Digital Commons Network^™

(Elephant) Death And Taxes: Proposed Tax Treatment Of Illegal Ivory, Angela Ostrowski

Animal Law Review

African elephants are poached for their ivory at alarming rates. If the cur­rent level of poaching continues, it is projected they will be extinct from the wild in the year 2025. Preserving the African elephant species is important from an animal rights, conservation, ecological, economical, and crime pre­vention perspective. The current penalties and fines for the illegal trade in ivory are not enough of a deterrent. One method of deterrence that has not yet been explored is the imposition of tax consequences on the illegal ivory trade. This Article proposes a number of ways to use the tax system to …

Military Working Dogs: Classification And Treatment In The U.S. Armed Forces, Sarah D. Cruse

Animal Law Review

This Article explores and evaluates the use of canines by the United States (U.S.) Armed Forces as military working dogs, and examines the reasons why the current administrative classification of these dogs is inappropriate. The author examines the historical use of, and increasing reliance on, mili­tary working dogs by the U.S. Armed Forces from World War II to present day. This historical exploration traces the development of the federal stat­utes and military regulations that govern the Military Working Dog Pro­gram. Federal law currently categorizes military working dogs as 'equipment,' which grossly underestimates their role within the U.S. mili­tary and deprives …

A 'Hare' Raising Lapse In Meat Industry Regulation: How Regulatory Reform Will Pull The Meat Rabbit Out From Welfare Neglect, Taylor Budnick

Animal Law Review

Rabbits are most commonly perceived as soft, fuzzy, tender, loving, active household pets. However, rabbit meat is growing in popularity among ur­ban farmers, foodies, and chefs alike. The pet rabbit industry is subject to a variety of laws and regulations intended to ensure the humane and proper treatment of these beloved pets. Yet, 'meat rabbits,' which are often the same breed or species as pet rabbits, are often not covered by either the protections that govern the treatment of animals used for meat or the protections that govern the treatment of rabbits as pets or companion animals. The lack of …

2014 State Legislative Review, Aaron C. Johnson

Animal Law Review

Several state legislatures addressed animal welfare issues in 2014. A young fifth-grader, motivated by a documentary, inspired her community and state legislature to attempt to pass legislation protect­ing orcas. Two states decided to blaze a new trail when they deter­mined that the federal government was not going far enough to stop the ivory and rhino horn trade. The battle between freedom of speech and property rights reared its ugly head as several states took on the polemical issue of 'ag-gag.' Lastly, we witnessed breed-specific legisla­tion become illegal in three more states, with science trumping the availability heuristic.

In Memoriam: Peter S. Nycum, David B. Rosengard

Animal Law Review

No abstract provided.

Coming Home To Roost: How The Chicken Industry Hurts Chickens, Humans, And The Environment, Bruce Friedrich, Stefanie Wilson

Animal Law Review

The chicken industry is harming animals, befouling our environment, exploiting farmers and workers, and harming human health. In this Article, we discuss the harms and some of the solutions. In Part I, we discuss animal welfare, both on the farm and at slaughter. In Part II, we discuss the environment, both local and global. In Part III, we discuss human rights, with a focus on chicken growers, slaughterhouse workers, and the global poor. In Part IV, we discuss the effect of chicken consumption on human health. In each of our first four Sections, we offer a few examples of actions …

Knot Your Average Bird: A Case Study Of The Rufa Red Knot In The Face Of Climate Change, Stephanie Schwarz

Animal Law Review

Analyzing the staggering distances traveled by migratory shorebirds, and the challenges faced by these birds during their migration periods, this Article conflates and contrasts the myriad environmental impacts climate change is forcing the globe to contend with. The rufa red knot navigates a migratory path that annually takes it from Tierra del Fuego all the way to Arctic Canada. Because the red knot’s course of migration is so lengthy, and because the number of ecosystems it encounters along the way are so diverse, the red knot is emblematic of the challenges faced by both migratory shorebirds, and the coastal ecosystems …

