Objective Rules Research Articles

Some theoretical and practical considerations for multivariate statistical cell classification useful in autologous stem cell transplantation and tumor cell purging.

As flow cytometric data becomes more complex, it becomes increasingly difficult to classify cells using conventional flow cytometry data techniques based on visual classification of the data by user-drawn regions. This paper shows some simple applications of multivariate statistical classification to classify flow cytometric data. Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA) and Logistic Regression (LR) analysis techniques were evaluated with respect to their potential utility in the problem of detecting human breast cancer cells within normal bone marrow cells. Data sets having defined properties were employed to evaluate the potential utility of these statistical classification techniques whose performance was measured by ROC analysis. Two extreme but reasonable situations are presented: (1) data where the separation of cells was obvious by visual inspection and (2) data where major overlaps in the values of the individual FCM parameters made intuitive classification improbable. Both DFA and LR analysis were able to classify the cells of each type with acceptable accuracy and yield. The excellent empirical performance of both DFA and LR techniques, suggests that they offer promising approaches for classifying multiparameter FCM data using objective rules that may represent an improvement over commonly employed ad hoc approaches.

On the consequences of DNA profile mismatches for close relatives of an excluded suspect.

If the DNA profiles of a crime stain and the reference sample from the suspect do not match, the suspect is excluded as the donor of the crime stain. However, in some situations the DNA evidence can suggest that a close relative of the suspect might match the stain, in particular when the reference sample from the suspect and the crime stain share rare alleles. This finding can be important for the authorities. The forensic scientist has to decide whether or not to notify the authorities in these circumstances. To the best of our knowledge there is not yet an objective rule for making this decision. We propose such a decision rule for brothers of the suspect, investigate its performance and address some ethical, legal, and practical aspects. Our calculations can be simply adjusted for other relatives of the suspect.

Minima, Zero-points, Saddle-points and Singularities of the Variance of the Horvitz-Thompson Estimator in Selection With Unequal Probabilities Without Replacement / Minima, Nullpunkte, Sattelpunkte und Singularitäten der Varianz des Horvitz-Thompson Schätzers bei Auswahl mit unterschiedlichen Wahrscheinlichkeiten ohne Zurücklegen

Summary It is shown that a minimum of the variance V(ŶHT) of the Horvitz-Thompson estimator with value zero can be found in the interior of the region of feasible probabilities of selection zi (0 < zi < 1; ∑ zi = 1), if yN/Y < 1/n, where the units i = 1,...,N of the population are ordered according to their values yi > 0; Y is the total. Other zero-points of the variance can be found by taking units apriori into the sample. If yN/Y > 1/n, units must be taken apriori into the sample to attain V = 0. An objective rule for the number of these units is given.

Di-Region Theory, New Discovery on Mechanism of Carcinogenesis

In recent years, the strategies and methods of non-empirical quantitative structure-biological activity relationship (NEQSAR) have been established in this laboratory during research on the mechanism of carcinogenesis. In terms of NEQSAR research, this author discovered that a carcinogenic compound must produce two reactive centers during its metabolic course and the most favorable distance for carcinogenic potential between the two centers approaches 2.8–3.00 A. This just matches the distance between complementary bases of DNA; therefore, the key step of the carcinogenesis of PAH is crosslinking between DNA complementary bases. At the same time the puzzling relationship between different compounds and their carcinogenicity can be explained as a structure-bifunctional chemical reactivity relationship. In order to explain the above phenomena, the author hypothesized in 1979 that a complementary frameshift mutation along the DNA double helix induced by the cross-linking between DNA complementary bases, would change the transcriptase gene into a reverse transcriptase gene by remote chance, the wrong DNA would integrate its reverse mechanism onto the surrounding molecules, then after a long incubation period the whole cell will become a cancer cell. Now, the above viewpoints of the author have been evidenced by international and domestic experiments. In the NEQSAR research, the author proposed two artificial intelligence methods, i.e. wholesale molecular orbital calculation (WMO), which can calculate automatically all the quantum chemical parameters of a whole compound class without data input; and quantitative analysing pattern recognition (QAPR), which can discover the objective rules of the biological phenomena without any bias.

