Digital Commons Network^™

Introduction Of The Anatomy Academy Program To Children In A Rural Elementary School, Rox Aurelio, Madison Dobbs, Nicole Horn, Gianni Terrana

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Children in rural communities experience health and education disparities. Early exposure to health promoting habits can positively impact future health habits. Healthcare providers who grew up in rural areas are more likely to practice in rural areas. Doctor of physical therapy students and physical therapists implemented Anatomy Academy, a service-learning program aimed at promoting healthy living and introducing healthcare occupations, to elementary students in a rural area as this program had previously only been implemented in urban areas. The Biomedical Institutional Review Board at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas approved this study. A 40-minute lesson was delivered weekly for …

Implementation Of Evidence-Based Practices To Improve Treatment For Patients With Neck Pain: A Pilot Study, Kristine David, Sarah Kaderka, Christoffer-Judd Villarias

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Purpose: To determine physical therapists’ barriers to implementation and subsequent maintenance of evidence-based practices (EBPs) for treating neck pain from the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) neck pain Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) over the course of six months.

Materials and Methods: Participating physical therapists were trained on the EBPs of treating neck pain through a live 90-minute webinar followed by a hands-on, in-person 90-minute session. Clinics were supplied with all necessary equipment and reference guides. Assessment of participant maintenance to neck pain EBPs included data collection from a baseline Knowledge Check survey prior to educational sessions, an Implementation survey at …

Study Of Plan Of The Day Adaptive Radiation Therapy Validity, Zane W. Burnett

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Radiation therapy is the use of radiation sources or generators to treat patients. The most common usage is in the treatment of cancers. Adaptive radiation therapy (ART) is the use of either multiple radiation therapy plans or adjusting a radiation therapy plan for daily anatomical changes. Soft tissue in the lower abdomen and pelvis can be greatly displaced depending on a variety of factors, especially bladder and rectum fill. This paper focuses on the creation of multiple plans prior to treatment to have options each day. Depending on the alignment and anatomical changes, clinicians can choose which one is most …

The Intrinsic Substrate Specificity Of The Human Tyrosine Kinome, Tomer M Yaron-Barir, Brian A Joughin, Emily M Huntsman, Alexander Kerelsky, Daniel M Cizin, Benjamin M Cohen, Amit Regev, Junho Song, Neil Vasan, Ting-Yu Lin, Jose M Orozco, Christina Schoenherr, Cari Sagum, Mark T Bedford, R Max Wynn, Shih-Chia Tso, David T Chuang, Lei Li, Shawn S-C Li, Pau Creixell, Konstantin Krismer, Mina Takegami, Harin Lee, Bin Zhang, Jingyi Lu, Ian Cossentino, Sean D Landry, Mohamed Uduman, John Blenis, Olivier Elemento, Margaret C Frame, Peter V Hornbeck, Lewis C Cantley, Benjamin E Turk, Michael B Yaffe, Jared L Johnson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Phosphorylation of proteins on tyrosine (Tyr) residues evolved in metazoan organisms as a mechanism of coordinating tissue growth1. Multicellular eukaryotes typically have more than 50 distinct protein Tyr kinases that catalyse the phosphorylation of thousands of Tyr residues throughout the proteome1-3. How a given Tyr kinase can phosphorylate a specific subset of proteins at unique Tyr sites is only partially understood4-7. Here we used combinatorial peptide arrays to profile the substrate sequence specificity of all human Tyr kinases. Globally, the Tyr kinases demonstrate considerable diversity in optimal patterns of residues surrounding the site of phosphorylation, revealing the functional organization of …

Enhanced Ctla-4 Blockade Anti-Tumor Immunity With Apg-157 Combination In A Murine Head And Neck Cancer, Daniel Sanghoon Shin, Saroj Basak, Mysore S Veena, Begoña Comin-Anduix, Arjun Bhattacharya, Tien S Dong, Albert Ko, Philip Han, Jonathan Jacobs, Neda A Moatamed, Luis Avila, Matteo Pellegrini, Marilene Wang, Eri S Srivatsan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: A phase I clinical study for patients with locally advanced H&N cancer with a new class of botanical drug APG-157 provided hints of potential synergy with immunotherapy. We sought to evaluate the efficacy of the combination of APG-157 and immune checkpoint inhibitors.

