Digital Commons Network^™

"Whimsy Little Contracts" With Unexpected Consequences: An Empirical Analysis Of Consumer Understanding Of Arbitration Agreements, Jeff Sovern, Elayne E. Greenberg, Paul F. Kirgis, Yuxiang Liu

Faculty Publications

Arbitration clauses have become ubiquitous in consumer contracts. These arbitration clauses require consumers to waive the constitutional right to a civil jury, access to court, and, increasingly, the procedural remedy of class representation. Because those rights cannot be divested without consent, the validity of arbitration agreements rests on the premise of consent. Consumers who do not want to arbitrate or waive their class rights can simply decline to purchase the products or services covered by an arbitration agreement. But the premise of consent is undermined if consumers do not understand the effect on their procedural rights of clicking a box …

Using Principles From Cognitive Behavioral Therapy To Reduce Nervousness In Oral Argument Or Moot Court, Larry Cunningham

Faculty Publications

Sarah, a new attorney at a public defender’s office, is assigned to the appeals bureau. Ordinarily, Sarah spends her days researching and writing briefs, talking with clients, and brainstorming legal issues with colleagues. Today, however, she opened the mail to find a notice from the court setting a date for her first oral argument. She suffers the first of several anxiety attacks: rapid heart rate, racing thoughts, shortness of breath, sweaty palms, nausea, and feelings of panic and tension. As she reads the form letter, her hands tremble. This is the day she has dreaded. She loves to write and …

Social Media: Children’S Lawyer’S Friend And Foe, Jennifer Baum, Sarah N. Fox

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

Social media is taking over the globe. The Pew Research Internet Project states that in the United States, 95 percent of 12- to 17-year-old children are online. Teenagers are also sharing more and more information online: 91 percent of teenagers post a photo of themselves, 92 percent post their real name, and 71 percent post the city or town where they live. “Teens Fact Sheet,” Pew Res. Internet Project (Sept. 2012). This information, in the wrong hands, can be harmful to a child. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule, designed to safeguard children’s information and access online, is a …

When “Yes” May Actually Mean “No”: Rethinking Informed Consent To Adr Processes, Elayne E. Greenberg

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

It is time for us to rethink how to achieve meaningful party consent to ADR processes such as mediation and arbitration. I, along with my colleagues Professors Jeff Sovern, Paul F. Kirgis and Yuxiang Liu, recently contributed to the growing body of research finding that a party’s consent to use an ADR process rather than utilizing a court to resolve the dispute is too often neither informed nor consensual. In our empirical study “’Whimsy Little Contracts’ With Unexpected Consequences: An Empirical Analysis of Consumer Understanding of Arbitration Agreements,” we found a paucity of consumer awareness and understanding of arbitration …

The Smith Case: Is The Glass Half Full?, Elayne E. Greenberg

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

Many in our ADR community have already chosen to side with one of the choruses of polarized voices that are either supportive of or critical of the recent judicial decision In re Cody W. Smith. In that decision, Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge Jeff Bohm disallowed the trustee’s appointment of a mediator, because, inter alia, the trustee didn’t first secure the approval of the presiding bankruptcy judge. A cursory read of Judge Bohm’s decision mistakenly leads us to believe that the case is just about a bankruptcy trustee’s obligation to follow section 327(a) of the Bankruptcy Code, …

The Internet Of Things And Wearable Technology: Addressing Privacy And Security Concerns Without Derailing Innovation, Adam D. Thierer

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The next great wave of Internet-enabled innovation has arrived, and it is poised to revolutionize the way humans interact with the world around them. This paper highlights some of the opportunities presented by the rise of the so-called Internet of Things (IoT) in general and wearable technology in particular and encourages policymakers to allow these technologies to develop in a relatively unabated fashion.

Merger And Acquisition Due Diligence: A Proposed Framework To Incorporate Data Privacy, Information Security, E-Discovery, And Information Governance Into Due Diligence Practices, James A. Sherer, Taylor M. Hoffman, Eugenio E. Ortiz

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Merger and Acquisition or “M&A” deals are both figuratively and literally big business, where the stakes for the organization are often the highest. While casual observers might expect that the importance attached to these deals makes each new deal the vanguard for incorporating metrics and practices regarding every efficiency and contingency, existing research demonstrates that this is decidedly not the case.