The Narrative of Exposés in South American Journalism

Studies have examined how reporters use narratives to deal with moral issues within the limits imposed by the rules of objectivity. This article analyzes the uses of narratives and the construction of a moral order by considering a journalistic culture that differs from the best studied cases in developed democracies. The focus is on the discursive frameworks used by two Brazilian newsweeklies during the coverage of Collorgate, the scandal that brought down former president Fernando Collor de Mello. The principle of dispassionate, impartial reporting carries less weight in Latin America than in Western journalism. The analysis shows that narratives have formulaic analytical frameworks and put forth moral judgments. Disregarding objectivity, exposés weave facts and opinions and combine universal and local cultural themes to express editorial positions. By relying on stock narratives that neatly cast characters in morality plays, journalism provides superficial portrayals of the moral order.

A Method of Minimizing the Variance of the Horvitz-Thompson Estimator in Selection with Unequal Probabilities without Replacement / Ein Verfahren zur Minimierung der Varianz des Horvitz-Thompson Schätzers bei Auswahl mit unterschiedlichen Wahrscheinlichkeiten ohne Zurücklegen

Summary In this paper the variance of the Horvitz-Thompson estimator is minimized by an iterative method with the help of spline functions. As result an objective rule is given, how many of the units with greatest size must be taken apriori into the sample.

Are personality differences between twins predicted by astrology?

In Fuzeau-Braesch [ Astrologie: La Preuve par Deux (1992a) and Personality and Individual Differences 13, 1135–1144 (1992b)] the parents of 238 pairs of twins matched brief astrological descriptions with their twins' personalities and achieved 68.5% hits, very significantly better than the 50% expected by chance. The author concluded that astrology may be a “new element in differentiating personality within a pair of twins.” But we found reasons for doubt: her result is incompatible with previous findings, the disattenuated effect size is too high, the interval between births does not increase with increasing personality difference as required by her hypothesis, the astrological descriptions frequently differ from those prescribed by her supposedly objective rules, and the hit rate does not replicate. We then attempted to find an explanation for her results: we found evidence of artifacts in her reported data due to response set and stereotypes, and we found discrepancies between the reported data and the original data. Our re-analysis of the original data showed no significant deviation from chance. We conclude that an astrological explanation of Fuzeau-Braesch's results is unwarranted. The stereotype bias uncovered by us deserves to be added to the general list of human judgement biases.

The application of the buccal object rule for the determination of calcified root canals.

Root canal calcification represents a serious problem which often occurs in clinical practice. Calcified root canals are difficult or even impossible to find and treat conservatively. In this paper, a technique is proposed which may be helpful in detecting and locating calcified root canal(s) and properly treating them. The proposed technique is simple and easy to perform in posterior and anterior teeth, and it may be useful in everyday clinical practice.

Parables of Freedom and Necessity

EpilogueGeoffrey Chaucer’s ‘The Frankeleyn’s Tale” and Bertold Brecht’sThe Exception and the Rule seem to have very little in common. Chaucer’smedieval narrative poem tries to follow the norms of its genre andfulfiil the reader’s expectations, whereas Brecht’s modernist experimentalplay violates many of the rules of drama laid down by Aristotle and otherclassical critics. It deliberately shocks the reader out of any facile identificationwith the characters as well as any willing suspension of disbelief.But despite their many obvious differences, this study argues that theirsimilarities are quite relevant and significant. Both works deal with thethemes of human freedom, moral responsibility, and ability to transcend.These are among the major themes of literature throughout time-butthey have acquired particular poignancy in our modern time with the riseand gradual unfolding of what I term the “Paradigmatic sequence of secularization.”Since the terms “paradigm” and “secularism” are alreadyquite problematic, and to talk of “a paradigmatic sequence of secularization”is even more so, some kind of clarification and even redefinition isin order.ParadigmsWhen a critic singles out two literary works for comparison, thechoice is not guided by some universally established objective rules, butrather dictated by a certain set of assumptions, norms, criteria, biases, andso on. When he/she engages in the critical act itself, pointing out structuraland thematic relations (of similarity and dissimilarity), he/she does ...