Property Rebels: Reclaiming Abandoned, Bank-Owned Homes For Community Uses, Valerie Schneider

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Consequence, Weapons Of Mass Destruction, And The Fourth Amendment's "No-Win" Scenario, Scott J. Glick

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

This article looks at consequence, with a particular focus on the threatened use of a WMD, to begin a discussion on a new doctrinal solution to the hypothetical. As background, Part I takes a look at cardinal Fourth Amendment principles and rules, as well as the many exceptions to the warrant, probable cause and particularity requirements that the Supreme Court has recognized. Part I also discusses minimization, a well-established privacy enhancing mechanism that normally serves as a back-end check on the government’s conduct, to determine whether it can serve as a front-end substitute for the Fourth Amendment’s particularity requirement. Based …

Optimal Uses Of Biomass Resources In Distributed Applications, Joshua J. Jackson

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Biomass production is spatially distributed resulting in high transportation costs when moving dedicated biomass crops and crop residues. A multifaceted approach was taken to address this issue as the low bulk and energy density of biomass limits transportation efficiency. Two systems were analyzed for the conversion of biomass into a denser feedstock applicable to on-farm use. Pelletization was able to densify the material into a solid fuel. Using a pilot scale flat ring pellet mill, the density of the material was able to be increased to at least 4.4 times that of uncompressed material. Pellet durability was found to be …

Characterization Of Two Biochars Derived From Horse Muck And Their Ability To Reduce Pathogen Transport In Soil, David Griffith

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Biochars have been created and characterized from a variety livestock manure biomass including poultry, dairy, and swine. However, no research has been conducted on the physical and chemical makeup of biochar pyrolyzed from horse muck. Two horse muck derived biochars containing either straw (HS) or woodchip (HW) bedding were pyrolyzed at 700°C and characterized for their physical and chemical properties. Tests revealed both biochars had high alkalinity, moderate specific conductivity, and low surface area as compared to other biochars in the literature. HS contained more mineral structures than HW. Scanning electron microscopy presented differences in particle shape, size, and presence …

Vision'ary: Drug Delivery For Ocular Diseases, Amber J. Sarver

Honors Capstones

Abstract Retinal ocular diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), clinically significant diabetic macular edema (DME), diabetic retinopathy (DR) and retinal vein occlusions are currently difficult to treat effectively with topical medications and eye drops. Intravitreal injections of pharmacological products are currently the most effective method of treatment. Frequent injections have been found to have adverse effects including infection, endophthalmitis and retinal detachment. Inconsistent patient compliance decreases the effectiveness of the pharmaceuticals and the fiscal impact also poses a problem with recurring intravitreal injections. Liposomes are nano-sized bi-layered vesicles that will encapsulate various hydrophilic or hydrophobic substances necessary for treatment …

An Order Of Worlds, Rachel Mast

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Order of Worlds is a creative writing project of personal essays and poems that begins with the story of my Amish grandpa and his world and ends with my transition from a rural farming community to a university campus. It is a journey of love and loss, overcoming odds, and finding that community can be found in places I never thought of looking.

Attic Salt, 2015, Loyola Marymount University, The Honors Program

Attic Salt

No abstract provided.

"Born There": Faulkner, Oxford, And Lafayette County, Philip M. Weinstein

English Literature Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

The Changing Practice Of Law And Law Schools: Why Would Anyone Go To Law School Today?, Barry Vickrey

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Adolescent Girls Initiative-Kenya: Financial Education Curriculum, Wajir, 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.

Baseline Survey Instruments: Adolescent Girls Initiative–Kenya, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This document contains various AGI-K survey instruments, including: Household Characteristics Survey (English), Respondent’s Schooling History (English), Respondent’s Work in Last Year (English), Respondent’s Spending in Last Year (English), Respondent’s Savings in Last Year (Kiswahili), Respondent’s Savings in Last Year (English).

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 …