Digital Commons Network^™

Available Telephone Services For Older Virginians Who Are Deaf Or Hard Of Hearing, Clayton E. Bowen

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives:

1. To identify signs of hearing loss in older adults.

2. To introduce the Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (VDDHH) and some of its programs and services.

3. To examine three VDDHH services and qualification guidelines.

4. To review how service recipients benefit from these programs.

Sleep Disorders And Cardiac Consequences, Robert D. Vorona

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives:

1. Review the clear relationship between obstructive sleep apnea and hypertension.

2. Discuss the cardiac consequences of sleep apnea, including coronary heart disease, heart failure, and different dysrhythmias.

3. Understand that sleep disorders beyond obstructive sleep apnea, such as insufficient sleep itself, may have an impact on the cardiovascular system.

4. Appreciate the potential benefits of identifying and treating sleep disorders for our health.

Bringing Comfort To People With Advanced Dementia, Ann Wyatt

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Explain the purpose of looking at palliative care through a dementia lens.

2. Define dementia-capable palliative care.

3. Identify and provide examples of specific care practices that can bring comfort to people with advanced dementia.

4. Describe the process that staff use in identifying what brings comfort to individual residents.

Building Interprofessional Teams Through Evidence Based Practice Training In Falls Prevention, Constance L. Coogle, Edward F. Ansello, Patricia Slattum, Pamela L. Parsons

Case Studies from Age in Action

Objectives

1. Analyze an Evidence Based Practice (EBP) program on falls prevention as a vehicle for successful interprofessional team-building.

2. Examine ways that organizational characteristics can affect team functioning.

3. Compare interprofessional teambuilding in two sites.

4. Discuss elements of interprofessional teams that contributed to practice changes.

Academic Malaise: Bring Back The Groves Of Academe, Mohamed Gad-El-Hak

Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering Publications

The state of university governance and academic freedom are discussed. Several related topics are also considered: tuition inflation; term versus tenure-track faculty; massive open online courses; and relative standing of higher education in the United States.

Flow-Cytometry Machine For The Developing World, Paul Howell, Jewel Nkwocha, Jaynie Laverty

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Flow cytometry provides critical diagnostic, measurement, and research applications across many healthcare and biological disciplines. Its use in the detection of blood-cancers, HIV/AIDS, cell differentiation, and viral detection is unique and unparalleled. Despite flow cytometry’s vast array of applications, its use is limited by expense. Rather than individual labs being able to afford a dedicated machine, core facilities are developed and the research is exported. In addition, flow cytometry’s high costs create a barrier to its implementation in developing nations.

There were 35 million people living with HIV in 2013, nearly 1% of the world’s population. There are more than …

Vcu Cctr Mobile App: Android & Ios, Vattana Vichith, Stephen Wu, Bowen Zhang

Capstone Design Expo Posters

In today’s day and age, data should be accessible at all times. The biggest break-through for data accessibility is mobile technologies such as phones and tablets. The CCTR provides a continuum of informatics research and services to support translational and clinical research. Clinical Trials represent one of the central themes for the Center for Clinical and Translational Research, but they do not have a mobile app for the VCU community to access CCTR’s informatics resources.

This project aims to promote the expanded informatics research and services available to VCU students, faculty and staff as well as patients interested in discovering …

Pde5 Inhibitors Enhance Celecoxib Killing In Multiple Tumor Types, Laurence Booth, Jane L. Roberts, Nichola Cruickshanks, Seyedmehrad Tavallai, Timothy Webb, Peter Samuel, Adam Conley, Brittany Binion, Harold F. Young, Andrew Poklepovic, Sarah Spiegel, Paul Dent

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Publications

The present studies determined whether clinically relevant phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitors interacted with a clinically relevant NSAID, celecoxib, to kill tumor cells. Celecoxib and PDE5 inhibitors interacted in a greater than additive fashion to kill multiple tumor cell types. Celecoxib and sildenafil killed ex vivo primary human glioma cells as well as their associated activated microglia. Knock down of PDE5 recapitulated the effects of PDE5 inhibitor treatment; the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor L-NAME suppressed drug combination toxicity. The effects of celecoxib were COX2 independent. Over-expression of c-FLIP-s or knock down of CD95/FADD significantly reduced killing by the drug combination. CD95 …

