Digital Commons Network^™

Lawyer As Soothsayer: Exploring The Important Role Of Outcome Prediction In The Practice Of Law, Mark K. Osbeck

Articles

Outcome prediction has always been an important part of practicing law. Clients rely heavily on their attorneys to provide accurate assessments of the potential legal consequences they face when making important decisions (such as whether to accept a plea bargain, or risk a conviction on a much more serious offense at trial). And yet, notwithstanding its enormous importance to the practice of law (and notwithstanding the handsome legal fees it commands), outcome prediction in the law remains a very imprecise endeavor. The reason for this inaccuracy is that the three principal tools lawyers have traditionally relied on to facilitate outcome …

Stimulating Interethnic Contact In Kosovo: The Role Of Social Identity Complexity And Distinctiveness Threat, Edona Maloku, Belle Derks, Colette Van Laar, Naomi Ellemers

Articles

The positive effects of intergroup contact on prejudice reduction have been widely validated by now. However, the potential of contact for intergroup relations is only available when there is readiness to have contact with outgroup members to begin with. In two correlational studies with the main ethnic groups in postconflict Kosovo, Albanian majority (Study 1, N = 221) and Serb minority (Study 2, N = 110), we examine how social identity complexity mechanism and distinctiveness threat contribute to predicting more readiness to have contact with outgroup members. As the establishment of a new national identity unfolds, we show that while …

Solvent Stable Microbial Lipases: Current Understanding And Biotechnological Applications, Barry Ryan, Priyanka Priyanka, Yeqi Tan, Gemma K Kinsella, Gary T. Henehan

Articles

Objective: This review examines on our current understanding of microbial lipase solvent tolerance, with a specific focus on the molecular strategies employed to improve lipase stability in a non-aqueous environment.

Results: It provides an overview of known solvent tolerant lipases and of approaches to improving solvent stability such as; enhancing stabilising interactions, modification of residue flexibility and surface charge alteration. It shows that judicious selection of lipase source supplemented by appropriate enzyme stabilisation, can lead to a wide application spectrum for lipases.

Conclusion: Organic solvent stable lipases are, and will continue to be, versatile and adaptable biocatalytic workhorses commonly employed …

Criminal Justice, Inc., John Rappaport

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No abstract provided.

Treaties And Human Rights: The Role Of Long-Term Trends, Adam S. Chilton, Eric A. Posner

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No abstract provided.

On The Exactitude Of Big Data: La Bêtise And Artificial Intelligence, Noel Fitzpatrick, John D. Kelleher

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This article revisits the question of ‘la bêtise’ or stupidity in the era of Artificial Intelligence driven by Big Data, it extends on the questions posed by Gille Deleuze and more recently by Bernard Stiegler. However, the framework for revisiting the question of la bêtise will be through the lens of contemporary computer science, in particular the development of data science as a mode of analysis, sometimes, misinterpreted as a mode of intelligence. In particular, this article will argue that with the advent of forms of hype (sometimes referred to as the hype cycle) in relation to big data and …

Arrows In Biology: Lack Of Clarity And Consistency Points To Confusion For Learners, Leslie Kate Wright, Jordan J. Cardenas, Phyllis Liang, Dina L. Newman

Articles

In this article, we begin to unpack the phenomenon of representational competence by ex¬ploring how arrow symbols are used in introductory biology textbook figures. Out of 1214 figures in an introductory biology textbook, 632 (52%) of them contained arrows that were used to represent many different concepts or processes. Analysis of these figures revealed little correlation between arrow style and meaning. A more focused study of 86 figures containing 230 arrows from a second textbook showed the same pattern of inconsistency. Interviews with undergraduates confirmed that arrows in selected textbook figures were confusing and did not readily convey the information …

Antitrust Remedies For Labor Market Power, Suresh Naidu, Eric A. Posner, E. Glen Weyl

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No abstract provided.

