Statistics and Probability Commons^™

Relationship Of Vitamin D Levels To Blood Pressure In A Biethnic Cohort, Rosario O. Sakamoto

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Background: Serum hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] has been well-accepted as not an ordinary vitamin but a pro-hormone that has many benefits beyond its well-known effects on bone. Cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension remain a huge health burden and Blacks have been recognized to have higher prevalence of hypertension compared to non-Hispanic Whites. Despite increasing evidence of the benefits of vitamin D on blood pressure control, there is much more to be learned about the relationship of serum 25(OH)D to blood pressure among different ethnicities.

Purpose: The goal of this study was to determine whether vitamin D serum 25(OH)D levels were …

Tryptophan Degradation In Women With Breast Cancer: A Pilot Study, Debra E. Lyon, Jeanne M. Walter, Angela R. Starkwater, Christine M. Schubert, Nancy L. Mccain

Faculty Publications

Background: Altered tryptophan metabolism and indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase activity are linked to cancer development and progression. In addition, these biological factors have been associated with the development and severity of neuropsychiatric syndromes, including major depressive disorder. However, this biological mechanism associated with both poor disease outcomes and adverse neuropsychiatric symptoms has received little attention in women with breast cancer. Therefore, a pilot study was undertaken to compare levels of tryptophan and other proteins involved in tryptophan degradation in women with breast cancer to women without cancer, and secondarily, to examine levels in women with breast cancer over the course of chemotherapy. …

Factors That Inhibit Or Enhance Maternal Coping With Stillbirth In Chhattisgarh, India, Lisa R. Roberts

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Background: Over half of the known stillbirths occur in four highly populated countries—India among them. While acknowledged as a significant public health issue in western societies, little is known about maternal coping with stillbirth in developing countries. The purpose of this mixed methods study is to explore how issues of gender and power, social support, coping efforts, and religious beliefs influence perinatal grief outcomes among poor women in rural Chhattisgarh, India.

Methods: In Phase 1 of this mixed methods study, grounded theory methods were used to explore perceptions regarding stillbirth. A de-identified medical records review of 536 deliveries at Christian …

Calcium Supplemental Usage And Potential Health Issues Sssociated With The Rate Of Usage In Las Vegas, Nv, Tanesha Nicole Moss

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Calcium is a very important nutrient and as such, it is very important that all humans consume sufficient amounts. However, some calcium supplements have been known to contain small quantities of lead. This research project used a retrospective approach to explore the trade-off between the benefits of calcium vs. the potential lead exposure amongst people who are taking these supplements. A survey consisting of 10 questions was used to try to assess the rate of consumption of specific types of calcium supplements. This research project obtained lead levels in calcium supplements from previous research and applied that data into this …

Modeling Mortality Rates For Leukemia Between Men And Women In The United States, Blessed Quansah

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Leukemia related deaths increased dramatically over the last forty years. Leukemia is a malignant disease or cancer of the bone marrow and blood. It is characterized by the uncontrolled accumulation of blood cells. Leukemia is divided into two categories: myelogenous or lymphocytic, each of which can be acute or chronic. The terms, myelogenous or lymphocytic denote the cell type involved.

In this thesis, the proposed modeling techniques are applied to leukemia deaths data from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER). In particular, annual deaths data from 1969 to 2007 are used in the data analysis, which includes three major …

Subsample Ignorable Likelihood For Accelerated Failure Time Models With Missing Predictors, Nanhua Zhang, Roderick J. Little

The University of Michigan Department of Biostatistics Working Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Threshold Regression Models Adapted To Case-Control Studies, And The Risk Of Lung Cancer Due To Occupational Exposure To Asbestos In France, Antoine Chambaz, Dominique Choudat, Catherine Huber, Jean-Claude Pairon, Mark J. Van Der Laan

U.C. Berkeley Division of Biostatistics Working Paper Series

Asbestos has been known for many years as a powerful carcinogen. Our purpose is quantify the relationship between an occupational exposure to asbestos and an increase of the risk of lung cancer. Furthermore, we wish to tackle the very delicate question of the evaluation, in subjects suffering from a lung cancer, of how much the amount of exposure to asbestos explains the occurrence of the cancer. For this purpose, we rely on a recent French case-control study. We build a large collection of threshold regression models, data-adaptively select a better model in it by multi-fold likelihood-based cross-validation, then fit the …

Monitoring Radiation Use In Cardiac Fluoroscopy Imaging Procedures, Nathaniel Stevens, S H. Steiner, I R. Smith, R J. Mackay

Mathematics

Objective: Timely identification of systematic changes in radiation delivery of an imaging system can lead to a reduction in risk for the patients involved. However, existing quality assurance programs involving the routine testing of equipment performance using phantoms are limited in their ability to effectively carry out this task. To address this issue we propose the implementation of an ongoing monitoring process that utilizes procedural data to identify unexpected large or small radiation exposures for individual patients, as well as to detect persistent changes in the radiation output of imaging platforms.

