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Treatment Of Menorrhagia And Irregular Menstruation: Cryo-Fluid Ablation Of The Endometrium, Baha Endisha, Benjamin Green

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Menorrhagia and irregular menstruation, characterized as dysfunctional uterine bleeding (DUB), is a condition that affects 15 to 20% of reproductive and pre-menopausal women. Common treatments are invasive, painful, or have low success rates; there is a need for new treatment. A 2014-2015 senior design team developed a prototype treatment based on the hypothesis that if free fluid was circulated in the uterine cavity at temperatures between 0 and -15ᵒC, cell death of the 2cm reproductive endometrial layer in the uterine cavity could be achieved and induce long term amenorrhea. The current senior design team significantly modified the prototype to reach …

Find: Framework For Intelligent Research Discovery, Clint Cuffy, Tej Mehta, Hengbin Li

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Computers are essential to research yet the different ways in which computers can automate or speed up research have not been fully explored. Researchers are publishing experimental results faster than ever before and the number of articles to read on a single subject now presents an overwhelming task. FiND aims to expedite this process through an extensible backbone infrastructure for the automated synthesizing of data. FiND includes a Web User Interface, Perl Core and MySQL Database developed using the software constraints of Perl, HTML, CSS, CGI and MySQL. FiND attempts to simplify this task by reducing time spent in exhaustive …

Sestrin2 Is Induced By Glucose Starvation Via The Unfolded Protein Response And Protects Cells From Non-Canonical Necroptotic Cell Death, Boxiao Ding, Anita Parmigiani, Ajit S. Divakaruni, Kellie Archer, Anne N. Murphy, Andrei V. Budanov

Human and Molecular Genetics Publications

Sestrin2 is a member of a family of stress responsive proteins, which controls cell viability via antioxidant activity and regulation of the mammalian target of rapamycin protein kinase (mTOR). Sestrin2 is induced by different stress insults, which diminish ATP production and induce energetic stress in the cells. Glucose is a critical substrate for ATP production utilized via glycolysis and mitochondrial respiration as well as for glycosylation of newly synthesized proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Golgi. Thus, glucose starvation causes both energy deficiency and activation of ER stress followed by the unfolding protein response (UPR). Here, we show that …

Rnaseq Analyses Identify Tumor Necrosis Factor-Mediated Inflammation As A Major Abnormality In Als Spinal Cord, David G. Brohawn, Laura C. O'Brien, James P. Bennett

Human and Molecular Genetics Publications

ALS is a rapidly progressive, devastating neurodegenerative illness of adults that produces disabling weakness and spasticity arising from death of lower and upper motor neurons. No meaningful therapies exist to slow ALS progression, and molecular insights into pathogenesis and progression are sorely needed. In that context, we used high-depth, next generation RNA sequencing (RNAseq, Illumina) to define gene network abnormalities in RNA samples depleted of rRNA and isolated from cervical spinal cord sections of 7 ALS and 8 CTL samples. We aligned >50 million 2X150 bp paired-end sequences/sample to the hg19 human genome and applied three different algorithms (Cuffdiff2 …

Krüppel-Like Transcription Factor Klf1 Is Required For Optimal Γ- And Β-Globin Expression In Human Fetal Erythroblasts, Divya Vinjamur, Yousef N. Alhashem, Safa Mohamad, Parth Amin, David C. Williams Jr., Joyce A. Lloyd

Human and Molecular Genetics Publications

In human adult erythroid cells, lower than normal levels of Krüppel-like transcription factor 1 (KLF1) are generally associated with decreased adult β- and increased fetal γ-globin gene expression. KLF1 also regulates BCL11A, a known repressor of adult γ-globin expression. In seeming contrast to the findings in adult cells, lower amounts of KLF1 correlate with both reduced embryonic and reduced fetal β-like globin mRNA in mouse embryonic erythroid cells. The role of KLF1 in primary human fetal erythroid cells, which express both γ- and β-globin mRNA, is less well understood. Therefore, we studied the role of KLF1 in ex vivo differentiated …

