Digital Commons Network^™

Medulloblastoma Outcome Is Adversely Associated With Overexpression Of Eef1d, Rpl30, And Rps20 On The Long Arm Of Chromosome 8, Massimiliano De Bortoli, Robert C. Castellino, Xin-Yan Lu, Jeffrey Deyo, Lisa Marie Sturla, Adekunle M. Adesnia, Laszlo Perlaky, Scott L. Pomeroy, Ching C. Lau, Tsv-Kwong Man, Pulivarthi H. Rao, John Y.H. Kim

Radiation Oncology Publications

Background Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumor of childhood. Improvements in clinical outcome require a better understanding of the genetic alterations to identify clinically significant biological factors and to stratify patients accordingly. In the present study, we applied cytogenetic characterization to guide the identification of biologically significant genes from gene expression microarray profiles of medulloblastoma.

Methods We analyzed 71 primary medulloblastomas for chromosomal copy number aberrations (CNAs) using comparative genomic hybridization (CGH). Among 64 tumors that we previously analyzed by gene expression microarrays, 27 were included in our CGH series. We analyzed clinical outcome with respect to CNAs …

Virginia Commonwealth University Fall Commencement Program [2006], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Virginia Commonwealth University Bulletin All Courses [2006], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Bulletins

Listing of undergraduate, professional, and graduate courses for 2006-2007.

Organic Anion And Cation Transporter Expression And Function During Embryonic Kidney Development And In Organ Culture Model Systems, Douglas H. Sweet, Satish A. Eraly, Kevin T. Bush, Sanjay K. Nigam

Pharmaceutics Publications

Background

Organic anion and cation transporters (OATs, OCTs and OCTNs) mediate the proximal tubular secretion of numerous clinically important compounds, including various commonly prescribed pharmaceuticals. Here, we examine the ontogeny of these transporters in rat embryonic kidney in detail, both in vivo and in two in vitro organ culture models of kidney development, whole embryonic kidney (WEK) culture and culture of induced metanephric mesenchyme (MM).

Methods

We used QPCR to determine expression levels of transporter genes in rat embryonic kidneys on each day of gestation from ed13 to ed18, in induced and un-induced MM, and on each day of one …

Directionality Of Point Mutation And 5-Methylcytosine Deamination Rates In The Chimpanzee Genome, Cizhong Jiang, Zhongming Zhao

Psychiatry Publications

Background The pattern of point mutation is important for studying mutational mechanisms, genome evolution, and diseases. Previous studies of mutation direction were largely based on substitution data from a limited number of loci. To date, there is no genome-wide analysis of mutation direction or methylation-dependent transition rates in the chimpanzee or its categorized genomic regions.

Results In this study, we performed a detailed examination of mutation direction in the chimpanzee genome and its categorized genomic regions using 588,918 SNPs whose ancestral alleles could be inferred by mapping them to human genome sequences. The C→T (G→A) changes occurred most frequently in …

Virginia Commonwealth University Graduate Bulletin [2006], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Bulletins

Graduate and professional programs bulletin for Virginia Commonwealth University for the academic year 2006-2007. It includes information on academic regulations, degree requirements, course offerings, faculty, academic calendar, and tuition and expenses for graduate programs.

Virginia Commonwealth University Undergraduate Bulletin [2006], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Bulletins

Undergraduate bulletin for Virginia Commonwealth University for the academic year 2006-2007. It includes information on academic regulations, degree requirements, course offerings, faculty, academic calendar, and tuition and expenses for undergraduate programs.

Virginia Commonwealth University Commencement Program [2006], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

A Novel Statistical Method To Estimate The Effective Snp Size In Vertebrate Genomes And Categorized Genomic Regions, Deakwan Seo, Cizhong Jiang, Zhongming Zhao

Psychiatry Publications

Background

The local environment of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) contains abundant genetic information for the study of mechanisms of mutation, genome evolution, and causes of diseases. Recent studies revealed that neighboring-nucleotide biases on SNPs were strong and the genome-wide bias patterns could be represented by a small subset of the total SNPs. It remains unsolved for the estimation of the effective SNP size, the number of SNPs that are sufficient to represent the bias patterns observed from the whole SNP data.

