Properties sometimes attributed to the “particle” aspect of a neutron, e.g., mass and magnetic moment, cannot straightforwardly be regarded in the Bohm interpretation of quantum mechanics as localized at the hypothetical position of the particle. This is shown by examining a series of effects in neutron interferometry. A related thought-experiment also provides a variation of a recent demonstration that which-way detectors can appear to behave anomolously in the Bohm theory.

Rita Bottino,1 Santosh Nagaraju,2 Vikas Satyananda,2 Hidetaka Hara,2 Martin Wijkstrom,2 Massimo Trucco,1 David KC Cooper2 1Institute of Cellular Therapeutics, Allegheny Health Network, 2Thomas E Starzl Transplantation Institute, Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA: Diabetes mellitus is increasing worldwide. Type 1 diabetes can be treated successfully by islet allotransplantation, the results of which are steadily improving. However, the number of islets that can be obtained from deceased human donors will never be sufficient to cure more than a very (...) small percentage of patients who might benefit from transplantation. Although there are some differences in glucose metabolism between pigs and humans, the use of pigs could provide an unlimited supply of islets, and the insulin produced would undoubtedly control glucose levels. Transplantation of islets into the portal vein results in islets residing in the liver; however, an early inflammatory response and rejection remain problematic, even when the recipient is receiving immunosuppressive therapy. In the long term, immunosuppressive drugs may exhibit toxicities to patients and specifically harm the islet cells. In contrast, encapsulation techniques provide islets with a physical barrier that prevents antibodies binding to the islet graft while still allowing insulin to be released into the recipient's circulation; in theory, patients receiving encapsulated grafts might not require exogenous immunosuppressive therapy. Nonhuman primates with encapsulated pig islet transplants have remained insulin-independent for several weeks, but long-term efficacy remains uncertain. Furthermore, techniques are now available to knock out genes from the pig and/or insert human genes, thus rendering the antigenic structure of pigs closer to that of humans, and providing protection from the human immune response. Islet transplantation from genetically engineered pigs has been followed by insulin independence in a small number of nonhuman primates for greater than 1 year. Neonatal islets have some advantages over adult islets in that they are easier to isolate and culture, and have the ability to proliferate during the first few months after transplantation. In 2009, the International Xenotransplantation Association set up a group to encourage and advise on clinical trials of pig islet xenotransplantation; this group's guidelines are discussed. Clinical trials of encapsulated pig islets are already under way. Keywords: diabetes, islets, pancreatic, pig, xenotransplantation. (shrink)

Light adaptation is modulated almost exclusively by changes in intracellular Ca2+ concentration, and other Ca2+-independent mechanisms are likely to play only a minor role. Changes in Ca2+i may be not only necessary for light adaptation to take place but sufficient to cause it.

In Menciusiia6 all humans are said to have ‘a heart that does not bear the suffering of others’. I argue that this statement is illustrated, rather than proven, by the example of our reaction to a child about to fall into a well. This illustration can be located at the most basic level of ethical universals : basic ethical training; further steps in a ladder of reflection are universal reflection on ethical norms themselves, which may finally be related universally to (...) non‐ethical concerns. (shrink)

كل ما أعنيه في مؤلفي، هو التعبير عن وجهات نظر تجاه آراء، طرحها بعض الفلاسفة والمفكرين والمنظرين والمبدعين الذين تناولوا جانباً حساساً في ما يتعلق بدور الوعي الفـني والجمالي في عملية إستلهام الحقائق الجمالية، والإفصاح عنها بواسطة الفن، والكشف عن البِنى القاعدية والتاريخية والمعرفية والفنية والتراثية والروحية والفكرية والجمالية.. سواء في تطابق وجهات النظر، أم دحض وتفنيد الأفكار التي رأت الفن والجمال في الوجود رؤية ســـطحية، وتوضيح الآراء المتباينة وتعددية المناهج المختلفة، التي حددت وظيفة الفن في بنائية الحياة. ويجدر الانتباه (...) إلى أن ما أعنيه من جمالي الفن، يشمل كافة الإشراقات الإبداعية العظيمة (أسطورية، أدبية، طقسية، تصوير، رسوم، لغة كتابية، عقائد دينية، أيديولوجية، دراما، نحت، عمارة، موسيقا، إعلام، رياضة، تكنولوجيا..إلخ) في حياتنا الأناسية. فوددت أن أستعرض بلمحة موجزة بدايات نشوء الفن كمقدمة منطقية، تفرضها ضرورات البحث، وذلك لما للفن من أثـر عميق في نشوء الحضارة والتاريخ، ولما له من قدرة نفاذية إلى الأثر الإلهي المتماهي في كينونة الوجود، ومبيناً أيضاً دور الدين في إبراز جلال الفن عـبر التاريخ، والإفصاح عن الإشكالية التي تتعلق به، بوصفه وعياً جمالياً ما وراء الواقع العياني. (shrink)

We start this issue of Journal of Military Ethics with a recent address on military ethics given by one of the US ARMY's leading officers.Brigadier General H. R. McMaster graduated from the United...