Elucidation Of Molecular Kinetic Schemes From Macroscopic Traces Using System Identification, Miguel Fribourg, Diomedes E. Logothetis, Javier González-Maeso, Stuart C. Sealfon, Belén Galocha-Iragüen, Fernando Las-Heras Andrés, Vladimir Brezina

Physiology and Biophysics Publications and Presentations

Overall cellular responses to biologically-relevant stimuli are mediated by networks of simpler lower-level processes. Although information about some of these processes can now be obtained by visualizing and recording events at the molecular level, this is still possible only in especially favorable cases. Therefore the development of methods to extract the dynamics and relationships between the different lower-level (microscopic) processes from the overall (macroscopic) response remains a crucial challenge in the understanding of many aspects of physiology. Here we have devised a hybrid computational-analytical method to accomplish this task, the SYStems-based MOLecular kinetic scheme Extractor (SYSMOLE). SYSMOLE utilizes system-identification input-output …

Aerobic Fitness Impacts Sympathoadrenal Axis Responses To Concurrent Challenges, Heather E. Webb, Deena A. Rosalky, Matthew J. Mcallister, Edmund O. Acevedo, Gary H. Kamimori

Physiology and Biophysics Publications and Presentations

The combination of mental and physical challenges can elicit exacerbated cardiorespiratory (CR) and catecholamine responses above that of a single challenge alone.

Purpose

This study examined the effects of a combination of acute mental challenges and physical stress on cardiorespiratory and catecholamine responses.

Method

Eight below-average fitness (LF VO2max = 36.58 +/- 3.36 ml(-1) kg(-1) min(-1)) and eight above-average fitness (HF VO2max = 51.18 +/- 2.09 ml(-1) kg(-1) min(-1)) participants completed an exercise-alone condition (EAC) session consisting of moderate-intensity cycling at 60% VO2max for 37 min, and a dual-challenge condition (DCC) that included concurrent participation in mental challenges while cycling. …

A Hierarchical Linear Modeling Approach To Predicting Trajectories Of Posttraumatic Growth In Veterans Following Acquired Physical Disability, Lisa Goldberg Looney

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine potential predictors of PTG across time in Veterans with acquired physical disabilities. Specifically, this study aimed to understand how various demographic and injury characteristics, coping styles, appraisals of injury, and social support might predict trajectories of PTG from discharge from inpatient rehabilitation through 12 months after baseline. Initial curvature analyses suggested that a cubic polynomial trend best fit the movement of PTG over time, generally conforming to an initial increase, decrease, and then plateau or slight increase. Four HLMs were run to examine whether demographic and injury characteristics, coping styles, appraisals of …

A Systematic Review Of Weight-Related Communication Trainings For Physicians: What Do We Know And How Can We Inform Future Development Of Training Programs?, Jean M. Reading, Morgan Snell, Jessica G. Larose

Graduate Research Posters

It is reported that physicians lack training to address weight-related concerns with patients. To overcome this, training programs have been implemented in medical settings to prepare physicians to have conversations with patients. However, it is unclear the degree of consistency among existing training programs and factors associated with better outcomes. The objective of this study was to systematically review the existing literature in this area to determine differences in content, outcomes, and implementation of existing studies that test weight-related communication training programs for physicians.

A systematic literature review of online databases including PubMed, PsycINFO, and Proquest was conducted with the …

Developing Evidence-Based Practice In Chaplaincy: A Study Of Unit And Chaplain-Specific Integration, Heber Aviles Villegas, Juanita Claiborne, Martin Garner, Neal Green, Laura Kelly, Clara Owens, Arouna Stephen

Graduate Research Posters

Health care chaplains provide spiritual care across diverse hospital units. As a result of the complex and interprofessional nature of health care services, different units are associated with unique integration and collaboration needs. Effective chaplain practice and patient-centered care are enhanced by sensitivity to unit differences. Our research, aimed at quality improvement, examined unit and chaplain integration to promote unit-specific evidence-based practice. Integration was conceptualized by five dimensions: interdependence, newly created professional activities, flexibility, collective ownership of goals, reflection on process. data was collected using the Interprofessional Integration and Collaboration Instrument (Bronstein, 2002), which has appropriate measurement quality (Bainbridge et …

