Polyhedral graph abstractions and an approach to the Linear Hirsch Conjecture

We introduce a new combinatorial abstraction for the graphs of polyhedra. The new abstraction is a flexible framework defined by combinatorial properties, with each collection of properties taken providing a variant for studying the diameters of polyhedral graphs. One particular variant has a diameter which satisfies the best known upper bound on the diameters of polyhedra. Another variant has superlinear asymptotic diameter, and together with some combinatorial operations, gives a concrete approach for disproving the Linear Hirsch Conjecture.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure

Book Review: Humanizing Freud

FREUD: A LIFE FOR OUR TIME Peter Gay, Ph.D. W.W. Norton & Company New York, 1988 651 pages $25.0

Editor\u27s Column

As a senior medical student applying to residency programs, I became acquainted with the term eclecticism. Many programs described themselves as eclectic ; it appealed to the progressive, pluralistic spirit in all of us. Yet it implied, erroneously I believe, that limiting the foci of psychiatric resident education was neither necessary nor desirable. The regressive appeal of eclecticism lies in the denial that all true commitments entail some relinquishment of other possibilities; the pleasures of socialization are bought through the renunciation of defecating or urinating at the slightest urge. The hypothetical eclectic psychiatrist has given up none of his or her grandiose aspirations to master the entire biopsychosocial universe. The end result is breadth without depth, a caricature of versatility

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy with capecitabine and temozolomide for unresectable pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor.

Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs) are relatively rare tumors that arise in the endocrine cells of the pancreas. Historically, somatostatin analogues have been used in this disease primarily for symptom control and, to a limited extent, disease stability. More recently, sunitinib and everolimus have been approved for advanced stage PNETs based on a survival benefit. However, both agents have a <10% actual response rate and cause nontrivial side effect profiles that limit duration of therapy. In locally advanced disease, there is a paucity of data to support an optimal neoadjuvant approach with the expectation of down-staging to allow for curative resection. We describe in this case a young woman who was successfully down-staged using a chemotherapy regimen of capecitabine and temozolomide with minimal toxicity

Teaching Data Science

We describe an introductory data science course, entitled Introduction to Data Science, offered at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The course introduced general programming concepts by using the Python programming language with an emphasis on data preparation, processing, and presentation. The course had no prerequisites, and students were not expected to have any programming experience. This introductory course was designed to cover a wide range of topics, from the nature of data, to storage, to visualization, to probability and statistical analysis, to cloud and high performance computing, without becoming overly focused on any one subject. We conclude this article with a discussion of lessons learned and our plans to develop new data science courses.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, International Conference on Computational Science (ICCS 2016