Negative Causation Research Articles

Causation between the gut microbiota and inguinal hernia: a two-sample double-sided Mendelian randomization study

Inguinal hernias are the most common type of enterocele and are frequently caused by defects in the abdominal wall muscles in the groin area. Numerous animal models and human studies have shown that the gut microbiota is associated with skeletal muscle aging and loss. However, the causation between the gut microbiota and inguinal hernia remains unclear. To reveal the causal association between the gut microbiota and inguinal hernia, we conducted a two-sample double-sided Mendelian randomization analysis. We used genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) summary statistics of the gut microbiota from the MiBioGen consortium and GWAS statistics of inguinal hernia from the FinnGen R10 database. The causation between the gut microbiota and inguinal hernia was explored through the inverse variance weighted (IVW) method, MR Egger regression method, weighted median method, weighted model method, and simple model method. Sensitivity analysis was used to test whether the Mendelian randomization analysis results were reliable. Reverse Mendelian randomization was used to conduct effect analysis and sensitivity analysis using the entire gut microbiota as the outcome. The IVW results indicated that Verrucomicrobia, Lactobacilliales, Clostridiaceae1, Butyricococcus, Categorybacter, Hungatella, Odoribacter, and Olsenella had a direct negative causation with the gut microbiota. The reverse Mendelian Randomization results showed that Eubacterium brachygroup, Eubacterium eligensgroup, Eubacterium xylanophilumgroup, Coprococcus3, Ruminococcus1, and Senegalimassilia were directly related to inguinal hernia. The bilateral sensitivity analysis revealed no heterogeneity or horizontal pleiotropy. The results confirmed that 8 bacterial traits had a negative causation with inguinal hernia. Reverse MR analysis revealed a positive correlation between inguinal hernia and 6 bacterial traits. Modulating the diversity and components of the gut microbiota is envisaged to contribute to improving the incidence and prognosis of inguinal hernia.

Research on the Quantitative Causal Transmission of Stock Price Fluctuations of Listed Companies in the Rare Earth Industry Chain

Rare earth is an important strategic mineral resource, and the study of the causes of stock price fluctuations of rare earth listed companies and their transmission can enable all parties in the market to have a clearer understanding of current market relationships. In this study, the quantitative causality analysis model and complex network method are used to analyze each link within the rare earth industry chain and the relationship between regions from the quantitative causality of stock price fluctuations among listed companies in the rare earth industry. The main transmission paths of fluctuations in each link between companies are also given. It is found that the quantitative causal relationship between the price fluctuations of rare earth industry stocks has positive causation, negative causation, and unclear causation, and the dominant causal relationship is mostly positive causation. The positive causal relationship between enterprises in the same region is significantly greater than that between enterprises in different regions. The negative causal relationship and unclear causal relationship between enterprises in different regions are significantly greater than the negative causal relationship and unclear causal relationship between enterprises in the same region.

프로축구선수의 데뷔 시기에 따른 선수 경력 분석

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the professional footballers’ career in K league through their debut age and year. Data set of 3,287 footballers from 1983 to 2021 was collected and utilized for this study. Their debut age has been decreased since the league started and there were the biggest statistical differences between early period(EP) and developmental period(DP)(p<.05). There were statistical differences in the number of match played among sub-variables of debut age and year. The players in youngest cohort and the players in DP cohort played the most number of matches respectively. Their debut age and year had negative causation with the number of match played. These results means that the earlier player debuts, the more matches they can play in K league. Also, the number of football club and league structure will have restrictively impact on K league players career due to the current stable number of club and situation of league structure.

Sparse Causation and Mere Abundant Causation

Setting off from a familiar distinction in the philosophy of properties, this paper introduces a tripartite distinction between sparse causation, abundant causation and mere abundant causation (instances of the latter forming a sub-class of abundant causation). It is argued that the contrast between sparse and mere abundant causation allows us to resolve notorious philosophical issues having to do with negative causation, causation involving institutional properties and physical macro-causation in a way that is unified, intuitive and in line with scientific doctrines and practices.

