published_or_final_version / Statistics / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Statistics and Actuarial Science / Master / Master of Philosophy

A Thesis submitted to The University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Medicine. / The objective of this project was to review skeletal survey reports and examine the differences in reporting of non-accidental trauma in patients with similar radiological findings. The overall purpose of this project is to develop a standardized reporting system for radiological findings suspicious for non-accidental trauma. Ten years’ worth of skeletal survey reports were obtained on over 1,500 pediatric patients. These reports were individually reviewed and their findings were categorized in a table separating findings suspicious for non-accidental trauma. After data collection, analysis was completed to inspect the consistency of reports amongst studies with similar fractures specifying non-accidental trauma. The comparison was made between reports containing long bone fractures, metaphyseal corner fractures, rib fractures, or any combination of these. It was concluded that there are inconsistencies in reporting of non-accidental trauma in reports with similar patterns of these fractures. We propose a Skeletal Survey – Reporting and Data System (SS-RADS) score which will help radiologist standardize their reporting methods for more consistent interpretations and clinical outcomes.

No description available.

Background: Examining factors unique to major head injury (HI) etiogenesis can help reduce the burden of injury by identifying factors amenable to prevention. Objectives: To describe the epidemiology of HI in Nova Scotia. Risk and protective factors unique to HI were also examined specific to falls and Motor Vehicle Collision (MVC) injuries. Methods: Descriptive analyses and regression models were used to examine the socio-demographic profile of HI and associated risk factors using data from the Nova Scotia Trauma Registry. Results: Regression analyses for MVC-related injury found age, injury place, vehicle type and lack of safety restraint to be independently associated with an increased risk of HI. For falls-related injuries, age, time of trauma, injury mechanism and place were significant factors for a HI event. Conclusion: While HI share many similar characteristics to other major injuries, prevention programs must be aware of both common and unique risk factors for head injuries.

No description available.

No abstract available. / Thesis (Ph.D)-University of Durban-Westville, 2003.

Non-negative matrices arise naturally in population models. In this thesis, we look at the theory of such matrices and we study the Perron-Frobenius type theorems regarding their spectral properties. We use these theorems to investigate the asymptotic behaviour of solutions to continuous time problems arising in population biology. In particular, we provide a description of long-time behaviour of populations depending on the nature of the associated matrix. Finally, we describe a few applications to population biology. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2010.

No description available.

No description available.