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Fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) lifecycle tests have been used to assess the effects of many North American pulp mill effluents. Fish are exposed under controlled laboratory conditions to final effluent, from the egg stage through hatching, juvenile stage and mature adult stage. Outlined here are methods for the lifecycle test (which takes from 4 to 5 months to complete) with sampling of juvenile fish at 1, 2 and 3 months of age, and sampling of mature adults after breeding. The results of most fathead minnow lifecycle studies have shown that pulp mill effluents cause metabolic and reproductive disruption (enlarged livers, reduced egg production, smaller gonads, decreased sex hormones and reduced secondary sex characteristics). Thus, the fathead minnow lifecycle assay is able to mimic the most commonly observed changes seen in wild fish exposed to pulp mill effluents. Sensitive indicators of reproductive effects in fathead minnows exposed for a lifecycle to pulp mill effluents include secondary sex characteristics, time to first reproduction and number of eggs laid. Egg production is often the most sensitive response to pulp mill effluents. Because of the length and cost of full lifecycle tests, a shortened assay using adult fish was developed as a screen for endocrine-disrupting compounds. This assay, the terminal reproduction test, has been used with success on a few pulp mill effluents. The assay exposes fathead minnow breeding pairs for three weeks to effluent, and compares egg production, sex characteristics and bioindicators of reproductive performance in pre-exposure versus post-exposure fish. For assessment of pulp mill effluents, it appears that the sensitivity of the shortened terminal reproductive fathead minnow assay may be improved by assessing bioindicators of reproductive performance (such as circulating levels of sex hormones, and circulating or hepatic vitellogenin) along with changes in secondary sex characteristics and egg production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We studied the effects of long-term exposure (nine years) of birch (Betula papyrifera) trees to elevated CO2 and/or O3 on reproduction and seedling development at the Aspen FACE (Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment) site in Rhinelander, WI. We found that elevated CO2 increased both the number of trees that flowered and the quantity of flowers (260% increase in male flower production), increased seed weight, germination rate, and seedling vigor. Elevated O3 also increased flowering but decreased seed weight and germination rate. In the combination treatment (elevated CO2 +O3) seed weight is decreased (20% reduction) while germination rate was unaffected. The evidence from this study indicates that elevated CO2 may have a largely positive impact on forest tree reproduction and regeneration while elevated O3 will likely have a negative impact. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents comments concerning Eva Hedfors' paper on Ludwik Fleck. It argues that Hedfors proposes an informed reading of Fleck which aims to contest the mythology of the latter. It explores the claim of Hedfors that the work of Fleck is poorly done, meaningless and of doubtful ethical value. It emphasizes that the views of Fleck on science is aimed at legitimating his own scientifically weak research. It examines the preface made by Hedfors to her thesis wherein she elaborates that when she first read Fleck, she found an interest in his writings.

Abstract: The ethnographic component (traditional/indigenous therapeutic uses of plants or animals, specific contexts of use, preparation, dosage, route of administration) published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology (JEP) has not been consistently and fully provided in the past. In an attempt to ensure the fulfillment of these criteria, hence, the fulfillment of the scope of papers published in this journal, starting with the February, 2004 issue of JEP (vol. 90, 2004), the journal provided detailed “Guide to Authors”, “Author Checklist”, and models of ethnopharmacology papers. An analysis of research papers published in JEP vols. 98 and 99 showed that these papers still have not achieved full compliance with the interdisciplinarity/multidisciplinarity nature of the journal, and the discipline. Thus, a minimum standard for the ethnographic component is set down. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Stomatal conductance (gs) affects the fluxes of carbon, energy and water between the vegetated land surface and the atmosphere. We test an implementation of an optimal stomatal conductance model within the Community Atmosphere Biosphere Land Exchange (CABLE) land surface model (LSM). In common with many LSMs, CABLE does not differentiate between gs model parameters in relation to plant functional type (PFT), but instead only in relation to photosynthetic pathway. We therefore constrained the key model parameter "g1" which represents a plants water use strategy by PFT based on a global synthesis of stomatal behaviour. As proof of concept, we also demonstrate that the g1 parameter can be estimated using two long-term average (1960-1990) bioclimatic variables: (i) temperature and (ii) an indirect estimate of annual plant water availability. The new stomatal models in conjunction with PFT parameterisations resulted in a large reduction in annual fluxes of transpiration (~ 30% compared to the standard CABLE simulations) across evergreen needleleaf, tundra and C4 grass regions. Differences in other regions of the globe were typically small. Model performance when compared to upscaled data products was not degraded, though the new stomatal conductance scheme did not noticeably change existing model-data biases. We conclude that optimisation theory can yield a simple and tractable approach to predicting stomatal conductance in LSMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The seeds of most medicinal plants have a variety of dormancy. Therefore, it is necessary to know the effective methods of breaking the seed dormancy for their production and cultivation. In this study, to determine the best method of breaking dormancy and increasing the germination percentage of tattoo seeds, various factors have been investigated. Different treatments, scratching with sandpaper, embryo culture, GA treatment (100, 150 and 200 PPM) and sulfuric acid treatment (50, 75 and 100%) with filter paper or on MS medium containing BAP (0.5, 1 and 1.5 mg/l) was applied with untreated samples (control). Embryo culture was performed only on MS medium containing BAP hormone. The analysis of variance showed that all interactions with the studied treatments were significantly different in terms of germination percentage, fresh and dry weight of roots and stems (P <0.01). It was observed that the use of benzyl aminopurine (1.5 mg/l) with gibberellic acid (200 ppm) increased the seed germination percentage compared to the control. The use of benzylaminopurine (1.5 mg/l) and sulfuric acid (50%) significantly increased seed germination compared to the control. It was concluded that the effect of GA with BAP on seed germination was greater than sulfuric acid with BAP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information related to Life: The Excitement of Biology, a peer-reviewed, international, scientific quarterly journal with broad subject coverage, emphasizing biology.

Three simple fisheries indicators are presented: (i) percentage of mature fish in catch, with 100% as target; (ii) percent of specimens with optimum length in catch, with 100% as target; and (iii) percentage of ‘mega-spawners‘ in catch, with 0% as target, and 30–40% as representative of reasonable stock structure if no upper size limit exists. Application of these indicators to stocks of Gadus morhua, Sardinella aurita and Epinephelus aeneus demonstrate their usefulness. It is argued that such simple indicators have the potential to allow more stakeholders such as fishers, fish dealers, supermarket managers, consumers and politicians to participate in fisheries management and eventually hold and reverse the global pattern of convenience overfishing, which is defined here as deliberate overfishing sanctioned by official bodies who find it more convenient to risk eventual collapse of fish stocks than to risk social and political conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC) on molluscs in both marine and freshwater polluted environments are a continuing area of concern resulting in many field and laboratory studies. However, molluscs are commonly infected with trematode parasites which, in order to obtain sufficient nutrients for their own development, naturally disrupt the functioning of the endocrine system of the host. The physiological effects of parasitisation on the reproduction and immune response of molluscs are summarised, using a number of examples, and the implications for EDC studies are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of Studia Ecologiae et Bioethicae is the property of Uniwerystet Kardynala Stefana Wyznskiege w Warzawie and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article reflects on several papers presented from the meeting on Reproduction, Ecology, and Evaluation in Marine Systems in honor of professor John S. Pearse. Papers presented, focuses the many diverse taxa, biological phenomena, processes, systems, geographic localities, and conversation issues and actions on which Pearse and his students, and other friends have focused. According to the report, the meeting features eclectic and stimulating mix of subjects that grouped well into themes echoing Pearse's many passionate interests and contributions.

