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Optimization Of Feature Selection In A Brain-Computer Interface Switch Based On Event-Related Desynchronization And Synchronization Detected By Eeg, Mason Montgomery May 2012

Optimization Of Feature Selection In A Brain-Computer Interface Switch Based On Event-Related Desynchronization And Synchronization Detected By Eeg, Mason Montgomery

Theses and Dissertations

There are hundreds of thousands of people who could benefit from a Brain-Computer Interface. However, not all are willing to undergo surgery, so an EEG is the prime candidate for use as a BCI. The features of Event-Related Desynchronization and Synchronization could be used for a switch and have been in the past. A new method of feature selection was proposed to optimize classification of active motor movement vs a non-active idle state. The previous method had pre-selected which frequency and electrode to use as electrode C3 at the 20Hz bin. The new method used SPSS statistical software to determine …


Refining Vibrationally-Resonant Sum Frequency Generation Spectroscopy For Studies Of Interfacial Interactions, Alexander D. Curtis May 2012

Refining Vibrationally-Resonant Sum Frequency Generation Spectroscopy For Studies Of Interfacial Interactions, Alexander D. Curtis

Theses and Dissertations

Many phenomena of interest to science and engineering occur at interfaces; however, access to, or discrimination of, interfacial interactions has been challenging, especially at buried interfaces. Vibrationally resonant sum-frequency generation (VR-SFG) spectroscopy is a powerful tool for investigating the molecular structure of free or buried interfaces, but spectral analysis has relied on many assumptions. To claim accurate new insights, practitioners must be able to make unique determinations from the data without experimental artifacts affecting the final results. For example, two independent and overlapping studies for the polystyrene/air interface were carried out, but reported different surface structures. Initially, this difference was …


Synthesis And Biological Evaluation Of Second Generation Anibamine Analogues As Novel Anti-Prostate Cancer Agents, Shilpa Singh May 2012

Synthesis And Biological Evaluation Of Second Generation Anibamine Analogues As Novel Anti-Prostate Cancer Agents, Shilpa Singh

Theses and Dissertations

Prostate cancer is the most prevalent non-cutaneous cancer among men. Since the 19th century when Virchow first introduced the concept of inflammation in cancer, chemokines and their receptors have garnered a lot of interest. Chemokine receptor CCR5 has been especially implicated in many disease states and recently found to be over expressed in prostate cancer cell lines. Anibamine, a natural CCR5 antagonist discovered in 2004, has been found to have significant anti-prostate cancer activity at micromolar level. To optimize this compound and also discover a novel pharmacophore, exploration of the original structure was carried out. Significant modifications were made to …


The Need For Collaboration In Planning Efforts During Natural Disasters: An Evaluation Of The City Of Richmond, Virginia, Jocelyn Leitch May 2012

The Need For Collaboration In Planning Efforts During Natural Disasters: An Evaluation Of The City Of Richmond, Virginia, Jocelyn Leitch

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis evaluates whether or not information data sharing is effectively used between federal, state, and local government agencies and non-governmental agencies in a metropolitan area during and immediately after a major natural disaster. Also, whether vulnerable populations were identified and considered during emergency management. The chosen study area is the City of Richmond, VA, and the disaster response is based on flooding episodes that occurred in the city over the last decade following hurricanes and tropical depressions. Questionnaires were administered to representatives of federal, state, and local agencies and NGOs. The questionnaires consisted of a Likert-style series of 10 …


Reckless Hope, Jesse Potts May 2012

Reckless Hope, Jesse Potts

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an approximation of several years spent in the studio. It represents an equitable exercise of memory and speculation.


