Digital Commons Network^™

Adolescent Girls Initiative-Kenya: Financial Education Curriculum, Kibera, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Adolescent Girls Initiative–Kenya builds the social, health, and economic assets of adolescent girls in urban slums and Northeastern Kenya. This collection of learning sessions was designed to prepare adolescent girls for the financial responsibilities of adulthood. The sessions were developed to be delivered without a lot of resources or materials, with limited time available for training. The guide contains step-by-step descriptions of the learning activities as well as background information.

Brief For Amici Curiae Scholars Of The Constitutional Rights Of Children In Support Of Respondent Edith Windsor Addressing The Merits And Supporting Affirmance, J. Robert Brown Jr., Catherine E. Smith, Kyle C. Velte, Susannah William Pollvogt, Tanya Washington

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

This amicus brief filed by Scholars of the Constitutional Rights of Children turns the spotlight on children in same-sex families. The brief enumerates the ways Section 3 of DOMA impairs children's interests by denying federal recognition of their parents' marriages.

Smoking Out Forest Fire Management: Lifting The Haze Of An Unaccountable Congress And Lighting Up A New Law Of Fire, Ashley Hoffman, Sean Kammer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Is There A Place For Us: Protecting Fan Fiction In The United States And Japan, Samantha S. Peaslee

Denver Journal of International Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Targeting The Tight Junction Protein, Zonula Occludens-1, With The Connexin 43 Mimetic Peptide, Αct-1 Reduces Vegf-Dependent Rpe Pathophysiology, Elizabeth Christa Obert

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a multifactorial disease and is regarded as the predominant cause of central vision loss in the elderly in industrialized countries. A critical target tissue in AMD is the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), which together with Bruch’s membrane forms the outer blood-retina barrier (BRB). RPE-barrier dysfunction in AMD might result from attenuation and disruption of intercellular tight junctions. Zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) is a major structural protein of intercellular junctions. A connexin-based peptide mimetic, αCT-1 (Alpha Connexin carboxy-Terminal 1), was developed which competitively inhibits ZO-1 interaction with its binding partners. We hypothesized that targeting ZO-1 signaling using …

Mechanisms Of Mitochondrial Dysfunction In Sepsis-Induced Kidney Injury, Joshua Andrew Smith

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Mitochondrial dysfunction is a well-characterized pathophysiological feature of acute kidney injury (AKI). Our laboratory has previously implicated suppression of mitochondrial biogenesis, the process by which cells generate new and functional mitochondria, as an important contributor to development of mitochondrial dysfunction in multiple experimental models of AKI. However, relatively little is known about the molecular mechanisms responsible for disruption of biogenesis in renal cells. The primary goals of this project were to define signaling pathways mediating acute suppression of renal cortical mitochondrial biogenesis and to characterize changes in glycolytic metabolism that might support both cellular and organ function following sepsis-induced AKI. …

The Role Of The Complement System In Cigarette Smoke Induced Emphysema Development And Progression, Sarah E. Stephenson

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Emphysema is a complex inflammatory condition of the respiratory tract with an incompletely elucidated pathogenesis. Due to the complexity of the disease, treatment options are limited for patients and have poor efficacy. Therefore a greater understanding of disease pathogenesis is imperative to expand therapeutic strategies. Central to disease development is the activation of the innate and adaptive immune system, however, targeting blockade of only one side of the immune response, has shown little clinical benefit. The complement system, while regarded as an innate immune mechanism, can modulate both innate and adaptive immune responses. Given these dual modulatory effects, the complement …

Stimulation Of Mitochondrial Biogenesis Through Induction Of Cgmp Promotes Recovery Of Mitochondrial And Renal Function Following Acute Kidney Injury, Ryan Michael Whitaker

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Mitochondrial damage and dysfunction are major pathophysiological mechanisms underlying acute kidney injury (AKI). Following various forms of AKI, mitochondrial biogenesis, the de novo generation of new, functional mitochondria, is suppressed. Pharmacological stimulation of PPARγ-coactivator-1α (PGC-1α), the master regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis, promotes recovery of mitochondrial and renal function after AKI. The primary goals of this project were the evaluation of renal cGMP as a modulator of mitochondrial biogenesis in AKI, and the assessment of phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitors and guanylyl cyclase (GC) activators as novel agents to induce mitochondrial biogenesis and promote renal recovery. cGMP has been demonstrated to stimulate mitochondrial …

The Alternative Complement Pathway Mediates Chronic Smoke-Induced Functional And Morphological Ocular Injury, Alex Stephen Woodell

