Digital Commons Network^™

Approaches Towards Elucidating Emotional Responses To Music Theatre, Rt Green

School of Art, Design and Architecture

As a result of recent publications in the field of music theatre there has been a resurgence of interest in this highly misunderstood art form. This paper discusses the methodology and results from an online survey which investigated emotional responses to orchestration1 and instrumental aesthetics in contemporary music theatre. This report summarises the current literature, demonstrates gaps in the field, and suggests how further research may benefit the development of new music theatre. The research tests the hypothesis that music theatre is accidentally alienating to non-familiar audiences because of its complex musical language and perceived associations with opera and the …

Community Campus As Threshold: A Space Of Dialogue For Academia And The Community, R Brown, P Warwick, Zoe Latham, Rachel Manning, Sebastian Stevens

School of Art, Design and Architecture

This paper explores an argument for community-situated spaces of encounter – acting as thresholds – between community and academia, through which: learning can be enhanced; a greater sense of identity and efficacy can be fostered; and a defined agency can be enabled. This proposition prioritises a dialogic relationship in a shared ground of agency and discourse, whose potential is reinforced through a rediscovery of the local arising from the Covid pandemic. The rediscovery of the local has pushed civic-minded universities pre-existing interrogation of their community-based learning practice in the context of marginalised communities; a key challenge is how to foster …

A Cross Sectional Study Investigating Dynamic Balance When Stepping In Children With Cerebral Palsy, R Rapson, J Marsden, Jm Latour, B Carter, V Pitsouni

School of Health Professions

No abstract provided.

A 15-Year Partnership Between Uk Coastal Scientists And The International Beach Lifeguard Community, Tim Scott, Gerd Masselink, Christopher Stokes, Tim Poate, Adam Wooler, Steve Instance

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Drowning is a leading cause of unintentional fatalities around the world, yet on beaches is often preventable through public education campaigns and intervention activities from lifeguards. In 2006, the UK beach lifeguarding community approached the Coastal Processes Research Group (CPRG) at University of Plymouth, UK, with a need to better understand the key hazards on UK beaches and how to foresee and manage the associated risks. In some cases there simply was not sufficient scientifically-robust understanding of certain hazards (for example rip currents) available for lifeguard managers to make objective, data-driven decisions on how to manage them. This paper documents …

Assessing The State Of Marine Biodiversity In The Northeast Atlantic, A. Mcquatters-Gollop, L. Guérin, N. L. Arroyo, A. Aubert, L. F. Artigas, J. Bedford, E. Corcoran, V. Dierschke, S. A.M. Elliott, S. C.V. Geelhoed, A. Gilles, J. M. González-Irusta, J. Haelters, M. Johansen, Loc'h F Le, C. P. Lynam, N. Niquil, B. Meakins, I. Mitchell, B. Padegimas, R. Pesch, I. Preciado, I. Rombouts, G. Safi, P. Schmitt, U. Schückel, A. Serrano, P. Stebbing, La Torriente A De, C. Vina-Herbon

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

The Northeast Atlantic, a highly productive maritime area, has been exposed to a wide range of direct human pressures, such as fishing, shipping, coastal development, pollution, and non-indigenous species (NIS) introductions, in addition to anthropogenically-driven global climate change. Nonetheless, this regional sea supports a high diversity of species and habitats, whose functioning provides a variety of ecosystem services, essential for human welfare. In 2017, OSPAR, the Northeast Atlantic Regional Seas Commission, delivered an assessment of marine biodiversity for the Northeast Atlantic. This assessment examined biodiversity indicators separately to identify changes in Northeast Atlantic biodiversity, but stopped short of determining the …

Biodeterioration And Bioprotection Of Concrete Assets In The Coastal Environment, Jessica R. Bone, Rick Stafford, Alice E. Hall, Roger J.H. Herbert

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

The deleterious effects (biodeterioration) and the protective benefits (bioprotection) of biological colonisation on manmade structures have long been debated. Lichens, biofilms, algae, bivalves and gastropods contribute both directly and indirectly to damaging substrata in the coastal zone which can enhance abiotic erosive forces that exploit biologically induced superficial damage. There is mounting evidence that these same species may also provide protective benefits. This debate often impacts approaches to managing fouling on concrete assets in the coastal environment. The net benefit or detriment a species or assemblage has on a structure is spatially and temporally dynamic and subject to the influence …

