Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prediction and Explanation in Historical Natural Science

In earlier work (Cleland [2001], [2002]), I sketched an account of the structure and justification of ‘prototypical’ historical natural science that distinguishes it from ‘classical’ experimental science. This article expands upon this work, focusing upon the close connection between explanation and justification in the historical natural sciences. I argue that confirmation and disconfirmation in these fields depends primarily upon the explanatory (versus predictive or retrodictive) success or failure of hypotheses vis-à-vis empirical evidence. The account of historical explanation that I develop is a version of common cause explanation. Common cause explanation has long been vindicated by appealing to the principle of the common cause. Many philosophers of science (e.g., Sober and Tucker) find this principle problematic, however, because they believe that it is either purely methodological or strictly metaphysical. I defend a third possibility: the principle of the common cause derives its justification from a physically pervasive time asymmetry of causation (a.k.a. the asymmetry of overdetermination). I argue that explicating the principle of the common cause in terms of the asymmetry of overdetermination illuminates some otherwise puzzling features of the practices of historical natural scientists. 1 Introduction 2 The Methodology of Historical Natural Science 3 Justification in Historical Natural Science 3.1 Prediction 3.2 Adequate historical explanations are not potential predictions 3.3 The centrality of common cause explanation 4 Common Cause Explanation and the Asymmetry of Overdetermination 4.1 The priority of common cause over separate causes explanations 4.2 The threat of information degrading processes 1 Introduction 2 The Methodology of Historical Natural Science 3 Justification in Historical Natural Science 3.1 Prediction 3.2 Adequate historical explanations are not potential predictions 3.3 The centrality of common cause explanation 3.1 Prediction 3.2 Adequate historical explanations are not potential predictions 3.3 The centrality of common cause explanation 4 Common Cause Explanation and the Asymmetry of Overdetermination 4.1 The priority of common cause over separate causes explanations 4.2 The threat of information degrading processes 4.1 The priority of common cause over separate causes explanations 4.2 The threat of information degrading processes
Target Detection with Improved Image Texture Feature Coding Method and Support Vector Machine

An image texture analysis and target recognition approach of using an improved image texture feature coding method (TFCM) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) for target detection is presented. With our proposed target detection framework, targets of interest can be detected accurately. Cascade-Sliding-Window technique was also developed for automated target localization. Application to mammogram showed that over 88% of normal mammograms and 80% of abnormal mammograms can be correctly identified. The approach was also successfully applied to Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) images for target detection. Keywords—Image texture analysis, Feature extraction, Target detection, Pattern classification
Type II nuclear hormone receptors, coactivator, and target gene repression in adipose tissue in the acute-phase response Published, JLR Papers in Press, July 17, 2006.

The acute-phase response (APR) leads to alterations in lipid metabolism and type II nuclear hormone receptors, which regulate lipid metabolism, are suppressed, in liver, heart, and kidney. Here, we examine the effect of the APR in adipose tissue. In mice, lipopolysaccharide produces a rapid, marked decrease in mRNA levels of nuclear hormone receptors [peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), liver X receptor α (LXRα) and LXRβ, thyroid receptor α (TRα) and TRβ, and retinoid X receptor α (RXRα) and RXRβ] and receptor coactivators [cAMP response element binding protein, steroid receptor coactivator 1 (SRC1) and SRC2, thyroid hormone receptor-associated protein, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ co-activator 1α (PGC1α) and PGC1β] along with decreased expression of target genes (adipocyte P2, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase, ABCA1, apolipoprotein E, sterol-regulatory element binding protein-1c, glucose transport protein 4 (GLUT4), malic enzyme, and Spot14) involved in triglyceride (TG) and carbohydrate metabolism. We show that key TG synthetic enzymes, 1-acyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase-2, monoacylglycerol acyltransferase 1, and diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1, are PPARγ-regulated genes and that they also decrease in the APR. In 3T3-L1 adipocytes, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) significantly decreases PPARγ, LXRα and LXRβ, RXRα and RXRβ, SRC1 and SRC2, and PGC1α and PGC1β mRNA levels, which are associated with a marked reduction in receptor-regulated genes. Moreover, TNF-α significantly reduces PPAR and LXR response element-driven transcription. Thus, the APR suppresses the expression of many nuclear hormone receptors and their coactivators in adipose tissue, which could be a mechanism to coordinately downregulate TG biosynthesis and thereby redirect lipids to other critical organs during the APR.
HUBUNGAN KOMPETENSI PERSONAL DAN PROFESIONAL GURU DENGAN MOTIVASI BELAJAR SISWA DI SMKN 2 KOTA GORONTALO

