Digital Commons Network^™

Differential Regulation Of Stard1, Stard4 And Stard6 In The Human Ovary, Nawal A. Yahya, Steven R. King, Bo Shi, Aisha Shaaban, Nicole E. Whitfield, Chunmei Yan, Richard J. Kordus, Gail F. Whitman-Elia, Holly A. Lavoie

Cell Biology and Anatomy Faculty Publications

Cells actively engaged in de novo steroidogenesis rely on an expansive intracellular network to efficiently transport cholesterol. The final link in the transport chain is STARD1, which transfers cholesterol to the enzyme complex that initiates steroidogenesis. However, the regulation of ovarian STARD1 is not fully characterized and even less is known for upstream cytosolic cholesterol transporters STARD4 and STARD6. Here, we identified both STARD4 and STARD6 mRNAs in the human ovary but only detected STARD4 protein since the primary STARD6 transcript turned out to be a splice variant. Corpora lutea contained the highest levels of STARD4 and STARD1  mRNA and …

State Of Utah V. Dean Spencer : Brief Of Appellant, Utah Court Of Appeals

Utah Court of Appeals Briefs (2020 –)

APPEAL FROM THE FOURTH DISTRICT COURT, UTAH COUNTY, STATE OF UTAH, FROM A CONVICTION ON ONE COUNT OF DUI, A CLASS B MISDEMEANOR, BEFORE THE HONORABLE JUDGE DENISE PORTER

PETER REICHMAN JEFFREY GRAY Utah County Attorney Counsel for Appellee

JENNIFER L. FORESTA (12212) Utah County Public Defender Assoc. Appeals Division Attorneys for Appellant

A Second Look: Local Labor Markets And The Impact Of Ban The Box Policies After Criminal Legal Involvement, Benjamin David Pyle

Faculty Scholarship

This paper estimates the impact of labor demand on the employment and recidivism outcomes of released prisoners. Higher labor demand at release generates higher earnings and lower recidivism. Reduced recidivism persists after controlling for the observed labor market outcomes of the returning cohort, suggesting that labor demand impacts crime through channels beyond the direct formal employment of returning prisoners. Difference-in-differences based evidence suggests Ban the Box (BTB) policies delaying when employers can ask about criminal records improve labor market outcomes and lower recidivism for misdemeanor defendants. Evidence for felony defendants and returning prisoners is mixed but suggestive of similar patterns.

Exploring Nonprofit Leadership Roles Among Black Women, Coleone Evette Taylor Davis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although nonprofit organizations are essential in addressing social and community concerns to enhance the lives of individuals and groups, Black women face barriers in nonprofit leadership roles. Crucial to such hurdles is the perception that their voices are often disproportionately missing from leadership-based research on women. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of 26 Black women in mid- to senior-level nonprofit leadership roles regarding their experiences and critical factors contributing to the success, challenges, and barriers they face in leadership roles. Black feminist thought theory in work leadership, family, and Black women’s oppression was used as …

Executive Coaching And Promoting Organizational Change, Melvin Lewis Clark

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Communities often suffer from the closure or downsizing of businesses, leading to negative consequences such as increased crime rates, higher taxes, and reduced funding for community programs. Executive coaching (EC) has emerged as a viable tool to address these challenges as organizations seek to strive for a competitive work culture by implementing necessary changes. This transcendental phenomenological study examined the lived experience of leaders (i.e., superintendents, senior leaders, principals, directors, managers) in educational systems to investigate the effectiveness of EC in promoting organizational change. Data were collected from nine leaders in a public school system, a charter and private school, …

Mia V. Lyons

All Decisions

The landlord initiated a holdover proceeding against the tenant, claiming that the tenant's tenancy had expired. The tenant defended the proceeding by asserting that the apartment was rent-stabilized. The landlord denied that the building contained six or more units. The court granted the tenant's motion for summary judgment, finding that the new evidence from the New York City Department of Buildings showed that the building had been converted to a seven-unit building in 2002, and that the tenant had met her burden of demonstrating a prima facie showing of entitlement to judgment as a matter of law. The court rejected …

