Digital Commons Network^™

Reinhardt Is Right; Perry Is A Case About California, Matt Coles

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Better Health, But Less Justice: Widening Health Disparities After National Federation Of Independent Business V. Sebelius, Emily W. Parento, Lawrence O. Gostin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

At the time it was enacted in 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) was widely applauded by health activists, as it meant that the United States would at last join the overwhelming majority of industrialized countries in providing its population with guaranteed access to affordable health care. Roughly half of the increase in access to health insurance was to come from the expansion of Medicaid eligibility to all U.S. citizens and legal residents with income below 138% of the Federal Poverty Level. However, the Supreme Court’s 2012 ruling in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius ( …

Towards A Framework Convention On Global Health: A Transformative Agenda For Global Health Justice, Lawrence O. Gostin, Eric A. Friedman

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

International law has responded weakly to the inequities in health care, public health, and the broader determinates of health that collectively cause the greatest loss of lives and human potential every year. Approximately one-third of global deaths can be attributed to enduring and unconscionable inequities. Despite significant progress in improving global health over the past several decades, these inequities persist. Current global governance for health is inadequate to the task of resolving these inequities, from lack of accountability and enforcement to inadequate funding and the absence of leadership required to respond to the threats to health that arise from other …

Machine Speech, Tim Wu

Faculty Scholarship

Computers are making an increasing number of important decisions in our lives. They fly airplanes, navigate traffic, and even recommend books. In the process, computers reason through automated algorithms and constantly send and receive information, sometimes in ways that mimic human expression. When can such communications, called here “algorithmic outputs,” claim First Amendment protection?

Impact Of A Wellness Coaching Program On Bariatric Surgery Candidates Following Weight Loss, Anita Marie Gust

Human Development and Family Science

A lifestyle approach toward weight loss, encompassing behavior modification strategies, education, and new coping skills may be most effective in adoption of the healthy behaviors necessary for achievement and maintenance of successful weight loss. Limited research exists on the effectiveness of pre-surgery wellness programs on post-surgical health behaviors for bariatric surgery candidates. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of a pre-bariatric surgery wellness coaching program on health behaviors, quality of life (HRQoL), and psychosocial factors.A questionnaire containing measures of weight (self-report), dietary and physical activity (PA) (7-day IPAQ-short) behaviors, exercise motivation (BREQ-2), HRQoL (SF-12v2), and open-ended …

Turf Quality Of Creeping Bentgrass Using Foliar Fertilization Tank-Mixed With Sprayable Organic Amendments, Nolan Roy Berg

Plant Sciences

The use of foliar fertilizer applications on creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.) is a popular method of achieving quality turfgrass. Tank-mixing foliar products may increase turfgrass quality, reduce amount of applications, and create synergism between products. The objective of this thesis was to determine the effectiveness of tank-mixing organic amendments with N fertilizers to improve turfgrass quality. A greenhouse study was conducted in 2012 and 2013 to determine turf quality of three different N forms tank-mixed with three different organic amendments. Generally, urea treatments received the highest VQ among all N forms ranging from 1.6-3.5 higher than control. Experiment one; …

Selection Of Dry Bean Genotypes Adapted For Drought Tolerance In The Northern Great Plains, Angela M. Linares

Plant Sciences

Drought stress is a production constraint that growers face in the Northern Great Plains. This research was conducted to (1) assess the differences in seed yield due to drought within each one of the three most important dry bean market classes grown in the region (pinto, navy, and black), (2) estimate the genetic gain and progress over time due to the use of improved dry bean cultivars from 1981 to 2011, (3) evaluate the `Buster'/SER 22 recombinant inbred line population under drought conditions and identify loci associated with drought tolerance that could be used in Marker Assisted Selection (MAS) in …

Total Yellow Pigment Content And Oxidative Stress Level During Kernel Development, Marina N. Dobrydina

