Cometary Panspermia — Overcoming Cultural Constraints

2021 ◽  
Vol 03 (02) ◽  
pp. 2130001
Author(s):  
N. Chandra Wickramasinghe
Keyword(s):  
Compelling Evidence ◽  
Vast Number ◽  
Scientific Disciplines ◽  
Cometary Panspermia ◽  
Science Educators ◽  
Cultural Constraints

The importance of distinguishing between hypotheses that are verified by a vast number of predictions and have not been falsified, and conjectures without any compelling evidence is of paramount importance for science educators to keep in mind. This article describes the trajectory of one such hypothesis. The concept of cometary panspermia has been developed over a period of four decades and evidence for it has straddled many scientific disciplines from astronomy, to geology, biology and epidemiology. With an ever-increasing number of predictions of this theory being verified, the question as to why it has not entered mainstream thinking is an intriguing one. I suggest that this resistance is connected with sociological considerations, including a deep cultural hostility to theories that appear to have a foreign or “alien” provenance.

scholarly journals Mercator: An R Package for Visualization of Distance Matrices

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary B. Abrams ◽  
Caitlin E. Coombes ◽  
Suli Li ◽  
Kevin R. Coombes
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
R Package ◽  
Supplementary Information ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Data Types ◽  
Vast Number ◽  
Large Scale Data ◽  
Scientific Disciplines ◽  
Compare And Contrast ◽  
Scale Data

AbstractSummaryUnsupervised data analysis in many scientific disciplines is based on calculating distances between observations and finding ways to visualize those distances. These kinds of unsupervised analyses help researchers uncover patterns in large-scale data sets. However, researchers can select from a vast number of different distance metrics, each designed to highlight different aspects of different data types. There are also numerous visualization methods with their own strengths and weaknesses. To help researchers perform unsupervised analyses, we developed the Mercator R package. Mercator enables users to see important patterns in their data by generating multiple visualizations using different standard algorithms, making it particularly easy to compare and contrast the results arising from different metrics. By allowing users to select the distance metric that best fits their needs, Mercator helps researchers perform unsupervised analyses that use pattern identification through computation and visual inspection.Availability and ImplementationMercator is freely available at the Comprehensive R Archive Network (https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/Mercator/index.html)[email protected] informationSupplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

scholarly journals Creating prehistory: Archeology museums and the discource of modernism

1970 ◽  
pp. 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bjørnar Olsen ◽  
Asgeir Svestad
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Vast Number ◽  
Archaeological Collections ◽  
Scientific Disciplines ◽  
The 19Th Century

In the 19th century a number of new scientific disciplines made their appearance in Europe. Among these was archaeology, a discipline concerned with mans very distant past. Archaeology unfolded in a space created by the collapse of the pre-modern, biblical conception of history. This breakdown had left a void which archaeology, along with several other evolutionary disciplines, were able successfully to fill. By the end of the 19th century a vast number of archaeological collections, exhibitions and museums had grown up throughout Europe and stood as material signifiers of the newly established time-depth of man. 

Complex Systems Modeling by Cellular Automata

2011 ◽  
pp. 353-360
Author(s):  
Jirí Kroc ◽  
Peter M.A. Sloot
Keyword(s):  
Neural Networks ◽  
Cellular Automata ◽  
Complex Systems ◽  
Systems Modeling ◽  
Natural Phenomena ◽  
Vast Number ◽  
Time Space ◽  
Scientific Disciplines ◽  
Discrete Modelling ◽  
Complex Phenomena

In recent years, the notion of complex systems proved to be a very useful concept to define, describe, and study various natural phenomena observed in a vast number of scientific disciplines. Examples of scientific disciplines that highly benefit from this concept range from physics, mathematics, and computer science through biology and medicine as well as economy, to social sciences and psychology. Various techniques were developed to describe natural phenomena observed in these complex systems. Among these are artificial life, evolutionary computation, swarm intelligence, neural networks, parallel computing, cellular automata, and many others. In this text, we focus our attention to one of them, i.e. ‘cellular automata’. We present a truly discrete modelling universe, discrete in time, space, and state: Cellular Automata (CAs) (Sloot & Hoekstra, 2007, Kroc, 2007, Sloot, Chopard & Hoekstra, 2004). It is good to emphasize the importance of CAs in solving certain classes of problems, which are not tractable by other techniques. CAs, despite theirs simplicity, are able to describe and reproduce many complex phenomena that are closely related to processes such as self-organization and emergence, which are often observed within the above mentioned scientific disciplines.

