Digital Commons Network^™

Viewing Virtual Property Ownership Through The Lens Of Innovation, Ryan Vacca

Faculty Publications

Over the past several years, many scholars have wrestled with the idea of how property rights for items created in virtual worlds should be conceptualized. Some have discussed utilitarian models, others have examined a Lockean natural rights theory, and still others view virtual property merely as another form of intellectual property. Regardless of how virtual property is conceptualized and which theory it best fits, most, if not all, commentators agree that the law ought to recognize virtual property as property and vest someone with those rights.

This Article moves beyond the initial debate about how property rights in virtual property …

Technology And A House Of Learning, Charles R. Graham, Dawn Graham

Faculty Publications

Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God. Technological innovations over the past decade have had a huge influence on our lives, from the way we communicate and recreate to the way we educate students in the U.S. Technology has even had an impact on our religious lives and on ways we share our beliefs with others.

Toll-Like Receptor 2 Recognition Of The Microsporidia Encephalitozoon Spp. Induces Nuclear Translocation Of Nf-Κb And Subsequent Inflammatory Responses, Jeffrey Fischer, Colby Suire, Hollie Hale-Donze

Faculty Publications

Microsporidia are obligate intracellular parasites that are ubiquitous in nature and have been recognized as causing an important emerging disease among immunocompromised individuals. Limited knowledge exists about the immune response against these organisms, and virtually nothing is known about the receptors involved in host recognition. Toll-like receptors (TLR) are pattern recognition receptors that bind to specific molecules found on pathogens and signal a variety of inflammatory responses. In this study, we show that both Encephalitozoon cuniculi and Encephalitozoon intestinalis are preferentially recognized by TLR2 and not by TLR4 in primary human macrophages. This is the first demonstration of host receptor …

Trading In The Marketplace Of Ideas: Letters-To-The-Editor And Op-Ed Articles (Part I), Douglas E. Abrams

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Combustion Byproducts And Their Health Effects: Summary Of The 10 Th International Congress, Barry Dellinger, Antonio D'Alessio, Andrea D'Anna, Anna Ciajolo, Brian Gullett, Heather Henry, Mel Keener, Jo Ann Lighty, Slawomir Lomnicki, Donald Lucas, Günter Oberdörster, Demetrio Pitea, William Suk, Adel Sarofim, Kirk R. Smith, Tobias Stoeger, Paige Tolbert, Ron Wyzga, Ralf Zimmermann

Faculty Publications

The 10th International Congress on Combustion Byproducts and their Health Effects was held in Ischia, Italy, from June 17-20, 2007. It is sponsored by the US NIEHS, NSF, Coalition for Responsible Waste Incineration (CRWI), and Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). The congress focused on: the origin, characterization, and health impacts of combustion-generated fine and ultrafine particles; emissions of mercury and dioxins, and the development/application of novel analytical/diagnostic tools. The consensus of the discussion was that particle-associated organics, metals, and persistent free radicals (PFRs) produced by combustion sources are the likely source of the observed health impacts of airborne PM rather …

Patently Protectionist? An Empirical Analysis Of Patent Cases At The International Trade Commission, Colleen Chien

Faculty Publications

The International Trade Commission (ITC) provides a special forum for adjudicating patent disputes involving imports. It offers several advantages over United States district courts to patentees, including relaxed jurisdictional requirements, speed, and unique remedies. Unlike district courts, the ITC almost automatically grants injunctive relief to prevailing patentees, and does not recognize certain defenses to infringement. These features have been justified as needed to prosecute foreign infringers who would otherwise evade U.S. district courts. They have also led to charges that the ITC is protectionist and unfair to defendants and that it fosters inconsistency in U.S. patent law.

Based on an …

Nf‐Κb, But Not P38 Map Kinase, Is Required For Tnf‐Α‐Induced Expression Of Cell Adhesion Molecules In Endothelial Cells, Suja Rajan, Jianiming Ye, Shashan Bai, Faqing Huang, Yan-Lin Guo

Faculty Publications

In response to inflammation stimuli, tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) induces expression of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) in endothelial cells (ECs). Studies have suggested that the nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB) and the p38 MAP kinase (p38) signaling pathways play central roles in this process, but conflicting results have been reported. The objective of this study is to determine the relative contributions of the two pathways to the effect of TNF‐α. Our initial data indicated that blockade of p38 activity by chemical inhibitor SB203580 (SB) at 10 µM moderately inhibited TNF‐α‐induced expression of three types of CAMs; ICAM‐1, VCAM‐1 and E‐selectin, indicating that …

From Pulp Hero To Superhero: Culture, Race, And Identity In American Popular Culture, 1900-1940, Julian C. Chambliss, William L. Svitavsky

