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Panel IV Discussion: The Future of 1st Amendment Protections: Examining the Use of Brutality on those Fighting Against Violence
The 1st Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”. 35 Texas Constitution, Article I, Section 27, states, “The citizens shall have the right, in a peaceable manner, to assemble together for their common good.’’ What constitutes peaceful protest and limitations on such speech has been questioned for decades. Law enforcement agencies have, over the years, used various means of restricting free speech and peaceful assembly. Recall, during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, snarling dogs and high-powered water hoses were used in addition to other brutal physical attacks and excessive use of force on adults and children alike. This presentation examined current jurisprudence surrounding these issues. It questions what the future of the First Amendment right to protest does and should looks like while affirming the need to defend this critical right in protecting democracy. It further demonstrates the need to expand the constitutional protection for peaceful protestors as it relates to racial and social justice
Policing in America: How Racism and Media Framing Impacts the Death rate of Black Men by Police.
Since the turn of the century, a large mass of both African American men and White American men in the United States have been gunned down in numerous proportions when police were involved (Fatal Encounters, 2020). More recently, the deaths of Michael Brown, Philando Castille, Alton Sterling and George Floyd left many in the African American community noticeably bleak and perplexed as a ration of young individual lives were seemingly taken unjustifiably. In the aggregate, many believed this was intentional and thus, immediate action against Law Enforcement was inevitable. Without context, the deaths were just seen as a stain in which black men had to carry the caution of treading lightly just to survive. Over time, there have been many organizations such as Black Lives Matter, who after the death of Trayvon Martin became more vocal in raising a consciousness among non-black citizens that deaths by police must be taken seriously and with accountability at all cost, and even having members within the organization stepping into the arena of political access like Cori Bush and winning a seat in the House of representatives.
However, though the underlining deaths of African American males by police runs deep through its complex history of racial injustice, many White males who have had interactions with police may also have met a fate to where their community may have seen their demise as unlawful as well thus reeling in a question as to see if all deaths by police go beyond color or just a fact of law and order. In this literature, I will pose the questions to better understand the research: 1) Is the social structure of the 21st century ways of policing play a part in the deaths of black and white men ; 2) Does media framing incorporate the behavior of the police; and 3) Does the accountability factor of police happen because of public influences? The purpose of the questions is to reveal if there is really a definitive difference in the killings and if there are true biases in relation to those killings
Exploring the Relationships Among Stoichiometric Coefficients, Number of Transferred Electrons, Mean Oxidation Number of Carbons, and Oxidative Ratio in Organic Combustion reactions
Combustion reactions, stoichiometry, and redox reactions are some of the basic contents in chemistry curriculum. Although the counting of transferred electrons is critical in redox reactions, assigning mean oxidation number of organic carbons (ONc) is not always easy. Even though the relationship between the oxidative ratio (OR) and ONc is known, the relationship between the number of transferred electrons (Te−) and OR has not been thoroughly studied. The H-atom method has already been developed to balance and deduct organic combustion reactions. It can be used further to help establish the relationships among the stoichiometric coefficients (SC), the number of transferred hydrogens (TH), and Te−. This article uses the procedures of the H-atom method for balancing and deducting, and the known relationships among SC, TH, and Te− for exploring the relationships among SC, Te−, ONc, and OR in organic combustion reactions. By integrating three sets of relationships: (i) SC and Te−, (ii) Te− and ON, and (iii) SC and OR, the interconversions among SC, Te−, ONc, and OR can be mathematically formulated. Furthermore, Te−, ONc, and OR can be assigned by SC and the general molecular formula of CxHyOzXw
Oral absorption and drug interaction kinetics of moxifloxacin in an animal model of weightlessness
To investigate the effect of simulated weightlessness on the pharmacokinetics of orally administered moxifloxacin and the antacid Maalox or the antidiarrheal Pepto-Bismol using a tail-suspended (TS) rat model of microgravity. Fasted control and TS, jugular-vein-cannulated, male Sprague-Dawley rats received either a single 5 mg/kg intravenous dose or a single 10 mg/kg oral dose of moxifloxacin alone or with a 0.625 mL/kg oral dose of Maalox or a 1.43 mL/kg oral dose of Pepto-Bismol. Plasma concentrations of moxifloxacin were measured by HPLC. Pharmacokinetic data were analyzed using WinNonlin. Simulated weightlessness had no effect on moxifloxacin disposition after intravenous administration but significantly decreased the extent of moxifloxacin oral absorption. The coadministration of moxifloxacin with Maalox to either control or TS rats caused significant reductions in the rate and extent of moxifloxacin absorption. In contrast, the coadministration of moxifloxacin with Pepto-Bismol to TS rats had no significant effect on either the rate or the extent of moxifloxacin absorption. These interactions showed dose staggering when oral administrations of Pepto-Bismol and moxifloxacin were separated by 60 min in control rats but not in TS rats. Dose staggering was more apparent after the coadministration of Maalox and moxifloxacin in TS rats
Pharmacokinetic model analysis of supralingual, oral and intravenous deliveries of mycophenolic acid
