Trans-Planckian philosophy of cosmology

I provide some philosophical groundwork for the recently proposed ‘trans-Planckian censorship’ conjecture in theoretical physics. In particular, I argue that structure formation in early universe cosmology is, at least as we typically understand it, autonomous with regards to quantum gravity, the high energy physics that governs the Planck regime in our universe. Trans-Planckian censorship is then seen as a means of rendering this autonomy an empirical constraint within ongoing quantum gravity research.     

Mutations in MEGF10, a regulator of satellite cell myogenesis, cause early onset myopathy, areflexia, respiratory distress and dysphagia (EMARDD)

Infantile myopathies with diaphragmatic paralysis are genetically heterogeneous, and clinical symptoms do not assist in differentiating between them. We used phased haplotype analysis with subsequent targeted exome sequencing to identify MEGF10 mutations in a previously unidentified type of infantile myopathy with diaphragmatic weakness, areflexia, respiratory distress and dysphagia. MEGF10 is highly expressed in activated satellite cells and regulates their proliferation as well as their differentiation and fusion into multinucleated myofibers, which are greatly reduced in muscle from individuals with early onset myopathy, areflexia, respiratory distress and dysphagia.     

研制中的新一代仿生人

目前，欧美科学家在仿生学方面进行着广泛地研究，他们即将推出以塑料肌肉和硅芯片有机结合制作的仿生人，令人难以分辨真人与机器人。仿生装置除了替代残疾人体部位外，在防御和治疗疾患上正日益显现出难能可贵的应用潜力。在美国新墨西哥州立大学一所杂乱喧嚣的实验室内，一架人体骨骼复制品轻盈悠然地踩着一辆练习用自行车。这绝非别出心裁的人体技艺展示，人称博尼（Bony）先生的仿生人正在用电池驱动的人工肌肉蹬踏自行车。40年前，瑞典工程师阿尼·拉尔森（ArneLarsson）在首都斯德哥尔摩的卡罗琳斯克研究所研制出第一台完全植入式…     

Trading zones and interactional expertise

The phrase ‘trading zone’ is often used to denote any kind of interdisciplinary partnership in which two or more perspectives are combined and a new, shared language develops. In this paper we distinguish between different types of trading zone by asking whether the collaboration is co-operative or coerced and whether the end-state is a heterogeneous or homogeneous culture. In so doing, we find that the voluntary development of a new language community—what we call an inter-language trading zone—represents only one of four possible configurations. In developing this argument we show how different modes of collaboration result in different kinds of trading zone, how different kinds of trading zone may be ‘nested’ inside each other and discuss how a single collaboration might move between different kinds of trading zone over time. One implication of our analysis is that interactional expertise is a central component of at least one class of trading zone.     

A Bayesian threshold nonlinearity test for financial time series

We propose in this paper a threshold nonlinearity test for financial time series. Our approach adopts reversible‐jump Markov chain Monte Carlo methods to calculate the posterior probabilities of two competitive models, namely GARCH and threshold GARCH models. Posterior evidence favouring the threshold GARCH model indicates threshold nonlinearity or volatility asymmetry. Simulation experiments demonstrate that our method works very well in distinguishing GARCH and threshold GARCH models. Sensitivity analysis shows that our method is robust to misspecification in error distribution. In the application to 10 market indexes, clear evidence of threshold nonlinearity is discovered and thus supporting volatility asymmetry. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Problem Conceptualisation Using Idea Networks

The social act of conceptualising a situation as problematic is thought to determine what will later be seen as a satisfactory solution. Pierce argues that conceptualising something (or an event) is a process of thinking about it through a set of conceptual frames. This paper presents a method for emerging those conceptual frames from preliminary discussions with participants. It draws on the work of Christopher Alexander and the Small Worlds phenomenon. Alexander suggests that participants’ statements can be thought of as being networked. The Small Worlds phenomenon then suggests that this network will not be uniform but rather be made up of a number of clusters (small worlds). These can be used to identify the conceptual frames in the participants’ statements. Therefore, the argument of this paper is that this method can be used to conceptualise problems. Having an explicit method is thought preferable to calling for unspecified creativity. The creativity comes from the method taking Dewey’s advice to switch between analysis and synthesis. The paper’s argument will be supported by explaining how the method can be practiced, while explaining why (theorising) the steps advised might be creative.