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The Erosion of Trust in Law Enforcement Post-George Floyd: Repairing the Damages Done
No full textA moment to create unity, accountability, and mend the trust lost in Law Enforcement. Through the words of my heart as a Black Woman, in research format. This paper serves as a new student perspective on how we can repair trust in Law Enforcement, post the killing of George Floyd
CREATIVE MINDS “Am I Just Fiddling While Rome Burns?”Psychotherapeutic Approaches and Insights
No full textCreative individuals often struggle with feelings of irrelevance and perspective, especially during crises, questioning the value of their work. Familial and societal expectations can exacerbate self-recrimination in artists, challenging their sense of self-worth and entitlement. Catastrophic events, like wildfires, intensify doubts about artistic significance, prompting introspection and existential questioning. Despite challenges, artists play a crucial role in reflecting, commenting, and providing solace during difficult times, revealing truths through creative expression
An Exceedingly Persuasive Justification : Affirmative Action as Protected by the Free Exercise Clause
Full text linkIn 2023, the Supreme Court’s Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. Harvard (SFFA) decision effectively outlawed the use of race-based affirmative action programs in higher education, holding that such programs violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Meanwhile, the current Supreme Court has been unprecedently friendly to claimants seeking Free Exercise Clause protection from government restraints on religious exercise. The intersection between these two areas of law has implications for a category of schools not explicitly considered in the SFFA decision—private, religious schools that use race in furtherance of their religious missions. This Comment raises and analyzes issues that a religious school seeking to consider race as a factor in its holistic admissions process may encounter. Specifically, this Comment addresses the viability of a religious school’s potential claims under the Free Exercise Clause and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). While acknowledging that many questions remain unanswered in this area of constitutional law, this Comment argues that religious schools seeking to use race in admissions as part of their sincerely held religious missions should have their distinct interests certainly considered and perhaps protected by Congress. Just as Congress has provided statutory exemptions to religious schools under Title XI to neutralize conflicts between government action and religious exercise, Congress could provide a narrow, statutory exemption to Title VI for religious schools that seek to use race in furtherance of their religious missions. Such action would be consistent with the fundamental value of First Amendment religious liberty in the United States
Bottom Up Mass Spectrometry Analysis of the PD-L1 Overexpressed Cell Proteome
No full textPD-L1 is a clinically relevant immune checkpoint. It is expressed on the membranes of somatic cells and deactivates immune cells that express PD-1. Much effort has been given to understanding how PD-L1 expression and stability is regulated. In the present study, we generated cell lines overexpressing PD-L1 using the bone cancer cell line, U2OS. This was accomplished by inserting a modified PD-L1 gene tagged with a GFP domain. Control cells did not receive the transgene. Cell lysates were collected from control and PD-L1 overexpressing cells and prepared for mass spectrometry analysis using the SPEED protocol.
Mass spectrometry analysis on the samples was conducted using a bottom-up proteomics approach on a Thermo Scientific Orbitrap Q Exactive Plus LC-MS instrument. The resulting mass spectra were processed using the Proteome Discoverer software to detect PD-L1 overexpression, changes in PD-L1 regulation, as well as ubiquitination state. The proteome analysis revealed consistently high levels of PD-L1 across all experimental samples, highlighting its potential role in the studied biological context. These findings demonstrate the efficacy of mass spectrometry-based proteomics for detecting PD-L1 expression and post-translational modifications, contributing to a deeper understanding of its regulation
Determination of the total energy budget of Hetaerina titia: preliminary results of a 3-season study of simple carbohydrates, proteins, and pooled fats/lipids/triglycerides using a new analytical method applied to the study of seasonal and regional polyphenism
No full textAs this work is not yet published, the authors have requested the removal of the abstract
Mathematically modeling how trapping specific crayfish life stages impacts removal efficacy
No full textThe red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii, is an invasive species introduced into several streams within the Santa Monica Mountains (SMM) in California. Crayfish predation decimates native aquatic species. The Mountains Restoration Trust (MRT) has worked to remove crayfish through regular trapping in Malibu Creek.
To aid conservation efforts, Dev Patel developed a mathematical model of crayfish removal efficacy. His discrete model of the crayfish life cycle newly accounted for cannibalism but was not yet parameterized to stream data. We expand Patel’s model to better predict the efficacy of crayfish removal efforts in the SMM. We separate crayfish based upon life stage and total length: eggs, two monthly juvenile stages, small non-reproductive adults, medium adults, and large adults.
We construct and parameterize this preliminary predictive model of crayfish population levels with and without trapping. We use literature and crayfish removal data from MRT to fit the model to two sections of Malibu Creek. We numerically simulate how the crayfish population changes over time and find that the model dynamics are highly sensitive to intraspecies cannibalism. We determine the best crayfish life stages to trap to most efficiently decrease crayfish population size
Social Health Among Adolescents in the Global School-Based Student Health Survey (GSHS)
Full text linkBackground: Social health is a function of the quantity and quality of relationships, including with family members and peers. Adolescents who report being lonely or having no close friends have a low quantity of relationships, and those who feel that their peers are unkind and their parents are not understanding have low quality relationships. We examined whether poor social health is associated with violent behavior.
