In Defense of Truth: Skepticism, Morality, and The Matrix

The Matrix exposes us to the uncomfortable worries of philosophical skepticism in an especially compelling way. However, with a bit more reflection, we can see why we need not share the skeptic’s doubts about the existence of the world. Such doubts are appropriate only in the very special context of the philosophical seminar. When we return to normal life we see immediately that they are groundless. Furthermore, we see also the drastic mistake that Cypher commits in turning his back upon reality and re-entering the matrix. Not only does reason compel us to admit the existence of the external world, it also requires us to face this world, to build for ourselves meaningful lives within it, and to engage, as adults, in the serious business of living

Technical service as a marketing tool for industrial goods

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Boston Universit

The triggers and mechanisms of apoptosis in mammalian cells infected with Semliki Forest virus

Multicellular organisms employ many tactics to defend themselves against invading pathogens. In an attempt to limit virus replication and spread, both innate and adaptive immune responses are activated. Apoptosis in response to many virus infections may be viewed as an innate immune response; it limits the time a virus has to replicate and produce new virus particles. Many viruses have adapted to cell death by inhibiting or delaying the apoptotic response. In order for a cell to undergo apoptosis in response to virus infection, the cell must first detect the virus. Different stages of the virus life cycle, such as virus entry or genome replication may act as signals. The signal detected and the apoptotic pathway activated may differ between viruses, between cell types and even between cellular differentiation states. Alphaviruses are medically and experimentally important RNA viruses. This thesis uses the alphavirus Semliki Forest virus (SFV) to investigate mechanism(s) of virus induced apoptosis.Cell death in response to SFV infection is apoptotic, although perhaps not completely caspase dependent. During infection membranes of the mitochondria are disrupted, mitochondrial membrane potential is lost and caspases- 3, -8, and -9 are activated. Fas, RNase-L, ISG-12 and PKR are not required for cell death. PKR is however a strong inhibitor of early virus production; relative to wt mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs), MEFs with a disruption of the PKR gene produce SFV more rapidly and die more rapidly. Cellular detection of dsRNA can trigger signal transduction cascades resulting in activation of interferons, pro-inflammatory cytokines and pro-apoptotic pathways. Inhibition of these dsRNA induced cascades delays death of SFV infected cells demonstrating that detection of virus RNA replication is one trigger of apoptotic cell death. Synthesis of virus glycoproteins is not required for, but contributes to, cell death. SFV structural proteins build up in the endoplasmic reticulum triggering the unfolded protein response and activating the pro-apoptotic proteins caspase-12 and CHOP.In summary, SFV infection of continuously cultured mammalian cells in vitro leads to caspase activation and apoptotic cell death. The apoptosis is triggered by the detection of dsRNA as well as the virus structural proteins building up in the ER; other factors may also play a rol

Contribution of informal shallow groundwater irrigation to livelihoods security and poverty reduction in the White Volta Basin (WVB): Current status and future sustainability

Shallow groundwater irrigation (SGI) using hand-dug shallow wells and dugouts is expanding, in the WVB, and is becoming attractive to farmers throughout. SGI is farmer-driven and has developed without any government or donor involvement. The production of vegetables and cash crops during the dry season utilizing SGI has provided farmers with a supplemental source of income and an alternative to seasonal urban migration. Although SGI has been increasing substantially, the extent of this practice is not documented.This project has help assess, the impacts of intensive SGI on sub-basin hydrology, net groundwater recharge farmers' livelihoods and on rural poverty reduction in the Atankuidi catchment a tributary of the WVB with the highest per capita groundwater use

