Digital Commons Network^™

Low-Temperature Fabrication Process For Integrated High-Aspect Ratio Metal Oxide Nanostructure Semiconductor Gas Sensors, William Paul Clavijo

Theses and Dissertations

This work presents a new low-temperature fabrication process of metal oxide nanostructures that allows high-aspect ratio zinc oxide (ZnO) and titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanowires and nanotubes to be readily integrated with microelectronic devices for sensor applications. This process relies on a new method of forming a close-packed array of self-assembled high-aspect-ratio nanopores in an anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) template in a thin (2.5 µm) aluminum film deposited on a silicon and lithium niobate substrate (LiNbO₃). This technique is in sharp contrast to traditional free-standing thick film methods and the use of an integrated thin aluminum film …

Ethanol Reversal Of Oxycodone Tolerances, Joanna C. Jacob

Theses and Dissertations

Oxycodone is a semi-synthetic opioid originally developed as a safer alternative to morphine. It is commonly prescribed for its pain-relieving effects, but has recently been implicated as a major underlying cause of the current opioid epidemic due to its clinical limitations that include tolerance, dependence and a high abuse liability. Simultaneous consumption of opioids and ethanol has been shown to increase the risk of overdose and death from opioids in opioid-tolerant individuals. We hypothesized that ethanol reversed opioid tolerance and previous studies showed that ethanol reversed morphine tolerance. This dissertation investigated whether ethanol reversed tolerance to other opioids in mice, …

Community Gardens: Exploring Race, Racial Diversity And Social Capital In Urban Food Deserts, Jennifer F. Jettner

Theses and Dissertations

Study purpose. The study examined race and racial diversity in community gardens located in Southern urban food deserts, as well as the capacity of community gardens to generate social capital and promote social justice. Methods. A mixed-methods approach was used to describe characteristics of gardeners and community gardens located in urban food deserts, and test Social Capital Theory hypotheses. A convenience sample of 60 gardeners from 10 community gardens was obtained. Data was collected using surveys and semi-structured interviews. Analyses. Univariate and bivariate statistics were used to describe gardeners and gardens. Leader rationales for garden characteristics were analyzed using thematic …

Lung Disposition Model-Based Analyses Of Clinical Pharmacokinetic Profiles For Inhaled Drugs, Anuja Raut

Theses and Dissertations

There has been a desire to accurately interpret the inhaled pharmacokinetic (PK) profiles of drugs in humans to aid successful inhaled drug and product developments. However, challenges are layered, as 1) the drug dose delivered to the lung (DTL) from inhalers is a portion of the formulated dose but rarely determined; 2) lung delivery and regional deposition differ, depending on drug, formulation and inhaler; 3) drugs are not only absorbed from the lung but may also be from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract; and 4) in addition to absorption into the systemic circulation, multiple non-absorptive processes also eliminate drugs from the …

Interleukin-18 As A Therapeutic Target In Western-Diet Induced Cardiomyopathy, Pratyush Narayan

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Heart Failure (HF) is characterized by impaired cardiac function with symptoms of dyspnea, fatigue and exercise intolerance. Western diet (WD), a diet high in saturated fats and sugars, causes systemic increase in IL-18, a cytokine elevated in HF, which induces abnormal myocardial structure and diastolic dysfunction. IL-18 binding protein(IL-18BP) binds IL-18, preventing the binding to the IL-18-receptor. We investigated a therapeutic intervention using recombinant-murine IL-18BP to improve the WD-induced cardiomyopathy in C57BL/6J mice.

