Digital Commons Network^™

Analysis Of Ghrelin Concentrations In Serum Samples Processed At One, Two, And Three Hours After Collection, Christine E. Prato

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Obesity is becoming an epidemic of modern society. While the health-related consequences of obesity have been well studied, scientists continue to search for biological risk factors associated with this disease. Since the 1999 discovery of an appetite-stimulating hormone, ghrelin, researchers have further questioned the physiological interactions that lead to obesity. The fundus of the stomach, as well as the intestines and kidneys produce ghrelin before it circulates throughout the body and attaches to its receptor sites located within the section of the brain responsible for appetite-regulation. The hormone increases and decreases in a circadian rhythm that may dictate the routine …

Calcium Supplemental Usage And Potential Health Issues Sssociated With The Rate Of Usage In Las Vegas, Nv, Tanesha Nicole Moss

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Calcium is a very important nutrient and as such, it is very important that all humans consume sufficient amounts. However, some calcium supplements have been known to contain small quantities of lead. This research project used a retrospective approach to explore the trade-off between the benefits of calcium vs. the potential lead exposure amongst people who are taking these supplements. A survey consisting of 10 questions was used to try to assess the rate of consumption of specific types of calcium supplements. This research project obtained lead levels in calcium supplements from previous research and applied that data into this …

Modeling Mortality Rates For Leukemia Between Men And Women In The United States, Blessed Quansah

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Leukemia related deaths increased dramatically over the last forty years. Leukemia is a malignant disease or cancer of the bone marrow and blood. It is characterized by the uncontrolled accumulation of blood cells. Leukemia is divided into two categories: myelogenous or lymphocytic, each of which can be acute or chronic. The terms, myelogenous or lymphocytic denote the cell type involved.

In this thesis, the proposed modeling techniques are applied to leukemia deaths data from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER). In particular, annual deaths data from 1969 to 2007 are used in the data analysis, which includes three major …

Nutrition And Fitness Guide For Graduating Student-Athletes, Anna Fukunaga

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

For the last four years of your life, you have been supported by strength coaches, academic advisors, athletic trainers, tutors, mentors, and coaches. Your life is dedicated to your sport, and your body is molded into the ideal build to compete at the highest level you can achieve. As soon as your competitive days are over, your life dramatically changes and the needs of your body change as well. Because you typically do not sustain the same level of activity, you do not have the same nutritional needs. The demands you place on your body for your sport are higher …

The Association Between Body Mass Index And Dental Caries In Hispanic Elementary School Children, Mary Creske

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Background: Dental caries is the most common chronic disease of children ages 6 to 11. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 41% of the children in this age group experience decay in their primary teeth. Since 1980 the number of overweight children ages 6 to 11 has doubled. Childhood obesity is currently the most prevalent nutritional condition of children in the U.S.

Purpose: The purpose of this observational study was to determine if there is an association between childhood dental caries and childhood obesity. The study also explored the effects of diet and other covariates.

Method: …

Physical Activity And Sedentary Activity Patterns Among Children And Adolescents: A Latent Class Analysis Approach, Carrie D. Patnode, Leslie A. Lytle, Darin J. Erickson, John R. Sirard, Daheia J. Barr-Anderson, Mary Story

Faculty Publications

Background: While much is known about the overall levels of physical activity and sedentary activity among youth, few studies have attempted to define clusters of such behaviors. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe unique classes of youth based on their perception in a variety of physical activity and sedentary behaviors. Methods: Latent class analysis was used to characterize segments of youth based on patterns of self-reported and accelerometer-measured participation in 12 behaviors. Children and adolescents (N =720) from 6th-11th grade were included in the analysis. Differences in class membership were examined using multinomial logistic …

The Importance Of Metrics And Communication In Cafeteria School Policy, Andre Sanchez, Atreya Chakraborty

