55453 research outputs found
Sort by
Ozanimod in Patients With Moderate to Severe Ulcerative Colitis Naive to Advanced Therapies
No full textThe drug studied was Ozanimod which is an oral sphingosine-1 -phosphate (S1P) receptor modulator, and was experimented in patient suffering from Ulcerative colitis (UC) who weren’t exposed to biological or Janus Kinase (JAK) inhibitors previously. The effects of Ozanimod treatment led to promising results such as greater rates of clinical remission, endoscopic movement as well as histologic remission as compared to the placebo group. The safety profile neither improved nor declined with regard to the side effects of previously conducted experiments with Ozanimod, thus had no serious concerns observed. Ozanimod treatment thus could strongly help patients with moderate to severe UC and could be considered as an advanced therapy as the first-line of action to treat UC
Percussion Ensemble
No full textEnsemble PerformancePercussion Ensembledirected by Nate FuerstThursday, December 4, 2025 at 7:00 p.m.Sonia Vlahcevic Concert HallW.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts922 Park Avenue | Richmond, Virgini
Senior Recital, Avè Clyburn, soprano
No full textSenior RecitalAvè Clyburn, soprano
David Kim, piano
Friday, November 21, 2025 at 7:00 p.m.
Recital Hall
James W. Black Music Center
1015 Grove Avenue | Richmond, Virginia
The presentation of this senior recital will fulfill in part the requirements for the Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance. Ms. Clyburn studies voice with Cynthia Donnell and has also studied with Michelle Harman-Gulick. She receives vocal coaching from Melanie Kohn Day, emerita faculty
SCOPOLAMINE-INDUCED MODULATION OF SEROTONIN AND DOPAMINE TRANSPORTERS ACTIVITY: BEHAVIORAL AND MOLECULAR INSIGHTS INTO RAPID ANTIDEPRESSANT ACTION
No full textMajor depressive disorder (MDD) affects over 350 million individuals worldwide and is characterized by profound dysregulation of serotonin (5-HT) and dopamine (DA) systems that govern mood, reward processing, and motivation. The serotonin transporter (SERT) and dopamine transporter (DAT), both dynamically regulated through phosphorylation, serve as critical determinants of synaptic monoamine signaling. Despite decades of therapeutic development, current antidepressants require 4-6 weeks to achieve efficacy, and approximately one-third to half of patients develop treatment-resistant depression. The emergence of rapid-acting antidepressants like ketamine represents a paradigmatic shift, demonstrating symptom relief within hours; however, ketamine\u27s therapeutic potential remains constrained by abuse liability, dissociative effects, and requirement for clinical supervision. Growing evidence suggests scopolamine, a non-selective muscarinic antagonist with demonstrated 5-HT₃ receptor binding, exhibits rapid antidepressant properties within days, potentially through modulation of mesolimbic dopaminergic circuits via M5 receptors and serotonergic circuits via hippocampal-prefrontal-raphe connectivity. Despite scopolamine\u27s established clinical efficacy, no studies have systematically investigated whether its therapeutic effects involve direct modulation of SERT and DAT function in mood-regulatory brain regions, or whether such neurochemical adaptations correlate with behaviorally relevant antidepressant-like effects, a critical gap for developing safer, more targeted rapid-acting therapeutics for treatment-resistant depression
We Are Worthy of Investment: Exploring Forms of Cultural Capital Among Black American Families
