Life Sciences Commons^™

Cancerous Contradictions: The Mis-Regulation Of Human Carcinogens Based On Animal Data, Andrew Knight, Jarrod Bailey, Jonathan Balcombe

Jonathan Balcombe, PhD

The regulation of human exposures to potential carcinogens constitutes society’s most important use of animal carcinogenicity data. However, for environmental contaminants of greatest U.S. concern, we found that in most cases (58.1%; 93/160) the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considered the animal data inadequate to support a classification of probable human carcinogen or noncarcinogen.

The World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is a leading international authority on carcinogenicity assessments. For chemicals lacking human exposure data (the great majority), IARC classifications of identical chemicals were significantly more conservative than EPA classifications (p

Shellfish Corner, Michael Rice

Michael A Rice

After a hiatus of several years, Aquaculture Magazine has returned as a bimonthly publication serving the aquaculture industry. This article introduces the Shellfish Corner, the regular column on molluscan aquaculture.

Vocal Recognition Of Pups By Mother Mexican Free-Tailed Bats, Tadarida Brasiliensis Mexicana, Jonathan P. Balcombe

Jonathan Balcombe, PhD

The ability of Mexican free-tailed bat mothers and pups to recognize vocalizations of their presumptive kin (pup isolation calls and mother echolocation calls, respectively) was tested using playbacks of recorded calls. Captive individuals were presented with calls of two bats, one presumptive kin and the other a stranger, from opposite sides of a circular wire arena. Response was determined by amount of time spent on each side of the arena, time spent in contact with a cloth bat model in front of each speaker, and number of separate contacts with each model. For the latter two measures, mothers showed a …

T-61 Use In The Euthanasia Of Domestic Animals: A Survey, Andrew N. Rowan

Andrew N. Rowan, DPhil

A variety of techniques have been proposed and employed for the killing of domestic animals but relatively few have survived as suitable agents for euthanasia-namely, the induction of painless, suffering-free death. Some agents, such as strychnine, curariform agents, or potassium salts cause suffering while others have other disadvantages. 'lbday, dogs and cats are commonly euthanatized with sodium pentobarbital or with T-61 which is a mixture of a central nervous system narcotic, a paralytic agent, and a local anesthetic. The use of T-61 was first reported in the United States in 1963 (Quin 1963). The substance gradually became more popular because …

Transgenesis In Animal Agriculture: Addressing Animal Health And Welfare Concerns, Michael Greger

Michael Greger, MD, FACLM

The US Food and Drug Administration’s final Guidance for Industry on the regulation of transgenesis in animal agriculture has paved the way for the commercialization of genetically engineered (GE) farm animals. The production-related diseases associated with extant breeding technologies are reviewed, as well as the predictable welfare consequences of continued emphasis on prolificacy at the potential expense of physical fitness. Areas in which biotechnology could be used to improve the welfare of animals while maintaining profitability are explored along with regulatory schema to improve agency integration in GE animal oversight.

The Human/Animal Interface: Emergence And Resurgence Of Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Michael Greger

Michael Greger, MD, FACLM

Emerging infectious diseases, most of which are considered zoonotic in origin, continue to exact a significant toll on society. The origins of major human infectious diseases are reviewed and the factors underlying disease emergence explored. Anthropogenic changes, largely in land use and agriculture, are implicated in the apparent increased frequency of emergence and reemergence of zoonoses in recent decades. Special emphasis is placed on the pathogen with likely the greatest zoonotic potential, influenzavirus A.

Amyloid Fibrils: Potential Food Safety Implications, Michael Greger

Michael Greger, MD, FACLM

The demonstration of oral Amyloid-A (AA) fibril transmissibility has raised food safety questions about the consumption of amyloidotic viscera. In a presumed prion-like mechanism, amyloid fibrils have been shown to trigger and accelerate the development of AA amyloidosis in rodent models. The finding of amyloid fibrils in edible avian and mammalian food animal tissues, combined with the inability of cooking temperatures to eliminate their amyloidogenic potential, has led to concerns that products such as pâté de foie gras may activate a reactive systemic amyloidosis in susceptible consumers. Given the ability of amyloid fibrils to cross-seed the formation of chemically heterologous …

Laboratory Routines Cause Animal Stress, Jonathan P. Balcombe, Neal D. Barnard, Chad Sandusky

Jonathan Balcombe, PhD

Eighty published studies were appraised to document the potential stress associated with three routine laboratory procedures commonly performed on animals: handling, blood collection, and orogastric gavage. We defined handling as any non-invasive manipulation occurring as part of routine husbandry, including lifting an animal and cleaning or moving an animal's cage. Significant changes in physiologic parameters correlated with stress (e.g., serum or plasma concentrations of corticosterone, glucose, growth hormone or prolactin, heart rate, blood pressure, and behavior) were associated with all three procedures in multiple species in the studies we examined. The results of these studies demonstrated that animals responded with …

Their Bugs Are Worse Than Their Bite: Emerging Infectious Disease And The Human-Animal Interface, Michael Greger

Michael Greger, MD, FACLM

In the twenty-five years since that announcement, what we now know as AIDS has killed 20 million people (National AIDS Trust 2005). Where did the AIDS virus— and other emerging diseases, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Ebola, mad cow— come from?

