Digital Commons Network^™

Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Of Qtl And Gene Expression Studies Identify Candidate Genes Associated With Aspergillus Flavus Resistance In Maize, Niranjan Baisakh, Eduardo A. Da Silva, Anjan K. Pradhan, Kanniah Rajasekaran

Faculty Publications

Aflatoxin (AF) contamination, caused by Aspergillus flavus, compromises the food safety and marketability of commodities, such as maize, cotton, peanuts, and tree nuts. Multigenic inheritance of AF resistance impedes conventional introgression of resistance traits into high-yielding commercial maize varieties. Several AF resistance-associated quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and markers have been reported from multiple biparental mapping and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in maize. However, QTLs with large confidence intervals (CI) explaining inconsistent phenotypic variance limit their use in marker-assisted selection. Meta-analysis of published QTLs can identify significant meta-QTLs (MQTLs) with a narrower CI for reliable identification of genes and linked markers …

The Inheritance Of Energy And The Evolution Of Unsustainability, Brian Snyder

Faculty Publications

Across contemporary and historical human groups, there is variation in how cultures interact with the environment and this variation is inherited through culture. Some human-environment relationships maximize group fitness relative to other relationships. Thus, there is heritable, fitness-associated variation in human-environment interactions and so human-environment interactions may be understood to be an evolved trait. However, one fitness-maximizing human-environment relationship could be unsustainable resource extraction. Anthroecological theory proposes that human cultures and genotypes have been selected for unsustainability, although several mechanisms have been proposed for how this selection may have worked. Here, I extend anthroecological theory and argue that energy inheritances …

Seepage-Induced Pore Pressure Variations Beneath An Earthen Levee Measured With A Novel Seismic Tool, Daniel Locci-Lopez, Juan M. Lorenzo

Faculty Publications

Shear-wave seismic reflection velocity-versus-depth models can complement our understanding of seepage pore pressure variations beneath earthen levees at locations between geotechnical sites. The seasonal variations of water level in the Mississippi River create pore pressure changes in the adjacent hydraulically connected aquifer on the protected side of artificial levees. Time-lapse shear-wave velocity analysis or repetition of seismic acquisition over an area is a non-invasive method that can detect seasonal pore pressure variations in shallow (< 40 m) aquifers. The seismic reflection patterns during the seasonal pore pressure variations of the river show a distinctive change in the velocity semblance analysis, which is translated as a change in the average stress carried by the grain-to-grain contact, or simply the effective pressure. The seismic data show a greater variation of up to +140/−40 m/s or +700/−150 kPa in the confined aquifer zone, compared with the leaky confined aquifer zone of up to +46/−48 m/s or +140/−80 kPa. These relative effective pressure characteristics allow us to distinguish between confined and leaky aquifers and can be an optional approach for pressure prediction in floodplains along levees without the need to drill borings in the area to measure piezometric data.

The Link Between Marine Thermal Discharges And Nemopilema Nomurai Blooms Around Nuclear Power Plants, Jiawei Wu, Jie Kong, Edward A. Laws, Xin Liu, Changyun Wang, Jixin Chen, Mianrun Chen, Qingzhen Yao, Yantao Wang, Yu Zhen, Chaolun Li, Bangqin Huang

Faculty Publications

Recent research has shown that jellyfish blooms occur more frequently near nuclear power plants (NPPs), and a relationship between thermal discharges from the NPPs and the blooms has been hypothesized. There is, however, no direct evidence that links the thermal discharges with jellyfish blooms. In this study, we conducted 3 cruises (pre-bloom, bloom, and post-bloom) during July to September 2017 in the area surrounding the largest NPP in northern China. The water temperature near the cooling water outfall rose by 2 °C. Although we found no significant impact on phytoplankton abundance or community composition near the outfall, a broader analysis …

The Dose-Response Effect Of Aerobic Exercise On Inflammation In Colon Cancer Survivors, Justin C. Brown, Stephanie L.E. Compton, Jeffrey A. Meyerhardt, Guillaume Spielmann, Shengping Yang

