Digital Commons Network^™

Missed Opportunities For The Diagnosis Of Colorectal Cancer, Laura A. Siminoff, Heather L. Rogers, Sonja Harris-Haywood

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Publications

Objective. To examine patient and medical characteristics which predict a missed diagnostic opportunity (MDO) for colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods. The sample consisted of 252 patients diagnosed with Stages 1–4 CRC who were diagnosed in the prior six months, had experienced symptoms prior to diagnosis, and were not diagnosed through routine screening. Systematic review of all medical records prior to patients’ diagnosis was conducted. An MDO was defined as a clinical encounter where, even in the presence of presumptive CRC symptoms, the CRC diagnostic process is not started. Results. 92 patients (36.5%) experienced an MDO. Almost 80% of alternate diagnoses were …

Interrogating The Venom Of The Viperid Snake Sistrurus Catenatus Edwardsii By A Combined Approach Of Electrospray And Maldi Mass Spectrometry, Alex Chapeaurouge, Md Abu Reza, Stephen P. Mackessy, Paulo C. Carvalho, Richard H. Valente, André Teixeira-Ferreira, Jonas Perales, Qingsong Lin, R. Manjunatha Kini

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Publications

The complete sequence characterization of snake venom proteins by mass spectrometry is rather challenging due to the presence of multiple isoforms from different protein families. In the present study, we investigated the tryptic digest of the venom of the viperid snake Sistrurus catenatus edwardsii by a combined approach of liquid chromatography coupled to either electrospray (online) or MALDI (offline) mass spectrometry. These different ionization techniques proved to be complementary allowing the identification a great variety of isoforms of diverse snake venom protein families, as evidenced by the detection of the corresponding unique peptides. For example, ten out of eleven predicted …

Does Upper Extremity Training Influence Body Composition After Spinal Cord Injury?, Justin A. Fisher, Meredith A. Mcnelis, Ashraf S. Gorgey, David S. Dolbow, Lance L. Goetz

Biology Publications

Spinal cord injury (SCI) leads to serious body composition adaptations characterized by increasing whole body fat mass and decreased soft tissue lean mass (LM). These adaptations in body composition may lead to several cardio-metabolic disorders that reduce the quality of life, increase patients’ and caregivers’ burden and eventually leads to mortality. Exercise, an appropriate dietary regimen, and an active lifestyle may alleviate several of the negative effects on body composition after a SCI. Today however, there is no established consensus on the recommended dose, frequency or type of exercise to ameliorate several of the body composition sequelae after an acute …

Does Upper Extremity Training Influence Body Composition After Spinal Cord Injury?, Justin A. Fisher, Meredith A. Mcnelis, Ashraf S. Gorgey, David R. Dolbow, Lance L. Goetz

Kinesiology and Health Sciences Publications

Spinal cord injury (SCI) leads to serious body composition adaptations characterized by increasing whole body fat mass and decreased soft tissue lean mass (LM). These adaptations in body composition may lead to several cardio-metabolic disorders that reduce the quality of life, increase patients’ and caregivers’ burden and eventually leads to mortality. Exercise, an appropriate dietary regimen, and an active lifestyle may alleviate several of the negative effects on body composition after a SCI. Today however, there is no established consensus on the recommended dose, frequency or type of exercise to ameliorate several of the body composition sequelae after an acute …

Virginia Commonwealth University Fall Commencement Program [2015], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Virginia Commonwealth University Commencement Program [2015], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Environmental Resource Management In Borderlands: Evolution From Competing Interests To Common Aversions, Patrick Henry Buckley, John Belec, Jason Levy

L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs Publications

Great enthusiasm is attached to the emergence of cross-border regions (CBRs) as a new institutional arrangement for dealing with local cross-border environmental resource management and other issues that remain too distant from national capitals and/or too expensive to be addressed in the traditional topocraticmanner requiring instead local adhocratic methods. This study briefly discusses the perceived value of CBRs and necessary and sufficient conditions for the successful and sustainable development of such places. Then, assuming that necessary conditions can be met, the study investigates an intriguing hypothesis concerning the catalyzing of sustainable consensus for cross-border resource management based on a …

