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Aristotle is often named as the first zoologist or biologist because of his writings on animals. Although Aristotle's major intention in these books was to illustrate his ideas of how knowledge and understanding might advance, at least one modern biologist (C. Darwin) has recognized Aristotle's depth and breadth as being of surviving merit. Of greater surprise is the ongoing attention that his works continue to receive, including publications in contemporary scientific journals. This review identifies 38 peer-reviewed papers on various topics from Aristotle's biological writings that have been published during the last 50 years. These papers are described according to content (genetics, population biology, anatomy, brain, movement), specific creatures (fish, scorpions, elephants, insects, birds), publication outlet, distribution over the fifty year period surveyed, and visible trends in the topics studied. It is concluded that, in the highly-competitive field of peer-reviewed scientific publication and citation, Aristotle's biology continues to excite the interest of scientists and remains salient to modern science itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Open droplet microfluidic systems manipulate droplets on the picolitre-to-microlitre scale in an open environment. They combine the compartmentalization and control offered by traditional droplet-based microfluidics with the accessibility and ease-of-use of open microfluidics, bringing unique advantages to applications such as combinatorial reactions, droplet analysis and cell culture. Open systems provide direct access to droplets and allow on-demand droplet manipulation within the system without needing pumps or tubes, which makes the systems accessible to biologists without sophisticated setups. Furthermore, these systems can be produced with simple manufacturing and assembly steps that allow for manufacturing at scale and the translation of the method into clinical research. This Review introduces the different types of open droplet microfluidic system, presents the physical concepts leveraged by these systems and highlights key applications., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

Osteoclasts are the primary target for osteoporosis drug development. Recent animal studies revealed the crucial roles of osteoblasts in regulating osteoclastogenesis and the longer lifespans of osteoclasts than previously thought with fission and recycling. However, existing culture platforms are limited to replicating these newly identified cellular processes. We report a demineralized bone paper (DBP)-based osteoblast culture and osteoclast assay platform that replicates osteoclast fusion, fission, resorption, and apoptosis with high fidelity and analytical power. An osteoid-inspired DBP supports rapid and structural mineral deposition by osteoblasts. Coculture osteoblasts and bone marrow monocytes under biochemical stimulation recapitulate osteoclast differentiation and function. The DBP-based bone model allows longitudinal quantitative fluorescent monitoring of osteoclast responses to bisphosphonate drug, substantiating significantly reducing their number and lifespan. Finally, we demonstrate the feasibility of humanizing the bone model. The DBP-based osteo assay platforms are expected to advance bone remodeling-targeting drug development with improved prediction of clinical outcomes. Here, authors report demineralized bone paper-based in vitro osteogenic culture and assay platforms that replicate essential bone tissue complexity, osteoclast processes, and drug responses with high fidelity and predictive power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three laccases, a natural form and two recombinant forms obtained from two different expression hosts, were characterized and compared for paper pulp bleaching. Laccase from Pycnoporus cinnabarinus, a well known lignolytic fungus, was selected as a reference for this study. The corresponding recombinant laccases were produced in Aspergillus oryzae and A. niger hosts using the lacI gene from P. cinnabarinus to develop a production process without using the expensive laccase inducers required by the native source. In flasks, production of recombinant enzymes by Aspergilli strains gave yields close to 80 mg l-1. Each protein was purified to homogeneity and characterized, demonstrating that the three hosts produced proteins with similar physico-chemical properties, including electron paramagnetic resonance spectra and N-terminal sequences. However, the recombinant laccases have higher Michaelian (Km) constants, suggesting a decrease in substrate/enzyme affinity in comparison with the natural enzyme. Moreover, the natural laccase exhibited a higher redox potential (around 810 mV), compared with A. niger (760 mV) and A. oryzae (735 mV). Treatment of wheat straw Kraft pulp using laccases expressed in P. cinnabarinus or A. niger with 1-hydroxybenzotriazole as redox mediator achieved a delignification close to 75%, whereas the recombinant laccase from A. oryzae was not able to delignify pulp. These results were confirmed by thioacidolysis. Kinetic and redox potential data and pulp bleaching results were consistent, suggesting that the three enzymes are different and each fungal strain introduces differences during protein processing (folding and/or glycosylation). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the field of bionics has attracted the attention of numerous scholars. Some models combined with biological vision have achieved excellent performance in computer vision and image processing tasks. In this paper, we propose a new bio-inspired lightweight contour detection network (BLCDNet) by combining parallel processing mechanisms of bio-visual information with convolutional neural networks. The backbone network of BLCDNet simulates the parallel pathways of ganglion cell–lateral geniculate nucleus and primary visual cortex (V1) area, realizing parallel processing and step-by-step extraction of input information, effectively extracting local features and detailed features in images, and thus improving the overall performance of the model. In addition, we design a depth feature extraction module combining depth separable convolution and residual connection in the decoding network to integrate the output of the backbone network, which further improves the performance of the model. We conducted a large number of experiments on BSDS500 and NYUD datasets, and the experimental results show that the BLCDNet proposed in this paper achieves the best performance compared with traditional methods and previous biologically inspired contour detection methods. In addition, BLCDNet still outperforms some VGG-based contour detection methods without pre-training and with fewer parameters, and it is competitive among all of them. The research in this paper also provides a new idea for the combination of biological vision and convolutional neural networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents the abstracts of papers at the Conference of Young Scientists, Kol'tsov Institute of Developmental Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, Russia, on December 8, 2004.

