Gluing of graphs and their Jacobians

The Jacobian of a graph is a discrete analogue of the Jacobian of a Riemann surface. In this paper, we explore how Jacobians of graphs change when we glue two graphs along a common subgraph focusing on the case of cycle graphs. Then, we link the computation of Jacobians of graphs with cycle matrices. Finally, we prove that Tutte's rotor construction with his original example produces two graphs with isomorphic Jacobians when all involved graphs are planar. This answers the question posed by Clancy, Leake, and Payne, stating it is affirmative in this case.Comment: v3; After we posted our first version on arXiv, we learned from Matt Baker the work of Chen and Ye by which one can obtain our Theorem B as a special case. Also, we added the work of Alfaro and Villagr{\'a}n which has the same definition in our matrix B_

Learning Without Boundaries: A NASA - National Guard Bureau Distance Learning Partnership

With a variety of high-quality live interactive educational programs originating at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas and other space and research centers, the US space agency NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) has a proud track record of connecting with students throughout the world and stimulating their creativity and collaborative skills by teaching them underlying scientific and technological underpinnings of space exploration. However, NASA desires to expand its outreach capability for this type of interactive instruction. In early 2002, NASA and the National Guard Bureau -- using the Guard's nationwide system of state-ofthe-art classrooms and high bandwidth network -- began a collaboration to extend the reach of NASA content and educational programs to more of America's young people. Already, hundreds of elementary, middle, and high school students have visited Guard e-Learning facilities and participated in interactive NASA learning events. Topics have included experimental flight, satellite imagery-interpretation, and Mars exploration. Through this partnership, NASA and the National Guard are enabling local school systems throughout the United States (and, increasingly, the world) to use the excitement of space flight to encourage their students to become passionate about the possibility of one day serving as scientists, mathematicians, technologists, and engineers. At the 54th International Astronautical Conference MAJ Stephan Picard, the guiding visionary behind the Guard's partnership with NASA, and Chris Chilelli, an educator and senior instructional designer at NASA, will share with attendees background on NASA's educational products and the National Guard's distributed learning network; will discuss the unique opportunity this partnership already has provided students and teachers throughout the United States; will offer insights into the formation by government entities of e-Learning partnerships with one another; and will suggest a possible future for the NASA - National Guard Bureau partnership, one potentially to include live multi-party interaction of hundreds of students in several countries with astronauts, scientists, engineers and designers. To inspire the next generation of explorers as only NASA can

Better Ways to Cope with Increasingly Common Diseases: The Impact of Telemedicine on the Management of Pregnancy Complicated by Diabetes

none3To review the importance of a telemedicine approach in the management of pregnancy complicated by diabetesnoneNino Cristiano;Maria Grazia;Annunziata LapollaNino, Cristiano; Grazia, Maria; Lapolla, Annunziat

Telemedicine in Pregnancy Complicated by Diabetes

none3nononeAnnunziata Lapolla;Nino Cristiano Chilelli ;Maria Grazia DalfràLapolla, Annunziata; Chilelli, NINO CRISTIANO; Maria Grazia, Dalfr

A Focus on the Impact of Bariatric Surgery on Pregnancy Outcome: Effectiveness, Safety and Clinical Management

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Metodologia de covariância GINI aplicada a estimação de parâmetros em modelos auto regressivos com caudais longos.

