Digital Commons Network^™

Renewable Energy And The Public Trust Doctrine, Alexandra B. Klass

Articles

This Article explores the role of the public trust doctrine in current efforts to site large-scale wind and solar projects on public and private lands. Notably, both proponents and opponents of such renewable energy projects have looked to the public trust doctrine to advance their goals. Proponents of large-scale renewable energy projects point to the environmental and climate change benefits associated with renewable energy development and argue that the use of public lands and large tracts of private lands to facilitate such projects are both in the public interest and consistent with the public trust doctrine. At the same time, …

Environmental Justice And The Bp Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Hari M. Osofsky, Kate Baxter-Kauf, Bradley Hammer, Ann Mailander, Brett Mares, Amy Pikovsky, Andrew Whitney, Laura Wilson

Articles

This Article analyzes the environmental justice implications of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill and proposes ways to better address these concerns currently and in the future. It explores the justice problems that have arisen with respect to the spill response, compensation, and employment and workers. The Article argues that these problems result from a mix of inadequate information, failure to incorporate environmental justice into planning, and statutory provisions that favor oil companies and limit protections for vulnerable populations. It proposes ways in which to address these causes in the context of this disaster and more broadly.

Suburban Climate Change Efforts: Possibilities For Small And Nimble Cities Participating In State, Regional, National, And International Networks, Hari M. Osofsky

Articles

This Article provides a novel analysis of the capacity of suburbs to play a constructive role in addressing climate change. Small suburban cities represent the majority of metropolitan populations and emissions; encouraging their mitigation efforts, in addition to those of large center cities, is critical. In contrast to the conventional critique of suburbs as an undifferentiated group of sprawling emitters, the Article analyzes pathways for different types of small, nimble, suburban governments to learn from other localities and find cost-effective approaches to reducing emissions. It intertwines scholarship on (1) cities, suburbs, and climate change, (2) the complex demography of suburbs, …

Nonlawyers Influencing Lawyers: Too Many Cooks In The Kitchen Or Stone Soup?, Michele M. Destefano

Articles

No abstract provided.

Leaving The Big Deal: Consequences And Next Steps, Jonathan Nabe, David C. Fowler

Articles

Many libraries are facing difficult fiscal climates with serials inflation, budget cutbacks, and reductions in allocations requiring difficult collection management decisions. Libraries may find their flexibility to plan and react unduly restricted due to being contracted to one or more Big Deals, in which they are obligated to buy large, inflexible title lists from big publishers for a set price. This presentation discusses the experience of Southern Illinois University Carbondale and the University of Oregon in leaving Big Deals, provides data on impacts on interlibrary loans, community response, and collection budgets, details the steps required before and after the decision, …

The Speed Of Sound And Attenuation Of An Iec Agar-Based Tissue-Mimicking Material For High Frequency Ultrasound Applications, Chao Sun, Stephen Pye, Jacinta Browne, Anna Janeczko, Bill Ellis, Mairead Butler, Vassilis Sboros, Adrain Thomson, Mark Brewin, Charles Earnshaw, Carmel Moran

Articles

No abstract provided.

Identifying And Localizing Intracellular Nanoparticles Using Raman Spectroscopy, Jennifer Dorney, Franck Bonnier, Amaya Garcia, Alan Casey, Gordon Chambers, Hugh Byrne

Articles

Raman microscopy is employed to spectroscopically image biological cells previously exposed to fluorescently labelled polystyrene nanoparticles and, in combination with K-means clustering and Principal Component Analysis (PCA), is demonstrated to be capable of localising the nanoparticles and identifying the subcellular environment based on the molecular spectroscopic signatures. The neutral nanoparticles of 50 nm or 100 nm, as characterised by dynamic light scattering, are shown to be non-toxic to a human lung adenocarcinoma cell-line (A549), according to a range of cytotoxicity assays including Neutral Red, Alamar Blue, Coomassie Blue and (3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT). Confocal fluorescence microscopy identifies intracellular fluorescence due to …

The Importance Of Serum Serotonin Levels In The Measurement Of Radiation-Induced Bystander Cell Death In Hacat Cells, Fiona Lyng, Maxine Desplanques, K.K. Jella, Amaya Garcia, Brendan Mcclean

Articles

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the importance of serum serotonin levels in the measurement of bystander cell death. The study was undertaken as part of an intercomparison exercise involving seven European laboratories funded under the European Union Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) Non-Targeted Effects (NOTE) integrated project. Materials and Methods: Three batches of foetal bovine serum were tested; serum with high and low serotonin content from the intercomparison exercise as well as serum from the home laboratory. Three sets of human keratinocytes (HaCaT cell line) were cultured in DMEM:F12 medium supplemented with serum with high or low …

