Topological Conformal Dimension

We investigate a quasisymmetrically invariant counterpart of the topological Hausdorff dimension of a metric space. This invariant, called the topological conformal dimension, gives a lower bound on the topological Hausdorff dimension of quasisymmetric images of the space. We obtain results concerning the behavior of this quantity under products and unions, and compute it for some classical fractals. The range of possible values of the topological conformal dimension is also considered, and we show that this quantity can be fractional.Comment: 16 pages, revised after referee's reports. To appear in Conformal Geometry and Dynamic

The Virtues of Abstention: Separation of Powers in Al-Nashiri II

(Excerpt) Part I examines various scholarly approaches to judicial deference, then considers deference in the context of military commissions. In Part II, the history of military commissions in the United States is examined, paying particular attention to the extended dialogue among the coordinate federal branches that created the system currently in operation. The decision in Al-Nashiri II not to adjudicate a collateral attack on one of these commissions is the focus of Part III. That Part embraces the underlying jurisdictional challenge at stake in Al-Nashiri II, the development of abstention doctrine generally and as applied to the current commissions, as well as the role judicial deference played in the panel’s decision. Finally, in Part IV, this Note argues that the path of abstention had many virtues in this case and as a rule of law, because it furthered sound separation of powers principles by respecting the considered judgments of Congress and successive Presidents. Part IV first categorizes the type of deference the panel engaged in by abstaining. Next, it considers the effect the decision will have on future collateral attacks on commission proceedings, as federal courts will now review military commission final judgments, just as Congress and the President intended, rather than intervening indiscriminately. This Note argues that this effect will, in turn, preserve the commission system created by Congress—the branch best suited to weigh the intricate national security considerations involved in prosecuting and bringing to justice those who, in their attempt to thwart our military effort, violate the laws of war

Zygmund graphs are thin for doubling measures

The Zygmund functions form an intermediate class between Lipschitz and H\"older functions; their second order divided differences are uniformly bounded. It is well known that for $d \geq 1$ the graph of any Lipschitz function $f:\R^d \rightarrow \R$ is thin for doubling measures, and we extend this result to the Zygmund class

Christian Legal Thought

(Excerpt) On January 26, 2018, the Journal of Catholic Legal Studies proudly hosted a conference on Christian Legal Thought: Materials and Cases a first-of-its-kind casebook authored by Patrick M. Brennan and William S. Brewbaker. Held in Manhattan at the New York Athletic Club, the conference brought together scholars from law schools across the country to discuss the casebook’s impact, as well as the role Christian legal thought might play in the contemporary law school curriculum

Weak decay processes in pre-supernova core evolution within the gross theory

The beta decay and electron capture rates are of fundamental importance in the evolution of massive stars in a pre-supernova core. The beta decay process gives its contribution by emitting electrons in the plasma of the stellar core, thereby increasing pressure, which in turn increases the temperature. From the other side, the electron capture removes free electrons from the plasma of the star core contributing to the reduction of pressure and temperature. In this work we calculate the beta decay and electron capture rates in stellar conditions for 63 nuclei of relevance in the pre-supernova stage, employing Gross Theory as the nuclear model. We use the abundances calculated with the Saha equations in the hypothesis of nuclear statistical equilibrium to evaluate the time derivative of the fraction of electrons. Our results are compared with other evaluations available in the literature. They have shown to be one order less or equal than the calculated within other models. Our results indicate that these differences may influence the evolution of the star in the later stages of pre-supernova. © 2014. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved..Fil: Ferreira, R. C.. Universidade Estadual Do Sudoeste Da Bahía; BrasilFil: Dimarco, A. J.. Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Bahía, Brasil; BrasilFil: Samana, Arturo Rodolfo. Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Bahía, Brasil; BrasilFil: Barbero, César Alberto. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Física La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Física La Plata; Argentin

Not all toxic butterflies are toxic: high intra- and interspecific variation in sequestration in subtropical swallowtails

