Dante's Gluttons

Dante’s Gluttons: Food and Society from the Convivio to the Comedy explores how in his work medieval Italian poet Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) uses food to articulate, reinforce, criticize, and correct the social, political, and cultural values of his time. Combining medieval history, food studies, and literary criticism, Dante’s Gluttons historicizes food and eating in Dante, beginning in his earliest collected poetry and arriving at the end of his major work. For Dante, the consumption of food is not a frivolity, but a crux of life in the most profound sense of the term, and gluttony is the abdication of civic and spiritual responsibility and a danger to the individual body and soul as well as to the collective. This book establishes how one of the world’s preeminent authors uses the intimacy and universality of food as a touchstone, communicating through a gastronomic language rooted in the deeply human relationship with material sustenance.

Gut microbiome composition, not alpha diversity, is associated with survival in a natural vertebrate population

Background The vertebrate gut microbiome (GM) can vary substantially across individuals within the same natural population. Although there is evidence linking the GM to health in captive animals, very little is known about the consequences of GM variation for host fitness in the wild. Here, we explore the relationship between faecal microbiome diversity, body condition, and survival using data from the long-term study of a discrete natural population of the Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis) on Cousin Island. To our knowledge, this is the first time that GM differences associated with survival have been fully characterised for a natural vertebrate species, across multiple age groups and breeding seasons. Results We identified substantial variation in GM community structure among sampled individuals, which was partially explained by breeding season (5% of the variance), and host age class (up to 1% of the variance). We also identified significant differences in GM community membership between adult birds that survived, versus those that had died by the following breeding season. Individuals that died carried increased abundances of taxa that are known to be opportunistic pathogens, including several ASVs in the genus Mycobacterium. However, there was no association between GM alpha diversity (the diversity of bacterial taxa within a sample) and survival to the next breeding season, or with individual body condition. Additionally, we found no association between GM community membership and individual body condition. Conclusions These results demonstrate that components of the vertebrate GM can be associated with host fitness in the wild. However, further research is needed to establish whether changes in bacterial abundance contribute to, or are only correlated with, differential survival; this will add to our understanding of the importance of the GM in the evolution of host species living in natural populations.

Profitability of Using Commercial Tilapia Feed to Produce Three Different Sizes of Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L.) Fingerlings in Ghana

Aims: To determine the profitability of using a commercial tilapia feed to produce three different size ranges (1.0-1.9, 2.0-2.9 and 5.0-5.9 g) of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus fingerlings in hapa-in-pond system. Study Design: Completely randomized design. Place and Duration of Study: The Aquaculture Research and Development Centre (ARDEC), Akosombo, of Water Research Institute (WRI) of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Ghana, from March to May, 2020. Methodology: Fish growth study was carried out in three (3) fine mesh netting hapas, each of dimensions 5.0 x 2.0 x 1.2 m. Nile tilapia fry at initial mean weight 0.03 ± 0.01 g were stocked at a density of 50 fish m-2 and they were fed at 20 % body weight five times daily. The feeding of the fish continued until those in all the 3 hapas attained a mean weight of at least 5.0 g. Then the experiment was terminated and all the survived fish in each hapa were harvested, counted, and their individual body weights were measured. Growth performance indicators and profitability of producing the various size categories (1.0-1.9, 2.0-2.9 and 5.0-5.9) were determined. Results: The fry attained the target size ranges of 1.0-1.9, 2.0-2.9 and 5.0-5.9 g in 4, 6 and 9 weeks respectively. There were significant differences (ANOVA, P = 0.03) among final mean weights, weight gains, feed intakes, daily weight gains, feed efficiencies and harvested biomass among all size ranges, with those of 5.0-5.9 g being significantly higher (Tukey’s HSDT, P < 0.02). Sizes of fingerlings produced correlate positively with cost of feed used. The profit indices ranged from 2.57 to 10.22, with the highest recorded in the 1.0-1.9 g fingerlings and the least in those of 5.0-5.9 g. Conclusion: The results indicated that, at the current Nile tilapia fingerlings cost and the time taken to produce the various size categories, the 1.0-1.9 g production is the most profitable.

