Hegelian Spirits in Sellarsian Bottles

Though Wilfrid Sellars portrayed himself as a latter-day Kantian, I argue here that he was at least as much a Hegelian. Several themes Sellars shares with Hegel are investigated: the sociality and normativity of the intentional, categorial change, the rejection of the given, and especially their denial of an unknowable thing-in-itself. They are also united by an emphasis on the unity of things—the belief that things do ‘‘hang together.’’ Hegel’s unity is idealist; Sellars’ is physicalist; the differences are substantial, but so are the resonances

Improving the multi-objective evolutionary optimization algorithm for hydropower reservoir operations in the California Oroville-Thermalito complex

This study demonstrates the application of an improved Evolutionary optimization Algorithm (EA), titled Multi-Objective Complex Evolution Global Optimization Method with Principal Component Analysis and Crowding Distance Operator (MOSPD), for the hydropower reservoir operation of the Oroville-Thermalito Complex (OTC) - a crucial head-water resource for the California State Water Project (SWP). In the OTC's water-hydropower joint management study, the nonlinearity of hydropower generation and the reservoir's water elevation-storage relationship are explicitly formulated by polynomial function in order to closely match realistic situations and reduce linearization approximation errors. Comparison among different curve-fitting methods is conducted to understand the impact of the simplification of reservoir topography. In the optimization algorithm development, techniques of crowding distance and principal component analysis are implemented to improve the diversity and convergence of the optimal solutions towards and along the Pareto optimal set in the objective space. A comparative evaluation among the new algorithm MOSPD, the original Multi-Objective Complex Evolution Global Optimization Method (MOCOM), the Multi-Objective Differential Evolution method (MODE), the Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm (MOGA), the Multi-Objective Simulated Annealing approach (MOSA), and the Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization scheme (MOPSO) is conducted using the benchmark functions. The results show that best the MOSPD algorithm demonstrated the best and most consistent performance when compared with other algorithms on the test problems. The newly developed algorithm (MOSPD) is further applied to the OTC reservoir releasing problem during the snow melting season in 1998 (wet year), 2000 (normal year) and 2001 (dry year), in which the more spreading and converged non-dominated solutions of MOSPD provide decision makers with better operational alternatives for effectively and efficiently managing the OTC reservoirs in response to the different climates, especially drought, which has become more and more severe and frequent in California

Is dentistry the orphaned field of medicine? Ethical consideration for evidence-based dentistry

It was a watershed moment when Archie Cochrane published his work on Effectiveness and efficiency: random reflections on health services which was considered the start of evidence-based healthcare as we now know it. From there onward, evidence-based dentistry (EBD) has developed and evolved and there has been little attention to the interlink between EBD and ethics. The aim of this paper is to explore some of the ethical basis of evidence-based approach to healthcare utilising Beauchamp and Childress' four principles. EBD will be examined in relation to a variety of ethical theories. The case will be made that dentistry can, at times, be considered the orphaned field of medicine and an examination will be presented about how this may affect the uptake of EBD in practice. While exploring the strengths and weaknesses of EBD from an ethical viewpoint, we will highlight some of the challenges facing many dental practitioners in judging what is considered high-quality evidence and examine ways in which this could be improved with links to patient outcomes from an ethical perspective

Streptomycin ototoxicity in the unborn child

The original publication is available at http://www.samj.org.zaStreptomycin has been used in pregnant patients for more than 30 years. Some doubt, however, still exists with regard to its effects on the ear of the unborn child. Thirty-three children whose mothers had received streptomycin during pregnancy were followed up and their hearing tested. A minor degree of hearing loss which could possibly be due to the action of streptomycin was found in only 2 children.Publishers' versio

X-Linked Deafness in a South African Kindred

The X-linked deafness of Nance is present in a South African kindred. Recognition of the familial pattern of the disorder, together with the characteristic clinical and audiometric features, permits diagnostic precision, thereby facilitating accurate genetic counselling and rational management. Linkage studies indicated that the loci for the Xg blood group and the deafness gene are unlikely to be very close to each other.S. Afr. Med. J., 48, 587 (1974)

X-linked deafness in a South African kindred

The X-linked deafness of Nance is present in a South African kindred. Recognition of the familial pattern of the disorder, together with the characteristic clinical and audiometric features, permits diagnostic precision, thereby facilitating accurate genetic counselling and rational management. Linkage studies indicated that the loci for the Xg blood group and the deafness gene are unlikely to be very close to each other.S. Afr. Med. J., 48, 587 (1974)