THE CC1 PROJECT – SYSTEM FOR PRIVATE CLOUD COMPUTING

The main features of the Cloud Computing system developed at IFJ PAN are described. The project is financed from the structural resources provided by the European Commission and the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (Innovative Economy, National Cohesion Strategy). The system delivers a solution for carrying out computer calculations on a Private Cloud computing infrastructure. It consists of an intuitive Web based user interface, a module for the users and resources administration and the standard EC2 interface implementation. Thanks to the distributed character of the system it allows for the integration of a geographically distant federation of computer clusters within a uniform user environment

A combined approach of endobronchial and endoscopic ultrasound-guided needle aspiration in the radiologically normal mediastinum in non-small-cell lung cancer staging—a prospective trial. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2010;37:1175—9

Abstract Objectives: This prospective study aimed to assess the diagnostic yield of the combined approach -endobronchial (EBUS) and endoscopic (EUS) ultrasound-guided needle aspiration (combined ultrasound-needle aspiration (CUS-NA)) in the radiologically normal mediastinum in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) staging. Methods: CUS-NA was performed simultaneously under local anaesthesia and sedation in consecutive NSCLC patients with mediastinal nodes that were not enlarged on CT (stage IA-IIB). All patients with negative CUS-NA subsequently underwent the transcervical extended bilateral mediastinal lymphadenectomy (TEMLA) as a confirmatory test. Results: A total of 120 NSCLC patients underwent CUS-NA between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2008. There were 318 mediastinal nodes biopsied (158 EBUS-NA -stations: 2R -2, 2L -1, 4R -34, 4L -33 and 7 -88 and 160 EUS-NA -stations: 4L -57, 7 -101 and 9 -2). CUS-NA revealed metastatic lymph node involvement in 19 of 120 patients (16%) and in 31 of 318 biopsies (10%). The prevalence was 22%. In 99 patients with negative CUS-NA, who underwent subsequent TEMLA, metastatic nodes were diagnosed in nine patients (8%) in 11 stations: 2R -2, 4R -4, 4L -1, 5 -3 and 7 -1. In all but one patient there were 'minimal N2' only. Diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, total accuracy, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of CUS-NA for normal mediastinum was 68% (95% confidence interval (CI): 48-84), 98% (95% CI: 92-100), 91% (95% CI: 86-96), 91% (95% CI: 70-99) and 91% (95% CI: 83-96), respectively. The sensitivity of CUS-NA was significantly higher than with EBUS-NA alone ( p = 0.04) and higher, close to the level of significance than with EUS-NA alone ( p = 0.07). The NPV of all techniques was high and that of CUS-NA was significantly higher than EBUS-NA alone and EUS-NA alone ( p = 0.01, p = 0.03). No complications of CUS-NAwere observed. Conclusions: In the radiologically normal mediastinum, CUS-NA is a highly effective and safe technique in NSCLC staging and, if negative, a surgical diagnostic exploration of the mediastinum may be omitted.

A combined approach of endobronchial and endoscopic ultrasound-guided needle aspiration in the radiologically normal mediastinum in non-small-cell lung cancer staging--a prospective trial

This prospective study aimed to assess the diagnostic yield of the combined approach - endobronchial (EBUS) and endoscopic (EUS) ultrasound-guided needle aspiration (combined ultrasound-needle aspiration (CUS-NA)) in the radiologically normal mediastinum in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) staging. CUS-NA was performed simultaneously under local anaesthesia and sedation in consecutive NSCLC patients with mediastinal nodes that were not enlarged on CT (stage IA-IIB). All patients with negative CUS-NA subsequently underwent the transcervical extended bilateral mediastinal lymphadenectomy (TEMLA) as a confirmatory test. A total of 120 NSCLC patients underwent CUS-NA between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2008. There were 318 mediastinal nodes biopsied (158 EBUS-NA - stations: 2R - 2, 2L - 1, 4R - 34, 4L - 33 and 7 - 88 and 160 EUS-NA - stations: 4L - 57, 7 - 101 and 9 - 2). CUS-NA revealed metastatic lymph node involvement in 19 of 120 patients (16%) and in 31 of 318 biopsies (10%). The prevalence was 22%. In 99 patients with negative CUS-NA, who underwent subsequent TEMLA, metastatic nodes were diagnosed in nine patients (8%) in 11 stations: 2R - 2, 4R - 4, 4L - 1, 5 - 3 and 7 - 1. In all but one patient there were 'minimal N2' only. Diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, total accuracy, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of CUS-NA for normal mediastinum was 68% (95% confidence interval (CI): 48-84), 98% (95% CI: 92-100), 91% (95% CI: 86-96), 91% (95% CI: 70-99) and 91% (95% CI: 83-96), respectively. The sensitivity of CUS-NA was significantly higher than with EBUS-NA alone (p=0.04) and higher, close to the level of significance than with EUS-NA alone (p=0.07). The NPV of all techniques was high and that of CUS-NA was significantly higher than EBUS-NA alone and EUS-NA alone (p=0.01, p=0.03). No complications of CUS-NA were observed. In the radiologically normal mediastinum, CUS-NA is a highly effective and safe technique in NSCLC staging and, if negative, a surgical diagnostic exploration of the mediastinum may be omitte

Observation of large scale precursor correlations between cosmic rays and earthquakes with a periodicity similar to the solar cycle

The search for correlations between secondary cosmic ray detection rates and seismic effects has long been a subject of investigation motivated by the hope of identifying a new precursor type that could feed a global early warning system against earthquakes. Here we show for the first time that the average variation of the cosmic ray detection rates correlates with the global seismic activity to be observed with a time lag of approximately two weeks, and that the significance of the effect varies with a periodicity resembling the undecenal solar cycle, with a shift in phase of around three years, exceeding 6 σ at local maxima. The precursor characteristics of the observed correlations point to a pioneer perspective of an early warning system against earthquakes

Asymmetric Synthesis of Unsaturated Monocyclic and Bicyclic Nitrogen Heterocycles

Hydrolysis of scalemic trichloroacetamides Cl3CCONHCH(R)CHCH2 and allylation, or acylation with but-3-enoic acid, followed by ring-closing metathesis resulted in the formation of unsaturated pyrrolidine and piperidine building blocks. These were employed in the synthesis of (S)-coniine (R = Pr) and a formal synthesis of (+)-anisomycin (R = p-MeOC6H4). Extension of this methodology with R = CH2CHCH2 employing two ring-closing metatheses resulted in the synthesis of unsaturated quinolizidinone and indolizidinone frameworks