Faculty Publications

Adventure characters in the pulp magazines and comic books of the early twentieth century reflected development in the ongoing American fascination with heroic figures. As established figures such as the cowboy became disconnected from everyday experiences of Americans, new popular fantasies emerged, providing readers with essentialist action heroes whose adventures stylized the struggle of the American everyman with a modern, industrialized, heterogeneous world. Popular characters such as Tarzan, Conan, the Shadow, and Doc Savage perpetuated the individualistic archetype Americans associated with the frontier cowboy and the struggles of manifest destiny while offering the fantastic adventure, exoticism, and escapism that modernity …

Diversifying America's Energy Future: The Future Of Renewable Wind Power, Ronald H. Rosenberg

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Breast Cancer Survival Among Economically Disadvantaged Women: The Influences Of Delayed Diagnosis And Treatment On Mortality, Emily Rose Smith, Swann Arp Adams, Irene Prabhu Das, Matteo Bottai, Jeanette Fulton, James R. Hébert

Faculty Publications

Breast cancer affects thousands each year in the United States, and disproportionately affects certain subgroups. For example, the incidence of breast cancer in South Carolina is lower in African American compared with European American women by ~12% to 15%, but their mortality rate is twice as high as in European American women. The purpose of the study was to assess factors associated with breast cancer mortality between African American and European American women. Participants (n = 314) in South Carolina's Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (SCBCCEDP), which provides breast cancer screening and treatment services, during the years …

Non-Urban Noirs: Rural Space In Moonrise, On Dangerous Ground, Thieves’ Highway, And They Live By Night, Jesse Schlotterbeck

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Sequestration And Ultrasound-Induced Release Of Doxorubicin From Stabilized Pluronic P105 Micelles, John D. Pruitt, William G. Pitt

Faculty Publications

Controlled drug delivery from micelles requires that the micelles remain stable when diluted below their critical micelle concentration, such as upon injection into blood. A cross-linked, interpenetrating network of N,N-diethylacrylamide (NNDEA) was polymerized in the core of Pluronic P105 micelles to stabilize temporarily the micelles at concentrations below the critical micellar concentration of free P105. The stabilized Pluronic micelles (called Plurogels) were able to sequester the drug doxorubicin (Dox) and protect HL-60 cells from the drug at concentrations where non-stabilized Pluronic provided no protection. The protection lasted ~ 12 hr, which is similar to the half-life of the particles. Application …

Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research, Justice, And The Problem Of Unequal Biological Access, Mark Moller

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Windsat Passive Microwave Polarimetric Signatures Of The Greenland Ice Sheet, David G. Long, Li Li, Peter Gaiser, Mary R. Albert, Elizabeth M. Twarog

Faculty Publications

WindSat has systematically collected the first global fully polarimetric passive microwave data over both land and ocean. As the first spaceborne polarimetric microwave radiometer, it was designed to measure ocean surface wind speed and direction by including the third and fourth Stokes parameters, which are mostly related to the asymmetric structures of the ocean surface roughness. Although designed for wind vector retrieval, WindSat data are also collected over land and ice, and this new data has revealed, for the first time, significant land signals in the third and fourth Stokes parameter channels, particularly over Greenland and the Antarctic ice sheets. …

Inchoate Cd8+ T Cell Responses In Neonatal Mice Permit Influenza-Induced Persistent Pulmonary Dysfunction, Dahui You, Michael Ripple, Shrilatha Balakrishna, Dana Troxclair, Dane Sandquist, Liren Ding, Terry A. Ahlert, Stephania A. Cormier

Faculty Publications

Influenza infection remains a significant cause of pulmonary morbidity and mortality worldwide, with the highest hospitalization and mortality rates occurring in infants and elder adults. The mechanisms inducing this considerable morbidity and mortality are largely unknown. To address this question, we established a neonatal mouse model of influenza infection to test the hypothesis that the immaturity of the neonatal immune system is responsible for the severe pulmonary disease observed in infants. Seven-day-old mice were infected with influenza A virus (H1N1) and allowed to mature. As adults, these mice showed enhanced airway hyperreactivity, chronic pulmonary inflammation, and diffuse emphysematous-type lesions in …

Wtse, An Avre-Family Type Iii Effector Protein Of Pantoea Stewartii Subsp. Stewartii, Causes Cell Death In Non-Host Plants, Jong Hyun Ham, Doris Majerczak, Sophie Ewert, Mysore Venkatarau Sreerekha, David Mackey, David Coplin

Faculty Publications

Pantoea stewartii subsp. stewartii (Pnss) causes Stewart's bacterial wilt of sweet corn and leaf blight of maize. The pathogenicity of Pnss depends on synthesis of extracellular polysaccharide and an Hrp type III secretion system. WtsE, a type III secreted effector protein, is essential for the virulence of Pnss on corn. It belongs to the AvrE family of effectors, which includes DspA/E from Erwinia amylovora and AvrE1 from Pseudomonas syringae. Previously, WtsE was shown to cause disease-associated cell death in its host plant, sweet corn. Here, we examine the biological activity of WtsE in several non-host plants. WtsE induced cell death …

