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Response to Moore’s ‘Words Don’t Mean, Minds Do!’
Get PDFIn the preceding article, Terence Moore argues that the meanings of words are private and hidden, and that using language meaningfully involves private processes that are ‘little understood’. In this response I explain why Wittgenstein would, I believe, reject this way of thinking about meaning
Is Philosophy an Armchair Discipline? Emma Swinn and Stephen Law in Conversation
Get PDFWhat is philosophy? Some believe it is essentially an armchair discipline – something that we can do, roughly speaking, in our heads. It should to be distinguished from other, empirical disciplines such as physics, chemistry. However, others argue that there’s much more to philosophy than just armchair reflection. This dialogue explores these issues
Identifying direct risk factors in UK Biobank via simultaneous Bayesian-frequentist model-averaged hypothesis testing using Doublethink
Get PDFBig data approaches to discovering nongenetic risk factors have lagged behind genome-wide association studies that routinely uncover novel genetic risk factors for diverse diseases. Instead, epidemiology typically focuses on candidate risk factors. Since modern biobanks contain thousands of potential risk factors, candidate approaches may introduce bias, inadequately control for multiple testing, and overlook important signals. Doublethink, a model-averaged hypothesis testing approach, offers a solution that simultaneously controls the Bayesian false discovery rate (FDR) and frequentist familywise error rate (FWER) while accounting for uncertainty in variable selection. Here, we investigate direct risk factors for COVID-19 hospitalization from among 1,912 variables in 201,917 UK Biobank participants by implementing a Doublethink-based exposome-wide association study using Markov Chain Monte Carlo. Focusing on the 2020 outbreak, we find nine individual variables and seven groups of variables exposome-wide significant at 9% FDR and 0.05% FWER. We identify significant direct effects among relatively overlooked risk factors including aging, dementia, and prior infection, which we evaluate in relation to studies of other populations. We detect significant direct effects among some commonly reported risk factors like age, sex, and obesity, but not others like cardiovascular disease. The effects of hypertension, depression, and diabetes appeared to be mediated via general comorbidity. Doublethink produces interchangeable posterior odds and P-values for individual variables and arbitrary groups, facilitating flexible and powerful post hoc hypothesis testing. We discuss the potential for impact and limitations of joint Bayesian-frequentist hypothesis testing, including the benefits of an agnostic exposome-wide approach to discovery
Enhanced stability and linearly polarized emission from CsPbI 3 perovskite nanoplatelets through A-site cation engineering
Get PDFThe anisotropy of perovskite nanoplatelets (PeNPLs) opens up many opportunities in optoelectronics, including enabling the emission of linearly polarized light. But the limited stability of PeNPLs is a pressing challenge, especially for red-emitting CsPbI3. Herein, we address this limitation by alloying formamidinium (FA) into the perovskite cuboctahedral site. Unlike Cs/FA alloying in bulk thin films or nanocubes, FA incorporation in nanoplatelets requires meticulous control over the reaction conditions, given that nanoplatelets are obtained in kinetically-driven growth regimes instead of thermodynamically-driven conditions. Through in-situ photoluminescence (PL) measurements, we find that excess FA leads to uncontrolled growth, where phase impurities and nanoplatelets of multiple thicknesses co-exist. Restricting the FA content to up to 25% Cs substitution enables monodisperse PeNPLs, and increases the PL quantum yield (from 53% to 61%), exciton lifetime (from 18 ns to 27 ns), and stability in ambient air (from ~2 days to >7 days) compared to CsPbI3. This arises due to hydrogen bonding between FA and the oleate and oleylammonium ligands, anchoring them to the surface to improve optoelectronic properties and stability. The reduction in non-radiative recombination, improvement in the nanoplatelet aspect ratio, and higher ligand density lead to FA-containing PeNPLs more effectively forming edge-up superlattices, enhancing the PL degree of linear polarization from 5.1% (CsPbI3) to 9.4% (Cs0.75FA0.25PbI3). These fundamental insights show how the stability limitations of PeNPLs could be addressed, and these materials grown more precisely to improve their performance as polarized light emitters, critical for utilizing them in next-generation display, bioimaging, and communications applications
