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Getting to Maybe: An Interview with Michael Fischl & Jeremy Paul
No full textSince 1999, Getting to Maybe has served as a key resource for first-year law students. Professors Michael Fischl and Jeremy Paul wrote the definitive guide on how to excel on law school exams and master legal reasoning. Professors Fischl and Paul have not only had a massive impact at UConn Law, but they’ve also influenced thousands of law students nationally and legal education as a whole.
UConn Law Professor Kiel Brennan-Marquez and Riley Breakell, UConn Law Class of 2023, sat down with the authors to discuss Getting to Maybe and the 2023 release of the second edition. The conversation features key insights into the book and a compelling discussion of the current state of legal education
Analysis of Antibiotic Sensitivity Patterns in Pasteurellaceae Family Isolates: A Microbial and Molecular Investigation
No full textBacteria in the Pasteurellaceae family are known to cause disease in both human and animal species. Like all species of bacteria, the pathogens in the Pasteurellaceae family evolve and acquire antimicrobial-resistant traits. Antimicrobial resistance of bacteria is a significant public health concern, as treatment of resistant pathogens becomes more difficult, if not impossible, with current medical capabilities. In this project, phenotypic and genotypic analyses were performed on Pasteurellaceae family isolates sourced from the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory. Phenotypic antibiotic sensitivity patterns of each isolate were assessed against a panel of antibiotics through a Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion test. Disk diffusion tests indicated some antimicrobial resistance to penicillin and tetracycline along with susceptibility to amphenicols and cephalosporins. DNA extraction and sequencing of isolates identified genes known to produce resistance to aminoglycosides, sulfonamides, and tetracycline
Identifying key evolving residues that drive CID/CAL1 incompatibility in Drosophila Species
No full textThe centromere, an essential locus on the chromosome critically important for faithful chromosome segregation during cell division, requires the incorporation of centromere protein A (CENP-A/CID) orchestrated by the chaperone CAL1. This thesis investigates the structural requirements governing the interaction between CAL1 and CID, with a focus on two diverged Drosophila species. Using a combination of structural analysis prediction and cellular assays, I explored the compatibility between the N-terminal region of CAL1 and the L1 domain of CID. Previous results demonstrate species specific interactions between CAL1 and CID, with endogenous Drosophila melanogaster (mel) CAL1 efficiently depositing Drosophila melanogaster CID at centromeres, while exogenous CID from Drosophila bipectinata (bip) exhibits mislocalization in mel S2 cells. Mutagenesis aimed at restoring the length of the L1 domain in bip CID did not rescue its centromeric localization, suggesting that the length of L1 is not critical for CID’s recruitment to the centromeres and that additional factors within the L1 must be at play. Additional investigation into the role of specific residues within the N-terminal region of CAL1 reveals that substituting residues at positions 14, 21, 25, and 29 of mel CAL1 with the corresponding residues of bip CAL1 does not result in the centromeric recruitment of bip CID. This suggests that the presence of other residues in CAL1’s N-terminus that are critical for its functional interaction with CID’s L1. These findings highlight the complexity of the CAL1/CID functional interaction and the need for further investigation into the structural determinants governing CID incorporation
The Association between Aerobic Exercise and Changes in HDL Quality Induced by Egg Consumption – A Post-hoc Analysis of a Randomized, Controlled, Crossover Dietary Intervention Study
No full textAbstract
Objective: Daily intake of whole eggs and aerobic exercise have independently been shown to increase high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and measures of HDL function, suggesting cardioprotective effects of these lifestyle interventions. However, it is unknown whether exercise volume can synergistically or differentially impact diet responses and egg effects on HDL. Therefore, we evaluated whether exercise volume was associated with distinct effects of consuming different egg-based diets on measures of HDL size, function, and composition.
Methods: Twenty-six healthy men and women completed a 16-week randomized, controlled, crossover intervention study which aimed to investigate the effects of egg-free, egg-white, and whole-egg diets on markers of cardiometabolic health. Fasted blood samples and 5-day exercise logs were collected at the end of each diet period.
Results: Average minutes of aerobic exercise over the 5-day recording period positively correlated with changes in HDLP5 and HDLP7 subsets between the egg white and whole egg diet periods, with greater increases in these HDL subsets associated with higher volumes of mean aerobic exercise among subjects. Interestingly, high and low exercise groups demonstrated different trends for changes in HDLP7 concentrations, and HDL protein and lipid composition between egg white and whole diet periods, whereas no differences were observed in cholesterol efflux capacity or antioxidant activity.
Conclusions: Aerobic exercise may influence diet-induced effects on HDL profiles by improving clinical HDL parameters and differentially altering HDL protein and lipid composition following whole egg intake, without impacting measures of HDL function
UConn Baseball Reliever Lane Optimization Tool
No full textThe building of a tool to be utilized by UConn’s Division I baseball team that will generate a game plan for when different relievers should be used against different parts of the opponent’s lineup to achieve the lowest total expected value of runs allowed for the remainder of the game based on game situations and matchup probabilities. The tool will also examine and determine situations that may be vital enough to the outcome of the game to bring in a better reliever normally saved for later in the game
How Does Hummock Creation in Submerging Salt Marshes Alter Nitrous Oxide Fluxes?
