Causality

Despite centuries of analysis, PrOblems ofくくdeterminism; issues surrounding agency, the freedom of agency PerSOnal causation and responsibility of individuals for their choices still abound. Up to血e minute literature is based upon analyses from 18th century figures SuCh as Kant (Onof; 2024)" The situation seems to be similar to Talmudic or Shakespearean SCholarship‖iterature often devolves into discussion of how a given scholar s interPretation of another scholar is incorrect (and theirs better), COntinually moving farther

More than 3.2 million stillbirths occur globally each year, yet stillbirths are largely invisible in global data tracking, policy dialogue and programme implementation. This mismatch of burden to action is due to a number of factors that keep stillbirths hidden, notably a lack of data and a lack of consensus on priority interventions, but also to social taboos that reduce the visibility of stillbirths and the associated family mourning. Whilst there are estimates of the numbers of stillbirths, to date there has been no systematic global analysis of the causes of stillbirths. The multiple classifications systems in use are often complex and are primarily focused on high-income countries. We review available data and propose a programmatic classification that is feasible and comparable across settings. We undertook a comprehensive global review of available information on stillbirths in order to 1) identify studies that evaluated risk factors and interventions to reduce stillbirths, 2) evaluate the level of evidence for interventions, 3) place the available evidence for interventions in a health systems context to guide programme implementation, and 4) elucidate key implementation, monitoring, and research gaps. This first paper in the series outlines issues in stillbirth data availability and quality, the global epidemiology of stillbirths, and describes the methodology and framework used for the review of interventions and strategies.

Background: An estimated two-thirds of the world's 3.2 million stillbirths occur antenatally, prior to labour, and are often overlooked in policy and programs. Poorly recognised, untreated or inadequately treated maternal infections such as syphilis and malaria, and maternal conditions including hypertensive disorders, are known risk factors for stillbirth. We undertook a systematic review of the evidence for 16 antenatal interventions with the potential to prevent stillbirths. We searched a range of sources including PubMed and the Cochrane Library. For interventions with prior Cochrane reviews, we conducted additional meta-analyses including eligible newer randomised controlled trials following the Cochrane protocol. We focused on interventions deliverable at the community level in low-/middle-income countries, where the burden of stillbirths is greatest. Results: Few of the studies we included reported stillbirth as an outcome; most that did were underpowered to assess this outcome. While Cochrane reviews or meta-analyses were available for many interventions, few focused on stillbirth or perinatal mortality as outcomes, and evidence was frequently conflicting. Several interventions showed clear evidence of impact on stillbirths, including heparin therapy for certain maternal indications; syphilis screening and treatment; and insecticide-treated bed nets for prevention of malaria. Other interventions, such as management of obstetric intrahepatic cholestasis, maternal anti-helminthic treatment, and intermittent preventive treatment of malaria, showed promising impact on stillbirth rates but require confirmatory studies. Several interventions reduced known risk factors for stillbirth (e.g., anti-hypertensive drugs for chronic hypertension), yet failed to show statistically significant impact on stillbirth or perinatal mortality rates. Periodontal disease emerged as a clear risk factor for stillbirth but no interventions have reduced stillbirth rates. Evidence for some newly recognised risk factors for stillbirth, including periodontal disease, suggests the need for large, appropriately designed randomised trials to test whether intervention can minimise these risks and prevent stillbirths. Existing evidence strongly supports infection control measures, including syphilis screening and treatment and malaria prophylaxis in endemic areas, for preventing antepartum stillbirths. These interventions should be incorporated into antenatal care programs based on attributable risks and burden of disease.