Sliding Mode Control With Chattering Reduction, Suryamshu Ramesh

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Sliding Mode Control is a powerful nonlinear control methodology that can handle parametric uncertainties and external disturbances. However, the discontinuous and high-frequency switching nature of the control law introduces the chattering phenomenon, which leads to potential actuator degradation, alterations to the desired response characteristics and, sometimes, instability during control implementation. The main objective of this thesis is to study Sliding Mode Control with chattering reduction. The Sliding Mode Control law involves an equivalent control component and a discontinuous control component. A disturbance estimation is performed based on Lyapunov analysis and adaptive control techniques and then included in the control law …

Climate And Shared Evolutionary History Drive Trait Variation Among Species Of Neotropical Understory Monocots, Eleinis Ávila-Lovera, Oscar M. Vargas, Jennifer L. Funk, Kathleen M. Kay, Gregory R. Goldsmith

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Environmental variation commonly drives functional trait diversity within species, among species, and across communities. Climate and shared evolutionary history can both influence trait–environment relationships. We studied variation in plant functional traits among closely related Costus species occurring across environmental gradients, the extent to which this variation occurs within single species, and how that variation may be influenced by shared evolutionary history. We measured leaf, aboveground stem, rhizome, and fine root traits of 17 species of Costus in eight sites in Costa Rica and Panama, which varied in elevation, temperature, and precipitation. We then assessed the relationships among traits and environmental …

Table Of Contents, Editorial Team

Florida Atlantic University Undergraduate Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Balancing Act: Human Rights And The Dynamics Of Border Control Policies, Allyson Monreal

Florida Atlantic University Undergraduate Law Journal

The crisis in immigration and border control presents a significant challenge to the field of human rights law, urging a thorough exploration of the overlap between migration policies and essential human rights.

Res Communis And The Space Race: A Lesson (Yet To Be) Learned, Nurah Ghanie

Florida Atlantic University Undergraduate Law Journal

There has been a shift towards privatization and nationalism regarding the exploration of outer space despite these actions being in direct opposition to international space law. This article will explain and argue against these recent developments, using the current dilemma regarding the future of the space stations located in low Earth orbit (LEO) and the potential for a manned bases on the Moon. This article will focus on the legal framework of both international customary law as well as multilateral treaties, including but not limited to the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 in comparison to national policy by explaining the …

Reimagining Justice Without Execution: Should The Death Penalty Be Abolished?, Tanvi Desai

Florida Atlantic University Undergraduate Law Journal

Surrounded by controversy, the debate regarding the preservation, or lack thereof, of the death penalty in the United States has sparked intense discourse. It has remained the subject of profound controversy since its beginning during colonial times. Stemming from issues surrounding the ethicality of the capital punishment and the irreversible essence of it, many Americans have begun reevaluating the cruel punishment at hand and favoring the abolishment of the death penalty. As human life becomes increasingly vital in this generation, this paper will argue against the preservation of the death penalty for a multitude of reasons. These compelling reasons include …

A Brief History Of Voter Disenfranchisement Laws In The U.S., Christian Robinson

Florida Atlantic University Undergraduate Law Journal

Following false claims of voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election, several conservative states sought to pass laws designed to limit voter fraud. However, these laws quite clearly restrict the electorate and disproportionally affect the political participation of minority, lower-class, and female voters. The trend of restricting voting rights in the U.S., whether implicitly or explicitly, is not new. Despite claiming to prioritize democratic participation, the U.S. has a history of laws that have limited eligible voters based on race, class, and gender. This is apparent through a close analysis of U.S. voting laws beginning with eligibility as determined by …

Stand Your Ground But For Who? The Criminalization Of Black Women In Self-Defense Laws, Kayla Mae Blount

Florida Atlantic University Undergraduate Law Journal

"Stand Your Ground" is an American statute based on the legal notion of "castle doctrine."14 Stand Your Ground is the protection of the responsibility to not retreat and stand your ground, granting any citizen the right to use lethal force without fleeing from a "reasonable" threat. However, the implementation of these laws has been marred by racial bias and systemic discrimination, resulting in unequal outcomes for Black people, particularly women, who find themselves in situations when self-defense is required. In evaluating multiple cases of black woman failing to successfully claim self-defense under Stand Your Ground laws, we seek to understand …

