Digital Commons Network^™

Virginia Commonwealth University Fall Commencement Program [2014], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Agrobest: An Efficient Agrobacterium-Mediated Transient Expression Method For Versatile Gene Function Analyses In Arabidopsis Seedlings, Hang-Yi Wu, Kun-Hsiang Liu, Yi-Chieh Wang, Jing-Fen Wu, Wan-Ling Chiu, Chao-Ying Chen, Shu-Hsing Wu, Jen Sheen, Erh-Min Lai

Study of Biological Complexity Publications

Background

Transient gene expression via Agrobacterium-mediated DNA transfer offers a simple and fast method to analyze transgene functions. Although Arabidopsis is the most-studied model plant with powerful genetic and genomic resources, achieving highly efficient and consistent transient expression for gene function analysis in Arabidopsis remains challenging.

Results

We developed a highly efficient and robust Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression system, named AGROBEST (Agrobacterium-mediated enhanced seedling transformation), which achieves versatile analysis of diverse gene functions in intact Arabidopsis seedlings. Using β-glucuronidase (GUS) as a reporter for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation assay, we show that the use of a specific disarmed …

Big Data Visualities, Ron Wigglesworth

High School Resources

Make sense of abstract Big Data numbers by creating concrete, static or kinetic images/visualities which communicate or translate the meaning of the numbers to a human scale of understanding. The subject of the visualities should be created in each student’s artist voice, with the freedom and empowerment to express their own social, economic, political and ecological concerns so his/her work has personal meaning and strength of concern. Employ art hand skills in 21st century postmodern art by using Big Data to illustrate interdisciplinary social justice concerns in visualities, created to move a viewer to action.

Mitochondrial Dna Copy Numbers In Pyramidal Neurons Are Decreased And Mitochondrial Biogenesis Transcriptome Signaling Is Disrupted In Alzheimer’S Disease Hippocampi, Ann C. Rice, Paula M. Keeney, Norah K. Algarzae, Amy C. Ladd, Ravindar R. Thomas, James P. Bennett

Neurology Publications

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the major cause of adult-onset dementia and is characterized in its pre-diagnostic stage by reduced cerebral cortical glucose metabolism and in later stages by reduced cortical oxygen uptake, implying reduced mitochondrial respiration. Using quantitative PCR we determined the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) gene copy numbers from multiple groups of 15 or 20 pyramidal neurons, GFAP(+) astrocytes and dentate granule neurons isolated using laser capture microdissection, and the relative expression of mitochondrial biogenesis (mitobiogenesis) genes in hippocampi from 10 AD and 9 control (CTL) cases. AD pyramidal but not dentate granule neurons had significantly reduced mtDNA copy numbers …

Virginia Commonwealth University Commencement Program [2014], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

New Roles And New Horizons For Health Sciences Librarians And Libraries, Margaret Henderson

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

How Teachers Learn: The Roles Of Formal, Informal, And Independent Learning, W. Monty Jones, Sara Dexter

Teaching and Learning Publications

A qualitative study of math and science teachers at two middle schools identifies how their system for learning to integrate technology into their teaching goes beyond what school leaders typically consider when planning for teachers’ learning. In addition to (a) the district-initiated, or formal, system of professional development (PD) and professional learning communities (PLCs), it includes (b) teacher-initiated, or informal, learning with colleagues as well as (c) teachers’ independent learning activities. Analysis of why and how they form their system highlights how by only supporting the formal PD activities and PLCs, the district not only loses the valuable collective knowledge …

Medical Literary Messenger (Vol. 1, No. 2, Spring 2014)

Medical Literary Messenger

Ether / Anne Leitch -- Pharmacy and Fotography / Lulú De Panbehchi -- Had Mariam Been Watching Through a Crack in the Door / Natalie Sterrett -- Teachings from a 15-year-old “drug seeker” / Larry Istrail -- Annie O’Malley / Mary Ellen Olbrisch -- cartoon / David James Bromley -- YCCOM: You Can Count on Me / Colleen Gallagher -- Clock Clock Clock / Rita Ciresi -- On the Advantages of Not Being Totally Present / Charles F. Opalak -- illustration / Adrienne Robin Enriquez -- The E-mail / Olivia M. McGuire -- Lamentation: Phillip Seymour Hoffman / Mary Ellen …

Virginia Commonwealth University Graduate And Professional Programs Bulletin Courses [2014], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Bulletins

Listing of professional and graduate courses for 2014-2015.

Comprehensive Analysis Of Human Cytomegalovirus Microrna Expression During Lytic And Quiescent Infection, Zhang-Zhou Shen, Xing Pan, Ling-Feng Miao, Han-Qing Ye, Stéphane Chavanas, Christian Davrinche, Michael Mcvoy, Min-Hua Luo

Pediatrics Publications

Background

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) encodes microRNAs (miRNAs) that function as post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression during lytic infection in permissive cells. Some miRNAs have been shown to suppress virus replication, which could help HCMV to establish or maintain latent infection. However, HCMV miRNA expression has not been comprehensively examined and compared using cell culture systems representing permissive (lytic) and semi-permissive vs. non-permissive (latent-like) infection.

