Digital Commons Network^™

Preface, Roberto Fritsche-Neto, Aluízio Borém

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Dual Hiv Risk And Vulnerabilities Among Women Who Use Or Inject Drugs: No Single Prevention Strategy Is The Answer, Nabila El-Bassel, Wendee M. Wechsberg, Stacey Shaw

Faculty Publications

HIV prevention strategies and services need to address the unique and multilevel drivers that increase the vulnerabilities to HIV, HCV, and STIs among women who use drugs including those who engage in sex work. Scaling-up and improving access to multilevel and combined HIV prevention strategies for these women is central to combating the HIV epidemic.

Evolution Of A Sexually Dimorphic Trait In A Broadly Distributed Topminnow (Fundulus Olivaceus), Jacob F. Schaefer, David D. Duvernell, Brian R. Kreiser, Charles Champagne, Scott R. Clark, Melissa Gutierrez, Laura K. Stewart, Chazz Coleman

Faculty Publications

Understanding the interaction between sexual and natural selection within variable environments is crucial to our understanding of evolutionary processes. The handicap principle predicts females will prefer males with exaggerated traits provided those traits are indicators of male quality to ensure direct or indirect female benefits. Spatial variability in ecological factors is expected to alter the balance between sexual and natural selection that defines the evolution of such traits. Male and female blackspotted topminnows (Fundulidae: Fundulus olivaceus) display prominent black dorsolateral spots that are variable in number across its broad range. We investigated variability in spot phenotypes at 117 sites …

Feature-Based Opinion Mining And Ranking, Magdalini Eirinaki, S. Pisal, J. Singh

Faculty Publications

The proliferation of blogs and social networks presents a new set of challenges and opportunities in the way information is searched and retrieved. Even though facts still play a very important role when information is sought on a topic, opinions have become increasingly important as well. Opinions expressed in blogs and social networks are playing an important role influencing everything from the products people buy to the presidential candidate they support. Thus, there is a need for a new type of search engine which will not only retrieve facts, but will also enable the retrieval of opinions. Such a search …

Β-Nitro-5,10,15-Tritolylcorroles, Manuela Stefanelli, Giuseppe Pomarico, Luca Tortora, Sara Nardis, Frank R. Fronczek, Gregory T. Mccandless, Kevin M. Smith, Machima Manowong, Yuanyuan Fang, Ping Chen, Karl M. Kadish, Angela Rosa, Giampaolo Ricciardi, Roberto Paolesse

Faculty Publications

Functionalization of the β-pyrrolic positions of the corrole macrocycle with -NO 2 groups is limited at present to metallocorrolates due to the instability exhibited by corrole free bases under oxidizing conditions. A careful choice of the oxidant can limit the transformation of corroles into decomposition products or isocorrole species, preserving the corrole aromaticity, and thus allowing the insertion of nitro groups onto the corrole framework. Here we report results obtained by reacting 5,10,15-tritolylcorrole (TTCorrH 3) with the AgNO 2/ NaNO 2 system, to give mono- and dinitrocorrole derivatives when stoichiometry is carefully controlled. Reactions were found to be regioselective, affording …

Work-In-Progress: Linking A Geographically Distributed Reu Program With Networking And Collaboration Tools, Thalia Anagnos, Alicia Lyman-Holt, Sean Brophy

Faculty Publications

The George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation coordinates a geographically distributed REU program with up to 30 students at 5 to 7 research sites each summer. Creating a sense of cohort and providing opportunities for the students to interact is challenging. The program coordinators have leveraged the NEES hub cyberinfrastructure to engage students in professional development and peer-to-peer interaction. Some experimentation with Facebook to sustain engagement with alumni is underway. Resources include a course management system (Moodle embedded in NEES hub) and a virtual world called Quake Quest. Through the course management system students post a variety …

Vitronectin Inhibits Neutrophil Apoptosis Through Activation Of Integrin-Associated Signaling Pathways, Hong Beom Bae, Jaroslaw W. Zmijewski, Jessy S. Deshane, Degui Zhi, Lawrence C. Thompson, Cynthia B. Peterson, David D. Chaplin, Edward Abraham

Faculty Publications

Vitronectin is present in large concentrations in serum and the extracellular matrix. Although vitronectin is known to modulate neutrophil adhesion and chemotaxis, and to contribute to neutrophil-associated proinflammatory processes, a role in apoptosis has not been demonstrated. In thepresent studies,wefound that neutrophils demonstrated more rapid progression to spontaneous or TNF-related apoptosisinducing ligand-induced apoptosis when incubated under vitronectinfree conditions thanwhen vitronectinwas present. The ability of native vitronectin to delay neutrophil apoptosis was not recapitulated by the vitronectin somatomedin B domain. In contrast, inclusion of the cyclo[Arg-Gly-Asp-D-Phe-Val] peptide in cultures containing vitronectin resulted in enhanced neutrophil apoptosis, showing that the vitronectin RGD …

