VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The Role of Micro and Macro Level Organizational Coordination in Accountable Care Organizations

The aim of this dissertation is to explore both micro and macro level healthcare coordination constructs and to explore associated concepts to better understand what enables or impedes coordination in the delivery system. Given the significance and importance of coordinating mechanisms, my studies examine types of coordination at the micro (Relational Coordination), and macro (Care Transition Management) levels, to contribute to the literature in healthcare coordination and to support healthcare transformation toward a safer, higher quality, and more cost-effective delivery system./nThe growing literature on team level coordination has not explored how facilitative leadership supports or hinders coordination, nor have studies examined how team member participation and solidarity culture are associated with team level coordination. At the organizational level, studies have explored healthcare care coordination, accountability, and electronic health records as individual constructs, but no studies have looked at all three together and explored the association between them./nStudy 1 and 2 examine micro-organizational coordination in two accountable care organizations with quantitative and qualitative investigations of Relational Coordination and teamwork factors including; Leadership Facilitation, Team Participation, Solidarity Culture. Study 3 explores macro-organizational coordination to see if physician group Accountable Care Organization (ACO) affiliation and greater EHR functionality are positively associated with more robust Care Transition Management (CTM) capabilities.

Advisor: Shortell, Stephen M
Advances in Pulsed Zero-Field NMR

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) is ubiquitous as a tool for investigating the structure of both molecules and materials. In most cases the best results are obtained by placing the sample under study in the largest possible magnetic field, since this maximizes both the sensitivity and the resolution of the experiment. This fact underlies the momentous engineering effor that has gone into developing ever larger super-conducting magnets for use in NMR experiments. However, there are many applications of NMR where the sheer/nsize, not to mention cost, of a high-field instrument can not be accommodated. Therefore there has been a sustained research effort aimed at developing small mobile NMR systems that are not based on super-conducting magnets./nNMR performed in zero-field, using magnetic shielding to screen out the ambient field of the earth, and detected using vapor-cell magnetometers, is one such approach. In zero-field NMR the signal originates entirely in the spin-spin coupling part of the Hamiltonian and chemically informative spectra are obtained even in the absence of chemical-shifts. The very large absolute field homogeneity obtainable at zero-field ensures that the spectral resolution is even better than in high-field spectrometers. Perhaps even more interestingly, the different geometry that results from not having a preferred axis imposed on the system enables experiments that are not possible in the presence of magnetic fields. Examples include the ability to distinguish enantiomers based on the phase of an NMR signal./nThis work extends directly detected zero-field NMR beyond pulse-acquire type experiments. New methods for spin control and excitation, as well as two-dimensional spectroscopy and various decoupling techniques are introduced and demonstrated experimentally. For completeness this dissertation also contains a review of zero-field J-spectroscopy, as well as a detailed guide to the relevant instrumentation. It is my hope that the techniques presented herein will find use in future NMR experiments performed in the regime of zero and ultralow field, whether the application is portable chemical analysis, fundamental physics, or anything in between.

Advisor: Pines, Alexander
Personalized Modeling for Human-Robot Collaborative Manipulation

When two humans perform a collaborative manipulation task, they leverage an intuitive understanding of which motions are natural and safe for their interaction partner. Intuition lets human collaborators predict both the feasibility of an action, as well as their partner's ergonomic preference for one feasible action over another. This mutual understanding in human-human teams allows for comfortable and efficient collaboration. However, in human-robot teams, robots typically lack the models which would give them this same understanding of human action choice. This problem is compounded by that fact that humans are unique. A model that accurately predicts the actions of one human collaborator may be incorrect for another./nThis dissertation explores how personalized mechanical models and ergonomic cost functions for humans can endow collaborative robots with an understanding of human action feasibility and ergonomic preference analogous to that possessed by human teammates. Specifically, we focus on the task of robot-to-human object handoffs. We show that planning handoffs with knowledge of a human's arm kinematics yields improved ergonomics and safety, and is preferred by human collaborators. Next, we demonstrate how ergonomic cost functions which predict a human's preference for different feasible actions can allow co-robots to shape human action choices, helping humans choose globally ergonomically optimal actions in multi-part tasks. Finally, we show how these ergonomic cost functions can be learned online, allowing co-robots to quickly adapt to the preferences of an individual human partner.