Interdisciplinary Perspectives: a Graduate Student Research Showcase

Obesity has become an epidemic amongst American youth in the 21st century, and is spreading not only into other developed nations such as the UK and Australia, but is also beginning to effect developing nations such as India (Bhardwaj, 2008). It is estimated that nationwide, childhood obesity affects around 17% of American children (Center For Disease Control, 2011). Obesity has been linked to many health disorders, including but not limited to, heart disease and diabetes. Subsequently, this rise in childhood obesity is having a severe impact on the healthcare services sector in America, with some studies suggesting childhood obesity in …

Curated Exhibit Roadside Crosses And Memorials: Photo Essay By Gerald Moore, Laura J. Hall

Posters and Presentations

The Roadside Crosses and Memorials exhibit, curated by Laura J. Hall, MFA, featured a poignant photo essay by New Mexico artist Gerald Moore. The exhibit captured the memorials placed alongside highways and roads in remembrance of those who lost their lives in vehicular accidents. These "descansos," as they are called in New Mexico, represent the places where individuals were last alive, offering a powerful reflection on life, loss, and remembrance. Through photography, Moore documented the varied forms of these memorials, from simple wooden crosses to intricate handmade tributes, capturing both their artistic expression and their deep emotional resonance. April 28, …

Prescriptions For Excellence In Health Care Spring 2011 Download Pdf

Prescriptions for Excellence in Health Care Newsletter Supplement

No abstract provided.

Contextual Factors And Reproductive Control In U.S. Women, Brianna Magnusson

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Access to family planning services is a major public health issue. State policies and funding for family planning services may increase access to contraceptive services and help women avoid unintended pregnancies. Study Design: We identified sexually active, fertile women participants of the National Survey of Family Growth (2006-2008). Women were categorized as consistent or inconsistent users of contraceptives based on self-report. States were classified based on 2006 Medicaid family planning waiver status (income expansions, limited expansions, or no Medicaid family planning expansions), 2006 public funding for family planning in dollars per woman, and insurance coverage of contraceptive mandate status …

Characterization Of A Blast Wave Device And Blast Wave Induced Traumatic Brain Injury In A Rat Model By Magnetic Resonance Imaging And Spectroscopy, Frank Corwin

Theses and Dissertations

Blast wave induced traumatic brain injury (bTBI) is a modality of injury that has come into prominence at the current time due to the large number of military and civilian personnel who have experienced the localized shock wave produced by explosive devices. The shock wave will travel concentrically outward from the explosive center, being absorbed and transmitted thru soft objects, such as tissue, and reflecting off stationary obstructions. Transmission and absorption in tissues can result in a number of physiological measureable injuries, the most common of which being what is frequently called “blast lung”. Blast lung involves the spalling effect …

Aids Denialism, Erika Jenel Delos Santos, Roy Llana, Jocelyn Tan

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

AIDS denialism is a growing issue in many parts the world. Through scholarly journal articles, book resources and other research tactics, further understanding how HIV/AIDS denialism is unethical can be distinguished. Discovering that AIDS is most prominent in South Africa explains why denialism is as critical as it is. However, the unethical aspect of AIDS denialism is in effect particularly amongst families. When a South African inhabitant realizes they have AIDS, they feel outcasted by their families due to shame. They fear as though they will be disowned because they have flaws that are unacceptable. These family values are significant …

Dual Testing Algorithm Of Bed-Ceia And Axsym Avidity Index Assays Performs Best In Identifying Recent Hiv Infection In A Sample Of Rwandan Sex Workers, Sarah L. Braunstein, Denis Nash, Andrea A. Kim, Ken Ford, Lambert Mwambarangwe, Chantal M. Ingabire, Joseph Vyankandondera, Janneke H. H. M. Van De Wijgert

Publications and Research

Background

To assess the performance of BED-CEIA (BED) and AxSYM Avidity Index (Ax-AI) assays in estimating HIV incidence among female sex workers (FSW) in Kigali, Rwanda.

