The use of earthworms as a feed for rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri)

The nutritional and chemical characteristics of five earthworm species: Lumbricus terrestris; Allolobophora longa; Eisenia foetida; Dendrobaena veneta and Dendrodrilus subrubicundus were assessed on the basis of crude protein and amino acid composition, lipid and fatty acid composition, and ash and mineral composition. Analyses indicated that all the earthworm species evaluated possessed a high quality protein and lipid fraction suitable for use in fish feeds which was somewhat similar in composition to that of fish meal. During experimental feeding trials (50-84 days in duration) each earthworm species was nutritionally evaluated, on the basis of fish growth performance, feed utilization efficiency and gross carcass composition, as a complete feed (frozen slices of whole worm) for rainbow trout· (Salmo gairdneri) A dried 'earthw9rm meal' derived from each of the species E.foetida, D.veneta and D.subrubicundus was similarly evaluated as a potential replacement for fish meal in trout diets. Fish fed frozen slices of earthworm, with the exception of fish fed E.foetida, achieved growth rates and feed utilization efficiency comparable to. fish fed a control, fish meal based ration. Fish fed solely on frozen slices of E.foetida achieved little or no growth over the experimental period. The possible reasons for the reduced palatability of frozen E.foetida to the fish are discussed, pre-treatment processes applied and a significant improvement in the palatability of frozen E.foetida was achieved by blanching. High dietary inclusion levels of earthworm meal (replacing ~ 50% of the fish meal protein) resulted in depressed feed intake and growth of the fish. At reduced levels of inclusion, dried E.foetida meal (constituting 5-30% of a production salmonid diet) and dried D.subrubicundus meal (constituting 7-36% o~ a semi-synthetic trout diet) adequately replaced the dietary fish meal component without loss in fish growth and feed utilization efficiency. The possible uptake of potentially toxic trace elemeots (Fe, Zn, Mn, Pb, Cu, Cr, Ni, Co and Cd) into the fish carcass through the ingestion of contaminated earthworm diets was also investigated and the levels of certain elements, in particular Pb, were observed to increase in the carcass of fish fed high levels of earthworm in the diet. However, in no instance did the results indicate any harmful or toxic effect of including earthworms in the diets of rainbow trout

Predicting Positive Attitudes toward Immigrants with Altruism

Immigration is one of the most salient and divisive issues in the US and a host of other countries, with public opinion polarized and elites deadlocked on the issue. One limitation of research on immigration attitudes is the tendency for scholars to focus exclusively on dark motivations driving hostility toward immigrants rather than those leading to compassion and support for immigrants. Using 2016 American National Election Studies (ANES) data, I examine the relationship between attitudes towards immigration and several Big Five personality traits, focusing on Altruism. I find that personality traits, especially those related to Altruism, are crucial determinants of attitudes toward immigrants, even in the face of an array of controls for political predispositions and socio-demographic characteristics. I conclude with a discussion of why further research on more positive personality traits is every bit as important for understanding prosocial behavior as the usual focus on antisocial behavior

Biomechanical and Neuromuscular Changes in Jump Landings Due to Short or Long Term Ankle Bracing and Fatigue

In order to prevent ankle sprain, prophylactic ankle bracing is common practice for many sports. The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate changes in loading and neuromuscular activation at the knee and at the hip when the ankle is braced. Additionally, fatigue is a known risk factor for both ankle sprain and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear at the knee. The first two studies examined whether or not there was an interaction between the ankle brace and fatigue. Unwanted adaptation to long term bracing is also a concern. Thus, the third study addressed the question, does long term prophylactic ankle bracing change loading at the knee and hip? Furthermore, jump direction was specifically explored as a factor affecting loading of the hip and knee. Eight video cameras tracked jumping movements, two force platforms measured ground reaction forces, and a wireless electromyography (EMG) system detected muscle electrical activity. Knee and hip joint moments, loading rates, and joint moment impulses were used as kinetic dependent variables. EMG was used to quantify muscle activation as a percentage of maximum voluntary contraction for the vastus lateralis, biceps femoris, and gluteus maximus. Synthesizing the results of the three studies, the most significant findings were the differences in jump direction. They present a consistent picture of what would appear to be a more forceful jump in the forward direction and a more tentative jump in the backward direction. Fatigue did not interact with the braces, nor did it significantly affect the kinetics of the landings. However, it did have an effect on the activation of gluteal muscles, which may indicate a need to train those muscles in order to prevent injury. Results of the first and third studies do not indicate increased loading at the knee as an immediate effect of the ankle brace. Increased hip extension moment and hip extension moment impulse for the habitual bracers in the third study may indicate a proximal shift of shock absorption may be due to long-term bracing, or due to increased athleticism of the habitual brace group, which consisted of an NCAA division one volleyball team

Facilitating the development of prospective primary school teachers’ understanding of the concept of ratio through discussion