The Dragons In Your Dreams, Jacquelyn Walther May 2012

The Dragons In Your Dreams, Jacquelyn Walther

Theses and Dissertations

What if every craving that you ever felt stayed with you forever? Suppose facades couldn’t exist, and what should only be the deepest, densest core of a desire was formed into a mass, a body. Its will matching yours in its physical presence. I make creatures that are embodiments of emotions. In this study I mainly focus on desires and inhibitions surrounding romance. I explore anatomical structures and how material make-up can directly reflect emotional character. In this exploration, the materiality of clay allows for a thorough manipulation of the composition of the creatures. In this I am also able …


Identification Of Latent Subgroups Of Obese Adolescents Enrolled In A Healthy Weight Management Program, Cassie Brode May 2012

Identification Of Latent Subgroups Of Obese Adolescents Enrolled In A Healthy Weight Management Program, Cassie Brode

Theses and Dissertations

In obesity research, it is assumed that the population is homogeneous. While this approach has yielded important insights, testing this supposition might reveal information that could impact our understanding of the phenomena and its treatment. In this study, data from obese teenagers (N = 248, Mean BMI percentile = 99%; Mean age = 13.9, SD = 1.8) who were predominantly minority (n = 182), female (n = 169), and enrolled in a weight loss intervention were analyzed. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to segment patients into groups based on their scores on PedsQL 4.0 scales (physical-, emotional-, social-, and …


Efficacy Of Reach Forgiveness For Foreign And Virginia Students, Yin Lin May 2012

Efficacy Of Reach Forgiveness For Foreign And Virginia Students, Yin Lin

Theses and Dissertations

People agree that forgiveness is a virtue in essentially all countries. However, different cultures have different ideas about how willing one should forgive and under what circumstances. Although the study occurred in the USA, I recruited both foreign-extraction and Virginia born-and-raised female college students (N=102) to participate a six-hour REACH forgiveness intervention, promoting their forgiveness through psychoeducational groups. In my thesis, I investigated whether students of foreign extraction and Virginia-born students would respond similarly to the intervention. I operationalized culture in two ways—by country and by individual self-reported self-construal. I measured forgiveness using two measures—decisional forgiveness and emotional forgiveness. I …


Function Of Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 7 (Igfbp7) In Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Dong Chen May 2012

Function Of Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 7 (Igfbp7) In Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Dong Chen

Theses and Dissertations

Title of Dissertation: FUNCTION OF INSULIN-LIKE GROWTH FACTOR BINDING PROTEIN 7(IGFBP7) IN HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA By Dong Chen. Purpose: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly virulent malignancy with no effective treatment, thus requiring the development of innovative and effective targeted therapies. The oncogene Astrocyte Elevated Gene-1 (AEG-1) plays a seminal role in hepatocarcinogenesis and profoundly downregulates Insulin-like Growth Factor Binding Protein-7 (IGFBP7). The present study focuses on analyzing potential tumor suppressor functions of IGFBP7 in HCC and the relevance of IGFBP7 downregulation in mediating AEG-1 function. Experimental Design: IGFBP7 expression was detected by immunohistochemistry in HCC tissue microarrays by real-time PCR …


Population Based Model Of Gonorrhea And Interventions Against Increased Antibiotic Resistance, Courtney Henry May 2012

Population Based Model Of Gonorrhea And Interventions Against Increased Antibiotic Resistance, Courtney Henry

Theses and Dissertations

Gonnorrhea is an infectious sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae that commonly reproduces in the reproductive tract.The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that more than 700,000 individuals in the U.S. contract new gonorrheal infections per year. During recent years, there has been a progressive global increase of drug-resistant strains of gonorrhea. Therefore, there exists the necessity for health organizations to encourage the monitoring, research and development of innovative treatment regimens. We have developed multiple mathematical models to explore the gonorrheal disease state. The first objective of model formulation was to fit the model …


Characterization Of Superhydrophobic Surfaces Fabricated Using Ac-Electrospinning And Random Particle Deposition, Mohamed Samaha Jr. May 2012