Testing effects of hospitality employment on property crime in the United States

This study aims to model the effect of hospitality employment on property crime in economic crime equations, in which unemployment either indicates the opportunity cost of crime or suggests the decrease of targets. We developed a model of property crime that incorporates both unemployment rate and hospitality employment, in which the effect of unemployment rate on property crime is controlled to isolate the net effect of hospitality employment. We tested the model with the data of hospitality employment and property crime rates in the United States from 1972 to 2012, for which the date are available. On the one hand, we verified a negative causation from unemployment rate to property crime, suggesting that high unemployment rates reduce the targets of criminal activities, which in turn reduces property crime. On the other hand, by controlling for the effect of unemployment rate, we found a significantly negative causation from hospitality employment to property crime, suggesting that the decrease in property crime is due to hospitality employment that increases the opportunity cost of property crime.

English

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between gender diversity and the risk profile of Italian financial institutions during the period 2013 to 2019. The paper examines whether the presence of top executives has any significant effect on corporate risk-taking. A sample of 160 Italian financial institutions was analyzed and a multivariate regression model was developed considering five risk dimensions to verify the effect of gender diversity. The results suggest that female Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) and Chairmans of the Board of Directors (CHAIRs) are considerably less overconfident and less risky than their male colleagues, thus confirming a negative causation between gender diversity and risk-taking. The findings reveal that financial institutions headed by women are more risk averse since they account upper capital adequacy and equity to assets ratios. As credit risk in female-run financial institutions is no diverse from male-run financial institutions, higher capital adequacy does not come from minor asset quality because it is related to the greater risk aversion of female top managers.   Key words: Gender diversity, female directors, female xsass, risk-taking, Italian financial institutions.

The Twinning of Inflation and Unemployment Phenomena in Saudi Arabia: Phillips Curve Perspective

The global economy has witnessed many economic fluctuations and waves of inflation and recession. With the consideration of achieving price stability as a primary goal of the economic policies, any attempt to eliminate inflation means accepting higher rates of unemployment, and vice versa. This conflict relationship was explained by the Economist “Phillips”, who developed the inflation/unemployment curve. After the emergence of the stagflation phenomenon, this relationship became an object of argument and skepticism. Therefore, the key point of this study is to investigate the tradeoff relationship between inflation and unemployment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the period 1988-2017. The co-integration and error correction approaches have been utilized, to determine the equilibrium relations in the long-run and short-run, and the causality direction between the two phenomena. Johansen test indicated that a long-run co-integration relationship was existed. Based on Vector Error Correction Model (VECM), results provide evidence in favor of the long-runs negative causation running from unemployment to inflation. Contrary to expectation, there was no significant evidence of short-run tradeoff between unemployment and inflation in the Saudi economy.

Is hybrid formal theory of arguments, stories and criminal evidence well suited for negative causation?

In this paper, I have two primary goals. First, I show that the causal-based story approach in A hybrid formal theory of arguments, stories and criminal evidence (or Hybrid Theory, for short) is ill suited to negative (or absence) causation. In the literature, the causal-based approach requires that hypothetical stories be causally linked to the explanandum. Many take these links to denote physical or psychological causation, or temporal precedence. However, understanding causality in those terms, as I will show, cannot capture cases of negative causation, which are of interest to the Law. In keeping with this, I also discuss some of the difficulties Hybrid Theory invites by remaining silent on the nature of the causal links. In my second aim, I sketch a way for Hybrid Theory to overcome this problem. By replacing the original, underlying causal structure with contrastive causation in the law, Hybrid Theory can represent reasoning in which the evidence that is appealed to is causally linked via negative causation to the explananda.