Background: Approximately one million stillbirths occur annually during labour; most of these stillbirths occur in low and middle-income countries and are associated with absent, inadequate, or delayed obstetric care. The low proportion of intrapartum stillbirths in high-income countries suggests that intrapartum stillbirths are largely preventable with quality intrapartum care, including prompt recognition and management of intrapartum complications. The evidence for impact of intrapartum interventions on stillbirth and perinatal mortality outcomes has not yet been systematically examined. We undertook a systematic review of the published literature, searching PubMed and the Cochrane Library, of trials and reviews (N = 230) that reported stillbirth or perinatal mortality outcomes for eight interventions delivered during labour. Where eligible randomised controlled trials had been published after the most recent Cochrane review on any given intervention, we incorporated these new trial findings into a new meta-analysis with the Cochrane included studies. Results: We found a paucity of studies reporting statistically significant evidence of impact on perinatal mortality, especially on stillbirths. Available evidence suggests that operative delivery, especially Caesarean section, contributes to decreased stillbirth rates. Induction of labour rather than expectant management in post-term pregnancies showed strong evidence of impact, though there was not enough evidence to suggest superior safety for the fetus of any given drug or drugs for induction of labour. Planned Caesarean section for term breech presentation has been shown in a large randomised trial to reduce stillbirths, but the feasibility and consequences of implementing this intervention routinely in low-/middle-income countries add caveats to recommending its use. Magnesium sulphate for pre-eclampsia and eclampsia is effective in preventing eclamptic seizures, but studies have not demonstrated impact on perinatal mortality. There was limited evidence of impact for maternal hyperoxygenation, and concerns remain about maternal safety. Transcervical amnioinfusion for meconium staining appears promising for low/middle incomecountry application according to the findings of many small studies, but a large randomised trial of the intervention had no significant impact on perinatal mortality, suggesting that further studies are needed. Although the global appeal to prioritise access to emergency obstetric care, especially vacuum extraction and Caesarean section, rests largely on observational and population-based data, these interventions are clearly life-saving in many cases of fetal compromise. Safe, comprehensive essential and emergency obstetric care is particularly needed, and can make the greatest impact on stillbirth rates, in lowresource settings. Other advanced interventions such as amnioinfusion and hyperoxygenation may reduce

More than 3.2 million stillbirths occur globally each year, yet stillbirths are largely invisible in global data tracking, policy dialogue and programme implementation. This mismatch of burden to action is due to a number of factors that keep stillbirths hidden, notably a lack of data and a lack of consensus on priority interventions, but also to social taboos that reduce the visibility of stillbirths and the associated family mourning. Whilst there are estimates of the numbers of stillbirths, to date there has been no systematic global analysis of the causes of stillbirths. The multiple classifications systems in use are often complex and are primarily focused on high-income countries. We review available data and propose a programmatic classification that is feasible and comparable across settings. We undertook a comprehensive global review of available information on stillbirths in order to 1) identify studies that evaluated risk factors and interventions to reduce stillbirths, 2...

The Indian stock market is one of the most dynamic and promising in emerging markets. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) and foreign institutional investors (FIIs) are the two major players in the Indian capital market. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have always been regarded as the primary drivers of the Indian securities market. The growing presence of domestic institutional investors (DIIs) in the Indian securities market is rarely discussed. Meanwhile, FIIs' stake has consistently declined in recent years, owing to the emergence of domestic institutional investors (DIIs) as a potent counterforce to FIIs with opposing investing and trading strategies in India. The study attempts to investigate the investing behaviour of DIIs and FIIs and their impact on the Indian security market, as well as shed light on the direction of causality between FIIs, DIIs, and BSE Sensex returns. For this purpose, the study employs correlation analysis, the Granger causality test, and the vector autoregression (VAR) model. Our findings show that, at present, FIIs are not the sole drivers anymore; domestic investors can also make the Indian stock market resilient amidst global uncertainties.

The dynamic eect of an out of plane distributed moving load on the surface of an elastic half-space is considered. The problem is formulated in terms of a hyperbolic-elliptic asymptotic model for a moving load where the trajectory and the distribution of the load are taken to be orthogonal. Steady-state equations are written in terms of a moving coordinate system. The near-resonant solutions are, then, obtained for sub and super-Rayleigh cases taking into account the causality principle. Numerical results of displacement components are presented for various values of the distribution parameter.

Podoconiosis is one of the diseases in which lowcost prevention is a simple but effective solution of a clinical problem with high social and economic impact. To our knowledge, this is the first report on podoconiosis performed in the Tigray region. Further research is needed to assess the way some geological and climate-related factors may affect the mineral composition of the soil and account for the prevalence of podoconiosis in this area.