Quantitative Reagent-Free Detection Of Fibrinogen Levels In Human Blood Plasma Using Raman Spectroscopy, Kelvin Poon, Fiona Lyng, Peter Knief, Orla L. Howe, Aidan Meade, James Curtin, Hugh Byrne, Joseph Vaughan

Articles

Fibrinogen assays are commonly used as part of clinical screening tests to investigate haemorrhagic states, for detection of disseminated intravascular coagulation and as a predictor of a variety of cardiovascular events. The Clauss assay, which measures thrombin clotting time, is the most commonly used method for measuring fibrinogen levels. Nevertheless, inconsistencies are present in inter-manufacturer reagent sources, calibration standards and methodologies. Automated coagulation analysers, which measure changes in optical density during the prothrombin time (PT-Fg), have found use in many hospitals. However, the PT-Fg method is found to give falsely elevated values due to varying choices of calibrants, reagents and …

Proof Of Classwide Injury, Sergio J. Campos

Articles

No abstract provided.

The Connection Between Permanency And Education In Child Welfare Policy, Kele Stewart

Articles

No abstract provided.

Neoliberal Land Conservation And Social Justice, Jessica Owley

Articles

No abstract provided.

Who Should Protect The Forest: Conservation Easements In The Forest Legacy Program, Jessica Owley, Stephen J. Tulowiecki

Articles

No abstract provided.

Resistance To Soybean Cyst Nematode: Rhg1, Ahmad Walid Afzali, Ali Srour, Aparna Natarajan, Navinder Saini, M Javed Iqbal, Matt Geisler, Hany A. El Shemy, David A. Lightfoot

Articles

The genes underlying rhg1 lie at a sometimes dominant sometimes co-dominant locus, necessary for resistance to all Hg types of the soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) cyst nematode (Heterodera glycines). Genomic research identified; nucleotide changes within a candidate gene encoding a receptor like kinase (RLK) that were capable of altering root development and thereby part of the resistance to Hg types 0 (race 3); changes in a laccase that are capable of altering cyst development; and genes underlying changes in membrane biology. This set of three genes are subject to co-selection with a modifier locus on another …

Genetic Analysis Of Root And Shoot Traits In The ‘Essex’ By ‘Forrest’ Recombinant Inbred Line (Ril) Population Of Soybean [Glycine Max (L.) Merr.], William Brensha Brensha, Stella K. Kantartzi, Khalid Meksem, Robert L. Grier Iv, Abdelali Barakat, David A. Lightfoot, My Abdelmajid Kassem

Articles

Crop productivity is severely reduced by water deficit and drought in many plant species including soybean. Improved root and shoot traits can contribute to drought tolerance ability of the plant. This research was conducted to identify QTL that underlie several root and shoot traits in the ‘Essex’ by ‘Forrest’ (ExF RILs, n=94) recombinant inbred line (RIL) soybean population. Field collected samples were used for gathering phenotypic data of basal root thickness (BRT), lateral root number (LRN), maximum root length (MRL), root fresh weight (RFW), root dry weight (RDW), shoot fresh weight (SFW), shoot dry weight (SDW), and calculating RFW/SFW, and …

The Challenge Of Domestic Implementation Of International Human Rights Law In The Cotton Field Case, Caroline Bettinger-López

Articles

No abstract provided.

Education Is Positively Associated With Macular Pigment: The Irish Longitudinal Study On Ageing (Tilda), John Nolan, Joanne Feeney, Rose Anne Kenny, Hilary Cronin, Claire O'Regan, George Savva, James Loughman, Ciaran Finucane, Eithne Connolly, Katie Meagher, Stephen Beatty

Articles

The three carotenoids lutein, zeaxanthin, and meso-zeaxanthin, are found at the macula and referred to as macular pigment (MP). This study was undertaken to investigate determinants of MP in a large randomly selected sample from the Republic of Ireland (as part of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing [TILDA]).

METHODS:

MP optical density (MPOD) was measured using customized heterochromatic flicker photometry in 4373 participants. Sociodemographic and self reported health data was obtained using computer assisted personal interview (CAPI).