Novel Osteogenic Ti-6al-4v Device For Restoration Of Dental Function In Patients With Large Bone Deficiencies: Design, Development And Implementation, David J. Cohen, A Cheng, A. Kahn, M. Aviram, Alexander J. Whitehead, Sharon Hyzy, Ryan M. Clohessy, Barbara D. Boyan, Zvi Schwartz

Biomedical Engineering Publications

Custom devices supporting bone regeneration and implant placement are needed for edentulous patients with large mandibular deficiencies where endosteal implantation is not possible. We developed a novel subperiosteal titanium-aluminum-vanadium bone onlay device produced by additive manufacturing (AM) and post-fabrication osteogenic micro-/nano-scale surface texture modification. Human osteoblasts produced osteogenic and angiogenic factors when grown on laser-sintered nano-/micro-textured surfaces compared to smooth surfaces. Surface-processed constructs caused higher bone-to-implant contact, vertical bone growth into disk pores (microCT and histomorphometry), and mechanical pull-out force at 5 and 10 w on rat calvaria compared to non surface-modified constructs, even when pre-treating the bone to stimulate …

Mechanical Loading Attenuates Radiation-Induced Bone Loss In Bone Marrow Transplanted Mice, Peter M. Govey, Yue Zhang, Henry J. Donahue

Biomedical Engineering Publications

Exposure of bone to ionizing radiation, as occurs during radiotherapy for some localized malignancies and blood or bone marrow cancers, as well as during space travel, incites dose-dependent bone morbidity and increased fracture risk. Rapid trabecular and endosteal bone loss reflects acutely increased osteoclastic resorption as well as decreased bone formation due to depletion of osteoprogenitors. Because of this dysregulation of bone turnover, bone’s capacity to respond to a mechanical loading stimulus in the aftermath of irradiation is unknown. We employed a mouse model of total body irradiation and bone marrow transplantation simulating treatment of hematologic cancers, hypothesizing that compression …

Loneliness, Depression, And Inflammation: Evidence From The Multi-Ethnic Study Of Atherosclerosis, Briana Mezuk, Moon Choi, Amy S. Desantis, Stephen R. Rapp, Ana V. Diez Roux, Teresa Seeman

Family Medicine and Population Health Publications

Objective

Both objective and subjective aspects of social isolation have been associated with alterations in immune markers relevant to multiple chronic diseases among older adults. However, these associations may be confounded by health status, and it is unclear whether these social factors are associated with immune functioning among relatively healthy adults. The goal of this study was to examine the associations between perceived loneliness and circulating levels of inflammatory markers among a diverse sample of adults.

Methods

Data come from a subset of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (n = 441). Loneliness was measured by three items derived from the …

Sex And Gender In Medical Education, And Proceedings From The 2015 Sex And Gender Education Summit, Eliza L. Chin, Marley Hoggatt, Alyson J. Mcgregor, Mary K. Rojek, Kimberly Templeton, Robert Casanova, Wendy S. Klein, Virginia M. Miller, Marjorie Jenkins

Family Medicine and Population Health Publications

The Sex and Gender Medical Education Summit: a roadmap for curricular innovation was a collaborative initiative of the American Medical Women's Association, Laura W. Bush Institute for Women’s Health, Mayo Clinic, and Society for Women's Health Research (www.sgbmeducationsummit.com). It was held on October 18–19, 2015 to provide a unique venue for collaboration among nationally and internationally renowned experts in developing a roadmap for the incorporation of sex and gender based concepts into medical education curricula. The Summit engaged 148 in-person attendees for the 1 1/2-day program. Pre- and post-Summit surveys assessed the impact of the Summit, and workshop discussions provided …

