Mark\u27s Art and Bridge Construction

Plactic is the material I chose to communicate my ideas. Named for its ability to be shaped, melted, bent, moulded, and extruded into an infinite number of forms, is one of two reasons I used it. The other is its concept is familiar to modern man and even a definition of him. To make the communication bridge complete the stulptures are constructed to allow the viewer to take part in the final form. By moving the work, he is as involved in the concept, form, and material as I have been in making the piece

Interactions In Space For Archaeological Models

In this article we examine a variety of quantitative models for describing archaeological networks, with particular emphasis on the maritime networks of the Aegean Middle Bronze Age. In particular, we discriminate between those gravitational networks that are most likely (maximum entropy) and most efficient (best cost/benefit outcomes).Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables. Contribution to special issue of Advances in Complex Systems from the conference `Cultural Evolution in Spatially Structured Populations', UCL, London, September 2010. To appear in Advances in Complex System

São Tomé e Princípe: integração regional e o relacionamento com economias terceiras

Este trabalho pretende apresentar posição geoestratégica de São Tome e Príncipe enquanto nó entre vários arcos num espaço de interação entre economias regionais e extra-regionais, e o seu impacto como grande desafio para o desenvolvimento do país, em virtude de acordos internacionais de liberalização económica. Um país que decorrente da sua especificidade geográfica, possui vocação de na encruzilhada dos três continentes vir a converter-se num entreposto entre economias terceiras e economias regionais africanas. Este pode ser considerado como uma porta aberta no Atlântico, em função da descontinuidade geográfica o que favorece o controlo da criminalidade, a segurança interna e a conservação de muitos elementos de atratividade dos agentes económicos, e lhe confere prestígio internacional. No entanto, o país é confrontado com importantes constrangimentos como o isolamento, a pequena dimensão geográfica e as carências de recursos naturais e infraestruturas, além de estar inserido numa comunidade regional (CEEAC) rica em matériasprimas, na qual a proporção de comércio internacional gerada é das mais baixas do continente africano, devido fatores de natureza contextual (deficiente diversificação da atividade económica, conflitos internos e transfronteiriços entre alguns países-membros), que consequentemente dificultam a sua emancipação na cena internacional. Parindo do princípio que integração regional pode favorecer um tipo de globalização mais equitativa e constituir uma das estratégias mais competitivas de internacionalização para países em via de desenvolvimento, esta é apresentada não só como alternativa para o desenvolvimento, mas também como oportunidade do país sair do isolamento e inserir-se na economia internacional, fazendo face aos desafios da globalização No entanto, apesar dos dados concretos apontarem para resultados marginais quanto a participação de São Tomé e Príncipe na CEEAC, sem uma perspetiva encorajadora, os resultados obtidos do estudo demonstram de forma clara e inequívoca a necessidade da inserção de São Tomé e Príncipe nas comunidades regionais, como fórmula mais satisfatória de responder as necessidades imediatas de modernização, de abertura da sua sociedade, da democratização e inserção na economia mundial.This work intends to present Sao Tome and Principe’s geostrategic position as a node among multiple arcs of an interaction space between regional and extra-regional economies and its impact as a major challenge to the development of the country under international agreements for economic liberalization. A country that due to its geographical specificity, as a crossroad among three continents, has vocation to become an entrepot between third-countries and African economies. It can be considered an open door in the Atlantic according to the geographical discontinuity which favors the crime control, internal security, the maintenance of economic attraction for investors and grants international prestige. However, the country is confronted with major constraints such as geographic isolation, its reduced dimensions and the lack of natural resources and infrastructures, in addition to being entered in a regional community (CEEAC) rich in raw materials, in which the proportion of international trade generated is the lowest of the African continent, because contextual nature factors (poor diversification of economic activity, internal and cross-border conflicts between some member countries), which consequently hinder their emancipation in the international arena. Assuming that regional integration can promote a fairer globalization type and constitute one of most competitive strategies of internationalization for developing countries, this is presented not only as an alternative to development, but also as an opportunity break up with the country’s isolation and integrate it into the international economy, facing the globalization challenges. Although, despite the data pointing to a marginal participation of Sao Tome and Principe in CEEAC, without an encouraging perspective, the results of this study show clearly and unequivocally the need for insertion of Sao Tome e Principe in regional communities, as the most satisfactory formula to respond to the immediate needs of modernization, society opening, democratization and integration into the world economy

BRAF V600E mutations in urine and plasma cell-free DNA from patients with Erdheim-Chester disease.

Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) is a rare histiocytosis with a high prevalence of BRAF V600E mutation (>50% of patients). Patients with BRAF-mutant ECD can respond to BRAF inhibitors. Unfortunately, the lack of adequate archival tissue often precludes BRAF testing. We hypothesized that cell-free DNA (cfDNA) from plasma or urine can offer an alternative source of biologic material for testing. We tested for BRAF V600E mutation in cfDNA from the plasma and urine of 6 ECD patients. In patients with available archival tissue, the result of BRAF mutation analysis was concordant with plasma and urine cfDNA results in all 3 patients (100% agreement, kappa 1.00). In all 6 patients, BRAF mutation analysis of plasma and urine cfDNA was concordant in 5 of 6 patients (83% agreement, kappa 0.67). Testing for BRAF V600E mutation in plasma and urine cfDNA should be further investigated as an alternative to archival tissue mutation analysis

Glutamate Decarboxylases in Nonneural Cells of Rat Testis and Oviduct: Differential Expression of GAD 65 and GAD 67

Γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) and its synthetic enzyme, glutamate decarboxylase (GAD), are not limited to the nervous system but are also found in nonneural tissues. The mammalian brain contains at least two forms of GAD (GAD 67 and GAD 65 ), which differ from each other in size, sequence, immunoreactivity, and their interaction with the cofactor pyridoxal 5′-phosphate (PLP). We used cDNAs and antibodies specific to GAD 65 and GAD 67 to study the molecular identity of GADs in peripheral tissues. We detected GAD and GAD mRNAs in rat oviduct and testis. In oviduct, the size of GAD, its response to PLP, its immunoreactivity, and its hybridization to specific RNA and DNA probes all indicate the specific expression of the GAD 65 gene. In contrast, rat testis expresses the GAD 67 gene. The GAD in these two reproductive tissues is not in neurons but in nonneural cells. The localization of brain GAD and GAD mRNAs in the mucosal epithelial cells of the oviduct and in spermatocytes and spermatids of the testis shows that GAD is not limited to neurons and that GABA may have functions other than neurotransmission.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66211/1/j.1471-4159.1992.tb09763.x.pd

Randomly hyperbranched polymers

We describe a model for the structures of randomly hyperbranched polymers in solution, and find a logarithmic growth of radius with polymer mass. We include segmental overcrowding, which puts an upper limit on the density. The model is tested against simulations, against data on amylopectin, a major component of starch, on glycogen, and on polyglycerols. For samples of synthetic polyglycerol and glycogen, our model holds well for all the available data. The model reveals higher-level scaling structure in glycogen, related to the beta particles seen in electron microscopy

Gravity model in the Korean highway

We investigate the traffic flows of the Korean highway system, which contains both public and private transportation information. We find that the traffic flow T(ij) between city i and j forms a gravity model, the metaphor of physical gravity as described in Newton's law of gravity, P(i)P(j)/r(ij)^2, where P(i) represents the population of city i and r(ij) the distance between cities i and j. It is also shown that the highway network has a heavy tail even though the road network is a rather uniform and homogeneous one. Compared to the highway network, air and public ground transportation establish inhomogeneous systems and have power-law behaviors.Comment: 13 page

Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) inhibition synergizes with taxanes in triple negative breast cancer

Within triple negative breast cancer, several molecular subtypes have been identified, underlying the heterogeneity of such an aggressive disease. The basal-like subtype is characterized by mutations in the TP53 gene, and is associated with a low pathologic complete response rate following neoadjuvant chemotherapy. In a genome-scale short hairpin RNA (shRNA) screen of breast cancer cells, polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) was a frequent and strong hit in the basal breast cancer cell lines indicating its importance for growth and survival of these breast cancer cells. Plk1 regulates progression of cells through the G2-M phase of the cell cycle. We assessed the activity of two ATP-competitive Plk1 inhibitors, GSK461364 and onvansertib, alone and with a taxane in a set of triple negative breast cancer cell lines and in vivo. GSK461364 showed synergism with docetaxel in SUM149 (Combination Index 0.70) and SUM159 (CI, 0.62). GSK461364 in combination with docetaxel decreased the clonogenic potential (interaction test for SUM149 and SUM159, p<0.001 and p = 0.01, respectively) and the tumorsphere formation of SUM149 and SUM159 (interaction test, p = 0.01 and p< 0.001). In the SUM159 xenograft model, onvansertib plus paclitaxel significantly decreased tumor volume compared to single agent paclitaxel (p<0.0001). Inhibition of Plk1 in combination with taxanes shows promising results in a subset of triple negative breast cancer intrinsically resistant to chemotherapy. Onvansertib showed significant tumor volume shrinkage when combined with paclitaxel in vivo and should be considered in clinical trials for the treatment of triple negative cancers