Preventing a Risk/Risk Trade-off: An Analysis of the Measures Necessary to Increase U.S. Pollinator Numbers

This Note will proceed in four parts. Part II will discuss the importance of pollinators and the possible reasons for their declining numbers. Part III will delve into the current and proposed actions to increase pollinator populations that are taking place in the United States. Part IV will then discuss the generally desired and widely accepted solution: a ban on neonicotinoids. This Part will introduce the implementation and results of a neonicotinoid ban in the European Union, and the risk/risk trade-off presented by a neonicotinoid ban. Finally, Part V will compile the solutions discussed in Parts III and IV, and present possible legal and administrative solutions that can be put in place to protect bees, modeled after the legal actions that have successfully increased monarch butterfly populations while avoiding the issues the European Union faced with its neonicotinoid ban. Part V will conclude that banning neonicotinoids is not the save-all solution to pollinator decline, and propose that focusing on a multiplicity of avenues—both legal and administrative—that tackle the many reasons why pollinator populations are in decline is more likely to increase pollinator numbers than focusing on one single facto

Multi-Modal MR/PET Imaging of Natural Killer Cell Immunotherapy Against Glioblastoma with Correlated Histology

Hypothesis: Immunotherapies hold great promise for treatment of highly resistant cancers, such as glioblastoma (GBM). We hypothesized that high powered imaging can be effectively combined to quantitatively assess the therapeutic efficacy of human derived natural killer (hNK) cells in an orthoptic xenografted mouse model of GBM. Methods: Tumor take (TT) was established via fluorescence. Mice in the treatment (n=5) and control (n=4) groups were given IV hNK cells and physiological saline, respectively. MRI and PET scans were performed four and six weeks after tumor implantation. Histological slices were taken at time of death. Software analysis of tumor volume, standardized uptake value (SUV), and tumor-to-brain ratio (TBR) was conducted via Qimage and Indica Labs - HALO. Results: Mean growth rates are as follows: T1 volume (mL) – 4.1 in the control group vs 2.3 in treatment. T2 volume (mL) – 6.0 in control vs 2.7 in treatment. PET volume (mL) – 3.1 in control vs 2.1 in treatment, SUV (g/mL) – 5.4 in control vs 3.0 in treatment. Two-tailed t-test analysis showed statistical significance (p < 0.01) in T1 volume data. Conclusion and Potential Impact: Treatment group mice showed a trend in reduction in growth rate of tumor volume and SUV compared to control, with a correlated lower histology TBR, suggesting effective in vivo assessment of hNK therapeutic efficacy in the mouse model of GBM via MR/PET imaging. Future trials should provide a larger population size to increase reliability, precision and power

Natural Killer Cell Transfusion for Glioblastoma Tumor Volume Analysis via MR/PET Imaging Coregistration with Histology

Hypothesis: Immunotherapies hold great promise for the treatment of highly resistant cancers, such as glioblastoma (GBM). We hypothesized that high powered imaging modalities can be effectively combined to quantitatively assess the therapeutic efficacy of human derived natural killer (hNK) cells in an orthoptic xenografted mouse model of GBM. Methods: Cells derived from recurrent human GBM were implanted intracranially into 10 mice. Mice in the treatment (n=5) and control (n=4) groups were given IV hNK cells and physiological saline, respectively. MRI and PET scans were performed 4 and 6 weeks after implantation. Ex vivo validation with histology was performed at week 6. Software analysis was conducted via Qimage (courtesy of Dr. Hutchins) and Indica Labs - HALO. Results: Mean growth rates are as follows: T1 volume (μL) – 4.1 (control) vs 2.3 (hNK treated) (p < 0.01). T2 volume (μL) – 6.0 (control) vs 2.7 (hNK treated). PET volume (μL) – 3.1 (control) vs 2.1 (hNK treated), SUV – 5.4 (control) vs 3.0 (hNK treated). Conclusion: Tumor volume and SUV were reduced in hNK treated mice compared to control, with a correlated lower histology TBR, suggesting MR/PET imaging is effective for in vivo assessment of therapeutic efficacy in the mouse model. Phase II of this model will include genetically engineered NK cells with greater tumor localization ability and killing capacity. Clinical trials of NK cell immunotherapy with MR/PET imaging may one day offer remission to patients suffering from an, as yet, incurable cancer

POWER, PHILANTHROPY, AND PRESTIGE: THREE ESSAYS ON THE ECONOMICS OF NON-PRICED ENVIRONMENTS

Monetary prices provide buyers and sellers with the information they need for economic calculation and direct their resource allocation decisions. However, in some situations these decisions are made in the absence of prices and alternative guides must be used. Decisions may be informed by an elite few or may incorporate knowledge disbursed among many individuals. This dissertation looks at how the political environment influences how information is discovered and used and the subsequent effects on political and economic outcomes