Digital Commons Network^™

An Expanded Genetic Code In Mammalian Cells With A Functional Quadruplet Codon, Wei Niu, Peter G. Schultz, Jiantao Guo

Department of Chemistry: Faculty Publications

We have utilized in vitro evolution to identify tRNA variants with significantly enhanced activity for the incorporation of unnatural amino acids into proteins in response to a quadruplet codon in both bacterial and mammalian cells. This approach will facilitate the creation of an optimized and standardized system for the genetic incorporation of unnatural amino acids using quadruplet codons, which will allow the biosynthesis of biopolymers that contain multiple unnatural building blocks.

Hydropower: It's A Small World After All, Gina S. Warren

Faculty Scholarship

Global warming is here. As exhibited by the recent droughts, heat waves, severe storms, and floods, climate change is no longer a question for the future, but a reality for the present. Of the many ways to help combat climate change, this Article discusses the use of the most abundant renewable energy source on the plant-water. While it is unlikely that large, conventional hydropower will see any significant development in the near future, technologies have advanced so as to allow for the generation of a substantial amount of electricity from small hydropower facilities, including conduit and hydrokinetic projects. These technologies …

Regulatory Effectiveness & Offshore Financial Centers, Andrew P. Morriss, Clifford C. Henson

Faculty Scholarship

Onshore jurisdictions, such as the United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany, are critical of offshore financial centers (OFCs), such as Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, and the Channel Islands. Arguments against OFCs include claims that their regulatory oversight is lax, allowing fraud and criminal activity. In this article, we present cross-jurisdictional data, showing that OFCs are not lax. We also provide qualitative analyses of regulatory effectiveness, demonstrating that input-based measures of regulation are inappropriate metrics for comparing jurisdictions. Based on both quantitative input measures and a qualitative assessment, we reject the onshore critique of OFCs as bastions of laxity.

Unbreakable Vows: Same-Sex Marriage And The Fundamental Right To Divorce, Meg Penrose

Faculty Scholarship

This Article considers whether there is a fundamental constitutional right, through the liberty component of substantive due process, to divorce. This right to divorce becomes particularly important for same-sex couples whose marital rights are incomplete, at best. Surely, if divorce were outlawed by any state, the masses would rise up against such tyranny with cries that divorce must be constitutionally protected. But place divorce in the context of same-sex marriage and the response is predictably more tepid. “Those” marriages are not legal anyway, so what harm is there in excluding them from divorce? States that refuse to recognize same-sex marriage, …

Maximizing Audibility And Speech Recognition With Non-Linear Frequency Compression By Estimating Audible Bandwidth, Ryan W. Mccreery, Marc A. Brennan, Brenda Hoover, Judy Kopun, Patricia G. Stelmachowicz

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Objective—Nonlinear frequency compression attempts to restore high-frequency audibility by lowering high-frequency input signals. Methods of determining the optimal parameters that maximize speech understanding have not been evaluated. The effect of maximizing the audible bandwidth on speech recognition for a group of listeners with normal hearing is described.

Design—Nonword recognition was measured with twenty normal-hearing adults. Three audiograms with different high-frequency thresholds were used to create conditions with varying high-frequency audibility. Bandwidth was manipulated using three conditions for each audiogram: conventional processing, the manufacturer’s default compression parameters, and compression parameters that optimized bandwidth.

Results—Nonlinear frequency compression optimized to provide the widest …

Assessing Respondent Driven Sampling For Network Studies In Ethnographic Contexts, Kirk Dombrowski, Bilal Khan, Joshua Moses, Emily Channell, Evan Misshula

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS) is generally considered a methodology for recruiting “hard-to-reach” populations for social science research. More recently, Wejnert has argued that RDS analysis can be used for general social network analysis as well (where he labels it, RDS-SN). In this article, we assess the value of Wejnert’s RDS-SN for use in more traditional ethnographic contexts. We employed RDS as part of a larger social network research project to recruit n = 330 community residents (over 17 years of age) in Nain, a predominantly (92%) aboriginal community in northern Labrador, Canada, for social network interviews about food sharing, housing, …

Engaging Teenagers With Science Through Comics, Amy N. Spiegel, Julia Mcquillan, Peter Halpin, Camillia Matuk, Judy Diamond

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

It is increasingly important for all citizens, and especially youth, to understand how viruses impact our health, communities and environment. Particularly for youth less interested in traditional science learning materials, comics may provide a way to engage teenagers with scientific information about viruses. We compared the impacts of different formats of educational materials on teenagers’ knowledge of, attitudes toward, and engagement with information about viruses. High school students (N = 873) were randomly assigned to read either a high quality comic or essay about viruses. Latent class analysis grouped youth into one of four categories that captured a range from …

Analyzing Paradata To Investigate Measurement Error, Ting Yan, Kristen Olson

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Paradata for purposes of investigating and understanding measurement error include response times, keystrokes, mouse clicks, behavior codes, vocal characteristics, and interviewer evaluations. Description and collection of these paradata is examined extensively in Chapter 3. In this chapter, we focus on the analysis of these types of paradata.