Faculty Publications

Background: Physical activity after surgical resection for colon cancer is associated with significantly longer disease-free survival. Inflammation is hypothesized to mediate the association between physical activity and disease-free survival in colon cancer. Methods: In this exploratory analysis of a randomized dose-response trial, 39 colon cancer survivors who completed standard therapy were stratified by cancer stage and randomized in a 1:1:1 ratio to one of three treatment groups for 24 weeks of usual-care control, 150 min/wk of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (low-dose), or 300 min/wk of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (high-dose). Inflammation outcomes included high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-6 (IL6), and soluble tumor …

Acute Exercise Induces Distinct Quantitative And Phenotypical T Cell Profiles In Men With Prostate Cancer, Erik D. Hanson, Samy Sakkal, Lauren C. Bates-Fraser, Shadney Que, Eunhan Cho, Guillaume Spielmann, Elif Kadife, John A. Violet, Claudio L. Battaglini, Lee Stoner, David B. Bartlett, Glenn K. Mcconell, Alan Hayes

Faculty Publications

Background: Reduced testosterone levels can influence immune system function, particularly T cells. Exercise during cancer reduces treatment-related side effects and provide a stimulus to mobilize and redistribute immune cells. However, it is unclear how conventional and unconventional T cells (UTC) respond to acute exercise in prostate cancer survivors compared to healthy controls. Methods: Age-matched prostate cancer survivors on androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and those without ADT (PCa) along with non-cancer controls (CON) completed ∼45 min of intermittent cycling with 3 min at 60% of peak power interspersed by 1.5 min of rest. Fresh, unstimulated immune cell populations and intracellular perforin …

Editorial: Innovative Approaches To Coral Reef Science By Early Career Researchers, David A. Paz-García, Eric J. Armstrong, Iva Popovic, Raúl A. González-Pech, Michael E. Hellberg

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Genotypic Variation Of Adaptive And Yield Component Traits Of Introduced Grain Oats (Avena Sativa L.) Grown In Bangladesh, Md Nashir Uddin, Md Ali Babar, Stephen A. Harrison, Ummea Khairun Fatema, S. M.Mostafa Kamal Khan

Faculty Publications

Oat (Avena sativa L.) is considered a nutritious cereal. Its demand has surged across the globe steadily for half a decade, including in Bangladesh. Because there is no local variety, the current supply in Bangladesh solely relies on imports. This study aimed to introduce grain oats from the United States of America (U.S.A.) to Bangladesh and determine the extent of their adaptability and yield in this new environment. One hundred oat accessions were introduced in collaboration between North South University, Bangladesh and the University of Florida, U.S.A. They were evaluated in field conditions from November 2019 to April 2020 in …

Germplasm The Key Factor For Development Of Oat Cultivars Urs Olada And Urs Poente, Marcelo Teixeira Pacheco, Stephen Harrison, Luiz Carlos Federizzi

Faculty Publications

Cultivars URS OLADA and URS POENTE, with superior agronomic performance were bred by the Oat Breeding Program of UFRGS. These cultivars were developed using germplasm from the Quaker Oat International Nursery, a long-term collaborative program of open exchange of oats superior germplasm among breeders in a global scale.

Leaky Gut And The Ingredients That Help Treat It: A Review, Ricardo Santos Aleman, Marvin Moncada, Kayanush J. Aryana

Faculty Publications

The human body is in daily contact with potentially toxic and infectious substances in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). The GIT has the most significant load of antigens. The GIT can protect the intestinal integrity by allowing the passage of beneficial agents and blocking the path of harmful substances. Under normal conditions, a healthy intestinal barrier prevents toxic elements from entering the blood stream. However, factors such as stress, an unhealthy diet, excessive alcohol, antibiotics, and drug consumption can compromise the composition of the intestinal microbiota and the homeostasis of the intestinal barrier function of the intestine, leading to increased intestinal …

Classification Of Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria Inoculation Status And Prediction Of Growth-Related Traits In Tropical Maize Using Hyperspectral Image And Genomic Data, Rafael Massahiro Yassue, Giovanni Galli, Roberto Fritsche-Neto, Gota Morota

Faculty Publications

Recent technological advances in high-throughput phenotyping have created new opportunities for the prediction of complex traits. In particular, phenomic prediction using hyperspectral reflectance could capture various signals that affect phenotypes genomic prediction might not explain. A total of 360 inbred maize (Zea mays L.) lines with or without plant growth-promoting bacterial inoculation management under nitrogen stress were evaluated using 150 spectral wavelengths ranging from 386 to 1,021 nm and 13,826 single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Six prediction models were explored to assess the predictive ability of hyperspectral and genomic data for inoculation status and plant growth-related traits. The best models for hyperspectral prediction …

