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According to Kripke’s thesis of the necessity of origin, if an object has an origin, it necessarily has that origin. Kripke’s thesis has special cases that we may refer to as “origin theses” when applied to certain types of objects, such as humans and tables. While origin theses have intuitive plausibility, why they are true remains unclear. This paper addresses a prominent line of defense for origin theses. In a celebrated note in Naming and Necessity, Kripke briefly presented an incomplete argument. Advocates of this line of defense attempt to establish origin theses by proposing additional principles with which to complete Kripke’s argument. I call these defenses “Kripkean defenses.” The usual debate in the literature regarding Kripkean defenses has focused on the justifiability of the proposed principles. In this paper, I highlight a neglected issue that arises for Kripkean defenders, even if the debate is assumed to be settled in their favor. I argue that, even if Kripke’s argument is sound, it falls short of establishing origin theses, leaving an inferential gap. How to close the gap is a new problem for Kripkean defenders. My goal in the paper is to offer a solution that I believe is their best hope. If I am right, Kripkean defenders should commit themselves to the Aristotelian view that individuals such as human beings and tables are, in a robust Aristotelian sense, substances with irreducible powers that emerge from the powers of their causal origin.

Crime victimization is one of the most stressful negative events and brings numerous adverse outcomes to victims. Victims suffer from physical damage, property loss, psychological trauma, and behavioral problems. Many studies have examined these adverse consequences of crime victimization, but a comprehensive approach for victims who are school-aged girls has been relatively under-documented. To fill the gap in the literature, this study analyzes data from a nationally representative sample of Korean school-aged girls (N = 3762). The results of the regression analyses indicate that previous victimization is associated with lower life satisfaction, increased negative emotions, and a fear of crime, and appears to elevate the risk of revictimization and delinquent behavior. It is concluded that victims should be treated with appropriate resources and support to reduce future adverse outcomes.

Researchers have explored the effects of marijuana legalization on a range of outcomes, including crime and public health. Relatively few, however, have explored the effects of legalization on measures of black market activity. To fill a gap in the literature, this study examined the effects of recreational and medical marijuana legalization on United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) marijuana seizure activity. A state-level panel data analysis (with data from 2010 – 2019) revealed that states’ legalization schemes were correlated with seizures. Specifically, medical legalization was associated with increased seizures, irrespective of shipment origin. The key takeaway is that legalization affects black market activity, as measured by federal USPIS seizures. This is important because prior studies of the marijuana legalization—black market nexus were either speculative as to the connections or concerned solely with drug pricing. Implications and limitations are discussed.

The association between immigration and crime has been the center of debates not only in the field of criminology but also in political arguments. However, consistent findings in empirical research show a null association or even crime reduction effects of immigration. To fill the gap in the literature and provide a more comprehensive understanding, this dissertation examines the immigration and crime nexus at multiple dimensions: individual, perceptual, and structural. Using data from various sources, the results of three studies note four important findings: (1) immigration/immigrant status holds a negative association with crime, (2) immigrants are different from non-immigrant residents regarding antisocial attitudes, presenting more favorable attitudes toward criminal behavior, (3) theoretical frameworks of the revitalization perspective and rational choice theory work in explaining lower levels of crime within immigrant groups or communities, and (4) cultural and environmental contexts matter to account for immigration and crime nexus. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are also discussed in the study.

My aim in the dissertation is to vindicate a general view of identities of objects which I call the relational principle of identity. The essence of the principle is that the identity of an object is defined in terms of its relational features or, equivalently, relations an object bears to other objects are part of its identity. This principle has not been widely appreciated. Rather philosophers have explicitly or implicitly adopted either the primitive principle — i.e. the view that the identity of an object is something primitive — or the local principle — i.e. the view that the identity of an object is the features the object locally has within its region. As a way to show that the non-relational approach (whether the primitive principle or the local principle) is problematic, I argue against what I call the doctrine of alienation to which any non-relational principle of identity is committed. The basic idea behind the doctrine of alienation is that, when objects have a relation between them, their identities are already complete prior to their relation and the relation is merely additional or extrinsic to their identities. I show that anyone subscribing to the basic idea of alienation must face what I call the problem of alienation — i.e. we cannot achieve our naturalist aspiration to get by without mysterious primitives unless we give up the doctrine of alienation.

This paper proposed a novel real-time inductance tracking algorithm. This algorithm estimates the inductance of interior permanent magnet synchronous motors (IPMSMs) using electrical and mechanical equations. Unlike the conventional algorithms, the proposed online inductance identification algorithm does not need information on magnetic flux. Therefore, the parameter can be estimated of the variation with the operating point and cross-saturation effect. In this paper, a novel real-time parameter tracking algorithm based on the electrical torque estimator is derived. The feasibility and usefulness of the proposed inductance estimation technique are verified by simulation and experimental results.

This paper addresses the protection capability of a runway pavement by executing a field blast test on an airfield pavement subjected to blast loading from a CBU (cluster bomb unit), and by confirming the numerical simulation of warhead penetration and the form of damage. The CBU’s blast loading applies the BAP 100 of an air-to-ground munition in a similar scale. Penetration depth is calculated by a formula which incorporates the terminal speed of a free-falling cluster munition dispersed 20 km above the ground. According to the result of the calculation, the penetration depth by a cluster munition is 33 cm from the surface of the pavement. The field blast test was conducted based on this result. Furthermore, LS-DYNA software simulation was used to assess the condition of damage, determined by the depth of penetration and explosive pressure from a free-falling CBU landing on the airfield pavement from 20 km above the ground. The condition was ultimately used to verify the result of field testing and to confirm the scale of damage repair. The depth of explosion was 78 cm, from the surface to the crushed stone and sand layer below the pavement, and the diameter was 30 cm. The size of the crushed concrete that needed to be removed was an average diameter of 156 cm. The simulation result confirms that the diameter and depth of the crater are 67.6 cm and 67 cm, respectively, when the CBU is detonated under the same depth as the field testing, and the height of upheaval is 12 cm. The most appropriate method for repair, after a series of reviews, is to cut and remove a concrete slab 1.8 m × 1.8 m and cast the crushed stone layer disrupted from the explosion, followed by repairing the removed damaged concrete slab sections using rapid hardening concrete.

SRN001 is a small interfering RNA (siRNA) drug targeting amphiregulin. It was developed using a novel SAMiRNA platform, in which the siRNAs are protected within a self-assembled micelle. This platform eliminates the need for additional excipients to reduce unintended immune reactions. Amphiregulin plays a critical role in tissue repair and immune modulation. By silencing it, SRN001 is expected to be a therapeutic option for various pathologically fibrotic and cancerous diseases. This study aimed to evaluate safety and pharmacokinetics (PK) of SRN001 in humans for the first time. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, single ascending dose, Phase 1 trial was conducted (NCT05984992). Participants randomly received a single intravenous dose of SRN001 (15, 45, 135, or 210 mg) or placebo. Safety was assessed with vital signs, clinical laboratory tests, electrocardiograms, and inflammatory cytokine assays (IL-1β, IL-6, IFN-γ, and TNF-α). Serial blood samples were collected until 168 hours post-dose to quantify plasma antisense siRNA concentrations. Anti-drug antibodies (ADAs) were measured at pre-dose, 15 days, and 29 days post-dose. Among 25 participants, SRN001 was generally well tolerated. Unlike other approved siRNA drugs, no systemic symptoms or cytokine elevation suggestive of infusion-related reactions (IRRs) were observed in any subjects receiving SRN001, even without premedication. SRN001 exhibited dose-proportional exposure, with the average AUC of 1.35 ug·hour/mL in the 15 mg dose group, achieving the therapeutic exposure in preclinical studies. The average plasma half-life was 0.48 hours. No ADAs were detected. A single IV administration of SRN001 demonstrated a favorable safety profile and dose-proportional PK in this small first-in-human phase 1 clinical trial. By minimizing the need for excipients, the SAMiRNA platform is anticipated to facilitate the development of safer siRNA drugs in the future. Therapeutic potential of SRN001 will be explored in subsequent clinical trials.

The smartphone is a must-have mobile device for the military forces to accomplish critical missions and protect critical infrastructures. This paper explores the applicability of a technology prediction methodology to manage technological obsolescence while pursuing the acquisition of advanced commercial technology for military use. It reviews the Technology Forecasting using Data Envelopment Analysis (TFDEA) methodology and applies an author-written Stata program for smartphone technology forecasting using TFDEA. We analyzed smartphone launch data from 2005 to 2020 to predict the adoption of smartphone technology and discuss the pace of technological change. The study identifies that the market is undergoing reorganization as new smartphone models expand the market and increase their technical performance. The average rate of technological change, the efficiency change, and the technology change were 1.079, 1.004, and 1.011 each, respectively, which means that the technology progressed over the period. When dividing before and after 2017, technological change and efficiency change generally regressed except for Huawei, Xiaomi, and Oppo. This means that Chinese smartphones are expanding the global market in all directions and the technology is reaching maturity and market competition is accelerating.