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Health Reform Implementation Analysis: A Guide to Policy Development for Geriatric Care Planning, Integration and Evaluation

In the context of health care delivery for senior citizens, this research utilizes three studies that examine the development and implementation of health policy and the factors that can directly or indirectly impact the effective delivery of health services to senior citizens. It utilizes three essays employing mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative) methods including semi structured interviews, multiple regression and partial least squares structural equation modelling to examine the extent to which the implementation of health services delivered attributes of primary and integrated care to seniors. The two essays identified methods, approaches and strategies of integrated care relevant to the development of policy that can be successfully implemented when the contextual issues that older people consider to be important in maintaining their functional capabilities and their motivation to improve health as perceived by them are addressed. Consequent upon the results from these studies, the third essay examines the methodological issues on integrated geriatric care implementation when guidelines for effective policy development identified were not followed. By highlighting the relationship between effective policy and patient satisfaction, these three essays' recommended approach enhances the theory of health design that confirms that theoretical models of primary care must incorporate the system, process and …
Date: August 2020
Creator: Abah, Theresa
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

Impact of Anti-S2 Peptides on a Variety of Muscle Myosin S2 Isoforms and Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Mutants Revealed by Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer and Gravitational Force Spectroscopy

Myosin subfragment-2 (S2) is an intrinsically unstable coiled coil. This dissertation tests if the mechanical stability of myosin S2 would influence the availability of myosin S1 heads to actin thin filaments. The elevated instability in myosin S2 coiled coil could be one of the causes for hypercontractility in Familial Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (FHC). As hypothesized FHC mutations, namely E924K and E930del, in myosin S2 displayed an unstable myosin S2 coiled coil compared to wild type as measured by Fluorescence Resonant Energy Transfer (FRET) and gravitational force spectroscopy (GFS). To remedy this, anti-S2 peptides; the stabilizer and the destabilizer peptides by namesake were designed in our lab to increase and decrease the stability of myosin S2 coiled coil to influence the actomyosin interaction. Firstly, the effectiveness of anti-S2 peptides were tested on muscle myosin S2 peptides across MYH11 (smooth), MYH7 (cardiac), and MYH2 (skeletal) with GFS and FRET. The results demonstrated that the mechanical stability was increased by the stabilizer and decreased by the destabilizer across the cardiac and skeletal myosin S2 isoform but not for the smooth muscle isoform. The destabilizer peptide had dissociation binding constants of 9.97 × 10-1 μM to MYH7 isoform, 1.00 μM to MYH2 isoform, and no …
Date: August 2020
Creator: Aboonasrshiraz, Negar
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

Multifactorial Determinants of Change in Mental Disorder and Happiness among Older Americans

Mental health is an intrinsic capability that constitute an essential component of healthy aging. Mental health is constituted by positive constructs such as happiness and negative constructs (mental disorders) such as depression. As people grow older, they become more prone to developing mental disorders which are linked to poorer quality of life, increased disability, increased utilization and cost of health services, and higher rates of suicide. This dissertation involved three studies that focused on factors that predict change in mental disorders and happiness of older Americans over a period of five years. Two waves of publicly available national representative data from the National Social Life Health and Aging Project (NSHAP) collected in 2010 and 2015 were used. A total of 2210 older adults within the ages 62-90 years were used in the analyses. Mental health measures were CES-Depression scale, HADS anxiety scale, and self-rated happiness. Essay 1 aimed to identify the important aspects of older adults' interaction with their neighborhood that predict the presence of mental disorder and happiness. Essay 2 evaluated the psychosocial factors that predict change in mental disorder and happiness of older adults, whereas essay 3 investigated the multifactorial determinants of change in mental disorder and happiness …
Date: August 2020
Creator: Adaralegbe, Adeleye Ayinde
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

Traffic-Generated Air Pollution-Exposure Mediated Expression of Factors Associated with Progression of Multiple Sclerosis in a Female Polipoprotein E Knockout Mouse Model