No full textClimate change is altering ecosystems and the services they provide. Salt marsh ecosystems typically protect coastal areas and filter nitrogen out of water, but are rapidly submerging due to rising sea levels and human development that prevents landward migration. Recent restoration efforts to preserve salt marshes attempt to build elevation capital and promote vegetation and animal habitat, but it is unclear how such efforts affect salt marsh biogeochemistry and dynamics of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas. To better understand how adding sediment to submerging salt marshes may alter nitrous oxide fluxes, I leveraged a salt marsh hummock creation experiment to test how elevation gradients and planting treatments alter nitrous oxide fluxes on the hummocks. We found that nitrous oxide fluxes did not differ among vegetation treatments, elevational gradients, or the environmental variables salinity, soil pH, and concentrations of NO3- and NH4+. However, we found that vegetation cover differed among nitrous oxide flux categories, with greater plant cover associated with nitrous oxide uptake. Our data suggests that hummock creation does not significantly impact nitrous oxide fluxes in salt marshes, which supports the possibility that hummock creation is a viable salt marsh restoration technique
From Pace to Place: Can Marathon Finishing Times Predict Regional Origins?
No full textIn this research endeavor, the capabilities of neural networks are utilized to discern regional patterns within a diverse populace via marathon finishing times. Leveraging two decades of race data from the New York and Boston Marathons, the study aims to develop a predictive model capable of identifying individuals\u27 geographic origins based on their marathon performances. This exploration holds promise in shedding light on the intersection of environmental variables and ultimate race achievements in the realm of marathon running. Preliminary results suggest that finishing times alone introduce an excess of randomness that is difficult for the algorithm to untangle, resulting in subpar prediction accuracies. Without clear explanation, certain regions are much more predictive for each of the two major marathons studied. Suggestions for improvement in future works are introducing new, personal data in addition to the finishing time to provide more information to train the models
Investigating Effects of Co-culturing with Vibrio fischeri on Secondary Metabolite Production of Hawaiian Bobtail Squid Symbionts
No full textMicrobes are a fruitful source of natural product drug discovery since many of their secondary metabolites show defensive activity and have unique structures. However, extracting and elucidating the structure of those compounds can be challenging in vitro due to particular environmental and nutritional requirements of some bacteria. Those requirements may include proximity to other organisms that the microbes have symbiotic relationships with. Under those conditions, the organism may activate silent biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) responsible for production of certain secondary metabolites not typically expressed otherwise. One method of BGC induction is co-culturing with other microbes since this mimics the natural environment and interactions of the organism. Here we focus on the relationships between the Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes, and its symbiotic bacteria as a method of inducing BGCs. E. scolopes possesses two organs of interest for microbiome research: a light organ colonized by a monoculture of Vibrio fischeri and an accessory nidamental gland (ANG), a reproductive organ, colonized by a consortium of bacteria. Given the microbial separation between the two organs, we hypothesized that ANG bacteria and V. fischeri may be producing defensive secondary metabolites preventing the spread of bacteria from one organ to the other. Co-cultures and monocultures of ANG- associated bacteria and V. fischeri were performed to analyze possible upregulation and downregulation of metabolites produced by the ANG bacteria. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and metabolomic data showed modulation of secondary metabolites as a result of co-culturing. The co-cultures each exhibited upregulation of unique metabolites not present in either monocultures; e.g., the ANG-1 co-culture possessed 109 unique features. Of these extracts, some also exhibited preliminary bioactivity against Vibrio strains
The Mature Minor Doctrine and COVID Vaccination in Connecticut
No full textThe mature minor doctrine is an exception to the common law rule of parental informed consent for a child’s medical decisions. The mature minor doctrine is applicable as either doctrine or statute in some states, but not all. Connecticut currently upholds the common law view for a minor child’s medical decision-making authority. Consequently, one prominent topic of discussion in recent years deals with the Covid-19 pandemic and the public policy discussions over nation-wide vaccination efforts. Many minors, children legally under the age of eighteen, are looking to make their own medical decisions when dealing with vaccination for the Coronavirus. By expanding the parameters of the mature minor doctrine, and implementing it into Connecticut statute, mature minors can be given the autonomy to acquire, or resist, vaccination despite their parent’s wishes. Although there has been a history of case law favoring parental authority over children, psychologists and legal scholars have brought to light new studies demonstrating adolescent development and capacity with understanding medical treatment. Furthermore, other northeastern U.S. states have gradually started to recognize mature minors in the context of vaccinations. As with any new introduction of a rule to a particular state, Connecticut legislation and courts must weigh the benefits, as well as the potential drawbacks that the mature minor doctrine may bring to light. Overall, the mature minor doctrine is a complicated doctrine, and it includes many different competing interests. However, if applied correctly, the doctrine can help competent and capable minors to make their own informed medical decisions in the state of Connecticut
Injustice: Parental Betrayal and the Exploitation of Child Murder in the United States
No full textThe following serves as an extensive literature review on the phenomena of filicide and familicide–the ultimate forms of parental betrayal–perpetrated within the United States. Subsequently highlighted is the theme that the people who should always take care of and love their children are sometimes also those who demonically arrange for their children’s very deaths, and while parents have the power to bring children into this world, they do not have the right to remove children from it. An overview of the unique perpetrations, victimologies, psychopathologies, and motivations that contribute to the classifications of filicide and familicide are further provided. Six case studies spanning the last fifty years are additionally included so as to offer historical contexts for the crimes of these two natures that have been committed in the recent past. This literature review concludes with pertinent calls for action and implications for further research. Accompanying this literature review is an oral presentation that addresses the theme of American society as complicit actors in the murders of children and the exploitative perpetuation of their deaths.
Keywords: filicide, familicide, overview, history, psychopathology, motivation, victimology, Yates, Jones Jr., Daybell, Watts, Todt, Lis