The conserved quantity theory of causation and chance raising

In this paper I offer an 'integrating account' of singular causation, where the term 'integrating' refers to the following program for analysing causation. There are two intuitions about causation, both of which face serious counterexamples when used as the basis for an analysis of causation. The 'process' intuition, which says that causes and effects are linked by concrete processes, runs into trouble with cases of misconnections', where an event which serves to prevent another fails to do so on a particular occasion and yet the two events are linked by causal processes. The chance raising intuition, according to which causes raise the chance of their effects, easily accounts for misconnections but faces the problem of chance lowering causes, a problem easily accounted for by the process approach. The integrating program attempts to provide an analysis of singular causation by synthesising the two insights, so as to solve both problems. In this paper I show that extant versions of the integrating program due to Eells, Lewis, and Menzies fail to account for the chance-lowering counterexample. I offer a new diagnosis of the chance lowering case, and use that as a basis for an integrating account of causation which does solve both cases. In doing so, I accept various assumptions of the integrating program, in particular that there are no other problems with these two approaches. As an example of the process account, I focus on the recent CQ theory of Wesley Salmon (1997).

Approach to designing rotating drum bioreactors for solid-state fermentation on the basis of dimensionless design factors

The development of large-scale solid-stale fermentation (SSF) processes is hampered by the lack of simple tools for the design of SSF bioreactors. The use of semifundamental mathematical models to design and operate SSF bioreactors can be complex. In this work, dimensionless design factors are used to predict the effects of scale and of operational variables on the performance of rotating drum bioreactors. The dimensionless design factor (DDF) is a ratio of the rate of heat generation to the rate of heat removal at the time of peak heat production. It can be used to predict maximum temperatures reached within the substrate bed for given operational variables. Alternatively, given the maximum temperature that can be tolerated during the fermentation, it can be used to explore the combinations of operating variables that prevent that temperature from being exceeded. Comparison of the predictions of the DDF approach with literature data for operation of rotating drums suggests that the DDF is a useful tool. The DDF approach was used to explore the consequences of three scale-up strategies on the required air flow rates and maximum temperatures achieved in the substrate bed as the bioreactor size was increased on the basis of geometric similarity. The first of these strategies was to maintain the superficial flow rate of the process air through the drum constant. The second was to maintain the ratio of volumes of air per volume of bioreactor constant. The third strategy was to adjust the air flow rate with increase in scale in such a manner as to maintain constant the maximum temperature attained in the substrate bed during the fermentation. (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The role of economic evaluation in mental health care

Objective: A consequence of the integration of psychiatry into acute and public health medicine is that psychiatrists are being asked to evaluate their services. There is pressure on mental health-care systems because it is recognized that funds should be directed where they can provide the best health outcomes, and also because there are resource constraints which limit our capacity to meet all demands for health care. This pressure can be responded to by evaluation which demonstrates the effectiveness and efficiency of psychiatric treatment. This paper seeks to remind psychiatrists of the fundamental principles of economic evaluation in the hope that these will enable psychiatrists to understand the methods used in evaluation and to work comfortably with evaluators. Method: The paper reviews the basic principles behind economic evaluation, illustrating these with reference to case studies. It describes: (i) the cost of the burden of illness and treatment, and how these costs are measured; (ii) the measurement of treatment outcomes, both as changes in health status and as resources saved; and (iii) the various types of economic evaluation, including cost-minimization, cost-effectiveness, cost-utility and cost-benefit analysis. Results: The advice in the paper provides psychiatrists with the necessary background to work closely with evaluators. A checklist of the critical questions to be addressed is provided as a guide for those undertaking economic evaluations. Conclusions: If psychiatrists are willing to learn the basic principles of economic evaluation and to apply these, they can respond to the challenges of evaluation.

On the theory of mixing-frequency electron spin-echo envelope modulation spectroscopy

It has recently been stated that the parametrization of the time variables in the one-dimensional (I-D) mixing-frequency electron spin-echo envelope modulation (MIF-ESEEM) experiment is incorrect and hence the wrong frequencies for correlated nuclear transitions are predicted. This paper is a direct response to such a claim, its purpose being to show that the parametrization in land 2-D MIF-ESEEM experiments possesses the same form as that used in other 4-pulse incrementation schemes and predicts the same correlation frequencies. We show that the parametrization represents a shearing transformation of the 2-D time-domain and relate the resulting frequency domain spectrum to the HYSCORE spectrum in terms of a skew-projection. It is emphasized that the parametrization of the time-domain variables may be chosen arbitrarily and affects neither the computation of the correct nuclear frequencies nor the resulting resolution. The usefulness or otherwise of the MIF parameters \gamma\ > 1 is addressed, together with the validity of the original claims of the authors with respect to resolution enhancement in cases of purely homogeneous and inhomogeneous broadening. Numerical simulations are provided to illustrate the main points.

A new graphic format to facilitate the understanding of technological innovation models: the seesaw of competitiveness

Many models exist in the literature to explain the success of technological innovation. However, no studies have been made regarding graphic formats representing the technological innovation models and their impact, or on the understanding of these models by non-specialists in technology management. Thus, the main objective of this paper is to propose a new graphic configuration to represent the technological innovation management. Based on the literature, the innovation model is presented in the traditional format. Next, the same model is designed in the graphic format - named `the see-saw of competitiveness` - showing the interfaces among the identified factors. The two graphic formats were compared by a group of graduate students in terms of the ease in understanding the conceptual model of innovation. The statistical analysis shows that the seesaw of competitiveness is preferred.

On recent developments in the theory of abstract differential equations with fractional derivatives

This note is motivated from some recent papers treating the problem of the existence of a solution for abstract differential equations with fractional derivatives. We show that the existence results in [Agarwal et al. (2009) [1], Belmekki and Benchohra (2010) [2], Darwish et al. (2009) [3], Hu et al. (2009) [4], Mophou and N`Guerekata (2009) [6,7], Mophou (2010) [8,9], Muslim (2009) [10], Pandey et al. (2009) [11], Rashid and El-Qaderi (2009) [12] and Tai and Wang (2009) [13]] are incorrect since the considered variation of constant formulas is not appropriate. In this note, we also consider a different approach to treat a general class of abstract fractional differential equations. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.