Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Perceived Value Of Acute Care Physical Therapy, Juliana Amenta, Andrew Falcinelli, Erin Heenan, Hannah Kendall

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Background/Significance/Objective: Although there is some research regarding physical therapy in the acute hospital setting, much of it is focused on the role physical therapists play with specific patient populations or diagnoses. By understanding more about how physical therapy services can add value in the acute hospital, their skills could be better utilized to maximize benefit for both individual patients and the hospital. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceived value that physical therapists bring to the acute care hospital from the perspective of both physical therapists and their supervisors in Southern Nevada.

Methods: This study used an …

Exploring Treatment Targets To Mitigate Fear Of Falling Activity Avoidance Behavior In Parkinson's Disease And Older Adults, John Vincent Rider

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Fear of falling (FOF) is a significant concern among individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and older adults in general. This FOF can lead to avoidance behavior resulting in activity restriction. Some level of fear of falling avoidance behavior (FFAB) may be protective (adaptive) and decrease the likelihood of falls, especially among individuals with physical limitations and high fall risk. However, excessive (maladaptive) avoidance behavior may lead to downstream consequences such as further physical and psychological decline and an increased likelihood of falls, especially when there is a disparity between the FFAB and physiological fall risk. While poor physical functioning, disease …

Perceptions Of The Built Environment Among Older Adults Who Live In Age-Restricted Communities Compared To Those Who Do Not In Southern Nevada, Sandra Annan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As Americans are living longer, there has been exponential growth in the number of older adults. Growth in the aging population has created unique challenges. As seniors age, they face many changes in their health, financial stability, and lifestyle, making it challenging to remain independent. The inability to remain independent can be a stressful and depressing experience for older adults. Studies show that most seniors prefer to stay in their current living environment as they age, or age in place, rather than move into senior housing or other available housing options designed for aging. This study investigates how perceptions about …

Sexually Transmitted Infections And The 65 And Older Population: Knowledge And Perceived Risk, Alexus Miranda

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Sexually transmitted infections (STI) can impact all persons. Since 2000, the number of STIs has steadily increased among persons aged 50 years and older in the United States (Purpora, 2012). Persons over the age of 60 accounted for the biggest increase of in-office treatments of STIs between 2014 and 2017 (Howley, 2018). The purpose of this study was to use the Sexual Health Model to examine the relationship between various predictors and these persons’ perceived risk of STIs, their STI knowledge, and other barriers that impact the sexual health of persons 65 years of age and older. This study used …

Oral Localization Of Scardovia Wiggsiae, Graydon Ramos Carr

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Early childhood caries is one of the most prevalent diseases in the United States among children. The formation of caries is a complex, multifactorial process that is still being studied. Researchers have thought for years that Streptococcus mutans was the primary causative agent of early childhood caries. The recent discovery of a novel cariogenic pathogen, Scardovia wiggsiae and its significant contribution to the etiology of early childhood caries has led oral health researchers to re-evaluate this microorganism and its link to this disease. While there have been several projects undertaken within the University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Dental …

Hdr Brachytherapy For Skin Cancer Using H.A.M. Applicator, Timothy Richard Thatcher

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Skin cancer is the most common type of malignancy affecting both men and women in the United States. A majority of these cases are nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSC) such as basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). The goal of any skin cancer treatment is to cure the lesion itself while also preserving function and optimizing superficial cosmesis. High dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy provides an alternative to superficial x-ray or electron beam for skin cancer treatment. Utilizing an Iridium 192 source soldered to the end of a wire, surface dose can be administered at predetermined positions with sharper …

Reconciling Incongruencies: Examining The Meaning And Influencing Factors Of Oncology Nurses' Professional Quality Of Life, Rebecca Lynne Boni

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Nurses often witness suffering and loss. These experiences are intrinsic to the practice of nursing and can exert a strong, cumulative effect on nurses’ professional quality of life (QOL). Stamm (2010b) conceptualizes professional QOL as a composite of compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction. Inferior professional QOL has been linked to numerous negative healthcare outcomes. Oncology nurses are particularly vulnerable to compassion fatigue. The Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL), created by Stamm (2009), is the current survey used to measure professional QOL, but it may not be specific enough for oncology nurses.

