Specification and Verification of Media Constraints using UPPAAL

We present the formal specification and verification of a multimedia stream. The stream is described in a timed automata notation. We verify that the stream satisfies certain quality of service properties, in particular, throughput and end-to-end latency. The verification tool used is the real-time model checker UPPAAL

Effect of Artificial Tears on Preoperative Keratometry and Refractive Precision in Cataract Surgery

Christian Nilsen,1 Morten Gundersen,1 Per Graae Jensen,1 Kjell Gunnar Gundersen,1 Richard Potvin,2 Øygunn A Utheim,3– 5 Bjørn Gjerdrum1 1Ifocus Eye Clinic, Haugesund, Norway; 2Science in Vision, Frisco, TX, USA; 3Department of Medical Biochemistry, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway; 4Department of Ophthalmology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway; 5The Norwegian Dry Eye Clinic, Oslo, NorwayCorrespondence: Christian Nilsen, Ifocus Eye Clinic, Strandgaten 203, Bergen, 5004, Norway, Tel +47 97189598, Email [email protected]: The primary objective was to investigate if treatment with artificial tears affected the variability of keratometry measurements for subjects with dry eyes prior to cataract surgery. The secondary objectives were to investigate whether treatment with artificial tears improved refractive precision and whether subjects with non-dry eyes had better refractive precision than subjects with dry eyes.Design: Prospective randomized controlled trial with three arms.Patients and methods: Dry eye diagnostics according to DEWS II were performed, and subjects with dry eyes were randomized to no treatment (group A1) or treatment with artificial tears two weeks prior to cataract surgery (group A2), with the third group (Group B, non-dry eyes) as a control. Keratometry was performed twice at baseline and twice after two weeks at the time of cataract surgery with three different optical biometers. The change in mean variability of keratometry (average K and magnitude of vector differences) and percentages of outliers after two weeks versus baseline were compared for group A2. The refractive and astigmatism prediction errors were calculated eight weeks after cataract surgery and compared for all three groups.Results: One hundred thirty-one subjects were available for analysis. There was no statistically significant difference in the mean variability of keratometry or percentages of outliers for group A2 from baseline to the time of cataract surgery. There was no statistically significant difference in refractive precision (absolute error and astigmatism prediction error) between any groups.Conclusion: Subjects with dry eyes (treated and non-treated) achieved the same refractive precision and percentages of outliers as subjects with non-dry eyes. Treatment with artificial tears for two weeks appeared inadequate to significantly affect variability in biometric measurements for patients with dry eyes prior to cataract surgery. DEWS II criteria for DED may not be optimal in a cataract setting.Keywords: Cataract surgery, non-invasive keratography tear break-up time, ocular surface staining, osmolarity, artificial tear

Caspase I-related protease inhibition retards the execution of okadaic acid- and camptothecin-induced apoptosis and PAI-2 cleavage, but not commitment to cell death in HL-60 cells

We have previously reported that the putative cytoprotective protease inhibitor, plasminogen activator inhibitor type 2 (PAI-2), is specifically cleaved during okadaic acid-induced apoptosis in a myeloid leukaemic cell line (Br J Cancer (1994) 70: 834–840). HL-60 cells exposed to okadaic acid and camptothecin underwent morphological and biochemical changes typical of apoptosis, including internucleosomal DNA fragmentation and PAI-2 cleavage. Significant endogenous PAI-2 cleavage was observed 9 h after exposure to okadaic acid; thus correlating with other signs of macromolecular degradation, like internucleosomal DNA fragmentation. In camptothecin-treated cells, PAI-2 cleavage was an early event, detectable after 2 h of treatment, and preceding internucleosomal DNA fragmentation. The caspase I selective protease inhibitor, YVAD-cmk, inhibited internucleosomal DNA fragmentation and PAI-2 cleavage of okadaic acid and camptothecin-induced apoptotic cells. YVAD-cmk rather sensitively and non-toxically inhibited camptothecin-induced morphology, but not okadaic acid-induced morphology. In in vitro experiments recombinant PAI-2 was not found to be a substrate for caspase I. The results suggest that caspase I selective protease inhibition could antagonize parameters coupled to the execution phase of okadaic acid- and camptothecin-induced apoptosis, but not the commitment to cell death. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

