Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Development Of Novel Biomarkers In Cancer: Detection Of Circulating Mir-141 As A Potential Prognostic Marker For Prostate Cancer, Jason Cadaoas Gonzales

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Prostate cancer (CAP) is the most common epithelial malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in American men. The identification of predictive and prognostic biomarkers in CAP patients is critical for improving clinical outcomes. Although the measurement of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and radiographic studies are clinically approved to predict response to therapy, these tests can oftentimes prove to be inadequate in certain patients. Thus, it is important to discover new biomarkers to improve chances of survivability. We and others have shown that longitudinal measurements of circulating tumor cells (CTC) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) may aid in predicting response …

Recent Accelerated Second-Degree Baccalaureate Graduates’ Perceptions Of Educational Preparation, Susan Candelaria

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As of 2008, the U.S. Department of Labor is predicting a need for greater than one million new registered nurses by the year 2016 (American Associations of Colleges of Nursing [AACN], 2008). One way that nursing schools around the country are dealing with this issue is through the creation of accelerated second-degree programs for non-nursing graduates.

The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine the perceptions of educational preparation of accelerated second-degree baccalaureate graduates, who have been out of school for at least one year, but no longer than four years. The sample consisted of 54 graduates from an …

Coronary Heart Disease Knowledge And Risk Factors Among Filipino-Americans Connected To Primary Care Services, Alona N. Dalusung-Angosta

Nursing Faculty Publications

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death of Filipino-Americans (FAs). Despite the growing numbers of FAs in the United States, little is known about their CHD knowledge and risk factors.

The purposes of this study were to examine the baseline knowledge and risk factors of CHD among FAs and to describe the relationships between knowledge, sociodemographic, and socioeconomic characteristic variables of FAs between the ages of 35-75 years.

The study sample consisted of 120 FAs (N = 120) who were connected to primary care services. Data were collected from three primary care clinics in Las Vegas, …

Vertical Transmission Of West Nile Virus In Culex Spp. Mosquitoes Of Clark County, Nevada, Vivek K. Raman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

West Nile Virus (WNV) is an RNA arbovirus that cycles between mosquitoes and birds, but also infects and causes disease in humans, horses and other vertebrate species. Although most infections are asymptomatic, WNV has emerged as the most common cause of epidemic meningoencephalitis in North America and the leading cause of arboviral encephalitis in the United States.

Mosquitoes of the genus Culex are the most active vectors of WNV in North America. Approximately 85% of human WNV infections in the United States occur in late summer with a peak number of cases in August and September. Vertical transmission is defined …

The Relationship Of Snowmobile Year, Track Length, And Riding Terrain To The Occurrence Of Musculosketetal Symptoms In Recreational Snowmobile Drivers, Erica L. Heisler

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this retrospective study was to examine the occurrence of musculoskeletal symptoms in recreational snowmobile drivers and relate them to the manufacture year of the snowmobile, the length of the track, and/or the riding terrain. Participants included 186 males and 57 females (n=243), aged 18 years and older, and were all snowmobile drivers. Subjects were asked to complete either an online survey or a paper survey to gather information about the year of snowmobile they drove, the track length of that snowmobile, the typical riding terrain they drove on, and any musculoskeletal symptoms they developed from driving snowmobile. …

Donepezil And Galanin Interactions In An Animal Model Of Alzheimer’S Disease, Jonathan J. Sabbagh

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder marked by a progressive loss of cognitive function. One of the neurobiological hallmarks of AD is a progressive loss of cholinergic neurons and a decrease in the amount of acetylcholine in the brain. Pharmacological therapies have targeted the cholinergic system, specifically first-line, palliative treatment using acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors, such as donepezil. Donepezil has been shown to increase cholinergic tone and ameliorate some of the cognitive deficits in AD patients. Galanin, a neuropeptide that inhibits the evoked release of several neurotransmitters including acetylcholine as well as modulates seveal intracellular cascades, is overexpressed in AD …

Effects Of Environmental Prompts On Stair Usage, Lori Andersen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The objective of this study was to evaluate whether environmental prompts placed in two-story buildings on a university campus would increase stair usage. Three buildings were used. One served as a control, while the other two received an intervention. Participants of three buildings were observed taking the stairs and elevator for seven weeks. Baseline data was collected; signs were introduced, and then removed during this time period. Approximately 2700 observations were collected. Environmental prompts did not appear to increase stair usage. There were significant differences in the amount of stair users between buildings. The stair usage rates of this particular …

Variability Of Pacing In Marathon Distance Running, Thomas A. Haney Jr.

