Maxwell's Demon and the Thermodynamics of Computation

It is generally accepted, following Landauer and Bennett, that the process of measurement involves no minimum entropy cost, but the erasure of information in resetting the memory register of a computer to zero requires dissipating heat into the environment. This thesis has been challenged recently in a two-part article by Earman and Norton. I review some relevant observations in the thermodynamics of computation and argue that Earman and Norton are mistaken: there is in principle no entropy cost to the acquisition of information, but the destruction of information does involve an irreducible entropy cost.     

Ordinary language philosophy,explanation, and the historical turn in philosophy of science

Taking a cue from remarks Thomas Kuhn makes in 1990 about the historical turn in philosophy of science, I examine the history of history and philosophy of science within parts of the British philosophical context in the 1950s and early 1960s. During this time, ordinary language philosophy's influence was at its peak. I argue that the ordinary language philosophers' methodological recommendation to analyze actual linguistic practice influences several prominent criticisms of the deductive-nomological model of scientific explanation and that these criticisms relate to the historical turn in philosophy of science. To show these connections, I primarily examine the work of Stephen Toulmin, who taught at Oxford from 1949 to 1954, and Michael Scriven, who completed a dissertation on explanation under Gilbert Ryle and R.B. Braithwaite in 1956. I also consider Mary Hesse's appeal to an ordinary language-influenced account of meaning in her account of the role of models and analogies in scientific reasoning, and W.H. Watson's Wittgensteinian philosophy of science, an early influence on Toulmin. I think there are two upshots to my historical sketch. First, it fills out details of the move away from logical positivism to more historical- and practice-focused philosophies of science. Second, questions about linguistic meaning and the proper targets and aims of philosophical analysis are part and parcel of the historical turn, as well as its reception. Looking at the philosophical background during which so-called linguistic philosophers also had a hand in bringing these questions to prominence helps us understand why.     

基于MATLAB的液压支架四连杆机构的设计计算

液压支架四连杆机构的几何特征直接影响支架的工作性能和承受的附加力,是掩护式支架和支撑掩护式支架的最重要部件之一。在对四连杆机构进行简化、建模的基础上,采用MATLAB软件分析四连杆机构的几何尺寸对支架受力的影响。进而优化各几何尺寸,使支架受力合理、工作可靠。对液压支架的研制和改进提供了参考。     

The effect of the phytoalexins,lubimin, (−)-maackiain,pinosylvin, and the related compounds dehydroloroglossol and hordatine M on human lymphoblastoid cell lines

Summary We have tested the effect of the phytoalexins lubimin, (–)-maackiain and pinosylvin and the related compounds dehydroloroglossol and hordatine M on the growth of the human lymphoblastoid cell lines Molt and Raji. (–)-maackiain, pinosylvin and dehydroloroglossol showed significant growth inhibitory action on the cells. Suppression of [³H] thymidine and [³H] leucine uptake was tested and noted in pinosylvin and dehydroloroglossol. The phytoalexins and related compounds are widespread in plants and provide a potential source of antineoplastic substances.We would like to acknowledge the assistance of J. Hux in preparing the phytoalexins and related compounds. This work was supported by a grant from National Health and Welfare Canada. Correspondence to Dr. L. Skinnider, Department of Pathology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada S7M OWO.     

Influence of hydrochlorothiazide on the pain threshold and on the antinociceptive activity of morphine,in rats

Summary Hydrochlorothiazide, acutely injected in rats, has a weak analgesic activity per se and potentiates and prolongs the antinociceptive effect of morphine.This work was supported in part by grants from Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, and by Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione, Roma.     

