Digital Commons Network^™

Latinas In The Legal Academy: Progress And Promise, Raquel E. Aldana, Emile Loza De Siles, Solangel Maldonado, Rachel F. Moran

Faculty Scholarship

The 2022 Inaugural Graciela Oliva ́rez Latinas in the Legal Academy (“GO LILA”) Workshop convened seventy-four outstanding and powerful Latina law professors and professional legal educators (collectively, “Latinas in the legal academy,” or “LILAs”) to document and celebrate our individual and collective journeys and to grow stronger together. In this essay, we, four of the Latina law professors who helped to co-found the GO LILA Workshop, share what we learned about and from each other. We invite other LILAs to join our community and share their stories and journeys. We hope that the data and lessons that we share can …

Black And Blue Police Arbitration Reforms, Michael Z. Green

Faculty Scholarship

The racial justice protests that engulfed the country after seeing a video of the appalling killing of a Black male, George Floyd, by a Minnesota police officer in 2020 has led to a tremendous number of questions about dealing with racial issues in policing. Similar concerns arose a little more than fifty years ago when police unions gained power to respond to the civil rights protests occurring during those times by establishing strong protections for their officers in light of brutality claims. This rhythmic progression of protests and union responses is destined to continue without any lasting reforms focused on …

Femtechnodystopia, Leah R. Fowler, Michael Ulrich

Faculty Scholarship

Reproductive rights, as we have long understood them, are dead. But at the same time history seems to be moving backward, technology moves relentlessly forward. Femtech products, a category of consumer technology addressing an array of “female” health needs, seem poised to fill gaps created by states and stakeholders eager to limit birth control and abortion access and increase pregnancy surveillance and fetal rights. Period and fertility tracking applications could supplement or replace other contraception. Early digital alerts to missed periods can improve the chances of obtaining a legal abortion in states with ever-shrinking windows of availability or prompt behavioral …

After Mccleskey, Robert L. Tsai

Faculty Scholarship

In the 1987 decision, McCleskey v. Kemp, the Supreme Court rejected a black death row inmate's argument that significant racial disparities in the administration of Georgia's capital punishment laws violated the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. In brushing aside the most sophisticated empirical study of a state 's capital practices to date, that ruling seemingly slammed the door on structural inequality claims against the criminal justice system. Most accounts of the case end after noting the ruling's incompatibility with more robust theories of equality and meditating on the deep sense of demoralization felt by social justice advocates. One might …

What’S Scope 3 Good For?, Madison Condon

Faculty Scholarship

Opposition to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) new rule on updated climate risk reporting has focused on one category of disclosures as particularly objectionable: Scope 3 emissions.⁷ Otherwise known as “supply chain emissions,” Scope 3 emissions have been voluntarily reported by a growing number of companies since the term was invented as part of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol in 2001.⁸ They include all the emissions both up and downstream of a corporations’ own activities: the emissions of the privately-owned factory that produced the shoes Target sells, as well as the emissions you burn while driving to the …

Inhibition Of Wnt/Β‐Catenin Pathway Overcomes Therapeutic Resistance To Abiraterone In Castration‐Resistant Prostate Cancer, Ibrahim M. Atawia, Prem P. Kushwaha, Shiv Verma, Spencer Lin, Eswar Shankar, Sanjay Gupta

Faculty Scholarship

Abiraterone acetate has been clinically approved for the treatment of patients with advanced‐stage prostate cancer. It reduces testosterone production by blocking the enzyme cytochrome P450 17 alpha‐hydroxylase. Despite improved survival outcomes with abiraterone, almost all patients develop therapeutic resistance and disease recurrence, progressing to a more aggressive and lethal phenotype. Bioinformatics analyses predicted activation of canonical Wnt/β‐catenin and involvement of stem cell plasticity in abiraterone‐resistant prostate cancer. Increased expression of androgen receptor (AR) and β‐catenin and their crosstalk causes activation of AR target genes and regulatory networks for which overcoming acquired resistance remains a major challenge. Here we show that …

Membrane Bending And Sphingomyelinase-Associated, Sulfatide-Dependent Hypoxic Adhesion Of Sickle Mature Erythrocytes, Utku Goreke, Erdem Kucukal, Fang Wang, Ran An, Nicole Arnold, Erina Quinn, Charlotte Yuan, Allison Bode, Ailis Hill, Yuncheng Man, Bryan C. Hambley, Robert Schilz, Mahazarin Ginwalla, Umut A. Gurkan, Umut A. Gurkan

