Digital Commons Network^™

A Cross-National Comparison Of The Linkages Between Family Structure Histories And Early Adolescent Substance Use, Haley Stritzel, Michael Green, Robert Crosnoe

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Family structure can influence adolescent health with cascading implications into adulthood. Life course theory emphasizes how this phenomenon is dynamic across time, contextualized in policy systems, and grounded in processes of selection and socialization. This study used data from the U.S. (National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Child and Young Adults, n = 6,236) and U.K. (Millennium Cohort Study, n = 11,095) to examine associations between a single mother family structure between ages 0-14 and early adolescent substance use at age 14 across time and place, using inverse probability of treatment weighting to explore how results varied by selection into …

Radiomics In Abdominopelvic Solid-Organ Oncologic Imaging: Current Status, Xiaoyang Liu, Mohamed G Elbanan, Antonio Luna, Masoom A Haider, Andrew D Smith, Carl F Sabottke, Bradley M Spieler, Baris Turkbey, David Fuentes, Ahmed Moawad, Serageldin Kamel, Natally Horvat, Khaled M Elsayes

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Radiomics is the process of extraction of high-throughput quantitative imaging features from medical images. These features represent noninvasive quantitative biomarkers that go beyond the traditional imaging features visible to the human eye. This article first reviews the steps of the radiomics pipeline, including image acquisition, ROI selection and image segmentation, image preprocessing, feature extraction, feature selection, and model development and application. Current evidence for the application of radiomics in abdominopelvic solid-organ cancers is then reviewed. Applications including diagnosis, subtype determination, treatment response assessment, and outcome prediction are explored within the context of hepatobiliary and pancreatic cancer, renal cell carcinoma, prostate …

Mechanisms Underlying Childhood Exposure To Blue Spaces And Adult Subjective Well-Being: An 18-Country Analysis, Valeria Vitale, Leanne Martin, Mathew P. White, Lewis R. Elliott, Kayleigh J. Wyles, Matthew H.E.M. Browning, Sabine Pahl, Patricia Stehl, Simon Bell, Gregory N. Bratman, Mireia Gascon, James Grellier, Maria L. Lima, Mare Lõhmus, Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, Ann Ojala, Jane Taylor, Matilda Van Den Bosch, Netta Weinstein, Lora E. Fleming

School of Psychology

Contact with natural environments is associated with good health and well-being. Although childhood nature experiences may be important in the development of an individual's relationship with nature and subsequent well-being, previous studies have tended to focus on ‘nature’ in general, and the mechanisms by which childhood experiences influence well-being in adulthood remain insufficiently studied. Drawing on cross-sectional survey data from an 18-country sample (N = 15,743) the current work extended previous research by examining: a) blue spaces (coasts, rivers, lakes, etc.) in particular; b) associations between adults' recalled childhood exposure to blue spaces, frequency of recent visits to green and …

Kinetic Simulations Of Active Nematic Polymers In Channel Flow, Lacey Savoie Schenk

Mathematics & Statistics Theses & Dissertations

Suspensions of active nematic liquid crystalline polymers exhibit complex phenomena such as spontaneous flows, pattern formations, and defects. They have many applications in industry, commercial settings, and our daily lives. We employ the Kinetic Model for our research, an extensive model that couples the Smoluchowski Equation and the incompressible Navier-Stokes Equations to solve for the active nanorod number density function–a function dependent on the polymer’s physical orientation and space at a given time. Using this function, we can derive the polymer’s polarity and nematic orientations as well as other rheological properties. In this research, we conduct numerical simulations of active, …

Machine Learning Prediction Of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Trajectories Following Traumatic Injury: Identification And Validation In Two Independent Samples, Carissa W. Tomas, Jacklynn M. Fitzgerald, Carisa Bergner, Cecilia J. Hillard, Christine L. Larson, Terri A. Deroon-Cassini

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Due to its heterogeneity, the prediction of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) development after traumatic injury is difficult. Recent machine learning approaches have yielded insight into predicting PTSD symptom trajectories. Using data collected within 1 month of traumatic injury, we applied eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGB) to classify admitted and discharged patients (hospitalized, n = 192; nonhospitalized, n = 214), recruited from a Level 1 trauma center, according to PTSD symptom trajectories. Trajectories were identified using latent class mixed models on PCL-5 scores collected at baseline, 1–3 months posttrauma, and 6 months posttrauma. In both samples, nonremitting, remitting, and resilient PTSD symptom …

Alzheimer’S Detection With The Discrete Wavelet Transform And Convolutional Neural Networks, Melissa N. Nardone

Master's Theses

Alzheimer’s disease slowly destroys an individual’s memory, and it is estimated to impact more than 5.5 million Americans. Over time, Alzheimer’s disease can cause behavior and personality changes. Current diagnosis techniques are challenging because individuals may show no clinical signs of the disease in the initial stages. As of today, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s. Therefore, symptom management is key, and it is critical that Alzheimer’s is detected early before major cognitive damage.