The discussion of body in 'Every Day' by David Levithan

In the novel Every Day by David Levithan, there exists a profound discussion about body through its protagonist A’s life, its plot, dialogues, and events that unfold. This paper uses qualitative textual analysis as its methods in order to obtain relevant data to be further analyzed using the theoretical framework from Stuart Hall (theory of representation (2013)) and Chris Shilling (The Body and Social Theory (2003)). Through the indexical signs from the text, there are discussions of how the body is represented, which are as something superficial, as a mask, and as something temporary. Through the analysis of the social body, it is also found that the body has become a social asset in which it could also contribute to one’s self-identity, creating the body as a project that one could work on throughout one’s life. Consequently, the metaphor of body as a machine appears, as well as the revelation that there is also a close relation between death and the body. Through death, the social body is reduced into individual body, where the living often avoids the dead, fearing subconsciously of their own. These aspects could be observed from A’s life and Rhiannon’s response towards it.

Examination of the Trexler-DeAngelis Model of Maternal Provisioning Reveals That Matrotrophy Is Costly

The evolution of matrotrophy (post-fertilization maternal provisioning to developing embryos) has been explained through several hypotheses. Trexler and DeAngelis proposed in 2003 a theoretical model that defines the ecological conditions under which matrotrophy would be favored over lecithotrophy (pre-fertilization maternal provisioning). According to this model, matrotrophy offers a selective advantage in environments with abundant and constantly available food, whereas environments with limited and fluctuating food resources should instead promote a lecithotrophic mode of maternal provisioning. This model also proposes that matrotrophy entails the consequence of leaner reproductive females and in turn shorter lifespans. In this study, we examined the Trexler-DeAngelis model using data from 45 populations of five viviparous species from the fish genus Poeciliopsis (family Poeciliidae). We used the matrotrophy index (MI) as a measure of post-fertilization maternal provisioning, and the index of stomach fullness and individual body condition (BC) as proxies for food availability. We also estimated the magnitude of fluctuations in food availability by calculating the temporal variances of these two proxies. Neither abundant nor constantly available food were associated with greater degrees of matrotrophy, which fails to support the predictions of the Trexler-DeAngelis model with respect to the ecological drivers of increased post-fertilization provisioning to embryos. Nonetheless, in all five species we observed that females with greater degrees of matrotrophy had poorer BC compared to females that provided less nutrients to embryos after fertilization. This finding is consistent with one of the expected consequences of advanced matrotrophy according to the Trexler-DeAngelis model, namely, a detriment to the nutritional status of females. Our study provides compelling evidence that gestating females experience a trade-off between post-fertilization provisioning to embryos and self-maintenance, revealing in turn that matrotrophy is a costly reproductive strategy.

An Exploratory Study into the Influence of Sex on Body Measurements, Carcass Weights and Meat Yields of Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis angolensis)

Various body measurements and commercial carcass yields of relatively young (2½–6 yrs old) giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis angolensis) were investigated to quantify the effect of sex there upon. Eight male and eight female giraffe were culled by standard practice in Namibia, where body and horn measurements were taken, before the carcasses were dressed. There were no significant differences between the mean dead weights of the two sexes (bulls = 691.1 kg; cows = 636.5 kg; p = 0.096), the only body measurements found to differ significantly were those of the forelegs, with the shoulder to hoof (p = 0.046) and the knee to hoof (p = 0.025) both being significantly longer in the bulls. The horn measurements were all found to be significantly larger in the bulls than the cows even at this young age. The neck weight as a percentage of the carcass weight was found to be significantly heavier for the bulls compared to the cows, however, the back percentage values were significantly heavier in the cows than the bulls. There was a strong positive correlation between the body weight and most of the body lengths, as well as between most of the individual body measurements. The giraffe used had an average age of 3.7 years old, and had therefore not yet reached their growth plateau, which may be why sex had no influence on most of the body measurements recorded.

