Three Essays on Health Economics

This dissertation studies how local economic conditions and design of program features affect provider decisions and the wellbeing of Medicaid beneficiaries. Using microdata on Medicaid claims, I obtain estimates of the association between weak labor market conditions and the quantity of office-based services received by children enrolled in Medicaid in the first paper. I find that children receive more services in areas with higher unemployment. The effect could reflect either demand factors such as worsening health or supply factors such as changes in the number of physicians willing to accept Medicaid patients. Using variation in the local unemployment rate induced by the Great Recession, I provide several pieces of evidence against demand-side explanations. Instead, the finding is consistent with a supply-side mechanism: higher unemployment reduces the demand for physician services by privately-insured patients. Physicians respond to demand shock by treating more Medicaid enrollees. In the second paper, I study the effect of the Medicaid expansions that occurred under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) on mortality. The ACA enabled states to expand Medicaid eligibility to all low-income non-elderly adults. As a result, a significant proportion of previously uninsured people gained health insurance coverage. I calculate the fraction of people eligible for the Medicaid program for demographic groups based on their pre-ACA household income. Using variation over time in eligibility rules by state/county and by parental status, I estimate the impact of Medicaid eligibility on age-specific mortality rates. I find that the expansion of Medicaid eligibility reduced healthcare amenable mortality rates by about 1.8% for adults aged 55-64. There are no detectable mortality impacts for the younger adult population. In the third paper, I study the question of whether Medicaid reimbursement for obstetric care affects treatment decisions. I use claim data that can differentiate payments for bundled service and individual delivery service. While I do not find a relationship between Medicaid payment and C-section rate, I find that within-state changes in Medicaid reimbursements for delivery leads to changes in the choice of billing code. Delivery fees also affect the amount of prenatal care, suggesting the change in billing practice may reflect actual modifications in the delivery of maternity care

Multiple linear regression with compositional response and covariates

<p>The standard regression model designed for real space is not suitable for compositional variables; it should be considered, whether the response and/or covariates are of compositional nature. There are usually three types of multiple regression model with compositional variables: Type 1 refers to the case where all the covariates are compositional data and the response is real; Type 2 is the opposite of Type 1; Type 3 relates to the model with compositional response and covariates. There have been some models for the three types. In this paper, we focus on Type 3 and propose multiple linear regression models including model in the simplex and model in isometric log-ratio (ilr) coordinates. The model in the simplex is based on matrix product, which can project a <math><msub><mi>D</mi><mrow><mn>1</mn></mrow></msub></math>-part composition to another <math><msub><mi>D</mi><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msub></math>-part composition, and can deal with different number of parts of compositional variables. Some theorems are given to point out the relationship of parameters between the proposed models. Moreover, the inference for parameters in proposed models is also given. Real example is studied to verify the validity and usefulness of proposed models.</p

Computational Revisit to the β‑Carbon Elimination Step in Rh(III)-Catalyzed C–H Activation/Cycloaddition Reactions of <i>N</i>‑Phenoxyacetamide and Cyclopropenes

This computational study uncovered the origin of the contradicting results in two recent DFT studies of the Rh­(III)-catalyzed C–H activation/cycloaddition reactions between <i>N</i>-phenoxyacetamide and cyclopropenes. It was found that the β-carbon elimination of the tricyclic intermediate occurs very faciely via a conformer in which the opening of the three-membered ring is trans to the Cp* ligand so that the steric repulsion between the two moieties is avoided. Thus, the conclusions of our previous study were reconfirmed

Transfer Hydro-dehalogenation of Organic Halides Catalyzed by Ruthenium(II) Complex

A simple and efficient Ru­(II)-catalyzed transfer hydro-dehalogenation of organic halides using 2-propanol solvent as the hydride source was reported. This methodology is applicable for hydro-dehalogenation of a variety of aromatic halides and α-haloesters and amides without additional ligand, and quantitative yields were achieved in many cases. The potential synthetic application of this method was demonstrated by efficient gram-scale transformation with catalyst loading as low as 0.5 mol %

Unexpected Role of <i>p</i>‑Toluenesulfonylmethyl Isocyanide as a Sulfonylating Agent in Reactions with α‑Bromocarbonyl Compounds

The reactions of <i>p</i>-toluenesulfonylmethyl isocyanide (TosMIC) with α-bromocarbonyl compounds leading efficiently to α-sulfonated ketones, esters, and amides were reported, in which an explicit new role of TosMIC as the sulfonylating agent was uncovered for the first time. Mechanistic study by control experiments and DFT calculations suggested that the reaction is initiated by Cu­(OTf)₂-catalyzed hydration of TosMIC to form a formamide intermediate, which undergoes facile C–S bond cleavage under the mediation of a Cs₂CO₃ additive

Additional file 1 of FBXO28 promotes cell proliferation, migration and invasion via upregulation of the TGF-beta1/SMAD2/3 signaling pathway in ovarian cancer

