Proteomics for rejection diagnosis in renal transplant patients: where are we now?

Rejection is one of the key factors that determine the long-term allograft function and survival in renal transplant patients. Reliable and timely diagnosis is important to treat rejection as early as possible. Allograft biopsies are not suitable for continuous monitoring of rejection. Thus, there is an unmet need for non-invasive methods to diagnose acute and chronic rejection. Proteomics in urine and blood samples has been explored for this purpose in 29 studies conducted since 2003. This review describes the different proteomic approaches and summarizes the results from the studies that examined proteomics for the rejection diagnoses. The potential limitations and open questions in establishing proteomic markers for rejection are discussed, including ongoing trials and future challenges to this topic

Modal logic of planar polygons

We study the modal logic of the closure algebra $P_2$, generated by the set of all polygons in the Euclidean plane $\mathbb{R}^2$. We show that this logic is finitely axiomatizable, is complete with respect to the class of frames we call "crown" frames, is not first order definable, does not have the Craig interpolation property, and its validity problem is PSPACE-complete

What to expect when trading with the U.S.S.R.: The Problems Confronting The American Exporter

An examination of the ramifications of the 1972 Trade Agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union

DESIGNED EXPERIMENTS IN THE PRESENCE OF SPATIAL CORRELATION

Soil heterogeneity is generally the major cause of variation in plot yield data and the difficulty of its interpretation. If a large degree of variability is present at a test site, some method of controlling it must be found. Controlling experimental variability can be achieved either by good experimental design or by analysis procedures which account for the spatial correlation. Classical designs are only moderately equipped to adjust for spatially correlated data. More complex designs including nearest neighbor designs, Williams designs, and certain restricted Latin square designs are developed for field experimentation when spatial correlation causes classical designs to be less desirable . The designs, both classical and nearest neighbor type designs, are analyzed using the classical statistical analysis approach and a strategy using general linear mixed models which takes into account that there is spatial correlation present. The results indicate that properly designed experiments may be analyzed either by the usual statistical techniques or more complex methods which adjust for spatial correlation. However, if no serious thought is used in constructing the design of the experiment then the usual analysis techniques are no longer valid

Measuring and modeling optical diffraction from subwavelength features

We describe a technique for studying scattering from subwavelength features. A simple scatterometer was developed to measure the scattering from the single-submicrometer, subwavelength features generated with a focused ion beam system. A model that can describe diffraction from subwavelength features with arbitrary profiles is also presented and shown to agree quite well with the experimental measurements. The model is used to demonstrate ways in which the aspect ratios of subwavelength ridges and trenches can be obtained from scattering data and how ridges can be distinguished from trenches over a wide range of aspect ratios. We show that some earlier results of studies on distinguishing pits from particles do not extend to low-aspect-ratio features

The essential ideal in group cohomology does not square to zero

Let G be the Sylow 2-subgroup of the unitary group $SU_3(4)$. We find two essential classes in the mod-2 cohomology ring of G whose product is nonzero. In fact, the product is the ``last survivor'' of Benson-Carlson duality. Recent work of Pakianathan and Yalcin then implies a result about connected graphs with an action of G. Also, there exist essential classes which cannot be written as sums of transfers from proper subgroups. This phenomenon was first observed on the computer. The argument given here uses the elegant calculation by J. Clark, with minor corrections.Comment: 9 pages; three typos corrected, one was particularly confusin

Coming home: Continuing intercultural learning during the re-entry semester following a study abroad experience

International experiences through structured study abroad programs are proposed as a powerful way to impact pre-service teachers’ intercultural understandings and competence. In recent years attention has been placed on the nature of such study abroad programs, seeking to illuminate design elements that might enhance intercultural learning prior to, during, and after such programs. Though acknowledged as a vital component to such experiences, the literature lacks exploration of the nature of program design once students’ return to their home university, termed the “re-entry” phase.  This article presents findings from a case study of a pre-service teacher during the semester following a study abroad program, illuminating programmatic elements of the re-entry semester that provided the student with the support needed to leverage intercultural learning begun during the international experience once she returned to their home university. The findings provide insight into the importance of providing purposefully designed re-entry programs that support students’ continued intercultural learning, particularly in helping students learn to look at themselves, U.S. schools, and domestic diversity through a critical cultural lens

Strategic Switchbacks: Dynamic Commercialization Strategies for Technology Entrepreneurs

We present a synthetic framework in which a technology entrepreneur employs a dynamic commercialization strategy to overcome obstacles to the adoption of the firm’s ideal strategy. Whereas prior work portrays the choice of whether to license a new technology or to self-commercialize as a single, static decision, we suggest that when entrepreneurs encounter obstacles to their ideal strategy they can nevertheless achieve it by temporarily adopting a non-ideal strategy. We refer to the sequential implementation of commercialization strategies, in which the first strategy enables the second, as a switchback—reminiscent of zigzag paths that enable passage up steep mountains. We analyze conditions under which switchbacks can be effective in enabling the entrepreneur’s ideal commercialization strategy given the attending costs, risks, and likely incumbent response