Background: Directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) are an effective means of presenting expert-knowledge assumptions when selecting adjustment variables in epidemiology, whereas the change-in-estimate procedure is a common statistics-based approach. As DAGs imply specific empirical relationships which can be explored by the change-in-estimate procedure, it should be possible to combine the two approaches. This paper proposes such an approach which aims to produce well-adjusted estimates for a given research question, based on plausible DAGs consistent with the data at hand, combining prior knowledge and standard regression methods. Methods: Based on the relationships laid out in a DAG, researchers can predict how a collapsible estimator (e.g. risk ratio or risk difference) for an effect of interest should change when adjusted on different variable sets. Implied and observed patterns can then be compared to detect inconsistencies and so guide adjustment-variable selection. The proposed approach involves i. drawing up a set of plausible background-knowledge DAGs; ii. starting with one of these DAGs as a working DAG, identifying a minimal variable set, S, sufficient to control for bias on the effect of interest; iii. estimating a collapsible estimator adjusted on S, then adjusted on S plus each variable not in S in turn ("add-one pattern") and then adjusted on the variables in S minus each of these variables in turn ("minus-one pattern"); iv. checking the observed add-one and minus-one patterns against the pattern implied by the working DAG and the other prior DAGs; v. reviewing the DAGs, if needed; and vi. presenting the initial and all final DAGs with estimates. Conclusion: This approach to adjustment-variable selection combines background-knowledge and statistics-based approaches using methods already common in epidemiology and communicates assumptions and uncertainties in a standardized graphical format. It is probably best suited to areas where there is considerable background knowledge about plausible variable relationships. Researchers may use this approach as an additional tool for selecting adjustment variables when analyzing epidemiological data.

Osteoporosis has become an increasingly recognized complication among patients with chronic liver disease (CLD). The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence and risk factors of osteoporosis in patients with CLD (primary biliary cirrhosis and chronic viral hepatitis B or C patients) in comparison with a group of age-and sex-matched controls. Sixty-four patients with CLD (mean age 51.66 ± 11.54 years), 48 females and 16 males were included. Age-and sex-matched individuals from the general population served as controls. Osteoporosis was evaluated by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (bone mineral density below -2.5 T score) at the lumbar spine (LS) and total hip (TH). Vertebral fractures were established by densitometric morphometry (vertebral fracture assessment). Bone turnover was assessed by intact parathyroid hormone, osteocalcin and C-telopeptides of type I collagen in the serum. Prevalence of osteoporosis in either the LS or the TH was 45.3%, twice as high as in the controls (19.6%) (RR 2.31, 95% CI 1.42-3.75, P \ 0.001). Age, menopausal status, cirrhosis and advanced histological stage are not determinant factors for developing osteoporosis in patients with CLD. However, female sex, cholestasis, lower weight and height but not body mass index seem to play predominant role. Three (5.3%) patients had dorsal and LS fractures. It was concluded that osteoporosis is effectively a complication of CLD. Cholestasis in addition to female sex and lower weight and height are risk factors of osteoporosis in CLD.

Osteoporosis has become an increasingly recognized complication among patients with chronic liver disease (CLD). The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence and risk factors of osteoporosis in patients with CLD (primary biliary cirrhosis and chronic viral hepatitis B or C patients) in comparison with a group of age-and sex-matched controls. Sixty-four patients with CLD (mean age 51.66 ± 11.54 years), 48 females and 16 males were included. Age-and sex-matched individuals from the general population served as controls. Osteoporosis was evaluated by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (bone mineral density below -2.5 T score) at the lumbar spine (LS) and total hip (TH). Vertebral fractures were established by densitometric morphometry (vertebral fracture assessment). Bone turnover was assessed by intact parathyroid hormone, osteocalcin and C-telopeptides of type I collagen in the serum. Prevalence of osteoporosis in either the LS or the TH was 45.3%, twice as high as in the controls (19.6%) (RR 2.31, 95% CI 1.42-3.75, P \ 0.001). Age, menopausal status, cirrhosis and advanced histological stage are not determinant factors for developing osteoporosis in patients with CLD. However, female sex, cholestasis, lower weight and height but not body mass index seem to play predominant role. Three (5.3%) patients had dorsal and LS fractures. It was concluded that osteoporosis is effectively a complication of CLD. Cholestasis in addition to female sex and lower weight and height are risk factors of osteoporosis in CLD.

