Coherent Hypothesis Research Articles

Predominance of Cephalic Presentation at Birth: An Oxygen Delivery-Based Concept

Background: Fetuses closer to term present predominantly as cephalic, and by the time of delivery 96-97% of them are born headfirst. To date, no coherent hypothesis has been put forth to explain the phenomenon. Observation: As pregnancy advances, there is a progressive increase in cephalic presentation; by 25 weeks, 60% are cephalic, at 35 weeks 90% cephalic and at term only less than 3-4% remain breech. Hypothesis: Oxygen delivery to the fetus comes from the environment through the parturient and it must traverse a very long passage to get to the fetal tissues making oxygen delivery a very precarious process. The fetus develops several compensatory mechanisms to enhance the delivery of oxygen—higher hemoglobin level, hemoglobin with greater affinity for oxygen, the double Bohr phenomenon to improve the diffusion of oxygen from the parturient and lastly redesign of the fetal circulation to increase flow to the brain whilst in the state of near chronic hypoxia whilst in utero. The better flow of blood to the head and therefore more oxygen to the brain makes this organ the densest causing it to progressively present cephalic as pregnancy advances. Implications: The hypothesis aligns well with not only the observed progressive cephalic phenomenon but also the long-term subtle cognitive deficits and neurological sequelae observed in several studies of those born breech. Conclusion: Cephalic presentation at birth is driven by better blood flow to the brain as another compensatory mechanism to cope with hypoxia.

On the nature of evolutionary explanations: a critical appraisal of Walter Bock’s approach with a new revised proposal

Walter Bock was committed to developing a framework for evolutionary biology. Bock repeatedly discussed how evolutionary explanations should be considered within the realm of Hempel’s deductive-nomological model of scientific explanations. Explanation in evolution would then consist of functional and evolutionary explanations, and within the latter, an explanation can be of nomological-deductive and historical narrative explanations. Thus, a complete evolutionary explanation should include, first, a deductive functional analysis, and then proceed through nomological and historical evolutionary explanations. However, I will argue that his views on the deductive proprieties of functional analysis and the deductive-nomological parts of evolution fail because of the nature of evolution, which contains a historical element that the logic of deduction and Hempel’s converting law model do not compass. Conversely, Bock’s historical approach gives a critical consideration of the historical narrative element of evolutionary explanation, which is fundamental to the methodology of the historical nature of evolutionary theory. Herein, I will expand and discuss a modern view of evolutionary explanations of traits that includes the currentacknowledgement of the differences between experimental and the historical sciences, including the token and type event dichotomy, that mutually illuminate each other in order to give us a well confirmed and coherent hypothesis for evolutionary explanations. Within this framework, I will argue that the duality of evolutionary explanations is related to two components of character evolution: origin, with its evolutionary pathways along with the history, and maintenance, the function (mainly a current function) for the character being selected.

Livelihood Changes, Spatial Anticontagion Policy Effects, and Structural Resilience of National Food Systems in a Sub-Saharan African Country Context: A Panel Machine Learning Approach

The livelihood changes due to the COVID-19 policies in low-income and transitional economies serve as a lever for gauging the structural resilience of national food systems. Yet, few studies have addressed the cascading effects of the pandemic policies on the livelihood changes of farming system actors or modeled and provided coherent hypotheses about the transitory structural shifts at the micro-level. Other studies on the subject have either captured the early impacts of the pandemic on food systems with limited or no insight into the sub-Saharan African context or have used macro-level data, due to sparsely available micro-level data. These early insights are relevant for the design of early warning systems. However, an ongoing and deeper insight into the effects of pandemic policies is critical, since new and more comprehensive policies are needed to address the economic fallout and the extenuating effects of COVID-19 on food supply chain disruptions. The overriding questions are as follows: what are the effects of the pandemic policies on the livelihoods of food system actors and are there spatial-economic variations in the effects of the pandemic policies on the livelihoods of the farming system actors? Using 2019 and 2020 primary data from 836 farming system actors in Ghana, we offer fresh insights into the transitory micro-level livelihood changes caused by the COVID-19 anticontagion policies. We analyzed the data using the generalized additive, subset regression, classical linear, and logistic regression models in a machine learning framework. We show that the changes in the livelihood outcomes of the food system actors in Ghana coincide with the nature of pandemic mitigation policies adopted in the spatial units. We found that the lockdown policies had a negative and significant effect on the livelihoods of the farming system actors in the lockdown areas. The policies also negatively affected the livelihoods of the farming system actors in distant communities that shared no direct boundary with the lockdown areas. On the contrary, the lockdown policies positively affected the livelihoods of the farming system actors in the directly contiguous communities to the lockdown areas. We also document the shifts in the livelihood outcomes of the farming system actors, such as income, employment, food demand, and food security in the different spatial policy areas.