The central question in this paper is whether anthropogenic mass extinction is ethically problematic above and beyond the sum of extinctions involved. The point of asking this question is not to determine the ethical status of anthropogenic massive extinction, which is clearly ethical horrendous. It is to see if - as is the case with interrogating the wrongness and badness of extinction - answering it illuminates something about the value of what is being lost and sharpens the considerations that substantiate the view; and, if so, whether that might be useful in the context of evaluating mooted approaches to mitigating or adapting to it. The view defended is that massive extinction driven by undermining the conditions that make life forms possible for diverse and higher taxonomic groups constitutes a planetary shift, a phase change, different in kind from merely accelerated anthropogenic change. Justified partiality to the current assemblages of species and biomes is grounded in human relationships, dependencies, histories, and connections with this particular planetary state. This partiality warrants recognizing the loss of this state of the planet - these biospheric conditions, species assemblages, and biomes - as bad, above and beyond the individual harms and species losses involved. This account explains and substantiates why a mass extinction is worse than an equal number of extinctions spread over multiple systems or planets, all other things being equal. This account also provides reason not to embrace the anthropocene or embark on a synthetic age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rhodnius prolixus Stål (Reduviidae: Rhodninii) is one of the most important vectors of Chagas disease. As a result of its medical importance, several life history studies have been carried out, but in general with a restricted demographical scope, without assessing the potential tradeoffs in the life history of this insect. In this study, individuals of R. prolixus were kept in two spatially different habitats and several fitness components were measured. The results show that life expectancy in adults is negatively correlated with gross fecundity, indicating a cost of reproduction. Life expectancy is shorter for males and longer for individuals of the same sex in the more complex habitat, where the fitness is lower compared with that of the simpler habitat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides an annual summary of the developments in "Life: The Excitement of Biology" for the year 2022. The author discusses the challenges faced, the goals of fostering innovation and constructive feedback, and highlights major contributions in the latest volume, expressing gratitude to contributors, reviewers, and supporters of the journal.

The article examines the historical importance of an APS classics paper entitled "Effects of MeCh, thapsigargin, and La3+ on plamalemmal and intracellular Ca2+ transport in lacrimal acinar cells," by C. Y. Kwan, H. Takemura, J. F. Obie, O. Thastrup, and J. W. Putney Jr. The paper discussed key conceptual issues concerning the mechanism of Ca2+ influx into agonistactivated cells.

Copyright of Revista Trilogía is the property of Revista Trilogia, Ciencia, Tecnologia y Sociedad and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Humans are a kind of animal, and it is a natural and sensible idea that the way to understand what it is for a human person to persist over time is to reflect on what it is for an animal to persist. This paper accepts this strategy. However, especially in the light of a range of recent biological findings, the persistence of animals turns out to be much more problematic than is generally supposed. The main philosophical premise of the paper is that living systems generally are best treated as processes rather than things. These processes prove to be so complexly intertwined and interdependent, that there is no unique, objective way of distinguishing the individuals from which they are composed. For this reason the animalist perspective, it is argued, problematizes as much as it resolves the problem of personal identity. Traditional concerns with responsibility and reactive attitudes provide an intelligible and defensible motivation for distinguishing the individuals we standardly assume as the explanandum in these discussions. But, from a biological point of view, the underlying individualism is a contingent perspective, as much justified by these concerns as providing an objective grounding for them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The editor presents an annual summary of the major developments of periodical in the year 2019 dedicated to biological researches. Topics discussed include the periodical belief of innovation happens through collaborative sharing of thoughts and ideas; the periodical's commitment as scientific quarterly journal with broad subject coverage, emphasizing biology; and the periodical's helpful, optimistic, and collaborative spirit with authors.

Presents an abstract of the study `Sex differences in mortality across the life span: The epidemiological transition,' by T.B. Gage. Life span differences in the male and female epidemiological transitions; Risl of senescent mortality; Mortality from infectious and degenerative diseases.

