The United States and Canadian System of Healthcare: A Comparative Study

There is a lot to be said about the world of healthcare. The significance of the role our health plays in our lives cannot be overemphasized. The idea of this paper is to explore two of the largest and functional healthcare systems in the world. The purpose of this is because of some key differences between the systems of healthcare that are very important as they relate to the accessibility and availability of healthcare and also the quality of care that is received. The two countries being compared in this paper are the United States and Canada. These countries utilize systems of healthcare that were founded on similar principles, but that have diverged over time. The major conversation going on around the world is the fact that healthcare system in the United States needs some major adjustments. On this premise, I decided to investigate and conduct a comparative study between these two systems of healthcare. I am comparing these systems using three major criteria; the cost, the quality and the amount of funding and research these countries are involved in. After some research was conducted on my part, I came to the conclusions that healthcare is more expensive in the United States than in Canada, the quality of care produced in the United States is not necessarily better than in Canada but the United States is more advanced in technology and research and finally that the United States should consider adjusting their method of approaching healthcare to make it available to the entire population.Kayla SiddellHonors DiplomHonors CollegeCunningham Memorial Library, Terre Haute, Indiana State UniversityUndergraduateTitle from document title page. Document formatted into pages: 25

Alterations of selected biomarkers and reproductive tissues histoarchitecture in offspring of artemether-lumefantrine treated lactating dams

Background: Evidence from previous studies suggests that most antimalarial agents adversely affect reproductive functions. The deleterious effects of artemether-lumefantrine on reproductive functions have also been documented but there is dearth of knowledge on the generational reproductive outcomes during lactation. Hence, we investigated the reproductive outcomes in offspring of dams treated with artemether-lumefantrine during lactation. Methods: Ten lactating dams were randomly assigned into two groups (n=5) and treated as follows: Group I (control) received distilled water (1 ml/kg BW, p.o.) while Group II received artemether-lumefantrine (4/24 mg/kg BW, p.o.) for seven (7) consecutive days immediately after parturition. Pups were thereafter weaned and later given rat chow with water ad libitum daily, before they were euthanized at postnatal day 90 (PND 90). Results: The results showed that although the anti-malarial drug caused a significant decrease in serum testosterone and estrogen levels in offspring of the treated group, relative to the control group; however, follicle stimulating and luteinizing hormones, sperm motility, sperm viability and sperm count were not significantly different between the two groups. Moreover, only testicular catalase activity was significantly decreased with a concomitant interstitial edema and defective histoarchitectural presentation in the testis and ovary. Nevertheless, the level of malondialdehyde was unaltered in both testes and ovarian tissues of the treated group as compared with control. Conclusion: Therefore, this study suggests that exposure to artemether-lumefantrine during lactation could disrupt steroidogenic functions in both testicular and ovarian tissues of offspring in adult life

Increasing Nutrition Education Access and Knowledge Among African American Children in Elementary School (Grades 3-8) in Durham County, NC

Within Durham County, North Carolina education access and quality is a social determinant of health that impacts the overall health status of the community members and has health implications across the lifespan. African American children in schools are of particular priority as they are at a critical stage of development, they are the most impacted by educational opportunities, and minority populations in Durham County are disproportionately disadvantaged. Nutritional information is an often-overlooked aspect of health education in the public school system. An evidence-based after school cooking and nutrition education program is proposed for grades 3-8 in Durham County’s underserved schools to improve nutritional knowledge amongst students in order to positively impact nutrition-related decisions of students and their families. The entire implementation process for this nutrition education program from design to evaluation will be rooted in collaboration with stakeholders from all sides of the public health issue.Master of Public Healt

"Increasing Nutrition Education Access and Knowledge Among African American Children in Elementary School (Grades 3-8) in Durham County, NC”

Within Durham County, North Carolina education access and quality is a social determinant of health that impacts the overall health status of the community members and has health implications across the lifespan. African American children in schools are of particular priority as they are at a critical stage of development, they are the most impacted by educational opportunities, and minority populations in Durham County are disproportionately disadvantaged. Nutritional information is an often-overlooked aspect of health education in the public school system. An evidence-based after-school cooking and nutrition education program is proposed for grades 3-8 in Durham County’s underserved schools to improve nutritional knowledge amongst students in order to positively impact nutrition-related decisions of students and their families. The entire implementation process for this nutrition education program from design to evaluation will be rooted in collaboration with stakeholders from all sides of the public health issue.Master of Public Healt

