Temporary Ban Research Articles

Gambling and gambling policy in Norway--an exceptional case.

The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the development and current status of gambling and gambling policy in Norway. An overview of the research literature and official documents and websites. Gambling on electronic gaming machines (EGMs) increased dramatically in the 1990s in response to technological development and liberalization of gambling policy. Restrictions on availability of EGM gambling occurred from 2006 to 2009 and included a ban on note acceptors, a temporary ban on EGMs and re-introduction of fewer and less aggressive machines under a state monopoly. The restrictions led to significant decreases in total gambling turnover, and several studies suggest that they led to fewer gambling and gambling problems. Various factors may explain why the restrictions were politically feasible. These include media coverage of gambling concerns and economic compensation for revenue losses under the monopoly. In an international context of deregulation of gambling markets, the Norwegian policy restrictions on gambling availability have represented an exceptional case and provide a rare opportunity to explore the outcomes of such regulations. Overall, studies suggest that the policy restrictions have led to reductions in gambling expenditures and problem gambling.

Islet Xeno/transplantation and the risk of contagion: local responses from Canada and Australia to an emerging global technoscience.

This paper situates the public debate over the use of living animal organs and tissue for human therapies within the history of experimental islet transplantation. Specifically, the paper compares and contrasts the Canadian and Australian responses on xenotransplantation to consider what lessons can be learnt about the regulation of a complex and controversial biotechnology. Sobbrio and Jorqui described public engagement on xenotransplantation in these countries as ‘important forms of experimental democracy.’ While Canada experimented with a novel nation-wide public consultation, Australia sought public input within the context of a national inquiry. In both instances, the outcome was a temporary moratorium on all forms of clinical xenotransplantation comparable to the policies adopted in some European countries. In addition, the Australian xenotransplantation ban coincided with a temporary global ban on experimental islet allotransplantation in 2007. Through historical and comparative research, this paper investigates how public controversies over organ and tissue transplantation can inform our understanding of the mediation of interspeciality and the regulation of a highly contested technoscience. It offers an alternative perspective on the xenotransplantation controversy by exploring the ways in which coinciding moratoriums on islet allograft and xenograft challenge, complicate and confound our assumptions regarding the relationships between human and animal, between routine surgery and clinical experimentation, between biomedical science and social science, and between disease risks and material contagion.

후쿠시마 다이이치 원자력 발전소 사고 이후 각국의 수입식품 관리 조치 비교․분석에 관한 연구

Many countries have introduced new imported food safety measures, following the accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. This study was conducted to evaluate the measures contents and effects on food trades values. Eight percent of members were notified the introduced measures to the World Trade Organization. The measures` contents were banning imports, enhancing inspection and adding certification requirement. The covered regions were some prefectures, entire Japan or all affected countries. European Union introduced a measure that subjecting foods originating from 12 prefectures to import at designated ports with required certification. The measures were amended 8 times until March 2014 to apply listed foods from 15 prefectures. The trade value of fishery products and miscellaneous foods were affected. Australia introduced a measure that required additional inspection of dairy, fishery and plants products from 13 prefectures with subsequent amendments. The trade value had no effect in tested foods. Chinese Taipei introduced a temporary import ban for all foods from 6 prefectures. Trade values for fruits were affected. The United States issued an import alert for detention without examination for listed prefectures and goods without introducing new measures. Although no specific products were affected, trade values for all foods were affected.

Nuclear Waste: Forever Contaminated?

