Digital Commons Network^™

Sandra Day O’Connor’S "First" Principles: A Constructive Vision For An Angry Nation, Lisa Kern Griffin

Faculty Scholarship

During her 25-year tenure on the Supreme Court, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor cast the decisive votes to resolve the most emotional debates, yet she maintained collegiality among the Justices and retained the public’s high regard. A recent biography by historian and journalist Evan Thomas chronicles her extraordinary personal qualities, remarkable professional journey, and constructive brand of patriotism. This book review essay describes a legacy in three parts: a lived example of how to thrive in the face of challenges, a jurisprudence driven by the courage to make compromises, and a theory about the long game of American democracy. First reintroduces …

The Effect Of Audit Materiality Disclosures On Investors’ Decision Making*, Brant E. Christensen, Aasmund Eilifsen, Steven M. Glover, William F. Messier Jr.

Faculty Publications

Recent reviews of the academic literature indicate that little is known regarding how users evaluate the materiality levels auditors use or respond to quantitative materiality disclosure. Regulators around the world have taken different stances on whether materiality should, or should not, be disclosed in the auditor’s report. In response to the dearth of research on these policy decisions, we examine the effect of audit materiality disclosures, or lack thereof, on professional investors’ decision making across different investment contexts (debt vs. equity, public vs. private). Our study is designed to test global audit public policy and as such our hypotheses are …

Bromocriptine Improves Glucose Tolerance Independent Of Circadian Timing, Prolactin, Or The Melanocortin-4 Receptor, Sarah N. Framnes-Deboer, Ellen Bakke, Suma Yalamanchili, Hannah Peterson, Darleen A. Sandoval, Randy J. Seeley, Deanna M. Arble

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Bromocriptine, a dopamine D2 receptor agonist originally used for the treatment of hyperprolactinemia, is largely successful in reducing hyperglycemia and improving glucose tolerance in type 2 diabetics. However, the mechanism behind bromocriptine’s effect on glucose intolerance is unclear. Here, we tested three hypotheses, that bromocriptine may exert its effects on glucose metabolism by 1) decreasing prolactin secretion, 2) indirectly increasing activity of key melanocortin receptors in the central nervous system, or 3) improving/restoring circadian rhythms. Using a diet-induced obese (DIO) mouse model, we established that a 2-wk treatment of bromocriptine is robustly effective at improving glucose tolerance. …

Cortical Neurophysiologic Correlates Of Auditory Threshold In Adults And Children With Normal Hearing And Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder, Garrett Cardon, Anu Sharma

Faculty Publications

Purpose: Auditory threshold estimation using the auditory brainstem response or auditory steady state response is limited in some populations (e.g., individuals with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder [ANSD] or those who have difficulty remaining still during testing and cannot tolerate general anesthetic). However, cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEPs) can be recorded in many such patients and have been employed in threshold approximation. Thus, we studied CAEP estimates of auditory thresholds in participants with normal hearing, sensorineural hearing loss, and ANSD. Method: We recorded CAEPs at varying intensity levels to speech (i.e., /ba/) and tones (i.e., 1 kHz) to estimate auditory thresholds …

The Role Of Notch1, Il-6 And Mir-146a In Inflammation And Infection In Crohn's Disease Non-Responders To Anti-Tnf-Alpha Therapy, Esra'a Keewan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Despite the extensive research on Notch signaling involvement in inflammation, its role in macrophage response in autoimmune diseases and defense mechanisms against bacterial infection such as Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP) remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the molecular role of Notch-1 signaling and its downstream modulation in the macrophage response during infection and disease treatment. We demonstrated that MAP infection significantly upregulated Notch-1 and IL-6, which hijacked myeloid cell leukemia sequence-1 (MCL)-1 dependent inhibition of apoptosis and caused chronic MAP persistence and significantly led to successive inflammation. Blocking Notch signaling with gamma-secretase inhibitor (DAPT) decreased MAP survival and burden, …