METHODS: CCL23, UM-SCC1 (human), and SCCVII (HPV-), MEER (HPV+) (murine) H&N cancer cell lines were utilized for in vitro and in vivo studies. We measured tumor growth by treating the mice with APG-157, anti-PD-1, and anti-CTLA-4 antibody combinations (8 groups). The tumor microenvironments were assessed by multi-color flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry, and RNA-seq analysis. Fecal microbiome was analyzed …

“Lifting The Private-Law Veil”: Employer Authority And The “Contractual-Coating” Of Worker Subordination, Valerio De Stefano, Nicola Countouris

All Papers

Despite the notion of subordination in work relations and the subjection of workers to the managerial prerogatives of employers have received significant consideration and discourse since the outset of labour law, critical examinations of the underlying foundations of such subordination and subjection in contemporary democracies founded on the rule of law remain scarce. This article wants to prompt a novel reflection on these issues, starting with a historical analysis of their origins and a renewed understanding of their legal background. It opens by discussing some outstanding issues concerning work subordination that are not adequately captured by the classic theory of …

Modified Meerkat Clan Algorithm For Association Rules Mining, Mohamad Ab. Saleh, Ahmed T. Sadiq

Baghdad Science Journal

Association Rules Mining (ARM) forms one of the important data mining techniques. The classical methods that were previously worked on by researchers have become ineffective to deal with the steady growth of databases, which prompted us to use the mining process for association rules based on metahuristic, and in our work all the correct rules will extracted, and mining is not limited to high-quality rules. Swarm intelligence based is one of these methods. In this paper, Modified Meerkat Clan for Association Rules Mining (MCC-ARM) has been proposed. Basically, the proposed algorithm depends on Meerkat Clan Algorithm (MCA). The greatest benefit …

Designing And Implementing A Portable Ultrasound Bone Densitometer, Saleh Massoud, Mohammad Ruqiah, Ebrahim Ismaiel, Ahmad S. Ahmad, Fadi Motawej

Baghdad Science Journal

Osteoporosis is a disease characterized by a low bone mass that increases the risk of fracture. The dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) bone densitometer is considered as the gold standard to measure bone mineral density (BMD). In Syria, the DXA is costly, not widely available and coupled with a strong reluctance among patients concerning exposure to ionizing radiation. On the other hand, several recent studies found that Quantitative Ultrasound (QUS) is useful in diagnosing osteoporosis and giving accurate information about the qualities of bone. This study aims to design and implement a portable ultrasound bone densitometry to measure BMD. The …

A Comparative Analysis Of Machine Learning Algorithms For Classification Of Diabetes Utilizing Confusion Matrix Analysis, Maad M. Mijwil, Mohammad Aljanabi

Baghdad Science Journal

Healthcare experts have been employing machine learning more and more in recent years to enhance patient outcomes and reduce costs. In addition, machine learning has been applied in various areas, including disease diagnosis, patient risk classification, customized treatment suggestions, and drug development. Machine learning algorithms can scrutinize vast quantities of data from electronic health records, medical images, and other sources to identify patterns and make predictions, which can support healthcare professionals and experts in making better-informed decisions, enhancing patient care, and determining a patient's health status. In this regard, the author opted to compare the performance of three algorithms (logistic …

Big Capital & The Carceral State, Laura I. Appleman

UC Law Journal

Who is accountable for the imposition of punishment in our carceral system? The answer used to be much simpler, as we held local, state, and federal government actors responsible. In recent decades, however, our correctional system has become increasingly privatized, with deeply troubling results. All aspects of the carceral state—whether prisons, jails, juvenile detention, rehabilitation, forensic hospitals, bail, or electronic monitoring—have dramatically increased their use of privatized correctional services.

