Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment Commons^™

Investigating Visinin-Like Protein 1 And Ubiquitinated Visinin-Like Protein 1 As Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Biomarkers, Yueming Wu

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) continues to be a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Despite significant progress in understanding the complex pathophysiology of TBI, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. The primary brain damage is acute and irreversible. However, secondary brain injuries often develop gradually over months to years, creating an opportunity for critical therapeutic interventions. In the past decade, research on TBI biomarkers has seen significant progress. This progress has been driven by the diverse nature of TBI pathologies and the challenges they present for evaluation, management, and prognosis. TBI biomarker proteins resulting from axonal, neuronal, or glial …

Social Determinants Of Mental Health Considerations For Counseling Children And Adolescents, Kaprea F. Johnson, Patrick D. Cunningham, Camila Tirado, Oswaldo Moreno, Nancy N. Gillespie, Bisola Duyile, Dequindre C. Hughes, Emily Goodman Scott, Dana Brookover

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

Childhood is a crucial period for developing a strong social and emotional foundation critical for mental well-being. Given that the childhood developmental period is vital for mental health, it is essential to address social determinants that can disrupt development and have lasting adverse effects on psychological and physical health. Therefore, professional counselors specializing in children and adolescent mental health care can benefit from understanding and utilizing the social determinants of mental health (SDOMH) framework in practice. This article details the SDOMH framework and considerations for SDOMH-informed treatments for professional counselors working in settings with children and adolescents.

The Telltale Of Left Atrial Thrombus Formation In Mitral Stenosis: Revisiting The Virchow’S Triad, Bayushi Eka Putra, Rina Ariani, Anwar Santoso, Prima Almazini, Estu Rudiktyo, Amiliana Mardiani Soesanto

Journal of the Hong Kong College of Cardiology

Aims: This study was conducted to assess the relationship of simple hematological parameters with the incidence of left atrial thrombus in rheumatic mitral stenosis in addition to conventional contributing factors. Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted in patients with significant rheumatic stenosis from 1 January 2018 to 31 July 2021. Thrombus evaluation was confirmed by transthoracic or transesophageal echocardiography. Lab tests were performed within 10 days prior to the echocardiographic evaluation. Subjects with significant mitral regurgitation will be excluded. Logistic regression analysis was done to evaluate the relationship between each variable to the presence of a thrombus. Results: Of …

Dermatoses Of The Breast During Lactation, Divya Shan, Sindhuja Koppu, Valerie Coleman, Gauri Gulati, Kimberly Salkey

Open and Affordable Course Content at VCU

No abstract provided.

Dermatologic Manifestations Of Rheumatic Disease: Malignant Cutaneous Tumors, Divya Shan, Julianna S. Kang, Allison Cinats, Julia R. Nunley, Beth Rubinstein

Open and Affordable Course Content at VCU

No abstract provided.

An Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Drug Development Collaboration Stimulated By The Virginia Drug Discovery Consortium, John S. Lazo, Ruben M.L. Colunga-Biancatelli, Pavel A. Solopov, John D. Catravas

Bioelectrics Publications

The genesis of most older medicinal agents has generally been empirical. During the past one and a half centuries, at least in the Western countries, discovering and developing drugs has been primarily the domain of pharmaceutical companies largely built upon concepts emerging from organic chemistry. Public sector funding for the discovery of new therapeutics has more recently stimulated local, national, and international groups to band together and focus on new human disease targets and novel treatment approaches. This Perspective describes one contemporary example of a newly formed collaboration that was simulated by a regional drug discovery consortium. University of Virginia, …

Heart Disease Prediction Using Stacking Model With Balancing Techniques And Dimensionality Reduction, Ayesha Noor, Nadeem Javaid, Nabil Alrajeh, Babar Mansoor, Ali Khaqan, Safdar Hussain Bouk

School of Cybersecurity Faculty Publications

Heart disease is a serious worldwide health issue with wide-reaching effects. Since heart disease is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, early detection is crucial. Emerging technologies like Machine Learning (ML) are currently being actively used by the biomedical, healthcare, and health prediction industries. PaRSEL, a new stacking model is proposed in this research, that combines four classifiers, Passive Aggressive Classifier (PAC), Ridge Classifier (RC), Stochastic Gradient Descent Classifier (SGDC), and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), at the base layer, and LogitBoost is deployed for the final predictions at the meta layer. The imbalanced and irrelevant features in the …

