If You Can, You Can

VCU distinguishes itself as being one of Virginia’s most diverse institutions of higher education. This project seeks to support and extend this wonderful attribute by encouraging a climate of equity and inclusiveness. If You Can, You Can creates a common platform and language in support of the university’s mission to address disparities concerning equality and inclusiveness, and provides a model that is useful in promoting all dimensions of diversity. In addition to developing this overarching model, Team Real Connections worked with the VCU Athletics department to implement a prototype program called “If you can play, you can play,” which promotes inclusivity for those in the LGBTQ community within athletics. That initiative is comprised of the following components: ● the production of a marketing video to introduce and promote the campaign ● the submission of the video to the national “You Can Play” project (http://youcanplayproject.org/) ● a survey assessing how VCU athletes perceive the current climate in athletics ● training sessions with athletic coaches and staff to promote awareness and advocacy for the LGBTQ community ● dissemination of posters, postcards, and wristbands to promote the campaign and publicize events ● programs in October (LGBTQ History Month) with speakers Pat Griffin and Hudson Taylor to bring further awareness to the importance of inclusivity ● promotion of the campaign and events at various athletic events The success of the prototype campaign demonstrates that If You Can, You Can has the potential to serve as a comprehensive platform for units around VCU who wish to promote inclusivity and equity along other dimensions of diversity. Ultimately, the team envisions a university-wide initiative that unites VCU in achieving its goal of becoming a premier urban research university where everyone is welcomed, supported, and valued

The Resistance of Cortical Bone Tissue to Failure under Cyclic Loading is Reduced with Alendronate

Bisphosphonates are the most prescribed preventative treatment for osteoporosis. However, their long-term use has recently been associated with atypical fractures of cortical bone in patients who present with low-energy induced breaks of unclear pathophysiology. The effects of bisphosphonates on the mechanical properties of cortical bone have been exclusively studied under simple, monotonic, quasi-static loading. This study examined the cyclic fatigue properties of bisphosphonate-treated cortical bone at a level in which tissue damage initiates and is accumulated prior to frank fracture in low-energy situations. Physiologically relevant, dynamic, 4-point bending applied to beams (1.5 mm × 0.5 mm × 10 mm) machined from dog rib (n=12/group) demonstrated mechanical failure and micro-architectural features that were dependent on drug dose (3 groups: 0, 0.2, 1.0 mg/kg/day; Alendronate [ALN] for 3 years) with cortical bone tissue elastic modulus (initial cycles of loading) reduced by 21% (p<0.001) and fatigue life (number of cycles to failure) reduced in a stress-life approach by greater than 3-fold with ALN1.0 (p<0.05). While not affecting the number of osteons, ALN treatment reduced other features associated with bone remodeling, such as the size of osteons (−14%, ALN1.0: 10.5±1.8, VEH: 12.2±1.6, ×103 µm2; p<0.01) and the density of osteocyte lacunae (−20%; ALN1.0: 11.4±3.3, VEH: 14.3±3.6, ×102 #/mm2; p<0.05). Furthermore, the osteocyte lacunar density was directly proportional to initial elastic modulus when the groups were pooled (R=0.54, p<0.01). These findings suggest that the structural components normally contributing to healthy cortical bone tissue are altered by high-dose ALN treatment and contribute to reduced mechanical properties under cyclic loading conditions

