Climate change, Hans Jonas and indirect investors

This article considers how corporate behaviour in relation to climate change might be reconfigured and the role that indirect investors might play in this reconfiguring. The article suggests that the consequences of climate change are serious enough that indirect investors might be prevailed upon, using a model of behaviour suggested by the work of Hans Jonas, to pressure institutional investors into demanding changes in corporate policy towards climate change. Jonas' work represents a plea for the recognition and acceptance of responsibility in the face of nature's vulnerability and humanity's power over technology. The article suggests that this ethic can be operationalised in relation to corporate governance by building on the changes in the pattern of investment holdings that have taken place in large public companies in the preceding two decades or so. The idea is to appeal to individuals who may perceive themselves as currently being outsiders – or at least only distant stakeholders in relation to the corporation – to realise the responsibility vested in them as beneficiaries through their interest in pension funds, life assurance policies, annuities and other arm's-length financial arrangements with corporations. The hope is that these individuals may, through the influence of a model of responsibility, become active investors and beneficiaries interested in corporate practices that impact on climate change and, encourage others to do likewise.

Press perturbations and indirect effects in real food webs

The prediction of the effects of disturbances in natural systems is limited by the general lack of knowledge on the strength of species interactions, i.e., the effect of one species on the population growth rate of another, and by the uncertainty of the effects that may be manifested via indirect pathways within the food web. Here we explored the consequences of changes in species populations for the remaining species within nine exceptionally well-characterized empirical food webs, for which, unlike the vast majority of other published webs, feeding links have been fully quantied. Using the inverse of the Jacobian matrix, we found that perturbations to species with few connections have larger net effects (considering both direct and indirect pathways between two species) on the rest of the food web than do disturbances to species that are highly connected. For 40% of predator-prey links, predators had positive net effects on prey populations, due to the predominance of indirect interactions. Our results highlight the fundamental, but often counterintuitive, role of indirect effects for the maintenance of food web complexity and biodiversity.

In vivo tropism of attenuated and pathogenic measles virus expressing green fluorescent protein in macaques

The global increase in measles vaccination has resulted in a significant reduction of measles mortality. The standard route of administration for the live-attenuated measles virus (MV) vaccine is subcutaneous injection, although alternative needle-free routes, including aerosol delivery, are under investigation. In vitro, attenuated MV has a much wider tropism than clinical isolates, as it can use both CD46 and CD150 as cellular receptors. To compare the in vivo tropism of attenuated and pathogenic MV, we infected cynomolgus macaques with pathogenic or attenuated recombinant MV expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein (GFP) (strains IC323 and Edmonston, respectively) via the intratracheal or aerosol route. Surprisingly, viral loads and cellular tropism in the lungs were similar for the two viruses regardless of the route of administration, and CD11c-positive cells were identified as the major target population. However, only the pathogenic MV caused significant viremia, which resulted in massive virus replication in B and T lymphocytes in lymphoid tissues and viral dissemination to the skin and the submucosa of respiratory epithelia. Attenuated MV was rarely detected in lymphoid tissues, and when it was, only in isolated infected cells. Following aerosol inhalation, attenuated MV was detected at early time points in the upper respiratory tract, suggesting local virus replication. This contrasts with pathogenic MV, which invaded the upper respiratory tract only after the onset of viremia. This study shows that despite in vitro differences, attenuated and pathogenic MV show highly similar in vivo tropism in the lungs. However, systemic spread of attenuated MV is restricted.

Indirect-drive inertial confinement fusion using highly supersonic, radiatively cooled, plasma slugs

We present a new approach to indirect-drive inertial confinement fusion which makes use of highly supersonic, radiatively cooled, slugs of plasma to energize a hohlraum. 2D resistive magnetohydrodynamic simulations of slug formation in shaped liner Z -pinch implosions are presented along with 2D-radiation-hydrodynamic simulations of the slug impacting a converter foil and 3D-view-factor simulations of a double-ended hohlraum. Results for the Z facility at Sandia National Laboratory indicate that two synchronous slugs of 250 kJ kinetic energy could be produced, resulting in a capsule surface temperature of similar to225 eV .

Distinguishing between direct and indirect effects of predators in complex ecosystems

1. Global declines in biodiversity have stimulated much research into the consequences of species loss for ecosystems and the goods and services they provide. Species at higher trophic levels are at greater risk of human-induced extinction yet remarkably little is known about the effects of consumer species loss across multiple trophic levels in natural complex ecosystems. Previous studies have been criticized for lacking experimental realism and appropriate temporal scale, running for short periods that are not sufficient to detect many of the mechanisms operating in the field.
2. We manipulated the presence of two predator species and two groups of their prey (primary consumers) and measured their independent and interactive effects on primary producers in a natural marine benthic system. The presence of predators and their prey was manipulated in the field for 14 months to distinguish clearly the direct and indirect effects of predators on primary producers and to identify mechanisms driving responses.
3. We found that the loss of either predator species had indirect negative effects on species diversity and total cover of primary producers. These cascading effects of predator species loss were mediated by the presence of intermediate consumers. Moreover, the presence of different intermediate consumers, irrespective of the presence or absence of their predators, determined primary producer assemblage structure. We identified direct negative effects of predators on their prey and several indirect effects of predators on primary producers but not all interactions could have been predicted based on trophic level.
4. Our findings demonstrate the importance of trophic cascade effects coupled with non-trophic interactions when predicting the effects of loss of predator species on primary producers and consequently for ecosystem functioning. There is a pressing need for improved understanding of the effects of loss of consumers, based on realistic scenarios of diversity loss, to test conceptual frameworks linking predator diversity to variation in ecosystem functioning and for the protection of biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and related services.