Results

To estimate the effective SNP size, we developed a novel statistical method, SNPKS, which considers both the statistical …

Empirical Validation Of The S-Score Algorithm In The Analysis Of Gene Expression Data, Richard Ellis Kennedy, Kellie J. Archer, Michael F. Miles

Biostatistics Publications

Background Current methods of analyzing Affymetrix GeneChip® microarray data require the estimation of probe set expression summaries, followed by application of statistical tests to determine which genes are differentially expressed. The S-Score algorithm described by Zhang and colleagues is an alternative method that allows tests of hypotheses directly from probe level data. It is based on an error model in which the detected signal is proportional to the probe pair signal for highly expressed genes, but approaches a background level (rather than 0) for genes with low levels of expression. This model is used to calculate relative change in probe …

Virginia Dental Journal (Vol. 83, No. 3, 2006)

Virginia Dental Journal

No abstract provided.

E(Raced) Bodies In And Out Of Sight/Cite/Site, Wanda B. Knight

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

In the social sphere there are numerous unmarked and unexamined categories. Heterosexuality, maleness, and middle classness are some of the apparent ones. However, Whiteness is perhaps the foremost unmarked and thus unexamined category in art education. And like other unmarked categories, White is assumed to be the human norm. Moreover, when Whiteness goes unexamined, racial privilege associated with Whiteness goes unacknowledged. In this article, I use the metaphor of sight or vision to examine race through a framework of bodies. My focus is, specifically, on the preparation of the authoritative White body of the art teacher to teach in classrooms …

Ethnic Studies Review

Ethnic Studies Review

No abstract provided.

Deconstructing The Frame: Siting Absence, Jason Wallin

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

Our contemporary social landscape is increasingly inscribed and articulated through images. With the proliferation of televisual mediums, the image has become the primary vehicle mediating social relationships, impinging on our experience of both self and other (Debord, 1978). As Virilio (2002) avers, the drive of capitalism seeks to appropriate the imagistic code as a bid for mastery over the symbolic order. In this manner, the media/ted images that flood the social terrain are often cites of ideological del sign. In other words, signs are often ideologically 'stabilized' as connotations of other signs, forming an abstract, positive calculus of signification. In …

Amendment (2006 Spring)

Amendment, 2004-

Amendment is a VCU student-produced progressive literature and art journal that provides a platform for students to promote equality, tolerance, and social progression through artistic expression.

How To Draw A Heart: Teaching Art To Incarcerated Youth, Dennis Earl Fehr

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

This article traces the progress of a social theory-based university art education program in which undergraduate majors teach art to incarcerated youth. It addresses and goes beyond the editor's question, "What imagery lies 'outside' art educators' accepted sphere?" Not only is the imagery of these populations out of sight, but so are the sites of incarceration themselves, they exist not only outside the purview of the art education field, but of nearly every sector of society except the police. Even their families are often "out of sight." The readable, conversational format is a political choice. I offer an alternative to …

Reading Objects: Collections As Sites And Systems Of Cultural Order, Alice Wexler

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

The political nature of making personal and cultural meaning of objects (both ordinary and aesthetic) is the site where transactions between our innate need for order and environmental influences, such as consumerism, are made. Valuing objects leads to the phenomena of collection, a subject that has been of interest in education and psychology since the nineteenth century. I ask how the private collections of children, and later adults, lead to systems of labeling, grouping, and display of art and artifacts in the art and natural history museum. In the age of the meta museum, how do educators question the museum's …

Precinct, Gayle Gorman

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

"Precinct" was a site-specific art project/ performance/ exhibit put on by SITE: Buffalo Artist Collective, an organization devoted to a nontraditional approach to art emphasizing the experiential and the value of spectered memories contained in found objects and images. With the aid of the Buffalo Arts Commission, the abandoned police precinct (now destroyed) on Niagara Street on Buffalo's West side was open to the public, occupied and interacted with for a one-day event. This venue was specifically selected in order to bypass the gallerycentric mode of display which tends to dominate the world of art. By doing so, SITE made …