The approach implemented in this thesis explores the idea of using the Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) for Alzheimer’s detection. The neural …

Detection Methods, Occupancy Rates, Management And Conservation For Rodents, Jaran Hopkins

Master's Theses

Chapter 1. Species’ occurrences are dependent on a variety of habitat characteristics, including physical landscape factors and anthropogenic land use and change. Understanding the influence of habitat attributes on species occurrence is essential to successful wildlife and habitat management, specifically in areas with active human use. We tested the influence of vegetation alliance, fragmentation, and human recreation in the form of off-highway vehicles (OHV) in an area of active land management in coastal California, with a focus on the occurrences of six small mammal species. The area is composed of sand dunes subject to natural habitat fragmentation. OHV recreation occurs …

Lung Cancer Type Classification, Mohit Ramajibhai Ankoliya

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Lung cancer is the third most common cancer in the U.S. This research focuses on classifying lung cancer cells based on their tumor cell, shape, and biological traits in images automatically obtained by passing through the

convolutional layers. Additionally, I classify whether the lung cell is adenocarcinoma, large cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, or normal cell carcinoma. The benefit of this classification is an accurate prognosis, leading to patients receiving proper therapy. The Lung Cancer CT(Computed Tomography) image dataset from Kaggle has been drawn with 1000 CT images of various types of lung cancer. Two state-of-the-art convolutional neural networks (CNNs) …

Analysis For An Efficient Operation Of Solar Power Plants In India Using Different Variables/Parameters, Sonal Bansi Shinde

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Vast renewable energy facilities rely heavily on accurate predictions of future solar power output.  This study investigated the various factors causing poor, inefficient operation of Solar Plants and different methods to identify underperforming equipment. The main questions are: Q1: How can we predict electricity generation over the next several days so that the plant can run at peak efficiency? Q2: How can we figure out the exact maintenance needs of any power plant?  Q3: How do we identify faulty equipment to improve its efficiency to improve overall performance? and Q4: What are the different factors that are causing an inefficient …

Profile Of A Comparative And International Education Leader: Marco Aurelio Navarro-Leal, Gus Gregorutti

Faculty Publications

This article is a biographical sketch of Professor Marco Aurelio Navarro-Leal, and includes reflections from his upbringing, education, and contributions in comparative and international education (CIE). Marco has been a key player in establishing the Mexican Comparative Education Society (SOMEC), advancing the CIE field with the involvement of local and international scholars dedicated to improving not only Mexican education, but also education within the entire Latin American region. He has also been actively involved in the global expansion of CIE through his leadership in such organizations as the World Council of Comparative Education Societies (WCCES). This article is based on …

Causal Inference In Psychology And Neuroscience: From Association To Causation, Dehua Liang

Computational and Data Sciences (PhD) Dissertations

In psychology and neuroscience, inferring causality in non-experimental studies is almost taboo, because data in these studies, e.g., survey data and resting-state neuroimaging data, are often contaminated by unmeasured confounders. Psychologists and neuroscientists are often cautious about their results, and reluctant to make false claims about causality in non-experimental studies. Therefore, they adopt less stringent statistical analysis techniques that can only infer associational relations. However, the ambiguity about causality in traditional statistical analysis creates much confusion in interpreting analytical results - some studies make implicit causal claims about their results using words such as “impacts”, “lead to” and “affects”. This …

A Novel, Brief, Fully Automated Intervention To Extend The Antidepressant Effect Of A Single Ketamine Infusion: A Randomized Clinical Trial, Rebecca B Price, Crystal Spotts, Benjamin Panny, Angela Griffo, Michelle Degutis, Nicolas Cruz, Elizabeth Bell, Kevin Do-Nguyen, Meredith L Wallace, Sanjay J Mathew, Robert H Howland

Staff and Researcher Publications

Objective: Intravenous ketamine, which displays rapid antidepressant properties, is posited to reverse depression by rapidly enhancing neuroplasticity. The authors tested whether an automated, computer-based approach could efficiently leverage enhanced neuroplasticity to extend the durability of rapid clinical response.