Key Parameters Linking Cyber-Physical Trust Anchors With Embedded Internet Of Things Systems, Michele Maasberg, Leslie G. Butler, Ian Taylor

Faculty Publications

Integration of the Internet of Things (IoT) in the automotive industry has brought benefits as well as security challenges. Significant benefits include enhanced passenger safety and more comprehensive vehicle performance diagnostics. However, current onboard and remote vehicle diagnostics do not include the ability to detect counterfeit parts. A method is needed to verify authentic parts along the automotive supply chain from manufacture through installation and to coordinate part authentication with a secure database. In this study, we develop an architecture for anti-counterfeiting in automotive supply chains. The core of the architecture consists of a cyber-physical trust anchor and authentication mechanisms …

Mcconnell’S Gamble, Peter Nemerovski

Faculty Publications

Part I of the Article discusses the recent history of Supreme Court nominations, beginning with President Ronald Reagan’s unsuccessful nomination of Judge Robert Bork in 1987. It attempts to explain how the Senate, in just a few decades, went from confirming three justices unanimously to confirming four consecutive justices with fewer than 55 votes, amidst increasing partisan rancor. Part II summarizes the new rules of the game in light of the actions taken by both parties, and their justifications for those actions, in the years since Scalia’s death. Part III explores what the future of Supreme Court nominations will look …

Gender Violence As A Penalty Of Poverty, Deborah M. Weissman

Faculty Publications

The matter of gender violence, including intimate partner violence (IPV), has long been categorized as a particularly egregious crime. The consequences of IPV are profound and affect all members of the household, family members near and far, and the communities where they live. Gender violence impacts the national economy. Costs accrue to workplaces, health care institutions, and encumber local and state coffers. Survivors are deprived of income, property, and economic stability: conditions that often endure beyond periods of physical injuries. Offenders also experience economic hardship as a result of involvement with the legal system. They often face significant obstacles when …

Humanizing Corporate Governance, Caleb N. Griffin

Faculty Publications

American corporate governance evolved in a different era, for a type of investor who is no longer typical today. Roughly half of Americans own investment funds, but legal and structural impediments prevent these “human investors” from fully participating in corporate democracy.

One response—“so what?”—is based on the assumption that investors are rationally apathetic. Most investors have so little at stake, the argument goes, that it is economically irrational for them to vote in corporate elections. What this argument misses is that investors’ rational apathy is not fixed. Instead, it is a function of the costs and benefits of voting. If …

Pitfalls Of Progressive Prosecution, Carissa Byrne Hessick

Faculty Publications

This Essay examines the political vulnerabilities facing the progressive prosecution movement, arguing that two core features of its public brand—emphasizing a fundamental break from traditional prosecution and pledging to “do less” by shrinking the criminal justice footprint—have inadvertently exposed reform‑oriented prosecutors to intensified backlash. Drawing on recent examples, the Essay shows how framing progressive prosecution as radically different obscures the long-standing prosecutorial tools these offices still rely on, enabling critics to portray routine exercises of discretion as unprecedented or dangerous. It further explains how decarceral commitments make progressive prosecutors easy targets when crime or disorder rises, both because voters may …

Fake And Real People In Bankruptcy, Melissa B. Jacoby

Faculty Publications

This essay explores the bankruptcy system’s structural bias in favor of artificial persons—for-profit companies, non-profit enterprises, and municipalities given independent life by law—relative to humans. The favorable treatment extends to foundational issues such as the scope and timing of debt relief, the conditions to receiving any bankruptcy protections, and the flexibility to depart from the Bankruptcy Code by asserting that doing so will maximize economic value. The system’s bias also contributes to the “bad-apple-ing” of serious policy problems, running counter to other areas of law that have deemed harms like discrimination to be larger institutional phenomena rather than merely the …

Multibillion-Dollar Tax Questions, James Alm, Jay A. Soled, Kathleen Delaney Thomas

