bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Methods and Applications of Cenozoic Marine Diatom Biostratigraphy
Authors: Scherer Reed P. , Gladenkov Andrey Yu. , Barron John A.
Published: June 2019

Diatoms provide the chief Cenozoic biostratigraphic tool in marine sediments beneath high primary productivity zones, especially where calcareous fossils are rare or poorly preserved. Diatom biostratigraphy, which is based on originations and extinctions of unique taxa, is especially useful in circum-Antarctic, equatorial Pacific, and high latitude North Pacific marine successions, which are available largely from ocean drilling. Oligocene to Holocene diatom biostratigraphic zonations are correlated with the geopaleomagnetic timescale, resulting in age control of million-year to as little as hundred-thousand year resolution. Paleocene and Eocene zonations are less well developed and have lower chronostratigraphic control, but are more widely applicable, because planktonic diatom assemblages of the globally warm early Paleogene were less provincial. We review the principals and methods of biostratigraphy and the application of diatoms to age control in stratigraphic successions worldwide. Distinct biostratigraphic zonations defined for the low latitudes, the North Pacific and the Antarctic, are reviewed, and Atlantic records and Antarctic coastal records are discussed. New biostratigraphic tools are introduced, including multidimensional graphic correlation of published diatom ranges.
Solving Environmental Problems Using Diatom-Based Estimates of Ph, Nutrients, and Lake Levels
Authors: Moser Katrina A.
Published: June 2019

Serious environmental issues, including acid rain, eutrophication, and decreasing water availability, require knowledge of the: 1) baseline conditions (i.e., what were conditions like before human disturbance); 2) natural variability; and 3) time or level of disturbance when the system responded to the environmental change. This type of knowledge can only be obtained from a historical perspective, which is best achieved through actual measurements of environmental variables. Such records, however, rarely extend more than a few decades, which is usually insufficiently long to determine baseline conditions and natural variability. Diatoms, single celled algae characterized by a cell wall composed of opaline silica, preserved in lake sediments are one of the most widely used paleoindicators, and provide robust estimates of lakewater pH, nutrient concentration and lake level change. A variety of approaches have been developed to infer environmental variables using diatom data, and robust inferences of many environmental variables are now possible. Using paleolimnological techniques, fossil diatoms have been used to track pH, nutrients and lake levels. These records have significantly contributed to our understanding of the causes and impacts of lakewater acidification, eutrophication and hydrologic change, and provide a basis for developing effective management strategies.
Environmental Change at High Latitudes
Authors: Douglas Marianne S. V.
Published: June 2019

Paleolimnological techniques have been used successfully to reconstruct environmental change in the Arctic and Antarctic. Diatoms are powerful indicators of environmental change because their community composition responds to changes in environmental conditions. As more regional diatom calibrations throughout the high latitude regions are achieved, the autecology of diatom taxa can be quantified and transfer functions for the driving environmental variables developed. In most instances, environmental variables related to physical, chemical, and climate-related characteristics are the main drivers affecting diatom distribution across polar aquatic bodies. A decline in ice cover and increase in growing season length results in an increase in diatom diversity as well as increased productivity, and increased thermal stratification in lakes (vs. shallow ponds). Because the siliceous cell wall preserves well in sediments, diatoms are among the most commonly used organisms used in paleolimnological analyses. Polar latitudes are experiencing amplification of the current global warming trend and as such, analyses of diatoms from high latitude lake and pond sediments are revealing the timing and extent of these trends. Diatom-based paleolimnological analyses are also being used to track the environmental impact of excess nutrient additions to lakes. Similar findings have also been reported from marine ecosystems.
Diatoms and Forensic Science
Authors: Horton Benjamin P.
Published: June 2019

The application of diatom analysis in determining whether drowning was the cause of death has proved to be a valuable tool in forensic science. The basic principal of the “diatom test” in drowning is based on inference that diatoms are present in the medium where the possible drowning took place and that the inhalation of water causes penetration of diatoms into the alveolar system and blood stream, and thus, their deposition into the brain, kidneys, and other organs.

I provide an informal assessment of “reliability” of the “diatom test” through correlations between control samples and samples from organs and clothing in two case studies. In studies, all organ and clothing samples except one had matching analogues in the modern diatom dataset from the body recovery sites, reinforcing drowning as the cause of death. The analogue matching provides further information on the precise site of drowning, in particular differentiating between drowning in a bathtub versus a naturally occurring body of water.
Resampling Methods in Paleontology
Authors: Kowalewski Michał , Novack-Gottshall Phil
Published: June 2019