Methods

Viral miRNAs levels and expression kinetics during HCMV infection were determined by miRNA-specific stem-loop RT-PCR. HCMV infected THP-1 (non-permissive), differentiated THP-1 (d-THP-1, semi-permissive) and human embryo lung fibroblasts (HELs, fully-permissive) were examined. The impact of …

In Vitro Propagation Of Gentiana Scabra Bunge – An Important Medicinal Plant In The Chinese System Of Medicines, Shih-Hung Huang, Dinesh Chandra Agrawal, Fang-Sheng Wu, Hsin-Sheng Tsay

Biology Publications

Background: Gentiana scabra Bunge commonly known as `Long dan cao' in China has been used in traditional Chinese medicines for more than 2000 years. Dry roots and rhizome of the herb have been used for the treatment of inflammation, anorexia, indigestion and gastric infections. Iridoids and secoiridoids are the main bioactive compounds which attribute to the pharmacological properties of this plant. The species is difficult to mass propagate by seed due to the low percentage of germination and limited dormancy period. Wild populations in some locations are considered to be in the endangered category due to over exploitation.

Results: In …

On The Challenges Of Modeling The Net Radiative Forcing Of Wetlands: Reconsidering Mitsch Et Al. 2013, Scott C. Neubauer

Biology Publications

Wetlands play a role in regulating global climate by removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and sequestering it as soil carbon, and by emitting methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) to the atmosphere. In a recent article in this journal (Mitsch et al. Landscape Ecol 28:583–597, 2013), CO2 sequestration and CH4 emissions were modeled for several freshwater wetlands that vary in vegetation type, climate, and hydrology. The authors of that study made significant errors that caused them to underestimate the importance of wetland CH4 emissions on climate dynamics. Here, I reanalyze the Mitsch et al. dataset and show that …

Al-Qaeda’S Media Strategy: Internet Self-Radicalization And Counter-Radicalization Policies, Rebecca L. Earnhardt

L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs Publications

Al-Qaeda was initially formed not as a terrorist organization, but as an independent Islamist military faction (Bergen & Cruickshank, 2012). The organization evolved around the ideology of the central and supreme leader Osama bin Laden (Bergen & Cruickshank, 2012). However, the ability for the group to change and adapt to different environments and cultures has allowed for the organization to spread especially to Western audiences (Bergen & Cruickshank, 2012). The evolution of their media strategy is the epitome of how al-Qaeda is adaptable (Torres, Jordán, & Horsburgh, 2006). The shift from centralized distribution of pamphlets to video and audio tapes …

Make Art Real, Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute, Virginia Commonwealth University, Dolores Carrington-Hill, M. Teresa Doherty, Alison Jones, Michelle Mcgregor, Mike Porter, W. Scott Street, Patricia White

L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs Publications

The Make Art Real project aims to introduce new audiences to the arts. It supports Theme II of VCU’s Quest for Distinction by promoting and fostering creative expression through innovative collaborations. The project involves displaying existing connections between art and non-art disciplines, as well as making new connections. These unusual pairings are then placed on exhibition through a lunch-time lecture series named “Unexpected_Connections,” which allow faculty, staff, and students to lead and participate in discussions about the reality of art. The lecture series is the first sustainable and reoccurring program to be held in the Depot building, a multidisciplinary facility …

If You Can, You Can, Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute, Virginia Commonwealth University, Amy Chesky, Rima Franklin, Sandra Fritton, Alena Hampton, Demetrius Shambley, Gokhan Yucel

L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs Publications

VCU distinguishes itself as being one of Virginia’s most diverse institutions of higher education. This project seeks to support and extend this wonderful attribute by encouraging a climate of equity and inclusiveness. If You Can, You Can creates a common platform and language in support of the university’s mission to address disparities concerning equality and inclusiveness, and provides a model that is useful in promoting all dimensions of diversity. In addition to developing this overarching model, Team Real Connections worked with the VCU Athletics department to implement a prototype program called “If you can play, you can play,” which promotes …

A Racial Impact Analysis Of Sb 30: Medicaid Expansion, Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute, Virginia Commonwealth University, Cindy Davis, Robert Irving, Kimberly Pope, Monica Reid