Distinct Patterns Of Pigment Development Underlie Convergent Hyperpigmentation Between Nocturnal And Diurnal Geckos (Squamata: Gekkota), Aaron H. Griffing, Tony Gamble, Aaron M. Bauer

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Background

Evolutionary transitions in temporal niche necessitates specialized morphology, physiology, and behaviors. Diurnal, heliothermic squamates (lizards and snakes) that bask require protection from ultraviolet radiation (UV) that can damage internal organs such as the brain, viscera, and gonads. Many smaller squamates have accomplished this protection by hyperpigmentation of the peritoneum and subcutaneous dorsum. Typically, nocturnal species do not require these protections from ultraviolet light. However, some nocturnal species that exhibit extreme crypsis may be exposed to sunlight and UV and require some means of mediating that damage. One such species is Gekko (Ptychozoon) kuhli, a nocturnal, arboreal …

Edaphic Factors And Initial Conditions Influence Successional Trajectories Of Early Regenerating Tropical Dry Forests, Sergio Estrada Villegas, Mario Bailón, Jefferson S. Hall, Stefan A. Schnitzer, Benjamin L. Turner, Trevor Caughlin, Michiel Van Breugel

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

1. Edaphic factors and initial conditions can regulate the speed of forest succession. Edaphic factors, which include soil chemistry and topography, determine soil resource availability and can filter species as forests mature. Initial plant cover early in succession can determine the rates at which secondary forests change in structure, richness, biomass and composition over time. While some of the effects of edaphic factors and initial conditions on forest succession have been studied, how they simultaneously modify young regenerating tropical forest has rarely been examined.
2. We surveyed 22 young forests plots in Panama for 7 years (11, 6 and 3‐year‐old stands when …

Age-Related Changes In Speech And Voice: Spectral And Cepstral Measures, Christopher Dromey, Sammi Taylor, Shawn L. Nissen, Kristine Tanner, Dennis Eggett, Kim Corbin-Lewis

Faculty Publications

Purpose

This study examined differences in selected acoustic measures of speech and voice according to age and sex and across families.

Method

Participants included 169 individuals, 79 men and 90 women, from 18 families, ranging in age from 17 to 87 years. Participants reported no history of articulation disorders, stroke or active neurologic disease, or severe-to-profound hearing loss. They read aloud two passages to facilitate examination of the following speech and voice acoustic parameters: fricative spectral moments (center of gravity, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis), the proportion of time spent speaking, mean speaking fundamental frequency, semitone standard deviation (STSD), and …

I Would Just Want To Leave This World: Women's Experiences Of Domestic Violence In Northern Namibia, Belinda L. Selebano, John D. Matthews

All Works

Background: Domestic violence (DV) is a traumatic experience that is influenced by a complex interplay of intrinsic and extrinsic factors and which exists worldwide. Namibia, located in Southwest Africa, is no exception to this as local media continuously report incidences of physical and sexual violence committed against women throughout the country. Materials and Methods: Using a qualitative design, twelve (N=12) female participants who experienced first-hand the effects of DV provided extensive insights into this phenomenon and its causal factors and offered suggestions as to what can be done to address this issue. Results: The results from this inquiry detail the …

A Supply Chain Equilibrium Model With General Price-Dependent Demand, Younes Hamdouch, Kilani Ghoudi

All Works

The concept of supply chain equilibrium has been widely employed to solve real-life cases. Under this concept, decisions makers move simultaneously and compete in a noncooperative manner to achieve a supply chain network equilibrium. This paper proposes a supply chain network equilibrium model consisting of multiple raw material suppliers, manufacturers and retailers. Unlike previous studies, we assume that the demand for the product at each retail outlet is modeled as general stochastic functions of price that encompass additive-multiplicative demand models used in previous studies. Under general price-dependent demand functions, we derive the optimality conditions of suppliers, manufacturers and retailers, and …

