The concept of free will as an infinite metatheoretic recursion

It is argued that the concept of free will, like the concept of truth in formal languages, requires a separation between an object level and a meta-level for being consistently defined. The Jamesian two-stage model, which deconstructs free will into the causally open "free" stage with its closure in the "will" stage, is implicitly a move in this direction. However, to avoid the dilemma of determinism, free will additionally requires an infinite regress of causal meta-stages, making free choice a hypertask. We use this model to define free will of the rationalist-compatibilist type. This is shown to provide a natural three-way distinction between quantum indeterminism, freedom and free will, applicable respectively to artificial intelligence (AI), animal agents and human agents. We propose that the causal hierarchy in our model corresponds to a hierarchy of Turing uncomputability. Possible neurobiological and behavioral tests to demonstrate free will experimentally are suggested. Ramifications of the model for physics, evolutionary biology, neuroscience, neuropathological medicine and moral philosophy are briefly outlined.Comment: Accepted in INDECS (close to the accepted version

Evolution of structural and magnetic properties in Ta/Ni_81Fe_(19) multilayer thin films

The interdiffusion kinetics in short period (12.8 nm) Ta/Ni81Fe19 polycrystalline multilayer films has been investigated and related to the evolution of soft magnetic properties upon thermal annealing in the temperature range 300-600-degrees-C. Small angle x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy were used to estimate the multilayer period. Interdiffusion in the multilayers was directly computed from the decay of the satellites near (000) in a small angle x-ray diffraction spectrum. A kinetic analysis of interdiffusion suggests that grain growth is concurrent with grain boundary diffusion of Ta in Ni81Fe19. The evolution of soft magnetic properties of Ni81Fe19, i.e., lowering of 4piM(s) and increase in coercivity H(c), also lend support to the above analysis

Benchmarking Process and Its Relationship with Organizational Performance

Benchmarking is recognized as an essential tool for continuous improvement of quality.Nowadays, many public sector organizations have been encouraged to implement benchmarking asone way of satisfying the government's requirement that public organizations provide best valueservices. This paper begins with discussion of the literature that is integrated to point out the generalbasis of the topic. Then, this study will address the questions of whether the factors that affectingsuccessful benchmarking has relationship with benchmarking process as well as whetherbenchmarking process will lead to improvement of organizational performance. Therefore, the studyhad interviewed officers that involved in benchmarking project within 35 local authorities inPeninsular Malaysia. Finally, this paper also focuses on the methodology and data analysis of thestudy

A Rare Case of Foreign Body Ingestion, Mimicking as Mesenteric Cyst. "Case Report"

Background: Foreign body ingestion by children is a commonly encountered problem and accounts for a significant emergency visits among pediatric population. Although these ingested foreign bodies pass spontaneously and uneventfully, a subset of such bodies may become trapped in the digestive tract, eventually leading to significant injury. Most of these bodies are radio-opaque and detectable radiologically, but some radio-lucent may become a diagnostic dilemma and subtle management issue. Case Report: We report a case of a one-year girl who presented after accidental ingestion of foreign body with signs and symptoms of acute intestinal obstruction. Initially we were unable to diagnose the cause, but later the radiological investigation suspected a mesenteric cyst. After failure to respond to conservative measures she underwent exploratory laparotomy, and a jelly ball was removed from the gut. The patient had uneventful post-operative recovery and was kept on follow-up for three months without any complication. Conclusion: These patients do not respond to conservative measures and need surgery on an emergency basis. It is likely that if left untreated may have caused Intestinal perforation and irreversible shock. Radiolucent foreign bodies are difficult to diagnose and need high level of suspicion. Need of the hour is to educate the parents to be extra vigilant as “prevention is better than cure”

Responses of winged bean (Psophocarpus Tetragonolobus) to Mycorrhiza Inoculation in pot and field trials

Two greenhouse experiments and one field trial were conducted to provide information on the possibility of exploiting the beneficial effects of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in Malaysian agriculture. In the first study, winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus) was grown in steam-sterilized Serdang soils and the development of the endophytes evaluated fortnightly. The second experiment was conducted in unsterilized Serdang and Munchong soils respectively with three levels ofP and/or inoculated with Acaulospora laevis, Glomus macrocarpum, Glomus mosseae, a mixture of Glomus species and Scutellospora calospora. All inocula, except for S. calospora, significantly enhanced growth throughout the course of the experiments and increased N, P and K concentrations in the plant tissues. G. mosseae was superior to the rest. In the field trial, Acaulospora laevis, Scutellospora calospora and Glomus mosseae were inoculated into winged bean grown in unsterilized field soil, with or without phosphate fertilizer. Inoculation of winged bean with G. mosseae significantly (P < 0.05) increased inflorescence formation (4.5/plant) , particularly at an intermediate level (60 kg ha-1 ) of P fertilizer

Experimental investigation on the effect of natural tropical weather on interfacial bonding performance of CFRP-concrete bonding system

