bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pneumocephalus Associated with Cerebrospinal Fluid Fistula as a Complication of Spinal Surgery: A Case Report
Authors: Sasaki Ken , Matsumoto Tomoyuki , Mizuno Toshiyuki , Ikuta Shinichi , Akisue Toshihiro , Fujioka Hiroyuki , Doita Minoru , Kurosaka Masahiro , Kuroda Ryosuke
Published: June 2010

Pneumocephalus is a well-known condition following head trauma, but is rare as an injury or as a result of surgery of the spine. We present a 76-year-old patient with a rare case of pneumocephalus associated with a cerebrospinal fluid fistula as a complication of surgical treatment for cervical myelopathy. Although cerebrospinal fluid leakage was noted and the injured dura was carefully sutured at operation, tension pneumocephalus occurred. The resultant pneumocephalus was diagnosed based on neurogenic symptoms including sudden convulsion, head radiograph, and computed tomography scan. The benign course of the pneumocephalus postdiagnosis did not require secondary operation.
Pulmonary Embolism Mimicking Pneumonia in a HIV Patient
Authors: Nagaraja Vivek , Terriquez Joel A. , Gavini Hemanth , Jha Lokesh , Klotz Stephen A.
Published: June 2010

Recent studies have shown an increased risk of arterial and venous vascular diseases in HIV patients, pulmonary thromboembolism being one of them. HIV-infected individuals may have procoagulants predisposing them to thromboembolism. Patients with thromboembolism may have a clinical presentation mimicking common opportunistic infections. It is important to consider pulmonary embolism in the differential of HIV patients with fever, cough, and dyspnea, particularly in those with well-controlled HIV infection.
S100B Serum Levels in Schizophrenia Are Presumably Related to Visceral Obesity and Insulin Resistance
Authors: Steiner Johann , Myint Aye Mu , Schiltz Kolja , Westphal Sabine , Bernstein Hans-Gert , Walter Martin , Schroeter Matthias L. , Schwarz Markus J. , Bogerts Bernhard
Published: June 2010

Elevated blood levels of S100B in schizophrenia have so far been mainly attributed to glial pathology, as S100B is produced by astro- and oligodendroglial cells and is thought to act as a neurotrophic factor with effects on synaptogenesis, dopaminergic and glutamatergic neutrotransmission. However, adipocytes are another important source of S100B since the concentration of S100B in adipose tissue is as high as in nervous tissue. Insulin is downregulating S100B in adipocytes, astrocyte cultures and rat brain. As reviewed in this paper, our recent studies suggest that overweight, visceral obesity, and peripheral/cerebral insulin resistance may be pivotal for at least part of the elevated S100B serum levels in schizophrenia. In the context of this recently identified framework of metabolic disturbances accompanying S100B elevation in schizophrenia, it rather has to be attributed to systemic alterations in glucose metabolism than to be considered a surrogate marker for astrocyte-specific pathologies.
Direct Anastomosis of the Donor Hepatic Artery to the Supraceliac Aorta without Extension Graft during Adult Liver Transplant in the Era of Extended Criteria Donors: Report of a Case
Authors: Campsen Jeffrey , Russ Paul , Kam Igal
Published: June 2010

Arguably, one of the most challenging aspects of liver transplant surgery is the hepatic artery reconstruction. When the donor and recipient arteries are normal, this anastomosis can still be difficult. However, when the recipient artery has been dissected or is small other alternative reconstructions must be considered. Routinely, the donor surgery includes removing the iliac artery and vein specifically to aid in alternative reconstruction techniques. With the increase use of extended criteria donors (i.e., specifically age >55) the iliac vessel may be unusable because of atherosclerotic disease. This paper describes revisiting an alternative technique for hepatic artery reconstruction during cadaveric liver transplant when the recipient artery has been dissected and the iliac vessels were unusable secondary to arterial plaque from a 75 yo donor. Herein, we describe the successful anastomosis of the celiac artery with aortic patch from the donor directly to the supraceliac aorta of the adult recipient.
Coronary Bypass Surgery in a 105-Year-Old Patient with Cardiopulmonary Bypass
Authors: Ogus Temucin Noyan , Erdim Filiz , Selimoglu Ozer , Tekiner Fatih , Ugurlucan Murat
Published: June 2010

Coronary artery bypass grafting is one of the routine daily surgical procedures in the current era. Parallel to the increasing life expectancy, cardiac surgery is commonly performed in octogenarians. However, literature consists of only seldom reports of coronary artery bypass grafting in patients above 90 years of age. In this report, we present our management strategy in a 105-year-old patient who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting at our institution.
Hyalinizing Granuloma: An Unusual Case of a Pulmonary Mass
Authors: Brandão Viviane , Marchiori Edson , Zanetti Gláucia , Abdalla Guilherme , Ventura Nina , Constantino Carolina Lamas , Pereira Mariana Leite , Martins Pedro , Canellas Rodrigo , Muccillo Antonio , Varella de Oliveira Romulo
Published: June 2010