Methods: Echocardiography with pulse-wave Doppler and tissue imaging was performed to assess cardiac function. Oral glucose tolerance test was performed to assess metabolic parameters and IL-18 …

Gomds - Grumpy Old Men Doing Shakespeare; The Comedy Of Errors As Metaphor For Life, Aging, And Building Community, Elizabeth B. Pedersen

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the process of building community over time, through collaboration, to rehearse and produce a portable production of Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors, looking at the elements of time, trust and age with an ensemble of ten men, all actors over the age of 55. The building of trust over time was vital to the production process and the actors had the time to embody their roles and the language of the play. We look at the questions “why this play,” “why all men?” and “why theatre?” and investigate the physical nature of the play and its …

Short And Long Chain Free Fatty Acids Differentially Regulate Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 And Peptide Yy Transcript Levels In Enteroendocrine Cells (Stc-1), Colin M. Catherman

Theses and Dissertations

The regulation of glucagon-like peptide-1 and peptide YY hormone levels are regulated based on different influential factors, but primarily levels are dependent upon ingested food content. As meals today become more fat-enriched, there is greater requirement for evaluation of these hormones that regulate insulin and satiety levels within the body. We have shown that the gene expression transcript production of glucagon-like peptide-1 and peptide YY are modulated by different concentrations, and times of short-chain fatty acids and long-chain fatty acids. Although the peptide hormone levels have the influential physiological role on effector tissue, the regulation of these hormones begins at …

A Targeted Approach To Increasing The African American Blood Donor Pool, Arnethea L. Sutton

Theses and Dissertations

A continuous need for blood products, specifically for those who require frequent transfusions, such as individuals with sickle cell disease, warrants the need for targeted interventions to increase blood donations from underrepresented populations. One population in particular, African Americans, only account for 1% of blood donors in the United States. Literature indicates numerous reasons why this population is underrepresented amongst donors, including fear, lack of knowledge about the blood donation, and specific to this population, lack of trust in the medical community. This study involves the development, implementation, and assessment of a targeted educational approach, incorporating the Theory of Planned …

An Integrated Behavioral Model Of Healthcare Utilization Among Transgender And Gender-Nonconforming Adults, Megan Elizabeth Sutter

Theses and Dissertations

Transgender and gender-nonconforming (TGNC) individuals in the United States experience significant marginalization due to stigma enacted at the structural, interpersonal, and individual levels. As a result, this population has reported increased behavioral and physical health needs, as well as unique barriers to healthcare. Moreover, TGNC individuals have reported greater experiences of childhood abuse compared to cisgender individuals. The cumulative experiences of stigma-related stressors and adverse childhood experiences put this population at risk for the development of mental and physical health problems, increasing need for health services. However, TGNC individuals have reported being denied medical care and postponing seeking care due …

A Roadmap For Development Of Novel Antipsychotic Agents Based On A Risperidone Scaffold, Urjita H. Shah

Theses and Dissertations

Schizophrenia is a chronic psychotic illness affecting ~21 million people globally. Currently available antipsychotic agents act through a dopamine D₂ receptor mechanism, and produce extrapyramidal or metabolic side effects. Hence, there is a need for novel targets and agents. The mGlu₂/5-HT_2A receptor heteromer has been implicated in the action of antipsychotic agents, and represents a novel and attractive therapeutic target for the treatment of schizophrenia. A long-term goal of this project is to synthesize bivalent ligands where a 5-HT_2A receptor antagonist is tethered to an mGlu₂ PAM via a linker.

The goals of the …

Socioecological Aspects Of Tobacco Use In College Populations, Michael D. Sawdey

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Although cigarette smoking is decreasing in the US and among college students, tobacco use remains a major public health problem. Specific socioecological gaps in the literature related to college tobacco use exist including: trends of tobacco use, combinations of polysubstance use, and availability of tobacco products around college campuses.

Objectives: The main goal of this research was the understand interrelationships that exist within a socioecological framework of college tobacco use. Specifically, this project aims to: 1) examine trends of tobacco and polytobacco use by gender and associations of polytobacco use and perceived peer tobacco use, 2) examine …

Art For Recovery, Lucy Dabney

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the design of a space for opioid addicts in recovery that combines an art therapy studio with a gallery space. It would provide a new type of therapy available to the area, engage and educate the Richmond community and spread awareness of the disease of opiate addiction. It will also enable addicts to express themselves in a non-verbal, creative format that allows for them to create a legacy and leave an imprint on the community.

