Digital Commons Network^™

Ink (2011-02)

Ink, 2008-

The student-run features magazine covering the fashion, art, music and culture worlds at VCU and in Richmond. Published annually in print and updated regularly online.

Mediating And Moderating Factors In Associations Between Physical And Relational Victimization And Social And Academic Competence Among Urban Adolescents, Lisa Ulmer

Theses and Dissertations

Peer victimization is prevalent among school-aged youth and is associated with difficulties including decreased academic and social competence. Although relations between victimization and academic and social competence have been examined, fewer studies have considered how underlying processes linking these constructs are related or whether relations differ for adolescent subgroups. The current study’s purpose was to examine potential mediating and moderating effects in associations between physical and relational victimization and academic and social competence. Participants included a predominantly African American sample of 271 adolescents participating in a longitudinal violence prevention project. Path models showed significant negative associations between teacher-rated physical victimization …

Acsl6 Is Associated With The Number Of Cigarettes Smoked And Its Expression Is Altered By Chronic Nicotine Exposure, Jingchun Chen, Darlene H. Brunzell, Kia J. Jackson, Andrew Van Der Vaart, Jennie Z. Ma, Thomas J. Payne, Richard Sherva, Lindsay A. Farrer, Pablo Gejman, Douglas F. Levinson, Peter Holmans, Steven H. Aggen, Imad Damaj, Po-Hsiu Kuo, Bradley T. Webb, Raymond Anton, Henry R. Kranzler, Joel Gelemter, Minf D. Li, Kenneth S. Kendler, Xiangning Chen

Psychiatry Publications

Individuals with schizophrenia tend to be heavy smokers and are at high risk for tobacco dependence. However, the nature of the comorbidity is not entirely clear. We previously reported evidence for association of schizophrenia with SNPs and SNP haplotypes in a region of chromosome 5q containing the SPEC2, PDZ-GEF2 and ACSL6 genes. In this current study, analysis of the control subjects of the Molecular Genetics of Schizophrenia (MGS) sample showed similar pattern of association with number of cigarettes smoked per day (numCIG) for the same region. To further test if this locus is associated with tobacco smoking as measured …

Faculty Impressions Of Dental Students’ Performance With And Without Virtual Reality Simulation, Riki Gottlieb, Sharon K. Lanning, John C. Gunsolley, Judith A. Buchanan

Periodontics Publications

This study compared faculty perceptions and expectations of dental students’ abilities using virtual reality simulation (VRS) to those who did not use virtual reality simulation (non-VRS) in an operative dentistry preclinical course. A sixteen-item survey with a ten-point rating scale and three open-ended questions asked about students’ abilities in ergonomics, confidence level, performance, preparation, and self-assessment. The surveys were administered three times to a small group of preclinical faculty members. First, faculty members (n=12, 92 percent response rate) gave their perceptions of non-VRS students’ abilities at the end of their traditional course. Secondly, faculty members (n=13, 100 percent response rate) …

Genetic Analysis Of The Neurosteroid Deoxycorticosterone And Its Relation To Alcohol Phenotypes: Identification Of Qtls And Downstream Gene Regulation, Patrizia Porcu, Todd K. O'Buckley, Soomin C. Song, Jo Lynne Harenza, Lu Lu, Xusheng Wang, Michael F. Miles, A. Leslie Morrow

Neurology Publications

Background

Deoxycorticosterone (DOC) is an endogenous neurosteroid found in brain and serum, precursor of the GABAergic neuroactive steroid (3α,5α)-3,21-dihydroxypregnan-20-one (tetrahydrodeoxycorticosterone, THDOC) and the glucocorticoid corticosterone. These steroids are elevated following stress or ethanol administration, contribute to ethanol sensitivity, and their elevation is blunted in ethanol dependence.

