The concept of an incremental elastic modulus is applied in the quantification of passive elastic stiffness-stress relations of intact heart muscle, and a transmural pressure-volume relation for the left ventricle is subsequently derived in terms of geometry, muscle elasticity, and external pressures to assess their importance. Physiological and clinical applications of this method indicate tha...

The state plays a central position in theoretical debates in International Relations (IR). Both Realists and Liberals see the state as the central actor in the international system and thereby follow a Western understanding of the state as the holder of the monopoly of force. In the IRsub discipline of security studies new categories such as weak state, quasi state or state failure have created...

The authors used an event-contingent daily recording strategy, the Rochester Interaction Record (RIR), to examine the motivational dynamics of interpersonal relations. Using hierarchical linear modeling, the authors demonstrated that social interactions were more pleasant when participants felt autonomous, competent, and related. Autonomy, competence, and relatedness consistently predicted inte...

Recent rhetoric surrounding the contemporary aid relationship between donors and African states is couched in terms of a high level consensus between western and African political leaderships, a central pillar of which is adherence to liberal principles of governance and economic management. The paper argues that an analysis of the nature of this consensus and its prospects requires that we nee...

We studied the effects of the right ventricle (RV) and pericardium on left ventricular (LV) diastolic pressure-volume (P-V) relations in the normothermic isolated blood-perfused dog heart. Studies were performed at a constant heart rate (atrial pacing at 120 beats/min) with a coronary perfusion pressure of 100 mm Hg. LV volume was directly controlled by an intraventricular balloon, whereas RV f...