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Rural County International Immigrant Population Growth in Nevada, 2020-2024
No full textThis fact sheet presents 2020-2024 data on international immigrant population growth across 17 Nevada counties.The Daily Yonder report, “International Immigrants Drive Rural Population Growth,” uses U.S. Census data to highlight international immigration patterns for all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan (rural) counties across the United States. This fact sheet highlights data on 13 nonmetropolitan counties in Nevada: Churchill, Douglas, Elko, Esmeralda, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander, Lincoln, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, Pershing, White Pine. This fact sheet also includes data on four metropolitan counties in Nevada: Carson City, Clark, Storey, and Washoe
Exploring Human Centered Design Thinking to Develop Career and Technical Education (CTE) Programs for Incarcerated Individuals: Development and Pilot of a Faculty Survey Instrument at a Utah Technical College
No full textPostsecondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) institutions are confronted with growing demands to improve efficiency while boosting student outcomes and achieving performance metrics for funding. As enrollment competition grows and funding sources change, technical colleges are looking to develop new programs and identify untapped student populations such as incarcerated individuals. Instructors of postsecondary CTE technical programs often bring industry experience but typically lack formal teaching training unlike their secondary CTE instructors which may create variable teaching success and impacts both teacher confidence and student achievement, especially for at-risk populations such as incarcerated individuals. This research explores faculty perspectives on human-centered design thinking (HCDT) as an approach to student-centered program design and faculty interest in teaching in carceral settings that were captured by a survey instrument validated across two technical college campuses in Utah. The instrument assessed 10 competencies in 4 design thinking areas utilizing a Likert scale ranging from Not Important to Very Important. Phase one of the pilot study included responses from 14 participants. Phase two of the study, collected responses from nine participants. The findings of this study suggest that faculty members understand the value of adaptive teaching methods centered on students but lack sufficient training to apply HCDT principles effectively. The research demonstrates the necessity for faculty professional development programs that match industry requirements while promoting interactive teaching models which center around student needs. Postsecondary institutions can develop more effective learning environments that support student success and workforce preparedness by incorporating HCDT into faculty training
Investing in Left Behind Places: Learning from Native American Tribal Communities
No full textAs part of the Brookings Scholar Lecture Series, Brookings Mountain West presents a lecture titled, Investing in \u27Left Behind\u27 Places: Learning from Native American Tribal Communities by Brookings fellow in Brookings Metro, Robert Maxim.
Over the past decade, U.S. political and economic discourse has centered on helping “left behind” places. The federal government joined this conversation, emphasizing everything from tariffs and trade protectionism to revitalize domestic industry, to landmark industrial policy bills aimed at pouring new federal investment into lagging places. Native American tribes can serve as an important case study for understanding how federal, state, and local policies can enhance place-based economic development in historically marginalized communities. There are perhaps no more “place-based” people than Indigenous people—the definition of Indigenous is rooted in a people’s connection to place, and tribal sovereignty is frequently defined in terms of legally prescribed boundaries. This lecture explores successes and barriers for Native American communities in engaging with recent federal, state, and other large-scale economic investments, and offers policy recommendations for supporting Tribes; other historically underinvested communities, including minority communities; as well as localities, metros, and regions
Scaling Promising Education Initiatives Locally & Around the World
No full textAs part of the Brookings Scholar Lecture Series, Brookings Mountain West presents a lecture titled, Scaling Promising Education Initiatives Locally & Around the World by Brookings senior fellow in global economy and development, Brad Olsen.
