The Intersection of Judicial Attitudes and Litigant Selection Theories: Explaining U.S. Supreme Court Decision-Making

This Essay tests an integrated model of decision-making on case outcomes in the United States Supreme Court and employs an interactive specification to assess the influence of judicial ideology on Supreme Court outcomes, simultaneously accounting for litigants’ and justices’ case selection (sorting) behavior

The Liberal Paradox

How can liberal policy programs remain widely supported and liberal politicians continue to win elections when the liberal identity itself is out-favored by the conservative identity at a margin of nearly two-to-one? This dissertation attempts to provide novel insight to explain this central paradox of American politics. I begin by building a theory of ideological identification formation at the micro level, drawing from recent findings in psychology, and also considering the powerful agency of the environment in which individuals form attachments. In the second empirical chapter, I return the 1960s, using content analysis to recount the most dramatic shift in ideological identification in history. This endeavor uncovers the birth of the core symbolic meaning of ``liberal that still lives on today, and highlights the central role of the media in shaping individuals' affects for liberals. Likewise, on the heels of theses new connotations, liberal elites abandoned the label as a definition for themselves and their policies, despite clear ideological connections. Finally, in the third empirical chapter, I trace the media's presentation of ``liberal to the mass public as a function of moral symbols and rhetoric. My findings suggest that the liberal label, once vacant of meaning, gained substantial substance in the 1960s, and that bundle of images, groups, and characteristics have become evermore central to the label. Furthermore, I demonstrate that the moral language with which elites and the media color the liberal identity has been typically less appealing to self-identified liberals and those predisposed to identify as liberals. These findings offer new insight for understanding the persistence of the unpopularity of liberal in name, yet broad acceptance in substance.Doctor of Philosoph

Quantification of renal blood flow with contrast-enhanced ultrasound

AbstractOBJECTIVESThe goal of this study was to determine the ability of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEU) to quantify renal tissue perfusion.BACKGROUNDThe kinetics of tracers used to assess renal perfusion are often complicated by countercurrent exchange, tubular transport or glomerular filtration. We hypothesized that, because gas-filled microbubbles are pure intravascular tracers with a rheology similar to that of red blood cells, CEU could be used to quantify renal tissue perfusion.METHODSDuring a continuous venous infusion of microbubbles (SonoVue), regional renal perfusion was quantified in nine dogs using CEU by destroying microbubbles and measuring their tissue replenishment with intermittent harmonic imaging. Both renal blood volume fraction and microbubble velocity were derived from pulsing-interval versus video-intensity plots. The product of the two was used to calculate renal nutrient blood flow. Renal arterial blood flow was independently measured with ultrasonic flow probes placed directly on the renal artery and was increased using dopamine and decreased by placement of a renal artery stenosis.RESULTSAn excellent correlation was found between cortical nutrient blood flow using microbubbles and ultrasonic flow probe-derived renal blood flow (r = 0.82, p < 0.001) over a wide range (2.5 fold) of flows.CONCLUSIONSUltrasound examination during microbubble infusion can be used to quantify total organ as well as regional nutrient blood flow to the kidney

Inequalities in diet and physical activity in Europe

The contribution of food, nutrition and physical activity to inequalities in health across Europe is largely unexplored. This paper summarizes cross sectional survey data on food patterns and nutrient intakes, and briefer data on physical activity, by various indicators of socio-economic status for countries across Europe. Factors are examined which underlie the outcome data seen. These include structural and material conditions and circumstances which contribute to excluding sociodemographic groups from participating in mainstream patterns of living. Trends in social and economic conditions, and their implications for nutritional and physical wellbeing are briefly outlined

Functional magnetic resonance imaging outcomes from a comprehensive magnetic resonance study of children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

A comprehensive neuropsychological/psychiatric, MR imaging, (MRI), MR spectroscopy (MRS), and functional MRI (fMRI) assessment was administered to children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) to determine if global and/or focal abnormalities could be identified, and distinguish diagnostic subclassifications across the spectrum. The four study groups included: 1. FAS/Partial FAS; 2. Static Encephalopathy/Alcohol Exposed (SE/AE); 3. Neurobehavioral Disorder/Alcohol Exposed (ND/AE); and 4. healthy peers with no prenatal alcohol exposure. fMRI outcomes are reported here. The neuropsychological/psychiatric, MRI, and MRS outcomes are reported separately. fMRI was used to assess activation in seven brain regions during performance of N-back working memory tasks. Children across the full spectrum of FASD exhibited significant working memory deficits and altered activation patterns in brain regions that are known to be involved in working memory. These results demonstrate the potential research and diagnostic value of this non-invasive MR tool in the field of FASD