Faculty Scholarship

Abnormal erythrocyte adhesion owing to polymerization of sickle hemoglobin is central to the pathophysiology of sickle cell disease (SCD). Mature erythrocytes constitute >80% of all erythrocytes in SCD; however, the relative contributions of erythrocytes to acute and chronic vasculopathy in SCD are not well understood. Here, we showed that bending stress exerted on the erythrocyte plasma membrane by polymerization of sickle hemoglobin under hypoxia, enhances sulfatide-mediated abnormal mature erythrocyte adhesion. We hypothesized that sphingomyelinase (SMase) activity, which is upregulated by accumulated bending energy, leads to elevated membrane sulfatide availability, and thus, hypoxic mature erythrocyte adhesion. We found that mature erythrocyte …

Donepezil-Associated Survival Benefits Among Alzheimer’S Disease Patients Are Retained But Not Enhanced During Covid-19 Infections, Elizabeth A. Edmiston, Taissa A. Bej, Brigid Wilson, Robin L.P. Jump

Faculty Scholarship

Background and Aim: Donepezil is a front-line treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. Donepezil treatment is associated with decreased risk of all-cause mortality. Specific protection is observed in pneumonia and cardiovascular disease. We hypothesized that donepezil treatment would improve mortality among Alzheimer’s patients following infection with COVID-19. The objective of this study is to assess the influence of ongoing donepezil treatment on survival in Alzheimer’s disease patients after polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-confirmed COVID-19 infection. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study. We conducted a national survey of Veterans with Alzheimer’s disease to assess the influence of ongoing donepezil treatment on survival in …

Evaluation Of A Photodynamic Therapy Agent Using A Canine Prostate Cancer Model, Dong Luo, Xinning Wang, Gopalakrishnan Ramamurthy, Ethan Walker, Lifang Zhang, Aditi Shirke, Naraen G. Naidu, Clemens Burda, Lee Ponsky, James Basilion

Faculty Scholarship

Background: Male dogs can develop spontaneous prostate cancer, which is similar physiologically to human disease. Recently, Tweedle and coworkers have developed an orthotopic canine prostate model allowing implanted tumors and therapeutic agents to be tested in a more translational large animal model. We used the canine model to evaluate prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted gold nanoparticles as a theranostic approach for fluorescence (FL) imaging and photodynamic therapy (PDT) of early stage prostate cancer.

Trends Over 20 Years Of Antimicrobial Prophylaxis For Artificial Urinary Sphincter Surgery, Helen H. Sun, Michael Callegari, Eric Zhou, Erin Jesse, Megan Prunty, Jonathan E. Shoag, Kyle Scarberry, Kirtishri Mishra, Shubham Gupta

Faculty Scholarship

Introduction and Objective: Perioperative antimicrobial prophylaxis is crucial for prevention of prosthesis and patient morbidity after artificial urinary sphincter (AUS) placement. While antibiotic guidelines exist for many urologic procedures, adoption patterns for AUS surgery are unclear. We aimed to assess trends in antibiotic prophylaxis for AUS and outcomes relative to American Urological Association (AUA) Best Practice guidelines. Methods: The Premier Healthcare Database was queried from 2000 to 2020. Encounters involving AUS insertion, revision/removal, and associated complications were identified via ICD and CPT codes. Premier charge codes were used to identify antibiotics used during the insertion encounter. AUS‐related complication events were …

Glucose-Dependent Insulinotropic Polypeptide Monoclonal Antibodies Prevent And Treat Obesity In Wild-Type And Hyperphagic Mice, M Michael Wolfe, Michael O. Boylan

Faculty Scholarship

Objective: This study aimed to investigate whether a glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) monoclonal antibody (mAb) will promote weight loss in wild-type mice and to determine effects of this mAb in preventing weight gain in ob/ob mice. Methods: Phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) or GIP mAb was injected intraperitoneally to wild-type mice fed a 60% high-fat diet (HFD). After 12 weeks, mice that received PBS were divided into two groups and were fed a 37% HFD for 5 weeks; one group received PBS, and one group received GIP mAb. In a separate study, PBS or GIP mAb was injected intraperitoneally to ob/ob mice …

What Sts Can (And Can’T) Do For Law And Technology, Woodrow Hartzog

Faculty Scholarship

The field of law and technology has come a long way since we last heard the unmistakable squeal of a modem connecting to cyberspace. Most of us that remember that sound now probably have more grey hair than we used to. We’ve covered a lot of ground since “Lex Informatica” and “Code is Law,” so you’d think our field would have a deeply sophisticated method for understanding the relationship between law, society, and technology, right?

