Disabled Autonomy

Disability law is still undertheorized. In 2007, Ruth Colker wrote that disability law was undertheorized because it conflated “separate” with “unequal,” and because disability was largely ignored or poorly understood within theories of justice. The solution for Colker was to attach the anti-subordination perspective, which was developed to apply to race and sex, directly to disability. This Article argues that this transportation from the race and sex contexts was a partial solution, but is not sufficient to give full substance to disability law theory. Concepts from critical race theory and feminist jurisprudence have long been simply transported into the disability context, acting as an imperfect facsimile. The primary purpose of those concepts was to describe, analyze, and remedy problems primarily related to race and gender, not disability. While disability law has benefitted to some extent from inclusion in these legal theories, many of the unique features and complexities of disability law have been left on the table. This Article explores those complexities. Autonomy, usually thought of as an uncomplicated social good for other groups, is challenged in disability theory by two competing values. The value of anti-subordination is critical because it seeks to address, and redress, discrimination, sigma, and stereotyping. An anti-subordination perspective gives a voice and supplies resources to people with disabilities, and will counsel against choices that support stigma and stereotyping. An anti-subordination perspective might seek to limit a right to physician-assisted suicide, for example, because of concerns about exploitation and the messaging that disabled lives are not worth living. This runs counter to an autonomy-focused perspective, which would support the choice to end one’s life in the end stages of a terminal disease. An anti-eliminationism perspective advocates for the preservation of, and resources for, disabled lives. This comes to mean that not only are people with disabilities valued, but their disability is valued too. Instead of seeking to end Autism, for example, an anti-elimination perspective seeks to support Autistics. However, an anti-eliminationism perspective might also support the restriction of choice, and therefore come into conflict with autonomy, where there is a choice that results in the end of a disability. An anti-elimination perspective could seek to restrict the ability to selectively terminate pregnancies when a disability is found, for example. Anti-eliminationism inherently challenges the notion that getting rid of disability is a good thing. Parts I, II, and III of this Article describe the values of autonomy, anti-subordination, and anti-eliminationism in the disability context, and argue that these values are each critical components of disability law and theory. Part IV of this article provides an overview of some real-world examples where these values come into immediate conflict

Anti-inflammatory Activity of Phenolic and Volatile Compounds in Cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon L)

The primary objective of this study was to compare the anti-inflammatory effects of phenolic and volatile compounds extracted from cranberries. The Griess Reagent System assay was used to measure the in vitro anti-inflammatory capabilities of cranberry phenolic and volatile extracts on RAW 264.7 mouse macrophage cells. This study tested the anti-inflammatory capabilities of the cranberry phenolic and volatile extracts before, as a preventative treatment, and after, as a means of treating pre-existing inflammation, inducing inflammation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). All experiments were conducted in the following manner, varying only in whether treated with the extracts before or after LPS: 1 x 103 RAW 264.7 cells were seeded into individual wells of a 96 well plate, given 16 hr to attach, and treated with the phenolic and volatile extracts at 2x, 4x, and 8x dilutions of their respective starting concentrations present in a cranberry for 1 hr either before or after 24 hr of induced inflammation by LPS. Then, nitric oxide (NO) levels were measured to assess the anti-inflammatory capabilities. When treated with the extracts after LPS, the phenolic 635.7 ppm, 317.8 ppm and volatile 1.8 ppm NO levels were significantly lower than the positive control, reduced by 62%, 46%, and 50% respectively. When treated before LPS, the phenolic 635.7 ppm, 317.8 ppm and volatile 1.8 ppm, 0.9 ppm NO levels were significantly lower than the positive control, reduced by 52%, 25%, 47%, and 13% respectively. Upon overall evaluation, the phenolic and volatile extracts’ anti-inflammatory capabilities were very comparable even though the volatiles were at a 353x lower concentration, and an overall stronger preventative effect was observed. Future studies are needed to reveal the mechanisms by which these compounds act to prevent and reduce inflammation and to determine the bioavailability of these compounds

The Rates of Mothers Who Continually Breastfeed After Implemented Breastfeeding Teaching

Many mothers are unaware of the benefits of breastfeeding. This lack of knowledge leads to an inability to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of the potential source of nutrition their infant will receive during his or her first months of life. Many mothers never even attempt to breastfeed their infant. Even among the mothers who do initially choose to breastfeed, the majority deviate to other forms of feeding early in the postpartum period. Despite the fact that most major medical organizations encourage exclusive breastfeeding through the first six months of an infant’s life, the CDC report for 2013 claims the number of mothers exclusively breastfeeding in Arkansas at 6 months to be strikingly low at 9.2%. Considerable efforts are being made to dramatically improve this. This study used a pre-­‐ post-­‐ retrospective medical records review to compare prior and post implementation of WRMC’s exclusive breastfeeding intervention. The findings provided by this study highlight the importance of consistent and continuous breastfeeding education and support beginning in the prenatal period and going throughout the postpartum period. They recognize the effectiveness of the teaching provided by the lactation consultant and healthcare personnel at Washington Regional Medical Center but also identify areas of growt

The use of a family agency in relocation for urban renewal.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston Universit