Digital Commons Network^™

Transcriptomic Clustering Of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: Molecular Subtypes Based On Bruton’S Tyrosine Kinase Expression Levels, Gorkem Kismali, Ganiraju Manyam, Nitin Jain, Cristina Ivan, Betty Lamothe, Mary L Ayres, Lakesla R Iles, William G Wierda, Varsha Gandhi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Historically, CLL prognostication relied on disease burden, reflected in clinical stage. Later, chromosome abnormalities and genomics suggested several CLL subtypes which were aligned with response to therapy. Gene expression profiling data identified pathways associated with CLL progression. We hypothesized that transcriptome and proteome may identify functional omics associated with CLL nosology. As a test cohort, we utilized publicly available treatment-naïve CLL transcriptomics data (n = 130) and did consensus clustering that identified BTK-expression-based clusters. The BTK-High and BTK-Low clusters were validated in public and our in-house databases (n = >550 CLL patients). To associate with functional relevance, we took samples …

Social Media Intelligence: Responding To Crime And Violence In The Digital World, Chloe Lynn Sitton

Theses

The integration of social media into everyday life has transformed how crime is committed, communicated, and investigated. This capstone project examines the emerging field of social media intelligence and its growing influence on modern policing, surveillance, and the community. Drawing from sociological theory, law enforcement practice, legal analysis, and community-based research, this project offers a far-reaching interdisciplinary view of how social media is shaping crime and justice in the United States.

Exploring Kindergarten Teachers' Perspectives On The Interpretation Of Standards In A Developmentally Appropriate Way In Kindergarten Classrooms, Shawanza Demetrist Lockett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many kindergarten teachers are feeling the effects of standard-based education. The problem is that it is unknown whether teachers implement mandated state standards in a developmentally appropriate way. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to investigate kindergarten teachers’ perspectives on implementing standards in a developmentally appropriate manner. Shulman’s theory of teacher knowledge was the conceptual framework for the study. The research question focused on kindergarten teachers’ perspectives of implementing standards in a developmentally appropriate way. Twelve kindergarten teachers were recruited from three Title 1 elementary schools in a rural southeastern state in the United States. Thematic data analysis …

Autoethnographic Examination Of Moral Distress While Working For The For-Profit Substance Use Disorder Treatment Sector, Kapil Nayar

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Interpersonal conflicts and moral distress due to authority figures' unethical and illegal practices are widely discussed topics in the literature. Coping with these experiences and becoming a whistleblower, however are understudied in the counseling field, and are often stigmatized yet advocated for in our codes of ethics. The purpose of this qualitative autoethnographic study is to (1) show moral distress exists in the for-profit sector of substance use disorder treatment; (2) moral distress results from counselors discovering evidence of unethical and illegal activities; (3) moral distress results from the act of blowing the whistle and (4) offers a roadmap for …

Reducing Attrition In Medication-Assisted Treatment: Strategies From Behavioral Health Leaders, Tony Shaw

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This qualitative case study explores strategies to reduce attrition rates in medication-assisted treatment programs, drawing on the perspectives of behavioral health leaders and guided by the principles of the Baldridge Excellent Framework. It aims to implement effective strategies to enhance client retention and improve treatment outcomes. Drawing from 18 years of professional experience in behavioral health, this research analyzes current practices and identifies interventions to improve program effectiveness. Data collection includes case studies, surveys, and interviews with behavioral health leaders, providing a comprehensive view of the challenges and opportunities within these programs. The study revealed several key factors affecting retention …

The Biomechanics Of Fibrillin Microfibrils: Lessons From The Ciliary Zonule, Pooja Rathaur, Juan Rodriguez, John Kuchtey, Samuel Insignares, Wendell B Jones, Rachel W Kuchtey, Steven Bassnett

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Marfan syndrome is an inherited connective tissue disorder that affects the cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and ocular systems. It is caused by pathogenic variants in the fibrillin-1 gene (

