Standard Of Truth Research Articles

Konsep Kebenaran Ibnu Sina

Truth is an absolute that must be achieved by human beings. It is because there is an element of the human instincts characteristic in the truth; to seek, to understand and to comprehend. Without the truth, human life would lose a barometer of humanity values. There is a problem when a standard of truth is seized by some ideologies which come from human thought. Therefore, this paper tries to research the concept of truth deeper, including the process of its presence and its causes. To shorten the long discussion of the theory of truth, the author of this article tries to focus his research on Ibnu Sina’s theory of the truth. As a great philosopher of Islam, Ibnu Sina has an ideal concept of epistemology, so it is worthy to be studied. For the theory of truth, Ibnu Sina has an interesting view on it. According to him, the truth is contained in philosophical thinking which he describes as wisdom. He divides it into two main concepts. In addition, he also explains the the relation between the truth and the philosophy built upon three important reasons. This paper also explains the relation between the truth and the concept of mind, which is called kama>l al-awwal in Ibnu Sina’s terms. Further, this study also discusses the relation of intuition with the theory of truth. Ibnu Sina called intuition with some terms, such as ma’rifah, tah}s}i>l, and mula>h}az}ah

Stakeholders fear for Trump-era science

Media coverage reflects perplexity and uncertainty—plus worry about a basic truth standard. Media coverage reflects perplexity and uncertainty—plus worry about a basic truth standard.

Quantitation of PET signal as an adjunct to visual interpretation of florbetapir imaging

PurposeThis study examined the feasibility of using quantitation to augment interpretation of florbetapir PET amyloid imaging.MethodsA total of 80 physician readers were trained on quantitation of florbetapir PET images and the principles for using quantitation to augment a visual read. On day 1, the readers completed a visual read of 96 scans (46 autopsy-verified and 50 from patients seeking a diagnosis). On day 2, 69 of the readers reinterpreted the 96 scans augmenting their interpretation with quantitation (VisQ method) using one of three commercial software packages. A subset of 11 readers reinterpreted all scans on day 2 based on a visual read only (VisVis control). For the autopsy-verified scans, the neuropathologist’s modified CERAD plaque score was used as the truth standard for interpretation accuracy. Because an autopsy truth standard was not available for scans from patients seeking a diagnosis, the majority VisQ interpretation of the three readers with the best accuracy in interpreting autopsy-verified scans was used as the reference standard.ResultsDay 1 visual read accuracy was high for both the autopsy-verified scans (90%) and the scans from patients seeking a diagnosis (87.3%). Accuracy improved from the visual read to the VisQ read (from 90.1% to 93.1%, p < 0.0001). Importantly, access to quantitative information did not decrease interpretation accuracy of the above-average readers (>90% on day 1). Accuracy in interpreting the autopsy-verified scans also increased from the first to the second visual read (VisVis group). However, agreement with the reference standard (best readers) for scans from patients seeking a diagnosis did not improve with a second visual read, and in this cohort the VisQ group was significantly improved relative to the VisVis group (change 5.4% vs. −1.1%, p < 0.0001).ConclusionThese results indicate that augmentation of visual interpretation of florbetapir PET amyloid images with quantitative information obtained using commercially available software packages did not reduce the accuracy of readers who were already performing with above average accuracy on the visual read and may improve the accuracy and confidence of some readers in clinically relevant cases.

Optimized classification of 18F-Florbetaben PET scans as positive and negative using an SUVR quantitative approach and comparison to visual assessment.