The Bayou Lafourche Oral History Project: Understanding Environmental Change And Religious Identity In Louisiana, Michael Pasquier, Jennifer Cramer

Faculty Publications

The article discusses the Bayou Lafourche Oral History Project, which studied the relation between environmental changes and religion in Bayou Lafourche, a river in South Louisiana. Topics include the role of oral history in community history, the work of Louisiana State University (LSU) students in the project, and the use of audiorecording devices. Also discussed are the role of Roman Catholic devotion to Our Lady of Prompt Succor in the community, the 1965 experience of Hurricane Betsy, and the indexing of interviews from the project.

Assessing The Importance Of Brand Equity In Health Services Marketing Through The Impact Of Acquired Goodwill On Stockholder Returns, Richard A. Heiens, Robert T. Leach, Leanne C. Mcgrath

Faculty Publications

The growing importance of brand equity is widely recognized by researchers and business strategists alike. As such, creative new ways to capture the value of this intangible asset must be devised and tested. The current study uses acquired goodwill as a surrogate indicator of brand equity and looks at the importance of brand equity for firms in the health services industry by measuring the impact of acquired goodwill on stockholder returns. The findings indicate that acquired goodwill and stockholder returns appear to be significantly and positively related to each other. In addition, firms that have higher than average amounts of …

Faith. Simple: Authentic Packaging Of Timeless Truth, Gerald A. Klingbeil

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

“Job Killers”In The News: Allegations Without Verification, Peter Dreier, Christopher R. Martin

Faculty Publications

A comprehensive study analyzes the frequency of the “job killer” term in four mainstream news media since 1984, how the phrase was used, by whom, and—most importantly— whether the allegations of something being a “job killer” were verified by reporters in their stories.

Developing A Technology Integration Residency Model: The Catalyst Project Report, Sandra Hirsh, Ruth Metz, Scott Brown, Laura Serrano, Sheila Gurtu, Lisa Valdez, Jane Fisher

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Cardiorespiratory Fitness Reduces The Risk Of Incident Hypertension Associated With A Parental History Of Hypertension, Robin P. Shook, Duck-Chul Lee, Xuemei Sui, Vivek Prasad, Steven P. Hooker, Timothy S. Church, Steven N. Blair

Faculty Publications

Family history of hypertension increases the risk of an individual to develop hypertension, whereas moderate-to-high cardiorespiratory fitness has the opposite effect. However, the joint association of each on the development of hypertension is not well understood. We studied fitness and incident hypertension in 6278 participants who were given a preventative medical examination. Thirty-three percent reported a parent with hypertension, and there were 1545 cases of incident hypertension after a mean of 4.7 years. The presence of parental hypertension was associated with a 28% higher risk of developing hypertension after adjustments for age, sex, and examination year. After further adjustments for …

Developing Partnerships And Recruiting Dyads For A Prostate Cancer Informed Decision Making Program: Lessons Learned From A Community-Academic-Clinical Team, Daniela B. Friedman, Kim M. Johnson, Otis L. Owens, Tracey L. Thomas, Delisa S. Dawkins, Lucy Gansauer, Sharon Bartelt, Nancy M. Waddell, Pastor Jacqueline Talley, James D. Bearden Iii, James R. Hébert

Faculty Publications

Prostate cancer (PrCA) is the most commonly diagnosed non-skin cancer among men. PrCA mortality in African-American (AA) men in South Carolina is ~50% higher than for AAs in the U.S as a whole. AA men also have low rates of participation in cancer research. This paper describes partnership development and recruitment efforts of a Community-Academic-Clinical research team for a PrCA education intervention with AA men and women that was designed to address the discordance between high rates of PrCA mortality and limited participation in cancer research. Guided by Vesey's framework on recruitment and retention of minority groups in research, recruitment …

Global Technology Initiative At San Jose State University: Results Of Seven Years Of An International Experience For Students, Belle Wei, Patricia Backer, Wenchiang Chung, Andrew Wood

Faculty Publications

For XXX students to thrive in the highly competitive global economy, it is critical to develop international perspectives and knowledge. The $1 million Global Technology Initiative (GTI), established in 2004, provides SJSU students with an opportunity to gain a global perspective of the world by learning about technology and business developments in the Asia Pacific region. GTI donors are high-tech business leaders with strong business ties in Silicon Valley and the Asia Pacific region. Given the current trend of engineering globalization in the global economy, particularly the trend of outsourcing Silicon Valley manufacturing, development, and design work to foreign countries, …

