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Graying Incarcerated Persons And Education Programs In Nigerian Correctional Centre, Ijeoma B. Uche Phd, Agnes E. Okafor Phd, Okala A. Uche Phd *Corresponding Author

Journal of Prison Education Research

Correctional education programs are rehabilitation programs designed for incarcerated persons in Nigerian correctional institutions. However, getting the graying incarcerated persons to participate in education programs becomes quite challenging. This study investigates graying incarcerated persons and education programs in one correctional centre. Data were collected qualitatively from fifteen (15) incarcerated individuals aged 60 years and above using semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was employed in analyzing the data generated for the study. Findings show that there are no available education programs for graying incarcerated individuals. The study also revealed that designing education programs in such a way that it will accommodate the …

Effect Of Psilocybin On Empathy And Moral Decision-Making, Sky Evans

VCU's Medical Journal Club: The Work of Future Health Professionals

Empathy is the ability for human beings, as well as all other mammals, to understand the mental state of another person on an emotional level. It allows us to feel compassion and promote the well-being of those around us. Impaired empathic abilities lead to severe negative social consequences and influence the development and treatment of several psychiatric disorders, specifically in disorders such as antisocial personality disorder. Furthermore, empathy has been shown to play a crucial role in moral and prosocial behavior. In neuroscience and psychiatry research, the serotonin system has been shown to be involved in modulating empathy and moral …

Barro De Oaxaca, Samantha Rose Martinez

Teaching Resource Archive

The purpose of this lesson is to introduce the concept of intangible cultural heritage to students by studying the knowledge and skills to produce traditional handcraft within a specific culture, and for students to recognize the relationships between the forms and functions of traditional Oaxacan pottery.

Six-Month Pain And Function Outcome Expectations Were Established For Total Knee Arthroplasty Using The Smallest Worthwhile Effect, Daniel L. Riddle, Nancy Henderson

Physical Therapy Publications

Introduction: Interpretations of patient-reported outcome measures following knee arthroplasty lack context and typically do not account for costs, risks and benefits compared to an alternative treatment. The primary purpose of our paper is to estimate expectations patients have for pain and function destination outcome, six-months following surgery relative to the outcome expected if knee arthroplasty was not done. Secondary purposes were to determine if statistically significant changes in the smallest worthwhile six-month outcome occurred following an interactive discussion and to assess the construct validity of the expected six-month outcome obtained at baseline.

Methods: This was a secondary analysis …

Socioeconomic Status And Health Disparities Drive Differences In Accelerometer-Derived Physical Activity In Fatty Liver Disease And Significant Fibrosis, Lucia Tabacu, Sajag Swami, Mark Ledbetter, Mohamad S. Siddiqui, Ekaterina Smirnova

Internal Medicine Publications

Background and aims: The cornerstone of clinical management of patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are lifestyle changes such as increasing physical activity (PA) aimed at improving cardiometabolic risk. To inform NAFLD prevention and treatment guidelines we aimed to: (i) quantify the role of PA on lowering the risk for NAFLD and fibrosis; (ii) characterize NAFLD and fibrosis association with PA in the context of socioeconomic environment.

Methods: A sample of 2648 participants from the NHANES 2003–2006 was selected to develop survey weighted multivariable logistic regression models for predicting NAFLD and significant fibrosis, diagnosed non-invasively via fatty …

Through The Decades: Aapi Life At Vcu, Asian American & Pacific Islander Affinity, Aurianna Nacua, Aerin Fortes, Cierra T’Eo, Maryam Rabiutheen, Sithmi Rajaguru, Natalie Auandee

Through the Decades: AAPI Life at VCU

Posters displayed at the exhibit "Through the Decades: AAPI Life at VCU." The posters presented were: Depictions of AAPI Culture On-campus, The Model Minority Myth on Campus, Services for AAPI Individuals, Black Contributions to AAPI Life on Campus, Monroe Park Campus, Meet the Monroe Park Students, Medical College of Virginia, Meet the Medical Students, Current Student Voices, Past Student Organizations, Current Student Organizations Spotlight, Meet Past Faculty, Current Faculty and Staff Spotlight, and Pieces by Professor Roberto Jamora.

