RCaN: a software for Chance and Necessity modelling

Uncertainty is a challenge in modelling ecological systems and has been a source of misunderstandings between modelers and non-modelers. The "Chance and Necessity" (CaN) modelling approach has been proposed to address this issue, in the case of trophic network modelling. CaN modelling focuses exploring food-web trajectories that can satisfy fundamental physical and biological laws, while being compatible with observations and domain knowledge. This type of approach can facilitate discussion among actors as it promotes sharing of information and does not presuppose any knowledge of modelling practices. It is therefore suitable for participatory modelling , i.e. a modelling approach in which different actors can confront their knowledge and understanding of the marine system and of the associated uncertainties. One important ingredient to achieve participatory modelling is the availability of a modelling platform that is efficient, fast and transparent, so that all actors can understand and follow the modelling steps and choices, and can rapidly visualize and discuss the results. But, until now, there existed no software to easily perform CaN modelling. Here, we present RCaN and RCaNconstructor. Combined, these provide the first tool to build CaN models in an intuitive way that is 1) suitable within participatory frameworks, 2) transparent, 4) computationally efficient, 5) fully documented through the provision of meta-information and 6) supportive of exploratory analyses through predefined graphical functions.

Invariance as a basis for necessity and laws

Many philosophers are baffled by necessity. Humeans, in particular, are deeply disturbed by the idea of necessary laws of nature. In this paper I offer a systematic yet down to earth explanation of necessity and laws in terms of invariance. The type of invariance I employ for this purpose generalizes an invariance used in meta-logic. The main idea is that properties and relations in general have certain degrees of invariance, and some properties/relations have a stronger degree of invariance than others. The degrees of invariance of highly-invariant properties are associated with high degrees of necessity of laws governing/describing these properties, and this explains the necessity of such laws both in logic and in science. This non-mysterious explanation has rich ramifications for both fields, including the formality of logic and mathematics, the apparent conflict between the contingency of science and the necessity of its laws, the difference between logical-mathematical, physical, and biological laws/principles, the abstract character of laws, the applicability of logic and mathematics to science, scientific realism, and logical-mathematical realism.

Mammalian intestinal allometry, phylogeny, trophic level and climate

An often-stated ecomorphological assumption that has the status of ‘textbook knowledge’ is that the dimensions of the digestive tract correlate with diet, where herbivores—consuming diets of lower digestibility—have longer intestinal tracts than faunivores—consuming diets of higher digestibility. However, statistical approaches have so far failed to demonstrate this link. Here, we collated data on the length of intestinal sections and body mass of 519 mammal species, and test for various relationships with trophic, climatic and other biological characteristics. All models showed a strong phylogenetic signal. Scaling relationships with body mass showed positive allometry at exponents greater than 0.33, except for the caecum, which is particularly large in smaller species. Body mass was more tightly linked to small intestine than to large intestine length. Adding a diet proxy to the relationships increased model fit for all intestinal sections, except for the small intestine when accounting for phylogeny. Thus, the diet has a main effect on the components of the large intestine, with longer measures in herbivores. Additionally, measures of habitat aridity had a positive relationship with large intestine length. The small intestine was longer in species from colder habitats at higher latitudes, possibly facilitating the processing of peak intake rates during the growing season. This study corroborates intuitive expectations on digestive tract anatomy, while the dependence of significant results on large sample sizes and inclusion of specific taxonomic groups indicates that the relationships cannot be considered fixed biological laws.

Analysis and assessment of the level of biological risks of activities of enterprises of the agro-industrial complex at the regional level

The article discusses the relevance of analyzing the level of biological risks from the point of view of activities of enterprises of the agro-industrial complex. Agro-industrial complex enterprises deal with living organisms (plants and animals), characterized by a development cycle closely related to natural and climatic conditions, and subordination to the biological laws of the functioning of living things. This is the reason for risks being specific only to this industry (biological, climatic, risks of seasonality of production, etc.). Biological risks are the undisputed leaders in this list, since they pose a threat to the life and health of people when using the products of agricultural enterprises. The authors consider biological threats of human infection when eating livestock products, since (unlike plants) humans and animals have a common group of diseases called zooanthroponosis. The analysis of studies and opinions of specialists in veterinary and sanitary examination, microbiology, epizootology, infectious diseases and epidemiology allowed to compile a list of biological risk factors, identify criteria for assessing the degree of risk, and conduct their quantitative and qualitative assessment at the regional level.