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purposes of this study were to describe variability of pacing during a marathon and to determine if there is a relationship between variability of pacing and marathon performance. A total of 301 race profiles that contained personal global positioning system (GPS) from the Rock „n‟ Roll Las Vegas (Race 1) and San Diego (Race 2) marathons were downloaded (http://connect.garmin.com) and analyzed. Each marathon finish time was placed into one of three finish time bins: Bin 1: 2.5 – 3.9 hrs, Bin 2: 4.0 – 4.6 hrs, Bin 3: 4.7 – 7.2. The coefficient of variation of velocity (Velcov) was …

Therapist-Initiated Addiction Assessment Procedures Of Marriage And Family Therapists In The Southwest United States, Emire Olmeztoprak

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to examine the addiction assessment procedures of marriage and family therapists. Addiction prevalence rates are growing therefore it is likely that marriage and family therapists will have clients affected by addiction. Undetected addictions can impede treatment and/or prevent the therapist from making appropriate treatment related decisions. Marriage and family therapists in Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico were invited to complete a web-based survey containing a series of questions about their assessment procedures for addiction as well as a series of demographics questions. The data from the completed surveys was collected and analyzed. The data …

The Physical Activity Patterns And Constraints Of Diverse Female College Students, Kathleen Victoria Minkel

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Diverse college aged females from a public university in the southwest were asked to participate in an online survey to determine their constraints to physical activity, as well as their current activity level. The groups were compared to establish the differences among the minority groups. Raymore, Crawford, and Godbey’s Hierarchical Model of Constraints was used as a framework when creating the survey. Data analysis showed only one significant difference among the racial/ethnic groups, when looking specifically at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural constraints categories. Hispanic women differed significantly from Caucasian women in their perception of interpersonal constraints on their physical …

The Determinants Of Colorectal Cancer Survival Disparities In Nevada, Lucas N. Wassira

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Different population groups across Nevada and throughout the United States suffer disproportionately from colorectal cancer and its after-effects. Overcoming cancer health disparities is important for lessening the burden of cancer. There has been an overall decline in the incidence of and mortality from colorectal cancer (CRC). This is likely due, in part, to the increasing use of screening procedures such as Fecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT) and/or endoscopy, which can reduce the risk of CRC mortality by fifty percent. Nevertheless, screening procedures are routinely used by only fifty percent of Americans aged fifty years and older. Despite overall mortality decreasing …

Protocol Variation Analysis Of Whole Brain Ct Perfusion In Acute Ischemic Stroke, Peter T. Heiberger

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Computed tomography perfusion (CTP) analysis is a rapidly advancing imaging modality that is improving diagnosis of brain abnormalities in patients suffering from hemorrhagic or ischemic stroke, traumatic brain injury, vascular occlusion and numerous other conditions. Through the advancements of computed tomography (CT) imaging, including the introduction of the 320-detector row CT with a 16 centimeter range in the z-axis enabling whole brain CTP, perfusion analysis now has a significantly increased clinical utility that is useful for both diagnosis and treatment of central nervous system (CNS) conditions. This study focuses on the procedural and analytical approach to the diagnostic evaluation of …

Application Of A Judgment Model Toward Measurement Of Clinical Judgment In Senior Nursing Students, Tiwaporn Pongmarutai

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Clinical judgment, defined as “the application of the nurse’s knowledge and experience in making decisions about client care” (The National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 2005, p. 2), has been recognized as a vital and essential skill for healthcare providers when caring for clients. Undisputedly, nurses represent the largest component of the healthcare profession and, therefore, play a major role in ensuring quality patient care in the United States. Although the concept of clinical judgment in nursing has been discussed for more than three decades, and in spite of numerous efforts to improve student clinical judgment, the recent literature …

Development Of Software To Estimate Pressures On The Residual Limbs Of Amputees By Means Of A Pylon Mounted Transducer, Malli K. Yalamanchili

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The alignment of prosthesis has been recognized as one of the main factors that determine successful prosthetic outcomes for trans-tibial amputees. Alignment is defined as the relative position and orientation of the prosthetic components. Misalignment can result in changes in the position and orientation of the joints of the leg and moments experienced by them during gait, increases in energy use, and discomfort or even tissue breakdown at the socket/stump interface. Hence it is very important to align the prosthesis in correct manner. Gait analysis can be used to examine the effects of incorrect alignment of the prosthesis during gait. …

"Telemedicine And Advanced Technology Research Center: Quarterly Report, July 18, 2010 To October 17, 2010, Bea Babbitt

Telemedicine & Advanced Technology Research Center

Development of a P.O.I. and a Blended Learning Ecology for use in
Combat Lifesaver Skills Training for the Army.

