scholarly journals Identifying safe cultivars of invasive plants: six questions for risk assessment, management, and communication

NeoBiota ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 62 ◽  
pp. 81-97
Author(s):  
Arunava Datta ◽  
Sabrina Kumschick ◽  
Sjirk Geerts ◽  
John R. U. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Ornamental Plants ◽  
Risk Identification ◽  
General Science ◽  
Safe Alternative ◽  
Less Invasive ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Species Being

The regulation of biological invasions is often focussed at the species level. However, the risks posed by infra- and inter-specific entities can be significantly different from the risks posed by the corresponding species, to the extent that they should be regulated and managed differently. In particular, many ornamental plants have been the subject of long-term breeding and selection programmes, with an increasing focus on trying to develop cultivars and hybrids that are less invasive. In this paper, we frame the problem of determining the risk of invasion posed by cultivars or hybrids as a set of six questions that map on to the key components of a risk analysis, viz., risk identification, risk assessment, risk management, and risk communication. 1) Has an infra- or inter-specific entity been proposed as “safe to use” despite at least one of the corresponding species being a harmful invasive? 2) What are the trait differences between the proposed safe alternative and its corresponding invasive species? 3) Do the differences in traits translate into a difference in invasion risk that is significant for regulation? 4) Are the differences spatially and temporally stable? 5) Can the entities be distinguished from each other in practice? 6) What are the appropriate ways to communicate the risks and what can be done to manage them? For each question, we use examples to illustrate how they might be addressed focussing on plant cultivars that are purported to be safe due to sterility. We review the biological basis of sterility, methods used to generate sterile cultivars, and the methods available to confirm sterility. It is apparent that separating invasive genetic entities from less invasive, but closely related, genetic entities in a manner appropriate for regulation currently remains unfeasible in many circumstances – it is a difficult, expensive and potentially fruitless endeavour. Nonetheless, we strongly believe that an a priori assumption of risk should be inherited from the constituent taxa and the onus (and cost) of proof should be held by those who wish to benefit from infra- (or inter-) specific genetic entities. The six questions outlined here provide a general, science-based approach to distinguish closely-related taxa based on the invasion risks they pose.

Naturalism and Kantianism

2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 114-123
Author(s):  
Valentin A. Bazhanov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Research ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Cognitive Activity ◽  
Modern Science ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Long Term Results ◽  
External Data ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Brain

An article by T. Rockmore, published in the journal “Epistemology and Philosophy of Science” in 2009 (Vol. XXII. No. 4, pp. 14‒29), claim that naturalism is by its nature an example of anti-Kantianism, for it treats philosophy as a continuation science and recognizes science as a legitimate source of knowledge, does not allow a priori, relies on an a posteriori approach, empiricism in the pre-Kantian sense, and insists on the possibility of revising the knowledge acquired. This article has a goal to show that T. Rockmore point of view should be revised due to the progress of modern cognitive research and, first of all, neuroscience, in which all the features of the naturalistic approach are implemented and in which the “Kantian program” of brain research is developed. In the context of this program, the existence on the ontological level (i.e., in the brain) of certain neural structures that make it possible and play a crucial role in the cognitive activity of a person is recognized. Those concepts that Kant treated as components of cognitive activity in modern neuroscience acquired ontological status in the form of the activity of certain neural structures, which turn out to be prerequisites and components of this activity. We claim that in the context of the Kantian research program in neuroscience, the metaphor “Kantian brain” naturally entered the vocabulary of neuroscientists, and certain specific operations and functions of the brain began to be associated with individual elements of Kant's ideas. It is in this context attempts are made to comprehend the mechanisms of the brain in the “stimulus – activity” mode, when an external effect leads to the excitation of certain neural structures. The brain is capable to anticipate the long-term results of certain actions of the subject. In the case of foresight, the brain generates “internal” models and uses for their correction external data that constantly provided from reality across the subject. At the same time, some kind of self-correcting mechanisms implements, which from a formal point of view described by the Bayes theorem, using a priori evaluations of upcoming events and changes in these evaluations as result of experience. Thus, naturalism and Kantianism understood in the context of the progress of modern science, despite T. Rockmore idea, are completely compatible.

