cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pituitary apoplexy presenting as a thunderclap headache

Pituitary apoplexy is an uncommon clinical syndrome characterized by acute headache, ophthalmoplegia, diminished visual acuity, and altered mental status caused by the sudden hemorrhage or infarction of a pituitary gland that invariably harbors an adenoma. This case highlights the variability in presentation and underscores the need for a high index of suspicion and the need for MRI in patients presenting with thunderclap headache and "normal" initial investigations. Case report. While eating dinner, this 50-year-old woman was thunderstruck by an intense headache, nausea, and recurrent vomiting. She visited a local emergency ward on the second and fifth day of her illness. Injections of meperidine and ketorolac were given, but no investigations were done and no diagnosis was rendered. The patient's family physician saw her on the third day of her illness and obtained a CT of the brain, which was interpreted as normal. She developed ptosis of the right lid and diplopia 4 days …
Interfacial structure of Co/Pt multilayers.

We present a systematic method to characterize the solid/solid interfaces of the multilayers by measuring and analyzing the x-ray intensity distributions for the scattering vector Q parallel to the film plane near the first few superlattice diffraction peaks. For the 〈001〉 and 〈111〉 oriented Co/Pt multilayers grown by molecular-beam epitaxy, the total intensity was found to be dominated by the diffuse intensity, indicating that the interfaces are rough and are mostly correlated throughout the multilayers. By analyzing the peak shape and the Fourier transfer of the intensity distribution, we conclude that the interfacial height fluctuation function is qualitatively different between the two films with different orientations.
On the period spectrum of a symplectic mapping

Let M be a compact Riemannian manifold. It has been known for a long time that the singularities of the wave trace, trace(cos √Δt), are located at the periods of the closed geodesics. Do these singularities also contain information about the geometry of M in the neighborhood of a closed geodesic? We prove that the Birkhoff canonical form of the Poincare map can be determined from the singularities of the wave trace.
Industry cluster and performance sensitivity

Firms strategically achieve competitiveness through either operational efficiency or superior asset utilization, thereby impacting their responsiveness to innovations in profit margin or in asset turnover. We show that firms specializing in operating efficiency react more positively to shocks in profit margin than firms specializing in asset utilization. Firms may also decide to co-locate in an industry cluster, hoping to capture the positive externalities of input sharing, labor pooling and knowledge spill-over. We show that co-located firms are in a better position to benefit from innovations in asset turnover as they benefit from input sharing and labor pooling.
Effects of caloric restriction in animals on cellular function, oncogene expression, and DNA methylation in vitro

While the life-extending and disease-modulating effects of caloric restriction (CR) are well documented in whole animal studies and in correlative experiments using cells taken from CR animals, very few studies have used cells in culture after their removal from the CR-fed animal. In using this in vivo-->in vitro approach we have attempted to examine the proposition that the effects of CR can be transferred to individual cells by analyzing the cellular functions of proliferation and transformation, the activation of oncogenes, and the methylation of DNA as a function only of diet. Pancreatic acinar cells excised from CR-fed Brown-Norway rats and placed in rich medium showed different responses compared to cells from ad libitum (AL)-fed controls. CR had the effect of slowing growth rate and protecting against spontaneous and N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG)-induced transformation over 14 passages of cells in culture. At the molecular level, cells from the CR animals showed reduced c-Ha-ras oncogene expression and mutation as well as reduced mutation of the p53 suppressor gene. CR also increased genomic methylation of ras DNA. We conclude that the effects of CR treatment of the animal are transferred to individual cells and note that these responses (decreased proliferation and transformation; depressed oncogene expression and mutation and decreased suppressor gene mutation; and increased oncogene methylation) are cellular and molecular analogs of in vivo weight loss, life extension, and carcinogenesis modulation, which are hallmarks of CR in the whole animal. The fact that these responses are seen generations after the cells are removed from the CR-treated animal indicates that CR causes a permanent predisposition of pancreatic acinar cells to these modulated responses and shows the value of the in vivo-->in vitro protocol in studies that relate diet to cellular and molecular function.
Vom Diskurs in der Enge zum Diskurs in die Weite: Hugo Loetschers Konzept der “Pluralen Heimat” als Schlüsselbegriff in der neueren Literatur der deutschsprachigen Schweiz

Ziel dieses Aufsatzes ist eine kritische Auseinandersetzung mit der viel beachteten These Pia Reinachers in Je Suisse (2003), dass sich die jungste Generation Deutschschweizer Autoren durch einen Mangel an Interesse fur die eigene Nation von der alteren Generation unterscheidet. Gezeigt wird, dass diese These der Komplexitat der neueren Literatur der deutschsprachigen Schweiz nicht gerecht wird. Mit Rucksicht auf den Band Diskurse in die Weite (2010), in dem Hugo Loetscher als Schlusselfigur der Schweizer Nachkriegsliteratur positioniert wird, wird hier eine alternative These vorgeschlagen: die der “pluralen Heimat.” Ausgangspunkt dieser These ist, dass Loetschers Ansichten zu Identitat und Heimat in der Tat richtunggebend fur einen entscheidenden Wechsel im Umgang mit dem Thema Heimat in der deutschsprachigen Literatur der Schweiz waren.
Toward an Empirically Based Classification of Personality Pathology

