2,001 research outputs found
Peer-to-peer sharing on the Internet: An analysis of how Gnutella networks are used to distribute pornographic material
By our very nature, humans are creatures that communicate and network. Over the past several decades much of this communicating and networking has been facilitated by developments in information and communication technology. The social and economic transformations resulting from developments on the Internet have created several challenges for policymakers, lawmakers, courts and a wide range of other kinds of institutions. Some of these challenges are associated with the technologies and applications themselves. Other challenges result from content made available on the Internet and how users exchange data. Recent developments in peer-to-peer data exchange bring these two sets of challenges together
Comparative effects of nitroglycerin and nitroprusside on prostacyclin generation in adult human vessel wall
The precise mechanism of vasodilatory actions of nitroso-compounds is not clear. It has been suggested that these drugs might modulate release of the vasodilator, prostacyclin, from cultured endothelial cells and bovine arteries or potentiate actions of prostacyclin. This study was designed to examine the effects of nitroglycerin and nitroprusside on prostacyclin release from adult human vasculature. Saphenous vein ring preparations were incubated with nitroglycerin or nitroprusside and arachidonic acid, the substrate for prostacyclin. Vascular rings incubated with nitroglycerin released significantly more prostacylin (measured as 6-keto-prostaglandin F1α. a stable hydrolysis product of prostacyclin by radioimmunoassay) compared with the control vascular rings (p < 0.02). This increase was observed at the therapeutic concentrations of nitroglycerin (5 to 10 ng/ml). However, incubation of saphenous vein rings with nitroprusside in concentrations as high as 1 jug/ml was not associated with any increase in prostacyclin release.Prior incubation of vascular rings with the cyclooxygenase blocker, indomethacin, inhibited nitroglycerin-induced prostacyclin release. Incubation of vascular rings with the selective thromboxane A2 blocker, OKY 1581, resulted in additional prostacyclin release with nitroglycerin treatment, presumably by inhibiting vessel wall-generated thromboxane A,. Nitroprusside had no significant effect on prostacyclin release from indomethacin-treated or OKY 1581-treated vascular rings.This study suggests significant stimulatory effects of nitroglycerin, but not of nitroprusside, on prostacyclin release from human saphenous vein. Nitroglycerin-induced prostacyclin release may be an important mechanism of its antiischemic actions in human subjects
Peer-to-peer sharing on the Internet: An analysis of how Gnutella networks are used to distribute pornographic material
By our very nature, humans are creatures that communicate and network. Over the past several decades much of this communicating and networking has been facilitated by developments in information and communication technology. The social and economic transformations resulting from developments on the Internet have created several challenges for policymakers, lawmakers, courts and a wide range of other kinds of institutions. Some of these challenges are associated with the technologies and applications themselves. Other challenges result from content made available on the Internet and how users exchange data. Recent developments in peer-to-peer data exchange bring these two sets of challenges together
Gated Multi-Resolution Transfer Network for Burst Restoration and Enhancement
Burst image processing is becoming increasingly popular in recent years.
However, it is a challenging task since individual burst images undergo
multiple degradations and often have mutual misalignments resulting in ghosting
and zipper artifacts. Existing burst restoration methods usually do not
consider the mutual correlation and non-local contextual information among
burst frames, which tends to limit these approaches in challenging cases.
Another key challenge lies in the robust up-sampling of burst frames. The
existing up-sampling methods cannot effectively utilize the advantages of
single-stage and progressive up-sampling strategies with conventional and/or
recent up-samplers at the same time. To address these challenges, we propose a
novel Gated Multi-Resolution Transfer Network (GMTNet) to reconstruct a
spatially precise high-quality image from a burst of low-quality raw images.
