Digital Commons Network^™

The Reasonable Officer And The Disabled Subject, Jamelia N. Morgan

Vanderbilt Law Review

Police violence against disabled people is a  fundamental problem of policing. Whether through so called wellness checks, quality of life policing, or coercive state civil commitment procedures, disabled people are often on the receiving end of intrusion, violence, and rights violations by law enforcement. Yet, so, too, is everyone else. That disabled people are similarly, and yet uniquely, vulnerable to intrusion, violence, and rights violations by law enforcement might seem like just another group to add to the list of groups harmed by policing and police violence. However, the focus on disability does not merely bring to the forefront problems …

Plan-B Activist Defense: Defending Animal-Rights Activists In Courtrooms Hostile To Political Argumentation, Hadar Aviram

Vanderbilt Law Review

In recent years, several animal rights activists faced criminal charges for rescuing animals from factory farms. The standard legal approach in these cases has been relying on the necessity defense, which has a long history in cases of civil disobedience and ideologically driven crime. Animal law scholarship on this topic tends to focus on explaining why the defense applies to open rescue. However, as recent trials have demonstrated, actual courtrooms in rural counties tend to be hostile to the necessity defense, and judges can and do rely on Supreme Court precedent to keep it out of the courtroom.

This Article's …

A Fear About Holistic Justice, Farhang Heydari

Vanderbilt Law Review

It is a great irony of our criminal system that the enforcement of our criminal laws has long had aspects of lawlessness. Although criminal statutes define impermissible conduct by members of the public, they generally offer little guidance for state actors enforcing them.' Officers can choose which offenders to cite or arrest and which to let go. Prosecutors can choose which charges to pursue and what pleas to offer. Executives select whom to pardon and how to allocate enforcement resources. Some see the discretion vested in government actors as a virtue-- a safety valve in a system that punishes too …

Data As Policy, Janet Freilich, W. Nicholson Price Ii

Faculty Scholarship

A large literature on regulation highlights the many different methods of policy-making: command-and-control rulemaking, informational disclosures, tort liability, taxes, and more. But the literature overlooks a powerful method to achieve policy objectives: data. The state can provide (or suppress) data as a regulatory tool to solve policy problems. For administrations with expansive views of government’s purpose, government-provided data can serve as infrastructure for innovation and push innovation in socially desirable directions; for administrations with deregulatory ambitions, suppressing or choosing not to collect data can reduce regulatory power or serve as a back-door mechanism to subvert statutory or common law rules. …

Comparison Of Relative Calcium Bioavailability Based On Bone Ash And Apparent Ileal Ca Digestibility In Broiler Chickens, R. L. Drysdale, B. W. Parsons

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Two experiments were conducted to determine relative Ca bioavailability based on bone ash and apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of Ca in reagent-grade calcium carbonate (RCaCO3) and RCaCO3 + phytic acid in commercial broiler chickens. In Experiment 1, relative Ca bioavailability of RCaCO3 and RCaCO3 + phytic acid was determined in ad libitum-fed broiler chickens using the slope-ratio method. Dietary treatments were corn-soybean meal-based diets. Diet 1 was Ca-deficient (0.30 % Ca; 0.45 % non-phytate P), while diets 2 through 5 were the same as diet 1, except that 2 increasing levels of RCaCO3 or RCaCO3 + phytic acid were added …

An Assessment Of The Legal Framework For Prosecuting Iuu Fishing In Nigeria, Lydia Salla Kadiri

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Plastic Pollution In The Arctic Region And International Rules : Applicability And Limitations, Zhanfeng Lang

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Problem Of Noise Pollution In Chinese Waters : Can The Current National Legal Framework Tackle The Problem?, Zhou Wang

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Preparedness And Response To Oil And Biofuel Spills : A Case Study Of The Western Indian Ocean, Soifoine Abdillah

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Integrating Environmental Impact Assessment Into International Shipping Governance : A Bbnj-Pssa Synergy Framework, Thi Thuy Linh Pham

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Combating Illegal, Unreported And Unregulated (Iuu) Fishing In Argentina : Role Of Argentinian Coastguard As Maritime Authority In Charge Of Law Enforcement, Mario Damian Tiscornia

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Intellectual Property Futures: Exploring The Global Landscape Of Ip Law And Policy, Graham Reynolds, Alexandra Mogyoros, Teshager W. Dagne

All Faculty Publications

The past few decades have been witness to a number of important developments with respect to the global intellectual property (IP) system, including shifts in focus between multilateralism and bilateralism/regionalism; growing recognition of the various ways in which IP intersects with and impacts areas including human rights, development, trade, and social justice; broad acknowledgement of the economic value of many IP rights; and important theoretical interventions that have challenged the values underlying the global IP system.

