Pi Day Research Articles

Histopathological Alterations in Nilaparvata lugens (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) after Exposure to Cordyceps javanica.

The brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens (Stål, 1854), is a pest of rice plants worldwide. Cordyceps javanica is a destructive entomopathogenic fungus known to attack leafhoppers or BPHs specifically. Live adult BPH samples were inoculated with isolated C. javanica PSUC002, and their interaction was morpho-histologically examined from 0 to 120 h post-inoculation (pi). We observed that the mortality of BPH continuously increased until 120 h pi (Day 5). Tissue alterations in the host were examined after infection using morphological and histological methods, including the Grocott Methenamine Silver stain test (GMS). Filamentous fungi were first found on the external integument at 12 h pi, and fungal conidia attached to the integument at 24 h pi. However, the initial degeneration of BPHs was identified by histology at 6 h pi especially in the integument and adipose tissue. We identified the degeneration and loss of integument and adipose tissue of infected BPHs at 12 h pi, and their necrosis was completed at 96 h pi. The enzymatic index of the sampled fungi (chitinase and protease) peaked at 7 days of incubation. This study demonstrated that C. javanica PSUC002 is useful to control the BPHs as an eco-friendly practice and will possibly be applied in agriculture.

Трансформация сюжета трагедии А.С. Пушкина «Моцарт и Сальери» в повести Н. Дашевской «День числа Пи»

The ways of reflecting classical texts in modern literature on the example of the story “Pi Day” by N. Dashevskaya addressed for teenage readers are considered. It is shown how the creation is formed on the allusion to the tragedy “Mozart and Salieri” by A.S. Pushkin. The specificity of a new type of hero, developed in the context of traditions, taking into account the ideas about modern teenager personality is revealed. The correlation of the plot about Mozart and Salieri with the literary hero of the new time is described. In the main antagonists’ images of N. Dashevskaya’s story – Lev Inozemtsev and Kirill Komlev – the positive and negative features combination is emphasized. The methods of gifted teenager image formation in the creation are characterized, the artistic embodiment specificity of his socialization, adaptation way in the school community is determined. Differences number of the modern author’s book from the classical creation are highlighted, the writer’s desire to form in young readers the need to have a look at the source material is emphasized. The compositional features of the story “Pi Day” are defined: division into two equal parts, narration on behalf of different characters, fragmentary day-night narration. The practical significance of the research, the results using possibility in literature school teaching as a way of increasing the high school students reading interest to the classic Russian literature is outlined.

Mathematical Doodles in Türkiye and the World

Google Doodles are special designs created by Google for special occasions and historical events. The math-themed doodles created and published by Google between 2000 and December 2022 were examined in this study, which was performed using the document analysis method. 39 math-themed doodles from Google's doodle database were examined. As a result of the content analysis, it was observed that 37 doodles were created to honour mathematicians, while two were created specifically for Pi Day. Two of the 16 Google Doodles in Türkiye that have a mathematical theme are tied to Pi Day, while 14 of them are about mathematicians. One of these mathematicians is from the Republican era, and the other is from the Turkish-Islamic era. The remaining 12 mathematicians come from various nations. However, while doodles honouring well-known Turkish-Islamic mathematicians such as Al-Biruni and Al-Rhazi were published in other countries, they were not published in Google Türkiye. Some suggestions have been developed in line with the results of the study.

Promoting Pi Day: Consumer Response to Special Day‐Themed Sales Promotions

Many firms now link discounts to “special days”—novel holidays/events not historically associated with promotions (e.g., Pi Day). Using a field study and laboratory studies, we explore consumers’ responses to special day‐themed sales promotions. Specifically, we demonstrate that consumers respond more favorably to a discount celebrating a special day compared to the same discount with no link to the special day. Further, we show that consumers’ increased intentions to use special day‐themed discounts are driven by their perceptions of the marketer’s creativity (both the originality and appropriateness dimensions) through a marketplace metacognition process. Thus, when a given special day‐themed discount becomes commonplace in the marketplace (i.e., originality is low) or when there is low fit between the firm and special day (i.e., appropriateness is low), special day‐themed promotions are no more effective than more traditional types of one‐day sales. Finally, we develop a typology of special day‐themed sales promotions and offer avenues for future research on how consumers respond to such promotional efforts.