UK Biobank at 20 years old: a growing, global resource for dementia research
No full textUK Biobank, which was started 20 years ago, is the world’s most comprehensive longitudinal population-based data and biosample resource. The data that has been collected can be accessed by all bona fide researchers. In addition to the extensive clinical phenotyping of the over 500,000 volunteers from across the UK at recruitment and at follow up timepoints, it includes data from serial lifestyle questionnaires, cognitive testing, multi-modal imaging, accelerometry, genomic and other ‘omics and is linked to participants’ electronic healthcare, cancer, death and a proportion of the cohort’s primary care records. Here, with a focus on dementia, we provide examples of how UK Biobank data has allowed discovery of novel interactions between systemic and brain health and illustrate ways in which these data also can be used to characterise risk factors, support mechanistic hypotheses and discover new biomarkers predictive of the onset and course of dementia and related disorders
Tenedos and Tennes in the Cypria
No full textThis chapter argues that Achilles’s conflict with Tennes, the eponymous ruler of Tenedos, featured in the Cypria. The stop-off at Tenedos formed part of an “increasing triplet,” marking Achilles’s growing strength, maturity, and success as he drew closer to Troy. It also framed the Greeks’ subsequent arrival at Troy as a new start and resonated with the island’s broader presence in the Trojan war tradition
The treatise De liberis educandis attributed to Plutarch
Get PDFThe Greek treatise De liberis educandis has been preserved as part of the corpus of Plutarch's Moralia, but is not now generally believed to be the work of Plutarch. It is however of interest as the only complete ancient Greek work on the education of children which has survived.
By far the greater part of the present thesis consists of a line-by-line commentary on the Greek text designed to provide the reader with assistance of all kinds relevant to understanding the work in its ancient context. The commentary is preceded, however, by a brief introduction containing a synopsis, an essay on the style of the treatise, and a list of surviving manuscripts. The essay reviews the style of the work under the headings of organisation, illustrative material, syntax, language and vocabulary, hiatus, and prose-rhythm and clausulae. Since the question of authenticity depends almost entirely upon internal evidence, and predominantly on stylistic considerations, special attention is paid to comparisons with Plutarchan usage.
The De liberis educandis emerges from this study as a handbook containing advice for fathers on how to bring up their children, written by an author of philosophical inclinations but no great depth of thought or literary skill. The quality of the writing is generally inferior to that of Plutarch, with connections, quotations and illustrative material much less naturally and competently managed; and the case against Plutarchan authorship is further confirmed by neutral differences of detail in syntactical usage, vocabulary, the avoidance of hiatus and prose-rhythm, Internal evidence also suggests, however, that the treatise may date from around Plutarch's time, namely the first or second century AD
The iron spin crossover in ferropericlase and its seismic effects in Earth’s lower mantle
Get PDFIn the study of Earth’s deep interior, mineral physics and seismology are two principal and closely linked disciplines. Seismology allows us to image the interior structure of our planet, but the interpretation of such observations requires a detailed understanding of the elastic properties of deep Earth materials, which govern the propagation velocity of seismic waves. Experimental and computational mineral physics provide constraints on the physical properties of minerals existing at the extreme pressure and temperature conditions of Earth’s interior. The second most abundant mineral in the lower mantle is the magnesium-iron oxide ferropericlase. Iron in ferropericlase undergoes a pressure-induced spin crossover, where its electronic configuration changes from a high-spin to a low-spin state, leading to marked changes to elastic properties. The objectives of this thesis are twofold: firstly, to constrain the elastic properties of ferropericlase across the iron spin crossover as a function of temperature and iron content, and secondly, to characterize the signal of the spin crossover in seismic observations.
