Formal truth and objective reference in an inferentialist setting

Author(s):  
Pirmin Stekeler-Weithofer
Keyword(s):  
Sæculum ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-83
Author(s):  
Ionel Nariţa

AbstractBy „dispute” we mean an argumentative dialog where each of the two parts state opposite theses. Two sentences can be contrary if they have similar reference, but incompatible predicates (SIP – sentences with incompatible predicates). Usually, the disputes are solved using force in different ways, but that does not mean that the winner is right and his thesis is true. Therefore, we cannot evaluate a thesis on the ground of its success, but we need a reference mark for that. According to the Sophist school, the individual is the only reference mark, so any SIP is equally justified. The absolutist point of view claims that there is an objective reference mark and, consequently, the truth is, at its turn, objective and unique. Finally, the relativist orientation rejects any objective reference mark, but the right thesis is not arbitrary, as the sophists thought, it is true relatively to the state of the evaluator to a given moment. It follows that, for any evaluator, at a moment of time, only one SIP is true.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Szymon Grabia ◽  
Urszula Smyczynska ◽  
Konrad Pagacz ◽  
Wojciech Fendler

Abstract Background Multi-gene expression assays are an attractive tool in revealing complex regulatory mechanisms in living organisms. Normalization is an indispensable step of data analysis in all those studies, since it removes unwanted, non-biological variability from data. In targeted qPCR assays it is typically performed with respect to prespecified reference genes, but the lack of robust strategy of their selection is reported in literature, especially in studies concerning circulating microRNAs (miRNA). Unfortunately, this problem impedes translation of scientific discoveries on miRNA biomarkers into widely available laboratory assays. Previous studies concluded that averaged expressions of multi-miRNA combinations are more stable references than single genes. However, due to the number of such combinations the computational load is considerable and may be hindering for objective reference selection in large datasets. Existing implementations of normalization algorithms (geNorm, NormFinder and BestKeeper) have poor performance and may require days to compute stability values for all potential reference as the evaluation is performed sequentially. Results We designed NormiRazor - an integrative tool which implements those methods in a parallel manner on a graphics processing unit (GPU) using CUDA platform. We tested our approach on publicly available miRNA expression datasets. As a result, the times of executions on 8 datasets containing from 50 to 400 miRNAs (subsets of GSE68314) decreased 18.7 ±0.6 (mean ±SD), 104.7 ±4.2 and 76.5 ±2.2 times for geNorm, BestKeeper and NormFinder with respect to previous Python implementation. To allow for easy access to normalization pipeline for biomedical researchers we implemented NormiRazor as an online platform where a user could normalize their datasets based on the automatically selected references. It is available at norm.btm.umed.pl, together with instruction manual and exemplary datasets. Conclusions NormiRazor allows for an easy, informed choice of reference genes for qPCR transcriptomic studies. As such it can improve comparability and repeatability of experiments and in longer perspective help translate newly discovered biomarkers into readily available assays.


Author(s):  
Guillaume Helbert ◽  
Aleksandr Volkov ◽  
Margarita Evard ◽  
Lamine Dieng ◽  
Shabnam Arbab Chirani

Superelastic Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) provide a high damping capacity due to the hysteretic motion of the inter-phase boundaries during the martensitic transformation. They have demonstrated their ability to control vibrations of SMA-based Civil Engineering and Aerospace structures. In order to improve existing damping devices, characterization of SMA damping capacity is necessary, despite the lack of a standard procedure. Classical characterizations such as tensile or torsion tests on SMA samples are very attractive, the fact that they are common and simple to process. Furthermore, environment and loading conditions are quite easy to control. Different energy-based formulations have been proposed in the literature to explicitly predict SMA damping capacity from the hysteretic mechanical behaviour. The aim of this paper is to classify commonly used formulations from the literature, using a new thermomechanical vibration numerical model of a SMA beam structure. Thus, three energy-based predictions of SMA intrinsic damping ratio measured at the material scale are compared to the damping ratio measured from the free vibration signal at the SMA beam structure scale, taken as the objective reference. The formulation proposed by Piedbœuf and Gauvin provided a better match in three study-cases.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (5) ◽  
pp. 233
Author(s):  
Dharmveer Yadav ◽  
Monika Gupta ◽  
Sandhya Mishra ◽  
Praveen Sharma

Objective: Reference intervals are an essential part of laboratory medicine. Current study was planned to evaluate renal parameters in the healthy defined group of individuals which would serve as reference values of renal parameters for the North Indian population from Rajasthan.Design & Methods: Present study was conducted on 2021 apparently healthy individuals of North Indian origin ranging in age from 15-60 years, were selected randomly using defined criteria. Fasting samples were analyzed for Urea, Creatinine, Uric Acid, Sodium, Potassium and Chloride. Data were analyzed for middle 95 percentile (2.5th-97.5th percentile), median and 95% confidence interval using SPSS software package version 10.0.Result: RI for Urea, Creatinine and uric acid were lower in female (16-42mg/dl, 0.6-1.2mg/dl, 2.4-6.8mg/dl) as compared to male (17.00-44.35mg/dl, 0.7-1.5mg/dl, 2.8-7.2mg/dl). There was a progressive increase in urea, uric acid and Creatinine with increase in age. Though no appreciable differences could be observed in respect to most of renal parameters in rural versus urban, a wider range for uric acid was observed in urban population (2.50-7.20mg/dl). Except for Na+, K+ and Cl-, rest of parameters i.e. urea, creatinine, uric acid were higher range in obese as compared to non obese (17-45 Vs 17-44, 0.66-1.5 Vs 0.60-1.40, 2.5-7.4 Vs 2.5-7.0). Uric acid level was also found to be higher in non vegetarian population (2.6-7.5mg/dl).Conclusion: Findings of this study provide sex, age, BMI, habitat and diet specific renal function reference values to be used for North Indian population.