Small business lending and credit risk: Granger causality evidence

Because of their opaque nature, SMEs are overly reliant on bank lending. Therefore, we examine whether banks' credit supply to SMEs are affected by their financial conditions. To this end, we employ a Granger causality analysis to examine whether there is an indication of a significant direction of determination between SME lending and non-performing SME loans. The results reveal no bidirectional relationship between SME lending and NPL for the entire banking sector. For Islamic banks, however, we find two-way linkages between these two parameters: a negative causation is running both from SME lending to NPL growth and from NPL to SME lending. Given Islamic banks' deposit-oriented funding practices and their adherence to profit-and-loss sharing principles, this finding suggests the presence of heightened market discipline within the Islamic banking system.

Negative events in compositional semantics

Negative events have been used in analyses of various natural language phenomena such as negative perception reports and negative causation, but their conceptual and logical foundations remain ill-understood. We propose that linguistic negation denotes a function Neg, which sends any set of events P to a set Neg(P) that contains all events which preclude every event in P from being actual. An axiom ensures that any event in Neg(P) is actual if and only if no event in P is. This allows us to construe the events in Neg(P) as negative, "anti-P", events. We present a syntax-semantics interface that uses continuations to resolve scope mismatches between subject and verb phrase negation, and a fragment of English that accounts for the interaction of negation, the perception verb see, finite and nonfinite perception reports, and quantified subjects, as well as negative causation.

Contrasting the syntax and semantics of negative causation

The main objective of this study is to compare the structure of the factitive construction expressing negative causation with dejar/deixar (“to let”) in Ibero-Romance languages. It is generally accepted that Portuguese and Spanish exhibit a high degree of syntactic equivalence. However, the nature of the infinitive in the two languages is quite different, displaying more verbal characteristics in Portuguese than in Spanish. By means of a detailed empirical study, this article examines whether this structural difference has an effect on the syntax of the causatives with deixar and dejar. Indeed, statistically the selection of the different complement types (finite clause vs. infinitive, with an anteposed or postposed causee) differs substantially in the two languages. A multifactorial analysis shows to what extent the degree of dynamicity of the main constituents, namely the causer, the causee and the caused event, determine the syntactic variation in the two languages and how this variation can be linked to the different grammatical status of the infinitive.

The twin deficits hypothesis and reverse causality: A short-run analysis of Peru

This study examines causation between the current account and the fiscal surplus and fiscal spending for a commodity-based economy, Peru. Using quarterly data for the open economy, the outcomes reject the twin deficits hypothesis. Instead, the evidence points strongly to reverse causality, that is, the current account causes the fiscal account. However, unlike previous empirical evidence on this subject, for a year, the reverse causality indicates a negative causation because the fiscal consumption is not smoothed when positive permanent shocks to the current account occur. In the short run, the fiscal policy has no effect on the current account, but improvements in the current account increase the probability of attaining a lower bounded fiscal deficit. This evidence is consistent with a small open commodity-based economy that is highly exposed and sensitive to external price shocks.

Bank market concentration and bank efficiency in the European Union: a panel Granger causality approach

The relationships between bank market consolidation and bank efficiency are of particular relevance in the European Union (EU), but they remain controversial. Using a panel Granger causality approach, this paper contributes to the literature, testing not only the causality running from bank market concentration to bank efficiency, but also the reverse causality running from efficiency to concentration. The results obtained confirm the relative complexity of these causality relationships, although they generally point to a negative causation running both from concentration to efficiency and from efficiency to concentration. These findings are in line with the Structure Conduct Performance (SCP) paradigm and the suggestions that the increase of the banks’ market power will contribute to inefficiency, since these banks will face less competition to obtain more output results with less input costs. Our results suggest that within this panel of all 27 EU countries over a relatively long time period, from 1996 to the onset of the 2008 financial crisis, the more cost-efficient commercial and savings banks operated in less concentrated markets.

