Digital Commons Network^™

Searching For Life Beyond Our System, Ryan T. Hayes

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Interpreting State Statutes In Federal Court, Aaron-Andrew P. Bruhl

Faculty Publications

This Article addresses a problem that potentially arises whenever a federal court encounters a state statute. When interpreting the state statute, should the federal court use the state’s methods of statutory interpretation—the state’s canons of construction, its rules about the use of legislative history, and the like—or should the court instead use federal methods of statutory interpretation? The question is interesting as a matter of theory, and it is practically significant because different jurisdictions have somewhat different interpretive approaches. In addressing itself to this problem, the Article makes two contributions. First, it shows, as a normative matter, that federal courts …

Improving (And Avoiding) Interstate Interpretive Encounters, Aaron-Andrew P. Bruhl

Faculty Publications

State courts often encounter the statutes of other states. Any encounter with another state’s statutes raises an interesting but inconspicuous question about choice of law. In particular, the interstate encounter presents a choice of interpretive law. Despite some universal practices in statutory interpretation, there are methodological differences across jurisdictions—both at the level of overall approach and in the details of particular interpretive canons. When a state court encounters the statute of a sister state, may the forum state use its own interpretive methods or must it instead use the methods of the enacting state?

The existing doctrine on this choice-of-law …

Nomos, Narrative, And Nephi: Legal Interpretation In The Book Of Mormon, Nathan B. Oman

Faculty Publications

The Book of Mormon helped launch one of America’s most successful religions, and millions around the world accept it as scripture. It is thus one of the more influential books to have been published in the United States. Ironically, precisely because of its role in the founding of Mormonism, the text of the Book of Mormon has often been ignored. Recently, however, the Book of Mormon has begun to attract the attention of scholars whose interest in the text goes beyond either religious devotion or the academic study of Mormonism. Rather, they look to the text as a literary creation …

Privacy Qui Tam, Peter Ormerod

Faculty Publications

Privacy law keeps getting stronger, but surveillance-based businesses have proven immune to these new legal regimes. The disconnect between privacy law in theory and in practice is a multifaceted problem, and one critical component is enforcement.

Today, most privacy laws are enforced by governmental regulators—the Federal Trade Commission, the nascent California Privacy Protection Agency, and state attorneys general. An enduring impasse for proposed privacy laws is whether to supplement public enforcement by using a private right of action to authorize individuals to enforce the law.

Both of these conventional enforcement schemes have significant shortcomings. Public enforcement has proven inadequate because …

Growing As A Disciple Of Jesus: Experiencing His Presence, S. Joseph Kidder

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Cost Of Being A Disciple, Anna Galeniece

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Hollywood Influence, Hyveth Williams

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Meshless Large Eddy Simulation Of Propeller-Wing Interactions With Reformulated Vortex Particle Method, Eduardo Alvarez, Andrew Ning

Faculty Publications

The vortex particle method (VPM) has gained popularity in recent years due to a growing need to predict complex aerodynamic interactions during preliminary design of electric multirotor aircraft. However, VPM is known to be numerically unstable when vortical structures break down close to the turbulent regime. In recent work, the VPM has been reformulated as a large eddy simulation (LES) in a scheme that is both meshless and numerically stable, without increasing its computational cost. In this study, we build upon this meshless LES scheme to create a solver for interactional aerodynamics. Rotor blades are introduced through an actuator line …

Analysis Of Precipitation Trends And Prediction In Selected Cities In The Southeast Louisiana, Yaw A. Twumasi, John B. Namwamba, Zhu H. Ning, Edmund C. Merem, Priscilla M. Loh, Abena B. Asare-Ansah, Jacob B. Annan, Ronald Okwemba, Harriet B. Yeboah, Caroline Y. Apraku, Janeth Mjema, Rechael N.D. Armah, Matilda Anokye, Lucinda A. Kangwana, Judith Oppong, Julia Atayi, Cynthia C. Ogbu, Opeyemi I. Oladigbolu, Diana B. Frimpong, Joyce Mcclendon-Peralta

Faculty Publications

The impacts of climate change are being felt in Louisiana, in the form of changing weather patterns that have resulted in changes in floods, hurricanes, tornadoes frequencies of occurrence, and magnitudes, among others resulting in, flooding. The variabilities in rainfall in a drainage basin affect water availability and sustainability. This study analyzed the precipitation data of Southeastern Louisiana, United States, for the period 1990 to 2020. Data used in the study was from, Donaldsonville, Galliano, Lafourche, Gonzales, Ascension, Morgan, New Orleans, Audubon, Plaquemine, and Ponchatoula, Tangipahoa, weather stations. These stations were selected because the differences between each of their highest …