Methodology/Principal Findings

To systematically define the genetic basis, regulation, and behavioral significance of DOC levels in plasma and cerebral cortex we examined such levels across 47 young adult males from C57BL/6J (B6)×DBA/2J (D2) (BXD) mouse strains for quantitative trait loci (QTL) and bioinformatics analyses of behavior and gene regulation. Mice were injected with saline …

Chronic Apocynin Treatment Attenuates Beta Amyloid Plaque Size And Microglial Number In Happ(751)Sl Mice, Melinda E. Lull, Shannon Levesque, Michael J. Surace, Michelle L. Block

Anatomy and Neurobiology Publications

Background

NADPH oxidase is implicated in neurotoxic microglial activation and the progressive nature of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Here, we test the ability of two NADPH oxidase inhibitors, apocynin and dextromethorphan (DM), to reduce learning deficits and neuropathology in transgenic mice overexpressing human amyloid precursor protein with the Swedish and London mutations (hAPP(751)SL).

Methods

Four month old hAPP(751)SL mice were treated daily with saline, 15 mg/kg DM, 7.5 mg/kg DM, or 10 mg/kg apocynin by gavage for four months.

Results

Only hAPP(751)SL mice treated with apocynin showed reduced plaque size and a reduction in the number of cortical microglia, when compared …

Menorah Review (No. 74, Winter/Spring, 2011)

Menorah Review

A Novelist's View of Nineteenth Century Judaism -- An Evolutionary, Nonzero Approach to the Abrahamic Traditions -- Author's reflections -- Books in Brief: New and Notable -- Moreshet: From the Classics -- Post-Zionism... Post-Holocaust -- The Jewish Experience in 17th century Barbados -- Two Poems -- Zachor: From the Records of the Nuremberg Trials, 1945-6

Virginia Commonwealth University Commencement Program [2011], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Human Rights, Collective Memory, And Counter Memory: Unpacking The Meaning Of Monument Avenue In Richmond, Virginia, Melanie L. Buffington, Erin Waldner

Art Education Publications

This article addresses human rights issues of the built environment via the presence of monuments in public places. Because of their prominence, monuments and public art can offer teachers and students many opportunities for interdisciplinary study that directly relates to the history of their location Through an exploration of the ideas of collective memory and counter memory, this article explores the specific example of Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia, Further; the authors investigate differences in the ways monuments may be understood at the time they were erected versus how they are understood in the present. Finally, the article addresses the …

Preparing A Professional Teaching Portfolio For An Art Teaching Position, Melanie L. Buffington

Art Education Publications

Over time, the idea of bringing a professional teaching portfolio to a job interview has become an expectation. Preparing these portfolios is a common part of teacher education programs and can be excellent preparation for a job interview. Additionally, teachers who are looking into changing positions will need to prepare a professional portfolio and this process may help them reflect on their practice too. The habits required for creating a professional teaching portfolio; including documenting classroom practices, reflecting on these practices, and organizing this content-are habits that can enhance teaching practice throughout a career.

Differing Lectin Binding Profiles Among Human Embryonic Stem Cells And Derivatives Aid In The Isolation Of Neural Progenitor Cells, Mahesh C. Dodla, Amber Young, Alison Venable, Kowser Hasneen, Raj R. Rao, David W. Machacek, Steven L. Stice

Chemical and Life Science Engineering Publications

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and their differentiated progeny allow for investigation of important changes/events during normal embryonic development. Currently most of the research is focused on proteinacous changes occurring as a result of differentiation of stem cells and little is known about changes in cell surface glycosylation patterns. Identification of cell lineage specific glycans can help in understanding their role in maintenance, proliferation and differentiation. Furthermore, these glycans can serve as markers for isolation of homogenous populations of cells. Using a panel of eight biotinylated lectins, the glycan expression of hESCs, hESCs-derived human neural progenitors (hNP) cells, and hESCs-derived …

Postoperative Refraction In The Second Eye Having Cataract Surgery, Christopher T. Leffler, Martin Wilkes, Juliana Reeves, Muneera A. Mahmood