Sense of coherence and religion/spirituality: A systematic review and meta-analysis based on a methodical classification of instruments measuring religion/spirituality.

The coherence hypothesis assumes that sense of coherence (SOC) explains the positive link between religion/spirituality (R/S) and mental health. The aim of our meta-analysis is to evaluate the evidence for the association between SOC (sensu Antonovsky) and different aspects of R/S and thus to contribute to the verification of the coherence hypothesis. Eighty-nine English- and German-language primarily cross-sectional studies with 67,913 participants met the inclusion criteria. The R/S scales of all included studies were subjected to item-by-item qualitative content analysis in order to determine whether scales do actually measure religion or spirituality and which R/S aspects dominated the instrument. Based on this classification, overall and subgroup meta-analyses were conducted using a random effects model. The adjusted effect size between SOC and all positive R/S measures was r+ = .120, 95% CI [.092, .149]. Particularly significant (r+ < -.180 or > .180) were correlations with negative R/S scales (r+ = -.405, 95% CI [-.476, -.333]), R/S instruments measuring primarily positive emotions (r+ = .212, 95% CI [.170, .253]) or meaning-making (r+ = .196, 95% CI [.126, .265]). Both sample characteristics (age, culture, gender, health status, religious affiliation) and study characteristics (e.g., publication year) had a moderating effect on the R/S-SOC connection. The correlation was particularly high in studies from Southern Asia (r+ = .226, 95% CI [.156, .297]), the African Islamic cultural value zone (r+ = .196, 95% CI [.106, .285]), and in a small subgroup of Iranian studies (r+ = .194, 95% CI [.117, .271]). The results confirm that R/S and SOC are clearly associated and suggest that there are different religious/spiritual pathways to a strong SOC. The strength of the associations presumably depends not only on individual differences, but also on cultural embeddedness and social plausibility of R/S. Trial registration. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42021240380. https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID = CRD42021240380.

Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Tricuspid Valve Development and Disease.

Tricuspid valve (TV) disease is highly prevalent in the general population. For ages considered "the forgotten valve" because of the predominant interest in left-side valve disease, the TV has now received significant attention in recent years, with significant improvement both in diagnosis and in management of tricuspid disease. TV is characterized by complex anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology, in which the right ventricle plays a fundamental role. Comprehensive knowledge of molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying TV development, TV disease, and tricuspid regurgitation-related right-ventricle cardiomyopathy is necessary to enhance TV disease understanding to improve the ability to risk stratify TR patients, while also predicting valve dysfunction and/or response to tricuspid regurgitation treatment. Scientific efforts are still needed to eventually decipher the complete picture describing the etiopathogenesis of TV and TV-associated cardiomyopathy, and future advances to this aim may be achieved by combining emerging diagnostic imaging modalities with molecular and cellular studies. Overall, basic science studies could help to streamline a new coherent hypothesis underlying both the development of TV during embryogenesis and TV-associated disease and its complications in adult life, providing the conceptual basis for the ultimate and innovative field of valve repair and regeneration using tissue-engineered heart valves.

Targeting Crosstalk of Signaling Pathways among Muscles-Bone-Adipose Tissue: A Promising Therapeutic Approach for Sarcopenia.