Alcohol Use And Alcohol Use Disorder Differ In Their Genetic Relationships With Ptsd: A Genomic Structural Equation Modelling Approach, Tulsi Patel

VCU's Medical Journal Club: The Work of Future Health Professionals

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with an increased alcohol use and increased risk of developing alcohol use disorder (AUD). Previous literature suggests that the genetic association between PTSD and alcohol use differs from that between PTSD and AUD. Researchers in this study used a genomic Structural Equation Modeling, genomicSEM, to analyze data from a larger genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Participants in the study were of European descent.

Researchers investigated the genetic association between PTSD, alcohol use, and AUD through these large scale statistical analyses. Researchers observed a significant improvement in model fit (p < .001). Genetic correlations (rG) between PTSD and AUD were positive (rG: .36, p < .001), while those between PTSD and alcohol use were negative (rG: -0.17, p < .001). Researchers observed that when specific variables for alcohol use and AUD were isolated, key differences resulted in genetic association with PTSD, which indicated that the genetic makeup of alcohol-related behaviors is different in individuals with PTSD.

Re-Evaluating The Land Use Impacts Of Utility-Scale Solar Energy Development In Virginia, Damian Pitt, Aaron R. Berryhill, Jennifer M. Ciminelli

L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs Publications

Utility-scale solar energy is the fastest-growing source of energy in the United States, and it provides many benefits related to climate change mitigation, pollution reduction, and tax revenue for the impacted localities. However, the rapid expansion of this technology raises some concerns, including the possible loss of farmland, forest land, and sensitive ecosystems, as well as potential environmental justice impacts from concentrating these facilities in low-income and/or minority communities.

In Virginia, 94 utility-scale solar facilities – defined as systems with a generating capacity of 5 megawatts (MW) AC or greater – have been built since December 2016. Hundreds more projects, …

Not All Staying Is The Same: Unpacking Retention And Turnover In Academic Libraries, Samantha Guss, Jennifer Stout, Sojourna Cunningham

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Although the academic libraries profession recognizes that retention is a complex and important issue, especially for advancing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and supporting BIPOC librarians, the library literature largely avoids defining or providing a measurement for retention at all. In this paper we propose an original nuanced definition of retention. We draw from existing research on workplace dynamics and library culture and our qualitative exploration of academic librarians who have left jobs before they intended. Our research investigated what it was like for them to stay at those jobs after they realized they didn’t want to stay long-term. …

Chemical Strategies For Tailoring Properties Of Nanomaterials Produced By Pulsed Laser Interaction In Liquid Environments, Katharine M. Tibbetts

Chemistry Publications

Interactions of intense ultrashort laser pulses with liquid media and at solid-liquid interfaces produce plasmas with high densities of reactive chemical species that promote the formation of nanomaterials. This work discusses the current understanding of laser-induced chemical reactions in aqueous medium involving hydrated electrons and hydroxyl radicals, and the effects of chemical additives on these reactions. Two chemical strategies are presented for controlling the composition of the laser-induced plasma and nanomaterial properties. First, adding chemical scavengers of hydroxyl radicals will be shown to inhibit metal oxidation, enabling the synthesis of ligand-free Ag and Au-Ag alloy nanoparticles by reduction of Au …

Relationship Building Advice For Liaison Librarians: Putting It Into Practice And Troubleshooting, Bettina Peacemaker, Kelsey Cheshire, Janet M. Reid, Carla-Mae Crookendale, Julie Arendt, Sergio Chaparro, John Glover, Stephani Rodgers, Erin Carrillo

