Limit of Fractional Power Sobolev Inequalities

We derive the Moser-Trudinger-Onofri inequalities on the 2-sphere and the 4-sphere as the limiting cases of the fractional power Sobolev inequalities on the same spaces, and justify our approach as the dimensional continuation argument initiated by Thomas P. Branson.Comment: 17 page

The Economic Impact of Transportation Network Companies on the Taxi Industry

Transportation Network Companies (TNC) are companies that use online-enabled platforms to connect passengers with drivers. In recent years, they have sparked controversy with the taxi industry, which accuses TNCs of operating unfairly. In my study, I look at taxi regulation, consumer transportation preferences, and costs and benefits of TNCs. I analyze data comparing three of these companies, Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar, with a traditional taxicab, and evaluate trends in taxi employment from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. I find that Transportation Network Companies generally have shorter wait times, cheaper prices, and increased convenience, aspects that appeal to consumer preferences. I also find that taxi driver employment tends to fluctuate with economic conditions, however cities that are more likely to use TNCs exhibit smaller growth. I predict that at current conditions, TNCs such as Uber and Lyft will overtake taxi services. Thus, the taxi industry must focus on increasing TNC regulation, creating innovative technology, and modifying its service to appeal to consumers

Recent trends in China’s trade

China, trade, economic development, merchandise trade

Amino acid metabolism in the inflammatory niche

Stroma and parenchyma represent the supportive and functional components in every organ of the body, respectively. Beyond their ability to produce structural support and to differentiate into tissues of mesodermal origin, mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) exhibit potent immunomodulatory properties. Such a function requires an activation step (‘licensing signal’) provided by the inflammatory microenvironment to which MSC are exposed. My results have attributed immunosuppressive effects of MSC to essential amino acid (EAA) deprivation. Amongst the EAA consuming enzymes examined, blocking nitric oxide synthase 2 (NOS2) and histidine decarboxylase (HDC) both resulted in impaired anti-proliferative activity of MSC, while NOS2 appeared to be a more prominent effector. My results have also demonstrated that TNF-α and IFN-γ differently account for NOS2 and HDC up-regulation, respectively. Furthermore, MyD88 and NF-ĸB were identified as upstream mediators for initiating NOS2 production. The role of TNF-α and NOS2 in MSC-mediated immunosuppression was assessed in vivo using a murine model of peritonitis. MSC treatment remarkably reduced the local inflammatory response during acute peritoneal inflammation. Nevertheless, both Nos2-/- and Tnfr1/r2-/- MSC delivered similar effects compared to WT MSC, indicating the presence of other complementary mechanisms in MSC-mediated immunosuppression in vivo. In addition to their immunomodulatory properties, MSC are fundamental in regulating self-renewal and differentiation of haematopoietic stem cells (HSC). MSC protect HSC from potential damage by maintaining their quiescence. My results have revealed that the ability of MSC to enhance the quiescence of HSC was associated with cell-cycle arrest induced by NOS2. As striking parallels exist between the normal and malignant stem cell niche, I investigated the ability of MSC to protect haematopoietic malignant cells from chemotherapy-induced apoptosis. MSC were observed to confer protection from etoposide-induced necrosis of EL4 cells, possibly due to their ability to suppress EL4 proliferation. Collectively, my results have demonstrated the role of MSC across the fields of immunomodulation, niche-supporting and anti-apoptotic effects.Open Acces

A Case Report of Tragaxofusp Causing Severe Tumor Lysis Syndrome In A Patient With Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm

The patient was an 83-year-old male without significant past medical hsitory who presented to his primary care physician with several days of generalized malais

Artificial Intelligence as a Less Discriminatory Alternative

This Article considers the role of the “less discriminatory alternative” (LDA) in disparate impact litigation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and related statutes. The question posed is: has assigning the burden of proof of identifying LDAs to plaintiffs resulted in the adoption of these alternatives? The answer is no. But well-meaning employers have been reluctant to adopt practices that might increase the presence of minority employees in the workplace because the anti-discrimination laws prohibit reverse discrimination. This Article discusses the legal constraints that impinge on employers who wish to unilaterally search for and adopt an LDA, and explains how artificial intelligence (predictive analytics, specifically) can prove helpful. Artificial intelligence may improve the accuracy of employee selections and, by constraining the algorithm regarding its analysis of seed data but not selections themselves, can lawfully enhance the presence of minorities and women in the workplace

Cosmic voids: a novel probe to shed light on our Universe

Cosmic voids, the less dense patches of the Universe, are promising laboratories to extract cosmological information. Thanks to their unique low density character, voids are extremely sensitive to diffuse components such as neutrinos and dark energy, and represent ideal environments to study modifications of gravity, where the effects of such modifications are expected to be more prominent. Robust void-related observables, including for example redshift-space distortions (RSD) and weak lensing around voids, are a promising way to chase and test new physics. Cosmological analysis of the large-scale structure of the Universe predominantly relies on the high density regions. Current and upcoming surveys are designed to optimize the extraction of cosmological information from these zones, but leave voids under-exploited. A dense, large area spectroscopic survey with imaging capabilities is ideal to exploit the power of voids fully. Besides helping illuminate the nature of dark energy, modified gravity, and neutrinos, this survey will give access to a detailed map of under-dense regions, providing an unprecedented opportunity to observe and study a so far under-explored galaxy population