Accurate Segmentation Of Cerebrovasculature From Tof-Mra Images Using Appearance Descriptors, Fatma Taher, Ahmed Soliman, Heba Kandil, Ali Mahmoud, Ahmed Shalaby, Georgy Gimel'farb, Ayman El-Baz

All Works

© 2013 IEEE. Analyzing cerebrovascular changes can significantly lead to not only detecting the presence of serious diseases e.g., hypertension and dementia, but also tracking their progress. Such analysis could be better performed using Time-of-Flight Magnetic Resonance Angiography (ToF-MRA) images, but this requires accurate segmentation of the cerebral vasculature from the surroundings. To achieve this goal, we propose a fully automated cerebral vasculature segmentation approach based on extracting both prior and current appearance features that have the ability to capture the appearance of macro and micro-vessels in ToF-MRA. The appearance prior is modeled with a novel translation and rotation invariant …

Self-Assessment And Peer Assessment In Accounting Education: Students And Lecturers Perceptions, Anil Babu, Yasser Barghathi

All Works

The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of self assessment (SA) and peer assessment (PA) in accounting and finance (A&F) education by gathering insights from students and professors in the same field of higher education. A qualitative approach was taken to gather insights, students were asked to perform SA and PA to do an online questionnaire to understand their perception about the same. The professors were interviewed to analyse their perception about SA and PA. Previous studies have suggested that the accounting graduates lack certain skills that are required by the employers and this has led to …

The European Union And The United Arab Emirates As Civilian And Soft Powers Engaged In Sustainable Development Goals, Adam Krzymowski

All Works

© Foundation of International Studies, 2020 and CSR, 2020. The article analyses the European Union (EU) – as European international organisation and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – the only federal state in the Arab World as civilian and soft powers, strongly active to reach the UN 2030 Agenda. The ambitious projects, as well as actions, strategies, and visions of this international entity for reaching Sustainable Development Goals, should be analysed due to its impact on the international environment and emerging new international relations architecture. The author carried out research using primarily descriptive and analytical methods. To this end, rich …

Investigating Environmental Performance Management, Vipin Gupta, Yi Zhang

All Works

© 2020, Fundacao Escola de Comercio Alvares Penteado. All rights reserved. Purpose – Even though there is a growing recognition of the externality costs of low environmental performance by firms, there continue to be significant inter-firm differentials in environmental performance management. We build on the theories of strategic management to inquire into the factors contributing to these differentials. Design/methodology/approach – Using a 2015 survey sample of Chinese small and medium enterprises, we empirically investigate the alternative thesis that the profit maximization motive constitutes the appropriate heuristic for the performance management of corporate social responsibility factors. Findings –The green capability of …

Machine Learning Techniques For Quantification Of Knee Segmentation From Mri, Sujeet More, Jimmy Singla, Ahed Abugabah, Ahmad Ali Alzubi

All Works

© 2020 Sujeet More et al. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is precise and efficient for interpreting the soft and hard tissues. Moreover, for the detailed diagnosis of varied diseases such as knee rheumatoid arthritis (RA), segmentation of the knee magnetic resonance image is a challenging and complex task that has been explored broadly. However, the accuracy and reproducibility of segmentation approaches may require prior extraction of tissues from MR images. The advances in computational methods for segmentation are reliant on several parameters such as the complexity of the tissue, quality, and acquisition process involved. This review paper focuses and briefly …

Menopause-Specific Quality Of Life Among Emirati Women, Linda Smail, Ghufran Jassim, Anam Shakil

All Works

© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. To investigate the quality of life (QOL) of menopausal Emirati women aged 40–64 years and determine its relationship with their sociodemographic characteristics. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 70 Emirati women using multistage stratified clustered random sampling. The participants were interviewed face-to-face using a structured questionnaire comprising sociodemographic variables, reproductive characteristics, and the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life (MENQOL) questionnaire. The most common symptom among the study participants was ‘aching in the muscles’. The participants had a moderate level of bothersome symptoms; in addition, vasomotor symptoms were reported by 61%, while …

