cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Product Development Restructuring on Shareholder Value

This article examines the effect of product development restructuring (PDR) on shareholder value. The results are based on a sample of 165 announcements made during 2002�2011. PDR announcements are associated with an economically and statistically significant positive stock market reaction. Over a two-day period (the day of the announcement and the day preceding the announcement), the mean (median) market reaction is 1.63% (0.87%). The market reaction is generally positive regardless of the PDR purpose or action. Although the market reaction is more positive for higher R&D intensity firms, it is not directly affected by the firm's prior financial performance or whether the firm's primary PDR objective is to increase revenues or cut costs. However, the interaction between the firm's prior financial performance and its primary PDR objective is significant. For firms that are financial outperformers, the market reaction is more positive if the firm's primary PDR objective is to increase revenues. For financial underperformers, the market reaction is more positive if the firm's primary PDR objective is to cut costs.
Quantum Computing and Digital Computing

Electronic systems that contain a large number of solid-state devices must deal with the fact that there are likely to be differences between nominally identical components. Methods for manufacturing solid-state devices do not produce highly reproducible products, and solid-state devices change with age and use. Quantum computing systems propose to use the same binary digital language to represent information and describe operations. However, quantum computing is not truly digital; each qubit supplies a signal that depends on its properties rather than being obtained from some standard that is known throughout the system to which it belongs. Quantum computing hardware does not form zeros and ones in some standard way that insures that a signal will be properly interpreted in another place in the system to which it belongs. This absence of a way to produce a truly digital signal leaves quantum logic at the mercy of variability in devices.
Cosmopolitan Adult Education and Global Citizenship: Perceptions From a European Itinerant Graduate Professional Study Abroad Program

Today’s sociopolitical and economic conditions require adults to engage in informed, culturally sensitive coexistence. Correspondingly, adult educators need to design experiences that help prepare ...
Early anticoagulation is associated with reduced mortality for acute pulmonary embolism

Background Acute pulmonary embolism (PE) may be rapidly fatal if not diagnosed and treated. IV heparin reduces mortality and recurrence of PE, but the relationship between survival and timing of anticoagulation has not been extensively studied. Methods We studied 400 consecutive patients in the ED diagnosed with acute PE by CT scan angiography and treated in the hospital with IV unfractionated heparin from 2002 to 2005. Patients received heparin either in the ED or after admission. Time from ED arrival to therapeutic activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) was calculated. Outcomes included in-hospital and 30-day mortality, hospital and ICU lengths of stay, hemorrhagic events on heparin, and recurrent venous thromboembolism within 90 days. Results In-hospital and 30-day mortality rates were 3.0% and 7.7%, respectively. Patients who received heparin in the ED had lower in-hospital (1.4% vs 6.7%; P = .009) and 30-day (4.4% vs 15.3%; P Conclusions We report an association between early anticoagulation and reduced mortality for patients with acute PE. We advocate further study with regard to comorbidities to assess the usefulness of modifications to hospital protocols.
Synthesis of high-quality libraries of long (150mer) oligonucleotides by a novel depurination controlled process

We have achieved the ability to synthesize thousands of unique, long oligonucleotides (150mers) in fmol amounts using parallel synthesis of DNA on microarrays. The sequence accuracy of the oligonucleotides in such large-scale syntheses has been limited by the yields and side reactions of the DNA synthesis process used. While there has been significant demand for libraries of long oligos (150mer and more), the yields in conventional DNA synthesis and the associated side reactions have previously limited the availability of oligonucleotide pools to lengths <100 nt. Using novel array based depurination assays, we show that the depurination side reaction is the limiting factor for the synthesis of libraries of long oligonucleotides on Agilent Technologies' SurePrint DNA microarray platform. We also demonstrate how depurination can be controlled and reduced by a novel detritylation process to enable the synthesis of high quality, long (150mer) oligonucleotide libraries and we report the characterization of synthesis efficiency for such libraries. Oligonucleotide libraries prepared with this method have changed the economics and availability of several existing applications (e.g. targeted resequencing, preparation of shRNA libraries, site-directed mutagenesis), and have the potential to enable even more novel applications (e.g. high-complexity synthetic biology).
Lightweight Software Metrics: The P10 Framework

Software metrics programs must provide value. Metrics need attachment to what's important about a software project. A thorough and comprehensive way to help ensure that connectedness is the Goal Question Metric. GQM proceeds in an orderly fashion to consider goals and specific questions so that when the metrics are defined they relate directly to project goals. The P10 software metrics framework better reflects the contemporary software development environment. P10 is a simple way to help ensure that the software project metrics you use will provide answers to the important questions you face in creating on-time, high-quality software
Viewing Low-Income Fathers’ Ties to Families through a Cultural Lens: Insights for Research and Policy