Progressive Cognitive Deficit, Motor Impairment And Striatal Pathology In A Transgenic Huntington Disease Monkey Model From Infancy To Adulthood, Anthony W. S. Chan, Jie Jiang, Yiju Chen, Chunxia Li, Melinda S. Prucha, Yijuan Hu, Tim Chi, Sean Moran, Tayeb Rahim, Shihua Li, Xiaojiang Li, Stuart M. Zola, Claudia M. Testa, Hui Mao, Rosa Villalba, Yoland Smith, Xiaodong Zhang, Jocelyne Bachevalier

Neurology Publications

One of the roadblocks to developing effective therapeutics for Huntington disease (HD) is the lack of animal models that develop progressive clinical traits comparable to those seen in patients. Here we report a longitudinal study that encompasses cognitive and motor assessment, and neuroimaging of a group of transgenic HD and control monkeys from infancy to adulthood. Along with progressive cognitive and motor impairment, neuroimaging revealed a progressive reduction in striatal volume. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy at 48 months of age revealed a decrease of N-acetylaspartate (NAA), further suggesting neuronal damage/loss in the striatum. Postmortem neuropathological analyses revealed significant neuronal loss in …

Virginia Dental Journal (Vol. 92, No. 4, 2015)

Virginia Dental Journal

No abstract provided.

We Happy Few: Accomplishments In Calendar 2014, Edward F. Ansello

Director's Editorials from Age in Action

The Virginia Center on Aging recognizes strides its staff has made in confronting elder abuse and domestic violence in later life; building and improving lifelong learning opportunities across the Commonwealth for mid-life and older adults; delivering interprofessional geriatrics training for health care providers and measuring the impacts of this training upon the patients they care for; training clinical students to partner across professions to improve geriatrics care; developing and delivering education and training programs to audiences in state, regional, and national conferences and webinars on topics ranging from gerontological education to aging with lifelong disabilities, community health to interdisciplinary teamwork; …

Culture-Centered Approaches: The Relevance Of Assessing Emotional Health For Latinos With Type 2 Diabetes, Jeannie Belinda Concha, Brianna Mezuk, Bonnie Duran

Family Medicine and Population Health Publications

Objective

Within Latino culture, there is a belief that strong emotions can cause diabetes. Because of this belief and evidence regarding the bi-directional relationship between depression and diabetes, the objectives of this study were to determine if medical doctors are asking Latinos with diabetes about emotional problems and to assess attitudes toward professional help for emotional problems.

Research design and methods

Data come from the nationally representative National Latino and Asian American Study and the National Comorbidity Survey Replication study. Only Latino subsamples were included (n=3076). A smaller subsample with complete data (n=2568) was used for the inquiry outcome variable. …

Comparison Of Effectiveness Of Cefovecin, Doxycycline, And Amoxicillin For The Treatment Of Experimentally Induced Early Lyme Borreliosis In Dogs, Bettina Wagner, John Johnson, David Garcia-Tapia, Nicole Honsberger, Vickie King, Catherine Strietzel, John M. Hardham, Thomas J. Heinz, Richard T. Marconi, Patrick F.M. Meeus

Microbiology and Immunology Publications

Background

While Koch’s postulates have been fulfilled for Lyme disease; causing transient fever, anorexia and arthritis in young dogs; treatment of sero-positive dogs, especially asymptomatic animals, remains a topic of debate. To complicate this matter the currently recommended antibiotic treatments of Lyme Disease in dogs caused by Borrelia burgdorferi require daily oral administrations for 31 days or longer, which makes non-compliance a concern. Additionally, there is no approved veterinary antimicrobial for the treatment of Lyme Disease in dogs in the USA and few recommended treatments have been robustly tested.

