Life Sciences Commons^™

The Wholeness Of Nature, Marthe Kiley-Worthington

Animal Sentience

The target article outlines various positions on conservation and preservation but ignores practical considerations of management since there is no wild habitat left. Population controls, either human or nonhuman mammals, are not discussed. The suggestions for legal changes are vague and will require much more thinking about how to integrate animal welfare with wildlife conservation concerns. “Freedoms” as outlined in the human bill of rights might help with decision making for improving animal welfare. Other commentators have made anthropocentric judgements concerning animal welfare, ignoring the importance of developing other ways of seeing and understanding the “multiplicity within unity,” combining empirical …

Game Theory And Artificial Intelligence In Just Preservation, David L. Dowe, Nader Chmait

Animal Sentience

We humans can show presumption, arrogance and many dubious traits. By virtue of being land-dwelling, dexterous, relatively intelligent, and having good communication hardware and (good) fortune, we have for recent millennia largely had dominion of our planet. Yet humans often do not treat themselves (let alone other species) particularly well. Treves et al.’s idea of a multispecies justice system — not “prioritizing humans” but “finding practical ways to work within human systems” — invites consideration.

Conflicts And Triage, Kate E. Lynch, Daniel T. Blumstein

Animal Sentience

To represent diverse interests successfully, a strategy for dealing with conflicts is needed. We discuss an approach to maximizing the interests of the greatest number of individuals, present and future.

How To Engage Public Support To Protect Overlooked Species, Scarlett R. Howard, Adrian G. Dyer

Animal Sentience

Treves et al. (2019) propose a non-anthropocentric approach to conservation biology for the ‘just preservation’ of non-humans. Some of our current ways of ranking conservation efforts based on benefits to humans are indeed critically flawed, but we doubt that a completely non-anthropocentric approach is possible at this time. We propose a way to generate public support for those non-human species that may otherwise be overlooked in policy-making and conservation efforts.

Just Preservation, Trusteeship And Multispecies Justice, Francisco J. Santiago-Ávila, Adrian Treves, William Lynn

Animal Sentience

We are grateful to all the commentators who engaged with our target article. Some commentators have offered important insights into our proposed design and methods for legally intervening on behalf of futurity. Others have focused on theoretical considerations central to our proposal for multispecies justice and trusteeship. All have inspired modifications and further elaboration of our initial proposal. In this Response, we engage with the commentaries, integrating their suggestions, striving for convergence and complementarity, but also discussing points of divergence with our proposed framework where necessary. There is substantial overlap in the points of view of the three co-authors, but …

No Room For Speciesism In Welfare Considerations, Jennifer Vonk

Animal Sentience

Speciesism should play no role in determining welfare outcomes. Cognition may vary within species as well as between species, but broad classifications such as invertebrates are functionally meaningless in this context. Cognition should relate to welfare only to the extent that it relates to the capacity to suffer or to experience pleasure.

Invertebrates Should Be Given Ethical Consideration, Marie-Claire Cammaerts

Animal Sentience

Invertebrates are far more numerous than vertebrates. Most of them are essential to the survival of humanity. Their physiology, behavior, know-how, and cognitive abilities are often as complex as those of vertebrates. Invertebrates should be considered and studied as are vertebrates, i.e., ethically, and cautiously.

Invertebrate Welfare In The Wild, Asher Soryl

Animal Sentience

Mikhalevich & Powell argue that certain cognitive-affective biases might distort people’s consideration of invertebrate minds and that the moral risks of false negatives in sentience research deserve greater consideration under precautionary frameworks. In this commentary, I draw comparisons between biases that concern wild animals and conditions in nature, arguing that the moral risks of disregarding the possible mental welfare of invertebrates are compounded by facts about their lives in the wild.