Daniel J. Nicholson and John Dupré's edited collection of papers in I Everything Flows: Towards a Processual Philosophy of Biology i is an excellent example of the skillful sampling of an on-going approach in philosophy of science. Everything flows: towards a processual philosophy of biology. I especially warmly recommend it to those philosophers exposed chiefly to the standard topics and approaches in philosophy of biology and in philosophy of science more generally. [Extracted from the article]

Several tables are presented that highlight the primary research papers on reproductive biology published between 2005 and 2007 that have the highest number of citations in the literature including the role of soluble endoglin in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia, the pluripotency of spermatogenial stem cells from adult mouse testis and prevalence and characteristics of the metabolic syndrome in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Food security relies mainly on a few major crop species such as wheat, maize and rice, cassava and yam. Many of the cultivated plant species such as Tigernut (Cyperus exculentus) are still considered invasive plants and are neglected and underutilized. However, they may play a crucial role in food security, nutrition, and income generation among poor rural people. In the perspective to valorization of the species, this systematic review aimed at identifying the biology, production constraints and uses of tigernut for future research directions. Extensive searches were carried out and studies were screened and extracted using established systematic review methods. A total of 175 papers from Africa, America, Asia, and Europe met the inclusion criteria. Thematic synthesis was used to synthesis data and findings are presented under three framework aspects. Approximately 52% of the studies were undertaken in Europe while 21.71% were undertaken in Africa. Most of the papers reviewed for the study were published between [2010 and 2015]. The results highlighted the critical research gaps in ecology, plant demography, genetic diversity using SSR makers, genomics and evolutionary biology. Further, production constraints and solution approaches for the conservation and promotion of the species were the other gaps identified in the reviewed studies. Production constraints were specifically related to the insufficient mineral fertilizers, difficult in harvesting and post-harvest losses. Tigernut is used in more fields such as food, medicinal, cosmetic, biofuel and fishing and fish breeding. Such investigations would help in decision-making and elaboration of breeding strategies, and advancing steps towards sustainable use and the valorization of the species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Space and time, which should properly be taken conjointly, are both communicatively produced and created with certain contextual perspectives—they are not independent physical entities. The standpoint of production makes the relationship between space and time comprehensible. They can either be mental-subjective, physical-objective, or social-intersubjective. Social and intersubjective (or E-series) spacetime might shed new light on biological thinking. For general readers, this paper provides a clue regarding an alternative conceptualization of spacetime based on biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a study of basic population parameters of the black scorpionfish caught in the waters of the coasts of the Crimean Peninsula, its grown rate, and its nutritional spectrum. The modern food supply of scorpionfish from the southeastern part differs from that in 1940–1950: in the Sevastopol region, scorpionfish mainly consume fish, and in the waters of Feodosia they consume crustaceans. The main changes in food items, depending on the fish age, are associated with the components—decapods and fish. In the southeastern part of Crimea, small fish species predominate in the diet of scorpionfish, which affected the higher growth rate of the object studied. Black scorpionfish at the age of 6 years and older in these waters consume mainly decapods. In Sevastopol waters, the diet does not change significantly depending on age, so the fish component in the stomach of black scorpionfish of older age groups cause it to grow faster. However, no significant differences in the growth rate of fish from the two areas were obtained. The data presented in the paper on the physical and chemical parameters of water, as well as the distribution of bottom aquatic vegetation in the two main study areas, demonstrate small differences in the quality of the environment and are satisfactory for the bottom predator studied. The average age of the scorpionfish from Karadag was 5.9 years old, the most numerous age group was 4 years; the average age of individuals from the water area was 3.72, and the most numerous age group was 3 years. In the Sevastopol region, scorpionfish up to 5 years of age are larger than in the Feodosia region, and from 6 years of age it is the other way around. Despite this, the condition factor of fish from the waters of southeastern Crimea was higher in most cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes recent attempts to reject reproduction with lineage formation as a necessary condition for evolution by means of natural selection (Bouchard in Philos Sci 75(5):560–570, 2008; Stud Hist Philos Sci Part C Stud Hist Philos Biol Biomed Sci 42(1):106–114, 2011; Bourrat in Biol Philos 29(4):517–538, 2014; Br J Philos Sci 66(4):883–903, 2015; Charbonneau in Philos Sci 81(5):727–740, 2014; Doolittle and Inkpen in Proc Natl Acad Sci 115(16):4006–4014, 2018). Building on the strengths of these attempts and avoiding their pitfalls, it is argued that a robust formulation of evolution by natural selection without reproduction can be established. The main contribution of this paper is a reformulation of Lewontin's three principles (Lewontin in Annu Rev Ecol Syst 1:1–18, 1970) stating that minimal evolution by natural selection occurs when two conditions are met in a population: fitness-related variation and memory (population-level inheritance). Paradigmatic evolution by natural selection, which can generate adaptations, takes place when an additional condition is present, namely regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calls for research papers on the role of arabidopsis in modern biology.

