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A Comparative Pharmacokinetic Study Of The Role Of Gender And Developmental Differences In Occupational And Environmental Exposure To Benzene, Elizabeth A. Brown

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is two-fold. First, it shows that physiological differences between men and women result in gender-specific exposures with respect to benzene. Second, it assesses the potential for a lactating woman's occupational and personal benzene exposure to impact a nursing infant's exposure, highlighting the possibility of subjecting an infant to the effects of industrial chemicals via breast feeding. This study employs physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling to investigate the influence of physiological parameters and to evaluate the ability of inhaled benzene to transfer from mother to infant through breastmilk. The models are run through scenarios that simulate …

A Causal Model Of Hospital Volume, Structure And Process Indicators, And Surgical Outcomes, Myra Boles

Theses and Dissertations

This research developed and tested a conceptual model to explain why higher volumes of certain surgical procedures lead to better patient outcomes. The model incorporated hospital structural characteristics and process of care indicators to explain the volume-outcome relationship. The volume-outcome relationship was further examined longitudinally to determine stability over time and to substantiate the causality implied by the conceptual model.

A sample (n=1752) of acute-care, general hospitals was selected from hospitals that performed, in 1990, at least one surgical procedure on Medicare patients of the following: reduction of hip fracture, cholecystectomy, hip replacement, carotid endarterectomy, and pacemaker insertion. For the …