Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Historical Values (historical + value)
Selected AbstractsSpinoza on the Problem of AkrasiaEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY, Issue 1 2010Eugene Marshall Though each is intuitive in a certain way, they both fail as explanations of the most interesting cases of akrasia. Spinoza's own thoughts on bondage and the affects follow, from which a Spinozist explanation of akrasia is constructed. This account is based in Spinoza's mechanistic psychology of cognitive affects. Because Spinoza's account explains action asissuing from modes of mind that are both cognitive and affective, it captures the intuitions that motivate the two traditional views while avoiding the pitfalls that result from their one-sided approaches. This project will allow us a fuller understanding of Spinozist moral psychology. In addition to this historical value, the Spinozist theory may offer a satisfactory explanation of certain hard cases of akrasia while avoiding the problems be set by other theories. For this reason, the Spinozist account could also be seen as a useful contribution to our philosophical understanding of the phenomenon of akrasia. [source] Effects of a MAPK p38 inhibitor on lung function and airway inflammation in equine recurrent airway obstructionEQUINE VETERINARY JOURNAL, Issue 6 2008J.-P. LAVOIE Summary Reasons for performing study: It has been suggested that many of the beneficial effects of corticosteroids are mediated through mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) p38 inhibition. Objective: To investigate the efficacy of the MAPK p38 inhibitor compound MRL-EQ1 to either prevent (Phase 1) or treat (Phase 2) recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) in horses. Methods: MRL-EQ1 was administered i.v. at a dosage of 0.75-1.5 mg/kg bwt q. 12 h. In Phase 1, susceptible horses in clinical remission were divided into 2 groups (n = 5/group), based on historical values of respiratory mechanics. All horses were entered in the study in pairs (one control, one treated horse) and exposed to the same environmental challenge (stabling, mouldy hay and dusty conditions). The treatment group received MRL-EQ1 for 14 days while the control horses were untreated during the same period. In Phase 2, affected horses were ranked by severity of respiratory dysfunction and split randomly into either dexamethasone or MRL-EQ1 treatment groups (n = 5/group). Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, respiratory mechanic measurements, MRL-EQ1 plasma concentration and tumour necrosis factor (TNF) whole blood activity were evaluated sequentially. Results: In Phase 1, MRL-EQ1 did not prevent the occurrence of clinical signs and pulmonary inflammation. However, treatment was associated with a reduction in severity and a delay in the onset of signs and a reduction in pulmonary neutrophilia. In Phase 2, plasma concentrations achieved resulted in ex vivo suppression of lipopolysaccharide-induced TNF production in equine blood. MRL-EQ1 did not improve airway inflammation or lung function and was associated in a dose dependent manner with behavioural (depression, excitability) and blood changes (neutrophilia, increased serum muscle enzyme concentrations). Conclusions: Inhibition of p38 in the horse was partially effective in reducing clinical signs and airway inflammation when administered prior to, but not during clinical exacerbation in RAO. Potential relevance: Inhibitors of p38 MAPK with a better toxicity profile may be effective in the prevention or treatment of RAO. [source] Comparison of HPV infection, p53 mutation and allelic losses in post-transplant and non-posttransplant oral squamous cell carcinomasJOURNAL OF ORAL PATHOLOGY & MEDICINE, Issue 3 2002L. Zhang Abstract Background:, Oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is increasingly found in transplant recipients, although little is known of the natural history of the disease or the mechanism underlying this increase. Methods:, In this article we describe the history of development of 5 oral post-transplant SCCs (PSCCs) and compare their genetic profiles to 34 non-posttransplant SCCs (NPSCCs). Results:, Of the five patients with PSCCs, 3 had bone marrow transplants and two, kidney. All three PSCCs from bone marrow recipients were preceded locally by graft-vs.-host disease (GVHD). Two of the GVHD were biopsied and demonstrated dysplasia. Similar frequencies of loss of heterozygosity (LOH) occurred in PSCCs and NPSCCs at 3p, 9p, 17p and 8p, with lower frequencies in PSCCs at 4q (39% vs. 0%), 11q (53% vs. 20%) and 13q (45% vs. 20%), although the latter were not significantly different. Only 1 PSCC had a p53 mutation, compared to historical values of 40,60% for NPSCC. Interestingly, human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA was detected in 3 (60%) PSCCs, in comparison to only 4 (12%) of the 34 NPSCCs (P = 0.0346). Conclusions:, Dysplasia in oral GVHD may be a strong indicator of cancer risk and should not be regarded as reactive changes to lichenoid mucosites. The low level of p53 mutation and increased HPV infection support the involvement of HPV in the development of PSCC, while the similarity in LOH patterns suggests that other aspects of carcinogenesis may be comparable in these two types of SCCs. [source] The Impact of Commercial Exploitation on the Preservation of Underwater Cultural HeritageMUSEUM INTERNATIONAL, Issue 4 2008Tatiana Villegas Zamora It is impossible to talk about underwater cultural heritage and not reflect upon the problem of the commercial exploitation of submerged archaeological sites. The romantic notion of the search for lost treasure embodied in books and popular movies such as the Indiana Jones series takes on a different aspect when we consider that treasure hunting has become one of the most dangerous and devastating threats to the preservation of underwater cultural heritage. Fishing communities, irresponsible sport divers collecting souvenirs or modern-day salvors often equipped with high technology are destroying this newly accessible and rich heritage. Their sole motivation is commercial profit without any concern for archaeological research, preservation of cultural and historical values or the potential for sustainable development involving cultural tourism for the benefit of coastal populations. This article will try to present an overview of the scope of site destruction by commercial exploitation, the loss of scientific information and the strategies used to convince governments and deceive public opinion. [source] Identification and fine tuning of closed-loop processes under discrete EWMA and PI adjustmentsQUALITY AND RELIABILITY ENGINEERING INTERNATIONAL, Issue 6 2001Rong Pan Abstract Conventional process identification techniques of a open-loop process use the cross-correlation function between historical values of the process input and of the process output. If the process is operated under a linear feedback controller, however, the cross-correlation function has no information on the process transfer function because of the linear dependency of the process input on the output. In this paper, several circumstances where a closed-loop system can be identified by the autocorrelation function of the output are discussed. It is assumed that a proportional integral controller with known parameters is acting on the process while the output data were collected. The disturbance is assumed to be a member of a simple yet useful family of stochastic models, which is able to represent drift. It is shown that, with these general assumptions, it is possible to identify some dynamic process models commonly encountered in manufacturing. After identification, our approach suggests to tune the controller to a near-optimal setting according to a well-known performance criterion. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] EXPLAINING THE EQUITY RISK PREMIUM,THE MANCHESTER SCHOOL, Issue 6 2006LAURIAN LUNGU We develop a simple overlapping generations model in which the young have a choice in investing in equities or index-linked bonds. Projections of share price uncertainty over a 30-year period show that the risk associated with such long-term investments predicts an equity premium that matches historical values. Moreover, we calibrate the model and show that it can predict up to the fourth moment of both the observed risk premium and the real rate of interest. [source] | |||||||||||||