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2006

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Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid Inhibits Cytokine-Mediated Synergistic Induction Of Astrocytic Interleukin-6 Release: A Mechanistic Study, Grant Toshio Aguinaldo Jan 2006

Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid Inhibits Cytokine-Mediated Synergistic Induction Of Astrocytic Interleukin-6 Release: A Mechanistic Study, Grant Toshio Aguinaldo

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

A paucity of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels is thought to encourage cytokine release in Alzheimer's disease (AD). A mechanistic investigation into the GABA-mediated suppression of the synergistic release of interleukin (IL)-6 by IL-1beta and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha is presented. Preliminary results indicate that p38 and nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB are essential for the synergistic release of IL-6 by IL-1beta and TNF-alpha. Both IL-1beta and TNF-alpha are able to stimulate the phosphorylation of p38, however, no synergistic stimulation was observed. IL-1beta or TNF-alpha is able to stimulate the degradation of the NF-kappaB inhibitor, IkappaB-alpha, with no change in IkappaB-beta. Interestingly, TNF-alpha …


Lead Contamination In Candies Imported From Latin America, Heather R Fels Jan 2006

Lead Contamination In Candies Imported From Latin America, Heather R Fels

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The problem of lead in candies imported from Latin America is an important health disparities issue as it particularly affects the health of children living in Latino Diasporas in the United States. Our research team at the University of Nevada Las Vegas was the first to employ the X-ray florescence (XRF) machine in the screening of candies for lead. The XRF is a novel instrument that can quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively test for lead contamination. Once contaminated candies were identified, an exhaustive review of applicable laws and polices that can be utilized in the regulation of imported toxic candies was …


Defining Youth Psychopathy, Arva A Bensaheb Jan 2006

Defining Youth Psychopathy, Arva A Bensaheb

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Psychopathy has been considered one of the most dangerous and pervasive of disorders known to date. The construct has been researched extensively in the adult male criminal population but an ongoing debate remains as to whether personality or behavioral criteria should be considered cardinal to this disorder. A preliminary construct for "adolescent psychopathy" has been based on downward extensions of adult criteria such as the Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R). This process has been controversial, however, and yielded no conclusive findings. This study adopted a "back to basics" approach to define the construct of adolescent psychopathy using clinicians' judgments.


Paleoepidemiology Of Bacterial Infections Among Prehistoric Human Populations In Northern Chile: An Ancient Dna Approach, Luz-Andrea Pfister Jan 2006

Paleoepidemiology Of Bacterial Infections Among Prehistoric Human Populations In Northern Chile: An Ancient Dna Approach, Luz-Andrea Pfister

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Bacterial pathogens not primarily affecting the skeleton but causing sepsis and death, have not been systematically studied in prehistoric human populations, although increasing evidence support our species long co-evolution with many of them. With molecular methods we can identify bacteria at the species level and distinguish pathogenic from environmental and soil bacteria. Bone marrow of ancient people may provide valuable information about ancient pathogens causing sepsis and death. To test the hypothesis that PCR amplification using universal bacterial primers will identify prehistoric bacterial pathogens in bone marrow, 30 samples were aseptically obtained from partially mummified remains of three archaeological sites …


Shielding And Radiation Dose Analysis For A Dense-Plasma Focus Neutron Source, Robert James O'Brien Jan 2006

Shielding And Radiation Dose Analysis For A Dense-Plasma Focus Neutron Source, Robert James O'Brien

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

A dense-plasma focus device or DPF creates a very dense focus point of plasma with temperatures high enough to induce fusion reactions. One such device currently located in Las Vegas is scheduled for relocation to the Nevada Test Site. At the Test Site the device will be fired with deuterium and tritium (D-T) fusion resulting in a yield of about 1013 fusion neutrons of 14 MeV. This poses a radiological hazard to scientists and personnel operating the device. The goal of this project was to evaluate various shielding options under consideration for the DPF operating with D-T fusion. Shields of …


