Digital Commons Network^™

Physiological Corticosterone Attenautes Gp120-Mediated Microglial Activation And Is Associated With Reduced Anxiety-Like Behavior In Gp120-Expressing Mice, Emaya Marie Moss

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) persists as a global pandemic. Despite the benefits of combinatorial antiretroviral therapies (cART), virotoxic HIV proteins are still detectable within the central nervous system and approximately half of all cART-treated patients contend with neurological impairments. The mechanisms underlying these effects are not known, but likely involve actions of virotoxic HIV proteins including glycoprotein 120 (gp120). Glycoprotein 120 is neurotoxic, in part due to its capacity to activate microglia. Corticosterone, an endogenous anti-inflammatory, has been found to attenuate neuronal death caused by gp120-induced microglial cytokine production in vitro. But, the concentration-dependent effects of corticosterone to influence microglial …

Effects Of Tonic Drone And Singing On The Pitch Accuracy Of Middle And High School String Players, Starkey Allen Morgan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of tonic drone, and tonic drone and singing on the intonation accuracy of middle school and high school string students in a classroom setting. Participants (N=58) in the study included middle and high school string players from two school districts in northern Mississippi. Tonic drone (n=22) and tonic drone and singing (n=36) groups were comprised of one middle school and one high school class each. One group performed pitch–matching exercises that include a tonic drone while the second group performed pitch-matching exercises that included the tonic drone and singing. A …

Controlling Rate Of Interfacial Electron Transfers Via Synthetic Modulation Of Organic Chromophores, Christine Curiac

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Solar energy technologies, such as dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) and photoelectrochemical cells (PECs), rely on electron transfer reactions to convert light waves from the Sun to usable electrical energy. These electron transfers are vital to the performance of solar energy technologies. However, two main unproductive electron transfers (recombination and back electron transfer) are possible in these systems, making it vital to study and increase the efficiency of the beneficial electron transfers while hindering the possibility of unproductive pathways from occurring. Through modulation of the organic chromophore/dye used in DSCs, lower recombination rates, and back electron transfer rates are afforded. Three …

Biopolymer Unfolding As A Process Of Biased Activated Barrier Crossing, Sudeep Adhikari

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The biopolymer unfolding process can be conceptualized as the thermally activated crossing of a barrier in some energy landscape; the real-world unfolding dynamics are in correspondence with the rate of transit over the barrier. In this dissertation, we report on four projects that exploit this analogy to advance our understanding of so-called pulling experiments, in which a biopolymer chain is encouraged to unfold by direct application of forces to its two ends. Regardless of the specific experimental realization, standard pulling techniques give rise to a biased barrier crossing problem. The applied force has the effect of tilting the energy landscape. …

Visitation, Ellie Black

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A collection of poems.

Linguistic Expressions Of Pidgin In Nigerian Stand-Up Comedy, Jimoh Junior Braimoh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a study of the comics’ lexical choices and how they achieve their goals with words. The comics’ choice of words is far from being incidental, superficial, or supplementary. Performers’ choices of words show how their ideas are embodied in language. That is to say, the effect of how a comedian uses words and humor strategies is vital for understanding the contextual meaning of jokes and how they appeal to logic and reason. The objectives are to identify and categorize lexical choices and interpret their denotative, connotative, and affective meanings. Based on the Incongruity Theory (Attardo, 1994) Data …

Student Success: Do First-Time, Full Time (Ftft) Students At The University Of Mississippi Enrolled In Intermediate Math (Ds 099) Earn Higher Grades In College Algebra (Math 121) Than Those Students Who Enrolled Directly In College Algebra?, Martina Brewer-Mister

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Critics of developmental studies suggest that remedial courses may negatively influence a student’s program selection, persistence, and completion because remedial classes do not count toward graduation requirements (Long & Boatman, 2013). They have also found that over half of the students referred to remediation do not complete the courses (Clayton, Crosta, & Belfield, 2014; Bailey, Jeong, & Cho, 2010). The number is even lower for minority students (Bailey, 2010).

Using pre-existing data collected from the Office of Institutional Research, Effectiveness, and Planning at the University of Mississippi, an independent sample t-test and correlation analysis were conducted to examine the outcomes …

Older Supplemental Security Income (Ssi) Recipients Work Less Frequently Than Their Younger Counterparts, But Use Work Incentive 1619(B) At Higher Rates, Daria Domin

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

Data Note 77 examines Social Security Administration data that shows that younger SSI recipients were three times more likely to be working than older SSI recipients. However, younger recipients participated in work incentives at a lower rate compared to older SSI recipients.

