A Comparison of Two Recorders for Obtaining In-flight Heart Rate Data

Measurement of mental workload has been widely used for evaluation of aircraft design, mission analysis and assessment of pilot performance during flight operations. Heart rate is the psychophysiological measure that has been most frequently used for this purpose. The risk of interference with flight safety and pilot performance, as well as the generally constrained access to flights, make it difficult for researchers to collect in-flight heart rate data. Thus, this study was carried out to investigate whether small, non-intrusive sports recorders can be used for in-flight data collection for research purposes. Data was collected from real and simulated flights with student pilots using the Polar Team System sports recorder and the Vitaport II, a clinical and research recording device. Comparison of the data shows that in-flight heart rate data from the smaller and less intrusive sports recorder have a correlation of.981 with that from the clinical recorder, thus indicating that the sports recorder is reliable and cost-effective for obtaining heart rate data for many research situations.     

FROM INTEGRATIVE BIOETHICS TO PSEUDOSCIENCE

Integrative bioethics is a brand of bioethics conceived and propagated by a group of Croatian philosophers and other scholars. This article discusses and shows that the approach encounters several serious difficulties. In criticizing certain standard views on bioethics and in presenting their own, the advocates of integrative bioethics fall into various conceptual confusions and inconsistencies. Although presented as a project that promises to deal with moral dilemmas created by modern science and technology, integrative bioethics does not contain the slightest normativity or action‐guiding capacity. Portrayed as a scientific and interdisciplinary enterprise, integrative bioethics displays a large number of pseudoscientific features that throw into doubt its overall credibility.     

Genetic Engineering with Bacillus thuringiensis and Conventional Approaches for Insect Resistance in Crops

The aim of resistance management is to slow and ideally reverse the development of resistance in the pest population. Since 1996, million of acres of crops have been planted that are genetically engineered with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) for insect resistance. The novelty for resistance management is that with Bt technology it is possible to control the principal force in an agroecosystem microevolutionary process from the outset, i.e., selection pressure. In Bt crops, the toxin can be expressed constitutively at a relatively constant dose or expression of the toxin can be restricted to specific crop stages, tissues, or both. Here we propose that more precise control of selection eases the practical application of resistance management strategies (high-dose–refugia) compared to other resistance strategies. The population genetics and ecological and operational factors related to the high-dose–refugia strategy currently used for Bt crops are also reviewed.     

One Practitioner's Perspective

Comments are provided from the perspective of a practitioner.     

Building strong relationships between conservation genetics and primary industry leads to mutually beneficial genomic advances

Several reviews in the past decade have heralded the benefits of embracing high‐throughput sequencing technologies to inform conservation policy and the management of threatened species, but few have offered practical advice on how to expedite the transition from conservation genetics to conservation genomics. Here, we argue that an effective and efficient way to navigate this transition is to capitalize on emerging synergies between conservation genetics and primary industry (e.g., agriculture, fisheries, forestry and horticulture). Here, we demonstrate how building strong relationships between conservation geneticists and primary industry scientists is leading to mutually‐beneficial outcomes for both disciplines. Based on our collective experience as collaborative New Zealand‐based scientists, we also provide insight for forging these cross‐sector relationships.     

Applied Psychophysiology: Exclusions and Inclusions

Mark Schwartz has done a fine job in a systematic attempt to define applied psychophysiology. The present author disagrees on a few points concerning what areas will be included and what areas excluded from Schwatz's definition of this term.     

Responses to Comments and Closer to a Definition of Applied Psychophysiology

This paper responds to the nine response papers to the initial paper in this series. This paper also presents a revised working definition of applied psychophysiology which is in concert with many of the responses.     

Applied Psychophysiology and Learned Physiological Regulation

This commentary emphasizes the importance of including animal research and basic human research, contrasts the present state of affairs for biofeedback in the United States versus Europe, and proposes an alternative, more expanded definition of applied psychophysiology, which includes research, diagnostics, and education, as well as interventions.     

The Heritability Theory of Heterosis and Its Meaning for Global Agriculture

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