Medical Diagnosis Via Refined Neutrosophic Fuzzy Logic: Detection Of Illness Using Neutrosophic Sets, K. Hemabala, B. Srinivasa Kumar, Florentin Smarandache

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

The objective of the paper is to implement and validate diagnosis in the medical field via refined neutrosophic fuzzy logic (RNFL). As such, we have proposed a Max-Min composition (MMC) method in RNFL. This method deals with the diagnosis under certain constraints like uncertainty and indeterminacy. Further, we have considered the diagnosis problems to validate the sensitivity analysis of the novel multi attribute decision-making technique. Finally, we gave the graphical representations and compared the obtained results with other existing measures in refined neutrosophic fuzzy sets.

Molecular Detection Of Entamoeba Histolytica In Diarrheic Fecal Samples From Patients Attending National Hepatology And Tropical Medicine Research Institute, Azza Hasan Abbas, El Shahat Ahmed Elshahat, Heba Mohamed Abdelglil

Journal of Medicine in Scientific Research

Background: Amoebiasis is a worldwide disease caused by Entamoeba histolytica infection. The true prevalence is unknown due to the difficulty in distinguishing Entamoeba histolytica from non-pathogenic amoebas especially when microscopic diagnosis is performed, to overcome microscopy misidentification. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) assay is necessary as a highly sensitive and specific technique. Objective: To determine the value of Real-Time PCR (RT.PCR) in the diagnosis of Entamoeba histolytica in the stool samples of diarrheic patients attending NHTMI versus microscopy, copro- antigen, and serum antibodies detection techniques. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 150 diarrheic patients. Their stool samples were …

Integrating Feminist Approaches In Counseling Work With Adult Women, Kristen M. Toole

Adultspan Journal

The scope of ‘women’s issues’ in counseling is an ever-evolving landscape. Recent events such as the reversal of Roe v. Wade and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on women serve as powerful reminders of the necessity of this focus while underscoring a deep-rooted history of oppressive patriarchal structures. Therefore, counselors must remain informed of the unique considerations surrounding adult women in counseling and acquire proficiency in versatile techniques to meet this population’s nuanced needs. This article examines the complexity of contemporary womanhood and explores the fundamentals of Feminist Counseling Theory (FCT), a holistic, multiculturally conscious, social justice theory in counseling. …

Recognizing Ableism And Practicing Disability Humility: Conceptualizing Disability Across The Lifespan, Katherine M. Atkins, Tamekia Bell, Tilottama Roy-White, Maria Page

Adultspan Journal

Disability culture is often misunderstood by counselors who lack extensive training in working with individuals with disabilities (IWDs) (Stuntzner & Hartley, 2014). This quantitative study used the Counseling Clients with Disability Survey (CCDS) to explore the beliefs and perceived knowledge of counselors-in-training (CITs), counselors, and counselor educators regarding preparation to counsel IWDs, which is particularly important as disability status can change across the lifespan, and given that the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) Standards Review Committee provided a guide to the draft standards incorporating the infusion of disability concepts. Results indicate that counselors were competent …

Diagnosis And Management Of Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome, Sara Read

Capstone Showcase

Cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS) is a chronic and debilitating condition that can be encountered in a multitude of clinical settings. It is classified as a functional gastrointestinal disorder and is often misdiagnosed. Proper identification and management of this condition are crucial to patient care and quality of life. This article reviews the hypothesized etiologies, clinical presentation, and diagnosis of CVS as well as recommendations for management in a variety of settings. As an understudied and underdiagnosed condition, it is important that clinicians have a basic understanding of this disorder.

