Digital Commons Network^™

Nonhuman Chimeras With Human Brain Cells, Eric Sotnak

Between the Species

Many people find the notion of blending humans and nonhumans together to create animals whose brains are composed entirely of human brain cells disturbing. I argue that these moral qualms lack adequate justification. I consider a number of reasons for objecting to the creation of such chimeras and argue that none of these reasons withstand scrutiny. I argue that the only plausible objections to these chimeras would require that they possess morally significant properties that would be lacked by similar, non-chimeric animals, but that there is no good reason to think this would be the case.

The Phenomenology Of Bigfoot, H. Peter Steeves

Between the Species

No abstract provided.

Mind-Matter For Animals Matters: Science And The Denial Of Animal Consciousness, Estiva Reus, David Olivier

Between the Species

Animal people are usually confident that Cartesianism is something of the past and that modern science clearly establishes that animals are sentient beings. But actually the scientific status of sentience is anything but firmly established. Not only is the subjective point of view absent from current science; it is precluded by construction from our fundamental realms of knowledge. Physics — the mother-science once we reject Cartesian dualism — is currently unable to include sentience in its account of the world. A large part of the philosophy of mind describes a mindless mind, from which subjectivity — feeling, qualia — has …

The Relationship Between Disperal Ability And Geographic Range Size, Sarah E. Lester, Benjamin I. Ruttenberg, Steven D. Gaines, Brian P. Kinlan

Biological Sciences

There are a variety of proposed evolutionary and ecological explanations for why some species have more extensive geographical ranges than others. One of the most common explanations is variation in species’ dispersal ability. However, the purported relationship between dispersal distance and range size has been subjected to few theoretical investigations, and empirical tests reach conflicting conclusions. We attempt to reconcile the equivocal results of previous studies by reviewing and synthesizing quantitative dispersal data, examining the relationship between average dispersal ability and range size for different spatial scales, regions and taxonomic groups. We use extensive data from marine taxa whose average …

Pacific Review Fall 2007, Pacific Alumni Association

Pacific Magazine and Pacific Review

No abstract provided.

Maternal Education And Child Nutrition: Evidence From The 2000 And 2005 Ethiopian Demographic And Health Surveys, Alemayehu Azeze Ambel

International Conference on African Development Archives

I used the 2000 and 2005 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys to analyze the effect of maternal education and its pathways on chronic and acute malnutrition in Ethiopia. The pathways examined in this study are socioeconomic status, maternal health-seeking behavior, maternal knowledge of health and family planning and reproductive behavior. I find that maternal education works through all except health-seeking behavior. I also find that maternal education and its pathways are more relevant and robust in explaining chronic than acute malnutrition. Socioeconomic status is the most important factor linking maternal education and child nutritional status. Although girls’ education is a …

The Contribution Of Farmers’ Breeders In Meeting Food Security: The Case Of Sorghum (Sorghum Bicolor (L.) Moench) In Ethiopia, Firew Mekbib

International Conference on African Development Archives

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is the fifth most important cereal crop worldwide and it is the third most important crop in Ethiopia. The national average yield amounts 1302 kg/ha. In order to assess the achievement in farmer breeding various types of research were undertaken. These include survey research to quantify the trend in productivity, the level of and reasons for adoption of improved varieties, yield performance and preference evaluation of farmers’ varieties (FVs) and improved varieties (IVs). As per the trend analysis over the last four decades, total production and yield per hectare has increased by 11.63% and …

Agricultural Research And Development In Ethiopia, Efrem Bechere

International Conference on African Development Archives

To review past and current agricultural research activities and access their impact on agricultural development in Ethiopia and discuss some challenges and opportunities that need to be addressed.

