Digital Commons Network^™

Virginia Commonwealth University Commencement Program [2012], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Fiber Orientation On Shape And Stability Of Air-Water Interface On Submerged Superhydrophobic Electrospun Thin Coatings, B. Emami, H. Vahedi Tafreshi, M. Gad-El-Hak, G. C. Tepper

Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering Publications

To better understand the role of fiber orientation on the stability of superhydrophobicelectrospun coatings under hydrostaticpressures, an integro-differential equation is developed from the balance of forces across the air–water interface between the fibers. This equation is solved numerically for a series of superhydrophobicelectrospun coatings comprised of random and orthogonal fiber orientations to obtain the exact 3D shape of the air–water interface as a function of hydrostaticpressure. More important, this information is used to predict the pressure at which the coatings start to transition from the Cassie state to the Wenzel state, i.e., the so-called critical transition pressure. Our results indicate …

Augmenter Of Liver Regeneration (Alr) Promotes Liver Outgrowth During Zebrafish Hepatogenesis, Yan Li, Muhammad Farooq, Donglai Sheng, Chanchal Chandramouli, Tian Lan, Nilesh K. Mahajan, R. Manjunatha Kini, Yunhan Hong, Thomas Lisowsky, Ruowen Ge

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Publications

Augmenter of Liver Regeneration (ALR) is a sulfhydryl oxidase carrying out fundamental functions facilitating protein disulfide bond formation. In mammals, it also functions as a hepatotrophic growth factor that specifically stimulates hepatocyte proliferation and promotes liver regeneration after liver damage or partial hepatectomy. Whether ALR also plays a role during vertebrate hepatogenesis is unknown. In this work, we investigated the function of alr in liver organogenesis in zebrafish model. We showed that alr is expressed in liver throughout hepatogenesis. Knockdown of alr through morpholino antisense oligonucleotide (MO) leads to suppression of liver outgrowth while overexpression of alr promotes liver growth. …

Analysis Of Embryoid Bodies Derived From Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells As A Means To Assess Pluripotency, Steven D. Sheridan, Vasudha Surampudi, Raj R. Rao

Chemical and Life Science Engineering Publications

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) have core properties of unlimited self-renewal and differentiation potential and have emerged as exciting cell sources for applications in regenerative medicine, drug discovery, understanding of development, and disease etiology. Key among numerous criteria to assess pluripotency includes the in vivo teratoma assay that has been widely proposed as a standard functional assay to demonstrate the pluripotency of hiPSCs. Yet, the lack of reliability across methodologies, lack of definitive clinical significance, and associated expenses bring into question use of the teratoma assay as the “gold standard” for determining pluripotency. We propose use of the in …

Cholesterol Side-Chain Cleavage Gene Expression In Theca Cells: Augmented Transcriptional Regulation And Mrna Stability In Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Jessica K. Wickenheisser, Jessica M. Biegler, Valen L. Nelson-Degrave, Richard S. Legro, Jerome F. Strauss Iii, Jan M. Mcallister

Obstetrics and Gynecology Publications

Hyperandrogenism is characteristic of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Ovarian theca cells isolated from PCOS follicles and maintained in long-term culture produce elevated levels of progestins and androgens compared to normal theca cells. Augmented steroid production in PCOS theca cells is associated with changes in the expression of genes for several steroidogenic enzymes, including CYP11A1, which encodes cytochrome P450 cholesterol side-chain cleavage. Here, we further examined CYP11A1 gene expression, at both the transcriptional and post-transcriptional level in normal and PCOS theca cells propagated in long-term culture utilizing quantitative RT-PCR, functional promoter analyses, and mRNA degradation studies. The minimal …

Active Hydrophilic Components Of The Medicinal Herb Salvia Miltiorrhiza (Danshen) Potently Inhibit Organic Anion Transporters 1 (Slc22a6) And 3 (Slc22a8), Li Wang, Douglas H. Sweet