What does it mean to scale a promising education innovation or initiative throughout a location? Why is “scaling” a useful approach for education improvement? What is the current state of scaling in education—and how can it be leveraged to better support schools, teachers, learners, communities, and the transformation of whole education systems in the U.S. and around the world? Brad Olsen, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and professor emeritus at the University of California, Santa Cruz, discusses what it means to enact deep, equitable, and broad change in schools and education systems today. Highlighting various reforms and examples of scaling success and failure in the U.S. and globally, this lecture explores what it takes to improve education in ways that last
How Not to Teach With Technology: a Lighthearted Look at Educational Technology Pitfalls
No full textEducational technology can be both a catalyst for engagement and a source of unexpected chaos. The Do\u27s and Don\u27ts of Teaching with Technology: A Lighthearted Look at Educational Technology Pitfalls distills insights from IT support tickets, faculty consultations, and student feedback into practical (and lighthearted) DOs and DON’Ts. This poster highlights four key areas of tech use in higher education: Choosing the Right Tools, Setting Expectations, Avoiding Tech Overload, and Designing Intentionally, complete with comic-style illustrations and real-world wisdom. A companion guide, available via QR code, expands on these themes with additional examples, citations, and strategies for designing tech-enhanced learning that actually works.https://oasis.library.unlv.edu/btp_expo/1211/thumbnail.jp
Epigenetic Regulation and Tumor Suppressive Function of lncRNA EP300-AS1 in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Through Activation of TFAP2C Binding to CST6: Implications for Diagnosis, Prognosis, and Therapy
No full textThe long non-coding RNA EP300-AS1 (lncRNA EP300-AS1), identified as a potential regulatory factor in various cancers, remains underexplored in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). This study investigated EP300-AS1’s regulatory mechanisms in NPC, particularly its interaction with transcription factor AP-2 Gamma (TFAP2C) and its effect on cystatin E/M (CST6) expression. Employing clinical samples and NPC cell lines, we conducted in vitro and in vivo xenograft experiments to assess the impacts of modulating EP300-AS1 expression. Techniques such as CCK8, migration, scratch, apoptosis assays, cell cycle analysis, immunoblotting, and fluorescence experiments elucidated EP300-AS1’s role in NPC. The interaction between EP300-AS1 and TFAP2C in regulating CST6 expression was verified using FISH, ChIP, RNA pull-down, and silver staining assays. Results indicated lower expression levels of EP300-AS1 and CST6 in NPC, with EP300-AS1 suppression inhibiting cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, while promoting apoptosis and maintaining the cell cycle in the G1 phase. EP300-AS1 also modulated epithelialmesenchymal transition (EMT) marker expression, suggesting a role in metastasis control. Conclusively, EP300-AS1 acts as a potential tumor suppressor in NPC by interacting with TFAP2C and targeting CST6, offering novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets through its influence on methylation and the tumor microenvironment
U.S. Water Infrastructure: Diving Into Needs and Recent Policy Developments
No full textAs part of the Brookings Scholar Lecture Series, Brookings Mountain West presents a lecture titled, U.S. Water Infrastructure: Diving Into Needs and Recent Policy Developments by Brookings fellow in Brookings Metro, Joseph Kane. Whether providing drinking water, treating wastewater, or managing stormwater, water infrastructure in the United States spans a wide range of human-made and natural systems. In turn, the enormous scale and variety of these systems is leading to an array of challenges: aging and vulnerable infrastructure; fragmented governance and siloed planning across different geographies; a lack of financial, technical, and managerial capacity; difficulties adapting to new industrial and environmental demands; and more. In this lecture, Joseph Kane explores challenges to our regional and national water infrastructure with a focus on how federal, state, and local leaders—including utilities, policymakers, and other stakeholders—are coordinating to launch more proactive water infrastructure plans and investments in recent years
Foster Children’s Repeated Disruptions: A Qualitative Analysis of Stakeholder Insights on Failed Permanency in Foster Care.
No full textThis study examines factors contributing to failed permanency outcomes in the foster care system, focusing on adoptions, guardianships, and reunifications. Using strain theory as a framework, this research examines the systemic pressures and institutional barriers within dependency courts, which mirror punitive aspects of the criminal justice system. Expanding strain theory to include a meso-level analysis, the study explores how organizational practices, resource distribution, and inter-agency collaboration influence permanency outcomes. A qualitative approach utilizing semi-structured interviews with judges, attorneys, social workers, district attorneys, and healthcare professionals provides an in-depth understanding of stakeholder perspectives. This research offers actionable recommendations to address systemic barriers, improve service delivery, and enhance permanency outcomes, contributing to a more equitable and effective child welfare system
Past Instability, Future Consequences: Evaluating the Relationship Between Pre-Incarceration Housing Status and Rearrest in The Paroled Population of Colorado from 2013-2023
No full textParoled individuals re-enter society at a disadvantage with an increased risk of housing instability, mental and physical health concerns, and difficulty finding gainful employment. Houselessness places a significant burden on parolees and may increase their risk of rearrest. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the association between pre-incarceration housing status and rearrest among non-violent parolees (n=23,786) in Colorado from 2013-2023. The Sequential Intercept Model was used as a framework to identify the point in the criminal justice process that rearrest occurred and to identify opportunities for new intercepts (e.g., housing interventions). Descriptive statistics were calculated, and logistic regression with estimated marginal means was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Effect modification was examined by age, sex, race/ethnicity, and felony class. Compared to parolees with stable pre-incarceration housing, parolees with unstable housing pre-incarceration had 17.2 times higher odds (95% CI: 15.9, 18.7) of rearrest, and parolees who were unhoused pre-incarceration had 14.7 times higher odds (95% CI: 13.4, 16.1) of rearrest. Drug-related felony classes had a higher odds of rearrest than all other felony classes (p\u3c 2e-16). Older age groups (\u3e45 years old) had lower likelihood of rearrest than all other age groups (p\u3c 0.05). Effect modification was not observed for race/ethnicity or sex. Pre-incarceration housing status was shown to be a significant predictor of rearrest among non-violent parolees in Colorado, indicating that long-term stable housing should be prioritized in parolee support initiatives