Characterization Of Superhydrophobic Surfaces Fabricated Using Ac-Electrospinning And Random Particle Deposition, Mohamed Samaha Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Surfaces with static contact angle greater than 150 degrees are typically classified as superhydrophobic. Such coatings have been inspired by the lotus leaf. As water flows over a superhydrophobic surface, "slip effect" is produced resulting in a reduction in the skin-friction drag exerted on the surface. Slip flow is caused by the entrapment of a layer of air between water and the surface. Superhydrophobicity could be utilized to design surfaces for applications such as energy conservation, noise reduction, laminar-to-turbulent-transition delay, and mixing enhancement. A popular method of manufacturing a superhydrophobic surface is microfabrication in which well-designed microgrooves and/or poles are …


N-Terminal Processing Of Ribosomal Protein L27 In Staphylococcus Aureus, J. Harry Caufield May 2012

N-Terminal Processing Of Ribosomal Protein L27 In Staphylococcus Aureus, J. Harry Caufield

Theses and Dissertations

The bacterial ribosome is essential to cell growth yet little is known about how its proteins attain their mature structures. Recent studies indicate that certain Staphlyococcus aureus bacteriophage protein sequences contain specific sites that may be cleaved by a non-bacteriophage enzyme (Poliakov et al. 2008). The phage cleavage site was found to bear sequence similarity to the N-terminus of S. aureus ribosomal protein L27. Previous studies in E. coli (Wower et al.1998; Maguire et al. 2005) found that L27 is situated adjacent to the ribosomal peptidyl transferase site, where it likely aids in new peptide formation. The predicted S. aureus …


Impacts Of Rdx Soil Contamination Across An Age Gradient For The Native Shrub Morella Cerifera., Stephen Via May 2012

Impacts Of Rdx Soil Contamination Across An Age Gradient For The Native Shrub Morella Cerifera., Stephen Via

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the impacts of explosive contamination on vegetation is key to understanding explosives behavior in the environment. I quantified shrub growth responses to 1,3,5-trinitroperhydro-1,35-triazine (RDX) soil contamination across three life stages and I hypothesized that RDX would have the greatest impact on seed germination. Morella cerifera seeds were germinated on soils amended with RDX up to 1500 mg RDX kg-1 dry soil. Juvenile and adult individuals were exposed for 6 weeks to soil amended with RDX up to 750 and 1500 mg RDX kg-1 dry soil, respectively. Morphological responses were quantified for juveniles while physiological measurements were quantified for adults. …


Design, Fabrication, And Testing Of A Pdms Micropump With Moving Membranes, Charles Cartin May 2012

Design, Fabrication, And Testing Of A Pdms Micropump With Moving Membranes, Charles Cartin

Theses and Dissertations

This paper will discuss the design, fabrication, and testing of a Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microfluidic pump. PDMS is commonly described as a soft polymer with very appealing chemical and physical properties such as optical transparency, low permeability to water, elasticity, low electrical conductivity, and flexible surface chemistry. PDMS microfluidic device fabrication is done easily with the use of soft lithography and rapid prototyping. PDMS microfluidic devices make it easier to integrate components and interface devices with particular users, than using typically harder materials such as glass and silicon. Fabrication and design of single and multilayer PDMS microfluidic devices is much easier …


Comparison Of Root Canal Irrigation Systems In Reducing Intracanal Microorganisms Using Saline-An In Vitro Study, Pranav Desai May 2012

Comparison Of Root Canal Irrigation Systems In Reducing Intracanal Microorganisms Using Saline-An In Vitro Study, Pranav Desai

Theses and Dissertations

Mechanical and chemical debridement plays an important role in reducing intracanal microorganisms. Effective root canal irrigation depends on both the root canal irrigant and irrigation system. The objective of this study was to evaluate the debridement efficiency of four root canal irrigation systems, Endovac®, PiezoFlow™, EndoActivator® and traditional needle irrigation using saline as an irrigant. Seventy-five, single canal, extracted, mature teeth were selected. Teeth were standardized to canal lengths of 15 mm and instrumented to Master Apical File size #40 with 4% taper. Teeth were mounted in a centrifuge tube using PVS impression material. Teeth were randomly divided into four …


Spatial Patterns Of Herbaceous And Woody Recruitment In A Recently Restored Mixed Tidal Regime Freshwater Wetland, James B. Deemy May 2012