Bioaccumulation Of Mercury In The Aquatic Food Chain Of Walleye (Stizostedion Vitreum) In Lake Siskiwit, Northern Wisconsin, United States, Beth Ellen Domowicz Jan 2006

Bioaccumulation Of Mercury In The Aquatic Food Chain Of Walleye (Stizostedion Vitreum) In Lake Siskiwit, Northern Wisconsin, United States, Beth Ellen Domowicz

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The Great Lakes fishery is highly utilized, despite known contamination. The Great Lakes Region has experienced elevated amounts of atmospheric deposition of mercury, with many of its water bodies having documented levels of mercury (ASTDR 1999, Dellinger 2004, Greib et al. 1990, Kleinert and Degurse 1971). The chemical characteristics of methylmercury contribute to high rates of absorption (highly lipophilic and readily crosses biological membranes) and low rates of elimination. As a result of the properties of methylmercury, 60-90% of the mercury in fish is methylmercury (O'Neill 1993). Methylmercury is taken in by fish from food sources, through the gills (Haydon …


Photodynamic Therapy Induces Oxidation In Breast And Brain Cancer Cell Lines, Sarah Ann Ziegler Jan 2006

Photodynamic Therapy Induces Oxidation In Breast And Brain Cancer Cell Lines, Sarah Ann Ziegler

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) is a cancer treatment modality that utilizes both a photosensitizing drug and light irradiation. To better understand how PDT induces cell death, four human breast cancer (DC4, DB46, MCF7 and MDA-MB-435) and two rat glioma (BT4C and F98) cell lines were treated with 635 nm light from a diode laser following incubation with either PhotofrinRTM or aminoleuvilinic acid (ALA). Cellular responses were evaluated by: clonogenic survival, cell cycle distribution, fluorescent microscopy, protein oxidation and lipid oxidation assays. PDT was able to induce both apoptosis and necrosis as well as protein and lipid oxidation. Even though breast cancer …


Habitat Selection By The Relict Leopard Frog (Rana Onca): Assessment Of Vegetation Use At Two Scales, Sean Moran Harris Jan 2006

Habitat Selection By The Relict Leopard Frog (Rana Onca): Assessment Of Vegetation Use At Two Scales, Sean Moran Harris

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

In recent years, two populations of the rare Relict Leopard Frog (Rana onca) have gone extinct. These population extinctions occurred concomitantly with the encroachment of native emergent vegetation into pools in which frogs were usually observed. In order to determine if adult Rana onca prefer more vegetatively open habitats, a radio-telemetry study was conducted. A total of 809 radio telemetry observations were made on 34 frogs from April 2 through December 7, 2004. Binary Logistic Regression was used with both macrohabitat and microhabitat data to compare habitat characteristics between low-use and high-use segments of the spring. A more traditional multiple …


Molecular Phylogenetics Of Trogon: Exploring Patterns Of Diversification In A Widespread Neotropical Avian Genus, Jeffrey M Dacosta Jan 2006

Molecular Phylogenetics Of Trogon: Exploring Patterns Of Diversification In A Widespread Neotropical Avian Genus, Jeffrey M Dacosta

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Study of Neotropical avian biodiversity have generally been focused on South American taxa. As a result, the contribution of Central America to overall Neotropical diversity remains under-studied. The Great American Interchange (GAI) between North and South America is a biogeographic event known to impact biodiversity throughout the Neotropics, linking the evolutionary history of these land masses. Here I show that genetic diversity in the well-known and widespread Neotropical avian genus Trogon greatly exceeds previously recognized biodiversity in this group. Results also invoke a Central American center of origin for the genus, with multiple independent dispersals into and subsequent diversification within …


Effects Of Global Change On Mojave Desert Annual Plant Communities, Stacy Marie Irvin Jan 2006

Effects Of Global Change On Mojave Desert Annual Plant Communities, Stacy Marie Irvin

