A Little More Dictatorship: Balancing Anti-communism and Human Rights in South Korea

Sarah Snyder will explore the extent to which American concerns about human rights violations in South Korea influenced U.S. policy toward that country. Not unusually for the era and the region, the U.S. relied on authoritarian leaders to preserve stability in South Korea. Despite congressional pressure that increased steadily into the 1970s, successive administrations did not press their ally to improve its human rights practices.U.S. officials intervened only in extreme instances, such as in March 1963 when Park Chung Hee announced an extension of military rule for two more years and in August 1973 when they believed Kim Dae Jung, a dissident South Korean politician who had been kidnapped in Tokyo, would be murdered. Within the United States, there was minimal nongovernmental attention to human rights abuses in South Korea, meaning that pressure to shift U.S. policy came largely from members of Congress and lower level diplomats.Throughout the years, the United States remained largely reticent about human rights abuses in South Korea, content with a politically stable, anticommunist ally and distracted by more pressing problems such as the war in Vietnam. Top U.S. leaders only directed their attention at Park's regression when the instability it produced seemed to threaten U.S. interests in the region. Debate over U.S.-South Korean relations also highlight how salient Cold War concerns remained throughout the long 1960s even as the United States ostensibly sought detente with the Soviet Union and rapprochement with the Chinese.Ohio State University. Mershon Center for International Security StudiesOhio State University. Institute for Korean StudiesEvent web pag

Advanced Conducting Project

Contents include: American Folk Rhapsody by Linda Spevacek Colors of the Wind music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz ; arranged by Mac Huff Dies Irae from Requiem by W.A. Mozart How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place from Requiem by Johannes Brahms O Magnum Mysterium by Tomás Luis Victoria \u27Sure on This Shining Night\u27 Agge from \u27Norturnes\u27 by Morten Johannes Lauridsen The Last Words of David by Randall Thompson To Those Who Serve by Jill Gallina Touch the Sky music by Alexander L. Mandel, lyrics by Alexander L. Mandel and Mark Andrews ; arranged by Mac Huff

An Intact Dissecting Baker\u27s Cyst Mimicking Recurrent Deep Vein Thrombosis

We report a case of a 75-year-old female with a history of acute deep vein thrombosis (DVT) 6 years ago who presented with unilateral calf swelling and pain. D-dimer was normal, and compression ultrasound revealed findings typical of DVT, including an incompressible dilated and hypoechoic peroneal vein. Despite 4 months of anticoagulation for supposed recurrent DVT, pain symptoms persisted and repeat D-dimer and compression ultrasound were unchanged. A magnetic resonance imaging scan to investigate the leg demonstrated a 6-cm dissecting Baker\u27s cyst extending posterolaterally resulting in venous compression and distal dilation, which appeared to have been confused with a DVT. Ultrasound-guided aspiration of the cyst provided immediate and sustained relief. Herein we provide a review of the literature for the management of this rare scenario

