Digital Commons Network^™

Data Supporting A Saturation Mutagenesis Assay For Tat-Driven Transcription With The Gigaassay, Ronald Benjamin, Christopher J. Giacoletto, Zachary T. Fitzhugh, Danielle Eames, Lindsay Buczek, Xiaogang Wu, Jacklyn Newsome, Mira V. Han, Tony Pearson, Zhi Wei, Atoshi Banerjee, Lancer Brown, Liz J. Valente, Shirley Shen, Hong-Wen Deng, Martin R. Schiller

Life Sciences Faculty Research

The data in this article are associated with the research paper “GigaAssay – an adaptable high-throughput saturation mutagenesis assay". The raw data are sequence reads of HIV-1 Tat cDNA amplified from cellular genomic DNA in a new single-pot saturation mutagenesis assay designated the “GigaAssay”. A bioinformatic pipeline and parameters used to analyze the data. Raw, processed, analyzed, and filtered data are reported. The data is processed to calculate the Tat-driven transcription activity for cells with each possible single amino acid substitution in Tat. This data can be reused to interpret Tat intermolecular interactions and HIV latency. This is one of …

Saturable Absorption Of Free-Electron Laser Radiation By Graphite Near The Carbon K-Edge, Lars Hoffman, Sasawat Jamnuch, Craig Schwartz, Tobias Helk, Sumana L. Raj, Hikaru Mizuno, Riccardo Mincigrucci, Laura Foglia, Emiliano Principi, Richard J. Saykally, Walkter S. Drisdell

Nevada Extreme Conditions Laboratory Faculty Research

The interaction of intense light with matter gives rise to competing nonlinear responses that can dynamically change material properties. Prominent examples are saturable absorption (SA) and two-photon absorption (TPA), which dynamically increase and decrease the transmission of a sample depending on pulse intensity, respectively. The availability of intense soft X-ray pulses from free-electron lasers (FELs) has led to observations of SA and TPA in separate experiments, leaving open questions about the possible interplay between and relative strength of the two phenomena. Here, we systematically study both phenomena in one experiment by exposing graphite films to soft X-ray FEL pulses of …

Assessing The Compliance Of Dental Clinicians Towards Regulatory Infection Control Guidelines Using A Newly Developed Survey Tool: A Pilot Cross-Sectional Study In India, Pragati Kaurani, Kavita Batra, Himangini Rathore Hooja, N. Gopi Chander, Anamitra Bhowmick, Suraj Arora, Suheel Manzoor Baba, Shafait Ullah Khateeb, Anshad M. Abdulla, Vishakha Grover, Priyanka Saluja

School of Medicine Faculty Research

Adherence to the dental practice regulatory guidelines instituted during the COVID- 19 pandemic is essential to minimize the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 strains. Given the lack of a valid and reliable survey tool to assess the adherence to dental practice guidelines, this study aims to develop, validate, and test a survey tool on a pilot sample of dental clinicians practicing in India. A survey tool was developed/validated through a sequential phasic approach: Phase Ideveloping survey using conceptual and literature framework; Phase II: ascertaining its validity and reliability; Phase III: pilot testing; and Phase IV: assessing construct validity by exploratory factor analysis …

Assessing The Testability Of The Multi-Theory Model (Mtm) In Predicting Vaping Quitting Behavior Among Young Adults In The United States: A Cross-Sectional Survey, Manoj Sharma, Kavita Batra, Ravi Batra, Chia-Liang Dai, Traci Hayes, Melinda J. Ickes, Tejinder Pal Singh

Social and Behavioral Health Faculty Research

Purpose: Given the increased exposure to e-cigarettes and nicotine among young adults, difficulty in quitting vaping is likely, which supports the need for effective behavioral interventions. Therefore, this cross-sectional study aims to assess the testability of the contemporary multi-theory model of health behavior change in predicting the vaping quitting behavior among young adults in the United States. Methods: A nationally representative sample of 619 young adults engaged in vaping behavior and aged 18–24 years was recruited to complete a 49-item web-based survey. A structural equation model was used to test relationships between MTM constructs. Hierarchical multiple regression was utilized to …

A Wind Environment And Lorentz Factors Of Tens Explain Gamma-Ray Bursts X-Ray Plateau, Hüsne Dereli-Bégué, Asaf Pe’Er, Felix Ryde, Samantha R. Oates, Bing Zhang, Maria G. Dainotti

