328 research outputs found
Evaluation of agreement and trending ability between transpulmonary thermodilution and calibrated pulse contour and pulse power cardiac output monitoring methods against pulmonary artery thermodilution in anesthetized dogs
No full textTo assess agreement and trending ability of transpulmonary thermodilution (TPTD), calibrated pulse contour (PiCCO), and pulse power (PulseCO) methods compared to pulmonary artery thermodilution (PATD) for determination of cardiac output (CO) in anesthetized dogs
Pharmacokinetics of ketamine and norketamine enantiomers after racemic or S-ketamine IV bolus administration in dogs during sevoflurane anaesthesia
Full text linkThe aims of this study were to measure plasma levels of R- and S-ketamine and their major metabolites R- and S-norketamine following single intravenous bolus administration of racemic or S-ketamine in sevoflurane anaesthetised dogs and to calculate the relevant pharmacokinetic profiles. Six adult healthy beagle dogs were used in the study. An intravenous bolus of 4 mg/kg racemic ketamine (RS-KET) or 2 mg/kg S-ketamine (S-KET) was administered, with a three-weeks washout period between treatments. Venous blood samples were collected at fixed times until 900 min and R- and S-ketamine as well as R- and S-norketamine plasma levels determined by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Cardiovascular parameters were recorded during the anaesthesia until 240 min. All dogs recovered well from anaesthesia. No statistical differences between groups were detected in any cardiovascular parameter. The pharmacokinetics of S-ketamine did not differ when injected intravenously alone or as part of the racemic mixture in dogs anaesthetised with sevoflurane. Following racemic ketamine, the area under the curve of R-norketamine was statistically higher than the one of S-norketamine
Interview with Annette J. Smith
Full text linkInterview in seven sessions, December 2010 to January 2011 with Annette J. Smith, visiting professor of French at Caltech from 1970 to 1982, appointed associate professor with tenure in 1982, promoted to professor of French in 1985, and Professor of Literature emeritus since 1993.
Family history, childhood and education in Algiers, Algeria. Family history and background of late husband, Caltech Professor of Literature David R. Smith (1960-1990). Bachelor’s degree in Classics (1948) from Sorbonne in Paris. Attended the School of Professors of French Abroad at the Sorbonne and taught at the University of Wales in Swansea. Master’s degree in English. Marriage to D. Smith and move to the United States.
Teaches at Scripps College and Claremont Men’s College [now Claremont McKenna College], where she had tenure position. Caltech hires D. Smith as professor and A. Smith as lecturer in French language. D. Smith as Joseph Conrad scholar. Doctorate degree (1964) and dissertation on author Nicole Védrès. D. Smith made Master of Student Houses (1969-1975); life in Virginia Steele Scott house. Descriptions of faculty and atmosphere within Division of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), beginning when Hallett Smith was chair. Friendship with Max and Manny Delbrück. Cultural life at Caltech; D. Smith brings poets, actors, directors and musicians to campus. Life as professor’s spouse and efforts to improve working conditions and salaries for female staff. Sexual discrimination in HSS and support for Jenijoy La Belle. History and founding of Baxter Art Gallery (1970), significant exhibitions organized by D. Smith, closing of Baxter Art Gallery (1985). Important relationships with Caltech professors, postdocs and staff: R. Sperry, R. Feynman, A. Hibbs, J. and F. Audouze, D. and C. Cesarsky, J.-P. Bibring, and N. and C. Corngold.
Elevated to associate professor (1982). Literature courses she taught and impressions of students. Two books accepted for publication: one on Arthur de Gobineau and translation of poems by Aimé Césaire. Explanation of racial theories of Gobineau and discussion of his fiction; impact of Gobineau’s racist writings and theories, including appropriation by Nazis. Discussion of Darwinism. Comments about translating poetry and working with poet Clayton Eshleman on four books of Césaire’s poetry. Description of Césaire’s life and politics and his importance as a leader and author. Reads her translations of Césaire’s poems.
Impressions of foreign language study at Caltech and further descriptions of HSS, including some unfortunate hires and tension in the division. D. Smith’s illness and death. Teaching in Papeete, Tahiti, 1990-1991. Circular nature of her life and work. Purchase of land and building of second home in Point Dume, Malibu, (1980-1981) and celebratory party there. Expressions of gratitude for Caltech and its brilliant scientists and community
Evaluation of the ability of haemodynamic variables obtained with minimally invasive techniques to assess fluid responsiveness in endotoxaemic Beagles
Full text linkObjective: To examine the ability of different haemodynamic variables recorded by minimally invasive monitoring techniques to assess fluid responsiveness (FR) in endotoxaemic Beagles.
Study design: Prospective terminal experimental study.
Animals: A group of six healthy, purpose-bred Beagle dogs (three intact females and males), age 5–9.8 years (range) and weighing 11.4–17.9 kg.
