Multifaceted Faculty Network Design and Management: Practice and Experience Report

We report on our experience on multidimensional aspects of our faculty's network design and management, including some unique aspects such as campus-wide VLANs and ghosting, security and monitoring, switching and routing, and others. We outline a historical perspective on certain research, design, and development decisions and discuss the network topology, its scalability, and management in detail; the services our network provides, and its evolution. We overview the security aspects of the management as well as data management and automation and the use of the data by other members of the IT group in the faculty.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures, TOC and index; a short version presented at C3S2E'11; v6: more proofreading, index, TOC, reference

Habitat Use by Brood-Rearing Waterfowl in Subarctic Québec

Aerial surveys of waterfowl were conducted in subarctic Quebec in 1989 and 1990 on randomly selected 100 sq km plots. We used logistic regression for modelling relationships betweren the presence of waterfowl broods and habitat characteristics. For each species, models of habitat use were generated with one data set and tested with two others. We also compared the frequency distributions of broods of each species in different habitat types. Correct-classification rates of models varied betweren 0.53 and 0.77. Sensitivity of models generally increased when applied to validation data sets. Models showed that green-winged teals (Anas crecca) avoided lakes >501 ha and used vegetated lakes, ponds and fens or bogs more than predicted by their availability. Black scoters (Melanitta nigra) and surf scoters (M. perspicillata) were found mostly on small lakes (<10 ha) and medium lakes (10-100 ha). Black scoters were associated with the presence of ponds and lakes with sedge and grass, whereas surf scoters were not. The presence of scaup (Aythia spp.) broods was associated with the presence of vegetation. Green-winged teals were observed more often on bogs than were either scoters or scaups. Black scoters were observed more often on ponds and less often on medium-sized lakes than surf scoters and scaups. The latter differed in their use of lakes <10 ha: surf scoters, like black scoters, mostly used unvegetated lakes, while scaups and green-winged teals mostly used vegetated lakes. The accuracy and precision of logistic models may be enhanced by additional habitat variables, careful selection of sample-cell size and further investigation of the breeding biology of the surveyed species.Key words: habitat, model, logistic regression, northern Québec, black scoter, surf scoter, green-winged teal, scaup, broodDes inventaires aériens de sauvagine dans des parcelles de 100 km² sélectionnées aléatoirement ont été réalisés dans le Québec subarctique en 1989 et en 1990. La régression logistique fut utilisée pour modéliser les relations entre la présence de couvées et des paramètres d'habitat. Des modèles d'utilisation d'habitat ont été générés à l'aide d'une série de données et validés à l'aide de deux autres. Nous avons aussi comparé les distributions de fréquences des couvées des espèces étudiées dans divers types de biotopes. Les taux de classification correcte des modèles ont varié entre 0.53 et 0.77. De façon générale, la sensibilité des modèles augmentait lorsque ces derniers étaient appliqués aux données de validation. Les modèles montrent que la Sarcelle à ailes vertes (Anas crecca) a utilisé les plans d'eau avec de la végétation, les étangs et les tourbières et a évité les lacs > 501 ha. Les macreuses (Melanitta nigra, M. perspicillata) ont surtout été vues sur des lacs de petite (< 10 ha) et moyenne (10-100 ha) superficies. Les Macreuses à bec jaune se démarquaient des Macreuses à front blanc en étant associées à la présence d'étangs et de lacs avec des herbaçaies. La présence de couvées de morillons (Aythia spp.) dans les cellules était associée à celle de végétation. La Sarcelle à ailes vertes fut observée plus souvent dans les tourbières que les autres espèces. La Macreuse à bec jaune fut observée plus souvent sur des étangs et moins souvent sur des lacs de superficie moyenne que la Macreuse à front blanc et les morillons. Ces dernières espèces différaient dans leur utilisation de lacs <10 ha: les Macreuses à front blanc, comme les Macreuses à bec jaune, utilisaient surtout les lacs aux rives sans végétation alors que les morillons et les sarcelles utilisaient surtout des lacs avec végétation. La précision des modèles de régression logistique pourrait être augmentée par l'utilisation de paramètres d'habitat supplémentaires, un choix différent de la taille de l'unité de mesure et une meilleure connaissance de l'écologie des espèces cibles.Mots clés: habitat, modèle, régression logistique, Québec, Macreuse à bec jaune, Macreuse à front blanc, Sarcelle à ailes vertes, Morillons, couvé

Répercussions hémodynamiques rénales de la surcharge salée aiguë isotonique chez le chien

Intrarenal hemodynamic changes during acute isotonic saline loading in the dog. 85Kr autoradiograms, perfusions of silastic and injections of thioflavine S labelled red blood cells (R.B.C.) have been used to study the intrarenal hemodynamic changes induced in the dog by an acute isotonic expansion of the extracellular fluid volume. The silastic injected specimens showed a generalized vasodilatation, without however, any change of the diameter of the glomerular tufts. As the ratio of the number of labelled R.B.C. of the superficial glomeruli to the number of the R.B.C. of the juxtamedullary glomeruli has decreased, we can conclude that the relative juxtamedullary glomerular capillary volume has increased. The autoradiographs showed that the velocity of the blood flow increased in the superficial cortex and the vasa recta and decreases in the juxtamedullary cortical region. This slowing seems to be due to the marked dilatation of the capillary bed of the latter region. It is then concluded that the natriuresis could be linked mainly to changes of peritubular factors induced by the vasodilatation which is itself more marked in the juxtamedullary cortex.Répercussions hémodynamiques rénales de la surcharge salée aiguë isotonique chez le chien. Les changements hémodynamiques intrarénaux ont été étudiés chez des chiens soumis à une surcharge salée isotonique aiguë, à l'aide d'autoradiographies au Kr85, de perfusion de silastic et d'injections de globules rouges marqués à la Thioflavine S. La surcharge a entraîné une vasodilatation rénale généralisée (moules au silastic). Le décompte des globules rouges marqués par glomérule montra une diminution du leur nombre dans les glomérules superficiels par rapport aux glomérules juxtamédullaires. Ceci traduit une augmentation relative du volume capillaire glomérulaire juxtamédullaire. Par ailleurs, la vitesse du flux sanguin (autoradiographies) a augments dans le cortex superficiel, les vasa recta et diminué dans la région juxtamédullaire. Une dilatation excessive du lit capillaire de cette dernière semble expliquer le ralentissement de son flux sanguin. Le diamètre des floculi glomérulaires n'a pas changé sous l'effet de la surcharge. La natriurèse peut ainsi être reliée principalement à la baisse de réabsorption tubulaire secondaire aux changements des facteurs péritubulaires induits par la vasodilatation, elle-même maximale au niveau du cortex interne

