Digital Commons Network^™

Host Interferon-Γ Inducible Protein Contributes To Brucella Survival., Jennifer A. Ritchie, Adam Rupper, James A. Cardelli, Bryan H. Bellaire

Faculty Publications

Brucella spp. are highly adapted intracellular pathogens of mammals that cause chronic infections while surving and replicating in host monocytes and macrophages. Although monocytes are normally susceptible to infection, pretreatment with pro-inflammatory cytokine interferon-γ (IFN-γ) activates cellular defense mechanisms that increase intracellular killing of Brucella and prevents bacterial replication. We examined the contribution of the IFN-γ inducible GTPase, LRG-47, to B. abortus 2308 infection in in vitro and in vivo murine models. Infecting non-activated macrophages from LRG-47(-/-) mice revealed that loss of this host protein negatively effected the intracellular survival and replication of IgG opsonized B. abortus. In contrast, survival …

The Origin And In Situ Identification Of Uncultured Gut Bacteria In Fourth-Instar Larvae Of The Red Imported Fire Ant, Solenopsis Invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Albert H. Lee, Linda Hooper-Bui

Faculty Publications

This study corroborated the findings of Lee et al. (2008) and relied on culture-independent techniques, particularly 16SrDNA sequencing. Results from the study demonstrated that ants in captivity completely change their gut bacterial diversity strongly supports the conclusion that fire ant gut bacteria are environmental in origin. Bacteria in the fourth-instar larvae were present because they were consumed with food sources. From molecular data, a differing list of bacteria from each colony with different branching and clustering among bacterial clades in the phylogenetic trees were found. Different bacterial diversity and evenness was found in all colonies, which provided evidence against the …

Publish And Flourish, Stephen K. Taylor

Faculty Publications

At primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs), teaching is usually the primary responsibility, and many PUI professors do not regularly produce publications, even if they were hired to include research as an important responsibility. Most instructors at these schools are busy enough with just teaching and other academic responsibilities. It can seem intimidating to think of doing research, writing a research proposal, then a publication, and so on. Perhaps the sum of these duties may seem like a daunting set of tasks, and a "fear factor," consciously or subconsciously, may slow or even stop the research initiative. But at PUIs, it is …

Using Self Organizing Maps To Analyze Demographics And Swing State Voting In The 2008 U.S. Presidential Election, Paul T. Pearson, Cameron I. Cooper

Faculty Publications

Emergent self-organizing maps (ESOMs) and k-means clustering are used to cluster counties in each of the states of Florida, Pennsylvania, and Ohio by demographic data from the 2010 United States census. The counties in these clusters are then analyzed for how they voted in the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, and political strategies are discussed that target demographically similar geographical regions based on ESOM results. The ESOM and k-means clusterings are compared and found to be dissimilar by the variation of information distance function.

The New York Marriage Equality Act And The Income Tax, Patricia A. Cain

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Estate Planning For Individuals With Disabilities, Thomas Simmons

Faculty Publications

The basic federal safety net program for elderly, blind and disabled persons is Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers the program and eligibility is based upon financial need. The basic eligible criteria are that an individual have less than two thousand dollars ($2,000) in assets, or three thousand dollars ($3,000) for a couple, although certain limited resources are excluded. There are also income limitations that individuals must satisfy to qualify for SSI. SSI’s sister in welfare benefits is the Medicaid (Title 19) program. While SSI is entirely a federal program, Medicaid, which shares the same basic …

Fleshing Out The Skeleton: Defining The Prongs Of Stern V. Marshall, Robert W. Miller

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Defeating An Erisa Lien With The Statute Of Limitations, Roger Baron, Anthony Lamb

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

"Oral History Core": An Idea For A Metadata Scheme, Nancy Mackay

Faculty Publications

The best way gain a handle on the vast amount of information within oral histories is to develop standards for collecting and organizing this information that institutions of all kinds and sizes can easily adapt. This report presents an idea for such a solution: a metadata scheme for oral histories with the working title Oral History Core.