Policy makers have become increasingly interested in addressing the cultural dimensions of child support, "responsible fatherhood," and marriage in poor communities. However, policy studies have primarily focused on identifying economic determinants of these issues, with a substantial amount of variation in their statistical models left unexplained. This article draws on in-depth interviews the author conducted with disadvantaged mothers and fathers to illustrate how a systematic investigation into the meaning of low-income men's ties to families may fill in or provide alternative explanations for some important questions related to paternal involvement. In particular, it suggests that analyzing fathers' relationships through a cultural lens may not only reveal new information about the meaning of their emotional involvement, informal support, care of children, and conflicts with mothers which future policy studies should consider but may also inform policy initiatives by reducing the risk that they will be misdirected or have unintended consequences for poor families.
Towards a shape model of white matter fiber bundles using diffusion tensor MRI

White matter fiber bundles of the human brain form a spatial pattern defined by the anatomical and functional architecture. Human brain atlases provide names for individual tracts and document that these patterns are comparable across subjects. Tractography applied to the tensor field in diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) results in sets of streamlines which can be associated with major fiber tracts. Comparison of fiber tract properties across subjects requires comparison at corresponding anatomical locations. As an alternative to linear and nonlinear registration of DTI images and voxel-based analysis, we propose a novel methodology that models the shape of white matter tracts. A clustering uses similarity of adjacent curves and an iterative processing scheme to group sets of curves to bundles and to reject outliers. Unlike previous work which models fiber tracts as sets of curves centered around a spine, we extend the notion of bundling towards a more general representation of manifolds. We describe tracts, represented as sets of curves of similar shape, by a shape prototype swept along a space trajectory. This approach can naturally describe white matter structures observed either as bundles dispersing towards the cortex or tracts defined as dense patterns of parallel fibers forming manifolds. Curves are parameterized by arc-length and represented by intrinsic local shape properties (curvature and torsion). Feasibility is demonstrated by modeling the left and right cortico-spinal tracts and a part of the transversal callosal tract.
Effect of relative solubility on amino acid crystal purity

The ratio of the pure-component solubility of a primary solute to that of an impurity in the same solvent has a dramatic impact on crystal purity when lattice substitution is the dominant mechanism of impurity incorporation in the crystal. This is demonstrated for a model system of isoleucine and leucine in which leucine is the impurity. The pure-component solubility ratios of isoleucine to leucine in mixed solvents were measured and used to select solvents that could affect the lattice substitution of leucine in isoleucine crystals. Addition of electrolytes and/or cosolvents to aqueous solutions of the two amino acids improved the purity of isoleucine crystals obtained by cooling.
Neither With Them, Nor Without Them: The Russian Writer and the Jew in the Age of Realism

Debate over the representation of Jews in Russian literature has long been dominated by the dichotomy of anti- and philo-Semitic discourses. Rather than analyzing "the image of the Jew" in terms of negative or positive characteristics, and branding the authors respectively as anti- or philo-Semitic, Elena M. Katz explores the complex and the ambiguous construction of Jewishness as "Otherness" in the works of three of Russia's greatest nineteenth-century authors. Katz identifies Gogol, Dostoevsky, and Turgenev as creators of special modes of Jewish discourse in Russian literature. She tackles traditional tropes of Jews in light of the sociohistoric and cultural contexts of the time and of the writers' own politics and aesthetics.
Novel therapies for the management of short bowel syndrome in children

Short bowel syndrome (SBS) is the most common cause of intestinal failure in children. It is defined as the inability to maintain adequate nutrition enterally as a result of a major loss of the small intestine. SBS is a life-threatening entity associated with potential significant morbidity and mortality. The etiology in the pediatric age group includes necrotizing enterocolitis (32 %), atresia (20 %), volvulus (18 %), gastroschisis (17 %), and aganglionosis (6 %). It is characterized by substrate malabsorption, electrolyte imbalance, intestinal bacterial overgrowth, steatorrhea, and weight loss. Current medical management includes parenteral nutrition, progressive feeds as tolerated, various medications, and surgical manipulations. However, frequently this management is not successful in achieving the goal of attaining normal growth and development without parenteral nutrition. It has been known for decades that there is a normal physiologic response of the residual intestine to massive bowel resection referred to as intestinal adaptation. The mechanisms that control this process are unknown. Unfortunately, intestinal adaptation and the current management are not always successful. As a result of new knowledge regarding the pathophysiology of SBS over the past two decades, several novel strategies have been developed in experimental animal models as well as limited clinical trials in infants and children. They can be divided into several categories that potentially influence intestinal (1) absorption, (2) secretion, (3) motility, and (4) adaptation. More recently, newer modalities have been studied including small intestine transplantation, and the use of specific intestinal growth factors. Ultimately, tissue and organ engineering will become the treatment for infants and children with SBS.
Methane chemical ionization of pesticides by ion-trap technology: Spectral characteristics and data precision