This paper attempts to use museum collection data to estimate measures of species rarity and then to relate these measures to extinction risk. For this purpose, 170 taxa (138 species and 32 subspecies) of tenebrionid beetles from 32 Aegean Islands (Greece) were considered. For each taxon, rarity was evaluated as geographic distribution (mean incidence on islands in the archipelago), potential habitat exploitation (total area of the islands occupied on the total area of the study system) and contactability (number of decades of taxon’s records on the total number of decades of assumed persistence from 1870 to 2000). All of these indices were correlated to each other. Whether expressed in terms of range size or habitat exploitation rarity was a major determinant of a species’ risk of extinction (evaluated as extinction decade). Thus, the designation of rarity provides a good basis for identifying species that are most in need of conservation at a particular scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows how strategic matching generates reputation-building behavior in an evolutionary chain-store game. Strategic matching means the possibility for an entrant to choose in a strategic way the local market into which it will move. Players are boundedly rational and follow behavioral rules simply requiring that the frequency of any strategy enjoying the highest payoff should never decrease. In preventing the random entries in markets of "fighting monopolists", strategic matching reinforces the reputation effects. Using the bounded rationality set-up offered by evolutionary game theory, the paper follows Selten (1978)'s intuition underlying the necessity of a limited rationality approach in order to capture reputation effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present paper the idea about the cycles discovered by Dr. Hans Krebs is given. The career of Dr Krebs in Germany and England is outlined and his cycles are described in details. It is given also the evaluation of his discovery both about life and development of the biology as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we articulate how time and temporalities are involved in the making of living things. For these purposes, we draw on an instructive episode concerning Norfolk Horn sheep. We attend to historical debates over the nature of the breed, whether it is extinct or not, and whether presently living exemplars are faithful copies of those that came before. We argue that there are features to these debates that are important to understanding contemporary configurations of life, time, and the organism, especially as these are articulated within the field of synthetic biology. In particular, we highlight how organisms are configured within different material and semiotic assemblages that are always structured temporally. While we identify three distinct structures, namely the historical, phyletic, and molecular registers, we do not regard the list as exhaustive. We also highlight how these structures are related to the care and value invested in the organisms at issue. Finally, because we are interested ultimately in ways of producing time, our subject matter requires us to think about historiographical practice reflexively. This draws us into dialogue with other scholars interested in time, not just historians, but also philosophers and sociologists, and into conversations with them about time as always multiple and never an inert background. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the modified mathematical model of the natural technologies of an organism. The synergy effect caused by damaging the basic system components of an organism is explored at the qualitative level. Finally, we introduce a certain measure of organism's integral degradation; the measure serves for obtaining some quantitative estimates of the synergy effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The characterization and quantification of ecological interactions and the construction of species' distributions and their associated ecological niches are of fundamental theoretical and practical importance. In this paper, we discuss a Bayesian inference framework, which, using spatial data, offers a general formalism within which ecological interactions may be characterized and quantified. Interactions are identified through deviations of the spatial distribution of co-occurrences of spatial variables relative to a benchmark for the non-interacting system and based on a statistical ensemble of spatial cells. The formalism allows for the integration of both biotic and abiotic factors of arbitrary resolution. We concentrate on the conceptual and mathematical underpinnings of the formalism, showing how, using the naive Bayes approximation, it can be used to not only compare and contrast the relative contribution from each variable, but also to construct species' distributions and ecological niches based on an arbitrary variable type. We also show how non-linear interactions between distinct niche variables can be identified and the degree of confounding between variables accounted for. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relational biology is a study of life in terms of the organization of entailment relations in living systems, independent of any particular physical mechanism or material realization. Anticipatory systems and metabolism–repair (M,R)-systems are two classes of relational models that characterize life. In this paper, I explore the connections between them: I explicate the circumstances under which anticipation occurs in an (M,R)-system, and show that the entailment pattern of an anticipatory system may be represented as a network of metabolism and repair components. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Despite hundreds of definitions, no consensus exists on a definition of life or on the closely related and problematic definitions of the organism and death. These problems retard practical and theoretical development in, for example, exobiology, artificial life, biology and evolution. This paper suggests improving this situation by basing definitions on a theory of a generalized particle hierarchy. This theory uses the common denominator of the “operator” for a unified ranking of both particles and organisms, from elementary particles to animals with brains. Accordingly, this ranking is called “the operator hierarchy”. This hierarchy allows life to be defined as: matter with the configuration of an operator, and that possesses a complexity equal to, or even higher than the cellular operator. Living is then synonymous with the dynamics of such operators and the word organism refers to a select group of operators that fit the definition of life. The minimum condition defining an organism is its existence as an operator, construction thus being more essential than metabolism, growth or reproduction. In the operator hierarchy, every organism is associated with a specific closure, for example, the nucleus in eukaryotes. This allows death to be defined as: the state in which an organism has lost its closure following irreversible deterioration of its organization. The generality of the operator hierarchy also offers a context to discuss “life as we do not know it”. The paper ends with testing the definition’s practical value with a range of examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Typical approaches for analyzing mixture ecotoxicity data only provide a description of the data; they cannot explain observed interactions, nor explain why mixture effects can change in time and differ between endpoints. To improve our understanding of mixture toxicity we need to explore biology-based models. In this paper, we present an integrated approach to deal with the toxic effects of mixtures on growth, reproduction and survival, over the life cycle. Toxicokinetics is addressed with a one-compartment model, accounting for effects of growth. Each component of the mixture has its own toxicokinetics model, but all compounds share the effect of body size on uptake kinetics. The toxicodynamic component of the method is formed by an implementation of dynamic energy budget theory; a set of simple rules for metabolic organization that ensures conservation of mass and energy. Toxicant effects are treated as a disruption of regular metabolic processes such as an increase in maintenance costs. The various metabolic processes interact, which means that mixtures of compounds with certain mechanisms of action have to produce a response surface Typical approaches for analyzing mixture ecotoxicity data only provide a description of the data; they cannot explain observed interactions, nor explain why mixture effects can change in time and differ between endpoints. To improve our understanding of mixture toxicity we need to explore biology-based models. In this paper, we present an integrated approach to deal with the toxic effects of mixtures on growth, reproduction and survival, over the life cycle. Toxicokinetics is addressed with a one-compartment model, accounting for effects of growth. Each component of the mixture has its own toxicokinetics model, but all compounds share the effect of body size on uptake kinetics. The toxicodynamic component of the method is formed by an implementation of dynamic energy budget theory; a set of simple rules for metabolic organization that ensures conservation of mass and energy. Toxicant effects are treated as a disruption of regular metabolic processes such as an increase in maintenance costs. The various metabolic processes interact, which means that mixtures of compounds with certain mechanisms of action have to produce a response surface [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Many different simulation frameworks, in different topics, need to treat realistic datasets to initialize and calibrate the system. A precise reproduction of initial states is extremely important to obtain reliable forecast from the model. Methodology/Principal Findings: This paper proposes an algorithm to create an artificial population where individuals are described by their age, and are gathered in households respecting a variety of statistical constraints (distribution of household types, sizes, age of household head, difference of age between partners and among parents and children). Such a population is often the initial state of microsimulation or (agent) individual-based models. To get a realistic distribution of households is often very important, because this distribution has an impact on the demographic evolution. Usual techniques from microsimulation approach cross different sources of aggregated data for generating individuals. In our case the number of combinations of different households (types, sizes, age of participants) makes it computationally difficult to use directly such methods. Hence we developed a specific algorithm to make the problem more easily tractable. Conclusions/Significance: We generate the populations of two pilot municipalities in Auvergne region (France) to illustrate the approach. The generated populations show a good agreement with the available statistical datasets (not used for the generation) and are obtained in a reasonable computational time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bowman et al. [Bull. Math. Biol., 67 (2005), pp. 1107-1133] proposed a ninedimensional system of ordinary differential equations modelling West Nile virus in a mosquito-birdhuman community and presented some mathematical analysis and its biological explanation. Jiang et al. [Bull. Math. Biol., 2008, DOI 10.1007/s11538-008-9374-6] continued to study the existence and classification of all equilibria and all their local stability and dealt with saddle-node bifurcation of the system. The previous investigation shows that the unique positive equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable if the basic reproduction number is greater than one and the bird death rate is suitably small, but numerical simulations suggest that the unique endemic equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable even if for a large value of the bird death rate. So, they all leave it an open problem. The present paper is to provide a thorough classification of dynamics for this system. In particular, if the reproduction number is greater than one, then a unique endemic equilibrium exists and is globally asymptotically stable in the interior