Executive Power to Provide Material and Financial Support to Foreign Governments and NGOS Linked to Terrorist Groups

Since the Iran-Contra affair in the 1980s, the President’s power in foreign affairs, while questioned, has been constrained very little. Constitutional questions about executive power in the international arena have largely transformed into statutory ones. While statutes are more adaptable to changing circumstances than the Constitution, the statutory questions continue to address the issues generated by the Framers. Uncertainty regarding the scope of executive power has another cause: courts often dismiss cases about the constitutionality of the President’s actions for standing reasons. For instance, one of the latest cases that could have precipitated a serious discussion of the President’s foreign affairs powers is Bernstein v. Kerry. If the court had not dismissed the case for standing reasons, the plaintiffs would have challenged the Secretary of State’s decision to send military support to Nicaraguan rebels under the Department of State Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Act (“SFOAA”) and other statutes governing aid to foreign organizations and countries. Congress has developed a complex system for analyzing the Executive Branch’s power in this realm by setting up reporting requirements and adding a multitude of riders to bills. It is questionable how effective these statutes are at curbing Executive power-grabs, especially when the Executive has found evasive techniques for accomplishing its goals. For example, the usual statutory definition for “military support” has always included activities such as arming, training, directing, and sending out troops, but now statutory definitions must cover guerilla support and logistics in order to rein in presidential power in those areas. This definition should also include funding, at least when the United States directs the distribution of funds at a micro-level

Diazepam Discord: A Competent Minor\u27s Constitutional Right to Seek and Refuse Psychotropic Medication

Our legal system values independence, individualism, and personal choice, but we have been slow to cultivate these values in the arena of children\u27s rights. Too much of the focus has been on efficiency: arbitrary cut-off ages provide a simple means for ascertaining a person\u27s competence to exer- cise rights, but they are not always an accurate means to such an end. Spe- cifically, the law regarding mental health has struggled to reconcile parents\u27 rights in custody and management of their children, the State\u27s interest in raising members that will contribute to society, and competent children\u27s rights of privacy and self-determination. In the context of access to alcohol and cigarettes, cut-off ages are sensible, but in the mental health context, these cut-offs are prone to invade basic constitutional rights

Diazepam Discord: A Competent Minor\u27s Constitutional Right to Seek and Refuse Psychotropic Medication

Our legal system values independence, individualism, and personal choice, but we have been slow to cultivate these values in the arena of children\u27s rights. Too much of the focus has been on efficiency: arbitrary cut-off ages provide a simple means for ascertaining a person\u27s competence to exer- cise rights, but they are not always an accurate means to such an end. Spe- cifically, the law regarding mental health has struggled to reconcile parents\u27 rights in custody and management of their children, the State\u27s interest in raising members that will contribute to society, and competent children\u27s rights of privacy and self-determination. In the context of access to alcohol and cigarettes, cut-off ages are sensible, but in the mental health context, these cut-offs are prone to invade basic constitutional rights

Hospitality, Hunting, and the Home in Garden and Gun: Deconstructing Southern Identity Based on Representations of Gender, Race, and Class

In my thesis, I have studied how Southern identity is formed through Southern leisure magazines, specifically Garden & Gun. I chose to narrow my focus by choosing to look only at the 2014 editions of the magazine, and I also looked primarily at the food, alcohol, homes, and hunting sections in order to be concise. Through my research, I have discovered that the magazine, although trying to be inclusive for race and gender, struggles to accurately depict the South. Instead, the magazine focuses on the primarily white, upper classes of the region, which creates and imagined reality for the reader. But, while race is not represented in sections of the magazine, gender representation (for white men and women) is always equal While researching, I discovered that in the food section of the magazine, Garden & Gun allows the kitchen to become an inclusive domain by representing men and women, white and black, equally alongside one another. So, this means that Garden & Gun, while trying to be inclusive for everyone, is unable to expand the acceptance to other sections of the magazine

Executive Power to Provide Material and Financial Support to Foreign Governments and NGOS Linked to Terrorist Groups

Since the Iran-Contra affair in the 1980s, the President’s power in foreign affairs, while questioned, has been constrained very little. Constitutional questions about executive power in the international arena have largely transformed into statutory ones. While statutes are more adaptable to changing circumstances than the Constitution, the statutory questions continue to address the issues generated by the Framers. Uncertainty regarding the scope of executive power has another cause: courts often dismiss cases about the constitutionality of the President’s actions for standing reasons. For instance, one of the latest cases that could have precipitated a serious discussion of the President’s foreign affairs powers is Bernstein v. Kerry. If the court had not dismissed the case for standing reasons, the plaintiffs would have challenged the Secretary of State’s decision to send military support to Nicaraguan rebels under the Department of State Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Act (“SFOAA”) and other statutes governing aid to foreign organizations and countries. Congress has developed a complex system for analyzing the Executive Branch’s power in this realm by setting up reporting requirements and adding a multitude of riders to bills. It is questionable how effective these statutes are at curbing Executive power-grabs, especially when the Executive has found evasive techniques for accomplishing its goals. For example, the usual statutory definition for “military support” has always included activities such as arming, training, directing, and sending out troops, but now statutory definitions must cover guerilla support and logistics in order to rein in presidential power in those areas. This definition should also include funding, at least when the United States directs the distribution of funds at a micro-level