International audienceFait « Aux faits qu'on leur propose, (les hommes) s'amusent plus volontiers à en chercher la raison qu'à en chercher la vérité. » MONTAIGNE-Essais [Livre 3, chap.11]-Bribes Dans le dictionnaire Larousse, le mot « fait » désigne un « acte, un phénomène, une action. Par exemple, « les faits valent mieux que les discours ». C'est aussi une « chose, un événement qui se produit, (un) cas ». Un fait désigne également, « ce qui est reconnu comme certain, incontestable » et « tout événement susceptible de produire des effets de droit, d'avoir des conséquences juridiques. » Dans les domaines judiciaires, politiques, littéraires, le plus souvent de façon péjorative, l'exposé du fait désigne un mémoire virulent, un récit polémique publié pour attaquer un tiers ou pour se défendre. Dans le même esprit, un « long factum » est aussi synonyme de « libelle », « diatribe », « pamphlet ». Le vocabulaire philosophique désigne par « fait », « ce qui est ou ...

Since reaching the consciousness of “being human”, mankind has been trying to make sense of his existence on earth; searching for meaning, and has inevitably reached the idea of an “external world”. In the human mind, which tries to explain events by assigning a “spirit” to every movement it senses, the “great spirits” responsible for natural events with great consequences are gradually drawn into the skies; they turn into gods of mercy and wrath. The “rational” search manages to combine the dilemma here with a “superior mind” (Great Spirit) and a kind of “cosmic monism” (yin - yang) is achieved. Thus, in more animist times, a universe (paradigm) that is harmonious within itself, provides the source of morality and social norms has been constructed. Indeed, human behavior derives its legitimacy from its participation in this harmonious structure. However, political preferences begin to direct this process, which takes shape in the shadow of social relations. The allegedly “ontological” explanations of the upper classes regarding their right to be higher in the social hierarchy erode rationality.

Cause-and-effect relationships are essential for understanding the world, structuring and managing complex thoughts, and acquiring new knowledge. Yet, the concept of causality remains undefined and unbounded, leaving several key questions open: What role do causal linguistic structures play in cognitive development? How do they influence speakers' attentional capacities? And what connections exist between cognitive and linguistic abilities? This multidisciplinary review provides answers that converge in a new model of psycholinguistic causality, which not only considers a single perspective but integrates them all. In this way, the study of causality can be seen as a comprehensive framework, one that allows any language, population, culture, or field of knowledge to explore this fundamental relationship in human life. The aim of this monograph is twofold. First, it offers a comprehensive, multidisciplinary theoretical review of what has been established about causality, drawing from linguistic, psychological, philosophical, and social perspectives. Second, it presents a psycholinguistic study protocol for causality that seeks to understand this cognitive tool as a multifaceted whole, yet one that can be analysed through distinct stages that must be considered together. This model is specifically applied to causality in Spanish, a language that has so far received limited attention regarding this cognitive domain.

A number of population-based studies have been published on mortality and hospitalizations associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, very little has been published on treatment of TBI in the emergency department (ED), despite the fact that most cases are seen in such settings. Minnesota is 1 of 2 states funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since 2001 to conduct surveillance of TBIs treated in EDs. A sample of medical records from 2002 and 2003 was reviewed to better understand the epidemiology of ED-treated TBI and identify risk factors for and interventions to prevent them. We found males, infants, adolescents and young adults, blacks, and residents of the 7-county Twin Cities metropolitan area were most likely to be seen in the ED for TBI. Sports and recreational activities were the leading causes of these injuries, followed by falls and motor vehicle crashes.

Bu çalışmanın amacı Türkiye’de 1991-2019 döneminde tarımsal desteklerin tarımsal çıktı üzerindeki etkisini Pesaran vd. (2001) tarafından geliştirilen ARDL ve Toda-Yamamoto (1995) nedensellik yöntemleriyle araştırılmasıdır. Elde edilen bulgulara göre, tarımsal desteklerin tarımsal çıktı üzerinde istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir etkisi olmadığı tespit edilmiştir. Ayrıca elde edilen sonuçların doğruluğunu teyit atmak amacıyla gerçekleştirilen FMOLS ve DOLS tahminleri bu bulguyu desteklemektedir. Nedensellik bulguları ise tarımsal destekler ve tarımsal çıktı arasında nedenselliğin olmadığına işaret etmektedir. Bu kapsamda Türkiye’de tarım sektörüne yönelik verilen tarımsal desteklerin etkili olmadığı sonucuna varılmıştır. Dolayısıyla politika yapıcıların tarım sektörüne yönelik uyguladıkları politikaları gözden geçirmeleri gerekmektedir.