Cme: Vitamins, Antidepressants, And The Placebo Effect - How To Help Your Patients, Nicko Inocencio

Capstone Showcase

Depression affects roughly 280 million people globally. The disease puts patients at increased risk for stroke, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and diabetes. The psychosocial causes of depression are well-known, but the biochemical causes are multifactorial. Theories range from homocysteine excess, calcium modulation at the neuron, inflammation, cortisol elevation, and disruption of the HPA axis. At the center, however, is serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. Pharmacologic treatment directly aims at modulation of serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. First-line treatment is a combination of SSRIs/SNRIs with cognitive behavioral therapy. If patients do not see improvement with the above therapy other agents such as bupropion, mirtazapine, …

One In Every Twenty-Six, Rey'na Riggans

Capstone Showcase

There is a disorder that is rather common within the world and yet is not well known. It is a something that affects one in every twenty-six individuals. It is called epilepsy. Epilepsy is a neurological disorder in which a person to experience bursts of random electrical activity within their brains, these bursts being called "seizures." This article discusses this disorder and goes into detail about the forms of it, procedures that are done to try and help those living with epilepsy, and artwork that is inspired by this disorder.

Deciphering The Salivary Microbiome In Crohn’S Disease Patients With Different Factors Contributing To Dysbiosis, Hala Elzayat

Theses

Crohn’s Disease (CD) is a chronic Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), common in the UAE. Microbiota is necessary to maintain a balanced gut environment which is essential for good health. Dysbiosis can predispose to many diseases including CD. The oral cavity has the second largest and most diverse microbiota after the gut harboring over 700 species of bacteria. This study aims to investigate the alterations in the salivary microbiome in patients with CD compared to Healthy controls (HC). It also aims to compare CD patients for salivary microbiome complexity and diversity according to different factors that can contribute to dysbiosis, including …

Physiologically-Based Pharmacokinetic (Pbpk) Modeling For The Preclinical Development Of Spectinamide Antibiotics, Keyur R. Parmar

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Despite being an ancient disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and after decades of research, tuberculosis (TB) still affects millions of people every year worldwide. In 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that 10 million people developed tuberculosis and 1.5 million died of the disease. With the increase in the multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) cases, the treatment for TB with the standard first and second-line therapy is becoming increasingly difficult. Therefore, there is an urgent need to find new anti-TB drugs as combination partners of existing and experimental classes of antimicrobial agents to shorten and simplify the …

Diagnostic Dilemma: Schwannoma Or Ganglion Cyst, Karthik Ks, Prakash M, Gurumurthy B, Sujanatheja Js, Pramod Bm, Punith N

Digital Journal of Clinical Medicine

Schwannomas are rare, slow growing benign tumors of peripheral nerve sheath originating from Schwann cells surrounding the nerve associated with delayed presentation of pain and paresthesia. Their incidence being 5% of all upper extremity tumors. They may be a part of neurofibromatosis called schwannomatosis with multiple peripheral schwannomas. We present a case of solitary schwannomas from the peripheral nerves probably superficial branch of median nerve mistaken initially for ganglion cyst.

Brain Activity Associated With Taste Stimulation: A Mechanism For Neuroplastic Change?, Angela M. Dietsch, Ross M. Westemeyer, Douglas H. Schultz

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Purpose: Neuroplasticity may be enhanced by increasing brain activation and bloodflow in neural regions relevant to the target behavior.We administered precisely formulated and dosed taste stimuli to determine whether the associated brain activity patterns included areas that underlie swallowing control.

Methods: Five taste stimuli (unflavored, sour, sweet-sour, lemon, and orange suspensions) were administered in timing-regulated and temperature-controlled 3 mL doses via a customized pump/tubing system to 21 healthy adults during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Whole-brain analyses of fMRI data assessed main effects of taste stimulation as well as differential effects of taste profile.

