Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of Medicaid Expansion Under The Affordable Care Act On Accessibility And Availability Of Primary Health Care, Aaron Amaning Boaitey

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) sought to provide universal health insurance coverage for Americans through a combination of Medicaid expansions, insurance market policies, advance premium tax credits, among other reforms. Lawmakers intended to enforce Medicaid expansion through the ACA at the federal level. However, the June 2012 United States (U.S.) Supreme Court decision in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius allowed states to opt-out of Medicaid expansion. As a result, states took different approaches to expand Medicaid eligibility. This study uses data from the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) to analyze how opting in or out …

Binder Saturation, Layer Thickness, Drying Time And Their Effects On Dimensional Tolerance And Density Of Cobalt Chrome - Tricalcium Phosphate Biocomposite, John Ruprecht

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Traditional metals such as stainless steel, titanium and cobalt chrome are used in biomedical applications (implants, scaffolds, etc.) but suffer from issues such as osseointegration and compatibility with existing bone. One way to improve traditional biomaterials is to incorporate ceramics with these metals so that their mechanical properties can be similar to cortical bones. Tricalcium phosphate is such a ceramic with properties such that it can be used in the human body. This research explores the use of the Binder Jetting based additive manufacturing process to create a novel biocomposite made of cobalt chrome and tricalcium phosphate. Experiments were conducted …

Disabled Women In A Dictatorial Regime: Sexual Assault And Disability In Zimbabwe, Paidamoyo Chikate

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

In 2013, the Zimbabwean government promulgated a final draft of legislation meant to serve and improve the lives of people living with disabilities in the country. The move was made in the name of “solidarity” as the government purportedly turned a corner from dictatorship to power sharing as a result of what was referred to as the Government of National Unity. Disability activists made various demands of the government from formulating a definition that covers all forms of disability, accessible government buildings, the mainstreaming of disability and representation at the local and parliamentary levels of legislation. Chief among these demands …

Fault Detection And Classification Of A Single Phase Inverter Using Artificial Neural Networks, Ayomikun Samuel Orukotan

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The detection of switching faults of power converters or the Circuit Under Test (CUT) is real-time important for safe and efficient usage. The CUT is a single-phase inverter. This thesis presents two unique methods that rely on backpropagation principles to solve classification problems with a two-layer network. These mathematical algorithms or proposed networks are able to diagnose single, double, triple, and multiple switching faults over different iterations representing range of frequencies. First, the fault detection and classification problems are formulated as neural network-based classification problems and the neural network design process is clearly described. Then, neural networks are trained over …

Evaluation Of The Activity Of Zn-65 Isotope And Radiation Dose Delivered To Drosophila Melanogaster, Wasiu Ajani Erinoso

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Radioactivity is a natural part of our environment. Ionizing radiation from radioactive materials can affect the life cycle of organisms; sometimes increase the rate of transition between cycle leading to the proliferation of cells as seen in some cancer cells or delay the rate of transition between cell cycle. A NaI detector is essential to determine the activity of a radioactive material. To determine the resolution of NaI detector and the efficiency of the geometry used for this experiment, quality control was done for NaI detector using 22Na reference source. The efficiency of the detector was used to verify the …

Student Retention In An Introductory Stem Course: A Mixed Methods Study Of Student Motivation And Teaching Approaches, Lina Wang

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education is vital to all students. Student motivation, both intrinsic and extrinsic, have been found to be very influential in how successful a student is in a STEM classroom (Krapp, 2007; Lamb, Annetta, Meldrum, & Vallett, 2012; Schoon, Ross, & Martin, 2007; Skinner, Saxton, Currie, & Shuststerman, 2017). The current study examined what correlations, if any, we present between teaching approaches, intrinsic motivation, and extrinsic motivation of students in an undergraduate, non-major, introductory chemistry course at a mid-sized, four-year university in the Midwestern United States. In the focus groups, students were highly motivated by …