Involvement Of Nadh Oxidase In Biofilm Formation In Streptococcus Sanguinis, Xiuchun Ge, Xiaoli Shi, Limei Shi, Jinlin Liu, Victoria Stone, Fanxiang Kong, Todd Kitten, Ping Xu

Microbiology and Immunology Publications

Biofilms play important roles in microbial communities and are related to infectious diseases. Here, we report direct evidence that a bacterial nox gene encoding NADH oxidase is involved in biofilm formation. A dramatic reduction in biofilm formation was observed in a Streptococcus sanguinis nox mutant under anaerobic conditions without any decrease in growth. The membrane fluidity of the mutant bacterial cells was found to be decreased and the fatty acid composition altered, with increased palmitic acid and decreased stearic acid and vaccenic acid. Extracellular DNA of the mutant was reduced in abundance and bacterial competence was suppressed. Gene expression analysis …

Interaction Between Cannabinoid System And Toll-Like Receptors Controls Inflammation, Kathleen L. Mccoy

Microbiology and Immunology Publications

Since the discovery of the endocannabinoid system consisting of cannabinoid receptors, endogenous ligands, and biosynthetic and metabolizing enzymes, interest has been renewed in investigating the promise of cannabinoids as therapeutic agents. Abundant evidence indicates that cannabinoids modulate immune responses. An inflammatory response is triggered when innate immune cells receive a danger signal provided by pathogen- or damage-associated molecular patterns engaging pattern-recognition receptors. Toll-like receptor family members are prominent pattern-recognition receptors expressed on innate immune cells. Cannabinoids suppress Toll-like receptor-mediated inflammatory responses. However, the relationship between the endocannabinoid system and innate immune system may not be one-sided. Innate immune cells express …

Interaction Between Cannabinoid System And Toll-Like Receptors Controls Inflammation, Kathleen L. Mccoy

Microbiology and Immunology Publications

Since the discovery of the endocannabinoid system consisting of cannabinoid receptors, endogenous ligands, and biosynthetic and metabolizing enzymes, interest has been renewed in investigating the promise of cannabinoids as therapeutic agents. Abundant evidence indicates that cannabinoids modulate immune responses. An inflammatory response is triggered when innate immune cells receive a danger signal provided by pathogen- or damage-associated molecular patterns engaging pattern-recognition receptors. Toll-like receptor family members are prominent pattern-recognition receptors expressed on innate immune cells. Cannabinoids suppress Toll-like receptor-mediated inflammatory responses. However, the relationship between the endocannabinoid system and innate immune system may not be one-sided. Innate immune cells express …

Effects Of Olfactory Cues On The Foraging Behavior Of A Carabid Beetle, Calosoma Wilcoxi, A Predator Of A Forest Defoliator., Kennesha J. Myrick-Bragg, Karen Kester, Derek M. Johnson

Rice Rivers Center Research Symposium

Arthropod predators use environmental cues such as kairomones to locate herbivore prey. Several species have been shown to be attracted to volatiles emitted by herbivore host plants, as well as olfactory cues produced by the herbivore. Calosoma wilcoxi is a voracious predator that specializes on lepidopteran larvae often found in the forest canopy, showing a preference for the fall cankerworm. It is unknown whether C. wilcoxi uses olfactory cues associated with prey or their host plants to locate foraging sites.

The objective of this study is to use fall cankerworm frass, caterpillars, damaged oak leaves, and conspecifics to determine if …

Persistence Of Carry-Over Effects In The Spotted Salamander., Julie Charbonnier, Ann H. Stewart, Kristine Grayson, James R. Vonesh

Rice Rivers Center Research Symposium

Most organisms have complex life cycles. Early conditions can constrain phenotype and influence growth and survival later in life. Linkages between life stages are important for conservation and management.

Rice Center Focuses On Restoring Wetlands, Chris Rubis

The Scope

Halfway between Richmond and Williamsburg, where Kimages Creek flows into the James River, lies the Inger and Walter Rice Center for Environmental Life Sciences. A restoration project aims to return the area to its original state as a wetland. The project began by removing a dam that had been blocking the flow of Kimages Creek since 1927.

