A Constraint Programming Approach for Non-Preemptive Evacuation Scheduling

Large-scale controlled evacuations require emergency services to select evacuation routes, decide departure times, and mobilize resources to issue orders, all under strict time constraints. Existing algorithms almost always allow for preemptive evacuation schedules, which are less desirable in practice. This paper proposes, for the first time, a constraint-based scheduling model that optimizes the evacuation flow rate (number of vehicles sent at regular time intervals) and evacuation phasing of widely populated areas, while ensuring a nonpreemptive evacuation for each residential zone. Two optimization objectives are considered: (1) to maximize the number of evacuees reaching safety and (2) to minimize the overall duration of the evacuation. Preliminary results on a set of real-world instances show that the approach can produce, within a few seconds, a non-preemptive evacuation schedule which is either optimal or at most 6% away of the optimal preemptive solution.Comment: Submitted to the 21st International Conference on Principles and Practice of Constraint Programming (CP 2015). 15 pages + 1 reference pag

HPV E6, E6AP and cervical cancer

Every year, approximately 470,000 new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed and approximately 230,000 women worldwide die of the disease, with the majority (~80%) of these cases and deaths occurring in developing countries. Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are the etiological agents in nearly all cases (99.7%) of cervical cancer, and the HPV E6 protein is one of two viral oncoproteins that is expressed in virtually all HPV-positive cancers. E6 hijacks a cellular ubiquitin ligase, E6AP, resulting in the ubiquitylation and degradation of the p53 tumor suppressor, as well as several other cellular proteins. While the recent introduction of prophylactic vaccines against specific HPV types offers great promise for prevention of cervical cancer, there remains a need for therapeutics. Biochemical characterization of E6 and E6AP has suggested approaches for interfering with the activities of these proteins that could be useful for this purpose

The Influence of Aesthetics in an E-learning Environment

Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Education degree in the College of Education and Human Service Professions, University of Minnesota Duluth, 2012Committee names: Lynn Brice (Chair), Julie M. Williams. This item has been modified from the original to redact the signatures present.This study sought to explore the influence of aesthetic considerations upon learning in an e-learning environment. The findings, while inconclusive for a notable gain in summative assessment scores between the high- and low-aesthetic study groups, did provide insight into practical guidelines that faculty and course designers can employ when designing e-learning environments. Given the advent of touch screens, smart phones, tablets, and smaller screen real estate on which learning can take place, designers are provided with numerous opportunities for exploration of the topic of aesthetics. As technological affordances expand and devices become more ubiquitous, the ID field will necessarily become even more focused upon the user and their experience.University of Minnesota Duluth. College of Education and Human Service Profession

Cellular Players in the Herpes Simplex Virus Dependent Apoptosis Balancing Act

Apoptosis is triggered as an intrinsic defense against numerous viral infections. Almost every virus encodes apoptotic modulators, and the herpes simplex viruses (HSV) are no exception. During HSV infection, there is an intricate balance between pro- and anti-apoptotic factors that delays apoptotic death until the virus has replicated. Perturbations in the apoptotic balance can cause premature cell death and have the potential to dramatically alter the outcome of infection. Recently, certain cellular genes have been shown to regulate sensitivity to HSV-dependent apoptosis. This review summarizes current knowledge of the cellular genes that impact the apoptotic balance during HSV infection

Genetic and Environmental Overlap Between Behavioral Disinhibition and Risky Sexual Behaviors

Previous studies suggest that risky sexual behaviors (RSB) are highly correlated with impulsive behaviors such as substance use disorders, antisocial behavior, and novelty seeking. The comorbidity of these latter behaviors is well described by an underlying heritable factor termed behavioral disinhibition (BD). To better understand the nature of this correlation, this dissertation explores the extent to which this overlap is genetic or environmental in nature. Multivariate biometrical models with twin and adoptive samples are used in Chapters II and III to assess developmental trends in substance use behaviors and to explore the shared etiology between sex under the influence of drugs and alcohol and number of lifetime sexual partners. Chapter II included an in depth review of issues regarding measuring and defining RSB, with the goals of improving an instrument for measuring sexual behavior, improving the interpretation of several RSB variables, and selecting an optimal phenotype for use with genome wide methods. Finally, Chapter V used several genome-wide approaches to explore the genetic architecture of number of lifetime sexual partners and to test the genetic overlap with measures BD related diseases and traits (e.g. smoking, psychiatric, personality), and other fitness phenotypes

Stable normal forms for polynomial system solving

This paper describes and analyzes a method for computing border bases of a zero-dimensional ideal $I$. The criterion used in the computation involves specific commutation polynomials and leads to an algorithm and an implementation extending the one provided in [MT'05]. This general border basis algorithm weakens the monomial ordering requirement for \grob bases computations. It is up to date the most general setting for representing quotient algebras, embedding into a single formalism Gr\"obner bases, Macaulay bases and new representation that do not fit into the previous categories. With this formalism we show how the syzygies of the border basis are generated by commutation relations. We also show that our construction of normal form is stable under small perturbations of the ideal, if the number of solutions remains constant. This new feature for a symbolic algorithm has a huge impact on the practical efficiency as it is illustrated by the experiments on classical benchmark polynomial systems, at the end of the paper