Digital Commons Network^™

Biomechanics Of Transduction By Mechanosensory Cilia For Prey Detection In Aquatic Organisms, Faye Piephoff, Brian K. Taylor

Faculty Scholarship

Surface-feeding aquatic animals navigate towards the source of water disturbances and must differentiate prey from other environmental stimuli. Medicinal leeches locate prey, in part, using a distribution of mechanosensory hairs along their body that deflect under fluid flow. Leech's behavioral responses to surface wave temporal frequency are well documented. However, a surface wave's temporal frequency depends on many underlying environmental and fluid properties that vary substantially in natural habitats (e.g., water depth, temperature). The impact of these variables on neural response and behavior is unknown. Here, we developed a physics-based leech mechanosensor model to examine the impact of environmental and …

Auditory Feedback Decreases Timing Variability For Discontinuous And Continuous Motor Tasks In Autistic Adults, Nicole M. Richard Williams, Luc Tremblay, Corene Hurt-Thaut, Jessica Brian, Julia Kowaleski, Kathrin Mertel, Sebastian Schlüter, Michael Thaut

Faculty Scholarship

Introduction: Autistic individuals demonstrate greater variability and timing error in their motor performance than neurotypical individuals, likely due at least in part to atypical cerebellar characteristics and connectivity. These motor difficulties may differentially affect discrete as opposed to continuous movements in autistic individuals. Augmented auditory feedback has the potential to aid motor timing and variability due to intact auditory-motor pathways in autism and high sensitivity in autistic individuals to auditory stimuli. Methods: This experiment investigated whether there were differences in timing accuracy and variability in autistic adults as a function of task (discontinuous vs. continuous movements) and condition (augmented auditory …

Common Questions And Misconceptions About Protein Supplementation: What Does The Scientific Evidence Really Show?, Jose Antonio, Cassandra Evans, Arny A. Ferrando, Jeffrey R. Stout, Brandi Antonio, Harry P. Cintineo, Patrick Harty, Shwn M. Arent, Darren G. Candow, Scott C. Forbes, Chad M. Kerksick, Flavia Pereira, Drew Gonzalez, Richard B. Kreider

Faculty Scholarship

Protein supplementation often refers to increasing the intake of this particular macronutrient through dietary supplements in the form of powders, ready-to-drink shakes, and bars. The primary purpose of protein supplementation is to augment dietary protein intake, aiding individuals in meeting their protein requirements, especially when it may be challenging to do so through regular food (i.e. chicken, beef, fish, pork, etc.) sources alone. A large body of evidence shows that protein has an important role in exercising and sedentary individuals. A PubMed search of “protein and exercise performance” reveals thousands of publications. Despite the considerable volume of evidence, it is …

The Pml1-Wdr5 Axis Regulates H3k4me3 Marks And Promotes Stemness Of Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer, Chun-Peng Pai, Han Wang, Darcie D. Seachrist, Neel Agarwal, Joshua A. Adams, Zhenghao Liu, Ruth A. Keri, Kaixiang Cao, William P. Schiemann, Hung-Ying Kao

Faculty Scholarship

The alternative splicing of PML precursor mRNA gives rise to various PML isoforms, yet their expression profile in breast cancer cells remains uncharted. We discovered that PML1 is the most abundant isoform in all breast cancer subtypes, and its expression is associated with unfavorable prognosis in estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancers. PML depletion reduces cell proliferation, invasion, and stemness, while heterologous PML1 expression augments these processes and fuels tumor growth and resistance to fulvestrant, an FDA-approved drug for ER+ breast cancer, in a mouse model. Moreover, PML1, rather than the well-known tumor suppressor isoform PML4, rescues the proliferation of PML …

Scaling Of Buccal Mass Growth And Muscle Activation Determine The Duration Of Feeding Behaviours In The Marine Mollusc Aplysia Californica, Jeffery P. Gill, Anna Skalski De Campos, Katherine X. Wang, Isha V. Kaza, Victoria X. Fan, Hillel J. Chiel

