bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A randomized dynamic program analysis technique for detecting real deadlocks
Authors: Joshi Pallavi , Park Chang-Seo , Sen Koushik , Naik Mayur
Published: June 2009

We present a novel dynamic analysis technique that finds real deadlocks in multi-threaded programs. Our technique runs in two stages. In the first stage, we use an imprecise dynamic analysis technique to find potential deadlocks in a multi-threaded program by observing an execution of the program. In the second stage, we control a random thread scheduler to create the potential deadlocks with high probability. Unlike other dynamic analysis techniques, our approach has the advantage that it does not give any false warnings. We have implemented the technique in a prototype tool for Java, and have experimented on a number of large multi-threaded Java programs. We report a number of previously known and unknown real deadlocks that were found in these benchmarks.
FastTrack
Authors: Flanagan Cormac , Freund Stephen N.
Published: June 2009

\begin{abstract}

Multithreaded programs are notoriously prone to race conditions. Prior work on dynamic race detectors includes fast but imprecise race detectors that report false alarms, as well as slow but precise race detectors that never report false alarms. The latter typically use expensive vector clock operations that require time linear in the number of program threads.

This paper exploits the insight that the full generality of vector clocks is unnecessary in most cases. That is, we can replace heavyweight vector clocks with an adaptive lightweight representation that, for almost all operations of the target program, requires only constant space and supports constant-time operations. This representation change significantly improves time and space performance, with no loss in precision.

Experimental results on Java benchmarks including the Eclipse development environment show that our
FastTrack
race detector is an order of magnitude faster than a traditional vector-clock race detector, and roughly twice as fast as the high-performance DJIT+ algorithm.
FastTrack
is even comparable in speed to
Eraser
on our Java benchmarks, while never reporting false alarms.
Progress guarantee for parallel programs via bounded lock-freedom
Authors: Petrank Erez , Musuvathi Madanlal , Steesngaard Bjarne
Published: June 2009

Parallel platforms are becoming ubiquitous with modern computing systems. Many parallel applications attempt to avoid locks in order to achieve high responsiveness, aid scalability, and avoid deadlocks and livelocks. However, avoiding the use of system locks does not guarantee that no locks are actually used, because progress inhibitors may occur in subtle ways through various program structures. Notions of progress guarantee such as lock-freedom, wait-freedom, and obstruction-freedom have been proposed in the literature to provide various levels of progress guarantees.

In this paper we formalize the notions of progress guarantees using linear temporal logic (LTL). We concentrate on lock-freedom and propose a variant of it denoted
bounded lock-freedom
, which is more suitable for guaranteeing progress in practical systems. We use this formal definition to build a tool that checks if a concurrent program is bounded lock-free for a given bound. We then study the interaction between programs with progress guarantees and the underlying system (e.g., compilers, runtimes, operating systems, and hardware platforms). We propose a means to argue that an underlying system supports lock-freedom. A composition theorem asserts that bounded lock-free algorithms running on bounded lock-free supporting systems retain bounded lock-freedom for the composed execution.
Parallelizing sequential applications on commodity hardware using a low-cost software transactional memory
Authors: Mehrara Mojtaba , Hao Jeff , Hsu Po-Chun , Mahlke Scott
Published: June 2009

Multicore designs have emerged as the mainstream design paradigm for the microprocessor industry. Unfortunately, providing multiple cores does not directly translate into performance for most applications. The industry has already fallen short of the decades-old performance trend of doubling performance every 18 months. An attractive approach for exploiting multiple cores is to rely on tools, both compilers and runtime optimizers, to automatically extract threads from sequential applications. However, despite decades of research on automatic parallelization, most techniques are only effective in the scientific and data parallel domains where array dominated codes can be precisely analyzed by the compiler. Thread-level speculation offers the opportunity to expand parallelization to general-purpose programs, but at the cost of expensive hardware support. In this paper, we focus on providing low-overhead software support for exploiting speculative parallelism. We propose STMlite, a light-weight software transactional memory model that is customized to facilitate profile-guided automatic loop parallelization. STMlite eliminates a considerable amount of checking and locking overhead in conventional software transactional memory models by decoupling the commit phase from main transaction execution. Further, strong atomicity requirements for generic transactional memories are unnecessary within a stylized automatic parallelization framework. STMlite enables sequential applications to extract meaningful performance gains on commodity multicore hardware.
Towards a holistic approach to auto-parallelization
Authors: Tournavitis Georgios , Wang Zheng , Franke Björn , O'Boyle Michael F.P.
Published: June 2009

