Digital Commons Network^™

Health Service Use And Expenditure Patterns Of Dual Eligibles In Michigan, Cristian Meghea, William Corser, Qi Zhu

Michigan Journal of Public Health

Objective: The objective is to provide a statewide population-based comparison of Michigan beneficiaries dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid (duals) to Medicare-only beneficiaries, including the public health expenditures by service type, and to focus on the LTC service use patterns of elderly duals receiving care in various settings. Data Sources: Data sources were linked 2005 and 2006 individual Medicaid and Medicare claims from all Michigan duals. Methods: CMS provided Medicare claims and beneficiary data. Michigan Department of Community Health provided Medicaid claims data. Design: We compared characteristics and health expenditures across various categories of beneficiaries and LTC care settings. Principal …

Effect Of Increased Temperature And Decreased Food Quality On Metabolism And Growth Of An Algivorous Cichlid, Tropheus Duboisi And Effect Of Food Habit On The Field Metabolism Of African Cichlids., Lesley Yu-Jung Kim

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The metabolic rate of an organism is influenced by mass, temperature, and diet. Climate change is anticipated to increase ambient temperatures of aquatic systems and decrease the quality of food available to algivorous fish. We conducted a lab experiment and a field study to quantify the influence that temperature and diet have on standard and field metabolic rate of cichlids from Lake Tanganyika. The lab experiment demonstrated the effects of increased temperature and decreased food quality on the relative growth rate (RGR) and standard metabolic rate of an algivorous cichlid, Tropheus duboisi. We found that in all temperature treatments fish …

Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Activity Of Phospholipase D2 And Its Regulation, Madhupriya Mahankali

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Phospholipase D2 (PLD2) is a cell membrane lipase that catalyzes the break down of phosphatidyl choline (PC) to phosphatidic acid (PA) and choline. PA is one of the major lipid second messengers that modulate a wide variety of signaling pathways, which are crucial for various cellular functions. In addition to this, PLD2 via binding to a large number of proteins and thereby regulates them independent of its lipase activity. Whereas PLD2 is involved in plethora of cellular functions, high levels of protein and/or activity of PLD2 are reported in variety of disease conditions, such as cancer metastasis and chronic inflammation …

In Situ Measurement Of Mercury Ecotoxicological Effects On Stream Periphyton In Southwest Ohio, Jaclyn Elizabeth Klaus

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Periphyton are of ecological importance because of their critical role at the base of aquatic food webs as primary producers and as a significant source of energy to higher trophic levels in many stream ecosystems. This study examined the toxicity of mercury (Hg) to fluvial periphyton with in situ chemical exposure substrates. Two endpoints were used to measure toxicity of either total Hg or monomethylmercury (MMHg) to periphyton: periphyton biomass and metabolic activity, as a function of Hg concentrations in either periphyton or their exposure to the contaminants from two contrasting sediment types, a low-organic, sandy sediment type (SC) and …

Java Implementation Of Grounded Circumscription For Owl, Ali Akhavan Karbasi

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The semantic web is a new development in the World Wide Web (WWW) supporting machine-readable and machine-understandable data in order to add the "understanding" aspect to current capabilities. This technology involves the use of semantic reasoners, which are software that can infer logical consequences from a set of facts or axioms. Inference can be done in different ways, e.g. based on what is called the open world assumption in which what is not known to be true is simply unknown, and its closed world assumption opposite, which considers what is not known to be true as false. Each of these …

Glut 4 And Insulin Resistance, Salmin Ali

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Five types of glucose transporters stimulate the transport of glucose from the bloodstream into cells such as muscle cells and adipocytes in response to insulin signaling or exercise. Skeletal muscle and adipose tissue are the main sites for glucose uptake and dispose in insulin action dependent pathway. In non-insulin stimulated condition, the GLUT4 storage vesicles stay away from the plasma membrane, so there is no GLUT4 translocation or GLUT4 mediated glucose uptake. However, in insulin stimulated state, insulin initiates insulin signaling cascade which results in rapid GLUT4 translocation and increased glucose uptake at the cell surface. Failure of the translocation …

Beta-Blockers Act Through Clathrin-Dependent Internalization And Egfr Transactivation To Promote Erk Phosphorylation, Taiwo Ajumobi

Graduate Thesis Collection

For cardiovascular diseases such as high blood pressure, angina pectoris, and left ventricle hypertrophy; long-term activation of beta-adrenergic receptors is strongly linked to the progression of these diseases. A class of antagonistic drugs that target betaadrenergic receptors are collectively called beta-blockers. These drugs are commonly used to reduce the inotropic and chronotropic effects of beta-adrenergic receptor activation. This past decade has revealed that beta-blockers and other ligands are capable of functional selectivity at receptors. Functional selectivity describes the ability of ligands acting at 0 protein-coupled receptors (OPCRs) to preferentially activate or inhibit different signal transduction pathways. The studies on beta-adrenergic …