Compilation Of Four Different Papers On Different Gender Issues, Minara Nazmin

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

I wrote four separate academic articles that placed in my Alternative Plan Paper in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts (M.A.) in Gender and Women Studies. My four papers spokes on different fundamental perspectives of issues of gender and women studies. The first paper unveiled inequalities in Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) market, such as In-vitro Fertilization (IVF) and how it is reinforcing reproductive responsibility for women. This paper found unequal access to IVF based on color, class, and sexual orientation. The second paper explores gender from a feminist theoretical standpoint. Mainly, this examines how …

Effects Of Aromatherapy On Academic Success, Perceived Stress, And Coping Skills Of Graduate Students, Lakisha S. Witter

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This quasi-experimental study will explore whether the use of aromatherapy increases students’ academic success and coping skills and decreases the level of perceived stress in graduate college students.

"Change Is The Essential Process Of All Existence:" Transformation Through Civic Learning & Democratic Engagement's Theory, Molly Kerby

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

During the early years of the American Association of State Colleges & Universities’ (AASCU) American Democracy Project (ADP), a handful of civic-minded leaders in higher education began to grapple with what it meant to teach students to be engaged citizens. The project began with seven initiatives focusing on efforts such as voting, stewardship of land, political engagement, and citizenship to build a foundation for increasing civic literacy, democratic agency, and community engagement among college students (American Association of State Colleges and Universities, 2019). Membership and participation in ADP grew quickly and it seemed an organic revolution of sorts was building …

Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 11: Wallace, Darwin, Education, & The Class Question, James D. Williams, Charles H. Smith Editor

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

In a recent paper by John van Wyhe (2020), the issue of class was discussed and whether Wallace came from a “working class” background. As a result of class differences could or should Wallace be considered differently from Darwin, who supposedly came from a higher class? An additional “myth” highlighted was whether Wallace left school, aged 14, due to difficult family financial circumstances. Van Wyhe contends that Darwin and Wallace were both middle class, and Wallace left school at the “normal” school-leaving age. This article shows that both contentions are mistaken. Class in the 19th century was complex and difficult, …

Between The Smallest Words, Athena L. Edwards

Digressions: Literary & Art Journal

No abstract provided.

Considering A Domestic Terrorism Statute And Its Alternatives, Francesca Laguardia

Northwestern University Law Review

Recent years have seen an increase in right-wing extremist violence within the United States, which has highlighted the disparities in law enforcement’s handling of “international” as opposed to “domestic” terrorism. Public, legal, and law enforcement commenters have begun calling for a “domestic terrorism statute,” arguing that the lack of such a statute is the largest hurdle in prosecuting domestic terrorists. This Essay explains that the primary cause of the disparity in prosecutions between domestic and international terrorists is not a lack of a domestic terrorism statute but rather the lack of a generalized terrorism statute and the failure to designate …

Debt Types And Burdens By Family Structures, Jing Jian Xiao, Rui Yao

Human Development and Family Science Faculty Publications

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine family structure differences in debt types and burdens of American families.

Design/methodology/approach: Data was from the 2016 Survey of Consumer Finances. Eight types of family structures, five specific debts, and two debt burden indicators are examined with multivariate logistic regressions.

Findings: After controlling for several socioeconomic variables, multivariate logistic regression results show that married with children families are more likely than five other family types to have any debt. In terms of specific debt, married with children families are more likely than six other types of families to have mortgages, four …

Losing The Future: Household Wealth From Urban Housing Demolition And Children’S Human Capital In China, Feng Li, Jing Jian Xiao

Human Development and Family Science Faculty Publications

Some literature observes the negative but not very significant effect of household wealth growth on children's educational outcomes. This surprising finding is not easily reconciled with the traditional explanation that relaxed economic constraints caused by wealth growth can promote human capital accumulation. This paper proposes an alternative explanation for the causal relationship between wealth growth and human capital, which could be negative: individuals tend to reduce human capital investment following the decline in their labor supply induced by wealth growth, given that investing in human capital is mainly for employment competitiveness. This explanation is supported by evidence from the case …