N uclear W aste : F orever C ontaminated ? B S J Andrew Wang Mention the word “nuclear” and immediately thoughts of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima are elicited. The iconic mushroom clouds and the thought of a nuclear apocalypse during the Cold War have dominated fears for a significant part of the last century. It is no wonder people cringe at the thought of nuclear power. Especially with nuclear disasters like Chernobyl and Fukushima, most people are worried that anything nuclear will lead to an uninhabitable wasteland. However, there is no reason to immediately dismiss nuclear energy. Besides the fact that we are increasingly reliant on nuclear energy, it provides over 10% of the world’s energy and data from both Fukushima and Chernobyl show that the land is recoverable (“World Statistics”, 2015). Drawing upon both of these infamous nuclear disasters we will examine how nuclear waste affected the environment. shut down. However, the earthquake triggered a tsunami that prevented the emergency procedures from being activated, allowing nuclear waste to slowly leak into the environment. The danger was so great that Japan immediately ordered an evacuation of all people within 20 km to 30 km (~12.5-18.6 miles). The Fukushima Daiichi disaster still impacts Japan and cleanup remains underway to this day. This was the second largest nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. Chernobyl happened on April 26, 1986, when a reactor exploded and sent a huge plume of radioactive material into the atmosphere and caused 31 deaths and long term effects that are still being researched today (Danzer, 2014). The public worry increased so much in both cases that people still refuse to eat food such as fruits and berries deemed safe. Moreover, Chernobyl still remains an isolated ghost town due to mass scale evacuation right after the incident and the lack of effort dont to repair it.These two events are the only ones to be rated 7, the highest rating on the INES scale, International Nuclear Event Scale, a scale determining the severity of nuclear incidents. Both of these events, while disastrous, allow us to study the effects of nuclear waste on biological systems, while spurring research into disposing of nuclear waste. Both nuclear disasters exposed radioisotopes into the environment and since it is unwise to leave radioactive isotopes in otherwise useable land, clean up is very necessary. The most important step was a mass scale evacuation of people living near the reactor Figure 1. A Schematic of the process to clean-up the topsoil around Fukushima. and for a temporary ban on food exports from the contaminated It has been almost four years since Fukushima and region. People who experience high levels of atomic radiation almost thirty years since Chernobyl, but both still remain in will develop Acute Radiation Sickness, which harms the skin the public conscience. Nuclear Energy is created by a steam and bone marrow possibly beyond repair, or develop cancer turbine, where the heat given off by a nuclear reaction, boils the in the long term. In Fukushima, to dispose of the radiation, water surrounding it, which drives the blades of the turbine. A the clean up crew used high power water pressure to wash process that does not release a significant amount of carbon off the soil or any other type of debris (Hardie, 2013). They dioxide into the atmosphere. However, the Fukushima also removed most of the topsoil, which was most likely to nuclear meltdown happened on March 11, 2011 when an be affected by radiation, through ploughing and used heating 9.0 magnitude earthquake caused the nuclear power plant to to reduce the amount of radioisotopes. The topsoil, as well 24 • B erkeley S cientific J ournal • W aste • S pring 2015 • V olume 19 • I ssue 2

Governing solar geoengineering research as it leaves the laboratory.

One of the greatest controversies in geoengineering policy concerns the next stages of solar radiation management research, and when and how it leaves the laboratory. Citing numerous risks and concerns, a range of prominent commentators have called for field experiments to be delayed until there is formalized research governance, such as an international agreement. As a piece of pragmatic policy analysis, this paper explores the practicalities and implications of demands for 'governance before research'. It concludes that 'governance before research' is a desirable goal, but that a delay in experimentation-a moratorium-would probably be an ineffective and counterproductive way to achieve it. Firstly, it is very unlikely that a moratorium could be imposed. Secondly, even if it were practicable it seems that a temporary ban on field experiments would have at best a mixed effect addressing the main risks and concerns, while blocking and stigmatizing safe research and delaying the development of good governance practices from learning by doing. The paper suggests a number of steps to ensure 'governance before research' that can be taken in the absence of an international agreement or national legislation, emphasizing the roles of researchers and research funders in developing and implementing good practices.

Temporary ban on short positions and financial market volatility: evidence from the Madrid Stock Market

This article analyses the effect of the introduction of temporary ban on short positions in the Spanish market on the volatility of both the closing price and the trading volume of the underlying index as well as on the price of the main financial institutions. Using an econometric procedure for detecting structural breaks in the series, we study the period January 2000–December 2013. Our results do not suggest any significant impact on variance, neither on price nor on trade volume.

