Digital Commons Network^™

The Ironically Important Role Of Incidental Take Authorizations In Whale Conservation, Alexander Carbaugh-Rutland, Jessica Owley, Kenneth Broad

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The late 1970s and early '80s saw a regime shift in wildlife protection under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). That shift may be impeding the recovery of cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoise species) in ways that are yet underexplored. As enacted, the MMPA and ESA established a conservation framework designed to reduce, to the fullest extent possible, "takes" of protected species. Between 1978 and 1982, a series of amendments to both statutes introduced a complex web of incidental take authorizations designed to ensure Congress' initial push for wildlife conservation would not impede economic …

The Fox Effect? Implications Of Recruiting Corporate Law To Combat Misinformation, Lili Levi

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In 2023, Fox Corporation settled U.S. Dominion’s defamation action over Fox News’ broadcast of false election fraud claims after the 2020 presidential election for the staggering sum of $787.5 million. Now, a shareholder derivative action is pending in Delaware against the company’s board of directors for breach of state corporate law fiduciary oversight duties for their failure to prevent such defamatory programming. Beyond the specifics of the case, this development portends the emergence of a new politico-legal strategy—using corporate governance requirements as a weapon to promote press accountability and combat misinformation in public discourse. The question addressed in this Essay …

Defining A Field And Building A Human Rights In Patient Care Community, Tamar Ezer

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No abstract provided.

Winding Authority: Consent By Registration And The Legal Singularity, Christina Frohock

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More than forty years ago, the Pennsylvania legislature enacted a uniquely broad and explicit statute directed at out-of-state corporations: registration as a foreign corporation constitutes consent to general personal jurisdiction in the Commonwealth. Pennsylvania's consent-by-registration statute has faced Fourteenth Amendment due process challenges in state and federal courts alike, rising all the way to both the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and the U.S. Supreme Court. This Article first tracks the myriad challenges to the Pennsylvania statute, culminating in the U.S. Supreme Court's opinion in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co. in 2023. The Article then argues that the statute's zigzagging …

Dwelling Overheating In Risk In Cool Climates: Assessing The Risk In The Context Of Retrofit And Climate Change In Ireland, M. Mulville, S. Harrington, C. Li, K. Raushan, E. Essien-Thompson, C. Ahern

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No abstract provided.

Recent Advances In Examining The Factors Influencing The Efficacy Of Biocides Against Listeria Monocytogenes Biofilms In The Food Industry: A Systematic Review, Michael Arthur, Edmund Larbi Afari, Elena‐Alexandra Alexa, Mei‐Jun Zhu, Michael T. Gaffney, Jesus Maria Frias Celayeta, Catherine M. Burgess

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Controlling Listeria monocytogenes and its associated biofilms in the food industry requires various disinfection techniques, including physical, chemical, and biological treatments. Biocides, owing to their ease of use, cost-effectiveness, dissolvability in water, and efficacy against a wide range of microorganisms, are frequently selected options. Nonetheless, concerns have been raised about their efficacy in controlling L. monocytogenes biofilm, as laboratory-based and commercial studies have reported the persistence of this bacterium after cleaning and disinfection. This review systematically examined scientific studies, sourced from the Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed databases between January 2010 and May 2024, that investigated the effectiveness of …

Sustainable Enzymatic Extraction Of High-Purity Chitin From Button Mushroom (Agaricus Bisporus) Off-Production Waste: Influence Of Alkaline Pre-Treatment On Physicochemical Properties, Buliyaminu A. Alimi, Shivani Pathania, Jude Wilson, Brendan Duffy, Jesus Maria Frias

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This study investigated chitin extraction from the stalks and atypical mushrooms, the often-produced waste in the mushroom production process, using a simultaneous application of protease and glucanase with or without an alkaline pretreatment stage. A commercial chitin, chemically extracted from A. bisporus was used as the control. The purity of extracted chitin (98.92–99.36 %) was slightly lower than commercial chitin (99.80 %), but with comparable physicochemical properties (p < 0.05). All enzymatically extracted chitin in this study exhibited an agglomerated, microfibrillar and irregular structure, while the control showed standalone granules with weathering and cracks on the surfaces. The XRD and FTIR spectra indicated that the extracted chitin and the control belong to the α-allotrope group. The degree of acetylation was higher in the extracted chitin (76.97–78.22 %) than in the control (75.05 %). The highest molecular weight obtained for the extracted chitin was 4.53 × 102 KDa (W0548). The study demonstrated the possibility of producing pure, high molecular weight chitin from the waste produced during the commercial production of button mushrooms, using a potentially more sustainable approach than the traditional one. This enzymatic approach reduces chemical waste, as shown by the excellent results obtained for samples without the pre-treatment stage, and improves environmental safety compared to traditional methods.