Deoxyribose Phosphate Aldolase Is Required For Development Of Hematopoietic Stem Cells In The Zebrafish Embryo, Anubhav Thapaliya, Sanyam Patel, Teerth Y. Patel, Sivam J. Bhatt, Erich W. Damm

UROP Posters

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are an integral part of modern biomedical research because they are precursors to all blood cell lineages in vertebrates. Further understanding of hematopoietic development will allow for improvements in the success of therapeutic bone marrow transplantation; which is a crucial treatment in management of both malignant and non-malignant blood disorders. Although HSC transplantation is curative for many blood disorders, finding compatible donors is difficult due to a need for immunologic compatibility. Consequently, recent research efforts have been directed towards generating HSCs for the patient, from the patient themselves through the directed differentiation of induced pluripotent stem …

A Highly Conductive, Flexible, And 3d-Printable Carbon Nanotube-Elastomer Ink For Additive Bio-Manufacturing, Andy Shar, Phillip Glass, Daeha Joung Ph.D.

UROP Posters

The synthesis of a highly conductive, flexible, 3D-printable, and biocompatible ink has been of great interest in the field of bio-based additive manufacturing. Various applications include ultra-sensitive, microscale tactile sensors, patient-customizable scaffolds for cardiac and nerve tissue regeneration, and flexible electrocardiogram (ECG) electrodes. Here, a novel elastomeric carbon nanocomposite is presented consisting of amino-functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNT-NH₂) homogenously dispersed in a one-part room-temperature vulcanizing (RTV) silicone matrix. The use of acetone as a swelling solvent aids in electrical percolation through the elastomer matrix. CNT-NH₂ ratios can be tuned to fit various needs; higher tensile strength is favored …

Introduction Of Plasmid Dna Into Sneathia Vaginalis; The First Step To Genetic Manipulation, Rea Mansukhani, Cathyrn O'Brien, Zion Mccoy, Kimberly K. Jefferson

UROP Posters

Many bacterial pathogens are capable of secreting one or more toxins, all of which can be categorized based on their function, target, or mechanism of action. Pore-forming toxins, for instance, are characterized based on their ability to perforate the host membrane. This may result in the delivery of bacterial substances into the host cell, release of compounds from the host cell, and/or death of the host cell. Research from our lab has demonstrated that Sneathia vaginalis, a gram-negative anaerobic bacterial species that is associated with bacterial vaginosis and preterm birth, produces a pore-forming toxin referred to as cytopathogenic toxin …

Health Disparities In Afro-Latinx Populations: Chronic Health Diseases, Linguistic And Cultural Competency, And Inequities And Barriers In Richmond, Virginia, Roma A. Kankaria, Avani Hariprashad, Henzee Machado, Teerth Patel, Anubhav Thapaliya

UROP Posters

Afro-Latinx individuals face health disparities that differ from those faced by white Latinx individuals. This literature review was conducted by the Collective Corazón—a VCU student organization, mentored by Dr. Indira Sultanić, that addresses Latinx health equity through service and advocacy—in order to examine the underlying causes of Afro-Latinx health disparities. Skin color is a predictor of health, life expectancy, and quality of life for many Latinx individuals. On average, Afro-Latinx individuals in particular have less access to education, fewer financial freedoms, and poorer health outcomes. The Afro-Latinx community also describes higher rates of discrimination compared to white Latinx individuals. As …

The Water Solubility Of Ursolic Acid Complexes At Different Choline Concentrations, Sera Lim, Renjie Zhan, Phillip M. Gerk

UROP Posters

No abstract provided.