Electronic And Structural Study Of The Reactivity Of Cu+ With Co, H2o, O2, N2 And Their Mixture, Cara M. Frame

Theses and Dissertations

A detailed theoretical study of the gas phase reactivity of copper cation (Cu⁺) with CO, H₂O, O₂, N₂ and their mixture was performed and compared to experimental results to determine the ability of Cu⁺ to act as a low-temperature catalyst for CO oxidation. It was found that Cu⁺ binds strongest to CO, followed by H₂O, N₂, and O₂, strongly interacting with each species until reaching saturation at a maximum of four ligands. It was also found that a single Cu …

The Dual Faces Of Misery, Arden Moscati

Theses and Dissertations

Major Depression (MD) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) are psychiatric disorders that arise from dysfunction of the core human capacities for emotion. Sapience is inextricably bound up with the potential for feelings of regret, worry and concern. When these emotions lead to clinically significant impairment or distress, they may result in one or both of the disorders of MD and GAD. The occurrence of MD and GAD in the same person, known as comorbidity, is remarkably high; substantially higher than would be expected by chance.

MD and GAD have been studied since the mid-20^th century, resulting in a substantial …

Altering A Runner’S Foot Strike Using A Modified Elliptical Trainer, Daniel Shull

Theses and Dissertations

One possible solution to common running related injuries is to transition runners from a rearfoot strike during initial contact to a midfoot strike. Natural rearfoot strike runners were studied to see if a modified elliptical trainer could be used to alter their running pattern to that of a midfoot strike runner. Their results were compared to subjects who ran on a non-modified elliptical trainer. After training on the modified elliptical trainer, subjects demonstrated a decrease in foot angle at initial contact when attempting to run with a midfoot strike. Training did not affect all kinetic metrics or stride frequency. However, …

Nature Nurtures, Moriah Rhodes

Theses and Dissertations

Richmond, Virginia is defined by our connection to the James River. The James River Park system stretches over 550 acres of natural beauty. The park is broken into 14 different sections from the Huguenot Bridge in the west to a half mile beyond the I-95 Bridge in the east. The James River includes water features that appeal to the young and curious to the most experienced river-adventurer. The James River Park System boasts idyllic shorelines, peaceful meadows, and miles of challenging hiking and biking trails that appeal to the community and guests alike. Every year thousands of people come to …

Biochemical Analysis Of Putative Single-Stranded Nucleic Acid Binding Proteins In Porphyromonas Gingivalis, Steve H. Kokorelis

Theses and Dissertations

Proteins that bind to both DNA and RNA embody the ability to perform multiple functions by a single gene product. These nucleic acid binding proteins in prokaryotes can play a vital role in many cellular processes, including replication, transcription, gene expression, recombination, and repair, to name a few. Nucleic acid binding proteins have unique functional characteristics that stem from their structural attributes that have evolved in a widely-conserved manner. In Escherichia coli (E. coli), the highly-conserved histone-like protein, HU, which predominates as a heterodimer of HUα and HUβ, has been found to bind to both dsDNA and ssDNA. …

The Role Of Mindfulness In The Regulation Of Behavior Among Those Prone To Negative Urgency, Alexandra M. Martelli

Theses and Dissertations

Negative emotions can be challenging to regulate, and for some individuals can lead to failures of behavior regulation. The present study is an initial effort to explore the role that mindfulness may play in fostering effective behavior regulation among those prone to high negative urgency (NU). Eighty undergraduate students were recruited based on their high or low scores of NU. First, participants completed a self-report measure of mindfulness (Mindful Attention Awareness Scale; MAAS), an Emotional Go/No Go task in an fMRI scanner, and then reported alcohol consumption. Results showed that those with high in NU had low levels of mindfulness …