Environmental air pollution is one risk factor associated with the onset and progression of multiple sclerosis (MS). In this project, we investigated the effects of ubiquitous traffic-generated pollutants, namely a mixture of gasoline and diesel vehicle exhaust (MVE), on signaling pathways associated with the pathophysiology of MS in the central nervous system (CNS) of either ovary intact (ov+) or ovariectomized (ov-) female Apolipoprotein (Apo) E-/-. Specifically, we investigated whether a subchronic inhalation exposure to MVE (200 PM μg/m3; 6 hr/d, 7d/wk, 30d) vs. filtered air (FA) controls altered myelination, T cell infiltration, blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity, or production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and expression of neuroinflammation markers in the CNS ov+ and ov- Apo E-/- mice. Our results revealed that inhalation exposure to MVE resulted in increased demyelination and CD4+ and CD8+ T cell infiltration, associated with alterations in BBB integrity. Disruption of the BBB was evidenced by decreased tight junction (TJ) protein expression, increased matrix metalloproteinase (MMPs) activity, and increased permeability of immunoglobin (Ig) G, which were more pronounced in the MVE ov- group. Moreover, MVE-exposure also promoted ROS and neuroinflammatory signaling in the CNS of ov+ and ov- mice, compared to FA groups. To analyze mechanisms that …
Date: December 2020
Creator: Adivi, Anna
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

Analysis of the Cytochrome P450 and UDP-Glucuronosyltransferase Families and Vitamin D3- Supplementation in Anoxia Survival in Caenorhabditis elegans

Alteration in diet and knockdown of detoxification genes impacts the response of C. elegans to oxygen deprivation stress. I hypothesized that feeding worms a vitamin D3-supplementation diet would result in differential oxygen deprivation stress response. We used a combination of wet lab and transcriptomics approach to investigate the effect of a vitamin-D3 supplemented diet on the global gene expression changes and the anoxia response phenotype of C. elegans (Chapter 2). C. elegans genome consists of 143 detoxification genes (cyp and ugt). The presence of a significant number of genes in these detoxification families was a challenge with identifying and selecting specific cyp and ugt genes for detailed analysis. Our goal was to understand the evolution, phylogenetic, and expression of the detoxification enzymes CYPs and UGTs in C. elegans (Chapter 3). We undertook a phylogenetic and bioinformatics approach to analyze the C. elegans, detoxification family. Phylogenetic analysis provided insight into the association of the human and C. elegans xenobiotic/endobiotic detoxification system. Protein coding genes in C. elegans have been predicted to be human orthologs. The results of this work demonstrate the role of C. elegans in the identification and characterization of vitamin D3 induced alterations in gene expression profile and anoxia …
Date: December 2020
Creator: Agarwal, Sujata
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

Intersecting Identities and Conflict as Moderators of the Relationship Between Discrimination and Mental Health in Emerging Adulthood

Individuals with a minority sexual identity, such as lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals (LGB) face increased risk for stigmatization surrounding their sexual identities and subsequent psychological distress. Sexual minorities of color (SMOC) face the same difficulties faced by White sexual minorities, often compounded with stigma and discrimination linked to their racial/ethnic identities. However, because SMOC remain underrepresented in research on LGB issues, empirically-driven knowledge about these groups is lacking, even among outcomes where noted disparities exist, such as depression. Emerging adulthood may be a particularly important period for understanding effects of intersectional identities and discrimination among SMOC, who often navigate identity-related milestones and experiences independently for the first time within this developmental period. This study examined the relationships between discrimination based upon racial/ethnic and sexual intersecting identities and depression symptoms among emerging adults, as well as ways that group identity factors (ethnic identity, sexual identity, conflicts in identity allegiances) moderated this relationship. Findings indicated that experience of intersectional discrimination was strongly, positively related to depression symptoms. Ethnic identity negatively related to depression independently, but not in the regression model accounting for other variables. Identity factors were not found to statistically significantly moderate the relationship between discrimination and depression symptoms. Discussion …
Date: August 2020
Creator: Akibar, Alvin
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

Open Access and Scholarly Communication

This presentation covers the background and definition, stakeholder roles, policy frameworks, challenges and opportunities, and current/emerging trends in Open Access and Scholarly Communication.
Date: January 2, 2020
Creator: Alemneh, Daniel Gelaw
Object Type: Presentation
System: The UNT Digital Library

Open Science and Open Data: Issues and Considerations

Presentation describes how the open access movement is transforming scholarly communication.
Date: March 2020
Creator: Alemneh, Daniel Gelaw
Object Type: Presentation
System: The UNT Digital Library

Roles of Library for Quality Education and Research: Emerging Trends in the Information Professions

Presentation asserts that in times of information scarcity, libraries provided the most effective way of sharing material.
Date: March 12, 2020
Creator: Alemneh, Daniel Gelaw
Object Type: Presentation
System: The UNT Digital Library

