Pigment composition of the bright skin in the poison toad, Melanophryniscus rubriventris (Anura: Bufonidae) from Argentina

The determination of the basis of skin colour is important to better understand the evolutionary and ecological relevance of colour variation in aposematic species. Significant variation in bright skin colouration can be found between and within populations of the poison toad, Melanophryniscus rubriventris. In this study, we identified the pigments present in the skin in seven populations of the species in Argentina to determine pigment composition of bright colouration. Our analysis showed that at least four different primary pigments consisting of a suite of orange-red carotenes and yellow xanthophylls contribute to the bright skin colour in different populations of the species. Four carotenoids, Astaxanthin, β-Carotene, Canthaxanthin, and Lycopene were detected by comparison with available standards in skin tissues on each population. Four carotenoids were also detected but not identified. We provide evidence that differences in colouration between individuals and populations in Melanophryniscus rubriventris cannot be merely ascribed to differences in their skin pigment profiles (i.e. pigment types). We discuss alternative explanations and stress the need of more studies on complex mechanisms and interactions affecting the expression of skin colouration in poison frogs and toads.Fil: Bonansea, Maria Ines. Universidad Nacional de Jujuy. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Heit, Cecilia. Universidad Nacional de Jujuy; ArgentinaFil: Vaira, Marcos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia de Jujuy. Universidad Nacional de Jujuy. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia de Jujuy; Argentin

Diels (H.) Griechische Philosophie. Vorlesungsmitschrift aus dem Wintersemester 1897/98. Edited by Johannes Saltzwedel. Pp. xxii + 99, ills. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2010. Paper, €24. ISBN: 978-3-515-09609-6.

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively

Spatio-temporal risk assessment models for Lobesia botrana in uncolonized winegrowing areas

The objective of this work was to generate a series of equations to describe the voltinism of Lobesia botrana in the quarantine area of the main winemaking area of Argentina, Mendoza. To do this we considered an average climate scenario and extrapolatedthese equations to other winegrowing areas at risk of being invaded. A grid of 4 km2was used to generate statistics on L. botrana captures and the mean temperature accumulation for the pixel. Four sets of logistic regression were constructed using the percentage of accumulated trap catches/grid/week and the degree-day accumulation above7°C, from 1st July. By means of a habitat model, an extrapolation of the phenologicalmodel generated to other Argentine winemaking areas was evaluated. According to ourresults, it can be expected that 50% of male adult emergence for the first flight occurs at248.79 ± 4 degree-days (DD), in the second flight at 860.18 ± 4.1 DD, while in the thirdand the fourth flights, 1671.34 ± 5.8 DD and 2335.64 ± 4.3 DD, respectively. Subsequentclimatic comparison determined that climatic conditions of uncolonized areas of Cuyo Region have a similar suitability index to the quarantine area used to adjust the phenologicalmodel. The upper valley of Río Negro and Neuquén are environmentally similar. Valleys ofthe northwestern region of Argentina showed lower average suitability index and greatervariability among SI estimated by the algorithm considered. The combination of two models for the estimation of adult emergence time and potential distribution, can provide greater certainties in decision-making and risk assessment of invasive species.Fil: Heit, Guillermo Eugenio. Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería, Pesca y Alimento. Servicio Nacional de Sanidad y Calidad Agroalimentaria; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Producción Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Sione, Walter Fabian. Universidad Autónoma de Entre Ríos; ArgentinaFil: Aceñolaza, Pablo Gilberto. Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos; Argentina. Provincia de Entre Ríos. Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción. Universidad Autónoma de Entre Ríos. Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción; Argentin

“there are no facts. . . ”: Nietzsche as Predecessor of Post-Truth?

In light of recent political events Nietzsche was (again) charged as proponent of unscrupulous power-politics and as predecessor of “post-truth.” A passage from his late notes is notoriously quoted to denounce him as figurehead of relativism, truth-denial and post-factual attitudes: “facts are precisely what there is not, only interpretations.” By means of an analysis of this passage and its 19h century contexts, the paper reconstructs Nietzsche’s criticism of absolute truth. He problematizes notions of truth on the basis of epistemological, physiological, historical, and sociological considerations, arguing in favour of self-reflexive, pluralistic, and modest epistemic attitudes, which are occasionally associated with relativism. Unlike certain cliché-versions of relativism Nietzsche denies that every “perspective” is equally valid, and develops and employs a variety of interpretational and argumentative standards. ese standards are not absolute, but allow human evaluations of knowledge-claims. The proposed alternative between “truth” or “post-truth” construes a false opposition and underestimates the need for informed value judgments in politics and culture. In conclusion it is argued that prosecutors and defendants of “post-truth” are similarly vulnerable for resentful dogmatic ideologies, because of unwillingness or inability to accept and employ a post-absolutist loss of certainty

The Under-appreciated Roles of Spatial Scale, Individual Variation, and Nonlinearity in Spatial Ecology

Spatial ecology is a central component of ecological inquiry. In an ever-changing world facing threats including climate change, human sprawl, and novel zoonotic diseases, understanding how animals use space and make habitat decisions can be invaluable to research, management, and conservation of animal species. The techniques and technology used in spatial ecology have advanced continuously over time to provide increasingly detailed data and analyses and mitigate potential statistical biases. However, there remain many potential biases that warrant further attention in the discipline of spatial ecology. This is especially true for conceptual biases, or biases inherent to the ways in which data are viewed, processed, and analyzed, and whose effects are often not conspicuous during the modeling process. In this thesis, I explored three such biases that are seemingly underappreciated within the spatial ecology discipline – spatial scale, individual variation, and nonlinearity. In Chapter One, I used a dataset of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) to examine the impacts of spatial scale and individual variation on models of habitat selection, and how these biases may work synergistically with each other. In Chapter Two, I reviewed contemporary literature to investigate how frequently ecologists were exploring and addressing nonlinearity in their research. I then illustrated the impacts of nonlinearity with two case studies using occupancy models of passerine birds and abundance models of mesocarnivores. Here, my coauthors and I found that the biases of spatial scale, individual variation, and nonlinearity are not only influential to the numerical outputs of spatial modeling, but when unaddressed can lead to differing and potentially inaccurate conclusions. The techniques we used in this thesis to address these biases also allow for new insights into animal ecology to be drawn that were obscured by the more conventional approaches

“there are no facts. . . ”: Nietzsche as Predecessor of Post-Truth?

