Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PHENOMENAL CONSERVATISM AND THE INTERNALIST INTUITION

Externalist theories of justification create the possibility of cases in which everything appears to one relevantly similar with respect to two propositions, and yet one proposition is justified and the other is not. Internalists find this difficult to accept, because it seems irrational in such a case to affirm one proposition and not the other. The underlying internalist intuition supports a specific internalist theory, Phenomenal Conservatism, on which epistemic justification is conferred by appearances. 1. The Internalism/Externalism Divide Epistemic internalism and externalism may be understood either as views about the nature of knowledge, or as views about the nature of epistemic justification. The focus of this paper will be on epistemic justification. In the following, a particular counter-intuitive consequence of externalist theories of justification is identified, one whose implausibility forms the core of the case for internalism. The argument for internalism is then extended to show that a particular theory of justification, Phenomenal Conservatism, is the preferred form of internalism, in that it is most faithful to the central internalist intuition. Both internalists and externalists accept a certain supervenience thesis, to the effect that, when one is justified in believing a proposition, there are some conditions in virtue of which one is justified in believing it, some conditions that constitute or confer epistemic justification. Hereafter, a justification-conferring condition will be taken to be a non-redundant part of a sufficient condition on justification, although the arguments following can equally well be stated in terms of either necessary or sufficient conditions on justification. The dispute between internalists and externalists concerns whether these justificationconferring conditions are—in a sense to be defined—entirely internal, or at least partly external. The following five accounts of the distinction invoke different interpretations of “internal” and “external” conditions: Internal State Account: Internalism holds that all of the conditions that confer justification are internal to the subject’s mind (or: supervene on the subject’s mental states). Externalism holds that at least some of the conditions that confer justification are external to the subject’s mind (or: fail to supervene on the subject’s mental states). Actual Awareness Account: Internalism holds that all of the conditions that confer justification must be conditions that the subject is aware of.
Estimation non-paramétrique adaptative pour des modèles bruités

Dans cette these, nous nous interessons au probleme d'estimation de densite dans le modele de convolution. Ce cadre correspond aux modeles avec erreurs de mesures additives, c'est-a-dire que nous observons une version bruitee de la variable d'interet. Pour mener notre etude, nous adoptons le point de vue de l'estimation non-parametrique adaptative qui repose sur des procedures de selection de modele developpees par Birge & Massart ou sur les methodes de Lepski. Cette these se divise en deux parties. La premiere developpe des methodes specifiques d'estimation adaptative quand les variables d'interet et les erreurs sont des variables aleatoires positives. Ainsi nous proposons des estimateurs adaptatifs de la densite ou encore de la fonction de survie dans ce modele, puis de fonctionnelles lineaires de la densite cible. Enfin nous suggerons une procedure d'agregation lineaire. La deuxieme partie traite de l'estimation adaptative de densite dans le modele de convolution lorsque la loi des erreurs est inconnue. Dans ce cadre il est suppose qu'un echantillon preliminaire du bruit est disponible ou que les observations sont disponibles sous forme de donnees repetees. Les resultats obtenus pour des donnees repetees dans le modele de convolution permettent d'elargir cette methodologie au cadre des modeles lineaires mixtes. Enfin cette methode est encore appliquee a l'estimation de la densite de somme de variables aleatoires observees avec du bruit.
Characteristics of the early stages of intravenous bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw in patients with breast cancer