Open Access Increases Educators Ability to Plan Equitable Curriculum: Global Context

This presentation gives an overview of Open Access including its definition, basic assumptions, open access registries, technology and trends, technological structure, policy frameworks, challenges and opportunities. It then applies this to the need for developing countries' contributions to global knowledge production and creating institutional initiatives.
Date: 2020-10-14/2020-10-16
Creator: Alemneh, Daniel Gelaw & Ford, Angela
Object Type: Presentation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Providing Open Access to Heterogeneous Information Resources without Compromising Privacy and Data Confidentiality (open access)

Providing Open Access to Heterogeneous Information Resources without Compromising Privacy and Data Confidentiality

Book chapter discussing challenges raised by concerns about ensuring long-term access to digital resources verses data confidentiality and balancing the right level of data security that addresses compliance requirements in the context of libraries and cultural heritage institutions.
Date: 2020
Creator: Alemneh, Daniel Gelaw & Helge, Kris
Object Type: Book Chapter
System: The UNT Digital Library

Open Access in the Age of Pandemic

Presentation on the potential of open access to increase exposure and use of published research. The presentation includes sections on the impact of open access in relation to OA community initiatives, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the COVID-19 pandemic, and open access data.
Date: October 27, 2020
Creator: Alemneh, Daniel Gelaw; Chang, Hsia-Ching; Hawamdeh, Suliman M.; Rorissa, Abebe; Assefa, Shimelis & Helge, Kris
Object Type: Presentation
System: The UNT Digital Library

Tall Walls and High Fences: Officers and Offenders, the Texas Prison Story

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Texas has one of the world’s largest prison systems, in operation for more than 170 years and currently employing more than 28,000 people. Hundreds of thousands of people have been involved in the prison business in Texas: inmates, correctional officers, public officials, private industry representatives, and volunteers have all entered the secure facilities and experienced a different world. Previous books on Texas prisons have focused either on records and data of the prisons, personal memoirs by both inmates and correctional officers, or accounts of prison breaks. Tall Walls and High Fences is the first comprehensive history of Texas prisons, written by a former law enforcement officer and an officer of the Texas prisons. Bob Alexander and Richard K. Alford chronicle the significant events and transformation of the Texas prison system from its earliest times to the present day, paying special attention to the human side of the story. Incarceration policy evolved from isolation to hard labor to rodeo and educational opportunities, with reform measures becoming an ever-evolving quest. The complex job of the correctional officer has evolved as well—they must ensure custody and control over the inmate population at all times, in order to provide a proper environment conducive to …
Date: October 15, 2020
Creator: Alexander, Bob & Alford, Richard K.
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library
Role of 5.8S rRNA in Zebrafish and Human Blood Coagulation (open access)

Role of 5.8S rRNA in Zebrafish and Human Blood Coagulation

Hemolytic disorders are characterized by hemolysis and are prone to thrombosis. Previously, it has been shown that the RNA released from damaged blood cells activates clotting. However, the nature of RNA released from hemolysis is still elusive. We found that after hemolysis, the red blood cells from both zebrafish and humans release 5.8S rRNA. This RNA activated coagulation in zebrafish and human plasmas. Using both natural and synthetic 5.8S rRNA and its synthetic truncated fragments, we found that the 3'-end 26 nucleotide-long RNA (3'-26 RNA) and its stem-loop secondary structure were necessary and sufficient for clotting activity. Corn trypsin inhibitor (CTI), a coagulation factor XII (FXII) inhibitor blocked 3'-26 RNA-mediated coagulation activation of both zebrafish and human plasma. CTI also inhibited zebrafish coagulation in vivo. 5.8S rRNA monoclonal antibody inhibited both 5.8S rRNA- and 3'-26 RNA-mediated zebrafish coagulation activity. Both 5.8S rRNA and 3'-26 RNA activates normal human plasma but did not activate FXII-deficient human plasma. Taken together, these results suggested that the activation of zebrafish plasma is via FXII-like protein. Since zebrafish has no FXII and hepatocyte growth factor activator (Hgfac) has sequence similarities to FXII, we knocked down the hgfac in adult zebrafish. We found that plasma from …
Date: December 2020
Creator: Alharbi, Abdulmajeed Haya M.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Genetic Approach to Identify Proteins that Interact with Eukaryotic Microtubule Severing Proteins via a Yeast Two Hybrid System (open access)

A Genetic Approach to Identify Proteins that Interact with Eukaryotic Microtubule Severing Proteins via a Yeast Two Hybrid System

