Digital Commons Network^™

Impacts Of Bacterial Evolution On Host Lethality In Drosophila, Andrew Preston

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Evolution is the process by which species change their genetic traits, such as the pathogenicity of bacteria, over time in response to changes in their environment. Although the genetic mechanisms underlying many evolutionary processes have been revealed, it is still not well understood how opportunistic pathogens, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, become virulent. The overall goal of this thesis is to test the Coincidental Evolution Hypothesis, which proposes that the virulence of opportunistic pathogens evolves coincidentally as a by-product of their interaction with their natural predators. I hypothesized that the virulence of ancestral Pseudomonas aeruginosa changes over time if it co-evolves …

Understanding The Evolution Of Enforcement Systems In Resource Dilemmas, Devin M. Flener

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

The effective management of resources on Earth is a pressing global social dilemma. An alternative solution to the traditional managing methods of these common pool resources is communal self-management facilitated through principles of restorative justice and developed through exploratory learning. We examined how communication, restorative justice techniques, and opportunity for exploratory learning impacted groups’ ability to develop a strong conceptual understanding of enforcement as well as an enforcement system in order to maintain an effective conservation strategy. Participants (N=288) were randomly assigned to 72 four-person groups in six separate conditions. Each group played nine rounds of a computer-simulated foraging task …

Examining Heterosexual Women's Social Comparisons And Perceptions Of Sexual Competition With Porn Stars, Jessica Journeay

Communication (PhD) Dissertations

The current study investigated women’s social comparisons and perceptions of sexual competition with porn stars they imagined their romantic partners viewed for purposes of private masturbation. Two novel predictors were considered, the body size (thin vs. plus-size) and facial attractiveness (high vs. low) of the porn stars, to investigate conditions that were more or less threatening to women’s relationship satisfaction, sexual satisfaction, facial satisfaction, body satisfaction, and sexual desirability. Results from a 2 x 2 between-subjects online experiment (N = 762) suggest that women’s downward comparisons with porn stars’ facial attractiveness resulted in positive effects on facial satisfaction and …

Universal Back-End Design, Jason Kalili

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Accessibility in back-end development is often overlooked, with the majority of discussions and efforts centered on front-end design. To make applications usable for a wider audience, developers must also prioritize incorporating accessibility from the back-end. Back-end web accessibility encompasses the design and development of web-based systems and applications that are accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. This involves optimizing the underlying code and infrastructure for accessibility and implementing features that enable users with disabilities to navigate and interact with the site or application. Ensuring back-end web accessibility is crucial for creating an inclusive online environment accessible to everyone, …

Coase’S Parable, F.E. Guerra-Pujol

Mercer Law Review

Some stories have heroes and villains. Others involve a voyage, a quest, or a monster to be defeated. The law is no exception. Most legal stories are about identifying wrongdoers and vindicating the rights of victims, and this standard victim-wrongdoer model not only informs recent developments in legal scholarship, such as feminist jurisprudence or critical race theory; it also informs our classical liberal tradition.5 But what if harms are reciprocal or jointly caused? In other words, what if victims are just as responsible as wrongdoers for their plight?

The Battle Of The Narrative In Jones V. Mississippi: Consideration Of Youth “In Name Only”, Stevie Leahy

Mercer Law Review

Juvenile sentencing within the United States is but one illustration of how the legal system reinforces the marginalization of populations that have been historically underinvested and underrepresented. Throughout the past century, the macro-narrative on sentencing has fluctuated nationally, as well as within individual states, with the reasoning used to justify decisions sliding between the conflicting lenses of rehabilitation and punishment. This has necessarily impacted the micro-narrative—the way that an individual’s story is considered and weighed (or ignored) within sentencing. There are endless factors that affect outcomes in sentencing: class, race and or ethnicity, gender, and access to counsel are just …

Law's Body, Matt Saleh, Hannah Potter, Kendall Foley

Mercer Law Review

How do law’s narratives construct one of its central objects: the human body? This essay explores legal constructions of the human body: both in its idealized form, and in the negative ontological spaces of injury, disability, death, and dehumanization that surround that ideal.

Bodies are “the very ‘stuff’ of law.” There are few areas of law where the human body does not, somewhere, require definition. For instance, without a concept of the body, there can be no consequent constructions of personhood, nakedness, state intrusion, injury, disability, duty of care, aging, or the moment of death, to name only a few.