Pharmaceutics Publications

Many active components of herbal products are small organic anions, and organic anion transporters were previously demonstrated to be a potential site of drug-drug interactions. In this study, we assessed the inhibitory effects of six hydrophilic components of the herbal medicine Danshen, lithospermic acid, protocatechuic acid, rosmarinic acid, salvianolic acid A, salvianolic acid B, and tanshinol, on the function of the murine organic anion transporters, mOat1 and mOat3. All of Danshen components significantly inhibited mOat1- and mOat3-mediated substrate uptake () with lithospermic acid (LSA), protocatechuic acid, rosmarinic acid (RMA), and salvianolic acid A (SAA) producing virtually complete inhibition under test …

Toothbrush Contamination: A Review Of The Literature, Michelle R. Frazelle, Cindy L. Munro

School of Nursing Publications

Toothbrushes are commonly used in hospital settings and may harbor potentially harmful microorganisms. A peer-reviewed literature review was conducted to evaluate the cumulative state of knowledge related to toothbrush contamination and its possible role in disease transmission. A systematic review was conducted on adult human subjects through three distinct searches. The review resulted in seven experimental and three descriptive studies which identified multiple concepts related to toothbrush contamination to include contamination, methods for decontamination, storage, design, and environmental factors. The selected studies found that toothbrushes of healthy and oral diseased adults become contaminated with pathogenic bacteria from the dental plaque, …

Catheter Related Bloodstream Infection (Cr-Bsi) In Icu Patients: Making The Decision To Remove Or Not To Remove The Central Venous Catheter, Rodrigo O. Deliberato, Alexandre R. Marra, Thiago D. Correa, Marines D. V. Martino, Luci Correa, Oscar Fernando Pavao Dos Santos, Michael B. Edmond

Internal Medicine Publications

Background

Approximately 150 million central venous catheters (CVC) are used each year in the United States. Catheter-related bloodstream infections (CR-BSI) are one of the most important complications of the central venous catheters (CVCs). Our objective was to compare the in-hospital mortality when the catheter is removed or not removed in patients with CR-BSI.

Methods

We reviewed all episodes of CR-BSI that occurred in our intensive care unit (ICU) from January 2000 to December 2008. The standard method was defined as a patient with a CVC and at least one positive blood culture obtained from a peripheral vein and a positive …

Antibiotic Prevention Of Acute Exacerbations Of Copd, Richard P. Wenzel, Alpha A. Fowler, Michael B. Edmond

VCU Health Publications

An estimated 24 million persons in the United States have COPD on the basis of lung-function testing.1 Globally, COPD is the fourth leading cause of death,2 and in the United States it is the third most common cause of death and chronic complications.3 The average person with COPD has one to two acute exacerbations each year, with wide variation from patient to patient.4 In 2000 in the United States, 726,000 patients were hospitalized with acute exacerbations of COPD.1 During an acute exacerbation, antibiotics are generally administered for 5 to 10 days,5 creating a national burden of 120 million to 480 …

Lipid Environment Modulates The Development Of Acute Tolerance To Ethanol In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Jill C. Bettinger, Kapo Leung, Mia H. Bolling, Andrew D. Goldsmith, Andrew G. Davies

Pharmacology and Toxicology Publications

The development of tolerance to a drug at the level of the neuron reflects a homeostatic mechanism by which neurons respond to perturbations of their function by external stimuli. Acute functional tolerance (AFT) to ethanol is a fast compensatory response that develops within a single drug session and normalizes neuronal function despite the continued presence of the drug. We performed a genetic screen to identify genes required for the development of acute functional tolerance to ethanol in the nematode C. elegans. We identified mutations affecting multiple genes in a genetic pathway known to regulate levels of triacylglycerols (TAGs) via …

Morphine Decreases Enteric Neuron Excitability Via Inhibition Of Sodium Channels, Tricia H. Smith, John R. Grider, William L. Dewey, Hamid I. Akbarali

Pharmacology and Toxicology Publications

Gastrointestinal peristalsis is significantly dependent on the enteric nervous system. Constipation due to reduced peristalsis is a major side-effect of morphine, which limits the chronic usefulness of this excellent pain reliever in man. The ionic basis for the inhibition of enteric neuron excitability by morphine is not well characterized as previous studies have mainly utilized microelectrode recordings from whole mount myenteric plexus preparations in guinea pigs. Here we have developed a Swiss-Webster mouse myenteric neuron culture and examined their electrophysiological properties by patch-clamp techniques and determined the mechanism for morphine-induced decrease in neuronal excitability. Isolated neurons in culture were confirmed …

The Fairfax County Hoarding Task Force, Michael Congleton

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Describe the reasons for forming the Fairfax County Hoarding Task Force.