Professor Ryan Calo thinks the field can do better. In this concise and accessible unpublished article that is part of a new book project, Calo …

Bura Ura, Kendu Waiyo (Rain Falls, Water Rises): The Tyranny Of Water Insecurity And An Agenda For Abolition In Kodi (Sumba Island, Indonesia), Cynthia Twyford Fowler

Faculty Scholarship

This article explores the dynamic links between transformations in freshwater ecosystems and social changes in the Kodi region of Sumba (Indonesia). Insights into the politics surrounding changing hydrosocial systems are generated by using a feminist anthropology approach together with critical development studies and intersectionality theory. In aligning with fellow feminists whose advocacy sometimes takes the form of scholarship, I lay out a five-prong strategy for collecting empirical evidence from persons who are vulnerable when hydrological systems change and offer eight principles for future development interventions. The argument related to the five-prong toolkit is that by conducting intensive, extensive, opportunistic, and …

Monitoring American Federalism: The Overlooked Tool Of Sounding The Alarm Interposition, Christian G. Fritz

Faculty Scholarship

One key feature of the U.S. Constitution – the concept of federalism – was unclear when it was introduced, and that lack of clarity threatened the Constitution’s ratification by those who feared the new government would undermine state sovereignty. Proponents of the new governmental framework were questioned about the underlying theory of the Constitution as well as how it would operate in practice, and their explanations produced intense and extended debate over how to monitor federalism.

http://50shadesoffederalism.com/case-studies/monitoring-american-federalism-the-overlooked-tool-of-sounding-the-alarm-interposition/#more-1574

Peroxisome Biogenesis Initiated By Protein Phase Separation, Zhenghao Zhang, Lydia Kisley

Faculty Scholarship

Peroxisomes are organelles that carry out β-oxidation of fatty acids and amino acids. Both rare and prevalent diseases are caused by their dysfunction. Among disease-causing variant genes are those required for protein transport into peroxisomes. The peroxisomal protein import machinery, which also shares similarities with chloroplasts, is unique in transporting folded and large, up to 10 nm in diameter, protein complexes into peroxisomes. Current models postulate a large pore formed by transmembrane proteins; however, so far, no pore structure has been observed. In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the minimum transport machinery includes the membrane proteins Pex13 and Pex14 and …

Fabrication Methods And Chronic In Vivo Validation Of Mechanically Adaptive Microfluidic Intracortical Devices, Youjoung Kim, Natalie N. Mueller, William E. Schwartzman, Danielle Sarno, Reagan Wynder, George F. Hoeferlin, Kaela Gisser, Jeffrey R. Capadona, Allison E. Hess-Dunning

Faculty Scholarship

Intracortical neural probes are both a powerful tool in basic neuroscience studies of brain function and a critical component of brain computer interfaces (BCIs) designed to restore function to paralyzed patients. Intracortical neural probes can be used both to detect neural activity at single unit resolution and to stimulate small populations of neurons with high resolution. Unfortunately, intracortical neural probes tend to fail at chronic timepoints in large part due to the neuroinflammatory response that follows implantation and persistent dwelling in the cortex. Many promising approaches are under development to circumvent the inflammatory response, including the development of less inflammatory …

Microwave Regeneration And Thermal And Oxidative Stability Of Imidazolium Cyanopyrrolide Ionic Liquid For Direct Air Capture Of Carbon Dioxide, Yun-Yang Lee, Eda Cagli, Aidan Klemm, Ruth Dikki

