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Item Fear of Breast Cancer Recurrence in African-American and Caucasian Breast Cancer Survivors(Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2010-04-09) Ziner, Kim Wagler; Russell, Kathleen; Champion, Victoria; Miller, Kathy D.Problem. Fear of breast cancer recurrence is a concern for 55-90% of long-term breast cancer survivors. Background. Fear of recurrence is recognized as a prevalent and long-term psychosocial consequence of surviving cancer. Breast cancer survivors often identify more than one worry about what a recurrence might threaten in their health, work, and family function (Vickberg, 2001, 2003; Ziner, 2008). Although more research has been conducted with Caucasian breast cancer survivors, less is known about the nature of fear of recurrence worries in African American breast cancer survivors. Purpose. The purpose of this study was to compare fear of recurrence and worries related to thoughts of recurrence between African-American (AA-BCS) and Caucasian breast cancer survivors ( C-BCS). Theory. Emotion theorist, such as Lazarus (1991) suggest that fear is an emotional response to an identifiable object, thought or event that is perceived as harmful. Methods. This is a secondary analysis of a larger study comparing quality of life of AA-BCS and C-BCS using a cross-section survey design. Sample. Female breast cancer survivors ( AA-BCS N = 62, C-BCS N = 72) who were 2-10 years post treatment. Measures. Concerns about Recurrence Sale (CARS) Vickberg (2003) is a scale with 30 Likerttype items and 5 sub-scales: Fear of recurrence Index (overall fear frequency, intensity and consistency). Four (4) subscales of what BCS worry about: Health worries, Role worries, Womanhood worries, and Death worries. Validity. Content analysis of focus group data (N=21) AA-BCS showed that no changes were recommended in the CARS. (Russell, Personal communication) Reliability. The CARS and subscales were found to have Good to adequate Cronbach’s alpha’ for AA-BCS and C-BCS. Specifically, FRI = .92 AA-BCS, .90 C-BCS, Health worries = .93 AA-BCS, .92 C-BCS, Role worries = .75 AA-BCS, .87 C-BCS, Womanhood worries .89, AABCS, .90, C-BCS, Death worries .81 AA-BCS, .92 C-BCS. Analysis. ANCOVA was used for analysis controlling for age, time since diagnosis, income, marital status, years of education and body mass index. Results. Fear of recurrence Indexes between AA-BCS (mean 9.8) and C-BCS (mean 11.5) were not statistically different (p = .199). Health worries (AA- BCS mean 1.1, C-BCS mean 1.6, p= .018), Role worries (AA-BCS mean .8, C- BCS mean 1.2, p = .05), and Death worries (AA- BCS mean 1.3,C- BCS mean 2.2, p = .01) were significantly different between AA-BCS and C-BCS. Womanhood worries were not significantly different. Conclusions. AA-BCS and C-BCS were equally afraid of a recurrence. Except of womanhood worries, AA-BCS had lower mean health, role and death worries than C-BCS. Implications. Understanding the underlying worries related to overall fear of recurrence can lead to more focused and perhaps effective nursing intervention for AA-BCS and C-BCS.Item Center for Earth and Environmental Science: A Program of Excellence in Water Resources Research(Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2010-04-09) Tedesco, Lenore P.; Babbar-Sebens, MeghnaResearch and training into the impacts of environmental insults on water systems and the links between water resources and human health are critical needs nationally and internationally. IUPUI is in an excellent position to take on a leadership role in scholarship and teaching about water quality and health. CEES has built its program and reputation around excellence in water resources and ecosystem restoration research. Key to our success has been the development of a research network founded on strong corporate, governmental and community partnerships and collaborations. This framework is strengthened by the mutual benefit realized by all partners and helps to support IUPUI’s core value of community engagement as an urban research university. In order to maximize the efficient use of resources, CEES is pursuing four strategic objectives in a manner that will further the universities goals of pursuing excellence in 1) research, scholarship and creative activity, 2) teaching and learning, and 3) civic engagement while also enhancing the resource base of the university. The Center places the highest priority on four strategic initiatives: 1. The Center will engage in cutting-edge research and training for mixed agricultural and urban watersheds 2. Evaluate and assess watershed Best Management Practices targeting atrazine, nutrients and emerging contaminants and pathogens 3. Establish a K-12 technology based science education program in water, air and energy 4. Work with state agencies to identify watershed issues associated with Major Moves and other economic development initiatives, the standards to be applied and training needs To this end, the Signature Center program in CEES has focused on building new collaborations with water resources and human health risks. Signature Center funding has provided for new faculty member Dr. Meghna Babbar-Sebens to join the Earth Sciences faculty as an Assistant Professor. Her research is focused on the modeling of water-borne contaminants, and decision support systems for management of water quality and associated ecological and human health risks. Dr. Babbar-Sebens research focuses on a) analysis of uncertainty when models are used to conduct spatially referenced systems-scale environmental assessments, b) incorporation of uncertainty analysis within decision support systems used for risk assessment and management, and c) optimization of water resources planning and management strategies for emergency response and water-borne disease prevention.Item ECSTM Studies of the Electrocatalyst Stability for the AAEM Fuel Cell(Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2010-04-09) Xu, Qingmin; Cheng, Ruihua; Thornberry, Courtney; Chen, RongrongAlkaline