GMTNet consists of three modules optimized for burst processing tasks:
Multi-scale Burst Feature Alignment (MBFA) for feature denoising and alignment,
Transposed-Attention Feature Merging (TAFM) for multi-frame feature
aggregation, and Resolution Transfer Feature Up-sampler (RTFU) to up-scale
merged features and construct a high-quality output image. Detailed
experimental analysis on five datasets validates our approach and sets a
state-of-the-art for burst super-resolution, burst denoising, and low-light
burst enhancement.Comment: Accepted at CVPR 202
A randomized, clinical trial to assess the relative efficacy and tolerability of two doses of etoricoxib versus naproxen in patients with ankylosing spondylitis
Background This study evaluated two doses of etoricoxib (60 and 90 mg) vs.
naproxen 1000 mg in subjects with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Methods This
was a 2-part, double-blind, active comparator-controlled non-inferiority study
in subjects â„18 years of age with AS. In Part I, subjects were randomized to
naproxen 1000 mg; etoricoxib 60 mg, and 90 mg. In Part II, naproxen and
etoricoxib 90 mg subjects continued on the same treatment; subjects on
etoricoxib 60 mg either continued on 60 mg or escalated to 90 mg. Part I (6
weeks) assessed the efficacy of A) etoricoxib 60 mg vs. naproxen and B) 90 mg
vs. naproxen according to the time-weighted average change from baseline in
Spinal Pain Intensity (SPI; 0â100 mm VAS) (primary endpoint). The non-
inferiority margin was set at 8 mm for SPI. In Part II (20 weeks) we evaluated
the potential benefit of increasing from 60 to 90 mg (predefined minimum
clinically important differenceâ=â6 mm in SPI) for inadequate responders (<50
% improvement from baseline in SPI) onetoricoxib 60 mg in Part I. Results In
total, 1015 subjects were randomized to receive etoricoxib 60 mg (Nâ=â702),
etoricoxib 90 mg (Nâ=â156), and naproxen 1000 mg (Nâ=â157); 70.9 % were male
and the mean age was 45.2 years. There were 919 subjects who completed Part I
and all continued to Part II. In Part I, SPI change was non-inferior for both
etoricoxib doses vs. naproxen. In both Part I and II, the incidence of adverse
events (AEs), drug-related AEs, and serious adverse events (SAEs) were similar
between the 3 treatment groups. Conclusion Both doses of etoricoxib were non-
inferior to naproxen. All treatments were well tolerated. Etoricoxib 60 and 90
mg effectively control pain in patients with AS, with 60 mg once daily as the
lowest effective dose for most patients. Trial registration Clinical Trials
Registry # NCT01208207. Registered on 22 September 2010
Evaluation of two doses of etoricoxib, a COX-2 selective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), in the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis in a double-blind, randomized controlled trial
List of Ethics Committees. (DOCX 38 kb
Factors contributing to disparities in mortality among patients with non-small-cell lung cancer
Historically, non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who are non-white, have low incomes, low educational attainment, and non-private insurance have worse survival. We assessed whether differences in survival were attributable to sociodemographic factors, clinical characteristics at diagnosis, or treatments received. We surveyed a multiregional cohort of patients diagnosed with NSCLC from 2003 to 2005 and followed through 2012. We used Cox proportional hazard analyses to estimate the risk of death associated with race/ethnicity, annual income, educational attainment, and insurance status, unadjusted and sequentially adjusting for sociodemographic factors, clinical characteristics, and receipt of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. Of 3250 patients, 64% were white, 16% black, 7% Hispanic, and 7% Asian; 36% of patients had income
Factors contributing to disparities in mortality among patients with nonâsmallâcell lung cancer
Historically, nonâsmallâcell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who are nonâwhite, have low incomes, low educational attainment, and nonâprivate insurance have worse survival. We assessed whether differences in survival were attributable to sociodemographic factors, clinical characteristics at diagnosis, or treatments received. We surveyed a multiregional cohort of patients diagnosed with NSCLC from 2003 to 2005 and followed through 2012. We used Cox proportional hazard analyses to estimate the risk of death associated with race/ethnicity, annual income, educational attainment, and insurance status, unadjusted and sequentially adjusting for sociodemographic factors, clinical characteristics, and receipt of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. Of 3250 patients, 64% were white, 16% black, 7% Hispanic, and 7% Asian; 36% of patients had incomes <60Â 000/y, not attending college, and not having private insurance were all associated with an increased risk of mortality. Blackâwhite differences