Acceptability and Use of the Diaphragm and Replens® Lubricant Gel for HIV Prevention in Southern Africa

The acceptability and use of the diaphragm and lubricant gel were assessed as part of a large randomized controlled trial to determine the effectiveness of the methods in women’s HIV acquisition. 2,452 intervention-arm women were enrolled at five Southern African clinics and followed quarterly for 12–24 months. Acceptability and use data were collected by face-to-face interviews at Month 3 and Exit. Participants were “very comfortable” with the physical mechanics of diaphragm use throughout the trial, and approval of the gel consistency, quantity and the applicator was high. At Exit, consistent disclosure of use (AOR 1.97, 95% CI: 1.10–3.55); an overall high diaphragm rating (AOR 1.84, 95% CI: 1.45–2.34) and perception of partner approval (AOR 1.75, 95% CI: 1.35–2.26) were the most significant acceptability factors independently associated with consistent use. Despite being female-initiated, disclosure of use to male partners and his perceived approval of the products were factors significantly associated with their consistent use

Accumulation in coastal West Antarctic ice core records and the role of cyclone activity

Cyclones are an important component of Antarctic climate variability, yet quantifying their impact on the polar environment is challenging. We assess how cyclones which pass through the Bellingshausen Sea affect accumulation over Ellsworth Land, West Antarctica, where we have two ice core records. We use self-organizing maps (SOMs), an unsupervised machine learning technique, to group cyclones into nine SOM nodes differing by their trajectories (1980–2015). The annual frequency of cyclones associated with the first SOM node (SOM1, which generally originate from lower latitudes over the South Pacific Ocean) is significantly (p < 0.001) correlated with annual accumulation, with the highest seasonal correlations (p < 0.001) found during autumn. While significant (p < 0.01) increases in vertically integrated water vapor over the South Pacific Ocean coincide with this same group of cyclones, we find no indication that this has led to an increase in moisture advection into, nor accumulation over, Ellsworth Land over this short time period

Replication Data for: On the Dynamics of Ideological Identification: The Puzzle of Liberal Identification Decline

Our focus is a puzzle: that ideological identification as "liberal" is in serious decline in the United States, but at the same time support for liberal policies and for the political party of liberalism is not. We aim to understand this divorce in "liberal" in name and "liberal" in policy by investigating how particular symbols rise and fall as associations with the ideological labels "liberal" and "conservative." We produce three kinds of evidence to shed light on this macro-level puzzle. First we explore the words associated with "liberal" and "conservative" over time. Then we take up a group conception by examining the changing correlations between affect toward "liberals" and affect toward other groups. Finally, we consider the changing policy correlates of identification

Tennessee Williams and the Reinvention of the Southern Plantation

The first chapter consists of an overview of the southern plantation as it survives in cultural imagination, especially in William Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom! and Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind. The second chapter discusses A Streetcar Named Desire and how Williams reimagines the plantation in an urban setting through the New Orleans Marigny neighborhood. The third chapter examinesWilliams’s reinvention of the rural plantation in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. The conclusion explores how Williams’s work is used as a blueprint in representing the plantation in postsouthern literature and culture

Allometry of carbon and nitrogen content and growth rate in a diverse range of coccolithophores

As both photoautotrophs and calcifiers, coccolithophores play important roles in ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles. Though some species form blooms in high-latitude waters, low-latitude communities exhibit high diversity and niche diversification. Despite such diversity, our understanding of the clade relies on knowledge of Emiliana huxleyi. To address this, we examine carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) content of strains (n = 9) from the main families of the calcifying Haptophyceae, as well as allometry and cell size frequency across extant species. Coccolithophore cell size is constrained, with ~71% of 159 species smaller than 10 μm in diameter. Growth rates scale with cell biovolume (μ = 1.83 × cell volume(−0.19)), with an exponent close to metabolic theory. Organic carbon (C) per cell is lower than for other phytoplankton, providing a coccolithophore-specific relationship between cell organic C content and biovolume (pg C cell(−1) = 0.30 × cell volume(0.70)). Organic C to N ratios (~8.3 mol:mol) are similar to other phytoplankton, implying little additional N cost for calcification and efficient retention and recycling of cell N. Our results support observations that coccolithophores are efficient competitors in low-nutrient conditions, able to photosynthesize, calcify and run the routine metabolic machinery necessary without any additional need for N relative to noncalcifying algae