Digital Commons Network^™

Projection-Domain Low-Count Quantitative Spect (Lc-Qspect) Methods For Radiopharmaceutical Therapies (Rpts), Zekun Li

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Radiopharmaceutical therapies (RPTs) using α- or β-particle-emitting isotopes are becoming increasingly important in cancer treatment. Reliable (accurate and precise) quantification of absorbed doses in lesions and vital organs is important for the safety and effectiveness of these therapies. Quantitative single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) provides a mechanism for such dose quantifications by quantifying the regional activity uptake. This dissertation aims to develop methodologies for reliable SPECT-based regional uptake quantification for patients treated with α-particle-emitting RPTs (α-RPTs). A significant challenge with conventional reconstruction-based quantitative (RBQ) SPECT methods is the ill-posed nature of image reconstruction, which is further complicated by the limited …

Topic Modeling On Document Networks With Dirichlet Optimal Transport Barycenter, Ce Zhang, Hady Wirawan Lauw

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Text documents are often interconnected in a network structure, e.g., academic papers via citations, Web pages via hyperlinks. On the one hand, though Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) have shown promising ability to derive effective embeddings for such networked documents, they do not assume a latent topic structure and result in uninterpretable embeddings. On the other hand, topic models can infer semantically interpretable topic distributions for documents by associating each topic with a group of understandable key words. However, most topic models mainly focus on plain text within documents and fail to leverage network structure across documents. Network connectivity reveals topic …

The Effect Of Trauma On Student Academic Achievement, Wendi N. Petersen

Masters Projects

This paper explores what current research says about the significant effect that childhood trauma has on student academic achievement. It looks at the ways in which students are impacted by trauma, how this affects them in the classroom and finally recommends a solution to help support educators and school staff in providing a safe, compassionate and encouraging classroom environment for students to learn and thrive in. Educators encounter numerous challenges in today's classrooms. The diverse needs of students today create a unique set of obstacles that teachers must navigate and address in their teaching. Students affected by childhood trauma present …

A Retrospective Comparison Between Analytical Anisotropic Algorithm (Aaa) And Acuros Xb (Axb) Calculation Algorithms Concerning The Left Anterior Descending Coronary Artery Radiation Dose In Left Breast Cancer Patients Utilizing Deep Inspiration Breath Hold, Melissa Wilkinson

Masters Projects

Abstract

Background: Minimizing radiation exposure to the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) is crucial during left-sided breast cancer radiation therapy to prevent cardiac complications. Dose calculation algorithms can significantly impact the estimated LAD dose. This study investigates the differences between the Anisotropic Analytical Algorithm (AAA) and Acuros XB (AXB) algorithms in LAD dose calculations.

Methods: Thirty patients treated with radiation therapy after breast-conserving surgery were included. Dosimetric data for LAD, including mean and maximum dose, was calculated using AAA and AXB algorithms. The results were compared using statistical analysis.

Results: Statistically significant reductions in mean LAD dose were observed …

Increasing Secondary Students’ Spanish Oral Language Proficiency, Courtney Kozak

Masters Projects

Research has demonstrated the importance of students becoming orally proficient after taking foreign language classes. This project explores what can be done to combat the issue of students failing to gain an oral proficiency. It addresses instructional design and teacher impact, as well as student contribution to the issue. Multiple studies were reviewed on the best research backed practices for proficiency growth. After reading through all the research, it was determined that a proficiency-based instructional style that followed ACTFL World Readiness standards is the ideal approach. Going hand in hand with a proficiency-based instructional style is a classroom design of …

Announcing The 2024 Induction Of Members Into The Accounting Hall Of Fame, American Accounting Association

Accounting Hall of Fame Brochures

No abstract provided.