Team 4 Vcu: Ram Resources: Helping Faculty Help Students, The Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute At Virginia Commonwealth University, Pemra Cetin, Winnie Chan, Deborah Diazgranados, Quinton Johnson, Donna Patterson, Margaret Price, Cheri Stickels

The Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute Publications

The Ram Resources Project seeks to provide students with an environment that encourages their well-being by connecting them with resources needed to succeed in their academic career at VCU. Ram Resources will help reduce the detrimental impact of the number-one problem affecting students’ academic performance: stress. Faculty are uniquely situated both to recognize changes in students’ behavior and to assist students with improving their well-being. Beginning with New Faculty Orientation, Ram Resources will educate faculty about resources for well-being available to students. By creating a brochure, a website, and establishing a program of faculty ambassadors to familiarize faculty with the …

Yi, Observational Documentary Aesthetics, And The Identity Politics Of Transcultural Migrancy, Jiacheng Xu 4159187

Theses and Dissertations

There is a moment in Edward Yang’s acclaimed film Yi Yi (2000) in which a young boy in a conversation with his father observes that he cannot see what his father sees and that his father cannot see what he sees, prompting two questions: “How can I know what you see?” and “Can we only know half of the truth?” Unable to provide adequate answers, his father instead offers his son a camera. Later in the film, the same boy presents his uncle with a picture he took of the back of his head. When asked why, the boy responds …

Prevalence And Clinical Characteristics Of Teeth Extracted With A Diagnosis Of Cracked Tooth: A Retrospective Study, Riley B. Sturgill

Theses and Dissertations

The body of knowledge that exists regarding cracked teeth is limited. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of cracks among extracted teeth. This retrospective longitudinal cohort study included patients of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry that underwent extraction procedures over a 6 year period. The sample consisted of 20,408 patients and 40,870 teeth. Statistical analysis software was used to identify diagnoses of a crack, fracture, or split tooth prior to extraction of the tooth by analyzing the Electronic Health Record (EHR) (axiUm™, Version 6.03.03.1035, Exan Corporation, Vancouver, BC, Canada). There were 3,228 teeth …

Below The Neck, Above The Knees, Desiree Dawn Kapler

Theses and Dissertations

My thesis explores the act of violation in the context of trauma and healing through the use of personal narratives and experimental film. My research allows personal storytelling to transform into a larger and more universal theme of generational trauma and dysfunction. Through a feminist lens, I challenge social norms of body autonomy for the sick and abused, capitalism’s social effects on the poor, and passed down maternal lessons from the women who are doing the best that they can with the lives and opportunities that they have been given.

This work is created in spite of the labels my …

The Impact Of Objective Quality Ratings On Patient Selection Of Community Pharmacies: A Discrete Choice Experiment And Latent Class Analysis, Julie A. Patterson

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Pharmacy-related performance measures have gained significant attention in the transition to value-based healthcare. Pharmacy-level quality measures, including those developed by the Pharmacy Quality Alliance, are not yet publicly accessible. However, the publication of report cards for individual pharmacies has been discussed as a way to help direct patients towards high-quality pharmacies. This study aimed to measure the relative strength of patient preferences for community pharmacy attributes, including pharmacy quality. Additionally, this study aimed to identify and describe community pharmacy market segments based on patient preferences for pharmacy attributes.

Methods: This study elicited patient preferences for community pharmacy attributes …

Smoking Behavior In Arab Americans: Acculturation And Health Beliefs, Roula Ghadban

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Arab Americans, a growing population in the U.S., tend to have high rates of smoking and low rates of smoking cessation. Arab Americans and their families are at a high risk for poor health outcomes related to smoking.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to better understand the smoking behaviors of Arabs in the U.S., using the two publishable manuscripts format. The first manuscript is a systematic review of the literature exploring the smoking behavior, prevalence and use among Arab Americans and examining studies addressing the effect of acculturation on this behavior. The second manuscript is a cross-sectional …

What's Haunting Jackson Ward? Race, Space, And Environmental Violence, Rachel Spraker

