Oze: Decentralized Graph-based Concurrency Control for Real-world Long Transactions on BoM Benchmark

In this paper, we propose Oze, a new concurrency control protocol that handles heterogeneous workloads which include long-running update transactions. Oze explores a large scheduling space using a fully precise multi-version serialization graph to reduce false positives. Oze manages the graph in a decentralized manner to exploit many cores in modern servers. We also propose a new OLTP benchmark, BoMB (Bill of Materials Benchmark), based on a use case in an actual manufacturing company. BoMB consists of one long-running update transaction and five short transactions that conflict with each other. Experiments using BoMB show that Oze keeps the abort rate of the long-running update transaction at zero while reaching up to 1.7 Mtpm for short transactions with near linear scalability, whereas state-of-the-art protocols cannot commit the long transaction or experience performance degradation in short transaction throughput

Preventive effect of fermented brown rice and rice bran on spontaneous type 1 diabetes in NOD female mice

Consumption of brown rice and rice bran fermented with Aspergillus oryzae (FBRA) suppresses spontaneously occurring diabetes in female NOD mouse. While control diet-fed mice showed glucosuria and hyperglycemia at around 20 week of age and the ratio reached to 57% at 30 weeks of age, the ratio did not increase in the 0.5% FBRA-containing diet-fed group. The FBRA-fed group at 30 weeks of age kept higher ratio of intact islets and showed significantly lower insulitis score compared to the control diet group, with dose-dependency from 0.25% to 0.5% dietary concentration of FBRA. The percentage of diabetic mice was significantly lower at 24 weeks of age as compared to the control group (p = 0.01, log rank test). These results indicate that the suppressive effects of dietary administration of 0.5% FBRA in delaying the spontaneous onset of diabetes in NOD mice is probably achieved by maintaining the number of intact islets

Quadrupolar effect and rattling motion in heavy fermion superconductor PrOs_4Sb_{12}

The elastic properties of a filled skutterudite PrOs_4Sb_{12} with a heavy Fermion superconductivity at T_C=1.85 K have been investigated. The elastic softening of (C_{11}-C_{12})/2 and C_{44} with lowering temperature down to T_C indicates that the quadrupolar fluctuation due to the CEF state plays a role for the Cooper paring in superconducting phase of PrOs_4Sb_{12}. A Debye-type dispersion in the elastic constants around 30 K revealed a thermally activated Gamma_{23} rattling due to the off-center Pr-atom motion obeying tau=tau_{0}exp(E/k_{B}T) with an attempt time tau_0=8.8*10^{-11} sec and an activation energy E=168 K. It is remarkable that the charge fluctuation of the off-center motion with Gamma_{23} symmetry may mix with the quadrupolar fluctuation and enhance the elastic softening of (C_{11}-C_{12})/2 just above T_C.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to be published to Phys. Rev.

Effects of fermented brown rice on the intestinal environments in healthy adult

Purpose : The aim of this study is to investigate the prebiotic effects of brown rice fermented by Aspergillus oryzae (FBRA) on the intestinal environment in vitro and in healthy adults. Methods : Fresh fecal slurries from six healthy adults were incubated with FBRA to confirm prebiotic potentials of FBRA. Another thirty-six healthy adults were randomly allocated to 2 groups for the clinical study. Subjects consumed 21.0 g/day of either FBRA or control food for 2 weeks, followed by a 12-week intermission and then 2-week ingestion vice versa. Main outcome measures were bifidobacterial numbers and organic acid concentration in feces. Sub outcome measures were fecal microbiota, fecal environments and bowel function. Results : Incubation of fecal slurries with FBRA in vitro resulted in increased organic acids with individual-specific patterns. Bifidobacterial numbers were increased during incubation. In the clinical study, all participants safely completed this study. FBRA had little effect on fecal number of bifidobacteria, concentrations of organic acids or putrefactive metabolites, fecal pH, or fecal microbiota. Conclusion : FBRA has the potentials as a prebiotic, however, we could not detect its effects on the intestinal environment in vivo. The results in a clinical study indicated that FBRA could be safely used for healthy adults

Radiation-induced bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (BOOP) syndrome in breast cancer patients is associated with age

BackgroundRadiation-induced bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (BOOP) syndrome is a rarely observed phenomenon characterized by infiltration of the lungs outside of the radiation field, differentiating it from radiation pneumonitis (RP).The risk factors for radiation-induced BOOP (RT-BOOP) remain unclear and controversial. We retrospectively analyzed the incidence and risk factors for RT-BOOP associated with radiation therapy (RT) after breast conserving surgery (BCS) and post-mastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT).Methods and materialsWe analyzed 1,176 breast cancer patients treated with RT after BCS or PMRT between March 2005 and September2008 at the cancer institute hospital of the Japanese foundation for cancer research. Chest radiographs were routinely obtained every three to six months for at least 12 months after surgery, as well as when the patients experienced respiratory symptoms or fever.ResultsRT-BOOP syndrome was diagnosed in 16patients (1.4%), including12BCS patients (1.3%) and four PMRT patients (1.8%). An older age (≥52 years old) was significantly associated with the incidence of RT-BOOP syndrome in a univariate analysis (p =0.023). The type of treatment (BCS or PMRT) and irradiated lung volume at 20 Gy (V20) were not significantly associated with the incidence of RT-BOOP syndrome in the entire patient cohort. In the multivariate analysis, age and smoking were the significant factor associated with RT-induced BOOP syndrome (p =0.044 and 0.049, respectively).ConclusionsRT-BOOP syndrome was a rarity, and the incidence for BCT cases was similar to that for PMRT cases. The irradiated lung volume was not significantly associated with RT-BOOP syndrome. An older age can predict the incidence of RT-BOOP syndrome.Keywords: Breast Cancer; Postoperative radiotherapy; Radiation-induced bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia syndrome; Breast-conserving therapy; Post-mastectomy radiation therap