Does federal financial aid affect college enrollment? Evidence from drug offenders and the Higher Education Act of 1998

In 2001, amendments to the Higher Education Act made people convicted of drug offenses ineligible for federal financial aid for up to two years after their conviction. Using rich data on educational outcomes and drug charges in the NLSY 1997, we show that this law change had a large negative impact on the college attendance of students with drug convictions. On average, the temporary ban on federal financial aid increased the amount of time between high school graduation and college enrollment by about two years, and we also present suggestive evidence that affected students were less likely to ever enroll in college. Students living in urban areas are the most affected by these amendments. Importantly, we do not find that the law deterred young people from committing drug felonies nor did it substantively change the probability that high school students with drug convictions graduated from high school. We find no evidence of a change in college enrollment of students convicted of non-drug crimes, or of those charged by not convicted of drug offenses. In contrast to much of the existing research, we conclude that, for this high-risk group of students, eligibility for federal financial aid strongly impacts college investment decisions.

The Live Animal Export Controversy in Australia: A Moral Crusade Made for the Mass Media

This article analyses a recent media campaign by Animals Australia and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in association with the Australian Broadcasting Commission which exposed the cruelties of the live animal export trade in Australia. The television story ‘A Bloody Business’ aired by the country's leading investigative programme Four Corners caused an immediate and unprecedented expression of anger by thousands of viewers who were horrified by the spectacle of Australian cattle being abused in a number of Indonesian abattoirs. The focus of the article is on the activists' campaign to ban the trade and in so doing both confirms and challenges a number of social movement theories and concepts. As a classic ‘hot cognition’ issue, the moral crusade seemed destined to succeed such was the publicity the programme generated. However, an increasingly nervous and vulnerable government lifted its temporary ban on the trade only a month after the controversy began. The paper suggests why this initially promising media campaign failed to pressure the government to permanently ban the trade and how the activists might utilise ideas from the social movement literature to their advantage in their continuing campaign.

The effects of benzofury (5-APB) on the dopamine transporter and 5-HT2-dependent vasoconstriction in the rat

5-APB, commonly marketed as 'benzofury' is a new psychoactive substance and erstwhile 'legal high' which has been implicated in 10 recent drug-related deaths in the UK. This drug was available on the internet and in 'head shops' and was one of the most commonly sold legal highs up until its recent UK temporary ban (UK Home Office). Despite its prominence, very little is known about its pharmacology. This study was undertaken to examine the pharmacology of 5-APB in vitro. We hypothesised that 5-APB would activate the dopamine and 5-HT systems which may underlie its putative stimulant and hallucinogenic effects. Autoradiographic studies showed that 5-APB displaced both [(125)I] RTI-121 and [(3)H] ketanserin from rat brain tissue suggesting affinity at the dopamine transporter and 5-HT2 receptor sites respectively. Voltammetric studies in rat accumbens brain slices revealed that 5-APB slowed dopamine reuptake, and at high concentrations caused reverse transport of dopamine. 5-APB also caused vasoconstriction of rat aorta, an effect antagonised by the 5-HT2A receptor antagonist ketanserin, and caused contraction of rat stomach fundus, which was reversed by the 5-HT2B receptor antagonist RS-127445. These data show that 5-APB interacts with the dopamine transporter and is an agonist at the 5-HT2A and 5-HT2B receptors in the rat. Thus 5-APB's pharmacology is consistent with it having both stimulant and hallucinogenic properties. In addition, 5-APB's activity at the 5-HT2B receptor may cause cardiotoxicity.

The Science, Law and Policy of Neonicotinoids and Bees: A New Test Case for the Precautionary Principle