Compiler-based auto-parallelization is a much studied area, yet has still not found wide-spread application. This is largely due to the poor exploitation of application parallelism, subsequently resulting in performance levels far below those which a skilled expert programmer could achieve. We have identified two weaknesses in traditional parallelizing compilers and propose a novel, integrated approach, resulting in significant performance improvements of the generated parallel code. Using profile-driven parallelism detection we overcome the limitations of static analysis, enabling us to identify more application parallelism and only rely on the user for final approval. In addition, we replace the traditional target-specific and inflexible mapping heuristics with a machine-learning based prediction mechanism, resulting in better mapping decisions while providing more scope for adaptation to different target architectures. We have evaluated our parallelization strategy against the NAS and SPEC OMP benchmarks and two different multi-core platforms (dual quad-core Intel Xeon SMP and dual-socket QS20 Cell blade). We demonstrate that our approach not only yields significant improvements when compared with state-of-the-art parallelizing compilers, but comes close to and sometimes exceeds the performance of manually parallelized codes. On average, our methodology achieves 96% of the performance of the hand-tuned OpenMP NAS and SPEC parallel benchmarks on the Intel Xeon platform and gains a significant speedup for the IBM Cell platform, demonstrating the potential of profile-guided and machine-learning based parallelization for complex multi-core platforms.
Verifiable composition of deterministic grammars
Authors: Schwerdfeger August C. , Van Wyk Eric R.
Published: June 2009

There is an increasing interest in extensible languages,

(domain-specific) language extensions, and mechanisms for their specification and implementation. One challenge is to develop tools that allow non-expert programmers to add an eclectic set of language extensions to a host language. We describe mechanisms for composing and analyzing concrete syntax specifications of a host language and extensions to it. These specifications consist of context-free grammars with each terminal symbol mapped to a regular expression, from which a slightly-modified LR parser and context-aware scanner are generated. Traditionally, conflicts are detected when a parser is generated from the composed grammar, but this comes too late since it is the non-expert programmer directing the composition of independently developed extensions with the host language.

The primary contribution of this paper is a modular analysis that is performed independently by each extension designer on her extension (composed alone with the host language). If each extension passes this modular analysis, then the language composed later by the programmer will compile with no conflicts or lexical ambiguities. Thus, extension writers can verify that their extension will safely compose with others and, if not, fix the specification so that it will. This is possible due to the context-aware scanner's lexical disambiguation and a set of reasonable restrictions limiting the constructs that can be introduced by an extension. The restrictions ensure that the parse table states can be partitioned so that each state can be attributed to the host language or a single extension.
Verified validation of lazy code motion
Authors: Tristan Jean-Baptiste , Leroy Xavier
Published: June 2009

Translation validation establishes
a posteriori
the correctness of a run of a compilation pass or other program transformation. In this paper, we develop an efficient translation validation algorithm for the Lazy Code Motion (LCM) optimization. LCM is an interesting challenge for validation because it is a global optimization that moves code across loops. Consequently, care must be taken not to move computations that may fail before loops that may not terminate. Our validator includes a specific check for anticipability to rule out such incorrect moves. We present a mechanically-checked proof of correctness of the validation algorithm, using the Coq proof assistant. Combining our validator with an unverified implementation of LCM, we obtain a LCM pass that is provably semantics-preserving and was integrated in the CompCert formally verified compiler.
Snugglebug
Authors: Chandra Satish , Fink Stephen J. , Sridharan Manu
Published: June 2009

Symbolic analysis shows promise as a foundation for bug-finding, specification inference, verification, and test generation. This paper addresses demand-driven symbolic analysis for object-oriented programs and frameworks. Many such codes comprise large, partial programs with highly dynamic behaviors--polymorphism, reflection, and so on--posing significant scalability challenges for any static analysis.

We present an approach based on interprocedural backwards propagation of weakest preconditions. We present several novel techniques to improve the efficiency of such analysis. First, we present
directed call graph construction
, where call graph construction and symbolic analysis are interleaved. With this technique, call graph construction is guided by constraints discovered during symbolic analysis, obviating the need for exhaustively exploring a large, conservative call graph. Second, we describe
generalization
, a technique that greatly increases the reusability of procedure summaries computed during interprocedural analysis. Instead of tabulating how a procedure transforms a symbolic state in its entirety, our technique tabulates how the procedure transforms only the pertinent portion of the symbolic state. Additionally, we show how integrating an inexpensive, custom logic simplifier with weakest precondition computation dramatically improves performance.

We have implemented the analysis in a tool called
Snugglebug
and evaluated it as a bug-report feasibility checker. Our results show that the algorithmic techniques were critical for successfully analyzing large Java applications.
Trace-based just-in-time type specialization for dynamic languages
Authors: Gal Andreas , Eich Brendan , Shaver Mike , Anderson David , Mandelin David , Haghighat Mohammad R. , Kaplan Blake , Hoare Graydon , Zbarsky Boris , Orendorff Jason , Ruderman Jesse , Smith Edwin W. , Reitmaier Rick , Bebenita Michael , Chang Mason , Franz Michael
Published: June 2009

Dynamic languages such as JavaScript are more difficult to compile than statically typed ones. Since no concrete type information is available, traditional compilers need to emit generic code that can handle all possible type combinations at runtime. We present an alternative compilation technique for dynamically-typed languages that identifies frequently executed loop traces at run-time and then generates machine code on the fly that is specialized for the actual dynamic types occurring on each path through the loop. Our method provides cheap inter-procedural type specialization, and an elegant and efficient way of incrementally compiling lazily discovered alternative paths through nested loops. We have implemented a dynamic compiler for JavaScript based on our technique and we have measured speedups of 10x and more for certain benchmark programs.
Genetic disruption of AMPK signaling abolishes both contraction- and insulin-stimulated TBC1D1 phosphorylation and 14-3-3 binding in mouse skeletal muscle
Authors: Pehmøller Christian , Treebak Jonas T. , Birk Jesper B. , Chen Shuai , MacKintosh Carol , Hardie D. Grahame , Richter Erik A. , Wojtaszewski Jørgen F. P.
Published: June 2009