The research aims: (1) to find out a description about personal competency and teacher personality toward students’ learning motivation, and (2) to know a significant correlation together with personal competency, teacher professional competency, and students’ learning motivation at SMKN 2 Gorontalo. The research used a quantitative descriptive correlational and data were collected by using closed questionnaire with 80 second class students as respondents. The findings indicate that: (1) teachers’ personal competency and professional competency were moderate category, and (2) there was a significant impact between teacher personal competency and teacher professionality toward students’ learning motivation in teaching and learning process. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk: (1) memperoleh gambaran tentang kompetensi personal dan profesional guru terhadap motivasi belajar siswa dan (2) mengetahui hubungan yang signifikan secara bersama-sama antara kompetensi personal, kompetensi profesional guru dengan motivasi belajar siswa di SMKN 2 Kota Gorontalo. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif dengan metode deskriptif korelasional. Pengumpulan data menggunakan angket tertutup dengan 80 responden siswa kelas 2. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa: (1) kompetensi personal dan profesional guru SMKN 2 Gorontalo berada pada kategori sedang. Hasil ini menunjukkan bahwa guru belum menampilkan secara optimal kompetensi personalnya untuk dapat meningkatkan motivasi belajar siswa dan (2) terdapat hubungan yang signifikan antara kompetensi personal dan profesional guru dengan motivasi belajar siswa dalam proses belajar mengajar.
Agonists Trigger G Protein-mediated Activation of the CPI-17 Inhibitor Phosphoprotein of Myosin Light Chain Phosphatase to Enhance Vascular Smooth Muscle Contractility*

Myosin light chain phosphatase (MLCP) plays a pivotal role in smooth muscle contraction by regulating Ca2+ sensitivity of myosin light chain phosphorylation. A smooth muscle phosphoprotein called CPI-17 specifically and potently inhibits MLCP in vitro andin situ and is activated when phosphorylated at Thr-38, which increases its inhibitory potency 1000-fold. We produced a phosphospecific antibody for this site in CPI-17 and used it to studyin situ phosphorylation of endogenous CPI-17 in arterial smooth muscle in response to agonist stimulation. In the intact femoral artery, CPI-17 phosphorylation was negligible at the resting state and was not increased during contraction induced by K+depolarization. The Ca2+-sensitizing agonists histamine and phenylephrine induced nearly equivalent contractions, but histamine generated significantly higher levels of CPI-17 phosphorylation. In α-toxin-permeabilized strips at pCa 6.7, contractile force and CPI-17 phosphorylation were proportional in response to histamine, guanosine 5′-O-(γ-thiotriphosphate), and histamine plus guanyl-5′-yl thiophosphate, implying that histamine increased CPI-17 phosphorylation through activation of G proteins. Inhibitors of Rho-kinase (Y27632) and protein kinase C (PKC; GF109203X) reduced contraction and CPI-17 phosphorylation in parallel, suggesting that CPI-17 functions downstream of Rho kinases and PKC. The results show that agonists such as histamine signal through phosphorylation of CPI-17 to produce Ca2+ sensitization of smooth muscle contraction.
Hegemonic Complicity, Friendship, and Comradeship: Validation and Causal Processes among White, Middle-Class, Middle-Aged Men

Working within a gender relations paradigm, the voluntary same-sex relationships of white, middle-class, middle-aged men are theorized to conform to two separate and distinct patterns; friendship and comradeship. Complicity with both the current manifestation of dominant masculinity as well as the underlying epistemological structure is seen to determine the interactional choices, friendship or comradeship, of men. A Web-based survey is used to gather data from a sample of the target population. Data are analyzed through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, multiple regression, and structural equation modeling. Statistical findings support the hypothesis that complicity with hegemonic masculinity tends to predict comradeship while resistance to hegemonic complicity predicts the practice of friendship.
CORRELATES OF RETENTION AMONG ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICANS IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES: THE CASE FOR HAWAIIAN STUDENTS

This study examined Hawaiian students' persistence at the four community colleges on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The research covered a five-year period (10 semesters), fall 1991 - spring 1996, and focused on factors promoting persistence for students pursuing either liberal arts or vocational-technical degrees. Logistic regression was the statistical method used, and the analyses were performed separately for the two groups of students. The results indicated that four factors - cumulative grade point average,financial aid, average credit hours, and enrollment at Campus 4 - were significant for both liberal arts and vocational-technical majors,whereas another two variables - reverse transfer and attending an urban high school - were significant for liberal arts students only. Recommendations for policies, programs, and strategies to promote persistence for Hawaiian students were based on those results.
An emperor still without mind