In vitro testing of cefovecin, a novel extended-spectrum cephalosporin, demonstrated inhibition …

Identification Of Small-Molecule Inhibitors Against Meso-2, 6-Diaminopimelate Dehydrogenase From Porphyromonas Gingivalis, Victoria N. Stone, Hardik I. Parikh, Fadi El-Rami, Xiuchun Ge, Weihau Chen, Yan Zhang, Glen E. Kellogg, Ping Xu

Microbiology and Immunology Publications

Species-specific antimicrobial therapy has the potential to combat the increasing threat of antibiotic resistance and alteration of the human microbiome. We therefore set out to demonstrate the beginning of a pathogen-selective drug discovery method using the periodontal pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis as a model. Through our knowledge of metabolic networks and essential genes we identified a “druggable” essential target, meso-diaminopimelate dehydrogenase, which is found in a limited number of species. We adopted a highthroughput virtual screen method on the ZINC chemical library to select a group of potential small-molecule inhibitors. Meso-diaminopimelate dehydrogenase from P. gingivalis was first expressed and purified in …

Men And Women From The Stride Clinical Trial: An Assessment Of Stimulant Abstinence Symptom Severity At Residential Treatment Entry, Karen G. Chartier, Katherine Sanchez, Therese K. Killeen, Allison Burrow, Thomas Carmody, Tracy L. Greer, Madhukar H. Trivedi

Social Work Publications

Background and Objectives

Gender‐specific factors associated with stimulant abstinence severity were examined in a stimulant abusing or dependent residential treatment sample (N = 302).

Method

Bivariate statistics tested gender differences in stimulant abstinence symptoms, measured by participant‐reported experiences of early withdrawal. Multivariate linear regression examined gender and other predictors of stimulant abstinence symptom severity.

Results

Women compared to men reported greater stimulant abstinence symptom severity. Anxiety disorders and individual anxiety‐related abstinence symptoms accounted for this difference. African American race/ethnicity was predictive of lower stimulant abstinence severity.

Discussion and Conclusions

Women were more sensitive to anxiety‐related stimulant withdrawal symptoms.

Scientific …

Explaining The Frequency Of Alcohol Consumption In A Conflict Zone: Jews And Palestinians In Israel, Zohar Massey, Karen G. Chartier, Mary B. Stebbins, Daphna Canetti, Stevan E. Hobfoll, Brian J. Hall, Kerem Shuval

Social Work Publications

Experiencing stress and exposure to terrorism may have an adverse effect on health risk behaviors. Few studies have examined alcohol use among adults living in Israel under chronic, stressful terrorism-related conditions. In this study, we examined the relationships of demographics, past stressful events, and terrorism exposure to the frequency of alcohol use and the mediating roles of depressive and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. We used three waves of data from a 2007–2008 nationally representative sample of Jewish and Palestinian adults in Israel. We assessed past stressful events, in addition to direct and indirect exposures to terrorism. Results indicated that …

Dispatches From 20 North Wacker 2, National Organization Of Research Development Professionals, David Stone

Research Development Repository

This is an upload of a past issue of Dispatches from 20 North Wacker. It was originally published on the NORDP website in March 2015.

Arise Sda Church, Janis Woodward

RELS 108 Human Spirituality: Student Perspectives

Student perspectives on worship services from Instructor Jennifer Garvin-Sanchez's Religious Studies 108 Human Spirituality course at Virginia Commonwealth University.