War das Absicht? Indikatoren subjektiver Intentionalitätszustände bei der ethischen Bewertung von Argumentationsbeiträgen

The concept of argumentational integrity describes criteria for evaluating contributions to argumentative discussions from an ethical perspective. These criteria have been elaborated in the form of conditions for, characteristics, and standards of (un-)fair argumentation; keeping to these conditions has been defined as fair, to consciously violate them as unfair argumentation. This definition presupposes that an >unfairness verdict< necessarily comprises two components: (a) There must be a violation of an argumentative rule; (b) this violation must have been committed with some degree of awareness. Thus in evaluating an argumentative rule violation as unfair, one has to take into account the speaker’s subjective state of intentionality. In this paper we first discuss the theoretical distinction between an objective rule violation and the subjective awareness in analogy to the German criminal law; on this basis we then report a study where the hypothesis that both the severity of the objective rule violation and the subjective degree of intentionality play a part in unfairness evaluations could be empirically confirmed (1.). Next, we ask how intentionality might be inferred in everyday communication; we put forward a category system of potential cues to (or indicators of) intentionality which was derived on the basis of pragmalinguistic analyses of everyday argumentative interactions (2.). In the last part of the paper we present two empirical studies where we tested for some of these potential indicators whether they are in fact used to infer intentionality in evaluating argumentative discussions. The results show that the indicators have a differential effect on the attribution of intentionality, depending on the type of the indicator as well as on the severity of the argumentative rule violation (3.).

Pyrométrie multispectrale infrarouge: application aux métaux

Infrared multiwavelength pyrometry: application to metals. The aim of this work is the temperature measurement of welded metallic materials in order to study the cooling kinetic in solid phase during the welding. To take the constraints of the process into account, a fast noncontract method is indispensable. Moreover, the emissive properties of the metal evolve during the process and cannot be known a priori. The multiwavelength pyrometry can solve this problem : first the thermal emission is simultaneously measured at N wavelengths, then a parameter identification technique using a physical or an empirical model for the emissivity leads to the identification of the temperature and the spectral emissivity. We adapted this method to a temperature range between 500 K and the melting/solidification temperature of the metallic material. Various metallic samples have been studied (steels, titanium, aluminium). For each sample, the results present a relative deviation between the identified and experimental (thermocouple) temperatures of less than 2 %, for the more adapted theoretical models. This study does not lead to objective rules for the choice of the emissivity model. On the other hand, for some groups of materials (austenitic stainless steels, and carbon steels), it has been possible to select one or several models giving suitable results for similar samples.

Teaching radiographic localization in dental schools in the United States and Canada

Although radiographic localization is an essential element of the practices of radiography and radiology, its incorporation into the dental curriculum has not previously been studied. This project surveyed dental schools in the United States and Canada on the relative amount of time that was given to instruction in various localization techniques and instructor opinion of the adequacy of training in localization skills. Ninety-eight percent of all dental schools returned questionnaires. Respondents who felt that teaching time was inadequate had mean rank time scores that were 40% less for total localization instruction and 57% less for teaching anatomic clues of the Buccal Object Rule than those who felt that teaching time was adequate. Because the Buccal Object Rule, cues, and cues represent the definitive dose-reducing approach to radiographic localization and because the Buccal Object Rule is readily applied across a broad range of clinical disciplines and activities, we recommend that this concept be incorporated into the curricula of all dental schools.