Faculty Scholarship

The mechanical forces experienced during movement and the time constants of muscle activation are important determinants of the durations of behaviours, which may both be affected by size-dependent scaling. The mechanics of slow movements in small animals are dominated by elastic forces and are thus quasistatic (i.e. always near mechanical equilibrium). Muscular forces producing movement and elastic forces resisting movement should scale identically (proportional to mass^2/3), leaving the scaling of the time constant of muscle activation to play a critical role in determining behavioural duration. We tested this hypothesis by measuring the duration of feeding behaviours in the …

A Critical Review Of Sociological Research On Sexual Pleasure, Hannah Regan

Faculty Scholarship

Sociologists of sexuality often invoke the theme of pleasure, but it is not always clear what scholars believe the implications and importance of pleasure are. To this end, this paper reviews the existing literature on sexual pleasure, specifically within the field of sociology, to demonstrate what questions about sexual pleasure are (and are not) currently being asked. Through a systematic literature review, I demonstrate that scholars often lack a justification for why pleasure is important. I also connect themes between the kind of questions being asked about pleasure and the justifications attached to these studies, relating to risk mitigation, relationship …

Civil Procedure Update 2024 (Handout And Slide Deck), Verónica C. Gonzales, Julio C. Romero

Faculty Scholarship

This presentation aims to 1) review recent amendments to the state and federal rules of civil procedure; 2) help you understand the impact of recent federal and state published opinions interpreting and applying the rules of civil procedure; and 3) assess your understanding of the updates.

Examining Adverse Childhood Experiences And Black Youth's Engagement In A Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program Using Administrative Data, Laura A. Voith, Amy Korsh-Williams

Faculty Scholarship

Background: Stemming from poverty and systemic racism, Black youth are disproportionately represented in hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIPs) due to greater violence exposure. HVIPs are a critical intervention that have been shown to reduce rates of reinjury in urban hospitals and trauma centers across the United States; however, they are plagued by low enrollment and engagement rates. Few studies have examined factors related to engagement, particularly among Black youth. Methods: Guided by Trauma Theory and Critical Race Theory, this study uses a retrospective cohort design. Between-group differences of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among engaged youth compared to nonengaged youth who …

Validity, Reliability, And Fairness Evidence For The Jd-Next Exam, Steven Holtzman, Jonathan Steinberg, Jonathan Weeks, Christopher Robertson, Jessica Findley, David M. Klieger

Faculty Scholarship

At a time when institutions of higher education are exploring alternatives to traditional admissions testing, institutions are also seeking to better support students and prepare them for academic success. Under such an engaged model, one may seek to measure not just the accumulated knowledge and skills that students would bring to a new academic program but also their ability to grow and learn through the academic program. To help prepare students for law school before they matriculate, the JD-Next is a fully online, noncredit, 7- to 10-week course to train potential juris doctor students in case reading and analysis skills. …

A Mechanochemical Approach To Recycle Thermosets Containing Arbonate And Thiourethane Linkages, Rasoul Rahimzadeh, Yazhe Han, Ica Manas-Zloczower

Faculty Scholarship

Over the past decades, various industries shifted from traditional materials such as glass and metals to thermoset polymers due to their excellent chemical resistance, thermal stability, reduced weight, and affordability. However, at the end of their life cycle, these highly crosslinked polymers end up as environmental pollutants due to their non-recyclability. To tackle this issue, researchers are exploring vitrimer-type polymers with recyclable qualities, supporting a circular economy and sustainable management of thermoset wastes. This study investigates a new promising method of recycling two commonly used thermosets in commercial applications, poly allyl diglycol carbonate (PADC) and poly thiourethane (PTU), via a …

Radial Acceleration Relation Of Galaxies With Joint Kinematic And Weak-Lensing Data, Tobias Mistele, Stacy S. Mcgaugh

Faculty Scholarship

We combine kinematic and gravitational lensing data to construct the Radial Acceleration Relation (RAR) of galaxies over a large dynamic range. We improve on previous weak-lensing studies in two ways. First, we compute stellar masses using the same stellar population model as for the kinematic data. Second, we introduce a new method for converting excess surface density profiles to radial accelerations. This method is based on a new deprojection formula which is exact, computationally efficient, and gives smaller systematic uncertainties than previous methods. We find that the RAR inferred from weak-lensing data smoothly continues that inferred from kinematic data by …

