In this paper we consider a nonparametric sequential test of power one for the Andersen risk model. The main motivation comes from applications to insurance, and in particular to the sequential ...control of the ruin probability of an insurance company. The properties of the proposed test are studied. In particular, it is shown that, under the alternative, both the stopping time of the test and its mean value are finite. Finally, approximations for the size of the test and for the expected value of the stopping time are provided.
Forty psychiatric out-patients with primary anxiety entered a double-blind trial comparing 2 weeks of treatment with mianserin 30--60 mg daily or diazepam 15--30 mg daily, followed by 2 weeks of ...single-blind placebo administration. Both drugs were effective anti-anxiety agents, but mianserin was significantly superior in efficacy as measured by the Physician's Global Rating of Severity of Illness. No differences between treatments were apparent using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety. There was no significant differences in terms of side-effects and both drugs increased anticholinergic effects such as dry mouth, blurred vision and constipation over baseline values. With one exception in the mianserin group, all patients who entered placebo treatment became worse.
This report deals with the modulation of activity and expression of the hepatic asialoglycoprotein receptor, in pregnant or diethylstilbestrol-treated rats. The results show a two-fold increase in ...the total cell associated binding activity, both in pregnant and in estrogen-treated animals, with respect to normal values. On the contrary the surface expression was shown to be strongly enhanced only in the liver of pregnant rat. Therefore the modulation shown by this receptor system in pregnancy seems to be only partially estrogen-dependent.
We investigate the viability of the quasi-temporal gauge on the lattice. This is a complete gauge fixing condition that can be implemented on the lattice at a very low computational cost. As a test ...case, using the Clover action, we have evaluated the (gauge invariant) renormalisation constant of the non-singlet axial current, using Ward identities extracted from quark states. Our result is in reasonable but not complete agreement with previous values obtained from Ward identities both on hadronic states and on quark states in the Landau gauge. We observe large fluctuations due to lattice Gribov copies. The influence of finite volume effects is expected to be non-negligible in the case we are considering.
We present results on the B-parameters
B
K, B
7
3
2
and B
8
3
2
, at β = 6.0, with the tree-level Clover action. The renormalization of the complete basis of dimension-six four-fermion operators has ...been performed non-perturbatively. Our results for
B
K
and
B
7
3
2
are in reasonable agreement with those obtained with the (unimproved) Wilson action. This is not the case for
B
8
3
2
. We also discuss some subtleties arising from a recently proposed modified definition of the B-parameters.
A trichloroethylene (TCE) sample, free of epoxides, has been assayed for its ability to induce gene mutations (methionine suppressors) and mitotic segregation in the mould Aspergillus nidulans. No ...increase in the spontaneous frequency of methionine suppressors was observed when conidia of a haploid strain were plated on selective medium and exposed to TCE vapours. A weak but statistically significant increase in methionine suppressors was detected, however, when conidia of cultures grown and conidiated in the presence of TCE vapours were plated onto selective media. Growing colonies of a heterozygous diploid strain were exposed to TCE vapours to investigate the induction of mitotic segregation. Scoring and phenotypic analysis of segregant sectors showed a significant increase in the frequency of haploids and 'non-disjunctional' diploids but not of cross-overs. Treatment of quiescent conidia in liquid medium was ineffective. Trichloroethanol and chloral hydrate, two main TCE metabolites in mammals, shared the ability to induce somatic segregation demonstrated by TCE vapours. On the grounds of these results the possible endogenous metabolic conversion of TCE into trichloroethanol and chloral hydrate is hypothesized.
Different findings suggest that the serotonin (5-HT) system may be involved in both the regulation of aggression and the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Our study aimed to ...evaluate the aggressive features of a group of OCD patients and to explore possible correlations with a serotonergic marker, namely platelet 5-HT transporter. Psychopathological and biological patterns were compared with those of a group of healthy controls and those of patients with major depression. Twenty-one patients affected by OCD, 21 by depression and 21 healthy controls were included in the study. Aggressive features were measured by means of the Buss and Durkee Hostility Inventory (BDHI). The platelet 5-HT transporter was evaluated by means of the (3)H-paroxetine binding parameters (maximum binding capacity, B(max) and dissociation constant, K(d)). The OCD patients showed a total score on the BDHI not significantly different from that of healthy controls and lower than that of depressed patients. The factor profile was similar in the 3 groups, but higher in the depressed patients. The irritability, resentment, guilt, negativism and suspiciousness factors were significantly more pronounced in depressed patients. Some sex-related difference in single factors were also observed. The B(max) of (3)H-paroxetine binding was lower in OCD patients than in depressives or healthy controls. OCD patients were more similar to healthy controls than to depressed patients with regard to aggressive features measured by means of the BDHI. This suggests that aggression in OCD is a complex phenomenon that probably requires specific instruments of evaluation.
PDF
