Counterfactuals and Explanatory Pluralism

Recent literature on non-causal explanation raises the question as to whether explanatory monism, the thesis that all explanations submit to the same analysis, is true. The leading monist proposal holds that all explanations support change-relating counterfactuals. We provide several objections to this monist position. 1Introduction2Change-Relating Monism's Three Problems3Dependency and Monism: Unhappy Together4Another Challenge: Counterfactual Incidentalism4.1High-grade necessity4.2Unity in diversity5Conclusio

The Energy Problem: Choices for an Uncertain Future

Analyzes discussions from National Issues Forums to assess how the public defines the energy problem, what it sees as the causes and solutions, where confusion and tensions over the energy problem lie, and why there is no consensus on how to resolve it

Chronic inflammatory disease of the male lower genito-urinary tract

The underlying aetiology and pathophysiology of chronic abacterial prostatitis is poorly understood. The study of patients with chronic prostatitis and normal controls by transrectal ultrasound identified seven signs associated with a diagnosis of chronic prostatitis. A cohort of sixty patients with chronic abacterial prostatitis (CABP), based on standard localisation criteria, was constructed. These patients underwent transrectal ultrasound and subsequent guided biopsy of any parenchymal abnormalities, thereby overcoming the problem of urethral contamination. The tissue so obtained was submitted for microbiological, histological and immunological study. Within the cohort no organism was isolated consistently from either prostatic secretion or tissue. In particular Chlamydia trachomatis, Mycoplasma hominis and Ureaplasma urealyticum could not be identified. A chronic inflammatory infiltrate was detected in 85% of the cohort, yet no controls, thereby vindicating the biopsy technique. However, no specific histological pattern could be attributed to CABP. Immunological analysis of the prostatic tissue suggested the inflammatory process was stimulated by a persistent antigen and was in keeping with a cell mediated, type IV hypersensitivity reaction. Urinary flow rates were subnormal in 27% of the cohort. In selected cases, intraprostatic urinary reflux was demonstrated, and postulated, as being responsible for the transportation of the inciting antigen, whose nature remains unknown, yet probably is non-organismal. Serum PSA was unhelpful in diagnosis and management of CABP. No evidence of a psychological role in the aetiology of CABP was identified. A possible link between acute epididymitis and inflammatory prostatic disease was noted on transrectal ultrasound; intraprostatic and vasal reflux being a proposed unifying factor. In acute epididymitis the role of Chlamydia trachomatis and Enterobacteriaceae was confirmed, and Ureaplasma urealyticum discovered. Thus CABP* appears to be an active immunological reaction in response to a persistent antigen whose nature, although unknown, is possibly non-organismal and transported into the prostate by urinary reflux

Image sharpening metrics and search strategies for indirect adaptive optics

Adaptive optics is concerned with the correction of turbulence induced aberrations and mis-alignments in optical systems. It is an expensive and complicated technology which has been developed for astronomy and defence applications. Recently, it has found a role within industry and medicine. This thesis deals with a simplified mechanism for adaptive feedback based on the analysis of distorted images, and an iterative feedback process. Simplification is achieved at the expense of speed, but there are particular applications where this technique is suitable. The one considered here is the removal of so-called non-common path errors in a traditional adaptive optics system, which can otherwise degrade the system performance

Do the provisions of section 3(7)(a)(ii) read with section 3(7)(b)(i) of the Admiralty Jurisdiction Regulation Act 105 of 1983 infringe the substantive requirements of section 25(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act 108 of 1996?

In this dissertation, the issue that is considered is whether or not the provisions of section 3(7)(a)(ii) read with section 3(7)(b)(i) of the Admiralty Jurisdiction Regulation Act 105 of 1983 ('the Act') constitute an arbitrary deprivation of a minority shareholder's property because they permit the deprivation of minority shareholder's property interests purely on the basis of common control by the majority shareholder

Rethinking Justice in Massachusetts: Public Attitudes Toward Crime and Punishment

Presents results from a public opinion survey about the sharp increase in the incarcerated population in Massachusetts and about current strategies for reintegrating ex-offenders who have been released into the community

THE INFLUENCE OF INDIVIDUALS’ MIDDLE SCHOOL, HIGH SCHOOL, AND UNDERGRADUATE COLLEGE MUSIC PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCES ON SELF- EFFICACY AND PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR OWN SUCCESS AS ADULTS