AGE AND GENDER DIFFERENCES IN GROWTH OF MASS, LENGTH AND WIDTH OF CALVARIA IN ONTOGENESIS OF ROMANOV BREED SHEEP

This article presents the results of scientific studies of morphometric indicators of calvary in the pre-and postnatal ontogenesis of Romanov breed sheep. Changes related to the sex of experimental animals were also studied. In order to detect general patterns of growth of calvari morphological parameters, the age stages of selecting material for research were determined: from a 2-month-old fetus to 12 months of postnatal life and from adult sheep 5-6 years old. We measured the mass, length and width of the studied material. The data obtained were subjected to statistical processing. The calvary maturity at each age in percentage, was determined. As a result of our studies, we were able to establish that the growth of linear indicators of calvary subjected to general biological laws of a decrease in its intensity with age, i.e. more rapidly, it proceeds in uterine development compared with postnatal. As for the changes in sex-related animals, it was found that growth of mass, length and width of calvary occurs in both sexes simultaneously and with almost the same intensity. In their growth, two decreases are observed: the first - before birth and the second - from 3 to 6 months. Throughout the entire periods of research, the calvary mass in females approaches its final value faster, and its length, on the contrary, in males. As for its width, in uterine development it grows somewhat faster than in females, and after birth in males. By one-year-old age of sheep, none of the calvari indicators in either males or females reaches its definitive state.

Effect of autumn feeding on dynamics of rectal congestion with excrement in carpathian breed honey bees

Basic biological laws that govern the life of the bee family, as well as considering it as a whole organism, are necessary instruments for implementing effective methods of beekeeping and increasing the productivity of the industry. The study of the exterior features of bees must be carried out from different points of view for the concept of the complex activity of the bee family and in order to recommend methods for improving the preparation of bees for winter. Study of the mass of working bees and their rectum began to be used as the main indicator that affects the nature of the preparation of bee individuals for wintering. From the point of view of both theory and practice, filling the rectum with excrement in the autumn period will be an important indicator of an effective wintering in terms of preserving and further developing bee colonies. Effect of two kinds of liquid top feeding acidified with apple cider vinegar on the rectum congestion with excrement in working bees in the autumn, and the safety of bee colonies after winter was discussed in the article. The results of the indicators of the mass of working bees and intestinal mass when feeding two types of top dressing in the form of sugar syrup and honey solution with the addition of apple cider vinegar for the purpose of acidification are presented. The dynamics of rectal congestion in this group of bees is less compared to the group of bees receiving food in the form of sugar syrup. After wintering, during the spring audit, it was found that the safety of bees fed the autumn top dressing in the form of a honey solution with the addition of apple cider vinegar was 95% compared to bee families that received sugar syrup, the safety was 80.5%, with the detection of liquid excrement on the walls of hives and honeycombs

Hydrodynamic justification of the movement of microorganisms in deep regions of the periodontal