Uvite, Camg 3 (Al5mg)(Si6o18)(Bo3)3(Oh)3(Oh), A New, But Long-Anticipated Mineral Species Of The Tourmaline Supergroup From San Piero In Campo, Elba Island, Italy, Ferdinando Bosi, Cristian Biagioni, Federico Pezzotta, Henrik Skogby, Ulf Hålenius, Jan Cempírek, Frank C. Hawthorne, Aaron J. Lussier, Yassir A. Abdu, Maxwell C. Day, Mostafa Fayek, Christine M. Clark, Joel D. Grice, Darrell J. Henry

Faculty Publications

Uvite, CaMg3(Al5Mg)(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH), is a new mineral of the tourmaline supergroup. It occurs in the Facciatoia quarry, San Piero in Campo, Elba Island, Italy (42°45′04.55″N, 10°12′50.89″E) at the centre of a narrow (2-3 cm wide) vein composed of aggregates of dark brown to black tourmaline, penetrating (magnesite + dolomite)-rich hydrothermally altered metaserpentinite. Crystals are euhedral and up to 1 cm in size, brown with a vitreous lustre, conchoidal fracture and grey streak. Uvite has a Mohs hardness of 7½, a calculated density of 3.115 g/cm3 and is uniaxial (-). Uvite has trigonal symmetry, space group R3m, a = 15.9519(10) Å, c …

A Hierarchy Of Interactions Between Pathogenic Virus And Vertebrate Host, Robert Friedman

Faculty Publications

This review is of basic models of the interactions between a pathogenic virus and vertebrate animal host. The interactions at the population level are described by a predatory-prey model, a common approach in the ecological sciences, and depend on births and deaths within each population. This ecological perspective is complemented by models at the genetical level, which includes the dynamics of gene frequencies and the mechanisms of evolution. These perspectives are symmetrical in their relatedness and reflect the idealized forms of processes in natural systems. In the latter sections, the general use of deep learning methods is discussed within the …

Thermal Stability And Protective Properties Of Phenylphosphonic Acid On Cu(111), Viacheslav Kalinovych, Md Saeedur Rahman, Lesia Piliai, Yuliia Kosto, Sascha L. Mehl, Tomáš Skála, Iva Matolínová, Vladimír Matolín, Kevin C. Prince, Ye Xu, Nataliya Tsud

Faculty Publications

Phenylphosphonic acid (PPA) adsorbed on Cu(111) has been studied by synchrotron radiation-based techniques in combination with density functional theory calculations. The dehydrogenated phenylphosphonic acid molecule (PP) strongly bound in a tridentate geometry through oxygen atoms to Cu(111) is shown to be the dominant surface species in the temperature range 150–300 °C. The stable PP adlayer substantially protects the Cu(111) surface from oxidation during exposure to ambient conditions. Thermal treatment of the PPA adlayer at 375 °C initiates molecular decomposition through several channels: P–O bond scission forming C6H5PO2; C–P bond scission forming phenyl and PO3; and C–H bond scission forming C6H4PO3. …

Ribbon Homology Cobordisms, Aliakbar Daemi, Tye Lidman, David Shea Vela-Vick, C. M.Michael Wong

Faculty Publications

We study 4-dimensional homology cobordisms without 3-handles, showing that they interact nicely with Thurston geometries, character varieties, and instanton and Heegaard Floer homologies. Using these, we derive obstructions to such cobordisms. As one example of these obstructions, we generalize other recent results on the behavior of knot Floer homology under ribbon concordances. Finally, we provide topological applications, including to Dehn surgery problems.