This text is an unpublished Introduction into the process theory of causation – not causation in general. However, not much knowledge of causation theories is a prerequisite. Instead of a rough overview as one would get in a “handbook” of causation theories, I go into more detail of the main aspects so that you know the actual theory. In this spirit, it is dense and a bit technical – intended for philosophy (of the sciences) students. Comments and criticism always appreciated, drop me an e-mail.
I hope you enjoy the text!

The process theory of causation represents one major account amongst all relevant causal theories today. Its main idea is to give up on the “traditional view” of causation, spelled out roughly by “event C causes event E” where the causal relation is then analyzed in terms of concepts involving for example necessity, counterfactual dependence, or constant conjunction. Rather, “processes” transmit causal influence even over long distances, sometimes interacting with other processes. The main proponent of this idea was Wesley C. Salmon, and his version of it can be deemed the core of the concept.

This article focuses on the classical debates around the major premise of Avicenna’s argument for God’s existence, namely that one of the two sides of the contingent preponderates over the other through a preponderating cause. In the article, I first discuss the principle of sufficient reason and the definition of contingency from Avicenna’s perspective and then the issue of ontological preponderance (tarajjuh, rujhān) from the perspectives of Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī and Shams al-Dīn al-Samarqandī. Here I will explore whether or not preponderance can remain within the limit of contingency. Afterwards, I introduce Rāzī’s novel concept of ontological suitability (awlawiyya), discuss the different types of ontological suitability, and examine whether the contingent is suitable for existence or nonexistence by virtue of its essence. I also discuss whether ontological suitability for existence and nonexistence can be viewed as modalities of existence alongside necessity, contingency, and impossibility. I then introduce in the following section Samarqandī’s survey of the alternative positions on ontological suitability and present his appraisal of these positions. I show that, according to Samarqandī, flowing contingents are essentially suitable for nonexistence, some contingents are suitable for nonexistence because they occur with fewer conditions, and others are suitable for existence because they occur more frequently. In the final section, I discuss the implications of Samarqandī’s views for contingency, causality, and the principles of non-contradiction and excluded middle.

Bu makale İbn Sînâ’nın Tanrı’nın varlığına dair delilinin “mümkünün iki ucundan biri ötekine bir sebeple baskın gelir” şeklindeki büyük öncülü etrafında klasik dönemde yürütülen tartışmalara odaklanmaktadır. Makalede öncelikle İbn Sînâ’nın yaklaşımıyla yeter sebep ilkesi ve imkânın tanımı ardından Fahreddin er-Râzî ve Şemsüddin es-Semerkandî’nin yaklaşımıyla ontolojik baskınlık (et-teraccuh, er-ruchân) meselesi ele alındı. Bu bağlamda baskınlığın imkân sınırında kalıp kalamayacağı tartışıldı. Ardından Râzî’nin yeni bir mesele haline getirdiği “ontolojik evleviyet” kavramı tanıtıldı ve evleviyet tipleri ayrıştırıldı. Mümkünün bir sebebe ihtiyaç duymaksızın, zatı gereği varlığa veya yokluğa evlâ olup olmadığı incelendi. Zorunlu, imkân ve imkânsızlık dışında, varlığa evleviyet ve yokluğa evleviyet modalitelerinin düşünülüp düşünülemeyeceği tartışıldı. Sonraki kısımda ise Semerkandî’nin ontolojik evleviyetle ilgili belirlediği pozisyonlar tanıtıldı ve onun bu pozisyonlara ilişkin değerlendirmeleri incelendi. Semerkandî’nin seyyal mümkünlerin bizatihi yokluğa evlâ olduğu, bazı mümkünlerin ise daha az şarta bağlı olarak kolay gerçekleştiği için yokluğa evlâ olduğu, bazı mümkünlerin ise daha sık gerçekleştikleri için varlığa evlâ olduğu görüşünü savunduğu tespit edildi. Son bölümde ise Semerkandî’nin tercihlerinin imkân, sebeplilik, çelişmezlik ve üçüncü halin imkânsızlığı ilkeleri çerçevesinde ne anlama geldiği tartışıldı.

