Intrinsic Valuing and the Limits of Justice: Why the Ring of Gyges Matters

Commentators such as Terence Irwin (1999) and Christopher Shields (2006) claim that the Ring of Gyges argument in Republic II cannot demonstrate that justice is chosen only for its consequences. This is because valuing justice for its own sake is compatible with judging its value to be overridable. Through examination of the rational commitments involved in valuing normative ideals such as justice, we aim to show that this analysis is mistaken. If Glaucon is right that everyone would endorse Gyges’ behavior, it follows that nobody values justice intrinsically. Hence, the Gyges story constitutes a more serious challenge than critics maintain

Field-effect-driven half-metallic multilayer graphene

Rhombohedral stacked multilayer graphene displays the occurrence of a magnetic surface state at low temperatures. Recent angular resolved photoemission experiments demonstrate the robustness of the magnetic state in long sequences of ABC graphene. Here, by using first-principles calculations, we show that field-effect doping of these graphene multilayers induces a perfect half-metallic behaviour with 100% of spin current polarization already at dopings attainable in conventional field effect transistors with solid state dielectrics. Our work demonstrates the realisability of a new kind of spintronic devices where the transition between the low resistance and the high resistance state is driven only by electric fields

Republic 382a-d: On the Dangers and Benefits of Falsehood

Socrates' attitude towards falsehood is quite puzzling in the Republic. Although Socrates is clearly committed to truth, at several points he discusses the benefits of falsehood. This occurs most notably in Book 3 with the "noble lie" (414d-415c) and most disturbingly in Book 5 with the "rigged sexual lottery" (459d-460c). This raises the question: What kinds of falsehoods does Socrates think are beneficial, and what kinds of falsehoods does he think are harmful? And more broadly: What can this tell us about the relationship between ethics and epistemology? The key to answering these questions lies in an obscure and paradoxical passage in Book II; at 382a-d Socrates distinguishes between "true falsehoods" and "impure lies." True falsehoods are always bad, but impure lies are sometimes beneficial. Despite Socrates' insistence that he is not saying anything deep, his distinction is far from straightforward. Nevertheless, in order to determine why some falsehoods are beneficial and why some are always harmful, we must understand what exactly true falsehoods are and how they differ from impure lies. In this paper, I argue that true falsehoods are a restricted class of false beliefs about ethics; they are false beliefs about how one should live and what one should pursue. I refer to these beliefs as "normative commitments." False normative commitments are always pernicious because they create and sustain psychological disharmony. Unlike true falsehoods, impure lies can be about anything. Nevertheless, they are only beneficial when they help produce and sustain true normative commitments. I argue that the upshot of this is that practical concerns have a kind of primacy over theoretical concerns

Efecto de la periodontitis asociada a la obesidad en el perfil plasmático bioquímico. Estudio en ratas Wistar

Antecedentes: En la última década, numerosos estudios epidemiológicos y clínicos han demostrado una asociación entre la obesidad y una prevalencia aumentada de periodontitis. Sin embargo, muchos aspectos relacionados con las inferencias causales y con los mecanismos moleculares involucrados tienen que ser evaluados. Objetivos: Analizar el desarrollo de periodontitis en relación a un consumo de dieta alta en grasa y las posibles modificaciones en parámetros pro-inflamatorios y metabólicos. Métodos: Se utilizaron 28 ratas Wistar macho que fueron divididas en 4 grupos: 1. ratas con dieta control (CON); 2. ratas con dieta alta en grasa (HFD); 3. ratas con dieta control y periodontitis inducida (CON-Perio); 4. ratas con dieta alta en grasas y periodontitis inducida (HFD-Perio). La periodontitis se indujo a través de lavados orales con P. gingivalis y F. nucleatum. Se evaluaron índices clínicos periodontales y se analizaron los niveles circulantes de citoquinas, de adipocitoquinas y de lípidos. Resultados: Los animales expuestos a una dieta hipercalórica presentaron un incremento de peso estadísticamente significativo (p<0,05) respecto a los controles. Los grupos con periodontitis inducida mostraron un incremento de PPD, BOP y MGI estadísticamente significativos (p<0,05) respecto a los grupos sin periodontitis, siendo los valores más elevados el grupo HFD-Perio. Las citoquinas pro-inflamatorias interleucina-1 (IL-1proteína quimioatractante de monocitos (MCP-1) y factor de necrosis tumoral- (TNF- y los niveles de ácidos grasos libres y de triglicéridos exhibieron niveles estadísticamente más elevados (p<0,05) en los grupos con periodontitis respecto a los grupos sin periodontitis Las concentraciones plasmáticas de leptina, de visfatina y resistina mostraron tendencia a aumentar en las ratas con periodontitis inducida, mientras que los niveles de adiponectina se redujeron en los grupos con periodontitis. Conclusiones: Se puede afirmar que el estado dismetabólico e inflamatorio sistémico producido por el desarrollo de la obesidad es un factor que puede modificar la incidencia y la progresión de la periodontitis. Además, el tener periodontitis, también independientemente de la obesidad, se correlaciona a un desbalance en los niveles sistémicos de adipocitoquinas y de lípidos plasmáticos