We begin this chapter with a brief review of empirical literature using paradata to investigate measurement error in Section 4.2. Section 4.3 describes the specific analytic steps taken and issues to be considered when analyzing paradata for the purpose of examining measurement error. Examples taken from published research work are provided in Section …

Correlates Of Bullying Behaviors Among A Sample Of North American Indigenous Adolescents, Lisa A. Melander, Kelley J. Sittner Hartshorn, Les B. Whitbeck

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between familial, educational, and psychosocial factors and bullying among 702 North American Indigenous adolescents aged 11–14 years. The study used multinomial logistic regression models to differentiate correlates of bully perpetration and victimization versus being neither and between being a perpetrator versus being a victim. Analyses reveal that being a bully victim had different correlates than being a perpetrator. Perceived discrimination was associated with increased odds of being either a victim or a perpetrator, relative to being neither. Several factors differentiated being a bully perpetrator from being a bully victim: adolescent …

Short And Tweet, Sue Burzynski Bullard

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

The goal is to help students learn to write clearly and concisely. It reinforces William Zinsser’s advice in “On Writing Well.” He said, “Examine every word you put on paper. You’ll find a surprising number that don’t serve any purpose.” The exercise helps students learn to find the focus of stories. It helps editing students write concise, clear headlines that pull readers into stories. It also helps reporting students learn to summarize stories accurately and briefly — a skill they need as they craft their own ledes.

Independent Directors And Shared Board Control In Venture Finance, Brian J. Broughman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In most VC-backed firms neither the entrepreneurs nor the VC investors control the board. Instead control is typically shared with a mutually appointed independent director holding the tie-breaking seat. Contract theory, which treats control as an indivisible right held by one party, does not have a good explanation for this practice. Using a bargaining game similar to final offer arbitration, I show that an independent director as tie-breaker can reduce holdup by moderating each party’s ex post threat position, potentially expanding the range of firms which receive external financing. This project contributes to the literature on incomplete contracting and holdup, …

The Amazing Twitter List Race, Michelle Carr Hassler

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

The goal of this assignment is to show students how curating lists on Twitter can help them discover news sources, monitor what is happening in their community and develop story ideas. They complete the assignment as part of a friendly competition in which each student tries to develop a Twitter list with the most news sources. Students often do not follow local news closely and struggle to come up with strong story ideas. This assignment helps them focus by creating one place where they can keep current on events and be inspired.

Prowatch: Critically Thinking About Reporters’ Work, Carla Kimbrough

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

ProWatch, an activity in critical thinking, is an assignment that I use in beginning reporting and editing classes, but it can be adapted easily for use in editing and advanced reporting classes. It is designed to make students read the newspaper, identify sources of story ideas, develop interviewing skills, identify Associated Press style, think about presenting stories across platforms and strengthen story organization skills. This assignment is used throughout the semester so that students can gain these skills by critically examining the published work of professional journalists.

Capture Success Higher Near Roads For San Clemente Island Foxes, Nathan P. Snow, William F. Andelt

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Recently, island fox (Urocyon littoralis) populations on 4 of 6 California Channel Islands (USA) were greatly reduced by colonizing golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) and a suspected outbreak of disease, creating concern for subspecies on all islands. Consequently, efforts of live-trapping foxes for research, monitoring, and vaccination has increased. Despite increased trapping efforts, evaluation of factors that influence capture success has not been conducted. We examined capture success of island foxes at 85 random trapping locations on San Clemente Island during 170 trap-nights during 2006–2007. We captured 98 island foxes, and found that traps placed ≤10 m …

Chapter 7 Large Scales And Future Directions For Landslide Ecology From Landslide Ecology, Lawrence R. Walker, Aaron B. Shiels

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

1. Landslide ecology is an emerging discipline that provides insights into both scientific and management issues. Scientifically, it explores nutrient cycling and soil development, plant physiological adaptations, dispersal and colonization dynamics, novel mixes of native and nonnative species, and successional trajectories in an often inhospitable environment. Landslide ecology also integrates biological aspects of landslides into efforts to manage slope hydrology, soil erosion, and the stabilization of slopes.

2. Human-landslide interactions are becoming more common as human populations expand into mountainous terrain and climate change increases landslide frequency.