These developments have occurred alongside several other events, changes, and crises that have altered the landscape of our global communities. Chief among them are …

Introduction, Graham Reynolds, Alexandra Mogyoros, Teshager W. Dagne

All Faculty Publications

The past few decades have been witness to a number of important developments with respect to the global intellectual property (IP) system, including shifts in focus between multilateralism and bilateralism/regionalism; growing recognition of the various ways in which IP intersects with and impacts areas including human rights, development, trade, and social justice; broad acknowledgement of the economic value of many IP rights; and important theoretical interventions that have challenged the values underlying the global IP system.

These developments have occurred alongside several other events, changes, and crises that have altered the landscape of our global communities. Chief among them are …

Waiting For Godot: Thinking About Criminal Law After Mass Incarceration, Jonathan Simon Professor Of Law,

Vanderbilt Law Review

This brilliant set of close observations and careful analyses on some of the most cutting-edge issues arising in criminal law and reform of the criminal-justice system arrives at a time of great uncertainty as to the direction of change in criminal justice in the United States. After roughly a decade of reform and a significant surge in social movements criticizing the excesses of policing and punishment, the national conversation around crime has shifted back toward fear and a preference for "tough" law-and-order policies. Each one of these essays is packed with a great deal of insight and detail about very …

Criminal Punishment As A Human Right?, Saira Mohamed Professor Of Law,

Vanderbilt Law Review

In the last thirty years, criminal punishment has emerged as a primary tool in service of the protection of international human rights. The development of the field of international criminal law has transformed mass human rights violations into crimes, and the crowning achievement of the field has been the creation of the International Criminal Court. Human rights tribunals, meanwhile, also have embraced the institutions of the criminal law and, through doctrines such as the due diligence standard, have translated states' obligations under human rights instruments into duties to criminally prosecute and punish. Those who were present at the creation might …

Thinking Differently: Creating Spaces Of Autonomy For The Revitalization Of Indigenous Legal Traditions In The Context Of Copyright, Johnny Mack, Graham Reynolds

All Faculty Publications

There is an urgent need to think differently. Colonialism, in its settler variant, has developed new and particularly dangerous strategies to advance its dual imperatives of the dispossession of Indigenous peoples and the erasure of Indigeneity as a politicized identity construct with a legitimate claim to law. This goal is advanced today through rights frameworks, which have generated a worrisome platform to support the logic of elimination by drawing Indigenous calls for autonomy, self-determination, and sovereignty into a settler colonial framework of authority. In this chapter, we highlight how these strategies function in the context of Canadian copyright law. Canadian …

Reprogrammed Glucose Metabolism In Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells And Its Implications For Vascular Diseases, Qian Ma, Yongfeng Cai, Qiuhua Yang, Wendy Zhang, Suowen Xu, Yuqing Huo

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) play a pivotal role in maintaining vascular homeostasis and are critical contributors to the pathogenesis of various vascular diseases, including atherosclerosis, calcification, aneurysms, and pulmonary hypertension. Emerging evidence highlights the significance of glucose metabolism in regulating VSMC phenotypic transitions during these pathologies. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the major glucose metabolic pathways in VSMCs, glycolysis, the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), and the hexosamine biosynthetic pathway (HBP), and their roles in disease development. We summarize the molecular mechanisms linking glucose metabolic reprogramming to VSMC dysfunction, focusing on key regulatory enzymes and signaling pathways. Additionally, …

Iron Supplementation Switches Mode Of Cell Death To Ferroptosis During Acetaminophen-Induced Liver Injury In Mice Rendering It Resistant To N-Acetylcysteine., Olamide B. Adelusi, Aparna Venkatraman, Jephte Y. Akakpo, Anup Ramachandran, Hartmut Jaeschke

