Digital Commons Network^™

Improving Health Care Outcomes Through Personalized Comparisons Of Treatment Effectiveness Based On Electronic Health Records, Sharona Hoffman, Andy Podgurski

Faculty Publications

Comparative effectiveness research (CER) is one of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s significant initiatives that aims to improve treatment outcomes and lower health care costs. This Article takes CER a step further and suggests a novel clinical application for it. The Article proposes the development of a national framework to enable physicians to rapidly perform, through a computerized service, medically sound personalized comparisons of the effectiveness of possible treatments for patients’ conditions. A treatment comparison for a given patient would be based on data from electronic health records of a cohort of clinically similar patients who received the …

Straight Is Better: Why Law And Society May Legitimately Prefer Heterosexuality, George W. Dent

Faculty Publications

America is embroiled in a culture war over homosexuality. The homosexual movement demands the end of “heteronormativity” - the social and legal preference for heterosexuality. It insists that “Gay Is Good” - just as good as heterosexuality. This article presents a defense of heteronormativity; it argues that straight is better. In particular, it argues that naturally conceiving, bearing and raising children is intrinsically good for parents; that it is both intrinsically and instrumentally good for children to be raised by their biological parents who are married to each other; and that traditional marriage is both intrinsically and instrumentally good for …

The Evolution Of Multi-Component Visual Signals In Darters (Genus Etheostoma), Jennifer M. Gumm, Tamra C. Mendelson

Faculty Publications

As complex traits evolve, each component of the trait may be under different selection pressures and could respond independently to distinct evolutionary forces. We used comparative methods to examine patterns of evolution in multiple components of a complex courtship signal in darters, specifically addressing the question of how nuptial coloration evolves across different areas of the body. Using spectral reflectance, we defined 4 broad color classes present on the body and fins of 17 species of freshwater fishes (genus Etheostoma) and quantified differences in hue within each color class. Ancestral state reconstruction suggests that most color traits were expressed in …

Rotavirus Nsp4: Cell Type-Dependent Transport Kinetics To The Exofacial Plasma Membrane And Release From Intact Infected Cells, Thomas F. Gibbons, Stephen M. Storey, Cecelia V. Williams, Avery Mcintosh, Deanne M. Mitchel, Rebecca D. Parr, Friedhelm Schroeder, Judith M. Ball

Faculty Publications

Background

Rotavirus NSP4 localizes to multiple intracellular sites and is multifunctional, contributing to RV morphogenesis, replication and pathogenesis. One function of NSP4 is the induction of early secretory diarrhea by binding surface receptors to initiate signaling events. The aims of this study were to determine the transport kinetics of NSP4 to the exofacial plasma membrane (PM), the subsequent release from intact infected cells, and rebinding to naïve and/or neighboring cells in two cell types.

Methods

Transport kinetics was evaluated using surface-specific biotinylation/streptavidin pull-downs and exofacial exposure of NSP4 was confirmed by antibody binding to intact cells, and fluorescent resonant energy …

Photosensitizer Drug Delivery Via An Optical Fiber, Matibur Zamadar, Goutam Ghosh, Adaic Kapillai Mahendran, Mihaela Minnis, Bonnie I. Kruft, Ashwini Ghogare, David Aebisher, Alexander Greer

Faculty Publications

: An optical fiber has been developed with a maneuverable miniprobe tip that sparges O2 gas and photodetaches pheophorbide (sensitizer) molecules. Singlet oxygen is produced at the probe tip surface which reacts with an alkene spacer group releasing sensitizer upon fragmentation of a dioxetane intermediate. Optimal sensitizer photorelease occurred when the probe tip was loaded with 60 nmol sensitizer, where crowding of the pheophorbide molecules and self-quenching were kept to a minimum. The fiber optic tip delivered pheophorbide molecules and singlet oxygen to discrete locations. The 60 nmol sensitizer was delivered into petrolatum; however, sensitizer release was less efficient in …

An Exotic Species Is The Favorite Prey Of A Native Enemy, Yiming Li, Zunwei Ke, Supen Wang, Geoffrey R. Smith, Xuan Liu

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Organizational Management Of Conflicting Professional Identities, Cassandra Burke Robertson

Faculty Publications

Professionals in the military have suffered criticism for their failure to counter military excess in the so-called "War on Terror" - especially in the area of torture and maltreatment of detainees. Much of the criticism leveled against such professionals has assumed that they were bad actors who were making a conscious choice to avoid the strictures of their code of ethics. This Article counters that narrative by applying identity theory to offer a more situations explanation. It argues that some of these professional failures arise from the cognitive incentives faced by individuals in an organization that rewards organizational deference over …

