The Virtues of Bayesian Epistemology

The aim of this dissertation is to address the intersection of two normative epistemologies, Bayesian confirmation theory (BCT) and virtue epistemology (VE). While both are successful in many respects, I argue that the constraints on rational degrees of belief provided by Bayesianism are not enough. VE offers additional constraints on degrees of belief, and plays a salutary role for BCT in the form constraints from background knowledge on the more subjective aspects of Bayesianism. Chapter 1 is an introduction to my project. Chapter 2 presents a brief review of the logic and epistemology of science, Bayesian Confirmation Theory. Chapter 3 presents a recent development in cognitive science, rational analysis, which employs a Bayesian approach to understanding human reasoning and bases everyday rationality in formal rationality. Chapter 4 presents historical motivations for turning to virtue epistemology. I argue that given historical considerations virtue epistemology offers a truly novel approach by shifting the focus of analysis from properties of beliefs alone to properties of agents. Chapter 5 presents a development of a particular, reliabilist view in virtue epistemology. Chapter 6 concludes my dissertation. In this chapter I argue that Bayesian Confirmation Theory, as an epistemology of science, should be embedded within virtue epistemology and that at least one familiar problem, the problem of the priors, can be ameliorated

Evaluating design and verifying compliance of wetlands created under section 404 of the Clean Water Act in Oregon

Permit specifications, construction plans, and field measurements were used to examine the correlation between design and conditions "as-built" in a population of 11 palustrine emergent marshes created in the metropolitan area of Portland, Oregon, between 1980-1986. The projects ranged from six months to almost seven years in age. Data on planned and existing hydrology, wetland area, wetland shape, slopes of banks, and vegetation were collected for each site. Information on the plans for each site was gathered from the Section 404 permit files of the Portland District Office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the permit files of the Oregon Division of State Lands. Results indicate that none of the wetlands studied were designed or constructed as permitted. Hydrology could not be evaluated since the information in the permit files was inadequate. There was a cumulative loss of 1.48 ha (3.6 acres), or 29% from the 5.10 ha (12.6 acres) that was to be created. Seven of the created wetlands had very regular shorelines; four had irregular shapes. The predominant slope as-built was gentler then what was to be built as determined from the construction plans and permit specifications for nine of the eleven projects (82%). For 45% of the sites (5/11) the predominant slopes to be built and as-built were steeper than the 5:1 maximum recommended in the literature. Vegetation to be planted did not occur on the sites. The proportion of species found on the created wetlands that were to be planted ranged from 0% to 7%. The differences between the plans and specifications in the project file and the as-built conditions point to the need for verification of projects in both the planning and construction phases of the permitting process. The planning phase should focus on the development of a realistic approach using information from the scientific literature and past projects. The construction phase should culminate in the production of an as-built plan. This would allow immediate checks to ensure that critical features have been included as intended, e.g., wetland area, vegetation type. It would also document any corrective measures that were taken due to unanticipated events during construction. As-built plans of the project would ensure that the details of the actual wetland created were available for future reference in addition to the conceptual design

Factors affecting the impact toughness of ultra low carbon steel weld metal

The fundamental factors affecting the impact toughness of four gas metal arc welds (GMAW) made on HSLA-100 base plate using a newly developed steel weld wire were studied. The weld metal analysis included chemistry, mechanical testing (hardness, CVN/FATT), as well as optical, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Studies of inclusion composition using energy dispersive x-ray (EDX), and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) in the transmission electron microscope were also performed. It was found that increasing oxygen content of the weld metal (due to increased oxygen in the shielding gas) led to increased non-metallic inclusion size and volume fraction; which in turn, led to both decreasing strength and toughness. The strength was lowered because increasing oxygen in the shielding gas led to increased 'consumption' of strengthening alloys such as carbon, manganese and silicon. The toughness was compromised by the increasing size and number of oxide inclusions as these provide sites for void formation and subsequent fracturehttp://archive.org/details/factorsaffecting00gwinLieutenant Commander, United States NavyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Evaluating the Effects of Wetland Regulation Through Hydrogeomorphic Classification and Landscape Profiles

A report about wetland creation, wetland restoration, and landscape analysis in Portland, Oregon

Optimization of In Vitro <i>Mycobacterium avium</i> and <i>Mycobacterium</i> <i>intracellulare</i> Growth Assays for Therapeutic Development

