Digital Commons Network^™

Credibility In Empirical Legal Analysis, Hillel J. Bavli

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

Empirical analysis is central in both legal scholarship and litigation, but it is not credible. Researchers can manipulate data to arrive at any conclusion they wish to obtain. A practice known as data fishing—searching for and selectively reporting methods and results that are favorable to the researcher—entirely invalidates a study’s results by giving rise to false positives and false impressions. Nevertheless, it is prevalent in law, leading to false claims, incorrect verdicts, and destructive policy. In this article, I examine the harm that data fishing in empirical legal research causes. I then build on methods in the sciences to develop …

Emerging Technology’S Language Wars: Smart Contracts, Carla L. Reyes

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

Work at the intersection of blockchain technology and law represents a highly interdisciplinary area of inquiry. Often, researchers, law-makers, lawyers, and other stakeholders unnecessarily debate issues because of linguistic misunderstandings. As the third of four studies examining the impact of clashes of linguistic meaning on law and policy around emerging technologies, this Essay uses smart contracts as a case study to demonstrate the real legal harm that arises from a failure to communicate. Specifically, this Essay uses techniques from corpus linguistics to reveal the inherent value conflicts embedded in definitional differences and debates as to whether the law should “accommodate” …

U.S. International Tax Policy And Corporate America, Christopher H. Hanna, Cody A. Wilson

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

Given the Republican-controlled House and narrow Democratic majority in the Senate, the Biden Administration has found itself in the perilous situation of needing to raise tax revenue while retaining the support of moderate Democrats. President Biden has proposed raising revenue by bringing the United States closer to a worldwide no deferral system and raising the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 28 percent. These changes are unlikely to become law. Together, they simply do not have the support of moderate Democrats, Republicans, and, especially, Corporate America.

This Article aims to resolve the Biden Administration’s conundrum by proposing a worldwide …

No [Concrete] Harm, No Foul? Article Iii Standing In The Context Of Consumer Financial Protection, Annefloor J. De Groot

Georgia Law Review

In the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2016 decision in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, the Court held that a bare procedural violation of a federal consumer protection statute is not enough to satisfy Article III’s standing requirement because the alleged injury is not sufficiently concrete. This decision resulted in a sizeable circuit split regarding standing under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, with some circuit courts interpreting the holding as narrowing the scope of standing for consumer protection claims, and others maintaining a broader interpretation, allowing plaintiffs to obtain redress for violations of consumer financial protections laws.

In its 2021 ruling in …

The Double-Side Of Deepfakes: Obstacles And Assets In The Fight Against Child Pornography, Abigail Olson

Georgia Law Review

Deepfake technology recently took the internet by storm. Although they can be used for both innocuous and nefarious purposes, deepfakes overwhelmingly depict people who appear to be creating nonconsensual pornography. The rise of deepfake technology must be accounted for in the existing federal legal framework, specifically in cases implicating images of children. While deepfakes’ malicious uses ought to be criminalized, exceptions should be made to use deepfake technology as a tool to enforce and deter purveyors of child pornography. This Note explores what the emerging legal framework addressing deepfakes should look like and considers the importance of using the “flipside” …

Steroid Receptor Coactivators – Their Role In Immunity, Yosi Gilad, David M Lonard, Bert W O'Malley

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Steroid Receptor Coactivators (SRCs) are essential regulators of transcription with a wide range of impact on human physiology and pathology. In immunology, SRCs play multiple roles; they are involved in the regulation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), macrophage (MΦ) activity, lymphoid cells proliferation, development and function, to name just a few. The three SRC family members, SRC-1, SRC-2 and SRC-3, can exert their immunological function either in an independent manner or act in synergy with each other. In certain biological contexts, one SRC family member can compensate for lack of activity of another member, while in other cases one SRC can …

Strategies To Mitigate The Effects Of Negative Political Rhetoric On Service Providers: A Study In Two Refugee-Serving Organizations, Maria V. Wathen, Charity N. Weishar, Patrick L.F. Decker

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

This paper explores the strategies that staff at two refugee-serving organizations found helpful in mitigating their increased distress from negative political rhetoric aimed at their clients. Results point to the importance of organizational acknowledgement of the distress. Additionally, staff perceived that intentionally focused organizational interventions can mitigate the emotional impacts of negative rhetoric. Finally, strategies employees used to lessen their distress and regain a sense of efficacy included recommitment to the mission, advocacy for refugees among family and friends, strong reliance on religious faith in coping, and an avoidance of the rhetoric by decreasing engagement with news and social media.