3. A landscape-level approach to landslide rehabilitation integrates topography, broad-scale climatic conditions, landslide …

Lanslide Ecology: Cover, Contents, Preface, Lawrence R. Walker, Aaron B. Shiels

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Despite their often dangerous and unpredictable nature, landslides provide fascinating templates for studying how soil organisms, plants, and animals respond to such destruction. The emerging field oflandslide ecology helps us to understand these responses, aiding slope stabilization and restoration and contributing to progress made in geological approaches to landslide prediction and mitigation.

Summarizing the growing body ofliterature on the ecological consequences of landslides, this book provides a framework for the promotion of ecological tools in predicting, stabilizing, and restoring biodiversity to landslide scars at both local and landscape scales. It explores nutrient cycling; soil development; and how organisms disperse, colonize, …

Wildlife In Airport Environments: Chapter 4 Tactile And Auditory Repellents To Reduce Wildlife Hazards To Aircraft, Thomas W. Seamans, James A. Martin, Jerrold L. Belant

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wildlife within the airport environment are hazards to human safety. Lethal removal of targeted individuals reduces the immediate threat, but other approaches should be integrated into control programs to make them more effective and to help meet legal and ethical considerations (Dolbeer et al. 1995). When negative media attention, special interest groups, or calls for restrictive legislation influence public opinion, the resulting public pressure can preclude effective wildlife management and lead to subsequent population control problems (Torres et al. 1996, Coolahan and Snider 1998, Conover 2001). Nonlethal management activities to reduce wildlife use of airports may include habitat modification, exclusion …

Wildlife In Airport Environments: Chapter 7 Population Management To Reduce The Risk Of Wildlife-Aircraft Collisions, Richard A. Dolbeer, Alan B. Franklin

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Four basic control strategies mitigate the risks to aviation caused by wildlife at airports: (1) aircraft flight schedule modification (primarily at military airbases) and enhancement of aircraft visibility to avoid interactions with wildlife (e.g., Blackwell et al. 2009b, 2012); (2) habitat modification and elimination of food, water, and cover that attract wildlife (Cleary and Dolbeer 2005, Blackwell et al. 2009a; Chapters 5,8-10); (3) repellent and harassment techniques to disperse wildlife (Cleary and Dolbeer 2005; Chapters 2-4); and (4) wildlife population management (e.g., Dolbeer 1998). As discussed throughout this book, successful efforts to mitigate the risk of wildlife-aircraft strikes at airports …

Wildlife In Airport Environments: Chapter 13 Radar Technology To Monitor Hazardous Birds At Airports, Sidney A. Gauthreaux Jr., Paige M. Schmidt

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Bird strikes are the most common wildlife hazard to aviation safety (Dolbeer et ale 2000). Advances in habitat management at airports through the elimination and reduction of attractants, in combination with hazing and lethal control, have reduced avian hazards < 152 m (500 feet) above ground level. Bird strikes above this altitude, however, are beyond the limits of traditional wildlife control techniques (Dolbeer 2011). Traditional avian survey methods used to monitor birds at airports (Cleary and Dolbeer 2005; Chapter 14) often fail to provide essential information on local bird activity and migration at higher altitudes, hazardous bird use of attractants near airports, and bird activity at night-information that could be provided by the strategic use of radar technology at and near airports (Dolbeer 2006).

Wildlife In Airport Environments: Chapter 6 Wildlife Translocation As A Management Alternative At Airports, Paul D. Curtis, Jonathon D. Cepek, Rebecca Mihalco, Thomas W. Seamans, Scott R. Craven

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wildlife in urban settings may be a welcome sight for many, but negative interactions between people and various wild species are increasing (Conover et al. 1995, Conover 2002). Wildlife populations are commonly managed in part to reduce these conflicts, particularly in high-risk areas such as roadways and airports (Conover 2002). However, the public often opposes lethal control or management methods perceived as causing harm to nuisance animals (Reiter et al. 1999, Conover 2002, Treves et al. 2006), and attitudes vary considerably depending on the particular wildlife species involved (Kretser et al. 2009). Consequently, a variety of nonlethal management approaches are …

Wildlife In Airport Environments Preventing Animal-Aircraft Collisions Through Science-Based Management, Travis L. Devault, Bradley F. Blackwell, Jerrold L. Belant

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

On 15 January 2009, the world learned --- in dramatic fashion --- that wildlife pose serious hazards to aircraft. On that day, US Airways Flight 1549, an Airbus 320 carrying 155 people, made an emergency landing in the Hudson River in New York City after ingesting Canada geese (Branta canadensis) into both engines at an altitude of ~2,900 feet (880 m) following takeoff from LaGuardia Airport (Marra et al. 2009, National Transportation Safety Board 2010). Historically, most people had never considered the extent of hazards posed to aircraft by birds and other wildlife. After all, how can birds, which …