Faculty Publications

Tax compliance in the United States historically hovers in the 80 percent range, costing the nation approximately half a trillion dollars annually in uncollected tax revenue. To foster greater tax compliance, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) should employ whatever tools are at its disposal. Standard deterrence theory argues that increasing the audit rate and imposing stiffer penalties would foster greater tax compliance. There are political headwinds, however, that strongly suggest that these approaches are not currently viable. Instead, there is a low-cost method that could yield greater tax compliance. Drawing on recent and compelling social science research, the IRS should …

Physicians Spreading Medical Misinformation: The Uneasy Case For Regulation, Richard S. Saver

Faculty Publications

Physicians have played a surprisingly prominent role in the current “infodemic” of false and misleading medical claims. Yet, state medical boards, the governmental agencies responsible for professional licensure and oversight, have sanctioned remarkably few physicians. Pushing back against the widespread criticism of medical boards for insufficient action, this Article questions the overall suitability of licensure regulation to police medical misinformation. First, uncertainty exists about medical boards’ jurisdiction and legal authority. Many misinformation claims have involved physicians communicating publicly, not while treating patients. Given the primarily patient-centered legal and ethical frameworks governing the practice of medicine, serious challenges arise in making …

Secondary Courses Taught By Secondary Faculty: A (Personal) Call To Fully Integrate Skills Faculty And Skills Courses Into The Law School Curriculum Ahead Of The Nextgen Bar Exam, Oscar J. Salinas

Faculty Publications

This essay contends that law schools must reconsider how they educate future lawyers by elevating practical skills and the faculty who teach them, especially as the NextGen bar exam shifts toward assessing real‑world lawyering competencies. Through a blend of analysis and personal narrative, the author demonstrates how the traditional casebook‑Socratic model narrows the definition of merit, sidelines students whose strengths are not centered on rapid oral performance, and reinforces a hierarchy that undervalues skills faculty—who are often women and people of color—despite their central role in preparing students for practice.

Tracing the expansion of experiential learning after the Carnegie Report, …

Crimes Against Probate, Kevin Bennardo, Mark Glover

Faculty Publications

Policymakers have increasingly turned their attention to wrongdoing that affects wills, such as the forgery of wills, the procurement of wills through coercion or deceit, and the destruction or suppression of wills. In particular, they have attempted to deter this misconduct by punishing wrongdoers through new forms of criminal and civil liability. Because the United States is on the precipice of the largest intergenerational wealth transfer in history, a significant portion of which will take place through wills, these attempts of deterrence are well-intentioned. However, their implementation has been flawed.

These implementation difficulties stem from the fact that a will …

Markets As Legal Constructions, Gregory Brazeal

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

What Comes Next?, Neil Fulton

Faculty Publications

The United States stands at an important crossroads. Polarization and paralysis are the political norm. Social divisions are deep and seemingly intractable. Concerted action is disappointingly rare. Social and political pressures continue to build like tectonic plates waiting to release. What will come next? This Article begins with a description of the current situation before turning to a consideration of five possible paths forward. First, stasis. There may be more of the same with limited systemic shocks releasing small amounts of pressure without a fundamental change of circumstances. Second, rupture. Building pressure may tear the current political and social system …

South Dakota Legisprudence: A Catalog And Analysis, Neil Fulton

Faculty Publications

Statutes provide much of the modern legal body of law. It is necessary for any lawyer to have a good understanding of "legisprudence," the rules for enactment and interpretation of statutes. South Dakota has developed a useful body of legisprudence through both statutes and cases that provide direction about how statutes should be read. This article provides a descriptive collection and normative assessment of these interpretive rules.

Maternal Restricted- And Over- Feeding During Gestation Perturb Offspring Sperm Epigenome In Sheep, Linkai Zhu, Nicole Tillquist, Giovanna Scatolin, Rachael Gately, Mia Kawaida, Amanda Reiter, Sarah Reed, Steven Zinn, Kristen Govoni, Zongliang Jiang

Faculty Publications

In brief: Inadequate maternal nutrition during gestation can have immediate and lifelong effects on offspring. This study shows that maternal restricted - and over- nutrition during gestation do not affect semen characteristics in F1 male offspring but alters offspring sperm sncRNA profiles and DNA methylome in sheep. Abstract: There is a growing body of evidence that inadequate maternal nutrition during gestation can have immediate and lifelong effects on offspring. However, little is known about the effects of maternal nutrition during gestation on male offspring reproduction. Here, using a sheep model of maternal restricted - and over - nutrition (60 or …