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The objective of this research was to investigate the potential effects of global change on Mojave Desert annual plant communities. The predicted changes of increased summer precipitation, increased nitrogen deposition, and biological soil crust disturbance were simulated in a full factorial design, and the effects on species composition, plant density, plant size, and nitrogen content were measured. Added summer rain decreased community-level biomass and diversity the following spring, while increased nitrogen deposition and biological soil crust disturbance increased community-level biomass and diversity. However, biomass responses at the species level were highly variable and individualistic, consistent with the episodic nature of …


Dose Comparison Of Multi-Slice Computed Tomography Scanners, James J Kelley Jan 2006

Dose Comparison Of Multi-Slice Computed Tomography Scanners, James J Kelley

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The rapid technological advances in CT over the past 30 years have resulted in a steady increase in the number of CT scans being performed annually, making it the major source of exposure to the population via diagnostic x-rays. With this increased utilization, the concerns over patient radiation doses from CT have also grown. Although CT studies only amount to about 5% of all X-ray examinations, it contributes approximately 40% of the collective dose from diagnostic radiology to the population. This fact has made CT dosimetry an important topic in diagnostic radiology today. The introduction of multislice scanners has focused …


Optimization Of Parameters To Obtain Desired Size Nanocluster, Rani Krishna Jan 2006

Optimization Of Parameters To Obtain Desired Size Nanocluster, Rani Krishna

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Nanoclusters, owing to their unusual chemical and physical properties, are much sought after in optoelectronics, electromagnetic sensors, and in many biological applications. Synthesizing of uniform cluster size, however, is not easy in many cluster source generators; This thesis proposes a methodology of parameter variation to optimize the desired size cluster so as to obtain uniform and narrow cluster distribution in a typical plasma gas condensation type cluster source. Theoretical modeling of parameters affecting the cluster growth is analyzed for silicon, copper, and cadmium sulphide, and it is experimentally verified by determining distribution of cluster sizes.


Adaptive Design Of Delta Sigma Modulators, Gregory Kenneth Lull Jan 2006

Adaptive Design Of Delta Sigma Modulators, Gregory Kenneth Lull

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

In this thesis, a genetic algorithm based on differential evolution (DE) is used to generate delta sigma modulator (DSM) noise transfer functions (NTFs). These NTFs outperform those generated by an iterative approach described by Schreier and implemented in the delsig Matlab toolbox. Several lowpass and bandpass DSMs, as well as DSM's designed specifically for and very low intermediate frequency (VLIF) receivers are designed using the algorithm developed in this thesis and compared to designs made using the delsig toolbox. The NTFs designed using the DE algorithm always have a higher dynamic range and signal to noise ratio than those designed …


Robust Speaker Identification Using Artificial Neural Networks, Madhavan Sivathanu Pillai Jan 2006

Robust Speaker Identification Using Artificial Neural Networks, Madhavan Sivathanu Pillai

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This research mainly focuses on recognizing the speakers through their speech samples. Numerous "Text-Dependent" or "Text-Independent" algorithms have been developed by people so far, to recognize the speaker from his/her speech. In this thesis, we concentrate on the recognition of the speaker from the fixed text i.e. "Text-Dependent". Possibility of extending this method to variable text i.e. "Text-Independent" is also analyzed. Different feature extraction algorithms are employed and their performance with Artificial Neural Networks as a Data Classifier on a fixed training set is analyzed. We find a way to combine all these individual feature extraction algorithms by incorporating their …


The Forgotten Chinese Cemetery Of Carlin Nevada: A Bioanthropological Assessment, Ryan William Schmidt Jan 2006

The Forgotten Chinese Cemetery Of Carlin Nevada: A Bioanthropological Assessment, Ryan William Schmidt