2. Explain the organizational makeup of the Hoarding Task Force.

3. Understand the risk factors in hoarding and what is being done to address them.

A First-Generation Multi-Functional Cytokine For Simultaneous Optical Tracking And Tumor Therapy, Shawn Hingtgen, Randa Kasmieh, Elizabeth Elbayly, Irina Nesterenko, Jose-Luiz Figueiredo, Rupesh Dash, Devanand Sarkar, David Hall, Dima Kozakov, Sandor Vajda, Paul B. Fisher, Khalid Shah

Human and Molecular Genetics Publications

Creating new molecules that simultaneously enhance tumor cell killing and permit diagnostic tracking is vital to overcoming the limitations rendering current therapeutic regimens for terminal cancers ineffective. Accordingly, we investigated the efficacy of an innovative new multi-functional targeted anti-cancer molecule, SM7L, using models of the lethal brain tumor Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Designed using predictive computer modeling, SM7L incorporates the therapeutic activity of the promising anti-tumor cytokine MDA-7/IL-24, an enhanced secretory domain, and diagnostic domain for non-invasive tracking. In vitro assays revealed the diagnostic domain of SM7L produced robust photon emission, while the therapeutic domain showed marked anti-tumor efficacy and significant …

A Preliminary Study On The Potential Of Manuka Honey And Platelet-Rich Plasma In Wound Healing, Scott A. Sell, Patricia Wolfe, Andrew J. Spence, Isaac Rodriguez, Jennifer M. Mccool, Rebecca L. Petrella, Koyal Garg, Jeffery J. Ericksen, Gary L. Bowlin

Biomedical Engineering Publications

Aim. The purpose of this study was to determine the in vitro response of cells critical to the wound healing process in culture media supplemented with a lyophilized preparation rich in growth factors (PRGF) and Manuka honey. Materials and Methods. This study utilized cell culture media supplemented with PRGF, as well as whole Manuka honey and the medical-grade Medihoney (MH), a Manuka honey product. The response of human fibroblasts (hDF), macrophages, and endothelial cells (hPMEC) was evaluated, with respect to cell proliferation, chemotaxis, collagen matrix production, and angiogenic potential, when subjected to culture with media containing PRGF, MH, Manuka honey, …

Developing Clinical Practice Guidelines: Reviewing, Reporting, And Publishing Guidelines; Updating Guidelines; And The Emerging Issues Of Enhancing Guideline Implementability And Accounting For Comorbid Conditions In Guideline Development, Paul Shekelle, Steven H. Woolf, Jeremy M. Grimshaw, Holger J. Schünemann, Martin P. Eccles

Family Medicine and Population Health Publications

Clinical practice guidelines are one of the foundations of efforts to improve health care. In 1999, we authored a paper about methods to develop guidelines. Since it was published, the methods of guideline development have progressed both in terms of methods and necessary procedures and the context for guideline development has changed with the emergence of guideline clearing houses and large scale guideline production organisations (such as the UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence). It therefore seems timely to, in a series of three articles, update and extend our earlier paper. In this third paper we discuss the …

Developing Clinical Practice Guidelines: Target Audiences, Identifying Topics For Guidelines, Guideline Group Composition And Functioning And Conflicts Of Interest, Martin P. Eccles, Jeremy M. Grimshaw, Paul Shekelle, Holger J. Schünemann, Steven H. Woolf

Family Medicine and Population Health Publications

Clinical practice guidelines are one of the foundations of efforts to improve health care. In 1999, we authored a paper about methods to develop guidelines. Since it was published, the methods of guideline development have progressed both in terms of methods and necessary procedures and the context for guideline development has changed with the emergence of guideline clearing houses and large scale guideline production organisations (such as the UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence). It therefore seems timely to, in a series of three articles, update and extend our earlier paper. In this first paper we discuss: the …

Consumers’ Choice Of Dentists: How And Why People Choose Dental School Faculty Members As Their Oral Health Care Providers, M. Julie Kim, Peter C. Damiano, Jed Hand, Gerald E. Denehy, Deborah S. Cobb, Fang Qian