TBC1D1 is a Rab-GTPase-activating protein (GAP) known to be phosphorylated in response to insulin, growth factors, pharmacological agonists that activate 5′-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), and muscle contraction. Silencing TBC1D1 in L6 muscle cells by siRNA increases insulin-stimulated GLUT4 translocation, and overexpression of TBC1D1 in 3T3-L1 adipocytes with low endogenous TBC1D1 expression inhibits insulin-stimulated GLUT4 translocation, suggesting a role of TBC1D1 in regulating GLUT4 translocation. Aiming to unravel the regulation of TBC1D1 during contraction and the potential role of AMPK in intact skeletal muscle, we used EDL muscles from wild-type (WT) and AMPK kinase dead (KD) mice. We explored the site-specific phosphorylation of TBC1D1 Ser237 and Thr596 and their relation to 14-3-3 binding, a proposed mechanism for regulation of GAP function of TBC1D1. We show that muscle contraction increases 14-3-3 binding to TBC1D1 as well as phosphorylation of Ser237 and Thr596 in an AMPK-dependent manner. AMPK activation by AICAR induced similar Ser237 and Thr596 phosphorylation of, and 14-3-3 binding to, TBC1D1 as muscle contraction. Insulin did not increase Ser237 phosphorylation or 14-3-3 binding to TBC1D1. However, insulin increased Thr596 phosphorylation, and intriguingly this response was fully abolished in the AMPK KD mice. Thus, TBC1D1 is differentially regulated in response to insulin and contraction. This study provides genetic evidence to support an important role for AMPK in regulating TBC1D1 in response to both of these physiological stimuli.
Platform for Distributed 3D Gaming
Authors: Jurgelionis A. , Fechteler P. , Eisert P. , Bellotti F. , David H. , Laulajainen J. P. , Carmichael R. , Poulopoulos V. , Laikari A. , Perälä P. , De Gloria A. , Bouras C.
Published: June 2009

Video games are typically executed on Windows platforms with DirectX API and require high performance CPUs and graphics hardware. For pervasive gaming in various environments like at home, hotels, or internet cafes, it is beneficial to run games also on mobile devices and modest performance CE devices avoiding the necessity of placing a noisy workstation in the living room or costly computers/consoles in each room of a hotel. This paper presents a new cross‐platform approach for distributed 3D gaming in wired/wireless local networks. We introduce the novel system architecture and protocols used to transfer the game graphics data across the network to end devices. Simultaneous execution of video games on a central server and a novel streaming approach of the 3D graphics output to multiple end devices enable the access of games on low cost set top boxes and handheld devices that natively lack the power of executing a game with high‐quality graphical output.
Effective Monotherapy with Amrubicin for a Refractory Extrapulmonary Small-Cell Carcinoma of the Liver
Authors: Isobe Taichi , Yanai Shunichi , Kusaba Hitoshi , Yada Shinichiro , Kuroda Yosuke , Tamiya Sadafumi , Matsumoto Takayuki , Baba Eishi , Harada Mine
Published: June 2009

Small-cell carcinoma of the liver is a rare neoplasm, and no standard treatment for it has yet been established. A 72-year-old man with an extensive disease stage of small-cell carcinoma of the liver was treated with systemic chemotherapy consisting of cisplatin and etoposide (PE) followed by irinotecan. Although the masses were markedly decreased once after the sixth course of PE, amrubicin monotherapy as third-line chemotherapy was started because the hepatic masses had increased again. The administration of amrubicin was repeated in 8 courses with regression of the disease, resulting in a 26-month survival since the first-line chemotherapy was started. This is the first case report of a refractory EPSCC successfully treated with amrubicin.
A Dense Point‐to‐Point Alignment Method for Realistic 3D Face Morphing and Animation
Authors: Hu Yongli , Zhou Mingquan , Wu Zhongke
Published: June 2009

We present a new point matching method to overcome the dense point‐to‐point alignment of scanned 3D faces. Instead of using the rigid spatial transformation in the traditional iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm, we adopt the thin plate spline (TPS) transformation to model the deformation of different 3D faces. Because TPS is a non‐rigid transformation with good smooth property, it is suitable for formulating the complex variety of human facial morphology. A closest point searching algorithm is proposed to keep one‐to‐one mapping, and to get good efficiency the point matching method is accelerated by a KD‐tree method. Having constructed the dense point‐to‐point correspondence of 3D faces, we create 3D face morphing and animation by key‐frames interpolation and obtain realistic results. Comparing with ICP algorithm and the optical flow method, the presented point matching method can achieve good matching accuracy and stability. The experiment results have shown that our method is efficient for dense point objects registration.
Crystal Structure Studies of Human Dental Apatite as a Function of Age
Authors: Leventouri Th. , Antonakos A. , Kyriacou A. , Venturelli R. , Liarokapis E. , Perdikatsis V.
Published: June 2009

