A node-wise analysis of the uterine muscle networks for pregnancy monitoring

The recent past years have seen a noticeable increase of interest in the correlation analysis of electrohysterographic (EHG) signals in the perspective of improving the pregnancy monitoring. Here we propose a new approach based on the functional connectivity between multichannel (4x4 matrix) EHG signals recorded from the women abdomen. The proposed pipeline includes i) the computation of the statistical couplings between the multichannel EHG signals, ii) the characterization of the connectivity matrices, computed by using the imaginary part of the coherence, based on the graph-theory analysis and iii) the use of these measures for pregnancy monitoring. The method was evaluated on a dataset of EHGs, in order to track the correlation between EHGs collected by each electrode of the matrix (called node-wise analysis) and follow their evolution along weeks before labor. Results showed that the strength of each node significantly increases from pregnancy to labor. Electrodes located on the median vertical axis of the uterus seemed to be the more discriminant. We speculate that the network-based analysis can be a very promising tool to improve pregnancy monitoring.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted in the IEEE EMBC conferanc

A Note on the Edge Roman Domination in Trees

A subset $X$ of edges of a graph $G$ is called an \textit{edgedominating set} of $G$ if every edge not in $X$ is adjacent tosome edge in $X$. The edge domination number $\gamma'(G)$ of $G$ is the minimum cardinality taken over all edge dominating sets of $G$. An \textit{edge Roman dominating function} of a graph $G$ is a function $f : E(G)\rightarrow \{0,1,2 \}$ such that every edge$e$ with $f(e)=0$ is adjacent to some edge $e'$ with $f(e') = 2.$The weight of an edge Roman dominating function $f$ is the value$w(f)=\sum_{e\in E(G)}f(e)$. The edge Roman domination number of $G$, denoted by $\gamma_R'(G)$, is the minimum weight of an edge Roman dominating function of $G$. In this paper, we characterize trees with edge Roman domination number twice the edge domination number

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationComplex cancer phenotypes are defined by their aggressive nature and lack of known or accessible therapeutic targets. My dissertation focuses on the use of a personalized medicine approach for the identification of novel therapies against two complex cancer phenotypes: Basal-like/Claudin-low breast cancer and RAS-active nonsmall cell lung cancer. RAS-active cancer is characterized by the activation of the complex signaling network of RAS, which lacks effective therapeutics capable of inhibiting the RAS protein itself or the overall pathway. Further complicating treatment is the ability of the RAS pathway to be activated independent of the presence of an activating mutation in the RAS protein. To broadly characterize pathway activation independent of RAS protein mutation, I used a gene-expression-based biomarker for RAS network activity in nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines, and identified RAS activation in both RAS-mutant and wild-type lines. I then screened for drugs whose efficacy significantly correlated to RAS network activity and showed that EGFR and MEK co-inhibition is an effective treatment personalized against RAS-active NSCLC. Finally, I demonstrated that EGFR and MEK co-inhibition induced apoptosis and blocked both EGFR-RAS-RAF-MEK-ERK and EGFR-PI3K-AKT-RPS6 nodes simultaneously in RAS-active, but not RAS-inactive NSCLC. Secondly, I identified a novel compound effective against Basal-like and Claudin-low breast cancer (BL-CL). BL-CL is a molecular subtype of breast cancer characterized by an aggressive, recurrent and nonluminal nature, epitomized by the lack of known therapeutic targets and poor patient prognosis. Using high- iv throughput screening of a marine invertebrate compound library and sequential purification of crude fractions, I identified a previously uncharacterized sulfated sterol, Topsentinol L Trisulfate (TLT), purified from a marine sponge, and showed that it inhibits AMPK and CHK1 but activates p38. Furthermore, I indentified the potential use of known AMPK and CHK1 inhibitors, alone or in combination, as an effective therapy against BL-CL. Lastly, sensitivity to TLT was projected against various human tumors by generating a gene-expression signature that predicted breast and bladder cancer as the cancer types most receptive to TLT therapy. This work describes the identification of novel treatments personalized against BL-CL and RAS-active NSCLC, providing a framework for future pre-clinical studies

FDTD analysis of the tunneling and growing exponential in a pair of epsilon-negative and mu-negative slabs

Pairing together material slabs with opposite signs for the real parts of their constitutive parameters has been shown to lead to interesting and unconventional properties that are not otherwise observable for single slabs. One such case was demonstrated analytically for the conjugate (i.e., complementary) pairing of infinite planar slabs of epsilon-negative (ENG) and mu-negative (MNG) media [A. Alu, and N. Engheta, IEEE Trans. Antennas Prop., 51, 2558 (2003)]. There it was shown that when these two slabs are juxtaposed and excited by an incident plane wave, resonance, complete tunneling, total transparency and reconstruction of evanescent waves may occur in the steady-state regime under a monochromatic excitation, even though each of the two slabs by itself is essentially opaque to the incoming radiation. This may lead to virtual imagers with sub-wavelength resolution and other anomalous phenomena overcoming the physical limit of diffraction. Here we explore how a transient sinusoidal signal that starts at t = 0 interacts with such an ENG-MNG pair of finite size using an FDTD technique. Multiple reflections and transmissions at each interface are shown to build up to the eventual steady state response of the pair, and during this process one can observe how the growing exponential phenomenon may actually occur inside this bilayer.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, submitted to Phys Rev

