Cancer biomarkers, and novel techniques for detection

Technologies for early detection of tumors is critical for better therapy outcome and overall change in cancer survival. These assays must be capable of detecting tumors at early stages in order to prevent metastasis of the tumor and help reduce mortality. Biological molecules can serve as markers that can indicate the presence of cancerous cells. Current biomarkers approved by the FDA include CA 125, which is a tumor associated antigen (TAA). However, the sensitivities of these TAAs is not high enough to detect at early stages of disease. Recent technologies have found that antibodies that recognize these TAAs, also known as autoantibodies, provide more sensitive means to screen for tumors. This review aims to present recent literature data relative to the field of cancer diagnosis and treatment. However, one should note that this article covers only fraction of the broad science behind this subject

Economic valuation of household preference for solid waste management in Malaysia: A choice modeling approach

This study estimated the economic values of household preferences for improved solid waste management (SWM) service attributes in Malaysia. The Choice Model (CM) was employed on 859 randomly selected urban households in Kajang and Seremban areas. The study found that households were willing to pay a premium for improvements in the SWM system. More specifically, the study ascertains that households on average are willing to pay a charge of RM1.57 per month for a change in collection frequency - from 3 irregular times to either 3 scheduled times or 4 times per week, ceteris paribus; RM3.32 if waste disposal method was improved from control tipping to sanitary landfill, ceteris paribus; and RM2.48 if transportation mode was improved from a mix of compactor and open trucks to either compactor or a mix of compactor and covered trucks, ceteris paribus. The CM has also shown that households derive positive utility from the provisions of recycling facilities and compulsory kerbside recycling with an implicit price (willingness to pay) of about RM3.51 monthly. Results from the study can be used by service providers to identify any mismatch between what the public actually wants and are willing to pay for and the affordability of supply on the part of service providers

Solutions of quasi-geostrophic turbulence in multi-layered configurations

We consider quasi-geostrophic (Q-G) models in two- and three-layers that are useful in theoretical studies of planetary atmospheres and oceans. In these models, the streamfunctions are given by (1+2) partial differen- tial systems of evolution equations. A two-layer Q-G model, in a simpli- fied version, is dependent exclusively on the Rossby radius of deformation. However, the f-plane Q-G point vortex model contains factors such as the density, thickness of each layer, the Coriolis parameter, and the constant of gravitational acceleration, and this two-layered model admits a lesser number of Lie point symmetries, as compared to the simplified model. Finally, we study a three-layer oceanography Q-G model of special inter- est, which includes asymmetric wind curl forcing or Ekman pumping, that drives double-gyre ocean circulation. In three-layers, we obtain solutions pertaining to the wind-driven double-gyre ocean flow for a range of physi- cally relevant features, such as lateral friction and the analogue parameters of the f-plane Q-G model. Zero-order invariants are used to reduce the partial differential systems to ordinary differential systems. We determine conservation laws for these Q-G systems via multiplier methods.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, 1 tabl

Constitutional Rhetoric

For close to a century, students of judicial behavior have suggested that what judges think is not altogether the same as what they say. Within the legal academy, this claim has long been associated with legal realists who have argued that the formal legal rules explicated in judicial opinions are at least partly epiphenomenal, masking the influence that the personal characteristics and dispositions of adjudicators exercise over legal outcomes. Political scientists have argued, variously, that such outcomes are determined by ideology, social background, or political, professional, or other institutional constraints. The notion that at least some “extralegal” factors influence judicial decision making is sufficiently intuitive and well established to be regarded as a fact. It is fair to expect, moreover, that such factors wield still greater influence in close cases of constitutional law, and particularly in cases involving constitutional rights. The outcomes of such cases are tightly bound up with deep and fundamentally divergent political commitments and social values. A vast and growing literature explores these and related issues