Exploring The Role Of Pseudodeductibles In Auto Insurance Claims Reporting, Dana A. Kerr Phd

Faculty Publications

Many who purchase insurance understand that by reporting covered losses to their insurers they increase the chances of future premium increases or reductions in insurance coverage.If under such circumstances a policyholder decides not to report an otherwise covered loss, the policyholder is effectively displaying the presence of a “pseudodeductible.” That is, given a covered loss occurs, a policyholder may define a personal and unobservable threshold that is greater than any stated deductible in the policy below which an insurance claim for the loss will not be reported. The scant amount of empirical research on this topic suffers from a lack …

Taking In Strays: A Critique Of The Stray Comment Doctrine In Employment Discrimination Law, Kerri Lynn Stone

Faculty Publications

This Article traces the genesis of this misguided doctrine, its proliferation, and it’s many flaws. It explains what the doctrine has come to mean and which facets of a comment can render it “stray” as a matter of law. Part II evaluates this unwieldy and untenable doctrine and its haphazard and misguided application over the past two decades. Specifically, it was never intended to be a formal doctrine. As employed by courts, the term “stray” means too many things and is too ambiguous for the doctrine to be coherent or effective. Moreover, courts ascribe varying degrees of significance to the …

Supervisory Responsibility For The Office Of Legal Counsel, Avidan Y. Cover

Faculty Publications

In the wake of the notorious Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) torture memoranda, various reforms have been proposed to prevent future erroneous and poorly reasoned legal opinions on matters of the utmost national importance. The need for reform is all the more pressing in a post-9/11 world in which the Executive Branch will continue to arrogate, often in secret, various national security-related powers. None of the proposals, however, addresses the supervisory role that Justice Department and other Executive Branch lawyers play in the formation of OLC opinions.

This Article argues that the failure to hold more senior government …

A Molecular Perspective On The Ageing Of Marine Dissolved Organic Matter, R. Flerus, O. J. Lechtenfeld, B. P. Koch, S. L. Mccallister, P. Schmitt-Kopplin, Ronald Benner, G. Kattner

Faculty Publications

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) was extracted by solid-phase extraction (SPE) from 137 water samples from different climate zones and different depths along an eastern Atlantic Ocean transect. The extracts were analyzed with Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) with electrospray ionization (ESI). Δ14C analyses were performed on subsamples of the SPE-DOM. In addition, the amount of dissolved organic carbon was determined for all water and SPE-DOM samples as well as the yield of amino sugars for selected samples. Linear correlations were observed between the magnitudes of 43 % of the FT-ICR mass peaks and the extract Δ14C …

Supporting The Behavioral Health Of Returning Service Members And Their Families: Challenges And Opportunities, David Wood

Faculty Publications

Veterans often return home with a variety of reactions to the conditions they have been exposed to. Dr. Wood provides information on challenges and opportunities associated with servicing veterans and their families as they seek support and assistance in adjusting to life back at home. He also discusses the nature of and the needs associated with veterans who suffer from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), other disorders, and suicidal ideation

A Section Memoir, Patricia A. Cain

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Importance Of The Political In Immigration Federalism, Pratheepan Gulasekaram, S. Karthick Ramakrishnan

Faculty Publications

This Article provides a systematic, empirical investigation of the genesis of state and local immigration regulations, discrediting the popular notion that they are caused by uneven demographic pressures across the country. It also proffers a novel theory to explain the proliferation of these policies and queries the implications of this new model for federalism analysis. The story we tell in this paper is both political and legal; understanding immigration politics uncovers vital truths about the recent rise of subnational involvement in a policy arena that courts, and commentators have traditionally ascribed to the federal government. Thus, this article connects the …

Guns And Membership In The American Polity, Pratheepan Gulasekaram

Faculty Publications

This Article elucidates the symbolic importance of citizenship distinctions in gun rights, contemplating how the American polity views itself and outsiders, and discussing the dynamics of intergroup and interpersonal interactions in the American Republican tradition.

