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The Anfal Genocide: Personal Reflections And Legal Residue, Michael A. Newton

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

There is a very deep and almost palpable sense in which justice feeds the soul of the Kurdish people. For the Greek philosophers, the pursuit of justice was the highest calling of human endeavor. Many Kurds dedicated their lives to pursuing peace and justice in the aftermath of the Anfal campaigns of 1988. In my work with Iraqi judges and lawyers, I have grown to respect their sincerity and sheer physical courage. For nearly seven years now, I have been privileged to work extensively with Iraqi judges and lawyers, and I was involved in the preparations for the Anfal genocide …

Unenumerated Rights And The Limits Of Analogy: A Critque Of The Right To Medical Self-Defense, O. Carter Snead

Journal Articles

Volokh’s project stands or falls with the claim that the entitlement he proposes is of constitutional dimension. If there is no fundamental right to medical self-defense, the individual must, for better or worse, yield to the regulation of this domain in the name of the values agreed to by the political branches of government. Indeed, the government routinely restricts the instrumentalities of self-help (including self-defense) in the name of avoiding what it takes to be more significant harms. This same rationale accounts for current governmental limitations on access to unapproved drugs and the current ban on organ sales. The FDA …

The New Totalitarians: Social Identities And Radical Islamist Political Grand Strategy, Douglas J. Macdonald Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

The author argues that the social identity theory behind the “clash of civilizations” thesis is useful for analyzing the tasks before us in the “Long War” on Terrorism. The “clash of civilizations” is not actually occurring, he argues, but is rather the end goal of radical Islamist political grand strategy. Radical Islamist terrorists, like the Fascists and Communists before them, cannot allow alternative value systems to exist in areas they control. Their goal is to spread such totalitarian beliefs to the entire Muslim world in order to create a violent “clash” with non-Muslim societies, and, in some versions, radical Islam …

Rosoboroneksport: Arms Sales And The Structure Of Russian Defense Industry, Stephen J. Blank Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

Although Russian observers believe that Washington imposed sanctions in Russian arms sellers and producers because of these firms’ arms sales to Venezuela. Sales to such dangerous states oblige us to analyze the Russian defense export program and the structure of its defense industry. Until now, that industry would have collapsed without arms sales. Arms sales thus have become the main source of its reveneue until the present and will play a key role in Russia’s ongoing attempt to regenerate its armed forces while winning friends and influence abroad.

Influence Of Speed Limits On Roadway Safety In Indiana, Nataliya V. Malyshkina, Fred L. Mannering, Samuel Labi

JTRP Technical Reports

The influence of speed limits on roadway safety is an extremely important social issue and is subject to an extensive debate in the State of Indiana and nationwide. With roughly 900 fatalities and sixty thousand injuries annually in Indiana, traffic accidents place an incredible social and economic burden on the state. Still, speed limits posted on highways and other roads are routinely exceeded as individual drivers try to balance safety and mobility (speed) as well as risks of penalties from enforcement efforts. This research explores the relationship between speed limits and roadway safety. Specifically, the research focuses on the influence …

Crossing Borders: Loving V. Virginia As A Story Of Migration, Victor C. Romero

Faculty Scholarship

The struggle of binational same-gender partners today parallels the struggles of Mildred and Richard Loving during the heyday of the Civil Rights Movement - not only in the obvious parallels between race and sexual orientation as barriers to freedom, but also in the way the law uses these immutable characteristics to limit the freedom of movement. It is this freedom of movement - this migration or immigration - that I want to focus on in this essay. Lest we forget, the Lovings' story is, importantly, a story of migration: It's a story of the great lengths to which an interracial …

Building Intellectual Property Management Capacity In Public Research Institutions In Vietnam: Current Needs And Future Directions, Laurel Kilgour

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

In Re Fisher: Denial Of Patents For Ests Signals Deeper Problems In The Utility Prong For Patentability, Lillian Ewing

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

Mod As Heck: Frameworks For Examining Ownership Rights In User-Contributed Content To Videogames, And A More Principled Evaluation Of Expressive Appropriation In User-Modified Videogame Projects, John Baldrica

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

Mississippi River Stories: Lessons From A Century Of Unnatural Disasters, Christine A. Klein, Sandra B. Zellmer

SMU Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Origins Of Article Iii "Arising Under" Jurisdiction, Anthony J. Bellia Jr.