Addressing the challenges facing society and the world will require an understanding of the biases and limitations of science. To combat these challenges, here, we advocate for the incorporation of ideologically aware (IA) material into postsecondary biology curricula. IA materials communicate to students how biases, assumptions, and stereotypes inform approaches to and outcomes of science. By engaging with IA materials, student awareness of the impact of science on social problems is expected to increase. In this paper, we situate this IA approach with two other pedagogical approaches that incorporate societally relevant content: culturally relevant pedagogy and socioscientific issues. We then call for research to test ways of supporting instructor implementation of IA material, to evaluate the impact of IA topics on student academic and sociopsychological outcomes, and to explore how to implement IA material in different cultural and social settings. Throughout, we focus on IA topics in the context of postsecondary biology classrooms but encourage the incorporation of IA materials across scientific disciplines and educational settings. Our hope is that greater inclusion of IA materials will create more transparent, scientifically accurate, and inclusive classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I explore the nature of medical interventions like neuromodulation on the complex human experience of love. Love is built upon two fundamental natures, viz: the biological and the psychosocial. As a result of this distinction, scientists, and bioethicists have been exploring the possible ways this complex human experience can be biologically tampered with to produce some supposed higher-order ends like well-being and human flourishing. At the forefront in this quest are Earp, Sandberg and Savulescu whose research works over ten years has focused on the good that could stem from the medicalization of love. I acknowledge the various criticisms that have been made against this stance. However, most of these criticisms have been directed towards the mere side effects and sociocultural disservices that could result from the process of using drugs to influence human romantic relationships and in the end, critiques endorse the medicalization of love on the basis that its benefits outweigh the disadvantages. Consequently, I advance two strands of arguments against "medically-assisted love," the ontological and the socio-ethical arguments. The former presupposes that beyond the possible side effects of medicalizing love there is something inherently mistaken about this effort and there is something intrinsically different about love that distinguishes it from its medically-engineered alternative. In the latter argument, I claim that drug interventions in romantic love contravene the very nature of medicine. Overall, I believe that critiques were still able to endorse medicalizing love despite their objections because they were only looking at one direction, the physical/cultural complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an old attempt to divide the sciences into sciences of laws and the historical sciences. More recently, John Beatty has drawn the distinction so that biology is a historical science and urged that there are no genuinely biological laws. This paper shows that there are indeed biological laws, specifically statistical ones, notably in evolutionary theory. Moreover, all or almost all other areas of biology involve laws as well. Even history involves laws. Finally, the paper shows that this pervasiveness of laws is compatible with the most basic commitments of those who, like Beatty, would claim that biology is only historical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe a graduate course in quantitative biology that is based on original path-breaking papers in diverse areas of biology; each of these papers depends on quantitative reasoning and theory as well as experiment. Close reading and discussion of these papers allows students with backgrounds in physics, computational sciences or biology to learn essential ideas and to communicate in the languages of disciplines other than their own. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Angiopoietin4(ANGPT4) which plays a significant role in endothelial cell proliferation, survival, angiogenesis and expansion in tumors and other pathological states is a significant regulator of tumor angiogenesis. ANGPT4 expression is enhanced in many cancer cells. For example, the overexpression of ANGPT4 promotes the formation, development and progress of lung adenocarcinoma, glioblastoma and ovarian cancer. Related studies show that ANGPT4 encourages the proliferation, survival and invasion of tumor cells, while promoting the expansion of the tumor vascular system and affecting the tumor immune microenvironment. ANGPT4 can also promote carcinogenesis by affecting the ERK1/2, PI3K/AKT and other signal pathways downstream of tyrosine kinase with immunoglobulin-like and EGF-like domains 2(TIE2) and TIE2. Therefore, ANGPT4 may be a potential and significant biomarker for predicting malignant tumor progression and adverse outcomes. In addition, inhibition of ANGPT4 may be a meaningful cancer treatment. This paper reviews the latest research results of ANGPT4 in preclinical research, and emphasizes its role in carcinogenesis. Additional research on the carcinogenic function of ANGPT4 could provide new insights into cancer biology and novel methods for cancer diagnosis and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2000, a controversial article about hormones and gender roles was published to stimulate debate about whether and how biological knowledge should be integrated in sociological research. Two decades later, this so-called biosociology debate is more relevant than ever, as biological knowledge has become widespread