The aging process is associated with the development of a wide range of degenerative disorders in mammals. These diseases are characterized by a progressive decline in function at multiple levels, including the molecular, cellular, tissue, and organismal. Furthermore, it is responsible for various healthcare costs in developing and developed countries. Sarcopenia is the deterioration in the quality and functionality of muscles, which is extremely concerning as it manages many functions in the human body. This article reviews the molecular crosstalk involved in sarcopenia and the specific roles of many mediator molecules in establishing cross-talk between muscles, bone, and fatty tissues, eventually leading to sarcopenia. Besides, the involvement of various etiological factors, such as neurology, endocrinology, lifestyle, etc., makes it exceedingly difficult for clinicians to develop a coherent hypothesis that may lead to the well-organized management system required to battle this debilitating disease. The several hallmarks contributing to the progression of the disease is a vital question that needs to be addressed to ensure an efficient treatment for sarcopenia patients. Also, the intricate molecular mechanism involved in developing this disease requires more studies. The direct relationship of cellular senescence with aging is one of the pivotal issues contributing to disease pathophysiology. Some patented treatment strategies have been discussed, including drugs undergoing clinical trials and emerging options like miRNA and protein-enclosed extracellular vesicles. A clear understanding of the secretome, including the signaling pathways involved between muscles, bone, and fatty tissues, is extremely beneficial for developing novel therapeutics for curing sarcopenia.

Generalized vestibular hyporeflexia and chronic upbeat nystagmus due to thiamine deficiency.

Ocular motor and vestibular manifestations of Wernicke's thiamine deficiency (WTD) are frequent and heterogeneous. Previous neuropathological and neuroimaging findings identified brainstem and cerebellar lesions responsible for these findings, however, peripheral vestibular lesions are probably uncommon in human WTD, though noted on an avian thiamine deficient study. Single case study of a WTD patient post-gastric bypass who developed ataxia, oscillopsia and nystagmus, with low serum thiamine, and increased MRI T2 signal in the thalami, but normal brainstem and cerebellum. Vestibular evaluation showed significant vestibular hyporreflexia affecting all six canals, and a chronic upbeat nystagmus, now for 14months after WTD onset. Serial clinical, video head impulse, nystagmus analysis, cervical and ocular vestibular evoked responses. She is undergoing treatment with Memantine, Clonazepam and vestibular rehabilitation, and feels improvement. This report shows a novel combination of central and peripheral vestibular findings, of relevance for diagnosis and treatment, in addition to the development of a coherent hypothesis on the ocular motor and vestibular findings in WTD.

Do International Dispute Bodies Overreach? Reassessing World Trade Organization Dispute Ruling

AbstractCompliance with World Trade Organization dispute rulings declined in recent years. Governments frequently accuse the Appellate Body (AB) of exceeding its mandate by relying on precedent despite having no such authority. Is this criticism fair? We use new data on over 5,000 applications of legal precedent in AB rulings to test competing hypotheses. The “legal coherence hypothesis” says that legal systems adhere to precedent because they have strong incentives to appear consistent in their rulings over time. Alternatively, the “adaptation hypothesis” says that legal systems respond to political resistance, such as noncompliance, by subtly modifying precedent. The results lend greater support to the “adaptation hypothesis.” The AB is much more likely to drift from previous rulings when those decisions failed to induce compliance. The results speak to common criticisms about the intransigence of international legal systems and the ways in which international case law evolves.

The concept of psychotic arousal and its relevance to abnormal subjective experiences in schizophrenia. A hypothesis for the formation of primary delusions

The presence of abnormal subjective experiences in the prodromal stages of schizophrenia as well as their contribution to delusional formation have been highlighted in psychiatric literature, but their nature and their involvement in the transition and establishment of full-blown psychosis remains elusive. In this paper, we venture to form a coherent hypothesis for the formation of primary delusions by attributing importance to the emotional and affective symptoms experienced by patients during the acute state of psychosis. We underline the presence of abnormal subjective experiences described as ‘feelings’ in patients’ narratives, their co-occurrence with discernible emotional manifestations and symptoms, and their rather simultaneous retreat from the clinical picture shortly after the effective administration of antipsychotic treatment. We further distinguish them from their enveloping thought content, on the base of their different course pattern and natural characteristics. We argue that this composite emotional picture – which we call “psychotic arousal” – though resembling the acknowledged “delusional mood”, traverses the acute state of psychosis to a greater extent and intensity, as long as we observe delusions flourishing and expanding. We specifically suggest that altered subjective experiences can be seen as emotional in nature and best described as “experiential feelings”. Consequently, we reflect upon neuroscientific theories and models supporting a layered concept for the formation of consciousness that attribute a paramount role on emotions as a representation of neural maps of the material body’s state. We explore patients’ “experiential feelings” as the morbid outcome of an otherwise normal process and we provide a theoretical solution for the psychotic transition and the formation of primary delusions. Our hypothesis, eventually, responds to long-standing questions regarding the content of the delusions, their abrupt appearance, their self-referential character, their selectivity and specificity, as well as their impact on awareness and the erroneous deployment of extended consciousness. We suggest that further enquiry of the proposed hypothesis could elucidate more deeply the phenomenology of schizophrenia and benefit both psychopathology and neuroscience of self.