Examination of the methane chemical ionization (CI) spectra produced in an ion trap under automatic reaction control has revealed a strong concentration dependence phenomenon even at trace levels (ppm). The spectra produced during the elution profile of various pesticides via capillary gas-chromatographic introduction have indicated a large percentage of an electron ionization (EI) spectral component superimposed on the CI spectrum. This duplicity of spectral character can be an important asset for confirmation of presence and it does not present a problem of obtaining acceptable precision and accuracy on quantification of pesticide residues. Identification of residues using the standard spectral library databased derived from other sources might require careful scrutiny before acceptance.
Lower Extremity Disorders in Children and Adolescents

1. Brian G. Smith, MD* 1. *Associate Professor, Department of Orthopaedics, Yale University, New Haven, CT After completing this article, readers should be able to: 1. Recognize and distinguish congenital clubfoot from metatarsus adductus. 2. Understand treatments and approaches to pes planovalgus or flatfoot. 3. Describe the natural history of torsional lower extremity deformities in children. 4. Discuss the differential diagnosis of idiopathic toe walking in children. Congenital talipes equinovarus or clubfoot is one of the oldest known congenital deformities, and its diagnosis and treatment date back to the time of Hippocrates. With a personal experience of clubfoot treatment over the past 50 years, Ignacio Ponseti from the University of Iowa has maintained that careful serial manipulation and casting followed by a percutaneous heel cord release yields better outcomes than the more extensive posteromedial release performed commonly in the past 2 decades. ### Epidemiology Clubfoot occurs in about 1 in 1,000 live births and is more common in certain races or ethnic groups. For example, among South Pacific natives, the incidence of clubfoot is 7 per 1,000. Involvement is bilateral in about 50% of patients, and there is a male predominance of 2:1. ### Pathogenesis The precise pathogenesis of congenital clubfoot remains unclear. This complex disorder possibly involves genetic, neurologic, muscular, and intrauterine compression influences. A genetic predisposition exists, but a specific genetic cause has not been identified at this time. ### Physical Findings and Presentation Clubfoot may be identified by prenatal ultrasonography as early as 12 weeks of gestational age. Definitive diagnosis is by clinical examination after birth and is characterized by the four components of clubfoot: equinus positioning, cavus positioning, metatarsus adductus, and hindfoot varus (Fig. 1). Figure 1. Congenital club foot, demonstrating equinus (A) and cavus positioning (B), metatarsus adductus (C), and hindfoot varus (D). On physical examination, the foot is resistant to passive correction of the fixed hindfoot varus and typically maintains a rigid equinus position. The hindfoot involvement separates clubfoot from metatarsus adductus. Also in …
Cytogenetics, donor type, and use of hypomethylating agents in myelodysplastic syndrome with allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

Abstract We investigated the impact of patient and disease characteristics, including cytogenetics, previous therapy, and depth of response, on the outcome of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). We analyzed 256 MDS patients who underwent transplantation from a matched related (n = 133) or matched unrelated (n = 123) donor after 2001. Of the 256, 78 (30.5%) did not receive cytoreductive therapy before HSCT; 40 (15.6%) received chemotherapy, 122 (47.7%) received hypomethylating agents (HMA), and 16 (6.2%) received both (chemo+HMA). Disease status at HSCT defined by International Working Criteria was complete remission in 46 (18%) patients. There were significant differences between therapy groups: there were more therapy-related MDS and higher use of matched related donor in the untreated group. The chemotherapy group had higher serum ferritin levels at HSCT. Patients were older and had more high-risk disease by revised International Prognostic Scoring in the HMA group. Despite those differences, transplantation outcomes were similar in patients who were untreated and who received cytoreductive therapy before HSCT. Three-year event-free survival (EFS) was 44.2%, 30.6%, 34.2%, and 32.8% for untreated, chemotherapy, HMA, and chemo+HMA groups, respectively (P = .50). Multivariate analyses revealed that older age (hazard ratio [HR], 1.3; P = .001); high-risk histologic subtypes, including refractory anemia with excess blasts (HR, 1.5; P = .05) and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (HR, 2.1; P = .03), high-risk cytogenetics with monosomal karyotype (MK) (HR, 4.0; P
Many-body correlation effects in the ultrafast non-linear optical response of confined Fermi seas

Abstract The dynamics of electrons interacting with ultrashort optical pulses in semiconductor and metal nanostructures (quantum wells, dots, and wires, nanoparticles, surfaces, interfaces, etc.) presents an important problem in physics, surface photochemistry, and ultrafast device applications. The currently available laser pulses, as short as a few femtoseconds, provide a time resolution shorter than the dephasing and relaxation times in many materials. This allows for a systematic study of many-body effects using non-linear optical spectroscopy. Such studies provide useful information on how to optically manipulate the non-linear spectra on subpicosecond time scales where ultrafast devices operate. In this review article, we discuss the role of the interplay between Coulomb correlations and low-dimensional confinement in the ultrafast charge and spin dynamics in doped quantum wells and metal nanoparticles. We focus in particular on non-Markovian memory effects induced by strong electron–hole, electron–plasmon, and spin correlations during femtosecond time scales.
Oral lichen planus