Intuition And The Invertebrate Dogma, Jonathan Balcombe

Animal Sentience

Just as intuition, fueled by hubris, led us to exclude insects from moral consideration, so intuition can lead to the opposite conclusion. Observed insect behavior, combined with scientific support for insect consciousness summarized in Mikhalevich & Powell’s target article, and bolstered by the Precautionary Principle, all militate against completely denying moral status to insects.

Do Arthropods Respond To Noxious Stimuli Purely By Reflex?, Robert W. Elwood

Animal Sentience

Mikhalevich & Powell (2020) argue that it is wrong to dismiss the idea of sentience in invertebrates. Here, I expand on the evidence for crustaceans responding to noxious stimuli in ways that are not explained by mere reflexes, and that are consistent with pain. I consider the idea that male praying mantids must not feel pain because they may continue to mate whilst being consumed by the female. I finish with thoughts about the idea that because robots may be constructed to act as if they experience pain, the argument that animals might experience pain is diminished.

On The Possibility Of Invertebrate Sentience, David Degrazia

Animal Sentience

Mikhalevich & Powell (M&P) set up the basic criteria for according moral status equitably, including the capacity for affect. They argue persuasively against assuming that all invertebrates are insentient and hence ineligible for moral consideration. In addition to the relatively clear case of cephalopods, various arthropods may prove to be sentient. We should be aware of various sources of prejudice that M&P discuss and not assume that it would be absurd to attribute sentience and moral status to certain invertebrates.

Whether Invertebrates Are Sentient Matters To Bioethics And Science Policy, Michael L. Woodruff

Animal Sentience

Mikhalevich & Powell provide convincing empirical evidence that at least some invertebrates are sentient and hence should be granted moral status. I agree and argue that functional markers should be the primary indicators of sentience. Neuroanatomical homologies provide only secondary evidence. Consensus regarding the validity of these functional markers will be difficult to achieve. To be effective in practice, functional markers of sentience will have to be tested and accepted species by species to overcome the implicit biases against extending moral status to invertebrates.

Lessons From Miniature Brains: Cognition Cheap, Memory Expensive (Sentience Linked To Active Movement?), Giorgio Vallortigara

Animal Sentience

Studies on invertebrate minds suggest that the neural machinery for basic cognition is cheap, and that bigger brains are probably associated with greater memory storage rather than more advanced cognition. Sentience may be linked to feedforward mechanisms (Reafferenzprinzip) that allow organisms with active movement to distinguish active and passive sensing. Invertebrates may offer special opportunities for testing these hypotheses.

Ethical Considerations For Invertebrates, Scarlett R. Howard, Matthew R.E. Symonds

Animal Sentience

Mikhalevich & Powell (2020) have built on the discussion about which species deserve inclusion in animal ethics and welfare considerations. Here, we raise questions concerning the assessment criteria. We ask how to assess different species for their ability to fulfill the criteria, which criteria are most important, how we quantify them (absolute or on a continuum), and how non-animals such as fungi and plants fit into this paradigm.

2020 Weed Science Research Report – White 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 provides environmental, indexes, abbreviations and collaborators in 2020.

Vascular Plants Of The Klamath-Siskiyou Region Of California And Oregon: A Numerical Conspectus, James P. Smith Jr

Botanical Studies

No abstract provided.

Vascular Plants Endemic To The Klamath-Siskiyou Region, James P. Smith Jr

Botanical Studies

No abstract provided.

Urban Food Sovereignty: Urgent Need For Agroecology And Systems Thinking In A Post-Covid-19 Future, Ali Loker, Charles A. Francis

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The current COVID-19 pandemic has brought attention to challenges associated with our dominant industrial food system in the U.S. The general public now has more appreciation for farm workers and meatpacking employees, as well as those in grocery stores and in food transportation who are suddenly recognized as essential frontline workers. It apparently takes a crisis for us to focus clearly on the fragility of this system and the lives of people on whom we depend. In this commentary we discuss the definition of food sovereignty, how it manifests in urban areas, and how the COVID-19 pandemic can trigger viable …