Unfolding Judicial Ideology: A Data-Generating Priors Approach with an Application to the Brazilian Supreme Court

Abstract Spatial models, in the form of latent response theories (ideal point estimation), have been widely used to study the voting behavior of judges in collegial courts. In some specific institutional contexts, building coherent testable hypotheses with conventional methodology is challenging. We set up a non-parametric method to identify the number and nature of the latent ideological traits allegedly orienting judicial voting behavior in the absence of prior information regarding the nature of their preferences. We draw information from explorative cluster analysis conducted on votes cast by judges in the decisions of the court to construct priors in the context of Item Response Theory. We concentrate on the Brazilian Supreme Court in the period 2009–2018. We primarily find that votes express a split which groups judges into two distinct clusters. On one side, we find judges appointed further back in time and with longer tenure on the bench; on the other side, we observe judges more recently appointed and with shorter experience. Judges are likely to respond to the presidential appointer and to elements related to their origin, university education, and career background (aside from the guidance of their own experience). Our study provides an original empirical approach that is not limited to the Brazilian Supreme Court, but is suitable to investigate judicial voting behavior when the nature of potential ideological drivers is debatable, controversial, or unknown.

When the mind says one thing, but the HPA axis says another: Lack of coherence between subjective and neuroendocrine stress response trajectories in healthy men

Psychological stress triggers the release of cortisol following the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and elicits concomitant subjective responses. Coherence among the stress response systems is theoretically expected, presumably to optimize the organism’s response to environmental challenges, but has received little empirical support possibly due to the assumption of linear associations. The present study examined the associations between cortisol responses to the Maastricht Acute Stress Test (MAST) and concomitant subjective stress responses as well as mood states over the past weeks in 133 healthy men. Latent class growth analysis (LCGA) was applied on individual cortisol and subjective stress responses to identify homogeneous response trajectories within the larger heterogeneous population and enable testing non-linear relationships while retaining the temporal resolution of the stress responses. LCGA revealed four latent cortisol response classes, labeled as mild responders (n = 15), moderately-low responders (n = 46), moderately-high responders (n = 48), and hyper responders (n = 24). These latent classes were not associated with concomitant subjective stress responses. Similarly, the three distinct latent classes capturing the variability in subjective stress responses were also not associated with concomitant cortisol responses. Experiencing higher levels of stress over the previous weeks, however, increased the likelihood of exhibiting a hyper cortisol stress response profile. Positive and negative affective states, and anxious and depressive symptomology over the previous weeks were not associated with cortisol response trajectories. Contrary to previous findings supporting a quadratic association in healthy females, our results do not support the response coherence hypothesis in healthy males subjected to the MAST, but suggest that recent levels of perceived stress may influence the cortisol response to acute stress.

Scenarios Analysis on Electric Power Planning Based on Multi-Scale Forecast: A Case Study of Taoussa, Mali from 2020 to 2035