Mycophenolic acid (MPA) is commonly used for organ rejection prophylaxis via oral administration in the clinic. Recent studies have shown that MPA also has anticancer activities. To explore new therapeutic options for oral precancerous/cancerous lesions, MPA was designed to release topically on the dorsal tongue surface via a mucoadhesive patch. The objective of this study was to establish the pharmacokinetic (PK) and tongue tissue distribution of mucoadhesive MPA patch formulation after supralingual administration in rats and also compare the PK differences between oral, intravenous, and supralingual administration of MPA. Blood samples were collected from Sprague Dawley rats before and after a single intravenous bolus injection, a single oral dose, or a mucoadhesive patch administration on the dorsal tongue surface for 4 h, all with a dose of 0.5 mg/kg of MPA. Plots of MPA plasma concentration versus time were obtained. As multiple peaks were found in all three curves, the enterohepatic recycling (EHR) model in the Phoenix software was adapted to describe their PK parameters with an individual PK analysis method. The mean half-lives of intravenous and oral administrations were 10.5 h and 7.4 h, respectively. The estimated bioavailability after oral and supralingual administration was 72.4% and 7.6%, respectively. There was a 0.5 h lag-time presented after supralingual administration. The results suggest that the systemic plasma MPA concentrations were much lower in rats receiving supralingual administration compared to those receiving doses from the other two routes, and the amount of MPA accumulated in the tongue after patch application showed a sustained drug release pattern. Studies on the dynamic of drug retention in the tongue after supralingual administration showed that ~3.8% of the dose was accumulated inside of tongue right after the patch removal, ~0.11% of the dose remained after 20 h, and ~20.6% of MPA was not released from the patches 4 h after application. The data demonstrate that supralingual application of an MPA patch can deliver a high amount of drug at the site of administration with little systemic circulation exposure, hence lowering the potential gastrointestinal side effects associated with oral administration. Thus, supralingual administration is a potential alternative route for treating oral lesions
Racial disparity in drug disposition in the digestive tract
The major determinants of drug or, al bioavailability are absorption and metabolism in the digestive tract. Genetic variations can cause significant differences in transporter and enzyme protein expression and function. The racial distribution of selected efflux transporter (i.e., Pgp, BCRP, MRP2) and metabolism enzyme (i.e., UGT1A1, UGT1A8) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are highly expressed in the digestive tract are reviewed in this paper with emphasis on the allele frequency and the impact on drug absorption, metabolism, and in vivo drug exposure. Additionally, preclinical and clinical models used to study the impact of transporter/enzyme SNPs on protein expression and function are also reviewed. The results showed that allele frequency of the major drug efflux transporters and the major intestinal metabolic enzymes are highly different in different races, leading to different drug disposition and exposure. The conclusion is that genetic polymorphism is frequently observed in different races and the related protein expression and drug absorption/metabolism function and drug in vivo exposure can be significantly affected, resulting in variations in drug response. Basic research on race-dependent drug absorption/metabolism is expected, and FDA regulations of drug dosing adjustment based on racial disparity are suggested
Teaching coding in a virtual environment: Overcoming challenges
Educational research suggests that teaching techniques are subject matter specific. Teaching techniques in introductory programming classes are centered around two approaches used by students in learning. One approach is where students develop a thorough understanding of what they are learning. This is referred to as “deep learning”. Other students use a “surface approach” where they perform the tasks required from them. The persona of the instructor and the choice of instructional materials used within a class determines which approach the student will adopt. Active teaching techniques fosters “deep learning”. With the need to adapt active teaching techniques to a virtual educational environment, this paper discusses how to modify these techniques to a first course in programming
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The Impact of Adaptive Learning in Principles of Microeconomics
Abstract
The spread of Covid-19, which forced almost all learning to move to online in March, 2020, abruptly increased the number of undergraduates taking at least one online course by approximately 177% between the fall of 2019 and the spring of 2020 (Koksal, 2020; Carey, 2020; National Center for Education Statistics, 2020). Even without the Covid-19 disruption, online education has become increasing prevalent due to the decreasing allocation of resources to higher education and the pressure on college administrators to make a college education effective, affordable, and accessible for more students. Originally online instruction differed from in-class instruction only be the method of delivery of the material, viewing a lecture online versus being present in a live classroom lecture. Although there have been many studies on the effectiveness of traditional online instruction over the last several decades, there have been fewer studies on the efficacy of the relatively new adaptive learning courseware. This initial study found that adaptive learning had a consistently positive and statistically significant impact on all principle of microeconomics students in the study, regardless of aptitude, ethnicity, and gender. However, students with high aptitudes appeared to benefit more from adaptive learning than their peers
In the Midst of an Epidemic: How Print Media Shapes Policy Feedback to the Opioid Crisis
As opioid addiction has spread across the country, media discourse around opioid abuse has consistently increased. A content analysis of local newspaper articles from the state of Massachusetts reveals that political and administrative officials conceive of Narcan in distinct ways. Administrators, including police and fire officials, see Narcan as a means to accomplish their organizational mission. Conversely, elected officials are primarily concerned with cost, legal ramifications and the broad impact of the opioid crisis, remaining disconnected from street-level concerns. In delineating these divergent perspectives, this article provides two unique contributions: first, it applies policy feedback theory as a framework to address a real-world problem, bridging the gap between theory and practice in public administration. Second, it expounds upon the differences in rhetoric found in print media to outline specific ways in which the perspectives of elected and administrative officials may influence Narcan policy