Does Judicial Philosophy Matter?: A Case Study

A leading theory in the study of judicial behavior is the attitudinal model. This theory maintains that a judge\u27s political ideology can be used to predict how a judge will decide certain cases; other factors, such as the judge\u27s judicial philosophy, tend to be unimportant. Under this theory, two judges with the same political ideology, but different judicial philosophies, should virtually always vote the same way in cases with pre­dicted ideological outcomes. This manuscript tests the attitudinal model by examin­ing opinions by two judges with very similar political ideologies but different judicial philosophies: Judge Michael Luttig and Judge Harvie Wilkinson III of the US. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. After defining the judges\u27 political ideologies and judicial philosophies, this study examines political cases in which one of these judges wrote the majority opinion and the other dissented. The result of the study is that when these judges came to different conclusions in these ideological cases, it is likely they did so on the basis of their judicial philosophies. In short, contra the attitudinal model, at least in some cases judi­cial philosophy does matter

Visualization and Modeling Working Group

During the 2005 Hurricane season, many consequence predictions were available from 36 to 96 hours before landfalls, via the Department of Energy’s Visualization and Modeling Working Group (VMWG). Real-time data can be tapped by local officials and utilities, and can also be accessed for post-event regulatory audits. An overview of VMWG’s models, results and uses will be presented

Body Condition of Endangered Humpback Chub in Relation to Temperature and Discharge in the Lower Colorado River

Determining the population status of endangered Humpback Chub Gila cypha is a major component of the adaptive management program designed to inform operation of Glen Canyon Dam upstream from Grand Canyon, Arizona. In recent decades, resource managers have identified a portfolio of management actions (with intermittent implementation) to promote population recovery of Humpback Chub, including nonnative fish removal, changes in water release volumes and discharge ramping schedules, and reductions in hydropower peaking operations. The Humpback Chub population in Grand Canyon has increased over this same period, causal factors for which are unclear. We took advantage of unusual hydrology in the Colorado River basin in 2011 to assess trends in juvenile Humpback Chub length–weight relationships and condition in the Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam as well as in the unregulated Little Colorado River. Within each river, we observed higher length–weight b-parameter estimates (exponent of the standard power equation) at higher water temperatures. We also found higher slope estimates for the length–weight relationship at higher temperatures in the Little Colorado River. Slope estimates were more variable in the Colorado River, where mean water temperatures were more uniform. The next step is to examine whether Humpback Chub length–weight relationships influence population metrics such as abundance or survival. If these relationships exist, then monitoring condition in juvenile Humpback Chub would provide a quick and low-cost technique for assessing population response to planned management experiments or changing environmental conditions

Pediatric Feeding Disorder: Consensus Definition and Conceptual Framework

Pediatric feeding disorders (PFDs) lack a universally accepted definition. Feeding disorders require comprehensive assessment and treatment of 4 closely related, complementary domains (medical, psychosocial, and feeding skill-based systems and associated nutritional complications). Previous diagnostic paradigms have, however, typically defined feeding disorders using the lens of a single professional discipline and fail to characterize associated functional limitations that are critical to plan appropriate interventions and improve quality of life. Using the framework of the World Health Organization International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health, a unifying diagnostic term is proposed: “Pediatric Feeding Disorder” (PFD), defined as impaired oral intake that is not age-appropriate, and is associated with medical, nutritional, feeding skill, and/or psychosocial dysfunction. By incorporating associated functional limitations, the proposed diagnostic criteria for PFD should enable practitioners and researchers to better characterize the needs of heterogeneous patient populations, facilitate inclusion of all relevant disciplines in treatment planning, and promote the use of common, precise, terminology necessary to advance clinical practice, research, and health-care policy

Cognitive dysfunction in naturally occurring canine idiopathic epilepsy

Globally, epilepsy is a common serious brain disorder. In addition to seizure activity, epilepsy is associated with cognitive impairments including static cognitive impairments present at onset, progressive seizure-induced impairments and co-morbid dementia. Epilepsy occurs naturally in domestic dogs but its impact on canine cognition has yet to be studied, despite canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) recognised as a spontaneous model of dementia. Here we use data from a psychometrically validated tool, the canine cognitive dysfunction rating (CCDR) scale, to compare cognitive dysfunction in dogs diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy (IE) with controls while accounting for age. An online cross-sectional study resulted in a sample of 4051 dogs, of which n = 286 had been diagnosed with IE. Four factors were significantly associated with a diagnosis of CCD (above the diagnostic cut-off of CCDR ≥50): (i) epilepsy diagnosis: dogs with epilepsy were at higher risk; (ii) age: older dogs were at higher risk; (iii) weight: lighter dogs (kg) were at higher risk; (iv) training history: dogs with more exposure to training activities were at lower risk. Impairments in memory were most common in dogs with IE, but progression of impairments was not observed compared to controls. A significant interaction between epilepsy and age was identified, with IE dogs exhibiting a higher risk of CCD at a young age, while control dogs followed the expected pattern of low-risk throughout middle age, with risk increasing exponentially in geriatric years. Within the IE sub-population, dogs with a history of cluster seizures and high seizure frequency had higher CCDR scores. The age of onset, nature and progression of cognitive impairment in the current IE dogs appear divergent from those classically seen in CCD. Longitudinal monitoring of cognitive function from seizure onset is required to further characterise these impairments