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The investigation of historical cemeteries enables direct assessment of biological variability, health and disease, and additional insights into populations that have gone relatively undocumented in North America and elsewhere. This thesis examines a historic cemetery located in northern Nevada, in the town of Carlin. A total of 13 well-preserved skeletal individuals were excavated in 1996, all buried within coffins and whose Chinese origin has been confirmed through historical documentation and associated artifacts (Chung et al. 2005). Although the sample size is small, it provides a number of important insights into the health and behavior of early Chinese-American communities, including dental …


The Etiological Role Of Susto In Diabetes Among Hispanics In Southern Nevada, Carin K Wallace Jan 2006

The Etiological Role Of Susto In Diabetes Among Hispanics In Southern Nevada, Carin K Wallace

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This thesis explores the association between susto, a Hispanic folk explanation of disease, and type 2 diabetes. This association is explored through a focus group and semi-structured interviews, with participants recruited from a population of 300 diabetes patients under treatment by a local non-profit group. Results show that not only is susto thought to be an important cause of diabetes among Hispanic diabetics and their family members, but that the meaning of susto may be changing; no longer thought of as solely a frightful event, it is a description of the resulting emotions as well. The role of emotions such …


Literature Based Discovery: Techniques And Tools, Ramalakshmi Sundar Jan 2006

Literature Based Discovery: Techniques And Tools, Ramalakshmi Sundar

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Literature Based Discovery (LBD) was initially proposed by Don R. Swanson in 1980 as a method to establish relationships between disease and remedy from disjoint science literature. Consequently, he established a link between magnesium and migraines. Since then literature based discovery has been a subject of research and development for discovery in online medical publications. It has further been investigated in both chemistry and mathematics; In this thesis, we give an overview of LBD and the software tools necessary to automate this technique. We further provide an implementation of this technique that is intended to be used for computer science …


Alpha Particle Transport In Voxelized Trabecular Bone Images, George Tabatadze Jan 2006

Alpha Particle Transport In Voxelized Trabecular Bone Images, George Tabatadze

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Alpha particles are of current interest in radionuclide therapy due to their short range and high rates of energy transfer to target tissues. Published values of alpha-particle absorbed fractions in skeletal tissues do not vary with particle energy, cellularity or skeletal site. To correct for this, absorbed fractions are calculated using Monte Carlo techniques in 3D voxelized images. In this study absorbed fraction values are acquired for deep marrow (TAM), shallow marrow (TAMS), and trabecular bone volume (TBV) targets for a broad energy spectrum of alpha particles originating in the TAM, TAMs, and TBV of 33 voxelized images. Additionally the …


Acculturation And Sexuality: Investigating Gender Differences In Erotic Plasticity, Lorraine Benuto Jan 2006

Acculturation And Sexuality: Investigating Gender Differences In Erotic Plasticity, Lorraine Benuto

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Baumeister's theory on female erotic plasticity is supported by a significant body of data that suggests that female sexuality is more malleable than male sexuality and thus more greatly influenced by external factors. Seeking to test Baumeister's theory, this study examined the potential differential impact of the acculturation process on the sexual attitudes and experiences of 188 college men and 310 college women. Sexual attitudes and experiences were measured using the Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory and acculturation level was determined using the General Ethnicity Questionnaire. Between-gender analyses revealed that the acculturation process did not have more of a liberalizing effect …


Residential Lead Hazards, Nutritional Deficiencies, And Socio-Cultural Factors Related To Hispanic Children With Blood Lead Levels Greater Than Or Equal To Five Micrograms Per Deciliter, Elena E Cabb Jan 2006

Residential Lead Hazards, Nutritional Deficiencies, And Socio-Cultural Factors Related To Hispanic Children With Blood Lead Levels Greater Than Or Equal To Five Micrograms Per Deciliter, Elena E Cabb

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

One of the most significant public health successes during the late 20th century was the reduction of blood lead levels among children in the United States. However, lead continues to be a public health issue because it often affects minority children of lower socioeconomic status, who live in older homes. Young children are especially susceptible to the harmful affects of lead due to their vulnerable developmental state. According to research, the most common sources of lead exposure for U.S. children are lead-based paint and lead-contaminated dust in the home; This study examined residential lead hazards, nutritional deficiencies, and socio-cultural factors …