Spatial Patterns Of Herbaceous And Woody Recruitment In A Recently Restored Mixed Tidal Regime Freshwater Wetland, James B. Deemy

Theses and Dissertations

Ecological restoration of a converted wetland was characterized within a recently drained impoundment along the James River in Charles City County, Virginia. Colonizing vegetation was assessed over three growing seasons in both tidal and non-tidal environments. Study objectives were to (1) examine geospatial relations of recruitment patterns among colonizing species over three growing seasons, (2) quantify species composition and potential differences between extant species cover and soil seed banks across restored and natural wetland habitats and (3) assess geospatial patterns to develop a GIS model of bald cypress (Taxodium distichum L.) recruitment. The two most common native colonizing species during …


Mapping Women's Movement In Medieval England, Claire Clement May 2012

Mapping Women's Movement In Medieval England, Claire Clement

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates women’s geographical movement in medieval England from the perspective of mobility and freedom. It uses pilgrimage accounts from medieval miracle story collections and to gather information about individual travel patterns. The study uses GIS to analyze gendered mobility patterns, and to investigate whether there were noticeable differences in the distance which men and women traveled and the geographical area of the country they originated. It also analyzes the nearness of men’s and women’s respective origin towns to alternative pilgrimage locations, as a means of examining the factors determining gendered travel mobility. The study finds that women’s travel …


Expression Of Foreign Genes In The Pseudomonas Bacteriophage Pf3, Krystin Weathers May 2012

Expression Of Foreign Genes In The Pseudomonas Bacteriophage Pf3, Krystin Weathers

Theses and Dissertations

Filamentous bacteriophages were engineered to express foreign genes with the ultimate purpose of displaying transmission control anti-malarial peptides as in phage display. It was hypothesized that expression of foreign genes would be possible using the phage’s promoters. This hypothesis was tested by assuming that promoters for the phage major coat protein (MCP) gene would also promote the expression of any foreign gene inserted downstream of the MCP gene. As proof of principle, the bacteriophages Pf3, Pf1, and M13 were engineered in this way to successfully synthesize Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein (EGFP). Type 88 phage display on the EGFP recombinant Pf3 …


Radiation Sensitization Of Breast Cancer Cells By Vitamin D Through The Promotion Of Autophagic Cell Death, Eden Wilson May 2012

Radiation Sensitization Of Breast Cancer Cells By Vitamin D Through The Promotion Of Autophagic Cell Death, Eden Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

Radiation therapy is a widely used tool in cancer therapy and is frequently offered as the first line of treatment for cancers of the breast. While radiotherapy is often initially effective in killing tumor cells or suppressing their growth, there are factors that confer tumor cell resistance to irradiation. Development of resistance may lead to disease recurrence despite the use of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. A primary goal of the studies in Dr. Gewirtz’s laboratory is to develop strategies to overcome resistance to radiation (and chemotherapy) in breast cancer, with the ultimate goal of preventing or attenuating disease recurrence. …


In Vivo Immunotoxicological Evaluation Of Electrospun Polycaprolactone (Epcl) And Investigation Of Epcl As A Drug Delivery System For Immunomodulatory Compounds, Colleen Mcloughlin May 2012

In Vivo Immunotoxicological Evaluation Of Electrospun Polycaprolactone (Epcl) And Investigation Of Epcl As A Drug Delivery System For Immunomodulatory Compounds, Colleen Mcloughlin

Theses and Dissertations

Electrospun materials have potential use in many biomedical applications such as soft tissue replacements or as scaffolds to target drug delivery to local sites. Electrospinning is a polymer processing technique that can be used to create materials composed of fibers with diameters ranging from the micron to the nanoscale. We investigated the effects of microfibrous and nanofibrous electrospun polycaprolactone (EPCL) on innate, cell-mediated, and humoral components of the immune system. Results demonstrated that in both young (12 week) and old (6 month) mice, EPCL had no effect on various immune parameters. With its lack of immunotoxicity, EPCL presents an excellent …