Methods: A total of 154 adults (ages 18-60) with treatment-resistant unipolar depression were randomized in a double-blind, parallel-arm design to receive an active/active treatment combination (ketamine plus active "automated self-association training" [ASAT]; N=53) or one of two control arms that lacked either the active drug component (saline plus active ASAT; N=51) or the active behavioral component (ketamine plus sham ASAT; N=50). One …

Estimating Sewage Flow Rate In Jefferson County, Kentucky, Using Machine Learning For Wastewater-Based Epidemiology Applications., Dhiraj Kanneganti, Lauren E. Reinersman, Rochelle H. Holm, Ted Smith

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Direct measurement of the flow rate in sanitary sewer lines is not always feasible and is an important parameter for the normalization of data used in wastewater-based epidemiology applications. Machine learning to estimate past wastewater influent flow rates supporting public health applications has not been studied. The aim of this study was to assess wastewater treatment plant influent flow rates when compared with weather data and to retrospectively estimate flow rates in Louisville, Kentucky (USA), based on other data types using machine learning. A random forest model was trained using a range of variables, such as feces-related indicators, weather data …

The Living Breakwaters Pdr Efforts Econcrete Resource Analysis, Guianina Ferrari, Shervon Stephens, Calvin O. Walters Jr.

Publications and Research

On October 29, 2012, Superstorm Sandy impacted 443,000 people and caused nearly $19 billion (about $58 per person in the US) worth of damage within New York City. As part of the New York City infrastructure reparation plan, the Living Breakwaters project in Tottenville addressed coastal resilience, allocating $100M of public funds to a series of artificial breakwaters by the southwest coast of Staten Island. Each breakwater is constructed and designed to mitigate water flow in storm events. ECOncrete, a primary element of the breakwater, is a specialty cast cementitious product that is marine organism-friendly that encourages biocalcification and photosynthesis. …

Radiomics Of Neurodegeneration In Alzheimer's: Mr, Mrs, & Pet, Analia Basilicata, Jennifer Padilla, Anjalee Rabbani, Anam Riaz

Publications and Research

This work aims to review and assess the current state of Radiology research in Alzheimer’s Disease to complement and coordinate multi-modal research progress via Radiomics. Alzheimer’s Disease. Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) is a center that utilizes the different standard methods for the use of clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers for advancing. Early diagnosis and assessing the efficacy of treatment and related biomarkers for Alzheimer's’ Disease. ADNI databases can be assessed to analyze the patterns and changes in imaging and CSF biomarker data with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease patients. The …

Anxiety, Depression, And Suicidal Ideation Among Transgender Individuals With Gender Receiving Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy, Rosa E. Diaz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Purpose: Gender may align with one’s sex but doesn’t always and sometimes leads to Gender Dysphoria (GD). Gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) is often one of the first medical treatments used for GD yet few studies have examined the effects of GAHT on mental health (depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation).Methods: Participants were 18 years or older and self-reported as being diagnosed with GD and recruited across the United States using snowball and convenience sampling. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was used to measure depression scores, General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) was used to measure anxiety scores, and Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R) was …

Covid-19 Isolation Compliance Among Students And Employees Of A Large Public University, Nicolette Harmon

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Isolation has been used to prevent the spread of many infectious diseases including COVID-19. The CDC’s isolation recommendations have changed over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, currently infected individuals must stay at home for 5 full days. The CDC cites low compliance rates as one of the reasons for the recent reduction to the number of days in isolation. However, the CDC could only cite studies from other countries due to the lack of studies on isolation compliance in the United States. This study aimed to determine what percentage of UNLV students and staff complied with the isolation guidelines …

Use Of Healthcare Utilization Records For Analyzing Trends In Clinical Toxoplasmosis: A Comparison Of Nevada And The United States, Elijah Kreutzer

