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Allergen Immunotherapy For Allergic Asthma: Protocol For A Systematic Review., Sangeeta Dhami, Ulugbek Nurmatov, Ioana Agache, Susanne Lau, Antonella Muraro, Marek Jutel, Graham Roberts, Cezmi Akdis, Matteo Bonini, Moises Calderon, Thomas Casale, Ozlem Cavkaytar, Linda Cox, Pascal Demoly, Breda Flood, Eckard Hamelmann, Kenji Izuhara, Ömer Kalayci, Jörg Kleine-Tebbe, Antonio Nieto, Nikolaos Papadopoulos, Oliver Pfaar, Lanny Rosenwasser, Dermot Ryan, Carsten Schmidt-Weber, Stan Szefler, Ulrich Wahn, Roy-Gerth Van Wijk, Jamie Wilkinson, Aziz Sheikh

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND: The European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) is in the process of developing the EAACI Guidelines for Allergen Immunotherapy (AIT) for Allergic Asthma. We seek to critically assess the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and safety of AIT in the management of allergic asthma.

METHODS: We will undertake a systematic review, which will involve searching international biomedical databases for published, in progress and unpublished evidence. Studies will be independently screened against pre-defined eligibility criteria and critically appraised using established instruments. Data will be descriptively and, if possible and appropriate, quantitatively synthesised.

DISCUSSION: The findings from this review will be used …

Cyp2d7 Sequence Variation Interferes With Taqman Cyp2d6 (*) 15 And (*) 35 Genotyping., Amanda K. Riffel, Mehdi Dehghani, Toinette Hartshorne, Kristen C. Floyd, J Steven Leeder, Kevin P. Rosenblatt, Andrea Gaedigk

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

TaqMan™ genotyping assays are widely used to genotype CYP2D6, which encodes a major drug metabolizing enzyme. Assay design for CYP2D6 can be challenging owing to the presence of two pseudogenes, CYP2D7 and CYP2D8, structural and copy number variation and numerous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) some of which reflect the wild-type sequence of the CYP2D7 pseudogene. The aim of this study was to identify the mechanism causing false-positive CYP2D6 (*) 15 calls and remediate those by redesigning and validating alternative TaqMan genotype assays. Among 13,866 DNA samples genotyped by the CompanionDx® lab on the OpenArray platform, 70 samples were identified as …

An Analysis Of Modified Material Culture From Amache: Investigating The Landscape Of Japanese American Internment, Paul Swader

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Modified material culture is a class of objects that indicates a transformation of material function. Archaeological research at the Japanese American internment camp in Granada, Colorado, called Amache, has recently uncovered artifacts featuring evidence of modification. Previous studies at internment camps have failed to include a comprehensive analysis of these artifacts; instead focusing on formal materials or aesthetic objects. This thesis investigates an assemblage of modified material culture identified at Amache and a collection from the Minidoka internment camp in Idaho. These artifacts provide insight into how internees responded to imprisonment. Through material culture studies, oral histories, and archival research, …

Exporting The Hearsay Provisions Of The Federal Rules Of Evidence,, Roger C. Park

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Atlantic Marine And The Future Of Party Preference, Scott Dodson

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Ar Trebui Femeile Să Fie Hirotonite Ca Pastori? Considerații Asupra Vechiului Testament - Partea A Iv-A, Richard M. Davidson

Faculty Publications

This is the last part of a four-part series of studies published in the previous issues of TheoRhēma on women ordination from an Old Testament perspective, including the eschatological future envisaged by the same. It has been argued that the OT witness regarding male-female relations in the covenant community indicates that despite the patriarchal culture and divine condescension to the hardness of human hearts, the way back to the Edenic ideal for equality in gender relations was upheld in that all the various kinds or positions of leadership according to God’s ideal were open to, and filled by, women: priest, …

Defending Data, Andrew Ferguson

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Defending Data proposes a data-driven, systems-based approach to improving public defense in America.Public defenders represent millions of defendants every year. Yet, public defense remains a largely data-less enterprise, a black box of discretionary decisions disconnected from any systemic analysis about the relationship between defender practices and case outcomes. Defending Data adopts a novel approach to the crisis of public defense. Building off of the successful implementation of system-based approaches in other complex, high-risk industries such as aviation and medicine, Defending Data explains how defenders can develop a data-driven systems approach to public defense.Defending Data begins by describing the data deficit …

Parameter Identification Of Induction Motor, Yousef Abdel-Rehim

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Numerous recent techniques of induction motor parameters calculating are hard to be done and expensive. Accurate calculations of the parameters of these motors would allow savings in different prospective like energy and cost. The major problem in calculating induction motor parameters is that it's hard to measure output power precisely and without harm during the operation of the machines. It will be better to find other way to find out the output power with certain amount of inputs like input voltage and current.;Particle swarm optimization (PSO) and genetic algorithms (GAs) are often used to estimate quantities from limited information. They …