Studies of the average crystal structure properties of human dental apatite as a function of age in the range of 5–87 years are reported. The crystallinity of the dental hydroxyapatite decreases with the age. The a‐lattice constant that is associated with the carbonate content in carbonate apatite decreases with age in a systematic way, whereas the c‐lattice constant does not change significantly. Thermogravimetric measurements demonstrate an increase of the carbonate content with the age. FTIR spectroscopy reveals both B and A‐type carbonate substitutions with the B‐type greater than the A‐type substitution by a factor up to ~5. An increase of the carbonate content as a function of age can be deduced from the ratio of the ν2CO3 to the ν1PO4 IR modes.
Performance Analysis of a Photovoltaic‐Thermal Integrated System
Authors: Radziemska Ewa
Published: June 2009

The present commercial photovoltaic solar cells (PV) converts solar energy into electricity with a relatively low efficiency, less than 20%. More than 80% of the absorbed solar energy is dumped to the surroundings again after photovoltaic conversion. Hybrid PV/T systems consist of PV modules coupled with the heat extraction devices. The PV/T collectors generate electric power and heat simultaneously. Stabilizing temperature of photovoltaic modules at low level is higly desirable to obtain efficiency increase. The total efficiency of 60–80% can be achieved with the whole PV/T system provided that the T system is operated near ambient temperature. The value of the low‐T heat energy is typically much smaller than the value of the PV electricity. The PV/T systems can exist in many designs, but the most common models are with the use of water or air as a working fuid. Efficiency is the most valuable parameter for the economic analysis. It has substantial meaning in the case of installations with great nominal power, as air‐cooled Building Integrated Photovoltaic Systems (BIPV).
In this paper the performance analysis of a hybrid PV/T system is presented: an energetic analysis as well as an exergetic analysis. Exergy is always destroyed when a process involves a temperature change. This destruction is proportional to the entropy increase of the system together with its surroundings—the destroyed exergy has been called anergy. Exergy analysis identifies the location, the magnitude, and the sources of thermodynamic inefficiences in a system. This information, which cannot be provided by other means (e.g., an energy analysis), is very useful for the improvement and cost‐effictiveness of the system. Calculations were carried out for the tested water‐cooled ASE‐100‐DGL‐SM Solarwatt module.
TE Magnetostatic Surface Waves in Symmetric Dielectric Negative Permittivity Material Waveguide
Authors: Ass'ad A. I. , Ashour H. S.
Published: June 2009

Nonlinear magnetostatic surface wave in a slab waveguide structure has been investigated. The design consisted of dielectric film between two thick nonlinear nonmagnetic negative permittivity material (NPM) layers. A dispersion relation for TE nonlinear Magnetostatic surface waves (NMSSWs) has been derived into the proposed structure and has been numerically investigated. Effective refractive index decreases with thickness and frequency increase have been found. Effective refractive index decrease with optical nonlinearity increase and switching to negative values of effective refractive index at a certain value of optical nonlinearity have been found. This meant that the structure behaved like a left-handed material over certain range. We found that the power flow was changing by changing the operating frequency, the dielectric film thickness, and the optical nonlinearity. Also, the effective refractive index and power flow attained constant values over certain values of dielectric constant values.
Triple Versus Dual Antiplatelet Therapy in Patients With Acute ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction Undergoing Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention
Authors: Chen Kang-Yin , Rha Seung-Woon , Li Yong-Jian , Poddar Kanhaiya L. , Jin Zhe , Minami Yoshiyasu , Wang Lin , Kim Eung Ju , Park Chang Gyu , Seo Hong Seog , Oh Dong Joo , Jeong Myung Ho , Ahn Young Keun , Hong Taek Jong , Kim Young Jo , Hur Seung Ho , Seong In Whan , Chae Jei Keon , Cho Myeong Chan , Bae Jang Ho , Choi Dong Hoon , Jang Yang Soo , Chae In Ho , Kim Chong Jin , Yoon Jung Han , Chung Wook Sung , Seung Ki Bae , Park Seung Jung
Published: June 2009

Background—

Whether triple antiplatelet therapy is superior or similar to dual antiplatelet therapy in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention in the era of drug-eluting stents remains unclear.

Methods and Results—

A total of 4203 ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents were analyzed retrospectively in the Korean Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry (KAMIR). They received either dual (aspirin plus clopidogrel; dual group; n=2569) or triple (aspirin plus clopidogrel plus cilostazol; triple group; n=1634) antiplatelet therapy. The triple group received additional cilostazol at least for 1 month. Various major adverse cardiac events at 8 months were compared between these 2 groups. Compared with the dual group, the triple group had a similar incidence of major bleeding events but a significantly lower incidence of in-hospital mortality. Clinical outcomes at 8 months showed that the triple group had significantly lower incidences of cardiac death (adjusted odds ratio, 0.52; 95% confidence interval, 0.32 to 0.84;
P
=0.007), total death (adjusted odds ratio, 0.60; 95% confidence interval, 0.41 to 0.89;
P
=0.010), and total major adverse cardiac events (adjusted odds ratio, 0.74; 95% confidence interval, 0.58 to 0.95;
P
=0.019) than the dual group. Subgroup analysis showed that older (>65 years old), female, and diabetic patients got more benefits from triple antiplatelet therapy than their counterparts who received dual antiplatelet therapy.

