Digital Commons Network^™

Enhancing Diversity In An Appointive System Of Selecting Judges, Leo M. Romero

Faculty Scholarship

Any system for selecting judges must be legitimate, and it will not be perceived as legitimate if it excludes certain members of the bar or if it makes it difficult for different groups to get its members on the bench. For an appointive system1 to be perceived as legitimate, it must ensure that diversity is considered in nominating candidates and in appointing judges. This Article will examine the different measures that states, with a particular focus on New Mexico, have adopted in order to enhance diversity in their appointive systems and then propose ways to structure an appointive system that …

Biliary Tract Obstruction In Chronic Pancreatitis, Abdallah Abdulkarim, Jake E. J. Krige, Philippus C. Bornman

General Surgery, East Africa

Bile duct strictures are a common complication in patients with advanced chronic pancreatitis and have a variable clinical presentation ranging from an incidental finding to overt jaundice and cholangitis. The diagnosis is mostly made during investigations for abdominal pain but jaundice may be the initial clinical presentation. The jaundice is typically transient but may be recurrent with a small risk of secondary biliary cirrhosis in longstanding cases. The management of a bile duct stricture is conservative in patients in whom it is an incidental finding as the risk of secondary biliary cirrhosis is negligible.

Initial conservative treatment is advised in …

The Relationship Between Level Of Empathy And Stress Contagion, Heather Lynn Kirby

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Although potential benefits associated with social support are well documented, it is also the case that social networks expose an individual to the stressful life events of others. Studies have shown that the stressful life events of others are positively related to negative affect. It has been theorized by several researchers that relationships between, for example, stressful life events of others and negative affect are evidence of a stress contagion process that may occur through empathy. The current study addressed this idea by testing whether the positive relationship that exists between network stress and depressive symptoms varied dependent upon (ie. …

The Role Of Silicates In Interstitial Lung Disease, Francisco Jose Leyva

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Interstitial Lung disease (ILD), produces disruption of alveolar walls with loss of functionality and accumulation of scar tissue. Asbestosis and silicosis are the ILD produced by the inhalation of asbestos fibers or silica particles respectively. An increase in prostacyclin release after exposing endothelial cells to asbestos has been reported. This study attempts to elucidate the role of lung epithelial cells in the generation of asbestos induced ILD. A cell model to study crocidolite-induced toxicity was developed using LA-4 cells, previously characterized as alveolar type II cells. LA-4 cells when exposed to crocidolite had a decrease in viability and an increase …

The Role Of Zinc And Reactive Oxygen Species In The Regulation Of Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase, Jason Michael Wilham

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) is a very serious disease affecting nearly 5 in 1000 newborns each year. The development of PPHN has been linked to a decrease in the activity and expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). Thus, it is critical to understand the mechanisms by which eNOS is regulated to identify new pathways and novel therapies for PPHN. eNOS is dynamically regulated at the transcriptional, post-transcriptional, post-translational, and developmental levels, however mechanisms of this regulation are unresolved. Our data indicates that increases in eNOS expression and activity correlate with increased cellular levels of labile zinc …

Reducing Dental Mercury Discharge In Missoula, Montana: Collaborative Opportunities, Jamie Elaine Silberberger

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The purpose of this paper is to provide assistance in developing a program to control the release of dental mercury amalgam in Missoula, Montana. To do this, three research components were carried out. The first consisted of a survey to determine whether Missoula dentists are following the American Dental Association’s (ADA) recommended Best Management Practices (BMPs) for mercury amalgam waste. The second component involved interviewing local dentists in an effort to include their voice in the process, as well as to determine what may motivate them to comply with a dental mercury control program. The final component of research involved …

Responses Of Western Toads (Bufo Boreas) To Changes In Terrestrial Habitat Resulting From Wildfire, C. Gregory Guscio

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

None.