Bu çalışma felsefenin temel konularından birisi olan kuvve-fiil teorisi hakkındadır ve bu yüzden önem arz etmektedir. Felsefî bir izah yöntemi olması açısından kuvve-fiil teorisi tanınmakta ve oldukça işe yaramaktadır. Çalışmamızın amacı Aristoteles’in geliştirdiği bu teorinin İslâm felsefesinin kurucu filozoflarının başında gelen İbn Sînâ’da nasıl ele alındığını ortaya koyarak bilinirliğini artırmaktır. Bunun için Aristoteles ve İbn Sînâ’nın kuvve, fiil ve hareket kavramları hakkındaki görüşleri ayrıntılı olarak incelenecektir. Aristoteles’in kuvve ve fiil ayrımı aslında metafizik temelli bir izah biçimi olup  Eflâtun’un “idealardan pay alma” fikrinin orijinal bir yorumu olarak görülebilir. Ancak Eflâtuncu düşünceden farklı olarak Aristoteles düşüncesinde fizik evren gerçek anlamda fiiliyat kazanmış olarak kabul edilmektedir. İbn Sînâ da fizik evrenin gerçekliğini kabul
ettiğinden bu teoriye itibar etmiştir. Teori, sonuçları itibarıyla çok kullanılmasına rağmen metafiziğin temelini oluşturan varlık-yokluk, madde-sûret, varoluş, Tanrı-âlem ilişkisi gibi temel meselelere dair referansları açısından anlaşılması oldukça zordur. Örneğin Molla Sadrâ’nın cevherde hareketin gerçekleştiği yönündeki önemli müdahale ve düzeltmesi bunu göstermektedir. Makalede şu sonuçlara ulaşılmıştır: Öncelikle kuvve-fiil teorisi, İbn Sînâ’nın felsefî sisteminde ikincil bir işleve sahiptir. Nitekim bu noktada onun Yeni Eflâtuncu bir filozof olduğu görülür. Buna göre onun felsefesinde madde-sûret, önce-sonra ve hareket gibi meselelerle beraber ele alınsa da varlık-mahiyet, zorunluluk-imkân, illet ve malul gibi teoriler birincil meselelerdir. Belki de bu yüzden İbn Sînâ İşaretler ve Tembihler kitabında konuya doğrudan başlık açmamıştır. Bu
durumun muhtemel nedenlerinden biri de İbn Sînâ’nın bütün felsefesini sadece fizik evren üzerine değil aynı zamanda metafizik evren üzerine inşa etmiş olmasıdır. Şöyle ki İbn Sînâ’ya göre fiilî olan metafizik evren iken kuvve hâlinde olan fizikî evrendir. Buna göre kuvve-fiil teorisi soyut evrenden somut evrenin çıkmasında yeterince güçlü bir izah biçimi olarak görünmez iken somuttan soyuta yükselişte oldukça başarılı bir izah biçimi görümündedir. Yeni Eflâtuncu felsefede sudûr teorisinin temelinde olmasa
da teorinin izahında kuvve-fiil teorisinden faydalanıldığı görülür. Yine bu teori sahip olduğu imkânlar vasıtasıyla hareketi izah ettiği kadar Tanrı’nın varlığını ispatlamada da önemli bir araçtır. Örneğin Nasîrüddîn Tûsî, felsefe öğrenmenin en büyük faydalarından birisinin kuvve-fiil teorisi vasıtasıyla Tanrı’nın varlığını ispatlamak olduğunu söyler. Ayrıca bu teori, kötülük probleminin çözümü için önemli bir vasıtadır. Ancak burada teorinin sonuçlarından çok teorinin kendisi üzerinde yoğunlaşmaya çalışılacaktır. Çalışmanın en azından makale seviyesinde önemli bir boşluğu dolduracağı söylenebilir.
This study is significant as it focuses on the potentiality-actuality theory, a fundamental issue in philosophy. The potentiality-actuality theor y is known and highly useful as a philosophical explanatory method. Our aim is to increase awareness of how this theory, developed by Aristotle, was addressed by Avicenna, a leading philosopher of Islamic philosophy. Thus, Aristotle and Avicenna’s views on the concepts of potentiality, actuality and motion will be examined in detail. Aristotle’s distinction between
potentiality and actuality is actually a metaphysical form of explanation and can be seen as an original interpretation of Plato’s “participation in ideas” idea. However, unlike Platonic thought, in Aristotelian thought, the physical universe is accepted as truly actualized. Since Avicenna also accepted the reality of the physical universe, he gave credence to this theory. Although the theory is widely used due to its results, it is quite difficult to understand due to its references to fundamental issues such as existence, non-existence, matter, form, being, and the relationship between God and the world, which form the basis of metaphysics. For example, this is demonstrated by Mullā Sadrā’s important intervention and correction regarding the occurrence of motion in essence. The article reached the following conclusions: First, the theory of potentiality- ctuality
has a secondary function in Avicenna’s philosophical system. This shows that he is a Neoplatonist philosopher. Accordingly, although issues such as matter, form, before and after, and motion are addressed in his philosophy, theories such as being, essence, necessary possibility, cause, and effect are primary issues. Perhaps this is why Avicenna did not directly open a chapter on the subject in the book al-Ishārāt wa al-anbīhāt.
Another possible reason for this is that Avicenna constructed his entire philosophy not only on the physical universe but also on the metaphysical universe. Namely, according to Avicenna, the actualized universe is metaphysical, while the potential universe is physical. Accordingly, the potentiality-actuality theory does not appear to be a strong enough explanatory form for the emergence of the concrete universe from the abstract universe, but it is quite successful as an explanatory form for the ascent from concrete to the abstract. Although not at the foundation of the emanation theory in Neoplatonic philosophy, the potentiality-actuality theory is used in the explanation of the theory. Again, this theory is an important tool for proving God’s existence as much as it explains motion through its possibilities. For instance, Nasīr al-Dīn Tūsī states that one of the greatest benefits of learning philosophy is proving God’s existence through the potentiality-actuality theory. This theory is also an important tool for solving the problem of evil. However, we will focus on the theory itself rather than its results. It can be said that this study will fill an important gap at least at the article level.

