Digital Commons Network^™

The History Of Diapers And Their Environmental Impact, Cansu Tokat, Nicholas C. Rickman, Cynthia F. Bearer

Faculty Scholarship

Impact: This article examines diaper practices around the world throughout history. This article reviews the innovation of the modern diaper and the environmental effects of disposable diapers.

A Sequential, Multiple Assignment, Randomized Trial Design With A Tailoring Function, Holly Hartman

Faculty Scholarship

We present a trial design for sequential multiple assignment randomized trials (SMARTs) that use a tailoring function instead of a binary tailoring variable allowing for simultaneous development of the tailoring variable and estimation of dynamic treatment regimens (DTRs). We apply methods for developing DTRs from observational data: tree-based regression learning and Q-learning. We compare this to a balanced randomized SMART with equal re-randomization probabilities and a typical SMART design where re-randomization depends on a binary tailoring variable and DTRs are analyzed with weighted and replicated regression. This project addresses a gap in clinical trial methodology by presenting SMARTs where second …

Spinal Movement Disorders In Nmosd, Mogad, And Idiopathic Transverse Myelitis: A Prospective Observational Study, Hesham Abboud, Rongyi Sun, Nikhil Modak, Mohamed Elkasaby, Alexander Wang

Faculty Scholarship

Background: Retrospective studies suggest that spinal movement disorders, especially tonic spasms, are prevalent in NMOSD. However, there have been no prospective studies evaluating spinal movement disorders in NMOSD, MOGAD, and idiopathic transverse myelitis (ITM). Methods: Patients referred to a tertiary neuroimmunology clinic for spinal cord demyelination (excluding MS) were evaluated. All patients answered a movement disorders survey and underwent a movement disorder-focused exam. Movement disorders were compared among patients with NMOSD with and without AQP4-IgG, MOGAD, and ITM. Patients with and without involuntary movements were also compared to identify predictors of spinal movement disorders. Results: Sixty-three patients were evaluated from …

Kinetics Of Selenate Reduction Mediated By Underpotentially Deposited Cu On Polycrystalline Au Electrodes In Aqueous Perchloric Acid, Jonathan Strobl, Saurabh Pathak, Daniel Scherson

Faculty Scholarship

The reduction of selenate, SeO²₄⁻(aq),in 0.1 M HClO₄ solutions, induced by underpotential deposition, UPD, of Cu on polycrystalline Au electrodes was investigated using the rotating ring-disk electrode, RRDE, technique. Design and implementation of electrode potential-rotation rate protocols made it possible to determine the rates of SeO²₄⁻(aq)reduction as a function of Cu coverage, θCu, as determined by the Bruckenstein method (Swathirajan et al. J. Phys. Chem. 1982, 86, 2480–2485). In agreement with the results reported recently for Au(111) film electrodes (Strobl et al. Electrochimica Acta 2024, 493, 144,298), the reaction was found to proceed only for θCu above a critical value, …

Mitigating Algorithmic Bias: Strategies For Addressing Discrimination In Data, Sonia Gipson Rankin

Faculty Scholarship

This article examines the pervasive issue of algorithmic bias, particularly within large language models (LLMs) and the legal system. It argues that unlike simple programming bugs, these biases are deeply ingrained in the design and training data of artificial intelligence (AI) systems. By understanding the historical roots of bias and its realworld consequence across various sectors, we can develop effective strategies to mitigate its impact and ensure AI serves as a tool for progress. Weaving together historical insights, case studies, and forward-looking recommendations, the article aims to equip legal professionals with the knowledge and tools necessary to lead the charge …

False Start On Nil: Public And Private Law Should Treat College Athletes Like Any Other Student, Jodi Balsam

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Enhancing Adult Learner Success In Higher Education Through Decision Tree Models: A Machine Learning Approach, Emily Barnes, James Hutson, Karriem Perry

