A distributed topology information system for optical networks based on the semantic web

The research networking community has embraced novel network architectures to provide e-Science applications with dedicated connections instead of shared links. IP and optical services converge in these new infrastructures to form hybrid networks. Lightpaths are the services offered to clients in the optical portion of the network. They are chosen because they guarantee the appropriate QoS in terms of bandwidth and latency. NDL-the Network Description Language-is a data model offering users and providers of lightpaths with a common ontology to describe topology information of hybrid optical networks. The strength of NDL is that it supports a wide range of applications, including pathfinding, visualisation and asset management, via the definition of a common data model to exchange network descriptions. Since NDL is based on the Semantic Web techniques, it is straightforward to relate NDL with application-specific ontologies. In this paper we present the current status of the NDL schemas and its use in several applications

Functional performance of mobile versus fixed bearing total knee prostheses: a randomised controlled trial

PURPOSE: The primary goal of this study was to assess the difference in active flexion between patients with a mobile versus a fixed bearing, cruciate retaining, and total knee arthroplasty. The study was designed as a randomised controlled multi-centre trial. METHODS: Participants were assigned to interventions by using block-stratified, random allocation. Outcome parameters were active flexion, passive flexion, and Knee Society Score (KSS). Outcome parameters were assessed preoperatively and at 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively by an independent nurse. RESULTS: Ninety-two patients from one centre were included, 46 in each group. Active flexion was comparable for the two groups, 99.9° for the mobile bearing group and 101° for the fixed bearing group with a baseline controlled difference of 1.0 (95% CI −3.9 to 5.8, n.s.). The Clinical KSS was comparable between the two bearing groups (Mobile 90.0 vs. fixed 92.4, n.s.). The functional KSS showed a difference that was attributable to the stair climbing subscore, which showed a difference in favour of the fixed bearing design between preoperative and 3 months (7.3 point difference; 95% CI 2.3–12.5; P = 0.005) as well as 12 months (4.8 point difference; 95% CI 0.1–9.6; P = 0.045). CONCLUSIONS: There were no short-term differences in active flexion between fixed bearing and mobile bearing total knee arthroplasty. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: I

Topography-Mediated Myotube and Endothelial Alignment, Differentiation, and Extracellular Matrix Organization for Skeletal Muscle Engineering

Understanding the response of endothelial cells to aligned myotubes is important to create an appropriate environment for tissue-engineered vascularized skeletal muscle. Part of the native tissue environment is the extracellular matrix (ECM). The ECM is a supportive scaffold for cells and allows cellular processes such as proliferation, differentiation, and migration. Interstitial matrix and basal membrane both comprise proteinaceous and polysaccharide components for strength, architecture, and volume retention. Virtually all cells are anchored to their basal lamina. One of the physical factors that affects cell behavior is topography, which plays an important role on cell alignment. We tested the hypothesis that topography-driven aligned human myotubes promote and support vascular network formation as a prelude to in vitro engineered vascularized skeletal muscle. Therefore, we used a PDMS-based topography substrate to investigate the influence of pre-aligned myotubes on the network formation of microvascular endothelial cells. The aligned myotubes produced a network of collagen fibers and laminin. This network supported early stages of endothelial network formation.</p

Galactose inhibition of the constitutive transport of hexoses in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The relationship between the pathways of glucose and galactose utilization in Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been studied. Galactose (which is transported and phosphorylated by inducible systems) is a strong inhibitor of the utilization of glucose, fructose and mannose (which have the same constitutive transport and phosphorylation systems). Conversely, all these three hexoses inhibit the utilization of galactose, though with poor efficiency. These cross-inhibitions only occur in yeast adapted to galactose or in galactose-constitutive mutants. The efficiency of galactose as inhibitor is even greater than the efficiencies of each of the other three hexoses to inhibit the utilization of each other. Phosphorylation is not involved in the inhibition and transport of sugars is the affected step. The cross-inhibitions between galactose and either glucose, fructose or mannose do not implicate utilization of one hexose at the expense of the other, as it occurs in the mutual interactions between the latter three sugars. it seems that, by growing the yeast in galactose, a protein component is synthesized, or alternatively modified, that once bound to either galactose or any one of the other three hexoses (glucose, fructose or mannose), cross-interacts respectively with the constitutive or the inducible transport systems, impairing their function.This work was supported by a grant (PB87-0206) from the DGICYT, Promoción General del Conocimiento.Peer Reviewe

Giant deer (Megaloceros giganteus) diet from Mid-Weichselian deposits under the present North Sea inferred from molar-embedded botanical remains

The molar of a giant deer, Megaloceros giganteus (Blumenbach, 1799), was discovered in sandy deposits of the North Sea, about 10 km west of the present shoreline of the Netherlands. Compacted masticated plant remains were preserved in the molar's deep folds. A palaeoecological analysis of these plant remains shows the complete dominance of pollen from Artemisia (sage) and other Asteraceae Tubuliflorae (Compositae), indicating that the animal foraged in a steppe environment, and may have preferred to eat Artemisia, which contain a high level of nutrients such as calcium and phosphorous components, which are important for antler building. Radiocarbon dating indicates that the plant remains are of mid‐Weichselian age [38 570 (+300, −290) 14C a BP, Greenland Interstadial‐11]. This is the first study of the food choice of M. giganteus based on palaeoecological evidence. We hypothesize about links between the extirpation of M. giganteus at the onset of the Holocene in North‐West Europe and the transition from a landscape with highly dynamic geomorphological processes and consequently prevalence of immature and nutrient‐rich soils, to a less dynamic landscape with stable, leached and acidifying soils, and the decline of Artemisia and other calciphilous plants

