Ethics and the Genetic Engineering of Food Animals

Biotechnology applied to traditional foodanimals raises ethical issues in three distinctcategories. First are a series of issues that arise inthe transformation of pigs, sheep, cattle and otherdomesticated farm animals for purposes that deviatesubstantially from food production, including forxenotransplantation or production of pharmaceuticals.Ethical analysis of these issues must draw upon theresources of medical ethics; categorizing them asagricultural biotechnologies is misleading. The secondseries of issues relate to animal welfare. Althoughone can stipulate a number of different philosophicalfoundations for the ethical assessment of welfare,most either converge on Bernard Rollins principle ofwelfare conservation (Rollin, 1995), or devolve intodebates over the ethical significance of animaltelos or species integrity. The principle of welfareconservation prohibits disfunctional geneticengineering of food animals, but would permit alteringanimals biological functions, especially when (as inmaking animals less susceptable to pain or suffering)do so improves an individual animals well being.Objections to precisely this last form of geneticengineering stress telos or species integrity asconstraints on modification of animals, and thisrepresents the third class of ethical issues. Most whohave formulated such arguments have failed to developcoherent positions, but the notion of species being,derived from the 19th century German tradition,presents a promising way to analyze the basis forresisting the transformation of animal natures.     

Gastroschisis and omphalocele: Prenatal diagnosis and perinatal management

Obstetric ultrasonography has made the prenatal diagnosis of gastroschisis and omphalocele more common. We present illustrative cases 2nd review the ultrasonographic features. Because of the increased risk of concomitant abnormalities (including trisomies) with omphalocele, full evaluation is indicated when this diagnosis is suspected. Recent perinatal approaches to delivery have favoured caesarean section. without scientific evidence that outcome is improved. Our experience. as well as a review of the literature, suggests that the outcome for vaginally delivered infants is acceptable. A prospective study of this question is needed.     

Nitrogen uptake kinetics in three year-classes of Laminaria groenlandica (Laminariales: Phaeophyta)

Nitrate and ammonium uptake rates were measured for three year-classes of the perennial macrophyte Laminaria groenlandica Rosenvinge, collected from nitrogen-depleted waters in Barkley Sound, British Columbia, Canada, in summer 1981. A time course of uptake rate revealed that ammonium uptake was high during the first hour and then decreased for all three year-classes; the opposite pattern was exhibited for the time course of nitrate uptake rate. Nitrate uptake rate increased linearly with nitrate concentration up to the highest level tested (60 M). The nitrate uptake rate of first-year plants was three times higher than second- and third-year plants; ammonium uptake rates showed similar patterns to those for nitrate. The interaction between nitrate and ammonium was examined for first-year plants. Nitrate and ammonium were taken up simultaneously and uptake rates were identical and equal to uptake rates when only nitrate or ammonium was present in the medium. Therefore, first-year plants are able to take up twice as much inorganic nitrogen per unit time when both nitrate and ammonium are present. First-year plants showed significant diel periodicity in ammonium uptake rates, whereas second- and third-year plants showed no periodicity in nitrate or ammonium uptake rates.     

Latitudinal trends in size-dependence of bioluminescence in the midshipman fish Porichthys notatus

The bioluminescent fish Porichthys notatus (plainfin midshipman), has a discontinuous distribution along the Pacific coast of North America. The fish is present from Cape Mendocino southward to Baja California, Mexico, absent off the coast of Oregon, USA, and abundant, northward, in Puget Sound, Washington. Interestingly, the population in Puget Sound lacks the substrate (luciferin) necessary for the luminescence reaction and, despite possessing an otherwise fully functional photophore system, is nonluminescent. The California population of P. notatus is uniformly luminescent south of Monterey Bay, but 15% of the speciments tested from San Francisco Bay and the Gulf of the Farallons have been reported to be nonluminescent. Explanations for nonluminescent midshipman in both Puget Sound and the San Francisco Bay area have focussed on a dietary requirement for luciferin. To gain further insight into reasons for nonluminescence in the San Francisco Bay region, the distribution of bioluminescence in P. notatus was studied from Monterey Bay to Cape Mendocino during 1985. A complex pattern of bioluminescence was found, in which nonluminescent individuals reflected neither a local anomaly in the San Francisco Bay region nor a simple gradient of decreasing luminescence towards the northern end of the range of the California population. Instead, a distinct size-dependent component in luminescence capability of the fish was observed. Aspects of the life history of P. notatus and related factors which might influence the bioluminescence characteristics of this population are discussed.Please address all correspondence to Dr. F.I. Tsuji at the Osaka Bioscience Institute     

Some relationships between growth,metabolism and food in the mussel Mytilus edulis

Measurements of ingested ration, assimilated ration and metabolic rate in Mytilus edulis L. of different sizes have been integrated to provide an estimate of energy balance, which in turn describes the physiological state of the animal. These data allow the empirical determination of growth efficiency and ration. Growth efficiency increases hyperbolically with increasing ingested ration to reach a maximum, after which efficiency decreases as ration is further increased. The optimum ration for efficient growth increases with increasing weight of the mussel; maximum growth efficiency decreases with increasing body weight.     