The Signal Transducer And Activator Of Transcription 1 (Stat1) Inhibits Mitochondrial Biogenesis In Liver And Fatty Acid Oxidation In Adipocytes, Jennifer D. Sisler, Magdalena Morgan, Vidisha Raje, Rebecca C. Grande, Marta Derecka, Jeremy Meier, Marc Cantwell, Karol Szczepanek, William J. Korzun, Edward J. Lesnefsky, Thurl E. Harris, Colleen M. Croniger, Andrew C. Larner

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Publications

The transcription factor STAT1 plays a central role in orchestrating responses to various pathogens by activating the transcription of nuclear-encoded genes that mediate the antiviral, the antigrowth, and immune surveillance effects of interferons and other cytokines. In addition to regulating gene expression, we report that STAT1-/- mice display increased energy expenditure and paradoxically decreased release of triglycerides from white adipose tissue (WAT). Liver mitochondria from STAT1-/- mice show both defects in coupling of the electron transport chain (ETC) and increased numbers of mitochondria. Consistent with elevated numbers of mitochondria, STAT1-/- mice expressed increased amounts of PGC1α, a …

Perceived Stress Levels, Chemotherapy, Radiation Treatment And Tumor Characteristics Are Associated With A Persistent Increased Frequency Of Somatic Chromosomal Instability In Women Diagnosed With Breast Cancer: A One Year Longitudinal Study, Noran Aboalela, Debra E. Lyon, R. K. Elswick Jr., Debra Lynch Kelly, Jenni Brumelle, Harry D. Bear, Colleen Jackson-Cook

Human and Molecular Genetics Publications

While advances in therapeutic approaches have resulted in improved survival rates for women diagnosed with breast cancer, subsets of these survivors develop persistent psychoneurological symptoms (fatigue, depression/anxiety, cognitive dysfunction) that compromise their quality of life. The biological basis for these persistent symptoms is unclear, but could reflect the acquisition of soma-wide chromosomal instability following the multiple biological/psychological exposures associated with the diagnosis/treatment of breast cancer. An essential first step toward testing this hypothesis is to determine if these cancer-related exposures are indeed associated with somatic chromosomal instability frequencies. Towards this end, we longitudinally studied 71 women (ages 23-71) with early-stage …

Differential Expression Analysis Of Rna Sequencing Data By Incorporating Non-Exonic Mapped Reads, Hung-I Harry Chen, Yuanhang Liu, Yi Zou, Zhao Lai, Devanand Sarkar, Yufei Huang, Yidong Chen

Human and Molecular Genetics Publications

Background

RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) is a powerful tool for genome-wide expression profiling of biological samples with the advantage of high-throughput and high resolution. There are many existing algorithms nowadays for quantifying expression levels and detecting differential gene expression, but none of them takes the misaligned reads that are mapped to non-exonic regions into account. We developed a novel algorithm, XBSeq, where a statistical model was established based on the assumption that observed signals are the convolution of true expression signals and sequencing noises. The mapped reads in non-exonic regions are considered as sequencing noises, which follows a Poisson distribution. Given …

Depletion Of The Chromatin Remodeler Chd4 Sensitizes Aml Blasts To Genotoxic Agents And Reduces Tumor Formation, Justin Sperlazza, Mohamed Rahmani, Jason Beckta, Mandy Aust, Elisa Hawkins, Shou Zhen Wang, Sheng Zu Zhu, Shreya Podder, Catherine Dumur, Kellie Archer, Steven Grant, Gordon D. Ginder

Human and Molecular Genetics Publications

Chromodomain helicase DNA-binding protein 4 (CHD4) is an ATPase that alters the phasing of nucleosomes on DNA and has recently been implicated in DNA double-stranded break (DSB) repair. Here, we show that depletion of CHD4 in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) blasts induces a global relaxation of chromatin that renders cells more susceptible to DSB formation, while concurrently impeding their repair. Furthermore, CHD4 depletion renders AML blasts more sensitive both in vitro and in vivo to genotoxic agents used in clinical therapy: daunorubicin (DNR) and cytarabine (ara-C). Sensitization to DNR and ara-C is mediated in part by activation of the ataxia-telangiectasia …