A Review Of The Models Of Schizophrenia: And A Putative Novel, More Unified Model, Michael Vogel Bronstein

Modern Psychological Studies

Schizophrenia is a debilitating disease state which causes immense pain to sufferers and to their families. Although some proximate causes of symptoms of the disease have been identified, no ultimate cause has been uncovered which can explain all of the symptoms. This paper presents a novel theory of the ultimate cause of some forms of chronic schizophrenia with the potential to explain many (if not all) symptomologies associated with the disease. In addition to its explanatory power, this putative model may also give rise to new early diagnostic tools and treatments for schizophrenia. After the model is fully explained, suggestions …

Reading In Binary Data And Creating An R User Interface, Malika J. Onstad, Brett Amidan, Kimberly Freeman

STAR Program Research Presentations

The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) employs Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) to measure variables such as Voltage, Frequency, and Phasor Angles every sixtieth of a second. These measurements result in terabytes of data which are analyzed to detect abnormalities in the power grid. Recently BPA has switched the data file format from DST to PDAT. A function does not currently exist to read in PDAT files in order to prepare the data for analysis. In order to do this the raw PMU data must be sorted and extracted to ensure its accuracy prior to analysis. This research worked to produce a …

The Interaction Between Atp13a2 And Alpha-Synuclein In Mice, Emily Ribak Dirr

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Abnormal accumulation of the presynaptic protein alpha-synuclein (aSyn) is associated with both familial and sporadic forms of Parkinson's disease. ATP13A2 is a lysosomal protein involved in protein degradation, including aSyn. Mice with a loss of ATP13A2 function develop age-related sensorimotor impairments and, in the brain, enhanced lipofuscin and insoluble aSyn accumulation. To further examine the potential interaction between aSyn and ATP13A2, aSyn overexpressing mice (aSyn) were crossbred with Atp13a2-defeicient (13a2) mice. Wildtype (WT), 13a2, aSyn, and double mutant aSyn/13a2 mice were generated and tested behaviorally at 3 ages. Sensorimotor function and cognition were examined using a battery of behavioral tests. …

Ia Afferent Connectivity With Glycinergic Interneurons In Early Postnatal Mice, Brenna Colleen Gosky

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In animals proprioceptive Ia afferents enable the animal to sense the location, orientation and movement of its limbs in space. These Ia afferents make connections with many different types of neurons within the spinal cord such as; motor neurons, Ia Inhibitory interneurons, and other interneurons. Ia Afferents connect with IaINs that project to antagonist muscle MNs to ensure that contraction of the antagonist muscle group is inhibited. For example the quadriceps Ia afferents contact IaINs that contact PBST motor neurons to inhibit excitation and thus contraction. The way in which the connectivity of these Ia afferents is established is not …

Unsatisfying Wars: Degrees Of Risk And The Jus Ex Bello, Gabriella Blum, David Luban

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Self-defensive war uses violence to transfer risks from one’s own people to others. We argue that central questions in just war theory may fruitfully be analyzed as issues about the morality of risk transfer. That includes the jus ex bello question of when states are required to accept a ceasefire in an otherwise-just war. In particular, a “war on terror” that ups the risks to outsiders cannot continue until the risk of terrorism has been reduced to zero or near zero. Some degree of security risk is inevitable when coexisting with others in the international community, just as citizens within …

Prescribed Fire And Oak Sapling Physiology, Demography And Folivore Damage In An Ozark Woodland, D. Alexander Wait, Doug P. Aubrey

Biology: Faculty Publications

Proceedings from the 2014 Central Hardwood Forest Conference in Carbondale, IL. The published proceedings include 27 papers and 47 abstracts pertaining to research conducted on biofuels and bioenergy, forest biometrics, forest ecology and physiology, forest economics, forest health including invasive species, forest soils and hydrology, geographic information systems, harvesting and utilization, silviculture, and wildlife management.

A Step In The Right Direction Or Side-Stepping The Issue: Is State Regulation For Factory Farming Appropriate?, Cynthia Furmanek

Student Works

No abstract provided.

The Bovine Spermatozoal Transcriptome And Sire Fertility, Christopher James Card

Open Access Dissertations

The goal of this dissertation research was to characterize the spermatozoal transcript profile of bovine cryopreserved spermatozoa. The main goal was to sequence the complete transcript profile from a population of sires across a wide fertility range utilizing RNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq). Sequencing was then conducted to compare the spermatozoal transcript profiles of higher and lower fertility sires in an effort to determine the presence or absence of spermatozoal transcripts that may aid in improving fertility testing in sires. In addition to RNA-Seq analysis, other semen parameters such as morphology, DNA fragmentation, and RNA amount were analyzed for relationships with fertility.