Biological Applications of Surfaces with Extreme Wettabilities

Surfaces with extreme wettabilities have become an increasingly popular topic due to their wide range of applications – from simply keeping dirt off clothing to oil-water separation in the event of an oil spill. In particular, these surfaces have been of keen interest for a diverse range of biological applications as they can be fabricated from biocompatible materials. First, a facile methodology involving fluoro-silanization followed by oxygen plasma etching, for the fabrication of surfaces with extreme wettabilities is discussed. Open channel, paper-based microfluidic devices fabricated using these surfaces with extreme wettabilities allow for the localization, manipulation, and transport of virtually all high- and low- surface tension liquids. This in turn expands the utility of paper-based microfluidic devices to a range of applications never before considered. These include, continuous oil-water separation, liquid-liquid extraction, open-channel microfluidic emulsification, micro-particle fabrication, the precise measurement of a mixtures’ composition, and cell patterning. Next, a particular paper-based microfluidic device is expanded upon for the detection of E. coli and all coliforms. Coliforms are one of the most common families of bacteria responsible for water contamination, and certain pathogenic strains can be extremely harmful, leading to death if consumed. Current technologies for detection are expensive, requiring bulky setups, and can take up to 24 hours to produce accurate results. In this work, we have created an integrated microfluidic coliform lysis and detection device, the first of its kind to demonstrate successful lysing on-chip as it can allow for the flow and control of both high and low surface tension. The fabricated, optimized microfluidic device was able to successfully detect E. coli, via the presence of the coliform-specific enzyme, β-galactosidase. These devices can be implemented for real world E. coli contamination detection in multiple applications, including food and water safety. Finally, antifouling and antibacterial surfaces have been of extreme interest due to a plethora of potential applications. Many natural oils, including tea tree oil, possess antimicrobial properties. However, these oils are typically volatile, and depending on the environment can evaporate from a surface within a few minutes to several hours. In this work, we produce long lasting antimicrobial surfaces by partially crosslinking different natural oils within a cross-linkable polymer matrix. The remaining free oil is then stabilized by the partially crosslinked oil, yielding an antimicrobial surface that can remain antimicrobial for extended periods of time. These surfaces exhibit significant reductions in attached bacteria and there is currently no other known antimicrobial surface with this combination of instant and persistent kill. Taken together, this thesis lays the building blocks for a plethora of current and future biological applications of surfaces with extreme wettabilities.PHDMaterials Science and EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149886/1/sarahsny_1.pd

"Tremendous Financial Burden": Crowdfunding for Organ Transplantation Costs in Canada

Online crowdfunding platforms such as GoFundMe are used to raise funds for health-related expenses associated with medical conditions such as organ transplantation. By investigating crowdfunding in Canadian organ transplantation, this study aimed to increase understanding of the motivations and outcomes of organ transplantation crowdfunding. Canadian liver and kidney transplantation campaigns posted to GoFundMe between May 30 & 31 2018 were identified and after exclusion, 258 kidney and 171 liver campaigns were included in study. These campaigns were coded for: worthiness of the campaign recipient, requested financial and non-monetary contributions, how monetary donations would be spent, and comments on the Canadian health system, among others. Results suggest Canadian organ donors, transplant candidates, recipients, and their families and caregivers experience significant financial difficulties not addressed by the public health system. Living and medication costs, transportation and relocation expenses, and income loss were the expenses most commonly highlighted by campaigners. Liver campaigns raised nearly half their goal while kidney campaigns received 11.5% of their requested amount. Findings highlight disease burden and the use of crowdfunding as a response to the extraordinary costs associated with organ transplantation. Although crowdfunding reduces some financial burden, it does not do so equitably and raises ethical concerns

Higher Quality at Lower Cost: Community Health Worker Interventions in the Health Care Innovation Awards

Background: Published evidence regarding cost savings, reduced utilization, and improved quality associated with employing community health workers (CHWs) is largely lacking. This paper presents findings from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Health Care Innovation Awards (HCIA), with a focus on six diverse programs that employ CHWs. We examine outcomes associated with programs incorporating CHWs into care teams for a broad age range of patients with various health issues such as cancer, asthma, and complex conditions. Methods: This mixed-methods study used data from claims and site visits to assess the effectiveness of CHW programs. In difference-in-differences analyses of Medicare fee-for-service and Medicaid claims, we compared utilization and spending for beneficiaries participating in each CHW program with propensity score matched non-participant beneficiaries for baseline (2010 – 2012) and post-intervention (2013 – 2016). We adjusted for geographic area, prior utilization, and clinical and sociodemographic characteristics. We assessed changes in care quality through beneficiary focus groups and interviews with program leadership and staff. Results: Five of the six programs saw a significant reduction in utilization and/or spending relative to a comparison group, and all programs had positive qualitative findings regarding quality of care. In three of the six programs, the adjusted total cost of care was significantly reduced (-$143 to -$2,044 per beneficiary quarter). We hypothesize that some reductions in spending can be attributed to CHWs’ provision of enhanced access outside of regular clinic hours, which facilitated patient adherence to evidence-based treatment pathways and averted unnecessary ED visits and hospitalizations. Culturally competent CHW encounters engaged patients in health care decisions, generated confidence in their decisions, encouraged adherence to treatment pathways, and mitigated social barriers to care. Conclusions: Programs were associated with improved quality and reductions in health care utilization and spending up to $20,000 per patient over the three-year period. Findings suggest a strong business case for the use of CHWs as part of interdisciplinary teams as CHW programs can provide a significant return on investment for payers. Reimbursement policies that do not account for the services of non-clinical staff such as CHWs impede the sustainability and spread of these interventions, despite mounting evidence of CHWs’ effectiveness. Organizations looking to integrate CHWs into care delivery may conduct feasibility assessments of available workforce and the capacity for clinical oversight, physician buy-in, and funding sustainability. Established programs could be leveraged for mentorship