In light of recent political events Nietzsche was (again) charged as proponent of unscrupulous power-politics and as predecessor of “post-truth.” A passage from his late notes is notoriously quoted to denounce him as figurehead of relativism, truth-denial and post-factual attitudes: “facts are precisely what there is not, only interpretations.” By means of an analysis of this passage and its 19h century contexts, the paper reconstructs Nietzsche’s criticism of absolute truth. He problematizes notions of truth on the basis of epistemological, physiological, historical, and sociological considerations, arguing in favour of self-reflexive, pluralistic, and modest epistemic attitudes, which are occasionally associated with relativism. Unlike certain cliché-versions of relativism Nietzsche denies that every “perspective” is equally valid, and develops and employs a variety of interpretational and argumentative standards. ese standards are not absolute, but allow human evaluations of knowledge-claims. The proposed alternative between “truth” or “post-truth” construes a false opposition and underestimates the need for informed value judgments in politics and culture. In conclusion it is argued that prosecutors and defendants of “post-truth” are similarly vulnerable for resentful dogmatic ideologies, because of unwillingness or inability to accept and employ a post-absolutist loss of certainty

Ethnicity as an independent predictor of incontinence care seeking when theoretical modeling is used.

Urinary incontinence is a major public health problem affecting 30% of community dwelling women aged 35-85. Urinary incontinence may have a significant impact on activities of daily living depending on the severity of symptoms. Women with urinary incontinence suffer from psychological distress associated with the self-imposed social isolation required to hide their disorder from friends and family. The annual health care costs for managing urinary incontinence has been estimated at nearly 26 million dollars and 70% of these costs are attributed to remedies that are not covered by healthcare insurance. Yet, only 25-50% of incontinence sufferers seek professional care for symptoms. The prevalence rate of urinary incontinence is similar for women from varying ethnic backgrounds. Yet health care disparities may exist amongst incontinent women from varying ethnic backgrounds for a number of reasons including access to care differences. Recently, one study identified ethnicity as an independent predictor of incontinence care seeking during bivariate analysis. However measures of symptom severity explained the association between ethnicity and incontinence care seeking during multivariate analysis. The purpose of this study was to determine if ethnicity was an independent predictor of incontinence care seeking using the Theory of Care Seeking Behavior to guide our research. Both Blacks and Hispanics were less likely to seek incontinence care than Whites, independent of socioeconomic status and measures of symptom severity. None of the measured psychosocial (affect, utility, norms and habits) and barrier variables from the Theory of Care Seeking Behavior explained the association between ethnicity and incontinence care seeking. The social construct of ethnicity includes bias, stereotyping, cultural competence, religiosity, spirituality, and lay illness which could explain the between ethnic group differences in incontinence care seeking identified in my study. Measurement of these variables, in conjunction with clinical and demographic, or psychosocial and barrier variables from the Theory of Care Seeking Behavior may explain the within ethnic group differences in incontinence care seeking, if they truly exist. Researchers should be able to develop modifiable predictor-specific interventions aimed at reducing health care disparities between ethnic groups by increasing the percentage of all incontinent women who seek care

Organizational choice and behaviour : a framework for analyzing decision-making in co-operative organizations

This thesis proposes a conceptual framework to analyze the choice of organizational form and assess the shifts in organizational behaviour and form. This thesis argues that the choice of organizational form is an outcome of an individual’s or group’s mode of identification within the dominant organizational form and property rights structure of society. The framework places/situates the investor-owned firm (IOF) in a position of identification with the dominant ideology and property rights structure of society. The state-owned enterprise (SOE) occupies a position of counter-identification with the dominant ideology and property rights structure of society. The co-operative, on the other hand, represents a dis-identification with both the IOF and the SOE as this form works on and against the ideologies and property rights structures associated with the two former organizational forms.Further, the thesis argues that endogenous and exogenous pressures may cause some organizations to shift their organizational behaviour and form. The researcher examines how internal problems in co-operative organizations (i.e., horizon and principal-agent problems) can exacerbate exogenous pressures (i.e., increasing competition and/or government deregulation) from the market and/or state causing the co-op to imitate the strategies or property rights structure of the IOF in order to cope with these issues. Profiles of the formation of the Saskatchewan Co-operative Wholesale Society and the Consumers’ Co-operative Refineries Limited and the conversion of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool are used to illustrate the conceptual framework and support the arguments made in this thesis

A model for explaining differences in incontinence care seeking (MEDICS) project.

The broad long-term objectives of this research project are to increase the percentage of women who seek care for urinary incontinence. The specific aims of this research project are: (1) Use Lauver\u27s Theory of Care Seeking Behavior to identify predictors of incontinence care seeking for African American and Caucasian women. (2) Determine if previously studied predictors explain incontinence care seeking for African-American and Caucasian women, after controlling for predictors in Lauver\u27s Theory of Care Seeking Behavior. (3) Develop and compare theoretical models for explaining differences in incontinence care seeking for African American and Caucasian women. The health relatedness of the project is that our models for incontinence care seeking will guide behavioral interventions which may increase the percentage of women who seek care and reduce any health disparities between African American and Caucasian women