Metacognitive Monitoring In Test-Taking Situations: A Cross-Cultural Comparison Of College Students, Mariana V.C. Coutinho, Elena Papanastasiou, Stylianou Agni, John M. Vasko, Justin J. Couchman

All Works

© 2020, Eskisehir Osmangazi University. In this study, we examined monitoring accuracy during in class-exams for Emirati, American and Cypriot college students. In experiment 1, 120 students made local, confidence-ratings for each multiple-choice question in a psychology exam and also estimated their performance at the end of the exam. In experiment 2, to investigate the effect of practice in monitoring accuracy, 69 students made confidence judgments in two consecutive exams. In Experiment 3, to evaluate whether rating one's confidence aids exam performance, 172 students completed the exam either with or without providing confidence judgments. In all three cultures, confidence judgments …

Numerical Analysis Of Carbon Nanotube-Based Nanofluid Unsteady Flow Amid Two Rotating Disks With Hall Current Coatings And Homogeneous-Heterogeneous Reactions, Muhammad Ramzan, Saima Riasat, Seifedine Kadry, Pin Kuntha, Yunyoung Nam, Fares Howari

All Works

© 2020 by the authors. In the present exploration, our objective is to investigate the importance of Hall current coatings in the establishment of Cattaneo-Christov (CC) heat flux model in an unsteady aqueous-based nanofluid flow comprising single (SWCNTs) and multi-walled (MWCNTs) carbon nanotubes (CNTs) amid two parallel rotating stretchable disks. The novelty of the presented model is strengthened with the presence of homogeneous-heterogeneous (HH) reactions and thermal stratification effects. The numerical solution of the system of coupled differential equations with high nonlinearity is obtained by applying the bvp4c function of MATLAB software. To corroborate the authenticity of the present envisioned …

On The Validation Of Web X.509 Certificates By Tls Interception Products, Ahmad Samer Wazan, Romain Laborde, David Chadwick, Remi Venant, Abdelmalek Benzekri, Eddie Billoir, Omar Alfandi

All Works

The Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol aims to provide confidentiality and integrity of data. It is based on X.509 Certificates. Our previous research showed that popular Web Browsers exhibit non-standardized behaviour with respect to the certificate validation process [1]. This paper extends that work by examining their handling of OCSP Stapling. We also examine several popular HTTPS interception products, including proxies and anti-virus tools, regarding their certificate validation processes. We analyse and compare their behaviour to that described in the relative standards. Finally, we propose a system that allows the automation of certificate validation tests.

Performance Evaluation Of Data Dissemination Protocols For Connected Autonomous Vehicles, Fehda Malik Malik, Hasan Ali Khattak, Ahmad Almogren, Ouns Bouachir, Ikram Ud Din, Aymen Altameem

All Works

© 2013 IEEE. An overwhelmed number of vehicles has wrecked the current system of transportation due to rapid growth in population. Smart cities are the novel innovation that is inevitable to curb the problems of traffic jams, unorganized traffic, environmental pollution, and slow response rate to emergency situations. The intelligent transportation system (ITS) is an integral part of smart cities allowing communications and interaction among vehicles. An autonomous vehicle is the key element of ITS and the mass implementation of this emerging technology is the solution to traffic problems linked to the current transportation system. Autonomous vehicles lead to the …

Personalized Computer-Aided Diagnosis For Mild Cognitive Impairment In Alzheimer's Disease Based On Smri And C Pib-Pet Analysis, Fatma El Zahraa A. El-Gamal, Mohammed M. Elmogy, Ashraf Khalil, Mohammed Ghazal, Jawad Yousaf, Xiaolu Qiu, Hassan H. Soliman, Ahmed Atwan, Hermann B. Frieboes, Gregory Neal Barnes, Ayman S. El-Baz