Patient narratives of hope in stem cell technologies: Trust in biomedicine and the body’s natural ability to heal itself

The scholarship on patient hope in biomedical technologies describes two narratives of hope: the biomedical and the individual. The biomedical narrative represents patients’ beliefs that the institution of science will eventually produce treatment for their disease, whereas the individual narrative represents patients’ beliefs that they can alter their prognosis through affective and behavioral modifications. The distinct analytical categories of “biomedical” and “individual,” however, fail to account for the fact that patient hope has been found to be much more complex. Building upon extant literature, we contribute to the understanding of the complexity of patient hope in biomedical technologies by examining a case that highlights interdependencies between the biomedical and individual narratives: hope in stem cell technologies (SCTs). We draw upon interviews with patients with Parkinson’s Disease, and find two narratives of hope: a biomedical narrative, as captured above, and an additional hybrid narrative, which we call a nature narrative. The nature narrative reflects patients’ beliefs that scientists will eventually create SCTs that will allow their individual body to naturally heal itself, which combines a biomedical and an individual narrative.

Gut microbiome composition, not alpha diversity, is associated with survival in a natural vertebrate population

Background: The vertebrate gut microbiome (GM) can vary substantially across individuals within the same natural population. Although there is evidence linking the GM to health in captive animals, very little is known about the consequences of GM variation for host fitness in the wild. Here, we explore the relationship between faecal microbiome diversity, body condition and survival using data from the long-term study of a discrete natural population of the Seychelles warbler ( Acrocephalus sechellensis ) on Cousin Island. To our knowledge, this is the first time that GM differences associated with survival have been fully characterised for a natural vertebrate species, across multiple age groups and breeding seasons. Results: We identified substantial variation in GM community structure among sampled individuals, which was partially explained by breeding season (7% of the variance), and host age class (up to 1% of the variance). We also identified significant differences in GM community membership between individuals that survived, versus those that had died by the following breeding season. Individuals that died carried reduced abundances of beneficial taxa in the bacterial order Clostridiales , but increased abundances of taxa that are known to be opportunistic pathogens (e.g. members of the Chloroflexi and Propionibacteriales ). However, there was no association between GM alpha diversity (the diversity of bacterial taxa within a sample) and survival to the next breeding season, or with individual body condition. Additionally, we found no association between GM community membership and individual body condition. Conclusions: These results demonstrate that components of the vertebrate GM can be associated with host fitness in the wild, although whether changes in bacterial abundance contribute to, or are only correlated with, the differential survival observed remains unclear. Importantly, it suggests that components of the GM may be under selection, and, thus, could have the potential to influence the evolution of host species living in natural populations.

Bariatric surgery

This chapter is divided into three parts: it gives an overview of bariatric surgery, describes contemporary bariatric procedures and outcomes, and proposes a framework for a rational and ethical response to patients’ needs. The author is not a plastic surgeon: accordingly, individual body contouring procedures are not discussed.

Size Matters: Body Size is Correlated with Longevity in Speckled Cockroaches (Nauphoeta cineria).

Background: A relationship between body size and longevity has long been appreciated within eukaryotes, especially vertebrates. Introduction: In general, large size is associated with increased longevity among species of mammals and birds but is associated with decreased longevity within individual species such as dogs and mice. In this study, we examined the relationship between measures of individual body size and longevity in a captive population of speckled cockroaches (Nauphoeta cineria). Method: Newly molted adults of both sexes were removed from a mass colony housed in multiple terraria and housed individually with food and water provided ad libitum for the duration of their lifespan. Thrice weekly, the status (i.e. live/dead) of individual cockroaches was noted for the duration of the study. Individuals found dead were weighed and measured to obtain body mass and morphometric measures and the age at the time of death was recorded. The relationship between body size and lifespan was assessed. Result: Contrary to what is commonly seen within vertebrates, large cockroaches were longer-lived than their smaller counterparts. Specifically, body mass, body length and pronotum width were all significantly correlated with the age at death in a mixed population of males and females (n = 94). In addition, we found that the longevity of a historically larger population in terms of both body mass and body length were significantly longer-lived than the population used in this study. Conclusion: These data indicate there is a significant interaction between body size and aging in this species and that increased size results in a survival advantage. There is evidence in the literature indicating that a positive relationship between size and longevity may be common in insects.