A 72-year-old woman presented with a six-month history of a painful burning sensation in her mouth. Examination revealed lesions on the buccal mucosa and the lateral surface of her tongue ([Figure 1][1]). A biopsy of the buccal mucosa revealed histopathologic features consistent with oral lichen
Consociation and Federation: Conceptual and Empirical Links

Des liens conceptuels et empiriques entre « consociation » et federation« Consociationalisme » et federalisme sont etroitement lies conceptuellement et empiriquement. Une societe pluraliste « consociationaliste » est egalement une federation (1) s'il y a concentration geographique des « segments » de la population, (2) si les frontieres des Etats membres recouvrent celles des « segments » et (3) si l'on retrouve les principes du federalisme, le partage des pouvoirs, le bicamerisme et la sur-representation de la minorite. La theorie du federalisme rassemble tous les principes de base du « consociationalisme », au moins d'une maniere embryonnaire surtout si l'on definit le federalisme d'une facon comprehensive qui englobe le federalisme non-territorial ou le federalisme « corporatiste ». Une federation est egalement une « consociation » (1) si elle est democratique, (2) si elle est pluraliste, (3) si on y retrouve les principes de la « grande coalition », du « veto » et de la « proportionnalite », (4) si elle est decentralisee, (5) si elle est asymetrique et (6) si elle renferme des Etats relativement nombreux et relativement petits. Il y a neuf modeles empiriques de federalisme et de « consociationalisme »: (1) les federations « consociationales », (2) les federations « non-consociationales », (3) les « consociations » non-federales, (4) les federations « semi-consociationales », (5) les « consociations » semi-federales, (6) les « semi-consociations » unitaires, (7) les « consociations » qui ne sont pas des federations « non-consociationales », (8) les « consociations » semi-federales a l'egard d'un clivage et unitaires a l'egard d'un autre et (9) les « consociations » qui combinent le federalisme territorial et « corporatiste ».
Trace Eyeblink Conditioning in Rabbits Demonstrates Heterogeneity of Learning Ability Both Between and Within Age Groups

Rabbits 2 to 41 months of age were conditioned in the 500 ms trace eyeblink paradigm to cross-sectionally define the age of onset and the severity of age-associated impairments in acquisition of this relatively difficult hippocampally dependent task. Using a strict behavioral criterion of 80% conditioned responses (CRs), age-associated learning impairments were significant by 24 months of age. Among rabbits that successfully reached this criterion, impairments in acquisition plateaued at 30 months of age. However, the proportion of severely impaired rabbits (that failed to reach the 80% criterion) continued to increase age dependently. Using an easier criterion of 8 out of 10 CRs, behavioral impairments were not detected until 30 months of age, and cases of severe impairment (failure to reach criterion) were rare. Additional controls demonstrated that the deficits observed were not attributable to nonassociative changes that might have artifactually skewed the data. Even severely impaired 36-month-old rabbits were able to reach a criterion of 80% CRs when switched from a trace to a delay conditioning task that is not hippocampally dependent. The results are discussed in terms of operationally defining and predicting behavioral effects of aging, hypothetical neural mechanisms, and efficient experimental design.
A collaboration-oriented software architecture modeling system $JArchiDesigner

A critical issue for complex component-based systems design is the modeling and analysis of architecture. Architectural specifications of software systems show them as a collection of interrelated components, and constitute what has been called the software architecture level of software design. However, since most of software architecture modeling tools, such as rational software architecture (RSA), run as stand-alone programs, there are still some inconveniency and incapability in fields of team designing and data management. The JArchiDesigner System was designed as efficient, secure, and manageable networking JArchiDesigner system to support collaborative design process. With the JArchiDesigner System, multiple users are able to concurrently access and manipulate the same software architecture information stored in a server machine. This paper discusses the software architecture design and implementation of JArchiDesigner System.
Psychiatry's Turbid Solution

Psychiatry?s generic concept of disorder has long served an important legitimizing function for the broad array of conditions for which individuals seek mental health treatment, regardless of their presumed causes. Wakefield?s proposal to restrict the mental disorder concept to only a subset of these conditions has given rise to concerns about the uncertain consequences of classifying others as non-disorders. In Bergner?s recent counterproposal, this concern is masked in the form of a conspicuously overinclusive definition of mental disorder. Bergner?s resistance to Wakefield?s classification objective underscores an important, unmet, and often unacknowledged need within the clinical treatment community. The challenge ahead lies in finding ways to address this need without compromising the integrity of efforts to develop a more coherent concept of mental disorder.
PAM: a novel performance/power aware meta-scheduler for multi-core systems