Faculty Scholarship

This article explores the use of machine learning, specifically Classification and Regression Trees (CART), to address the unique challenges faced by adult learners in higher education. These learners confront socio-cultural, economic, and institutional hurdles, such as stereotypes, financial constraints, and systemic inefficiencies. The study utilizes decision tree models to evaluate their effectiveness in predicting graduation outcomes, which helps in formulating tailored educational strategies. The research analyzed a comprehensive dataset spanning the academic years 2013–2014 to 2021–2022, evaluating the predictive accuracy of CART models using precision, recall, and F1 score. Findings indicate that attendance, age, and Pell Grant eligibility are key …

Expanding Time Covered For Medical Nutrition Therapy: A Need For Clear Reporting On The Intensity Of Nutrition Interventions, Rosa K. Hand

Faculty Scholarship

Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) is an evidence-based health care service that helps people improve their food and nutrition habits to positively influence health outcomes and quality of life, and is part of a suite of complementary interventions that can be implemented for effective disease prevention and management. However, the dose (ie, length and number of sessions) of MNT that is covered by health care payers in outpatient settings is highly variable and may not be adequate to achieve the desired clinical outcomes and cost savings. Interest in improving access to adequate doses of MNT provided by registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs), …

Investigation Of Fluid Flow During Flow Boiling Inside A Horizontal Rectangular Channel With Single-Sided Heating Using Particle Image Velocimetry, Chinmay Shingote, Farshad Barghi Golezani, Chirag R. Kharangate

Faculty Scholarship

Subcooled flow boiling is a highly efficient cooling systems for thermal management systems. This study explores the intricate dynamics of subcooled flow boiling within a horizontal channel, investigating the impact of vapor generation on liquid-phase velocity using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and advanced image processing techniques. Four mass flow rates ranging from 5–20 g/s with subcooled inlet conditions are investigated in a rectangular channel with single-sided heating. Three regions of interest along the heated channel are investigated for instantaneous PIV analysis. The PIV system captures detailed velocity profiles, illustrating the impact of varying mass flow rates and heat flux levels …

Parental Political Engagement And Self-Efficacy: An Exploratory Study, Christina Randolph, Robert Needlman, Ellen Hutchinson

Faculty Scholarship

Political engagement (PE) is associated with a sense of empowerment. PE by parents affects children's lives. This study explored parents' attitudes about inclusion of political engagement discussion in well-child care. Because voting is an expression of empowerment, we hypothesized that voting would be related to higher parenting self-efficacy. We administered a brief questionnaire to a convenience sample of parents/guardians at well-child visits at an urban hospital. The questionnaire included 10 Likert scale questions touching on parenting efficacy; beliefs about political engagement; voting behaviors; and demographics. Analysis included descriptive statistics, correlations, and factor analysis. Among the 70 respondents 84% were mothers; …

Improving Performance Of Tpu By Controlled Crosslinking Of Soft Segments, Lucivan P. Barros Jr., Lucio R. De Souza, Rasoul Rahimzadeh, Ica Manas-Zloczower

Faculty Scholarship

Thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) are a family of thermoplastic elastomers with great properties such as high elongation and excellent chemical and abrasion resistance, which are processable by conventional melting methods. Nevertheless, TPUs lose mechanical properties and thermal stability at higher temperatures. In this work, we designed and synthesized a new TPU with limited crosslinking of the soft segments in order to improve its performance at high temperatures while preserving processability. Additionally, the new TPU maintains its transparency. With the incorporation of 10% trifunctional polyol, the T was increased by 7°C, the storage modulus at room temperature (25°C) was improved by 412 …

Theoretical And Experimental Evaluation Of The Electronic Relaxation Mechanisms Of 2-Pyrimidinone: The Primary Uva Absorbing Moiety Of The Dna And Rna (6–4) Photolesion, Sean J. Hoehn, Sarah E. Krul, Carlos E. Crespo-Hernández

