Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Examining Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among The Nevada African American Population Using The Social-Ecological Model, Katelyn Faulk

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In Nevada, COVID-19 vaccines have been widely available to the general population since March 2021; however, even with the wide availability of these vaccines only 40% of the African American population in Nevada has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of May 2023. This is problematic as it has been shown that the African American population is disproportionately affected by COVID-19 with higher rates of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths when compared to other races or ethnicities. Through the literature, it has also been well documented that African Americans may experience hesitancy toward these vaccinations for a multitude of reasons including …

A Nonparametric Test For Comparing Survival Functions Based On Restricted Distance Correlation, Quinyang Zhang

Mathematical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this article, we propose an omnibus test for comparing two survival functions under non-proportional hazards. The test statistic is based on a product-limit estimate of the restricted distance correlation, which is closely related to the L₂ distance between survival curves. The strong consistency is established under mild regularity conditions. Our simulation studies show that the new test has satisfactory power under proportional hazard and various non-proportional hazards settings including delayed treatment effect, diminishing effect, and crossing survival curves; therefore, it can be a competitive alternative to the existing omnibus tests such as Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Cramer-von Mises test, two-stage …

Using Gamification To Foster Student Resilience And Motivation To Learn, And Using Games To Teach Significance Testing Concepts In The Statistics Classroom, Todd Partridge

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Two studies are outlined in this dissertation.

In the first study, elements of Super Mario Bros. videos games were used to change the way college students in a beginners’ statistics course were graded on their work. This was part of an effort to help students remain optimistic in the face of challenging coursework and even failure on assignments and tests. The study shows that the changes made to the grading structure did help students to keep trying and to use the materials given to them by their professor until they achieved their desired grade in the course, and suggests ways …

An Ensemble Approach For Mapping Snow Water Equivalent In Utah, Logan Schneider

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Mountain snowpack is an important resource for water management planning in Utah. Snow water equivalent (SWE) is the amount of water contained in a snowpack. A few organizations predict SWE throughout the United States but struggle making accurate predictions in mountainous regions. Weather stations provide accurate measurements of SWE but have limited spatial coverage that hinders the ability to make accurate estimates statewide. This thesis examines the accuracy of current models and proposes using local weather measurements to improve upon national level predictions. An R statistical software package named rsnodas implements this process while allowing the public access to a …

Foundations Of Memory Capacity In Models Of Neural Cognition, Chandradeep Chowdhury

Master's Theses

A central problem in neuroscience is to understand how memories are formed as a result of the activities of neurons. Valiant’s neuroidal model attempted to address this question by modeling the brain as a random graph and memories as subgraphs within that graph. However the question of memory capacity within that model has not been explored: how many memories can the brain hold? Valiant introduced the concept of interference between memories as the defining factor for capacity; excessive interference signals the model has reached capacity. Since then, exploration of capacity has been limited, but recent investigations have delved into the …

Access To A Regular Primary Care Physician Among Young People With Early Psychosis In Ontario, Canada, Rebecca Rodrigues, Jennifer N S Reid, Joshua C. Wiener, Suzanne Archie, Richard G Booth, Chiachen Cheng, Arlene G Macdougall, Lena Palaniyappan, Bridget L Ryan, Aristotle Voineskos, Paul Kurdyak, Saadia Hameed Jan, Kelly K. Anderson

Epidemiology and Biostatistics Publications

AIM: Access to a primary care physician in early psychosis facilitates help-seeking and engagement with psychiatric treatment. We examined access to a regular primary care physician in people with early psychosis, compared to the general population, and explored factors associated with access.

METHODS: Using linked health administrative data from Ontario (Canada), we identified people aged 14-35 years with a first diagnosis of nonaffective psychotic disorder (n = 39 449; 2005-2015). We matched cases to four randomly selected general population controls based on age, sex, neighbourhood, and index date (n = 157 796). We used modified Poisson regression to estimate prevalence …

Editorial: The Public Health Scholars As The Health Leaders, Al Asyary, Meita Veruswati, Putri Bungsu Machmud, Indri Hapsari Susilowati

Kesmas

1. Achmadi UF. Kesehatan Masyarakat: Teori dan Aplikasi. Jakarta: Rajawali Pers; 2014.

2. Asyary A. Editorial. Kesmas. 2023; 18 (Special Issue 1): 1-3. DOI: 10.21109/kesmas.v18isp1.7201

3. Badan Kebijakan Pembangunan Kesehatan. Pembangunan Kesehatan di Indonesia melalui Kesinambungan Finansial Jaminan Kesehatan serta Meningkatkan Kualitas Layanan dengan Integrasi Data. Jakarta: Kementerian Kesehatan Republik Indonesia; 2023.

