Digital Commons Network^™

Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (Rsa) In Adults With Possible Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asd) Symptoms, Arielle Bowers

ETD Archive

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are a group of developmental disorders, which are becoming a major health concern within the US. According to The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM–5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) an ASD includes the following features: continuous impairments associated with social communicative and interactive skills, replication of specific, patterned behaviors and/or attentiveness to specific interests. Recent psychophysiological research has looked at how high and low respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) activity may be related to a lack of social communicative skills relating to social cognition, which are hallmark features of individuals who have been …

The Black Death And Giovanni Bocaccio's The Decameron's Portrayal Of Merchant Mentality, Rachel D. Rickel

ETD Archive

Giovanni Boccaccio was a contemporary witness to the effects of the Black Death pandemic, the Yersinia pestis bacterial pandemic in Europe between the years 1346-53, causing 75 million to 200 million deaths across the continent alone. In The Decameron, Boccaccio depicts the outbreak’s high-mortality rates and how that was a catalyst for many social and cultural changes within fourteenth-century Europe. He also goes on to portray the devastating effects of death on, not only the physical bodies of people and animals, but also on their mental, emotional, and spiritual states, and how this accelerated their acceptance of the rising …

Green Buildings: Lease Structure, Productivity, And Regional Economic Impacts, Eun Kyu Lee

ETD Archive

In an effort to apply the sustainability movement to the built environment, sustainable construction has gained substantial strength and momentum in global society. A growing body of literature reveals the positive effects of sustainable, or green, buildings in terms of real estate market premiums, energy cost savings, employee productivity, and regional economic growth. In this context, my dissertation examines three research topics pertaining to sustainable buildings, and does so in three separate chapters.

The first study discusses the effect of lease structure on the tenant’s willingness to pay for energy-efficient building features, and compares the tenant’s stated willingness to pay …

Sex-Bias In Lupus-Prone (Nzbxnzw)F1 Mice: The Interplay Of Gr1+Cd11b+ Cells, Testosterone And Genetics, Abhishek Trigunaite

ETD Archive

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a prototypic systemic autoimmune disorder predominantly (9:1) targeting females. Currently, there is no cure for SLE and also there is a lack of disease predicting biomarkers. The major aim of my research is to determine the cellular basis of the sex bias in SLE and subsequently facilitate the development of better therapeutics and biomarkers for the disease. In (NZBxNZW) F1 mice a similar female bias is observed as in humans and testosterone is shown to be protective against lupus-like disease development, but the mechanism is not well understood.

We found higher levels of Gr1hiCD11b+ myeloid …

Development And Validation Of Uplc/Ms/Ms Methods For Quantification Of Gangliosides In The Clinical Study Of Ganglioside Gm3 Synthase Deficiency, Qianyang Huang

ETD Archive

Gangliosides are a large subclass of glycosphingolipids that structurally characterized by the addition of mono- or poly-sialyated carbohydrate moieties onto the ceramide scaffold. They are presented at significant abundance in the central nervous system of vertebrates. Their interactions with trans-membrane receptors, especially receptor tyrosine kinase, are believed to play critical roles in modulating signal transduction events during cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, and adhesion. Furthermore, the disruption and dysfunction on their metabolism have been found to be associated with various neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer disease, Parkinson’s disease, and GM3 synthase deficiency. GM3 synthase deficiency (GSD) is a newly identified neurological …

Study Of Electron Transfer Through The Reductase Domain Of Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase And Development Of Bacterial Nitric Oxide Synthase Inhibitors, Yue Dai

ETD Archive

Crystal structure of neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase reductase (nNOSr) implies that large-scale domain motion is essential for electron transfer. However, the details are not well understood. To address this, we generated a functioning “Cys-lite” version of nNOSr and then replaced the nNOSr Glu816 and Arg1229 residues with Cys in the FMN and FAD domains (CL5SS) in order to allow cross-domain disulfide bond formation under pH 9 or to cross-linking using bis-maleimides. Cross-linked CL5SS exhibited a =95% decrease in cytochrome c reductase activity and reduction of the disulfide bond restored the activities. The results demonstrate that a conformational equilibrium involving FMN …

