• Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor variation and response to smoking cessation therapies
    with A. W. Bergen, H. S. Javitz, R. Krasnow, D. Nishita, M. Michel, D. V. Conti, J. Liu, C. K. Edlund, S. Hall, P. Y. Kwok, N. L. Benowitz, T. B. Baker, R. F. Tyndale, C. Lerman, and G. E. Swan
    OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor single nucleotide polymorphism with 7-day point prevalence abstinence in randomized clinical trials of smoking cessation therapies in individuals grouped by pharmacotherapy randomization to inform the development of personalized smoking cessation therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We quantified association of four SNPs at three nAChRs with abstinence in eight randomized clinical trials. Participants were 2633 outpatient trea…Read more
  •  1
    Dopamine genes and nicotine dependence in treatment-seeking and community smokers
    with A. W. Bergen, D. V. Conti, D. Van Den Berg, J. Liu, D. Li, N. Guo, Mi H., P. D. Thomas, C. N. Lessov-Schlaggar, R. Krasnow, Y. He, D. Nishita, R. Jiang, J. B. McClure, E. Tildesley, H. Hops, R. F. Tyndale, N. L. Benowitz, C. Lerman, and G. E. Swan
    We utilized a cohort of 828 treatment-seeking self-identified white cigarette smokers to rank candidate gene single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence, a measure of nicotine dependence which assesses quantity of cigarettes smoked and time- and place-dependent characteristics of the respondent's smoking behavior. A total of 1123 SNPs at 55 autosomal candidate genes, nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and genes involved in dopaminergic function, wer…Read more
  •  2
    Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor β2 subunit gene implicated in a systems-based candidate gene study of smoking cessation
    with D. V. Conti, D. Li, J. Liu, D. Van den Berg, P. D. Thomas, A. W. Bergen, G. E. Swan, R. F. Tyndale, N. L. Benowitz, and C. Lerman
    Although the efficacy of pharmacotherapy for tobacco dependence has been previously demonstrated, there is substantial variability among individuals in treatment response. We performed a systems-based candidate gene study of 1295 single nucleotide polymorphisms in 58 genes within the neuronal nicotinic receptor and dopamine systems to investigate their role in smoking cessation in a bupropion placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial. Putative functional variants were supplemented with tagSNP…Read more
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    A pragmatic case against pragmatic theological realism
    Heythrop Journal 50 (3): 479-494. 2009.
    Pragmatic theological realism (PTR) urges us to take up the realist aim of theology or the goal of truth although we have good reason to think that the goal can neither be attained nor approximated. Rescher contends that pursuing an unreachable goal can be rational on pragmatic grounds so long as pursuing the unreachable goal yields indirect benefits. I have blocked this attempt at providing a pragmatic justification for the realist aim of PTR on precisely the same pragmatic grounds: since there…Read more
  •  47
    A Pragmatic Case against Pragmatic Scientific Realism
    Journal for General Philosophy of Science / Zeitschrift für Allgemeine Wissenschaftstheorie 38 (2): 299-313. 2007.
    Pragmatic Scientific Realism (PSR) urges us to take up the realist aim or the goal of truth although we have good reason to think that the goal can neither be attained nor approximated. While Newton-Smith thinks that pursuing what we know we cannot achieve is clearly irrational, Rescher disagrees and contends that pursuing an unreachable goal can be rational on pragmatic grounds—if in pursuing the unreachable goal one can get indirect benefits. I have blocked this attempt at providing a pragmati…Read more
  •  60
    Hitchcock and Sober on Weak Predictivism
    Philosophia 40 (3): 553-562. 2012.
    According to Hitchcock and Sober’s argument from overfitting for weak predictivism, the fact that a theory accurately predicts a portion of its data is evidence that it has been formulated by balancing simplicity and goodness-of-fit rather than overfitting data. The core argument consists of two likelihood inequalities. In this paper I show that there is a surprising accommodation-friendly implication in their argument, and contend that it is beset by a substantial difficulty, namely, there is n…Read more
  •  56
    Should the No-Miracle Argument Add to Scientific Evidence?
    Philosophia 42 (4): 999-1004. 2014.
    Lipton contends that the no-miracle argument is illegitimate, because it fails to adduce new evidence beyond that cited by scientists for their theories. The debate on this issue between Lipton and Psillos has focussed on whether there is a construal of the no-miracle argument in relation to first-order scientific inferences that can yield new evidence. I move away from this focus without taking sides, and argue that the no-miracle argument, on its two popular interpretations, is as legitimate, …Read more