The purpose of this grounded theory study was …

A Community Of Care: Patterns Of Pathology And Trauma With A Focus On The Bioarchaeology Of Care At Carrier Mills, Il (10,000 – 1000 Bp), Alecia Schrenk

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Illness and injury are universal human experiences which are endowed with cultural meaning. Bioarchaeology has only recently begun to engage with the socioeconomic impacts of illness, injury, impairment, and healthcare provisioning in the past. This study examines how the Middle Archaic (6000 – 300 BC) and Early Woodland (1000 – 200 BC) hunter-gatherer community of Carrier Mills, Illinois was affected by and managed the socioeconomic burdens of poor health. The data presented in this study used bioarchaeological analyses to reveal patterns of poor health and healthcare provisioning within the Carrier Mills community. Bioarchaeology is ideally situated for such investigations since …

Factors Associated With Food Insecurity Among Individuals, Aged Sixty And Older, In Clark County, Nv, Lisa M. Segler

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Food insecurity is defined as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life. In Nevada, an estimated 80,000 individuals, aged 60 years or older, were food insecure in 2016. The primary aim of this study was to identify factors that are associated with food insecurity in older adults, aged sixty and older, in Clark County, NV. The secondary aim of this study was to identify which factors interact with each other to explain food insecurity among individuals aged sixty and older, in Clark County, NV. A secondary data analysis was conducted using data collected by …

Electron Monte Carlo Dose Calculation Model Dependency On Optional Applicator Specific 1d Profiles, Ryan Sharp

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The accuracy of a calculated dose distribution compared to the actual dose administered to a patient undergoing electron radiation treatment is dependent upon the configured electron dose calculation algorithm in the treatment planning system (TPS). Configuration of the electron Monte Carlo (eMC) algorithm in the Eclipse TPS requires a variety of beam scan data. One of the required data sets is the inclusion of optional in air crossplane (CP) and inplane (IP) profiles. It is unknown if the inclusion of the optional profiles into the eMC algorithm greatly influences the output of the TPS. Two eMC algorithms were configured in …

Creating A Dynamic, Multi-Purpose Correction For Multiple Geometries And Field Sizes To Account For Off-Axis And Asymmetric Backscatter With Varian Portal Dosimetry, Remy Manigold

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Intensity modulated radiation therapy and volumetric modulated arc therapy are increasingly common in radiation therapy due to their benefits of target conformity and normal tissue sparing. Due to the complexities of plan delivery and the precision required, the dose delivered must be accurately measured for quality assurance (QA). One of the most efficient ways to perform patient-specific QA when using clinical linear accelerators (linac) is to use an electronic portal imaging device (EPID). Amorphous silicon (aSi) Electronic Portal Imaging Devices (EPIDs) are attached to the linac and can provide real-time feedback with spatial resolution on the order of sub-millimeter pixel …

A Study On Automated Process For Extracting White Blood Cellular Data From Microscopic Digital Injured Skeletal Muscle Images, Bibek Karki

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Skeletal muscle injury is one of the common injuries caused by high-intensity sports activities, military related works, and natural disasters. In order to discover better therapies, it is important to study muscle regeneration process. Muscle regeneration process tracking is the act of monitoring injured tissue section over time, noting white blood cell behavior and cell-fiber relations. A large number of microscopic images are taken for tracking muscle regeneration process over multiple time instances. Currently, manual approach is widely used to analyze a microscopic image of muscle cross section, which is time consuming, tedious and buggy.