Journal Articles

Article III of the Constitution provides that the judicial Power of the United States extends to all cases arising under the Constitution, laws, and treaties of the United States. What the phrase arising under imports in Article III has long confounded courts and scholars. This Article examines the historical origins of Article III arising under jurisdiction. First, it describes English legal principles that governed the jurisdiction of courts of general and limited jurisdiction--principles that animated early American jurisprudence regarding the scope of arising under jurisdiction. Second, it explains how participants in the framing and ratification of the Constitution understood arising …

Upstream Of Peril: The Role Of Federal Lands In Addressing The Extinction Crisis: Twelfth Annual Lloyd K. Garrison Lecture On Environmental Law, Karin P. Sheldon

Pace Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

Minding The Public Interest: How The Not-So-Effective Standard Has Led To The Destruction Of Wetlands In Louisiana, Megan Bierlein

Pace Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Universal Declaration On Bioethics And Human Rights: Implications For Human Dignity And The Respect For Human Life, O. Carter Snead

Journal Articles

As advances in biomedical science and biotechnology continue to confer vast new powers to subdue nature for “the relief of man’s estate,” vexed moral and ethical questions inevitably arise about the use of such capacities. To what ends should they be applied? How might they be abused? Are they safe? What is the human meaning of such new powers? Might their use threaten human dignity? What does scientific freedom demand? What does justice require? Who should have access to the fruits of such scientific advances?

In democratic regimes, these questions do not long remain the subject of mere academic reflection …

Optimizing A Communication System By Neural Circuits: The Magic Number 4 And Golden Ratio, Bo Deng

Department of Mathematics: Faculty Publications

For a new class of circuit models of neurons we demonstrate here that an artificial but robust and efficient communication system can be constructed using one neural circuit as an encoder/transmitter and another as a receiver/decoder, for which metastable-plastic spike-bursts with the minimal bursting periods are used for its alphabet. We also demonstrate that the spike-bursting alphabet is frequency-modulated onto the encoder’s ion pump current as the signal. We further demonstrate that for this spike-excitation-encoding-decoding (SEED) system, the quadrary alphabet tends to give the maximal transmission rate for all possible sources. We also demonstrate that by a trivial source-to-channel encoding, …

Dinosaur Tectonics: A Structural Analysis Of Theropod Undertracks With A Reconstruction Of Theropod Walking Dynamics, Ole Graversen, Jesper Milán, David B. Loope

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

A dinosaur trackway in the Middle Jurassic eolian Entrada Sandstone of southern Utah, U.S.A., exposes three undertracks that we have modeled as isolated tectonic regimes showing the development of fold-thrust ramp systems induced by the dinosaur’s feet. The faulted and folded sequence is comparable to crustal-scale tectonics associated with plate tectonics and foreland fold-thrust belts. A structural analysis of the dinosaur tracks shows the timing and direction of the forces exercised on the substrate by the animal’s foot during the stride. Based on the structural analysis, we establish a scenario for foot movements and weight distribution in the feet. During …

Preservation And Erosion Of Theropod Tracks In Eolian Deposits: Examples From The Middle Jurassic Entrada Sandstone, Utah, U.S.A., Jesper Milán, David B. Loope

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

The Middle Jurassic Entrada Sandstone, exposed near the town of Escalante, southern Utah, consists of large-scale cross-bedded eolian deposits that are interbedded with horizontally laminated sand sheets and thin sets of eolian cross-strata, representing periods with a moister climate. The flat-bedded units contain numerous tracks and trackways from small to large-sized theropod dinosaurs. These tracks are today exposed in several distinct erosional states, allowing detailed studies of track and undertrack formation in eolian deposits. Tracks that originally were emplaced on sloping surfaces show, in their present-day erosional state, a morphology distinct from those originally emplaced on horizontal surfaces. Further, the …

C-Fos As A Proapoptotic Agent In Trail-Induced Apoptosis In Prostate Cancer Cells, Xiaoping Zhang, Liang Zhang, Hongmei Yang, Xu Huang, Hasan H. Otu, Towia A. Libermann, William C. Dewolf, Roya Khosravi-Far, Aria F. Olumi

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

Tumor necrosis factor–related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL)/Apo-2L promotes apoptosis in cancer cells while sparing normal cells. Although many cancers are sensitive to TRAIL-induced apoptosis, some evade the proapoptotic effects of TRAIL. Therefore, differentiating molecular mechanisms that distinguish between TRAIL-sensitive and TRAIL-resistant tumors are essential for effective cancer therapies. Here, we show that c-Fos functions as a proapoptotic agent by repressing the antiapoptotic molecule c-FLIP(L). c-Fos binds the c-FLIP(L) promoter, represses its transcriptional activity, and reduces c-FLIP(L) mRNA and protein levels. Therefore, c-Fos is a key regulator of c-FLIP(L), and activation of c-Fos determines whether a cancer cell will undergo cell death …

Identification Of Escherichia Coli O157:H7 Genomic Regions Conserved In Strains With A Genotype Associated With Human Infection, Marina Steele, Kim Ziebell, Yongxiang Zhang, Andrew K. Benson, Paulina Konczy, Roger Johnson, Victor Gannon

