Academic eloquence and the end of Cicero's De finibus

The paper considers why the structure of Cicero’s De Finibus implicitly favours the Academy, even though Cicero avoids a decision between the Stoic theory and Antiochus’ theory. Cicero’s educational aims require him to illustrate not only a range of theories but a range of criteria by which theories and the exposition of theories should be judged. By one criterion – style of exposition – the entire Academic tradition, not Antiochus specifically, is endorsed.PostprintPeer reviewe

Indices of metabolic stress following resistance exercise

The purpose of this study was twofold: 1). to evaluate the metabolic responses to varying volume load (VL), manipulated through relative training intensity and 2). to evaluate the metabolic response to training via direct and indirect methods to assess the application potential of non-invasive methods. Recreationally trained male weight lifters (n = 11) volunteered to participate in this resistance training (RT) study. During three separate testing sessions, participants completed three sets of repetitions of the barbell bicep curl exercise to technical failure with short inter-set rest intervals (60 seconds). Participants were randomly assigned one of three training intensities immediately prior to each testing session: low-load (30% 1RM), moderate-load (60% 1RM), or high-load (90% 1RM). Blood lactate was measured at baseline (Pre), immediately post exercise (Post), five minutes post exercise (Post5), and at 15 minutes post exercise (Post15). Metabolic markers VO2, VCO2, and RER were monitored at all times during each session. Low-load training resulted in significantly greater accumulated VL compared to moderate and high-load training. However, no significant differences were observed in blood lactate, VO2, or VCO2. RER values significantly favored the 30% condition over the 60% and the 90% between Post1 and Post2 and favored the 30% condition over the 90% between Post2 and Post3. Observed RER values were similar during the 30% and 60% conditions at all time points other than the period between Post1 and Post2. These results indicate that blood lactate measurements may underestimate the total exerciseassociated accumulation of metabolites, and that non-invasive, indirect markers may be more useful in assessing the metabolic training response. Additionally, these findings suggest that VL may not exert significant influence over lactate accumulation. Lastly, these findings indicate that moderate intensities may induce similar metabolic responses to low intensity training when exercise is performed for multiple sets of repetitions

Seneca on human rights in De beneficiis 3

The paper discusses Seneca’s phrase ‘human rights’ (ius humanum) in On Benefits 3 and relates the passage to recent debates about human rights in Stoicism and ancient philosophy. I argue that the Latin phrase refers either to rights or to a law conferring rights. The difference between the passage and a common expectation for human rights lies in the kind of relation between right and duty. In Seneca’s passage the right does not in itself have a correlative duty on the part of other people, and yet it does, if exercised through benefactions, create a duty in others. By contrast, the relation between right and duty is usually expected to be unconditional.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

WWW production at the LHC

In 2012 a resonance with a mass of 125 GeV resembling the elusive Higgs boson was discovered simultaneously by the ATLAS and CMS experiments using data collected from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. Its observation finally confirms the mechanism for Spontaneous Electroweak Symmetry Breaking (EWSB) necessary for describing the mass structure of the electroweak (EW) gauge bosons. In 2013, Peter Higgs and Francois Englert were awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for their work in developing this theory of EWSB now referred to as the Higgs mechanism. The explanation for EWSB is often referred to as the last piece of the puzzle required to build a consistent theory of particle physics known as the Standard Model. But does that mean that there are no new surprises to be found? Many EW processes have yet to be measured and are just starting to become accessible with the data collected at the LHC. Indeed, this unexplored region of EW physics may provide clues to as yet unknown new physics processes at higher energy scales. Using the 2012 LHC data recorded by the ATLAS experiment, we seek to make the first observation of one such EW process, the massive tri-boson final state: WWW. It represents one of the first searches to probe the Standard Model WWWW coupling directly at a collider. This search looks specifically at the channel where each W boson decays to a charged lepton and a neutrino, offering the best sensitivity for making such a measurement. In addition to testing the Standard Model directly, we also use an effective field theory approach to test for the existence of anomalous quartic gauge couplings which could offer evidence for new physics at higher energies than those produced by the LHC

Bullying: Dilemmas, Definitions, And Solutions

Bullying has become an increasingly serious problem in today’s schools.  Many states have passed legislation to ensure schools do all they can to prevent and address bullying.  Even though the school is a place that is to be safe for all children, in some instances this is not the case.  This paper discusses bullying and focuses on the different tactics students who bully use at middle levels.  Educators can prevent problems by becoming aware of where bullying takes place and how educators can cope and confront this problem.  Discussed are tactics to create new programs and policies and what process it takes to implement the most sound and fair policy in a school.   Different roles and procedures are discussed to help educators include all stakeholders in the process.  Detailed analysis and descriptions are presented and differentiated and various plans to be implemented are described

Obstructive sleep apnea as a risk factor in the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) afflicts approximately a quarter of the world’s general population and more than half of the world’s obese population. The disease is characterized by a spectrum of liver pathologies, ranging from simple steatosis or the accumulation of fat within hepatic tissue to steatohepatitis comprised of inflammation and fibrosis, also known as NASH. Simple steatosis is relatively asymptomatic and is considered benign, but NASH poses great risk for advanced forms of liver disease, such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular cancer. Obstructive sleep apnea(OSA) is a respiratory disorder involving the recurrent collapse of the upper airway during sleep. Consequently, the patient experiences constant arousals due to constant blockage followed reopening of the airway. Aside from poor quality and disruption of sleep, chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) is also present during OSA. The presence of CIH leaves many vital organs deprived of adequate oxygen to carry out normal physiological function. In response to this hypoxic state, the body upregulates many transcription factors, many of which control inflammatory processes. In recent studies, chronic and recurrent hypoxia generated from OSA has been implicated in the onset and progression of NAFLD. The pathogenesis of NAFLD is believed to be associated with metabolic imbalances, mainly obesity and insulin resistance, both of which also overlap with OSA. These conditions are the main factors in predisposing a patient suffering from OSA to the effects of CIH. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that CIH may accelerate the development of NAFLD through 1) Lipolysis of hepatic adipose tissue and increased hepatic free fatty acids; 2) Upregulation of lipid biosynthetic through CIH; 3) Upregulation of hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha by CIH inducing liver inflammation and fibrosis. The primary focus of this thesis will attempt to determine a possible link between OSA and NAFLD. Through citation of prior scientific studies, it will formulate the theory of OSA as a predisposing factor in the heightened risk of NAFLD pathogenesis and development to more severe, terminal stages. Primarily, the review of literature will highlight the metabolic imbalances of obesity and insulin resistance and how each is related to OSA and NAFLD. Ultimately, deposition of fat and inflammation triggered through various chemical factors connected to OSA will depict both the generation and progression of NAFLD