Many herbivorous insects make use of plant secondary metabolites by consuming and storing these toxic compounds in their body tissue or integument, thereby obtaining chemical defense against their natural enemies. Swallowtail butterflies in the tribe Troidini (Papilionidae) sequester toxic alkaloids (aristolochic acids, AAs) from their host plants in the genus Aristolochia. Troidine butterflies have been a model group for development of theory on host plant chemical sequestration, but most studies on this group have been limited to a single species in North America. These studies have led, in part, to the paradigm that troidine butterflies are toxic, thereby explaining the numerous mimicry relationships that exist throughout most of their range. Herein, we present one of the first comparative studies in a single location of a community of troidine butterflies. We examined the AA content of five co-occurring troidine butterfly species and their two Aristolochia host plants. We found that one Aristolochia species, A. triangularis, was preferred in choice assays and did not possess quantifiable levels of AA. We also found that most troidine butterflies did not possess quantifiable levels of AAs, but larvae have the ability to sequester AAs when it is present in their diet. A larval preference experiment showed that host plant AA concentration did not influence larval feeding choice. A performance experiment showed that higher levels of AAs in the diet increased larval mortality, which might indicate a cost associated with sequestration of the chemical defense and also might shed some light on why so many troidine butterflies in this community have little or no AAs. We propose that automimicry might be operating in this system and many putative models of this paradigmatic system might not possess plant-derived defensive chemistry

The effects of bedrest on crew performance during simulated shuttle reentry. Volume 2: Control task performance

A simplified space shuttle reentry simulation performed on the NASA Ames Research Center Centrifuge is described. Anticipating potentially deleterious effects of physiological deconditioning from orbital living (simulated here by 10 days of enforced bedrest) upon a shuttle pilot's ability to manually control his aircraft (should that be necessary in an emergency) a comprehensive battery of measurements was made roughly every 1/2 minute on eight military pilot subjects, over two 20-minute reentry Gz vs. time profiles, one peaking at 2 Gz and the other at 3 Gz. Alternate runs were made without and with g-suits to test the help or interference offered by such protective devices to manual control performance. A very demanding two-axis control task was employed, with a subcritical instability in the pitch axis to force a high attentional demand and a severe loss-of-control penalty. The results show that pilots experienced in high Gz flying can easily handle the shuttle manual control task during 2 Gz or 3 Gz reentry profiles, provided the degree of physiological deconditioning is no more than induced by these 10 days of enforced bedrest

Breast cancer metastases to the thyroid gland - An uncommon sentinel for diffuse metastatic disease: A case report and literature review.

Background Metastases to the thyroid are rare. The most common primary cancer to metastasize to the thyroid is renal cell carcinoma, followed by malignancies of the gastrointestinal tract, lungs, and skin, with breast cancer metastases to the thyroid being rare. Overall, the outcomes in malignancies that have metastasized to the thyroid are poor. There are no prospective studies addressing the role of surgery in metastatic disease of the thyroid. Isolated thyroidectomy has been proposed as a local disease control option to palliate and prevent the potential morbidity of tumor extension related to the airway. Here, we present a case of a patient with breast cancer metastases to the thyroid gland and discuss the role of thyroidectomy in the context of the current literature. Case presentation A 62-year-old Afro-Caribbean woman was diagnosed as having bilateral breast carcinoma in 2004, for which she underwent bilateral mastectomy. The pathology revealed multifocal disease on the right, T2N0(0/20)M0 grade 1 and 2 invasive ductal carcinoma, and on the left side, T3N1(2/18)M0 grade 1 invasive ductal carcinoma. Surgery was followed by adjuvant chemotherapy and regional radiotherapy. The disease was under control on hormonal therapy until 2016, when she developed cervical lymphadenopathy. The fine-needle aspiration cytology of the thyroid was reported as papillary thyroid cancer; and the fine-needle biopsy of the left lateral nodal disease was more suggestive of breast malignancy. She underwent a total thyroidectomy and a clearance of the central compartment lymph nodes and a biopsy of the lateral nodal disease. The histopathological analysis was consistent with metastatic breast cancer in the thyroid and lymph nodes with no evidence of a primary thyroid malignancy. Conclusions A past history of a malignancy elsewhere should raise the index of suspicion of metastatic disease in patients presenting with thyroid lumps with or without cervical lymphadenopathy. Detection of metastases to the thyroid generally indicates poor prognosis, obviating the need of surgery in an already compromised patient. An empirical thyroidectomy should be considered in select patients for local disease control