Structural Variant Allelic Heterogeneity In Mecp2 Duplication Syndrome Provides Insight Into Clinical Severity And Variability Of Disease Expression, Davut Pehlivan, Jesse D Bengtsson, Sameer S Bajikar, Christopher M Grochowski, Ming Yin Lun, Mira Gandhi, Angad Jolly, Alexander J Trostle, Holly K Harris, Bernhard Suter, Sukru Aras, Melissa B Ramocki, Haowei Du, Michele G Mehaffey, Kyunghee Park, Ellen Wilkey, Cemal Karakas, Jesper J Eisfeldt, Maria Pettersson, Lynn Liu, Marwan S Shinawi, Virginia E Kimonis, Wojciech Wiszniewski, Kyle Mckenzie, Timo Roser, Angela M Vianna-Morgante, Alberto S Cornier, Ahmed Abdelmoity, James P Hwang, Shalini N Jhangiani, Donna M Muzny, Tadahiro Mitani, Kazuhiro Muramatsu, Shin Nabatame, Daniel G Glaze, Jawid M Fatih, Richard A Gibbs, Zhandong Liu, Anna Lindstrand, Fritz J Sedlazeck, James R Lupski, Huda Y Zoghbi, Claudia M B Carvalho

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: MECP2 Duplication Syndrome, also known as X-linked intellectual developmental disorder Lubs type (MRXSL; MIM: 300260), is a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by copy number gains spanning MECP2. Despite varying genomic rearrangement structures, including duplications and triplications, and a wide range of duplication sizes, no clear correlation exists between DNA rearrangement and clinical features. We had previously demonstrated that up to 38% of MRXSL families are characterized by complex genomic rearrangements (CGRs) of intermediate complexity (2 ≤ copy number variant breakpoints < 5), yet the impact of these genomic structures on regulation of gene expression and phenotypic manifestations have not been investigated.

METHODS: To study the role of the genomic rearrangement structures on an individual's clinical phenotypic variability, we employed a comprehensive …

Decision In Art. 78 Proceeding - Stewart, Andrew (2024-11-07)

Decisions in Art. 78 Proceedings

No abstract provided.

The Private Cause Of Action Under Maine's Unfair Trade Practices Act, Steven A. Shaw

Maine Law Review

In 1970 the Maine Legislature passed the Unfair Trade Practices Act (UTPA) which declared unlawful any "unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce . . . ." UTPA-type statutes, now common to all states, offer several advantages. The statutes provide for a statutory award of attorneys' fees, create a private cause of action which is simple in comparison to analogous common law claims, and offer a flexible concept of unlawful conduct which many courts have shown a willingness to interpret broadly and sympathetically. Although Maine's UTPA was originally …

A Structural Approach To The Application Of Section One Of The Sherman Act To Oligopolistic Interdependence, Annmarie Levins

Maine Law Review

A central tenet of American economic thought is that markets in which many producers compete for business are preferable to those in which one or a few sellers dominate. The conventional wisdom underlying this preference is that competitive markets produce more of the goods consumers want at lower prices than do noncompetitive markets. Oligopolies are markets in which there are few sellers. Oligopolistic markets are characterized frequently by higher prices and lower outputs than competitive markets. Many sectors of the American economy are oligopolistic. For example, the American automobile industry is dominated by "the big three," General Motors, Ford, and …

State V. Sweatt: An Examination Of The Current Confusion In Fourth Amendment Standing, John Archer Hobson

Maine Law Review

In State v. Sweatt the Maine Law Court held that an owner of gems being sold on consignment in a third party's store has standing under the fourth amendment to contest the seizure of the gems. The movants in Sweatt were the targets of several police searches during October and November of 1980. During these searches the police seized tourmaline gemstones which were alleged to have been stolen from Dale Sweatt's former business partner, and miscellaneous personal items belonging to the Sweatts. Subsequently, the Sweatts moved for suppression and return of all these articles. The superior court granted the movants' …

Supplements To Environmental Impact Statements: Implementation Of The Standards Set By The Council On Environmental Quality, Dale Lynn Gavin