Role Of Sodium Arsenite In Atherogenesis, Flavia Elias Pereira

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Epidemiological studies as well as controlled animal studies have associated exposure to arsenic through drinking water with the development of atherosclerosis. In this study, we have shown for the first time that low and environmentally relevant concentrations of arsenic accelerate atherogenesis. The objective of this study was to elucidate the mechanisms of arsenic-induced atherosclerosis by (1) characterizing the time- and concentration-dependent effects of sodium arsenite [As(III)] on the development of atherosclerosis in ApoE-/- /LDLr-/- mice, (2) determining whether As(III)-induced peroxynitrite activates protein kinase C (PKC) isotypes, α and β, in human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs) and (3) determining the effects …

A Return To Descartes: Property, Profit, And The Corporate Ownership Of Animals, Darian M. Ibrahim

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Practical Approaches To Treating Patients With Bipolar Disorder, Jane E. Neu, Susan M. Denisco

Nursing Faculty Publications

Many patients present to a primary care setting with symptoms of a mood disorder. These symptoms may be indicative of an anxiety disorder or a depressive disorder, but they may also represent bipolar disorder, which is more common than many practitioners think. Correctly diagnosing bipolar disorder can be complex, because patients tend to seek treatment when they are experiencing the symptoms of depression or anxiety rather than mania or hypomania. Comorbid disorders such as substance abuse and anxiety disorders may complicate the clinical presentation. Failing to correctly diagnose bipolar disorder can have serious consequences in terms of patients' morbidity and …

A Mean And Green Fighting Machine: Wartime Environmental Assessments And The Canadian Forces, Neil Mccormick

Dalhousie Journal of Legal Studies

In the absence of comprehensive international conventions addressing environmental harms caused by war, existing Canadian law may provide the appropriate framework to reduce the environmental impact caused by the activities of Canada’s military. In particular, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals are two existing mechanisms that can be used to help minimize the environmental harms that may result from Canadian Forces operations.

Sobeys Group Inc. V. Nova Scotia (Attorney General), 2006 248 N.S.R. (2d) 149 (S.C.), Ryan O'Connor

Dalhousie Journal of Legal Studies

The debate over Sunday shopping in Nova Scotia, Canada’s last bastion of Sunday closing laws, has polarized the province during the last half-decade. Traditionalists supported the status quo for, inter alia, religious reasons, to reject consumerism, or to protect workers. These individuals were pitted against business groups, who favoured a market-based approach to determining retail hours; and some citizens, who desired greater consumer choice. It not often that a curt first-instance decision on an application challenging the validity of an order-in-council might warrant the attention of a case comment. Nevertheless, the decision of Richard J. in Sobeys Group Inc. v. …

Book Review: Social Justice: The Moral Foundations Of Public Health And Health Policy, Robin West

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This essay is a review of Social Justice: The Moral Foundations of Public Health and Health Policy by Madison Powers & Ruth Faden (2006).

In this pathbreaking book, senior bioethicists Powers and Faden confront foundational issues about health and justice. How much inequality in health can a just society tolerate? In a world filled with inequalities in health and well-being, which inequalities matter most and are the most morally urgent to address? In order to answer these questions, Powers and Faden develop a unique theory of social justice that, while developed for the specific contexts of public health and health …

Chumming On The Chesapeake Bay And Complexity Theory: Why The Precautionary Principle, Not Cost-Benefit Analysis, Makes More Sense As A Regulatory Approach, Hope M. Babcock

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Estuaries like the Chesapeake Bay ("Bay") and Puget Sound are in grave trouble. They each suffer from poor water quality, loss of habitat, and declining biodiversity, and efforts to restore their health are straining both public and private resources. While accomplishments are often recorded in the fight against these ills, it is clear these accomplishments "are not yet equal to the scale of the problems." The focus of this article is on the nation's largest estuary, the Bay. Despite the investment of billions of dollars to improve water quality, the Bay continues to suffer from severe environmental degradation that impairs …

Federal Student Loan Repayment Assistance For Public Interest Lawyers And Other Employees Of Governments And Nonprofit Organizations, Philip G. Schrag

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The problem of high monthly repayment obligations for educational debt has long plagued students, particularly graduate and professional students, who desired lower-paying public interest careers. Congress has recently responded very positively. In the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, Congress has made it possible for high-debt, lower-income graduates to manage debt repayment through an "income-based repayment" plan. In addition, Congress has created a new program through which public servants -- including all government workers and all employees of all non-profit organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code --are entitled to have a …

Do Charter Schools Threaten Public Education? Emerging Evidence From Fifteen Years Of A Quasi-Market For Schooling, James Forman Jr.