Methods: Data used in this study were obtained from …

Approximating Confidence Intervals About Discrete Time Survival/Cumulative Incidence Estimates Using The Delta Method, Alexis Dinno, Jong-Sung Kim

Community Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Poster focuses on answering the questions whether and when and event will happen in a population at risk.

Angiogenic Biomarkers For Risk Stratification In Women With Suspected Preeclampsia, Andreea Balan, Heather Young, Linda Ojo, Jennifer Keller, Sharon Maynard

Epidemiology Faculty Posters and Presentations

This poster presents the results of a single-center prospective cohort study of 315 pregnant women who presented to George Washington University Hospital Labor and Delivery service with a clinical suspicion of preeclampsia between February 2007 and November 2011. Informed consent was obtained. Baseline demographic information and medical history was collected on each patient including maternal age, ethnicity, body mass index, tobacco and other substance use, gestational age, medical problems and obstetric history. Serum samples were obtained from each enrolled subject within 24 hours of admission, and sFlt1, PlGF and sEng ELISA assays were performed in duplicate by a blinded laboratory …

Academic Predictors Of National Council Licensure Examination For Registered Nurses Pass Rates, Maybeth J. Elliott

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The United States continues to be affected by a severe, long-standing nursing shortage that is not projected to resolve within the next 10 or more years. Unsuccessful passage of the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) among graduate nurses remains one of several key contributors to the nursing shortage. The goal of this study was to identify if either cumulative fall semester GPA; the overall prenursing science, mathematics, and English GPA; type of high school background; TOEFL score; clinical pass or fail; and on-time program completion best predicted passage of NCLEX-RN. Archived records from the academic years of …

Decision Aid Models For Resource Sharing Strategies During Global Influenza Pandemics, Alfredo Santana Reynoso

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Pandemic influenza outbreaks have historically entailed significant societal and economic disruptions. Today, our quality of life is threatened by our inadequate preparedness for the imminent pandemic. The key challenges we are facing stem from a significant uncertainty in virus epidemiology, limited response resources, inadequate international collaboration, and the lack of appropriate science-based decision support tools. The existing literature falls short of comprehensive models for global pandemic spread and mitigation which incorporate the heterogeneity of the world regions and realistic travel networks. In addition, there exist virtually no studies which quantify the impact of resource sharing strategies among multiple countries. This …

Estimating The Reproductive Numbers For The 2008-2009 Cholera Outbreaks In Zimbabwe, Zindoga Mukandavire, Shu Liao, Jin Wang, Holly Gaff, David L. Smith, J. Glenn Morris Jr.

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Cholera remains an important global cause of morbidity and mortality, capable of causing periodic epidemic disease. Beginning in August 2008, a major cholera epidemic occurred in Zimbabwe, with 98,585 reported cases and 4,287 deaths. The dynamics of such outbreaks, particularly in nonestuarine regions, are not well understood. We explored the utility of mathematical models in understanding transmission dynamics of cholera and in assessing the magnitude of interventions necessary to control epidemic disease. Weekly data on reported cholera cases were obtained from the Zimbabwe Ministry of Health and Child Welfare (MoHCW) for the period from November 13, 2008 to July 31, …

Gender Differences In Lung Cancer Treatment And Survival, Margaret Anne Kowski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objectives of this research were to test treatment and survival differences between women and men with lung cancer as there is minimal investigation in the literature. Three research questions were developed with statistical testing for gender differences based on similar cancer type, stage, treatment assignment and survival. Data for 44,863 primary lung cancer cases were collected from eight U.S. state-based cancer registries to investigate the research questions. The lung cancer incidence data included the morphological cell-types of adenocarcinoma (AC); squamous cell carcinoma (SCC); large cell carcinoma (LCC) and small cell carcinoma (SCC). Stage, grade, treatment type, as well as, …

Neurological And Cardiovascular Outcomes After Cardiac Arrest At Six Regional Interventional Cardiology Centers In The United States 2007-2011, David B. Seder Md, Nainesh Patel Md, John Mcpherson Md, Paul W. Mcmullan Md, Karl B. Kern Md, Barbara Unger Rn, J Browning, Sudip Nanda Md, Facp, Melkon Hacobian Md, Michael B. Kelley Md, Niklas Nielsen Md, Phd, Michael R. Mooney Md

Department of Medicine

No abstract provided.

