Digital Commons Network^™

Congregation Ner Shalom, Megan Riggs

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 …

Personal Strengths And Health Related Quality Of Life In Dementia Caregivers From Latin America, Stephen Trapp, Paul B. Perrin, Richa Aggarwal, Silvina Victoria Peralta, Miriam E. Stolfi, Eliana Morelli, Leticia Aracely Peña Obeso, Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla

Psychology Publications

The research literature has begun to demonstrate associations between personal strengths and enhanced psychosocial functioning of dementia caregivers, but these relationships have not been examined in the context of dementia caregivers in Latin America. The present study examined whether personal strengths, including resilience, optimism, and sense of coherence, were associated with mental and physical health related quality of life (HRQOL) in 130 dementia caregivers in Mexico and Argentina. Structural equation modeling found that the personal strengths collectively accounted for 58.4% of the variance in caregiver mental HRQOL, and resilience, sense of coherence, and optimism each had unique effects. In comparison, …

Sperm Associated Antigen 6 (Spag6) Regulates Fibroblast Cell Growth, Morphology, Migration And Ciliogenesis, Wei Li, Abir Mukherjee, Jinhua Wu, Ling Zhang, Maria E. Teves, Hongfei Li, Shanti Nambiar, Scott C. Henderson, Alan R. Horwitz, Jerome F. Strauss Iii, Xianjun Fang, Zhibing Zhang

Obstetrics and Gynecology Publications

Mammalian Spag6 is the orthologue of Chlamydomonas PF16, which encodes a protein localized in the axoneme central apparatus, and regulates flagella/cilia motility. Most Spag6-deficient mice are smaller in size than their littermates. Because SPAG6 decorates microtubules, we hypothesized that SPAG6 has other roles related to microtubule function besides regulating flagellar/cilia motility. Mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) were isolated from Spag6-deficient and wild-type embryos for these studies. Both primary and immortalizedSpag6-deficient MEFs proliferated at a much slower rate than the wild-type MEFs, and they had a larger surface area. Re-expression of SPAG6 in the Spag6-deficient MEFs …

Using Natural Language Processing Techniques To Inform Research On Nanotechnology, Nastassja A. Lewinski, Bridget T. Mcinnes

Chemical and Life Science Engineering Publications

Literature in the field of nanotechnology is exponentially increasing with more and more engineered nanomaterials being created, characterized, and tested for performance and safety. With the deluge of published data, there is a need for natural language processing approaches to semi-automate the cataloguing of engineered nanomaterials and their associated physico-chemical properties, performance, exposure scenarios, and biological effects. In this paper, we review the different informatics methods that have been applied to patent mining, nanomaterial/device characterization, nanomedicine, and environmental risk assessment. Nine natural language processing (NLP)-based tools were identified: NanoPort, NanoMapper, TechPerceptor, a Text Mining Framework, a Nanodevice Analyzer, a Clinical …

Collaborative Curiosity: A Connected-Learning Course On Designing Community-Engaged Research, Valerie Holton, Tessa Mckenzie

Division of Community Engagement Resources

This was presented at the IARSLCE annual meeting in Boston, MA in November 2015.

Waterpipe Smoking And Regulation In The United States: A Comprehensive Review Of The Literature, Linda Haddad, Omar El-Shahawy, Roula Ghadban, Tracey E. Barnett, Emily Johnson

Social and Behavioral Sciences Publications

Background: Researchers in tobacco control are concerned about the increasing prevalence of waterpipe smoking in the United States, which may pose similar risks as cigarette smoking. This review explores the prevalence of waterpipe smoking in the United States as well as the shortcomings of current U.S. policy for waterpipe control and regulation. Methods: Researchers conducted a literature review for waterpipe articles dated between 2004 and 2015 using five online databases: MEDLINE, CINHAHL, ScienceDirect, PMC, and Cochrane Library. Results: To date, few studies have explored the marketing and regulation of waterpipe smoking in the U.S., which has increased …

Collaborative Curiosity: Successful Partnerships In Community-Engaged Research, Valerie Holton

Community-Engaged Research Resources

Presentation from the 2015 Conference on Social Work Education and Community Work at Asia University on March 26, 2015

Better Research Through Community-Engagement, Valerie Holton

Community-Engaged Research Resources

Presentation from the 2015 Conference on Social Work Education and Community Work at National Taiwan University on March 27, 2015

Identifying Regional Priorities And Opportunities, Valerie Holton, Jennifer Jettner

Division of Community Engagement Resources

During 2014-2105, the Division of Community Engagement collected and reviewed publicly available community assessments to gain a better understanding of community-identified priorities. Twenty-four (24) reports from the past 10 years (2005-2015) were reviewed for their geographical focus, explicit population of interest, data collection methods and stated priorities. The common priorities that emerged from this review are included here, along with the associated recommendations from the assessments. This effort was not intended to replace other assessments, rather as a means to understand the overarching priorities that have been identified through these various community assessments.