A metodologia Gini foi apresentada há mais de um século pelo estatístico italiano Corrado Gini, durante quase um século, ela foi aplicada para medir a desigualdade na distribuição de renda. Há cerca de 3 décadas, trabalhos dissertando sobre sua utilização em outras áreas e sobre sua capacidade na estimação de parâmetros e na modelagem de séries que apresentam distribuições as quais fogem da normalidade começaram a ser publicados. Com base nestes trabalhos novos métodos começaram a ser apresentados e vêm ganhando maturidade ao longo do tempo. A intenção deste trabalho foi desenvolver um modelo capaz de aplicar os métodos presentes na literatura pertinente para estimar os parâmetros de modelos para séries Auto Regressivas cujas distribuições adjacentes fogem da normalidade apresentam características de caudas longas, com grande presença de valores extremos. Para avaliar o desempenho destes modelos embasados nos métodos de Gini, foram também estimados modelos Auto Regressivos pela métodologia clássica, fundamentados pelos Mínimos Quadrados e critérios de seleção de melhor modelo pelo metodo de Critério de Seleção de Akaike. Os resultados mostraram que o emprego da metodologia Gini na modelagem de tais séries apresenta grandes vantagens e superioridade na previsão da série, permitindo estimar modelos por meio das correlações de Gini e que fornecem melhores previsões tanto em modelos de ordem igual a um ou dois, quanto em modelos com ordem superior à dois

Anti-diabetic combination therapy with pioglitazone or glimepiride added to metformin on the AGE-RAGE axis: a randomized prospective study

Introduction: The ratio between advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and soluble form of receptor (s-RAGE) has been proposed as a risk marker for renal and cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate in the diabetes condition the influence of two different oral anti-diabetic treatments on the AGE/ s-RAGE ratio, during a 5-year observation period. Methods: Seventy-three patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were randomly assigned to a drug therapy with pioglitazone or glimepiride, combined to metformin. Each subject was evaluated at baseline and after 5 years of treatment. Results: In both groups s-RAGE levels did not significantly vary, while the levels of AGE and AGE/s-RAGE were both significantly reduced, basal compared to 5-year values. Within pioglitazone group, as well within glimepiride group, significant variations (D, as difference between 5 years of treatment minus basal) were observed for AGE (D= ˗21.1±13.4 μg/ml, P<0.001 for pioglitazone; D= ˗14.4±11.4 μg/ml, P<0.001 for glimepiride) and in AGE/s-RAGE (D= -0.037±0.022 μg/pg, P<0.001 for pioglitazone; D= -0.024±0.020μg/pg, P<0.001 for glimepiride), suggesting an average decrease of the parameters by more than 50% in both treatments. Pioglitazone was more effective than glimepiride in reducing AGE/s- RAGE ratio after 5 years of therapy. Conclusion: These data can help to explain the benefits of oral anti-diabetic therapy in relation to the reduction of cardiovascular risk, as suggested by variations in AGE/s-RAGE ratio as biochemical marker of endothelial function; in particular, treatment with pioglitazone seems to offer greater long-term benefit on AGE-RAGE axis

Design and Flight Performance of NOAA-K Spacecraft Batteries

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) operates the Polar Operational Environmental Satellite (POES) spacecraft (among others) to support weather forecasting, severe storm tracking, and meteorological research by the National Weather Service (NWS). The latest in the POES series of spacecraft, named as NOAA-KLMNN', one is in orbit and four more are in various phases of development. The NOAA-K spacecraft was launched on May 13, 1998. Each of these spacecraft carry three Nickel-Cadmium batteries designed and manufactured by Lockheed Martin. The battery, which consists of seventeen 40 Ah cells manufactured by SAFT, provides the spacecraft power during the ascent phase, orbital eclipse and when the power demand is in excess of the solar array capability. The NOAA-K satellite is in a 98 degree inclination, 7:30AM ascending node orbit. In this orbit the satellite experiences earth occultation only 25% of the year. This paper provides a brief overview of the power subsystem, followed by the battery design and qualification, the cell life cycle test data, and the performance during launch and in orbit

Abiraterone acetate in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer after chemotherapy. A retrospective “Real Life” analysis of activity and safety

Abiraterone acetate (AA) is a potent, selective androge (CYP17) biosynthesis inhibitor, which showed to improve overall survival (HR = 0.646) in mCRPC patients progressing after docetaxel. In this retrospective analysis we assessed the safety and efficacy of AA in patients affected with mCRPC progressing after chemotherapy, treated in the normal clinical practice, in several Italian Oncologic Units, after the approval of the drug from the Italian Drug Agency (AIFA)