Automation of this research methodology …

Comparing Functional Motor Control And Gait Parameters In Children With Autism To Those Of Age-Matched Peers Who Are Typically Developing, Patricia Stevenson, Samantha Novotny, Jillian May, Christopher Ancell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to compare motor performance of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to that of age-matched peers who are typically developing (TD) on motor control tasks plus symmetry and variability of gait parameters across four walking conditions. A sample of convenience of children with ASD (n=6) and peers who are TD (n=6) were recruited. Motor control was assessed using initiation and completion times on the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test. Gait parameters were collected using a computerized walkway under four trial conditions: 1) walking at self-selected velocity (SSV); 2) walking during a tray-carrying task …

Slip, Trip And Fall Risk Among Elderly Men And Women Living In The Hawaii Adult Foster Care Home System, Michelle Echauz Ching

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Adults 65 years of age and older (hereby referred to as “elderly”) are one of the fastest growing populations in the United States (U.S.). A major public health concern affecting the elderly population is unintentional injuries, particularly slips, trips, and falls (STFs). While there is extensive research on STFs among the elderly living in the community and long-term health care facilities, little to no research is found on STFs among the elderly living in community-based health care facilities. Research has also shown that STFs are caused by the interaction between multiple risk factors. Therefore, the purpose of this quasi-experimental study …

Factor Structure Of The Cpt-Ii, Mary Vertinski

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The current study investigates the factor structure of the Conners' Continuous Performance Test-II (CPT-II) in four pediatric samples of participants: (a) patients with traumatic brain injury, (b) healthy controls, (c) patients with various clinical diagnoses, and (d) all of the previously mentioned subjects combined. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were used to investigate a one-, three- and four-factor model fit of the data. None of the models examined were an adequate fit for the data; however, it appears that the four-factor model seemed to be the best fitting of the models examined. Failure to find reasonably adequate fit precluded further analyses.

Social Network Analysis (Sna) Of Clark County, Nevada Tuberculosis (Tb) Case And Contact Investigation Data To Determine Pediatric Risk Factors For Disease Transmission, Darin Michael Cozatt

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Within the spectrum of childhood (infancy, early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence), TB is a priority disease, and preventive care is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)/Bright Futures initiative (AAP, 2008). Within the early childhood stage (15 months to 4 years), TB is classified as "HR2" (high risk 2), behind lead poisoning, which is "HR1" (AAP, 2008), the highest risk within this age range. Within the middle childhood stage (5 to 10 years), TB becomes an HR1. TB is preventable, and targeted screening is the best prevention method. The AAP/Bright Futures initiative further specifies the risk based on …

Designing A Mechanical Linkage Capable Of Decreasing Force Transfer From The Facemask To The Protective Helmet When Loading Occurs, Levi Hansen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Introduction

Sports that involve extensive personal contact have a high incidence of injury. The introduction of regulations mandating the use of personal protective equipment in these sports is the most common injury control strategy (Marshall et al., 2002). Negligible attention has been paid to the mechanical linkage between the facemask and helmet as a means of reducing force transfer from the facemask, through the helmet, and to the head and or neck of the athlete.

Methods

A novel prototype mechanical linkage of reasonable simplicity that provides 360° of freedom in motion capable of decreasing force transfer from the facemask to …

Lung Cancer Survival Disparities In Nevada, Chima Osuoha

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women in the United States. Nevada shows moderate incidence rates of lung cancer for men but high rates for women. Little is known about the lung cancer experience and survival characteristics of the nearly 2000 new cases occurring every year in the State. The purpose of this study was to measure the extent to which geographic area of residency, gender, race, health insurance, social economic status (SES) and stage at diagnosis were associated with survival in patients diagnosed with lung cancer in Nevada. This was a retrospective …

Gate Monte Carlo Simulations In A Cloud Computing Environment, Blake Austin Rowedder

