Life Sciences Commons^™

Human Superiority Is Obvious But Does Not Justify Cruelty, Yew-Kwang Ng

Animal Sentience

Humans are obviously superior, in general, to other animals. This is also supported by evolution and Jerison’s encephalization quotient. However, superiority does not justify cruelty towards other animals. Rather, it suggests higher responsibility. Just as adults are more capable than 2-year-olds, they also have a much higher responsibility in helping others in need, including other animals.

Anthropocentrism: Practical Remedies Needed, Helen Kopnina

Animal Sentience

It is true that one of the harmful consequences of creating categories where one group is unique and superior to others is that it justifies discriminating against the inferior groups. And outright abuse of nonhuman animals is indeed morally unjustifiable. But what is to be done about it?

Our Brains Make Us Out To Be Unique In Ways We Are Not, Matthew J. Criscione, Julian Paul Keenan

Animal Sentience

Humans have long viewed themselves in a favorable light. This bias is consistent with a general pattern of self-enhancement. Neural systems in the medial prefrontal cortex underlie this way of thinking, which, even when false, may be beneficial for survival. It is hence not surprising that we often disregard contrary evidence in believing ourselves superior.

Is Human Uniqueness Fake News?, Sean Hermanson

Animal Sentience

The world and its troubles don't need unfounded denials of human uniqueness.

“I Am Not An Animal”, Lori Marino

Animal Sentience

The answer to Chapman & Huffman’s question — “Why do we want to think humans are different?” — lies in the work of Ernest Becker and the social psychology literature known as Terror Management Theory, according to which our deep anxiety about animality and death can drive our need to feel superior to the other animals.

Across The Great Divide, Debra Merskin

Animal Sentience

Chapman & Huffman’s target article calls for a reevaluation of claims of human uniqueness and superiority. It also adds to the literature on how species differences, as Darwin noted, are more of degree than kind. The threats to environmental health and species survival are a consequence of excluding nonhuman animals from moral concern and consideration. The theory of intersectionality should include speciesism in the array of discriminatory practices.

Mobilizing Heads And Hearts For Wildlife Conservation, Valérie A. M. Schoof, Simon L'Allier

Animal Sentience

Highlighting the shared evolutionary relationships between humans and animals — and recognizing that all species, including humans, are unique in their own way — may facilitate caring for and conserving animals by tapping into a human emotion: empathy.

Moral Relevance Of Cognitive Complexity, Empathy And Species Differences In Suffering, John Lazarus

Animal Sentience

I qualify two criticisms made by commentators on Chapman & Huffman’s target article. Responding to the view that differences between humans and other animals are irrelevant to deciding how we should treat other species, I point out that differences between any species in their capacity to suffer are morally relevant. And in response to the claim that suffering is the sole criterion for the moral treatment of animals, I argue that cognitive complexity and a capacity for empathy also have moral relevance to the extent that they influence suffering.

Animal Cognition: Quantity Has A Quality Of Its Own, Ivaylo Borislavov Iotchev, Kauê Machado Costa

Animal Sentience

Chapman & Huffman’s moral analysis fails to prove that the exploitation of animals or the environment is causally connected to beliefs about human capacities. Their exposition of the philosophical interpretations of animal cognition ignores historical context and confounds different levels of analysis. Their analysis of the scientific literature, from which they conclude that humans should not be considered as different from other animals, does not take into account many recent psychological and neuroscientific developments and rests upon a flawed understanding of the relationship between gradual and categorical differences, misrepresenting the two as mutually exclusive concepts.

Corticocentric Bias In Cognitive Neuroscience, Orit Nafcha, Shai Gabay

Animal Sentience

Chapman & Huffman (2018) note that our tendency to categorize leads to a sense of human superiority that helps justify violence against nonhuman animals. Yet animals are turning out to have capacities previously thought to be uniquely human. We add a further factor that may contribute to the false sense of human superiority: the "corticocentric" bias of neuroscience. An evolutionary approach may help identify species similarities and differences, providing a better understanding of the uniqueness of each species.

Taking Darwinism Seriously, Carsta Simon

Animal Sentience

Chapman & Huffman propose that dropping the categorical distinction between human and nonhuman animals may reduce the atrocious acts of humans towards nonhuman animals, but will it? Taking Darwinism seriously means accepting physical and behavioral continuity across species, including the capacity to feel pain.

