Against the new Cartesian Circle

In two recent papers, Michael Della Rocca accuses Descartes of reasoning circularly in the Fourth Meditation. This alleged new circle is distinct from, and more vicious than, the traditional Cartesian Circle arising in the Third Meditation. We explain Della Rocca’s reasons for this accusation, showing that his argument is invalid

Automated environmental control of an acoustic test facility, part A Final project report

Mathematical models for automated environmental control of acoustic test facility inside chambe

Rethinking Ovid: A Collection of Latin Poetry and Commentary on Composition

The ultimate result, and the central focus, of this paper is two poems written in Latin according to classical conventions of meter, language and style. The paper also describes the processes and difficulties of composing poetry in Latin and according to these standards. In re-setting two stories from Ovid, the author examines both the historical background and the literary interpretations of the stories. Strong emphasis is placed on feminine viewpoint, that is, how male poets of Greece and Rome imagined female characters and how the author, a female, differs in perspective from the male authors of a male-dominated world

Quantification of apolipoprotein E receptors in human brain-derived cell lines by real-time polymerase chain reaction

Apolipoprotein (apo) E4 is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative diseases, compared to wild-type apoE3. The mechanism(s) is unknown. One possibility, demonstrated in peripheral tissue cell lines, is that apoE stimulates nitric oxide synthase (NOS) via a receptor-dependent signalling pathway and that apoE4 generates inappropriate amounts of nitric oxide (NO) compared to apoE3. Prior to biochemical investigations, we have quantified the expression of several candidate receptor genes, including low-density lipoprotein-receptor (LDL-r) family members and scavenger receptor class B, types I and II (SR-BI/II), as well as the three NOS isoenzymes and protein kinase B (Akt), in 38 human cell lines, of which 12 derive from brain. Expression of apoE receptor 2 (apoER2), a known signalling receptor in brain, was readily detected in SH-SY-5Y and CCF-STTG1 cells, common models of neurons and astrocytes, respectively, and was highest in H4 neuroglioma, NT-2 precursor cells and IMR-32 neuroblastoma cells. Transcripts of the other lipoprotein receptors were widely, but variably, distributed across the different cell types. Of particular note was the predominant expression of SR-BII over SR-BI in many of the brain-derived cells. As the C-terminus of SR-BII, like apoER2, contains potential SH3 signalling motifs, we suggest that in brain SR-BII functions as a signal transducer receptor. (c) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Higgs-Pair Production and Measurement of the Triscalar Coupling at LHC(8,14)

We simulate the measurement of the triscalar Higgs coupling at LHC(8,14) via pair production of h(125 GeV). We find that the most promising hh final state is bb gamma gamma. We account for deviations of the triscalar coupling from its SM value and study the effects of this coupling on the hh cross-section and distributions with cut-based and multivariate methods. Our fit to the hh production matrix element at LHC(14) with 3 ab^-1 yields a 40% uncertainty on this coupling in the SM and a range of 25-80% uncertainties for non-SM values.Comment: 4 pages, 7 page