of the original article: The emperor's new mind (hereafter Emperor) is an attempt to put forward a scientific alternative to the viewpoint of "strong AI," according to which mental activity is merely the acting out of some algorithmic procedure. John Searle and other thinkers have likewise argued that mere calculation does not, of itself, evoke conscious mental attributes, such as understanding or intentionality, but they are still prepared to accept that the action of the brain, like that of any other physical object, could in principle be simulated by a computer. In Emperor I go further than this and suggest that the outward manifestations of conscious mental activity cannot even be properly simulated by calculation. To support this view, I use various arguments to show that the results of mathematical insight, in particular, do not seem to be obtained algorithmically. The main thrust of this work, however, is to present an overview of the present state of physical understanding and to show that an important gap exists at the point where quantum and classical physics meet, as well as to speculate on how the conscious brain might be taking advantage of whatever new physics is needed to fill this gap to achieve its nonalgorithmic effects. How subtle is Godel's theorem? More on Roger Penrose
Exercise in Cardiovascular Disease Exercise Stress Testing in Women Going Back to the Basics

Given these gender differences in the evaluation of possi-ble CAD symptoms and the higher mortality due to CAD inwomen, critical steps should be taken to identify women atthe earliest stage of presentation so that appropriate therapeu-tic strategies can be implemented. Nonetheless, identifyingwomen with coronary disease can be a diagnostic challenge.The prevalence of CAD in younger women is low, andwomen tend to present with symptoms and CAD at older agesas compared with men. In addition, women may present withmore atypical symptoms.
Cross-Border Mergers as Instruments of Comparative Advantage

A two-country model of oligopoly in general equilibrium is used to show how changes in market structure accompany the process of trade and capital market liberalisation. The model predicts that bilateral mergers in which low-cost firms buy out higher-cost foreign rivals are profitable under Cournot competition. With symmetric countries, welfare may rise or fall, though the distribution of income always shifts towards profits. The model implies that trade liberalisation can trigger international merger waves, in the process encouraging countries to specialise and trade more in accordance with comparative advantage.
The Politics of Historical Vision: Marx, Foucault, Habermas

A notably fair-minded yet critical and comparative review of key ideas of Marx, Foucault, and Habermas.Will elicit favorable comparison with several recent publications on the Habermas-Foucault debate. -- ChoiceFoucault and Habermas are the two towering figures of contemporary social theory. Steven Best presents a penetrating, lucid, and persuasive account of how their theories are relevant to contemporary intellectual and political needs. -- Richard Wolin, Rice UniversityA unique and worthwhile argument.Best's clarity of writing logical strengths, and fairness are truly exemplary. -- Mark Poster, University of California, IrvineProviding an important contribution to current controversies regarding history, social theory, politics, and the Foucault-Habermas debates, this work offers a detailed comparison of the historical visions of both Foucault and Habermas, using Marx as a modernist contrast. The book clearly illustrates the advantages and disadvantages of each thinker's theory for the productive analysis of history and society, relating the work of each to current debates over modern and postmodern theory.Serves as a text for advanced undergraduate and graduate-level courses and seminars in both contemporary social theory and the philosophies of history.
Arabidopsis Membrane Steroid Binding Protein 1 Is Involved in Inhibition of Cell Elongationw⃞

A putative Membrane Steroid Binding Protein (designated MSBP1) was identified and functionally characterized as a negative regulator of cell elongation in Arabidopsis thaliana. The MSBP1 gene encodes a 220–amino acid protein that can bind to progesterone, 5-dihydrotestosterone, 24-epi-brassinolide (24-eBL), and stigmasterol with different affinities in vitro. Transgenic plants overexpressing MSBP1 showed short hypocotyl phenotype and increased steroid binding capacity in membrane fractions, whereas antisense MSBP1 transgenic plants showed long hypocotyl phenotypes and reduced steroid binding capacity, indicating that MSBP1 negatively regulates hypocotyl elongation. The reduced cell elongation of MSBP1-overexpressing plants was correlated with altered expression of genes involved in cell elongation, such as expansins and extensins, indicating that enhanced MSBP1 affected a regulatory pathway for cell elongation. Suppression or overexpression of MSBP1 resulted in enhanced or reduced sensitivities, respectively, to exogenous progesterone and 24-eBL, suggesting a negative role of MSBP1 in steroid signaling. Expression of MSBP1 in hypocotyls is suppressed by darkness and activated by light, suggesting that MSBP1, as a negative regulator of cell elongation, plays a role in plant photomorphogenesis. This study demonstrates the functional roles of a steroid binding protein in growth regulation in higher plants.
Crystal Structures of Interleukin-2 Tyrosine Kinase and Their Implications for the Design of Selective Inhibitors*