A Clinical Evaluation of American Brachytherapy Society Consensus Guideline for Bulky Vaginal Mass in Gynecological Cancer

Objectives American Brachytherapy Society (ABS)-recommended interstitial brachytherapy (IBT) should be considered for bulky vaginal tumor thicker than 5 mm. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ABS consensus guideline for patients with severe vaginal invasion based on our long-term follow-up results.Methods/MaterialsThe study included 7 patients with vaginal cancer and 14 patients with cervical cancer invading to the lower vagina. Based on prebrachytherapy magnetic resonance imaging findings, patients received intracavitary brachytherapy (ICT) for vaginal tumors 5 mm or less or IBT for vaginal tumors less than 5 mm. Nine patients received ICT and the remaining 12 patients received IBT. For dosimetric comparison, an experimental recalculation as the virtual IBT for patients actually treated by ICT, and vice versa, was performed.Results The 5-year local control rate for all tumors was 89.4%. No differences in local control between ICT- and IBT-treated groups were observed (P = 0.21). One patient experienced a grade 3 rectal complication. There were no significant differences in the CTV D90 and rectum D2cc between the 2 groups (P = 0.13 and 0.39, respectively). In the dosimetric study of ICT-treated patients, neither the actual ICT plans nor the experimental IBT plans exceeded the limited dose for organs at risk, which were recommended in the guideline published from the ABS. In the IBT-treated patients, D2cc for bladder and rectum of the experimental ICT plans was significantly higher than for the actual IBT plans (P < 0.001 and <0.001, respectively), and 11 experimental ICT plans (92%) exceeded the limited dose for bladder and/or rectum D2cc.Conclusions Tumor control and toxicity after selected brachytherapy according to vaginal tumor thickness were satisfactory; IBT instead of ICT is recommended for patients with vaginal tumor thickness greater than 5 mm to maintain bladder and/or rectum D2cc

Concurrent chemoradiotherapy using proton beams for unresectable locally advanced pancreatic cancer

Background and purposeWe investigated clinical outcomes of proton beam concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) for unresectable, locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) patients.Materials and methodsRecords from 42 unresectable LAPC patients (21 male and 21 female, 39–83 years old) with IIB/III clinical staging of 1/41 treated by proton beam CCRT were retrospectively reviewed. Twelve patients received a conventional 50 Gray equivalents (GyE) in 25 fractions protocol and 30 others received a higher dose protocol of 54.0–67.5 GyE in 25–33 fractions. Gemcitabine or S-1 (Tegafur, Gimeracil and Oteracil) was used concurrently. Toxicity, overall survival (OS) and local control (LC) were examined.ResultsAcute adverse events of grades 1, 2, 3 and 4 were found in 4, 15, 17 and 2 patients, respectively. All grade 3 and 4 events were hematologic. Late adverse events of grades 1 and 2 were found in 3 and 2 patients, respectively. No late adverse effects of grade 3 or higher were observed. The 1-year/2-year OS rates from the start of CCRT were 77.8/50.8% with median survival time (MST) of 25.6 months. The 1-year/2-year LC rate from CCRT start was 83.3/78.9% with a median time to local recurrence of more than 36 months. Total irradiation dose was the only significant factor in univariate analyses of OS and LC (p = 0.015 and 0.023, respectively).ConclusionProton beam CCRT lengthened survival periods compared to previous photon CCRT data and higher dose irradiation prolonged LC and OS for unresectable LAPC patients. Proton beam therapy is therefore safe and effective in these cases

A validated proton beam therapy patch-field protocol for effective treatment of large hepatocellular carcinoma

Development of a curative local treatment for large hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an important issue. Here, we investigated the dose homogeneity, safety and antitumor effectiveness of proton beam therapy (PBT) using a patch-field technique for large HCC. Data from nine patients (aged 52–79 years) with large HCC treated with patch-field PBT were investigated. The cranial–caudal diameters of the clinical target volumes (CTVs) were 15.0–18.6 cm (median 15.9). The CTV was divided cranially and caudally while both isocenters were aligned along the cranial–caudal axis and overlap of the cranial and caudal irradiation fields was set at 0–0.5 mm. Multileaf collimators were used to eliminate hot or cold spots. Total irradiation doses were 60–76.4 Gy equivalents. Irradiation doses as a percentage of the prescription dose (from the treatment planning system) around the junction were a minimum of 93–105%, a mean of 99–112%, and a maximum of 105–120%. Quality assurance (QA) was assessed in the cranial and caudal irradiation fields using imaging plates. Acute adverse effects of Grade 3 were observed in one patient (hypoalbuminemia), and a late adverse effect of Grade 3 was observed in one patient (liver abscess). Child–Pugh class elevations were observed in four patients (A to B: 3; B to C: 1). Overall survival rates at 1 and 2 years were 55 and 14%, respectively, with a median overall survival of 13.6 months. No patients showed local recurrence. Patch-field PBT supported by substantial QA therefore is one of the treatment options for large HCC