Li Zehoujeva ideja »harmonija je višja od pravičnosti«: kontekst in kolaborativna prihodnost

In this paper I will delve into Li Zehou’s idea that “harmony is higher than justice (hexie gaoyu zhengyi 和諧高於正義)”. Firstly, I will situate this proposal within the context of the contemporary debate on harmony and justice in Western and Chinese traditions. The position Li holds generally belongs to those who see justice and harmony as representative of a West-East difference. However, it can be developed to promote a more nuanced understanding. After giving due consideration, brief though it must be, to his argument, I will sketch some of the other major views on the relationship between harmony and justice, providing a critique from Li’s perspective. In the final section I seek to expand on Li’s theory by outlining a more collaborative path for thinking about harmony and justice.V pričujočem članku avtor obravnava Li Zehoujevo idejo o tem, da je »harmonija višja od pravičnosti (hexie gaoyu zhengyi 和諧高於正義)«. To predpostavko najprej umesti v kontekst sodobnih razprav o harmoniji in pravičnosti znotraj zahodnih in kitajskih tradicij. Na splošno spada Lijeva pozicija med tiste, za katere vprašanje o pravičnosti in harmoniji odraža razlike med vzhodom in zahodom. Vendar pa jo je mogoče obravnavati tudi v okviru bolj niansiranega razumevanja. Po krajši obravnavi tega argumenta avtor skicira nekatera druga osrednja razumevanja razmerja med harmonijo in pravičnostjo ter predstavi Lijevo kritiko le-teh. V zaključnem delu avtor poskuša nadgraditi oziroma razširiti Lijevo teorijo s pomočjo vzpostavitve bolj kolaborativne metode razmišljanja o harmoniji in pravičnosti

Effects of L-carnitine administration on left ventricular remodeling after acute anterior myocardial infarction: The L-carnitine Ecocardiografia Digitalizzata Infarto Miocardico (CEDIM) trial

Objectives. This study was performed to evaluate the effects of l-carnitine administration on long-term left ventricular dilation in patients with acute anterior myocardial infarction. Background. Carnitine is a physiologic compound that performs an essential role in myocardial energy production at the mitochondrial level. Myocardial carnitine deprivation occurs during ischemia, acute myocardial infarction and cardiac failure. Experimental studies have suggested that exogenous carnitine administration during these events has a beneficial effect on function. Methods. The l-Carnitine Ecocardiografia Digitalizzata Infarto Miocardico (CEDIM) trial was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial in which 472 patients with a first acute myocardial infarction and high quality two-dimensional echocardiograms received either placebo (239 patients) or l-carnitine (233 patients) within 24 h of onset of chest pain. Placebo or l-carnitine was given at a dose of 9 g/day intravenously for the first 5 days and then 6 g/day orally for the next 12 months. Left ventricular volumes and ejection fraction were evaluated on admission, at discharge from hospital and at 3, 6 and 12 months after acute myocardial infarction. Results. A significant attenuation of left ventricular dilation in the first year after acute myocardial infarction was observed in patients treated with l-carnitine compared with those receiving placebo. The percent increase in both end-diastolic and endsystolic volumes from admission to 3-, 6- and 12-mouth evaluation was significantly reduced in the l-carnitine group. No significant differences were observed in left ventricular ejection fraction changes over time in the two groups. Although not designed to demonstrate differences in clinical end points, the combined incidence of death and congestive heart failure after discharge was 14 (6%) in the l-carnitine treatment group versus 23 (9.6%) in the placebo group (p = NS). Incidence of ischemic events during follow-up was similar in the two groups of patients. Conclusions. l-Carnitine treatment initiated early after acute myocardial infarction and continued for 12 months can attenuate left ventricular dilation during the first year after an acute myocardial infarction, resulting in smaller left ventricular volumes at 3, 6 and 12 months after the emergent event

