Drug Price Regulation and Compulsory Licensing for Pharmaceutical Patents: The New Zealand Connection

This Comment addresses effects of the 1992 rescission of compulsory licensing laws for pharmaceutical patents in New Zealand. The Comment summarizes the history behind the change in law, the effect the change has had, projections for future effects, and the degree to which the change brings New Zealand law into compliance with proposed General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs ( GAT ) provisions. The effects of the repeal on drug prices appear to be masked by changes in New Zealand\u27s pharmaceutical price support system. Both changes are illustrative of the continuing conflict over technology protection in the marketplace, a conflict which is particularly acute in the area of pharmaceuticals. The change is significant because it may indicate a shift from intellectual property laws to price regulation as a means by which governments control the price and availability of pharmaceuticals

Social Familiarity and Nip Dominance in Male Swordtails (<i>Xiphophorus Helleri</i>) and Platys (<i>Xiphophorus Maculatus</i>)

Male swordtails and platys ( ns =12) were tested for nip dominance among familiar (tankmate) and unfamiliar (nontankmate) con-specific pairs in four round robin contests conducted at weekly intervals. Stable dominance relationships were found for both species, with less aggression manifested between familiar swordtail pairs, and to a lesser extent, between familiar platy pairs, than between nonfamiliar pairs. Significant correlations between physical size and dominance status were also found for both species. </jats:p

The Effect of Stabilized and Nonstabilized Hunger Drive, Age, and Situation Complexity Upon Exploratory Behavior

Summary: An experiment was conducted to ascertain the effects of nonstabilized food deprivation, stabilized food deprivation, runway complexity, and age on exploratory behavior of male albino rats both during and across five five-minute trials. Three levels of deprivation: zero, twenty-three, and forty-seven hours were used. The stabilization dimension included groups stabilized on the twenty-three hour schedule for zero and fourteen days prior to the beginning of the experiment. The two age groups were respectively about thirty-five and ninety days old at the beginning of the experiment. All groups were equally divided into simple and complex runway groups. The simple runway groups were exposed to a fifteen foot straight runway, the complex group to a runway different only in that there were right angle turns every twelve inches. The only measurement taken was the number of twelve inch runway units traversed during each minute of the trials. The data were analyzed for differences in trend for the total trial sums and for intratrial effects. The major findings are as follows: 1) There were no significant differences for degree of deprivation, stabilization of deprivation or age when the group sums were taken exclusive of trials. 2) There was a suggestion of decreasing exploration with increasing deprivation for the complex runway groups. 3) The forty-seven hour deprived groups showed a marked increase in exploration after the third trial. 4) There was a significant difference favoring the simple runway stabilized deprived group when compared to its complex runway counterpart. 5) There was a suggestion of an age-complexity interaction; the young Ss starting low and showing increased exploration, the older Ss either remaining the same or showing decreased exploration. 6) The across-trials shape of the summed group curves was curvilinear with a minimum at about the third trial. 7) The intratrial curves for all groups showed that Ss in all groups showed the greatest decrease in exploration at the beginning of the trial with little subsequent change, and that there was an increase with the beginning of a new trial. 8) The percentage of subjects declining during the intratrial intervals was greater for the complex runway groups than for the simple runway groups. An attempt was made to explain some of these findings. Others were simply allowed to stand by themselves. Future experiments with these variables were suggested, with particular emphasis on trial effects

Effects of Isolation on Aggression in the Mongolian Gerbil

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of prior isolation upon aggression when gerbils are introduced into the cages of conspecifics. In Exp 1 isolation sharply increased aggression, and in Exp. 2, olfaction was a critical stimulus dimension accounting for this finding. It was also concluded that it was probably the odor of isolates rather than their behavior which was responsible. </jats:p