Recognizing animal personhood in compassionate conservation

Compassionate conservation is based on the ethical position that actions taken to protect biodiversity should be guided by compassion for all sentient beings. Critics argue that there are 3 core reasons harming animals is acceptable in conservation programs: the primary purpose of conservation is biodiversity protection; conservation is already compassionate to animals; and conservation should prioritize compassion to humans. We used argument analysis to clarify the values and logics underlying the debate around compassionate conservation. We found that objections to compassionate conservation are expressions of human exceptionalism, the view that humans are of a categorically separate and higher moral status than all other species. In contrast, compassionate conservationists believe that conservation should expand its moral community by recognizing all sentient beings as persons. Personhood, in an ethical sense, implies the individual is owed respect and should not be treated merely as a means to other ends. On scientific and ethical grounds, there are good reasons to extend personhood to sentient animals, particularly in conservation. The moral exclusion or subordination of members of other species legitimates the ongoing manipulation and exploitation of the living worlds, the very reason conservation was needed in the first place. Embracing compassion can help dismantle human exceptionalism, recognize nonhuman personhood, and navigate a more expansive moral space.

MRI with an atomic magnetometer suitable for practical imaging applications

Conventionally implemented MRI is performed in a strong magnetic field, typically >1T. The high fields, however, can lead to many limitations. To overcome these limitations, ultra-low field (ULF) [or microtesla] MRI systems have been proposed and implemented. To-date such systems rely on low-Tc Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUIDs) leading to the requirement of cryogens. In this letter, we report ULF-MRI obtained with a non-cryogenic atomic magnetometer. This demonstration creates opportunities for developing inexpensive and widely applicable MRI scanners.

Observation of power-Law scaling for phase transitions in linear trapped ion crystals

We report an experimental confirmation of the power-law relationship between the critical anisotropy parameter and ion number for the linear-to-zigzag phase transition in an ionic crystal. Our experiment uses laser cooled calcium ions confined in a linear radio-frequency trap. Measurements for up to ten ions are in good agreement with theoretical and numeric predictions. Implications on an upper limit to the size of data registers in ion trap quantum computers are discussed.

Glycosaminoglycan production and distribution in cloned B16 murine melanoma cell lines exhibiting different lung colony-forming efficiencies

Three cloned B16 murine melanoma cell lines were characterized with respect to their ability to a) detach from a plastic tissue culture substratum, b) form experimental pulmonary metastases, and c) produce and process glycosaminoglycans (GAGS). All three of the cell lines formed pulmonary metastases to different extents. Chondroitin sulfate and heparin-heparan sulfate were the major GAGS produced by all of the clones. Although the major compositional analyses of the cell lines were similar, some differences were apparent. The clone never selected for lung colony-forming efficiency and with the lowest metastatic potential (B16YL1) exhibited a reduced cell-associated glycosaminoglycan (GAG) matrix, shed the highest proportion of labeled GAGS into the medium, and was the most easily removed from the tissue culture substratum. In contrast, the other two cell lines (B16YM1 and B16YH1), derived from cultures selected for lung colony-forming efficiency, exhibited GAG-enriched cellular coats and were more resistant to EDTA-induced detachment from the plastic substratum. Both the B16YL1 and B16YM1 clones, which exhibited the lowest lung colony-forming efficiencies, shed an unsulfated chondroitin species into the extracellular fraction that was not evident in the most metastatic clone B16YH1. Despite these differences, cellular GAG matrix development and detachment from the plastic substratum showed only a partial correlation with lung colony-forming efficiency, presumably expressing the complexity of this biological phenomenon. Nonetheless, the findings suggest that GAGS may play an important role at several steps along the cascade of events leading to the successful dissemination of malignant cells.

Histologic factors affecting prognosis of pure seminoma of the testis

The histologic features of 92 cases of pure seminoma of the testis were reviewed in relation to the presence and degree of fibrosis, necrosis, granulomatous and lymphocytic reactions, interstitial cell hyperplasia, and lymphatic and/or vascular invasion associated with the primary tumor. No relationship between any of the histologic factors studied and survival was established.

Primary carcinoma of the female urethra

The clinical and morphological features in 81 cases of carcinoma of the female urethra were reviewed. The over-all 5 and 10-year survival rate for the entire group was 32 per cent. Survival expectations for patients with squamous carcinoma, transitional cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma were similar when analyzed according to stage and all cell types appeared to respond equally to irradiation. Prognosis was related directly to the clinical stage of the disease. A plea is made for more accurate assessment of the disease status. The high incidence of local recurrence noted for all forms of single modality therapy (46 to 64 per cent) suggests the need for clinical trials with combination preoperative irradiation followed by definitive surgical procedures.

Anaplastic seminoma

The clinical and morphological features of 7 cases of anaplastic seminoma are reviewed. Although this tumor appears to behave more aggressively than classical seminoma, presenting with earlier metastases, it has the same prognosis when staging is taken into consideration. Radiotherapy remains the treatment of choice.