Conclusions—

Triple antiplatelet therapy seems to be superior to dual antiplatelet therapy in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents. These results may provide the rationale for the use of triple antiplatelet therapy in these patients.
Intensifying Platelet Inhibition With Tirofiban in Poor Responders to Aspirin, Clopidogrel, or Both Agents Undergoing Elective Coronary Intervention
Authors: Valgimigli Marco , Campo Gianluca , de Cesare Nicoletta , Meliga Emanuele , Vranckx Pascal , Furgieri Alessandro , Angiolillo Dominick J. , Sabatè Manel , Hamon Martial , Repetto Alessandra , Colangelo Salvatore , Brugaletta Salvatore , Parrinello Giovanni , Percoco Gianfranco , Ferrari Roberto
Published: June 2009

Background—

Inhibition of platelet aggregation after aspirin or clopidogrel intake varies greatly among patients, and previous studies have suggested that poor response to oral antiplatelet agents may increase the risk of thrombotic events, especially after coronary angioplasty. Whether this reflects suboptimal platelet inhibition per se, which might benefit from more potent antiplatelet agents such as tirofiban, is unknown.

Methods and Results—

We screened 1277 patients to enroll 93 aspirin, 147 clopidogrel, and 23 dual poor responders, based on a point-of-care assay, who underwent elective coronary angioplasty at 10 European sites for stable or low-risk unstable coronary artery disease. Patients were randomly assigned in a double-blind manner to receive either tirofiban (n=132) or placebo (n=131) on top of standard aspirin and clopidogrel therapy. The primary end point, consisting of troponin I/T elevation at least 3 times the upper limit of normal, was attained in 20.4% (n=27) in the tirofiban group compared with 35.1% (n=46) in the placebo group (relative risk, 0.58; 95% confidence interval, 0.39 to 0.88;
P
=0.009). The rate of major adverse cardiovascular events within 30 days in the tirofiban group also was reduced (3.8% versus 10.7%;
P
=0.031). The overall incidence of bleeding was low, likely explained by a substantial use of the transradial approach, and did not differ between the 2 groups.

Conclusions—

In low-risk patients according to clinical presentation who had poor responsiveness to standard oral platelet inhibitors via a point-of-care assay, intensified platelet inhibition with tirofiban lowers the incidence of myocardial infarction after elective coronary intervention.
ATP-Binding Cassette Transporter A1 Expression and Apolipoprotein A-I Binding Are Impaired in Intima-Type Arterial Smooth Muscle Cells
Authors: Choi Hong Y. , Rahmani Maziar , Wong Brian W. , Allahverdian Sima , McManus Bruce M. , Pickering J. Geoffrey , Chan Teddy , Francis Gordon A.
Published: June 2009

Background—

Accumulation of excess cholesterol by intimal arterial smooth muscle cells (SMCs) contributes to the formation of foam cells in atherosclerotic lesions. The purpose of this study was to examine the expression and activity of ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) in model intimal and medial arterial SMCs, in human atherosclerotic coronary artery intimal and medial layers, and in human intimal and medial SMCs.

Methods and Results—

Model intimal arterial SMCs showed increased cholesteryl ester accumulation, absence of apolipoprotein A-I–mediated lipid efflux, markedly diminished ABCA1 expression, and poor apoA-I binding compared with medial-layer SMCs. Total ABCA1 mRNA and SMC-specific ABCA1 protein levels were diminished in the intimal layer compared with the medial layer of atherosclerotic human coronary arteries. Increased expression of ABCA1 by liver X receptor agonist treatment or gene transfection failed to correct apolipoprotein A-I binding, lipid efflux, or high-density lipoprotein particle formation by intima-type SMCs. In addition to impaired ABCA1 expression, intima-type SMCs appear to lack a critical binding factor or factors required for the apolipoprotein A-I–ABCA1 interaction, cholesterol efflux, and high-density lipoprotein particle formation.

Conclusion—

ABCA1 expression is reduced in cultured model intimal and human atherosclerotic lesion SMCs, suggesting that reduced ABCA1 activity contributes to smooth muscle foam cell formation in the intima.
Regulation of Renovascular Adenosine 3′,5′-Cyclic Monophosphate in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats
Authors: Jackson Edwin K. , Mi Zaichuan
Published: June 2009

