Advanced Modalizing De Dicto and De Re

Lewis’ (1968, 1986) analysis of modality faces a problem in that it appears to confer unintended truth values to certain modal claims about the pluriverse: e.g. ‘It is possible that there are many worlds’ is false when we expect truth. This is the problem of advanced modalizing. Divers (1999, 2002) presents a principled solution to this problem by treating modal modifiers as semantically redundant in some such cases. However, this semantic move does not deal adequately with advanced de re modal claims. Here, we motivate and detail a comprehensive semantics (a la Lewis 1968) for advanced modalizing de dicto and de re. The generalized semantic feature of the initial solution is not redundancy but absence from counterpart-theoretic translations of world-constrictions

Philosophical Issues From Kripke's 'Semantical Considerations on Modal Logic'

In ‘Semantical Considerations on Modal Logic’, Kripke articulates his project in the discourse of “possible worlds”. There has been much philosophical discussion of whether endorsement of the Kripke semantics brings ontological commitment to possible worlds. However, that discussion is less than satisfactory because it has been conducted without the necessary investigation of the surrounding philosophical issues that are raised by the Kripke semantics. My aim in this paper is to map out the surrounding territory and to commence that investigation. Among the surrounding issues, and my attitudes to them, are these: (1) the potential of the standard distinction between pure and impure versions of the semantic theory has been under-exploited; (2) there has been under-estimation of what is achieved by the pure semantic theory alone; (3) there is a methodological imperative to co-ordinate a clear conception of the purposes of the impure theory with an equally clear conception of the content the theory; (4) there is a need to support by argument claims about how such a semantic theory, even in an impure state, can fund explanations in the theory of meaning and metaphysics; (5) greater attention needs to be paid to the crucial advance that Kripke makes on the precursors of possible-worlds semantics proper (e.g. Carnap 1947) in clearly distinguishing variation across the worlds within a model of modal space from variation across such models and, finally, (6) the normative nature of the concept of applicability, of the pure semantic theory, is both of crucial importance and largely ignored

De Re Modality in the Late 20th Century: The Prescient Quine

Quine’s (in)famous skeptical critique of de re modality is expounded in the pair of 1953 classic papers ‘Reference and Modality’ and ‘Three Grades of Modal Involvement’. Here, I position the salient, and non-skeptical, treatments of de re modality in the later part of the twentieth century—those due to Kripke, Lewis and Fine—in relation to that prior skeptical critique. I emphasize the insights on which Quine’s skepticism was based and commend these as sound and enduring

How Skeptical Is Quine’s “Modal Skepticism”?

Following a logistical explication of metaphysics Quine can be cast as an ideological antirealist about modality. However, it is not clear that Quine deserves to be called a modal skeptic since, I argue, he does not hold some of the extreme views about modality that are often associated with him. Moreover, while Quine’s convictions about truth make many forms of antirealism unacceptable to him, he might be construed as a non-skeptical modal quasi-realist (a la Blackburn). I suggest further that the application of this paradigm to metaphysical necessity might proceed from the association of that concept with those explored in Quine’s “Natural Kinds”

How to estimate the measurement error variance associated with ancestry proportion estimates

To show how the variance of the measurement error (ME) associated with individual ancestry proportion estimates can be estimated, especially when the number of ancestral populations (k) is greater than 2. We extend existing internal consistency measures to estimate the ME variance, and we compare these estimates with the ME variance estimated by use of the repeated measurement (RM) approach. Both approaches work by dividing the genotyped markers into subsets. We examine the effect of the number of subsets and of the allocation of markers to each subset on the performance of each approach. We used simulated data for all comparisons. Independently of the value of k, the measures of internal reliability provided less biased and more precise estimates of the ME variance than did those obtained with the RM approach. Both methods tend to perform better when a large number of subsets of markers with similar sizes are considered. Our results will facilitate the use of ME correction methods to address the ME problem in individual ancestry proportion estimates. Our method will improve the ability to control for type I error inflation and loss of power in association tests and other genomic research involving ancestry estimates

(Once again) Lewis on the analysis of modality

We propose a novel interpretation of Lewis on the analysis of modality that is constructed from primary sources, comprehensive and unprecedented (in toto). Our guiding precepts are to distinguish semantics from metaphysics, while respecting the inter-relations between them, and to discern whatever may be special, semantically or metaphysically, about the modal case. Following detailed presentation (Sect. 2), we amplify and advocate our interpretation by providing a conforming genealogy of Lewis’s theory of modality (Sect. 3) and applying it to construct a detailed and newly illuminating version of the Lewisian theory of modality de re (Sect. 4)

Phosphorylated neurofilament H (pNF-H) as a potential diagnostic marker for neurological disorders in horses