across societies and scientific disciplines. Hence, we as sociologists are regularly confronted with biological explanations that challenge our own explanations. Whether this happens in the scientific arena, the classroom, media, or even at social events, these situations often force us, individually, to take a stance on whether to meet such explanations with dialogue or opposition. One could therefore expect that sociologists have an interest in discussing these issues with their peers, but their lack of participation in the biosociology debate suggests otherwise. This paper explores possible reasons for this absence and how sociologists' views on biosociology are influenced by key agents – sociological associations and journals. Smith's "A Sacred project of American Sociology", and Scott's "A Sociology of Nothing" served as theoretical tools in the paper. A qualitative content analysis of presidential addresses of four sociological associations was conducted. The analyses suggest that sociologist avoid biosociology for widely different reasons, including fear that biosociology legitimizes oppression. This avoidance is probably reinforced by the leftish politization of the sociological discipline and the rightish politization of society. Overcoming obstacles to engagement in biosociology is required to safeguard the scientific integrity of sociology and enable sociologists to provide relevant contributions to research on the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research focuses on BioScientist, a digital game-based, inquiry-based learning program embedded in the biology curriculum that develops inquiry skills in 8th-grade students. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate a combination of elements of digital game-based learning (DGBL) with inquiry-based learning (IBL) through BioScientist and to report on its implementation. We examined whether inquiry skills and biology learning motivation change due to BioScientist. A total of 257 eighth graders participated in the research (Nexp. = 132, Ncontrol = 125). Students in the experimental group used BioScientist at home and in the classroom. The teachers in the control group did not change their teaching practices. Students' inquiry skills were measured using the Inquiry Skills Test, and their biology learning motivation was measured using the Biology Motivation Questionnaire II. The experimental group and teachers were asked to evaluate BioScientist. The results indicated BioScientist digital game is suitable for developing inquiry skills, with the effect size being close to medium (Cohen's d = 0.46). However, biology learning motivation was not developed. Student feedback on the BioScientist game and its use for learning is favourable. Based on the teachers' responses, BioScientist can be used well in teaching biology. This research provides evidence that combining elements of digital game-based and inquiry-based learning is effective in developing inquiry skills. The game can be effectively integrated into the teaching practice, in line with the content of the biology curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editors discuss the theme of the issue biology and ecology of aquatic organisms.

This paper is devoted to the study of existence and uniqueness of a mild solution for a parabolic equation with conformable derivative. The nonlocal problem for parabolic equations appears in many various applications, such as physics, biology. The first part of this paper is to consider the well-posedness and regularity of the mild solution. The second one is to investigate the existence by using Banach fixed point theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses two case studies to explore an interest-relative view of taxonomy and how it complements kind pluralism in biology. First, I consider the ABC island bear, which can be correctly classified into more than one species. I argue that this classificatory pluralism can be explained by reference to the range of alternative explanatory interests in biology. In the second half of the paper, I pursue an interest-relative view of classification more generally. I then apply the resultant view to a second case study: whether whales are fish. I argue that this question is not one about scientific vs folk usage, as has been assumed. I also develop a new view: that Fish should be rejected as a category, both from the point of view of biological science, and from the point of view of folk taxonomy. Along the way, I use the interest-relative view to shed light on the circumstances under which higher taxa should be accepted as legitimate categories for biological science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We reflect on how far we have come while looking forward to the next phase of our journey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zwart uses Hegel's dialectical method to develop a dialectical methodology for assessing biology as technoscience during the Anthropocene. In this paper I will evaluate this use of Hegelian dialectics in biology. I will first elaborate the meaning of Hegel's method of "Dialectics". This helps me to evaluate Zwart's dialectical scientific methodology from the perspective of Hegel's method of "Dialectics" and to evaluate Zwart's dialectical scientific methodology from the perspective of the praxis of biology. Finally, I will oppose Zwart's claim that the synthetic cell is an appropriate case study to demonstrate the relevance of dialectics for understanding contemporary biological research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the rapid publication of authors' results for primary journal dedicated to biotechnology. All relevant aspects of genetics and cell biochemistry, of process and reactor design, of pre- and post-treatment steps, and of manufacturing or service operations are included in the publication.