East End Baptist Church, Julia Bratu

RELS 108 Human Spirituality: Student Perspectives

Student perspectives on worship services from Instructor Jennifer Garvin-Sanchez's Religious Studies 108 Human Spirituality course at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Ekoji Buddhist Sangha: "Insight Meditation Community Of Richmond", Alexa Hagin

RELS 108 Human Spirituality: Student Perspectives

Student perspectives on worship services from Instructor Jennifer Garvin-Sanchez's Religious Studies 108 Human Spirituality course at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Mustafa Center: "A Trip To The Mosque", Rachel Friske

RELS 108 Human Spirituality: Student Perspectives

Student perspectives on worship services from Instructor Jennifer Garvin-Sanchez's Religious Studies 108 Human Spirituality course at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Redox Regulation Of Nlrp3 Inflammasomes: Ros As Trigger Or Effector?, Justine M. Abais, Min Xia, Yang Zhang, Krishna M. Boini, Pin-Lan Li

Pharmacology and Toxicology Publications

Significance: Inflammasomes are multiprotein complexes localized within the cytoplasm of the cell that are responsible for the maturation of proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-18, and the activation of a highly inflammatory form of cell death, pyroptosis. In response to infection or cellular stress, inflammasomes are assembled, activated, and involved in host defense and pathophysiology of diseases. Clarification of the molecular mechanisms leading to the activation of this intracellular inflammatory machinery may provide new insights into the concept of inflammation as the root of and route to human diseases. Recent Advances: The activation of inflammasomes, specifically the most …

Use Of Prescription Drugs And Future Delinquency Among Adolescent Offenders, Tess K. Drazdowski, Lena Jäggi, Alicia Borre, Wendy L. Kliewer

Psychology Publications

Non-medical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD) by adolescents is a significant public health concern. The present study investigated the profile of NMUPD in 1349 adolescent offenders from the Pathways to Desistance project, and whether NMUPD predicted future delinquency using longitudinal data. Results indicated that increased frequency and recency of NMUPD in adolescent offenders are related to some demographic factors, as well as increased risk for violence exposure, mental health diagnoses, other drug use, and previous delinquency, suggesting that severity of NMUPD is important to consider. However, ANCOVA analyses found that NMUPD was not a significant predictor of drug-related, non-aggressive, or …

Forgiveness-Reconciliation And Communication-Conflict-Resolution Interventions Versus Retested Controls In Early Married Couples, Everett L. Worthington, Brandon J. Griffin, Jack W. Berry, Joshua N. Hook, Don E. Davis, Michael Scherer, Nathaniel G. Wade, Mark Yarhouse, Jennifer S. Ripley, Andrea J. Miller, Constance B. Sharp, Kathryn L. Campana

Psychology Publications

The first 6 months of marriage are optimal for marriage enrichment interventions. The Hope-Focused Approach to couple enrichment was presented as two 9-hr interventions--(a) Handling Our Problems Effectively (HOPE), which emphasized communication and conflict resolution, and (b) Forgiveness and Reconciliation through Experiencing Empathy (FREE). HOPE and FREE were compared with repeated assessment controls. Couples were randomly assigned and were assessed at pretreatment (t1); 1 month posttreatment (t2) and at 3- (t3), 6- (t4), and 12-month (t5) follow-ups using self-reports. In addition to self-report measures, couples were assessed at t1, t2, and t5 using salivary cortisol, and behavioral coding of decision …

Sexual Functioning, Desire, And Satisfaction In Women With Tbi And Healthy Controls, Jenna Strizzi, Laiene Olabarrieta Landa, Monique Pappadis, Silvia Leonor Olivera, Edgar Ricardo Valdivia Tangarife, Inmaculada Fernandez Agis, Paul B. Perrin, Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla

Psychology Publications

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can substantially alter many areas of a person's life and there has been little research published regarding sexual functioning in women with TBI. Methods. A total of 58 women (29 with TBI and 29 healthy controls) from Neiva, Colombia, participated. There were no statistically significant differences between groups in sociodemographic characteristics. All 58 women completed the Sexual Quality of Life Questionnaire (SQoL), Female Sexual Functioning Index (FSFI), Sexual Desire Inventory (SDI), and the Sexual Satisfaction Index (ISS). Results. Women with TBI scored statistically significantly lower on the SQoL (p < 0.001), FSFI subscales of desire (p < 0.05), arousal (p < 0.05), lubrication (p < 0.05), orgasm (p …