Hybrid-functional electronic structure of multilayer graphene

Multilayer graphene with rhombohedral and Bernal stacking are supposed to be metallic, as predicted by density functional theory calculations using semi-local functionals. However recent angular resolved photoemission and transport data have questioned this point of view. In particular, rhombohedral flakes are suggested to be magnetic insulators. Bernal flakes composed of an even number of layers are insulating, while those composed of an odd number of layers are pseudogapped. Here, by systematically benchmarking with plane waves codes, we develop very accurate all-electron Gaussian basis sets for graphene multilayers. We find that, in agreement with our previous calculations, rhombohedral stacked multilayer graphene are gapped for and magnetic. However, the valence band curvature and the details of the electronic structure depend crucially on the basis set. Only substantially extended basis sets are able to correctly reproduce the effective mass of the valence band top at the K point, while the popular POB-TZVP basis set leads to a severe overestimation. In the case of Bernal stacking, we show that exact exchange gaps the flakes composed by four layers and opens pseudogaps for N = 3, 6, 7, 8. However, the gap or pseudogap size and its behaviour as a function of thickness are not compatible with experimental data. Moreover, hybrid functionals lead to a metallic solution for 5 layers and a magnetic ground state for 5, 6 and 8 layers. Magnetism is very weak with practically no effect on the electronic structure and the magnetic moments are mostly concentrated in the central layers. Our hybrid functional calculations on trilayer Bernal graphene multilayers are in excellent agreement with non-magnetic GW calculations. For thicker multilayers, our calculations are a benchmark for manybody theoretical modeling of the low energy electronic structure.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figure

Teste de anelagem em espécies arbóreas na floresta amazônica.

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Protective Activity of Broccoli Sprout Juice in a Human Intestinal Cell Model of Gut Inflammation

Benefits to health from a high consumption of fruits and vegetables are well established and have been attributed to bioactive secondary metabolites present in edible plants. However, the effects of specific health-related phytochemicals within a complex food matrix are difficult to assess. In an attempt to address this problem, we have used elicitation to improve the nutraceutical content of seedlings of Brassica oleracea grown under controlled conditions. Analysis, by LC-MS, of the glucosinolate, isothiocyanate and phenolic compound content of juices obtained from sprouts indicated that elicitation induces an enrichment of several phenolics, particularly of the anthocyanin fraction. To test the biological activity of basal and enriched juices we took advantage of a recently developed in vitro model of inflamed human intestinal epithelium. Both sprouts’ juices protected intestinal barrier integrity in Caco-2 cells exposed to tumor necrosis factor under marginal zinc deprivation, with the enriched juice showing higher protection. Multivariate regression analysis indicated that the extent of rescue from stress-induced epithelial dysfunction correlated with the composition in bioactive molecules of the juices and, in particular, with a group of phenolic compounds, including several anthocyanins, quercetin-3-Glc, cryptochlorogenic, neochlorogenic and cinnamic acids

When Should a Cervical Collar be Used to Treat Neck Pain?

Neck pain is one of the most prevalent and costly health problems in the United States. It remains a complex, subjective experience with a variety of musculoskeletal causes. Although, cervical collars are a seemingly benign intervention, they can have adverse effects, especially when used for longer periods of time. It is feared that a long period of immobilization, can result in atrophy-related secondary damage. Many physicians cite anecdotal evidence of their clinical utility and soft cervical collars are often prescribed by convention for patients complaining of neck pain. The use of cervical collars to treat neck pain is an area of controversy. This review article examines the current evidence and studies related to recommending cervical collars for neck pain of a variety of etiologies

Reduced brain UCP2 expression mediated by microRNA-503 contributes to increased stroke susceptibility in the high-salt fed stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rat

UCP2 maps nearby the lod score peak of STR1-stroke QTL in the SHRSP rat strain. We explored the potential contribution of UCP2 to the high-salt diet (JD)-dependent increased stroke susceptibility of SHRSP. Male SHRSP, SHRSR, two reciprocal SHRSR/SHRSP-STR1/QTL stroke congenic lines received JD for 4 weeks to detect brain UCP2 gene/protein modulation as compared with regular diet (RD). Brains were also analyzed for NF-κB protein expression, oxidative stress level and UCP2-targeted microRNAs expression level. Next, based on knowledge that fenofibrate and Brassica Oleracea (BO) stimulate UCP2 expression through PPARα activation, we monitored stroke occurrence in SHRSP receiving JD plus fenofibrate versus vehicle, JD plus BO juice versus BO juice plus PPARα inhibitor. Brain UCP2 expression was markedly reduced by JD in SHRSP and in the (SHRsr.SHRsp-(D1Rat134-Mt1pa)) congenic line, whereas NF-κB expression and oxidative stress level increased. The opposite phenomenon was observed in the SHRSR and in the (SHRsp.SHRsr-(D1Rat134-Mt1pa)) reciprocal congenic line. Interestingly, the UCP2-targeted rno-microRNA-503 was significantly upregulated in SHRSP and decreased in SHRSR upon JD, with consistent changes in the two reciprocal congenic lines. Both fenofibrate and BO significantly decreased brain microRNA-503 level, upregulated UCP2 expression and protected SHRSP from stroke occurrence. In vitro overexpression of microRNA-503 in endothelial cells suppressed UCP2 expression and led to a significant increase of cell mortality with decreased cell viability. Brain UCP2 downregulation is a determinant of increased stroke predisposition in high-salt-fed SHRSP. In this context, UCP2 can be modulated by both pharmacological and nutraceutical agents. The microRNA-503 significantly contributes to mediate brain UCP2 downregulation in JD-fed SHRSP

Produção de óleo de copaíba na região do Tapajós.

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