Acid rain and acidification research are indeed a multidisciplinary field. This field evolved from the first attempts to mitigate acid freshwater in the 1920s, then linking acid rain to the acidification in late 1950s, to the broad project-concepts on cause and effect from the late 1960s. Three papers from 1974, 1976 and 1988 demonstrate a broad approach and comprise scientific areas from analytical chemistry, biochemistry, limnology, ecology, physiology and genetics. Few, if any, environmental problems have led to a public awareness, political decisions and binding limitations as the story of acid rain. Acid precipitation and acidification problems still exist, but at a lower pressure, and liming has been reduced accordingly. However, the biological responses in the process of recovery are slow and delayed. The need for basic science, multidisciplinary studies, long time series of high-quality data, is a legacy from the acid rain era, and must form the platform for all future environmental projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil harbors a huge diversity of microorganisms and serves as the ecological and social foundation of human civilization. Hence, soil health management is of utmost and consistent importance, aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. One of the most hazardous contaminants in soil matrix is potentially toxic elements (PTEs), which can cause stress in soil indigenous microorganisms and severely jeopardize soil health. Biochar technology has emerged as a promising means to alleviate PTE toxicity and benefit soil health management. Current literature has broadly integrated knowledge about the potential consequences of biochar-amended soil but has focused more on the physical and chemical responses of the soil system than microbiological attributes. In consideration of the indispensable roles of soil microbials, this paper first introduces PTE-induced stresses on soil microbials and then proposes the mechanisms of biochar's effects on soil microbials. Finally, microbial responses including variations in abundance, interspecific relationships, community composition and biological functions in biochar-amended soil are critically reviewed. This review thus aims to provide a comprehensive scientific view on the effect of biochar on soil microbiological health and its management. Highlights: Sketched a mechanistic overview of PTE-induced stress towards soil microorganisms. Demonstrated a synopsis of biochar impacts on soil microbiota from both direct and indirect pathways. Discussed the development prospects of biochar technology aiming for a healthier agro-ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between biology and the psy disciplines (psychology, psychiatry, and psychotherapy) is a complex one. Many scholars have criticized how these disciplines have been biologized in the 20th century, especially since the emergence of psychopharmacology, neuroscience, and genetic research. However, biology is not just a laboratory-based science of chemical compounds, scanners, and DNA sequencing, but also a field science based on observations of organisms in their milieus. In this paper, we draw a contrast between laboratory-based biology with a focus on brains and genes, and an ecology-based biology with a focus on lives and niches. Our argument is philosophical in nature – building partly on Wittgenstein as a "philosopher of life" – to the effect that the psy sciences need not just less biologization of the former kind, but also more biologization of the latter kind to avoid a prevalent mentalism. Not least when it comes to an understanding of psychological distress, which can favorably be viewed situationally and coupled to human lives in ecological niches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historical explanations in evolutionary biology are commonly characterized as narrative explanations. Examples include explanations of the evolution of particular traits and explanations of macroevolutionary transitions. In this paper I present two case studies of explanations in accounts of pathogen evolution and host-pathogen coevolution, respectively, and argue that one of them is captured well by established accounts of time-sequenced narrative explanation. The other one differs from narrative explanations in important respects, even though it shares some characteristics with them as it is also a population-level historical explanation. I thus argue that the second case represents a different kind of explanation that I call historical explanation of type phenomena. The main difference between the two kinds of explanation is the conceptualization of the explanandum phenomena as particulars or type phenomena, respectively. Narrative explanations explain particulars but also deal with generalization, regularities and type phenomena. Historical explanations of type phenomena, on the other hand, explain multiply realizable phenomena but also deal with particulars. The two kinds of explanation complement each other because they explain different aspects of evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents instructions to authors planning to publish papers at the "Microbiology" journal. Journal's publishing of papers about experimental work in general, geological, aquatic, agricultural and industrial microbiology; Requirements for the publication of manuscript; Requirements for the electronic version of the paper.