The Science Of Gaelic Football Match‑Play And Recommendations For Future Research Directions: A Narrative Review, Kate Timmons, Kieran Collins, Shane Mangan

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In recent years, research in Gaelic football has increased. However, the relationship between training demands and match-play demands is not fully understood and requires further investigation. Due to the stochastic nature of the sport, distances covered in match-play have a positional profile and a reduction in match-play running performance has been observed. The physiological demands of match-play at each level remain underexplored. Likewise, performance analysis is a growing area in Gaelic football, with performance indicators, such as possession, productivity, shot efficiency, and kickouts, providing valuable insights to players and coaches during and post-game. This review synthesises current literature on physical …

Effect Of Electrodeposition Time On Physical Characteristics And Antibacterial Activity Of Copper-Incorporated Tio2 Nanotubes, Justynne Fabian, Grant Morton, Shubham Sharma, Brendan Duffy, Susan Warren

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The current work outlines the preparation of a TiO2 nanotube (NT) layer electrochemically formed on the surface of a clinically-relevant titanium alloy via anodisation. This NT layer was subsequently modified via alternating current electrodeposition to incorporate copper micro- and nanoparticles on top of and within the NTs. Physical characterisation of the NT layer and the copper-incorporated NTs was carried out through analysis of the surface morphology, elemental composition, crystallinity, and stability via SEM, EDX, XRD, and ICP-OES, respectively. After immersion in Dulbecco's phosphate buffer saline solution at 37 °C for 24 hours, the electrodeposited copper particles transformed into Cu3(PO4)2·3H2O microflowers. …

Factor Substitution Possibilities, Labor Share Dynamics, And Inequality In An Age Of Intangibles, Adnan Velic

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We examine the economy-wide degree of substitutability between intangible capital and other factor inputs in production using a large sample of advanced countries. In this context, we turn to studying the implications of intangible and tangible capital growth for labor income share dynamics. Compared to tangible capital, we find that intangible capital more strongly complements skilled labor. The analysis further indicates relative fungibility between tangible capital and a composite of intangible capital and skilled labor, in line with the rising prominence of knowledge-intensive tasks and AI-driven online platforms. The intrinsic nature of intangibles and their asymmetric effects across skilled and …

Boden Lecture: Taxation Of Autonomous Artificial Intelligence, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah, Lucas Brasil Salama, Herbert Snitz, W. Robert Thomas

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This Article proposes that tax can be a useful supplement to other measures to regulate Autonomous Artificial Intelligence (AAI) and limit its potential harmful effects. This proposal differs from command-and-control regulation of AAI along the lines of European Union legislation that may unduly limit the development of AAI. It also differs from existing proposals to tax AAI to generate revenue to help workers displaced by AAI programs, or to tax the data used by AAI The proposal is based on granting AAI programs like ChatGPT separate legal personhood, like corporate personhood, while incentivizing or requiring their corporate owner to place …

Remarks Following The Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr. Memorial Lecture In Constitutional Rights And Liberties By The Honorable Judge Michelle Childs, Daiquiri Steele

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No abstract provided.

Modelling The Formation Of Unslanted Holographic Gratings In Hybrid Photopolymer Media, Jack Lyons, Dana Mackey, Izabela Naydenova

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The theoretical modelling of holographic recording in photopolymers has been an important tool in their optimisation. More complex, hybrid organic/inorganic photopolymers have been developed in pursuit of materials with higher sensitivity, low shrinkage, high dynamic range and environmental stability. Recent attempts to augment the existing models for the redistribution of inorganic nanoparticles in holographic recording were successful but there is still a knowledge gap in regards to modelling optical losses, mutual cross-diffusion, the formation of slanted holographic gratings and polymerization induced shrinkage in hybrid photopolymer media. This paper will describe a novel approach to modelling the formation of unslanted holographic …

