BIBS: A Lecture Webcasting System

The Berkeley Internet Broadcasting System (BIBS) is a lecture webcasting system developed and operated by the Berkeley Multimedia Research Center. The system offers live remote viewing and on-demand replay of course lectures using streaming audio and video over the Internet. During the Fall 2000 semester 14 classes were webcast, including several large lower division classes, with a total enrollment of over 4,000 students. Lectures were played over 15,000 times per month during the semester. The primary use of the webcasts is to study for examinations. Students report they watch BIBS lectures because they did not understand material presented in lecture, because they wanted to review what the instructor said about selected topics, because they missed a lecture, and/or because they had difficulty understanding the speaker (e.g., non-native English speakers). Analysis of various survey data suggests that more than 50% of the students enrolled in some large classes view lectures and that as many as 75% of the lectures are played by members of the Berkeley community. Faculty attitudes vary about the virtues of lecture webcasting. Some question the use of this technology while others believe it is a valuable aid to education. Further study is required to accurately assess the pedagogical impact that lecture webcasts have on student learning

Data representation and synthesis

This research concerns the problem of specifying the information relationships and their transformations included, explicitly and implicitly, in any problem-solving procedure. Our view of data representation is that problem representations (in a problem domain) are mapped to a machine representation (in an implementation domain) through various modelling representations (in modelling domains). Modelling domain representations make easier the discovery of acceptable implementation representations. We propose to focus on the study of mappings of data representations and their transformations from the modelling to implementation domains. Specifically, our goal is to answer four questions:1) what are appropriate formalisms for describing modelling domains and implenentation domains,2) what knowledge exists of each of these domains and how can this knowledge be represented in our formalisms,3) how do we map specific representations from one domain to the other, and4) how can we test the completeness of our formalisms and mapping process.In answering the fourth question, we propose to construct an interactive system for generating alternative implementation domain representations from a modelling domain representation and selecting that which comes closest to the user's desired program performance criteria in an actual programming context

The design of a distributed computing system

This paper describes a design for a computing system structure whose implementation should provide reliable, faiI-soft service at relativeIy Iow cost. The design reIies heavily on modularity and dynamic reconfigurability (in combination referred to as distribution) to achieve reliability. Low cost is maintainted by using standard hardware and software components, each of which handles a portion of the workload. When a component fails, its workload is assumed by the remaining components. The evolution of a particular network architecture for this computing system, i.e., a network utilizing a communication loop with hardware components connected to and distributed about the ring, is described

Long-Term Stability of an Area-Reversible Atom-Interferometer Sagnac Gyroscope

We report on a study of the long-term stability and absolute accuracy of an atom interferometer gyroscope. This study included the implementation of an electro-optical technique to reverse the vector area of the interferometer for reduced systematics and a careful study of systematic phase shifts. Our data strongly suggests that drifts less than 96 $\mu$deg/hr are possible after empirically removing shifts due to measured changes in temperature, laser intensity, and several other experimental parameters.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to PR

Part II. high-dose methotrexate with leucovorin rescue for severe COVID-19: An immune stabilization strategy for SARS-CoV-2 induced \u27PANIC\u27 attack

Here, in Part II of a duology on the characterization and potential treatment for COVID-19, we characterize the application of an innovative treatment regimen for the prevention of the transition from mild to severe COVID-19, as well as detail an intensive immunotherapy intervention hypothesis. We propose as a putative randomized controlled trial that high-dose methotrexate with leucovorin (HDMTX-LR) rescue can abolish \u27PANIC\u27, thereby \u27left-shifting\u27 severe COVID-19 patients to the group majority of those infected with SARS-CoV-2, who are designated as having mild, even asymptomatic, disease. HDMTX-LR is endowed with broadly pleiotropic properties and is a repurposed, generic, inexpensive, and widely available agent which can be administered early in the course of severe COVID-19 thus rescuing the critical and irreplaceable gas-exchange alveoli. Further, we describe a preventative treatment intervention regimen for those designated as having mild to moderate COVID-19 disease, but who exhibit features which herald the transition to the severe variant of this disease. Both of our proposed hypothesis-driven questions should be urgently subjected to rigorous assessment in the context of randomized controlled trials, in order to confirm or refute the contention that the approaches characterized herein, are in fact capable of exerting mitigating, if not abolishing, effects upon SARS-CoV-2 triggered \u27PANIC Attack\u27. Confirmation of our immunotherapy hypothesis would have far-reaching ramifications for the current pandemic, along with yielding invaluable lessons which could be leveraged to more effectively prepare for the next challenge to global health