A number of investigations have utilized factor analysis or similar data analytic methods to examine the empirical validity of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders classification system of Axis II personality pathology. This article reviews analyses of the Axis II cluster structure and the latent structure of individual personality disorder criteria. Overall, these studies do not provide sound empirical support for the current personality disorder organization described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders . They highlight the need for identifying the latent dimensions of personality pathology in order to create a different representation that would more accurately correspond to both a theoretical and functional model of personality disorder. Preliminary research identifying consensus across datasets is summarized. Clinical implications of these findings and future directions for research on personality pathology are discussed.
Yoga, Eugenics, and Spiritual Darwinism in the Early Twentieth Century

Put briefly: perhaps the entire evolution of the spirit is a question of the body; it is the history of the development of a higher body that emerges into our sensibility. The organic is rising to yet higher levels. Our lust for knowledge of nature is a means through which the body desires to perfect itself. Or rather: hundreds of thousands of experiments are made to change the nourishment, the mode of living and of dwelling in the body; consciousness and evaluations in the body, all kinds of pleasure and displeasure, are signs of these changes and experiments. In the long run, it is not a question of man at all: he is to be overcome (Nietzsche 1967: 358).
School Bus–Related Injuries Among Children and Teenagers in the United States, 2001-2003

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this work was to describe the epidemiology of nonfatal school bus–related injuries among children and teenagers aged ≤19 years in the United States. DESIGN/METHODS. Nationally representative data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System All-Injury Program operated by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission were analyzed. Case subjects included all of the patients in the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System All-Injury Program database who were treated in a hospital emergency department for a nonfatal school bus–related injury from 2001 to 2003. RESULTS. There were an estimated 51100 school bus–related injuries treated in US emergency departments from 2001 to 2003, for a national estimate of 17000 injuries (rate: 21.0 per 100000 population) annually. Ninety-seven percent of children were treated and released from the hospital. Children 10 to 14 years of age accounted for the greatest proportion of injuries (43.0%; rate: 34.7) compared with all other age groups. Motor vehicle crashes accounted for 42.3% of all injuries, followed by injuries that occurred as the child was boarding/alighting/approaching the bus (23.8%). Head injuries accounted for more than half (52.1%) of all injuries among children CONCLUSIONS. This is the first study to describe nonfatal school bus–related injuries to US children and teenagers treated in US hospital emergency departments using a national sample. This study identified a much greater annual number of school bus–related injuries to children than reported previously.
Statistical Prediction of “Reasonable Worst-Case” Crosstalk in Cable Bundles

Worst-case estimates of crosstalk in cable bundles are useful for flagging potential problems, but may also flag problems that only occur very rarely, due to the random variation of wire positions and other characteristics of the harness. Prediction of crosstalk that may realistically occur requires statistical methods. Monte Carlo simulation techniques are often used to account for statistical variation, but are time consuming and do not provide intuition toward the cause of, or solution to, problems. Here, we investigate prediction of the statistically ldquoreasonable worst-caserdquo crosstalk by forming probability distributions using inductance and capacitance parameters from a single harness cross section and using lumped-element approximations for crosstalk that account for strong coupling within the harness when the circuit is electrically small. The accuracy of this technique was evaluated through comparison to simulation results using the random displacement spline interpolation method for multiple random instantiations of several harness configurations. Tests were performed while varying the size of the bundle, its height above the return plane, the value of load impedances, and the presence of a return wire. The reasonable worst-case crosstalk was estimated within about 5 dB or less in each case.
Mine detection training based on expert skill

Studies show that soldiers' mine detection capabilities with the PSS-12 hand-held detector are substandard and that their probabilities of detecting (PD) low-metal mines are dangerously low. Highly experienced PSS-12 operators, however, achieve PDS over 0.90 on high- and low-metal anti- tank (AT) and anti-personnel (AP) mines. Significantly, experts' detection techniques differ from conventional military PSS-12 operating procedures. We report three studies investigating whether instruction based on expert skill could bridge the observed performance gap. Basic research on human expertise has shown that instruction based on detailed scientific analyses of experts' behaviors and thought processes boosts skill acquisition dramatically. These studies tested the effects of an experimental detection training program based on knowledge and techniques learned from analysis of PSS-12 expertise. In Study I soldiers who had completed standard mine detection training participated as operators/trainees. This experiment used a pretest-posttest design. Mine simulants served as targets in testing gand training. Targets simulate d5 different mines and represented high- and low-metal AT and AP mine types. Pretest performance failed to distinguish the treatment and control groups. Both achieved very low PDs on low metal mines. Treatment-group soldiers then received approximately 15 hours of experimental, hands-on training. Posttest results showed that the treatment groups PD on minimal metal targets was more than 6 times that of the control group. Study 2 tested a subset of the treated soldiers in the same setting, now wearing body armor. Results replicated those of Study 1. Study 3 tested treatment group soldiers on real mine targets. Several mines from each mine type were used. The surface of the test lanes was expected to increase detection difficulty. Soldiers nonetheless achieved an aggregate PD of 0.97 and showed significant improvement in detecting low-metal mines.
Effect of external lubricant on mechanical properties of dry-pressed green bodies

