Distributive Justice, Catholic Social Teaching, and the Moral Responsibility of Marketers

This commentary uses as its platform an essay by Karpatkin (1999) titled Toward a Fair and Just Marketplace for All Consumers: The Responsibilities of Marketing Professionals. This article supports Karpatkin\u27s position that, too often, large corporations are willing to exploit weak and vulnerable consumers as the means to unsavory financial gain. Vulnerable groups include the poor, children, and the disadvantaged elderly. Essentially, Karpatkin raises questions about the lack of distributive justice for these consumer segments in the marketplace. In answer to this, the author presents a religion-inspired business ethics. Using a body of writing sometimes called Catholic Social Teaching (CST), the author describes and discusses a set offour guiding ethical principles. At the foundation of CST is the principle of human dignity. Building on this base, the author explores three additional principles: stewardship, preferential option for the vulnerable, and worker dignity. Together, these principles provide a blended moral theory that outlines a rationale for giving economically or socially disadvantaged consumer segments distinct and special moral treatment in the marketplace

Zymographic assay of plant diamine oxidase on entrapped peroxidase polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. A study of stability to proteolysis

A zymographic assay of diamine oxidase (DAO, histaminase, EC 1.4.3.6), based on a coupled peroxidase reaction, and its behavior at proteolysis in simulated gastric and intestinal conditions, are described. The DAO activity from a vegetal extract of Lathyrus sativus seedlings was directly determined on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide electrophoretic gels containing entrapped horseradish peroxidase, with putrescine as substrate of histaminase and ortho-phenylenediamine as co-substrate of peroxidase. The accumulation of azo-aniline, as peroxidase-catalyzed oxidation product, led to well-defined yellow-brown bands on gels, with intensities corresponding to the enzymatic activity of DAO. After image analysis of gels, a linear dependency of DAO content (Coomassie-stained protein bands) and of its enzymatic activity (zymographic bands) with the concentration of the vegetal extract was obtained. In simulated gastric conditions (pH 1.2, 37 °C), the DAO from the vegetal extract lost its enzymatic activity before 15 min of incubation, either in the presence or absence of pepsin. The protein pattern (Coomassie-stained) revealed that the DAO content from the vegetal extract was kept almost constant in the simulated intestinal fluid (containing pancreatin or not), with a slight diminution in the presence of pancreatic proteases. After 10 h of incubation at 37 °C, the DAO enzymatic activity from the vegetal extract was 44.7% in media without pancreatin and 13.6% in the presence of pancreatin, whereas the purified DAO retained only 4.65% of its initial enzymatic activity in the presence of pancreatin

Hyperthermic Perfusion 16 Years After its First Clinical Applications

It is known that above-normal temperatures (42°-42.5°C) provoke selective damage to neoplastic cells. We used heated circulating blood as a method for heat transfer on patients with limb tumors. From October 1964 to December 1979, we treated a total of 198 patients with hyperthermic perfusion for melanoma of the limbs (91), osteosarcoma (57), and soft tissue sarcoma (50). For melanoma patients, the five-year survival rate, excluding Stage IV, was 60%. For patients with soft tissue sarcoma, the five-year survival rates were 53% and 56% for hyperthermic perfusion and hyperthermic antiblastic perfusion. respectively. For 29 patients with osteosarcoma, hyperthermic perfusion was combined with systematic amputation ofthe limb for a 60% survival rate over a five-year period. Newer studies with osteosarcoma patients involve a multistep treatment that saves the tumor-bearing limb without reducing survival rates. Our 16-year clinical trial demonstrates that hyperthermia is effective in curing some tumors of the limbs, especially osteosarcoma and melanoma. We believe that perfusion remains the most reliable heat transfer method for loco-regional treatment and perhaps even for whole-body treatment for limb tumors

Oregon Wine History Project™ Interview Transcript: Dick Erath

This document is a transcription of the interview with winemaker Dick Erath conducted by Jeff D. Peterson on July 8, 2010 as part of the Oregon Wine History Project™. Dick Erath discusses the early days of the Oregon wine industry and gives his personal account of how he came to grow grapes and produce wines in the Willamette Valley. Assisting in the production of this interview were videographers Barrett Dahl and Mark Pederson; exhibit and collections coordinators Barrett Dahl, Sara Juergensen, and Keni Sturgeon (faculty advisor); and project historical researchers Dulce Kersting and Lissa Wadewitz (faculty advisor). The duration of the interview is 57 minutes and 42 seconds

Soybean Planting Date x Variety Trial

In 2017, the University of Vermont Extension Northwest Crops and Soils Team investigated the impact of planting date and variety on soybean yield and quality at Borderview Research Farm in Alburgh, VT. Due to the short growing season in Vermont, little research has been conducted on soybeans and the insects and diseases that can affect their harvest yield and quality. Soybeans are grown for human consumption, animal feed, and biodiesel. In an effort to support and expand the local soybean market throughout the northeast, the University of Vermont Extension Northwest Crop and Soils (NWCS) Program, as part of a grant from the Eastern Soybean Board, established a trial in 2017 to determine optimal planting dates for soybeans that maximize yield and quality in our northern climate

Non-irradiation-derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cancer: therapeutic implications

Owing to their chemical reactivity, radicals have cytocidal properties. Destruction of cells by irradiation-induced radical formation is one of the most frequent interventions in cancer therapy. An alternative to irradiation-induced radical formation is in principle drug-induced formation of radicals, and the formation of toxic metabolites by enzyme catalysed reactions. Although these developments are currently still in their infancy, they nevertheless deserve consideration. There are now numerous examples known of conventional anti-cancer drugs that may at least in part exert cytotoxicity by induction of radical formation. Some drugs, such as arsenic trioxide and 2-methoxy-estradiol, were shown to induce programmed cell death due to radical formation. Enzyme-catalysed radical formation has the advantage that cytotoxic products are produced continuously over an extended period of time in the vicinity of tumour cells. Up to now the enzymatic formation of toxic metabolites has nearly exclusively been investigated using bovine serum amine oxidase (BSAO), and spermine as substrate. The metabolites of this reaction, hydrogen peroxide and aldehydes are cytotoxic. The combination of BSAO and spermine is not only able to prevent tumour cell growth, but prevents also tumour growth, particularly well if the enzyme has been conjugated with a biocompatible gel. Since the tumour cells release substrates of BSAO, the administration of spermine is not required. Combination with cytotoxic drugs, and elevation of temperature improves the cytocidal effect of spermine metabolites. The fact that multidrug resistant cells are more sensitive to spermine metabolites than their wild type counterparts makes this new approach especially attractive, since the development of multidrug resistance is one of the major problems of conventional cancer therapy