We describe the case of pulmonary hyalinizing granuloma in a 34-year-old asymptomatic man who presented with a pulmonary nodule apparent by chest radiography and computed tomography (CT). He had a history of previous treatment for tuberculosis. His laboratory data were normal. Bronchoscopy and CT-guided percutaneous transthoracic fine needle aspiration cytology were inconclusive. The diagnosis was revealed after the histopathological examination of an open lung biopsy.
Infections fongiques émergentes
Authors: Garnica Marcia , Nucci Marcio
Published: June 2010

L’épidémiologie des infections fongiques invasives évolue. Des levures autres que Candida albicans et des moisissures autres que Aspergillus fumigatus ont émergé et provoquent des mycoses invasives chez les patients sévèrement immunodéprimés. Ces changements peuvent être liés aux pratiques médicales telles que l’utilisation d’agents antifongiques prophylactiques, mais, dans la majorité des cas, cette évolution est la conséquence de changements chez l’hôte lui-même. Ainsi, le risque et la nature des infections sont influencés par une immunodépression accrue ou différents types d’immunosuppression. Ces facteurs ont modifié l’épidémiologie de l’infection chez les receveurs d’organes, les nouveaux nés prématurés et les patients de réanimation. Notre étude examine l’épidémiologie de certaines infections fongiques qui ont émergé ces dernières années, mettant l’accent sur les facteurs potentiels ayant favorisé leur émergence et sur les conséquences pratiques de ces changements épidémiologiques. De plus, certaines caractéristiques particulières observées chez les enfants et les nouveaux nés sont également présentées.
Renal Failure in Mice with Gsα Deletion in Juxtaglomerular Cells
Authors: Chen Limeng , Faulhaber-Walter Robert , Wen Yubing , Huang Yuning , Mizel Diane , Chen Min , Sequeira Lopez Maria Luisa , Weinstein Lee S. , Gomez R. Ariel , Briggs Josephine P. , Schnermann Jurgen
Published: June 2010

Background: Mice with deletion of Gsα in renin-producing cells (RC/FF mice) have been shown to have greatly reduced renin production and lack of responsiveness of renin secretion to acute stimuli. In addition, young RC/FF mice are hypotensive and have a vasopressin-resistant concentrating defect. In the present study we have determined the long-term effect on renal function, blood pressure, and renal pathology in this low renin and diuretic mouse model. Methods and Results: Urine osmolarity of RC/FF mice was decreased in all age groups. GFR measured at 7, 14 and 20 weeks of age declined progressively. Single nephron GFR similarly declined while fractional proximal fluid absorption was maintained. Expression levels of extracellular matrix proteins (collagen I, IV and fibronectin) and α-smooth muscle actin were increased in kidneys of RC/FF mice at 20 weeks, and this was accompanied by focal segmental glomerulosclerosis and periglomerular interstitial fibrosis. RC/FF mice showed a progressive reduction of body weight, an increase in urine albumin excretion, and an increase of blood pressure with aging. Conclusion: A chronic reduction of renin production in mice may be a risk factor in its own right, and does not protect renal function against the profibrotic influence of a chronically elevated urine flow.
Downregulation of Cystine Transporter xc– by Irinotecan in Human Head and Neck Cancer FaDu Xenografts
Authors: Chintala Sreenivasulu , Tóth Károly , Yin Ming-Biao , Bhattacharya Arup , Smith Sylvia B. , Ola M. Shamsul , Cao Shousong , Durrani Farukh A. , Zinia Tanjima R. , Dean Rebecca , Slocum Harry K. , Rustum Youcef M.
Published: June 2010

Background: The purpose of this study was: (1) to document the critical requirement of cystine for growth of human tumor cells in vitro, and (2) to determine the effect of the anticancer agent irinotecan on the cystine transporter xc– in head and neck FaDu xenografts. Methods: Cell growth was measured by sulforhodamine B assay. xCT protein, glutathione (GSH) and DNA damage were determined using Western blot, spectrophotometry, and immunohistochemistry, respectively. Results: Depletion of cystine from the medium inhibited tumor cell growth. Treatment of FaDu tumor with a therapeutic dose of irinotecan resulted in depression of xCT protein levels, leading to tumor growth retardation and downregulation of GSH with increased reactive oxygen species (ROS). The accumulation of ROS correlated with increased DNA damage as evidenced by increased H2AX. Conclusion: Depression of xCT protein by irinotecan resulted in downregulation of GSH and increase in ROS, which could be the other possible mechanisms of DNA damage by irinotecan.
Hire Today, Gone Tomorrow: New Teacher Classroom Assignments and Teacher Mobility
Authors: Feng Li
Published: June 2010

This article explores whether new teachers are assigned to tough classrooms and whether such classroom assignment is associated with higher teacher mobility. It utilizes the statewide administrative data set on public school teachers in Florida during the period 1997–2003 in conjunction with the 1999–2000 Schools and Staffing Survey and its Teacher Follow-Up Survey (SASS-TFS) data set. The SASS-TFS illustrates the possible misclassification of teachers in certain state administrative databases. Results suggest that new teachers in Florida and elsewhere usually teach in more challenging schools and have more disadvantaged children in their classrooms than teachers with more years of experience. Within-school classroom assignments play an important role in teacher mobility decisions. Specifically, school-specific policies on reducing disciplinary problems and possible strategic deployment of teachers in different classrooms may be effective in increasing school-level teacher retention rates.
Is Evaluating Complementary and Alternative Medicine Equivalent to Evaluating the Absurd?
Authors: Greasley Pete
Published: June 2010