Tensile strength and fracture toughness of uniaxially compacted spray-dried ferrite powders, with and without external lubricant were measured. The addition of external lubricant significantly increased the fracture strength and decreased the strength variability. The external lubricant also led to an increase in fracture toughness and a decrease in the critical flaw size. Scanning electron microscopy examination of fracture surfaces showed an increase in the amount of transgranular fracture for the pellets compacted from the externally lubricated powder. It was concluded that the external lubricant strengthened the bonds between the spray-dried granules, thereby increasing the fracture toughness and reducing the critical flaw size. X-ray tomography of pellets showed that there was no appreciable difference in density gradients between the samples.
The promise of differentiated instruction for enhancing the mathematical understandings of college students

Mathematics instructors must respond to diverse needs of individual students, including different abilities, interests, learning styles and cultural backgrounds. To do so, grade kindergarten-12 teachers have been using differentiated instruction, a process of proactively modifying instruction based on students’ needs. It is supported by literature on learning and has resulted in the improvement of grade K-12 students’ learning. Yet, there is no research literature that reports work on differentiated instruction at the undergraduate level for meeting the diverse needs of college students, particularly in mathematics courses. Students frequently report their college mathematics classes to be unstimulating, boring, irrelevant, poorly taught or transmissive. This study examined the use of differentiated instruction in an undergraduate mathematics course for addressing such concerns and thereby improving students’ mathematical learning. A concurrent mixed methods research study was used to address the central research question: What impact does differentiated instruction in a college mathematics class have on students’ mathematical understandings? A quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test control-group research design measured the relationship between the differentiated instruction in the course and the students’ mathematical understandings. Simultaneously, the impact of the differentiated instruction on the students’ mathematical understandings was explored using interviews and analyses of students’ work. The participants included elementary education majors enrolled in a mathematics course covering the topic of number and operations. Results showed that students receiving differentiated instruction experienced greater gains in their mathematical understandings. Suggestions for incorporating differentiated instruction in undergraduate mathematics courses are provided along with plans for further research.
Economic geography and comparative advantage:: Agglomeration versus specialization

This paper investigates the relationship between agglomeration and specialization, and the role of comparative versus absolute advantage. A two-country three-sector model is developed, encompassing a Ricardian comparative advantage, increasing returns, product di⁄erentiation, monopolistic competition, and trade costs. Closed-form solutions are derived for the factor immobility case, while factor mobility is analyzed via comparative statics and simulations. Several interesting results arise. Economic integration may reduce or even reverse the agglomeration pattern. Agglomeration in one country reduces its specialization within the IRS industry. An increases in comparative advantage is not necessarily associated with an increase in specialization. ( 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Tissue oxygen saturation during hyperthermic progressive central hypovolemia

During normothermia, a reduction in near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS)-derived tissue oxygen saturation (So2) is an indicator of central hypovolemia. Hyperthermia increases skin blood flow and reduc...
The development of the musculature of the hindlimb in the frog, Rana pipiens.

The major features of the morphogenesis of the muscles of the hindlimb, exclusive of the foot, are described and illustrated for the frog, Rana pipiens The description is carried through the stage XII larva, in which stage most of the muscles of the adult limb are present in essentially the definitive condition. As is true of other vertebrates which have been studied, the muscles of the hindlimb develop from two major premuscular masses. One of these lies along the dorsolateral margin of the limb and the other along the ventro-medial margin. Each of the two masses is subsequently divided into smaller and smaller subdivisions as the different muscle groups and the individual muscles are differentiated. In general, the more proximally located muscles differentiate before those which are located more distally and those of the dorso-lateral mass before those of the ventro-medial mass. The following muscles of the thigh, shank and tarsus develop from the dorsolateral mass: ileo-fibularis, glutaeus magnus, cruralis, ileo-femoralis, iliacus externus, iliacus internus, tensor fasciae latae, pectineus, adductor longus, peroneus, tibialis anticus brevis, tibialis anticus longus, extensor cruris brevis, tarsalis anticus, extensor digitorum communis longus and abductor brevis dorsalis. The following develop from the ventro-medial mass: compressor cloacae, circumflexor arteriae, pyriformis, semimembranosus, gemellus, gracilis major, gracilis minor, semitendinosus, adductor magnus, obturator internus, obturator externus, quadratus femoris, sartorius, plantaris longus, tibialis posticus, tarsalis posticus, plantaris profundus, intertarsalis and flexor digitorum brevis superficialis.
Beyond a “Victims’ Right”: Truth-Finding Power and Procedure at the ICC

