Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Effect Of Long-Duration Standing And Sitting On Vascular Function, Zackary Vaughan

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Background: An increase in sedentary lifestyle is a growing problem as it has a negative impact on vascular function leading to significantly higher risk of myocardial infarction and cardiovascular disease mortality. Both standing and sitting for extended periods of time affect endothelial function in lower leg vasculature. Flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and pulse wave velocity (PWV) are two variables that allow us to quantify endothelial function. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of long-duration sitting versus standing on lower body vasculature as assessed by PWV and FMD. Methodology: This study included 13 men and …

The Acute Effects Of Citrulline Malate And Bonded Arginine Silicate Supplementation On Vasodilation Of Young Adults, Jeffrey Rogers

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

Background

Clinicians, professional athletes, and recreational athletes are interested in supplementation that up-regulates nitric oxide (NO) production in blood vessel endothelium, increasing arterial vasodilation. Benefits from these supplements include improvements in blood pressure, muscle hyperemia, and exercise performance. Citrulline Malate (CM) is a pre-workout ingredient, popular for its ability to increase exercise performance and blood serum concentrations of L-arginine, resulting in NO production. Recently, Inositol-Stabilized Arginine Silicate (ASI, Nitrosigine) has been added to many of the most popular pre-workout blends, following a group of studies showing ASI increases serum arginine and reduces post-workout muscle damage. Research has yet to …

The Effects Of Men's Lacrosse Protective Equipment On Thermoregulation And Perceptions During Exercise Heat Stress, Amanda Glasgow

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

The effects of men's lacrosse protective equipment on thermoregulation and perceptions during exercise heat stress

Amanda P. Glasgow: Exercise Science Research Center, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR.

Background: Exertional heat stroke and other heat related illnesses are a common concern for athletic coaches and players. Looking to prevent further injuries, it is questioned whether players perceive if their bodies are heating to a dangerous level. Many factors play into the body’s response and the players perception including thirst, thermoregulation, and the kind of protective equipment the athletes are wearing. Purpose: Examine if perceptual responses are different when participants wear men’s …

The Impact Of Parenting Style On Emerging Adult Sexual Behavior, Xavier Smith

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

The objective of this study was to examine the impact of parenting style on emerging adult sexual behavior by surveying undergraduate students at the University of Arkansas. A total of 306 participants were evaluated for the study (101 men; 205 women). Methods: For the summer of 2018 through the fall of 2018, the survey was active. University of Arkansas students took the online survey via Qualtrics, and they reflected on topics including familial background, perception of parents, and sexual behavior to describe the relationship between parenting style and personal sexual behavior. Results: It was found that mother autonomy support …

Fitness Vs Fatness And Cardiovascular Health In Adolescents, Ashley E. Hensley

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Background: Adolescent obesity has been on the rise with studies showing obesity tracks into adulthood. Obesity is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD); CVD is the leading cause of adult death in the U.S. Previous research shows a strong positive relationship between physical activity (PA) and cardiovascular (CV) health even in an obese adult population. Thus, the relationship between adolescent physical fitness and lifetime risk for CVD and all-cause mortality should be investigated. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine associations between PA and adiposity with cardiovascular health in obese and non-obese weight adolescents, with the …

The Effects Of Men's Lacrosse Protective Equipment On Thermoregulation And Perceptions During Exercise Heat Stress, Amanda Glasgow

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

The effects of men's lacrosse protective equipment on thermoregulation and perceptions during exercise heat stress

Amanda P. Glasgow: Exercise Science Research Center, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR.

Background: Exertional heat stroke and other heat related illnesses are a common concern for athletic coaches and players. Looking to prevent further injuries, it is questioned whether players perceive if their bodies are heating to a dangerous level. Many factors play into the body’s response and the players perception including thirst, thermoregulation, and the kind of protective equipment the athletes are wearing. Purpose: Examine if perceptual responses are different when participants wear men’s …

Correlation Between Myostatin And Lean Muscle Mass In Older Adults, Mishann Luedders

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Correlation Between Myostatin and Lean Muscle Mass in Older Adults.

Luedders, M., Gray, M., Patton, S., Washington, T., Binns, A. Exercise Science Research Center, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR.