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

BACKGROUND: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a complex disease involving genetic variants and environmental insults, is among the leading causes of blindness in Western populations. Genetic and histologic evidence implicate the complement system in AMD pathogenesis, and smoking is the major environmental risk factor associated with increased disease risk. Although previous studies have demonstrated that cigarette smoke exposure (CE) causes retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) defects in mice and smoking leads to complement activation in patients, it is unknown whether complement activation is causative in the development of CE pathology; and if so, which complement pathway is required. METHODS: Mice were exposed …

Music: Its Language, History, And Culture, Douglas Cohen, Brooklyn College Library And Academic It

Open Educational Resources

From Cohen’s proposal:

In 2006 faculty of the Conservatory of Music wrote and published their own textbook for Core Curriculum 1.3 (CC 1.3), Music: Its Language, History, and Culture. Published by Kendall-Hunt, the reader was bundled with a subscription to the Rhapsody music streaming service. The reader and music service were to give a skeletal structure for all instructors of CC 1.3 for the development of course content focusing on the individual musical strengths and interests of each instructor. We also wanted to keep the costs to students as low as possible by not taking any royalties. The result was …

Nuts And Seeds: Mitigating Third-Party Harms Of Religious Exemptions, Post-Hobby Lobby, Toni M. Massaro

Denver Law Review

No abstract provided.

Sleeve Gastrectomy And Roux-En-Y Gastric Bypass Alter The Gut-Brain Communication, Lindsey Ballsmider, Alexandra Vaughn, Michelle David, Andras Hajnal, Patricia Di Lorenzo, Krzysztof Czaja

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

This study investigated the anatomical integrity of vagal innervation of the gastrointestinal tract following vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) operations. The retrograde tracer fast blue (FB) was injected into the stomach to label vagal neurons originating from nodose ganglion (NG) and dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMV). Microglia activation was determined by quantifying changes in the fluorescent staining of hindbrain sections against an ionizing calcium adapter binding molecule 1 (Iba1). Reorganization of vagal afferents in the hindbrain was studied by fluorescent staining against isolectin 4 (IB4). The density of Iba1-and IB4-immunoreactivity was analyzed using Nikon …

Towards Intelligent Telerobotics: Visualization And Control Of Remote Robot, Bo Fu

Theses and Dissertations--Computer Science

Human-machine cooperative or co-robotics has been recognized as the next generation of robotics. In contrast to current systems that use limited-reasoning strategies or address problems in narrow contexts, new co-robot systems will be characterized by their flexibility, resourcefulness, varied modeling or reasoning approaches, and use of real-world data in real time, demonstrating a level of intelligence and adaptability seen in humans and animals. The research I focused is in the two sub-field of co-robotics: teleoperation and telepresence. We firstly explore the ways of teleoperation using mixed reality techniques. I proposed a new type of display: hybrid-reality display (HRD) system, which …

Food Of Bobcats And Coyotes From Cumberland Island, Camden County, Georgia, John O. Whitaker Jr., Carol Ruckdeschel, Angela Chamberlain, Lauren Bakken

Georgia Journal of Science

Fifty scats of bobcats and 105 scats of coyotes from Cumberland Island, Camden County, Georgia, were examined during this study. Major foods of bobcats were mammals (81.8% volume), followed by birds (13.8%) and vegetation (4.2%), with only 0.2% invertebrates. Major foods of coyotes were plant materials (46.6% volume), mammals (43.8%), and invertebrates (6.0%). This is apparently the first report of coyote foods from Cumberland Island.

Scholarship Against Desire, Shari Motro

Law Faculty Publications

This article uses my own experience navigating the law review placement process to reflect on the dynamics that shape intellectual life at American law schools. My recent work focuses on the legal relationship between unmarried lovers who conceive. At its heart, it is about the law’s role in shaping the precursor to pregnancy—heterosexual sex. When I began researching this topic what I was most curious about was how law and culture might conspire to foster connections that are more loving and less violent, more authentic and less alienated. Pursuing this topic—which would entail exploring big existential questions to which I …

Living On The Edge: Rethinking Pueblo Period: (Ad 700 – Ad 1225) Indigenous Settlement Patterns Within Grand Canyon National Park, Northern Arizona, Philip B. Mink Ii