Welcome To The Machine: Privacy And Workplace Implications Of Predictive Analytics, Robert Sprague

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Privacy is not simply an absence of information about us in the minds of others; rather it is the control we have over information about ourselves. The volume of information that people create themselves—the full range of communications from voice calls, e-mails and texts to uploaded pictures, video, and music—pales in comparison to the amount of digital information created about them each day.

Introduction To The Modeling And Analysis Of Complex Systems, Hiroki Sayama

Milne Open Textbooks

Keep up to date on Introduction to Modeling and Analysis of Complex Systems at http://bingweb.binghamton.edu/~sayama/textbook/!

Introduction to the Modeling and Analysis of Complex Systems introduces students to mathematical/computational modeling and analysis developed in the emerging interdisciplinary field of Complex Systems Science. Complex systems are systems made of a large number of microscopic components interacting with each other in nontrivial ways. Many real-world systems can be understood as complex systems, where critically important information resides in the relationships between the parts and not necessarily within the parts themselves. This textbook offers an accessible yet technically-oriented introduction to the modeling and …

Federal Civil Litigation At The Crossroads: Reshaping The Role Of The Federal Courts In Twenty-First Century Dispute Resolution, Edward D. Cavanagh

Faculty Publications

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were promulgated in 1938 to provide the “just, speedy, and inexpensive determination” of all civil actions. The underlying theme of the Federal Rules is that meritorious litigants should have their day in court. To that end, the Federal Rules eliminated procedural pitfalls, including highly technical forms of action inherited from common law, that rewarded mastery of pleading techniques over the substantive merits of claims. The Federal Rules also introduced a simplified pleading system, commonly denominated as “notice pleading,” thereby easing the heavy burden imposed on the parties. The factual details of the case could …

Taking Back The Streets? How Street Art Ordinances Constitute Government Takings, Sheldon Evans

Faculty Publications

As street art continues to fuel a generation of counterculture and gains popularity in pop culture, laws enacted by local governments to curb this art form raise interesting constitutional issues surrounding the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause. More and more cities across America are classifying street art and graffiti as public nuisances. Such municipalities impose their agenda on private property owners with street art ordinances. These laws allow the government to come onto private property to remove the street art; some laws go even further by requiring the property owner to remove the street art at his own cost. This Article …

Copyright And The Living Dead?: Succession Law And The Postmortem Term, Eva E. Subotnik

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

Intellectual property (“IP”) policy in the United States is primarily aimed at stimulating the creative, inventive, and socially enriching behavior of the living. Yet one key aspect of our incentive-based regime is intimately linked to the death of the creative contributor. Specifically, the term of copyright generally lasts for seventy years following the death of the author. Such a feature is not the product of policy choices in place from time immemorial but rather reflects a contemporary decision to link the duration of exclusive rights to some fixed point in time beyond the author’s death. In particular, until the …

Law, Rhetoric, Strategy: Russia And Self-Determination Before And After Crimea, Christopher J. Borgen

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

On March 16, 2014 the residents of Crimea woke up in Ukraine, as they had every morning since the dissolution of the USSR at the end of 1991. That evening they went to sleep in what claimed to be the independent Republic of Crimea. They lived in that putative country for the next day. On March 18, the leaders of Crimea signed a treaty merging their day-old country into Russia.

Much had taken place before these three days in March 2014. There were arguments about Ukraine associating with the European Union (EU) or joining a Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union. …

Fitting The Forum To The Pernicious Fuss: A Dispute System Design To Address Implicit Bias And 'Isms In The Workplace, Elayne E. Greenberg

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

This paper proposes a dispute system design to address workplace discrimination caused by implicit biases so that employees and employers involved in such disputes can secure a more responsive justice than existing legal processes are able to provide. Workplace discrimination caused by implicit bias continues to contaminate our work environment despite our focused legal efforts to combat such overt "isms" as sexism, racism, ageism, and ableism. Although overt expressions of bias have significantly decreased in recent years, expressions of implicit bias, the primary cause of workplace discrimination, persists.