Background: Our older adult population is growing exponentially and with it, the number of falls and debilitating injuries that afflict their population grows as well. A fall brings with it many possible injuries, healthcare costs, fear and increased mortality. There seems to be a lack of preventative measures in our healthcare system to help protect our elders. One possible measure is a simple blood test that looks at the level of …

The Association Between Advanced Maternal Age And Short Interpregnancy Intervals On Preterm Labor, Hannah N. Burns, Kristi L. Duchanois

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

Background: Preterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal and infant mortality and has become a major health concern due to the increasing rates of infant deaths in the United States (WHO, 2017). Studying maternal risk factors for preterm labor provides insight to this obscure condition and can assist in the identification of high risk women, as well as facilitate appropriate pregnancy planning. Purpose: Although research can be found on interpregnancy intervals and maternal age as independent risk factors for premature labor, gaps exist within the relation of these variables. This study was done to investigate whether there is …

The Association Between Advanced Maternal Age And Short Interpregnancy Intervals On Preterm Labor, Kristi L. Duchanois, Hannah N. Burns

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Background: Preterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal and infant mortality and has become a major health concern due to the increasing rates of infant deaths in the United States (WHO, 2017). Studying maternal risk factors for preterm labor provides insight to this obscure condition and can assist in the identification of high risk women, as well as facilitate appropriate pregnancy planning. Purpose: Although research can be found on interpregnancy intervals and maternal age as independent risk factors for premature labor, gaps exist within the relation of these variables. This study was done to investigate whether there is a …

Allicin Reverses Diabetes-Induced Dysfunction Of Human Coronary Artery Endothelial Cells, Daniel Horuzsko

PCOM Biomedical Studies Student Scholarship

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the United States, and is the major source of morbidity and mortality associated with diabetes mellitus. Because the incidence of diabetes continues to increase, reducing the risk of CVD in diabetes will continue to be a major focus of cardiovascular research. An early manifestation of diabetes-induced CVD is dysfunction of the vascular endothelium, as indicated by depressed production of NO. Our findings now demonstrate depressed activity of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) in diabetes, and suggest that treating human coronary artery endothelial cells with allicin, the major bioactive organosulfur component …

Mild Cognitive Deficits From Cancer Treatments, Jason Tse

Books, Presentations, Posters, Etc.

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Evidence-Based Practice On A Culture Of Safety, Donald C. Hunt

Nursing Theses and Dissertations

Background: 210,000 to 440,000 deaths have been caused by errors in healthcare. Providers who are committed to core values that emphasize safety contribute to a “culture of safety.’ This culture is required for healthcare institutions to achieve high-reliability status demonstrating high potential for error but few adverse outcomes. There is little known about contributors to the culture of safety and the commitment of providers to its core values.

Purpose: To determine relationships among the predictors- EBP culture, individual evidence-based decision making, organizational implementation of evidence-based practice - and a culture of safety.

Design: Correlational Predictive Design.

Sample: Two-hundred seventeen nurses …

Determinants Of Disparities In The Colorectal Cancer Burden, Karen Elizabeth Callahan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third leading cause of cancer incidence and mortality in the United States, with an estimated 140,000 new cases and 51,000 deaths expected in 2018. Like most cancers, the burden of CRC is unequally distributed among population groups. The current dissertation included two studies filling gaps in knowledge about CRC disparities. Study 1 characterized the relationship between educational attainment and CRC mortality by race/ethnicity. Six years of CRC mortality data (2012-2017) from the diverse state of California, with 30,180 deaths were analyzed. Sex-specific mortality rate ratios (MRR) stratified by race/ethnicity as well as by educational level …

Implementation Of An Asthma Action Plan In A Pediatric Outpatient Clinic, Noelle Cerdan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A combination of asthma evidence-based education by nurse practitioners and other healthcare providers as well as self-management by patients with asthma and their caregivers are necessary to provide effective asthma care. According to the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) guidelines from the National Institute of Health (NIH), effective asthma care includes a detailed Asthma Action Plan (AAP). However, despite this evidence-based recommendation for all patients with asthma, studies suggest many healthcare providers do not routinely utilize an AAP.

The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project was to develop and evaluate a process for the integration …

Assessing The Long-Term Effects Of A Cultural Immersion Experience On Nursing Practice, Karen H. De La Cruz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Cultural immersion has been identified as a preferred method of teaching cultural competence in undergraduate nursing education. Multiple qualitative and quantitative studies have shown that baccalaureate nursing students enjoy international learning experiences and, based on self-efficacy evaluations, feel they have increased cultural competency following immersion experiences. However, there is little evidence to indicate concepts learned during undergraduate cultural competency course work is retained or integrated into nursing practice after leaving the milieu of academia.