Navigating The Maze: The Role Of Pre-Enrollment Socio-Cultural And Institutional Factors In Higher Education In The Age Of Ai, Emily Barnes, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

This article explores the complex interplay between pre-enrollment socio-cultural and institutional factors and their impact on the higher education landscape. It challenges traditional metrics of academic achievement, presenting a nuanced perspective on student success that emphasizes the importance of socio-economic backgrounds, cultural capital, and K-12 education quality. The analysis extends to the significant role of institutional attributes in shaping student readiness and decision-making processes. The study advocates for the integration of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven assessments by higher education institutions to cater to the diverse needs of the student body, promoting an inclusive and supportive learning environment. Anchored in an extensive …

Rethinking Plagiarism In The Era Of Generative Ai, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

The emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, such as large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, has precipitated a paradigm shift in the realms of academic writing, plagiarism, and intellectual property. This article explores the evolving landscape of English composition courses, traditionally designed to develop critical thinking through writing. As AI becomes increasingly integrated into the academic sphere, it necessitates a reevaluation of originality in writing, the purpose of learning research and writing, and the frameworks governing intellectual property (IP) and plagiarism. The paper commences with a statistical analysis contrasting the actual use of LLMs in academic dishonesty with educator …

Peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography Is A Valid Imaging Technique For Tracking Changes In Skeletal Muscle Cross-Sectional Area, Bradley A. Ruple, Christopher G. Vann, Casey L. Sexton, Shelby C. Osburn, Morgan A. Smith, Joshua S. Godwin, Petey W. Mumford, Matt S. Stock, Michael D. Roberts, Kaelin C. Young

Faculty Scholarship

Peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) has recently expanded to quantifying skeletal muscle, however its validity to determine muscle cross‐sectional area (mCSA) compared to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is unknown. Eleven male participants (age: 22 ± 3 y) underwent pQCT and MRI dual‐leg mid‐thigh imaging before (PRE) and after (POST) 6 weeks of resistance training for quantification of mid‐thigh mCSA and change in mCSA. mCSA agreement at both time points and absolute change in mCSA across time was assessed using Bland‐ Altman plots for mean bias and 95% limits of agreement (LOA), as well as Lin's concordance correlation coefficients (CCC). Both …

Cell-Type Specific Molecular Expression Levels By Restricted-Dimensional Cytometry, David Kaplan, Hillard M. Lazarus

Faculty Scholarship

Background: Cytometric analysis has been commonly used to delineate distinct cell subpopulations among peripheral blood mononuclear cells by the differential expression of surface receptors. This capability has reached its apogee with high-dimensional approaches such as mass cytometry and spectral cytometry that include simultaneous assessment of 20–50 analytes. Unfortunately, this approach also engenders significant complexity with analytical and interpretational pitfalls. Methods: Here, we demonstrate a complementary approach with restricted-dimensionality to assess cell-type specific intracellular molecular expression levels at exceptional levels of precision. The expression of five analytes was individually assessed in four mononuclear cell-types from peripheral blood. Results: Distinctions in expression …

A New Canvas Of Learning: Enhancing Formal Analysis Skills In Ap Art History Through Ai-Generated Islamic Art, Krista Carpino, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

This study explores the use of AI art generators to enhance formal analysis skills in AP Art History students, with a focus on Islamic Art and Architecture. Students, often entering the course with high academic achievements, find the unique challenge of articulating detailed visual descriptions of artworks. The study’s approach involves using AI image-generation websites, like wepik.com, where students create AI images resembling Islamic artworks studied in class. This method aims to refine their descriptive skills, focusing on visual evidence rather than relying on identifying details. The choice of Islamic Art, markedly different from other historical periods covered in the …

Big Property, Thomas W. Merrill

Faculty Scholarship

Yun-chien Chang’s Property Law: Comparative, Empirical, and Economic Analysis, is an impressive piece of scholarship. Ten years in the making, Yun-chien has developed the most comprehensive comparative analysis of property law ever undertaken. The effort involved was herculean. He consulted codes in eight different languages and translations into these languages of dozens of others, enlisted the assistance of a small army of research assistants, and solicited the assistance of scholars and lawyers from around the world. The result is nothing less than revelatory. Anyone interested in property law, even if only from the perspective of their own legal system, …

