POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF PHARMACEUTICAL USES OF TRANSGENIC TOBACCO: THE CASE OF HUMAN SERUM ALBUMIN (HSA)

The potential size and distribution of benefits from transgenic tobacco as a source of human serum albumin are estimated using an economic surplus model with imperfect competition. The results demonstrate that new products from bio-pharming applications stand to generate significant social benefits.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Embryonic POU5F1 is Required for Expanded Bovine Blastocyst Formation.

POU5F1 is a transcription factor and master regulator of cell pluripotency with indispensable roles in early embryo development and cell lineage specification. The role of embryonic POU5F1 in blastocyst formation and cell lineage specification differs between mammalian species but remains completely unknown in cattle. The CRISPR/Cas9 system was utilized for targeted disruption of the POU5F1 gene by direct injection into zygotes. Disruption of the bovine POU5F1 locus prevented blastocyst formation and was associated with embryonic arrest at the morula stage. POU5F1 knockout morulas developed at a similar rate as control embryos and presented a similar number of blastomeres by day 5 of development. Initiation of SOX2 expression by day 5 of development was not affected by lack of POU5F1. On the other hand, CDX2 expression was aberrant in embryos lacking POU5F1. Notably, the phenotype observed in bovine POU5F1 knockout embryos reveals conserved functions associated with loss of human embryonic POU5F1 that differ from Pou5f1- null mice. The similarity observed in transcriptional regulation of early embryo development between cattle and humans combined with highly efficient gene editing techniques make the bovine a valuable model for human embryo biology with expanded applications in agriculture and assisted reproductive technologies

THE SYSTEMIC REDESIGN OF MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS IN SMALL TO MEDIUM SIZED ENTERPRISES

The research problem was to develop a new approach for redesigning manufacturing systems within Small to Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs). Field observation together with literature review showed that methodologies propounded in theory were not being applied in practice. The research presents a new methodology for the systemic redesign of manufacturing systems within SMEs. The methodology consists of a four phase iterative design strategy consisting of Planning, Risk Assessment, Action and Evaluation leading to the next Planning phase. This is given a systemic basis through four perspectives: Structure; People; Process; and Technology; which frame and guide the Planning phase. Prior to this work there was no systemic approach for redesigning manufacturing systems within SMEs. These findings have been validated through the case study method and against criteria that have been identified and developed by the author. The research adopts three complementary research approaches of participant observation, action research and case study research. These are consistent with the research philosophy developed within the research frame. Participant observation is used at the outset to establish the problem domain and application considerations. Action research is used to develop a methodology that functions independent of the researcher. The final validation is carried out using case study research to evaluate the application of the methodology.CR YDOM Magnetics Ltd. and AGS Home Improvements Ltd

Foreword

European Union ( EU ) law is no more immune than any other functioning body of law to technological innovation, and the European institutions need to adapt to such change. EU law has done so in a wide variety of ways, only a sampling of which can be presented in this issue of the Columbia Journal of European Law that we are honored to introduce. The Journal\u27s commission of this Special Issue evidences its keen awareness of both the promises and challenges that technological change presents to Europe and its legal institutions

Does Economic Decline Contribute to a Decline in Children’s Food Security?

Most Americans believe that children should not experience persistent worry about the quality or quantity of food consumed due to low household resources. Since 1995, the USDA has tracked children’s food security based upon household responses to the annual Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement (CPS-FSS). During this time, a small, but recently growing, share of U.S. households report multiple indicators of reduced food intake and disrupted eating patterns among children due to inadequate resources to obtain food (Coleman- Jenson et al, 2012). The USDA classifies children as food secure, low food secure, or very low food secure based upon the number of affirmative responses to eight child-specific food sufficiency questions in the CPS-FSS (Nord, 2009). Children in households that answer one or none of the child specific questions affirmatively are classified as food secure. Children in households that affirmatively answer two to four of the child specific questions are low food secure. Children in households answering five or more questions affirmatively are classified as very low food secure. Jointly, very low food secure children and low food secure children are considered food insecure children. This paper follows the USDA’s definitions in classifying children’s food security status (Figure 1)

THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS IN SMALL DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

The expected benefits from herbicide resistant transgenic rice in Uruguay are estimated with stochastic simulation techniques. Economic surplus methods that account for private profits are used to measure the magnitude and distribution of the benefits between producers and a multinational firm. Further, the adoption rate of transgenic rice is endogenous in the model and depends on the expected profitability of the technology. The results show that the potential benefits from the technology are relatively small because of the small production base. Multinational firms are, therefore, unlikely to develop locally adapted transgenic rice varieties without strategic partnerships with local institutions.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Interview of David L. George, Ph.D.

Dr. David L. George is currently professor emeritus of economics at La Salle University, having begun teaching at La Salle in 1979. Dr. George holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan, a M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, and a M.A. and Ph.D. from Temple University. He has published approximately thirty scholarly articles, twenty book reviews, and two books during his career. His first book is Preference Pollution: How Markets Create the Desires We Dislike (University of Michigan Press, 2004), and his second book is Rhetoric of the Right: Language Change and the Spread of the Market (Routledge Press, 2012). His primary foci of research include meta-preferences in the free market and economics rhetoric. Dr. George has been a longtime member of the Association for Social Economics (ASE), including being this association’s president in 2005. Dr. George was also honored by this association in 2011 when he won the prestigious Thomas F. Divine Award, an annual award that recognizes ASE members who make significant contributions to social economics. Dr. George currently serves on the editorial board of Review of Social Economy and Journal of Socio-Economics. At La Salle University, Dr. George was an engaged member of the faculty senate, and he won the Distinguished Faculty Scholarship Award in 2012. Dr. George was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1947, where he was also raised. Today, he lives in Melrose Park, Pennsylvania, and has two adult children. His hobbies include classical music and Russian studies

Striking Photospheric Abundance Anomalies in Blue Horizontal-Branch Stars in Globular Cluster M13

High-resolution optical spectra of thirteen blue horizontal-branch (BHB) stars in the globular cluster M13 show enormous deviations in element abundances from the expected cluster metallicity. In the hotter stars (T_eff > 12000 K), helium is depleted by factors of 10 to 100 below solar, while iron is enhanced to three times the solar abundance, two orders of magnitude above the canonical metallicity [Fe/H] ~= -1.5 dex for this globular cluster. Nitrogen, phosphorus, and chromium exhibit even more pronounced enhancements, and other metals are also mildly overabundant, with the exception of magnesium, which stays very near the expected cluster metallicity. These photospheric anomalies are most likely due to diffusion --- gravitational settling of helium, and radiative levitation of the other elements --- in the stable radiative atmospheres of these hot stars. The effects of these mechanisms may have some impact on the photometric morphology of the cluster's horizontal branch and on estimates of its age and distance.Comment: 11 pages, 1 Postscript figure, uses aaspp4.sty, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Child Food Security and the Food Stamp Program: What a Difference a Month Makes

Most Americans believe that children should not have either persistent concerns about the quality and quantity of food to eat or lack of actual access to food due to low household resources. However, in 2007, approximately 3.3 million households (8.3 percent of households with children) had food insecure children who did not have consistent access to adequate and safe foods (Nord and Golla, 2009). This implies less than complete coverage of children by the food-assistance safety net. The United States’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), historically and commonly known as the Food Stamp Program (FSP), is a federal-assistance program designed to provide food assistance via benefit payments to low- and no-income households.1 FSP is the largest component of the USDA’s nutrition program. During fiscal year 2011, an average of 44.7 million persons per month (on average 14 percent of Americans) participated in the FSP program. Federal spending for the program in fiscal year 2011 was $75.3 billion, comprising 73 percent of all Federal food and nutrition spending (USDA 2011). With so much of the nation’s food assistance resources devoted to the FSP, it is important to document the effectiveness of the FSP in providing basic protection to food insecure populations, and to food insecure children in particular