With this new world of privatized corrections, we frequently don’t know whom can be held accountable when wrongdoing occurs. The bulk of our correctional services are now provided by complicated web …

A Review Of Training For First Responders When Interacting With Individuals With Diagnoses, Mackenzie Drost, Robbie Hanson

Theses

Safety is a priority for first responders when responding to calls, but there have been numerous cases in which unintentional harm was caused when interacting with individuals with diagnoses or disabilities. Thus, it seems as though effective training procedures for these professionals is critical. However, training for first responders varies from state to state and can depend on the county in which the services are provided. Although behavioral skills training (BST) has a well-established history of training non behavior-analytic professionals and although there have been some encouraging recommendations for the effective dissemination of applied behavior analysis (ABA) to those outside …

A Comparison Of Shaping And Imitation For Reducing A Dog’S Problem Behavior, Carlee Weir, Robbie Hanson

Theses

Over one million dogs have entered shelters in 2024 alone with approximately 31% of those dogs being relinquished by their owners (Shelter Animal Count, 2024). Further, non-aggressive behavioral issues are often cited as a primary cause for owner relinquishment (Best Friends Network Partners, 2018; Howard & DiGennaro Reed, 2014). Previous research has shown the effectiveness of training methods based on positive reinforcement to reduce problematic behavior with dogs and to increase desirable behavior, such as shaping and clicker training, and there has been a growing interest in the use of imitation during training. Fugazza and Miklosi (2015) compared a shaping …

A Preliminary Analysis Of Functional Communication Training Via Voice-Recorded Buttons To Reduce Undesirable Behaviors With Dogs, Mya Watson-Blake, Robbie Hanson

Theses

Undesirable behavior, such as excessive barking, jumping up, and biting, is prevalent among pet dogs with an estimate of 72%-85% of dogs exhibiting at least one type of undesirable behavior (Dinwoodie et al., 2019; Powell et al., 2021; Salonen et al., 2020). Further, canine undesirable behavior has been found to be the leading cause of owners relinquishing their dogs to rescue shelters (Powdrill-Wells et al., 2021). Functional communication training (FCT) is a method that has shown to be effective with human populations for reducing challenging behaviors by teaching an individual an alternative response that results in the same class of …

Factors Influencing Uae High School Chemistry Students' Learning Of Organic Qualitative Analysis: A Qualitative Study, Manal Abdullah Almahdawi

Dissertations

Chemistry is one of the five science subfields typically covered in secondary schools in the United Arab Emirates. Chemistry is a branch of science that studies substances' characteristics, components, and structures. Numerous subfields fall under the umbrella of chemistry, including inorganic, organic, analytical, and physical chemistry. One of the topics covered in chemistry classes is the analysis of chemical compounds, which is divided into two types: quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis. While qualitative analysis determines the kind of each element or group present in a given solution sample, quantitative analysis determines the quantity of each element or group present. Students' …

Validation Of Single-Nucleotide Mosaic Variants Through Droplet Digital Pcr, Christopher M Grochowski, Richard A Gibbs, Harsha Doddapaneni

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The detection, validation, and subsequent interpretation of potentially mosaic single-nucleotide variants (SNV) within next-generation sequencing data remains a challenge in both research and clinical laboratory settings. The ability to identify mosaic variants in high genome coverage sequencing data at levels of 1% or lower underscores the necessity for developing guidelines and best practices to verify these variants orthogonally. Droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) has proven to be a powerful and precise method that allows for the determination of low-level variant fractions within a given sample. Herein we describe two precise ddPCR methods using either a fluorescent TaqMan hydrolysis probe approach or …

Wobble And Transcending The Challenges Of Novice Teachers, Thomas Jansky, Trevor Thomas Stewart

Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

This paper explores a novice teacher's experiences and challenges in order to discuss the importance of supporting new teachers. We examine the new identity that novice teachers take on as they enter the workforce, requiring them to bring two competing worlds into dialogue with one another. By highlighting the moments of struggle and uncertainty that one new teacher encountered, the paper calls attention to the need to support new teachers and help them transcend the persistent problem of isolation in the teaching profession. This article identifies how teacher educators can help prepare teacher candidates and novice teachers to respond to …

Identifying Critical Factors That Impact Learning Analytics Adoption By Higher Education Faculty, Michael Knupp