Detection of Glutamate In Vivo in the Human Brain using 2D Zero-Quantum Coherence 1H NMR Spectroscopy at 3 Tesla

Glutamat und Glutamin, zwei J-gekoppelte Metaboliten, die eine wichtige Rolle in der Neurochemie spielen, sind auf Grund ihrer stark überlappenden Resonanzen in der 1D-1H-MRS bei klinischen Feldstärken schwer zu unterscheiden. In dieser Arbeit wurde die STEZQC-2D (Stimulated Echo Zero-Quantum Coherence- 2-Dimensional)-Sequenz benutzt, um die chemischen Verschiebungen und die Modulationsfrequenz der Null-Quanten-Kohärenzen (ZQC) mittels 2D-Spektroskopie aufzunehmen. Spektren wurden von Modelllösungen und vom Gehirn in vivo an einem Ganzkörper-Tomographen bei B0 = 3 T aufgenommen. Die gemessene (208.730 ± 0.830) Hz ZQC-Frequenz von Glutamat konnte von der (203.125 ± 0.488) Hz ZQC-Frequenz von Glutamat und den ZQC-Frequenzen von Glutamin [(197.427 ± 0.700) Hz und (202.252 ± 1.095) Hz] unterschieden werden. Die Messzeit hierfür betrug 4:33 h. Um die Aufnahmezeit zu verkürzen, wurde Unterabtastung benutzt, welche jedoch zu Einfaltungsartefakten führte. Diese wurden anhand von Fourier- hifting identifiziert. Diese Methode verringerte die Aufnahmezeit um einen Faktor vier. Mit der Technik wurde in 1:08 h ein In-vivo-Spektrum aus einem Voxel von 30x30x30 mm3 im Gehirn eines gesunden Probanden (27 J.) aufgenommen. Im resultierenden 2D-in-vivo-Spektrum sind die Signale von Glutamat und Glutamin aufgelöst und damit unterscheidbar

New Design for Prefilled Syringe

Prefilled syringes are currently available as treatment options for individuals with diabetes, allergies, and other medical conditions mandating delivery of drugs by injection. However current prefilled syringes are often bulky, conspicuous, require specific storage conditions, and may prematurely deploy. Because of these factors, patients may be less compliant to treatment regimens and feel that their lifestyles and independence are inhibited. The newly designed prefilled syringe should be portable, practical, and easy-to-use. This project will be completed for Bionix Corporation located in Toledo, OH. Our contacts at this company are Mr. Ed Markewitz, Product Development Program Manager, and Mr. Cody Harder, Product Development Engineer. Cody Harder has served as our main contact throughout the duration of the project. The purpose of this project is to develop a prefilled syringe for Bionix that competes with currently available syringes. Currently, Bionix has no such product, as they mainly specialize in radiation therapy equipment. Bionix also has a Medical Technologies division that makes disposable medical instruments, and Bionix is looking for a syringe product that it may sell and distribute to drug companies. Through the design of the new prefilled syringe, Stringent Syringes intends to improve the quality of existing products from a patient perspective my enhancing ease of use and making the syringe less conspicuous than existing products. Stringent Syringes has completed this project by designing a compact and user-friendly prefilled syringe using a folding plunger to reduce the overall size of the device. The newly designed syringe is portable, able to withstand considerable mechanical forces, and meets the criteria established in the literature by users of prefilled syringes