Composite Index Of Anthropometric Failure And Early Childhood Cognitive Development Based On The 2018 Indonesian Basic Health Research Data, Safira Zamrudiani, Abdul Wahab, Rosalia Kurniawati Harisaputra

Kesmas

Delays in early childhood cognitive development may have profound long-term implications on health and life expectancy. Optimal nutrition supports early life development, including a child's cognitive development. This study aimed to determine the association between the Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure and early childhood cognitive development among children aged 36-59 months in Indonesia. This cross-sectional study utilized data from the 2018 Indonesian Basic Health Research that involved 18,027 participants aged 36-59 months. This study outcome demonstrated that children who were stunted-underweight were potentially susceptible to delayed cognitive development compared to those with normal nutritional status (aOR = 1.30; 95% CI …

Data Quality Checks: Implementation With Popular Data Collection Crowdsourcing Platforms, James Down, Gregory Balkcom, Kristine Duncan, Ngan (An) Truong, Andrew Lewis

Symposium of Student Scholars

The utilization of online crowdsourcing platforms for data collection has increased over the past two decades in the field of public health due to the ease of use, the cost-saving benefits, the speed of the data collection process, and the accessibility of a potentially true representative population. Although these platforms offer many advantages to researchers, significant drawbacks exist, such as poor data quality, that threaten the reliability and validity of the study. Previous studies have examined data quality concerns, but differences in results arise due to variations in study designs, disciplinary contexts, and the platforms being investigated. Therefore, this study …

The Impacts Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Mental Health Across Different Genders And Sexualities, Jiale Zhu, Jonas Katona

Undergraduate Research Journal for the Human Sciences

Current studies report an increase in psychological distress as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study is interested in examining mental health disparities and how the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted marginalized groups—and more specifically, those identified by sex, gender, and sexuality—compared with the general population. This study also considers the effects and ramifications of different policy measures taken during the course of the pandemic. We perform exploratory data modeling and analysis on several important and publicly available datasets taken during the pandemic on mental health and COVID-19 infection data across various identity groups to look for significant disparities, …

Expansionary Fiscal Contraction Hypothesis: An Evidence From Pakistan, Aisha Irum

CBER Conference

The fiscal sector in Pakistan has been facing mule-layered challenges over several years. One of the reasons is the stubborn and unproductive nature of its public expenditure, and the other one is the lower tax revenues. This issue of hovering fiscal deficit is mostly dealt with the tools of fiscal contraction/austerity which can have a potential impact on the private sector of the economy. Thus, the question which has been addressed in this study is whether the Expansionary Fiscal Contraction (EFC) hypothesis holds in case of Pakistan. Fiscal contraction episodes have been identified using growth in the growth rates of …

Probability Distributions Arising In Connection With The Inspection Paradox For Bernoulli Trials., James E. Marengo, Anne Marino Himes, W. Cade Reinberger, David L. Farnsworth

Articles

In renewal theory, the Inspection Paradox refers to the fact that an interarrival period in a renewal process which contains a fixed inspection time tends to be longer than one for the corresponding uninspected process. We focus on the paradox for Bernoulli trials. Probability distributions and moments for the lengths of the interarrival periods are derived for the inspected process, and we compare them to those for the uninspected case.

Multi-Arm Randomized Control Trials In Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Literature Review And An Illustration Of Methods For Analysis, Sahiba Saini

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis aimed to review the literature on multiple-arm randomized control trials in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and to illustrate how to analyze these trials, focusing on appropriately controlling the type 1 error rates. The literature review found 247 trials published from the inception of each database to April 2014, of which 122 (49%) trials were multiple-arm trials and of those, 59 (48%) trials were on ulcerative colitis and 63 (52%) on Crohn’s disease. A published assessment tool was adopted to assess whether controlling of Type I error rates was needed. Despite the common use of this trial design and …

A Bayesian Network-Based Methodology For Improved Bridge Load Rating And Asset Management, Jeffery Mark Roberts

Dissertations and Theses

From the day a new structure is made available for use, to the day that the structure is no longer able to fulfill an intended purpose, structural safety is a vital interest. Managing a portfolio of structures can be a difficult undertaking for an asset manager, particularly if different types of structures are being maintained. The goal is to manage assets in the most efficient manner which can be influenced by, at a minimum, safety and financial concerns.