A Comparative Study of Self-Esteem: College-Aged Women vs. Women at Midlife

A woman’s self-esteem, defined as “a realistic respect for or favorable impression of oneself,” can have a profound impact on her overall life choices and outlook. Low self-esteem is associated with numerous consequences such as eating disorders, alcohol abuse, sexual promiscuity, and social withdrawal. This study investigated the self-esteem level of college-aged women as compared to that of women at midlife and also identified the external factors that impacted this perception of self-esteem. It was hypothesized that the intense focus on women’s rights and political activism of the 1960’s and 1970’s would have promoted greater self-esteem in young women of that era, as compared to the largely apathetic culture of present-day young women. A qualitative and quantitative study was distributed to 29 college-aged women and 22 middle-aged women who were asked to reflect on their current self-esteem levels. The women at midlife were also asked to discuss their perceived self-esteem when they were college-aged. In general, college-aged women reported inconsistent levels of self-esteem, many reporting that it depended on numerous external factors such as relationships, academic success, family situations, appearance, and the media. Almost universally, the women at midlife reported that many of these same factors also influenced their self-esteem, but that they have become much more self-confident with maturity and age. However, few women at midlife reported feeling more self-esteem during their college years due to the political activity of the times. School and medical social workers need to be aware of the emotional and physical consequences associated with low or unstable self-esteem in college-aged women in counseling and health agencies

The Bridge to Postsecondary Education for Students with Disabilities: Perceptions of Emerging Best Practice in Preparation to Access Accommodations and Communication across Systems

Perceptions of college Disability Support Services (DSS) and school system personnel regarding emerging best practices, adequacy of preparation of students with disabilities to access accommodations in college, and communication across systems were examined in this study. Once in college, students with disabilities have a lower rate of completion/success than their peers. Accommodations promote success in college, yet students with disabilities are not accessing them, thereby reducing their success. Adequacy of student preparation to access accommodations and communication across systems affects the access of accommodations by college students with disabilities. This study is qualitative, with 43 participants. It includes DSS personnel from five, four-year and five, two-year colleges/universities and transition personnel from five public school divisions in Virginia. Snowball sampling and a guided interview format were used. Rigor was addressed through triangulation, including document and web review. Results indicate that differences between the ADA and IDEA require students, teachers, and parents of students with disabilities to have knowledge of students’ rights and responsibilities under the ADA to prepare them for accessing accommodations in college. Students were more likely to be prepared when they had knowledgeable and supportive parents, transition teams, and teachers/case managers. Characteristics of individual students also help determine the effectiveness of student preparation. School system participants feel they have lack of access to students with disabilities transitioning to college to effectively prepare them for accessing accommodations in college. They also lack feedback about preparation effectiveness. Participants believe additional communication is needed. Existing communication is directional with school system staff making requests of DSS staff. There is also need for additional college outreach to school systems and a structure for ongoing communication is desired. It is recommended that best practices in preparation and communication be identified, knowledge of transition teams/parents be improved, and usefulness of the Summary of Performance be determined. Development of a system for students with less severe disabilities for transition preparation and a system for increased feedback and communication between systems personnel is needed. The VDOE and SCHEV should work to improve avenues for joint preparation and develop goals and an action plan for implementation

In vivo axial loading of the mouse tibia

Noninvasive methods to apply controlled, cyclic loads to the living skeleton are used as anabolic procedures to stimulate new bone formation in adults and enhance bone mass accrual in growing animals. These methods are also invaluable for understanding bone signaling pathways. Our focus here is on a particular loading model: in vivo axial compression of the mouse tibia. An advantage of loading the tibia is that changes are present in both the cancellous envelope of the proximal tibia and the cortical bone of the tibial diaphysis. To load the tibia of the mouse axially in vivo, a cyclic compressive load is applied up to five times a week to a single tibia per mouse for a duration lasting from 1 day to 6 weeks. With the contralateral limb as an internal control, the anabolic response of the skeleton to mechanical stimuli can be studied in a pairwise experimental design. Here, we describe the key parameters that must be considered before beginning an in vivo mouse tibial loading experiment, including methods for in vivo strain gauging of the tibial midshaft, and then we describe general methods for loading the mouse tibia for an experiment lasting multiple days

Using High-Quality Data to Evaluate High School Antecedents of On-time College Graduation: A School/University Collaborative Study

In the face of international comparisons showing the lower level of academic skills of students in the United States, high schools have been criticized for not adequately preparing their graduates for the academic demands of college life. This is occurring at a time when the impact of global competition has heightened the importance of maintaining an educated workforce capable of sustaining the economy. Academic remediation at the college level is expensive, and its effectiveness is open to question. The ability to evaluate the antecedents of on-time college graduation using high-quality data offers school divisions the opportunity to initiate conversations about how to enhance the skills of their graduates. A service which tracks students who enter any one of a large number of colleges after high school, and follows them through to graduation provides a much more comprehensive picture than was previously available to high school divisions of how the ever-increasing numbers of their graduates fare at college. This paper discusses the analysis of such data from two school division members of a school/university collaborative research organization