Profile Of Students Attending Cohort 2 Tpsid Programs: Enrollment And Completion By Gender, Race, And Ethnicity, Belkis Choiseul-Praslin, Clare Papay, Meg Grigal

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

Postsecondary education opportunities for students with intellectual disability (ID) steadily increased between 2015 and 2020, in part due to a federal model demonstration program called the Transition and Postsecondary Program for Students with Intellectual Disability (TPSID). This program, implemented by the Office of Postsecondary Education, commenced in 2010 and was funded again in 2015, when 25 grants were awarded to institutions of higher education to create, expand, or enhance high-quality, inclusive higher education experiences leading to positive outcomes for individuals with ID. This report highlights student-level characteristic data from Cohort 2 TPSID programs between 2015 and 2020.

Highlights Of Annual Report Of The Cohort 3 Tpsid Model Demonstration Projects (Year 1, 2020–2021), Meg Grigal, Think College National Coordinating Center Staff

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

This Highlights document was created with data from the Annual Report of the Cohort 3 TPSID Model Demonstration Projects (Year 1, 2020-2021) for those who are interested in the most critical statistics from the report, or are sharing with a broad audience. It features bold graphics and brief summaries of program and student data, including exit and post-exit outcomes.

Matching In-School Predictors Of Post-School Success To Variables In The National Longitudinal Transition Study 2012, Clare Papay, Meg Grigal, Alberto Migliore

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

Reviews of the transition literature have identified 23 in-school predictors of post-school success for students with disabilities. We sought to identify available variables in the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2012 (NLTS 2012) Phase I dataset that correspond with the 23 in-school predictors of post-school success to better understand transition experiences for students with disabilities. This report discusses the iterative review process we used to identify close matches for 11 predictors, weak matches for 6 predictors, and no match for 6 predictors. Implications for research are also discussed.

Individualized Education Plan (Iep) Goal Ideas To Support College Readiness, Kathleen Becht

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

This resource includes over 100 ideas for possible IEP goals to help prepare students for college. The ideas fall into four categories: education, career and employment, community engagement and services, and independence. Educators and families are encouraged to use this resource once students have identified personal strengths and interests, goals, and areas for improvement.

Developing Registered Apprenticeships Within Inclusive Postsecondary Education, Megan Macon

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

One of the main goals for students attending college is to provide opportunities for career exploration and ultimately, to secure paid work. One way to do that is through apprenticeships. In this brief, you will learn about the key components of apprenticeships, the reasons why apprenticeships are a promising practice in inclusive postsecondary education (IPSE), and the steps to develop registered apprenticeship programs. Information about the Early Childhood Education pilot apprenticeship program at Next Steps at Vanderbilt is shared as an example of the use of apprenticeships in IPSE.

The Percentage Of People Who Receive Vr Services Varies Greatly Across States, Alberto Migliore

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

Receiving vocational rehabilitation services is a key step toward employment. However, the percentage of job seekers with intellectual disabilities who receive #VocRehab services varies greatly across states, from 93% in Vermont to 34% in Nebraska. Check out this new DataNote to see how your state compares

I Was A Think College Policy Advocate!, Arthur Moreira

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

Arthur Moreira shares about his experience as a Think College Policy Advocate in 2022. Arthur, a student at College of Alameda, had the opportunity to learn about advocacy and disability policy from experts at AUCD and Think College, and then travel to Washington, DC, where he visited representatives and talked with them about issues important to people with disabilities, including education, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and more.

Fabrication And Characterization Of Methylprednisolone-Loaded Polylactic Acid/Hyaluronic Acid Nanofibrous Scaffold For Soft Tissue Engineering, Mehdi Keikha, Elahe Entekhabi, Mahvash Shokrollahi, Masoumeh Haghbin Nazarpak, Zahra Hassannejad, Somaye Akbari, Alex R. Vaccaro, Vafa Rahimi-Movaghar

Rothman Institute Papers

Previous in vitro and in vivo studies have indicated that tissue engineering scaffolds, including Schwann cells, may improve axonal regeneration, particularly in combination with Methylprednisolone as an influential neuroprotective factor. The primary aim of this study was to design composite electrospun scaffolds based on polylactic acid (PLA)/ hyaluronic acid (HA) containing various percentages (0.05–2% (w/v)) of Methylprednisolone (MP) with suitable mechanical and chemical properties for soft tissue especially to promote nerve growth. For the first time, MP was implicated in a PLA/HA nanofibrous and its effect on fiber’s properties was scrutinized as a candidate for nerve tissue.

Breach By Violence: The Forgotten History Of Sharecropper Litigation In The Post-Slavery South, Brittany Farr

Faculty Articles

This Article uses private law as a lens and a guide to excavate an unfamiliar story about labor and racial violence in the post-slavery south. It is the story of farmers like Colonel Bishop, whose landlord attacked him in the middle of the night in an effort to coerce him into breaching his contract. Violent breaches of contract such as these were not uncommon in the post-slavery south. Indeed, historians have thoroughly documented the violence in this period. Yet much less is known about the doctrinal implications of this violence, particularly in the context of private law. Even less explored …

Weaponizing The Electoral System, Samuel Issacharoff

Faculty Articles

The gravest threat to our democracy does not come from obstacles to voting— indeed, despite state-level efforts at retrenchment, voting remains far easier across the country than in 2008 when the United States first elected a Black president. Rather, the greatest concern is the effort to solidify party control of election mechanisms, turning the ordinary task of tabulating election results into an opportunity for partisan mischief. Under the strains of 2020, despite COVID-19 and its many challenges, the system held up remarkably well. But the stability of these structures depends on a long-haul bipartisan commitment to repeat engagements, a commitment …

Net Cash Per Share: The Key To Disclosing Spac Dilution, Michael Klausner, Michael Ohlrogge, Harold Halbhuber

Faculty Articles

In this Essay we follow up on our prior Article by explaining exactly what a SPAC must disclose in order to inform its shareholders of how much net cash will be invested in a proposed merger—and how that net cash is related to the value shareholders can expect to reap by choosing not to redeem their shares and instead invest in the merger. Because we are writing this Essay in response to the SEC’s proposal, we take a very nuts-and-bolts approach. We explain that disclosure of dilution requires a calculation of net cash per share, and we explain how to …

Immigration Detention And Dissent: The Role Of The First Amendment On The Road To Abolition, Alina Das

Faculty Articles

The movement to abolish slavery relied heavily on the exercise and protection of enslaved and formerly enslaved people’s freedom of speech against robust efforts to suppress their messaging. The same is true in the context of the movement to abolish immigration detention. For decades, people in immigration detention, formerly detained people, and their allies have exercised their First Amendment rights to expose the conditions of their confinement and demand their freedom. In response to their protests and other forms of individual and collective expression, detained and formerly detained immigrants have faced suppression and retaliation, threatening not only their right to …

Remembering Who Foster Care Is For: Public Accommodation And Other Misconceptions And Missed Opportunities In Fulton V. City Of Philadelphia, Christine Gottlieb

Faculty Articles

The Supreme Court’s opinion in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, which held that a Catholic foster care agency could refuse to accept gay foster parents, and virtually all commentary on the case, are flawed by a profound misunderstanding of key aspects of the foster care system. The case’s role in the broader culture war between religious rights advocates and those supporting LGBTQ equality has led advocates on both sides to use Fulton for their own purposes at the expense of the families the foster care system is intended to serve. This Article explains that the most important constitutional interests at …

Standing For Democracy: Is Democracy A Procedural Right In Vacuo? A Democratic Perspective On Procedural Violations As A Basis For Article Iii Standing, Helen Hershkoff, Stephen Loffredo

Faculty Articles

Many commentators express concern that democracy in the United States is under threat, whether from the pressure of concentrated wealth and structural racism, government secrecy and authoritarian tendencies, an outdated constitutional structure and old-fashioned corruption, or perhaps a combination of them all. Against this background, this Article argues that the Supreme Court’s treatment of procedural rights for determining standing—the key that opens the door to federal court—is an overlooked factor in contributing to democratic erosion. According to the Court, violation of a congressionally conferred procedural right that does not safeguard some separate, non-procedural, concrete interest of plaintiff—a “procedural right in …

