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Information, Secrecy, and Falsehood
Get PDFCan information be false? An important debate in the philosophy of information turns on this seemingly simple question. According to veridicalism (or the veridicality thesis), truth is a necessary condition for information; by contrast, according to non-veridicalism (or the non-veridicality thesis), it is not. I argue that this debate has noteworthy implications for how we should conceive of secrecy understood in terms of concealment of information. I also argue that, since falsehoods can be secret, it is more tenable to hold that secrecy is not restricted to true information than to hold that it is
A morphological cell atlas of the freshwater sponge Ephydatia muelleri with key insights from targeted single-cell transcriptomes
Get PDFHow animal cell types, tissues, and regional body plans arose is a fundamental question in EvoDevo. Many current efforts attempt to link genetic information to the morphology of cells, tissues and regionalization of animal body plans using single-cell sequencing of cell populations. However, a lack of in-depth understanding of the morphology of non-bilaterian animals remains a considerable block to understanding the transitions between bilaterian and non-bilaterian cells and tissues. Sponges (Porifera), one of the earliest diverging animal phyla, pose a particular challenge to this endeavour, because their body plans lack mouths, gut, conventional muscle and nervous systems. With a goal to help bridge this gap, we have studied the morphology, behaviour and transcriptomics of cells and tissue types of an easily accessible and well-studied species of freshwater sponge, Ephydatia muelleri. New features described here include: a polarized external epithelium, a new contractile sieve cell that forms the entry to incurrent canals, motile cilia on apopyle cells at the exit of choanocyte chambers, and non-motile cilia on cells in excurrent canals and oscula. Imaging cells in vivo shows distinct behavioural characteristics of motile cells in the mesohyl. Transcriptomic phenotypes of three cell types (cystencytes, choanocytes and archaeocytes) captured live indicate that cell-type transcriptomes are distinct. Importantly, individual archaeocytes show a range of transcriptomic phenotypes which is supported by the distinct expression of different genes by subsets of this cell type. In contrast, all five choanocyte cells sampled live revealed highly uniform transcriptomes with significantly fewer genes expressed than in other cell types. Our study shows that sponges have tissues whose morphology and cell diversity are both functionally complex, but which together enable the sponge, like other metazoans, to sense and respond to stimuli
A new class of dark matter-free dwarf galaxies?: I. Clues from FCC 224, NGC 1052-DF2, and NGC 1052-DF4
Get PDFContext. The discovery of quiescent, dark matter (DM)-deficient ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs) with overluminous globular clusters (GCs) has challenged galaxy formation models within the Lambda cold dark matter (Λ CDM) cosmological paradigm. Previously, such galaxies were only identified in the NGC 1052 group, raising the possibility that they are the result of unique, group-specific processes, and limiting their broader significance. The recent identification of FCC 224, a putative DM-deficient UDG on the outskirts of the Fornax Cluster, suggests that such galaxies are not confined to the NGC 1052 group but rather represent a broader phenomenon. Aims. We aim to investigate the DM content of FCC 224 and to explore its similarities to the DM-free dwarfs in the NGC 1052 group, DF2 and DF4, to determine whether or not it belongs to the same class of DM-deficient UDGs. Methods. We use high-resolution Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI) spectroscopy to study the kinematics, stellar populations, and GC system of FCC 224, enabling direct comparisons with DF2 and DF4. Results. We find that FCC 224 is also DM-deficient and exhibits a distinct set of traits shared with DF2 and DF4, including slow and prolate rotation, quiescence in low-density environments, coeval formation of stars and GCs, flat stellar population gradients, a top-heavy GC luminosity function, and monochromatic GCs. Conclusions. These shared characteristics signal the existence of a previously unrecognised class of DM-deficient dwarf galaxies. This diagnostic framework provides a means of identifying additional examples and raises new questions for galaxy formation models within Λ CDM cosmology
Epicurus and the Buddha on Desire
Get PDFThe philosophies of Epicurus and the Buddha aim to free us from suffering by helping us to recognize how ignorance and delusion lead us to pursue harmful desires. Since the problem lies in our attitudes, the solution is to change our attitudes. Like doctors healing the sick, they offer therapeutic practical advice, to remove the groundless opinions and the unhealthy desires that cause suffering. Although various misconceptions may lead us to conceive of these two thinkers as quite different with respect to values and ethics, there are remarkable similarities. Indeed, their practical advice for how to live has the same normative basis: they counsel us to avoid craving and clinging, so that we avoid the harmful ways of living that make most people unhappy. Epicurus and the Buddha advocate a selective elimination of desire, and on the same basis. As we choose how to live, we are like gardeners weeding out harmful desires and cultivating healthy desires that will make our lives flourish. This article clarifies the notions of craving and clinging, which are often conflated in Buddhist studies, and uses them to improve on our understanding of Epicurus’ categorization of desires
Global impacts of video gaming behavior on young adults’ mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic literature review
Get PDFThe COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the mental health of young adults, and video gaming has emerged as a popular coping mechanism. However, excessive gaming could have negative consequences. The purpose of the study was to understand the relationship between video gaming and the mental health of young adults, globally during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a systematic literature review to investigate the relationship between video gaming and the mental health of young adults during the pandemic. The study followed PRISMA 2020 and conducted a comprehensive literature search in multiple databases: PubMed Central (PMC), Web of Science, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. We found 11 relevant articles published between March 2020 and March 2023, predominantly using online questionnaires and focused on young adults, mostly college students. The findings showed that video gaming had both positive and negative influences on psychological well-being. It served as a coping mechanism for young adults dealing with stress and isolation, providing a sense of belongingness. However, excessive gaming disrupted social interaction and family relationships. Regular gamers were found to adapt better to the virtual environment. The findings highlight calls for accessible mental health resources and awareness to maintain healthy gaming behavior