This chapter reviews major types of statistical resampling approaches used in paleontology. They are an increasingly popular alternative to the classic parametric approach because they can approximate behaviors of parameters that are not understood theoretically. The primary goal of most resampling methods is an empirical approximation of a sampling distribution of a statistic of interest, whether simple (mean or standard error) or more complicated (median, kurtosis, or eigenvalue). This chapter focuses on the conceptual and practical aspects of resampling methods that a user is likely to face when designing them, rather than the relevant mathematical derivations and intricate details of the statistical theory. The chapter reviews the concept of sampling distributions, outlines a generalized methodology for designing resampling methods, summarizes major types of resampling strategies, highlights some commonly used resampling protocols, and addresses various practical decisions involved in designing algorithm details. A particular emphasis has been placed here on bootstrapping, a resampling strategy used extensively in quantitative paleontological analyses, but other resampling techniques are also reviewed in detail. In addition,ad hocand literature-based case examples are provided to illustrate virtues, limitations, and potential pitfalls of resampling methods.
Probabilistic Phylogenetic Inference in the Fossil Record: Current and Future Applications
Authors: Wagner Peter J. , Marcot Jonathan D.
Published: June 2019

Quantitative phylogenetic inference estimates the probability of observed character distributions given trees and rates. Most available programs for doing this assume (tacitly or explicitly) that the sampled taxa are contemporaneous. However, paleontologists usually sample taxa over a clade's history. Thus, we must estimate the probability of observed character-state distributions over time given trees and rates. When we include information about sampling intensity, then we really are estimating the probability of the observed record given trees and rates. Some additional problems thatshouldbe issues for neontologists, but which are much more obvious concerns for paleontologists include: 1) ancestor-descendant relationships; 2) punctuated versus continuous morphological change; and, 3) the effects of extinction and speciation rates on prior probabilities of trees. Future goals of paleosystematists include incorporating these and other “nuisance” parameters so that, ultimately, our tests of phylogeny are really tests of evolutionary histories.
Brute-Force Biochronology: Sequencing Paleobiologic First- and Last-Appearance Events by Trial-and-Error
Authors: Sadler Peter M.
Published: June 2019

Computers excel at applying simple, logical rules to prodigious amounts of information. Such is the nature of biochronology. Range charts of first- and last-occurrences of fossil species must be combined from many locations to compensate for local incompleteness of the fossil record. Enlarging the geographic scope adds the complications of faunal migration and provinciality – for which the remedy is yet more information. Expert biostratigraphers have managed to divide Phanerozoic time into hundreds of biozones by limiting the amount of information they consider. A set of biozones specifies the sequence of only a fraction of available species, typically from a single clade in a particular province across a limited time interval. Once the human expertise applied to this task is rendered into logical algorithms, computers can extend the exercise to huge data sets of otherwise unmanageable scope.

Two factors make this computer-assisted sequencing of first- and last-appearance events easy to understand and implement: the biostratigraphers' ground rules are straightforward and the computations, although tediously repetitive, proceed by simply analogy rather than esoteric mathematics. Two other factors force the outcome to be a set of time lines that fit the field data equally well: there is rarely enough information to identify a unique best-fit solution and there is more than one set of expert ground-rules for measuring the fitness of paleobiologic time-lines. A set of equally well-fit time lines serves as an appropriate statement of uncertainty in the order of events. Mapping the local ranges back into a best-fit composite range can reveal biogeographic and taxonomic complications; quality control and interpretation advance together.
Sexual Morphology, Reproduction and the Evolution of Bioluminescence in Ostracoda
Authors: Cohen Anne C. , Morin James G.
Published: June 2019

A broad array of the highly variable morphological characters available in Ostracoda were used (1) to construct a new tabular key to the families of the subclass Myodocopa (and to differentiate the Myodocopa from the Podocopa), and (2) to explore the evolution of bioluminescence in the myodocopid family Cypridinidae. Results of a cladistic analysis of the Cypridinidae strongly support a single origin of bioluminescence within the family; a single clade contains at least 64 species known to luminesce (not all described). Furthermore, within that large clade, complex bioluminescent mating displays were confined by the analysis to a single clade of exclusively Caribbean cypridinids, though that result was unresolved by bootstrap analysis.

Chemically different bioluminescence occurs convergently in two ostracode groups; it is produced within carapace glands of certain Halocypridina, but it is produced and extruded from the upper lips of many cypridinid Myodocopida and serves as an antipredatory behavior in both groups. Additionally at least 60 cypridinid species also produce spectacular and complex species-specific male mating displays nightly in the Caribbean Sea. The cladistic analysis using 58 morphological characters of 44 taxonomic units (24 described genera of Cypridinidae, 11 individual species assigned to the genus Vargula, six groups of bioluminescent signalling Caribbean species (many undescribed), the Cylindroleberididae, and the Philomedidae) was performed using PAUP with the parsimony criterion. Twenty-five of the characters were previously underutilized characters of the complex upper lip and large male copulatory limbs discovered through dissection and SEM. These proved especially valuable, but characters of all other limbs were also included.