Understanding Cognition Across Modalities For The Assessment Of Digital Resources, Valeriana Colon

Teaching and Learning Publications

Drawing from the theories of the cognitive process, this paper explores the transmission, retention and transformation of information across oral, written, and digital modes of communication and how these concepts can be used to examine the assessment of digital resource tools. The exploration of interactions across modes of communication is used to gain an understanding of the interaction between the student, digital resource and teacher. Cognitive theory is considered as a basis for the assessment of digital resource tools. Lastly, principles for the assessment of digital resource tools are presented along with how assessment can be incorporated in the educational …

What Was Glaucoma Called Before The 20th Century?, Christopher T. Leffler, Stephen G. Schwartz, Francesca M. Giliberti, Matthew T. Young, Dennis Bermudez

Biostatistics Publications

Glaucoma involves a characteristic optic neuropathy, often with elevated intraocular pressure. Before 1850, poor vision with a normal eye appearance, as occurs in primary open-angle glaucoma, was termed amaurosis, gutta serena, or black cataract. Few observers noted palpable hardness of the eye in amaurosis. On the other hand, angle-closure glaucoma can produce a green or gray pupil, and therefore was called, variously, glaucoma (derived from the Greek for glaucous, a nonspecific term connoting blue, green, or light gray) and viriditate oculi. Angle closure, with palpable hardness of the eye, mydriasis, and anterior prominence of the lens, was described in greater …

Virginia Dental Journal (Vol. 92, No. 3, 2015)

Virginia Dental Journal

No abstract provided.

Contribution Of Nrf2 To Atherogenic Phenotype Switching Of Coronary Arterial Smooth Muscle Cells Lacking Cd38 Gene, Ming Xu, Xiao-Xue Li, Lei Wang, Mi Wang, Yang Zhang, Pin-Lan Li

Pharmacology and Toxicology Publications

Background/Aims: Recent studies have indicated that CD38 gene deficiency results in dedifferentiation or transdifferentiation of arterial smooth muscle cells upon atherogenic stimulations. However, the molecular mechanisms mediating this vascular smooth muscle (SMC) phenotypic switching remain unknown. Methods & Results: In the present study, we first characterized the phenotypic change in the primary cultures of coronary arterial myocytes (CAMs) from CD38-/- mice. It was shown that CD38 deficiency decreased the expression of contractile marker calponin, SM22α and α-SMA but increased the expression of SMC dedifferentiation marker, vimentin, which was accompanied by enhanced cell proliferation. This phenotypic change in CD38-/- CAMs was …

Stem Cell Conditioned Culture Media Attenuated Albumin-Induced Epithelial– Mesenchymal Transition In Renal Tubular Cells, Junping Hu, Qing Zhu, Pin-Lan Li, Weili Wang, Fan Yi, Ningjun Li

Pharmacology and Toxicology Publications

Background: Proteinuria-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays an important role in progressive renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis in chronic renal disease. Stem cell therapy has been used for different diseases. Stem cell conditioned culture media (SCM) exhibits similar beneficial effects as stem cell therapy. The present study tested the hypothesis that SCM inhibits albumin-induced EMT in cultured renal tubular cells. Methods: Rat renal tubular cells were treated with/without albumin (20 µmg/ml) plus SCM or control cell media (CCM). EMT markers and inflammatory factors were measured by Western blot and fluorescent images. Results: Albumin induced EMT as shown by significant decreases in levels of …

Can You Please Put Your Phone Away? Examining How The Fomo Phenomenon And Mobile Phone Addiction Affect Human Relationships, Laila A. Chaudhry

UROP Posters

This study attempts to identify how attachment to social media as well as attachment to other forms of communication technology can lead to addiction to mobile devices and affect non-virtual interpersonal communication. I examined the phenomenon known as the fear of missing out, or FOMO, which can be defined as apprehension that others might be having rewarding experiences from which one is absent. Experiencing FOMO can lead to overuse of and even addiction to social media, another category I examined, because addicted individuals want to stay more up-to-date with social networks and social media is the most efficient way to …

Indie Rock And Mainstream Pop Are Thematically, Instrumentally, And Structurally Analogous, Sean D. Pritchard

