Why babies do not feel pain, or: How structure-derived functional interpretations can go wrong

The response to pain involves a non-conscious, reflexive action and a conscious perception. According to Key (2016), consciousness — and thus pain perception — depends on a neuronal correlate that has a “unique neural architecture” as realized in the human cortex. On the basis of the “bioengineering principle that structure determines function,” Key (2016) concludes that animal species such as fish, which lack the requisite cortex-like neuroanatomical structure, are unable to feel pain. This commentary argues that the relationship between brain structure and brain function is less straightforward than suggested in Key’s target article

Post(katastrofa) i komparatystyka

The review concerns a collective work edited by Reinhard Ibler Der Holocaust in den mitteleuropäischen Literaturen seit 1989. (The Holocaust in the Central European Literatures since 1989). In the review, the concept of the volume is discussed – a comparative analysis of the most recent representations of the Holocaust in Central European literatures – and the selected articles, especially the ones devoted to the struggle with the Shoah in Polish literature and culture are mentioned

Need for establishing integrated programs to monitor endocrine active compounds

Environmental monitoring programs on endocrine active compounds (EACs) have been used to document the level of exposure and to assess the possible association to the occurrence of developmental and reproductive disorders in wildlife. The establishment of causal links between exposure and effect data, however, was found to be difficult due to, for example, the presence of confounding factors or limited understanding of EAC mechanisms and interactions, but also because of conceptual and methodological limitations of current monitoring strategies. In order to provide plausibility of an EAC etiology for a developmental or reproductive alteration in a wildlife population, integrated monitoring programs are needed that will use a combination of complementary approaches: methods for a targeted search for suspected EACs in an environmental mixture, analysis of internal EAC doses instead of external EAC concentrations, utilization of mechanism-based end-points in bioanalytical and effect monitoring, investigation of the basic biology and physiology of wildlife sentinel species, laboratory replication of field effects, as well as consideration of epidemiological and weight-of-evidence criteria in the design and data evaluation of monitoring program

Post-Harvest Prediction of Tenderness in Pork

As variation in pork tenderness has increased, identification of tenderness has become an industry need. This study consisted of 1208 pork loins randomly selected to test the efficacy of four automated grading techniques. Visible and near-infrared spectroscopy (VVNIR) (350-1830 nm wavelengths), bioelectrical impedance (EI) (resistance, reactance, phase angle, and partial capacitance), pH, and CIE L*, a* and b* color space values were used to predict chemical moisture and lipid, pH, Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF), and Slice shear force (SSF) on 13 d aged pork loins. The means and standard deviations for WBSF were (22.95 and 5.16) and SSF were (165.49 and 58.15). Prediction was based on stepwise linear regression and partial least squares regression. VNIR, pH, and color, when in combination, had the highest R^2 (0.19 and 0.21) for the prediction of WBSF and SSF, respectively. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) was used to remove autocorrelation between VNIR values. By using PLSR, with an R ^2 value of 0.49, 100 percent of the "tender" chops were correctly classified, 93 percent of the "intermediate" chops were correctly classified, and 92 percent of the "tough" chops were correctly classified into its category for WBSF. However, SSF was much lower (R^2 = 0.24) with only correctly placing 62 percent of the "tender" chops and only 48 percent of the "intermediate" and "tough" chops. Electrical impedance, alone or in combination with other technologies, either did not improve predictability of linear regression equations (increase R^2) or of PLSR models (increase R^2). Equations and models that included EI values had low R^2. When adding EI to the regression equation involving all variables, R^2 increased slightly from 0.19 to 0.21 in predicting WBSF, and from 0.21 to 0.25 for SSF. When pH or CIE L* color space values were included in linear regression or PLSR models to predict WBSF and SSF, R^2 values increased from 0.14 to 0.19 for WBSF, and 0.14 to 0.21 for SSF. pH played a large role in predicting WBSF and SSF, along with CIE L*. Thus, for an on-line situation, use of VNIR, pH, and color could be used to predict tenderness. Utilization of VNIR alone could be effective in predicting pork tenderness (WBSF). Using EI alone, or in combination with VNIR, would not provide acceptable prediction of WBSF or SSF. Use of VNIR with pH and color would improve the ability to predict tender and intermediate pork WBSF and SSF, but the additional improvement in accuracy may not be warranted based on the cost and additional time needed when using more than one technology

A Standardized Approach to Analyzing Multi-cultural Presentations of Christian Worship

