Naturalizing meaning : Jerry Fodor's Theory of content

Jerry Fodor’s Theory of Content Fodor’s project is that of providing a naturalistic account of meaning. The way in which he proposes to do this is by providing a sufficient condition for the content of mental states. This condition must, to be naturalistic, be framed in non-intentional/non-semantic terms. The account aims to provide an account of meaning that is compatible with physicalism, and is therefore very interesting from a metaphysical standpoint. The key problem Fodor’s theory wants to solve is what is called the disjunction problem. This is the problem of naturalistically specifying contents that are sufficiently fine-grained to reconstruct the contents of propositional attitudes. This is a problem common to naturalistic theories of content. Fodor seeks to solve this problem by appealing to asymmetric dependencies among causal laws. I argue that though Fodor’s proposal is the best available for naturalizing meaning it does not succeed in solving the disjunction problem and providing a naturalistic account of meaning

Effect of maintenance on particulate emissions from residential woodstoves

-Literature review and test results from particulate matter measurements based on Norwegian Standard NS 3058-59 coupled with EC and OC analyses on an artificially aged woodstove

Ankeltrening for alle : Et kvalitetsforbedringsprosjekt ved Skadelegevakten i Oslo

I denne oppgaven tar vi for oss rehabilitering av ankelovertråkk med tanke på å forhindre nye overtråkk, og dermed spare samfunnet for store kostnader. For å oppnå dette vil vi med prosjektet ”Ankeltrening for alle” forbedre retningslinjene for håndtering av ankelovertråkk ved å gi pasienten et bedre informasjonsskriv med illustrasjoner, QR kode, DVD og nettressurs med video av aktuelle øvelser, samt ha en utlånsordning for balansepute. Vi har tatt for oss mikrosystemet Skadelegevakten i Oslo ettersom det der i dag kun blir gitt enkle råd om opptrening av proprioseptiv sans etter ukompliserte ankelovertråkk. Årsaken til at vi har valgt å skrive om akkurat dette er en nylig publisert nederlandsk studie som viste at utdeling av balansebrett samt DVD med treningsøvelser reduserte antall nye overtråkk, og i forlengelsen av dette også samfunnets kostnader. Som mål på kvaliteten av vårt kvalitetsforbedringsprosjekt bruker vi to prosessindikatorer; registrering av hvilke pasienter som har fått informasjon og utlevert materiell, samt dokumentasjon i legejournal. Prosjektgruppen bør ha forankring i ledelsen. På den måten vil man antageligvis oppnå større gjennomslag for at dette skal utføres ved hvert ankelovertråkk. Basert på et vitenskapelig kunnskapsgrunnlag bør Skadelegevakten i Oslo innføre nye rutiner for håndtering av akutte ankelovertråkk som inkluderer en deponeringsløsning for balansebrett og forbedret informasjon om opptrening etter skade

Between entrepreneurship and technology transfer: Evaluation of the FORNY programme

This report is the result of an evaluation of the FORNY programme commissioned by the Re-search Council of Norway. The background for the evaluation is that the current programme period will be terminated by the end of 2009, and the results of the evaluation will be an im-portant basis for designing the future programme

Influence of temperature during pyrolysis of Fe-alginate: Unraveling the pathway towards highly active Fe/C catalysts

Transition metals supported on carbons play an important role in catalysis and energy storage. By pyrolysis of metal alginate, highly active catalysts for the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) can be produced. However, the evolution of the carbon (alginate) and transition metal (Fe3+) during pyrolysis remains largely unknown and was herein corroborated with several advanced in situ techniques. Initially, Fe3+ was reduced to Fe2+, while bound to alginate. FeO nucleated above 300 °C, destabilizing the alginate functional groups. Increasing temperatures improved carbonization of the carbon support, which facilitated reduction of FeO to α-Fe at 630 °C. Catalysts were produced by pyrolysis between 400 and 700 °C, where the highest FTS activity (612 µmolCO gFe−1 s−1) was achieved for the sample pyrolyzed at low temperature. Lower metal loading, due to less decomposition of alginate, moderated sintering and yielded larger catalytic surface areas. The results provide valuable knowledge for rational design of metal-alginate-based materials.publishedVersio

Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the Interactions between Platinum Clusters and Carbon Platelets

Molecular dynamics simulations have been performed with two reactive force fields to investigate the structure of a Pt_(100) cluster adsorbed on the three distinct sides of a carbon platelet. A revised Reax force field for the carbon−platinum system is presented. In the simulations, carbon platelet edges both with and without hydrogen termination have been studied. It is found that the initial mismatch between the atomic structure of the platelet egde and the adsorbed face of the Pt_(100) cluster leads to a desorption of a few platinum atoms from the cluster and the subsequent restructuring of the cluster. Consequently, the average Pt−Pt bond length is enlarged in agreement with experimental results. This change in the bond length is supposed to play an important role in the enhancement of the catalytic activity, which is demonstrated by studying the changes in the bond order of the platinum atoms. We found an overall shift to lower values as well as a loss of the well-defined peak structure in the bond-order distribution

Unraveling Enhanced Activity, Selectivity, and Coke Resistance of Pt–Ni Bimetallic Clusters in Dry Reforming

By introducing Pt atoms into the surface of reduced hydrotalcite (HT)-derived nickel (Ni/HT) catalysts by redox reaction, we synthesized an enhanced active and stable Ni-based catalyst for methane dry reforming reaction. The bimetallic Pt–Ni catalysts can simultaneously enhance the catalyst activity, increase the H2/CO ratio by suppressing reverse water–gas shift reaction, and enhance the stability by increasing the resistance to the carbon deposition during the reaction. Kinetic study showed that 1.0Pt–12Ni reduces the activation energy for CH4 dissociation and enhances the catalytic activity of the catalyst and lowers the energy barrier for CO2 activation and promotes the formation of surface O* by CO2 adsorptive dissociation. It is beneficial to enhance the resistance to the carbon deposition and prolong its service life in the reaction process. In addition, density-functional theory calculations rationalized the higher coke resistance of Pt–Ni catalysts where CH is more favorable to be oxidized instead of cracking into surface carbon on the Pt–Ni surface, compared with Ni(111) and Pt(111). Even if a small amount of carbon deposited on the Pt–Ni surface, its oxidation process requires a lower activation barrier. Thus, it demonstrates that the bimetallic Pt–Ni catalyst has the best ability to resist carbon deposition compared with monometallic samples.publishedVersio

Plasma linoleic acid levels and cardiovascular risk factors:results from the Norwegian ACE 1950 Study

Background A high intake of linoleic acid (LA), the major dietary polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), has previously been associated with reduced cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality in observational studies. However, recent secondary analyses from clinical trials of LA-rich diet suggest harmful effects of LA on CV health. Methods A total of 3706 participants, all born in 1950, were included in this cross-sectional study. We investigated associations between plasma phospholipid levels of LA and CV risk factors in a Norwegian general population, characterized by a relative low LA and high marine n-3 PUFA intake. The main statistical approach was multivariable linear regression. Results Plasma phospholipid LA levels ranged from 11.4 to 32.0 wt%, with a median level of 20.8 wt% (interquartile range 16.8–24.8 wt%). High plasma LA levels were associated with lower serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (standardized regression coefficient [Std. β-coeff.] −0.04, p = 0.02), serum triglycerides (Std. β-coeff. −0.10, p < 0.001), fasting plasma glucose (Std. β-coeff. −0.10, p < 0.001), body mass index (Std. β-coeff. −0.13, p < 0.001), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (Std. β-coeff. −0.04, p = 0.03 and Std. β-coeff. −0.02, p = 0.02, respectively) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (Std. β-coeff. −0.09, p < 0.001). We found no association between plasma LA levels and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, glycated hemoglobin, carotid intima-media thickness, or C-reactive protein. Conclusion High plasma LA levels were favorably associated with several CV risk factors in this study of a Norwegian general population