Thesis (D. Min.)--Columbia International University, 2007. / Typescript. "March, 2007." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 121-122).

Thesis (M. Min.)--Trinity Western Seminary, 1990. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 263-267).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 118-133).

Also issued as Thesis (Ph. D.)--Catholic University of America, 1934. / Vita. Bibliography: p. 33-36.

Bitcoin has become notorious as the first cryptocurrency to gain widespread media attention, however, despite its many benefits over the existing financial system it remains a volatile fringe currency. This thesis examines the validity of bitcoin as a currency and whether it can play a role in circumventing extractive economic and political institutions in developing countries. The analysis compares bitcoin usage to the level of financial openness, the inflation rate, and the percentage of the population with a bank account in 21 different countries. The correlation is found to be both statistically and economically significant for all of these variables, which suggests that bitcoin is being used in countries with underdeveloped financial systems and detrimental monetary policies. A regression run on these variables indicates that a one-percentage-point increase in inflation leads to a 44.48% increase in bitcoin usage, a one-percentage-point increase in the percentage of people in a country that have a bank account leads to an 8.65% decrease in bitcoin usage and a one unit increase in financial openness leads to a 216% decrease in bitcoin usage. Throughout this analysis the positive and negative implications of widespread bitcoin adoption are discussed with respect to economies in the developing world.

This thesis explores the implications of the recent restoration of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba. Through historical analysis and discussion of the ‘Cuban Thaw’ beginning in 2009, it proposes certain courses of immediate and long-term action for both nations, but specifically the United States, to guarantee future collaboration and mutual gain. Its conclusions emphasize the unique nature of current circumstances, which have opened a window of opportunity never before seen in the history of US-Cuban relations. The causes are one, the succession of Fidel Castro by his brother, Raúl, who has already demonstrated more progressive policy action and interest in positive relations with the US government; second, the change in tone of the United States from imperialism to respect; and third, the growth of the Cuban-American community, whose voices have been of resounding support for bilateral cooperation. Ultimately, it suggests that in order to achieve the identified goal of raising Cuba’s standard of living, economic development must occur through increased international connection and the transition to a type of market economy. Instead of assigning the responsibility for this development to the US, it stresses the necessity for this reform to be internally designed and stimulated within Cuba, with step-by-step economic growth accompanied by a gradual lifting of the US embargo restrictions. The United States should, from this point on, break from its classic tone of imperialism – as has already been initiated by President Obama – and serve as a supportive force rather than driving force in this process.

BACKGROUND: Orthodontists rely heavily on cephalometric analysis to assess growth potential and direction. Geometric morphometrics examines shape and can help the clinician reach more accurate diagnoses and predict future growth. PURPOSE: The aims of this study are: 1) Determine principle components describing craniofacial shape changes; 2) Assess shape changes in growing subjects; 3) Develop a model for craniofacial growth prediction using geometric morphometrics. RESEARCH DESIGN: The Cranial base, maxilla and mandible were digitized on 330 lateral cephalograms from ages 6-16 (n=33). Generalized Procrustes analysis was performed on the longitudinal data sample. Principle Component, Discriminant Function and Two-Block Partial Least Squares analysis were assessed against changes in individual structures to determine if changes in the maxillary, mandibular or cranial base are related to changes in shape of the overall craniofacial form. RESULTS: PCA shows that the first six principle components account for 67.7 – 77.0% of the observed shape variance in each region and 56.0% of the whole form. Multivariate regression analysis predicts the shape of the entire craniofacial complex at 16 years old based on the shape observed at 6 years old with 94% certainty. An intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.98 confirms reliability. CONCLUSION: Morphometric analyses indicate that changes in maxillofacial morphology during skeletal maturation are linear. The shape of the craniofacial complex does not change significantly and growth pattern is maintained. Our model can predict the craniofacial shape at 16 years of age based on the shape observed at 6 years of age.