Application Of Advanced Analytical Technologies To Drug Development Studies And Cancer Detection, Ramakrishna Reddy Voggu

ETD Archive

In the past decade, bioanalytical method development has become an integral part of the clinical diagnosis, biomarker discovery, and drug discovery and development. The new and emerged bioanalytical techniques allow the quantitative and qualitative analysis of bio molecules with remarkably high sensitivity and specificity. Specifically, these bioanalytical methods based on LC-MS and methylation-specific PCR are well suited for detecting low-abundance metabolites in various biological fluids and DNA in plasma and tissues for biomarker investigation. They offer great clinical promise for early disease diagnosis and therapeutic intervention. This dissertation broadly organized into two parts, part one talks about the application of …

Rna-Protein Interactions In The U12-Dependent Spliceosome, Jagjit Singh

ETD Archive

Nuclear precursor messenger RNA (Pre-mRNA) splicing is an important regulatory step in metazoan gene expression. More than 99% of nuclear pre-mRNA introns are U2-type that are spliced by U2-dependent spliceosome containing U1, U2, U4, U5 and U6 snRNAs. Only less than 1% of the introns are U12-type and spliced by U11, U12, U4atac, U5 and U6atac snRNAs. U12 and U6atac snRNAs play a central role in the splicing of U12-dependent introns. Our previous work demonstrated that the conserved 3' stem-loop region of U6atac snRNA contains a U12-dependent spliceosome-specific targeting activity, however any potential molecular mechanism was unclear. We discovered that …

Links Between Depressive Symptoms And Unmet Health And Social Care Needs Among Older Prisoners, Kate O'Hara, Katrina Forsyth, Roger Webb, Jane Senior, Adrian Hayes, David Challis, Seena Fazel, Jenny Shaw

Articles

Background: absolute numbers of older prisoners and their proportion of the total prison population are increasing. They have multiple health and social care needs that are prominent on entry into prison. No previous studies have identifed older prisoners’health and social care needs at this crucial point Objective: to examine unmet health and social care needs among older men entering prison and their links with depressive symptoms.

Models Of Internal Waves In The Presence Of Currents, Alan Compelli, Rossen Ivanov

Conference papers

A fluid system consisting of two domains is examined. The system is considered as being bounded at the bottom and top by a flatbed and wave-free surface respectively. An internal wave propagating in one direction, driven by gravity, acts as a free common interface between the fluids. Various current profiles are considered. The Hamiltonian of the system is determined and expressed in terms of canonical wave-related variables. Limiting behaviour is examined and compared to that of other known models. The linearised equations as well as long-wave approximations are formulated. The presented models provide potential applications to modelling of internal geophysical …

A Competitive Random Sequential Adsorption Model For Immunoassay Activity, Dana Mackey, Eilis Kelly, Robert Nooney

Conference papers

Immunoassays rely on highly specific reactions between antibodies and antigens and are used in biomedical diagnostics applications to detect biomarkers for a variety of diseases. Antibody immobilization to solid interfaces through random adsorption is a widely used technique but has the disadvantage of severely reducing the antigen binding activity and, consequently, the assay performance. This paper proposes a simple mathematical framework, based on the theory known as competitive random sequential adsorption (CRSA), for describing how the activity of immobilized antibodies depends on their orientation and packing density and generalizes a previous model by introducing the antibody aspect ratio as an …

Day 2 - The Proposal Pre-Mortem: Responding To Reviewer Comments Before You Get Them, Laura Razzolini