IntroductionStandardized uptake value ratios (SUVRs) calculated from cerebral cortical areas can be used to categorize 18F-Florbetaben (FBB) PET scans by applying appropriate cutoffs. The objective of this work was first to generate FBB SUVR cutoffs using visual assessment (VA) as standard of truth (SoT) for a number of reference regions (RR) (cerebellar gray matter (GCER), whole cerebellum (WCER), pons (PONS), and subcortical white matter (SWM)). Secondly, to validate the FBB PET scan categorization performed by SUVR cutoffs against the categorization made by post-mortem histopathological confirmation of the Aβ presence. Finally, to evaluate the added value of SUVR cutoff categorization to VA.MethodsSUVR cutoffs were generated for each RR using FBB scans from 143 subjects who were visually assessed by 3 readers. SUVR cutoffs were validated in 78 end-of life subjects using VA from 8 independent blinded readers (3 expert readers and 5 non-expert readers) and histopathological confirmation of the presence of neuritic beta-amyloid plaques as SoT. Finally, the number of correctly or incorrectly classified scans according to pathology results using VA and SUVR cutoffs was compared.ResultsComposite SUVR cutoffs generated were 1.43 (GCER), 0.96 (WCER), 0.78 (PONS) and 0.71 (SWM). Accuracy values were high and consistent across RR (range 83–94% for histopathology, and 85–94% for VA). SUVR cutoff performed similarly as VA but did not improve VA classification of FBB scans read either by expert readers or the majority read but provided higher accuracy than some non-expert readers.ConclusionThe accurate scan classification obtained in this study supports the use of VA as SoT to generate site-specific SUVR cutoffs. For an elderly end of life population, VA and SUVR cutoff categorization perform similarly in classifying FBB scans as Aβ-positive or Aβ-negative. These results emphasize the additional contribution that SUVR cutoff classification may have compared with VA performed by non-expert readers.

Performance of [18F]flutemetamol amyloid imaging against the neuritic plaque component of CERAD and the current (2012) NIA-AA recommendations for the neuropathologic diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease

IntroductionPerformance of the amyloid tracer [18F]flutemetamol was evaluated against three pathology standard of truth (SoT) measures including neuritic plaques (CERAD “original” and “modified” and the amyloid component of the 2012 NIA-AA guidelines). MethodsAfter [18F]flutemetamol imaging, 106 end-of-life patients who died underwent postmortem brain examination for amyloid plaque load. Blinded positron emission tomography scan interpretations by five independent electronically trained readers were compared with pathology measures. ResultsBy SoT, sensitivity and specificity of majority image interpretations were, respectively, 91.9% and 87.5% with “original CERAD,” 90.8% and 90.0% with “modified CERAD,” and 85.7% and 100% with the 2012 NIA-AA criteria. DiscussionThe high accuracy of either CERAD criteria suggests that [18F]flutemetamol predominantly reflects neuritic amyloid plaque density. However, the use of CERAD criteria as the SoT can result in some false-positive results because of the presence of diffuse plaques, which are accounted for when the positron emission tomography read is compared with the 2012 NIA-AA criteria.

Does Democratic Theory Need Epistemic Standards?

This article proposes a critical discussion of an increasingly influential strand of contemporary democratic theory that attempts to justify majoritarian institutions on the grounds that they are the most adequate “epistemic” means for discovering and implementing an objective standard of normative truth. The analysis is divided in two parts. In the first I show that the appeal to such epistemic standards is unnecessary because it is possible to justify majority rule on the “purely procedural” grounds that it is the best way of instantiating the values of freedom (as consent) and equality (as impartiality). In the second part I suggest that the appeal to epistemic standards is also undesirable because it conflicts with three key democratic values: autonomy (as self-government), inclusion (as lack of discrimination in terms of political competence), and pluralism (as fair representation of conflicting interests within the political process).

Facial Laxity Rating Scale Validation Study

Age, weight change, clinical or surgical procedures, and distinctive characteristics, combine to be perceived as degrees of flaccidity. There is an absence of a validated scale to accurately assess the firmness-laxity spectrum of the face and neck with accepted classification and terminology. To create a simplified assessment tool to measure the degree of laxity in the face and neck: the Facial Laxity Rating (FLR) scale. The FLR scale evaluates 4 distinctive signs (eyelid folds, nasojugal folds, jowls, and neck profile) in 4 regions: upper face, middle face, lower face, and neck. This study incorporated a focused training component for 7 independent physician blinded photograph scorers. A total of 188 ratings were assessed. Combined weighted kappa inter-rater agreement was 0.77 (95% CI, 0.76-0.78) for 188 ratings. Mean inter-rater agreement for laxity class was 0.78 (95% CI, 0.77-0.80). Agreement scoring relative to the truth standard was 92.53% (90.31-94.21), averaged for 7 investigators. This study effectively presents the validation of the FLR scale for both inter-rater and agreement relative to the truth standard, demonstrating that the FLR scale may be used as a reliable instrument for quantitative assessment of chronological or treatment related laxity of the face and neck.

