How uncertainty can save measurement from circularity and holism

Measurement results depend upon assumptions, and some of those assumptions are theoretical in character. This paper examines particle physics measurements in which a measurement result depends upon a type of assumption for which that very same result may be evidentially relevant, thus raising a worry about potential circularity in argumentation. We demonstrate how the practice of evaluating measurement uncertainty serves to render any such evidential circularity epistemically benign. Our analysis shows how the evaluation and deployment of uncertainty evaluation constitutes an in practice solution to a particular form of Duhemian underdetermination that improves upon Duhem's vague notion of “good sense,” avoids holism, and reconciles theory dependence of measurement with piecemeal hypothesis testing.     

药物发现的先驱者格特鲁德B·埃利昂(1918～1999)

G·B·埃利昂（CertrudeBelleElion）是本世纪获得诺贝尔生理学与医学奖仅有6位女性中的一位。尽管这位合理药物设计的先驱完全应该为自己所取得的成就感到骄傲，但她一点不关心这类华丽词藻和周围气氛。她真正关心的是她认为会对疾病本身产生最有效治疗的最好技术。从她1983年退休到1999年2月21日81岁时突然去世为止，实际上她从未停止过工作，有不少人已认识到，她只是表面上退休而已。G·B·埃利昂1918年出生于纽约，她的父母来自立陶宛和俄罗斯。在10岁时她的祖父和母亲死于癌症，这是她记忆中印象最深刻的事件。1937年她从亨特女子…     

Genome-wide association and linkage identify modifier loci of lung disease severity in cystic fibrosis at 11p13 and 20q13.2

A combined genome-wide association and linkage study was used to identify loci causing variation in cystic fibrosis lung disease severity. We identified a significant association (P = 3.34 × 10(-8)) near EHF and APIP (chr11p13) in p.Phe508del homozygotes (n = 1,978). The association replicated in p.Phe508del homozygotes (P = 0.006) from a separate family based study (n = 557), with P = 1.49 × 10(-9) for the three-study joint meta-analysis. Linkage analysis of 486 sibling pairs from the family based study identified a significant quantitative trait locus on chromosome 20q13.2 (log(10) odds = 5.03). Our findings provide insight into the causes of variation in lung disease severity in cystic fibrosis and suggest new therapeutic targets for this life-limiting disorder.     

What everybody should know about the rat genome and its online resources

It has been four years since the original publication of the draft sequence of the rat genome. Five groups are now working together to assemble, annotate and release an updated version of the rat genome. As the prevailing model for physiology, complex disease and pharmacological studies, there is an acute need for the rat's genomic resources to keep pace with the rat's prominence in the laboratory. In this commentary, we describe the current status of the rat genome sequence and the plans for its impending 'upgrade'. We then cover the key online resources providing access to the rat genome, including the new SNP views at Ensembl, the RefSeq and Genes databases at the US National Center for Biotechnology Information, Genome Browser at the University of California Santa Cruz and the disease portals for cardiovascular disease and obesity at the Rat Genome Database.     

Accelerated carbonation and leaching behavior of the slag from iron and steel making industry

Ground granulated blast furnace slag(GGBFS)and steelmaking slag have been used as a raw material for cement production or as an aggregate to make concrete,which contribute aluminum,calcium,iron,and silicon oxides.The suitability of the slag for a particular application depends on its reactivity,cost,availability,and its influence on the properties of the resulting concrete.For the interest of durability studying of concrete in the presence of slag,the accelerated carbonation products and leaching behavior of the slag and Portland cement(PC)were studied.The experimental results confirmed that the slag was more resistant to carbonation compared to PC.The carbonation degree of GGBFS reduced by 17.74%;and the carbonation degrees of steelmaking slags reduced by 9.51%-11.94%.Carbonation neutralized the alkaline nature of the hydrated pastes and gave rise to the redox potential of the leachate slightly(30-77 mV).The carbonation also increased the release of most of the elements presented,except for calcium,to the aqueous environment.It is concluded that blend cements(PC plus slag)have economical advantages and better durability compared to PC.     

A gravitationally lensed quasar with quadruple images separated by 14.62 arcseconds

Gravitational lensing is a powerful tool for the study of the distribution of dark matter in the Universe. The cold-dark-matter model of the formation of large-scale structures (that is, clusters of galaxies and even larger assemblies) predicts the existence of quasars gravitationally lensed by concentrations of dark matter so massive that the quasar images would be split by over 7 arcsec. Numerous searches for large-separation lensed quasars have, however, been unsuccessful. All of the roughly 70 lensed quasars known, including the first lensed quasar discovered, have smaller separations that can be explained in terms of galaxy-scale concentrations of baryonic matter. Although gravitationally lensed galaxies with large separations are known, quasars are more useful cosmological probes because of the simplicity of the resulting lens systems. Here we report the discovery of a lensed quasar, SDSS J1004 + 4112, which has a maximum separation between the components of 14.62 arcsec. Such a large separation means that the lensing object must be dominated by dark matter. Our results are fully consistent with theoretical expectations based on the cold-dark-matter model.     

The knockout mouse project

Mouse knockout technology provides a powerful means of elucidating gene function in vivo, and a publicly available genome-wide collection of mouse knockouts would be significantly enabling for biomedical discovery. To date, published knockouts exist for only about 10% of mouse genes. Furthermore, many of these are limited in utility because they have not been made or phenotyped in standardized ways, and many are not freely available to researchers. It is time to harness new technologies and efficiencies of production to mount a high-throughput international effort to produce and phenotype knockouts for all mouse genes, and place these resources into the public domain.