Review Of The Effects Of Asphalt Fume Emission (Vocs And Pahs) In Vitro, In Vivo And Human Studies, Omran Taqi, Nastassja Lewinski, Elham Fini, Eran Rozewski, Judith Klein-Seetharaman

UROP Posters

Review of the effects of Asphalt fume emission (VOCs and PAHs) in vitro, in vivo and human studies

Omran Taqi, Nastassja Lewinski¹

1) Department of Chemical and Life Science Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

Background

Asphalt is abundantly available around human operations including road paving and roofing sites. However, their emissions and fumes (specifically volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)) have been found to have adverse effects on health. Asphalt fumes are a class 2A carcinogen and exposure can increase the risk of lung cancer, asthma, headache, fatigue, and other cardiovascular diseases.

Methods

We used …

Bringing Swipe Out Hunger To Vcu: Identifying Best Practices And Analyzing Administrative Policies For Future Reform, Jackie Stephens, Anjali Ta

UROP Posters

At first glance, a college campus might look like a place of equal opportunity– communal dorms, shared dining halls, and similar course loads. However, arriving on campus is not where the college access conversation ends if students’ basic needs are not met. Food insecure students are at elevated risk of poor academic performance and delayed degree completion, with first-generation students being particularly vulnerable. Swipe Out Hunger is an organization that partners with colleges to reduce food insecurity among students by allowing those with extra dining hall meal swipes to donate them to food insecure peers. If implemented at VCU, Swipe …

Astrocyte Elevated Gene-1 (Aeg-1) Deletion Selectively Enhances The Antinociceptive Effects Of Morphine, Apurva Puli, Shivani Patel, Bryan Mckiver, Eda Köseli, Devanand Sarkar Ph.D., M. Imad Damaj Ph.D.

UROP Posters

Background: Opioids are a class of drugs that are utilized in clinical settings to alleviate acute and chronic pain, but can often lead to development of tolerance, addiction and overdose following prolonged usage. Opioids such as morphine function by activating endogenous µ opioid receptors, which are located in various tissues throughout the body. Astrocyte Elevated Gene-1 (AEG-1) is a multifunctional protein that regulates inflammation, myeloid cell activity and lipid metabolism. Studies have shown interactions and overlaps in cellular signaling between the inflammatory/immune responses and the endogenous opioid system which could suggest a role for AEG-1 in opioids effects. Our goal …

A Participatory Group Process To Collect And Disseminate Covid-19 Needs Assessment Data, Areebah Ahmed

UROP Posters

The Richmond, VA COVID-19 Needs Assessment Survey (RVA CoNA) was created in March 2020 to identify behaviors and needs related to COVID-19 in Richmond area adults ages 18 and over. Results are being used to inform support, strategic efforts, and educational outreach of local community organizations. The purpose of this study is to (1) summarize the process used to develop the RVA CoNA, (2) summarize preliminary survey results from a second phase of data collection as well as initial feedback from community partners, and (3) summarize initial conclusions and results dissemination strategies.Community partners and researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University jointly …

Dental Safety Net Patients’ Reflections On Their Dental Problems And Opportunities For Care, Jenifer Euceda Nunez

UROP Posters

Introduction: Low-income and underserved populations have disproportionately more unmet oral health needs. This may reflect factors across the lifetime as well as current home hygiene and access to care. These experiences lead to dental care having personal impacts on their lives that oftentimes can lead to personal opinions and stories. Their opinions and stories can provide insight to new themes that are not found within the existing limited literature. Steering away from a technical view on oral health research, personal perspectives can provide a new approach to oral health utilization that can further expand the limited existing literature. Objective: To …

Modified Ysk12-Mend-Sirna In Dendritic Cells For Cancer Immunotherapy, Syed S. Alam

UROP Posters

Tumors may induce tolerogenesis through signaling dendritic cells to produce tolerogenic molecules, such as indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1). Tumor-associated immunosuppression is associated with higher mortality in patients. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) has been shown to silence specific target genes in the target cell. The siRNA associated with these genes could support a gene knockdown of these immunosuppressors and reduce mortality. Delivery of these therapeutic nucleic acids is difficult in vivo because siRNA is easily broken down inside the cell and the bloodstream through present nucleases. Use of liposome polymers has been reviewed extensively in literature. YSK12-C4, a lipid nanoparticle …