FAD binding, cobinamide binding and active site communication in the corrin reductase (CobR)

Adenosylcobalamin, the coenzyme form of vitamin B12, is one Nature's most complex coenzyme whose de novo biogenesis proceeds along either an anaerobic or aerobic metabolic pathway. The aerobic synthesis involves reduction of the centrally chelated cobalt metal ion of the corrin ring from Co(II) to Co(I) before adenosylation can take place. A corrin reductase (CobR) enzyme has been identified as the likely agent to catalyse this reduction of the metal ion. Herein, we reveal how Brucella melitensis CobR binds its coenzyme FAD (flavin dinucleotide) and we also show that the enzyme can bind a corrin substrate consistent with its role in reduction of the cobalt of the corrin ring. Stopped-flow kinetics and EPR reveal a mechanistic asymmetry in CobR dimer that provides a potential link between the two electron reduction by NADH to the single electron reduction of Co(II) to Co(I)

Community perceptions of a malaria vaccine in the Kintampo districts of Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Malaria remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa despite tools currently available for its control. Making malaria vaccine available for routine use will be a major hallmark, but its acceptance by community members and health professionals within the health system could pose considerable challenge as has been found with the introduction of polio vaccinations in parts of West Africa. Some of these challenges may not be expected since decisions people make are many a time driven by a complex myriad of perceptions. This paper reports knowledge and perceptions of community members in the Kintampo area of Ghana where malaria vaccine trials have been ongoing as part of the drive for the first-ever licensed malaria vaccine in the near future. METHODS: Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used in the data collection processes. Women and men whose children were or were not involved in the malaria vaccine trial were invited to participate in focus group discussions (FGDs). Respondents, made up of heads of religious groupings in the study area, health care providers, traditional healers and traditional birth attendants, were also invited to participate in in-depth interviews (IDIs). A cross-sectional survey was conducted in communities where the malaria vaccine trial (Mal 047RTS,S) was carried out. In total, 12 FGDs, 15 IDIs and 466 household head interviews were conducted. RESULTS: Knowledge about vaccines was widespread among participants. Respondents would like their children to be vaccinated against all childhood illnesses including malaria. Knowledge of the long existing routine vaccines was relatively high among respondents compared to hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenza type B vaccines that were introduced more recently in 2002. There was no clear religious belief or sociocultural practice that will serve as a possible barrier to the acceptance of a malaria vaccine. CONCLUSION: With the assumption that a malaria vaccine will be as efficacious as other EPI vaccines, community members in Central Ghana will accept and prefer malaria vaccine to malaria drugs as a malaria control tool. Beliefs and cultural practices as barriers to the acceptance of malaria vaccine were virtually unknown in the communities surveyed

Acute Management and Outcomes of Patients with Diabetes Mellitus Presenting to Canadian Emergency Departments with Hypoglycemia