Training For Specialists Vs. Education For Agroecologists, Charles A. Francis

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

I admit to being a slow learner. Graduate school training in agronomy at the University of California, Davis and in plant breeding at Cornell University provided me with top-quality opportunities to acquire the tools for crop improvement, plus the contacts to join professionals at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture in Colombia. As a young scientist dedicated to building on successes of the Green Revolution, I was convinced that genetic changes would solve global hunger. This had been amply demonstrated with the yield increases of wheat in Mexico and India, and with rice in Southeast Asia. Should this success not …

Validation Of Predictive Empirical Weed Emergence Models Of Abutilon Theophrasti Medik Based On Intercontinental Data, Valle Egea-Cobrero, Kevin Bradley, Isabel M. Calha, Adam S. Davis, Jose Dorado, Frank Forcella, John L. Lindquist, Christy L. Sprague, Jose L. Gonzalez-Andujar

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Good weed management relies on the proper timing of weed control practices in relation to weed emergence dynamics. Therefore, the development of models that predict the timing of emergence may help provide growers with tools to make better weed management decisions. The aim of this study was to validate and compare two previously published predictive empirical thermal time models of the emergence of Abutilon theophrasti growing in maize with data sets from the USA and Europe, and test the hypothesis that a robust and general weed emergence model can be developed for this species. Previously developed Weibull and Logistic models …

Gis-Based Trending Analysis Of Cropland Associated With Riparian From 2008 To 2018 In Wisconsin, Yanyun Li

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

One of important characteristics of riparian area is to protect surface and underground water from nutrient contaminated runoff from nearby farmland. Comparing with the traditional fixed-width riparian buffer delineation, the Riparian Buffer Delineation Model (RBDM) to be used in this study, is a GIS-based tool designed to map variable-width riparian buffers by taking into consideration the watercourse and its associated floodplain. As the use of biofuels increases especially derived from corn, riparian areas are often converted to agricultural fields due to the nutrient rich soils and flat topography commonly found in these locations. Meanwhile, it also gives rise to nonpoint …

Virus Purification Framework And Enhancement In Aqueous Two-Phase System, Pratik Umesh Joshi

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Viral infections regularly pose detrimental health risks to humans. Preventing viral infections through global immunization requires the production of large doses of vaccines. The increasing demand for vaccines, especially during pandemics such as COVID-19, has challenged current manufacturing strategy to develop advanced unit operations with high throughput capability. Over the decade, the upstream processing responsible for synthesizing viral products in cell cultures has shown significant success in yielding high titers of viruses and virus-like particles. The progress in the upstream stage has now shifted the bottleneck to the downstream processing (DSP). Overlooked for decades, the DSP responsible for viral product …

Severe Thunderstorms Create Windfall Of Opportunity For Ecosystem-Based Management Of Mixed Northern Hardwoods, Elizabeth Montgomery Barnes

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The regeneration and reorganization of organisms and their habitat post-disturbance is a primary mechanism by which ecosystems maintain functionality in a changing environment. This adaptation to disturbance lends dynamism and resiliency to landscapes. Yet, the 20^th century was marked by an alarming loss of global biodiversity, pointing to the likelihood that the rate of ecological disturbance generated by human systems today is either too frequent or too intense to be beneficial to ecosystems, and rather poses a risk to ecosystem functionality and the carrying capacity of Earth systems. Compounding these risks is high uncertainty regarding the potential for stronger, …

Effects Of Soluble And Insoluble Fibres On Pasting And Retrogradation Of Wheat Flour And Quality Of Bread, Arati Bhatta

