Saving Fish to Save the Bay: Public Trust Doctrine Protection for Menhaden\u27s Foundational Ecosystem Services in the Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay menhaden population provides a number of ecosystem services that help keep the bay’s waters suitable for marine life, and enjoyable and profitable for the bay’s human users. Overfishing of menhaden within the bay may, however, be eroding the ability of the species to provide these services, which are foundational to rights traditionally secured by the public trust doctrine: fishery, commerce, and navigation. The Virginia courts’ failure to protect these foundational ecosystem services threatens the viability and sustainability of these public trust rights. Given the chance, Virginia courts should protect menhaden by expanding the state’s narrow conception of the public trust doctrine to comport with developments in ecology and state constitutional, statutory, and case law

Locke's Ideational Account of Causation

Commentators have long alleged that Locke has no consistent or coherent account of causation. My purpose in this paper is to challenge this claim and present a new interpretation of Locke on causation. The key feature of my interpretation is that it situates Locke's account of causation squarely within his theory of ideas. First, I will discuss the work of previous commentators and explain why they found Locke's account to be a failure. Then, primarily through a close examination of Book II Chapter 26 of the Essay, I will offer an alternative account of Locke's view of causation. I will spend considerable time demonstrating and defending the ideational nature of this account. Finally, I will consider the implications my reading has for Lockean perception and an objection which pertains to the nature of real ideas

Causation and Scientific Explanation in Locke

This dissertation examines the topics of causation and scientific explanation in the philosophy of John Locke. The first half of the dissertation focuses on causation. Previous interpreters have assumed that Locke was offering a metaphysical theory of causation. I show that this was not Locke's project. He was instead offering a psychological account of causation; he was attempting to account for our cognition of causal processes and the sorts of causal attributions and judgments we make. On my view, Locke thinks we understand causation as a relation between two powers. So I begin by examining Locke's views on our ideas of power and relations. I show that Locke distinguishes between several different types of idea of power in the Essay. I then argue that by deploying these distinctions Locke can avoid the problems posed by his commentators. With respect to relations, I argue that Locke is interested in the psychology of relations; he seeks to explain relations as a mental comparison of ideas. I also argue, contra several recent interpreters, that Locke does not offer a metaphysical theory about external-world relations. Once we are furnished with an account of the ideas of power and relations, Locke's psychological account of causation becomes surprisingly clear. In the latter half of the dissertation I turn to questions about causation in the physical world and to scientific explanation. I examine the topics of mechanism, superaddition, laws of nature, and the status of hypotheses in Locke's thought. My general goal is to show that Locke's views on natural processes and scientific explanation are governed by a certain form of epistemic humility. I argue that because of this epistemically humble approach Locke did not make any substantive claims about the nature of causation in the physical world. On my view, Locke was agnostic about how the process of superaddition was meant to work, did not believe laws of nature were causally efficacious, and only endorsed scientific hypotheses which respected the strict limits to human knowledge.Doctor of Philosoph

36.我々の軟部悪性腫瘍の治療法(第654回千葉医学会整形外科例会)

Recording synchronous data from EEG and eye-tracking provides a unique methodological approach for measuring the sensory and cognitive processes of overt visual search. Using this approach we obtained fixation related potentials (FRPs) during a guided visual search task specifically focusing on the lambda and P3 components. An outstanding question is whether the lambda and P3 FRP components are influenced by concurrent task demands. We addressed this question by obtaining simultaneous eye-movement and electroencephalographic (EEG) measures during a guided visual search task while parametrically modulating working memory load using an auditory N-back task. Participants performed the guided search task alone, while ignoring binaurally presented digits, or while using the auditory information in a 0, 1, or 2-back task. The results showed increased reaction time and decreased accuracy in both the visual search and N-back tasks as a function of auditory load. Moreover, high auditory task demands increased the P3 but not the lambda latency while the amplitude of both lambda and P3 was reduced during high auditory task demands. The results show that both early and late stages of visual processing indexed by FRPs are significantly affected by concurrent task demands imposed by auditory working memory

Larval Survival of Fuller's Rose Weevil, Naupactus cervinus, on Common Groundcover Species in Orchards of New Zealand Kiwifruit

Fuller's rose weevil, Naupactus cervinus (Boheman) (Curculionidae: Entiminae), is an important quarantine pest of New Zealand kiwifruit exported to Asian markets. Both adults and larvae are considered to be polyphagous. In this study, the survival of larval N. cervinus was estimated on common groundcover species of kiwifruit (Actinidia spp.) in the Bay of Plenty, the main region in New Zealand where kiwifruit is grown. The botanical composition of groundcover in commercial kiwifruit orchards, characterised by survey, was dominated by ryegrass (Lolium perenne), with white clover (Trifolium repens), creeping buttercup (Ranunculus repens), wild strawberry (Duchesnea indica) and broadleaf dock (Rumex obtusifolius) in lower abundance. Survival to mature larvae or adult was relatively low (·11%) for N. cervinus introduced as neonates to field plots or potted ryegrass, white clover and broadleaf dock. White clover was a more favourable host for survival to adults than ryegrass. This study suggests that increased survival of N. cervinus larvae may occur where white clover and large dock plants are abundant, but that survival is likely to be highly variable because of the heterogeneous availability of preferred host plants and host plant quality. These data suggest that larval polyphagy is a strategy that enables N. cervinus to persist at low densities in kiwifruit orchards despite variation in the quality and diversity of groundcover