Methods: We analyzed data from the Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS), which employs a standardized two-stage cluster sampling method and a validated questionnaire to explore health and risk behaviors among nationally representative samples of secondary school students ages 13 to 17 years in more than 80 participating countries. We examined the associations among relationship quantity (loneliness and/or friendlessness), relationship quality (perceptions that classmates are unkind and/or parents are uncaring), and violence (ones related to bullying, interpersonal violence, injuries, and mental health). Findings: About 20% of students reported low relationship quantity and over 50% of students reported low relationship quality; these averages were similar for boys and girls. About 30% of students reported experiencing peer violence (being in a physical fight and/or attacked), with higher rates among boys than girls. Social isolation was associated with violent exposures. Interpretation: Achieving physical, mental, and social adolescent health will require greater investment in school- and community-based interventions that promote healthy relationships and reduce exposure to violence.
Source of Funding: This research project was funded by the Academic Year Undergraduate Research Initiative (AYURI) and Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) from Pepperdine University
The Fractography of Bone: Impact of Flat Bone and the Story It Tells
Full text linkFractography as a method for fracture analysis has been applied widely to materials that range from glass to ceramics and polymers of varying compositions. Very limited research has been done, however, to apply this knowledge of fractography and fracture patterns to bone. With the goal of telling the story of how a bone was broken, this research focuses on observing known patterns of fracture in polymers, and applying these patterns to bone. For the purposes of this research, porcine scapulae were acquired, dissected from surrounding tissue, and broken using a standardized weight drop at varying heights. The fractured bone was then dried in an oven for a day in order to evaporate out excess fluid. Once dried, a stereoscopic microscope was used to analyze the fracture itself by applying known microscopic fracture markings from polymers to the bone. These markings, in particular, help to tell the story of where the fracture initially began and where the bone itself was impacted. The findings of this research have implications for continued research in both forensic and medical fields. By solidifying an investigative procedure for retroactively analyzing a bone fracture, the ability to determine where a bone was hit and with what type of force could be beneficial to a range of scientific disciplines
Do Mexicans Want a Wall?: Mexican Immigration Attitudes
No full textAttitudes toward immigrants shape political discussion and public perception. Scholars highlight immigration attitudes as being driven by factors such as culture and economics. Public opinion theories from scholars such as Sears and Downs provide a basis for the theories posed in the study. Research on immigration attitudes has primarily focused on North America and Europe, but Mexico has not been investigated as extensively. This study looks to see if there has been a shift in Mexican attitudes toward immigrants and what factors play a role in shaping attitudes. To do this, I test whether Mexican attitudes toward immigrants have shifted over time and what factors shape opinion. I analyze public opinion polls done by the Latinobarómetro in 2018, 2020, and 2023. I ran ordered logistic regressions for each year to decipher which variables influenced Mexican public attitudes. The results suggest that influential variables changed over time, with economic status, party identification, age, and region having more negative attitudes toward immigrants. I find support for a shift in immigration attitudes within Mexico
The Linguistic and Cultural Impact of the Chinese Union Bible’s Translation of YHWH
No full textThe United Chinese Bible (1919), the most widely distributed Bible translation in China, transliterates YHWH as YeHeHua . This translation has been widely accepted in the Chinese Christian community and recognized in a broader social context, making YeHeHua a common name associated with the Christian faith among Chinese people. In the Jewish and Western Christian traditions, in which YHWH is considered too sacred to pronounce, the name of God is usually replaced by “LORD.” However, in the Chinese Christian context, YeHeHua is freely used in liturgy and daily communication, strengthening the intimate relationship between man and God in the community of believers. In addition, Jesus (YeSu) shares the syllable Ye with YeHeHua, establishing a linguistic association between Jesus and God and strengthening Chinese believers\u27 understanding of Jesus as the Son of God. Although YeHeHua has become part of the Christian identity in China, its pronunciation remains controversial. Some churches have advocated tweaking the transliteration of YHWH to more faithfully reflect the original Hebrew text and avoid misleading perceptions, such as the belief that Jehovah and Jesus share the same surname. At the same time, these churches also believe that calling God by his name may contradict traditional theological notions and Western Christian practices. However, history shows that the spread of Christianity has always been accompanied by linguistic and cultural adaptation. Changing the established transliteration of YHWH could weaken the cultural identity already rooted in the Chinese community of believers, thus affecting the stability of the faith. This study will explore the missional effect of biblical translation, noting that enforcing Western linguistic traditions may alienate Chinese believers. At the same time, the preservation of YeHeHua can enhance the distinctiveness of Christianity in Chinese culture. Finally, this study argues that contextualization is necessary for Christianity\u27s mission