The use of progesterone during pregnancy in women with epilepsy as an alternative to the correction of doses of anticonvulsants

GYNECOLOGY ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 12-15
Author(s):  
Elena V. Tsallagova ◽  
Vasily O. Generalov ◽  
Timur R. Sadykov
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Remission ◽  
Epileptic Seizures ◽  
Progesterone Concentration ◽  
Teratogenic Effects ◽  
Safe Alternative ◽  
Patients With Epilepsy

Pregnancy is the most dangerous period in terms of interruption of even persistent and long-term remission. At the same time increasing the dose of anticonvulsant increases the risk of teratogenic effects. Aim. to assess the possibility of using progesterone to prevent relapse of epileptic seizures during pregnancy. Materials and methods. 38 pregnant patients with epilepsy with clinical remission before pregnancy, with relapse of epileptic seizures in I trimester of pregnancy, age 31.81.4 years. Dydrogesterone in a dose of 10 to 60 mg/day was prescribed after the relapse of remission. Anticonvulsant dosage was not changed. The blood progesterone concentration and EEG control was carried out. Results. During pregnancy, the level of progesterone in the blood gradually increased from 77.8 nmol/l at 78 weeks of pregnancy to 521.1 nmol/l at 3637 weeks of pregnancy, without exceeding the limits. EEG results did not deteriorate. None of the patients had seizures during pregnancy. Conclusion. Progesterone therapy is an adequate and safe alternative to increasing the dose of anticonvulsants in case of recurrent seizures during pregnancy.

Educación y valores

2014 ◽  
pp. 83
Author(s):  
Sabino de Juan López
Keyword(s):  
Key Words ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Palabras Clave ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Problem Of The Criterion

RESUMEN En el artículo se ofrece una reflexión en torno a la educación y valores. Tras una referencia a los diferentes sentidos en que se puede plantear el problema en función de la forma como se puede entender la relación entre los dos sustantivos “educación” y “valores”, la reflexión se centra en algunos problemas relacionados con los valores en cuanto contenidos de la educación. Primeramente se refiere al problema del criterio en función del cual determinar los valores de la educación, concluyendo en que el criterio no podía ser ni de carácter a priori, ni empírico, sino “sintético”. A continuación, se afronta el problema del principio, de la fuente de los valores, o la concreción del criterio de los valores de la educación, entendiendo que éstos deberían ser determinados a partir del sujeto de la educación. Se concluye con la referencia a una exigencia de los valores de la educación, la configuración de una totalidad unitaria e interactiva. Palabras clave: educación, valores, fuente de valores, integración, cultura EDUCATION AND VALUES ABSTRACT The article offers a reflection on education and values. After a reference to the different senses in which one can pose the problem in terms of how you can understand the relationship between the two nouns “education” and “values”, reflection focuses on some problems related to the values in the contents of education. First, it concerns the problem of the criterion against which to determine the values of education, concluding that the criterion could be neither a priori in nature, not empirical, but “synthetic”. Herein, the problem of principle is faced, the source of values, or the realization of the criterion of the values of education, understanding that these should be determined from the subject of education. It concludes with the reference of a requirement of the values in education, setting up a unitary and interactive whole. Key Words: education, values , power values , integration, culture

Nesting Expectations: What Can the Mexican and Argentinean Cash Transfers Tell Us about the Development of Development?

1969 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-169
Author(s):  
Andrés Dapuez
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Cash Transfers ◽  
Conditional Cash Transfers ◽  
Cash Transfer ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Transfer Programs

Latin American cash transfer programs have been implemented aiming at particular anticipatory scenarios. Given that the fulfillment of cash transfer objectives can be calculated neither empirically nor rationally a priori, I analyse these programs in this article using the concept of an “imaginary future.” I posit that cash transfer implementers in Latin America have entertained three main fictional expectations: social pacification in the short term, market inclusion in the long term, and the construction of a more distributive society in the very long term. I classify and date these developing expectations into three waves of conditional cash transfers implementation.

