Digital Commons Network^™

Bargaining For Abolition, Zohra Ahmed

Scholarly Works

What if instead of seeing criminal court as an institution driven by the operation of rules, we saw it as a workplace where people labor to criminalize those with the misfortune to be prosecuted? I offer three different ways to think about labor in criminal court: (1) labor as a source of sociological value, (2) labor as an input that generates certain measurable outcomes, and (3) labor as a vehicle to advance abolitionist reforms. First, through their quotidian activities, criminal courts’ workers enact a practical philosophy that communicates lessons about who and how we value each other. Drawing on ethnographic …

International Environmental Law At Its Semicentennial: The Stockholm Legacy, Melissa J. Durkee

Scholarly Works

The 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment produced the Stockholm Declaration, an environmental manifesto that forcefully declared a human right to environmental health and birthed the field of modern international environmental law. The historic event powerfully “dramatized . . . the unity and fragility of the biosphere,” sparking a remarkable period of international legal innovation and cooperation on environmental protection in the decades to come.

The Stockholm Declaration can be rightly celebrated for putting environmental issues on the international legal agenda and driving the development of environmental law at the domestic level around the world. At the same …

Interconstituted Legal Agents, Christian Turner

Scholarly Works

Legal theory and doctrine depend on underlying assumptions about human nature and sociality. Perhaps the most common and basic assumption is that we are separate persons who communicate imperfectly with one another. While this separation thesis has been questioned, it still dominates legal theory. However, I show that understanding separation and connection as alternative perspectives, rather than as ontologically true or false, reveals that legal conflict often arises when these perspectives give rise to clashing intuitions concerning the meaning of community and what constitutes goals and harms. This Article organizes perspectives on social relationships in increasing order of intersubjectivity: isolation, …

Uzuegbunam V. Preczewski, Nominal Damages, And The Roberts Stratagem, Michael Wells

Scholarly Works

In Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski the Supreme Court held for the first time that federal-court jurisdiction exists over a § 1983 case that presents only a claim for nominal damages. As a result, such claims remain subject to adjudication even when the plaintiff’s request for prospective relief, targeting an allegedly unlawful practice, has been mooted by the government’s discontinuance of the thus-challenged behavior. In dissent, Chief Justice Roberts maintained that the majority’s ruling clashed with Article III’s “personal stake” requirement and also unwisely permitted plaintiffs to sidestep controlling jurisdictional rules by adding a meaningless claim for nominal damages to a complaint …

Impact Of Cooperative Membership On Technical Efficiency And Marketing Efficiency: The Case Of Dairy Buffalo Farmers In The Philippines, Ceptryl S. Mina, Agham C. Cuevas

DLSU Business & Economics Review

Collective action by smallholder farmers through cooperative membership is regarded as one of the approaches to overcome production and marketing inefficiencies. This study investigates the impact of cooperative membership on the technical efficiency (TE) and marketing efficiency (ME) of dairy buffalo farmers in the Philippines. A total of 351 (249 cooperative members and 102 non-cooperative members) randomly selected farmers from Regions II, III, IV-A, and VII were interviewed. Using cross-sectional farm household data of dairy buffalo farmers, technical and marketing efficiencies were estimated. Linear regression with endogenous treatment was performed to determine the impact of cooperative membership on the TE …

Animal Adoption Profiles: An Application Of The Human-Animal Connection, Autumn Stowe

Honors Program Theses

No abstract provided.

Crwr 412.01: Advanced Nonfiction Workshop, Judy J. Blunt

University of Montana Course Syllabi, 2021-2025

No abstract provided.