The drafters of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court were presented with a unique opportunity to shape the future of victim participation in international criminal legal proceedings. They were also faced with a critical dilemma – how can the International Criminal Court promote the interests of victims while simultaneously protecting the accused’s fair trial rights? In many respects the final draft of the Rome Statute left the task of defining the parameters of these potentially competing interests to the Court. As a result, a body of case-law has emerged, highlighting textual ambiguities in the Rome Statute and giving rise to novel developments in sphere of victim participation. Amongst the most prominent of these developments is the recognition of the right of victims to introduce evidence at trial. However, viewing this procedure simply as a fixture of the International Criminal Court’s regime of victim participation masks its true significance and potential. This article explores the idea that the Court’s approach to the evidentiary procedure regulating victim participation has given birth to quasi-investigative powers that have the potential to dramatically reconfigure the future of international criminal litigation.
Effect of BUdR on proliferation and development of cytotoxicity in mixed leukocyte culture.

Abstract The effect of the thymidine analog, 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BUdR) on the proliferation of, and development of cytotoxicity in, mouse lymphocytes in mixed leukocyte culture was measured. It was found that BUdR inhibited the development of cytotoxicity only to the extent that it inhibited mitosis. This is in contrast to the effect of BUdR in differentiating cell systems, where differentiation can be inhibited by concentrations of BUdR that do not inhibit cell proliferation. Possible implications of these results are discussed.
Extracting Certainty from Uncertainty: Transductive Pairwise Classification from Pairwise Similarities

In this work, we study the problem of transductive pairwise classification from pairwise similarities. The goal of transductive pairwise classification from pair-wise similarities is to infer the pairwise class relationships, to which we refer as pairwise labels, between all examples given a subset of class relationships for a small set of examples, to which we refer as labeled examples. We propose a very simple yet effective algorithm that consists of two simple steps: the first step is to complete the sub-matrix corresponding to the labeled examples and the second step is to reconstruct the label matrix from the completed sub-matrix and the provided similarity matrix. Our analysis exhibits that under several mild preconditions we can recover the label matrix with a small error, if the top eigen-space that corresponds to the largest eigenvalues of the similarity matrix covers well the column space of label matrix and is subject to a low coherence, and the number of observed pairwise labels is sufficiently enough. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm by several experiments.
Improving The Writing Skills Of Accounting Students: An Experiment

This paper reports the results a writing improvement initiative in an accounting department at a small western university. Numerous surveys of accounting professionals have established the importance of writing skills for accounting graduates, and challenge business schools to revise curricula accordingly. To determine if a writing initiative in an accounting department could improve the writing skills of accounting students, a series of one-page essays were given to students in four accounting classes during the fall semester. The essays were evaluated on six writing skills recently judged by accounting professionals to be most important for new hires to possess. Feedback was provided after each essay. Results showed that the writing skills improved significantly after each essay. Accounting students can improve their writing skills if the accounting faculty is committed to providing timely feedback.
Principles of Contract Design

Economic contract theory postulates two obstacles to complete contracts: high transaction costs and high enforcement (or verification) costs. The literature has proposed how parties might solve these problems under a stylized litigation system, but it does not address the question of how parties design contracts under the existing adversarial system, that relies on the parties to establish relevant facts indirectly by the use of evidentiary proxies. We advance a theory of contract design in a world of costly litigation. We examine the efficiency of investment at the front-end and back-end of the contracting process, where we focus on litigation as the back-end stage. In deciding whether to express their obligations in specific or vague terms, contracting parties implicitly choose their allocation of costs between the front- and back-end. When the parties agree to vague terms (or standards), such as best efforts or commercial reasonableness, they delegate to the back-end the task of selecting proxies: e.g., the court selects market indicators that serve as benchmarks for performance. When the parties agree to specific terms(or rules), they invest more at the front-end to specify proxies in their contract and thereby leaving a smaller task for the enforcing court. In this Article, we explore the choice between rules and standards in terms of this tradeoff, and offer an explanation for why contracts in practice have a mix of vague and specific provisions. We then suggest that parties can achieve further contracting gains by varying procedural rules governing the prospective enforcement of their disputes. We illustrate by examining provisions in commercial contracts that allocate burdens and standards of proof. If the parties can improve the cost-effectiveness of litigation in this manner, they can reduce back-end costs. They thereby create opportunities to further lower contracting costs (or to improve the incentive gains from contracting) by shifting more investment to the back-end by increasing their use of vague terms. Vague terms have fallen into disfavor with contract theorists and this Article offers a justification for why they are nevertheless commonplace in commercial practice. Our analysis highlights the general and valuable lesson that the anticipated path of litigation is relevant to contract design.
An on-chip optical parametric oscillator in diamond

We demonstrate optical parametric oscillation via four-wave mixing in waveguide-integrated, single crystal diamond micro-ring resonators. Threshold powers as low as 20 mW are enabled by high quality factor (~1 million) resonators operating at telecom wavelengths.
Adsorptive Separation of 1-Butanol from Aqueous Solutions Using MFI- and FER-Type Zeolite Frameworks: A Monte Carlo Study.

