Digital Commons Network^™

Agora, Dignity, And Discrimination: On The Constitutional Shortcomings Of Conscience Laws That Promote Inequality In The Public Marketplace Symposium: Law And Religion In An Increasingly Polarized America, Ronald J. Krotoszynski Jr.

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No abstract provided.

Enhanced Corrosion Protection And Biocompatibility Of A Plga-Silane Coating On Az31 Mg Alloy For Orthopaedic Applications, Sankalp Agarwal, Muhammad Morshed, Marie-Noelle Labour, David Hoey, Brendan Duffy, James Curtin, Swarna Jaiswal

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This paper reports a multi-step procedure to fabricate a novel corrosion resistant and biocompatible PLGA-silane coating on the magnesium (Mg) alloy AZ31. The first step involves alkaline passivation followed by dip coating in a methyltriethoxysilane (MTES) and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) mixture to produce a cross-linked siloxane coating. The second step is to impart an amine functionalization to the silane modified surface by using 3-aminopropyl-triethoxy silane (APTES) for promoting adhesion of the acid terminated poly-(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) as a final coating step. Static contact angle measurements, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy analysis confirmed the successful assembly of coatings on …

Contemporary Practice Of The United States Relating To International Law, January 2016, Kristina Daugirdas, Julian Davis Mortenson

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In this section: • United States and France Sign Agreement to Compensate Holocaust Victims • United States Conducts Naval Operation Within Twelve Nautical Miles of Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, Prompting Protests from China • United States Pursues Bilateral and Multilateral Initiatives in and Around the Arctic

Legal Limits And The Implementation Of The Affordable Care Act, Nicholas Bagley

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Accusations of illegality have dogged the Obama Administration's efforts to implement the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the most ambitious piece of social legislation since the advent of Medicare and Medicaid. Some of the accusations have merit; indeed, it would be surprising if they did not. Even as the ACA's rollout has exposed unanticipated difficulties in the statutory design, congressional antipathy to health reform has precluded looking to the legislature to iron out those difficulties. To secure his principal achievement, President Obama has repeatedly tested the limits of executive authority in implementing the ACA. Six years after its enactment and two …

Easy Come, Easy Go: The Plight Of Children Who Spend Less Than 30 Days In Foster Care, Vivek Sankaran, Christopher Church

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This article explores the plight of “short stayers” and argues that juvenile courts are failing to use two tools—the federal reasonable efforts requirement and the early appointment of parents’ counsel—to prevent the unnecessary entry of children into foster care. The article also argues that states should give parents and children the right to an expedited appeal of removal decisions to ensure removal standards are properly applied. Finally, this article argues that the federal government must acknowledge the problem of short stayers by utilizing data related to children who may unnecessarily enter foster care in the Child and Family Services Review, …

Provisions Denying A Deduction For Illegal Expenses And Expenses Of An Illegal Business Should Be Repealed, Douglas A. Kahn, Howard Bromberg

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Currently, the tax law denies a deduction for business expenses that violate a federal or state law (but only if the state law is generally enforced). In addition, losses, including business losses, cannot be deducted if they arise out of an illegal activity. For example, medical expenses are denied a deduction if they are illegal. Kickbacks, bribes, and rebates given in connection with the Medicaid or Medicare program are nondeductible. Any expenses, legal or not, incurred in connection with the conduct of a business of selling a controlled substance that is prohibited by federal law (or by the law of …

The Just-Barely-Sustainable California Prisoners' Rights Ecosystem, Margo Schlanger

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Over the past two decades, the United States has seen a marked decline in the frequency and depth of court interventions in prisons and jails. Prisoners’ rights litigation has not disappeared—but it has been drastically curtailed by the 1996 Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), along with myriad other forces, doctrinal and political. The PLRA, enacted as part of the Newt Gingrich “Contract with America,” undermined prisoners’ ability to bring, settle, and win lawsuits. (Schlanger 2003; Schlanger 2006)

The resulting impact on jail and prison litigation has been extremely substantial. Significant prisoners’ rights cases certainly remain on court dockets, and new …

Exposing The Gendered Myth Of Post Conflict Transition: The Transformative Power Of Economic And Social Rights, Madeleine Rees, Christine M. Chinkin

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Post conflict transition has become an industry, with a plethora of states, NGOs, experts, institutes, academics and U.N. bodies, all seeking to find the right formula to effect real and sustainable peace where previously there has been none. It is valuable and important, nevertheless, to note that "more than [fifty] percent of peace agreements fail within the first five years of signature". The evidence is clear: transitions are not working.