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This study aimed to investigate the effect of selected fibres on pasting as well as short-term and long-term retrogradation of starch in wheat flour and to investigate the quality of fibre-added white pan breads. Two soluble fibres, tara gum (TG) and k-carrageenan (CAR), and one insoluble fibre, cellulose (CEL), were added to wheat flour at different levels (1.0, 1.5 and 2.0%). Regarding pasting behaviour, addition of soluble fibres was found to cause an increase in peak, trough, breakdown, and final viscosity. Meanwhile the addition tended to decrease setback viscosity and pasting temperature. In contrast, insoluble fibre addition posed a minimal …

Effects Of Chitosan Combined With Chitosan-Montmorillonite Nanocomposites Coating On Postharvest Quality Of 'Hom Thong' Banana Fruit, Arisa Wantat

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Chitosan (CTS) has been widely applied as a fruit coating in commercial fruit crops to prolong their shelf-life. In the present research, chitosan coatings were applied on ‘Hom Thong’ banana fruit, an important exported cultivar of Thailand. Postharvest qualities of ‘Hom Thong’ banana were measured after coating with 1% (w/v) low molecular weight (LMW-CTS: 65 kDa), medium molecular weight (MMW-CTS: 265 kDa), and high molecular weight (HMW-CTS: 540 kDa) chitosan for 1 min. The application of HMW-CTS showed the thickest of coated film and had effectiveness as a barrier of water vapor and O2 transmission. HMW-CTS treatment could retard fruit …

กระบวนการพัฒนาโปรแกรมตัวส่งระหว่างโมเดลเชิงวัตถุและเชิงสัมพันธ์ด้วยเทคนิคโลวโค้ดบนโอดู, โสภณวิชญ์ พิชิตเธียรธรรม

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

งานวิจัยนี้นำเสนอมอดูลเจนเนอเรเตอร์ ซึ่งเป็นเครื่องมือสำหรับการเขียนโปรแกรมตัวส่งระหว่างโมเดลเชิงวัตถุและเชิงสัมพันธ์บนโอดู โอดูเป็นซอฟต์แวร์อีอาร์พีแบบเปิดเผยรหัสต้นฉบับที่รวบรวมมอดูลที่จำเป็นสำหรับการจัดการธุรกิจต่าง ๆ และผู้พัฒนาสามารถพัฒนามอดูลเพื่อขยายขีดความสามารถของโอดูได้ โดยในช่วงไม่กี่ปีที่ผ่านมาการพัฒนาซอฟต์แวร์บนโอดู มักต้องใช้เวลาในการเรียนรู้เพราะมีความซับซ้อนของเฟรมเวิร์ก จึงมีการนำแนวทางการพัฒนาซอฟต์แวร์แบบโลวโค้ด (การเขียนโค้ดที่น้อยกว่าปกติ) มาใช้ในการพัฒนามอดูลเจนเนอเรเตอร์ขึ้น เพื่อให้เป็นเครื่องมือสำหรับออกแบบและสร้างรหัสต้นฉบับสำหรับมอดูล ทำให้ผู้พัฒนาซอฟต์แวร์บนโอดูไม่ต้องกังวลเรื่องข้อผิดพลาดอันเนื่องมาจากความซับซ้อนของเฟรมเวิร์ก และให้ความสำคัญกับการเขียนโปรแกรมในด้านอื่น ๆ ได้มากขึ้น โดยเครื่องมือนี้ถูกพัฒนาด้วยภาษา ไพธอนให้เป็นเว็บแอปพลิเคชันทำงานบนเว็บเบราว์เซอร์ และได้มีการทดสอบการใช้งานกับทั้งผู้พัฒนามอดูลบนโอดู ผู้ใช้งานโอดูที่มีทักษะการเขียนโปรแกรม ผู้ที่ไม่เคยมีประสบการณ์กับโอดู และอาสาสมัครภายนอกบริษัท ซึ่งได้ผลลัพธ์ว่า ผู้ทดสอบทั้งหมดสามารถพัฒนามอดูลโดยใช้มอดูลเจนเนอเรเตอร์ได้สำเร็จ เครื่องมือนี้จึงสามารถช่วยให้ผู้ที่ไม่มีประสบการณ์ในการพัฒนามอดูลบนโอดูสามารถพัฒนามอดูลขึ้นมาได้โดยใช้เวลาไม่นาน และเมื่อเปรียบเทียบเวลาที่ใช้ในการพัฒนามอดูลของกลุ่มผู้พัฒนามอดูลบนโอดู ระหว่างแบบปกติที่เขียนโค้ดด้วยตนเองกับการใช้ มอดูลเจนเนอเรเตอร์ พบว่าการใช้เครื่องมือนี้สามารถลดเวลาการพัฒนามอดูลโดยเฉลี่ยได้ถึง 20% อีกทั้งมอดูลเจนเนอเรเตอร์ยังนำไปใช้ได้จริงในโครงการการพัฒนาซอฟต์แวร์ของบริษัท