Maine Law Review

Environmental impact statements (EISs) are prepared before any major federal project is undertaken, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). An original EIS may become obsolete if a Project's operation later changes in any significant way, or if previously unsuspected environmental impacts are later discovered. When either of these two events occurs, compliance with NEPA demands that a supplemental EIS be prepared to focus on the changes. The decision whether a supplement is required in any particular situation is guided by standards set by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). In addition, some federal agencies have promulgated their …

Dunham V. Ware Savings Bank: Economic Policy And Federal Law Justify Enforcement Of Due-On-Sale Clauses By State-Chartered Institutions, Martha E. Greene

Maine Law Review

Economic policy should replace state property doctrines as the controlling factor in determining enforceability of due-on-sale clauses. A due-on-sale clause provides mortgagees (lenders) with the means to accelerate the term of a mortgage upon transfer of the original mortgagor's (borrower's) interest in the mortgaged property. Lenders originally used due-on-sale clauses for the purpose of evaluating whether the party to whom the original borrower sought to assign the mortgage was creditworthy. As interest rates have risen, lenders increasingly have used due-on-sale clauses to terminate their commitments to lend mortgage funds at relatively low interest rates. Mortgage instruments secure a borrower's promise …

Hospital Accountability In Health Care Delivery, C. Elisabeth Belmont

Maine Law Review

In recent years, the role of community hospitals in health care delivery has undergone a dramatic change. Until the latter half of the twentieth century, a hospital was merely a "doctor's workshop," providing physicians with the physical facilities, equipment, and personnel necessary to treat their private patients. Due to progressive medical technology, today's hospital has moved from a passive role in patient care to more active participation in the delivery of total health care. The hospital has become a health care provider in its own right, furnishing a broad range of diagnostic and outpatient services, home care assistance, and specialized …

In Defense Of Civil Juries, Peter W. Culley

Maine Law Review

Criticism of the civil jury system is nothing new. In fact, virtually since its inception the civil jury has been embroiled in controversy. Typically critics argue that: the jury cannot handle the complex or technical case; there is great expense and delay attendant to trial by jury; jury adjudication is of low quality; verdicts rendered by different juries in cases involving similar facts often appear inconsistent. Recently, Justice Donald Alexander of the Maine Superior Court stated that "[t]he civil jury system has outlived its usefulness." In support of his basic premise that the civil jury system is merely an historical …

Deinstitutionalizing The Mentally Retarded In Maine: The Inevitable Face-Off With Zoning, Pamela D. Albee

Maine Law Review

In July 1978, agencies and officials of the State of Maine entered into a federal consent judgment which terminated a class action lawsuit that had dragged on for three years. The consent judgment in Wuori v. Zitnay detailed a comprehensive plan designed to bring about speedy and meaningful relief to the plaintiff class: mentally retarded citizens of Maine involuntarily confined to Pineland Center, Maine's principal institution for the mentally retarded, and certain others who were conditionally released from Pineland and in community placements. The relief granted was a right to be provided the least restrictive and most normal living conditions …

The Decline Of The Privity Rule In The Maine Law Of Tort Products Liability: A Conceptual History, Dennis M. Patterson

Maine Law Review

No single issue has more preoccupied modern jurisprudential writers than the limitations of precedent on the lawmaking power of judges. Yet despite this singular concentration, no scholarly consensus has emerged regarding what those limitations are or what form they should take. This continuing theoretical dispute recently manifested itself in a series of decisions rendered by the Law Court. Last spring in the case of Adams v. Buffalo Forge Co., the Law Court reconsidered a significant aspect of two decisions of the previous term: Burke v. Hamilton Beach Division and Hurd v. Hurd. In Burke and Hurd the court decided that …

Stewart V. Inhabitants Of Durham: An Exclusionary Purpose Ignored, Peter Alexander Meyer