In this essay we seek to explain and deconstruct some of the terminology applied to post conflict situations by briefly looking at conceptss of "gender equality" participation, political economy, neo-liberalism, …

Maximizing The Spatial Representativeness Of No2 Monitoring Data Using A Combination Of Local Wind-Based Sectoral Division And Seasonal And Diurnal Correction Factors, Aoife Donnelly, Owen Naughton, Bruce Misstear, Brian Broderick

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This article describes a new methodology for increasing the spatial representativeness of individual monitoring sites. Air pollution levels at a given point are influenced by emission sources in the immediate vicinity. Since emission sources are rarely uniformly distributed around a site, concentration levels will inevitably be most affected by the sources in the prevailing upwind direction. The methodology provides a means of capturing this effect and providing additional information regarding source/pollution relationships. The methodology allows for the division of the air quality data from a given monitoring site into a number of sectors or wedges based on wind direction and …

Face Recognition-Based Real-Time System For Surveillance, Fahad Parvez Mahdi, Md. Mahmudul Habib, Susan Mckeever, A.S.M. Moslehuddin, Pandian Vasant

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The ability to automatically recognize human faces based on dynamic facial images is important in security, surveillance and the health/independent living domains. Specific applications include access control to secure environments, identification of individuals at a particular place and intruder detection. This research proposes a real-time system for surveillance using cameras. The process is broken into two steps: (1) face detection and (2) face recognition to identify particular persons. For the first step, the system tracks and selects the faces of the detected persons. An efficient recognition algorithm is then used to recognize detected faces with a known database. The proposed …

The Dynamics Of Flat Surface Internal Geophysical Waves With Currents, Alan Compelli, Rossen Ivanov

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A two-dimensional water wave system is examined consisting of two discrete incompressible fluid domains separated by a free common interface. In a geophysical context this is a model of an internal wave, formed at a pycnocline or thermocline in the ocean. The system is considered as being bounded at the bottom and top by a flatbed and wave-free surface respectively. A current profile with depth-dependent currents in each domain is considered. The Hamiltonian of the system is determined and expressed in terms of canonical wave-related variables. Limiting behavior is examined and compared to that of other known models. The linearised …

Interactive Learning: Developing An Esimulation Portal Framework, Ayman Tobail, John Crowe, Amr Arisha

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The emerging eLearning paradigm is becoming increasingly used in many academic disciplines. The concept acknowledges learning processes that no longer deploy only traditional teaching methods. It can be argued that today’s third level education students are part of a new virtual era where the blackboard has been replaced by the interactive whiteboard, so more interactive and virtually orientated teaching aids are required to assist in the transition from traditional learning to eLearning. The key objective of this paper is to propose a simulation-based learning framework that integrates web-based simulation and a web content management hierarchy model. Using the highly complex …

Atmospheric Cold Plasma Interactions With Modified Atmosphere Packaging Inducer Gases For Safe Food Preservation., Lu Han, Daniela Boehm, Vladimir Milosavljević, Ester Amias, Patrick J. Cullen, Paula Bourke

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Diverse microbiological challenges and pervasive microbial resistance drive technological development in food processing, where increasing process complexity and consumer demand for less processed goods leads to strong demand for effective decontamination. Atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) has wide potential for decontamination application in the food sector. We investigated the effect of Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) gas mixtures on reactive species generated, their efficacy and mechanism of inactivation against Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus. Oxygen levels in the applied working gas had positive interactive effects on ROS generation, in-package inactivation efficacy in conjunction with post-treatment storage time. …

Synthesis And Biochemical Evaluation Of 3-Phenoxy-1,4-Diarylazetidin-2-Ones As Tubulin-Targeting Antitumor Agents, Thomas F. Greene, Shu Wang, Lisa M. Greene, Seema M. Nathwani, Jade K. Pollock, Azizah M. Malebari, Thomas Mccabe, Brendan Twamley, Niamh O'Boyle, Daniela M. Zisterer, Mary J. Meegan