of the feasible region, and the disease persists at an endemic equilibrium if it initially exists, which completely solves the open problem above. Besides, the sufficient and necessary conditions for switch phenomena of the model are obtained if the reproduction number is smaller than one. The results show that the reproduction number alone is not enough to determine whether West Nile virus can prevail or not. Meanwhile, the dynamics of the model for the critical case where the reproduction number is one is also analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to review critically Julian Savulescu's principle of ‘Procreative Beneficence,’ which holds that prospective parents are morally obligated to select, of the possible children they could have, those with the greatest chance of leading the best life. According to this principle, prospective parents are obliged to use the technique of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) to select for the ‘best’ embryos, a decision that ought to be made based on the presence or absence of both disease traits and non-disease traits such as intelligence. While several articles have been written in response to Savulescu's principle, none has systematically explored its philosophical underpinnings to demonstrate where it breaks down. In this paper I argue that the examples that Savulescu employs to support his theory in fact fail to justify it. He presents these examples as analogous to PGD, when in fact they differ from it in subtle but morally relevant ways. Specifically, Savulescu fails to acknowledge the fact that his examples evoke deontological and virtue ethics concerns that are absent in the context of PGD. These differences turn out to be crucial, so that, in the end, the analogies bear little support for his theory. Finally, I lay out the implications of this analysis for reproductive ethics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane (CL-20) and hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX), both energetic compounds, share some degree of structural similarity. A noninvasive electrophysiological technique was employed to assess the impacts of acute sublethal exposures on impulse conduction in medial (MGF) and lateral (LGF) giant nerve fiber pathways of the earthworm Eisenia fetida and to evaluate the reversibility of neurotoxic effects. Earthworms were exposed to either 0.02 to 2.15 μg/cm2 of CL-20 or 0.04 to 5.35 μg/cm2 of RDX, for 1 to 14 d, on moistened filter paper. Conduction velocities of MGF and LGF were recorded on a digital oscilloscope before and after exposure. Results indicate that at exposure levels as low as 0.02 μg/cm2 of CL- 20 or 0.21 μg/cm2 of RDX, worms exhibited physiological impacts such as retardation, stiffness, and body shrink. Both MGF and LGF conduction velocities were negatively correlated with increasing doses of CL-20 or RDX. However, such neurotoxic effects were alleviated or even eliminated within a few days after exposed worms were transferred to an uncontaminated environment, indicating that the neurotoxicity is reversible even after 6-d exposure. The CL-20 is more potent than RDX, which is consistent with previous studies on lethality, growth, and reproduction endpoints in soil oligochaetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exponential models are very popular for the assessment of clinical research. Nature is unpredictable and exponential models may be adequate for simple organisms but less so for human beings. Theobjective was to review the potential advantages and limitations of this approach. The following models were reviewed: Cox proportional hazard regression, Markow modeling, polynomial regression for Laplace transformed multi-exponential models, and logistic regression. Real and hypothesized data were used as examples. In conclusion, the advantages include: the possibility to conveniently study subgroup effects, otherwise called confounders; the possibility to derive pharmacokinetic parameters; andthe possibility to make long-term predictions from observational data. Limitations include: the exponential models may not fit the data well enough; they may give rise to some serious misinterpretations of the data; most of the statistical software for exponential models assumes that confounders are homogeneous, while, in reality, this is virtually never true; and the exponential models are a major simplification for the description of research data in human beings. We underline that exponential modeling, although a very interesting tool for exploratory research, is not adequately reliable for confirmational research. It is to be hoped that this paper will help investigators to more cautiously interpret the results of their exponential data analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present an individual-based cellular lattice model, which is based on a real landscape (Denmark). The model predicts the distribution of free-ranging mink from data collated on the geographic locations of fur farms, the number of breeding mink kept per farm, and a range of parameters regarding escape, reproduction, mortality, and dispersal. When evolution was incorporated in the model, the results showed that the degree of adaptation within the free-ranging mink population is likely to vary spatially, with lower adaptation in areas where farm mink density is highest (due to the greater number of escaping mink). We used the model to explore the potential consequences of closing mink farms, or limiting escapes from them, on the evolutionary ecology of the free-ranging population and found that depending upon the paramaterisation of the evolutionary processes, several different outcomes are possible. Closing mink farms may result in a crash of the free-ranging population, or alternatively it may result in the establishment of a better-adapted, truly feral population that may ultimately outnumber the population that was present before farm closures. The main purpose of this paper is to raise awareness of the potential importance of evolutionary processes for the naturalisation of mink in Denmark, and to highlight the need for further work. Future field studies should be targeted to reduce the uncertainty in key