Anaerobic fermentation can transform carbohydrates to yield a multicomponent mixture comprising mainly of acetone, 1-butanol, and ethanol (ABE) in a typical weight ratio of 3:6:1. Compared to ethanol, 1-butanol, the main product of ABE fermentation, offers significant advantages as a biofuel or a fuel additive. However, the toxicity of 1-butanol for cell cultures requires broth concentrations to be low in 1-butanol (≈1–2 wt %). An energy-efficient recovery method that performs well even at low 1-butanol concentrations is therefore necessary to ensure economic feasibility of the ABE fermentation process. In this work, configurational-bias Monte Carlo simulations in the Gibbs ensemble are performed to probe the adsorption of 1-butanol/water solutions onto all-siliceous zeolites with the framework types MFI and FER. At low solution concentration, the selectivity and capacity for 1-butanol in MFI are larger than those in FER, while the opposite is true for concentrations at or above those of ABE broths. Struc...
Global Governance of E-Commerce and Internet Trade: Recent Developments

This article reviews recent developments and highlights concerning global governance of e-commerce and Internet trade.
Cardinal Wolsey and Cambridge

Cardinal Thomas Wolsey has seldom been associated with the University of Cambridge. But in a little-known episode, he was invited to follow John Fisher as chancellor of the University of Cambridge in 1514. Although Wolsey declined, his willingness to protect Cambridge’s evangelicals, even after he burned Martin Luther’s books in 1521, has been an overlooked phase in the history of the university and in the Reformation in England.
Proteomic Assays for the Detection of Urothelial Cancer

Bladder cancer is one of the most expensive cancers from diagnosis to death of the patient due to life-long surveillance involving upper tract imaging, urinary cytology, and cystoscopy. Cytology has been historically used in conjunction with cystoscopy to help detect disease that may be missed by routine cystoscopy (e.g., carcinoma in situ and upper tract disease). Urine cytology is highly cytopathologist dependent and has reasonable sensitivity for detecting high grade disease. However, its sensitivity drops precipitously with regard to well-differentiated low grade cancers. Intensive investigations have been undertaken using proteomics to find an alternative to cystoscopy and cytology. Urine proteomic markers currently evaluated critically in the literature include bladder tumor antigen, nuclear matrix protein 22, BLCA-4, hyaluronic acid, hyaluronidase, cytokeratin 8, cytokeratin 18, cytokeratin 19, tissue polypeptide antigen, and tissue polypeptide-specific antigen. Markers used as alternatives to cystoscopy must be accurate with high sensitivity and specificity, cost effective for life-long surveillance, and minimally invasive to minimize the burden to the patient. To date, no proteomic marker has been developed that can replace cystoscopy for the detection of bladder cancer. However, several urinary markers appear to have higher sensitivity albeit lower specificity than cytology and can be used to supplement cystoscopy. Some of those markers are herein described in this chapter. By defining and characterizing the current state of the art in protein based markers, we are poised to evaluate and benchmark newly discovered protein biomarkers that will be isolated through new proteomics based investigations of urine.
Diabetic ketoacidosis: a practical approach.

Insulin deficiency along with significant electrolyte depletion are the hallmarks of DKA. Precision in therapeutic dosing is required for complete recovery.
Prognostic Implications of Silent Myocardial Ischemia: Prediction of Events?

In patients with stable and unstable angina pectoris, the occurrence of transient ST-T-wave alterations during ambulatory electrocardiographic monitoring is helpful in identifying a subgroup of patients who are especially likely to have (a) severe atherosclerotic coronary artery disease and (b) a guarded prognosis over the subsequent 1 to 12 months. Because the majority of these episodes are not accompanied by chest pain, it seems logical to conclude that recurrent episodes of silent myocardial ischemia (1) signal a high likelihood of severe coronary artery disease and (2) carry a poor short-term prognosis.
Hydrodeoxygenation of Pyrolysis Oils

The hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of bio-oil derived from white oak wood using non-sulfided catalysts was studied in a two zone continuous flow trickle bed reactor system. The major organic components of the pyrolysis oil were pyrolytic lignin (large phenolic polymers), xylose, levoglucosan, organic acids (primarily acetic acid), and hydroxyacetaldehyde. The first zone was a low temperature zone (130 °C) that contained a Ru/C catalyst. In this zone, carbonyl groups were hydrogenated, producing propylene glycol (from hydroxyacetone), ethylene glycol (from hydroxyacetaldehyde), and sorbitol (from levoglucosan). A more severe hydrotreatment was performed in a second zone containing a bifunctional Pt/ZrP catalyst at a temperature between 300 and 400 °C. In the two-stage HDO, an organic phase was produced that consisted of a distribution of hydrocarbons that were primarily cyclic alkanes (naphthenes) ranging from C7 to C24. The organic phase carbon yield decreased with increasing reaction temperature in the second zone. Catalyst deactivation and reactor plugging by coking occurred under all reaction conditions after 55–72 h time on stream (TOS). After ≈55 h TOS, more than 25 % of the carbon in the original bio-oil was accumulated as coke, with increasing amounts for higher temperatures in the second zone. Hydrotreatment gave rise to >C5 hydrocarbon (gasoline and distillate-range fuel) overall yields between ≈30 and 47 carbon % for all experiments compared to the 79.5 % theoretical yield calculated for the bio-oil feedstock. Coke formation and undesired cracking to C1–C4 hydrocarbon gases were the main causes of lower fuel carbon yields.
Trends in Outcomes, Financial Burden, and Mortality for Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in the United States from 2002 to 2010

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the cause of substantial economic and social burden. We evaluated the temporal trends of hospitalizations from acute exacerbation of COPD and determined its outcome and financial impact using the National (Nationwide) Inpatient Sample (NIS) databases (2002-2010). Individuals aged ≥ 18 years were included. Subjects who were hospitalized with primary diagnosis of COPD exacerbation and those who were admitted for other causes but had underlying acute exacerbation of COPD (secondary diagnosis) were captured by International Classification of Diseases-Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes. The hospital outcomes and length of stay were determined. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify the independent predictors of inpatient mortality. Overall acute exacerbation of COPD-related hospitalizations accounted for nearly 3.31% of all hospitalizations in the year 2002. This did not change significantly to year 2010 (3.43%, p = 0.608). However, there was an increase in hospitalization with secondary diagnosis of COPD. Elderly white patients accounted for most of the hospitalizations. Medicare was the primary payer source for most of the hospitalizations (73-75%). There was a significant decrease in inpatient mortality from 4.8% in 2002 to 3.9% in 2010 (slope -0.096, p < 0.001). Similarly, there was a significant decrease in average length of stay from 6.4 days in 2002 to 6.0 days in 2010 (slope -0.042, p < 0.001). Despite this, the hospitalization cost was increased substantially from $22,187 in 2002 to $38,455 in 2010. However, financial burden has increased over the years.
The Human Milk Oligosaccharide 2′-Fucosyllactose Quenches Campylobacter jejuni–Induced Inflammation in Human Epithelial Cells HEp-2 and HT-29 and in Mouse Intestinal Mucosa

Background: Campylobacter jejuni causes diarrhea worldwide; young children are most susceptible. Binding of virulent C. jejuni to the intestinal mucosa is inhibited ex vivo by α1,2-fucosylated carbohydrate moieties, including human milk oligosaccharides (HMOSs). Objective: The simplest α1,2-fucosylated HMOS structure, 2′-fucosyllactose (2′-FL), can be predominant at ≤5 g/L milk. Although 2′-FL inhibits C. jejuni binding ex vivo and in vivo, the effects of 2′FL on the cell invasion central to C. jejuni pathogenesis have not been tested. Clinical isolates of C. jejuni infect humans, birds, and ferrets, limiting studies on its mammalian pathobiology. Methods: Human epithelial cells HEp-2 and HT-29 infected with the virulent C. jejuni strain 81-176 human isolate were treated with 5 g 2′-FL/L, and the degree of infection and inflammatory response was measured. Four-week-old male wild-type C57BL/6 mice were fed antibiotics to reduce their intestinal microbiota and were inoculated with C. jejuni strain 81-176. The sensitivity of the resulting acute transient enteric infection and immune response to inhibition by 2′-FL ingestion was tested. Results: In HEp-2 and HT-29 cells, 2′-FL attenuated 80% of C. jejuni invasion (P < 0.05) and suppressed the release of mucosal proinflammatory signals of interleukin (IL) 8 by 60–70%, IL-1β by 80–90%, and the neutrophil chemoattractant macrophage inflammatory protein 2 (MIP-2) by 50% (P < 0.05). Ingestion of 2′-FL by mice reduced C. jejuni colonization by 80%, weight loss by 5%, histologic features of intestinal inflammation by 50–70%, and induction of inflammatory signaling molecules of the acute-phase mucosal immune response by 50–60% (P < 0.05). This acute model did not induce IL-17 (adaptive T cell response), a chronic response. Conclusions: In human cells in vitro (HEp-2, HT-29) and in a mouse infection model that recapitulated key pathologic features of C. jejuni clinical disease, 2′-FL inhibited pathogenesis and its sequelae. These data strongly support the hypothesis that 2′-FL represents a new class of oral agent for prevention, and potentially for treatment, of specific enteric infectious diseases.
Scene-aware joint global and local homographic video coding