L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs Publications

Virginia is the second worst state in providing Medicaid to its citizens. The focus of this report is to provide a racial equity impact analysis of Senate Bill (SB) 30, the Senate legislative vehicle for the appropriations of the budget submitted by the Governor of Virginia for fiscal years 2015 and 2016. SB 30 included a provision called “Marketplace Virginia” as an alternative to traditional Medicaid expansion in Virginia. This compromise bill would have covered an estimated 430,000 Virginians who fall in the Medicaid coverage gap by assisting them in purchasing private insurance. This report provides a racial equity impact …

A Racial Impact Analysis Of Hb 32: Minimum Wage Increase, Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute, Virginia Commonwealth University, Gena Burr, Danise Harmon, Uzziah Harris, Tammy Martin

L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs Publications

The racial equity impact of HB 32 is important because minorities in Virginia disproportionately work in minimum wage positions. The purpose of this report is to provide a racial impact analysis of House Bill (HB) 32, legislation proposed in the 2014 Virginia General Assembly to increase the minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.50 an hour. According to 2013 data, 1.8 million workers in Virginia are paid hourly rates and 6.8 percent of these workers earn the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Examining fiscal years 2015 to 2020 for the Commonwealth, such an increase would cost $2,712,696. This impact …

Virginia Dental Journal (Vol. 91, No. 3, 2014)

Virginia Dental Journal

No abstract provided.

Spatiotemporal Variability And Sound Characterization In Silver Croaker Plagioscion Squamosissimus (Sciaenidae) In The Central Amazon, Alfredo Borie, Hin-Kiu Mok, Ning L. Chao, Michael L. Fine

Biology Publications

Background

The fish family Sciaenidae has numerous species that produce sounds with superfast muscles that vibrate the swimbladder. These muscles form post embryonically and undergo seasonal hypertrophy-atrophy cycles. The family has been the focus of numerous passive acoustic studies to localize spatial and temporal occurrence of spawning aggregations. Fishes produce disturbance calls when hand-held, and males form aggregations in late afternoon and produce advertisement calls to attract females for mating. Previous studies on five continents have been confined to temperate species. Here we examine the calls of the silver croakerPlagioscion squamosissimus, a freshwater equatorial species, which experiences constant …

William Maginn And The Denial Of Authorship: The Text Of The Colby Lecture At The Annual Meeting Of The Research Society For Victorian Periodicals, University Of Delaware, 2014, David E. Latane

English Publications

This the text of a plenary lecture given in 2014 after being named co-winner of the Robert and Vineta Colby Scholarly Book Prize from the Research Society for Victorian Periodicals. It traces the transformation of a theoretically inclined book project centered on William Maginn to the first full-length biography of Maginn.

Qualitative Inquiry In An Age Of Educationalese, Gustavo F. Fischman, Adai Tefera

Foundations of Education Publications

In this introduction we reflect on two key questions that initiated this special issue on qualitative inquiry: What can qualitative researchers do to regain their post-paradigm-wars cache? How do we avoid distracting “science wars” in the future? We suggest that the strong tendency to narrow the research methods accepted as “scientific” – because they adopt quantitative perspectives and are presumed a priori to be more rigorous – has created an educationalese, a narrative of rigid categories that has not necessarily contributed to more effective or persuasive educational research. The article ends by suggesting that the use of “knowledge mobilization” strategies …

Bridging Opportunities In Human Health Services, Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute, Virginia Commonwealth University, Tim Gibbs, Jessica S. Hill, David Holland, Valerie Holton, Antoinette Light, Stephanie Tignor

L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs Publications

The Campus to Community project aims to develop facilitated, in-depth site visits for VCU faculty and staff interested in exploring human health services opportunities in the Richmond community. The site visit experience will provide exposure to various community organizations specializing in human health, essentially creating a “bridge” between VCU’s campus and these facilities. This initiative is intended to motivate employees to action within the Richmond community by enabling them to observe first-hand the services that these organizations provide, learn more about the organizations’ missions, and engage in meaningful interactions with representatives on site. Likewise, it will allow Richmond community organizations …

The Big Shift: How Vcu Libraries Moved 1.5 Million Volumes To Prepare For The Construction Of A New Library, Ibironke Lawal, Patricia Selinger, Barbara Anderson

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Abstract

Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries (VCUL) has been faced with serious space problems for more than a decade. Initiatives to correct this include the digital shift. VCUL’s new policy stipulates that journal subscriptions should be electronic only, wherever available. Where publishers offer both print and online for the same price, the library donates the print instead of keeping them on the shelves. Replacing print series with the electronic version as they become available is another ongoing practice. Added to these is moving infrequently used or superseded materials to storage as a continuous activity. All these were short‐lived measures until now. …

Clinical Features And Genetic Analysis Of 20 Chinese Patients With X-Linked Hyper-Igm Syndrome, Lin-Lin Wang, Wei Zhou, Wei Zhao, Zhi-Qing Tian, Wei-Fan Wang, Xiao-Fang Wang, Tong-Xin Chen