Research on prospective primary school teachers’ (PPSTs’) understanding of the concept of ratio and its application to everyday life has shown that this can be problematic for many student teachers. As the concept is important in the development of proportional reasoning, which underpins many areas of primary school mathematics, questions arise about the PPSTs’ ability to facilitate its development for the children they teach. The “ATEE Ratio Project,” started in 2011, has contributed to the research, chiefly using an instrument designed to elicit from individual respondents the meanings that they ascribed to ratio, the uses (both their own and other people’s) of ratio that they identified, and the ways in which they represented the concept in particular by symbols and drawings – all measures of understanding. For the present study, the research instrument was utilised differently: as a stimulus to discussion (in “Think, Pair, Share” mode), with the aim of investigating if participants’ understanding could be enhanced by this exercise. The work was undertaken in a Mathematics Education module with Professional Masters in Education students in one institution in Ireland, and focused in particular on usage in everyday life. This paper reports on the study, presenting and discussing the findings with reference to the previous Irish and international work. Initial findings suggest that embedding the concept in everyday life contexts helps facilitate PPSTs’ understanding and application of ratio, and should therefore help in supporting the development of their own students’ understanding of the concept

“Helpless”: reflections on grief and sociality in three Amerindian societies

In this article, we reflect on one of Peter Gow’s key pieces of work, “Helpless,” tracing how his scholarship has informed and influenced our own work, from our experiences in the field to our approaches to analysis. We explore some of the main themes from this piece of writing, including how intersubjectivity is produced by creating relations of mutual dependence—a precondition for sociality. Helplessness is a characteristic of newborn babies as much as it is of those recently bereaved. In both cases, memories of love and care—in short, kinship—are in question. For babies, kin relations have not yet been produced, while for the recently bereaved these affective relations have become impossible. Death disrupts intersubjective relations by rendering mutual dependence and care a delusion. While the dead and the living may mutually desire to remain in each other’s company, it is the work of the living to persuade the dead that they are dead, and indeed to persuade the living that social relations with the dead are delusional. By reflecting on how humanity is made and unmade through sociality and kinship, we think through the importance of helplessness for the constitution of relationships, together with local understandings of death and the danger associated with prolonged grief. We situate these reflections in the ethnographic contexts we are most familiar with in southern Guyana, Central Brazil, and southern Chile

“Helpless”: reflections on grief and sociality in three Amerindian societies

In this article, we reflect on one of Peter Gow’s key pieces of work, “Helpless,” tracing how his scholarship has informed and influenced our own work, from our experiences in the field to our approaches to analysis. We explore some of the main themes from this piece of writing, including how intersubjectivity is produced by creating relations of mutual dependence—a precondition for sociality. Helplessness is a characteristic of newborn babies as much as it is of those recently bereaved. In both cases, memories of love and care—in short, kinship—are in question. For babies, kin relations have not yet been produced, while for the recently bereaved these affective relations have become impossible. Death disrupts intersubjective relations by rendering mutual dependence and care a delusion. While the dead and the living may mutually desire to remain in each other’s company, it is the work of the living to persuade the dead that they are dead, and indeed to persuade the living that social relations with the dead are delusional. By reflecting on how humanity is made and unmade through sociality and kinship, we think through the importance of helplessness for the constitution of relationships, together with local understandings of death and the danger associated with prolonged grief. We situate these reflections in the ethnographic contexts we are most familiar with in southern Guyana, Central Brazil, and southern Chile

Effects of even-aged timber harvest on herbaceous vegetation richness in southern Missouri forests

Abstract only availableFor centuries American forests have been exploited for timber and other commodities, often with unforeseen long-term detrimental effects. As areas are cleared, the natural diversity of the forest is altered. Development of ecologically sustainable management practices is essential. Initiated in 1989, the Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project (MOFEP) is a landscape experiment designed to examine forest management impacts on multiple ecosystem attributes for large sites. In the summer of 2008, we investigated the impacts of previous clearcuts on the species richness of herbaceous and woody plants in the southeast Missouri Ozarks, within the MOFEP study sites. We determined species richness within 1-m2 representative plots randomly chosen throughout each of three even-aged management sites and one no harvest control site. We hope to better understand the effects of clearcutting on forest herbaceous plant diversity by comparing the species richness on harvested sites with that on no-harvest sites.Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Projec

Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer Detection in the Age of Advanced Technology: A Review

Skin cancer is the most common cancer diagnosis in the United States, with approximately one in five Americans expected to be diagnosed within their lifetime. Non-melanoma skin cancer is the most prevalent type of skin cancer, and as cases rise globally, physicians need reliable tools for early detection. Artificial intelligence has gained substantial interest as a decision support tool in medicine, particularly in image analysis, where deep learning has proven to be an effective tool. Because specialties such as dermatology rely primarily on visual diagnoses, deep learning could have many diagnostic applications, including the diagnosis of skin cancer. Furthermore, with the advancement of mobile smartphones and their increasingly powerful cameras, deep learning technology could also be utilized in remote skin cancer screening applications. Ultimately, the available data for the detection and diagnosis of skin cancer using deep learning technology are promising, revealing sensitivity and specificity that are not inferior to those of trained dermatologists. Work is still needed to increase the clinical use of AI-based tools, but based on the current data and the attitudes of patients and physicians, deep learning technology could be used effectively as a clinical decision-making tool in collaboration with physicians to improve diagnostic efficiency and accuracy