Isolated oculomotor nerve palsy resulting from acute traumatic tentorial subdural hematoma

Acute subdural hematoma (SDH) resulting from head trauma is a potentially life-threatening condition that requires expedient diagnosis and intervention to ensure optimal patient outcomes. Rapidly expanding or large hematomas, elevated intracranial pressure, and associated complications of brain herniation are associated with high mortality rates and poor recovery of neurological function. However, smaller bleeds (clot thickness <10 mm) or hematomas occurring in infrequent locations, such as the tentorium cerebelli, may be difficult to recognize and patients may present with unusual or subtle signs and symptoms, including isolated cranial nerve palsies. Knowledge of neuroanatomy supported by modern neuroimaging can greatly aid in recognition and diagnosis of such lesions. In this report, we present a case of isolated oculomotor nerve palsy resulting from compressive tentorial SDH following blunt head trauma, review the literature concerning similar cases, and make recommendations regarding the diagnosis of SDH in patients presenting with isolated cranial nerve palsies

liteITD a MATLAB Graphical User Interface (GUI) program for topology design of continuum structures

Over the past few decades, topology optimization has emerged as a powerful and useful tool for the design of structures, also exploiting the ever growing computational speed and power. The design process has also been affected by computers which changed the concept of form into the concept of formation and the emergence of digital design. Topology optimization can modify existing designs, incorporate explicit features into a design and generate completely new designs. This paper will show how topology optimization can be used as a digital tool. The liteITD (lite version of Isolines Topology Design) software package will be described with the purpose of providing a tool for topology design. The liteITD program solves the topology optimization of two-dimensional continuum structures using von Mises stress isolines under single or multiple loading conditions, with different material properties in tension and compression, and multiple materials. The liteITD program is fully implemented in the MATrix LABoratory (MATLAB) software environment of MathWorks under Windows operating system. GUIDE (Graphical User Interface Development Environment) was used to create a friendly Graphical User Interface (GUI). The usage of this application is directed to students mainly (educational purposes), although also to designers and engineers with experience. The liteITD program can be downloaded and used for free from the website: http://www.upct.es/goe/software/liteITD.php

Because You’re a Student | Maya Cohen BC’10 and Nicole Dussault CC’14

What is special about a social movement driven by students? In this episode of WiGH?, Kevin Xu and Connie Chen speak with Maya Cohen and Nicole Dussault, who comment on how GlobeMed has empowered young people to put their visions of the world into action

Fermion Masses in Emergent Electroweak Symmetry Breaking

We consider the generation of fermion masses in an emergent model of electroweak symmetry breaking with composite $W,Z$ gauge bosons. A universal bulk fermion profile in a warped extra dimension is used for all fermion flavors. Electroweak symmetry is broken at the UV (or Planck) scale where boundary mass terms are added to generate the fermion flavor structure. This leads to flavor-dependent nonuniversality in the gauge couplings. The effects are suppressed for the light fermion generations but are enhanced for the top quark where the $Zt{\bar t}$ and $Wt{\bar b}$ couplings can deviate at the $10-20$ level in the minimal setup. By the AdS/CFT correspondence our model implies that electroweak symmetry is not a fundamental gauge symmetry. Instead the Standard Model with massive fermions and $W,Z$ gauge bosons is an effective chiral Lagrangian for some underlying confining strong dynamics at the TeV scale, where mass is generated without a Higgs mechanism.Comment: modified discussion in Sec 3.1, version published in JHE

Kony 2012, Social Media, and Agency | Maya Cohen BC’10 and Nicole Dussault CC’14

In this episode of WiGH?, Kevin Xu and Connie Chen speak with Maya Cohen and Nicole Dussault on Kony 2012, Social Media, and Agency. "Do social media campaigns give young people a false sense of accomplishment?" And what does agency really m

Emergent Electroweak Symmetry Breaking with Composite W, Z Bosons

We present a model of electroweak symmetry breaking in a warped extra dimension where electroweak symmetry is broken at the UV (or Planck) scale. An underlying conformal symmetry is broken at the IR (or TeV) scale generating masses for the electroweak gauge bosons without invoking a Higgs mechanism. By the AdS/CFT correspondence the W,Z bosons are identified as composite states of a strongly-coupled gauge theory, suggesting that electroweak symmetry breaking is an emergent phenomenon at the IR scale. The model satisfies electroweak precision tests with reasonable fits to the S and T parameter. In particular the T parameter is sufficiently suppressed since the model naturally admits a custodial SU(2) symmetry. The composite nature of the W,Z-bosons provide a novel possibility of unitarizing WW scattering via form factor suppression. Constraints from LEP and the Tevatron as well as discovery opportunities at the LHC are discussed for these composite electroweak gauge bosons.Comment: 39 pages, 4 figure

Prion infection impairs cholesterol metabolism in neuronal cells

Conversion of prion protein (PrPC) into a pathological isoform (PrPSc) during prion infection occurs in lipid rafts and is dependent on cholesterol. Here, we show that prion infection increases the abundance of cholesterol transporter, ATP-binding cassette transporter type A1 (ATP-binding cassette transporter type A1), but reduces cholesterol efflux from neuronal cells leading to the accumulation of cellular cholesterol. Increased abundance of ABCA1 in prion disease was confirmed in prion-infected mice. Mechanistically, conversion of PrPC to the pathological isoform led to PrPSc accumulation in rafts, displacement of ABCA1 from rafts and the cell surface, and enhanced internalization of ABCA1. These effects were abolished with reversal of prion infection or by loading cells with cholesterol. Stimulation of ABCA1 expression with liver X receptor agonist or overexpression of heterologous ABCA1 reduced the conversion of prion protein into the pathological form upon infection. These findings demonstrate a reciprocal connection between prion infection and cellular cholesterol metabolism, which plays an important role in the pathogenesis of prion infection in neuronal cells

Dkk4 and Eda Regulate Distinctive Developmental Mechanisms for Subtypes of Mouse Hair

The mouse hair coat comprises protective “primary” and thermo-regulatory “secondary” hairs. Primary hair formation is ectodysplasin (Eda) dependent, but it has been puzzling that Tabby (Eda-/y) mice still make secondary hair. We report that Dickkopf 4 (Dkk4), a Wnt antagonist, affects an auxiliary pathway for Eda-independent development of secondary hair. A Dkk4 transgene in wild-type mice had no effect on primary hair, but secondary hairs were severely malformed. Dkk4 action on secondary hair was further demonstrated when the transgene was introduced into Tabby mice: the usual secondary follicle induction was completely blocked. The Dkk4-regulated secondary hair pathway, like the Eda-dependent primary hair pathway, is further mediated by selective activation of Shh. The results thus reveal two complex molecular pathways that distinctly regulate subtype-based morphogenesis of hair follicles, and provide a resolution for the longstanding puzzle of hair formation in Tabby mice lacking Eda