This is the peer-reviewed but unedited version of the article as it appeared in Albert Galvany ed., The Craft of Oblivion: Forgetting and Memory in Ancient China (Albany: SUNY, 2023), 49-69. See https://sunypress.edu/Books/T/The-Craft-of-Oblivion2

The article examines the question of remembrance and forgetting in light of two recently unearthed historiographical manuscripts. Previous scholarship has focused on how forces such as institutionalization, ritualization, and canonization have shaped cultural memory, in this contribution I examine how target specific collections of historical narrative were used to shape local historiography. Such selections of historical materials operate as nodes of access opening up and closing off narrative material for larger historiographical constructions forming the cultural memory of early China.
By closely reading the Shanghai Museum Rongchengshi and the Qinghua University *Xinian manuscripts, I show how both provide stories and narrative detail hitherto unseen in preimperial historiography while at the same time eliding information not immediately germane to their narrative. Both skip – in part or whole – large swaths of history that do not contribute to the main thrust of their respective historiographies. At the same time, the manuscripts correlate events of similar character across long stretches of time, creating the illusion of historical continuity.
This paper thus argues for a type of narrative informed forgetting often elided from discussions that either take collective amnesia, cultural memory formation, or programmatic history writing as their lead. Instead, following approaches focusing on narrativity in historiography, I show how the specific goals and forms of writing local historiography shaped the particular dynamic of remembrance and forgetting. These historiographical compilations inadvertently prefigured the selection of narrative material that could then be enshrined in early Chinese cultural memory.