Critical Realist and Postpositivist Realist Feminisms: Towards a Feminist Dialectical Realism

Current inquiries into the meaning of feminist concepts, such as the third world woman worker, seek to explain contemporary social relations of global capitalism within the context of the legacy of post-colonialist structures. At the same time, these very concepts draw attention to the limitations of language to adequately approximate the world as it is in order to capture some truth about its categorical entities, in particular, about the embodied experiences of the third world women worker. Through a comparative analysis of critical and postpositivist realisms that highlights feminist interventions in the context of standpoint epistemology, and the evolution in both towards dialectics, I argue that feminist dialectical realism offers an alternative to feminist poststructuralist materialisms as well as addresses limitations in prevailing standards for truth in social theory and philosophy.

Redefining Reality: A Critical View of Power and Good Science

In this article I propose that a ‘critical’ standard of truth (i.e., a polyvocal standard of truth that derives from negating the influences of coercive power) can create a link between conceptual, philosophical social issues and the empirical practice of sociological science. Such a definition of truth also serves to illuminate the dynamic and multifaceted relationship between social agents and their coercive social environments. I argue that, although agency needs to be defined in terms that are oppositional to structural constraint, agency and social structure must also be compatible and coproductive. Finally, this definition of truth facilitates a broader and more inclusive definition of sociological subject matter, while also advocating a working alternative to the conventional definition and practice of ‘good’ science.

Compositional uncertainty should not be ignored in high-throughput sequencing data analysis

High throughput sequencing generates sparse compositional data, yet these datasets are rarely analyzed using a compositional approach. In addition, the variation inherent in these datasets is rarely acknowledged, but ignoring it can result in many false positive inferences. We demonstrate that examination of point estimates of the data can result in false positive results, even with appropriate zero replacement approaches, using an in vitro selection dataset with an outside standard of truth. The variation inherent in real high-throughput sequencing datasets is demonstrated, and we show that this varia- tion can be approximated, and hence accounted for, by Monte-Carlo sampling from the Dirichlet distribution. This approximation when used by itself is itself problematic, but becomes useful when coupled with a log-ratio approach commonly used in compositional data analysis. Thus, the approach illustrated here that merges Bayesian estimation with principles of compositional data analysis should be generally useful for high-dimensional count compositional data of the type generated by high throughput sequencing.

18F-FLORBETABEN SUVR CUTOFF QUANTIFICATION ACROSS REFERENCE REGIONS AND STANDARDS OF TRUTH AND COMPARISON TO VISUAL ASSESSMENT

18F-FLORBETABEN SUVR CUTOFF QUANTIFICATION ACROSS REFERENCE REGIONS AND STANDARDS OF TRUTH AND COMPARISON TO VISUAL ASSESSMENT

Epistemic Norms and the Limits of Epistemology

I raise a dilemma for an epistemology based on the idea that there are hinge propositions or primitive certainties: either such propositions are norms or rules in the “grammatical” sense, but they cannot regulate our inquiries since they are not genuine propositions obeying truth or evidential standards, or they are epistemic norms, but compete with the classical norms of belief and knowledge. Either there are hinges, but they have nothing to do with epistemology, or hinges are part of our knowledge, and their epistemology is part of ordinary epistemology.