Sharing resources such as caches and main memory bandwidth in multi-core systems requires a more sophisticated scheduling scheme. PAM is a low-overhead, user-level meta-scheduler which does not require any hardware or software changes. In particular, it operates by detecting resource congestions and providing guidelines to the standard system scheduler by limiting the assignment of processes to subsets of available cores. PAM contains a cache model that it uses to predict the impact of new schedules. PAM can be used to improve the system along three dimensions: performance, power, and energy consumption (and any combination of these three). On our prototype, we show individual benchmarks can improve by up to 33% and the overall system performance can be improved by as much as 14%.
Analysis of a Surface Front during the Early Summer Rainy Season over Taiwan

Abstract A case study of a relatively dry front during TAMEX IOP-4 is presented. At 0000 UTC 27 May, the broad cloud band extended from the China plain and southern Japan to east of 150°E, along and north of the surface front. This front possessed appreciable baroclinity. As the midtropospheric trough moved eastward, the surface front advanced southeastward and eventually separated from the quasi-stationary cloud band. The depth of the cold air decreased as it penetrated to the subtropics. In the vicinity of Taiwan, the frontal surface was shallow with a depth ≈ 1 km. The convection occurred in two different regimes; the large-scale cloud band associated with the eastward-moving trough, and cumuli along the surface front. As the surface front approached Taiwan, the southwest flow started to increase, and a mesolow formed over the southeastern coast due to the interaction between the southwest flow and the mountainous topography. The air moved over the mountains and descended adiabatically. During the fron...
MRSL: Autonomous Neural Network-Based 3-D Positioning System

Stabilizing and localizing the positioning systems autonomously in the areas without GPS accessibility is a difficult task. In this paper we describe a methodology called Most Reliable Straight Line (MRSL) for stabilizing and positioning camera-based objects in 3-D space. The camera-captured images are used to identify easy-to-track points "interesting points" and track them on two consecutive images. The distance between each of interesting points on the two consecutive images are compared and one with the maximum length is assigned to MRSL, which is used to indicate the deviation from the original position. To correct this our trained algorithm is deployed to reduce the deviation by issuing relevant commands, this action is repeated until MRSL converges to zero. To test the accuracy and robustness, the algorithm was deployed to control positioning of a Quadcopter. It was demonstrated that the Quadcopter (a) was highly robust to any external forces, (b) can fly even if the Quadcopter experiences loss of engine, (c) can fly smoothly and positions itself on a desired location.
Deodorization of Exhaust Gas in Kraft Pulping (Part 2)

Adsorption capacities and absorption capacities for malodorous components were estimated at 20 and 29°C. Adsorption capacity of activated carbon for methyl merccaptan was larger than that for dimethyl sulfide. For the hydrogen sulfide, activated carbon acted not only as a adsorbent but also as a catalyst, and so adsorption capacity of activated carbon for hydrogen sulfide was larger than that for formers. When mixture of dimethyl sulfide and methyl mercaptan was adsorbed on activated carbon, the total adsorption capacity of activated carbon was medium capacity between those for individual components. Because real kraft pulp blow gas is mixture of methyl mercaptan, dimethyl sulfide and others, adsorption of activated carbon for one was the mixture adsorption, and the adsorption capacity was 30 to 40%. Absorption capacity of poly-vinyl chloride for dimethyl sulfide was moderately large, but dimethyl sulfide in air was absorbed partially by poly-vinyl chloride. Absorption reaction of ferric oxide for hydrogen sulfide makes water a reaction product, therefore exact measurement of absorption is difficult. It was found that under pyrolysis gas chromatograph of activated carbon, which adsorbed methyl mercaptan, methyl mercaptan decomposed into hydrogen sulfide at 570 to 790°C.
Study of Molybdenum-Alusil Interdiffusion Kinetics and Contact Resistance for VLSI Applications

Interdiffusion barrier characteristics of molybdenum thin films with Alusil(Al-1% Si) is studied between 733 and 763 K via sheet and contact resistance measurements, Rutherford backseattering spectrometry, secondary ion mass spectroscopy, and x-ray diffraction analysis. The results indicate that thermal annealing of Mo/Alusil thin film couples leads to MoAl compound formation initially as a nonplanar front, but extensive annealing results in complete transformation of Alusil to MoAl12 and a significant increase in contact resistance. The interdiffusion kinetics is studied and implications of these observations to VLSI device characteristics is discussed. Based on these results a safe time-temperature processing regime is proposed.
Detoxification of Bacterial Endotoxin with Retention of Ability to Stimulate Non-Specific Resistance to Infection

SummaryThe dissociation of biological properties of bacterial endotoxin by chemical modification is described. A fraction isolated after acetylation of endotoxin exhibits grossly reduced pyrogenicity and acute toxicity but retains the original potency in stimulating non-specific host resistance to infection.
Study of nanostructural organization of ionic liquids by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy.

