596 research outputs found

    Does Socrates vindicate the coherence theory of truth?

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    Within Plato's Socratic Dialogues we routinely observe the character of Socrates employing a formal, yet largely unexplained method of investigation into the beliefs that his interlocutors hold as true. Socrates even goes so far as to claim there will be discord within them their whole life should they not be able refute one of his controversial and counter-intuitive revealed truths. With the beliefs under investigation striking to the core of how one should live a good life, this paper seeks to investigate whether Socrates' formal method justifies him in making the claims he does. After exposing the methodology of his technique, we turn to investigate the theory of truth that the method represents, seeking to ascertain a greater understanding of what truth means to Socrates when he makes the claim that a belief is true

    Mechanism and behavior of nucleate boiling heat transfer to the alkalai liquid metals

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    A model of boiling heat transfer to the alkali liquid metals is postulated from an examination of the events and phases of the nucleate boiling cycle. The model includes the important effect of microlayer evaporation which causes a wave of temperature depression to penetrate into the heating solids; calculated results predict the periodic boiling behavior in the heating solid as a function of the heat flux, the system pressure, the cavity size, and the thermophysical properties of the liquid and the solid. An experimental program was designed to examine the microscale boiling behavior of sodium and to verify the calculated predictions of the boiling model. Artificial cylindrical cavities are used in most of the test sections; a thermocouple is placed close to the boiling surface and adjacent to the cavity wall, and microscale temperature measurements were obtained for stable boiling of sodium from artificial cavities and also from a natural cavity. Horizontal heating surfaces were made from nickel "A", stainless steel 316, and molybdenum-1/2%-.titanium; the range of saturation pressure is from 20 to 780 mm Hg. Favorable comparisons with the predictions of the boiling model are obtained with data for the bubble period and for the amplitude of temperature oscillation at a thermocouple close to the boiling surface; these results indicate the importance of the microlayer in a model for boiling sodium.(cont.) The effect of pressure-temperature history on incipient superheats for boiling was examined; the presence of inert gas in a cavity can lower the incipient superheat. Also, an analysis of unstable boiling indicates that outgassing from the heating solid at high temperatures can cause erratic temperature fluctuations by sporadically triggering nucleation at a previously inactive site.Sponsored by United States Atomic Energy Commissio

    The effect of Cichorium intybus and Lotus corniculatus on nematode burdens and production in grazed lambs

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    This report was presented at the UK Organic Research 2002 Conference. The study was designed to examine the hypothesis that chicory (Cichorium intybus) and Lotus sp. (Lotus corniculatus) have the potential to affect the naturally acquired nematode burden in grazed lambs. Organic male castrate lambs (48) with a naturally acquired parasite burden grazed replicate combination plots (0.6 ha) of chicory, Lotus corniculatus, perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and white clover (Trifolium repens). Lamb performance was determined by weekly weight gain and condition score assessments. Nematode burden was assessed by individual lamb faecal egg count (FEC) before and after drenching (levamisole). The range of parasitic helminths present was assessed by faecal culture and by total worm counts performed on a proportion of the lambs at slaughter. Weekly pasture larval counts (PLCs) were conducted on the trial plots. A concurrent small plot study (6 x 1m2 replicates) of each of the forages used in the grazing trial was run to assess the potential effect of forage type on the development and survival of Teladorsagia circumcincta assessed by weekly PLCs. Preliminary data suggest that lambs grazing chicory or a combination of lotus and chicory had lower FECs than those grazing PRG/WC, however there was no significant difference in the total worm counts

    Harvest and Non-Harvest Mortality Relationships for Lesser Scaup Breeding in Southwestern Montana