Knockdown Of Cdk2ap1 In Primary Human Fibroblasts Induces P53 Dependent Senescence, Khaled N. Alsayegh, Venkat S. Gadepalli, Shilpa Iyer, Raj R. Rao

Human and Molecular Genetics Publications

Cyclin Dependent Kinase-2 Associated Protein-1 (CDK2AP1) is known to be a tumor suppressor that plays a role in cell cycle regulation by sequestering monomeric CDK2, and targeting it for proteolysis. A reduction of CDK2AP1 expression is considered to be a negative prognostic indicator in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma and also associated with increased invasion in human gastric cancer tissue. CDK2AP1 overexpression was shown to inhibit growth, reduce invasion and increase apoptosis in prostate cancer cell lines. In this study, we investigated the effect of CDK2AP1 downregulation in primary human dermal fibroblasts. Using a short-hairpin RNA to reduce its …

Evaluation Of Methyl-Binding Domain Based Enrichment Approaches Revisited, Karolina A. Aberg, Linying Xie, Robin F. Chan, Min Zhao, Ashutosh K. Pandey, Gaurav Kumar, Shaunna L. Clark, Edwin J. C. G. Van Den Oord

Human and Molecular Genetics Publications

Methyl-binding domain (MBD) enrichment followed by deep sequencing (MBD-seq), is a robust and cost efficient approach for methylome-wide association studies (MWAS). MBD-seq has been demonstrated to be capable of identifying differentially methylated regions, detecting previously reported robust associations and producing findings that replicate with other technologies such as targeted pyrosequencing of bisulfite converted DNA. There are several kits commercially available that can be used for MBD enrichment. Our previous work has involved MethylMiner (Life Technologies, Foster City, CA, USA) that we chose after careful investigation of its properties. However, in a recent evaluation of five commercially available MBD-enrichment kits the …

Tumor-Specific Expression And Detection Of A Cest Reporter Gene, Il Minn, Amnon Bar-Shir, Keerthi Yarlagadda, Jeff W. M. Bulte, Paul B. Fisher, Hao Wang, Assaf A. Gilad, Martin G. Pomper

Human and Molecular Genetics Publications

Purpose

To develop an imaging tool that enables the detection of malignant tissue with enhanced specificity using the exquisite spatial resolution of MRI.

Methods

Two mammalian gene expression vectors were created for the expression of the lysine-rich protein (LRP) under the control of the cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter and the progression elevated gene-3 promoter (PEG-3 promoter) for constitutive and tumor-specific expression of LRP, respectively. Using those vectors, stable cell lines of rat 9L glioma, 9LCMV-LRP and 9LPEG-LRP, were established and tested for CEST contrast in vitro and in vivo.

Results

9LPEG-LRP cells showed increased CEST contrast compared with 9L cells …

Genetic Risks To Nicotine Dependence Predict Negative Mood And Affect In Current Non-Smokers, Xiangning Chen, Steven H. Aggen, Jingchun Chen, Lingxi Li, Kenneth S. Kendler, Melissa Blank, Thomas Eissenberg

Human and Molecular Genetics Publications

Nicotine is the psychoactive agent involved in nicotine dependence. However, nicotine as a drug, and its effects on human psychology are largely under-investigated in genetic studies. In this study, we recruited 208 current non-smokers to evaluate the effect of nicotine and its relationship to genetic risks to nicotine dependence. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, as well as measurement invariance testing, were conducted to evaluate the latent factor structures of the POMS, PANAS and DEN questionnaires across 3 nicotine doses. Structural models were used to examine the effects of nicotine and their relationship to genetic risks of nicotine dependence. We found …

Tumor-Specific Expression And Detection Of A Cest Reporter Gene, Il Minn, Amnon Bar-Shir, Keerthi Yarlagadda, Jeff W. M. Bulte, Paul B. Fisher, Hao Wang, Assaf A. Gilad, Martin G. Pomper

Human and Molecular Genetics Publications

Purpose

To develop an imaging tool that enables the detection of malignant tissue with enhanced specificity using the exquisite spatial resolution of MRI.

Methods

Two mammalian gene expression vectors were created for the expression of the lysine-rich protein (LRP) under the control of the cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter and the progression elevated gene-3 promoter (PEG-3 promoter) for constitutive and tumor-specific expression of LRP, respectively. Using those vectors, stable cell lines of rat 9L glioma, 9LCMV-LRP and 9LPEG-LRP, were established and tested for CEST contrast in vitro and in vivo.

Results

9LPEG-LRP cells showed increased CEST contrast compared with 9L cells …

Perceived Stress Levels, Chemotherapy, Radiation Treatment And Tumor Characteristics Are Associated With A Persistent Increased Frequency Of Somatic Chromosomal Instability In Women Diagnosed With Breast Cancer: A One Year Longitudinal Study, Noran Aboalela, Debra E. Lyon, R. K. Elswick Jr., Debra Lynch Kelly, Jenni Brumelle, Harry D. Bear, Colleen Jackson-Cook

Human and Molecular Genetics Publications

While advances in therapeutic approaches have resulted in improved survival rates for women diagnosed with breast cancer, subsets of these survivors develop persistent psychoneurological symptoms (fatigue, depression/anxiety, cognitive dysfunction) that compromise their quality of life. The biological basis for these persistent symptoms is unclear, but could reflect the acquisition of soma-wide chromosomal instability following the multiple biological/psychological exposures associated with the diagnosis/treatment of breast cancer. An essential first step toward testing this hypothesis is to determine if these cancer-related exposures are indeed associated with somatic chromosomal instability frequencies. Towards this end, we longitudinally studied 71 women (ages 23-71) with early-stage …

Knockdown Of Cdk2ap1 In Primary Human Fibroblasts Induces P53 Dependent Senescence, Khaled N. Alsayegh, Venkat S. Gadepalli, Shilpa Iyer, Raj R. Rao

Human and Molecular Genetics Publications

Cyclin Dependent Kinase-2 Associated Protein-1 (CDK2AP1) is known to be a tumor suppressor that plays a role in cell cycle regulation by sequestering monomeric CDK2, and targeting it for proteolysis. A reduction of CDK2AP1 expression is considered to be a negative prognostic indicator in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma and also associated with increased invasion in human gastric cancer tissue. CDK2AP1 overexpression was shown to inhibit growth, reduce invasion and increase apoptosis in prostate cancer cell lines. In this study, we investigated the effect of CDK2AP1 downregulation in primary human dermal fibroblasts. Using a short-hairpin RNA to reduce its …

Comparison Of Effects Of P53 Null And Gain-Of-Function Mutations On Salivary Tumors In Mmtv-Hras Transgenic Mice, Dadi Jiang, Catherine I. Dumur, H. Davis Massey, Viswanathan Ramakrishnan, Mark A. Subler, Jolene J. Windle

Human and Molecular Genetics Publications

p53 is an important tumor suppressor gene which is mutated in ~50% of all human cancers. Some of these mutants appear to have acquired novel functions beyond merely losing wild-type functions. To investigate these gain-of-function effects in vivo, we generated mice of three different genotypes: MMTV-Hras/p53+/+, MMTV-Hras/p53-/-, and MMTV-Hras/p53R172H/R172H. Salivary tumors from these mice were characterized with regard to age of tumor onset, tumor growth rates, cell cycle distribution, apoptotic levels, tumor histopathology, as well as response to doxorubicin treatment. Microarray analysis was also performed to profile gene expression. The MMTV-Hras/p53-/- and …

Effect Of Four Approaches To Oral Feeding Progression On Clinical Outcomes In Preterm Infants, Rita H. Pickler, Barbara A. Reyna, Paul A. Wetzel, Mary Lewis