Pediatrics Publications

X-linked hyper-IgM syndrome (XHIGM) is one type of primary immunodeficiency diseases, resulting from defects in the CD40 ligand/CD40 signaling pathways. We retrospectively analyzed the clinical and molecular features of 20 Chinese patients diagnosed and followed up in hospitals affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from 1999 to 2013. The median onset age of these patients was 8.5 months (range: 20 days–21 months). Half of them had positive family histories, with a shorter diagnosis lag. The most common symptoms were recurrent sinopulmonary infections (18 patients, 90%), neutropenia (14 patients, 70%), oral ulcer (13 patients, 65%), and protracted diarrhea …

Metabolic Effects Of Acute Thiamine Depletion Are Reversed By Rapamycin In Breast And Leukemia Cells, Shuqian Liu, Sumitra Miriyala, Mignon A. Keaton, Craig T. Jordan, Christina Wiedl, Daret K. St. Clair, Jeffrey A. Moscow

Pediatrics Publications

Thiamine-dependent enzymes (TDEs) control metabolic pathways that are frequently altered in cancer and therefore present cancer-relevant targets. We have previously shown that the recombinant enzyme thiaminase cleaves and depletes intracellular thiamine, has growth inhibitory activity against leukemia and breast cancer cell lines, and that its growth inhibitory effects were reversed in leukemia cell lines by rapamycin. Now, we first show further evidence of thiaminase therapeutic potential by demonstrating its activity against breast and leukemia xenografts, and against a primary leukemia xenograft. We therefore further explored the metabolic effects of thiaminase in combination with rapamycin in leukemia and breast cell lines. …

Some Reflections On Meditation Research And Consciousness Studies, Jonathan Shear

Philosophy Publications

No abstract provided.

The Omega-3 Fatty Acid Eicosapentaenoic Acid Is Required For Normal Alcohol Response Behaviors In C. Elegans, Richard C. Raabe, Laura D. Mathies, Andrew G. Davies, Jill C. Bettinger

Pharmacology and Toxicology Publications

Alcohol addiction is a widespread societal problem, for which there are few treatments. There are significant genetic and environmental influences on abuse liability, and understanding these factors will be important for the identification of susceptible individuals and the development of effective pharmacotherapies. In humans, the level of response to alcohol is strongly predictive of subsequent alcohol abuse. Level of response is a combination of counteracting responses to alcohol, the level of sensitivity to the drug and the degree to which tolerance develops during the drug exposure, called acute functional tolerance. We use the simple and well-characterized nervous system of Caenorhabditis …

Carrying The World With The Grace Of A Lady And The Grit Of A Warrior: Deepening Our Understanding Of The “Strong Black Woman” Schema, Jasmine A. Abrams, Morgan Maxwell, Michell Pope, Faye Z. Belgrave

Psychology Publications

Across varied disciplines, attempts have been made to capture the multidimensionality of Black womanhood under a unifying framework illustrative of Black women’s perceived roles, responsibilities, and experiences of intersectional oppression. The result has been the emergence of a number of divergent but overlapping constructs (e.g., Superwoman Schema, Sojourner Truth Syndrome, Sisterella Complex, and Strong Black Woman [SBW] Schema). The goal of our study is to integrate overlapping attributes of existing constructs beneath a single term while also expounding upon the defining characteristics of the SBW Schema. Thematic analyses were conducted with data gathered from eight focus groups with 44 Black …

Why Is Low Waist-To-Chest Ratio Attractive In Males? The Mediating Roles Of Perceived Dominance, Fitness, And Protection Ability, Anthony E. Coy, Jeffrey D. Green, Michael E. Price

Psychology Publications

Past research suggests that a lower waist-to-chest ratio (WCR) in men (i.e., narrower waist and broader chest) is viewed as attractive by women. However, little work has directly examined why low WCRs are preferred. The current work merged insights from theory and past research to develop a model examining perceived dominance, fitness, and protection ability as mediators of to WCR-attractiveness relationship. These mediators and their link to both short-term (sexual) and long-term (relational) attractiveness were simultaneously tested by having 151 women rate one of 15 avatars, created from 3D body scans. Men with lower WCR were perceived as more physically …

Cyberbullying Among Adolescents: Measures In Search Of A Construct, Krista R. Mehari, Albert D. Farrell, Anh-Thuy H. Le

Psychology Publications

Objective: This review focuses on the literature on cyberbullying among adolescents. Currently, there is no unified theoretical framework to move the field of cyberbullying forward. Due to some unique features of cyberbullying, researchers have generally assumed that it is distinct from aggression perpetrated in person. Many measures of cyberbullying have been developed based on this assumption rather than to test competing models and inform a theoretical framework for cyberbullying. Approach: We review current theory and research on cyberbullying within the context of the broader literature on aggression to explore the usefulness of the assumption that cyberbullying represents a distinct form …