Refining Thoughts About Human/Nonhuman Differences, Colin A. Chapman, Michael A. Huffman

Animal Sentience

Our commentators come from many fields and disciplines and express highly divergent views, illustrating broad interest in the question. From the breadth of comments, we have identified two recurring themes, which we focus on here. The first is a preponderance of cautionary remarks about evaluating the differences between humans and nonhuman animals. The second concerns whether considering animals as worthy of moral consideration is one of many useful tools for conservationists trying to prevent extinction, habitat destruction, and climate change.

Why Cod Don't Like To Sunbathe: Quantity And Quality In The Animal Kingdom, Christoph Jung

Animal Sentience

The difference between a cod and a lizard is not just a quantitative one. The recognition of qualitative differences between species does not imply a moral ranking. Our species’ special abilities to shape the earth mean we have a special responsibility for ensuring a liveable future for all organisms, human and non-human.

Superior Or Inferior, Human Uniqueness Is Manifold, Scott Atran

Animal Sentience

Chapman & Huffman (C & H) contend that, as with all biological traits, there is evolutionary continuity underlying cognitive and social traits previously thought to be unique to humans. Yet C & H, like Darwin, appeal to a seemingly unique moral aptitude that enables humans to be kind to conspecific strangers and other species.

Diversity On Human Difference: Unanimity On Human Responsibility, Colin A. Chapman, Michael A. Huffman

Animal Sentience

Further commentaries on our original target article add important new points and expand our understanding of the differences between animals, particularly between non-human and human primates. But whether they affirm or deny that humans are unique, all commentators agree that our special abilities mean we should be taking responsibility for the care of nature and the plants and animals it supports. We ask: is humankind doing this?

2019 Weed Science Research Report – Blue Section, Ndsu Weed Science, Dept. Of Plant Sciences

Plant Sciences Weed Science Reports

The Weed Science team at North Dakota State University conduct field research in the State of North Dakota. This specific document reports on field research conducted in 2019. It includes work on several corn, soybean and the management of several weeds in North Dakota.

2019 Weed Science Research Report – Tan Section, Ndsu Weed Science, Dept. Of Plant Sciences

Plant Sciences Weed Science Reports

The Weed Science team at North Dakota State University conduct field research in the State of North Dakota. This specific document reports on field research conducted in 2019. It includes work on adjuvants and the management of several weeds in North Dakota.

The Role Of The Midfoot In Drop Landings, Mark T. Olsen, Dustin A. Bruening, A. Wayne Johnson, Sarah T. Ridge

Faculty Publications

Purpose: The midfoot is instrumental to foot function; however, quantifying its roles in human movement has been difficult. A forceful dynamic activity like landing may help elucidate the midfoot’s contribution to foot energetics and function. The main purpose of this study was to measure midtarsal joint kinematics and kinetics during a barefoot single-leg landing task. A secondary aim of this study was to explore the relationship between static foot posture and dynamic midfoot function.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study design, 48 females (age = 20.4 ± 1.8 yr, body mass index = 21.6 ± 1.7 kg/m) performed drop landings from …

Ecosystem Service Assessment Of Green Roofs In Bangkok, Rattanapan Phoomirat

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Green roofs are constructed ecosystems that can provide four main types of ecosystem services (regulating, provisioning, cultural, and supporting services). However, most green roof studies have focused on the regulating services and each ecosystem service type was usually evaluated separately. Moreover, there is a lack of assessment tool that can provide comparable outputs of total and different ecosystem services on green roofs, resulting in the difficulty to improve ecosystem service provision by green roofs. Therefore, this research aimed to (i) assess four main categories of ecosystem services provided by seven green roofs in Bangkok using direct measurement techniques and a …

Antioxidant And Antibacterial Agents From Parmotrema Dilatatum (Vainio) Hale, Knema Angustifolia (Roxb.) Warb. And Persicaria Odorata Lour, Asshaima Paramita Devi