Biomedical Engineering Publications

Background. The purpose of this study of preterm infants was to test the effect of four approaches to the time of transition from gavage to full oral feedings, time to discharge, and weight gain during the transition.Methods. A randomized experimental design was used with four intervention groups: early start (32 weeks' postmenstrual age)/slow progressing experience (gradually increasing oral feedings offered per day); early start/maximum experience (oral feedings offered at every feeding opportunity); late start (34 weeks' postmenstrual age)/slow progressing experience; and late start/maximum experience. Results. The analysis included 86 preterm infants. Once oral feedings were initiated, …

Regulation Of Osteoblast Differentiation By Acid-Etched And/Or Grit-Blasted Titanium Substrate Topography Is Enhanced By 1,25(Oh)2d3 In A Sex-Dependent Manner, Rene Olivares-Navarrete, Sharon L. Hyzy, Barbara D. Boyan, Zvi Schwartz

Biomedical Engineering Publications

This study assessed contributions of micron-scale topography on clinically relevant titanium (Ti) to differentiation of osteoprogenitor cells and osteoblasts; the interaction of this effect with 1𝛼,25-dihydroxyvitamin D₃ (1𝛼,25(OH)₂D₃); and if the effects are sex-dependent. Male and female rat bone marrow cells (BMCs) were cultured on acid-etched (A, 𝑅_𝑎 = 0.87 𝜇m), grit-blasted (GB, 𝑅_𝑎 = 3.90 𝜇m), or grit-blasted/acid-etched (SLA, 𝑅_𝑎 = 3.22 𝜇m) Ti. BMCs were sensitive to surface topography and underwent osteoblast differentiation. This was greatest on SLA; acid etching and grit blasting contributed additively. Primary osteoblasts were also sensitive …

Patterned Feeding Experience For Preterm Infants: Study Protocol For A Randomized Controlled Trial, Rita H. Pickler, Paul A. Wetzel, Jareen Meinzen-Derr, Heather L. Tubbs-Cooley, Margo Moore

Biomedical Engineering Publications

Background

Neurobehavioral disabilities occur in 5–15 % of preterm infants with an estimated 50–70 % of very low birth weight preterm infants experiencing later dysfunction, including cognitive, behavioral, and social delays that often persist into adulthood. Factors implicated in poor neurobehavioral and developmental outcomes are hospitalization in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and inconsistent caregiving patterns. Although much underlying brain damage occurs in utero or shortly after birth, neuroprotective strategies can stop lesions from progressing, particularly when these strategies are used during the most sensitive periods of neural plasticity occurring months before term age. The purpose of this randomized …

Psychosocial Factors Of Caregiver Burden In Child Caregivers: Results From The New National Study Of Caregiving, Steven A. Cohen, Sarah Cook, Lauren Kelley, Trisha Sando, Allison E. Bell

Family Medicine and Population Health Publications

Background

Over 50 million informal caregivers in the United States provide care to an aging adult, saving the economy hundreds of billions of dollars annually from costly hospitalization or institutionalization. Despite the benefits associated with caregiving, caregiver stress can lead to negative physical and mental health consequences, or “caregiver burden”. Given these potential negative consequences of caregiver burden, it is important not only to understand the multidimensional components of burden but to also understand the experience from the perspective of the caregiver themselves. Therefore, the objectives of our study are to use exploratory factor analysis to obtain a set of …

Source Of Care And Variation In Long Acting Reversible Contraception Use, Lauren Groskaufmanis, Saba W. Masho

Family Medicine and Population Health Publications

OBJECTIVE: To examine variation in long acting reversible contraception (LARC) use by source of birth control services.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional study.

SETTING: Not applicable.

PATIENT(S): Sexually active women who received contraceptive services in the past 12 months, who were neither pregnant nor trying to become pregnant and who were not sterilized and nor were their partners sterilized.