Once more, while facing an analogous risk phenomenon affecting their predominantly homogeneous societal and economic interests, the US and EU authorities seem to adopt diverging stances. Amid the publication of several new studies and a set of EFSA scientific opinions linking the use of the world’s most widely used pesticides to bee decline, the European Union is poised to adopt a temporary ban on their use. While the Commission does not expressly rely on it, its restrictive decision is clearly based on the controversial precautionary principle. Yet, as it is discussed in this article, the conformity of this decision with the requirements that determine the legal invocation of this principle remains doubtful. This article proceeds as follow. Part II first introduces the reader to the main features and usages of these controversial insecticides, called neonicotinoids. It then discusses how concerns have arisen around their use and analyses the available science exploring their impact on the sudden decline of bee colonies. Part III identifies and comments the restrictive actions currently undertaken across the European Union both at the national and EU level. Part IV in turn provides an overview of the scientific and regulatory approaches adopted by US authorities vis-a-vis neonicotinoids. By building upon the previous two sections, Part V contrasts the EU scientific and regulatory approach towards the use of these pesticides with that adopted by the US authorities. It then attempts at illustrating the factors explaining the current regulatory divergence across the Atlantic upon the issue of neonicotinoids. In order to provide a legal analysis of the EU restrictive stance over these pesticides, Part VI measures how the EU controversial restrictive measures score under both EU and WTO law. Lastly, some final conclusions provide some recommendations on how to render less controversial the invocation of the precautionary principle in the EU and beyond.

The Science, Law and Policy of Neonicotinoids and Bees: A New Test Case for the Precautionary Principle

Once more, while facing an analogous risk phenomenon affecting their predominantly homogeneous societal and economic interests, the two sides of the Atlantic seem to adopt diverging stances. Amid the publication of several new studies and a set of EFSA scientific opinions linking the use of the world's most widely used pesticides to bee decline, the European Union adopted a temporary ban on their use. While the Commission does not expressly rely on it, its restrictive decision is clearly based on the controversial precautionary principle. Yet, as it is discussed in this article, the conformity of this decision with the requirements that determine the legal invocation of this principle remains doubtful.

Onboard screening dockside testing as a new means of managing paralytic shellfish poisoning risks in federally closed waters

Paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) is the foodborne intoxication associated with the consumption of seafood contaminated with naturally occurring neurotoxins known as paralytic shellfish toxins. To protect public health from this potentially fatal syndrome, harvesting closures are implemented when toxins exceed the regulatory action level. Traditional monitoring programs established by state shellfish authorities allow for timely closures in state waters with minimal negative impacts on industry. However, such monitoring programs are not feasible in federal offshore waters given their distance from shore and the range of their spatial coverage. Thus innovative management strategies were investigated for these offshore resources. Georges Bank, an offshore resource with an estimated market value of more than $3 billion in Atlantic surfclams and ocean quahogs, has been closed to harvesting following a temporary ban in 1989 and a subsequent indefinite closure in 1990 due to the risk of PSP. As a means of managing this risk and allowing harvest of safe shellfish from this important resource, the Onboard Screening Dockside Testing Protocol (referred to as the Protocol) was developed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), state shellfish control authorities, and industry. The Protocol, which sets forth control measures to ensure product safety and public health protection, was endorsed by the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference (ISSC) for pilot testing. Briefly, the pilot study Protocol required that (1) the fishing vessel receive a permit from NMFS to harvest in closed waters, (2) a minimum of five shellfish samples per intended harvest lot be tested for PSP toxins onboard, and (3) harvesting only occur when the samples tested from the intended fishing area are negative using the Jellett Rapid Tests or Abraxis Shipboard ELISA kits. Finally, product landed under the Protocol was confirmed to be safe for consumption using the mouse bioassay (MBA) prior to its introduction into commerce. This paper presents data from the pilot study, with primary focus on the advantages and challenges of the field kits employed onboard compared to the dockside MBA, which has served as the longstanding regulatory method for PSP toxins. In 2010 alone, the successful pilot study resulted in the safe harvest of over $2.7 million worth of surfclams in an area that has otherwise been unavailable for decades. Due to the success of this pilot study, the Protocol was adopted into the National Shellfish Sanitation Program Model Ordinance as an approved marine biotoxin control strategy for use in federal waters at the 2011 ISSC Biennial Meeting. In January 2013 a portion of Georges Bank was reopened for the harvest of Atlantic surfclams and ocean quahogs to fishermen following the Protocol.