Theses and Dissertations

This research is about examining the way in which racialized environmental violence contributes to exploitative social relations becoming embedded in the everyday world. I argue that the space of the everyday has been produced through cycles of social relations proceeding from and/or tied to racialized environmental violence. I continue the work of critical scholars in asserting that social and environmental violence is linked in the same ideological impulse which seeks to hide itself behind a variety of alienating processes. The slow way in which environmental violence works is particularly impactful in these processes because of its attritional lethality, contributing to …

Focused Attention Vs. Open Monitoring: An Event-Related Potential Study Of Emotion Regulation By Two Distinct Forms Of Mindfulness Meditation, Tarah L. Raldiris

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the effects of two novel forms of 8-week mindfulness meditation training, focused attention (FA) and open monitoring (OM), relative to an established training, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), on early emotional reactivity to negative emotional images as assessed by electroencephalography (EEG). Data on the late-positive potential (LPP) were analyzed to address whether the three mindfulness interventions attenuated the LPP from pre- to post-intervention, and if significant differences existed between groups in LPP at post-intervention. Rather than an attenuation, results indicated an average increase in LPP amplitude from pre- to post-intervention. No significant differences were found in the LPP …

"Our Captain Is A Gentleman”: Officer Elections Among Virginia Confederates, 1861-1862, Ryan C. O'Hallahan

Theses and Dissertations

Enlisted soldiers preferred to elect company- and regimental-level officers during the first year of the American Civil War. This thesis explores how early Confederate mobilization, class conflict between elites and non-elites, and Confederate military policies affected officer elections from spring 1861 to spring 1862 among Virginia Confederates. Chapter 1 explores how the chaotic nature of mobilization and common soldiers' initial expectations regarding their military service influenced elections from April 1861 until late July 1861. Chapter 2 details the changing nature of elections as elite officers faced challenges from non-elites and Confederate policies regarding furloughs and conscription forced officers to reconcile …

Identification Of Expression And Function Of The Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor In Gastrointestinal Smooth Muscle, Alexander T. May

Theses and Dissertations

In response to ingestion of nutrients, enteroendocrine L cells secrete the incretin hormone, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), to enhance glucose-dependent insulin release. Therapies related to GLP-1 are approved for type 2 diabetes. The GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) is expressed in cells of the gastrointestinal tract and elsewhere. In pancreatic beta cells, GLP-1R are coupled to the Gs/cAMP/PKA pathway. The expression and function of GLP-1R in gastrointestinal smooth muscle are not known. Aim. To test the hypothesis that GLP-1 regulates smooth muscle function by acting on GLP-1R expressed on smooth muscle. Methods. Smooth muscle cells (SMC) were isolated and cultured. Expression of GLP-1R …

Restoration, Shannon M. Slaight-Brown

Theses and Dissertations

The marks I make in clay have different characteristics, and the physical mark of one’s fingertips or visual record of the hand is personal and intimate. This visible activity is the evidence of my constant presence and control within each object. Its repetitive meditation produces a private relief from my persistent anxieties. This exploration for me is not only visual, but also physical. This is the start of my infatuation with the idea of pattern. It has its own discrete visual language and modes of communication; and through my research I am developing a method of intercommunication.

Automatically Detecting The Resonance Of Terrorist Movement Frames On The Web, Ugochukwu O. Etudo

Theses and Dissertations

The ever-increasing use of the internet by terrorist groups as a platform for the dissemination of radical, violent ideologies is well documented. The internet has, in this way, become a breeding ground for potential lone-wolf terrorists; that is, individuals who commit acts of terror inspired by the ideological rhetoric emitted by terrorist organizations. These individuals are characterized by their lack of formal affiliation with terror organizations, making them difficult to intercept with traditional intelligence techniques. The radicalization of individuals on the internet poses a considerable threat to law enforcement and national security officials. This new medium of radicalization, however, also …

Signaling Components Involved In The Hormone Induced Translocation Of Enac In Cultured Adult Human Fungiform (Hbo) Taste Cells, Deanna Hojati

Theses and Dissertations

The amiloride-sensitive epithelial Na⁺ channel, ENaC, is the Na⁺-specific salt taste receptor in rodents. Compared to rodents, human salt taste perception is amiloride-insensitive. In rodents the ENaC is composed of aβg-subunits. Whereas humans express an additional subunit, the d-ENaC subunit. ENaC in human taste cells is composed of aβg-subunits or dβg-subunits, with the latter being amiloride-insensitive. Currently, it is not known if dβg-ENaC expression and trafficking is regulated by hormones and their downstream intracellular signaling effectors. The aim of this study is to investigate if arginine vasopressin (AVP), aldosterone, and cAMP regulate d-ENaC expression and trafficking in …