Philosophy ◽  
1958 ◽  
Vol 33 (124) ◽  
pp. 57-57
Author(s):  
W. D. Glasgow

The word “objective” is of course the trouble–maker here, Miss Smith assumes that if an aesthetic statement is held to be objective (or to have an objective reference) then it is the physical existence of the work of art (the picture or the sound of the music) that constitutes the objectivity: i.e. if a work of art is exteroceptively perceivable, then an aesthetic statement involving it is objective. Some writers, however (usually philosophical idealists) have held that in genuine works of art there is manifested an ultimate spiritual Reality (it might be called God) which we apprehend when we appreciate such works. On this theory, an aesthetic statement (“This picture is beautiful”) has an objective reference if the subject of it (the work of art) succeeds in expressing or communicating such a supersensible Reality: if it fails to do so, then the statement is subjective, i.e. it can be analysed completely into a statement about our feelings or emotions (e.g. “I like this picture”).


2014 ◽  
Vol 522-524 ◽  
pp. 1015-1020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liang Liang Che ◽  
Xue Han

Water consumption per ten thousand yuan GDP (WG) is an internationally comparative indicator of water use efficiency (WE), but it cannot further reveal the causes of the differences of WE. The shift-share analysis method is introduced, and the WG-shift-share analysis model (WG-SSM) is built combined with the regression model. According to the model, WE is decomposed and analyzed from the three levels of the country, the region and the industry from 1997 to 2011. The results show that: WG of the country, the region and the industry shows a significant downward trend, but WE is greatly different of inter-region and inter-industry; total shift of each region relative to the national average level is shrinking year by year, and inter-regional differences are mainly due to the competitive effect; the influence of the industrial mix effect is determined by the WE of the primary industry;the allocation effect least impacts on the differences of regional WE, but it can test the interaction between the competitive effect and the industrial mix effect, which can provide objective reference for drafting the water-saving policies and measures.


2014 ◽  
Vol 638-640 ◽  
pp. 2189-2195
Author(s):  
Ke He ◽  
Cheng Kang Wang

The harmonious development of ancient city walls in China and their surrounding spatial forms faces a very complicated situation. In this study, the multivariate analysis method is used to coordinate, summarize and analyze the complicated influencing factors for objective data support, providing the objective reference and theoretical pattern to the reasonable protection and sustainable development for ancient city wall and its surrounding space. As a preliminary exploration of the study, this paper aims to establish the overall study framework.


Philosophy ◽  
1958 ◽  
Vol 33 (124) ◽  
pp. 56-56
Author(s):  
Constance I. Smith

In his interesting discussion of Mr. C. B. Martin's Mind article “A Religious Way of Knowing,” Mr. W. D. Glasgow (PHILOSOPHY, July i957);“Knowledge of God”), agrees with Martin that emotions and feelings are part of what we call an aesthetic experience, and also that emotions and feelings are part of what we call a religious experience. “In this sense, at any rate,” Glasgow writes, “there is an analogy between aesthetic experience and religious experience. But...” he goes on, “are aesthetic statements more than statements about emotions and feelings? Are statements about religious experience anything more than statements about emotions and feelings? A person could accept the analogy and yet maintain that for him aesthetic judgments have an objective reference. In this case the analogy confirms rather than destroys the existential claim of the theologian.”


Author(s):  
S Lee ◽  
C Bai ◽  
J Shim

R410A is one of the HFC refrigerants, which are preferred globally to promote the most environmentally friendly option on the basis of an objective reference system taking into account the alternative selection of HCFC refrigerants for the air-conditioning system by the Kyoto protocol. This article presents a three-dimensional (3D) rotary compressor that is within the family of rotary compressors. First, the geometry of the compressor is explained and equations relating the volume of the compression and suction chambers to the rotational angle of the shaft are derived. These equations are used within a model that predicts the mass flow rate, power consumption, and cooling capacity of the compressor. The model includes energy and mass balances within the compression chambers, as well as the estimation of leakage, frictional, and electrical losses. The primary sources of energy and flow losses are identified for this type of compressor. The results presented were generated using refrigerant R410A as the working fluid based on the properties of the ‘Ref-prop 7.0’ program provided by NIST. Due to the two compression chambers vertically separated in one cylinder, this 3D rotary compressor has the best vibration characteristic and the smallest torque variation among the conventional-type compressors.


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