A Mixed-Methods Protocol To Develop And Validate A Stewardship Maturity Matrix For Human Genomic Data In The Cloud, Vasiliki Rahimzadeh, Ge Peng, Mildred Cho

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

This article describes a mixed-methods protocol to develop and test the implementation of a stewardship maturity matrix (SMM) for repositories which govern access to human genomic data in the cloud. It is anticipated that the cloud will host most human genomic and related health datasets generated as part of publicly funded research in the coming years. However, repository managers lack practical tools for identifying what stewardship outcomes matter most to key stakeholders as well as how to track progress on their stewardship goals over time. In this article we describe a protocol that combines Delphi survey methods with SMM modeling …

Messages In A Time Of Crisis Graphic Communication Design A Change Of Tack?, V Squire

School of Art, Design and Architecture

No abstract provided.

Computer Vision Based Classification Of Fruits And Vegetables For Self-Checkout At Supermarkets, Khurram Hameed

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The field of machine learning, and, in particular, methods to improve the capability of machines to perform a wider variety of generalised tasks are among the most rapidly growing research areas in today’s world. The current applications of machine learning and artificial intelligence can be divided into many significant fields namely computer vision, data sciences, real time analytics and Natural Language Processing (NLP). All these applications are being used to help computer based systems to operate more usefully in everyday contexts. Computer vision research is currently active in a wide range of areas such as the development of autonomous vehicles, …

Estimation And Modulation Of Persistent Inward Currents In Human Spinal Motoneurons, Ricardo Neves De Oliveira Mesquita

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The manner in which motoneurons respond to excitatory and inhibitory input depends strongly on how their intrinsic properties are influenced by neuromodulators. Importantly, activation of voltage-gated channels that generate persistent (long-lasting) inward currents (PICs) is crucial for initiation, acceleration, and maintenance of firing. The overall aim of this thesis was to develop new ways to both estimate and modulate PIC contributions to motoneuron firing in humans.

Hypothetically, PIC estimation in humans might be possible by examining muscle force and electromyographic activity responses to tendon vibration superimposed with bursts of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) in an otherwise-inactive muscle (VibStim). Such activation …

Drama, Education, Artistry: Australian Practitioners Fostering Connections Across Cultures And Disciplines In China, Jessica-Anne Wellman

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study examines the experience of Australian drama educators working as professional development facilitators in China between 2017-2019. Limited literature exists that highlights the perspectives of professional development facilitators in this field. This thesis highlights the impact of engaging in this role on the practice of drama educators. Using an autoethnographic approach, data were collected from five individuals through semi-structured interviews. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Smith, 2004) highlighted that the participants' experiences acted as critical moments that led to positive personal and professional outcomes. Three key supporting factors for positive outcomes were identified: 1) critically reflective practice; 2) knowledge and experience …

Preparing Providers For Advanced Life Support In The Prehospital Environment, David N. Reid

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death and Ambulance Victoria estimated over 30,000 cardiac arrests occur outside of hospital each year in Australia (1, 2). When an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest occurs, first responders, paramedics or other clinicians attached to ambulance, industrial or aeromedical services are often the first providers on scene with the skills and equipment to implement advanced life support (ALS). Despite the essential role of prehospital advanced emergency care in the treatment of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, at the time this research was commenced, ALS training courses had been designed for those responding to cardiac arrests in …

Enhancing The Capabilities Of Electronic Performance Tracking System For Applications In Sports, Adnan Waqar

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The success of electronic technologies has sparked interest in sports amongst coaches, athletes and sports scientists. Consequently, the sporting world has witnessed a rapid rise in sports technologies in recent years. In sports, technologies can assist in a variety of ways, ranging from winner selection to athlete injury prevention. In recent years, wearable technologies have become popular in sports. Wearable microtechnology devices, commonly known as electronic performance tracking system (EPTS) in sports, can be used to monitor and improve an athlete's performance. EPTSs can also play an important role in injury prevention. This thesis investigates the performance of wearable EPTSs …

Investigation Of Flow Characteristics In An Open Channel With One-Line Semicircular Vegetation Patches, Hemanta D. Karki

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Experiments are conducted in an open channel with semi-circular patches distributed on one sidewall of the channel in which velocity distribution, turbulent intensity, and vortex generation are analyzed. The resistance force offered by a vegetation patch causes the change in water depth which have a broader application in river management, bank stabilization, and flood control.