Microtubules (MT) are regulated by multiple categories of proteins, including proteins responsible for severing MTs that are therefore called MT-severing proteins. Studies of katanin, spastin, and fidgetin in animal systems have clarified that these proteins are MT-severing. However, studies in plants have been limited to katanin p60, and little is known about spastin or fidgetin and their function in plants. I looked at plant genomes to identify MT-severing protein homologues to clarify which severing proteins exist in plants. I obtained data from a variety of eukaryotic species to look for MT-severing proteins using homology to human proteins and analyzed these protein sequences to obtain information on the evolution of MT-severing proteins in different species. I focused this analysis on MT-severing proteins in the maize and Arabidopsis thaliana genomes. I created evolutionary phylogenetic trees for katanin-p60, katanin-p80, spastin, and fidgetin using sequences from animal, plant, and fungal genomes. I focused on Arabidopsis spastin and worked to understand its functionality by identifying protein interaction partners. The yeast two-hybrid technique was used to screen an Arabidopsis cDNA library to identify putative spastin interactors. I sought to confirm the putative protein interactions by using molecular tools for protein localization such as the YFP system. …
Date: May 2020
Creator: Alhassan, Hassan H
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Information Representation and Knowledge Organization in Cultural Heritage Organizations in Arab Gulf Counties: A case study of Alqabas Archive (open access)

Information Representation and Knowledge Organization in Cultural Heritage Organizations in Arab Gulf Counties: A case study of Alqabas Archive

The goal of this study is to explore how information is currently organized in digital cultural heritage collections in Arabian Gulf countries. it focused on Alqabas – a Kuwaiti institution with a strong reputation of early adopter of digital archiving and developer of major digital collections in Arab Gulf counties, accumulated experience in knowledge management. The mixed-methods study combined semi-structured interview of the Alqabas archive manager and in-depth content analysis of a sample of metadata records that represent items in Alqabas digital collections for accuracy, completeness, consistency, use of knowledge organization systems. The study reveals high metadata quality overall but lack of consistency for many metadata fields, explained in part by the absence of metadata creation guidelines and professional training for metadata creators. This indicates potential barriers to metadata interoperability in an aggregated environment for future projects similar to DPLA or Europeana.
Date: December 2020
Creator: Aljalahmah, Saleh & Zavalina, Oksana
Object Type: Paper
System: The UNT Digital Library

[Katy Allred one second a day video montage]

Video montage created by Katy Allred featuring one-second video clips from each day of 2020. Clips feature Allred's day to day life including her pets, work in retail and in libraries and archives, hobbies, and time at home with her wife and friends.
Date: 2020
Creator: Allred, Katy
Object Type: Photograph
System: The UNT Digital Library

[Katy Allred wearing a face mask at University of Houston Special Collections]

Selfie of Katy Allred wearing a cloth face mask in front of archival boxes while working at University of Houston Special Collections.
Date: December 11, 2020
Creator: Allred, Katy
Object Type: Photograph
System: The UNT Digital Library
Development and Exploration of the Crucial Cs Self Report Instrument (open access)

Development and Exploration of the Crucial Cs Self Report Instrument

This study aimed to explore the ability to capture the theoretical constructs of Adlerian crucial Cs (capable, connect, count, and courage) through creation of a self-report instrument for children. After following a four-phase process to develop the Crucial Cs Self Report (CCSR), including use of an expert panel, field reviews, preliminary testing, and final administration, the researcher utilized a series of exploratory factor analyses to explore the internal factor structure and relationships between items and resulting factors. The final EFA sample consisted of 112 children between the ages of 8 and 12 years recruited from various settings including three elementary schools, two mental health counseling clinics, and one private practice mental health agency. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a three-factor structure with 14 items. Refined model identified three factors later named count/significance, connect/belonging, and capable/striving. This initial exploration into the constructs of the Crucial Cs provides increased understanding of the widely used concepts. Further exploration and validation of the CCSR can help support parents and teachers in their efforts to foster healthy development of children as well as allow professionals and researchers to conceptualize progress and measure effectiveness of counseling intervention more accurately.
Date: August 2020
Creator: Angus, Emily
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Case Study Assessing Performance Differences between Economically Impacted African American and White Students in High School Algebra II Classes in the Tucson Unified School District (open access)

A Case Study Assessing Performance Differences between Economically Impacted African American and White Students in High School Algebra II Classes in the Tucson Unified School District

