Survival of Political Leadership

We focus on political violence as a mechanism that allows the political leader to fight off opposition and increase his chances of re-election. In a collusive equilibrium, the leader allocates a bribe to the army, and the latter responds by producing political violence. Such an equilibrium is more likely, the larger are the public resources available to the leader; the lower is army�s potential punishment and salary offered by the opposition regime; the more severe is the incumbent�s potential punishment; and when the political leader is sufficiently patient, but the army is shortsighted enough.

Citizen science for cuneiform studies

This paper examines the potential applications of Citizen Science and Open Linked Data within a critical Web Science framework. Described here is a work-inprocess concerning an interdisciplinary, multiinstitutional project for the digitization, annotation and online dissemination of a large corpus of written material from ancient Mesopotamia. The paper includes an outline of the problems presented by a large, heterogeneous and incomplete dataset, as well as a discussion of the potential of Citizen Science as a potential solution, combining both technical and social aspects. Drawing inspiration from other successful Citizen Science projects, the current paper suggests a process for capturing and enriching the data in ways which can address not only the challenges of the current data set, but also similar issues arising elsewhere on the wider Web

International trade and regional integration : a case study of selected Southern African economies

Siirretty Doriast

Triggering trigeminal neuralgia

Introduction: Although it is widely accepted that facial pain paroxysms triggered by innocuous stimuli constitute a hallmark sign of trigeminal neuralgia, very few studies to date have systematically investigated the role of the triggers involved. In the recently published diagnostic classification, triggered pain is an essential criterion for the diagnosis of trigeminal neuralgia but no study to date has been designed to address this issue directly. In this study, we set out to determine, in patients with trigeminal neuralgia, how frequently triggers are present, which manoeuvres activate them and where cutaneous and mucosal trigger zones are located. Methods: Clinical characteristics focusing on trigger factors were collected from 140 patients with trigeminal neuralgia, in a cross-sectional study design. Results: Provocation of paroxysmal pain by various trigger manoeuvres was reported by 136 of the 140 patients. The most frequent manoeuvres were gentle touching of the face (79%) and talking (54%). Trigger zones were predominantly reported in the perioral and nasal region. Conclusion: This study confirms that in trigeminal neuralgia, paroxysmal pain is associated with triggers in virtually all patients and supports the use of triggers as an essential diagnostic feature of trigeminal neuralgia

Pharmacological treatment of neuropathic pain in older persons

Interest and research into the mechanisms and treatment of neuropathic pain have increased during recent years, but current treatment is still far from satisfactory (Dworkin et al 2003; Attal et al 2006). The European Federation of Neurological Societies (EFNS) Task Force recently published guidelines for the pharmacological treatment of neuropathic pain (Attal et al 2006). However, no particular consideration is given as to how the recommendations are applicable to the elderly population. This paper will review the guidelines in relation to this population and evaluate the existing evidence relating to the use of these drugs in older persons

Progress towards nitride blue and near-UV VCSELs

AbstractAdvances in nitride-based blue and violet light emitters - most notably high-efficiency LEDs and edge-emitting diode lasters - now suggest possibilities for more advanced types of geometry such as those based on vertical-cavity surface-emitting structures

Event-Driven Imaging in Turbid Media: A Confluence of Optoelectronics and Neuromorphic Computation

In this paper a new optical-computational method is introduced to unveil images of targets whose visibility is severely obscured by light scattering in dense, turbid media. The targets of interest are taken to be dynamic in that their optical properties are time-varying whether stationary in space or moving. The scheme, to our knowledge the first of its kind, is human vision inspired whereby diffuse photons collected from the turbid medium are first transformed to spike trains by a dynamic vision sensor as in the retina, and image reconstruction is then performed by a neuromorphic computing approach mimicking the brain. We combine benchtop experimental data in both reflection (backscattering) and transmission geometries with support from physics-based simulations to develop a neuromorphic computational model and then apply this for image reconstruction of different MNIST characters and image sets by a dedicated deep spiking neural network algorithm. Image reconstruction is achieved under conditions of turbidity where an original image is unintelligible to the human eye or a digital video camera, yet clearly and quantifiable identifiable when using the new neuromorphic computational approach

Cortical Activation Changes during Repeated Laser Stimulation: A Magnetoencephalographic Study

Repeated warm laser stimuli produce a progressive increase of the sensation of warmth and heat and eventually that of a burning pain. The pain resulting from repetitive warm stimuli is mediated by summated C fibre responses. To shed more light on the cortical changes associated with pain during repeated subnoxious warm stimution, we analysed magnetoencephalographic (MEG) evoked fields in eleven subjects during application of repetitive warm laser stimuli to the dorsum of the right hand. One set of stimuli encompassed 10 laser pulses occurring at 2.5 s intervals. Parameters of laser stimulation were optimised to elicit a pleasant warm sensation upon a single stimulus with a rise of skin temperature after repeated stimulation not exceeding the threshold of C mechano-heat fibres. Subjects reported a progressive increase of the intensity of heat and burning pain during repeated laser stimulation in spite of only mild (4.8°C) increase of skin temperature from the first stimulus to the tenth stimulus. The mean reaction time, evaluated in six subjects, was 1.33 s, confirming involvement of C fibres. The neuromagnetic fields were modelled by five equivalent source dipoles located in the occipital cortex, cerebellum, posterior cingulate cortex, and left and right operculo-insular cortex. The only component showing statistically significant changes during repetitive laser stimulation was the late component of the contralateral operculo-insular source peaking at 1.05 s after stimulus onset. The amplitude increases of the late component of the contralateral operculo-insular source dipole correlated with the subjects' numerical ratings of warmth and pain. Results point to a pivotal role of the contralateral operculo-insular region in processing of C-fibre mediated pain during repeated subnoxious laser stimulation

Implications of hedonic and utilitarian information search and social media browsing on purchase value

Information search has become increasingly more efficient and manageable for consumers through the development of the Internet. This has also impacted the way consumers search for information and how the search affects purchasing decisions. The purpose of this research is to examine the way consumers use hedonic and utilitarian information search to search for electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) and how this affects their web browsing habits. This is reflected upon the purchase value of over 1600 travel agency customers using factor and cluster analysis as statistical analysis methods. The findings suggest that hedonic and utilitarian information search as well as websites should be considered to contain a dimension including both types of information. Additionally, distinctive customer segments were found that can be used by companies in the travel industry to create targeted marketing programs