Brandeisian Banking, Kathryn Judge

Faculty Scholarship

Banking law shapes the structure of the banking system, which in turn shapes the structure of the economy. One of the most significant ways that banking law in the United States traditionally sought to promote Brandeisian values of stability and decentralization was through a combination of carrots and sticks that enabled small banks across the country to thrive. To see this requires a richer understanding of Brandeis as someone who valued not just atomistic competition but also small business and broad flourishing. It also requires a deeper understanding of the ways different parts of banking law worked together during the …

Legal Issues In Oceanic Transport Of Carbon Dioxide For Sequestration, Carolina Arlota, Michael B. Gerrard, Pria Deanna Mahadevan

Faculty Scholarship

A number of large facilities intended for the permanent sequestration of carbon dioxide are being developed in the United States. Several of them will be located in Texas and Louisiana on or near the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, making them easily accessible to ships. At the same time, there is substantial interest in Europe in installing equipment to capture carbon dioxide from certain industrial operations before it is emitted into the atmosphere, but currently there are inadequate facilities existing in Europe to sequester much of this carbon dioxide. Therefore, there is interest in the possibility of using ships …

Racing Dobbs, Katherine M. Franke, Ria Tabacco Mar

Faculty Scholarship

In Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade's limits on a state's ability to restrict, and indeed completely outlaw, abortion. The case raises fundamentally important questions about rights to reproductive autonomy, bodily integrity, sex equality, privacy, and health.

Upon closer examination, Dobbs is also about race and the nation's racial history, as the two papers published here argue. In Dreding Dobbs, Professor Katherine Franke suggests that Dobbs should be read alongside the Supreme Court's 1857 decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford, in which the Court held that Black people-even free or freed Black …

Researcher Access To Social Media Data: Lessons From Clinical Trial Data Sharing, Christopher J. Morten, Gabriel Nicholas, Salomé Viljoen

Faculty Scholarship

For years, social media companies have sparred with lawmakers over how much independent access to platform data they should provide researchers. Sharing data with researchers allows the public to better understand the risks and harms associated with social media, including areas such as misinformation, child safety, and political polarization. Yet researcher access is controversial. Privacy advocates and companies raise the potential privacy threats of researchers using such data irresponsibly. In addition, social media companies raise concerns over trade secrecy: the data these companies hold and the algorithms powered by that data are secretive sources of competitive advantage. This Article shows …

Patient Access To Health Device Data: Toward A Legal Framework, Charles Duan, Christopher J. Morten

Faculty Scholarship

New health care devices, including at-home diagnostic devices, are generating and aggregating data on patients’ health at a staggering pace. Yet much of that data is inaccessible because it is held in data siloes, most often cloud services controlled by device manufacturers. This proprietary siloing of patient data is problematic from ethical, economic, scientific, and broad public policy perspectives. This chapter frames these concerns and begins to sketch a regulatory framework for patient access to health care device data. As with other consumer data, breaking down siloes and securing patients’ access to their device data safeguards patients’ ownership interests, promotes …

Urban Flooding: Legal Tools To Address A Growing Crisis, Michael B. Gerrard

Faculty Scholarship

While sea level rise has long received a great deal of attention, another impact of climate change is now getting greater notice — increases in extreme precipitation. As the atmosphere warms, it can hold more moisture; for every increase of one degree Celsius, seven percent more water vapor is carried in the air. When that moisture is quickly released as intense rainstorms, stormwater systems can be overwhelmed, and cities can suffer devastating floods.