The …

Phytochemical Investigation Of The Traditional Botanical Medicine Iresine Celosia, Caroline Grace Killian

Open Access Dissertations

Iresine celosia L. is a traditional medicine used by the indigenous Mayan people for a variety of ailments. It is also the sole active ingredient in the Odyliresin™ formulation currently marketed to humans worldwide as an antioxidant and for the promotion of prostate health. However, Odyliresin™ has not been characterized phytochemically, or evaluated biologically for its intended use. This work represents the first comprehensive phytochemical investigation of the Odyliresin™ formulation botanical extract. To better understand its constitutive phytochemistry, a tailored isolation scheme was developed, using various chromatography resins (silica gel, LH-20), separation and purification techniques. In all, eleven compounds were …

Introduction And Establishment Of Three Parasitoids Of The Lily Leaf Beetle, Lilioceris Lilii, (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) In North America, Elizabeth A. Tewksbury

Open Access Dissertations

Following three years of discovery and evaluation, three larval parasitoids were imported from Europe and introduced into North America to control Lilioceris lilii (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), an introduced herbivore of native and cultivated lilies. The first species, Tetrastichus setifer Thomson (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), introduced in Massachusetts in 1999, was found to be established in 2002. We made additional releases of T. setifer, introduced the parasitic wasps, Lemophagus errabundus Szepligeti (Hymenoptea: Ichneumonidae) and Diaparsis jucunda (Holmgren) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), and evaluated the establishment and distribution of the three parasitoids through 2013. Tetrastichus setifer is now established in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine, …

Historically Marginalized Groups In Psychological Science, Celeste Caviness

Open Access Dissertations

Over the past thirty years there has been a concerted effort to evaluate the inclusion of historically marginalized groups (HMG) – women, racial, ethnic, and sexual minorities, and low-income individuals – in research. This has been done through content analyses of research literature published in top-tier psychological journals. The purpose of this study was to examine the research literature to assess the degree to which the current literature includes ethnic, racial, and sexual minorities, women, and those of varying socioeconomic status and whether research questions focusing on historically marginalized groups are being examined within mainstream journals. Six issues from 2012 …

Three Essays On The Economics Of Ecosystem Services And Land Use Change, Tingting Liu

Open Access Dissertations

Over the past few decades, agricultural and forest lands in the northeast US have been lost to residential development. Combined with more intensive farming on remaining lands, these trends have led to losses in valuable ecosystem services from the agricultural and forest landscape. Narragansett Bay is also exhibiting an increasing array of eutrophic-associated symptoms, including low dissolved oxygen, fish kills, eelgrass loss, algae blooms, and loss of submerged aquatic vegetation (Narragansett Bay Estuary Program, 2008).

This dissertation contains three essays to quantify and value the changes in ecosystem services and to evaluate the effectiveness of policy for land use management. …

The Difference In Act College Readiness Benchmarks Between Avid And Non-Avid Students, Stephany Eley

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative study examined the difference in college readiness (as measured by the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks) between high school students who were enrolled in AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) for three or more years and students who were never enrolled in AVID. A causal comparative research design was employed to compare high school students from a Central Florida school district containing both AVID high schools and non-AVID high schools. AVID students were demographically matched to non-AVID students for race, gender, socio-economic status (as measured by free and reduced lunch status), Title 1 status, and grade level. Independent t tests …

Grade Retention Rates: Impact Of Standards-Based Grading As Compared To A Traditional Grading System In 3rd And 5th Grades, Mishea Dean

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Student retention is a contentious issue that has spawned considerable debate among school leaders and policymakers. NCLB's accountability requirement has led to the development of a standards-based grading system to ensure students master content and so schools can meet AYP goals. This causal comparative study examined whether a change from a traditional grading system to a standards-based system affected the student retention frequency rate. Convenience sampling was used to collect retention data on third and fifth grade students who attended four Title 1 schools in northeast Georgia during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 school years when the grading system changed. A …

Frequent Father Miles: A Phenomenological Study Of Divorced Fathers' Perceived Roles In Their Child's Education, Rebecca Bowman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how divorced fathers perceive their role in the education of their middle or high school child. The central focus of this study was: How do divorced fathers describe the roles they play in their child's education? The following questions guided the study: (a) How do divorced fathers describe the role they play in their child's education? (b) What are the factors that influence a divorced father's role in his child's education? (c) What can schools do to facilitate involvement of divorced fathers in their child's education throughout secondary schools? The co-researchers …

Effect Of Ebooks On Reading Level, Reading Behaviors, And Attitude Of Second Grade Students, Annette Vanaken

