A Review of Spartina Management in Washington State, US

Management of non-native Spartina plants including Spartina alterniflora Lois., Spartina anglica C. Hubb and Spartina patens (Ait.) Muhl. in Washington State, U.S. evolved during the 1990s from small-scale field trials to a large-scale integrated pest management program. The development and implementation of the program were significantly hindered by stakeholder conflict, particularly regarding the use of herbicide in estuarine environments. In 1995, Washington State Department of Agriculture was appointed to manage these invasive species. Agency coordination and strategy reviews were undertaken. A wide range of control techniques, including physical removal, mowing and herbicide, were established, with all techniques demonstrating considerable limitations. The combination of mowing and herbicide provided the greatest efficacy but was expensive. Development of biological control options is in progress but will take years to prove effectiveness for Spartina management. Program progress based on existing mapping and efficacy data is difficult to gauge. This program demonstrates that Spartina plants are difficult and expensive to eradicate. Between 1995 and 2000, infestations increased in area by 250%, affecting more than 8,093 ha of intertidal land. During this period, approximately 15% of the infestation was treated annually. Although the program has evolved considerably, substantially increasing knowledge on the management of Spartina, infestations in Washington State continue to present a range of management challenges, including the development of a standardized and integrated mapping procedures, cost-effective control techniques and improvements to stakeholder management

Pharmacological studies of the involvement of hypothalamic prostaglandins in the regulation of thyrotropin secretion.

A case is made for the involvement of pituitary prostaglandins (PGs) in the regulation of thyrotropin (TSH) secretion by citing recent evidence that TSH release in vivo and in vitro is enhanced by treatment with exogenous PGs and is inhibited by drugs (e.g., indomethacin) that block PG synthesis. Pharmacological studies were then performed to test the hypothesis that hypothalamic PGs also affect TSH secretion indirectly via the appropriate hypothalamic hormones that regulate pituitary secretion. The inhibition of thyroidectomy-induced TSH secretion was used as an endpoint in choosing the best of several drugs purported to inhibit PG synthesis. The established effectiveness of indomethacin and aspirin were used for reference in testing the following drugs: naproxen, mefenamic acid, tranylcypromine, and phenelzine. Only naproxen was found to be effective, but since it was no more potent than indomethacin, the latter drug was used for subsequent work. Indomethacin was stereotaxically implanted into several hypothalamic regions known to regulate TSH secretion, and sequential plasma samples were analyzed for TSH by radioimmunoassay. Bilateral implants of indomethacin in the anterior hypothalamic area increased TSH secretion throughout the 72 hr period of study. Sham inplants at this site and indomethacin implants in other nearby sites were ineffective. These findings suggest that endogenous PGs play an inhibitory role in the hypothalamic regulation of pituitary secretion

Comment to the SEC in Support of the Enhanced Disclosure of Patent and Technology License Information

Intangible assets like IP constitute a large share of the value of firms, and the US economy generally. Accurate information on the intellectual property (IP) holdings and transactions of publicly-traded firms facilitates price discovery in the market and reduces transaction costs. While public understanding of the innovation economy has been expanded by a large stream of empirical research using patent data, and more recently trademark information this research is only as good as the accuracy and completeness of the data it builds upon. In contrast with information about patents and trademarks, good information about IP licensing is much less publicly available. Although IP royalties provide large in-bound trade flows to the United States, remarkably little is known about the economic realities of IP transactions. But not only are licensing royalties economically impactful, but building a better understanding of how markets for technology operate in a modern, innovation economy is important for the transparency of markets, and to the public and policy-makers. Open data on innovation is currently siloed, fragmented, and unfedeRrarated across a number of repositories (some electronic and others physical) including the Administrative Office of the Courts, Secretary of State Offices, Copyright Office, IRS, USPTO, SEC, FDA, NSF, SBA and others, raising search and discovery costs and undermining the goals of open data. Data on “comparables” tend to be thin in the industry, a situation that may offer a sub-optimal market environment for startup firms: these young entities often rely on selling intangibles, but have low bargaining power, and limited resources to invest in search and price discovery. Disclosures of material licenses and intellectual property information to the SEC addresses a number of existing gaps, with the potential to play an expanded role. In fact, IP license information is not widely available to the public through any other federal agency, even in cases where the IP was federally funded. Thus the IP license information available through the SEC is an invaluable resource to the public. One major limitation with the existing SEC licensing information, however, is that it is often difficult to find and manipulate. An impediment arises since the data are not tagged or designed to be easily combined with other information sources. One of us, for example, has sought to determine which firms have SEC-registered patent licenses over a period of time for the purpose of establishing a public database of licenses obtained through FOIA requests. However, there is no straightforward way for the public to search for this information, in the SEC record or otherwise. The overall thrust of our comments is to commend the SEC on the valuable disclosures its requirements encourage and to recommend preserving and augmenting, rather than diminishing them, in order to 1) produce more useful data and 2) reduce the costs of discovering and using existing data disclosed to the SEC. In many cases, an SEC requirement will not require reporting entities to create new information (e.g., when disclosing patents or licenses) but it will greatly reduce the costs to third parties of searching for this information

Comment to the SEC in Support of the Enhanced Disclosure of Patent and Technology License Information