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Acetaminophen (APAP) overdose can cause liver injury and is the leading cause of acute liver failure in Western countries. Hepatocellular necrosis induced by APAP involves the formation of a reactive metabolite, triggering mitochondrial oxidant stress and peroxynitrite formation. Iron-catalyzed protein nitration is critical for mitochondrial dysfunction and cell death in the absence of lipid peroxidation (LPO). However, co-treatment of APAP and ferrous sulfate aggravated protein nitration and liver injury but also triggered extensive LPO (measured as malondialdehyde and hydroxy eicosatetraenoic acid (HETE) species). The objective of this study was to evaluate whether the aggravated injury under these conditions is caused …

Apol2 Stabilizes Ku80 To Confer Nhej-Mediated Radioresistance In Gastric Cancer, Dan Zu, Qimei Bao, Hanyi He, Yuke Zhong, Mingcong Deng, Yangchan Hu, Chunkai Zhang, Chen Liang, Yixing Huang, Haidong Liu, Xiao Li, Yanhua He, Guoyan Luo, Weixin Wu, Fenghui Guan, Shengfeng Xu, Min Liu, Albino Bacolla, Ji Jing, Yian Du, John A Tainer, Yin Shi, Zu Ye, Xiangdong Cheng

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Radiotherapy is one of the most important adjuvant treatment methods for gastric cancer (GC). However, radioresistance remains a major clinical obstacle. In this study, APOL2 is identified as a key player in promoting non-homologous end joining (NHEJ)-mediated double-strand break (DSB) repair and enhancing radioresistance in GC. Bioinformatics and clinical data revealed that high APOL2 expression is correlated with poor prognosis in GC patients. Functional experiments showed that APOL2 overexpression enhances genomic stability by accelerating DSB repair via the NHEJ pathway, while APOL2 knockout impairs repair capacity. Mechanistically, APOL2 binds to and stabilizes Ku80 by enhancing USP7-mediated deubiquitylation, thereby increasing Ku80 …

Gregor: Accelerating Genomics For Rare Diseases, Moez Dawood, Ben Heavner, Marsha M Wheeler, Rachel A Ungar, Jonathan Lotempio, Laurens Wiel, Seth Berger, Jonathan A Bernstein, Jessica X Chong, Emmanuèle C Délot, Evan E Eichler, James R Lupski, Ali Shojaie, Michael E Talkowski, Alex H Wagner, Chia-Lin Wei, Christopher Wellington, Matthew T Wheeler, Gregor Partner Members, Claudia M B Carvalho, Richard A Gibbs, Casey A Gifford, Susanne May, Danny E Miller, Heidi L Rehm, Kaitlin E Samocha, Fritz J Sedlazeck, Eric Vilain, Anne O'Donnell-Luria, Jennifer E Posey, Lisa H Chadwick, Michael J Bamshad, Stephen B Montgomery, Genomics Research To Elucidate The Genetics Of Rare Diseases (Gregor) Consortium

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Rare diseases are collectively common, affecting approximately 1 in 20 individuals worldwide. In recent years, rapid progress has been made in rare disease diagnostics due to advances in next-generation sequencing, development of new computational and functional genomics approaches to prioritize genes and variants and increased global sharing of clinical and genetic data. However, more than half of individuals suspected to have a rare disease lack a genetic diagnosis. The Genomics Research to Elucidate the Genetics of Rare Diseases (GREGoR) Consortium was initiated to study thousands of challenging rare disease cases and families and apply, standardize and evaluate emerging genomics technologies …

Sensory-Selective Peripheral And Neuraxial Nerve Blockade With 2',6'-Pipecoloxylidide, Claire A Ostertag-Hill, Shuanglong Chen, Tianrui Xue, Rachelle Shao, Matthew Torre, Bin Feng, Zahra Vahedi, Longtu Chen, Steven J Staffa, Yueqin Zheng, Daniel S Kohane

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Background: Safe sensory-selective local anesthetics would be a major advance in the management of acute and chronic pain. This articles describes the sensory-selective local anesthetic properties and the toxicity profile of a known metabolite of amino-amide local anesthetics, 2',6'-pipecoloxylidide (PPX).