A Sui Generis Regime For Traditional Knowledge: The Cultural Divide In Intellectual Property Law, J. Janewa Oseitutu

Faculty Publications

To some extent, traditional knowledge can be protected under various intellectual property laws, but there is no effective international legal protection for this subject matter. This has led to proposals for a sui generis regime to protect traditional knowledge. The precise contours of the right are yet to be determined but a sui generis right could include perpetual protection. It could also result in protection for historical communal works and for knowledge that may be useful but that is not inventive according to the standards of intellectual property law.

Developing countries have been more supportive of an international traditional knowledge …

A Proposal For A Common Minimal Topic Set In Introductory Biology Courses For Majors, Eileen Gregory, Jane P. Ellis, Amanda N. Orenstein

Faculty Publications

A common complaint among instructors of introductory biology courses is the course covers too much material. Without a national consensus specifying which topics are essential, instructors are leery of excluding material. A survey was administered to Two-Year College and Four-Year College and University section members of the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) to identify the topics and skills college and university biology instructors believe students completing introductory biology should know and comprehend. Analysis identified a strong consensus for twenty topics and seven skills that should be included in all year-long introductory college biology course sequences for majors.

Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Cavity Tree Damage By Hurricane Rita: An Evaluation Of Contributing Factors, Ben Bainbridge, Kristen A. Baum, Daniel Saenz, Cory K. Adams

Faculty Publications

Picoides borealis (Red-cockaded Woodpecker) is an endangered species inhabiting pine savannas of the southeastern United States. Because the intensity of hurricanes striking the southeastern United States is likely to increase as global temperatures rise, it is important to identify factors contributing to hurricane damage to Red-cockaded Woodpecker cavity-trees. Our objectives were to examine the effects of landscape-level factors on wind damage to cavity-trees and assess the relative risk of wind damage for different tree species and trees with different types of cavities. We evaluated wind damage to cavity-trees from Hurricane Rita on the Angelina, Sabine, and Davy Crockett national forests …

Supercomputers And Supercomputing, Jeffrey S. Cook

Faculty Publications

What is a Supercomputer? A Supercomputer is defined as the fastest type of computer used for specialized applications that require a massive number of mathematical calculations. The term “supercomputer” was coined in 1929 by the New York World, referring to tabulators manufactured by IBM. To modern computer users, these tabulators would probably appear awkward, slow, and cumbersome to use, but at the time, they represented the cutting edge of technology. This continues to be true of supercomputers today, which harness immense processing power so that they are incredibly fast, sophisticated, and powerful.

Coastal Land Loss And Hypoxia: The 'Outwelling' Hypothesis Revisited, Anindita Das, Dubravko Justic, Erick M. Swenson, R. Euigene Turner, Masamichi Inoue, Dongho Park

Faculty Publications

It is generally believed that interannual variability in the areal extent of the Gulf of Mexico hypoxia is driven primarily by the magnitude of the Mississippi River freshwater and nutrient fluxes. It has recently been proposed that outwelling of carbon from deteriorating coastal wetlands into the surrounding Gulf of Mexico could be an important mechanism promoting the development of hypoxia. We used a coupled hydrology-hydrodynamics model of the Barataria estuary, a site of massive wetland loss, to calculate the fluxes of nitrogen, chlorophyll a and carbon at the estuary-ocean interface. The hydrology model calculates runoff from rainfall and evaporation data, …

Seasonal Microphytobenthos On The Hypoxic Northern Gulf Of Mexico Continental Shelf, M M. Baustian, N N. Rabalais, W L. Morrison, R. Eugene Turner, M M. Baustian

Faculty Publications

The presence of photosynthetic organisms on the seafloor may indicate whether oxygen evolution contributes to the bottom water oxygen pool in the hypoxic area of the northern Gulf of Mexico. We sampled 3 stations (depth: 14, 20 and 23 m) 100 km west of the mouth of the Mississippi River over 3 hypoxic annual cycles to determine whether microphytobenthos or settled phytoplankton existed on the sediment surface. Microscopy and high-performance liquid chromatography were used to determine the presence and composition, and to estimate the biomass of microphytobenthos and phytoplankton in surface and bottom waters and sediments. The sediment community (cells …

Integrating Stomach Content And Stable Isotope Analyses To Quantify The Diets Of Pygoscelid Penguins, Michael J. Polito, Wayne Z. Trivelpiece, Nina J. Karnovsky, Elizabeth Ng, William P. Patterson, Steven D. Emslie

