Relative entropy and the stability of shocks and contact discontinuities for systems of conservation laws with non BV perturbations

We develop a theory based on relative entropy to show the uniqueness and L^2 stability (up to a translation) of extremal entropic Rankine-Hugoniot discontinuities for systems of conservation laws (typically 1-shocks, n-shocks, 1-contact discontinuities and n-contact discontinuities of large amplitude) among bounded entropic weak solutions having an additional trace property. The existence of a convex entropy is needed. No BV estimate is needed on the weak solutions considered. The theory holds without smallness condition. The assumptions are quite general. For instance, strict hyperbolicity is not needed globally. For fluid mechanics, the theory handles solutions with vacuum.Comment: 29 page

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) research agenda for healthcare epidemiology

This SHEA white paper identifies knowledge gaps and challenges in healthcare epidemiology research related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with a focus on core principles of healthcare epidemiology. These gaps, revealed during the worst phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, are described in 10 sections: epidemiology, outbreak investigation, surveillance, isolation precaution practices, personal protective equipment (PPE), environmental contamination and disinfection, drug and supply shortages, antimicrobial stewardship, healthcare personnel (HCP) occupational safety, and return to work policies. Each section highlights three critical healthcare epidemiology research questions with detailed description provided in supplementary materials. This research agenda calls for translational studies from laboratory-based basic science research to well-designed, large-scale studies and health outcomes research. Research gaps and challenges related to nursing homes and social disparities are included. Collaborations across various disciplines, expertise and across diverse geographic locations will be critical

Ferulic acid and derivatives: molecules with potential application in the pharmaceutical field

Ferulic acid is a phenolic acid widely distributed in the plant kingdom. It presents a wide range of potential therapeutic effects useful in the treatments of cancer, diabetes, lung and cardiovascular diseases, as well as hepatic, neuro and photoprotective effects and antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities. Overall, the pharmaceutical potential of ferulic acid can be attributed to its ability to scavenge free radicals. However, recent studies have revealed that ferulic acid presents pharmacological properties beyond those related to its antioxidant activity, such as the ability to competitively inhibit HMG-CoA reductase and activate glucokinase, contributing to reduce hypercholesterolemia and hyperglycemia, respectively. The present review addresses ferulic acid dietary sources, the pharmacokinetic profile, antioxidant action mechanisms and therapeutic effects in the treatment and prevention of various diseases, in order to provide a basis for understanding its mechanisms of action as well as its pharmaceutical potential

Rapid metabolic discrimination and prediction of dioscin content from African yam tubers using Fourier transforminfrared spectroscopy combined with multivariate analysis

To determine whether or not FT-IR spectroscopy could be used for taxonomic and metabolic discriminationof African yam lines, tuber samples from African and Asian yam species were subjected to FT-IR.Most remarkable spectral differences between African and Asian yams were found in the 1750–1700 cm 1 region, polysaccharide (1200–900 cm 1) and protein/amide I and II (1700–1500 cm 1) regionsof FT-IR spectra. A hierarchical dendrogram based on partial least square-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA)of FT-IR data from 7 African yam species show phylogenetic relationship. In addition, the content of dioscin,a steroidal saponin found in yam tuber, was predicted using a PLS regression model with regressioncoefficient R2 = 0.7208 indicated that prediction model had average accuracy. Thus, considering theseresults we suggest that FT-IR combined with multivariate analysis could be applied as a novel tool formetabolic evaluation and high-throughput screening of African yam lines with higher content of dioscin

Framing and tracing human-centered design teams' method selection: an examination of decision-making strategies

Designers’ choices of methods are well known to shape project outcomes. However, questions remain about why design teams select particular methods and how teams’ decision-making strategies are influenced by project- and process-based factors. In this mixed-methods study, we analyze novice design teams’ decision-making strategies underlying 297 selections of human-centered design methods over the course of three semester-long project-based engineering design courses. We propose a framework grounded in 100+ factors sourced from new product development literature that classifies design teams’ method selection strategy as either Agent- (A), Outcome- (O), or Process- (P) driven, with eight further subclassifications. Coding method selections with this framework, we uncover three insights about design team method selection. First, we identify fewer outcomes-based selection strategies across all phases and innovation types. Second, we observe a shift in decision-making strategy from user-focused outcomes in earlier phases to product-based outcomes in later phases. Third, we observe that decision-making strategy produces a greater heterogeneity of method selections as compared to the class average as a whole, or project type alone. These findings provide a deeper understanding of designers’ method selection behavior and have implications for effective management of design teams, development of automated design support tools to aid design teams, and curation of design method repositoriesMarketing and Consumer Researc

A fibrous stromal component in hepatocellular carcinoma reveals a cholangiocarcinoma-like gene expression trait and EMT

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cholangiocarcinoma (CC) are the major primary liver cancers in adults. The phenotypic overlap between HCC and CC has been shown to comprise a continuous liver cancer spectrum. As a proof of this concept, a recent study demonstrated a genomic subtype of HCC that expressed CC-like gene expression traits such as CC-like HCC, which revealed the common genomic trait of stem cell-like properties and aggressive clinical outcomes. Scirrhous HCC (S-HCC), a rare variant of HCC, is characterized by abundant fibrous stroma and has been known to express several liver stem/progenitor cell markers. This suggests that S-HCC may harbor common intermediate traits between HCC and CC including stem cell traits, which are similar to those of CC-like HCC. However, the molecular and pathological characteristics of S-HCC have not been fully evaluated. By performing gene expression profiling and immunohistochemical evaluation, we compared the morphological and molecular features of S-HCC with those of CC and HCC. S-HCC expresses both CC-like and stem cell-like genomic traits. In addition, we observed the expression of core epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related genes, which may contribute to the aggressive behavior of S-HCC. Over-expression of transforming growth factor \u3b2 (TGF-\u3b2) signaling was also found, implying its regulatory role in the pathobiology of S-HCC. Conclusion: We suggest that the fibrous stromal component in HCC may contribute to the acquisition of CC-like gene expression traits in HCC. The expression of stem cell-like traits and TGF-\u3b2/EMT molecules may play a pivotal role in the aggressive phenotyping of S-HCC