Defamation Law: A Comparison Of The Law Of Defamation In The Republic Of Ireland And In The United States Of America, Essie Toyo Wuddah

Florida Atlantic University Undergraduate Law Journal

The Depp v. Heard case in early 2022 took the global media by storm with the revelation of shocking facts and the endeavour to mend a man’s broken reputation. In this case, the defendant, Heard, accused Depp, her ex-husband of domestic abuse and many believed these accusations which in turn, sullied Depp’s reputation and negatively impacted his career. Depp maintained that the accusations were untrue and brought forth a defamation suit against Heard. This case undeniably sparked public interest in the law of defamation and its application across the world. The following article will delve into the topic of defamation …

The Reddit Cannabis Subjective Highness Rating Scale: Applying Computational Social Science To Explore Psychological And Environmental Correlates Of Naturalistic Cannabis Use, Meredith C. Meacham, Alicia L. Nobles, Carlton ‘Cb’ Bone, Michael Gilbert, Johannes Thrul

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Social media data provide unprecedented access to discussions of active, naturalistic, and often real-time cannabis use in an era of cannabis policy liberalization. The aim of this study was to explore psychological and environmental correlates of cannabis effects by applying computational social science approaches to a large dataset of unprompted reports of naturalistic cannabis use with corresponding self-reported numerical ratings of subjective highness. Post title text was extracted via the Pushshift dataset from N = 328,865 posts to the r/trees Reddit community, where posters self-assess and disclose how high they feel on a scale from 1 to 10 (M = …

Prosodic Analysis Of Wh-Indeterminate Questions In L2 Korean, Jung In Lee

Dissertations and Theses

Wh-indeterminate questions in Korean are potentially ambiguous due to the limited use of morpho-syntactic markers. When an explicit morpheme indicating the question type is not used, the disambiguation of the question relies, primarily, on prosodic cues. Drawing from previous studies of L1 Korean, this study examines the production and perception of intonation patterns of English L1 learners of Korean for wh- and yes-no questions in Korean. That examination allows speculation on potential L1 influence in the learners' production. Five English L1 learners of Korean who received formal instruction in Korean at a U.S. university completed a production and perception test …

Assessing The Impact Of An Rpp On A Large Urban School District: The Case Of Cafécs, Erin Henrick, Danny Schmidt, Steven Mcgee, Andrew M. Rasmussen, Lucia Dettori, Ronald I. Greenberg, Dale Reed, Don Yanek

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This study analyzes the impact of the Chicago Alliance for Equity in Computer Science (CAFÉCS) Research Practice Partnership (RPP) on the Chicago Public School (CPS) Office of Computer Science (OCS). Using a qualitative analysis drawing on data from leadership team meetings, published articles and presentations, and evaluation reports from 11 years of the partnership, we utilized a framework developed by the CAFÉCS leadership team to document the impact on district (1) Programs, (2) Research, (3) Organizational Structures, and (4) Policies leading to (5) Equitable Results for students, condensed as PROSPER. In particular, we explore the role of the RPP in …

Deep Learning Framework For Graph-Based Molecular Drug Discovery, Daniel Manu

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

This dissertation proposes the GraphGANFed framework, which combines Graph Convolutional Networks (GCN), Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN), and Federated Learning (FL) to generate novel molecules while preserving data privacy. FL allows learning from distributed clients without sharing local datasets, GCN extracts molecular structural properties, and GAN generates new molecules retaining the learned properties. Extensive simulations on three benchmark datasets show GraphGANFed's effectiveness, producing molecules with high novelty (≈ 100) and diversity (> 0.9). Results indicate a trade-off among evaluation metrics, and the right dropout ratio avoids mode collapse. Additionally, Conditional GraphGANFed (cGraphGANFed) incorporates a critic network from Reinforcement Learning (RL) to …

The Vaginal Immunoproteome For The Prediction Of Spontaneous Preterm Birth: A Retrospective Longitudinal Study, Zachary Shaffer, Roberto Romero, Adi L Tarca, Jose Galaz, Marcia Arenas-Hernandez, Dereje W Gudicha, Tinnakorn Chaiworapongsa, Eunjung Jung, Manaphat Suksai, Kevin R Theis, Nardhy Gomez-Lopez