Advisor: Bajcsy, Ruzena
The Development of Transition Metal-Catalyzed Fluoroalkylation Reactions of Aryl Electrophiles

The following dissertation discusses the development and study of reactions that introduce fluorine-containing substituents to functionalized aromatic compounds. In particular, the focus of this work will be directed towards transition metal-catalyzed or -mediated reactions that couple abundant aryl halide or aryl pseudohalide electrophiles with trifluoromethyl, pentafluoroethyl, difluorobenzoyl, difluoromethyl, or aryldifluoromethyl groups./nChapter 1 provides a review of the properties and applications of fluorinated organic compounds, as well as synthetic methods to prepare such compounds. The challenges associated with preparing organic compounds that possess fluorinated-substituents are also discussed along with the progress that has been made towards addressing these challenges. In addition, this chapter highlights unsolved challenges in the fluoroalkylation reactions of functionalized aromatic compounds and provides the author’s opinion on future directions for research in this area./nChapter 2 discusses the perfluoroalkylation of abundant heteroaryl bromide electrophiles with stoichiometric perfluoroalkylcopper complexes, (phen)CuRF. These reactions occurred with excellent scope and functional group compatibility for the preparation of medicinally-relevant trifluoromethyl-substituted heterocycles./nChapter 3 discusses a new procedure for the copper-catalyzed trifluoromethylation and pentafluoroethylation of aryl iodides and heteroaryl bromides. These reactions occurred under mild conditions and could be conducted with as little as 5% of a Cu-catalyst. In addition, the preparation and reactivity of new (L)CuCF2CF3 complexes were studied to gain insight on how the electron-donating properties of the ligand on copper affect the perfluoroalkylation reaction./nChapter 4 discusses a route for the α-arylation of α,α-difluoroacetophenone with phenol derivatives that is catalyzed by palladium complexes. Different catalyst systems were developed to allow for the coupling of assorted aryl sulfonate electrophiles. The products of this reaction have been previously reported to undergo base-induced cleavage to difluoromethylarenes. The overall transformation provides a route from phenols to difluoromethylarenes, a phenol bioisostere./nChapter 5 discusses the synthesis of diaryldifluoromethane compounds by a palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling of aryl bromides with aryldifluoromethyl trimethylsilanes. This work is the first example of the coupling of an aryldifluoromethyl group with an aryl electrophile.

Advisor: Hartwig, John F.
Room Temperature Gas Sensing using Graphene FET

In the modern age of gas sensing technologies for broad applications such as internet of things, the capability to make selective, small form factor, and highly responsive sensors for applications such as wearable devices and cell phones could revolutionize the fields of gas sensing systems and fabrications. This thesis aims at developing a millimeter-sized and microwatt-powered sensor prototype using graphene field effect transistors (FETs) by exploring various DC and AC modulation techniques to realize the critical gas sensing features of selectivity and fast recovery speed at room temperature for practical applications./nFor the DC modulation, we applied the DC gate voltage on the graphene FET during the gas sensing events, and developed the concept of linear factor and the bandwidth enhanced noise method for improving graphene gas sensing performance at DC conditions. Specifically, we have experimentally demonstrated the label-free gas selectivity directly using a single graphene FET for NO2, NH3, H2O and CH3OH by measuring the linear factor parameter. Furthermore, we demonstrated the boosted sensing speed and linearity of the graphene resistance signal using the bandwidth-enhanced method to select the most gas sensitive frequency domain of the noise power density spectrum./nFor the AC modulation, we applied a hybrid AC+DC gate voltage on graphene FET, and studied the scattering effect and the speed of charge transfer of the gas-graphene interaction for improving the gas selectivity and sensing recovery speed, respectively. Particularly, we measured the scattering strength of the gas adsorbents on graphene and directly resolve the scattering strength spectrum of water, methanol and ethanol adsorption on graphene, achieving the label-free gas sensing using a single graphene transistor. On the other hand, the studies of charge transfer speed between the gas and graphene inspired us to develop the phase-sensitive scheme on graphene FET, achieving the ultrafast baseline recovery speed (~10s) on a defect-rich, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) grown monolayer graphene FET - almost ten times faster than the previous report

Advisor: Lin, Liwei
FMCW Lidar: Scaling to the Chip-Level and Improving Phase-Noise-Limited Performance