This study tested the hypothesis that regulation of 3′,5′-cAMP levels in the kidney vasculature is abnormal in spontaneously hypertensive rats. In isolated, perfused kidneys from adult rats (16 weeks of age), isoproterenol similarly increased renal venous 3′,5′-cAMP secretion from kidneys of hypertensive versus normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats. However, a broad-spectrum phosphodiesterase inhibitor (isobutyl-1-methylxanthine) augmented isoproterenol (3 μmol/L)-induced increases in renal venous 3′,5′-cAMP secretion more so in kidneys from adult hypertensive versus age-matched normotensive rats (31-fold and 5-fold, respectively;P<0.0001). In contrast to isoproterenol, broad-spectrum phosphodiesterase inhibition augmented forskolin-induced increases in renal venous 3′,5′-cAMP secretion similarly in kidneys from adult hypertensive versus age-matched normotensive rats. In kidneys from adults of both strains, the effects of isobutyl-1-methylxanthine on isoproterenol-induced 3′,5′-cAMP responses were mimicked by the inhibition of phosphodiesterase 4 (RO 20-1724) but not by the inhibition of phosphodiesterase 1 (3,8-methoxymethyl-3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine) or phosphodiesterase 3 (milrinone). In kidneys from young (5 weeks of age), adult, and old (39 weeks of age) rats, RO 20-1724 augmented isoproterenol-induced renal 3′,5′-cAMP secretion more so in kidneys from hypertensive rats. In adult hypertensive rats, arterial blood pressure and renal vascular resistance were elevated compared with age-matched normotensive rats, and intravenous infusions of RO 20-1724 reduced blood pressure and renal vascular resistance in hypertensive rats but had little effect on these variables in normotensive rats. We conclude that, in the renal vasculature of spontaneously hypertensive rats (young, adult, and old), there is increased activity of a compartment of phosphodiesterase 4. Selective inhibition of renal vascular phosphodiesterase 4 may represent a new strategy for improving renal hemodynamics in genetic hypertension.
Volume-Associated Ambulatory Blood Pressure Patterns in Hemodialysis Patients
Authors: Agarwal Rajiv
Published: June 2009

Although volume excess causes hypertension, whether it also affects circadian patterns of arterial pressures among hemodialysis patients remains unknown. To test the notion of whether volume overload is associated with a unique blood pressure (BP) “signature,” a posthoc analysis was performed among 145 patients participating in the Dry-Weight Reduction in Hypertensive Hemodialysis Patients randomized, controlled trial. Using 400 ambulatory BP recordings over 8 weeks composed of 35 302 measurements, the trended cosinor model was found to be the best descriptor of BP chronobiology. The trended cosinor model may be described as a pattern of sinusoidal oscillation around a straight line with an upward trend during the interdialytic period that has an intercept at the postdialysis time. Augmented volume removal therapy reduced the intercept systolic BP and increased the rate of rise in systolic BP over the interdialytic interval but had no effect on the systolic BP fluctuation (amplitude). Thus, an elevated intercept and blunted slope pattern characterize the “volume-overload BP pattern” on ambulatory BP monitoring. Similar changes were seen for diastolic BP. Augmented volume removal therapy neither restored dipping nor was associated with a lag phenomenon for either the wake or the sleep systolic BP. Lowering of systolic BP was greater than diastolic BP such that pulse pressure was reduced. An observational cohort of 37 patients followed for 6 months confirmed these findings. Randomized trials are now needed to evaluate the clinical impact of augmented volume removal therapy on hard outcomes, because reduction of pulse pressure with this simple expedient has the potential to improve survival in hemodialysis patients.
Tevul Yom and the Red Heifer: Pharisaic and Sadducean Halakah
Authors: Birenboim Hannan
Published: June 2009

Both the Qumran scrolls and the rabbinic sources teach of a controversy between the Pharisees, on the one hand, and the Sadducees and the Qumran sect, on the other, concerning the standing of the red heifer: The Sadducees, considering the red heifer as a sacrifice, held that a tevul yom was not permitted to deal with the heifer, whereas the Pharisees, not considering the red heifer as a sacrifice, held that a tevul yom was permitted to deal with it. This controversy derived from the Pharisees' desire to enable the common people to participate as much as possible in divine worship: by not considering the red heifer as a sacrifice, they made it possible for the masses to participate in the preparation of the ashes and even to sprinkle it upon the impure; this was opposed by the Sadducees and the Qumran sectarians.
From Financial Crisis to World-Slump: Accumulation, Financialisation, and the Global Slowdown
Authors: McNally David
Published: June 2009

This paper assesses the current world economic crisis in terms of crucial transformations in global capitalism throughout the neoliberal period. It argues that intense social and spatial restructuring after the crises of 1973–82 produced a new wave of capitalist expansion (centred on East Asia) that began to exhaust itself in the late-1990s. Since that time, new problems of overaccumulation and declining profitability have plagued global capitalism. Interconnected with these problems are contradictions related to a mutation in the form of world-money, as a result of its complete de-linking from gold after 1971, which stimulated a fantastic growth in financial instruments and transactions, and generated a proliferation of esoteric 'fictitious capitals' whose collapse is wreaking havoc across world financial markets. The intersection between general conditions of overaccumulation and a crisis in financial structures specific to neoliberalism has now produced a deep world-slump. Inherent in this crisis is a breakdown in forms of value-measurement that is throwing up intense struggles between the capitalist value-form and popular life-values, the latter of which comprise the grounds for any real renewal of the socialist Left.
Racial Exclusion and the Political Economy of the Subprime Crisis
Authors: Dymski Gary
Published: June 2009

