Health Reform in Massachusetts: An Update on Insurance Coverage and Support for Reform as of Fall 2008

Provides an update on the impact of the state's 2006 health reform on the coverage of 16- to 64-year olds and on support for health reform. Analyzes demographic characteristics, education, work status, and geographic location of the insured and uninsured

Health Reform in Massachusetts as of Fall 2010: Getting Ready for the Affordable Care Act & Addressing Affordability

Provides updated survey findings about trends since fall 2006 in the insurance coverage, healthcare access and use, costs and affordability, financial difficulties, and attitudes toward state healthcare reform among non-elderly adults in Massachusetts

Ranch Homes: Then and Now

This purpose of this project was to compare ranch homes in Overland Park built in the 1950’s and 60’s, to ranch homes built in the 2000’s. Research ranged from census and demographic information, to research of typical ranch home plans from the 50’s and 60’s through today. Current real estate listing information was used to find square footage of home and lot sizes, number and sizes of bedrooms, bathrooms, garages, kitchen, dining, other living areas, and amenities. It was interesting to note that homes listed for sale in the 2000’s were mainly new construction and not resale. From the information I was able to determine typical house and room sizes to create floor plans in Computer Aided Design (CAD) for the 1950’s ranch homes, and current ranch homes. Exterior elevations were then drawn from the floor plans. The most significant changes between rooms of ranch homes built in the different time periods have been in the number of bathrooms, and the size of the master bathroom. Detailed CAD drawings were created of the floor plans and elevations from each time period. Other research included the influences that caused ranch homes to be built in the 1950’s compared to the 2000’s, the differences in the style of ranch homes in the different time periods as well as the growth of Overland Park since the 1950’s. This research lead to information regarding the future housing needs due to population growth and the changes in household type, size, and the aging population. Honors project mentor: Margaret Davis, Professor, Draftin

Echocardiographic studies of valvular and ventricular function in horses

This thesis evaluates echocardiography in the assessment of the equine heart. Echocardiography is employed extensively in human medicine to differentiate the origin of cardiac murmurs and to assess ventricular performance. Such a noninvasive method would be valuable in equine medicine where routine diagnostic techniques, used successfully in other species, are of little value. Publications concerning the origins of cardiac murmurs, the indications for echocardiography in human medicine, and the limited studies on echocardiography in horses have been reviewed.The aims of Part 1 of this work were to standardise suitable images for twodimensional, M-mode and Doppler echocardiography; to measure selected intracardiac dimensions from the standardised two-dimensional and M-mode images; and to record blood flow velocities from the heart and great vessels using Doppler echocardiography in a group of normal horses and in horses with valvular disease.Eighteen standard images were defined. All but two of the images could be recorded within a narrow range of transducer location, rotation and angulation. Selected intracardiac dimensions were measured from M-mode studies derived from the standard two-dimensional images. Measurements of intracardiac dimensions were repeatable and were not significantly correlated to bodyweight or age. Horses with suspected aortic regurgitation had a significantly larger left ventricular internal dimension in diastole, measured from the right hemithorax, than normal horses. Although other significant differences were detected between groups, intracardiac dimensions were not sufficiently sensitive to differentiate horses with suspected valvular disease from normal horses.Colour flow Doppler studies revealed that valvular regurgitation was present in many normal horses. Horses with murmurs indicating tricuspid and aortic regurgitation showed larger regurgitant signals at the tricuspid and aortic valves respectively, than normal horses. Horses with murmurs indicating mitral regurgitation had a regurgitant signal of longer duration than that of the control group, ii but the size of the jet was not significantly different between groups. Colour flow Doppler echocardiography was a sensitive technique for the detection of valvular regurgitation in horses. The flow velocities recorded by pulsed wave Doppler echocardiography in horses were similar to those reported in other species. Flow velocities were significantly increased at elevated heart rates. The peak aortic velocity and acceleration were also significantly higher in horses with aortic regurgitationPart 2 of this thesis evaluates Doppler echocardiography in the assessment of ventricular performance in horses. Publications concerning measurement of cardiac output and the use of Doppler indices to assess ventricular function in other species have been reviewed. Cardiac output measured by Doppler echocardiography was compared to that measured by thermodilution in nine conscious horses. Cardiac output was modified by the infusion of inotropes and the administration of an alpha 2 agonist. The effects of these agents on selected Doppler indices were assessed.Doppler measurements of cardiac output correlated closely with measurements by thermodilution. Doppler measurements from the aortic outflow correlated more closely (r = 0.89) than those from the pulmonary artery (r = 0.77). The infusion of inotropes caused a significant increase in aortic peak velocity and peak acceleration, whereas the administration of detomidine and butorphanol resulted in a significant decrease in these variables. Other Doppler variables were also significantly altered by the administration of these agents.In conclusion, echocardiography was found to be a sensitive technique for the diagnosis of cardiac murmurs and the evaluation of ventricular performance in horses

Honors in Practice, volume 12 (2016), Editorial Material

Masthead Editorial BoardProduction EditorsContentsEditorial Policy, Deadline, and Submission GuidelinesDedication to Patrice BergerEditor’s IntroductionAbout the Authors .NCHC Publication Order Form

A comparison of text difficulty in systemic assessment using Lexile theory

Abstract: In South Africa, the use of systemic assessments is controversial, raising issues of fairness. However, an argument can be made that they yield valuable insights into the current levels of literacy and education in the country. National systemic assessments are used to gauge scholastic progress across schools and provinces, while international tests provide some measure of comparability across countries. This article investigates the Lexile framework as an educational tool for gauging the reading difficulty of texts used in national and international assessments conducted in South Africa. The results of the Lexile analyses showed that the reading difficulty of the Annual National Assessments (ANA), conducted in 2014, varied between grades and did not match the same grade level in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS). We argue that by using the Lexile framework during the designing phase of assessment, and selecting texts that are level appropriate for the learners, the assessment process may be enhanced

Honors in Practice, volume 12 (2016), Editorial Material

Masthead Editorial BoardProduction EditorsContentsEditorial Policy, Deadline, and Submission GuidelinesDedication to Patrice BergerEditor’s IntroductionAbout the Authors .NCHC Publication Order Form