fuel cells (AFC) have come to the forefront of fuel cell research due to the friendlier environment they provide to the cell’s components in comparison to acid-based Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells. The AFC shows real world application of 60% efficiency, but suffers from long term degradation due to the formation of carbonate precipitates formed from carbon dioxide. A solid-state form of the AFC, the alkaline anion exchange membrane (AAEM) fuel cell, is under development to overcome the degradation, due to the usage of liquid potassium hydroxide (KOH) or sodium hydroxide (NaOH) electrolytes in the AFC. Also, the AFC are known to have a higher rate of contamination and therefore need higher purity fuel than their acidic counterparts. This problem is eliminated by the AAEM fuel cell. The cathode, which consists of the catalyst, ionomer and current supports in the AAEM fuel cell or the AFC, is the key component that determines the cell’s performance and stability. The material found to work best for the AAEM fuel cell is platinum (Pt). The issue with Pt as a catalyst material for these fuel cells is that is it very cost prohibitive for mass production. Therefore, other metals are being investigated to find a material with less cost, but perform as well as the Pt in AAEM fuel cells. Several theories have been proposed as to the cause of cathode degradation. It was found that an increase in current density, temperature and ligand (OH-) concentration accelerated corrosion of catalysts and carbon supports. Studies have been done on the catalyst material of Pt, as well as the highly oriented pytolytic graphite (HOPG). HOPG is a carbon-based material that Pt is deposited upon. So far, most of these studies were done in acid media. The objective of this work is to develop an in situ electrochemical scanning tunneling microcopy (ECSTM) method for characterizing stability of nano-Pt and HOPG substrate under operation conditions of an AFC. Future research will characterize the stability of other metal nanostructure in an attempt to find cheaper and effective alternatives to Platinum.Item Five Minute Shower(Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2010-04-09) Teague, AndrewA cost-minimalization look at taking a shower. This study weighs the environmental and economic against the enjoyment of taking a shower under many different scenarios.Item TENSILE DEFORMATION BEHAVIOR AND MECHANICAL PROPERTY STUDY OF SIX FCC METALS(Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2010-04-09) Heidenreich, Joseph; Wang, GuofengNanomaterials have enhanced mechanical properties in comparison to their respective bulk materials. To understand the effect of the size and shape on the mechanical properties of nanomaterials, we used molecular dynamics (MD) methods to simulate the deformation process of copper, gold, nickel, palladium, platinum, and silver nanowires of three cross-sectional shapes (quare, circular, and octagonal) and four diameters (varied from one to eight nanometers). In this work, the nanowires were subjected to a uniaxial tensile load in the [100] direction at a strain rate of 108 s-1 at a simulation temperature of 300 K. The embedded-atom method was employed to describe the many-body atomic interaction energy in metallic systems. The nanowires were stretched to failure and the corresponding stress-strain curves were produced. From these curves, mechanical properties including the elastic modulus, yield stress and strain, and ultimate strain were calculated. In addition to the MD approach, an energy method was applied to calculate the elastic modulus of each nanowire through exponential fitting of an energy function. Both methods used to calculate Young’s modulus qualitatively gave similar results indicating that as diameter decreases, Young’s modulus decreases. The atomic structures generated from MD simulations were examined in details to investigate the deformation and yield behavior of each nanowire. It was found that most nanowires yield and fail through partial dislocation nucleation and propagation leading to {111} slip. However, the octagonal platinum nanowire, whose diameter is 5 nm, was found to yield through reconstruction of the {011} surfaces into the more energetically favorable {111} surfaces.Item Heterogeneity of Human Gingival Fibroblasts in Tobaccostimulated Collagen Degradation(Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2010-04-09) ZHANG, W.; FANG, M.; SONG, F.; WINDSOR, L. J.Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a large family of zinc-dependent endopeptidases and their activity is modulated by tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs). Smoking is a risk factor for periodontal disease. Cigarette smoke condensate (CSC) is the particulate matter of cigarette smoke. Human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) are one of major cellular components in periodontal tissue. CSC can increase collagen degradation of HGFs by enhancing and altering the localization of MMPs. Previous clinical studies also showed that some smoking people even with very high dental plaque index still had good periodontal status and did not develop periodontal disease. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the heterogeneity of HGFs to CSC-stimulated collagen degradation and to start examining its mechanisms. Methods: Eleven HGF cell lines were established from healthy gingival tissue from patients undergoing crown-lengthening surgery. HGFs were seeded as single colony (75,000 cells/well) in 6-well Type I collagen coated plates and exposed to 100 µg/ml CSC (Murty Pharmaceuticals, Lexington, KY) diluted in serum-free media with/without a MMPs inhibitor (GM6001, 100 nM, Chemicon, Temecla, CA) for 3 days. HGFs were seeded with serum free media alone as controls. The mRNA levels of multiple MMPs/TIMPs were measured by reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction. Results: CSC increased collagen degradation in 7 HGF cell lines (CSC-susceptible HGFs), but not in 4 HGF cell lines (CSC-unsusceptible HGFs). GM6001 inhibited CSC-stimulated collagen degradation in all of CSC-susceptible HGFs. The mRNA levels of MMP-1, MMP-2, MMP-3, MMP-14, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2 increased 2.5, 1.3, 3.9, 2.0, 1.6, and 1.3 fold, respectively, in the CSC-susceptible HGFs. However, expression of MMPs/TIMPs basically didn’t change in the CSC-unsusceptible HGFs, except for MMP-3 which increased 1.4 fold. Conclusions: Heterogeneity of HGFs existed in regard to the CSC-stimulated collagen degradation and the altered expression of the MMPs/TIMPs may be responsible for this heterogeneity. This project was supported by the IUPUI Tobacco Cessation and Biobehavioral Center.Item From sequence to structure, to function, and back again: Integrating knowledge-based approaches with physical intuitions for protein folding, binding, and design(Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2010-04-09) Zhou, YaoqiBy combining physical and knowledge-based approaches, state-of-the-art bioinformatics tools are developed for protein structure prediction, function prediction (DNA binding) and structurebased protein and ligand design.Item Impacting Parameter Analysis for Intensity Modulated Radiation Treatment(Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2010-04-09) Wu, HuanmeiIntroduction: Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) accurately delivers radiation doses with high degree of conformity by modulating the intensity of the radiation beam in multiple small segments. Usually small fields have large variation in dose. For some TPS, there are no restrictions on plan parameters. Guideline for plan optimization is needed that allows the IMRT QA to pass satisfactorily. IMRT plan parameters are analyzed to correlate the success and failure of an IMRT QA plan. Materials and Methods: Based on IMRT QA results, 15 IMRT treatment plans, divided into 3 groups, are studies. Plans in group 1 passed IMRT QA with high gamma index passing rates and plan in group 2 passed with marginal passing rates. Plans in group 3 failed the IMRT QA. Statistical analysis has been performed on plan parameters, including beam number, segment number for each beam, MU in total or for each segment, the width variations of the leaf/jaw positions for each segment, the segment area sizes, and dose delivery for different segments of each beam, to discover the relationships between IMRT quality and these parameters. Results: The statistical results showed there is no correlation between plan quality and MU or beam/segment numbers. However, there are noticeable correlations between the IMRT quality and the segment sizes and widths. For each plan group, the IMRT quality decreased with the decreasing field sizes and segment widths. The histograms of these factors showed that failed IMRT plans have peak distributions with small field sizes (< 30cm2) and narrow widths (<20mm). Conclusion: Initial results showed that the passing rates of IMRT treatment plans have strong correlation with the segment field sizes and the opening widths of the leaf/jaw positions. Large number of segments with small fields produces unacceptable IMRT QA and should be avoided during IMRT planning.Item The IUPUI Signature Center for Atopic Dermatitis(Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2010-04-09) Travers, Jeffrey B.; Kaplan, Mark; Holbreich, Mark; Leickly, FrederickAtopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by dry skin, hypersensitivity to irritants and allergens, and significant pruritus. Atopic dermatitis is commonly associated with other atopic diseases including asthma, allergic rhinitis, and gastrointestinal disorders including eosinophilic esophagitis. Though a very common disease, there exists much misinformation and controversy/conflict in both the lay and medical communities about its pathogenesis and treatment, resulting in suboptimal care for the atopic dermatitis patient. Thus, education of both clinicians and lay public is needed. Inasmuch as atopic dermatitis is considered a systemic disorder, the optimal management should entail a multidisciplinary approach. Finally, research into the mechanisms by which atopic dermatitis occurs is needed to improve treatment of this common and quite debilitating disorder. The objective of the IUPUI Signature Center for Atopic Dermatitis is to provide optimal patient care, education and research in atopic dermatitis for the citizens of the state of Indiana. The Atopic Dermatitis has three separate components. First, we have developed an Atopic Dermatitis Working Group (ADWG) consisting of clinicians and scientists who meet on a monthly basis to disseminate information about research ideas/trials, and discuss topics and present difficult patients. Second, we have developed a monthly multidisciplinary AD clinic which has attracted the most challenging AD patients. Finally, we have developed infrastructure to assist in clinical and basic science research projects involving AD. Altogether, the IUPUI Signature Center for AD has been very successful as measured by the numbers of clinicians, researchers and patients who have been impacted by its presence.Item Center for Urban and Multicultural Education’s Arts4Learning: Evaluation of an Early Childhood Arts Education Program(Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2010-04-09) Smith, Joshua; Rittenhouse, Ashley; Guillot, Jerry; Pagdalian, PloiCUME is a research center located in the Indiana University School of Education at Indianapolis focused on (1) Engaged Urban Teaching and Learning, (2) Community-Campus Connections/Translational Research, (3) Academic Access and Success in Urban Contexts, and (4) Urban Curriculum Research. The Arts4Learning project embodies several CUME initiatives as it infuses arts education with literacy skills and reaches out to students in both Indianapolis and Lafayette.