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Efficacy Of Gold Silica Nanoshells And Gold Nanorods For Photothermal Therapy Of Human Glioma Spheroids, Suyog Jung Chhetri

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Gold-based nanoparticles including gold-silica nano-spheres and gold nano-rods have been investigated for a number of therapeutic and diagnostic applications. The ability of these nanoparticles to convert light into heat energy makes them particularly appealing for photothermal therapy in which cancer cells are destroyed via light-induced heat generation. The overall objective of the study is to compare the efficacy of gold-silica nano-spheres and gold nano-rods in an in vitro system consisting of human brain tumor (glioma) spheroids.

Delivery of the nanoparticles to the spheroids was accomplished using murine macrophages. Nanoparticles (spheres or rods) were incubated with macrophages for 24 hours. Thereafter, …

The Lived Experience Of The Novice Nursing Dean: Exploring The Meaning And Significance, Melissa Rae Bouws

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Deans of nursing hold a unique position for the future of the profession. Few others have the potential to bring about change within the academic setting, or hold such a strong influence on the future of nursing and on our students. Current statistics reveal multiple vacancies in nursing dean positions. Further understanding of how nursing deans begin their role, attain their identity as dean, and successfully execute this important position is needed to recruit and retain strong leaders who have the methods and skills to develop and support the advancement of the nursing profession. Understanding the process of becoming nursing …

Testing A Reflection Education Intervention On Baccalaureate Nursing Students' Level Of Reflection During Online Clinical Post Conference, Jaime Alicia Hannans

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Background

The majority of faculty-student interactions are at low cognitive levels during nursing clinical post conference (CPC), a time often utilized for reflective thinking. Strategies have been implemented to promote or even teach reflection, but the level of reflection or impact of the intervention in nursing, such as the relationship to student attributes or clinical reasoning, is often not evaluated.

Specific Aims

The specific aims of this study are to (a) test the effect of a reflection education intervention on the baccalaureate students' level of reflection during online CPC, (b) examine the relationship between student attributes and level of reflection, …

Relationship Of Global Dna Methylation With Cardiovascular Fitness And Body Composition, Michael Steele Jarrett

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Background: Global DNA Methylation (GDM), an epigenomic modification has been linked to the development of Cardiovascular Disease and its risk factors. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a significant correlation between GDM and cardiovascular fitness, as well as, measures of body composition. Methodology: 26 apparently healthy, adults (11 males) completed a physical activity and diet questionnaire, as well as, had a small blood sample (600μL) collected via finger prick for the determination of GDM. Body composition was assessed by means of a Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) scan, while cardiovascular fitness was evaluated by the …

Examining The Inner Experience Of Three Individuals With Major Depressive Disorder And Three Individuals With Bipolar Disorder, Janell Marie Mihelic

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD) provide a description of expected experiences of individuals diagnosed with those disorders (e.g., sadness, expansive mood, difficulty concentrating). However, much remains unknown about the inner experience of individuals with these disorders which may prove crucial in understanding and treating these disorders. The present study examined the inner experience of three individuals with MDD and three individuals with BD using the Descriptive Experience Sampling (DES) method (Hurlburt 1990, 1993, 2011). Results were not suggestive of any clear, consistent patterns of inner experience either within the MDD or BD groups …

Evaluation Of An Educational Intervention On Perceptions Of A Patient Safety Culture Among Staff In Acute Care Nursing Units, Cynthia Ann Parkman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Patient safety has always been a central focus of nursing practice. Current research makes it increasingly clear that what occurs in the surrounding health care environment impacts patient safety. The protracted nursing shortage and nurse turnover may adversely affect patient outcomes and are exacerbated by an environment of disruptive behavior, conflict, and poor communication in the nursing workplace. The Joint Commission has identified these behaviors as key elements that jeopardize the "culture of safety" necessary to assure safe, quality patient outcomes. A culture of safety includes the attributes of teamwork, communication openness, collaboration, and a manager's positive focus on prevention …

Weight Gain In Pregnancy And Pre-Menopausal Breast Cancer: A Population-Based Case-Control Study, Arash Ardalan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Background: The risk of breast cancer increases transiently after pregnancy and then falls to a lower level than for age-matched nulliparous women. Higher levels of estrogen are known as the primary reason. Several pregnancy characteristics are thought to be confounding the above link; however, except for the age at first pregnancy no other pregnancy-related factor has been proved to be significant. Specifically, it has not been established that an excessive weight gain in pregnancy is linked to the maternal risk of breast cancer.