Construction of an Achievement Test in General Science for Class IX Based on NCERT Syllabus

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (26) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sailendra Bhuyan ◽  
Punita Borpuzari Deori
Keyword(s):  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Subject Area ◽  
Achievement Test ◽  
General Science ◽  
School Students ◽  
The People ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Government ◽  
Time Changes ◽  
Teaching Learning

Achievement test is of very important assessment tool to evaluate the student’s current level of knowledge and skill acquired from classroom instruction. This test is designed to evaluate the student’s level of achievement in a particular subject for a particular class prescribed under the board or the university. In other words, to assess how much the pupils have achieved the educational objectives in teaching learning process at the end of the course and if achieved then to what extent, it has been achieved. Achievement tests are proved to be very helpful in various ways to the people who are involved in the field of education such as the teachers, the administrators, the planners, to the parents as well as for the students. The teacher very carefully develops and conduct achievement test in the class which enable the teacher to get an overall idea of the progress or the level of achievement of his students in the subject area. The teacher can determine the pupil’s strength and weakness in the subject area. So, based on this the teacher can take necessary remedial instructional strategies for the betterment of the pupil’s progress. In the same time, it also provides feedback for the teaching efficiency of the teacher.As with the time changes there have been many educational reforms taken place and in between syllabus had also been changed under different Boards of Studies. In order to maintain uniform standard of education the Government has formulated a policy to implement NCERT syllabus common to all School Boards throughout the country and accordingly the State Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA) follow NCERT syllabus and to evaluate students’ achievement in terms of the policy formulated by the Board. Till now, no any standardized achievement test has been conducted for the secondary school students of Assam. Therefore, the investigators felt to construct and standardize an achievement test in the subject General Science which will definitely help in educational research.

Self and Selves

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph C.S. Walker
Keyword(s):  
Personal Identity ◽  
Moral Philosophy ◽  
A Priori ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Synthetic A Priori

Kant is committed to the reality of a subject self, outside time but active in forming experience. Timeless activity is problematic, but that can be dealt with. But he holds that the subject of experience is not an object of experience, so nothing can be known about it; this raises a problem about the status of his own theory. But he ought to allow that we can know of its existence and activity, as preconditions of experience: the Critique allows that synthetic a priori truths can be known in this way. However, its identity conditions remain unknowable. Kant’s unity of apperception shares much with Locke’s continuity of consciousness, but does not determine the identity of a thing. Personal identity is bodily identity. Only Kant’s moral philosophy justifies recognizing other selves; it could warrant ascribing a similar status to animals.

scholarly journals Frame me if you must: PrEP framing and the impact on adherence to HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. S439-S439
Author(s):  
Eric Ellorin ◽  
Jill Blumenthal ◽  
Sonia Jain ◽  
Xiaoying Sun ◽  
Katya Corado ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
A Priori ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Continuous Measure ◽  
Gay Community ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Exposure Prophylaxis ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Actual Prevalence ◽  
Tenofovir Diphosphate

Abstract Background “PrEP whore” has been used both as a pejorative by PrEP opponents in the gay community and, reactively, by PrEP advocates as a method to reclaim the label from stigmatization and “slut-shaming.” The actual prevalence and impact of such PrEP-directed stigma on adherence have been insufficiently studied. Methods CCTG 595 was a randomized controlled PrEP demonstration project in 398 HIV-uninfected MSM and transwomen. Intracellular tenofovir-diphosphate (TFV-DP) levels at weeks 12 and 48 were used as a continuous measure of adherence. At study visits, participants were asked to describe how they perceived others’ reactions to them being on PrEP. These perceptions were categorized a priori as either “positively framed,” “negatively framed,” or both. We used Wilcoxon rank-sum to determine the association between positive and negative framing and TFV-DP levels at weeks 12 and 48. Results By week 4, 29% of participants reported perceiving positive reactions from members of their social groups, 5% negative, and 6% both. Reporting decreased over 48 weeks, but positive reactions were consistently reported more than negative. At week 12, no differences in mean TFV-DP levels were observed in participants with positively-framed reactions compared with those reporting no outcome or only negatively-framed (1338 [IQR, 1036-1609] vs. 1281 [946-1489] fmol/punch, P = 0.17). Additionally, no differences were observed in those with negative reactions vs. those without (1209 [977–1427] vs. 1303 [964–1545], P = 0.58). At week 48, mean TFV-DP levels trended toward being higher among those that report any reaction, regardless if positive (1335 [909–1665] vs. 1179 [841–1455], P = 0.09) or negative (1377 [1054–1603] vs. 1192 [838–1486], P = 0.10) than those reporting no reaction. At week 48, 46% of participants reported experiencing some form of PrEP-directed judgment, 23% reported being called “PrEP whore,” and 21% avoiding disclosing PrEP use. Conclusion Over 48 weeks, nearly half of participants reported some form of judgment or stigmatization as a consequence of PrEP use. However, individuals more frequently perceived positively framed reactions to being on PrEP than negative. Importantly, long-term PrEP adherence does not appear to suffer as a result of negative PrEP framing. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