A lattice model for the kinetics of rupture of fluid bilayer membranes

We have constructed a model for the kinetics of rupture of membranes under tension, applying physical principles relevant to lipid bilayers held together by hydrophobic interactions. The membrane is characterized by the bulk compressibility (for expansion), the thickness of the hydrophobic part of the bilayer, the hydrophobicity and a parameter characterizing the tail rigidity of the lipids. The model is a lattice model which incorporates strain relaxation, and considers the nucleation of pores at constant area, constant temperature, and constant particle number. The particle number is conserved by allowing multiple occupancy of the sites. An equilibrium ``phase diagram'' is constructed as a function of temperature and strain with the total pore surface and distribution as the order parameters. A first order rupture line is found with increasing tension, and a continuous increase in proto-pore concentration with rising temperature till instability. The model explains current results on saturated and unsaturated PC lipid bilayers and thicker artificial bilayers made of diblock copolymers. Pore size distributions are presented for various values of area expansion and temperature, and the fractal dimension of the pore edge is evaluated.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figure

"Increasing Nutrition Education Access and Knowledge Among African American Children in Elementary School (Grades 3-8) in Durham County, NC”

ABSTRACT Within Durham County, North Carolina education access and quality is a social determinant of health that impacts the overall health status of the community members and has health implications across the lifespan. African American children in schools are of particular priority as they are at a critical stage of development, they are the most impacted by educational opportunities, and minority populations in Durham County are disproportionately disadvantaged. Nutritional information is an often-overlooked aspect of health education in the public school system. An evidence-based after school cooking and nutrition education program is proposed for grades 3-8 in Durham County’s underserved schools to improve nutritional knowledge amongst students in order to positively impact nutrition-related decisions of students and their families. The entire implementation process for this nutrition education program from design to evaluation will be rooted in collaboration with stakeholders from all sides of the public health issue. Keywords: Durham County, North Carolina, social determinants of health, evidenced-based, underserved, implementation process, nutrition education program, stakeholders, public health issueMaster of Public Healt

Peeking into the honey bee gut : Understanding Nosema infection in honey bees

Mopelola “Lola” Akinlaja was a second-place finalist in the 2022 UBC Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. Lola presented their research, "A peek into the honey bee gut: Using interactomics to understand Nosema’s pathogenesis in honey bees." They hope to help identify potential treatment targets in the development of safer and better-targeted therapies for Nosema infection in honey bees. Lola Akinlaja is completing their PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the Faculty of Medicine at The University of British Columbia under the supervision of Prof. Leonard Foster.Medicine, Faculty ofBiochemistry and Molecular Biology, Department ofUnreviewedGraduat

The breakdown of cell membranes by electrical and mechanical stress.

We attempted to determine whether mechanical tension and electrical stress couple to cause membrane breakdown in cells. Using cell-attached patches from HEK293 cells, we estimated the mechanically produced tension from the applied pressure and geometry of the patch. Voltage pulses of increasing amplitude were applied until we observed a sudden increase in conductance and capacitance. For pulses of 50 micros duration, breakdown required >0.5 V and was dependent on the tension. For pulses of 50-100 ms duration, breakdown required 0.2-0.4 V and was independent of tension. Apparently two physically different processes can lead to membrane breakdown. We could explain the response to the short, high-voltage pulses if breakdown occurred in the lipid bilayer. The critical electromechanical energy per unit area for breakdown by short pulses was approximately 4 dyne/cm, in agreement with earlier results on bilayers. Our data suggest that, at least in a patch, the bilayer may hold a significant fraction (approximately 40%) of the mean tension. To be compatible with the large, nonlytic area changes of patches, the bilayer appears to be pulled toward the pipette tip, perhaps by hydrophobic forces wetting membrane proteins bound to the glass. Although breakdown voltages for long pulses were in agreement with earlier work on algae, the mechanism(s) for this breakdown remain unclear

Seeking improved insight into Vairimorpha's pathogenesis of the honey bee midgut

This thesis describes several experiments aiming to improve the understanding of Vairimorpha ceranae’s pathology in the honey bee midgut epithelium. Using high resolution mass spectrometry-based methods, I assessed global changes in the honey bee midgut proteome and phosphoproteome, identifying host processes impacted during infection such as heme binding and carbohydrate metabolism. I also adapted a high throughput mass spectrometry-based protein interaction mapping technique to obtain a first draft of the honey bee midgut protein interaction network. With this resource, I was able to experimentally assemble protein interactions occurring in the host, and some host-pathogen protein interactions in infected samples, providing new insight into protein arrangement in honey bees and how these interactions can change in the context of disease. Finally, I conducted a field-based experiment to evaluate the effects of using a bee product, propolis, to treat honey bees that were naturally infected with V. ceranae. Using bottom-up proteomics, we were able to find evidence indicating that propolis treatment might improve honey bees’ response to V. ceranae infection. Altogether, in this dissertation, I highlight the versatility of mass spectrometry-based proteomics for understanding disease in non-model organisms, and I show new insight into Vairimorpha’s infection processes in honey bees that can form the basis of future studies aimed at elucidating mechanisms of action in the infection process of this pathogen.Medicine, Faculty ofBiochemistry and Molecular Biology, Department ofGraduat