BEYOND "GUILLOTINE BY HUME"
ETICA & POLITICA
Authors: Pagani, Paolo
Abstract
After having introduced some preliminary notions (including "good", "obligation" etc.), this paper addresses the meaning and the structure of Hume's Guillotine (GH). It distinguishes between GH1 (the prohibition of translating a normative sentence in a descriptive one) and GH2 (the prohibition of deriving normative conclusions from merely descriptive premises). Then it will investigate GH2 with respect to some formal languages and it will explain the possibility of introducing "bridge-principles" connecting the alethic domain to the deontic one. Moreover, it will call into question some traditional arguments introduced by scholars to overcome the two GH pillars and it will also offer more rigorous arguments for justifying the overcoming of GH. In particular, it will explore the nature of the link between "Ought" and "Is". For this purpose, it drew attention to Hintikka's "bridge. principle", describing the obligation as a kind of necessity. More precisely, the proper necessity of obligation qualifies as the impossibility of providing a counter-example.
The distribution of active beta-glucosidase-producing microbial communities in composting
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF MICROBIOLOGY
Authors: Zang, Xiangyun; Liu, Meiting; Wang, Han; Fan, Yihong; Zhang, Haichang; Liu, Jiawen; Xing, Enlu; Xu, Xiuhong; Li, Hongtao
Abstract
The composting ecosystem is a suitable source for the discovery of novel microorganisms and secondary metabolites. Cellulose degradation is an important part of the global carbon cycle, and beta-glucosidases complete the final step of cellulose hydrolysis by converting cellobiose to glucose. This work analyzes the succession of beta-glucosidase-producing microbial communities that persist throughout cattle manure - rice straw composting, and evaluates their metabolic activities and community advantage during the various phases of composting. Fungal and bacterial beta-glucosidase genes belonging to glycoside hydrolase families 1 and 3 (GH1 and GH3) amplified from DNA were classified and gene abundance levels were analyzed. The major reservoirs of beta-glucosidase genes were the fungal phylum Ascomycota and the bacterial phyla Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Deinococcus-Thermus. This indicates that a diverse microbial community utilizes cellobiose. The succession of dominant bacteria was also detected during composting. Firmicutes was the dominant bacteria in the thermophilic phase of composting; there was a shift to Actinomycetes in the maturing stage. Proteobacteria accounted for the highest proportions during the heating and thermophilic phases of composting. By contrast, the fungal phylum Ascomycota was a minor microbial community constituent in thermophilic phase of composting. Combined with the analysis of the temperature, cellulose degradation rate and the carboxymethyl cellulase and beta-glucosidase activities showed that the bacterial GH1 family beta-glucosidase genes make greater contribution in cellulose degradation at the later thermophilic stage of composting. In summary, even GH1 bacteria families beta-glucosidase genes showing low abundance in DNA may be functionally important in the later thermophilic phase of composting. The results indicate that a complex community of bacteria and fungi expresses beta-glucosidases in compost. Several beta-glucosidase-producing bacteria and fungi identified in this study may represent potential indicators of composting in cellulose degradation.