A Doctor's Conscience: Conventional And Reflective Morality In Clinical Decision Making, John Elliot Delap Jan 2006

A Doctor's Conscience: Conventional And Reflective Morality In Clinical Decision Making, John Elliot Delap

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This work examines ethical theories of deontology, teleology, internal and external morality as applied in conventional and reflective moral methods towards equilibrium among eight normative values for healthcare including: autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, privacy, confidentiality, veracity and fidelity. Upon critical analysis of conventional and reflective moral praxis's both are found to be insufficient in accommodating value pluralism. This work concludes by outlining a hybrid model for ethical decision making complementing both theories by bringing together conventions and reflection to more effectively guide professional medical practice toward the teleological aim of medicine.


Lead Contamination Risks From Imported Candies: Developing A Protocol To Test For Lead In Candy Products Using The X-Ray Flouresence Instrument, Tracy L Donnelly Jan 2006

Lead Contamination Risks From Imported Candies: Developing A Protocol To Test For Lead In Candy Products Using The X-Ray Flouresence Instrument, Tracy L Donnelly

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The problem of lead in candies imported from Latin America and or Thailand is an important public health issue. These candies come from a number of sources, with lead often being present when tamarind or chili pepper is used as an ingredient. Currently, it is expensive and time consuming for heath protection agencies to test candy that has entered the consumer market in the United States. Hence children may potentially be exposed to lead contamination. If community health agencies had access to XRF technology, health agencies could quickly determine if specific candies contain lead. To date, there has not been …


Binaural Beats Enhance Alpha Wave Activity, Memory, And *Attention In Healthy-Aging Seniors, Janice Colleen Mcmurray Jan 2006

Binaural Beats Enhance Alpha Wave Activity, Memory, And *Attention In Healthy-Aging Seniors, Janice Colleen Mcmurray

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Human aging will be one of the biggest challenges we face during this century and optimizing health for the rapidly growing older population is imperative to avoid end of life suffering. Uncovering stimuli and methods that may enhance memory and attentional focus in the aging brain has become a priority. Current research demonstrates a connection between neurocognitive decline in seniors over 65 years and deficits in alpha frequency brainwave activity. Studies indicate that specific auditory tones have a significant effect on our brainwaves and provide a positive influence. These tones have been defined as alpha-harmonic sound patterns and they are …


The Development Of Children's Orthographic Knowledge: A Microgenetic Perspective, Ann C Sharp Jan 2006

The Development Of Children's Orthographic Knowledge: A Microgenetic Perspective, Ann C Sharp

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Literacy scholars traditionally described spelling development as a stage-like progression of increasing orthographic understanding measured by orthographic feature errors children used but confused (Henderson, 1980; Ehri, 1992). Overlapping Wave theorists defined spelling development as a series of adaptive choices between sophisticated and unsophisticated spelling strategies measured by the type and amount of strategies children used (Siegler, 1996). To disentangle discrepancies found between the alternative viewpoints, the current study: replicated and extended a previous investigation that described spelling development as overlapping waves (Riffle-Johnson & Sieger, 1999); investigated differential feedback conditions as a source of spelling growth; and examined correlates between orthographic …


The Other Country: Stories And A Novella, Vu Hoang Tran Jan 2006

The Other Country: Stories And A Novella, Vu Hoang Tran

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The Other Country is a collection of seven short stories and a novella, all of which take place in Saigon and the Saigon area and portray the lives of its citizens in contemporary Vietnam. Given the country's recent history, this setting inevitably evokes the Vietnam War, a connection that casts the book---especially from the American perspective---into the shadow of contemporary American fiction that focuses on the war both as a historical experience and as a cultural idea: important novels like Graham Greene's The Quiet American, Robert Olen Butler's A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain, Larry Heinemann's Paco's Story, and …