UROP Posters

Millennials have inconsistently defined indie rock since it was thrust onto the mainstream in 2004 with the breakout success of Modest Mouse’s Float On, Franz Ferdinand’s Take Me Out, and Zach Braff’s Garden State. Indie rock is not defined by its sound, thereby disqualifying it as a pure genre. Indie rock is defined by its aesthetic qualities: anti-mainstream appeal, style, promotion, etc. Indie rock is flexibly defined person to person as they perceive it. Consumers define indie rock by its themes being implicitly anti-mainstream and a less-produced sound while producers define indie rock by a musician’s creative control over the …

Proactive Conversation, 3d Printing, And An Old Nintendo, Tesha C. Ellis

UROP Posters

Abstract

One hundred years from now, it would be a true historical treat to be able to showcase 20th and 21st century digital entertainment by presenting video game consoles in mint condition for interactive, educational, play. Arguably, it would be more enlightening and informative for future audiences to be able to physically engage with the electronic artifacts instead of simply observing them behind glass. With the use of 3D technology, components of video game systems can be preserved, and then printed as needed for repairs. It will help keep them functional for future researchers, educators, and enthusiasts.

Let's Talk Tobacco: African American Parent-Adolescent Communication About Tobacco Use Within The Context Of Parental Smoking, Michell Pope

Theses and Dissertations

Tobacco use and the associated health risks are a major public health concern. Research suggests that parents’ own tobacco use, caregiver-adolescent antismoking communication, and parenting practices (e.g., prompting, parental monitoring) may work to influence adolescents’ tobacco-related attitudes and behavioral outcomes (e.g., refusal efficacy, intentions to use and actual use). Although historically African American adolescents have exhibited lower rates of tobacco use than their racial/ethnic counterparts, there is growing evidence to suggest that this may be changing because of increased use of tobacco products and/or underreporting of the use of alternative tobacco products or ATPs (e.g., cigars, cigarillos), among this population. …

Moving Users, Moving Results: Exploring Customer Engagement For Deeper Relationships, Bettina Peacemaker, Jill Stover Heinze

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Successful businesses know that customers make purchase decisions based on a complex bundle of rational and emotional factors that vary in degree and importance depending upon the context. In crowded markets where potential customers have many comparable options, it is often the emotional relationships that they have with businesses that influence where they spend their dollars. Recognizing this reality, businesses have been shifting from transacting with customers to “engaging” with them. This paper outlines the need for librarians to understand engagement more fully, and it points to guidance from the business literature on how to define and create engagement.

Pedagogy For Librarians, Megan Hodge

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Most librarians are required to take classes on reference, collection development, and information organization in library school; courses on pedagogy, on the other hand, are usually optional, if they’re offered at all. This leads most librarians who end up with instruction duties to learn on the job. Activities and assessments can be learned on the fly fairly easily, but these often have little to no bearing on how much students actually absorb and recall weeks later because alone, they are usually insufficient to ensure deep learning. This chapter seeks to add the basics of pedagogy, a subject comprehensively covered in …

Addition Of Interleukin-21 For Expansion Of T-Cells For Adoptive Immunotherapy Of Murine Melanoma, Christine Kathryn Zoon, Wen Wan, Laura Graham, Harry D. Bear

Surgery Publications

We previously demonstrated that interleukin (IL)-7/15 was superior to IL-2 for expansion of T cells in vitrofor adoptive immunotherapy. We sought to ascertain whether IL-21 would further improve yield and therapeutic efficacy of T cells in culture. Naïve T cell receptor (TcR) transgenic splenocytes or antigen-sensitized lymph node cells were harvested from PMEL-1 mice and exposed to bryostatin-1 and ionomycin (B/I) for 18 h. Cells were then cultured in IL-2, IL-21, IL-7/15 or IL-7/15/21 for six days. Harvested cells were analyzed by flow cytometry and used to treat C57Bl/6 mice injected intravenously with B16 melanoma. Lungs were harvested and …

Women Of Faith In Science: The Double Glass Ceiling, K. Y. Michael

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

The majority of female pre-service elementary school teachers pursuing licensure is choosing English as their cognate rather than mathematics or science. The reason females are not choosing science as their cognate may be due to the fact that science has long been considered a masculine pursuit. To complicate the issue, pre-service female teachers of deep religious faith are further challenged to navigate the dichotomy of science and religion. As a result, women, and especially women of deep religious faith, are at risk of not participating in science studies. The author suggests that there is room in the science classroom for …

Elucidation Of A Novel Pathway In Staphylococcus Aureus: The Essential Site-Specific Processing Of Ribosomal Protein L27, Erin A. Wall

Theses and Dissertations

Ribosomal protein L27 is a component of the eubacterial large ribosomal subunit that has been shown to play a critical role in substrate stabilization during protein synthesis. This function is mediated by the L27 N-terminus, which protrudes into the peptidyl transferase center where it interacts with both A-site and P-site tRNAs as well as with 23S rRNA. We observed that L27 in S. aureus and other Firmicutes is encoded with a short N-terminal extension that is not present in most Gram-negative organisms, and is absent from mature ribosomes. The extension contains a conserved cleavage motif; nine N-terminal amino acids are …

