Dynamics and pattern formation in invasive tumor growth

In this work, we study the in-vitro dynamics of the most malignant form of the primary brain tumor: Glioblastoma Multiforme. Typically, the growing tumor consists of the inner dense proliferating zone and the outer less dense invasive region. Experiments with different types of cells show qualitatively different behavior. Wild-type cells invade a spherically symmetric manner, but mutant cells are organized in tenuous branches. We formulate a model for this sort of growth using two coupled reaction-diffusion equations for the cell and nutrient concentrations. When the ratio of the nutrient and cell diffusion coefficients exceeds some critical value, the plane propagating front becomes unstable with respect to transversal perturbations. The instability threshold and the full phase-plane diagram in the parameter space are determined. The results are in a good agreement with experimental findings for the two types of cells.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Drawing Graphs within Restricted Area

We study the problem of selecting a maximum-weight subgraph of a given graph such that the subgraph can be drawn within a prescribed drawing area subject to given non-uniform vertex sizes. We develop and analyze heuristics both for the general (undirected) case and for the use case of (directed) calculation graphs which are used to analyze the typical mistakes that high school students make when transforming mathematical expressions in the process of calculating, for example, sums of fractions

Cost-effective reductions of PM2.5 concentrations and exposure in Italy

In recent years several European air pollution policies have been based on a cost-effectiveness approach. In the European Union, the European Commission starts using the multi-pollutant, multi-effect GAINS (Greenhouse Gas Air Pollution Interactions and Synergies) model to identify cost-effective National Emission Ceilings and specific emission control measures for each Member State to reach these targets. In this paper, we apply the GAINS methodology to the case of Italy with 20 subnational regions. We present regional results for different approaches to environmental target setting for PM2.5 pollution in the year 2030. We have obtained these results using optimization techniques consistent with those of GAINS-Europe, but at a higher resolution. Our results show that an overall health-impact oriented approach is more cost-effective than setting a nation-wide limit value on ambient air quality, such as the one set for the year 2030 by the European Directive on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe. The health-impact oriented approach implies additional emission control costs of 153 million €/yr on top of the baseline costs, compared to 322 million €/yr for attaining the nation-wide air quality limit. We provide insights into the distribution of costs and benefits for regions within Italy and identify the main beneficiaries of a health-impact approach over a limit-value approach

Recursive internetwork architecture, investigating RINA as an alternative to TCP/IP (IRATI)

Driven by the requirements of the emerging applications and networks, the Internet has become an architectural patchwork of growing complexity which strains to cope with the changes. Moore’s law prevented us from recognising that the problem does not hide in the high demands of today’s applications but lies in the flaws of the Internet’s original design. The Internet needs to move beyond TCP/IP to prosper in the long term, TCP/IP has outlived its usefulness. The Recursive InterNetwork Architecture (RINA) is a new Internetwork architecture whose fundamental principle is that networking is only interprocess communication (IPC). RINA reconstructs the overall structure of the Internet, forming a model that comprises a single repeating layer, the DIF (Distributed IPC Facility), which is the minimal set of components required to allow distributed IPC between application processes. RINA supports inherently and without the need of extra mechanisms mobility, multi-homing and Quality of Service, provides a secure and configurable environment, motivates for a more competitive marketplace and allows for a seamless adoption. RINA is the best choice for the next generation networks due to its sound theory, simplicity and the features it enables. IRATI’s goal is to achieve further exploration of this new architecture. IRATI will advance the state of the art of RINA towards an architecture reference model and specifcations that are closer to enable implementations deployable in production scenarios. The design and implemention of a RINA prototype on top of Ethernet will permit the experimentation and evaluation of RINA in comparison to TCP/IP. IRATI will use the OFELIA testbed to carry on its experimental activities. Both projects will benefit from the collaboration. IRATI will gain access to a large-scale testbed with a controlled network while OFELIA will get a unique use-case to validate the facility: experimentation of a non-IP based Internet

Consistent description of NN and pi-N interactions using the solitary boson exchange potential

A unified description of NN and pi-N elastic scattering is presented in the framework of the one solitary boson exchange potential (OSBEP). This model already successfully applied to analyze NN scattering is now extended to describe pi-N scattering while also improving its accuracy in the NN domain. We demonstrate the importance of regularization of pi-N scattering amplitudes involving Delta isobars and derivative meson-nucleon couplings, as this model always yields finite amplitudes without recourse to phenomenological form factors. We find an empirical scaling relation of the meson self interaction coupling constants consistent with that previously found in the study of NN scattering. Finally, we demonstrate that the OSBEP model does not contradict the soft-pion theorems of pi-N scattering.Comment: 29 pages RevTeX, submitted to Phys. Rev. C, further information at http://i04ktha.desy.d

A Multi-Method Approach for Proteomic Network Inference in 11 Human Cancers.