Methodology and Findings

Eight hundred FSW of unknown HIV status were HIV tested; HIV-positive women had BED and Ax-AI testing at baseline and ≥12 months later to estimate assay false-recent rates (FRR). STARHS-based HIV incidence was estimated using the McWalter/Welte formula, and adjusted with locally derived FRR and CD4 results. HIV incidence and local assay window periods were estimated from a prospective cohort of FSW. At baseline, 190 HIV-positive women were BED and Ax-AI …

Bayesian Effect Estimation Accounting For Adjustment Uncertainty, Chi Wang, Giovanni Parmigiani, Francesca Dominici

Harvard University Biostatistics Working Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Influenza Vaccination Of The Health Care Workforce: A Literature Review, Alexandra M. Stewart, Marisa A. Cox, Mallory O'Connor

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

Since 1981, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended that all health care workers (HCWs) receive an annual influenza vaccination. The Healthy People objectives aimed for 60% coverage of HCW influenza vaccination by 2010 and 90% coverage by 2020. Although influenza vaccine uptake among HCWs has trended upward over the past several years, the percentage of immunized HCWs has remained approximately 40% between 2004 and 2008.

In order to complete the literature review, researchers identified and analyzed peer reviewed literature, news articles, professional organization position statements, and institutional policies published between 1991 and 2011. In the absence …

Effects Of Exercise On Brain Activation In Response To Visual Food Cues, Laura Hackett

Kinesiology and Public Health

No abstract provided.

Jordan’S Mental Healthcare System, Katherine Nolan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Mental illness is a serious health concern often neglected in healthcare schemes in countries around the world. This study surveyed the mental healthcare system in Jordan through interviews with a former student, an academic, a public and private practitioner, a representative of the WHO, and a representative of the Jordanian Ministry of Health (MoH) and a survey among students of the University of Jordan in order to describe the system in Jordan and discover common perspectives toward the system. Results show that the system is in need of increased access to mental healthcare, decreased stigma regarding mental illness, and increased …

Adoption Of Electronic Health Records By Admitting Physicians: A Heuristic Model, John Sharon Hudson

Health Services Research Dissertations

Background: Although hospital electronic health records (EHRs) are generally perceived to improve care, physician resistance may hinder EHR adoption.

Purpose: This study uses constructs from diffusion of innovations and resource dependence theories to predict adoption and rate of adoption of an EHR by admitting physicians from three of ten hospitals in a highly integrated health system in Virginia. Functions evaluated: computerized physician order entry (CPOE), electronic history and physical (EH&P) and electronic discharge summary (EDS). The study tested hypotheses that adoption would be associated with: working at larger, academic hospitals; financial alignment; larger physician groups; office EHR; youth; males; medical …

Role Of Breastfeeding And Current Lifestyle On Maternal Long-Term Weight Change, Denise R. Hinds

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Background: Evidence suggests that prolonged and exclusive breastfeeding is associated with health benefits to children and nursing mothers beyond the period of breastfeeding. Studies that support the role of breastfeeding in postpartum weight change primarily focused on short-term weight change (within 12 to 24 months postpartum) (Binns et al. 2003; Lederman 2004; Johnson et al. 2006), while few focused on the association between breastfeeding and long-term weight change (5 years or more postpartum) (Rooney, Schauberger et al. 2005).

Purpose: This study investigated the role of breastfeeding in long-term weight change, specifically 1) whether breastfeeding protects against weight gain, and 2) …

Use Of Internet-Based Diabetes Self-Management Education: Emmi Solutions, Esther Pak

Master of Public Health Capstone Presentations

Diabetes is a serious public health problem in the United States and in Philadelphia. A 2007 CDC report stated that 7.8% in the US and 10.4% in Philadelphia had diabetes. While the key to managing one’s diabetes and lowering the risk of its adverse health outcomes is adherence to diabetes management guidelines, the prevalence of these behaviors among adult diabetics in the US remained relatively low. Attendance at a diabetes self-management class was particularly low (55.4%), which is of concern because of the importance of education in a patient’s adherence to diabetes-maintenance behaviors. Emmi Solutions recently developed three Internet-based diabetes …