Spectral Decomposition of Broad-Line AGNs and Host Galaxies

Using an eigenspectrum decomposition technique, we separate the host galaxy from the broad line active galactic nucleus (AGN) in a set of 4666 spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), from redshifts near zero up to about 0.75. The decomposition technique uses separate sets of galaxy and quasar eigenspectra to efficiently and reliably separate the AGN and host spectroscopic components. The technique accurately reproduces the host galaxy spectrum, its contributing fraction, and its classification. We show how the accuracy of the decomposition depends upon S/N, host galaxy fraction, and the galaxy class. Based on the eigencoefficients, the sample of SDSS broad-line AGN host galaxies spans a wide range of spectral types, but the distribution differs significantly from inactive galaxies. In particular, post-starburst activity appears to be much more common among AGN host galaxies. The luminosities of the hosts are much higher than expected for normal early-type galaxies, and their colors become increasingly bluer than early-type galaxies with increasing host luminosity. Most of the AGNs with detected hosts are emitting at between 1% and 10% of their estimated Eddington luminosities, but the sensitivity of the technique usually does not extend to the Eddington limit. There are mild correlations among the AGN and host galaxy eigencoefficients, possibly indicating a link between recent star formation and the onset of AGN activity. The catalog of spectral reconstruction parameters is available as an electronic table.Comment: 18 pages; accepted for publication in A

Comparison of Radiation Exposure During Thoracolumbar Fusion Using Fluoroscopic Guidance versus Anatomic Placement of Pedicle Screws

Introduction: There are multiple accepted surgical techniques for placing thoracolumbar pedicle screws. Some surgeons use fluoroscopy to aid in placement of instrumentation, while others use fluoroscopy as confirmation of positioning after anatomic placement of screws. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the difference in radiation exposure imparted to the patient using a fluoroscopic-guided technique versus anatomic placement of screws. Methods: A retrospective study evaluated 185 adult patients with non-percutaneous, posterior instrumented fusions over a four-year time period. For each patient, the fluoroscopy report was reviewed and the method of fluoroscopy utilization was ascertained from the patient’s operative report. Average seconds per screw inserted for each method was compared using a student’s t-test. Results: 82 patients underwent thoracolumbar fusion by an anatomic technique, with an average of 5.72 screws (range 2-26) placed. The mean fluoroscopy time was 11.85 seconds (median 6 sec.) and the average time for placement of a single screw was 2.65 seconds. 103 patients underwent fluoroscopic-guided surgery. An average of 5.1 screws (range 2-12) were placed and the mean fluoroscopy time was 83.26 seconds per operation. The average time for placement of a single screw was 17.08 seconds. Conclusion: Patients undergoing thoracolumbar fusion using the fluoroscopic-guided technique have increased radiation exposure, reaching 6.5 times the amount imparted using an anatomic technique, which is statistically significant (p\u3c0.01). Surgeons performing a large number of fluoroscopic-guided operations may have the potential to exceed annual radiation dose limits

Use of the Spine AdVerse Events Severity (SAVES) System to Categorize and Report Adverse Events in Spine Surgery.

Introduction: Analysis of adverse events (AEs) in spine surgery has historically been retrospective, utilizing hospital administrative data. Our objective was to determine the incidence, severity and effect on hospital length of stay (LOS) for AEs in spine surgery using the Spine AdVerse Events Severity (SAVES V2) system. Methods: AEs for all surgical spine patients at our institution were prospectively collected for 18 months and correlated with retrospective data from operative reports and H&Ps. Statistical analyses compared patient demographics, diagnoses, and surgical characteristics to hospital length of stay and likelihood of adverse events. Results: This system captured 75% (765/977) of surgical cases for all indications over the study period. 73% (541/743) of patients experienced at least one AE, with an average of 1.2 AEs per patient (range 0-5). The most common AEs were pain control (31%), urinary retention (9.7%), wound infection (6.3%), and incidental durotomy (5.8%). For patients experiencing at least one AE, 30% had no effect on LOS, 48% increased LOS by 1-2 days, 15% increased LOS by 3-7 days, and 7% had prolonged LOS greater than 8 days. Our system captured 25.4% more adverse events (60.0% vs. 34.6%) than hospital administrative data. Univariate analysis revealed patient age, emergent surgery, diagnostic and surgical categories, and spine region to be predictors of both AEs and LOS. Instrumentation was predictive of increased LOS but not AEs. The type of AE was strongly associated with LOS. Multivariable analysis of AE likelihood demonstrated emergent surgery to be the strongest independent predictor with an adjusted odds ratio of 8.5 versus elective surgery. Discussion: Spine surgery is associated with a high incidence of adverse events, which often prolong hospital length of stay. Better characterization of adverse events and their predictors could lead to improved management strategies that reduce patient morbidity and mortality