Inquiry, August 2007, Office Of Vice President For Research

Research and Discovery News

• Overview of OVPR and external funding
• Technology transfer
• Human subjects review
• Misconduct in research
• Internal funding for faculty
• Facilities and administration costs
• Grant workshops
• Reorganization of OVPR

Feeding Preferences Of Captive Morpho Peleides At The Monteverde Butterfly Garden, August 2007, Beth Wright

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Morpho peleides is one of many tropical butterfly species that are fruit-feeding butterflies. In this paper, I will (1) explain the importance of biochemical components in banana pulp including amino acids, sugar, and alcohol in the diet of M. peleides and how it affects the butterflies’ food choices, and (2) suggest how fermentation might encourage or discourage food preferences banana pulp with high or low concentrations of alcohol. Six combinations were tested in this study: mature pulp with amino acids, mature pulp with water, mature pulp with rum, overripe pulp with water, overripe pulp with amino acids, and overripe pulp …

P27 Expression In Endothelin-1 Stimulated Mitogenesis, Joseph Kiriu

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Bovine corneal endothelial cells (BCECs) have been shown in our lab to synthesize and secrete endothelin-1 (ET-1). The endothelin-1 binds ETA receptors, this elevates intracellular calcium, stimulate DNA replication and cell division. This investigation explores ET-l's role as a mitogenic factor in corneal endothelial cells and addresses whether mitogenic activity is mediated through the cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor p27. BCEC were isolated from bovine eyes and grown in DMEM-10% serum in a 5% C02, 37° C incubator. Confluent cultures of BCEC were incubated for 24 hours with lOOnM Endothelin-1, luM BQ123 and BQ123 +100nM Endothelin-1 and some left untreated. Total …

Examining The Relationship Between Family Leisure And Physical Activity In Seventh And Eighth Grade Students, Trinity Edwards

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study examined the relationship between family leisure and physical activity in seventh and eighth grade students. The sample was self-selected from a population of students from a Midwest junior high school (N=526). Data were collected through a survey instrument sent home with students via their homeroom teacher. The instrument was accompanied by: (a) minor assent form, (b) parental informed consent form, and (c) survey instrument for the parent respondents including relevant demographic questions. The survey instrument comprised the Family Leisure Activity Profile (Zabriskie, 2000), Satisfaction with Family Life Scale, and six physical activity questions. The physical activity questions were …

Csi Revisited: The Science Of Forensic Dna Analysis, Michael L. Raymer

Kno.e.sis Publications

No abstract provided.

Trailblazing, Complex Hypothesis Evaluation, Abductive Reasoning And Semantic Web - Exploring Possible Synergy, Amit P. Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

No abstract provided.

Relationship Web: Spinning The Semantic Web From Trailblazing To Complex Hypothesis Evaluation, Amit P. Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

No abstract provided.

A Nontechnical Guide To Groundwater Modeling: With Specific Reference To The U.S. Department Of Energy's Hanford Site, Natural Resources Defense Council (Nrdc), Peter Willing Ph.D.

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

This document is intended to be a practical report addressing groundwater modeling in the U.S. Department of Energy’s nuclear weapons complex that will permit community organizations to more effectively oversee and understand DOE environmental cleanup actions. The nuclear weapons program is distributed among 13 major facilities in 10 states and dozens of smaller facilities. The concept here is to focus on the groundwater modeling activities in some of the cleanup decisions and to suggest how members of the public can ask questions to help them understand the end results.

This research was completed money allocated during Round 1 of the …

Physiological Constraints On Contest Behaviour, Mark Briffa, Lynne U. Sneddon

Sentience Collection

1. Contests may involve injurious fighting, other types of direct physical aggression and communication. They occur over ownership access to mates and other resources that may increase an individual’s attractiveness and its chance of survival. Traits that enhance resource holding potential may be the result of sexual selection, natural selection or a combination of both.
2. Agonistic behaviours are expected to be demanding to perform and costly in terms of changes in physiological state. The ability to meet the physiological costs may determine contest outcomes and constrain the intensity of agonistic activities.
3. The energetic costs have been investigated in a broad range …

The Influence Of Early Experience On, And Inheritance Of, Cerebral Lateralization, Culum Brown, Jac Western, Victoria A. Braithwaite

Veterinary Science and Medicine Collection

Cerebral lateralization refers to the lateralized partitioning of cognitive function in either hemisphere of the brain. Using a standard detour test, we investigated lateralized behaviour in wild-caught, female poeciliid fish, Brachyraphis (=Brachyrhaphis) episcopi, from high- and low-predation areas. Wild fish were bred and their offspring reared under controlled laboratory conditions. These laboratory-reared fish were screened in the same laterality assays as their parents. We observed differences between wild-caught females and their laboratory-reared female offspring in the pattern of lateralization (tendency to use one hemisphere over the other to process information). Conversely, the strength of lateralization (consistency of hemispherical bias) was …