Development Of Protective Culture Production From Bacillus Subtilis P5-6 As Food Bio-Preservative, Hoang Truc Anh To

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Halophilic Bacilllus subtilis P5-6 contains bacteriocin encoding genes (subtilin and subtilosin). It has been reported as a potential strain developed to be a protective culture that could reduce viable count of Staphylococcus aureus and prolong the freshness when applied in cheese. The aim of this research was to evaluate bacteriocin generation property of P5-6 and to optimize the bacteriocin production methods for application as food bio-preservative in protective culture form. Through gene assay, only subtilosin gene expression was detected along with housekeeping gene BA-rpoB when co-cultured P5-6 with Staphylococcus aureus. The P5-6 showed low or no inhibitory effect on S. …

Transcriptomic Analysis Of Red-Spotted Grouper Nervous Necrosis Virus-Infected Seabass Lates Calcarifer (Bloch, 1790), Kitipong Angsujinda

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Infection with Red-spotted grouper nervous necrosis virus (RGNNV) remains a significant problem in aquaculture of a variety of fish including Asian seabass (Lates calcarifer). This study presents a transcriptome analysis of the head kidney which performs the important immune functions during RGNNV infection in L. calcarifer. RNA sequencing was employed to distinguish the transcript abundance in head kidney between RGNNV infected and control fish. Functional analysis identified 59 and 73 differentially expressed genes at 2- and 15-day post infection, respectively and twelve candidates were shown to have a potential implication in RGNNV infection. This study lays the groundwork for future …

Invasive Wild Pigs As Primary Nest Predators For Wild Turkeys, Heather N. Sanders, David G. Hewitt, Humberto L. Perotto-Baldivieso, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Nathan P. Snow

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Depredation of wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) nests is a leading cause of reduced recruitment for the recovering and iconic game species. invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are known to depredate nests, and have been expanding throughout the distributed range of wild turkeys in north America. We sought to gain better insight on the magnitude of wild pigs depredating wild turkey nests. We constructed simulated wild turkey nests throughout the home ranges of 20 GPS-collared wild pigs to evaluate nest depredation relative to three periods within the nesting season (i.e., early, peak, and late) and two nest densities (moderate = 12.5-25 …

Effect Of Vaccination With A Novel Gnrh-Based Immunocontraceptive On Immune Responses And Fertility In Rats, Giovanna Massei, D. Cowan, Douglas C. Eckery, Richard E. Mauldin, M. Gomm, P. Rochaix, Fergal Hill, R. Pinkham, Laura A. Miller

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

1. As human-wildlife conflicts increase worldwide, novel methods are required for mitigating these conflicts. Fertility control, based on immunocontraceptives, has emerged as an alternative option to lethal methods for managing wildlife.

2. Immunocontraceptives are vaccines that generate an immune response to key components of an animal's reproductive system. Some of these vaccines target the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and have been used successfully as contraceptives for many wildlife species. However, the need to capture animals for treatment limits the field applications of injectable vaccines. The availability of orally delivered immunocontraceptives would increase the breadth of applications of fertility control for wildlife …