parameters, allowing the development of an improved version of this model that can be used to generate management recommendations. More generally, we believe that further work linking evolutionary and population biology is required particularly in an applied context. There are likely to be many further scenarios where evolutionary processes may hold the key to understanding both population and community dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The continuing existence of zoos and their good purposes such as conservation, science, education, and recreation, can be ethically justified only if zoos guarantee the welfare of their animals. The usual criteria for measuring animal welfare in zoos are physical health, long life, and reproduction. This paper looks at these criteria and finds them insufficient. Additional criteria are submitted to expand the range of welfare considerations: natural and abnormal behavior; freedom and choice; and dignity. All these criteria should play a role in analyzing zoo animal welfare and interests but dignity has the overriding part because it impacts on both animal and human interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantitative prediction of resource allocation for living systems has been an intensive area of research in the field of biology. Resource allocation was initially investigated in higher organisms by using empirical mathematical models based on mass distribution. A challenge is now to go a step further by reconciling the cellular scale to the individual scale. In the present paper, we review the foundations of modelling of resource allocation, particularly at the cellular scale: from small macro-molecular models to genome-scale cellular models. We enlighten how the combination of omic measurements and computational advances together with systems biology has contributed to dramatic progresses in the current understanding and prediction of cellular resource allocation. Accurate genome-wide predictive methods of resource allocation based on the resource balance analysis (RBA) framework have been developed and ensure a good trade-off between the complexity/tractability and the prediction capability of the model. The RBA framework shows promise for a wide range of applications in metabolic engineering and synthetic biology, and for pursuing investigations of the design principles of cellular and multi-cellular organisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Panpsychism has often been motivated on the grounds that any attempt to account for experience and consciousness in organisms in purely physical, nonexperiential terms faces severe difficulties. The 'combination problem' charges that attributing phenomenal properties to the basic constituents of organisms ('microphenomenal' properties), as panpsychism proposes, likewise fails to provide a satisfactory basis for experience in humans and other organisms. This paper evaluates a recent attempt to understand, and solve, the combination problem. This approach, due to Sam Coleman, is premised on a distinction between mere aggregates and genuine unities, and the purported inability of subjects to constitute a unity. In response, I first argue that it may not be incumbent upon the panpsychist to explain how microphenomenal properties could constitute a unity in the way that Coleman supposes. I then argue that even if such a burden does fall on the panpsychist, it is far from clear that a plurality subjects cannot constitute such a unity. Finally, I argue that if one adopts a functionalist account of macrosubjects, as Coleman does, there is little reason to think that a plurality of subjects could not constitute a macrosubject. In these ways, I argue that the force of the combination problem does not turn on whether microphenomenal properties require minds or subjects that have them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the ways in which the problem of biological individuality is posed in the work of Georges Canguilhem. In his early work, Canguilhem argued that biology must regard individuality as an absolute centre, but also argued that individuality was no more than a term within a relationship whose other term was environment. The paper considers the ways in which this tension is worked out in Canguilhem's later writings, in relation to the theory of natural selection, in the theses on the nature of norms and health for living individuals, and in relation to molecular biology and the idea of the code. The paper concludes by arguing for the centrality of philosophy to inventive scientific thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The path from life's origin to the emergence of the eukaryotic cell was long and complex, and as such it is rarely treated in one publication. Here, we offer a sketch of this path, recognizing that there are points of disagreement and that many transitions are still shrouded in mystery. We assume life developed within microchambers of an alkaline hydrothermal vent system. Initial simple reactions were built into more sophisticated reflexively autocatalytic food-generated networks (RAFs), laying the foundation for life's anastomosing metabolism, and eventually for the origin of RNA, which functioned as a genetic repository and as a catalyst (ribozymes). Eventually, protein synthesis developed, leading to life's biology becoming dominated by enzymes and not ribozymes. Subsequent enzymatic innovation included ATP synthase, which generates ATP, fueled by the proton gradient between the alkaline vent flux and the acidic sea. This gradient was later internalized via the evolution of the electron transport chain, a preadaptation for the subsequent emergence of the vent creatures from their microchamber cradles. Differences between bacteria and archaea suggests cellularization evolved at least twice. Later, the bacterial development of oxidative phosphorylation and the archaeal development of proteins to stabilize its DNA laid the foundation for the merger that led to the formation of eukaryotic cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses about the index of articles and information regarding authors, published in Life: The Excitement of Biology volume 10 of the periodical.