Barbarians in/of the Land: Representations of Muslim Youth in the Canadian Press

This paper examines representations of Muslim youth in a major Canadian newspaper, The Globe and Mail, over a four-year period (2010 to 2013). The first part of the article reviews some of the relevant literature regarding Muslim representations in the Western, mainstream media, paying particular attention to representations of Muslim youth. Based on a close analysis of a corpus of 158 news stories, a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the coverage is presented. Using a postcolonial and critical race perspective, this article traces the ways in which Muslim youth are represented, illustrating the ways in which a racial logic inscribes them. The findings suggest that Muslim youth are cast not only as an enemy within the nation state, but also as a contaminating force that must be disciplined or ejected from the body politic. They are, in short, barbarians in and of the land. At the same time, these representations cohere to produce an image of the nation as benevolent and dedicated to universal standards of truth and justice.

Myocardial perfusion analysis in cardiac computed tomography angiographic images at rest.

Cardiac computed tomography angiography (CTA) is a non-invasive method for anatomic evaluation of coronary artery stenoses. However, CTA is prone to artifacts that reduce the diagnostic accuracy to identify stenoses. Further, CTA does not allow for determination of the physiologic significance of the visualized stenoses. In this paper, we propose a new system to determine the physiologic manifestation of coronary stenoses by assessment of myocardial perfusion from typically acquired CTA images at rest. As a first step, we develop an automated segmentation method to delineate the left ventricle. Both endocardium and epicardium are compactly modeled with subdivision surfaces and coupled by explicit thickness representation. After initialization with five anatomical landmarks, the model is adapted to a target image by deformation increments including control vertex displacements and thickness variations guided by trained AdaBoost classifiers, and regularized by a prior of deformation increments from principal component analysis (PCA). The evaluation using a 5-fold cross-validation demonstrates the overall segmentation error to be 1.00 ± 0.39 mm for endocardium and 1.06 ± 0.43 mm for epicardium, with a boundary contour alignment error of 2.79 ± 0.52. Based on our LV model, two types of myocardial perfusion analyzes have been performed. One is a perfusion network analysis, which explores the correlation (as network edges) pattern of perfusion between all pairs of myocardial segments (as network nodes) defined in AHA 17-segment model. We find perfusion network display different patterns in the normal and disease groups, as divided by whether significant coronary stenosis is present in quantitative coronary angiography (QCA). The other analysis is a clinical validation assessment of the ability of the developed algorithm to predict whether a patient has significant coronary stenosis when referenced to an invasive QCA ground truth standard. By training three machine learning techniques using three features of normalized perfusion intensity, transmural perfusion ratio, and myocardial wall thickness, we demonstrate AdaBoost to be slightly better than Naive Bayes and Random Forest by the area under receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve. For the AdaBoost algorithm, an optimal cut-point reveals an accuracy of 0.70, with sensitivity and specificity of 0.79 and 0.64, respectively. Our study shows perfusion analysis from CTA images acquired at rest is useful for providing physiologic information in diagnosis of obstructive coronary artery stenoses.

DeTEXT: A Database for Evaluating Text Extraction from Biomedical Literature Figures.

Hundreds of millions of figures are available in biomedical literature, representing important biomedical experimental evidence. Since text is a rich source of information in figures, automatically extracting such text may assist in the task of mining figure information. A high-quality ground truth standard can greatly facilitate the development of an automated system. This article describes DeTEXT: A database for evaluating text extraction from biomedical literature figures. It is the first publicly available, human-annotated, high quality, and large-scale figure-text dataset with 288 full-text articles, 500 biomedical figures, and 9308 text regions. This article describes how figures were selected from open-access full-text biomedical articles and how annotation guidelines and annotation tools were developed. We also discuss the inter-annotator agreement and the reliability of the annotations. We summarize the statistics of the DeTEXT data and make available evaluation protocols for DeTEXT. Finally we lay out challenges we observed in the automated detection and recognition of figure text and discuss research directions in this area. DeTEXT is publicly available for downloading at http://prir.ustb.edu.cn/DeTEXT/.