This paper extends the research on implicit bias to dispute system …

"Moocing" On Up? Experiences Of An Elusive Course Completer, Joel R. Malin

Mid-Western Educational Researcher

In this article, I apply autoethnography to recount and analyze my experiences as a recent enrollee and course completer of a massive open online course (MOOC). Research surrounding MOOCs heretofore has been predominantly quantitative in nature, whereas this research utilizes a qualitative approach and offers a student’s in-depth perspective. While participating in the course, and in its aftermath, I engaged in systematic observation and reflection. Generally, my experience was positive, prompting me to analyze consistencies and discrepancies between my vantage points and those stemming from emerging MOOC research and media discourse. Most significantly, my lived experience might provide a window …

High School Students' Perceptions Of The Relationship Between Music And Math, Jeff Cranmore, Jeanne Tunks

Mid-Western Educational Researcher

While there is little doubt that engaging in musical or mathematical activities stimulates brain activity at high levels and that increased student involvement fosters a greater learning environment, questions remain about whether musical ability and mathematics performance are related. This study took a qualitative approach that allowed 24 high school students to share their direct experiences with music and mathematics, as well as their perceptions of how the two fields are related. Participants were divided into four groups based on school music participation and level of mathematic achievement. Using a multiple intelligence lens, this study addressed the following question: How …

Tutoring Matters: Everything You Always Wanted To Know About How To Tutor, Romena M. G. Holbert

Mid-Western Educational Researcher

Book/Media Review

In Vitro Antiproliferative/Cytotoxic Activity Of 2,3'-Biindole Against Various Cancer Cell Lines, Sali̇h Ökten, Ramazan Erenler, Tuğba Kul Köprülü, Şaban Teki̇n

Turkish Journal of Biology

2,3'-Biindole (2) was synthesized via bromination of indole (1) with molecular bromine and underwent simultaneous dimerization. Antiproliferative and cytotoxic activity of 2 was investigated in vitro on C6 (rat brain tumor), HeLa (human cervix carcinoma), and HT29 (human colon carcinoma) cells lines by using BrdU cell proliferation ELISA and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assays. In contrast to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), 2,3'-biindole (2) significantly inhibited proliferation of HeLa and HT29 cell lines. According to LDH assay, the cytotoxicity of compound 2 was low on HT29 cell lines and high on HeLa and C6 cell lines. Moreover, 2 did not cause any DNA laddering …

In Vitro Plant Regeneration Of 4 Capsicum Spp. Genotypes Using Different Explant Types, Marta Orlinska, Pawel Nowaczyk

Turkish Journal of Biology

This study evaluates the effectiveness of in vitro regeneration of 4 genotypes of pepper (Capsicum spp.) that differ in origin and functional properties: California Wonder, (ATZ × Sono)F_1, Jalapeno, and SF-9. In order to investigate the effect of the initial explant type, photoperiod, and presence of 2.0 mg L^{-1} of glycine in the medium, organogenesis was induced on the MS medium with 2.0 g L^{-1} 2-(N-morpholine) ethanesulfonic acid, 1.7 mg L^{-1} AgNO_3, 0.4 mg L^{-1} indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), and 6.0 mg L^{-1} 6-benzyladenine. The effectiveness of organogenesis in the 3 genotypes representing C. annuum L. was similar and considerably lower …

Cloning And Expression Of Chitinase A, B, And C (Chia, Chib, Chic) Genes From Serratia Marcescens Originating From Helicoverpa Armigera And Determining Their Activities, Mehtap Danişmazoğlu, İsmai̇l Demi̇r, Kazim Sezen, Hacer Muratoğlu, Remzi̇ye Nalçacioğlu

Turkish Journal of Biology

Three genes encoding chitinase A (chiA), B (chiB), and C (chiC) were amplified from a bacterium that was isolated from a naturally dead Helicoverpa armigera larva and identified as Serratia marcescens based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis (KF823633 accession number). The open reading frames (ORFs) were identified as 1692, 1500, and 1443 base pairs for chiA, chiB, and chiC genes, respectively. These sequences were submitted to the GenBank with accession numbers KF823630 (chiA), KF823631 (chiB), and KF823632 (chiC). Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequences with those of other bacterial chitinases revealed that the 3 chitinases contain the catalytic …

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Adapt To Low-Magnitude Vibrations By Altering Their Cytoskeleton During Quiescence And Osteogenesis, Levent Demi̇ray, Engi̇n Özçi̇vi̇ci̇