Maine Law Review

Exclusionary zoning of mobile homes has become an increasingly important issue in Maine because of escalating costs of conventional housing and rising unmet housing needs. Although towns may regulate mobile home or any other housing use in order to foster public health, safety, morals, or general welfare, they may not enact a zoning ordinance to exclude people of lower income in an attempt to avoid the "increased governmental costs and the stresses upon public services which generally accompany such an incursion." In Stewart v. Inhabitants of Durham, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court was confronted with an exclusionary purpose in a …

Religious Beliefs, Unemployment Benefits, And Constitutional Choices: Flynn V. Maine Employment Security Commission, Mary Ann Lynch

Maine Law Review

The last decade has seen a growing number of individuals adopt fundamentalist, "born-again" Christianity. For these people, religion requires more than observance of a sabbath, weekly services, or financial commitment. Fundamentalist religion often requires its adherents to spread their religious beliefs with missionary zeal. Religion may be a constant preoccupation and as such, is brought into the work place. Thus, there is potential for conflict between the needs and demands of employers and the exercise of one's religion. While the free exercise clause of the first amendment may not always provide protection for employees against employers' requirements, it nevertheless serves …

Comeau V. Maine Coastal Services: The Quantum Theory And The Rescue Doctrine In Workers' Compensation, George F. Eaton Ii

Maine Law Review

Section 51 of the Maine Workers' Compensation Act provides that in order to be compensable, an employee's injury must arise out of and occur in the course of the employment. The decision of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in Comeau v. Maine Coastal Services upheld the Workers' Compensation Commission's denial of the plaintiff's petition for an award of compensation. In reaching its decision, however, the Law Court departed from the long-settled analytical approach of treating the "arising out of" and the "in the course of" requirements as separate criteria both of which must be met in order to establish a …

The Vitality Of The Doctrine Of Punitive Damages In Maine, Kevin F. Gordon

Maine Law Review

On four separate occasions between December 1981 and February 1982, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court called into question the continued vitality of the common law doctrine of punitive damages. The substantive propriety of punitive damages was not challenged by any of the defendants in those four cases. As a result, the Law Court assumed for the purposes of each opinion that punitive damages could be awarded by a court "in some instances without explicit statutory authorization." Nevertheless, in a footnote to Braley v. Berkshire Mutual Insurance Co., the court challenged this assumption. Noting that the doctrine of punitive damages initially …

Constitutional Issues Raised By The Civil-Criminal Dichotomy Of The Maine Oui Law, Bruce W. Smith

Maine Law Review

Moving to the forefront of a national trend, the Maine Legislature undertook a thorough reform of its operating under the influence (OUI) law in 1981. The new statute was billed "the toughest in the nation," largely because of a provision for mandatory prison sentences. The statute's most radical provision is not the mandatory prison term, however, but a section which gives prosecutors the option to treat less egregious first offenses as civil infractions rather than crimes. The section generates the broad issue addressed by this Comment: may trial by jury and other constitutional protections formerly afforded OUI defendants be denied …

Compensation For Financing A Spouse's Education: The Means Of Economic Justice In Maine, William S. Kany

Maine Law Review

In cases of marriage dissolution courts attempt to promote economic justice by utilizing their equitable powers and interpreting applicable statutes. It is often difficult, however, to achieve a just result in cases in which one spouse supported the other who attended college and/or professional school during the marriage. In the typical case divorce occurs just prior to or after completion of the education, at a time when the couple has accumulated very few marital assets because all of the marital income has gone into living and educational expenses. Because the only significant asset acquired during the marriage is the degree, …

Posteriores Priores: An Unconstitutional Congressional Role In Treaty Termination, Donna D. Mckeage

Maine Law Review

The Supreme Court recently decided a case involving an apparent conflict between a treaty provision and a subsequent act of Congress. A Japanese subsidiary corporation, Sumitomo Shoji America, Inc., claimed a provision of the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation of 1953 between the United States and Japan exempted it from the prohibition against discrimination embodied in title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Court did not reach this issue because it found Sumitomo Shoji America, Inc. to be a United States corporation and unable, therefore, to invoke the provisions of the treaty. The issue raised in …