Longitudinal Analysis Of Information Security Incident Spillover Effects, Justin M. Pelletier

Articles

When a company is hacked, market participants take notice. This has been observed consistently for at least a decade, mostly through calculating abnormal returns of individual corporate stocks after a company’s information security incident an-nouncement. Some researchers have found that information security incidents have had a decreasing effect on stock price over time. Their reports suggest that breach related stock price impacts have become increasingly shallow and short-lived. This has led some information security economists to suggest that market forces are not enough to incentivize sufficient cor-porate investment to information security. They argue that further regulation is necessary to remedy …

The Goldilocks Approach: A Review Of Employing Design Of Experiments In Prokaryotic Recombinant Protein Production, Barry Ryan, Albert Uhoraningoga, Gemma K. Kinsella, Gary T. .. Henehan

Articles

The production of high yields of soluble recombinant protein is one of the main objectives of protein biotechnology. Several factors, such as expression system, vector, host, media composition and induction conditions can influence recombinant protein yield. Identifying the most important factors for optimum protein expression may involve significant investment of time and considerable cost. To address this problem statistical models, such as Design of Experiments (DoE), have been used to optimise recombinant protein production. This review explores the application of DoE in the production of recombinant proteins, focusing on prokaryotic expression systems with a specific emphasis on media composition and …

A Comparison Of Agent-Based Models And Equation Based Models For Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Elizabeth Hunter, Brian Mac Namee, John D. Kelleher

Articles

There are two main methods that are used to model the spread of an infectious disease: agent-based modelling and equation based modelling. In this paper, we compare the results from an example implementation of each method, and show that although the agent-based model takes longer to setup and run, it provides additional information that is not available when using an equation based model. Specifically, the ability of the agent-based model to capture heterogeneous mixing and agent interactions enables it to give a better overall view of an outbreak. We compare the performance of both models by simulating a measles outbreak …

Comment On 'Judicial Compensation And Performance', J.J. Prescott

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The most significant challenges to better understanding judicial behavior are lack of data and the absence of plausible exogenous variation in judicial environments. The random assignment of judges to cases has admittedly been helpful in gaining traction on the effects of judicial decisions (e.g., Dobbie, Goldin, and Yang 2018). Yet developing a full empirical account of “what judges maximize” (Posner 1993) would require a setting in which judges are randomly subjected to a wide variety of (real-world) environments with different costs, constraints, and rewards. This prospect remains pie in the sky, but that does not mean that we have not …

Risks Of Excess Iodine Intake In Ghana: Current Situation, Challenges, And Lessons For The Future, Brenda A.Z. Abu, Wilna Oldewage‐Theron,, Richmond N.O. Aryeetey

Articles

In Ghana, iodine deficiency was first reported in 1994 among 33% of the population. A nationwide Universal Salt Iodization (USI) program plus other complementary interventions were subsequently implemented as a response. Our paper reviews the current risks of excess iodine status in Ghana and identifies policy and research gaps. A mixed methods review of 12 policies and institutional reports and 13 peer‐reviewed articles was complemented with consultations with 23 key informants (salt producers and distributors, food processors, regulatory agency officials, and healthcare providers) purposively sampled between May and August 2017. The findings show a strong policy environment indicated by regulations …

Food Safety Knowledge And Practices Among Saudi Mothers, Wafa O. Ayaz, Anushree Priyadarshini, Amit Jaiswal

Articles

This study examines food safety knowledge and practices of mothers in Saudi Arabia. A total of 979 respondents participated in the study and completed a questionnaire that accessed their knowledge of food storage, food handling, usage and maintenance of kitchen facilities, personal hygiene and food poisoning. Results showed that mothers in Saudi Arabia had moderate knowledge of food storage (passing rate 64.9%) and usage and maintenance of kitchen facilities (passing rate 66.5%). While they had good knowledge of personal hygiene (passing rate 83.8%) and food poisoning (passing rate 78.5%), their knowledge with regard to food handling was poor (passing rate …

Diet-Induced Insulin Resistance Elevates Hippocampal Glutamate As Well As Vglut1 And Gfap Expression In Aβpp/Ps1 Mice., Erin R Hascup, Sarah O Broderick, Mary K Russell, Yimin Fang, Andrzej Bartke, Heather A Boger, Kevin N Hascup

Articles

The symptomologies of Alzheimer's disease (AD) develop over decades suggesting modifiable lifestyle factors may contribute to disease pathogenesis. In humans, hyperinsulinemia associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus increases the risk for developing AD and both diseases share similar age-related etiologies including amyloidogenesis. Since we have demonstrated that soluble Aβ₄₂ elicits glutamate release, we wanted to understand how diet-induced insulin resistance alters hippocampal glutamate dynamics, which are important for memory formation and consolidation. Eight to twelve-week-old C57BL/6J and AβPP/PS1 mice were placed on either a low-fat diet or high-fat diet (HFD) for 8 months. A HFD led to significant weight …