Determinants Of Hospital Administrators' Choice Of Anesthesia Practice Model, Maribeth L. Massie

Theses and Dissertations

Hospital administrators are being held accountable by patients, insurers, and other stakeholders in evaluating their overall hospital performance to reduce costs and improve efficiency. With the move to alternative payment models and value-based purchasing, hospital administrators must understand the economic viability and value that their specialty services bring to their facility.

The purpose of this study was to identify the determinants New England acute care hospital administrators’ utilize in making the choice of anesthesia practice model for their facility.

A quantitative, exploratory study of factors hospital administrators use when choosing an anesthesia practice model utilizing a non-experimental, correlational research design …

Advocate Or Traditional Bureaucrat: Understanding The Role Of Esl Supervisors In Shaping Local Education Policy Toward Immigrant Communities, Grant E. Rissler

Theses and Dissertations

As recent immigrants seek a productive and dignified life in “new immigrant destinations” that have little historical experience with immigration, public education systems serve a key function in immigrant integration efforts. In a federal system increasingly focused on accountability, a crucial sub-set of education policy and local responsiveness to immigration is English language instruction and services for Limited English Proficient (LEP) students and parents.

In such contexts, the role that local bureaucrats play, and whether they actively represent the interests of the newfound diversity of community members, are crucial questions if strongly held American ideals of social equity and equal …

Nanomedicine Drug Delivery Across Mucous Membranes, Michael G. Lancina Iii

Theses and Dissertations

NANOMEDECINE DRUG DELIVERY ACROSS MUCOUS MEMBRANES

By Michael G. Lancina III

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

Virginia Commonwealth Univeristy, 2017.

Major Director: Dr. Hu Yang, Associate Professor, Chemical and Life Science Engineering

Control over the distribution of therapeutic compounds is a complex and somewhat overlooked field of pharmaceutical research. When swallowing a pill or receiving an injection, it is commonly assumed that drug will spread throughout the body in a more or less uniform concentration and find its way to wherever it is needed. In …

Effects Of Cumulative Risk On Asthma Outcomes In Urban Children And Adolescents, Samantha A. Miadich

Theses and Dissertations

Pediatric asthma disproportionately affects racial/ethnic minority children and children living in low-income, urban areas. Many families living in low-income, urban areas experience a number of stressors that can place children/adolescents at risk for worse asthma outcomes. This study examined the impact of a cumulative risk model of stressors (e.g., ED visits, quick-relief medication use, lung function, asthma control, QOL) in urban children (7-12 years) with persistent asthma. This study further aimed to examine both the original cumulative risk model and an adolescent-specific cumulative risk model as predictors of asthma outcomes in a sample of 60 adolescents (13-17 years). Asthma-related caregiver …

N-Alkyl 4-Methylamphetamine Enantiomers And The Implication For Potential Modulation Of Abuse Liability And Enhancement Of Psychoactive Drug Targeting., Ramsey Sitta

Theses and Dissertations

Drugs of abuse have a long history in humanity. Currently however, a subject of great interest is the phenylalkylamine family of drugs. Not only is the abuse liability of interest but also the potential therapeutic expansion of the capabilities of this family of drugs by utilizing the unique stereospecific effects of the newly discovered hybrid compounds. Based upon prior data of N-Alkyl 4-MA the enantiomers of N-Methyl, N-Ethyl, and N-Propyl were analyzed in hDAT, hNET, and hSERT. It was found that there was a negative correlation between chain length and potency and dopaminergic component. In agreement with the currently established …

Discovery Of Mor Selective, Reversible Opioid Antagonist For Potential Use In Treatment Of Drug Dependence, Abdulmajeed Jali

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

DISCOVERY OF MOR SELECTIVE, REVERSIBLE OPIOID ANTAGONIST FOR POTENTIAL USE IN TREATMENT OF DRUG DEPENDENCE

Abdulmajeed M. Jali, M.S.