Preventing The Importation And Sale Of Genuine Goods Bearing American-Owned Trademarks: Protecting An American Goodwill, Timothy H. Hiebert

Maine Law Review

A trademark's "primary and proper function," it has been said, "is to identify the origin or ownership of the article to which it is affixed." Thus, if a trademark indicates either the original producer or an exclusive distributor as the source of the goods on which it appears, it will be entitled to protection against infringement. Related to this source identification function are a trademark's quality assurance and advertising functions. Because the public comes to associate trademarked goods with a certain standard of quality, a trademark guarantees that the goods on which it appears will meet public expectations about quality. …

Common Law Sovereign Immunity And The Maine Tort Claims Act: A Rose By Another Name, R. Michael Martin

Maine Law Review

On October 12, 1976, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court allowed a Bath homeowner to sue the city for damage to her property resulting from the city's negligence. The case was Davies v. City of Bath and its significance was twofold. First, for decades before the Davies decision the Maine Supreme Judicial Court had routinely refused to consider such suits because of the doctrine of sovereign immunity. Fifteen years before Davies the court had expressed dissatisfaction with the doctrine, but until 1976 had repeatedly refused to abrogate it. Second, the Davies decision was significant because the Maine Legislature, under the guiding …

The Obsolescence Of Voluntary Confessions In Maine, John C. Sheldon

Maine Law Review

The would-be assassin lurks in the crowd that gathers outside the campaign headquarters building. In anticipation of the candidate's appearance, the television technicians hoist their videotape cameras and illuminate the scene with floodlights, as the gunman nervously fingers the automatic concealed in the pocket of his field jacket. Moments later, the candidate emerges from the doorway; the assassin rushes into the floodlit view of the cameras, takes aim at the startled politician, and hollers: "I've been planning this for years, and now I'm going to give you what's coming to you." His shots ring out as Secret Service agents converge …

International Monetary Fund: Special Drawing Rights Allocations, 2009, Ikbal S. Ahluwalia, Owen Heaphy, Rosalind Z. Wiggins

Journal of Financial Crises

Despite efforts by the world’s major economies to address stresses in the global financial system, by early 2009, the Global Financial Crisis caused developing and lower-income countries to experience shortages of the major reserve currencies. In August 2009, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) distributed a general allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) of unprecedented size—totaling USD 250 billion (SDR 161.3 billion)—to all member countries in an effort to address these issues and provide liquidity to the world’s economies. In September 2009, it also distributed a special “catch-up” allocation of USD 33 billion in SDRs (SDR 21.5 billion) to eligible members …

International Monetary Fund: Short-Term Liquidity Line, 2020, Carey K. Mott, Léo Brougher

Journal of Financial Crises

As the COVID-19 pandemic spread in March 2020, global financial conditions tightened considerably. In response, global reserve currency-issuing countries extended bilateral swap lines to select countries. Strong demand for US dollar liquidity among emerging markets led the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to introduce the Short-Term Liquidity Line (SLL) on April 15, 2020. The SLL functioned as a swap lending facility. Unlike other IMF liquidity tools, the SLL was a revolving credit line that allowed countries to repeatedly draw funds and make repayments, with each repayment restoring access up to the approved limit across SLL arrangements. Its purpose was to enable …

The 2023 Banking Turmoil: Lessons For Eu Resolution Authorities, Niccolò Cirillo, Francesco Pennesi, Sebastiano Laviola

Journal of Financial Crises

The March 2023 banking turmoil in the United States and Switzerland marked the most significant banking stress in financial markets since the 2007–2009 Global Financial Crisis, prompting a reevaluation of prudential and resolution frameworks. This paper explores whether the 2023 events offer preliminary lessons for resolution authorities within the European Union (EU).

Policymakers often struggle to restore confidence in financial systems and contain the repercussions of financial instability. While the 2023 crises in the US and Switzerland underscored this difficulty, authorities largely managed to mitigate the most severe consequences. Nonetheless, some issues in bank crisis management were identified. This paper …