When propriety is improper

We argue that philosophers ought to distinguish epistemic decision theory and epistemology, in just the way ordinary decision theory is distinguished from ethics. Once one does this, the internalist arguments that motivate much of epistemic decision theory make sense, given specific interpretations of the formalism. Making this distinction also causes trouble for the principle called Propriety, which says, roughly, that the only acceptable epistemic utility functions make probabilistically coherent credence functions immodest. We cast doubt on this requirement, but then argue that epistemic decision theorists should never have wanted such a strong principle in any case

accumulation and subcellular localisation of metal cations by saccharomyces cerevisiae

Uptake of Cd2+ ions m the presence or absence of glucose by a brewing strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was examined in unbuffered, buffered and pH controlled systems. Levels of Cd2+ taken up, and K+ release were influenced by the degree of pH control in each system. A time-dependent component of uptake was observed in the absence of glucose which was attributed to a degree of metabolic activity Subcellulai localisation studies determined that Cd2+ was predominantly bound by insoluble cellular material (approximately 70%) whereas Mn2+ was localised to soluble pools, paiticularly the vacuole (less than 45% bound by insoluble cellular material). In the presence and absence of glucose, Sr2+ was sequestered mainly to bound (50-68%) or soluble (65- 85%) subcellular pools, respectively, but the converse was observed with Cu2+ localisation Perturbation of subcellular Mg2+ pools was observed in the presence of glucose only, and consisted of Mg displacement from vacuolar or bound pools to other subcellular compartments Vacuolar K+ loss was recorded during accumulation of all cations in the absence of glucose but only during Cd2+ uptake in the presence of glucose Growth inhibitory effects of Mn2+ on S c e re v is ia e NCYC 1383 weie eliminated by supplementing with excess Mg2+ ions but not with Ca2+ or K+ Intracellular Mg levels were amenable to manipulation and it was observed that Mg-ennched cells accumulated less Mn2+ (by approximately half) than their unsupplemented counterparts In addition, cells possessing low intracellular. Mg levels were more susceptible to Mn2+ toxicity Toxicity was dependent on the cellular Mg Mn ratio, a critical ratio of 2 0 was identified below which toxicity became acute. An alternative technique for differential extraction of subcellular ion pools was developed utilising specific biochemical markers to characterise separation of cytoplasmic and vacuolar ion pools, and the results obtained compared with the original method Some differences arose between levels of metal cations recovered but similar trends in subcellular localisation patterns were evident. It was concluded that either protocol could be used to characterise subcellular sequestration of accumulated metal cations

Music as a Therapeutic Medium in Occupational Therapy: A Scoping Review

Music has been recognized as having therapeutic properties for people with a range of conditions and is the focus of the music therapy profession. Although occupational therapy (OT) has used music as therapeutic medium, the limited literature on the use of music in OT has not been systematically reviewed, making it difficult for OT practitioners to frame the use of music in their practices. The objective of this review was to identify how OT practitioners have reported they have used music as a therapeutic medium in OT practice. This review used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Databases CINAHL, MEDLINE, APA PsychInfo, APA PsychArticles, and Open Dissertations with key terms “music” and “occupational therapy.” A thorough academic literature database search yielded 574 publications, an additional 2 records identified through other sources of which 22 articles satisfied the inclusion criteria for this scoping review. The studies\u27 various outcomes show how music-based therapies have been utilized to impact the occupations of different populations with different diagnoses. Through the organization of articles detailing the use of music-based interventions by OT practitioners in practice, OT practitioners can better grasp this mode of treatment in practice.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonessummer2023/1033/thumbnail.jp