Methods: Endotoxaemic shock was induced by injecting 1 mg kg–1 Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) intravenously in six sevoflurane-anaesthetized mechanically ventilated Beagles for another project. After 10 minutes, three Ringer’s acetate boluses (10 mL kg–1) were administered each over 10 minutes with collection of haemodynamic data immediately before and after each bolus. Thereafter, arterial hypotension was treated with noradrenaline ± dexmedetomidine until arterial pressures increased to a target value. After a wash-out period of 20 minutes another three boluses of fluid were administered and measurements were repeated equally. For each fluid bolus, FR was considered positive when change (Δ) in stroke volume measured by pulmonary artery thermodilution was ≥15%. To test predictive accuracy for FR, we recorded heart rate, invasive arterial, right atrial and pulmonary capillary wedge pressures, pulse wave transit time with haemodynamic monitors, calculated pulse pressure, shock index and rate over pressure evaluation (ROPE) and measured stroke distance and corrected flow time (FTc) with oesophageal Doppler monitoring.
Results: A total of 35 measurements (19 positive and 16 negative responses) were evaluated. A FTc < 330 ms, Δ pulse pressure ≥20%, Δ shock index ≤–14% and ΔROPE ≤–17% were the most significant indicators of positive FR with an area under the receiver operating characteristics curve between 0.72 and 0.74.
Conclusions and clinical relevance: In endotoxaemic Beagles, none of the assessed haemodynamic variables could predict FR with high sensitivity and specificity
The political economy of hedge fund regulation
Full text linkThe currency crises and episodes of market unrest of the 1990s sparked a series of regulatory initiatives to reform the Global Financial Architecture. One of these initiatives tackled the activities of hedge funds, a type of investment vehicle that was frequently cited as one of the causes of these crises. The key research question of this thesis is why efforts to regulate an apparently destabilising aspect of financial markets failed, despite the setting up of an ad hoc forum at the international level (the Financial Stability Forum) and various domestic initiatives in the US, the country where most hedge funds operate.
The thesis develops a theoretical framework that examines this regulatory inaction through three explanatory models. The first model draws upon mainstream economic accounts and argues that the empirical evidence did not justify more interventionist public regulation of hedge funds. The second model assumes that a form of relational power has been exercised at the regulatory table: those actors with an interest in leaving hedge funds unregulated prevailed over those that favoured a more mandatory approach. The third model argues that it was not just relational power that determined outcomes, but mainly the power of the structure of meaning within which discussions took place and problems were framed. This structure of meaning led to a particular formulation of the problem at stake, which excluded other concerns and actors from the regulatory agenda.
Each model is analysed for its policy implications. The first model leads to regulatory solutions that rely upon private actors' due diligence and self-assessment of risk. The second model leads to policy options that favour a greater inclusion of developing countries and other stakeholder groups in decision-making processes in global finance. The third model leads to a rethinking of the very tenets of financial market regulation and of the financial theories used to explain and govern the market. The thesis argues that the third model is better able to grasp the complexity of power beyond the seemingly technical nature of financial regulation. For this reason, it is deemed more suitable to provide policy solutions that challenge the current neo-liberal framework of regulation
FTAA: What's in It for the South?
Full text linkNot everyone in the Americas thinks that negotiating an FTAA is desirable. Some argue that the timing of the negotiations is being set by the agenda of the developed countries, particularly the US, and not that of the rest of the region. Others say that negotiating tariff reductions will do little to increase exports. The argument is that non-tariff barriers to trade must be part of the package, or the whole idea is a waste of time. These are just some of the opinions coming from the South. Interestingly, a number of these ideas are coming from Brazil, the hemisphere's most populous country after the US, and clearly a leader in the region. Presidential elections in Brazil took place in the fall of 2002 just prior to an FTAA Ministerial in Quito. In the lead up to the election, the FTAA positions of the opposition candidates, including the eventual winner, were much more protectionist than that of the outgoing government. If the protectionism carries through to official government policy, then the FTAA process will be much more difficult. However, this might just have been electoral talk. This paper will attempt to sort out truth from rhetoric.Brazil, non-tariff barriers, FTAA, South, International Relations/Trade,
Pharmacokinetics of ketamine and three metabolites in Beagle dogs under sevoflurane vs. medetomidine comedication assessed by enantioselective capillary electrophoresis
No full textKetamine is often used for anesthesia in veterinary medicine. One possible comedication is the sedative α2-agonist medetomidine. Advantages of that combination are the compensation of side effects of the two drugs and the anesthetic-sparing effect of medetomidine. In vitro studies showed that medetomidine has an inhibitive effect on the formation of norketamine. Norketamine is the first metabolite of ketamine and is also active. It is followed by others like 6-hydroxynorketamine and 5,6-dehydronorketamine (DHNK). In an in vivo pharmacokinetic study Beagle dogs under sevoflurane anesthesia (mean end-tidal concentration 3.0±0.2%) or following medetomidine sedation (450μg/m(2)) received 4mg/kg racemic ketamine or 2mg/kg S-ketamine. Blood samples were collected between 0 and 900min after drug injection. 50μL aliquots of plasma were pretreated by liquid-liquid extraction prior to analysis of the reconstituted extracts with a robust enantioselective capillary electrophoresis assay using highly sulfated γ-cyclodextrin as chiral selector and electrokinetic sample injection of the analytes from the extract across a short buffer plug without chiral selector. Levels of S- and R-ketamine, S- and R-norketamine, (2S,6S)- and (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine and S- and R-DHNK were determined. Data were analyzed with compartmental pharmacokinetic models which included two compartments for the ketamine and norketamine enantiomers and a single compartment for the DHNK and 6-hydroxynorketamine stereoisomers. Medetomidine showed an effect on the formation and elimination of all metabolites. Stereoselectivities were detected for 6-hydroxynorketamine and DHNK, but not for ketamine and norketamine