Of Masks And Men: A Look At Ensor's Christ's Entry Into Brussels And The Art Historical Canon, Addison Speier

Epochs Art History Journal

It is easy to miss what the title of James Ensor’s 1888 painting Christ’s Entry into Brussels 1889 (fig. 1) dictates as the subject. The sheer amount of visual information needed to be taken in proving almost too much for a viewer to handle, one’s eyes getting lost in the sea of masked figures and bright colors. However, in the center of the piece, distinguishable only by his golden halo, Jesus stands in the midst of the eager crowd. Above the crowd, a banner proclaims “Vive la Sociale” (Long live the Social) a phrase mirrored by “Vive Jesus, Roi de, …

Can Anorectal Stenosis Be Managed With Dilations Alone? A Pcplc Review., Zoe M. Saenz, Kelly Austin, Jeffrey R. Avansino, Andrea Badillo, Casey M. Calkins, Megan M. Durham, Megan K. Fuller, Ankur Rana, Ron W. Reeder, Rebecca M. Rentea, Michael D. Rollins, K Elizabeth Speck, Richard J. Wood, Jamie C. Harris, Jamie Anderson, Maheen Hassan, Payam Saadai, Pediatric Colorectal And Pelvic Learning Consortium (Pcplc)

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

PURPOSE: Congenital anorectal stenosis is managed by dilations or operative repair. Recent studies now propose use of dilations as the primary treatment modality to potentially defer or eliminate the need for surgical repair. We aim to characterize the management and outcomes of these patients via a multi-institutional review using the Pediatric Colorectal and Pelvic Learning Consortium (PCPLC) registry.

METHODS: A retrospective database review was performed using the PCPLC registry. The patients were evaluated for demographics, co-morbidities, diagnostic work-up, surgical intervention, current bowel management, and complications.

RESULTS: 64 patients with anal or rectal stenosis were identified (57 anal, 7 rectal) from …

Genomic Insights Into Pediatric Intestinal Inflammatory And Eosinophilic Disorders Using Single-Cell Rna-Sequencing., Marissa R. Keever-Keigher, Lisa Harvey, Veronica Williams, Carrie A Vyhlidal, Atif A Ahmed, Jeffrey J. Johnston, Daniel A. Louiselle, Elin Grundberg, Tomi Pastinen, Craig A. Friesen, Rachel Chevalier, Craig Smail, Valentina Shakhnovich

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

INTRODUCTION: Chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tissues underlies gastrointestinal inflammatory disorders, leading to tissue damage and a constellation of painful and debilitating symptoms. These disorders include inflammatory bowel diseases (Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis), and eosinophilic disorders (eosinophilic esophagitis and eosinophilic duodenitis). Gastrointestinal inflammatory disorders can often present with overlapping symptoms necessitating the use of invasive procedures to give an accurate diagnosis.

METHODS: This study used peripheral blood mononuclear cells from individuals with Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, eosinophilic esophagitis, and eosinophilic duodenitis to better understand the alterations to the transcriptome of individuals with these diseases and identify potential markers of …

Community Reintegration After A Psychiatric Hospitalization: Perceptions Of Psychiatric Facility Providers, Paige Radtke

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Reintegrating into the community after a psychiatric hospitalization can be a daunting task, and one that patients with serious and persistent mental illness (SPMI) may experience multiple times throughout their lifetime. While research has been conducted demonstrating the barriers to successful community reintegration after a psychiatric hospitalization, a better understanding of the lived experiences of inpatient social workers regarding the discharge process is necessary to continue to decrease the risk of re-hospitalization. The purpose of the study was to identify the perceived elements necessary to establish successful discharge plans such that patients with SPMI are less likely to experience subsequent …

Spirituality And Self-Management Of Diabetes Among African American Women, Tiaa Reshawn Padgette

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Spirituality plays an important role of support for many people; however, little is known about the role spirituality plays in helping manage chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes (T2D). African American women (AAW) have the highest incidence of T2D compared to other racial and ethnic groups, which demonstrates the need to learn more about improving health and reducing diabetes in AAW. The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry, using Roy’s adaptation model as the theoretical framework, was to assess the role of spirituality in how AAW with T2D manage their illness and whether that role changes according to disease …

Effective Strategies Respiratory Managers Use To Reduce Burnout And Retain Respiratory Therapists, Candi Nelson Tucker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Respiratory therapists (RTs) have one of the highest organization turnover rates in the healthcare industry. Turnover is important to RT managers because they often lack strategies to retain therapists. Grounded in the job embeddedness theory, the purpose of this qualitative, pragmatic inquiry study was to identify and explore strategies that healthcare managers use to reduce burnout and turnover to facilitate the retention of RTs. The participants were five respiratory managers in five acute care hospitals in an eastern U.S. state. Data collection included semistructured interviews and the review of publicly available data from the hospitals’ websites. Data were thematically analyzed, …