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Preterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality worldwide. Most cases of preterm birth occur spontaneously and result from preterm labor with intact (spontaneous preterm labor [sPTL]) or ruptured (preterm prelabor rupture of membranes [PPROM]) membranes. The prediction of spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) remains underpowered due to its syndromic nature and the dearth of independent analyses of the vaginal host immune response. Thus, we conducted the largest longitudinal investigation targeting vaginal immune mediators, referred to herein as the immunoproteome, in a population at high risk for sPTB.

METHODS: Vaginal swabs were collected across gestation from pregnant …

Integration Of Electrospun Scaffolds And Biological Polymers For Enhancing The Delivery And Efficacy Of Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cell Therapies, Allan John R Barcena, Archana Mishra, Dominic Karl M Bolinas, Benjamin M Martin, Marites P Melancon

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) have emerged as a promising therapeutic approach for a variety of diseases due to their immunomodulatory and tissue regeneration capabilities. Despite their potential, the clinical application of MSC therapies is hindered by limited cell retention and engraftment at the target sites. Electrospun scaffolds, with their high surface area-to-volume ratio and tunable physicochemical properties, can be used as platforms for MSC delivery. However, synthetic polymers often lack the bioactive cues necessary for optimal cell-scaffold interactions. Integrating electrospun scaffolds and biological polymers, such as polysaccharides, proteins, and composites, combines the mechanical integrity of synthetic materials with the bioactivity …

Training In Trauma-Responsive And Anti-Racist Telehealth: A Model For Behavioral Health Clinicians And Providers, Ritchie Rubio

Psychology Division Scholarship

Telehealth's uptake in behavioral health services has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, many clinicians continue to lack focused training in providing trauma-informed and culturally-responsive telehealth care. This article outlines a model curriculum that was created to instruct and coach behavioral health providers in California on how to integrate anti-racist and trauma-responsive techniques into telehealth. Topics like evidence-based trauma therapies, racial/ ethnic trauma, marginalized communities, digital divide, and provider selfcare were all covered in the nine-part curriculum. Every three-hour session included evidence-informed didactic content, telehealth skills practice, and concrete planning for implementation. Trauma-responsive frameworks such as the tri-phasic model …

Tumor Biomechanical Stiffness By Magnetic Resonance Elastography Predicts Surgical Outcomes And Identifies Biomarkers In Vestibular Schwannoma And Meningioma, Han Tn Nguyen, Daniel M Prevedello, Arunark Kolipaka, Yin Ren

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Variations in the biomechanical stiffness of brain tumors can not only influence the difficulty of surgical resection but also impact postoperative outcomes. In a prospective, single-blinded study, we utilize pre-operative magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) to predict the stiffness of intracranial tumors intraoperatively and assess the impact of increased tumor stiffness on clinical outcomes following microsurgical resection of vestibular schwannomas (VS) and meningiomas. MRE measurements significantly correlated with intraoperative tumor stiffness and baseline hearing status of VS patients. Additionally, MRE stiffness was elevated in patients that underwent sub-total tumor resection compared to gross total resection and those with worse postoperative facial …

Clinical And Genomic Profile Of Primary Cranial Neurolymphomatosis, Han W Tun

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Primary cranial neurolymphomatosis (PCNL) is a rare subtype of primary CNS lymphoma (PCNSL) in which infiltrative lymphomatous involvement is confined to cranial nerves. Here, we report a case of PCNL with successful genomic profiling. A 57-year-old male had a lengthy prediagnostic phase spanning approximately 30 months, characterized by multiple episodes of cranial neuropathies managed by steroids. At the time of diagnosis, the patient had right-sided cranial neuropathies involving cranial nerves (CN) V, VI, and VII. Pathological findings of the right cavernous lesion biopsy were consistent with large B-cell lymphoma-infiltrating nerve fibers. The clinical course was aggressive and refractory, characterized by …

Anti-Acetylated-Tau Immunotherapy Is Neuroprotective In Tauopathy And Brain Injury, Yaqiao Li, Man Ying Wong, Louise D Mccullough, Ryan S Kitagawa, H Alex Choi, Angela Cacace, Subhash C Sinha, Andrew A Pieper, Susanna Rosi, Xu Chen, Li Gan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Tau is aberrantly acetylated in various neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), and traumatic brain injury (TBI). Previously, we reported that reducing acetylated tau by pharmacologically inhibiting p300-mediated tau acetylation at lysine 174 reduces tau pathology and improves cognitive function in animal models.

