Local political institutions and electoral context influence levels of campaign spending in mayoral elections

Campaign spending is a perennial concern in both national and local elections, especially since the 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court ruling. Proponents argue that more spending increases interest in elections, while detractors claim that it creates biases in representation and public policy. Using an original dataset, Aaron C. Weinschenk examines campaign spending levels in mayoral elections, finding that the electoral context and local political institutions play the most important role in shaping levels of campaign spending across city elections. From these results, he identifies several ways to reduce campaign spending in mayoral elections, but notes that these changes may have unintended consequences. If levels of campaign spending decline due to institutional changes, cities elections, which often suffer from low voter turnout rates, might experience even lower levels of turnout

A sense of civic duty is influenced by deeply rooted personality traits

Voter turnout is a perennial concern for political scientists and politicians alike. Even with extensive campaigns to “get out the vote,” turnout for most elections lingers around half of the eligible population. Aaron C. Weinschenk examines the idea that the propensity to vote is influenced by deeply rooted personality traits that cultivate a sense of civic duty. He finds that a number of the “Big Five” personality traits, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Openness, are positively correlated with a perceived duty to vote

\u27Cause You\u27ve Got Personality: Understanding the Impact of Personality on Political Participation

In this dissertation, I ask why some people participate more intensely in political life than others, a classic question in political science. Previous answers have focused on socioeconomic status, demographics, socialization, political context, attitudes, and resources. To date, very little political science research has acknowledged that individual personality traits may play a role in determining political behaviors. I argue that there is good reason to believe that individual personality traits influence individual participatory habits in the political realm. In short, what I am suggesting is that some people have natural predispositions toward participating (or not participating) in politics and civic activities. I argue that understanding the relationship between individual personality attributes and political behavior is necessary to build a more complete understanding of the antecedents of political participation. This dissertation makes several contributions to the literature and our understanding of democratic politics. First, I integrate the psychology literature on personality and the political science literature on political participation, expanding our understanding of who participates and why. Second, I develop theoretical insights as to how (and which) personality traits translate into political action. Third, I develop several measures designed to capture personality traits that lead some people to participate more than others. I use longitudinal and cross- sectional data to test my hypotheses. I find that individual personality traits have important effects on political engagement. In some cases, the effects of personality rival or exceed the effects of canonical predictors of political participation. Future research on political and civic participation should continue to examine how deeply rooted individual differences shape participatory decisions

Elevated maternal lipoprotein (a) and neonatal renal vein thrombosis: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Renal vein thrombosis, although rare in adults, is well recognized in neonates and is one of the most common manifestations of neonatal thromboembolic events. The etiology of renal vein thrombosis remains unidentified in the majority of cases. We report a case of renal vein thrombosis in a neonate associated with elevated maternal lipoprotein (a).</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A full-term female infant, appropriate for gestational age, was born via spontaneous vaginal delivery to an 18-year-old primigravida. The infant's birth weight was 3680 g and the Apgar scores were eight and nine at 1 and 5 minutes respectively. Evaluation of the infant in the newborn nursery revealed a palpable mass in the right lumbar area. Tests revealed hematuria and a high serum creatinine level of 1.5 mg/dl. An abdominal ultrasound Doppler flow study demonstrated an enlarged right kidney, right renal vein thrombosis, and progression of the thrombosis to the inferior vena cava. There was no evidence of saggital sinus thrombosis. An extensive work-up of parents for hypercoagulable conditions was remarkable for a higher plasma lipoprotein (a) level of 73 mg/dl and an elevated fibrinogen level of 512 mg/dl in the mother. All paternal levels were normal. The plasma lipoprotein (a) level in the neonate was also normal. The neonate was treated with low molecular weight heparin (enoxaparin) at 1.5 mg/kg/day every 12 hours for 2 months, at which time a follow-up ultrasound Doppler flow study showed resolution of the thrombosis in both the renal vein and the inferior vena cava.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>There have been no studies to date that have explored the effect of abnormal maternal risk factors on fetal hemostasis. A case-control study is required to investigate whether elevated levels of maternal lipoprotein (a) may be a risk factor for neonatal thrombotic processes. Although infants with this presentation are typically treated with anticoagulation, there is a lack of evidence-based guidelines. Treatment modalities vary between study and treatment centers which warrants the establishment of a national registry.</p