32 Shots In The Dark: How Local Governments Can Increase Police Accountability When States Refuse To, Marcia M. Ziegler

Mercer Law Review

On March 13, 2020, Breonna Taylor was shot to death in her apartment hallway by police officers executing a search warrant. The warrant was based on a false affidavit, the executing officers acted criminally on scene, and in the aftermath, detectives spread misinformation about the case on social media. While there was some limited accountability for the officers involved, many citizens considered the official response to be lackluster. After a period of public protest, Louisville and other cities all over the country have examined options for police reform at the local level. While most law enforcement agencies operate in a …

A Holy Land Guidebook: Cultivating Spiritual Disciplines For Pilgrimages, Johnnie L. Birks

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

A small group of research participants and I assembled for this phenomenally enriching project intervention to create a proprietary branded guidebook for Miracle Loaves And Fishes World Hunger Ministry, Incorporated, and its subsidiary, Anointed Royal Tours, to be used for pilgrimages to the Holy Land. These pilgrimages will create sustainable funding for the ministry to support universal efforts to eliminate global hunger while simultaneously attempting to equip believers with a transformative and/or restorative walk in Christlikeness for the sake of creation, humanity, and eternal life in God’s Kingdom. The path of Christlikeness is to be transformed (Rom 12:2 NRSV), as …

Crow's Nest, May 1, 2023, Crow's Nest Staff

Crow's Nest

The May 1, 2023, issue of the Crow's Nest.

Accelerating Colorectal Cancer Screening And Follow-Up Through Implementation Science (Accsis) In Appalachia: Protocol For A Group Randomized, Delayed Intervention Trial, Electra D. Paskett, Aaron J. Kruse-Diehr, Jill M. Oliveri, Robin C. Vanderpool, Darrell M. Gray Ii, Michael L. Pennell, Bin Huang, Gregory S. Young, Darla Fickle, Mark Cromo, Mira L. Katz, Paul L. Reiter, Melinda Rogers, David A. Gross, Vickie Fairchild, Wendy Xu, Angela Carman, Jean M. Walunis, Ann Scheck Mcalearney, Timothy R. Huerta, Saurabh Rahurkar, Erika Biederman, Mark B. Dignan

UK CARES Faculty Publications

Appalachian regions of Kentucky and Ohio are hotspots for colorectal cancer (CRC) mortality in the USA. Screening reduces CRC incidence and mortality; however, screening uptake is needed, especially in these underserved geographic areas. Implementation science offers strategies to address this challenge. The aim of the current study was to conduct multi-site, transdisciplinary research to evaluate and improve CRC screening processes using implementation science strategies. The study consists of two phases (Planning and Implementation). In the Planning Phase, a multilevel assessment of 12 health centers (HC) (one HC from each of the 12 Appalachian counties) was conducted by interviewing key informants, …

The (Ir)Reverent Social Roles Of Religion In The Work Of James And Wharton, Jannette Kazlauskas

The Criterion

No abstract provided.

Ownership Is Power, Madeleine Moino

The Criterion

No abstract provided.

Christian Humanism In Flannery O'Connor's "Wise Blood", Grant Ward

The Criterion

No abstract provided.

The Criterion (2023)

The Criterion

No abstract provided.

United States Questionnaire Answers: Concerning Artificial Intelligence, Copyright And Related Rights, Philippa Loengard

Kernochan Center for Law, Media, and the Arts

ALAI-USA is the U.S. branch of ALAI (Association Littèraire et Artistique Internationale). ALAI-USA was started in the 1980's by the late Professor Melville B. Nimmer, and was later expanded by Professor John M. Kernochan.

The Impact Instagram Has On Women: Mentally, Physically, And Academically, Annie Gronotte

Undergraduate Theses

Instagram promotes poor body image, which can ultimately decrease academic performance. Attending a same-sex high school, versus a co-ed high school, may buffer women against this since they are not affected by the male gaze and other distractors that comes with having the opposite gender in a work environment. This study will use a 10-15 minute anonymous online survey to examine college women’s Instagram usage, body image, and academic performance, focusing on whether or not their high school environment shapes who they are today. I expect that women who attended a single-sex high school will have better body image and …

The Impact Of Ocean Acidification On The Physiology Of The Blue Mussel Mytilus Edulis, Bryson Yerik Torgovitsky

Master's Theses and Capstones

Bivalve aquaculture garners global ecological and economic benefits, which makes the continued health of bivalve populations paramount. Ocean acidification presents a novel pressure on bivalves. Decreased pH due to acidification limits the carbonate available for bivalves to take-up, thus inhibiting the formation and growth of their calcium carbonate-based shells. The aragonite saturation (Ω) of seawater serves a useful biologic contextualization for pH in studies of acidification and bivalves, as an Ω of 1 indicates that calcium and carbonate ions can bond to form calcium carbonate. Shell health is a central aspect of bivalve fitness as it is the main defense …

Combination Therapy With Trastuzumab And Niraparib: Quantifying Early Proliferative Alterations In Her2+ Breast Cancer Models, Ameer Mansur, Patrick N. Song, Yun Lu, Andrew C. Burns, Luke Sligh, Eddy S. Yang, Anna G. Sorace