What can possibly go wrong? The risks of introducing soil microorganisms from Antarctica into South America = ¿Qué puede salir mal? : Los riesgos de introducir microorganismos del suelo de la Antártida en América del Sur

Endophytic fungi form mutualistic associations with plant roots which can increase plant survival and resistance to stress. Recently, it has been proposed that endophytic fungi from Antarctica should be used to facilitate reintroduction and establishment of native plants in xeric environments of northern Chile. In this note, we suggest this is a risky proposition and may lead to biological invasions. It is difficult to predict which endophytic fungi will become invasive, where they will invade, or what their impacts will be. Organisms that move across continents may or may not become invasive depending on the interaction between the species and the invaded community; unexpected outcomes may occur due to adaptation and novel interactions of the introduced species in the new environment. The fact that these endophytes are mutualistic does not imply that they will not have negative effects on the recipient community, since they might promote invasion of other non-native species or may change the competitive relationships among native species. Further, taxonomically uncharacterized fungal isolates from plant roots are likely to contain non-beneficial species. The fact that these endophytic fungi species are from Antarctica does not ensure that they cannot invade elsewhere. It should be recognized that invasive microorganisms are extremely difficult to control. We strongly suggest that the further translocation, use and spread of endophytes from Antarctica should be halted until a risk assessment is undertaken. Biosecurity measures must be taken when considering transcontinental experiments. Based on previous experiences, it is likely that the risk and potential costs of introducing these new species significantly exceed any potential benefits of their introductionsLos hongos endófitos forman asociaciones mutualísticas con raíces de plantas y pueden mejorar la sobrevivencia y resistencia al estrés. Recientemente se ha propuesto usar hongos endófitos de la Antártida para facilitar la reintroducción y establecimiento de plantas nativas en formaciones xerofíticas del norte de Chile. En esta nota se sugiere que aquello es una propuesta riesgosa y puede conducir a invasiones biológicas. Es difícil predecir qué especies se convertirán en invasoras, dónde lo harán o cuáles serán sus efectos. Los organismos transportados entre continentes pueden o no convertirse en invasores, según las interacciones entre especies y con la comunidad invadida, y pueden ocurrir resultados inesperados debido a adaptaciones de especies invasoras al nuevo ambiente y a novedosas interacciones con especies introducidas en el nuevo ambiente. Estos endófitos mutualistas pueden tener efectos negativos en la comunidad receptora, como promover invasiones de otras especies exóticas o cambiar relaciones de competencia entre especies nativas. Los hongos endófitos de la Antártida no garantizan que no puedan invadir otros lugares. La falta de identificación taxonómica de tales hongos impide saber si estos inóculos contienen especies no beneficiosas, como patógenos del suelo. Los microorganismos invasores son extremadamente difíciles de controlar. Por ello, se recomienda que la translocación, uso y dispersión de hongos endófitos antárcicos debiera detenerse hasta tener una evaluación del riesgo de su introducción. Medidas de bioseguridad deben tomarse en experimentos transcontinentales. Según experiencias anteriores, el riesgo y costos potenciales de introducir estas especies pueden superar ampliamente cualquier beneficio potencial de su uso.Fil: Nuñez, Martin A. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas-Universidad del Comahue. INIBIOMA. Grupo de Ecología de Invasiones; ArgentinaFil: Dimarco, Romina Daniela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas-Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Grupo de Ecología de Poblaciones de Insectos; ArgentinaFil: Dickie, Ian A. Lincoln University. Bio-Protection Research Centre; Nueva ZelandaFil: Pauchard, Anibal. Universidad de Concepción. Facultad de Ciencias Forestales. Laboratorio de Invasiones Biolóogicas; Chile. Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity (IEB); Chil