This paper develops a political economic explanation of the 2007–9 US subprime crisis which focuses on one of its central causes: the transformation of racial exclusion in US mortgage-markets. Until the early 1990s, racial minorities were systematically excluded from mortgage-finance due to bank-redlining and discrimination. But, then, racial exclusion in credit-markets was transformed: racial minorities were increasingly given access to housing-credit under terms far more adverse than were offered to non-minority borrowers. This paper shows that the emergence of the subprime loan is linked, in turn, to the strategic transformation of banking in the 1980s, and to the unique global circumstances of the US macro-economy. Thus, subprime lending emerged from a combination of the long US history of racial exclusion in credit-markets, the crisis of US banking, and the position of the US within the global economy. From the viewpoint of the capitalist accumulation-process, these loans increased the depth of the financial expropriation of the working class by financial capital. The crisis in subprime lending then emerged when subprime loans with exploitative terms became more widespread and were made increasingly on an under-collateralised basis – that is, when housing-loans became not just extortionary but speculative.
Fair-trade Coffee: The Prospects and Pitfalls of Market Driven Social Justice: Brewing Justice: Fair-trade Coffee, Sustainability, and Survival: Fair-trade: The Challenges of Transforming Globalization
Authors: Hudson Ian , Hudson Mark
Published: June 2009

Fair trade is at a critical juncture as a social movement. In the midst of a sales boom and vastly increased visibility, the tensions and contradictions that exist within the movement are intensifying. In particular, expansion of the fair-trade system to cover new commodities, and the process of 'mainstreaming' fair trade have opened rifts in the movement and called into question the meaning of 'fairness'. This essay reviews three recent books on fair trade, and examines current threats to the system, as well as fair trade's potential for supporting a broad process of social, economic, political, and ecological transformation.
John Spargo and American Socialism
Authors: Seymour Richard
Published: June 2009

Markku Ruotsila's impressive new biography of John Spargo is an incisive assessment of one of the earliest architects of neoconservatism. Spargo, a British socialist who spent most of his life in the United States, had moved gradually to the right of the socialist movement, advocating a gradualist and anti-revolutionary interpretation of Marxism. Having defended the American intervention in WWI, he was an early and avid critic of the Bolshevik Revolution. It was Spargo who composed the Colby Note that formalised the Wilson administration's anti-communist doctrine, and engaged in a political alliance with Benito Mussolini which he maintained through Italy's Fascist years on account of Mussolini's intransigent anti-communism. A harsh critic of the Roosevelt administration's 'New Deal' and its recognition of the USSR, he moved to the hard right in his domestic politics, supporting the Dies Commission and McCarthy, and later supporting first Richard Nixon then Barry Goldwater in the 1964 elections. This review examines Spargo's journey to the right in the light, not only of the peculiar Hyndmanite Marxism into which he was initially inducted and the reformist socialism to which he later graduated, but also of his social Darwinism, his support for colonialism, and his perceptions of the global racial order. I argue that Ruotsila, while providing an unprecedented glimpse into a neglected prehistory of neoconservatism, is mistaken to see Spargo's transition as a logical and linear progression in which he successfully preserved the core of his 'Social Gospel' even as he became a Republican activist. He also understates, I will maintain, the role of Spargo's racial concerns in the fervent anti-communism that he espoused after 1917.
Pseudoquotes in Psychoanalytic Interventions
Authors: Moss Donald
Published: June 2009

The syntactical structure of any psychoanalytic intervention is itself overdetermined. As such, when the syntax of an analyst's intervention seems out of the ordinay, it may mark a moment of particular difficulty. One syntactical form used frequently by psychoanalysts is a pseudoquote. In this form, the analyst speaks for the patient, uses the pronoun “I,” as though he were, for the moment, the voice of the patient. Three such interventions are presented here from audio-recorded material. The interventions are examined in context, and some probable determinants are sketched. These determinants cluster around wishes and fears associated with “the difficult moment of self-other relatedness.” This somewhat empirical portion of the paper is followed by a theoretical discussion in which the development of thought, speech, and the ego are related to the question of whether pseudoquotes actually serve the psychoanalytic process.
Three Visits to Eternity: Freud, Wiesel, and Patient X
Authors: Weiss Stanley S.
Published: June 2009

Freud's experience on the Acropolis is reviewed and reappraised. Also, the experience of Elie Wiesel at the Wall in Jerusalem and Patient X's reaction visiting an Egyptian temple are examined. Carl Jung's wish to go to Rome and his inability to do so are noted. The aim of the paper is to offer deeper understanding about intense reactions many sensitive and creative people experience over travel to special places. These places are treated as idealized and ambivalently loved transference objects. Normal anticipatory pleasure prior to the trip is impaired and reality pleasure at the site cannot be enjoyed. When these spots are reached, ego regression is initiated by the intolerably intense narcissistic pleasure mobilized by the gratification of fantasies that were felt to be unrealizable. The fantasies can be conscious or unconscious and from oedipal as well as preoedipal and postoedipal developmental levels; however, they always involve the fulfillment of overwhelmingly powerful wishes. The deep ego regression, archaic fantasies, and the complex defenses mobilized are frightening since there may also be concern about ego dissolution or irreversible transformation. One highly adaptive solution which helps master these conflictual and developmental experiences is creative ego activity. While maintaining integrity for the individual ego and enhancing the self, creative work and accomplishment also enrich and advance the cultural process.
The Child Dream and the Child Transference
Authors: De Francisco Don
Published: June 2009

