Putting the Last Frontier to Work: In Defense of Alaska Hire

Since statehood, Alaska has had one of the worst unemployment rates in the nation. The state has long combated its joblessness epidemic with a suite of laws known as Alaska Hire, which imposes a resident hiring preference on public works projects in the state. This popular law has been in place in one form or another since the state’s first legislature passed an early version in 1960. Alaska Hire’s story changed when former Attorney General Kevin Clarkson wrote a memo to Governor Mike Dunleavy arguing that the law is unconstitutional under the federal Privileges and Immunities Clause and the Alaska Equal Protection Clause, and that the statute should no longer be enforced. This Note provides a counterpoint to Attorney General Clarkson’s memo by showing that Alaska Hire is legal under both the federal and state constitutions. The Note contends that Alaska’s unique circumstances coupled with the legal improvements the current version of Alaska Hire has made in light of its predecessors’ defects cut against Attorney General Clarkson’s arguments. With the future of Alaska Hire in question, this Note hopes to provide a starting point for any future legal defenses of this eminently important law

The Top-Four Primary and Alaska Ballot Measure 2

This Primer provides an overview of the debate surrounding non-partisan ranked primaries. In the November 2020 election, Alaskan voters decided whether to adopt Ballot Measure 2 which, among other reforms, would introduce a top-four primary system. Under this system, the top-four vote-getters in the primary election, regardless of partisan affiliation, would advance to the general election. Supporters of the reform argue it offers voters more choices, fosters competition, creates a more representative pool of candidates, and avoids vote splitting. Opponents contend that such a system reduces representation by possibly preventing political parties from participating in general elections. Alaska will not be the first state to adopt a top-rank primary system; the debate over Ballot Measure 2 is just another chapter in the historical dialogue over voting reform

Avoiding the Obvious: Plain Meaning and the Endangerment of Alaska’s Hunting Laws in Kinmon v. State

This Comment critiques the court of appeals’ statutory interpretation of Alaska’s hunting laws in Kinmon v. State and proposes legislative reform to correct those judicially created errors. Kinmon arose from a series of hunts between 2009 and 2011 during which nonresident hunters did not pay for their big game tags until after the completion of their hunts. The guide leading these hunts was charged with violating section 16.05.340(a)(15) of the Alaska Statutes, which prohibits nonresidents from hunting big game without “previously purchasing” a big game tag. The Alaska Court of Appeals held in favor of the guide, reasoning that “previously purchasing” was ambiguous and could be understood to permit purchase of a big game tag after a hunt. This reading of the statute is faulty under the plain meaning canon of statutory construction and has deleterious policy implications. To address this error, this Comment proposes a legislative amendment to section 16.06.340(a)(15) of the Alaska Statutes to clarify that “previously purchasing” a game tag requires purchase prior to a hunt

Current trends in the treatment of hepatic encephalopathy

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a common reversible neuropsychiatric syndrome associated with chronic and acute liver dysfunction and significant morbidity and mortality. Although a clear pathogenesis is yet to be determined, elevated ammonia in the serum and central nervous system are the mainstay for pathogenesis and treatment. Management includes early diagnosis and prompt treatment of precipitating factors (infection, gastrointestinal bleeding, electrolyte disturbances, hepatocellular carcinoma, dehydration, hypotension, and use of benzodiazepines, psychoactive drugs, and/or alcohol). Clinical trials have established the efficacy of lactulose and lactitol enemas in the treatment of acute hepatic encephalopathy. Extensive clinical experience has demonstrated the efficacy of oral lactulose and lactitol with the goal of two to three soft bowel movements a day for the treatment of chronic HE. However, lactulose and lactitol have significant gastrointestinal side effects. For patients unable to tolerate lactulose or lactitol or who still have persistent chronic HE with lactulose or lactitol, neomycin, metronidazole and rifaximin are second-line agents. More recent data supports the benefits of rifaximin used solely and as an additional agent with fewer side effects than neomycin or metronidazole. Newer therapies being investigated in humans with clinical promise include nitazoxanide, the molecular adsorbent recirculating system (MARS), L-ornithine phenylacetate, sodium benzoate, and/or sodium phenylacetate and Kremezin® (AST-120)

Improving developmental timelines through the generation of predictive scale down models

