A Critique of Rob Lovering's Criticism of the Substance View

In his article, The Substance View: a critique, Rob Lovering argues that the substance view – according to which the human embryo is a person entitled to human rights – leads to such implausible implications that this view should be abandoned. In this article I respond to his criticism by arguing that either his arguments fail because the proponents of the substance view are not obligated to hold positions which may be considered absurd, or because the positions which they are assumed to be obligated to hold, are not absurd at all.     

A Critique of Henrik Friberg‐Fernros's Defense of the Substance View

Proponents of the substance view contend that abortion is seriously morally wrong because it is killing something with the same inherent value and right to life as you or I. Rob Lovering offers two innovative criticisms of the anti‐abortion position taken by the substance view – the rescue argument and the problem of spontaneous abortion. Henrik Friberg‐Fernros offers an interesting response to Lovering, but one I argue would be inconsistent with the anti‐abortion stance taken by most substance view theorists.     

The Substance View: A Critique (Part 2)

In my initial critique of the substance view, I raised reductio‐style objections to the substance view's conclusion that the standard human fetus has the same intrinsic value and moral standing as the standard adult human being, among others. In this follow‐up critique, I raise objections to some of the premises invoked in support of this conclusion. I begin by briefly presenting the substance view as well as its defense. (For a more thorough presentation, see the first part of my critique.) I then raise objections to three claims involved in the substance view's defense: the claim that the standard human fetus's intrinsic value and moral standing is a function of its potentiality; the claim that the standard human fetus's intrinsic value and moral standing is a function of its essential properties; and the claim that it is the possession of the basic potential for rational moral agency that best accounts for the wrongness of killing the standard human fetus, among others.     

Natural killer,natural killer T,helper and cytotoxic T cells in the decidua from recurrent spontaneous abortion with normal and abnormal chromosome karyotypes

Problem

Recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) is associated with immune imbalance at the maternal–fetal interface. Decidual immune cells and cytokines expressed at this interface regulate the response of the maternal immune system to the fetus. However, the populations and cytokine expression levels of these lymphocytes in miscarriage with normal and abnormal chromosome karyotypes remain unclear.

Violinists,demandingness, and the impairment argument against abortion

The ‘impairment argument’ against abortion developed by Perry Hendricks aims to derive the wrongness of abortion from the wrongness of causing foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Hendricks endorses an ‘impairment principle’, which states that, if it is wrong to inflict an impairment of a certain degree on an organism, then, ceteris paribus, it is also wrong to inflict a more severe impairment on that organism. Causing FAS is wrong in virtue of the impairment it inflicts. But abortion inflicts an even more severe impairment (death), and so, ceteris paribus, is also wrong. Notably, Hendricks thinks that this argument does not require the claim that the foetus is a person. Here, I respond to Hendricks by arguing that the ceteris paribus clause of the impairment principle is not met in ordinary cases of pregnancy. Carrying an unwanted pregnancy to term is much more burdensome than is refraining from excessive drinking for nine months. This provides a pro tanto justification for obtaining an abortion that does not apply to causing FAS. If the foetus is not a person, it seems fairly clear to me that this justification is strong enough to render abortion permissible. Hendricks is therefore incorrect in claiming that the impairment argument can go without claims concerning foetal personhood. If the foetus is a person, then whether burdensomeness justifies abortion depends on certain questions relating to Thomson’s famous violinist argument. I will not attempt to answer those. But anyone who is otherwise sympathetic to Thomson’s argument should not be moved by the impairment argument.     