Masters Theses & Doctoral Dissertations

Higher education institutions (HEI) are beginning to invest heavily in learning analytics as a compliment to their existing suite of technologies used to enhance the pedagogical practices of instructors. However, learning analytics continues to see low adoption and integration by higher education faculty. While a culture of learning analytics within HEI is emerging, there is not consensus on the value and effectiveness of the tools and practices that make up the culture. With promises of reduced student dropout rates, improved student outcomes, better course pedagogy and backed by pressures of assessment and accountability, learning analytics is being trumpeted as the …

Forensic Iconography For Image Forgery Detection, Chad R. Johnson

Masters Theses & Doctoral Dissertations

Traditionally, image forgeries were limited to defraud art collectors and falsify documents. The rise of visual media provided legitimate reasons for artists to forge images in the pursuit of more effective storytelling. In all cases these methods required specialized domain knowledge and highly skilled artists. The rise of computers simplified many of these processes, lowering the bar in time, materials, and skill, and thus giving most users access basic tools for altering images. Today, image alteration tools leverage machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques, and can generate incredibly accurate image forgeries. Effective methods for verifying the authenticity of media data …

Impervious Surfaces From High Resolution Aerial Imagery: Cities In Fresno County, Yushin Ahn, Richard Poythress

Mineta Transportation Institute

This study investigates impervious surfaces — areas covered by materials with restricted water permeability, such as pavement, sidewalks, and parking lots—due to their crucial role in influencing water dynamics within urban landscapes. The impermeability of these surfaces disrupts natural water absorption processes, resulting in adverse environmental consequences such as increased flooding, erosion, and water pollution. The research employs impervious surface analysis, a method involving the mapping and analysis of these surfaces within specified study areas, including cities, counties, and census tracts. Remote sensing techniques, specifically satellites and aerial imagery, are commonly utilized for the identification and classification of impervious surfaces. …

Street View House Numbers Classifier, Connor Paul Lough

Honors Capstone Projects and Theses

No abstract provided.

Reactive Oxygen Species Production In Head Regeneration Of Planaria From Cadmium Exposure, Natalie Gonzalez

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Exposure to cadmium, a pervasive neurotoxic chemical found in our environment, poses significant health risks, disrupting various physiological systems and fostering carcinogenesis. Commonly found in everyday items like cigarettes, batteries, and plastics, cadmium disrupts the equilibrium between reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and cellular repair mechanisms, culminating in oxidative stress and potential cell damage. In toxicological and pharmaceutical research, planarians offer valuable insight for understanding how exposure to chemicals akin to human scenarios can alter biological systems. This experiment addresses the effect cadmium chloride (CdCl₂) has on planarian regeneration and whether antioxidants can mitigate those adverse outcomes. Our …

Space Transformation For Open Set Recognition, Atefeh Mahdavi

Theses and Dissertations

Open Set Recognition (OSR) is about dealing with unknown situations that were not learned by the models during training. In OSR, only a limited number of known classes are available at the time of training the model and the possibility of unknown classes never seen at training time emerges in the test environment. In such a setting, the unknown classes and their risk should be considered in the algorithm. Such systems require not only to identify and discriminate instances that belong to the source domain (i.e., the seen known classes contained in the training dataset) but also to reject unknown …

Caelus: Cubesat Array For The Exploration Of The Uranus System, Dylan George Heidenrich Barnes

Theses and Dissertations

Following recommendations from the 2023-2032 Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey, we propose a novel Pre-Phase A level Uranus exploration mission concept that is centered on using swarms of small spacecraft to observe the Uranus system. This mission could act as a supplement to the Flagship Uranus Orbiter and Probe mission detailed in said Decadal Survey. We propose launching a 4,500 kg spacecraft on an Earth-Jupiter-Uranus gravity assist transfer trajectory with a transfer time of six years, launching in 2033 and arriving at Uranus in 2039. This shorter transfer time and accelerated development timeline would allow for an earlier arrival …

To Sue Or Not To Sue?: Foreign-Sounding Ceo Name And Class-Action Lawsuits, Gajanan Ganji, Arati Kale, Devendra Kale