Preoperative Exercise To Improve Fitness In Patients Undergoing Complex Surgery For Cancer Of The Lung Or Oesophagus (Pre-Hiit): Protocol For A Randomized Controlled Trial, Grainne Sheill, Emer Guinan, Linda O'Neill, Charles Normand, Suzanne Doyle, Sarah Moore, John Newell, Granne Mcdermott, Ronan Ryan, John V. Reynolds, Juliette Hussey

Articles

Patients with cancer of the lung or oesophagus, undergoing curative treatment, usually require a thoracotomy and a complex oncological resection. These surgeries carry a risk of major morbidity and mortality, and risk assessment, preoperative optimisation, and enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) pathways are modern approaches to optimise outcomes. Pre-operative fitness is an established predictor of postoperative outcome, accordingly, targeting pre-operative fitness through exercise prehabilitation has logical appeal. Exercise prehabilitation is challenging to implement however due to the short opportunity for intervention between diagnosis and surgery. Therefore, individually prescribed, intensive exercise training protocols which convey clinically meaningful improvements in cardiopulmonary fitness …

Microfluidics In Haemostasis: A Review, Heta Jigar Panchal, Nigel Kent, Andrew Knox, Leanne Harris

Articles

Haemostatic disorders are both complex and costly in relation to both their treatment and subsequent management. As leading causes of mortality worldwide, there is an ever-increasing drive to improve the diagnosis and prevention of haemostatic disorders. The field of microfluidic and Lab on a Chip (LOC) technologies is rapidly advancing and the important role of miniaturised diagnostics is becoming more evident in the healthcare system, with particular importance in near patient testing (NPT) and point of care (POC) settings. Microfluidic technologies present innovative solutions to diagnostic and clinical challenges which have the knock-on effect of improving health care and quality …

2-(Di­Phenyl­Methyl­Idene)-2,3-Di­Hydro-1h-Inden-1-One, Tao Zhang, Vilmar Bandero, Tom Mccabe, Neil Frankish, Helen Sheridan

Articles

In the title mol­ecule, C₂₂H₁₆O, the indanone ring system is approximately planar with a dihedral angle between the fused rings of 5.13 (14)°. Two benzene rings are linked together at one side of a double bond, sitting on either side of the indanone ring system and making dihedral angles of 70.30 (12) and 44.74 (13)° with it. In the crystal, hydrogen bonding is not present, but weak C—H⋯π or π–π inter­actions occur and mol­ecules form a sheet-like structure in the bc plane.

Knowledge, Attitude And Practices (Kap) Towards Diet And Health Among International Students In Dublin: A Cross-Sectional Study, Xiyao Liu, Haoyue Chen, Qianling Zhou, Huifeng Zhang, Phensiri Asawasirisap, John Kearney

Articles

International students may have difficulties in dietary acculturation. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of diet and health during the acculturation of international students. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among a convenience sample of 473 international students in Dublin. Knowledge, attitude and practices towards diet and health were evaluated by a questionnaire with open- and closed-ended questions. It was found that 45.3% of participants had a broad concept of a healthy diet, while few knew its specific contents. Furthermore, 75.3% of participants could explain the term functional food, and among them, 62.1% knew the appropriate …

Adherence To Dietary And Physical Activity Guidelines Among Shift Workers: Associations With Individual And Work-Related Factors, Ciara Kelly, Fiona M. Nea, Kirsty Pourshahidi, John Kearney, Victoria M O'Brien, M Barbara E Livingstone, Clare Corish

Articles

Objectives Shift work is associated with adverse effects on the health and lifestyle behaviours of employees. This study aimed to examine factors associated with adherence among shift workers to selected indicators of dietary and physical activity guidelines. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1300 shift workers. Data were collected using a 15 minute telephone-administered questionnaire. Logistic regression methods were used for data analysis. Results Male shift workers (p

I Was Determined To Breastfeed, And I Always Found A Solution: Successful Experiences Of Exclusive Breastfeeding Among Chinese Mothers In Ireland, John Kearney, Qianling Zhou, Haoyue Chen, Katherine Younger, Tanya M. Cassidy

Articles

Background: The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding for at least 4 months was previously found to be very low among Chinese immigrants in Ireland, at 5.8% (Zhou et al., Front Public Health 6:351, 2018). This study investigates the successful experiences of Chinese mothers living in Ireland who exclusively breastfeed for between four and 6 months.

