Synopsis of biological data on the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun

This synopsis reviews taxonomy, morphology, distribution, life history, commercial hard and soft shell crab fisheries, physiology, diseases, ecology, laboratory culture methodology, and influences of environmental pollutants on the blue crab, Callinecles sapidus. Over 300 selected, published reports up to and including 1982 are covered. (PDF file contains 45 pages.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP): In Brief

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) among 12 Asia-Pacific countries, with both economic and strategic significance for the United States. If approved, it would be the largest FTA in which the United States participates. The 12 countries announced the conclusion of the TPP negotiations on October 5, 2015, after several years of ongoing talks. The President released the text of the agreement and notified Congress of his intent to sign on November 5, 2015. Congress would need to pass implementing legislation for a final TPP agreement to enter into force for the United States. Such legislation would be eligible to receive expedited legislative consideration under the recent grant of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), P.L. 114-26, if Congress determines the Administration has advanced the TPA negotiating objectives, and met various notification and consultation requirements. TPP negotiating parties include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam. Through the TPP, the participating countries seek to liberalize trade and investment and establish new rules and disciplines in the region beyond what exists in the World Trade Organization (WTO). The FTA is envisioned as a living agreement that will be open to future members and may become a vehicle to advance a wider Asia-Pacific free trade area. It is a U.S. policy response to the rapidly increasing economic and strategic linkages among Asian-Pacific nations and has become the economic centerpiece of the Administration’s “rebalance” to the region. The TPP has slowly evolved from a more limited agreement among four countries concluded in 2006 into the current 12-country FTA agreement, with the United States joining the negotiations in 2008. Japan, the most recent country to participate, joined the negotiations in 2013. This significantly increased the potential economic significance of the agreement to the United States, because Japan is the largest economy and trading partner without an existing U.S. FTA among TPP negotiating partners (thus having greater scope for trade liberalization with the United States). The United States already has FTAs with 6 of the 11 other countries participating. Malaysia and Vietnam also stand out among the TPP countries without existing U.S. FTAs, given the rapid growth in U.S. trade with the two nations over the past three decades and substantial presence of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) that will be affected by the TPP’s SOE provisions. Views on the potential impact of the agreement vary. Proponents argue that the TPP has the opportunity to boost economic growth and jobs through expanded trade and investment opportunities with negotiating partners that currently make up 37% of total U.S. goods and services trade, involves writing new trade rules and disciplines, and deepening U.S. trade and investment integration in what many see as the world’s most economically vibrant region. The agreement would eventually eliminate all tariffs on manufactured products and most agricultural goods. It also includes new trade disciplines on issues such as digital trade barriers, state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and regulatory coherence, among other provisions. Opponents voice concerns over potential job loss and competition in import-sensitive industries, and how a TPP agreement might limit U.S. ability to regulate in areas such as health, food safety, and the environment, among other concerns. The Obama Administration, joined by many analysts as well as many policymakers in the region, has argued that the strategic value of a potential TPP agreement parallels its economic value, contending that the agreement would strengthen U.S. allies and partners and reaffirm U.S. economic leadership in the region. The President has repeatedly highlighted the importance of maintaining U.S. leadership in crafting global trade rules, notably with reference to potentially alternative Chinese initiatives. China is not a party to the TPP. Others argue that past trade pacts have had a limited impact on broad foreign policy dynamics

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP): Negotiations and Issues for Congress

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a potential free trade agreement (FTA) among 12, and perhaps more, countries (Figure 1). The United States and 11 other countries o f the Asia-Pacific region—Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam—are negotiating the text of the FTA. With over 20 chapters under negotiation, the TPP partners envision the agreement to be “comprehensive and high-standard,” in that they seek to eliminate tariffs and nontariff barriers to trade in goods, services, and agriculture, and to establish or expand rules on a wide range of issues including intellectual property rights, foreign direct investment, and other trade-related issues. They also strive to create a “21st-century agreement” that addresses new and cross-cutting issues presented by an increasingly globalized economy. The TPP draws congressional interest on a number of fronts. Congress would have to approve implementing legislation for U.S. commitments under the agreement to enter into force. In addition, under long-established executive-legislative practice, the Administration notifies and consults with congressional leaders, before, during, and after trade agreements have been negotiated. Furthermore, the TPP will likely affect a range of sectors and regions of the U.S. economy of direct interest to Members of Congress and could influence the shape and path of U.S. trade policy for the foreseeable future. This report examines the issues related to the proposed TPP, the state and substance of the negotiations (to the degree that the information is publicly available), the specific areas under negotiation, the policy and economic contexts in which the TPP would fit, and the issues for Congress that the TPP presents. The report will be revised and updated as events warrant