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The GEANT4-based GATE is a unique and powerful Monte Carlo (MC) platform, which provides a single code library allowing the simulation of specific medical physics applications, e.g. PET, SPECT, CT, radiotherapy, and hadron therapy. However, this rigorous yet flexible platform is used only sparingly in the clinic due to its lengthy calculation time. By accessing the powerful computational resources of a cloud computing environment, GATE's runtime can be significantly reduced to clinically feasible levels without the sizable investment of a local high performance cluster. This study investigated a reliable and efficient execution of GATE MC simulations using a commercial cloud …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Novel Platinum(Ii) And Platinum(Iv) Complexes Containing 4,4′--Disubstituted--2,2′--Bipyridine Ligands For The Treatment Of Cancer, Van Vo

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Three series of platinum(II) and platinum(IV) complexes containing 4,4′-disubstituted-2,2′-bipyridine ligands have been synthesized and characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, mass spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry measurements. The MTS cell proliferation assay was used to examine the in vitro anti-proliferative activities of these complexes in various human breast, lung, and prostate cancer cells. The cell's response to the complexes varies between different cell lines; however, the low EC₅₀ values determined from the MTS data indicate that several of the complexes are much more potent than cisplatin.

Flow cytometric analysis of selected compounds revealed induction of apoptosis …

The Wetsuit Effect: Physiological Response To Wearing A Wetsuit, Aaron Prado

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of wearing a wetsuit on resting cardiovascular parameters (mean arterial pressure (MAP), rate-pressure product (RPP), and heart rate variability (HRV)). Furthermore, the position (i.e., upright vs. prone) as well as the wetsuit size were explored as possible factors that influence the cardiovascular parameters. Twelve male participants (79.1±5.1 kg, 178.4±2.9 cm, 33.3±12.1 years) granted written consent and were assigned two wetsuits based on height, weight, and corresponding manufacturer recommendations. SWS signified the smallest possible wetsuit the subject could fit into according to recommendations, LWS signified the largest wetsuit the subject could …

The Relationship Among School Playground Design And Conditions And Physical Activity Levels In Children, Ipuna Estavillo Black

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Almost 20% of children aged 6 to 11 years are obese in the United States, tripling over the last ten years. The rise in childhood obesity challenges nurses in their efforts to improve community health and sustainability. A decrease in physical activity (PA) levels has been associated with an increase in obesity. Schools have been identified as a primary setting to provide children adequate amounts of daily PA, and nurses working in the area of child health promotion can work with schools to provide opportunities for children to increase PA levels. The playground is one environment where children can increase …

Factors Associated With Parental Decision Making And Childhood Vaccination, Zuwen Qiu-Shultz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In order to better understand factors affecting immunization status, logistic regression was used to assess the association of various socio-demographic factors and whether parents would have their child immunized if not a state mandate. Factors included in the study were race, household income, number of children in the household, number of adults in the household, if the child had a primary provider, if the child had a health check-up in the last twelve months, and medical insurance status of the child. The combined Nevada Kindergarten Health Survey Result of 2009-2010 (Year Two) and 2010-2011 (Year Three) conducted by the Nevada …

The Effect Of Marriage On Stage At Diagnosis And Survival In Women With Cervical Cancer, Sanae El Ibrahimi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Marriage is associated with improved health outcomes for many conditions. Married persons enjoy financial stability, social and emotional support, and tend to have better control of health risk behaviors compared to the unmarried. The marriage scene is changing continuously. Americans are marrying less or delaying the engagement to an older age. They are divorcing more, they choose cohabitation as an alternative to marriage, or engage in premarital relationships. As a consequence, barely half of Americans were married in 2011 compared to close to three quarters of Americans were married in the sixties. With the increase of the unmarried population - …

Sex Determination Using Discriminant Function Analysis In Hispanic Children And Adolescents: A Lateral Cephalometric Study, Alyssa E. Sprowl

