Incompatibilismo y necesidad contrafáctica

Algunos piensan que este conflicto entre la imagen determinista del mundo y la libertad de decisión es irresoluble, y ello les define como incompatibilistas; mientras que otros consideran que hay modos de integrar ambas intuiciones y merecen, pues, el nombre de compatibilistas. El presente artículo pretende mediar en el debate entre estas dos posiciones. Para ello, reflexionaremos acerca de la naturaleza de los vínculos contrafácticos implicados en las relaciones causales que se presuponen tanto en la imagen determinista del mundo como en nuestras intuiciones acerca de la libertad de decisión. En concreto, nuestra propuesta vendrá a subrayar la debilidad de las estrategias compatibilistas clásicas, al tiempo que se sugiere una estrategia alternativa que apunta igualmente a una disolución de la tensión inicial

Physicalism and the mental: the dominant view

The main purpose of this book is to elaborate a number of reductio arguments that are meant to challenge causal physicalism, as well as the dominant view, in its attempt to show the compatibility between the causal efficacy of the mental and causal physicalism. As a result, we will provide an alternative analysis of our intuitions about the primacy of the physical that fits with the casual autonomy of mental properties. The present chapter is meant to characterize and motivate the dominant view

El conexionismo y su impacto en la filosofía de la mente

Discusión del impacto del surgimiento del conexionismo en la filosofía de la ment

Mapping surgical coordinates of the sphenopalatine foramen : surgical navigation study

Aims to identify measurements that may help intra operative localisation of the sphenopalatine foramen. The study used three dimensional surgical navigation software to study radiological anatomy, in order to define the distances and angulations between identifiable bony landmarks and the sphenopalatine foramen. The distance from the anterior nasal spine to the sphenopalatine foramen was 59 mm (+4 mm; inter observer variation = 0.866; intra observer variation = 0.822). The distance from the piriform aperture to the sphenopalatine foramen was 48 mm (+4 mm; inter observer variation = 0.828; intra observer variation = 0.779). The angle of elevation from the nasal floor to the sphenopalatine foramen was 22 degrees (+3 degrees; inter observer variation = 0.441; intra observer variation = 0.499). The sphenopalatine foramen is consistently identifiable on three dimensional, reconstructed computed tomography scans. Repeatable measurements were obtained. The centre point of the foramen lies 59 mm from the anterior nasal spine at 22 degrees elevation above the plane of the hard palate and 48 mm from the piriform aperture. We discuss how these data could be used to facilitate intra operative location of the sphenopalatine foramen in difficult cases

Moral Emotions, Principles, and the Locus of Moral Perception

I vindicate the thrust of the particularist position in moral deliberation. to this purpose, I focus on some elements that seem to play a crucial role in first-person moral deliberation and argue that they cannot be incorporated into a more sophisticated system of moral principles. More specifically, I emphasize some peculiarities of moral perception in the light of which I defend the irreducible deliberative relevance of a certain phenomenon, namely: the phenomenon of an agent morally coming across a particular situation. Following on from Bernard Williams, I talk of an agent's character as a factor that con- tributes to fixing what situations an agent comes morally across. A crucial point, in the debate, will be how an agent confronts the normatively loaded features of his own character when he is engaged in first-person deliberation

On the \phi(1020)f_0(980) S-wave scattering and the Y(2175) resonance

We have studied the \phi(1020)f_0(980) S-wave scattering at energies around threshold employing chiral Lagrangians coupled to vector mesons through minimal coupling. The interaction kernel is obtained by considering the f_0(980) as a K\bar{K} bound state. The Y(2175) resonance is generated in this approach by the self-interactions between the \phi(1020) and the f_0(980) resonances. We are able to describe the e^+e^-\to \phi(1020)f_0(980) recent scattering data to test experimentally our scattering amplitudes, concluding that the Y(2175) resonance has a large \phi(1020)f_0(980) meson-meson component.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figure

Valuation and modeling of EQ-5D-5L health states using a hybrid approach

Background: The EQ-5D instrument is the most widely used preference-based health-related quality of life questionnaire in cost-effectiveness analysis of health care technologies. Recently, a version called EQ-5D-5L with 5 levels on each dimension was developed. This manuscript explores the performance of a hybrid approach for the modeling of EQ-5D-5L valuation data. Methods: Two elicitation techniques, the composite time trade-off, and discrete choice experiments, were applied to a sample of the Spanish population (n=1000) using a computer-based questionnaire. The sampling process consisted of 2 stages: stratified sampling of geographic area, followed by systematic sampling in each area. A hybrid regression model combining composite time trade-off and discrete choice data was used to estimate the potential value sets using main effects as starting point. The comparison between the models was performed using the criteria of logical consistency, goodness of fit, and parsimony. Results: Twenty-seven participants from the 1000 were removed following the exclusion criteria. The best-fitted model included 2 significant interaction terms but resulted in marginal improvements in model fit compared to the main effects model. We therefore selected the model results with main effects as a potential value set for this methodological study, based on the parsimony criteria. The results showed that the main effects hybrid model was consistent, with a range of utility values between 1 and -0.224. Conclusion: This paper shows the feasibility of using a hybrid approach to estimate a value set for EQ-5D-5L valuation data.</p

Caractéristiques gustatives de l’eau des fruits de quatre cultivars du cocotier (Cocos nucifera L.)

Les caractéristiques gustatives (descriptives et hédoniques) de l’eau des fruits de quatre cultivars du cocotier (Cocos nucifera L.) ont été étudiées au cours de la maturation des noix. Il s’est agi du Grand OuestAfricain, du Nain Jaune de Malaisie, du Nain Vert de Guinée Equatoriale et de l’hybride PB121 amélioré. Les paramètres testés ont été les saveurs (sucrée, salée et acide) et les préférences gustatives. Les résultats obtenus ont montré des interactions significatives entre les cultivars et les stades de maturité pour les paramètres analysés. Ainsi, au cours de la maturation des noix, la saveur sucrée de l’eau de coco est prédominante quel que soit le stade de maturité. Elle est maximale chez les cultivars nains de rang 21 avec des perceptions équivalant à des teneurs en sucres de 5,80 à 6,10%. A maturité, la saveur sucrée de l’eau de coco baisse car les sucres interviennent dans la formation de l’amande. Les résultats des tests hédoniques ont abouti à la préférence de l’eau de coco en fonction de son goût sucré. Ainsi, l’eau des noix immatures des cultivars nains a été la plus appréciée. Cette étude a permis de déterminer les caractéristiques sensorielles de l’eau de coco afin de fournir des indicateurs pour une valorisation technologique efficiente.Mots clés: Eau de coco, tests sensoriels, cultivars, maturation

Inner ear ossification and mineralization kinetics in human embryonic development - microtomographic and histomorphological study.

Little is known about middle and inner ear development during the second and third parts of human fetal life. Using ultra-high resolution Microcomputed Tomography coupled with bone histology, we performed the first quantitative middle and inner ear ossification/mineralization evaluation of fetuses between 17 and 39 weeks of gestational age. We show distinct ossification paces between ossicles, with a belated development of the stapes. A complete cochlear bony covering is observed within the time-frame of the onset of hearing, whereas distinct time courses of ossification for semicircular canal envelopes are observed in relation to the start of vestibular functions. The study evidences a spatio-temporal relationship between middle and inner ear structure development and the onset of hearing and balance, critical senses for the fetal adaptation to birth