803 research outputs found
Give growth and macroeconomic stability in Russia a chance - harden budgets by eliminating nonpayments
No full textThe authors analyze the links between Russia's disappointing growth performance in the second half of the 1990s, its costly and unsuccessful stabilization, the macroeconomic meltdown of 1998, and the spectacular rise of non-payments. Non-payments flourished in an environment of fundamental inconsistency between a macroeconomic policy geared at sharp disinflation, and a microeconomic policy of bailing enterprises out through soft budget constraints. Heavy untargeted implicit subsidies flowing through the non-payments system (amounting to 10 percent of GDP annually) have stifled growth, contributed to the August 1998 meltdown, through their impact on public debt, and have made at best a questionable contribution to equity. Dismantling this system must be a top priority, along with promoting enterprise restructuring and growth (by hardening budget constraints) and medium-term macroeconomic stability (by reducing the size of subsidies). Getting the government out of the non-payments system means settling all appropriately controlled budgetary expenditures on time, and in cash, and eschewing spending arrears, thereby setting an example for enterprises, and laying the groundwork for eliminating tax offsets at all levels of government, and insisting on cash tax payments. To stop energy-related subsidies, would require not only that the government pay its own energy bills on time, and in cash, but also that the energy monopolies be empowered to disconnect non-paying clients. This will enable the government to insist that the energy monopolies in turn pay their own taxes in full, and on time.Banks&Banking Reform,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Economic Theory&Research,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Environmental Economics&Policies,Banks&Banking Reform,Environmental Economics&Policies,Municipal Financial Management,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Economic Theory&Research
Botulinum neurotoxin for head and neck disorders/ [edited by] Andrew Blitzer, Brian E. Benson, Diana N. Kirke
No full textIncludes bibliographical references and index"Senior author Dr. Andrew Blitzer is an internationally renowned pioneer on the use of botulinum neurotoxin for functional disorders, with unparalleled expertise on this topic. Joined by co-editors Brian Benson and Diana Kirke, with multidisciplinary contributors, Botulinum Neurotoxin for Head and Neck Disorders Second Edition fills a gap in the medical literature. The unique textbook focuses on the use of botulinum neurotoxins for functional disorders of the head and neck, though with some aesthetic indications. The second edition reflects the latest advances and understanding of existing and emerging applications for botulinum neurotoxins, including new treatment paradigms, revised pharmacology, and an updated review of the literature in all chapters. Twenty superbly illustrated chapters cover the management of hyperfunctional, pain, and hypersecretory syndromes of the head and neck. Hyperfunctional motor disorders are discussed in chapters focused on blepharospasm, facial dystonia, Meige syndrome, oromandibular dystonia, spasmodic dysphonia (laryngeal dystonia), and cervical dystonia. Specific treatment approaches for pain are addressed in chapters on migraine and chronic daily tension headaches, temporomandibular disorders, and trigeminal neuralgia. The treatment of autonomic nervous system disorders is covered in chapters dedicated to Frey syndrome, facial hyperhydrosis, and sialorrhea"--Pharmacology of Botulinum Neurotoxins / Muna I. Bitar, Nikita Kohli, Maya Samman, and Andrew Blitzer -- Botulinum Neurotoxin for Blepharospasm / Amit Patel, Andrew Blitzer, and Boris L. Bentsianov -- Botulinum Neurotoxin for Facial Dystonia / Scott M. Rickert, Amy P. Wu, and Andrew Blitzer Botulinum -- Neurotoxin for Meige Syndrome / Niv Mor and Andrew Blitzer -- Botulinum Neurotoxin for Oromandibular Dystonia / Daniel Novakovic and Ajay E. Chitkara -- Botulinum Neurotoxin for Spasmodic Dysphonia / Phillip C. Song, Lucian Sulica, and Andrew Blitzer -- Botulinum Neurotoxin for Cervical Dystonia / Tanya K. Meyer, Joel Guss, and Ronda E. Alexander -- Botulinum Neurotoxin for Hemifacial Spasm and Facial Synkinesis / Lesley French Childs, Daniel Novakovic, and Scott R. Gibbs -- Botulinum Neurotoxin for Hyperfunctional Facial Lines / Brian E. Benson, Diana N. Kirke, and Andrew Blitzer -- Botulinum Neurotoxin for Upper and Lower Esophageal Spasm / Nwanmegha Young and Brian E. Benson -- Botulinum Neurotoxin for Palatal Myoclonus / Ajay E. Chitkara, Catherine F. Sinclair, and Daniel Novakovic -- Botulinum Neurotoxin for Temporomandibular