Interleukin-2 tyrosine kinase, Itk, is an important member of the Tec family of non-receptor tyrosine kinases that play a central role in signaling through antigen receptors such as the T-cell receptor, B-cell receptor, and Fcϵ. Selective inhibition of Itk may be an important way of modulating many diseases involving heightened or inappropriate activation of the immune system. In addition to an unliganded nonphophorylated Itk catalytic kinase domain, we determined the crystal structures of the phosphorylated and nonphosphorylated kinase domain bound to staurosporine, a potent broad-spectrum kinase inhibitor. These structures are useful for the design of novel, highly potent and selective Itk inhibitors and provide insight into the influence of inhibitor binding and phosphorylation on the conformation of Itk.
Anorectal Malformations in a Tertiary Pediatric Surgery Center fromRomania: 20 Years of Experience

Introduction: The main goal of surgery and multidisciplinary behavioral therapy in anorectal malformations (ARMs) is to achieve good anatomical and functional outcomes and a better quality of life. Material and Methods: A retrospective analysis of 146 patients with ARMs was conducted over a 20 years period in our pediatric surgery department. The clinical and demographical data, operative protocols, short and long term outcomes were subject to assessment. Results: The patient series included 85 boys and 61 girls aged between one day and two years, of which 82.19% were diagnosed in the first few days of life by means of clinical examination and current imaging tests. In 26.02% of cases we found associated congenital abnormalities. A total of 142 (97.25%) cases of all our series underwent surgical treatment; four patients died before surgery. For 131 children the definitive treatment involved posterior sagittal anorectoplasty (PSARP) respectively 11 posterior sagittal anorectovaginourethroplasty (PSARVUP). Long-term followup in 115 patients showed good clinical continence in 82 cases (71.30%) but more than half of the teenagers had body dissatisfaction and social difficulties. Conclusions: Through this review of 20 years of experience our findings are consistent with other reports regarding male predominance, low birth weight, clinical and imaging diagnosis. We found however a lower incidence of associated abnormalities. The most frequent surgical intervention was posterior sagittal anorectoplasty (PSARP) or posterior sagittal anorectovaginourethroplasty (PSARVUP), both followed by satisfactory functional outcome reporting nevertheless moderate social insertion. Our experience in ARMs proved the effectiveness of the consecrated surgical strategy; long-term assistance for patients and their families should be improved.
Economic and Non-Economic Determinants of Return Migration: Evidence from Rural Thailand

Using a cohort of 3,021 young migrants from rural Thailand, we examine economic and non-economic determinants of return migration. We "follow" this cohort prospectively for sixteen years from preadolescence to young adulthood. Data come from the Nang Rong project, a longitudinal study of an agrarian migration-sending area in the Northeast region which collected information over three waves (in 1984, 1994, and 2000). Our research extends beyond the economic "success-failure" dichotomy by examining non-economic institutional factors determining return. We find evidence of negative human capital selection, but we also find that connections to origin family members (including children, spouse, and parents) are important determinants of return. The effects of these non-economic family-related factors are as strong in magnitude as economic effects in determining return.
Racial Segregation among Public and Private Schools.

Coleman, Hoffer and Kilgore (1982) analyze racial enrollment in public and private high schools and conclude that private schooling does not affect the overall racial segregation in American schools. Four serious flaws in their argument render their analysis meaningless and their conclusion improper. (a) The segregation index they use in their empirical analysis is a function of the racial composition of the set of schools to which it is applied. Because public and private sectors differ in proportion black, their index exaggerates the difference between public and private sectors and misspecifies the key comparison in the final stage of their argument. (b) To permit evaulation of their argument, they assume that private school pupils are reallocated to public schools according to the existing racial composition of public schools. This assumption is implausible, and its use contributes tautologically to their conclusion. (c) Their claim that within-sector and between-sector components of segregation are counterbalancing is based on a very insensitive test of their argument, and the test itself is statistically incorrect-variance components are all positive. (d) Their treatment of the nation's public schools as one school district and the nation's private schools as another has no real-world applicability. Segregation should be examined within specific administrative and geographic settings. The only unflawed portion of their analysis is their confirmation of the fact that private schooling, nationwide, tends to separate white students from the racially more diverse public sector. The rest of their analysis and conclusions should be recognized as irrelevant to the policy debate they seek to influence.
On ‘risk work’: Professional discourse, accountability, and everyday action

Abstract In recent years a technical discourse of risk has assumed the status of a universal basis for governance and administrative practice in both private and public sector organizations within Britain, the United States, and a number of other Western countries. The re-framing of pre-existing organizational concerns in terms of risk categories reflects an underlying bureaucratic concern with the accountable and cost-effective management of contingency. This paper examines some of the diversity of real-world features of the penetration of spheres of professional practice by this new discourse of risk. While risk-based practice is advocated by rhetorics that stress the promotion of administrative efficiency, in the real world it is possible to observe a wide variety of situationally-specific risk-related practices. This paper argues that ‘risk work’ in organizational settings offers especially useful resources that allow actors to pursue such diverse agendas, while also providing an accounting mechanism that allows them to legitimate such activity.