WV public school music teachers\u27 use of digital audio technologies for teaching and learning

The wealth of new digital audio technologies, when implemented in classroom music instruction, has the potential to support increased student engagement and enhancement of the musical experience more than in any other time in the 100 year history of public school music education. The purpose of this study was to identify if digital audio technologies are currently being used by WV music teachers, their skill levels, what decisions are made when using the technology, what was the effect on learning, and to gauge whether teaching practices were changed. It is a picture of what teachers are currently doing as well as the barriers they have faced.;The study employed both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. The quantitative instrument used was an on-line survey titled Use of Digital Audio Technologies in Teaching Environments. The qualitative component was interviews of K-12 music teachers who rated their digital audio technology use as high and experienced. Classroom observations also contributed to the study. The main elements characterized the current status of digital audio use and its\u27 implications.;While migration to Compact Disc as a source of audio is the accepted norm in West Virginia, very few teachers currently utilize other sources of digital audio formats. Similarly, while electronic keyboards are commonplace in classrooms, a significant number of teachers do not use MIDI applications or functions. Skill attainment and decisions to integrate digital audio technologies face three barriers. Teachers believe a lack of significant funding and content appropriate training has equally served as obstacles towards their adoption and integration of many audio technologies. Existing infrastructure has contributed to this challenge.;Decisions to use digital audio technologies in teaching are met proactively with the teachers embracing the wealth of new content, the positive and immediate receptiveness with their students, and the assistance gained in meeting both state and national content objectives. Music teachers in West Virginia are cognizant that there is a different type of student learner and are beginning to modify their delivery methodology and teaching strategies appropriately.;This study shows the current applications of digital audio technologies in WV music classrooms as a snapshot of what is currently being used. It illustrates that WV music teachers, while aware of the changes in type of learner and learning style, as well as the benefit of audio technology use, are not using, as a collective, digital audio technologies in many contemporary ways

Changes in Middle Holocene Shellfish Harvesting Practices: Evidence from Labouchere Bay (49-PET-476), Southeast Alaska

This paper uses zooarchaeology and community paleoecology to interpret the invertebrate assemblage from a middle Holocene shell midden in Southeast Alaska. The composition of midden 13.3 at Labouchere Bay (AHRS# 49-PET-746), which was occupied between 6,500 and 2,500 calendar years before present, reflects changes in how the human inhabitants of the site interacted with intertidal shellfish communities. The amount of shellfish from soft substrate habitats (mudflats) did not change significantly over time, while the amount of shellfish from hard substrate habitats (rocky tide pools) declined. This trend in the relative abundance of these shellfish in the midden may have been influenced by environmental factors, but may be better explained by changes in human behavior. These behavioral changes could represent foraging adaptations in response to resource depression at different tidal ranges or increasingly-organized household economic systems

Comparison of Illinois Individual Income Tax Amounts With Surrounding States--Who Wins, Who Loses?