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Toxoplasmosis, a zoonotic disease caused by the parasitic protist Toxoplasma gondii, is a ubiquitous, global public health concern with a wide variety of clinical manifestations. Surveillance for the disease is lacking even in developed countries, and what surveillance is present most often focuses on pregnant women. This research investigated trends in clinical toxoplasmosis in Nevada and nationally to address the lack of knowledge concerning how Nevada discharges compare to national discharges in cases of toxoplasmosis. Specifically, this research sought to determine what characterizes toxoplasmosis in Nevada across inpatient, outpatient, and emergency department settings, as well as how these cases differ …

Characterization Of The Isothermal Titration Calorimetry Single Injection Method Using T4 Polynucleotide Kinase As A Model System For Kinases, Rebecca Chaehee Lim

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Kinases are an important class of enzymes involved in the regulation of different cellular processes. The dysfunctional activity, either hyperactivity or inactivity, of kinases has been associated with many types of diseases, making kinases a major therapeutic target. As of 2020, more than 80 kinase inhibitors have been FDA-approved and have revolutionized the treatment for progressive disorders such as cancers and Alzheimer's diseases. However, there is always the possibility of developing severe side effects or resistance to drugs so the search for new therapeutics must continue with efficiency and accuracy.Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) is a state-of-the-art technique specialized in detecting …

Taxonomic And Physiological Insights Into Novel Bacterial Class Fervidibacteria, Nancy Nou

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Recent studies incorporating cultivation-independent techniques to assess microbial communities, namely metagenomics and single-cell genomics, have pushed the proposed number of bacterial phyla from less than 50 to over 100. One such lineage is the candidate bacterial phylum Fervidibacteria, a strictly thermophilic group that has been identified in terrestrial geothermal springs in North America, Asia, and Antarctica through DNA sequencing. By analyzing 62 medium- and high-quality genomes and through cultivation-dependent experiments, this study serves to set up taxonomy and describe physiology within the taxon. Over the course of this study, we propose Candidatus Fervidibacteria should be reclassified as novel class Fervidibacteria …

Metabolic Syndrome And Associated Factors Among Hispanic Americans, Shannon L. Richard

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cardiometabolic condition that may develop into cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Early recognition and associated treatment of MetS can help detour disease. Lifestyle factors, sleep-disordered breathing, and psychological well-being influence the development of MetS; electrocardiogram abnormalities are associated with MetS. Hispanics living in the United States are particularly vulnerable to MetS. Although MetS is well-identified in Americans of Hispanic ethnicity, the current literature evaluating protective and contributory factors among Hispanic gender-ethnic subgroups is inconsistent and incomplete. This study aimed to examine the relationships between MetS and select health and lifestyle factors among seven …

Examination Of The Relationship Between Loneliness And Binge Eating Symptoms, Kimberly Stevens

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Loneliness is implicated in several mental health conditions and may also be linked to eating pathology, like binge eating symptoms (e.g., loss-of-control eating). However, the pathways by which loneliness might be associated with binge eating symptoms are less well understood. Preliminary evidence suggests perceived stress may be a key explanatory pathway. Specifically, perceived stress mediates the impact of loneliness on other mental health outcomes and is associated with increased risk of binge eating symptoms. This study investigated relationships between loneliness, perceived stress, and binge eating symptoms and tested whether heightened levels of binge eating was accounted for by increases in …

Retrospective Varying Coefficient Association Analysis Of Longitudinal Binary Traits, Gang Xu

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Many genetic studies contain rich information on longitudinal phenotypes that require powerful analytical tools for optimal analysis. Genetic analysis of longitudinal data that incorporates temporal variation is important for understanding the genetic architecture and biological variation of complex diseases. Most of the existing methods assume that the contribution of genetic variants is constant over time and fails to capture the dynamic pattern of disease progression. However, the relative influence of genetic variants on complex traits fluctuates over time.We developed several tests to fill the gap of analyzing time-varying genetic effects in longitudinal GWAS for binary traits. First, we propose a …

Quantifying The Effect Of Disturbance On Native Mojave Desert Shrubs, Tamara J. Wynne

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Disturbance can come in many different forms. In our studies, we looked at the impact of a solar photovoltaic facility on native plants growing inside and outside of the facility, alteration in precipitation (simulated) on four native shrubs and the impact of applying supplemental water as a function of volume and frequency to establish native shrubs such as might occur at restoration sites. Disturbance is becoming a more common phenomenon in many ecosystems throughout the world, increasing the need for studies that quantify the impact at the plant and ecosystem level. Each research project revealed different plant responses, such as …