Methods: PPX was synthesized and made into its hydrochloride salt. PPX or ropivacaine (ROP) were injected at the sciatic nerve or intrathecally in rats, who then underwent modified hotplate (sensory) testing and weight-bearing (motor) testing. Rats injected with PPX or ROP were assessed for clinical toxicity endpoints. Conduction blockade was studied with single-unit recordings in mice. Biocompatibility was assessed histologically. …

Skrmetti Beyond Scrutiny, Kate Redburn

Faculty Scholarship

In United States v. Skrmetti, the Supreme Court upheld Tennessee Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), a state law that prohibits transgender minors from accessing gender-affirming care. For the first time, the Court considered a fundamental question in civil rights law: How does the Fourteenth Amendment regard transgender people? The Court gave little guidance. It did not sort out principles for deciding when anti-transgender discrimination classifies by sex, nor whether transgender people are a suspect class. Instead, the Court held that “[i]n the medical context, the mere use of sex-based language does not sweep a statute within the reach of …

Evaluating Molecular And Immune Biomarkers In Predicting Bladder Cancer Recurrence And Survival: A Systematic Review, Saad Masood, Abdullah Shaikh, Yasin Brar

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

This systematic review comprehensively evaluates current evidence on molecular and biochemical biomarkers for predicting recurrence and prognosis in bladder cancer. A literature search was conducted across PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases up to September 2025, identifying 347 records. After rigorous screening and eligibility assessment, five studies met the inclusion criteria. The included research encompassed a range of biomarker types, including circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), immune infiltration markers, methylation signatures, systemic inflammatory indices, and gene expression-based predictive models such as COXEN. Despite heterogeneity in study designs, methodologies, and endpoints, consistent findings indicated that integrated molecular profiling substantially improves the …

Multiomic And Electrophysiologic Analyses Reveal That An Inherited Mrc2 Variant Causes Fibroblast Dysfunction And Increased Atrial Fibrillation Susceptibility, Kevin S Ho, Joshua A Keefe, Shuai Zhao, Mohit M Hulsurkar, Sung Yun Jung, Md Abul Hassan Samee, Xander H T Wehrens

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

A recent study identified a rare variant in the mannose receptor C type 2 (MRC2) gene in individuals with familial reentrant supraventricular tachycardia, a Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) electrocardiogram pattern, and structurally normal hearts. WPW syndrome is associated with atrial fibrillation (AF), and MRC2 was recently proposed as a protective gene for AF. We determined whether the E990G-heterozygous (het) loss-of-function variant in Mrc2 increases AF susceptibility and identified aberrant cellular mechanisms resulting from Mrc2 deficiency in atrial cardiofibroblasts (ACFs) and atrial tissue in mice that may promote AF. Programmed electrical stimulation was performed to determine AF susceptibility in Mrc2 E990G-het …

Alterations In Cardiovascular Parameters In 5xfad Murine Model, Andrea G Marshall, Dominique Stephens, Kit Neikirk, Sepiso K Masenga, Bryanna Shao, Amber Crabtree, Zer Vue, Heather K Beasley, Edgar Garza-Lopez, Estevão Scudese, Benjamin I Rodriguez, Han Le, Steven Damo, George E Taffet, Okwute M Ochayi, Ronald Mcmillan, Jeremiah M Afolabi, Vernat Exil, Ashton Oliver, Vineeta Sharma, Pamela Martin, Amadou Gaye, Chanel Harris, Briar Tomeau, Lacara Bell, Markis Hamilton, Taneisha Gillyard, Railyn Webster, Marcus Jackson, Prem Prakash, Shanilah Frierson, Chandravanu Dash, Margaret Mungai, Annet Kirabo, Jennifer A Gaddy, Nelson Wandira, Antentor Hinton, Anilkumar K Reddy

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a global health issue, affecting over 6 million people in the United States, with that number expected to increase as the population ages. As a neurodegenerative disorder that affects memory and cognitive functions, it is well established that AD is associated with cardiovascular risk factors beyond only cerebral decline. In this study, we measured hemodynamic parameters related to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular function in 5xFAD mice with AD and their littermates. Specifically, we measured cardiovascular pulse wave velocity parameters, a marker of arterial stiffness and cardiovascular risk, and cerebrovascular pulse wave velocity, a novel technique to measure …

