Trade Epidemic: The Impact of the Mad Cow Crisis on EU-U.S Relations

When a new illness in cattle appeared in the United Kingdom twenty years ago, its ensuing nationwide and global repercussions could not have been envisioned. Not only did mad cow disease destroy the British cattle industry, it raised the fears of leaders and citizens around the world. Wary of tainted British beef, the European Union stepped in to attempt to curb the crisis while it was in its infancy. Soon the United States, in an effort to protect its own citizens and cattle industry, enacted measures banning European cattle products. The effects of the peculiar cattle disease reverberated through the global economy, heightening trade disputes between the United States and the European Union that have yet to achieve resolution

Austria: The 1999 Parliament Elections and the European Union Members’ Sanctions

The 1999 parliamentary elections in Austria sparked a fire of controversy in the European Union. Led by the far-right activist Joerg Haider, the Freedom Party achieved a second place victory, causing leaders and activists to voice their concerns about Austria\u27s future. Acting on that apprehension, the individual members of the European Union joined together to issue diplomatic sanctions against Austria, an unprecedented action. When the sanctions were lifted in September, 2000, the European Union was left to reexamine its role and to determine whether to amend its founding treaties to reflect any changes in the relationship between the government of the European Union and its Member States

The effects of shade on primocane fruiting blackberries in the field

Primocane fruiting blackberry production in Arkansas is limited by heat during the flowering and early fruiting season. Shade could be used to delay flowering and fruiting to more favorable growth period. This study was designed to test three levels of shade (0% [control], 30% and 50% shading) applied at three times during the growing season that examined the growth, development, physiology of flowering, and fruiting of ‘Prime-Ark® 45’ blackberries. The seven treatments were as follows: 1) an untreated control (CK), 2) early shade 30% (ES30), mid shade 30% (MS30), 4) late shade 30% (LS30), 5) early shade 50% (ES50), 6) mid shade 50% (MS50), and 7) late shade 50% (LS50). The 30% and 50% treatments were implemented 16 June (ES) and left on for 95 days, 1 July (MS) and left on for 80 days, and 15 July (LS) and left on for 66 days. All shade was removed 19 Sept. 2014. Foliar gas exchange using CIRAS®-3 portable gas exchange monitor and estimated chlorophyll content (Minolta SPAD®) were measured weekly. Beginning at maturity, fruit was harvested biweekly to determine fruit yields per plot. Plant growth was measured destructively at the end of the study period. The cumulative berry weight was greatest for LS50 and LS30 which was not different from the CK or MS50, while ES30, MS30, and ES50 berry weights were significantly less. The cumulative marketable weights were greatest for LS30 and CK, while ES30 and MS30 were less than the CK. Shade altered flower and fruit production, but was not found to result in higher fruit quantities compared to the control. Some ES treatments reduced cropping compared to LS treatments

The Hippocampal Neuroproteome with Aging and Cognitive Decline: Past Progress and Future Directions

Although steady progress on understanding brain aging has been made over recent decades through standard anatomical, immunohistochemical, and biochemical techniques, the biological basis of non-neurodegenerative cognitive decline with aging remains to be determined. This is due in part to technical limitations of traditional approaches, in which only a small fraction of neurobiologically relevant proteins, mRNAs or metabolites can be assessed at a time. With the development and refinement of proteomic technologies that enable simultaneous quantitative assessment of hundreds to thousands of proteins, neuroproteomic studies of brain aging and cognitive decline are becoming more widespread. This review focuses on the contributions of neuroproteomic investigations to advances in our understanding of age-related deficits of hippocampus-dependent spatial learning and memory. Accumulating neuroproteomic data demonstrate that hippocampal aging involves common themes of dysregulated metabolism, increased oxidative stress, altered protein processing, and decreased synaptic function. Additionally, growing evidence suggests that cognitive decline does not represent a “more aged” phenotype, but rather is associated with specific neuroproteomic changes that occur in addition to age-related alterations. Understanding if and how age-related changes in the hippocampal neuroproteome contribute to cognitive decline and elucidating the pathways and processes that lead to cognitive decline are critical objectives that remain to be achieved. Progress in the field and challenges that remain to be addressed with regard to animal models, behavioral testing, and proteomic reporting are also discussed

HLA gene expression is altered in whole blood and placenta from women who later developed preeclampsia