Faculty Scholarship

Understanding the oxidative and thermal degradation of CO2 sorbents is essential for assessing long-term sorbent stability in direct air capture (DAC). The potential degradation pathway of imidazolium cyanopyrrolide, an ionic liquid (IL) functionalized for superior CO2 capacity and selectivity, is evaluated under accelerated degradation conditions to elucidate the secondary reactions that can occur during repetitive absorption-desorption thermal-swing cycles. The combined analysis from various spectroscopic, chromatographic, and thermal gravimetric measurements indicated that radical and SN2 mechanisms in degradation are encouraged by the nucleophilicity of the anion. Thickening of the liquid and gas evolution are accompanied by 50 % reduction in CO2 …

Inpatient Epidemiology, Healthcare Utilization, And Association With Comorbidities Of Turner Syndrome: A National Inpatient Sample Study, Jirat Chenbhanich

Faculty Scholarship

We aimed to investigate the prevalence, resource utilization, and comorbidities of patients with Turner syndrome (TS) hospitalized in the United States. We identified patients within the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database from the year 2017 to 2019. A propensity-matched cohort of non-TS patients from the same database was constructed to serve as comparators. There were 9845 TS patients, corresponding to inpatient prevalence of 10.4 per 100,000 admissions. The most common admission diagnosis was sepsis (27.9%). TS patients had higher inpatient mortality (adjusted odds ratio 2.16, 95% confidence interval 1.57–2.96) and morbidity, including shock, ICU admission, acute kidney injury, systemic inflammatory response …

The Six Emotional Dimension (6de) Model: A Multidimensional Approach To Analyzing Human Emotions And Unlocking The Potential Of Emotionally Intelligent Artificial Intelligence (Ai) Via Large Language Models (Llm), Jay Ratican, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

The rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) research, particularly in training large language models (LLMs) such as OpenAI's ChatGPT 3.5 and 4, hold significant potential for future applications in education, healthcare, and assisted living. Emotionally intelligent AI systems can provide personalized and adaptive educational experiences, enhancing engagement and educational outcomes. In healthcare, they can offer empathetic mental health support, augmenting existing resources. In assisted living, AI companions can provide emotional support, cognitive stimulation, and monitoring services, promoting independence and safety. However, ethical considerations and privacy safeguards are crucial to ensure responsible deployment. Integrating emotionally intelligent AI in these domains has …

The Common Law Inside Social Media, Anita Bernstein

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

“With All Deliberate Speed”: The Ironic Demise Of (And Hope For) Affirmative Action, Vinay Harpalani

Faculty Scholarship

Is affirmative action in university admissions about to end? As the United States Supreme Court prepares to decide lawsuits against Harvard and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (UNC), the outlook for race-conscious admissions policies is not good. Even before its recent rightward shift, the Court had long been hostile to such policies, and many observers think it will now overturn Grutter v. Bollinger and end them altogether. Such a ruling would be a painful and paradoxical twist for civil rights advocates. In a classic turn of Orwellian irony, the plaintiffs challenging affirmative action now call themselves Students for …

Integrating Ai-Generative Tools In Web Design Education: Enhancing Student Aesthetic And Creative Copy Capabilities Using Image And Text-Based Ai Generators, Jason Lively, James Hutson, Elizabeth Melick

Faculty Scholarship

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is poised to disrupt all levels of education. The recent advances in the generative capabilities of new chatbots, AI art generators, and large language models have upended the art and design development pipeline. At the same time, the focus has remained on the nature of creativity and the role of humans in the creative process, prompting calls to ban AI art, bring lawsuits over copyright infringement, and demand universal watermarks to identify AI-generative content. Regardless of the outcome of such litigation, AI has already radically altered the workflow for artists and designers. This case study aims to …

Enhancing Institutional Assessment And Reporting Through Conversational Technologies: Exploring The Potential Of Ai-Powered Tools And Natural Language Processing, James Hutson, Daniel Plate

Faculty Scholarship

This study explores the potential of conversational technologies, AI-powered tools, and natural language processing (NLP) in enhancing institutional assessment and reporting processes in higher education. The traditional approach to assessment often involves labor-intensive manual analysis of extensive data and documents, which burdens institutions. To address these challenges, AI-powered tools, such as ChatGPT, LangChain, Poe, Claude, and others, along with NLP techniques, are investigated in relationship to their ability to improve institutional assessment practices and output. By leveraging these advanced technologies, assessment officers and institutional effectiveness, researchers can engage in dynamic conversations with data, transforming spreadsheets and documents from static artifacts …