Tongues United: Polyphonic Identities And The Hispanic Family, José Medina

Ethnic Studies Review

In this paper I will use the Bakhtinian notion of polyphony,1 of a choral dialogue of multiple and heterogeneous voices, to elaborate a pluralistic account of cultural identity in general and of Hispanic identity in particular. I will complicate and further pluralize the Bakhtinian notion by talking about the overlapping and criss-crossing dialogues of heterogeneous voices that go into the formation of cultural identities. My pluralistic view emphasizes that cultural identity is bound up with differences and opposes those homogeneous models that try to impose a unique articulation of collective identity on the members of a group. Although I will …

W.E.B. Dubois's "The Comet" And Contributions To Critical Race Theory: An Essay On Black Radical Politics And Anti-Racist Social Ethics, Reiland Rabaka

Ethnic Studies Review

No longer considered the exclusive domain of legal studies scholars and radical civil rights lawyers and law professors, critical race theory has blossomed and currently encompasses and includes a wide range of theory and theorists from diverse academic disciplines. Its most prominent practitioners, initially law professors and "left scholars, most of them scholars of color" employing the work of the breathtakingly brilliant African American lawyer, scholar, and activist Derrick Bell (2005) as their primary point of departure, borrowed from many of the political and theoretical breakthroughs of black nationalism, anti-racist feminism, poststructuralism, and postmodernism. They also employed and experimented with …

Models Of Forgiveness And Adult Romantic Attachment In Ended Relationships: Forgiveness Over Time, Kathryn Louise Cooke

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined models of self and other as they relate to attachment, forgiveness, emotional and cognitive reactions to a breakup, relationship variables, and positive and negative feelings toward the self and former partner after a romantic relationship is ended. This study also tested how these variables change over time. Data were collected over a period of five weeks from 130 undergraduates who had experienced a breakup within the two weeks prior to beginning the study. Data were analyzed with a series of univariate and multivariate analyses of variance. Results found that there were differences in how participants reacted to …

Social Capital, Health And Mental Health In African American Women, Cheryl Lynn Bennett

Theses and Dissertations

Cultural and social influences on mental and physical health are increasingly recognized by social science researchers. Researchers have found that specific, Afrocultural factors are related to the functioning of African Americans. The current research considered whether interdependence is especially salient for African American women since women and African Americans tend to define themselves within the context of social relationships. The study outlines processes affecting the mental and physical health of African American women including communalism, collective efficacy, and social capital. The also study examined the relationship between socioeconomic status and both mental and physical health among African American women in …

The Effect And Chronic Acute Pre-Treatment With Methylphenidate On Recovery Of Cognitive Function Following Experimental Traumatic Brain Injury In Rats, Katharine Coryell Eakin

Theses and Dissertations

Adolescent and young adult males are at a higher risk for traumatic brain injury (TBI) compared to the general population. Diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is also more prevalent for males in these age groups. The most commonly prescribed medication for ADHD is methylphenidate (MPH). Based on the increase in the number of new diagnoses of ADHD and the number of children who continue taking MPH into adulthood, it is important to evaluate how chronic or acute MPH administered prior to injury may influence recovery following TBI. In both studies, cognitive abilities of male Sprague-Dawley rats were assessed …

Atm-Dependent Erk Signaling In Response To Dna Double Strand Breaks, Ashraf Khalil

Theses and Dissertations

Ionizing radiation (IR) triggers many signaling pathways stemming from DNA damage, and, independently, from extra-nuclear events. To generate radio-mimetic DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) without and minimizing the effects on extra-nuclear radiation targets, human (p53+) glioma and carcinoma cells containing bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU)- substituted DNA were treated with Hoechst 33258 followed by long wave-length UV (UV-A) (BrdU photolysis). BrdU photolysis resulted in well-controlled, dose-dependent generation of DSBs equivalent to 0.2 - 20 Gy of IR, as detected by pulse-field gel electrophoresis, accompanied by dose-dependent H2AX phosphorylation at ser-139 and ATM phosphorylation at ser-1981, indicating ATM activation. Furthermore, BrdU photolysis increased phosphorylation of …