Inspædia: [Almost] Everything About Simplicity, Playfulness and Inspiration

The aim of this paper is to disclose the new research developments and the results from the systematization of experience and user interaction with the Inspædia (a new web knowledge “Agora”), to inspire a dynamic, collaborative, and interactive intelligence among the inspædiers. We will explain in detail and describe the design process and discuss the ultimate design interaction concept & development regarding (almost everything about) simplicity and playfulness of the inspædiers’ experience to transform relevant information (related > meanfull > useful) in productive knowledge (inspiration > insight > foresight) in a very easy and quick way (usability: learnability; understandability; operability; attractiveness...), with a smile in the face (satisfaction) and a wow in the mind (or in the soul).Inspædia is the natural consequence and development of the prototype resulting from the research in Design PhD thesis Innovation, design et cetera (FA/UTL, 2012). Therefore, it is being developed with the Science Without Borders Program (2013-2016) with a Special Visiting Researcher fellowship grant of CAPES (Brazil), and under the post-doctoral in Design at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Lisbon (FA/UL); CIAUD – Reseach Centre of Architecture, Urbanism and Design (FA/UL); Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Nova University of Lisbon (FCT/UNL); NOVA-LINCS (FCT/UNL) and CITAD - Research Centre for Territory, Architecture and Design (FAA/ULL). The Inspædia research project was ranked in first place in Design scientific area and obtained a post-doctoral fellowship by FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology (Portugal). The project has been internationally disseminated at international Design conferences with indexed publications. It was presented and published both at AHFE 2014 (Krakow) and AHFE 2015 (Las Vegas). It was part of the biennial Experimentadesign tangential events in 2013 (EXD'13), 2015 (EXD'15) and was presented, by invitation, at the International Congress DESIGN I-CON (2015). During the last year we prototyped and tested (usability testing) with some inspædiers different approaches to achieve users’ needs > desires > expectations) in a challenging way, in order to provide the most powerful and memorable user experience

Common Genetic Denominators for Ca++-Based Skeleton in Metazoa: Role of Osteoclast-Stimulating Factor and of Carbonic Anhydrase in a Calcareous Sponge

Calcium-based matrices serve predominantly as inorganic, hard skeletal systems in Metazoa from calcareous sponges [phylum Porifera; class Calcarea] to proto- and deuterostomian multicellular animals. The calcareous sponges form their skeletal elements, the spicules, from amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC). Treatment of spicules from Sycon raphanus with sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) results in the disintegration of the ACC in those skeletal elements. Until now a distinct protein/enzyme involved in ACC metabolism could not been identified in those animals. We applied the technique of phage display combinatorial libraries to identify oligopeptides that bind to NaOCl-treated spicules: those oligopeptides allowed us to detect proteins that bind to those spicules. Two molecules have been identified, the (putative) enzyme carbonic anhydrase and the (putative) osteoclast-stimulating factor (OSTF), that are involved in the catabolism of ACC. The complete cDNAs were isolated and the recombinant proteins were prepared to raise antibodies. In turn, immunofluorescence staining of tissue slices and qPCR analyses have been performed. The data show that sponges, cultivated under standard condition (10 mM CaCl2) show low levels of transcripts/proteins for carbonic anhydrase or OSTF, compared to those animals that had been cultivated under Ca2+-depletion condition (1 mM CaCl2). Our data identify with the carbonic anhydrase and the OSTF the first two molecules which remain conserved in cells, potentially involved in Ca-based skeletal dissolution, from sponges (sclerocytes) to human (osteoclast)

Policies aimed at increasing electoral competition and campaign spending would help address low levels of voter turnout in city elections

In recent years commentators have become increasingly concerned with declining election turnout across the US. The trend is nowhere more pronounced than in city mayoral elections, where turnout is frequently as low as 25 per cent. Looking at 340 mayoral elections, Aaron C. Weinschenk finds that turnout could be increased through increased electoral competition, and holding votes on the same day as national elections. He also argues that encouraging greater spending on campaigns will lead to higher levels of civic engagement and turnout in local elections