Applied Statistics Commons^™

Four Weeks Of Minimalist Style Running Training Reduced Lumbar Paraspinal Muscle Activation During Shod Running, Stephanie Barton, David Brown, Talia Joyce

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Background and Purpose: Research has shown that the risk of low back dysfunctions in runners is related to the increased mileage of distance running. Repetitive shock loading of the spinal structures during running has been indicated as one of the important biomechanical mechanisms underlying such injury. Acute changes in foot strike pattern, like those seen during minimalist style running, have been shown to lead to modifications in lumbar range of motion. Minimalist style running could lead to changes in lumbar biomechanics and muscle activation, potentially reducing the loading on the musculoskeletal structures of the lower back. However, the long term …

The Effects Of Instruction On Landing Strategies In Female College-Aged Dancers And Non-Dancers: A Pilot Study, Brittany Keating, Jason Pyfer, Kimberly Vialpando

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Background Female athletic participation has increased over the past decade and with it the prevalence of knee injuries. Current research demonstrates an increased risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury for female athletes. However, a number of studies have pointed out that ballet and modern dancers exhibit a lower incidence of ACL injuries despite the fact that they perform jumping and landing frequently.

Objective The objective of this study was to examine how dance experience and instruction affect the lower extremity biomechanics during drop landings. Specifically, lower extremity joint alignment and muscle activation of gluteus maximus and gluteus medius were …

Immediate Effects Of Cervical Spine Manipulation On Gait Parameters In Individuals With And Without Mechanical Neck Pain, Jordan Isom, Shaylyn Kennedy, Justin May, Samuel Moore

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine 1) if there were any differences in gait parameters between participants with mechanical neck pain and those without and 2) if cervical spine manipulation has an immediate effect on these gait parameters.

Methods: Twenty participants with mechanical neck pain and twenty participants without neck pain were randomly assigned into either the sham or manipulation group. The two intervention groups participated in walking across a GAITRite Walkway that recorded gait parameters such as stride length, cadence and step width before and after cervical spine manipulation. The participants walked at their own cadence …

The Immediate Effects Of Cervicothoracic Manipulation Versus Stretching On Upper Trapezius Pressure Pain Thresholds And Range Of Motion In Individuals Without Neck Pain, Kevin Carr, Morgan King, Erin Oelklaus, Brendan Parry

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Background and Purpose: Myofascial pain may be considered one of the most common clinical findings in patients with neck pain (NP). Motor aspects of myofascial pain include disturbed motor function and muscle weakness secondary to motor inhibition, muscle stiffness, and restricted range of motion (ROM). Currently, it is unclear which interventions may have the greatest immediate impact on pressure pain sensitivity and ROM. Several studies have demonstrated improved pressure pain thresholds (PPT) after cervical manipulation; however, it is not clear if manipulation targeted to the cervicothoracic (CT) junction will have a similar effect. Others recommend stretching as a method to …

The Effects Of Enhanced And Decreased Expectations On Balance Performance In Those With And Without Parkinson’S Disease, Joshua Ostrander, Granuaile Parrish, Jacob Blood

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Background: It has been reported individuals typically perform well on a task when enhanced expectancy was provided prior to task performance. It has also been reported people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) are especially susceptible to pre-task placebo cuing and suggestion. Evidence of this susceptibility has been previously demonstrated through brain imaging studies and with demonstration by individuals with PD improved balance performance.

Objective: This study was designed to further previous studies’ results for improved task performance with enhanced expectancy. The purpose of this study was to investigate if the pre-task verbal delivery of enhanced expectancy, decreased expectancy and no expectancy …

Patient No-Show For Outpatient Physical Therapy: A National Survey, James Bokinskie, Payton Johnson, Trevor Mahoney

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Introduction: Patients who fail to show for scheduled medical appointments (no-show) create a cascade of issues for the health care system, the provider, and themselves. No-show can affect clinical productivity, cost and quality of care, and treatment outcomes. There is an overwhelming lack of research on no-show as it relates to outpatient physical therapy in the United States. The purposes of this study were to report national no-show rates, describe the presence and characteristics of no-show policies, determine the relationship of these policies and other demographic information to no-show rates, and describe the most commonly perceived reasons for no-show.