Disorders, Masseteric Hypertrophy, and Cosmetic Masseter Reduction / Michael Z. Lerner and Andrew Blitzer -- Botulinum Neurotoxin Therapy in the Laryngopharynx / Craig H. Zalvan, Phillip C. Song, Nwanmegha Young, and Andrew Blitzer -- Botulinum Neurotoxin for Migraine / Rachel Kaye, Jerome Schwartz, Brian E. Benson, and William J. Binder -- Botulinum Neurotoxin for Chronic Tension Headache / Nwanmegha Young and Brian E. Benson -- Botulinum Neurotoxin for Trigeminal Neuralgia / Elizabeth Guardiani, Andrew Blitzer, Lesley French Childs, and Ronda E. Alexander -- Botulinum Neurotoxin for Frey's Syndrome / Rachel Kaye, Andrew Blitzer, and Brian E. Benson -- Botulinum Neurotoxin for Facial Hyperhidrosis / Diana N. Kirke, Daniel Novakovic, and Andrew Blitzer -- Botulinum Neurotoxin for Sialorrhea / Brianna K. Crawley, Scott M. Rickert, Senja Tomovic, and Andrew Blitzer -- Botulinum Neurotoxin for Radiation-Induced Spasm and Pain / Diana N. Kirke, Brian E. Benson, and Tanya K. Meyer1 online resourc
Stabilization of proteins against aggregation by solution additives
No full textThesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, February 2005.Includes bibliographical references (p. 123-132).(cont.) additives.In order to develop protein formulations that limit aggregation, researchers heuristically screen potential solution additives (excipients). Such screening is necessary because current understanding of mechanisms of aggregation and molecular-level effects of additives on aggregation is limited. In this study, we developed a statistical-mechanical method in order to model the thermodynamic effects of additives in molecular-level detail. This method uses no adjustable parameters and was validated by quantitative comparison with experimental data on proteins in glycerol and urea solutions. We then applied our molecular simulation technique to study the mechanism by which arginine, a common refolding buffer additive, deters protein aggregation. We find that arginine acts as a weak surfactant at the protein-solvent interface, with its guanidino group tending to face the protein. We propose that arginine is a member of a class of anti-aggregation additives, which we term "neutral crowders," characterized by their (1) negligible effect on the free energy of isolated protein molecules and (2) large size relative to water. With a simplified statistical-mechanical model, we have shown that such additives selectively increase the free energy of protein-protein encounter complexes by being preferentially-excluded from the gap between the protein molecules in such complexes. This "gap effect" will therefore slow protein association reactions. We showed experimentally that, in accordance with the gap effect model predictions, arginine slows association of model globular proteins (antibody+antigen) and of folding intermediates and aggregates of carbonic anhydrase II. We predict that neutral crowders larger than arginine will be superior anti-aggregationby Brian M. Baynes.Ph.D
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Texts—Textures—Intertexts: The Orchestral Worlds of Brian Cherney
No full textThis essay traces the development of the orchestral music of Brian Cherney (b. 1942, Peterborough ON). While not a comprehensive overview of his entire catalogue of orchestral works, I show the emergence of Cherney’s characteristic approach to the medium through the framework of extra-musical poetic texts, a painterly approach to orchestral textures, and a penchant for spinning intricate networks of self-quotation and references to extant musics (intertexts). Beginning with early student works (Chapter One: Two Songs for Soprano and Orchestra, 1963; Violin Concerto, 1963) and emergent transitional works (Chapter Two: Seven Images, 1971; Adieux, 1980), my tripartite framework culminates in Chapter Three with Cherney’s orchestral masterpiece, Transfiguration (1990). Reference is made to the musico-philosophical work of Theodor Adorno, Daniel Albright and Carolyn Abbate et al., alongside a host of musicological and music-theoretical sources. Further informed by details drawn from Cherney’s autobiographical sketches and lengthy correspondences with the author, I investigate these works with a hermeneutics which seeks to both draw out and draw together Cherney’s expressive reticence, imaginative fecundity and finely-honed technical prowess
Quality principles for cultural Web sites: a Handbook
No full textprinted and on-line versions, co-author with Eelco Bruinsma, Christophe Dessaux, Ciaran Clissman, Jean-Pierre Dalbéra, David Dawson, Isabelle Dujacquier, Axel Ermert, Pierluigi Feliciati, Fedora Filippi, Muriel Foulonneau,
Antonella Fresa, Monika Hagedorn-Saupe, Annette Kelly, Brian Kelly, Daniel Malbert, Andrea Mulrenin, Stefan Rhode-Enslin, Marius Snyders, Gert Van Tittelboom, Frank von Hage