Ready, Set, Grant! Presentations

No one wants to receive negative comments from grant reviewers. So what skills and strategies can you build to guard yourself against such reviews. In this workshop, we will discuss grant panelist comments from various sponsors, and the range of decisions that must be made when faced with some of the most challenging concerns: conflicting comments; vague comments; critique about science that is well-justified in the narrative; etc. Workshop participants will then work small groups to meet two objectives. First, attendees will analyze reviewer comments to develop a response strategy. Participants can bring their own comments and questions for feedback …

Day 1 - Research Collaborations Outside Home Institution, Tara Albrecht

Ready, Set, Grant! Presentations

In the increasingly competitive world of grant funding, strategic collaborations can take your grant to a new level. Enjoy a discussion with a panel of research teams and learn how they established and maintain interdisciplinary research collaborations. Also, panel members will discuss the benefits and challenges of research collaborations and what to expect from such collaborations.

Suzanne Mazzeo, Professor, Department of Psychology and Brian Cassel, Director, Analytic Services, Massey Cancer Center

Amanda Dickinson, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology and Daniel Conway, Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering

Tara Albrecht, Assistant Professor, Department of Adult Health and Nursing Systems

Day 3 - Nsf Overview And Funding Opportunities, William B. Eggleston

Ready, Set, Grant! Presentations

The National Science Foundation supports a broad range of science, social science, engineering and education research. But like with all sponsors, you must be able to critically assess whether your research is a good fit with the agency's priorities, and understand how to compete for NSF funding. Dr. William Eggleston, VCU Associate Professor of Biology who is currently a Program Director at the National Science Foundation's Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, will lead this workshop designed to provide overview on proposal writing, NSF's merit review process, and programs that fall within our seven scientific and engineering directorates, as well …

Day 1 - Navigating Nih: From Nascent Concept To Award, Brett Miller

Ready, Set, Grant! Presentations

Over the course of the Ready, Set, Grant event, program staff from funding agencies representing major areas of research interest at VCU will be on hand to provide an overview of the sponsors’ mission and structure, current priorities and outlook, and major funding programs. A significant proportion of VCU investigators, across disciplines, target the National Institutes of Health throughout their careers. It is important for faculty, staff, and students to educate themselves continually on agency's current trends and focus, as well as the policies and processes that impact decision-making about their grant applications. Our presenter for the workshop on Competitive …

Infant Hand Preference And The Development Of Cognitive Abilities, George F. Michel, Julie M. Campbell, Emily C. Marcinowski, Eliza L. Nelson, Iryna Babik

Physical Therapy Publications

Hand preference develops in the first two postnatal years with nearly half of infants exhibiting a consistent early preference for acquiring objects. Others exhibit a more variable developmental trajectory but by the end of their second postnatal year, most exhibit a consistent hand preference for role-differentiated bimanual manipulation. According to some forms of embodiment theory, these differences in hand use patterns should influence the way children interact with their environments, which, in turn, should affect the structure and function of brain development. Such early differences in brain development should result in different trajectories of psychological development. We present evidence that …

Cannabinoid Receptor Interacting Protein Suppresses Agonist-Driven Cb1 Receptor Internalization And Regulates Receptor Replenishment In An Agonist-Biased Manner, Lawrence C. Blumes, Sandra Leone-Kabler, Deborah J. Luessen, Glenn S. Marrs, Erica Lyons, Caroline E. Bass, Rong Chen, Dana E. Selley, Allyn C. Howlett

Neurology Publications

Cannabinoid receptor interacting protein 1a (CRIP1a) is a CB1 receptor (CB1R) distal C-terminus-associated protein that modulates CB1R signaling via G proteins, and CB1R down-regulation but not desensitization (Blume et al. [2015] Cell Signal., 27, 716-726; Smith et al. [2015] Mol. Pharmacol., 87, 747-765). In this study, we determined the involvement of CRIP1a in CB1R plasma membrane trafficking. To follow the effects of agonists and antagonists on cell surface CB(1)Rs, we utilized the genetically homogeneous cloned neuronal cell line N18TG2, which endogenously expresses both CB1R and CRIP1a, and exhibits a well-characterized endocannabinoid signaling system. We developed stable CRIP1a-over-expressing and CRIP1a-siRNA-silenced knockdown …

