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Effects Of Acculturation On Hiv/Aids Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Asian And Pacific Islander (Api) Women, Margaret Cabotage Salud

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Background. In the US women are the fastest growing group for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV and AIDS. In addition, the estimated AIDS cases among female adults and adolescents, aged 13-19, increased from 7% in 1985 to approximately 26% in 2002. Most infections occur by heterosexual transmission with 53% occurring through contact with a high-risk sexual partner. While overall HIV/AIDS rates in the Asian Pacific Islander (API) community remain low, they are rising and HIV testing rates, one of the major prevention strategies for HIV, are lower than that of other populations. Furthermore, very little is known about APIs …

Microct Study Of Critical-Sized Defects Restored With A New Rhbmp-2 Carrier, Joanne S. Kim

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Introduction: Regenerating bone in critical-sized maxillofacial osseous defects remains a challenge. The utilization of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) to form new bone has been shown to be a promising alternative to autogenous bone grafts, and the development of a carrier matrix to effectively deliver the rhBMP-2 has been identified as the critical factor necessary for the successful clinical application of rhBMP-2. The objective of this study was to perform a microCT analysis to examine the density of reconstructed bone using different rhBMP-2 carriers in critical-sized defects.

Material and Methods: Critical-sized defects (approximately 2.5 cm) were created in the …

The Use Of The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Ii (Mmpi-2) In Pre-Employment Evaluations, Ana M. Gamez

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Psychological testing is an important facet in the selection and hiring processes of law enforcement and public safety personnel. Research in this area suggests that the MMPI-2 scales have been correlated with problematic behavior among police officers, poor job performance, and officer misconduct. This study examined the extent to which suitability for hire could be predicted by the MMPI-2 scale L (Lie), scale K (correction), Infrequency scale (F), scale 4 Psychopathic Deviate (Pd), scale 6 Paranoia (Pa), scale 7 Psychasthenia (Pt), and scale 9 Hypomania (Ma). It examined whether profile differences emerged as a function of suitability across gender, between …

Mixture Of Factor Analyzers With Information Criteria And The Genetic Algorithm, Esra Turan

Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, we have developed and combined several statistical techniques in Bayesian factor analysis (BAYFA) and mixture of factor analyzers (MFA) to overcome the shortcoming of these existing methods. Information Criteria are brought into the context of the BAYFA model as a decision rule for choosing the number of factors m along with the Press and Shigemasu method, Gibbs Sampling and Iterated Conditional Modes deterministic optimization. Because of sensitivity of BAYFA on the prior information of the factor pattern structure, the prior factor pattern structure is learned directly from the given sample observations data adaptively using Sparse Root algorithm. …

The Relationship Between The Level Of Support Group Participation And Psychosocial Factors In Prostate Cancer Patients Treated With Proton Therapy, Carol A. L. Davis

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Background. The role of support groups for cancer patients is known to be beneficial in helping people adjust to the disease, and cope with the myriad of effects that cancer has on quality of life. Although many people express interest in attending such support groups, few attend regularly. It is unclear what characteristics distinguish those who use such services from those who do not, especially among proton therapy patients.

Objective. To examine demographic and psychosocial characteristics associated with the Brotherhood of the Balloon (BOB) prostate cancer support group membership, a unique treatment-focused group originating at Loma Linda University Medical Center …

Manova: Type I Error Rate Analysis, Kyle Wesley Gasperik

Statistics

Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) is most commonly used in the field of bio-statistics. Throughout this paper I conduct numerous simulations that help analyze how robust the MANOVA procedure is against its assumptions. Using Type I error rate as my measure of error, I used the R software to graph my results. The main assumption that is focused on is the equal covariance matrix assumption, which we introduce correlation between variables to see how well the MANOVA procedure performs. Overall, 70 simulations were ran, and 10 functions were created to perform all of the analysis.

Statistical Analysis Of Texas Holdem Poker, Daniel Bragonier

Statistics

Gathered lifetime online Poker data for Mike Linn. Attempted to analyze data to obtain information to maximize profit. Techniques included Univariate Analysis, Regression analysis, Anova analysis, Logistic Regression, and outlier Analysis. After the analysis, nothing of supreme importance or sustenance was found. Encountered issues with too much power. Results lead to plenty of statistical significance, but little practical significance. Results showed that the data did not provide all the answers that were being sought after, but there was some value in examining the data in a strict statistical manner.

Survival Prediction For Brain Tumor Patients Using Gene Expression Data, Vinicius Bonato

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Brain tumor is one of the most aggressive types of cancer in humans, with an estimated median survival time of 12 months and only 4% of the patients surviving more than 5 years after disease diagnosis. Until recently, brain tumor prognosis has been based only on clinical information such as tumor grade and patient age, but there are reports indicating that molecular profiling of gliomas can reveal subgroups of patients with distinct survival rates. We hypothesize that coupling molecular profiling of brain tumors with clinical information might improve predictions of patient survival time and, consequently, better guide future treatment decisions. …