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Research

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are known to have the most relativistic jets, with initial Lorentz factors in the order of a few hundreds. Many GRBs display an early X-ray light-curve plateau, which was not theoretically expected and therefore puzzled the community for many years. Here, we show that this observed signal is naturally obtained within the classical GRB fireball model, provided that the initial Lorentz factor is rather a few tens, and the expansion occurs into a medium-low density wind. The range of Lorentz factors in GRB jets is thus much wider than previously thought and bridges an observational gap between …

Auditory Affective Processing, Musicality, And The Development Of Misophonic Reactions, Solena Mednicoff, Sivan Barashy, Destiny Gonzales, Stephen D. Benning, Joel S. Snyder, Erin Hannon

Psychology Faculty Research

Misophonia can be characterized both as a condition and as a negative affective experience. Misophonia is described as feeling irritation or disgust in response to hearing certain sounds, such as eating, drinking, gulping, and breathing. Although the earliest misophonic experiences are often described as occurring during childhood, relatively little is known about the developmental pathways that lead to individual variation in these experiences. This literature review discusses evidence of misophonic reactions during childhood and explores the possibility that early heightened sensitivities to both positive and negative sounds, such as to music, might indicate a vulnerability for misophonia and misophonic reactions. …

Comparing Three Wearable Accelerometers To Measure Early Activity After Cardiac Surgery, Charles H. Brown, Lisa Yanek, Ryan Healy, Tiffany Tsay, Junrui Di, Lee Goeddel, Daniel Young, Vadim Zipunnikov, Jennifer Schrack, Cardiac Surgery Mobility Working Group

Physical Therapy Faculty Research

Objective:

Wearable activity monitors can provide detailed data on activity after cardiac surgery and discriminate a patient's risk for hospital-based outcomes. However, comparative data for different monitoring approaches, as well as predictive ability over clinical characteristics, are lacking. In addition, data on specific thresholds of activity are needed. The objective of this study was to compare 3 wearable activity monitors and 1 observational mobility scale in discriminating risk for 3 hospital-based outcomes, and to establish clinically relevant step thresholds.

Methods:

Cardiac surgery patients were enrolled between June 2016 and August 2017 in a cohort study. Postoperative activity was measured by …

Distributions Of Gas And Small And Large Grains In The Lkh 330 Disk Trace A Young Planetary System, Paola Pinilla, Myriam Benisty, Nicolás T. Kurtovic, Jaehan Bae, Ruobing Dong, Zhaohuan Zhu, S. Andrews, J. Carpenter, C. Ginski, J. Huang, A. Isella, L. Perez, L. Ricci, G. Rosotti, M. Villenave, D. Wilner

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Research

Planets that are forming around young stars are expected to leave clear imprints in the distribution of the gas and dust of their parental protoplanetary disks. In this paper, we present new scattered light and millimeter observations of the protoplanetary disk around LkH 330, using SPHERE/VLT and ALMA, respectively. The scattered-light SPHERE observations reveal an asymmetric ring at around 45au from the star in addition to two spiral arms with similar radial launching points at around 90au. The millimeter observations from ALMA (resolution of 006 004 ) mainly show an asymmetric ring located at 110au from the star. In addition …

Omicron Variants Of The Sars-Cov-2: A Potentially Significant Threat In A New Wave Of Infections, Lukasz Szarpak, Michal Pruc, Alla Navolokina, Kavita Batra, Francesco Chirico, Charles De Roquetaillade

School of Medicine Faculty Research

From the beginning, the COVID-19 pandemic turned out to be a huge challenge and burden for medical services [1]. Currently, humanity is dealing with a new wave of the virus that has evolved and presents a new challenge, mainly due to its ability to avoid immune surveillance. Indeed, our main line of defense — vaccines — may be compromised. Omicron variants are characterized by an evolutionary force unprecedented so far. Among the several sublines that have already emerged, the BA.5 strain exhibit higher transmissibility and demonstrates a worrisome immune evasion. According to several laboratory investigations, vaccination-induced antibodies are less successful …

Volume 21 Issue 1 Full Issue, Kenneth Varner, David Carlson

Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education

In educational spheres we find ourselves in a ‘more of the same old’ but with some new contexts for that. Taboo remains committed to finding the edges that push beyond more of the same old and embrace intersecting edges of educational thoughts and thinking that provoke thought, give fuel to our own question-making abilities, and help readers make progress in their own critically engaged journey. In 2020 we suggested that we ought to engage harder, more directly, and without fear of perspectives difficult to engage. And we continue that work in this summer 2022 issue. We look forward to seeing …

Selfless Selfishness: The Me And We Of Individuality, Jacob Bennett

Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education

In this provocation, I argue against contributors to the global publication The Economist that the biggest threat to western liberalism is not equity but rather an incomplete and misplaced definition of individualism. Such a definition does not take the history of racism in the context of the United States (U.S.) into consideration. Through lessons taught by a heyoka of the Oglala Lakota people, Black Elk, a refined conceptualization of individuality could center both the personal and communal to set the stage for truly equitable policy development within the U.S.