Credit Scoring Duality, Pamela Foohey, Sara Sternberg Greene

Scholarly Works

Credit scoring is central to people’s financial growth and prosperity or financial decline and stagnation. People with a good credit score and accompanying credit report can buy opportunities to advance economically. The benefits they reap from their attractiveness to lenders and employers helps feed their future success. In contrast, people with a fair or poor credit score become stuck in cycle of high interest rates and costly loan terms, large required down payments, and denied applications for rentals, cell phone plans, and employment. Employers, service providers, lenders, and alternative financial service providers have begun to use alternative credit scoring models, …

This Place Is A Message: A Case Study Examining The Role Of Emotion, Storytelling, And Interactive Performance Art In Climate Change Communication, Maryanne Rebstock Cosgrove

Public Health Theses

Objectives. This Place Is A Message is a populist performing arts piece created by Faultline Ensembles to explore the relationship between the individual emotional experience and the collective trauma of the climate change crisis. Through personal narratives and emotional appeals, this production seeks to build community solidarity through community-led storytelling and harness participatory theater for climate change communication to be used to find climate solutions in a joint manner. Methods. Data was collected and analyzed using a mixed-methods approach utilizing self-reported surveys, including audience pre-show (N=75) and post-show (N=48) assessments and a survey of cast and crew members (N=14). Additionally, …

Uveitis-Mediated Immune Cell Invasion Through The Extracellular Matrix Of The Lens Capsule., Jodirae Dedreu, Sonali Pal-Ghosh, Mary J Mattapallil, Rachel R Caspi, Mary Ann Stepp, A Sue Menko

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

While the eye is considered an immune privileged site, its privilege is abrogated when immune cells are recruited from the surrounding vasculature in response to trauma, infection, aging, and autoimmune diseases like uveitis. Here, we investigate whether in uveitis immune cells become associated with the lens capsule and compromise its privilege in studies of C57BL/6J mice with experimental autoimmune uveitis. These studies show that at D14, the peak of uveitis in these mice, T cells, macrophages, and Ly6G/Ly6C+ immune cells associate with the lens basement membrane capsule, burrow into the capsule matrix, and remain integrated with the capsule as immune …

Uveitis-Mediated Immune Cell Invasion Through The Extracellular Matrix Of The Lens Capsule, Jodirae Dedreu, Sonali Pal-Ghosh, Mary J Mattapallil, Rachel R Caspi, Mary Ann Stepp, A Sue Menko

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

While the eye is considered an immune privileged site, its privilege is abrogated when immune cells are recruited from the surrounding vasculature in response to trauma, infection, aging, and autoimmune diseases like uveitis. Here, we investigate whether in uveitis immune cells become associated with the lens capsule and compromise its privilege in studies of C57BL/6J mice with experimental autoimmune uveitis. These studies show that at D14, the peak of uveitis in these mice, T cells, macrophages, and Ly6G/Ly6C+ immune cells associate with the lens basement membrane capsule, burrow into the capsule matrix, and remain integrated with the capsule as immune …

Adverse Childhood Experiences & Breastfeeding - Pakistan, Paola Bojorquez-Ramirez

Public Health Theses

Rationale: Prior studies have found that a history of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is associated with breastfeeding, but the evidence is inconsistent. Despite low and middle income countries (LMICs) carrying a disproportionate amount of poor maternal and infant health outcomes, little research has assessed the relative impact of ACEs on breastfeeding initiation and exclusive breastfeeding in LMICs.Objective: The study investigates whether maternal ACEs are associated with breastfeeding initiation and exclusive breastfeeding at 3 and 6 months postpartum among a cohort of women from rural Pakistan. Methods: The cross-sectional analysis included 869 women 18-45 years of age from the Bachpan Cohort …

Trends In Antimicrobial Resistant Non-Typhoidal Salmonella Before And After The Food And Drug Administration’S Guidance For Industry #213, United States 2013-2020, Lily Valentina Carruthers

Public Health Theses

Background: Previous research has shown a potential link between antibiotic use among food-producing animals and antimicrobial resistant enteric pathogens. In late 2016, the Food and Drug Administration completed the implementation of its Guidance for Industry #213, through which growth promotion was removed as an indication for use of medically-important antimicrobials among food-producing animals. This study aimed to describe trends in antimicrobial resistance among human Salmonella isolates from 2013-2020 in the United States before and after the implementation of this regulation.Methods: All non-Typhoidal Salmonella isolates sent to the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System for Enteric Bacteria (NARMS) from 2013-2020 were included …