Acusativo y dativo en la construcción factitiva

Most investigations of Romance factitive constructions study the causative verb hacer (‘to make’) and pay little attention to related verbs such as dejar (‘to let’). This article seeks to fill up this gap by contrasting the syntax of positive and negative causation, and particularly focuses on the case marking of the causee. The analysis of a Spanish corpus allows us to examine previous accounts of case marking, namely the hypothesis of incorporation and the related ‘Stratal Uniqueness Law’, and the theory of direct vs. indirect causation. The second part is dedicated to the question whether the cognitive-semantic characteristics of the causation models have any effect on its syntax. Finally, a multifactorial analysis, taking into account the degree of dynamicity of the constituents and the accusative or dative case of the causee, demonstrates that variation of pattern mainly depends on the rich polysemy of the main verbs.

Negative causation in causal and mechanistic explanation

Instances of negative causation—preventions, omissions, and the like—have long created philosophical worries. In this paper, I argue that concerns about negative causation can be addressed in the context of causal explanation generally, and mechanistic explanation specifically. The gravest concern about negative causation is that it exacerbates the problem of causal promiscuity—that is, the problem that arises when a particular account of causation identifies too many causes for a particular effect. In the explanatory context, the problem of promiscuity can be solved by characterizing the phenomenon to be explained as a contrast between two or more events or non-events. This contrastive strategy also can solve other problems that negative causation presents for the leading accounts of mechanistic explanation. Along the way, I argue that to be effective, accounts of causal explanation must incorporate negative causation. I also develop a taxonomy of negative causation and incorporate each variety of negative causation into the leading accounts of mechanistic explanation.

Causal Truthmaking

This paper provides an outline of a theory of causal truthmaking according to which contingent truths are made true by causal facts and dispositional mechanisms. These facts and mechanisms serve to account for the truth of propositions by explaining in a non-epistemic fashion why they have come about as truths. Given that negative causation is allowed for, we are able to provide truthmakers for negative truths without making appeal to negative facts, lacks or absences. The paper takes its starting point in the following claims by George Molnar: (1) the world is everything that exists; (2) everything that exists is positive; (3) some negative claims about the world are true; and (4) every true claim about the world is made true by something that exists. The conclusion is reached that we can keep (1–4) in a consistent manner if causal truthmaking is permitted.

A Modified Conception of Mechanisms

In this paper, I critique two conceptions of mechanisms, namely those put forth by Stuart Glennan (Erkenntnis 44:49–71, 1996; Philosophy of Science 69:S342–S353, 2002) and Machamer et al. (Philosophy of Science 67:1–25, 2000). Glennan’s conception, I argue, cannot account for mechanisms involving negative causation because of its interactionist posture. MDC’s view encounters the same problem due to its reificatory conception of activities—this conception, I argue, entails an onerous commitment to ontological dualism. In the place of Glennan and MDC, I propose a “modified conception” of mechanisms, which (a) obviates the problem of negative causation by reinterpreting MDC’s activities according to a “descriptivist” account, and (b) avoids MDC’s problem by postulating a monistic ontology of entities. Thus, by solving these problems, my modified conception offers a cogent, more adequate alternative to Glennan’s and MDC’s conceptions of mechanisms.

World Poverty and the Concept of Causal Responsibility

This article approaches world poverty from the perspective of rectificatory justice and investigates whether the global rich can be said to have special obligations toward the global poor on the grounds that they have been harming them. The focus rests on the present situation, and more specifically on Thomas Pogge’s thesis of a causal link between world poverty and the conduct of present citizens (and governments) in wealthy countries. I argue that, if Pogge does not want his position to boil down to an institutional version of the ‘negative causation’-thesis - according to which one can cause harm simpiy by failing to alleviate it - and if he wants it to be accepted by those he seeks to convince - namely right-libertarians - he must specify that it is enough for institutions to be just that they do not actively deprive their members of the means of subsistence, even if many of them still do not have the capacity to enjoy the means of subsistence.