Aphid Cluster Recognition and Detection in the Wild Using Deep Learning Models
No full text@inproceedings{zhang2023new,
title={A New Dataset and Comparative Study for Aphid Cluster Detection},
author={Zhang, Tianxiao and Li, Kaidong and Chen, Xiangyu and Zhong, Cuncong and Luo, Bo and Teran, Ivan Grijalva and McCornack, Brian and Flippo, Daniel and Sharda, Ajay and Wang, Guanghui},
booktitle={2nd AAAI Workshop on AI for Agriculture and Food Systems},
year={2023}
‘The Churchillian Paradigm and the “Other British Isles”: An Examination of Second World War Remembrance in Man, Orkney, and Jersey’
No full textThis dissertation studies Second World War ‘sites of memory’ in the islands of Jersey, Orkney and the Isle of Man, to determine if each island celebrates the war’s events as Britain does, or if they have charted their own mnemonic course. It builds on the work of Angus Calder, Malcolm Smith, and Mark Connelly, who have explored how popular conception of the Second World War in Britain has been structured around a certain set of commemorative motifs, most of which centre on Winston Churchill and the events of 1940. The British war narrative is now commonly referred to as the ‘Churchillian paradigm’ or ‘finest-hour myth’, and continues to be the driving force in commemoration and memorialization on the British mainland. The three islands in this study are culturally and historically distinct from Britain, and each has strong notions of its own ‘island identity’. Each also possesses a tangential and divisive domestic experience of war, one which is often minimized in the iconography of the Churchillian paradigm. Jersey was occupied by Nazi Germany from 1940 to 1945, Orkney was home to several thousand Italian POWs who built important infrastructure in the island, and the Isle of Man was home to 14,000 German, Finnish, Japanese, and Italian internees in what one critic has called ‘a bespattered page’ in the nation’s history. By examining ‘sites of memory’— museums, heritage sites, commemorations, celebrations, philately, and use of public space—this dissertation shows that each island simultaneously accepts and rejects elements of the finest-hour myth in their collective memory. Each island displays its unique (though often quite negative) heritage in order to differentiate itself from Britain, while at the same time allowing them, at certain events, to participate in celebration of Britain’s ‘greatest victory’. In this way, islands’ use ‘Britishness’ pragmatically, by basking in traditionally ‘British’ commemorative tropes, while at the same time deepening their own cultural and historical sovereignty
School-based cbt for anxiety in adolescents with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders: a comparison of the pragmatic case studies of brian and bridgette
No full textWhile a significant body of literature demonstrates the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in treating child and adolescent anxiety, relatively little research has examined its application in youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Previous studies suggest that enhanced CBT benefits this population, but additional information is needed to guide the development and delivery of individualized interventions in natural settings. Towards this end, this project consists of pragmatic case studies of CBT therapy with two 15-year-old adolescents, “Brian” and Bridgette,” who both have ASD—although with different levels of severity, and comorbid anxiety disorder. Together the clients exemplify the diversity and complexity of the needs of relatively high functioning adolescents with the combination of these disorders. The case studies are designed to examine the adaptation of empirically supported practices in order to appropriately address common and idiosyncratic features of ASD within school-based mental health service delivery. The sequence of the clients is noteworthy. Brian, the higher functioning client, was seen short-term for 8 sessions; and a year later, clinical lessons learned from Brian’s therapy were applied to the design of the longer-term treatment of 65 sessions over two years for Bridgette, the lower functioning client. A qualitative and quantitative evaluation of therapy processes and outcomes offers insight into the particular intervention strategies and modifications that helped each client. The benefits and barriers of school-based mental health service delivery are considered.Psy.D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Arielle S. Gartenber
Projectivism psychologized: the philosophy and psychology of disgust
No full textThis dissertation explores issues in the philosophy of psychology and metaphysics through the lens of the emotion of disgust, and its corresponding property, disgustingness.