染色体核型异常、Th17/Treg免疫失衡与复发性流产的关系及其影响因素分析

摘要 目的：研究染色体核型异常、辅助性T细胞17（Th17）/调节性T细胞（Treg）免疫失衡与复发性流产（RSA）的关系及其影响因素。方法：选择石家庄市妇幼保健院从2019年2月～2022年2月收治的421例RSA患者,记作研究组。另取同期无生殖系统异常女性400例作为对照组。比较两组染色体核型异常、Th17/Treg免疫情况以及各项基线资料。采用多因素Logistic回归分析明确RSA的影响因素。结果：研究组染色体核型异常发生率为10.21%,高于对照组的1.50%（P＜0.05）。研究组Th17、Th17/Treg比值高于对照组,而Treg低于对照组（均P＜0.05）。研究组文化程度初中及以下、生殖道感染、难闻性气味以及噪音人数占比均高于对照组（均P＜0.05）。经多因素Logistic回归分析可得：RSA的危险因素有文化程度初中及以下、生殖道感染、难闻性气味、噪音、染色体核型异常、Th17/Treg比值升高（均P＜0.05）。结论：染色体核型异常以及Th17/Treg免疫失衡均会增加RSA的发生风险,且文化程度初中及以下、生殖道感染、难闻性气味、噪音亦会增加RSA的发生风险,临床工作中可根据上述因素制定针对性干预措施,以达到降低RSA发生率的目的。     

根肿病对不结球白菜的生长及生理生化物质和活性氧代谢的影响

以不结球白菜主栽品种‘新夏青2号’和‘新矮青’为试验材料,采用人工气候箱内接种鉴定的方法,研究了感染根肿病对不结球白菜植株幼苗生长、生理生化物质及活性氧代谢的影响。结果显示:(1)与未感病植株(0级)相比,感染根肿病(3级)植株株高、柄长、叶面积及地上部鲜重和叶片中的叶绿素含量均显著降低,根冠比随着感病等级的增大而提高,使幼苗植株生长受到显著抑制,且‘新夏青2号’比‘新矮青’所受抑制程度更强。(2)感病后植株叶片的可溶性蛋白、可溶性糖、游离氨基酸以及叶片、根系中的脯氨酸等渗调物质的含量均比未感病植株显著降低,而叶片和根系中丙二醛(MDA)的含量显著升高,且除游离氨基酸以外‘新夏青2号’感病植株其他渗调物质的升降幅度均大于‘新矮青’。(3)感病植株叶片中硝酸根离子(NO3-)含量、硝酸还原酶(NR)活性和谷氨酰胺合成酶(GS)活性均比未感病(0级)植株降低,直接影响植株的氮素吸收利用能力。(4)植株感病后,叶片和根系中4种抗氧化酶(SOD、POD、CAT和APX)的活性均不同程度降低,且SOD、POD和CAT活性在根系中的降幅大于叶片,而‘新矮青’的感病3级植株根系和叶片中各酶活性的降幅均低于‘新夏青2号’(除叶片中CAT酶活性外)。研究表明,不结球白菜受到根肿病侵染后,各类生理生化物质含量和活性氧代谢均受到影响,膜脂过氧化程度加大,使不结球白菜的光合利用能力、吸收能力、渗透调节能力及抗氧化能力均受到抑制,最终影响植株的整个生长过程;品种‘新矮青’对根肿病的抗性高于‘新夏青2号’;可溶性蛋白、抗氧化酶活性和MDA可以作为不结球白菜早期筛选抗根肿病的生理指标。     

Ectogenesis,abortion and a right to the death of the fetus

Many people believe that the abortion debate will end when at some point in the future it will be possible for fetuses to develop outside the womb. Ectogenesis, as this technology is called, would make possible to reconcile pro‐life and pro‐choice positions. That is because it is commonly believed that there is no right to the death of the fetus if it can be detached alive and gestated in an artificial womb. Recently Eric Mathison and Jeremy Davis defended this position, by arguing against three common arguments for a right to the death of the fetus. I claim that their arguments are mistaken. I argue that there is a right to the death of the fetus because gestating a fetus in an artificial womb when genetic parents refuse it violates their rights not to become a biological parent, their rights to genetic privacy and their property rights. The right to the death of the fetus, however, is not a woman's right but genetic parents’ collective right which only can be used together.     