Trait-mediated indirect interactions in a marine intertidal system as quantified by functional responses

Studies of trait-mediated indirect interactions (TMIIs) typically focus on effects higher predators have on per capita consumption by intermediate consumers of a third, basal prey resource. TMIIs are usually evidenced by changes in feeding rates of intermediate consumers and/or differences in densities of this third species. However, understanding and predicting effects of TMIIs on population stability of such basal species requires examination of the type and magnitude of the functional responses exhibited towards them. Here, in a marine intertidal system consisting of a higher-order fish predator, the shanny Lipophrys pholis, an intermediate predator, the amphipod Echinogammarus marinus, and a basal prey resource, the isopod Jaera nordmanni, we detected TMIIs, demonstrating the importance of habitat complexity in such interactions, by deriving functional responses and exploring consequences for prey population stability. Echinogammarus marinus reacted to fish predator diet cues by reducing activity, a typical anti-predator response, but did not alter habitat use. Basal prey, Jaera nordmanni, did not respond to fish diet cues with respect to activity, distribution or aggregation behaviour. Echinogammarus marinus exhibited type II functional responses towards J. nordmanni in simple habitat, but type III functional responses in complex habitat. However, while predator cue decreased the magnitude of the type II functional response in simple habitat, it increased the magnitude of the type III functional response in complex habitat. These findings indicate that, in simple habitats, TMIIs may drive down consumption rates within type II responses, however, this interaction may remain de-stabilising for prey populations. Conversely, in complex habitats, TMIIs may strengthen regulatory influences of intermediate consumers on prey populations, whilst potentially maintaining prey population stability. We thus highlight that TMIIs can have unexpected and complex ramifications throughout communities, but can be unravelled by considering effects on intermediate predator functional response types and magnitudes.

Recombinant canine distemper virus strain Snyder Hill expressing green or red fluorescent proteins causes meningoencephalitis in the ferret

The propensity of canine distemper virus (CDV) to spread to the central nervous system is one of the primary features of distemper. Therefore, we developed a reverse genetics system based on the neurovirulent Snyder Hill (SH) strain of CDV (CDV(SH)) and show that this virus rapidly circumvents the blood-brain and blood-cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) barriers to spread into the subarachnoid space to induce dramatic viral meningoencephalitis. The use of recombinant CDV(SH) (rCDV(SH)) expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) or red fluorescent protein (dTomato) facilitated the sensitive pathological assessment of routes of virus spread in vivo. Infection of ferrets with these viruses led to the full spectrum of clinical signs typically associated with distemper in dogs during a rapid, fatal disease course of approximately 2 weeks. Comparison with the ferret-adapted CDV(5804P) and the prototypic wild-type CDV(R252) showed that hematogenous infection of the choroid plexus is not a significant route of virus spread into the CSF. Instead, viral spread into the subarachnoid space in rCDV(SH)-infected animals was triggered by infection of vascular endothelial cells and the hematogenous spread of virus-infected leukocytes from meningeal blood vessels into the subarachnoid space. This resulted in widespread infection of cells of the pia and arachnoid mater of the leptomeninges over large areas of the cerebral hemispheres. The ability to sensitively assess the in vivo spread of a neurovirulent strain of CDV provides a novel model system to study the mechanisms of virus spread into the CSF and the pathogenesis of acute viral meningitis.

Asymmetric information without common priors: an indirect evolutionary analysis of quantity competition

The common prior assumption justifies private beliefs as posterior probabilities when updating a common prior based on individual information. We dispose of the common prior assumption for a homogeneous oligopoly market with uncertain costs and firms entertaining arbitrary priors about other firms' cost-type. We show that true prior beliefs can not be evolutionarily stable when truly expected profit measures (reproductive) success.

Development of a rapid low cost fluorescent biosensor for the detection of food contaminants

A prototype fluorescent based biosensor has been developed for the antibody based detection of food related contaminants. Its performance was characterised and showed a typical antibody binding signal of 200-2000 mV, a short term noise of 9.1 mV, and baseline slope of -0.016 mV/s over 4 h. Bulk signal detection repeatability (n=23) and reproducibility (n=3) were less than 2.4%CV. The biosensor detection unit was evaluated using two food related model systems proving its ability to monitor both binding using commercial products and inhibition through the development of an assay. This assay development potential was evaluated by observing the biosensor's performance whilst appraising several labelled antibody and glass slide configurations. The molecular interaction between biotin and an anti-biotin antibody was shown to be inhibited by 41% due to the presence of biotin in a sample. A food toxin (domoic acid) calibration curve was produced, with %CVs ranging from 2.7 to 7.8%, and a midpoint of approximately 17 ng/ml with further optimisation possible. The ultimate aim of this study was to demonstrate the working principles of this innovative biosensor as a potential portable tool with the opportunity of interchangeable assays. The biosensor design is applicable for the requirements of routine food contaminant analysis, with respect to performance, functionality and cost. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Combined fluorescent in situ hybridisation and immunolabelling of Bacteroides fragilis

We have demonstrated that pure cultures of Bacteroides fragilis can be riboprobed with the oligoprobes BAC303 and EUB338, whilst simultaneously immunolabelled with either the mAb QUBF7, or polyclonal antiserum specific for a common antigen of B. fragilis. We were also able to distinguish between pure cultures of B. fragilis and Escherichia coli, by means of combined immunolabelling and riboprobing. The success of the combined technique is critically dependent on the size of the bacterial capsules, bacterial growth phase, antibody diluent and the length of the washing steps. The combined FISH and immunolabelling of bacteria has potential applications in studies of bacteria of medical and veterinary importance, as well as bacteria from other environments, as it yields information about both the identity and antigen expression of individual bacterial cells.