Tadeusz Tomaszewski and His Theory of Action

1996 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Materska
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Action ◽  
Scientific Disciplines ◽  
History Of

Tadeusz Tomaszewski, born in 1910, graduate of the Jan Kazimierz University, Lvov, doctor honoris causa of Marja Sklodowska-Curie University, Lublin, is an exceptional figure in the history of Polish psychology. His scientific accomplishments and organizational talents, multipled by the achievements of his students, had a decisive impact on the shape and prestige of Polish psychology among other scientific disciplines and determined the rank of Polish psychology in the international arena.

Preinfarction Angina and Improved Reperfusion of the Infarct-related Artery

1999 ◽  
Vol 82 (S 01) ◽  
pp. 68-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Sciahbasi ◽  
Eugenia De Marco ◽  
Attilio Maseri ◽  
Felicita Andreotti
Keyword(s):  
Myocardial Infarction ◽  
Acute Myocardial Infarction ◽  
Infarct Size ◽  
Ischemic Preconditioning ◽  
Early Reperfusion ◽  
Vast Number ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Infarct Related Artery ◽  
Cardioprotective Effects ◽  
Collateral Vessels

SummaryPreinfarction angina and early reperfusion of the infarct-related artery are major determinants of reduced infarct-size in patients with acute myocardial infarction. The beneficial effects of preinfarction angina on infarct size have been attributed to the development of collateral vessels and/or to post-ischemic myocardial protection. However, recently, a relation has been found between prodromal angina, faster coronary recanalization, and smaller infarcts in patients treated with rt-PA: those with preinfarction angina showed earlier reperfusion (p = 0.006) and a 50% reduction of CKMB-estimated infarct-size (p = 0.009) compared to patients without preinfarction angina. This intriguing observation is consistent with a subsequent observation of higher coronary recanalization rates following thrombolysis in patients with prodromal preinfarction angina compared to patients without antecedent angina. Recent findings in dogs show an enhanced spontaneous lysis of plateletrich coronary thrombi with ischemic preconditioning, which is prevented by adenosine blockade, suggesting an antithrom-botic effect of ischemic metabolites. Understanding the mechanisms responsible for earlier and enhanced coronary recanalization in patients with preinfarction angina may open the way to new reperfusion strategies.A vast number of studies, globally involving ≈17,000 patients with acute myocardial infarction, have unequivocally shown that an infarction preceded by angina evolves into a smaller area of necrosis compared to an infarct not preceded by angina (Table 1) (1). So far, preinfarction angina has been thought to have cardioprotective effects mainly through two mechanisms: collateral perfusion of the infarctzone (2-4), and ischemic preconditioning of the myocardium (5-7). Here we discuss a further mechanism of protection represented by improved reperfusion of the infarct-related artery.

Stock Market Prediction using Data Mining Techniques

2020 ◽  
pp. 310-313
Author(s):  
Karunesh Makker ◽  
Prince Patel ◽  
Hrishikesh Roy ◽  
Sonali Borse
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Stock Market ◽  
Prediction Model ◽  
Efficient Market Hypothesis ◽  
Deterministic System ◽  
Vast Number ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Robust Prediction

Stock market is a very volatile in-deterministic system with vast number of factors influencing the direction of trend on varying scales and multiple layers. Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) states that the market is unbeatable. This makes predicting the uptrend or downtrend a very challenging task. This research aims to combine multiple existing techniques into a much more robust prediction model which can handle various scenarios in which investment can be beneficial. Existing techniques like sentiment analysis or neural network techniques can be too narrow in their approach and can lead to erroneous outcomes for varying scenarios. By combing both techniques, this prediction model can provide more accurate and flexible recommendations. Embedding Technical indicators will guide the investor to minimize the risk and reap better returns.

Design Capability for Science-based Innovation

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
ROTHKÖTTER Stefanie ◽  
Craig C. GARNER ◽  
Sándor VAJNA
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Scientific Discovery ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Research Interest ◽  
Design Practice ◽  
Design Technology ◽  
Innovation Potential ◽  
Design Integration ◽  
Cultural Constraints

In light of a growing research interest in the innovation potential that lies at the inter­section of design, technology, and science, this paper offers a literature review of design initiatives centered on scientific discovery and invention. The focus of this paper is on evidence of design capabilities in the academic research environment. The results are structured along the Four Orders of Design, with examples of design-in-science initiatives ranging from (1) the design of scientific figures and (2) laboratory devices using new technology to (3) interactions in design workshops for scientists and (4) inter­disciplinary design labs. While design capabilities have appeared in all four orders of design, there are barriers and cultural constraints that have to be taken into account for working at or researching these creative intersections. Modes of design integration and potentially necessary adaptations of design practice are therefore also highlighted.