The X-band electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (EPR) of a stable, spherical nitroxide spin probe, perdeuterated 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-oxopiperidine-1-oxyl (pDTO) has been used to study the nanostructural organization of a series of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ionic liquids (ILs) with alkyl chain lengths from two to eight carbons. By employing nonlinear least-squares fitting of the EPR spectra, we have obtained values of the rotational correlation time and hyperfine coupling splitting of pDTO to high precision. The rotational correlation time of pDTO in ILs and squalane, a viscous alkane, can be fit very well to a power law functionality with a singular temperature, which often describes a number of physical quantities measured in supercooled liquids. The viscosity of the ILs and squalane, taken from the literature, can also be fit to the same power law expression, which means that the rotational correlation times and the ionic liquid viscosities have similar functional dependenc...
Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures: Diagnosis, Management, and Bioethics

Abstract Background The diagnosis and management of psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) is often challenging and fraught with discord and disagreement between patients, parents, and physicians. Furthermore, there are ethical challenges when making the diagnosis, communicating this information, and instituting management. Methods We reviewed the current body of knowledge regarding the characteristic differences between epileptic seizures and PNES, and the high incidence of psychiatric comorbidities. An ethical analysis was made of diagnosis and management based on ethical principles, virtue ethics, and the social contract that health professionals have with patients. Results Key distinctions between PNES and epilepsy lie in both patient and seizure characteristics. Long duration, eye closure, asynchronous movements, frequent recurrence in the same context, intra-ictal awareness, and lack of post ictal state are useful in helping establish the diagnosis. Psychiatric comorbidities, history of abuse, cognitive impairment, and multiple non specific somatic complaints are some salient patient features that should increase suspicion for the diagnosis of PNES. However, definitive diagnosis rests on capturing the events on video EEG. Conclusion Effective diagnosis and management of PNES requires the use of video EEG and an early collaborative approach between pediatricians, neurologists, psychiatrists, nursing staff, and other professional colleagues. Ethical questions that may arise should be addressed with the virtues of competence, courage, compassion, prudence, and honesty; and the principles of respect beneficence, and the avoidance of unnecessary harm.
So What “Should” We Use? Evaluating the Impact of Five Racial Measures on Markers of Social Inequality:

In recent years, researchers have increasingly noted the malleability of racial boundaries across time, context, and life course. Although this research has advanced our knowledge of the maintenanc...
Drug interference with the Schack and Waxler Plasma theophylline assay

Drug-induced modification of the spectrophotometric theophylline plasma measurement was investigated in vitro using 14 drugs which coextract with theophylline and absorb ultraviolet light in the same wavelength region. Plasma samples spiked with 15 microng/ml theophylline and other potentially interfering drugs in therapeutic concentrations were analyzed according to the Schack and Waxler procedure. The absorbance of the alkalinized aqueous layer was read on a scanning spectrophotometer at 275 and 310 nm. Allopurinol, caffeine, phenobarbital, ampicillin and phenytoin did not appear to interfere with the measurement of theophylline. In contrast, furosemide, sulfathiazole, phenylbutazone, probenecid and theobromine produced potentially clinically significant false positive elevations of the theophylline plasma concentration. Warfarin, bishydroxycoumarin and salicylic acid produced an underestimation in the theophylline plasma concentration. The Schack and Waxler sectrophotometric method of measuring theophylline plasma concentration should be used with caution when patients are taking drugs which are weak acids which absorb in the 250-350 nm range.
Radical Prostatectomy for High Grade Disease: A Reevaluation 1994

AbstractTraditionally, patients with high grade tumors (Gleason score 8 to 10) were not considered candidates for radical prostatectomy because of poor long-term survival rate. However, with improvements in the staging of prostate cancer and a reduction in the morbidity of radical prostatectomy, it is reasonable to reevaluate the results of radical prostatectomy in high grade disease in a contemporary setting. We studied the clinical outcome of 72 men with Gleason scores 8 to 10 on needle biopsy who presented with clinically localized disease (T1c [9], T2a [22], T2b [17], T2c [13] and T3a [11]). Nine patients (13%) did not undergo radical prostatectomy because of positive lymph nodes identified on frozen section. Of the 63 men who underwent radical prostatectomy 43 (68%) had negative lymph nodes and 20 (32%) had positive lymph nodes. The actuarial likelihood of having an undetectable serum prostate specific antigen at 5 years was 43% for men with negative lymph nodes and 45% for men with specimen confined...
Four Challenges of Sustainability (2006)

T he concept of sustainability first came to public notice in Wes Jackson’s work on agriculture in the late 1970s (Jackson 1980), Lester Brown’s Building a Sustainable Society (Brown 1980), and The World Conservation Strategy (Allen 1980). The Brundtland Commission made it a central feature of its 1987 report, defining it as meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to do the same (World Commission on Environment and Development 1987). Their definition confused sustainable growth, an oxymoron, and sustainable development, a possibility. Ambiguities notwithstanding, the concept of sustainability has become the keystone of the global dialogue about the human future. But what exactly do we intend to sustain, and what will that require of us?
Enhanced variational approach by Fast-Marching to recover a 3D shape from shading