The phenazine pyocyanin is a terminal signalling factor in the quorum sensing network of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Certain members of the fluorescent pseudomonads produce and secrete phenazines. These heterocyclic, redox-active compounds are toxic to competing organisms, and the cause of these antibiotic effects has been the focus of intense research efforts. It is largely unknown, however, how pseudomonads themselves respond to – and survive in the presence of – these compounds. Using Pseudomonas aeruginosa DNA microarrays and quantitative RT-PCR, we demonstrate that the phenazine pyocyanin elicits the upregulation of genes/operons that function in transport [such as the resistance-nodulation-cell division (RND) efflux pump MexGHI-OpmD] and possibly in redox control (such as PA2274, a putative flavin-dependant monooxygenase), and downregulates genes involved in ferric iron acquisition. Strikingly, mexGHI-opmD and PA2274 were previously shown to be regulated by the PA14 quorum sensing network that controls the production of virulence factors (including phenazines). Through mutational analysis, we show that pyocyanin is the physiological signal for the upregulation of these quorum sensing-controlled genes during stationary phase and that the response is mediated by the transcription factor SoxR. Our results implicate phenazines as signalling molecules in both P. aeruginosa PA14 and PAO1

Development and evaluation of a virtual postpartum psychosocial support program based upon acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)

INTRODUCTION: Improving psychological adjustment and support among women in the postpartum period has great personal and public health significance, with the potential to improve quality of life and functioning for women, children, and families. Despite growing recognition of this need, availability and accessibility of specialized postpartum treatments remain limited, particularly in the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lack of in-person treatment options. This project sought to address this need through the development and evaluation of a postpartum psychosocial support program that is delivered in a virtual format. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the project was two-fold: (1) to develop a structured treatment manual for an innovative program, based upon principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and (2) to assess feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of the program and the virtual delivery format through a pilot study of postpartum women. METHODS: The program contained six virtual individual sessions and two surveys before and after participation to evaluate outcomes. The material contained in the six sessions was drawn from evidence-based ACT principles, such as values identification, acceptance, and emotion regulation. Women who were over 18 years old, within one year postpartum of a live birth, living in Pennsylvania, and did not have suicidal ideation, psychosis or substance use disorder, were eligible to participate. RESULTS: Five postpartum women participated in the pilot intervention. The program was acceptable and feasible, with favorable feedback given by participants about the virtual format and content. Using the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, scores decreased from pre to post evaluations in 4 out of 5 participants. CONCLUSION: This innovative model of care presents a novel intervention (ACT) in a unique format (virtual group), which has significant implications for practice in terms of the delivery of psychological services and the way in which telehealth can be used for group therapy in this population. Additional implications for practice will be discussed as the program review continues

LFP beta amplitude is predictive of mesoscopic spatio-temporal phase patterns

Beta oscillations observed in motor cortical local field potentials (LFPs) recorded on separate electrodes of a multi-electrode array have been shown to exhibit non-zero phase shifts that organize into a planar wave propagation. Here, we generalize this concept by introducing additional classes of patterns that fully describe the spatial organization of beta oscillations. During a delayed reach-to-grasp task in monkey primary motor and dorsal premotor cortices we distinguish planar, synchronized, random, circular, and radial phase patterns. We observe that specific patterns correlate with the beta amplitude (envelope). In particular, wave propagation accelerates with growing amplitude, and culminates at maximum amplitude in a synchronized pattern. Furthermore, the occurrence probability of a particular pattern is modulated with behavioral epochs: Planar waves and synchronized patterns are more present during movement preparation where beta amplitudes are large, whereas random phase patterns are dominant during movement execution where beta amplitudes are small

Evaluation of Increased Vitamin D Fortification in High-Temperature, Short-Time–Processed 2% Milk, UHT-Processed 2% Fat Chocolate Milk, and Low-Fat Strawberry Yogurt

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of increased vitamin D fortification (250 IU/serving) of high-temperature, short-time (HTST)–processed 2% fat milk, UHT-processed 2% fat chocolate milk, and low-fat strawberry yogurt on the sensory characteristics and stability of vitamin D during processing and storage. Three replicates of HTST pasteurized 2% fat milk, UHT pasteurized 2% fat chocolate milk, and low-fat strawberry yogurt were manufactured. Each of the 3 replicates for all products contained a control (no vitamin D fortification), a treatment group with 100 IU vitamin D/serving (current level of vitamin D fortification), and a treatment group with 250 IU vitamin D/serving. A cold-water dispersible vitamin D3 concentrate was used for all fortifications. The HTST-processed 2% fat milk was stored for 21 d, with vitamin D analysis done before processing and on d 0, 14, and 21. Sensory analysis was conducted on d 14. The UHT-processed 2% fat chocolate milk was stored for 60 d, with vitamin D analysis done before processing and on d 0, 40, and 60. Sensory analysis was conducted on d 40. Low-fat strawberry yogurt was stored for 42 d, with vitamin D analysis done before processing, and on d 0, 28, and 42. Sensory analysis was conducted on d 28. Vitamin D levels in the fortified products were found to be similar to the target levels of fortification (100 and 250 IU vitamin D per serving) for all products, indicating no loss of vitamin D during processing. Vitamin D was also found to be stable over the shelf life of each product. Increasing the fortification of vitamin D from 100 to 250 IU/serving did not result in a change in the sensory characteristics of HTST-processed 2% fat milk, UHT-processed 2% fat chocolate milk, or low-fat strawberry yogurt. These results indicate that it is feasible to increase vitamin D fortification from 100 to 250 IU per serving in these products