Results: Differences in …

Use Of Bioheat Modeling To Characterize And Optimize Implantable Medical Devices And Neuromodulation Technologies, Adantchede Louis Zannou

Dissertations and Theses

Medical device development includes prototyping, benchtop characterization, preclinical studies, and clinical trials. Understanding the limitations and potential adverse effects of medical devices prior to their administration in humans is a crucial first step. Optimizing medical devices is essential to employing technology and improving patients care. Computational modeling is widely adopted as a powerful tool to predict stimulation/recording parameter optimization, rapid electrode/device prototyping, investigating novel mechanism of action, and testing working principles of any medical devices. Many implantable neuromodulation technologies including Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS), which provide substantial therapeutic benefit for patient population with lower back pain, produces heat via the …

Analysis Of Biologically Effective Dose For Retroactive Yttrium-90 Trans-Arterial Radioembolization Treatment Optimization, Mj Lindsey

CMC Senior Theses

Trans-arterial radioembolization (TARE) is a protracted modality of radiation therapy where radionuclides labeled with Yttrium-90 (⁹⁰Y) are inserted inside a patient's hepatic artery to treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). While TARE has been shown to be a clinically effective and safe treatment, there is little understanding of the radiobiological relationship between absorbed dose and tissue response, and thus there is no dosimetric standard for treatment planning. The Biologically Effective Dose (BED) formalism, derived from the Linear-Quadratic model of radiobiology, is used to weigh the absorbed dose by the time pattern of delivery. BED is a virtual dose that can …

Investigating The Physiological Use Of An Organ-On-A-Chip Device Through The Design And Fabrication Of A Micro-Electrical Blood-Brain Barrier (Μe-Bbb) System, Amrita Srinivasan, Kiana Aran, Jonalyn Herce, Noor Chaudhry, Allexa Ortiz

CMC Senior Theses

Aging is considered the main risk factor for various neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). Aging is associated with an increase in neuroinflammation, which is a significant contributor to cognitive impairment observed in these age-related neurodegenerative diseases. However, studying brain behavior remains a challenge due to the complex nature of isolating brain tissue from an organism. Modeling the brain allows for further study of these neurodegenerative diseases. Organ-on-a- chip (OoC), a system containing engineered or natural tissues grown within microfluidic chips, has emerged as a promising tool for mimicking human physiology in a controlled microenvironment. A …

Investigation Into The Potential For Acquired Cross Tolerances Of Amphetamines, Benjamin Weldon

CMC Senior Theses

In the United States, the treatment of ADHD through use of psychostimulants in adolescents is a growing reality that many people know today and many more will know in the coming years. Although the effectiveness of psychostimulants is a known asset, the benefits of these medications may not be a permanent solution, suggesting not only the presence of a tolerance build up, but as many stimulants are prescribed in a joint effort to combat ADHD, a possible cross tolerance between two prescribed medications. There are minimal studies published that have addressed the topic of cross stimulation tolerance buildup between prescription …

An Explainable Deep Learning Prediction Model For Severity Of Alzheimer's Disease From Brain Images, Godwin O. Ekuma

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Deep Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) have become the go-to method for medical imaging classification on various imaging modalities for binary and multiclass problems. Deep CNNs extract spatial features from image data hierarchically, with deeper layers learning more relevant features for the classification application. The effectiveness of deep learning models are hampered by limited data sets, skewed class distributions, and the undesirable "black box" of neural networks, which decreases their understandability and usability in precision medicine applications. This thesis addresses the challenge of building an explainable deep learning model for a clinical application: predicting the severity of Alzheimer's disease (AD). AD …

Research Model Applications In The Investigation Of Vascular Disease Treatments, Alex Anthony Dangler

Dissertations and Theses

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a pressing global health issue with significant socioeconomic consequences. Within the spectrum of CVDs, peripheral artery disease (PAD) and aortic disease necessitate the development of effective and safe treatments. To achieve this, various research models are employed to investigate molecular mechanisms of cells, understand cellular interactions in vascular diseases, assess biocompatibility, and test and evaluate medical devices. This dissertation examines research models and their applications in the advancement of treatments for vascular diseases. For the evaluation of liposome delivery systems in PAD, an ApoE-/- cellular mouse model was employed to investigate the cellular uptake of liposomes …

Ultrahigh-Performance Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry Quantitation Of O-Cresol In Hydrolyzed Human Urine To Assess Toluene Exposure, Eric Langlois, Sébastien Gagné

Études primaires

Rationale

Toluene is a volatile organic compound used in domestic and industrial applications. The main routes of workplace exposure to toluene are inhalation and dermal contact. As toluene exposure can cause severe nervous system damage, its quantification is crucial to prevent occupational illness. Toluene is metabolized mainly as hippuric acid, S-benzylmercapturic acid and epoxides. These are rapidly converted to o-/p-cresol, which is then excreted in the urine as conjugated glucuronides and sulfates. o-Cresol and its conjugates can be chemically hydrolyzed to form free o-cresol, which can then serve as a urinary biomarker of toluene exposure. Current …

Opioid Use Disorder Prediction Using Machine Learning Of Fmri Data, A. Temtam, Liangsuo Ma, F. Gerard Moeller, M. S. Sadique, K. M. Iftekharuddin, Khan M. Iftekharuddin (Ed.), Weijie Chen (Ed.)