THE ISSUE OF CONTEXT AND SOCIOLOGICAL POETICS OF THE "BAKHTIN'S CIRCLE"

2020 ◽  
pp. 10-18
Author(s):  
Grigorii I. Nesmeyanov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Intellectual History ◽  
Literary Theory ◽  
Philosophical Hermeneutics ◽  
Research Fields ◽  
Interdisciplinary Field ◽  
Scientific Disciplines ◽  
Methodological Approaches ◽  
A Current

The article formulates main questions related to the concept of context. The issue of context is considered as a current-day interdisciplinary field of research. There are many definitions of context in dictionaries and in various humanities (including scientific disciplines). In connection with that issue various methodological approaches arise in the humanities, which can be designated by the umbrella term “contextual”. By the example of one of such approaches to the sociological poetics of the “Bakhtin’s circle”, the author substantiates the possibility of creating an interdisciplinary classification of contextual approaches. That classification may include scientific developments of different years and research fields, including: philosophical hermeneutics, a number of approaches to the Russian and foreign literary theory (M.M. Bakhtin, Yu.M. Lotman, B.M. Eichenbaum, F. Moretti, A. Compagnon, etc.), intellectual history, discourse analysis, etc.

Organizing a public aquarium: objectives, design, operation and missions. A review

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 369-384
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycles ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Responsible Behavior ◽  
Scientific Disciplines ◽  
Public Aquarium ◽  
Physiology And Biochemistry ◽  
Taxonomic Concept ◽  
Conservation Projects ◽  
Surrounding Areas ◽  
Community Concept

Many Public Aquaria have been designed and constructed all over the world during the last three decades. The serial arrangement of relatively small, rectangular, concrete tanks has been replaced by fewer large, irregularly shaped tanks, replicating habitats. The “taxonomic concept” of displaying specimens in the old aquaria has now been succeeded by the more ecological, “community concept” type of display. At the same time most of the “old aquaria” have been renovated. Aquarium missions have also been broadened nowadays including research, conservation and education. Aquaria are ideal places for research on husbandry, life cycles, reproduction, behavior, autoecology and fish pathology. Collaboration with Universities and Research Centers increases the research potential in scientific disciplines such as ecology, genetics, physiology and biochemistry. Collaboration also provides mutual benefits in both infrastructure and personnel: The research background in aquaria also forms a sound platform to materialize conservation projects, focusing either on the ex-situ conservation of animals in the aquaria or on environmental protection of surrounding areas and reintroduction of endangered species. In addition to formal educational opportunities, non formal education to visitors, schools and undergraduates seems to become a major mission of aquaria. Aquarium tank displays, preserved biological material, film projections, seminars / lectures and book magazine publications enhance environmental awareness, encouraging people to adopt Environmentally Responsible Behavior. All these missions are feasible because most public aquaria are making a good profit mainly due to their high popularity. There are also benefits for the community in the area; aquaria have enlivened declining water front areas and increased the income of tourist resorts mainly by “stretching out” the tourist season. In the present work the objectives of a public aquarium are reviewed and the main infrastructure subsystems and operational procedures are described; Know how on aquarium systems can also be applied in research laboratories of academic institutions if live organisms have to be kept for experimentation. Aquarium missions on research, conservation and education are discussed.

Challenging the Link Between Early Childhood Television Exposure and Later Attention Problems: A Multiverse Approach

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew McBee ◽  
Rebecca Brand ◽  
Wallace E. Dixon
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Propensity Score Analysis ◽  
Harmful Effect ◽  
Attention Problems ◽  
Popular Media ◽  
Compelling Evidence ◽  
Score Analysis ◽  
Television Exposure ◽  
Influential Paper

In 2004, Christakis and colleagues published an influential paper claiming that early childhood television exposure causes later attention problems (Christakis, Zimmerman, DiGiuseppe, & McCarty, 2004), which continues to be frequently promoted by the popular media. Using the same NLSY-79 dataset (n = 2,108), we conducted two multiverse analyses to examine whether the finding reported by Christakis et al. was robust to different analytic choices. We evaluated 848 models, including logistic regression as per the original paper, plus linear regression and two forms of propensity score analysis. Only 166 models (19.6%) yielded a statistically significant relationship between early TV exposure and later attention problems, with most of these employing problematic analytic choices. We conclude that these data do not provide compelling evidence of a harmful effect of TV on attention. All material necessary to reproduce our analysis is available online via Github (https://github.com/mcbeem/TVAttention) and as a Docker container (https://hub.docker.com/repository/docker/mmcbee/rstudio_tvattention)

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document