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Supporters of public education have long feared that charter schools will threaten the public system, both by 1) creaming off the most advantaged students and 2) undermining political support for the public system. These fears have not been borne out. Blacks are disproportionately in charters, whites are disproportionately in traditional public schools, and Hispanics are fairly evenly distributed between the two. Looking at class measures, poor students are distributed fairly equally between the two types of schools. And turning to other measures of privilege, the evidence does not point strongly in either direction. My conclusions are not without qualification. The …

Biomedical Research Involving Prisoners: Ethical Values And Legal Regulation, Lawrence O. Gostin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Until the early 1970's, approximately 90% of all pharmaceutical research was conducted on prisoners, who were also subjected to biochemical research, including studies involving dioxin and chemical warfare agents. By the mid-1970's, biomedical research in prisons sharply declined as knowledge of the exploitation of prisoners began to emerge and the National Commission for the protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical Research was formed. Federal regulations to protect human subjects of research were established in 1974. Special protections for prisoners were added in 1978, severely limiting research involving prisoners. However, the US correctional system has undergone major changes since the adoption …

Environmental Law After Katrina: Reforming Environmental Law By Reforming Environmental Lawmaking, Richard J. Lazarus

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Hurricane Katrina's overriding lesson for environmental law is no less than our environmental lawmaking institutions require fundamental reformation. Otherwise, the nation's tragic failure not only to enact laws that anticipate the obvious risks presented to the Gulf Region by hurricanes, but perversely to increase those risks by destroying the ecosystem's natural protections, will inevitably be repeated with even more devastating results.

Climate Change And The Clean Air Act, Lisa Heinzerling

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In Massachusetts v. EPA, petitioners - twelve states, three cities, an American territory, and numerous health and environmental groups - have asked the Supreme Court to hold that the Clean Air Act gives EPA the power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles and that EPA may not decline to exercise this power based on statutorily irrelevant factors. The problem petitioners ultimately seek to address - climate change - is unique in its scope and complexity. But the legal issues before the Court in Massachusetts v. EPA are neither particularly grand nor particularly complex. They are the kinds of …

Chronic Low-Level Lead Exposure Affects The Monoaminergic System In The Mouse Superior Olivary Complex, Tyler John Fortune

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Low-level lead (Pb) exposure is associated with behavioral and cognitive dysfunction. It is not clear how Pb produces these behavioral changes but low-level Pb exposure and learning disabilities have been associated with altered auditory temporal processing in both humans and animals. Temporal processing is used to decode complex sounds and to detect a signal within a noise background, and it is thought that neurons of the superior olivary complex (SOC) in the brainstem play a role in sound detection in noisy environments and in selective auditory attention. The SOC receives a catecholaminergic and a serotonergic innervation from the locus coeruleus …

Assessment Of Ground Water Exchange In Two Stream Channels And Associated Riparian Zones, Jocko Valley, Western Montana, Aaron A. Fiaschetti

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Fiaschetti, Aaron, M.S., December 2006 Geology Assessment of Ground Exchange in Two Steam Channels and Associated Riparian Zones, Jocko Valley, Western Montana Chairperson: William W. Woessner Degraded riparian habitat is a concern throughout the United States. Repairing anthropogenic damage to river channels and wetlands is becoming increasingly popular,though including design features to re-establish ground water and surface water exchange rates and timing are rarely implemented. The goal of this project is to characterize the surface water/ ground water exchange rates of two stream and riparian systems that have been altered by agriculture use. Hydrogeological and hydrological field experiments were performed …

Action-Oriented Sustainable Agriculture Education: Attitudes Towards Nutrition And Agricultural Practices In Guaimaca, Honduras, Sarah Lynne Potenza

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Agricultural policies and global economic forces negatively affect many small-scale farmers in developing countries, resulting in widespread micronutrient malnutrition and environmental degradation. This study explores the connections between these issues, and the efficacy of using participatory education on sustainable agriculture to address them at a local level. Specifically, it evaluates an action-oriented education and sustainable agriculture program in Honduras, from the perspective of the participants and my own participation, as a means to improve agricultural practices and rural nutrition among subsistence farmers. As in many developing countries, access to land, poor soil conditions, steep hillsides, adverse climatic conditions, and limited …

Partnership, Dependence And Protest: The United States And El Salvador, Seen Through Pockets Of Internationals, Paul Brohaugh