Circadian Factors And Cancer Survivorship: A Mini Review, Jiaqi Cui

Public Health Theses

Circadian clocks are molecular clocks that govern the temporal control of physiology to preserve homeostasis. The disruption of the circadian rhythm is important in carcinogenesis and aids the development of cancer hallmarks. On the other hand, carcinogenic activities disrupt circadian rhythms directly. In cancer treatment, pharmacological regulation of core clock genes is a novel approach. The use of circadian biology in cancer research opens up new avenues for improving cancer treatment effectiveness. This mini-review provides an overview of relationship between circadian factors including circadian gene expression, circadian genotype, circadian disruption and circadian gene methylation and the cancer survivorship. The review …

Environmental And Health Impacts Of Biobased Polymers, Liora Fiksel

Public Health Theses

The use of biopolymers is predicted to grow in the coming years as the world searches for solutions to its sustainability problems. Pursuing biobased materials is widely thought of as the sustainable response to moving away from petroleum-based materials and the plastic-waste issue; however, its potential environmental and human health impacts are being questioned. Notably, the controversies related to biopolymers' renewable feedstocks include adding pressure to the food economy, land use, occupational hazards, and environmental pollution with potential human exposure and adverse health effects. Other resource burdens include energy and water. Many biopolymers are designed to biodegrade, compost, or be …

Challenges And Prospects: Reducing U.S. Methane Emissions Via Red Macroalgae (Asparagopsis Taxiformis) Feed Additives To Inhibit Enteric Methane Production From Ruminant Livestock, Rebecca Gillman

Public Health Theses

Approximately 27% of U.S. methane emissions are emitted by the agriculture sector annually, primarily by ruminant livestock as a GHG enteric fermentation bi-product (EPA, 2022). This proposed intervention explores the feasibility of scaling up use of anti-methanogenic ruminant feed additives, to directly reduce U.S. agricultural methane emissions at the source. A careful review of in vitro, in vivo and small-scale pilot studies revealed that the potent, anti-methanogenic bioactive compounds in red macroalgae (Asparagopsis Taxiformis) can both safely and effectively inhibit methanogenesis during enteric fermentation, resulting in up to 90% reduction in methane emissions without adverse risk or consequence to animal …

Comparing Dog And Owner Pfas Exposures Using Fresh Air Samplers, Emily Elizabeth Johnson

Public Health Theses

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have gained attention given their prevalence and persistence in the environment and in our bodies. PFAS have been detected in water, food products, and consumer products. Furthermore, companion animals may be exposed to elevated PFAS levels due to sources from pet products as well as household items. A growing number of studies have been conducted to better understand the toxicological and public health impacts of legacy PFAS resulting from ingestion and dermal exposure pathways in both humans and domesticated animals. As alternative replacement PFAS emerge in the market, these compounds are shorter chain which allows …

Understanding The Effects Of Endocrine Disruptors On The Glucocorticoid Signaling Pathway, Dana Norbert Joseph

Public Health Theses

Endocrine disruptors are exogenous chemicals that interfere with the functions of the endocrine system and can cause adverse developmental, reproductive, and neurological effects. Unlike toxic effects that may be evident immediately, disruption to the endocrine system may impact complex signaling pathways that take years or generations to discover. Current toxicology testing does not routinely incorporate endpoints that would identify potential endocrine disruptors. The objective of this study was to evaluate the endocrine disrupting potential of a broad range of industrial chemicals, specifically focusing on four chemicals with predicted activity on the glucocorticoid receptor (GR): 4-nonylphenol, bisphenol A (BPA), butylated hydroxytoluene …

Exploring Climate Policy And Health Perspectives In Samoa: A Mixed Methods Study, Erika-Ann Fumiko Kim

Public Health Theses

Background: Greenhouse gas emissions have driven human-induced climate change, bringing several impacts to small island nations in the Pacific. Samoa, a small island developing state located in the south Pacific Ocean, is at disproportionate risk from impacts of climate change such as rising surface temperatures, rising sea levels, increases in frequency and degree of heavy precipitation events, and increases in the frequency of droughts. Simultaneously, Samoan populations possess a high prevalence of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension. For multiple decades, the Government of Samoa has framed climate change as a key issue that threatens the lives, …