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

In the search of antioxidant and antibacterial agents, the extracts and isolated compounds from lichen Parmotrema dilatatum, Knema angustifolia full name, Persicaria odorata and Mansonia gagei. were examined. Nine compounds were isolated from lichen P. dilatatum including (E)-2,4-dihydroxy-6-methyl-3-(3-oxobut-1-en-1-yl)benzoate (PD.1), hopane-16ß,22-diol (PD.2), methyl orsellinate (PD.3), methyl haemmatomate (PD.4), methyl ß-orcinolcarboxylate (PD.5), 2-hydroxy-4-methoxy-3,6-dimethylbenzoic acid (PD.6), atranol (PD.7), atranorin (PD.8) and lecanorin (PD.9). The dichloromethane and acetone fractions, and atranol (PD.7) gave excellent activities as antioxidants. While in tyrosinase activity the dichloromethane fraction and atranorin (PD.8) showed the highest inhibition. For α-glucosidase inhibition activity, the methanol fraction and methyl haemmatommate (PD.4) revealed the …

Enhancement Of Biofuel Production In Microalgae By Genetic And Physiological Modification, Napisa Pattharaprachayakul

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Microalgae are photosynthetic microorganisms, which could be used as potential microbial cell factories by directly converting CO2 into valuable bioproducts and biofuels. This study aims to improve the target biofuel feedstocks from the isolated green alga Chlorella sp. and the engineered cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 in terms of the improvement on lipids (as precursors of FAMEs) and terpene (α-farnesene), respectively. The first part is concerned with the enhancement of lipids and the determination of FAMEs and biodiesel properties in Chlorella sp. under the phosphorus (P) limitation (0-50%) alone or in combination with heavy metals (Fe, Co, Pb) supplementation. The …

Binding Kinetics Of Monoclonal Antibodies And Fluoroquinolone Derivatives, Patamalai Boonserm

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Fluoroquinolones (FQs) are a group of antibiotics which have been extensively used against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Some of FQs antibiotics commonly used in livestock and fishery include norfloxacin, enrofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, and ofloxacin. However, misuse of these antibiotics may cause drug residues in food products. Therefore, to prevent consumers from getting residual antibiotics in food and the drug resistance of pathogens in humans. As a result, surveillance detection program of these drug residues must be in practice to ensure safety of the consumers in many countries. In general, detections based on immunological method include enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has …

Screening And Identification Of Probiotic Lactic Acid Bacteria From Plant Samplesd, Ratthanatda Nuhwa

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Seventy lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were isolated from flowers (17 strains), 3 tree barks (7 strains), one fruit (2 strains), ten fermented tea leaves (31 strains) and two silage (13 strains). They were identified as Lactobacillus pentosus (12 strains), L. plantarum subsp. plantarum (9 strains), L. paracasei subsp. tolerans (5 strains), L. brevis (1 strain), L. silagincola (1 strain), L. kunkeei (1 strain), and L. formosensis (1 strain), Enterococcus durans (3 strains), E. lactis (2 strains), E. faecalis (1 strain), E. faecium (1 strain), E. gallinarum (1 strain) and E. gilvus (1 strain), Pediococcus acidilactici (1 strain) and P. pentosaceus …

Development Of Oxidase Enzyme And Non-Enzyme Based Biosensors For Lactate And Creatinine Detection, Siraprapa Boobphahom

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This dissertation focused on the development of electrochemical sensors based on metal oxides and graphene modified electrodes for clinical applications, which is divided into two parts. The first part is development of a biosensor based on lactate oxidase (LOx) immobilized on titanium dioxide sol (TiO2 sol)/graphene nanocomposite modified nickel (Ni) foam electrode for enzymatic electrochemical detection of lactate via hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) detection. A TiO2/graphene nanocomposite was simply synthesized by hydrolysis and coated on Ni foam electrode to develop a novel electrode in biosensor. The results showed that the well intercalation of TiO2 sol within graphene film covered on the …

Role Of Enzymes In Glyoxylate Cycle In Transgenic 'Kdml 105' Rice Oryza Sativa L. Overexpressing Oscam1-1 Under Salt Stress, Tanaporn Ausaha