https://openreview.net/forum?id=7btnaN4Std

Recommender systems (RS) are increasingly important in so- cial media, entertainment, and e-commerce in the information explosion era. However, the collected data contains many bi- ases such as selection bias, as users are free to choose items to rate, making the collected data not representative of the target population. Recently, many methods such as relabeling-based and reweighting-based have been proposed to mitigate the selection bias. However, the effectiveness of these methods relies on strong assumptions, which are difficult to satisfy in real-world scenarios, leading to sub-optimal debiasing perfor- mance. In this paper, we propose a debiasing method from the machine unlearning perspective. Specifically, we first pro- pose a user unlearning rate network to determine which user needs to be unlearned. Then we generate the error-maximizing pseudo-labels for each user and fusion such pseudo-labels and the observed labels based on the learned user unlearning rate to mitigate the selection bias. In addition, we further propose an unlearning to debias training algorithm to achieve unbiased learning of the prediction model. Finally, we conduct exten- sive experiments on three real-world datasets to validate the effectiveness of our method.

Motivation incorporates several psychological aspects that produce reward-related and learning behaviors. Although reward-related behavior is reported to be mediated by the dopaminergic reward pathway, the involvement of dopaminergic systems in motivated behavior has not been fully clarified. Several experimental methodologies for motivational behavior have been reported, but pharmacological characteristics seem to vary among these methodologies. In this review, we attempt to summarize three main concepts:(1) the relationship of dopamine neuron physiology with motivated behavior, (2) the pharmacological characteristics of the runway intracranial self-stimulation model, and (3) the behavioral distinction of disparate motivated behaviors.

Motivation incorporates several psychological aspects that produce reward-related and learning behaviors. Although reward-related behavior is reported to be mediated by the dopaminergic reward pathway, the involvement of dopaminergic systems in motivated behavior has not been fully clarified. Several experimental methodologies for motivational behavior have been reported, but pharmacological characteristics seem to vary among these methodologies. In this review, we attempt to summarize three main concepts:(1) the relationship of dopamine neuron physiology with motivated behavior, (2) the pharmacological characteristics of the runway intracranial self-stimulation model, and (3) the behavioral distinction of disparate motivated behaviors.

In  the  compositional  investigation  of  organisms,  Aristotle,  taking also  into  consideration  the  role  of  the  material  elements  and  the spontaneous  move-ments  inherently  associated  with  them,  endeavors to give an explanatory primacy,  of  teleological  type,  to  certain principles of formal and final nature. In this sense, I intend to develop an analysis of the  reasons  why  Aristotle  supports  this  explanatory primacy  from  certain  criti-cal considerations which he addresses to the naturalistic  philosophers  of  the  5th  century  BC,  notably  Empedocles and  Democritus. Thus, I will try to establish afterwards a relation between (i) the ex-planatory factors of formal-final charac-ter in the study of the living beings in the Parts of the Animals, and (ii) the notion of the soul, as expressed in De Anima. Finally, I will deal with Aristotle’s problem of knowing  whether  it  would  be  proper  for the science of nature to examine, be-sides the psychic faculties common to all living beings, the intellectual faculty ex-clusive of the human being.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the frontline class of antidepressant drugs. They are widely used because of their safety, tolerability, and demonstrated efficacy. In this review, we are pointing at other indications of SSRIs – apart from depression.This article is based on a selective review of the relevant literature retrieved by a PubMed search and ScienceDirect search. The results of electronic searches show SSRIs to be of great importance in pharmacotherapy of many conditions outside depression. Medical literature supports the use of SSRIs for the treatment of premature ejaculation (especially short-acting SSRI – dapoxetine), eating disorders (especially bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder), obsessive-compulsive disorder and social anxiety disorder.

Compared with consultative US performed by the radiology department, point-of-care US performed by non-radiology physicians can accurately diagnose deep venous thrombosis in adults. In preparation for a multicenter randomized controlled trial, we determined the accuracy of point-of-care US in diagnosing central venous catheter-related thrombosis in critically ill children. Children <18 years old with a central venous catheter who were admitted to the intensive care unit were enrolled. Consultative and point-of-care compression ultrasounds with Doppler were done on the vein where the catheter was inserted within 24 h after insertion. Repeat US was obtained within 24 h of removal of the catheter. All images were centrally, blindly and independently adjudicated for thrombosis by a team of pediatric radiologists. Chance-corrected agreement between readings was calculated. From 84 children, 152 pairs of consultative and point-of-care ultrasounds were analyzed. A total of 38 (25.0%) co...