Review of \u3cem\u3eA Kingdom on Earth: Anglo-American Social Christianity 1880-1940.\u3c/em\u3e Paul T. Phillips. Reviewed by James Leiby, University of California, Berkeley.

Paul T. Phillips, A Kingdom on Earth: Anglo-American Social Christianity, 1880-1940.. University Park: Penn State Press, 1996. $55.00 hardcover,$16.95 papercover

THE RETURNS TO AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH IN MAINE: THE CASE OF A SMALL NORTHEASTERN EXPERIMENT STATION

Estimates of the marginal internal rate of return to expenditures for research by the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station are presented. Estimates are performed using ridge regression under an array of specifications, including alternative functional forms, lag structures, costs of public funds, and variable specifications. The results are consistent with many previous results that imply an underinvestment in agricultural research.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

TOWARD A MARKETING STRATEGY FOR FRESH WILD BLUEBERRIES IN THE NORTHEAST

Marketing,

TB135: The Estimation of the Returns to Agricultural Research and Extension in Maine: 1951-1985

The purpose of this report is to determine a statistical estimate of the returns to agricultural research at the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station during the period 1950 through 1986. The approach taken here follows most of the recent literature regarding the estimation of returns to agricultural research, by estimating an econometric production function and deriving an internal rate of return on both research and extension expenditures within the state of Maine. This estimate is derived using ridge regression techniques. The approach taken here differs somewhat from much of the returns to research literature in that it focuses on a single state, while most other work in this area considers the country as a whole. In addition the estimates here take explicit account of benefits accruing from outside of the state.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_techbulletin/1071/thumbnail.jp

Last One Standing: Michigan's Dower Law

Article published in the Michigan State University School of Law Student Scholarship Collection

B827: Toward a Cooperative Marketing Strategy for Fresh Wild Blueberries

Marketing wild blueberries as a fresh product has become an increasingly viable alternative for Maine wild blueberry producers. This bulletin presents the results of research that identified marketing regions with the greatest profit potential for fresh wild blueberries and whether there are packaging or promotional strategies that are likely to be more successful than others within these regions. The authors analyze retail demand for fresh wild blueberries in Maine, Boston, and New York City, as well as describe the results of a survey of wholesale buyers of fresh blueberries in Boston. The conclusions based on the analysis of demand at these two levels of the marketing chain provide some interesting evidence with which to begin to develop a fresh wild blueberry marketing strategy.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_bulletin/1042/thumbnail.jp

Transcription factor signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 promotes growth of human prostate cancer cells in vivo

Purpose: Stat5a/b is the key mediator of prolactin (Prl) effects in prostate cancer cells via activation of Jak2. Prl is locally produced growth factor in human prostate cancer. Prl protein expression and constitutive activation of Stat5a/b are associated with high histological grade of clinical prostate cancer. Moreover, activation of Stat5a/b in primary prostate cancer predicts early disease recurrence. Here, we inhibited Stat5a/b by several different methodological approaches. Our goal was to establish a proof-of-principle that Stat5a/b is critical for prostate cancer cell viability in vitro and for prostate tumor growth in vivo. Experimental Design: We inhibited Stat5a/b protein expression by antisense oligonucleotides or RNA interference and transcriptional activity of Stat5a/b by adenoviral expression of a dominant-negative mutant of Stat5a/b in prostate cancer cells in culture. Moreover, Stat5a/b activity was suppressed in human prostate cancer xenograft tumors in nude mice. Stat5a/b regulation of BclXL and Cyclin-D1 protein levels was demonstrated by antisense suppression of Stat5a/b protein expression followed by Western blotting. Results and Conclusions: We show here that inhibition of Stat5a/b by antisense oligonuleotides, RNA interference, or adenoviral expression of DNStat5a/b all effectively kill prostate cancer cells. Moreover, we demonstrate that Stat5a/b is critical for human prostate cancer xenograft growth in nude mice. Stat5a/b effects on the viability of on prostate cancer cells involve Stat5a/b-regulation of BclXL and Cyclin-D1 protein levels, but not the expression or activation of Stat3. This work establishes Stat5a/b as a therapeutic target protein for prostate cancer. Pharmacological inhibition of Stat5a/b in prostate cancer can be achieved by small-molecule inhibitors of transactivation, dimerization or DNA-binding of Stat5a/b

B816: An Economic Analysis of a Maine Dairy Farm Anaerobic Digester

Anaerobic digestion is a method for decomposing organic matter, producing in the process, biogas, which is mostly methane. This process can be used to eliminate or reduce disagreeable and often environmentally harmful characteristics of wastes. During the autumn of 1984, the University of Maine began operation of an anaerobic digestion unit acquired from Agway, Inc., a large Northeastern agricultural cooperative. This system, installed at the Witter Animal Science Center, decomposes animal manures and ultimately produces electricity and hot water. A by-product of the system is a fertilizer with characteristics superior to fertilizers produced from biological wastes that have not undergone a process of anaerobic digestion. The research objectives were to (1) construct an economic-engineering model representing the waste to energy system, (2) quantify the benefits and costs of the system, (3) estimate the cash flows accruing over the lifespan of the system, (4) evaluate the model to determine the net present value of the system, and (5) evaluate alternative scenarios to determine the effect on economic feasibility.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_bulletin/1051/thumbnail.jp

GM1 ganglioside in Parkinson\u27s disease: Pilot study of effects on dopamine transporter binding.

OBJECTIVE: GM1 ganglioside has been suggested as a treatment for Parkinson\u27s disease (PD), potentially having symptomatic and disease modifying effects. The current pilot imaging study was performed to examine effects of GM1 on dopamine transporter binding, as a surrogate measure of disease progression, studied longitudinally. METHODS: Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging data were obtained from a subset of subjects enrolled in a delayed start clinical trial of GM1 in PD [1]: 15 Early-start (ES) subjects, 14 Delayed-start (DS) subjects, and 11 Comparison (standard-of-care) subjects. Treatment subjects were studied over a 2.5 year period while Comparison subjects were studied over 2 years. Dynamic PET scans were performed over 90 min following injection of [(11)C]methylphenidate. Regional values of binding potential (BPND) were analyzed for several striatal volumes of interest. RESULTS: Clinical results for this subset of subjects were similar to those previously reported for the larger study group. ES subjects showed early symptomatic improvement and slow symptom progression over the study period. DS and Comparison subjects were initially on the same symptom progression trajectory but diverged once DS subjects received GM1 treatment. Imaging results showed significant slowing of BPND loss in several striatal regions in GM1-treated subjects and in some cases, an increased BPND in some striatal regions was detected after GM1 use. INTERPRETATION: Results of this pilot imaging study provide additional data to suggest a potential disease modifying effect of GM1 on PD. These results need to be confirmed in a larger number of subjects