The measurement is conducted in the laboratory with the help of different measuring devices like Laser doppler velocimeter, particle image velocimeter, measuring scale, and so on. From the experiment, the velocity distribution in a longitudinal direction suggests that the flow is fully developed after a …

Propofol Attenuates Odontogenic/Osteogenic Differentiation Of Human Dental Pulp Stem Cells In Vitro, Eun-Jung Kim, Eun-Ji Choi, Cheul-Hong Kim, Ji-Young Yoon, Joo-Young Kim, Hyang-Sook Kim, Ji-Uk Yoon, Ah-Reum Cho

Journal of Dental Sciences

Abstract Background/purpose Various studies have used stem cells in the field of bone tissue engineering to repair bone defects. Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) have multipotent properties and can be acquired in a noninvasive manner; therefore, they are frequently used in experiments in regenerative medicine. The objective of this study was to investigate the odontogenic/osteogenic differentiation of human DPSCs (hDPSCs) using propofol, a widely used intravenous anesthetic agent. Materials and methods Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining was used to investigate the effects of various concentrations of propofol (5, 20, 50 and 100 μM) on the osteogenic differentiation of hDPSCs. Real-time qPCR …

Forskolin Enhanced The Osteogenic Differentiation Of Human Dental Pulp Stem Cells In Vitro And In Vivo, Shouliang Zhao, Changlong Jin, Han Xie

Journal of Dental Sciences

Abstract Background/purpose Human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) are multipotent adult stem cells that can differentiate into various lineages such as odontoblasts, osteoblasts, and chondrocytes. Regulation of hDPSCs differentiation with small-molecule compounds can be a useful tool for tissue engineering and regenerative therapy. Forskolin is an agonist of adenylate cyclase that promotes cyclic adenosine monophosphate production. However, the role of Forskolin in regulating the osteogenic differentiation of hDPSCs is still unknown. Materials and methods A cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was performed to screen out the safety concentrations of Forskolin. Following, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and alizarin red staining …

Bone Regeneration Of Mouse Critical-Sized Calvarial Defects With Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Sheets Co-Expressing Bmp2 And Vegf, Jian Zhou, Tingting Guo, Xiaohong Yuan, Xin Li, Yi Liu

Journal of Dental Sciences

Background/purpose Over-dependence on existing synthetic scaffolds and insufficient osteoinductive and vasculogenic growth factors have limited the development of bone regeneration. The study aimed to assess the feasibility of using marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) cell sheets co-expressing bone morphogenetic proteins 2 (BMP2) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) for repairing critical-sized calvarial defects. Materials and methods BMSCs cell sheets were genetically engineered to express BMP2/VEGF alone or together. Alterations in osteogenic markers were examined by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and western blotting. A critical-sized calvarial bone defect model was used to investigate the osteogenesis effects of BMP2/VEGF cell sheets alone …

Naringenin Stimulates Osteogenic/Odontogenic Differentiation And Migration Of Human Dental Pulp Stem Cells, Yeon Kim, Hyun-Joo Park, Mi-Kyoung Kim, Yong-Il Kim, Hyung Joon Kim, Soo-Kyung Bae, Jacques E. Nör, Moon-Kyoung Bae

Journal of Dental Sciences

Abstract Background/purpose Naringenin, a naturally occurring flavanone in citrus fruits, regulates bone formation by bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells. The purpose of this study was to characterize the effects of naringenin on some biological behaviors of human dental pulp stem cells (HDPSCs). Materials and methods HDPSCs were cultured in osteogenic differentiation medium and osteo/odontogenic differentiation and mineralization were analyzed by alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining and Alizarin Red S (ARS) staining. The migration of HDPSCs was evaluated by transwell chemotactic migration assays and scratch wound healing migration assay. Using tooth slice/scaffold model, we assessed the in vivo odontogenic differentiation potential of …

Guided Tissue Regeneration In Peri-Radicular Surgery, G Baniulyte, L Burns, K Ali

Peninsula Dental School

Guided tissue regeneration techniques have been available in dentistry for decades. Primarily used for periodontal surgery and implant placement, their usefulness in periapical surgery has been getting increased attention. From the currently available evidence, guided tissue regeneration can improve patient outcomes. As a result, this technique might become more common in the future. Therefore, this review outlines the main uses of guided tissue regeneration and provides a brief summary of evidence surrounding it, with particular focus on periapical surgery.

