David Hume's theory of value

This thesis is neither e page to page commentary nor en assessment of Hume's place in the history of Philosophy. It mainly consists in an attempt at justifying a certain approach to the Interpretation of his theory of value with special reference to morals

Möjligheter med odling av mikroalger för rening av bekämpningsmedelsrester i vatten

Every year, pesticides are found in surface and ground waters in Sweden. Fungicides are in common usage and applied in high amounts against potato late blight. The present thesis examined the possible removal of four fungicides (metalaxyl, cyprodinil, propamocarb and mandipropamid) from water using the microalgae Chlorella vulgaris. Microorganisms are capable of decomposing a range of organic pollutants and the main focus in previously published studies has been on bacteria and fungi. Microalgae are mostly studied due to their high capacity in biosorbing heavy metals. Removal of organic pollutants such as pesticides has been reported, however in fewer studies. The work was divided into two main experiments; one short-term experiment (60 min) using dead and living cells, and one long-term experiment (4 days) using growing cells. In the long-term experiment, the presence of growing algae resulted in around 50% lower propamocarb concentration in the medium compared with final concentration in the control without algae. In the short-term study, the presence of live algae cells led to a 30% reduction of propamocarb, compared to the concentration in the control. The main mechanism behind the reduction of propamocarb in the water phase is proposed to be biosorption onto the algal cells. This conclusion is based on the short duration required for removal to occur. For the other three studied fungicides no removal from the water phase by the algal treatments was observed.Varje år detekteras pesticidrester i yt- och grundvattnet i Sverige. Fungicider används i stor skala mot potatisbladmögel. Mikroorganismer är kapabla att bryta ner en rad olika organiska föroreningar och fokus på den här typen av studier har oftast legat på bakterier och svampar. När liknande studier gjorts på mikroalger har fokus legat på deras goda förmåga att biosorbera tungmetaller. Dock har rening av vatten från organiska föroreningar såsom pesticider rapporterats men dessa har varit få. Detta uppsatsarbete undersökte därför möjligheterna att minska mängden av fyra fungicider (metalaxyl, cyprodinil, propamocarb and mandipropamid) lösta i vatten med hjälp av mikroalgen Chlorella vulgaris. Uppsatsarbetet var uppdelat i två delar; ett korttids-experiment (60 min) med biomassa från levande och döda mikroalger, och ett långtids-experiment (4 dagar) med levande alger. I långtids-experimentet sjönk koncentrationen av propamocarb i lösningen med ca 50% i närvaro av levande alger jämfört med kontrollen där inga alger fanns närvarande. I korttids-experimentet minskade koncentrationen av propamocarb med ungefär 30% i närvaron av levande alger jämfört med kontrollen utan alger. Huvudorsaken till minskningen av propamocarbs beror troligtvis på biosorption som sker på algernas cellväggar. Denna slutsats har dragits baserat på den korta tidsperiod för under vilken minskningen av propamocarb sker. Ingen av de övriga tre fungiciderna minskade i koncentration på grund av mikroalgens närvaro

Odling av mikroalger inom trädgårdsnäringen

Mikroalger har en förmåga att reducera näringsämnen i näringsberikat vatten samtidigt som de kan producera kommersiellt intressanta ämnen. Att odla mikroalger i dräneringsvatten från växthusodling skulle kunna vara ett sätt för odlare, som inte använder recirkulerande odlingssystem, att återvinna näringsberikat vatten. Om mikroalgerna producerar värdefulla metaboliter så kunde detta vara ett sätt för odlare att vinna ekonomiskt samtidigt som näringsläckaget reduceras. I detta arbete undersöks möjligheten att odla mikroalgerna Chlorella vulgaris och Haematococcus pluvialis i en näringslösning med ett näringsinnehåll som motsvarar det i returvatten från växthusodling av tomat. C. vulgaris har en hög proteinhalt och innehåller även fleromättade fettsyror och karotenoider. H. pluvialis kan producera den ekonomiskt värdefulla karotenoiden astaxanthin. Arbetet handlar om att belysa möjligheter och svårigheter i odling av mikroalgerna i returvatten och vilka åtgärder som kan behövas för att få en så bra tillväxt som möjligt. Resultatet visade att C. vulgaris tillväxte bra i näringslösningen medan H. pluvialis tillväxte dåligt under samma förutsättningar.Microalgae have an ability to reduce nutrients in nutrient enriched water while at the same time being able to produce valuable metabolites. The cultivation of microalgae in drainage water from greenhouse cultivation could be a method for growers, who do not use recirculating culture systems, to recycle nutrient enriched water. If the microalgae produce valuable metabolites, it could be of economical gain for growers while nutrients are reduced. In the present study I have examined whether it is possible to cultivate the microalgae Chlorella vulgaris and Haematococcus pluvialis in a nutrient solution with a content that corresponds to the drainage water from a greenhouse cultivation of tomato. C. vulgaris has got a high protein content and also contains polyunsaturated fatty acids and carotenoids. H. pluvialis is able to produce the economically valuable carotenoid astaxanthin. My study is about how to elucidate opportunities and constraints in the cultivation of microalgae in drainage water and what actions may be needed to get as

Om mistillidens værdi

Når mennesker viser hinanden tillid og mistillid, udtrykker de en holdning til den anden persons karakter. Der liggeri disse følelser en indsigt i det andet menneske, og i det følgende skal vi se på, hvad det er for en slags social viden eller forståelse, vi udviser, når vi vurderer andre menneskers troværdighed. Vi har tydeligvis ikke at gøre med objektiv viden, som når jeg ved, at personen er til stede i samme rum som mig. Samtidig udtrykker mistilliden en forståelseaf noget ved den anden, og er altså ikke bare en tilfældig følelse på linje med, om kaffen på stedet falder i min smag.