General Practice Publications

This study aimed to better understand how and why people choose dental school faculty members as their oral health care providers. Increasing financial constraints in U.S. dental schools have led their administrators to seek alternative funding sources, one of which can be revenues from dental school faculty practice. To effectively promote faculty practice, it is necessary to understand how and why one chooses a dental school faculty member as his or her oral health care provider. A survey of 1,150 dental school faculty practice patients who recently chose their dentist was conducted, and 221 responded. The information sources these respondents …

Menorah Review (No. 77, Summer/Fall, 2012)

Menorah Review

A Golden Poet of Spain's Golden Age -- Beyond the Second Coming -- Books in Brief: New and Notable -- Cantorial Challenges -- Jewishness in the World: A Chabad Definition -- Moreshet - From the Classics: A 1797 Wedding -- Painful Presence: Jews in Russian Music -- Zachor: Sicut Judaeis ("And Thus to the Jews")

Virginia Commonwealth University Graduate And Professional Programs Bulletin Courses [2012], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Bulletins

Listing of professional and graduate courses for 2012-2013

Rsfa (Ybeb) Proteins Are Conserved Ribosomal Silencing Factors, Roman Hauser, Markus Pech, Jaroslaw Kijek, Hiroshi Yamamoto, Bjrn Titz, Florian Naeve, Andrey Tovchigrechko, Kaori Yamamoto, Witold Szaflarski, Nono Takeuchi, Thorsten Stellberger, Markus E. Diefenbacher, Knud H. Nierhaus, Peter Uetz

Study of Biological Complexity Publications

The YbeB (DUF143) family of uncharacterized proteins is encoded by almost all bacterial and eukaryotic genomes but not archaea. While they have been shown to be associated with ribosomes, their molecular function remains unclear. Here we show that YbeB is a ribosomal silencing factor (RsfA) in the stationary growth phase and during the transition from rich to poor media. A knock-out of the rsfA gene shows two strong phenotypes: (i) the viability of the mutant cells are sharply impaired during stationary phase (as shown by viability competition assays), and (ii) during transition from rich to poor media the mutant cells …

Minocycline Modulates Antigen-Specific Ctl Activity Through Inactivation Of Mononuclear Phagocytes In Patients With Htlv-I Associated Neurologic Disease, Yoshimi Enose-Akahata, Eiji Matsuura, Yuetsu Tanaka, Unsong Oh, Steven Jacobson

Neurology Publications

Background The activation of mononuclear phagocytes (MPs), including monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells, contributes to central nervous system inflammation in various neurological diseases. In HTLV-I-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP), MPs are reservoirs of HTLV-I, and induce proinflammatory cytokines and excess T cell responses. The virus-infected or activated MPs may play a role in immuneregulation and disease progression in patients with HTLV-I-associated neurological diseases.

Results Phenotypic analysis of CD14+ monocytes in HAM/TSP patients demonstrated high expression of CX3CR1 and HLA-DR in CD14lowCD16+ monocytes, compared to healthy normal donors (NDs) and asymptomatic carriers (ACs), and the production of TNF-α and IL-1β in …

Rna-Seq Analysis Implicates Dysregulation Of The Immune System In Schizophrenia, Junzhe Xu, Jingchun Sun, Jingchun Chen, Lily Wang, Anna Li, Matthew Helm, Steven L. Dubovsky, Silviu-Alin Bacanu, Zhongming Zhao, Xiangning Chen

Psychiatry Publications

Background While genome-wide association studies identified some promising candidates for schizophrenia, the majority of risk genes remained unknown. We were interested in testing whether integration gene expression and other functional information could facilitate the identification of susceptibility genes and related biological pathways.

Results We conducted high throughput sequencing analyses to evaluate mRNA expression in blood samples isolated from 3 schizophrenia patients and 3 healthy controls. We also conducted pooled sequencing of 10 schizophrenic patients and matched controls. Differentially expressed genes were identified by t-test. In the individually sequenced dataset, we identified 198 genes differentially expressed between cases and controls, of …

Virginia Commonwealth University Undergraduate Bulletin Courses [2012], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Bulletins

Listing of undergraduate courses for 2012-2013.

