A Histological Comparison of the Dorsal and Generalized Holocrine Skin Glands in the Kangaroo Rat, Dipodomys Ordii

Author Institution: Department of Biological Sciences, Bowling Green State UniversitySkin tissue from 11 adult kangaroo rats, Dipodomys ordii richardsoni, including both sexes was examined histologically for morphological differences between the specialized dorsal holocrine sebaceous gland region and the generalized small sebaceous glands of the skin. The author examined the structure and distribution of the unmodified sebaceous glands throughout the skin and compared them to the modified dorsal sebaceous gland. Based on a volumetric comparison, the dorsal gland is significantly different from the generally distributed sebaceous glands. A possible explanation is that the relatively consistent distribution of sebaceous glands functions in pelage maintenance and the sebaceous flow from the distinctive dorsal gland could function in individual scent communication. It is evident that the alveolar volume of the dorsal gland differs from that of the generally distributed glands of D. ordii

¿Libertad o monopolio? Patentes, tratados comerciales y acceso a tratamientos con antirretrovirales

En la actualidad, los gobiernos de numerosos países de ingresos medios y bajos están estableciendo regulaciones que hacen más estricta su legislación nacional en materia de propiedad intelectual. Cada vez más, esos cambios se realizan para adaptarse a las estipulaciones de los tratados de “libre” comercio firmados con los Estados Unidos. Esas medidas con frecuencia incluyen disposiciones acerca de la propiedad intelectual que trascienden los estándares de la legislación sobre patentes acordados en recientes negociaciones de la Organización Mundial del Comercio, que prometían establecer un equilibrio entre las exigencias de la salud pública y las de quienes poseen de patentes. Existe la preocupación de que este endurecimiento de los estándares de la legislación en materia de patentes restrinja el acceso futuro a medicamentos esenciales. En este trabajo ofrecemos un resumen de la historia de la legislación en materia de patentes y de las actuales preocupaciones en lo relativo a las disposiciones en materia de propiedad intelectual de los tratados de “libre” comercio en el contexto de la pandemia del sida. Examinamos de forma crítica las amenazas potenciales que les plantean los tratados de “libre” comercio a los esfuerzos encaminados a proporcionar antirretrovirales a las personas que viven en la pobreza, y sostenemos que condicionar el desarrollo económico al endurecimiento de la legislación en materia de propiedad intelectual debe ser objeto de una atención cuidadosa cuando está en juego la salud de dichas personas. Finalmente, examinamos algunos éxitos obtenidos por grupos de presión opuestos a la legislación sobre patentes y concluimos afirmando que se necesita un incremento de estrategias políticas y de presión para garantizar la protección de la salud mundial en el marco de las negociaciones sobre “libre” comercio

How Do Intellectual Property Law and International Trade Agreements Affect Access to Antiretroviral Therapy?

Westerhaus and Castro argue that US-negotiated bilateral, regional, and multilateral trade agreements are hindering access to essential HIV medicines in poor countries

Where We Fall Down: Tensions in Teaching Social Medicine and Global Health

Background: As global health interest has risen, so too has the relevance of education on the social determinants of health and health equity. Social medicine offers a particularly salient framework for educating on the social determinants of health, health disparities, and health equity. SocMed and EqualHealth, 2 unique but related organizations, offer annual global health courses in Uganda, Haiti, and the United States, which train students to understand and respond to the social determinants of health through praxis, self-reflection and self-awareness, and building collaborative partnerships across difference. Objectives: The aim of this paper is to describe an innovative pedagogical approach to teaching social medicine 'and' global health. We draw on the notion of praxis, which illuminates the value of iterative reflection and action, to critically examine our points of weakness as educators in order to derive lessons with broad applicability for those engaged in global health work. Methods: The data for this paper were collected through an autoethnography of teaching 10 global health social medicine courses in Uganda and Haiti since 2010. It draws on revealing descriptions from participant observation, student feedback collected in anonymous course evaluations, and ongoing relationships with alumni. Findings: Critical analysis reveals 3 significant and complicated tensions raised by our courses. The first point of weakness pertains to issues of course ownership by North American outsiders. The second tension emerges from explicit acknowledgment of social and economic inequities among our students and faculty. Finally, there are ongoing challenges of sustaining positive momentum toward social change after transformative course experiences. Conclusions: Although successful in generating transformative learning experiences, these courses expose significant fracture points worth interrogating as educators, activists, and global health practitioners. Ultimately, we have identified a need for building equitable partnerships and intentional community, embracing discomfort, and moving beyond reflection to praxis in global health education

(Schw)Ehre, wem (Schw)Ehre gebührt : Festschrift zur Verabschiedung von Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. h.c. Bernhard Heck

Die Festschrift zur Verabschiedung von Prof. Bernhard Heck enthält 41 Beiträge aus dem Freundeskreis, der Kollegenschaft sowie von ehemaligen Promovierenden. Der Schwerpunkt der Arbeiten liegt auf den Gebieten der Physikalischen und Satellitengeodäsie sowie der Geodynamik und spiegelt das vielfältige Wirken von Bernhard Heck wider. Abgerundet wird die Schrift durch Beiträge zur Ausbildung am Geodätischen Institut des KIT und zur Stellung der Geodäsie im gesellschaftlichen Kontext

Access to generic antiretrovirals: inequality, intellectual property law, and international trade agreements

The governments of numerous low- and middle-income countries are currently instituting rules that strengthen changes in domestic intellectual property legislation, often made to conform to the mandates of "free" trade agreements signed with the United States. These measures frequently include intellectual property provisions that extend beyond the patent law standards agreed upon in recent World Trade Organization negotiations, which promised to balance the exigencies of public health and patent holders. In this paper, we analyze the concern that this augmentation of patent law standards will curtail access to essential medicines, particularly as they relate to the AIDS pandemic. We critically examine the potential threats posed by trade agreements vis-à-vis efforts to provide universal access to antiretroviral medications and contend that the conditioning of economic development upon the strengthening of intellectual property law demands careful attention when public health is at stake. Finally, we examine advocacy successes in challenging patent law and conclude that greater advocacy and policy strategies are needed to ensure the protection of global health in trade negotiations