Paternalism as a Justification for Federally Regulating Advertising e-Cigarettes to Children

How the federal government should regulate e-cigarette advertising targeted towards children generates unique jurisprudential questions regarding the potential for infringement on children’s liberty and autonomy. While it would seem unethical to restrict e-cigarette advertisements to adults, children are in a different category because they lack the maturity and decision-making skills to discern advertising falsehoods from reality. This is especially problematic with e-cigarette advertisements because long-term public health outcomes for children are at stake. This Note assesses the historical and modern regulatory measures used by Congress, the FDA, and the judiciary to regulate how the tobacco industry may advertise to children. Then, using John Stuart Mill’s harm principle and idea of utilitarianism and Gerald Dworkin’s theory of paternalism, this Note postulates how the federal government might appropriately regulate advertising e-cigarette products to children. Finally, this Note proposes a two-step paternalistic policy for how Congress and the FDA can effectively regulate e-cigarette advertisements targeted to children and prevent further harm to America’s youth

Highly differentiated cellular and circuit properties of infralimbic pyramidal neurons projecting to the periaqueductal gray and amygdala

The infralimbic (IL) cortex is a key node in an inter-connected network involved in fear and emotion processing. The cellular and circuit-level mechanisms whereby IL neurons receive, filter, and modulate incoming signals they project onward to diverse downstream nodes in this complex network remain poorly understood. Using the mouse as our model, we applied anatomical labeling strategies, brain slice electrophysiology, and focal activation of caged glutamate via laser scanning photostimulation (glu-LSPS) for quantitative neurophysiological analysis of projectionally defined neurons in IL. Injection of retrograde tracers into the periaqueductal gray (PAG) and basolateral amygdala (BLA) was used to identify cortico-PAG (CP) and cortico-BLA (CA) neurons in IL. CP neurons were found exclusively in layer 5 (L5) of IL whereas CA neurons were detected throughout layer 2, 3, and 5 of IL. We also identified a small percentage of IL neurons that project to both the PAG and the BLA. We found that L5 CP neurons have a more extensive dendritic structure compared to L5 CA neurons. Neurophysiological recordings performed on retrogradely labeled neurons in acute brain slice showed that CP and CA neurons in IL could be broadly classified in two groups: neuronal resonators and non-resonators. Layer 2 CA neurons were the only class that was exclusively non-resonating. CP, CA, and CP/CA neurons in layers 3 and 5 of IL consisted of heterogeneous populations of resonators and non-resonators showing that projection target is not an exclusive predictor of intrinsic physiology. Circuit mapping using glu-LSPS revealed that the strength and organization of local excitatory and inhibitory inputs were stronger to CP compared to CA neurons in IL. Together, our results establish an organizational scheme linking cellular neurophysiology with microcircuit parameters of defined neuronal subclasses in IL that send descending commands to subcortical structures involved in fear behavior

The effects of face-to-face and online social stress on emotion identification

The present study examined whether the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) could be replicated in online, text-based communication, and whether both online and in-person social stress impacted emotion identification. Participants were college students (n = 58) who experienced stress elicitation either face-to-face (TSST) or online (e-Trier). They then identified angry, fearful, happy, and ambiguous angry-fearful facial expressions. The effectiveness of the TSST was replicated, while the e-Trier was only successful in eliciting stress at the mid-point of the task. In the less stressful conditions (e-Trier and control) men identified ambiguous expressions as significantly more angry than women, while this gender difference was not evident in the stressful condition (TSST). Men were also more likely to misidentify true fearful faces as angry. These results indicate that men tend towards over-interpreting angry expressions, but this gender difference is diminished with experienced stress

Allometric trajectories of body and head morphology in three sympatric Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus (L.)) morphs

A study of body and head development in three sympatric reproductively isolated Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus (L.)) morphs from a subarctic lake (Skogsfjordvatn, northern Norway) revealed allometric trajectories that resulted in morphological differences. The three morphs were ecologically assigned to a littoral omnivore, a profundal benthivore and a profundal piscivore, and this was confirmed by genetic analyses (microsatellites). Principal component analysis was used to identify the variables responsible for most of the morphological variation of the body and head shape. The littoral omnivore and the profundal piscivore morph had convergent allometric trajectories for the most important head shape variables, developing bigger mouths and relatively smaller eyes with increasing head size. The two profundal morphs shared common trajectories for the variables explaining most of the body and head shape variation, namely head size relative to body size, placement of the dorsal and pelvic fins, eye size and mouth size. In contrast, the littoral omnivore and the profundal benthivore morphs were not on common allometric trajectories for any of the examined variables. The findings suggest that different selective pressures could have been working on traits related to their trophic niche such as habitat and diet utilization of the three morphs, with the two profundal morphs experiencing almost identical environmental conditions

