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According to the standard reading of Kant’s ethics, application of the Formula of Humanity (FH) yields universal rules that are binding on all agents regardless of their beliefs. I argue that the standard reading needs reconsidering. In particular, I argue that the FH can and should be read as yielding duties that are sensitive to agents’ beliefs. Thus, different actions might be permissible for different agents.

In this paper I argue that there would be no obligatory maxims if the only standards for assessing maxims were Kant’s universalizability tests. The paper is divided into five sections. In the first, I clarify my thesis: I define my terms and disambiguate my thesis from other related theses for which one might argue. In the second, I confront the view that says that if a maxim passes the universalizability tests, then there is a positive duty to adopt that maxim; I also confront a close relative of this view. In the third, I confront the view that says that if a maxim does not pass the universalizability tests, then there is a positive duty to adopt the contradictory of that maxim. In the fourth, I confront two variations of the view that says that if a maxim does not pass the universalizability tests and an agent is deliberating about the action in the maxim, then the agent has a positive duty to adopt the contrary of that maxim. In the fifth, I confront the view that says that if an agent has adopted a maxim of ends, then the agent has a positive duty to universalize that end. I then wrap up the paper with some concluding remarks.

The present investigation was undertaken to assess the efficacy of oral iron supplementation during pregnancy by using a gastric delivery system (GDS). Three hundred seventy-six pregnant women between 16 and 35 y of age and 14 and 22 wk gestation were selected if mild anemia was present (hemoglobin concentration 80-110 g/L). The participants were randomly assigned to one of three study groups given no iron, two [FeSO.sub.4] tablets (100 mg Fe) daily, or one GDS capsule (50 mg Fe) daily. Blood was obtained initially and after 6 and 12 wk for measurement of red blood cell and iron indexes, including serum transferrin receptor. There was a significant and comparable improvement in hematologic and iron-status measurements in the two groups of women given iron whereas iron deficiency evolved in women given no iron supplement. We conclude that by eliminating gastrointestinal side effects and reducing the administration frequency of an iron supplement to once daily, a GDS offers significant advantages for iron supplementation of pregnant women.

Abstract:Proponents of the utilitarian animal welfare argument (AWA) for veganism maintain that it is reasonable to expect that adopting a vegan diet will decrease animal suffering. In this article I argue otherwise. I maintain that (a) there are plausible scenarios in which refraining from meat consumption will not decrease animal suffering; (b) the utilitarian AWA rests on a false dilemma; and (c) there are no reasonable grounds for the expectation that adopting a vegan diet will decrease animal suffering.The article is divided into four sections. In the first, I set out the utilitarian AWA in its original form. I give some background and distinguish it from other related arguments. In the second, I discuss the causal impotence objection, a popular objection to the utilitarian AWA. I explain how the objection works by means of a conceptual distinction between consumers and producers. In the third, I explain how proponents of the utilitarian AWA respond to this objection. In particular, I set out in some detail what I call the expected utility response. In the fourth and final section, I use the three prior objections to explain why I do not find this response convincing.

I have two main goals in this paper. The first is to argue for the thesis that Kant gave up on his highest good argument for the existence of God around 1800. The second is to revive a dialogue about this thesis that died out in the 1960s. The paper is divided into three sections. In the first, I reconstruct Kant’s highest good argument. In the second, I turn to the post-1800 convolutes of Kant’s Opus postumum to discuss his repeated claim that there is only one way to argue for the existence of God, a way which resembles the highest good argument only in taking the moral law as its starting point. In the third, I explain why I do not find the counterarguments to my thesis introduced in the 1960s persuasive.

We recently discovered that some bacteriophages establish a nucleus-like replication compartment (phage nucleus), but the core genes that define nucleus-based phage replication and their phylogenetic distribution were still to be determined. Here, we show that phages encoding the major phage nucleus protein chimallin share 72 conserved genes encoded within seven gene blocks. Of these, 21 core genes are unique to nucleus-forming phage, and all but one of these genes encode proteins of unknown function. We propose that these phages comprise a novel viral family we term Chimalliviridae. Fluorescence microscopy and cryoelectron tomography studies of Erwiniaphage vB_EamM_RAY confirm that many of the key steps of nucleus-based replication are conserved among diverse chimalliviruses and reveal variations on this replication mechanism. This work expands our understanding of phage nucleus and PhuZ spindle diversity and function, providing a roadmap for identifying key mechanisms underlying nucleus-based phage replication.

Several letters to the editor are presented in response to articles in previous issues including one on the application of Forest Lawn Co. to build a new memorial park in West Covina in the February 10, 1961 issue, one on the superb star of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and one on the issue on conspiracy.

AbstractAccording to the standard reading of Kant's formula of universal law (FUL), positive duties can be derived from FUL. In this article, I argue that the standard reading does not work. In the first section, I articulate FUL and what I mean by a positive duty. In the second section, I set out an intuitive version of the standard reading of FUL and argue that it does not work. In the third section, I set out a more rigorous version of the standard reading of FUL and argue that even this more rigorous version does not work.

Strong adhesion of highly active cells often nucleates focal adhesions, synapses, and related structures. Red cells lack such complex adhesion systems and are also nonmotile, but they are shown here to dynamically evolve complex spatial patterns beyond an electrostatic threshold for strong adhesion. Spreading of the cell onto a dense, homogeneous poly-L-lysine surface appears complete in <1s with occasional blisters that form and dissipate on a similar timescale; distinct rippled or stippled patterns in fluorescently labeled membrane components emerge later, however, on timescales more typical of long-range lipid diffusion (approximately minutes). Within the contact zone, the anionic fluorescent lipid fluorescein phosphoethanolamine is seen to rearrange, forming worm-like rippled or stippled domains of <500nm that prove independent of whether the cell is intact and sustaining a tension or ruptured. Lipid patterns are accompanied by visible perturbations in Band 3 distribution and weaker perturbations in membrane skeleton actin. Pressing down on the membrane quenches the lipid patterns, revealing a clear topographical basis for pattern formation. Counterion screening and membrane fluctuations likely contribute, but the results primarily highlight the fact that even in adhesion of a passive red cell, regions of strong contact slowly evolve to become interspersed with regions where the membrane is more distant from the surface.