In evolutionary medicine, researchers characterize some outcomes as evolutionary mismatch. Mismatch problems arise as the result of organisms living in environments to which they are poorly adapted, typically as the result of some rapid environmental change. Depression, anxiety, obesity, myopia, insomnia, breast cancer, dental problems, and numerous other negative health outcomes have all been characterized as mismatch problems. The exact nature of evolutionary mismatch itself is unclear, however. This leads to a lack of clarity about the sorts of problems that evolutionary mismatch can actually explain. Resolving this challenge is important not only for the evolutionary health literature, but also because the notion of evolutionary mismatch involves central concepts in evolutionary biology: fitness, evolution in changing environments, and so forth. In this paper, I examine two characterizations of mismatch currently in the literature. I propose that we conceptualize mismatch as a relation between an optimal environment and an actual environment. Given an organism and its particular physiology, the optimal environment is the environment in which the organism's fitness is maximized: in other words, the optimal environment is that in which the organism's fitness is as high as it can possibly be. The actual environment is the environment in which the organism actually finds itself. To the extent that there is a discordance between the organism's actual and optimal environments, there is an evolutionary mismatch. In the paper, I show that this account of mismatch gives us the right result when other accounts fail, and provides useful targets for investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The German-born American Gunther S. Stent (1924–2008) was a refugee from Nazi Germany. He studied in the United States, was a follower of Max Delbrück, and became a member of the phage group. He researched DNA replication and RNA transcription and translation, and made contributions to neurobiology. He loved paradoxes and was a great communicator and a philosopher of science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the explanatory term "scaffold" has been gaining prominence in evolutionary biology. This notion has a long history in other areas, in particular, developmental psychology. In this paper, we connect these two traditions and identify a specific type of explanatory strategy shared between them, namely scaffolding explanations. We offer a new definition of "scaffold" anchored in the explanatory practices of evolutionary biologists and developmental psychologists that has yet to be clearly articulated. We conclude by offering a systematic overview of the various dimensions of scaffolding explanations that further suggests both their usefulness and range of application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface area measurement is a common component of benthic research, especially in the quantification of chlorophyll. Multiple techniques are available and 10 are described: artificial substrates, area-specific sampling, geometric approximation, stone shape equations, foil wrapping, grids, stamps, wetted layer, particle layer, and planar area measurement. A literature search of 130 papers indicated the most common methods: using artificial substrates of known area, subsampling a specific area using a template or sampler, measuring stone dimensions and using an equation to derive area, and using the weight of foil wrapped on stones. Methods were compared using spheres of known area, smooth and rough granite stones, and plastic macrophytes. Most methods produced highly correlated measurements and accurately estimated surface area. The wetted layer method was sensitive to stone roughness and plant complexity, but may overestimate the area of complex surfaces. Replication of one method by 10 biologists indicated that individual differences in technique can affect surface area values. Factors to consider in choosing an appropriate method include ease of use, characteristics of the substrates (e.g., porosity and flexibility), fineness of scale in measuring area, and whether methods must be field-based or can include laboratory techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider a nonlocal semi-linear parabolic equation on a connected exterior domain of the form R N \ K , where K ⊂ R N is a compact "obstacle". The model we study is motivated by applications in biology and takes into account long range dispersal events that may be anisotropic depending on how a given population perceives the environment. To formulate this in a meaningful manner, we introduce a new theoretical framework which is of both mathematical and biological interest. The main goal of this paper is to construct an entire solution that behaves like a planar travelling wave as t → - ∞ and to study how this solution propagates depending on the shape of the obstacle. We show that whether the solution recovers the shape of a planar front in the large time limit is equivalent to whether a certain Liouville type property is satisfied. We study the validity of this Liouville type property and we extend some previous results of Hamel, Valdinoci and the authors. Lastly, we show that the entire solution is a generalised transition front. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the biggest problems in applications of animal welfare science is our ability to make comparisons between different individuals, both within and across species. Although welfare science provides methods for measuring the welfare of individual animals, there's no established method for comparing measures between individuals. In this paper I diagnose this problem as one of underdetermination—there are multiple conclusions given the data, arising from two sources of variation that we cannot distinguish: variation in the underlying target variable (welfare experience) and in the relationship of measured indicators to the target. I then describe some of the possible methods of making comparisons, based on the use of similarity assumptions that will have greater or lesser justification in different circumstances, and the alternative methods we may use when direct comparisons are not possible. In the end, all our available options for making welfare comparisons are imperfect, and we need to make explicit context-specific decisions about which will be best for the task at hand while acknowledging their potential limitations. Future developments in our understanding of the biology of sentience will help strengthen our methods of making comparisons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