Regeneration Of Aged Dmf For Use In Solid-Phase Peptide Synthesis, Jordan K. Magtaan, Marc Devocelle, Fintan Kelleher

Articles

DMF, which is still the most commonly used solvent for Fmoc-SPPS, has the potential for degradation over time on exposure to air (and water vapour) and storage, to give dimethylamine and formic acid impurities. In particular, dimethylamine can lead to unwanted deprotection of the Fmoc group during for example the initial loading of Fmoc amino acids in SPPS, which leads reduced calculated loading values. We have found that treatment of such aged DMF by simple sparging with an inert gas (N₂), or vacuum sonication, can regenerate the DMF in order to restore loading levels back to those found …

Compelled Subsidies And The First Amendment, William Baude, Eugene Volokh

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No abstract provided.

Eros And Polemos: Eroticized Combat In The Trojan War Myth, John Dayton

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The connections between belligerence and sexuality are well known to ethologists and anthropologists and have received some attention in literary analysis. This study examines the Trojan War, in the mythical matter itself and in its treatment by Homer, as a figurative amatory conquest. We note first the element of female eroticism in the background: the war begins with a beauty contest and Helen’s abduction, and Homer’s Iliad begins in a symmetrical pattern with a quarrel over desirable captive women. These events reflect a primal relationship between combat and access to females. But we also notice that the Trojan males are …

Use Of Auto-Germ To Model Germination Timing In The Sagebrush-Steppe, William C. Richardson, Dallin R. Whitaker, Kyler P. Sant, Nicholas S. Barney, Ryan S. Call, Bruce A. Roundy, Zachary T. Aanderud, Matthew D. Madsen

Articles

Germination timing has a strong influence on direct seeding efforts, and therefore is a closely tracked demographic stage in a wide variety of wildland and agricultural settings. Predictive seed germination models, based on soil moisture and temperature data in the seed zone are an efficient method of estimating germination timing. We utilized Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) to create Auto‐Germ, which is an Excel workbook that allows a user to estimate field germination timing based on wet‐thermal accumulation models and field temperature and soil moisture data. To demonstrate the capabilities of Auto‐Germ, we calculated various germination indices and modeled germination …

Assessment For Project-Based Courses, James R. Fugate

Articles

A project-based course is where students engage in a series of projects, which help lead students to a defined level of skill as specified in the course goals. Unlike a traditional lecture course where students are given examinations to assess the level of student knowledge and understanding, a project-based course may not include any formal examination. The assessment of student progress is often based on the quality of course projects. For this research, students in project-based courses were given a formal exam at the end of the course. The objective of the exam was to determine if there was a …

Exchanging Personal Health Data With Electronic Health Records: A Standardized Information Model For Patient Generated Health Data And Observations Of Daily Living, Panagiotis Plastiras, Dympna O'Sullivan

Articles

Objective: The development of a middleware information model to facilitate better interoperability between Personal and Electronic Health Record systems in order to allow exchange of Patient Generated Health Data and Observations of Daily Leaving between patients and providers in order to encourage patient self-management.

Materials and methods: An information model based on HL7 standards for interoperability has been extended to support PGHD and ODL data types. The new information models uses HL7 CDA to represent data, is instantiated as a Protégé ontology and uses a set of mapping rules to transfer data between Personal and Electronic Health Record …

The Effect Of Temperature During Retail Display On The Colour Stability Of Co Pretreated Vacuum Packaged Beef Steaks, Lauren Anne Van Rooyen, Paul Allen, Eimear Gallagher, David I. O'Connor

Articles

The effect of CO pretreatments applied to beef striploin steaks (Longissimus thoracis et lumborum, LTL) prior to vacuum packaging and display temperature on colour stability, shelf life and tenderness was determined. Steaks were exposed to 5% CO, 60% CO2 and 35% N2for 3 (CO3), 5 (CO5) or 7 (CO7) h, followed by 28 days display at 2 °C (good industry practice) or 6 °C (mild abuse). CO5 was the optimum exposure time as it induced the desirable colour while not retaining the bright colour, irrespective of display temperature. K/Sratios confirmed that CO pretreatment did not mask spoilage and …

Which Came First? (Back To The Basics), Melodie Joy Kolmetz

Articles

The author presents a review of a case of an elderly female with abdominal pain, constipation, and anxiety with reflection on the underlying cause of anxiety and how anxiety influenced the patient's path to diagnosis.

