A contingent value? The changing role of autonomy in law and policy on AIDS

This essay examines the changing role of the ethical value of autonomy in law and policy relating to AIDS in a number of European jurisdictions. In the early years of the epidemic the autonomy of infected and at-risk persons, and of social groups was promoted as a means of reducing the spread of HIV in the general population. Accordingly autonomy was deemed worthy of respect for instrumental reasons. This means-end calculation was premised on the lack of medical therapies, as well as the need to avoid discrimination in order to prevent at-risk persons from going underground as far as health care systems were concerned. In law this instrumentalisation of autonomy was reflected in a specific application of the proportionality test, i.e. to impose coercive or discriminatory measures would be disproportionate, or even inimical, to the end of reducing the spread of HIV. This was a contingent analysis, strongly informed by the state of medical knowledge at the time, as well as by the relative power of professionals, health bureaucrats and lay activists. With the introduction of effective therapies such as Highly Active Retroviral Therapy (HAART) and Zidovudine (AZT) the terms of the proportionality analysis have changed decisively. As a result, it is now more likely than before that coercive measures will be implemented. --

Groundwater Depletion and Agricultural Land Use Change in Wichita County, Kansas

Though researchers have documented groundwater and land use changes in the High Plains, few studies have investigated their interactions. This paper examines the relationship between groundwater depletion and agricultural land use change in greater detail than previous studies. Water well measurements and satellite imagery were used to detect changes in groundwater and land cover in Wichita County, Kansas, between 1975 and 2001. Analysis of these changes using GIS indicated that areas experiencing the greatest decline in groundwater were indeed being removed from irrigation, while areas with limited groundwater decline were experiencing fewer land use changes

06. Pilot Study: Limitations to Pollination and Ovary Development in the Small White Lady’s-Slipper (Cypripedium candidum)

The small white lady’s-slipper (Cypripedium candidum) is threatened or endangered in 10 or more of the approximately 20 U.S. states and Canadian provinces in which it is found. Our pilot study revealed a lack of pollination occurring in Wisconsin’s wild populations of this orchid. We also speculate from observations taken during the study that animal browse contributes to the state threatened status of this orchid. The results of this 1-year study are taken from three sites of low prairie in southern Wisconsin. Orchids were counted at each site; a subset of flowering plants was hand pollinated and mapped as to location. Three weeks later these plants and populations were revisited and inventoried for ovary development. Hand-pollinated plants had a significantly higher success of ovary development than plants left to natural pollination

Lessons learned from professional development workshops on using GIS to teach geography and history in the K-12 classroom

A GIS oriented professional development activity engaged social studies teachers with the importance of maps and graphics in teaching geography and history. With an introduction to ArcGIS Online and National Geographic Map Maker, the activity provided teachers with the ability to make their own maps and identify GIS materials for their classrooms. Conducting the workshop reinforced our belief in the need for considerable hands-on activity with participants allowed to work at their own pace. Pre- and post-event surveys showed positive gains regarding the teachers’ likelihood to include GIS based maps and graphics in teaching. The activity provided teachers with enough knowledge of GIS that they were ready to use the technology immediately

Climatology of nocturnal rainfall for Northeast Kansas, 1950–2012

Nighttime rainfall has long been thought of as an important component to the central Great Plains hydroclimate during the wettest three-month period known as the “late spring - early summer precipitation maximum” from May–July (MJJ), though the climatological characteristics in Kansas are not very well documented in the literature. The nighttime rainfall characteristics are examined based on hourly precipitation data for Topeka, KS and other Kansas stations for a 63-year period from 1950–2012 for May–July. Nighttime rainfall is a major contributor to the overall moisture budget in the Great Plains, contributing over 50% of the overall rainfall total for the three-month period, with an increase in the percentage from May to July. Most nocturnal rainfall events initiate around the local midnight hour, with earlier start times in May compared to June and July. The greatest hourly precipitation tends to occur around the same time, with a gradual step down into the mid-morning hours. Geographically, areas in the eastern portion of the state receive more nighttime rainfall on average for all three months than areas to the west