Complementary and alternative therapies such as reflexology and acupuncture have been the subject of numerous evaluations, clinical trials, and systematic reviews, yet the empirical evidence in support of their efficacy remains equivocal. The empirical evaluation of a therapy would normally assume a plausible rationale regarding the mechanism of action. However, examination of the historical background and underlying principles for reflexology, iridology, acupuncture, auricular acupuncture, and some herbal medicines, reveals a rationale founded on the principle of analogical correspondences, which is a common basis for magical thinking and pseudoscientific beliefs such as astrology and chiromancy. Where this is the case, it is suggested that subjecting these therapies to empirical evaluation may be tantamount to evaluating the absurd.
Development and Initial Validation of a Patient Satisfaction With Pharmacy Performance Questionnaire (PSPP-Q)
Authors: Horvat Nejc , Kos Mitja
Published: June 2010

The objective of this study was to develop a psychometrically valid, multidimensional, self-administered, general questionnaire measuring patient satisfaction with pharmacy performance for outpatients. A multiphase development process was employed to attain this goal. In Phase I, questionnaire’s content was generated using interviews with pharmacy users regarding their experiences and expectations relating to pharmacies. In Phase II, the content and format of the questionnaire was defined in a two-round modified Delphi study, where an expert panel estimated importance of generated items for patient satisfaction. In Phase III, the initial validation of the questionnaire, which included a random sample of 5,400 patients coming out of the selected pharmacies, took place. The outcome of the development process is a questionnaire that focuses on issues expressed as important by patients, takes into account services as well as the supporting structure, and includes items relevant to an individual pharmacy and demonstrates satisfactory psychometric properties.
College Students’ Response Rate to an Incentivized Combination of Postal and Web-Based Health Survey
Authors: Balajti Ilona , Daragó László , Ádány Róza , Kósa Karolina
Published: June 2010

A questionnaire survey on health among students of higher education was planned. To produce a response rate high enough for the analysis in a cost-effective manner, a pilot study was carried out to test various methods of data collection. Electronic invitation by the university messaging system to fill a Web-based questionnaire, invitation by the same means to fill paper-based questionnaires at a predefined place and time with or without conditional incentives yielded response rates below 10%. Therefore, a combination of postal and Internet-based questionnaires was used for data collection enhanced with a small up-front gift and conditional incentives suggested by a student focus group. This modality resulted in a 68.6% response rate (65.2% after data cleaning). Those who responded through the Web were more likely to be males and residing in larger settlements. However, no statistically significant differences were observed on the primary health status variables with respect to modality. Use of Web-based questionnaires is recommended in combination with other data collection methods and incentives.
The borders of the domestic market and their importance for the economy of the film industry: The Swiss case study
Authors: Cucco Marco
Published: June 2010

This study analyses the economic relevance of the domestic market for national film industries, adopting first a historical and theoretical approach, and then by using Switzerland as a case study for quantitative research on film consumption.The analysis of the Swiss film market has a triple purpose: (1) to confirm the importance of the domestic market for the economy of national film industries; (2) to discover how the Swiss market can be considered (a single national market? three distinct markets? or an extension of the German, French and Italian cinema markets?); and (3) to discover if it still makes sense to consider the domestic market as a trade area limited by national borders or whether is it more realistic to think of it in terms of local and/or transnational cultural regions.
Cross-Reactivity of Rabbit Anti-Bovine Thrombin IgGs With Human α-Thrombin and a Recombinant Version of Human Thrombin (Recothrom)
Authors: He Zhu  , Hoppensteadt Debra , Cunanan Josephine , Fareed Jawed
Published: June 2010

It has been reported that patients exposed to topical bovine thrombin preparations may develop antibodies against bovine thrombin, factr V or various other proteins found in these preparations. Such antibodies can cross-react with human endogenous coagulation proteins and may lead to alterations in the coagulation laboratory parameters, hypersensitivity reactions, and severe bleeding or thrombosis. The underlying mechanisms for the coagulopathy are not fully understood yet. To better understand the cross-reactivity of anti-bovine thrombin antibodies with human corresponding coagulation proteins, bovine crude thrombin, and its purified versions, thrombin 4A (the old version of Thrombin-JMI before year 2008) and thrombin 4B (the current version of Thrombin-JMI on market), were used to generate relevant anti-bovine thrombin immunoglobulin G (IgGs) in rabbits. Using Western blotting, the cross-reactivity of each IgG with human α-thrombin and a recombinant version of human thrombin (Recothrom) was investigated. The results indicated that no cross-reactivity with either human α-thrombin or Recothrom was observed with both anti-bovine crude thrombin IgGs and thrombin 4B IgGs. However, anti-bovine thrombin 4A IgGs showed apparent cross-reactivity with human α-thrombin and Recothrom in a protein amount-dependent manner. Furthermore, the results revealed that the cross-reactivity of anti-bovine thrombin 4A IgGs with human α-thrombin and Recothrom was immunization time-dependent. The minimum concentration of 4A IgG required to exhibit cross-reactivity with human α-thrombin and Recothrom varied considerably among individual rabbits. These results indicate that rabbit anti-bovine thrombin IgGs can cross-react with human α-thrombin and Recothrom, suggesting that human antibodies against bovine thrombin may also cross-react with human recombinant thrombin. Thus, the patients who were previously exposed to bovine thrombin may also develop antibodies which can cross-react with human recombinant thrombin.
Writing, speaking, and the disciplines at Dartmouth’s Institute for Writing and Rhetoric
Authors: Donahue Christiane
Published: June 2010

The US field of composition studies and the subfields of writing across the curriculum and writing in the disciplines have focused on the relationships between teaching, language and knowledge. The Dartmouth Institute for Writing and Rhetoric develops these relationships through courses in writing and speech, student support and faculty development. These introductory notes frame the two articles that follow, reflecting issues within this broader framework that are less studied in writing across the curriculum (WAC) and writing in the disciplines (WiD) literature, but are central to collegial dialogue and intentional preparatory teaching.
Teaching nineteenth-century aesthetic prose
Authors: Maxwell Catherine
Published: June 2010

This article reviews a writing-intensive course on nineteenth-century aesthetic prose devised for the undergraduate curriculum of the School of English and Drama at Queen Mary, University of London, and considers the results to date. Using examples of students’ coursework, the article examines the use of logbooks and creative exercises, considers their effectiveness, and attempts to elucidate their advantages over the traditional essay format. A major premise of the course and the article is that appreciation and understanding of literature is enhanced and expanded by the students’ mediation of the texts through their own writing, allowing them to think with and through the literary matter they are exploring and so to extend themselves as writers and thinkers. Writing is thus seen as an essential part of the disciplinary study of literature.
Thin skin, deep damage
Authors: Boone Stephanie D.
Published: June 2010

How do institutions and their writing faculties see basic writers? What assumptions about these writers drive writing curricula, pedagogies and assessments? How do writing programs enable or frustrate these writers? How might course design facilitate the outcomes we envision? This article argues that, in order to teach basic writers to enter academic discourse and work across disciplinary borders, we must read them as closely as we would any text and create courses that help them develop the competencies we have identified for all writers. Outcomes for basic writers are powerfully contingent on how we introduce them to academic writing. Even more, those outcomes are contingent on recognizing that some basic writers are damaged writers.
Students rewriting Gibbon, and other stories
Authors: Ricot Richard
Published: June 2010

The most successful historical arguments are expressed in a voice unmistakeably the author’s own, yet this numbers among the most difficult skills to accomplish. In this article, I discuss a series of seminars which I ran in University College London’s History Department in order to help undergraduate historians develop their authorial voice. Some of these seminars were held under the aegis of University College London’s Writing and Learning Mentor Programme; others were held as a series of classes taken by all first-year undergraduate historians. The aim was to encourage students to think carefully about how historical research can be articulated, and about the links between different types of history and different types of argument. In order to define historical argument, we studied the characteristics of several different but very established historians, and used this as a springboard to focus on the authorial voices of the students themselves.
Writing as pretext: On the way to an image
Authors: Roth Nancy
Published: June 2010

The contemporary art college makes a broad range of media available to students, from which writing is conventionally excluded. Writing entered the art college curriculum in the 1960s as a ‘frame’, or means of integrating art and artists into an academic framework, rather than as a medium of potential study. Drawing on the philosophy of Vilém Flusser (1920—1991), the article accepts that writing has exerted a long, if uneven, control over the power of images, and that the introduction of writing into the art curriculum in the 1960s activated very old tensions. Dramatic changes in communications technology have, however, markedly changed the position of writing with respect to images. Art colleges may now be in a uniquely strong position to reconsider the role of writing in higher education in general.
The whole learner
Authors: Anderson Kirsteen
Published: June 2010

This article challenges the predominance of modularization across the UK university system, arguing that the fragmentation of the learning experience which results from this model undermines the possibility of a disciplinary understanding. It proposes instead a practice of imaginative writing which, by engaging students’ experience, interest and enthusiasm, encourages them to develop an appreciation of their discipline and the intellectual and discursive resources to participate meaningfully in it. The argument is supported by detailed discussion of the teaching and learning experience on a final-year course in French literature and thought with specific reference to the writing assignments that balance intellect and creativity.
Flow behaviour and microstructural evolution in cold worked 70∶30 α-brass
Authors: Toppo S. P. , Jyotsna C. C. , Kashyap B. P.
Published: June 2010

Deformation behaviour and microstructures at failure were investigated in a mill cold worked 70∶30 α-brass over the test temperature range of 298–973 K and strain rate range of 10−5–5×10−3 s−1. Tensile properties as a function of temperature revealed three distinct regions, with their temperature sensitivity being maximum at intermediate temperatures (553–673 K) and much less towards the lower and higher temperature ranges. Two values of activation energy for high temperature deformation Q were obtained to be 117·5 kJ mol−1 below 623 K and 196·4 kJ mol−1 above this critical temperature. In the respective temperature range the values of stress exponent n were 5·6 and 3·8. Based on the values of Q and n, the deformation mechanism was suggested to be dislocation climb creep with a probable contribution from dislocation pipe diffusion on lowering the temperature. Both grain size and cavity size were found to increase with increasing test temperature, suggesting them to be interrelated and act as an alternative steps for accommodating grain boundary sliding. Static grain growth study, over the temperature range of 773 to 1073 K, led to activation energy for grain growth to be 71 kJ mol−1, with the time exponent of 0·37.
Improvement of Charpy impact properties in heat affected zones of API X80 pipeline steels containing complex oxides
Authors: Shin S. Y. , Oh K. , Kang K. B. , Lee S.
Published: June 2010