Racialized Places: Community Development Within The Historic Westside Of Las Vegas, Camisha Fagan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

My paper examines the history of the Historic Westside (HWS) in Las Vegas, Nevada, and how community development decisions made by city officials have led to the marginalization of this area. Specifically, my paper examines the impact of discriminatory policies and practices on the HWS, including inadequate infrastructure, racist housing policies, and economic abandonment. In doing so, I draw on a range of sources, including archival materials, interviews, and secondary literature, to provide a comprehensive analysis of the social, economic, and political factors that have contributed to the marginalization of the HWS. My paper focuses on four key development events …

Student Device Usage, Learning Management System Tool Usage, And Self-Regulated Learning, Nancy Webb

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Self-regulated learning (SRL) is crucial to student success in online learning environments. Students enrolled in online courses at higher education institutions access courses through the learning management system (LMS) to complete coursework, interact with instructors and peers using various learning management system tools and multiple technological devices. Researchers frequently rely on surveys to identify how students self-regulate, but students often are not honest or over or under-estimate their SRL skills. Learning management system data analytics have recently provided opportunities to examine the frequencies and sequences of how learnings engage with tools and content in the online learning environment. The purpose …

The Binding Of The Micronutrient Transition Metals To The Alkylation Products Of Chemical Warfare Agent, Sulfur Mustard, And Thiols, Potentially Giving New Understanding To Physiological Effects Of Exposure And Increased Toxicity, Colin O'Donnell

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Model compounds, 3,6,9-trithaiundecane-1,11-dicarboxylic acid (TTDPA), 2,5,8-trithianonane-1,9-dicarboxylic acid (TTDAA), and 1,11-diamide-3,6,9-trithiaundecane (TTDAce), closely related to the adducts formed by cysteine alkylation of the chemical weapon, sulfur mustard, were synthesized. It is shown that TTDPA forms complexes with key metal micronutrients: copper, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and zinc. Though the strength of binding to TTDPA varies, the complexes in many cases precipitate from solution. All metals produced a visible precipitate upon interaction with TTDPA under the conditions tested, however only Cu2+, Mn2+, and Zn2+ produced enough to be measured. The mass of formed precipitate seemed to peak at an equimolar ratio of TTDPA …

Analysis Of Proposed Active Radiation Shielding Design Concept For Spacecraft, Claire Mechmann

Theses and Dissertations

A need exists to protect the crew of interplanetary spacecraft from lethal doses of Galactic Cosmic Radiation (GCR) and Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs). As plans progress to send humans beyond lower Earth orbit (LEO) and outside of Earth’s protective magnetosphere, agencies involved in this endeavor find themselves confronted with the obstacle of shielding the crew from this harmful radiation. A proposed active shielding concept design has been suggested, utilizing charged dielectric capacitors to deflect incoming charged particles. This analysis will examine the feasibility of the proposed design and offer potential materials useful for application. The results should prove informative for …

The Effects Of Neuroticism And Treatment Delivery Modality On Therapeutic Outcomes In A Community Mental Health Training Clinic, Michelle Elizabeth Sibol

Theses and Dissertations

The onset of the novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) two and a half years prior to this writing resulted in shifts in everyday life, as individuals worldwide were required to shelter-in-place and abide by social distancing guidelines to slow the spread of the disease. This resulted in a marked increase in the utilization of virtual platforms (“teletherapy”) by mental health care providers, including training clinics, to continue providing therapy services to the community at large. Although the pandemic restrictions have lifted, adaptations made during shelter-in-place mandates remain, including provision of services via teletherapy platforms. The pandemic shed light on the …

On Clinical Use Of Infrared Cameras For Video-Based Estimation Of 3d Facial Kinematics, William Mackenzie Harrington

Theses and Dissertations

Neurological and neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease (PD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and stroke can cause speech and orofacial motor impairments with devastating effects on quality of life. Analysis of orofacial movement provides vital information for early diagnosis and tracking disease progression, but current clinical practice relies on perceptual assessments performed by clinicians, which are unreliable and insensitive to early symptoms. New methods in machine learning have enabled automatic and objective assessment of orofacial kinematics from color and depth videos, hence we introduce MEADepthCamera, a mobile application for RGB-D video and audio recording and automatic estimation of 3D facial …