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    Since the mid-to-late 1990s, lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) populations have remained more than 20% below the population goal set forth in the North American Waterfowl Management Plan.  Accordingly, considerable attention has been directed towards understanding what factors may be limiting their population, including the role of harvest.  Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge (RRL) in southwestern Montana is the site of a long-term study of lesser scaup ecology and demography.  Preliminary harvest estimates indicate that this population is harvested at rates similar to the continental population with juveniles experiencing an annual average harvest rate of 9.1% (95% CI = 7.7 - 10.7%) and adults an average annual harvest rate of 3.6% (95% CI = 2.2 - 6.1%).  Since 2005, ~1,300 female have been banded on the study site and an additional ~1,000 females have been nasal-marked.  In addition, ~1,400 resightings have been collected for nasal-marked hens on the study site and ~340 dead recoveries from our study population have been reported from Canada to Mexico.  With results obtained from multistrata models that utilize these multiple encounter types, I will present (1) estimates of harvest and natural mortality rates for female lesser scaup banded and nasal-marked at RRL from 2005-2016; (2) how non-harvest mortality varies in relation to harvest mortality over the same period; (3) an assessment of how these rates respond to changes in hunting regulations.  These results will be used to help inform lesser scaup harvest demography, a key structural uncertainty in current harvest models identified in the draft Scaup Conservation Action Plan

    Harvest and Non-Harvest Mortality Relationships for Lesser Scaup Breeding in Southwestern Montana

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    Since the mid-to-late 1990s, lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) populations have remained more than 20% below the population goal set forth in the North American Waterfowl Management Plan.  Accordingly, considerable attention has been directed towards understanding what factors may be limiting their population, including the role of harvest.  Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge (RRL) in southwestern Montana is the site of a long-term study of lesser scaup ecology and demography with data from which survival and harvest rates can be estimated using capture-mark-recapture statistical techniques.  The role of harvest in regulating duck population dynamics, including lesser scaup, is clouded with uncertainty.  Decades of research into the additive or compensatory nature of harvest mortality has yielded little consensus as to which of these hypotheses prevail in North American duck populations.  The most limiting factor to assessing these relationships stems from lacking estimates of population size during waterfowl hunting seasons.  We assessed the relationship between survival rates and harvest rates for lesser scaup females breeding at RRL for an 11 years, beginning in 2005.  Consistent with predictions of density dependence regulation of natural mortality rates during the non-breeding season, we found evidence suggesting adult female survival rates fluctuate in response to harvest regulations, an index of population size, and the total number of lesser scaup harvested in the Pacific and Central Flyways

    All-aqueous continuous-flow RAFT dispersion polymerisation for efficient preparation of diblock copolymer spheres, worms and vesicles

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    We report the scalable, all-aqueous synthesis of polyIJdimethylacrylamide)–polyIJdiacetone acrylamide) (PDMAm–PDAAm) diblock copolymer spheres, worms and vesicles by reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) aqueous dispersion polymerisation in a low-cost continuous-flow (CF) reactor. A transient state kinetic profiling method using a 5 mL reactor coil indicated a considerably faster rate than the equivalent batch reaction. Higher throughput was subsequently demonstrated by employing a 20 mL coil reactor for the synthesis of a 135 g, 30% w/w batch of PDMAm113 macromolecular chain transfer agent (macro-CTA) at 98% conversion. This was used without further purification to polymerise DAAm in a CF reactor. During this polymerisation, the chains underwent polymerisation-induced self-assembly (PISA) producing block copolymer spheres. This reaction also proceeded faster than in batch, and the high resolution kinetics enabled clear observation of the rate enhancement which is characteristic of PISA systems. GPC studies indicated the formation of a copolymer with low molar mass dispersity and complete blocking efficiency, despite the high conversion achieved during the precursor macro-CTA synthesis. It was subsequently demonstrated that the PDMAm113 macro-CTA could be used to prepare PDMAm113–PDAAmx block copolymer spheres (where x = 50, 100 and 200) with systematically increasing particle diameters. Finally, by reducing the PDMAm macro-CTA DP to 50 and increasing total solids to 20% w/w, it was possible to prepare worms and vesicles in the tubular reactor by tailoring the residence time to achieve specific degrees of polymerisation of the PDAAm block

