Newdow Calls for a New Day in Establishment Clause Jurisprudence: Justice Thomas\u27s Actual Legal Coercion Standard Provides the Necessary Renovation

This Comment examines the concurring opinions of Justice O’Connor and Justice Thomas in Newdow and explores whether either approach is able to solve the problems inherent in the Court’s current analysis. Section II discusses the meaning of the Establishment Clause and explores its historical background. Section III outlines current Establishment Clause analysis and its inherent hostility toward religion. Section IV introduces O’Connor’s ceremonial deism approach and Thomas’s “actual legal coercion” test, as outlined in Newdow. Section V discusses the inability of O’Connor’s approach to solve the inherent deficiencies in the Court’s current analysis, whereas, Section VI argues that Thomas’s actual legal coercion test will bring consistency to Establishment Clause jurisprudence and eradicate the religious hostility created by the Court’s current approach

Moral Grandstanding in Public Discourse: Status-Seeking Motives as a Potential Explanatory Mechanism in Predicting Conflict

Public discourse is often caustic and conflict-filled. This trend seems to be particularly evident when the content of such discourse is around moral issues (broadly defined) and when the discourse occurs on social media. Several explanatory mechanisms for such conflict have been explored in recent psychological and social-science literatures. The present work sought to examine a potentially novel explanatory mechanism defined in philosophical literature: Moral Grandstanding. According to philosophical accounts, Moral Grandstanding is the use of moral talk to seek social status. For the present work, we conducted six studies, using two undergraduate samples (Study 1, N = 361; Study 2, N = 356); a sample matched to U.S. norms for age, gender, race, income, Census region (Study 3, N = 1,063); a YouGov sample matched to U.S. demographic norms (Study 4, N = 2,000); and a brief, one-month longitudinal study of Mechanical Turk workers in the U.S. (Study 5, Baseline N = 499, follow-up n = 296), and a large, one-week YouGov sample matched to U.S. demographic norms (Baseline N = 2,519, follow-up n = 1,776). Across studies, we found initial support for the validity of Moral Grandstanding as a construct. Specifically, moral grandstanding motivation was associated with status-seeking personality traits, as well as greater political and moral conflict in daily life

On the Erasure and Regeneration of the Primordial Baryon Asymmetry by Sphalerons

We show that a cosmological baryon asymmetry generated at the GUT scale, which would be destroyed at lower temperatures by sphalerons and possible new B- or L-violating effects, can naturally be preserved by an asymmetry in the number of right-handed electrons. This results in a significant softening of previously derived baryogenesis-based constraints on the strength of exotic B- or L-violating interactions.Comment: 10 pp. LaTex (2 figures, included) UMN-TH-1201/9

Determination of the resistivity anisotropy of SrRuO3_{3} by measuring the planar Hall effect

We have measured the planar Hall effect in epitaxial thin films of the itinerant ferromagnet SrRuO3 patterned with their current paths at different angles relative to the crystallographic axes. Based on the results, we have determined that SrRuO3 exhibits small resistivity anisotropy in the entire temperature range of our measurements (between 2 to 300 K); namely, both above and below its Curie temperature (~150 K). It means that in addition to anisotropy related to magnetism, the resistivity anisotropy of SrRuO3 has an intrinsic, nonmagnetic source. We have found that the two sources of anisotropy have competing effects

Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) associated with rice mills: fumigation efficacy and population rebound

The red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), is the most important stored-product insect pest infesting rice (Oryza sativa L.) mills in the United States. Due to the phasing out of methyl bromide in accordance with the 1987 Montreal Protocol, the efficacy of alternative fumigants in controlling flour beetles in mill structures must be evaluated. Long-term trapping data sets (2-6 yr) of T. castaneum in and around seven rice mills were analyzed to assess the efficacy of sulfuryl fluoride fumigation (n = 25). Fumigation efficacy was evaluated as the percentage reduction in mean trap captures of adults and proportion of traps capturing at least one adult beetle. Beetle trap captures fluctuated seasonally, with increased captures during the warmer months, June-September, that dropped off during the cooler months, October-March. Fumigations resulted in a 66 ± 6% (mean ± SE) reduction in mean trap captures within mills and a 52 ± 6% reduction in the proportion of traps capturing at least one adult beetle. Lengths of time for captures to reach prefumigation levels, or rebound rates, were variable, and adult capture levels inside were most influenced by seasonal temperature changes. Temperatures inside mills followed those outside the mill closely, and a significant positive relationship between outside temperatures and trap captures was observed. Inside and outside trap captures exhibited a significant, positive relationship, but fumigations consistently led to reductions in beetle captures outside of mills, highlighting the interconnectedness of populations located inside and outside mill structures

Influence of a Functional Knee Brace and Exercise on Lower Extremity Kinematics During Jogging

ABSTRACT Context: Functional knee braces (FKB) are used prophylactically and in rehabilitation to aide in the functional stability of the knee joint. Objective: To determine if alterations in sagittal plane lower extremity kinematics remain evident throughout a one hour period in healthy individuals. Design: 2X5 repeated measures design. Setting: Biomechanics Laboratory. Subjects: Twenty subjects (14 male and 6 female, mean age 26.5±7 yrs; height 172.4±13 cm; weight 78.6±9 kg), separated into braced (B) and no brace (NB) groups. Intervention: A one-hour exercise program divided into three 20 minute increments. Main Outcome Measures: Synchronized three-dimensional kinematic data were collected at 20-minute increments to assess the effect of the FKB on select lower extremity joint kinematics. Results: Hip, knee and ankle joint position were not significantly affected by time (exercise). However significant decreases in hip (p = .05) and knee flexion (p \u3c .05) were noted in the B group compared to the NB group regardless of time while ankle joint position was unaffected. Conclusions: Hip and knee flexion angles were reduced in the B group compared to the NB group, while ankle joint position was not affected. Wearing a knee brace appears to not only influence knee joint position but also hip joint position. It is possible that repetitive changes to hip joint kinematics may be detrimental to hip and low back function and thus lead to injury

Negative relationships between the nutrient and carbohydrate content of the seagrass Thalassia testudinum

This study documents relationships between plant nutrient content and rhizome carbohydrate content of a widely distributed seagrass species, Thalassia testudinum, in Florida. Five distinct seagrass beds were sampled for leaf nitrogen, leaf phosphorus, and rhizome carbohydrate content from 1997 to 1999. All variables displayed marked intra- and inter- regional variation. Elemental ratios (mean N:P ± S.E.) were lowest for Charlotte Harbor (9.9 ± 0.2) and highest for Florida Bay (53.5 ± 0.9), indicating regional shifts in the nutrient content of plant material. Rhizome carbohydrate content (mean ± S.E.) was lowest for Anclote Keys (21.8 ± 1.6 mg g−1 FM), and highest for Homosassa Bay (40.7 ± 1.7 mg g−1 FM). Within each region, significant negative correlations between plant nutrient and rhizome carbohydrate content were detected; thus, nutrient-replete plants displayed low carbohydrate content, while nutrient-deplete plants displayed high carbohydrate content. Spearman\u27s rank correlations between nutrient and carbohydrate content varied from a minimum in Tampa Bay (ρ = −0.2) to a maximum in Charlotte Harbor (ρ = −0.73). Linear regressions on log-transformed data revealed similar trends. This consistent trend across five distinct regions suggests that nutrient supply may play an important role in the regulation of carbon storage within seagrasses. Here we present a new hypothesis for studies which aim to explain the carbohydrate dynamics of benthic plants