Law & Laundry: White Laundresses, Chinese Laundrymen, And The Origins Of Muller V. Oregon, Emily Prifogle

Articles

This article uses the historian’s method of micro-history to rethink the significance of the Supreme Court decision Muller v. Oregon (1908). Typically considered a labor law decision permitting the regulation of women’s work hours, the article argues that through particular attention to the specific context in which the labor dispute took place — the laundry industry in Portland, Oregon — the Muller decision and underlying conflict should be understood as not only about sex-based labor rights but also about how the labor of laundry specifically involved race-based discrimination. The article investigates the most important conflicts behind the Muller decision, namely …

From Sagebrush Law To A Modern Profession, Kristina J. Running

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No abstract provided.

Global Investment Rules As A Site For Moral Inquiry, Steven R. Ratner

Articles

The legal regime regulating cross-border investment gives key rights to foreign investors and places significant duties on states hosting that investment. It also raises distinctive moral questions due to its potential to constrain a state’s ability to manage its economy and protect its people. Yet international investment law remains virtually untouched as a subject of philosophical inquiry. The questions of international political morality surrounding investment rules can be mapped through the lens of two critiques of the law – that it systemically takes advantage of the global South and that it constrains the policy choices of states hosting investment. Each …

What We Don't See When We See Copyright As Property, Jessica Litman

Articles

For all of the rhetoric about the central place of authors in the copyright scheme, our copyright laws in fact give them little power and less money. Intermediaries own the copyrights, and are able to structure licenses so as to maximise their own revenue while shrinking their pay-outs to authors. Copyright scholars have tended to treat this point superficially, because – as lawyers – we take for granted that copyrights are property; property rights are freely alienable; and the grantee of a property right stands in the shoes of the original holder. I compare the 1710 Statute of Anne, which …

A Review On Bioconversion Of Agro-Industrial Wastes To Industrially Important Enzymes, Rajeev Ravindran, Shady S. Hassan, Gwilym A. Williams, Amit K, Jaiswal

Articles

Agro-industrial waste is highly nutritious in nature and facilitates microbial growth. Most agricultural wastes are lignocellulosic in nature; a large fraction of it is composed of carbohydrates. Agricultural residues can thus be used for the production of various value-added products, such as industrially important enzymes. Agro-industrial wastes, such as sugar cane bagasse, corn cob and rice bran, have been widely investigated via different fermentation strategies for the production of enzymes. Solid-state fermentation holds much potential compared with submerged fermentation methods for the utilization of agro-based wastes for enzyme production. This is because the physical–chemical nature of many lignocellulosic substrates naturally …

Raman Spectroscopy Detects Biochemical Changes Due To Different Cell Culture Environments In Live Cells In Vitro, Mahmoud Gargotti, Esen Efeoglu, Hugh Byrne, Alan Casey

Articles

The in vitro cell culture environment can impact on cell biochemistry and cell cycle. The manifestation of such substrate-induced changes in cell cycle in the Raman microspectroscopic profiles of cell cultures is investigated at the level of nucleolus, nucleus and cytoplasm. HeLa immortalised human cervical cells and HaCaT dermal cells were cultured on three different substrates, conventional polystyrene cell culture dishes, CaF2 slides as a commonly used Raman substrate, and glass slides coated with Collagen Rat Tail, as a mimic of the extra cellular matrix (ECM) environment. A cell cycle study, based on percentage DNA content, as determined using Propidium …

Re-Playing Maimonides’ Codes: Designing Games To Teach Religious Legal Systems, Owen Gottlieb

Articles

Lost & Found is a game series, created at the Initiative for

Religion, Culture, and Policy at the Rochester Institute of

Technology MAGIC Center.1 The series teaches medieval

religious legal systems. This article uses the first two games

of the series as a case study to explore a particular set of

processes to conceive, design, and develop games for learning.

It includes the background leading to the author's work

in games and teaching religion, and the specific context for

the Lost & Found series. It discusses the rationale behind

working to teach religious legal systems more broadly, then

discuss the …