Identification of Candidate Regulators of Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation by Comparative Phosphoprotein Affinity Profiling

Embryonic stem cells are a unique cell population capable both of self-renewal and of differentiation into all tissues in the adult organism. Despite the central importance of these cells, little information is available regarding the intracellular signaling pathways that govern self-renewal or early steps in the differentiation program. Embryonic stem cell growth and differentiation correlates with kinase activities, but with the exception of the JAK/STAT3 pathway, the relevant substrates are unknown. To identify candidate phosphoproteins with potential relevance to embryonic stem cell differentiation, a systems biology approach was used. Proteins were purified using phosphoprotein affinity columns, then separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, and detected by silver stain before being identified by tandem mass spectrometry. By comparing preparations from undifferentiated and differentiating mouse embryonic stem cells, a set of proteins was identified that exhibited altered post-translational modifications that correlated with differentiation state. Evidence for altered post-translational modification included altered gel mobility, altered recovery after affinity purification, and direct mass spectra evidence. Affymetrix microarray analysis indicated that gene expression levels of these same proteins had minimal variability over the same differentiation period. Bioinformatic annotations indicated that this set of proteins is enriched with chromatin remodeling, catabolic, and chaperone functions. This set of candidate phosphoprotein regulators of stem cell differentiation includes products of genes previously noted to be enriched in embryonic stem cells at the mRNA expression level as well as proteins not associated previously with stem cell differentiation status

Lifetime exposure to ambient ultraviolet radiation and the risk for cataract extraction and age-related macular degeneration : the Alienor Study

While exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is a recognized risk factor for cataract, its association is more controversial with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). We report the associations of lifetime exposure to ambient UVR with cataract extraction and AMD. The Alienor Study is a population-based study of 963 residents of Bordeaux (France), aged 73 years or more. Lifetime exposure to ambient UVR was estimated from residential history and Eurosun satellite-based estimations of ground UVR. It was divided in three groups (lower quartile, intermediate quartiles, upper quartile), using the intermediate quartiles as the reference. Early and late AMD was classified from retinal color photographs. Cataract extraction was defined as absence of the natural lens at slit-lamp. After multivariate adjustment, subjects in the upper quartile of lifetime ambient UVR exposure were at increased risk for cataract extraction (odds ratio [OR] = 1.53; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04-2.26; P = 0.03) and for early AMD (OR = 1.59; 95% CI, 1.04-2.44; P = 0.03), by comparison with subjects in the intermediate quartiles. Subjects in the lower quartile of UVR exposure also were at increased risk for early AMD (OR = 1.69; 95% CI, 1.06-2.69; P = 0.03), by comparison with those with medium exposure. Associations of late AMD with UVR exposure was not statistically significant. This study further confirms the increased risk for cataract extraction in subjects exposed to high ambient UVR. Moreover, it suggests that risk for early AMD is increased in subjects exposed to high UVR, but also to low UVR, by comparison with medium exposures

Targeted proteomics links virulence factor expression with clinical severity in staphylococcal pneumonia

IntroductionThe bacterial pathogen Staphylococcus aureus harbors numerous virulence factors that impact infection severity. Beyond virulence gene presence or absence, the expression level of virulence proteins is known to vary across S. aureus lineages and isolates. However, the impact of expression level on severity is poorly understood due to the lack of high-throughput quantification methods of virulence proteins.MethodsWe present a targeted proteomic approach able to monitor 42 staphylococcal proteins in a single experiment. Using this approach, we compared the quantitative virulomes of 136 S. aureus isolates from a nationwide cohort of French patients with severe community-acquired staphylococcal pneumonia, all requiring intensive care. We used multivariable regression models adjusted for patient baseline health (Charlson comorbidity score) to identify the virulence factors whose in vitro expression level predicted pneumonia severity markers, namely leukopenia and hemoptysis, as well as patient survival.ResultsWe found that leukopenia was predicted by higher expression of HlgB, Nuc, and Tsst-1 and lower expression of BlaI and HlgC, while hemoptysis was predicted by higher expression of BlaZ and HlgB and lower expression of HlgC. Strikingly, mortality was independently predicted in a dose-dependent fashion by a single phage-encoded virulence factor, the Panton-Valentine leucocidin (PVL), both in logistic (OR 1.28; 95%CI[1.02;1.60]) and survival (HR 1.15; 95%CI[1.02;1.30]) regression models.DiscussionThese findings demonstrate that the in vitro expression level of virulence factors can be correlated with infection severity using targeted proteomics, a method that may be adapted to other bacterial pathogens

Notes on a paper of Mess

These notes are a companion to the article "Lorentz spacetimes of constant curvature" by Geoffrey Mess, which was first written in 1990 but never published. Mess' paper will appear together with these notes in a forthcoming issue of Geometriae Dedicata.Comment: 26 page