Virginia Commonwealth University Commencement Program [2016], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Virginia Commonwealth University Courses [2016], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Bulletins

Listing of courses for the 2016-2017 year.

Allosteric Inhibition Of Factor Xiiia. Non-Saccharide Glycosaminoglycan Mimetics, But Not Glycosaminoglycans, Exhibit Promising Inhibition Profile, Rami A. Al-Horani, Rajesh Karuturi, Michael Lee, Daniel K. Afosa, Umesh R. Desai

Medicinal Chemistry Publications

Factor XIIIa (FXIIIa) is a transglutaminase that catalyzes the last step in the coagulation process. Orthostery is the only approach that has been exploited to design FXIIIa inhibitors. Yet, allosteric inhibition of FXIIIa is a paradigm that may offer a key advantage of controlled inhibition over orthosteric inhibition. Such an approach is likely to lead to novel FXIIIa inhibitors that do not carry bleeding risks. We reasoned that targeting a collection of basic amino acid residues distant from FXIIIa’s active site by using sulfated glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) or non-saccharide GAG mimetics (NSGMs) would lead to the discovery of the first allosteric …

Imir: Identifying Mirna Regulation In Diseases: Bioinformatics Tool, Jeremy Yu, Bolade Ottola, Theo Contes

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Cancer mutations involves various biological factors and cellular mechanisms involving genes, miRNAs, transcription factors (TFs), chemicals etc. Hence, understanding the activity and role of all of these factors can be exploited for therapeutics. To aid this, iMir, a web portal with multi-tabbed design, analysis and user-guide has been developed to search, analyze and visualize the miRNA-disease, miRNA-TF-gene, miRNA-drug associations. Agile methodology was adopted for the software development of this tool. Weekly requirements and goals were discussed, drafted and accomplished and subject to review, testing and documentation. Code integrated upon approval. iMir has been developed using MySQL as a database and …

The Interactome Of Streptococcus Pneumoniae And Its Bacteriophages Show Highly Specific Patterns Of Interactions Among Bacteria And Their Phages, Rachelle Mariano, Stefan Wuchty, Maria G. Vizoso-Pinto, Roman Häuser, Peter Uetz

Study of Biological Complexity Publications

Although an abundance of bacteriophages exists, little is known about interactions between their proteins and those of their bacterial hosts. Here, we experimentally determined the phage-host interactomes of the phages Dp-1 and Cp-1 and their underlying protein interaction network in the host Streptococcus pneumoniae. We compared our results to the interaction patterns of E. coli phages lambda and T7. Dp-1 and Cp-1 target highly connected host proteins, occupy central network positions, and reach many protein clusters through the interactions of their targets. In turn, lambda and T7 targets cluster to conserved and essential proteins in E. coli, while such …

Network Topology Analysis Of Post-Mortem Brain Microarrays Identifies More Alzheimer’S Related Genes And Micrornas And Points To Novel Routes For Fighting With The Disease, Sreedevi Chandrasekaran, Danail Bonchev

Study of Biological Complexity Publications

Network-based approaches are powerful and beneficial tools to study complex systems in their entirety, elucidating the essential factors that turn the multitude of individual elements into a functional system. In this study we used critical network topology descriptors and guilt-by-association rule to explore and understand the significant molecular players, drug targets and underlying biological mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease. Analyzing two post-mortem brain gene microarrays (GSE4757 and GSE28146) with Pathway Studio software package we constructed and analyzed a set of protein-protein interaction, as well as miRNA-target networks. In a 4-step procedure the expression datasets were normalized using Robust Multi-array Average approach, …