The present study aimed at investigating the improvement of Charpy impact properties in heat affected zones (HAZs) of API X80 pipeline steels containing complex oxides. Three kinds of steels were fabricated by adding Ti, Al and Mg to form complex oxides and their microstructures, tensile properties and Charpy impact properties were investigated. The number of complex oxides increased as the excess amount of Ti, Al and Mg was included in the steels. After the HAZ simulation test, the steel having a number of oxides contained about 72 vol.-% of acicular ferrite in the simulated HAZ, together with bainitic ferrite and granular bainite, whereas the HAZ microstructures of the conventional steels consisted of bainitic ferrite and granular bainite with a small amount of acicular ferrite. The volume fraction of acicular ferrite increased as the amount of complex oxides increased and the heat input decreased, and thus, Charpy impact properties of the oxide containing steel HAZs were greatly improved over those of the conventional steel HAZs.
Rhodium-catalyzed Oxidative Coupling/Cyclization of Benzamides with Alkynes via C–H Bond Cleavage
Authors: Mochida Satoshi , Umeda Nobuyoshi , Hirano Koji , Satoh Tetsuya , Miura Masahiro
Published: June 2010

Oxidative coupling of primary, secondary, and tertiary benzamides with internal alkynes proceeds efficiently under rhodium catalysis to selectively give the corresponding 1:1 and 1:2 coupling products, accompanied by C–H and/or N–H bond cleavages. Some of the products exhibit intense fluorescence in the solid state.
Physicochemical Properties of Glyme–Li Salt Complexes as a New Family of Room-temperature Ionic Liquids
Authors: Tamura Takashi , Yoshida Kazuki , Hachida Takeshi , Tsuchiya Mizuho , Nakamura Megumi , Kazue Yuichi , Tachikawa Naoki , Dokko Kaoru , Watanabe Masayoshi
Published: June 2010

Certain glyme–Li salt complexes, which are composed of equimolar mixtures of a glyme and a Li salt, are liquid under ambient conditions with physicochemical properties such as high thermal stability, wide potential window, high ionic conductivity, and high Li+ transference number and can be regarded as a new family of room-temperature ionic liquids.
ESR Spectrum Attributed to Trisulfide Neutral Radical [RSS(R)S•R] of Protein Observed for α-Keratin Present in White Human Hair
Authors: Yanagi Naoki , Niwa Masanao , Sakurai Yasuhiro , Nakajima Akira , Kanaori Kenji , Tajima Kunihiko
Published: June 2010

ESR spectrum attributed to the trisulfide neutral radical of protein (RSS(R)S•R, g1 = 2.055, g2 = 2.035, and g3 = 2.000) is observed for the first time for α-keratin present in completely dried white human hair exposed to near-UV radiation under a helium atmosphere.
Cross Coupling of Arylboronic Acids with Imidazoles by Sulfonatocopper(II)(salen) Complex in Water
Authors: Wang Lixia , Jiang Zhaoqiong , Yu Lintao , Li Lili , Li Zhengkai , Zhou Xiangge
Published: June 2010

A mild and clean protocol for the cross coupling reactions between imidazoles and arylboronic acids has been developed in good to excellent yields up to 98% in the presence of sulfonatocopper(II)(salen) catalyst in water without addition of other additives and bases.
Novel Method for Construction of a Metal–Organic Monolayer–Si Structure Utilizing Thiol-terminated Monolayer Covalently Bonded to the Surface through Si–C Bonds
Authors: Fukumitsu Hitoshi , Masuda Takuya , Qu Deyu , Waki Yusuke , Noguchi Hidenori , Shimazu Katsuaki , Uosaki Kohei
Published: June 2010

An organic monolayer with a thiol group at its end was formed on a hydrogen-terminated (H–) Si(111) surface via Si–C covalent bond by hydrosilylation. PtCl42− complex ions were then immobilized on the thiol-terminated monolayer by immersing the substrate in an aqueous solution of K2PtCl4 using a strong interaction between the Pt complex and thiol groups. The immobilized Pt complexes were then reduced to Pt nanocluster by NaBH4. Precise surface structure was characterized and it is proven that Pt species were indeed deposited only on top of the thiol-terminated monolayer.
Policy Watch: Developments in Antitrust Economics
Authors: Baker Jonathan B
Published: June 2010

This article highlights recent developments in antitrust economics that have influenced the way the federal antitrust enforcement agencies analyze five issues: efficiencies from mergers, entry conditions, practices facilitating coordination, exclusionary practices, and the unilateral competitive effects of mergers.
Tenure Issues in Higher Education
Authors: McPherson Michael S , Schapiro Morton Owen
Published: June 2010

