Current Status of Collectibility of Gaming-Related Credit Dollars

In her piece entitled - Current Status Of Collectability Of Gaming-Related Credit Dollars - Ruth Lisa Wenof, Graduate Student at Florida International University initially states: “Credit is an important part of incentives used to lure gamblers to gaming establishments. However, a collection problem exists in casinos retrieving gaming-related credit losses of individuals living in states where gambling is illegal. The author discusses the history of this question, citing recent cases related to Atlantic City.” This author’s article is substantially laden with legal cases associated with casinos in New Jersey; Atlantic City to be exact. The piece is specific to the segment of the gaming industry that the title suggests, and as such is written in a decidedly technical style. “Legalized casino gaming, which was approved by the citizens of New Jersey on November 8, 1976, has been used as a unique tool of urban redevelopment for Atlantic City,” Wenof says in providing some background on this ‘Jersey shore municipality. “Since Resorts International opened its casino…revenues from gambling have increased rapidly. Resorts' gross win in 1978 was $134 million,” Wenof says. “Since then, the combined gross win of the city's 11 casinos has been just shy of $7.5 billion.” The author points out that the competition for casino business is fierce and that credit dollars play an integral role in soliciting such business. “Credit plays a most important part in every casino hotel. This type of gambler is given every incentive to come to a particular hotel,” says the author. “Airplanes, limousines, suites, free meals, and beverages all become a package for the person who can sign a marker. The credit department of a casino is similar to that of a bank. A banker who loans money knows that it must be paid back or his bank will fail. This is indeed true of a casino,” Wenof warns in outlining the potential problem that this article is fundamentally designed around. In providing further background on credit essentials and possible pitfalls, Wenof affords: “…on the Casino Control Act the State Commission of Investigation recommended to the legislature that casinos should not be allowed to extend credit at all, by reason of a concern for illicit diversion of revenues, which is popularly called skimming within the industry…” Although skimming is an after-the-fact problem, and is parenthetic to loan returns, it is an important element of the collective [sic] credit scheme. “A collection problem of prime importance is if a casino can get back gaming-related credit dollars advanced by the casino to a gambler who lives in a state where gambling is illegal,” is a central factor to consider, Wenof reveals. This is a primary focus of this article. Wenof touches on the social/societal implications of gambling, and then continues the discussion by citing a host of legal cases pertaining to debt collection.

Mesenchymal stem cells in osteoarthritis therapy : current status of theory, technology, and applications

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic, non-inflammatory type of arthritis, which usually affects the movable and weight bearing joints of the body. It is the most common joint disease in human beings and common in elderly people. Till date, there are no safe and effective diseases modifying OA drugs (DMOADs) to treat the millions of patients suffering from this serious and debilitating disease. However, recent studies provide strong evidence for the use of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy in curing cartilage related disorders. Due to their natural differentiation properties, MSCs can serve as vehicles for the delivery of effective, targeted treatment to damaged cartilage in OA disease. In vitro, MSCs can readily be tailored with transgenes with anti-catabolic or pro-anabolic effects to create cartilage-friendly therapeutic vehicles. On the other hand, tissue engineering constructs with scaffolds and biomaterials holds promising biological cartilage therapy. Many of these strategies have been validated in a wide range of in vitro and in vivo studies assessing treatment feasibility or efficacy. In this review, we provide an outline of the rationale and status of stem-cell-based treatments for OA cartilage, and we discuss prospects for clinical implementation and the factors crucial for maintaining the drive towards this goal.

The current status of the new world monkey phylogeny

Four DNA datasets were combined in tandem (6700 bp) and Maximum parsimony and Neighbor-Joining analyses were performed. The results suggest three groups emerging almost at the same time: Atelidae, Pitheciidae and Cebidae. The total analysis strongly supports the monophyly of the Cebidae family, grouping Aotus, Cebus and Saimiri with the small callitrichines. In the callitrichines, the data link Cebuela to Callithrix, place Callimico as a sister group of Callithrix/Cebuella, and show Saguinus to be the earliest offshoot of the callitrichines. In the family Pithecidae, Callicebus is the basal genus. Finally, combined molecular data showed congruent branching in the atelid clade, setting up Alouatta as the basal lineage and Brachyteles-Lagothrix as a sister group and the most derived branch. Two major points remain to be clarified in the platyrrhine phylogeny: (i) what is the exact branching pattern of Aotus, Cebus, Saimiri and the small callitrichines, and (ii), which two of these three lineages, pitheciines, atelines or cebids, are more closely related?