Narrative Inquiry Chopped And Screwed: The Case Of The Curious Teachers, Nick Kasparek, Emily J. Lahr

Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education

No abstract provided.

Defining Critical Literacy: A Challenge To A Power Structure, Matt Albert

Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education

Defining the concept of critical literacy is a difficult task because of its inherently murky boundaries. As time has progressed in the last four to five decades, attitudes and perceptions of literacy have shifted in ways which necessitate a redefining of the concept. This paper presents a retelling of an actual task presented to a graduate student by his committee. In that task, the committee asked for a concise (150 words or fewer) construction of a definition of critical literacy. This article begins with a very brief reflection on the task itself followed by the execution that attempted to circumvent …

Improving The Conductivity Of Graphite-Based Films By Rapid Laser Annealing, Gulsum Ersu, Sruthi Kuriakose, Stuart J. Goldie, Abdullah M. Al-Enizi, Ayman Nafady, Carmen Munuera, Claudia Backes, Joshua O. Island, Andres Castellanos-Gomez

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Research

We present a method to anneal devices based on graphite films on paper and polycarbonate substrates. The devices are created using four different methods: spray-on films, graphite pencil-drawn films, liquid-phase exfoliated graphite films, and graphite powder abrasion-applied films. We characterize the optical properties of the films before and after laser annealing and report the two-terminal resistance of the devices for increased laser power density. We find the greatest improvement (16× reduction) in the resistance of spray-on film devices starting from 25.0 kΩ and reaching 1.6 kΩ at the highest annealing power densities. These improvements are attributed to local laser ablation …

Science And Engineering State Indicators: Mountain West States, Olivia K. Cheche, Kristian Thymianos, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet examines the Science & Engineering State Indicators database from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.

Seqcode: A Nomenclatural Code For Prokaryotes Described From Sequence Data, Brian P. Hedlund, Maria Chuvochina, Philip Hugenholtz, Konstantinos T. Konstantinidis, Alison E. Murray, Marike Palmer, Donovan H. Parks, Alexander J. Probst, Anna-Louise Reysenbach, Luis M. Rodriguez-R, Ramon Rossello-Mora, Iain C. Sutcliffe, Stephanus N. Venter, William B. Whitman

Life Sciences Faculty Research

Most prokaryotes are not available as pure cultures and therefore ineligible for naming under the rules and recommendations of the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes (ICNP). Here we summarize the development of the SeqCode, a code of nomenclature under which genome sequences serve as nomenclatural types. This code enables valid publication of names of prokaryotes based upon isolate genome, metagenome-assembled genome or single-amplified genome sequences. Otherwise, it is similar to the ICNP with regard to the formation of names and rules of priority. It operates through the SeqCode Registry (https://seqco.de/), a registration portal through which names and …

The Effect Of Exercise Modality On Age-Related Changes Observed During Running, Brianne Borgia, Janet S. Dufek, Kara N. Radzak, Julia Freedman Silvernail

Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences Faculty Research

Introduction: With the increase in participation by older adults in endurance events, research is needed to evaluate how exercising throughout the lifespan can afect the aging process regarding gait and mobility. The purpose of this study was to determine how the type of exercise modality one participates in will affect age-related declines observed during running.

Methods: Fifty-six individuals between the ages of 18–65 who considered running, resistance training or cycling/ swimming as their primary form of activity participated in this study. Kinematics were captured using a 10-camera motion capture system while participants ran at a controlled pace of 3.5 m/s …

Combining Freestanding Ferroelectric Perovskite Oxides With Two-Dimensional Semiconductors For High Performance Transistors, Sergio Puebla, Thomas Pucher, Victor Rouco, Gabriel Sanchez-Santolino, Yong Xie, Victor Zamora, Fabian A. Cuellar, Federico J. Mompean, Carlos Leon, Carlos O. Island, Mar Garcia-Hernandez, Jacobo Santamaria, Carmen Munuera, Andres Castellanos-Gomez

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Research

We demonstrate the fabrication of field-effect transistors based on single-layer MoS2 and a thin layer of BaTiO3 (BTO) dielectric, isolated from its parent epitaxial template substrate. Thin BTO provides an ultrahigh-κ gate dielectric effectively screening Coulomb scattering centers. These devices show mobilities substantially larger than those obtained with standard SiO2 dielectrics and comparable with values obtained with hexagonal boron nitride, a dielectric employed for fabrication of high-performance two-dimensional (2D) based devices. Moreover, the ferroelectric character of BTO induces a robust hysteresis of the current vs gate voltage characteristics, attributed to its polarization switching. This hysteresis is strongly suppressed when the …