The importance of scale down models in biomanufacturing has increased with accelerating program timelines and desired efficiency improvements. To meet these demands, it is necessary not only to have a platform scale down model that can reliably perform across early programs, but to also understand the key aspects of the model so as to be able to adapt it to specific program needs and to different manufacturing equipment and scales. We are working to create this level of understanding by combining both traditional engineering principles with more detailed knowledge of how scale differences commonly impact cell culture behavior. As part of this process, we have systematically characterized the volumetric mass transfer coefficients (kLas) for our laboratory and manufacturing bioreactors and have used this data to determine the scaling criteria that most accurately captures the differences between our systems. We then modified the setup of and general practices used for our laboratory scale bioreactors based on these results to better align with the predictions of the identified scaling criteria. Through this process we were able to rapidly establish scale down models for 3 early stage programs at 2 different manufacturing scales. These models were used to transfer these programs following a single clone selection run at the 3 L scale and without additional runs at intermediate scales. The identification of the critical scaling criteria for our manufacturing bioreactors also allowed for the direct transfer of a late stage program between suites without engineering runs. We are currently expanding this work to understand how changes to our scale down practices have impacted additional characteristics of our cultures apart from the standardly measured attributes, and how these characteristics can be used to drive more predictive models

Evaluating the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System scales in acute intermittent porphyria.

PurposeAcute intermittent porphyria (AIP) is a rare inborn error of heme biosynthesis characterized by life-threatening acute attacks. Few studies have assessed quality of life (QoL) in AIP and those that have had small sample sizes and used tools that may not have captured important domains.MethodsBaseline data from the Porphyrias Consortium's Longitudinal Study were obtained for 259 patients, including detailed disease and medical history data, and the following Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) scales: anxiety, depression, pain interference, fatigue, sleep disturbance, physical function, and satisfaction with social roles. Relationships between PROMIS scores and clinical and biochemical AIP features were explored.ResultsPROMIS scores were significantly worse than the general population across all domains, except depression. Each domain discriminated well between asymptomatic and symptomatic patients with symptomatic patients having worse scores. Many important clinical variables like symptom frequency were significantly associated with domain scores in univariate analyses, showing responsiveness of the scales, specifically pain interference and fatigue. However, most regression models only explained ~20% of the variability observed in domain scores.ConclusionPain interference and fatigue were the most responsive scales in measuring QoL in this AIP cohort. Future studies should assess whether these scales capture longitudinal disease progression and treatment response

Final Report: International Workshop to Reconcile Methane Budgets in the Northern Permafrost Region

Keywords: methane, Arctic, permafrostAn International Workshop to Reconcile Methane Budgets in the Northern Permafrost Region, organized by the Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH), was held in Seattle on 7-9 March 2017. The workshop was funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Arctic Research Commission. The primary goal was to produce a plan for reconciling methane budgets in the northern permafrost region. Forty-two scientists, including representatives of the atmospheric, inland (wetland and lakes), marine (coastal and oceanic), and remote sensing communities studying methane dynamics participated in developing the research plan. Eleven of the participants were early career scientists, and nine of the scientists were from institutions outside the United States. The first day of the workshop included keynote presentations that provided atmospheric, inland, and marine perspectives on developing a plan to reconcile methane budgets. There were also keynote presentations on the role of remote sensing in reconciling methane budgets. The second day of the workshop was devoted to breakout groups that developed plans from disciplinary perspectives, followed by breakouts of mixed disciplinary groups that discussed all three plans. The breakout groups identified key uncertainties and near-term and longer-term priorities for addressing questions about methane dynamics in the northern permafrost region. Participants committed to completing a paper describing a roadmap for the synthesis plan by the end of 2017, and each of the groups developed plans to address, by the end of 2018, near-term priorities to reduce uncertainties in methane budgets. The longer-term priorities include addressing possible sensitivities of methane emissions to climate variability and change in the region and evaluating the degree to which changes in methane dynamics are detectable. To address these longer-term priorities, there is a need to organize extant methane data for the northern permafrost region so that studies using these data can evaluate how enhancements to the methane observation network would improve estimates of methane emissions and the detection of trends. The Permafrost Action Team of SEARCH will develop research summaries and briefs based on the follow-on activities from the workshop.The National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Arctic Research Commissio