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Troubled Waters Of The Gulf Of Mexico, N.N. Rabalais

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Gennet: A Platform For Hybrid Network Experiments., Kispersky Tj, Economo Mn, Randeria P, White Ja

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Summertime Tidal Flushing Of Barataria Bay: Transports Of Water And Suspended Sediments, Chunyan Li, John R. White, Changsheng Chen, Huichan Lin, Eddie Weeks, Kari Galvan, Sibel Bargu

Faculty Publications

Inlets provide a critical ecological link between restricted bays and estuaries to the coastal ocean. The net fluxes of water and suspended sediment are presented in this study. These fluxes are obtained based on data from a multidisciplinary, full tidal cycle survey across Barataria Pass in southern Louisiana on 31 July to 1 August 2008. The velocity profiles were obtained with an acoustic Doppler current profiler mounted on a small boat continuously crossing the inlet, which contains swift and turbulent tidal currents. Water samples were collected six times in a 24 h period at three discrete depths and three locations …

Funding Stem Cell Research: The Convergence Of Science, Religion & Politics In The Formation Of Public Health Policy, Edward A. Fallone

Faculty Publications

The controversy over the funding of stem cell research by the federal government is used as a case study for examining how policy choices are made in the field of public bioethics. This article examines the manner in which the decision to fund stem cell research has been influenced by the convergence of evolving scientific knowledge, conflicting religious values, and the role of elected officials in a representative democracy. The article begins by reviewing the current state of scientific knowledge concerning adult stem cells, embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, and the process of direct cell re-programming. Because each …

"Do Androids Dream?": Personhood And Intelligent Artifacts, F. Patrick Hubbard

Faculty Publications

This Article proposes a test to be used in answering an important question that has never received detailed jurisprudential analysis: What happens if a human artifact like a large computer system requests that it be treated as a person rather than as property? The Article argues that this entity should be granted a legal right to personhood if it has the following capacities: (1) an ability to interact with its environment and to engage in complex thought and communication; (2) a sense of being a self with a concern for achieving its plan for its life; and (3) the ability …

Expectations In Tort, David G. Owen

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Acute Impact Of Moderate-Intensity And Vigorous-Intensity Exercise Bouts On Daily Physical Activity Energy Expenditure In Postmenopausal Women, Xuewen Wang, Barbara J. Nicklas

Faculty Publications

This study determined whether performing a single moderate- or vigorous-intensity exercise bout impacts daily physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE, by accelerometer). Overweight/obese postmenopausal women underwent a 5-month caloric restriction and moderate- (n = 18) or vigorous-intensity (n = 18) center-based aerobic exercise intervention. During the last month of intervention, in women performing moderate-intensity exercise, PAEE on days with exercise (577.7 ± 219.7 kcal·d⁻¹) was higher (P = .011) than on days without exercise (450.7 ± 140.5 kcal·d⁻¹); however, the difference (127.0 ± 188.1 kcal·d⁻¹) was much lower than the energy expended …

Introduction: The Deepwater Horizon Incident, Charles H. Norchi

Faculty Publications

In this symposium, the contributors appraise the regulatory and institutional pathologies that contributed to the incident, offer projections based on current practices and legal frameworks, propose alternative institutional and regulatory approaches, and recommend policies to achieve a preferred future for marine ecosystems and dependent human activity.

No Difference?: An Analysis Of Same-Sex Parenting, George W. Dent

Faculty Publications

The principal argument for traditional marriage is that it is uniquely beneficial to children. The campaign for same-sex marriage (“SSM”) denies this argument and claims that same-sex couples are just as good as other parents; there is “no difference” between the two. This article analyzes this claim and concludes that it is unsubstantiated and almost certainly false.