RESULTS

Mean (SD) MPOD for the study group was 0.203 (0.156) with a range of 0 to 1.01. MPOD was higher for …

Bi-Lateral Changes To Hippocampal Cholesterol Levels During Epileptogenesis And In Chronic Epilepsy Following Focal-Onset Status Epilepticus In Mice, Steve Meaney, Maura Heverin, Tobias Engel, Eva Jimenez-Mateosa, Reza Al-Aaudia, David Henshall

Articles

Brain cholesterol homeostasis has been shown to be disrupted in neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's and Huntington's diseases. Investigations in animal models of seizure-induced brain injury suggest that brain cholesterol levels are altered by prolonged seizures (status epilepticus) and are a feature of the pathophysiology of temporal lobe epilepsy. The present study measured hippocampal sterol levels in a model of unilateral hippocampal injury triggered by focal-onset status epilepticus, and in chronically epileptic mice. Status epilepticus was induced by intra-amygdala microinjection of kainic acid and ipsilateral and contralateral hippocampus analyzed. No significant changes were found for ipsilateral or contralateral hippocampal levels …

Effect Of Different Rehydration Temperatures On The Moisture And Phytochemical Constituents Of Dried Edible Irish Brown Seaweed., Sabrina Cox, Shilpi Gupta, Nissreen Abu-Ghannam

Articles

The effect of temperature (20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 °C) on the rehydration kinetics and phytochemical constituents of dried edible Irish brown seaweed, Himanthalia elongata, were studied. The moisture content of fresh and dried seaweed was 4.07 and 0.07 g water/g dry basis, representing a 98.1% reduction in water content. All rehydration moisture curves had a clear exponential tendency, and it was observed that the rehydration time decreased when temperature was increased. Although restoration of the product to its original moisture content was achieved, rehydration resulted in losses in phytochemical content. Moisture equilibrium was achieved fastest at 100 °C …

Development And Validation Of A Novel Reporter Assay For Human Papillomavirus Type 16 Late Gene Expression, Beatrice Orru, Ciaran Cunniffe, Fergus Ryan, Stefan Schwartz

Articles

To facilitate the investigations of HPV-16 late gene expression HPV-16 reporter plasmids were generated using previously described sub-genomic HPV-16 plasmids, named pBEL and pBELM, that, similar to the full viral genome, produce primarily HPV-16 early mRNAs and very little, if any, late mRNAs in cervical cancer cells. The HPV-16 late L1 gene was replaced by the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter gene, or green fluorescent protein (GFP), preceded by the poliovirus internal ribosome entry site (IRES). Results show that the reporter genes mimic the expression of L1 from these plasmids. For example, overexpression of adenovirus E4orf4 protein (E4orf4), polypyrimidine tract binding …

Point Of Care Diagnostics: Status And Future, Vladimir Gubala, Leanne Harris, Antonio J. Ricco, Ming X. Tan, David Williams

Articles

The most commonly used test for monitoring heparin therapy is the activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT). The response of available aPTT reagents to heparin varies significantly. The aim of this study was to highlight the differences between aPTT reagents stored in a dried format to select the most suitable formulations to be used for the development of point-of-care diagnostic devices used for monitoring of unfractionated heparin dose response.

METHODS:

Ten reagents were analysed in terms of their performance in liquid and in dried form after storage for 24 h and 14 days. Performance was assessed by measurement of the clotting …

Reversible Lysine Acetylation Regulates Activity Of Human Glycine N-Acyltransferase-Like 2 (Hglyatl2): Implications For Production Of Glycine-Conjugated Signaling Molecules, Dominick P. Waluk, Filip Sucharski, Laszlo Sipos, Jerzy Silberring, Mary Hunt

Articles

Background: Lysine acetylation is a major post-translational modification of proteins.

Results: Human glycine N-acyltransferase-like 2 is regulated by acetylation/deacetylation of lysine 19.

Conclusion: Reversible lysine acetylation is important in regulating the activity and function of human glycine N-acyltransferases.

Significance: Our study links post-translational modification of proteins with the production of lipid signaling molecules, the N-acyl glycines.

Analogues Of The Epoxy Resin Monomer Diglycidyl Ether Of Bisphenol F: Effects On Contact Allergenic Potency And Cytotoxicity, Niamh O'Boyle, Tamara Delaine, Kristina Luthman, Andreas Natsch, Ann-Therese Karlberg

Articles

Diglycidyl ethers of bisphenol A (DGEBA) and bisphenol F (DGEBF) are widely used as components in epoxy resin thermosetting products. They are known to cause occupational and non-occupational allergic contact dermatitis. The aim of this study is to investigate analogues of DGEBF with regard to contact allergy and cytotoxicity. A comprehensive knowledge of the structural features that contribute to the allergenic and cytotoxic effects of DGEBF will guide the development of future novel epoxy resin systems with reduced health hazards for those coming into contact with them. It was found that the allergenic effects of DGEBF were dependent on its …

