Modern Modalities

The word "modem" in the title of this book refers primarily to post-medieval discussions, but it also hints at those medieval mo dal theories which were considered modem in contradistinction to ancient conceptions and which in different ways influenced philosophical discussions during the early modem period. The me dieval developments are investigated in the opening paper, 'The Foundations of Modality and Conceivability in Descartes and His Predecessors', by Lilli Alanen and Simo Knuuttila. Boethius's works from the early sixth century belonged to the sources from which early medieval thinkers obtained their knowledge of ancient thought. They offered extensive discus sions of traditional modal conceptions the basic forms of which were: (1) the paradigm of possibility as a potency striving to realize itself; (2) the "statistical" interpretation of modal no tions where necessity means actuality in all relevant cases or omnitemporal actuality, possibility means actuality in some rel evant cases or sometimes, and impossibility means omnitemporal non-actuality; and (3) the "logical" definition of possibility as something which, being assumed, results in nothing contradic tory. Boethius accepted the Aristotelian view according to which total possibilities in the first sense must prove their met tle through actualization and possibilities in the third sense are assumed to be realized in our actual history. On these presump tions, all of the above-mentioned ancient paradigms imply the Principle of Plenitude according to which no genuine possibility remains unrealized.

In modern healthcare, various medical modalities play key role in obtaining improved diagnosis performance used in various applications such as prosthesis design; surgical implant design; diagnosis and prognosis; detection of abnormalities in treatment of various diseases etc. This also uses analysis, modeling, and manipulation of modalities such as EEG, ECG, EMG, PCG, EOG, MRI, FMRI etc. for automatic identification and classification and diagnosis of different types of disorder and physiological states. The analysis and its applications for post-processing and diagnosis are much needed topics for a number of researchers and faculty members all across the world in the field of automated and efficient diagnosis using medical modalities. To meet the needs, this book emphasizes on real time challenges in medical modalities for variety of applications for analysis, classification, identification and diagnosis processes of healthcare system. Each chapter begins with an appropriate introduction and covers the need and motivation of the medical modality and a number of applications for realizing improved healthcare system. The chapters can be read independently by research scholars, graduate students, faculty members, and practicing scientists who wish to explore research in various disciplines of healthcare system, such as Computer Sciences, Medical Sciences, Biomedical engineering. The need of the book arises to better understand the healthcare system behaviour; concepts; principles; case studies and many more so that future research direction could be made better and the research efforts be strengthened. The book also aims to overcome the gap between usage of medical modalities and healthcare system. Several novel applications of medical modalities have been unlocked in recent years and thus discussing new applications, challenges and solutions for healthcare systems will be the focus of this book.

This volume explores key aspects of the transmission of learning and the transformation of thought from the late Middle Ages to the early modern period. The topics dealt with include metaphysics as a science, the rise of probabilistic modality, freedom of the human will, as well as the role and validity of logical reasoning in speculative theology. The volume will be of interest to scholars who work on medieval and early modern philosophy, theology, and intellectual history.

In modern healthcare, various medical modalities play an important role in improving the diagnostic performance in healthcare systems for various applications, such as prosthesis design, surgical implant design, diagnosis and prognosis, and detection of abnormalities in the treatment of various diseases. Analysis of Medical Modalities for Improved Diagnosis in Modern Healthcare discusses the uses of analysis, modeling, and manipulation of modalities, such as EEG, ECG, EMG, PCG, EOG, MRI, and FMRI, for an automatic identification, classification, and diagnosis of different types of disorders and physiological states. The analysis and applications for post-processing and diagnosis are much-needed topics for researchers and faculty members all across the world in the field of automated and efficient diagnosis using medical modalities. To meet this need, this book emphasizes real-time challenges in medical modalities for a variety of applications for analysis, classification, identification, and diagnostic processes of healthcare systems. Each chapter starts with the introduction, need and motivation of the medical modality, and a number of applications for the identification and improvement of healthcare systems. The chapters can be read independently or consecutively by research scholars, graduate students, faculty members, and practicing scientists who wish to explore various disciplines of healthcare systems, such as computer sciences, medical sciences, and biomedical engineering. This book aims to improve the direction of future research and strengthen research efforts of healthcare systems through analysis of behavior, concepts, principles, and case studies. This book also aims to overcome the gap between usage of medical modalities and healthcare systems. Several novel applications of medical modalities have been unlocked in recent years, therefore new applications, challenges, and solutions for healthcare systems are the focus of this book.

​This book provides an up-to-date and detailed overview of diagnostic and management strategies for rectal cancer. It includes chapters focusing on recent diagnostic modalities such as technical advances, the role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), immunology, and histopathology, as well as the latest surgical techniques for the management of rectal cancer. It also discusses the role of adjuvant, neo-adjuvant and non-operative approaches. Further, it presents the recent guidelines of prevention and early diagnosis, as well as current and future diagnostic and staging work-up, clearly and concisely, linking each topic to the therapeutic options arising from the staging. A large part of this multifaceted book is devoted to the in-hospital care of rectal cancer patients, from the fast-track procedures and enhanced recovery systems to detailed descriptions of the available surgical techniques, including salvage situations, accidents, complications and their treatment.

Interest in the metaphysics and logic of possible worlds goes back at least as far as Aristotle, but few books address the history of these important concepts. This volume offers new essays on the theories about the logical modalities (necessity and possibility) held by leading philosophers from Aristotle in ancient Greece to Rudolf Carnap in the twentieth century. The story begins with an illuminating discussion of Aristotle's views on the connection between logic and metaphysics, continues through the Stoic and mediaeval (including Arabic) traditions, and then moves to the early modern period with particular attention to Locke and Leibniz. The views of Kant, Peirce, C. I. Lewis and Carnap complete the volume. Many of the essays illuminate the connection between the historical figures studied, and recent or current work in the philosophy of modality. The result is a rich and wide-ranging picture of the history of the logical modalities.

Since antiquity, philosophy and rhetoric have traditionally been cast as rivals, with the former often lauded as a search for logical truth and the latter usually disparaged as empty speech. But in this erudite intellectual history, Nancy S. Struever stakes out a claim for rhetoric as the more productive form of inquiry. Struever views rhetoric through the lens of modality, arguing that rhetoric’s guiding interest in what is possible—as opposed to philosophy’s concern with what is necessary—makes it an ideal tool for understanding politics. Innovative readings of Hobbes and Vico allow her to reexamine rhetoric’s role in the history of modernity and to make fascinating connections between thinkers from the classical, early modern, and modern periods. From there she turns to Walter Benjamin, reclaiming him as an exemplar of modernist rhetoric and a central figure in the long history of the form. Persuasive and perceptive, Rhetoric, Modality, Modernity is a novel rewriting of the history of rhetoric and a heady examination of the motives, issues, and flaws of contemporary inquiry.

This open access book gives a complete and comprehensive introduction to the fields of medical imaging systems, as designed for a broad range of applications. The authors of the book first explain the foundations of system theory and image processing, before highlighting several modalities in a dedicated chapter. The initial focus is on modalities that are closely related to traditional camera systems such as endoscopy and microscopy. This is followed by more complex image formation processes: magnetic resonance imaging, X-ray projection imaging, computed tomography, X-ray phase-contrast imaging, nuclear imaging, ultrasound, and optical coherence tomography.