The system of academic tenure has come under increasing scrutiny. The authors provide a brief review of the tenure literature, discuss some recent tenure controversies, and present basic data on the percentage of faculty subject to the tenure system. The issue of tenure is discussed in terms of how the authority necessary to run a college or university is delegated. The authors believe that this perspective sheds light on some underlying reasons for why tenure differs from other forms of labor contracting and on the reasons for the relative importance of the tenure system in different parts of higher education.
Hedge Funds and the Collapse of Long-Term Capital Management
Authors: Edwards Franklin R
Published: June 2010

The Fed-engineered rescue of Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM) in September 1998 set off alarms throughout financial markets about the activities of hedge funds and the stability of financial markets in general. With only $4.8 billion in equity, LTCM managed to leverage itself to the hilt by borrowing more than $125 billion from banks and securities firms and entering into derivatives contracts totaling more than $1 trillion (notional). When LTCM's speculations went sour in the summer of 1998, the impending liquidation of LTCM's portfolio threatened to destabilize financial markets throughout the world. Public policy response to LTCM should focus on risks of systemic fragility and ways in which bank regulation can be improved.
Classroom Games: Strategic Interaction on the Internet
Authors: Grobelnik Marko , Holt Charles A , Prasnikar Vesna
Published: June 2010

Economics is often taught at a level of abstraction that can hinder some students from gaining basic intuition. However, lecture and textbook presentations can be complemented with classroom exercises in which students make decisions and interact. The approach can increase interest in, and decrease skepticism about, economic theory. This feature offers short descriptions of classroom exercises for a variety of economics courses, with something of an emphasis on the more popular undergraduate courses.
Theory and History Behind Business Cycles: Are the 1990s the Onset of a Golden Age?
Authors: Zarnowitz Victor
Published: June 2010

The theory presented in this paper ties together profits, investment, credit, stock prices, inflation, and interest rates. The author discusses new estimates of profit and investment functions with important roles for growth and demand and productivity, price and cost levels, risk perception, credit volume, and credit difficulties. The relationships among these endogenous variables are viewed as constituting an enduring core of business cycles, the exogenous shocks and policy effects as more transitory and peripheral.
The Labor Market for New Ph.D. Economists
Authors: Siegfried John J , Stock Wendy A
Published: June 2010

Presents results from a survey of 450 new (1996-97) Ph.D. economists, providing information about employment, underemployment, employers, work activities, salaries, and job satisfaction. Comparisons are made across ranks of the graduates' Ph.D. programs, sectors of employment and subfields of economics, as well as over time. Labor market outcomes for economists also are compared with those of seven other disciplines. Results indicate that a growing proportion of new economics Ph.D.s start their careers in business or industry, that an international market for new economics Ph.D.s is evolving, and that job outcomes for economists compare favorably with new Ph.D.s in many other disciplines.
It's Better Being an Economist (But Don't Tell Anyone)
Authors: Freeman Richard B
Published: June 2010

This paper contrasts the job market in economics with the job market in physics and mathematics, which attract students who are, by conventional measures, smarter than economists and where the base of knowledge is better established than ours. Despite this, economists earn more and have better career prospects than physicists or mathematicians. The paper offers several reasons for our better economic prospects, ranging from lack of glamour attracting bright young people to the dismal science to our inability to solve important problems, which puts us higher up on the marginal product curve for basic research than these fields.
Implications of the Labor Market for Graduate Education in Economics
Authors: Krueger Anne O
Published: June 2010

The Siegfried-Stock findings represent the first solid data available since COGEE collected its data in the late 1980s. This paper reviews the COGEE findings in light of the new evidence. On the whole, the news is good: new Ph.D.s awarded are up, economics remains one of the most highly-paid Ph.D. careers, and delays in finding employment are very short. A number of questions remain, however, that cannot be answered with the data at hand. These include the degree to which the demand for new Ph.D.s will be sustained, and the ways in which economics departments are serving those students not intending a research career.
The Economics of Casino Gambling
Authors: Eadington William R
Published: June 2010

America's casino industry expanded rapidly in the 1990s, spreading from Nevada and Atlantic City to mining towns, riverboats, race tracks and tribal lands, and moving from isolated resort settings to urban and suburban venues. This article examines economic characteristics of the casino industry, including the evolution of major casino markets, pricing of gaming products, market structures, regulatory constraints, and social and economic impacts attributable to casinos. When competitive, casinos show strong economies of scale and scope, but many new jurisdictions limit the number or size of operations, thus creating substantial economic rents. Allocation of these rents are fundamentally politically determined.
Classroom Games: Rent-Seeking and the Inefficiency of Non-Market Allocations
Authors: Goeree Jacob K , Holt Charles A
Published: June 2010

Economics is often taught at a level of abstraction that can hinder some students from gaining basic intuition. However, lecture and textbook presentations can be complemented with classroom exercises in which students make decisions and interact. The approach can increase interest in and decrease skepticism about economic theory. This feature offers short descriptions of classroom exercises for a variety of economics courses, with something of an emphasis on the more popular undergraduate courses.
Are Preferential Trading Arrangements Trade-Liberalizing or Protectionist?
Authors: Krueger Anne O
Published: June 2010

