In this paper we argue that bidding in the game of Contract Bridge can profitably be regarded as a micro-world suitable for experimenting with pragmatics. We sketch an analysis in which a “bidding system” is treated as the semantics of an artificial language, and show how this “language”, despite its apparent simplicity, is capable of supporting a wide variety of common speech acts parallel to ...

Leonard TR, Herzog W. Regulation of muscle force in the absence of actin-myosin-based cross-bridge interaction. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 299: C14–C20, 2010. First published March 31, 2010; doi:10.1152/ajpcell.00049.2010.—For the past half century, the sliding filament-based cross-bridge theory has been the cornerstone of our understanding of how muscles contract. According to this theory, acti...

where W is a standard Brownian motion, t ∈ [0, T), T ∈ (0,∞), and the constant α > 1/2. Let P α denote the probability distribution of the solution {X t , t ∈ [0, T)} of (1). The α-Brownian bridge is first used to study the arbitrage profit associatedwith a given future contract in the absence of transaction costs by Brennan and Schwartz [1]. α-Brownian bridge is a time inhomogeneous diffusion ...

Although game-tree search works well in perfect-information games, it is less suitable for imperfect-information games such as contract bridge. The lack of knowledge about the opponents' possible moves gives the game tree a very large branching factor, making it impossible to search a signiicant portion of this tree in a reasonable amount of time. This paper describes our approach for overcomin...

In this paper we argue that bidding in the game of Contract Bridge can prootably be regarded as a micro-world suitable for experimenting with pragmatics. We sketch an analysis in which a \bidding system" is treated as the semantics of an artiicial language, and show how this \language", despite its apparent simplicity, is capable of supporting a wide variety of common speech acts parallel to th...

Myosin-actin cross-bridge kinetics are an important determinant for cardiac systolic and diastolic function. We compared the effects of myosin light chain substitutions on the ability of the fibers to contract in response to calcium and in their ability to produce power. Transgenesis was used to effect essentially complete replacement of the target contractile protein isoform specifically in th...

For the past half century, the sliding filament-based cross-bridge theory has been the cornerstone of our understanding of how muscles contract. According to this theory, active force can only occur if there is overlap between the contractile filaments, actin and myosin. Otherwise, forces are thought to be caused by passive structural elements and are assumed to vary solely because of the lengt...

a contractual relationship is commonly based on statements, expectations, acts and omissions out of which some will, and others will not, give rise to contractual obligations. to avoid uncertainty as to what is agreed, the contract parties often enter into a written contract that is supposed to express the final agreement between them and prevent the parties from relying on rights and obligatio...

when the parties enter into a contract, they are obliged to implement its obligations, but sometimes events occur that make it impossible to execute the contract or runtime status than the time of conclusion of the contract is fundamentally different. these events are referred to as legal excuses if eligible, the parties are exempt from the obligations and responsibilities. the most important l...