197,051 research outputs found
The World According to De Finetti
No full textBruno de Finetti is one of the founding fathers of the subjectivist school of probability, where probabilities are interpreted as rational degrees of belief. His work on the relation between the theorems of probability and rationality is among the corner stones of modern subjective probability theory. De Finetti maintained that rationality requires that degrees of belief be coherent, and he argued that the whole of probability theory could be derived from these coherence conditions. De Finetti’s interpretation of probability has been highly influential in science. This paper focuses on the application of this interpretation to quantum mechanics. We argue that de Finetti held that the coherence conditions of degrees of belief in events depend on their verifiability. Accordingly, the standard coherence conditions of degrees of belief that are familiar from the literature on subjective probability only apply to degrees of belief in events which could (in principle) be jointly verified; and the coherence conditions of degrees of belief in events that cannot be jointly verified are weaker. While the most obvious explanation of de Finetti’s verificationism is the influence of positivism, we argue that it could be motivated by the radical subjectivist and instrumental nature of probability in his interpretation; for as it turns out, in this interpretation it is difficult to make sense of the idea of coherent degrees of belief in, and accordingly probabilities of unverifiable events. We then consider the application of this interpretation to quantum mechanics, concentrating on the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen experiment and Bell’s theorem
An Outcome of the de Finetti Infinite Lottery is Not Finite
No full textA randomly selected number from the infinite set of positive integers—the so-called de Finetti lottery—will not be a finite number. I argue that it is still possible to conceive of an infinite lottery, but that an individual lottery outcome is knowledge about set-membership and not element identification. Unexpectedly, it appears that a uniform distribution over a countably infinite set has much in common with a continuous probability density over an uncountably infinite set
Finetti C., Minardi M., Osti Guerrazzi A., Un secolo di sindacato. La Camera del lavoro a Modena nel Novecento, Ediesse, Roma 2001
No full textRecensione al volume: Finetti C., Minardi M., Osti Guerrazzi A., Un secolo di sindacato. La Camera del lavoro a Modena nel Novecento, Ediesse, Roma 200
De Finetti and the Arrow-Pratt measure of risk aversion
No full textViene descritta l'analisi dell'avversione al rischio proposta da de Finetti e mostrato come la misura dell'avversione al rischio da lui proposta coincida con quella introdotta più di dieci anni dopo da Arrow e Pratt
Symmetry of evidence without evidence of symmetry
No full textThe de Finetti Theorem is a cornerstone of the Bayesian approach. Bernardo (1996) writes that its "message is very clear: if a sequence of observations is judged to be exchangeable, then any subset of them must be regarded as a random sample from some model, and there exists a prior distribution on the parameter of such model, hence requiring a Bayesian approach." We argue that while exchangeability, interpreted as symmetry of evidence, is a weak assumption, when combined with subjective expected utility theory, it implies also complete confidence that experiments are identical. When evidence is sparse, and there is little evidence of symmetry, this implication of de Finetti's hypotheses is not intuitive. This motivates our adoption of multiple-priors utility as the benchmark model of preference. We provide two alternative generalizations of the de Finetti Theorem for this framework. A model of updating is also provided.Ambiguity, exchangeability, symmetry, updating, learning, multiple-priors
Complete nucleotide sequence of Pelargonium zonate spot virus and its relationship with the family Bromoviridae
No full textThe complete sequence of the Pelargonium zonate spot virus (PZSV) genome was determined. It comprises 8477 nt, distributed in three positive-strand RNA species encoding four proteins. RNA-1 is 3383 nt long, with an ORF that encodes a polypeptide with a molecular mass of 108 419 Da (denoted protein 1a). This protein contains the conserved sequence motifs I-III of type I methyltransferases and the seven consensus motifs of the helicases of superfamily 1. RNA-2 is 2435 nt long and encodes a major polypeptide with a molecular mass of 78 944 Da (denoted protein 2a), which shows identity to the RNA-dependent RNA polymerases of positive-strand RNA viruses. RNA-3 is 2659 nt long and contains two major ORFs. The first ORF is located in the 5' portion of the genome and sequence comparison of the putative translation product revealed similarities with the 30K superfamily of virus movement proteins. The second ORF is located in the 3' half and encodes the viral coat protein, which is expressed via a subgenomic RNA, RNA-4. The transcription initiation site of RNA-4 maps to the intergenic region of RNA-3. The organization of the PZSV genome, including the primary structure of terminal non-coding regions, strongly suggests that this virus belongs to the family Bromoviridae. The overall biological and genomic characteristics of PZSV indicate affinities in diverging directions with one or other of the virus species in this family, thus enabling it to be considered as a possible representative of a new genus within the family Bromoviridae
Ulisse Adorni: Pioneering Inclusive Democratic Schools and Media Education in 1960s-1980s Italy
No full textUlisse Adorni (1942-1991) fu maestro elementare, giornalista, scrittore di racconti per bambini e testi scolastici innovativi. Militante nelle fila della Democrazia Cristiana, Adorni fu uno dei primi assessori per le politiche giovanili. Profondamente cattolico e conciliatore di influssi plurali, come quelli di don L. Milani, C. Freinet, M. Lodi e J. Maritain, Adorni ha condiviso battaglie con il Movimento di Cooperazione Educativa e con F. Basaglia. Grazie all’analisi di materiale d’archivio e interviste, nel presente articolo sono ricostruiti inediti aspetti biografici di Adorni. Sono altresì
messe in luce aree in cui Adorni ha precorso i tempi, come partecipazione scolastica, inclusione, educazione ai media e politiche giovanili mirate alla costruzione di una rete cooperativa nazionale.Ulisse Adorni (1942-1991) was an elementary school teacher, journalist, writer of children's stories and innovative textbooks. Committed intellectual in the ranks of the Italian Democrazia Cristiana party, he was one of the first councilors for the youth. Deeply Catholic and a conciliator with multiple influences, such as those stated by Father L. Milani, C. Freinet, M. Lodi and J. Maritain, Adorni fought alongside the Educational Cooperation Movement and F. Basaglia. Unpublished biographical aspects of Adorni are reconstructed through the analysis of archival material and interviews. The article also highlights areas in which Adorni was ahead of his time, such as inclusive and participatory schooling, media education and youth policies aimed at building a national cooperative network
Bidimentional in vitro angiogenic assays to study CCM pathogenesis: endothelial cell proliferation and migration
No full textCerebral cavernous malformation (CCM) is a cerebrovascular disorder of proven genetic origin characterized by abnormally dilated and leaky capillaries occurring mainly in the central nervous system, with a prevalence of 0.3–0.5% in the general population. Genetic studies have identified three genes associated to CCMs: KRIT1 (CCM1), MGC4607 (CCM2), and PDCD10 (CCM3), which account for about 50%, 20%, and 10% of the cases, respectively. The great advances in the knowledge of the physiopathological functions of CCM genes, such as their involvement in the angiogenic process, have allowed to propose distinct putative therapeutic compounds, which showed to be effective at least in limiting some pathological phenotypes in cellular and animal models of the disease. However, despite numerous efforts, targeted pharmacological therapies that improve the outcome of CCM disease are currently lacking. Here we describe simply and low-cost assays as in vitro endothelial cell proliferation and migration assays that can be used to better understand the role of CCM genes on endothelial cell functions and to screen potential new compounds for CCM therapy
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