A distributed programming environment for Ada

Despite considerable commercial exploitation of fault tolerance systems, significant and difficult research problems remain in such areas as fault detection and correction. A research project is described which constructs a distributed computing test bed for loosely coupled computers. The project is constructing a tool kit to support research into distributed control algorithms, including a distributed Ada compiler, distributed debugger, test harnesses, and environment monitors. The Ada compiler is being written in Ada and will implement distributed computing at the subsystem level. The design goal is to provide a variety of control mechanics for distributed programming while retaining total transparency at the code level

Economic Outcomes of Patients Receiving Antiretroviral Therapy for HIV/AIDS in South Africa Are Sustained through Three Years on Treatment

BACKGROUND. Although the medical outcomes of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV/AIDS are well described, less is known about how ART affects patients' economic activities and quality of life, especially after the first year on ART. We assessed symptom prevalence, general health, ability to perform normal activities, and employment status among adult antiretroviral therapy patients in South Africa over three full years following ART initiation. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS. A cohort of 855 adult pre-ART patients and patients on ART for <6 months was enrolled and interviewed an average of 4.4 times each during routine clinic visits for up to three years after treatment initiation using an instrument designed for the study. The probability of pain in the previous week fell from 74% before ART initiation to 32% after three years on ART, fatigue from 66% to 12%, nausea from 28% to 4%, and skin problems from 55% to 10%. The probability of not feeling well physically yesterday fell from 46% to 23%. Before starting ART, 39% of subjects reported not being able to perform their normal activities sometime during the previous week; after three years, this proportion fell to 10%. Employment rose from 27% to 42% of the cohort. Improvement in all outcomes was sustained over 3 years and for some outcomes increased in the second and third year. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE. Improvements in adult ART patients' symptom prevalence, general health, ability to perform normal activities, and employment status were large and were sustained through the first three years on treatment. These results suggest that some of the positive economic and social externalities anticipated as a result of large-scale treatment provision, such as increases in workforce participation and productivity and the ability of patients to carry on normal lives, may indeed be accruing.South Africa Mission of the U.S. Agency for International Development (GHSA-00-00020-00, 674-A-00-09-00018-00, 674-A-00-02-00018); National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (PEPFAR 13, K01AI083097); APDA Advanced Center for Parkinson Research at UAB (NIH F30NS065661, NIH R01CA122930); National Institutes of Health Blueprint Core for Neuroscience Research (NS057098

Anti-cancer effects and mechanism of actions of aspirin analogues in the treatment of glioma cancer

INTRODUCTION: In the past 25 years only modest advancements in glioma treatment have been made, with patient prognosis and median survival time following diagnosis only increasing from 3 to 7 months. A substantial body of clinical and preclinical evidence has suggested a role for aspirin in the treatment of cancer with multiple mechanisms of action proposed including COX 2 inhibition, down regulation of EGFR expression, and NF-κB signaling affecting Bcl-2 expression. However, with serious side effects such as stroke and gastrointestinal bleeding, aspirin analogues with improved potency and side effect profiles are being developed. METHOD: Effects on cell viability following 24 hr incubation of four aspirin derivatives (PN508, 517, 526 and 529) were compared to cisplatin, aspirin and di-aspirin in four glioma cell lines (U87 MG, SVG P12, GOS – 3, and 1321N1), using the PrestoBlue assay, establishing IC50 and examining the time course of drug effects. RESULTS: All compounds were found to decrease cell viability in a concentration and time dependant manner. Significantly, the analogue PN517 (IC50 2mM) showed approximately a twofold increase in potency when compared to aspirin (3.7mM) and cisplatin (4.3mM) in U87 cells, with similar increased potency in SVG P12 cells. Other analogues demonstrated similar potency to aspirin and cisplatin. CONCLUSION: These results support the further development and characterization of novel NSAID derivatives for the treatment of glioma

AAV-mediated direct in vivo CRISPR screen identifies functional suppressors in glioblastoma

A causative understanding of genetic factors that regulate glioblastoma pathogenesis is of central importance. Here we developed an adeno-associated virus-mediated, autochthonous genetic CRISPR screen in glioblastoma. Stereotaxic delivery of a virus library targeting genes commonly mutated in human cancers into the brains of conditional-Cas9 mice resulted in tumors that recapitulate human glioblastoma. Capture sequencing revealed diverse mutational profiles across tumors. The mutation frequencies in mice correlated with those in two independent patient cohorts. Co-mutation analysis identified co-occurring driver combinations such as B2m-Nf1, Mll3-Nf1 and Zc3h13-Rb1, which were subsequently validated using AAV minipools. Distinct from Nf1-mutant tumors, Rb1-mutant tumors are undifferentiated and aberrantly express homeobox gene clusters. The addition of Zc3h13 or Pten mutations altered the gene expression profiles of Rb1 mutants, rendering them more resistant to temozolomide. Our study provides a functional landscape of gliomagenesis suppressors in vivo

Genomic, Pathway Network, and Immunologic Features Distinguishing Squamous Carcinomas

This integrated, multiplatform PanCancer Atlas study co-mapped and identified distinguishing molecular features of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) from five sites associated with smokin

Crop Updates 2001 - Pulses

This session covers sixty six papers from different authors: 1. Pulse Industry Highlights 2. CONTRIBUTORS 3. BACKGROUND 4. SUMMARY OF PREVIOUS RESULTS 2000 REGIONAL ROUNDUP 5. Northern agricultural Region, M. Harries, W. O’Neill, Agriculture Western Australia 6. Central Agricultural Region, R. French, Agriculture Western Australia 7. Great Southern and Lakes,N. Brandon, N. Runciman and S. White,Agriculture Western Australia 8. Esperance, M. Seymour, Agriculture Western Australia PULSE PRODUCTION AGRONOMY AND GENETIC IMPROVEMENT Faba bean: 9. germplasm evaluation, 10. Variety evaluation, 11. Sowing rate and time of sowing, Variation in root morphology, P. White and T. Pope, Agriculture Western Australia Desi chickpea: 12. Breeding highlights, 13. Variety evaluation, 14. Seed discolouration, C. Veitch, Agriculture Western Australia, 15. Performance under drought stress, J. Berger, N.C. Turner, CLIMA and CSIRO Plant Industry , K.H.M. Siddique, Agriculture Western Australia & CLIMA, 16. Resistance to chilling at flowering and to budworm, H. Clarke, CLIMA, 17. Effect of row spacing, sowing rate and orientation on growth and seed yield, G. Riethmuller, W. MacLeod, Agriculture Western Australia Kabuli chickpea, 18. variety and germplasm evaluation, 19. Premium quality kabuli chickpea development in the ORIA, 20. International screening for ascochyta blight resistance, 21. Evaluation of ascochyta resistant germplasm in Australia Field pea 22. Breeding highlights, 23. Variety evaluation, 24. Agronomic and varietal effects on seed quality, R. French, J. Millar and T.N. Khan, Agriculture Western Australia, 25. Seed yield and quality in the Great Southern, N. Brandon, R. Beermier, N. Brown and S. White,Agriculture Western Australia, 26. Herbicide tolerance of new varieties and lines, Esperance region, M. Seymour,Agriculture Western Australia, 27. Mullewa, H. Dhammu and T. Piper, D. Nicholson, M. D\u27Antuono, Agriculture Western Australia 28. Herbicide tolerance of Cooke on marginal soil, H. Dhammu and T. Piper, D.Nicholson, M. D\u27Antuono, Agriculture Western Australia, 29. Post emergent weed control using Raptor® Lentil 30. Variety evaluation 31. Evaluation of advanced breeding lines from CIPAL 32. Elite germplasm from ICARDA and ACIAR project, K. Regan,Agriculture Western Australia, J. Clements and K.H.M. Siddique, Agriculture Western Australia and CLIMA, C. Francis CLIMA 33. Single row evaluation of F3/F4 breeding lines, K. Regan,Agriculture Western Australia, J. Clements, Agriculture Western Australia and CLIMA Vetch 34. Germplasm evaluation 35. Time of sowing x fungicide, M. Seymour, Agriculture Western Australia 36. Tolerance to post emergent application of Sniper® M. Seymour, Agriculture Western Australia 37. Herbicide tolerance Narbon bean 38. Germplasm evaluation, M. Seymour, Agriculture Western Australia 39. Herbicide tolerance, M. Seymour, Agriculture Western Australia 40. Post emergent use of knockdown herbicides, M. Seymour, Agriculture Western Australia Albus lupin 41. Time of sowing, N. Brandon and R. Beermier, Agriculture Western Australia Lathyrus development 42. Field evaluation, C. Hanbury and K.H.M. Siddique, CLIMA and Agriculture Western Australia 43. Animal feeding trials, C. Hanbury and K.H.M. Siddique, Agriculture Western Australia, C. White, CSIRO, B. Mullan, Agriculture Western Australia, B. Hughes, SARDI, South Australia Species comparison 44. Time of sowing 45. Seed moisture of pulse species at harvest, G.P. Riethmuller and R.J. French Agriculture Western Australia 46.Rotational benefits of pulses on grey clay soils, N. Brandon, R. Beermier, R. Bowie, J. Warburton, Agriculture Western Australia P. Fisher, NRE, Victoria, M. Braimbridge, UWA Centre for Land Rehabilitation , F. Hoyle and W. Bowden, Agriculture Western Australia 47. Pulse species response to phosphorus and zinc, S. Lawrence, Z. Rengel, UWA, S.P. Loss, CSBP futurefarm M.D.A. Bolland, K.H.M. Siddique, W. Bowden, R. Brennan, Agriculture Western Australia 48. The effect of soil applied lime and lime pelleting on pulses, M. Seymour, Agriculture Western Australia 49. Antitranspirants 50. Mapping soils for pulses in the Great Southern, N. Brandon, P. Tille, N. Schoknecht, Agriculture Western Australia DEMONSTRATION OF PULSES IN THE FARMING SYSTEM 51. New field pea and faba bean varieties in the Great Southern 52. Harvesting methods for field pea in the Great Southern, N. Brandon, R. Beermier, M. Seymour, Agriculture Western Australia DISEASE AND PEST MANAGEMENT 53.Ascochyta blight of chickpea 54. Seed dressing and sowing depth 55. Foliar fungicide sprays 56. The ascochyta management package for 2001 57. Initiation ascochyta disease from infected stubble, J. Galloway and W. MacLeod, Agriculture Western Australia 58. Black spot of field pea 59. Ascochyta blight of chickpea 60. Ascochyta blight of faba bean 61. Pulse disease diagnostics, D. Wright and N. Burges Agriculture Western Australia Viruses in pulses 62. Virus infection causes seed discolouration and poor seed quality R. Jones and L. Latham, Agriculture Western Australia Insect pests 63. Aphid ecology in pulses, O. Edwards, J. Ridsdill-Smith and R. Horbury, CSIRO Entomology 64. Evaluation of transgenic field pea against pea weevils (Bruchus pisorum), Ms M.J. de Sousa Majer, Curtin University of Technology; N.C. Turner, CSIRO Plant Industry and D. Hardie, Agriculture Western Australia 65. Searching for markers for resistance to pea weevil, O. Byrne, CLIMA and Plant Sciences, UWA, N. Galwey, Plant Sciences, UWA, D. Hardie,Agriculture Western Australia and P. Smith, Botany, UWA 66. Improved stored grain fumigation on-farm with Phoscard®, R. Emery and E. Kostas, Agriculture Western Australia ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PUBLICATIONS BY PULSE PRODUCTIVITY PROJECT STAFF VARIETIES PRODUCED AND COMMERCIALLY RELEASE

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London