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study investigated the effect of ebooks as a tool for providing small group reading interventions and independent reading practice to second grade readers in the classroom. A quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest, non-equivalent control group design was used to compare whether instructional reading environments (ebooks only, traditional books only, or both ebooks and traditional books) affect reading level and attitudes towards reading, while a posttest only non-equivalent control group design was used to measure reading behaviors of second grade students. A convenience sample of 88 English-speaking students at a rural, public elementary school in Southern Michigan participated. Reading level was measured by …

Character Traits In Caldecott Award-Winning Literature From 2002-2012: A Content Analysis, Staci Wagner

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examined children's books that were honored with the Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book from 2002-2012, in an attempt to analyze examples of character elements in these books. Modeled after two previous dissertations in which Newbery books were analyzed, I used similar methodology to further their research to books honored with the Caldecott Medal. Therefore, content analysis was used to determine the presence of the sample character traits, following the acronym C.H.A.R.A.C.T.E.R., developed by researcher Bryant (2008). These elements included: (a) caring/compassionate, (b) helpfulness, (c) acceptance, (d) respect, (e) ambition, (f) citizenship, (g) trustworthiness, …

The Success Of Character Education In Relation To Religion In A Public School District, Joseph Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The history of the United States demonstrates a complicated relationship between civil or national religion and the formation of the common schools. This dissertation uses purposive sampling, survey methodology and description research of a local, public school district with noted high scores on character education. The research uses a Likert scale to document educators' perception of success or failure of character education in relation to religion. In the school district, four schools were chosen for their high scores in character education implementation. A purposive sample of 100 participants was provided an email link to a secure, anonymous, online survey. The …

Understanding The Times: A Causal/Comparative Study Of The Effectiveness Of A Christian Worldview Curriculum In Helping Students Develop A Christian Worldview, Donald Barrows

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Christian educators are concerned about the development of a Christian worldview in their students. They also desire that their students maintain that worldview after graduation. In this study, the author attempts to determine the effectiveness of the Understanding the Times Christian worldview curriculum in helping students develop a Christian worldview. To do this, a causal/comparative research design was used as participants took a worldview test to determine the extent to which their worldviews compared with biblical teachings. The researcher sampled a random sample of Christian high school graduates who have taken the yearlong Understanding the Times Christian worldview course at …

The Perceptions Of Caucasian Female Elementary Teachers And The Overrepresentation Of African-American Males In Special Education, Thomas Seaberry

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There is a disproportionate amount of African-American males in special education programs. Several factors have been offered by researchers as to why this phenomenon continues to be a problem throughout the county. The purpose of this study was to understand how Caucasian female teachers' perceptions of African-American male students might influence their overrepresentation in special education. This qualitative study employed an ethnographic case study method, and relied primarily on a pilot study and teacher interviews to obtain data related to this phenomenon. Using this research design, the researcher established six themes related to the research phenomenon: (1) cultural discontinuity between …

Exploring Intrinsic Value Of Educating Military Planners In Design Thinking: A Case Study, John Mangold

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative single instrumental, exploratory, theory-building, holistic researcher case study was to explore a novel approach to military transformation; a prototype of a problem solving methodology that accounts for an inescapable reality in the current and future operational environment: complexity and uncertainty. Design thinking was used as an essential component supporting a theoretical framework to explore the process of solving complex, ill-structured problems. Fifteen participants from a senior U.S. military service college were studied using observations, interviews, and site documents. The data analyzed used the systematic, analytic procedures of Stake (1995, 2008) and Merriam, (1998, 2009) whereby …

An Evaluation Of The Penn Resiliency Program For Disruptive Preadolescents In An Elementary School Setting, Mildred Howard

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Penn Resiliency Program in decreasing disruptive behavior, modifying negative automatic thoughts and improving academic achievement. Forty-eight students from two Title I schools in Georgia participated in this study. The Behavior Assessment Scale for Children, Second Edition, Progress Monitor, The Children's Automatic Thoughts Scale and report card grades were used to evaluate program effectiveness. Research results suggest the program effectively reduced negative automatic thoughts and improved academic performance.

Association Between Parental Psychopathology And Suicidal Behavior Among Adult Offspring: Results From The Cross-Sectional South African Stress And Health Survey, Lukoye Atwoli, Matthew K. Nock, David R. Williams, Dan J. Stein

Internal Medicine, East Africa

Background: Prior studies have demonstrated a link between parental psychopathology and offspring suicidal behavior. However, it remains unclear what aspects of suicidal behavior among adult offspring are predicted by specific parental mental disorders, especially in Africa. This study set out to investigate the association between parental psychopathology and suicidal behavior among their adult offspring in a South African general population sample.

Method: Parental psychopathology and suicidal behavior in offspring were assessed using structured interviews among 4,315 respondents from across South Africa. The WHO CIDI was used to collect data on suicidal behavior, while the Family History Research Diagnostic Criteria Interview …