Getting Past Legal Analysis… Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Teaching Rape, Michelle Oberman

Faculty Publications

Long after the rape chapter was over, when we had moved on to inchoate crimes and cases involving "call girls" and conniving defendants who took messages for them in an era before voicemail - protagonists with whom my students, it seemed safe to wager, were unacquainted - the thoughtful young man from the third row stopped in to ask, "What was the take away from the classes on rape?" My hope is that, in explaining my approach to teaching rape, I will also address the deeper themes afoot in contemporary critiques of legal education: whether and how law schools are …

Tp53 Codon 72 Polymorphism Affects Accumulation Of Mtdna Damage In Human Cells, Serena Altilia, Aurelia Santoro, Davide Malagoli, Catia Lanzarini, Josué Adolfo Ballesteros Álvarez, Gianluca Galazzo, Donald Carl Porter, Paolina Crocco, Giuseppina Rose, Giuseppe Passarino, Igor Roninson, Claudio Franceschi, Stefano Salvioli

Faculty Publications

Human TP53 gene is characterised by a polymorphism at codon 72 leading to an Arginine-to-Proline (R/P) substitution. The two resulting p53 isoforms have a different subcellular localisation after stress (more nuclear or more mitochondrial for the P or R isoform, respectively). p53P72 variant is more efficient than p53R72 in inducing the expression of genes involved in nuclear DNA repair. Since p53 is involved also in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) maintenance, we wondered whether these p53 isoforms are associated with different accumulation of mtDNA damage. We observed that cells bearing p53R72 accumulate lower amount of mtDNA damage upon rotenone stress with respect …

Development Of Clinical Ethics Services In The Uk: A National Survey, Anne Marie Slowther, Leah Mcclimans, Charlotte Price

Faculty Publications

Background In 2001 a report on the provision of clinical ethics support in UK healthcare institutions identified 20 clinical ethics committees. Since then there has been no systematic evaluation or documentation of their work at a national level. Recent national surveys of clinical ethics services in other countries have identified wide variation in practice and scope of activities.

Objective To describe the current provision of ethics support in the UK and its development since 2001.

Method A postal/electronic questionnaire survey administered to the chairs of all 82 clinical ethics services registered with the UK Clinical Ethics Network in July 2010. …

Reproducing Value: How Tax Law Differentially Values Fertility, Sexuality & Marriage, Tessa R. Davis

Faculty Publications

Section 213 of the Internal Revenue Code permits a deduction for an individual’s fertility expenses, but it does not do so evenhandedly. This paper focuses on the current discriminatory effects of §213 doctrine as it is applied to the deductibility of fertility treatments for single persons and/or homosexual couples, as compared to heterosexual, married couples. Traditional economic analysis of the Code fails to explain such discrimination, thus a new approach is required. Utilizing tools from anthropological theory, this paper recognizes and analyzes our tax code (and specifically §213) as a cultural artifact and therein challenges the presumed objectivity of our …

Middle-Income Peers As Educational Resources And The Constitutional Right To Equal Access, Derek W. Black

Faculty Publications

Concentrated poverty in public schools continues to be a leading determinate of the educational opportunities that minority students receive. Since the effective end of mandatory desegregation, advocates have lacked legal tools to address it. As an alternative, some advocates and scholars have attempted to incorporate the concerns of concentrated poverty and racial segregation into educational litigation under state constitutions, but these efforts have been slow to take hold. Thus, all that has remained for students in poor and minority schools is the hope that school finance litigation could direct sufficient resources to mitigate their plight. This Article offers another solution. …

Corporate Social Responsibility After Disaster, Susan S. Kuo, Benjamin Means

Faculty Publications

In recent years, corporations have devoted substantial resources to disaster relief worldwide. For instance, Wal-Mart garnered favorable attention for its contributions in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. According to company press releases, Wal-Mart recently gave hundreds of thousands of dollars for disaster relief in Brazil following a flood, and it has pledged millions in support of Japan in the wake of the tsunami.