Injuries by marine and freshwater stingrays: history, clinical aspects of the envenomations and current status of a neglected problem in Brazil

Stingrays are a group of rays - cartilaginous fish related to sharks - that have whiplike tails with barbed, usually venomous spines and are found around the world, especially the marine species. Despite recent reports of accidents involving these fish, they are not aggressive, reacting only when stepped on or improperly handled. Injuries by stingrays are seldom mentioned by historians, although they have always been present in riverine communities of inland waters and in South American coasts. Indeed, envenomations by stingrays are quite common in freshwater and marine fishing communities. Although having high morbidity, such injuries are neglected because they have low lethality and usually occur in remote areas, which favor the use of folk remedies. In the present review article, historical aspects of injuries caused by stingrays in Brazil and their distribution on the coast of Sao Paulo state and riverine communities of the North, Midwest and Southeast regions were studied. In addition, other aspects were analyzed such as clinical features, therapeutic methods, preventive measures and trends in occurrence of these accidents in the country, particularly in areas in which freshwater stingrays had not been previously registered, being introduced after breaching of natural barriers.

Current status of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy in Europe

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an important modulator of angiogenesis, and has been implicated in the pathology of a number of conditions, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy, and cancer. AMD is a progressive disease of the macula and the third major cause of blindness worldwide. If not treated appropriately, AMD can progress rapidly, causing legal blindness within months of the second eye becoming affected. Until recently, the treatment options for AMD have been limited, with photodynamic therapy (PDT) the mainstay treatment. Although PDT is effective at slowing disease progression, it rarely results in improved vision. Pegaptanib and ranibizumab are both anti-VEGF therapies licensed for the treatment of neovascular AMD in Europe; however, these drugs are not yet available in Japan. This article reviews the available clinical data on anti-VEGF therapies for the treatment of neovascular AMD in Europe, and considers the future of this exciting therapy.

Current Status of Philanthropy in India

The paper makes an attempt to provide an overview of philanthropy in India. On the one hand, it describes, though briefly, the historical growth of philanthropy and on the other hand it provides a contemporary picture as well. It also deals with the legal framework with which philanthropic institutions function in this country. Further, it provides a glimpse of the tax laws vis-à-vis donations (giving) and also discusses the legal status of the philanthropic institutions.

Current status of pharmacogenomics testing for anti-tumor drug therapies : approaches to non-melanoma skin cancer

Skin cancer is one of the most commonly occurring cancer types, with substantial social, physical, and financial burdens on both individuals and societies. Although the role of UV light in initiating skin cancer development has been well characterized, genetic studies continue to show that predisposing factors can influence an individual's susceptibility to skin cancer and response to treatment. In the future, it is hoped that genetic profiles, comprising a number of genetic markers collectively involved in skin cancer susceptibility and response to treatment or prognosis, will aid in more accurately informing practitioners' choices of treatment. Individualized treatment based on these profiles has the potential to increase the efficacy of treatments, saving both time and money for the patient by avoiding the need for extensive or repeated treatment. Increased treatment responses may in turn prevent recurrence of skin cancers, reducing the burden of this disease on society. Currently existing pharmacogenomic tests, such as those that assess variation in the metabolism of the anticancer drug fluorouracil, have the potential to reduce the toxic effects of anti-tumor drugs used in the treatment of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) by determining individualized appropriate dosage. If the savings generated by reducing adverse events negate the costs of developing these tests, pharmacogenomic testing may increasingly inform personalized NMSC treatment.