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

This dissertation challenges traditional interpretations that indigenous groups who settled the Grand Canyon during the Pueblo Period (AD 700 -1225) relied heavily on maize to meet their subsistence needs. Instead they are viewed as dynamic ecosystem engineers who employed fire and natural plant succession to engage in a wild plant subsistence strategy that was supplemented to varying degrees by maize. By examining the relationship between archaeological sites and the natural environment throughout the Canyon, new settlement pattern models were developed. These models attempt to account for the spatial distribution of Virgin people, as represented by Virgin Gray Ware ceramics, Kayenta …

Modern Sappers And Miners: The Rehnquist And Roberts Courts And The Civil Rights Act Of 1964, Jonathan K. Stubbs

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

this article is organized as follows. To orient readers on what is at stake, Section I provides a brief overview of the substantive provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Section II considers reasons why the Act was premised on Congress' Commerce Clause authority rather than the enforcement power that the Constitution confers upon Congress under the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments. Section III evaluates several recent Supreme Court decisions that give the Commerce Clause a restrictive interpretation. For illustrative purposes, this section explores the impact on Title Two of the Act. Finally, the article closes with a few observations …

Public Hazard, Personal Peril: The Impact Of Non-Governmental Organizations In The Environmental Justice Movement, Andrea Y. Simpson

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

This article argues that the local emphasis of what I call micromovements that form the larger Environmental Justice Movement could gain more traction from relationships with Non-Governmental Organizations. Such partnerships are emerging on a national level; however, since the localized movements communicate with, but are not partners with, national organizations such as the National Black Environmental Network, it is unclear how such partnerships add value to the activities of local groups. Moreover, some partnerships are forged for the organization of a specific event such as a conference or working group study Part II of this article discusses an overview of …

Defining Compensable Injury In Biomedical Research, Megan E. Larkin

Health Matrix: The Journal of Law-Medicine

No abstract provided.

"Don't Have A Cow, Man": Recognizing Herd Share Agreements For Raw Milk, Timothy J. Mayer

Health Matrix: The Journal of Law-Medicine

No abstract provided.

War, Responsibility, And Killer Robots, Rebecca Crootof

Law Faculty Publications

In War and Responsibility, John Hart Ely argues that Congress has willingly and cravenly surrendered its rightful role as the branch responsible for determining when and the extent to which the United States engages in armed conflicts. Since the publication of this seminal work on the war power, presidents have continued to commit troops to hostilities absent or outside of explicit congressional authorizations-and the legislature and the judiciary rarely challenge such actions.

Meanwhile, the United States is investing heavily in unmanned military weapon systems, and the U.S. Department of Defense has described increasing weapons' autonomous capabilities as a "high priority." …

Shifting Paradigms : The Embodied Intersubjective Matrix, Joanna Wiederhorn

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This theoretical thesis traces two paradigmatic shifts currently transforming psychodynamic theory and practice: the shift from a one-person to a two-person psychology and the shift from conscious cognition to unconscious embodied affect. These two shifts support a phenomenological understanding of the clinical encounter as inherently intersubjective and embodied. The concept of embodied intersubjectivity is explored by weaving together relevant literature from the fields of relational psychoanalysis, interpersonal neurobiology, contemporary developmental psychology, and body psychotherapy. The view is offered that, for some clients more than others, developing a deeper connection with one's embodied sense of self, and having that experience recognized …

The Implementation And Acceptance Of Yoga Techniques For Children With Complex Trauma Among Practicing Clinicians, Danielle S. Martineau

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This mixed-method study was undertaken to determine acceptance and utilization rates of yoga techniques in treatment with children ages 5-17, with complex trauma among practicing-clinicians. Secondly, it was to explore beliefs of effectiveness and barriers of implementation of yoga in a therapeutic milieu. An online survey was sent through mass emails of local agencies, online social media sites through groups associated with trauma and mental health to determine practicing therapists' interests, utilization, beliefs of effectiveness, and barriers of implementation of yoga techniques in therapeutic practice with children with complex trauma. To qualify to participate in this study, one had to …

Pregnancy, An Opportunity For Empowerment : A Trauma And Attachment Informed Approach To Creating A Corrective Relationship For Mothers With Trauma Histories And Subsequent Substance Abuse, Judith W. Kamara

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This theoretical thesis examined how the capacity of a healthy pregnancy and birth and positive attachment could be a corrective experience for mothers with histories of trauma and subsequent substance use. Socratic questioning was used to help trauma and attachment-informed clinicians approach mothers in this population as an asset to their infants rather than viewing them as a risk, hopefully challenging the socially prevalent belief that these mothers should be treated punitively rather than receive treatment. The phenomenon also focused on this population of mothers rather than their infants as primary victim, examining individual and systemic factors that contribute to …