The Cypridinidae was confirmed as a monophyletic taxon with several well-supported subclades in addition to the large bioluminescent one. Skogsbergia, which apparently uses an antennular fan of iridescent blue filaments in courtship (Parker, 1997) belongs to a clade with five other cypridinid genera, including the four that have a similar fan. The genus Vargula was determined to be a polyphyletic assemblage. New genera will be established for former Vargula species including: “V.” tubulata, “V.” hilgendorfii, “V.” tsujii and all bioluminescent signaling species. Similar problems may exist for other large cypridinid genera, and clearer resolution of generic definitions might possibly reveal more significant patterns of geographic distribution within the family.

Most characters of the carapace were found to be too convergent to be useful. Though carapace characters are diagnostic for some ostracode taxa, most should not be used by themselves to identify ostracodes with certainty. General aspects of reproduction are also reviewed.
Morphometric Methods for Applied Ostracodology: Tools for Outline Analysis of Nonmarine Ostracodes
Authors: Baltanás Angel , Brauneis Wolfgang , Danielopol Dan L. , Linhart Johann
Published: June 2019

Morphometric techniques for the analysis of shape change in organisms have experienced a noteworthy development in the last decade. But despite the significant contributions that ostracodologists made to the field, their use in standard ostracode research is far from common. This contribution stresses the usefulness of morphometric methods to describe ostracode valve outlines and to summarize shape changes cued by environmental factors. Focus is on nonmarine ostracodes which are generally poorly ornamented so that their carapaces offer few landmarks for characterization of morphological change. Out of several alternatives three techniques for shape analysis are applied here: the B-splines method for approximative description of ostracode contours, Elliptic Fourier Analysis (EFA) and a Generalized (Resistant Fit) Procrustes Analysis. B-splines method is presented here for the first time within a biological framework and both its mathematical basis and practical usage are discussed. Additionally a computer program,Morphomatica, developed for performing B-splines analyses of ostracod outlines is briefly documented.

Three case studies exemplify here how morphometric analysis might help either to detect environmental influences in ostracode shape or to show how morphological diversity of ostracode valve reflects environmental change. First, morphological variability within a clonal lineage ofHeterocypris barbara(Gauthier and Brehm) is shown to be related to environmental variables (mainly temperature) when raised under controlled conditions in the lab. Second, carapace variability at the population level is explored in a widely distributed species (Limnocythere inopinataBaird) sampled from distant localities. Morphometric analyses illustrate how such variability is not related to geographic distance but to environmental conditions. Finally, patterns of temporal change in morphological diversity of a widely distributed ostracode group, the Candoninae, are elucidated by using the B-splines method combined with multivariate statistical analysis.

It is concluded that morphometric methods deserve to be included in the methodological toolbox of practicing ostracodologists as they can provide useful information in ecological and paleoecological research.
Deep Sea Ostracodes and Climate Change
Authors: Cronin Thomas M. , Dwyer Gary S.
Published: June 2019

Ostracodes are bivalved Crustacea whose fossil shells constitute the most abundant and diverse metazoan group preserved in sediment cores from deep and intermediate ocean water depths. The ecology, zoogeography, and shell chemistry of many ostracode taxa makes them useful for paleoceanographic research on topics ranging from deep ocean circulation, bottom-water temperature, ecological response to global climate change and many others. However, the application of ostracodes to the study of climate change has been hampered by a number of factors, including the misconception that they are rare or absent in deep-sea sediments and the lack of taxonomic and zoogeographic data. In recent years studies from the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic Oceans show that ostracodes are abundant enough for quantitative assemblage analysis and that the geochemistry of their shells can be a valuable tool for paleotemperature reconstruction. This paper presents practical guidelines for using ostracodes in investigations of climate-driven ocean variability and the ecological and evolutionary impacts of these changes.
Cenozoic Diversification and Extinction Patterns in Caribbean Reef Corals: A Review
Authors: Budd Ann F. , Klaus James S. , Johnson Kenneth G.
Published: June 2019

Statistical analyses of occurrence data based on collections made from scattered Caribbean sections over the past 20 years indicate that turnover occurred in the Caribbean reef coral fauna between the late Miocene and early Pleistocene. The collections have been identified using standardized procedures, and age-dates assigned using high-resolution chronostratigraphic methods. During turnover, ~80% of the > 100 species and 17 of the 41 genera that were living in the Caribbean during the early Pliocene became extinct, and > 60% of the species now living in the Caribbean originated. Turnover involved increased speciation beginning in the late Miocene and ended with a pulse of extinction in Plio-Pleistocene time. Turnover was preceded by faunal collapse during the late Oligocene to early Miocene, and it was followed by stasis during the late Pleistocene to Recent. During these preceding and succeeding intervals, reef development was at a maximum, although reef coral diversity was relatively low. As a consequence of origination preceding extinction during turnover, most modern Caribbean reef coral species originated before the Plio-Pleistocene peak of extinction, under quite different ecological conditions from those in which they have lived over the past million years. The unusual relationship between origination and extinction may have been caused by changes in productivity associated with emergence of the Central American Isthmus, followed by the onset of Northern Hemisphere glaciation.

