"Phenomenal Conservatism" - Ch 2 of Seemings and Epistemic Justification

In this chapter I introduce and analyse the tenets of phenomenal conservatism, and discuss the problem of the nature of appearances. After that, I review the asserted epistemic merits phenomenal conservatism and the principal arguments adduced in support of it. Finally, I survey objections to phenomenal conservatism and responses by its advocates. Some of these objections will be scrutinised and appraised in the next chapters

Barriers to Clinical Cosmetic and Laser Dermatology Research in the Academic Setting by Source of Funding: A Systematic Review

Clinical research is a cornerstone of academic dermatology, including research in cosmetic and laser procedures. However, numerous barriers exist to conducting clinical research in an academic setting as compared to private practice. The objective of this study was to describe the barriers to clinical research in cosmetic and laser dermatology in the academic setting under three common funding scenarios: (1) industry sponsored, (2) unfunded, investigator-initiated, and (3) publicly funded, investigator-initiated. A systematic review of the literature was conducted to identify 17 publications regarding funding of clinical dermatology research. Inductive content analysis was used to extract, categorize, and understand the barriers related to clinical dermatology research, specifically in cosmetic dermatology, based on the type of funding. An expert panel of 11 board-certified dermatologists who practice and conduct research in cosmetic and laser dermatology at academic institutions reviewed these barriers, interpreted each barrier\u27s implications for academic cosmetic and laser dermatology research, and proposed possible approaches to overcoming each. Nine barriers were identified for each funding scenario, and a total of 60 approaches for mitigating these were suggested. Most barriers to industry sponsored research were related either to institutional hurdles or industry preferences. The most cited barrier to unfunded, investigator-initiated research was limited protected academic time. The most frequently cited barriers to publicly funded, investigator-initiated research were grant availability and disproportionate awarding of grants based on investigator demographics. Proposed approaches for overcoming barriers included recruiting the help of trainees, streamlining administrative paperwork, fostering collaboration between industry and academic centers, providing financial incentives, seeking out mentorship from other faculty, and collaborating with other investigators, departments, and institutions

Self Supervised Artificial Intelligence Predicts Poor Outcome From Primary Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma at Diagnosis

Primary cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is responsible for ~10,000 deaths annually in the United States. Stratification of risk of poor outcome at initial biopsy would significantly impact clinical decision-making during the initial post operative period where intervention has been shown to be most effective. Using whole-slide images (WSI) from 163 patients from 3 institutions, we developed a self supervised deep-learning model to predict poor outcomes in cSCC patients from histopathological features at initial diagnosis, and validated it using WSI from 563 patients, collected from two other academic institutions. For disease-free survival prediction, the model attained a concordance index of 0.73 in the development cohort and 0.84 in the Mayo cohort. The model\u27s interpretability revealed that features like poor differentiation and deep invasion were strongly associated with poor prognosis. Furthermore, the model is effective in stratifying risk among BWH T2a and AJCC T2, known for outcome heterogeneity

The Impact of Public Budgets on Overall Productivity Growth

To fulfil their tasks, governments rely on public expenditures and taxes. Both influence the incentives and shape the decisions and actions of private economic agents. As governments resort to both instruments simultaneously, their combined theoretical impact on economic performance is a priori indeterminate. Clarification can only come from empirical evaluations. This paper reviews the recent literature trying to quantify the impact of fiscal policies on productivity and growth. Unfortunately, this survey shows that the empirical literature too is inconclusive: although the growth and composition of public expenditures and taxes as well as the fiscal stance seem to have some effect in the short run, their long-run implications cannot easily be quantified because of, e.g., reverse causation and crowding-out effects. The empirical evidence on the growth effects of government size points at a non-linear relationship: For small governments additional public expenditures seem to have a positive impact on growth, while for large governments further additions tend to be growth-retarding. It is an open question, however, where the optimum is located

An image-guided method for automatically picking common-image-point gather locations from seismic images

Includes bibliographical references (pages 49-50)

Returning the Veteran to Police Service: Establishing a TCOLE-Mandated Reintegration Program in the State of Texas

As veterans return from deployments across the globe they face many challenges ranging from significant amounts of time separated from family and friends, to dealing with the nature of modern day, asymmetrical warfare during their deployment. This means our veterans who are members of law enforcement encounter unique circumstances as they transition from a warrior mindset back to a guardian mindset. Having an effective process in place to facilitate this transition is an important and fundamental responsibility the law enforcement agency and the communities share ensuring the returning veteran is once again grounded in the notion they are primarily charged with a mission to protect and serve. To accomplish this task it is imperative that law enforcement agencies are equipped with the tools needed to build a cohesive line of communication between the returning veteran and the law enforcement agency. No longer can an ad hoc system of reintegrating veterans back into their previous roles exist. The uneasiness and uncertainty can be curtailed by boldly pursuing the creation of a veteran reintegration program to be established at every law enforcement agency in the State of Texas