To inform future cultural competency educational efforts, I conducted a qualitative phenomenological study to provide a baseline of evidence regarding the impact of a cultural immersion …

Public Exposure To Outdoor Bioaerosols In Particulate Matter In Las Vegas: Daily And Seasonal Variations, Karey Renee Fortier

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Bioaerosols are airborne particles of biological origin including viruses, bacteria, pollen, fungi, and fragments of their metabolic products. Bioaerosol exposure may represent a health risk, in particular for risk groups such as immunosuppressed persons, and those suffering from allergies or respiratory diseases. Bioaerosols of sizes

This study seeks to assess outdoor bioaerosol number concentrations and size distributions in Las Vegas, NV, as the first step in understanding their health risks. PM2.5 and PM10 were collected on black polycarbonate filters for 24-hour duration using MiniVol air samplers on UNLV campus in the spring and fall of 2017. Bioaerosols in these samples …

Telomeres, Nutrition And Mortality: Risk Factors For The Rate Of Telomere Length Decline And The Associations Between Telomere Length, Nutrition And Mortality, Saruna Ghimire

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Introduction: Telomeres are nucleoprotein structures located at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes, thought to protect the DNA from damage. As a person experiences stressors, harmful exposures, and other diseases throughout their life, telomeres are thought to become damaged and their length shortened, decreasing their ability to protect the DNA. Nutrition is an important aspect of healthy aging. Preservation of telomere length (TL) is thought to be one of the mechanisms by which good nutrition can delay or prevent the development of chronic disease and death. Recent evidence of preservation of TL with good nutrition is promising. Thus, the aim of …

Health Disparities Among Sexual And Gender Minorities, Jennifer Keeley

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Decades of research has shown that sexual and gender minorities (SGMs) experience adverse health and mental health outcomes to a greater extent than their heterosexual peers. The need to better understand and eliminate health disparities in the SGM population was recognized by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) at NIH. The Secretary of Health at the Department of Health and Human Services approved the designation of the SGM population as a health disparities population in 2016 and called for SGM studies to examine the health needs of the SGM population across SGM subgroups via large representative …

Prevalence Of Aggregatibacter Actinomycetemcomitans And Fusobacterium Nucleatum Among Clinical Orthodontic Saliva Samples, Jason Robert Klingler

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Changes to the oral microflora occur when there are shifts in the levels of the numerous bacterial species. Changes in bacterial load occur in health, disease, and dental treatments such as orthodontics and can be detected through saliva. Many studies dealing with saliva have centered around detecting bacteria known for correlation with chronic periodontitis and caries. Fewer have focused on bacterial species that contribute to microbial shifts not strictly correlated with disease. Measuring the degree of disease progression or future susceptibility is not always possible with traditional clinical parameters alone.

Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (AA) is a bacterial strain that serves as …

A Guide For A Shared Governance Program, Lydia Joan Lefchuck

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Shared governance (SG) within an organization promotes professional growth with the expectation that employees will be active contributors in attaining organizational goals. Healthcare organizational leaders ultimately have a fiduciary responsibility to stakeholders to seek quality improvement initiatives. SG leads to a healthy workplace environment staffed by empowered nurses. Having a committed workforce practicing within SG leads to increased employee satisfaction and engagement, and longer nursing tenures with loyalty to their organization. The low nursing turnover rates, associated with a satisfied and engaged staff, translate into efficient productivity, continuous quality improvement, better patient outcomes, and operational cost savings.

Health systems administrators …

Acr Accreditation For Utah Valley Hospital’S Radiation Oncology Center, Remy Manigold

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Becoming an accredited clinic through the American College of Radiology (ACR) and their Radiation Oncology Practice Accreditation (ROPA) program will provide third-party evaluation of patient care to ensure the best treatment possible for patients.

Talk of getting ACR accreditation has occurred in the past for Utah Valley Hospital/American Fork Hospital, but at the time it was seen as something that did not provide sufficient value vs. the cost. The recent One Intermountain restructuring is intended to unify all of the Intermountain Healthcare radiation oncology centers in Utah so the Radiation Oncology Director has set the goal that all Intermountain radiation …

Is Easier, Better? A Reevaluation Of The Use Of Non-Remodeled Bone As A Histological Predictor Of Age-At-Death From The Femoral Midshaft Using Gis Software, Mariah Elaine Moe

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Traditional macroscopic methods for estimating age-at-death from human skeletal remains have been highly successful in practice but are notoriously inadequate when aging individuals over the age of 50 years. Skeletal histology has the potential to overcome these challenges to narrow the gap in age estimation and more accurately address older individuals.