Intangible assets like IP constitute a large share of the value of firms, and the US economy generally. Accurate information on the intellectual property (IP) holdings and transactions of publicly-traded firms facilitates price discovery in the market and reduces transaction costs. While public understanding of the innovation economy has been expanded by a large stream of empirical research using patent data, and more recently trademark information this research is only as good as the accuracy and completeness of the data it builds upon. In contrast with information about patents and trademarks, good information about IP licensing is much less publicly available. Although IP royalties provide large in-bound trade flows to the United States, remarkably little is known about the economic realities of IP transactions. But not only are licensing royalties economically impactful, but building a better understanding of how markets for technology operate in a modern, innovation economy is important for the transparency of markets, and to the public and policy-makers. Open data on innovation is currently siloed, fragmented, and unfedeRrarated across a number of repositories (some electronic and others physical) including the Administrative Office of the Courts, Secretary of State Offices, Copyright Office, IRS, USPTO, SEC, FDA, NSF, SBA and others, raising search and discovery costs and undermining the goals of open data. Data on “comparables” tend to be thin in the industry, a situation that may offer a sub-optimal market environment for startup firms: these young entities often rely on selling intangibles, but have low bargaining power, and limited resources to invest in search and price discovery. Disclosures of material licenses and intellectual property information to the SEC addresses a number of existing gaps, with the potential to play an expanded role. In fact, IP license information is not widely available to the public through any other federal agency, even in cases where the IP was federally funded. Thus the IP license information available through the SEC is an invaluable resource to the public. One major limitation with the existing SEC licensing information, however, is that it is often difficult to find and manipulate. An impediment arises since the data are not tagged or designed to be easily combined with other information sources. One of us, for example, has sought to determine which firms have SEC-registered patent licenses over a period of time for the purpose of establishing a public database of licenses obtained through FOIA requests. However, there is no straightforward way for the public to search for this information, in the SEC record or otherwise. The overall thrust of our comments is to commend the SEC on the valuable disclosures its requirements encourage and to recommend preserving and augmenting, rather than diminishing them, in order to 1) produce more useful data and 2) reduce the costs of discovering and using existing data disclosed to the SEC. In many cases, an SEC requirement will not require reporting entities to create new information (e.g., when disclosing patents or licenses) but it will greatly reduce the costs to third parties of searching for this information

Factors modulating the secretion of thyrotropin and other hormones of the thyroid axis.

The first portion of this paper is devoted to an overview of the normal function of the hypothalamo-pituitary-thyroid axis. This section emphasizes areas of current research interest and it identifies several sites and mechanisms that are potentially important interfaces with toxins or toxic mechanisms. We then describe an in vitro technique for the continuous superfusion of enzymatically dispersed pituitary cells; this approach is particularly valuable in studying the dynamics of the TSH responses to the factors known (or suspected) to regulate TSH secretion in vivo. Using this technique, we have found that 10(-5)M prostaglandin (PG)I2 stimulates TSH secretion without altering the response to TRH (10(-8)M), and that this stimulation is not due to its rapid conversion to 6-keto PGF1 alpha. In contrast PGs of the E series (PGE1 and PGE2, 10(-5)M) increase responsiveness to TRH but have no effect alone. We found no effects of any of the other prostanoids tested (PGs A2, B2, F1 alpha, F2 alpha, thromboxanes A2 and B2, and the endoperoxide analog, U-44069. Somatostain (10(-9)M inhibits TRH-induced TSH secretion, but does not alter the responsiveness to PGI2. These findings suggest that somatostatin blocks TSH secretion at a point that is functionally prior to the involvement of the PGs, and perhaps does so by blocking synthesis or limiting availability of selected PGs

HIV-related stigma in the UK then and now: to what extent are we on track to eliminate stigma? A qualitative investigation

Background The introduction of effective antiretroviral treatment in the late 1990s led to the perception that HIV was a chronic but manageable condition. Nevertheless, stigma remains one of the major hurdles for people living with HIV (PLWH) to accessing healthcare and biomedical preventions. Thus, Fast Track Cities has set a target of zero HIV discrimination by 2030 as part of its strategy to end HIV transmission. Methods Fifty-three participants from the United Kingdom, including PLWH (n = 21, 40%), health and social care workers (n = 24, 45%), and charity workers and activists (n = 13, 25%), were recruited. Semi-structured interviews investigated stigma and discrimination, focusing on both before and after the widespread use of effective antiretroviral treatment in the late 1990s. Data were analysed using a thematic approach. Results Before effective antiretroviral treatment narratives were shaped by two main themes: 1) the media’s role in influencing public opinion and contributing to misunderstandings of HIV transmission; and 2) personal experiences of HIV-related stigma, which for PLWH included incidents of physical violence and aggression, as well as fears of their HIV status being publicised. Contemporary narratives on stigma experiences were organised around four themes: 1) discrimination in healthcare settings; 2) stigma amongst men who have sex with men (MSM); 3) stigma towards African and Afro-Caribbean PLWH; and 4) the limits of change in public HIV-related knowledge and attitudes. Contemporary narratives indicated a reduction in enacted stigma, but continued anticipation of discrimination and self-reported shame, particularly in MSM and African and Afro-Caribbean PLWH. Conclusion The nature of stigma against those with HIV has evolved. The intersection of PLWH and minority groups (e.g. MSM and African and Afro-Caribbean persons) may enhance anticipatory and internalised stigma, with some suggestion that this may contribute to reduced engagement in HIV care and prevention services. Our findings indicate the need for further research in this area, as well as proactive interventions with community groups to enhance knowledge of HIV

Heat Flow Characterization of Speakers

Statement of Confidentiality: The complete senior project report was submitted to the project advisor and sponsor. The results of this project are of a confidential nature and will not be published at this time

New advances in the treatment of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI)

Clostridium difficile infections (CDI) have increased in frequency throughout the world. In addition to an increase in frequency, recent CDI epidemics have been linked to a hypervirulent C. difficile strain resulting in greater severity of disease. Although most mild to moderate cases of CDI continue to respond to metronidazole or vancomycin, refractory and recurrent cases of CDI may require alternative therapies. This review provides a brief overview of CDI and summarizes studies involving alternative antibiotics, toxin binders, probiotics, and immunological therapies that can be considered for treatment of acute and recurrent CDI in severe and refractory situations