A Study On Protagorean Objectivism

Protagoras, the first and greatest sophist in the fifth century BCE, is known to have performed professionally as a teacher of various subjects, having interests in human language, political and ethical theories and activities, and education, associating himself with major and influential politicians of his time. Ever since Plato’s interpretation of Protagoras’ Man-Measure Doctrine in the Theaetetus as a thesis of radical relativism regarding perceptual epistemology (‘each individual is the criterion of the truth of a judgement about a given object or a state of affairs’, thus, ‘a thing which appears/is perceived as F to/by a is F for a, while the same thing which appears/is perceived as ¬F to/by b is ¬F for b’), Protagoras has been criticised by intellectuals both in antiquity and modern times for self-contradiction. This thesis makes an exhaustive investigation of the ancient evidence for Protagoras and concludes that in fact it supports an objectivist reading which, if right, would absolve Protagoras of this criticism. For this purpose, I first analyse the so-called Great Speech of Plato’s Protagoras as a source for Protagoras’ ethical and political ideas (Chapter II). In the light of this, I suggest that an alternative reading of the Man-Measure Doctrine is possible in a political-ethical context (Chapter III). My interpretation of Protagoras’ peri theōn (‘on the gods’) fragment suggests a new understanding of the sophist’s epistemological views (Chapter IV). Then, I examine Protagoras’ interest in the correct use of language (Chapter V), and finally his rhetorical sophism through the investigation of the so-called ouk estin antilegein (‘it is not possible to contradict’) doctrine (Chapters VI). My investigation of the evidence for Protagoras shows that, in his version of objectivism, the things that are related to human affairs, such as political virtues, can and should be known and taught on the basis of the common and objective civic senses; knowledge and teaching of them is accomplished through the human objective epistemological condition and a process of synthesis of human experiences, in a correct linguistic and grammatical manner, for a good life lived in human community. If this is right, then Protagoras is not vulnerable to the accusation of self-contradiction; in fact the sophist holds a coherent ‘epistemological’-‘political and ethical’-‘linguistic’ position according to which his political and ethical ideas are supported by objectivist views of epistemology and naturalism of language

STRAIN BEHAVIOUR OF ULTRA-HIGH-STRENGTH CONCRETE UNDER THE ELEVATED TEMPERATURE AND 0.25FCK LOADING

The high-temperature creep of Ultra-High-Strength Concrete (UHSC) has been investigated in this study. The purpose of this study is to evaluated total strain and high-temperature creep at elevated temperatures under loading condition of UHSC. To evaluate the strain behaviour of UHSC at elevated temperatures, ϕ100 mm × 200 mm cylindrical specimens of UHSC with compressive strengths of 80, 130 and 180 MPa concrete were heated to 700 °C at a rate of 1 °C/min. The total strain and high-temperature-creep were measured under the loading condition of 0.25 of the compressive strength at room temperature. As results, Total strain of UHSC increased showing shrinkage with increasing compressive strength. The high-temperature creep of UHSC increased with the temperature and higher level of compressive strength showed bigger high-temperature creep

Endoscopic Thyroidectomy via an Axillo-Breast Approach without Gas Insufflation for Benign Thyroid Nodules and Micropapillary Carcinomas: Preliminary Results

PURPOSE: To examine the feasibility of endoscopic thyroidectomy (ET) via an axillo- breast approach without gas insufflation for large thyroid tumors and micropapillary carcinomas. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The patients in the benign group were separated into groups 1 (n=95, <4 cm in tumor diameter) and 2 (n=37, ≥4 cm in tumor diameter). Also, 57 patients in the micropapillary carcinoma group underwent an endoscopic hemithyroidectomy (HT) (group 3) and were compared with 60 patients who received conventional open HT (group 4). Postoperative functional outcome, local complications, surgical outcomes, and pathological outcomes were compared between the groups. RESULTS: In the benign group, there was no significant difference in mean operating time, hospital stay, or overall perioperative complications between the two groups. In the micropapillary carcinoma group, mean operating time and hospital stay in group 3 were significantly longer than in group 4 (p=0.015 and p≤0.001). The overall perioperative complications did not differ significantly between the groups. The postoperative cosmetic result was better in groups 1-3 (endo group) than in group 4 (open group). CONCLUSION: ET via a gasless axillo-breast approach seems to be a safe procedure even for benign thyroid lesions ≥4 cm and micropapillary carcinomas. Although it has the advantage of better cosmetic results over open thyroidectomy, there is room for improvement in terms of lessening its invasiveness and shortening the operative time.ope