Abstract Objective. The clinical features of the early stages of bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (BRONJ) in patients with breast cancer remain unclear. A retrospective cohort study was conducted of patients with breast cancer who received intravenous bisphosphonate (BP) treatment in a single center in order to clarify the status of the early stages of BRONJ. Materials and methods. A BRONJ oral monitoring program was established in 247 breast cancer patients given intravenous BP treatment at the institution. The differences in age, BP treatment period, number of remaining teeth, oral hygiene status, presence of regular oral monitoring and the existence of suspected BRONJ (stage 0) among eight BRONJ and 36 non-BRONJ subjects who completed oral examinations were then compared. Results. BRONJ was observed in 0.4% of subjects on the first visit to the oral surgery clinic and in 3.2% of subjects during the follow-up period. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the odds ratio for identifying patients with BRONJ during follow-up by the presence of stage 0 at first visit was 24.0 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.6–161.7). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for identifying subjects with BRONJ by the presence of stage 0 was 0.82 (95% CI = 0.63–1.00). Conclusion. The results suggest that patients with stage 0 BRONJ on the first visit may progress to advanced BRONJ during the follow-up period. The oral monitoring program may contribute to the early detection of BRONJ.
B2C e-commerce web site quality: an empirical examination

Purpose – To identify what constitutes web site quality or what makes a web site effective.Design/methodology/approach – This article examines and integrates four sets of factors that capture e‐commerce web site quality using an IS success model: system quality, information quality, service quality, and attractiveness. A questionnaire survey was conducted to verify the measures of web site quality. Based on TAM, a framework is also developed relating web site quality to customers' beliefs (perceived usefulness and ease of use), attitudes (preferences for the site), and intentions (to revisit the site). Findings – A set of instruments of web site quality has been developed and empirically validated by factor analysis.Research limitations/implications – The research is based on a sample of students browsing several book web sites and they may not sense the web site quality across different B2C commercial web sites such as music, computer, travel, clothes and flowers. Data in these domains should be collected.
Lipids, myocardial infarction and ischaemic stroke in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in the Apolipoprotein-related Mortality RISk (AMORIS) Study

Objectives To examine the rates of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and ischaemic stroke (IS) and to examine the predictive value of total cholesterol (TC) and triglycerides (TG) for AMI and IS in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and people without RA. Methods In the Apolipoprotein MOrtality RISk (AMORIS) Study 480 406 people (including 1779 with RA, of whom 214 had an AMI and 165 an IS) were followed for 11.8 (range 7–17) years. Cox regression analysis was used to calculate HR per SD increase in TC or TG with 95% CI. All values were adjusted for age, diabetes and hypertension. Results The levels of TC and TG were significantly lower in patients with RA than in people without RA. Despite this, the rate of AMI and IS per 1000 years was at least 1.6 times higher in RA than non-RA. TC was nearly significantly predictive for AMI (HR/SD 1.13 (95% CI 0.99 to 1.29), p=0.07) and significantly predictive for future IS in RA (HR/SD 1.20 (95% CI 1.03 to 1.40), p=0.02). TG had no relationship to development of AMI (1.07, 0.94 to 1.21, p=0.29), but was weakly related to IS (1.13, 0.99 to 1.27, p=0.06). In contrast, both TC and TG were significant predictors of AMI and IS in people without RA. Conclusions Patients with RA had 1.6 times higher rate of AMI and IS than people without RA. TC and TG were significant predictors of AMI and IS in people without RA, whereas the predictive value in RA was not consistent.
Online purchase behaviour among professionals: a socio-demographic perspective for Turkey

This study reports the findings of a survey concerning the impact of professionals’ selected socio-demographic factors with regard to their online purchasing behaviour in Turkey, since this consumer group plays an important role in adopting new technologies in societies. The survey has been conducted using a ‘face-to-face interview’ approach during an IT event. To keep in line with the available literature, gender, age, education level, income and daily Internet usage, constitute the socio-demographic variants for this study. Five hypotheses were constructed to investigate the nature of the relationship between the socio-demographic factors and the usage of online purchasing. The chi-square method was selected to test the hypotheses. According to the test results, age, income and education level have a significant impact on the online purchasing behaviour of professionals.
Rise and fall of electron temperatures: Ohmic heating of ionospheric electrons from underdense HF radio wave pumping