Circuit elements at optical frequencies: nano-inductors, nano-capacitors and nano-resistors

We present some ideas for synthesizing nanocircuit elements in the optical domain using plasmonic and non-plasmonic nanoparticles. Three basic circuit elements, i.e., nano-inductors, nano-capacitors, and nano-resistors, are discussed in terms of small nanostructures with different material properties. Coupled nanocircuits and parallel and series combinations are also envisioned, which may provide road maps for the synthesis of more complex nanocircuits in the IR and visible bands. Ideas for the optical implementation of right-handed and left-handed nano-transmission lines are also forecasted.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letter

The Internet Use and Community Involvement in Tehran Iran

This is exploring the impact of the internet on local community involvement in Tehran, Iran. It investigates how the internet changes community involvement and argues that the Internet has created new forms of community involvement instead of local community involvement. This study has employed quantitative research methods. The sample for this research was drawn from the population of Internet users, namely people who accessed and used the Internet in Tehran, Iran. The results of the study indicate that there was no significant correlation between the amount of Internet use and local community involvement. People who spend more time online (high Internet user) do not have a greater local community involvement than people who use Internet less of the time. By contrast in terms of type of Internet use and social capital the study found that people who used the Internet for local news and reading newspapers online were more involved in the local community. The study illustrated that the Internet encourages people to some extent to become involved in the national or global community.nbs

The Effect of Herbal Essential Oil in Preservative Solution, on Quantitative, Vase Life, Bacteria-induced Stem Xylem Blockage of Lisianthus Var. Echo

In this study the effect of essential oil taken from medicinal plant as antibacterial components in preservative solution of Lisianthus var. Echo (Eustoma grandiflorum) was investigated. The test was done with application of preservative solution. Cut flowers were treated with different concentrations of Thyme (Thymus vulgaris), Spearmint (Mentha spicata) and Lavender (Lavandula officinalis) essential oil in addition to Sucrose 2.5%. The results showed that there was the longest time in vase life with Thyme in 50 ppm (15.6 days) and the control treatment showed the shortest vase life (11.6 days). Moreover, Thyme with 50 ppm had the highest effect on relative fresh weight and solution uptake. In addition, bacteria-induced stem xylem blockage, extracted from the end of stem, was cultured in NA medium culture with several concentrations of essential oil. The result showed that in pure concentration (100%) inhibition was completed and in various concentrations of essential oil the bacterial population was reduced

Antibacterial Activities of Volatile oils from mentha Piperia Against Growth of Pathogenic Bacteria

The study included the extraction of volatile oil from Mentha piperita which was 1.3 % in the leaves and flowers . Volatile oil of the Mentha piperita leaves had special aromatic odour, pale yellow color, slightly pungent taste . The specific gravity and refractive index were (0.9794) and ( 1.464) respectively. The inhibition activity of the Mentha piperita Volatile oil extracts were studied on some pathogenic microorganisms like Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli, Proteus sp, and Klebsiella pneumoniae . The result showed that the volatile oil had an inhibition effect on the growth of all microorganisms, and it gave the higher inhibition effect on the growth of S. aureus in which the inhibition zone reached to 25 mm. also the inhibition zoon on the growth of K. pneumoniae was 20 mm.and it was 17 mm. on the growth of Salmonella.typhi , while the effect was slight on the growth of Proteus sp and E. coli 12,10 mm. respectively. The minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the volatile oil extract of the Mentha .piperita leaves, were determined. The value of (MIC, MBC) of Staph. aureus was 0.625 , 1.25 % and the value for (MIC, MBC) of K. pneumoniae? Salmonella typhi were 1.25 , 2.5 % for each of them, while the value of (MIC, MBC) of Proteus sp , E. coli were 2.5 , 5 % respectively

What is unpaid female labour worth? Evidence from the Time Use Studies of Iran in 2008 and 2009

This paper uses the Time Use Survey of Iran of 2008 and 2009 to estimate the monetary value of unpaid domestic work of urban housewives. The surveys recorded domestic work activities such as cooking and cleaning and general care of household members as well as care of children and their education. Using the market-based approach to estimate the monetary value of unpaid domestic work we collected data on the cost of buying in services for domestic work and for education of children from ‘nursing agencies’ and private education colleges in main cities of Iran in the summer of 2011 that were adjusted to obtain the 2008 and 2009 prices. The market value of domestic work of urban housewives was estimated to be US$25 billion in 2008 and US$29 billion in 2009. These were about 8.6 per cent of non-oil GDP in the same years. Our estimates complement other findings from around the world that confirm substantial contribution of housewives to the economy. These contributions have gone unrecorded and not compensated in most countries. At a minimum, housewives can be insured against basic contingencies of life such has health problems, poverty and disabilities and supported in old age. Our work and other studies do provide the economic and social arguments for costing and putting into practice the long overdue support for housewives; they have earned it