Plant Sciences

The focus of this research was to determine the effects of cultivar and environment on levels of total yellow pigment content and oxidative stress during grain development and in semolina and pasta. Lipoxygenase activity increased just before and declined after physiological maturity, while change in malondialdehyde content in the kernel mirrored that of yellow pigment and declined with maturity. After grain reached physiological maturity, levels of lipoxygenase activity, malondialdehyde content and yellow pigment content per kernel were lowest in 2011, while polyphenol oxidase activity was lowest in 2010. Lipoxygenase activity and yellow pigment content decreased after milling and processing, whereas …

Characterization Of Edible Bean Flours: Properties And Functionality, Courtney W. Simons

Plant Sciences

Consumption of pulses is considered part of a healthy diet. Therefore, the opportunity exists for development of new pulse-based ingredients. However, a better understanding of their properties is necessary. The compositional and functional properties will vary depending on the bean type, their physical form (pre-cooked, raw flour, starch or protein fractionates) and growing location. In this study, edible bean flours (pinto, navy, black and small red) were subjected to extrusion cooking to produce snacks and texturized high-protein flour. The extrudates were studied to determine the effect of extrusion on the physical, physicochemical, chemical, sensory, and digestibility properties. Texturized high-protein flour …

Identification Of Quantitative Trait Loci Associated With A Low Cadmium Uptake Gene In Durum Wheat (Triticum Turgidum L. Var. Durum), Wesam Ali Abuhammad

Plant Sciences

The main objective of durum wheat breeding is to identify lines that are low in Cadmium accumulation by using linkage mapping. 178 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from across between Grenora × Haurani were used to identify QTL for Cadmium (Cd) tolerance. A total of 1,132 polymorphic loci (1,111 SNP and 21SSR loci) were used for linkage map analysis. Among these, 330 (29 percent) markers were successfully integrated into the linkage maps at a LOD score of 3.0. The linkage map had a total genetic distance of 720.2 cM with an average distance of 2.2 cM between adjacent markers distributed …

Foreword Critical Race Theory And Empirical Methods, Osagie K. Obasogie

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Climate Change And Ragweed Allergy Risk Assessment: A Study Of The Grand Forks Metropolitan Statistical Area, Shumila Rani Ahmad

Theses and Dissertations

Nowadays the association between anthropogenic climate change and public health is in the early stages of universal recognition. Yet one fundamental aspect that remains largely unappreciated is the impact of climate change on ragweed (Ambrosia species) biology and the ensuing pathophysiology of human systems. Ragweed pollen is one of the primary causes of seasonal pollen allergy in the world. Allergic reactions to ragweed pollen can range from mild hay fever to life-threatening asthma attacks. The aim of this thesis was to conduct a ragweed allergy risk assessment for the Grand Forks ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).

The study area is …

The Effect Of Health Expenditure And Other Determinants On Health Outcomes, Yi Liu

Theses and Dissertations

A major question in determining health policy is to what extent the additional health care expenditure yields benefits in the form of improved health outcomes. However, establishing relationships between them is very complex, because there are numerous factors besides health expenditure that could contribute to health outcomes, and some data especially individual level nutrition and exercise data, are nearly impossible to gather. Another difficulty involves which indicator we should choose to measure health outcomes.

This study examines life expectancy, all-cause age adjusted mortality rates and infant mortality as the "output" of the health care system, and health expenditure, various life-style, …

Cultural Identity And Behavioral Health Risk In Northern Plains American Indian Adolescents, Wanmdiwi Jessi Rose

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if Northern Plains AI adolescents identifying oneself as being "traditional' or "non-traditional" as measured by the Northern Plains Bicultural Inventory III (NPBI-III) would affect health-risk behavior scores as measured by the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). It was hypothesized that American Indian adolescents identifying as traditional would have lower health- risk behaviors and that cultural identification would influence health-risk behaviors between males and females.

