To boldly go:an occam-π mission to engineer emergence

Future systems will be too complex to design and implement explicitly. Instead, we will have to learn to engineer complex behaviours indirectly: through the discovery and application of local rules of behaviour, applied to simple process components, from which desired behaviours predictably emerge through dynamic interactions between massive numbers of instances. This paper describes a process-oriented architecture for fine-grained concurrent systems that enables experiments with such indirect engineering. Examples are presented showing the differing complex behaviours that can arise from minor (non-linear) adjustments to low-level parameters, the difficulties in suppressing the emergence of unwanted (bad) behaviour, the unexpected relationships between apparently unrelated physical phenomena (shown up by their separate emergence from the same primordial process swamp) and the ability to explore and engineer completely new physics (such as force fields) by their emergence from low-level process interactions whose mechanisms can only be imagined, but not built, at the current time

Farm-Animal Welfare, Legislation, and Trade

The US has among the weakest farm-animal-welfare standards in the developed world. Although improvements in farm-animal welfare are economically feasible, nations and states enacting protective regulation are threatened by competition with cheaper, non-compliant imports. Although recognition in trade agreements and restrictions on sale could help to protect animal welfare, they may rarely be politically feasible. Campaigns directed at consumers and retailers are likely to be more cost-effective than production-related regulations in improving animal welfare and are also compatible with abolitionist objectives

Analysis of black holes in our knowledge concerning animal health in the organic food production chain

Although a large body of research on health aspects can be found via the web or in conference proceedings, only few papers reach the peer reviewed literature. This aspect makes it difficult to judge the quality of available data that relate to health aspects associated with organic livestock production. Many data deal with "on farm case type studies" which often do not lead to a direct relation between certain management procedures and incidence of certain health aspects. The principle that organic held animals are in better condition concerning their health as compared to conventionally held animals has not yet been proven. Well-controlled studies are needed to show the effects of organically held animals on innate and adaptive immune responses and disease susceptibility. The conditions in organic livestock production lead to novel challenges concerning social interactions, physical requirements, climatic conditions and infectious burden which requires certain breeds of animals that differ considerably from the conventionally held animals. More research is needed to identify these breeds whereby breeding selection criteria specific to organic conditions and principles should be used. A number of health problems such as infestation with parasites is an important problem that has been noted in organic livestock (poultry and pig) production and more research is needed to both prevent and treat these infections. Although largely recommended, phytotherapy and homeopathy do not have any demonstrated efficacy in managing helminths. A multidisciplinary approach is needed to address these questions. Investigations should be concerned with aspects such as rotation, stocking density, disinfections strategies, genetic predisposition and novel (plant derived or biological) antihelminthics. A major drawback in the use of phytotherapeuticals is the lack of good clinical trials, most claims are based on traditional use, anecdotal evidence or extrapolation of human data. Another problem is the consistency/standardisation of the product; variations exist in the levels of "active" ingredients between lots. Extensive studies have shown that garlic has a beneficial effect on human health and therefore would possibly be a suitable candidate to increase the health of animals in organic production. Further research is needed to substantiate this claim. Although mastitis is not seen more often in organic dairy production compared to conventional farms, it is still frequently encountered and both basic and applied research concerning prevention and cure without the traditional use of antibiotics is needed. More knowledge is needed concerning effects of alternative treatments in organic livestock production. As long as alternative treatments have not formally been proven to be effective, allopathic treatments should be preferred. Studies are needed concerning the welfare aspects of disease and insufficient or postponed treatment in organic animal production systems. It is generally accepted that feather picking and cannibalism is a major problem in organic poultry and more research is needed to counter this unwanted behaviour of the animals. The following aspects including genetic influences, housing environment, feed composition and the presence of external parasites may be involved. Vaccination has been one of the largest success factors in the prevention of disease in production animals. Most vaccines used nowadays are genetically engineered and should thus carry the GMO label. GMO based vaccines produced by incorporating genetic material from bacteria or viruses into plants is an attractive approach but does not comply with the principles of organic farming. Investigations concerning various vaccination strategies with or without GMO approaches should be evaluated to prevent various infectious diseases in organic livestock production systems. Organic livestock production leads to an increase or re-emergence of certain zoonotic diseases ( Campylobacter, toxoplasma). This is a serious drawback concerning claims that organic products are healthier as compared to conventional products and research into the prevalence of certain zoonotic infections, risk factors, farm management, post slaughter decontamination and consumer perception/education is badly needed. Several micro-organisms are described to be present in feeds and could be sources of infections of farm animals. Such pathogens can be either present on the outside of the plant (epiphytes) or on the inside of the plant (endophytes). The incidence of pathogenic bacteria in/on plants used for organic animal feed is not clear and therefore research on the incidence of these pathogens is needed. Biological cycles such as the utilisation of manure from organic farms may potentially lead to the creation of infectious reservoirs. Research is needed to provide evidence for this hypothesis and strategies should be devised to prevent this problem. Little is known about the role of pests in the occurrence of disease in organic livestock production. Research is needed into the efficacy of alternative pest control strategies since current pest control methods are not in agreement with organic production principles (use of anticoagulants for rodent control). The obligatory use of straw bedding in swine household management leads to higher dust and bioareosol (endotoxin) levels in stables. This may affect susceptibility to lung disease (farmer and animal) and investigations concerning measures to reduce dust and bioaerosol levels are needed. Current literature on this subject is not concordant and true differences may exist between management systems from different countries. Piglet mortality is an important problem in organic production systems and research concerning genetic and housing aspects is currently performed but not yet reported in the peer-reviewed literature. Amino acid imbalance and research into novel feed sources with high protein content is needed. More knowledge is known concerning possible anti-nutritive factors in these feeds and the effects of these new nutrients on gut health of the animals. Amino acid imbalance may lead to higher excretion of excess amino acids into the environment. On farm research should be performed to substantiate whether these claims also apply to organic production systems. It has been suggested that organic feeds for animals in organic production systems may contain higher mycotoxin levels thereby adversely affecting their health status. As yet no conclusive data concerning this issue has been published and research into this area is needed to prove or reject this myth. As yet it is not known whether phytase levels in organic feed for pigs are sufficient to allow optimal utilisation of organic phosphor thereby also leading to a lower environmental pollution; further investigations are needed in this area

