Virtues and humanitarian ethics

This paper analyses the contribution of virtue ethics, the study of good character traits, to the humanitarian context. It argues that a virtue ethics perspective paints a realistic picture of the use of ethical standards in morally complex circumstances. Virtuous relief workers can employ standards in their thinking, but they are also committed to professional excellence that goes beyond any formal code. The concept of virtue ethics places a stress on moral development, which can be facilitated by role models that impart modest and feasible ideals. However, virtue ethics cannot provide simple guidelines on how to resolve difficult situations. It is possible that two virtuous persons can disagree on what should be done in a particular instance. In addition, a virtue ethics perspective emphasises the need for both individuals and organisations to discuss the actual purpose of relief work in order to pinpoint the virtues of a good relief professional.     

Is the first-trimester combined screening result associated with the phenotype of Down syndrome? A population-based cohort study

Objective

To investigate if the Down syndrome phenotype differs according to the result of first-trimester combined screening (FTS).

Method

We included all Down syndrome cases diagnosed by karyotype in pregnancy or after birth in Denmark during 2005–2018. We compared screen positive (odds ≥1:300) and screen negative (odds <1:300) cases as well as screen result subgroups with respect to anthropometrics, congenital malformations, childhood diseases, and hospitalization.

Results

Absolute measures of fetal and birth anthropometrics were comparable between groups. A prenatal malformation diagnosis was more prevalent among screen positive than screen negative cases. Analyses suggested that this could reflect a detection bias. Cases with a screen result of 1:2–1:10 had a higher probability of being diagnosed with a malformation prenatally and with severe congenital heart disease (CHD) postnatally compared with a result of 1:11–1:300. Screen positive cases more often had non-severe CHD but less often a non-heart malformation compared with screen negative cases, while proportions of severe CHD were similar in these groups. Data on hospitalizations showed inconsistent results.

Conclusion

The 1:300 screening threshold had limited or no value in predicting Down syndrome phenotype severity. In contrast, cases with a screen result between 1:2 and 1:10 may represent a more severe phenotype.     

Investigating biodiversity trajectories using scenarios – Lessons from two contrasting agricultural landscapes

Agriculture is the major land use at a global scale. In addition to food production, multifunctionality of landscapes, including values and ecosystem services like biodiversity, recreation and culture, is now focus for management. This study explores how a scenario approach, involving different stakeholders, may help to improve landscape management for biodiversity conservation. Local farmers and executives at the County Administrative Board were invited to discuss rural development and conditions for farmland biodiversity in two Swedish landscapes. The potential biodiversity for three future land use scenarios for the two landscapes was discussed: nature conservation, outdoor recreation and energy production, and compared with current and historical landscapes in each region.Analyses of habitat areas, connectedness and landscape diversity suggested that the energy and recreation scenarios had a negative impact on farmland biodiversity, whereas the nature conservation scenario, the current and historically reconstructed landscapes had a higher potential for biodiversity. The farmers appreciated the nature conservation scenario, but also the energy production scenario and they highlighted the need of increased subsidies for management of biodiversity. The farmers in the high production area were less interested in nature quality per se. The executives had similar opinions as the farmers, but disagreed on the advantages with energy production, as this would be in conflict with the high biodiversity and recreational values. The local physical and socio-economical conditions differ between landscapes and potentially shaped the stakeholders emotional attachment to the local environment, their opinions and decisions on how to manage the land. We stress the importance of incorporating local knowledge, visions and regional prerequisites for different land uses in conservation, since site and landscape specific planning for biodiversity together with a flexible subsidy system are necessary to reach the conservation goals within EU.     

