Matching Items (115)
Description
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data of metastatic brain cancer patients at the Barrow Neurological Institute sparked interest in the radiology department due to the possibility that tumor size distributions might mimic a power law or an exponential distribution. In order to consider the question regarding the growth trends of metastatic brain tumors, this thesis analyzes the volume measurements of the tumor sizes from the BNI data and attempts to explain such size distributions through mathematical models. More specifically, a basic stochastic cellular automaton model is used and has three-dimensional results that show similar size distributions of those of the BNI data. Results of the models are investigated using the likelihood ratio test suggesting that, when the tumor volumes are measured based on assuming tumor sphericity, the tumor size distributions significantly mimic the power law over an exponential distribution.
ContributorsFreed, Rebecca (Co-author) / Snopko, Morgan (Co-author) / Kostelich, Eric (Thesis director) / Kuang, Yang (Committee member) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-12
Description
This is the study of Acute Impact of Ujjayi Yogic Pranayama vs Aerobic Exercise on Cognitive Performance and Short Term Memory. The purpose of this research was to compare two forms of exercise and their effects on someone's cognitive performance and short term memory. The research was performed in an acute setting were both exercises was conducted in under 15 minutes of active participation. The research question was; will aerobic exercise or the Pranayama breathing exercise provide better results and demonstrate a more effective way to increase the cognitive performance and short term memory for a college student aged 18-30. This was accomplished by using an aerobic exercise on an elliptical machine and then participating in the breathing exercise for 10 minutes in both scenarios. This study had two scenarios. Each scenario had a preliminary cognitive performance and short-term memory, post-Ujjayi exercise had a cognitive performance and short-term memory and a post-aerobic exercise had a cognitive performance and short-term memory. There was an hour break between Ujjayi exercise and aerobic exercise in both scenarios to prevent any type of bias. Scenario 1 had these three settings but the students were not given a breakfast supplement. In Scenario 2 the students were given a break supplement and followed the same procedures as scenario 1. There were 25 students for scenario 1 and 25 students for scenario 2. The students were allowed to participate in scenario 1 and 2 but it had to be a week after their first participation. All participants were originally signed up for scenario 1 and they could come back to perform scenario 2 a week later. The first scenario was completing the tests in the absence of food. Scenario two was completing the tests after having been given a Clif Bar to consume. The results of both of these scenarios showed that for cognitive performance and short term memory aerobic exercise had a beneficial impact on their performance. However, students who had a breakfast performed better on the preliminary tests and scored better after the yogic Ujjayi Pranayama exercise on their cognitive performance and short term memory tests. There was also a negligible difference between the test results after the preliminary tests and yogic Ujjayi Pranayama. However, in scenario one the overall tests scores for preliminary and yogic Ujjayi Pranayama were less than those in scenario two. Students who recorded that they were more actively engaging in regular physical exercise 3-7 days a week also did worse in scenario 1, but when presented with scenario 2 they scored equal with those who did not perform regular exercise. The overall purpose for this research was to find out how to increase cognitive performance and short term memory ability in college age students 18-30 in a short amount of time. The results of this study will be impactful for the future studies that will be focused on when comparing aerobic exercise and yogic pranayama.
ContributorsKopecky, Zachary (Co-author) / Enright, Roan (Co-author) / McILwraith, Heide (Thesis director) / Lee, Rebecca (Committee member) / College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Prostate cancer is the second most common kind of cancer in men. Fortunately, it has a 99% survival rate. To achieve such a survival rate, a variety of aggressive therapies are used to treat prostate cancers that are caught early. Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is a therapy that is given in cycles to patients. This study attempted to analyze what factors in a group of 79 patients caused them to stick with or discontinue the treatment. This was done using naïve Bayes classification, a machine-learning algorithm. The usage of this algorithm identified high testosterone as an indicator of a patient persevering with the treatment, but failed to produce statistically significant high rates of prediction.
ContributorsMillea, Timothy Michael (Author) / Kostelich, Eric (Thesis director) / Kuang, Yang (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
This study confirms that there is stigma attached to how Somali-Americans perceive mental and emotional impairments compared to the perception of physical disabilities and impairments. More Somali-Americans are willing to seek help regarding their mental and physical health which is a positive step in improving the perceptions of Somali-Americans towards mental or emotional impairments and physical disabilities. Findings can contribute to the knowledge of health care professionals (i.e. nurses) in caring for patients identifying as Somali to promote culturally competent care.