Objectifs: Cette vérification rétrospective des dossiers a permis d\u27examiner les données démographiques, les examens, la prise en charge et les résultats des patients adultes souffrant de diabète sucré qui se sont présentés aux services des urgences (SU) au Canada. Méthodes: Tous les sites ont mené une recherche dans leurs dossiers médicaux électroniques à l\u27aide des codes de la Classification internationale des maladies, dixième révision, pour relever les visites aux SU entre 2008 et 2010 qui étaient liées à l\u27hypoglycémie. Les caractéristiques des patients, les données démographiques, la prise en charge aux SU, les ressources des SU et les résultats sont rapportés. Résultats: Un total de 1039 patients de plus de 17 ans ont été inclus dans l\u27étude; 347 (33,4 %) ont été classifiés comme étant des cas de diabète de type 1 et 692 (66,6 %) ont été classifiés comme étant des cas de diabète de type 2. Les patients souffrant du diabète de type 2 étaient beaucoup plus âgés (73 ans vs 49 ans; p\u3c0,0001) et avaient plus d\u27affections chroniques inscrites à leur dossier (tous p\u3c0,001). La plupart des sujets arrivaient par ambulance, et 39 % des cas montraient des scores de triage qui révélaient des tableaux cliniques graves. Les traitements contre l\u27hypoglycémie étaient fréquents (75,7 %) durant le transport préhospitalier; 38,5 % recevaient du glucose et 40,1 % recevaient du glucagon par voie intraveineuse. Les traitements administrés dans les SU contre l\u27hypoglycémie comprenaient le glucose par voie orale (76,8 %), le glucose par voie intraveineuse (29,6 %) et en perfusion continue (27,7 %). Les examens diagnostiques (81,9 %) comprenaient fréquemment les électrocardiogrammes (51,9 %), la radiographie thoracique (37,5 %) et la tomodensitométrie crânienne (14,5 %). La plupart des patients (73,5 %) recevaient leur congé. Cependant, plus de sujets souffrant du diabète de type 2 nécessitaient une admission (30,3 vs 8,8 %). Les instructions de congé étaient étayées chez seulement 55,5 % des patients, et l\u27orientation vers des services de diabète se rencontrait chez moins de 20 % des cas. Une variation considérable dans la prise en charge de l\u27hypoglycémie existait entre les SU. Conclusions: Les patients souffrant de diabète qui se présentaient à un SU en raison d\u27une hypoglycémie consomment considérablement de ressources en soins de santé, puis une variation est observée dans la pratique. Les SU devraient élaborer des protocoles de prise en charge de l\u27hypoglycémie en portant une attention à la planification du congé pour réduire la récurrence

Expression of EBV Encoded viral RNA 1, 2 and anti-inflammatory Cytokine (interleukin-10) in FFPE lymphoma specimens: a preliminary study for diagnostic implication in Pakistan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) plays a significant role as a cofactor in the process of tumorigenesis and has consistently been associated with a variety of malignancies. EBV encoded RNAs (EBER1 and EBER2) are the most abundant viral transcripts in latently EBV-infected cells and their role in viral infection is still unclear. Formalin Fixed Paraffin Embedded (FFPE) tissues of surgically removed carcinoma biopsies are widely available form but have never been exploited for expressional studies previously in Pakistan. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and <it>in situ </it>hybridization (ISH) in FFPE biopsy tissues remains the gold standard for proving EBV relationship in a histopathological lesion but their reagents associated limitations confines their reliability in some applications. Recently introduced targeted drug delivery systems induce viral lytic gene expression and therefore require more sensitive method to quantify viral as well as cellular gene expression.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Eight (8) lymphoma samples were screened to detect the EBV genome. Qualitative and quantitative expression of EBV Encoded RNAs (EBER1, EBER2) and anti-inflammatory cytokine (interleukin-10) in FFPE EBV positive lymphoma tissue samples were then analysed by using Reverse transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) and Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR), respectively.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study we have successfully quantified elevated expressional levels of both cellular and viral transcripts, namely EBER1, EBER2 and anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10) in the FFPE Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) specimens of Pakistani origin.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results indicate that FFPE samples may retain viral as well as cellular RNA expression information at detectable level. To our knowledge, this is first study which represents elevated expressional levels of EBER1, EBER2 and IL-10 in FFPE tissue samples of Burkitt's lymphoma in Pakistan. These observations will potentially improve current lacunas in clinical as well as diagnostic practices in Pakistan and can be further exploited to develop new strategies for studying cellular and/or viral gene expression.</p