Methods: Participants were recruited from the sample of the Ireland Chinese Mother Survey. Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with fourteen participants in their homes or public places.

Results: A content analysis revealed that various factors contributed to a successful experience of exclusive breastfeeding among the group …

A Novel Pool Of Microparticle Cholesterol Is Elevatedin Rheumatoid Arthritis But Not In Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients, Shuai Shuai Hu, Brenton L. Cavanagh, Robert Harrington, Muddassar Ahmad, Grainne Kearns, Steve Meaney, Claire Wynne

Articles

Microparticles are sub-micron, membrane-bound particles released from virtually allcells and which are present in the circulation. In several autoimmune disorders their amountand composition in the circulation is altered. Microparticle surface protein expression has beenexplored as a differentiating tool in autoimmune disorders where the clinical pictures can overlap.Here, we examine the utility of a novel lipid-based marker—microparticle cholesterol, present in allmicroparticles regardless of cellular origin—to distinguish between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) andsystemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We first isolated a series of microparticle containing lipoproteindeficient fractions from patient and control plasma. There were no significant differences in thesize, structure or protein content of …

Forscells: 40-Days Fixed Prepared Reagent For Detection Of Anti-Forssman Inhumans, Sofia Ferreira, Cristiana Mourato, Alyssa Corpuz, Sofia Galvão, Camilla Hesse, Clara Rocha, Carlos Jesus, Fernando Mendes

Articles

In 2012, the FORS system was accepted by the International Society of Blood Transfusion as the 31^st blood group system. Forssman (Fs) antigen (Ag) expression is most commonly found on sheep red blood cells (RBC) but rare in human RBC. Anti-Fs antibodies (Ab) are naturally occurring in human sera and are predominantly IgM but they can also be IgG. To this day, the global prevalence of the FORS system is unknown. Currently, there is a lack of natural FORS1-positive RBC available to use for anti-Fs screening in large populations. This study was designed to produce FORS1-positive cells viable for …

Assessing The Biological Safety Of Atmospheric Cold Plasmatreated Wheat Using Cell And Insect Models, Agata Los, Dana Ziuzina, Daniela Boehn, Paula Bourke

Articles

Atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) is under investigation for an extensive range of biocontrol applications in food biosystems. However, the development of a novel intervention technology requires a thorough evaluation of the potential for negative effects and the implications for the human and animal food chains’ safety. The evaluations were performed using a contained, high-voltage, dielectric barrier discharge plasma system. The cytotoxicity of two types of food models—a liquid model (wheat model medium (WMM)) vs. a solid model (wheat grain extract (WGE)) was compared in vitro using the mammalian cell line CHO-K1. The residual toxicity of ACP treatment of grains for …

Pilot Scale Pyrolysis Of Activated Sludge Waste From Milk Processing Factory, Marzena Kwapinska, Alen Horvat, Yupeng Liu, James Leahy

Articles

The majority of the sludge from the treatment of wastewater in milk processing plants is land spread. The drawbacks of land spreading include local oversupply due to high transport costs, which results in sludge being spread on lands in the vicinity of the dairy factories. Local oversupply can lead to accumulation of certain substances in soil through annual application over many years. Therefore, in the long term, there is a need for alternative methods to recover energy and nutrients from increasing volumes of sludge generated from dairy processing. Pyrolysis ofers a potential alternative to land spreading, which can reduce health …

Anca Gheaus, Gideon Calder, And Jurgen De Wispelaere, Eds., The Routledge Handbook Of The Philosophy Of Childhood And Children, Kevin Timpe

Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Plastic On Leaf Litter Breakdown In Urban Streams, Lisa Haneul Kim