Territoriality In American Criminal Law, Emma Kaufman

Faculty Articles

It is a bedrock principle of American criminal law that the authority to try and punish someone for a crime arises from the crime’s connection to a particular place. Thus, we assume that a person who commits a crime in some location— say, Philadelphia—can be arrested by Philadelphia police for conduct deemed criminal by the Pennsylvania legislature, prosecuted in a Philadelphia court, and punished in a Pennsylvania prison. The idea that criminal law is tied to geography in this way is called the territoriality principle. This idea is so familiar that it usually goes unstated. This Article foregrounds and questions …

Parole, Victim Impact Evidence, And Race, Alexis Karteron

Faculty Articles

This essay proceeds in three parts. Part I describes the parole function, focusing on the purpose and aims of parole. This Part also provides examples of the guidelines and standards, to the extent they exist, that typically underlie the parole decision- making process. Part II lays out research on the relationship between emotion and the law that suggests potential for differential treatment in the parole process on the basis of a victim's race. Lastly, Part III calls for further data collection and research into the role of race in parole decision-making. It further suggests that eliminating victim participation in parole …

Ai And The Regulatory Paradigm Shift At The Fda, Catherine M. Sharkey, Kevin M.K. Fodouop

Faculty Articles

In Part I, we elaborate on the scope of the FDA’s experimentation, which extends beyond the fascinating (albeit limited) case studies of FDA molecular modeling and clinical trial simulation presented by Marks. In particular, we highlight novel pilot projects in which the FDA used Natural Language Processing (NLP) to analyze data collected through its Adverse Event Reporting System for postmarket surveillance of drugs. In Part II, we describe the paradigm shift in resources and efforts at the FDA from stringent ex ante premarket approval to more dynamic and rigorous postmarket surveillance. Whereas Marks places exclusive emphasis on the potential perils …

Classic Revisited: How Racism Persists In Its Power, Deborah N. Archer

Faculty Articles

Book review of The Fire Next Time, by James Baldwin. New York: Dial Press. 1963 (Vintage International 1993 ed.)

Countering Capture: A Political Theory Of Corporate Criminal Liability, Jennifer H. Arlen

Faculty Articles

In order to effectively deter organizational misconduct, countries must hold companies liable for their organizational misconduct. Some scholars argue, however, that countries should not impose criminal liability on companies and instead should rely entirely on civil liability, which can impose the same sanctions on companies as criminal liability. This claim that corporate civil enforcement is as effective as criminal enforcement is incorrect because it overlooks how the choice between the two affects companies’ ability to use their political influence to undermine corporate enforcement intensity. This Article shows that eliminating federal corporate criminal liability would undermine deterrence because large corporations would …

Are Police The Key To Public Safety?: The Case Of The Unhoused, Barry Friedman

Faculty Articles

We as a nation have to think deeply about what it means for a community to be safe, and what role the police play (or do not play) in achieving that safety. We have conflated, if not entirely confused, two very different things. One is the desire to be safe, and how society can assist with safety, even for the most marginalized or least well-off among us. The other is the role of the police. Contrary to what many seem to think, the police are not a one-size-fits-all provider of public safety. In this paper, I discuss this issue in …

Policing Police Tech: A Soft Law Solution, Barry Friedman, Farhang Heydari, Max Isaacs, Katie Kinsey

Faculty Articles

Policing agencies are undergoing a rapid technological revolution. New products—with almost unfathomable capacities to collect, store, monitor, and transmit data about us— constantly are coming to market. In the hands of policing agencies, some of these products may promise real benefits to society. But too often these public safety benefits are unproven. And many of these products present real harms, including risks to privacy, freedom of speech, racial justice, and much more. Part of “public safety” is being safe from these harms as well. Despite these risks, new policing tech products continue to be adopted and deployed without sufficient (or …

What Is Public Safety?, Barry Friedman

Faculty Articles

For hundreds of years, political leaders and thinkers have deemed public safety the first duty of government. But they have defined public safety rather narrowly, primarily in terms of the “protection” function—protecting individuals from violent harm to person or property from third parties (and also from natural elements). As the first duty, the protection function is privileged. Witness today how we valorize police and other first responders, defer to their decisions without close scrutiny, and immunize them from liability for their mistakes. Yet, is protection really all there is to public safety? For most people, being safe depends on much …