Objectives: To identify independent influence of weight gain in pregnancy on the risk of pre-menopausal breast cancer …

Session 4-2-C: Does Non-Problem Gaming Have Any Negative Impact On Gamblers?, Samuel Huang

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Outline

Background

Literature Review

Data and Methodology

Analysis and Discussion

Session 4-2-A: Taking The Disorder Out Of Gambling Disorder, Denise F. Quirk, Colin M. Hodgen

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

DSM‐5 Gambling Disorder

A. Persistent and recurrent problematic gambling behavior leading to clinically significant impairment or distress, as indicated by four (or more) of the following in a 12‐month period:

A. Persistent and recurrent maladaptive gambling behavior as indicated by five (or more) of the following:

Session 4-1-A: Roman Addiction: The Changing Perception Of Problem Gaming In The Roman World, Suzanne B. Faris

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Describes the perception of problem gambling in ancient Rome.

Session 4-1-C: Social Gaming: Problems, Policies And Predictions, Keith Whyte

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Discusses key issues with social gaming.

Session 4-1-D: The Experience Of Lotto 6/49 And The Capacity To Trust: Elements For An Anthropology Of Gambling, Jocelyn Gadbois

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Anthropologists study Lotto 6/49 as an experience.

Lévy-Bruhl tries to compare the magical beliefs of serious gamblers with the magical beliefs of individuals he refers to as the ‘‘primitives’’ (1924).

After that, Henslin studied the superstitions of St.Louis taxi drivers who play craps during their work breaks and compared them to Skinner’s pigeon (1967).

I wanted in my thesis to help anthropology to reconstruct lost knowledge regarding gambling and beliefs about magic in capitalist society.

Session 4-1-C: Social Media Gambling Games: Impact On Young People, Sally Gainsbury, Jeffrey L. Derevensky

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Key concerns for youth

Normalisation & positive impressions of gambling

Misrepresenting the odds of winning

Encouraging transition to real money gambling

Development of problems

Session 4-1-A: The Problem Gambling Center, Robert Hunter

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Provides information and statistics on the Problem Gambling Center.

Session 3-4-A: Public Opinion And Problem Gambling, Don Feeney

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

What do we need to know?

How does the public perceive addiction?

Do they stigmatize addiction?

Do they recognize gambling addiction?

Do they understand the causes?

Do they understand the solutions?

Do they know where to go for help?

Do they know preventative factors?

What are they willing to do?

What messages are credible and appealing?

Session 3-4-C: Are Lottery Players Affected By Random Shocks? Evidence From China’S Individual Lottery Betting Panel Data, Jia Yuan

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

I explore a unique, individual level, lottery betting panel data and show that lottery gambling is significantly affected by lottery winning history even though this winning history is shown to be merely an exogenous random shock. This panel data records lottery players’ collective lottery betting behaviors on a Chinese online lottery purchase website. This website lists each player’s lottery investment performance, the ratio between the lottery return and the lottery investment in the past three months, for lottery players’ reference and this ratio is shown to be an independent random shock across players. Based on the data with around 400,000 …

Session 3-3-C: The National Longitudinal Study Of Gambling Behaviour (Nlsgb): Preliminary Results, Andrew Dellis, Andre Hofmeyr, Harold Kincaid, Don Ross

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Introduction

The NLSGB tracked 300 gamblers over a 15-month period.

A comprehensive survey instrument was compiled to analyse factors that might influence changes in risk of gambling problems over time.

The study was conducted in the four major metropolitan areas of South Africa: Johannesburg, Tshwane, Durban and Cape Town. We will discuss the study’s design and implementation and some preliminary results.

Session 3-3-A: An Improved Pathways Development Model Of Problem Gambling: A Summary Of 11 Studies In Hong Kong And Macau, Amy Chiu Sau Lam, Alice Chan Ying Ying, Chi Chuen Chan

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Introduction

The rationale of this study came from a casual meeting of our supervisor Dr. Chan Chi Chuen and Professor Blaszczynski on a bus after the 2009 Reno conference.

On the bus, C. C. promised Mr. Blaszczynski that he would validate the pathways model in Hong Kong and Macau. And in the next 5 years, Dr. C.C. Chan and his students conducted 11 research projects on problem gambling in Hong Kong and Macau.

Purposes of current study

• To arrive on a summary finding from 11 studies on problem gambling
• To validate the pathways development model proposed by Blaszczynski & Nower …

Session 3-3-B: Recent Eu Gambling Regulatory Developments: A Case Of Many Court Cases With Institutions Courting Inconclusiveness?, Alan Littler

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Introduction

United Kingdom; shifting towards point of consumption regulation

Member States; competence to regulate is not boundless

Other European institutions; a different discourse?

