Voldemort Tyrannos: Plato’s Tyrant in the Republic and the Wizarding World

In the Harry Potter novel series, by J. K. Rowling, the character of Lord Voldemort is the dictatorial ruler of the Death Eaters and aspiring despot of the entire wizarding community. As such, he serves as an apt subject for the application of Plato’s portrait of the tyrant in Republic IX. The process of applying Plato to Voldemort, however, leads to an apparent anomaly, the resolution of which requires that we move beyond the Republic to the account of beauty presented by Plato in the Symposium. In doing so, we shall find that while Plato can help us to understand Voldemort, Voldemort can also help us to attain a deeper understanding of Plato

Pragmatism and Meaning: Assessing the Message of Star Trek: The Original Series

The original Star Trek television series purported to depict a future in which such evils as sexism and racism do not exist, and intelligent beings from numerous planets live in a condition of peace and mutual benefit. As many scholars have observed, from a standpoint of contemporary theoretical analysis, Star Trek: The Original Series contains many elements that are inimical to the utopia it claims to depict and thus undermine its supposed message. A different perspective may be gained by drawing on the American pragmatist movement, in which the value of an idea is judged by its effectiveness, how it ‘cashes out’ in terms of its impact in real life. Thus, the meaning and value of Star Trek: TOS can be assessed by observing its effects on its audience. This perspective coordinates well with Taylor’s discussion of the necessary conditions for the realization of a protreptic moral order in the social imaginary, as well as a pragmatist understanding of audience engagement and education

The Sweet Smell of Subsidies Revisited

Agricultural and Food Policy,

A Prison for Others—A Burden to One\u27s Self

Women have come a long way since the mid-1960\u27s, both in the real world and in the world of philosophy. Given the advances in society and the developments within feminism that took place between that decade and the first decade of the 21st century, we might reasonably expect the new Prisonerseries to present a more contemporary perspective on women than the original. Such is most emphatically not the case. If we compare the original Village to the new one, it looks as if those pennyfarthing wheels are spinning backwards instead of forwards

MicroRNA-433 Dampens Glucocorticoid Receptor Signaling, Impacting Circadian Rhythm and Osteoblastic Gene Expression

FUNDING This work was supported by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases of the National Institutes of Health [AR44877]; the National Institutes for Dental and Craniofacial Research [5T90DE21989]; a Grant-in-Aid award from the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research; the UConn Health Center Research Advisory council; and the Center for Molecular Medicine at UConn Health. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

[Case Study] Reducing the negative environmental impact of SMEs in Pakistan’s leather and tanning industry

In the year 2000 the Norwegian Agency for Cooperation and Development (NORAD) and the Pakistan Government began to work together to reduce the environmental impact of small and medium-sized enterprizes (SMEs) in Pakistan’s private sector. Initial work began with the leather and tanning industry; one that was particularly known to be responsible for water pollution impacting on the availability of clean water to local communities. A social marketing programme was launched to change SME owners’/managers’ behaviour so as to reduce waste and negative environmental impact. At the same time SMEs would benefit from developing new capabilities, improving working conditions, increasing efficiency and cost savings, enhancing product quality, reputation and profitability. The programme was judged to be successful and was subsequently extended to other industrial sectors. However, while many SME owners adopted the new behaviours, others did not. This case study particularly focuses on the differences between adopters and non-adopters of pro-environmental behaviours to suggest how those implementing social change programmes can best target their interventions and accelerate the adoption process

Natural mortality patterns in a population of southern Argentina huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus), an endangered Andean cervid

The huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus), an endangered deer living in the Andes of southern South America, numbers 600-700 in Argentina, from at least 63 fragmented subpopulations. Very limited information exists on most populations, but there are indications that the distribution and population sizes continue to diminish, possibly through reduced reproductive rates, elevated mortality rates or both. This is the first analysis of the population ecology of a subpopulation in Argentina, made possible through the only existing compilation of numerous remains of dead huemul (n = 19). Surveys were conducted between 1993 and 1999 to locate and collect remains, which were found concentrated at lower elevations. The sex ratio of adults and subadults (n = 12) was 1:1, but could not be determined for fawns. Clear signs of predation was found in 37% of all deer: 50% among calves, 50% among subadults and 31% among adults. These signs occurred in 29% of adult females and 50% of adult males. Deaths occurred during winter as judged by the state of the male skulls, which indicated the phase of the antler cycle. Femur fat content of 3 deer averaged 93%. Predation signs frequently were clearly from puma (Puma concolor), which is the only natural predator of huemul. The high predation rate, high marrow fat content and no indications of deaths resulting from disease corroborate the pristine state of the of mature lenga (Nothofagus pumilio) forest. The area with a concentration of huemul carcasses appears to be the huemul's major winter habitat.Fil: Smith Fluck, Anne M.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Departamento de Ecología; ArgentinaFil: Fluck, Werner Thomas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Departamento de Ecología; Argentin