The first chapter organizes an extremely large body of data about disgust, imposes two constraints any theory must meet, and offers a cognitive model of the mechanisms underlying the emotion. The second chapter explores the evolution of disgust, and argues for the Entanglement thesis: this uniquely human emotion was formed when two formerly distinct mechanisms, one dedicated to monitoring food intake and protecting against poisons, the other dedicated to protecting against parasitic infection, where driven together until they became functionally integrated. The third chapter explores the sorts of acquisition mechanisms that could give rise to the patterns of individual and cultural level variation we find with disgust elicitors. It argues for the Empathic Acquisition thesis, which holds that one important route for the social acquisition and transmission of disgust elicitors is linked to empathic recognition of facial expressions of the emotion. The fourth chapter builds on the Entanglement thesis, and embeds the emotion of disgust in gene-culture coevolutionary theory and the tribal instincts hypothesis. The Co-opt thesis is defended, which maintains that disgust was co-opted to play an important role in our moral psychology, particularly in our cognition of social norms and ethnic boundary markers. In doing so, however, it brings to bear many features initially linked to poisons and parasites. This explains the puzzling and troublesome character of moral judgments linked to disgust.
After shifting gears from psychology to metaphysics, the fifth chapter recasts the Humean tradition of projectivism in the terminology of cognitive science. Using examples such as disgust, I argue that a psychologized projectivism is able to make sense of the idea that some properties are projected onto the world, rather than found there to begin with. The final chapter criticizes three other accounts of the property of disgustingness, two inspired by functionalism in the philosophy of color, one inspired by fittingness accounts in metaethics. I argue that none provide nearly as satisfactory account of the property as the psychologized projectivism articulated previously.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical references (p. 251-261)
Spatial Dynamic Modeling and Urban Land Use Transformation:
No full textAssessing the economic impacts of urban land use transformation has become complex and acrimonious. Although community planners are beginning to comprehend the economic trade-offs inherent in transforming the urban fringe, they find it increasingly difficult to analyze and assess the trade-offs expediently and in ways that can influence local decisionmaking. New and sophisticated spatial modeling techniques are now being applied to urban systems that can quickly assess the probable spatial outcomes of given communal policies. Applying an economic impact assessment to the probable spatial patterns can provide to planners the tools needed to quickly assess scenarios for policy formation that will ultimately help inform decision makers. This paper focuses on the theoretical underpinnings and practical application of an economic impact analysis submodel developed within the Land use Evolution and Impact Assessment Modeling (LEAM) environment. The conceptual framework of LEAM is described, followed by an application of the model to the assessment of the cost of urban sprawl in Kane County, Illinois. The results show the effectiveness of spatially explicit modeling from a theoretical and a practical point of view. The agent-based approach of spatial dynamic modeling with a high spatial resolution allows for discerning the macro-level implications of micro-level behaviors. These phenomena are highlighted in the economic submodel in the discussion of the implications of land use change decisions on individual and communal costs; low-density development patterns favoring individual behaviors at the expense of the broader community.
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