Lidar (light detection and ranging) technology has the potential to revolutionize the way automated systems interact with their environments and their users. Most lidar systems in the industry today rely on pulsed (or, "time-of-flight") lidar, which has reached limits in terms of depth resolution. Coherent lidar schemes, such as frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) lidar, offer significant advantage in achieving high depth resolution, but are often too complex, too expensive, and/or too bulky to be implemented in the consumer industry. FMCW, and its close cousin, swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) are often targeted towards metrology applications or medical diagnostics, where systems can easily cost upwards of $30,000./nIn this dissertation, I present my work in chip-scale integration of optical and electronic components for application in coherent lidar techniques. First, I will summarize the work to integrate a typically bulky FMCW lidar control system onto an optoelectronic chip-stack. The chip-stack consists of an SOI silicon-photonics chip and a standard CMOS chip. The chip was used in an imaging system to generate 3D images with as little as 10um depth precision at stand-off distances of 30cm./nSecond, I will summarize my work in implementing and analyzing a new post-processing method for FMCW lidar signals, called "multi-synchronous re-sampling" (MK-re-sampling). This involved Monte Carlo studies of laser phase noise under non-linear signal processing schemes, so I will show stochastic simulations and experimental results to demonstrate the advantages of the new re-sampling method. QS-re-sampling has the potential to improve acquisition rate, accuracy, SNR, and dynamic depth range of coherent imaging systems.

Advisor: Wu, Ming C
Scheduling Lane Conversions for Bus Use on City-Wide Scales and in Time-Varying Traffic

The dissertation explores what can occur when select street lanes throughout a city are periodically reserved for buses. Simulations of an idealized city were performed to that end. The city’s time-varying travel demand was studied parametrically. In all cases, queues formed throughout the city during a rush, and dissipated during the off-peak period that followed. Bus lanes were activated all at once across the city, and were eventually deactivated in like fashion. Activation and deactivation schedules varied parametrically as well. Schedules that balanced the trip-time savings to bus riders against the added delays to car travelers were thus identified./nFindings reveal why activating conversions near the start of a rush can degrade travel, both by car and by bus. Balance was struck by instead activating lane conversions much closer to the subsidence of rush demand. Most of the time savings to bus riders accrued after the conversions had been left in place for only 30 mins. Leaving them for longer durations often brought modest additional savings to bus travelers. Yet, the added delays to cars often grew large./nThese findings held even when buses garnered high ridership shares, whether or not those higher shares were induced over time. Activating conversions early in a rush was found to make sense only if commuters shifted from cars to buses in high numbers. Findings also unveiled how to fine-tune activation and deactivation schedules to suit a city’s congestion level. Guidelines are offered for scheduling conversions in real settings. Discussion on how these schedules might be adapted to daily variations in city-wide traffic states is offered as well.

Advisor: Cassidy, Michael
Gu, Weihua
Jubilee of the Heart: How Monastic Song Became Mystical Poetics

This dissertation describes how the proliferation of “song” as a trope in the vernacular poetic tradition that Michel de Certeau calls “mystic poetics” arises out of the monastic practice of singing the Psalms. Through close readings of John Cassian, Bernard of Clairvaux, Hadewijch, and John of the Cross, it reveals that the ethical formation of the “mystic-poet” is as much a product of theological devotion as it is an attempt to craft a figure of literary exemplarity in the vernacular. Against the characterization of mystical poetry as spontaneous, immediate, and singular, this project argues that mystical poetry and the contemplative life to which it is bound are not removed from the world, but rather firmly grounded in the ritual, embodied, and communal practices of devotion that shape monastic and semi-monastic life. Ultimately, I propose a genealogy of mystical poetics that is not opposed to, but indeed contiguous with the repetitive and ritual reading practiced in Christian monasteries./nAn interdisciplinary endeavor, this project brings together the study of religion, literary studies, queer theory, and critical theory. In addition, it contributes to a growing body of scholarship that bridges premodern and contemporary theory and attends to the growing fascination that humanistic inquiry has with religion and religious traditions. By tying the rhetorical force of “song” to the lived reality of Christian piety, the project espouses a performative theory of metaphor that takes seriously its material conditions and effects. By undoing the conventional distinction between literal and figurative language and by drawing from contemporary queer theory, it also intervenes into the conversation about religion and sexuality, which, I contend, includes the spiritual bodies and erotics of mystical union. Finally, the project traces the translation of Greek theōria into the medieval Christian contemplative life and, as a consequence, complicates any secular narrative of critical theory’s development.