Integrated ecological models: simulation of socio-cultural constraints on ecological dynamics

We suggest that general systems theory provides a common philosophical basis for dialog between ecological and social scientists interested in studying the reciprocal interactions of humans and their environment. We (1) provide a synopsis of the ‘systems approach' as viewed from the biological and social sciences, respectively; (2) develop a conceptual framework for the explicit linking of ecological and social variables, and (3) draw upon game theoretic results of the Prisoner's Dilemma to represent human decision-making quantitatively in a model that simulates the tragedy of the commons. The model consists of 5 submodels that represent the ‘observers world' and each of 4 ‘participant's worlds.' The observer's-world represents the decision processes, either Optimize or Tit-for-Tat, by which each of 2 users decides to add or remove animals. The 4 perceived worlds represent hypothetical situations in which (1) persons A and B both add an animal; (2) A adds and B does not; (3) B adds and A does not, and (4) neither A nor B add an animal. Simulation results indicate that net worth of the community and of each person individually under Tit-for-Tat is more than double the net worth attained under Optimize. Replacement of the static payoff matrix assumed in game theory with a dynamic quantitative model illustrates how ‘norm-based' approaches to ecosystem management can outperform optimizing approaches based on predicted outcomes. Although ‘soft systems' techniques may better help decision-makers reach norm-based agreements on ecosystem management, quantitative models have more explanatory value, and if developed sufficiently such models could incorporate complex social dimensions that would enhance further their explanatory value.     

Feasibility of vermicomposting dairy biosolids using a modified system to avoid earthworm mortality

A laboratory study was conducted to examine the feasibility of vermicomposting dairy biosolids (dairy sludge), either alone or with either of the bulking agents-cereal straw or wood shavings, using the epigeic earthworm-Eisinea andrei. Earthworms added directly to these three substrates died within 48 hours. A system was developed to overcome the toxic effect of unprocessed dairy biosolids. The substrates were placed over a layer of vermicomposted sheep manure into which the earthworms were inoculated. Within two weeks, all earthworms were within the upper layer of substrate. Compared to sheep manure which is a favourable substrate for vermicomposting, the three substrates containing dairy biosolids were more effective in supporting earthworm growth and reproduction. The final products obtained after 63 days of vermicomposting had 39-53% less organic carbon than the initial substrates. Organic fractionation indicated that vermicomposting increased the stability of the materials to biological decomposition. The vermicomposts obtained from the three substrates with dairy biosolids had low heavy metal contents and electrical conductivities, and did not inhibit plant growth when compared with a commercial vermicompost in a bioassay.     

Validation studies of an automated preconcentration water sampler (APS) for chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans

An Automated Preconcentration Sampler (APS) was developed by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) and Carleton University for the determination of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) in drinking water. The APS employs a two-stage particulate filtration system followed by an XAD-2 resin column. Field and laboratory testing of the APS is required to validate the device before it is put into regular service.The capacity of the APS filtration system is 30 L for a 4 Formazin Turbidity Unit (FTU) input water turbidity and greater than 50 L for a typical treated water. Flushing of a clean XAD-2 resin column with 200 L of spiked water showed that the optimum flowrate in terms of spike breakthrough is equal to three times the resin bed volume per minute. This flowrate is used for APS operation. Testing also showed that no spike breakthrough occurred after 200 L of clean water was flushed through a spiked XAD-2 resin column at flowrates in excess of the APS operating flowrate. Spike testing was also carried out on the filters and results are pending. An analytical comparison between the present MOE sampling and analytical procedure and the proposed APS sampling and analytical procedure using a PCDD/PCDF source water is planned.     

Open-path tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy for acquisition of fugitive emission flux data

Air pollutant emission from unconfined sources is an increasingly important environmental issue. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed a ground-based optical remote-sensing method that enables direct measurement of fugitive emission flux from large area sources. Open-path Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (OP-FTIR) has been the primary technique for acquisition of pollutant concentration data used in this emission measurement method. For a number of environmentally important compounds, such as ammonia and methane, open-path tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (OP-TDLAS) is shown to be a viable alternative to Fourier transform spectroscopy for pollutant concentration measurements. Near-IR diode laser spectroscopy systems offer significant operational and cost advantages over Fourier transform instruments enabling more efficient implementation of the measurement strategy. This article reviews the EPA's fugitive emission measurement method and describes its multipath tunable diode laser instrument. Validation testing of the system is discussed. OP-TDLAS versus OP-FTIR correlation testing results for ammonia (R2 = 0.980) and methane (R2 = 0.991) are reported. Two example applications of tunable diode laser-based fugitive emission measurements are presented.