An Enduring Philosophical Agenda. Worldview Construction as a Philosophical Method

Is there something like a philosophical method? It seems that there are as many methods as there are philosophies. A method is any procedure employed to attain a certain end. So, before going to a method, we have to ask: what is the aim of philosophy? At the origin of philosophy, there is a questioning about the world. Leo Apostel and Jan Van der Veken made more precise and explicit those fundamental questions (Apostel, Van der Veken 1991). The primarily aim of philosophy can be seen as answering this philosophical agenda; with the answers, one come up with a worldview. We'll argue that the philosophical worldviews constitute a particular class of the possible worldviews. With the help of three analogies, we'll give some guidelines to construct such worldviews. But, what are the best philosophical worldviews? We'll see how we can compare and confront them; and also some problems for their diffusion. The last section will propose some basic hypotheses to build such integrative worldviews

Catalog of Osteological Collections of Aquatic Mammals from Mexico

This paper compiles available information on osteological and other anatomical specimens of at least 51 species of aquatic mammals (34 extant, one recently extinct and 16 fossil) collected in Mexico between 1868 and 1990 and housed in 29 scientific institutions (18 in the USA, nine in Mexico, one in the Netherlands, and one in England). These collections contain a total of 1427 specimens representing 10 families of odontocetes (Squalodontidaet , Rhabdosteidaet , Pontoporiidae, Albireonidaet , Monodontidae, Phocoenidae, Delphinidae, Ziphiidae, Kogiidae, and Physeteridae), three of mysticetes (Cetotheridaet , Eschrichtiidae, and Balaenopteridae), three of carnivores (Otariidae, Phocidae, and Mustelidae) and one of sirenians (Trichechidae). Of the aquatic mammals recorded from Mexico, seven species are not represented by specimens (Stenella frontalis, Lagenodelphis hosei, Feresa attenuata, Hyperoodon sp., Eubalaena glacialis, Balaenoptera borealis, and Enhydra lutris). (PDF file contains 40 pages.

Diamagnetism around the Meissner transition in a homogeneous cuprate single crystal

The in-plane diamagnetism around the Meissner transition was measured in a Tl$_2$Ba$_2$Ca$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{10}$ single crystal of high chemical and structural quality, which minimizes the inhomogeneity and disorder rounding effects on the magnetization. When analyzed quantitatively and consistently above and below the transition in terms of the Ginzburg-Landau (GL) approach with fluctuations of Cooper pairs and vortices, these data provide a further confirmation that the observed Meissner transition is a conventional GL superconducting transition in a homogeneous layered superconductor.Comment: 5 pages, including 3 figure

Muon Identification in the LHCb experiment

A short summary of the LHCb muon identification procedure is given in this article. First, the muon system of LHCb is presented, together with some examples of physics measurements of the experiment where the muon identification is crucial. Then, the muon identification algorithm is introduced in three single steps. With this, the efficiency vs. misidentification rate is shown for MC simulated data. The way this method will be calibrated with real data is also seen. Finally, some preliminary muon identification results with proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 900 GeV are presented.Comment: Proceedings for the Moriond 2010 E

Hypohydration and Mood State in Free-Living Males and Females

Previous research has shown that acute dehydration can result in changes in mood. These changes have been reported in less than a 1% loss in total body water. However, the effect of hypohydration (i.e., reflected through high urine concentration) on mood in free-living conditions has not been studied. PURPOSE: The present study was designed to determine if hydration status is associated with mood within the general population under free-living conditions. METHODS: A group of 103 apparently healthy subjects (49 male, 54 female, 41±14 y, 1.7±0.1 m, 76.1±16.9 kg) completed three visits separated by a week. Mood was assessed by the Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaire during each visit. Participants were familiarized to the POMS questionnaire on their first visit. Hydration was assessed via urine osmolality (uOsm), urine specific gravity (USG), and urine color (UC) done on both spot and twenty four hour (24-h) urine samples taken during the 2nd and 3rd visits. Urine indices and POMS data from the 2nd and 3rd visit were averaged to attain measurements for analyses. RESULTS: Overall USG displayed significance in predicting changes in Vigor/Acuity (P = 0.031). UOsm (P = 0.006) and USG (P = 0.012), as well as 24-h uOsm (P \u3c 0.001) and USG (P \u3c 0.001) showed significance in predicting Vigor/Acuity in females. 24-h uOsm (P = 0.012) and USG (P = 0.004) were a significant predictor of a female\u27s feelings of friendliness. No significant relationships were found for the male subjects. CONCLUSION: These data suggested that hydration status affects mood specifically in free-living females but not in males