10.1007/s10340-022-01579-0 8 Chen W. Cold storage effects on biological parameters of Telenomus remus, a promising egg parasitoid of Spodoptera frugiperda, reared on Spodoptera litura eggs. 10.1007/s10340-023-01626-4 4 Chatterjee D, Lesko T, Peiffer M, Elango D, Beuzelin J, Felton GW, Chopra S. Sorghum and maize flavonoids are detrimental to growth and survival of fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda. The natural control agents of the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda in Togo: moderating insecticide applications for natural control of the pest? The fall armyworm (FAW), I Spodoptera frugiperda i (JE Smith, 1797) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is known to feed on more than 350 plant species, including those that are important sources of food (e.g., sorghum, rice, and maize), fiber (e.g., cotton), and fodder (e.g., grasses). [Extracted from the article]

In this paper, we propose a generalization for fuzzy graphs in order to model reactive systems with fuzziness. As we will show, the resulting fuzzy structure, called fuzzy reactive graphs (FRG), is able to model dynamical aspects of some entities which generally appear in: biology, computer science and some other fields. The dynamical aspect is captured by a transition function which updates the values of the graph after an edge has been crossed. The update process takes into account aggregation functions. The paper proposes a notion for bisimulation for such graphs and briefly shows how modal logic can be used to verify properties of systems modeled with FSGs. The paper closes with a toy example in the field of Biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aristotelian naturalism (AN) holds that the norms governing the human will are special instances of a broader type of normativity that is also found in other living things: natural goodness and natural defect. Both critics and defenders of AN have tended to focus on the thorny issues that are specific to human beings. But some philosophers claim that AN faces other difficulties, arguing that its broader conception of natural normativity is incompatible with current biological science. This paper has three aims. First, we consider a distinctive and nuanced critique of AN's general understanding of natural normativity put forward by Tim Lewens. Second, after giving a defense of AN, we explore and evaluate Lewens' proposed alternative view—Kantian projectivism about life forms. We present a problem for Kantian projectivism and suggest reasons for thinking that AN is, after all, the superior position. Finally, we clarify and explain how AN's claims about life forms and our knowledge of them, relate to empirical observation and to contemporary biological science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades, the range of the desert wheatear has expanded and the species has started breeding in northwestern Kazakhstan. There are, however, almost no studies on the breeding biology of this northwesternmost population. In this paper, we provided data on the breeding biology and space use of the desert wheatear near the village of Isatai, Atyrau Region, Kazakhstan. In 2012–2016, no fewer than 17 breeding pairs bred each year as a dense settlement next to Isatai within a 650 × 470 m plot. The local density was thus 0.55 pairs per ha, and the distance between the neighboring pairs was usually less than 100 m. Such dense settlements seem to be unusual for the desert wheatear in Kazakhstan. We assume that the local features of limited cattle grazing may have caused the formation of this dense settlement. At the same time, the habitat and nest site selections, as well as the breeding phenology, of the desert wheatear in the vicinity of Isatai are generally the same as in southern Kazakhstan (i.e., in the central part of the species' range). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper asks when a natural disease kind is truly ‘reactive’ and when it is merely associated with a corresponding social kind. I begin with a permissive account of real kinds and their structure, distinguishing natural kinds, indifferent kinds and reactive kinds as varieties of real kind characterised by super-explanatory properties. I then situate disease kinds within this framework, arguing that many disease kinds prima facie are both natural and reactive. I proceed to distinguish ‘simple dependence’, ‘secondary dependence’ and ‘essential dependence’ between a natural kind and its classification, and argue that a natural kind is only really reactive, in an important sense, under conditions of essential dependence. On this basis, I offer a principled hypothesis for why psychiatric kinds may be more metaphysically unstable than paradigm somatic disease kinds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to Kant, the division of the categories "is not the result of a search after pure concepts undertaken at haphazard," but is derived from the "complete" classification of judgments developed by traditional logic. However, the sorts of judgments that he enumerates in his table of judgments are not all ones that traditional logic has dealt with; consequently, we must say that he chose the sorts of judgments in question with a certain intention. Besides, we know that his choice of judgments and categories is strongly influenced by certain views of natural science that he fully accepts. For this reason, his argumentations are sometimes seriously inconsistent. As to Kant's argumentations of categories, many problems have already been pointed out, but in this paper, I take up the categories of quantity and quality once more, and make clear his argumentations' hidden logic and its distortion from the point of view of the history of logic and natural science. First, I confirm that there are non-negligible problems in his explanation to the effect that his derivation of the categories of quantity and quality is based on the quantity and quality of judgments. Next, I reconsider the meaning of his treating the categories of quantity and quality as pure concepts of the understanding. Finally, I conclude that by having recourse to the categories of quantity and quality Kant tried unjustly to apriorize the distinction between the "extensive magnitude" and "intensive magnitude" that has a long formational history since Aristotle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various topics featured within the issue including the philosophy of language, general philosophy of science and philosophy of biology.