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The previous study reported that the transcriptome profiling of the KDML 105 rice overexpressing OsCam1-1 widely affected the expression of genes involved in several cellular processes including the genes associated with the glyoxylate cycle, which exhibited up-regulation in KDML 105 overexpressing OsCam1-1 under salt stress. In this study, we focused on the role of the glyoxylate cycle in transgenic KDML 105 rice under salt stress. The phenotypes as follows: fresh weight and dry weight of shoot & root, SPAD value, activities of isocitrate lyase, and malate synthase; sugar, and starch contents, and total lipid content were investigated at 0, 2, …

Development Of Paper-Based 3d Cell Culture Devices And Real-Time Biosensing Applications, Naricha Pupinyo

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Due to its micro fibrous pores, paper has gained traction in the use as a scaffold for 3D cell culture. To study melanoma mechanism, screening the amount of melanin production and invasion study are major keys for drug development. In this work, we developed paper-based devices for culturing melanoma cells. Through the development process, we obtained the optimal parameters, which were applied for 3 different projects; 1) Anti-melanogenic effect screening, 2) Impedance-based E-screen assay, and 3) A membrane insert for real-time invasion assay. As a result of melanin production from melanocytes, the cells can be easily observed after a few …

Effects And Mechanisms Of Caesalpinia Mimosoides Leaf Extract On Oxidative Stress Resistance And Anti-Aging Activity In Caenorhabditis Elegans And Neurite Outgrowth Activity In Neuro2a Cells, Panthakarn Rangsinth

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

World’s population of older people is rising, dietary supplements promoting healthy lifespan are needed. Moreover, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), an age-related degenerative disease, becomes a public health problem in aging society. Recent reports using cell culture models of AD suggest that amyloid precursor protein (APP), a protein causally related to AD, plays an important role as an inhibitor of neurite outgrowth. Medicinal herbs with neurite outgrowth stimulatory effect may help to prevent and cure AD. Moreover, studies suggest that dietary supplements from plant sources act in preventive nutrition, since they provide antioxidant action against oxidative stress, promote healthspan and prolong lifespan. …

Akt Expression And Lactose Synthesis During Heat Exposure In Saanen Goat, Nungnuch Saipin

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

In tropical countries, high ambient temperature (HTa) is a fundamental factor that cause a decline in the mammary gland function in dairy animals. Dairy animals fed under HTa decreased milk yield (MY) as well as milk compositions. The current study focuses on the effect of HTa to decrease milk synthesis from natural and in vitro HTa condition. The first experiment was performed to investigate the effect of HTa from the natural condition in early lactating Saanen goat, 2-4 weeks of postpartum (2 PP-4 PP). Five animals were investigated during the winter season as control ambient condition. Six animals as the …

The Left Ventricular Functions And Heart Rate Variability In Dogs With Pulmonic Valvular Stenosis, Ploypanut Trikhun

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Pulmonic valvular stenosis (PS) is one of the most common congenital heart diseases in dogs that can lead to the cardiac maladaptation. Also, PS can affect the cardiac autonomic nervous system (ANS). However, clinical information regarding to systolic function and cardiac ANS alteration in PS dogs had not been fully elucidated. The objectives of this study were to evaluate cardiac electrical property, left ventricular (LV) function, and to assess cardiac ANS from heart rate variability (HRV) analysis in PS dogs compared with healthy dogs. The dogs in this study were divided into 2 groups, PS dogs (n=13) and healthy control …

Co-Expression Of Feedback Resistant Enzymes In Phenylalanine Biosynthesis Pathway To Increase Phenylalanine Production, Charintip Yenyuvadee

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

L-Phenylalanine (L-Phe) is an important commercial amino acid. It is widely used in food and pharmaceutical industries. Currently, the requirement of L-Phe is increased according to the great demand for the low-calorie sweetener, aspartame. In Escherichia coli, the synthesis of L-Phe is controlled by the multi-hierarchical regulations. AroG isoform of 3-deoxy- D-arabino-heptulosonate-7-phosphate synthase (DAHP synthase) and chorismate mutase/prephenate dehydratase (PheA), two important enzymes, are feedback inhibited by LPhe. Co-expression of feedback-resistant pheA (pheA[superscript L359D]) with other pivotal genes in L-Phe biosynthesis pathway: aroB, aroL, phedh, tktA, aroG, pheA, yddG, and glpF in pRSFDuet-1 (pPTFBLYA[superscript L359D]) elevated L-Phe production of E. …