AI Ethics Beyond the Anglo-Analytic Approach

That artificial intelligence (AI), algorithms, and related technologies could use a few good booster shots of “humanism” is widely apparent. In both program code and implementation, AI and algorithms have been accused of harbouring deep-seated flaws that conflict with human values. They are prime examples of the skew towards white, Western, men and demonstrate the bankruptcy in the face of neoliberalist, profit- and market-oriented social paradigms that this special issue seeks to address. Currently, computer scientists and AI researchers who are looking to remedy these problems are often in favour of more data, more powerful machines, more complex algorithms—in short, that we should fix problems with AI by building better AI. In this view human beings and the world can be modelled in code—our lives, interactions, society, and our very selves can be broken down into data points which can be assessed by highly advanced technologies. When these scientists and researchers seek to broaden their approach they often look to philosophy. However, the philosophy they look to is overwhelmingly Anglo-analytic, which views the world in extremely similar ways. Both AI and Anglo-analytic philosophy argue for solutions to humanistic problems which are essentially mathematical. They share in seeing important concepts, such as persons, emotions, agency, and ethics, as mechanistic, atomistic, and calculable. In this paper I will argue that Classical Chinese philosophy offer insightful resources for addressing the humanist problems in AI. Rather than arguing for mathematical solutions, or envisioning persons, emotions, agency, and ethics, as other rigid, atomistic, and mechanistic approaches, Chinese philosophy emphasizes transformation, interrelatedness, and correlative developments. Accordingly, it offers tools for appreciating the world, society, and ourselves as spontaneous, complex, and full of tension. AI can be programmed and used in ways that do not reduce the complexity and conflict in the world, but provide us instead with tools to make sense of it—tools that are humanistic in nature. To this end, Chinese philosophy can be a helpful collaborative partner

Searching for a Stochastic Background of Gravitational Waves with LIGO

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) has performed the fourth science run, S4, with significantly improved interferometer sensitivities with respect to previous runs. Using data acquired during this science run, we place a limit on the amplitude of a stochastic background of gravitational waves. For a frequency independent spectrum, the new limit is $\Omega_{\rm GW} < 6.5 \times 10^{-5}$. This is currently the most sensitive result in the frequency range 51-150 Hz, with a factor of 13 improvement over the previous LIGO result. We discuss complementarity of the new result with other constraints on a stochastic background of gravitational waves, and we investigate implications of the new result for different models of this background.Comment: 37 pages, 16 figure

Philosophy Pizza

The history of pizza is shrouded in mystery. Competing interpretations of the exact origin, development, and even etymology are as diverse as pizzas themselves. What is certain, however, is that from various types of flatbread meals popular among soldiers and poor workers emerged some standards. Certain experts were then able to refine the process and carefully combine ingredients. The key to this tradition, as well as its popularity around the world, is found in the core elements developed by such pizzaiolos. But this has all changed, and contemporary pizza is no longer topped with whatever just happens to be available, as in the flatbreads of old. Nor does it have to adhere to the standards set forth by experts on taste. Today there are Hawaiian, chocolate, and even fruit pizzas. There are pizzas with cauliflower crust, smashed chicken “bread” and pizzas topped with 24 karat gold. And perhaps most importantly, customized pizzas—pizzas that are designed by the consumer with no regard for anything but their own momentary desires. We think this represents a twofold problem, in terms of both approach and of carrying on tradition, and also think comparative philosophy is just like pizza. In this paper we will thus address these problems through proposing a conception of the trans-cultural that is linked to the art of pizza. Moreover, we expand the scope of diversification to include methodology. Based on methodological insights derived from Chinese tradition and contemporary Chinese scholarship, we argue that comparative philosophy as an art (poiesis) could be a welcome alternative which involves: respect for authority (tradition), trust in tested methods and recipes as conditions for creativity and originality, recognition of the philosophical import of style (form is content) and the significance of inspiration and mastery of skills

A high-resolution tracking hodoscope based on capillary layers filled with liquid scintillator