Relevance. The relevance of the work is determined by the fact that the efforts of doctors seeking to minimize damage that occur against the background of infectious load and deformation of periodontal tissues do not lead to a decrease in the prevalence and intensity of periodontitis. At present, it is not known how the kinetics of microorganisms increases to the semen, allowing it to overcome the pressure of the gingival fluid that is filtered through periodontal fibers.Purpose. Since infection plays the main role in the occurrence and development of periodontitis, the aim of the work is to search for hydrodynamic mechanisms that complement the etiopathogenesis of periodontitis and explain the difficulties of its treatment.Materials and methods. The article discusses the existence of biota in film – static and plankton – dynamic forms. As a result of a review of literature data, it is proved that the transition of biota from one form to another is determined by a wide range of factors, the most relevant of which is the quality of the environment. Staying in a biota habitat optimal for life, it transforms into a planktonic form of existence, which allows it to colonize the deeper sections of the periodontium. Colonization of surfaces is possible by diffusion, i.e. leveling the concentration of microorganisms in available volumes of biological fluids. This aspect of the etiopathogenesis of periodontal diseases is called “hydrodynamic”. Separation of the hydrodynamic aspect allows us to consider the pressure gradient in the volume of the gingival sulcus as a factor determining the direction of filtration of biological fluids.Results. It was not possible to identify well known hydrodynamic mechanisms, that explain the possibility of microorganisms reaching the deep parts of the periodontium.Conclusion. The article presents arguments showing that biological laws linking the quality of the environment with the dynamics of increasing population numbers do not work in the area of the periodontal sulcus, or their action is blocked by laws of a different nature. Discussing the planktonic (dynamic) form of the existence of biota, based on the laws of hydrodynamics, taking into account the type of tooth movement, it becomes possible to substantiate the hydrodynamic mechanism of reaching the deep departments of periodontal biota, to clarify preventive and therapeutic measures aimed at reducing the incidence of periodontal diseases.

Not Observed Ontology

Two narratives – natural science and religious, intersect in the area of ​​unobserv­able ontology – an immaterial, transcendental, but real area that paradoxically exists outside and inside ordinary physical space-time. It is assumed that mathe­matical constructs, physical laws, physical constants, quantum objects, and even biological laws can be associated with this area. It is argued that physical laws are not invented by man, but are discovered, since they contain physical con­stants measured in special experimental works. Universal constants were not invented for reasons of convenience – physics accepts them as an inevitable con­sequence of the coincidence of the results of all special measurements. Observa­tional data are presented that indicate an extremely small change in fundamental constants or even their constancy over the entire time of the existence of the Uni­verse, although this interesting problem cannot be considered finally solved. The ontology of quantum objects is considered within the framework of Seval­nikov's polyiontic paradigm, according to which two modes are distinguished – potential and actual. The potential existence of quantum objects is described by the Schrödinger wave function, and the actual one appears during the transition from the spectrum of possible states to the only observable one. It is emphasized that potential being does not belong to the classical space, but is in an unobserv­able ontology. The observed state, on the contrary, is already in ordinary space – time and can be recorded by the device. This determines the existence of a spe­cial transcendental layer of reality, along with the material, which may indicate a certain duality in the structure of the Universe. Then it should be assumed that our Universe is not a universal, but a multiverse – a set of different worlds onto­logically having a different nature. In addition, the polyiontic paradigm leads to the idea that, at the quantum level, matter can be derived from information hid­den in an unobservable ontology.

Diagnostics of the manifestation of biological laws in animals

Rearing young farm animals in the early stages of postnatal ontogeny is a critical point. There are many aspects of theoretical and practical research on improving the safety and prevention of diseases of calves, but one of the main ones is a comprehensive knowledge of the morphofunctional and adaptive features of calves during the newborn period. To continue to exist in a modified environment is to maintain vital activity and some aspects of homeostasis that are characteristic of organisms of this species, this level of development of its nervous and hormonal mechanisms. When analyzing the incidence and death of calves, it was found that the transfer of calves from individual cells to General ones and the change of milk feeding to hay and mixed feed provokes the growth of diseases at the age of 10 days and older than one month (70%), and also dies at this age (58%). Morpho-physiological features of newborns are the impenetrability of the placenta of hoofed productive animals to the immunoglobulins of the mothers ’ blood. Nature has created a unique mechanism for receiving immunoglobulins in the body of newborn ungulates. After direct maternal immune protection during pregnancy ceases, nature replaces it with colostrum immune protection. To confirm and derive biological laws, the dynamics of immunoglobulins in the blood and colostrum of cows and pigs before and after childbirth were studied.