Scoring Single-Sample Pathway Expression Level Using Graph Autoencoder, Eunyoung Jang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Single-sample pathway analysis (ssPA) is a bioinformatics technique used to assess the activity of biological pathways in individual samples, rather than relying on aggregated data from multiple samples. This approach allows for the detection of pathway activation or suppression in single samples, making it a valuable approach in research and clinical applications where individual variability is critical. In this paper, we propose a deep-learning method that scores individual pathway expression levels using a graph autoencoder. The proposed method provides insights into the biological processes and leverages the high dimensionality of gene expression data by setting the nodes in the neural …

A Culturally Responsive Approach To Mindfulness And Mental Health Informal Education, Anastasia Jerbic-Gonzalez

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The qualitative study examined the mental health aspects of marginalized elementary school students in addition to constructing and implementing a culturally responsive and sustaining mindfulness program to observe if there were improvements regarding emotional regulation and awareness. To achieve this, I constructed a culturally responsive and sustaining mindfulness program, implemented this program, and studied the responses from students. The research questions that fueled this study include: (1) What types of negative emotions do marginalized elementary students experience? What is the root cause for marginalized students experiencing negative emotions during their elementary school years? (2) How can incorporating mindfulness techniques embedded …

Case Trial Evaluations Of An Optimization Approach To Mental Health And Sport Performance For Adolescent Athletes, Dereck Davy Phrathep

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation will consist of five chapters – an introduction (Chapter 1), three original empirical studies (Chapters 2-4), and a conclusion (Chapter 5). Chapter 2 was accepted for publication by the Sport Social Work Journal (Phrathep et al., 2022a). Chapter 3 was accepted for publication by Clinical Case Studies (Phrathep et al., 2022b). Chapter 4 was accepted for publication by Frontiers in Sports and Active Living (Phrathep et al., 2023). These three manuscripts are linked by a primary interest in the evaluation of an optimization approach as an efficacious intervention for optimizing mental health and sport performance among adolescent athletes …

Uvc And Planetary Habitability: Insights From Desert Lichens And Cyanobacteria, Tejinder Singh

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

An important question in astrobiology is whether life can exist under the levels of UVC radiation found on Archean Earth, Mars, and exoplanets. We investigated this question by studying the UVC survival of colonial cyanobacterium and lichens that grow in harsh desert environments and possess natural sunscreens. We irradiated them nonstop in a desiccated state with a UVC flux closely representing the upper limit on those planets: 55-60 W/m². After irradiation, we rehydrated and assessed their survival using chlorophyll fluorometry and by counting the number of viable colonies that formed on agar plates. All three study organisms survived two to …

Effects Of Climate Change On (Semi)-Arid Ecosystems In The Southwestern United States, Charlotte Van Der Nagel

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Climate change is considered amongst the most severe threats to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems globally. Ecosystems in the southwestern United States have specifically been impacted by intense drought conditions since 2000. Higher temperatures combined with altered precipitation stresses many ecosystems; however, ecosystem specific responses to such stressors may vary. Here, the effects of climate change on semi-arid ecosystems are analyzed for some of the most vulnerable ecosystems in the southwestern United States: lacustrine, riparian, and dryland ecosystems.

Lakes and reservoirs in arid environments often serve as drinking water sources and recreational areas where high water quality is essential. Climate change …

Relationship Between Performance Frameworks In Health Care And Opioid-Exposed Infants' Length Of Stay In New Jersey Hospitals, Nancy Yates Narvell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Substance use, including opioids, during pregnancy may lead to the birth of infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). With billions of dollars in annual costs to the U.S. health care system for resource use and hospital length of stay (LOS), federal and state authorities have made improving care and reducing the financial burden of substance use disorders and ramifications of opioid dependence a priority and have incentivized hospitals to improve care delivery and outcomes for this population. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between hospital participation in a performance excellence framework and LOS for substance-exposed …

Technical Considerations In Robotic Aberrant Right Subclavian Artery Resection For Dysphagia Lusoria, Luke Meredith, Emily Isch, Mohammed Ali, Michael Nooromid, Olugbenga Okusanya

Department of Surgery Faculty Papers

Dysphagia lusoria occurs due to compression of the esophagus as an aberrant right subclavian artery (ARSA) crosses the mediastinum. Surgical management includes open, hybrid, and endovascular techniques, with no consensus gold standard. There are few reports of robotic-assisted ARSA resection. We describe the innovative technique and outcomes for two patients who successfully underwent robotic-assisted transthoracic resection of an ARSA after right carotid–subclavian bypass for dysphagia lusoria. Both patients experienced improvement or resolution of their dysphagia and no major complications. In select patients with a noncalcified origin of the ARSA without aneurysmal degeneration, the robotic-assisted approach represents a viable option.