A Phenotypic And Genomic Investigation Of The Identity And Variation In The European Dark Bee (Apis Mellifera Mellifera), Victoria G Buswell

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Apis mellifera (the Western honey bee) is a predominantly human managed pollinator consisting of different evolutionary lineages each containing a number of subspecies. Apis mellifera is threatened by various factors for example, parasites, viruses and pesticide use. The native subspecies of the British Isles Apis mellifera mellifera is additionally threatened by introgression resulting from the importation of foreign subspecies perceived to have more desirable characteristics. This thesis investigates the integrity of Apis mellifera mellifera in the UK and how that can be assessed. Initially, introgression levels over time in a conservation program were assessed. This revealed temporal decreases in introgression, …

Investigating The Microbiota Associated With Maerl Beds Located In The Fal Estuary, Cornwall, Anthony Scales

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

The microbiota of maerl has the potential to contain diverse communities of bacteria which are thought to aid in maintaining maerl health and potentially be a driving factor in the settlement and development of ecological and economical important bi-valve species. However, little is currently known regarding the composition and structure of these communities, leading to uncertainty of their importance and their direct association to maerl beds. Using 16s amplicon sequencing analysis, the bacterial community composition associated with live and dead maerl (Phymatolithon calcareum) has been examined and compared to the communities associated with those of the surrounding environment - adjacent …

Unsupervised Multiview Embedding Of Node Embeddings, Jia Chen, Lizeth Figueroa, Dalia Orozco, Evangelos E. Papalexakis

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

—In this paper, we propose a comprehensive unsupervised framework that leverages existing and novel multiview learning models, towards obtaining a single node embedding from a collection of node embeddings, combining the best of all worlds. Through extensive experiments, we demonstrate that the proposed multiview node embedding is able to perform on par or better than the best of its constituents and provide reliable performance across downstream tasks including node classification and graph reconstruction

Math 2584c Elementary Differential Equations, Dennis Brewer

All Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Omgt 5443 Decision Models, Terry Bresnick

All Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Hemocytes Are Essential For Drosophila Melanogaster Post-Embryonic Development, Independent Of Control Of The Microbiota, Holly N. Stephenson, Robert Streeck, Florian Grüblinger, Christian Goosmann, Alf Herzig

Peninsula Medical School

ABSTRACT Proven roles for hemocytes (blood cells) have expanded beyond the control of infections in Drosophila. Despite this, the crucial role of hemocytes in post-embryonic development has long thought to be limited to control of microorganisms during metamorphosis. This has previously been shown by rescue of adult development in hemocyte-ablation models under germ-free conditions. Here, we show that hemocytes have an essential role in post-embryonic development beyond their ability to control the microbiota. Using a newly generated strong hemocyte-specific driver line for the GAL4/UAS system, we show that specific ablation of hemocytes is early pupal lethal, even under axenic conditions. …

The Genetic Diversity And Distribution Of Two Endangered Pit Vipers (Bothriechis Marchi And Cerrophidion Wilsoni) Within Cusuco National Park, Honduras, Debbie Starbuck

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

The current extinction rate is being increasingly recognised as an escalating issue, with observations still indicating that humans are the leading cause of a sixth mass extinction. Cloud forests in particular are home to a variety of threatened species, however, many of these forests are highly fragmented resulting in many species and populations existing in isolation. These forests have become centres of endemism for many species, leading to a high representation within global biodiversity hotspots and “irreplaceable” protected areas. This study primarily investigates the genetic diversity and distribution of two recently re-classified, sympatric pit vipers (Bothriechis marchi and Cerrophidion wilsoni) …

Synergistic Effects Of A Domestic (Thiacloprid Based) Neonicotinoid Pesticide And Nitrogen, Phosphorus And Potassium Fertiliser On Common Earthworms (Lumbricus Terrestris)., Tristan Holmes

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Neonicotinoids are designed to target insect pests, but their extensive use and long persistence in soils mean that non-target soil organisms such as earthworms are likely to be chronically exposed to them. The common use of neonicotinoids in agricultural systems makes them highly likely to come into contact with other agro-chemicals that may give rise to synergistic effects. Chronic exposure of common earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris) to neonicotinoids in single or combined use with inorganic NPK fertiliser may pose problems that are not accounted for in most biological risk assessments under laboratory conditions. To assess the impacts of such chronic exposure …

Meeg 2303 Introduction To Materials, Wan Shou

All Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Hist 3063 Military History, Steven Rosales

All Syllabi

No abstract provided.