Wildlife In Airport Environments: Chapter 9 Managing Airport Stormwater To Reduce Attraction To Wildlife, Bradley F. Blackwell, David Felstul, Thomas W. Seamans

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

An airport is a component of the landscape, contributing to and subject to local- and landscapelevel factors that affect wildlife populations and the hazards that these species pose to aviation (Blackwell et al. 2009, Martin et al. 2011). Water resources at and near an airport, in the form of both surface water and contained runoff, are recognized by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as potential attractants to wildlife that pose hazards to aviation safety (FAA 2007). Surface water, including aboveground stormwater detention/retention facilities (see U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2006), can represent a substantial proportion of the area within siting criteria …

Wildlife In Airport Environments: Chapter 8 Identification And Management Of Wildlife Food Resources At Airports, Travis L. Devault, Brian E. Washburn

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wildlife use airport habitats for a variety of reasons, including breeding, raising young, resting, taking refuge from predators, and locating sources of water. But the chief motivation for most individuals to encroach on airports is food. Depending on the specific habitat types present and habitat management strategies employed, airports can harbor large numbers of small mammals, insects, earthworms, and palatable vegetation that attract many species hazardous to aircraft. Often the best way to reduce populations of hazardous wildlife at airports is to determine which sources of food are being used, and then remove or modify those foods to make them …

Wildlife In Airport Environments: Chapter 15 Conclusions And Future Directions, Jerrold L. Belant, Travis L. Devault, Bradley F. Blackwell

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Although the management of wildlife at airports has seen great progress in recent decades, wildlife collisions with aircraft continue to pose risks to human safety and economic losses to the aviation industry and military (Allan 2002, Dolbeer 2009). Our understanding of physiological and behavioral responses of wildlife to various types of repellents and harassment techniques has grown tremendously. Substantial inroads have been made in developing and optimizing exclusion devices, particularly for mammals. Research and management have increased considerably in recent years, allowing us to better understand aspects of resource use (e.g., cover, food) by wildlife and the spatial scales at …

A Potential Game Changer In E-Commerce Taxation, David Gamage, Andrew J. Haile, Darien Shanske

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In this essay, we evaluate recent legislative proposals for Congress to authorize state taxation of e-commerce. We argue that these proposals contain a potential game-changing innovation — the requirement that states provide remote sellers with “adequate software” for calculating use tax due within the state. Properly implemented, we explain how this innovation could force states to internalize the compliance costs of levying tax collection obligations on remote sellers, thereby incentivizing the states to simplify their sales and use tax statutes and resolving concerns about states overburdening interstate commerce.

The Case For A State-Level Debt-Financing Authority, David Gamage, Darien Shanske

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In this essay, we argue for the adoption of state-level debt-financing authorities as part of a broader package for reforming local government borrowing.

Nwrc Annual Publications List – 2013

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Review, Risk, Legality And Damages, Paul Craig

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Interdisciplinary Psychology And Law Training In Family And Child Mediation: An Empirical Study Of The Effects On Law Student Mediators, Amy Applegate, Amy Holtzworth-Munroe, Brittany N. Rudd, Ann Freeman, Brian D'Onofrio

Articles by Maurer Faculty

There is growing interest in interdisciplinary training programs for law students. The goal of these programs is to prepare law students for the real world interdisciplinary settings they will face in their careers. However, there exists little research to provide evidence of the utility of such training. This study examined the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary psychology and law training program on law students using a multi-method approach (i.e., knowledge tests and focus group discussion). Findings suggest that interdisciplinary training of law students increased law students’ knowledge of law and psychology, was enjoyed by law students, and had a beneficial impact …

Two Novel Approaches For Electron Beam Polarization From Unstrained Gaas, James L. Mccarter, Nathan B. Clayburn, J. M. Dreiling, Timothy J. Gay, Dominic M. Ryan, John Hansknecht, Matt Poelker, Andrei Afanasev, Ara Kechiantz

Timothy J. Gay Publications

Two novel approaches to producing highly-polarized electron beams from unstrained GaAs were tested using a micro-Mott polarimeter. Based on a suggestion by Nakanishi [1]], twophoton photoemission with 1560 nm light was used with photocathodes of varying thickness: 625m, 0.32m, and 0.18m. For each of these photocathodes, the degree of spin polarization of the photoemitted beam was less than 50%. Polarization via two-photon absorption was highest from the thinnest photocathode sample and close to that obtained from one-photon absorption (using 778 nm light), with values 40.3±1.0% and 42.6±1.0%, respectively. The second attempt to produce highly-polarized electrons used one-photon emission with 778 …