A Racial Impact Analysis Of Hb 462, Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute, Virginia Commonwealth University, Daphne Bryan, William Randolph, Tarvaris Mccoy

L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs Publications

The adoption of House Bill 462 into law brings forth questions about the probable impact on the physical, mental, emotional and financial well-being of the women in Virginia. In particular, analysis of its effect on the minority and underserved female population is required. Understanding the origin of this new legislation and the thinking behind its proposal and subsequent adoption dictates an endeavor into the backgrounds and intended goals of its sponsors and supporters. Proponents of HB 462 were unresponsive to requests for an interview to expound on their perspective about the importance of the legislation. This precipitated the use of …

Greenstem@Vcu: An Innovative Program For Integrating Service-Learning Into Middle School Science, Technology And Mathematics Instruction, Suzanne Kirk, Kelly Lockeman, Lynn Pelco

Division of Community Engagement Resources

GreenSTEM integrates science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education with a focus on energy and the environment using service-learning techniques for middle school science, mathematics and technology teachers.

Virginia Dental Journal (Vol. 89, No. 3, 2012)

Virginia Dental Journal

No abstract provided.

Poictesme: A Student Anthology Of Literature And Art (2012)

Pwatem (Poictesme), 2006-

Poictesme (now Pwatem) is an anthology of literature and art from undergraduate students at Virginia Commonwealth University. It publishes poetry, prose and art of all kinds from talented undergraduate students of all majors.

A Racial Impact Analysis Of Hb 869/Sb 274, Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute, Virginia Commonwealth University, Ashley Chapman, Ida Jones, Donald Knight, Susan Laywer Mills

L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs Publications

Virginia is growing. Between 1990 and 2000, Virginia’s population rose by over 14% - the largest population growth experienced by the state in a single decade (Pollard, 2007). And the state continues to grow. It has been estimated that by 2030, Virginia’s total population may exceed 9.8 million people (Pollard, 2007). Along with population growth, land development has increased which in turn affects transportation, housing and job placement across the Commonwealth. In fact, in many parts of the state, development has outpaced population growth. According to Pollard, “If current patterns continue, Virginia will develop more land in the next 40 …

A Racial Impact Analysis Of Hb 9, Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute, Virginia Commonwealth University, Olutosin Burrell, Dawn Lawson, Robert Mayfield, Ladonna Sanders

L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs Publications

House Bill 9 was introduced by Delegate Mark L. Cole (R – House District 88 – Fredericksburg) as chief patron with support from co-patron Delegate Charles D. Poindexter (R – House District 9 – Glade Hill). The bill states that a voter who is unable to present one of the forms of ID may sign a sworn statement that he/she is the named registered voter he/she claims to be and then be allowed to vote a provisional ballot. The current law allows such a voter to cast an official ballot rather than a provisional one after signing such statement. We …

Alcohol Availability And Neighborhood Poverty And Their Relationship To Binge Drinking And Related Problems Among Drinkers In Committed Relationships, Christy M. Mckinney, Karen G. Chartier, Raul Caetano, T. Robert Harris

Social Work Publications

The authors examined the relationship of alcohol outlet density (AOD) and neighborhood poverty with binge drinking and alcohol-related problems among drinkers in married and cohabitating relationships and assessed whether these associations differed across sex. A U.S. national population couples survey was linked to U.S. Census data on AOD and neighborhood poverty. The 1,784 current drinkers in the survey reported on their binge drinking, alcohol-related problems, and other covariates. AOD was defined as the number of alcohol outlets per 10,000 persons and was obtained at the zip code level. Neighborhood poverty was as having a low (<20%) or high (≥20%) proportion of residents living in poverty at the census tract level. We used logistic regression for survey data to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals and tested for differences of associations by sex. Associations of neighborhood poverty with binge drinking were stronger for male than for female drinkers. The association of neighborhood poverty with alcohol-related problems was also stronger for men than for women. We observed no relationships between AOD and binge drinking or alcohol-related problems in this couples survey. Efforts to reduce binge drinking or alcohol-related problems among partners in committed relationships may have the greatest impact if targeted to male drinkers living in high-poverty neighborhoods. Binge drinking and alcohol-related problems, as well as residence in an impoverished neighborhood are risk factors for intimate partner violence (IPV) and other relationship conflicts.