Although variational approaches are popular techniques in the Shape from shading field, they have in general many inconvenients. They necessitate the computation of the surface gradient, they have to determine the 3D surface and also they need several constraints to enforce the integrability and the smoothness of the solution. The convergence is very slow due to the big number of the possible solutions values for each pixel. There are also the propagation methods that use several pixels at the same time like the Fast-Marching. Generally, these methods need some known points such as the local maximums or boundary conditions. This paper demonstrates how a minimization approach can be used to determine directly the local maximum and compute the 3D object using the Fast-marching method with only the smoothness constraint. The idea is to search local maximum points that minimize an energy function. The energy function uses only the smoothness constraint since the inerrability of the surface is guaranteed by the Fast-Marching method which determines the depth around the local maximum points. We show that the new shape from shading method leads to determine the 3D surface.
Laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy for adenocarcinoma provides short-term oncologic outcomes and long-term overall survival rates similar to those for open pancreaticoduodenectomy

Abstract Background The long-term efficacy of laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy (LPD) relative to open pancreaticoduodenectomy (OPD) for pancreatic adenocarcinoma has not been well studied. Methods The National Cancer Data Base was used to compare patients undergoing LPD and OPD for stage I-II pancreatic adenocarcinoma between 2010 and 2013. Results 828 (10%) patients underwent LPD and 7385 (90%) OPD. There were no differences in tumor or demographic characteristics between groups. On multivariable analysis adjusted for hospital volume, LPD was associated with a lower rate of readmission (p Conclusions For patients with localized pancreatic adenocarcinoma, LPD provides short-term oncologic and long-term overall survival outcomes identical to OPD and is associated with decreased rates of readmission and a trend towards accelerated recovery.
Epigenetic modification in chromatin machinery and its deregulation in pediatric brain tumors: Insight into epigenetic therapies

Malignancies are characterized by the reprogramming of epigenetic patterns. This reprogramming includes gains or losses in DNA methylation and disruption of normal patterns of covalent histone modifications, which are associated with changes in chromatin remodeling processes. This review will focus on the mechanisms underlying this reprogramming and, specifically, on the role of histone modification in chromatin machinery and the modifications in epigenetic processes occurring in brain cancer, with a specific focus on epigenetic therapies for pediatric brain tumors.
Closed-loop model: An optimization of integrated thin-film magnetic devices

Abstract A generic analytical model has been developed to fully describe the flux closure through magnetic inductors. The model was applied to multiple device topologies including solenoidal single return path and dual return path inductors as well as spiral magnetic inductors for a variety of permeabilities and dimensions. The calculated inductance values from the analytical model were compared with simulated results for each of the analyzed device topologies and found to agree within 0.1 nH for the range of typical thin-film magnetic permeabilities (∼102 to 103). Furthermore, the model can be used to evaluate behavior in other integrated or discrete magnetic devices with either non-isotropic or isotropic permeability and used to produce more efficient device designs in the future.
Protocol to Determine Mitotic Index by FACS

[Abstract] Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) is a sensitive method to count mitotic cells. Cells are stained with an antibody that recognizes an antigen present only in mitotic cells, combined with propidium iodide (PI) to stain DNA. Two-dimensional FACS scanning allows the differential quantitation of G2 and mitotic cells. Several antibodies to different mitotic markers have been used in the community, including antibodies to MPM-2 antigens present in mitotic cells. MPM-2 recognizes a phosphorylated epitope (LTPLK or YWFSPL) 6, 7 in a distinct class of phosphoproteins including MAP2, HSP70, cdc25, and DNA topoisomerase IIα, most of which are phosphorylated at the onset of mitosis. The commercial availability and specificity of antibodies to histone H3 phosphorylated at threonine 11, which is present only in mitotic cells, has also been widely used to detect mitosis cells.
Breaking up global value chains: Evidence from the global oil and gas industry

This chapter examines the oil and gas industry and the efficacy of vertical integration strategies. Using multiple theoretical lenses ranging from the resource-based view, transactions costs, and parenting perspective, the chapter considers different arguments associated with vertical integration. The 2011 breakup of ConocoPhillips and its global value chain helps address the question of which strategy is best – integrated or nonintegrated. We provide several conclusions about the structure of integration and value chains within the oil and gas industry. First, vertical integration based on the physical transfer of products between value chain activities will generate little firm advantage in the form of classical integration benefits, such as control over input quality or speed to market. Second, competing across the industry value chain as a hedge or strategy against industry cyclicality is not theoretically defensible. Third, pure play industry specialists can create value through management focus, agility, and, transparency for investors. Fourth, firms that compete across a wide range of industry value chain activities can create value-adding corporate strategies if they are able to leverage knowledge and assets across different industry sectors.
Oxygen Administration Improves Survival but Worsens Cardiopulmonary Functions in Chlorine-exposed Rats.

