Digital Commons Network^™

Is It Time To Scrap Stare Decisis?, Wilfred U. Codrington Iii

Articles

Shortly after returning to the presidency, Donald Trump terminated several independent federal officers, prompting legal action by employees who occupied government positions covered by statutory for cause removal protections long held constitutionally permissible and valid. Eventually, one or more suits alleging unlawful termination owing to the removal without cause will reach the Supreme Court to be decided on the merits. Having steadily narrowed the Humphrey’s Executor line of cases that insulate these officers, the Court now seems poised to displace that precedent entirely. In isolation, the overruling would mark a seismic doctrinal shift and major advance in legal conservatism's pursuit …

Cross-Sectional Analysis Of Wound-Associated Soluble Factors In Early, Established, And Chronic Wounds Of Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa Patients, Vitali Alexeev, Leonie Huitema, Taylor Phillips, Paras Patel, Mauricio Garza, Franziska Ringpfeil, Julio Salas-Alanis, Olga Igoucheva

Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Biology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Poorly healing wounds represent the primary health-related burden for hereditary recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB) patients. Contribution of wound-associated soluble constituents to wound progression remains not well defined.

OBJECTIVE: To conduct cross-sectional analysis of cytokine, chemokine, and growth factor in exudates from RDEB wounds and define changes associated with wound progression.

METHODS: Concentrations of selected cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors were evaluated by multiplex ELISA in eight blister fluids and 66 exudates from early, established, and chronic RDEB and five chronic venous ulcers (VU). A cross-sectional analysis was performed.

RESULTS: Our data demonstrated that proinflammatory CXCL8 and IL-1β tend …

Motionteller: Multi-Modal Integration Of Wearable Time-Series With Llms For Health And Behavioral Understanding, Aiwei Zhang, Arvind Pillai, Andrew Campbell, Nicholas C. Jacobson

Computer Science Senior Theses

As wearable sensing becomes increasingly pervasive, a key challenge remains: how can we generate natural language summaries from raw physiological signals such as actigraphy - minute-level movement data collected via accelerometers? In this work, we introduce MotionTeller, a generative framework that natively integrates minute-level wearable activity data with large language models (LLMs). MotionTeller combines a pretrained actigraphy encoder with a lightweight projection module that maps behavioral embeddings into the token space of a frozen decoder-only LLM, enabling free-text, autoregressive generation of daily behavioral summaries.

We construct a novel dataset of 54,383 ⟨actigraphy, text⟩ pairs derived from real-world NHANES recordings, and …

An Approach To Stylometry Using Causal Language Models, Harrison F. Stropkay

Computer Science Senior Theses

We present a novel stylometric approach using large language models. By training separate models on individual authors' works, we find that each model achieves lower cross-entropy loss when predicting text from its training author compared to other authors' texts. Moreover, for any given text, the model trained on its true author’s corpus yields the lowest loss. We suggest that, in this way, a model trained on one author's works embodies the unique writing style of that author. We demonstrate our approach on works by eight known authors. This approach also confirms that R. P. Thompson wrote the well-studied 15th book …

Race, Resources, And American Adolescents’ Mental Health During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Chineze Nkemeh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

During the COVID-19 pandemic, African American adolescents experienced reduced access to needed resources and may have suffered poorer mental health outcomes as a result. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the association between race and the availability of mental health resources, food, medical health resources and mental health outcomes among African American adolescents in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to their White counterparts. The theoretical framework that grounded this study was the Socio Ecological Model. Secondary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey database were analyzed. These …

Inga V. Revenco

All Decisions

The court partially granted the landlord's motion to amend the petition to include GCEL applicability and good cause grounds, and partially granted the tenant's motion to amend her answer. It denied the tenant's motion to dismiss outright. While the initial predicate notice served before GCEL's enactment was valid, the petition filed afterward needed to conform. The court allowed the landlord to proceed on the **non-payment of rent** ground, finding it sufficiently pleaded with specific amounts and dates, but dismissed the **nuisance** and **illegal sublet** grounds due to lack of factual specificity in the petition.