Methods: …

Comparing Usability And Variance Of Low- And High Technology Approaches To Gait Analysis In Health Adults, John Mcconnell, Brian Silverman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the usability, reliability, and objectivity of four tools that represented varying gait analysis technologies used in clinical practice and/or research. Low technology clinical tools included the Gait Abnormality Rating Scale (GARS-M) and the Rancho Los Amigos Observational Gait Analysis (Rancho OGA). High technology tools included the GAITRiteÒ computerized walkway, and the APDM Mobility LabÔ wearable sensor system.

Subjects: 74 healthy adults ages 18-41 years (mean = 24.82, SD = 4.39) 33 males and 40 females.

Methods: Subjects were instructed to walk at a self-selected speed for two minutes …

Analysis Of Bank Failure And Size Of Assets, Guancun Zhong

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The financial health of the banking industry is an important prerequisite for economic stability and growth. Bank failures in the United States have run in cycles largely associated with the collapse of economic bubbles. The number of bank failures has increased dramatically over the last thirty years (Halling and Hayden, 2007). In this thesis, we try to address the following two questions: 1) What is the relationship, if any, between a bank's asset size and its likelihood of failures? 2) How can we use statistical tools to predict the numbers of bank failures in the future? Various modeling techniques are …

Statistical Analysis Of Fatalities Due To Vehicle Accidents In Las Vegas, Nv, Annabelle Marie Mathis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The goal of this thesis is to investigate factors that affect the odds of having a fatality in a vehicle collision. We will be looking at characteristics of the driver that caused the accident (age, gender, behavior, actions, influences, and seat belt worn), the characteristics of the vehicle the driver drove (type of vehicle, and air bag deployment), the characteristics of the environment in which the accident occurred (weather, road condition, lighting, time of day, the day of the week, and month of the year), the characteristics of the crash (direction of accident and how many vehicles were involved), and …

A Statistical Model For Long-Term Forecasting Of Strong Sand Dust Storms, Siqi Tan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Dust elevated into the atmosphere by dust storms has numerous environmental consequences. These include contributing to climate change; modifying local weather conditions; producing chemical and biological changes in the oceans; and affecting soil formation, surface water, groundwater quality, crop growth, and survival (Goudie and Middleton, 1992). Societal impacts include disruptions to air, road and rail traffic; interruption of radio services; the myriad effects of static-electricity generation; property damage; and health effects on humans and animals (Warner, 2004).

In this thesis, we extend the idea of empirical recurrence rate (ERR), developed by Ho (2008), to model the temporal trend of the …

Arima Models For Bank Failures: Prediction And Comparison, Fangjin Cui

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The number of bank failures has increased dramatically over the last twenty-two years. A common notion in economics is that some banks can become "too big to fail." Is this still a true statement? What is the relationship, if any, between bank sizes and bank failures? In this thesis, the proposed modeling techniques are applied to real bank failure data from the FDIC. In particular, quarterly data from 1989:Q1 to 2010:Q4 are used in the data analysis, which includes three major parts: 1) pairwise bank failure rate comparisons using the conditional test (Przyborowski and Wilenski, 1940); 2) development of the …

Arima Model For Forecasting Poisson Data: Application To Long-Term Earthquake Predictions, Wangdong Fu

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Earthquakes that occurred worldwide during the period of 1896 to 2009 with magnitude greater than or equal to 8.0 on the Richter scale are assumed to follow a Poisson process. Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average models are presented to fit the empirical recurrence rates, and to predict future large earthquakes. We show valuable modeling and computational techniques for the point processes and time series data. Specifically, for the proposed methodology, we address the following areas: data management and graphic presentation, model fitting and selection, model validation, model and data sensitivity analysis, and forecasting.

Statistical Inferences For Functions Of Parameters Of Several Pareto And Exponential Populations With Application In Data Traffic, Sumith Gunasekera

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In this dissertation, we discuss the usability and applicability of three statistical inferential frameworks--namely, the Classical Method, which is sometimes referred to as the Conventional or the Frequentist Method, based on the approximate large sample approach, the Generalized Variable Method based on the exact generalized p -value approach, and the Bayesian Method based on prior densities--for solving existing problems in the area of parametric estimation. These inference procedures are discussed through Pareto and exponential distributions that are widely used to model positive random variables relevant to social, scientific, actuarial, insurance, finance, investments, banking, and many other types of observable phenomena. …