The Effects Of Exposure-Order And Market Entry-Information On Brand Preference: A Dual Process Model, Ronald W. Niedrich, Scott D. Swain

Faculty Publications

A dual process model is proposed that identifies the conditions under which two separate and additive effects on brand preference may obtain. The first is an exposure-order effect that can influence attribute-based processing. The second is the effect of market entry-information that can result in theory-driven processing. The model was tested and supported across two experiments, which demonstrate that the effects of market entry-information and exposure-order on brand preference depend on attribute-type and the time between attribute encoding and preference construction. In contrast to previous research, conditions are identified where market entry-information has no effect on preference and where the …

A Select Survey Of Criminal Justice Administration And Criminology Resources For Research, Reference, And Collection Development, Richard A. Stoddart, Brett Spencer, Adrienne R. Mcphaul

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Secure Group Communication Architecture For Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Adrian N. Phillips, Barry E. Mullins, Richard Raines, Rusty O. Baldwin

Faculty Publications

This paper investigates the application of a secure group communication architecture to a swarm of autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). A multicast secure group communication architecture for the low earth orbit (LEO) satellite environment is evaluated to determine if it can be effectively adapted to a swarm of UAVs and provide secure, scalable, and efficient communications. The performance of the proposed security architecture is evaluated with two other commonly used architectures using a discrete event computer simulation developed using MATLAB. Performance is evaluated in terms of the scalability and efficiency of the group key distribution and management scheme when the …

Assessment Of The Accuracy Of An Mcnpx-Based Monte Carlo Simulation Model For Predicting Three-Dimensional Absorbed Dose Distributions, U. Titt, N. Sahoo, X. Ding, Y. Zheng, W. D. Newhauser, X. R. Zhu, J. C. Polf, M. T. Gillin, R. Mohan

Faculty Publications

In recent years, the Monte Carlo method has been used in a large number of research studies in radiation therapy. For applications such as treatment planning, it is essential to validate the dosimetric accuracy of the Monte Carlo simulations in heterogeneous media. The AAPM Report no 105 addresses issues concerning clinical implementation of Monte Carlo based treatment planning for photon and electron beams, however for proton-therapy planning, such guidance is not yet available. Here we present the results of our validation of the Monte Carlo model of the double scattering system used at our Proton Therapy Center in Houston. In …

Negative And Positive Peer Influence: Relations To Positive And Negative Behaviors For African American, European American, And Hispanic Adolescents, Laura M. Padilla-Walker, Roy A. Bean

Faculty Publications

The purpose of the current study was to examine adolescents’ perceptions of negative and positive peer influence (i.e., indirect peer association and direct peer pressure) as they related to adolescent behavior. Regression analyses were conducted using a sample of African American, European American, and Hispanic adolescents (N ¼ 1659, M age ¼ 16.06, SD ¼ 1.10). The study found differences and similarities in relation to respondents’ ethnicity vis-a`-vis indirect peer association and adolescent behavior. Although few ethnic-based differences occurred as a function of indirect negative peer association, indirect positive peer association was not as consistently or as strongly related to …

X-Ray Crystallographic And Solution State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Investigations Of Nadp+ Binding To Ferredoxin Nadp Reductase From Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, An Wang, Juan Carlos Rodríguez, Huijong Han, Ernst Schönbrunn, Mario Rivera

Faculty Publications

The ferredoxin nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate reductase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa (pa-FPR) in complex with NADP+ has been characterized by X-ray crystallography and in solution by NMR spectroscopy. The structure of the complex revealed that pa-FPR harbors a preformed NADP + binding pocket where the cofactor binds with minimal structural perturbation of the enzyme. These findings were complemented by obtaining sequential backbone resonance assignments of this 29518 kDa enzyme, which enabled the study of the pa-FPR-NADP complex by monitoring chemical shift perturbations induced by addition of NADP+ or the inhibitor adenine dinucleotide phosphate (ADP) to pa-FPR. The results are consistent with …

A Detailed Fluka-2005 Monte-Carlo Simulation For The Atic Detector, R. M. Gunasingha, A. R. Fazely, J. H. Adams, H. S. Ahn, G. L. Bashindzhagyan, K. E. Batkov, J. Chang, M. Christl, O. Ganel, T. G. Guzik, J. Isbert, K. C. Kim, E. N. Kouznetsov, M. I. Panasyuk, A. D. Panov, W. K.H. Schmidt, E. S. Seo, N. V. Sokolskaya, J. W. Watts, J. P. Wefel, J. Wu, V. I. Zatsepin, Z. W. Lin