Advisor: Hollywood, Amy
Boyarin, Daniel
Microfluidic Devices for Tissue, Cellular, Genetic and Proteomic Studies

Microfluidic design forms a basis for precision measurements of even complex biological systems. Among the lines of inquiry that are thriving with the advent of microfluidic tools are biological mimetic tissues created “on-a-chip”. In this area, we have constructed a liver-on-a-chip system for drug hepatotoxicity screening. The liver-on-chip model is designed to include the liver’s sinusoid structure, oxygen diffusion, and the flow of nutrient supplies, in order to deliver a functional liver mimic for the study of drug metabolism. After design and fabrication of this organ mimic, we observed the liver-on-a-chip to yield improved hepatocyte life span and drug metabolism function, as compared to in vitro sandwich culture./nCytometry – or single-cell resolution measurements – are another thriving line of inquiry. In cytometry, this dissertation research contributes three measurement aspects made possible with microfluidic tools: genomic processes (miRNA detection); targeted proteomics using electrophoresis, and function. By modeling and measuring the mass and heat transport processes limiting the precision of state-of-the-art cytometry tools, we optimize and validate a suite of new approaches. Specifically, in miRNA cytometry, we designed, fabricated, and demonstrated an isothermal quantification methodology that is coupled with microfluidic single-cell isolation, lysis, and amplification. The platform achieves high throughput and precise measurement of cell-to-cell miRNA levels. We analyzed miRNA expression in cancer cell lines and doxorubicin-resistant counterparts, which point to the existence of microRNA-dependent sub-population dynamics./nIn cytometry of protein targets, we study a set of novel device architectures designed to minimize geometry-induced injection dispersion in electrophoresis of single-cell lysates. Single cells are commonly seated in microwells formed in hydrogels. Cells are chemically lysed in-situ, with the lysate subjected to electrophoresis in the surrounding gel. An analytical model was developed and experimentally validated to show that controlling both the geometry of the microwell and the thermodynamic partitioning characteristics of the microwell impact separation resolution and detection sensitivity./nTaken together, we establish a suite of microfluidic tools that mimic, manipulate, and measure processes important to factors that span from the protein to the genome, and from the cell to the whole organ./nIn summary, this dissertation focuses on utilizing analytical chemistry and engineering approaches to advance microfluidic applications in tissue engineering and single-cell studies.

Advisor: Herr, Amy E
Integral estimates for approximations by incompressible deformations

A quantitative Brenier decomposition shows that the deviation of a map from/nvolume preserving is bounded by the deviation of the derivative from volume pre-/nserving. A study of the matrix nearness problem for SL(n) and Sp(2n) relates the/nestimate to incompressible deformations of elastic materials.

Advisor: Rezakhanlou, Fraydoun
Heroic Democracy: Thucydides, Pericles, and the Tragic Science of Athenian Greatness

Employing the tools of both textual and contextual analysis, this dissertation demonstrates that a central project of Thucydides’ work was to reexamine and radically reinterpret the essential features of Athenian democracy, its relationship to other regime types, and the conditions for its success by considering it as a type of collective hero. It argues that, against the grain of fifth-century democratic ideology, Thucydides developed an account of the imperial democracy that placed it within the tradition of Greek heroism and autocracy, thereby contesting the belief that democracy should be characterized primarily as a form of egalitarian rule antithetically related to kingship and tyranny. In undertaking this project, however, this dissertation shows that Thucydides was less a critic of Athenian democracy than of Athenian democratic ideology. He conceived of his city as a collective autocrat not in an effort to denigrate it, but to better understand the apex that it achieved./nThis dissertation further demonstrates that, in redescribing Athenian democracy as a heroic autocrat, Thucydides also set out to reinvent the Greek tradition of heroic autocracy. His commitment to a rationalistic and naturalistic mode of inquiry practiced by fellow fifth-century thinkers such as the Hippocratic medical writers appears to have provided some of the impetus for this ambition. However, this dissertation shows that it also stems from Thucydides’ deep and careful contemplation of the Athenian experience of the war itself. Recognizing that many of the central fixtures of the heroic worldview offered a helpful frame for thinking about the causes and pitfalls of democratic greatness, Thucydides nevertheless perceived that these could get him only so far. This dissertation tracks the crucial differences between a collective, democratic autocrat and an individual hero that had to be accounted for if the rise and fall of Athens was to be made fully intelligible. Many of these flowed from the democratic hero’s ability to selectively incorporate egalitarian practices into its domestic organization. At the most basic level, some degree of equality allowed for greater inclusivity, cooperation, and collective action in the heroic project, which translated directly into greater power. This was an unambiguous good, but the same cannot be said of all manifestations of equality within the democracy. In the deliberative sphere, the possession of an equal vote by all citizens created a variable dynamic between people and leaders, resulting in either excellent or catastrophic policy depending on the relative merit of those who vied for popular leadership. For Thucydides, this dissertation shows, the success of the democratic hero depended on the maintenance of a delicate balance between egalitarian and autocratic relationships among citizens, and the eventual tragic fall of the democratic hero could be traced to the overextension of equality in the deliberative sphere, which led to untrammeled autocratic ambitions abroad and ruinous civil war at home.

Advisor: Hoekstra, Kinch