Zn Glycine Mitigates The Lps-Induced Hepatic Injury And Inflammation Through Nrf2/Nfκb Signaling In Geese, Zeshan Zulfiqar, Muhammad Arslan Asif, Layla Al-Mitib, Khawla Alharbi, Tanzina Hossain, Han Yao, Xiaoyan Zhu, Zhichang Wang, Hao Sun, Yalei Cui, Yinghua Shi

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Gram-negative bacteria like Escherichia coli have an outer membrane that contains lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which is a powerful inducer of systemic inflammation. It is often associated with gut dysbiosis, intestinal barrier dysfunction, and liver damage. Despite increasing recognition of the gut-liver axis as a critical mediator in systemic inflammation and hepatic pathology, the efficacy of nutritional strategies targeting this pathway remains inadequately defined. This study evaluated the protective effects of zinc glycine (Zn_Gly), a highly bioavailable organic zinc chelate, against LPS-induced gut barrier disruption and liver damage in meat geese. Zn_Gly supplementation @ 80mg/kg of diet significantly attenuated LPS-induced impairments in …

Bioaccumulation Pattern Of Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (Pfas) In Fish Tissues From Two Freshwater Systems, Margaret D. Taiwo, Husam Kafeenah, David D. Duvernell, Michael O. Eze

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are known for their persistence, ubiquity, bioaccumulation in different matrices of the environment and their detrimental effect on human health. In this study, we used EPA 1633 to examine the prevalence of ten PFAS compounds in two freshwater systems and investigated their bioaccumulation pattern across different tissues of grass carp fish (Ctenopharyngodon idella), common carp (Cyprinus carpio), and flathead catfish (Pylodictis olivaris). Among the PFAS compounds analyzed, PFBS exhibited the highest concentration in the freshwater sample, exceeding the U.S. EPA regulatory limit of 4 ng/L for drinking water. The total PFAS concentrations in the muscle, …

Theme Issue - Emerging Ip Enforcement In Online Markets And Digital Spaces, Michael Goodyear

Articles & Chapters

Editor's Note

Itrusst Consensus On Biophysical Safety For Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation, Jean François Aubry, David Attali, Mark E. Schafer, Elsa Fouragnan, Charles F. Caskey, Robert Chen, Ghazaleh Darmani, Ellen J. Bubrick, Jérôme Sallet, Christopher R. Butler, Charlotte J. Stagg, Miriam C. Klein-Flügge, Seung Schik Yoo, Christy K. Holland, Bradley Treeby, Eleanor Martin, Lennart Verhagen, Kim Butts Pauly

School of Psychology

Transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) is an emerging technology for non-invasive brain stimulation. The International Transcranial Ultrasonic Stimulation Safety and Standards consortium (ITRUSST) has established consensus on considerations for nonsignificant biophysical risk of TUS, drawing upon the literature and established regulations for biomedical devices. Here, we assume the application of TUS to individuals without contraindications, compromised thermoregulation, vascular vulnerabilities, or administered ultrasound contrast agents. In this context, we present a concise yet comprehensive set of levels for nonsignificant risks of TUS application. For mechanical effects, it is non-significant risk if the mechanical index (MI) or the mechanical index for transcranial application …

Plastic Or Natural? The Impact Of Marine Debris On The Shell Preference Of A Terrestrial Hermit Crab, Robert Puschendorf, Pete Cotton, Mark Briffa

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Plastic pollution is one of the main human-induced rapid environmental changes threatening marine organisms. Terrestrial hermit crabs, which inhabit coastal areas where litter accumulates, are increasingly documented using plastic debris as shells, and a recent study hypothesized that this shift may be an adaptive response. They suggested that ‘plastic shells’ may reduce transport costs, provide camouflage in a polluted environment, and may even be favoured by sexual selection. Our study is the first to quantify plastic shell use in a population, to examine shell preference and to test the hypothesis that plastic shells optimize the ratio of weight to volume. …