Sound Perception:Encapsulating Intangible Voice Memories In A Physical Memento, Mona Mahmoud Makhlouf

Theses and Dissertations

We live in a very busy world with a variety of sensory stimulation including the olfactory, visual, tactile, and auditory. The five senses are triggered by our surroundings and help us to form meaning about the world.ⅰ Based on where someone grows up, she or he is introduced to various sites and sounds, affecting how they interpret the world. Sounds relate meaning through the association between hearing, memory and an event. Hearing is one of the learning processes, in which individuals give, receive, and store information. We typically rely on our five senses, which contribute to the process of understanding, …

Re-Exploring My Identity As A Japanese Woman, Fumi Amano

Theses and Dissertations

This document contains reflections on my motivations and the personal decisions made in the realization of selected works leading up to and including my thesis exhibition "Voice". The following text shares the many and varied connections between my life and art-making. My issues in my personal relationships with others has spilled out from my heart and turned into these works. I'm continuously expressing the unsuccessful attempts we make at developing true bonds that bridge the gaps between people.

Combining Noxa-Inducing Drugs With Abt-263 To Efficiently Increase Cell Death In Head And Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (Hnscc), Sung Woo Kim

Theses and Dissertations

Head and neck cancer is the sixth leading cancer worldwide. Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) accounts for more than 90% of incident cases. Despite intense, multimodality treatment regimens for HNSCC including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, little progress has been made over the past 30 years in improving overall survival rates. Tumor cell death induced by both conventional and targeted chemotherapy is often mediated by the BCL-2 family-dependent mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. However, initiators of this apoptotic pathway, such as p53, are more than 50% of the time mutated or deleted in HNSCC rendering the disease refractory to treatment. To …

Sustainable Adapted Treatments For Eating Disorders: The Role Of Cultural Adaptation In Prevention, Sarah J. Javier

Theses and Dissertations

Despite demonstrating eating disorder rates equivalent to White women, African American and Asian American women are less likely to seek treatment and are more likely to terminate treatment prematurely. One of the most successful programs for eating disorder prevention has only focused on surface-level cultural adaptations. Prevention literature maintains that deep-structure cultural adaptation (e.g., integrating cultural values and beliefs) can enhance outcomes for ethnic minorities. This dissertation examined the feasibility of Sustainable Adapted Treatments for Eating Disorders (SATED), a pilot intervention that included a culturally- targeted pre-treatment to an eating disorder dissonance-based intervention. A sample of 72 women (ages 18-30) …

Negotiating Desire: Resisting, Reimagining And Reinscribing Normalized Sexuality And Gender In Fan Fiction, Charity A. Fowler

Theses and Dissertations

Fan studies has examined how fan fiction resists heteronormativity by challenging depictions of gender and sexuality, but to date, this inquiry has focused disproportionately on slash, to the exclusion of other genres of fan fiction. Additionally, scholars disagree about slash’s subversive effects by setting up a seemingly stable dichotomy—subversive vs. misogynistic—where one does not necessarily exist.

In this project, I examine multiple genres of fan fiction—namely, slash arising from bromances; femslash from female friendships; incestuous fan fiction from dysfunctional familial relationships; and polyamorous fics. I chose fics from four televisions shows—NBC’s Revolution, MTV’s Teen Wolf, the CW’s The …

Tissue Factor Expression, Regulation, And Signaling In Human Airway Cells, Michael D. Davis

Theses and Dissertations

Rationale: Tissue Factor (TF) is a transmembrane glycoprotein that canonically functions as the initiator of the coagulation cascade. Increased levels of TF have been associated with inflammatory airway diseases. Since lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is known to elicit and inflammatory response in airway epithelium, we hypothesized that airway epithelial cells release TF when exposed to LPS. Since TF aids in local wound healing, we also hypothesized that inhibition of TF would decrease NHBE growth. The specific aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of LPS exposure on TF production and release from airway epithelia and determine the signaling pathways involved. …

