Constitutively Embodied Emotions

My primary thesis is that emotions are partially constituted by bodily states. My view derives from the James-Lange tradition, but contrary to Neo-Jamesian theories, I claim that emotions are partially constituted by integrated peripheral bodily states and brain states, rather than bodily perceptions. This view may seem vulnerable to two obvious critiques: emotions, unlike bodily states, have intentional objects, and neuroscientists have already identified the neural basis of emotions, so there is no reason to look for constituents outside of the brain. I argue on the basis of social psychology research that emotions are not intentional states, since they do not influence thought and behavior in a manner that is specific to any purported objects or contents. In my discussion of intentionality I point to a number of factors that collectively give the impression that emotions have objects. Regarding the second critique, I argue that current research in affective neuroscience tells us much less than it seems to about the constituents of emotions. A great deal of confusion in that literature results from failure to carefully distinguish emotions from desires. I also illustrate different ways that positions on the embodiment of emotions influence interpretations of the empirical data

Pharmacokinetics of Ceftriaxone in Liver‐Transplant Recipients

The disposition of ceftriaxone was studied after a single 2 g intravenous dose in seven patients 3 to 5 days after liver transplantation. Ceftriaxone concentrations in plasma, urine, and bile were measured by HPLC, and plasma protein binding was determined by equilibrium dialysis. Plasma protein binding was nonlinear, and the unbound fraction varied between 0.05 and 0.56. Both capacity and affinity were markedly different from reported values for normal subjects. The pharmacokinetic parameters obtained were: total body clearance (TBC), 11.2 ± 7.8 mL/hr/kg total and 44.8 ± 29.1 mL/hr/kg unbound; volume of distribution (Varea), 224 ± 76 mh/kg total and 767 ± 432 mL/kg unbound; steady‐state volume of distribution (Vss), 212 ± 68 mh/kg total and 651 ± 368 mL/kg unbound; terminal disposition half‐life (t1/2), 21.6 ± 14.3 hour total and 16.3 ±11.1 hour unbound. TBC for both total and free drug was considerably lower than literature values for normal subjects. Varea for total drug was greater than normal whereas the corresponding value for free drug was smaller than normal. The plasma ceftriaxone concentrations at 12 and 24 hours were above the reported minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). The fraction of the administered dose excreted in urine over 24 hours was 38 ± 29% and did not differ markedly from that reported for normal subjects. Less than 2% of the administered dose was excreted in 24‐hour bile; however, biliary concentrations were always above MIC. Ceftriaxone can be administered once or twice daily at a dose of 2 g/day for prophylaxis in liver transplant recipients. 1991 American College of Clinical Pharmacolog

The Measure-theoretic Identity Underlying Transient Fluctuation Theorems

We prove a measure-theoretic identity that underlies all transient fluctuation theorems (TFTs) for entropy production and dissipated work in inhomogeneous deterministic and stochastic processes, including those of Evans and Searles, Crooks, and Seifert. The identity is used to deduce a tautological physical interpretation of TFTs in terms of the arrow of time, and its generality reveals that the self-inverse nature of the various trajectory and process transformations historically relied upon to prove TFTs, while necessary for these theorems from a physical standpoint, is not necessary from a mathematical one. The moment generating functions of thermodynamic variables appearing in the identity are shown to converge in general only in a vertical strip in the complex plane, with the consequence that a TFT that holds over arbitrary timescales may fail to give rise to an asymptotic fluctuation theorem for any possible speed of the corresponding large deviation principle. The case of strongly biased birth-death chains is presented to illustrate this phenomenon. We also discuss insights obtained from our measure-theoretic formalism into the results of Saha et. al. on the breakdown of TFTs for driven Brownian particles

Fluctuation Theorems for Entropy Production and Heat Dissipation in Periodically Driven Markov Chains

Asymptotic fluctuation theorems are statements of a Gallavotti-Cohen symmetry in the rate function of either the time-averaged entropy production or heat dissipation of a process. Such theorems have been proved for various general classes of continuous-time deterministic and stochastic processes, but always under the assumption that the forces driving the system are time independent, and often relying on the existence of a limiting ergodic distribution. In this paper we extend the asymptotic fluctuation theorem for the first time to inhomogeneous continuous-time processes without a stationary distribution, considering specifically a finite state Markov chain driven by periodic transition rates. We find that for both entropy production and heat dissipation, the usual Gallavotti-Cohen symmetry of the rate function is generalized to an analogous relation between the rate functions of the original process and its corresponding backward process, in which the trajectory and the driving protocol have been time-reversed. The effect is that spontaneous positive fluctuations in the long time average of each quantity in the forward process are exponentially more likely than spontaneous negative fluctuations in the backward process, and vice-versa, revealing that the distributions of fluctuations in universes in which time moves forward and backward are related. As an additional result, the asymptotic time-averaged entropy production is obtained as the integral of a periodic entropy production rate that generalizes the constant rate pertaining to homogeneous dynamics

Formulation, In Vitro and In Vivo Pharmacokinetics of Anti-HIV Vaginal Bioadhesive Gel

Inexpensive and female-controlled pre-exposure prophylaxis strategies to prevent mucosal transmission of the virus, is urgently needed with the rising prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1 and HIV2) infections in women. Zidovudine-loaded bioadhesive vaginal gel may become one of the very useful strategies, as it can be used not only for controlled release but also for enhancing bioavailability. Drug delivery through vaginal gel is a promising area for continued research with the aim of achieving controlled release with enhanced bioavailability over longer periods of time. The aim of the study was to develop a newer prolong releasing Zidovudine (AZT) bioadhesive vaginal gel to treat HIV infections with increased patient convenience. AZT-loaded bioadhesive vaginal gel was prepared successfully by using cold mechanical method. F3 formulation containing carbopol–HPMC (1:3) was selected and evaluated in order to achieve objectives of this study. In vitro drug release study of F3 showed in 24 h drug released following case I Fickian (n ≤ 0.5) transport mechanism, and in vivo drug release was found much better (Tmax), (Cmax), and bioavailability (F) comparison with oral pour drug solution. It was also showed good extrudability, spreadability, and bioadhesive strength. A generalized protocol, for the further research, in this area will surely expected to yield significant outcome with improved drug delivery system

A Taxonomy of Causality-Based Biological Properties

We formally characterize a set of causality-based properties of metabolic networks. This set of properties aims at making precise several notions on the production of metabolites, which are familiar in the biologists' terminology. From a theoretical point of view, biochemical reactions are abstractly represented as causal implications and the produced metabolites as causal consequences of the implication representing the corresponding reaction. The fact that a reactant is produced is represented by means of the chain of reactions that have made it exist. Such representation abstracts away from quantities, stoichiometric and thermodynamic parameters and constitutes the basis for the characterization of our properties. Moreover, we propose an effective method for verifying our properties based on an abstract model of system dynamics. This consists of a new abstract semantics for the system seen as a concurrent network and expressed using the Chemical Ground Form calculus. We illustrate an application of this framework to a portion of a real metabolic pathway