Northern Plains AI adolescents (N=60, age 14 to 19) were administered the YRBS and NPBI-III during the 2012 UNDIA Time out Wacipi Powwow in Grand Forks, ND. Results …

The Impact Of Continuous Prenatal And Early Postpartum Maternal Vitamin D Supplementation On The Vitamin D Status Of Exclusively Breastfed Infants, Doria K. Thiele

Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, at least 50% of breastfeeding mothers are vitamin D deficient, increasing risk for vitamin D deficiency in exclusively breastfed infants. A gap in knowledge exists regarding best practices in maternal vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy and lactation that will yield adequate infant vitamin D levels. The objective of this study was to identify the combined effect of maternal prenatal and postnatal vitamin D supplementation on vitamin D transfer to exclusively breastfed infants. Additionally, due to the immune modulating effects of vitamin D, maternal pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines were measured across pregnancy and the postpartum. A double-blind, …

Putting The Cart Before The Horse: Understanding The Family Assessment Process In Early Intervention, Kristen Michelle Votava

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of six state-wide policies and procedures used in the family assessment process within early intervention services. This study looked at the administrative understanding of the family assessment federal regulations, state policies and procedures, and local implementation from the perspective of the Part C coordinator in his or her state.

This qualitative study utilized methodologies associated with a grounded theory approach through in-depth interviews. The participants in this study included six state Part C coordinators. Based on the findings of this study, two broad conclusions are offered:

1. There was a …

Crew Training Requirements For Long Duration Missions, Ann Wargetz

Theses and Dissertations

After reviewing the journals of astronauts, cosmonauts, and others who lived and worked in confinement, a new pre-mission training approach for missions in confinement was developed. This new training approach is founded on the idea that conflicts in confinement often arise due to humanity's propensity to focus on how others behave rather than our own behavior. After reviewing the stresses experienced during spaceflight and astronaut training and selection methods, a survey was written and distributed to researchers with experience living and working in confined environments. The questions sought to discover whether conflicts arise for these reasons based on the participant's …

Exogenous Application Of Molybdenum Affects The Expression Of Cbf14 And The Development Of Frost Tolerance In Wheat., Mohammed Al-Issawi, Hail Z. Rihan, Wondwossen Abate Woldie, Stephen Burchett, Michael P. Fuller

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Wheat is able to cold acclimate in response to low temperatures and thereby increase its frost tolerance and the extent of this acclimation is greater in winter genotypes compared to spring genotypes. Such up-regulation of frost tolerance is controlled by Cbf transcription factors. Molybdenum (Mo) application has been shown to enhance frost tolerance of wheat and this study aimed to investigate the effect of Mo on the development of frost tolerance in winter and spring wheat. Results showed that Mo treatment increased the expression of Cbf14 in wheat under non-acclimating condition but did not alter frost tolerance. However, when Mo …

Pregnancy Planning, Smoking Behaviour During Pregnancy, And Neonatal Outcome: Uk Millennium Cohort Study, Anika Flower, Jill Shawe, Judith Stephenson, Pat Doyle