Huemul heresies: Beliefs in search of supporting data. 2. Biological and ecological considerations

Scarce information from remnant huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) populations in marginal habitats can lead to erroneous interpretations of the species' natural history, such as assumptions of being a highly inflexible species. We evaluated discrepancies between historical accounts and recent interpretations regarding biological and ecological traits to better understand factors preventing recovery of highly endangered huemul. Early information supports the theory that huemul are currently living under suboptimal conditions. We find variability to be the norm for huemul, as with other cervids, in regard to antler characteristics, group size and density, sexual segregation, and social and feeding behaviours. No evidence supports competition and disease from livestock or red deer as having caused declines or preventing recovery. Instead, livestock management, particularly presence of people and dogs, creates incompatibilities. Where red deer are sympatric with huemul, red deer are outnumbered by livestock by 2100%, and being regularly inspected at slaughter, livestock provide a good proxy for diseases afflicting red deer. Inadequate antipredator responses due to evolutionary absence of cursorial predators are unsupported as several Canis species coexisted with huemul, overlapping with dogs that arrived with Paleoindians. Three populations have increased despite high predator density. Age at maturity for huemul is 1 year, with evidence that fawns may also breed. Reported twinning needs confirmation, but occurs in congeneric taruca (H. antisensis) and other Odocoilines, and huemul frequently raise fawns successfully every year; life cycle calculations should apply these parameters. Like taruca, dominance group breeding systems have been described repeatedly. Although huemul bucks were recently claimed unique by displaying territoriality year-round, data do not support such behaviour. Two sole dispersal records (8 and 15.5 km) are unlikely to represent maximum dispersal capacity and do not support barriers assumed from few kilometres of unsuitable habitat. Huemul using 500 ha could predictably disperse up to 90 km, well within the ranges of other cervids. Mistakenly assuming barriers and underestimating reproductive capacity may distract from discovering the factors affecting recolonisations. Sustained recovery may depend on re-establishing source populations on more productive habitats, guided by zooarcheological and historical data.Fil: Fluck, Werner Thomas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; Argentina. Universidad de Basilea; Suiza. Universidad Atlantida Argentina; Argentina. Fundación Bariloche; ArgentinaFil: Smith-Flueck, Jo Anne M.. Universidad Atlantida Argentina; Argentin

Severe dental fluorosis in juvenile deer linked to a recent volcanic eruption in Patagonia

The Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcanic eruption deposited large amounts of tephra (ashes) in over 7.5 million ha of Argentina in June of 2011. Tephra were considered chemically innoxious based on water leachates, surface water fluoride levels determined to be safe, and livestock losses attributable to inanition and excessive tooth wear. To evaluate effects on wild ungulates, we sampled wild red deer (Cervus elaphus) at 100 km from the volcanic eruption in Sept-Oct 2012. Here we show that these tephra caused severe dental fluorosis, with bone fluoride levels reaching up to 3720 ppm. Among subadults, tephra caused pathological development of newly emerging teeth typical of fluorosis, including enamel hypoplasia, breakages, pitting, mottling, and extremely rapid ablation of entire crowns down to underlying pulp cavities. The loss of teeth functionality affected physical condition and none of the subadults were able to conceive. Susceptibility to fluorosis among these herbivores likely resides in ruminant food processing: a) mastication and tephra size reduction, b) thorough and repeated mixing with alkaline saliva, c) water-soluble extraction in the rumen, and d) extraction in the acidic abomasum. Although initial analyses of water and tephra was interpreted not to present a concern, ruminants as a major component of this ecosystem are shown to be highly susceptible to fluorosis, with average bone level increasing over 36-fold during the first 15.5 months of exposure to tephra. This is the first report of fluorosis in wild ungulates from volcanic eruptions. The described impact will reverberate through several aspects of the ecology of the deer, including effects on population dynamics, morbidity, predation susceptibility, as well as other components of the ecosystem like the scavenger and plant communities. We also anticipate further impact on livestock production systems, yet as of now, existence of fluorosis has not been recognized.Fil: Fluck, Werner Thomas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Mar del Plata; Argentina. University Basel. Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute; Suiza. DeerLab; ArgentinaFil: Smith Fluck, Jo Anne M.. DeerLab; Argentin