Preferential trade arrangements, and especially free trade agreements, have mushroomed in importance in the 1990s. This has revived research on the effects of these arrangements, both on the welfare of the member countries and those excluded, and on the momentum for further liberalization of the open multilateral trading system. This paper reviews the analyses and evidence to date as to these effects, showing that analytically anything can happen and that, to date, there has been insufficient experience to draw conclusions from empirical evidence.
Retrospectives: Between God and the Market: The Religious Roots of the American Economic Association
Authors: Bateman Bradley W , Kapstein Ethan B
Published: June 2010

This essay examines the strong influence of the Social Gospel movement on the founding of the American Economic Association. Richard T. Ely, the driving force behind the Association's founding, was also the most popular figure in the Social Gospel movement. The essay discusses Ely's influence in the statement of principles that shaped the early AEA and how the founders conceived their original mission as a scientific enterprise to better the lives of the poor and the working class.
Gaining Insight in Linear Programming from Patterns in Optimal Solutions
Authors: Baker Kenneth
Published: June 2010

This paper advocates the practice of interpreting the qualitative pattern in a linear programming solution. This practice should be part of the instruction we offer on LP, because it helps students gain insight that enhances decision making. In linear programs, the optimal solution tells a story about the pattern of economic priorities, and the recognition of these priorities can provide useful insight. The pattern also helps us anticipate some of the answers to “what if” questions. The discussion covers several examples of patterns, shows how to describe a pattern without using numbers, and provides two tests to confirm that the pattern has been articulated.
YASAI: Yet Another Add-in for Teaching Elementary Monte Carlo Simulation in Excel
Authors: Eckstein Jonathan , Riedmueller Steven T.
Published: June 2010

This report describes YASAI (Yet Another Simulation Add-In), a tool for performing Monte Carlo simulations via Excel spreadsheet models. Although similar tools do already exist, we needed one that was simple to use for beginning students, and could be used and installed easily without system administrator privileges. We describe the design philosophy of YASAI and its features for generating random variables, identifying simulation outputs, and specifying scenarios. The output specification mechanism is novel, and the scenario generation mechanism has some novel features. An example illustrates most of YASAI's features.
IP Modeling and the Logical Puzzles of Raymond Smullyan
Authors: Chlond Martin J. , Toase Cath M.
Published: June 2010

The ability to include logical conditions within Integer Programming (IP) models has many applications in OR/MS. Although the modeling of logical conditions in IP is simple in principle, in actual practice the exercise can be quite painstaking and prone to error. To become adept therefore it is necessary for practitioners to be well drilled. This paper presents the puzzles of Raymond Smullyan as a rich source of examples for the instructor that offer all the pedagogical features of more conventional text book examples but with added flavors of whimsy and caprice.
Advanced Lessons on the Craft of Optimization Modeling Based on Modeling Sudoku in Excel
Authors: Rasmussen Rasmus A. , Weiss Howard J.
Published: June 2010

In a previous paper we (Weiss and Rasmussen [Weiss, H. J., R. A. Rasmussen. 2007. Lessons from modeling sudoku in excel. INFORMS Trans. Ed. 7(2), http://ite.pubs.informs.org/Vol7No2/Weiss/ ]) demonstrated lessons that can be learned by formulating Sudoku in Excel using Solver's standard tools. In this paper we use the advanced tools and solver engines available with the Premium Solver Platform in order to demonstrate more sophisticated lessons regarding optimization modeling. Optimization modeling is a skill developed by building and testing alternative formulations for new problems. This paper gives advanced undergraduate and graduate students an opportunity to develop the craft of optimization modeling, by presenting the construction of two new alternatives for modeling Sudoku in Excel. We do not present these models because they are more efficient than the previous models; in fact one of them does not work well at all. The main reason is to highlight strengths and weaknesses when using different modeling approaches, and to display some of the additional modeling capabilities available using the Premium Solver Platform rather than the standard Solver.
The linear mixed model and the hierarchical Ornstein–Uhlenbeck model: Some equivalences and differences
Authors: Oravecz Zita , Tuerlinckx Francis
Published: June 2010

We focus on comparing different modelling approaches for intensive longitudinal designs. Two methods are scrutinized, namely the widely used linear mixed model (LMM) and the relatively unexplored Ornstein–Uhlenbeck (OU) process based state‐space model. On the one hand, we show that given certain conditions they result in equivalent outcomes. On the other hand, we consider it important to emphasize that their perspectives are different and that one framework might better address certain types of research questions than the other. We show that, compared to a LMM, an OU process based approach can cope with modelling inter‐individual differences in aspects that are more substantively interesting. However, the estimation of the LMM is faster and the model is more straightforward to implement. The models are illustrated through an experience sampling study.
Edge-preserving sectional image reconstruction in optical scanning holography
Authors: Zhang Xin , Lam Edmund Y.
Published: June 2010