Lmp7-Specific Inhibitor M3258 Modulates The Tumor Microenvironment Of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer And Inflammatory Breast Cancer, Xuemei Xie, Jangsoon Lee, Ganiraju C Manyam, Troy Pearson, Gina Walter-Bausch, Manja Friese-Hamim, Sheng Zhao, Julia Jabs, Angela A Manginelli, Nadine Piske, Thomas Mrowiec, Corinna M Wolf, Bharat S Kuntal, Debu Tripathy, Jing Wang, Michael P Sanderson, Naoto T Ueno

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) are the most aggressive molecular subtypes of breast cancer. Poor clinical outcomes highlight the pressing need to discover novel targets for the effective treatment of these diseases. LMP7 (β5i/PSMB8), a proteolytic subunit of the immunoproteasome, is implicated in the pathogenesis of multiple myeloma, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, and inflammation-related cancers. However, the role of LMP7 in TNBC and IBC remains poorly characterized. Here, we evaluated the function of LMP7 in TNBC and IBC using the selective LMP7 inhibitor M3258. In human TNBC patient samples, LMP7 expression correlated strongly with CD8+ T …

Mesenchymal Stem Cells And Fibroblasts Contribute To Microvascular Proliferation In Glioblastoma And Are Correlated With Immunosuppression And Poor Outcome, Candice C Poon, Shelley M Herbrich, Yulong Chen, Anwar Hossain, Gregory N Fuller, Sonali Jindal, Sreyashi Basu, Daniel Ledbetter, Marc Macaluso, Lynnette M Phillips, Joy Gumin, Zhong He, Brittany C Parker Kerrigan, Sanjay K Singh, Pratishtha Singh, Mohammed Fayyad Zaman, Derek Ng Tang, Sangeeta Goswami, Frederick F Lang, Padmanee Sharma

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Microvascular proliferation (MVP) is a disease-defining hallmark of glioblastoma and other World Health Organization grade 4 gliomas. MVP also serves as a poor prognostic marker in various solid tumors. Despite its clinical significance, the mechanisms and biological consequences of MVP are controversial and remain unclear. In this study, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing on paired CD45-CD105+ vascular/perivascular stromal cells (PVSC) and CD45+CD105± immune cells from 16 primary glioma patient samples, both with and without MVP. This analysis revealed the presence of developmentally related mesenchymal stem cells alongside cancer-associated fibroblasts, pericytes, fibromyocytes, and smooth muscle cells within the CD45-CD105+ compartment. RNA …

The Present And Future Of Precision Oncology And Tumor-Agnostic Therapeutic Approaches, Nakul M Shah, Funda Meric-Bernstam

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Precision oncology has transformed the treatment landscape for patients with advanced solid tumors. Tumor-agnostic therapies, those that have been approved based on genetic mutations or biomarkers across tumor histology types, are important examples of how the implementation of precision oncology can expand therapeutic options for patients, especially those with rare cancer types and treatment-refractory disease. In this review, we first discuss how advances in next-generation sequencing and molecular profiling have enabled the identification of shared actionable alterations. Subsequently, we explore the current landscape of tumor-agnostic therapies that have received approval from the Food and Drug Administration. We discuss the strengths …

From Context To Connection: Client Letters In Stem Integration Curricula, Christine Mcdonnell, Imani N. Adams, Morgan Hynes, Selcen Guzey, Mary K. Pillotte, Greg J. Strimel, Kristina M. Tank, Tamara J. Moore

School of Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

Real-world contexts play a crucial role in engaging students and promoting disciplinary synergy in integrated STEM education. One underexplored pedagogical tool for supporting such integration is the “client letter”—a narrative device used to frame engineering design challenges around authentic, real-world problems. This study investigates the role of client letters in synergizing knowledge within immersive engineering design-based STEM integration curricula. We conducted a qualitative document analysis of 107 client letters embedded in 18 freely available K-12 STEM integration curricular units. Using a theoretical framework that aligns immersive education principles with the STEM Integration Framework, we analyzed how these letters support curricular …