The development of social class sensitive proxies for infant mortality at the PCT level: An appraisal of candiate indicators for the commission for health improvement

The main aim of the work is to identify social class-sensitive proxies for infant mortality at Primary Care Trust level that could be used in the CHI performance ratings process for PCTs in 2003/4

Current Medical Research: Summer–Fall 2009

Note that the “Current Medical Research” feature focuses on issues relevant to natural family planning and the beginning of life. This piece is complemented by medical reviews published in The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, which focus more on other areas of general medical interest including end-of-life issues.—Ed. </jats:p

Fathom Magazine, v. 8, no. 2, Summer 1996 22pp :Florida sharks

CONTENTS. Protecting the Predators, by Jay Humphrey. Economics Create Responsible Shark Management, by Jay Humphreys. The Healing Power of Sharks, by Kelly Marie Sokol. Shark! by Jay Humphreys. Florida's Sharks. Entering the Sharks' Environment, by Susan Grantham. Regulations Affect the Commercial Shark Fishing Industry, by Susan Grantham. Fishing for Information, by Susan Grantham. Tagging, not Bagging, by Robert Hueter, Mote Marine Laboratory. Shark Sites of Interest on the Internet

Strategic Research Agenda for organic food and farming

The TP Organics Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) was finalised in December 2009. The purpose of the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) is to enable research, development and knowledge transfer that will deliver relevant outcomes – results that will contribute to the improvement of the organic sector and other low external input systems. The document has been developed through a dynamic consultative process that ran from 2008 to 2009. It involved a wide range of stakeholders who enthusiastically joined the effort to define organic research priorities. From December 2008 to February; the expert groups elaborated the first draft. The consultative process involved the active participation of many different countries. Consultation involved researchers, advisors, members of inspection/certification bodies, as well as different users/beneficiaries of the research such as farmers, processors, market actors and members of civil society organisations throughout Europe and further afield in order to gather the research needs of the whole organic sector

Fertility Care Services

The Catholic Church calls married couples to responsible parenthood; this includes both openness to new human life and the avoidance of pregnancy when serious reasons present themselves. Natural methods of family planning respect the dignity of the person and the integrity of the sexual act. They treat fertility as a natural process rather than a disease. Natural family planning (NFP) works with a woman’s menstrual cycle; it uses awareness of fertile and infertile times to achieve or avoid pregnancy and allows married couples, through their awareness, to respect and maintain both the unitive and the procreative aspects of the sexual act. In this chapter, Dr. Fehring points out that the benefits of using NFP are “a better understanding of fertility, increased communication, self- mastery of sexual desires, greater generosity toward new human life, and openness to God’s will.” He also explores the history of fertility awareness methods, their scientific basis, and their efficacy. He discusses some medical side benefits of tracking fertility: it can reveal abnormalities and is an aid in the assessment and treatment of infertility. Daily discussion of fertility enhances communication between spouses. Periods of abstinence, while difficult at times, also provide opportunities for the couple to develop nonsexual expressions of intimacy, thereby enhancing mutual respect and married life. The teaching and use of NFP is an effective way of promoting the culture of life.—Editors

Mental, behavioral and neurodevelopmental disorders in the ICD-11 : An international perspective on key changes and controversies

The Author(s). 2020Open AccessThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, andreproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link tothe Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver(http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.An update of the chapter on Mental, Behavioral and Neurodevelopmental Disorders in the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) is of great interest around the world. The recent approval of the 11th Revision of the ICD (ICD-11) by the World Health Organization (WHO) raises broad questions about the status of nosology of mental disorders as a whole as well as more focused questions regarding changes to the diagnostic guidelines for specific conditions and the implications of these changes for practice and research. This Forum brings together a broad range of experts to reflect on key changes and controversies in the ICD-11 classification of mental disorders. Taken together, there is consensus that the WHO's focus on global applicability and clinical utility in developing the diagnostic guidelines for this chapter will maximize the likelihood that it will be adopted by mental health professionals and administrators. This focus is also expected to enhance the application of the guidelines in non-specialist settings and their usefulness for scaling up evidence-based interventions. The new mental disorders classification in ICD-11 and its accompanying diagnostic guidelines therefore represent an important, albeit iterative, advance for the field.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio