BaBar - A Community Web Site in an Organizational Setting

The BABAR Web site was established in 1993 at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) to support the BABAR experiment, to report its results, and to facilitate communication among its scientific and engineering collaborators, currently numbering about 600 individuals from 75 collaborating institutions in 10 countries. The BABAR Web site is, therefore, a community Web site. At the same time it is hosted at SLAC and funded by agencies that demand adherence to policies decided under different priorities. Additionally, the BABAR Web administrators deal with the problems that arise during the course of managing users, content, policies, standards, and changing technologies. Desired solutions to some of these problems may be incompatible with the overall administration of the SLAC Web sites and/or the SLAC policies and concerns. There are thus different perspectives of the same Web site and differing expectations in segments of the SLAC population which act as constraints and challenges in any review or re-engineering activities. Web Engineering, which post-dates the BABAR Web, has aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding of all aspects of Web development. This paper reports on the first part of a recent review of application of Web Engineering methods to the BABAR Web site, which has led to explicit user and information models of the BABAR community and how SLAC and the BABAR community relate and react to each other. The paper identifies the issues of a community Web site in a hierarchical, semi-governmental sector and formulates a strategy for periodic reviews of BABAR and similar sites.Comment: Talk from the 2003 Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics (CHEP03), La Jolla, Ca, USA, March 2003, 8 pages, PDF, PSN MONT00

Elaine Bebo to Mr. Meredith (1 October 1962)

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/mercorr_pro/1412/thumbnail.jp

Using Relational Schemata in a Computer Immune System to Detect Multiple-Packet Network Intrusions

Given the increasingly prominent cyber-based threat, there are substantial research and development efforts underway in network and host-based intrusion detection using single-packet traffic analysis. However, there is a noticeable lack of research and development in the intrusion detection realm with regard to attacks that span multiple packets. This leaves a conspicuous gap in intrusion detection capability because not all attacks can be found by examining single packets alone. Some attacks may only be detected by examining multiple network packets collectively, considering how they relate to the big picture, not how they are represented as individual packets. This research demonstrates a multiple-packet relational sensor in the context of a Computer Immune System (CIS) model to search for attacks that might otherwise go unnoticed via single-packet detection methods. Using relational schemata, multiple-packet CIS sensors define self based on equal, less than, and greater than relationships between fields of routine network packet headers. Attacks are then detected by examining how the relationships among attack packets may lay outside of the previously defined self

Le boom de l'anacarde en Côte d'Ivoire : transition écologique et sociale des systèmes à base de coton et de cacao

Le dynamisme agricole de la Côte d'Ivoire continue de surprendre les marchés de matières premières, en particulier ceux du cacao et du caoutchouc. Le pays s'empare aussi de la place de premier producteur mondial d'anacarde. Comment interpréter ce boom ? Il est en partie lié aux marchés (stagnation des prix du coton et du cacao, hausse du prix de l'anacarde sur deux périodes), mais les déterminants sont beaucoup plus complexes. L'hypothèse de l'étude est que l'adoption de l'anacardier relève en partie d'une transition écologique d'adaptation à l'épuisement de la rente forêt et au changement climatique, au coût croissant des intrants chimiques pour le coton et le cacao, mais répond aussi à l'insécurité foncière. Cette hypothèse a été testée en 2016–2017 sur 6 sites d'étude, choisis selon un gradient nord-sud : Mankono, Konanhiri, Bonon, Yamoussoukro, Bayota-Gagnoa et Soubré, à raison de 40 à 100 exploitations par site, avec des actualisations partielles en 2018. Ces enquêtes confirment l'hypothèse. L'anacardier, arbre robuste, résistant aux sécheresses, évite pour l'instant aux planteurs tout recours aux intrants chimiques et au crédit, reconstitue un ombrage forestier et est aussi un marqueur de terre (il apporte une sécurité foncière informelle dans le village d'origine des planteurs migrants, mais aussi dans leur village cacaoyer). Il devient l'outil d'une transition écologique et sociale. Cette transition inclut des flux significatifs d'information, de travail et d'investissement entre les deux espaces économiques. Elle relève essentiellement d'une innovation paysanne. En zone cacaoyère, l'anacardier, dans sa dimension agroforestière sous forme d'association avec le cacaoyer, réduit la mortalité des jeunes plants de cacao, et son adoption prend tout son sens de transition agroécologique. L'agriculture familiale est-elle en train de réaliser seule ce que l'industrie du chocolat promet sur le papier : une cacaoculture " zéro-déforestation " et durable

Landscape of MS patient cohorts and registries: recommendations for maximizing impact

BACKGROUND: There is a growing number of cohorts and registries collecting phenotypic and genotypic data from groups of multiple sclerosis patients. Improved awareness and better coordination of these efforts is needed. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this report is to provide a global landscape of the major longitudinal MS patient data collection efforts and share recommendations for increasing their impact. METHODS: A workshop that included over 50 MS research and clinical experts from both academia and industry was convened to evaluate how current and future MS cohorts could be better used to provide answers to urgent questions about progressive MS. RESULTS: The landscape analysis revealed a significant number of largely uncoordinated parallel studies. Strategic oversight and direction is needed to streamline and leverage existing and future efforts. A number of recommendations for enhancing these efforts were developed. CONCLUSIONS: Better coordination, increased leverage of evolving technology, cohort designs that focus on the most important unanswered questions, improved access, and more sustained funding will be needed to close the gaps in our understanding of progressive MS and accelerate the development of effective therapies