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

Virginia Commonwealth University, 2017

Director: Dana E. Selley, Ph. D., Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology

Opioid dependence/addiction is a major public health problem that is associated with multiple health and social costs. Pharmacotherapeutic treatment has been relatively effective, but the risk of relapse after treatment remains high. Naltrexone, an opioid antagonist, is FDA-approved for long-term maintenance therapy to reduce relapse risk. However, naltrexone …

Analyzing The Phenotypic Effect Of Three Candidate Genes Associated With Nonsyndromic Craniosynostosis Using A Zebrafish Model, Megan A. Hept

Theses and Dissertations

In normal cranial suture development, the cranial sutures close at predetermined periods of development to allow the brain the capability to grow in a malleable environment. However, in craniosynostosis, cranial sutures prematurely fuse before birth which can lead to a wide range of developmental issues and complications. Craniosynostosis can be categorized as nonsyndromic which involves the sole fusion of one or more of the cranial sutures, or syndromic in which cranial sutures fuse as well as other abnormalities associated with a genetic disorder. Past research has identified three candidate genes that could be possible disease causing mutations in nonsyndromic sagittal …

Wise Choices? The Economics Discourse Of A High School Economics And Personal Finance Course, Tamara L. Sober

Theses and Dissertations

Today’s high school students will face a host of economic problems such as the demise of the social safety net, mounting college student debt, and costly health care plans, as stated in the rationale for financial literacy provided by the Council for Economic Education’s National Standards for Financial Literacy. These problems are compounded by growing income and wealth inequality and the widespread influence of neoliberal ideology. Although one of the major goals of economics education is to teach students to make reasoned economic choices in their public and private lives and provide the skills to solve personal and social …

Eye Movement Control: An Index For Athleticism, Brittany L. Oshea

Theses and Dissertations

Athletic potential is one of the most complex human traits. An elite athlete is produced from a complex interaction of an innumerable number of traits exhibited by the athlete. However, it’s not clear whether these traits are innate, allowing the athlete to excel, or, alternatively, are a consequence of practice. To be successful, athletes rely heavily on sensory information from the visual and vestibular systems. This study investigated the relationship eye movement control has with innate athleticism by comparing the saccadic and Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex (VOR) responses of former, no longer practicing, elite athletes against their age and gender matched counterparts …

Longitudinal Bidirectional Relations Between Subtypes Of Anxiety And Callous-Unemotional Traits In Early- To Mid-Adolescence, Stephanie A. Hitti

Theses and Dissertations

Callous-Unemotional (CU) traits are characterized by limited empathy, lack of guilt or remorse, and callous use of others. They are a risk factor for adult psychopathy, especially when comorbid with conduct problems. Thus, efforts to identify risk factors and consequences of CU traits have been prominent. One construct that may act as both a risk factor for and consequence of CU traits among youth is anxiety. While the most consistent finding is in this literature is a negative relation between CU traits and anxiety, findings have been mixed. The present study examined bidirectional relations between three subtypes of anxiety (i.e. …

Altered Axon Initial Segment Structure And Function In Inflammatory Disease, Kareem C. Clark

Theses and Dissertations

Axonal pathology is a key contributor to long-term disability in multiple sclerosis (MS), an inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS), but the mechanisms that underlie axonal insults remain unclear. While most axonal pathologies characterized in MS are a direct consequence of myelin loss, we propose that axonal pathologies also occur independent of demyelination. In support of this idea, we recently reported that mice that develop experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a model commonly used to mimic the pathogenesis of MS, exhibit a structural and functional disruption of the axon initial segment (AIS), a subdomain of the axon that …

A Mixed Methods Investigation Of Caregiver Coaching In An Early Intervention Model: Differences In Providers For Children With Hearing Loss, Alison R. King

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between early intervention providers’ backgrounds, and their perceptions of caregiver coaching and auditory skill development, to develop professional development programs. An explanatory sequential design was used with participants of varying backgrounds and experience. In the first phase of the study, participants responded to a survey regarding their educational background, and their comfort with caregiver coaching and auditory skill development. Survey results were analyzed

using Spearman’s Ranked Correlational Coefficient (Spearman’s r_s) to form groups of participants from extreme cases. The second phase of the study consisted of participant interviews …