Background: Contribution of dietary sources to vitamin D status is not clearly known. Some studies have shown that dietary intake of certain vitamin D rich foods had a significant positive influence on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations, whereas other studies have shown no effect. Although sunlight exposure is a major source of circulating serum 25(OH)D, children and adolescents have been advised on the dangers of sun exposure. Diet may therefore be an important contributor of circulating serum 25(OH)D in absence of or reduced sunlight exposure. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether serum 25(OH)D concentrations were associated with any specific dietary patterns in US children and adolescents using assay-adjusted serum 25(OH)D data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003-2004 and 2005-2006. Methods: Data from 2 cycles of the NHANES 2003-2004 and 2005-2006 for individuals aged 2 to ≤19 y, were used to study the association between dietary patterns and serum 25(OH)D. Dietary patterns were established using factor analysis based on food-frequency questionnaire data. Eigenvalues and Scree plot were used to derive 2 major principal factors. They were labeled as High Fat Low Vegetable (HFLV) and Prudent dietary patterns. Results: Serum 25(OH)D was significantly lower in HFLV dietary pattern group compared to Prudent dietary pattern group (25.1 vs 27.0 ng/mL; P=0.001). The highest serum 25(OH)D concentrations for all subjects were in the low-intake HFLV group or medium and high-intake Prudent groups (P=0.003 and P=0.012, respectively). In multivariate adjusted analysis, children with higher Prudent dietary contribution scores to overall diet showed a significant positive relation with serum 25(OH)D (β=62.01, P=0.016). When data were stratified by sex, a significant positive relation was observed in girls who consumed the Prudent diet (β=86.34, P=0.014) and a significant negative relation was observed in girls who consumed the HFLV diet (β=-84.32, P=0.022). Conclusion: Overall, serum 25(OH)D concentrations were associated with Prudent dietary pattern but not with HFLV dietary pattern in US children and adolescents. When stratified by sex, the relation between dietary patterns and serum 25(OH)D was confined to only girls. Children consuming HFLV pattern diet may benefit from vitamin D supplementation and sunlight exposure (outdoor activities), and should be encouraged to consume more vitamin D fortified foods.

This thesis addresses the growing privatization of the US forces through the Revolution in Military Affairs and the War in Iraq and its implications for the purpose of mobilization and individual military commitment conceptualize by the US warrior ethos. Creating a dialogue between the literature on Private Military Companies and the US warrior ethos, this thesis aims at providing a comprehensive understanding of the values sustaining the warrior ethos and how they are jeopardized by the emergence of new actors in the battlespace. I argue that this commercial turn in the US military erode the warrior ethos by placing business consideration ahead of great personal risk and ultimately raises doubts about civic responsibilities and democratic control of US military affairs.

There has been an increasing interest in the finance literature regarding the impact of transactions costs on US equity markets. The US empirical evidence indicates that transactions costs influence both trading volume (Atkins and Dyl (1997)) and asset returns (Amihud and Mendelson (1986)). Additionally, the theoretical finance literature also indicates that transactions costs affect equilibrium asset returns (Fisher (1994)). In this thesis we assess the impact of transactions costs on the UK equity markets, from four aspects. Firstly, we provide empirical support to the hypothesis that transactions costs affect the "holding period" of an asset in the portfolio of an investor. Secondly, we provide robust results showing that transactions costs affect equilibrium asset returns. Thirdly, we explain the variability of transactions costs with the use of information asymmetry, proxied by the variance of analysts' forecasts, in the spirit of Kim and Verrecchia (1994, 2001). Finally, we find that stock price and trading volume reaction to changes in the FTSE 100 list can be explained by liquidity effects, as proxied by the bid-ask spread. We provide overwhelming evidence, suggesting that transactions costs are important in UK equity markets.

As the public and policy makers continue to become more concerned with climate change, researchers continue to seek to understand and explain energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions trends and their drivers. Living and existing in different areas is associated with different impacts, so growth in different areas, as well as the movement of people to and from those areas will affect energy use and emissions over US, individual states, and counties. First the emissions implications of state to state mobility on household energy and GHG emissions are explored. 3 million households move across state lines annually, and generally move from the North East to the South and West. Migrating households often move to states with different climates, and thus heating and cooling and needs, different fuel mixes, and different regional electricity grids which leads them to experience changes in household emissions as a result of their move. Under current migration trends, the emissions increases of households moving from the Northeast to the South and Southwest are balanced by the emissions decreases of households moving to California and the Pacific Northwest. The net sum of emissions changes for migrating households is slightly positive but near zero; however, that net zero sum represents the balance of many emission changes. Summing emissions changes over individual states and regions show the regional differences in household emissions. Next, a similar analysis is conducted for the 120,000 households that annually move between counties in Pennsylvania. From 2006–2010, the emissions changes experienced by those households balanced to near zero values, similar to the state analysis. The emissions increases from households moving to metropolitan fringe and suburban counties were countered by the emissions decreases from households moving to low emission urban centers, even though urban centers experienced net negative migration. While emission changes experienced by households were dominated by differences in emissions from residential energy use, emission changes for household moving within Pennsylvania were dominated by differences from transportation emissions. Finally, this thesis explores the long term effects of growth and decline at the metropolitan level by estimating fossil based CO2 emissions from1900−2000 for Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. From 1970 to 2000, Allegheny County experienced a 30% decrease in total emissions and energy use from peak values, primarily because of a decline in industrial activity! (40% decrease in value added) and the loss of a quarter of its population. Allegheny County’s history suggests that the scale of change needed to achieve local emissions reductions may be significant; given years of major technological, economic, and demographic changes, per capita emissions in 1940 were nearly the same in 2000. Most local governments are planning emissions reductions rates that exceed 1% per year, which deviate significantly from historical trends. These results suggest additional resources and improved planning paradigms are likely necessary to achieve significant emissions reductions, especially for areas where emissions are still increasing. This work shows that overtime, growth and decline within a! region drives its evolving GHG footprint. Population decline within region may lead to emission reductions, as seen in the Allegheny County, but those reductions are more accurately described as displaced emissions due to population redistribution. From 2005-2010, the mobility of the US population between states, regions and counties was responsible for many household emissions changes that balance annually over the entire US. The near zero sum represents the v precarious emissions balance of two kinds of household moves. First, moves resulting in moderate emissions increases either as a result of households moving to higher carbon regions, like the South or South West, or as a result of households moving higher carbon suburban counties within states. Second, moves resulting in significant emissions decreases! As a result of households moving to low carbon regions or low carbon urban centers. Planning for continued low carbon growth in low carbon regions or cities experiencing high growth rates driven by migration, like California or Philadelphia, is essential in order to offset the moderate emissions increases experienced by households moving to high carbon regions or suburban areas.