All Works

© 2013 IEEE. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative condition that affects the central nervous system and represents 60% to 70% of all dementia cases. Due to an increased aging population, the number of patients diagnosed with AD is expected to exceed 131 million worldwide by 2050. The disease is characterized by various clinical symptoms and pathological features that define three main sequential decline stages, namely, early/mild, intermediate/moderate and late/severe stages. Although it is considered irreversible, early diagnosis of AD is highly desirable to help preserve cognitive function. However, early diagnosis is difficult due to different factors, including the patient-specific …

A Case Study On Improving Reading Fluency At A University In The Uae, Jenny Eppard, Sandra Baroudi, Aicha Rochdi

All Works

© 2020 Eskisehir Osmangazi University. Students native to the Arabian Gulf region often struggle with reading skills. The purpose of this study was to explore the reading habits and reading culture of Emirati undergraduate students and to investigate the use of a particular reading strategy (Listening While Reading) on undergraduate Emirati students reading rate and comprehension. This case study was conducted through a mixed method research design. It was carried out with sixty-one SLL (second language learners) undergraduate students. By assigning them into two groups, the experimental group (28 students) was given books with an auditory component, while the control …

Benzimidazole Containing Acetamide Derivatives Attenuate Neuroinflammation And Oxidative Stress In Ethanol-Induced Neurodegeneration, Muhammad Imran, Lina Tariq Al Kury, Humaira Nadeem, Fawad Ali Shah, Muzaffar Abbas, Shagufta Naz, Arif Ullah Khan, Shupeng Li

All Works

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Oxidative stress-induced neuroinflammation is the prominent feature of neurodegenerative disorders, and is characterized by a gradual decline of structure and function of neurons. Many biochemical events emerge thanks to the result of this neurodegeneration, and ultimately provoke neuroinflammation, activation of microglia, and oxidative stress, leading to neuronal death. This cascade not only explains the complexity of events taking place across different stages, but also depicts the need for more effective therapeutic agents. The present study was designed to investigate the neuroprotective effects of newly synthesized benzimidazole containing acetamide derivatives, 3a (2-(4-methoxyanilino)-N-[1-(4-methylbenzene-1-sulfonyl)-1H-benzimidazol-2-yl] …

Business Process Specification, Verification, And Deployment In A Mono-Cloud, Multi-Edge Context, Saoussen Cheikhrouhou, Slim Kallel, Ikbel Guidara, Zakaria Maamar

All Works

© 2020, ComSIS Consortium. All rights reserved. Despite the prevalence of cloud and edge computing, ensuring the satisfaction of time-constrained business processes, remains challenging. Indeed, some cloud/edge-based resources might not be available when needed leading to delaying the execution of these processes’ tasks and/or the transfer of these processes’ data. This paper presents an approach for specifying, verifying, and deploying time-constrained business processes in a mono-cloud, multi-edge context. First, the specification and verification of processes happen at design-time and run-time to ensure that these processes’ tasks and data are continuously placed in a way that would mitigate the violation of …

Calcium Homeostasis In Ventricular Myocytes Of Diabetic Cardiomyopathy, Lina T. Al Kury

All Works

© 2020 Lina T. Al Kury. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder commonly characterized by high blood glucose levels, resulting from defects in insulin production or insulin resistance, or both. DM is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide, with diabetic cardiomyopathy as one of its main complications. It is well established that cardiovascular complications are common in both types of diabetes. Electrical and mechanical problems, resulting in cardiac contractile dysfunction, are considered as the major complications present in diabetic hearts. Inevitably, disturbances in the mechanism(s) of Ca2+ signaling in diabetes have implications for cardiac myocyte contraction. …

Calcium Signaling In Endocardial And Epicardial Ventricular Myocytes From Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats, Lina T. Al Kury, Vadym Sydorenko, Manal M.A. Smail, Muhammad A. Qureshi, Anatoly Shmygol, Dimitrios Papandreou, Jaipaul Singh, Frank Christopher Howarth