Infection with nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is a complication of lung disease in immunocompromised patients, including those with human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cystic fibrosis (CF). The most widespread, disease-causing NTM is Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC), which colonizes the lungs as a combination of Mycobacterium avium, Mycobacterium intracellulare, and other mycobacterial species. While combination drug therapy exists for MAC colonization, there is no cure. Therapeutic development to treat MAC has been difficult because of the slow-growing nature of the bacterial complex, limiting the ability to characterize the bacteria&#8217;s growth in response to new therapeutics. The development of a technology that allows observation of both the MAC predominant strains and MAC could provide a means to develop new therapeutics to treat NTM. We have developed a new methodology in which M. avium and M. intracellulare can be optimally grown in short term culture to study each strain independently and in combination, as a monitor of growth kinetics and efficient therapeutic testing protocols

Grain yield and plant characteristics of corn hybrids in the Great Plains

Citation: Frank, Brian J., Alan J. Schlegel, Loyd R. Stone, and Mary Beth Kirkham. “Grain Yield and Plant Characteristics of Corn Hybrids in the Great Plains.” Agronomy Journal 105, no. 2 (2013): 383–94. https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj2012.0330.Water supply for crop use is the primary factor controlling corn (Zea mays L.) grain yield in the west-central Great Plains. With water supply varying as production systems range from dryland through irrigated, selecting hybrids for optimum yield in the anticipated water environment is vital for success. Our objective was to analyze a group of corn hybrids and determine: a) are there significant differences in identifiable plant characteristics among the hybrids and b) are there significant associations between identifiable plant characteristics and grain yield. Corn was grown near Tribune, KS, in 3 yr in two fields; one dryland and one irrigated. Hybrids (18) replicated in four blocks were grown at each field, with dryland and irrigated results analyzed separately. From linear regression, no significant correlation existed between irrigated grain yield and days to initial silking of hybrids in any of the 3 yr. The correlation between dryland grain yield and days to initial silking of hybrids was significant (P<0.05) in all 3 yr, with grain yield decreasing as days to initial silking increased. Dryland grain yield was also significantly and negatively correlated with dry stover mass in all 3 yr and with tiller population in 2 of 3 yr. Hybrids selected for dryland in the west-central Great Plains should be from the earlier 1/3 or 1/2 of the 98- to 118-d relative maturity (RM) range of our study. In addition, hybrids selected for dryland should have characteristics of smaller stature (less stover) and non-tillering plants

T-cell tolerant fraction as a predictor of immune-related adverse events

Background Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapies may cause unpredictable and potentially severe autoimmune toxicities termed immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Because T cells mediate ICI effects, T cell profiling may provide insight into the risk of irAEs. Here we evaluate a novel metric—the T-cell tolerant fraction—as a predictor of future irAEs.Methods We examined T-cell receptor beta (TRB) locus sequencing from baseline pretreatment samples from an institutional registry and previously published studies. For each patient, we used TRB sequences to calculate the T-cell tolerant fraction, which was then assessed as a predictor of future irAEs (classified as Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Event grade 0–1 vs grade ≥2). We then compared the tolerant fraction to TRB clonality and diversity. Finally, the tolerant fraction was assessed on (1) T cells enriched against napsin A, a potential autoantigen of irAEs; (2) thymic versus peripheral blood T cells; and (3) TRBs specific for various infections and autoimmune diseases.Results A total of 77 patients with cancer (22 from an institutional registry and 55 from published studies) receiving ICI therapy (43 CTLA4, 19 PD1/PDL1, 15 combination CTLA4+PD1/PDL1) were included in the study. The tolerant fraction was significantly lower in cases with clinically significant irAEs (p&lt;0.001) and had an area under the receiver operating curve (AUC) of 0.79. The tolerant fraction was lower for each ICI treatment category, reaching statistical significance for CTLA4 (p&lt;0.001) and demonstrating non-significant trends for PD1/PDL1 (p=0.21) and combination ICI (p=0.18). The tolerant fraction for T cells enriched against napsin A was lower than other samples. The tolerant fraction was also lower in thymic versus peripheral blood samples, and lower in some (multiple sclerosis) but not other (type 1 diabetes) autoimmune diseases. In our study cohort, TRB clonality had an AUC of 0.62, and TRB diversity had an AUC of 0.60 for predicting irAEs.Conclusions Among patients receiving ICI, the baseline T-cell tolerant fraction may serve as a predictor of clinically significant irAEs