A Six-Month Comparison Of Orthodontic Pain Associated With Fixed Edgewise Appliances And Clear Aligners, Victor Chan

Theses and Dissertations

Title: A Six-Month Comparison of Orthodontic Pain Associated with Clear Aligners and Fixed Edgewise Appliances

Objective: To document and compare pain perception, intensity, and analgesic use over a sixmonth period between patients treated with fixed appliances (FA) and clear aligners (CA).

Methods: A prospective, parallel, two-arm, multi-center, longitudinal cohort study was conducted with 87 adults treated with CA (n=59) or FA (n=28). Subjects were selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. A seven-item, digital survey was sent at three timepoints (preappointment, 2-days post-appointment, and 7-days post-appointment) at each adjustment over a six-month period. The variables measured included pain experience, pain …

Thrive: Empowering Women's Health Through Healing Design, Tawny Chamberlain

Theses and Dissertations

MOTIVATION Despite the immense focus on patient-centered care over the past two decades, a lack of knowledge exists regarding how to apply these guidelines to women, which contributes to gender disparities in healthcare (Filler et al, 2020). For example, one in eight American women will have breast cancer in her lifetime, yet one third do not complete regular screenings (NCI, 2020), perhaps because mammograms and gynecological exams often cause significant anxiety and fear in women. Decreased engagement with providers, coupled with disjointed healthcare, leaves women in a vulnerable position. ISSUE There is ample evidence that well-designed spaces can help patients …

Discovery: A Visual Arts Elementary School, Cindy J. Perdomo

Theses and Dissertations

On average, school-age children spend more time in the classroom environment than they do at home. Why not provide environments that stimulate children’s curiosity to learn through visual arts? Including visual arts in educational programs can enhance students’ cognitive development, problem-solving abilities, cultural awareness, and critical thinking skills.

As someone who has attended various public schools in Florida, I’ve found that incorporating arts education into the curriculum can enhance students’ overall engagement with learning. Unfortunately, many students lack access to arts education due to a lack of funding and resources. Traditionally, the arts have been viewed as an opportunity for …

Welcome To The Sitting Garden At The Busy Hands Museum, Stacie Sabady

Theses and Dissertations

I wanted to attend VCU to learn how to unravel my mind and find the words to describe it. While I did make progress in that area, my surprise discovery is that I need to unravel my body too. It has become unbalanced from years of neglect. When working, I find solace through escape. I find a positive outlet for my perfectionist tendencies. I find a way to visually illustrate my obsessive qualities. Throughout the years of these findings, I have ignored my body pleading with me to take it easy. I have always honored the materials and the tools, …

Development Of A Qa Plan For A 3.0t Cannon Galan Mr-Sim, Nathaniel D. Teague

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: To develop and incorporate a QA (quality assurance) program for a Canon Galan 3 tesla MR Simulator for applications in radiation therapy.

Methods and materials: The QA program was centered around tests performed with three separate levels of frequency. The daily QA procedure consisted of scanning a vendor provided daily QA cube phantom that measures basic performance parameters. Additionally, a series of basic safety check were performed. The monthly QA procedure consisted of several tests, including scanning the ACR MRI large accreditation phantom and manually performing its corresponding image quality tests. Scanning the MagPhan RT for its detailed geometric …

“Trans Broken Arm Syndrome”: Examining Causal Antecedents Of Gender-Related Medical Misattribution And Invasive Questioning In An Analogous Healthcare Setting Through The Lens Of Person Perception, Catherine Wall

Theses and Dissertations

Transgender individuals face particular challenges when interacting with a cisgender focused medical system. Gender-related medical misattribution and invasive questioning (GRMMIQ), colloquially known by the tongue-in-cheek named “trans broken arm syndrome,” is a form of medical discrimination wherein a healthcare provider assumes that a transgender patient’s medical complaints, regardless of origin, result from their gender identity or medical transition. Previous research has suggested that this, and other forms of identity-related discrimination both in and outside of healthcare, might be understood either using a top-down approach focused on stereotypes founded in schema, or a bottom-up approach examining perceived typicality. One additional theory, …