Eco-Town: An Integrated Modeling Framework For Simulating The Effects Of Urban Morphology On Sustainable Development, Ali Abutalebpur

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Spatial structure of a city is a key determinant of its socioeconomic well-being and there is a growing interest in models that investigate the relation between spatial structure and sustainable urban development. This dissertation aims to examine the role of urban spatial structure on social, economic, and environmental dimensions of sustainability through developing an integrated modeling framework. In particular, this modeling framework bridges "design of urban built environment" and "sustainable development" at the city-region level through simulation and measuring the effect of changes in urban spatial structure on the stock of various asset forms including natural, human, and physical capital.;The …

Longitudinal Patterns And Economic Consequences Of Emergency Department Visits Among Medicaid Enrollees, Parul Agarwal

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Objective.;The objective of the dissertation was to examine the patient- and county-level factors associated with the Emergency Department (ED) visits and economic consequences associated with persistent ED use among adult fee-for-service (FFS) Medicaid beneficiaries. The first study examined the patient- and county-level factors associated with the number of ED visits and the second study examined the longitudinal patterns of ED visits among FFS Medicaid beneficiaries. Further, in both the studies ED visits due to primary care sensitive conditions were also examined. The third study examined the patient- and county- level factors associated with persistent ED use followed by an estimation …

Remote Sensing Based Predictive Decision Support System For Assessment Of Environmental Conditions For Epidemic Cholera, Haidar Shakuir Aldaach

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Cholera, a water borne diarrheal disease, is strongly associated with environmental processes. However, quantitative linkages of environmental processes with cholera and climate is still emerging. Linking diseases such as cholera with climate will aid in development of models that can predict spatial and temporal outbreaks in resource constrained regions of the globe. With the limited efficacy of cholera vaccines, it is necessary to develop mechanisms to predict cholera occurrence and thereafter devise intervention strategies for mitigating impacts of the disease. Hydroclimatic processes, primarily precipitation and air temperature are related to epidemic and episodic outbreak of cholera. However, due to coarse …

Orthodoxy And 'The Other Man's Doxy': Medical Licensing And Medical Freedom In The Gilded Age, Lewis Grossman

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

This is a draft of Chapter Two of my book-in-progress under contract with Oxford University Press titled You Can Choose Your Medicine: Freedom of Therapeutic Choice in American History and Law. This chapter shows how freedom of therapeutic choice remained an influential theme in American policy and thought in the Gilded Age. Despite the almost universal restoration of medical licensing after the Civil War, the new licensing regimes were drafted and enforced in ways that protected the rights of practitioners and patients of nonorthodox schools of medicine. This chapter starts by briefly describing the main alternative medical sects during the …

Transformation Of A Pre-Algebra Developmental Mathematics Course That Led To The Redesign Of The Developmental Mathematics Program At A Rural Community College, Mary Beth Angeline

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation documents the redesign of a developmental mathematics program at a rural community college and compares the course pass rates between the redesigned courses and the traditional lecture-based courses. A design and developmental methodology was used to chronicle changes to outcomes, learning environment, instructor role, and curricular practices over four course offerings that occurred over three semesters. Effectiveness of these changes was used to continually make corrections to the course structure, and make a case to expand the redesign of the course to the entire developmental mathematics program.

Spatial And Temporal Distribution Of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Hemiptera: Adelgidae) Ovisac And Its Associations With The Environment, Sunghoon Baek

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Eastern hemlock, Tsuga canadensis (Pinales: Pinaceae) is an important tree species in eastern North America ecosystems. During the past 65 years, eastern hemlock stands have been threatened by the hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae Annand (Hemiptera: Adelgidae). The goal of this research was to determine the spatial and temporal distribution of A. tsugae populations. First, the appropriate sample unit for A. tsugae was determined based on within-branch and -tree distribution of A. tsugae. The results of this study showed that A. tsugae ovisacs were more frequently found at the tip of a branch and no significant (P > 0.05) differences in …

Analysis Of Rna Degradation In Dental Pulp To Estimate Postmortem Interval, Amanda Balasko

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

There are several methods that are currently used to estimate a postmortem interval (PMI), including physiological, biochemical, entomological, and archeological approaches. However, these methods are not effective in estimating PMI's extending from several weeks to months. The study presented here was performed to create an independent, objective biological method to estimate PMI by analyzing the degradation of 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) from porcine and human dental pulp. If successful, this method would overlap and extend the current PMI estimation methods. With a concept similar to that of radioactive carbon-14 dating, this method analyzed two different sized segments -- one large, …

Does Engagement In Pleasant Events Mediate The Relation Between Physical Disability And Affective Outcomes In Older Adults?, Patricia M. Bamonti