Session 3-3-A: The ‘Circles Concept’ Of Gambling Addiction: An Empowered Framework For Change, Harry B. Mayr

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

The original ‘Circles Concept of (Gambling) Addiction’ was developed by Harry Mayr in 1982, while working as an addictions counsellor in a community-based health centre. It has always been a ‘user friendly’ concept … applicable and understood by people from all cultures, across all ages, and with or without an addiction issue. Years later, people have informed Mr Mayr how they still remember ‘those circles’, and how the concept helped them.

The ‘Circles Concept of (Gambling) Addiction’ is therefore a concept remembered as much for its visual cues as its verbal explanation – and thus applicable across languages, cognitive and …

Session 3-3-D: Interactive Gambling In Australia, Sally Gainsbury, Nerilee Hing, Alex Russell, Alex Blaszczynski, Dan Lubman, Robert Wood

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Describes interactive gambling and gives its advantages and disadvantages.

Session 3-2-D: Managing A Research Collaborative: Challenges And Outcomes, Joachim Haeusler

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Collaborative with the Division on Addiction

The collaborative set off in 2005 and since then produced 18 peer reviewed publications, leading to a paradigm shift in online gambling research and which allowed us to establish an evidence-based consumer protection concept.

Goals:

• Creating a scientific evidence base about actual online gambling behavior, relying on behavioral data
• Continuously evaluating games and player protection measures and designing a consumer protection concept based on this evidence
• Creating an early-detection model for the identification of customers at-risk of developing problems

Transparency:

• Full access to de-identified gambling transaction data of large samples (up to 100,000 customers), …

Session 3-2-D: Predicting Gambling-Related Problems Among Internet Gamblers, Sarah E. Nelson

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

The Goal

Use actual gambling behavior to identify, with good reliability and validity, distinct groups of gamblers among those who have gambling-related problems

Utilize this/these algorithm(s) to set up an early warning system for players at risk of developing problems

Session 3-2-C: Mentor - The New Online Prevention Tool In Use And Its Preliminary Results, Doris Malischnig

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

• Responsible Gaming (RG) Standards Casinos Austria / Austrian Lotteries
• MENTOR: Behavioral Feedback System
• Outlook

Session 3-2-A: The Conceptual Framework Of Harmful Gambling, Max Abbott

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Project Overview

Purpose: develop a clear, comprehensive, internationally relevant conceptual framework of harmful gambling that addresses a broad set of factors related to population risk and resilience beyond the symptoms-based view that affects individuals

Previous models inform the work

As the project sponsor, OPGRC is collaborating with an expert panel to facilitate the development of a conceptual framework of harmful gambling that captures the broad set of factors related to harmful gambling

The framework is outlined in a publication, jointly authored by the expert panel members, and presented at the OPGRC website

Session 3-1-E: Segmenting Slot Machine Players: A Factor-Cluster Analysis, Stowe Shoemaker, Dina Marie Zemke

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Overall objectives of the study:

Understand the following aspects of slot players:

– Demographic profile

– Motivations to play

– Behavioral characteristics while playing

– Factors important in choosing a game to play

– Attitudes toward progressives

– Desire for themed games

Session 3-1-C: A Qualitative Examination Of Online Gambling Culture Among College Students: Factors Influencing Participation, Maintenance And Cessation, Rina Gupta, Jeffrey L. Derevensky, Michael Wohl

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Qualitative research: focus groups

Population: college students

Objective: achieve a better understanding of the factors attracting students to online gambling including the role played by social media sites.

More importantly, the issue of migration between the play-for-fun gambling social media sites and online gambling was of primary interest.

Session 3-1-C: Gambling Behaviors Among American College Student-Athletes: Results From The 2012 National Collegiate Athletic Association Study, Tom Paskus, Jeffrey L. Derevensky, Caroline Temcheff

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Why Is the NCAA Concerned about Student-Athlete Gambling?

Student-athlete well-being

Contest integrity

Session 3-1-E: Anatomy Of A Jackpot: Characteristics Of Purchasers Of Large Jackpot Lottery Tickets, Todd Maki, Don Feeney

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Jackpot “Run” & Survey Design

Record breaking Powerball jackpot

Started at $40 million on Oct 6, 2012

Rolled 15 times to reach $550 million Nov 28, 2012

MN Sold $25.2 million worth of tickets

Sales from all lotteries totaled $1.3 billion

Internet Survey

1,000 Minnesota adults

In the field Dec 14 to 18

Took, on average, about 10 minutes to complete

Representative of the general population (age and gender)

Conducted by Ipsos

Session 2-4-G: Gambling Segmentation Studies A General Approach To Segmentation For Various Gambling Agencies, Paul Lauzon, Don Feeney

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

What is Segmentation?

A segmentation groups a market or population into meaningful subgroups

Segment members share characteristics and market influences that cause them to have similar product and/or service needs

Each segment is unique from the other segments