Enhancement Of Intersystem Crossing In Asymmetrically Substituted Bodipy Photosensitizers, Mikhail Filatov, Tatsiana Mikulchyk, Maxine Hodee, Metodej Dvoracek, Venkata N.K. Mamillapalli, Aimee Sheehan, Craig Newman, Sergey M. Borisov, Daniel Escudero, Izabela Naydenova

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We present a novel method to promote intersystem crossing (ISC) and triplet state formation in boron dipyrromethenes (BODIPYs) through the asymmetrical introduction of functional groups within the chromophore. This approach enables the development of new BODIPY photosensitizers without relying on the incorporation of heavy atoms or large electron-donating aromatic groups. Demonstrated on a series of 14 synthesized asymmetrical BODIPY (aBDP) compounds, it significantly enhances photosensitization efficiency compared to the reference symmetrical BODIPYs. In particular, the asymmetrical introduction of ethoxycarbonyl groups into pyrrolic rings of the BODIPY core lead to efficient ISC and singlet oxygen generation, with quantum yields reaching 0.76 …

Analysis Of Chloride, Nitrite And Nitrate In Processed Meat Using Microwave Extraction And Two-Dimensional Ion Chromatography, Bradley Afanda, Christine O'Connor, Mary Moloney, Karl De Ruyck, Martin Danaher

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A novel two dimensional ion chromatography (2D-IC) method employing suppressed conductivity (chloride) and UV (nitrite and nitrate) detection was developed, validated, and applied for the simultaneous detection and analysis of these compounds at trace levels in processed meats. Samples were extracted by microwave-assisted aqueous digestion, combined with automated inline solid phase extraction (SPE) to enhance sample preparation sensitivity and effectiveness while reducing costs. Mean recoveries for all analytes exceeded 91 %, with a mean coefficient of variation below 1.5 %. Analysis of processed meats from four major Irish retailers revealed chloride levels range from 5.2 to 35.6 g/kg, with nitrite …

Exploring The Sustainability Of Single Use Plastics In The Biopharmaceuticals Sector: A Scoping Review Of Challenges, Opportunities And Impact, Cormac Mcmahon, Adrienne F. M. Fleming, Philip Owende, Malcolm Goggin

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Single-use plastics (SUPs) are synonymous with the biopharmaceuticals sector, facilitating economies of scale, process efficiency, flexibility and sterility assurance, all with a seemingly negligible environmental footprint. Yet, in ever-tightening regulation, mandated by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and by concern for large-scale industrial impacts, the sustainability of SUP consumption is increasingly being questioned. Whilst the sector contributes to human welfare, its transition risk is unlikely to remain immune to societal pressure for more sustainable production. This paper aims to present a scoping review of the apparent contradiction between sectoral SUP adoption and the increasing importance of circularity. The approach to …

Judicial Economy In The Age Of Ai, Yonathan Arbel

Articles

Individuals do not vindicate the majority of their legal claims because of access to justice barriers. This entrenched state of affairs is now facing a disruption. Lawyers and non-lawyers alike are adopting artificial intelligence (AI) tools to perform legal tasks-tools that sharply reduce the costs of generating legal materials. There is finally hope that AI might allow many more to access justice.

Paradoxically, what we gain in access to justice we might lose in the delivery of justice. The problem is not that AI tools are ineffective. Indeed, they are even more effective than most realize-affecting every stage of the …

From A Spectrum To Diagnosis: The Integration Of Raman Spectroscopy And Chemometrics Into Hepatitis Diagnostics, Muhammad Kashif, Hugh J. Byrne

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Hepatitis, most importantly hepatitis B and hepatitis C, is a significant global health concern, requiring an accurate and early diagnosis to prevent severe liver damage and ensure effective treatment. The currently employed diagnostic methods, while effective, are often limited in their sensitivity, specificity, and rapidity, and the quest for improved diagnostic tools is ongoing. This review explores the innovative application of Raman spectroscopy combined with a chemometric analysis as a powerful diagnostic tool for hepatitis. Raman spectroscopy offers a non-invasive, rapid, and detailed molecular fingerprint of biological samples, while chemometric techniques enhance the interpretation of complex spectral data, enabling precise …

Wrongful Birth After Dobbs And The Limits Of Tort Law In Areas Of Dissensus, E. Travis Ramey