Replication of the genetic effects of IFN regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) on systemic lupus erythematosus in a Korean population

Recently, two studies provided convincing evidence that IFN regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) gene polymorphisms are significantly associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in several white populations. To replicate the association with SLE in an Asian population, we examined the genetic effects in our SLE cohort from a Korean population. A total of 1,565 subjects, composed of 593 cases and 972 controls, were genotyped using the TaqMan® (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA, USA) method. The genetic effects of polymorphisms on the risk of SLE were evaluated using χ2 tests and a Mantel–Haenszel meta-analysis. Statistical analysis revealed results in the Korean population were similar to the previous reports from white populations. The rs2004640 T allele had a higher frequency in SLE cases (0.385) than controls (0.321; odds ratio (OR) = 1.32, P = 0.0003). In combined analysis, including all seven independent cohorts from the three studies so far, robust and consistent associations of the rs2004640 T allele with SLE were observed. The estimate of risk was OR = 1.44 (range, 1.34–1.55), with an overall P = 1.85 × 10-23 for the rs2004640 T allele. The haplotype (rs2004640T–rs2280714T) involved in both the alternative splice donor site and the elevated expression of IRF5 also had a highly significant association with SLE (pooled, P = 2.11 × 10-16). Our results indicate that the genetic effect on the risk of SLE mediated by IRF5 variants can be generally accepted in both white and Asian populations

Physiologic dentin regeneration: its past, present, and future perspectives

Regenerative dentistry has rapidly progressed since the advancement of stem cell biology and material science. However, more emphasis has been placed on the success of tissue formation than on how well the newly generated tissue retains the original structure and function. Once dentin is lost, tertiary dentinogenesis can be induced by new odontoblastic differentiation or re-activation of existing odontoblasts. The characteristic morphology of odontoblasts generates the tubular nature of dentin, which is a reservoir of fluid, ions, and a number of growth factors, and protects the inner pulp tissue. Therefore, understanding the dynamic but delicate process of new dentin formation by odontoblasts, or odontoblast-like cells, following dentinal defects is crucial. In this regard, various efforts have been conducted to identify novel molecules and materials that can promote the regeneration of dentin with strength and longevity. In this review, we focus on recent progress in dentin regeneration research with biological molecules identified, and discuss its potential in future clinical applications

Immature Gastric Teratoma in an Infant: A Case Report

Gastric teratomas are extremely rare neoplasms and almost exclusively benign. They occur predominantly in males and generally present as a palpable abdominal mass. To our knowledge, only one adult case has been described in the Korean literature. We report a case in which an immature gastric teratoma in a 3-month-old boy was revealed by CT and US

Abnormal phase flip in the coherent phonon oscillations of Ca2RuO4

We employ an optical pump-probe technique to study coherent phonon oscillations in Ca2RuO4. We find that oscillation amplitude of an Ag symmetric phonon mode is strongly suppressed at 260 K, a putative transition point of orbital ordering. The oscillation also shows a gradual but huge change in its phase, such that the oscillation even flips over with a 180 change across the temperature. Density functional theory calculations indicate that the Ag phonon has an eigenmode of octahedral distortion with conventional tilting along the a axis and antipolar distortion of apical oxygen. Careful inspection of the lattice captures an unusually large antipolar distortion in low-temperature structures, which may play a crucial role for the phase transition at 260 K. ©2018 American Physical Societ