Reactive objects

Object-oriented, concurrent, and event-based programming models provide a natural framework in which to express the behavior of distributed and embedded software systems. However, contemporary programming languages still base their I/O primitives on a model in which the environment is assumed to be centrally controlled and synchronous, and interactions with the environment carried out through blocking subroutine calls. The gap between this view and the natural asynchrony of the real world has made event-based programming a complex and error-prone activity, despite recent focus on event-based frameworks and middleware. In this paper we present a consistent model of event-based concurrency, centered around the notion of reactive objects. This model relieves the object-oriented paradigm from the idea of transparent blocking, and naturally enforces reactivity and state consistency. We illustrate our point by a program example that offers substantial improvements in size and simplicity over a corresponding Java-based solution.Godkänd; 2002; 20070227 (ysko

Reactive Objects

Object-oriented, concurrent, and event-based programming models provide a natural framework in which to express the behavior of distributed and embedded software systems. However, contemporary programming languages still base their I/O primitives on a model in which the environment is assumed to be centrally controlled and synchronous, and interactions with the environment carried out through blocking subroutine calls. The gap between this view and the natural asynchrony of the real world has made event-based programming a complex and error-prone activity, despite recent focus on event-based frameworks and middleware. In this paper we present a consistent model of event-based concurrency, centered around the notion of reactive objects. This model relieves the object-oriented paradigm from the idea of transparent blocking, and naturally enforces reactivity and state consistency. We illustrate our point by a program example that offers substantial improvements in size and simplicity over a corresponding Java-based solution

Borreliosis as a cause of peripheral facial palsy: a multi-center study

Borreliosis is known to be a common cause of peripheral facial palsy in Stockholm and its vicinity. The aim of the present study was to investigate the frequency and characteristics of borreliosis among patients with peripheral facial palsy in different parts of Sweden. All serological tests were performed in one laboratory. Ten Swedish Ear Nose and Throat clinics participated in a prospective 1-year study of patients seeking medical attention for acute peripheral facial palsy. Twenty-eight (6%) out of totally 446 patients fulfilled the criteria for the diagnosis of borreliosis. The frequency varied between 1 and 16% and was highest along the southeast coast of Sweden whereas no case was reported from the northern part of the country. Borreliosis was more common among children with facial palsy than among adults. The infection occurred during all seasons although it appears to be less frequent during the spring months. Only a minority of the borrelial patients had a history of a preceding tick bite or erythema migrans. The fairly low overall frequency of this secondary stage of borreliosis in the study may be a result of better knowledge of the disease and earlier treatment of its early manifestations. In Sweden's endemic areas borreliosis is a common cause of peripheral facial palsy, and therefore all patients with facial palsy in these regions should be examined for borrelial infection