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Structure-activity relationships for a series of 3-phenoxy-1,4-diarylazetidin-2-ones were investigated leading to the discovery of a number of potent antiproliferative compounds, including trans-4-(3-hydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl)-3-phenoxy-1-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)azetidin-2-one (78b) and trans-4-(3-amino-4-methoxyphenyl)-3-phenoxy-1-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)azetidin-2-one (90b). X-ray crystallography studies indicate the potential importance of the torsional angle between the 1-phenyl ‘A’ ring and 4-phenyl ‘B’ ring for potent antiproliferative activity, and that a trans configuration between the 3-phenoxy and 4-phenyl rings is generally optimal. These compounds displayed IC₅₀ values of 38 nM and 19 nM respectively in MCF-7 breast cancer cells, inhibited the polymerization of isolated tubulin in vitro, disrupted the microtubular …

Better Than Bankruptcy?, Andrew B. Dawson

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According to many in the bankruptcy field, small business debtors are increasingly turning to state debtor-creditors laws as an alternative to federal bankruptcy relief. One particularly popular state law is the assignment for the benefit of creditors. The conventional wisdom is that these procedures provide a state law alternative to liquidate a business.

This article reports the results of an original empirical study that challenges this conventional wisdom. Gathering data from every assignment for the benefit of creditors in a major metropolitan area over a three-year period, this study shows that debtors and their secured creditors are using these procedures …

Silver Nanoparticles Induce Pro-Inflammatory Gene Expression And Inflammasome Activation In Human Monocytes, A. Murphy, A. Casey, G. Byrne, Gordon Chambers, Orla L. Howe

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A complete cytotoxic profile of exposure to silver (AgNP) nanoparticles investigating their biological effects on the innate immune response of circulating white blood cells is required to form a complete understanding of the risk posed. This was explored by measuring AgNP-stimulated gene expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in THP-1 monocytes. A further study, on human monocytes extracted from a cohort of blood samples, was carried out to compare with the AgNP immune response in THP-1 cells along with the detection of pro-IL-1β which is a key mediator of the inflammasome complex. …

Rebellious Pedagogy And Practice, Anthony V. Alfieri

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Gerald Lopez's ground breaking book, Rebellious Lawyering: One Chicano's Vision of Progressive Law Practice, introduced new critical pathways and perspectives for clinical educators to better understand and enhance their advocacy, teaching, and scholarship. Indeed, Lopez's interdisciplinary investigation of the local, sociocultural context of the lawyering process produced a marked shift in both the pedagogy and the practice of public interest law, particularly civil rights and poverty law. A quarter century after its publication, Rebellious Lawyering stands out not only for its contextual critique of lawyering theory and practice, but also for its multifaceted integration of law, cultural studies, race …

Deference To Claims Of Substantial Religious Burden, Caroline Mala Corbin

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No abstract provided.

The Unwritten Federal Arbitration Act, Anthony J. Sebok

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The article examines the tension between the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) and state public policy, particularly in consumer arbitration cases. It argues that while the FAA prioritizes arbitration agreements, state public policy can override such agreements when they undermine fairness or due process. The analysis focuses on the implications of ATT Mobility v. Concepcion, which upheld the enforceability of class action waivers under the FAA, and explores how state laws and policies continue to influence arbitration outcomes, especially regarding consolidation and assignment of consumer claims.

Retirement In The Land Of Lincoln: The Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program Act, Edward A. Zelinsky

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In 2015, Illinois became the first state to enact a state-mandated and state-operated retirement system for private sector employers: The Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program Act. The Illinois program resembles a system approved by the California legislature—a system that has not yet been enacted since it is conditioned on an additional vote by the legislature. Illinois’ program and the one proposed in California have notable differences in that (1) the Illinois retirement accounts will qualify as individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”) under the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”); (2) the Illinois IRAs will be Roth IRAs; (3) the California program requires participation …

The Day Doctrine Died: Private Arbitration And The End Of Law, Myriam E. Gilles

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This story begins in 1980, when a budding anti-lawsuit movement found an energetic champion in a new conservative President. Over time, the movement became a dominant feature of political life, as its narrative of activist judges, jackpot justice, and a thriving lawsuit industry stirred partisan passions. And yet, some thirty years on, it is clear that the primary legacy of the anti-lawsuit movement is the movement itself--not legislative achievements, which have been few and far between, but committed adherents, including future Supreme Court Justices, lower court judges, and business leaders.