Parental feeding rate in relation to begging behavior in asynchronously hatched broods of the great tit Parus major

Summary Variations in the begging behaviour of the nestlings of altricial birds can provide the parents with information about the nestlings' nutritional needs and thus influence the parental feeding rate. In a series of four experiments, the stimulus situation encountered by great tits on their feeding visits to the brood was manipulated to explore its effect on feeding rate.A higher feeding rate was observed under the following conditions: (1) after a period of food deprivation, as compared with both normal conditions and satiation through artificial feeding; (2) in periods when recorded begging calls were played during feeding visits, as compared with control periods; (3) after temporary removal from the nest of heavier, as compared with lighter, siblings. The lighter nestlings in the brood benefitted more —in terms of gain in weight — from the increase in parental feeding rate following the playing of begging calls than did the heavier nestlings. Differences in weight spread within broods did not affect the amount of food the parents brought.We conclude that parental feeding rate is affected not simply by the begging of the hungriest nestling, but rather by the behaviour of all the nestlings in the brood, which makes possible an adjustment of the feeding rate to the average hunger level of the brood. The effects of hatching asynchrony and sibling competition on parental feeding rate are discussed.     

A submodel for anaerobic mud-water exchange of phosphate

A submodel for anaerobic mud-water exchange of phosphate is obtained from experiments in the laboratory. Phosphorus in the sediment can be divided into exchangeable and non-exchangeable phosphorus. The exchangeable phosphorus is decomposed in accordance with a first-order reaction. The phosphorus moves, after the decomposition process, from the interstitial water to the water phase, in accordance with a diffusion expression. The yearly increase of the sediment was determined by means of the lead concentration as a function of the depth.     

Modeling habitat suitability for moose in coastal northern Sweden: empirical vs process-oriented approaches

Habitat models may provide viable tools for co-management of large ungulates and forest resources, yet their applicability has not been comprehensively evaluated in managed forest. We examined 2 inherently different approaches to model the relative winter habitat suitability for moose (Alces alces) in the coastal area of northern Sweden. An empirical approach based on GPS positions of 15 female moose was used to scrutinize the assumptions and functional mechanisms of a process-oriented, conceptual approach, based on published material on the species' preferences for habitat components related to food and cover. For both model approaches habitat was described using estimates of forest-stand characteristics based on satellite imagery. The empirical model also included variables relating to topographic properties of the landscape as well as distances to landscape features. The output from both models was a habitat suitability index (HSI) score, enabling the models to be compared with each other. The models showed different results, highlighting the need to include the spatially explicit distribution of environmental variables in future conceptual, process-oriented models.     

Determination of vapor pressures for chloroguaiacols,chloroveratroles, and nonylphenol by gas chromatography

Vapor pressures of six chlorinated phenols were measured by capillary gas chromatography using a 1.0-m BP-1 bonded phase column. GC-determined vapor pressures (P_GC) were correlated with known liquid-phase vapor pressures (P_L) by the equation: Log P_GC = 1.026 Log P_L — 0.132, r² = 0.975 (vapor pressures in pascals). This relationship was used to estimate P_L for chloroguaiacols, chloroveratroles, and 4-nonylphenol from their experimental P_GC.     

Dynamics of Turbulence in Low-Speed Oscillating Bottom-Boundary Layers of Stratified Basins

This paper focuses on the impact of an oscillating low-speed current on the structure and dynamics of the bottom-boundary layer (BBL) in a small stratified basin. A set of high-resolution current profile measurements in combination with temperature-microstructure measurements were collected during a complete cycle of the internal oscillation (`seiching') in the BBL of Lake Alpnach, Switzerland. It was found that even a relatively long seiching period of 24 hours significantly changed the form of the near-bottom current profiles as well as the dynamics of the turbulent dissipation rate compared to the steady-state law-of-the-wall. A logarithmic fit to the measured current profiles starting at a distance of 0.5 m above the sediment led to inconsistent estimates of both friction velocity and roughness length. Moreover, a phase lag between the current and the turbulent dissipation of 1.5 hours and a persistent maximum in the current profile at a height of 2.5 to 3 m above the sediment were observed. The experimental findings were compared to the results of a k- turbulence model and showed good agreement in general. Specifically, the inconsistent logarithmic fitting results and the observed phase lag were reproduced well by the model.