This paper explores the symbolic meaning of dreams in which children appear with special attention to the way children in dreams symbolize the self, particularly the dependent and developing self. It is suggested that patients' growth in analysis can be monitored by observing what happens to the children in their dreams. This paper also explores the vicissitudes of the child transference, in which the patient treats the analyst as a child. An analysis is described in which the child dream and the child transference played an important role in elucidating the patient's neurotic behaviors. The author contends that the child dream and the child transference are common and clinically useful phenomena, especially important in the analysis of dependency conflicts. An additional thesis of this paper is that the child transference is most likely to be found in instances where a patient played a parental role with one of their parents during childhood.
Transference-Countertransference
Authors: Loewald Hans W.
Published: June 2009

This paper concerns the dynamics of transference-countertransference as thay reveal themselves in object relations and specifically in the psychoanalytic process. It is postulated that transference and countertransference cannot be viewed separately, that both analyst and patient exhibit transference-countertransference reactions, and that they are normal ingredients of the psychoanalytic process. Brief clinical illustrations are provided. Attention is called to special problem when the patient's defenses are primitive, and to the therapeutic value of the analyst's countertransference.
Countertransference and the Theory of Technique: Discussion
Authors: Blum Harold P.
Published: June 2009

Historical, clinical, and conceptual remarks are presented regarding countertransference and the theory of psychoanalytic technique, preliminary to and in the context of discussing the contributions to the panel, “countertransference in Theory and Practice” (Tyson, 1984; Loewald, 1984; Jacobs, 1984; Dewald, unpublished). In addition, special emphasis is given to problems of countertransference in training arid supervision which may be Prototypes for later difficulties in analytic work.
Psychoanalysis and Time
Authors: Arlow Jacob A.
Published: June 2009

Psychoanalysis is fundamentally related to time because it is an effort to understand how disturbances in the present are determined by events in the past. Technically, we know that the patient who is reporting immediate perceptions is not aware of the passage of time, but he becomes self-conscious as undesirable elements threaten to appear in his associations. Time is not sensed by direct awareness, nor is it an agent of action or events. Various functions of the ego influence how time is experienced consciously, leading to phenomena such as déjà vu, a sensation of timelessness, misjudgment of time duration, the experience of premonition. Psychoanalysis more than any other discipline sheds light on the coexistence of past, present, and future, as influenced by unconscious fantasy thinking. The analyst's understanding of the patient's associations is guided by temporal factors such as context and contiguity, succession of similar or opposite elements. Basically, the self is a time-bound concept; identity implies that a self is the same entity at different points in time. There is a deep-seated rebellion against the tyranny of time, beginning with need, frustration in the infant and culminating in the knowledge that man is destined to lose the struggle against death.
Affect Availability, Tolerance, Complexity, and Modulation in Psychoanalysis: Followup of a Longitudinal, Prospective Study
Authors: Kantrowitz Judy L. , Paolitto Frank , Sashin Jerome , Solomon Leonard , Katz Ann L.
Published: June 2009

Evaluation of 22 patients in supervised psychoanalysis showed that affect availability and tolerance changed in a positive direction during the course of psychoanalysis. In this study, we have defined criteria of change that can be clinically observed. The changes observed were present one year following the completion of psychoanalysis. Ratings of analysts' and patients' interviews, and ratings of psychological tests all revealed that patients had derived “therapeutic benefit” in relation to affect experience and management. Discriminations were made among changes in affect modulation, which reflected both loosening and tightening of controls, changes in affect availability, changes in experience of painful affects, and changes in experience of affect complexity. Analysts' interviews and psychological test data reflected notable changes in affect modulation in the direction of increased control, while patients' interviews more often reflected changes in the direction of increased expressiveness.
Freud: Objects and Structure
Authors: Compton Allan
Published: June 2009

This paper, part of a series exploring the development of Freud's object concept, deals with the concepts of objects and psychic structure in the period from 1915 to 1938. In connection with the increased prominence of object loss and hostility in his clinical material, the role of objects in the building of psychic structure via identification assumed increased importance from 1917 on. After introduction of the ego-id-superego model, Freud asserted for the first time that object choice does take place as early as the oedipal period, and interpolated the phallic-oedipal phase into his sequence of developmental phases. The prominence of structure formation through identification continued, but no new object concepts are discerned.
Robert Waelder and the Application of Psychoanalytic Principles to Social and Political Phenomena
Authors: Guttman Samuel A.
Published: June 2009

This presentation reveals a little-known area of Robert Waelder's work. As his literary executor, I have been privileged with access to his unpublished material, notes, and correspondence. And, of course, I am familiar with his mode of thinking. I wish to pass on some of this knowledge.

What cannot be passed on, howver, in some abstract intellectual way, are psychoanalytic principles themselves. Therefore, while this paper sheds light on a very particular aspect of Robert Waelder's work, it is also in some ways a cautionary tale, a plea that the reader understand what is behind the psychoanalytic point of view and its basic concepts—namely, clinical experience.