How Cells Communicate with Each Other in the Tumor Microenvironment: Suggestions to Design Novel Therapeutic Strategies in Cancer Disease

Connexin- and pannexin (Panx)-formed hemichannels (HCs) and gap junctions (GJs) operate an interaction with the extracellular matrix and GJ intercellular communication (GJIC), and on account of this they are involved in cancer onset and progression towards invasiveness and metastatization. When we deal with cancer, it is not correct to omit the immune system, as well as neglecting its role in resisting or succumbing to formation and progression of incipient neoplasia until the formation of micrometastasis, nevertheless what really occurs in the tumor microenvironment (TME), which are the main players and which are the tumor or body allies, is still unclear. The goal of this article is to discuss how the pivotal players act, which can enhance or contrast cancer progression during two important process: “Activating Invasion and Metastasis” and the “Avoiding Immune Destruction”, with a particular emphasis on the interplay among GJIC, Panx-HCs, and the purinergic system in the TME without disregarding the inflammasome and cytokines thereof derived. In particular, the complex and contrasting roles of Panx1/P2X7R signalosome in tumor facilitation and/or inhibition is discussed in regard to the early/late phases of the carcinogenesis. Finally, considering this complex interplay in the TME between cancer cells, stromal cells, immune cells, and focusing on their means of communication, we should be capable of revealing harmful messages that help the cancer growth and transform them in body allies, thus designing novel therapeutic strategies to fight cancer in a personalized manner.     

Stochastic algorithms for robustness of control performances

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in developing statistical learning methods to provide approximate solutions to “difficult” control problems. In particular, randomized algorithms have become a very popular tool used for stability and performance analysis as well as for design of control systems. However, as randomized algorithms provide an efficient solution procedure to the “intractable” problems, stochastic methods bring closer to understanding the properties of the real systems. The topic of this paper is the use of stochastic methods in order to solve the problem of control robustness: the case of parametric stochastic uncertainty is considered. Necessary concepts regarding stochastic control theory and stochastic differential equations are introduced. Then a convergence analysis is provided by means of the Chernoff bounds, which guarantees robustness in mean and in probability. As an illustration, the robustness of control performances of example control systems is computed.     

Triggered essential reviewing: the effect of technology affordances on service experience evaluations

This paper responds to the recent call for understanding the nature and consequences of the digital mediation of everyday experiences. We do so in the context of online opinion sharing. We propose that the unique design features of mobile computing devices and the intention and purpose of their users, meld into a technology affordance we label: Triggered essential reviewing. We empirically investigate the effect of this technology affordance on opinion characteristics (i.e., timing and length), and outcomes (i.e., opinion valence and content). We find that triggered essential reviewing engenders opinions that cover a narrower range of aspects of the experience and that it produces a negative evaluative bias—a bias that mitigates over time. Our work makes two contributions to the application of affordance theory in Information Systems. First, it shows the importance of IT design in studying experiential computing. While not taking a deterministic view of technology, we validate the notion that different technology designs produce a variation of effects around a predictable central tendency. Second, it empirically demonstrates that the affordances of embodied digital experiences have an effect on actual behavior as well as on the outcome of the experience itself.     

Crop yield after 5 decades of contrasting residue management

Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems - The benefits of soil organic input on crop yields have long been discussed, yet details of their relationship remain controversial. This study considers the...     

A Weibull model to describe antimicrobial kinetics of oregano and lemongrass essential oils against Salmonella Enteritidis in ground beef during refrigerated storage

The antimicrobial effect of oregano (Origanum vulgare L.) and lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf.) essential oils (EOs) against Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis in in vitro experiments, and inoculated in ground bovine meat during refrigerated storage (4 ± 2 °C) for 6 days was evaluated. The Weibull model was tested to fit survival/inactivation bacterial curves (estimating of p and δ parameters). The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value for both EOs on S. Enteritidis was 3.90 μl/ml. The EO concentrations applied in the ground beef were 3.90, 7.80 and 15.60 μl/g, based on MIC levels and possible activity reduction by food constituents. Both evaluated EOs in all tested levels, showed antimicrobial effects, with microbial populations reducing (p ≤ 0.05) along time storage. Evaluating fit-quality parameters (RSS and RSE) Weibull models are able to describe the inactivation curves of EOs against S. Enteritidis. The application of EOs in processed meats can be used to control pathogens during refrigerated shelf-life.     

Malignant and benign breast tissue classification performance using a scatterer structure preclassifier

Benign and malignant breast tissue classification is examined for generalized-spectrum parameters computed from RF ultrasound data when a preclassification of subregions based on general scattering properties is performed. Results using a clinical database of 84 patients show statistically significant improvements (over 10% in receiver operation characteristic (ROC) areas) when only coherent scatterer subregions are used as compared to using all subregions within the region of interest.     

Extremal Synthesis for Generic Planar Systems

For a generic single-input planar control system we analyze the structure of the set of extremals for the time-optimal problem. Generically all extremals are finite concatenations of regular arcs that are bang or correspond to a smooth feedback. Moreover, the support of extremals is a Whitney stratified set. We collect these information in the definition of extremal synthesis. In the cotangent bundle, we give a topological classification of the singularities of the extremal synthesis and study the projections of the support of extremals (regarded as a two-dimensional object, after normalization) from ² × S ¹ to the plane. With respect to the Whitney classical singularities here we deal with a stratified set with edges and corners, and along with cusps and folds, we find other stable singularities.     

用于敞开式变电站的特高压开关设备

作为1 100 kV的UHV(特高压)输电,面临技术--生态环境的巨大挑战.变电站的UHV开关装置模块,需要的是可靠、成本/效益比好、环境友好、可维护的方案.对于这些所需的参数以及技术规范的验证,采用AIS(空气隔离变电所)技术能完全满足这些需要.介绍由瓷柱式断路器、隔离开关和NCIT(非传统互感器)所组成的UHV模块.这些装置是根据模块原理预先设计好的,其中的设备间的连接肯定允许快速安装.在变电站设备控制和检测方面,模块是预制标准化.加拿大和德国的试验站对断路器、隔离开关等独立的开关元件,在1 100 kV上做BIL、SIL和工频等绝缘试验,性能表现非常优越.因为对于特高压电压等级,IEC标准至今尚未规定,所以将根据外推法和现场数据作合理解释.瓷柱式断路器采用了最新复合绝缘体技术,在安全方面有所改进.AIS方案其他的关键技术,例如环境保护和成本,在可比的功能间,根据市场估计价值,与GIS解决方法作了比较.     

On the stabilization performance of some hybrid controls

Recently, significant interest has been raised in the study of hybrid systems. In this paper we analyse the performance of some hybrid controls to stabilize a model problem, comparing it with classical methods. We used computer simulations as well as analytic arguments which revealed the presence of periodic orbits for the considered hybrid dynamics. Existence and stability of the latter have also been considered in the framework of a single dynamical system on a suitable manifold (indeed, a stratified set), called the hybrid manifold.