8,891 research outputs found
Grounding, mental causation, and overdetermination
Recently, Kroedel and Schulz have argued that the exclusion problem—which states that certain forms of non-reductive physicalism about the mental are committed to systematic and objectionable causal overdetermination—can be solved by appealing to grounding. Specifically, they defend a principle that links the causal relations of grounded mental events to those of grounding physical events, arguing that this renders mental–physical causal overdetermination unproblematic. Here, we contest Kroedel and Schulz’s result. We argue that their causal-grounding principle is undermotivated, if not outright false. In particular, we contend that the principle has plausible counterexamples, resulting from the fact that some mental states are not fully grounded by goings on ‘in our heads’ but also require external factors to be included in their full grounds. We draw the sceptical conclusion that it remains unclear whether non-reductive physicalists can plausibly respond to the exclusion argument by appealing to considerations of grounding
Treatment of psoriasis with biologic agents in Malta
Introduction: Biologic therapy has
revolutionalised the treatment of moderate to severe
psoriasis leading to improved clinical outcomes and
quality of life scores. This study aims to determine
current biologic use in psoriatic patients at our
Dermatology department at Sir Paul Boffa hospital,
Malta.
Method: All patients who were administered
biologic therapy for psoriasis in Malta until the end
of 2014 were included. Data included demographic
details, disease duration and severity, biologic use
and duration, previously attempted treatments, side
effects, early and late response to biologic using
Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) scores and
Dermatology Life Quality index (DLQI) scores.
Results: A total of 36 patients were started on a
biologic between 2009 and 2014 for psoriasis
(M:25, F:11) with a mean age of 46.9 years. These
included etanercept (n=22), infliximab (n=8),
adalimumab (n=4) and ustekinumab (n=2).
Secondary failure was the main reason why
biologics were stopped and switched. Most patients
had an improvement in their PASI scores after 2 to
4 weeks of starting the biologic and had a PASI 90
score improvement. All patients had more than a 5
point improvement in DLQI score.
Discussion: Biologic use in our department is
on the increase. Our patients had considerable
improvements in their PASI and DLQI scores.
Secondary failures have occurred usually after 2 to
4 years and switching has yielded positive results.
Biologics are expensive drugs and recently we have
switched to cheaper biosimilars. Doctors should be
aware of the treatment options available for
psoriasis patients, their possible side effects and
when to refer to our department. In most cases a
satisfactory response can be achieved.peer-reviewe
D0 Detector Assemble Hall Platform Oxygen Deficiency Hazard Analysis
Liquid cryogens, released and warming to atmosphere conditions, expand to, on average, seven hundred times their liquid volume, and displace vital atmospheric oxygen. An oxygen deficiency hazard analysis assesses the increased risk to personnel in areas containing cryogenic systems. The D0 detector platform area ODH analysis has been approached four different ways using established methods. In each case, the analysis shows the platform area to be ODH class 0 as equipped (with ventilation fans) and requiring no special safety provisions. System designers have provided for a reduced oxygen level detection and warning system as well as emergency procedures to address fault conditions. The Oxygen Deficiency Hazard of any particular area is defined by these parameters: the nature of the accidental supply of inert gas (probability of occurrence and quantity then released), the area's volume, the area's ventilation rate, and to a small degree the elevation of the area. Once this information is assembled, the ODH classification can be determined through standardized calculations. The platform area under the D0 detector contains much of the cryogenic and gas system piping necessary for the D0 experiment. Prior to moving the detector into the Collision Hall, the liquid argon calorimeters are cooled down and operated in the Assembly Hall. The first phase of this operation involved the cooldown of the Central Calorimeter, which was done in February 1991. This engineering note assesses the increased risk to personnel in the platform level to a reduced oxygen atmosphere during the cool down and subsequent operation of the calorimeters in the Assembly Hall. In addition, it outlines the steps taken to warn personnel of an emergency and to direct the subsequent evacuation. This note analyses only the Assembly Hall area. A similar engineering note, EN-332, covers the analysis of the Collision Hall area
Density Matrix Renormalization Group in the Heisenberg Picture
In some cases the state of a quantum system with a large number of subsystems
can be approximated efficiently by the density matrix renormalization group,
which makes use of redundancies in the description of the state. Here we show
that the achievable efficiency can be much better when performing density
matrix renormalization group calculations in the Heisenberg picture, as only
the observable of interest but not the entire state is considered. In some
non-trivial cases, this approach can even be exact for finite bond dimensions.Comment: version to appear in PRL, acronyms in title and abstract expanded,
new improved numerical example
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