Dating App Facilitated Sexual Assault: A Retrospective Review Of Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examination Charts, Julie L. Valentine, Leslie W. Miles, Kristen Mella Hamblin, Aubrey Worthen Gibbons

Faculty Publications

Dating app facilitated sexual assault (DAppSA) is a concerning phenomenon with minimal published research. This retrospective study explored if DAppSAs were different than other sexual assaults (SAs) committed by acquaintances through a review of 3,413 sexual assault medical forensic examination (SAMFE) charts from 2017 to 2020 in a Mountain West state in the United States. Routine Activities Theory and Confluence Model of sexual aggression provided the theoretical framework for the study. Inclusion criteria for DAppSA cases included (1) victim was 14 years of age or older; (2) victim indicated meeting the perpetrator on a dating app; (3) SA occurred at …

A Saturated Map Of Common Genetic Variants Associated With Human Height, Loïc Yengo, Sailaja Vedantam, Eirini Marouli, Julia Sidorenko, Eric Bartell, Saori Sakaue, Marielisa Graff, Anders U. Eliasen, Yunxuan Jiang, Sridharan Raghavan, Jenkai Miao, Joshua D. Arias, Sarah E. Graham, Ronen E. Mukamel, Cassandra N. Spracklen, Xianyong Yin, Shyh Huei Chen, Teresa Ferreira, Heather H. Highland, Yingjie Ji, Tugce Karaderi, Kuang Lin, Kreete Lüll, Deborah E. Malden, Carolina Medina-Gomez, Moara Machado, Amy Moore, Sina Rüeger, Xueling Sim, Scott Vrieze, Tarunveer S. Ahluwalia, Masato Akiyama, Matthew A. Allison

Faculty Publications

Common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are predicted to collectively explain 40–50% of phenotypic variation in human height, but identifying the specific variants and associated regions requires huge sample sizes1. Here, using data from a genome-wide association study of 5.4 million individuals of diverse ancestries, we show that 12,111 independent SNPs that are significantly associated with height account for nearly all of the common SNP-based heritability. These SNPs are clustered within 7,209 non-overlapping genomic segments with a mean size of around 90 kb, covering about 21% of the genome. The density of independent associations varies across the genome and the regions of …

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: Superheroes & The Law, Thomas Simmons, Chris Dellicarpini, Rick Collins

Faculty Publications

Legal issues and lessons abound in superhero narratives. Caped heroes often act above and outside the law but deliver on law’s promises of justice and mercy in ways that ordinary legal actors cannot. Legal ethics, criminal law, and procedure are all on display. Superheroes supply a framework for examination of multiple legal issues and lessons, including what it means to be ethical (within the context of the rules of professional conduct and also in a broader sense) and how a legal life can be a virtuous one.

Elements For Successful Implementation Of A Clinic-Based Health Literacy Intervention, Mark M. Macauda, Michelle Angelique Arent, Mayank Sakhuja, Brooks Yelton Ma, Lmsw, Samuel Noblet, Delores Fedrick, Diana Zona, Cyndi New, William D. Isenhower, Abraham Wandersman, Daniela B. Friedman Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Improving health literacy is a national public health priority. Given the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is even more critical for health and medical information to be clear and understandable for patients and their families. Clinic-based programs to improve health literacy need to be pragmatic, feasible, and helpful for the implementing clinic and patients. This paper describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of a pragmatic, clinic-based health literacy intervention in a safety-net clinic that serves uninsured and indigent patients. Study methods are guided by a previous pilot study and components recommended for pragmatic interventions. An electronic readiness assessment was …

Antibody Prevalence And Risk Factors Associated With Rickettsia Spp. In A Pediatric Cohort: Sfgr Remains Underdiagnosed And Underreported In El Salvador, Kyndall C. Dye-Braumuller, Marvin Stanley Rodríguez Aquino, Kia Zellars, Hanna Waltz, Madeleine Meyer, Lídua Gual-Gonzalez, Stella C.W. Self, Mufaro Kanyangarara, Melissa Nolan Ph.D., Mph

Faculty Publications

Spotted fever group rickettsioses (SFGR) are caused by a group of tick-borne pathogens that are increasing in incidence globally. These diseases are typically underreported and undiagnosed in low- and middle-income countries, and thus, have been classified as neglected bacterial pathogens. Countries with high poverty, low human development index score, and limited health infrastructure—like El Salvador in Central America—lack necessary surveillance for SFGR and other tick-borne pathogens. This paucity of baseline SFGR infection prevalence leaves vulnerable populations at risk of misdiagnosis. Further, tick-borne disease burdens in El Salvador are severely limited. To lay the foundation for tick-borne disease epidemiology in El …

A Five-Country Study Of Front- And Back-Of-Package Nutrition Label Awareness And Use: Patterns And Correlates From The 2018 International Food Policy Study, Jasmin Bhawra, Sharon I. Kirkpatrick, Marissa G. Hall, Lana Vanderlee, Jim Thrasher Ph.D., Ma, Ms, Alejandra Jáuregui De La Mota, David Hammond