    Portfolio Vol. I N 1

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    Beckham, Adela. Crooner . Poem. 6. Chatten, Janet. Adventure in the Rain . Prose. 3. Beckham, Adela. Magnolia Bloom . Poem. 6. Beckham, Adela. Jon . Poem. 6. Vincent, Charles. Mobilization . Prose. 6. Taylor, Barbara. Shanghai Diary . Prose. 7. Dick, Pewilla. Wind in the Bay . Poem. 10. Hopkins, Kate. Incident . Prose. 11. Sivertsen, Warren. A Glass Yarn . Prose. 13. Sweitzer, Harry. Playing Around . Prose. 15. Sweitzer, Harry. Book Parade . Prose. 15. Schille, Alice. Guatemala . Picture. 16. Schille, Alice. Portrait . Picture. 16. Deane, Dorothy. The Eagle and the Mole . Prose. 17. Dick, Pewilla. Mid-Westerners . Poem. 18. Nadel, Norman. Ancient Instruments Form Library Exhibit . Prose 20. Nadel, Norman. Messiah 32nd . Prose. 20. Wilson, Gordon. No given name. Picture. 20. Hunt, Margery. Marsha Hunt: Denison Sister in Hollywood . Prose. 21. Stewart, John . Hot Jazz . Prose. 19

    Effects of Processing on the Acceptability of 'frozen' extraposed constituents.

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    In syntactic theory, `freezing' refers to the idea that a constituent extraposed to a non-canonical position is resistant to extraction of any of its subconstituents (What did Terry see a movie yesterday about ?). The unacceptability of such examples, compared to minimally different sentences without extraposition, has been claimed to be a result of a grammatical constraint on dependency formation, e.g. Ross' (1967) Frozen Structure Constraint. Here, we argue that the gradient pattern of acceptability associated with such examples is better explained in terms of processing complexity. Experimental evidence from a controlled acceptability task shows that the total penalty for extraction from extraposed constituents is predictable from the summed acceptability penalties independently linked to extraction and extraposition. As prior research links both of these displacement phenomena to increased processing costs, we conclude that a grammar of unbounded dependencies in English does not require a `freezing' constraint for the explanation of these cases

    End-group ionisation enables the use of poly(N-(2-methacryloyloxy)ethyl pyrrolidone) as an electrosteric stabiliser block for polymerisation-induced self-assembly in aqueous media

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    A series of near-monodisperse poly(N-2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl pyrrolidone) (PNMEP) homopolymers was prepared via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) solution polymerisation of NMEP in ethanol at 70 °C using a carboxylic acid-functional RAFT agent. The mean degree of polymerisation (DP) was varied from 19 to 89 and acid titration indicated end-group pK a values of 5.07-5.44. Turbidimetry studies indicated that homopolymer cloud points were significantly higher at pH 7 (anionic carboxylate) than at pH 3 (neutral carboxylic acid). Moreover, this enhanced hydrophilic character enabled PNMEP to be used as a steric stabiliser for aqueous polymerisation-induced self-assembly (PISA) syntheses. Thus, a PNMEP 42 precursor was chain-extended via RAFT aqueous dispersion polymerisation of 2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate (HPMA) at 44 °C. A series of PNMEP 42 -PHPMA x diblock copolymers were synthesised using this protocol, with target PHPMA DPs of 150 to 400. High conversions were achieved and a linear evolution in M n with increasing PHPMA DP was observed. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies confirmed a spherical morphology in all cases. The nanoparticles flocculated either below pH 4.5 (owing to protonation) or on addition of 60 mM KCl (as a result of charge screening). Thus the anionic end-groups on the PNMEP stabiliser chains make an important contribution to the overall colloidal stability. Similarly, a PNMEP 53 macro-CTA was chain-extended via RAFT aqueous emulsion polymerisation of 2-ethoxyethyl methacrylate (EEMA) at 44 °C. Again, a neutral solution pH was critical for the synthesis of colloidally stable nanoparticles. High conversions were achieved as the target PEEMA DP was varied between 100 and 600 and a linear evolution in molecular weight with PEEMA DP was confirmed by chloroform GPC studies. DLS experiments indicated a monotonic increase in nanoparticle diameter with PEEMA DP and TEM studies confirmed a spherical morphology in each case. In summary, PNMEP can be used as a water-soluble steric stabiliser for aqueous PISA syntheses provided that it contains an anionic carboxylate end-group to enhance its hydrophilic character

    Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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    BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London
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