Meanwhile, and also in the early 1980s, federal courts began …

Abortion, Informed Consent, And Regulatory Spillover, Katherine Shaw, Alex Stein

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The constitutional law of abortion stands on the untenable assumption that any state’s abortion regulations impact citizens of that state alone. On this understand-ing, the state’s boundaries demarcate the terrain on which women’s right to abortion clashes with state power to regulate that right.

This Article uncovers a previously unnoticed horizontal dimension of abortion regulation: the medical-malpractice penalties imposed upon doctors for failing to inform patients about abortion risks; the states’ power to define those risks, along with doctors’ informed-consent obligations and penalties; and, critically, the possi-bility that such standards might cross state lines. Planned Parenthood v. Casey and other …

Innovation, The State And Private Enterprise: A Corporate Lawyer's Perspective, Charles M. Yablon

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This is a review essay based on an important recent book, The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking Public vs. Private Sector Myths, by Mariana Mazzucato, a Professor of the Economics of Innovation. In that book, Professor Mazzucato explains how the U.S. Government, acting as an “entrepreneurial state” has made the critical investments in technologies that have given rise to multi-billion dollar new industries. Mazzucato argues that only the State currently has the funds and incentives necessary to finance the earliest and most important phases of the innovation process, investments the private sector cannot and will not make. Mazzucato’s defense of the centrality …

The Continuing Battle Over Economically Targeted Investments: An Analysis Of The Department Of Labor's Interpretative Bulletin 2015-01, Edward A. Zelinsky

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In Interpretive Bulletin 2015-01 (IB 2015-01), the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) renewed the now two-decades old battle over “economically targeted investments” (ETIs). As a matter of statutory interpretation, IB 2015-01, like its predecessors, is unpersuasive. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) requires plan trustees to invest “solely” to provide participants’ retirement benefits. A trustee who invests in ETIs violates this statutory obligation by pursuing collateral economic benefits for persons other than plan participants. As a matter of policy, the social investing which ETIs exemplify is unsound. At best, such social investing in practice merely shuffles investment …

Class Warfare: The Disappearance Of Low-Income Litigants From The Civil Docket, Myriam Gilles

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In recent years, much attention has been paid to the startling disparities in income and wealth in contemporary U.S. society. The enormous concentration of economic power in the top 1% is the culmination of decades of significant income and wealth gains for the top, combined with stagnant or decreasing growth for the majority - a trend that continues apace. But nowhere is the gap more glaring than in the civil docket, where class actions brought by or on behalf of low-income consumers and employees are on the verge of disappearing.

To be sure, the decline in class actions is only …

Regulating Employment Relationships In The Sharing Economy, Deepa Das Acevedo

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No abstract provided.

No Home For Justice: How Eviction Perpetuates Health Inequity Among Low-Income And Minority Tenants, Allyson E. Gold

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No abstract provided.

Reentering Survivors: Invisible At The Intersection Of The Criminal Legal System And The Domestic Violence Movement, Courtney K. Cross

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Like all returning citizens, women coming home after incarceration face significant challenges to successful reentry. In addition to the collateral consequences of their criminal convictions, reentering women also encounter uniquely gendered obstacles. This Article explores one such obstacle: the relationship between women's reentry and domestic violence. Women on probation or parole who are also experiencing domestic violence too often fall into a blind spot in which the structure of community supervision pressures them to remain in unsafe homes and also punishes them when the abuse they endure interferes with their ability to comply with the conditions of their release. Because …

Nonconformity In American Law And Life: How Much Do We Really Value Diversity: 2016 Meador Lecture Meador Lecture Series 2016-2017: Identity, Richard Delgado

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No abstract provided.

The Tribes Of Maycomb County: The Continuing Quest To Transcend Our Differences, Steven H. Hobbs

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No abstract provided.