Faculty Scholarship

The (6–4) photolesion is a key photodamage that occurs when two adjacent pyrimidine bases in a DNA strand bond together. To better understand how the absorption of UVB and UVA radiation by the 2-pyrimidinone moiety in a (6–4) lesion can damage DNA, it is important to study the electronic deactivation mechanism of its 2-pyrimidinone chromophore. This study employs theoretical (MS-CASPT2/cc-pVDZ level) and experimental (steady state and femtosecond broadband spectroscopic) methods to elucidate the photochemical relaxation mechanisms of 2-(1H)-pyrimidinone and 1-methyl-2-(1H)-pyrimidinone in aqueous solution (pH 7.4). In short, excitation at 320 nm leads to the population of the S1¹(ππ*) …

An Advanced Light Scattering Imaging Model For Total Internal Reflection Microscopy Considering A Stratified Medium, Christopher L. Wirth

Faculty Scholarship

An advanced light scattering model for Total Internal Reflection Microscopy (TIRM) is presented. The model considers the specific TIRM geometry and deals with the scattering by an axisymmetric particle of arbitrary orientation placed in a stratified medium and the imaging of the scattered field. The scattered field is computed by truncating the scattered and internal field expansions and by using spherical and plane wave expansions for the free-space dyadic Green's function. While the first expansion is valid outside a sphere enclosing the particle, the second one is valid outside the tangent planes bounding the particle from above and below. We …

Spontaneous Repolarization Alternans Causes Vt/Vf Rearrest That Is Suppressed By Preserving Gap Junctions, Kenneth R. Laurita, Joseph S. Piktel, Laken Irish, Michelle Nassal, Aurelia Cheng, Matthew Mccauley, Gary Pawlowski, Adrienne T. Dennis, Yi Suen, Soufian Almahameed, Ohad Ziv, Lance D. Wilson

Faculty Scholarship

Background: Ventricular tachycardia (VT)/ventricular fibrillation (VF) rearrest after successful resuscitation is common, and survival is poor. A mechanism of VT/VF, as demonstrated in ex vivo studies, is when repolarization alternans becomes spatially discordant (DIS ALT), which can be enhanced by impaired gap junctions (GJs). However, in vivo spontaneous DIS ALT–induced VT/VF has never been demonstrated, and the effects of GJ on DIS ALT and VT/VF rearrest are unknown. Objectives: This study aimed to determine whether spontaneous VT/VF rearrest induced by DIS ALT occurs in vivo, and if it can be suppressed by preserving Cx43-mediated GJ coupling and/or connectivity. Methods: We …

The States' Hodgepodge Of Physician Licensure Regulations, Tara Sklar, Christopher Robertson

Faculty Scholarship

The end of the federal COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) on May 11, 2023, marked a pivotal shift in the landscape of telehealth regulation in the US. Kwan, Jolin, and Shachar analyze the implications of this transition by exposing inconsistencies in access to care. We agree that we now face a “convoluted patchwork of permanent and temporary changes to telehealth law and policy.”

Negotiating Police Reform, Cynthia Alkon

Faculty Scholarship

In the summer of 2020, after the murder of George Floyd, the national conversation around police reform intensified and was part of a conversation with students at Texas A&M University School of Law. Students wanted more discussion and teaching about police, police misconduct, police reform, and defunding the police. Following those discussions, I created a simulation on local level police reform that, as of this writing, I have used twice in my negotiation class. Simulations are helpful teaching tools in a variety of settings, including law schools. Simulations can be particularly useful to help students discuss difficult topics in different …

Do Private Actors Have Rights Under The Wto? The Motivation For And (Inadequate) Implementation Of Gatt Article X, Adeet Dobhal, Petros C. Mavroidis, Lucas Moreira Jiminez, Sunayana Sasmal, Robert Wolfe

Faculty Scholarship

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) Article X has been consistently overlooked in literature even though it is a unique provision in the GATT-regime: it acknowledges standing for private actors who can challenge trade-related administrative action by World Trade Organization (WTO) members. This provision is an unusual instantiation of the need to provide transparency for private actors about state policy. It is equally eccentric in seeming to provide a right for private actors to challenge governments, albeit only before domestic fora. How did the GATT end up with this provision? And are these apparent private rights meaningful in practice? …