Small Things Considered

There's no question that variation in size and shape has conferred selective advantages to familiar animals over the course of evolutionary time. Recently microbiologists have come to appreciate the selective power of size and shape among bacteria. For example, a temporary ban on cell division in uropathogenic Escherichia coli allows the long, filamentous cells to avoid phagocytosis in the host. Helicobacter pylori depends on its strikingly helical shape to establish residence in the host's stomach. In both cases, we are beginning to understand the molecular mechanisms dictating these adaptations in size and shape. However, these studies have also cast a glaring light on how little we still know about how bacteria acquire and maintain their distinctive morphology.

The Trade Implications of the Post-Moratorium European Union Approval System for Genetically Modified Organisms

Trade in genetically modified (GM) products remains a major issue in international trade. In 1999, the EU imposed a temporary import ban on genetically modified organisms. In the wake of aWorld Trade Organization (WTO) case brought by the US and Canada against the import ban - which the EU lost - the EU put in place a new regulatory regime for GM products. As of March 2012, the operation of this new import regime has not been formally assessed. The first GM-crops are just now working their way through the post-moratorium regulatory system and an assessment of the operation of the regime is timely. The results of this assessment suggest that the EU's approval system is only partially based in science and thus, the potential for political interference remains. Hence, the new EU regulatory regime for GM products makes investments in trade related activities pertaining to GM products very risky.

Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer Cloning: Practical Applications and Current Legislation

Somatic cloning is emerging as a new biotechnology by which the opportunities arising from the advances in molecular genetics and genome analysis can be implemented in animal breeding. Significant improvements have been made in SCNT protocols in the past years which now allow to embarking on practical applications. The main areas of application of SCNT are: Reproductive cloning, therapeutic cloning and basic research. A great application potential of SCNT based cloning is the production of genetically modified (transgenic) animals. Somatic cell nuclear transfer based transgenic animal production has significant advances over the previously employed microinjection of foreign DNA into pronuclei of zygotes. This cell based transgenesis is compatible with gene targeting and allows both, the addition of a specific gene and the deletion of an endogenous gene. Efficient transgenic animal production provides numerous opportunities for agriculture and biomedicine. Regulatory agencies around the world have agreed that food derived from cloned animals and their offspring is safe and there is no scientific basis for questioning this. Commercial application of somatic cloning within the EU is via the Novel Food regulation EC No. 258/97. Somatic cloning raises novel questions regarding the ethical and moral status of animals and their welfare which has prompted a controversial discussion in Europe which has not yet been resolved.

Inhalation exposure to smoke from synthetic “marijuana” produces potent cannabimimetic effects in mice

BackgroundUse of synthetic “marijuana” has increased in recent years, produced adverse effects and prompted the temporary DEA ban of five specific cannabinoid analogs, including JWH-018. The objectives of the current study include determining the chemical content of the herbal product, Buzz, assessing its behavioral effects upon inhalation exposure to mice, determining whether CB1 receptors mediate its pharmacological activity, and ascertaining its biodisposition in blood and various organs. MethodsUsing a nose-only exposure system, mice were exposed to smoke produced from combustion of an herbal incense product, Buzz, which contained 5.4% JWH-018. Cannabimimetic effects following smoke exposure were evaluated using the tetrad procedure, consisting of the following indices: hypomotility, antinociception, catalepsy, and hypothermia. Additionally, blood and tissues were collected for JWH-018 quantification. ResultsInhalation exposure to Buzz produced dose-related tetrad effects similar to marijuana as well as dose-related increased levels of JWH-018 in the blood, brain, heart, kidney, liver, lung, and spleen. The behavioral effects were blocked by rimonabant, a CB1 receptor antagonist. Effects produced by Buzz were similar in magnitude and time-course to those produced by marijuana, though equipotent doses of Buzz and marijuana yielded considerably lower brain levels of JWH-018 than THC for the respective materials. ConclusionsInhalation exposure to a product containing JWH-018 penetrates into the brain and other organs and produces CB1 receptor-mediated behavioral pharmacological effects in mice. The increased potency of JWH-018 compared to THC, the variable amount of drug added to various herbal products, and unknown toxicity, undoubtedly contribute to public health risks of synthetic cannabinoids.