Helping Students Graduate: An Examination Of The Services Provided By A Dropout Prevention Program, Caren Putzu

Theses and Dissertations

The Alliance for Excellent Education (2011) estimates every 26 seconds in America, a student drops out of school. Numerous intervention and prevention approaches have been implemented to reduce the incidents of school dropout. One program, Communities In Schools (CIS), has shown promise in impacting the issue of school dropout by attending to both academic and non-academic factors at play in influencing a student’s risk for dropping out. The primary aim of this secondary data analysis was to develop an increased understanding of CIS services, to explore whether service provision varies systematically in relation to student outcomes and student characteristics, and …

Speaking For The Picture: Memory, Image, And Identity In The Works Of W.G. Sebald And Chris Marker, Connor Mccormick

Theses and Dissertations

The nineteenth and twentieth centuries saw the development of technologies for externalizing human memory beyond writing, painting, and sculpting. These modes of visual representation, namely photography and cinema carried with them a purported objective representation of reality, which has been used to create classifications, divide people groups, and construct grand historical narratives used to marginalize those that do not fit within the hegemonic center. Looking to the works of writer W.G. Sebald, and filmmaker Chris Marker, we see a complication of the divide between visual and verbal texts, as each artist deconstructs their own medium’s conventions. Using theories of ekphrasis …

Bracquemond, Ruskin, The Haviland-Hayes Service, And Rookwood: Japonisme And Permanence In Art Pottery, Emily G. Campbell

Theses and Dissertations

There are two principle arguments in this thesis. First, this thesis will show that Félix Bracquemond had a profound impact on late-nineteenth-century and early-twentieth-century ceramics in America. Second, this thesis will illustrate how John Ruskin’s principle that pottery is “more permanent than the Pyramids” encouraged reform of the ceramic arts and shaped the Art Pottery Movement of the late nineteenth century. After this thesis introduces Bracquemond as an innovator in ceramic decoration and the dissemination of Ruskin’s principle, the thesis will examine two instances in the American Art Pottery Movement in which Bracquemond’s and Ruskin’s influence can be detected. The …

The Impact Of Singing-Integrated Reading Instruction On The Oral Reading Fluency And Motivation Of Elementary Students In An Out-Of-School Time Program, Yvette M. Moorehead-Carter

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of singing-integrated reading instruction on the oral reading fluency and motivation of elementary students in an after school program. Participants were third graders (n = 29) who attended the singing-integrated oral reading fluency (SI ORF) intervention twice a week for eight weeks. Components of the intervention included teacher-modeling of fluent oral reading, oral support, repeated reading and singing activities from a variety of children’s literature, and individual free-time.

The adapted Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (ERAS; McKenna & Kear, 1990) measured recreational, academic, and composite reading attitudes. The Qualitative Reading …

The Slc22 Transporter Family: Novel Insights To Roles In Drug Efficacy, Drug-Drug Interactions And Mood Disorders, Xiaolei Pan

Theses and Dissertations

Numerous studies have demonstrated the impact of organic cation (OCTs; SLC22 family) and anion transporters (OATs; SLC22 family) on the efficacy and safety of clinically important therapeutics. To be specific, OCTs and OATs have been identified as determinants for uptake into and secretion from enterocytes, hepatocytes and renal proximal tubular cells, and are frequent sites of drug-drug interaction (DDI). In addition, OCTs expressed in brain are components of the low-affinity, high capacity clearance pathway (uptake-2) for biogenic monoamine neurotransmitters. As a result, OCTs may represent novel targets for mood disorders.

The inhibitory effects of several therapeutic agents, designed drugs and …

Role Of Extracytoplasmic Rna Polymerase Sigma 70 Factor, Pg0214, In The Survival Of Porphyromonas Gingivalis And In Adaptation To Environmental Stress., David M. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Porphyromonas gingivalis, a gram-negative anaerobic, pathogenic bacterium is a major etiological agent in the initiation and progression of periodontal disease. Due to the ever-changing environment of the oral cavity, inhabitants like Porphyromonas gingivalis must possess the ability to adapt to changes in environmental conditions like pH, temperature, oxygen tension, and metal concentration. P. gingivalis should therefore have an efficient regulatory system in order to adapt and survive in the oral cavity. This response adaptation occurs at the transcriptional level, which involves alternative sigma factors. Extracytoplasmic function sigma (ECF-s) factors are the largest group of alternative sigma factors that play …