All Works

© 2020 The Authors. Journal of Diabetes Investigation published by Asian Association for the Study of Diabetes (AASD) and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd Aims/Introduction: Abnormalities in Ca2+ signaling have a key role in hemodynamic dysfunction in diabetic heart. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes on Ca2+ signaling in epicardial (EPI) and endocardial (ENDO) cells of the left ventricle after 5–6 months of STZ injection. Materials and Methods: Whole-cell patch clamp was used to measure the L-type Ca2+ channel (LTCC) and Na+/Ca2+ exchanger currents. Fluorescence photometry techniques were used to measure …

Assessment Of Eating Habits And Lifestyle During Coronavirus Pandemic In The Mena Region: A Cross-Sectional Study, Leila Cheikh Ismail, Tareq M. Osaili, Maysm N. Mohamad, Amina Al Marzouqi, Amjad H. Jarrar, Antonis Zampelas, Carla Habib-Mourad, Dima Omar Abu Jamous, Habiba I. Ali, Haleama Al Sabbah, Hayder Hasan, Latifa Mohammed Rashid Almarzooqi, Lily Stojanovska, Mona Hashim, Reyad R.Shaker Obaid, Samar Elfeky, Sheima T. Saleh, Zahieh A.M. Shawar, Ayesha S. Al Dhaheri

All Works

© The Authors 2020. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has rapidly spread globally, forcing countries to apply lockdowns and strict social distancing measures. The aim of this study was to assess eating habits and lifestyle behaviors among residents of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region during the lockdown. A cross-sectional study among adult residents of the MENA region was conducted using an online questionnaire designed on Google Forms during April 2020. A total of 2970 participants from 18 countries participated in the current study. During the pandemic, over 30% reported weight gain, 6.2% consumed five or more meals per …

The Use Of English And Linguistic Hybridity Among Emirati Millennials, Sarah Hopkyns, Wafa Zoghbor, Peter John Hassall

All Works

© 2020 The Authors. World Englishes published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd For Emirati millennials, multilingualism is both typical and expected. Although Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is the official language of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Emiratis mainly use Khaleeji (Gulf Arabic) dialects at home. English is the lingua franca and common medium of instruction with approximately 100 other languages also being spoken in the nation. While top-down language policies overtly favor English and MSA, which appear on signage, in educational contexts, and online as two ‘pure’ languages placed side-by-side, language ‘on the ground’ is considerably more complex than …

Thwarting Icmp Low-Rate Attacks Against Firewalls While Minimizing Legitimate Traffic Loss, Kadhim Hayawi, Zouheir Trabelsi, Safaa Zeidan, Mohammad Mehedy Masud

All Works

© 2013 IEEE. Low-rate distributed denial of service (LDDoS) attacks pose more challenging threats that disrupt network security devices and services. Such type of attacks is difficult to detect and mitigate. In LDDoS attacks, attacker uses low-volume of malicious traffic that looks alike legitimate traffic. Thus, it can enter the network in silence without any notice. However, it may have severe effect on disrupting network services, depleting system resources, and degrading network speed to a point considering them as one of the most damaging attack types. There are many types of LDDoS such as application server and ICMP error messages …

The Legal Recognition Of Electronic Bills Of Lading, Ali Abbas Khayoon Al-Naseri

World Maritime University Ph.D. Dissertations

The increasing use of electronic devices, new means of communication and Internet affects many areas of life, including trade and transportation. One effect is the dematerialization of bills of lading. Paper bills of lading have traditionally performed three main functions in maritime transportation: (1) as a receipt for the goods, (2) as containing or evidencing the contract of carriage of goods and (3) as a document of title. This legal research examines whether electronic bills of lading can legally perform these three functions as functional equivalents to paper bills of lading. It studies the recognition of electronic bills of lading …