Justice and the Dark Arts: Law and Shamanism in Amazonia

ABSTRACTThe idea of “law” as a regulating force external to individuals is rapidly gaining traction among Peruvian Urarina. Its uptake and mode of use have been guided by local forms of shamanic practice, reflecting the common basis of law and shamanism in ritual and violence. Yet despite people's best efforts to deploy law on their own terms—namely as a weapon through which a higher force or authority is harnessed to individual ends—law, unlike shamanism, is inherently unifying rather than fragmenting and implies a unitary standard of truth and justice that is inimical to Amazonian political cosmology. Law epitomizes the centralizing processes of the state, promoting a fragile peace but only by establishing a monopoly on violence. [law, shamanism, subjectivity, violence, morality, Urarina, Peru, Amazonia]

Training labels for hippocampal segmentation based on the EADC-ADNI harmonized hippocampal protocol

BackgroundThe European Alzheimer's Disease Consortium and Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) Harmonized Protocol (HarP) is a Delphi definition of manual hippocampal segmentation from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that can be used as the standard of truth to train new tracers, and to validate automated segmentation algorithms. Training requires large and representative data sets of segmented hippocampi. This work aims to produce a set of HarP labels for the proper training and certification of tracers and algorithms. MethodsSixty-eight 1.5 T and 67 3 T volumetric structural ADNI scans from different subjects, balanced by age, medial temporal atrophy, and scanner manufacturer, were segmented by five qualified HarP tracers whose absolute interrater intraclass correlation coefficients were 0.953 and 0.975 (left and right). Labels were validated as HarP compliant through centralized quality check and correction. ResultsHippocampal volumes (mm3) were as follows: controls: left = 3060 (standard deviation [SD], 502), right = 3120 (SD, 897); mild cognitive impairment (MCI): left = 2596 (SD, 447), right = 2686 (SD, 473); and Alzheimer’s disease (AD): left = 2301 (SD, 492), right = 2445 (SD, 525). Volumes significantly correlated with atrophy severity at Scheltens' scale (Spearman's ρ = <−0.468, P = <.0005).Cerebrospinal fluid spaces (mm3) were as follows: controls: left = 23 (32), right = 25 (25); MCI: left = 15 (13), right = 22 (16); and AD: left = 11 (13), right = 20 (25). Five subjects (3.7%) presented with unusual anatomy. ConclusionsThis work provides reference hippocampal labels for the training and certification of automated segmentation algorithms. The publicly released labels will allow the widespread implementation of the standard segmentation protocol.

Classification of non-demented patients attending a memory clinic using the new diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer's disease with disease-related biomarkers.

New diagnostic criteria for predemential Alzheimer's disease (AD) advocate the use of biomarkers. However, the benefit of using biomarkers has not been clearly demonstrated in clinical practice. To investigate whether a combination of biomarkers may be helpful in classifying a population of non-demented patients attending a Memory Clinic. Sixty non-demented patients were compared with 31 healthy elderly subjects. All subjects underwent a neuropsychological examination, brain 3T magnetic resonance imaging, [F18]-fluorodeoxyglucose and [F18]-flutemetamol positron emission tomography. According to their performance on memory, language, executive, and visuo-spatial domains, the patients were classified as mild cognitive impairment (amnestic, non-amnestic, single, or multiple domain) or subjective cognitive impairment. Patients were then classified according to the National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer's Association (NIA-AA) criteria, using the normalized mean hippocampal volume (Freesurfer), [F18]-FDG PALZAD, and [F18]-flutemetamol standard uptake value ratio (SUVr) (cut-off at the 10th percentile of controls). The standard of truth was the clinical status at study entry (patient versus control). The sensitivity/specificity of the clinical classification was 65/84%. The NIA-AA criteria were applicable in 85% of patients and 87% of controls. For biomarkers the best sensitivity (72%) at a fixed specificity of 84% was achieved by a combination of the three biomarkers. The clinical diagnosis was reconsidered in more than one third of the patients (42%) as a result of including the biomarker results. Application of the new NIA-AA AD diagnostic criteria based on biomarkers in an unselected sample of non-demented patients attending a Memory Clinic was useful in allowing for a better classification of the subjects.