Oiremos: The Development, Implementation, And Evaluation Of A Holistic Health Curriculum For A Hispanic Youth Enrichment Program, Margaret Cavendish Kellogg

Public Health Theses

In the spring of 2021, as the Covid-19 pandemic continued to exacerbate health inequities and virtual learning dragged on, I developed and implemented an educational health-promotion intervention for a small group of Hispanic youth in collaboration with a New Haven Latinx social services non-profit, Junta for Progressive Action. The bilingual, culturally-responsive health curriculum wove together engaging activities related to physical, emotional, mental, social, and community health, promoting participants’ socio-emotional learning and equipping them with destigmatizing vocabulary and skills they could use to advocate for their needs. The curriculum was grounded in social and behavioral theories and was informed by participants’ …

Modeling The Effects Of Climate Factors On The Incidence Of Future Campylobacter Infections In Connecticut, Hannah Lemanske

Public Health Theses

Background & Introduction: Campylobacter is one of the most common foodborne bacteria in the United States, accounting for 48 million infections each year. Campylobacter infections can arise from consuming contaminated food, especially poultry, water, or contact with infected animals. Due to its strong seasonality, cases peaking in the summer and declining in the winter, potential relationships between climate and campylobacter have been analyzed.Methods: Weekly campylobacter surveillance data was obtained from the Connecticut Department of Public Health for 2000 through 2018. Historical and projected temperature and precipitation data were also gathered from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A statistical analysis …

Demographics Of Those In Clinical Trials To Treat S. Aureus, William Pelletiers

Public Health Theses

This study aims to identify potential discrepancies between the racial/ethnic demographics of participants enrolled in randomized controlled trials of antibacterials used to treat Staphylococcus aureus and the demographics for those who contract the disease. 115 clinical trials were analyzed for gender, racial, and ethnicity of clinical trial participants. Of the included studies, 95.7% included data on gender, 71.3% included racial data, and 27.0% included ethnicity data. Black/African American individuals were substantially underrepresented in trials when compared to the burden of disease that they share. Black/African American representation in S. aureus clinical trials needs to be ensured in order to properly …

The Behavioral Immune System: A Public Health Perspective: How Our Partisan Perceptions Of Sickness Influenced Population Health During The Pandemic, Senyte Pierce

Public Health Theses

Researchers propose that people have a disease-avoidance mechanism called thebehavioral immune system, which is intended to identify and prevent possible interactions with harmful infections. This thesis is intended to explain this phenomenon, one well researched in the fields of behavioral and evolutionary psychology, to public health professionals, who can use its hypothesized components to understand better how to support population health and wellbeing. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic will serve as a case study to understand the limitations of the BIS as it relates to socio-cultural events and personal political identification. The behavioral immune system keeps individuals healthy by monitoring …

Xylazine In The Drug Supply: Emerging Threat In Connecticut And Lessons Learned From Philadelphia, Thomas A.G. Quijano

Public Health Theses

Background: Xylazine, a sedative analgesic drug approved as an animal tranquilizer but not for human use, has become an adulterant in the supply of heroin/fentanyl.(Greene & Thurmon, 1988) Between 2019 and 2020, prevalence of xylazine in overdose death reports increased by 44.8% nationally.(Friedman et al., 2021) The three jurisdictions in 2020 with the highest prevalence of xylazine were Philadelphia (25.8%), Maryland (19.3%), and Connecticut (10.2%).(Friedman et al., 2021) Not much is known about how xylazine’s impacts on service provider’s practices and the people they serve.