During turnover, faunal change was stepwise or gradual. Local assemblages consisted of a mix of extinct and living species, which varied in composition but not in richness. Important reef dominants such as Acropora palmata and A. cervicornis arose in the southern Caribbean and appear to have migrated northward. Faunal change took place in shallow exposed environments, before it occurred in deep protected environments that served as refuges. Plio-Pleistocene extinction was selective for corals with small colonies, and resulted in a faunal shift to the large, fast-growing species that dominate Caribbean reefs today.
Reef Restoration—the Good and the Bad, A Paleobiologic Perspective
Authors: Lipps Jere H.
Published: June 2019

Little good and a lot of bad come from reef restoration. Reefs damaged by humans and nature are “restored” using unnatural materials as substrata quickly occupied by corals and fish. This is commonly considered good, for seemingly the reef has been returned to a “healthy” state; fish can be caught again and tourists return for the “beautiful reefs”. Restoration, the act of reestablishing a former state, has never been accomplished on a reef; rather reefs have been manipulated to conform to particular human values without regard for the entire reef—its ecology, trophodynamics, hydrodyamics, physical or chemical characteristics of pseudo-substrata, geochemistry, nutrient supply, and even reef aesthetics among a multitude of others. People seemingly cannot leave well enough alone when it comes to reefs that have been noticeably damaged. Yet, that is exactly what reefs need—time without interference. Careful analysis of the total consequences of various methods is required. Reefs evolved over millions of years in one of the harshest environments on earth—the air-water interface. They are well adapted to recover from physical damage of almost any sort. Reefs are not fragile. Thoughtful assistance would help, using materials occurring naturally within reef systems, by involving regional stakeholders in natural processes of restoration, and by stringent protection regulations and agreements. Opportunistic “restoration” by well-meaning, misguided or avaricious people without careful consideration of what really constitutes a reef is a major mistake that will eventually degrade reefs and need restoration itself. Protection of reefs is the best option, followed by letting natural restorative processes take place over long times.
Reconstructing Paleoseasonality from Accretionary Skeletal Carbonates—Challenges and Opportunities
Authors: Ivany Linda C.
Published: June 2019

Seasonal temperature variation at any location is most strongly regulated by the annual cycle of solar insolation, which is controlled by latitude and orbital parameters; other factors are continentality, albedo feedbacks, stratification and advection, and water depth. Seasonal minima, maxima, and range vary with change in mean annual temperature (MAT) across latitudes; seasonal variation in ocean-water temperature is highest in the mid-latitudes. Seasonal temperature range at depth is likely to be less than that at the sea surface. The chemistry of accretionary biogenic carbonate can preserve a record of seasonal temperature variation experienced by an organism over some portion of its ontogeny. Sampling early parts of ontogenies will yield a more complete temperature record because growth is faster (so temporal resolution is higher) and more likely to be continuous throughout the year. Biases due to preferential season of growth can be recognized by characteristic patterns of isotope data when plotted versus distance along the ontogenetic trajectory. Multiple years are needed to reliably characterize seasonal temperature range and inter-annual variability for a stratigraphic horizon in a given region; single-shell studies are less useful in this regard unless they contain very long records. Data from multiple time intervals or regions using the same taxon, sampled the same way, and from the same facies can establish meaningful trends in average temperature and seasonal range. Deep-time studies exploring seasonal temperature extremes and ranges can be coupled with proxies for mean annual temperature to offer a more complete understanding of changing climate conditions through time.
Climate Reconstruction from Leaf Size and Shape: New Developments and Challenges
Authors: Royer Dana L.
Published: June 2019

Leaf physiognomy (size and shape) in fossils is commonly used to reconstruct terrestrial paleoclimate. Physiognomic leaf-climate methods are underpinned mostly by the covariation between toothed margins and mean annual temperature (MAT) and between leaf size and mean annual precipitation. Digital leaf physiognomy, a multivariate method based largely on variables that are functionally linked to climate and that can be measured by computer algorithm, minimizes many of the deficiencies present in other approaches. Nevertheless, the relationships between MAT and many physiognomic variables, especially tooth-related variables, are confounded by leaf thickness, leaf habit (deciduous vs. evergreen), and phylogenetic history. Until these factors are properly accounted for, a minimum error in MAT of ±4 ° for digital leaf physiognomy and ±5 ° for other methods should be assumed.
Marine Ecological State-Shifts Following the Triassic–Jurassic Mass Extinction
Authors: Ritterbush Kathleen A. , Ibarra Yadira , Bottjer David J. , Corsetti Frank A. , Rosas Silvia , West A. Joshua , Berelson William M. , Yager Joyce A.
Published: June 2019