Location Coding by Opponent Neural Populations in the Auditory Cortex

Although the auditory cortex plays a necessary role in sound localization, physiological investigations in the cortex reveal inhomogeneous sampling of auditory space that is difficult to reconcile with localization behavior under the assumption of local spatial coding. Most neurons respond maximally to sounds located far to the left or right side, with few neurons tuned to the frontal midline. Paradoxically, psychophysical studies show optimal spatial acuity across the frontal midline. In this paper, we revisit the problem of inhomogeneous spatial sampling in three fields of cat auditory cortex. In each field, we confirm that neural responses tend to be greatest for lateral positions, but show the greatest modulation for near-midline source locations. Moreover, identification of source locations based on cortical responses shows sharp discrimination of left from right but relatively inaccurate discrimination of locations within each half of space. Motivated by these findings, we explore an opponent-process theory in which sound-source locations are represented by differences in the activity of two broadly tuned channels formed by contra- and ipsilaterally preferring neurons. Finally, we demonstrate a simple model, based on spike-count differences across cortical populations, that provides bias-free, level-invariant localization—and thus also a solution to the “binding problem” of associating spatial information with other nonspatial attributes of sounds

Tau Aggregation Inhibitor Therapy : An Exploratory Phase 2 Study in Mild or Moderate Alzheimer's Disease

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank patients and their caregivers for their participation in the study and are indebted to all the investigators involved in the study, particularly Drs. Douglas Fowlie and Donald Mowat for their helpful contributions to the clinical execution of the study in Scotland. We thank Sharon Eastwood, Parexel, for assistance in preparing initial drafts of the manuscript. We acknowledge constructive comments provided by Professors G. Wilcock and S. Gauthier on drafts of the article. CMW, CRH, and JMDS are officers of, and hold beneficial interests in, TauRx Therapeutics. RTS, PB, KK, and DJW are paid consultants to TauRx Therapeutics. The study was financed entirely by TauRx TherapeuticsPeer reviewedPublisher PD

Cellular Models of Aggregation-Dependent Template-Directed Proteolysis to Characterize Tau Aggregation Inhibitors for Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease

Copyright © 2015, The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Acknowledgements-We thank Drs Timo Rager and Rolf Hilfiker (Solvias, Switzerland) for polymorph analyses.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

3D Assessment of Nasopharyngeal and Craniofacial Phenotypes in Ts65Dn Down Syndrome Mice Treated with a Dyrk1a Inhibitor

Background: Down syndrome (DS) originates from having three copies of chromosome 21 (i.e. Trisomy 21). DS is associated with many detrimental phenotypes including intellectual disabilities, heart defects, abnormal craniofacial development, and obstructive sleep apnea, which develops from restricted nasopharyngeal airways and an underdeveloped mandible. Ts65Dn mice are trisomic for about half of the orthologs on human chromosome 21 and display many phenotypes associated with DS including craniofacial abnormalities. Dyrk1a is found in three copies in Ts65Dn mice and individuals with DS, and thought to be a root cause of the craniofacial phenotypes. Epigallocatechin 3-gallate (EGCG) is a green tea polyphenol and inhibitor of Dyrk1a activity. Purpose: We hypothesize that decreased Dyrk1a activity in Ts65Dn mice will ameliorate craniofacial dysmorphology. Methods: To test our hypothesis we compared Ts65Dn mice with two or three copies of Dyrk1a and compared Ts65Dn mice with and without prenatal EGCG treatment. EGCG treated mothers were fed 200mg/kg EGCG on gestational day 7. Six week old mice were sacrificed and their heads imaged using micro-computed tomography (μCT). From μCT images, we measured nasopharyngeal airway volume and anatomical landmarks (n = 54) from the facial skeleton, cranial vault, cranial base, and mandible. Mean nasopharyngeal airway volumes were graphically compared, and a landmark-based multivariate geometric morphometric approach known as Euclidean Distance Matrix Analysis (EDMA) was carried out to assess local differences in craniofacial morphology between trisomic mouse samples. Results: Our preliminary results indicate that EGCG treatment and reduced Dyrk1a copy number increases mean nasopharyngeal airway volume in Ts65Dn mice. Craniofacial morphometric differences were found among all samples. EGCG treatment increased portions of the mandible and decreased portions of the cranial vault and cranial base. Conclusion: Preliminary analyses suggest that both EGCG treatment and reduced Dyrk1a copy number affect craniofacial morphology.Three Dimensional Imaging of the Craniofacial Complex Center (3D ICCC)--IUPUI Signature Center Initiative