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Beta-glucuronidase-negative, sorbitol-nonfermenting isolates of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157 comprise part of a clone complex of related enterohemorrhagic E. coli isolates. High-resolution genotyping shows that the O157 populations have diverged into two different lineages that appear to have different ecologies. To identify genomic regions unique to the most common human-associated genotype, suppression subtractive hybridization was used to identify DNA sequences present in two clinical strains representing the human lineage I O157:H7 strains but absent from two bovine-derived lineage II strains. PCR assays were then used to test for the presence of these regions in 10 lineage I strains and 20 …

Us And Them: Identity And Genocide, David Moshman

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Genocide is commonly deemed to be either inexplicable or the result of special hatreds. I argue instead that genocide is an extreme result of normal identity processes. Four overlapping phases are proposed. (1) Dichotomization elevates one dimension of identity over others and, within that dimension, sharply distinguishes two categories: us and them. This may lead to (2) dehumanization, in which “they” come to be seen not just as different from “us” but as outside the human universe of moral obligation. (3) Destruction may result, accompanied and followed by processes of (4) denial that enable the perpetrators to maintain their moral …

Regional Mechanical Properties And Stress Analysis Of The Human Anterior Lens Capsule, Ryan M. Pedrigi, G. David, J. Dziezyc, J. D. Humphrey

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The lens capsule of the eye functions, in part, as a deformable support through which the ciliary body applies tractions that can alter lens curvature and corresponding refractive power during the process of accommodation. Although it has long been recognized that characterization of the mechanical properties of the lens capsule is fundamental to understanding this physiologic process as well as clinical interventions, prior data have been limited by one-dimensional testing of excised specimens despite the existence of multiaxial loading in vivo. In this paper, we employ a novel experimental approach to study in situ the regional, multiaxial mechanical behavior of …

Possible Use Of Foresight, Understanding, And Planning By Wolves Hunting Muskoxen, L. David Mech

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

On Ellesmere Island in 2006, arctic wolves (Canis lupus arctos) were observed making a two-pronged approach to a herd of muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) and, on another occasion, ambushing muskoxen. Both observations seemed to provide evidence that the wolves were using foresight, understanding, and planning. Although the possible use of insight and purposiveness has been documented in captive wolves, the present report is one of the few to document the possibility that freeranging wolves use these other three mental processes.

En 2006, sur l’île Ellesmere, des loups arctiques (Canis lupus arctos) ont été observés en …

Annual Arctic Wolf Pack Size Related To Arctic Hare Numbers, L. David Mech

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

During the summers of 2000 through 2006, I counted arctic wolf (Canis lupus arctos) pups and adults in a pack, arctic hares (Lepus arcticus) along a 9 km index route in the area, and muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) in a 250 km² part of the area near Eureka (80° N, 86° W), Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada. Adult wolf numbers did not correlate with muskox numbers, but they were positively related (r² = 0.89; p < 0.01) to an arctic hare index. This is the first report relating wolf numbers to non-ungulate prey.

Pendant les étés 2000 à 2006, j’ai compté les jeunes loups arctiques et les adultes (Canis lupus arctos …

Pines, C. Plomion, D. Chagné, D. Pot, S. Kumar, P. L. Wilcox, R. D. Burdon, D. Prat, D. G. Peterson, J. Paiva, P. Chaumeil, G. G. Vendramin, F. Sebastiani, C. D. Nelson, C. S. Echt, O. Savolainen, T. L. Kubisiak, M. T. Cervera, N. De María, M. N. Islam-Faridi

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Pinus is the most important genus within the Family Pinaceae and also within the gymnosperms by the number of species (109 species recognized by Farjon 2001) and by its contribution to forest ecosystems. All pine species are evergreen trees or shrubs. They are widely distributed in the northern hemisphere, from tropical areas to northern areas in America and Eurasia. Their natural range reaches the equator only in Southeast Asia. In Africa, natural occurrences are confined to the Mediterranean basin. Pines grow at various elevations from sea level (not usual in tropical areas) to highlands. Two main regions of diversity are …

Characterization Of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Monomeric And Trimeric Gp120 Glycoproteins Stabilized In The Cd4-Bound State: Antigenicity, Biophysics, And Immunogenicity, Barna Dey, Marie Pancera, Krisha Svehla, Yuuei Shu, Shi-Hua Xiang, Jeffrey Vainshtein, Yuxing Li, Joseph Sodroski, Peter D. Kwong, John R. Mascola, Richard Wyatt