Turkish Journal of Biology

Application of mechanical vibrations is anabolic to bone tissue, not only by guiding mature bone cells to increased formation, but also by increasing the osteogenic commitment of progenitor cells. However, the sensitivity and adaptive response of bone marrow stem cells to this loading regimen has not yet been identified. In this study, we subjected mouse bone marrow stem cell line D1-ORL-UVA to daily mechanical vibrations (0.15 g, 90 Hz, 15 min/day) for 7 days, both during quiescence and osteogenic commitment, to identify corresponding ultrastructural adaptations on cellular and molecular levels. During quiescence, mechanical vibrations significantly increased total actin content and …

Evaluation Of The Genotoxic Or Mutagenic Effects Of Thermal Stress On Cultured Human Lymphocytes, Hasan Basri̇ İla, Mehmet Topaktaş, Mehmet Arslan, Mehmet Büyükleyla, Erman Sali̇h İsti̇fli̇

Turkish Journal of Biology

This study was performed to determine the cytogenetic effects of short-term thermal stress in human cultured lymphocytes. Experimental heat shock (39 °C) was performed alone or with the addition of mitomycin C (MMC) to determine the synergistic or antagonistic effects of heat shock on genotoxicity induced by MMC. In this study, during culture periods of 72 h, human peripheral blood lymphocytes were exposed to heat shock for specified durations (30, 60, 120, and 240 min) 24 or 48 h before harvest. According to our results, the selected temperatures did not show genotoxic or mutagenic effects. In summary, the heat shock …

Endogenous Heat Shock Protein Groel Of A. Actinomycetemcomitans Preferentially Targets Primary Human Cd8+ T Cells, Meli̇s Kant, Bünyami̇n Akgül, Ayten Nalbant Aldanmaz

Turkish Journal of Biology

Apoptosis can be used to manipulate host cells by bacterial products such as bacterial heat shock proteins (Hsp). One of the virulence factors of periodontal pathogen Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is heat shock protein GroEL (AaGroEL), which has been shown to interact with host cells. AaGroEL (Hsp64) also has the potential to modulate immune system cells. In this study we used endogenous AaGroEL protein as an antigen to study bacterial Hsp-induced apoptosis in different immune system cells. Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and cell lines were cultured with different doses (50-1000 ng/mL) of endogenous AaGroEL at various time points. Apoptosis of the …

Biosurfactant Production By Pleurotus Ostreatus In Submerged And Solid-State Fermentation Systems, Zülfi̇ye Veli̇oğlu, Razi̇ye Öztürk Ürek

Turkish Journal of Biology

Biosurfactants are surface active molecules that are produced by microorganisms. Their positive features attract the attention of many researchers compared to their chemically synthesized counterparts. This research studied the production of a biosurfactant by Pleurotus ostreatus in submerged fermentation (SmF) and solid-state fermentation (SSF), with and without shaking. Oil spreading efficiency, emulsification index, and surface tension were assessed during the study. The highest emulsification index (E_{24}) values of SmF, SSF with shaking, and SSF without shaking were 60 ± 5.0%, 29 ± 2.5%, and 42 ± 4.0%, respectively, and surface tension values were 40.7 ± 0.9, 30.8 ± 0.8, and …

Optimization And Characterization Of Cold-Active Endoglucanase Produced By Aspergillus Terreus Strain Akm-F3 Grown On Sugarcane Bagasse, Abhas Kumar Maharana, Pratima Ray

Turkish Journal of Biology

The psychrotolerant microfungus Aspergillus terreus strain AKM-F3 (GenBank Accession No. KF417464) was investigated for the production of cold-active endoglucanase using sugarcane bagasse. The effects of different process parameters were studied for hyperproduction. Optimum production was found at 15 °C with an initial pH of 5.0 at 120 h. For enzyme production, 1 mM ZnCl_2, 0.01% aspartate, 2% lactose, and 3% NaNO_3 were regarded as potent inducers. The final production gave an activity 3.764-fold higher than the unoptimized conditions. The molecular weight of purified endoglucanase was 55 kDa, showing a 3.464-fold purification increase with a 23.925% yield having 75.279 U/mg of …

Use Of In Vitro Propagation Of `Obla?Inska? Sour Cherry In Rootstock Breeding, Dusica Doric, Vladislav Ognjanov, Goran Barac, Mirjana Ljubojevic, Ankica Pranjic, Krunoslav Dugalic, Sezai̇ Erci̇şli̇

