Consumer Research Needs from the Food and Drug Administration on Front-of-Package Nutritional Labeling

Americans have increasingly busy lifestyles and desire quick and nutritious food choices. To provide consumers with at-a-glance nutrition information, many food manufacturers have introduced front-of-package (FOP) nutritional labeling systems. The purpose of this review is to reach out to the marketing and public policy discipline by identifying research needs on FOP systems not only to aid decision making for federal agencies, but also to help advance research on this important topic. We describe the many FOP systems, the FDA\u27s regulatory background and approach to FOP systems, recent experimental research and gaps in knowledge, and research needs on FOP nutrition labeling

Gene Patents: The Need for Bioethics Scrutiny and Legal Change

In May 2004, the European Patent Office dealt a serious blow to gene patents by revoking Myriad Genetics\u27s controversial patent on the BRCA1 gene. That patent covered any method of diagnosing a predisposition for breast or ovarian cancer that used the BRCA1 gene sequence. Elsewhere, gene patents are also being challenged in courtrooms, legislatures, and in the arena of public opinion. Numerous international organizations, such as the Council of Europe\u27s Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights and UNESCO, view genes as belonging to the common heritage of mankind . Intense opposition to gene patents is also coming from researchers, politicians, organized religions, indigenous groups, patient groups, and medical professional organizations. Patents covering human genetic material raise a variety of issues related to legal appropriateness, scientific and medical research, and access to health care, as well as issues regarding privacy, autonomy, religious freedom, and reproductive liberty. While there are reasons to celebrate many new developments in medicine and bioethics, patents for human genetic material are an example of a bad policy that needs to be corrected. Gene patents raise bioethical concerns because they can impede access to appropriate health care and violate individual rights

Shower Safety

This patient education handout shares shower safety strategies

Using the VAST Challenge in Undergraduate CS Research

The Visual Analytics Science and Technology (VAST) Challenge is a yearly competition designed to push forward visual analytics research through synthetic, yet realistic analytic tasks. In this paper, we discuss the challenges and the successes we have experienced incorporating the VAST Challenge and associated datasets into undergraduate research programs at two liberal arts colleges. We advocate for increased undergraduate participation in this and similar competitions, arguing they afford unique opportunities for positive development in early researchers

Tales from the Crypt: Scientific, Ethical, and Legal Considerations for Biohistorical Analysis of Deceased Historical Figures

Biohistorical analysis involves using historic specimens of human remains or human material extracted or derived from historical artifacts to gather evidence about specimens that are identifiable or at least attributed to a historic figure at the time of the research. Biohistorical studies are being undertaken for myriad reasons, such as identification and authentication of remains, investigation into alleged criminal behavior, investigation into medical or psychological conditions, and even for purposes of commercialization. This article analyzes federal statutes, case law, and codes and guidelines from twenty-six professional organizations and societies informative to the field of biohistory. We surveyed the field, identified deficiencies in oversight and guidance, investigated prior biohistorical studies, and concluded that greater consideration of a variety of scientific, ethical and legal issues is needed. The article uses legal and ethical precedents to propose ways to avert abuses in five key areas we identified as important: (1) promotion of research; (2) access to samples or artifact; (3) scientific integrity and dissemination of results; (4) informed consent and rights of participants; and (5) avoidance of conflicts of interest. Throughout, we identify critical questions, concerns, and considerations for biohistory. We conclude with suggestions for development of guidance in this area

Patents on Human Genes: An Analysis of Scope and Claims

There is significant domestic and international opposition to gene patents based on the fact that gene patents deter medical research and health care, as well as the policy position that genes are an inherent product of nature. Yet, equally troubling is the fact that gene patents have been issued by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office that are problematic with respect to existing federal patent law. The authors of this Policy Forum describe their study, which examined issued gene patents covering a variety of genetic diseases and described ways in which many claims fell short of USPTO patentability requirements

Patents on Human Genes: An Analysis of Scope and Claims

There is significant domestic and international opposition to gene patents based on the fact that gene patents deter medical research and health care, as well as the policy position that genes are an inherent product of nature. Yet, equally troubling is the fact that gene patents have been issued by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office that are problematic with respect to existing federal patent law. The authors of this Policy Forum describe their study, which examined issued gene patents covering a variety of genetic diseases and described ways in which many claims fell short of USPTO patentability requirements

Noxious Weed Monitoring at the Rock Creek Confluence Site

Disturbances such as fire, flooding, and compaction are important in determining and maintaining the diversity and composition of plant assemblages in ecosystems. While they can have a stabilizing effect, they can also open niches that can be exploited by noxious fast growing weeds. Controlling the abundance and spread of noxious weeds is a top priority for land managers, but can be challenging with limited resources. Therefore it is essential to establish a baseline to determine levels of weed encroachment. We have partnered with Five Valleys Land Trust (FVLT) to establish this baseline at their Rock Creek Confluence Property by using point line intercept and dry weight density methods. On site volunteer days will be organized after to do targeted hand pulling and planting. This approach should create a closer connection between the larger community and the Rock Creek Confluence property, while creating a system to evaluate the effectiveness of volunteer efforts

Principles of Sociology in Systems Engineering

Systems engineering involves both the integration of the system and the integration of the disciplines which develop and operate the system. Integrating the disciplines is a sociological effort to bring together different groups, often with different terminology, to achieve a common goal, the system. The focus for the systems engineer is information flow through the organization, between the disciplines, to ensure the system is developed and operated with all relevant information informing system decisions. Robert K. Merton studied the sociological principles of the sciences and the sociological principles he developed apply to systems engineering. Concepts such as specification of ignorance, common terminology, opportunity structures, role-sets, and the reclama (reconsideration) process are all important sociological approaches that should be employed by the systems engineer. In bringing the disciplines together, the systems engineer must also be wary of social ambivalence, social anomie, social dysfunction, insider-outsider behavior, unintended consequences, and the self-fulfilling prophecy. These sociological principles provide the systems engineer with key approaches to manage the information flow through the organization as the disciplines are integrated and share their information. This also helps identify key sociological barriers to information flow through the organization. This paper will discuss this theoretical basis for the application of sociological principles to systems engineering

Fragility of nonconvergence in preferential attachment graphs with three types

Preferential attachment networks are a type of random network where new nodes are connected to existing ones at random and are more likely to connect to those that already have many connections. We investigate further a family of models introduced by Antunović, Mossel and Rácz where each vertex in a preferential attachment graph is assigned a type, based on the types of its neighbours. Instances of this type of process where the proportions of each type present do not converge over time seem to be rare. Previous work found that a “rock-paper-scissors” setup where each new node’s type was determined by a rock-paper-scissors contest between its two neighbours does not converge. Here, two cases similar to that are considered, one which is like the above but with an arbitrarily small chance of picking a random type and one where there are four neighbours which perform a knockout tournament to determine the new type. These two new setups, despite seeming very similar to the rock-paper-scissors model, do in fact converge, perhaps surprisingly