Georgia College & State University

About: Georgia College & State University is a education organization based out in Milledgeville, Georgia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Higher education. The organization has 950 authors who have published 1591 publications receiving 37027 citations.

A Novel Externally Applied Neuromuscular Stimulator for the Treatment of Stress Urinary Incontinence in Women—A Pilot Study

Abstract: Objectives: Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) is commonly used to treat lower urinary tract dysfunctions. This study evaluated the efficacy of a novel externally applied stimulator in the treatment of stress urinary incontinence (SUI). Materials and Methods: Nine women were included in this study. Provocative tests included a cough and jumping jack test assessed via pad weight. Ultrasound (US) imaging assessed pelvic floor muscle (PFM) contraction. A bladder filling protocol allowed for delineation of the bladder from the pelvic floor and standardized volume. External electrodes were used during 30 min, at least four times per week treatment protocol at home for eight weeks. Participants were blinded to US and were not instructed regarding pelvic floor contractions. Results: At week 1, participants could perform PFM contractions verified with US. More importantly, an 87.43% decrease in leakage was noted. At week 8, participants reported a 97.71% decrease in leakage (p= 0.0001). Changes noted in Incontinence Impact Questionnaire and Modified Oxford scores were significant (p= 0.0001 and p= 0.0001). Conclusions: NMES is frequently used to promote muscle strength and coordination. Studies have shown NMES to be effective in decreasing symptoms associated with SUI; however, few, if any, have used it as a primary treatment modality. The novel device in this study was shown to be effective in improving muscle strength, reducing or ablating the symptoms associated with SUI, and in eliciting PFM contractions. The device is noninvasive and can be used as a home treatment.

Mitigating the Combined Distributional Consequences of the Georgia Lottery for Education and the HOPE Scholarship

Abstract: Objective. Research demonstrates that nonwhite, lower-income households bear the Georgia Lottery's tax burden, yet receive fewer benefits. However, local disparities in grading standards may mitigate the observed income redistribution. Our objective is to determine whether certain localities obtain more HOPE scholarships than expected, mitigating the observed redistribution. Method. We use fixed-effects regression and a sample of Georgia's counties (1996–2002). Results. Our results indicate that some localities obtain more HOPE scholarships than expected, mitigating the observed redistribution. Conclusions. We conclude the income-redistribution research result does not reveal a complete picture because it overlooks the HOPE scholarship's extraordinary allocation mechanism.

Antennule Ablation, Sex Discrimination, and Mating Behavior in the Crayfish Procambarus Clarkii

Abstract: In order for the crayfish Procambarus clarkii to mate, each animal involved must identify the sex of the other. Crayfish are able to use chemoreception, mediated by the first antennae (antennules), as well as vision in sex identification. The relative importance of these two senses is not known; most work has centered on the use of the antennules. To assess the importance of antennules we studied mating in control pairs, in pairs where the females lacked antennules, in pairs where males lacked antennules, and in pairs where both lacked antennules. Ablation of antennules did not significantly affect the likelihood of mating or the delay before mating began. These findings demonstrate that P. clarkii can readily identify the sex of conspecifics without the use of their antennules. If the ability to identify sex had been impaired, one would expect mating to be less likely or to follow an unusually long delay. In addition, antennule ablation did not significantly affect the duration of mating. This stands in contrast to findings in the green crab Carcinus maenas, where the ablation of antennules in males leads to the substitution of multiple short matings for single long, continuous matings. It is concluded that P. clarkii can readily determine the sex of conspecifics without the use of the antennules and that the loss of antennules has no obvious effect on mating behavior.

The Predictive Role of Analyst Coverage Intensity: Evidence from Cross-Listing in the U.S.

Abstract: This paper investigates financial analysts' predictive power of future performance and earnings quality, based on their selective coverage of firms that have recently cross-listed into the U.S. This setting is useful for examining these questions because, following cross-listing, firms often experience an increase in analyst coverage and an improvement in their information environment. We find that analyst coverage is positively related to analysts' expectation about firms' future performance and negatively related to analysts' concern over firms' earnings quality. Furthermore, country-level legal origin and disclosure index are two significant determinants of analyst coverage of cross-listed firms. In addition, the intensity of analyst coverage can predict future abnormal stock price performance. Our latter finding augments those in Das, Guo, and Zhang (2006), who investigate the predictive role of analyst coverage following IPOs. The benefit of our setting is that, unlike the post-IPO period, cross-listing firms do not appear to experience mis-pricing that might confound the results. Overall, our study further documents the substantial informational benefits to cross-listing, but suggests that these informational benefits may not be complete, since financial analysts appear to have predictive power and selectively provide coverage for firms with favorable future prospects.