Here we present electron temperature variations observed with incoherent scatter radar during a European Incoherent Scatter Scientific Association Heating experiment with high-frequency (HF) radio wave transmission at frequencies above the peak ionospheric critical frequency. The electron temperature increased from 2000 K up to 2800 K during the HF transmission periods. During the experiment both pump frequency and polarization were altered between pump pulses. The observed temperature variation is compared with numerical solutions to the electron energy equation with ohmic heating modeling the effect of the radio wave heating of the plasma. Agreement between observations and model is found to be good.
The Public Health Dilemma in the Alcohol Intervention Area: Unfinished Business Between Limits and Freedom

Medical doctors have been interested in the individual and societal problems and consequences due to heavy drinking during the last three centuries (Heather & Robertson, 1989; Levine, 1978). The first sociologists exploring this topic, were the research group directed by Jellinek at Yale University during the 1940s, followed by Seldon Bacon at the Center of Alcohol Studies. Bacon placed the role of sociology into the discussion about alcohol studies, asking for broader attention be paid both to drinking and not drinking habits, and on how their cultural aspects influence institutional responses (Bacon, 1943). But it was especially thanks to the anthropologists Dwight Heath, Mary Douglas, and Edgerton that cultural aspects of drinking were investigated; helping to develop the concept of a drinking culture. Heath (1999), by comparing the meanings of alcohol consumption in traditional societies and in Western societies revealed that in contemporary Western societies the emphasis on alcohol focuses mainly on drinking as a social problem, a concept that was completely unknown in traditional societies even if negative consequences of drinking were also present. Since the 1970s, other alcohol drinking-related problems in addition to the health consequences today called ‘harm to others’—such as car and work accidents, violence, family problems, and so forth—attracted the attention of the scientific community, which found the total consumption model—elaborated by Sully Ledermann (1956)—to be a good tool for interpretation and for developing political strategies. Ledermann found a rather strong connection between total alcoholic beverage consumption in a population and mortality due to alcohol drinking-related pathologies. He showed that the number of heavy consumers and the total number of consumers are related, so that an increase in the number of alcohol consumers corresponds to an increase in problematic drinkers and consequently in alcohol consumption-related
Employees' Attitudes Toward Telecommuting: An Empirical Investigation in the Egyptian Governornate of Dakahlia

Thousands of companies today in a wide variety of industries are experiencing the benefits of allowing employees to work from their homes. Telecommuting has become a recognized and accepted work alternative for millions of Americans and has grown exponentially during the past 20 years. The main purpose of this article is to explore the attitude of Egyptian information workers toward the concept of telecommuting and to examine the relationships between such attitude and workers’ expectations of their productivity and job satisfaction if they participated in a telecommuting program. Original data were collected by using a self-administered questionnaire. A national sample of 228 Egyptian information workers in Dakahlia governorate in Egypt completed the questionnaires with usable data. The results revealed that more respondents are in favor of telecommuting than those who are not in favor of the concept and that the increase in the attitude score toward telecommuting tends to be paired with higher expectations about telecommuting productivity and satisfaction.
Design and Modeling of a New Tactile Sensor Based on Membrane Deflection

The designed sensor can detect 2D surface texture image, contact-force, and softness of the sensed object. It consists of a chamber for pneumatic actuation and a membrane with a mesa structure. The sensing mechanism is the contact deformation effect of a membrane. Determination of the contact force and softness of sensed object is based on the amount and variations of the out-of-plane deflection at the center of a circular membrane. This versatility facilitates the use of the sensor in smart applications where tactile information is used to create intelligent system. The proposed sensor is suitable for using in medical applications, especially in minimally invasive surgery (MIS).
The Activating Killer Cell Immunoglobulin-Like Receptors as Important Determinants of Acute Graft-Versus Host Disease in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Acute Myelogenous Leukemia

