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