The Value of Discretion

[Excerpt] In Shakespeare’s Henry IV, the lazy and lecherous Sir John Falstaff is attacked during battle, falls to the ground, and feigns his death. Falstaff attempts to justify his act of cowardice by explaining: “The better part of valor is discretion, in the which better part I have sav’d my life.” By exercising his “discretion” to fake his death, Falstaff rationalizes that he is free to live to fight another day. There is little to be lauded in Falstaff’s distorted worldview. Yet, employers may find something illuminating in Falstaff’s value of “discretion.” Employers can forego paying minimum wages and overtime compensation if their employees qualify under one of many exemptions provided for under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) or its state counterparts. The most commonly invoked of these exemptions — the administrative exemption — requires that employees exercise “discretion and independent judgment” in the performance of their primary job duties

Listeria abdominal endograft infection miming pseudoaneurysm treated with in-situ aortic reconstruction: a case report

We report the case of a 72-year old man previously treated with an aortic endograft for an abdominal aortic aneurysm. After 3 years the patient developed a sepsis. Imaging and blood exams detected an endograft infection related to Listeria monocytogenes. Patients underwent endograft removal and in-situ aortic reconstruction with a cryopreserved allograft. A continuous antibacterial therapy has been established. One-month follow-up revealed the absence of clinically relevant infection with patency of the graft and absence of biochemical inflammatory markers

AVALIAÇÃO INSTITUCIONAL PARTICIPATIVA: O OLHAR A PARTIR DA REALIDADE DE UMA ESCOLA ESTADUAL EM SÃO PAULO – BRASIL

Este trabalho tem como objetivo discutir a avaliação institucional participativa no ensino fundamental, evidenciando os limites e as potencialidades de sua efetivação na prática, com ênfase na participação. Compreendemos a necessidade de democratização das escolas e buscamos destacar o processo de avaliação institucional participativa como um dos instrumentos para concretizá-la; no entanto, reconhecemos que há limites dentro da realidade escolar. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa, realizada a partir de observações em uma escola estadual paulista, denominada Gama, e da análise dos documentos encaminhados à escola sobre avaliação institucional. A qualidade educacional requer uma compreensão de avaliação formativa que, no cotidiano escolar, deve envolver a participação da comunidade.Palavras-chave: Avaliação institucional participativa. Ensino fundamental. Quali­dade educacional

Calcium Bistriflimide-Mediated Sulfur(VI)–Fluoride Exchange (SuFEx): Mechanistic Insights toward Instigating Catalysis

We report a mechanistic investigation of calcium bistriflimide-mediated sulfur(VI)–fluoride exchange (SuFEx) between sulfonyl fluorides and amines. We determine the likely pre-activation resting state─a calcium bistriflimide complex with ligated amines─thus allowing for corroborated calculation of the SuFEx activation barrier at ∼21 kcal/mol, compared to 21.5 ± 0.14 kcal/mol derived via kinetics experiments. Transition state analysis revealed: (1) a two-point calcium-substrate contact that activates the sulfur(VI) center and stabilizes the leaving fluoride and (2) a 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane additive that provides Brønsted-base activation of the nucleophilic amine. Stable Ca–F complexes upon sulfonamide formation are likely contributors to inhibited catalytic turnover, and a proof-of-principle redesign provided evidence that sulfonamide formation is feasible with 10 mol % calcium bistriflimide

A rare case of mycobacterial pseudoaneurysm of the superficial femoral artery

Extrapulmonary localization of tuberculosis accounts for about 15-20% of cases. Several cases of Mycobacterium tuberculosis with vascular involvement have been described, but only few cases for limb vessels

Mid and Far IR properties of late-type galaxies in the Coma and A1367 clusters: ISOCAM and ISOPHOT observations

We present Mid (MIR) and Far (FIR) Infrared observations of 18 spiral/irregular galaxies belonging to the Coma and A1367 clusters, carried out with the CAM and PHOT instruments on board the ISO satellite. Complementary photometry from the UV to the Near Infrared (NIR) together with Hα imaging, HI and ^(12)CO line measurements allow us to study the relationships between the IR emission and the star formation properties of these galaxies. Most of the resolved galaxies show extended MIR emission throughout their disks even where no Hα emission is present. This suggests that the Aromatic carriers can be excited by the general interstellar radiation field (ISRF), i.e. by visible photons. Only close to HII regions the UV photons are the principal sources of Aromatic carrier excitation. However, when the UV radiation field becomes intense enough these carriers can be destroyed. The average integrated 15/6.75µ_m ratio of the observed galaxies is ∼1, i.e. the typical value for the photodissociation regions (PDRs). This suggests that, despite the high star formation rate (SFR) and the very luminous HII regions of these galaxies, their integrated MIR emission is dominated by PDR-like regions rather than HII-like regions. A cold dust component with average temperature ∼22 K exists in most of the target galaxies, probably arising from big dust grains (BGs) in thermal equilibrium with the ISRF. The contribution to the BGs heating from the ionizing stars decreases with increasing wavelength. A warmer dust component whose emission dominates the spectrum between 20 and 100µ_m is likely to exist. This is probably due to both Very Small Grains (VSGs) and warm BGs emission. The dust to gas ratio of the target galaxies is comparable to that of the solar neighborhood. There is a weak trend between the dust total mass and both the atomic and molecular gas content. The MIR and FIR properties of the analyzed galaxies do not seem to be affected by the environment despite the fact that most of the targets are interacting with the Intra-Cluster-Medium

Possible additional value of 18FDG-PET in managing pancreas intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms: Preliminary results

Although some clinical and radiological features may predict malignancy presence in intraductal papillary mucinous pancreas neoplasms, preoperative diagnosis remains difficult. In this study we present 7 patients with Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasm (IPMN) studied both with 18FDG-PET and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP). A focal hypermetabolism was documented in 2 patients (the standardized uptake value in the neoplastic foci was 6.7 and 9), while absence of FDG uptake in the neoplasm area was recorded in the remaining 5 cases. Mean follow-up was 27 months (range 21–34). The final judgement was benign IPMN in 5 cases and malignant IPMN in 2. PET scan always correctly predicted the presence or absence of malignancy, while MRCP failed to detect malignancy in 3/7 cases. In conclusion, this preliminary experience suggests that 18FDG-PET may prove useful for malignancy detection in IPMN, improving differential diagnosis with benign intraductal papillary growth by functional data