Chain Galaxies in the Tadpole ACS Field

Colors and magnitudes were determined for 69 chain galaxies, 58 other linear structures, 32 normal edge-on galaxies, and all of their large star formation clumps in the HST ACS field of the Tadpole galaxy. Redshifts of 0.5 to 2 are inferred from comparisons with published color-evolution models. The linear galaxies have no red nuclear bulges like the normal disk galaxies in our field, but the star formation clumps in each have about the same colors and magnitudes. Light profiles along the linear galaxies tend to be flat, unlike the exponential profiles of normal galaxies. Although the most extreme of the linear objects look like beaded filaments, they are all probably edge-on disks that will evolve to late Hubble type galaxies. The lack of an exponential profile is either the result of a dust scale height that is comparable to the stellar scale height, or an intrinsically irregular structure. Examples of galaxies that could be face-on versions of linear galaxies are shown. They have an irregular clumpy structure with no central bulge and with clump colors and magnitudes that are comparable to those in the linears. Radiative transfer solutions to the magnitudes and surface brightnesses of inclined dusty galaxies suggest that edge-on disks should become more prominent near the detection limit for surface brightness. The surface brightness distribution of the edge-on galaxies in this field confirm this selection effect. The star formation regions are much more massive than in modern galaxies, averaging up to 10^9 Msun for kpc scales.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, accepted for ApJ, 603, March 1, 200

Mott insulating negative thermal expansion perovskite TiF3

We characterize perovskite TiF_3, a material which displays significant negative thermal expansion at elevated temperatures above its cubic-to-rhombohedral structural phase transition at 330 K. We find the optical response favors an insulating state in both structural phases, which we show can be produced in density functional theory calculations only through the introduction of an on-site Coulomb repulsion. Analysis of the magnetic susceptibility data gives a S=1/2 local moment per Ti+3 ion and an antiferromagnetic exchange coupling. Together, these results show that TiF_3 is a strongly correlated electron system, a fact which constrains possible mechanisms of strong negative thermal expansion in the Sc_1-xTi_xF3 system. We consider the relative strength of the Jahn-Teller and electric dipole interactions in driving the structural transition.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, in review Physical Review

Risk factors for recurrent injuries in victims of suspected non-accidental trauma: a retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND: Many children who are victims of non-accidental trauma (NAT) may be repeatedly evaluated for injuries related to maltreatment. The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors for repeated injuries in children with suspected NAT. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using claims data from a pediatric Medicaid accountable care organization. Children with birth claims and at least one non-birth related claim indicating a diagnosis of NAT or skeletal survey in 2007–2011 were included. Recurrent events were defined as independent episodes of care involving an urgent/emergent care setting that included a diagnosis code specific for child abuse, a CPT code for a skeletal survey, or a diagnosis code for an injury suspicious for abuse. Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine risk factors for recurrent events. RESULTS: Of the 1,361 children with suspected NAT, a recurrent NAT event occurred in 26% within 1 year and 40% within 2 years of their initial event. Independent risk factors for a recurrent NAT event included a rural residence, age < 30 months old, having only 1 or 2 initially detected injuries, and having a dislocation, open wound, or superficial injury at the previous event (p ≤ 0.01 for all). CONCLUSIONS: Over 25% of children who experienced a suspected NAT event had a recurrent episode within one year. These children were younger and more likely to present with “minor” injuries at their previous event

The role of TcdB and TccC subunits in secretion of the photorhabdus Tcd toxin complex

The Toxin Complex (TC) is a large multi-subunit toxin encoded by a range of bacterial pathogens. The best-characterized examples are from the insect pathogens Photorhabdus, Xenorhabdus and Yersinia. They consist of three large protein subunits, designated A, B and C that assemble in a 5:1:1 stoichiometry. Oral toxicity to a range of insects means that some have the potential to be developed as pest control technology. The three subunit proteins do not encode any recognisable export sequences and as such little progress has been made in understanding their secretion. We have developed heterologous TC production and secretion models in E. coli and used them to ascribe functions to different domains of the crucial B+C sub-complex. We have determined that the B and C subunits use a secretion mechanism that is either encoded by the proteins themselves or employ an as yet undefined system common to laboratory strains of E. coli. We demonstrate that both the N-terminal domains of the B and C subunits are required for secretion of the whole complex. We propose a model whereby the N-terminus of the C-subunit toxin exports the B+C sub-complex across the inner membrane while that of the B-subunit allows passage across the outer membrane. We also demonstrate that even in the absence of the B-subunit, that the C-subunit can also facilitate secretion of the larger A-subunit. The recognition of this novel export system is likely to be of importance to future protein secretion studies. Finally, the identification of homologues of B and C subunits in diverse bacterial pathogens, including Burkholderia and Pseudomonas, suggests that these toxins are likely to be important in a range of different hosts, including man