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Liaison librarians depend on communication and cooperation to be successful, so professional publications about liaison librarianship regularly include discussions of relationship building methods. As a department of experienced liaison librarians, we identified the relationship-building ideas from previous publications that were proactive in nature and had worked for us. Even though the advice has been helpful, we faced challenges or heard about challenges from other librarians when we discussed implementing the ideas. To improve on the published ideas, we have added tips for putting them into practice and answered troubleshooting questions based on our experiences. Adapting to and working around challenges …

Mathematical Model For The Role Of Multiple Pericentromeric Repeats On Heterochromatin Assembly, Puranjan Ghimire, Mo Motamedi, Richard Joh

Physics Publications

Although the length and constituting sequences for pericentromeric repeats are highly variable across eukaryotes, the presence of multiple pericentromeric repeats is one of the conserved features of the eukaryotic chromosomes. Pericentromeric heterochromatin is often misregulated in human diseases, with the expansion of pericentromeric repeats in human solid cancers. In this article, we have developed a mathematical model of the RNAi-dependent methylation of H3K9 in the pericentromeric region of fission yeast. Our model, which takes copy number as an explicit parameter, predicts that the pericentromere is silenced only if there are many copies of repeats. It becomes bistable or desilenced if …

Understanding The Role Of Out Of School Time (Ost) Providers In Urban School Systems In A Post-Covid Context, David Naff, Rachel Hale, Jamelle Simmons, Alicia Gaston, Latonja Y. Wright, Kiana Bradford, Crystal R. Bell, Jill Flynn, Chuck Creasy, Yadira Guerrero, Rory Dunn, Pamela Weaver

MERC Publications

This research and policy brief by the Institute for Collaborative Research and Evaluation and the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium in partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Richmond focuses on the role of out-of-school time (OST) providers in urban school settings in a post COVID-19 context. It is structured to explore the following questions: 1) What are out-of-school time providers and what role do they play in urban school contexts? 2) What policies guide out-of-school time programming at the federal, state, and division level? 3) How have trends and outcomes related to out-of-school time programming changed relative to …

Virginia Commonwealth University Courses (2024), Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Bulletins

Listing of courses for the 2024-2025 year.

Virginia Commonwealth University Undergraduate Bulletin (2024), Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Bulletins

Undergraduate bulletin for Virginia Commonwealth University for the academic year 2024-2025. It includes information on academic regulations, degree requirements, course offerings, faculty, academic calendar, and tuition and expenses for undergraduate programs.

Human Neural Stem Cell Transplantation Improves Cognition In A Murine Model Of Alzheimer's Disease, Loan Quynh Tran

VCU's Medical Journal Club: The Work of Future Health Professionals

This paper explores the potential of stem cell transplantation as a treatment for neurodegenerative diseases, specifically Alzheimer’s. While previous clinical trials, including those for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, have demonstrated the safety of cellular therapies, identifying effective stem cell lines is crucial for advancing similar trials in Alzheimer’s. Using the APP/PS1 mouse model the study presents a pre-clinical proof-of-concept where human neural stem cells were transplanted into the fimbria fornix. Results showed significant cognitive improvements in hippocampal-dependent memory tasks at both 4 & 6 weeks post-transplantation. Interestingly, while the levels of synapse-associated proteins and cholinergic neurons remained unchanged, there was a …

Implementation Of A Cancer Education Program In Rural Counties With The Lowest Hpv Vaccination Rates And Health Rankings, Sarah Arezo, Shillpa Naavaal, Charlotte Garrett, Marcie S. Wright, Vanessa B. Sheppard, Michael A. Preston

Dental Public Health and Policy Publications

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI). To address STIs, one rural county public school district developed a series of Family Life Programs to educate pre-teens about pertinent health information. The Schooling Cancer Program (SCP) was developed in partnership with the local Cancer Research and Resource Center to raise awareness about cancer risk factors including HPV-related cancers and HPV prevention methods. Methods: We collected a post-evaluation survey from students who attended a SCP session at one of the targeted middle schools. The SCP educated students about topics focusing on healthy lifestyles. The survey asked students’ …

