Veteran Health Equity: Key Highlights for Understanding the Unique Health-Related Needs of Veterans of Color

This brief provides highlights from Understanding the Unique Health Related Needs of Veterans of Color study, a study that examined barriers to care, patient experiences, and cultural competence in veteran health care settings. Specifically, researchers seek to understand the challenges veterans of color face, including difficulties in accessing timely and appropriate care, experiences of discrimination, and varying levels of cultural competence among healthcare providers, and provide actionable policy suggestions to improve veteran healthcare experiences

AUDITORY BRAINSTEM NEURAL VARIABILITY, AUTISTIC TRAITS, AND SENSORY SENSITIVITIES IN SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN

Purpose: Understanding the contributions of neural variability, measured by trial-to-trial fluctuations in an evoked neural response, to behavior has been particularly interesting to researchers since recent findings suggest that decreased cortical neural stability correlates with heightened autistic traits. This correlation has led some researchers to hypothesize a causal link between increased neural variability and heightened autistic traits and sensory sensitivities. Notably, these cortical findings are in response to multisensory stimuli, including auditory stimuli. In the brainstem, elevated neural variability evoked from monaurally presented auditory stimuli is associated with poorer syntactic performance, and some, albeit not all, studies have found group differences when comparing neural variability between autistic and nonautistic individuals. Yet, the potential relationship between neural variability in the brainstem and autistic traits and sensory sensitivities remains unexplored. The current study sought to elucidate (1) whether the neural variability observed in auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) elicited by click and synthetic 40ms /da/ stimuli differed depending on when analyzed post-stimulus onset and by stimulus type, (2) if neural variability was significantly related to sensory sensitivities evaluated through the parent-report Sensory Profile (SP) survey (3) and whether neural variability predicted the spectrum of parent-reported autistic traits, quantified using the Autism Quotient (AQ) and the Social Responsiveness Scale, Second Edition (SRS-2) among a combined group of nonautistic and autistic school-age children. Methods: Forty-four children, including 18 autistic and 26 nonautistic peers aged 6-16.9 years, participated. Before electrophysiological recording, participants underwent a routine hearing evaluation and an IQ assessment using the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, Second Edition (WASI-II). Parent(s)/caregivers completed the SP, AQ, and SRS-2. The ABRs were evoked by binaural presentation of clicks and a 40 ms synthetic /da/ stimulus and recorded ipsilaterally using a two-channel montage via scalp electrodes. Two waveforms, each comprised of 3000 sweeps, were correlated together for the entire click response (1-8 ms) and the various response components of the sABR: the complete response (0-55 ms), the onset (5-10 ms), the frequency-following (22-40 ms), and the offset (45-50 ms) responses. A repeated measures of analysis of variance was conducted to determine if the degree of neural variability differed by response components. Multiple linear regression models were constructed and tested to determine if neural variability was a significant predictor of sensory sensitivities or autistic traits. Results: Significant differences in neural variability were found among the response components analyzed. Neural variability in the onset sABR and click ABR were not significantly different, aligning with existing literature suggesting the two response components are analogous. No meaningful predictive relationships emerged between neural variability and sensory sensitivities. In contrast, neural variability of the sABR offset response and entire click ABR predicted autistic traits after controlling for verbal IQ. Specifically, increased neural variability was associated with heightened total scores on AQ and SRS-2. Conclusions: The study challenges current methods by highlighting the relevance of analyzing different response components within the sABR, instead of only the FFR, and advocates for a paradigm shift from case-control studies toward individualized predictive modeling studies, especially in heterogeneous conditions like autism. Although neural variability within the auditory brainstem pathway did not predict sensory sensitivities, it emerged as a predictor of autistic traits. By further understanding neural variability\u27s complex relationship with behavioral traits, researchers may be able to facilitate a more comprehensive understanding of individual differences in auditory processing and autistic traits