The Lived Body In Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty And Derrida, Manhua Li

LSU Master's Theses

In my thesis, I discuss the accounts of the lived body in Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty and Derrida in terms of the extent to which they succeed as counter-accounts to the Cartesian metaphysical view of the body-object, as well as the limits of each account. I first introduce Descartes’ account of the body as substantiality (res extensa), which isolates the body as the object from its subject, the mind, the “I think” (res cogitans). After contextualizing the body as non-living objectivity in Cartesian metaphysics, I discuss the later Heidegger’s appropriation of the Husserlian notion of the lived body (Leib)—as separate from the …

Norepinephrine Circuits In Mediating Stress-Elicited Behavior, Hyungwoo Nam

All ETDs from UAB

Norepinephrine in the central nervous system (CNS) is a key mediator of stress-elicited behavioral and physiological adaptations. However, our understanding of central noradrenergic circuitry that regulates specific stress-elicited adaptations is incomplete. The working model for the studies described in this dissertation is that disruptions of specific noradrenergic circuits are responsible for the manifestation of distinct stress-elicited behaviors. Initially the organization of descending noradrenergic neurons with poly-synaptic collaterals to the adrenal gland and skeletal muscle was defined. These noradrenergic presympathetic-premotor neurons (PSPMNs) were distributed within the ventral locus coeruleus (LC), nucleus subcoeruleus (SubC), and the A7 cell group. Then behavioral characterization …

Life Cycle Analysis Of An Airlifted Recirculation Aqualculture Facility, Marlon Alberetos Greensword

LSU Master's Theses

Airlift-equipped recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) provide water-circulation, aeration, and degassing efficiently and reliably. This project investigated the need for biofilters in a fish hatchery environment to address biofouling of tank water from hatching eggs. Eggs of various fish species were selected and Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), and protein loading and content were measured and compared. Means for all samples were: 0.67±0.05g BOD₅/g, 10.89 nitrogen±0.84% and the mean protein content 69.22±3.82%. A statistical analysis indicates that Rachycentron canadum (cobia) and Ictalurus punctatus (channel catfish) is the most representative of the multi-species lot when compared to Balantiocheilus melanopterus …

Effects Of Oil Spill And Recovery Of Terrestrial Arthropods In Louisiana Saltmarsh Ecosystem, Wokil Bam

LSU Master's Theses

Saltmarshes are under continuous multiple stressors such as, land loss, erosion, climate change, environmental pollutions and oil spills, which affect the ecological communities inhabiting saltmarshes. Terrestrial arthropods play an important role in the ecology of saltmarshes, affecting primary production and decomposition. Arthropods are often found in the gut contents of Seaside Sparrows and fishes making them an important trophic link to terrestrial and marine vertebrates. Insects and spiders have the potential to be a good indicator of overall marsh health and environment as they are differentially sensitive to oil exposure. Oil pollutants may have significant long-term negative impacts on the …

Population Abundance And Transience Of Selected Coastal Plain Crayfishes, Samantha Lott

LSU Master's Theses

Crayfish are important for stability, determining ecosystem structure, and ecosystem functions in freshwater habitats. Louisiana has many endemic species of crayfish, but most are poorly described. This study investigated the populations of some of the lesser known crayfishes in the South Central Plains. Specifically, the goals were to examine movement, movement across anthropogenic barriers, and estimate population size of 10 species reported from the area: Procambarus natchitochae, P. vioscai, P. clarkii, P. acutus, P. zonangulus, P. tulanei, P. kensleyi, Orconectes maletae, O. lancifer, and O. palmeri. In combination with a field team, I sampled twelve wadeable streams with DC backpack …

Evaluating The Effects Of Vacuum Tumbling With Chitosan Nanoparticles And Water-Soluble Chitosan On The Shelf Life Of Cryogenically Frozen Shrimp, Alexander Chouljenko

LSU Master's Theses

Chitosan (CH) is a biopolymer obtained from the deacetylation of chitin, a polysaccharide present in the exoskeleton of crustaceans and cell walls of fungi. Application of CH may be limited by its water-insolubility. It can be dissolved in acids and forms relatively high viscosity solutions. CH solutions have antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. CH penetration into shrimp may be facilitated by vacuum tumbling with low viscosity chitosan-sodium tripolyphosphate (CH-TPP) nanoparticle or water-soluble chitosan (WSC) solutions. It is expected that this would reduce lipid oxidation and microbial loads. In this study, CH-TPP and WSC solutions were developed and applied to shrimp, and …