血清SAA、TSP-1、FA与不明原因复发性流产发病的关系及联合检测的预测价值研究

摘要 目的：探讨血清淀粉样蛋白A（SAA）、血小板反应蛋白-1（TSP-1）、叶酸（FA）与不明原因复发性流产（URSA）发病的关系,分析联合SAA、TSP-1、FA检测对URSA发生的预测价值。方法：选取2019年1月至2021年1月我院妇产科收治的80例URSA患者（URSA组）和同期于我院产科产检的102例正常妊娠孕妇（对照组）,检测血清SAA、TSP-1、FA水平,收集临床相关资料,采用多因素Logistic回归分析URSA发生的影响因素,采用受试者工作特征曲线（ROC）分析血清SAA、TSP-1、FA联合对URSA发生的预测价值。结果：URSA组血清SAA、TSP-1水平高于对照组,FA水平低于对照组（P＜0.05）。URSA组年龄≥35岁、有吸烟史、饮酒史、初中及以下文化程度、生殖道感染的比例高于对照组（P＜0.05）;两组间体质量指数、URSA家族遗传史、职业的比例差异无统计学意义（P＞0.05）。多因素Logistic回归分析结果显示：有吸烟史、饮酒史、生殖道感染以及血清SAA、TSP-1水平较高是URSA发生的危险因素,而FA水平较高是URSA发生的保护因素（P＜0.05）。ROC曲线分析结果显示：血清SAA、TSP-1、FA预测URSA发生的曲线下面积分别为0.744、0.719、0.670,而三项指标联合检测预测URSA发生的曲线下面积为0.872,明显高于各指标单独检测。结论：URSA患者血清SAA、TSP-1水平增高,FA水平降低,且与URSA的发生有关,联合检测血清SAA、TSP-1和FA对URSA的发生具有一定预测价值。     

Lethal interactions among forest‐grouse predators are numerous,motivated by hunger and carcasses,and their impacts determined by the demographic value of the victims

New vertebrate communities are emerging in Europe following the recovery of multiple native predators to highly anthropized landscapes where predator control is still prevalent. While the lack of reference points for these communities creates novel challenges for conservationists and wildlife managers, they also provide opportunities to further our understanding of species interactions. Despite a growing body of evidence, many aspects of interactions among predators remain poorly understood, impairing our ability to anticipate the effects of such changes in predator communities. Through a systematic literature review, we gathered all the available evidence concerning the existence, strength, and demographic impacts of lethal predator interactions among forest‐grouse predators in Europe. We found a highly interconnected predator community, with 44 pairwise lethal interactions among 12 taxa. Three of these resulted in some degree of population suppression of the victim, while another three did not. However, most interactions (38) have not been evaluated for population suppression. Additionally, we highlight how predators interact simultaneously with a large range of other predators and identified at least two further taxa possibly suppressed through the combined impacts of multiple predators. We propose that interactions causing demographic suppression are characterized by impacts on individuals with high survival elasticity and that they are motivated by food limitation and additionally, in mammals, by competition for carcasses. Predator interactions, and our still poor understanding of them, introduce large uncertainties to conservation actions based on the management of predator abundances, which should be carefully evaluated.     

Silencing of chaperonin 21, that was differentially expressed in inflorescence of seedless and seeded grapes,promoted seed abortion in tobacco and tomato fruits

Vitis vinifera L. cv. ‘Thompson Seedless’ presents a type of stenospermocarpy in grape where fertilization occurs but seeds abort and fail to develop. To unravel the molecular basis for stenospermocarpy in grapes, subtractive hybridization was carried out in order to isolate differentially regulated genes that participate in the seedlessness machinery. Two ‘Thompson’ lines, a seeded and a seedless, were screened during different flower developmental stages. One of the genes, that was differentially expressed between the seeded and seedless lines, was the chloroplast chaperonin 21 (ch-Cpn21). ch-Cpn21 is a 21-kDa co-chaperonin polypeptide formed by two GroES-like domains fused together in tandem. Silencing of ch-Cpn21 in Nicotiana benthamiana plants resulted in leaf stunting, chlorosis, as well as ovary necrogenesis leading to seed abortion. Moreover, organ-specific silencing of ch-Cpn21 only in Lycopersicum esculentum fruits resulted in the development of seedless tomatoes. These results suggest that ch-Cpn21 may play a role in seed abortion in stenospermocarpic grapes.     