Using Superatomic Clusters And Charge Transfer Ligands To Control Electronic Characteristics Of Phosphorene Nanoribbons And Phosphorene Monolayer, Ryan Lambert

Theses and Dissertations

Phosphorene is a two-dimensional electron poor p-type semiconductor with high carrier mobility and great promise for applications in electronics and optoelectronics. As the main theme in this dissertation, the following work represents different investigations of various electronic properties associated with phosphorene. Most notable are the findings on charge transfer doping with metal-chalcogenide superatoms which displays novel control of the two most important properties of a semiconductor – the band gap energy and the nature of carriers. By tuning the width of the gap and p-/n-type character of conduction, we gain control over a material’s capacity to play a certain role …

Prospective Investigation Of Insomnia Symptoms And Sleep Duration As Risk Factors For Stroke Incidence And All-Cause Mortality In U.S Adult, Wendemi Sawadogo

Theses and Dissertations

Background and Objectives: Stroke is the second leading cause of death in the world. In the United States, on average, someone has a stroke every 40 seconds and someone dies as a result of stroke every 3.5 minutes. Identifying modifiable risk factors of stroke is therefore a public health priority. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which insomnia symptoms and sleep duration contribute to stroke incidence, all-cause mortality, and explore potential causal pathways.

Methods: The Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study were …

Evaluating The Acute Effect Of Vaping On Food Intake, Gabrielle Maldonado

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Weight control is a common motive for continued cigarette smoking, and weight concerns pose a barrier to quitting. These effects are driven in part by nicotine’s ability to reduce overall appetite and ultimately body weight. Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) have been marketed and used for weight control, suggesting that the use of these products potentially may share similar effects as well as barriers to quitting as observed for cigarette smoking. However, little to no controlled clinical lab evidence exists supporting ENDS use for weight control. The present study tested the influence of an ENDS on acute eating behavior …

Association Of Interpersonal Trauma And Polygenic Risk Scores With Depressive Symptoms In College Students, Rowan K. O'Hara

Theses and Dissertations

Major depression is considered a complex trait influenced by both polygenic risk factors and environmental exposures, such as childhood trauma. This study applied statistical genetic methods to calculate aggregate genetic risk for major depression to predict depressive symptoms scores in a college student sample. Data were from the Spit for Science (S4S) study in which college students from a large urban university self-reported interpersonal trauma (IPT) exposure prior to college and depressive symptoms from the past month (N = 7502; ancestry group: 20% African [AFR], 12% Admixed Americas [AMR], 10% East Asian [EAS], 49% European [EUR], 8% South Asian [SAS]). …

Exploring Polyamorous Relationship Experiences Of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Pansexual Individuals, Jiale Man

Theses and Dissertations

Polyamory is a type of relationship under the consensual non-monogamy relationship umbrella that assumes the possibility, validity, and worthwhileness of maintaining romantic, sexual, and intimate relationships with multiple people simultaneously. In Western society, the prevalence and domination of mononormativity have led to the marginalization of relationships alternative to monogamy (i.e., polyamory). As a result, individuals in polyamorous relationships continue to experience bias, stigma, and discrimination at varying levels. With a rise in public interest in CNM in the past two decades, scientists and researchers have slowly started to examine various topics related to CNM, including its prevalence, public attitudes toward …

Quantifying Fibronectin Mechanical Properties Using Antibody-Mediated Optical Tweezing (Amot), Caleb Dalton

Theses and Dissertations

Despite decades of investigations into fibronectin (FN) fibrillogenesis, fibril mechanics remain unclear. One of the most important roles for FN fibrils is in the arena of cellular mechanotransduction. Numerous studies have demonstrated that cells sense and respond to the mechanical properties of their surroundings; since FN fibrils are a major constituent of the ECM that links cells to their surroundings, mechanotransduction cannot be fully understood without understanding the mechanical properties of FN fibrils. In this proposal, a novel biomechanical assay is developed to probe isolated FN fibrils and quantify their response to specific loading conditions. This will be accomplished by …

Coming Out To Treatment: Identifying Facilitators & Characterizing Experiences Of Sexual And Gender Minoritized Individuals In Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Before And During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Jaclyn S. Sadicario