Staged Endovascular And Open Surgical Approach For Treatment Of A Giant Left Upper Back Arteriovenous Malformation, Nitya Venkat, Avinash Saraiya, M. Irfan Ali, Matthew Jenkins, Stavropoula Tjoumakaris, Babak Abai

Department of Surgery Faculty Papers

We present a case of a symptomatic, giant, left upper back arteriovenous malformation that was treated through a staged endovascular and open approach. Through a series of embolizations, followed by resection, we were able to preserve the limb and upper back neurovascular supply, demonstrating an approach to preserve sensation and function and improving quality of life.

Segmentation And Isolation Of Brain Tumors Using Different Images Segmentation Methods, Ahlam A. Hussain, Sarmad.H. Mahal, Ban S. Ismael

Baghdad Science Journal

Brain tumors are an anomaly growth or mass of cells in or around the brain tissues. Brain tumors are two types either malignant (cancerous) or benign (noncancerous), all of these can affect children and adults. Tumors of the brain can impact human brain function if they grow large enough to press on surrounding tissues. Brain tumor is an inherently serious and life threatening. The brain tumor diagnosis is depending on the specialist, but it may give different diagnoses which may vary from one specialist to another depending on the accurate diagnosis of tumor size. To avoid that, in many cases …

Reverse Phase -High Performance Liquid Chromatography Technique With Ultra-Violet Detector For The Determination Of Tenoxicam And Ibuprofen Drugs In The Pure And Pharmaceutical Tablets, Allaa Hussein Mhdi, Sadeem Subhi Abed

Baghdad Science Journal

Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) equipped with an ultraviolet (UV) detector is capable of detecting drugs in trace amounts. In this study, a simple and rapid method for quantifying tenoxicam (TNX) and ibuprofen (IBU) in pure and pharmaceutical samples was developed and validated. The target analytes assessed in the present study were separated with a C18 column (HPLC column, 5 µm, 150 × 4.6 mm). Acetonitrile and acidified water [0.7 mL of phosphoric acid (H3PO4) in 1000 mL water at 50/50%] were employed as the mobile phase at a 1 ml/min flow rate and a 20 µl sample injection volume …

Fake News Detection Model Basing On Machine Learning Algorithms, Mohammed A. Taha, Haider D. A. Jabar, Widad K. Mohammed

Baghdad Science Journal

The rapid growth of the internet and easy communication has made it quick and simple to create and spread news. Social media users now generate and share more information than before, but some of it is false and unrelated to reality. Detecting false information in text is challenging, even for experts who need to consider multiple factors to determine authenticity. Malicious misinformation on social media negatively affects societies, especially during crises like terrorist attacks, riots, and natural disasters. To minimize the harmful impact, it is crucial to identify rumors quickly. This study aims to build a learning model for detecting …

Adsorption Of Bromothymol Blue Dye Onto Bauxite Clay, Asmaa Nihad Zaki, Kawther Ahmed Sadiq, Shaymaa K. Ghati, Jasim M. S. Jamur, Sarab Jassim Mohammed

Baghdad Science Journal

The goal of the current work is to use an inexpensive, non-toxic material with a high water absorption capacity, bauxite clay, to adsorb the bromothymol blue dye from an aqueous solution. In the production of textiles, leather, paint, food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals, synthetic organic compounds are used as dyes almost exclusively in modern industrial processes. Because to their harmful side effects, which include their inherent carcinogenicity, toxicity, and mutagenicity as well as the results of their biological transformation, these dyes pose a serious hazard to the environment when they are released. Clay minerals are valuable as depolluting agents due to …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Zno Nanoparticles And Their Application On Cotton Fabrics To Obtain Superhydrophobic Surfaces, Mai Ebrahim, Ziad Saffour