P1387IRON CITRATE BLOCKS THE PROGRESSION OF CALCIUM DEPOSITION BY REVERTING APOPTOSIS AND AUTOPHAGY IN VSMCS

Abstract Background and Aims Cardiovascular disease is the first cause of mortality in chronic kidney disease (CKD) induced by vascular calcification. Since, in advanced CKD, iron based phosphate binders have been proposed to treat hyperphosphatemia, we studied, in high-phosphate (Pi) calcified VSMC, the effect of iron citrate (iron) on the progression of calcium deposition. Method We treated VSMCs with 5 mM Pi and iron citrate to evaluate Ca deposition by Alizarin Red destaining, DNA fragmentation by ELISA, gene expression by RT-PCR and protein expression by Western blot. Results High-Pi calcification was blocked when iron was added from day 7 to 15 (1.30±0.03vs0.61±0.02; OD/mg protein; day 15; PivsPi+Fe, p<0.01). Since iron added prophylactically prevented apoptosis and potentiated autophagy we studied the role of these two processes in the therapeutic protocol. Adding iron from day 7 to day 11 decreased apoptotic cell number (17.3±2.6vs11.6±1.6; Annexin V; % positive cells; day 11; PivsPi+Fe; p<0.05, figure). To confirm the effect of iron on apoptosis, we demonstrated its action in blocking the H2O2-induced increase in calcification when added from day 7 to day 14 (1.37±0.03 vs. 0.96±0.05; H2O2+Pi day 7-14 vs Fe+H2O2+Pi day 7-14; day 14; OD/mg protein; p<0.01). We then investigated the mechanism of the anti-apoptotic effect by studying the pro-survival axis GAS6/AXL, finding that iron treatment from day 9 to day 14 counteracted the protein down-regulation, and induced their de-novo synthesis. Supporting the effect of therapeutic added iron on apoptosis we found a decrease in apoptotic nuclei both in VSMCs and aortic rings after iron treatment from day 7 to 15 (3.8±0.2vs2.3±0.3 and 4.0±0.3vs2.2±0.2; apoptotic nuclei; arbitrary score; day 15; PivsPi+Fe; VSMCs and aortic rings; p<0.05). Moreover, iron added from day 9 to day 15 potentiated autophagic flux and increased the number of autophagosomes with damaged mitochondria. Conclusion Iron exerts an anti-apoptotic and pro-autophagic effect on established calcified VSMC when simil-osteoblastic transformation was already occurred.

Effects of reducing growth rate via diet dilution on bone mineralization, performance and carcass yield of coccidia-infected broilers

Coccidiosis and rapid growth rate (GR) compromise bone mineralization in modern broilers. We tested the hypothesis that reducing GR via diet dilution during peak bone development will improve bone mineralization in both infected and uninfected broilers. A total of 384 male Ross 308 chicks were allocated to a basal grower diet (3,107kcal/kg ME and 19.4% CP) diluted with 0, 5, 10, or 15% lignocellulose (n = 12 pens/treatment, 8 birds/pen) at day 10 of age. Prior to this, birds in each group received half the intended diet-dilution levels (day 8 to 10 of age) and a common starter diet (day 1 to 7 of age). At day 13 of age (day 0 post-infection, pi), birds were orally inoculated with either 7,000 sporulated Eimeria maxima oocysts (I) or water (C), forming a 4 diet-dilution level × 2 infection status factorial experiment. Performance was measured over 12 days pi and scaled to BW at infection (day 0 pi) to account for a priori BW differences. At day 12 pi (day 25 of age), 1 bird/pen (a total of 6 birds/treatment) was sampled to assess tibia and femur mineralization relative to BW, and carcass yield. There was no interaction (P > 0.05) between infection status and diet-dilution level on ADFI/BW measured over day 1 to 12 pi, or on any bone variable. ADG/BW pi decreased (P < 0.01) with diet dilution amongst C birds, but was statistically similar (P > 0.05) amongst I birds. I compared to C birds had reduced breast meat (P < 0.05) and eviscerated carcass yield (P < 0.01), femur (P < 0.05) and tibia (P < 0.01) breaking strength (BS), and femur ash weight (AW) (P < 0.05). Diet dilution did not affect carcass yield, but improved femur BS (P < 0.001), and tended to improve (P < 0.1) femur and tibia AW. Overall, diet dilution significantly affected femur, more than tibia, variables: relative BS, robusticity index, and ash percentage. Reducing GR affected broiler long bone mineralization to a similar degree in the presence or absence of coccidiosis.

From Python to Raspberry Pi: Celebrating Pi Day with data science

The University of California-San Francisco (UCSF) Library is a graduate-only health science university with four professional schools (medicine, pharmacy, nursing, and dentistry), a graduate division, and an academic medical center. For several years UCSF has been the number one public recipient of NIH funding, reflecting the school’s dedication to biomedical research. Around 2015, the UCSF Library began investigating new ways to serve the university’s research population. Seeing a need for more computational and entrepreneurship training the library piloted two new programs: the Data Science Initiative (DSI) and the Makers Lab.