Theses and Dissertations

Sexual and Gender Minority (SGM) individuals are disproportionately impacted by substance use disorders vs. their non-SGM counterparts. Additionally, SGM folks face more barriers to access for treatment than others due to minority stressors including discrimination, internalized stigma, and marginalization related to their sex and gender minority statuses. It is important for researchers and treating providers alike to understand how these different factors are impacting the treatment of substance use disorders in SGM populations. With this in mind, this two phase study employed a mixed-methods approach to (1) describe the population of SGM folks enrolled in a MOUD treatment program with …

“It's Just Not Enough”: Examining The Experiences Of School-Based Sexual Health Education And Conversation Engagement With Trusted Adults Among Black Boys In Richmond, Va, Sharyn A. Dougherty

Theses and Dissertations

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that youth make up a quarter of the sexually active population, yet account for half of the 20 million new sexually transmitted infections in the United States.In 2021, youth age 15-19 living in Virginia’s central region, which includes the Richmond Metropolitan area, had the second highest number of chlamydia cases and fourth highest number of gonorrhea cases among all age groups, with the highest rates among Black youth. The aim of this study is to explore the experiences of Black youth in Richmond, VA with school-based sexual health education (SHE) and their …

The Effect Of Strain And Drug Combinations On Ketamine's Locomotor Activating Effects In Rats, Caroline K. Flagler

Theses and Dissertations

Rationale: Initially developed as an anesthetic, ketamine is now used to treat a variety of disorders, including treatment resistant depression (TRD). While ketamine appears to be a breakthrough therapy for TRD, it has many use-limiting side effects, including abuse liability, psychotomimetic effects, and sedation. Utilizing ketamine in combination with other medications, such as the monoaminergic antidepressant desipramine (DSP), opioid antagonist naltrexone (NTX), and the NMDA receptor partial agonist D-cycloserine (DCS) may reduce side-effects resulting from ketamine therapy.

Objectives: The goal of this project was to study ketamine’s adverse effects using locomotor activation in an open field as a behavioral correlate …

Evaluation Of Spliceai For Improved Genetic Variant Classification In Inherited Ophthalmic Disease Genes, Melissa Reeves

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

EVALUATION OF SPLICEAI FOR IMPROVED GENETIC VARIANT CLASSIFICATION IN INHERITED OPHTHALMIC DISEASE GENES

By Melissa Jean Reeves, Ph.D.

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Virginia Commonwealth University, 2023

Major Director: Melissa Jamerson, PhD, MLS(ASCP)

Associate Professor, Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences

Inherited ophthalmic diseases impact individuals around the globe. Inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) are the leading cause of blindness in individuals aged 15 to 45. The personal, social, and economic impact of vision loss is profound. Due to individual differences, symptoms can be variable, and …

Role Of The Ormdls In Keratinocytes, Souad Hatmi

Theses and Dissertations

The epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin, serves as a vital barrier protecting the body from environmental stressors, pathogens, and dehydration. Keratinocytes, the predominant cell type in the epidermis, play a central role in maintaining skin integrity and barrier function. In normal human skin, keratinocytes move from the basal layer to the stratum corneum, the top layer of the epidermis. In their travel, keratinocytes undergo a process of terminal differentiation, loss their ability to proliferate, secrete sphingolipids into the extracellular space, and gradually loss their nucleus and organelles. Sphingolipids, particularly ceramides, are key components of the intercellular lipid lamellae …

Evaluating The Influence Of Concurrently Available Non-Drug Reinforcers On Drug Reinforcement Using Sophisticated Preclinical Models Of Substance Use Disorder, Madison M. Marcus

Theses and Dissertations

The maladaptive allocation of behavior towards cocaine and away from other concurrently available non-drug reinforcers (e.g., family, health, work, etc.) is a key characteristic of cocaine use disorder (CUD) that is embedded into multiple diagnostic criteria for CUD. Accordingly, basic research conducted in a drug-vs-food “choice” context has improved our fundamental knowledge of the behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms of drug reinforcement. However, to date, these preclinical studies have only been conducted with food as the alternative reinforcer. The extent to which other non-drug reinforcers compete with cocaine-taking behavior is unknown. The studies in this dissertation establish two sophisticated discrete-trial cocaine-vs-alternative …

Death In The Lowcountry: The Material Culture Of Burial In Hampton County, South Carolina, Quinn T. Terry

Theses and Dissertations

This research examines the markers of five burial grounds situated in Hampton County, South Carolina from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. These surveys, in tandem with the history of the region, contribute to the burial scholarship of the Southern United States. Hampton County’s burial landscape offers extended understandings of the culture of death in the South Carolina Lowcountry and the markers of the region offer a rich and varied burial landscape that further understandings of rural peoples in the South.