Results are given on tests of a high-resolution tracking hodoscope based on layers of \hbox{26-$\mu$m-bore} glass capillaries filled with organic liquid scintillator (1-methylnaphthalene doped with R39). The detector prototype consisted of three 2-mm-thick parallel layers, with surface areas of $2.1 \times 21$~cm$^2$. The layers had a centre-to-centre spacing of 6~mm, and were read by an optoelectronic chain comprising two electrostatically focused image intensifiers and an Electron-Bombarded Charge-Coupled Device (EBCCD). Tracks of cosmic-ray particles were recorded and analysed. The observed hit density was 6.6~hits/mm for particles crossing the layers perpendicularly, at a distance of 1~cm from the capillaries' readout end, and 4.2~hits/mm for particles at a distance of 20~cm. A track segment reconstructed in a single layer had an rms residual of $\sim$~20~$\mu$m, and allowed determination of the track position in a neighbouring layer with a precision of $\sim$~170~$\mu$m. This latter value corresponded to an rms angular resolution per layer of about 30~mrad. A comparison is made between capillary layers and silicon microstrip planes

Observation of weak neutral current neutrino production of J/ψJ/\psi

Observation of \jpsi production by neutrinos in the calorimeter of the CHORUS detector exposed to the CERN SPS wide-band \numu beam is reported. A spectrum-averaged cross-section $\sigma^{\mathrm{J/\psi}}$ = (6.3 $\pm$ 3.0) $\times \mathrm{10^{-41}~cm^{2}}$ is obtained for 20 GeV $\leq E_{\nu} \leq$ 200 GeV. The data are compared with the theoretical model based on the QCD Z-gluon fusion mechanism

Measurement of the forward Z boson production cross-section in pp collisions at s=13\sqrt{s} = 13 TeV

A measurement of the production cross-section of Z bosons in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV is presented using dimuon and dielectron final states in LHCb data. The cross-section is measured for leptons with pseudorapidities in the range $2.0 \eta 4.5$, transverse momenta $p_\text{T} 20$ GeV and dilepton invariant mass in the range $60 m(\ell\ell) 120$ GeV. The integrated cross-section from averaging the two final states is \begin{equation*}\sigma_{\text{Z}}^{\ell\ell} = 194.3 \pm 0.9 \pm 3.3 \pm 7.6\text{ pb,}\end{equation*} where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is due to systematic effects, and the third is due to the luminosity determination. In addition, differential cross-sections are measured as functions of the Z boson rapidity, transverse momentum and the angular variable $\phi^*_\eta$

All-In-One: Advanced preparation of Human Parenchymal and Non-Parenchymal Liver Cells

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Liver cells are key players in innate immunity. Thus, studying primary isolated liver cells is necessary for determining their role in liver physiology and pathophysiology. In particular, the quantity and quality of isolated cells are crucial to their function. Our aim was to isolate a large quantity of high-quality human parenchymal and non-parenchymal cells from a single liver specimen. METHODS: Hepatocytes, Kupffer cells, liver sinusoidal endothelial cells, and stellate cells were isolated from liver tissues by collagenase perfusion in combination with low-speed centrifugation, density gradient centrifugation, and magnetic-activated cell sorting. The purity and functionality of cultured cell populations were controlled by determining their morphology, discriminative cell marker expression, and functional activity. RESULTS: Cell preparation yielded the following cell counts per gram of liver tissue: 2.0+/-0.4x107 hepatocytes, 1.8+/-0.5x106 Kupffer cells, 4.3+/-1.9x105 liver sinusoidal endothelial cells, and 3.2+/-0.5x105 stellate cells. Hepatocytes were identified by albumin (95.5+/-1.7%) and exhibited time-dependent activity of cytochrome P450 enzymes. Kupffer cells expressed CD68 (94.5+/-1.2%) and exhibited phagocytic activity, as determined with 1mum latex beads. Endothelial cells were CD146+ (97.8+/-1.1%) and exhibited efficient uptake of acetylated low-density lipoprotein. Hepatic stellate cells were identified by the expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin (97.1+/-1.5%). These cells further exhibited retinol (vitamin A)-mediated autofluorescence. CONCLUSIONS: Our isolation procedure for primary parenchymal and non-parenchymal liver cells resulted in cell populations of high purity and quality, with retained physiological functionality in vitro. Thus, this system may provide a valuable tool for determining liver function and disease