The Reciprocal Relation Between Maternal Depressive Symptomatology And Adolescents’ Aggression: The Role Of Parenting Practices And Family Functioning, Kelly Pugh May 2012

The Reciprocal Relation Between Maternal Depressive Symptomatology And Adolescents’ Aggression: The Role Of Parenting Practices And Family Functioning, Kelly Pugh

Theses and Dissertations

Research on family influences on adolescents’ aggression has revealed a relation between maternal depressive symptoms and adolescents’ frequency of aggression. A recent cross-sectional study of these relations (Pugh & Farrell, 2011) indicated that maternal depressive symptoms had a significant relation with teachers,’ students,’ and mothers’ reports of adolescents’ aggression. This effect was mediated by parenting practices and family functioning. The cross-sectional designs used in previous studies examining relations between maternal depressive symptoms and adolescents’ aggression make it difficult to draw clear inferences regarding the causal nature of this association. The present study used longitudinal data across five waves of data …


Functional And Biochemical Consequences Of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms In The Human Vesicular Monoamine Transporter 1 Gene (Slc18a1) By Sally Gamal Shukry, B.S., Sally Gamal Shukry May 2012

Functional And Biochemical Consequences Of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms In The Human Vesicular Monoamine Transporter 1 Gene (Slc18a1) By Sally Gamal Shukry, B.S., Sally Gamal Shukry

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract FUNCTIONAL AND BIOCHEMICAL CONSEQUENCES OF SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE POLYMORPHISMS IN THE HUMAN VESICULAR MONOAMINE TRANSPORTER 1 GENE (SLC18A1) By Sally Gamal Shukry, B.S. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Biology at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2012 Major Advisor: Jennifer K. Stewart Associate Professor and Graduate Director, Department of Biology Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the human VMAT1 gene (SLC18A1) have been associated with schizophrenia in three different populations: Han Chinese, Western European and Japanese. Effects of these mutations on transport function of the hVMAT1 protein have not …


Interspecific Hybridization Among Black Basses (Micropterus Spp.) In The Chattahoochee River, Columbus Georgia, Kimberly S. Holley May 2012

Interspecific Hybridization Among Black Basses (Micropterus Spp.) In The Chattahoochee River, Columbus Georgia, Kimberly S. Holley

Theses and Dissertations

Interspecific hybridization can lead to the evolution of a new hybrid species or extinction of parental species due to competition or excessive backcrossing, When parental populations differ in abundance, hybrids tend to backcross more frequently with the more abundant parent, resulting in asymmetrical introgression. The objective of this study was to determine the extent and apparent direction of hybridization between shoal bass {Micropterus cataractae), a rare endemic species to the Apalachicola drainage, and spotted bass (M. punctulatus), an introduced and more abundant species. Pelvic fin tissue (N = 130) was taken from bass species in the Chattahoochee River between Columbus, …


Host Fish Assessment And Gravidity For The Mussel Elliptoideus Sloatianus, Andrew Hartzog May 2012

Host Fish Assessment And Gravidity For The Mussel Elliptoideus Sloatianus, Andrew Hartzog

Theses and Dissertations

Elliptoideus sloatianus (purple bankclimber) is a freshwater mussel that m endemic to the Apalachicola River Basin, which includes the Chattahoochee, Flint, Chipola, and Apalachicola Rivers. Populations of E. sloatianus also exist in the Ochlockonee River, which discharges independently from the ACF basin into the Gulf of Mexico. In 1998, E. sloatianus was listed as federally threatened due to the loss of suitable habitat and the potential blockage of host fish passage into areas where the mussel lives. For this study, we located three populations of £. sloatianus in the Flint River in southwest Georgia. Gravid mussels were collected in late …


Chronic Medical Disorders And Stressful Life Events In Late Life Depression In Older Adults, Comfort T. Seibure, May 2012