Master's Theses

The plastic component of anthropogenic litter (AL) is an emerging ecological concern and has been a focus of research, as it is long-lived, mobile, interacts with physical and chemical components of aquatic ecosystems, and breaks down into smaller pieces (i.e., microplastic, <5mm particles). Rivers are considered a major source of plastic to oceans, but little is known about plastic's abundance, distribution, and effects on ecological processes in urban streams. Previous studies report plastic is abundant in freshwater systems, especially in naturally occurring debris dam structures and overhanging vegetation which accumulate high quantities of AL, especially plastic items (i.e. bags, wrappers, packaging material), along with leaf litter and other coarse particulate organic matter. in temperate, forested streams, leaf litter is a critical food source and plays an essential role in the stream food web. the rate at which leaves break down is affected by many variables such as hydrology, water chemistry, and macroinvertebrate and microbial communities. We predicted that plastic accumulation along with leaf litter can slow leaf breakdown by reducing diversity and abundance of microbial decomposers, as well as macroinvertebrate consumers. We measured leaf breakdown, and characterized macroinvertebrate and microbial (i.e., bacterial, fungal, algal) communities in 3 litter bag treatments: leaves alone, plastic alone, and leaves mixed with plastic. Although plastic did not reduce leaf breakdown rates or have a significant effect on macroinvertebrate consumer communities, it showed distinct microbial communities compared to leaf substrates. Results will provide a new understanding of how plastic and microbial communities interact, and set the framework for future studies to look at microbial succession and macroinvertebrate diversity on other synthetic substrates in freshwater systems.

Effects Of Pharmaceutical Contamination On Sedment Microbial Communities In Streams, Benjamin Joseph Lorentz

Master's Theses

The objective of this study was to examine the interaction of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCP) and microbial communities in freshwater ecosystems. This study included two components. The first component consisted of an artificial stream study in which sediment was exposed to environmentally relevant concentrations of three different pharmaceuticals (diphenhydramine, ciprofloxacin, and fluoxetine) individually and as a mixture. Pharmaceutical exposure had no effect on denitrification rates or respiration rates in the sediments, and sediment microbial community composition showed only slight differences between streams dosed with pharmaceuticals and control streams. The second component consisted of a field study in which …

A Legal Analysis: The Transgender Bathroom Debate, Josselyn Sheer

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article examines the current legal battles over transgender bathroom, locker room, and employment rights. In the recent years, there has been a major uproar surrounding the rights of transgender individuals; concurrently, our country is witnessing a shift in the ways in which individuals understand their gender outside of the binary male and female classification. While the word transgender can serve as an “umbrella term encompassing a wide array of identifies,” transgender rights have steadily grown across numerous areas (Buck, 2016, p. 465). However, there have been contentious legal issues that have put transgender individuals rights in the spotlight.

The …

System Of Structural Dependency In The Sudanese Refugee Women Of Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya, Jessica Gladden

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Many countries facing an influx of refugees have established refugee camps to provide temporary housing. Lacking a solution for the refugee crisis, these temporary facilities become long-term housing for many refugees. As a result, many refugees spend years or even decades in refugee camps. The refugees often are legally prohibited from obtaining employment. They must rely on aid from the United Nations and other organizations for their survival. This study considers some of the impacts of living in a refugee camp and surviving solely on humanitarian aid. In particular, this study examines the structural dependency observed in the Sudanese refugee …

The Social Construction Of Arab Identity In The U.S.: The Historical Complicity And The Modern Responsibility Of Social Work, Suhad Tabahi, Jacob Bucher

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper presents the sociopolitical experiences of early Arab migrants in the United States (U.S.) and the process of contradictory and socially constructed racial categorizations favoring white supremacy. While there is much discourse of the racial formation of Arab immigrants since 9-11, the actual racial project started in the early twentieth century, through varies entities including the social work profession where the “othering” process of early Arabs Americans existed in social welfare practice. Examples of the pejorative attitudes towards Arab immigrants from the early social work discourse are examined through proceedings from the National Conference on Social Welfare (NCSW) in …