In July 2017 the Illinois General Assembly essentially made permanent the 66 2/3% tax rate increase which was originally enacted in January 2011 but which had sunset after 2014. Since Illinois is a flat tax state, there were some who argued that the Illinois tax rate, even after the increase in 2011 and again in 2017, was lower than surrounding states implying that Illinois taxpayers were still relatively better off than residents of surrounding states. This study provides a brief history of the Illinois individual income tax. This study also compares the individual income tax amounts for Illinois and six surrounding states for the years 2010-2016 for ten representative tax scenarios to see which states have the highest and lowest individual income tax amounts during this period and how the amounts have changed over the time period included in the study. The implications of this study include thinking about how a flat tax structure compares with a progressive tax structure for various tax scenarios. Additionally, the study provides information as to which of the states included in the study are the most “tax-friendly” for representative tax scenarios

A Self-Check Model to Build Resiliency and Balance in Ministry Leaders

There is a significant problem with stress and burnout in ministry leaders. The purpose of this study was to develop a self-check model for ministry leaders to help them with life-balance and resiliency. To have and know peace in one’s life is to draw close to God and live by His design. Loving God with all one’s heart, mind, soul, strength and loving one’s neighbor as one’s self is critical for a healthy, well-balanced life and ministry. The researcher introduced a simple self-check model to enable ministry leaders to develop balance and resilience in their lives called the Star Model. The researcher sampled ministry leaders, who are defined as clergy, staff members, and volunteers who oversee programs, people, or ministries in churches or Christian organizations. The study participants interacted with a virtual seminar where the Star Model was introduced. Participants also completed a pre- and post-seminar survey based on the Likert scale. The results of the study confirmed the problem of stress and burnout in ministry leaders as well as validated the Star Model as a useful self-check model for the development of balance and resilience in ministry leaders. David Kolb’s experiential learning theory and Jack Mezirow’s Transformative Learning Theory were useful instruments in the presentation and interaction with the Star Model seminar. This thesis project made a model available to ministry leaders to aid in their own self-care and wellness. Keywords: Christian leadership, leadership, stress, burnout, balance, resilience, wellnes

CONSUMERS' WILLINGNESS TO PURCHASE LOCALLY PRODUCED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS: AN ANALYSIS OF AN INDIANA SURVEY

Using a survey of over 320 consumers from across the state of Indiana, we estimate an ordered probit model to determine the demographic and attitudinal factors which are most important in predicting the likelihood of consumers to purchase products that are produced within the state. Our results indicate that the willingness to purchase locally produced agricultural products increases with time of residency in the state, and we find a greater tendency for female consumers to purchase such products. We also find that quality perceptions play a critical role in these food purchase-decisions. We underscore the importance of maintaining minimum quality standards to maximize the effectiveness of state level agricultural promotion programs.Consumer/Household Economics,

The hormone response element mimic sequence of GAS5 lncRNA is sufficient to induce apoptosis in breast cancer cells.

Growth arrest-specific 5 (GAS5) lncRNA promotes apoptosis, and its expression is down-regulated in breast cancer. GAS5 lncRNA is a decoy of glucocorticoid/related receptors; a stem-loop sequence constitutes the GAS5 hormone response element mimic (HREM), which is essential for the regulation of breast cancer cell apoptosis. This preclinical study aimed to determine if the GAS5 HREM sequence alone promotes the apoptosis of breast cancer cells. Nucleofection of hormone-sensitive and -insensitive breast cancer cell lines with a GAS5 HREM DNA oligonucleotide increased both basal and ultraviolet-C-induced apoptosis, and decreased culture viability and clonogenic growth, similar to GAS5 lncRNA. The HREM oligonucleotide demonstrated similar sequence specificity to the native HREM for its functional activity and had no effect on endogenous GAS5 lncRNA levels. Certain chemically modified HREM oligonucleotides, notably DNA and RNA phosphorothioates, retained pro-apoptotic. activity. Crucially the HREM oligonucleotide could overcome apoptosis resistance secondary to deficient endogenous GAS5 lncRNA levels. Thus, the GAS5 lncRNA HREM sequence alone is sufficient to induce apoptosis in breast cancer cells, including triple-negative breast cancer cells. These findings further suggest that emerging knowledge of structure/function relationships in the field of lncRNA biology can be exploited for the development of entirely novel, oligonucleotide mimic-based, cancer therapies.Breast Cancer No

Targeting long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) with oligonucleotides in cancer therapy

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a published work that appeared in final form in Translational Cancer Research. To access the final edited and published work see http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/tcr.2016.10.63No abstrac