One of the most severe extinction events in Earth history, the Triassic–Jurassic extinction, struck against a backdrop of radical increases in atmospheric CO2and supercontinent breakup. This juxtaposition of first-order geophysical and biotic changes produced excellent case studies in Earth-Life Transitions. Recent recognition of a worldwide “carbonate gap” following the extinction has focused attention on causes, often invoked as eustacy or ocean acidification, but the ecology of the extinction aftermath remains poorly understood. Results from paleoecological studies on three separate Triassic–Jurassic records are presented and incorporated into regional depositional models. Examination of the Penarth Group of Great Britain reveals a widespread, laterally homogenous, level-bottom microbial stromatolite regime across the innermost ramp. The Sunrise Formation in Nevada, USA, was deposited during a biosiliceous (“glass”) regime dominated by demosponges across the inner ramp that lasted at least two million years. Investigations of the Pucará group in the central Andes of Peru revealed a demosponge-dominated level-bottom glass ramp with many similarities to the Nevada deposits, but offering broader regional extent and variation in recorded depositional settings. This suite of studies demonstrates state-shifts in marine ecological systems that also profoundly altered regional sedimentation regimes. The sponge-dominated systems produced glass ramp conditions instead of carbonate ramps, and indicate the importance of marine silica concentrations. The post-extinction changes in regional marine ecology demonstrate connectivity to changes in global climate and terrigenous weathering driven by global-scale geophysical processes.
Kantian Autonomy
Authors: Irwin Terence
Published: June 2019

Kant takes autonomy to be recognizably valuable. In claiming that non-Kantian views of morality treat the morally good will as heteronomous, he intends to present an objection to these views. He expects proponents of these views to recognize that the implication of heteronomy is a serious objection; his task is not to convince them that heteronomy is bad, but to convince them that their views imply heteronomy.
Intention as Faith
Authors: Langton Rae
Published: June 2019

What, if anything, has faith to do with intention? By ‘faith’ I have in mind the attitude described by William James:

Suppose … that I am climbing in the Alps, and have had the illluck to work myself into a position from which the only escape is by a terrible leap. Being without similar experience, I have no evidence of my ability to perform it successfully; but hope and confidence in myself make me sure I shall not miss my aim, and nerve my feet to execute what without those subjective emotions would perhaps have been impossible. But suppose that, on the contrary, the emotions of fear and mistrust preponderate; or suppose that…I feel it would be sinful to act upon an assumption unverified by previous experience,—why, then I shall hesitate so long that at last, exhausted and trembling, and launching myself in a moment of despair, I miss my foothold and roll into the abyss.…There are then cases where faith creates its own verification. Believe, and you shall be right, for you shall save yourself; doubt, and you shall again be right, for you shall perish.
Other Histories, Other Biologies
Authors: Radick Gregory
Published: June 2019

When philosophers look to the history of biology, they most often ask about what happened, and how best to describe it. They ask, for instance, whether molecular genetics subsumed the Mendelian genetics preceding it, or whether these two sciences have maintained rather messier relations. Here I wish to pose a question as much about what did not happen as what did. My concern is with the strength of the links between our biological science—our biology—and the particular history which brought that science into being. Would quite different histories have produced roughly the same science? Or, on the contrary, would different histories have produced other, quite different biologies?
Are There Genes?
Authors: Dupré John
Published: June 2019

Contrary to one possible interpretation of my title, this paper will not advocate any scepticism or ontological deflation. My concern will rather be with how we should best think about a realm of phenomena the existence of which is in no doubt, what has traditionally been referred to as the genetic. I have no intention of questioning a very well established scientific consensus on this domain. It involves the chemical DNA, which resides in almost all our cells, which is capable of producing copies of itself that accurately reproduce a very long sequence of components, and which plays a role in the physiology of the cell which in certain basic respects is quite well understood. This substance has also achieved a remarkable iconic status in contemporary culture. It is seen as fundamental to personal identity both in the practical sense of providing a criterion of identity through DNA testing, and in the much deeper sense of being seen as, somehow, defining who we are. The latter role is illustrated, for example, by the recent debate about the right of children conceived by sperm donation to know who are their fathers.
The Cultural Origins of Cognitive Adaptations
Authors: Papineau David
Published: June 2019

According to an influential view in contemporary cognitive science, many human cognitive capacities are innate. The primary support for this view comes from ‘poverty of stimulus’ arguments. In general outline, such arguments contrast the meagre informational input to cognitive development with its rich informational output. Consider the ease with which humans acquire languages, become facile at attributing psychological states (‘folk psychology’), gain knowledge of biological kinds (‘folk biology’), or come to understand basic physical processes (‘folk physics’). In all these cases, the evidence available to a growing child is far too thin and noisy for it to be plausible that the underlying principles involved are derived from general learning mechanisms. This only alternative hypothesis seems to be that the child's grasp of these principles is innate. (Cf. Laurence and Margolis, 2001.)
An Idea we Cannot do Without: What difference will it make (eg. to moral, political and environmental philosophy) to recognize and put to use a substantial conception of need?
Authors: Wiggins David
Published: June 2019

1. Conferences on the subject of need are lamentably rare. All themore honour then for this one to the Royal Institute of Philosophy(an organisation long dedicated to saving philosophy's better selffrom its worse), to the Philosophy Department at Durham, and toSoran Reader, the organizer and editor.