Exploring Post-Translational Arginine Modification Using Chemically Synthesized Methylglyoxal Hydroimidazolones, Tina Wang, Rendy Kartika, David A. Spiegel

Faculty Publications

The methylglyoxal-derived hydroimidazolones (MG-Hs) comprise the most prevalent class of non-enzymatic, post-translational modifications of protein arginine residues found in nature. These adducts form spontaneously in the human body, and are also present at high levels in the human diet. Despite numerous lines of evidence suggesting that MG-H-arginine adducts play critical roles in both healthy and disease physiology in humans, detailed studies of these molecules have been hindered by a lack of general synthetic strategies for their preparation in chemically homogeneous form, and on scales sufficient to enable detailed biochemical and cellular investigations. To address this limitation, we have developed efficient, …

Loss Of Mhc And Neutral Variation In Peary Caribou: Genetic Drift Is Not Mitigated By Balancing Selection Or Exacerbated By Mhc Allele Distributions, Sabrina S. Taylor, Deborah A. Jenkins, Peter Arcese

Faculty Publications

Theory and empirical results suggest that the rate of loss of variation at Mhc and neutral microsatellite loci may differ because selection influences Mhc genes, and because a high proportion of rare alleles at Mhc loci may result in high rates of loss via drift. Most published studies compare Mhc and microsatellite variation in various contemporary populations to infer the effects of population size on genetic variation, even though different populations are likely to have different demographic histories that may also affect contemporary genetic variation. We directly compared loss of variation at Mhc and microsatellite loci in Peary caribou by …

On Vacation With God: A Guide To Spiritual And Physical Renewal, Gerald A. Klingbeil

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

New Technology - Old Law: Autonomous Vehicles And California's Insurance Framework, Robert Peterson

Faculty Publications

In 1988 California voters adopted Proposition 103. The Proposition moved California into the group of states that regulates and requires prior approval of all automotive rates. Had it done only this, insuring autonomous vehicles would present only modest challenges.

Proposition 103, however, did much more. It entrenched into California insurance law a number of requirements that are incompatible with autonomous vehicles and the rapidly advancing technology they embody. The Proposition mandates the use of some specific rating factors that determine a vehicle owner’s premium. This rating system makes little sense when applied to self-driving vehicles. The Proposition also mandates a …

Walls Of Salvation, Hyveth Williams

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Photographic Journey Along El Camino Real De Los Tejas, Christopher K. Talbot

Faculty Publications

This is a photographic traveling exhibit in conjunction with the National Park Service. The exhibit was made possible through the Challenge Cost Share Program in cooperation with Stephen F. Austin State University. This matching fund program allows the National Park Service and partners to work together to preserve and improve resources on national trails. To view selected images from the project visit El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail.

The Connection Between Slavery And Prophecy As It Related To The American Nation In The Writings Of The Adventist Pioneers During The Antebellum Period, Trevor O'Reggio, Dojcin Zivadinovic

Faculty Publications

The period between 1850 and 1865 was a period of major social upheavals in American society; the major issue was the slavery. This period also witnessed the birth and organization of the Sabbatarian Adventism, a pre-millennial Christian movement distinguished by an emphasis on the Seventh-day Sabbath and a special understanding of Bible prophecies. Most Adventist pioneers vehemently opposed slavery, although not always on the same ground as their Christian counterparts. Aided by their peculiar understanding of Bible prophecy, the early Adventists identified America with apocalyptical end-time power, slavery being the key attribute of the “beast that looks like a lamb …

The Future Workforce In Cancer Prevention: Advancing Discovery, Research, And Technology, Wayne D. Newhauser, Michael E. Scheurer, Jessica M. Faupel-Badger, Jessica Clague, Jeffrey Weitzel, Kendra V. Woods

Faculty Publications

As part of a 2-day conference on October 15 and 16, 2009, a nine-member task force composed of scientists, clinicians, educators, administrators, and students from across the USA was formed to discuss research, discovery, and technology obstacles to progress in cancer prevention and control, specifically those related to the cancer prevention workforce. This article summarizes the task force's findings on the current state of the cancer prevention workforce in this area and its needs for the future. The task force identified two types of barriers impeding the current cancer prevention workforce in research, discovery, and technology from reaching its fullest …

Italy At Home And Abroad After 150 Years: The Legacy Of Emigration And The Future Of Italianità, Mark I. Choate

Faculty Publications

Shortly after unification in the Risorgimento, mass emigration stretched Italy in unforeseen ways, changing its culture, economics, and politics, and even its state, territory, language, and population. This enforced globalization polarized Italy and radically changed Italy as a nation-state and as a national culture. Controversies over emigration sharply divided Italian Liberals from the Nationalists and Fascists. The ideals of the nation-state, articulated by Mazzini, have been transformed by emigration in ways that have anticipated the twenty-first century global world. Today Italy faces similar challenges with rising immigration, together with the potential for constructive solutions.