Paradise Lost: The Effect of Judicial Review on Congressional Debate

How does judicial supremacy affect constitutional deliberation in Congress? Normative critics of judicial supremacy argue that judicial supremacy warps congressional debate by disincentivizing members of Congress from independently considering the moral and legal issues at stake in legislation. As this dissertation’s quantitative analysis, topic modeling, and qualitative textual analysis show, the Supreme Court’s decision in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (2012) disincentivized members of Congress from engaging in independent constitutional interpretation and normative argumentation. Before the Supreme Court’s decision in Sebelius, members of both parties debated the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate and used constitutional discourse as scaffolding for normative argumentation. However, as seen in this dissertation’s quantitative analysis, topic modeling, and qualitative textual analysis, Sebelius reduced the quantity of constitutional deliberation over the Commerce Clause and the quality of constitutional deliberation over the Taxing and Spending Clause. Post-Sebelius, most members of Congress expressed their acceptance of Sebelius and used the decision as a justification for character attacks on their political opponents. Finally, Congress’ inability to independently consider the legal issues at stake in the Affordable Care Act shaped the Affordable Care Act’s interpretative effects and undermined Republicans’ long-term policy goal of entrenching the individual responsibility model of health care. This dissertation advances (with empirical evidence) two claims: that constitutional deliberation in Congress is significant for both normative and practical reasons. This dissertation argues that constitutional deliberation in Congress is normatively desirable because constitutional discourse can serve as scaffolding for normative argumentation in congressional debate. This dissertation finds evidence that judicial supremacy warps this normatively desirable debate in Congress and therefore provides empirical support for the normative claims of critics of judicial supremacy that judicial supremacy has negative effects on the United States’ constitutional system. This dissertation also argues that constitutional deliberation in Congress is practically significant because constitutional discourse can affect policy implementation, policy entrenchment, and a policy’s interpretative effects. Constitutional discourse in Congress matters

DYNAMICS OF POST-MATING RESPONSES IN DROSOPHILA

Mating induces crucial changes in Drosophila females, influencing vital aspects of behavior and physiology essential for reproductive success. These changes primarily result from gene expression shifts in the female reproductive tract. DNA sequencing and bioinformatics advances have deepened our understanding of postmating responses in Drosophila at the transcriptional level. However, the majority of these studies are confined to D. melanogaster, lack tissue-specific investigations, and are extensively focused on the composition of the ejaculate and the role of male reproductive proteins transferred during mating. This study delves into the dynamic lower reproductive tract of D. virilis subgroup species, exploring the postmating responses at both transcriptional and microbial levels, utilizing dense time-course mRNA abundance profiling and targeted (16S rRNA) sequencing approaches. The dense mRNA profiling approach allowed us to identify many more differentially expressed genes (∼1000 differentially expressed genes) than classic transcriptomic approaches, only considering the sparse time points and enabled us to determine the changes in transcript abundance with high confidence. Since there is no information present on the composition and diversity of the reproductive tract microbiome in Drosophila, I first characterized the reproductive microbiota in four D. virilis subgroup species before investigating postmating microbial shifts. The lower reproductive tract showcased a dominance of Proteobacteria and Firmicutes, consistent with findings in humans and other insects. Investigating postmating microbial changes revealed significant alterations in the lower reproductive tract microbiota, particularly in the abundance of Proteobacteria and Firmicutes in both mated males and females. The work within this thesis contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the intricate dynamics of postmating responses, gene interactions, and microbiota in the lower reproductive system of Drosophila, with implications for reproductive success and immune responses

Social Media as Fragile State

Social media platforms are grappling with how to respond to hate speech, misinformation, and political manipulation in ways that address human rights, free speech, and equality. As independent ‘states’, they are enacting their own rules of conduct, deriving their own ‘laws’, convening their own extrajudicial self regulatory institutions, and making their own interpretations and enactments of human rights. With the rise of social states such as Facebook, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit, how fragile are they in their ability to achieve outcomes of fair, equitable and consistent application of their own laws? Could an assessment of the fragility of these social states help identify areas of focus for stability in design, use and operation of social media platforms? What indicators would measure such fragility? This paper draws on the Fund For Peace Fragility State Index for parallels in social media to detail, measure and understand issues of platform precariousness, governance, and support of human rights

Military-Connected Small Business Profiles: Access to Capital and Resources Across Revenue Stages

This research brief presents a thorough analysis of the military-connected entrepreneurship ecosystem, detailing the progression of business development from inception to sustainability. Leveraging data from the NSMAE and bolstered by generous financial support from Walmart, it outlines the specific challenges and growth opportunities faced by military-affiliated small businesses. These challenges include navigating access to capital, overcoming operational hurdles, and seizing growth opportunities. This brief categorizes businesses into five stages—Foundational, Startup/Launch, Growth, Acceleration, and Sustainability—characterized by distinct financial conditions, operational challenges, and resource management strategies