Lethal and long-term effects of landfill leachate on Eisenia andrei earthworms: Behavior, reproduction and risk assessment

2021 ◽  
Vol 285 ◽  
pp. 112029
Author(s):  
Sidney Fernandes Sales Junior ◽  
Camille Ferreira Mannarino ◽  
Daniele Maia Bila ◽  
Cláudio Ernesto Taveira Parente ◽  
Fábio Veríssimo Correia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Landfill Leachate ◽  
Eisenia Andrei ◽  
Long Term Effects

scholarly journals Peripheral atherosclerosis and abdominal aortic aneurysm as a new risk factors of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with stable CAD receiving long-term antithrombotic therapy

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
V Korobkova ◽  
AL Komarov ◽  
OO Shakhmatova ◽  
MV Andreevskaya ◽  
EB Yarovaya ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Antithrombotic Therapy ◽  
Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding ◽  
Atherosclerotic Burden ◽  
Abdominal Aortic ◽  
Stable Cad ◽  
Upper Gastrointestinal

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) is the most common hemorrhagic complication in stable CAD patients receiving antithrombotic therapy. It seems that atherosclerotic burden may increase the overall bleeding frequency. However, this factor has never been taken into account with UGIB risk assessment. We aimed to assess the predictive value of atherosclerotic burden (peripheral atherosclerosis – PAD and abdominal aortic aneurysm - AAA) for UGIB in patients with stable CAD receiving long-term antithrombotic therapy. Patients and Methods. A single center prospective Registry of Long-term AnTithrombotic TherApy (REGATTA-1 NCT04347200) included 934 pts with stable CAD (78.6% males, median age 61 [IQR 53-68] yrs). 77,3 %  of patients received dual antiplatelet therapy due to recent PCI with a switch to aspirin monotherapy after 6 months. 17,6% of patients received aspirin only, 5,1 % of patients received oral anticoagulants because of concomitant atrial fibrillation. Risk assessment of UGIB was performed according to the 2015 European Society of Cardiology guidelines (we were not able to identify only Helicobacter pylori infection). Additional ultrasound screening for PAD (lower limbs and cerebrovascular beds) and AAA was applied. The primary outcome was any overt UGIB (BARC ≥2). Results  The frequency of PAD was 18,8%, AAA – 2,4%, PAD and/or AAA -  20,5%. In a total 2335 person-years of follow-up (median follow-up - 2,5 yrs, IQR 1,1 – 5.1), UGIB occurred in 51 patients (incidence at 1 year 1,9 per 100 patients).  The median time to first occurrence of UGIB was 72 [IQR 13-214] days. Comparing the Kaplan-Meyer curves, the UGIB developed three times more often in patients with coexisted PAD and/or AAA vs isolated CAD (19.8% vs 6.5%, Log-Rank p = 0.00006). The difference remains consisted in regression model taking in account 2015 ESC panel of UGIB risk factors (OR 3.4; CI 1.7–6.9, p = 0,0005). Conclusions Atherosclerotic burden (concomitant PAD and/or AAA) is an independent predictor of UGIB in patients with stable CAD receiving long-term antithrombotic therapy.

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