Primary bone is produced during normal growth and development. Once fully matured, individuals undergo the lifelong process of remodeling wherein primary bone is replaced with microstructures called secondary osteons. As individuals age, the amount of primary bone tends to decrease. This study reexamined the use of percentage of primary …

Wearable Technology Devices: Heart Rate And Step Count Analysis, Jeffrey Montes

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The overarching purpose of this dissertation was to evaluate and analyze heart rate and/or step count measurements for six popular wearable technology devices: the Samsung Gear 2, FitBit Surge, Polar A360, Garmin Vivosmart HR+, Leaf Health Tracker, and the Scosche Rhythm+ in four separate conditions: free motion walking, free motion jogging, treadmill walking, and treadmill jogging. The four studies presented here utilized one test design and data collection protocol in which many measurements could be addressed simultaneously. Currently, there is no accepted standardized protocol to evaluate wearable technology devices. The test design utilized for this research series was introduced as …

Implementing A Heart Failure Education Program For Bedside Nurses In The Acute Care Setting, David L. Morrow

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Heart failure is a chronic disease in which a weakened heart is no longer able to deliver adequate blood flow to supply the body with needed oxygen and nutrients. Heart failure is the most common reason for hospitalization in the United States for patients age 65 and over, accounting for over 1,000,000 hospital admissions annually. Due to the chronic nature of this debilitating condition and associated symptoms, patients discharged from the hospital with a diagnosis of heart failure are at high risk for readmission. Effective self-care behaviors have been shown to reduce readmissions and improve quality of life for these …

A Guide For Outcomes Evaluation And Sustainability Of A Dedicated Education Unit Within An Academic-Practice Partnership, Jennifer Pfannes

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Dedicated Education Unit (DEU) has emerged as an innovative approach to providing a positive, high-quality, collaborative clinical learning environment that fosters the growth and learning of undergraduate nursing students. Additionally, the DEU model has demonstrated success in beginning to bridge the education-practice gap, tackling the faculty shortage, and easing the new graduate transition from education to practice; however, developing, evaluating and sustaining an economically successful DEU takes thoughtful,

strategic planning. The challenging nature of developing and sustaining a DEU that mutually benefits both the academic and clinical partner over time, reveals the need for more guidance to secure long-term …

A Group Development Program Based On Transformational Leadership To Improve Team Performance, Anne-Marie Schenk

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As reimbursement models move from volume-based to value-based, organizations increasingly depend on meeting patient outcome goals in order to achieve their budgetary targets. Leadership teams are a vital part of healthcare organizations and their performance is crucial to the overall organization’s performance. The organization of interest saw a group of strong individual leaders struggle with outcome production due, in part, to overall team dysfunction. To address this need, this DNP project is a group development program, based on the concepts of transformational leadership. As functional groups and transformational leaders are known to drive outcomes, when implemented, this program’s goal is …

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 …

An Exploration Of Nursing Communication Competence During The Handoff Report, Megan Elizabeth Smith

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Introduction Nurse handoff reporting is a crucial time for communication exchange in healthcare settings. During the handoff report, patient information is exchanged between senders and receivers transferring responsibility for care with the main purpose of providing accurate and timely information about the patient. The Joint Commission reports that shortcomings related to communication can be directly related to an increase in patient care errors, with approximately 80% of medical errors resulting from miscommunication during the handoff process. Numerous intervention studies focus on standardizing information, developing physical locations and environments for ideal handoffs, and creating tools for structured information exchange between different …

Changes In Hippocampal-Anterior Cingulate Cortex Interactions During Remote Memory Recall, Ryan A. Wirt

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Spatial memory is an important cognitive process that relies on extensive neural networks throughout the brain. The hippocampus (HC) is important for the formation of these memories but over time, in a process referred to as consolidation, recall becomes increasingly reliant on other brain areas. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a region within the medial prefrontal cortex, is important for spatial learning, spatial working memory, and remote memory recall, but the mechanisms underlying recall processes are still unknown. To better understand the role of the ACC and HC during memory recall, we introduced rodents into a series of spatially and …

Leadership Development In Nursing: Planning From The Bedside To The Executive Suite, Janet C. Wright

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Nurses comprise the largest portion of the healthcare sector workforce over 4 million professional nurses licensed in the United States (National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 2019). Leading within a vast workforce such as nursing requires the nurse leader to have the expertise of the nursing profession along with leadership and business skills to maintain competitiveness in the complex healthcare industry. Consequences of effective leadership include improved patient outcomes, decreased staff turnover, and decreased costs to the organization related to patient outcomes and turnover costs. These results suggest the importance for organizations to ensure their leaders are properly trained …