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The World Trade Web (WTW), which models the international transactions among countries, is a fundamental tool for studying the economics of trade flows, their evolution over time, and their implications for a number of phenomena, including the propagation of economic shocks among countries. In this respect, the possible existence of communities is a key point, because it would imply that countries are organized in groups of preferential partners. In this paper, we use four approaches to analyze communities in the WTW between 1962 and 2008, based, respectively, on modularity optimization, cluster analysis, stability functions, and persistence probabilities. Overall, the four methods agree in finding no evidence of significant partitions. A few weak communities emerge from the analysis, but they do not represent secluded groups of countries, as intercommunity linkages are also strong, supporting the view of a truly globalized trading system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A biophysical tool is introduced that seeks to provide a theoretical basis for helping drug design teams assess the most promising drug targets and design optimal treatment strategies. The tool is grounded in a previously validated computational model of the feedback that occurs between a growing tumor and the evolving vasculature. In this paper, the model is particularly used to explore the therapeutic effectiveness of two drugs that target the tumor vasculature: angiogenesis inhibitors (Als) and vascular disrupting agents (VDAs). Using sensitivity analyses, the impact of VDA dosing parameters is explored, as is the effects of administering a VDA with an AI. Further, a stochastic optimization scheme is utilized to identify an optimal dosing schedule for treatment with an AI and a chemotherapeutic. The treatment regimen identified can successfully halt simulated tumor growth, even after the cessation of therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]