Chlorine is a highly reactive gas that can cause significant injury when inhaled. Unfortunately, its use as a chemical weapon has increased in recent years. Massive chlorine inhalation can cause death within 4 hours of exposure. Survivors usually require hospitalization after massive exposure. No countermeasures are available for massive chlorine exposure and supportive-care measures lack controlled trials. In this work, adult rats were exposed to chlorine gas (LD58-67) in a whole-body exposure chamber, and given oxygen (0.8 FiO2) or air (0.21 FiO2) for 6 hours after baseline measurements were obtained. Oxygen saturation, vital signs, respiratory distress and neuromuscular scores, arterial blood gases, and hemodynamic measurements were obtained hourly. Massive chlorine inhalation caused severe acute respiratory failure, hypoxemia, decreased cardiac output, neuromuscular abnormalities (ataxia and hypotonia), and seizures resulting in early death. Oxygen improved survival to 6 hours (87% versus 42%) and prevented observed seizure-related deaths. However, oxygen administration worsened the severity of acute respiratory failure in chlorine-exposed rats compared with controls, with increased respiratory acidosis (pH 6.91 ± 0.04 versus 7.06 ± 0.01 at 2 h) and increased hypercapnia (180.0 ± 19.8 versus 103.2 ± 3.9 mm Hg at 2 h). In addition, oxygen did not improve neuromuscular abnormalities, cardiac output, or respiratory distress associated with chlorine exposure. Massive chlorine inhalation causes severe acute respiratory failure and multiorgan damage. Oxygen administration can improve short-term survival but appears to worsen respiratory failure, with no improvement in cardiac output or neuromuscular dysfunction. Oxygen should be used with caution after massive chlorine inhalation, and the need for early assisted ventilation should be assessed in victims.
The COPD exacerbation experience: A qualitative descriptive study.

• The paper demonstrates that Individuals with COPD experience and recognize an illness prodrome prior to COPD exacerbation that is qualitatively and quantitatively different than their day-to-day symptoms,
Public support for intergenerational oocyte donation in the United States.

Objective To determine whether the general public supports intergenerational oocyte donation. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Not applicable. Patient(s) A nationally representative sample based on age distribution of United States residents. Interventions(s) Not applicable. Main Outcome Measure(s) Characteristics of respondents who supported (strongly agree and agree) various oocyte donation practices were compared with participants who did not support them (disagree and strongly disagree) using log binomial regression to calculate risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals of support (95% CIs). Models were adjusted for age, gender, and religion to yield adjusted risk ratios (aRR). Result(s) A total of 1,915 people responded to the Web-based survey; 53% were female, and 24% were racial/ethnic minorities. Eighty-five percent had prior knowledge of oocyte donation, and 74% felt that a woman should be able to donate oocytes to a family member. The desire to help a family member was the most commonly perceived motivation for donors (79%). Christian–Catholics compared with Christian–non-Catholics (aRR 0.91, 95% CI 0.86–0.98), African Americans compared with non-Hispanic Caucasians (aRR 0.86, 95% CI 0.76–0.97), and Republicans compared with Democrats (RR 0.93, 95% CI 0.88–0.98) were less likely to support intergenerational oocyte donation. Respondents with three or more biological children (RR 1.06, 95% CI 1.00–1.11) compared with those with no children were less likely to support this practice. Eight percent of participants disapproved of donation to any family member. The most common reason for disapproval was the potential negative impact on the child (53%). Conclusion(s) A majority of Americans support the practice of intergenerational oocyte donation; however, support varies according to demographic characteristics.
The Gamma–Kumaraswamy distribution: An alternative to Gamma distribution

ABSTRACTIn this article, a new generalization of the Kumaraswamy distribution, namely the Gamma–Kumaraswamy distribution, is defined and studied. Various properties of the Gamma–Kumaraswamy are obtained. The structural analysis of the distribution in this article includes limiting behavior, mode, quantiles, moments, skewness, kurtosis, Shannon’s entropy, and order statistics. The method of maximum likelihood estimation is proposed for estimating the model parameters. For illustrative purposes, two real datasets are analyzed as application of the Gamma–Kumaraswamy distribution.
In a stroke cohort with incident hypertension; are more women than men likely to be excluded from recombinant tissue-type Plasminogen Activator (rtPA)?

Abstract Background The treatment outcomes in the use of rt-PA have been reported. Some studies reported worse outcome in women than men, while others presented opposing data. Using data from a hospital-based stroke registry, we investigated evidence of gender difference and determined exclusion criteria in a stroke population with incidence of hypertension. Method In a stroke population of women and men with incident of hypertension from a stroke registry, demographics and clinical factors were compared. Univariate analysis was used to determine gender differences, while multivariable models adjusted for demographic and clinical variables. Results Among the 669 stroke patients with incident of hypertension that were excluded from rt-PA treatment, 362 were female and 307 were male. Female patients with increasing age (OR = 0.956–0.984, P Conclusion Women have a worse outcome than men in an untreated acute ischemic stroke population, but when treated, women have a better treatment outcome compared to men. In a hypertensive stroke population, the clinical variables for the exclusion criteria for women and men are significantly different, even after adjustment for confounding variables.