Identification of organisms is traditionally based on the use of "classic" identification keys, normally printed on paper. These keys have several drawbacks: they are mainly based on the systematics, requiring identification of orders, families and genera at first; they are written by experts for other experts, in a specific scientific jargon; they have a "frozen" structure (sequence of theses/antitheses); once published, they cannot be changed or updated without printing a new edition. Due to the use of computers, it is now possible to build new digital identification tools, which: 1) can be produced automatically, if the characters are stored in a database; 2) can be freed from the traditional systematics, giving priority to easy-to-observe characters, incl. those usually uncommon to the classical keys, such as ecology and distribution; 3) can be updated in real time once published on-line; 4) can be available on different media, and on mobile devices. An important feature of these new digital tools is their "collaborative" nature. They can be enriched by the contribution of several researchers, which can cooperate while maintaining rights and property of the resources and data they contribute to the system. JellyWeb, the information system on Scyphozoa, Cubozoa and Staurozoa has been developed in Trieste since 2010. The system was created with the aim of -- potentially -- becoming a starting point for a wide collaborative effort in developing a user-friendly worldwide digital identification system for jellyfishes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the problem of visualizing phylogenetic networks, which are extensions of the Tree of Life in biology. We use a space filling visualization method, called DAGmaps, in order to obtain clear visualizations using limited space. In this paper, we first show that the general problem of drawing galled networks as DAGmaps is NP-complete. Next, we restrict our attention to galled trees and planar galled networks and present linear time algorithms for visualizing them as DAGmaps. Finally, we explore whether these graphs can be visualized using One-Dimensional DAGmaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a study which analyzed surface images on the planet Venus featuring a novel object called a mushroom and belonging to hypothetical living forms. The object is located in the foreground at a distance of 15 to 20 centimeters (cm) from the buffer of the landing module. Results revealed that the object is similar to terrestrial mushrooms and is supplied with folded caps.

Comments and reports on synthetic biology often focus on the idea that this field may lead to synthetic life or life forms. Such claims attract general attention because 'life' is a basic concept that is understood, interpreted and explained in multiple ways. While these different understandings of life may influence the ethical assessment of synthetic biology by experts and the public, this field might, in turn, influence how academics or the public view life. We suggest in this paper that synthetic biology provides an opportunity to discuss and compare different views and explanations of the world, starting from the concept of life. We argue that a narrow focus on just one interpretation of this concept may be harmful and that people will benefit from being aware of a diversity of understandings of life because they provide answers to different questions. Moreover, the confrontation among views is important for the development of reasoning abilities, and a nuanced view on our world will be useful for integrating scientific findings and their implications into a wider context. At the same time, we should not only consider other understandings of life for our own benefit but also because a moral attitude of respect for and toleration toward others implies permission to express and maintain their views. For these reasons, we suggest that a diversity of views on life should be included in public education and in public engagement events on synthetic biology. Moreover, they should be on the research agenda of technology assessment studies within the ELSA or RRI frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

: This paper presents the first mathematical model that attempts to represent the biology and behavior of all individual organisms globally, taking us a step closer to holistic ecological and conservation science founded on mechanistic predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the prevalent discourse and policies in the field of reproduction in Romania starting with the 1966 ban on abortions and culminating with recent public statements and proposed regulations. It will argue that the severe control on women's bodies exercised during the communist regime was primarily motivated by nationalist ethos and traditional attitudes towards sexuality. Meanwhile, contempoirary political discourse and proposed measures are often shaped by a mixture between nationalist and conservative ideology. The ethnic dimension of these doctrines is also being discussed in the paper, as well as the social impact of the regulation of reproduction upon gender relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies of proteins containing kinase-like domains that lack catalytic residue(s) classically required for phosphotransfer, termed pseudokinases, have uncovered important roles in cell signalling across the kingdoms of life. Additionally, mutations within pseudokinase domains are known to underlie human diseases, suggesting that these proteins may represent new and unexplored therapeutic targets. To date, few pseudokinases have been studied in intricate detail, but as described in the present article and in the subsequent papers in this issue of Biochemical Society Transactions, several new studies have provided an advanced template and an improved framework for interrogating the roles of pseudokinases in signal transduction. In the present article, we review landmarks in the establishment of this field of study, highlight some experimental challenges and propose a simple scheme for definition of these domains based on their primary sequences, rather than experimentally defined nucleotide-binding or catalytic activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]