Machine Learning Methods and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for the Understanding and Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease
No full textParkinson’s disease (PD) affects over 10 million people and its prevalence is projected to double by 2040 worldwide. Current pharmacological or surgical options provide only symptomatic relief. Anodal transcranial direct‑current stimulation (tDCS) of the primary motor cortex (M1) is a promising, inexpensive adjunct treatment modality that could be efficacious in PD. However, its optimal stimulation parameters remain unknown, and the rapidly expanding trial literature makes it challenging to interrogate manually. To address these issues, we built a large‑language‑model pipeline that automatically extracted, cleaned and tagged every PD and tDCS record on ClinicalTrials.gov. This resulted in 64 trials, double the count of a standard keyword search, with perfect inter‑model agreement on core stimulation parameters. In addition, two experimental studies were completed to compare different tDCS parameters of stimulation on motor skill, transfer of motor skill, and cortical excitability in PD.Chapter 1 provides a comprehensive overview of the history, evolution, mechanisms, theories, and specific applications of non-invasive brain stimulation, and introduces relevant motor learning principles to establish a foundation of essential knowledge. The chapter is intentionally written in a clear, non-technical style to ensure that readers can grasp the technical content presented in chapters two through four, regardless of their initial understanding of brain stimulation and motor learning. Chapter 2 aimed to determine whether a parallel‑LLM extraction pipeline (GPT‑4, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Llama 3.1 70B) can retrieve and structure ClinicalTrials.gov data on tDCS in PD more completely and efficiently than conventional keyword‑based searches. The secondary purpose was to compare the three LLMs’ relative strengths and limitations in parsing clinical‑trial protocols, quantify their agreement on key elements (e.g., stimulation parameters, anatomical targets, treatment duration), and identify where human oversight is still required. The study method was an automated, API‑driven, single‑dataset, parallel‑processing implementation in which sixty‑four PD‑tDCS trials (identified with API queries plus regex filtering) were fed in parallel to the three LLMs under an identical, JSON‑constrained prompt. Each model’s output was schema‑validated and logged; discrepancies were analyzed with percent agreement, Cohen’s κ, ICC, and error metrics. The final outcomes included total trials captured versus baseline search (64 vs 28), inter‑model reliability for simple (κ \u3e 0.90) and complex (κ ≈ 0.60) attributes, and numeric‑parameter concordance (intensity ICC = 1.0; duration ICC = 0.35). Pairwise comparisons showed substantial agreement among language models, with the highest concordance seen for identifying brain stimulation presence (97.9%) and non-invasive classifications (96.8%); reliability varied across models and extracted parameters. While large language models exhibit strong potential for automating trial protocol analysis, their varied performance on complex extraction tasks highlights the continued need for human oversight and multi-model ensemble approaches to ensure accuracy and reliability. Chapter 3 investigated the impact of tDCS applied before versus during motor practice on motor skill acquisition in PD. The secondary purpose was to determine the influence of tDCS on the transfer of motor skill in PD. The study employed a single-blind, SHAM-controlled, within-subjects design, and 12 individuals with PD completed a SHAM condition, a tDCS before motor practice condition (BEFORE), and a tDCS during motor practice condition (DURING) in three separate experimental sessions. The practice task was a complex visuomotor isometric precision grip task (PGT). In addition, motor skill transfer tasks and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) measures of cortical excitability were performed pre- and post- each practice and stimulation period in the three conditions. The force error in the PGT was significantly lower in the BEFORE condition compared to the SHAM condition (p = 0.031). Force error was also lower in the DURING condition compared to the SHAM condition, but this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.15). Furthermore, neither tDCS condition significantly enhanced performance in any of the motor skill transfer tasks. Similarly, there was no significant effect of tDCS on measures of cortical excitability. Collectively, these results indicate that tDCS of M1 applied before practice enhances motor skill acquisition in PD, but tDCS does not lead to significant increases in the transfer of motor skill or cortical excitability. Finally, in Chapter 4, the primary purpose of this study was to determine the influence of tDCS intensity on motor skill acquisition in individuals with PD. The secondary purpose was to examine the effects of tDCS intensity on motor skill transfer in PD. The study utilized a SHAM-controlled, single-blind, within-subjects crossover experimental design. A total of 15 individuals with PD performed three experimental sessions (SHAM, 1 mA tDCS, and 2 mA tDCS conditions) that involved practice of a complex visuomotor isometric precision grip task (PGT). Furthermore, assessments of motor skill transfer and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) metrics of cortical excitability were administered prior to and following each practice and stimulation session in all three experimental conditions. Although, the force error in the PGT was lower in both the 1 mA and 2 mA tDCS conditions compared with the SHAM condition, a one-way ANOVA revealed that these differences failed statistical significance (p = 0.075; ηp2 = 0.169). Similarly, transfer task motor performance was not significantly improved and cortical excitability was not increased following either of the two tDCS conditions compared to the SHAM condition. The findings of this study collectively suggest that acute single session applications of tDCS at two commonly used stimulation intensities do not produce considerable enhancements in motor skill acquisition, motor skill transfer, or cortical excitability in PD