Report on a workshop to investigate the current status of environmental bio-acoustic monitoring

This workshop was supported by the Australian Centre for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (ACEAS, http://www.aceas.org.au/), a facility of the Australian Government-funded Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (http://www.tern.org.au/), a research infrastructure facility established under the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy and Education Infrastructure Fund - Super Science Initiative, through the Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education. Hosted by: Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland. (QUT, http://www.qut.edu.au/) Dates: 8-11 May 2012 Report Editors: Prof Stuart Parsons (Uni. Auckland, NZ) and Dr Michael Towsey (QUT). This report is a compilation of notes and discussion summaries contributed by those attending the Workshop. They have been assembled into a logical order by the editors. Another report (with photographs) can be obtained at: http://www.aceas.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=94&Itemid=96

Rolling out the future: The current status of the Australian NBN and its impact for property

The future functioning of the digital economy is inextricably linked to the use of high-speed broadband networks. As evidenced by recent Australian federal election campaigns, a focus has been on the rollout of the physical networks. The research seeks to determine the effectiveness of the current NBN rollout as a measure of Australia’s progression towards a fully functioning digital economy. The author examines submissions to the recent RTIRC Telecommunications Review 2015 in order to ascertain the NBN’s current impact upon Australia’s digital economy.

The current status of heart failure diagnostic biomarkers

Heart failure (HF) affects approximately 23 million individuals worldwide and this number is increasing, due to an aging and growing population. Early detection of HF is crucial in the management of this debilitating disease. Current diagnostic methods for HF rely heavily on clinical imaging techniques and blood analysis, which makes them less than ideal for population-based screening purposes. Studies focusing on developing novel biomarkers for HF have utilized various techniques and biological fluids, including urine and saliva. Promising results from these studies imply that these body fluids can be used in evaluating the clinical manifestation of HF and will one day be integrated into a clinical workflow and facilitate HF management.

Satellite Evaluation of Current status of Irrigation management in Rajolibanda diversion scheme command, Mahaboobnagar District, AP

This article presents the results of a study using satellite remote sensing techniques to evaluate the current status of canal system performance in terms of the spatial and temporal mismatch between water requirements and water releases within the command area The Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme(RDS)is the only operational major irrigation project in the drought prone district of Mahaboobnagar in Andra Pradesh. It is an inter-state project between Karnataka and Andra Pradesh which comprises of an anicut constructed in Karnataka in 1995 across river Thungabhdra and a 143 km long left bank main canel. The initial 42.6 km of the canel lies in Karnataka consisting of 12 distributaries and servers and serves an localised ayacut of 2739ha. In Andra Pradesh, the latter stretch of the main canal consists of distributaries 12A to 40, is localised to serve an ayacut of 35,410 ha.of which 14,215 ha during kharif season,19,332 ha, during rabi season and 1,863 ha.of perennial crops

Inland fisheries resources and the current status of aquaculture in Sri Lanka

The aim of this working paper was to evaluate the potential of different fisheries enhancement and aquacultural systems to benefit marginal farmers who manage small rainfed irrigation systems in the lowland Dry zone of Sri Lanka. Analysis was based on secondary data and key informant interviews with professional fishermen and marginal farmers in N.W Province. [PDF contains 57 pages]

An appraisal of the current status of the fisheries of Eleiyele Reservoir by its fisheries cooperatives

In a study undertaken to evaluate the status of the fisheries of Eleiyele Reservoir (Nigeria) between 1995 and 1997, thermal stratification was observed to breakdown between December and March. Of the physico-chemical variables, transparency was positively correlated (p<0.05) with primary productivity, conductivity and dissolved oxygen concentration. Primary productivity ranged between 0.38mgC/m super(2)/d and 3.OmgC/ m super(2)/d, being lowest in April. BOD values ranged between 1.3mg-2.2mgO/l indicative of clean unpolluted water. Nine fish species belonging to the families Cichlidae, Centropomidae and Mochokidae were identified. Cichlids were the most abundant with Hemichromis species being predominant. Fishing was only carried out in the reservoir during the dry season months of November to April. Fish landing data for the reservoir, obtained from the Fisheries Division of the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural resources, Oyo State, in conjunction with comparative data from the Cooperative fishermen was low. It demonstrated a decreasing trend from January to April and during the period between 1985 and 1996, when compared with data collected in 1985 and 1986 from a previous similar study. Reasons for the low fish yield from the reservoir are discussed and compared with other Nigerian reservoirs