The Prohibition Of Annexations And The Foundations Of Modern International Law, Ingrid Brunk, Monica Hakimi

Faculty Scholarship

The international legal norm that prohibits forcible annexations of territory is foundational to modern international law. It lies at the core of three projects that have been central to the enterprise: (1) to settle title to territory as the basis for establishing state authority; (2) to regulate the use of force across settled borders; and (3) to provide for people within settled borders collectively to determine their own fates. Prohibiting forcible annexations is integral to each of these projects independently, and by tying them together, has had a transformative effect on the legal system as a whole. However, its significance …

Fund Kinship Caregivers To Help Keep Families Together, Not Separate Them, Joshua Gupta-Kagan

Faculty Scholarship

Money impacts relationships. And when the money involved is a foster care subsidy to kinship caregivers, it can drive a wedge in relationships between parents and kinship caregivers that should be strengthened, not strained. Unfortunately, foster care funding incentivizes the “relational disruption”1 endemic to foster care, when it should instead support family members coming together to support each other and their children.

In contrast, Medicaid funding has increasingly supported family members taking care of each other and can provide child welfare with a model for funding family caregiving without disrupting relationships and without even requiring a family court or foster …

Do Public Accommodations Laws Compel “What Shall Be Orthodox”?: The Role Of Barnette In 303 Creative Llc V. Eleni, Linda C. Mcclain

Faculty Scholarship

This article addresses the U.S. Supreme Court's embrace, in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, of a First Amendment objection to state public accommodations laws that the Court avoided in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission: such laws compel governmental orthodoxy. These objections invoke West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette 's celebrated language: "If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith …

The Hidden Monetary State, Gabriel Rauterberg, Joshua Younger

Faculty Scholarship

Money is a motley. While the state enjoys a monopoly on issuing new physical currency, a variety of instruments serve money-like roles in the financial system. The commercial banking system significantly augments the money supply through issuing deposits. Alongside it, a shadow banking system has also developed, offering a range of deposit substitutes.

This Article seeks to cast new light on the U.S. financial system by exploring how, over the course of the twentieth century, federal policymakers engaged in a series of distinct and largely uncoordinated monetary experiments. As we show through historical case studies, federal authorities designed, promoted, and …

Annual Seqra Review: Project Applicants Winning More Cases, Michael B. Gerrard

Faculty Scholarship

New York courts are showing impatience with local governments that withhold or stretch out approval of projects without valid environmental grounds. In seven cases last year under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA),courts overturned municipal actions that rejected projects or delayed approvals. In all, the courts decided 46 cases under SEQRA in 2023. Where the government agency had decided that an environmental impact statement (EIS) was not needed, that choice was upheld in 23 cases and overturned in eight. Where an EIS had been prepared, the EIS was upheld in 11 and found inadequate in only one. The remaining …

Capitalism And The Challenge Of Inequality, Andrzej Rapaczynski

Faculty Scholarship

Rapidly rising income and wealth inequality in the United States and other Western countries has been commonly identified as an inherent and nefarious feature of the capitalist system. In fact, however, rising inequality within the economically advanced countries has been accompanied by both a significant relative improvement of the economic and social position of the previously disadvantaged groups, such as women and ethnic minorities, and an unprecedented reduction of the inequalities between the people living in the advanced countries and the rest of the world. This change is largely due to the phenomenon of globalization that brought the advantages of …

Understanding 303 Creative Llc In A Polycentric Constitutional World, Meg Penrose

Faculty Scholarship

The evolution of rights following Obergefell is not over. Creative 303 LLC marked a new phase in the ongoing legal challenges over the rights and ceremonies attending same-sex marriage. This Essay addresses the anticipated limits of 303 Creative LLC.

