Session 4: Plunging into Deep Water: An Immersion in FinTech, Defi (Decentralized Finance), & Web3

This panel featured entrepreneurs providing their expert insight into the background, workings, and expected developments of the FinTech industry. Moderated by Adjunct Professor of Law Joseph M. Vincent, the panel features Ron Oliveira, Kory Hoang, and Jonathan Blanco.The panelists provided insight on topics regarding: (1) the fundamental changes in financial services since the advent of FinTech; (2) background on the Stablecoin industry including a background of what Stablecoin is, and why it has been under recent scrutiny; and (3) the NFT market and the direction the NFT space is heading. In a Q&A session, the panelists also offered their opinions regarding the necessary attributes for an attorney working in the FinTech space, unique ethical dilemmas and environmental impact of the industry, and where they see the Crypto and NFT space going in the next 2-5 years

Sweet Corn Cultivar Trial

The 2010 sweet corn cultivar trial was conducted to identify cultivars with good ear characteristics for local marketing or shortdistance shipping. This year’s trial focused on the bicolor, high-quality shrunken 2 (sh2) types, often referred to as augmented or improved sh2. They need isolation from other corn genotypes and careful handling at harvest but reward the grower with the best combination of good eating quality and extended shelf life that is available

All-America Selections Vegetable Trial

A new project this year at the Muscatine Island Research Farm was the All-America Selections (AAS) Vegetable Trial. The AAS is an independent, non-profit organization established in 1932 by industry leaders to organize and oversee unbiased evaluations of new,soon to be released flower and vegetable varieties. The goal of the AAS is to identify extraordinary breeding breakthroughs in their trials and then promote these proven winners to the public with the AAS Winner designation

All-America Selections Vegetable Trial

All-America Selections® (AAS) is an independent, non-profit organization established in 1932 by industry leaders to organize and oversee unbiased evaluations of new, soon to be released flower and vegetable varieties. The goal of the AAS is to identify truly improved home garden varieties through a national network of trial grounds and then promote these proven winners as All-America Selections®

All American Selections

The year 2007 was the second for the All American Selections Vegetable Trial at the Muscatine Island Research Farm. The AAS is an independent, non-profit organization established in 1932 by industry leaders to organize and oversee unbiased evaluations of new and soon to be released flower and vegetable varieties. The goal of the AAS is to identify extraordinary breeding breakthroughs in their trials and then promote these proven winners to the public with the AAS Winner designation

Muskmelon Cultivar Trial

The 2010 melon trial evaluated 13 muskmelon and specialty melon cultivars to determine their relative maturity, yield potential, and fruit characteristics when grown in southeast Iowa

Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis) Cultivar Observation

Fueled by increasing interest in home gardening, this trial was established to evaluate seven cultivars on hardiness, growth habit, and overall appearance. Three specimens of Emerald, Holmstrup, Woodwardii, Elegantissima, Berckman’s Golden Biota, Pyramidalis, and George Washington were planted at the Muscatine Arboretum, Muscatine, IA, in June 2001. The planting site was on a knoll allowing full sun exposure and air movement. The soil is a moderately well drained, fertile clay loam.Roundup herbicide, woodchip mulching, and hand pulling controlled weeds. Plants were not pruned to observe natural growth habit

Metabolomics Identifies multiple candidate biomarkers to diagnose and stage human African trypanosomiasis

Treatment for human African trypanosomiasis is dependent on the species of trypanosome causing the disease and the stage of the disease (stage 1 defined by parasites being present in blood and lymphatics whilst for stage 2, parasites are found beyond the blood-brain barrier in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)). Currently, staging relies upon detecting the very low number of parasites or elevated white blood cell numbers in CSF. Improved staging is desirable, as is the elimination of the need for lumbar puncture. Here we use metabolomics to probe samples of CSF, plasma and urine from 40 Angolan patients infected with Trypanosoma brucei gambiense, at different disease stages. Urine samples provided no robust markers indicative of infection or stage of infection due to inherent variability in urine concentrations. Biomarkers in CSF were able to distinguish patients at stage 1 or advanced stage 2 with absolute specificity. Eleven metabolites clearly distinguished the stage in most patients and two of these (neopterin and 5-hydroxytryptophan) showed 100% specificity and sensitivity between our stage 1 and advanced stage 2 samples. Neopterin is an inflammatory biomarker previously shown in CSF of stage 2 but not stage 1 patients. 5-hydroxytryptophan is an important metabolite in the serotonin synthetic pathway, the key pathway in determining somnolence, thus offering a possible link to the eponymous symptoms of “sleeping sickness”. Plasma also yielded several biomarkers clearly indicative of the presence (87% sensitivity and 95% specificity) and stage of disease (92% sensitivity and 81% specificity). A logistic regression model including these metabolites showed clear separation of patients being either at stage 1 or advanced stage 2 or indeed diseased (both stages) versus control

Ariel - Volume 3 Number 6

Editors Richard J. Bonanno Robin A. Edwards Associate Editors Steven Ager Tom Williams Lay-out Editor Eugenia Miller Contributing Editors Paul Bialas Robert Breckenridge Lynne Porter David Jacoby Mike LeWitt Terry Burt Mark Pearlman Michael Leo Editors Emeritus Delvyn C. Case, Jr. Paul M. Fernhof