Study Of Capital And Operation Costs For Reverse Osmosis Desalination Plants, Habiba Mahdy Mohamed

Theses and Dissertations

Desalination is a progressively common solution to supply freshwater in numerous parts of the globe where this resource falls short. Among all desalination techniques, seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) is the most globally prevalent technology. Evaluating a desalination technology's cost-effectiveness is essential to ensure a well-designed plant can be implemented successfully and within an acceptable budget. In the Egyptian context, where water scarcity heightens the urgency of effective resource allocation, economic indicators such as capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operational expenditure (OPEX) are pivotal in shaping policy and planning decisions. Adopting this integrated financial perspective ensures that desalination projects are not only …

177lu-Labeled Antibody-Drug Conjugate: A Dual-Mechanistic Treatment Modality In Solid Tumors, Aiko Yamaguchi, Chisato M Yamazaki, Yasuaki Anami, Summer Y Y Ha, Wei Xiong, Robert T Ta, Ningyan Zhang, H Charles Manning, Zhiqiang An, Kyoji Tsuchikama

The Brown Foundation: Institute of Molecular Medicine

To explore the potential of site-selectively radiolabeled antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) against solid tumors, we constructed and evaluated radiolabeled ADCs equipped with lutetium-177 (177Lu) and a membrane-permeable antimitotic agent. Site-selective 177Lu-labeled ADCs [anti-trophoblast cell-surface antigen 2 (TROP2) 177Lu-DTPA ADCs or anti-HER2 177Lu-DO3A ADCs], a 177Lu-labeled homogeneous radioimmunoconjugate (homogeneous RIC), and 177Lu-labeled conventional RIC (heterogeneous RIC) were constructed. We confirmed that 177Lu-labeled ADCs and the homogeneous RIC were obtained with high homogeneity and defined chelator/payload-to-antibody ratios. Next, we performed biodistribution studies and treatment efficacy studies in xenograft mouse models bearing orthotopic breast tumors. Compared with the heterogeneous RIC, the 177Lu-DTPA TROP2 ADC …

Secondary Medical Conditions In Pediatric Survivors Of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: Role In Performance-Based Neurocognitive Functioning, Caregiver-Reported Outcomes, And Adaptive Functioning And Transition Readiness Intervention, Victoria Seghatol-Eslami

All ETDs from UAB

Survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are at risk of secondary medical conditions arising from disease and treatment effects. Secondary medical conditions are associated with adverse survivorship outcomes (e.g., neurocognitive, psychosocial, and adaptive functioning/healthcare transition) in adult survivors of childhood ALL. Little is known about secondary medical conditions in pediatric ALL survivors. Further, the relationship between secondary medical conditions and survivorship outcomes has not been explored in this younger population. This dissertation examined 1) the role of secondary medical conditions in performance-based and caregiver-reported neurocognitive, psychosocial, and adaptive functioning; and 2) the roles of secondary medical conditions and neurocognitive …

Phylogenetic Insights Into Three Turkish Native Sheep Breeds Through Microsatellite Analysis, Mesut Yildirir, Tülay Canatan, Nezi̇h Ata, Zuhal Gündüz, Emre Alarslan, Yasemi̇n Öner, Onur Yilmaz

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

Animal genetic resources are recognized as an indispensable component of humanity’s natural heritage and are essential for ensuring environmental sustainability for future generations. The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic diversity, population structure, and presence of genetic bottlenecks in three indigenous Turkish sheep breeds: Dağlıç, Karagül, and Sakız, all of which are conserved as genetic resources in Türkiye. Genomic DNA was extracted from 140 blood samples using the salt precipitation technique. These samples were collected from the Sakız (n = 53), Dağlıç (n = 58), and Karagül (n = 29) breeds, which were reared on 13 farms …

