Legal Challenges in Government Imposition of Water Conservation: The Kansas Example

This article deals with legal challenges in conserving water in the United States, using Kansas as an example. The focus is on one aspect of American water allocation law—the extent to which a state can force reductions in pumping by holders of water rights. It explains the hybrid nature of water rights, which on the one hand are “real property rights,” and yet on the other hand they are viewed as rights only to use water and not to own the water itself. Because they are a kind of property right, they are protected by the fifth amendment to the U.S. Constitution against “takings” by the government without compensation. The question becomes: to what extent, then, can states demand reductions in pumping without having to pay compensation? The answer is difficult for both water right holders and government officials to predict. The law of groundwater rights in Kansas illustrates the problem. The article describes the Kansas law in the context of other states on this issue, including the historic changes in Kansas’ water law doctrines, water management under the appropriation doctrine, the public trust doctrine, groundwater management districts, and intensive groundwater use control areas, as well as recent attempts to foster voluntary actions by water right holders that avoid government imposition of restrictions. Questions remain in Kansas and elsewhere about where the line can be drawn, between acceptable government restrictions and unacceptable takings of property. Future drought caused by climate change will focus even more attention on this question

FOOD DISTRIBUTION RESEARCH PRIORITIES TO ALLOW MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS IN TOTAL SYSTEMS PRODUCTIVITY BY 1985: FOOD WHOLESALING

Agricultural and Food Policy,

Apparatus and method for voice controlled apparel machine

Apparatus and method for speech recognition control of apparel manufacture equipment, such as a sewing machine, is provided. This invention allows an operator to control specific operational modes of the apparel manufacture equipment through verbal commands recognized by the equipment as distinct from other sounds in the environment of the equipment. The invention includes a device for recognizing and translating an operator\u27s verbal command into an electronic control signal; a communication device such as a microphone for inputting the operator\u27s verbal command into the recognizing and translating device; and interfacing means for presenting the electronic control signal to the apparel manufacture equipment in a form recognized and accepted by the equipment. The method for voice control of apparel manufacture equipment according to the present invention comprises the steps of receiving an operator\u27s verbal command through, for instance, a microphone; recognizing and translating the verbal command into an electronic control signal; and routing this electronic control signal to the apparel manufacture equipment in a form recognized by and actable upon by the equipment

An Integrative Approach to Computational Modelling of the Gene Regulatory Network Controlling Clostridium botulinum Type A1 Toxin Production

Clostridium botulinum produces botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs), highly potent substances responsible for botulism. Currently, mathematical models of C. botulinum growth and toxigenesis are largely aimed at risk assessment and do not include explicit genetic information beyond group level but integrate many component processes, such as signalling, membrane permeability and metabolic activity. In this paper we present a scheme for modelling neurotoxin production in C. botulinum Group I type A1, based on the integration of diverse information coming from experimental results available in the literature. Experiments show that production of BoNTs depends on the growth-phase and is under the control of positive and negative regulatory elements at the intracellular level. Toxins are released as large protein complexes and are associated with non-toxic components. Here, we systematically review and integrate those regulatory elements previously described in the literature for C. botulinum Group I type A1 into a population dynamics model, to build the very first computational model of toxin production at the molecular level. We conduct a validation of our model against several items of published experimental data for different wild type and mutant strains of C. botulinum Group I type A1. The result of this process underscores the potential of mathematical modelling at the cellular level, as a means of creating opportunities in developing new strategies that could be used to prevent botulism; and potentially contribute to improved methods for the production of toxin that is used for therapeutics

Pathogenic effect of interleukin-17A in induction of Sjogren's syndrome-like disease using adenovirus-mediated gene transfer

Introduction Sjögren's syndrome (SS) involves a chronic, progressive inflammation primarily of the salivary and lacrimal glands leading to decreased levels of saliva and tears resulting in dry mouth and dry eye diseases. Seminal findings regarding TH17 cell populations that secrete predominantly interleukin (IL)-17A have been shown to play an important role in an increasing number of autoimmune diseases, including SS. In the present study, we investigated the function of IL-17A on the development and onset of SS. Methods Adenovirus serotype 5 (Ad5) vectors expressing either IL-17A or LacZ were infused via retrograde cannulation into the salivary glands of C57BL/6J mice between 6 and 8 weeks of age or between 15 and 17 weeks of age. The mice were characterized for SS phenotypes. Results Disease profiling indicated that SS-non-susceptible C57BL/6J mice whose salivary glands received the Ad5-IL17A vector developed a SS-like disease profile, including the appearance of lymphocytic foci, increased cytokine levels, changes in antinuclear antibody profiles, and temporal loss of saliva flow. Conclusions Induction of SS pathology by IL-17A in SS-non-susceptible mice strongly suggests that IL-17A is an important inflammatory cytokine in salivary gland dysfunction. Thus, localized anti-IL17 therapy may be effective in preventing glandular dysfunction.National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (U.S.) (PHS Grants K99DE018958)National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (U.S.) (R21AI081952)Sjogren's Syndrome FoundationUniversity of Florida. Center for Orphaned Autoimmune DisordersNational Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (U.S.) (Intramural research grant)National Institutes of Health (U.S.