PI DAY: An Irrational Holiday

"PI DAY: An Irrational Holiday." Math Horizons, 23(3), p. 16 This article is part of the following collections: Mathematics of Pi Additional informationNotes on contributorsNicholas FioriNicholas Fiori is the chair of the mathematics department at Saint Ann's School in Brooklyn, New York, a school that does not celebrate Pi Day. Illustrations by Elettra. Email: nfiori@saintannsny.org

A Pi Day of the Century Every Year

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size This article is part of the following collections: Trevor Evans AwardsMathematics of Pi Additional informationNotes on contributorsCornelia A. Van CottCornelia Van Cott is an associate professor of mathematics at the University of San Francisco. She enjoys thinking about geometry and topology, speaking about math to children and college students, and celebrating Pi Day. Email: cvancott@usfca.edu

Professor Stewart's casebook of mathematical mysteries

In Professor Stewart's Casebook of Mathematical Mysteries , acclaimed mathematician Ian Stewart presents an enticing collection of mathematical curios and conundrums. With a new puzzle on each page, this compendium of brainteasers will both teach and delight. Guided by stalwart detective Hemlock Soames and his sidekick, Dr. John Watsup, readers will delve into almost two hundred mathematical problems, puzzles, and facts. Tackling subjects from mathematical dates (such as Pi Day), what we don't know about primes, and why the Earth is round, this clever, mind-expanding book demonstrates the power and fun inherent in mathematics.

Special Pi Day Ahead: 3.14.15

“in my opinion: Special pi day ahead: 3.14.15,” The authors discuss pi in a historical context. This department publishes brief news articles, announcements, and guest editorials on current mathematics education issues that stimulate the interest of TCM readers and cause them to think about an issue or consider a specific viewpoint about some aspect of mathematics education. “YouCubed: Broadening the conversation for supporting student success in mathematics,” Drawing on current research and best practices, YouCubed is a collaborative effort to empower learners to find the joy of mathematics through engaging in challenging tasks. The website offers short videos, appropriate for a broad audience of students, parents, and teachers, describing current research about mathematics education in the United States, brain research, proven pedagogical practices, and challenging K—grade 12 mathematical tasks. “The Standards for Mathematical Practice: A three-step implementation approach,” As students become more proficient with math models, they will be able to identify important quantities in everyday life situations and represent them verbally, graphically, pictorially, and symbolically.

The Recent Trademarking of Pi: A Troubling Precedent

Background Intellectual property law is complex and varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but, roughly speaking, creative works can be copyrighted, while inventions and processes can be patented and brand names thence protected. In each case the intention is to protect the value of the owner’s work or possession. For the most part mathematics is excluded by the Berne Convention [1] of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) [12]. An unusual exception was the successful patenting of Gray codes in 1953 [3]. More usual was the carefully timed Pi Day 2012 dismissal [6] by a US judge of a copyright infringement suit regarding π , since “Pi is a noncopyrightable fact.” We mathematicians have largely ignored patents and, to the degree we care at all, have been more concerned about copyright as described in the work of the International Mathematical Union’s Committee on Electronic Information and Communication (CEIC) [2]. But as the following story indicates, it may now be time for mathematicians to start paying attention to patenting.

The Pi Day Massacre

I was in bed, dreaming about a theorem, when the incessant ringing of my phone dragged me back to reality. ‘‘Hello?’’ I said groggily. ‘‘Yeah, Mangum, it’s Schmishschmitt. I got a case for you.’’ Schmishschmitt was my contact at LAPD. My name’s Mangum, Mangum P.I. That’s right. I’m a principal investigator on an NSF grant. I’m the guy they call when there’s a mathematical crime. And times being what they are, I get a lot of calls. ‘‘All right Schmishschmitt,’’ I said. ‘‘I was just dreaming up a new proof of the Hairy Ball Theorem. I’ll have to start over again, tonight.’’ ‘‘Sorry to disturb naptime, Mangum, but this is important. Come down to the Math Common Room on the second floor of Millikan Laboratory at Pomona College. I’ll meet you there.’’ A half hour later, I strolled into the wreckage. Students were sobbing and holding onto each other for comfort. A busload of grief counselors was working the room. Schmishschmitt was in the corner talking to a distraught woman with short grey hair, reading glasses hanging on a chain around her neck, and red cherry stains down the front of her white blouse. ‘‘Mangum, this is Freida Warminster, chair of the Pomona Math Department. She can explain what happened.’’ ‘‘Don’t bother,’’ I said, holding up a hand. ‘‘It’s obvious.’’ ‘‘What do you mean?’’ asked Shmishschmitt. ‘‘Well,’’ I said pointing to the broken pies littering the floor, the whipped cream sprayed around the room and the fresh blueberry stains dripping down the walls, ‘‘given that today is March 14, and the pies, one can deduce that the Pomona Math Department was putting on a Pi Day celebration. Timed to start at the traditional time of 3/14 at 1:59 and 26 and a half seconds, corresponding to the first nine digits of pi.’’ ‘‘You know about Pi Day?’’ said Schmishschmitt skeptically. ‘‘How could you? You’re at UCLA.’’ ‘‘Not surprised you might wonder, Schmishscmitt,’’ I said. ‘‘There are two types of math departments, the ones that celebrate Pi Day and the ones that don’t.’’ Schmishschmitt rolled his eyes, as he often did when I went into lecture mode, so I focused my attention on Warminster. ‘‘Which ones don’t, you ask. Sometimes it’s a department with a chair who’s allergic to shortening. Sometimes it’s a