Ethical Issues In Geriatric Feline Medicine, Bernard E. Rollin

Veterinary Science and Medicine Collection

Most veterinarians hold a ‘pediatric’ rather than ‘garage mechanic’ view of their function. In recent years, sophisticated medical modalities have allowed veterinarians to keep animals alive, and increased value of companion animals in society has increased demand for such treatment. But whereas humans can choose to trade current suffering for extended life, animals seem to lack the cognitive apparatus required to do so. Thus, veterinarians must guard against keeping a suffering animal alive for too long. Clients may be emotionally tied to the animal and blind to its suffering. Part of the veterinarian’s role, therefore, is to lead the client …

Nanotechnology Bound: Evaluating The Case For More Regulation, Patrick Lin

Philosophy

In continuing news, there is a growing debate on whether current laws and regulations, both in the US and abroad, need to be strengthened as they relate to nanotechnology. On one side, experts argue that nanomaterials, which are making their way into the marketplace today, are possibly harmful to consumers and the environment, so stronger and new laws are needed to ensure they are safe. On the other side, different experts argue that more regulation will slow down the pace of business and innovation in nanotechnology, or that self-regulation is the answer, or other opposing positions. This paper will draw …

Recombination And Positive Selection Contribute To Evolution Of Listeria Monocytogenes Inla, R. H. Orsi, D. R. Ripoll, M. Yeung, K. K. Nightingale, M. Wiedmann

Biological Sciences

The surface molecule InlA interacts with E-cadherin to promote invasion of Listeria monocytogenes into selected host cells. DNA sequencing of inlA for 40 L. monocytogenes isolates revealed 107 synonymous and 45 nonsynonymous substitutions. A frameshift mutation in a homopolymeric tract encoding part of the InlA signal peptide was identified in three lineage II isolates, which also showed reduced ability to invade human intestinal epithelial cells. Phylogenies showed clear separation of inlA sequences into lineages I and II. Thirteen inlA recombination events, predominantly involving lineage II strains as recipients (12 events), were detected and a number of amino acid residues were …

Ua35/1 Doers & Deeds Vol. 7, No. 1, Wku Provost

WKU Administration Documents

Newsletter created by the WKU Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs to highlight the activities of faculty, staff and alumni.

Ambient Rivers Monitoring In The Great Bay Estuary Watershed 2006, Natalie Landry

PREP Reports & Publications

The Department of Environmental Services (DES) received funding from the New Hampshire Estuaries Project (NHEP) to conduct monitoring activities in 2006. The activities described in this report were led by the DES Watershed Assistance Section and involved water monitoring at the head-of-tide in nine tidal tributaries. Other DES staff conducted laboratory analyses. These monitoring activities were completed with the overall purpose of improving the understanding of water quality trends. DES completed all tasks as planned. This report includes the sample collection information, field and laboratory data, and quality assurance information. Data summaries and interpretations will come at a later time …

Dual Intergroup Meanings Of Essentialism: Implications For Understanding Prejudice Towards African Americans And Gay Men, Luisa Fernanda Ramirez

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

[to be added]

Biochemical And Structural Characterization Of Interactions Mediated By The N- And C-Terminal Domains Of Mouse Pngase And P97, Xiaoke Zhou

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

[to be added]

The Semicircular Canals Of Birds And Non-Avian Theropod Dinosaurs, Justin Scott Sipla

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

[to be added]

William James: Exploring The Possibilities Of An Aesthetic Theory, Robert Phillip Andersen

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

[to be added]

The Pattern And Process Of Evolutionary Diversification: Lessons From A Threespine Stickleback Adaptive Radiation, Windsor Efren Aguirre

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

[to be added]

Analysis Of Task Mapping For Parallel Supercomputers, Janet Laura Braunstein

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

[to be added]

Synthesis And Positron Emission Tomography Studies Of Radioligands Targeting Α7 Nicotinic Acetylocholine Receptors In The Central Nervous System, Sung Won Kim

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

[to be added]