Insights into Early Stage of Antibiotic Development in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: A Survey of Targets, Costs, and Durations

Antibiotic innovation has dwindled to dangerously low levels in the past 30 years. Since resistance continues to evolve, this innovation deficit can have perilous consequences on patients. A number of new incentives have been suggested to stimulate greater antibacterial drug innovation. To design effective solutions, a greater understanding is needed of actual antibiotic discovery and development costs and timelines. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) undertake most discovery and early phase development for antibiotics and other drugs. This paper attempts to gather a better understanding of SMEs’ targets, costs, and durations related to discovery and early phase development of antibacterial therapies

Agency without Avoidability: Defusing a New Threat to Frankfurt’s Counterexample Strategy1

In this paper, I examine a new line of response to Frankfurt’s challenge to the traditional association of moral responsibility with the ability to do otherwise. According to this response, Frankfurt’s counterexample strategy fails, not in light of the conditions for moral responsibility per se, but in view of the conditions for action. Specifically, it is claimed, a piece of behavior counts as an action only if it is within the agent’s power to avoid performing it. In so far as Frankfurt’s challenge presupposes that actions can be unavoidable, this view of action seems to bring his challenge up short. Helen Steward and Maria Alvarez have independently proposed versions of this response. Here I argue that this response is unavailable to Frankfurt’s incompatibilist opponents. This becomes evident when we put this question to its proponents: “Are actions that originate deterministically ipso facto unavoidable?” If they answer “yes,” they encounter one horn of a dilemma. If they answer “no,” they encounter the other horn. Since no one has a clearer stake in meeting Frankfurt’s challenge than these theorists do, it is significant that the Steward-Alvarez response is unavailable to them

Immigrant women’s experiences of maternity services in Canada: a meta-ethnography

Objective: to synthesise data on immigrant women's experiences of maternity services in Canada. Design: a qualitative systematic literature review using a meta-ethnographic approach. Methods: a comprehensive search strategy of multiple databases was employed in consultation with an information librarian, to identify qualitative research studies published in English or French between 1990 and December 2011 on maternity care experiences of immigrant women in Canada. A modified version of Noblit and Hare's meta-ethnographic theoretical approach was undertaken to develop an inductive and interpretive form of knowledge synthesis. The seven-phase process involved comparative textual analysis of published qualitative studies, including the translation of key concepts and meanings from one study to another to derive second and third-order concepts encompassing more than that offered by any individual study. ATLAS.ti qualitative data analysis software was used to store and manage the studies and synthesise their findings. Findings: the literature search identified 393 papers, of which 22 met the inclusion criteria and were synthesised. The literature contained seven key concepts related to maternity service experiences including social (professional and informal) support, communication, socio-economic barriers, organisational environment, knowledge about maternity services and health care, cultural beliefs and practices, and different expectations between health care staff and immigrant women. Three second-order interpretations served as the foundation for two third-order interpretations. Societal positioning of immigrant women resulted in difficulties receiving high quality maternity health care. Maternity services were an experience in which cultural knowledge and beliefs, and religious and traditional preferences were highly relevant as well but often overlooked in Canadian maternity settings. Key conclusions and implications for practice: in order to implement woman-centred care, to enhance access to maternity services, and to promote immigrant women's health, it is important to consider these women's social position, cultural knowledge and beliefs, and traditional customs in the health care

Discourse comprehension in L2: Making sense of what is not explicitly said

Using ERPs, we tested whether L2 speakers can integrate multiple sources of information (e.g., semantic, pragmatic information) during discourse comprehension. We presented native speakers and L2 speakers with three-sentence scenarios in which the final sentence was highly causally related, intermediately related, or causally unrelated to its context; its interpretation therefore required simple or complex inferences. Native speakers revealed a gradual N400-like effect, larger in the causally unrelated condition than in the highly related condition, and falling in-between in the intermediately related condition, replicating previous results. In the crucial intermediately related condition, L2 speakers behaved like native speakers, however, showing extra processing in a later time-window. Overall, the results show that, when reading, L2 speakers are able to process information from the local context and prior information (e.g., world knowledge) to build global coherence, suggesting that they process different sources of information to make inferences online during discourse comprehension, like native speakers.This work was supported by grants from the Spanish Government (PSI2011-23033, CONSOLIDER-INGENIO2010 CSD2007-00048, ECO2011-25295, and ECO2010-09555-E), from the Catalan Government (SGR 2009-1521) and from the Grup de Recerca en Neurociència Cognitiva (GRNC) - 2014SGR1210. It has also received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no. 613465