Automated quantification of 18F-flutemetamol PET activity for categorizing scans as negative or positive for brain amyloid: concordance with visual image reads.

Clinical trials of the PET amyloid imaging agent (18)F-flutemetamol have used visual assessment to classify PET scans as negative or positive for brain amyloid. However, quantification provides additional information about regional and global tracer uptake and may have utility for image assessment over time and across different centers. Using postmortem brain neuritic plaque density data as a truth standard to derive a standardized uptake value ratio (SUVR) threshold, we assessed a fully automated quantification method comparing visual and quantitative scan categorizations. We also compared the histopathology-derived SUVR threshold with one derived from healthy controls. Data from 345 consenting subjects enrolled in 8 prior clinical trials of (18)F-flutemetamol injection were used. We grouped subjects into 3 cohorts: an autopsy cohort (n = 68) comprising terminally ill patients with postmortem confirmation of brain amyloid status; a test cohort (n = 172) comprising 33 patients with clinically probable Alzheimer disease, 80 patients with mild cognitive impairment, and 59 healthy volunteers; and a healthy cohort of 105 volunteers, used to define a reference range for SUVR. Visual image categorizations for comparison were from a previous study. A fully automated PET-only quantification method was used to compute regional neocortical SUVRs that were combined into a single composite SUVR. An SUVR threshold for classifying scans as positive or negative was derived by ranking the PET scans from the autopsy cohort based on their composite SUVR and comparing data with the standard of truth based on postmortem brain amyloid status for subjects in the autopsy cohort. The derived threshold was used to categorize the 172 scans in the test cohort as negative or positive, and results were compared with categorization using visual assessment. Different reference and composite region definitions were assessed. Threshold levels were also compared with corresponding thresholds derived from the healthy group. Automated quantification (using pons as the reference region) demonstrated 91% sensitivity and 88% specificity and gave 3 false-positive and 4 false-negative scans. All 3 false-positive cases were either borderline-normal by standard of truth or had moderate to heavy cortical diffuse plaque burden. In the test cohort, the concordance between quantitative and visual read categorization ranged from 97.1% to 99.4% depending on the selection of reference and composite regions. The threshold derived from the healthy group was close to the histopathology-derived threshold. Categorization of (18)F-flutemetamol amyloid imaging data using an automated PET-only quantification method showed good agreement with histopathologic classification of neuritic plaque density and a strong concordance with visual read results.

Incidental uptake of (18)F-fluorocholine (FCH) in the head or in the neck of patients with prostate cancer.

BackgroundPositron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT) with 18F-fluorocholine (FCH) is routinely performed in patients with prostate cancer. In this clinical context, foci of FCH uptake in the head or in the neck were considered as incidentalomas, except for those suggestive of multiple bone metastases.ResultsIn 8 patients the incidental focus corresponded to a benign tumour. The standard of truth was histology in two cases, correlative imaging with MRI in four cases, 99mTc-SestaMIBI scintigraphy, ultrasonography and biochemistry in one case and biochemistry including PTH assay in one case. The final diagnosis of benign tumours consisted in 3 pituitary adenomas, 2 meningiomas, 2 hyperfunctioning parathyroid glands and 1 thyroid adenoma.Malignancy was proven histologically in 2 other patients: 1 papillary carcinoma of the thyroid and 1 cerebellar metastasis.ConclusionsTo the best of our knowledge, FCH uptake by pituitary adenomas or hyperfunctioning parathyroid glands has never been described previously. We thus discuss whether there might be a future indication for FCH PET/CT when one such tumour is already known or suspected: to detect a residual or recurrent pituitary adenoma after surgery, to guide surgery or radiotherapy of a meningioma or to localise a hyperfunctioning parathyroid gland. In these potential indications, comparative studies with reference PET tracers or with 99mTc-sestaMIBI in case of hyperparathyroidism could be undertaken.