Faculty Publications

Objective:

This study aimed to identify correlates of nutrition label awareness and use, particularly subgroup differences among consumers. Two label types were assessed: (1) nutrition facts tables (NFt) in Australia, Canada, Mexico, UK, and USA and (2) front-of-package (FOP) labels, including mandatory Guideline Daily Amounts (Mexico), voluntary Health Star Ratings (Australia) and voluntary Traffic Lights (UK). Design:

Respondents were recruited using Nielsen Consumer Insights Global Panel (n 21 586) and completed online surveys in November–December 2018. Linear regression and generalised linear mixed models examined differences in label use and awareness between countries and label type based on sociodemographic, knowledge-related and …

In A Double-Bind: Time-Space Distanciation, Socioeconomic Status, And Coping With Financial Stress In The United States, Harrison J. Schmitt, Adeena L. Black, Lucas A. Keefer, Daniel Sullivan

Faculty Publications

Psychological research has shown that lower socioeconomic status (SES) individuals experience higher levels of stress and tend to cope in more present-oriented ways. While some research in the field has sought to, for instance, increase future-oriented ways of being among lower SES individuals, we argue that such approaches may come at significant cost. We consider the construct of time–space distanciation (TSD) – the normative way in which time and space are abstracted from one another at cultural and individual levels – as a way to complicate psychological research on social class, stress, and coping. Across four studies, we present research …

Process Evaluation Methods And Results From The Health In Pregnancy And Postpartum (Hipp) Randomized Controlled Trial, Sarah Wilcox Phd, Alicia A. Dahl, Alycia K. Boutté, Jihong Liu Sc.D., Kelsey Day, Gabrielle Turner-Mcgrievy Ph.D., Rd, Ellen Wingard

Faculty Publications

Background

Excessive gestational weight gain has increased over time and is resistant to intervention, especially in women living with overweight or obesity. This study described the process evaluation methods and findings from a behavioral lifestyle intervention for African American and white women living with overweight and obesity that spanned pregnancy (≤ 16 weeks gestation) through 6 months postpartum.

Methods

The Health in Pregnancy and Postpartum (HIPP) study tested a theory-based behavioral intervention (vs. standard care) to help women (N = 219; 44% African American, 29.1 ± 4.8 years) living with overweight or obesity meet weight gain guidelines in pregnancy and …

Beyond The Ångström Exponent: Probing Additional Information In Spectral Curvature And Variability Of In Situ Aerosol Hyperspectral (0.3–0.7 Μm) Optical Properties, Carolyn E. Jordan, Bruce E. Anderson, John D. Barrick, Dani Blum, Kathleen Brunke, Jiajue Chai, Gao Chen, Ewan C. Crosbie, Jack E. Dibb, Ann M. Dillner, Emily Gargulinski, Charles H. Hudgins, Emily Joyce, Jackson Kaspari, Robert F. Martin, Richard H. Moore, Rachel O’Brien, Claire E. Robinson, Gregory L. Schuster, Taylor J. Shingler, Michael A. Shook, Amber J. Soja, Kenneth L. Thornhill, Andrew T. Weakley, Elizabeth B. Wiggins, Edward L. Winstead, Luke D. Ziemba

Faculty Publications

Ångström exponents (α) allow reconstruction of aerosol optical spectra over a broad range of wavelengths from measurements at two or more wavelengths. Hyperspectral measurements of atmospheric aerosols provide opportunities to probe measured spectra for information inaccessible from only a few wavelengths. Four sets of hyperspectral in situ aerosol optical coefficients (aerosol-phase total extinction, σext, and absorption, σabs; liquid-phase soluble absorption from methanol, σMeOH-abs, and water, σDI-abs, extracts) were measured from biomass burning aerosols (BBAs). Hyperspectral single scattering albedo (ω), calculated from σext and σabs, provide spectral resolution over a wide spectral range rare for this optical parameter. Observed spectral shifts …

Is There Political Diversity At Denison?, Paul A. Djupe

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Friendship As The Primary Purpose Of Law, Michael P. Moreland