Aapm Wgpdmp Report 373: The Content, Structure, And Value Of The Professional Doctorate In Medical Physics (Dmp), Jay W. Burmeister, Charles W. Coffey, John D. Hazle, Neil Kirby, Yu Kuang, Michael A. Lamba, Brian Loughery, Niko Papanikolaou

Integrated Health Sciences Faculty Research

The Professional Doctorate in Medical Physics (DMP) was originally conceived as a solution to the shortage of medical physics residency training positions. While this shortage has now been largely satisfied through conventional residency training positions, the DMP has expanded to multiple institutions and grown into an educational pathway that provides specialized clinical training and extends well beyond the creation of additional training spots. As such, it is important to reevaluate the purpose and the value of the DMP. Additionally, it is important to outline the defining characteristics of the DMP to assure that all existing and future programs provide this …

Ambient-Pressure Ozone Treatment Enables Tuning Of Oxygen Vacancy Concentration In The La1−XSrXFeo3−Δ (0 ≤ X ≤ 1) Perovskite Oxides, Geletu Qing, David Thompson, Mourad Benamara, Clemens Heske, Lauren Greenlee, Jingyi Chen

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Research

Oxygen vacancies in metal oxides can determine their properties. However, it is difficult to reduce the oxygen vacancy concentration in metal oxides without annealing them under high pressure. In this work, we develop a facile approach to control oxygen vacancy content via an ozone treatment under ambient pressure during cooling. This approach is demonstrated for the synthesis of La_1−xSr_xFeO_3−δ (0 ≤ x ≤ 1, 0 ≤ δ ≤ 0.5x) perovskite oxides – an important class of energy-related materials due to their wide range of non-stoichiometry, mixed ionic and electronic conductivity, and …

The Great Student Swap, Aaron Klein

Policy Briefs and Reports

For the last twenty years, nearly every flagship university in the U.S. has been decreasing its share of in-state students and enrolling more students from out of state, a phenomenon I call the “Great Student Swap.” Using data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), I examine every “flagship” public university by comparing incoming first year students from 2002 through 2018 (those who would have graduated in the spring 2022 assuming the traditional four-year timeframe for completion). I find that the share of out-of-state students has risen by an average of 55 percent since 2002 and that 48 of …

Urban Monitoring Of Antimicrobial Resistance During A Covid-19 Surge Through Wastewater Surveillance, Anthony Harrington, Van Vo, Katerina Papp, Richard L. Tillett, Ching-Lan Chang, Hayley Baker, Shirley Shen, Amei Amei, Cassius Lockett, Daniel Gerrity, Edwin C. Oh

Nevada Institute of Personalized Medicine Faculty Research

During the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, infected patients presented with symptoms similar to bacterial pneumonias and were treated with antibiotics before confirmation of a bacterial or fungal co-infection. We reasoned that wastewater surveillance could reveal potential relationships between reduced antimicrobial stewardship, specifically misprescribing antibiotics to treat viral infections, and the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in an urban community. Here, we analyzed microbial communities and AMR profiles in sewage samples from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and a community shelter in Las Vegas, Nevada during a COVID-19 surge in December 2020. Using a respiratory pathogen and AMR enrichment …

Motherhood Together: Effects Of An Adapted Prenatal Curriculum On Mother And Infant Outcomes, Rebecca Lovan, Clare Brown, Keneshia Bryant-Moore, Leslie Mccormack, Nicole Ward, Shannon Kalkwarf, Beverly English, Elizabeth Riley

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Background: Research shows that pregnant women experiencing housing insecurity are more likely to face barriers to prenatal care that can lead to negative health outcomes for both mother and infant. Previous studies have also shown that prenatal education programs provide pregnant mothers with the knowledge and resources that increase the likelihood of positive health outcomes. An interprofessional healthcare team in Central Arkansas modified an existing prenatal education program to create Motherhood Together, a program specifically tailored for pregnant women facing house insecurity.