This qualitative case-study research examined the influence of childhood and adolescent music performance experiences on self-efficacy and perceptions of success in adults. Eight 26- to 32-year-old, college-educated, adult professionals sharing membership in the same a cappella music performing group were observed, interviewed, and completed demographic surveys and self-efficacy instruments. Participants consisted of five females and three males, five of whom were white, one black, and one Asian/Pacific Islander. The research was designed to examine the potential impact of music performance experiences on individual’s perceived self-efficacy and perceptions of success and how changes in these may generalize to other cognitive and affective domains. Analysis of participant interviews indicated that seven of eight regarded their music performance experiences as important contributors to their high efficacy expectations both in and out of music as well as their overall feelings of successfulness. Results of The General Self-Efficacy Scale confirmed this analysis in higher than average scores in seven of eight participants. Results of The Music Performance Self-Efficacy Scale reflected higher than average music self-efficacy expectations for all eight participants. Participants reported considerable, and in some cases, life-changing social benefits associated with their music performance experiences. Future research should be conducted to determine how participation in music performance can enhance social connectedness and to determine the conditions under which music performance experiences, including neuropsychological changes attending prolonged involvement in music performance, optimally enhance music performance achievement, self-efficacy, and perceptions of success, and how these may be generalized to other cognitive and affective domains

Growth and motion at the Weddell Sea ice edge

The formation of sea ice in the presence of turbulence was studied using data from drifting buoydeployments and ice sampling in the Weddell Sea during April 2000. The study sought toimprove understanding of pancake ice in terms of dynamics, heat fluxes, ice growth rates andmechanisms.Ice motion at high frequencies was examined using GPS buoy positions at a 20-minutesampling interval. Relative motions of the buoy array were characterised by a markedoscillation at the highest frequencies, with an RMS value two orders of magnitude higher thanpreviously seen in the Weddell Sea. This motion ceased overnight as the pancakes consolidated.Wave forcing, either surface gravity or internal, was postulated as the cause. The oscillation wasfound to significantly influence the proportions of pancake and frazil ice, though the nature ofthe ice cover meant that ice production rates were unaffected, in contrast to the enhanced growththis would imply for congelation ice. Momentum transfer parameters were found to be similarto those found for the Greenland Sea Odden ice tongue.Pancakes were found to be dominantly thickened by over-topping of the surroundingfrazil ice crystals, termed ‘scavenging’, and gave rise to distinct morphologies, which wereclassified. A physical model was developed to describe the evolution of the pancake ice cover toconsolidation. Ice production in the pancake/frazil process was found to proceed atapproximately double the rate of the equivalent congelation ice cover, or 0.58 times the limitingfree-surface frazil production. It was suggested that the discrepancy will seriously impact largescalemodelling attempts to simulate heat and momentum fluxes between the ocean andatmosphere, as well as salt rejection and subsequent water mass modification, though it isacknowledged that further field measurements are required to place some currently empiricalparameters into a physical context

Artificial metalloenzymes : modified proteins as tuneable transition metal catalysts and their application in oxidative lignin degradation

The selective oxidation of organic molecules is fundamentally important to life and immensely useful in industry. Metalloenzyme catalysed oxidations often display exquisite substrate specificity as well as regio and/or stereoselectivity. Huge strides have occurred in the field of biocatalysis in recent years. Work has developed by taking inspiration from nature’s enzymes, to use directed evolution and engineering methods to create tailor made catalysts. Artificial Metalloenzymes (ArMs) provide the possibility to expand this repertoire further by combining the advantageous features of enzymes with the versatile reaction scope of transition metals. The initial chapter in this thesis takes a look into recent literature about artificial metalloenzymes and their application in oxidation catalysis. Chapter two describes the design rationale and synthesis of protein templates and synthetic cofactors for the development of artificial metalloenzymes. Successful modification was achieved for a wide library of nitrogen donor ligands, creating an array of artificial metalloenzymes that can be tested in catalytic reactions. In the absence of a crystal structure of the modified protein, UV and CD analysis were carried out to gather characteristic information about the artificial metalloenzymes and their metal binding properties. An investigation was also carried out to determine the most accurate method to calculate protein concentration once it has been modified with a cofactor. The third chapter describes the application of protein engineering to increase the thermostability of the target protein. Variants of an artificial metalloenzyme were created by rational design using structural and bioinformatic information. The variants were tested to identify mutations that enhanced the stability of the protein scaffold. Significant increases in melting temperature were observed in a number of the modified metalloenzymes. Their ability to withstand higher reaction temperatures resulted in increased activity in the hydroformylation of 1-octene, with >5-fold improvements in turnover numbers (TON). The fourth chapter reports the use of artificial metalloenzymes in oxidation catalysis. In particular their application to the degradation of lignin is investigated. Using a model compound that mimics the most abundant linkage within lignin as a substrate, a wide array of artificial metalloenzymes were tested to study if any oxidation or cleavage occurs. Investigations were carried out to find the optimum conditions varying catalyst loading and buffer/solvent composition. Complete selective conversion to ketone product is observed using SCP-2L A100C modified with a tris(2-pyridylmethyl) amine based cofactor, coordinated to Fe(OTf)₂.2MeCN. Engineering the protein scaffold to incorporate glutamic acid was found to improve the ArM activity, showing that rational design of the protein environment using metal binding amino acids can be a method to improve the overall activity of an artificial metalloenzyme