Effects of the light-dark cycle and scheduled feeding on behavioral and reproductive rhythms of the cyprinodont fish,Medaka,Oryzias latipes

Summary Medaka were maintained on a 168 light-dark cycle and fed once daily on one of 5 different feeding schedules. The daily rhythm of agonistic behavior rapidly entrained to the scheduled feeding time and maintained this entrainment during a 3-day starvation period. In contrast the daily rhythms of egg laying and courtship stayed entrained to the L:D cycle regardless of the feeding schedule. Thus, temporal integration of this fish with its daily environment can involve multistimuli which concurrently and differentially entrain externally expressed circadian systems.We thank Mark Goodrich and Steve Huber for fish maintenance and technical assistance; and Don Dovala for aid in developing the automatic feeder. The research was funded in part by NIH, AM 25191 and NIEHS, ES No. 01985.     

Effect of latent iron deficiency on the levels of iron,calcium, zinc,copper, manganese,cadmium and lead in liver,kidney and spleen of growing rats

Summary Feeding a marginally low iron content diet (18–20 mg iron/kg diet) to weaned (21-day-old) rats for 8 weeks produced a significant decrease in liver non-heme iron (66%, p<0.001) but no change in blood hemoglobin. Total iron contents of liver (56%, p<0.01), spleen (20%, p<0.05), and kidney (19%, p<0.05) were also found to decrease along with increased zinc, copper, calcium, manganese lead and cadmium in various organs. The magnitude of alteration of a metal was different in different organs. However, liver was found to be the most affected organ. Two weeks of rehabilitation with iron-sufficient diet (390 mg iron/kg diet) normalized these altered levels.     

含异嗯唑环的药物先导化合物的设计、合成与活性研究

本文综述了将取代异嗯唑作为药效活性基团,引入到四类不同母体分子中,所合成的新型化合物分别具有抗菌、消炎等生物活性,成为有价值的药物先导化合物的研究进展。     

Transfer and isolation effects on the feeding behaviour of the angelfish,Pterophyllum scalare

The feeding behaviour of juvenile angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare) has been used as an indicator of their recovery following handling and transfer to a new environment, both with and without conspecifics. Isolated specimens fed less readily than group-housed fish, or those transferred to the test aquaria in groups of three or five, and continued to do so for at least ten days following isolation. Feeding rank-order frequently changed following isolation, suggesting that better foragers may not take the greatest risks in isolation.     

高校产学研一体化发展的实践与前瞻

本文探讨我国高校产学研一体化发展的必要性、可行性及其前景。从人类社会发展的历史特点入手，并借鉴了美国硅谷发展的经验和我国改革开放推进社会主义市场发展的需求，对高校产学研一体化发展的道路作了论述。针对目前高校产学研一体化中存在的问题，作者提出了加速高校产学研一体化发展的四条建议：1，高校产学研一体化发展必须转变观念，积极参与社会大循环；2，推进高校产学研一体化要有过硬的产品和准确的市场定位；3，高校产学研一体化发展要依托高科技园区，切实解决经费投入问题；4，高校产学研一体化发展要突出以人为本的思想，努力造就发明家和企业家。     

Steroid hormones and the cardiovascular system: Direct actions of estradiol,progesterone, testosterone,gluco- and mineralcorticoids,and soltriol [vitamin D] on central nervous regulatory and peripheral tissues

Summary Knowledge of steroid hormone sites of action and related effects in cardiovascular and neural regulatory tissues is reviewed. Evidence for nuclear receptor sites is derived mainly from autoradiographic studies with relatively intact tissues and some biochemical studies with tissue homogenates.In the heart and in the walls of blood vessels, estradiol, dihydrotestosterone, corticosterone, aldosterone, dexamethasone, and soltriol (vitamin D) show nuclear binding. In the brain and spinal cord, neuronal regions associated with cardiovascular regulation contain nuclear receptors in specific patterns for each steroid hormones, including progesterone and soltriol. These data indicate that all steroid hormones exert direct actions on the cardiovascular system at its different levels of organization, thus enabling adjustment to the changing demands during reproduction (gonadal steroids), stress (adrenal steroids), and solar seasons (vitamin D-soltriol).     