Organizational Alliances By U.S. Schools, Elizabeth Chambliss

Faculty Publications

U.S. law schools increasingly are forming organizational alliances with other training providers in the interests of market expansion and/or consolidation. At the top of the market, U.S. law schools are seeking to brand their positions within the global economy by forming alliances with elite foreign law schools, business schools, and corporate law firms and clients. Schools outside of this market are moving to establish alternative niches through alliances with solo and small firm practitioners, CLE providers, and other organizations serving low-and middle-income clients, as well as through the development of accelerated and/or specialty degrees. Schools at all levels are increasingly …

A School-Based, Peer Leadership Physical Activity Intervention For 6th Graders: Feasibility And Results Of A Pilot Study, Daheia J. Barr-Anderson, Melissa N. Laska, Sara Veblen-Mortenson, Kian Farbakhsh, Bonnie Dudovitz, Mary Story

Faculty Publications

Background: The aim of this study was to promote physical activity in 6th graders by developing and testing the feasibility of an enhanced Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA) program comprised of a peer leadership component and innovative exercise resource toolkit including DVDs. Methods: A racially/ethnically diverse sample of students received the standard PALA program (2 control schools, n = 61) or enhanced PALA+Peers program (2 intervention schools, n = 87) during 2006-2007 academic year. Results: Compared with the control condition, the intervention was successful in increasing moderate physical activity in all students (P = .02) and …

Iraq And Afghanistan Veterans’ Experiences Living With Their Parents After Separation From The Military, Miranda E. Worthen, M Moos, R Ahem

Faculty Publications

When military service members separate from the military, many return to their families of origin, living with their parents for a period of several weeks to years. While research with veterans and their spouses has documented the particular strain of this reintegration period on veterans and their partners, little research to date has examined veterans’ experiences living with their parents. The present study sought to fill this research gap by investigating veterans’ experiences living with their parents using qualitative, in-depth interviews with Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in California. Overall, veterans appreciated the instrumental and emotional support their parents provided when …

Quest Hierarchy For Hyperspectral Face Recognition, David M. Ryer, Trevor J. Bihl, Kenneth W. Bauer Jr., Steven K. Rogers

Faculty Publications

A qualia exploitation of sensor technology (QUEST) motivated architecture using algorithm fusion and adaptive feedback loops for face recognition for hyperspectral imagery (HSI) is presented. QUEST seeks to develop a general purpose computational intelligence system that captures the beneficial engineering aspects of qualia-based solutions. Qualia-based approaches are constructed from subjective representations and have the ability to detect, distinguish, and characterize entities in the environment Adaptive feedback loops are implemented that enhance performance by reducing candidate subjects in the gallery and by injecting additional probe images during the matching process. The architecture presented provides a framework for exploring more advanced integration …

Digital Information Literacy At National Louis University: Embedding And Integrating Information Literacy Into Degree Programs., Rob Morrison, Deana Greenfield

Faculty Publications

This session will provide an overview of NLU Librarians experience to develop a new teaching model that enhanced traditional library instruction through embedding in online courses and new courses on digital information literacy. Our integration into undergraduate degree programs with a required library course was the result of engaging with academic stakeholders and being “out in front” with technology. This resulted in a major shift in our roles and workload and brings us deeper into the teaching and learning process. We will engage participants in a discussion of useful strategies to integrate teaching into academic programs, the role and use …

A Two-Stage Cluster Sampling Method Using Gridded Population Data, A Gis, And Google Earth(Tm) Imagery In A Population-Based Mortality Survey In Iraq, Lp Galway, Nathaniel Bell, Al Shatari Sae, Amy Hagopian, Gilbert Burnham, Abraham Flaxman, Wiliam M. Weiss, Julie Rajaratnam, Tim K. Takaro

Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND:

Mortality estimates can measure and monitor the impacts of conflict on a population, guide humanitarian efforts, and help to better understand the public health impacts of conflict. Vital statistics registration and surveillance systems are rarely functional in conflict settings, posing a challenge of estimating mortality using retrospective population-based surveys.

RESULTS:

We present a two-stage cluster sampling method for application in population-based mortality surveys. The sampling method utilizes gridded population data and a geographic information system (GIS) to select clusters in the first sampling stage and Google Earth TM imagery and sampling grids to select households in the second sampling …