Exhibiting Warriors at Glenbow

Glenbow opened Warriors: A Global Journey Through Five Centuries in April 1994. This interdisciplinary exhibit examines issues faced by warriors in many different cultures. The curators faced several issues in developing this theme, including the value of an interdisciplinary exhibit, the difficulty in achieving balance in the exhibit, representation of other cultures, the representation of women as combatants, finding artifacts to fit the topics, and avoiding the representation of warriors as relics of the past. Résumé Le Musée Glenbow a inauguré en avril 1994 l'exposition interdisciplinaire Warriors: A Global Journey Through Five Centuries, qui examine les problèmes auxquels se sont heurtés les combattants de nombreuses cultures différentes. Au cours de l'élaboration de ce thème, les conservateurs ont dû tenir compte de plusieurs facteurs, notamment la valeur d'une exposition interdisciplinaire, la difficulté de parvenir à un juste équilibre, la représentation d'autres cultures, la représentation des femmes en tant que combattantes, la recherche d'objets propres aux sujets retenus et la nécessité d'éviter de représenter les combattants comme des reliques du passé

Lake Erie Grape Farm Cost Survey, 2001-2005

E.B. 2006-19This report is a summary of five years of grape costs and returns data collected from Lake Erie Region grape growers for the 2001-2005 seasons. “Concord” and “Niagara” grapes utilized for juice and generic wine accounted for over 90 percent of the survey acreage. About two-thirds of the acreage surveyed was in New York and one-third from Pennsylvania. In recent years, 42 to 49 growers participated, with total vineyard acreage ranging from about 4,400 to 5,200 acres. Average costs per acre over the entire five year period were $1,663, including an imputed value for the operator’s labor. Major cost categories were paid labor ($380 per acre), depreciation ($213), interest ($114), operator labor ($116) and chemicals ($117). Average yield per farm was 6.4 tons per acre with a range of 2.8 to 8.6 tons per acre. Growers suffered through some difficult circumstances (poor weather, declining prices) over the past five years. Juice grape cash market prices tended to drift down over the course of the five years. National Grape members’ returns moved upward through 2004 and then suffered a severe drop in 2005. Some growers had custom harvesting or other farm income not tied to grape prices. Some growers collected income from crop insurance, disaster payments, and/or Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) that helped to buoy income in the face of disappointing yields and unharvested grapes in 2003. However, almost half of the farms who were in the survey for all five years had yields of 7 tons or better. These growers are able to compete with other growing regions such as Washington State. Lake Erie Grape Belt farm managers are responding to lower prices in a variety of ways, including becoming more labor efficient, dropping some poor vineyards (especially leased ones), increasing wine grape production, and increasing farm size

Dysregulation of CXCL9 and reduced tumor growth in Egr-1 deficient mice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Early growth response-1 (Egr-1) is an immediate-early transcription factor inducible in the vasculature in response to injury, shear stress, and other stimuli. Mice lacking Egr-1 have a profound deficit in the ability to recover from femoral artery ligation, suggesting a role in neovascularization. Previous studies have shown that manipulating Egr-1 expression can have either positive or negative effects on tumor growth. We hypothesized that Egr-1 knockout mice might exhibit reduced tumor growth, possibly due to a reduced capacity to respond to angiogenic signals from a growing tumor.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We injected 10⁶Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC1) cells subcutaneously in the flank of wild type and Egr-1 knockout mice. The average mass of tumors from wild type mice at 12 days after implantation was 413 +/- 128 mg, while those from Egr-1^-/-mice was 219 +/- 81 mg (p = 0.001, mean +/- SD). However, sectioning the tumors and staining with anti-CD31 antibodies revealed no difference in the vascularity of the tumors and there was no difference in angiogenic growth factor expression. Expression of the chemokine Mig (CXCL9) was increased 2.8-fold in tumors from knockout mice, but no increase was found in serum levels of Mig. Natural killer cells have a 1.7-fold greater prevalence in the CD45⁺cells found in tumors from Egr-1^-/-mice compared to those from wild type mice. Immunohistochemical staining suggests that Mig expression in the tumors comes from invading macrophages.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Mice deficient in Egr-1 exhibit reduced growth of LLC1 tumors, and this phenomenon is associated with overexpression of Mig locally within the tumor. There are no obvious differences in tumor vascularity in the knockout mice. Natural killer cells accumulate in the tumors grown in Egr-1^-/-mice, providing a potential mechanism for the reduction in growth.</p