The Effects Of Owner And Domestic Cat (Felis Catus) Demographics On Cat Personality Traits, Laura E. Leech, Richard Preziosi, Rosica Stoycheva, Giovanni Quintavalle Pastorino

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

Identifying Conservation Priorities For Gorgonian Forests In Italian Coastal Waters With Multiple Methods Including Citizen Science And Social Media Content Analysis, Arianna Liconti, Simon J. Pittman, Sian E. Rees, Nova Mieszkowska

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

Synthetic Microplastic Abundance And Composition Along A Longitudinal Gradient Traversing The Subtropical Gyre In The North Atlantic Ocean, Winnie Courtene-Jones, Simon Van Gennip, Juliette Penicaud, Emily Penn, Richard C. Thompson

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Plastic pollution has been reported in the North Atlantic Ocean since the 1970s, yet limited data over subsequent decades pose challenges when assessing spatio-temporal trends in relation to global leakages and intervention strategies. This study quantified microplastics within the upper ocean along a longitudinal transect of the North Atlantic and its subtropical gyre. Microplastics were sampled from surface and subsurface (−25 m) water using a manta trawl and NIKSIN bottle respectively. The surface water polymer community varied significantly between geographic positions (‘inshore’, ‘gyre’, ‘open ocean’), and was significantly influenced by fragment quantity. Compared to other positions, the North Atlantic gyre …

The Need, Opportunities, And Challenges For Creating A Standardized Framework For Marine Restoration Monitoring And Reporting, Aaron M. Eger, Hannah S. Earp, Kim Friedman, Yasmine Gatt, Valerie Hagger, Boze Hancock, Ratchanee Kaewsrikhaw, Elizabeth Mcleod, Abigail Mary Moore, Holly J. Niner, Frida Razafinaivo, Ana I. Sousa, Milica Stankovic, Thomas A. Worthington, Elisa Bayraktarov, Megan Saunders, Adriana Vergés, Simon Reeves

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Marine ecosystems have been used, impacted by, and managed by human populations for millennia. As ecosystem degradation has been a common outcome of these activities, marine management increasingly considers ecosystem restoration. Currently, there is no coherent data recording format or framework for marine restoration projects. As a result, data are inconsistently recorded and it is difficult to universally track progress, assess restoration's global effectiveness, reduce reporting bias, collect a holistic suite of metrics, and share information. Barriers to developing a unified system for reporting marine restoration outcomes include: reaching agreement on a framework that meets the needs of all users, …

Seeking Stability: Consumer Motivations For Communal Nostalgia, Minju Han, George E. Newman

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Existing research has examined why consumers are drawn to things from their past (personal nostalgia). However, little empirical work has examined why consumers prefer products that were never a part of their personal history (communal nostalgia). For example, a consumer may purchase vinyl records even though she grew up listening to mp3 files. Here, we find that one reason why consumers may be drawn to communal nostalgia is that it can provide a sense of social stability. Drawing on System Justification Theory (Jost & Banaji, British Journal of Social Psychology, 33, 1994 and 1-27), we demonstrate that perceived threats to …

Guide To The Women In Leadership Collection (University Of San Diego), Leo T. Maher, Sally Furay

University Records

This is an artificially arranged collection consisting of materials provided to the archives by the Office of University Publications. It contains correspondence and memos to and from Sister Sally Furay, former Vice President and Provost, expressing disappointment in the lack of women in student leadership roles as well as Bishop Leo Maher’s “Women in the New World” Pastoral Letter regarding women’s changing place in the Catholic Church and society.

Finding Aids are tools used to aid research by describing the materials in a collection. Special Collections Finding Aids include historical and/or biographical information along with a description of the collection …

Conflict Positioning In Crisis Communication: Impact Of Antecedent Conditions On Negotiation, Pang, A., Glen T. Cameron

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Organizations need to position themselves favorably in times of crisis. The conflict positioning conceptualization offers a framework for organizations to do so by integrating insights of crisis communication with negotiation through the following steps. First, understanding the factors that will affect an organization's ability to handle the crisis. Second, based on the influence of these factors, examine the stance the organization will adopt. Third, examine the strategies the organization will embrace. Four, the strategies adopted will impact the conflict property it aims to resolve which will in turn influence the negotiation approach and the relationship dynamics between the organization and …