Phospholipase A2 Induced Monocyte Chemotaxis To Apoptotic Cells, Kwasi Karikari

Theses and Dissertations

Apoptosis is a form of programmed cell death that is essential in such processes as organ and tissue remodeling and maturation of hematopoietic cells. The clearance of apoptotic cells is essential to prevent autoimmune responses to sequestered antigens. This process is mediated by phagocytes of the monocyte lineage. Before phagocytosis can occur, macrophages must be recruited to the apoptotic cells through chemotaxis. Products of the reaction catalyzed by the phospholipases A2 (PLA2) have been shown to induce monocyte chemotaxis either directly or indirectly. Some investigators have implicated a cytosolic calcium-independent PLA2 (iPLA2) in the production of these products during apoptosis. …

Stature And Criminal Behavior, Rebecca J. Fish

Theses and Dissertations

Minorities are significantly overrepresented in America's prison population, and many studies have been conducted to determine possible causes for such a disparity. Few of these studies, however, have examined small stature as a potential contributor to criminal behavior. This study examines the relationship between criminal behavior and stature among American males. The heights, weights, stature scores (a function of the product of height and weight) and the body mass indices of criminals are examined as a whole, as well as by subgroup based on race, locality, and nature of the crime committed. The average weight of the male criminal population …

Assessing Epidermal Growth Factor Expression In The Rodent Hippocampus Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Janice Mabutas Daus

Theses and Dissertations

Hippocampal neurons are vulnerable to injury, as indicated by the prevalence of learning and memory deficits following traumatic brain injury. Research indicates that proliferation of neural precursor cells increases following brain injury, which implies that there is an endogenous response in the hippocampus to replenish neurons and restore cognitive function. Studies show that mitogenic growth factors may drive this proliferative response; one of which is epidermal growth factor. Because adults and the elderly manifest the most enduring deficits following TBI, it is critical to investigate how EGF expression following injury may relate to injury-induced cell proliferation and the degree of …

Investigations Into Social Game Theory, Stephen Bryce Harper

Theses and Dissertations

Investigations into Social Game Theory is a document that describes my two-year exploration of the ritual encapsulated in our societal framework. It discusses the thoughts and processes that accompanied the three bodies of work that led to the creation of my final thesis exhibition.

Monocyte Modulation Of Disease Pathogenesis And Progression In Localized Aggressive Periodontitis, Chu Ri Shin

Theses and Dissertations

Localized Aggressive Periodontitis (LAgP) is an aggressive, early onset form of periodontitis characterized by a unique myeloid cell phenotype. In addition to its bacterial origin, the unique phenotype of the myeloid cell contributes to disease pathogenesis and progression through mechanisms mediating host inflammatory and immune responses. LAgP monocytes synthesize increased levels of the potent proinflammatory lipid mediator, Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), preferentially differentiate into dendritic cells, and lead to increased IgG2 production. In addition, levels of Platelet Activating Factor (PAF) have shown to be elevated in the gingival tissue and gingival crevicular fluid of subjects with periodontitis. The aim of this …

The Effect Of Silencing The Wilms' Tumor 1 Gene On The Radiation Sensitivity Of Glioblastoma Cells, Dana C. Chan

Theses and Dissertations

Glioblastomas are among the most devastating of human cancers with a median survival of only 9-12 months. This type of brain tumor is incurable, largely due its remarkable proliferative capacity and resistance to current treatments. High levels of the Wilms' Tumor 1 (WTI) gene have been identified in glioblastomas, suggesting an oncogenic function. Moreover, known WT1 target genes have been implicated in resistance to radiation. To determine the role of WT1 in radiation resistance, two glioblastoma cell lines expressing WT1 were treated with siRNAs to silence this gene. Confirmation of WT1 knockdown was achieved through real-time PCR and Western blot. …