Turkish Journal of Biology

Prunus cerasus L. `Obla?inska? sour cherry germplasm was established in vitrodirectly from in situ plants on different explant collection dates, enabling quick clonal multiplication and introduction to a rootstock breeding program. Rosette initiation of four investigated genotypes was possible from November to April on the medium containing Schenk and Hildebrandt (SH) macroelements, Murashige and Skoog (MS) microelements, and vitamins supplemented with (in mg L?1) 6-benzyladenine (BA), 0.5; indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), 0.01; gibberellic acid (GA3), 0.1; citric acid, 10; and L-ascorbic acid, 10. The lowest percent of contamination was noted in November and December, when dormant buds were used as an …

Expression, Purification, And Characterization Of Recombinant Humanparaoxonase 1 (Rhpon1) In Pichia Pastoris, Yağmur Ünver, Esabi̇ Başaran Kurbanoğlu, Orhan Erdoğan

Turkish Journal of Biology

The main purpose of the present study was to perform the expression in Pichia pastoris X-33 of the human paraoxonase 1 (hPON1) enzyme, which is a mammalian serum protein. Extracellular hPON1 enzyme was expressed with the pPICZ?A vector using a strong AOX promoter, and enzyme secretion in the fermentation medium was achieved by means of Saccharomyces cerevisiae alpha factor signal sequence. The recombinant cells were grown in a shaking flask containing production medium. SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis illustrated that the molecular mass of extracellular hPON1 enzyme produced by the recombinant P. pastoris strain was 59.1 kDa. Biochemical characterization of …

Expression Profiles Of Genes Related To Melatonin And Oxidative Stress In Human Renal Proximal Tubule Cells Treated With Antibiotic Amphotericin B And Its Modified Forms, Joanna Gola, Aleksandra Skubis, Bartosz Sikora, Celina Kruszniewska-Rajs, Jolanta Adamska, Urszula Mazurek, Barbara Strzalka-Mrozik, Grzegorz Czernel, Mariusz Gagos

Turkish Journal of Biology

Melatonin protects cells from oxidative stress caused by antibiotics. Through the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), amphotericin B (AmB) causes oxidative injuries of the kidneys and liver. Generation of oxidized forms of AmB (AmB-ox) in a patient's circulation may also generate ROS, causing side effects. Studies aimed at elimination of toxic properties of AmB are focused on forming complexes of AmB with copper(II) ions (AmB-Cu2+). However, the influence of such modified forms on renal cells and their transcriptome has not been studied so far. Therefore, the aim of this study was to answer the question of whether AmB-Cu2+ complexes …

The Effects Of Topical Melatonin On Oxidative Stress, Apoptosis Signals,And P53 Protein Expression During Cutaneous Wound Healing, Azi̇ze Şener, Özge Çevi̇k, Özge Doğan, Nazli Gül Altindi̇ş, Hali̇l Aksoy, Betül Okuyan

Turkish Journal of Biology

Elimination of reactive oxygen species (ROS) can be an important strategy to improve healing of wounds. ROS have an effect on proliferation and cell survival signaling, which results in alteration of apoptotic pathways in cells. Melatonin has antioxidant properties on skin wounds. In our study, we investigated the effects of topical melatonin (3%, w/w) on apoptosis and p53 protein expression together with parameters of oxidative stress in a cutaneous excision wound model. Bcl-2 protein levels in wound tissue at the end of days 3, 7, and 14 were significantly increased, while caspase-3 activity and p53 protein expression in wound tissue …

Melatonin Attenuates Apoptosis And Mitochondrial Depolarization Levels In Hypoxic Conditions Of Sh-Sy5y Neuronal Cells Induced By Cobalt Chloride (Cocl2), Abdülhadi̇ Ci̇hangi̇r Uğuz, Ahmi̇ Öz, Büşra Yilmaz, Seda Altunbaş, Ömer Çeli̇k

Turkish Journal of Biology

Melatonin (MEL) and its metabolites serve as endogenous reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavengers and have a wide spectrum of antioxidant activity. Cobalt chloride is one of the commonly used hypoxia-mimetic agents, due to blocking the degradation of and triggering the accumulation of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1α ) protein, which is very well known as a critical regulator of the cellular response against hypoxia. In the current study we aimed to determine the possible protective effects of melatonin on a cobalt chloride-induced hypoxia model of SH-SY5Y neuronal cells. Group I was the control group and SH-SY5Y cells were incubated in normal …