The current study aimed at the investigating the potential use of phosphorylated neurofilament H (pNF-H) as a diagnostic biomarker for neurologic disorders in the horse. Paired serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples (n = 88) and serum only (n = 30) were obtained from horses diagnosed with neurologic disorders and clinically healthy horses as control. The neurologic horses consisted of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) (38 cases) and cervical vertebral malformation (CVM) (23 cases). Levels of pNF-H were determined using an ELISA. The correlation between CSF and serum concentrations of pNF-H was evaluated using Spearman's Rank test and the significance of the difference among the groups was assessed using a nonparametric test. Horses had higher pNF-H levels in the CSF than serum. Horses afflicted with EPM had significantly higher serum pNF-H levels in comparison to controls or CVM cases. The correlation between CSF and serum pNF-H levels was poor in both the whole study population and among subgroups of horses included in the study. There was significant association between the likelihood of EPM and the concentrations of pNF-H in either the serum or CSF. These data suggest that pNF-H could be detected in serum and CSF samples from neurologic and control horses. This study demonstrated that pNF-H levels in serum and CSF have the potential to provide objective information to help in the early diagnosis of horses afflicted with neurologic disorders

Procalcitonin in healthy and endotoxemic horses

Procalcitonin (PCT) seems to be an early marker of bacterial infection. The increase of its concentration is due to bacterial endotoxin and inflammatory cytokines. In horses’ GI diseases, hypersecretion of fluid, motility disturbances, altered microbial flora and impaired mucosal barrier may lead to absorption of endotoxin and/or bacterial products through the compromised mucosa. The aim of this work was to evaluate the plasmatic PCT concentration in healthy horses and those with acute GI diseases, in order to evaluate the differences between the two groups. Plasma PCT concentration was evaluated in 45 horses referred to three different University Teaching Hospitals, and in 16 healthy horses that underwent similar management conditions. The following data were recorded in order to divide horses in healthy (N = 16), less than two criteria met, and clinical endotoxemic horses’ group (N = 45), two or more criteria met: neutropenia and/or toxic changes, increased PCV and TP, tachycardia, tachypnea, abnormal mucous membrane status and capillary refill time. Plasma PCT concentrations were measured with an equine PCT ELISA assay. Results were expressed as mean and standard deviation. T-test for unpaired data was performed between healthy and suspected endotoxemic horses’ group. PCT concentration in healthy and clinical endotoxemic horses’ group was 22.3 21.4 and 182.5 83.9 pg/mL, respectively. T-test showed differences between the two groups (P < 0.0001). Our results showed an increase in plasma PCT concentration in clinical endotoxemic horses as reported in human medicine. PCT could be used in the equine practice for early therapy planning, in order to improve prognosis and restrain therapy costs

Analysis of neurofilament concentration in healthy adult horses and utility in the diagnosis of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis and equine motor neuron disease

Neurofilaments (NFs) are structural proteins of neurons that are released in significant quantities in the cerebrospinal fluid and blood as a result of neuronal degeneration or axonal damage. Therefore, NFs have potential as biomarkers for neurologic disorders. Neural degeneration increases with age and has the potential to confound the utility of NFs as biomarkers in the diagnosis of neurologic disorders. We investigated this relationship in horses with and without neurological diagnosis. While controlling for horse type (draft, pleasure, and racing), we evaluated the relationship between serum heavy-chain phosphorylated neurofilaments (pNF-H) and age, sex, and serum vitamin E concentrations. Serum pNF-H concentrations increased by 0.002 ng/ml for each year increase in age. There were significant differences in the serum pNF-H concentration among the type of activity performed by the horse. The highest serum pNF-H concentration was found in horses performing heavy work activity (racehorse) and with lower serum pNF-H concentration found among light (pleasure riding) and moderate (draft) activity. There was no significant association between the pNF-H concentration and sex or vitamin E concentration. Serum pNF-H concentration was elevated among horses afflicted with EMND and EPM when compared with control horses without evidence of neurologic disorders. Accordingly, serum pNF-H concentration can serve as a useful biomarker to complement the existing diagnostic work-up of horses suspected of having EPM or EMND

Comparing self-reported ethnicity to genetic background measures in the context of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Questions remain regarding the utility of self-reported ethnicity (SRE) in genetic and epidemiologic research. It is not clear whether conditioning on SRE provides adequate protection from inflated type I error rates due to population stratification and admixture. We address this question using data obtained from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), which enrolled individuals from 4 self-reported ethnic groups. We compare the agreement between SRE and genetic based measures of ancestry (GBMA), and conduct simulation studies based on observed MESA data to evaluate the performance of each measure under various conditions.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Four clusters are identified using 96 ancestry informative markers. Three of these clusters are well delineated, but 30% of the self-reported Hispanic-Americans are misclassified. We also found that MESA SRE provides type I error rates that are consistent with the nominal levels. More extensive simulations revealed that this finding is likely due to the multi-ethnic nature of the MESA. Finally, we describe situations where SRE may perform as well as a GBMA in controlling the effect of population stratification and admixture in association tests.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The performance of SRE as a control variable in genetic association tests is more nuanced than previously thought, and may have more value than it is currently credited with, especially when smaller replication studies are being considered in multi-ethnic samples.</p