Faculty Publications

A significant aspect of the legacy of John Finnis is the restoration of friendship to a central place in moral, political, and legal theory building on the classical tradition in Plato, Aristotle, and Aquinas. This essay surveys the implications of friendship for law by way of exploring Finnis’s treatment of friendship in several of his works, including friendship as a condition for discourse, friendship as an especially important illustration of the central case, the relationship between friendship and the common good, and the place of civic friendship in a political community. The essay concludes with a discussion of friendship with …

Simulation Modeling Of A High-Throughput Oyster Cryopreservation Pathway, Sarah Bodenstein, Isabelina Nahmens, Terrence R. Tiersch

Faculty Publications

The genetic resources of oysters in Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico are threatened due to high unexplained oyster mortality. Germplasm repositories are collections of cryopreserved genetic material stored alongside associated information that are used to protect genetics resources and facilitate breeding programs in agricultural industries. Therefore, there is great need for oyster repositories. Development of repositories has been slow despite research on high-Throughput cryopreservation protocols because of logistical complexities. The goal of this study was to begin to address the gap between cryopreservation research and repository development in oyster aquaculture by modeling a cryopreservation protocol to understand and improve …

Reconciling Copyright "Restoration" For Pre-1972 Foreign Sound Recordings With The Classics Protection And Access Act, Tyler T. Ochoa

Faculty Publications

When Congress first added sound recordings to the Copyright Act, it acted prospectively only: sound recordings fixed on or after February 15, 1972, received federal statutory copyright protection, while sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972, were left to the vagaries of state law. This historic inequity was corrected in 2018 with enactment of the Classics Protection and Access Act (CPA), which provides sui generis protection to pre-1972 sound recordings that is similar, but not identical, to federal copyright protection. But there is a subset of pre-1972 sound recordings that already had federal copyright protection before the CPA was enacted: …

Associations Between Visceral Adipose Tissue Estimates Produced By Near-Infrared Spectroscopy, Mobile Anthropometrics, And Traditional Body Composition Assessments And Estimates Derived From Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry, Austin J. Graybeal, Caleb F. Brandner, Grant M. Tinsley, Hunter Haynes, Jon Stavres

Faculty Publications

Assessments of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) are critical in preventing metabolic disorders; however, there are limited measurement methods that are accurate and accessible for VAT. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the association between VAT estimates from consumer-grade devices and traditional anthropometrics and VAT and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) from dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Data were collected from 182 participants (female = 114; White = 127; Black/African-American (BAA) = 48) which included anthropometrics and indices of VAT produced by near-infrared reactance spectroscopy (NIRS), visual body composition (VBC) and multifrequency BIA (MFBIA). VAT and SAT were collected using …

Higher Adherence To A Mediterranean Diet Is Associated With Improved Insulin Sensitivity And Selected Markers Of Inflammation In Individuals Who Are Overweight And Obese Without Diabetes, Surbhi Sood, Jack Feehan, Catherine Itsiopoulos, Kirsty Wilson, Magdalena Plebanski, David Scott, James Hébert Scd, Nitin Shivappa Mbbs, Mph, Ph.D., Aya Mousa, Elena S. George, Barbora De Courten

Faculty Publications

Insulin resistance (IR) and chronic low-grade inflammation are risk factors for chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to investigate two dietary indices: Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS) and Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII®), and their associations with direct measures of glucose metabolism and adiposity, and biochemical measures including lipids, cytokines and adipokines in overweight/obese adults. This cross-sectional study included 65 participants (males = 63%; age 31.3 ± 8.5 years). Dietary intake via 3-day food diaries was used to measure adherence to MDS (0–45 points); higher scores indicating adherence. Energy-adjusted DII (E-DII) scores were calculated with …

The Global, Regional, And National Burden Of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia In 204 Countries And Territories From 2000 To 2019: A Systematic Analysis For The Global Burden Of Disease Study 2019, Atalel Fentahun, Hannah Han, Behzad Abbasi, Mohsen Abbasi-Kangevari, Muktar Beshir Ahmed, Ismaeel Yunusa Ph. D., Et Al.

Faculty Publications

Background Benign prostatic hyperplasia is a common urological disease affecting older men worldwide, but comprehensive data about the global, regional, and national burden of benign prostatic hyperplasia and its trends over time are scarce. As part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019, we estimated global trends in, and prevalence of, benign prostatic hyperplasia and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) due to benign prostatic hyperplasia, in 21 regions and 204 countries and territories from 2000 to 2019.

Methods This study was conducted with GBD 2019 analytical and modelling strategies. Primary prevalence data came from claims from …