Rijkswaterstaat:Guardian of the Dutch Delta

Founded in 1798, Rijkswaterstaat, the Dutch government’s agency for infrastructural works, brought flood security, navigable waterways and highways to the Netherlands. It is an iconic institution within Dutch society, best known for its ‘battle against the water’. The Zuiderzee Works (1920–1968) and the Delta Works (1954–1997) brought worldwide acclaim. This chapter tells the story of a humble semi-military organization that developed into a formidable institution of civil engineers with a strong technocratic mission mystique. It also recounts the institutional crisis the agency experienced in the 1970s–1990s when it was too slow to adapt to major sociocultural and political changes. To ride the waves of change, it eventually developed several proactive adaptation strategies and reinvented its mission mystique in managerial terms. Adaptation to climate change now presents another key challenge, for which Rijkswaterstaat will have to develop a new ‘social license to operate’

Changes in perceived peripersonal space following the rubber hand illusion

Peripersonal space (PPS), the region immediately surrounding the body is essential for bodily protection and goal directed action. Previous studies have suggested that the PPS is anchored to one’s own body and in the current study we investigated whether the PPS could be modulated by changes in perceived body ownership. While theoretically important, this anchoring can also have implications for patients with altered body perception. The rubber hand illusion (RHI) is a way to manipulate body ownership. We hypothesized that after induction of a left hand RHI, the perceived space around the body shifts to the right. Sixty-five participants performed a landmark task before and after a left hand RHI. In the landmark task, participants had to determine whether a vertical landmark line was left or right from the center of a horizontal screen. One group of the participants was exposed to synchronous stroking, the other group experienced asynchronous stroking. Results showed a shift in space to the right (e.g. away from the own arm), but only for the ‘synchronous stroking’ group. These results suggest that the relevant action space becomes linked to the fake hand. Critically, subjective ownership experience did not correlate with this shift, but proprioceptive drift did. This suggests that multisensory integration of bodily information drives this shift in space around the body and not feelings of ownership

Learning from failure

We study decentralized learning in organizations. Decentralization is captured through a symmetry constraint on agents’ strategies. Among such attainable strategies, we solve for optimal and equilibrium strategies. We model the organization as a repeated game with imperfectly observable actions. A fixed but unknown subset of action profiles are successes and all other action profiles are failures. The game is played until either there is a success or the time horizon is reached. For any time horizon, including infinity, we demonstrate existence of optimal attainable strategies and show that they are Nash equilibria. For some time horizons, we can solve explicitly for the optimal attainable strategies and show uniqueness. The solution connects the learning behavior of agents to the fundamentals that characterize the organization: Agents in the organization respond more slowly to failure as the future becomes more important, the size of the organization increases and the probability of success decreases.Game theory

Concurrent use of DOACs and pharmacodynamic interacting drugs is associated with an increased risk of major bleeding compared with patients using DOACs alone: Nested case-control study in UK CPRD

Background: Although many studies on bleeding risk associated with use of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are conducted, the effect of concurrent use of potentially interacting drugs on this risk is not well studied. Objectives: To evaluate the association between concurrent use of DOACs with concurrent use of potential pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic interacting drugs on major bleeding. Methods: We used data from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink (period 2008-2015) to conduct a nested case-control study in a cohort of new users of DOACs (dabigatran, apixaban, and rivaroxaban). Cases were patients who were hospitalized with a primary discharge diagnosis of major bleeding while taking DOACs. Up to four controls were matched to each case on age, sex, and index date. Controls also had to be a current user of a DOAC on the index date. Conditional logistic regression analysis was used to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) to estimate the risk of major bleeding associated with concurrent use (30 days prior to the index date) of potential pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic interacting drugs. The analysis was adjusted for well-known risk factors for bleeding Results: We identified 393 cases from 29 120 new users of DOACs and 1494 controls. Most subjects were current users of rivaroxaban (58.8%). The concurrent use of DOACs and pharmacokinetic interacting drugs did not increase the risk of major bleeding vs use of DOACs alone (45.0% vs 51.2%, adjusted OR 0.90; 95% CI 0.60-1.36). However, concurrent use of pharmacodynamic interacting drugs was associated with an increased risk of major bleeding (21.6% vs 13.5%, adjusted OR, 1.91; 95% CI, 1.39-2.62). This effect was mainly driven by selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs, adjusted OR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.12-2.65) and antiplatelet drugs (adjusted OR, 1.90; 95% CI, 1.23-2.93), respectively. Conclusions: Among patients taking a DOAC, concurrent use of an SSRIs or antiplatelet drug was associated with increased risk of major bleeding compared with DOAC use without these drugs

Energy efficiency considerations in integrated IT and optical network resilient infrastructures

The European Integrated Project GEYSERS - Generalised Architecture for Dynamic Infrastructure Services - is concentrating on infrastructures incorporating integrated optical network and IT resources in support of the Future Internet with special emphasis on cloud computing. More specifically GEYSERS proposes the concept of Virtual Infrastructures over one or more interconnected Physical Infrastructures comprising both network and IT resources. Taking into consideration the energy consumption levels associated with the ICT today and the expansion of the Internet in size and complexity, that incurring increased energy consumption of both IT and network resources, energy efficient infrastructure design becomes critical. To address this need, in the framework of GEYSERS, we propose energy efficient design of infrastructures incorporating integrated optical network and IT resources, supporting resilient end-to-end services. Our modeling results quantify significant energy savings of the proposed solution by jointly optimizing the allocation of both network and IT resources