The frequency and intensity of heavy precipitation events have increased since the 1950s over most of the world's land areas. One 2023 study — generally consistent with …

The Will To Chaos And Disorder: The Behemoth As A Model Of Political Economy, Bernard E. Harcourt

Faculty Scholarship

The history of political economy is tormented by beasts. The most famous is the Leviathan, the giant serpentine monster that figures in Hobbes’s masterpiece of modern political theory. Robert Fredona and Sophus Reinert spotlight another sea monster, the Kraken, that giant octopus or squid with a particular morphology (i.e., its tentacles) that so fittingly describes the grip of multinational corporations, stateless financial capital, social media, and tech giants today. But there are still other monsters in the bestiary of political economy. In this essay, I highlight the Behemoth, a land monster that captures another critical dimension of political economy: the …

The Promise And Perils Of Tech Whistleblowing, Hannah Bloch-Wehba

Faculty Scholarship

Whistleblowers and leakers wield significant influence in technology law and policy. On topics ranging from cybersecurity to free speech, tech whistleblowers spur congressional hearings, motivate the introduction of legislation, and animate critical press coverage of tech firms. But while scholars and policymakers have long called for transparency and accountability in the tech sector, they have overlooked the significance of individual disclosures by industry insiders—workers, employees, and volunteers—who leak information that firms would prefer to keep private.

This Article offers an account of the rise and influence of tech whistleblowing. Radical information asymmetries pervade tech law and policy. Firms exercise near-complete …

Rebuilding Banking Law: Banks As Public Utilities, Lev Menand, Morgan Ricks

Faculty Scholarship

Under the New Deal framework for money and payments — which had its roots in the National Bank Act of 1864 — banks in the United States were governed in many respects as public utilities. Charters were available only where they were consistent with public convenience and need, the usual standard for utilities. Banks enjoyed an exclusive privilege to augment the money supply, maintaining deposit account balances that house-holds and businesses could use as a means of payment and store of value. Banks were largely limited to conducting activities consistent with their monetary purpose. Geographic expansion was constrained to promote …

Financial Regulation Beyond Stability, Kathryn Judge

Faculty Scholarship

This essay briefly reviews the ways stability has dominated regulatory and academic discourse about financial regulation. It then uses anti-money laundering (AML) and the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHL Banks) — the oldest government foray into housing policy — as case studies to show that banks and the financial system are already deeply engaged in efforts to further other important government policies. These case studies affirm just how hard it can be to promote healthy public-private coordination, while also revealing why such arrangements have become so pervasive. More than anything, the aim here is to force acknowledgment of the myriad …

Democracy And Defections, Madhav Khosla, Milan Vaishnav

Faculty Scholarship

Within comparative constitutional law, there is an emerging consensus that political fragmentation has weakened political parties and hindered the functioning of legislative bodies. This article examines legal efforts to curb fragmentation in parliamentary systems by prohibiting floor crossing, or “defections” — a constitutional approach that concentrates power within party leaders. It conducts a detailed case study of India, exploring what is arguably the most exten¬sive experiment in anti-defection law and its impact on accountability and representation. The article goes on to analyze similar laws in Israel and South Africa, highlighting the challenges of self-regulation. After evaluating the limitations of narrow …

The Judicial Method In Copyright, Shyamkrishna Balganesh

Faculty Scholarship

This Essay, delivered as the 2023 Brace lecture, examines the role of the real unsung heroes of the modern U.S. copyright system: the federal judiciary. For the longest time, discussions of copyright policy and reform in the U.S. have altogether neglected the role that courts are meant to play in working copyright’s substantive and procedural rules. These discussions have instead assumed a norm of passivity from courts, who are presumed to either engage in a mechanical application of the statute’s text to decide disputes or instead make the law incrementally in common law style. In this Essay, I argue that …

Clinical And Sociodemographic Characteristics As Predictors For Quality Of Life In Transmasculine And Transfeminine Individuals Receiving Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy, Saloni U. Lad, Jacob Sinopoli, Britt Conroy, Adam T. Perzynski, Juan P. Del Rincon

Faculty Scholarship

Healthcare systems and providers have increasingly acknowledged the role and impact of social determinants in overall health. However, gender-diverse individuals face persistent health disparities due to their identities. There is limited research on the impact of clinical and sociodemographic characteristics on mood and quality of life (QoL) for transgender (TG) individuals. Our study aims to understand and better elucidate social and clinical characteristics of transmasculine (TM) and transfeminine (TF) individuals and their impact on quality of life and depressive symptoms. In this cross-sectional study, 298 TF and TM individuals on gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) were surveyed about their demographic characteristics …