Energetic Budget Of Diploid And Triploid Eastern Oysters During A Summer Die-Off, Sarah Bodenstein, Sandra M. Casas, Terrence R. Tiersch, Jerome F. La Peyre

Faculty Publications

Triploid oysters are widely used in off-bottom aquaculture of eastern oysters, Crassostrea virginica. However, farmers of the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) and Atlantic coast estuaries have observed unresolved, late-spring die-offs of triploid oysters, threatening the sustainability of triploid aquaculture. To investigate this, the physiological processes underlying oyster growth (e.g., feeding, respiration) and mortality of one-year-old diploid and triploid oysters were compared in early summer following an uptick in mortality. It was predicted that higher triploid mortality was the result of energetic imbalances (increased metabolic demands and decreased feeding behavior). Oyster clearance rates, percentage of time valves were open, absorption efficiency, …

Sodium Propionate Or Sodium Butyrate Promotes Fatty Acid Oxidation In Hepg2 Cells Under Oxidative Stress, Kristina J. Cook, Ann Coulter, Michael Keenan, Frank Greenway, Jack N. Losso

Faculty Publications

The beneficial effects of sodium butyrate (NaB) and sodium propionate (NaP) on fatty acid oxidation (FAO) genes and production of proinflammatory cytokines related to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) were evaluated using HepG2 human liver hepatocellular carcinoma cells exposed to palmitate/oleate or lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) as a model. The results showed that NaP or NaB was able to promote FAO, regulate lipolysis, and reduce reactive oxygen species production by significantly increasing the mRNA expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1 alpha (PGC-1α), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα), adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL), carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 alpha (CPT1α), fibroblast growth factor 21 …

Novel Liquor-Based Hot Sauce: Physicochemical Attributes, Volatile Compounds, Sensory Evaluation, Consumer Perception, Emotions, And Purchase Intent, Ricardo S. Aleman, Jhunior A. Marcía, Ismael Montero-Fernández, Joan King, Shirin Kazemzadeh Pournaki, Roberta Targino Hoskin, Marvin Moncada

Faculty Publications

Hot sauces are popular peppery condiments used to add flavor and sensory excitement to gastronomical preparations. While hot sauce occupies a retail category well over a century old, a novel production method using liquor as the base preservative rather than traditional vinegar is now commercially available, and its uniqueness begs study. Hot sauces produced with tequila, rum, vodka, and bourbon were compared to traditional vinegar-based hot sauces concerning physicochemical properties, volatile compounds, microbiological quality, sensory scores, emotions, and purchase intent (PI). Under accelerated conditions, pH, titratable acidity (TA), water activity (Aw), viscosity, and color were analyzed weekly for 20 weeks, …

Disparities In Spatial Accessibility Of Primary Care In Louisiana: From Physical To Virtual Accessibility, Fahui Wang, Yutian Zeng, Lingbo Liu, Tracy Onega

Faculty Publications

Telehealth has been widely employed and has transformed how healthcare is delivered in the United States as a result of COVID-19 pandemic. While telehealth is utilized and encouraged to reduce the cost and travel burden for access to healthcare, there are debates on whether telehealth can promote equity in healthcare services by narrowing the gap among diverse groups. Using the Two-Step Floating Catchment Area (2SFCA) and Two-Step Virtual Catchment Area (2SVCA) methods, this study compares the disparities of physical and virtual access to primary care physicians (PCPs) in Louisiana. Both physical and virtual access to PCPs exhibit similar spatial patterns …

Reconsidering The Good Of Improving Accountability, Roy L. Heidelberg

Faculty Publications

Among the rhetorical pleas that follow most instances of public dissatisfaction is the call for more or better accountability. Accountability is a lauded notion, a “golden concept” that is considered widely as critical to the success of democratic government. Such pleas, I will argue, are misplaced. Rather than starting from the premise of accountability as an idea that no one can be against, I consider the possibility that accountability undermines the very notion it ostensibly promotes: self-government. The concept of accountability in modern political theory is tied more closely to the emergence of an impersonal administrative state than it is …