2. Someone asked me recently what first made me think it wasimportant for philosophy to secure for itself a substantial andserious idea of needing and of thing vitally needed. What made itseem imperative to safeguard these categorizations from conceptualand rhetorical degradation? What suggested that there was aproblem here?
Democracy and Openness
Authors: O'Hear Anthony
Published: June 2019

During the recent Iraq war there was a great deal of discussion of the desirability of bringing democracy to Iraq, and indeed to other countries which were suffering under ruthless and oppressive dictatorships. There was also the thought that if Iraq had a flourishing democratic system, its benefits would become evident within the Middle East, and other peoples in the area would be encouraged to press for more democracy in their own countries. And critics who expressed doubts about any of this were accused of treating the people of the Middle East in a patronising way, implying that they were not able to do what we in the West have managed for some time.
Rights and Human Rights
Authors: Hanfling Oswald
Published: June 2019

The concept of rights, as has often been noted, became prominent at a particular time in our history. It is associated especially with seventeenth and eighteenth century political ideas about the rights of individuals versus those of governments, and with such notable events as the American Declaration of Independence. It was at this time, too, that debates about rights of property and liberty became prominent. What was the role of this concept in earlier times? Has it always existed? Does it have a permanent place in our moral thinking? According to H.L.A. Hart,

the concept of a right, legal or moral, is not to be found in the work of the Greek philosophers, and certainly there is no noun or noun phrase in Plato or Aristotle which is the equivalent of our expression ‘a right’, as distinct from ‘right action’ or ‘the right thing to do’.
Prerogatives to Depart from Equality
Authors: Otsuka Michael
Published: June 2019

Should egalitarian justice be qualified by an agent-relative prerogative to act on a preference for—and thereby in a manner that gives rise to or preserves a greater than equal share of the goods of life for—oneself, one's family, loved ones, or friends as compared with strangers? Although many would reply that the answer to this question must be ‘yes’, I shall argue here that the case for such a prerogative to depart from equality is much less far-reaching than one might think. I have in mind a prerogative to depart from a specific form of equality: namely, equality of opportunity for such advantages as resources or welfare. I mean to refer to the strong form of equal opportunity elaborated and defended by Richard Arneson and G. A. Cohen whereby, roughly speaking, two people have equal opportunity for advantage if they face the same choices and will end up at the same level of advantage if they make the same choices.
High Culture, Low Politics
Authors: Grant Robert
Published: June 2019

My theme at its most general is the relation between culture and power; at its most specific, the relation between a particular type of culture, so-called high culture, and two types of power, namely governmental power, and the related but more diffuse power prevailing in society at large.

So-called ‘high’ politics are often (and better) called statesmanship, and are typically, though not invariably, international in scope. By the ‘low’ politics of my title I mean, not democracy specifically, but what politicians engage in at the domestic level, where popularity matters most. Democratic or not, most politics are perforce pretty low, and are justified only because they are preferable to despotism, which in its pure form signifies the absence of politics. Yet most real-life despotisms concede something to the political spirit, since they profit from their subjects' consent, endeavour to cultivate it, and are foolish if they think to dispense with it entirely. In politics proper, however, consent (like consensus) must be sought; in fact, wherever avowed and conflicting interests prefer to resolve matters through negotiation and agreement rather than through force, there we have something like politics. The conditions for consent will usually be ascertained through representative institutions. Their business is to transmit public opinion to the rulers, if those are separate from the representatives, or to act on it, where the representatives are themselves the rulers.
Dose accumulation with deformable image registration method using helical tomotherapy images for prostate cancer
Authors: Thongsuk Warit , Chitapanarux Imjai , Wanwilairat Somsak , Nobnop Wannapha
Published: June 2019

Purpose:

To evaluate changes of accumulated doses from an initial plan in each fraction by deformable image registration (DIR) with daily megavoltage computed tomography (MVCT) images from helical tomotherapy for prostate cancer patients.

Materials and methods:

The MVCT images of five prostate cancer patients were acquired by using a helical tomotherapy unit before the daily treatment fraction began. All images data were exported to DIR procedures by MIM software, in which the planned kilovoltage computed tomography (kVCT) images were acting as the source images with the daily MVCT acquired as the target images for registration. The automatic deformed structure was used to access the volume variation and daily dose accumulation to each structure. All dose-volume parameters were compared to the initial planned dose.

Results:

The actual median doses of the planning target volume (PTV) received 70 Gy and 50.4 Gy were decreased at the end of the treatment with an average 1·0 ± 0·67% and 2·1 ± 1·54%, respectively. As regards organs at risk (OARs), the bladder and rectum dose-volume parameters tended to increase from the initial plan. The high-dose regions of the bladder and rectum, however, were decreased from the initial plan at the end of the treatment.

