Testing surface area with arbitrary accuracy

Recently, Kothari et al.\ gave an algorithm for testing the surface area of an arbitrary set $A \subset [0, 1]^n$. Specifically, they gave a randomized algorithm such that if $A$'s surface area is less than $S$ then the algorithm will accept with high probability, and if the algorithm accepts with high probability then there is some perturbation of $A$ with surface area at most $\kappa_n S$. Here, $\kappa_n$ is a dimension-dependent constant which is strictly larger than 1 if $n \ge 2$, and grows to $4/\pi$ as $n \to \infty$. We give an improved analysis of Kothari et al.'s algorithm. In doing so, we replace the constant $\kappa_n$ with $1 + \eta$ for $\eta > 0$ arbitrary. We also extend the algorithm to more general measures on Riemannian manifolds.Comment: 5 page

Upregulated wnt-11 and mir-21 expression trigger epithelial mesenchymal transition in aggressive prostate cancer cells

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second-leading cause of cancer-related death among men. microRNAs have been identified as having potential roles in tumorigenesis. An oncomir, miR-21, is commonly highly upregulated in many cancers, including PCa, and showed correlation with the Wnt-signaling axis to increase invasion. Wnt-11 is a developmentally regulated gene and has been found to be upregulated in PCa, but its mechanism is unknown. The present study aimed to investigate the roles of miR-21 and Wnt-11 in PCa in vivo and in vitro. First, different Gleason score PCa tissue samples were used; both miR-21 and Wnt-11 expressions correlate with high Gleason scores in PCa patient tissues. This data then was confirmed with formalin-fixed paraffin cell blocks using PCa cell lines LNCaP and PC3. Cell survival and colony formation studies proved that miR-21 involves in cells’ behaviors, as well as the epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Consistent with the previous data, silencing miR-21 led to significant inhibition of cellular invasiveness. Overall, these results suggest that miR-21 plays a significant role related to Wnt-11 in the pathophysiology of PCa

Higher Order Decompositions of Ordered Operator Exponentials

We present a decomposition scheme based on Lie-Trotter-Suzuki product formulae to represent an ordered operator exponential as a product of ordinary operator exponentials. We provide a rigorous proof that does not use a time-displacement superoperator, and can be applied to non-analytic functions. Our proof provides explicit bounds on the error and includes cases where the functions are not infinitely differentiable. We show that Lie-Trotter-Suzuki product formulae can still be used for functions that are not infinitely differentiable, but that arbitrary order scaling may not be achieved.Comment: 16 pages, 1 figur

Professor DS Kotharis Reflections on the Parallelism between Epistemological Foundations of Modern Physics and Indian Philosophical Thought Part II: The Principle of complementarity and Syadvada

A favourite theme in Prof Kothari's talks and writings during his later years was the close parallelism between Bohr's principle of complementarity and Indian philosophical thought, in particular, the  Syadvada of J ain philosophy 1-6. In this part of the article , we have tried to summarize Prof Kothari's views on the subject

Laparoscopic management of right paraduodenal hernia along with the correction of malrotation in a pediatric patient: a case report

Paraduodenal hernias (PDH) are rare; however, they are the most common form of internal hernias. A 11-year-old boy presented to us with a history of intermittent abdominal pain since 1 year. His physical examination was normal. Plain abdominal radiographs and ultrasonography were inconclusive. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography of the abdomen reported a right subhepatic cecum. The patient underwent diagnostic laparoscopy followed by successful laparoscopic right PDH repair (excision of hernial sac, release of Ladd’s bands, and appendectomy). Ours is the sixth report to describe laparoscopic repair of a right PDH and the third in the pediatric age group. He was discharged home on postoperative day 1. He was completely asymptomatic at the 1-year follow-up. Keywords: laparoscopic, malrotation, paraduodenal hernia, pediatri

Effectively engaging stakeholders and the public in developing violence prevention messages

Background: Preventing family violence requires that stakeholders and the broader public be involved in developing evidence-based violence prevention strategies. However, gaps exist in between what we know (knowledge), what we do (action), and the structures supporting practice (policy). Discussion: We discuss the broad challenge of mobilizing knowledge-for-action in family violence, with a primary focus on the issue of how stakeholders and the public can be effectively engaged when developing and communicating evidence-based violence prevention messages. We suggest that a comprehensive approach to stakeholder and public engagement in developing violence prevention messages includes: 1) clear and consistent messaging; 2) identifying and using, as appropriate, lessons from campaigns that show evidence of reducing specific types of violence; and 3) evidence-informed approaches for communicating to specific groups. Components of a comprehensive approach must take into account the available research evidence, implementation feasibility, and the context-specific nature of family violence. Summary: While strategies exist for engaging stakeholders and the public in messaging about family violence prevention, knowledge mobilization must be informed by evidence, dialogue with stakeholders, and proactive media strategies. This paper will be of interest to public health practitioners or others involved in planning and implementing violence prevention programs because it highlights what is known about the issue, potential solutions, and implementation considerations

Prosthesis for a Case of Subtotal Orbital Exenteration

Aims and objectives: To rehabilitate a patient with subtotal orbital exenteration defect. Case description: A 32 year old male with history of carcinoma of ethmoid, treated surgically with subtotal orbital exenteration presented with a defect communicating with the pharynx. He was rehabilitated with a prosthetic eye. Conclusion: A two piece cast with a removable part containing the defect made it very easy to fabricate the prosthesis. Patient was happy with the appearance and expressed satisfaction.&nbsp

Radiant heat protective performance of clothing assemblies with flexible aerogel-Nomex nonwoven composite as thermal insulation

396-403In order to achieve a superior level of heat protection, aerogel-Nomex nonwoven composite felts have been prepared and used as middle layer in 3-layered fabric. To study the effect of precursor concentration on the radiant heat protection, methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) precursor to methanol molar ratios are varied for making the flexible aerogel-Nomex nonwoven felt. The heat protective performance of three-layered clothing assemblies, with aerogel-Nomex nonwoven felt as the thermal insulating middle layer [outer layer Nomex IIIA woven and inner layer modacrylic-cotton (60:40) woven fabric] has been determined by exposing the clothing combinations to pure radiant heat fluxes by using Stoll’s criterion. The use of aerogel-Nomex nonwoven fabric shows more than 100% increase in the heat protection time as compared to the conventional multilayered heat protective clothing assembly. The aerogel-Nomex nonwoven fabric samples produced using MTMS precursor are found to be soft and flexible as compared to the conventionally produced pure silica aerogels, by using tetra-alkoxysilanes, which are normally fragile in nature