Inherited biotic protection in a Neotropical pioneer plant

Chelonanthus alatus is a bat-pollinated, pioneer Gentianaceae that clusters in patches where still-standing, dried-out stems are interspersed among live individuals. Flowers bear circum-floral nectaries (CFNs) that are attractive to ants, and seed dispersal is both barochorous and anemochorous. Although, in this study, live individuals never sheltered ant colonies, dried-out hollow stems - that can remain standing for 2 years - did. Workers from species nesting in dried-out stems as well as from ground-nesting species exploited the CFNs of live C. alatus individuals in the same patches during the daytime, but were absent at night (when bat pollination occurs) on 60.5% of the plants. By visiting the CFNs, the ants indirectly protect the flowers - but not the plant foliage - from herbivorous insects. We show that this protection is provided mostly by species nesting in dried-out stems, predominantly Pseudomyrmex gracilis. That dried-out stems remain standing for years and are regularly replaced results in an opportunistic, but stable association where colonies are sheltered by one generation of dead C. alatus while the live individuals nearby, belonging to the next generation, provide them with nectar; in turn, the ants protect their flowers from herbivores. We suggest that the investment in wood by C. alatus individuals permitting stillstanding, dried-out stems to shelter ant colonies constitutes an extended phenotype because foraging workers protect the flowers of live individuals in the same patch. Also, through this process these dried-out stems indirectly favor the reproduction (and so the fitness) of the next generation including both their own offspring and that of their siblings, alladding up to a potential case of inclusive fitness in plants

Revision and Update of the Consensus Definitions of Invasive Fungal Disease From the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer and the Mycoses Study Group Education and Research Consortium.

BACKGROUND: Invasive fungal diseases (IFDs) remain important causes of morbidity and mortality. The consensus definitions of the Infectious Diseases Group of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer and the Mycoses Study Group have been of immense value to researchers who conduct clinical trials of antifungals, assess diagnostic tests, and undertake epidemiologic studies. However, their utility has not extended beyond patients with cancer or recipients of stem cell or solid organ transplants. With newer diagnostic techniques available, it was clear that an update of these definitions was essential. METHODS: To achieve this, 10 working groups looked closely at imaging, laboratory diagnosis, and special populations at risk of IFD. A final version of the manuscript was agreed upon after the groups' findings were presented at a scientific symposium and after a 3-month period for public comment. There were several rounds of discussion before a final version of the manuscript was approved. RESULTS: There is no change in the classifications of "proven," "probable," and "possible" IFD, although the definition of "probable" has been expanded and the scope of the category "possible" has been diminished. The category of proven IFD can apply to any patient, regardless of whether the patient is immunocompromised. The probable and possible categories are proposed for immunocompromised patients only, except for endemic mycoses. CONCLUSIONS: These updated definitions of IFDs should prove applicable in clinical, diagnostic, and epidemiologic research of a broader range of patients at high-risk

Leishmania-Specific Surface Antigens Show Sub-Genus Sequence Variation and Immune Recognition

Single-celled Leishmania parasites, transmitted by sand flies, infect humans and other mammals in many tropical and sub-tropical regions, giving rise to a spectrum of diseases called the leishmaniases. Species of parasite within the Leishmania genus can be divided into two groups (referred to as sub-genera) that are separated by up to 100 million years of evolution yet are highly related at the genome level. Our research is focused on identifying gene differences between these sub-genera that may identify proteins that impact on the transmission and pathogenicity of different Leishmania species. Here we report the presence of a highly-variant genomic locus (OHL) that was previously described as absent in parasites of the L. (Viannia) subgenus (on the basis of lack of key genes) but is present and well-characterised (as the LmcDNA16 locus) in all members of the alternative subgenus, L. (Leishmania). We demonstrate that the proteins encoded within the LmcDNA16 and OHL loci are similar in their structure and surface localisation in mammalian-infective amastigotes, despite significant differences in their DNA sequences. Most importantly, we demonstrate that the OHL locus proteins, like the HASP proteins from the LmcDNA16 locus, contain highly variable amino acid repeats that are antigenic in man and may therefore contribute to future vaccine development