Background. We investigated the influence of killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) genes, based on the genotypes of inhibitory or activating KIR, in stem cell recipients with acute myelogenous leukemia and their human leukocyte antigen-matched sibling donors on acute graft-versus host disease (GVHD) after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Methods. We studied 53 consecutive donor–recipient pairs to determine the impact of KIR genotypes and their bidirectional KIR interactions. Results. All activating KIR genes in donors were important factors for determining outcome in a manner distinctive for each gene studied. Specifically, the 2DS2 gene and the 2DS4*003 allele were closely correlated with acute GVHD. The 2DS1 gene was associated with a better long-term survival, even if present only in the donor and not the recipient. The 2DS3–2DS5 dual genes were more often involved in a variety of transplant-related complications. Conclusions. In conclusion, these factors may help predict transplant outcomes and aid in our understanding of immunogenetic specificity.
DNA Extraction from Archival Formalin-fixed, Paraffin-embedded Tissue Sections Based on the Antigen Retrieval Principle: Heating Under the Influence of pH

During the course of diagnostic surgical pathology, pathologists have established a large collection of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues that form invaluable resources for translational studies of cancer and a variety of other diseases. Accessibility of macromolecules in the fixed tissue specimens is a critical issue as exemplified by heat-induced antigen retrieval (AR) immunohistochemical (IHC) staining. On the basis of observations that heating may also enhance in situ hybridization (ISH) and the similarity of formalin-induced chemical modifications that occur in protein and in DNA, we designed a study to examine the efficiency of DNA extraction from archival formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues using an adaptation of the basic principles of the AR technique, i.e., heating the tissue under the influence of different pH values. Archival paraffin blocks of lymph nodes, tonsil, and colon were randomly selected. Each paraffin block was prepared in 34 microtubes. For each paraffin block, one tube was used as a control sample, using a non-heating DNA extraction protocol. The other 33 tubes were tested using a heating protocol under 11 variable pH values (pH 2 to 12) under three different heating conditions (80, 100, and 120C). Evaluation of the results of DNA extraction was carried out by measuring yields by photometry and PCR amplification, as well as kinetic thermocycling (KTC)-PCR methods. In general, lower pH (acid) solutions gave inferior results to solutions at higher pH (alkaline). Heating tissues at a higher temperature and at pH 6–9 gave higher yields of DNA. There appeared to be a peak in terms of highest efficiency of extracted DNA at around pH 9. The average ratios 260:280 of extracted DNA also showed better values for samples heated at 120C. PCR products of three primers showed satisfactory results for DNA extracted from archival paraffin-embedded tissues by heating protocols at pH 6–12, with results that were comparable to the control sample subjected to the standard non-heating, enzymatic DNA extraction method. This study is the first to document the use of heating at an alkaline pH for DNA extraction from archival formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues, a recommendation based on the principles of AR for protein IHC. These findings may lead to a more effective protocol for DNA extraction from archival paraffin-embedded tissues and may also provide enhanced understanding of changes that occur during formalin-induced modification of nucleic acids.
Singular Spectrum Decomposition: a New Method for Time Series Decomposition

This study introduces singular spectrum decomposition (SSD), a new adaptive method for decomposing nonlinear and nonstationary time series in narrow-banded components. The method takes its origin from singular spectrum analysis (SSA), a nonparametric spectral estimation method used for analysis and prediction of time series. Unlike SSA, SSD is a decomposition method in which the choice of fundamental parameters has been completely automated. This is achieved by focusing on the frequency content of the signal. In particular, this holds for the choice of the window length used to generate the trajectory matrix of the data and for the selection of its principal components for the reconstruction of a specific component series. Moreover, a new definition of the trajectory matrix with respect to the standard SSA allows the oscillatory content in the data to be enhanced and guarantees decrease of energy of the residual. Through the numerical examples and simulations, the SSD method is shown to be able to accurately retrieve different components concealed in the data, minimizing at the same time the generation of spurious components. Applications on time series from both the biological and the physical domain are also presented highlighting the capability of SSD to yield physically meaningful components.
Catheterization Diastolic Pressures Correlate with Diastolic Dyssynchrony in Patients with Single Right Ventricles

Diastolic dyssynchrony has correlated with pulmonary capillary wedge pressures in patients with normal cardiac anatomy. No data exist in single right ventricle (sRV) patients. Goal of this study was to determine if diastolic dyssynchrony in sRV patients correlates with ventricular end‐diastolic pressures (VEDP).
Isolation of Regulatory T Cells in the Skin of a Human Hand-Allograft, Up to Six Years Posttransplantation