The compressibility of ferropericlase at ambient and high temperatures is determined using novel high-pressure, high-temperature diamond-anvil cell experiments in combination with synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements. New experimental results for different compositions are combined with literature data and machine learning techniques are utilized to predict the relationship between pressure, iron content and ferropericlase properties. In addition, the compression behaviour of ferropericlase in a multi-phase assemblage approximating lower mantle rocks is investigated. The seismic expression of the spin crossover in seismic tomography models and travel-time measurements is characterized using synthetic models and wave propagation simulations, thus providing tools for mapping of the spin crossover in the lower mantle in future studies. Evidence for the occurrence of the spin crossover in Earth’s deep interior is presented through comparison of synthetic results to observational seismic data
Theoretically Universal, Practically Unequal: Socio‐Economic Inequalities in Healthcare Access for Long Covid‐19 Patients in Austria
Get PDFBackground: Long Covid‐19 (LC) patients have substantial treatment and care needs, yet research has shown that the majority of them experience healthcare access barriers. While qualitative studies indicate socio‐economic and demographic access inequalities among LC patients, quantitative evidence remains limited. This study aims to assess socio‐economic inequalities in healthcare access among LC patients in Austria, focusing on self‐perceived barriers, facilitators and unmet healthcare needs. Methods: Retrospective cross‐sectional data were collected from adult LC patients through online and paper‐based surveys (10‐12/2024), following a prior qualitative study. The survey assessed 47 barriers and 10 facilitators based on Levesque's ‘access to care’ framework, along with unmet healthcare needs overall and related to general practitioner (GP), specialist and hospital care. Overall barrier and facilitator scores were calculated. Inequalities related to gender, age, urbanicity, health‐related background through training/employment, complementary private health insurance, and economic situation were examined in linear, logistic and ordered logistic regressions, controlling for clinical and demographic variables. Results: Overall, 433 LC patients completed the survey. Participants living in urban areas, with complementary private health insurance, or in a good economic situation reported fewer barriers, reflected in statistically significantly lower overall barrier scores. Income‐related inequalities emerged particularly in relation to barriers in GP care, including not being taken seriously, attribution of symptoms to mental health conditions, burdensome costs, short consultation times, and limited availability of telemedicine or home visits. Facilitator scores, in contrast, did not differ by socio‐economic factors. Living in a rural area was associated with a higher probability of unmet healthcare needs related to GP and specialist care. A poor economic situation was associated with a higher probability of reporting unmet needs related to specialist and hospital care. No evidence of gender‐based inequalities was found. Conclusions: Our findings reveal enhanced inequalities in LC healthcare access in an otherwise universal healthcare system. Contrary to prior research, we find income‐related inequalities in GP access. Future policy efforts in Austria should consider that central case management through GP care may not be the most optimal set‐up, especially without improved information, training, support and specialist referral opportunities. Patient or Public Contribution: The design of the survey and the hypotheses on healthcare access barriers and facilitators were directly informed by qualitative interviews from previous work with long Covid‐19 (LC) patients, who shared their lived experiences with diagnosis, treatment and navigating the healthcare system. Additionally, LC patients piloted the survey before its launch and provided feedback. Representatives of patient LC groups and individual patients contributed to participant recruitment by sharing study materials within their networks
Mind the gap: a thematic analysis of the Chinese gap year and the formative perception of meritocratic life sequence
Get PDFMeritocracy is a system that emerged post-World War II, where performance serves as the primary means of social selection, emphasizing effort as the main way individuals achieve success. Under the invisible pressure of this system, individuals consciously regulate their behavior. In a meritocratic society, success and failure are highly standardized, and through socialization, individuals internalize these norms, leading to strong self-expectations. In China, the pursuit of meritocracy manifests as an obsession with educational attainment, with everyone living under a strict social clock, continuously striving for higher achievements without a moment's pause. This predetermined life path significantly restricts people's imagination of success. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the feasibility of this self-motivation logic and the burnout and reflection induced among individuals systematically controlled by performance-oriented systems in the Chinese context. This study uses the concept of pausing the social clock—gap years—as a starting point to investigate how individuals who temporarily step off their tracks perceive the established societal evaluation standards. Through narrative research and semistructured interviews, the study explores how the perspectives are formed and whether they are reshaped during the gap.The findings reveal that the gap year group cannot be treated as a whole. They can be categorized into active and passive gaps, further divided into five types based on their reasons. Their perspectives range from adhering to the advanced social clock to breaking away and establishing their own life rhythms. This offers intriguing data for studying meritocracy in China. By integrating expectancy theory, meritocracy is no longer a vague, macro concept but gains new significance in specific contexts, illustrating its stratified impact in China. This study also lays the groundwork for further international comparative research