Sustainable Strategies For Mass Rapid Transit Ppps, Sock Yong Phang, Bin Chye Tan

Research Collection School Of Economics

Mass rapid transit (MRT) PPPs have proliferated in the past two decades. This chapter provides a framework to categorise and understand alternative PPP designs. As MRT systems are inherently large, unprofitable and risky projects, PPP design is critical to project success and sustainability. We study the experiences of MRT PPPs in London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Beijing to understand factors underlying success and failure and to arrive at policy recommendations for PPPs. Policymakers need to have additional governance improvement and risk mitigation measures in place when tied supply chains are utilised. Hong Kong’s experience illustrates that ‘Rail plus Property’ strategy …

Are Simple Mechanisms Optimal When Agents Are Unsophisticated?, Jiangtao Li, Piotr Dworczak

Research Collection School Of Economics

We study the design of mechanisms involving agents that have limited strategic sophistication. We define a mechanism to be simple if—given the assumed level of strategic sophistication—agents can determine their optimal strategy. We examine whether it is optimal for the mechanism designer who faces strategically unsophisticated agents to offer a simple mechanism. We show that when the designer uses a mechanism that is not simple, while she loses the ability to predict play, she may nevertheless be better off no matter how agents resolve their strategic confusion

Uniform Nonparametric Inference For Spatially Dependent Panel Data: The Xtnpsreg Command, Jia Li, Zhipeng Liao, Wenyu Zhou

Research Collection School Of Economics

In this article, we introduce a command, xtnpsreg, that implements a uniform nonparametric inference procedure for possibly unbalanced panel datasets with general forms of spatio-temporal dependence. We demonstrate how to apply this command in several use cases, including (i) the nonparametric estimation of conditional mean function and its marginal response; (ii) the construction of uniform confidence bands for these nonparametric functional parameters; (iii) specification tests for parametric model restrictions; and (iv) the estimation and uniform inference for functional coefficients in semi-nonparametric models.

Learning Before Testing: A Selective Nonparametric Test For Conditional Moment Restrictions, Jia Li, Zhipeng Liao, Wenyu Zhou

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper develops a new test for conditional moment restrictions via nonparametric series regression, with approximating series terms selected by Lasso. Machine-learning the main features of the unknown conditional expectation function beforehand enables the test to seek power in a targeted fashion. The data-driven selection, however, also tends to distort the test’s size nontrivially, because it restricts the (growing-dimensional) score vector in the series regression on a random polytope, and hence, effectively alters the score’s asymptotic normality. A novel critical value is proposed to account for this truncation effect. We establish the size and local power properties of the proposed …

Does A District Mandate Matter For The Behavior Of Politicians? An Analysis Of Roll-Call Votes And Parliamentary Speeches, Andreas Born, Aljoscha Janssen

Research Collection School Of Economics

In most democracies, members of parliament (MPs) are elected either through a party list or by a district. We use a discontinuity in the German electoral system to investigate the causal effect of a district election on an MP’s conformity with the party line. A district election does not affect roll-call voting behavior causally, possibly due to overall high adherence to party-line voting. Analyzing the parliamentary speeches of each MP allows us to overcome the high party-line discipline with regard to parliamentary voting. Using textual analysis and machine learning techniques, we create two measures of closeness of an MP’s speeches …

Effect Of Agricultural Insurance Program On Income Loss Reduction: A Comparative Study Of Upland And Lowland Farmers In Japan And The Philippines, Armand Christopher C. Rola

Journal of Public Affairs and Development

This paper aims to inquire how agricultural insurance can be an effective and efficient coping mechanism to prevent the poorest in remote rural areas of East Asia and the Pacific from falling into the poverty trap when faced with natural disasters. Field research was conducted to examine upland and lowland farmers’ experiences with agricultural insurance and program implementation by insurance providers in Japan and the Philippines. Secondary data such as online articles, journals, books, news and annual reports, and online websites of government insurance providers in the Philippines and Japan were collected. Primary data were analyzed using descriptive and cost …