No full textThis three-paper dissertation investigates how the cultural wealth of Black American families functions as a foundation for educational, developmental, and economic outcomes, especially for Black males, across childhood, adolescence, and the transition into adulthood. Grounded in frameworks of the Revised Cultural Wealth Model, African American Male Theory, and the Racial Stratification Model, the research repositions Black families as producers of capital rather than subjects of deficit. In Paper Paper 1, I synthesized scholarship on family structure, educational attainment, and economic standing, framing racial achievement gaps” as long-standing education debts owed to Black males. In Paper 2, I used longitudinal data to test reciprocal links between parental expectations and children’s reading and math performance from Kindergarten through Grade 5, revealing mutual influence and early foundations of later disparities. In Paper 3, I redefine fatherhood as developmental capital, highlighting how biological and social fathers foster transitional youth (ages 14-24) achievement through responsibility, engagement, and accessibility. Collectively, through these studies, I argue that Black Americans are worthy of sustained investment as vital sources of cultural wealth
INVESTIGATING WHETHER MECHANICAL LOADING CAN PREVENT OR REDUCE AGE-RELATED ADVANCED GLYCATION END-PRODUCT ACCUMULATION IN TENDONS
No full textTendons are connective tissues that link muscle to bone, enabling joint movement and stability. Their structural integrity and mechanical function depend on large type I collagen fibers that run the length of the tissue. There is a clear link between increasing age and injuries in tendons. Many mechanisms have been suggested to contribute; however, due to the dominance of collagen in tendons, a prominent one is advanced glycation end-products (AGEs). AGEs accumulate in tendons with age, producing non-enzymatic crosslinks. These crosslinks stiffen the extracellular matrix, disrupt fibril sliding, impair tenocyte mechanotransduction, and ultimately contribute to reduced flexibility and higher injury risk. It has been suggested exercise can combat AGE accumulation, reducing age-related tendon injuries; however, in vivo investigations have yielded variable results.It is unknown whether exercise loading reduces AGEs by increasing matrix turnover, preventing AGE crosslink formation or whether loading can stimulate cells to breakdown existing AGEs. The objective of this thesis was to determine how tensile loading regulates AGE accumulation, breakdown, and tendon homeostasis in an ex vivo tendon model so to reduce AGEs and age-related injuries. We hypothesize that intermittent cyclic tensile loading can both prevent and reduce existing AGEs by stimulating tenocytes to turnover the matrix.
To do this, tail tendons were extracted from 7-8 week old Sprague Dawley rats and cultured in a CellScale tensile bioreactor for up to 4 weeks. Tendons were cultured in standard medium with or without 30 mM ribose to induce physiological AGEs. Then tendons were loaded with a cyclic tensile loading regime (5% strain at 1 Hz for 1 hour on-1 hr off-1 hr on, 3x a week) which we have previously established drives tissue maturation and mirrors cyclic muscle activity. In Aim 1, we first investigated if loading can prevent AGE formation by mechanically stimulating tendons while inducing AGEs. We found that cyclic load did indeed prevent AGE accumulation, suggesting exercise can help to minimize AGE accumulation. We repeated the study with frozen, devitalized tendons and found this effect was a cell-mediated process, as frozen tendons had significant increases in AGEs with and without load. We then investigated whether loading can drive cells to reduce existing AGEs by inducing AGEs and then loading tendons. We found little reduction in AGEs, and instead a negative response to load, with cells appearing to breakdown uncrosslinked collagen more than AGE crosslinked collagen, resulting in a net gain of AGEs. Collectively this work demonstrated that loading decreases AGE accumulation, but an optimal loading regime is still needed to potentially stimulate cells to reduce existing AGEs (Chapter 2).