洞庭湖生态经济区生态系统服务价值的时空演绎及其驱动因素

伴随城镇化的快速推进,生态系统服务价值(ESV)的时空评估及驱动因子探测对区域社会-经济-生态协调可持续发展具有重要意义.借助洞庭湖生态经济区2005、2010、2015、2018年的遥感解译数据,从3 km×3 km的格网尺度出发,在ArcGIS和GeoDa的技术支撑下,结合当量因子法、空间自相关分析、热点分析等方法...     

Cryopreservation of organs by vitrification: perspectives and recent advances

The cryopreservation of organs became an active area of research in the 1950s as a result of the rediscovery of the cryoprotective properties of glycerol by Polge, Smith, and Parkes in 1949. Over the ensuing four decades of research in this area, the advantages of vitrification, or ice-free cryopreservation, have become apparent. To date, experimental attempts to apply vitrification methods to vascularized whole organs have been confined almost entirely to the rabbit kidney. Using techniques available as of 1997, it was possible to vitrify blood vessels and smaller systems with reasonable success, but not whole organs. Beginning in 1998, a series of novel advances involving the control of cryoprotectant toxicity, nucleation, crystal growth, and chilling injury began to provide the tools needed to achieve success. Based on these new findings, we were first able to show that an 8.4M solution (VMP) designed to prevent chilling injury at -22 degrees C was entirely non-toxic to rabbit kidneys when perfused at -3 degrees C and permitted perfusion-cooling to -22 degrees C with only mild additional damage. We next investigated the ability of the kidney to tolerate a 9.3M solution known as M22, which does not devitrify when warmed from below -150 degrees C at 1 degrees C/min. When M22 was added and removed at -22 degrees C, it was sometimes [corrected] fatal, but when it was perfused for 25min at -22 degrees C and washed out simultaneously with warming, postoperative renal function recovered fully. When kidneys loaded with M22 at -22 degrees C were further cooled to an average intrarenal temperature of about -45 degrees C (about halfway through the putative temperature zone of increasing vulnerability to chilling injury), all kidneys supported life after transplantation and returned creatinine values to baseline, though after a higher transient creatinine peak. However, medullary, papillary, and pelvic biopsies taken from kidneys perfused with M22 for 25min at -22 degrees C were found to devitrify when vitrified and rewarmed at 20 degrees C/min in a differential scanning calorimeter. It remains to be determined whether this devitrification is seriously damaging and whether it can be suppressed by improving cryoprotectant distribution to more weakly perfused regions of the kidney or by rewarming at higher rates. In conclusion, although the goal of organ vitrification remains elusive, the prospects for success have never been more promising.     

NAD(P)H- and superoxide-dependent nitric oxide degradation by rat liver mitochondria

Mitochondria consume nitric oxide (NO) mainly through reaction with superoxide anion (). Here, we analyzed the sources for NO degradation by isolated rat liver mitochondria. Electron leakage from complex III and reverse electron transport to complex I accounted for -dependent NO degradation by mitochondria in the presence of a protonmotive force. Mitochondria incubated with NAD(P)H also presented intense generation and NO degradation rates that were insensitive to respiratory inhibitors and abolished after proteinase treatment. These results suggest that an outer membrane-localized NAD(P)H oxidase activity, in addition to the electron leakage from the respiratory chain, promotes -dependent NO degradation in rat liver mitochondria.