Optical scanning holography (OSH) enables us to capture the three-dimensional information of an object, and a post-processing step known as sectional image reconstruction allows us to view its two-dimensional cross-section. Previous methods often produce reconstructed images that have blurry edges. In this paper, we argue that the hologram’s two-dimensional Fourier transform maps into a semi-spherical surface in the three-dimensional frequency domain of the object, a relationship akin to the Fourier diffraction theorem used in diffraction tomography. Thus, the sectional image reconstruction task is an ill-posed inverse problem, and here we make use of the total variation regularization with a nonnegative constraint and solve it with a gradient projection algorithm. Both simulated and experimental holograms are used to verify that edge-preserving reconstruction is achieved, and the axial distance between sections is reduced compared with previous regularization methods.
Die Ethnogenese der seldschukischen Türken im Urteil christlicher Geschichtsschreiber des 11. und 12. Jahrhunderts
Authors: Beihammer Alexander
Published: June 2010

The present study deals with the oldest surviving written reactions of Byzantine and Christian Oriental authors to the emergence of the Seljuk Turks in the Middle East and Asia Minor, mainly focusing on recognizable elements of a preexisting collective knowledge concerning barbarian nomads in general and the Turks in particular, as well as on prevailing modes of perception and mentalities reflected in these texts. The first part, after providing a survey of the extant material and the particularities of each tradition in Greek, Syriac, Armenian and Latin, examines the account of the late eleventh-century historian John Scylitzes in comparison with that of the twelfth-century Syrian writer Michael Syrus. The former appears to be a diligent compilation of ancient ethnographic stereotypes with pieces of historical information originating from the official Muslim version of Seljuk court ideology. Michael Syrus' report, instead, stays closer to ancient ethnographic traditions enriched with elements from Turkic myths of origin and biblical allusions. In general, one realizes the author's intention to explain the Turks' intrusion into the Muslim World through a rational interpretation of mythical features with the aid of religious, political and ethnological arguments. The second part concerns itself with Byzantine perceptions of early Seljuk institutions, in particular the notion of an independent Seljuk sultanate on Anatolian soil, which allegedly came into existence in about 1080. A re-examination of Anna Comnena and other relevant sources clearly shows that modern scholars who accept these views as historical facts widely ignore the highly confused and anachronistic use of terms, names and facts in Anna's account, which in retrospect describes the situation of 1080 through the prism of the realities of about 1140.
On the Measurement of Situation Awareness for Effective Human-Robot Interaction in Teleoperated Systems
Authors: Gatsoulis Yiannis , Virk Gurvinder S. , Dehghani-Sanij Abbas A.
Published: June 2010

Several methods of measuring the situation awareness (SA) of a human who is teleoperating a robot are compared for the domain of urban search and rescue (USAR), to identify those that have the greatest potential for developing more reliable and accurate ways of measuring SA for effectively operating robot systems. Such comparative studies are essential because SA has been identified as a key human factors issue since post-September 11, 2001, operations for effective task performance in (tele)robotics. This paper discusses the pros and cons of the main aspects that need to be included in developing reliable SA measurement methods from the related domain of air traffic control, in which SA has a long research history. These methods have been adopted and modified accordingly to address needs of teleoperating robot systems and have been tested in a realistic USAR simulated scenario developed especially for performing these assessments. The results were compared against each other as well as with existing measures. A new method of measuring task performance that is more appropriate for USAR is also presented and tested within the comparative studies.
When a Fly Has to Fly to Reproduce: Selection against Conditional Recessive Lethals in Drosophila
Authors: Plunkett Andrea D. , Yampolsky Lev Y.
Published: June 2010

We propose an experimental model suitable for demonstrating allele frequency change in Drosophila melanogaster populations caused by selection against an easily scorable conditional lethal, namely recessive flightless alleles such as apterous and vestigial. Homozygotes for these alleles are excluded from reproduction because the food source used to establish each generation is accessible only by flight. The observed dynamics of flightless-allele frequencies generally follows the theoretically predicted pattern, with slight deviation toward less intense selection. We also suggest observing selection against flight-independent visible marker alleles in the same population as a meaningful comparison. The proposed experiments can easily be scheduled within one semester, and the expected data provide ample opportunities for discussion of quantitative evolutionary patterns.
Using a 17th-Century Experiment as a Gateway to Critical Assessment of Scientific Reports
Authors: Shodell Michael
Published: June 2010

It is certainly widely appreciated that there is much to be gained in the fertile crosstalk between science and history —— whether bringing a historical perspective into the science classroom (Wieder, 2006) or a scientific perspective to the study of history (McElvaine, 2002; Smail, 2008). Perhaps the major impetus for using history in teaching science has been to better transmit a sense of how science actually gets done (Conant, 1948; Johnson, 1996). I describe a different approach: using historical materials not from a history-of-science perspective but in actively developing students' analytical abilities with respect to scientific experiment and current scientific reports.
Independent Research Projects Using Protein Extraction: Affordable Ways to Inquire, Discover & Publish for Undergraduate Students
Authors: Pu Rongsun
Published: June 2010

This article describes how to use protein extraction, quantification, and analysis in the undergraduate teaching laboratory to engage students in inquiry-based, discovery-driven learning. Detailed instructions for obtaining proteins from animal tissues, using BCA assay to quantify the proteins, and data analysis are provided. The experimental procedure requires laboratory equipment and supplies that can be found in most biology teaching labs. Suggestions for successful implementation that can lead to original research published in peer-reviewed journals are outlined.