Trait Selection And Welfare Of Genetically Engineered Animals In Agriculture, Michael Greger

Michael Greger, MD, FACLM

The release of the Final Guidance from the US Food and Drug Administration on the commercialization of genetically engineered animals has sparked renewed discussion over the ethical, consumer, and regulatory implications of transgenesis in animal agriculture. Animal welfare critiques have focused on unexpected phenotypic effects in animals used in transgenic research, rather than on the health and welfare implications of the intended productivity enhancement. Unless breeding goals are redefined to reflect social concerns, the occurrence and magnitude of undesirable side effects may increase and consumer confidence in the nascent technology may be undermined.

The Applicability Of The Self-Fulfillment Account Of Welfare To Nonhuman Animals, Babies, And Mentally Disabled Humans, Tatjana Visak, Jonathan Balcombe

Jonathan Balcombe, PhD

In this paper we will argue that generality is a virtue of Haybron’s account of welfare. Indeed, reflecting on the applicability of his theory to nonhuman animals will give us a better understanding of its applicability to humans. We will first focus on self-fulfillment and suggest an interpretation of Haybron’s account according to which the self-fulfillment of an individual consists in the fulfillment of the aspects of the self that are applicable to that particular individual. This makes Haybron’s account of welfare applicable to all sentient beings. Then we will focus on sub-personal nature-fulfillment and argue that the same interpretation …

Fractal Approach To Heat Transfer In Silkworm Cocoon Hierarchy, Dong-Dong Fei, Fu-Juan Liu, Qiu-Na Cui, Ji-Huan He

Ji-Huan He

Silkworm cocoon has a complex hierarchic structure with discontinuity. In this paper, heat transfer through the silkworm cocoon is studied using fractal theory. The fractal approach has been successfully applied to explain the fascinating phenomenon of cocoon survival under extreme temperature environment. A better understanding of heat transfer mechanisms for the cocoon could be beneficial to the design of biomimetic clothes for special applications.

A Cladistic Analysis And Taxonomic Revision Of The Plesiosauria (Reptilia: Sauropterygia), F. Robin O’Keefe

F. Robin O’Keefe

The Plesiosauria (Reptilia: Sauropterygia) is a group of Mesozoic marine reptiles known from abundant material, with specimens described from all continents. The group originated very near the Triassic–Jurassic boundary and persisted to the end- Cretaceous mass extinction. This study describes the results of a specimen-based cladistic study of the Plesiosauria, based on examination of 34 taxa scored for 166 morphological characters. The Pliosauroidea is found to by polyphyletic due to the inclusion of the Polycotylidae; this second clade is instead a member of the Plesiosauroidea, and thus more closely related to elasmosaurs than to other ‘pliosaurs’. Characters of body proportion …

The Economic Value Of Viewing Migratory Shorebirds On The Delaware Bay: An Application Of The Single Site Travel Cost Model Using On-Site Data, Peter E T Edwards, George R. Parsons, Kelley A. Myers

George Parsons

We estimated a count data model of recreation demand using data from an on-site survey of recreational birders who had visited southern Delaware during the month-long annual horseshoe crab/shorebird spring migration in 2008. We analyzed daytrips only. Our estimates from the models ranged from $32 to $142/trip/household or about $131 to $582/season/household (2008$). The variation was due to differences in the value of time. The average household size was 1.66. We found that the valuation results were sensitive to the inclusion of covariates in the model. Our results are useful for damage assessments and benefit-cost analyses where birdwatching is affected.

Filthy Cellars And Healthy Pets: Relationships Between Public Health, Pets And Veterinarians In Cincinnati Prior To World War I, Kelly Wenig

Kelly Wenig

In 1868, Board of Health officials in the city of Cincinnati declared that all animals had to be removed from the basements of city residences. In his report on the state of the city, health officer William C. Clendenin commented that “[t]he extent to which cellars are used throughout the city as depositories for rubbish and filth is truly surprising; --many respectable people [keep] geese, chickens, dogs, and even calves in their cellars…Filthy cellars, especially when they are very damp, are a very certain cause of sickness.”1 For most of the nineteenth century, cows, chickens, sheep, dogs and cats were …

In The Heat Of The Law, It's Not Just Steam: Geothermal Resources And The Impact On Thermophile Biodiversity, Donald J. Kochan, Tiffany Grant

Donald J. Kochan

Significant research has been conducted into the utilization of geothermal resources as a ‘green’ energy source. However, minimal research has been conducted into geothermal resource utilization and depletion impacts on thermophile biodiversity. Thermophiles are organisms which have adapted over millions of year to extreme temperature and chemical compositions and exist in hot springs and other geothermal resources. Their ability to withstand high temperatures makes them invaluable to scientific and medical research. Current federal and California case law classify geothermal resources as a mineral, not a water resource. Acquisition of rights to develop a geothermal resource owned or reserved by the …

Nonlethal Repellents: The Development Of Cost-Effective, Practical Solutions To Agricultural And Industrial Problems, Russell Mason, Larry Clark

Larry Clark

Repellents substances and devices cause pest species to avoid otherwise attractive or palatable materials. For birds, repellents can be visual, auditory, pyrotechnic, tactile, chemosensory, physiologic, or physical. Here, we consider chemical agents only. Few substances arc registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and thus legally available for use. This lack of available bird repellent technology reflects the small demonstrable economic impact of many agricultural bird damage problems. Accurate information about damage and market size is virtually nonexistent, and private companies are reluctant to invest resources in the unknown. To successfully commercialize new repellents, clearly lucrative markets must be …