Investigating The Influence Of Periodontal Disease On The Association Between Complex Multimorbidity And Health: A Cross-Sectional Study, Hussam M. Alqahtani, Siran M. Koroukian, Kurt C. Stange, Nicholas K. Schiltz, Nabil F. Bissada

Faculty Scholarship

Aims and Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether periodontal disease (PD) moderates the association between complex multimorbidity (MM) and fair/poor general health in a US representative sample of older individuals. Materials and Methods: This study identified 937 participants who were at least 60 years of age from the 2013-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to estimate the association between complex MM (including chronic conditions, functional limitations, and geriatric syndromes) and self-reported fair/poor general health. Subsequently, we specified interactions between complex MM and PD to determine whether PD moderates …

Mass E-Carceration: Electronic Monitoring As A Bail Condition, Sara Zampierin

Faculty Scholarship

Over the past decade, the immigration and criminal legal systems have increasingly relied on electronic monitoring as a bail condition; hundreds of thousands of people live under this monitoring on any given day. Decisionmakers purport to impose these conditions to release more individuals from detention and to maintain control over individuals they perceive to pose some risk of flight or to public safety. But the data do not show that electronic monitoring successfully mitigates these risks or that it leads to fewer individuals in detention. Electronic monitoring also comes with severe restrictions on individual liberty and leads to harmful effects …

Grid Governance In The Energy-Trilemma Era: Remedying The Democracy Deficit, Daniel E. Walters, Andrew N. Kleit

Faculty Scholarship

Transforming the electric power grid is central to any viable scenario for addressing global climate change, but the process and politics of this transformation are complex. The desire to transform the grid creates an “energy trilemma” involving often conflicting desires for reliability, cost, and decarbonization; and, at least in the short run, it is difficult to avoid making tradeoffs between these different goals. It is somewhat shocking, then, that many crucial decisions about electric power service in the United States are made not by consumers or their utilities, nor by state public utilities commissions or federal regulators. Instead, for much …

Gamestopped: How Robinhood’S Gamestop Trading Halt Reveals The Complexities Of Retail Investor Protection, Neal Newman

Faculty Scholarship

Should brokers have the unfettered right to restrict investor trading? GameStop, a brick-and-mortar video game retailer, had been experiencing declining revenues since 2016. However, GameStop saw its share price climb almost 1000 percent in the span of a one- week period from January 21, 2021 to January 27, 2021 due to retail investors buying significant amounts of GameStop shares during that period. Melvin Capital, a hedge fund, ended up losing billions as they were betting that GameStop shares would lose value instead of increase—a practice referred to as short selling. On January 28, 2021, brokers inexplicably halted trading on GameStop …

Even Lawyers Do Not Like Legalese, Eric H. Martinez, Francis Mollica, Edward Gibson

Faculty Scholarship

Significance

Fishing And Fisheries Under International Water Law: A Dialogue Between Professor Gabriel Eckstein And Professor Paul Stanton Kibel, Gabriel Eckstein, Paul Stanton Kibel

Faculty Scholarship

On April 10 and 11, 2023, the Center on Urban Environmental Law (CUEL) at Golden Gate University School of Law hosted a two-day webinar on International Law Aspects of Fisheries and Hydropower in Europe. To open the webinar, Professor Gabriel Eckstein (of Texas A&M University School of Law) and Professor Paul Stanton Kibel (of Golden Gate University School of Law) participated in a keynote dialogue titled Fishing and Fisheries under International Water Law. What follows is a transcription of this dialogue between Professor Eckstein and Professor Kibel.

The Intersection Of Nfts And Structured Finance, Christopher K. Odinet, Andrea Tosato

Faculty Scholarship

Blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) continue to invade financial markets. Whether through partnerships between financial institutions and tech firms or through in-house initiatives at some of the nation’s largest banks, blockchain-based products, services, and transactional structures are a major point of interest. In a recent work by Professor Steven Schwarcz, the growing NFT market is analyzed using the traditional tools of structured finance. Creating a new conceptual model called non-cash-flow monetizations, Professor Schwarcz reveals the risks to investors and markets, if the tokenization of non-traditional and largely illiquid assets proliferates. Having identified the potential harms, he offers …