Perspective motion is commonly represented in video content that is captured and compressed for various applications including cloud gaming, vehicle and aerial monitoring, etc. Existing approaches based on an eight-parameter homography motion model cannot deal with this efficiently, either due to low prediction accuracy or excessive bit rate overhead. In this paper, we consider the camera motion model and scene structure in such video content and propose a joint global and local homography motion coding approach for video with perspective motion. The camera motion is estimated by a computer vision approach, and camera intrinsic and extrinsic parameters are globally coded at the frame level. The scene is modeled as piece-wise planes, and three plane parameters are coded at the block level. Fast gradient-based approaches are employed to search for the plane parameters for each block region. In this way, improved prediction accuracy and low bit costs are achieved. Experimental results based on the HEVC test model show that up to 9.1% bit rate savings can be achieved (with equal PSNR quality) on test video content with perspective motion. Test sequences for the example applications showed a bit rate savings ranging from 3.7 to 9.1%.
The t(4;14) Is Present in Patients with Early Stage Plasma Cell Proliferative Disorders Including MGUS and Smoldering Multiple Myeloma (SMM).

Abstract Background: Clonal cytogenetic aberrations define multiple myeloma (MM) into unique subsets of the disease each one with unique clinical and biologic features, associations with laboratory and pathologic markers and presumed differential influence on disease progression. While it is widely accepted that translocations represent primordial events in the pathogenesis of MM, it is controversial whether all translocations can be associated with disease stability and non-malignant behavior (i.e. in MGUS/SMM). We have found the translocations in cases of MGUS using dual fusion, cIg enhanced, interphase FISH, while others have found this translocation at lower prevalence using single fusion interphase FISH or the RT-PCR for IgH/MMSET. We thus sought to clarify by expanding the study of the t(4;14) among patients with MGUS and SMM. Materials and methods: We studied 210 patients who had the diagnosis of MGUS and SMM and entered into the Mayo Clinic Dysproteinemia database. Patients were excluded if they had active MM, extramedullary disease or plasmacytoma. Patients with isolated lytic bone lesions could be included if they had no overt evidence of progression. All studied patients had provided written informed consent for the collection of a research bone marrow aliquot that was collected at the time of routine bone marrow procurement. All patients had cytospin slides that were studied for a t(4;14) using cIg-FISH as previously described by us and using a double fusion FISH strategy. The importance of this is that the strategy will detect unbalanced t(4;14) with loss of der(14). Results: Twenty patients (9.5%) had evidence of the chromosome translocation. Detailed demographic data was available in 19; 14 were women (74%), 13 of 19 (68%) had SMM and there was no bias for heavy chain IgA (26%). Patients with t(4;14) were slightly younger than those without the abnormality (52 vs. 61 years), had similar hemoglobin concentrations, had slightly higher concentration of the serum M spike (2.0 vs 1.75 g/dl) and had overall slightly higher bone marrow plasmacytosis (median 23% vs 10%). Patients were followed since diagnosis for a median of 33 months (range 2–162 months). Three patients progressed to active MM at 12, 12 and 26 months after original diagnosis (all three originally having indolent/SMM). Conclusion: The t(4;14) can occur in patients with MGUS and SMM and without evidence of progression to MM. The prevalence is similar to that observed in MM, albeit slightly lower (9.5% versus 14%). In most “benign” plasma cell neoplasms the translocation is associated with greater plasmacytosis and thus enriched for in the smoldering MM category. It is also likely that the t(4;14) confers a higher risk of progression to MM given; a) its enrichment in SMM, b) the slightly higher prevalence of the translocation in MM as opposed to MGUS/SMM, and c) the well documented aggressive clinical course of MM with t(4;14).
Targeting of microbe-derived metabolites to improve human health: The next frontier for drug discovery

Recent advances in metabolomic and genome mining approaches have uncovered a poorly understood metabolome that originates solely or in part from bacterial enzyme sources. Whether living on exposed surfaces or within our intestinal tract, our microbial inhabitants produce a remarkably diverse set of natural products and small molecule metabolites that can impact human health and disease. Highlighted here, the gut microbe-derived metabolite trimethylamine N-oxide has been causally linked to the development of cardiovascular diseases. Recent studies reveal drugging this pathway can inhibit atherosclerosis development in mice. Building on this example, we discuss challenges and untapped potential of targeting bacterial enzymology for improvements in human health.
Maternal milk feedings reduce sepsis, necrotizing enterocolitis and improve outcomes of premature infants.

