Expanding security eastward: NATO and US military engagement in Georgia

This repository item contains a single issue of Behind the Breaking News, a briefing published from 1999 to 2009 by the Boston University Institute for the Study of Conflict, Ideology, and Policy

Report of results of pleural biopsy (Needle biopsy and open biopsy) in 108 cases and 245 biopsies

1. The results of 245 pleural biopsies perfomed in 108 patients including 219 pleural needle biopsies and 26 pleural open biopsies were reported. The method of pleural biopsy seems to be superior to any other currently available diagnostic procedures for the etiological diagnosis of pleurisy. 2. When the pleural needle biopsy is compared with the pleural open biopsy, the former method has definite advantages over the open biopsy. The pleural needle biopsy is simple, repeatable and has almost no complication. The method of pleural needle biopsy is the initial method of choice as Donohoe correctly stated and should be employed in every cases of the pleurisy to confirm the etiological diagnosis. The open biopsy should be reserved only for those cases in whom the needle biopsy had not proved satisfactory. 3. Utilizing the method of needle biopsy, the pathological diagnosis was made in 86 per cent of our cases at the initial biopsy. By repeated needle biopsies, the results have improved to 91-92 per cent. 4. Most of the failures of the pleural needle biopsy were noted at the early stage of the study due to the unfamiliarity of the biopsy technique and later due to the incooperation of the patients. 5. The presence of the free pleural fluid serves as a convenient guide for the performance of the needle biopsy but successful needle biopsy was easily done without presence of pleural fluid when there is adequate pleural thickening. 6. 63-75 per cent of our diagnosed cases were proved to have granulomatous pleuritis, 13-31 per cent non-specific pleuritis and 5.4-5.8 per cent eosinophilic pleuritis due to paragonomiasis. The distribution of this pathological diagnosis seems to reflect quite well the actual picture of incidences of pleurisy of various different etiology in young adults in Korea. 7. The relationship of the success in obtaining adequate tissue by needle biopsy and interval between onset of symptom and biopsy was discussed. It was found that the interval has no significant effect on the production of adequate tissue by needle biopsy if the time elapsed is 4 weeks or more from the onset of symptom. 8. The significance of the pathological findings of ranulomatous pleuritis at one biopsy and non-specific pleuritis at another biopsy in the same patient was discussed. It is concluded that the single finding of nonspecific pleuritis at one needle biopsy cannot rule out the presence of granulomatous pleuritis and it is recommended that pleural biopsy be repeated whenever necessary. 9. The diagnostic significance of the chemical analysis of the pleural fluid was discussed in correlation with the results of the pleural needle biopsies. It is concluded that the number of examinations are not quite sufficient to draw any definite conclusion at the present stage of our study. 10. The finding of sanguinous pleural fluid in the patient of granulomatous pleuritis is quite high (72.7 %) and it was found that the sanguinous pleural fluid was most frequently found in the patients with granulomatous pleuritis in non-cancerous age. 11. Two groups of pleurisy patients with or without parenchymal lung lesion on chest X-ray were discussed in correlation with the results of the needle biopsy. It was found that the incidence of the pathological evidence of granulomatous inflammation on the biopsy specimens in these two groups is almost the same regardless of the presence of the demonstrable parenchymal lung lesion. 12. Histopathological finding of granulomatous pleuritis was discussed in conjunction with the significance of two types of tubercles, the soft tubercles and hard tubercles. In all specimens diagnosed as granulomatous pleuritis granulomas were demonstrated ranging from large, conglomerate tubercles with central caseation or giant cells to small granulomas without central caseation or Langhans' giant cells. 13. Histopathological significance of the finding of non-specific pleuritis on the biopsy specimens was discussed and the existence of a specific entity of &#34;non-specific pleuritis&#34; which is equivalent to the non-specific inflammation of the pericardium. 14. Cases of pleurisy due to paragonomiasis were discussed and the need of specific attention for search of new cases was emphasized.</p

Compaction behaviour of clay

This paper presents an experimental study of the compaction behaviour of non-active clay. One-dimensional static compaction tests were carried out at high and medium water content with matric suction monitoring using Trento high-capacity tensiometers. At lower water contents, a transistor psychrometer was used to measure post-compaction suction. Samples were compacted on the dry side of optimum to cover a wide range of compaction water contents and vertical stresses. Three water content regions were identified in the compaction plane depending on whether post-compaction suction increased, decreased or remained constant as the degree of saturation was increased at constant water content. Hydraulic paths of specimens subjected to loading-unloading cycles at constant water content have clearly shown that post-compaction suction may increase as the degree of saturation increases. This non-intuitive behaviour was demonstrated to be associated with the coupling between mechanical and water retention behaviour. To this end, a coupled mechanical water retention model was formulated. Irreversible one-dimensional mechanical paths were modelled by a boundary surface in the space average skeleton vertical stress, modified suction and void ratio. Irreversible hydraulic 'wetting' paths were modelled by a boundary surface in the space suction, degree of saturation, and void ratio. This study was completed by investigating the pore size distribution of compacted samples through MIP tests

Smiles all around: FX joint calibration in a multi-Heston model

We introduce a novel multi-factor Heston-based stochastic volatility model, which is able to reproduce consistently typical multi-dimensional FX vanilla markets, while retaining the (semi)-analytical tractability typical of affine models and relying on a reasonable number of parameters. A successful joint calibration to real market data is presented together with various in- and out-of-sample calibration exercises to highlight the robustness of the parameters estimation. The proposed model preserves the natural inversion and triangulation symmetries of FX spot rates and its functional form, irrespective of choice of the risk-free currency. That is, all currencies are treated in the same way.Comment: Journal of Banking and Finance. Accepte

How accurate are commercial-real-estate appraisals? evidence from 25 years of NCREIF sales data

In this study, we provide new evidence on the performance measurement and reporting of commercial real estate returns. We do so by examining the accuracy of commercial-real-estate appraisals that occurred prior to the sale of properties from the NCREIF National Property Index (“NPI”) during 1984 – 2010, a period which spans two up-and-down cycles of the market. We find that, on average, appraisals are more than 12% above, or below, subsequent sales prices that take place two quarters following the appraisal. Even in a portfolio context, allowing for offsetting positive and negative differences, appraisals are off by an average of 4% – 5 % of value, even after adjusting for capital appreciation during those two quarters. We also provide new evidence regarding how, and by how much, appraised values lag behind sales prices. We find that appraisals appear to lag the true sales prices, falling significantly below in hot markets and remaining significantly above in cold markets. This new evidence provides guidance to investors, regulators and others about how to interpret real-estate indices like the NPI that are based upon appraised values, in both a rising and falling market. Finally, we find that this “appraisal error” is largely systematic; we can explain more than half of the variation in the signed percentage difference in sales price and appraised value. Hence, appraisal errors are not due solely to property-specific heterogeneity.appraisal; commercial real estate; commingled real estate fund; NCREIF; real estate

The ISCIP Analyst, Volume IV, Issue 14

This repository item contains a single issue of The ISCIP Analyst, an analytical review journal published from 1996 to 2010 by the Boston University Institute for the Study of Conflict, Ideology, and Policy

UNLV Wind Orchestra & Green Valley High Symphonic Band

Program listing performers and works performed