A survey on big data indexing strategies

The operations of the Internet have led to a significant growth and accumulation of data known as Big Data.Individuals and organizations that utilize this data, had no idea, nor were they prepared for this data explosion.Hence, the available solutions cannot meet the needs of the growing heterogeneous data in terms of processing. This results in inefficient information retrieval or search query results.The design of indexing strategies that can support this need is required. A survey on various indexing strategies and how they are utilized for solving Big Data management issues can serve as a guide for choosing the strategy best suited for a problem, and can also serve as a base for the design of more efficient indexing strategies.The aim of the study is to explore the characteristics of the indexing strategies used in Big Data manageability by covering some of the weaknesses and strengths of B-tree, R-tree, to name but a few. This paper covers some popular indexing strategies used for Big Data management. It exposes the potentials of each by carefully exploring their properties in ways that are related to problem solving

Outcomes and risk factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in a North American registry of patients with multiple sclerosis

Importance: Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 causing COVID-19 prompted the need to gather information on clinical outcomes and risk factors associated with morbidity and mortality in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and concomitant SARS-CoV-2 infections. Objective: To examine outcomes and risk factors associated with COVID-19 clinical severity in a large, diverse cohort of North American patients with MS. Design, Setting, and Participants: This analysis used deidentified, cross-sectional data on patients with MS and SARS-CoV-2 infection reported by health care professionals in North American academic and community practices between April 1, 2020, and December 12, 2020, in the COVID-19 Infections in MS Registry. Health care professionals were asked to report patients after a minimum of 7 days from initial symptom onset and after sufficient time had passed to observe the COVID-19 disease course through resolution of acute illness or death. Data collection began April 1, 2020, and is ongoing. Exposures: Laboratory-positive SARS-CoV-2 infection or highly suspected COVID-19. Main Outcomes and Measures: Clinical outcome with 4 levels of increasing severity: not hospitalized, hospitalization only, admission to the intensive care unit and/or required ventilator support, and death. Results: Of 1626 patients, most had laboratory-positive SARS-CoV-2 infection (1345 [82.7%]), were female (1202 [74.0%]), and had relapsing-remitting MS (1255 [80.4%]). A total of 996 patients (61.5%) were non-Hispanic White, 337 (20.8%) were Black, and 190 (11.7%) were Hispanic/Latinx. The mean (SD) age was 47.7 (13.2) years, and 797 (49.5%) had 1 or more comorbidity. The overall mortality rate was 3.3% (95% CI, 2.5%-4.3%). Ambulatory disability and older age were each independently associated with increased odds of all clinical severity levels compared with those not hospitalized after adjusting for other risk factors (nonambulatory: hospitalization only, odds ratio [OR], 2.8 [95% CI, 1.6-4.8]; intensive care unit/required ventilator support, OR, 3.5 [95% CI, 1.6-7.8]; death, OR, 25.4 [95% CI, 9.3-69.1]; age [every 10 years]: hospitalization only, OR, 1.3 [95% CI, 1.1-1.6]; intensive care unit/required ventilator support, OR, 1.3 [95% CI, 0.99-1.7]; death, OR, 1.8 [95% CI, 1.2-2.6]). Conclusions and Relevance: In this registry-based cross-sectional study, increased disability was independently associated with worse clinical severity including death from COVID-19. Other risk factors for worse outcomes included older age, Black race, cardiovascular comorbidities, and recent treatment with corticosteroids. Knowledge of these risk factors may improve the treatment of patients with MS and COVID-19 by helping clinicians identify patients requiring more intense monitoring or COVID-19 treatment

Coronary Heart Disease and Ischemic Stroke Polygenic Risk Scores and atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in a Diverse, Population-Based Cohort Study

The predictive ability of coronary heart disease (CHD) and ischemic stroke (IS) polygenic risk scores (PRS) have been evaluated individually, but whether they predict the combined outcome of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) remains insufficiently researched. It is also unclear whether associations of the CHD and IS PRS with ASCVD are independent of subclinical atherosclerosis measures. 7,286 White and 2,016 Black participants from the population-based Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study who were free of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes at baseline were included. We computed previously validated CHD and IS PRS consisting of 1,745,179 and 3,225,583 genetic variants, respectively. Cox proportional hazards models were used to test the association between each PRS and ASCVD, adjusting for traditional risk factors, ankle-brachial index, carotid intima media thickness, and carotid plaque. The hazard ratios (HR) for the CHD and IS PRS were significant with HR of 1.50 (95% CI: 1.36-1.66) and 1.31 (95% CI: 1.18-1.45) respectively for the risk of incident ASCVD per standard deviation increase in CHD and IS PRS among White participants after adjusting for traditional risk factors. The HR for the CHD PRS was not significant with an HR of 0.95 (95% CI: 0.79-1.13) for the risk of incident ASCVD in Black participants. The HR for the IS PRS was significant with an HR of 1.26 (95%CI: 1.05-1.51) for the risk of incident ASCVD in Black participants. The association of the CHD and IS PRS with ASCVD was not attenuated in White participants after adjustment for ankle-brachial index, carotid intima media thickness, and carotid plaque. The CHD and IS PRS do not cross-predict well, and predict better the outcome for which they were created than the composite ASCVD outcome. Thus, the use of the composite outcome of ASCVD may not be ideal for genetic risk prediction