Sleep Disturbances And Depression: The Role Of Genes And Trauma, Mackenzie J. Lind

Theses and Dissertations

Sleep disturbances and insomnia are prevalent, with around 33% of adults indicating that they experience at least one main symptom of insomnia, and bidirectional relationships exist with common psychopathology, particularly major depressive disorder (MDD). However, genetic and environmental (e.g., traumatic event exposure) contributions to the etiology of these phenotypes are not yet well understood. A genetically informative sample of approximately 12,000 Han Chinese women aged 30-60 (50% with recurrent MDD) was used to address several gaps within the sleep literature. Sleep disturbances were assessed in all individuals using a general item addressing sleeplessness (GS). A sleep within depression sum score …

Protective Factors In The Association Between Child Sexual Abuse And Telomere Length In Adults, David Sosnowski

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to examine if childhood sexual abuse (CSA) was associated with decreases in mean telomere length (TL), and if social support and/or optimism moderated this association. The study included 99 Caucasian female monozygotic twins, ranging in age from 19-48 (M_age = 30.5, SD = 7.8) at Time 1. Linear mixed effects models were employed to test study hypotheses. Analyses with all participants did not detect an effect of CSA exposure or severity on mean TL, nor were there effects with optimism. However, in analyses that only included women exposed to abuse, increases …

Sol-Gel Chemistry: An Advanced Technique To Produce Macroscopic Nanostructures Of Metal And Semiconductor Colloids, Lamia Nahar

Theses and Dissertations

The fascinating physical properties that arise in materials limited to dimensions of 1-100 nm have gained noteworthy interest from the scientific community. Accordingly, there has been a lot of attention paid to the synthesis of discrete nanoparticles (NPs) and they are being investigated for a range of advanced technologies. Nonetheless, efficient use of nanomaterials in device applications require them to be assembled into solid state macro-structures while retaining their unique, nanoparticulate properties. To date, most commonly investigated assembling techniques include: covalent coupling of NPs surface groups, control evaporation of the solvent to produce ordered supercrystals or non-ordered glassy films, and …

Active Design: Creating A Blue Zones Model For Interior Environments, Alexis Holcombe

Theses and Dissertations

How might interior environments play a role in promoting life long well being? According to Passarino, et al., genetic variety only accounts for about 25% of the variation of human longevity. A combination of diet, environment and exercise comprise the greatest factors. The amount of time Americans spend indoors presents a challenge to increasing physical activity: the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that Americans spend 93% of their lives indoors (Roberts, 2016). Therefore, if physical activity is crucial to living longer, the design of interior environments could logically be a critical factor in promoting natural movement and sustaining lifelong well-being. …

Synchrony And Concordance: A Multilevel Analysis Of The Effects Of Individual Differences During A Co2 Challenge, Rachel E. Wallace

Theses and Dissertations

Emotion theories posit that emotion systems (e.g., behavior, self-report, physiology) should be related when an emotion is being elicited because this serves an adaptive purpose and allows the individual to respond appropriately to the present situation. Oftentimes, this coherent relationship is not found, and research has hypothesized that the type of analyses used and lack of examination of individual differences could be affecting this relationship. Most studies examine the relationship between emotion systems between-subjects when within-subjects analyses may be more appropriate. The present study examined the relationship between self-reported distress (SUDS) and heart rate, and whether trait differences of anxiety …

Separate And Equal: Power Dynamics Between Women Sleeping With Women Partners, Helen Virginia Mays

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the power dynamics in relationships between women who sleep with women (WSW). Using private, semi-structured interviews, the areas of financial and sexual power were explored. A total of 10 participants were interviewed individually using a snowball sample. Previous literature has shown that WSW partners are egalitarian, meaning both partners share in the decision making, with respect to household chores and other decisions in the home (Blumstein & Shwartz, 1984; Kurdeck, 2006). Instead of WSW following gender scripts like some heterosexual partners, WSW couples decide roles by preference, choice and after discussing what …