The frequency with which individuals do not develop their third molars, or wisdom teeth, is increasing worldwide. This current topic of human evolution is relevant to the research of anthropologists, geneticists, dentists, and other researchers involved in the study of human dentition. Many explanations have been offered to account for the prevalence of molar agenesis including, evolutionary, environmental, and genetic theories. The purpose of this research project is to determine the frequency of third molar agenesis and investigate the relationship between third molar agenesis and maxillomandibular jaw dimensions in a sample of orthodontic patients. This research tests the hypotheses that: H1: Individuals with agenesis of third molars will be significantly different in maxillomandibular dimensions than individuals without agenesis, H2: The agenesis of maxillary third molars is associated with the anteroposterior dimensions of the maxilla, and H3: The agenesis of mandibular third molars is not associated with the anteroposterior dimensions of the mandible. Therefore, the null hypothesis for this research is H0: An individual’s sex and the presence/absence of the third molar are independent. The sample for this research project includes 543 individuals from the University of New Mexico’s Maxwell Museum of Anthropology Orthodontics Case File System. This study examines panoramic radiographs of the dentition for each individual to ascertain whether any of the third molars was congenitally absent, and records the cephalometric measurements for each case for statistical analysis. This study uses descriptive statistics, crosstabulation analysis, chi-square tests, non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis tests, and logistic regression analysis to investigate any associations between third molar agenesis and maxillomandibular jaw dimensions. The results show that Native Americans (9.2%), Hispanics (8.46%), and European Americans (8.37%) have a higher frequency of third molar agenesis than African Americans (0.17%) and Asians (0.17%). This finding is consistent with the published body of work on third molar agenesis, in spite of the small sample sizes for diverse populations. There is a significant difference in the number of molars missing among groups. For the present study, based on crosstabulation analysis, most individuals are missing two molars (34.9%), followed by one absent (31.7%), a lack of four molars (25.3%), and finally a lack of 3 molars (7.9%). Individuals with third molar agenesis are nearly twice as likely to be missing a molar from the mandible (62.8%) than the maxilla (36.9%). This study uses crosstabulation analysis, chi-square analysis, non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis tests, and logistic regression analysis to assess the association between third molar agenesis and measurements of the dental arcade. This study did not find an association between an individual’s maxillomandibular dimensions and third molar agenesis. Therefore, this study did not find support for the hypothesis that individuals with third molar agenesis would have smaller maxillomandibular dimensions than individuals without agenesis. Based on the findings of this study, an association between the size of an individual’s mouth and third molar agenesis does not exist in the sample analyzed. Third molar agenesis is not occurring due to a lack of room in the mouth, but possibly results from heredity. Therefore, it may be more likely that genetic variation influences third molar agenesis, rather than an evolutionary change in diet.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:33:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2003-06-02Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:23:16Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 araujo_am_dr_arafo.pdf: 327250 bytes, checksum: f1b666ee0bb9d92663feec590f32d1e9 (MD5) / O propósito desse estudo foi avaliar os efeitos transversais nos maxilares e o crescimento mandibular ântero-posterior após terapia com aparelho ortopédico funcional. A amostra foi composta por 25 pacientes (15 do gênero masculino e 10 do gênero feminino) com má oclusão de Classe II e idade variando entre 6.9 e 11.2 anos. Os pacientes foram aleatoriamente divididos em dois grupos, grupo controle (n=11) e grupo experimental (n=14) e acompanhados longitudinalmente por 12 meses. O tratamento foi exclusivamente executado com o aparelho bionator de Balters por um período de 12 meses. O método de sobreposição, com auxílio de implantes metálicos, foi realizado na avaliação das alterações esqueléticas transversais dos maxilares, crescimento condilar e remodelação óssea da mandíbula. Os resultados mostraram que os pacientes sem tratamento exibiram um aumento significante, em largura, entre os implantes maxilares posteriores, mas a diferença entre os implantes anteriores e mandibulares não foi estatisticamente significante. A distância entre os implantes posteriores, no sentido transversal, aumentaram significantemente para os dois grupos, com o grupo bionator mostrando um aumento significativo maior do que o grupo controle. O grupo bionator também mostrou uma maior expansão entre os implantes localizado na mandíbula, porém essa diferença não foi estatisticamente significante. Com relação ao crescimento condilar, os resultados mostraram um redirecionamento do crescimento (mais posterior), e semelhante quantidade de crescimento para os dois grupos. O tratamento com o aparelho bionator produziu um crescimento e remodelação óssea maior do que o esperado nas regiões condilar e goniana da mandíbula. Sobreposição na base do crânio mostrou um deslocamento anterior da mandíbula e uma pequena ou quase ausente rotação anterior... . / The purpose of this study was to describe transverse skeletal base adaptations and mandibular growth associated with bionator therapy. The sample included 25 patients (15 males and 10 females) between 6.9 and 11.2 years of age with Class II division 1 malocclusion. The patients were randomly allocated to either a control (n=11) or treatment (n=14) group. Treatment consisted of a bionator only, and the patients were following longitudinally for approximately 12 months. Using metallic implants for superimposition, transverse skeletal base adaptations, condylar growth and mandibular remodeling changes were evaluated. The results showed that untreated Class II controls exhibit significant increases between posterior maxillary implants, but no significant changes between the anterior maxillary or mandibular implants. While posterior maxillary implants increased significantly in both groups, the treated group showed significantly greater width increases than the control group. The treated group also showed greater increases between mandibular implants, but the differences were not statistically significant. Condylar growth in perspective, the results showed significant changes in the direction (more posterior) but not in the amount of overall amount of condylar growth. The bionator appliance produced greater than expected posterior drift of landmarks in the condylar and gonial regions. Cranial base superimposition showed greater than expected anterior mandibular displacement, but little or no true mandibular forward rotation with bionator therapy. In conclusion, the bionator appliance alone produces transverse skeletal adaptations, condylar growth redirection and remodeling changes associated with mandibular rotation and displacement.

This thesis identifies and analyzes current problems in the healthcare market in China. Although many health indicators of China such as life expectancy and child mortality rates have improved significantly and suggest that the healthcare reform in China is successful, there have been many more reports of patient's violent attack towards the doctor, the sudden death of doctors, and decreasing doctor supplies that suggest otherwise. I observed that the relationship between doctors and patients are intense, doctors experience enormous working pressure, and many doctors are leaving the market. It makes me wonder how did government fail to improve its healthcare quality while health indicators suggest huge improvements. This thesis mainly focuses on how institutions contribute to the market inefficiencies. I hope this thesis will provide some insights for future reform policies.