Preeclampsia is a multi-system disease that significantly contributes to maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. In this study, we used a non-biased microarray approach to identify dysregulated genes in maternal whole blood samples which may be associated with the development of preeclampsia. Whole blood samples were obtained at 28 weeks of gestation from 5 women who later developed preeclampsia (cases) and 10 matched women with normotensive pregnancies (controls). Placenta samples were obtained from an independent cohort of 19 women with preeclampsia matched with 19 women with normotensive pregnancies. We studied gene expression profiles using Illumina microarray in blood and validated changes in gene expression in whole blood and placenta tissue by qPCR. We found a transcriptional profile differentiating cases from controls; 236 genes were significantly dysregulated in blood from women who developed preeclampsia. Functional annotation of microarray results indicated that most of the genes found to be dysregulated were involved in inflammatory pathways. Whilst general trends were preserved, only HLA-A was validated in whole blood samples from cases using qPCR (2.30 ± 0.9 fold change) whereas in placental tissue HLA-DRB1 expression was found to be significantly increased in samples from women with preeclampsia (5.88 ± 2.24 fold change). We have identified that HLA-A is up-regulated in the circulation of women who went on to develop preeclampsia. In placenta of women with preeclampsia we identified that HLA-DRB1 is up-regulated. Our data provide further evidence for involvement of the HLA gene family in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia

The Robertson v. Princeton Case: Too Important to Be Left to the Lawyers

Offers comments from eleven contributors on the Robertson family's donor rights suit against the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs for violation of donor intent. Explores its effects on and implications for the nonprofit sector

``I Felt Like I Wasn't Really Meant to be There'': Understanding Women's Perceptions of Gender in Approaching AI Design & Development

Women continue to enter and remain in AI development at a rate far lower than men, and this glaring gender gap has caused AI technologies to contain inherent bias in their design. While studies have explored the challenges women face in the field, little has been done to explore the influences of women's gender identities on how women approach gender in AI design. In this study, we conducted semi-structured interviews with eight women with diverse experiences in various areas of AI design in order to understand how women perceive the role of their gender identity within the AI design community and how those perceptions have influenced their design approach for AI systems. Our research provides first-hand empirical evidence from women’s own perspectives on how the enduring gender gap in the AI field is reinforcing harmful bias in designing and developing AI systems. We also propose initial design implications and highlight urgently needed future research for designing more inclusive AI technologies with diverse gender perspectives in mind

Effect of timing of shade on growth, development, physiology, and fruiting of a primocane fruiting blackberry in a controlled environment

Primocane blackberry production in the upper south is limited by high temperatures during the bloom and early fruiting period, resulting in poor fruit set and poor fruit quality. Shade may have the potential to delay bloom and flowering to a more favorable season. A greenhouse study was established to evaluate the effects of shade on primocane blackberry growth, physiology, and fruiting. Single rooted plants of ‘Prime-Ark® 45’ were planted in 12-liter pots and grown in a greenhouse at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, Agriculture Research and Extension Center, Fayetteville, Arkansas. At approximately 0.25 m in height, one of the four following treatments was imposed with eleven single plant replications: 1) an untreated control (CK), 2) unshaded for 29 days then shaded for 30 days (US), 3) shaded for 29 days then shaded for 30 days (SS), and 4) shaded for 29 days and unshaded for 30 days (SU). Plants in the SU treatment were significantly taller than the SS and CK. Dry weight of leaves was consistent for all treatments except for SS which was significantly lower than the others. The CK bloomed first followed by US and SS. The last to bloom was the SU, 26 days after the CK. In conclusion, there was a delay of ‘Prime-Ark 45’ flower formation when 50% shade cloth was implemented and removed in the SU treatment. Further research needs to be completed to find the optimal intensity and timing of shade implementation that will improve fruit set in the southern region

Mapping the Galactic Halo. V. Sgr dSph Tidal Debris 60 degrees from the Main Body

As part of the Spaghetti Project Survey (SPS) we have detected a concentration of giant stars well above expectations for a smooth halo model. The position (l~350, b~50) and distance (~50 kpc) of this concentration match those of the Northern over-density detected by SDSS (Yanny et al. 2000, Ivezic et al. 2000). We find additional evidence for structure at ~80 kpc in the same direction. We present radial velocities for many of these stars, including the first published results from the 6.5m Magellan telescope. The radial velocities for stars in these structures are in excellent agreement with models of the dynamical evolution of the Sgr dwarf tidal debris, whose center is 60 degrees away. The metallicity of stars in these streams is lower than that of the main body of the Sgr dwarf, which may indicate a radial metallicity gradient prior to disruption.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures accepted in Astrophysical Journal Letter