Geriatric Experience Following Cardiac Arrest At Six Interventional Cardiology Centers In The United States 2007-2011, David B. Seder Md, Nainesh Patel Md, John A. Mcpherson Md, Paul W. Mcmullan Md, Karl B. Kern Md, Barbara T. Unger Rn, J Browning, Sudip Nanda Md, Facp, Melkon Hacobian Md, Michael B. Kelley Md, Niklas Nielsen Md, Phd, Michael R. Mooney Md

Department of Medicine

No abstract provided.

Post-Resuscitation Care Practices Following Cardiac Arrest At Six Regional Interventional Cardiology Centers In The United States 2007-2011, David B. Seder Md, Nainesh Patel Md, John A. Mcpherson Md, Paul W. Mcmullan Md, Karl B. Kern Md, Barbara T. Unger Rn, J Browning, Sudip Nanda Md, Facp, Melkon Hacobian Md, Michael B. Kelley Md, Niklas Nielsen Md, Phd, Michael R. Mooney Md

Department of Medicine

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Common Inherited Variants In Mitochondrial-Related And Microrna-Related Genes As Novel Risk Factors For Ovarian Cancer, Jennifer Permuth Wey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among women in the United States, and the etiology is incompletely understood. Common, low penetrant genetic variants such as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) likely contribute to a significant proportion of EOC. We examined whether SNPs in two understudied yet biologically important types of genes, mitochondrial-related and miRNA-related genes, may contribute to EOC susceptibility using data from a large, homogeneous study population of 1,815 EOC cases and 1,900 controls (frequency-matched on age-group and race/ethnicity) genotyped through stage 1 of an ongoing genome-wide association study. Inter-individual variation in genes involved …

Dna Methylation And Its Association With Prenatal Exposures And Pregnancy Outcomes, Jennifer Straughen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Altered DNA methylation may lead to suboptimal fetal programming, increasing the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes such as small for gestational age (SGA); however, few studies have examined the associations between DNA methylation, prenatal exposures, and fetal outcomes. Cross-sectional data from a larger, ongoing study were used to assess the impact of prenatal smoking on gene specific methylation of umbilical cord blood derived DNA and to investigate the association between gene-specific methylation and risk of SGA. The association between gene-specific DNA methylation and birthweight was also assessed. Maternal and infant covariates were abstracted from medical records, cigarette smoke exposure was …

Coronary Heart Disease Mortality And Long-Term Exposure To Ambient Particulate Air Pollutants In Elderly Nonsmoking California Residents, Lie Hong Chen

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The purpose of this study is to assess the effect of long-term concentrations of ambient PM on risks of all causes, cardiopulmonary, coronary heart disease (CHD), total cancer, and any mention of nonmalignant respiratory disease (NMRD) mortality.

The health effects of long-term ambient air pollution have been studied with up to 30 years of follow-up in the AHSMOG cohort, a cohort of 6,338 nonsmoking white California adults. Monthly concentrations of ambient air pollutants [particulate matter(PMio), Ozone (O3), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) or particulate matter

In the AHSMOG cohort, each increment of 10 |ig/m3 in PMio in two-pollutant models …

Effects Of Acculturation On Hiv/Aids Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Asian And Pacific Islander (Api) Women, Margaret Cabotage Salud

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Background. In the US women are the fastest growing group for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV and AIDS. In addition, the estimated AIDS cases among female adults and adolescents, aged 13-19, increased from 7% in 1985 to approximately 26% in 2002. Most infections occur by heterosexual transmission with 53% occurring through contact with a high-risk sexual partner. While overall HIV/AIDS rates in the Asian Pacific Islander (API) community remain low, they are rising and HIV testing rates, one of the major prevention strategies for HIV, are lower than that of other populations. Furthermore, very little is known about APIs …

Spatial Epidemiology Of Birth Defects In The United States And The State Of Utah Using Geographic Information Systems And Spatial Statistics, Samson Y. Gebreab