Cause, effect, and fake causation

The possibility of apparently negative causation has been discussed in a number of recent works on causation, but the discussion has suffered from beingscattered. In this paper, the problem of apparently negative causation and its attemptedsolutions are examined in more detail. I discuss and discard three attempts that have beensuggested in the literature. My conclusion is negative: Negative causation shows that thetraditional cause & effect view is inadequate. A more unified causal perspective is needed.

Harvard Case Histories in Experimental Science Edited by James Bryant Conant and Leonard K. Nash (review)

well as to the transactions ofthe previous conferences. The reader soon realizes that this is more than a textbook account ofshock or a monograph. As he reads, he is observing, as ifon a television screen, experienced investigators sifting the evidence from a given experiment. The data are examined and re-examined, more deeply at each succeeding step. And interspersed throughout the discussion ofshock itselfis material relating to science in general, a notable example being Dr. Knisely's remarks about positive and negative causation. Surely a conference ofthis sort can provide one form ofintroduction to the scientific method, making the book useful to graduate and medical students, who need only a minimal knowledge ofhemodynamics, immunology, and biochemistry in order to understand the material. John F. Perkins, Jr. University ofChicago Harvard Case Histories in Experimental Science. James Bryant Conant, general editor; Leonard K. Nash, associate editor. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1957. 2 vols. Pp. xvi+639. $10.00. In his Introduction to these unique and splendid volumes, Dr. Conant states that they were designed to impart an understanding ofscience to the general reader and, inparticular , to undergraduate students in the humanities and social sciences. He points out that the layman's inability to comprehend scientific thought often stems from ignorance of the nature ofscientific inquiry rather than from lack ofknowledge ofspecific facts or doctrines . Careful observation and controlled experimentation are stressed as the most important characteristics of science, which is defined as "a series of concepts or conceptual schemes arising out ofexperiment and observation and leading to new experiments and new observations." In a simple but profound manner, it is emphasized that the development of modern science can be understood only in terms of the mutual interaction of theory and experiment and ofthe relationship ofadvances in experimental technique to the practical arts. Selected "case histories" of important advances in science are presented to illustrate the "tactics and strategy" peculiar to the experimental investigator. The first case is an account ofBoyle's studies in pneumatics, which is followed by a discussion ofthe experiments ofPriestley and Lavoisier which led to the discovery ofoxygen and to the abandonment ofthe phlogiston theory. The third chapter, prefaced by a succinct, lucid account ofthe evolution ofthe thermometer, deals with the development ofthe concepts oftemperature and heat. The fourth case relates the investigations of Dalton, Gay-Lussac, Dumas, and others which provided the basis ofthe atomic dieory. Early studies on photosynthesis in green plants are then discussed, with special attention to the pioneering ob-, servations ofIngen-Housz and Senebier. Two chapters are concerned with Pasteur's discoveries on fermentation and spontaneous generation. The book concludes with a history ofthe experimental foundation ofthe concept ofelectric charge. Following a short introduction , each case consists ofextensive quotations from the original texts, interspersed at frequent intervals with comments on the more salient points. Some chapters contain short reviews ofmore recent advances, in order that the investigations cited can be related 250 Book Reviews Perspectives in Biology and Medicine · Winter 1939 to contemporary understanding of the problem—particularly well exemplified by the outline ofsome elementary principles ofbiochemistry in the discussion ofPasteur's study of fermentation. Appended to each chapter is a helpful bibliography and in some cases a series ofpenetrating questions. Science impinges on so many aspects ofour lives that it is essential for the intelligent layman to be conversant with the type ofthinking used in the laboratory. This presentation of major scientific advances in their historical context conveys in an unambiguous manner the essentials of the scientific method as well as the excitement which accompanies great discoveries. Although this fine work is intended primarily for the general public, it will be ofundoubted value for every student and practitioner ofscience. H. Guy Williams-Ashman University ofChicago 251 ...