Observations on the toxicity and metabolic relationships of polygodial,the chemical defense of the nudibranchDendrodoris limbata

Summary Polygodial (1), the defense metabolite stored in the skin of the nudibranchDendrodoris limbata, is toxic for the mollusc itself when injected into the hepatopancreas. Biosynthetic experiments using labeled mevalonic acid were devised to investigate a possible metabolic relationship between1 and the mixture of sesquiterpenoidic esters2, stored in the hepatopancreas. The results suggest that1 and2 are biosynthesized by independent pathways.Thanks are due to G. Villani for supplyingDendrodoris limbata and to A. Trabucco for technical assistance.     

Effects of photoperiod,temperature and testosterone-treatment on plasma T3 and T4 levels in the Djungarian hamster,Phodopus sungorus

Summary The effects of photoperiod, temperature and testosterone treatment on plasma T₃ and T₄ levels were investigated in the Djungarian hamster. Plasma T₃ level was affected by temperature (25°C<7°C) but not by photoperiod. Plasma T₄ level was affected by photoperiod (short day < long day) at 25°C. Administration of testosterone increased plasma T₄ level under short photoperiod at 25°C. Thus, higher plasma T₄ level under long photoperiod at 25°C might be induced by testosterone.     

Moses Maimonides and Judah Halevi on order and law in the world of nature,and beyond

The concept of order, expressed by a number of forms of the Arabic root n.z.m., was of paramount importance in the natural philosophy of medieval Jewish thinkers, far more important than the related concept of law. Moses Maimonides walked a very tight rope between the order that is present in the cosmos, and which testifies to its intelligent Creator, and some minor streaks of apparent disorder, which indicate that the universe is not an eternally self-maintaining entity ruled only by necessity. Judah Halevi was mostly concerned with hierarchical levels of increasing order: a basic orderliness, which describes the cosmos, and a higher level of order, which applies to the Jewish people.     

Genetics on the neurodiversity spectrum: Genetic,phenotypic and endophenotypic continua in autism and ADHD

How we ought to diagnose, categorise and respond to spectrum disabilities such as autism and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a topic of lively debate. The heterogeneity associated with ADHD and autism is described as falling on various continua of behavioural, neural, and genetic difference. These continua are varyingly described either as extending into the general population, or as being continua within a given disorder demarcation. Moreover, the interrelationships of these continua are likewise often vague and subject to diverse interpretations.In this paper, I explore geneticists' and self-advocates’ perspectives concerning autism and ADHD as continua. These diagnoses are overwhelmingly analysed as falling on a continuum or continua of underlying traits, which supports the notion of “the neurodiversity spectrum”, i.e., a broader swath of human neural and behavioural diversity on which some concentrations of different functioning are diagnosed. I offer a taxonomy of conceptions of the genetic, phenotypic, and endophenotypic dimensionality within and beyond these diagnostic categories, and suggest that the spectrum of neurodiversity is characteristically endophenotypic.     

Science,sensitivity and the sociozoological scale: Constituting and complicating the human-animal boundary at the 1875 Royal Commission on Vivisection and beyond

Arnold Arluke and Clinton Sanders (1996) have argued that human societies index both humans and animals as belonging to particular rungs of the social hierarchy. They term this multispecies ranking the “sociozoological scale”. This paper will investigate how claims at the 1875 Royal Commission on Vivisection about the sensitivity of particular species and breeds not only reflected assumptions about human social hierarchy but also blurred the boundaries between the human and the animal in the process. It will further be shown how these claims were informed by 18th and 19th century humanitarianism, classism, scientific racism and evolutionary theory, and how these influences combined in claims-making about the relative capacity of particular animals to sense pain and ethical duties towards them that followed from this sensitivity. Particular attention will be given to the opposing efforts of commissioners Thomas Henry Huxley and Richard Holt Hutton to demarcate human and animal sensitivity and exempt companion animals from vivisection respectively. The paper concludes by considering the sociozoological orders constituted by the 1876 Cruelty to Animals Act, particularly through its focus on calculating pain, and the legacy and limitations of this constitution.