Faculty Publications

We have performed a detailed Monte-Carlo (MC) simulation for the Advanced Thin Ionization Calorimeter (ATIC) detector using the MC code FLUKA-2005 which is capable of simulating particles up to 10 PeV. The ATIC detector has completed two successful balloon flights from McMurdo, Antarctica lasting a total of more than 35 days. ATIC is designed as a multiple, long duration balloon flight, investigation of the cosmic ray spectra from below 50 GeV to near 100 TeV total energy; using a fully active Bismuth Germanate (BGO) calorimeter. It is equipped with a large mosaic of silicon detector pixels capable of charge identification, …

Intro To The Digital World -- For Nlu Academic Cabinet, August 2008, Kathleen A. Walsh

Faculty Publications

Designed as a "beginner's intro" to online life and online learning; themed around 3 questions: what's going on in the digital world?, what's wrong with these kids today (Gen M)?, and what could all of this mean for online teaching and learning at NLU?

The Dirigo Health Reform Act: A Case Study Of Small Group Market Reform In Maine, Elizabeth Kilbreth, Kimberley Fox

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Watertight Trimmed Nurbs, Thomas W. Sederberg, Xin Li, Hongwei Lin, Heather Ipson

Faculty Publications

This paper addresses the long-standing problem of the unavoidable gaps that arise when expressing the intersection of two NURBS surfaces using conventional trimmed-NURBS representation. The solution converts each trimmed NURBS into an untrimmed T-Spline, and then merges the untrimmed T-Splines into a single, watertight model. The solution enables watertight fillets of NURBS models, as well as arbitrary feature curves that do not have to follow isoparameter curves. The resulting T-Spline representation can be exported without error as a collection of NURBS surfaces.

Genome-Wide Transposon Tagging Reveals Location-Dependent Effects On Transcription And Chromatin Organization In Arabidopsis, Faye M. Rosin, Naohide Watanabe, Jean Luc Cacas, Naohiro Kato, Juana M. Arroyo, Yuda Fang, Bruce May, Matthew Vaughn, Joseph Simorowski, Umamaheswari Ramu, Richard W. Mccombie, David L. Spector, Robert A. Martienssen, Eric Lam

Faculty Publications

The interphase nucleus exists as a highly dynamic system, the physical properties of which have functional importance in gene regulation. Not only can gene expression be influenced by the local sequence context, but also by the architecture of the nucleus in three-dimensions (3D), and by the interactions between these levels via chromatin modifications. A challenging task is to resolve the complex interplay between sequence- and genome structure-based control mechanisms. Here, we created a collection of 277 Arabidopsis lines that allow the visual tracking of individual loci in living plants while comparing gene expression potential at these locations, via an identical …

Morse Theory And Conjugacy Classes Of Finite Subgroups, Noel Brady, Matt Clay, Pallavi Dani

Faculty Publications

We construct a CAT(0) group containing a finitely presented subgroup with infinitely many conjugacy classes of finite-order elements. Unlike previous examples (which were based on right-angled Artin groups) our ambient CAT(0) group does not contain any rank 3 free abelian subgroups. We also construct examples of groups of type Fn inside mapping class groups, Aut(double-struck Fk), and Out(double-struck Fk) which have infinitely many conjugacy classes of finite-order elements. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Exposure To Smoking Imagery In Popular Films And Adolescent Smoking In Mexico, James F. Thrasher, Christine Jackson, Edna Arillo-Santillán, James D. Sargent

Faculty Publications

Background: Exposure to smoking imagery in films in consistently associated with smoking behavior and its psychological antecedents among adolescents in high-income countries, but its association with adolescent smoking in middle-income countries is unknown.

Methods: In 2006, a cross-sectional sample of 3876 Mexican adolescents in secondary school was surveyed on smoking behavior, smoking risk factors, and exposure to 42 popular films that contained smoking. Participants were classified into quartiles of exposure to smoking imagery across all films they reported having seen. Models were estimated to determine associations among quartiles of film-smoking exposure, smoking behavior, and the psychological antecedents of smoking, adjusting …

The Effects Of Viewing Physical And Relational Aggression In The Media: Evidence For A Cross-Over Effect, Sarah M. Coyne, David A. Nelson, Frances Lawton, Shelly Haslam, Lucy Rooney, Leigh Titterington, Hannah Trainor, Jack Remnant, Leah Ogunlaja

Faculty Publications

Research has shown that viewing violence in the media can have a profound impact on aggressive thoughts and behaviors. However, the impact of viewing relational aggression in the media has rarely been examined. This paper presents the results of an experimental study that examines the impact of viewing relational and physical aggression in the media on subsequent aggression. In this study, adult females were shown video clips containing no-aggression, relational aggression, or physical aggression. Their aggressive behavior was measured through the use of a competitive reaction time task (physical aggression) and evaluations of a confederate of the experiment (relational aggression). …