A Method for Integrating End-User Preferences for Design Evaluation in Rule-Based Systems

Expert systems for design often include provisions for comparison of preliminary design alternatives. Historically, this task has been done on an ad hoc basis (or not at all) due to two difficulties. The first difficulty is design evaluation of multiple attributes. The second is that of taking into account highly subjective end-user preferences. Design experts have developed techniques which have enabled them to deal with these two difficulties; weighted average methods for the former and heuristic “rules of thumb” which categorize end-users for the latter. Limitations of these techniques are that the accuracy and precision of weighted average methods is inadequate, and that the “rules of thumb” might be reasonable and valid for most end-users, but not for some others. This paper brings quantitative rigor to the modelling of end-user preferences which is equal to that used in other phases of engineering analysis. We present a technique by which a heuristic rule base derived from technical experts can be analyzed and modified to integrate quantitative assessment of end-users’ subjective preferences. The operations research tool of multiattribute utility analysis is integrated with artificial intelligence techniques to facilitate preliminary evaluation of design alternatives of multiple attributes specific to individual users. The steps of the methodology are: develop the heuristic rule base, analyze the rule base to separate subjective from objective rules, add a subjective multiattribute utility assessment module, add an uncertainty assessment module, make objective rules explicit, and express performance attributes in terms of design decision variables. The key step is making the distinction between subjective and objective aspects of rules, and replacing the former with utility analysis. These steps are illustrated through an expert system for materials selection for a sailboat mast. Results indicate improved expert system performance for both “typical” and “atypical” end-users.

Business Ethics and Postmodernism: A Dangerous Dalliance

Postmodernism, a poorly defined term, is nevertheless influencing art, architecture, literature and philosophy. And despite its definitional ambiguities, some philosophers see in postmodernism a reason for the rise and interest in business ethics. This view is chailenged on two grounds: (1) its philosophical source in Europe; and (2) its vocabulary. Martin Heidegger, one of the major forces in postmodernism’s rise, left a confusing legacy. In his early years, Heidegger advocated moral subjectivism; in his later years, he argued that moral standards could be found in the lives of human gods whose pronouncements would replace the precepts of a Western Civilization he found decadent.Contemporary postmodernism seems to take inspiration from the views of both the younger and older Heidegger even though he, himself, saw contradictions between them. The confusion is compounded by incorporation of Neitzsche's God-is-dead thesis into Heideggerian thought, thereby, confronting philosophers with a dilemma: if God is out of the picture, and if objective rules derived from human nature do not exist, what human gods can lead us? Will they come from a political or cultural elite? How should we know them? Why should we trust them? Unless—and until—these questions are answered, it is unwise to build business ethics on a postmodern foundation.Another—and seemingly insignificant—reason for rejecting postmodernism ethics is the esoteric vocabulary used by its expositors to advance it. More jargon will not help philosophers who try to respond to moral questions raised by business managers themselves.

Koch's postulates for cholesterol

In the late 19th century, soon after bacteria were first shown to cause disease, a scientific witch-hunt began. In frenzied competition for glory and fame (but not yet NIH grants), scientists accused bacteria of causing all sorts of diseases. One embarrassing example is alcaptonuria, the classic inborn error of metabolism. Before Garrod, the black urine of affected patients was blamed on an intestinal bacterium that was said to convert tyrosine to homogentisic acid. To calm this finger-pointing frenzy, the bacteriologist Robert Koch established objective rules by which to indict an organism. The bacterium had to be isolated from an affected subject; it had to produce a disease when transmitted to an animal; and it had to be recoverable from the animal’s lesion. The common metabolic diseases, including atherosclerosis, hypertension, and adult-onset diabetes mellitus, have yet to emerge from the witch-hunt stage. Atherosclerosis, for one, has been blamed on everything from viruses to iron. These multifactorial diseases are more complex than the bacterial ones: most people can tolerate the offending agents, such as fat, salt, and sugar, without harm thanks to the protection of their genes. These agents cause disease only when the guardian genes are defective. To solve these multifactorial conspiracies, both the environmental provocateur and the derelict gene must be identified. And to convince the world of their joint culpability, rigorous proof must be provided, as Koch demanded. Molecular genetics has given us at last the opportunity to satisfy Koch’s postulates for multifactorial metabolic diseases. By manipulating genes in mice, living test tubes can be created to evaluate the combined effects of genes and environmental agents. The first step is to identify the environmental factor, which usually comes from a list of suspects gathered by epidemiologists operating on the principle of guilt by association. Next, candidate genes must be identified. The initial suspicion may come from knowledge of the metabolic pathway that normally handles the suspected environmental agent. Help can come from studying rare individuals with severe mutations that inactivate crucial genes and produce the disease without any environmental contribution. But to perform Koch’s test, both the genetic and environmental features of the disease must be reproduced in an animal, which is now possible in mice. In atherosclerosis research, molecular genetics has reached an advanced stage, and a leading example is found in this issue of Cell (Plump et al., 1992) and in a related article by Zhang et al. (1992) in the current issue of Science. Decades ago, epidemiologists found that high levels of blood cholesterol correlate with atherosclerosis in various populations. The level of blood cholesterol, in Minireview

`What do Girls Know Anyway?': Rationality, Gender and Social Control

Within psychology, as in other areas of science, rationality continues to be equated largely with the rules of logic and objectivity. It is also associated typically with masculinity. Psychological theories of rationality and of gender have been used, consciously or otherwise, as an effective social control strategy in the continuing social suppression of women, by portraying them as more suited to subordinate social roles. This paper shows how this has occurred through the imposition and maintenance of rules and ideologies based on rationality as objective logic. In order for the current locus of male social control to shift, several changes are necessary, including the recognition that rationality involves more than logic and that women's knowledge and its expression have their own equal validity.

Early Object Rule Acquisition

The purpose of this study was to generate a grounded theory of early object rule acquisition. The grounded theory approach and computer coding were used to analyze videotaped samples of an infant's and a toddler's independent object play, which produced the categories descriptive of three primary types of object rules; rules of object properties, rules of object action, and rules of object affect. This occupational science theory offers potential for understanding the role of objects in human occupations, for development of instruments, and for applications in occupational therapy early intervention.

Localization of paraoral soft tissue calcifications: the known object rule

The interpretation of panoramic radiographs requires an understanding of the formation of real and ghost images in rotational panoramic radiology. This article illustrates the use of principles of interpretation in panoramic radiology to identify paraoral soft tissue calcifications, which appear as lesions in the third molar-ramus region of the mandible. The known object rule, a variation of the buccal object rule, is presented as an aid in identifying soft tissue calcifications of the region of the head and neck.

Federal Reimbursement for Mandates on State and Local Governments

One of the remedies sought by state and local officials for the growing burden of federal mandates is a mandate reimbursement law. A major purpose of mandate reimbursement is to deter Congress from imposing excessive costs on state and local governments by making it fully accountable for its actions. The paper begins by extending the economic theory of grants to mandates and reimbursed mandates. It goes on to assess the benefits and costs of mandate reimbursement, and to distinguish mandates that should be reimbursed, should a reimbursement program prove desirable, from those that should not. Then, using the economic theory of grants and mandates, the paper compares reimbursed mandates with two alternatives for accomplishing the same objective, compensating grants and procedural rules. It concludes that the latter are more promising than mandate reimbursement.

An implementation model for reasoning with complex objects

In this paper, we first propose a natural syntactical extension of DATALOG called NESTED_DATALOG for dealing with complex objects represented as nested predicates. Then, we introduce the token object model which is a simple extension of the relational model with tokens to represent complex objects and support referential information sharing. An implementation model of a NESTED_DATALOG program is defined by mapping it to the token object model which remains a straightforward extension of classical logical databases. Through this work, we can accommodate two basic requirements. The availability of a rule language for reasoning with complex objects, and the mechanism for mapping a complex object rule program to a relational DBMS offering a pure DATALOG rule language. In summary, the main contributions of the paper are the definition of a rule language for complex objects and the development of a technique to compile this complex object rule language to classical DATALOG.