Combat Lifesaver Course, Telemedicine And Advanced Technology Research Center

Telemedicine & Advanced Technology Research Center

No abstract provided.

Raising Brn: Growth Of A Journal, Carolyn B. Yucha, Marnie E. Wiss

Nursing Faculty Publications

It is unbelievable how quickly time flies when you’re having fun. We have now been editing BRN for 8.5 years, and we are still speaking to one another! Over this time, numerous changes have occurred in our editorial procedures. We started our editing positions working in adjoining offices at the University of Florida, yelling back and forth to one another; we now work 2,200 miles from each other, communicating on a regular basis via e-mail. We started off using a homemade database combined with a complicated e-mail filing system; we now use ScholarOne’s Manuscript Central, a web-based system easily accessible …

Injury In Nevada, Michelle Chino, Jonathon Lavalley, Darlene R. Haff, Deborah A. Harris, Andrea R. Rivers

Public Health Faculty Publications

Injury is a major threat to health and safety. In a typical day in the US, 400 people will die as the result of an injury, 7,500 will be hospitalized due to an injury, and more than 150,000 will suffer an injury severe enough to restrict activities and seek medical attention. Many of these deaths, hospitalizations, and disabling events will be the result of motor vehicle crashes. Others will result from vio­lence, falls, drowning, and poisoning – all of which are considered injuries.

The costs of injury are high. In the United States, the cost of injuries is estimated to …

Connecting With Your Asperger Partner: Negotiating The Maze Of Intimacy, P. S. Mcmillen

Library Faculty Publications

Weston, a "neurotypical" (NT) registered nurse, has been married to a man with Asperger's syndrome (AS) since 1999 and ran an Asperger's partners support group. The book reflects the author's utilization of self-help books about AS and relationships with accumulated wisdom from support groups.

Time Will Tell: Community Acceptability Of Hiv Vaccine Research Before And After The "Step Study" Vaccine Discontinuation, Paula M. Frew, Mark J. Mulligan, Su-I Hou, Kayshin Chan, Carlos Del Rio

Environmental & Occupational Health Faculty Publications

Objective This study examines whether men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM) and transgender (TG) persons’ attitudes, beliefs, and risk perceptions toward human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) vaccine research have been altered as a result of the negative findings from a phase 2B HIV vaccine study. Design We conducted a cross-sectional survey among MSM and TG persons (N = 176) recruited from community settings in Atlanta from 2007 to 2008. The first group was recruited during an active phase 2B HIV vaccine trial in which a candidate vaccine was being evaluated (the “Step Study”), and the second group was recruited after product futility was widely reported …

Envisioning Nevada’S Future: Goals & Strategies For Advancing Our Quality Of Life, Nevada Vision Stakeholder Group, Moody’S Analytics

Brookings Mountain West Publications

Nevada’s severe downturn has brought to light many of the long-term challenges facing the state. Not only is its economy subject to painful swings, but Nevada’s primary drivers— consumer services (primarily gaming, hospitality and housing) and resource extraction—will provide less support than they have in past business cycles. Less economic vitality will make it harder to offer Nevadans the quality of life they expect.

The importance of the economy to quality of life is equally clear—quality of life is a hollow promise without a healthy and supportive economy. Similarly, a proper fiscal structure—both in terms of spending and revenues—is critical …

One And Only Campaign Nevada Evaluation Of Educational Materials For Injection Safety Executive Summary, Nevada Institute For Children’S Research And Policy, School Of Community Health Science, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas, Amanda Haboush, Tara Phebus, Kari Wolkwitz, Denise Tanata Ashby, Enrique Lopez, Christopher M. Aquino, Sheila Clark

Nevada Institute for Children's Research and Policy Reports

The goal of the evaluation was to measure the effectiveness of the Campaign’s educational materials in raising awareness among the general public and enhancing the knowledge of healthcare personnel. Through this measurement the evaluation results would then also provide recommendations for improvements to the materials. To achieve these goals the evaluation team at NICRP created a strategic dissemination plan designed to support a formal evaluation of messages within the materials, message delivery and general knowledge and understanding of safe injection practices by both providers and the general public. Methods utilized to conduct this evaluation included:

• Surveys of both patients and …

Erving Goffman As A Pioneer In Self-Ethnography? The “Insanity Of Place” Revisited*, Dmitri N. Shalin

Bios Sociologicus: The Erving Goffman Archives

This paper was presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, Atlanta, August 14, 2010. I wish to express my profound gratitude to all those who have helped preserve the memory of Erving Goffman by contributing a memoir to the Erving Goffman Archives. I am especially grateful to Frances Goffman Bay, Esther Besbris, and Marly Zaslov for providing family documents and invaluable recollections about Erving Goffman’s formative years, as well as to EGA board members whose practical assistance and good cheer sustained me throughout this project.