Integration Of Attributes From Non-Linear Characterization Of Cardiovascular Time-Series For Prediction Of Defibrillation Outcomes, Sharad Shandilya, Michael C. Kurz, Kevin R. Ward, Kayvan Najarian

Computer Science Publications

Objective

The timing of defibrillation is mostly at arbitrary intervals during cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR), rather than during intervals when the out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OOH-CA) patient is physiologically primed for successful countershock. Interruptions to CPR may negatively impact defibrillation success. Multiple defibrillations can be associated with decreased post-resuscitation myocardial function. We hypothesize that a more complete picture of the cardiovascular system can be gained through non-linear dynamics and integration of multiple physiologic measures from biomedical signals.

Materials and Methods

Retrospective analysis of 153 anonymized OOH-CA patients who received at least one defibrillation for ventricular fibrillation (VF) was undertaken. A machine learning …

The Lived Experience Of Bipolar Disorder: A Systematic Review And Meta-Synthesis, Joseph Walsh, Jacqueline Corcoran, Paula Crooks, Nathan Cooke, Cory Cummings

Social Work Publications

The purpose of this meta-synthesis was to review the available qualitative research on the lived experience of persons with bipolar disorder in order to find common themes that may enhance practitioner understanding. In this meta-synthesis, limited to studies conducted in the United States, 12 studies involving 234 participants met the authors’ inclusion criteria, and the following four major crosscutting themes, with subthemes, were identified: the process of acceptance of the diagnosis; its negative impact on relationships; internal coping strategies; and reliance on social support. Implications of these findings for direct practice are explored.

The Nature And Nurture Of Sports Performance, Jessica E. Salvatore

Great VCU Bike Race Book Faculty Reflections

Are world-class athletes born or raised? In this track, we will consider the nature and nurture of sports performance. The primary objective of this course is to expose students to the ways scientists try to disentangle genetic and environmental influences on human behavior. Course materials will include a variety of formats: selected chapters from David Epstein’s New York Times bestseller “The Sports Gene,” scientific articles, podcasts and videos. Students will use social media to record their reactions to course materials, and will further discuss readings/podcasts/videos with one another and the instructor via live chat sessions.

Anthropology Of The Crowd, Amy Rector Verrelli

Great VCU Bike Race Book Faculty Reflections

Faculty reflection on VCU Great Bike Race Book course.

Course Description: This track will study the bike race crowd using the four fields of anthropology (archaeology, biological, linguistic and sociocultural) to discover how they represent the greater diversity of humanity.

Microstructured Thin Film Nitinol For A Neurovascular Flow-Diverter, Yanfei Chen, Connor Howe, Yongkuk Lee, Seongsik Cheon, Woon-Hong Yeo, Youngjae Chun

Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering Publications

A cerebral aneurysm occurs as a result of a weakened blood vessel, which allows blood to flow into a sac or a ballooned section. Recent advancement shows that a new device, ‘flow-diverter’, can divert blood flow away from the aneurysm sac. People found that a flow-diverter based on thin film nitinol (TFN), works very effectively, however there are no studies proving the mechanical safety in irregular, curved blood vessels. Here, we study the mechanical behaviors and structural safety of a novel microstructured TFN membrane through the computational and experimental studies, which establish the fundamental aspects of stretching and bending mechanics …

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

Capstone Design Expo Posters

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

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

Capstone Design Expo Posters

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

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

Human and Molecular Genetics Publications

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

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

Human and Molecular Genetics Publications

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

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

Human and Molecular Genetics Publications

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

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

Biomedical Engineering Publications

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

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

Biomedical Engineering Publications

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

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

Family Medicine and Population Health Publications

Objective

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

Methods

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