Temporally Continuous Probability Kinematics

The heart of my dissertation project is the proposal of a new updating rule for responding to learning experiences consisting of continuous streams of evidence. I suggest characterizing this kind of learning experience as a continuous stream of stipulated credal derivatives, and show that Continuous Probability Kinematics is the uniquely coherent response to such a stream which satisfies a continuous analogue of Rigidity – the core property of both Bayesian and Jeffrey conditionalization. In the first chapter, I define neighborhood norms of rationality with reference to Kenny Easwaran’s definition of neighborhood properties. I summarize and comment on some of the key arguments in the dispute between time-slice epistemologists, who argue that there are no fundamentally diachronic norms of rationality, and the proponents of diachronic norms. I am sympathetic to two of the key motivations often given in support of the synchronist position: mentalist internalism and the idea that metaphysical disputes about the identity of persons in bizarre puzzle cases should not play a central role in epistemologists’ assessments of the rationality of agents. However, I argue that time-slice epistemology cannot adequately address the rationality of temporally-extended processes like reasoning and learning. Neighborhood norms present a viable third way between these two positions, capturing much of the spirit of the previously-discussed synchronist motivations while still providing just enough temporal structure to meaningfully guide and evaluate temporally-extended rational processes. Continuous Probability Kinematics is an example of one such neighborhood norm. In the second chapter, I develop my updating rule CPK and establish many of its core properties. Of special note here are the deep connections to Jeffrey’s Probability Kinematics, as well as some key differences. The net result of any CPK updating process will always be representable as a Jeffrey shift on the refined partition generated by the propositions that the agent is receiving direct evidence concerning. However, one crucial difference is that CPK provides an intuitive account of how to combine the effects of learning experiences that are each about fundamentally different underlying partitions. In CPK’s formalism, an agent can receive simultaneous evidence streams about an arbitrary (finite) number of propositions, which can themselves be evidentially related in any way. At any given instant, the result of the combination is a simple sum of the effects that learning about the individual propositions would have separately. CPK is concerned with a novel kind of learning experience and involves a novel characterization of evidence. The third and final chapter of this dissertation is concerned with explaining what this characterization of evidence means and with arguing that it can be the basis for genuine learning. I begin by characterizing learning experiences in terms of the Value of Information, and prove a Value of Information theorem for CPK learning experiences under the assumption of a Martingale constraint on the agent’s prior distribution over the signals that they might receive. I examine Timothy Williamson’s arguments that evidence must be propositional and express my skepticism. I then explore two different routes to model agents who update by CPK as if they are learning some propositional content and updating the rest of their credences by Bayesian conditionalization on this content. The second of these two routes provides a very interesting lens to reexamine the evidential commitments that underwrite updating by CPK, which I analyze.PHDPhilosophyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/166128/1/kevblack_1.pd

Independent natural extension for choice functions

We introduce an independence notion for choice functions, which we call ‘epistemic independence’ following the work by De Cooman et al. [17] for lower previsions, and study it in a multivariate setting. This work is a continuation of earlier work of one of the authors [29], and our results build on the characterization of choice functions in terms of sets of binary preferences recently established by De Bock and De Cooman [11]. We obtain the many-to-one independent natural extension in this framework. Given the generality of choice functions, our expression for the independent natural extension is the most general one we are aware of, and we show how it implies the independent natural extension for sets of desirable gambles, and therefore also for less expressive imprecise-probabilistic models. Once this is in place, we compare this concept of epistemic independence to another independence concept for choice functions proposed by Seidenfeld [28], which De Bock and De Cooman [2] have called S-independence. We show that neither is more general than the other

Independent Natural Extension for Choice Functions

We investigate epistemic independence for choice functions in a multivariate setting. This work is a continuation of earlier work of one of the authors [23], and our results build on the characterization of choice functions in terms of sets of binary preferences recently established by De Bock and De Cooman [7]. We obtain the independent natural extension in this framework. Given the generality of choice functions, our expression for the independent natural extension is the most general one we are aware of, and we show how it implies the independent natural extension for sets of desirable gambles, and therefore also for less informative imprecise-probabilistic models. Once this is in place, we compare this concept of epistemic independence to another independence concept for choice functions proposed by Seidenfeld [22], which De Bock and De Cooman [1] have called S-independence. We show that neither is more general than the other

Decreasing Clostridium Difficile Health Care - Associated Infections Through Use of a Launderable Mattress Cover

BACKGROUND: The annual incidence of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in the United States is estimated to be 330,000 cases. We evaluated the impact of using a launderable mattress and bed deck cover on the incidence of hospital-onset CDI in two long-term acute care hospitals (LTACH)s. METHODS: Two LTACH hospitals began using a launderable mattress and bed deck cover on beds starting in May of 2013. One facility had 74 beds and the other had 30 beds. Covers were changed after every patient. The covers were laundered using hot water, detergent, and chlorine. Rates for CDIs were compared using Poisson regression between the 16 months before use of the launderable cover and the 14 months after the cover started being used. RESULTS: At Hospital A, the use of bedcovers reduced the rate of infections by 47.8% (95% CI 47.1 – 48.6), controlling for the rate of hand washing compliance and length of stay in days. At Hospital B, the use of bedcovers reduced the rate of infections by 50% (95% CI 47.5 – 52.7), controlling for the rate of hand washing compliance and length of stay in days. CONCLUSIONS: The use of a launderable cover for mattresses and bed decks of hospital beds was associated with a decreased rate of healthcare associated CDIs in two LTACHs