Cannabis and Its Historical Role in America’s Intentional Segregation of Race

One of the more dramatic shifts in attitudes towards a particular trend or culture we have seen during the turn of the century is none other than attitudes towards marijuana. The Cannabis plant, commonly known as marijuana, has been illegal in the United States for a while now. In the past ten years, we have seen an influx of states and countries relaxing their attitudes towards marijuana, and it\u27s potential benefits. While this shift in attitude towards a relatively harmless drug is a step in the right direction, many are unaware of the sinister and racist history behind outlawing the plant in the first place that we still see today

Control of adenosine deaminase levels in human lymphoblasts

High levels of adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity have been associated with normal T cell differentiation and T cell disease, such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia; however, possible mechanisms controlling the level of this enzyme have not been explored. In this study, the properties and rate of turnover of ADA are compared in cultured human T and B lymphoblast cell lines. (1) Relative to B lymphoblasts, the level of ADA activity i extracts of T lymphoblast cell lines (MOLT-4, RPMI-8402. CCRF-CEM and CCRF-HSB-2) is elevated 7- to 14-fold and differs by 2-fold among the T-cell lines. (2) In T and B lymphoblasts extracts, the enzyme is apparently identical based on Km for adenosine and deoxyadenosine, Ki for inosine, Vmax for adenosine, S20w, isoelectric pH, and heat stability. Further, by radioimmunoassay the quantity of ADA immunoreactive protein is proportional to the level of enzyme activity in all cell lines studies. (3) Using a purification and selective immunoprecipitation technique,the enzyme turnover could be assessed in cell lines labeled with [35S]methionine. The apparent rate of ADA synthesis, relative to total protein, is 2-fold faster in both T cell lines (RPMI-8402 and CCRF-CEM) than in the B cell lines (MGL-8 and GM-130). The apparent half-life (t1/2) for the enzyme degradation is 19 and 39 hr, respectively, for CCRF-CEM and RPMI-8402, while the t1/2 for both B cell lines is 7-9 hr. From the net rate of synthesis and degradation, the T cell lines exhibit a 6- and 12- fold difference in ADA turnover relative to B cells, consistent with the observed differences in enzyme activity. (4) The level of ADA (activity and/or protein) is cultured T or B lymphoblasts is not influenced by either substrates or products of the ADA reaction or an ADA inhibitor or a selected group of imunosupressive drugs added to these cells in culture.These studies indicate that while ADA is apparently identical in all T and B lymphoblasts, alterations in both the rate of ADA synthesis and degradation lead to its accumulation and high steady-state level in T cells.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/24100/1/0000357.pd

Analysis of normal and mutant forms of human adenosine deaminase — A review

A deficiency of the enzyme adenosine deaminase is associated with an autosomal recessive form of severe combined immunodeficiency disease in man. The molecular forms of the normal human enzyme have now been well characterized in an effort to better understand the nature of the enzyme defect in affected patients.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45343/1/11010_2004_Article_BF00220303.pd

Group life insurance in Kuwait : problems and prospects

The Kuwaiti government obliged firms to cover part of employee's risks through legislation in 1965 and 1977. Employers should cover risks as death or job injury due to or during work. This had affected the group life insurance (GLI) market. The thesis examines the economics of this market. Problem of choosing the right life table with respect to Kuwaiti mortality rates is tested. The efficiency of using English life tables to estimate mortality rates in Kuwait GLI market is examined. The effects of GLI underwriters on the market are investigated. The Social Security Services (SSS) are offered for Kuwaitis only, Non-Kuwaitis face more economical insecurity than Kuwaitis do. Therefore, the demand for employees' group investment plan to cover future security facing Kuwaiti and non-Kuwaiti workers, in particular, is also considered. The thesis suggests several methods to solve the problems facing the Kuwait GLI market. Kuwaiti Mortality rates are estimated using data from both the Social Security Association (SSA) and a sample of term group life insurees to be compared with English and American life tables. Methods of avoiding lack of information, adverse selection, and moral hazard in Kuwait GLI market are proposed. Finally, the advantages of introducing group investment plan are examined, and it was shown that these could alleviate SSS problems. Use of group investment plan should reduce the cost of the SSS for Kuwaitis, secure part of Non-Kuwaitis risks, and assist insurers to avoid or reduce their economic problems

Medial Temporal Lobe BOLD Activity at Rest Predicts Individual Differences in Memory Ability in Hhealthy Young Adults

Human beings differ in their ability to form and retrieve lasting long-term memories. To explore the source of these individual differences, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) activity in healthy young adults (n = 50) during periods of resting fixation that were interleaved with periods of simple cognitive tasks. We report that medial temporal lobe BOLD activity during periods of rest predicts individual differences in memory ability. Specifically, individuals who exhibited greater magnitudes of task-induced deactivations in medial temporal lobe BOLD signal (as compared to periods of rest) demonstrated superior memory during offline testing. This relationship was independent of differences in general cognitive function and persisted across different control tasks (i.e., number judgment versus checkerboard detection) and experimental designs (i.e., blocked versus event-related). These results offer a neurophysiological basis for the variability in mnemonic ability that is present amongst healthy young adults and may help to guide strategies aimed at early detection and intervention of neurological and mnemonic impairment