Maternal milk feedings reduce sepsis, necrotizing enterocolitis and improve outcomes of premature infants
Staging Professional Ethics in Higher Education: a Dramaturgical Analysis of “Doing the Right Thing” in Student Affairs

Scholarship about ethics in higher education often focuses on wrongdoing: cheating, incivility, and a host of other misdeeds. We focus, instead, on ethicality as the enactment of integrity across everyday work life. This approach is particularly true in student affairs where administrators, faculty members, staff members, and students intersect multiple social and professional arenas. Continuing the analysis of data from a previous study, we examined what it means “to be ethical,” especially in relationship to institutional and professional standards. We use theatrical metaphor techniques to explore scripting, staging, performing, and interpreting. Discussion centers on the spectacle of ethics in student affairs.
The Influence of Stephen A. Ross: Reflections of an Empirical Finance Economist

This article describes the influence of Stephen A. Ross on research and practice in empirical asset pricing. Written by a doctoral student of Professor Ross, this article reviews his work on arbitrage pricing theory, the discounting of risky cash flows, option pricing, the term structure of interest rates, and the relationship between financial econometrics and portfolio analysis.
Boron Neutron Capture Enhancement in Cf-252 Brachytherapy

In this paper we address the potential of Cf-252 for neutron capture therapy in brachytherapy where capture agents are used to enhance treatment efficacy.
An Innovative Modular Approach of Teaching Cyber Security across Computing Curricula

This work in progress paper in the innovative practice category presents an innovative approach where cybersecurity concepts and methods are taught as individual modules across several existing courses in the curriculum of computer science (CS), computer information systems (CIS) and information technology (IT) courses. In almost all universities, cyber security is currently taught as an “add-on” track or concentration where students take a series of three to five courses related to cyber security in their junior and senior years after they have completed a series of required core courses [4]. Cyber security is so important that it can no longer be just a topic or a track – it is the way in which ALL software should be written. It should be taught in almost every course in a computer science curriculum because cyber security affects every major software component in any computing system. The modules are designed to be independent and loosely coupled, which enables them to be integrated into courses offering similar course content within the program, other computing related programs, or courses offered by other colleges and universities. The modules introduce students to the various concepts of cyber security from the freshman year, to ensure that fundamental programming concepts are taught from a security perspective – building a strong cyber security foundation for future courses. This innovative approach of teaching cyber security across various computing curricula will widen the pipeline to meet the demand of the nation for cyber security educated professionals.
5-HT3 Antagonist Ondansetron Increases apoE Secretion by Modulating the LXR-ABCA1 Pathway.

Apolipoprotein E (apoE) is linked to the risk for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and thus has been suggested to be an important therapeutic target. In our drug screening effort, we identified Ondansetron (OS), an FDA-approved 5-HT3 antagonist, as an apoE-modulating drug. OS at low micromolar concentrations significantly increased apoE secretion from immortalized astrocytes and primary astrocytes derived from apoE3 and apoE4-targeted replacement mice without generating cellular toxicity. Other 5-HT3 antagonists also had similar effects as OS, though their effects were milder and required higher concentrations. Antagonists for other 5-HT receptors did not increase apoE secretion. OS also increased mRNA and protein levels of the ATB-binding cassette protein A1 (ABCA1), which is involved in lipidation and secretion of apoE. Accordingly, OS increased high molecular weight apoE. Moreover, the liver X receptor (LXR) and ABCA1 antagonists blocked the OS-induced increase of apoE secretion, indicating that the LXR-ABCA1 pathway is involved in the OS-mediated facilitation of apoE secretion from astrocytes. The effects of OS on apoE and ABCA1 were also observed in human astrocytes derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) carrying the APOE e3/e3 and APOE e4/e4 genotypes. Oral administration of OS at clinically-relevant doses affected apoE levels in the liver, though the effects in the brain were not observed. Collectively, though further studies are needed to probe its effects in vivo, OS could be a potential therapeutic drug for AD by modulating poE metabolism through the LXR-ABCA1 pathway.
Asian Americans are less willing than other racial groups to participate in health research

Background Asian Americans constitute 5% of the U.S. population. Their willingness to participate in research is important to examine because it influences participation rates and the representativeness of study results. Methods A total of 17,339 community members participated from six diverse Clinical and Translational Award (CTSA) sites. Community members were asked about their willingness to volunteer for eight different types of health research, their expectation of monetary compensation for research participation, their trust in research and researchers, their preferred language to receive health information, and their socio-demographic background. We examined Asian Americans' willingness to participate in various types of health research studies and compared their perceptions with other racial/ethnic groups (i.e., Asian n = 485; African-American n = 9516; Hispanic/Latino n = 1889; Caucasian n = 4760; and other minority n = 689). Results Compared to all other racial/ethnic groups, Asian Americans were less willing to participate in all eight types of health research. However, Asian Americans reported a lower amount of fair compensation for research participation than African-Americans and Hispanics/Latinos but were as likely to trust researchers as all other racial/ethnic groups. Conclusion Asian Americans are less willing to participate in health research than other racial/ethnic groups, and this difference is not due to dissatisfaction with research compensation or lower trust in researchers. Lack of trust in research and language barriers should be addressed to improve representativeness and generalizability of all populations in research.
Differentiation of Evaluation Criteria in Design-Build and Construction Manager at Risk Procurements

AbstractThe procurement processes used in the alternative contracting methods of design-build (DB) and construction manager at risk (CMAR) are heavily focused on best-value and qualifications-based...