Ophthalmology Publications

Introduction. Previous cataract surgery studies assumed that first-eye predicted and observed postoperative refractions are equally important for predicting second-eye postoperative refraction. Methods. In a retrospective analysis of 173 patients having bilateral sequential phacoemulsification, multivariable linear regression was used to predict the second-eye postoperative refraction based on refractions predicted by the SRK-T formula for both eyes, the first-eye postoperative refraction, and the difference in IOL selected between eyes. Results. The first-eye observed postoperative refraction was an independent predictor of the second eye postoperative refraction ( 𝑃<0.001 ) and was weighted more heavily than the first-eye predicted refraction. Compared with the SRK-T formula, this model reduced the root-mean-squared (RMS) error of the predicted refraction by 11.3%. Conclusions. The first-eye postoperative refraction is an independent predictor of the second-eye postoperative refraction. The first-eye predicted refraction is less important. These findings may be due to interocular symmetry.

Electrospun Collagen: A Tissue Engineering Scaffold With Unique Functional Properties In A Wide Variety Of Applications, Balendu Shekhar Jha, Chantal E. Ayres, James R. Bowman, Todd A. Telemeco, Scott A. Sell, Gary L. Bowlin, David G. Simpson

Anatomy and Neurobiology Publications

Type I collagen and gelatin, a derivative of Type I collagen that has been denatured, can each be electrospun into tissue engineering scaffolds composed of nano- to micron-scale diameter fibers. We characterize the biological activity of these materials in a variety of tissue engineering applications, including endothelial cell-scaffold interactions, the onset of bone mineralization, dermal reconstruction, and the fabrication of skeletal muscle prosthetics. Electrospun collgen (esC) consistently exhibited unique biological properties in these functional assays. Even though gelatin can be spun into fibrillar scaffolds that resemble scaffolds of esC, our assays reveal that electrospun gelatin (esG) lacks intact α chains …

Field-Assisted Emission In Algan/Gan Heterostructure Field-Effect Transistors Using Low-Frequency Noise Technique, Cemil Kayis, C. Y. Zhu, Mo Wu, X. Li, Ümit Özgür, Hadis Morkoç

Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications

We utilized low-frequency noise measurements to probe electron capture and emission from the traps in AlGaN/GaN heterostructurefield-effect transistors as a function of drain bias. The excess noise-spectra due to generation-recombination effect shifted higher in frequency with the elevated temperature from room temperature up to 446 K. These temperature dependent noise measurements were carried out for four different drain-bias values from 4 up to 16 V with 4 V increments. The shift of the excess-noise in frequency was also seen with increasing drain bias. The characteristic recharging times for the trapped electrons varied within the range of 26 μs − …

Distinct Signatures Of The Immune Responses In Low Risk Versus High Risk Neuroblastoma, Madhu Gowda, Kamar Godder, Maciej Kmieciak, Andrea Worschech, Maria-Libera Ascierto, Ena Wang, Francesco M. Marincola, Masoud H. Manjili

Microbiology and Immunology Publications

Background

Over 90% of low risk (LR) neuroblastoma patients survive whereas less than 30% of high risk (HR) patients are long term survivors. Age (children younger than 18 months old) is associated with LR disease. Considering that adaptive immune system is well developed in older children, and that T cells were shown to be involved in tumor escape and progression of cancers, we sought to determine whether HR patients may tend to show a signature of adaptive immune responses compared to LR patients who tend to have diminished T-cell responses but an intact innate immune response.

Methods

We performed microarray …

Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Elastase Provides An Escape From Phagocytosis By Degrading The Pulmonary Surfactant Protein-A, Zhizhou Kuang, Yonghua Hao, Brent E. Walling, Jayme L. Jeffries, Dennis E. Ohman, Gee W. Lau

Microbiology and Immunology Publications

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that causes both acute pneumonitis in immunocompromised patients and chronic lung infections in individuals with cystic fibrosis and other bronchiectasis. Over 75% of clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa secrete elastase B (LasB), an elastolytic metalloproteinase that is encoded by the lasB gene. Previously, in vitro studies have demonstrated that LasB degrades a number of components in both the innate and adaptive immune systems. These include surfactant proteins, antibacterial peptides, cytokines, chemokines and immunoglobulins. However, the contribution of LasB to lung infection by P. aeruginosa and to inactivation of pulmonary innate immunity in vivo needs …