The Essay proceeds in three parts. First, how does 303 Creative LLC impact government employees? What rights, if any, should government employees be able to raise in light of 303 Creative LLC? Second, what does 303 Creative LLC mean for private marketplace vendors engaging in expressive commerce? Vendors, particularly wedding vendors, often create unique items for weddings. Will the law focus …

Whistle-Blowing And The Incentive To Hire, Jef De Mot, Murat C. Mungan

Faculty Scholarship

We consider a previously neglected cost of whistle-blower awards: employers may base their hiring decisions, on the margin, not on the productivity of an employee but rather on the probability that the employee will become a whistle-blower. We develop a three-stage model to examine how productivity losses due to distortions at the hiring stage influence optimal whistle-blower rewards. We characterize optimal rewards for whistle-blowing, and show that when rewards can be chosen according to either the benefits of the employer from offending or the productivity of the worker being hired, productivity-based rewards are superior to benefit-based rewards.

The Unraveling Of The Federal Home Loan Banks, Kathryn Judge

Faculty Scholarship

The Federal Home Loan Bank system is a $1.3 trillion government-sponsored enterprise that operates primarily for the benefit of member financial institutions. Federal Home Loan Bank members enjoy generous dividends and ready access to fresh liquidity. The biggest beneficiaries are the biggest users of the system, including the largest banks and insurance companies in the country and banks facing financial distress. This essay explains the original aims of the Federal Home Loan Bank system, how the system fulfilled those aims quite successfully for decades following its creation in 1932 and how the system evolved to serve primarily private aims. By …

Civic Education And Democracy's Flaws, Robert L. Tsai

Faculty Scholarship

Today, liberalism and democracy are beset by competitors that seek to return power to religious traditionalists or partisans masquerading as civic republicans. In such an environment, can civic education do some good, and even help bridge our society’s deepening divides?

Seana Shiffrin has characteristically brought deep learning and penetrating insight to the project of civic education in a modern democracy. Against a “dominant” model of citizenship in which “citizens vote and hand off power to their representatives”— which she believes encourages the people to maintain an unhealthy distance from government— she proposes a richer account of political community in which …

The Price Of Consent, Zohra Ahmed

Faculty Scholarship

This Article demonstrates how hierarchies in the international economy and in international financial institutions have facilitated the U.S.-led Global War on Terror (GWOT). Using U.S.-Pakistan relations as a case study, it shows how the United States has deployed its powerful position at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to claim Pakistan's consent for its military activities in the region. In the GWOT's first decade, beginning in 2001, the United States openly sought forcible regime change, as in Afghanistan and Iraq; in its second and (now) third decades, the United States has waged covert counterinsurgency campaigns allegedly against militant groups in Muslim-majority …

Changes In Lean Body Mass With Glucagon-Like Peptide-1-Based Therapies And Mitigation Strategies, Ian J. Neeland

Faculty Scholarship

Weight loss induced by glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) and dual glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R)/glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptor agonists is coming closer to the magnitudes achieved with surgery. However, with greater weight loss there is concern about potential side effects on muscle quantity (mass), health and function. There is heterogeneity in the reported effects of GLP-1-based therapies on lean mass changes in clinical trials: in some studies, reductions in lean mass range between 40% and 60% as a proportion of total weight lost, while other studies show lean mass reductions of approximately 15% or less of total weight lost. There …

Full Hill-Type Muscle Model Of The I1/I3 Retractor Muscle Complex In Aplysia Californica, Qianxue Chen, Jiayi Shen, Samantha Pao, Yu Huan, Gregory P. Sutton, Jeffery P. Gill, Hillel J. Chiel

Faculty Scholarship

The coordination of complex behavior requires knowledge of both neural dynamics and the mechanics of the periphery. The feeding system of Aplysia californica is an excellent model for investigating questions in soft body systems’ neuromechanics because of its experimental tractability. Prior work has attempted to elucidate the mechanical properties of the periphery by using a Hill-type muscle model to characterize the force generation capabilities of the key protractor muscle responsible for moving Aplysia’s grasper anteriorly, the I2 muscle. However, the I1/I3 muscle, which is the main driver of retractions of Aplysia’s grasper, has not been characterized. Because of the importance …