Supplementary Material

Bi Nanosheets on Porous Carbon Cloth Composites for Ultrastable Flexible Nickel–Bismuth Batteries

The use of bismuth (Bi) as an anode material in nickel–metal batteries has gained significant attention due to its highly reversible redox reaction and suitable operating conditions. However, the cycling stability and flexibility of nickel–bismuth (Ni//Bi) batteries need to be further improved. This paper employs a facile electrodeposition technique to prepare Bi nanosheets uniformly grown on a porous carbon cloth (PCC), denoted as Bi-PCC electrodes. The Bi-PCC electrode portrays a specific surface area and good wettability that enable fast charge transfer and ion transport channels. Consequently, the Bi-PCC electrode demonstrates a high specific capacity of up to 297.1 mAh g–1 at 2 A g–1, with a capacity retention of up to 71.5% at 2–40 A g–1 and an impressive capacity retention of 79.9% after 1000 cycles at 2–40 A g–1. More importantly, the flexible rechargeable Ni//Bi battery (denoted as Ni(OH)2-PCC//Bi-PCC) with Bi-PCC as the anode and Ni(OH)2-PCC as the cathode has excellent electrochemical performance. The Ni(OH)2-PCC//Bi-PCC battery boasts a remarkable capacity retention of 93.6% after 3000 cycles at 10 A g–1. Further, the cell presents a maximum energy density of 73.1 Wh kg–1 and an impressive power density of 11.9 kW kg–1

Additional file 1: Figure S1. of Role of mesenchymal stem cells, their derived factors, and extracellular vesicles in liver failure

Transdifferentiation and paracrine effects of MSCs in liver failure. MSCs could migrate to the damaged tissue, transdifferentiate into hepatocytes, and replace the damaged cells. Furthermore, MSCs could exert trophic and immunomodulatory effects by secreting cytokines and EVs. EVs function through cell surface membranes and cargoes transfer by fusion with the plasma membrane or endocytosis. These EVs contain various molecules, including RNA, DNA, lipids, and proteins. (JPG 168 kb

Morphological Changes of Isotactic Polypropylene Crystals Grown in Thin Films

Morphological variations of lamellae of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) grown in thin films have been examined experimentally by optical microscopy (OM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A flower-shaped morphology of iPP crystals, composed of several petal-like lamellae radiating from a nucleus, was typically found. At crystallization temperatures (<i>T</i>_c) below 135 °C, initially petal-like lamellae with a flat α-iPP backbone and many regular branches were formed, which were able to induce epitaxial nucleation of γ-iPP, resulting in features similar to a dendrite growing in the plane of the slow growth direction (i.e., <i>b</i>-axis of α-iPP). With increasing <i>T</i>_c, these dendritic structures disappeared gradually, and the lamellae exhibited a faceted lath-like shape for <i>T</i>_c > 150 °C. Interestingly, periodic lateral splitting (the crystal splayed into a pair of branches) at the fast growth plane was observed at a critical width (<i>W</i>_max) which increased with <i>T</i>_c. In particular, the measured temperature dependence of the products of <i>W</i>_max²<i>G</i> (<i>G</i> represents the growth rate along the <i>a</i>*-axis) was found to be constant. We discuss the role of the diffusion field at the growth front and epitaxial crystallization with respect to morphological changes of iPP lamellae in thin films

DataSheet1_Modeling the biomechanics of cells on microcarriers in a stirred-tank bioreactor: an ABM-CFD coupling approach.pdf

Highly productive and efficient biomass growth in bioreactors is an essential bioprocess outcome in many industrial applications. Large-scale biomass creation in the cultivated meat industry will be critical given the demand size in the conventional meat and seafood sectors. However, many challenges must be overcome before cultivated meat and seafood become commercially viable, including cost reductions of cell culture media, bioprocess design innovation and optimization, and scaling up in the longer term. Computational modeling and simulation can help to address many of these challenges and can be a far cheaper and faster alternative to performing physical experiments. Computer modeling can also help researchers pinpoint system interactions that matter and guide researchers to identify those parameters that should be changed in later designs for eventual optimization. This work developed a computational model that combines agent-based modeling and computational fluid dynamics to study biomass growth as a function of the operative conditions of stirred-tank bioreactors. The focus was to analyze how the mechanical stress induced by rotor speed can influence the growth of cells attached to spherical microcarriers. The computer simulation results reproduced observations from physical experiments that high rotor speeds reduce cell growth rates and induce cell death under the high mechanical stresses induced at these stir speeds. Moreover, the results suggest that modeling cell death and cell quiescence is required to recapitulate these observations from physical experiments. These simulation outcomes are the first step towards more comprehensive models that, combined with experimental observations, will improve our knowledge of biomass production in bioreactors for cultivated meat and other industries.</p