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 exterior gp120 envelope glycoprotein is highly flexible, and this flexibility may contribute to the inability of monomeric gp120 immunogens to elicit broadly neutralizing antibodies. We previously showed that an S375W modification of a critical interfacial cavity central to the primary receptor binding site, the Phe43 cavity, stabilizes gp120 into the CD4-bound state. However, the immunological effects of this cavity-altering replacement were never tested. Subsequently, we screened other mutations that, along with the S375W alteration, might further stabilize the CD4-bound state. Here, we define a selected second cavity-altering replacement, T257S, and analyze the double mutations …

Georgeoral Immunization Of Rhesus Macaques With Adenoviral Hiv Vaccines Using Enteric-Coated Capsules, George T. Mercier, Pramod N. Nehete, Marco F. Passeri, Bharti N. Nehete, Eric A. Weaver, Nancy Smyth Templeton, Kimberly Schluns, Stephanie S. Buchl, K. Jagannadha Sastry, Michael A. Barry

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Targeted delivery of vaccine candidates to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract holds potential for mucosal immunization, particularly against mucosal pathogens like the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Among the different strategies for achieving targeted release in the GI tract, namely the small intestine, pH sensitive enteric coating polymers have been shown to protect solid oral dosage forms from the harsh digestive environment of the stomach and dissolve relatively rapidly in the small intestine by taking advantage of the luminal pH gradient. We developed an enteric polymethacrylate formulation for coating hydroxy-propyl-methyl-cellulose (HPMC) capsules containing lyophilized Adenoviral type 5 (Ad5) vectors expressing HIV-1 gag …

Survey Of Selected Pathogens And Blood Parameters Of Northern Yellowstone Elk: Wolf Sanitation Effect Implications, Shannon M. Barber-Meyer, P. J. White, L. David Mech

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

The restoration or conservation of predators could reduce seroprevalences of certain diseases in prey if predation selectively removes animals exhibiting clinical signs. We assessed disease seroprevalences and blood parameters of 115 adult female elk (Cervus elaphus) wintering on the northern range of Yellowstone National Park [YNP] during 2000– 2005 and compared them to data collected prior to wolf (Canis lupus) restoration (WR) in 1995 and to two other herds in Montana to assess this prediction. Blood parameters were generally within two standard deviations of the means observed in other Montana herds (Gravelly-Snowcrest [GS] and Garnet Mountain …

Testing Global Positioning System Telemetry To Study Wolf Predation On Deer Fawns, Dominic Demma, Shannon Barber-Meyer, L. David Mech

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

We conducted a pilot study to test the usefulness of Global Positioning System (GPS) collars for investigating wolf (Canis lupus) predation on white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) fawns. Using GPS collars with short location-attempt intervals on 5 wolves and 5 deer during summers 2002–2004 in northeastern Minnesota, USA, demonstrated how this approach could provide new insights into wolf hunting behavior of fawns. For example, a wolf traveled ≥1.5–3.0 km and spent 20–22 hours in the immediate vicinity of known fawn kill sites and ≥0.7 km and 8.3 hours at scavenging sites. Wolf travel paths indicated that wolves …

Evolutionary Theory And Political Leadership: Why Certain People Do Not Trust Decision Makers, Kevin Smith, Christopher W. Larimer, Levente Littvay, John Hibbing

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

Central to social systems are the attitudes of the rank and file toward those who make political decisions (leaders), and attitudes toward leaders are known to be characterized by two fundamental features. First, the modal attitude is acceptance of the necessity of leaders coupled with acute aversion to leaders who are believed to be motivated by ambition and avarice; second, people are highly variable with some being markedly more sensitive than others to the traits of leaders. But the theoretical basis for these empirical facts has yet to be fully elucidated. In this article, we offer such a theory by …

Differential Engagement Of Tim-1 During Activation Can Positively Or Negatively Costimulate T Cell Expansion And Effector Function, Vijay K. Kuchroo, Sheng Xiao, Nader Najafian, Jay Reddy, Monica Albin, Chen Zhu, Eric Jensen, Jaimie Imitola, Thomas Korn, Ana C. Anderson, Zheng Zhang, Cristina Gutierrez, Thomas Moll, Raymond A. Sobel, Dale T. Umetsu, Hideo Yagita, Hisaya Akiba, Terry Strom, Mohamed H. Sayegh, Rosemarie H. Dekruyff, Samia J. Khoury

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

It has been suggested that T cell immunoglobulin mucin (Tim)-1 expressed on T cells serves to positively costimulate T cell responses. However, crosslinking of Tim-1 by its ligand Tim-4 resulted in either activation or inhibition of T cell responses, thus raising the issue of whether Tim-1 can have a dual function as a costimulator. To resolve this issue, we tested a series of monoclonal antibodies specifi c for Tim-1 and identifi ed two antibodies that showed opposite functional effects. One anti–Tim-1 antibody increased the frequency of antigen-specifi c T cells, the production of the proinfl ammatory cytokines IFN-γ and IL-17, …