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

HER2–targeted treatments have improved survival rates in HER2+ breast cancer patients, yet poor responsiveness remains a major clinical obstacle. Recently, HER2+ breast cancer cells, both resistant and responsive to HER2–targeted therapies, have demonstrated sensitivity to poly–(ADP– ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibition, independent of DNA repair deficiencies. This study seeks to describe biological factors that precede cell viability changes in response to the combination of trastuzumab and PARP inhibition. Treatment response was evaluated in HER2+ and HER2– breast cancer cells. Further, we evaluated the utility of 3′–Deoxy–3′–[18F]–fluorothymidine positron emission tomography ([18F]FLT–PET) imaging for early response assessment in a HER2+ patient derived xenograft …

Tragedy Of The Digital Commons, Chinmayi Sharma

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Should Water Be Commodified? An Analysis Of Government Regulation Of Corporate Access To U.S. Water Supplies, Mandalin Marcell

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

My primary research questions are: first, what is the legal framework that allows corporations in the United States to source water for the sale of bottled water; and second, what are the environmental, economic, and political impacts of their actions in the affected communities? I answer these questions by exploring the variety of state laws that corporations are utilizing to access water sources, collecting data on all fifty states. I then focus on three communities in different U.S. states, focusing on regions with varying legal structures in place. The communities I focus on are Fryeburg, Maine;Osceola County and Mecosta County, …

Facilities Beyond Physical Spaces: A Case For The Intentional Design And Use Of Learning Space, Yanira Oliveras

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

In 2022, the state department released new standards and a competency-based education curriculum. Simultaneously, the Toledo Creek School District has experienced an unprecedent shift in the student population demographics. The shift has resulted in two distinct zones, east and west, with income averages on the two extremes of the income spectrum. Given the shift in both the curriculum and demographics, the superintendent in consultation with stakeholders decided to implement project-based learning (PBL) as the district’s instructional model. PBL has a significant research-based supporting implement for authentic learning as intended by the new standards and better supporting deeper learning among all …

Left Behind, Again: Intellectual Disability And The Resentencing Movement, Katie Kronick

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Abolishing Juvenile Interrogation, Samantha Buckingham

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Changes In Gingiva-Occlusal Parameters As Perceived By Three Middle-East Populations, Nadine Nachabeh, Tony Daher, Elie Maalouf, Khalil Kharma, Eliane Kaydouh, Carina Mehanna

International Arab Journal of Dentistry

Purpose. This study aims to compare the effect of various smile parameters (buccal corridor, gummy smile, midline to face discrepancy, with and without upper lip filling) on the perception of smile attractiveness by applying the digital modification of images judged by one hundred and eighty laypersons from different Middle East populations.

Materials and Methods. A frontal photo of a woman’s smile is manipulated with Photoshop to modify each smile parameter gradually into 3 grades. The total number of smiles to be assessed is 18. One hundred and eighty participants divided into 3 groups (n=60: 30 men and 30 women): …

Management Of Pulpal Floor Perforation Using Biodentine™: Case Report, Chaima Bouhajja, Mayada Jemâa, Mohamed Bassem Khattech

International Arab Journal of Dentistry

During endodontic treatment in multi-rooted teeth, furcation perforation refers to an opening in the pulpal floor, leading to a communication with the periodontal ligament space. A three-dimensional hermetic seal, with a biocompatible material, is a key point for the success of pulp floor perforation repair. MTA® has been considered, for a long time, as a gold standard in furcation perforation repair. Besides, BiodentineTM, when used for the same purpose, showed considerable performance and good results. The purpose of this paper was to report the management of an iatrogenic perforation of pulpal floor in the maxillary right first molar, using BiodentineTM.

Creating Persistent Law Review Article Links With Digital Object Identifiers, Valeri Craigle, Benjamin J. Keele, Aaron Retteen

Faculty Scholarship

A case study for how to use digital object identifiers (DOIs) to make online journals more accessible and improve their site user reports.

Gamestopped: How Robinhood’S Gamestop Trading Halt Reveals The Complexities Of Retail Investor Protection, Neal Newman

Faculty Scholarship

Should brokers have the unfettered right to restrict investor trading? GameStop, a brick-and-mortar video game retailer, had been experiencing declining revenues since 2016. However, GameStop saw its share price climb almost 1000 percent in the span of a one- week period from January 21, 2021 to January 27, 2021 due to retail investors buying significant amounts of GameStop shares during that period. Melvin Capital, a hedge fund, ended up losing billions as they were betting that GameStop shares would lose value instead of increase—a practice referred to as short selling. On January 28, 2021, brokers inexplicably halted trading on GameStop …

Even Lawyers Do Not Like Legalese, Eric H. Martinez, Francis Mollica, Edward Gibson

Faculty Scholarship

Significance

Viewer Interactions In Animation, Megan Smith

Master of Fine Arts in Digital Media Culminating Experience

The art of animation can be viewed in a multitude of ways. Passive viewing, in which an audience is merely observing the acting and are unable to alter the animation in any way, such as watching a TV show or movie. Interactive camera viewings, such as Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, in which the viewer can manipulate the content visually in the same way you observe the world, by moving the camera around in a digital space. Interaction-dependent viewing describes animations such as video games, where the player has full control of the character’s actions and the timing of those …