Does Apriority Involve Necessity?

Much has been discussed concerning apriority and its relation to the concept of necessity. Many philosophers have conventionally supposed that a proposition is known a priori only if it is necessarily true. According to Kant, for instance, the first philosopher who systematically discussed apriority, “necessity” is one of the criteriaof a priori knowledge. Kant (1958) maintains that all a priori knowledge is necessarily true. Thus, from this conventional thought, many philosophers claim that apriority involves necessity, and rejecting the concept of necessity unavoidably affects the status of apriority. That is, if all a priori propositions need to be necessarily true, and we can prove that there is no necessarily true proposition, we are forced to conclude that there are no a priori propositions. However, this paper aims to propose that apriority does not involve necessity since all a priori propositions need not be necessarily true. The paper has been separated into three parts. Firstly, I will discussthe problem of necessity and its effect on the status of apriority. Secondly, I will argue that apriority does not involve necessity by considering the two following questions: (A) is there a necessary a posteriori proposition? And (B) is there a contingent a prioriproposition? Thirdly, I will scrutinize the possible objections and try to defend my argument which will involve some further considerations about a priori justification

The Epistemic Value of Open Science

Open science refers to all scientific culture that is described by its openness. It may often include features of open access, open data, and open source. Fecher and Friesike (2014) identify five open science schools of thought: the public school, which is about the accessibility of knowledge creation; the democratic school, which is about equality of access to knowledge; the pragmatic school, which is about collaborative research; the infrastructure school, which is about the technological architecture; and the measurement school, which is about alternative impact measurement. This article argues that there are only two open science schools, the public and democratic iterations, that can defend themselves against the serious epistemic objections to open science. In addition, if society supports an “open discussion” policy, societies will gain much more benefit from open science. These two schools, therefore, have more epistemic value than the other schools

Pros and cons of different therapeutic antibody formats for recombinant antivenom development.

Antibody technologies are being increasingly applied in the field of toxinology. Fuelled by the many advances in immunology, synthetic biology, and antibody research, different approaches and antibody formats are being investigated for the ability to neutralize animal toxins. These different molecular formats each have their own therapeutic characteristics. In this review, we provide an overview of the advances made in the development of toxin-targeting antibodies, and discuss the benefits and drawbacks of different antibody formats in relation to their ability to neutralize toxins, pharmacokinetic features, propensity to cause adverse reactions, formulation, and expression for research and development (R&D) purposes and large-scale manufacturing. A research trend seems to be emerging towards the use of human antibody formats as well as camelid heavy-domain antibody fragments due to their compatibility with the human immune system, beneficial therapeutic properties, and the ability to manufacture these molecules cost-effectively

‘Anti-essentialism and digital humanities: a defense of the field against epistemological challenges’

This article defends Digital Humanities (DH) against important epistemological challenges questioning its place within the humanities. It emphasizes that while DH incorporates digital technologies, notably AI technologies, it remains fundamentally aligned with the humanities through its focus on understanding and appreciating the creation of human-made things such as literature, philosophy, and culture. Addressing epistemic critiques of DH’s knowledge characteristics, its supportive roles in research, and the efficacy of its tools, the article advocates an anti-essentialist viewpoint. This approach proposes that DH’s diverse methodologies enrich rather than dilute the humanities. By applying the idea of anti-essentialism, especially Wittgenstein’s notion of family resemblance, to understanding the concept of humanities, the article argues for a broader, more inclusive understanding of the humanities, underscoring DH’s legitimate role in this evolving field

Humanized-Single Domain Antibodies (VH/V<sub>H</sub>H) that Bound Specifically to<em> Naja kaouthia</em> Phospholipase A2 and Neutralized the Enzymatic Activity

<em>Naja kaouthia</em> (monocled cobra) venom contains many isoforms of secreted phospholipase A2 (sPLA<sub>2</sub>). The PLA<sub>2</sub> exerts several pharmacologic and toxic effects in the snake bitten subject, dependent or independent on the enzymatic activity. <em>N. kaouthia</em> venom appeared in two protein profiles, P3 and P5, after fractionating the venom by ion exchange column chromatography. In this study, phage clones displaying humanized-camel single domain antibodies (VH/V<sub>H</sub>H) that bound specifically to the P3 and P5 were selected from a humanized-camel VH/V<sub>H</sub>H phage display library. Two phagemid transfected <em>E. coli</em> clones (P3-1 and P3-3) produced humanized-V<sub>H</sub>H, while another clone (P3-7) produced humanized-VH. At the optimal venom:antibody ratio, the VH/V<sub>H</sub>H purified from the <em>E. coli</em> homogenates neutralized PLA<sub>2</sub> enzyme activity comparable to the horse immune serum against the <em>N. kaouthia</em> holo-venom. Homology modeling and molecular docking revealed that the VH/V<sub>H</sub>H covered the areas around the PLA<sub>2</sub> catalytic groove and inserted their Complementarity Determining Regions (CDRs) into the enzymatic cleft. It is envisaged that the VH/V<sub>H</sub>H would ameliorate/abrogate the principal toxicity of the venom PLA<sub>2</sub> (membrane phospholipid catabolism leading to cellular and subcellular membrane damage which consequently causes hemolysis, hemorrhage, and dermo-/myo-necrosis), if they were used for passive immunotherapy of the cobra bitten victim. The speculation needs further investigations

Humanized-Single Domain Antibodies (VH/VHH) that Bound Specifically to Naja kaouthia Phospholipase A2 and Neutralized the Enzymatic Activity

Naja kaouthia (monocled cobra) venom contains many isoforms of secreted phospholipase A2 (sPLA(2)). The PLA(2) exerts several pharmacologic and toxic effects in the snake bitten subject, dependent or independent on the enzymatic activity. N. kaouthia venom appeared in two protein profiles, P3 and P5, after fractionating the venom by ion exchange column chromatography. In this study, phage clones displaying humanized-camel single domain antibodies (VH/V(H)H) that bound specifically to the P3 and P5 were selected from a humanized-camel VH/V(H)H phage display library. Two phagemid transfected E. coli clones (P3-1 and P3-3) produced humanized-V(H)H, while another clone (P3-7) produced humanized-VH. At the optimal venom:antibody ratio, the VH/V(H)H purified from the E. coli homogenates neutralized PLA(2) enzyme activity comparable to the horse immune serum against the N. kaouthia holo-venom. Homology modeling and molecular docking revealed that the VH/V(H)H covered the areas around the PLA(2) catalytic groove and inserted their Complementarity Determining Regions (CDRs) into the enzymatic cleft. It is envisaged that the VH/V(H)H would ameliorate/abrogate the principal toxicity of the venom PLA(2) (membrane phospholipid catabolism leading to cellular and subcellular membrane damage which consequently causes hemolysis, hemorrhage, and dermo-/myo-necrosis), if they were used for passive immunotherapy of the cobra bitten victim. The speculation needs further investigations