In Silico Identification Of Essential Proteins In Corynebacterium Pseudotuberculosis Based On Protein-Protein Interaction Networks, Edson Luiz Folador, Paulo Vinícius Sanches Daltro De Carvalho, Wanderson Marques Silva, Rafaela Salgado Ferreira, Artur Silva, Michael Gromiha, Preetam Ghosh, Debmalya Barh, Vasco Azevedo, Richard Röttger

Biology Publications

Background

Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis (Cp) is a gram-positive bacterium that is classified into equi and ovis serovars. The serovar ovis is the etiological agent of caseous lymphadenitis, a chronic infection affecting sheep and goats, causing economic losses due to carcass condemnation and decreased production of meat, wool, and milk. Current diagnosis or treatment protocols are not fully effective and, thus, require further research of Cp pathogenesis.

Results

Here, we mapped known protein-protein interactions (PPI) from various species to nine Cp strains to reconstruct parts of the potential Cp interactome and to identify potentially essential proteins serving as putative drug …

Researcher Studies Nervous System Development, Paige Bellamy

The Scope

Ashley Purdy, who recently finished a master’s degree in biology at VCU and is now pursuing her Ph.D., is studying nerve cells in zebrafish in hopes of unlocking secrets about the human nervous system. The research could shed light on how neurodevelopmental disorders like multiple sclerosis or epilepsy occur.

Pine Trees May Shed Light On Global Warming, Nicole Nelson

The Scope

VCU graduate student Constance Bolte has been conducting research at “the intersection of ecology and evolution,” focusing on three species of pine trees: the loblolly, the pitch pine and the table mountain pine. Using temperature and precipitation data, Bolte has been forecasting and “hindcasting” the species’ distribution across North America.

An Advocate For Minorities In Science, Paige Bellamy

The Scope

Dr. Teshell Greene, who grew up on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts, moved to New York at 14 to pursue her dream of being a science researcher. Today she is an instructor in the VCU Department of Biology and a staunch advocate for underrepresented minorities in the field.

Virginia Commonwealth University Graduate Bulletin [2016], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Bulletins

Graduate bulletin for Virginia Commonwealth University for the academic year 2016-2017. It includes information on academic regulations, degree requirements, course offerings, faculty, academic calendar, and tuition and expenses for graduate programs.

Reimagining Your Rx, Rebecca Jones

The Scope

Your future prescriptions might be manufactured in a portable factory – or even be produced by your body itself. Dr. Thomas Roper, director of pharmaceutical engineering in VCU’s Department of Chemical & Life Science Engineering, says the goal is to shrink the environmental and industrial footprint of the drug manufacturing process while expanding global access to medicines.

Demanding Class Spurs Student To Stanford, Jacob Jaminet

The Scope

Hearing that Nick Rodriguez goes to Stanford, you probably wouldn’t guess that he had dropped out of high school and didn’t get the best grades as an undergrad at VCU. Rodriguez graduated from VCU last spring with a degree in bioinformatics. He is pursuing a Ph.D. in biomedical informatics at Stanford University. He says his interest in biomedical research stemmed from the VCU course Molecular Biology Through Discovery.

Researchers Head South To Study Mangroves And Birds, Joe Johnson

The Scope

For two weeks in January, VCU researchers Cathy Viverette and Edward Crawford will accompany 18 students to Panama, where they will study mangrove conservation and avian field ecology.

A 10-Year Study Of Factors Associated With Alcohol Treatment Use And Non-Use In A U.S. Population Sample, Karen G. Chartier, Kierste Miller, T. Robert Harris, Raul Caetano

Social Work Publications

Background

This study seeks to identify changes in perceived barriers to alcohol treatment and predictors of treatment use between 1991–92 and 2001–02, to potentially help understand reported reductions in treatment use at this time. Social, economic, and health trends during these 10 years provide a context for the study.

Methods

Subjects were Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics. The data were from the National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey (NLAES) and the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). We conducted two analyses that compared the surveys on: 1) perceived treatment barriers for subjects who thought they should get help for …