and retaining the highest quality employees. As demonstrated by VCU’s commitment to the Great Place Initiative, the University has recognized that employees in today’s highly competitive environment demand competitive salary and benefit packages. Research has shown that access to high quality, on-site healthcare services provides significant benefits to both employees and employers, such as increased productivity and reduced wellness costs^[1]. Yet, a query of de-identified patient records indicated that only a small percentage of VCU employees (~18%) utilized the health services provided by …

Collaborative Instruction For Information Retrieval And Appraisal Skills In Evidence-Based Practice Models For Dental Hygiene Students., Irene M. Lubker, Joan M. Pellegrini

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Objectives:

1. Collaborate with VCU Dental Hygiene Program faculty to develop and evaluate a model of evidence-based practice (EBP) for students in didactic and clinical settings.

2. Describe how a course was modified to emphasize evidence-based practice.

3. Analyze course evaluations and student scholarly output.

Methods/Materials:

Dental educators strive to develop graduates who practice evidence-based practice and whose clinical decisions are based on current scientific research. A medical librarian was invited to assist in integrating EBP into the dentistry curriculum in 2012. To gain a better understanding of EBP in dental settings, the librarian and dental hygiene faculty attended the …

Visualizing Space Usage Patterns In A Health Sciences Library, Stephen Barkley

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

The Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences collected user location information to analyze public space usage. The data were used to create heat map representations of average occupancy rates at specific locations within the building.

Assessing Attitudinal Barriers To Health Insurance Enrollment And Facilitation In Vulnerable Populations, Christopher Brown

Health Sciences Education Symposium

Introduction: Homeless individuals bear a disproportionately high burden of disease. Lack of health insurance amongst homeless populations is a significant barrier to healthcare access.

Methods: This study explored barriers and facilitators to health insurance via a survey-format that focused predominantly on attitudes towards health insurance and enrollment assistance.

Results: Majority of respondents endorse a facilitator to guide the enrollment process at their location of healthcare. While 43.8% of participants reported they knew where to go for enrollment assistance, 43.7% did not. 100% of participants agreed that health insurance is important, while only 43.1% were insured.

Conclusion: Distrust regarding facilitation in …

The Scope, The Scope

The Scope

Collection of all 2016 articles from The Scope.

About The Scope

This magazine was produced by students in Science Journalism (MASC 491-005), which was taught during the Fall 2016 semester by Jeff South, an associate professor in the Robertson School of Media and Culture at Virginia Commonwealth University, and Sara Williams, head of academic outreach for VCU Libraries.

The course, VCU’s first focusing exclusively on science reporting, was supported by a grant that funds projects aligned with VCU’s strategic plan, called Quest for Distinction. VCU selected the Science Journalism course as a “disruptively innovative idea” and as a way …

Colonialism's Role In The Success Of The Filipino Skin Whitening Industry, Francine Singson

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

In the Philippines and other developing countries, the skin whitening industry is prolific and expanding among native populations. However, this desire for white skin has dire health repercussions, both physical and psychological. Many researchers in the field of Filipino-American psychology attribute this desire for whiter skin to the American colonial rule of the Philippines, which began in 1898 and lasted for nearly fifty years. Historians often characterize the American occupation as cruel and demeaning, leading to colonial mentality that has continued into the post-colonial era. As a result, in order to ameliorate this dilemma, one must explore how the internalized …

Depression In Low-Income Adolescents: Guidelines For School-Based Depression Intervention Programs, Gopika Hari

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

Adolescent depression is growing in interest to clinicians. In addition to the estimated 2 million cases of adolescent major depressive episodes each year, depressive symptoms in youth have become indicators of mental health complications later in life. Studies indicate that being low-income is a risk factor for depression and that socioeconomically disadvantaged teenagers are more than twice as likely to develop mental illnesses. Only an estimated 1 in 4 children with mental illnesses receive adequate help and 80% of these resources come through schools. Thus, this study focuses on establishing the importance of depression intervention programs in low-income high schools …

After Blackness, Then Blackness: Afro-Pessimism, Black Life, And Classical Hip Hop As Counter-Performance, Kevin Eubanks

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

No abstract provided.

Women’S Decisions About Mental Health Treatment In The Perinatal Period, Marina G. Green

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

This study examined a mother’s decision-making process in regards to mental health treatment for emotional difficulties during pregnancy and/or in the postpartum period. The literature shows that different factors influence a woman’s ability and willingness to seek services, including demographic factors, cultural factors, and interactions with healthcare providers and acquaintances. A sample of women who experienced emotional difficulties in the perinatal period was recruited through social media. Participants answered an anonymous electronic survey; the quantitative data was analyzed through SPSS, and the qualitative data was aggregated by themes. Quantitative findings indicate that age might be an influencing factor for women …

Liver Adiposity And Metabolic Profile In Individuals With Chronic Spinal Cord Injury, Kathleen C. Rankin, Laura C. O’Brien, Liron Segal, M. Rehan Khan, Ashraf S. Gorgey

Physiology and Biophysics Publications and Presentations

Purpose. To quantify liver adiposity using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and to determine its association with metabolic profile in men with spinal cord injury (SCI). Materials and Methods. MRI analysis of liver adiposity by fat signal fraction (FSF) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) was completed on twenty participants. Intravenous glucose tolerance test was conducted to measure glucose effectiveness (𝑆g) and insulin sensitivity (𝑆i ). Lipid panel, fasting glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and inflammatory cytokines were also analyzed. Results. Average hepatic FSF was 3.7% ± 2.1. FSF was positively related to TG, non-HDL-C, fasting glucose, HbA1c, VAT, and …

Cyclic-Amp Regulates Postnatal Development Of Neural And Behavioral Responses To Nacl In Rats, Jie Qian, Shobha Mummalaneni, Tam-Hao T. Phan, Gerard L. Heck, John A. Desimone, David West, Sunila Mahavadi, Deanna Hojati, Karnam S. Murthy, Mee-Ra Rhyu, Andrew I. Spielman, Mehmet H. Özdener, Vijay Lyall

Physiology and Biophysics Publications and Presentations

During postnatal development rats demonstrate an age-dependent increase in NaCl chorda tympani (CT) responses and the number of functional apical amiloride-sensitive epithelial Na+channels (ENaCs) in salt sensing fungiform (FF) taste receptor cells (TRCs). Currently, the intracellular signals that regulate the postnatal development of salt taste have not been identified. We investigated the effect of cAMP, a downstream signal for arginine vasopressin (AVP) action, on the postnatal development of NaCl responses in 19–23 day old rats. ENaC-dependent NaCl CT responses were monitored after lingual application of 8-chlorophenylthio-cAMP (8-CPT-cAMP) under open-circuit conditions and under ±60 mV lingual voltage clamp. Behavioral responses were …