Methods: The purpose of this initial evaluation of the Motherhood Together program was to identify the feasibility of …

Inclusive And Anti-Racist Collecting At Unlv: Draft Report And Recommendations, Annette Day, Sarah R. Jones, Amy Tureen, Susan B. Wainscott, Amanda Melilli, Thomas Padilla, Aidy Weeks

Library Faculty Research

The UNLV University Libraries recognizes that as both a direct and indirect result of colonialism and white supremacy the historical and contemporary scholarly publishing market atypically centers and prioritizes voices that are white, male, Christian, able-bodied, and heterosexual (Muka, 2018; Ray, 2018; Baffoe, Asimeng-Boahene, & Buster, 2014; and Buggs, Sims, & Kramer, 2020). In an attempt to redress this imbalance, the UNLV University Libraries is committed to collecting content by and about people and communities that have historically been excluded. This effort includes but is not limited to the intentional collection of materials about and by groups historically excluded by …

A Design Framework Of Exploration, Segmentation, Navigation, And Instruction (Esni) For The Lifecycle Of Intelligent Mobile Agents As A Method For Mapping An Unknown Built Environment, Junchi Chu, Xueyun Tang, Xiwei Shen

Architecture Faculty Research

Recent work on intelligent agents is a popular topic among the artificial intelligence community and robotic system design. The complexity of designing a framework as a guide for intelligent agents in an unknown built environment suggests a pressing need for the development of autonomous agents. However, most of the existing intelligent mobile agent design focus on the achievement of agent’s specific practicality and ignore the systematic integration. Furthermore, there are only few studies focus on how the agent can utilize the information collected in unknown build environment to produce a learning pipeline for fundamental task prototype. The hierarchical framework is …

Narrative Review Of Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy: Evidence In Late 2021, Ambree Papa Schoetker, Manoj Sharma

Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal

The coronavirus disease, COVID-19, has changed daily life dramatically since early 2020. Although COVID-19 vaccines are available in the United States, many express distrust in this primary prevention measure and doubt both the seriousness of COVID-19 and its associated morbidity and mortality. Vaccine hesitancy, also described as the reluctance or refusal of vaccines despite availability, exists on a continuum and was a known public health threat prior to the coronavirus pandemic. This narrative review examines studies related to the determinants of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among adults in the United States. Also explored are the factors related to COVID-19 vaccine risk …

Public Charter And District Public Schools In The Mountain West, 2019-2021, Zachary Billot, Kristian Thymianos, Vanessa Booth, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

K-12 Education

This fact sheet explores data from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) report, “Voting With Their Feet: A State-Level Analysis of Public Charter School and District Public School Trends.” Specifically, we examine enrollment trends for district public schools and public charter schools in the Mountain West (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah) for the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years.

Air Quality Health Benefits Of The Nevada Renewable Portfolio Standard, Alireza Rezaee, Lung-Wen Chen, Ge Lin, Mark P. Buttner, Max Gakh, Emma Frances Bloomfield

Environmental & Global Health Faculty Research

In recent years, renewable portfolio standards (RPS), which require a certain percentage of electricity sold to consumers to come from renewable resources, have been established by many state governments to mitigate emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants in the United States. Nevada’s RPS set a target of 50% of electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030. By coupling the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s AVoided Emissions and geneRation Tool (AVERT) and CO–Benefits Risk Assessment (COBRA) model, this study assesses potential emission reductions from fossil fuels owing to this requirement and regional health benefits via improved air quality, as well …

Exploring The Feasibility Of Virtually Delivered Auricular Point Acupressure In Self-Managing Chronic Pain: Qualitative Study, Jennifer Kawi, Chao Hsing Yeh, Nada Lukkahatai, Robin L. Hardwicke, Thomas Murphy, Paul J. Christo

Nursing Faculty Research

Background. Chronic pain remains highly prevalent. Current pharmacological and non-pharmacological strategies have not adequately managed chronic pain which has contributed to disability and high healthcare costs. With existing challenges in providing adequate pain care and access, we tested vAPA, a virtually delivered, self-management intervention using Auricular Point Acupressure (APA) by mobile app and virtual consultations (telehealth). Our key purpose was to evaluate the feasibility of the vAPA in self-managing chronic pain in preparation for a future randomized controlled trial. Methods. We conducted a descriptive, qualitative study evaluating our 4-week vAPA intervention among 18 participants. We used directed qualitative …

The Gender Wage Gap In The Mountain West, Annie Vong, Katie M. Gilbertson, Katie Lim, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet examines data on the gender wage gap, or the discrepancy in pay between female and male workers, in Mountain West metros. The Pew Research Center report, “Young Women are Out-Earning Young Men in Several U.S. Cities,” includes data on the gender wage gap for people under the age of 30 in various metropolitan areas across the United States in 2019. The Census Bureau’s 2020 American Community Survey explores male and female occupational earnings by job sector for workers 16 and over.