The increase in electricity demand is caused by population density, gross domestic product growth and technological conditions. A long-term forecast study on the electricity demand could be a promising alternative to the investment planning of power systems and distribution. In this study, the main aim is to forecast and understand the long-term electricity demand of the Taoussa area for the sustainable development of the regions of northern Mali, by using the Model for Analysis of Energy Demand (MAED) from the International Atomic Energy Agency. To fill such a knowledge gap, the long-term evolution of electricity demand is calculated separately for four consumption sectors: industry, transportation, service and household from 2020 to 2035. The demand for each end-use category of electricity is driven by one or several socioeconomic and technological parameters development of the country, which are given as part of the reference scenario (RS) and two alternative scenarios (Low and High). These scenarios were developed based on four groups of coherent hypotheses concerning demographic evolution, economic development, lifestyle change and technological change. The results showed that the annual growth rate of electricity demand in Taoussa area in all scenarios is expected to increase by only 8.13% (LS), 10.31% (RS) and 12.56% (HS). According to the seasonal variations of electricity demand, dry season electricity demand was higher than the demand in cool season during the study period. Such a conclusion demonstrates that the proposed long-term method and related results could provide powerful sustainable solutions to the electricity development challenges of Africa.

Hierarchical hashing-based multi-source image retrieval method for image denoising

Image denoising is a fundamental problem in image processing. One prominent image denoising approach is to exploit the non-local self-similarity (NSS) prior of natural images. How to find and utilize similar image patches is the key to the NSS-based method. However, most NSS-based methods only use noisy patches within the noisy image itself, whose number and quality are quite limited. To exploit the similar clean patches in external image datasets, in this paper, we propose a hierarchical hashing-based multi-source image retrieval method. First, based on deep hashing, a multi-source image-level retrieval method is proposed to search clean appearance-alike images from the external dataset. Second, on the basis of NSS prior and image coherence hypothesis, an improved continuous sensitive hashing method is designed from the image patch level to create a dense mapping between the external similar patches and the target patches. Finally, using the searched similar clean image patches, a simplified denoising method is developed based on the 3D transformation and thresholding technique. Experiments on two kinds of image datasets have demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Preface to an editorial controversy on α-synuclein: How good are cellular models?: This is a Preface for an Editorial controversy between Hilal A. Lashuel "Monitoring alpha-synuclein oligomerization and aggregation using bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays: What you see is not always what you get" and Tiago F. Outeiro "Alpha-synuclein oligomerization and aggregation: A model will always be a model" Read Hilal

In many scientific disputes, research evidence may support one side or the other of a working hypothesis, and even in case of largely coherent hypotheses, arguments may be in favor of discrepant points of view. In the case of α-synuclein pathology and specific mechanisms of disease progression, various animal and cellular models have been established to pinpoint the physiological and pathological mechanisms. In the present 'Editorial controversy', two well-reputed researchers, Hilal Lashuel and Tiago F. Outeiro, discuss-with view to findings from their own and others' groups in the context of current status of knowledge-the question of how well models on α-synuclein pathology can reflect actual pathomechanisms, and derive recommendations for future research from it that shall help advance our understanding not only of α-synuclein-related pathologies and its role in the formation of Lewy bodies in particular, but of cellular or animal models in general.

The origins of the eastern meridian system

There is no doubt that the mechanical effect on the so-called bioactive points and areas may be extremely useful and leads sometimes to a complete cure for various ailments. The existence and benefits of a reflex therapy are absolutely indisputable. Indeed, from ancient times to the present, the unique experience and empirical knowledge about the meridians connecting the points of influence and the skin with all body systems have been accumulated in the depths of Eastern medicine. Until now, the physical nature of the meridians is unknown and has not been explained by anyone, that’s why the reflex therapy stands apart from standard medicine and is practiced as a semi-legal occupation, despite its obvious benefits and effectiveness. In this paper, an attempt was made to reveal the physical nature of the meridians and, thereby, legalize this ancient and extremely necessary discipline. The authors propose a coherent hypothesis, the main idea of which is the statement that if there is even a slightest wound, the nervous system will immediately send the impulse to increase the blood supply to this spot, in other words, a special address appears, the fresh blood directs that way and causes the healing. The mechanism of redistribution of blood flow is that there is a certain low-frequency modulation of the heart rate, which leads to a local increase in blood flow, as impact zones are characterized by certain reductions in time with the modulations. The corresponding organ in the body also has a similar address (i.e. a certain frequency), and therefore an intensified blood flow rushes there too, providing a vital effect on this organ. As a result, the supported organ more effectively fights the disease. This, in short, is the mechanism of recovery that nature has in place in the presence of heart rhythm modulations that can be made manageable. Naturally, by saturating the blood with exposure agents, we will obtain an increase in their effectiveness due to local penetration directly into the painful area.