Signs of \u27Everything Everywhere All at Once\u27 formation in low-surface-brightness globular-cluster-rich dwarf galaxies
Get PDFContext. Only two ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs) have spatially resolved stellar population properties, showing flat to rising metallicity profiles, indicative of a different formation pathway than most dwarf galaxies. The scarcity of other low-surface-brightness (LSB) dwarfs with a similar analysis prevents a deeper understanding of this behaviour. Aims. We investigated the radial profiles of the ages, metallicities, and star formation histories of four globular cluster (GC)-rich LSB dwarfs, newly observed as part of the \u27Analysis of Galaxies At The Extremes\u27(AGATE) collaboration. DFX1 and DF07 are bona fide UDGs, while PUDG-R27 and VCC 1448 are \u27nearly UDGs\u27. Comparing their and DF44\u27s properties to simulations, we aim to reveal their formation pathways. Methods. We used the full-spectral-fitting code pPXF to fit different spectra extracted in annular apertures in a bid to recover the stellar population properties and compute their gradients. We compared these results with a sample of literature classical dwarfs and simulations, in particular simulated UDGs. Results. Our five LSB dwarfs have flat age and flat to rising metallicity profiles. Such age gradients are compatible with those of classical dwarfs (observed and from cosmological simulations), but the metallicity gradient diverges. All of our LSB dwarfs (except for PUDG-R27, which shows a pronounced increasing metallicity) are compatible with being on the extreme tail of the age-metallicity gradient relation, suggesting a coeval formation, forming the galaxy all at once. Conclusions. This sample of GC-rich LSB dwarfs with spatially resolved properties provides further evidence that they follow a different formation path than classical dwarfs. However, larger samples with higher-S/N spectra and varying amounts of GC richness are required to set robust constraints on the formation pathways of LSB dwarf galaxies
Spartan Daily, February 27, 2025
Get PDFVolume 164, Issue 16https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartan_daily_2025/1015/thumbnail.jp
Development of Physics-Based Deterioration Models for Reinforced Soil Retaining Structures
Get PDFReinforced soil walls are key earth retention features in the transportation infrastructure. They are used to support and retain soil in a wide variety of crucial structures, such as highways, bridges, and railways, to ensure stability. They also provide solutions for constructing embankments and slopes in constrained spaces, allowing for efficient land use and improved infrastructure planning. This study used advanced numerical modeling to improve the understanding of the behavior and long-term performance of the aging reinforced soil walls from the 1970s for asset management purposes. An asset-scale model was created to simulate the effects of weather on these walls. The model included a system to track how moisture-driven corrosion affects wall stability and performance over time. The model outputs provide implications on the wall progressive deterioration over time and estimates for the wall remaining service life. Unlike newer wall generations constructed with strict specifications that limit fill corrosivity, early wall generations may maintain high levels of moisture for prolonged periods that can significantly increase corrosion rates. Accordingly, it is recommended that fill moisture monitoring be added to asset management measures for early generation walls that could have been constructed with highly corrosive or poorly drainable fills. The results of this study indicate that even though corrosion rates vary with changes in fill moisture, the overall loss in reinforcement thickness happens at a steady rate, showing a linear relationship between cumulative corrosion and time. The results also indicate that 25% fluctuation in fill moisture has no to little effect on the cumulative corrosion, and that the average fill moisture can be used to predict an approximate long-term cumulative corrosion. Thus, it is recommended to use one year of seasonal climate data for a specific location to estimate the annual variation in fill moisture. This can predict the yearly corrosion of reinforcements, which can then be multiplied by the number of service years to estimate long-term cumulative corrosion. Finally, an asset-scale performance model based on performance-requirement failure framework was developed using the outputs of the asset-scale numerical model. These performance models can inform decisions about critical transportation infrastructure maintenance, repair, or replacement strategies, and optimizing resource allocation
The Strategic Impact of Emerging Artificial Intelligence in the Ethical Realm of theEnterprise Landscape
Get PDFPresentation made at the IEEE Computer Society Enterprise GenAI Summit, Hotel Signia by Hilton San Jose, 170 South Market Street, San Jose, CA, on August 20, 2025.https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/oer/1017/thumbnail.jp
Factors of Belonging of Male Speech Language Pathologists From Underrepresented Racial and/or Ethnic Minorities
No full textCurrent literature lacks the perspectives of speech language pathologists (SLPs) who identify as both male and from an underrepresented racial and/or ethnic minority (UREM.) This research provides multiple viewpoints on how the intersection of race and gender affects sense of belonging in the profession of speech language pathology. This project takes a phenomenological approach utilizing snowball sampling and semi-structured interviews to discuss factors of belonging with four UREM male SLPs using interpretative analysis, bracketing, and member checks. The project shares four individual profiles in which participants shared their sense of belonging, inclusion and exclusion experiences, and the individual factors that shape and affect their clinical practice. Combined, 16 factors were identified across the four participants. The individual profiles and varied myriad factors identified by these four UREM male SLPs provide practical and theoretical insights about sense of belonging. Such profiles are heterogeneous and create an opportunity for the speech language pathology profession to reflect on its current inclusionary (and exclusionary) practices for individuals who are intersectional (by race/ethnicity and gender) minorities