Goffman's Self-Ethnographies, Dmitri N. Shalin

Bios Sociologicus: The Erving Goffman Archives

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, Atlanta, August 14, 2010. I wish to express my profound gratitude to all those who helped preserve the memory of Erving Goffman by contributing a memoir to the Erving Goffman Archives. I am especially grateful to Frances Goffman Bay, Esther Besbris, and Marly Zaslov for providing family documents and invaluable recollections about Erving Goffman’s formative years, as well as to EGA board members whose practical assistance and good cheer sustained me throughout this project.

Synthesis Of Novel Aromatic Quinols For Colon And Renal Cancers, Bradley J. Davey, Tae Soo Jo, Pradip K. Bhowmik

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

Colon Cancer: The third most common cancer in USA. More than 1 million Americans currently living with colon cancer. 148,810 new cases expected in 2010. 50,000 deaths annually.

Renal Cancer: Approximately 58,000 people diagnosed in USA annually. Seventh most common cancer and tenth most common cause of cancer related death in men.

Aromatic quinols have demonstrated in vitro antitumor activity. Three heteroaromatic quinols show antitumor activity.

Construction And Use Of A Calorimeter To Estimate The Anaerobic Contributions To Metabolism, Mark S. Burger, Frank Van Breukelen

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

Metabolism is derived from the Greek word metabole which translates to change. Metabolism is the sum total of chemical reactions that take place in an organism. Some reactions are exothermic (heat-producing) whereas others are endothermic (heat-absorbing). By measuring heat production (calorimetry), one can estimate metabolic rate. Historically, such measurements of direct calorimetry were difficult. As a result, most studies utilize indirect calorimetry wherein oxygen consumption and/or carbon dioxide production are measured. One limitation to this approach is that anaerobic metabolism is ignored. No commercially-available calorimeter is available for whole animal metabolic studies. We hypothesized that small rodent hibernators may experience …

Y-Aminobutyric Acid Inhibits Synergistic Interleukin-6 Release And Increases Intracellular Cytokine Content In C6 Astrocytoma Cells In Vitro, Daniella Sandoval, Becky M. Hess, Bryan L. Spangelo

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by memory loss and is the most common cause of dementia. It is has been hypothesized that pro-inflammatory cytokines induce the inflammation that is believed to be the cause of the neuronal death that is associated with AD. γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the Central Nervous System possessing membrane hyperpolarization or depolarization activities. A decline in GABA may enhance cytokine release in Alzheimer’s disease resulting in neuroinflammation. Therefore, we investigated the GABA-mediated suppression of the synergistic release of interleukin-6 (IL-6) induced by interleukin 1- (IL-1) and …

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program 2010, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) cultivates and supports research partnerships and invites undergraduates to work as the junior colleagues of faculty. The program offers the opportunity to work on cutting edge research—whether you join established research projects or pursue your own ideas. As participants, undergraduates engage in each phase of standard research activity: developing research plans, writing proposals, conducting research, analyzing data. and presenting research results in oral and written form. The projects take place over the summer, and research can be done in any academic department or interdisciplinary laboratory. Projects can last for an entire semester, and many …

2009 Annual Report Of Child Deaths In Clark County, Nevada, Nevada Institute For Children’S Research And Policy

Nevada Institute for Children's Research and Policy Reports

In an effort to identify risk factors and prevent future child deaths, in 1992 the State of Nevada joined many other states in mandating Child Death Review Teams. Since that time, both the law and the regional teams throughout Nevada have evolved to facilitate the growing need for collaborative efforts to identify interventions necessary to reduce the rate of child deaths in Nevada. While the primary legislative focus of Nevada Child Death Review Teams has been on addressing fatalities related to child maltreatment and/or involvement with the child welfare system, the teams have expanded their focus to address risk factors …

The Influence Of Perspective And Gender On The Processing Of Narratives, Jeremy A. Houska

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The overarching aim of this research was to examine potential boundary conditions to situation model construction (Experiment 1) and narrative-based persuasion (Experiment 3). Variables such as narrative perspective (i.e., 2nd or 3rd person) and matched characteristics with the reader (i.e., participant-protagonist gender match) were first examined using situation model updating (Experiment 1) and behavioral measures (Experiment 3) as dependent measures. It was expected that situation model updating would be more likely for narratives written in the 2nd person perspective and with a participant-protagonist gender match. It was uncertain, however, for health promotion narratives, whether these manipulations would increase the likelihood …