Implementation Of A Self-Directed Breast Education Course Module In The Ob/Gyn Clerkship For Medical Students, Divya Shan, Sindhuja Koppu, Fidelma Rigby, Valerie Coleman, Gauri Gulati, Kimberly Salkey

Health Sciences Education Symposium

Background/Objectives: Breastfeeding is widely acknowledged for its medical and neurodevelopmental advantages, yet there is inadequate education on this topic for physicians in training. At the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Medicine, there are limited resources about breast lesions and breastfeeding in the MD curriculum. Thus, a comprehensive online course module was proposed to address gaps in the education of breast dermatoses and breastfeeding for medical students. It is a tailored resource for medical learners that provides an overview of the diagnosis, workup, and management of dermatoses of the breast that occur during breastfeeding. Giventhe lack of skin of color …

Impact Of Near-Peer-Led, Pre-Matriculation Intervention On Osce Preparedness And Confidence In First-Year Medical Students: A Pilot Study, Darius Lacy, Harikrishnaa Ba Ramaraju, Charanya Uppalapati, Kelly M. Harrell

Health Sciences Education Symposium

PURPOSE: The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is a clinical assessment used in medical education to demonstrate common clinical skills used in medical scenarios. While every LCME-accredited medical school is required to use OSCEs to assess student’s clinical skills, each medical school has slight variations to the course set up. In such standardized workshops, students have an opportunity to practice and demonstrate their competency in and integration of various clinical skills including medical interviewing, physical examination, clinical reasoning, note documentation, and professionalism.

Unfamiliarity with the OSCE format that is used to test clinical competence has been associated with significant …

The Role Of Peer-Teaching In Medical Education: Clinical Skills Curriculum, Lindsay Irwin, Kiana Rahimi, Kelly M. Harrell

Health Sciences Education Symposium

Purpose/Background/Objectives: Peer-teaching is a rapidly expanding field of education where students step into the role of instructors to aid their peers in learning. Currently, peer-teaching is widely used in K-12 education and universities, and is making headway in medical schools. In addition to the impact on learners, peer-teaching has been shown to benefit the growth of medical students as teachers, providing more self-efficacy, motivation, maturity, and professional development. Within the field of medical education, research focusing on the impact of peer-teaching demonstrates the largest foundation in procedural skills, showcasing benefits for both peer-teachers and learners. However, there are uncertainties in …

Do Adverse Childhood Experiences And Depressive Symptoms Predict Cannabis Use Among College Students Of Color, Llorielle Gregory-Jerome, Arlenis Santana Phd, Chelsea D. Williams Phd, The Spit For Science Working Group, Danielle M. Dick Phd

IRBEH/Spit for Science Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Predominantly Minoritized Neighborhood Racial Composition And Mindfulness Predicting Anxiety Symptoms Among Emerging Adult Students Of Color, Jason William Bonilla-Landers, Arlenis Santana Phd, Chelsea D. Williams Phd, The Spit For Science Working Group, Danielle M. Dick Phd

IRBEH/Spit for Science Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Controlling The Home: Material Expressions Of Anti-Roma Sentiment, Abby Lacuesta

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

The Romani people, also known as the Roma diaspora or simply the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group that has experienced centuries of oppression and stigmatization. Largely seen as a “nomadic” group, the issue of housing is at the core of exploring modern Roma struggles. One key question to further the research on the connection between anti-Roma sentiment and housing is questioning how housing has served as a physical expression of cultural anti-Roma sentiment. Though the Roma are commonly perceived as choosing their nomadism, this article seeks to deconstruct this stereotype through the lens of housing law, forced nomadism, and …

The Silence Of Noise, Sasi Valiveti

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Collaborative Leadership For Research Investigating Stem Teacher Preparation Across Many Institutions, Dana P. Franz, Keith Hubbard, Devon Brenner