EQUILIBRIUM game: a virtual field trip through a complex system

<scp>EQUILIBRIUM</scp> game: a virtual field trip through a complex system

A comparative evaluation of dissimilarity-based and model-based clustering in science education research: the case of children's mental models of the Earth

In the present work, two different classification methods, a dissimilarity-based clustering approach (DBC) and the model-based latent class analysis (LCA), were used to analyse responses to a questionnaire designed to measure children's mental representation of the Earth. It contributes to an ongoing debate in cognitive psychology and science education research between two antagonistic theories on the nature of children's knowledge, that is, the coherent versus fragmented knowledge hypothesis. Methodology-wise the problem concerns the classification of response patterns into distinct clusters, which correspond to specific hypothesised mental models. DBC employs the partitioning around medoids (PAM) approach and selects the final cluster solution based on average silhouette width, cluster stability and interpretability. LCA, a model-based clustering method achieves a taxonomy by employing the conditional probabilities of responses. Initially, a brief presentation and comparison of the two methods is provided, while issues on clustering philosophies are discussed. Both PAM and LCA attained to detect merely the cluster which corresponds to the coherent scientific model and an artificial segment added on purpose in the empirical data. The two methods, despite the obvious deviations in cluster-membership assignment, finally provide sound findings as far as hypotheses tested, by converging to identical conclusions.

Membrane Tension and the Role of Ezrin During Phagocytosis.

During phagocytosis, there is an apparent expansion of the plasma membrane to accommodate the target within a phagosome. This is accompanied (or driven by) a change in membrane tension. It is proposed that the wrinkled topography of the phagocyte surface, by un-wrinkling, provides the additional available membrane and that this explains the changes in membrane tension. There is no agreement as to the mechanism by which unfolding of cell surface wrinkles occurs during phagocytosis, but there is a good case building for the involvement of the actin-plasma membrane crosslinking protein ezrin. Not only have direct measurements of membrane tension strongly implicated ezrin as the key component in establishing membrane tension, but the cortical location of ezrin changes at the phagocytic cup, suggesting that it is locally signalled. This chapter therefore attempts to synthesise our current state of knowledge about ezrin and membrane tension with phagocytosis to provide a coherent hypothesis.

Coherent Preferences in Stock Market

In this paper, we study individual trading behaviors by cumulative trading volume distribution over a price range. We select intraday volume distribution as individual revealed preferences over a price range and determine beliefs by the maximum volume price in stock market. We propose a coherent preferences hypothesis in stock market where momentum, reversal, and interactive trading behaviors coexist in the framework of a price-volume probability wave differential equation. Then, we examine it by a set of explicit models of coherent preferences in interaction using tick by tick high frequency trading data of an ETF in Chinese stock market against a large number of the price-volume distributions. We evidence that subject individuals behave coherent preferences significantly. Finally, we find that individuals behave disposition effect or inverse disposition effect, and explain them by asymmetry and nonlinear coherent preferences. The bounded rational hypothesis combines individual preferences, beliefs, and cognitive limits, and has a set of unified and better models available in behavioral finance. It can help us to understand excessive price change or bubble and study nonlinear equilibrium and risk in financial market.

Redefining Pre-Indo-European Language Families of Bronze Age Western Europe: A Study Based on the Synthesis of Scientific Evidence From Archaeology, Historical Linguistics and Genetics

When and how did the Indo-European language family expand into western Europe? What language families were present there before, and where did they come from? Where does Basque and Etruscan come from? These are questions and puzzles that have been in the focus of the archaeological community since long ago. The present paper offers a coherent hypothesis mapping the expansion of language families in the western half of Europe from the Copper Age till the Roman conquest, based on matchings identifies between the newest genetic evidence, and earlier results of archaeology and historical linguistics. The approach focuses on matching phylogenetic and geographical distribution patterns of Y-DNA lineages with archaeological cultures, and the phylogenetics of language families in order to identify migrations and language families in Western Europe in the 3 rd -1 st millennia BCE.