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The current study examined potential mediators of the association between physical disability and depressive symptoms, along with positive mental health variables, including meaning in life and positive affect, within the framework of an empirically supported model of depression---the behavioral model of depression (Lewinsohn, 1985). The behavioral model of depression posits that reduced contact with positive reinforcement in the environment (i.e., engagement in pleasant events) precipitates and maintains depressive symptoms (Lewinsohn et al., 1985). Treatment studies have demonstrated the efficacy of interventions based on the behavioral model of depression in older adults (Cuijpers et al., 2007; Dimidjian et al., 2006; Hopko …

Telemonitoring To Change Standard Diabetes Education And Management In A Rural Healthcare Practice, Kendra L. Barker

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Background: Type II Diabetes is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Intense education and positive behavior reinforcement by healthcare professionals has been shown to enhance personal glycemic control for patients with Type II diabetes. However, limitations often prevent patient attendance at diabetes education classes. The purpose of this change project was to assess the efficacy of a telemonitoring intervention on glycemic control. Kotter's change process served as the conceptual underpinning for the project.;Objective: The overall objective was to implement a telemonitoring intervention based on Kotter's change process in a sample of adults with Type II diabetes who obtained care at …

I Support Clean Energy: A Test Of The Eppm And Psychological Reactance Theory, Lindsey Beall

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to test components of the extended parallel process model (Witte, 1992) and psychological reactance theory (Brehm, 1966) using environmental hazards as a primary threat, rather than a personal health threat. In addition, this study examined the effect that response costs, ego involvement, and personal connection had on individuals' self-efficacy to perform a behavior. Participants (N = 157) watched a short video that emphasized the environmental and health risks of coal as well as the benefits of using clean energy sources. One group of participants saw a recommended response encouraging them to contact a state …

Assessing And Meeting Residents' Needs: An Evaluation Of Residence Hall Programming, Michael J. Beck

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In this qualitative study, I examine how programming in college residence halls does and does not meet the needs of residents and resident assistants. Using focus group and individual interview data, I structure my analysis using Maslow's (1954) hierarchy of needs. I suggest that residence hall programming---academic, social, or a hybrid of the two---is most valuable for its ability to meet residents' needs related to belongingness but that residence hall staff must place more explicit emphasis on residents' growth needs in order for self-actualization to be supported.

Lead Exposure Of Obligate Avian Scavengers In Eastern North America, Shannon Behmke

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Lead is a toxic element within the body of living organisms. Lead poisoning cases still occur in both humans and wildlife on a regular basis in the United States. Although the harmful effects of lead within the body are well known, such as decreased IQ in children, increased renal dysfunction, hypertension, anemia, and other morbid and mortal consequences in humans and wildlife, lead continues to be used in anthropogenic activities today. Through the use of lead in ammunition and fishing sinkers, and its presence in coal-fired power plant and other industrial emissions, lead is dispersed throughout modern human and natural …

The Memory Wars: Debates On The Holocaust And The Legacy Of Anti-Semitism In Poland, Jonathan Andrew Bergquist

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The process of Vergangenheitsbewaltigung, or mastering the past, is often slow and painful. All too often nations have a tendency to celebrate their past triumphs while forgetting or marginalizing the most traumatic episodes of their histories. The case of Poland is particularly interesting---especially in connection to the disappearance of the country's minority Jewish heritage. Poland, of course, was the primary site of the Holocaust, and the nearly complete destruction of the country's once vast Jewish population, which had been the largest in the world, has left a troublesome legacy behind. How had such horrific crimes taken place on Polish soil? …

The Effectiveness Of A Chart Audit And Feedback Intervention To Improve Cardiology Provider Delivery Of Heart Failure Self-Care Education, Dorothy Murphy

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Heart failure is a challenging disease process that presents a high risk of mortality, frequent hospitalizations, and an overwhelming economic burden to the health system. Patient self-care education has been shown to decrease unplanned hospitalizations, emergency room visits, hospitalized days, costs, and mortality rates. However, only 61% of adults with HF receive self-care education within a 12-month period.;Under the framework of the Iowa Model for Evidence-Based Practice, the purpose of this project was to implement an electronic health record audit and written and verbal provider feedback intervention with the aim of improving provider delivery of heart failure self-care education to …

Erbium Alloyed Aln Thin Films: Structural, Piezoelectric And Magnetic Properties, Vishal Narang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research was undertaken to determine the effect of Erbium in Erbium-alloyed AlN thin films on their structural, piezoelectric and magnetic properties. For this purpose, Erbium-alloyed AlN thin films with Er concentration of 0, 1, 3 and 4 atomic percent were deposited on (001) p-type Si substrates by reactive magnetron sputtering. The samples were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Variable Angle Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (VASE). XRD measurements showed that Er alloying leads to preferential c-axis film deposition with a decrease in grain size and an increase in the lattice constant. XPS analysis was used to determine …