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Oral clefts are the most common form of birth defects in the United States (US) and the State of Utah has among the highest prevalence of oral clefts in the nation. The overall objective of this dissertation was to examine the spatial distribution of oral clefts and their linkage with a broad range of demographic, behavioral, social, economic, and environmental risk factors through the application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial statistics. Using innovative linked micromaps plots, we investigated the geographic patterns of oral clefts occurrence from 1998 to 2002 and their relationships with maternal smoking rates and proportion …

Influence Of Sex On Long-Term Outcomes After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention With The Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent: Results Of The "Taxus Woman" Analysis, Ghada W. Mikhail Md, Robert T. Gerber Md, Phd, David A. Cox Md, Stephen G. Ellis Md, John M. Lasala Md, Phd, John A. Ormiston Mbchb, Gregg W. Stone Md, Mark A. Turco Md, Anita A. Joshi Phd, Donald S. Baim Md, Antonio Colombo Md

Department of Medicine

No abstract provided.

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 …

Minimum Description Length And Empirical Bayes Methods Of Identifying Snps Associated With Disease, Ye Yang, David R. Bickel

COBRA Preprint Series

The goal of determining which of hundreds of thousands of SNPs are associated with disease poses one of the most challenging multiple testing problems. Using the empirical Bayes approach, the local false discovery rate (LFDR) estimated using popular semiparametric models has enjoyed success in simultaneous inference. However, the estimated LFDR can be biased because the semiparametric approach tends to overestimate the proportion of the non-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). One of the negative consequences is that, like conventional p-values, such LFDR estimates cannot quantify the amount of information in the data that favors the null hypothesis of no disease-association.

We …

A Maximum Pseudo-Likelihood Approach For Estimating Species Trees Under The Coalescent Model, Liang Liu, Lili Yu, Scott V. Edwards

Biostatistics: Faculty Publications

Background

Several phylogenetic approaches have been developed to estimate species trees from collections of gene trees. However, maximum likelihood approaches for estimating species trees under the coalescent model are limited. Although the likelihood of a species tree under the multispecies coalescent model has already been derived by Rannala and Yang, it can be shown that the maximum likelihood estimate (MLE) of the species tree (topology, branch lengths, and population sizes) from gene trees under this formula does not exist. In this paper, we develop a pseudo-likelihood function of the species tree to obtain maximum pseudo-likelihood estimates (MPE) of species trees, …

The Pathways To Mental Health Care Of First-Episode Psychosis Patients: A Systematic Review., Kelly K. Anderson, Rebecca Fuhrer, Ashok K. Malla

Epidemiology and Biostatistics Publications

BACKGROUND: Although there is agreement on the association between delay in treatment of psychosis and outcome, less is known regarding the pathways to care of patients suffering from a first psychotic episode. Pathways are complex, involve a diverse range of contacts, and are likely to influence delay in treatment. We conducted a systematic review on the nature and determinants of the pathway to care of patients experiencing a first psychotic episode.

METHOD: We searched four databases (Medline, HealthStar, EMBASE, PsycINFO) to identify articles published between 1985 and 2009. We manually searched reference lists and relevant journals and used forward citation …

Landmark Prediction Of Survival, Layla Parast, Tianxi Cai

Harvard University Biostatistics Working Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Facial Type Analysis Comparison Between Mri, Cbct, And Lateral Cephalometrics, Matthew A. Sanders

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Introduction: Single Cephalometric measurements are comparable between Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRl) and Conventional Lateral Cephalometric (LC) imaging methods. This study evaluated the agreement between the three imaging methods in facial type analysis (using a composite of 5 cephalometric measures).

Methods and Materials: Twenty-two subjects participated in this study. Cranial images were generated via three modalities: LC, CBCT and MRl. Cephalometric landmarks were identified on the three images per subject and a facial type analysis performed. An equally weighted facial type calculation composed of 5 cephalometric measurements (facial axis, facial depth, mandibular plane, lower face height, …

Comparison Of Non-Surgical And Surgical Endodontic Retreatment: A Systematic Review, Robert Corr

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Primary root canal therapy has been shown to be a predictable procedure with a high degree of success ^1-4, however failures can occur after treatment. Treatment options for the preservation of teeth that have had previous endodontic treatment but demonstrate persistent disease include non-surgical (orthograde) or surgical (retrograde) endodontic retreatment, assuming the tooth is restorable, periodontally sound, and the patient desires to retain the tooth. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the current available evidence to compare the clinical and radiographic outcomes of nonsurgical with those of surgical endodontic retreatment. Methodology began with …