Large corporations have not only the economic resources, but also the logistical capacity and operational expertise to make a difference in the first terrible days after a disaster. However, commentators disagree about how …

Anticancer Activity And Biophysical Reactivity Of Copper Complexes Of 2-(Benzo[D][1,3]Dioxol-5-Ylmethylene)-N-Alkylhydrazinecarbothioamides, Floyd A. Beckford, Jeffrey Thessing, Alyssa Stott, Alvin A. Holder, Oleg G. Poluektov, Liya Li, Navindra P. Seeram

Faculty Publications

A series of copper complexes were synthesized from benzo[d][1,3]dioxole-5-carbaldehyde (piperonal) thiosemicarbazones (RHpTSC where R = H, CH3, C2H5 or C6H5 (Ph)). The complexes show interesting variations in geometry depending on the thiosemicarbazone; a dinuclear complex [Cu(HpTSC)Cl]2, a mononuclear complex [Cu(RHpTSC)2Cl2] (R = CH3 or C2H5) and another mononuclear complex [Cu(PhHpTSC)(PhpTSC)Cl] was generated. The complexes bind in a moderately strong fashion to DNA with binding constants on the order of 10⁴ M^{− 1}. They are also strong binders of human serum albumin with binding constants near 10⁴ M^{− 1}. The complexes show good in vitro …

Environmental Perceptions And Objective Walking Trail Audits Inform A Community-Based Participatory Research Walking Intervention, Jamie Zoellner, Jennie L. Hill, Karen Zynda, Alicia D. Sample, M. Kathleen Yadrick

Faculty Publications

Background: Given the documented physical activity disparities that exist among low-income minority communities and the increased focused on socio-ecological approaches to address physical inactivity, efforts aimed at understanding the built environment to support physical activity are needed. This community-based participatory research (CBPR) project investigates walking trails perceptions in a high minority southern community and objectively examines walking trails. The primary aim is to explore if perceived and objective audit variables predict meeting recommendations for walking and physical activity, MET/minutes/week of physical activity, and frequency of trail use. Methods: A proportional sampling plan was used to survey community residents in this …

A Review Of "The Reformation Of The Landscape: Religion, Identity, & Memory In Early Modern Britain And Ireland" By Alexandra Walsham, Nicolle M. Jordan

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Mutation At The Human D1s80 Minisatellite Locus, Kuppareddi Balamurugan

Faculty Publications

Little is known about the general biology of minisatellites. The purpose of this study is to examine repeat mutations from the D1S80 minisatellite locus by sequence analysis to elucidate the mutational process at this locus. This is a highly polymorphic minisatellite locus, located in the subtelomeric region of chromosome 1. We have analyzed 90,000 human germline transmission events and found seven (7) mutations at this locus. The D1S80 alleles of the parentage trio, the child, mother, and the alleged father were sequenced and the origin of the mutation was determined. Using American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) guidelines, we found …

The Lawmaking Family, Noa Ben-Asher

Faculty Publications

Increasingly there are conflicts over families trying to “opt out” of various legal structures, especially public school education. Examples of opting-out conflicts include a father seeking to exempt his son from health education classes; a mother seeking to exempt her daughter from mandatory education about the perils of female sexuality; and a vegetarian student wishing to opt out of in-class frog dissection. The Article shows that, perhaps paradoxically, the right to direct the upbringing of children was more robust before it was constitutionalized by the Supreme Court in Meyer v. Nebraska (1923) and Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925). In …

Financial Abuse Of The Elderly, Christine Lazaro

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

As of 2010, 13% of the population is over age 65; 16% is over age 62. Another 27% of the population falls into the “Baby Boomer” category, aged between 45 and 64.

As Americans approach retirement, the question is raised, “are they prepared?” A study published earlier this year found, “a substantial fraction of persons die with virtually no financial assets—46.1 percent with less than $10,000—and many of these households also have no housing wealth and rely almost entirely on Social Security benefits for support. In addition, this group is disproportionately in poor health. Based on a replacement rate …

Educating English Learners: Reconciling Bilingualism And Accountability, Rosemary C. Salomone

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

In late July 2011, an estimated 5,000 individuals converged on Washington, D.C., to protest the direction of state and federal education policy. Fueled by social media, the Save Our Schools March and National Call to Action was a grassroots effort organized largely by teachers, with principals, school board members, and activists lending support. Featured speakers included prominent education figures, like historian Diane Ravitch and Jonathan Kozol, a former teacher known for his writings on school inequalities. Specific points of contention focused on high stakes testing and test-based accountability, key elements in the Obama Administration’s Blueprint for Reform and Race …