Membrane tension underlies a range of cell physiological processes. Strong adhesion of the simple red cell is used as a simple model of a spread cell with a finite membrane tension—a state which proves useful for studies of both membrane rupture kinetics and atomic force microscopy (AFM) probing of native structure. In agreement with theories of strong adhesion, the cell takes the form of a spherical cap on a substrate densely coated with poly-L-lysine. The spreading-induced tension, σ, in the membrane is ∼1 mN/m, which leads to rupture over many minutes; and σis estimated from comparable rupture times in separate micropipette aspiration experiments. Under the sharpened tip of an AFM probe, nano-Newton impingement forces (10–30nN) are needed to penetrate the tensed erythrocyte membrane, and these forces increase exponentially with tip velocity (∼nm/ms). We use the results to clarify how tapping-mode AFM imaging works at high enough tip velocities to avoid rupturing the membrane while progressively compressing it to a ∼20-nm steric core of lipid and protein. We also demonstrate novel, reproducible AFM imaging of tension-supported membranes in physiological buffer, and we describe a stable, distended network consistent with the spectrin cytoskeleton. Additionally, slow retraction of the AFM tip from the tensed membrane yields tether-extended, multipeak sawtooth patterns of average force ∼200 pN. In sum we show how adhesive tensioning of the red cell can be used to gain novel insights into native membrane dynamics and structure.

DEFINITION The period of disability as it is conceived in medico-legal terminology is that length of time during which an employee in any industry is unable adequately to perform any gainful work. The disability may be total such as might prevent the attendance of the employee at his place of occupation; or partial, disabling him from doing the usual amount or type of work per hour or day.Besides these two, there are, of course, variations in the capacity of any worker that depend upon many other diurnal or intermittent factors; such as fatigue, general state of health, state of

The ethyl esters of the polyunsaturated fatty acids of cod liver oil reduced the hypercholesterolemia produced in rats fed diets supplemented with a coconut oil, cholesterol, and sodium taurocholate. As little as 0.1% ethyl ester added to the diet caused a reduction of blood cholesterol concentration in the hypercholesterolemic rat. The hypocholesterolemic activity of the polyunsaturated fatty esters was sustained after withdrawal of the fatty esters from the ration. Long-term feeding of the polyunsaturated fatty esters resulted in a consistent lower blood cholesterol through the duration of a 154-day feeding experiment. Control animals fed the hypercholesterolemic diet attained high blood cholesterol values which declined after 7 weeks; however, their blood cholesterol level never reached the lower value of the polyunsaturated fatty ester supplemented rats. Subcutaneous administration of the polyunsaturated fatty esters also caused a reduction in the blood cholesterol of hypercholesterolemic rats. It is suggested that the polyunsaturated fatty acids function through different mechanisms in reducing blood cholesterol levels in the rat and chicken.

The polyunsaturated fatty acid esters of cod liver oil or menhaden oil were fed to both hypercholesterolemic and normocholesterolemic chickens. Serum phospholipid and serum, adrenal, abdominal aorta, and intestinal wall cholesterol concentrations were lowered in the hypercholesterolemic chicks. Serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase and liver, spleen, brain, and thoracic aorta cholesterol concentrations did not differ from the values obtained in birds fed the basal diet. Only serum phospholipid and cholesterol were reduced in normocholesterolemic birds fed the fatty esters. The incidence of atherosclerosis in the aortic and coronary vessels of birds fed the polyunsaturated fatty acid esters, did not differ from their respective controls. The hypocholesterolemic effect of the polyunsaturated fatty esters was observed in 90-day-old chicks; however, after 400 days the effect was not seen.

Concentrations of components were varied in aqueous amphotericin B systems containing cetyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride, dimethylsulfoxide, amphotericin B, and water. Using the analytical ultracentrifuge and correcting for density and viscosity, the systems containing the smallest micelles were found by determination of sedimentation coefficients. This procedure proved valuable in subsequent formulations, containing amphotericin B for veterinary purposes.

Gross atherosclerotic plaques were produced in the abdominal aortas of female rats maintained for one year on a diet deficient in essential fatty acids but with an elevated content of cholesterol and saturated fat. Male rates were not similarly affected.

THERE are innumerable reports of the formation of atherosclerotic plaques in the aorta and coronary vessels of chickens fed atherogenic diets. Little work has been done, however, on the development of atherosclerosis in the cerebral arteries. A recent review of comparative atherosclerosis1reported that spontaneous atherosclerosis was not found in the cerebral arteries of chickens, turkeys, rabbits, baboons and pigeons; whereas it was observed in swine and older dogs. Cerebral atherosclerosis did not develop in rabbits fed cholesterol, unless their cerebral circulation was impaired by ligature of either the carotid artery, the jugular vein or both2. Investigation of the cerebral vessels of chickens was of interest because of the paucity of information available, especially as related to birds fed atherogenic diets.

Focuses on San Diego Air Commerce Center, a proposed air cargo facility and intermodal transportation center to be constructed at Brown Field in San Diego, California. Activities planned for the center; Economic benefits of the proposal to the San Diego, California and Tijuana, Mexico region.