Conclusions:

The daily actual dose differs from the initial planned dose. The accumulated dose of target tends to be lower than the initial plan, but tends to be higher than the initial plan for the OARs. Therefore, inter-fractional anatomic changes should be considered by the DIR methods, which would be useful as clinically informative and beneficial for adaptive treatment strategies.
Research to alleviate poverty in the face of industrialisation of livestock production
Authors: Waters-Bayer Ann , Bayer Wolfgang
Published: June 2019

Economic projections into the year 2020 (Delgado et al., 1999) indicate that the global demand for animal products will increase sharply, particularly in developing countries, and suggest that the bulk of the increased production to meet this demand will come from large-scale, industrial production. Many smallholders in developing countries depend at least partly on livestock as a source of livelihood; for pastoralists, livestock are by definition the main source of livelihood.
Effect of inoculum from suckling rabbits of different ages on fermentation parameters obtained with the in vitro gas production technique
Authors: Gazaneo M.P. , Bovera F. , Di Meo C. , Piccolo G , Nizza A.
Published: June 2019

The in vitro gas production technique was used to observe the fermentation characteristics of three feedstuffs (barley, dried alfalfa meal, and dried beet pulp). Inocculum was provided from the caecal contents of suckling rabbits (23, 26, 31 and 35d old) which had access to their dams’ food. Mean OM degradation increased progressively with the age of the rabbits (P<0.01) from 67.4 to 70.8% with inocculum from 23 and 35d kits, and gas production from 302 to 357 ml/g OM incubated (P<0.01). It was confirmed that the in vitro gas production technique is a valid tool for the study the development of caecal microbial activity in rabbits.
Behavioural mechanisms influencing use of plants with secondary metabolites by herbivores
Authors: Provenza Frederick D.
Published: June 2019

Diets and habitats that allow animals to select among alternatives enable individuals to better meet needs for nutrients and to better cope with toxins. All plants contain toxins, and the amount of toxin an animal can ingest depends on the kinds and amounts of nutrients and toxins in the forages on offer. Nutrients and toxins both cause animals to satiate, and excesses of nutrients, nutrient imbalances, and toxins all limit food intake. Thus, individuals can better meet their needs for nutrients and regulate their intake of toxins when offered a variety of foods that differ in nutrients and toxins than when constrained to a single food, even if the food is “nutritionally balanced.” Food intake and preference also depend on differences in how individual animals are built morphologically and how they function physiologically, and marked variation is common even among closely related animals in needs for nutrients and abilities to cope with toxins. Transient food aversions compound the inefficiency of single–food diets – whether in confinement, on pastures, or on rangelands – by depressing intake among individual animals, even if they are suited “on average” to that nutrient or toxin profile. Thus, feeding and grazing practices that allow producers to capitalize on the individuality of animals are likely to improve performance of the herd by enabling the uniqueness of individuals to become manifest. Finally, past experiences play a crucial role in an animal's propensity to learn to eat different foods. When herbivores are allowed to eat only the most preferred plants, they are not likely to learn to mix foods high in nutrients with foods that contain toxins. Conversely, herbivores encouraged to eat all plants in an area are more likely to learn to eat mixes of plants that mitigate toxicity. Experienced animals that have learned to eat a variety of foods that differ in nutrients and toxins do so even when nutritious alternatives are available, whereas naive animals familiar only with the nutritious alternatives eat only that subset of familiar foods. Different systems of management alter how animals forage. Continuous grazing at low stock densities encourages selectivity and reduces diet and habitat breadth, whereas short-duration grazing at high stock densities increases diet and habitat breadth. Thus, what was traditionally considered proper grazing management – rotational grazing at low stock densities – may have trained generations of livestock to “eat the best and leave the rest” thus inadvertently accelerating a decline in biodiversity and an increase in the abundance of less desirable plant species.
Upgrading tannin-rich forages by supplementing ruminants with Polyethylene Glycol (PEG)
Authors: Perevolotsky A. , Landau S. , Silanikove N. , Provenza F.
Published: June 2019

The paper reviews the scientific information concerning the utilisation of tannin-rich forages by livestock and examines methods to improve it. Findings on the impact of tannins on diet selection, forage intake and livestock performance are presented. The paper elaborates on the application of polyethylene glycol (PEG) in mitigating the adverse effects of tannins and the potential improvement in livestock production. The use of PEG as part of a regular management scheme, including self-regulation of its consumption by the animals, is discussed based on the findings of controlled and field experiments. Topics for future research on relationships between livestock-forage-PEGenvironment-economy are also defined
Chemical and biological assays for quantification of major plant secondary metabolites
Authors: Makkar Harinder P.S.
Published: June 2019