were not statistically significant after adjustment for sociodemographic factors, although patients with patients without a high school diploma and patients with incomes <$40Â 000/y continued to have an increased risk of mortality. Differences by educational attainment were not statistically significant after adjustment for clinical characteristics. Differences by income were not statistically significant after adjustment for clinical characteristics and treatments. Clinical characteristics and treatments received primarily contributed to mortality disparities by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status in patients with NSCLC. Additional efforts are needed to assure timely diagnosis and use of effective treatment to lessen these disparities.Using data from the Cancer Care Outcomes Research and Surveillance (CanCORS) consortium, a large, multiâregional observational study of newly diagnosed cancer patients, we documented higher unadjusted mortality for NSCLC among patients who were black, have lower income, less wellâeducated, and with nonâprivate insurance. We used a series of Cox proportional hazards model to estimate the increased risk of death associated with sociodemographic factors, clinical characteristics, and treatments received to determine what accounted for the disparities. We found that patientsâ clinical characteristics and treatments received primarily contributed to the mortality disparities that we observed in patients with NSCLC.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146607/1/cam41796.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146607/2/cam41796_am.pd
iStent as a Solo Procedure for Glaucoma Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND: Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible blindness. It is firmly entrenched in the traditional treatment paradigm to start with pharmacotherapy. However, pharmacotherapy is not benign and has been well documented to have a number of significant challenges. Minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) that targets the outflow pathway with minimal to no scleral dissection has resulted in the need to reconsider the glaucoma treatment paradigm.
PURPOSE: To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate and quantify the effect on post-operative intraocular pressure (IOP) and number of topical glaucoma medications, in patients receiving the iStent MIGS device as the solo procedure without concurrent cataract surgery.
METHODS: A systematic review was conducted by searching various databases between January 1, 2000, and June 30, 2014. Studies reporting up to a maximum follow-up period of 24 months were retrieved and screened using the EPPI-Reviewer 4 gateway. Percentage reduction in IOP (IOPR%), and mean reduction in topical glaucoma medications after surgery were computed. Meta-analysis was performed using STATA v. 13.0. The standardized mean difference (SMD) was calculated as the effect size for continuous scale outcomes. Heterogeneity was determined using the I2 statistics, Z-value, and Ï2 statistics. Fixed-effect and random-effect models were developed based on heterogeneity. Sub-group analysis was performed based on the number of iStents implanted and the follow-up period. The outcome measures were changes in the IOP and number of glaucoma medications.
RESULTS: The search strategy identified 105 records from published literature and 9 records from the grey literature. Five studies with 248 subjects were included for quantitative synthesis. A 22% IOP reduction (IOPR%) from baseline occurred at 18-months after one iStent implant, 30% at 6-months after two iStents implantations, and 40% at 6-months after implantation of three iStents. A mean reduction of 1.2 bottles per patient of topical glaucoma medications occurred at 18-months after one iStent implant, 1.45 bottles per patient at 6-months after two iStents, and one bottle of medication per patient was reduced at 6-months following placement of three iStents implants. Meta-analysis results showed a significant reduction in the IOP after one iStent (SMD = -1.68, 95% CI: [-2.7, -0.61]), two iStents (SMD = -1.88, 95% CI: [-2.2, -1.56]), and three iStents (SMD = -2, 95% CI: [-2.62, -1.38]) implantation. Results showed a significant drop in the topical glaucoma medications after one iStent (SMD = -2.11, CI: [-3.95, -0.27]), two iStent (SMD = -1.88, CI: [-2.20, -1.56]), and three iStents (SMD = -2.00, CI: [-2.62, -1.38]) implantation. The maximum reduction in IOP occurred at 12-months (SMD = -2.21, CI: [-2.53, -1.88]) and a significant reduction in post-operative topical glaucoma medications occurred even after 18-months of iStent implantation (SMD = -0.71, CI: [-1.15, -0.26]).
CONCLUSION: iStent implantation as a solo procedure without concurrent cataract extraction does lower IOP, and reduces the dependency on glaucoma medications. This effect seems to last at least 18 months
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