The Online Lamodel User's & Training Manual Development & Testing, Christopher R. Newman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In order to better inform and train industry professionals, as well as engineering students and new users, an electronic user's manual and comprehensive online training course for LaModel has been developed in an open online learning environment. The online user's manual provides widespread access to detailed information on the installation, proper use, and troubleshooting procedures through a combination of: written documentation, voiced-over and captioned software simulations and slide presentations, and relevant academic articles. Some of the online LaModel material has also been organized into a set of progressive, self-paced training modules using a number of the slide presentations and software …

Evaluation Of The Antidepressant Potential Of Dextromethorphan, Linda Nguyen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Depression affects more than 350 million people and is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Major challenges in the management of depression remain the 4-12 weeks of delayed efficacy and 30% of patients who are resistant to the therapeutic effects of current pharmaceutical treatments. We herein examined whether dextromethorphan (DM) may be able to take on these challenges, because 1) it has overlapping pharmacology with ketamine, which has shown rapid (within 24 hours) antidepressant effects, even in treatment-resistant individuals; 2) unlike ketamine with its notable abuse liability and adverse effects, DM is an over-the-counter antitussive with a high safety margin; …

Pyrolytic Fate Of Synthetic Cannabinoids, Corey Andrew Nida

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Since the introduction of herbal incense products into the illicit drug market, one of the most concerning factors has been the uncertainty regarding their health effects. Side effects such as anxiety/agitation, increased heartbeat, hallucinations, and suicidal tendencies are commonly reported with the use of products containing synthetic cannabinoid. However, a largely unknown toxicity and pharmacology is still associated with synthetic cannabinoids and long-term health effects have yet to be discussed.;Prior scientific studies have not focused on the big-picture in terms of the pyrolysis of traditional drugs of abuse that are smoked or the relatively new synthetic cannabinoids. Numerous agencies and …

Old War, New Deal: Commemorative Landscapes, The National Park Service, And The 75th Anniversary Of The Civil War, Rebekah N. Oakes

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The 75th Anniversary of the American Civil War was both the last major anniversary influenced by living Civil War veterans, and the first commemoration to occur with a number of key Civil War battlefields under the administrative control of the National Park Service. Although largely overlooked by historians, remembrance of the Civil War in the 1930s represented a key transition from commemoration primarily for the veterans of the conflict to a wider commemoration, finding from the Civil War a usable past and a landscape of national memorialization. Through this process, administrative and interpretive shifts changed the very purpose of Civil …

Sexual Assault On The College Campus: A Partial Test Of Male Peer Support Theory, Falak Ojjeh

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Researchers have identified a number of variables that influence sexual assault on college campuses; peer influence being one of them. According to the sexual assault literature, more than a quarter of victims of sexual assault report their offender was a fraternity member. Additionally, the literature shows that in many sexual assault cases, both the victim and the offender were intoxicated. In applying Walter DeKeseredy's theory of Male Peer Support -- all-male groups that legitimate women abuse -- to on-campus fraternity organizations, this study examines the link is between the drinking and rape cultures promoted by fraternities, specifically, the use of …

Communicating To Resolve The "Mommy Wars": Testing Communicated Stereotypes And The Common Ingroup Identity Model With Stay-At-Home And Working Mothers, Kelly G. Odenweller

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Toward empirically validating motherhood as an intergroup context and uncovering communicative solutions to resolving the cultural "mommy wars," the goal of this dissertation was to test foundational intergroup communication theories with stay-at-home mothers (SAHMs) and working mothers (WMs) across two independent experiments. In Study One, participant SAHMs and WMs (N = 529) reported on their outgroup attitudes, affective responses (i.e., contempt, admiration, envy, and pity), behavioral responses (i.e., active/passive facilitation, active/passive harm), intergroup anxiety, and willingness to communicate after viewing a description of a target SAHM or WM designed in accordance with the most prevalent stereotypes of SAHMs and WMs …

Dimensions Of Political Reasoning: Associations Among Informational Assumptions, Sociopolitical Values, And Domain-Specific Judgments About Laws, Benjamin Oosterhoff

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Adolescents' beliefs about laws are a critical component of their emerging political reasoning, which is hypothesized to guide political decisions in adulthood. Laws serve a variety of purposes by restricting certain social behaviors. However, little is known about the types of laws adolescents view as important and obligatory to obey, or the amount of punishment that should be received for breaking different laws. Identifying individual differences in these beliefs may help elucidate the developmental origins of political attitudes. Therefore, the current study had three primary goals. The first goal was to utilize social domain theory to assess adolescents' judgments and …