A potential tool for an asset manager or owner is the use of Bayesian Networks (BNs). When a BN is used to …

Baa-Ttling Sore Mouth In Sheep With Mathematical Modeling, David C. Elzinga, W. Christopher Strickland

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

From Formulas To Futures: Mathematical Insights Into Endosomal Escape, Fnu Nisha

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Bayesian Adaptive Smoothing For Activation Detection In Fmri, Juan Florez

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Using Social Network Analysis To Measure And Visualize Student Clustering Within Middle And High Schools, Geoffrey David West

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The dominant philosophy of American public schools has been to group students together based on similar characteristics. Known as tracking, high achieving students would take courses on the “college track” while others would take “career track” courses. It was not long until advocates noticed that this process unfairly advantaged affluent and White student over poor and minoritized groups. A new process called “ability grouping” took over where tracking left off, but to the same effect. It is difficult to measure the degree students are grouped together by a certain characteristic, and while a few research papers aim to do so, …

Predicting Dengue Incidence In Central Argentina Using Google Trends Data, Sahil Chindal

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

The Double Edged Sword Of The Pandemic: Exploring Associations Between Covid-19 And Social Isolation In The Usa, Alexander Fulk

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Msis-Glenn: Natural Selection In Wolves Leads To Domesticated Dogs Predicted By Agent-Based Model Simulations, Alex Capaldi, David C. Elzinga

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Langevin Dynamic Models For Smfret Dynamic Shift, David Frost, Keisha Cook Dr, Hugo Sanabria Dr

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Incorporating Interventions To An Extended Seird Model With Vaccination: Application To Covid-19 In Qatar, Elizabeth B. Amona

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Mathematical Modeling Of The Impact Of Lobbying On Climate Policy, Andrew Jacoby, Claire Hannah, James Hutchinson, Jasmine Narehood, Aditi Ghosh, Padmanabhan Seshaiyer

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Estimating & Modeling The Growth Of Bromeliads, Erin N. Bodine, Helen O. Udeochu, Alana G. Wells

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

The Use Of Regularization To Detect Racial Inequities In Pay Equity Studies: An Empirical Study And Reflections On Regulation Methods, Christopher M. Peña

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the late 1970s, multiple linear regression has been the preferred method for identifying discrimination in pay. An empirical study on this topic was conducted using quantitative critical methods. A literature review first examined conflicting views on using multiple linear regression in pay equity studies. The review found that multiple linear regression is used so prevalently in pay equity studies because the courts and practitioners have widely accepted it and because of its simplicity and ability to parse multiple sources of variance simultaneously. Commentaries in the literature cautioned about errors in model specification, the use of tainted variables, and the …

Divisibility Probabilities For Products Of Randomly Chosen Integers, Noah Y. Fine

Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Mathematics Journal

We find a formula for the probability that the product of n positive integers, chosen at random, is divisible by some integer d. We do this via an inductive application of the Chinese Remainder Theorem, generating functions, and several other combinatorial arguments. Additionally, we apply this formula to find a unique, but slow, probabilistic primality test.

Statistical And Machine Learning Approaches To Describe Factors Affecting Preweaning Mortality Of Piglets, Md Towfiqur Rahman, Tami M. Brown-Brandl, Gary A. Rohrer, Sudhendu R. Sharma, Vamsi Manthena, Yeyin Shi

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

High preweaning mortality (PWM) rates for piglets are a significant concern for the worldwide pork industries, causing economic loss and well-being issues. This study focused on identifying the factors affecting PWM, overlays, and predicting PWM using historical production data with statistical and machine learning models. Data were collected from 1,982 litters from the United States Meat Animal Research Center, Nebraska, over the years 2016 to 2021. Sows were housed in a farrowing building with three rooms, each with 20 farrowing crates, and taken care of by well-trained animal caretakers. A generalized linear model was used to analyze the various sow, …

Does The Design And Personalization Of Mailed Invitations Influence Online Survey Response Rates?, Brock Ternes

The SUNY Journal of the Scholarship of Engagement: JoSE

Nonresponse to online surveys has been a notable concern of survey methodologists, who continue to implement strategies and incentives to boost returns. Don Dillman’s methods emphasize tailored designs to maximize response rates, and this paper assesses how mailed notification designs and requested deadlines for completion influence online survey response rates. Using a target population of rural Kansans, this paper assesses how minor changes in printed notifications are connected to participation in an online survey. Postcards were mailed to private water well owners inviting recipients to complete a 40-item online questionnaire about their water usage; notifications varied in their personalization of …

A Model For The Multi-Virus Contact Process, Xu Huang

Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Mathematics Journal

We study one specific version of the contact process on a graph. Here, we allow multiple infections carried by the nodes and include a probability of removing nodes in a graph. The removal probability is purely determined by the number of infections the node carries at the moment when it gets another infection. In this paper, we show that on any finite graph, any positive value of infection rate $\lambda$ will result in the death of the process almost surely. In the case of $d$-regular infinite trees, We also give a lower bound on the infection rate in order for …