Protein expression and post-translational modification levels are tightly regulated in neoplastic cells to maintain cellular processes known as 'cancer hallmarks'. The first Pan-Cancer initiative of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Research Network has aggregated protein expression profiles for 3,467 patient samples from 11 tumor types using the antibody based reverse phase protein array (RPPA) technology. The resultant proteomic data can be utilized to computationally infer protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks and to study the commonalities and differences across tumor types. In this study, we compare the performance of 13 established network inference methods in their capacity to retrieve the curated Pathway Commons interactions from RPPA data. We observe that no single method has the best performance in all tumor types, but a group of six methods, including diverse techniques such as correlation, mutual information, and regression, consistently rank highly among the tested methods. We utilize the high performing methods to obtain a consensus network; and identify four robust and densely connected modules that reveal biological processes as well as suggest antibody-related technical biases. Mapping the consensus network interactions to Reactome gene lists confirms the pan-cancer importance of signal transduction pathways, innate and adaptive immune signaling, cell cycle, metabolism, and DNA repair; and also suggests several biological processes that may be specific to a subset of tumor types. Our results illustrate the utility of the RPPA platform as a tool to study proteomic networks in cancer

Reducing the impact of radioactivity on quantum circuits in a deep-underground facility

As quantum coherence times of superconducting circuits have increased from nanoseconds to hundreds of microseconds, they are currently one of the leading platforms for quantum information processing. However, coherence needs to further improve by orders of magnitude to reduce the prohibitive hardware overhead of current error correction schemes. Reaching this goal hinges on reducing the density of broken Cooper pairs, so-called quasiparticles. Here, we show that environmental radioactivity is a significant source of nonequilibrium quasiparticles. Moreover, ionizing radiation introduces time-correlated quasiparticle bursts in resonators on the same chip, further complicating quantum error correction. Operating in a deep-underground lead-shielded cryostat decreases the quasiparticle burst rate by a factor fifty and reduces dissipation up to a factor four, showcasing the importance of radiation abatement in future solid-state quantum hardware

Productivity and quality of 'Fuji Suprema' apple fruit in different rootstocks and growing conditions.

Planting density increasing with the use of dwarf rootstocks it is a fact that has changed the scenario of the pome culture in Brazil. The objective of this work was to evaluate the plant growth, productivity and fruit quality of the Fuji Suprema cultivar grafted on the rootstocks G.213 and M.9 in a new area (virgin soil) and in the replanting area of apple trees in Vacaria City in Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. The cultivar Fuji Suprema grafted on the rootstocks G.213 and M.9 was used, being the experiment 1 in new area and the experiment 2 in area of replanting of apple trees. In both experiments, the orchard was implanted in 2014. The spacing adopted was 4.0 m between rows and 0.9 m between plants, totaling a density of 2,777 plants per hectare. Vegetative/productive evaluations were carried out in the 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 harvests in commercial orchards of the company Rasip Agro Pastoril S/A. In the experiment 1, the G.213 rootstock was highlighted for the variables accumulated productivity, accumulated productive efficiency, ASTT, number of branches and scion volume. In this same experiment, the M.9 rootstock was overestimated in some crops for the variables fruit mass and pulp firmness. In the experiment 2, the G.213 rootstock was highlighted as to the accumulated productivity, accumulated productive efficiency, ASTT, number of branches and scion volume. In the 2016 crop, the rootstock M.9, stood out for the diameter and mass of fruits and soluble solids and in the 2017 harvest for pulp firmness. In order to cultivate Fuji Suprema, both in the new area and in the replanting area of apple trees, the G.213 rootstock is a new dwarf rootstock option for the southern region of Brazil