Synthesis, Characterisation And Photo-Stability Of A Folate-Modified Β-Cyclodextrin As A Functional Food Additive., Zlata Tofzikovskaya, Christine O'Connor, Mary Mcnamara

Articles

A novel two-step synthetic route was developed and gave the mono-substituted derivative 6-deoxy-6-[(1-(2-amino)ethylamino)folate]-b-cyclodextrin (CDEnFA) with high yield (60 %). Elemental analysis, mass spectrometry, ¹H and ¹³C NMR, FTIR and Raman spectroscopies demonstrated the successful synthesis of the γ isomer only with no evidence of the presence of other isomers or free folic acid. Electronic absorption spectroscopy was used to study the photochemical properties of CDEnFA and showed that in both the solid state and aqueous solution CDEnFA is considerably more photo-stable than free folic acid.

Personality Modulates The Effects Of Emotional Arousal And Valence On Brain Activation, Elizabeth G. Kehoe, John M. Toomey, Joshua H. Balsters, Arun L.W. Bokde

Articles

The influence of personality on the neural correlates of emotional processing is still not well characterized. We investigated the relationship between extraversion and neuroticism and emotional perception using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a group of 23 young, healthy women. Using a parametric modulation approach, we examined how the blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signal varied with the participants’ ratings of arousal and valence, and whether levels of extraversion and neuroticism were related to these modulations. In particular, we wished to test Eysenck's biological theory of personality, which links high extraversion to lower levels of reticulothalamic–cortical arousal, and neuroticism …

Speech Intelligibility Prediction Using A Neurogram Similarity Index Measure, Andrew Hines, Naomi Harte

Articles

Performance Intensity functions can be used to provide additional information over measurement of speech reception threshold and maximum phoneme recognition by plotting a test subject's recognition probability over a range of sound intensities. A computational model of the auditory periphery was used to replace the human subject and develop a methodology that simulates a real listener test. The newly developed NSIM is used to evaluate the model outputs in response to Consonant-Vowel-Consonant (CVC) word lists and produce phoneme discrimination scores.

Convergence And Multidisciplinarity In Nanotechnology: Laboratories As Technological Hubs, Nicolas Battard

Articles

This article argues that research groups dedicated to nanoscience and nanotechnology are considered as technological hubs where scientists with multiple backgrounds converge in order to conduct research at the nanoscale (a billionth of a metre). Scientific production is therefore challenged as multiple ways of thinking, practices and knowledge participate in the creation of new outcomes. Through an exploratory and inductive study, I show that these technological hubs develop a specialisation based on internal competencies and stock of knowledge. The specialisation enables laboratories to position themselves as an expert among other laboratories as well as making them more visible in order …

Working Paper: Concentration Of Secondary Schooling For Irish And Uk Elite Politicians, Brendan O'Rourke, John Hogan, Paul Donnelly

Articles

The study of elites and their formation has returned to centre stage in recent years. The lessons from these studies can be made more universal if a measure of elite formation could be developed that is comparable. The multifaceted nature of the concept of elite formation makes this complex. However, in this paper, by building upon measures used in other fields, such as industrial economics, we offer such a measure that facilitates comparison of elite formation. We illustrate this measure through a comparison of the schooling of Irish and British political elites.

An Entrepreneurial Perspective On The Business Of Being In Our Profession Conference: The Law: Business Or Profession: The Continuing Relevance Of Julius Henry Cohen For The Practice Of Law In The Twenty-First Century, Steven H. Hobbs

Articles

No abstract provided.

Combretazet-3 A Novel Synthetic Cis-Stable Combretastatin-A4-Azetidinone Hybrid With Enhanced Stabilityand Therapeutic Efficacy In Colon Cancer, Lisa M. Greene, Shu Wang, Niamh O'Boyle, Sandra A. Bright, Jane E. Reid, Patrick Kelly, Mary J. Meegan, Daniela M. Zisterer

Articles

In recent years an extensive series of synthetic combretastatin A-4 (CA-4)-azetidinone (β-lactam) hybrids were designed and synthesised with a view to improve the stability, therapeutic efficacy and aqueous solubility of CA-4. Lead compounds containing a 3,4,5-trimethoxy aromatic ring at position 1 and a variety of substitution patterns at positions 3 and 4 of the β-lactam ring were screened in three adenocarcinoma-derived colon cancer cell lines (CT-26, Caco-2 and the CA-4 resistant cell line, HT-29). In both CT-26 and Caco-2 cells all β-lactam analogues analysed displayed potent therapeutic efficacy within the nanomolar range. Substitution of the ethylene bridge of CA-4 with …