WHICH BENEFITS OF RESEARCH PARTICIPATION COUNT AS ‘DIRECT’?

It is widely held that individuals who are unable to provide informed consent should be enrolled in clinical research only when the risks are low, or the research offers them the prospect of direct benefit. There is now a rich literature on when the risks of clinical research are low enough to enroll individuals who cannot consent. Much less attention has focused on which benefits of research participation count as ‘direct’, and the few existing accounts disagree over how this crucial concept should be defined. This disagreement raises concern over whether those who cannot consent, including children and adults with severe dementia, are being adequately protected. The present paper attempts to address this concern by considering first what additional protections are needed for these vulnerable individuals. This analysis suggests that the extant definitions of direct benefits either provide insufficient protection for research subjects or pose excessive obstacles to appropriate research. This analysis also points to a modified definition of direct benefits with the potential to avoid these two extremes, protecting individuals who cannot consent without blocking appropriate research.     

Nutritional Consequences of Experimentally Introduced Tourism in Brown Bears

Abstract: Although numerous studies have documented behavioral effects of nature-based tourism on wildlife populations, few studies have determined whether behavioral changes translate to effects on individual condition and population health. This issue is currently a concern for wildlife managers in Alaska, USA, and Canada where bear viewing is a rapidly growing industry expanding into previously undisturbed bear habitats. Rather than record observations at long established tourism sites, we experimentally introduced bear viewing into 2 relatively undisturbed brown bear (Ursus arctos) populations in south-central Alaska. We examined the nutritional consequences of behavioral changes induced by the presence and activity of bear viewers for bears feeding on early summer vegetation and late-summer salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch and O. nerka). We used Global Positioning System collars, monitored food resource availability, and quantified individual resource use and condition for a year prior to and during the introduction of bear viewing. Though bear viewing altered spatiotemporal resource use in all treatments, total resource use declined only when we exposed bears to 24-hour daily human activity. Energy expenditure, indexed as daily travel distances, was significantly higher when bears responded by altering spatial rather than temporal resource use. However, body weight and composition were unaffected by all treatments as bears shifted their foraging to other locations or times. Managers can minimize nutritional impacts of bear-viewing programs by avoiding spatial displacement and providing predictable time periods when bears can access food resources free of human activity. Bears in this study exhibited a high degree of behavioral plasticity, which may be an important factor in identifying flagship species for sustainable ecotourism programs.     

Immunological and biochemical analysis of test matrix proteins in living and fossil foraminifers

The characterization of macromolecules from shell matrix proteins in living organisms is the fundamental first step in establishing molecular phylogenies. This is particularly important if ancient macromolecules will be used for the phylogenies. Approximately 500 individuals of Orbulina universa were picked from plankton tows taken in the Gulf of Mexico during spring 1990. Proteins were extracted from the tests of the individuals, and the molecular weights of the proteins were determined and compared to 2,000–4,000-year old samples. Gel electrophoresis of the soluble matrix (SM) from living O. universa showed at least ten protein bands, while electrophoresis of core-top O. universa showed two protein bands. Dot-immunobinding assays of proteins from living and fossil samples of O. universa , incubated against monoclonal antibodies raised against core-top O. universa SM, demonstrated a reactivity with the two proteins in common. Less reactivity was obtained with living samples of the benthic foraminifers Androsina lucasi and Archaias angulatus and core-top samples of the planktonic foraminifer Neogloboquadrina dutertrei. A partial protein sequence from one shell matrix protein approximately 65kD in size, from core-top Orbulina universa , showed a domain of polyaspartic acid at the NH₂ terminus. This is consistent with data obtained for other matrix proteins found in invertebrates and vertebrates. Sequence data provide insight into the role that the protein may play in the biomineralization of the test and will aid in modelling degradation. □ Foraminifera, test proteins, monoclonal antibodies , Orbulina, Androsina, Archaias, Neogloboquadrina, biomineralization, Dot-immunobinding assay, protein sequence.