American Business Review

In this paper, we investigate if the perceived name-based ethnicity of CEOs has any relationship with the likelihood of shareholder class-action lawsuits. Using machine learning algorithms on CEO names, we develop an objective proxy of name-based ethnicity and find that firms managed by ‘foreign-sounding’ CEOs exhibit a lower likelihood of class-action lawsuits. Our results are robust to matched sample analysis, Heckman two-stage selection, alternate model specifications as well as use of an alternate proxy. We further find that succession of a foreign-sounding CEO by a non-foreign-sounding CEO increases the likelihood of class-action lawsuits. Our paper has important implications for firms, …

Equity Returns Around Extreme Loss: A Stochastic Event Approach, Xiaomin Guo, Huijian Dong, Gary A. Patterson

American Business Review

We define an extreme loss event as a daily return at the left tail of negative two standard deviations of all daily returns for a specific stock. Prior studies focus on the relationship between extreme losses and specific anticipated announcements. Our study identifies the extreme loss events after they are randomly realized, and examines the return patterns of the equities in question on stochastic event setups. We investigate the daily returns of 2,651 stocks traded in the U.S. equity markets and identified 217,990 extreme loss events from the 1950s to early 2019. Our findings show that after an extreme loss, …

From Hr Practices To Hr Performance: A Psychological Ownership Meta-Analysis Across Cultures, Franziska M. Renz

American Business Review

This study utilizes psychological ownership theory as theoretical framework to examine high-performance work practices, and attitudinal and behavioral performance as associations of psychological ownership on the population level. Psychological ownership describes a mindset which allows individuals to experience ownership feelings for a target (e.g., organization) regardless of legal ownership rights. Further, psychological ownership theory is integrated with and extended by contingency theory to analyze the moderation effects of societal culture. These effects have been assumed for over 30 years but hardly backed by empirical evidence from cross-cultural samples. Thus, this study analyzes data from 351,919 individuals who participated in 139 …

Primary Care Patient Interests In Joining A Planned Multi-Cancer Early Detection Clinical Trial, Ronald E. Myers, Mie Hallman, Ayako Shimada, Melissa Dicarlo, Kaitlyn V. Davis, William T. Leach, Christopher V. Chambers

Department of Medical Oncology Faculty Papers

INTRODUCTION: Clinical trials are being conducted and are being planned to assess the safety and efficacy of multi-cancer early detection (MCED) tests for use in cancer screening. This study aimed to determine the feasibility of primary care patient outreach in recruiting participants to a planned MCED clinical trial, assess patient interest in trial participation, and measure decisional conflict related to participation.

METHODS: The research team used the electronic medical record of a large, urban health care system to identify primary care patients 50-80 years of age who were potentially eligible for a planned MCED trial. We mailed information about the …

The Generational Identity Crisis: A Novel, Hankun Chen

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

This thesis is a novel set in 2032 China, where people are experiencing huge social declines and identity crises, and additionally, a technology to digitize consciousness is gaining popularity. The protagonist of the novel lose contact with his friend in the digital world, and he receives an anonymous indestructible jar one day with a label that keeps changing to direct him to different locations. In his search for his friends and the secret of the jar, he realizes that the clues are all related to things he is familiar with from the old days. During that adventure, which occurs to …

A Study Of Quantitative Reasoning Instructors’ Choices And Motivations When Teaching Quantitative Reasoning For The First Time, Trish Ann Harding

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study delves into the instructional decision-making processes of post-secondary instructors teaching quantitative reasoning (QR) courses for the first time. The study aims to address the gap in understanding how first-time QR instructors navigate the complexities of curriculum design and pedagogical strategies, and how these experiences contribute to their professional development. The research questions center on identifying the instructional decisions made by these instructors, exploring the factors influencing their decision-making, and understanding the impact of exercising agency has on their professional development. Through in-depth exploration, this study seeks to shed light on the challenges and opportunities faced by first-time …

Ecologies Of Teaching With Bilingual Students: Connecting Identity, Agency, And Assessment In First-Year Writing Class, Sumantha Nikole Zapata

Theses and Dissertations

As many students who graduate from high school transition into applying for college or university, they are not aware of the drastic changes that come with it. For bilingual students, this transition can be much more challenging due to their language barrier and the lack of support they may receive. The intersection of demographics, pedagogy, and linguistic agency led to the research question for this study: how can pedagogies in first-year writing classes be adjusted or developed to justly educate and assess bilingual students who are still working toward competence in English? The history of bilingual education …