During grazing, animals interact with many compounds in the diet. Plant secondary metabolites (PSM) such as tannins, saponins, cyanogenic glycosides, mimosine. could have wide ranging effects –beneficial or harmful, depending on the nature, quantity in the plant, and amount and rate of ingestion of the PSM. A wide range of methods is available to quantify these PSM. The methods presented for tannins are based on the oxidation-reduction, metal complexing, polyethylene glycol binding and protein precipitation/binding principles of tannins. A tannin bioassay based onin vitrogas production using a medium containing rumen microbes, and incubation of the plant sample with and without polyethylene glycol (a tannin-inactivating agent) is also discussed. Saponins have haemolitic activity, and a qualitative and a quantitative assay are based on this property are described, in addition to a spectrophotometric assay. Cyanogenic glycosides are measured using picric acid methods with and without distillation. The methods described for mimosine determination are based on its reaction with ferric chloride and diazotised p-nitroaniline. Alkaloids are a chemically heterogeneous group of compounds. Therefore, it is difficult to assay alkaloids using a single method. An approach, for qualitative assessment of alkaloids in feeds and forages, based on the use of various spray reagents on the developed TLC plate or a paper chromatographic paper is presented.
Nutritional characteristics of browse species from Northeastern Mexico consumed by small ruminants
Authors: Ramírez-Lozano Roque G.
Published: June 2019

Many browse plants that grow in northeastern Mexico are consumed by domestic and wild range small ruminants. However, their nutritional value is determined by their chemical composition and digestibility. Chemical composition depends on the nature of the plant, but climatic conditions determine leaf maturity. Thus, studies to estimate the seasonality of the nutrient profiles of forages from shrubs are necessary. This paper has the objective to discuss the nutrient profiles and the organic matter digestion from the forage of 32 browse plants (13 legumes and 19 non legumes), that grow in northeastern México, and which are consumed by range small ruminants. Browses such as Acacia berlandieri (L.) Wild Acacia rigidula Benth., Ziziphus obtusifolia T and G., Desmanthus virgathus L. and Cercidium macrum I.M. Johnst. are the most abundant in the range, and also are the most selected by ruminants. The seasonal crude protein (CP) content in browse species varied within a range of 4.0 to 22.0%. The cell wall (from 24 to 53%) and its components: cellulose (from 5 to 31%) and hemicellulose (from 2 to 28%) also varied, and in most evaluated shrubs were lower than Medicago sativa hay. Seasonal lignin content also varied among plants species (from 1 to 24%; annual mean), and was higher than Medicago sativa hay. Condensed tannins were low and seasonally variable in most plants (from 0 to 23%). In general, during winter OMD (ranging from 30 to 68%) was higher than in other seasons. Lignin and condensed tannins negatively affected OMD (r = -0.40; P<0.01 and r = -0.53; P<0.001, respectively). The most selected shrubs were those with the highest tannin content. All plants were low in P and Na relative to the needs of adult goats, sheep and white-tailed deer. It is concluded that the chemical composition and OMD of browse plants were very similar among seasons. Because of their high CP, low cell wall, high mineral content and OMD in all plants, these could be considered as good protein supplements for range small grazing ruminants. However, they must be supplemented with P and Na throughout the year.
Field evidence of metabolic stress in dairy cows?
Authors: Ward W. R. , Parker C. S.
Published: June 2019

The authors review their experiences of metabolic profiles in dairy herds, with a view to assessing whether metabolic stress is a problem in Great Britain at present. Many cows show elevated blood beta-hydroxybutyrate concentration, indicating energy deficit, or elevated urea levels, indicating an imbalance between energy and protein in the rumen but at present there is no evidence that high-yielding cows in commercial herds show more metabolic stress than low-yielding cows. The authors suggest that more cows could suffer metabolic stress in the future, unless farmers’ ability to feed and manage dairy cows develops as rapidly as genetic selection for high milk yield.
Options to reduce vulnerability to metabolic stress by genetic selection
Authors: Pryce J. E. , Løvendahl P.
Published: June 2019

Genetic selection for milk production has been very successful. However to achieve high yields, the metabolic load on dairy cows is believed to be substantial. If the size of this load is large enough then the animal may become ‘metabolically stressed’. Signs of this may include some sort of distortion of normal physiological function. There is evidence from both population studies and research herds to suggest that intense selection for milk yield has led to a deterioration in some aspects of health and fertility. Genetic correlation estimates between production and measures of fertility are unfavourable. As an example, calving intervals of high merit animals from Langhill are on average 12 days longer than those of average genetic merit, which is mostly due to a delay in days to first heat. It is suggested that some aspects of health and fertility problems in high genetic merit animals are a consequence, in part, of so-called metabolic stress. Future breeding goals should be broadened to include a broad spectrum of traits related to efficient milk production, in addition to either health and fertility traits themselves, or traits believed to be precursors of them, such as those related to metabolic stress. The complexity and subjectivity of metabolic stress and its components makes it very difficult to include in future breeding goals. However, traits related to energy balance, such as some measures of condition score, dry-matter intake and live weight may be useful in breeding programmes where one of the goals is to alleviate metabolic stress.