School of Nursing and Midwifery

Abstract Background Pre-pregnancy health and care are important for the health of the future generations. Smoking during pregnancy has been well-researched and there is clear evidence of harm. But there has been little research on the health impact of planning for pregnancy. This study aims to investigate the independent effects of pregnancy planning and smoking during pregnancy on neonatal outcome. Methods This analysis made use of data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. The study sample consisted of 18,178 singleton babies born in UK between 2000 and 2001. The neonatal outcomes of interest were low birthweight (<2.5 Kg) and pre-term birth (<37 completed weeks gestation). Logistic regression was used to estimate the association between pregnancy planning and/or smoking and neonatal outcome. Adjusted odds ratios were used to calculate population attributable risk fractions (PAFs). Results 43% of mothers did not plan their pregnancy and 34% were smoking just before and/or during pregnancy. Planners were half as likely to be smokers just before pregnancy, and more likely to give up or reduce the amount smoked if smokers. Unplanned pregnancies had 24% increased odds of low birth weight and prematurity compared to planned pregnancies (AORLBW1.24, 95% CI 1.04-1.48; AORPREM1.24, 95% CI 1.05-1.45), independent of smoking status. The odds of low birth weight for babies of mothers who were smoking just before pregnancy was 91% higher than that of mothers who were not (AORLBW1.91, 95% CI 1.56-2.34). Women who quit or reduced the amount smoked during pregnancy lowered the risk of a low birth weight baby by one third (AORLBW0.66, 95% CI 0.51-0.85) compared with women whose smoking level did not change. Smaller effects were found for prematurity. If all women planned their pregnancy and did not smoke before or during pregnancy, 30% of low birthweight and 14% of prematurity could, in theory, be avoided. Conclusions Planning a pregnancy and avoiding smoking during pregnancy has clear, independent, health benefits for babies. Quitting or reducing the amount smoked during pregnancy can reduce the risk of low birthweight.

"Until The Trial Is Complete You Can't Really Say Whether It Helped You Or Not, Can You?": Exploring Cancer Patients' Perceptions Of Taking Part In A Trial Of Acupressure Wristbands, John G. Hughes, Wanda Russell, Matthew Breckons, Janet Richardson, Mari Lloyd-Williams, Alex Molassiotis

School of Nursing and Midwifery

No abstract provided.

Lindsay's Legacy: The Tragedy That Triggered Law Reform To Prevent Teen Dating Violence, D. Kelly Weisberg

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Quantitative Genetic Analysis Of 16 Maize Populations Adapted To The Northern U.S. Corn Belt, Tonette Laude

Plant Sciences

Genetic diversity is essential for genome sequencing and a key contributor to increase frequency of favorable alleles for maize improvement. The objectives of this study were to determine the genetic components, assess the genetic diversity, and propose the heterotic grouping of a large sample of short-season maize populations based on multiple traits. Sixteen maize populations were included in a diallel mating design that followed Gardner-Eberhart Analysis (GEAN) II to estimate variety (vi) and heterosis (hij) genetic effects. The general combining ability (gi) estimates were also determined and used to classify the populations based on their genetic diversity. Data were generated …

Genetics And Quantitative Trait Loci Mapping Of Septoria Tritici Blotch Resistance, Agronomic, And Quality Traits In Wheat, Vibin Eranezhath Harilal

Plant Sciences

Most breeding programs aim at developing superior germplasm and better cultivars that combine high yield, disease and pest resistance, and end-use quality to satisfy the requirements of the growers as well as industry. A population, consisting of 138 F2-8 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from a cross between ‘Steele-ND’ and ND 735, was evaluated to study the inheritance pattern of the septoria tritici blotch (STB)-resistant genes, agronomic and quality traits. The framework map made of 392 markers, including 28 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers and 364 DArT markers, spanned a total distance of 1789.3 cM and consisted of 17 linkage …

Genetic And Physiological Relationships Between Oat Grain Quality Components, Ronald Dorcinvil

Plant Sciences

The use of oats for human consumption is increasing every day due to the health benefits of oat products. With the objective to study relationships among factors affecting oat grain quality, two Recombinant Inbred Lines (RIL) mapping populations (`ND030299' x `ND991151' and `ND030299' x `Souris') have been used in this study. The two populations with their parents and three check cultivars were evaluated in a square lattice design in 2008 and 2009 at two North Dakota locations. Data were recorded on the following agronomic traits: grain yield, test weight, 1000 kernel weight, thin kernels, heading date, and plant height. Chemical …

Characterization Of Selected Winter Hardiness Traits In Pea (Pisum Sativum L.), Danielle Fiebelkorn