METHODS: We investigated the therapeutic efficacy of two different antibodies that specifically target acetylated lysine 174 on tau (ac-tauK174). We treated PS19 mice, which harbor the P301S tauopathy mutation that causes FTLD, with anti-ac-tauK174 and measured effects on tau pathology, neurodegeneration, and neurobehavioral outcomes. Furthermore, PS19 mice received treatment post-TBI to evaluate the …

An Improved Method For Diagnosis Of Parkinson’S Disease Using Deep Learning Models Enhanced With Metaheuristic Algorithm, Saurav Mallik, Aimin Li, Zhongming Zhao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Parkinson's disease (PD) is challenging for clinicians to accurately diagnose in the early stages. Quantitative measures of brain health can be obtained safely and non-invasively using medical imaging techniques like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). For accurate diagnosis of PD, powerful machine learning and deep learning models as well as the effectiveness of medical imaging tools for assessing neurological health are required. This study proposes four deep learning models with a hybrid model for the early detection of PD. For the simulation study, two standard datasets are chosen. Further to improve the performance of …

What Questions Do Patients Ask About Biologic Therapies For Chronic Sinusitis With Nasal Polyps?, Jason Shenoi, Faizaan Khan, Keyvon Rashidi, Daniel Gorelik, Kenneth R Sims, Meha G Fox, Masayoshi Takashima, Omar G Ahmed

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objective: The objective of this study is to explore the questions commonly asked online about biologic therapies for use in treatment of chronic sinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) and the quality of the available content.

Methods: Most common search terms were identified via Google Trends. People Also Ask (PAA) questions were identified and extracted with their associated website using an online data-scraping program [Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Minion, Keywords Everywhere]. Sources were evaluated using Flesch Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE, higher number = better) score for readability; Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) Benchmark …

Neuroimaging Of Vermiform Giant Arachnoid Granulations In Children, Nilesh K Desai, Thierry A G M Huisman, Maarten H Lequin, Huy Brandon D Tran

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Arachnoid granulations (AGs) are generally benign structures within the subarachnoid space that extend into the dural sinuses and calvarial bone. They can present in a variety of sizes but are termed 'giant' arachnoid granulations (GAGs) when they are larger than 1 cm in diameter or take up a significant portion of the dural sinus' lumen. Vermiform giant arachnoid granulations are a specific type of GAG that are known for their worm-like appearance. Specifically, these vermiform GAGs can be challenging to diagnose as they can mimic other pathologies like dural sinus thrombosis, sinus cavernomas, or brain tumors. In this case series, …

Mental Health Assessments For Fetal Interventions, Jessian L Munoz

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

An Evolutionary Framework For Agalinis (Orobanchaceae; The False Foxgloves) Reveals A Rapid South American Radiation That Includes Esterhazya, Maribeth Latvis, Vinicius Castro Souza, David C. Tank, Pamela S. Soltis, Douglas E. Soltis

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Agalinis (Orobanchaceae, tribe Pedicularideae) consists of approximately 70 hemiparasitic species distributed among North, Central, and South America. Previous phylogenetic studies did not include tropical species nor comprehensive sampling for closely allied genera, limiting our systematic understanding of these lineages. We generated an updated phylogenetic hypothesis from 179 individuals from 51 species of Agalinis and five genera once considered congeneric with Agalinis (Anisantherina, Brachystigma, Dasistoma, Aureolaria, and Esterhazya), particularly focusing on sampling underrepresented Central and South American taxa. Phylogenetic analyses were based on six cpDNA regions (rbcL, matK, trnT(UGU)-trnF(GAA), …