Background. A bilateral hand allotransplantation was performed in a patient six years ago. Whereas skin is known to be highly immunogenic, grafts have been well accepted up to now. Therefore, here we investigated the putative presence of regulatory T cells in the graft. Methods. Skin biopsies were performed at different time points and analyzed by immunochemistry. T cells were initially expanded with interleukin (IL)-2. In the latter biopsy, skin was directly analyzed by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction without any culture. Results. When tested against donor mononuclear cells, donor-primed skin T cells demonstrated unresponsiveness and inhibited donor-directed blood T cell alloresponse. Moreover, their T-cell receptor-Vβ repertoire was skewed, in contrast to that of peripheral blood T cells. Retrospectively, nuclear FoxP3 expression in skin was measured by immunohistochemistry and was found positive at that time, but appeared to increase with time. This result was supported by the measurement of FoxP3 messenger RNA (mRNA) expression in the latter fresh biopsy, which showed higher levels than that of blood, together with no expression of perforin mRNA, but increased expression of transforming growth factor-β and IL-10. No FoxP3 mRNA expression was found in the contralateral leg, due to the absence of T cell infiltrate. Conclusion. This study shows the presence of the FoxP3 marker, in a well accepted human composite tissue allograft, up to six years posttransplantation. Because a suppressive cytokinic profile was also detected intragraft, in the absence of perforin mRNA expression, our data suggest that regulatory T cells could play a role in the long-term survival of this allograft.
Antibody responses to human rotavirus (HRV) in gnotobiotic pigs following a new prime/boost vaccine strategy using oral attenuated HRV priming and intranasal VP2/6 rotavirus‐like particle (VLP) boosting with ISCOM

Safer and more effective human rotavirus (HRV) vaccines are needed. We evaluated oral priming with attenuated WaHRV (AttHRV) followed by boosting with two intranasal (IN) doses of VP2/6 virus‐like particles (2/6 VLP) with immunostimulating complexes (ISCOM) to determine if this regimen induces protection against diarrhoea and viral shedding in the gnotobiotic pig model. IgM, IgA and IgG antibody titres in serum and intestinal contents were quantified by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and serum neutralizing antibody titres were measured by a virus neutralization (VN) test. Seven groups of neonatal gnotobiotic pigs were vaccinated at post‐inoculation days (PID) 0, 10 and 21 and challenged with virulent WaHRV at PID 28. The vaccine groups included: (1, 2) oral priming with AttHRV and boosting with two IN immunizations with 2/6 VLP–ISCOM (Att + 2/6 VLP–ISCOM) at VLP concentrations of 250 µg or 25 µg; (3, 4) three IN immunizations with 2/6 VLP–ISCOM at VLP concentrations of 250 µg or 25 µg (2/6 VLP–ISCOM); (5) three oral immunizations with AttHRV (3×AttHRV); (6) one oral immunization with AttHRV (1×AttHRV); (7) controls (ISCOM matrix and/or diluent). The pigs that received 3×AttHRV or Att + 2/6 VLP250–ISCOM had the highest protection rates against diarrhoea upon challenge at PID 28 with virulent WaHRV. The IgA antibody titres to HRV in intestinal contents were significantly higher in the Att + 2/6 VLP250–ISCOM group than in all other groups prechallenge (PID 28). Serum VN antibody titres were statistically similar after the first inoculation among the groups given AttHRV, but at PID 28 VN antibody titres were significantly higher for the 3×AttHRV and Att + 2/6 VLP250–ISCOM groups than for the 1×AttHRV group suggesting that boosting with 2/6 VLP also boosted VN antibody responses. In humans, intestinal IgA antibodies have been correlated with protection against symptomatic reinfection. Thus the vaccine regimen of one oral dose of AttHRV and two IN immunizations with 2/6 VLP250–ISCOM may be an alternative to multiple‐dose live oral vaccines in humans.