Well-Being From Home To Work: The Role Of Mindfulness, Alisha Gupta

Theses and Dissertations

Considering the growing spillover of work and home and its impact on well-being, I draw from the Work-Home Resources Model and Attention Restoration Theory to examine the effects of evening recovery experiences at home on mindfulness at work and eudaimonic workplace well-being. Specifically, I focus on two indicators of eudaimonic well-being—one indicator of psychological functioning (work meaningfulness) and one indicator of social functioning (high-quality connections; HQCs). Further, I introduce a boundary condition, distance from work, of the relationship between evening recovery experiences and mindfulness. I suggest that due to alternative work arrangements in today’s workforce (i.e., that permit increased overlap …

Quantitative And Molecular Genetic Analyses Of Brain Structure, Substance Use, And Posttraumatic Stress Phenotypes: Data From Children, Adolescents And Adults, Daniel Bustamante

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

QUANTITATIVE AND MOLECULAR GENETIC ANALYSES OF BRAIN-IMAGING, SUBSTANCE USE, AND POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS PHENOTYPES: DATA FROM CHILDREN, ADOLESCENTS AND ADULTS

By Daniel Bustamante, B.S., B.A.

Doctoral dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Integrative Life Sciences – Behavioral and Statistical Genetics at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Virginia Commonwealth University, 2023.

Dissertation directors: Michael C. Neale, Ph.D., Banks Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry & Human and Molecular Genetics; and, Ananda B. Amstadter, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry, Psychology, & Human and Molecular Genetics.

Substance use (SU) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) phenotypes are comorbid, share …

Characterization And Decoding Of Speech Activity From Intracranial Signals, Pedram Zanganeh Soroush

Theses and Dissertations

Speech is the first and foremost means of human communication. Millions of people worldwide suffer from severe speech disorders due to neurological diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), brain stem stroke, and severe paralysis. A speech neuroprosthesis that decodes speech directly from neural signals could dramatically improve life for these individuals. Recent studies have demonstrated that it is possible to decode and synthesize various aspects of acoustic speech directly from intracranial measurements of electrophysiological brain activity. For those who have completely lost the ability to speak, the objective is to synthesize acoustic speech directly from brain activity during imagined …

Novel Strategies In Head And Neck Tumor Therapy; Contribution Of Senescence In Therapy Response, And Resistance Development After Cisplatin Treatment, Fereshteh Ahmadinejad

Theses and Dissertations

Therapeutic outcomes achieved in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients by concurrent cisplatin-based chemoradiotherapy initially reflect both tumor regression and tumor stasis. However, local, and distant metastasis and disease relapse as well as cisplatin-induced resistance are common in HNSCC patients. In the current work, we demonstrate that cisplatin treatment induces senescence in both p53 wild- type HN30 and p53 mutant HN12 head and neck cancer models. We also show that tumor cells can escape from senescence both in vitro and in vivo. We further established a cisplatin-resistant cell line from HN30 parental cell line that underwent brief senescence …

Indigenous Long-Term Supports And Services – Elders, Traditional Knowledge, And Tree Rings, Cole Allick

Theses and Dissertations

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) Elders are rapidly aging and are a growing segment of Indian Country. Elders are critical to knowledge dissemination and enable the resiliency of Indigenous peoples through their teachings, wisdom, and guidance. There is a dire need to better understand and prepare for this rapidly aging population given that reliable data is limited or simply nonexistent. This dissertation in practice utilizes a framework inspired by Indigenous teachings of the Medicine Wheel and from the social ecological model to address the literature gap regarding Elders and healthy aging. This framework was created with intention that each …