Nitrate And Nitrite Levels In Cattle Feed, Drinking Water, Rumen Content, And Blood Methemoglobin Levels In Burdur Province Of Türkiye, Reyda Kiyici, Hasan Altan Akkan, Mehmet Karaca, Esra Zeybek, Bayram Kudret Karaayvaz, Fi̇rdevs Mor Savaş, Yahya Öztürk, Asim Kart, Ramazan Yildiz, Murat Bayezi̇t

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

This study was conducted to determine the risk factors associated with nitrate/nitrite poisoning in cattle in the Burdur region. Feed and water samples were collected from 10 different farms randomly selected from 9 districts. A total of 33 feed samples, 13 water samples, 21 rumen contents, and 20 blood samples were collected for analysis. Nitrate and nitrite levels in feed, drinking water, and rumen fluid, as well as methemoglobin levels in blood samples, were determined using a spectrophotometric method. The average nitrate and nitrite levels in feed samples were 3.06 mg/kg and 3.54 mg/kg, respectively. The mean nitrate and nitrite …

60-15 Woodside Avenue V. Leen

All Decisions

The court granted summary judgment to the tenant, allowing her to succeed to the rent-controlled tenancy. The tenant demonstrated a long-term emotional and financial interdependence with the deceased tenant of record, her aunt, and established that the subject premises was her primary residence for the required period. The landlord did not provide sufficient rebuttal.

Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence And Well-Being Among New York Police Department Law Enforcement Agents, La’Lisa Scudder

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem this quantitative study addressed was police officers’ willingness to use organizational help-seeking interventions and rely on organizational support to mitigate operational and organizational stress. Previous literature discussed how officers engaged in different maladaptive coping behaviors as a result of work related stressor or low well-being, divorce, depression, prescription drug abuse, alcoholism, and suicide. The purpose of this quantitative correlational cross-sectional study was to examine the relationship between emotional intelligence and well-being among law enforcement agents and examine agents’ willingness to use organizational-based intervention services. The organizational support theory and the social exchange theory provided the theoretical framework for …

System, Method, And Computer Program Product For Evaluating Generative Machine Learning Models, Yang Wang, Alberto Garcia Hernandez, Roman Kyslyi, Nicholas Kersting, Ajit Vilasrao Patil, Ranjan Dutta

Defensive Publications Series

Systems, methods, and computer program products are provided for evaluating generative machine learning models. An example system includes a processor configured to determine queries and ground-truth answers associated with the queries. The processor is also configured to generate generated answers based on the queries using a model that is being evaluated. The processor is further configured to input the queries, the ground-truth answers, and the generated answers to an evaluator model trained to evaluate the generated answers in comparison to the ground-truth answers and based on a grading scale associated with accuracy, honesty, and completeness of a generated answer. The …

Computational And Experimental Study Of Slow Crack Growth In High Density Polyethylene, Abdulla Almomani

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

This dissertation investigates the slow crack growth (SCG) behavior of High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) under various mechanical and environmental conditions. The study combines experimental analysis and computational modeling to enhance the understanding of SCG mechanisms in HDPE, particularly in pressurized pipes and under the exposure to hydrocarbons. A novel Crack Layer (CL) theory-based SCG model is developed and validated through experimental data, offering a predictive framework for HDPE failure assessment. The main objective of this dissertation is to quantify and model the viscoelastic-viscoplastic behavior of HDPE under monotonic and cyclic loading conditions while addressing SCG kinetics in structural applications. The study …

“Any Black Man Will Do”: A Transparency Framework For Eyewitness Identification In The Facial Recognition Technology Era, Ariam O. Kiflemariam

Washington Journal of Social & Environmental Justice

No abstract provided.

Drawing Lines In The Sea: Indigenous Sovereignty Through The Coastal Zone, Tyler Hall

Washington Journal of Social & Environmental Justice

No abstract provided.