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

El Salvador is intimately connected to the United States, though most U.S. citizens may not realize it, even if they remember the days of El Salvador’s civil war. As it is for much of the world, the United States is for Salvadorans a promised land of plentiful work and peaceful lives. Unlike the rest of the world, however, every Salvadoran has a fighting chance to get here, and a fourth of the population has done so. Salvadoran news in the United States is mostly limited to updates on youth gangs and violence. Violence was the media draw of the 1980s …

Public Archaeology In Montana: A Sample Of University Of Montana Students' Perceptions Of Archaeology And Knowledge Of Local Sites, Helen Alexandra Keremedjiev

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Archaeologists have an obligation to disseminate publicly their research and theories. To do this effectively, they need to know how each public perceives archaeology. A voluntary Institutional Review Board certified questionnaire was given to 606 University of Montana undergraduates and graduates. It included topics on the basics of archaeology and sites in Montana. After the results were tabulated, a website was created to show the overall results. Its location is at www.umt.edu/publicarchaeology. This online resource includes the questionnaire, the total raw results of all classes’ responses, and a discussion section. (See Appendix E for screenshot images of the website.) This …

Public-Private Health Law: Multiple Directions In Public Health, Nan D. Hunter

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

No public law is more public than public health law. Its defining subject is the use of state power to control and prevent death and disease. Its primary institutions are a cluster of state actors, the governmental agencies that comprise the American public health "system.,, The system grew out of the eighteenth century boards of health that produced the beginnings of administrative law. Public health law is grounded on statutory provisions that authorize various forms of state action and on judicial decisions that resolve constitutional challenges to those actions.

If The Judicial Confirmation Process Is Broken, Can A Statute Fix It?, Aaron-Andrew P. Bruhl

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Outlawing Pension-Funding Shortfalls, Eric D. Chason

Faculty Publications

Before ERISA, employees faced a large risk that their employers would default or renege on pension obligations. By creating a federal guarantor of pensions (the PBGC), ERISA has greatly reduced this risk. All else being equal, low-risk pensions are worth more to employees but cost more to provide. Congress has never had a coherent policy on who should pay for these extra costs. Moreover, legal scholars have failed to create a theoretical framework for dealing with these costs, focusing instead on the supposed "moral hazard" that the PBGC guaranty creates. This Article inserts itself into the scholarly vacuum, asserting that …

Trademark Law As Commercial Speech Regulations, Rebecca Tushnet

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

False advertising law has largely escaped constitutional scrutiny because courts consider false or misleading commercial speech outside the protection of the First Amendment. Even moderate First Amendment protection for truthful commercial speech, however, requires some constitutional policing of the line between truth and falsity. Current enforcement of false advertising law, whether administrative, as with the FDA's regulation of drug-related speech, or judicial, as with Lanham Act suits brought by private parties, is ill-equipped to deal with First Amendment doctrine's very different concerns, rules, and presumptions. This contribution to the symposium will explore some of the ways in which the First …

Assessment Of Whitebark Pine Seedling Survival For Rocky Mountain Plantings, Deborah Kay Izlar

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Whitebark pine (WBP) is a keystone species of Rocky Mountain alpine and subalpine areas. A pervasive non-native fungal disease (white pine blister rust), mountain pine beetle infestation, and successional replacement by shade-tolerant competitors following decades of fire exclusion have severely reduced whitebark pine and threaten these high-elevation ecosystems. Land managers are attempting to reverse whitebark pine’s decline by increasing regeneration of rust-resistant trees while restoring successional processes. Restoration efforts include the planting of whitebark pine seedlings and over 200,000 seedlings have been planted on National Forest, BLM and National Park service lands. In this Rocky Mountain (RM) study, select whitebark …

Constraints And Opportunities Of Conservation Easements As A Tool For Agricultural Preservation In The Blackfoot Valley, Montana, Megan Huth

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Huth, Megan, M.S., May 2007 Resource Conservation The Constraints and Opportunities of Conservation Easements as a Tool for Agricultural Preservation in the Blackfoot Valley, Montana Chairperson: Jill Belsky Conservation easements have historically been used by land trusts and government agencies to preserve private land from development and subdivision, to preserve unique geological features, and protect fish and wildlife habitat. The national and Montana state conservation easement legislation does not explicitly state agricultural land as a conservation value that they aim to preserve. As such, land trusts and government agencies that are the holders of conservation easements do not typically identify …