A Novel Stable Isotope Approach for Determining the Impact of Thickening Agents on Water Absorption

Research on the bioavailability of water from thickened fluids has recently been published and it concluded that the addition of certain thickening agents (namely, modified maize starch, guar gum, and xanthan gum) does not significantly alter the absorption of water from the healthy, mature human gut. Using xanthan gum as an example, our “proof of concept” study describes a simple, accurate, and noninvasive alternative to the methodology used in that first study, and involves the measurement and comparison of the dilution space ratios of the isotopes 2H and 18O and subsequent calculation of total body water. Our method involves the ingestion of a thickening agent labeled with 2H 1 day after ingestion of 18O. Analyses are based on the isotopic enrichment of urine samples collected prior to the administration of each isotope, and daily urine samples collected for 15 days postdosing. We urge that further research is needed to evaluate the impact of various thickening agents on the bioavailability of water from the developing gut and in cases of gut pathology and recommend our methodology

A Polymorphic Variant of AFAP-110 Enhances cSrc Activity12

Enhanced expression and activity of cSrc are associated with ovarian cancer progression. Generally, cSrc does not contain acti- vating mutations; rather, its activity is increased in response to signals that affect a conformational change that releases its auto- inhibition. In this report, we analyzed ovarian cancer tissues for the expression of a cSrc-activating protein, AFAP-110. AFAP-110 activates cSrc through a direct interaction that releases it from its autoinhibited conformation. Immunohistochemical analysis re- vealed a concomitant increase of AFAP-110 and cSrc in ovarian cancer tissues. An analysis of the AFAP-110 coding sequence revealed the presence of a nonsynonymous, single-nucleotide polymorphism that resulted in a change of Ser403 to Cys403. In cells that express enhanced levels of cSrc, AFAP-110403C directed the activation of cSrc and the formation of podosomes indepen- dently of input signals, in contrast to wild-type AFAP-110. We therefore propose that, under conditions of cSrc overexpression, the polymorphic variant of AFAP-110 promotes cSrc activation. Further, these data indicate a mechanism by which an inherited genetic variation could influence ovarian cancer progression and could be used to predict the response to targeted therapy

Attenuation of Na/K-ATPase Mediated Oxidant Amplification with pNaKtide Ameliorates Experimental Uremic Cardiomyopathy

We have previously reported that the sodium potassium adenosine triphosphatase (Na/K-ATPase) can effect the amplification of reactive oxygen species. In this study, we examined whether attenuation of oxidant stress by antagonism of Na/K-ATPase oxidant amplification might ameliorate experimental uremic cardiomyopathy induced by partial nephrectomy (PNx). PNx induced the development of cardiac morphological and biochemical changes consistent with human uremic cardiomyopathy. Both inhibition of Na/K-ATPase oxidant amplification with pNaKtide and induction of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) with cobalt protoporphyrin (CoPP) markedly attenuated the development of phenotypical features of uremic cardiomyopathy. In a reversal study, administration of pNaKtide after the induction of uremic cardiomyopathy reversed many of the phenotypical features. Attenuation of Na/K-ATPase oxidant amplification may be a potential strategy for clinical therapy of this disorder

Changes in Seizure Frequency and Test-Retest Scores on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale

Test-retest performance on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) of two groups of adult epilepsy patients are presented and compared. In one group, Seizures Improved (SI) group, seizure frequency had decreased during the test-retest interval, and in the other group, Seizures Unimproved (SU) group, the number of seizures had either increased or stayed the same over the test-retest interval. The SI group showed a significant test-retest improvement on WAIS Verbal IQ, Performance 1Q, and Full Scale IQ, as well as on eight of 11 WAIS subtests. In comparison, the SU group showed significant increases only on the Performance IQ and Object Assembly subtest. Furthermore, differences between the two groups were observed in the pattern of test-retest changes seen on the Performance measures relative to the Verbal measures. The results suggest that change in seizure frequency is one of the factors associated with test-retest changes in the intellectual functioning of epilepsy patients. RÉSUMÉ Les rÉsultats obtenus À I‘Échelle de WAIS (Wechsler Adults Intelligence Scale) a partir d'une passation I (test) et d'une passation II (retest) chez deux groupes d'Épileptiques adultes sont prÉsentÉs et compares: (a) Dans un groupe la frequence des crises a diminue dur-ant I'intervalle “test-retest” (c'est a dire dans I'inter-valle separant la passation I (test) de la passation II (retest): Groupe des crises ameliorees (SI: seizures improved), (b) Dans l'autre groupe le nombre des crises au contraire a augmente ou bien est reste iden-tique au cours de I'intervalle “test-retest”: Groupe des crises non ameliorees (SU: seizures unimproved). Le groupe des “crises ameliorees” montre une amelioration significative tant sur le plan du QIV (quotient de I'echelle verbale), que du QIP (quotient de I'echelle performance) et du QIG (quotient global), ainsi que de 8 des subtests parmi les onze que contien I'echelle. En comparaison le groupe des “crises non ameliorees” ne montre une amelioration significative qu'au niveau du QIP et en particulier sur le subtest d'assemblage d'ob-jets (celui-ci faisant partie de I'echelle performance). De plus, on observe entre les deux groupes des differences du “type” des modifications entrainees par la situation “test-retest”, sur les rÉsultats obtenus a I'echelle performance et ceux obtensus a I'echelle verbale. Ces rÉsultats permettent de suggerer que, dans le fonctionnement intellectuel des sujets epileptiques, les changements dans la frequence des crises sont un des facteurs a mettre en correlation avec les changements observes a partir de la situation “test-retest”. RESUMEN Se compararon dos grupos de adultos con epilepsia por medio del rendimiento en dos tests de WAIS. En un grupo, la frecuencia de los ataques habia disminuido en el intervalo entre el primer test y el segundo [grupo con mejoria (SI)], mientras que en el otro el mimero de crisis no habia variado o habia au-mentado [grupo sin mejoria (SU)]. El grupo SI mostro una mejoria en laescala verbal CI, en la realizacion CI, en la escala total de CI y en los subtests WAIS. En comparacion, el grupo SU solo mostro un aumento significativo en la realizacion CI y en el subtest de Reunion de Objetos. Ademas, se observaron diferen-cias entre los dos grupos en lo que respecta a la prim-era y a la segunda prueba en la realizacion de las medidas verbales. Los resultados sugieren que los cambios en la frecuencia de los ataques juegan un papel en lo que respecta a funciÓn intelectual cuando se compara el primer WAIS con el segundo. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Test und Retest Ergebnisse im WAIS von 2 Gruppen erwachsener Epileptiker werden dargestellt und ver-glichen. In einer Gruppe hatte die Anfallshaufigkeit wahrend des Test-Retest-Intervalls abgenommen– verbesserte Gruppe (SI)–und in einer anderen Gruppe war die Anfallshaufigkeit entweder gestiegen oder gleich geblieben wahrend des Test-Retest-Intervalls– unveranderte Gruppe (SU). Die SI-Gruppe zeigte signifikante Verbesserung zwischen Test und Retest im Verbal-IQ des WAIS, im Handlungsteil und im Gesamt-IQ ebenso wie in 8 von 11 WAIS Subtests. Im Vergleich hierzu zeigte die SU-Gruppe signifikante Verbesserung nur im Handlungs-IQ und im Objekte-zuordnungs-Subtest. Weiterhin wurden Unterschiede zwischen den beiden Gruppen im Muster der Test-Retest-Veranderungen im Verhaltnis des Handlung-steils zum Verbalteil bemerkt. Die Ergebnisse lassen vermuten, dalJ die Veranderung der Anfallshaufigkeit einer der Faktoren ist, der hinsichtlich der in-tellektuellen Funktion anfallskranker Patienten Bezie-hungen zu den Veranderungen des Test-Retest-Ergeb-nis aufweist.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65457/1/j.1528-1157.1981.tb04334.x.pd

Cognitive function during early abstinence from opioid dependence: a comparison to age, gender, and verbal intelligence matched controls

BACKGROUND: Individuals with opioid dependence have cognitive deficits during abuse period in attention, working memory, episodic memory, and executive function. After protracted abstinence consistent cognitive deficit has been found only in executive function. However, few studies have explored cognitive function during first weeks of abstinence. The purpose of this study was to study cognitive function of individuals with opioid dependence during early abstinence. It was hypothesized that cognitive deficits are pronounced immediately after peak withdrawal symptoms have passed and then partially recover. METHODS: Fifteen patients with opioid dependence and fifteen controls matched for, age, gender, and verbal intelligence were tested with a cognitive test battery When patients performed worse than controls correlations between cognitive performance and days of withdrawal, duration of opioid abuse, duration of any substance abuse, or opioid withdrawal symptom inventory score (Short Opiate Withdrawal Scale) were analyzed. RESULTS: Early abstinent opioid dependent patients performed statistically significantly worse than controls in tests measuring complex working memory, executive function, and fluid intelligence. Their complex working memory and fluid intelligence performances correlated statistically significantly with days of withdrawal. CONCLUSION: The results indicate a rather general neurocognitive deficit in higher order cognition. It is suggested that cognitive deficit during early abstinence from opioid dependence is related to withdrawal induced neural dysregulation in the prefrontal cortex and is partly transient