INTERVENTION(S): Three multinomial logistic regression models assessed the relationship between source of services and LARC use, controlling for covariates. The odds of LARC use were compared with LARC nonuse, high-efficacy use, and low-efficacy use.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Reported …

Spatiotemporal Discordance In Five Common Measures Of Rurality For Us Counties And Applications For Health Disparities Research In Older Adults, Steven A. Cohen, Lauren Kelley, Alison E. Bell

Family Medicine and Population Health Publications

Introduction

Rural populations face numerous barriers to health, including poorer health care infrastructure, access to care, and other sociodemographic factors largely associated with rurality. Multiple measures of rurality used in the biomedical and public health literature can help assess rural–urban health disparities and may impact the observed associations between rurality and health. Furthermore, understanding what makes a place truly “rural” versus “urban” may vary from region to region in the US.

Purpose

The objectives of this study are to compare and contrast five common measures of rurality and determine how well-correlated these measures are at the national, regional, and divisional …

Supporting Practices To Adopt Registry-Based Care (Sparc): Protocol For A Randomized Controlled Trial, Rebecca S. Etz, Rosalind E. Keith, Anna M. Maternick, Karen L. Stein, Roy T. Sabo, Melissa S. Hayes, Purvi Sevak, John Holland, Jesse C. Crosson

Family Medicine and Population Health Publications

Background

Diabetes is predicted to increase in incidence by 42% from 1995 to 2025. Although most adults with diabetes seek care from primary care practices, adherence to treatment guidelines in these settings is not optimal. Many practices lack the infrastructure to monitor patient adherence to recommended treatment and are slow to implement changes critical for effective management of patients with chronic conditions. Supporting Practices to Adopt Registry-Based Care (SPARC) will evaluate effectiveness and sustainability of a low-cost intervention designed to support work process change in primary care practices and enhance focus on population-based care through implementation of a diabetes registry. …

Sex And Sexual Orientation Disparities In Adverse Childhood Experiences And Early Age At Sexual Debut In The United States: Results From A Nationally Representative Sample, Monique J. Brown, Saba W. Masho, Robert A. Perera, Briana Mezuk, Steven A. Cohen

Family Medicine and Population Health Publications

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been linked to early sexual debut, which has been found to be associated with multiple adverse health outcomes. Sexual minorities and men tend to have earlier sexual debut compared to heterosexual populations and women, respectively. However, studies examining the association between ACEs and early sexual debut among men and sexual minorities are lacking. The aim of this study was to examine the sex and sexual orientation disparities in the association between ACEs and age at sexual debut. Data were obtained from Wave 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Logistic and …

Suicide Risk In Nursing Homes And Assisted Living Facilities: 2003–2011, Brianna Mezuk, Matthew Lohman, Marc Leslie, Virginia Powell

Family Medicine and Population Health Publications

Objectives

We investigated the epidemiology of suicide among adults aged 50 years and older in nursing homes and assisted living facilities and whether anticipating transitioning into long-term care (LTC) is a risk factor for suicide.

Methods

Data come from the Virginia Violent Death Reporting System (2003–2011). We matched locations of suicides (n = 3453) against publicly available resource registries of nursing homes (n = 285) and assisted living facilities (n = 548). We examined individual and organizational correlates of suicide by logistic regression. We identified decedents anticipating entry into LTC through qualitative text analysis.

Results

Incidence of suicide was 14.16 …

Widely Used Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Icp0 Deletion Mutant Strain Dl1403 And Its Derivative Viruses Do Not Express Glycoprotein C Due To A Secondary Mutation In The Gc Gene, Cristina W. Cunha, Kathryne E. Taylor, Suzanne M. Pritchard, Mark G. Delboy, Tri Komala Sari, Hector C. Aguilar, Karen L. Mossman, Anthony V. Nicola

Microbiology and Immunology Publications

Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) ICP0 is a multi-functional phosphoprotein expressed with immediate early kinetics. An ICP0 deletion mutant, HSV-1 dl1403, has been widely used to study the roles of ICP0 in the HSV-1 replication cycle including gene expression, latency, entry and assembly. We show that HSV-1 dl1403 virions lack detectable levels of envelope protein gC, and that gC is not synthesized in infected cells. Sequencing of the gC gene from HSV-1dl1403 revealed a single amino acid deletion that results in a frameshift mutation. The HSV-1dl1403 gC gene is predicted to encode a polypeptide …