Recent studies have shown that frequencies less than 1 Hz enable better cellular recovery between deformation cycles allowing for increased ECM synthesis and promote fibroblast alignment and integrin expression, which are key components of mechanosensing. Therefore, in Aim 2 we evaluated whether cyclic loading at decreased frequencies could better promote cells to reduce existing AGEs and we found that indeed they did minimize AGE accumulation compared to 1 Hz loading (Chapter 3). Overall, this thesis demonstrates that cyclic mechanical stimulation of tendons does minimize AGE accumulation via a cell driven process and that lower frequency stimulation may further help to reduce existing AGEs. This suggests that exercise can help mitigate AGEs, and activities such as stretching and weightlifting with slower repetitions may be more beneficial to reducing AGE and maintaining tendon health with age
Implementation Methods for Robust N/MEMS Configurable Logic Gates and Memory Units
No full textConventional CMOS electronics are highly susceptible to failure when exposed to ionizing radiation and high-voltage transients. These vulnerabilities have motivated the exploration of Nano/Micro Electromechanical Systems (N/MEMS) architectures, which inherently exhibit strong resilience to such environmental stressors. This work establishes a comprehensive framework for the design, fabrication, and experimental validation of configurable and reconfigurable N/MEMS logic and memory systems engineered for reliable operation in radiation- and voltage-transient-prone environments. The developed devices demonstrate neutron fluence tolerance more than 500 times higher than conventional radiation-hardened transistors. Testing confirmed exceptional robustness, with single-cantilever lifetimes exceeding 1.74 billion cycles and average logic gate lifetimes of 0.76 million cycles.
Configurable logic structures were realized through complementary cantilever relay networks in which device interconnects and source assignments were programmed via controlled fuse rupture and contact welding. Novel multi-gate relay designs were introduced to enhance device performance. Failure modes, including arc discharge, stiction, and contact degradation, were characterized and mitigated through optimized metallization, charge-dissipation strategies, and improved etching processes.
Additionally, this work introduced volatile MEMS memory units that exploit cantilever hysteresis and handle-layer biasing to achieve indefinite state retention without refresh. These devices operated stably for more than two weeks under continuous readout and withstood transient events that typically disable CMOS circuits. Integration of these memory units with MEMS logic enabled reconfigurable architectures such as 8-bit look-up tables capable of executing multiple logic functions. Collectively, the results establish a foundation for scalable, radiation-tolerant, and mechanically reconfigurable computing systems suitable for aerospace, defense, nuclear, and other safety-critical environments
The Role of Context Sensitivity on the Association Between Racial Discrimination and Emotional Dysfunction among Black American Adolescents
No full textBlack adolescents are at an increased risk of experiencing racial discrimination due to a developmental period marked by increased time away from parents and caregivers and increased time with peers (Fisher et al., 2000). Empirical research has shown that Black adolescents’ experiences of racial discrimination are associated with emotion dysfunction (Benner et al., 2018; Seaton et al., 2009; Sellers et al., 2006). Although previous research has identified racial factors such as racial socialization and racial identity as protective factors by reducing the impact of racial discrimination on Black adolescents’ emotion dysfunction (Gibson et al., 2021; Neblett et al., 2008), we know little about how racial emotion skills may also demonstrate protective properties in this association. Emotion regulation flexibility abilities have recently been described by researchers as holding protective promises in assisting Black adolescents navigate experiences of racial discrimination (Lozada et al., 2022). Context sensitivity has been identified as a critical component of the emotion regulation flexibility process (Bonanno & Burton, 2013); thus, the current study seeks to examine general and racial context sensitivity capacities among Black adolescents and examine whether these context sensitivity skills moderate the association between their experiences of racial discrimination and emotion dysfunction. In the current study, I examined Black adolescents’ ages 12-15 (N=286) general and racial discrimination-based context sensitivity abilities, experiences of racial discrimination, and emotion dysfunction (anxiety and depression). I found that general cue absence ability was not a significant moderator between racial discrimination and anxiety or depression, although it did predict lower anxiety. Cue presence ability served as a moderator for anxiety, but not depression. Specifically, higher levels of cue presence detection buffered the association between racial discrimination and anxiety. Lastly, threat-cue and power-cue detection, using a discrimination-based measure, both served as moderators for anxiety and depression, respectively. Specifically, higher levels of threat-cue and power-cue detection abilities weakened the association between higher levels of racial discrimination and emotion dysfunction
S18, E11: In the News: Trump\u27s First Seven Weeks (Aired 3/18/2025)
Get PDFAughie and Nia take a look at the lawsuits, firings, and impoundments during President Trump\u27s first seven weeks in office.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/civil_discourse/1266/thumbnail.jp