Bath Salt Use: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

The new recreational designer drugs known as “bath salts” are synthetic cathinones (e.g., mephedrone, 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone, methylone) that are being abused as stimulants. Bath salts have similar effects as amphetamine, cocaine, and MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as ecstasy). Cathinone is a naturally occurring phenylalkylamine alkaloid present in the khat plant that has been used for centuries, but in Western countries, they are primary used by “young clubbers.” In this review, the pharmacology and neurotoxicity of bath salts will be discussed and the prevalence and pattern of bath salt use will be presented. The U.S. Poison Control Center received an increasing number of calls regarding bath salt intoxication in 2011, which led to an emergency temporary ban in September 2011. Despite the ban, the use of bath salts has continued. Multiple reports have described the clinical features of bath salt intoxication and withdrawal symptoms, as well as the potential for abuse and the development of dependence. There are reports of bath salts causing hallucinations, delirium, and psychosis. For patients presenting with bath salt intoxication, management includes using medications for behavioral control and other symptomatic support. In this review, we will report the use of bath salts in a patient with a history of schizophrenia and comorbid methamphetamine dependence. His clinical course will be discussed. In order to prevent the further abuse of bath salts, we need to encourage the continuing ban on the sale of bath salts and also educate both clinicians and patients about the risks of using such drugs.

A dangerous bet: The challenges of formalizing artisanal mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Among policy-makers and governments, there is a broad consensus that artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) needs to be ‘formalized’ – embodied in a standardized legal framework that is registered in and governed by a central state system-, the basic condition being that artisanal miners are given formal property rights. This article aims to contribute to this discussion, drawing on a case study from the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where it is estimated that up to 90 percent of mineral production and export is ‘informal’. After having pointed out some of the theoretical assumptions behind the formalization canon, we study the challenges of formalizing the mining sector in the DRC. Next, we provide an in-depth analysis of one concrete policy measure of the Congolese government, the temporary ban on all artisanal activities. We argue that the mining ban was not only a radical example of a top-down formalization policy, but also an illustration of a bureaucratic and technical measure that compounds but does not address different problems associated with ASM: conflict, informality, poverty, illegality, state control. Looking at the empirical evidence from the DRC, we argue that these kinds of technical solutions can never address the broader socio-economic and political issues at stake.

From carats to karats: explaining the shift from diamond to gold mining by artisanal miners in Ghana

Over the course of the past half-decade, artisanal miners in Ghana’s major alluvial diamond fields of Akwatia have shifted to gold mining or a combination of gold and diamond mining. What accounts for such an unprecedented transition in the country’s artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector? Drawing upon in-person interviews and observations conducted in Ghana’s mining regions, the article identifies two primary explanatory factors for this shift. First, the cessation of large-scale diamond mining in the country has witnessed the transformation of Akwatia’s small-scale diamond miners into small-scale gold miners. Second, the temporary ban upon Ghanaian exports of diamonds in late-2006 and the implementation of more stringent production and export regulations under the auspices of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme have increased the costs of small-scale diamond mining. Moreover, several abetting factors such as favourable geological terrain, the increasing number of informal partnerships struck among customary land owners and illegal artisanal miners, soaring gold prices, and the rising input costs of diamond mining have accelerated this change in Ghana’s artisanal small-scale mining sector. Unable to obtain alternative employment, artisanal miners have successfully adapted to the changes in the regulatory and economic environments and, in doing so, have set in motion self-sustaining dynamics that have significantly transformed the political economy of mining in Ghana. Specifically, the changing patterns of mining have resulted in an increased use of mercury by artisanal workers and concomitant environmental degradation; the weakening of the regulatory framework of the Kimberley Process that oversees diamond mining in Ghana; the modest recovery of the livelihoods of mining communities; an increase in the net migration into the mineral-rich region of Akwatia; and the development of innovative artisanal mining technologies.

NIH Wins in Appeals Court, But Legal Battle Continues

An appeals court last week threw out a temporary ban on the use of federal funds for human embryonic stem cell research.