ContributorsAden, Amina (Author) / Hosley, Brenda (Thesis director) / Lee, Rebecca (Committee member) / Lyles, Annmarie (Committee member) / Arizona State University. College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a malignant, aggressive and infiltrative cancer of the central nervous system with a median survival of 14.6 months with standard care. Diagnosis of GBM is made using medical imaging such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT). Treatment is informed by medical images and includes chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgical removal if the tumor is surgically accessible. Treatment seldom results in a significant increase in longevity, partly due to the lack of precise information regarding tumor size and location. This lack of information arises from the physical limitations of MR and CT imaging coupled with the diffusive nature of glioblastoma tumors. GBM tumor cells can migrate far beyond the visible boundaries of the tumor and will result in a recurring tumor if not killed or removed. Since medical images are the only readily available information about the tumor, we aim to improve mathematical models of tumor growth to better estimate the missing information. Particularly, we investigate the effect of random variation in tumor cell behavior (anisotropy) using stochastic parameterizations of an established proliferation-diffusion model of tumor growth. To evaluate the performance of our mathematical model, we use MR images from an animal model consisting of Murine GL261 tumors implanted in immunocompetent mice, which provides consistency in tumor initiation and location, immune response, genetic variation, and treatment. Compared to non-stochastic simulations, stochastic simulations showed improved volume accuracy when proliferation variability was high, but diffusion variability was found to only marginally affect tumor volume estimates. Neither proliferation nor diffusion variability significantly affected the spatial distribution accuracy of the simulations. While certain cases of stochastic parameterizations improved volume accuracy, they failed to significantly improve simulation accuracy overall. Both the non-stochastic and stochastic simulations failed to achieve over 75% spatial distribution accuracy, suggesting that the underlying structure of the model fails to capture one or more biological processes that affect tumor growth. Two biological features that are candidates for further investigation are angiogenesis and anisotropy resulting from differences between white and gray matter. Time-dependent proliferation and diffusion terms could be introduced to model angiogenesis, and diffusion weighed imaging (DTI) could be used to differentiate between white and gray matter, which might allow for improved estimates brain anisotropy.
ContributorsAnderies, Barrett James (Author) / Kostelich, Eric (Thesis director) / Kuang, Yang (Committee member) / Stepien, Tracy (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Research supports that music therapy can be used in multiple aspects of care for patients living within different environments. There is a gap in the literature when it comes to the impact of music sessions for older adults who do not have a diagnosed disease, therefore this study analyzes this population specifically. This study examines music therapy and its effects on anxiety and depression in adults aged 65 or older living in independent living homes. The adults participated in a mixed-methods study over the span of one month examining music as an intervention to decrease anxiety and depression. Each subject consented into the study, completed a demographic survey, answered open-ended questions regarding their experience with anxiety/sadness and ways to cope, as well as Profile of Moods Scale (POMS) during the first session. On the last week of the study, the participants were asked to fill out the same POMS scale to evaluate whether music influenced anxiety and depression. There was limited evidence found in this study to support the use of music therapy as an intervention to decrease anxiety and depression in adults over the age of 65.
ContributorsWolfus, Sarah Ilyssa (Author) / Lee, Rebecca (Thesis director) / Larkey, Linda (Committee member) / Arizona State University. College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States announced that there has been roughly a 50% increase in the prevalence of food allergies among people between the years of 1997 - 2011. A food allergy can be described as a medical condition where being exposed to a certain food triggers a harmful immune response in the body, known as an allergic reaction. These reactions can range from mild to fatal, and they are caused mainly by the top 8 major food allergens: dairy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, fish, and shellfish. Food allergies mainly plague children under the age of 3, as some of them will grow out of their allergy sensitivity over time, and most people develop their allergies at a young age, and not when they are older. The rise in prevalence is becoming a frightening problem around the world, and there are emerging theories that are attempting to ascribe a cause. There are three well-known hypotheses that will be discussed: the Hygiene Hypothesis, the Dual-Allergen Exposure Hypothesis, and the Vitamin-D Deficiency Hypothesis. Beyond that, this report proposes that a new hypothesis be studied, the Food Systems Hypothesis. This hypothesis theorizes that the cause of the rise of food allergies is actually caused by changes in the food itself and particularly the pesticides that are used to cultivate it.