Objectives: Use a multiple methods approach to understand xylazine’s presence and impact in Connecticut, and …

Novel Applications Of Music And Digital Media In Global Health Intervention And Education Initiatives During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Case Study Of Bts And Army, Mariko Fujimoto Rooks

Public Health Theses

The Korean musical group BTS (full name Bangtan Seoyeondan/방탄소년단) is one of the world’s most commercially and artistically successful entertainment acts. BTS is primarily known for their domination of both Western and Korean musical markets, impressive digital media presence, major role in supporting the South Korean economy, and highly mobilized 400,000 member fandom known as ARMY. BTS and their parent company HYBE’s artistic creation and marketing model has long focused on creating “Music and Artists for Healing,” or using music and various forms of primarily digital content to connect with and improve health outcomes for fans. In response, ARMY have …

Evaluating Associations Between Pesticide Use And Kidney Function In The Biomarkers Of Exposure And Effect In Agriculture (Beea) Study: Using Cluster Models To Group Farmers With Similar Pesticide Use, Thomas Shao

Public Health Theses

Pesticides are commonly used in agrarian areas to control for certain forms of undesirable plant or animal life. The widespread use of pesticides and the variety of chemicals that make up this class pose adverse health effects to those exposed to pesticides. Farmers often use multiple pesticides, and their use is often correlated with other pesticides. However, analyses typically examine each pesticide individually and mixture analysis is not as heavily considered. To further evaluate the exposure of pesticide usage, hierarchical clustering methods were used to identify similar questionnaire response patterns. This technique has been used to quantify homogenous exposure estimates …

Using A Dynamic Model To Assess Maintenance Of Deer Tick Virus Via Horizontal Transmission In Ixodes Scapularis Populations, Hannah Jane Sproch

Public Health Theses

IntroductionDeer Tick Virus—a lineage of Powassan Virus—is an emerging tick-borne flavivirus associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Although DTV infection is rare, there has been an observed increase in the number of human cases in recent decades, necessitating more public health attention. Ixodes scapularis ticks are known to be the primary vector of DTV. However, the enzootic cycle has yet to be fully characterized and there is evidence that horizontal transmission alone may be insufficient for DTV maintenance; it is hypothesized that vertical and co-feeding transmission are also necessary for sustained transmission.

MethodsA dynamic model was developed to …

Nutrition And Hookworm Infection: A Causal Analysis Of The Literature, Mengting Su

Public Health Theses

Hookworm infection is one of the neglected tropical diseases, particularly in low and middle-income countries, but we know relatively little about causal evidence related to malnutrition. This is mainly due to the relatively small research community compared to those investigating the impact of hookworm infection on host nutritional status and disease complications. Causal inference is critical in epidemiology and biomedical research because it can be a powerful tool in enlightening prevention efforts and developing etiology models. The application of causal criteria to address complex epidemiological research questions is indeed helpful in proposing more interventions to improve the health and well-being …

Operationalizing The Unesco Universal Declaration On Bioethics And Human Rights Through A Trans-Cultural Lens: A Qualitative Study With Students In South Korea And The United States, Francis Yang

Public Health Theses

The UNESCO Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights (UDBHR) was a well-intentioned but controversial document. Some scholars appreciated UNESCO’s attempts at providing an internationally recognized set of ethical guidelines. Other critics maintained the UDBHR, in particular Article 12, was yet another representation of Western ideological hegemony and an ill-informed attempt at embracing universality at the expense of diversity. This paper acknowledged this debate but approaches the UDBHR in trans-cultural manner, framing the UDBHR not as an imposing guideline, but as a seed around which dialogue can coalesce. Such dialogue might engage similarities, differences, and nuances between different ethical perspectives, …

Quantitative Real-Time Pcr Assays For The Detection Of Leptospira, Alice Zhao

Public Health Theses

Leptospirosis is an infectious zoonotic disease caused by bacteria of the genus Leptospira. The genus is comprised of 40 pathogenic species divided among P1 (19) and P2 (21). Leptospirosis incurs a disproportionately large burden of disease in urban slum regions of developing countries that lack adequate sewage disposal, water treatment, and sanitation infrastructure. While P1 species have been identified in cases of human infection, it is unclear if all Leptospira species are capable of infecting humans, especially P2 species. Among P1 species, L. interrogans has been described as the most frequent specie to cause disease in both animals and humans, …