Baghdad Science Journal

Zinc oxide nanoparticles were synthesized in a wet chemical manner at two different reaction temperatures 30, 90 ̊C utilizing zinc chloride as precursors in an aqueous medium. Zinc oxide nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray analysis (XRD), and infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). X-ray patterns pointed to a Wurtzite structure with an average crystalline size of 19.5 nm and 23 nm for the ZnO NPs synthesis at 30 ̊C and 90 ̊C, respectively. SEM showed that with increasing temperature, the morphology of Zinc oxide nanoparticles changed from nanowire to spherical structures. To fabricate super hydrophobic cotton fabric, the fabric …

Antibacterial Efficacy Of 940 Nm Diode Laser Against Cariogenic Bacteria (Tooth Decay-Causing Bacteria), Noha M. Jameel, Hanan J. Taher

Baghdad Science Journal

Dental caries is an extremely prevalent infectious disease caused by gram-positive bacteria mainly streptococcus mutans which is considered the major etiological factor causing dental caries. In recent years, there has been an enormous increase in the use of laser technology in medicine and dentistry and it has been demonstrated to have a considerable antibacterial action with no harm to the oral tissues. The study goal was to assess a diode laser's effectiveness as an antibacterial agent against the bacterium species S. mutans at various doses. The study was performed on streptococcus mutans microorganism at 106 CFU/ml concentration which received irradiation …

In Silico Comparison Of Main Proteinase Inhibitors For Different Coronaviruses, Tahani W. Jihad, Hyffaa Y. Hussien, Mohammed A. M. Ali Qaba, Ghassan Q. Ismail

Baghdad Science Journal

Abstract Coronaviruses are enclosed positive stranded RNA viruses with spike protein protrusions that permit the virus to penetrate and affect host cells. The emergence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), as mortal human CoV illnesses, has sparked considerable interest in the medical community. The fast and global outbreak of a novel human coronavirus generated by a novel progeny of coronavirus 2 (CoV-2) has promoted an urgent need to identify an effective target for COVID-19 treatment. The main proteinase MPro has been prominented as an appealing therapeutic target for coronaviruses, which is responsible …

Analyzing The Two-Phase Heterogeneous And Batch Service Queuing System With Breakdown In Two-Phases, Feedback, And Vacation, S.P. Niranjan, S. Devi Latha

Baghdad Science Journal

Customers are arriving at the system in bulk according to the Poisson process with rate λ1. The batch service process is split into two phases called first essential service (FES) and second essential service (SES) with minimum server capacity ′a′ and maximum server capacity ′b′. Customer who requires feedback after SES completion will be taken immediately for service by the server with probability β.

Development Of Iiot-Based Pd-Maas Using Rnn-Lstm Model With Jelly Fish Optimization In The Indian Ship Building Industry, Pnv Srinivasa Rao, Pvy Jayasree

Baghdad Science Journal

Building and repair of ships are considered the Evergreen industry nationally as well as globally. The ships are generally gone in by the periodic scheduled repairs by the Indian shipbuilding industries. Sometimes industries lack productivity and lack of modernization some modern methods should be followed. The study focuses on the optimization of predictive maintenance as a service on the industrial Internet of Things by machine learning algorithms. The main contribution of the study is the use of optimization techniques for feature selection and RNN-LSTM for improved accuracy. The selected data set is pre-processed and feature selection for the optimization for …

Evaluation Of Antioxidants, Antibacterial And Antidiabetic Activities Of Aqua-Alcoholic Marjoram Extract, Kadhim K. Ghudhaib, Fayhaa M. Khaleel

Baghdad Science Journal

Plant extracts possess special significance towards human health and vital activities for a wide range of diseases. The current study aims at verifying the presence of active ingredients in marjoram leaves extract, and determining antioxidants, antibacterial and antifungal activities, LD50 and its antidiabetic activity. The active ingredients were qualitatively analyzed by specific test methods. Antioxidant, LD50, antibacterial and antifungal activities were measured by their standard method. The antidiabetic activity was determined by assessed hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia and liver functions by spectrophotometric methods. The results confirmed the presence of several active components including flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, tannins, and saponins. Also, the results …