This case study investigated the phenomenon of the black white test score gap by seeking to determine if there was a difference in the academic performance of African American students and their White peers. The determination of student academic performance was made using scores from second semester Algebra II classes at two high schools in the Tucson Unified School District. The data covered three academic years and was analyzed via SPSS (independent samples t-test, ANOVA, and a pairwise analysis) and content analysis for qualitative analysis. Findings revealed that there was no variance in the scores of African Americans and their White peers attending an affluent school; however African Americans attending a low-income school scored lower than all groups that were compared in this study.
Date: August 2020
Creator: Baker, Bennie W
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

Between Coalition and Unilateralism: The British War Machine in the Mediterranean, 1793-1796

In 1793, the British government embarked on a war against Revolutionary France that few expected would last twenty-five years and engulf all of Europe. Radical French policies provided an opportunity for William Pitt, the British prime minister, to endeavor to cobble a European alliance, including a number of Mediterranean states. These efforts never progressed beyond theory and negotiations because of conflicted policy and tension between the British diplomatic corps and Royal Navy over the strategic goals in the region. With diplomats focused on coalition building and military commanders focused on national objectives, British efforts never congealed into a unified effort to defeat Revolutionary France.
Date: December 2020
Creator: Baker, William Casey
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Measurement Invariance of a Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Measure (PCL-5) in College Student and Amazon's Mechanical Turk Samples (open access)

Measurement Invariance of a Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Measure (PCL-5) in College Student and Amazon's Mechanical Turk Samples

College student and Amazon's Mechanical TURK (MTURK) samples are regularly utilized in trauma research. Recent literature, however, has criticized these samples for not being generalizable to the general U.S. population. Measurement invariance (MI) using confirmatory factor analyses (CFA), is rarely utilized in trauma research, even though the analysis can determine whether groups are invariant across factor structure, factor loadings, item intercepts, and residual error variances on a given measure of PTSD symptom severity. The purpose of this study was to determine whether college student (n = 255) and MTURK (n = 316) samples are invariant on the PCL-5. Model fit indices indicated the 7-factor Hybrid model was the best fitting model, but the 6-factor anhedonia model was the most parsimonious model. Both models demonstrated equivalence in factor structures (configural invariance), factor loadings (metric invariance), intercepts (scalar invariance), and residuals (strict invariance), indicating MTURK and college student samples are similar in regards to PTSD symptom severity. These findings provide evidence that these groups can be combined in future studies to increase sample size for trauma research. Only the Anhedonia factor exhibited mean differences between groups, which may be related to true differences between college students and MTURK survey-takers. Thus, there is …
Date: August 2020
Creator: Bedford, Lee
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Consensual Qualitative Analysis of Counselor Educators' Experiences Incorporating Neuroscience (open access)

A Consensual Qualitative Analysis of Counselor Educators' Experiences Incorporating Neuroscience

Neuroscience is a relevant topic for counseling and counselor education, and it is a required area of competency for accredited counseling education programs. Despite this required competency, current counseling literature scarcely addresses neuroscience in counselor education. I have designed the present study to address this scarcity by exploring counselor educators' experiences of incorporating neuroscience into the counselor education curriculum using a consensual qualitative research (CQR) approach. The purpose of this study is to create a foundational understanding of (a) what elements of neuroscience counselor educators are currently including in their courses, and (b) the experience of counselor educators with teaching neuroscience. I interviewed eight counselor educators about their experiences learning and teaching neuroscience. Six domains emerged from the interviews: (1) participants' background and experience, (2) influence of neuroscience on participants' teaching, (3) personal, academic, and professional responses to neuroscience, (4) ethical concerns and recommendations for neuroscience, (5) areas of interest and future research in neuroscience, and (6) counseling literature and publication in neuroscience. The information shared by the participants will contribute to future research of teaching effectiveness and outcomes using neuroscience in counselor education.
Date: December 2020
Creator: Beijan, Lisa Lee
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

Altar at Guthrie Trinity Episcopal Church

Marble altar at Trinity Episcopal Church, Guthrie. Wood paneled walls surrounding altar. Green altar cloth, altar cross, ciboria, flowers in vase and candelabra on either side. Center aisle carpeted in red, wood rail in foreground. Three stained glass windows above altar and sanctuary lamp is suspended from ceiling.
Date: 2020
Creator: Bell, Pam
Object Type: Photograph
System: The Gateway to Oklahoma History