ContributorsCromer, Kelly (Author) / Lee, Rebecca (Thesis director) / MacFadyen, Joshua (Committee member) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-12
Description
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a unique but intense procedure used to save the lives of patients with hematopoietic malignancies. However, patients and caregivers undergoing HSCT can experience prolonged psychological distress due to an intense and distinctive transplant process. Types of psychological distress include anxiety, depression, social isolation, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Although this a significant healthcare problem, limited research has been conducted within the HSCT patient and caregiver population to investigate ways to improve their mental health. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an educational video intervention about post-transplant recovery in decreasing emotional distress and promoting emotional well-being in HSCT patients and caregivers. This pilot study utilized a quantitative single-group pretest-posttest design to examine the effect of educational videos on participant's emotional well-being. Four educational videos were developed using information gathered from several reliable bone marrow transplant and cancer websites. A convenience sampling method was used to recruit HSCT patient and caregiver participants. Eleven Caucasian, English-speaking individuals (6 patients, 5 caregivers; 54.5% female; M age= 43.7 years) across the United States were enrolled in the 60-90 minute online intervention. Participant responses were measured using pretest and posttest questionnaires. Results from the study found that the educational videos were effective in decreasing levels of depression and anxiety. Implications for nursing practice include the need to educate HSCT patients and caregivers about transplant recovery to decrease emotional distress. This study demonstrates the impact post-transplant education has on decreasing depression and anxiety in HSCT patients and caregivers.
ContributorsBosselman, Kate Elizabeth (Author) / Kim, Sunny (Thesis director) / Lee, Rebecca (Committee member) / Arizona State University. College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Psychologists report effect sizes in randomized controlled trials to facilitate interpretation and inform clinical or policy guidance. Since commonly used effect size measures (e.g., standardized mean difference) are not sensitive to heterogeneous treatment effects, methodologists have suggested the use of an alternative effect size δ, a between-subjects causal parameter describing the probability that the outcome of a random participant in the treatment group is better than the outcome of another random participant in the control group. Although this effect size is useful, researchers could mistakenly use δ to describe its within-subject analogue, ψ, the probability that an individual will do better under the treatment than the control. Hand’s paradox describes the situation where ψ and δ are on opposing sides of 0.5: δ may imply most are helped whereas the (unknown) underlying ψ indicates that most are harmed by the treatment. The current study used Monte Carlo simulations to investigate plausible situations under which Hand’s paradox does and does not occur, tracked the magnitude of the discrepancy between ψ and δ, and explored whether the size of the discrepancy could be reduced with a relevant covariate. The findings suggested that although the paradox should not occur under bivariate normal data conditions in the population, there could be sample cases with the paradox. The magnitude of the discrepancy between ψ and δ depended on both the size of the average treatment effect and the underlying correlation between the potential outcomes, ρ. Smaller effects led to larger discrepancies when ρ < 0 and ρ = 1, whereas larger effects led to larger discrepancies when 0 < ρ < 1. It was useful to consider a relevant covariate when calculating ψ and δ. Although ψ and δ were still discrepant within covariate levels, results indicated that conditioning upon relevant covariates is still useful in describing heterogeneous treatment effects.
ContributorsLiu, Xinran (Author) / Anderson, Samantha F (Thesis advisor) / McNeish, Daniel (Committee member) / MacKinnon, David (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Climate change is one of the most pressing issues affecting the world today. One of the impacts of climate change is on the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases (MBDs), such as West Nile Virus (WNV). Climate is known to influence vector and host demography as well as MBD transmission. This dissertation addresses the questions of how vector and host demography impact WNV dynamics, and how expected and likely climate change scenarios will affect demographic and epidemiological processes of WNV transmission. First, a data fusion method is developed that connects non-autonomous logistic model parameters to mosquito time series data. This method captures the inter-annual and intra-seasonal variation of mosquito populations within a geographical location. Next, a three-population WNV model between mosquito vectors, bird hosts, and human hosts with infection-age structure for the vector and bird host populations is introduced. A sensitivity analysis uncovers which parameters have the most influence on WNV outbreaks. Finally, the WNV model is extended to include the non-autonomous population model and temperature-dependent processes. Model parameterization using historical temperature and human WNV case data from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is conducted. Parameter fitting results are then used to analyze possible future WNV dynamics under two climate change scenarios. These results suggest that WNV risk for the GTA will substantially increase as temperature increases from climate change, even under the most conservative assumptions. This demonstrates the importance of ensuring that the warming of the planet is limited as much as possible.
ContributorsMancuso, Marina (Author) / Milner, Fabio A (Thesis advisor) / Kuang, Yang (Committee member) / Kostelich, Eric (Committee member) / Eikenberry, Steffen (Committee member) / Manore, Carrie (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023