The use of complementary non-invasive imaging modalities has been proposed to track disease progression, particularly cancer, while simultaneously evaluating therapeutic efficacy. A major obstacle is a limited ability to compare parameters obtained from different modalities, especially those from exogenous contrast agents or tracers. We hypothesize that combining Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Ultrasound (US) will improve characterization of the tumour microenvironment. In this study, we describe a co-registration apparatus that facilitates the acquisition of a priori co-registered MR and US images in vivo. This apparatus was validated using phantom data and it was found that the US slices can be selected to an accuracy of +/- 100µm translationally and +/- 2 degrees rotationally. Additionally, it was shown that MRI and US may provide complimentary information about the tumour microenvironment, but more work needs to be done to assess repeatability of dynamic contrast enhanced MRI and US.

This thesis focuses on the use of the term &lsquo / failed state&rsquo / as a category in the US foreign policy discourse in the post Cold War era. The concept of &lsquo / failed state&rsquo / is critically examined in terms of its methodological and ontological flaws. It is suggested that the primary methodological flaw of the failed state discourse is its atomistic and essentialist approach which describes &lsquo / state failure&rsquo / as an internal problem which needs external solutions. By rejecting the internal/external dichotomy, the dialectical method is offered as an alternative to examine the use of the term in the US foreign policy discourse in the post Cold War era. It is argued here that failed state discourse is used as a means in the justification of an international order based on &lsquo / preemptive strikes&rsquo / and unilateral economic, political and military interventions. Building upon this ideological function of failed state discourse, the current discusssions on state failure is related to contemporary debates on imperialism.

The objective of this thesis is to analyze the foreign policy of the Justice and Development Party government during the Iraqi Crisis in 2003. In this context, the aim is to find out the answers to the questions of &ldquo / how did the JDP government react to the Iraqi Crisis in 2003 and what were the driving forces pushing the government to act in such a way, how did the JDP government&rsquo / s policies evolved Turkey&rsquo / s relations with the US and the EU, did the JDP government try to evolve the traditional foreign policy orientations of the Turkish Republic?&rdquo / Accordingly the thesis contains four main parts. In the first part of the study, the categorization in the international system in geostrategic and geopolitical terms and general tendencies in Turkish foreign policy are studied. In the second part of the study, the political identity of the JDP and the reasons of categorizing the JDP as a centre-right party are discussed. In the third part, the general attitude of the JDP government in some foreign policy issues and the assumptions of Prof. Dr. Ahmet Davutoglu -the Chief Advisor to the Foreign Minister in foreign policy- are scrutinized. In the forth part, Turkey&rsquo / s relations with the US and the EU during the Iraqi Crisis in 2003 is discussed. Accordingly, this thesis has reached to the following conclusions: First, the JDP has acted in conformity with the traditional concepts of Turkish foreign policy to a major extent, the concerns shaping the Turkish foreign policy toward Iraq since the first Gulf War of 1990-1991 continued to determine the calculations of Turkish actors during the Iraqi Crisis of 2003. Second, the JDP government pursued a two-pronged, dual policy to meet the demands and expectancies of the US, the EU, the Muslim countries and international and internal public opinion.

No description available.

Since the fifteenth century the rise of capitalism and the expansion of global trade networks have ensured that a wide range of consumer goods has become available to people from all walks of life. Paralleling these developments, our attitudes and beliefs about consumer goods have also changed: goods that were once considered luxuries have become commonplace in domestic households. This study celebrates the diversity of this material culture and the variety of symbolic meanings people attach to it. The US – China trade, as a facet of the Spice Trade, is inextricably linked to the development of capitalism and long-distance shipping that ensured the movement of consumer goods to markets around the world. Inevitably, many of these ships sank and archaeologically their cargoes and the artifacts associated with their crew provide an opportunity to glimpse the development of our modern world. This thesis uses the shipwreck Frolic (1850) as a case study to discuss how those involved in, and those who were supplied through, this trade used a range of consumer goods to construct distinct identities for themselves and those around them. This study also draws on a wide variety of source material, including material culture (museum collections and archaeological assemblages), images and documentary sources (courtesy literature and newspapers) to paint a broader picture of the US – China trade and consumer society than any one source is capable of doing itself. This study ultimately argues that the range in consumer goods associated with the late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century US – China trade is symptomatic of the increasing complexity of consumer markets able to facilitate the establishment and maintenance of a wide array of consumer identities, necessary under the many new social, economic and ideological relationships constructed under capitalism.

No description available.