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This thesis analyses “health care litigation” in Brazil and England. By health care litigation I mean those lawsuits in which claimants demand from the State the provision of a certain health treatment based on their entitlement to receive health care from the public health system or funded by it. The question that guides this thesis is whether courts intervening in rationing decisions make the public health system more or less fair. The concept of fairness I use in this thesis draws on the idea of “accountability for reasonableness” developed by Norman Daniel and Charles Sabin. This research will analyse the case-law of courts in Brazil and England, and the impact of litigation on the public health system. Based on this research, I argue that health care litigation in Brazil, where courts interpret the right to health as an individual trump against rationing decisions, is making the public health system less fair. Conversely, in England, where courts mainly control the procedure rather than the substance of the rationing decisions, litigation contributed to make health authorities more accountable and rationing decisions more public and based on better reasons, robust evidence and fair principles. Interestingly, even though courts in both countries have judged their cases in different ways, in the long term, litigation was one of the reasons for the creation of health technology assessment systems that try to legitimate rationing decisions through more public and better reasoned decisions: CONITEC in Brazil and NICE in England. The analysis of healthcare litigation in Brazil and England also contributes to the broader debate about social rights adjudication. These cases provide empirical and nuanced evidence that can be compared with the experience of other jurisdictions to shed light on the potential, risks and limits of courts controlling the allocation of resources in social policies using the language of social rights.

Produced mainly through natural emission from vegetation (~1015 grams a year), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in influence climate through their involvement in photochemistry, such as the production of ozone in the presence of NOx and light. Decades of stationary tower-based studies (~10s of meters) and aircraft flights (~10s of kilometers) have revealed extreme heterogeneity in VOC concentrations in time and space. However, the actual variation in forest cover occurs at ~1 km and less, a scale that represents a missing link in our present-day understanding of VOCs in atmospheric chemistry. This project involves the engineering design, production, and validation of a drone-deployed VOC sampling instrument. The instrument design includes a custom pump and selector valve system for sequentially collecting samples through multiple sorbent-packed thermal desorption tubes and features a lightweight enclosure that can be integrated directly to the chassis of existing drone platforms. Component validation tests revealed high ow rate consistency and no significant gas leakage, both important requirements for post-flight gas chromatography analysis. An onboard microcontroller successfully controlled sampling routines and ow system data acquisition and storage to an onboard memory card. Furthermore, flight tests with the sampler instrument integrated to a DJI Matrice 600 drone demonstrated unimpaired flight dynamics as well as full ow system function under a series of flight maneuvers in high winds. Once deployed as part of a multi-drone fleet from a mobile boat platform, this sampling instrument will help elucidate uncertainties surrounding the magnitudes, variations, and processes controlling VOC emission and uptake at previously unexplored spatial and temporal scales.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the United States since the mid-20th century and has many well-established biomarkers such as C-reactive protein and N terminal pro-8 type peptide. Recent studies suggest that detection of a specific enzyme, myeloperoxidase (MPO) can be used for improved risk stratification in CVD, independent of other more established biomarkers. Myeloperoxidase is an enzyme produced by leukocytes, and functions as a catalyst for the creation of reactive oxidants and radical species. The pathways utilizing MPO have been determined to be an important process in phagocytosis. However, these same pathways are identified as potentially proatherogenic biological activities at various stages of CVD development.Measurement of MPO appears to be a valuable tool in the assessment of early stages of CVD, and this study investigated the viability of an electrochemical sensor system to detect MPO. Specifically, this system used a single-use electrochemical sensor prototype, with a bio-recognition mechanism using MPO antibody. The fabrication and preparation of the sensor system explored two separate bioconjugation techniques, 2 iminothiolane (Traut’s reagent) and N-succinimidyl S-acetylthioacetate (SATA), to immobilize the MPO antibody to the gold working electrode. Bioconjugation procedures for the immobilization of the MPO antibody were established, and the results of performance of these bioconjugated MPO antibody sensors were presented and discussed. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy over a frequency range of 0.01 Hz – 10,000 Hz for a bioconjugated MPO antibody electrode was carried out to assess the surface coverage of the electrode element by the antibody. Preliminary measurements of MPO enzyme using this bioconjugated antibody-sensor appeared to be feasible, and a lower detection limit at a concentration of 0.008 µg/ml MPO was observed in this study.