Evaluating The Impact Of Electricity And Electron Movement On The Electric Grid From Distributed Generation, Cooper R. Wade

Theses and Dissertations

The United States’ electric grid is currently undergoing a monumental energy transition involving the incorporation of new fuel sources, generation types, and operational modifications. Since 1920, the U.S. energy collective has been overseen by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), where during this tenure they have pursued the direct regulation of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs). This reasoning has been utilized over 300 times in federal cases and proceedings as the adoption rate of DERs has increased, which is based upon the language allowing the federal regulation of electricity based upon the flow of electrons. This is based solely upon the …

Federated Vs Central Machine Learning On Diabetic Foot Ulcer Images: Comparative Simulations, Mahdi Saeedi

Theses and Dissertations

In the forefront of biomedical engineering, timely detection and treatment of diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are pivotal for enhancing patient outcomes. This study explores the advancements of machine learning, adopting a federated learning framework to augment the precision and privacy of medical image analysis for DFU identification. Federated learning, a decentralized machine learning approach, proves essential, enabling the collaborative training of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) across a network of healthcare providers while upholding the sanctity of patient data confidentiality. The study employs the U-Net architecture, acclaimed for its adeptness in biomedical image segmentation. It showcases that through federated learning, the …

Matlab-Based Simulation Of A Hybridized Tri-Generation Geothermal-Wind-Solar System In Bowman County, North Dakota, Moones Alamooti

Theses and Dissertations

Bowman County, North Dakota, currently relies on coal for over half of its electricity, contributing to significant greenhouse gas emissions. This study employs advanced MATLAB-based modeling to assess the feasibility of transitioning to a hybrid renewable energy system. The designed system includes capacities of 85.7 MW for wind, 24.4 MW for solar PV, 2.03 MW for geothermal, and 195 MWh for storage, tailored to meet the county's growing daily energy demands. Simulations confirm the system's ability to fulfill over 90% of projected daily loads by 2040, with a competitive levelized cost of $105.226/MWh over 15 years. This customized solution reduces …

Application Of Artificial Treatment Wetland Systems In The English Coulee, Michael Anthony Rosati

Theses and Dissertations

Artificial treatment wetlands are commonly used for treating urban stormwater runoffand surface waters affected by agricultural runoff. While this method is well-established, its effectiveness can vary based on environmental, design, and hydraulic factors. In Grand Forks, ND, the English Coulee, a hydraulically altered class III stream, is currently experiencing elevated nutrient pollution, specifically nitrates and phosphates. Implementing a floating treatment wetland (FTW) system in the English Coulee is a potential solution. This paper analyzes the feasibility and requirements for a 4.64 ha FTW to achieve a minimum of 50% nutrient removal, utilizing comprehensive modeling approaches. Through HEC-HMS and HECRAS simulations, …

Machine Learning And Data Mining To Validate The Prognostics And Predictive Breast Cancer Biomarkers On A Large Racially Diverse Population, Kalli Scheafer

Theses and Dissertations

Breast cancer biomarkers have great potential in providing clinicians more individualized information about the composition and outcomes of a patient’s breast cancer. However, many breast cancer biomarkers have not been evaluated on a large scale or in groups of patients with diverse characteristics, leading to difficulty in their translation to having an impact on patients. In this study, we compile a large, pooled breast cancer patient data cohort and evaluate breast cancer biomarkers on patients with diverse characteristics. Biomarkers are found to have varying expression patterns within the different breast cancer subtypes, validating the need to evaluate biomarkers on patient …

Supporting Positive Mental Health Well Being In Indigenous Youth And Young Adults, Mona Zuffante

Theses and Dissertations

American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) youth and young adults are the hope for Tribal Nations. In order to decrease the suicidal related behaviors among youth, age 12-24, engagement of this population is required. Historical trauma has impacted this generation, reducing Elders ability to share knowledge, which has resulted in a mental health crisis that is having a devastating effect on youth and young adults. The need to create prevention programs, informed by the youth, that increase positive mental health is needed. This dissertation in practice utilizes a framework grounded in Indigenous teachings and from the Social Ecological Model to …