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

This paper describes the creation of a collaborative research team investigating the impacts of education preparation on the recruitment and retention of science and mathematics teacher candidates in rural settings. Our collaborative research includes a core leadership team across 3 institutions and with collaboration across 14 total universities. We discuss the process from the inception through year two of this program, including the structure of leadership, communication techniques with the large group, and efforts to translate this research into scalable action. Using a framework for transdisciplinary research (Hall et al., 2012), we describe the processes and challenges that we encountered …

Trauma In Weird Literature: Weird Experiences And Neuropsychiatric Conditions, Mijin Cho

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

This study aims to explore the element of trauma or shock in weird fiction using H. P. Lovecraft’s “The Colour out of Space” as the focal text. I am interested in the cognitive estrangement and body disfigurement following encounters with the weird, which in this case would be the meteorite’s Colour, on the characters experiencing it in the story, including the Gardners and Ammi. The goal is to investigate our reactions to being pushed past our thresholds as human beings using analysis of characters, diction, and rhetoric in weird fiction stories and non-fiction patient narratives to better understand how weird …

A Three-Dimensional In Vitro Model Of Disease That Improves Preclinical Research By Incorporating Genetic Diversity And Increasing Physiological Accuracy, Akash Jagdeesh

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

Biomedical research is essential for the discovery of new medications and treatments, and is built upon the cooperation of preclinical (in vitro/vivo) research and clinical trials. However, 85% of treatments successful in vitro/vivo fail in clinical trials, suggesting that in vitro models are poor indicators of clinical success. The issue lies in conventional “two-dimensional” in vitro models containing genetically identical cells grown on a flat plate, which lack the variety of cell types and cooperation/structure found in real tissue. Moreover, 2D in vitro models do not simulate humans’ genotypic variability, which affects both pathophysiology and treatment effectiveness. In contrast, 3D …

Improving Medication-Enhanced Psychotherapy Options For Ptsd: The Potential Of Oxytocin As A Treatment For Hypervigilance In Women With A History Of Childhood Sexual Abuse And Related Ptsd, Elianna Bavuso

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a notable public health concern, affecting a significant proportion of girls in high-income countries. A considerable number of CSA survivors develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) by adolescence, which is often considered to be a lifelong disorder with severe emotional and social consequences. Women with CSA-related PTSD display hypervigilance, which is characterized by significantly increased fear network activity and poor top-down control over the amygdala. This meta-analysis examines the potential of intranasal oxytocin (OT) as a treatment for hypervigilance symptoms in women with CSA-related PTSD. The evidence reviewed suggests that intranasal oxytocin can help normalize the …

Examining Effects Of Perceived Discrimination And Loneliness On Overall Health Outcomes In Black Americans, Apoorva Saravanan

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

On average, Black Americans suffer more from a wide range of diseases when compared to White Americans. The national mortality rate for Black Americans is also 24% higher than their White counterparts. Although there are multiple factors contributing to such disparities, one line of research provides strong evidence that negative health outcomes are more likely to occur in Black Americans who experience racial discrimination than those who experience no discrimination. A separate line of research also provides evidence that loneliness is a major health risk factor. In fact, prior research indicates that the experience of discrimination and loneliness are both …

Disability Accommodation And Improving Accessibility In Public Transportation, Alexander Burdette

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

This paper addresses the need for accessibility in public transportation from a disabled perspective, focusing on four key areas wherein states can enact meaningful change. These areas as specified are physical accessibility, which concerns the built and engineered environment of public transit and surrounding areas; informational accessibility, which concerns the availability and clarity of information passengers need to navigate transit; management accessibility, which refers to the way information processing is handled by transit agencies when exchanging information with transit users; and social accessibility, which deals with the interpersonal environment that public transit creates and facilitates. Specific areas of attention are …