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) more than 932,000 people in the US have died since 1999 from a drug overdose. Just about 75% of drug overdose deaths in 2020 involved Opioid, which suggests that the US is in an Opioid overdose epidemic. Identifying individuals likely to develop Opioid use disorder (OUD) can help public health in planning effective prevention, intervention, drug overdose and recovery policies. Further, a better understanding of prediction of overdose leading to the neurobiology of OUD may lead to new therapeutics. In recent years, very limited work has been done using statistical …

Combining Novel Direction Modulated Brachytherapy Tandem-And-Ovoids Applicators For Treatment Planning Of Multi-Institutional Cervical Cancer Cases: Removing Needles In Intracavitary-Interstitial Techniques, Sharmin Alam

Theses and Dissertations

Lack of standard guidelines for optimal needle insertion during high-dose-rate (HDR) intracavitary-interstitial (IC-IS) brachytherapy of the cervix means a sophisticated and technical skillset of inserting needles next to IC applicators must be developed to enhance plan quality. This study sought to evaluate the performance of two separate direction modulated brachytherapy (DMBT) tandem applicators used in conjunction with one set of novel DMBT ovoids, to effectively obviate the need for IS needles.

A cohort of 32 retrospective clinical HDR brachytherapy plans was re-planned with Varian’s BrachyVision^® treatment planning system, using VEGO^® inverse optimization algorithm, with dose heterogeneity accounted for …

Use Of Blood Flow Restriction Training With A Collegiate Baseball Player Following Hook Of The Hamate Excision, J P. Goza, R M. Galbraith, A P. Jacobsen, B J. Warner, S A. Cage

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

Background: A 21-year-old male collegiate baseball player underwent successful excision of the hook of hamate of the left hand. Following two weeks in a padded splint to allow for appropriate scar healing, the patient’s sutures were removed and rehabilitation was initiated. Initial rehabilitation consisted of passive range of motion exercises progressing to active range of motion exercises. After one week of range of motion exercises and improvement of range of motion, resistance training with blood flow restriction was initiated. Differential Diagnosis: Hook of the hamate excision. Treatment: Week 3: Prior to beginning resistance training with blood flow restriction, grip strength …

Twelfth Rib Avulsion Fracture In A Collegiate Baseball Pitcher: A Case Report., L K. Warner, A P. Jacobsen, R M. Galbraith, C Hodges, B J. Warner, S A. Cage

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

Background: A 21-year-old male collegiate baseball player reported to the athletic training staff after experiencing acute pain in his left side following throwing a pitch. The patient experienced immediate difficulty with active lateral flexion and trunk rotation. Palpation revealed spasm and tenderness along the internal and external oblique muscle. The patient reported having subluxed a rib on a previous occasion. While the pain experienced was similar, the patient stated that there was more pain along the muscle bellies of the internal and external oblique muscles compared to the previous injury. No difficulties with breathing, bowel movements, or urination were reported. …

Slowing It Down: The Impact Of A Core Stabilization Program Of Hypermobile Sprinters, T Spears, J Gonzalez-Pons, J Debose

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a common complaint in sprinters, and it can present itself in many ways. One study published in 2019 surveyed 2539 runners; 22.6% of them reported LBP of some kind at least once within that year.5 LBP can occur in sprinters for many reasons. One study noted that muscle weakness, imbalance, and improper recruitment of hip and/or core musculature are a few sources of LBP in athletes.4 The aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of a core stabilization program on athletes suffering from lumbar facet hypermobility. Differential Diagnosis: Conditions that are typically …