Freedom To Choose Planned Parenthood? Private Enforcement Of Medicaid’S Freedom Of Choice Provision Post-Talevski, Danica Dabelstein

Washington Journal of Social & Environmental Justice

No abstract provided.

Justice Lewis Powell’S Quiet Luxury: From Bakke To Sffa, Lucille A. Jewel

Washington Journal of Social & Environmental Justice

No abstract provided.

No. 42: Remittance Practices, Digital Technologies And The Ghana-Canada Migration Corridor, Naomi Sunu, Sujata Ramachandran

Migration and Food Security (MiFOOD) Network

Migrant remittances have been recognized as vital resources for the well-being of recipient households and communities, as well as for sustainable development in the Global South. However, these flows can be impeded by limitations in the infrastructure, financial systems, and regulatory environments of both sending and receiving countries, as exemplified by the high costs associated with remitting to sub-Saharan Africa. Consequently, the use of less secure but more affordable informal remittance channels persists. Driven by the rapid growth of fintech technologies in recent years, including mobile money and web-based platforms, the digitalization of remittance-sending and receiving processes has the potential …

Leiker Sabbatical 2022, James Leiker

Sabbatical Projects

Attached is the Power Point describing Jim Leiker's sabbatical project from 2022. This was a research project on the history of Kansas for a publication with University of Kansas Press.

Reform Vs Revolution: Revisiting Original Institutionalist’S Axiology, Jacob Powell

Working Papers

No abstract provided.

Edwena Leite V. School District Of Philadelphia

2025 Decisions

USDC for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Emerging Therapeutic Potential Of Fisetin For Nephrotoxicity, Kidney Injury, And Nephropathy: A Systematic Review, Saeed Mohajeri, Alizamen Salehifard Jouneghani, Saeid Heidari-Soureshjani, Catherine M.T. Sherwin, Faramarz Beigi

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION/OBJECTIVE: Kidney diseases cause high morbidity and mortality worldwide. This study investigated the mechanistic effects of Fisetin (FIS) on nephrotoxicity, kidney injury, and nephropathy induced by drugs, toxic chemicals, diabetes, lupus, diet, ureteral obstruction, and ischemic situations.

METHODS: To identify pertinent articles published before Oct 1, 2024, a comprehensive electronic search was performed across several databases, including MEDLINE/PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Scopus. After establishing clear inclusion and exclusion criteria, studies that met the research objectives were selected. Data were extracted and analyzed, documenting study characteristics, methodologies, and biological mechanisms.

RESULTS: Antioxidant benefits were evident with increased …

Functional Resilience Of Healthcare In The Critical Juncture Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Avner Kronisch, Christian Bongiorno, Kerane Smith, John Baker

Working Papers Series

This paper offers a comparative analysis of eight national healthcare systems—spanning democracies, autocracies, and various institutional models—to evaluate resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on Shvetsova et al.’s framework of informational and authority redundancies, and Parker & Klein’s “choke point” theory of healthcare rationing, we examine how institutional structure shaped pandemic response, system adaptability, and continuity of non-COVID services. Using indicators like life expectancy, under-five mortality, hospital capacity, cancer survival, and excess mortality, we explore how systems absorbed shock and maintained essential care. We find that decentralized and polycentric governance structures, when paired with coordination and resource adequacy, enhanced resilience—exemplified …

Institutional Change In Healthcare As Brought About By The Critical Juncture Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Olga Shvetsova

Working Papers Series

This introduction to the 2025 capstone symposium lays the conceptual groundwork for a new approach to analyzing institutional change in healthcare systems triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Departing from conventional legal-institutional perspectives, it extends the decision space framework developed by Bossert (1998) to capture both formal authority and the de-facto responsibilities exercised by public and non-public actors. By disaggregating health responsibilities across levels of government and sectors—public, private, and hybrid—and operationalizing these as quantifiable indicators over time, the framework allows for real-time and comparative assessment of institutional transformation. The pandemic is treated as a critical juncture that exposed and reconfigured …