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As the abortion debate has raged in this country, a secondary debate over wrongful birth has accompanied it. Wrongful birth is a medical-malpractice-like claim brought by parents who allege that a medical provider negligently failed to provide accurate information about the fetus and that had they received accurate information they would have terminated the pregnancy. Courts rejected the tort theory until Roe v. Wade was decided. Post-Roe, courts were heavily divided over whether to recognize the claim and what damages were recoverable. Now, after Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the continued viability of wrongful birth is in question, and …

A Constitutional False Claims Act, Benjamin Mcmichael, Mackenzi Barrett, W. Kip Viscusi

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The False Claims Act (FCA) represents one of the most important sources, if not the most important source, of liability in the healthcare system and other industries that routinely provide goods and services to the federal government. Originally designed to police fraud during the Civil War, the FCA has become a general statute to enforce many other complex legal schemes. Because failure to comply with complicated statutes and regulations can lead to a reimbursement claim being defined as false under the FCA, the FCA serves as a blunt instrument to cudgel those who fail to comply with the minutiae of …

Unfairness, Reconstructed, Luke Herrine

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A paradigm shift is afoot at major federal consumer protection agencies. For four decades, a bipartisan bloc of bureaucrats has seen the purpose of consumer protection as promoting informed consumer choice or "consumer sovereignty." The idea was that informed consumers in competitive markets would protect themselves by choosing among sellers. Ensuring access to information would then shore up markets' self-correcting tendencies without requiring moral judgment. In the past few years, by contrast, regulators have prioritized sector-wide regulation, enforcement sweeps, and strategic cases against market leaders. They have justified their actions not ( exclusively) in terms of informed choice or efficiency …

Understanding Federal Rule Of Evidence 104(B) On Building Walls And Missing Bricks, Len Niehoff, Shannon Hickey

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We use individual pieces of evidence to construct our cases, recognizing that no one of them, taken in isolation, suffices to get the job done. As Professor McCormick famously said of evidence, “a brick is not a wall.” Federal Rule of Evidence 104(b) explains the logical relationship between those various pieces of evidence and how they help us build our proofs. Or perhaps we should say that the rule tries to explain it, without much success.

Who Speaks For The State?, Robert Young, Kristina Daugirdas, Diem Ho, Duncan Pickard, Larry D. Johnson

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Who speaks for the state is a critical question in international relations. Statements by government representatives have normative force—capable of binding the state in numerous ways, from norm formation to staking out a litigation position. Governments choose their representatives carefully, and typically vet positions and even statements in advance. Indeed, the stability of international relations hinges on the assumption that state representatives act with governmental authority. The stakes of disputes over who speaks for the state are thus high.

Several such contestations have emerged in recent years, in a variety of international fora. At the United Nations General Assembly, the …

Identification Of High-Risk Oral Leukoplakia (Olk) Using Combined Raman Spectroscopic Analysis Of Brush Biopsy And Saliva Samples: A Proof Of Concept Study, Isha Behl, Genecy Calado, Anika Vishwakarma, Damien Traynor, Stephen Flint, Sheila Galvin, Claire M. Healy, Alison Malkin, Hugh J. Byrne, Fiona M. Lyng

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The gold standard method of diagnosis of oral leukoplakia (OLK) is a tissue biopsy followed by histological examination. Raman spectroscopic studies of cytological brush biopsy and saliva samples have previously been shown to differentiate low (no and mild dysplasia) and high risk (moderate and severe dysplasia) OLKs, discriminant models of cellular samples achieving higher specificity, whereas those based on saliva samples achieved higher sensitivity. The current study combines the spectral data sets of cell and saliva samples in an attempt to improve the overall efficiency of the discriminating models. Raman spectral data from cellular (nucleus and cytoplasm) and saliva samples, …

Interpreting The Latent Space Of A Convolutional Variational Autoencoder For Semi-Automated Eye Blink Artefact Detection In Eeg Signals, Sabatina Criscuolo, Andrea Apicella, Roberto Prevete, Luca Longo

Articles

Electroencephalography (EEG) allows the investigation of brain activity. However, neural signals often contain artefacts, hindering signal analysis. For example, eye-blink artefacts are particularly challenging due to their frequency overlap with neural signals. Artificial intelligence, particularly Variational Autoencoders (VAE), has shown promise in EEG artefact removal. This research explores the design and application of Convolutional VAEs for automatically detecting and removing eye blinks in EEG signals. The latent space of CVAE, trained on EEG topographic maps, is used to identify latent components that are selective for eye blinks. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves and Area Under the Curve (AUC) are employed …