The field of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Informatics (BDEI) brings together computer scientists, biologists, natural resource managers, and others who wish to solve real-world challenges while advancing the underlying ecological, computer, and information sciences. The potential for synergies among these disciplines is high, because our need to understand complex, ecosystem-scale processes requires the solution to many groundbreaking technological problems. Fortunately, we are beginning to see increased support for applied computer science and information technology research in the context of environmental problem-solving. In July, 2001, the National Science Foundation (NSF), in collaboration with the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), invited proposals for high-risk, small-scale planning and incubation activities to catalyze innovation and rapid advances in this new research community. The papers included in this special issue are selected, peer-reviewed summaries from principal investigators involved in this first NSF BDEI effort. These papers provide an overview of this emerging area and remind us that computer and information science and engineering play a crucial role in creating the technologies from which advances in the natural sciences evolve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents various articles published in the journal for the past decade. The first year of the publication of the journal which was in 1999 featured the article which tackles vigorous hybrids of landscape and traditional ecosystem ecology. Meanwhile in 1998 an article which evaluated approaches used for landscape pattern analysis had become the most highly article. Moreover, in 2002 an article was also published which analyzed the effects of exotic plant invasion on soil nutrient cycles.

This article presents information about the International Conference on Coelenterate Biology. All but one of the contributions on neurobiology were part of a symposium on that subject. Three of the five presentations made in the session on Pioneers in Coelenterate Biology are published here. The symposium has its own introduction, which summarizes the contents of the 15 papers presented in it, and highlights the variability in coelenterates that makes them so interesting and challenging to study. Papers deal with pattern formation both within individuals and in the colonies that many of our marvelously varied animals form.

In 1919 the Animal Breeding Research Department was established in Edinburgh. This Department, later renamed the Institute of Animal Genetics, forged an international reputation, eventually becoming the centrepiece of a cluster of new genetics research units and institutions in Edinburgh after the Second World War. Yet despite its significance for institutionalising animal genetics research in the UK, the origins and development of the Department have not received as much scholarly attention as its importance warrants. This paper sheds new light on Edinburgh’s place in early British genetics by drawing upon recently catalogued archival sources including the papers of James Cossar Ewart, Regius Professor of Natural History at the University of Edinburgh between 1882 and 1927. Although presently a marginal figure in genetics historiography, Ewart established two sites for experimental animal breeding work between 1895 and 1911 and played a central role in the founding of Britain’s first genetics lectureship, also in 1911. These early efforts helped to secure government funding in 1913. However, a combination of the First World War, bureaucratic problems and Ewart’s personal ambitions delayed the creation of the Department and the appointment of its director by another six years. This paper charts the institutionalisation of animal breeding and genetics research in Edinburgh within the wider contexts of British genetics and agriculture in the early twentieth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gene celB encoding an endoglucanase from Paenibacillus sp. BP-23 was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The nucleotide sequence of a 4161 bp DNA fragment containing the celB gene was determined, revealing an open reading frame of 2991 nucleotides that encodes a protein of 106,927 Da. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence of endoglucanase B with known β-glycanase sequences showed that the encoded enzyme is a modular protein and exhibits high homology to enzymes belonging to family 9 cellulases. The celB gene product synthesized in E. coli showed high activity on carboxymethyl cellulose and lichenan while low activity was found on Avicel. Activity was enhanced in the presence of 10 mM Ca2+ and showed its maximum at 53 °C and pH 5.5. The effect of the cloned enzyme in modifying the physical properties of pulp and paper from Eucalyptus was tested (CelB treatment). An increase in mechanical strength of paper and a decrease in pulp dewatering properties were found, indicating that CelB treatment can be considered as a biorefining. Treatment with CelB gave rise to an improvement in paper strength similar to that obtained with 1,000 revolutions increase in mechanical refining. Comparison with the performances of recently developed endoglucanase A from the same strain and with a commercial cellulase showed that CelB produced the highest refining effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]