Chronic Medical Disorders And Stressful Life Events In Late Life Depression In Older Adults, Comfort T. Seibure,

Theses and Dissertations

Approximately 7 million of the nation's adults aged 65 years and older are affected by depression, which leaves them with persistent feeling of sadness, anxiety, emptiness hopelessness and pessimism. The purpose of this independent study is to provide a review of the literature of late life depression (LLD) in the context of chronic medical disorders and stressful life events, detection tools and methods of interventions. Evidence indicates that comorbid depression is often misdiagnosed and undertreated or not diagnosed at all in older adults. The tendency for older adults to have chronic medical disorders, experiencing stressful 10 life events are high …


Cardiovascular Disease And Vitamin D Deficiency, Lori Nelson May 2012

Cardiovascular Disease And Vitamin D Deficiency, Lori Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

Vitamin D deficiency is a common health condition affecting a significant number of individuals throughout the world. For years vitamin D has generated interest in reducing osteoporosis because of its role in bone and calcium metabolism. Recently low concentrations have been linked to the development of several cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, heart failure, atherosclerosis and peripheral arterial disease. The purpose of this article is to examine evidence regarding vitamin D deficiency and cardiovascular disease and provide advanced practice nurses with recommendations regarding supplementation in those individuals with vitamin D deficiency and risk for development of cardiovascular disease.


Pre-Hospital Induced Therapeutic Hypothermia Improves Neurological Outcomes, Mark S. Kosten May 2012

Pre-Hospital Induced Therapeutic Hypothermia Improves Neurological Outcomes, Mark S. Kosten

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Post-Conflict Governance In Nahr El Bared Palestinian Refugee Camp: The State's Technologies Of Control And Shifts In Unrwa Practices, Sheeraz Moujally May 2012

Post-Conflict Governance In Nahr El Bared Palestinian Refugee Camp: The State's Technologies Of Control And Shifts In Unrwa Practices, Sheeraz Moujally

Theses and Dissertations

On the fifth anniversary of the Nahr El Bared War, this thesis seeks to historicize the re-establishment mechanisms of the post-conflict governance of the Nahr El Bared Palestinian refugee camp, almost razed to the ground following a fierce battle between the Lebanese Army and the Salafi multinational militia Fatah Al Islam in May-September 2007. In Lebanon, Palestinian camps are deprived of classical state-like governance, as Palestinian refugees are excluded from legal protection and civil rights and their spaces have been de-domesticated since 1969. In this context, this thesis captures the interplay of the competing sovereignties, each trying to impose its …


Hypertension: Lifestyle Modifications In The Prevention And Treatment, Natalie J. Gustafson May 2012

Hypertension: Lifestyle Modifications In The Prevention And Treatment, Natalie J. Gustafson

Theses and Dissertations

Serious health consequences related to hypertension are amenable to lifestyle modifications. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to review the literature to determine evidence-based lifestyle recommendations in the prevention and treatment of hypertension. Searches were completed through Pub Med and CINAHL. Search terms included "blood pressure," "hypertension," "behavior modifications," and "lifestyle changes." Initial searches lead to the following primary topics of research: alcohol intake, food habits, sodium reduction, weight loss, exercise and behavior therapy. The findings of this literature review indicate that in the prevention and treatment of hypertension; alcohol intake should be reduced, a DASH style dietary pattern …


Childhood Obesity: Intervening In Utero, Mary Lee Beck May 2012

Childhood Obesity: Intervening In Utero, Mary Lee Beck

Theses and Dissertations

The prevalence of childhood obesity has risen to epidemic proportions in this country. American Indian youth are disproportionately affected by this epidemic and its comorbidities, like diabetes, when compared to whites, and even other minorities. There is no single determinant of cause. Currently interventions are focused at the individual, family, community and environmental levels. Perhaps the most important component in this epidemic, however, is being overlooked: the health status of the mother during pregnancy. There is strong evidence that obesity and diabetes are perpetually cycled from mother to baby during pregnancy, and maternal obesity and diabetes play a significant role …