With the growth of the internet, worship pastors can share fine art presentations of the gospel message from cultures worldwide. Since all cultures belong in the kingdom of God, pastors may struggle to validate fine arts performances according to scriptural standards. One of the concerns is the range of interpretations that come from a lack of formal analysis in the literature. Some critics write about fine arts performances based on their own experience and opinion. This may indicate a gap in literature where there is no uniform standard for evaluating those works. Rather than take time to research presentations, a worship pastor may accept the opinion of a person who is not trained to make artistic or scriptural judgments. This lack of a coherent standard may lead to interpretations that allow syncretism to flourish or a misunderstood biblical message. This research shows that the Bible is the authority over artistic presentations and that a person can use a systematic approach to validate these presentations. Individuals in the fine arts field will argue that all work is created as a matter of personal aesthetics. While this may be true in the secular world, a worship leader must maintain a proper discipline of biblical authority. In this study, an ethnographic, qualitative/correlational method will be used to demonstrate the need for a uniform approach to describing, analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating works of Christian fine arts

The potential of mechanism-based bioanalytical tools in ecotoxicological exposure and effect assessment

The current challenge to ecotoxicology is to develop tools that allow rapid and cost-efficient detection of those environmental chemicals or their combinations that are responsible for sublethal, chronic toxic effects in exposed organisms. Bioanalytical tools may meet these challenges, particularly if they are mechanism-based. Technically, bioanalytical tools allow rapid and cost-efficient analysis of environmental matrices. Mechanism-based, bioanalytical tools, however, do not only indicate that certain chemicals are there, but—and this is the major advantage of mechanism-based bioanalytical tools (MBBTs)—they indicate that chemicals with a specific mode of toxic action or a specific toxic potential are there. In this way MBBTs bridge exposure and effect assessment and help in a faster identification of the causative agent(s). Several principles of MBBTs, including immunoassays, enzyme inhibition assays, receptor assays and gene induction assays are briefly discussed and their application in processes such as bioassay-directed fractionation is illustrated. The focus of this manuscript is the analytical power of MBBTs in exposure and effect assessment. MBBTs have, however, a much broader potential and can support research on other challenges in ecotoxicology such as mixture effects or multiple effects caused by single pollutants or by various stresses simultaneousl

Hazards of current concentration-setting practices in environmental toxicology studies.

The setting of concentrations for testing substances in ecotoxicological studies is often based on fractions of the concentrations that cause 50% mortality (LC50 or LD50) rather than environmentally relevant levels. This practice can result in exposures to animals at test concentrations that are magnitudes of order greater than those experienced in the environment. Often, such unrealistically high concentrations may cause non-specific biochemical or morphologic changes that primarily reflect the near-lethal health condition of the animal subjects, as opposed to effects characteristic of the particular test compound. Meanwhile, it is recognized that for many chemicals, the toxicologic mode of action (MOA) responsible for lethality may differ entirely from the MOAs that cause various sublethal effects. One argument for employing excessively high exposure concentrations in sublethal studies is to ensure the generation of positive toxicological effects, which can then be used to establish safety thresholds; however, it is possible that the pressure to produce exposure-related effects may also contribute to false positive outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to explore issues involving some current usages of acute LC50 data in ecotoxicology testing, and to propose an alternative strategy for performing this type of research moving forward. Toward those ends, a brief literature survey was conducted to gain an appreciation of methods that are currently being used to set test concentrations for sublethal definitive studies

Морфологическая стратификация облаков электрическим полем атмосферы в периоды активного и спокойного солнца