The Pennsylvania Reemployment Bonus Experiments: How a survival model helps in the analysis of the data
Full text linkSurvival models for life-time data and other time-to-event data are widely used in many fields, including medicine, the environmental sciences, engineering etc. They have also found recognition in the analysis of economic duration data. This paper provides a reanalysis of the Pennsylvania Reemployment Bonus Experiments, which were conducted in 1988-89 to examine the effect of different types of reemployment bonus offers on the unemployment spell. A Cox-proportional-hazards survival-model is fitted to the data and the results are compared to the results of a linear regression approach and to the results of a quantile regression approach. The Cox-proportional-hazards model provides for a remarkable goodness of fit and yields less effective treatment responses, therefore lower expectations concerning the overall implications of the Pennsylvania experiment. An influence analysis is proposed for obtaining qualitative information on the influence of the covariates at different quantiles. The results of the quantile regression and of the influence analysis show that both the linear regression and the Cox-model still impose stringent restrictions on the way covariates influence the duration distribution, however, due to its flexibility, the Cox-proportional hazards model is more appropriate for analysing the data.
The effects of cardiac output and pulmonary arterial hypertension on volumetric capnography derived-variables during normoxia and hypoxia
Full text linkThe aim of this study was to test the effect of cardiac output (CO) and pulmonary artery hypertension (PHT) on volumetric capnography (VCap) derived-variables. Nine pigs were mechanically ventilated using fixed ventilatory settings. Two steps of PHT were induced by IV infusion of a thromboxane analogue: PHT25 [mean pulmonary arterial pressure (MPAP) of 25 mmHg] and PHT40 (MPAP of 40 mmHg). CO was increased by 50 % from baseline (COup) with an infusion of dobutamine ≥5 μg kg(-1) min(-1) and decreased by 40 % from baseline (COdown) infusing sodium nitroglycerine ≥30 μg kg(-1) min(-1) plus esmolol 500 μg kg(-1) min(-1). Another state of PHT and COdown was induced by severe hypoxemia (FiO2 0.07). Invasive hemodynamic data and VCap were recorded and compared before and after each step using a mixed random effects model. Compared to baseline, the normalized slope of phase III (SnIII) increased by 32 % in PHT25 and by 22 % in PHT40. SnIII decreased non-significantly by 4 % with COdown. A combination of PHT and COdown associated with severe hypoxemia increased SnIII by 28 % compared to baseline. The elimination of CO2 per breath decreased by 7 % in PHT40 and by 12 % in COdown but increased only slightly with COup. Dead space variables did not change significantly along the protocol. At constant ventilation and body metabolism, pulmonary artery hypertension and decreases in CO had the biggest effects on the SnIII of the volumetric capnogram and on the elimination of CO2
The effects of fiscal consolidation in the OECD
Full text linkDespite the current recession in many parts of the OECD, fiscal consolidation is likely in many OECD economies in the 1990s. The author asks: is fiscal consolidation in the OECD in a period of low growth a recipe for global stagnation? In particular, what effects are likely in developing countries? The author starts with an overview of cuts in the U.S. fiscal deficit proposed by the Clinton administration and the extent to which European governments must cut fiscal deficits between now and 1997 to satisfy deficit targets in the Maastricht Treaty. How changes in fiscal policy are transmitted within an economy and between that economy and the rest of the world depends on whether those changes lead to permanent or temporary changes in government saving; whether they are implemented through government spending or taxes; and whether the taxes fall on households or firms. The main channels of transmission are through changes in: agents'expectations about future taxes, interest rates, exchange rates, and economic activity. The author uses the MSG2 multicountry models to quantify the ramifications of those changes. He concludes, among other things, that fiscal contraction in the OECD will probably lead to slower growth over the next several years. But the current and likely paths of fiscal policy are such that deficit reduction programs may have stimulating effect in the short run, as long as future fiscal contraction is credible. And fiscal deficit reduction will probably increase long-run output in the OECD through its effects on savings and investment. Finally, growth in the developing countries (at least total growth) may not be impaired at all by fiscal consolidationin the OECD. The negative effects of fiscal contraction will occur through lower net exports of non-OECD economies. For developing countries with open capital markets, the initial reduction in demand through lower exports can be offset by the reduction in interest rates following an inflow of capital from the countries with contracting fiscal policy. A significant decline in real global interest rates is likely to increase growth in developing countries that are debt-constrained, either directly (through private capital inflows) or indirectly (by relaxing the balance of payments constraint, allowing more resources to be channeled to domestic investment needs).Economic Theory&Research,Economic Stabilization,Environmental Economics&Policies,Banks&Banking Reform,Macroeconomic Management
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