Threshold Regression Models Adapted To Case-Control Studies, And The Risk Of Lung Cancer Due To Occupational Exposure To Asbestos In France, Antoine Chambaz, Dominique Choudat, Catherine Huber, Jean-Claude Pairon, Mark J. Van Der Laan

U.C. Berkeley Division of Biostatistics Working Paper Series

Asbestos has been known for many years as a powerful carcinogen. Our purpose is quantify the relationship between an occupational exposure to asbestos and an increase of the risk of lung cancer. Furthermore, we wish to tackle the very delicate question of the evaluation, in subjects suffering from a lung cancer, of how much the amount of exposure to asbestos explains the occurrence of the cancer. For this purpose, we rely on a recent French case-control study. We build a large collection of threshold regression models, data-adaptively select a better model in it by multi-fold likelihood-based cross-validation, then fit the …

Developing Countries, Vaccine Access And Influenza Outbreaks: Ethics And Global Health Governance When Facing A Pandemic, Shawn Smallman

International & Global Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

The threat posed by influenza pandemics raises serious ethical issues, as well as questions of global health governance. In order to create pre-pandemic vaccines, global health authorities need access to virus from regional outbreaks. But because the countries where these outbreaks occur are unlikely to benefit from the vaccine, they are sometimes reluctant to share this seed stock, and may try to make proprietary arrangements with pharmaceutical companies, as briefly occurred in Indonesia. Although these arrangements may increase developing countries' access to vaccine, they hamper the global cooperation necessary to prepare for influenza outbreaks. Developing countries, in contrast, point to …

Evaluation Of Xmx/2l-Mil Virtual Impactor Performance And Capture And Retention Of Aerosol Particles In Two Different Collection Media, Jon E. Black

Theses and Dissertations

The United States Air Force uses the XMX/2L-MIL (XMX) high volume air sampler to collect samples for biological analysis. The XMX uses a virtual impactor to concentrate particles 1.0 to 10 μm in size into a secondary flow prior to sample collection using a liquid impinger in a collection tube. There are no known published studies regarding virtual impactor inter-instrument variability, effect of reducing the secondary flow on particle concentration, or capture and retention efficiency (CRE) of particles in the collection media performance characteristics when using the XMX. These performance characteristics were evaluated by lofting test aerosols of Arizona Road …

Characterization Of Graphite Composite Material Particulates From Usaf Aircraft Maintenance Operations, Richard E. Yon

Theses and Dissertations

Due to the benefits of their material properties, advanced composite materials (ACM) are increasingly being used as structural components on aircraft, especially within the United States Air Force. As a result, the potential exists for occupational exposures to structural maintenance employees while repairing and fabricating aircraft components. Two field studies were conducted for this thesis in order to characterize ACM aerosol size distribution, determine the feasibility of utilizing direct reading instruments (DRIs) in the field, and ensure workers are protected with adequate controls. In order to characterize exposure, traditional integrated air sampling and DRIs were positioned together near an ACM …

The Epidemiology Of Human Rabies Postexposure Prophylaxis In Virginia, 2002 And 2003, Marilyn Goss Haskell

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: To describe a sample that received human rabies postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) in Virginia as a result of animal exposures in 2002 and 2003 and to determine the extent to which PEP decisions were appropriate.Methods: PEP surveillance data were requested from 35 Virginia health districts within 5 regions. Retrospective chart review was used to gather demographic, exposure and source animal data from patient records and animal exposure reports. Descriptive statistics are presented. True exposures and appropriateness of PEP were defined using the 2004 Virginia Rabies Control Guidelines and the Recommendations of the 1999 Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The 2003 …

Semi Drivers Killed After Vehicle Rollovers, Kentucky Injury Prevention And Research Center

Kentucky Haz Alerts--Motor Vehicle

To prevent semi truck rollovers, employers should:

• Implement and enforce a seat belt safety program
• Establish and strengthen a company policy to reduce fatigue on the job

Employees should:

• Always wear a seat belt while in the vehicle
• Use correct lights during a fog
• Use proper precautions to reduce sloshing
• Reduce inadequate evasive actions

Behavioral Contexts, Food-Choice Coping Strategies, And Dietary Quality Of A Multiethnic Sample Of Employed Parents, Christine E. Blake, Elaine Wethington, Tracy J. Farrell, Carole A. Bisogni, Carol M. Devine

Faculty Publications

Employed parents' work and family conditions provide behavioral contexts for their food choices. Relationships between employed parents' food-choice coping strategies, behavioral contexts, and dietary quality were evaluated. Data on work and family conditions, sociodemographic characteristics, eating behavior, and dietary intake from two 24-hour dietary recalls were collected in a random sample cross-sectional pilot telephone survey in the fall of 2006. Black, white, and Latino employed mothers (n=25) and fathers (n=25) were recruited from a low/moderate income urban area in upstate New York. Hierarchical cluster analysis (Ward's method) identified three clusters of parents differing in use of food-choice coping strategies (ie, …

Circadian Rhythm Of Cortisol And Neighborhood Characteristics In A Population-Based Sample: The Multi-Ethnic Study Of Atherosclerosis, D. Phuong Do, Ana V. Diez Roux, Anjum Hajat, Amy Auchincloss, Sharon Merkin, Nalini Ranjit, Steven Shea, Teresa Seeman

Faculty Publications

Although stress is often hypothesized to contribute to the effects of neighborhoods on health, very few studies have investigated associations of neighborhood characteristics with stress biomarkers. This study helps address the gap in the literature by examining whether neighborhood characteristics are associated with cortisol profiles. Analyses were based on data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis Stress study which collected multiple measures of salivary cortisol over three days on a population based sample of approximately 800 adults. Multilevel models with splines were used to examine associations of cortisol with neighborhood poverty, violence, disorder, and social cohesion. Neighborhood violence was significantly …

Validation Of The Actical Activity Monitor In Middle-Aged And Older Adults, Steven P. Hooker, Anna Feeney, Brent E. Hutto, Karin A. Pfeiffer, Kerry Mciver, Daniel P. Heil, John E. Vena, Michael J. Lamonte, Steven N. Blair

Faculty Publications

Purpose: This study was designed to validate the Actical activity monitor in middle-aged and older adults of varying body composition to develop accelerometer thresholds to distinguish between light and moderate intensity physical activity (PA).

Methods: Nonobese 45 to 64 yr (N = 29), obese 45 to 64 yr (N = 21), and ≥65 yr (N = 23; varying body composition) participants completed laboratory-based sitting, household, and locomotive activities while wearing an Actical monitor and a portable metabolic measurement system. Non-linear regression analysis was used to identify activity count (AC) cut-points to differentiate between light intensity (<3 METs) and moderate intensity (≥3 METs) PA.

Results: Using group-specific algorithms, …

Maternal Health Behaviours During Pregnancy In An Irish Obstetric Population And Their Assocations With Socio-Demographic And Infant Characteristics, Roslyn Tarrant, Katherine Younger, Margaret Sheridan-Pereira, John Kearney

Articles

Objectives: To examine the prevalence and combined occurrence of peri-conceptional folic acid (FA) supplement use, smoking and alcohol consumption during pregnancy in a sample of women in Dublin, and determine the factors associated with these health behaviours.

Subjects/Methods: A prospective observational study (2004-2006) involving the recruitment of 491 pregnant women from antenatal clinics in a Dublin maternity hospital, with postpartum follow-up of 450 eligible mothers. Data on FA use, maternal smoking and alcohol consumption patterns during pregnancy were collected from the antenatal patient-administered questionnaire, which was completed by participants, and returned to the investigator on the day of recruitment. …