Environmental Factors Affecting Retention And Graduation In Mlt /Clt Programs, Patricia R Castro Jan 2006

Environmental Factors Affecting Retention And Graduation In Mlt /Clt Programs, Patricia R Castro

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The quality of education delivered to medical laboratory technician/clinical laboratory technician (MLT/CLT) students has been an evolving concern for the clinical laboratory sciences profession. This situation prompted consideration of various factors in MLT/CLT education to determine if student/program characteristics affected student performance; Principles extracted from Alexander Astin's Input-Environment-Output (I-E-O) model were used as a foundation for considering the factors that affect MLT/CLT program student outcomes. Input, environmental, and outcome variables related to MLT/CLT programs were identified for study; A literature review was conducted to gather information relevant to the development of clinical laboratory science practice and education, curriculum development and …


Voices From Two Sides Of The Atlantic: A Multiple Case Study Of Women's Leadership, Eva Anneli Adams Jan 2006

Voices From Two Sides Of The Atlantic: A Multiple Case Study Of Women's Leadership, Eva Anneli Adams

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

People learn and adopt cultural values through socialization. "Voices from Two Sides of the Atlantic" is a multiple-case study about the influence of national socialization on women's leadership experiences. The main research question of the study was: Does national enculturation impact how women lead, and if so, how is it reflected in participants' responses?;This study examined leadership experiences of three Finnish and three American women. It investigated how the participants associate their values with their leadership experience and how they perceive the social context in which they grew up influences leadership. The theoretical framework of the study was based on …


Youth At Risk For Anxiety: Evaluation Of A Brief Panic Prevention Program, Kelly Lynn Drake Jan 2006

Youth At Risk For Anxiety: Evaluation Of A Brief Panic Prevention Program, Kelly Lynn Drake

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This was the first pilot study to examine the effectiveness of a single-session panic prevention workshop for youth. Participants were recruited using various forms of mass media, advertisements, flyer distribution, and personal contacts. Following a brief screening, participants were assigned to a single-session panic prevention workshop (n = 9) or a waitlist control condition (n = 10). Youth in the workshop group completed pre-workshop assessments including self-report measures of anxiety sensitivity, general anxiety, panic attack symptomatology, and depression. In addition, a semi-structured diagnostic interview was used to assess panic attacks, panic disorder, and agoraphobia Also, during pre-workshop assessment, parents completed …


Violent Women In Film And The Sociological Relevance Of The Contemporary Action Heroine, Kathryn A Gilpatric Jan 2006

Violent Women In Film And The Sociological Relevance Of The Contemporary Action Heroine, Kathryn A Gilpatric

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This research examines mainstream representations and imagery of violent women in American cinema in a broad sense, and looks more specifically at the sociological relevance of the contemporary filmic action heroine. This research is not interpretive in nature but instead draws upon original data gained from an extensive content analysis spanning a 15-year period from 1991 to 2005. In addition, the research includes secondary source data gathered from movie industry statistics and industry reports in order to provide an empirically descriptive analysis of violent female action characters in contemporary American film; While many feminist film theorists argue that female action …


Immune Function And Psychological Distress In Familial Dementia Caregivers: A Controlled Trial Of A Cognitive -Behavioral Intervention, Kevin Matthew Lancer Jan 2006

Immune Function And Psychological Distress In Familial Dementia Caregivers: A Controlled Trial Of A Cognitive -Behavioral Intervention, Kevin Matthew Lancer

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Recent data on the prevalence of Alzhiemer's disease estimate that sufferers could number as high as 4.78 million; that number is expected to quadruple by the year 2050. The vast majority of persons with dementia reside in the community, able to do so because of the care received from their families. The increase in the number of the elderly dependent on others for assistance will continue to increase, straining already limited individual and societal resources. The subjects of this study were Alzheimer's disease and related dementia (ADRD) familial caregivers, representing a portion of society needing assistance and that is growing …