This dissertation argues that circumcision functions as a kinship ritual in the non-Priestly, narrative texts of the Hebrew Bible. Secondarily, by showing the continuity between non-Priestly and Priestly conceptualizations of circumcision, this study challenges the prevailing categorization of circumcision as a ritual that only acquired significance during the exilic and postexilic periods. Chapter 1 reviews the history of modern biblical scholarship on circumcision in the Hebrew Bible and explains the basis of the scholarly separation between non-Priestly and Priestly views of circumcision. Additionally, this chapter also discusses and evaluates various views of the function of circumcision in the Hebrew Bible. Chapter 2 presents the critical theoretical basis for the primary claim of this dissertation: that circumcision functions as a kinship ritual in ancient Israel. The chapter introduces Nancy Jay’s theory of the gendered nature of blood sacrifice and shows how it can be productively applied to the study of circumcision in the Hebrew Bible. The chapter argues for the kinship-oriented nature of both circumcision and blood sacrifice, taking into account not only biblical evidence but relevant anthropological data as well. Chapters 3–5 are a literary, historical-critical analysis of three non-Priestly, narrative passages regarding circumcision in the Hebrew Bible (Gen 34; Exod 4:24–26; Josh 5:2–9). Each chapter discusses previous scholarship concerning the function of circumcision in the passage before showing how circumcision is best explained as a kinship ritual in each passage. Chapter 6 focuses on three Priestly texts concerning circumcision (Gen 17; Exod 12:43–49; Lev 12:3) and shows how they too present circumcision as a kinship ritual. In doing so, the chapter suggests that there is more continuity between non-Priestly and Priestly presentations of circumcision than typically acknowledged. Chapter 7 concludes the dissertation, summarizes its main claims and arguments, and suggests a couple of directions for future research.

This report explores trends and lessons learned from hybrid organizations pursuing environmental sustainability missions. It hypothesizes that hybrid organizations, defined here as entities that are market-oriented and mission-centered, can positively contribute to some of humanity’s most pressing challenges by deploying their inherent business models. These organizations, which place equal emphasis on their common-good mission and financial performance, blur the distinction between nonprofit and for-profit entities. Building on prior work conducted by researchers on corporate social responsibility, sustainable entrepreneurship, and social enterprise, this research was motivated by a desire to fill a gap in the existing literature on the contributions of privately held, for-profit businesses with environmental sustainability missions. The research includes an analysis of survey data from 47 hybrid organizations, investigating their business models and strategies, finances, organizational structures, processes, metrics, and innovations. The survey data reveal trends related to the integration of business practices that enable companies to meet both mission and market goals, such as employing innovative products in niche markets, leveraging patient capital to meet non-financial objectives, and encouraging shared authority rather than top-down leadership styles. The sample size is biased towards young, small, U.S.-based hybrids, and although respondents show varying levels of profitability, they maintain consistently high levels of integrating environmental sustainability throughout their firms. Moreover, information gleaned from five indepth case studies with best-in-class companies selected from the survey, reveals instructive lessons for hybrid practitioners and researchers alike. These companies demonstrate how to infuse an organization’s culture with its mission, and develop deliberately close personal relationships with suppliers, customers, and shareholders. In addition, these case studies exemplify the challenges of patience and limits to growth rate that are common to many hybrid organizations. They also illustrate a strategic trend toward premium product offerings, which allow these businesses to avoid competing on price. This research suggests that hybrid organizations offer an effective organizational model for contributing solutions to global environmental issues. While there may be limits to the speed of growth or scaling the impact of these organizations, they may also be more effective and self-sustaining than traditional organizations in meeting humanity’s common challenges.