Detection Of Radiosensitive Subpopulations Ex-Vivo With Raman Microspectroscopy, Aidan D. Meade, Adrian Maguire, Jane Bryant, Daniel Cullen, Dinesh Medipally, Lisa White, John Armstrong, Mary Dunne, Emma Noone, Shirley Bradshaw, Marie Finn, Aoife M. Shannon, Orla L. Howe, Fiona M. Lyng

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Although significant advances in understanding the molecular drivers of acquired and inherited radiosensitivity have occurred in recent decades, a single analytical method which can detect and classify radiosensitivity remains elusive. Raman microspectroscopy has demonstrated capabilities in the objective classification of various diseases, and more recently in the detection and modelling of radiobiological effect. In this study, Raman spectroscopy is presented as a potential tool for the detection of radiosensitivity subpopulations represented by four lymphoblastoid cell lines derived from individuals with ataxia telangiectasia (2 lines), non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and Turner's syndrome. These are classified with respect to a population with mixed radiosensitivity, …

A Comprehensive Review On Hydrophobic Modification Of Biopolymer Composites For Food Packaging Applications, Sneha Sabu Mathew, Amit K. Jaiswal, Swarna Jaiswal

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Biopolymers derived from biological sources are safe, abundant, eco-friendly, and economical substitutes for synthetic polymers. However, intrinsic properties of biopolymer films, such as abundant hydrophilic groups, weak mechanical properties, low resistance to heat, and poor barrier properties, need to be addressed to restrict them from being used before employing them for food packaging applications. Hydrophobic modification of biopolymers is crucial to enhance their suitability for food packaging applications. Various approaches, including nanocomposites, essential oil incorporation, and chemical modifications have been investigated to address the limitations of biopolymer packaging materials. Utilizing excipients which are deemed safe for consumption effectively achieves the …

A Comprehensive Review Of The Application Of Cold Plasma Technology In Lignocellulosic Biomass Pretreatment, Rasaq S. Abolore, Swarna Jaiswal, Amit K. Jaiswal

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Lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) is a promising feedstock for the sustainable production of biofuels and other biobased products, owing to its abundance, low cost, and minimal competition with food crops for resources. It is mainly composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, forming a complex biomass matrix. Its utilization is hindered by its complex structure and pretreatment is required to break down the chemical resistance caused by the strong association between the cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin structures. Conventional methods such as acid and alkali pretreatment are used frequently but they require the use of high temperatures, high pressure, and corrosive chemicals. This …

Eucalyptus Oil-Loaded Nanocarriers Composite Films To Enhance The Shelf Life Of Cheese, Shubham Sharma, Kalpani Y. Perera, Lily Mulrey, Brendan Duffy, Amit K. Jaiswal, Swarna Jaiswal

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This study developed an environmentally friendly, antimicrobial active food packaging material to extend the shelf life of cheese. Poly(lactic acid) and poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) composite films were incorporated with 1%, 3%, 7%, and 10% (w/w) eucalyptus oil and 0.2% (w/w) titanium dioxide. The physicochemical properties, including optical and mechanical characteristics, surface hydrophobicity, and chemical composition, were evaluated. The films' antimicrobial efficacy against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, biofilm inhibition, and cheese preservation performance were assessed. Results indicated that adding eucalyptus oil reduced tensile strength by 35.6%, while enhancing UV-light barrier properties and increasing yellowness. Notably, biofilm inhibition improved from 21% …

A Critical Review Of Consumer Perception And Environmental Impacts Of Bioplastics In Sustainable Food Packaging, Junjie Lin, Amit K. Jaiswal, Swarna Jaiswal

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As awareness of environmental issues deepens and the demand for sustainability grows among societies, businesses, and consumers, minimizing the environmental impact of food packaging has become increasingly important. Bioplastics offer a promising solution due to their use of renewable resources (such as plants), their biodegradability, and their ability to retain the protective properties of traditional plastics. This review discusses recent advancements and trends in sustainable food packaging, emphasizing the role of bioplastics. Several typical types of bioplastics are introduced, along with an analysis of their advantages and limitations. Furthermore, this study investigates consumers' attitudes toward bioplastic food packaging, emphasizing their …