Identification And Phylogenetic Analysis Of Heme Synthesis Genes In Trypanosomatids And Their Bacterial Endosymbionts, João M. P. Alves, Logan Voegtly, Andrey V. Matveyev, Ana M. Lara, Flávia Maia Da Silva, Myrna G. Serrano, Gregory A. Buck, Marta M. G. Teixeira, Erney P. Camargo

Microbiology and Immunology Publications

It has been known for decades that some insect-infecting trypanosomatids can survive in culture without heme supplementation while others cannot, and that this capability is associated with the presence of a betaproteobacterial endosymbiont in the flagellate's cytoplasm. However, the specific mechanisms involved in this process remained obscure. In this work, we sequence and phylogenetically analyze the heme pathway genes from the symbionts and from their hosts, as well as from a number of heme synthesis-deficient Kinetoplastida. Our results show that the enzymes responsible for synthesis of heme are encoded on the symbiont genomes and produced in close cooperation with the …

Virginia Commonwealth University Undergraduate Bulletin Courses [2011], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Bulletins

Listing of undergraduate courses for 2011-2012.

Virginia Commonwealth University Graduate And Professional Programs Bulletin Courses [2011], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Bulletins

No abstract provided.

Menorah Review (No. 75, Summer/Fall, 2011)

Menorah Review

Books in Brief: New and Notable -- Hasidic Women: Boundaries and Empowerment -- Jews in the Shaping of Modern Capitalism -- Moreshet: From The Classics -- New Approaches to Gender and Feminism: Jewish Philosophical Perspectives -- Reckoning with Rival Religions -- Two Poems -- Zachor: An Appeal for the Ransom of the Captives

Virginia Commonwealth University Graduate And Professional Programs Bulletin [2011], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Bulletins

Graduate and professional programs bulletin for Virginia Commonwealth University for the academic year 2011-2012. It includes information on academic regulations, degree requirements, course offerings, faculty, academic calendar, and tuition and expenses for graduate programs.

Applying An Empirical Hydropathic Forcefield In Refinement May Improve Low-Resolution Protein X-Ray Crystal Structures, Vishal N. Koparde, J. Neel Scarsdale, Glen E. Kellogg

Medicinal Chemistry Publications

Background

The quality of X-ray crystallographic models for biomacromolecules refined from data obtained at high-resolution is assured by the data itself. However, at low-resolution, >3.0 Å, additional information is supplied by a forcefield coupled with an associated refinement protocol. These resulting structures are often of lower quality and thus unsuitable for downstream activities like structure-based drug discovery.

Methodology

An X-ray crystallography refinement protocol that enhances standard methodology by incorporating energy terms from the HINT (Hydropathic INTeractions) empirical forcefield is described. This protocol was tested by refining synthetic low-resolution structural data derived from 25 diverse high-resolution structures, and referencing the resulting …

Direct Immunosensor Design Based On The Electrochemical Reduction Of 4-((4-Nitrophenyl)Ethynyl)Benzenethiol Monolayers, Dwight A. Williams, Wraegen A. M. Williams, Melissa C. Rhoten, Charlene D. Crawley, Suzanne Ruder

Chemistry Publications

The synthesis and characterization of novel N-arylhydroxylamine-based molecular wires are described for use in the site-directed covalent immobilization of whole IgG antibodies onto gold electrode surfaces. The hydroxylamine, electrochemically generated in situ from reduction of the corresponding nitrobenzene, is stable under a wide range of solution conditions and reacts selectively with carbohydrate away from the antibody-binding site to allow the development of immunosensors with maximal activity. Cyclic voltammetric responses have shown a direct correlation between the structure and length of the molecular wire and its stability and concentration at the electrode surface.