A really big piece of Pi

Pi Day is on the fourteenth day of the third month each year. Paula Hammond′s Pi-themed assembly aims to get children thinking about the problem of stereotyping

Celebrating Mathematics All Year 'Round

Pi Day and Pi Week festivities–a good place to start–can be a springboard to mathematics celebrations throughout the year.

Pi Day celebrated

Pi Day celebrated

Activities for Students: Using Statistical Testing to Approximate π

Every March 14, teachers and students around the country celebrate “Pi Day” with a variety of activities. Some students and teachers bake pies, while others plan a special celebration at 1:59 to celebrate Pi Day down to the nearest minute. One of my colleagues gives a prize to the student who can memorize the greatest number of digits of π. They would have to memorize quite a few digits to break the record. In 1995, Hiroyuki Goto memorized 42,194 digits of π. It took him more than nine hours to recite them all.

Maternal and Fetal Immune Responses of Cattle Inoculated with Neospora caninum at Mid-Gestation

The humoral and cell-mediated immune responses of pregnant cattle and their fetuses were examined at intervals after infection with Neospora caninum tachyzoites at mid-gestation (day 140). All cattle seroconverted and interferon gamma was detected in supernatants of peripheral blood mononuclear cells stimulated with specific antigen. At day 14 post-inoculation (pi), specific cell proliferation responses were detected in the lymph node draining the site of inoculation and in the uterine lymph node. The peak response was recorded in the majority of maternal lymph nodes by day 28 pi and cells from the maternal retropharyngeal lymph node, which in part drains the central nervous system, showed no specific activity to N. caninum until day 42 pi. This changing pattern of immune responsiveness may reflect parasite invasion and development within different host tissues. Fetal lymph node cells showed mitogen responsiveness from day 14 pi (day 154 of gestation) and also showed N. caninum-specific cell proliferation and interferon-gamma responses by day 28 pi (day 168 of gestation). At day 42 pi, specific cell-mediated immune responses were not apparent; however, N. caninum-specific fetal IgG and IgM antibodies were detected.

Searching for clues: tracking the pathogenesis of human immunodeficiency virus central nervous system disease by use of an accelerated, consistent simian immunodeficiency virus macaque model.

An accelerated model of human immunodeficiency virus central nervous system disease was developed in which more than 90% of infected macaques develop typical simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) encephalitis with neuronal dysfunction by postinoculation (pi) day 84. Infected macaques had replicating virus and microglial activation in the brain 10 days after inoculation; viral replication and microglial activation were suppressed at pi day 21. By pi day 56, viral recrudescence in the brain was detected in 2 of 6 infected macaques. CD4 cells were the predominant lymphocytes in the brain during acute and asymptomatic infection; cytotoxic T lymphocytes and NK cells predominated in macaques with encephalitis. Low levels of peripheral blood NK lytic activity at pi day 10, elevated cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 after 28 days, and high CSF viral RNA after 42 days predicted SIV encephalitis. This model is ideal to track the viral, cellular, and immunologic changes in the brain during acute and asymptomatic infection and during viral recrudescence and SIV encephalitis.

On My Mind: Let's Take Another Look at Pi Day

IN OUR EARNEST DESIRE TO EDUCATE OUR students about the great importance and significance of the number p by celebrating with special mathematical activities on March 14, we just may be teaching a concept that we had not intended or that we are overlooking altogether. I am referring here to the fundamental concept of the place-value structure of our decimal number system.