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Lateral cephalometric radiographs have been used for years to help diagnose skeletal and dental patterns in Orthodontics. Within the last decade, these radiographs have caught the interest of the department of Anthropology for the identification of gender within the adult and adolescent population. Numerous publications have been made but failed to identify sexual dimorphism in the pre-adolescent population. 303 lateral cephalograms of pre and post Latino adolescence age ranging from 6.5 to 17.9 years old were obtained from University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) digital database. 25 variables were identified and plotted with all linear and angular measurements transferred into …

Coping With Pediatric Cancer: Conversational Methods Utilized By Parents And Children When Dealing With Pediatric Cancer, Chelsi Morgan Walls

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study analyzed how people perceived parents should communicate with their child regarding pediatric cancer treatments. When dealing with pediatric cancer, it is vital that parents and their child communicate about the illness in order to effectively cope with the cancer. Using Uncertainty Management Theory, appraisals, inferences, and illusions, are examined in this study to discover how much affect-management and buffering would be used to manage the illness. Under UMT, the coping mechanisms of affect-management (i.e., religious coping and behavioral disengagement), and buffering (avoidance and child distraction) depend upon how individuals appraise the uncertain situation (positive vs. negative), the inferences …

Efficacy Of Gold Silica Nanoshells And Gold Nanorods For Photothermal Therapy Of Human Glioma Spheroids, Suyog Jung Chhetri

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Gold-based nanoparticles including gold-silica nano-spheres and gold nano-rods have been investigated for a number of therapeutic and diagnostic applications. The ability of these nanoparticles to convert light into heat energy makes them particularly appealing for photothermal therapy in which cancer cells are destroyed via light-induced heat generation. The overall objective of the study is to compare the efficacy of gold-silica nano-spheres and gold nano-rods in an in vitro system consisting of human brain tumor (glioma) spheroids.

Delivery of the nanoparticles to the spheroids was accomplished using murine macrophages. Nanoparticles (spheres or rods) were incubated with macrophages for 24 hours. Thereafter, …

Alpcs(2a)-Mediated Photochemical Internalization Of Bleomycin And Concurrent Hyperthermia Of Multicellular Tumor Spheroids, Aaron Andersen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Treatments for glioblastoma multiforme and invasive ductal carcinoma involve surgical resection and adjuvant or concurrent targeted therapies. The goal of the secondary treatment is to reduce the cancer cells in the resection margin and other areas of suspected involvement. Photochemical internalization is a targeted therapy using light to activate photosensitizers embedded in cellular structures to improve the delivery of macromolecules within the cell.

In a previous study, optimized treatment parameters including radiant exposure, and irradiance, concentration of AlPcS(2a), temperature, and the concentration of bleomycin were determined for human ACBT glioma multicell spheroids. The current study investigates the effectiveness of the …

Comparison Of The Pervasive Developmental Disorders Screening Test And Modified Checklist For Autism In Toddlers: Which Is The Better Predictor Of Autism In Toddlers?, Vanessa Marie Fessenden

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Early intervention for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has significant impact on children and families. Early intervention optimizes long-term diagnosis for children with ASD. Unfortunately, many children with ASD are not diagnosed until after age three and often receive services from a local school district rather than through early intervention services. However, many of the symptoms of ASD can be hard to identify because symptoms during infancy may be more difficult to detect or may present differently than manifestations of the symptoms at older ages. Despite the difficulty in identifying symptoms of ASD in young children, there are certain …

Sickle Cell Disease: A Quality Improvement Initiative For Emergency Department Providers, Pretrescia Marie Walker

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is an incurable, chronic condition that results in a constellation of disorders, frequent emergency department (ED) visits, and repeated hospital admissions. Those affected often suffer from pain crisis, infection, acute chest syndrome, stroke, and multi-organ impairment and frequently do not receive adequate pain management during acute pain episodes because ED providers view them as drug seeking. The majority of patients with SCD are African-American and may be low income, uninsured, or on Medicaid. As a result, these demographics make ED under-treatment of pain in patients with SCD a health equity issue. This was a pre-experimental one …