Plant Sciences

Pea (Pisum sativum L.) is an important crop from an agronomic and nutritional standpoint. Winter pea has further agronomic benefits for producers; however, sufficient winter hardiness to survive harsh North Dakota conditions is lacking. Winter hardiness was evaluated in the field and greenhouse using replicated trials with 267 recombinant inbred lines derived from the cross ‘Medora’/‘Melrose’. Similar reactions were observed between the two trials. An optimum protocol based on acclimation time and scoring method to predict winter hardy genotypes using controlled environment conditions was studied. Twelve genotypes were acclimated for 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks at 4 degrees …

Cover Crops Impact On Energy And Forage Crops Productivity In North Dakota, Dulan Pravinda Samarappuli

Plant Sciences

Forage crops have gained interest as potential source of lignocellulosic feedstock to produce ethanol. More focus is needed on developing cropping systems to improve productivity. This study was conducted to identify the agronomic potential of six different cover crops on five different annual biomass crops. Results indicated that forage pea (Pisum sativum L. cv. Arvika) N uptake was 126 kg N ha-1 and was able to fix approximately 60 kg of N ha-1 in only 60 days in the fall. Results across locations indicated that forage sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench cv. FS-5), and sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench …

Carbohydrate-Based Micro And Nano Scale Materials From Soybean Meal, Distillers Dried Grains, And Sugar Beet Pulp For Food And Other Applications, Nilushni Sivapragasam

Plant Sciences

Study 1 was carried out to isolate and produce enzyme resistant micro and nano scale carbohydrates from soybean meal (SBM), distillers dried grains (DDG), and sugar beet pulp (SBP). All materials produced were in micro and nano scales, and the yields were different depending on the starting material. Study 2 determined the physiological stability of study 1 materials for potential encapsulation applications. Both SBM and SBP were stable under simulated physiological conditions; the stability of the SBM was higher than SBP. In study 3 the SBM nanomaterial from buffer extraction was used for in vitro fermentation by Bifidobacterium brevis. The …

Glycoalkaloid Profiling Of Potato Genotypes From The North Dakota State University Potato Breeding Program, Irene Roman Martinez

Plant Sciences

Gylcoalkaloids (GA) are plant secondary metabolites that offer pests and disease resistance. Studies show correlation between GA content and CPB resistance. In this study, CPB resistance was assessed in a field trial at Grand Forks, ND, during 2012 for twenty-four genotypes from the NDSU Potato Breeding Program. Two treatments were applied, a block treated with imidacloprid (Admire®), and an untreated block. The treated block showed decreased CPB damage. Presence of aglycons (non-sugar moiety of GAs) was assessed by gas chromatography in foliar and tuber tissue. Distribution of GAs in the tuber was assessed to determine variation in tuber sections and …

Self - Inflicted Serious Injuries Among Adolescents In Zambia, Adamson S. Muula, Seter Siziya, Emmanuel Rudatsikira

Faculty Publications

Injuries are a growing cause of morbidity and mortality in the world. Data from Southern Africa are limited, possibly because of limited research prioritization of the issue and pre-occupation with communicable diseases. This study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of, and assess factors associated with, self-inflicted serious injuries among in-school adolescents in Zambia. We used data collected from the 2004 Zambia Global School-Based Health Survey to estimate prevalence of self-inflicted serious injury within the past 12 months. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess the association between selected predictor variables and reported history of having seriously injured oneself. Out …

A Systematic Review Of Educational Interventions To Change Behaviour Of Prescribers In Hospital Settings, With A Particular Emphasis On New Prescribers., Nicola Brennan, Karen Mattick

Peninsula Medical School

AIMS: Prescribing is a complex task and a high risk area of clinical practice. Poor prescribing occurs across staff grades and settings but new prescribers are attributed much of the blame. New prescribers may not be confident or even competent to prescribe and probably have different support and development needs than their more experienced colleagues. Unfortunately, little is known about what interventions are effective in this group. Previous systematic reviews have not distinguished between different grades of staff, have been narrow in scope and are now out of date. Therefore, to inform the design of educational interventions to change prescribing …