Habitat And Landscape Suitability As Indicators Of Bird Abundance In Created And Restored Wetlands, Jordan W. Mora, John N. Mager Iii, Douglas J. Spieles

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Plasticity Of The Reproductive Axis Caused By Social Status Change In An African Cichlid Fish: I. Pituitary Gonadotropins, Karen P. Maruska, Berta Levavi-Sivan, Jakob Biran, Russell D. Fernald

Faculty Publications

Social position in a dominance hierarchy is often tightly coupled with fertility. Consequently,ananimal that can recognize and rapidly take advantage of anopportunity to rise inrankwillhaveareproductive advantage. Reproduction in all vertebrates is controlled by the brain-pituitary-gonad axis,andin males of the African cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni, GnRH1 neurons at the apex of this axis are under social control. However, little is known about how quickly social information is transformed into functional reproductive change, or about how socially controlled changes in GnRH1 neurons influence downstream actions of the brain-pituitary-gonad axis. We created an opportunity for reproductively suppressed males to ascend in status and …

Gebp/Gpl Transcription Factors Regulate A Subset Of Cpr5-Dependent Processes, Daniel Perazza, Frédéric Laporte, Claudine Balagué, Florian Chevalier, Shanterika Remo, Mickaël Bourge, John Larkin, Michel Herzog, Gilles Vachon

Faculty Publications

The CONSTITUTIVE EXPRESSOR OF PATHOGENESIS-RELATED GENES5 (CPR5) gene of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) encodes a putative membrane protein of unknown biochemical function and displays highly pleiotropic functions, particularly in pathogen responses, cell proliferation, cell expansion, and cell death. Here, we demonstrate a link between CPR5 and the GLABRA1 ENHANCER BINDING PROTEIN (GeBP) family of transcription factors. We investigated the primary role of the GeBP/GeBP-like (GPL) genes using transcriptomic analysis of the quadruple gebp gpl1,2,3 mutant and one overexpressing line that displays several cpr5-like phenotypes including dwarfism, spontaneous necrotic lesions, and increased pathogen resistance. We found that GeBP/GPLs regulate a set of …

Syntheses, Properties And Cellular Studies Of Metallo-Isoporphyrins, Sandra C. Mwakwari, Haijun Wang, Timothy J. Jensen, M. Graça H. Vicente, Kevin M. Smith

Faculty Publications

b-Bilene hydrochlorides are shown to be improved intermediates for the synthesis of metallo-isoporphyrins in enhanced yields (28% vs. 6%). Several new diamagnetic zinc(II) and a novel paramagnetic copper(II) isoporphyrin salts were also obtained using this approach. Metal-free isoporphyrins were also isolated. In vitro studies using human carcinoma HEp2 cells show that all metallo-isoporphyrins accumulate within cells and localize partially in the mitochondria. The zinc-isoporphyrins were found to be moderately phototoxic while the copper complex showed the lowest phototoxicity, maybe as a result of its paramagnetic nature. © 2011 World Scientific Publishing Company.

Elliott Sober: Did Darwin Write The Origin Backwards? Philosophical Essays On Darwin’S Theory, Charles H. Pence, Hope Hollocher, Ryan Nichols, Grant Ramsey, Edwin Siu, Daniel John Sportiello

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Application Of A Novel Boronated Porphyrin (H2Ocp) As A Dual Sensitizer For Both Pdt And Bnct, Ryo Hiramatsu, Shinji Kawabata, Shin Ichi Miyatake, Toshihiko Kuroiwa, Michael W. Easson, M. Graça H. Vicente

Faculty Publications

Background: and Objective Boronated porphyrins have emerged as promising dual sensitizers for use in both photodynamic therapy (PDT) and boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT), by virtue of their known tumor affinity, low cytotoxicity in dark conditions, and easy synthesis with high boron content. Octa-anionic 5,10,15,20-tetra[3,5-(nido-carboranylmethyl)phenyl] porphyrin (H2OCP) is a boronated porphyrin having eight boron clusters linked to the porphyrin ring. To evaluate H2OCP's applicability to both PDT and BNCT, we performed an in vitro and ex vivo study using F98 rat glioma cells. Materials and Methods We examined the time-dependent cellular uptake of H 2OCP by measuring the boron concentration …

Plasticity Of The Reproductive Axis Caused By Social Status Change In An African Cichlid Fish: Ii. Testicular Gene Expression And Spermatogenesis, Karen P. Maruska, Russell D. Fernald

Faculty Publications

Reproduction in all vertebrates is controlled by the brain-pituitary-gonad (BPG) axis, which is regulated socially in males of the African cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni.Althoughsocial information influences GnRH1 neurons at the apex of the BPG axis, little is known about how the social environment and dominance affects the cellular and molecular composition of the testes to regulate reproductive capacity. We created an opportunity for reproductively suppressed males to ascend in status and then measured changes in gene expression and tissue morphology to discover how quickly the perception of this opportunitycaninfluencethetestes.Ourresultsshowrapid up-regulation ofmRNAlevels ofFSH receptorandseveral steroid receptor subtypes inthetestesduringsocial ascent. In contrast,LHreceptor …