Every Day A New Discovery: Share History, Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute, Virginia Commonwealth University, Donna Gilles, Carolyn Hawley, Katherine Oliver, Timothy Reed, Patricia Wallace, Jill Wilson

L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs Publications

This project aims to strengthen the sense of community and shared identity within VCU through a historical understanding of the interconnectedness of the formerly standalone institutions (i.e., the Medical College of Virginia and the Richmond Professional Institute). Additionally, it will seek to cultivate a sense of pride and greater esteem for our community by facilitating knowledge of the significant contributions to innovation that were developed at VCU.

It's Ten O'Clock: Do We Know Where Our Students Are?, Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute, Virginia Commonwealth University, Leena Joseph, Maike Philipsen, Joan Rhodes, Diane Stout-Brown, Danielle Terrell, Franklin Wallace

L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs Publications

Do we know where our students are will ensure that Virginia Commonwealth University has the ability to identify the current residential location of students at any time such contact is warranted, for instance during an emergency. We propose a system that secures at regular intervals up-to-date contact information. Conceptually, the project is designed to help VCU better serve its students, promote a safer environment, raise student awareness of how crucial it is to provide the university with up-to-date contact information, and ultimately improve the relationship between the institution and its neighboring communities.

Working Collaboratively To Fully Integrate Our Campuses, Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute, Virginia Commonwealth University, Kristin Caskey, Danielle Edgley, Mitzi Lee, Samantha Marrs, Scott Oates, Shajuana Payne

L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs Publications

This project would be one dimension of a larger initiative to fully integrate the campuses. The idea is to establish a program to link the campuses through networking opportunities where faculty, staff and students are encouraged to develop "friendships" throughout the two campuses. The project would be launched on a select key date; i.e., anniversary date of VCU (or other important date), by the formation of a human chain connecting the two campuses between Broad and Belvidere Streets and Sanger Hall, about 1.2 miles of people committed to the cause. This would be a major campaign for VCU with the …

Antihypertensive Treatment Differentially Affects Vascular Sphingolipid Biology In Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats, Léon J. A. Spijkers, Ben J. A. Janssen, Jelly Nelissen, Merlijn J. P. M. T. Meens, Dayanjan Wijesinghe, Charles E. Chalfant, Jo G. R. De Mey, Astrid E. Alewijnse, Stephan L. M. Peters

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Publications

We have previously shown that essential hypertension in humans and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), is associated with increased levels of ceramide and marked alterations in sphingolipid biology. Pharmacological elevation of ceramide in isolated carotid arteries of SHR leads to vasoconstriction via a calcium-independent phospholipase A2, cyclooxygenase-1 and thromboxane synthase-dependent release of thromboxane A2. This phenomenon is almost absent in vessels from normotensive Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats. Here we investigated whether lowering of blood pressure can reverse elevated ceramide levels and reduce ceramide-mediated contractions in SHR.

Methods and Findings

For this purpose SHR were treated for 4 weeks with the angiotensin …

Virginia Commonwealth University Fall Commencement Program [2011], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Characterization Of Oxidation Resistant Fe@M (M=Cr, Ni) Core@Shell Nanoparticles Prepared By A Modified Reverse Micelle Reaction, Sweta H. Naik, Kyler J. Carroll, Everett E. Carpenter

Chemistry Publications

Iron-based nanoparticles are the forerunners in the field of nanotechnology due to their high magnetizationsaturation and biocompability which affords them use in a variety of applications. However, iron-based nanoparticles, due to a high surface-to-volume ratio, suffer from oxidation and limit its practicality by lowering the magnetic moment significantly. To avoid this oxidation, the surfaces of the particles have to be passivated. One such way to accomplish this passivation is to synthesize core@shell nanoparticles that have a surface treatment of chromium or nickel. These core@shell nanoparticles have been synthesized using a reverse micelle technique. The Cr and Ni passivated ironnanoparticles were …

Virginia Dental Journal (Vol. 88, No. 1, 2011)

Virginia Dental Journal

No abstract provided.