The existing reinforced concrete structures may require rehabilitation and strengthening to overcome deficiencies due to defect and environmental deterioration. Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP)-concrete bonding systems can provide solution for the deficiencies, but the durability of the bonded joint needs to be investigated for reliable structural performance. In this research the interfacial bonding behaviour of CFRP-concrete system under tropical climate exposure is main interest. A 300 mm concrete prism was bonded with CFRP plate on its two sides and exposed for 3, 6, and 9 months to laboratory environment, continuous natural weather, and wet-dry exposure in 3.5% saltwater solution at room and 40 °C temperature. The prisms were subjected to tension and compression load under bonding test to measure the strain and determine stress distribution and shear stress transfer behaviour. The results of the bonding test showed that load transfer was fairly linear and uniform at lower load level and changed to non-linear and non- uniform at higher load level. The force transfers causes the shear stress distribution being shifted along the bonded length. The combination of climate effects may have provided better curing of the bonded joints, but longer duration of exposure may be required to weaken the bond strength. Nevertheless, CFRP-concrete bonding system was only minimally affected under the tropical climate and salt solution

Warisan Anak Angkat Menurut Hukum Adat Dan Kompilasi Hukum Islam

Civil law in Indonesia are still pluralism because until now still apply customary law, Islamic law and Western law. The law of inheritance is a part of the law of family who played an important role, even define and reflect the prevailing family system in the community. In this case there are some differences between the existing legal system against the adoption of children in Indonesia. So sometimes becomes an endless discussion towards inheritance for the adopted child. Based on the above background found problems: first the position of adopted children in customary law and Islamic law, second compilation of inheritance adopted children in customary law and Islamic law, third compilation serves parts of adopted children in inheritance law and compile Islamic law. Islamic law is not the presence of adoption so far belies the adoption was done for welfare and education for the child. Adoption does not disconnect from the adopted child with the biological parents. There are no relations between the adopted child to inherit with the adoptive parents. However in the compilation of Islamic law on the set of wills wajibah, so that the adopted child can be given no more than a third of the estate. Unlike the customary law system, the position of adopted children is influenced by the system of kinship or descent, the position of adopted children varies from one region to the other. Adoption can just break the connection of the adopted children against parents, siblings or children of adoption do not disconnect from the adopted child with her biological parents. So is the adopted son of inheritance. Each of the customary law in the area have different settings, there is that because adoption then arises of the relationship between the adoptive parents ' inheritance and vice versa. Similarly, with the portion for adopted children who inherit a system of customary law that the adopted child is given the rights of inheritance from adoptive parents. This inheritance portion against the arrangements differ from one region to the other

Low blood lead concentrations and cognitive development of primary school children from three areas in Malaysia.

A study on to identify the relationship between blood lead and cognitive development was conducted on primary school children in Malaysia. About 413 children aged 6½ - 8½ years from urban (236), rural (80) and industrial areas (97) were studied. Blood lead was analyzed using the Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (GFAAS). Cognitive development was measured by the ‘McCarthy Scales of Children’s Abilities Test’ (MSCA). Significant differences found in the mean cognitive scores between the urban (94.40), industrial (102.90) and suburban children (101.24) (p ≤ 0.001), with the blood lead between the urban (3.66 μg/dL), industrial (3.54 μg/dL) and suburban children (3.04 μg/dL) (p = 0.022). Significant inverse correlations between blood lead and cognitive scores found for all groups (p ≤ 0.001), urban (p ≤ 0.001) and suburban children (p < 0.001). Low blood lead significantly influenced the cognitive development for all children after adjusting for confounders (p ≤ 0.001). The urban children’s cognitive scores were significantly influenced by blood lead levels and household income (p ≤ 0.001). However, for the suburban children, the cognitive score were significantly influenced by the blood lead levels, the mothers’ education, number of siblings, sequence in the family and the household income (p < 0.001). Blood lead below 10 μg/dL influenced the cognitive development. Urban children had higher blood lead but suburban children with lower blood lead were also vulnerable to the effect of lead on their cognitive development

The effects of thickness on biomechanical behavior of articular cartilage: a finite element analysis

It is important to study joint contact mechanics in order to understand the human joint function and degeneration. In previous studies, the cartilage behavior was investigated using computational method assuming the cartilage to be flat and an ideal thickness. But, this assumption may not appropriate because the joint is naturally curved and the cartilage thickness varies across the articular cartilage. In this study, finite element (FE) analysis was performed to investigate the effect of cartilage thickness on contact pressure and pore pressure of cartilage in indentation test. An axisymmetric FE model of cartilage was developed according to the thickness and radius measured in the experiment. The cartilage was modeled as biphasic material to describe the properties of cartilage. Based on the result, the lowest cartilage thickness of 0.3 mm thickness generated 48% higher in contact pressure and 59% higher in pore pressure, compared to the highest thickness cartilage. This could indicate that the cartilage thickness does affect the contact pressure and pore pressure