Initial coupling and reaction progression of directly deposited biradical graphene nanoribbon monomers on iodine-passivated versus pristine Ag(111)

The development of widely applicable methods for the synthesis of C-C-bonded nanostructures on inert and insulating surfaces is a challenging yet rewarding milestone in the field of on-surface synthesis. This would enable studies of nearly unperturbed covalent nanostructures with unique electronic properties as graphene nanoribbons (GNR) and π-conjugated 2D polymers. The prevalent Ullmann-type couplings are almost exclusively carried out on metal surfaces to lower the temperature required for initial dehalogenation well below the desorption threshold. To overcome the necessity for the activation of monomers on the target surface, we employ a recently developed Radical Deposition Source (RaDeS) for the direct deposition of radicals onto inert surfaces for subsequent coupling by addition reactions. The radicals are generated en route by indirect deposition of halogenated precursors through a heated reactive tube, where the dehalogenation reaction proceeds. Here, we use the ditopic 6,11-diiodo-1,2,3,4-tetraphenyltriphenylene (DITTP) precursor that afforded chevron-like GNR on Au(111) via the usual two-staged reaction comprised of monomer-coupling into covalent polymers and subsequent formation of an extended GNR by intramolecular cyclodehydrogenation (CDH). As a model system for inert surfaces, we use Ag(111) passivated with a closed monolayer of chemisorbed iodine that behaves in an inert manner with respect to dehalogenation reactions and facilitates the progressive coupling of radicals into extended covalent structures. We deposit the DITTP-derived biradicals onto both iodine-passivated and pristine Ag(111) surfaces. While on the passivated surface, we directly observe the formation of covalent polymers, on pristine Ag(111) organometallic intermediates emerge instead. This has decisive consequences for the further progression of the reaction: heating the organometallic chain directly on Ag(111) results in complete desorption, whereas the covalent polymer on iodine-passivated Ag(111) can be transformed into the GNR. Yet, the respective CDH proceeds directly on Ag(111) after thermal desorption of the iodine passivation. Accordingly, future work is aimed at the further development of approaches for the complete synthesis of GNR on inert surfaces

Skeletal evidence for variable patterns of handedness in chimpanzees, human hunter–gatherers, and recent British populations

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98285/1/nyas12067.pd

Competitive metal‐coordination of hexaaminotriphenylene on Cu(111) by intrinsic copper versus extrinsic nickel adatoms

The interplay between self‐assembly and surface chemistry of 2,3,6,7,10,11‐hexaminotriphenylene (HATP) on Cu(111) was complementarily studied by high‐resolution Scanning‐Tunneling‐Microscopy (STM) and X‐ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) under ultra‐high vacuum conditions. To shed light on competitive metal‐coordination, comparative experiments were carried out on pristine and nickel‐covered Cu(111). Directly after room temperature deposition of HATP onto pristine Cu(111) self‐assembled aggregates were observed by STM, while XPS indicated non‐deprotonated amino groups. Annealing up to 200 °C activated the progressive single deprotonation of all amino groups as indicated by chemical shifts of both N 1s and C 1s core levels in the XP spectra. This enabled the formation of topologically versatile π‐d conjugated coordination networks with intrinsic copper adatoms. The basic motif of these networks was a metal‐organic trimer, where three HATP molecules were coordinated by Cu3 clusters, as corroborated by accompanying Density Functional Theory (DFT) simulations. Additional deposition of more reactive nickel atoms resulted in both chemical and structural changes with deprotonation and formation of bis(diimino)‐Ni bonded networks already at room temperature. Even though fused hexagonal pores were observed, extended honeycomb networks remained elusive, as tentatively explained by a restricted reversibility of these metal‐organic bonds