Актуальность. В последнее десятилетие наблюдается стремительный рост регионального и глобального изменения климата в связи с хозяйственной деятельностью человека, которая в своих масштабах стала соизмерима с природными процессами. В качестве индикатора техногенной нагрузки может выступать электрическое поле атмосферы, так как техноэкономическая среда городов приводит к глобальным отклонениям и модификации естественных физических полей. Поэтому необходимость изучения влияния электрического поля атмосферы на распределение метеорологических параметров не вызывает сомнения, так как позволяет на качественном уровне проявить «тонкую» структуру стратификации атмосферы электрическим полем и ее изменение за счет антропогенного воздействия. Цель исследования: рассмотреть морфологическую стратификацию облачных образований электрическим полем атмосферы в период активного и спокойного солнца. Данный подход позволяет на качественном уровне прояснить механизм изменения процессов конденсации водяного пара (на примере облаков) сменой солнечной активности, как уменьшение количества возбужденных молекул за счет разной ионизации атмосферы, а также построить физическую теорию антропогенной нагрузки от промышленных предприятий на атмосферу и климат. Объект исследования: электрическое поле атмосферы, облака. Методика исследования построена на детальном статистическом анализе по данным самолетного зондирования в период международного геофизического года и международного геофизического сотрудничества 1958-1964 гг. Результаты исследования. Получены оценки радиационных сечений для молекул стандартной атмосферы и конденсированной фазы (облачные аэрозоли) в геометрическом приближении, которые показывают, что при характерном радиусе капель r-10[-3]см ионизация от конденсированной фазы соизмерима с фононовой ионизацией атмосферы. Приведена корреляционная зависимость средней водности облака и вертикального электрического поля. Анализ результатов показал, что среднегодовое распределение водности имеет высокую корреляцию со среднегодовым вертикальным распределением напряженности электрического поля для данного региона. Методами детального статистического анализа найдена взаимосвязь высоты образования облаков с электрическим полем атмосферы. Показано, что частота повторяемости нижней границы облаков совпадает с локальными точками равновесия плотности объемного заряда для этой же широты.Relevance of the research. In recent decade, regional and global climate has changed significantly due to human activities, which became comparable with natural processes. The electric field of atmosphere can serve as an indicator of anthropogenic impact, as the technical and economic environment of cities results in global deviations and modification of natural physical fields. Therefore, there is no doubt in the necessity to study the influence of the atmospheric electric field on distribution of meteorological parameters, since it allows us to reveal qualitatively the «thin» atmospheric stratification structure of the electric field and its change owing to anthropogenic impact. The aim of the research is to consider the morphological stratification of cloud formations by the atmospheric electric field in the period of the active and quiet sun. This approach allows us to clarify qualitatively the mechanism of change in water vapor condensation (on the example of clouds) by the solar activity change as the decrease in the number of excited molecules owing to different ionization of the atmosphere, as well as to build a physical theory of anthropogenic load from industrial plants on the atmosphere and climate. Research subject: the electric field of the atmosphere, clouds. Research technique: detailed statistical analysis of the data on an aircraft sounding during the International Geophysical Year and the International Geophysical Cooperation in 1958-1964. Results. The author has obtained the estimations of radiation cross-sections for the molecules of the standard atmosphere and the condensed phase (cloud aerosols) in geometric approximation. They show that when the characteristic radius is equal to r-10[-3] cm the ionization of the condensed phase is commensurate with the background ionization. The paper introduces the correlative relationship between average water content of clouds and vertical electric field. The analysis of the results demonstrates that the average annual distribution of water content is strongly correlated with the average vertical distribution of the electric field in this region. Using the methods of the detailed statistical analysis the author revealed the relationship between the height of cloud formation and the electric field of the atmosphere. It is shown that the repetition frequency of a cloud lower boundary demonstrates the high coincidence with local sites of neutrality of a bulk charge density for the same latitude

Assessing Fish Immunotoxicity by Means of In Vitro Assays: Are We There Yet?

There is growing awareness that a range of environmental chemicals target the immune system of fish and may compromise the resistance towards infectious pathogens. Existing concepts to assess chemical hazards to fish, however, do not consider immunotoxicity. Over recent years, the application of in vitro assays for ecotoxicological hazard assessment has gained momentum, what leads to the question whether in vitro assays using piscine immune cells might be suitable to evaluate immunotoxic potentials of environmental chemicals to fish. In vitro systems using primary immune cells or immune cells lines have been established from a wide array of fish species and basically from all immune tissues, and in principal these assays should be able to detect chemical impacts on diverse immune functions. In fact, in vitro assays were found to be a valuable tool in investigating the mechanisms and modes of action through which environmental agents interfere with immune cell functions. However, at the current state of knowledge the usefulness of these assays for immunotoxicity screening in the context of chemical hazard assessment appears questionable. This is mainly due to a lack of assay standardization, and an insufficient knowledge of assay performance with respect to false positive or false negative signals for the different toxicant groups and different immune functions. Also the predictivity of the in vitro immunotoxicity assays for the in vivo immunotoxic response of fishes is uncertain. In conclusion, the currently available database is too limited to support the routine application of piscine in vitro assays as screening tool for assessing immunotoxic potentials of environmental chemicals to fish